When you type "Owl City Sound Like Postal Service" into that magic little Google contraption you get 280,000 results. Now, I'm sure some are about owls. Some are about cities. And I bet a bunch are about the mail.

But even if you siphon off some of the results, this is clearly a hot-button issue. I, personally can't believe that 60 Minutes hasn't jumped on this already, but we'll take it on here at BW.

Owl City is, more or less, Minnesotan musician Adam Young; he tours with a more fleshed-out band, but he does all the heavy lifting in the studio. They are incredibly popular. Their jam, "Fireflies" is a top 10 hit. It also sounds A LOT like Ben Gibbard (main man of Death Cab For Cutie) and Jimmy Tamborello's electronic-pop duo The Postal Service.

A LOT.

So, the question is this: does that matter? I don't personally think so. While I never encourage full-on biting of another artist's style, one would have to point at the Postal-Service-shaped void left in our pop landscape right now. The Postal Service haven't delivered (hawhaw) anything 2003's Give Up. Now, I'm not a math major, but that feels a lot like six years to me.

So if Postal Service aren't really a going concern, and Owl City make a very pleasant version of Postal-Servicey pop, should we not enjoy it for what it is?

I mean, if your mailman stopped coming for six years, and then a new dude showed up and was equally reliable and nice, would you not take his mail because he's not the same dude? Of course not! So why should it be that much different when it comes to pop?

Marinate on it and feel free to agree or disagree in the comments. And if you need a Cliff's Notes version of the two bands, watch Owl City's "Fireflies" and The Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" below.

The Woodies are coming -- mtvU's annual campus-friendly award show will air on MTV, MTV2, mtvU and Palladia on Friday, December 4, at 10 pm.

This is a truly democratic affair in which you can have a real say in who goes home with the wood. That's right, you can vote for the winners in the major categories.

To sweeten the pot to honey-levels of sweetness, the Woodies performers have just been announced. Let's get familiar shall we?

All the performers are also nominees for Video Woodie (best video, basically). First, we got the skronk-garage blues of The Dead Weather. Jack White's other, other band is nominated for their NRA-fever-dream of a clip for, "Treat Me Like Your Mother."

Then you've got some lilting, some chiming, some longing, some Death Cab For Cutie. DCFC are nominated for their video for "Grapevine Fires."

But they'll be performing their single from the New Moon soundtrack, "Meet Me At The Equinox."

And last, but least clothed, we have Matt and Kim, who will be performing their strip-tease anthem, "Lessons Learned." Will they do it in their birthday suits? You'll have to check it out to see.

As someone who's a long-time Death Cab For Cutie fan (I've seen them live probably 10 times) and a Twilight trilogy fan who's read New Moon and seen the New Moon trailers, I watched Death Cab For Cutie's brand-new "Meet Me On The Equinox" video and reacted (nay... GASPED!) in a manner not unlike superfan Nutty Madam when she watched the New Moon trailer.

Thoughts that raced through my head while watching Death Cab For Cutie's "Meet Me On The Equinox" video -- which features some serious New Moon footage -- included:

+ OMG! Bella's orange truck!

+ OMG NO DON'T LEAVE, EDWARD! I HATE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW, EDWARD CULLEN! YOU'RE SO SEVERELY MISGUIDED!

+ ZOMG! Bella's on Jacob's motorcycle!

+ BELLA! NO! DON'T JUMP OFF THE CLIFF! YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS IT IS! DON'T YOU DARE!

+ OMG! Volterra!

+ OMG! Alice's fancy yellow sportscar!

+ OOH! Nick Harmer's beard looks cool!

+ AHHH! Bella's in the fountain!

+ WTS? HOW'D BELLA GET IN THE WATER?

+ OMG! RUN, BELLA, RUN! NO! WAIT, EDWARD! SHE'S ALMOST THERE! (DYING! BANGINGHEADAGAINSTKEYBOARDBLEEDINGBUTONLYMINORLY!)

But then I came to my senses (basically), and realized that yes, the video DOES have a gratuitous shot of a shirtless Edward Cullen, but digging a little deeper, Death Cab perfectly encapsulates the tension and pain, good and evil (note the darkness and light), and the race and the risk that Bella endures in New Moon. (And also, there's a shirtless Edward Cullen.) Now excuse me while I faint again.

Watch Death Cab For Cutie's "Meet Me On The Equinox" video, directed by Walter Robot, now.

In this brand-new behind-the-scenes video from Death Cab For Cutie, the band gives you an in-depth look at their song and forthcoming video, "Meet Me On The Equinox," the first single from the New Moon soundtrack.

Watch the band discuss the love story behind the "cultural monolith," in the words of Chris Walla, that is the Twilight series, the parallels between the lyrics of "Meet Me On The Equinox" and New Moon's storyline, and find out which member of Death Cab's super into vampires and werewolves.

