As Phil Collins is prone to say, I can feel it coming in the air tonight. The leaves are falling, the college football is being played, the hayrides are being taken; it's mtvU Woodie Awards season, pumpkins.

In honor of mtvU's annual award show, honoring the music the rocked college campuses the hardest, we thought we'd get some of these nominees used to the fierce competition they will face when the show will airs on MTV, MTV2, mtvU and Palladia on Friday, December 4, at 10 pm.

Today we're pitting the D.C. rapper (and this year's MTV Video Music Awards in-house entertainer) Wale against Brooklyn dream-poppers Passion Pit. Both acts are nominated for the Breaking Woodie Award.

Arbitrarily (and vaguely), let's say we're judging on the basis of dopeness. It's something you can't define, but you know it when you see it.

The Wale video has swagger. A swooping opening shot, a Lady Gaga feature, a dope beat, and it was most people's introduction to the lovable Chocolate City emcee.

Passion Pit is all indie innovation and art. And it's gorgeous. A beautiful, lush tune full of swelling keyboards with a unique video, givinng an impressionistic snapshot of a night in the life of a young lady; tearing that snapshot up in the process.

The winner? Well the nice part is, it's up to you! Let us know who you like in the comments, and go vote for your favorite at the mtvu Woodie site (where you can vote in any of the categories being awarded at the show!).

FACT #1: The Jonas Brothers have had a way busier summer and fall than you. They've been on their world tour, they've been filming Camp Rock 2, they executive-produced Honor Society's debut album, Kevin's been planning his wedding, they've been dressing up like ketchup and mustard and dressing up like Teletubbies, and they've had many intense Road Dogs softball games.

FACT #2: The Jonas Brothers run on pure energy. (And occasionally Dunkaroos.) So apparently their idea of a day off is a game of kickball with fans. (Win!) And, as always, giving back. Which is why the Jonas Brothers spent this past Sunday, October 11 engaged in two rousing games of kickball as part of the Verizon and LG "Kick for Change" event in Connecticut, where they distributed more than $1 million to nationwide charities through their Change for the Children Foundation. And among the fans that played JB kickball were members of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the United Way, and Special Olympics.

As any good Jonas fan knows, when the Jonas Brothers play softball, they're the Road Dogs, but when they're in kickball mode, they're the Kickballers. And as the Kickballers, they won one game and lost one to the fans, but either way, JB fans still won.

+ Check out more photos of the Jonas Brothers playing kickball in Connecticut after the jump!

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Word around the campfire is that Rihanna's ready to make the follow-up to Good Girl Gone Bad, an album whose various incarnations has spawned more hits than a mafia war.

According to MTV News,  Rihanna's gonna enter the studio with some familiar faces -- "Umbrella" writer/producer Tricky Stewart, Justin Timberlake -- and some new ones as well, like The All-American Rejects' Tyson Ritter. With those past and future Rihanna collabos in mind, I started daydreaming about who else could make this good girl even better. (And whether or not she'll wear a see-through dress to the studio.)

1. Hot Chip
While it may often be broken, Rihanna has a New Wave heart. You can heart it in her Soft-Cell-sampling early hit, "S.O.S." or in the bum-bum-be-dum's of "Disturbia." She's ready for some synths, electro leanings, and all the attendant eyeliner and Flock Of Seagulls hair that goes with it. (Wait! Rihanna HAS Flock of Seagulls hair!) So why not work with some of the finest purveyors of neo-New-Wave? Hot Chip could expertly combine R&B, dance and pop for Rihanna.

2. Katy Perry
Katy Perry and Rihanna are basically already besties, so why not get in the studio together. If Rihanna lacks anything (and she doesn't lack much) it's a defined personality. Her whole thing is the blank stare, the elusive, untouchable girl. Maybe Katy could giver her something there. Like a sense of humor, or a more human, normal vibe. Not that there ain't a lot to love in Rihanna's current robot-diva-from-the-future thing. Or maybe they could both cake dive together.

3. Ryan Tedder
The OneRepublic singer/songwriter might be accused of ripping himself off (Beyonce's "Halo" begats Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone"), but it's a heck of a blueprint to work from. This seems like a no-brainer, right? I can already hear Rihanna singing "Apologize" in my head. Her airy, pleading voice would work great with his melodies.

Happy birthday, Nicholas Jerry Jonas! Here's what's on Buzzworthy's birthday shopping list for you.

+ A pillow to rest your weary head after a summer of touring and filming Camp Rock 2.

+ More leather jackets.

+ More blazers!

+ A Starbucks card that never runs out.

+ Tickets to the 2010 VMAs.

+ A new leash for Elvis.

+ This puppy to keep Elvis company.

+ A guaranteed Road Dogs winning streak.

+ A Jonas Brothers cookie (sugar-free version, of course).

+ ... And last but not least, a never-ending supply of Dunkaroos.

