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| Adam Lambert's 'Mad World': The Story Behind The Cover
April 8, 2009 at 11:12 am
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| Contestant chooses Gary Jules' 'Donnie Darko' version of the Tears for Fears song.
By Gil Kaufman 
Adam Lambert performs on "American Idol" on Tuesday
Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images/ Fox Adam Lambert is making this look too easy. After revealing on Tuesday night that he has loved playing dress-up since childhood, he called upon his musical-theater experience to slip into yet another persona on a night when the "American Idol" top eight performed songs from the year of their birth. This time, Lambert channeled a David Bowie-esque sensitive android, sitting center stage on a chair bathed in an eerie blue spotlight, the focus entirely on his piercing falsetto. But what was that song he sang? The moving ballad "Mad World" was written and originally recorded by English synth-pop duo Tears for Fears in 1982 and was later released on their debut album, The Hurting. While the original is a midtempo synth-pop dance tune with morose lyrics, Lambert — much like last year's winner David Cook — knows the importance of putting a spin on a song people might already know, so he chose to perform the alternate version of the song that appeared in the 2001 cult film "Donnie Darko." (Read the story behind Kris Allen's take on "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" here.) That more haunting, slowed-down and melodic version was performed by little-known California singer/songwriter Gary Jules, who recorded the song with his childhood friend and producer Michael Andrews for the "Darko" soundtrack. The tune also appeared on Jules' 2001 indie album Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets. Two years later, the "Mad World" cover started getting played on the radio in England — some say it was Robbie Williams who spun it first during a guest DJ slot; others claim Radiohead's Thom Yorke brought it to light. In December 2003, the song made Jules and Andrews only the sixth American act ever to win the coveted Christmas #1 position on the British charts. Tears for Fears' Curt Smith has said the song is a depressed teenage voyeur's view of a confusing, cruel world, as evidenced by the powerful lines, "I find it funny, I find it kind of sad/ The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had/ ... Went to school and I was very nervous, no one knew me, no one knew me." According to IMDb.com, "Darko" director Richard Kelly had originally used U2's "MLK" over the closing scene in the film but couldn't afford the rights, so he had to find different music to help wrap up the tale of a troubled teenager (Jake Gyllenhaal) who is haunted by a huge pink bunny named Frank and escapes death when a jet engine crashes into his bedroom. A 2004 Boston Globe article about the cover describes how Andrews set up a microphone in the hallway of his Los Angeles apartment and had Jules sing the lyrics to "Mad World" over a melancholy piano and Moog synthesizer arrangement. Andrews thought Kelly would ask for a more polished recording, but the director ended up using it as is in the movie. The Jules version has continued to be popular, showing up in a 2006 commercial for the video game "Gears of War," which is credited with briefly sending the song to #1 on the iTunes chart that year, and it has been used as mood music on more than a dozen TV dramas, including "Cold Case," "ER," "Line of Fire," "Nip/Tuck" and "Third Watch." Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos Related Artists |
| Lindsay Lohan Describes 'Humiliating' Breakup
April 8, 2009 at 9:58 am
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| After split with DJ Samantha Ronson, the actress says 'everyone's turned on me.'
By Jocelyn Vena 
Samantha Ronson and Lindsay Lohan
Photo: Jeff Vespa/ WireImage Just a day after Lindsay Lohan confirmed that she and DJ Samantha Ronson had broken up, the actress says she's feeling "so alone" without Sam by her side. "It's absolute hell," Lohan says in the new issue of Us Weekly, describing the events of this past weekend as "humiliating." She continues that on Friday night, when she wasn't allowed into a party for Sam's sister Charlotte Ronson at the Chateau Marmont, was "the worst night of my life." According to Us, Sam broke it off with Lohan on Friday and then hired five security guards to keep her out of the Chateau. Lohan told the magazine that she was also shunned by other partygoers as they made their way in. "Everyone's turned on me," she said, adding that Nicole Richie walked by her and said, "Uck," while Drea De Matteo said, "Come at me, bitch." "I felt like I was in 'Mean Girls,' but worse," Lohan told Us. " 'Mean Girls' was a movie." Among the many stories about what happened between Lohan and Ronson in the past few days, Us reported that on Saturday Ronson changed the locks on the home shared by the couple. "I'm not a bad person and this is what happens," Lohan said. "I was raised to treat people well, and I'm so tired of this drama." Sources told the magazine that Ronson has been trying to break up with Lohan for the past month, but Lohan "threatens to kill herself -- she cares about her but wants out." When told about it, Lohan responded, "I'm just really hurt. The whole situation is sick." Related Photos Related Artists |
| Cam'ron Denies Diplomats Reunion Rumors: 'It's A Wrap'
April 8, 2009 at 9:35 am
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| 'Once the problems get in the public, to me, it can't be fixed,' MC says.
By Shaheem Reid 
Juelz Santana and Cam'ron
Photo: Diplomats NEW YORK — Cam'ron reiterated Wednesday (April 8) that the rift in the Diplomats is too big for him to make music with Juelz Santana or Jim Jones ever again. The Harlem rapper said the "last straw" was Jim Jones publicly denying a phone call between him and Cam that recently took place. Back in February, Cam sat down with MTV News and revealed that he and Jones had spoken for the first time in years. "It was cordial," Cam said of the phone call. "He knew it was me. He said we was gonna holla — maybe we'll put something together. But in the immediate future, I'm just doing Cam. But you never know what can happen down the line. I called Zeke's phone and I guess Zeke gave Jim the phone to pick up. We just talked, asked about each other's family. He said he's on a promo tour. He'd be back soon. That was that." During a series of radio interviews after the call, Jones denied that the once-tight duo spoke, then admitted he was not telling the truth. On Angie Martinez's Hot 97 radio show on Wednesday, Cam said he still considered Jim and Juelz Diplomats, but would not be working with them again. "Basically, to be honest — it's a wrap," Cam said. "I called Jim. Everybody has not been speaking for the past three, four years. It just got in the public. Once the problems get in the public, to me, it can't be fixed. "Recently, maybe a month ago, I called Zeke's phone," he added. "I speak to Jim, I say, 'Cool, B. Maybe we can work some stuff out.' I was really at the point where we could work some stuff out. Maybe three minutes before I did an MTV interview ... we just got off the phone, so I did the interview and said we just got off the phone. Jim gets on the TV or radio, whatever, and be like, 'No, me and Cam didn't speak. I don't know what he's talking about. He's got Alzheimer's.' Then he said, 'We did speak on the phone.' My thing is, why lie about a phone conversation? Why would I lie about a phone call?" Cam'ron also said he has a new crew that he's working with, the U.N. A U.N. album is due in August, after Cam's Crime Pays LP drops on May 12. Related Artists |
| 'American Idol' Recap: Adam Lambert Owns Year-Of-Birth Night
April 8, 2009 at 9:22 am
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| Allison Iraheta shows off artistry; Lil Rounds slammed for Tina Turner karaoke.
