(Credit: MTV/ Kareem Black)

The Temper Trap are a small band with a big sound from down under. We already gave you the buzz on Temper Trap a while back, but here's a refresher course.

Think U2/Coldplay anthems meet Death Cab subtlety. Their song "Sweet Disposition" has been gathering a lot of steam, appearing on (500 Days) Of Summer soundtrack and popping up on TV all over.

In this MTV Discover & Download interview, Temper Trap talks about their humble beginnings, the various permutations of band names they went through (before they settled on The Temper Trap), and the Melbourne, Australia music scene.

You'll also find out more about their "Sweet Disposition," video, the concept for which  revolves around them playing live... in outer space. Boldly go where no man has gone before, and check out The Temper Trap at Discover & Download. And check out "Sweet Disposition" below the interview.

+ Check out the entire set of The Temper Trap photos here.

Theft -- the name of multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Matt McCartie's musical project -- is perhaps an homage to the epic rock echoings of his Brit-rock influences.

After kicking around in bands for a while, McCartie decided to go it alone, building his own recording studio and recording all the parts for Theft's songs. Not that you'd know it listening to songs like, "Fireworks Explode" and "Never Be The Same," which could easily be mistaken for the British sounds of Coldplay's lilting heart, The Verve's epic sweep, and Oasis' raw edge.

Even if you're new to Theft you might've heard McCartie's music already. His song, "Breathing Underwater" is the theme song to the late DJ AM's new MTV show, Gone Too Far, which examines the devastating effects of drug addiction and offering hope to those willing to accept the opportunity to change their lives. His the Theft song, "Fireworks Explode," became the theme song to season 1 of It's On With Alexa Chung.

You can check out music at Theft's MySpace, follow him on Twitter @theft, and download "Breathing Underwater" here.

The Temper Trap may or may not get big, but damned if they don't already sound big. The Australian band, led by singer/guitarist Dougy Mandagi, makes expansive, propulsive anthems ready-made for arenas and festivals. I will go out on a limb (see me out there/) and say that I haven't heard a band that sound this epic and sprawling and accessible since Coldplay got all "Yellow."

It's been a case of accelerated development for the band. In the last two years they've played the Glastonbury Festival, worked with DJ Shadow and recorded their debut album, Conditions. Check out the video for their beautiful track "Sweet Dispositions" (which calls to mind a holy union of Thom Yorke's vocals and The Edge's guitar sound), which you may remember if you saw the Joseph-Gordon-Levitt-Zooey-Deschanel-sittin'-in-a-tree flick, (500) Days Of Summer.

Wale is on top of his game.

He's also on top of me, pretty much literally, as I'm sitting underneath the metal scaffolding built out of the radio city stage, designed to look like a tiny downtown NYC venue (think Mercury Lounge, if you've been).

Above Wale, who's rhyming over a Coldplay mash-up and "Make Her Say" with Kanye, Kid Cudi, and the nine-times-nominated Lady Gaga, are about two dozen flashing LCD screens built into steel latticework. Even better? Solange is rehearsing with him.

Ever seen Rent? It feels like alphabet city before American Apparel and schmancy hotels moved in. On the other side of the house, construction's still under way on the VMA stage, and in the house, 3OH3, Pitbull, and Sway look on from the velvet seats as Wale's live band pushes through a lengthy rehearsal.  Check out more shots of Wale backstage.

Wale is on top of his game.

He's also on top of me, pretty much literally, as I'm sitting underneath the metal scaffolding built out of the radio city stage, designed to look like a tiny downtown NYC venue (think Mercury Lounge, if you've been). Above Wale, who's rhyming over a Coldplay mashup and his hit collabo "Make Her Say,"  with Kanye, Kid Cudi, and Lady Gaga, are about two dozen flashing LCD screens built into steel latticework. Oh yeah, making this extra awesome? Solange is also rehearsing with him.

Ever seen rent? It feels like alphabet city before american apparel and schmancy hotels moved in. On the other side of the house, construction's still under way on the set, and in the house, 3OH3, Pitbull, and Sway look on from the velvet seats as wale's live band pushes through a lenghty rehearsal.

