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The floor of the Roseland Ballroom, where the sixth-annual mtvU Woodies will be held tonight, is very much not ready yet. Set pieces are being unwrapped, the stage is being polished like a knob, the lights are being tested, and burly crew guys in black are still doing lots of heavy lifting to prep for tonight's show. But all of that doesn't seem to bother Death Cab for Cutie -- as a band that's been together for the past 12 years, they're the veterans of this year's Woodies, a well-oiled artistic machine that communicates on stage without speaking, putting the same amount of concentration and consternation into their "New Moon"-soundtrack single that they've played with every time I've seen them perform live in the past near-decade.

To be sure, while Death Cab for Cutie has become part of the "New Moon" zeitgeist, the "New Moon" zeitgeist doesn't seem to have really become part of them. When asked which character he most related to, Chris Walla picked Bella's dad, and Nick Harmer was just as eager to talk about his hopes for the Obama administration and the residual effects of American consumerism.

Check out more photos of Death Cab rehearsing for their live woodies performance, and watch a brand-new interview with Chris Walla and Nick Harmer for an advanced liberal arts discussion about music, literature, politics, and pop culture, straight from the 2009 mtvU Woodie Awards.

Tags Death Cab For Cutie, mtvU-Woodie-Awards, New Moon, video, Woodies

While it's well-documented that Taylor Swift's songs are rooted in personal experiences, part of Swift's appeal is her ability to translate the intimate details of her life into witty, memorable lyrical turns of phrase.

With that in mind, it should come as no great shock that Taylor Swift will soon be creating a line of greeting cards.

Swift, who will be teaming up with American Greetings Corp. on the cards, said via a press release, "My idea of a great song is a song that says how I feel better than I could. I feel the same way about greeting cards."

Look for Swift's line of cards in the "Getting Over A Break Up," section (amongst other places) of your local greeting card emporium next spring.

Tags Taylor Swift

Yes! That is Joey Fatone rendered as an angel draped in Christmas lights. You are not having some sort of hallucinogenic reaction to your lunch.

The above angel-Joey image, from this oldie-but-goodie post on Buzzfeed, documenting the most grievous acts of boy band fan art gone wrong, is an illustration (hawhaw) of the fine line between fan and fanatic. Here are a few of the more disturbing, inexplicable and weird artifacts:

Fan-made rendering of Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell.

I seriously just spent an hour of my trying to figure out the connection between Littrell and Luke Skywalker's sister. So at the very least, this one was thought provoking.

Other Backstreet pieces from this collection tend to go for the more celestial angle. For instance, Kevin Richardson as a baby-angel:

And the entire group as winged spiritual beings:

+ Check out all 28 Examples of Bad Boy Band Fan Art (including amateur anime of 'NSYNC and plenty more baby and angel drawings) here.

Tags Backstreet-Boys, Fan Art, Joey-Fatone, NSync

"Alpha Dog" is the lead single off of Fall Out Boy's greatest hits package Believers Never Die (which dropped yesterday). And, in sticking with the retrospective theme of the compilation, director Harvey White uses the "Alpha Dog" clip as an opportunity to do the remembrance-of-music-videos-past thing.

It all kicks off with a faux-disclaimer from Pete Wentz, warning viewers not to try any of the acts they are about to see performed in the video. This is bad news for any prospective FOB cover bands, one would assume.

The rest of it is a blinding montage of shots and scenes from previously released music videos, as well as some candid stuff featuring pranks, pratfalls and grown men getting hit in the crotch by baseballs.

Related Content Pete Wentz Talks 'Alpha Dog, ' Fall Out Boy Greatest-Hits LP

Tags Fall Out Boy, Pete Wentz, video

Ever since Lady Gaga released The Fame last August she has established herself as the most vital new pop artist to emerge in recent memory. She's become a fashion icon, a regular tenant at the top of the charts and a cultural force to be reckoned with.

So it would stand to reason that she should be, at the very least, nominated for a Grammy in the  Best New Artist category, no?

Well, due to a controversial technicality, Gaga is ineligible for said award, due to being nominated previously in separate Grammy category ("Just Dance" was nominated for Best Dance Recording last year).

To be honest, it's not like Gaga needs the exposure. But still! Give her props, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences!

I don't know about you, but I feel like a petition may be in order. Someone register Gaga4Grammy.com, ASAP.