By Gil Kaufman 
Adam Lambert on "American Idol" on Tuesday
Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images/ Fox As if it wasn't clear before, Adam Lambert proved definitively on Tuesday night that he is the one to beat on "American Idol" this year — assuming everyone actually saw his performance and their DVRs didn't click off when the show went more than five minutes over. Even if you missed Lambert, though, you saw some serious drama: Another top contender, Lil Rounds, was thrashed by the judges; Scott MacIntyre came in for his first serious criticism; and another favorite, Danny Gokey, did just OK on a night when the singers were allowed to pick a song from the year of their birth. Gokey, born in 1980, was up first, and he cheated a little by choosing country singer Mickey Gilley's version of Ben E. King's 1961 R&B classic, "Stand by Me." But rather than cowboy up the song, Gokey infused it with a touch of pop soul and a few of his signature rousing gospel touches. Judges Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi didn't love the gospel jazz arrangement but said Gokey is such a talented singer that he sold them on it with this stellar vocals. Simon Cowell said cryptically, "I thought the beginning was good, I thought the middle was lazy, and the end was terrific, so overall, great." Kris Allen, born in 1985, was next, turning the rock tune Don Henley's "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" into a funky blue-eyed soul shuffle as he strummed his electric guitar in the midst of a circle of clapping fans. The result made Kara say he sounded like he was doing a "jazz-funk homework" assignment and that the arrangement was too old. Simon Cowell was more direct, dubbing the performance boring, forgettable and indulgent, and saying Allen came over as a guitar player that wants to sing, rather than a singer. "It was a stupid, stupid song choice," he said. When Randy said he felt like the arrangement overwhelmed Allen's vocals and that he was listening to the music more than the singer, Allen looked on with a surprised, hurt expression on his face. That look was nothing compared to the crestfallen face Lil Rounds, born in 1984, showed when the judge's blasted her choice of Tina Turner's titanic comeback hit, "What's Love Got to Do With It." From her black leather vest, short black skirt and slow walk across the stage to her half-closed eyes and a soaring, husky vocal, Rounds channeled Turner, though she occasionally gave the tune a unique spin with her powerful vocals. Paula loved the hot outfit, but said she was hoping Rounds would step outside the box a bit this week and take some chances, calling the song a "beautiful karaoke rendition." Simon was more succinct, saying that the show is losing the singer they fell in love with to bad song choices. "We're not looking for a second- or third-rate version of Tina Turner, because that's what it was, even to the point where you were copying the way that she walks," he said. Kara said the competition was about making the leap from a singer to an artist, which Rounds isn't making. Who took a chance? Anoop Desai. Born in 1986, 'Noop Dogg went with Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors," taking the already turgid ballad into an even more dramatic direction, tapping into his whispery falsetto and putting a bit of Babyface R&B flavor on it. Randy loved how Anoop pulled back from his more uptempo performances and said he liked the vocal. Kara said he controlled the song, instead of letting the song control him, as he gave it some soul swing. Simon called Desai a musical yo-yo, because "one minute you're down, and then you're up," and praised him for taking a song originally sung by a woman and making it his own. Scott MacIntyre, also born in 1985, finally mixed it up. Standing center stage with an electric guitar, he crooned Survivor's "The Search Is Over," struggling at times to hit some of the notes in the schmaltzy power-rock ballad. Despite the clearly off performance, MacIntyre still got mostly high marks from Kara, who commended him for playing guitar and taking on a difficult song, though she said it was the wrong song choice. Paula called the high notes a bit "screechy." Simon counseled that he should go back to the piano, because that's where he's comfortable, calling the song horrible and saying the "guitar-playing was not much better." The youngest contestant, 1992 baby Allison Iraheta, went with Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me" (exactly as we predicted), slowing down her usual rock engine and giving Raitt a run for her money with a smoky, controlled vocal that reeked of barroom blues. Paula couldn't get enough, saying all she needs to hear is one note to recognize Iraheta's vocals. She gave the 16-year-old props for putting some tenderness into the song and making it her own. Simon also really liked it and said Iraheta just needs to work on being more likable and showing the audience her personality. "Let me just say this, there was a girl who won the first season of this that you remind me so much of," Randy told Allison, referring to Kelly Clarkson. "She could singer her face off, and so can you!" Matt Giraud, yet another 1985 baby, dipped into Stevie Wonder's "Part Time Lover." He channeled Justin Timberlake again, with a fedora and black leather jacket, but changed up the arrangement by slapping some slowed-down, greasy funk onto the classic, uptempo tune. Paula liked it enough to get up and boogie. Randy said it was one of the best vocals of the night. Kara called it "incredible on every level, unbelievable," and Simon said it was a million times better than the week before. And, finally, well past the top of the hour, which might have caused some people to miss it, Adam Lambert, born in 1982, chose Tears for Fears' "Mad World." Only, in keeping with his David Cook-like desire to perform unusual twists on songs, he performed it as sung by Gary Jules in the cult flick "Donnie Darko." Seated center stage, bathed in an otherworldly blue spotlight and singing only in his keening falsetto, Lambert stopped the clocks by performing the already dramatic song with perfectly executed stagecraft and hitting a spine-tingling high note at the end. As he has almost every week, Lambert found a way to take a song and make it an event. Due to time constraints (and seemingly also because of the sheer power of the performance), Simon was the only judge to speak, and he simply gave Lambert a standing ovation. 'Nuff said. Wednesday night's elimination show will feature performances from Flo Rida and former "Idol" contestant Kellie Pickler. Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Videos Related Photos |
| Jadakiss Talks LOX Offers, Rumored Lil Wayne/ Jay-Z Tour
April 8, 2009 at 8:02 am
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| Jada says Diddy made the group 'a light offer' to return to Bad Boy.
