MTV Buzzworthy Blog › The Ting Tings

Unless you're talking about Prince, most musical acts sound like somebody else--or at least people try to tell you they do. Like, when Muse started to get attention after appearing on the "Twilight Saga: Eclipse" soundtrack, everyone was all like, "They sound like Radiohead!" And I was all like, "Naw man, no one sounds like Radiohead!" But really, yeah, they do kind of sound like Radiohead.

So in the spirit of "this thing sounds like that thing," I present you the taxonomic breakdown of the musical influences of noise-pop outfit Sleigh Bells, before you can watch them on MTV.com's "Live In NYC" on Monday, Sept. 20.

1. Sleigh Bells Sound Like... Yeah Yeah Yeahs (or The Ting Tings)
Any time you have a band, or in this case a duo, fronted by a woman who can zero-to-60 from a loud, bitchy shout to a sweet, honey-dipped soprano, the Karen O comparisons are going to pour in. And Alexis Krauss, the female half of Sleigh Bells, has a vocal range that ranks right up there with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman and The Ting Tings' leading lady, Katie White. Just check out Sleigh Bells' track "Infinity Guitars" and tell me if you don't pick up on a definite "That's Not My Name" feel.

2. Sleigh Bells Sound Like...M.I.A.
The track list on Sleigh Bells' debut album, Treats, ranges from pretty, straightforward Brooklyn indie pop, like on the dreamy "Rill Rill," to deliriously distorted stomp-clap anthems underscored by hip-hop beats that would find themselves right at home on an M.I.A. track. (That's thanks to the male half of Sleigh Bells, guitarist-producer Derek Miller.) For more on the latter, check out "Run the Heart," which sounds like it's being pumped out of broken computer speakers, and that's totally a good thing.

3. Sleigh Bells Sound Like... The White Stripes
No indie band worth its weight in flannel shirts can succeed without mastery of the lo-fi guitar riff--just ask Jack White. And there's plenty of fuzzed-out guitar lines leading the charge on Treats. Check out "Riot Rhythm" for a bratty jam that sounds like it's making fun of you. Again--a very good thing!

4. Sleigh Bells Sound Like... Björk
Here me out on this one. There is this drum-snap-clap sample on the Sleigh Bell's track "Tell 'Em" that I swear was inspired--if not all out borrowed--from "Jóga," the first single off Björk's 1997 album Homogenic. Anyone?

+ Don't miss Sleigh Bells, Live In NYC, on Sept. 20, streaming live from the Studio at Webster Hall on MTV.com at 10/9c!

Tags Bjork, Eclipse, Jack White, Karen O, Katie White, Live In NYC, M.I.A., Muse, Radiohead, Sleigh Bells, The Ting Tings, The White Stripes, Twilight, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

+ The Jonas Brothers will embark on a world tour this summer, starting on July 27. Along for the ride will be Joe Jonas' ladyfriend Demi Lovato, who will open the tour, and Kevin Jonas' wife, Danielle. (PopEater)

+ Drake revealed during a concert in Los Angeles last week that the first track on his upcoming debut, Thank Me Later, is called "Fireworks," and it will feature Alicia Keys. (MTV News)

+ Bits and pieces of Glee's upcoming Lady Gaga episode are leaking out. Hear snippets of "Bad Romance" and "Poker Face." (Idolator)

+ Pink is taking The Ting Tings, The Gossip and VV Brown out on the road with her this summer. They'll be touring under the Funhouse Summer Carnival Tour banner. (ImNotObsessed)

+ Due to Twitter updating its trending topic algorithm (what?), Justin Bieber has lost his supremacy over the social-networking platform. (LimeLife)

Tags Alicia Keys, Demi Lovato, Drake, Glee, Joe Jonas, Jonas Brothers, justin bieber, Kevin Jonas, Lady Gaga, Pink, The Gossip, The Ting Tings, Twitter, VV Brown

After all these years of looking at Homer Simpson and half the rest of the world in their "Disco Sucks" t-shirts, isn't it something to find out that they were all wrong? Or wait... is it weirder to have ever assumed that Homer Simpson was right about something? Regardless, Australian dance revolutionary Ladyhawke's got new ideas about old disco, and they certainly do not suck.

