The 2009 mtvU Woodie Awards are happening now in New York City -- a mash-up of music's famous faces, and on-point performances. And we're liveblogging it all on the MTV Buzzworthy blog. Stay here for the backstage, birdseye, and middle-of-it-all 2009 mtvU Woodies report. And watch the 2009 mtvU Woodies Friday, December 4, at 10 p.m. ET on mtvU, MTV, MTV2, and Palladia.

10:51pm -- We're off to the after party, see ya, it's been a blast! For more Woodies gossip, party reports and general madness check in with Buzzworthy tomorrow or check out highlights from the show on the Woodies site right now. We have tons of photos, red-carpet looks, rehearsal performances (some of which you saw here earlier today) and more. PEACE!

10:23pm -- Matt & Kim can't go anywhere without throngs of admirers following them. They're pretty much the Brangelina of the Woodies. Except they don't own several kids and possibly hate each other.

10:14pm -- Alexa Chung is swaying along to "Treat Me Like Your Mother." Jack White looks like a cross between a pissed-off vampire and The Crow. In a way that works, though.

10:09pm -- The Dead Weather is taking the Woodies to the church of bad news on all-white instruments. Allison Mosshart's on a square guitar, and I'm pretty sure it's got the devil inside.

10:04pm --Mary-Louise Parker drops an eff-bomb while intro-ing the Dead Weather! RAWK!!!!!!

10:02pm -- Kid Sister and Kim (of Matt & Kim) are exchanging phone numbers on the floor, David Cross is catching up with Matt Pinfield, and Leighton Meester and Cyndi Lauper, present, and they're each dressed totally future-forward. They're dropping Woodie of the Year.

9:51pm -- Jamie Tworkowski wins the Good Woodie for To Write Love On Her Arms, and dedicates the award to people battling depression and drug addiction.

9:43pm -- Cam'ron drops some knowledge on the Clipse. The vibe is straight-up old-school -- no tricks, no autotune, no stunts. Just hype hip-hop. And RICK ROSS , bossin' behind shades, centerstage. Appropriately the crowd is dancing on barstools.

9:37pm -- The men of Passion Pit are launching tiny burgers into each other's mouths and ordering extra whiskey shots. A saucer-eyed, autotuned Janelle Monae intros the Clipse as the crowd yells out "You're beautiful!"

9:33pm -- Matt & Kim win Video Of The Year, and as their friends in the crowd toss their drink about 40 feet in the air, M&K bypass the stairs, crawl on top of the crowd, and rush the stage. They accept the award, thank pretty much everyone in one swoop, and Kim takes another dive off the stage.

9:27pm -- Death Cab just performed meet "Meet Me On The Equinox" to a mesmerized crowd but pretty much got the U2 reception when they did "Sound of Settling"

9:23pm -- MTV alumni Jon Norris and Matt Pinfield are catching up on the floor.

9:18pm -- David Cross has crown shoved into his pocket, and he's telling a Tom Cruise Scientology joke, for those of you who don't know what Dianetics is.

9:12pm -- Overheard, P.O.S telling someone "I just hope I looked cool," after someone congratulated him on his performance.

9:10pm -- P.O.S.just rapped over live flipcup percussion.

9:06pm -- Asher Roth gives out the Best Performing Woodie to Green Day. They're not here to accept so Asher stagedives instead.

9:04pm -- I'm down on the floor where all of the talent's seated, not at tables but at dozens of narrow glittery bars. There's a 1:2 ratio of kegs to celeb bar, and Oh The Story has their own personal shot waiter. Wisely, one member of Oh The Story cut himself off and ordered a diet coke.

9:00pm -- A production assistant carrying the next Woodie just rushed the award backstage.

8:59pm -- David Cross and the Clipse are having a heart-to-heart. Intense!

8:57pm -- Just walked by David Cross, who's dressed like he's going to a Superbowl party.