By Shaheem Reid 
Jadakiss
Photo: MTV News NEW YORK — A decade ago, it was "Let the LOX go!" In 2009, it very well could be "Bring the LOX back!" Jadakiss said Diddy is trying to reacquire one of his most treasured acts: the LOX. "Diddy made us a light offer, all you label heads," Jadakiss told MTV News. "He made us a nice light one." Diddy and all three LOX members appeared on "106 & Park" on Tuesday, and footage of them backstage hit the Net via Diddy's Twitter page. "Our relationship is lovely," 'Kiss said of his ties with Puff. Back in the day, Jada, Sheek Louch and Styles P decided to leave Bad Boy due to creative differences, and later, the trio publicly threatened Diddy because they said the label CEO owed them money. That situation was resolved years ago. "Diddy is our big homie, but the people know the business wasn't as tight as it was supposed to be in the beginning," Jada said. "This [deal], it would have to be [right]. ... Listen, he made the offer. He said, 'You know what we been through. I got extra bread for y'all.' That came out of his mouth." One of Diddy's biggest competitors for the LOX might be a mutual friend: Jay-Z. Jada is signed to Roc-A-Fella/ Def Jam for a solo deal, and Hov has been trying to bring the entire group into the fold for years. 'Kiss said he and his Yonkers brothers are open to hearing all offers. "If somebody makes an offer first, then the bidding war goes down," Jada said. "I'm sure some of the big guys will make some offers. If not, Diddy, holla at me." Jada is promoting his new LP, The Last Kiss, and a tour is being worked out for a co-headlining outing with Cam'ron. "Me and Killa supposed to go out, probably do some House of Blues-type of venues," he said. "Then I'm gonna try and sneak on that Weezy and Hov joint going out after that." A tour with Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and Jada? Hmm ... sounds like something huge for the fans. "Yeah," 'Kiss agreed. Reps for Jay-Z and Lil Wayne said they haven't heard about a Jay and Wayne tour. Related Photos Related Artists |
| Kurt Cobain: The Death Of The Scruffy Noble
April 8, 2009 at 7:50 am
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| Nirvana frontman represented the honor that came with never compromising — whether he liked it or not, in Bigger Than the Sound.
By James Montgomery 
Kurt Cobain in 1993
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Fifteen years ago today, an electrician named Gary Smith was sent out to a gray clapboard home near Lake Washington in Seattle to install a security system. What he discovered, in the greenhouse above the garage, would change the face of rock and roll forever. It was the body of Kurt Cobain. The Nirvana frontman had been missing for several days, after fleeing a rehab facility in Los Angeles. His mother, Wendy O'Connor, had filed a missing-persons report with Seattle police, advising them to look in Capitol Hill, where Cobain may have been attempting to score drugs. In actuality, he was already holed up in his Lake Washington home, in the greenhouse above the garage, where on the morning of April 5, he removed his hunting cap — which he wore when he didn't want people to recognize him — tossed his wallet on the ground, wrote a one-page suicide note to an imaginary childhood friend named "Boddah" and ended his life with a 20-gauge shotgun blast to the temple. Three days later, sometime around 9 a.m. PT, Smith discovered Cobain's body. He called police (and a local radio station), and then there were the breaking-news bulletins and the vigils and the questions and the tears. And then it was all over. Not the remembrances or the hand-wringing or even the speculation about Cobain's death, mind you ... that all continues to this day, in voluminous tomes and box sets and documentaries and the like. Rather, April 8 marked the end of an ideal, of a movement. That sounds hokey, but if I've learned anything in the 15 years since his exit, it's this: When Cobain left, he took a lot more with him than just Nirvana. This isn't another piece meant to codify Cobain (or his band) or measure the length of their musical shadows. Suffice to say, Nirvana released three studio albums, and all of them rip. And Cobain possessed a growl that could crumble walls and a wail that could cut glass (to say nothing of his songwriting or his underappreciated sense of melody). Everyone knows this. Nirvana were probably our Beatles. Cobain was probably our John Lennon. Let's move on. What I want to talk about was everything that Cobain symbolized, whether he liked it (or most likely didn't). He was hope, he was heft. He was the everyman, the end of the rock star, the punk dream realized. He had made it, and he was going to lift people up with him. He was cynicism and venom. He represented idealism and truth and the honor that came with never compromising. When he lived, rock music had importance, it had vitality. It was very possible that his songs could change the world. There was a scruffy nobility to him. Of course, it is entirely possible that he was just the right man at the right time. Nobody represented the idealistic (and, at the same time, nihilistic) '90s like Cobain did. But if you noticed, when he died, all that idealism, all that hope, all that import seemed to die with him. The very idea that a band (or a man) can change the world with music now feels beyond laughable. We have become scarred and jaded. A lot of us are no longer willing to believe in the power of a guitar or a lyric, because Cobain took that with him 15 years ago. And that's sad, because no matter what Cobain was, no matter what he symbolized or who he inspired, he was ultimately just a man. He had demons that proved too strong and too numerous, and they ganged up on him and dragged him away. And that taught us a lesson: Don't deify, because you'll just end up betrayed. We've spent 15 years doing the complete opposite — we no longer build up, we tear down. We don't believe in things. We no longer strive for truth or subscribe to any particular ethos. Probably because we're afraid to. Two years ago, on the eve of his 40th birthday, I interviewed a host of people who knew Cobain well and asked them what he'd be doing if he were still alive. They said he would've retreated from public view (perhaps to a desert, as Butch Vig surmised); made deeply personal, decidedly anti-commercial music; and despised the way our society had turned out. I tend to agree with all that. It's difficult (if not impossible) to imagine Cobain alive today ... at least not the way we all remember him. He just wouldn't fit. He couldn't. I was in 10th grade when the news broke. I remember watching Kurt Loder read the emerging details of Cobain's death on TV, and I remember watching the vigils in the Seattle Center park, and I remember being very sad. At the time, I think it was because of the loss of our great and noble leader and the shuddering of an entire generation. Now, I realize it was because a little piece of me died that day too. I lost the idealism of youth. And the idealism that comes with plugging in a guitar and playing it very loudly (and very badly). That's never going to come back, either. Probably for any of us. Questions? Comments? Hit me up at BTTS@MTVStaff.com. Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| Rick Ross Is 'Competing For The Throne' With Deeper Than Rap
April 8, 2009 at 7:50 am
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| 'The fans and the people can see my hunger,' rapper tells MTV News.
