MTV Newsroom › Vampire-Weekend

MTV's Musical March Madness: Coheed And Cambria Vs. Vampire Weekend

Posted 3/22/11 2:30 pm EST by in Music


It's MTV's second annual Musical March Madness! MTV News took the 64 biggest names in rock, split them up into four regions, assigned them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 64, so over the next few weeks, fan voting will determine who will emerge as this year's champion. It's all about the fans, and the artist with the most passionate fan base will score the awesome Musical March Madness trophy!

We're half way through the first bracket of the second round of MTV's Musical March Madness tournament. In this match-up, the defending champs Coheed and Cambria take on indie favorites Vampire Weekend in what should be an intriguing confrontation.

Voting for all second round match-ups will close on Sunday, March 27 at midnight. As always, you can follow all the voting here.

(3) Vampire Weekend vs. (6) Coheed and Cambria
Coheed and Cambria won the 2010 MTV Musical March Madness championship, and they kicked off the first round of this year's tournament the same way they tore through last year's: by trouncing the competition (this time around, the victim was "American Idol" veteran Crystal Bowersox). In round two, they go head-to-head against Vampire Weekend, who topped fellow indie icons Bright Eyes to advance. Will Coheed make another trip to the Sweet 16, or will Vampire Weekend be the band who finally spoils their dance? Vote and find out!

Watch the breakdown of the first round and a preview of round two!

Check out the Musical March Madness bracket and be take a look at the hoops-centric photos of some of the tournament's biggest bands.

Tags , , , , ,

MTV's Musical March Madness: Coheed And Cambria Vs. Crystal Bowersox, Vampire Weekend Vs. Bright Eyes

Posted 3/14/11 2:30 pm EST by in Music


It's MTV's second annual Musical March Madness! MTV News took the 64 biggest names in rock, split them up into four regions, assigned them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 64, so over the next few weeks, fan voting will determine who will emerge as this year's champion. It's all about the fans, and the artist with the most passionate fan base will score the awesome Musical March Madness trophy!

The 2011 MTV Musical March Madness tournament is only a few hours old, but there are already heated contests going on between some heavy hitters (there are already upsets brewing, as the Damned Things have jumped out to an early lead against top-seeded Foo Fighters). Of course, voting will continue through this Sunday (March 20), with the winners revealed on Monday (March 21). In the meantime, let's move on to the next batch of match-ups, which feature some of the biggest names in the whole contest.

(6) Coheed and Cambria vs. (11) Crystal Bowersox
The 2010 MTV Musical March Madness champions Coheed and Cambria made an improbable run through that tournament, proving that their fans were a force to be reckoned with. They probably would have had a higher seed had they not been so quiet over the past few months. But they remain one of the tournament favorites. Still, they have a challenging draw in Crystal Bowersox, the "American Idol" runner-up who has managed to galvanize an impressive online following since the release of her album Farmer's Daughter. Will she have enough to overthrow the reigning champs? Only your votes can decide!

(3) Vampire Weekend vs. (14) Bright Eyes
Two of the most literate acts in indie rock take it to the mat in the first round, and both are riding high. Vampire Weekend are still basking in the glow of their chart-topping second album Contra, while Bright Eyes just released their best album in years. Will Conor Oberst be able to topple the Vampire Weekend juggernaut? Vote and find out!

Watch Dick Bagwell and Vincent Twice break down this year's bracket!

Check out the Musical March Madness bracket and be take a look at the hoops-centric photos of some of the tournament's biggest bands.

Tags , , , , , ,

Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend Play The Edges: Better Know A Grammy Category

Posted 1/31/11 2:30 pm EST by in Grammys


The 53rd Grammy Awards are upon us, and they bring with them dozens of artists competing in 109 different categories. The performers on the show — which airs live on Sunday, February 13 — include Eminem, Cee Lo Green, Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, Justin Bieber, Miranda Lambert, Katy Perry, Muse, B.o.B, Usher, Bruno Mars, Jaden Smith and Janelle Monae. It promises to be one of the biggest nights in the history of music, and MTV News will be bringing you wall-to-wall coverage of the big event.

But the awards are the big draw, and just as the MTV Newsroom Blog does with the MTV Video Music Awards, here are a series of guides to some of the biggest categories on the docket. This time around: Best Alternative Album.