In fact, Ladyhawke's got new ideas about a lot of things. For one thing she wears men's clothes exclusively and plays her disco -- a traditionally '70s genre -- with a decidedly '80s flare. Also, take a look at this Wikipedia excerpt: "At age 10 she contracted a disease that is common in seagulls but that had not been seen in humans in New Zealand for 20 years. To this day she is terrified of beach deck chairs and has an affinity to 'fish and chip' vans."

Curious, right? Well this lady, who takes her name from the creepy '80s sci-fi film, has a curiously addictive sound to match. Her first single, "Paris Is Burning," roared an announcement of her arrival, owning dance floors internationally and earning a crucial fan in electroclash legend, Peaches. It also earned Ladyhawke a spot on tour with The Ting Tings! Now, Christina Aguilera is even covering Ladyhawke's "My Delirium" on her upcoming album. The ante just keeps rising.

Watch "Paris Is Burning," the video that set this strange rising star in motion, below, and watch "My Delirium" here.

Tags Christina Aguilera, Ladyhawke, Peaches, The Ting Tings

You got your Ting Tings sneak peek last week... now Buzzworthy's delivering the real deal "That's Not My Name" video premiere. Following in the footsteps of such giants as Snoop Dogg, DMX, Eminem, Jason Lee and the un-unforgettable Jimmy Ray, British electro-boppers The Ting Tings take on that age-old task of introducing themselves to the world. Lucky for them, they got a major head start from the instant omnipresence of "Shut Up And Let Me Go." Here's the latest from The Ting Tings -- "That's Not My Name."

Tags The Ting Tings

If you've made it this far without bobbing your head along to the beat of The Ting Tings' '08-owning mega-single, "Shut Up and Let Me Go" you musta just been born. It all started with an iTunes commercial, which developed into a ringtone craze, and in turn, led to a VMA Video Of The Year nomination. In other words, that song was EV-REE-WHERE. But get this: "Shut Up and Let Me Go" wasn't even The Ting Tings' first choice for a single!

Before Apple came along and swept them into superstardom, The Ting Tings had an eye on another smart-mouthed single, "That's Not My Name," for their debut. Here's how they described it to MTV News:

"The song's not literally about going for a night out and someone forgetting your name. It's just about feeling invisible and prejudged ... It's a bit of a 'screw you' song, about feeling frustrated."

The single doesn't quite make as much sense now that everyone in the world knows The Ting Tings' name, but they went ahead and made an insanely dazzling video in the desert anyway! Get the world's first-ever look at their yet-unreleased, glowing midnight freak-out, ONLY HERE!

+ Exclusive Ting Tings photo shoot!

Tags The Ting Tings

With more buzz than a hornets' nest, The Ting Tings had the music blog-uh-sphere in the palm of their little British hands in the first half of 2008. Then they dropped their "Shut Up And Let Me Go" video and we were basically eating out of those same hands, which opened up to reveal one of the most visually mesmerizing videos since a-ha's legendary "Take On Me."

Directed by British duo Alex and Liane (Bloc Party's "Banquet" and Sam Sparro's "Black and Gold" -- an absolute Buzzworthy fave) in just one day (!!!), "Shut Up And Let Me Go" is a hypnotic tunnel of Kill Bill-reminiscent kung fu, moving walls, wry transitions, more hand signs than exercise hour at a prison yard, more depth than an empty swimming pool, and more dimension than a box of 3D glasses. Plus, the tension, energy, and dynamism of the video takes the whole "trapped-in-a-crappy-relationship" theme to new levels... You reading this, Audrina?

