Johnny Pacheco, Fania Records co-founder and leader of the Fania-Allstars, was in the audience at the premiere of Celia, the new musical about the life of Celia Cruz. The audience cheered when the actor playing Pacheco walked onstage, and in his seat the real white-haired father of salsa smiled, which was just the seal of approval the show's producers (who include Daddy Yankee) needed, especially after the backlash that followed this summer's misguided El Cantante, which was badmouthed all over by El Malo himself, Willie Colon.
September 2007 Archives
In their recurring “Tales From the Road” series, the fine folks over at VH1's Hip Hop Honors Blog have been collecting some of the better touring yarns from this year's honorees. Snoop’s got a good one about him and Dr. Dre trying to get some sexy time with female fans back in the early days of his career. Seems the Doggy’s daddy was involved, too. Guess these kind of shenanigans are just part of the deal when you’re living hotel room to hotel room. Be sure to check out this year's show October 8th at 10pm.
OK, finally back from Big Sur, when I assisted in an epic grunion run. I had to take a nature break and rest up from all the big city concert going and hip-hop madness that is going around right now.
I did manage to squeeze in a couple of shows before I left though. I read a rave review of The Cinematic Orchestra's London concert in Mojo. I also like their mellow new album Ma Fleur quite a bit.
So, I went and checked them out over at Bimbo's. 
For their British tour, the Cinematic Orchestra had violins, cellos, vibraphones, backing films and a supporting cast of hundreds. While Bimbo's is undoubtedly the swankiest club in San Francisco, it doesn't have the capacity to hold that many people, so the band was stripped down to its core members. It was a solid mix of jazz, ambient rock and electronic music with echos of what Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Miles Davis did back in the '60s. The sellout crowd dug it.
While Cinematic Orchestra are definitely more about mood than tunes, songs are something that the Canadian outfit the New Pornographers have in spades.
Though I've often loved such NP songs such as "The Laws Have Changed" (which, like a lot of their numbers, deserved major radio play) their albums can be too full of non-stop catchy hooks and smart pop goodness to take in all at once. Like with the Pernice Brothers, I often end up liking the New Pornographers better when I take them in one song at a time.
That's changed with their latest album, Challengers. From the start of "My Rights Versus Yours" I'm hooked into the album all the way through to the end of the set. This one just has a little breathing space on it between all the hooks and its made all the difference -- Challengers is one of the year's best albums.
I had seen the New Pornographers in concert a few years ago and they've only gotten better since then. Great show all around, with the Warfield's sellout crowd greeting the band like they were Cheap Trick playing Japan circa 1979. Whereas Neko Case once ruled the New Pornographers stage, now she and chief songwriter A.C. Newman have formed a real comedic partnership. She'd crack a joke and he'd follow it up and she's rejoiner and he'd mutter something ironically and then they go directly into another song. I've said it before and I'll say it again -- "Showmanship, People! Showmanship." The New Pornographers can now do it all -- some rock, some jokes, a little soft shoe. Just the way I like it.
The New Pornographers are now following up their roadshow with a new video contest over on youtube. Basically, they want you to film your silly dances or do a N.P. song parody or go on a grand journey to get a ring back. There seem to be many challenges they are issuing out there in cyberspace. So, head over to youtube and either compete for prizes or just join the fun.
Song: I Wanna Be Your Dog
Album: Flower Box
Artist: Emilie Simon
Selected By: Sarah Bardeen
Date: September 28, 2007
What do you get when you mix Detroit pre-punk with French post-everything -- a beret-shaped hardhat? A gun hidden in a baguette? As it turns out, that's just about right. Emilie Simon does Iggy with a warped innocence that's half ingenue, half French schoolgirl. It's dirty and a little disturbing, but we bet the Stooges would approve.
Houston MC Chamillionaire set out to prove all doubters wrong on The Sound of Revenge. He accomplished this while his Grammy-winning, anti-racial-profiling anthem “Ridin’" spotlighted hip-hop’s hunger for creativity. On his follow-up, Ultimate Victory, Cham forgoes trends in favor of a cohesive concept-driven album that touches on everything from the media’s vilification of hip-hop to gas prices.
Song: Holotelani
Album: The Indestructible Beat of Soweto - Volume One
Artist: Nelcy Sedibe
Selected By: Nate Baker
Date: September 27, 2007
By most accounts Soweto Township is one of the worst ghettos in the
world, situated just beyond the big slag heaps created by diamond
mining near Johannesburg, South Africa. Its most famous musical export is the vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, who are also on this compilation. I picked up a cassette bootleg of this in a shoebox-sized "record store" in Morocco a few years ago and it was about the most other-worldly thing I'd ever heard. The guitar on this tune sounds like its being played through the speaker of a transistor radio and the beat is, well, indestructible. Meanwhile Nelcy Sedibe, whoever she is, leads a mean call/response vocal. I believe the term for what she does at the end is "heroic yalp."
Song: Nine Days
Album: Smallish Things
Artist: Eiffel Tower
Selected By: Garrett Kamps
Date: September 26, 2007
If you're like me, you've got this bulging folder or songs you've downloaded from this or that blog, listened to maybe once or twice, and never revisited. This is one such song, by the Brooklyn band Eiffel Tower, which I'm not even sure exists anymore. It's a straightforward loping indie rock tune with a great chorus -- simple enough. I don't really know what prompted me to seek the band out in Rhapsody and re-discover this song, but I did, and I've been enjoying it all week.
50 Cent doesn't need to sell another album in his life. Even with all the hoopla surrounding his SoundScan showdown with Kanye West, the New York native should stay stanky rich thanks to the rumored $100 million to $400 million he earned when Coca-Cola bought out Glaceau (which he had a 10 percent stake in), G-Unit Records, G-Unit Apparel and his Reebok shoe deal. But 50's incredible business acumen shouldn't overshadow his musical legacy. As the most commercially successful gangsta rapper ever, he revolutionized the mixtape scene by remaking songs instead of just spittin' freestyles, and used his drawly, melodic hooks to create humongous hits with universal appeal. Here, the G-Unit CEO takes us behind the scenes.
Common, far left, testing the ol' suspension of disbelief as T.I.'s father in American Gangster.
Okay, for anyone who was a little skeptical about Common playing T.I.'s father in American Gangster, I can assure you that it wasn't the most believable part of the movie.
The thing is, although Common has been making albums since 1992, he doesn't look that old.And for that matter T.I. doesn't look that young. Sporting a baby-fro, T.I. looks to be in his early 20s while Common looks his age of 35. Common as T.I.'s older brother would have been much more realistic.
I had read in various places that Common would be made-up to appear older for the role, but I must have missed that. As for the actual acting, it didn't add or take away anything from the movie because neither MC/thespian really had very many lines. Hopefully including them will attract a younger audience though, because the movie is very well-done and Denzel always kills it when he plays a psychopath. After American Gangster drops, "Frank Lucas" references are sure to be sprinkled in rappers' bars for the next 20 years at least.
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Song: Nan You're A Window Shopper
Album: Alright, Still
Artist: Lilly Allen
Selected by: Jaan Uhelszki
Date: September 25, 2007
Although highborn, Lily Allen brings the crackle of the street to her bouncy diatribes. Here she trains her overly made up eyes on her grandmother on the rap-fantastic "Nan, You're a Window Shopper," which takes a grimy page out of 50 Cent's songbook.
by Chris Ryan
VH1 asked some of hip hop’s deftest minds and smoothest voices for their opinions of the honorees. Here’s the Roots' Questlove, who will be at the Hip Hop Honors ceremony airing on October 8th at 10 p.m., on Snoop Dogg:
I believe that Snoop Dogg is hands-down the most charismatic figure in hip hop history. I know that it’s very dangerous to speak in those terms of hip hop, but you really have to examine his track record. To me, the one element that he has [is] longevity. Yes, Slick Rick has a very charismatic voice [and] great narrative. There’s a lot of MCs that have awesome narratives. There are a lot of MCs that have great voices, and presence when they’re on television. But the name of the game is can you give me a triple double score fifteen years in a row? That is where your greatness will come to life. He has an amazing voice, and he has an amazing amount of context when it comes to his career.