8:55pm --  Alexa Chung gives out the Best Music On Campus Woodie -- an award she promises will lead to getting laid more -- to an ecstatic Hotel Of The Laughing Tree whose friends are freaking out on the floor behind me.

8:46pm -- Amber Tamblyn intros Passion Pit via Twitter. Passion Pit is clearly a crowd favorite -- we've got people on top of people's shoulders, air drumming (like the Rush scene in "I Love You, Man," but far far cooler...)

8:42pm -- 3Oh3! is presenting the Left Field Woodie... DRESSED AS LADY GAGA AT THE VMAS!!!! The red dress and the white bird's nest mask thing! Reference was made to soiled panties! :O  Tech N9ne wins it and makes a Woodie joke and drops a KRS-One lyric!!!

8:28pm -- Never Shout Never has the shortest acceptance speech ever: "Power to the people!" Talks least, says most!

8:26pm -- Zooey Deschanel, darling as always in a darling dress, cracked a joke about not taking off her clothes as they swept up Matt & Kim's castoffs. She's presenting the Breaking Woodie Award, which goes to Never Shout Never!

8:23pm -- Pete Wentz, red solo cup in hand, is going rogue. Give that guy a mic and he'll take a mile. He just cracked a swine flu joke and dropped the "douchebag" bomb as he kicked off the 2009 Woodies!

8:21pm -- How'd do you get to college parties? BIKE there! Matt & Kim just biked here from Brooklyn straight into the lobby of the Woodies. They brought some friends who aren't just singing backup, they're stripping down to their skivvies for lessons learned. Undies party!!! Extra points to Kim -- she jumped up onto the drumkit and WALKED ON TOP of the crowd!!!!

8:15pm -- Jack White and the Dead Weather didn't walk the red carpet -- they basically ran it. Jack White needs a role in "Eclipse." Dude is whiter than a natural-born Cullen.

8:10pm -- Never Shout Never's Christofer Drew wins Best Dressed at the Woodies. Hands down. That Mickey Mouse sweater deserves its own award.

8:03pm -- Woah... Nick Cannon just ran down the red carpet! No sign of Mariah Carey...

8:01pm -- What's a college party without flipcup! The mtvU Woodies have their very own flipcup game going on at one of the bars. Kenna, just took aim. Isn't that how you get swine flu?

6:58pm -- The red carpet is under way, and I just caught up with breaking band Sparks The Rescue, who informed me that votes aliens are the new vampires.

Dance-punk's getting its due with Matt & Kim's performance, the night's gonna get futuro-electro with Passion Pit, but the 2009 Woodies are also going to bring a heavy dose of hip-hop and by heavy I mean Rick Ross the boss, who's joining the Clipse on stage tonight for their performance of "I'm Good." They'll also perform "Popular Demand (Popeyes)" with Cam'ron. And while many of the Woodies' nominees and performers may be new to you, the Clipse -- Pusha T and Malice -- have been quietly pumping out some of the realest, sickest, and smoothest lyrics (without hiding behind vocal distortion) for over a decade.

Unfortunately their record label experiences have been packed with more drama than the guiding light. But Malice and Pusha T have pushed on. If you slept on the Clipse until just now, wake the hell up, because win or lose, this is hip-hop -- and the Thornton Brothers' -- night too. Don't miss Clipse's live performance with Rick Ross and Cam'ron -- at the 2009 mtvU Woodies. Check out a rehearsal clip of the track, "Popular Demand (Popeyes)."

Watch the 2009 mtvU Woodies Friday, December 4, at 10 p.m. ET on mtvU, MTV, MTV2, and Palladia.