The concept of "alternative" as a genre is a holdover from the '90s, a pre-Internet era when counter-cultural music was far more elusive than it is now. However, while many of the albums nominated for the prize for Best Alternative Music Album could be considered mainstream (Arcade Fire's The Suburbs and Vampire Weekend's Contra both topped the Billboard album chart, and the Black Keys, Band of Horses and Broken Bells are generally well-known), the spirit of the prize remains true, as all five of the nominated albums are doing something a little different. The Black Keys continue to deconstruct and rebuild the blues, Arcade Fire push the boundaries of soft/loud dynamics, Vampire Weekend continue to interpolate world music, Band of Horses are mixing the beautiful with the caustic and Broken Bells traffic in literate weirdness.

But which album will dominate? The Grammy voters will probably want to reward an alternative album that also managed some crossover success, which boils it down to Arcade Fire against Vampire Weekend. And while Contra enjoyed a bit of a renaissance at the end of the year (it seemed like a lot of people forgot that album came out last year and were reminded when it showed up on best-of lists for 2010), this is Arcade Fire's prize to lose. Their combination of sonic adventurousness and commercial appeal is too much to deny.

Other Notable Winners: R.E.M., Out of Time (1992); Green Day, Dookie (1995); Beck, Odelay (1997); Radiohead, OK Computer (1998); Wilco, A Ghost is Born (2005); The White Stripes, Icky Thump (2008)

Notable Robberies: Nirvana's In Utero should have beaten U2's Zooropa in 1994; Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Fever to Tell deserved the prize more than the White Stripes' Elephant in 2004.

Who do you want to win the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album? Let us know in the comments!

Tags , , , , , ,

Vampire Weekend, Phoenix Submit To 'Five Questions' At KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas

Posted 12/17/10 4:30 pm EST by in Music


By Matt Elias

A few years back at Austin's South by Southwest festival, the MTV News team conjured up five hard-hitting questions to ask the various bands hanging around Austin. Since everything old is new again, we decided to do a little re-gifting at this past weekend's KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas in Los Angeles.

The radio station's iconic holiday show — better known to regulars as "ACX" and less known as a show where any actual acoustic music is played — boasted a stellar line-up on its second night: Phoenix, Vampire Weekend (who are seasoned pros at this five questions thing), Brandon Flowers, the Black Keys, Florence & the Machine, Neon Trees, Temper Trap, Broken Bells, and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros.

Some of those bands were gracious enough to subject themselves to our questionnaire. Of course, this was after we asked them harder questions, like how Phoenix was approached the soundtrack to Sophia Coppola's new film "Somewhere" and what's inspiring Vampire Weekend's next album.

But once that was out of the way, we could move onto the juicy stuff. So if you're dying to know who uses baby wipes in between sets or know what it's like backstage in 140 characters or less, then you have come to the right place.

Here they are, our five questions at KROQ's ACX 2010. It's our extra-special Christmas gift to you. Don't say the MTV Newsroom Blog never gave you anything.


Tags , , , ,

Jake Gyllenhaal Drives While RZA Rides Shotgun: The MTV News Quote Of The Day

Posted 5/13/10 4:45 pm EST by in Music


"It was really fun. I met the band and hung out with them. They're all really cool guys ... and the Jonas Brothers, the RZA and Lil Jon, we all usually chill anyway. Actually, we were up in San Francisco, and I was like, 'You guys, do you want to come down with me?' And Lil Jon was like, 'I'm busy,' and I was like, 'Come on, man, get in the car!' So we all chilled out, listened to the whole album, and the RZA was dope. He was great. He sat shotgun, because that's where he likes to sit usually. ... We all hang out because we're all really good friends."

-"Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" star Jake Gyllenhaal, joking about the making of the video for Vampire Weekend's "Giving Up the Gun." In the clip, Gyllenhaal plays an angry, booze-soaked tennis pro who has run-ins with the likes of Joe Jonas, Lil Jon and the RZA, all of whom have truly surreal cameos.

