+ Looks like Brandy is making her way back to sitcom land with a new show on ABC called This Little Piggy. We've been racking our brains trying to figure out how the title of the show relates to the storyline, but all we keep picturing in our head is Christina Ricci in Penelope. Is that bad? (SingersRoom)
+ Ok. This has absolutely nothing to do with anything, but let's be honest. We can't pass up a brand-new, ree-DIC-ulously H-O-T picture of David Beckham. "I can't DO it Captain. I don't have the POWER!" (PopBytes)
+ Rihanna's May 28th concert in Dubai will be her first performance since she accidentally ran into Chris Brown's fist. Do you think she can headline her own concert for 25,000 people? (E! Online)
+ While Britney's out on tour desperately trying to make money so her cash-hogging daddy can spend it all keeping her locked down, strange women dressed in camo are sneaking around her property and getting arrested. Wait for the mugshot -- it's soooooooo worth it. (Pop On The Pop)
+ And speaking of all this Twitter bizniss, FINALLY! The JoBros are FINALLY getting the hang of updating their Twitter account. (Buzzworthy -- that's us!)
+ Hmm... is this Beyonce's way to fill up an arena, or is she just a sellout? (NME)
Anyway, sucks for that loooosah, because she turned that scenario into a chins-and-fists-up/ sometimes-breaking-up-is-better anthem, complete with a revenge video that's only slightly less aggro than Justin Timberlake's "Cry My A River." (Because THAT ish was cold.)
Check out Buzzworthy's exclusive behind-the-scenes sneak peek of Ashley on the set of "It's Alright, It's OK," with 90210/ Wizards of Waverly Place's Adam Gregory. And BTW, David Archuleta fans: Scott Speer, who directed Ashley's video, also directed "A Little Too Not Over You."
Can we just pretend this song is about me for a second?
...
Thank you. Now, on to the truth. "Daniel," Bat For Lashes' latest fever dream, more than lives up to the promise of the band's ongoing desert hippie oeuvre. In fact, it knocks everything that came before it out cold.
Natasha Khan's British whisper has never come across so evocative. Listening to her voice, you'd swear you could touch it, sit down in it, like the way clouds look from an airplane.
And if that's not enough sweetness to sell you on the new Bat For Lashes, get this: The Daniel in question is Daniel LaRusso. That's right. The Karate Kid! Amazing. Khan writhes through the four-minute video meditation in a cut-off hoodie and leggings, reuniting in the end with the man of the hour in the same outfit, plus one famous headband.
But man, that Johan Renck (Madonna, The Knife) -directed video is just a side-note to this perfectly breathy head-trip. Bat For Lashes at their finest. Definitely don't miss "Daniel." And definitely sweep the leg. (Great joke, right? I know.)
In this new video blog from one of our favorite sisterly duos Meg & Dia, we see the sultry singer-songwriters as they craft tracks for their second studio album, Here, Here, and Here, out on April 21st.
Find out why the track "Fighting For Nothing" isn't just a clever song title, and how siblings just can't always agree:
Make the jump to watch the video for their new single "Black Wedding" -- and don't let their sweet melodies and pretty faces fool you: this clip's got coffins, vultures and even severed heads (ew). "Black Wedding," indeed. Read more...
+ Our cube mate swears he saw Mandy Moore on the street today (trust me, I was miffed that I missed it), but these ultra-hot photos of her somehow suffice. (Details)
+ We can't tell if this new report about Leona Lewis being a diva is true or just nasty. What do you think? (Allie Is Wired)
+ Attention all pop tartlets who can't carry a tune: take a note from the Kelly Clarkson tip sheet, 'cause girl can SING! Check this vid of Kelly nailing the National Anthem today at the new Yankee stadium. (MJsBigBlog)
+ Shakira never had a problem stripping down to nearly nothing -- now she's doing it for a good cause. (Blogamole)
You may remember Catlin Crosby's face from such shows as Malcolm In The Middle, That's So Raven and That '70s Show, but it's her voice that you should really be getting to know. The Hollywood pop princess is so good, she's already worked with Babyface, Robin Thicke and even Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson.