Apologies in advance for the bad food analogy I'm about to make. Clearly I'm bitter about the free bag of generic popcorn I just inhaled for lunch (with "insert brand name of prescription drug you can't pronounce" printed on the bag). Anyway, you could kind of liken the Florida music scene to a Cracker Barrel menu. Don't get me wrong: I am ALL for some Hickory Smoked Honey Glazed Ham (Backstreet Boys) and cheese grits (Matchbox Twenty).  And who knows? Maybe I want to wash down my chicken 'n dumplings (2 Live Crew) with some box wine (Dashboard Confessional).  But Miami synth-rock/electro-pop act Awesome New Republic seems to have just the right amount of pop amazingness without sounding trite (think the electronic bits and driving beats of Miike Snow blended with the psychedelic sweetness of Passion Pit).

Earlier this year, Awesome New Republic -- John Hancock, Brian Robertson, and newly-added-for-tour Jorge Rubiera -- had a Perez Hilton pop moment when P'rezzers posted a Leighton Meester cover of their track "Birthday." Side note: Leighton seems to have a knack for hanging with the boys (not that way, pervtown), as evidenced by this summer's smash Cobra Starship collabo "Good Girls Go Bad" to the literally just-released video "Somebody To Love," featuring Robin Thicke.

Now, with their brand-new album Hearts, just released on October 27th, and their song "Magic City" (from the previously released EP Rational Geographic Vol. 1) appropriately featured in tomorrow's Miami-bound episode of The City, Awesome New Republic just might be the best band you've never heard of. You're welcome.

As Phil Collins is prone to say, I can feel it coming in the air tonight. The leaves are falling, the college football is being played, the hayrides are being taken; it's mtvU Woodie Awards season, pumpkins.

In honor of mtvU's annual award show, honoring the music the rocked college campuses the hardest, we thought we'd get some of these nominees used to the fierce competition they will face when the show will airs on MTV, MTV2, mtvU and Palladia on Friday, December 4, at 10 pm.

Today we're pitting the D.C. rapper (and this year's MTV Video Music Awards in-house entertainer) Wale against Brooklyn dream-poppers Passion Pit. Both acts are nominated for the Breaking Woodie Award.

Arbitrarily (and vaguely), let's say we're judging on the basis of dopeness. It's something you can't define, but you know it when you see it.

The Wale video has swagger. A swooping opening shot, a Lady Gaga feature, a dope beat, and it was most people's introduction to the lovable Chocolate City emcee.

Passion Pit is all indie innovation and art. And it's gorgeous. A beautiful, lush tune full of swelling keyboards with a unique video, givinng an impressionistic snapshot of a night in the life of a young lady; tearing that snapshot up in the process.

The winner? Well the nice part is, it's up to you! Let us know who you like in the comments, and go vote for your favorite at the mtvu Woodie site (where you can vote in any of the categories being awarded at the show!).

The leaves are leaving the trees and the kids are back in school. It's starting to look like Woodie weather out there, no?

MTVU's annual award show--held this year on December 4th--honors those artists who put it down on college campuses everywhere; celebrating the music the kids listen to while studying to become the future leaders of America, etc. And the best part about this show? You can vote to determine who wins!

This year features a really healthy crop of artists. Let's take a gander at some of the categories and nominees, shall we?

For the Woodie of the Year Award, for the artist who made the biggest splash on college campuses this year, we've got Asher Roth, Kings Of Leon, Drake, Silversun Pickups and MGMT.

In the category of Breaking Woodie, which honors up and coming artists who have made headway with the kids, the nominees are Grizzly Bear, Never Shout Never, Wale, La Roux, Friendly Fires and Passion Pit.

Probably my favorite category, Left Field Woodie, which features artists who defy classification, features nominees like Amanda Blank, Major Lazer, Janelle Monae and P.O.S.

You can also vote in the categories Performing Woodie, Good Woodie and College Radio Woodie, BMOC Woodie and Best Video Woodie.

What's better than one keyboard and a live drummer? About four keyboards and a live drummer. If you missed Passion Pit's live performance of "The Reeling" this past week on It's On With Alexa Chung because you were out "doing things" with your summer... things like "swimming" or "enjoying the outdoors," then it looks like we went ahead and did "indoor things" for you... like uploaded it to the Internet for your convenience. It's always all about you, isn't it. Typical.