Song: Shrimp Boats
Artist: Jo Stafford
Album: Meet Jo Stafford
Selected by: Rachel Devitt
Date: September 24, 2007
The last time I visited my mom, she kept talking about this record my grandma used to have that my mom would play over and over and dance around the living room to when she was a kid. "Shrimp boats is a-comin', their sails are in sight," Cap'n Mom started singing. "Shrimp boats is a-comin', there's dancin' tonight." Then Grandma came over and told us all about how she not only still had the record, but she and my grandpa used to actually go and meet the shrimp boats when they lived in Jacksonville, Florida. Well, this little tidbit inspired us all to head straight to the computer, where a quick search revealed the song's author to be Paul Weston, whose wife was jazz-pop singer Jo Stafford, who made this funny little ditty into a massive hit in 1951 (ah, the '50s). Also, Rhapsody had it (naturally), so we cranked 'er up and sat down to polish off a massive plate of cocktail shrimp (seriously, I still feel kind of sick typing the word "shrimp"). The morale of the story? This Interwebby thingy is a pretty nifty place.
by Chris Ryan
As years go, 2007 has been a pretty stellar one for Common. He's got a critically acclaimed hit album, an upcoming turn in Ridley Scott's American Gangster, and he's taken beard-grooming to a new level (just look at how smooth that thing is!). But success just breeds hunger (I read that in a fortune cookie), and the Chicago MC is apparently starving.
According to XXL Magazine, Common and A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip (who's having a pretty good '07, himself, what with being honored and all) will be forming a super-group
(super-duo?) called The Standard. Beats for the still-just-being-chatted-about project would be handled by Tip (who tracked much of Quest's landmark productions) as well as Kanye West; though, as Tip told XXL, "that cat's busy." Something tells us he'll make the time.
You can read more about Common's warm feelings for Tip and Quest over at VH1's Hip Hop Honors blog. And be sure to check out Common performing, and Quest getting honored when the show airs October 8th at 10pm.
Song: A Case Of You
Album: A Tribute to Joni Mitchell
Artist: Prince
Selected by: Nick Dedina
Date: September 21, 2007
Around the same time that Madonna was becoming a pop icon, Joni Mitchell's time was widely viewed as being over. But quality music always comes back into fashion and dozens of today’s pop, soul and indie rock artists now cover Joni Mitchell songs and site her as a major influence. Prince has sat down at the piano and sang Joni's “A Case of You” in concert for a while now. On this velvety studio recording, he dives into the romance of the ballad. Then, just at the point others would settle in for a spell, Prince abruptly abandons the tune with a few sharp jazz chords. Prince has always been as musically eccentric as Joni – both are masters of songwriting and pop craftsmanship. Yet neither of them will ever just give up and play it completely straight. While this has hurt their short-term commercial appeal at certain points in time, it has also assured them long, successful careers.
Song: Zah's Blues
Album: Another Side Of This Life:Lost Recordings 1965-66
Artist: Gram Parsons
Selected By: Eric Shea
Date: September 20, 2007
Yesterday was the 34th anniversary of Gram's death. Before he "invented" country rock or cosmic American music or alt country or whatever they're calling it now, dude was a diehard folkie. The songs in this collection came from his stripped-down, pre-twang, acoustic phase -- but this one is special. At the time he was really enamored with East Village folk legend Fred Neil, so his voice here sounds unlike any other Gram Parsons recording. It's buttery and romantic and melancholy. But it also overflows with incredibly poignant lyrics that came from this place of magical contradiction where an old and wise soul spilled from the mouth of a young and troubled hipster: "I wore my youth like a crown/ and watched the sun coming down."
The time is 2003 and the place is San Francisco’s Lower Haight district. Glued to a rickety computer for months, I desperately tried to befriend, cajole and influence underground hip-hop’s intelligista in my position as publicist for Bay Area art/hip-hop lifestyle company Future Primitive Sound. If you’re from the Bay, or if you’re an adamant follower of graffiti and underground hip-hop culture, you probably recognize the name. But for those in the dark, Future Primitive Sound helped revolutionize the hip-hop concert experience in the late-90s by bringing in a steady procession of videographers and graffiti artists to do their thing during the sets of seminal turntabalist such as Radar, Z-Trip, Cut Chemist, DJ Shadow, Q-Bert and Peanut Butter Wolf among many many others.
by Chris Ryan
Attention Attention hip-hop heads: A Tribe Called Quest are just one of the honorees at this year’s Hip Hop Honors ceremony, airing on VH1 on October 8th. Q-Tip, Phife Dogg and Ali Shaheed Muhammad will be hitting the stage with fellow honorees Missy Elliott and Snoop Dogg. In addition, the music’s hottest acts will be bowing at the altars of the film Wild Style and the musical style known as New Jack Swing. T.I., Ciara, Eve, Pharrell Williams, The Game, Timbaland, Bow Wow, Busta Rhymes, Common and Nick Cannon are all scheduled to perform.
Song: Story of the Blues, Part 1
Album: A Word to the Wise Guy
Artist: The Mighty Wah!
Selected by: Linda Ryan
Date: September 19, 2007
What do Liverpudlian popsters know about the blues? If you're Pete Wylie and company, the answer is "not a whole lot." But Wylie's the Mighty Wah! did know their way around a Spector-esque, blue-eyed soul sound; when "Story of the Blues Pt. 1" was released in 1982, it hit No. 3 on the U.K. Singles charts.
Song: Birth, School, Work, Death
Album: Birth, School, Work, Death: The Best of the Godfathers
Artist: The Godfathers
Selected by: Linda Ryan
Date: September 18, 2007
"I've been abused, I've been confused and I've kissed Margaret Thatcher's shoes" is perhaps the single best line from any song that came out in the '80s. More than an anti-Thatcher song, "Birth, School, Work, Death" summed up life in Britain in the 1980s. Futile? Unproductive? You betcha. And this song touched on the heart of those sentiments, perfectly.
It seems like there’s even more to cry about when it comes to Britney Spears. The New York Post’s Page Six reports that the downward spiraling diva has lost her manager, Jeff Kwatinetz, who’d only been on the star’s payroll for a month. Why’s that? The gossip rag cites his anger at “her lackluster VMA performance after two days of partying.” Another possible gripe involves Brit’s unapproved decision to appear in the scant bikini that tempted critics into a frenzy of vicious fat-mongering. According to the New York Times, Kwatinetz was hired as Brit's new manager to prepare for her VMA comeback--a performance that Spears' record label, Jive, was not in favor of.
Previously, J. Lo and Kelly Clarkson have gone their own way after less than stellar runs with The Firm, the management company run by Kwatinetz. It’s not the only time a pretty woman gave Kwatinetz his walking papers—fiancee Brittany Murphy terminated their engagement back in 2004. He’s also represented the band Korn in an innovative plan to auction off percentages of their brand identity to record labels and Live Nation, a scheme that wrankled certain critics. Some are suggesting that Spears’ dance debacle might spell the beginning of the end for The Firm, which has already been splitting at the seams after a string of former agents struck out to mint their own fortunes. Other sources suggest that Kwatinetz’s unexpected exit might push back the anticipated November 13th release of Spears’ new album.
(photo by RL/ X17online.com)
by Chris Ryan
'
With Graduation at the top of the charts, and "Stronger," a big enough anthem for Kanye to sort-of perform it at the Emmy's (with hypeman Dwight in tow), the Daft Punk Don can rightfully call himself the winner of he and 50 Cent's Coke-v-Pepsi/two-men-enter-one-man-leave show down. But if that's the case, nobody's told the people of Brooklyn.
Kanye may have won the war, but it would seem (based on some completely informal, unofficial, non-professional surveys) that Curtis has won the battle for the streets. "I Get Money," 50's latest single, has had Brooklyn--and boroughs, neighborhoods, towns, hamlets and villages like it--in a headlock for weeks now, with no sign of mercy coming anytime soon. You hear it coming out of car windows; you hear it in the club. It's the street single of the year.
"I Get Money" is a throwback to the stick-up-kid-as-MC that 50 used to be. Recalling tracks like "G-Unit, That's What's Up," from his landmark mixtape 50 Cent is the Future. On those early tracks 50 spit lyrics about jacking fake rappers, usually over jacked beats.
Curtis' new anthem liberally borrows the cannon-like drums (and cash-hungry refrain) of Audio Two's 80's classic, "Top Billin" 50 might have gotten the idea from Lloyd Banks' "Help," which used the same drum loop. But listening to the two tracks side-by-side, you can tell anything Lloyd can do, Curtis can do better.
They walk these elephants around at night in the tourist
areas. Sometimes little baby elephants and sometimes big guys. You give the
dude 20 baht and he hands you a bag of fruit and you feed the elephant. The
first time I had to make room on the sidewalk for an elephant I gotta admit my
thought was “Wow. This place is insane and I am never leaving.” So I fed them
whenever I saw them.
