(Credit: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Australia's Cut Copy are some of this planet's finest purveyors of expertly crafted electro-pop. 2004's Bright Like Neon Love and 2008's In Ghost Colours were gorgeous, layered records, full of pulsating, dense tracks that called to mind New Order and Human League. And now they've returned with a new album, Zonoscope, and a new video for their single, "Need You Now."
The "Need You Now" video takes aim at the time-honored film tradition of the "training montage." Directed by Keith Schofield, "Need You Now" satirizes the super-serious world of athletics. It features a number of jocks, running behind an Olympic torch while Cut Copy performs their solemn and beautiful song with a straight face.
Things get a little nutty when the athletes start swapping sports. Soccer players ride racing cycles; fencers start playing tennis. Cats and dogs living together! Mass hysteria!
Check out Cut Copy's video for "Need You Now," below. Cut Copy's new album, Zonoscope, is out now.
Tags Cut Copy, video
(Credit: WireImage)
Last week we laid ears on "White Limo," a new song off of the Foo Fighters' upcoming album Wasting Light, and it got us beyond excited about the return of the Foo. And now that we've heard the album's first official single, "Rope," we're even more pumped. We even thought about throwing up some devil horns, but then we remembered we were in public.
"Rope" isn't nearly as head bang-y and thrashing as "White Limo," so for those of you who prefer a tamer Foo Fighters, this one's for you. The track starts off pretty minimal but builds steadily -- tweaky guitars, ready-steady drums, and frontman Dave Grohl goes H.A.M. on the mic. (There is some straight-up yowling, folks.) "Rope" ends on a high note with a guitar solo that's perfect for a movie montage of bad decisions and trashed hotel rooms. The whole song feels like a sexy downward spiral. Man, I really should have gone to film school.
"Rope" is everything we love about early Foo Fighters, but we can also hear the band's more recent influences as well. Wasting Light hits stores April 8.
+ Listne to Foo Fighters' "Rope."
Tags Foo Fighters
(Credit: Andrew McPherson/BlackBook)
Almost four months after the release of her debut album, Pink Friday, Nicki Minaj is showing no signs of slowing down. Her newest single, "Moment 4 Life," is currently No. 1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Chart (and Top 20 on the Pop Chart), she recently made a fantastic, smoke-machine-filled appearance on "Saturday Night Live," and, now, she's on the cover of BlackBook's Pop issue.
You typically get some really great photos with a Nicki feature, and these shots by photographer Andrew McPherson are no exception. But props must be given to the behind-the-scenes access and frank nature of the Nicki Minaj feature itself.
In the piece, written by Nick Haramis, we find Minaj, tired but content in London, on her first trip to Europe. She talks about her childhood in New York City, the jobs she held down before committing to music full-time (Red Lobster!), how fame impacted her life and, perhaps most interestingly, the similarities between her and Lady Gaga.
You can read the entire feature over at BlackBook's site. For now, check out some more shots of Nicki Minaj from the shoot.
Tags Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj
(Credit: Jack Jeffries/MTV)
Fans of the second season of the MTV series "My Life As Liz" know that Louis Michael Johnson is one of Liz's closest friends, and possibly, a little bit more than a friend. But did you know that Louis also has other interests outside of Liz? Like music! It's true! Let's get to know Louis' band, Augustine.
Augustine is made up of Louis and his longtime friend, Jordan Meredith, whom you've also seen on "My Life As Liz." The pair have been recording and playing around the Northeast since 2009, making subtle and melodic electro-folk, which might remind folks of Owl City or Postal Service.
In the interviews below, Augustine talks about their songwriting process, while in the second, the band talk about their adopted hometown of New York.
After that, watch two live performances from Augustine, as the duo play lovely versions of "Blackbird's Song" and "Flashes Of Yellow," both of which can be found on their Download Only release.
If that's not enough, be sure to check out some fun photos of Augustine over at MTV's exclusive photo gallery of the pair.
Related Content Get To Know Louis On MTV's Remote Control Blog
Tags Augustine, My Life As Liz, video
(Credit: @KanyeWest)
Late last night, Kanye West tweeted out a picture of his newest "beat protege," Justin Bieber. The "Baby" singer, as seen in the Twitpic above, was rocking less hair and sunglasses at night (indoors, no less), as he stared into a laptop, no doubt mixing up some serious beat medicine.
West and Bieber have collaborated before, when the power of Twitter pretty much forced a "Runaway Love" remix into existence. But this is, to our knowledge, the first time Kanye and Bieber have ever gotten in the studio together.
How do we feel about this? Well, we're of two minds on the subject. On one hand, Kanye is one of the best producers in pop music right now, and working with the "Monster" rapper/beatmaker could take Justin's music to unimaginable heights.
On the other hand, we're not sure that Kanye is the best influence on the little man. I mean, for one thing, this photo went up at 10:30 p.m.. Shouldn't Bieber be winding down around that time, getting ready for bed or something? And also? What's with the shades in the studio. There aren't even any windows in the studio! This has to be bad for his eyesight.