Tags Lady Gaga

Yesterday we went behind the scenes of Vampire Weekend's new video, "Cousins." Now we bring you another appetizer: a sneak peek at the finished clip.

Just from the brief look at the video, it seems like we've got a corker in store for us; with frantic editing, and breakneck camera movement complimenting the jazzy, punk vibes of the song.

"Cousins" is the second single from Vampire Weekend's much-anticipated second album, Contra, which is due out January 12th.

Tags Vampire Weekend, video

If we decide to file Chris Brown's new video, "Crawl" (directed by Joseph Khan and taken from his forthcoming Graffiti album) as another chapter in his never-ending apology to the world and Rihanna (which, let's face it, is exactly what we're going to do), then one thing is pretty clear: Chris Brown sure has a funny way of apologizing.

"Crawl," is a rather pretty ballad concerned with overcoming adversity, something Brown is entirely familiar with. In the video, Brown's mechanical heart skips a beat every time he's haunted by the ghost of a lost love.

Strangely enough, the lost love in question is R&B temptress, Cassie. That may or may not sit well with another R&B temptress we all know and love.

Elsewhere in the clip, Brown perches on a skyscraper (City Of Angels/Wings Of Desire nod, maybe?) and dances in the snow covered streets of L.A..

Nothing says, 'I'm sorry,' like dancing in the snow.

Related Content Chris Brown Premieres 'Crawl' Video On 'Wendy Williams Show'

Tags Cassie, Chris Brown, Rihanna, video

The 2009 mtvU Woodies are going down in less than 24 hours at in New York City's historic Roseland Ballroom, which is exactly where I caught up with two of the Woodies' performers, Matt & Kim, who are also nominated for a Best Video Woodie for their butt-naked-in-traffic video, "Lessons Learned."

While Matt & Kim's pop-punk couldn't exactly be referred to as a downer, they perform with a jubilance that far exceeds even their most dance-happy song (like "Yeah Yea"). They are, without contest, the two happiest people playing music today, if not absolutely ever. When Matt and Kim play live, they look like they've just seen six double rainbows and possibly Jesus too. It's incredible to watch, and it's wholly uplifting.

Check out this interview with Matt & Kim, taken on the foot of the Woodies stage, see what they have in store for their Woodies performance, see what they're so freaking happy about, and find out about the one time Kim had to fake the funk after consuming a cockroach.

+ Check out more rehearsal photos from the 2009 mtvU Woodies, and watch the 2009 mtvU Woodies Friday, December 4, at 10 p.m. ET on mtvU, MTV, MTV2 and Palladia.

Tags Matt & Kim, mtvU-Woodie-Awards, video, Woodies

Yesterday we posted an episode of "The 5" featuring Ezra Koenig and Chris Baio from Vampire Weekend, wherein they talk about their new single, "Cousins."

Chris said that, while the song, which counts as the second single from their forthcoming album, Contra, is not specifically about his long-lost cousin -- sitcom and reality star Scott Baio, whom he has actually never met --  he hopes the track serves as a mechanism for their union somewhere down the line. We can only hope for a Baio cameo in a future VW clip.

Today, we get a behind-the-scenes look at Vampire Weekend's upcoming "Cousins" video. In just the briefest peek, it looks like folks are in for a beguiling vid, one that plays with depth of field and editing (as well as children and evening wear). Check out the finished product when the "Cousins" video makes its MTV premiere on Thursday, November 19.

Related Content New Interview: Vampire Weekend On Scott Baio, Oasis Fans, And 'Contra'

Tags The 5, Vampire Weekend, video

Tokio Hotel is already your religion to some extent, be it official or otherwise. In today's Tokio Hotel MTV Buzzworthy Blog fan question video, find out what Bill and Tom Kaulitz think about religion and which creed Kaulitz x2 subscribe to. Plus, find out which Kaulitz twin is the evil twin!

And, because it's Tokio Twofer Tuesday, see which member of Tokio Hotel pulls the best pranks, and which celebrities Tokio Hotel's crushing on...  SPOILER: Tom's STILL into Jessica Alba, and according to Tom, Georg is into... David Hasselhoff. Can you blame him?)

Related Content See How Tokio Chose The Cars In Their Automatic Video, New Tokio Hotel Photos

Tags Bill Kaulitz, Tokio Hotel, tom kaulitz, video