Yo. This new Linkin Park video is intense. Joe Hahn — the band’s turntable guru and resident video director — has stepped his game up in a major way. Remember that tripped-out technique that made your eyes roll back in your head on Chairlift’s “Evident Utensil” and Kanye West’s original “Welcome To Heartbreak?” The one that pixelates the images, bleeds the colors, and melts them all together? Yeah well, it’s back in a big way.

This time around, in the video for Linkin Park’s “New Divide,” the revolutionary technique doesn’t take center stage. It’s one of many. Hahn uses the pixel melt to segue between double-vision infrared performance clips and scenes from Transformers 2: Revenge Of The Fallen, the film for which “New Divide” is the theme. To put it plainly, the effect is stunning. And it doesn’t hurt that the song walks that impossible line of epic and irresistibly catchy. Prepare to catch yourself singing “Give me reeeeeason!” under your breath all day. Watch “New Divide,” now.

Like their Los Angeles hometown, it’s always 70 degrees in the minds of hair metal band Steel Panther. It’s also always approximately 1986.

Steel Panther, formerly Metal Skool, have been working L.A.’s notorious Sunset Strip harder than a stripper in stilettos, and they’ve accumulated more famous friends than you’ve got Facebook friends: Kelly Clarkson, Benji Madden, Pink, Avril Lavigne, Linkin Park’s M. Shadows, David Cook, and scores of other celebrities have joined them on stage to cover ’80s metal classics by Skid Row, Journey’s epic “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and LOTS of Guns N’ Roses. (Steel Panther’s also responsible for the cover of Aldo Nova’s “Fantasy” used as the theme song of Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory.)

Watch Stix Zadinia, Satchel, Michael Starr, and Lexxi Foxxx reveal five never-before-revealed things about Steal Panther — including the unspeakable, peanut-butter-based things they’d like to your lady area — in this groundbreaking episode of “The 5.” (It’s the first one we’ve ever had to age-restrict! RAWK!)

Like how that felt? Pick up Steel Panther’s new album, Feel the Steel when it comes out in November.

+ Plus: Watch “Death to All But Metal” after the jump!

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Linkin Park’s “What I’ve Done” was so crucial to the tone and packaging of TRANSFORMERS, that Michael Bay just couldn’t have made a sequel without tapping the California rapcore champions again. Only this time around, instead of pulling a pre-existing single from an album, Linkin Park have created a brand-new track, exclusively for Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.

The track in question, “New Divide,” is the official theme of Transformers 2, so if you’ve seen the trailer, you’ve already heard the new screamer (”give me reeeason!“). But you’re about to hear a whole lot more of it. That’s because Joe Hahn, Linkin Park’s resident turntablist and video director, is getting ready to drop his wild, cinematic vision of the new single.

Until it surfaces (any day now!), watch Joe in action on the set of “New Divide,” setting up motion blurs, delivering enormous guns to the prop shop, cranking the smoke machines to full blast and generally “going against the flow.” Find out exactly what all that means in the clip below, an exclusive MTV peek behind the scenes of the “New Divide” video. Drop by Linkin Park’s website for more details on the music video and on Transformers 2!

As you can probably tell by looking at it, there’s a lot to be learned from Saosin’s (pronounced “say-o-sin”) peculiar name. Adapted from Chinese, the first known appearance of the word is in an old proverb that cautions against becoming too attached to anything in this impermanent world. (Bummer, but probably for the best.) It translates literally as “little heart.” And while little heart couldn’t be any less accurate a description of the Newport Beach-based boys’ pleading screamo assaults, they’ve faced more than their share of impermanence, undergoing three major lineup changes before they even put out their first full-length.

After losing original singer Anthony Green, drummer Pat McGrath and bassist Zach Kennedy, Saosin eventually settled into a more permanent roster of Cove Reber (vox), Beau Burchell (guitar, vox), Justin Shekoski (guitar, vox), Chris Sorenson (bass), and Alex Rodriguez (drums). That’s a whole lotta vocals, right? I wasn’t kidding when I said “assault.” Lately, every Saosin song is a flag-waving, fist-pumping, eyes-clamped, teeth-bared battle cry. A rare quality that attracted the attention of Capitol Records and landed the band on tours with Avenged Sevenfold, Coheed And Cambria, Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance and tons more. In fact, they’re on the road right now with The Used. Here are some dates you can look at while Saosin emote us out with “You’re Not Alone.”

With Road To Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes finally out, Chester and Phoenix drop a few hints about Linkin Park’s next album.

Watch the video below, see what they had to say about getting Linkin Park fans to help name the live CD/DVD,  and about getting bitten by the Twilight bug.

You, and your BFFs and every girl in your school PLUS your mom aren’t the only ones DYING (yet paradoxically living FOREVER!) for tonight’s premiere of Twilight! Even Linkin Park’s psyched for the book, movie and the soundtrack, which they’re featured on.