Alright, Shar. We get it. You're Shar Jackson. Very funny. The Celebrity Rap Superstar heavy-hitter (she actually really is kicking ass to the point where it's almost not fair) used her chest at Zazzle.com's say-it-yourself/ design-your-own-Tee booth -- where celebs like Nelly, Peter Bjorn & John's Peter Moran, Tila Tequila and uh… Robin Leach (??) stopped by to make Tees -- at the VMA Style Villa at Caesar's Palace in Vegas to make an ostensibly tongue-in-cheek swipe at her Baby Daddy's Baby Mama.
Was she also hating on Britney when she slipped in those blue contacts, just like Britz? Or was Brit biting Shar's style when she wore them during her now-notorious VMA performance? The world may never know. (Photo courtesy of Rob Greenleaf, Zazzle.com)
by Chris Ryan
What do Missy Elliott, Snoop Dogg and WHODINI have in common? Yes, they’ve changed the landscape of hip-hop forever. And true, those aren’t their real names. They’ll
also
all be sharing the same stage on October 8th when VH1 honors them in their fourth annual Hip Hop Honors. The show will feature today’s hottest hip hop acts paying tribute to these innovators, with Tracy Morgan hosting, which will undoubtedly be amazing. Check VH1's HHH site for videos, style wars, lists of great CD's, songs, and producers, and ringtones.
Song: Kid Charlemagne
Album: The Royal Scam
Artist: Steely Dan
Selected by: Nick Dedina
Date: September 17, 2007
This unstoppable disco-rocker from Steely Dan’s ever under-rated Royal Scam album tracks the meteoric rise and pathetic fall of a creator of hallucinogenic compounds. Carried forward by a dirty, skronky rhythm guitar riff and relentless jazz percussion, Donald Fagen classic gangster narrative also plays like a tale of ‘60s idealism turning nasty as the hero’s hippy converts desert him and morph into yuppies (“Some things never change” Fagen deadpans at this turn of events). Not surprisingly, the single only peaked at No. 82 in the charts but it has endured and gets played more now on classic rock radio than it did back in ’76. We now have lyrics tied to songs over on Rhapsody.com ) but in a weird case of P.C. censorship, the phrase "You are Italian in their eyes" gets listed as “you are a champion."
We'll admit, we thought Rob & Big star Rob Dyrdek, while dressed the part of the perennial skater, was more than a bit dressed down on the red carpet at the VMAs:
Um, that is, until we noticed his obscenely amazing Tetris watch. As if owning an old-school Tetris watch weren't mind-blowingly rad enough, the fact that he's tricked it out (we're gonna assume it's custom-made) with several engagement rings' worth of diamonds (very Vegas apropos, by the way) pushes it over the edge to a level of awesome we barely knew existed until now.
(Watch photo by Sarah Gerke)
Is that MTV Award stuff over with yet? Can I come out from under my desk and unplug my ears? Great! Because if I had to hear about Britney and Justin and Joe-Bob anymore I was gonna pack it in and move over to www.OldStuffWeLike.com.
Speaking of old stuff... did you see Clint Eastwood's laid-back documentary about Tony Bennett over on PBS? It was aces. Clint and co-writer Nick Tosches made it into a veritable celebration of all things pre rock'n'roll. Eastwood mixed in footage of Lady Day, Sinatra, Fred Astaire, Nat Cole and Louis & Bing (whose duet on "Now You Has Jazz" never fails to make me very happy) with Bennett's life story. Clint & Tony even did an entire segment on Johnny Carson's promotion of jazz before Eastwood brought out Marty Scorsese and Gay Talese to discuss historic Italian immigration patterns (something more music docs need to do, by-the-way). To top it off, Clint did a mellow Jimmy Durante impersonation and Alec Baldwin came on to talk about his SNL bit with Tony. As a bonus, Mel Brooks was also on the show (if Marty Feldman had returned from the grave and appeared on the show, my life would pretty much be complete)!
Basically, Eastwood used Bennett's life to showcase some of the best music and entertainment that 20th Century America gave to the world. Every time a song came on, Eastwood told you who wrote it and almost every time Tony sang, you'd get a montage of Bennett's influences and heroes (or shots from his entire 6 decades long career).
Back when Tony was celebrating his 80th birthday, I made up this playlist of Tony Bennett's best jazz-etched sides from the 1950s and '60s. Of course, it was never featured on Rhapsody -- we had some Britney and Justin and Joe-Bob to spotlight instead.
Excuse me, I gotta go slug down some Geritol and finish reading an article about contract bridge.
By now our obsession with Mark Ronson has been shamelessly well documented. This photo aside, We would've loved to have seen more of him at the VMAs, but it's just like him to stand humbly in the shadows and let his musicians take the spotlight while his guitar gently weeps. Well we say EFF THAT. We want him all to ourselves, front and center. That's why we'll be stalking... er... "seeing" him live, in concert at Webster Hall in New York on October 5.
Unfortunately it's one of his only US dates, but if you live in the UK, he's touring there throughout all of October. Anyway, listen, Mark: we have no problem being the Mel to your Brit and Jemaine. None whatsoever. Everyone else: yes, we know that's a crazy hot photo of him. And yes, you're welcome.
Dude. Can anyone tell us how Ryan Cabrera landed model/ rock royalty Riley Keough, (granddaughter of little-known musician Elvis Presley)? That's an upchicking of epic proportions. We spotted Ryan a few times in Vegas at the VMAs, including at the Star Lounge celeb gift suite, (where famous people go to get more free stuff), where he mixed tequila with Airborne tablets (uh... yum?) and looked like Slash. And not in the good way. (Check out our very own Fabrice Fabrice interviewing him).
Anyway, he was spotted this past Tuesday with his girlfriend and her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, at the Anna Sui Spring 2008 show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York. Also in attendance: an allegedly glum-looking Amy Lee of Evanescence, who looked quite cute in a frock by the designer and is at least wearing a smile in these pics.
Song: Further North
Album: Further North
Artist: Johnathan Rice
Selected by: Jon Maples
Date: September 14, 2007
There's a lot to like about Johnathan Rice's second record, perhaps nothing more than the title track. The track's stomp dials up Neil Young's "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere," but the lyrical play is as post-modern as they come. "It's All A Waste Of Time" indeed.
Song: Everybody Daylight
Album: Brightblack Morning Light
Artist: Brightblack Morning Light
Selected by: Stephanie Benson
Date: September 13, 2007
Tense?
Anxious? Frazzled? Let the smooth-like-butta flow of this dreamy tune help
relax those weary bones. Soft claps, sleepy male/female harmonies and
heavy-eyed guitar linger on for six stress-relieving minutes.
Say what you will about Britney Spears' VMA performance, but people. are. talking. Especially you guys! And even Tori Amos wrote a song about it! Perez sez the prolific pianist performed an impromptu song for the tarnished pop princess while in Australia. Apparently she sees Britney as a falling star, y'all. Uhhh... ya think?
Um, yeah, so Britney Spears sure is getting ripped apart for her low-key performance at the VMAs, y'all. OK, so, maybe it wasn't quite the comeback we had expected ... but is it really necessary to call the girl "fat"? I mean, c'mon, we'd kill to have a bod like that! (Of course, even with some smokin' curves, we'd probably still be kickin' around this place in jeans and a T-shirt.) Anyway, enough about us ... let's get back to all this Britney bashing that's been going on...
While all the haters seem to be dogpiling on the pop tart, there are a few Brit backers out there who are making it loud and clear they want you to "LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE." Some are trying to get to the bottom of what may have gone wrong -- who's buying the broken heel theory? Anyone? Others are, like, my-world's-crashing-down-on-me-right-this-very-second crushed! We’ve all seen this guy. Obviously Brit Brit's VMA performance had a profound impact on him. She's still got it, y'all! But we don't know if we're buyin' his cryin' -- we don't see any actual tears and his guyliner still looks pretty damn good at the end of the whole meltdown. Still, at least Brit's fans have her back...
Song: Atmosphere
Album: Permanent: Joy Division 1995
Artist: Joy Division
Selected by: Tim Quirk
Date: September 12, 2007
Ian Curtis'
haunting voice sounds nearly emotionless as he asks you or his girlfriend or
god not to walk away, but that might just be because the words he intones are
already dripping with all the pain and regret you can bear. Meanwhile, the
folks who became New Order after
Curtis hung himself play music that somehow sounds oddly chipper and
appropriately ominous at once.