Watch Passion Pit perform "The Reeling" off of their Manners album.

HUGE Alexa Chung day today! Adam Sandler and Leslie Mann, the GLOWING and radiant Nelly Furtado -- watch her brand-new "Manos Al Aire" video here if you haven't yet -- a live Passion Pit performance, and Michelle Collins talking about nips! You can't BUY that kind of good, American entertainment with actual money. Anyway, here's what Alexa wore today.

Thursday, July 30
+ Sweater: J. Crew
+ Jeans: Topshop
+ Heels: Marni
+ Necklace: J. Crew

A great grey V-neck sweater is a wardrobe staple, but you know what also should be a wardrobe staple? This SWEET vampire-inspired grey Topshop sweater designed by German designer Markus Lupfer (Madonna and Gwen Stefani are fans). It's sooo delightfully Rocky Horror/ Twilight-meet-Rolling Stones, and it's $170 at Topshop.com.

And check out Forever 21's black Deco-inspired bib necklace. It's just $6.80, which is like less than one of those huge Jamba Juices.

(Credit: Elizabeth Weinberg)

You've seen them in tripped out Tron-like videos, you've seen them on a boat... Now, get all mano y mano with Brooklyn synth-savants Passion Pit, when they drop by MTV for a visit and an interview. You'll learn all about their band origins, fat-Elvis-related day job nightmares and criminal records, all the while admiring their effortless indie rock style.

Among the revelations: they're not actually from Boston, as all the indie blogs would have you believe. Also, despite what their joyful electro-jams might have you believe, they haven't always been tickling synths. In fact, their backgrounds are diverse enough to include shred metal and -- gasp! -- jazz!

And that's not even the stand-out Passion Pit fun fact. Not by a long shot. That honorable title is held by the mind-boggling condition described in the fourth item of the band's "The 5 interview." I won't spoil it for you, but I will tell you -- after hearing this horror story -- that you won't see Passion Pit playing a BBQ anytime soon.

Oh, and apparently there's a video in circulation of drummer Nate Donmoyer punching a bee, so go hunt that down after you watch stylish "Sleepyhead" inventors, Passion Pit, on "The 5!"

Passion Pit popped up as a Buzzworthy Obsession back in February, in a post that found the band performing with a children's choir. This time, in an equally Dr. Seussian turn, the band is playing on a boat (and, technically, in a moat).

An MTV News camera crew followed the Brooklyn synth-magicians into New York Harbor for their seafaring album premiere party, and cornered them in the galley (with little Sally) for a quick Q+A.

In another moment of literary inspiration, the band made a metaphor of their maiden voyage, comparing the choppy water of the Hudson River to all the complications they overcame to make their debut LP, Manners, a reality.

Click play below for a chat with the bookish band, accompanied by a whole lotta boat-rockin' indie (hop on) pop.

+ See full MTV News coverage of the event here

+ Related Video: The Lonely Island, "I'm On A Boat"

Passion Pit's break-out hit "Sleepyhead" combines hip-hop beats with spastic helium vocal loops and vaguely Indian-sounding instrumentation. Come to think of it, the Brooklyn band kinda sounds like Disney's Main Street Electrical Parade. You remember that thing? Probably not. So, picture a procession of oversized animals wrapped in Christmas lights at twilight, marching slo-mo down the avenue toward Cinderella Castle. In a video I saw recently on TheFader.com, Passion Pit's lead-singer Michael Angelakos says that "Sleepyhead" was meant to emulate a children's choir. Fitting, eh?

The "Sleepyhead" video is just as psychedelic as the song's exotic sound. It features Angelakos' head in an animated box that spins up and down the length of a cable, bobbing alongside electrified piano keys and iridescent letters. It's basically Tron. Check it out.