See what Chester and Phoenix have to say about being part of Twilight, and find out more about their upcoming CD/ DVD, Road to Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes.

And happy TWIDAY, everyone who’s not currently standing in line, tickets in hand, locked in Cullen-strength death-grip clutch! (AND PRETTY PRETTY ROSALIE PLEASE no spoilers, because I’m not seeing until this Wednesday, when my sister and I are seeing it the TwiMAX version!)

Linkin Park’s new CD/ DVD, Road to Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes — shot at the National Bowl in Milton Keynes, England in June of 2008 — is mere minutes away from its November 25 release. So Chester and Phoenix sat down to answer a few questions about LP’s latest live effort and handing over the baby-naming duties, once again, to Linkin Park fans.

Check out the interview below, and stay tuned for more Buzzworthy interviews with Linkin Park.


Panic At The Disco’s Beatles-inspired “Nine In the Afternoon” video also inspired a 2008 VMA nomination for Best Direction.

Panic will be at the 2008 VMAs. And if they win, director Shane Drake — he also directed two videos up for a 2008 Best Rock Video VMA — Paramore’s “crushcrushcrush” and Fall Out Boy’s “Beat It” — will share the honors. Shane, one of the most creative and prolific directors of the decade, also directed Panic’s “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” video, which won them the Video of the Year award at the 2006 VMAs.

In the Best Direction category, Panic’s up against Erykah Badu’s “Honey,” Linkin Park’s “Shadow of the Day,” Rihanna’s “Take a Bow,” and Pussycat Dolls’ six-time-nominated “When I Grow Up” video. Do you think “Nine In the Afternoon” retro-nuevo style can beat out the competition?

Watch “Nine In the Afternoon,” check out Buzzworthy’s behind-the-scenes footage of Panic at the video shoot, and tell us if you think Panic can pull it off.

Also, please tell us which member of PATD — Brendon, Ryan (happy day-after-your-birthday, by the way), Spencer, or Jon — will show up to the VMAs looking the most like George Harrison/ Devendra Banhart?


Attention budding directors, design nerds, After Effects tinkerers and Tay Zonday fans. Six new 2008 VMA categories have just been announced, and you’ll be glad to know (or at least I am), that Erykah Badu, Death Cab for Cutie, and Weezer did not get overlooked.

Erykah Badu’s “Honey” homage is up for three out of the six new categories, Death Cab for Cutie’s meat locker love song “I Will Possess Your Heart” is up for two, and Weezer’s “Pork and Beans” squeaked in too. Good damn thing too, because it would’ve been a crime if that gem had been overlooked.

The new categories focus on video design, direction, and … DANCE! They’re sorta like the technical Oscars, but more exciting. And speaking of the Oscars, the new categories are:

+ Best Art Direction: Welcome, MGMT and White Stripes!

+ Best Choreography: Two Chris Brown videos up in here. Big shocker there. And Adele and Gnarls Barkley make an appearance!

+ Best Cinematography: Breakneck competition here between Badu, Death Cab, Katy Perry, White Stripes and Pussycat Dolls, who now have SIX nominations — the most of any artist this year.

+ Best Direction: Panic At the Disco, and Rihanna pick up their second noms of the year. Link Park picks up their third.

+ Best Editing: Will Katy Perry, Erykah Badu, Death Cab, and Ne-Yo get served by Weezer’s “Pork and Beans”?

+ Best Special Effects: Coldplay enters the race with “Violet Hill,” and so Kanye doesn’t throw a fit, his “Good Life” video’s in there too.

Check out the full list of new categories and nominees, check out Buzzworthy’s interview with “Pork and Beans” director Mathew Cullen, and watch the epic meme montage yet again.

+ Rapper 50 Cent has officially knocked Jay-Z out of the top spot in Forbes‘ “Hip-Hop Cash Kings” rankings. Or, as we call it, the “Richest Guys Still Rapping About Being From The Streets” list. (MTV)

+ And speaking of Hov, here’s Part XX of the Jay-Z vs. Oasis feud. (Nah Right, via RS)

+ Jurassic flashback! Before they were hanging with the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez were chillin’ at Barney’s crib. (People)

+ Breaking: The Destiny’s Child reunion tour may contain new material! Which doesn’t change the fact that we only want to hear them play “Survivor,” “Bootlycious” and “Independent Women Part 1″ on repeat. (NME)

+ Linkin Park pays tribute to Guns N’ Roses by decimating “Welcome to the Jungle.” (Idolator)

+ Ice Cube proves he’s still got it by doin’ his “thang” on his new music vid. (The Boombox)

+ Buzzin’ boys Shwayze and Cisco Adler discuss their foolproof plan for avoiding underage girls. (Karma Loop)

+ As expected, Britney Spears isn’t just losing custody of her children. She’s also losing custody of the $700,000 she owes in legal fees, not to mention K-Fed’s fat palimony checks. (MTV)