We know you've already checked out the Foo Fighters' Fantasy Suite. But have you been to these? Here are a few more killer VMA performances you just gotta check out...
+ Fall Out Boy ripped the roof off their room -- shhh ... don't tell The Palms! -- when they performed some of their biggest hits AND pulled some mega superstars onstage to join them. Y'know, like Rihanna, Panic! At the Disco and Gym Class Heroes. Thnks fr th mmrs, guys!
+ Harder, better, faster, stronger: That seemed to be the theme of Kanye West's night, as The College Dropout performed songs like "Champion," "Can't Tell Me Nothing" and "Wonder." Yup, it was all about Kanye.
+ But the hottest party was happenin' in Justin Timberlake and Timbaland's Fantasy Suite. The dynamic duo's performances were off the hook! Guest appearances were like a who's who of hip-hop: 50 Cent, T.I., Petey Pablo. Dat sure is some real southern hospitality there JT.
Song: Street Justice
Artist: MSTRKRFT
Album:The Looks
Selected by: Nicholas Baker
Date: September 11, 2007
Fans of Daft Punk, Justice and Hot Chip will immediately relate to this grinding and altogether thumpy number from our Canadian friends MSTRKRFT. However, proper nostalgic tear-wiping will happen for slightly more elderly listeners who still treasure their original copies of Micro-Phonies, such is the homage being paid here to good old Cabaret Voltaire. Long may their influence last.
Vegas is strange and scattered. It’s a place where replications of Michelangelo’s David are propped against endless rows of blurry, bleeping slot machines. It's a city of dreams and nightmares, and for me, the VMAs were more the latter than the former. I was supposed to cover the red carpet action for Rhapsody and score a few interviews for our system, but our new partners at MTV thought it was appropriate to assign me the fire exit beat, and I ended up being sandwiched between a reporter for the Eskimo Wire Service and about three dozen 240-pound, 14-year-old girls who had climbed on top of slot machines and spent the evening shredding their vocal chords. The noise that emanated from their gourds every time a d-list celeb boy toy strolled by could’ve sliced diamonds, and my ears are still ringing from their shrill adoration.
For some, the VMAs are a one-night-only affair. For others it's VMA weekend (one staffer flew in on Friday with 50 Cent on his plane and left Monday morning with Travis of Best New Group winners Gym Class Heroes on his flight). Anyway, for us, it's VMA week. Yes, we are STILL here on the ground in Vegas, in the wake of one of the biggest parties this town's ever seen (which is saying quite a lot if you've ever been here), making sure we've covered every inch of VMA ground for you. The line between "just visiting" and "here to stay" is blurring by the hour as we live out of our hotel room (we should probably put up shelves and have our mail forward), stopping only to let in room service (P.F. Chang's – good, but at this point we're packed with enough salt to kill a horse – it was Sin City when we got here, and we're gonna leave this place Sodium City).
Not pictured: empty gallon-sized pitcher of coffee.
Dippin' Dots: snack of champions... and mini Moonmen.
We're still working our tired asses off, partying in the suites at the Palms – Geroge Maloof threw us a little on-the-house way-after-the-show afterparty last night – check out the view below) and avoiding the temptation of the roulette wheel (goodbye to you, $50 we'll never see again), but now we're off to dine at the famed Social House. Holla at you later.
The view from the Palms suites. Better in person. Even better if you're Justin Timberlake.
I'm just touching back down in SF and will post some red carpet picks later tonight/early tomorrow, but here is the final installment in the VMA sneaker blog.
Red camo BAPEs
a trio
Pharrell's BAPEs
BL3 limited edition Adicolor from last year
the Bobby Jones AF1 25s from earlier this year
some nike hitops
Not sure what these are. Producer/ Songwriter KO was sporting these at the Palms.
I liked the colorways on these AF1s. This is from Caesars Palace.
A few different pairs from the Palm yesterday
Lol...I'd totally forgotten about the ridiculous shoes that Lil Mama was wearing on the red carpet. These did go with her outfit.
I believe these are the New York limited AF1s.
And that's it! Hope you enjoyed.
Song: Dizzy
Album: If the Beatles Had Read Hunter...The Singles
Artist: The Wonder Stuff
Selected by: Linda Ryan
Date: September 10, 2007
If you were an anglophile back in the early '90s, you'll fondly recall this Tommy Roe cover done by the Wonder Stuff and comedian Vic Reeves. This amped-up version was a No. 1 hit in the UK, but sadly, never even dented the charts here in America.
Having been shut out for the five awards for which he was nominated, Kanye West is, reportedly, pissed.
"West, waiting for an elevator in a crowded hallway [at The Palms in Las Vegas], began yelling about losing all five categories for which he was nominated," reports AP. "'That's two years in a row, man ... give a black man a chance,' West said, stomping around his entourage and directing his comments at a reporter. 'I'm trying hard man, I have the ... number one record, man.' West said he never will return to MTV."
That leaves us wondering: Will Kanye blow off his scheduled TRL appearance with 50 Cent on Tuesday, the day they'll both release new albums? Tune in to find out. And, hell, even if he swears us off, we're sticking with him, dammit.
No... time for ... lotsa bloggiez ... now... Still watching... Britney's um... comeback... minds still blown, still dying over Chris Brown's showstopping performance and crying over Sarah Silverman's potty mouth (and unusually flexible lips).
By Tim Quirk
OK, so Chris Brown jumping from table to table was the
musical high point of this year’s VMAs. I wasn’t in the Pearl Theater itself, but friends who were
insist that watching Chris and co. fly through the air was actually more
impressive in the room than it looked on TV – even cooler, apparently the
production lady who talked to everyone during commercials was saying stuff
like, “All drinks off the tables!” and “Don’t stand up, or you will be
decapitated!” just before Chris Brown blew everybody’s mind and washed the sad aftertaste
of Britney thrusting her hips while surrounded by good dancers out of the
nation’s collective, gaped mouth.
But my own personal high point came courtesy of Kid Rock. I have no idea if what he said was merely bleeped, or edited out of the broadcast entirely, but it was one of those priceless moments of honesty bursting through posturing that pop music specializes in.
I never thought I'd say that, but I'll say it again -- thank God and the Moonman and the man in the moon for Chris Brown. It's not that I don't like the new VMAs format -- I love the whole "one night only," once-in-a-lifetime moment in music history thing (especially opposed to the old model, which was basically -- what? -- watch it tonight or any waking moment for the next month until you can't close your eyes without dreaming of that dude from Rage Against the Machine climbing the scaffolding). Justin Timberlake, Timbaland and 50 Cent in an "impromptu" collaborative performance? Nice. And I like how everyone's down with the folks, performing at the crowd level like they're real people (as if there weren't big scary body guards just off-camera ready to throttle anyone who actually touches the boldface names).
That said, I need a little spectacle, people! Sure, it was cool -- OK, really freaking rad -- when Cee-Lo was just on the floor rocking the crap out of the Foo Fighters. But no more sweaty bands looking like they just got done playing Lollapalooza back when Lolla was a tour, MTV! If I wanted to see Dave Grohl perspire, I'd pay an exorbitant amount of money to watch him do it through binoculars at some arena, all right? For the VMAs, I want some special effects, a little choreography and some hot little kid dancers, damn it!
Which is why Chris Brown is -- so far -- King of the VMAs, as far as I'm concerned. Dude didn't even pretend to have a microphone -- he just started freaking flying from platform to platform and busting a move with a couple of eight-year-olds. Now THAT is a VMA performance people. Even Mr. Quadruple Threat himself, JT, gave Brown props for showing JT "how old I am."
WAIT -- was there just a subliminal announcement from the Fall Out Boy stage that Britney's on next?! Again?! Maybe she'll actually dance this time!
[Update -- Britney did not perform again. Sadly, her rather lackluster performance of her new, pretty decent tune was all we got]
Did you catch the one-two punch of Chris Brown and Rihanna at the VMAs? As if Rihanna's totally red-hot performance of "Umbrella" (and that to-the-teeth outfit she was rockin') wasn't enough of a jaw-dropper ... cutie Chris Brown did a poppin' impersonation of Michael Jackson that blew us away. It was a real thriller ...
We're just walked into the rare, purified air of beauty, money, gloss and sexiness that is Justin Timberlake's exclusive VMA suite. To call it a hotel room is like calling Jennifer Lopez "pretty." This thing has a bar, a dance floor, models (duh) and a BASKET.BALL.COURT! Folks, there are cruise ships that offer less. Too bad it doesn't float, or we'd start selling packages at the end of the night.