Plus, listen to "Meet Me On The Equinox," and stay tuned for the MTV premiere of Death Cab For Cutie's "Meet Me On The Equinox" video on Wednesday, October 7.

Celebrities are good at a lot of things: self-promotion, engaging us in engagement speculation, having MINDBLOWING hair ROBERT PATTINSON. But one thing they can't be depended upon to do is SIT THEIR ASSES DOWN all by themselves. Here's an inside look at the seat cards for the 2009 MTV VMAs, so all of the celebrities and guests know where to sit and the cameras know where to capture that perfect "Oh-seriously-I'm-so-happy-for-you!" face when their competition wins. (Cough cough Gaga versus Beyonce!)

See where Katy Perry, Gaga, Paramore, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Janet Jackson, and more VMA guests will sit! (I love how Cobra Starship appears to get one seat for five people, while Death Cab For Cutie gets four separate seats! Also, keep in mind that suprise guests don't usually get seat cards if you catch what I'm saying... )

+ Check out more photos of 2009 VMA seat cards after the jump!

Read more...

Alex Greenwald -- Phantom Planet frontman, Mark Ronson collaborator, and former model -- used to be so freaking hot it was almost impossible to look at him without thinking "nasty thoughts," as Janet Jackson once said. But not long ago, a paparazzi photo popped up in which the once-smokin' Alex looked like a straight-up hobo. Still, who'd he have hanging on his arm? British supermodel and Met Ball belle Agyness Deyn.

While we've got no problem with some slight shagginess, Alex Greenwald has seen better days, and his unkempt hair looks gnarlier than ever. (A tip: lather, rinse, repeat... repeat... repeat...) Still, Alex bagged a supermodel, so maybe the joke's on us.

Anyway, the shaggy/smoldering combo of Alex Greenwald and Agyness Deyn reminded us of some more hot chicks and the mangy men they love. So check out more of Buzzworthy's favorite guys who look like they live in boxcars and the beautiful babes who love them anyway.

Ryan Adams: Alt-country musician Ryan Adams won the heart of pop-folk singer Mandy Moore, who's had high-profile romances with tennis hunk Andy Roddick as well as Wilmer Valderrama and Zach Braff, while Ryan dated pretty Parker Posey. But it was ultra-shaggy Ryan who swept Mandy off her feet: Ryan and Mandy got married just last month. Hopefully the groom, uh, groomed for the big day.

Alex DeLeon: Okay, Alex DeLeon -- who's been linked to the radiant Demi Lovato -- used to be way more polished, but when he came to MTV for The Cab's Buzzworthy interview in March 2009, his broken-ended hair, fuzzy facial hair and leather accessories kinda made him look like he was running from the law. Bring back unquestionably hot Alex!

Ben Gibbard: Indie superstar Ben Gibbard's sensitive vocals are the perfect match for Zooey Deschanel. Zooey, dubbed "the rich man's Katy Perry" -- oh snap! -- by one site, has had leading roles in a slew of movies like Elf, where she showed off her vocal cords and her adorablility. Even though the oft-unshaven Ben's been featured on UglyMales.com (to the objection of many commenters, to be fair), he and Zooey matched up not only musically, but they're also engaged. Aww! Indie romance!

Joe Trohman: It's clear that Pete Wentz-ian man-glam is not Joe Trohman's style. But there are other ways to stand out besides looking like a homeless man who wandered off the street and onto the stage. His disheveled, mountain-man look has still been described as "wonderfully hobo-esque meets Jesus." True! We're not saying Joe's not hot. We just miss his From Under The Cork Tree-era/ "Dance Dance" short hair. Still, he nabbed a super-cute girl and put a ring on dat; he and Marie (above) are engaged.

+ More hobo guys and hot girls after the jump.

Read more...

(Credit: Brian Appio)

Before blistering the paint off of NYC's Highline Ballroom with Ludo, Sing It Loud and The Morning Light, This Providence dropped by MTV for a photo session and a quick interview. The Seattle boys with the Aussie accent (courtesy of frontman Dan Young) have been banging out noisy, emotional anthems since 2003, in one incarnation or another.

In 2006, Young and his high school buddy/guitarist Gavin Phillips picked up David Blaise on bass and got signed to Fueled By Ramen. In 2007, they added Andy Horst on drums, toured with Paramore and officially started having to fight off hordes of fans with sticks. Here's a little insight into why you need their Who Are You Now? record (out March 17) more than you need water or toilet paper.

Buzzworthy: Here's an easy one -- why are you called This Providence?
This Providence: Well, you know, the meaning. Divine intervention. We like the idea of that. Destiny. That kind of describes us as a band. We were called and destined to make music.

BW: Y'all are from Seattle. There's a lot of musical baggage there. What do you connect more with: grunge or emo?
TP: Well, a little bit of everything, really. We're fans of Death Cab, Sunny Day, Jeremy Enigk... We like Nirvana. Have you heard of them? Don't know when they're gonna go on tour again, though. We've just been waiting.