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.
Read more...

The 2009 MTV VMA nominees are OUT! And sorry, Britney fans, but Lady Gaga and Beyonce are the big earners so far with NINE NOMINATIONS EACH for "Single Ladies (Put A Ring on It)," "Poker Face," and "Paparazzi" leaving Britney in the dust with a "paltry" seven nominations for "Womanizer."

Also, WTG, Drake! What up, dude. Hope that knee heals. He's up on the leaderboard with his first-ever nomination for Best New Artist!

Check out the 2009 VMAs categories below, and go vote!

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Beyoncé: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"
Lady Gaga: "Poker Face"
Eminem: "We Made You"
Kanye West: "Love Lockdown"
Britney Spears: "Womanizer"

BEST NEW ARTIST
3OH!3
Lady Gaga
Kid Cudi
Drake
Asher Roth

BEST MALE VIDEO
Eminem: "We Made You"
Kanye West: "Love Lockdown"
Jay-Z: "D.O.A (Death of Auto-Tune)"
T.I. featuring Rihanna: "Live Your Life"
Ne-Yo: "Miss Independent"

BEST FEMALE VIDEO
Beyoncé: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"
Lady Gaga: "Poker Face"
Taylor Swift: "You Belong With Me"
Kelly Clarkson" "My Life Would Suck Without You"
Katy Perry: "Hot 'N Cold"
Pink: "So What"

BEST HIP-HOP VIDEO
Eminem: "We Made You"
Kanye West: "Love Lockdown"
Flo Rida: "Right Round"
Asher Roth: "I Love College"
Jay-Z: "D.O.A (Death of Auto-Tune)"

BEST POP VIDEO
Beyoncé: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"
Britney Spears: "Womanizer"
Cobra Starship featuring Leighton Meester: "Good Girls Go Bad"
Lady Gaga: "Poker Face"
Wisin y Yandel: "Abusadora"

BEST ROCK VIDEO
Coldplay: "Viva La Vida"
Kings Of Leon: "Use Somebody"
Green Day: "21 Guns"
Fall Out Boy: "I Don't Care"
Paramore: "Decode"

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Beyoncé: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"
Britney Spears: "Circus"
Ciara featuring Justin Timberlake: "Love Sex Magic"
AR Rahman & Pussy Cat Dolls featuring Nicole Scherzinger: "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)"
Kristina DeBarge: "Goodbye"

BEST DIRECTION
Beyoncé: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"
Lady Gaga: "Paparazzi"
Green Day: "21 Guns"
Cobra Starship featuring Leighton Meester: "Good Girls Go Bad"
Britney Spears: "Circus"

BEST EDITING
Beyoncé: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"
Britney Spears: "Circus"
Miley Cyrus: "7 Things"
Coldplay: "Viva La Vida"
Lady Gaga: "Paparazzi"

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS
Beyoncé: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"
Gnarls Barkley: "Who’s Gonna Save My Soul"
Lady Gaga: "Paparazzi"
Eminem: "We Made You"
Kanye West ft Mr. Hudson: "Paranoid"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Beyoncé: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"
Coldplay: "Viva La Vida"
Green Day: "21 Guns"
Britney Spears: "Circus"
Lady Gaga: "Paparazzi"

BEST ART DIRECTION
Beyoncé: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"
Britney Spears: "Circus"
Lady Gaga: "Paparazzi"
Gnarls Barkley: "Who’s Gonna Save My Soul"
Coldplay: "Viva La Vida"

BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO
Death Cab For Cutie: "Grapevine Fires"
Gnarls Barkley: "Who’s Gonna Save My Soul"
Anjulie: "Boom"
Cold War Kids: "I've Seen Enough"
Chairlift: "Evident Utensil"
Bat For Lashes: "Daniel
Major Lazer: "Hold The Line"
Passion Pit: "The Reeling"
Matt & Kim: "Lessons Learned"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: "Heads Will Roll"