By Shaheem Reid, with reporting by Tim Kash 
Rick Ross
Photo: MTV News Rick Ross knows a lot of the masters of the game. He's worked with plenty of them. The Miami native said that when he thinks of people on the throne in rap music, names such as Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Kanye West and the Birdman are the first that come to mind. "I look at the game and the business and all different aspects," Ross said a few days ago sitting in New York's Philippe Chow restaurant. "It's a lot of great lyricists on the corner that will never properly understand the business and know how to market themselves and get in a position where they can gain capital. I look at all the strategies people use and what made them successful. What made Birdman just as relevant today after selling 50 million records? That intrigues me. To see the class of Jay-Z, his accomplishments and see how he sits backs and accurately makes his moves." When his third LP, Deeper Than Rap, drops on April 21, Ross thinks he'll gain a throne all his own. The record, he said, is his best work. "I feel like it's much more soulful, it's much more sophisticated," Ross said. "To be considered one of the best, you gotta compete. That's what I feel like I'm doing. I feel like I'm competing for the throne. I feel like the fans and the people can see my hunger. They could see my growth. They could know I'm not satisfied with just two #1 albums and selling 2 million records, or whatever I sold. I want more." He said he wants to be etched in history and fans' memories. "I'm confident I'm gonna be remembered as one of the innovators and somebody not scared to make big music and take on all different challengers," Ross said. "That's what makes music exciting." Related Videos Related Artists |
| Former MTV News Reporter Tabitha Soren Recalls Kurt Cobain's Death
April 8, 2009 at 7:32 am
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| 'I just remember thinking how huge of a loss this was, for everybody,' Soren says.
By James Montgomery
Kurt Cobain
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic On April 8, 1994, former MTV News correspondent Tabitha Soren was in Seattle, on assignment for NBC News. Early in the morning, she heard a rumor that the body of Kurt Cobain had been discovered in a house near Lake Washington, dead of an apparent self-inflicted shotgun blast to the head. Within an hour, she was one of a handful of reporters — and an ever-growing throng of stunned, heartbroken Nirvana fans — standing outside the ring of police tape at Cobain and Courtney Love's gray clapboard home. She was at the epicenter of one of the biggest tragedies in rock history ... a death that changed everything. Here's what she remembers, 15 years later: "I was working on a story on heroin use in the Northwest for NBC. I was in a hotel, and I had a bunch of friends in common with Courtney Love, and those people informed me about what happened. ... I was never in the inner circle. I mean, Courtney was convinced that I had it out for her, so I always got a lot of negativity from them. So, I was an outsider. An outsider just trying to get an interesting story that other people didn't have. So I headed to Kurt and Courtney's house, and when I got there, they still hadn't pulled [Cobain's body] out of the greenhouse. There were tons and tons of fans there. No one could really believe what happened, and the last thing on earth that I wanted to do was re-victimize these kids who were already hurting. So I may have asked some of them some questions, I honestly don't remember. "Then I had to go to the coroner's office and wait for the results of the autopsy, and it was like going from one hideous element to another. Having come from local news, I covered fires and funerals and meat-and-potatoes local news stories, but this was the first time I really felt like a vulture, because Kurt was important to me too. His death was a horrible waste, and I couldn't believe that so many people so close to him who were so smart couldn't save this guy. It was such a mess. ... I was just really despondent. This was someone whose music moved me, and I've never been that close to the action ... just staring at a house and there's this little room inside and they're pulling the body out and Courtney was reading this letter aloud for the fans ... it was very, very sad. I can cover perp walks and shootings, no problem, because they're different. Because I wasn't quite as intimate with the people involved. "I just remember thinking how huge of a loss this was, for everybody. I thought Nirvana was a great band — you could listen to the songs over and over again and hear something new each time. The songs grabbed you at the first listen, but then there was always something else ... layers. There was a complexity there. His death was a tremendous loss. It was very sad. They were honest about their music, and they tried to share the spotlight with so many bands who they really loved and who they thought should be heard. There was a kindness and an honesty in that. It's still impressive to me." Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| The Fray Introduce 'The Fray Live' iPhone Application
April 8, 2009 at 7:01 am
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| 'The app has all kinds of little tricks and whistles,' frontman Isaac Slade says.
