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Here, read this Gchat I had with my buddy in L.A. the other day:

Buddy: Hey- I saw this band last night called HAIM. They are unsigned and AMAZING. Three sisters ages 16, 19 and 21.

Me: :-/ ... like Corey Haim?

Buddy: No! Pronounced like "Hi-Eem." These girls are unbelievable. They have these amazing deep voices. And they're totally hot but they rock out with super ugly faces! And, I mean, one is 16! So good!

Obviously my curiosity was piqued, right? I mean, wouldn't yours be? So I dig the gals up on MySpace and listen to a couple tracks... And yeah, I can hear the rock twisting their baby faces. They've got so much attitude! You can practically see their necks doing that "Nuh uh,  girl" side to side thing when you listen. As for the actual music, they sound kinda like... Fiona Apple and Alanis Morissette joined 4 Non Blondes or Hole? Is that too obscure? Like Brandi Carlile (I effing LOVE her! -- Tamar) became a really big fan of P!nk and Aerosmith! Does that make sense? Hey, how about you just take a listen to HAIM on your own and let me know what you think?! Cool?

Tags Aerosmith, Alanis Morissette, Brani Carlile, Fiona-Apple, Four Non Blondes, HAIM, Hole, Pink

Some songs should never, ever be covered. (See: Madonna's psychedelic "American Pie" remake, and Britney Spears' wholly unsolicited reinterpretation of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction.") Others can -- and have! -- been remade to excellent effect (think Mandy Moore's "Umbrella," Alanis Morissette's sad, soulful -- AND HILARIOUS -- rendition of "My Humps" and Travis' surprisingly downloadable "... Baby One More Time").

But the fact of the matter is, most cover songs are neither stunning successes nor spectacular failures. They just... are. Like emerging pop/funk artist Rebecca Jordan's take on Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams."

True, Rebecca's pipes are not to be confused with Stevie Nicks' -- nor her choreography with Jack Black's/Joan Cusack's from School of Rock -- but her soft, smoky vocals made us smile, hum and wish we remembered enough of the words to sing along.

So have a listen, and let Rebecca's low-key Fleetwood Mac impression lull you into a woozy, late-afternoon trance. Which is generally what happens when your singing voice reminds us of a mildly sedated Nelly Furtado.

Tags Britney Spears, Fleetwood Mac, Madonna, Mandy Moore, Nelly Furtado, Rebecca Jordan, Rolling Stones, Stevie Nicks, Travis

When you think of show choir, you probably immediately think "cheesy," "jazz hands," "AWESOME," or some combo of the three. Well now you need to start thinking Spectacular! -- the new Nickelodeon original movie about how show choir can go from pretty bad to rock 'n' RAD!

The movie stars Nolan Gerard Funk (NEW CRUSH ALERT!!!) as Nikko, Tammin Sursok as Courtney, the total spaz with a heart of gold, Victoria Justice -- who you already know and love from Zoey 101 -- who takes a turn as a mean girl -- and Simon Curtis as a backstabbing Benedict Arnold in sequins and character shoes. Oh, and Shannon Chan-Kent, who can totally wail.

Also, not to brag, but I got a sneak preview of Spectacular! earlier this week, and I'm hereby declaring myself TEAM SPECTACULAR! all the way (Boooooo, Team Ta-Dah!)

Anyway, Spectacular! airs Monday, February 16 at 8pm EST on Nick (write it down!), but you can preview the entire Spectacular! soundtrack right now, a week before its official release on Tuesday, February 3.

+ Listen to the entire Spectacular! soundtrack, become a Spectacular! fan on Facebook, and find out more about the movie!

Tags Nikko, Nolan Gerard Funk, Spectacular!, Tammin Sursok, Victoria Justice, Zoey 101

Watching "Drumroll," it's no surprise that P.O.S. got his start in hardcore. The way the Rhymesayers MC rattles off a verse, spitting faster and madder than a firehose, you can so see him in the center of a writhing basement mosh pit, Beating drums into oblivion, screaming politics, raging against the machine.