Her self-titled debut album is loaded with the kind of Regina Spektor / Feist-y ditties we've come to expect in the backgrounds of iPod commercials and big-screen teenage romances. In the whimsical video for first single, "Still Have My Heart," Caitlin bops around an animated scratch-paper backdrop, dealing with a string of doofus blind dates, including one with a dentist! And yes, those dates are really Zach Levi, from Chuck, Albert Reed of Dancing With The Stars, House's Jesse Spencer, and Robert Hoffman, from Step Up To The Streets.
Watch this little charmer, keep an eye out for Caitlin Crosby in upcoming Danny DeVito movie, House Broken, and check out Caitlin's side-project site, loveyourflawz.com, where "imperfect is the new perfect."
Nite Jewel is an L.A. lady who plays disco songs with the music and the energy turned all the way down. The resulting half-yawned clap-track slacker jams have the sound and feel of summer without any of the heat.
It's like, you know how nice the mall is when it's hot out? It's like this alternate universe because it totally dismantles all the rules of the outside world, replacing oppressive humidity with comfortable air conditioning and stressed out summer street noise with dulcet tones and ventilator hum.
Nite Jewel's songs are kinda like that. Disorienting in the way that they totally reject all of the mainstream rules to the point that they're not immediately recognizable as music. They're all homemade -- cobbled together on junky keyboards and 4-track recorders. But they're disorienting in this way that's totally, undeniably pleasant. And I don't mean pleasant like, "OK." I mean pleasant like, "really good." Like a really mellow Kylie Minogue.
Nite Jewel's far-out ways are rooted in a Los Angeles art collective called Human Ear. Home to fellow experimentalists like Ariel Pink and Geneva Jacuzzi, Human Ear is single-handedly making L.A. a more interesting place to live. Here's Nite Jewel performing live at an event thrown by The FADER. Watch it after a jog and see if it doesn't cool you off.
One For The Team have a song called "A Better Job" that opens, "Let's move to Brooklyn together/ We'll both get internships at Matador Records." Is that the indie rock version of that thing rappers do when they mention specific street corners and recent cultural events? It's definitely the indie kid equivalent of "Seats down/ Windows up" and other such rap fantasies. Few of them would admit it, but no skinny mustache-faced hipster in his right mind wouldn't choose a shoebox Brooklyn apartment loaded with discontinued Yo La Tengo t-shirts over a steamy night at the club.
The One For The Team indie kid fantasy doesn't end there. Not only do the band's lyrics cater directly to aspiring hipsters everywhere, but they've got a sound to match. The Minnesota based power-pop balladeers sound like a cross between The Arcade Fire and The New Pornographers, with hints of Shins and early Beatles. Take note, Matador! Maybe this dream works both ways ...
Finally, on top of all that, One For The Team back up their Obama-era optimism with this kinda incredible DIY promise:
The album [Build a Garden] was recorded and mixed entirely by One For The Team in their apartment in Minneapolis. Each individual order will be filled personally by the band and will include unique items sent directly from the band to you. The album's packaging is printed on recycled materials and is assembled and numbered by hand by the band. Only 500 physical copies of the EP will be made, however, the album will be widely available for MP3 download.
Live One For The Team's new age rock 'n roll fantasy, right here.
+ Plus, watch Ashley answer Buzzworthy fan questions, and come back to Buzzworthy tomorrow for a behind-the-scenes look at Ashley on the set of her new video, "It's Alright, It's OK."
THANK you, @Jonasbrothers, for successfully cutting out the middle man (and WEEKS if not MONTHS of Tokio Hotel-levels of speculation) and TWITTERING your lives and letting us know that you're almost finished with your next album. This was SERIOUSLY one of the BEST. TWEETS. EVER:
Guess what everybody we just finished the record!! I'm pretty sure it's the most excited I've ever been about one of our albums ever!-k2 about 4 hours agofrom Tweetie
Next, Jonas Brothers, PLEASE confirm whether or not the album will actually be called Lines, Vines, And Trying Times, AND Joe Jonas, PLEASE tell us how you stay SO tan!!
[Side note: I love that Baja Fresh is in the background of this photo as Baja Fresh and Jonas Brothers are four of my favorite things on earth. (Five, if I'm starving and can eat two burritos.]
Okay. Please, Jonas Brothers. Keep Tweeting! And feel FREE to follow me at @MTVBuzzworthy.
Consummate MTV music fans obsessively covering pop music, pop videos, pop stars, and pop culture from MTV headquarters in New York. Plus, trends, LOLs and stuff we love.
Can we just pretend this song is about me for a second?
Nite Jewel
