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Song Premiere: The Dear And Departed, 'Better Late Than Never'

Posted 11/3/11 10:59 am EST by in Celebrity, Music, Song Premieres, Videos

L.A. rock quintet and Vans Warped Tour alum The Dear and Departed are gearing up for the official release of their sophomore album, Every Waking Moment, and we've got the group's new single "Better Later Than Never." Founded by "LA Ink" star Dan Smith, the group has been hustling since 2006, touring with everyone from Avenged Sevenfold and Alkaline Trio to Cursive and AFI.

After 2007's Something Quite Peculiar, The Dear And Departed has fully embraced their New Wave influence on Moment. "Better Late Than Never" opens with ringing, jangly guitars recalling The Smiths' Johnny Marr, before Smith's '80s-prom-scene pop vocals kick in: "I should've said these things a long time ago/They say 'Better late than never'/I'll tell you with no delay/I'd do anything for you," sings Smith.

Moment was produced by New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert, though the group channel '80s mainstays New Order and The Cure more than the punk leanings of their producer.

Every Waking Moment is out Nov. 8 on Equal Vision.

+ Listen to The Dear And Departed's "Better Late Than Never."

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Watch Episode 3 Of 'The MTV Iggy Show,' Featuring Bleeding Knees Club

Posted 11/1/11 10:00 am EST by in Celebrity, Music, Videos

So you have been watching "The MTV Iggy Show," where we travel the world in search of various acts and genres every week, right? Good. Last week, we hit up Mexico, Brazil and Nigeria, and today, Iggy travels to Australia and Malaysia for three diverse yet equally explosive artists.

For our first act in our third weekly roundup of the most exciting new music from around the world, we've got New Zealand pop star and drummer Zowie, whose debut single "Broken Machine" went gold in her home country. Described as "Betty Page from the future with a Kiwi accent and a dose of sexy pop" by Iggy host Heather Holliday, the singer has already toured with Mark Ronson and Katy Perry, and her latest single, "Smash It," has appeared on "Pretty Little Liars."

After that, check out Malaysian singer-songwriter Yuna, whose poignant, original tracks and innovative cover of Nirvana's "Come As You Are" have expanded her success past her native country. Fans of Feist and Cat Power will want to check this one out.

Finally, Iggy heads to Australia to catch up with Sydney garage-pop group Bleeding Knees Club. With comparisons to The Drones and Best Coast, the duo's debut EP Virginity combines, as MTV Iggy puts it, "the sugary ooh-oohs of the Beach Boys, the warm buzz of No Age and the reckless garage sound of Black Lips." You'll dig.

Absorb these great acts this week and come back next Monday for more of the same. You're welcome.

Related Content Watch Episode 2 Of 'The MTV Iggy Show' Featuring Ximena Sarinana, Follow Buzzworthy on Twitter

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MTV PUSH Artist Of The Week: Wale

Posted 10/31/11 6:02 am EST by in Celebrity, Interviews, MTV Featured Artist, Music, PUSH, Videos

Rapper Wale may be one of the longest "overnight successes" in the history of hip-hop. The 27-year-old released "Paint A Picture," his first of seven mixtapes, in 2005 and aligned himself with the resurgence of go-go music, a regional funk subgenre popular in his native D.C. After teaming up with Mark Ronson and Lily Allen in 2007, releasing his Seinfeld-obsessed Mixtape About Nothing in 2008 and only then releasing debut album Attention Deficit in 2009, the rapper joined up with Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group earlier this year. Later this week, Wale is set to release Ambition, his disparate follow-up featuring "Lotus Flower Bomb" and "Slight Work," and melding dark, ominous synths, R&B hooks and club-friendly anthems.

We've been big Wale fans for years, and this week we've got no lack of Wale interviews and videos with the MTV PUSH artist that'll make you an instant Wale expert. In the first video, the rapper discusses what he learned from the marketing and promotion of 2009's Attention Deficit that he hopes to avoid for Ambition. As the subsequent videos show, the mixtape veteran born Olubowale Victor Akintimehin has always been confident about his abilities, stating, "I could always steal the show with music," before listing what hip-hop albums influenced him growing up.

Thanks to Sucker Free, we also get to hear about the importance of touring -- "You never really know how hot or not hot you are until you go on tour," Wale says -- and how the experience helps the rapper decide on his next single (democracy in action!). Finally, learn about all the guest spots on Ambition -- think Wale's Maybach Music peers for a start -- and check out the video for mixtape standout "Bait" to get hyped for the official album.

Ambition is out Nov. 1 on Maybach Music/Warner.

+ WALE ON WHAT HE LEARNED FROM HIS FIRST ALBUM:

+ WALE ON HIS CONFIDENCE IN MUSIC:

+ WALE ON HIS MUSICAL INFLUENCES:

Watch more Wale videos and interviews after the jump.