By Daniela Capistrano 
The Fray's Issac Slade
Photo: Sony Music Entertainment On Tuesday, the Fray joined the ranks of Lil Wayne, Fall Out Boy and other artists with mobile apps by adding their own custom experience for the iPhone and iPod Touch. "The cell phone is the new lighter," frontman Isaac Slade said. With almost 80 percent of all teens in the world owning a cell phone and using it to view media, it's essential for artists to have mobile applications in order to remain relevant with fans. Album sales may be down overall, but digital-download sales continue to rise, thanks in part to mobile devices. Artists are building relationships with online music communities such as iLike, Meebo and Pandora to ensure that they can be "liked" and "suggested," counting on word-of-mouth to reach new fans. iTunes' proprietary relationship to the iPhone makes it a one-stop shop for artists to promote their apps, and the Fray are no exception. (View "The Fray Live" screen shots in our photo gallery.) "I'm happy about what iTunes is doing to help the music industry grow," Isaac wrote via e-mail. He hopes that fans will use their app to have more fun at shows during their tour this summer — and beyond. In addition to now-standard features such as tour information and photos, "The Fray Live" offers a unique feature that makes it stand out from the pack —-offering fans the ability to stream footage from Fray concerts all over the world. In addition to the live stream, "the app has all kinds of little tricks and whistles," Isaac teased. "You can check the schedule of shows, buy the tickets straight from the phone and there's even a light-audio-responder-player thingy. That's not its technical name." The "thingy" he's referring to is a unique feature on "The Fray Live," called the Live Visualizer — it's a tool that allows the user to create a personalized light show, with visuals responding to sound detected by iPhone's microphone. "It's great to be part of such an innovative concept," Slade said. The Fray have also launched an iTunes Pass. Fans who purchase the pass will get exclusive goodies delivered directly to their libraries, including six live songs from their iTunes Live From SoHo sessions and — available through August — a cover of Kanye West's "Heartless," exclusive music and video from their upcoming summer tour and much more. "The Fray Live" already contains so many features that the band was surprised when we suggested a component that currently isn't available — the ability to interact directly with fans through an integrated Twitter feed or proprietary direct-messaging system. "We should have that!" exclaimed Isaac. "Do we have to pay you for that idea?" The Fray just announced that their summer tour will kick off June 12 in Atlanta and will continue through August. The video for their next single, "Never Say Never," will debut later this month. Related Photos Related Artists |
| Nirvana's Kurt Cobain: Still Missed, By Kurt Loder
April 8, 2009 at 6:51 am
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| Singer was found dead 15 years ago today. 
Kurt Cobain in 1993
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Fifteen years ago today, Kurt Cobain's body was found at his house outside of Seattle. He had been threatening to commit suicide — had tried it, even — and now he'd succeeded. The leader of one of the best and biggest bands of the '90s went out on a shotgun blast, in a fog of heroin. A terrible waste, but that was the way he wanted it. His death wasn't a complete surprise, really. The lyrics that Cobain wrote for Nirvana — the cloud of feeling in which he cloaked his simple song structures — came from a place you were sometimes glad you were only visiting. In a business in which most of what passes for emotion is just another pop calculation, the feeling in Kurt's songs was real. He was apparently amazed, or appalled, by the wealth and fame they brought him. (Although he wasn't so oblivious to these things that he didn't renegotiate the three-way split with his bandmates to reflect the fact the he was the songwriter, and deserved a larger cut.) They were a great band in any case. But they dealt with their stardom — their sudden, huge renown — mainly by ignoring it. They had no entourage, no hangers-on, no parade of retainers. Showing up for an interview, they would just walk into the room, unaccompanied, bringing along their own beer, likely as not. They were funny; they were nice guys. They had no attitude. Cobain hated the traditional rock-star pose — which was why he had such contempt for Guns N' Roses. He had no interest in giving anybody a hard time. This is how cool they were. In December of 1993, MTV was getting ready to pre-tape a big New Year's Eve concert in Seattle. Nirvana was one of the bands on the bill, but the headliner was Pearl Jam. Come the day of the show, though, Pearl Jam flaked out and withdrew. In desperation, MTV approached Nirvana and asked the band to step in and save the show, to headline it. This was a huge imposition — essentially, the channel was asking the band to play all night. Nirvana said they'd think about it, and they did. They thought about it for maybe 10 minutes, and then they said, sure. Or consider this, a story from one of their tours. MTV News had been lobbying to come out on the road with the band, shoot a concert, do an interview. The group was cordial about it, but the answer was no. They'd done a ton of press at the beginning of the tour, and apparently couldn't bear to be asked one more question along the lines of what-is-this-grunge-thing? Who could blame them? Sitting in New York, though, we thought, wait a minute ... there were two opening acts on the tour, and one of them was Shonen Knife. Shonen Knife was the all-time unlikeliest of rock acts: three burbly Japanese girls with drums and guitars who sang songs about ice cream and jelly beans and sounded like the Ramones might have sounded if the Ramones had sung songs about ice cream and jelly beans. Perfect. We would fly out to wherever and interview the jelly-bean girls and, who knew, maybe pick up a couple shots of the Nirvana guys, too, on the fly. (Kurt Cobain really loved Shonen Knife. He would always come out from backstage to watch them play. "I cried every night," he said.) Unfortunately, the money people at MTV were dubious about shelling out for an interview with an obscure Japanese punk-pop band. So we had to crawl back to Nirvana and beg them to rethink their no-more-press decision, just this once, and agree to do an interview with us. That way we could get production money — no question there — and fly out and do the Knife, too, and everybody'd be happy. Nirvana thought about this for about 10 minutes too. Then they said, sure. Cobain loved Shonen Knife and he loved the Vaselines, too, bands like that. But he wasn't an alt-rock snob. He loved everyone from David Bowie to Leadbelly. He said he'd come across Leadbelly's name in reading an interview with William Burroughs. (Burroughs, the Beat author and heroin laureate, was one of Kurt's idols, perhaps unfortunately.) He first recorded the Leadbelly song "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" with his friend Mark Lanegan, of Screaming Trees, singing lead. (The track is included on Lanegan's 1990 solo album, The Winding Sheet.) And of course it was the last song he sang in the MTV "Unplugged" show Nirvana taped in New York in November of 1993. With its bleak lyric about a godforsaken place "where the cold wind blows" and "the sun don't ever shine," "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" must have resonated deeply in Cobain's troubled mind. I had said or written somewhere that "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" was more commonly known as "In the Pines," and had been performed and recorded under that title by scores of people, chief among them, in my view, bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe. Cobain found this interesting, apparently — or maybe irritating, I'm not sure. I remember standing in a corridor outside his hotel room one night, after the interview we finally did in December of 1993, discussing this subject at some length: "But the Leadbelly version is called 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night.' " "I know, I know, but the Bill Monroe version is called 'In the Pines,' and that's the title I've always heard and — hey, did you ever hear the Dave Van Ronk version? Great guitar player." "Yeah ...?" A truce was called. I apologized for having impugned his folk-blues expertise. He said, hey, it was okay. He spoke very softly, I remember. Then he said goodnight and disappeared behind his door and that was the last time I saw him. After his death I wondered whether he and the rest of Nirvana ever realized the powerful emotional effect their music (and their titanic live shows) had on people. Possibly not. "It really took a while," Dave Grohl later said, "like a year and a half or more after everything happened, that I realized, like, 'Wow, we really did kinda make a difference.' " It's too bad Kurt Cobain never had that realization — or, if he did, that it wasn't enough to keep him interested, to keep him alive. He's still missed. Editor's note: This is a revised version of an article published by MTV News in 2004. Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| Peter Bjorn And John Channel Jay-Z, Metallica On Living Thing
April 8, 2009 at 6:34 am
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| Swedish trio are leaving the whistle behind: 'We had to ban it from the new album,' Peter Móren says.
