MTV News

Fall Out Boy Inspired By Wrestlers, Communism For 'I Don't Care' Video

Posted: 19 Sep 2008 04:52 AM PDT

'It's a little bit of a satire on the rock-and-roll archetypes of being a jerk,' frontman Patrick Stump says of the clip.
By James Montgomery, with reporting by Todd Brown

Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump, Joe Trohman and Pete Wentz
Photo: MTV News

According to Pete Wentz, Fall Out Boy's new video for "I Don't Care" draws heavily from two rather, uh, unique sources: the works of Vincent K. McMahon and Mao Zedong.

"It's a series of vignettes, and in the end, the joke is: Everyone in the world who is famous is just a WWF character. And some of you are Hulk Hogan, and some of you are the Undertaker, and it's awesome. It's just as great to come out to the boos," Wentz told MTV News on the Los Angeles video set. "This one is about portraying the band, too, because there's been videos where it's been about individual characters, and this one is really a band-based video. Everyone has really equal face time, and there's a communist aspect to the video in the imagery, but we're also trying to [make] something that's equal."

We're bummed he didn't drop a Nikolai Volkoff reference in there, 'cause, you know, he was a communist wrestler and all. Regardless, the video — the first from their upcoming Folie à Deux album — sounds (and looks) like it's going to be an interesting one, especially since when we were on set this past weekend, we didn't see a single grappler or a copy of Mao's "Little Red Book."

Rather, we caught a glimpse of FOB frontman Patrick Stump and guitarist Joe Trohman (in a trench coat, tighty-whities and black socks, FYI) chucking water balloons off a rooftop onto unsuspecting fans while Wentz and director Alan Ferguson watched on a nearby monitor, giggling. A decidedly huge list of celebrity guest stars was milling about, including Pharrell Williams, Spencer Pratt from "The Hills," Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta and Ryland Blackington, and former Blink-182 singer Mark Hoppus. So, really, what is going on here?

"It's a little bit of a satire on the rock-and-roll archetypes of being a jerk — like trashing dressing rooms and being a general big, big jerk," Stump laughed. "Because, if we're well-known for anything, it's that we're not really like that. We're not big jerks, we're just playing on that. These are all things that we would never do."

"Except for me. I've been Method acting for the past four years. I've gone deep for this one. I've been preparing for this video forever," Wentz added. "No. ... It's [based on] the idea of the anti-hero. In some cases, it's taking the world's perception of each of us and turning that around and in some cases magnifying it and exaggerating it. ... It's a satire of that, but at the same time making fun of who the face of rock and roll is now: dudes wearing eyeliner and hawking energy drinks."

Wentz then added that, yes, there's going to be plenty of cameos in the video, only they'll all be done with a decidedly "Tom Cruise-ian" twist. And that sort of explained another scene we witnessed, one that showed Pharrell ripping off what appeared to be a Stump mask and then singing along with the track.

"We're all fans of 'Mission Impossible,' and in part three, they really nailed it, where they had these great masks with these great reveals," Wentz said. "So me and Pharrell and Spencer and Gabe and Mark Hoppus all went and got our faces cast, like plaster castings made, and we're going to do actual reveals. So I hope they look good. ... I hope I'm not putting my foot in my mouth or anything right now."

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T.I. Swallows His Pride On Remorseful, Reflective Paper Trail Tracks Leaked Online

Posted: 18 Sep 2008 04:57 AM PDT

Justin Timberlake, Usher, Ludacris and more guests join Tip on songs from September 30 album.
By Shaheem Reid

T.I.
Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images

Where exactly does the path of T.I.'s Paper Trail lead? Well, this week it led to the Internet. The album was leaked online, weeks before its September 30 release date, and while we heard many of the songs when Tip previewed them for us a couple of months back, MTV News has finally gotten to hear the album in its entirety.

At times on Paper Trail, listeners will find a remorseful Clifford Harris who has learned from his mistakes and is intent on growing as a man and an artist. He commiserates with graceful articulation on "Dead and Gone," which features Justin Timberlake. There are no girls, no dancing and no name-brand liquor on this track. The song reflects on a major revelation: It's OK for the King of the South to sometimes take a step back and put his brash on freeze. But how do you swallow your pride when that very pride is one of the integral fabrics of your character?

"I've been travelling on this road too long," Timberlake sings over piano and horns. "Just trying to find my way back home/ The old me's dead and gone."

Tip dedicates the song to his late best friend Philant Johnson, but also addresses how so many young men get caught up in detrimental, possibly deadly situations by not thinking out their options.

"Maybe my homeboy would still be around/ If I hadn't hit a n---a in the mouth that time," Tip raps. "I won that fight, I lost that war/ ... Who would have ever thought I'd never seen Philant no more."

The song "Slide Show," featuring John Legend, has flown under the radar so far. Again, it centers on not letting your mistakes define who you are — but this time, it talks about what you learn from climbing out of those pitfalls. "If I only knew back then what I know now/ ... Maybe I'd be Kanye instead of seeing gunplay," Tip raps. "But God got a plan of how I'll understand one day."