Miss ya, mean it!

Buzzworthy.

You were probably too busy a.) praising the Lord for the invention of DVR and then b.) poring over Lady Gaga's bloody "Paparazzi" performance to even notice that she arrived on the VMA red carpet with Kermit the Frog or that she changed costumes more times in one night than most people change clothes in a week.

Lady Gaga's VMA outfits were a Victorian-inspired, high-drama, campy celebration of lace and embellishments -- metal collars, wild wigs, masks, feathers, and a fantastically liberal application of pearls and other appliques in ways they were previously never meant to be worn. (Unless you're the type of lady for whom wearing embroidery loops is commonplace.)

Let's reexamine Lady Gaga's VMA looks -- blood, angel wings, lace body stockings, bloody undies, and all.

Gaga arrived on the VMA carpet looking like she'd attended a Phantom Of The Opera-themed drag show. Positively funereal chic.

As promised, Lady Gaga brought a VIP guest with her to the VMA red carpet: Kermit the Frog. How he was dragged into this, I'll never know. He left before the blood bath.

Lady Gaga accepts the Best New Artist VMA for "Poker Face," and we literally could not see her poker face underneath because someone forgot to cut eye holes out of her dress. You could, however, see straight through to her nips.

Gaga performs "Paparazzi" and she totally phones it in. Zzz. This chick's like watching paint dry... JUST KIDDING. She rocked the Radio City stage so hard she freaking BLED TO DEATH! Side note, these are some of the most bad-ass performance photos since Jimi Hendrix lit his guitar on fire. Here, let's take a closer look at Gaga's bloody show...

+ See photos of bloody Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga and Beyonce, and Lady Gaga's after party outfit after the jump! Read more...

Gather 'round fashiony friends. It's time to talk brilliant blazers and leather bottoms (again) -- in this case Ashlee Simpson's leather pants! Here's what Alexa Chung wore on today's episode of It's On With Alexa Chung.

Thursday, September 3
+ Cardigan: PPQ
+ T-shirt: J. Crew
+ Skirt: American Apparel
+ Shoes: Marni
+ Stockings: Hue
+ Necklace: Iosselliani

These white blazers with black trim are SO deliciously Gossip Girl gone REAL bad. The cropped tux jacket on the left is by Jaeger London, and it's $371 at My-Wardrobe.com. The mohair jacket on the right is Marc Jacobs, and it's $2002 at My-Theresa.com. (Sorry.)

This American Apparel black circle skirt is $45 and it's almost enough to make me want to learn to ice skate. Almost. (BTW, is that model one of the porn stars? I so can't even keep up.)

Okay, let's discuss Ashlee-Simpson and her LEATHER PANTS! First of all, can you even BELIEVE a human body came OUT of her human body?

Anyway, Pete Wentz's wifey was in some TIIIIIGHT-ass leather pants. Want your own? The leather pants on the left are Preen, and they're $808 at Matchesfashion.com. Saving for college? (Snore!) Get the leather pants on the right at Alloy.com for $39.90. Boing!

+ Sad news at this hour: DJ AM was found dead in his NYC apartment this afternoon, apparently of a drug overdose. From everything we've heard, he was a really nice guy all around and will be sorely missed. (MTV News)

+ Country music darling Carrie Underwood reminded us all why we like her so much, donating hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of instruments to her high school alma mater. (People)

+ Pop star Miley Cyrus performed her new single "Party In The U.S.A." to a max-capacity crowd at the TODAY show in NYC this morning, holdin' on to those high notes for dear life (but managing to let go of the stripper pole this time around). (E! Online)

+ Weezer's Rivers Cuomo admitted to Rolling Stone this week that their debut single "Undone - The Sweater Song" was a complete rip-off (intentionally or otherwise) of a Metallica song. (Rolling Stone)

+ For those of us longing for the old Mariah Carey and wondering why she's been peddling s%*# for the last few years, lady is BACK with her new cover of Foreigner's "I Want To Know What Love Is." (Neon Limelight)

+ What do you do if you're Lindsay Lohan and a store who loaned you two million dollars worth of jewelry comes a'knockin' for it? You say your safe was STOLEN, of course. HEY! It's a recession!! Gotta be frugal! (The Superficial)

+ Noel Gallagher quit Oasis last night? Via his blog? (NME)

+ Let's face it -- it's old news that Avril Lavigne's marriage to Sum41 frontman Deryck Whibley may be on the rocks for a while now, but this new report seems to seal the deal, don't it? (WWTDD?)