His "Drumroll" video takes that punk anarchy vibe and runs with it. Did you see Children Of Men? That end-of-humanity movie with Clive Owen and Julianne Moore? Basically "Drumroll" is Children Of Men with all the plot cut. Just raging, graffiti-scarred, explosion-packed action. Pure adrenaline.

The dead sprint energy and urgency are perfect fits for P.O.S., whose new Molotov cocktail of an album, Never Better, was written in a moving car. And according to the hip-hop blogs, "Drumroll" is only one of six videos that P.O.S. shot in six days. He's on fire! Wait on those and watch the world premiere of his blistering "Drumroll" video, here and on mtvU.

Read more...

Tags Children Of Men, P.O.S., Rhymesayers

All's been semi quiet on the Tokio Hotel front. (New blog layouts! A new t-shirt! Yay!) TH fans, you guys have been patiently waiting for their new album to come out, and meanwhile, Tokio Hotel's apparently been flying to points sometimes unknown to work on the album. Well it looks like one of those points has been Los Angeles, where Tokio Hotel's teamed up with The Matrix (the production team, not Neo and Samuel L. Jackson) to work on the follow-up to Scream.

In sum, Matrix members said that Tokio Hotel's new songs will be dark and "anthem-y," and have lots of guitars, that the band is good at playing their own instruments, and that Bill Kaulitz has a lot of star power. So, in other words, they've, uh, heard Scream? In the words of Selena Gomez, tell me something I don't know!

Allow me to break it down here...

+ Dark: "Don't Jump." "Love Is Dead." "Forgotten Children," for God's sake???

+ Anthem-y: "Ready, Set, Go," "Live Every Second," "Monsoon," y'all!

+ Guitar-heavy: FREAKING "Scream"?

+ Star power: THEY RODE INTO THE VMAS ON A MONSTER TRUCK.

OF COURSE IT'S GOING TO HAVE ALL THOSE THINGS. That is SO NOT "grosses kino"-level news! Bill himself said more about the new album in his interview with Dream Up, where he said that the new album will include influences Tokio Hotel hasn't experimented with before.

The most revealing news the Matrix members shared was that Tokio Hotel's experimenting with a Depeche Mode sound, which could be amazing, unless it ends up sounding like Hilary Duff when she disastrously covered their seminal single, "Personal Jesus."

Anyway, OUT WITH THE NEW TOKIO HOTEL ALBUM already! Less "we can't really talk about it" talk, more rock, I say. Except of course for your talk. What do you wanna hear on the new Tokio Hotel album?

Tags Bill Kaulitz, Depeche Mode, Grosses Kino!, Hilary Duff, Selena Gomez, Tokio Hotel

+ Miley Cyrus loved performing for the Obama girls, but insists they're just "like any other fans!" (Except for they have their own Beanie Babies.) But yeah, they were totally "sweet" and "appreciative" and normzies, and not at all "Our dad's president and yours used to have a mullet." (J-14)

+ Memo to Ashlee Simpson: We weren't making fun of your sister's weight gain. We were making fun of her for wearing mom jeans. (MTV News)

+ Is Marilyn Manson's ex-girlfriend sucking face with Mickey Rourke? And if so, who should be the most embarrassed? (DListed)

+ Either Joaquin Phoenix is the next Eminem, or we've all just been "Punk'd." (EW)

+ Meanwhile, MTV News dares to ask: Is Lil Wayne the new Axl Rose? We dare to answer: No. (MTV News)

+ Britney Spears has shed 20 pounds in the past few months and become a total bikini babe! So what's her secret? Working out 24/7 and tirelessly promoting her new album! Also: Not having any more kids with Kevin Federline. (Usmagazine.com)

+ Two blondes, one pair of pants! Because if anyone deserves a 'Double Shot at Love,' it's lewd British comedian Russell Brand. (Scandalist)

+ Is Diddy finally pulling the plug on Danity Kane? And if so, can you honestly say you still care? (Remote Control)

+ Gabe Saporta of Cobra Starship is neither a jerk, nor a wannabe celebrity. Discuss. (MTV News)