Uh oh! We are up in the Foo Fighters suite (have you SEEN them rockin' their brains out? And why can't they collaborate with Cee-Lo ALL the time?) and the beer funnel has just been brought out. We are afraid. We are VERY afraid.
Britney’s back, biatches! That’s right, and you saw it right here with your very own peepers when she strutted her stuff (almost in slo-mo) onstage at the VMAs. She opened the show with her new song, "Gimme More," while showing off a healthy bod in a bedazzled bikini. Aw yeah! We knew our girl would pull it off … but we wanna know what all those late-night rendezvous with Mindfreak Criss Angel were all about, since he was nowhere to be seen! Ah well, she still totally made an impact! We know you're screaming gimme more, more, more Brit right about now ... and we’re right there with ya'll! Check out Brit's big comeback performance ... What do you think? Did she pull it off? We wanna know what you have to say!
As IF the VMAs in Vegas couldn't get any hotter, it's pretty much exactly 145 THOUSAND degrees up in Fall Out Boy's suite in the Palms. Whether that's due to their scorching run-through of their upcoming performance of "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs" or due to teh fact that Gym Class Heroes, The Bravery and Ne-Yo are all hanging out here. Yes, tonight, folks, Buzzworthy's the fly on the wall of celebrity... and we LOVES it, y'all! Also... we can hardly HANDLE the fact that we're MINUTES away from Britney's performance! And... is it just us or did Paris Hilton's hair look like an old-school Nancy Reagan 'do? Oh well. Least her dress looked hot.
The Hills it-girl Lauren Conrad just arrived with BFF Audrina and Lo. But why was Whitney in a separate car?? Could there be a beef amongst blonds?? Oh, and of COURSE Heidi was nowhere to be seen... yet...
I gotta say that I was a little disappointed with the shoe game on Friday night and Saturday day. But Vegas really stepped it up today. Here are some of the best that I saw:
This is a picture of Soulja Boy's BAPES.
A lot of people kind of turned their nose at the idea of pinstriped BAPES, but these looked real nice I thought.
The picture is not that great, I know, but these are really dope AF1s that came out this year for the shoes 25th anniversary.
These are really hot New York Limited Edition AF1s that came out earlier this year.
This is a picture of Chris Brown's shoes. No idea what brand they are, but I thought they looked pretty hot.
These are from the Kashi collection. I saw a lot of peeps wearing Kashi this weekend.
I spotted these Creative Recreations at the Palms. Definitely a hate it or love it sort of shoe.
More BAPES!
I don't want to make this too long, so I'll cut it off here. But I have at least enough pics for one more batch, so stay tuned tomorrow for the conclusion.
Yesterday was insane -- one of those days. It started with me hanging out at the sorta-backstage area of the Palms Theater, where folks were rushing back and forth rehearsing and setting things up for the show you may in fact be watching right now. Rhapsody had set up some booth along with some other brands, and we were all giving stuff away to celebs who happened to wander through. I was technically there to explain to folks how Rhapsody works, but all I really did was play the demo version of the new iteration of "Guitar Hero," which is called "Rock Band." Fans of the series, like myself, are gonna be so stoked on "Rock Band" -- you can team up with three other players and trade off on guitar, bass, drums and vocals. It's totally sweet. I didn't see any celebs though.
Life at the Palms is pretty touch and go. One minute you're cabbing it from hotel to hotel, frantically trying to make it to appointments to check out the designer swag hook-ups that all the celebs are getting (more on that later), the next minute you're frantically sending stories back to New York. And if you're SuChin Pak and you've got a few minutes between stories and segments, you practice your kick-ass tennis skills on the flat-screen Wii stations they set up for us in the back of the production offices here at the Palms for those infrequent unbusy moments. Oh yeah, and check out the interview she did today with the Panic! At The Disco guys at infamous Vegas munchie joint Roberto's Taco Shop.
Boys Like Girls like lunch apparently. We spotted them checking out the menu at 24/7 Cafe at the Palms. We hope they tried the seafood Cobb -- shiz's bangin'.
There are entrances and then there are million-dollar arrivals. One celeb just rolled up to the Palms in their limo (uh, natch), opened the door and tossed out a handful of hundred-dollar bills. Due to our short stature, we couldn't see who, and we already saw 50 make his entrance, but regardless, that's quite a way to make your mark at the VMAs.
Even after all these years, amazing "adult film star" Ron Jeremy continues to amaze.
Less than two hours to go before the big show, the red carpet's live and direct in FULL effect, and, though we're thousands of miles away from New York City, it's so crowded here in the Palms that it feels a lot like Times Square. You know how people always say, like, "YOU CAN ACTUALLY FEEL THE ENERGY IN THE AIR?" Well, for real, you seriously can. If only we had an Energy-O-Meter thing, we'd show you just to prove it. Anyway, we did a quick (well, as quick as quick can be when you're throwin' elbows through crowds 20-bodies deep) sweep of the floor the Palms casino to show you what it looks like here on the ground, and here's what we came back with.
Folks lining up outside just to get down.
More of that.
See lots more after the jump
50 Cent came and went faster than we could snap this pic.
Only to be ushered through these metal detectors to enter the Pearl.
Hey look! It's Human Giant's Rob Huebel
And Aziz Ansari!
And nominee/performer Chris Brown! (You'll just have to trust us on this one.)
Okay, we're about to head back out there to bring you more. Pray for our souls!
So as you puhhhrrrrrollly already know, Britney IS gonna be performing at the VMAs on Sunday night. But of course, a girl's gotta practice, which is exactly what she did here at the Palms, just a few hundred feet from where we sit blogging, about an hour ago. Ohhh how we wanted to be inside the Pearl Theater, but the fleet of security guards and the "do not enter" and "essential personell (sic)" signs posted oh... ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE were an unfortunate deterrent. Guess even we gotta wait 'til Sunday.
Need we say more? Two great bands have come together for one the Most Earth-Shattering Collaborations ever! (All in the name of raising awareness.) Yes, yes y'all. And that's why Green Day's "The Saints Are Coming" featuring U2 is nominated in that exact category at the VMAs!
Life at the Palms is pretty touch and go. One minute you're cabbing it from hotel to hotel, frantically trying to make it to appointments to check out the designer swag hook-ups that all the celebs are getting (more on that later), the next minute you're frantically sending stories back to New York. And if you're SuChin Pak and you've got a few minutes between stories and segments, you practice your kick-ass tennis skills on the flat-screen Wii stations they set up for us in the back of the production offices here at the Palms for those infrequent unbusy moments. Oh yeah, and check out the interview she did today with the Panic! At The Disco guys at infamous Vegas munchie joint Roberto's Taco Shop.
By Tim Quirk
If you look closely at this picture, you will see that even
the poor guy who has to dress up as the Moon Man in 100+ degree heat walks
around drinking cocktails by the pool at the Palms. That’s a margarita glass in
his left hand, though how he gets the liquid through the reflective surface of
his space visor is beyond me.
Moon Man manqué joined plenty of other people at the Palms’ pool in not-quite-rocking out to Peter, Bjorn and John this afternoon. The band did their damndest to engage the crowd: singer/guitarist Peter Moren even tried climbing up the lighting rig as though he were a deranged punker who might be willing to leap to his death at one point. Unfortunately, he did this during their whistle-tastic hit, “Young Folks,” which is eminently hummable, but not exactly the type of thing that makes you want to cut your chest open with a broken bottle.
MTV generally does a pretty good job of updating the VMAs to keep up with the trends and innovations of the music world, phasing out obsolete categories like Best Alternative Video and acknowledging artists' increasing tendencies towards multitasking with this year's Quadruple Threat and Most Earth-Shattering Collaboration awards.
But we are sorry to say that there has been a glaring omission from this year's official list of VMAs. Frankly, the oversight is practically criminal. In fact, we might even go so far as to suggest that the Moonman should be incarcerated for it. That's right, friends and fellow fans of cultish web videos: the missing award is for the Video or Song Most Likely to Be Reinterpreted by the Inmates of a Philippine Prison. So, in an effort to correct this error, we have compiled our own list of artists whose work we think will lend itself well to this new medium for popular music. And the nominees are...