BEST VIDEO (THAT SHOULD HAVE WON A MOONMAN)
U2: "Where The Streets Have No Name"
Dr Dre: "Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang"
Beastie Boys: "Sabotage"
Bjork: "Human Behavior"
Radiohead: "Karma Police"
George Michael: "Freedom"
Foo Fighters: "Everlong"
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers: "Into The Great Wide Open"
OK Go: "Here It Goes Again"
David Lee Roth: "California Girls"

If Friendly Fires' "Kiss Of Life" reminds you of the Peter Gabriel song of the same name, it's because they're practically the same song. Though listening to Friendly Fries probably makes you feel less like you're listening to your dad's car trip music. However, I'm confident there's a subset of you that finds listening to Peter Gabriel cool, for ironic Dad-Music purposes, because you're a die-hard Say Anything fan (the move in this case), or because Peter Gabriel pretty much rules. (Which he does.)

Anyway, Friendly Fires -- you've heard them in that Wii Fit commercial -- are very much a British it-band -- so much so that they were just nominated for a 2009 Mercury Prize. Also, lead singer Ed Macfarlane totally sounds like Chris Martin and while both bands shot beach videos (remember Coldplay's "Yellow" video? Chris martin was so SAAAAAAD and COOLLLLLD and DREADFULLY DREARY on the beach! In a hoodie!), Friendly Fires' new "Kiss of Life" video is 1000 times less boo-hoo-I'm-on-the-beach-y. Also, "Kiss of Life" is one of those uplifting, life-affirming anthems like in a "Fields of Gold" way, but also, it lacks that same brand of "Fields of Gold" cheesiness that makes me want to jam one of those extra-long Bic grill lighters into each ear. (Ed Macfarlane also reminds me Richard Ashcroft if Richard Ashcroft hadn't gotten hit by the Unfortunate Bus and survived.)

Also, no matter WHAT you do or where you live, if you find yourself at a pool party this summer, drop the name Friendly Fires. You'll earn cool points IMMEDIATELY, and members of whichever sex you're attracted to will instantly find you 30 percent more attractive. You will be GOING places. Like directly into someone's pants.

First of all, let me say that not for ONE second was I buying Chris Brown's apology. It was about as heartfelt as that TelePrompter he was struggling to read. Also, why the hell was he dressed a cross between a sassy chef and the fifth member of Coldplay? But, what I AM buying is that the video I'm about to show you is one of the BEST viral videos I've seen since "Kittens (Inspired By Kittens)," and if you know me personally and you know how I feel about kittens and cat videos, then you know I'm not saying that lightly. It's also way better than the Filipino prisoners dancing to "Thriller" because I assume no one was forced to dance until their feet bled.

Anyway, Chris Brown certainly does not need any more publicity, but seriously, this video redeems him, at least indirectly, which is basically the only bad thing about it. (And it's hard not to admit that "Forever" is a great song. Sigh.)

So, well, I don't want to spoil it for you, but basically, the video you're about to see is pretty much the greatest wedding entrance of all time. And I'd embed it here for your browsing convenience, but NOOOOOOOOOOO! SOMEBODY had to get in a legal battle, and I don't wanna fan those flames.

+ Watch the Chris Brown "Forever" wedding dance (before Jive pulls it down), and see why you're about to have this plastered all over your Facebook.

Saturday night Trent Reznor announced, live from the Bonnaroo stage, that the Nine Inch Nails performance underway would be the band's last. "It just dawned on me that this is our last show ever in the United States," he said. "Don't be sad. I'll keep going. But I think I'm going to lose my mind if I keep doing this."

Does that mean that Nine Inch Nails are gonna be a world band now? Tuvan throat singers? Mariachis? Nueve Inch Nails? Who knows. For now, all we can be sure of, is that Nine Inch Nails are gonna disappear for a while.

To keep you company while they recharge their batteries (and to shame NIN into coming back for more) here's a brand-new video playlist made up of bands who have threatened to call it quits. Eminem, Coldplay, The Roots, Jay-Z, Diddy and more. What a perfect way to finish the day!