By James Montgomery, with reporting by Tim Kash 
Peter Móren of Peter Bjorn and John
Photo: MTV News Based on the strength of a whistled refrain, Peter Bjorn and John became everyone's favorite band in 2007. Two years later, they've returned with a brand-new album — one that features absolutely zero whistling. "We had to ban it from the new album," PB&J's Peter Móren told MTV News. "We did use it on the last album. We put out an instrumental record last year — Seaside Rock — and we have whistling on that, but not a lot of people noticed. But it's not on the new album. It hasn't been banned from the gigs, though. Not yet." So if you were a fan of the group's ultra-ubiquitous "Young Folks" (you know, the one with the whistle), you're probably going to have a hard time getting into Living Thing, their new album, which hit stores last week. And, of course, that was intentional, because Peter Bjorn and John are officially over the whistle. "There's always pressure to make something different, but that's not because of that song; that's because you want to change your sound around and do new stuff," Móren said. "But that would've happened regardless of success. We would've changed anyway." So they drew inspiration from a couple of rather, uh, disparate sources — like Jay-Z and Metallica. It might seem odd, but all it takes is one listen to Living Thing's infectious first single, "Nothing to Worry About," to understand how it all fits together. "We listened to Jay-Z's 'Hard Knock Life' with the 'Annie' sample, and we needed clear, bright voices going straight through little radios," Móren smiled. "So we recorded with a children's choir. Plus, you know, cheap labor." OK, we'll buy that. But what about Metallica? How did a trio of Swedes usurp the sheer riffage of one of hard rock's heaviest? Well, rather easily. And with reggae. "Every album is important. It's hard to see the progression from album to album; you're looking forward 10 years, when you have 10 albums or something, and you can see how everything happens gradually. And I think Seaside Rock was an important part of that," Móren said. "If we would've gone straight from Writer's Block to Living Thing, it would've sounded less interesting. Because that was just letting off steam in the studio. [It was] a bit like 'Some Kind of Monster,' the Metallica [documentary], but rather than bringing in the psychotherapist, we played around with riffs and melodies." Related Artists |
| Yeah Yeah Yeahs Karen O Talks 'Where The Wild Things Are'
April 8, 2009 at 6:28 am
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| Singer talks about Spike Jonze's controversial film of Maurice Sendak's book.
By James Montgomery, with reporting by Tom Thorogood 
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs Late last month, the Interwebs went berserk when the trailer for Spike Jonze's much-discussed "Where the Wild Things Are" premiered on Apple's Movie Trailer site. For some, it offered assurance that — despite some rather frightening advance press — the film would remain true to author Maurice Sendak's whimsical-yet-dark tone. To others, the re-recorded version of the Arcade Fire's "Wake Up" provided a sneak peek into the indie-riffic score, which was rumored to have been crafted by Yeah Yeah Yeahs' frontwoman Karen O and Deerhunter's Bradford Cox. It was confirmed in the trailer that O and musician Carter Burwell would be tackling the "Wild Things" score ... but the YYY mouthpiece has kept mum about just what that score would sound like, and her involvement with the film — until Tuesday, that is. In London to promote the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' new album, It's Blitz, she was asked by MTV U.K. about the trailer, just how she came to be involved in the project, and the music she created for the "Wild Things" film. "I guess I got involved because of Spike, because I guess there is a childlike innocence about my music or my persona or whatever that he always just kind of dialed into," O said. "So I guess he thought I should make music for 'Where the Wild Things Are,' and [so] I kind of assembled a group of mostly rock musicians to make the music, including [YYY's guitarist/keyboardist] Nick [Zinner] and [YYYs drummer] Brian [Chase] to play on it. It was a really amazing experience." And just what will the "Wild Things" score sound like? Well, she wasn't about to divulge all her secrets. But she has seen the film, and she thinks long-suffering fans are going to love what Jonze has done with it — so long as they're prepared for the impossible. "What Spike has accomplished with the film is basically the impossible. There's a lot of stuff that they told me he couldn't do that he did anyway," she said. "It was a really inspiring and exciting thing to be a part of." Related Artists |
| Will 'American Idol' Censor Flo Rida's Performance?
April 8, 2009 at 4:54 am
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| Lyrics to MC's hit 'Right Round' push show's family-friendly limits.