Junior Senior: "We R the Handclaps"
No subsequent performance can ever top the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center inmates' rendition of "Thriller," the video that launched 4.4 million YouTube viewings (although this one comes close). Likewise, there is no tune that can out-"Thriller" "Thriller," no artist that can out-Jacko Michael. But this Jackson 5-fabulous track from Danish duo Junior Senior's new album is a valiant effort.
The Pipettes: "Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me"
Not to be outdone, the CPDRC's female inmates followed "Thriller" with an intricately choreographed routine to the Sister Act version of "I Will Follow Him." In keeping with the retro 60s girl singer theme, we're nominating a British neo-girl group act: the Pipettes. What, you thought we were gonna say Amy Winehouse?
Mika: "Grace Kelly"
One of the less-hyped CPDRC performances is their disco b-boy take on "Radio Ga-Ga." Who better to fill Queen's platforms than Mika, the sugar-pop-shilling, sexually ambiguous second coming of Freddie Mercury? Plus, we'd really like to see what the inmates could do with the chubby old lady dance party at the end of the "Grace Kelly" video.
The Black Eyed Peas: "Bebot"
OK, the CPDRC dancers already did this one and since this song didn't actually come out this year, maybe something by Blonde White Pea and actual VMA nominee Fergie would be more appropriate (not to mention that "Thriller's" girlfriend could seriously work "Fergalicious"). But this very atypical BEP song is worth mentioning again for two reasons: 1. It's rhymed entirely in Tagalog, one of the Philippines' major dialects and the native language of the Peas' Apl.de.ap, and 2. It's a freaking great tune (with two -- count 'em -- two killer videos).
Goldar: "Ako Ay Si Mr. Robot"
After "Thriller," our favorite CPDRC performance is probably "Jumbo Hot Dog." Unfortunately, we can't find much of anything about Maskulados, the band behind "Jumbo" (anyone got any tips?). Instead, we nominate this equally wacky track (the title of which, by the way, means 'I am Mr. Robot' in Tagalog) by California-based electro-industrial outfit and diehard Power Rangers fan Goldar.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
U2 f. Green Day: "The Saints Are Coming"
M.I.A.: "Boyz"
More than just the stuff of email forwards and blog links, the CPDRC yard dance program was implemented to give inmates something to take their minds off the pretty horrific conditions of life in Philippine prisons (which President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo once said was worse than death). Because our new VMA is, therefore, not only one of global proportions, but also a matter of human rights, we'd like to nominate these internationally minded, rabble-rousing revolutionaries (two of which are actual VMA nominees!) for a special Penal Pop Award.
Hip-hop and sneakers go together like peanut butter and jelly, so I figured that while I'm at the VMAs, I'll be snapping shots of the hottest sneakers on and off the strip. Here are a few I've spotted so far.
BAPES at Caesars
at the Eve party
BAPEs at Caesars
Some limited edition AF1s outside of the palm
Nikes poolside
This is my first time in Vegas and after spending a couple of days here, I can understand why this is the perfect place for the VMAs. Both Vegas and MTV/ VH1 are obsessed with marginally talented celebrities oftentimes 20 years past their prime (see Scott Baio and Tony Danza), and both feed off of compulsive and destructive behavior. For MTV, this means playing up the Britney angle, while Vegas still works hard for its title as the City of Sin (though debauchery now has a middle-class, suburbanite face).
But don't get twisted by a couple of good natured jokes. It's been real interesting. Yesterday started off at the Rhapsody Cabana Pool Party at the Palms. It was beautiful, though very very hot (especially coming from the perpetually cool SF). Suge Knight was in the house, though his bodyguards didn't let me anywhere near him (understandable since at the last VMAs I covered he was shot). Rihanna was also there, though I didn't get to see here. Here are a couple of pics:
chilling poolside
The Rhapsody girls in our Cabana
House DJ A-Track bringing it on the ones and twos.
After a couple of hours, a few drinks (including a $25 margarita!) and a lot of people watching/leering we headed back to Caesars for a little rest before setting off to Rain for the Eve Show.
It seems like goal number 1 in Vegas is to funnel alcohol down your throat There's a reason why bottles of water are $3 and the liquor is free. Rain seemed to be doing their part on Friday night with free cocktails courtesy of Belvedere Vodka. The crowd, which I would describe as upscale sexy, were pump for the exclusive performance by Eve. Her performance was about as good as could've been expected for the format, I suppose. She did four or five songs, including "Tambourine" and "Give it To You."
Her four, very saucy backup dancers were a nice touch, and Dj Miss Saigon definitely got the crowd amped before and after the Eve performance,
Here are a few shots of the event.
Mandy Moore was there throughout the evening. She was filmed by a camera crew throughout.
Garish, exotic dancers entertained the crowd throughout the evening.
A nice overview of the crowd
Partier Sean posing for the Rhap Cam.
Vegas has a problem with cabs. It does. Waiting 45 minutes for a cab in a parking lot full of empty ones as limo company hustlers try to herd you into stretch-jobs costing $80 to get you four blocks reeks of scamage. I mean, it's obviously a scam, because the forced scarcity of the cabs leaves you actually considering paying that much, especially as revelers pile out of the casino you've just left like hordes escaping a burning village, if said hordes had novelty margarita glasses swinging around their necks. Add to this your frustration from the Snoop Dogg show that had just transpired, and suddenly you're thinking you'd pay double that $80 to get back to your room and your bathtub full of Budweiser.
Something just got botched is all. While we got to the show in plenty of time (well, considering how fashionably late we could count on Snoop being), our vantage point was all wrong, standing as we were across the Hard Rock Casino's lagoon-like pool, on the opposite side of the stage, which was carved into a big fake rock wall, thus creating a deceptively cozy, amphitheater-like feel, with the Hard Rock's hotel rooms forming a 20-story, color-splashed wall that enclosed the whole tropical pool-side paradise. It was like Red Rocks, but, like, fake, and with more drunk people throwing up in front of you (avast!).
By Tim Quirk
There’s no lack of things to do in Vegas during the VMAs.
Hell, there’s a multiplex in the Palms (don’t believe the glowing reviews of 3:10 to Yuma; it’s like that Jon Lovitz “Acting!”
character from SNL starring in a Pierce Brosnan-era James Bond flick, only with
cowboy hats – but if you have to see it, see it in the multiplex at the Palms, where
the ludicrousness of the film is at least mitigated by the total
over-the-topness of everything going on outside the safe, dark, silly theater).
Gracious and wonderful friends, greetings from Las Vegas, land of the $7 Budweiser. Having just filled my hotel bathtub with ice, diet soda, and what made Milwaukee famous -- avast these casinos! ne'er should a law-abiding American be gorged for plain old diet soda, let alone cheap beer -- I'm ready to tell you about my first day here. Don't get too excited. Or do, because, while I didn't see Britney slip on a banana peel or Fall Out Boy doing the Humpty Hump, I did walk through the lobby of the Palms, locale of your 2007 VMAs, and from the way the klieg lights are strewn like so much Xmas popcorn, with technicians running to and fro setting up jib arms and coating things in plastic (?), it appears as if Martin Scorsese is planning one of his eight-minute-long takes in there. Barring that, there must be a Macy's Day Parade's worth of A-list mugs preparing to trip the light fantastic 'round these parts. God knows they've got the security for it.
The other thing I did today was hang out in the Rhapsody Cabana at the Palms' super swanktastic pool as DJ A-Trak kept a bunch of scantily clad hard-bodies shaking that which makes their money. Rumor was that Suge Knight was cruising around, but I missed him because I was too busy scratching my head as A-Trak flipped the umpteenth version of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" that I've heard in a hip dance mix of late. Look, those of us who've had a true appreciation for the songwriting prowess of the Bay Area's second highest selling band have had it with the hipster embrace of said band in the wake of a popular TV program. But I digress. Tomorrow is another day, one that includes a performance by Peter Bjorn & John poolside, as well as Robin Thicke and Maroon 5 playing the House of Blues. And there's more, but I have to go get ready to see Snoop Dogg.
By Tim Quirk
That’s what a bunch of friends and random strangers have been asking me lately. So I figured I should explain.
Song: I'm a Slave 4 U
Album: Britney
Artist: Britney Spears
Selected by: Rachel Devitt
Date: September 7, 2007
Remember back when Britney Spears shocked us with her wild, raunchy behavior -- and it wasn't depressing? Her self-titled third album, if you'll recall, marked the moment when Britney was "Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" (or, as we like to call that tune, "Not Your Jailbait Fantasy, Not Yet a Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown"). Britney found the former Mousketeer declaring herself the proud owner of a fierce, adult (ahem) sexual independence. So, in honor of Britney's reported forthcoming album (fingers crossed, B!) and her just-announced appearance at the VMAs, we return now to that moment and to the song that prompted one of our favorite music videos ever (seriously -- about a gazillion viewings and counting. Now, which one of us was the slave again, Britney?). Here's hoping she achieves the comeback she deserves -- she needs it, and we need more (stable) Britney!