"Shut Up And Let Me Go" was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2008 VMAs but got trounced by Britney. It did, however, win Best UK Video, and, far more importantly, the esteemed honor of my very favorite video of 2008!

This is my VERY last post of 2008, so go have yourself a safe, happy new year, and go watch Miley!

+ Runner-up: No Age's visually arresting "Eraser" video
+ Pop Cultured's No. 1 Video: Madonna's "4 Minutes"
+ My No. 2 Video: Jonas Brothers, "Lovebug"
+ Pop Cultured’s No. 2 Video: Flo Rida, “Low”
+ My No. 3 Video: Kanye West’s “Flashing Lights”
+ Pop Cultured's No. 3 Video: Rihanna, "Rehab"
+ MTV’s Best of 2008

Tags Alex and Liane, No Age, Sam Sparro, The Ting Tings

We're still recovering from that crazy, sleep-deprived time in our lives we like to call the 2008 VMAs (and, more recently, from VH1's Hip Hop Honors bonanza), but that doesn't mean we're not already gearing up for the next big televised awards show. Fortunately, we don't have long to wait, seeing as the mtvU Woodie Awards kick off Wednesday, November 19th.

And whether you're a sorority girl (like Elle Woods!) a pre-frosh (like Serena and Blair!) or someone who religiously watches Hannah Montana, we have a feeling you're not gonna want to miss THE definitive college awards show (where all the nominees are chosen by poor, ramen-noodle-eating university types!) And since the polls are officially open from now through November 7th, here's a painstakingly complete list of the categories and nominees. You're welcome!

+ Lil Wayne, Paramore, Tokyo Police Club, MGMT and Santogold duke it out for Woodie of the Year. Note that as much as we would love to see the nominees breakdance fight, the winner for this category (and all subsequent categories) will be chosen solely on the basis of your votes.

+ We love charity. Just today, we selflessly scarfed down three oatmeal raisin cookies (purchased from a Breast Cancer Bake Sale!) all in the name of good health -- and late-afternoon sugar rushes. Now, cheer on your fave do-gooders as Eddie Vedder, Ludacris, Jack's Mannequin, Mary J. Blige and Emmanuel Jal fight for the right to take home the Good Woodie.

+ Ever heard that song "Video Killed the Radio Star?" Yeah, that's a bunch of bull. So hit the polls to see Adele and Motion City Soundtrack take on heavy hitters like Gnarls Barkley, Vampire Weekend and Erykah Badu for the Best Video Woodie.

+ We've always had a secret soft spot for the New Kid. So we'll definitely be checking back to find out which of these rookies (All Time Low, We The Kings, There For Tomorrow, Lykke Li and Tyga) is gonna walk out of here with the title of Breaking Woodie.

+ You know those amazing can't-live-without artists you never heard of 'til, like, yesterday? Well, you still have three more weeks to choose between No Age, Chromeo, Yelle, She and Him and The Cool Kids for Left Field Woodie.

+ And you gotta give it up for the performers who ALWAYS know how to put on a good show. Or as we like to call them, "the Michael Jordans of music." Yeah, we're talkin' about you, Kanye West, Atmosphere, N.E.R.D., The Ting Tings and Simian Mobile Disco. May the best one win! A Performance Woodie, that is.

****Psssst! Not only can you vote for your favorite artists -- you can also campaign for them on your Facebook/MySpace pages(!!) For more details about voting, campaigning and general Woodie goodness, go to mtvU's official Woodies Awards site. GO WOOD!

Tags Adele, All Time Low, Atmosphere, Chromeo, Eddie Vedder, Emmanuel Jal, Erykah Badu, Gnarls Barkley, Jack's Mannequin, Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Lykke Li, Mary J. Blige, MGMT, Motion-City-Soundtrack, N.E.R.D., No Age, Paramore, Santogold, She and Him, Simian Mobile Disco, The Cool Kids, The Ting Tings, There For Tomorrow, Tokyo Police Club, Tyga, Vampire Weekend, We the Kings, Woodie Awards, Yelle

Not surprisingly, the performers at the 2008 Video Music Awards were a who’s who of who’s smoking hot right now -- Katy Perry, Lil Wayne, Paramore, The Ting Tings, Christina Aguilera, T.I., Kid Rock, LL Cool J and Kanye West all rocked Hollywood. But when it came to showstoppers -- aside from Britney’s big do-over -- Rihanna, the Jonas Brothers and Pink had it in the bag.