According to Gyllenhaal, the shoot was a bit of a whirlwind. "I got a call from the directors, who are friends of mine ... and they were like, 'We're doing this thing, and we heard you're a big fan of the band. We didn't know if you wanted to come down.' I was actually in San Francisco, and they were shooting it in Los Angeles, and they were like, 'We're shooting it this evening,' so I said, 'All right, I'm there,'" he told MTV News' Vanessa White Wolf. "So I drove down from San Francisco to this soundstage in downtown L.A., and I basically changed into a tennis outfit, and I got down."

Tags , , , ,

Erykah Badu's 'Window Seat' Video Joins The Ranks Of The 10 Best Single-Shot Clips

Posted 3/30/10 1:00 pm EST by in Music


Erykah Badu has spent the last few days turning heads with her new video for "Window Seat," which shows the singer walking down the street in downtown Dallas (in the same area where John F. Kennedy was shot) and gradually stripping down to total nudity. It's reminiscent of Matt and Kim's award-winning clip for "Lessons Learned," which saw the pair strip down in the middle of Times Square and which gets a shout-out at the top of Badu's clip.

Those two videos actually have more in common than just bare flesh, as they were both shot in a single take. The single-take video is always challenging but typically rewarding — especially when artists and directors get inventive with their concepts and presentation. Badu's clip immediately joins "Lessons Learned" and these other eight one-shot videos as the best ever made.

Weezer, "Undone (The Sweater Song)"
Spike Jonze has contributed a number of single-shot clips to his lengthy music video resumé (including Wax's "California"), but this clip remains one of the band's best because it's so unhinged. Also, where did those dogs come from?

Feist, "1234"
This clip became infamous because it became an iPod commercial (and was later parodied on "Sesame Street"), but it's an incredible accomplishment considering the choreography involved and how complicated the camera movements are.

Cibo Matto, "Sugar Water"
Directed by Michel Gondry, "Sugar Water" is especially impressive because it contains two single take shots running concurrently and also has some backwards tape effects thrown in for good measure.
Read More...

Tags , , , , , , , , ,

MTV News' Musical March Madness: Sweet 16 Voting Closes Tonight

Posted 3/30/10 11:50 am EST by in Music


There won't be any new polls put out today, but the voting for the Sweet 16 round of MTV News' Musical March Madness continues today. All polls will close at 10 p.m. on Tuesday night (March 30), at which point the Elite Eight will be set. Most of the Sweet 16 match-ups are still pretty tight, so even if you're favorite band is behind in the standings, there's plenty of time to stage a comeback with some well-organized clicking. Take a look at how we got here, and then give a gander at the current slate of games.

(6) Phish vs. (15) Coheed and Cambria
A heated head-to-head. Coheed and Cambria currently leads the race, but the Phish fans in the comments section keep declaring "P.A.W.: Phish Always Win." Can they follow through on their promise?

(9) Adam Lambert vs. (13) Alice in Chains
The grunge veterans currently have a commanding lead over Lambert, though you can never count the Glamberts out of any competition involving their favorite "Idol" star.

(2) Muse vs. (14) AFI
AFI went on an early run, but the people who turned Muse into a stadium-filling international phenomenon have also put them ahead in the standings. But it's still anybody's game.
Read More...

Tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

MTV News' Musical March Madness: Tokio Hotel Vs. Vampire Weekend, Owl City Vs. MGMT

Posted 3/29/10 10:50 am EST by in Music


It's Musical March Madness! The sprawling bracket — both a parody and a tribute to the NCAA basketball tournament, masterminded by MTV News' James Montgomery — takes the 65 biggest names in rock, splits them up into four regions, assigns them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 65. Over the next few weeks, we will present a series of polls that will allow you to vote for the match-ups presented in MTV News' Band Bracketology. You vote for the winners, we'll keep advancing the seeds and, in the end, we'll have some sort of champion. What will the winner receive? Little more than our esteem (as well as that of the fans) and some Internet bragging rights.

The second round is in the books and the Sweet 16 is set. Round two provided a number of stellar match-ups that went right down to the wire, setting up an intriguing round three. The voting will come fast and furious in the final rounds: The Sweet 16 will be presented today, with voting closing on Tuesday (March 30) evening. Wednesday, we'll present the Elite Eight, with voting closing on Thursday (April 1) evening. Finally, Friday will see the unveiling of the Final Four, setting up a weekend match-up that will deliver a final next Monday (April 5) — the same day as the NCAA basketball finals. Let's get the games underway!