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Video Premiere: Hail Mary Mallon, 'Grubstake'

Posted 10/28/11 6:00 am EST by in Celebrity, Music, Video Premieres, Videos

For more than 15 years, Minneapolis-based Rhymesayers Entertainment has been a stalwart of intelligent hip-hop, favoring daring, unconventional music over tired, commercial clichés. Continuing that tradition, the label released Are You Gonna Eat That?, the collaborative album between MC/producer Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic and Big Wiz, earlier this year and we've got the video premiere of the group's latest food-related video "Grubstake" below.

Frequent Aesop Rock collaborator Alexander Tarrant directed the video, which finds the trio downing burgers and sodas and using an inordinate amount of condiments. Filmed at the San Francisco diner that inspired the title, "Grubstake" finds Aesop Rock and Rob Sonic going back and forth between and within stanzas, conjuring classic Golden Era back-and-forths from Run-D.M.C. and The Pharcyde.

Tarrant's choppy, disorienting style articulates those 3 a.m. post-party nights at your local diner, when your brain is focused on nothing but food and ignores the hazy, painful (lack of) memories that lie ahead. Maybe that explains all the close-ups. Either way, "Grubstake" will make you starving or nauseated depending on your tolerance for fast food, but it's sure to leave an impression.

Are You Gonna Eat That? is out now on Rhymesayers.

+ Watch Hail Mary Mallon's "Grabstake" video.

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New Video: R.E.M., 'We All Go Back To Where We Belong,' Starring Kirsten Dunst And Only Kirsten Dunst

Posted 10/27/11 5:30 pm EST by in Celebrity, Music, Videos

For those of you interested in watching Kirsten Dunst alternate between making cute faces and acting serious for three-and-a-half minutes, it's your lucky day.

R.E.M. may have announced their retirement last month, but like anyone who gives their two-week notice, there's still a little work to be done. The band recently released the Dominic DeJoseph-directed video for their final single, "We All Go Back To Where We Belong," featuring Dunst. All Dunst. Nothing but Dunst. No cuts. No edits. No fades. It's strangely engrossing.

Dunst seems to flit between reacting to the country-tinged pop song's nostalgic lyrics and just randomly making the faces that have earned her the crush of many a hipster for all these years. This isn't the first time Dunst has appeared in a video, though. In 1999, Australian pop duo Savage Garden cast Dunst as "Subway Girl No. 1" in the perennial prom favorite "I Knew I Loved You." That video involved slightly more movement, but R.E.M. goes the extreme close-up approach. We have to think that's way more nerve-wracking, right?

"We All Go Back To Where We Belong" will appear on the band's career-encompassing retrospective Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982-2011, out Nov. 15 on Warner Bros.

+ Watch R.E.M.'s "We All Go Back To Where We Belong" video featuring Kirsten Dunst.

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POSTED: Joe Jonas Does His Best Will Ferrell Impression

Posted 10/27/11 4:23 pm EST by in Celebrity, Interviews, Music, Posted, Videos

MTV.com's POSTED Artist of the Month Joe Jonas has already shared the meaning of his upcoming debut album, Fastlife, and his hopeful collaboration with Britney Spears. Now we got him back in the chair to discuss movies and hanging out with his equally busy brothers Nick and Kevin.

In the first clip, the 22-year-old singer outs himself as a major Will Ferrell fan, delivering his favorite quotes from Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. It's OK to start Googling other quotes once you see this. It's like a snowball once you hear the first one.

We also try to casually start some familial beef by asking Jonas which brother he talks to the most, but he diplomatically deflected our efforts. "It's kind of 50/50," Jonas told us. "[Nick] was going to try and come out on the road with me for a little bit, but he started his tour in South America. Kevin was with me yesterday. I get to see him quite a bit." Well played, sir.

Get your Joe Jonas fill all this month at Posted.MTV.com.

+ Check out more videos of Joe Jonas after the jump!

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Related Content POSTED: Joe Jonas Divulges Bucket List And Meaning Of 'Fastlife', POSTED: Joe Jonas On Working With Britney Spears And Making Movies, Follow Buzzworthy on Twitter

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Video Premiere: Mac Miller, 'Party On 5th Ave'

Posted 10/27/11 6:00 am EST by in Celebrity, Music, Video Premieres, Videos

Rapper Mac Miller has taken inspiration from some unlikely places, but in his new video for "Party On 5th Ave," the 19-year-old Pittsburgh native keeps it in the family. Inspired by his grandfather, Miller looks into the future, imaging himself and his crew as old men, living out their golden years on mobility scooters and engaging in traditional activities for elderly people such as carjacking, bashing and spray-painting cars and staging light saber-inspired cane fights.

After Miller and his entourage role around a park on mobility scooters, the crew stages a party/b-boy showcase in full costume, which we'll assume is not the part inspired by his grandfather, before the rapper tries, and fails, to outrun his younger, more athletic counterparts.