By Gil Kaufman 
Flo Rida
Photo: David Livingston/ Getty Images "American Idol" might be the cleanest, most family-friendly show on TV. The performers always dress the part, but never inappropriately or with too much skin showing. There are no songs with objectionable, suggestive lyrics sung by the contestants, who invariably smile and giggle their way through the weekly lip-synched group numbers and, in general, seem to be having the time of their lives despite a grueling schedule that would break any mere mortal. And when guest performers come on to plug their latest singles — such as former winners Kelly Clarkson, David Cook and Carrie Underwood or recent-season guests like Jon Bon Jovi, Neil Diamond, Mariah Carey or Gwen Stefani — the most controversial thing they do is perhaps engage Simon Cowell in some good-natured verbal jousting. But, following a performance by Lady Gaga of "Poker Face" last week, in which the space-age dance diva sang about Russian roulette, rough love and included the risquéé line " 'cause I'm bluffin' with my muffin," it seems "Idol" might be easing into slightly edgier territory. The Gaga performance came the same week that a reported 11 percent of Fox affiliates refused to show the new variety show from the Osbournes, "Osbournes: Reloaded," because they said it was objectionable and not appropriate to run after the family-oriented "Idol," which airs in the heart of prime time and is popular with everyone from small children to grandparents. Tellingly, the Osbournes' show did not air again in its post-"Idol" spot on Tuesday night. What will those same affiliates say when they get a load of upcoming musical guest Flo Rida? The wildly popular, burly rapper has hit a home run with his latest smash, "Right Round," a super catchy number that samples the Dead or Alive 1985 dance anthem "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)." Here's the thing: The chorus of the song is a very clear and not-even-thinly veiled homage to getting oral sex from a woman, in which Rida raps, "You spin my head right rough, right round/ when you go down, when you go down down." While much of the tune is about Flo Rida hangin' with his boys, there are also lyrics about being in a strip club and throwing money at a dancer sliding down a stripper pole — not exactly the usual "Idol" fare. A spokesperson for the show confirmed on Wednesday that Rida would be performing "Right Round," but did not respond to questions about whether the more explicit scenarios in the song — such as a line in which Rida says "get dirty all night, that's part of my thing" — would be censored or altered in any way during the show. Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Videos Related Artists |
| Is 'American Idol' Front-Runner Adam Lambert The New David Cook?
April 8, 2009 at 4:11 am
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| Like Cook, his interpretations turn out not to be as original as many say.
By Chris Harris 
Adam Lambert
Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images Adam Lambert has been heralded as one of the most original contestants "American Idol" has ever seen. The 27-year-old Los Angeles-bred stage actor's compositions have been praised as unique and provocative, and his unorthodox vocal interpretations of some rather beloved tunes have had the judges cooing gleefully, labeling him as the one to beat this season. Remind you of anyone from last season's "Idol"? Perhaps the guy who ended up taking home the whole kit and caboodle, David Cook? Whether he is or isn't, it certainly seems as though Lambert is taking a few cues from last year's victor. Much like Cook, Lambert has done little if anything wrong in the eyes of the judges, and he's established himself early on as the guy viewers tune in for each week, "because they want to see what he's going to do next," said MJ Santilli, founder of the popular "Idol" blog MJsBigBlog.com. Santilli, too, has noticed a number of similarities between last year's winner and this year's projected winner, and she thinks it's very possible Lambert is modeling his run for the crown after Cook's. Santilli agreed that if Lambert is, in fact, using Cook's recipe, he's at least adding some of his own ingredients to the mix. He's a more dramatic performer than Cook ever was, she said, which perhaps ties into Lambert's thespian days. "They both change things up from week to week, and do interesting takes on these songs, whether it's borrowed or it's original," Santilli explained. "They are taking songs people are used to hearing one way and doing them another way, and it makes it really exciting for viewers. Adam is a showman, and so was Cook." On the current season of "Idol," the judges have emphasized the importance of finding the right song and then putting one's own original stamp on it. While Lambert has garnered much praise for customizing other people's material, a closer inspection reveals that his interpretations are perhaps not as original as many people say. While his rendition of Tears for Fears' "Mad World" on Tuesday drew a standing ovation from the panel's true critic, Simon Cowell, it was very similar to a cover recorded back in 2001 by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules for inclusion on the "Donnie Darko" soundtrack. Last season, Cook received similar accolades for his acoustic rendition of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean," which was very similar to ex-Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell's version; Cook didn't mention Cornell until he was called on it publicly. Santilli also pointed out that Lambert's cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" sounds similar to a > version performed by Dilana Robichaux in 2006 on the reality series "Rock Star: Supernova." Likewise, his take on the Miracles' "Tracks of My Tears" is reminiscent of the one >performed by Gavin DeGraw, and, to a lesser extent, Lambert's cover of 'Play That Funky Music' sounds a touch like Extreme's cover of the Wild Cherry track. "David Cook got into a lot of trouble for doing that, and at one point early on, he had to start rearranging his own stuff and not so much going to YouTube and finding already-existing arrangements," Santilli said. "After he did his cover of [the Beatles'] 'Eleanor Rigby,' which was >a version that had been done by the band Doxology, and they got really mad and there was this big brouhaha that he took this arrangement and didn't credit anyone. He had to sit down with Ryan Seacrest on his radio show and say where the arrangements had come from. Then, Cook started doing his own arrangements." Santilli said she expects a similar fate for Lambert. "He is a front-runner right now, and there's still a ways to go, but there's always a backlash against — and more scrutiny facing — the front-runner," she said. "I would be interested to see what happens in the next few weeks. If he is discovered, I don't think it's going to take him down, frankly." Indeed, Santilli predicts Lambert will be the last man standing amid all the confetti when this season's winner is announced in late May, despite the threat posed by Danny Gokey — who, according to her, is this season's David Archuleta. "Danny Gokey was the initial front-runner, but he has fallen away, like Archuleta had," she said. "I don't think Danny and Archy are similar artistically, but Archuleta came on strong that first week, and all his performances were strong ... they were just all the same. He lacked that thrill factor that Adam has, that Cook had." Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Videos Related Artists |
| No Doubt Go '80s With New Cover, 'Gossip Girl' Cameo
April 8, 2009 at 3:44 am
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| 'We've shot it all, and it all looks great,' exec producer Josh Schwartz says of band's appearance on May 11 episode.