Overall, we're very pro this partnership. We just want to see responsible bedtimes and ophthalmological health kept at the forefront!
Tags justin bieber, Kanye West, Star Spotting
(Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images )
+ Beyoncé has found herself at the center of a controversy surrounding a photo shoot she did for the French magazine, L'Officiel Paris, wherein her face is painted black. (Project RunGay)
+ Katy Perry has denied that she is having any kind of feud with Britney Spears. This comes on the heels of Perry commenting on the gratuitous use of product placement in music videos, comments many felt were directed at Spears. (MTV News)
+ Katy Perry's husband, Russell Brand, perhaps not coincidentally, has recently said, in an interview, that fame isn't all it's cracked up to be. (TheFABlife)
+ The March 15 episode of "Glee" will find the musical high schoolers singing some original material (including a song written by Pink and Britney Spears producer Max Martin) rather than their traditional covers. (Idolator)
+ Justin Bieber found a recipient for all his hair: it's Ellen DeGeneres. The teen singer gifted his locks to the talk show host, asking her to auction them off for the benefit of a charity of her choice. (Just Jared Jr.)
Tags Beyonce, Britney Spears, Ellen DeGeneres, Glee, justin bieber, Katy Perry, Max Martin, Pink, Russell Brand
(Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
As you can see, Justin Bieber and Rihanna weren't the only celebrity pair sitting courtside at the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday night in Los Angeles. Also in attendance were the first couple of hip-hop, Jay-Z and Beyoncé.
As we mentioned in the headline of this post, Jay-Z seems to be preoccupied with his phone. And hopefully what Jay-Z's doing is either writing a tweet or poem or whatever about how good his wife looks. Because that is the only acceptable reason to not be looking at Beyoncé! I don't care how addicted you are to Angry Birds, you don't check your phone while sitting next to Queen B!
To be fair, Jay-Z had a professional interest in attending the game, since he co-owns the New Jersey Nets. But, on the other hand, the New Jersey Nets are terrible and none of his players were playing in the All-Star Game. So, basically, Jay, you're doing it wrong.
Tags Beyonce, Jay-Z, justin bieber, Rihanna, Star Spotting
(Credit: FilmMagic)
It's true -- "American Idol" alum David Archuleta has been dropped by his record label, Jive Records. After his platinum-certified debut album David Archuleta sold nearly a million copies in 2008, his sophomore attempt The Other Side Of Down had trouble reaching that kind of status in 2010. But no need to get sad face emoticon about this, Dave. Same goes for you, Arch Angels. We'll tell you why.
First of all, you have a really cool nickname. Seriously, "Archie" is awesome! Think about all of the other famous Archies out there -- Archie Andrews of Archie comic fame (snoozefest); Archie Bunker, who only old people know anything about; and some random dog named Archie that has his own website. So it looks like you win in this category!
Second, a ton of other acts have been dropped by their record label before going on to do huge things. Ever heard of Katy Perry? What about Lady Gaga? Both of these ladies were dropped by their labels before, you know, taking over the entire world. Maybe you're just getting started!
Chin up, David Archuleta. You still have a ton of fans, a ton of Twitter followers, and you're almost old enough to go to Vegas. Hang in there. And when in doubt, always just listen to what Uncle Jay-Z does: "Go and brush your shoulders off."
Tags David Archuleta, We Have To Say Something
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Unless you've been orbiting the Earth in a Soviet-era satellite without WiFi for the last six weeks, you probably know that Charlie Sheen is going through some stuff these days. It's all been very well documented, and it's all, frankly, a bit NSFW.
Unsurprisingly, an entrepreneurial young Georgia rapper named Maf has made a name for himself by recording a track comparing himself to the "Two And A Half Men" actor, claiming, "I can do whatever I want, you can call me 'Charlie Sheen.'"
Really the only surprising thing is that it took so long to make the track. Check out Maf's "Charlie Sheen," below.
+ Listen to Maf's "Charlie Sheen. WARNING: NSFW
Tags Song You Need To Know
(Credit: Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)
Katy Perry's "California Dreams" tour kicked off in Portugal this weekend. And aside from being treated to live renditions of Perry's many, many hits, the crowd at her Lisbon show was treated to a pretty awesome live medley of covers.
Katy has always seemed like the kinda girl who would Bogart the radio in the car and just shout out, "THAT'S MY JAM," so it makes sense to see her covering other people's songs with so much flair and passion of her own.
In Lisbon, Perry did an acoustic medley of Rihanna's "Only Girl (In The World)," (which was a huge hit with the crowd), Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin'" and Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair."
Sonically the covers reminded of Katy's MTV "Unplugged" performance, where she stripped her hits down and reimagined them as jazzy torch songs.
Katy Perry's "California Dreams" Tour keeps on trucking through Europe through April. Wonder what other jams she'll cover along the way. For a taste of Katy's takes on "Only Girl (In The World)," "Big Pimpin'" and "Whip My Hair," head over to EW's Music-Mix blog.
Tags Jay-Z, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Willow Smith