Obsessively blogging about pop music, pop videos, pop stars, and pop culture from inside the MTV headquarters in Times Square. We also have a slight Jonas Brothers problem. And a little fixation with Tokio Hotel.
We already hit up Holy Ghost! in an episode of "The 5" a little while back, but this condensed, "150 Words Or Less" chat has plenty of info on these NYC dance mavens.
Alex Frankel and Nick Millhiser talk about getting together a couple of years ago and making a name for themselves crafting remixes for the likes of Moby, Cut Copy and Kings of Leon.
They also talk about the "futuristic, retro disco" of their newish single, "I Will Come Back," and the rigors of DJ'ing most nights out of the year.
Check out the interview as well as the video for "I Will Come Back" below.
+ Since everyone else is doing something vampire-related these days, Henry Rollins figured he'd jump on the bandwagon (along with Iggy Pop and Moby) and star in Suck, a spoof movie about the vampire trend. We seriously hope they get Leslie Nielsen to make a cameo (Dracula: Dead And Loving It anyone??). Pretty sure he's probably booked tho. Watch the Suck trailer for a ridiculous look at Moby, Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, and Henry Rollins. (Twenty Four Bit)
+ And for all the Twilighters out there who just can't get close enough to R.Patts and his famous Edward Cullen pout, now you can have him watching over your nibbly bits while you're hosing yourself down in the shower. (Street Level)
+ Leona Lewis is set to debut her sophomore album Echo in November of this year, after being the best-selling new artist of 2008. Seriously excited for this one...
+ American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert has evidently recorded some amazeballs song for the upcoming disaster flick 2012, and this photo shoot he did ain't bad either. He's so oddly attractive, we can't put our fake fingernail on it. (Socialite Life)
+ Jack-of-all-trades Queen Latifah has a new song out featuring Busta Rhymes and others AND she has a new album coming out next week. Listen to the track here. (Rap-Up)
"Sometimes in life, you need a change... Something deeper than what you thought you were capable of ... Something that displays the 'I don't give a f---' attitude that was always present, but never showcased ... & something that will shock your mother, but make her call you a ROCK STAR."
We couldn't agree more. Though Cassie didn't quite go all the way, opting instead of half a bald head, here are more females in music who went all baldylocks on all. Remember: Bald chicks need love too!
Sinead O'Connor
Perhaps the most famous bald woman in modern history, Irish singer Sinead O'Connor became an international sensation with her breakthrough hit "Nothing Compares 2 U." She became even more well-known when she performed on Saturday Night Live and tore up a picture of the Pope on live TV in 1992, pissing off Catholics everywhere. Naturally Sinead, um, became a priest.
Natalie Portman
Though not usually thought of for her musical skills, dudes in bands ALWAYS wanna do her. Plus, Natalie did prove her viable rap talents on Saturday Night Live. The V For Vendetta actress went bald for that film and has been linked to fellow baldie Moby and Devendra Banhart -- and she appeared in his video for "Carmensita." Natalie also proved that even hairless, she's still so hot it's not even normal.
David Lynch, the mega-brain behind Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway, has just added "Shot In The Back Of The Head," Moby's latest video, to his directorial résumé, and it's a perfect fit. Not only are the eerie animations -- lonely urban scribbles, pistols, and disembodied heads -- an exact intersection of both artists' aesthetics, but look at what Moby had to say about the song's inspiration:
"David was talking about... how creativity in and of itself, and without market pressures, is fine. It seems that too often creative output is judged by how well it accommodates the marketplace... and how much money it generates.
In making this record I wanted to focus on making something that I loved, without really being concerned about how it might be received by the marketplace. As a result it's a quieter, more melodic, more mournful and more personal record than some of the records I've made in the past."
There you have it. "Shot In The Back Of The Head" is a perfect marriage between two creative icons. The glitchy, instrumental single is the first from Moby's June 30 release, Wait For Me, and it is, as promised, quiet and mournful. It's beautiful. Watch the equally extraordinary video below.
What'd you guys do Wednesday night? Nothing? Sounds like fun! Hey! Wanna know what we did?? We went to mtvU's 2008 Woodie Awards, flirted with Boys Like Girls on the red carpet, got rejected (and un-rejected!) by the All American Rejects, found out Paramore's favorite movie and sat with Locksley and Andrew McMahon of Jack's Mannequin.
Okay, rewind. We've (occasionally) been known to exaggerate (or, as we like to call it, "make the story better') so we should probably back up and start at the beginning. Which brings us back to 5:45pm yesterday, the time we arrived at the mysteriously dark/freezing place called New York's Roseland Ballroom, grabbed our press pass and saw Santogold (looking super cute n' cozy in a gray hoodie and hoop earrings!) rehearsing on stage with Spank Rock.
Note: There were no pictures allowed inside before the show (Not that they would've come out, anyway -- mysteriously dark place, remember??) so you'll have to settle for this red carpet shot of Santogold wearing a shiny, silvery dress by Marc Jacobs that appears to be made from 100% Reynold's Wrap (though Santo swears it's actually way "softer" and more skin-friendly). And she's posing with Lykke Li. (LOVE her!) Read more...
Anyone remember the '90s alt-pop song "Make Me An Offer?" If not, that's probably because the song isn't actually from the '90s. It's a cut off Cantinero's 2004 debut album, Championship Boxing. Fittingly, the one-man band (otherwise known as Chris Hicken) looks like Moby and sounds like some sort of "I Love the '90s" fusion of Fastball, Cake, and Everclear.
Anyway, with that out of the way, watch Innerpartysystem's "Don't Stop" video -- they're frighteningly similar -- and tell us whether you think frontman Patrick Nissley is really just Hicken in a hair piece.
There's something weirdly satisfying about watching a pimped-out, six-foot-tall chicken beat the crap out of a Colonel Sanders lookalike. And that's exactly what Moby's first video since 2005 delivers. While the song itself -- "Disco Lies," off the shiny-headed techno artist's new(ish) album, Last Night -- is nothing to write home about (unless you enjoy writing home about mediocre "retro" ballads) it's nice to know that Moby's out there doing something besides exchanging touchy-feely letters with political adviser-turned-unemployed person, Karl Rove. Even if that "something" can best be described as making, well, "chick flicks." Moby, we get it. You don't eat meat.