Miller recently performed at Chicago's House of Blues for MTV's "Live in Chicago" event, which saw the rapper perform "Best Day Ever (Remix)," "Knock Knock" and "Smile Back," the latter taken from his upcoming debut Blue Slide Park.

Incidentally, now that "Party On 5th Ave." exists alongside Tyler, The Creator's performance in Pusha T's "Trouble On My Mind," isn't it time for a "Best Use of a Mobility Scooter" category at the O Music Awards?

Blue Slide Park is scheduled for release Nov. 8 via Rostrum Records.

+ Watch Mac Miller's "Party On 5th Ave" video.

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New Song: Nada Surf, 'When I Was Young'

Posted 10/25/11 2:08 pm EST by in Celebrity, Music

Your older sibling probably remembers New York rock trio Nada Surf as the perennial MTV staple whose hit "Popular" remains, 15 years later, the single most useful piece of romantic advice we received growing up. But the group has hardly rested on their laurels since then, releasing a steady stream of critically acclaimed albums. We've got their latest track "When I Was Young," which draws on youthful nostalgia and its relation to growing up.

"When I Was Young" opens with delicate guitars, and singer Matthew Caws intimately singing about his younger days. As the track builds in intensity, the song illustrates the carefree nature of most childhoods and the realization that as you get older, you simultaneously are forced to make serious decisions and cede control of certain aspects of your life. Serious stuff. As Caws sings the chorus of "When I was young/I didn't know if I was better off asleep or up/Now I've grown up/I wonder, what was that world I was dreaming of?" over a pop-rock bed, you can hear the acceptance-tinged nostalgia in his voice.

For their first album in two years, the group worked in member Daniel Lorca's Williamsburg, Brooklyn, loft nicknamed "The Sitcom" because, as the band noted in an official statement, it "regularly hosts a revolving cast of colorful characters and some legendary parties." The band wouldn't elaborate, but you can at least hear the fruits of their labor below.

Nada Surf's latest, The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy, is out Jan. 24 on Barsuk Records.

+ Listen to Nada Surf's "When I Was Young."

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Video Premiere: Yellowcard, 'Sing For Me'

Posted 10/25/11 6:02 am EST by in Celebrity, Music, Video Premieres, Videos

In "Sing For Me," the latest video off Yellowcard's When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes album, the Los Angeles-via-Jacksonville, Florida punk-pop quintet showcases their motivational and inspirational side. The group intersperses footage of the band with a cavalcade of motivational aphorisms and messages from those who have seemingly overcame difficult obstacles.

Directed by Robby Starbuck, who's helmed videos for Smashing Pumpkins, Breathe Carolina and Metric among many others, "Sing For Me" features what appears to be non-actors holding affirming homemade signs like "Realizing I am beautiful the way God made me" and "My family and friends give me strength."

It may seem cryptic until you learn the song's backstory: "Sing For Me" was written from the perspective of singer Ryan Key's terminally ill aunt Stephanie, who passed away earlier this year from brain cancer and was previously mentioned in "Rock Star Land" from 2001's One for the Kids. The video features poignant goodbye messages from the band and others including "I miss my friend" and "I miss you #82" along with presumable survivors wearing T-shirts that say "It's a miracle I'm alive." The blunt message from Key: "F*** Cancer."

+ Watch Yellowcard's "Sing For Me" video.

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Watch Episode 2 Of 'The MTV Iggy Show,' Featuring Ximena Sarinana

Posted 10/24/11 8:37 pm EST by in Celebrity, Music, Videos

So remember last week when we told you about "The MTV Iggy Show," which sees actress and sword swallower Heather Holliday travelling the world to hunt down the coolest music acts from around the globe? Well, welcome to Episode 2 of "The Iggy Show" with artists from Mexico, Nigeria and Brazil.

First up, we've got Ximena Sarinana, a Mexican indie-pop singer who's already gone platinum in her home country. Sarinana sings in Spanish and English and has been starting to get a nice buzz stateside. Next up is Nigerian singer/rapper Nneka, whose music melds the soul of Lauryn Hill with traditional Nigerian rhythms. If you haven't heard the singer's ridiculously catchy 2008 hit "Heartbeart," just take three minutes and listen. Then listen again. Finally, we go down to Brazil to meet electronic music producer Gui Boratto, whose 2007 dance music anthem "Beautiful Life" blew him up and now allows him to play in front of 30,000 people. He admits that the original vocals, sung by his wife, were "super cheesy" at first until he asked her to lay down on the sofa and recorded her. A hit was born.

Sure, we're biased but trust us: "The MTV Iggy Show" is quickly becoming your weekly stop to get up to date on all the latest musical around the world. It's kinda like your passport to musical cred. Watch now. Thank us later.

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