+ BEYONCE will perform at the 2009 VMAs! But you knew that, right? (MTV News)

+ Wait... is Jordin Sparks NOT INVITED to Kevin Jonas' wedding? (Confidential to Kevin -- Register at Bed  Bath & Beyond. They let you return EVERYTHING for cash! Oh wait...  You don't need casth.) (MTV News)

+ We've always been a huge fan of Shania Twain... from her personal story of tragedy and triumph, to her cheesefest lyrics and catchy hooks, everything about her is absolutely perfect. So when news broke that she was getting a divorce from her longtime companion and producer Robert "Mutt" Lange, it seems like the earth stood still! But talk about a huge slap in a dirty dog's face: Shania is engaged to the guy whose wife cheated on him with Shania's hubster! To quote my favorite movie-turned-TV-show, Heathers, "Lick it up, baby. LICK. IT. UP." (Star Magazine)

+ Here's Rihanna doing the September 2009 cover of Italian Vogue, looking nothing like herself whatsoever. (ICYDK)

+ Madonna was briefly booed at a concert in Bucharest last night, after bringing up the issue of discrimination against "gypsies," Eastern Europe's most socially and economically disadvantaged minority. (E! Online)

+ If early reviews are correct, Whitney Houston looks like she's on track to get a Grammy for her most recent album of work (her first in seven years). And it's not even available for sale yet! (Rap-Up)

+ In case you were wondering what it was like to be in Times Square with Britney Spears during Monday's Twitter scavenger hunt, check this out. Totally reminds us of TRL, circa 1998. PS -- I DEFINITELY went to Brit's show last night, and it was nothing short of fan-effing-tastic. (BritneySpears.com)

(Credit: Mandy David Campbell)

In Buzzworthy's ongoing attempt to celebrate fan-made works of art -- the types of tributes that music fans pour their heart, soul, and sometimes sugar into -- I present you with these Michael Jackson "Black Or White" tribute cupcakes. (No, this isn't an attempt at racist baking.)

Mandy David Campbell baked the Michael Jackson cupcakes above on the night Michael Jackson died, as an MJ homage, finding inspiration in the song "Black Or White." The day after Michael Jackson's death, Mandy brought the cupcakes to work for a friend who's a huge Michael Jackson fan, and they spent the morning listening to the HIStory album.

For you wannabe Aces of Cakes, Mandy told me a bit more about her handiwork: "They're actually not nearly my best cupcake work. I've got some sugar skulls I did that i put a lot more time into. The Michael Jackson ones in particular were white cake with a dark fudge icing, black sugar, and white piping -- quite obviously playing on the "Black Or White" theme. I only wish I had had some silver dragees to jazz them up a bit. There isn't much more to it, as they were a pretty quick job. I think they were definitely some of the first Michael Jackson memorial cupcakes out there though!"

Mandy's Michael Jackson tribute cupcakes are sad, like the frosting frowny faces so somberly suggest. But they're also a small, heartfelt, homemade gesture that demonstrates a greater truth -- Michael's legacy was so enormous that people baked cupcakes in his honor. That is huge. And sweet.

+ Watch Michael Jackson's "Black Or White" video after the jump.

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If Apple FINALLY created their record label -- that's GOT to be up there on the to-do list, right? Somewhere near political sovereignty and establishing its own religion? And shouldn't there be an app for that? -- UK pop singer Gary Go should be its first sign. The guy pretty much wrote Apple's next campaign: You too can be a pop star, with just a few iPhone apps and some angst! And hopefully half as much musical prowess as he's got. Gary, who put out two non-iPhone EPs a few years back, wrote several of his self-titled debut album tracks with just iPhone software. And these days he'll even get on stage and play his iPhone... Seriously -- some 70,000 people at Wembley Stadium just saw him perform on his iPhone.

So, the London-born Gary is clearly a tech geek -- the lyrics of one of his songs consist solely of fan Tweets -- but let's get back to the music: I would liken Gary's melancholy yet grandiose and uplifting brand of pop-rock to Coldplay or James Morrison, and I didn't expect that from Gary's campy stage name alone.

Gary Go and his debut single, "Wonderful," have already picked up steam in the UK, in large part because Gary opened for Take That on their latest tour, which broke the record for fastest-selling UK tour of all time! (And for you boy band fans keeping track at home, we really truly have heard of NO plans to get the Backstreet Boys back to the 2009 VMAs!)

Anyway, speaking of openers, not only did Gary also open for Lady GaGa for several of her concerts, Gary covered "Just Dance" (it's gloomy and acoustic... definitely a new spin!), and he saw GaGa's ... gagas! Gary told the UK's Daily Record:

"She was in the dressing room opposite me and someone shouted to her to come and meet Gary Go. She shouted back that she had no clothes on, but two seconds later she just came to the door with nothing on then quickly threw a little jacket on. It was quite a meeting and she is very attractive. She's a performance artist, so I guess she doesn't have any inhibitions, but it certainly had an effect on me."

I imagine it did, but what better way to be introduced to all that is Lady GaGa? I wonder if she treats all her openers to such a warm welcome?

Watch Gary Go's latest video, "Engines," and watch "Wonderful" after the jump!

Gary Go TV on MUZU.
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