Tags Ashlee Simpson, Axl Rose, Britney Spears, Cobra Starship, Danity Kane, Diddy, Eminem, Gabe Saporta, Jessica Simpson, Joaquin Phoenix, Kevin Federline, Lil Wayne, Malia Obama, Marilyn Manson, Mickey Rourke, Miley Cyrus, Russell Brand, Sasha Obama

Michelle Obama is currently getting -- ahem --  "waxed." Like the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, and Tokio Hotel's Bill Kaulitz, the First Lady's busy having a wax likeness of herself created by the... wax technicians... at Madame Tussauds. Wax Michelle Obama will reside in the Washington D.C. location of Madame Tussauds alongside the wax version of Barack Obama, which was unveiled in February 2008. Look for wax Michelle Obama in March 2009. No word yet on if she'll be wearing that Jason Wu gown, one of her awesome yellow outfits, J.Crew, or whatevs.

On another note: I really wish they'd stop releasing work-in-progress photos of the wax figures, because all I can ever think about is Lionel Richie's 1984 "Hello" video, where the blind dancer/ actress/ sculptor chick makes that epic statue of Lionel's head, you know?

More wack/wax celebs:

+ Wax Miley!
+ Jonas Brothers in wax!
+ Bill Kaulitz wax mania!

Tags Barak Obama, Bill Kaulitz, Jonas Brothers, Lionel Richie, Michelle Obama, Miley Cyrus, Tokio Hotel

Wait a second... it just occurred to me that Ginuwine's "In Those Jeans" was a total prophecy! It's like the "Pony" master had a crystal ball and could see into Jessica Simpson's Mom Jeans-filled future when he dropped "In Those Jeans" in 2003. It's like he wrote it EXPRESSLY FOR Jessica and those Mom-tastic Jeans. MYSTERY SOLVED.

+ Check out Ginuwine's video, and watch for a VIP appearance by Kimora Lee Simmons (Angela and Vanessa's aunt!) as well as a lady who's dressed SOOOO unbelievably '90s it's not even funny.

Tags Ginuwine, Jessica Simpson

By now, you probably already know that Kelly Clarkson's life would suck without you. But what you may NOT know is how amazing the American Idol alum looks in her brand-new music video. Not only is Clarkson's jewelery fab (and probs WAY more affordable than Britney's "Circus" choker) but, unlike us, she's managed to rock head-to-toe grey without looking washed out/charcoaly/like a super gigundo-sized field mouse.

(Photo Credit: Lisa Rose)

Check out these stills from Kelly's "My Life Would Suck Without You" video, (the new album, All I Ever Wanted, drops on March 17th) and take a quick sec to note the intense similarity between KC and that singing chick from One Tree Hill. Also? That's not a wind machine behind her -- Kelly's flowy, makeover montage hair is 100% for realzies.

Tags Kelly Clarkson

I know some of you aren't old enough to remember old-school Jessica Simpson, but back in her Newlyweds days, the girl was SMOKIN' HAWT. And fashion-forward! And basically never would have been caught dead in a pair of dreaded Mom Jeans.

Back when the Jonas Brothers were still learnin' their ABCs back in Wyckoff, Jessica was the one who practically invented the purity ring... and chaste music videos like "Where You Are."

But times have changed, friends... for the way worse. And Jess took a wrong turn on the fashion highway somewhere between Calabasas and 99.9 Kiss Country’s 24th Annual Chili Cook-Off. (Don't even get me started on the chili cook-off situation.) As you can plainly see, the results bordered on catastrophic (and came far too close to Cameltoe Corner for my liking!)

Now, in Jessica's defense, we can think of no one on Planet Earfz who'd actually be able to rock those jeans successfully. HOWEVER, we know of many devices one might easily make use of when trying to decide if one looks acceptable in pants -- mirrors, pros/cons lists, AmIHotOrNot. And we can all agree that we're absolutely in the “NOT” category here?

This is just irresponsible. And tragic… and... fine... ok, bordering on gleefully enjoyable.

Jess, honey, you're gorgeous! Look at yourself! Just, next time, make like Mariah (and not Cindy McCain) and KNOW your Mom Jeans!

Tags Jessica Simpson, Jonas Brothers, Mariah Carey, Style