Oh, Justin. What more can we say about thee? Um, plenty! Duh. Like how about the fact that he’s nominated for Most Earth-Shattering Collaboration at the VMAs for “SexyBack” featuring our maestro Timbaland. Mmmhmm, JT and Tim definitely packed a whole lotta sexy into just four minutes!
Although … have you seen Clay Aiken’s version of the song lately? Um, that’s not so sexy. (Sorry, Claymates, it’s just not.) But we can’t blame Justin for that. It’s not his fault that he and T concocted one of the catchiest tunes of the year. OK, well, actually it is. But whatever.
Guess all that’s really left for us to do is give in and dig into some super hot photos of our fave ex-boy bander at past VMAs and watch the video that took sexy up a notch.
Woohoo! Yeehoo! Gwen Stefani and Akon go perfectly together. Naw … we’re not trying to start any rumors — who, us? The G-girl is still happily hitched to Gavin Rossdale (they just celebrated their five-year anniversary, dammit!). We’re talking about when it comes to “The Sweet Escape”! The always stylin’ Gwen totally rocks the prison look like a pro. Needless to say, her outfit is way cuter than what real ex-cons (sorry ladies) like Paris or Lil’ Kim had to wear while in the clink … and we’re guessing that, despite all the begging and pleading they may have done, there weren’t any solid gold bars in there either. Anywho, we’re totally rambling … and that just won’t do this Most Earth-Shattering Collaboration VMA nominee any justice! But we just have to say one more thing…
We hope the boisterous Harajuku Girls dance up a storm on stage if Gwen walks away with the Moonman. That’ll give the L.A.M.B. lover a run for her money — especially if she’s teetering around in those six-inch heels she can’t seem to part with these days. Oh, who are we kidding? That girl could work a newly waxed runway with her eyes closed.
There's so much to love about Lil Mama's monster single -- cute
kids, the best hallway-full-of-lockers choreography this side of "...Baby One More Time," a beat as contagious as school spirit at the big game. But something about it seems kind of, well, silly. I mean, the song's about lip gloss, after all.
Which is why everyone keeps calling Lil Mama a novelty act and "Lip Gloss" a guilty pleasure: a track about shiny lip goop,
however poppin' it might be, just doesn't seem as serious as, say, T.I. or even
someone like E-40. But let's take a look at what those more "serious"
emcees have been spitting about recently: E-40 (and for that matter, many
artists in the Bay Area scene) have stressed the importance of eyewear (among a
lot of other props), while T.I. put out an entire song about Chevys.
T.I., E-40 and, yes, Lil Mama are all doing something that
hip-hop emcees have been doing for a long time: talking about what they got to
show how they roll, and boasting about how
they rock it to one-up the next guy in line. Back in the day, Run-DMC drove "a big long Caddy" and extolled the virtues of their Adidas. A few years
later, Snoop introduced himself as tha shiznit with a "pocket full of
rubbers" and "five on the twenty sack."
Since then, emcees have spit about drugs, paper,
sneakers, cars, energy drinks, guns and their own genitalia to establish their cred on the streets and
in the studio. "Lip Gloss" is just the latest in a long line of
"accessory-hop" (prop-hop?) tracks, only instead of Glocks and Caddies and other
stuff typically associated with boys, Lil Mama's repping Mac and Loreal -- girl stuff. "Wipe the corners of my
mouth so I work it/When I walk down the hallway, they can't say nothing"
sure sounds like a boast as big as the boys', but Lil Mama's switching it up,
changing the paradigm. And that's innovative, it's novel, but it's not "just" a novelty act.
Check out our Prop-Hop Playlist to hear other accessory-obsessed emcees.
Song: Soul Sauce
Album: Soul Sauce
Artist: Cal Tjader
Selected By: Nick Dedina
Date: September 6, 2007
Back in the day, black audiences would party to Latin music and Hispanic musicians dug jazz and soul. Put it all together and you get boogaloo. Cal Tjader, a beloved San Francisco vibraphonist who helped blueprint Latin jazz (calm down Ethnic Studies professors, this is true!), had a long, successful career that ended when a heart attack took his life. "Soul Sauce" -- a groovy, club friendly reworking of an old Dizzy Gillespie tune -- became Tjader's biggest hit single and is still widely heard today. The resulting Latin-tinged album also went Top 10 on the R&B charts back in 1965.
OMG -- it's totally true! Britney Spears will be performing at the VMAs this Sunday night!!! And, yup, it's also true that Mindfreak Criss Angel consulted with Brit and helped her out with some new magical moves. We totally can't wait to see what kind of tricks those two came up with during all those late-night romps … er, we mean rehearsals. FYI, Miss Brit will be performing "Gimme More" from her upcoming album … and it's surely gonna be amazing! Now why won't it just hurry up and be Sunday already?
Yeah, you heard us right. The MTV Video Music Awards will air live from Las Vegas and if you're not glued to your TV you'll miss it. Say what?! We repeat ... this year's VMAs will air on one night only! Well, at least in its original form.
Here's the deal: You'll only be able to catch the full live show on Sunday, Sept. 9th, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Seriously, that's it … just that once. BUT (phew) then you'll be able to go to vma.mtv.com and watch clips of everything you saw on TV and much more! And you can rate every one of these moments -- onstage appearances, unbelievable performances and behind-the-scenes action -- and then we'll remix the whole show to your liking!
Yup, when the Viewer's Pick VMAs air on Sept. 13, it will be a remixed version that has been programmed by you, for you! So be sure to check out all of the goods after the show airs, rate your favorites (and not-so-favorites) and help create a kick-ass remix featuring all the best stuff. Wait, back up … how will you know which behind-the-scenes moments should make the remix? Well, we'll have them all on vma.mtv.com, of course! Starting today, you can see all the cool stuff that's happening all over Las Vegas before the big night. Poppin' performances? Check. Happenin' parties? Check. A peek inside your favorite celeb's hotel room? Check. See, we've hooked you up! So, now, whatcha gonna do? Oh yeah, right. Watch the VMAs live on Sunday and then go to vma.mtv.com to rate the moments you think should make the remix. And start scouring mtv.com NOW for tasty little behind-the-scenes morsels that should be in there too. The show's in your hands now!
After an uneventful (thankfully) plane ride and a quick ride from the airport in an appropriately bizarre party shuttle bus that was PUMPIN' a smooth jazz radio soundtrack courtesy of The Oasis and was most def in need of some Xhibit-style pimping, we… are… here. In Vegas. At the production offices of the 2007 VMAS. It’s about 94… THOUSAND degrees out and a bone-chilling -25 degrees Kelvin inside. Mmm.
Anyway, proof’s in the pictures – we snapped the photo above a few minutes ago on the casino floor of the Palms -- the actual site where the VMAs are happening live. Nice to see they’re as stoked as we are for the event. (Check out the photo of the marquee that Tim Kash snapped.) And random (yet awesome) that they were playing Cold War Kids on the casino floor, too. Manilow or Sinatra feels more fitting, but clearly the Palms is picking up our MTV vibe, which is a good thing, because in four days from now, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, Fall Out Boy, Timbaland, Kanye West, Foo Fighters and more Very Big Names are gonna perform live and tear UP the spot and turn this place upside down, which is saying a lot since, you know, it IS Vegas and all.
OK, we gotta go feed the slot machines (so close to our makeshift offices and oh soooo tempting) and investigate some other game we spotted that's called, curiously, "Shrimp Mania." Oh yeah, we're not the only ones gambling, by the way... check out these odds on the VMA nominees. Arrrright. More lates. Big money! No whammies!
Ludacris is turning the big 3-0 this year, so he stopped by the TRL studio to talk about his poppin' pre-VMA birthday bash that's coming up in Las Vegas. Yup, he'll be celebrating in style on the strip this Friday night! And check this out … Luda's exclusive invites are 18-karat gold rings. There were only 50 made, and he gave one to our boy Damien! How jealous are we?