Looking like a character from Mad Max heading to Tina Turner's Thunderdome on top of a 20-tiered layer cake, Rihanna opened the show with “Disturbia/Seven Nation Army” while surrounded by writhing zombified dancers. On the flipside, the JoBros stripped things down and sang “Lovebug” while sitting on a stoop on the Paramount lot -- before jumping onstage as a flood of screaming fans swarmed in on them. (We know you sooo wanted to be there!) And Pink’s badass glass-breaking, bomb-throwing, nipple-revealing rendition of “So What” put the term “eye-popping” on the 2008 VMA map.

Yeah, we could go on and on about all the kick-ass performances -- Katy Perry looked super cute! Xtina had a kick-ass post-baby bod! Paramore pulled a fast one on us! -- but why don’t you check ’em all out for yourself? We’ve got all the pics and videos you need right here at your little fingertips.

More pics after the jump...

Read more...

Tags Christina Aguilera, Jonas Brothers, Katy Perry, Kid Rock, LL Cool J, Paramore, Pink, Rihanna, T.I., The Ting Tings

No matter how hard they beg, how loudly the yell or how many times they ask, we simply will NOT shut up and let those persistent little Ting Tings go.

Fortunately, they're not exactly flying under the radar these days. In addition for battling Britney for Video of the Year at next week's 2008 VMAs, they'll also be joining VMA house band DJ AM and former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker on stage for some crazy collabo fun. 'Kay fine, honestly, we're not sure exactly what they'll be doing -- performing their VMA-nominated hit? Breakin' with the ABDC crews? Miming their way out of an invisible cardboard box?? But since we loves us some Ting Tings, we certainly plan on finding out...

Don't miss them on the VMAs this Sunday, September 7 at 9p.m. ET/ PT, and see what these two crazy, iPod-hocking Brits have up their sleeve. But first, brush up on your Ting Tings trivia with five things you never knew about them PLUS the real story behind their name.

Tags Celebrity, Music, News, The Ting Tings, video, VMAs

Yay! The Video of the Year nominees -- the big daddy Caddy of all VMA noms -- were announced today! I KNOW lots of you (especially the most vocal amongst you) are split along the Jonas-Britney fault line. Britney -- she's already the belle of the ball/babe of the bash and she's not even definitely coming -- deserves one for simply cleaning up so well, and the JBs deserve one for staying so clean (and cuters!) in the first place.

But Britney, who, incredibly, has never won a VMA before, is also up for Best Pop Video, where she's also competing against the Jonas Brothers and the three minutes and 19 seconds of adorability that is "Burnin' Up."

So, the ideal sitch here, in my opinion, would be if Britney won Best Female Video, and, say, the Ting Tings won Video of the Year, because their "Shut Up and Let Me Go" video is the greatest thing since wireless Internet.

But Chris Brown fans would wholeheartedly disagree (Chris Brown rules, for sure, but I kinda feel like the 2007 VMAs were all his), and Pussycat Dolls made us laugh like children in "When I Grow Up" every time they said "boobies," which is worth something too.

Whatever. It's anyone's game, and it goes down Sunday, September 7, but before that, I'll bringing you behind-the-scenes looks at everything that goes into putting together the VMAs. Except for like, the heavy lifting, because I'm only good for like, 20 pounds or so, and after that I'm worthless.

Tags Britney Spears, Celebrity, Chris Brown, Jonas Brothers, News, Pussycat Dolls, The Ting Tings, VMAs