(4) Vampire Weekend vs. (16) Tokio Hotel
The boys in Vampire Weekend eeked out a close victory against Phoenix in round two, while underdog Tokio Hotel steamrolled Radiohead. Could Vampire Weekend be the group that ends this year's biggest Cinderella, or are Tokio Hotel destined to go deeper?

(3) Owl City vs. (7) MGMT
In a heartbreaking, buzzer-beating tilt, Owl City managed to sneak past round two opponents Grizzly Bear in a match-up that saw a number of lead changes (it was the equivalent of this year's Xavier/Kansas State double-overtime romp). Meanwhile, MGMT convincingly topped Animal Collective, and were it not for Tokio Hotel's blitzkrieg, they would be the true Cinderella of this bracket. Can Owl City continue winning, or does its run end with MGMT?

Tags , , , ,

MTV News' Musical March Madness: Tokio Hotel Vs. Radiohead, Vampire Weekend Vs. Phoenix

Posted 3/24/10 5:15 pm EST by in Music


It's Musical March Madness! The sprawling bracket — both a parody and a tribute to the NCAA basketball tournament, masterminded by MTV News' James Montgomery — takes the 65 biggest names in rock, splits them up into four regions, assigns them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 65. Over the next few weeks, we will present a series of polls that will allow you to vote for the match-ups presented in MTV News' Band Bracketology. You vote for the winners, we'll keep advancing the seeds and, in the end, we'll have some sort of champion. What will the winner receive? Little more than our esteem (as well as that of the fans) and some Internet bragging rights.

It's time to vote on the other set of parings from the second round in the East bracket. In case you missed the first round, check out the summary of round one and the preview for round two. Tomorrow we'll address the West and Midwest brackets, where upsets abound and more are coming.

(4) Vampire Weekend vs. (5) Phoenix
Another high-powered indie tilt, as Vampire Weekend try to take their big win over Pavement into the second round. Phoenix defeated the National handily, but do they have enough support to drive into the Sweet 16?

(8) Radiohead vs. (16) Tokio Hotel
The top-seeded bands had a very turbulent first round, as only Blink-182 managed to survive. Not only did Tokio Hotel upend Coldplay, but they did it in grand, sweeping fashion. Radiohead fought off a feisty Spoon to get into the second round, but will they be able to rely on their status as indie legends to carry them past the German upstarts?

Tags , , , ,

MTV News' Musical March Madness: Vampire Weekend Vs. Pavement, Phoenix Vs. The National

Posted 3/18/10 3:30 pm EST by in Music


It's Musical March Madness! The sprawling bracket — both a parody and a tribute to the NCAA basketball tournament, masterminded by MTV News' James Montgomery — takes the 65 biggest names in rock, splits them up into four regions, assigns them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 65. Over the next few weeks, we will present a series of polls that will allow you to vote for the match-ups presented in MTV News' Band Bracketology. You vote for the winners, we'll keep advancing the seeds and, in the end, we'll have some sort of champion. What will the winner receive? Little more than our esteem (as well as that of the fans) and some Internet bragging rights.

The real NCAA basketball tournament has already seen a major upset (Old Dominion over Notre Dame), and second-ranked Villanova was nearly bested by underdog Robert Morris. Meanwhile, upsets are also afoot in Musical March Madness. Who is next? Two more high-powered showdowns in the East.

(4) Vampire Weekend vs. (13) Pavement
This is an intriguing one, as the recently-returned kings of indie square off against one of the dominant forces on that same scene. Pavement picked up a lot of momentum with their reunion tour, but Contra may be too good an album to overcome. What do you think?

(5) Phoenix vs. (12) The National
Two feisty upstarts square off here, though only one has had the pleasure of talking to Snooki. Phoenix are from France, a country that doesn't churn out a whole lot of quality basketball talent (save for Tony Parker and Boris Diaw), and National frontman Matt Beringer has some height. Whose will come out on top?

Tags , , , ,

Page 1 of 41234
SPONSORS
AD:
©2012 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. MTV and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.