Did you catch Avril Lavigne's amazing acoustic performance of "When You're Gone"? Before hitting the stage, she revealed that she wrote the "more personal" song with Butch Walker while on tour. She said that the song was inspired by the fact that she's always on the road and has to leave behind the people she loves. But she admitted that she thinks the song is universal and extends to anyone that's missed -- people leaving to go to war or who have recently broken up. "This song was very unique for me," she said. "The first time I played it for all my friends, every single one of them cried. Then when we shot the video, I was, like, crying..."
Is Beyonce's "Beautiful Liar" featuring Shakira the hottest video you've ever seen or what? With all those curls bouncing around, you can hardly tell the two apart (especially when they're writhing around on the floor together). You're literally getting two lovely ladies for the price of one! What a deal! But will they be able to bring the heat when it comes time to announce who will walk away with the Moonman for Most Earth-Shattering Collaboration at the VMAs? The answer is just days away…
In the meantime, we certainly hope some of Shakira's sizzling Latin moves permanently rubbed off on B, as she's releasing her first Spanish-language EP soon. But how could they not? Shakira is muy caliente!
We were stoked to see this hu-normo VMA billboard on the corner of Allen and Delancey Streets in the Lower East Side this morning on our way to work -- the massive sign swept over the pretty much the entire corner building and seemed to take over the whole block, which is nothing compared to the actual VMAs, which are gonna take over, oh, all of Vegas.
And even though the actual show isn't for another five days, it's T-minus like, 12 hours before we put our arses on a plane and head out to
Like we said, the show isn't 'til Sunday, but we're hittin' the ground running (again, as fast and as hard as we can in heels) as soon as touch down, because there are round-the-clock concerts (and they say New York is the city that never sleeps), parties, performances and appearances happening all over the strip. Think of it as almost a week of tailgating. And we plan on being at just about everything and giving you the straight down-low on all the behind-the-scenes action and all the celebs we stalked (so watch yer back, Mark Ronson), er… spotted. We'll be hollarin' back at you right here, so see ya back, Jack.
It's time almost time to "Smack That" at the VMAs (this Sunday)! Oh yeah! And listening to Akon and Eminem tear it up together literally makes us wanna get down and dirty -- on the dance floor! It's a serious club banger (duh) and Akon's suave vocals are the perfect match for Slim Shady's biting rhymes, which is exactly why the song is nominated for Most Earth-Shattering Collaboration! You bet your bottom (dollar) it is!
We hope this kick-ass collaboration means Em is planning on permanently dusting off his mic soon. (Can you believe it's been almost two years since Curtain Call: The Hits was released and just about three since Encore, his last full-length studio album, came out!) Cross your fingers 'cause there's been some serious rumblings that the candy man plans on releasing a new album very soon … but it's just not soon enough! So … to tide you over until King Mathers grabs the mic again, check out the smokin' "Smack That" video.
Song: Jump Sturdy
Album: Gris Gris
Artist: Dr. John
Selected By: Nate Cavalieri
Date: September 5, 2007
Most people who love Dr. John for carrying the torch of New Orleans piano greats like Professor Longhair have a hard time with his feather-dressed psychedelic side. But his great, freaky Gris Gris, which is rumored to be recorded during the off time of Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe" sessions, remains a freaky masterpiece of his early career and a weird bayou-humid acid trip. The funky "Jump Sturdy" might be the record's pop highlight, telling the tale of a mystery woman who came from the swamp.
Because a thick appliqué of celebrity often distracts viewers from the technical discipline of making music videos, the VMA for Best Director is an overlooked accolade. Movie directors are lauded for their vision (as in, "Have you seen the new Spike Lee joint?"), while a video is almost always associated with the musical artist who stars in it (as in, "I just watched the latest Green Day video on YouTube.")
In spite of the fact that his work has been piped into millions of homes over the last 20 years, Matthew Rolston is not a household name. His first gig, as an art director on Michael Jackson's "Bad," was in 1987, just three years after the first Video Music Awards. Since then he has worked with everyone from Morrissey ("Alma Matters") to Marilyn Manson ("Long Hard Road Out Of Hell") to Madonna ("The Power Of Goodbye"), as well as tons of other artists whose names don't begin with the letter M. This year he received a nomination for his video of Christina Aguilera's "Candyman." Who is this fellow and what turns his reel?
Trained as a photographer at the San Francisco Art Institute, Rolston has worked for Harper's Bazaar, Rolling Stone, and Interview Magazine. His stills have hung on the walls of the Whitney and in the Smithsonian and a book of his photographs, Big Pictures, came out in 1991. Not surprisingly, his videos are known for their controlled composition (note the symmetry in every shot of "Candyman") and a glamorous portrayal of their subjects, a technique learned from noted 1930's celebrity photographer George Hurrell, who, according to Rolston, "invented Hollywood style."
Rolston has a good shot at the Moonman this year. Let's just hope he isn't confused for one of the kitchen staff by the security guards at the Palms Casino Resort.
Song: Pathlo
Album: Highlife
Artist: Dr. Zeus
Selected By: Sarah Bardeen
Date: September 4, 2007
Remember when Jay-Z kicked it global-style on "Beware of the Boys"? His mash-up with Panjabi MC steamed up the dancefloors for a season, but this song should have been hot on its heels. Dr. Zeus's bhangra-hop hasn't hit yet the big-time on this side of the pond, but Brits in the know have been digging it for years.
Even though the category for "Monster Single of the Year" has some infectious tunes, we can't help but feel as if a few favorites from last year got left out in the cold. We saw one such monster first hand when Peter, Bjorn and John played Rhapsody's SXSW party and "Young Folks" made folks squeal like children on a
pony ride. (See and hear the performance for yourself right here.) But, given the stiff competition (go Avril! She is, like, so whatever!), it's small wonder PB&J were overlooked. If the most competitive VMA category seems abridged, here are a few neglected monsters from the past year.
MONSTER SINGLE: Kelis,
"Bossy"
BREED: Here-comes-trouble Monster
SECOND COUSINS WITH:Madonna, "Material Girl"; Lil' Kim,
"Magic Stick"
We had a feeling that Kelis was sex-on-wheels with "Milkshake," but this single, co-written by Too $hort, inspires cold sweats.
Plus, it's the sassy answer to 50 Cent's "Piggy Bank."
Icy!
OK. We're just gonna go right out there and say it: Mark Ronson is extremely hot. Like, at the risk of sounding likes those two corny overly enthusiastic yogurt commercial ladies, he's like, eating-jalapenos-in-the-desert-while-wearing-a-wool-sweater hot.
Some background: He's British (extra hot points right there). He used to be a model. His stepdad was in the classic rock act Foreigner. His mom's a socialite. He's modeled. His sisters are clothing designer Charlotte and DJ Samantha (who's BFF with Lindsay Lohan). He's BFF with Stella McCartney. He was a model. Keith Moon taught him to play drums. He taught Sean Lennon to play guitar. He grew up with Andy Warhol and Mick Jagger over at the pad for dinner. And he modeled.
But...
there's plenty beneath his pretty boy looks, easy-come piles of family cash and status as kingpin of New York's social scene -- he made a name for himself DJing hip-hop at celeb-packed parties. And most recently he DJ'ed Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' wedding! He's a quadruple-threat musical genius: a singer-songwriter-producer-musician with an encyclopedic knowledge of artists and musical genres and an uncanny knack for pairing artists and creating collaborations that on paper look like head scratchers but sound, well, perfect coming out of your earbuds. Case-in-point: Lily Allen's cover of Kaiser Chiefs' hit "Oh My God." Or, the late Old Dirty Bastard's reinvention of Britney Spears' "Toxic." He's responsible for Amy Winehouse's hit "Rehab" (but not her hardest-core substance problems, k?) as well as her entire Back To Black album, which he produced. He's also mastered the fine art of covering popular songs without turning into a cheesy cover artist. His take of The Smiths' "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before," which he turned into a dance track called simply "Stop Me," with Daniel Merriweather on vox, shot up the U.K. pop charts. With good reason. And now, with Version out, his second album in four years (not bad for a busy guy who also runs his own record label, Allido Records), he's set to leave behind some of his image as a predominantly a socialite DJ, and he's set to emerge from behind-the-curtains producer and become a full-fledged, in-his-own-right artist. And he's the freakin' DJ on this weekend's MTV Music Video Awards! And if those aren't good enough reasons for him to be Artist Of The Week, then you lose, and that means more Mark for us! But really, could we ever have enough Mark? Catch his videos all this week on MTV, AND don't miss him spinning live at the VMAs this Sunday.
- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC.
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