By James Montgomery, with reporting by Sasha Hamrogue 
No Doubt (file)
Photo: Jason Squires/ Getty Images It's no secret that No Doubt have a thing for the '80s. In 2003, they released a cover of Talk Talk's 1984 hit "It's My Life," which earned them a Grammy nom. Then, early Wednesday morning (April 8), Ryan Seacrest posted a link to yet another cover, this one of Adam & the Ants' 1981 track "Stand and Deliver," which the band will perform on the May 11 episode of "Gossip Girl." But here's the thing: Last week, MTV Radio spoke to "GG" executive producer Josh Schwartz, who filled us in on some details about the episode. In keeping with the spirit of No Doubt's newest cover, they're heading straight back to the '80s. "As you know, they're reuniting, they're going on tour, and they wanted to do a TV appearance and reached out to us on 'Gossip Girl,' " Schwartz said. "And then we came back and asked them, 'What about being an '80s band?' So they came on as 'Snow Doubt' and they did a cover of Adam & the Ants' 'Stand and Deliver.' It was amazing." Schwartz said the May 11 episode will serve as the jump-off point for the much-discussed "Gossip Girl" spin-off, which focuses on the wild, rock-and-roll youth of Serena van der Woodsen's mom, Lily — which, of course, explains the cameo. "It's about Serena's mom Lily growing up in L.A. in the '80s. And the pilot will air as a series of flashbacks inside the May 11 episode of 'Gossip Girl,' " Schwartz said. "We've shot it all, and it all looks great." Related Artists |
| 50 Cent Denies He Offered Rick Ross $500,000 To Stop Beef
April 8, 2009 at 3:44 am
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| 'I don't think anybody interpreted that [rumor] as if it was true,' 50 says.
By Shaheem Reid 
50 Cent
Photo: Steven Henry/Getty Images When it comes to battling, 50 Cent lives by a strict philosophy: "If a person wants a problem, I can accept that and give them a bigger problem than they actually want." A videotaped interview between 50 Cent and radio personality Big Boy hit Big's Web site on Wednesday (April 8), and the G-Unit General spoke more on his feud with Rick Ross. 50 predicted that Ross' album Deeper Than Rap will flop, and that's when the Queens superstar will "have a field day on his a--" with more disses. "People are paying more attention to me and Rick Ross feuding than his actual records. His sales will reflect that," 50 told Big in the backseat of a vehicle en route to his house. When asked about a vlog that Ross recently put out saying an employee of 50 offered the Miami Bawse half a million dollars to stop throwing lyrical jabs at the G-Unit (Ross said he would accept the money to stop dissing 50, but not G-Unit's Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo), 50 laughed it off. "I saw that [video clip] on YouTube," 50 said with a smile. "He made that up — I don't think anybody interpreted that as if it was true. People looked at that like, 'Huh? ... How much more of a fool can you make of yourself?' People look at it like, now you can't take anything from him serious." (Ross recently said that he's enlisted Lil Wayne for a 50 Cent dis track called "Valley of Death.") 50 also said that getting extorted by another to end a feud was the opposite of his character. He loves the back and forth. "I competed with them just to keep the culture active," 50 said. "Ask me: Do I need [to beef with] a Rick Ross? I don't have a release date right now." Related Videos Related Artists |
| 'Harry Potter' Actor Jamie Waylett Arrested On Drug Charges
April 8, 2009 at 2:22 am
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| British actor, who plays Vincent Crabbe in the series, was reportedly growing 10 pot plants in his house.
By Larry Carroll 
Jamie Waylett
Photo: Jim Spellman/ Getty Images Jamie Waylett, the sour-faced 19-year-old actor who has portrayed the bullying Vincent Crabbe in six "Harry Potter" films and the upcoming "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," was arrested in London on Tuesday for suspicion of possessing marijuana. According to Us Weekly and various British reports, the actor was stopped with a friend while driving, which led to the officials discovering eight bags of pot inside the vehicle. Soon enough, Waylett's situation reportedly became worse, when police raided the London-area home the young actor shares with mother, two brothers and a sister. Inside the house, the law-enforcement officials discovered 10 plants, believed to be cannabis worth approximately $2,900. According to the report, the plants were growing under powerful hydroponic lights, next to a PlayStation console. Waylett, who has become a "Harry Potter" fan favorite, emerged from massive casting calls in the early part of the decade to land his role. A Slytherin student, Vincent Crabbe serves as one of Draco Malfoy's minions but is as helped by his size as he is fatally flawed by his dimness. An accomplice to the Death Eaters, Crabbe's wizard powers — and his distaste for Harry — increase throughout the "Potter" series. The actor, whose film career thus far has been only in the "Potter" films, is due in court sometime in July. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" hits theaters worldwide that very same month. |
| Eminem's Celebrity Targets Respond To 'We Made You' Video
April 8, 2009 at 1:53 am
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| Kim Kardashian was 'honored' to be spoofed, while a friend says Jessica Simpson found the clip 'annoying.'
By James Montgomery 
Kim Kardashian
Photo: Jean Baptiste Lacroix/ WireImage By our count, Eminem slammed something like 20 celebrities in his just-released "We Made You" video — everyone from Jessica Alba to Amy Winehouse — a number that might be a record, even for him. Since it's been a little more than 24 hours since the video premiered on MTV, we figured it was about time for some of those celebrities to return fire. And they have. Sort of. First to respond — perhaps because she's hit harder than anyone in the clip — was Jessica Simpson ... or, more specifically, "a friend of hers," who told MSNBC.com's "The Scoop" that Simpson was bothered by Em's barbs but that she had already brushed them off. "Of course Jess finds it annoying," the source is quoted as saying, "but it's not like she's the only one who was singled out." Kim Kardashian — who attacks Em with her ample posterior (and is subsequently shoved into a wood-chipper) in the clip — didn't need a friend to do her talking. She let her blog do it for her, posting that she thought the video was "so funny" and considered the spoofing to be an honor. "I just saw Eminem's new video ... and he totally spoofs me. It was a total surprise to me, because I had no idea he was going to talk about me in the song, [but] I think this video is so funny," she wrote in the post. "I am a huge Eminem fan and find it flattering that he would rap about me. He's a bit harsh about some other celebrities, but you just have to let it go and have a sense of humor. Personally, I'm honored." That's about all the responses we've been able to track down so far, but we're still holding out hope for a scathing reply or two. Come on Bret Michaels, John Mayer and/or Lindsay Lohan: We know you've got it in you. Related Videos Related Artists | | | 
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