BW: Would you call yourselves an emo band?
TP: (Dan Young) Yeah, we're pretty emo. We have depth to our music, and that's one kind of depth we have.

(Andy Horst) I don't even know what emo is anymore.

(Dan Young) Emo is just crying because your heart's broken. That's what songs have always been about.

(Gavin Phillips) We won't be mad if someone calls us emo.

BW: Does "My Beautiful Rescue" have a backstory?
TP: It does have a backstory, but I don't wanna share it, really. It's just a song about falling in love with someone you don't deserve.

BW: You've done a lot of touring with Paramore. Any gnarly road stories?
TP: Paramore are awesome. There's a girl in that band. We've toured with them a lot.

BW: Any falling in love?
TP: Unfortunately, no. Well, with Josh (Farro) a little bit. He's a looker.

BW: I'm sure "That Girl's A Trick" is about falling in love, too, right?
TP: Ha, yeah. It's about falling for the wrong girl.

BW: So you are totally emo!
TP: Yeah, see!

Watch "My Beautiful Rescue" and check This Providence's tour schedule to see when they're coming to your venue of choice.

Man, I been begging to do a post on Animal Collective here for ages but the powers that be keep telling me "No, our audience isn't ready for that far out noise rock." That being said, there is no denying that every time I see Animal Collective, the crowd gets younger. And I can't think of a better testament to their greatness!

What other band has started out at the obscurest end of the art rock spectrum and come all the way into the mainstream spotlight without substantially sacrificing fans or cred? Death Cab? Nope. Bright Eyes? Eh, sorta... Modest Mouse? Definitely not. Even if they had, none of those bands was ever quite as adventurous as Animal Collective.

Since the recent release of their eighth (EIGHTH!) studio album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, the din of mainstream Animal Collective praise has developed into a full-on roar. People are plain-old losing it for Animal Collective, ranking it among Kid A, Pet Sounds and Revolver as one of the best albums ever. And it's not just the critics who are flipping. My little brother tells me that his whole school (Nicolet High School in Milwaukee, WI) is mental for Merriweather, too. "Everybody's Facebook status is Merriweather Post Pavilion," he tells me. It's a full-on phenomenon.

BUT! Are we ready for an Animal Collective invasion? Is there room for them in the buzz bin among Miley and the Jonases? Is there room at the Tokio Hotel (ugh, sorry)? Well how about you just watch the video for "My Girls" and get back to me on that? Deal?

Christopher Browder is a dude from Louisville, Kentucky. He's a fan of LOST, quesadillas, and George Bush (with a mustache). He plays too much Wii and drinks too much Diet Coke. Christopher Browder is also Mansions, a one-man emotional rollercoaster (a la Bright Eyes) who sounds a lot like early Death Cab For Cutie. If the photo on Browder's purevolume profile is any indication -- he spends a lot of time being overwhelmed by the feelings he sings about. That bodes well for the music, because you can tell he means every word.

Mansions' debut album drops March 3 on Doghouse Records, home of Jet Lag Gemini, Army Of Me and The Honorary Title, and original signer of The Get Up Kids, Say Anything and All-American Rejects. Not too shabby, right? If you can't wait until March, and you happen to be lucky enough to live in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, you can catch Browder with buddies standing in on bass and drums at The Werehouse February 6. Otherwise, listen to Mansions, and get ready for a major arrival!

+ The (real) NYPD has reportedly beefed up security here in Times Square to prevent a scheduled Jonas Brothers appearance from turning into a veritable "tween mob scene." Ha! Good luck with THAT, coppahs. (Gothamist)

+ And speaking of Jonas Fever, here's a totally tween-mobworthy interview with Frankie (a.k.a. Bonus Jonas) himself! OMFJ, right!? (Jonas Brothers Fan)

+ Fresh of the heels of (false!) rumors that Katy Perry and Travis McCoy are wedding-bound come (true!) reports that Katy's twinsie, Zooey Deschanel, is engaged to Death Cab's Ben Gibbard. (MTV News)

+ One-time Shot at Love star Tila Tequila wages one-sided war against Rihanna. Discuss. (Remote Control)

+ Meanwhile, Beyonce inadvertently(?) picks a fight with Janet Jackson, calling her family upbringing a "bad situation." Yep, it's about to get Nasty, folks. (National Enquirer)

+ Britney Spears tops USA Today's annual "Celebrity Heat Index" (a.k.a. list of Most Overexposed Celebs) for the second straight year. And they said this was a comeback! (Usmagazine.com)

+ Fact: Bjork to singlehandedly save Iceland from total financial ruin. (Scandalist)

+ American Idol rewind! MTV's resident recapper, Jim Cantiello, recounts the best moments of '08. (MTV News)