"On Top of the World" is an extravaganza, rich with lyricism, personality and an unforgettable hook by new Grand Hustle artist B.o.B. On the track, Tip and Ludacris serve up the grandiose collaboration that people have fantasized about for years. The laudably loud Luda bulldozes his way through the second verse, proving that he's still one of the premier MCs on the mic. 'Cris reveals in his lyrics some of the keys to keeping his circle rich, like sending a best friend to culinary school and hiring him as a chef or helping to straighten out his homies' credit. Ludacris ends with a nice little shout-out to a very famous Jedi Knight: "They say rappers shouldn't act — nah, suckas/ We see Samuel L. Jackson, like, 'What's up mutha----a?" For his part, Tip reflects on his multitude of businesses and on how he's surpassed old goals and has so many more to accomplish.

Other guests on the LP include Usher on "My Life, Your Entertainment" and Jay-Z, Kanye West and Lil Wayne on "Swagger Like Us." Despite recent rumors and fake Paper Trail track lists, Atlantic has confirmed that the song will definitely appear on the opus.

Paper Trail is set for release September 30. A video for "What Up, What's Haapnin' " just hit the airwaves, and a clip for "Swing Ya Rag" has been lingering in the can for some time.

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Bleeding Through Make A Declaration To 'Trendy' Bands; Plus Disturbed, Madball & More News That Rules, In Metal File

Posted: 19 Sep 2008 04:52 AM PDT

Brandan Schieppati says BT are influential 'whether these young bands want to admit it or not.'
By Chris Harris

Bleeding Through
Photo: Craig Burton

It's hard to believe, but Bleeding Through are coming up on their 10th anniversary as a band, and to celebrate, the speedy O.C. metalcore six-piece — and Ozzfest 2006 alumni — will release their fifth studio offering, the Devin Townsend-produced Declaration, on September 30. Even frontman Brandan Schieppati can't believe his band has been around that long — long enough, he claims, to have inspired the current crop of metalcore acts, who almost never credit Bleeding Through as an influence.

"In the world we're in now, of — for lack of a better word — a bunch of new-jack bands that are coming out of f---ing left field every day, people are always like, 'You should care about this band,' or, 'This is the next thing.' But I think you should listen to Bleeding Through's Declaration if you want to know where the roots of this type of music come from," he said, although he refused to identify any of these so-called "new-jack" bands. "Since we've been a band for 10 years, you should listen to us, especially if you want to know where these new bands got their influences from. Whether they'll admit it or not, this is kind of where it comes from."

Schieppati said the last 10 years haven't been the easiest and that every single day has been something of a challenge. Bleeding Through have seen trends come and go, and they've managed to endure, thanks in large part to their loyal fans.

"One thing that a band gets, once they're through their years and once they've been going for some time, and we've been through it time and time over ... but, it's like a bunch of backlashes and, like, a bunch of kids who were once really into your music, and then something trendy comes along, and so they pretend they were never into your music ever," he explained. "They start talking sh--, and then, all of a sudden, for some reason, it's cool to like your band again. So they come back. It's this roller-coaster effect, and whether these young bands want to admit it or not, when these young bands got into this sh-- in f---ing 2003, because they were 19 and that's when they started getting into it, tell me — what bands were around then?"

And like a band that's been around for nearly a decade, Bleeding Through's sound has evolved, as has the inspiration behind Schieppati's lyrics. Declaration lacks the heart-shattered verse that saturated the band's previous offerings, chiefly because the singer is now in a good place emotionally. He was married two years ago, not long after the release of 2006's The Truth, and he's been a happy man ever since.

"I'm not really heartbroken anymore, so I think the thing that really acts as my muse is what we've been through the last seven years of touring and being in this band and, just in general, going to places that have never accepted us," he explained. "It's sort of just about trusting your ability to keep doing this and going through the trends. There's a line in one of the songs where I say, 'There's nothing more to prove/ People come and go/ Ride their fences/ Follow trends.' I think a lot of bands get discouraged by that and break up. But for us, that was our motivation — that we've been this band from day one, and from day one, we've heard the same criticism against it, and we've seen trends come and go, and maybe people thought that we were one of those trends at one point in time, which I can't argue with. We were a new band at one point. But really, what this record is about is not being content with the state of music and people and playing and going to places but just trying to trust in your ability and move forward through it."

Schieppati added that the music reflects this new muse. "There's a certain anger to it, a certain feeling to it and a certain darkness to it," he said. "It's a reflection on the way our lives have been and our career's been so far. It's kind of a testament to that, and it's a reflection on where we're at as a band."

According to Schieppati, it was Townsend who helped Bleeding Through's sound progress naturally with Declaration, because his overall influence on the LP was rather subtle.

"He was adding things instead of subtracting and doing things his own way," he said. "He was making us feel really comfortable and kept us really focused and stress-free so we were happy. Most of the songs we'd written, before we went up to Vancouver, are, for the most part, the way they are on the record, but his input was mostly just little things that made a big difference in the music — tweaking a couple of drumbeats, tweaking a couple of song structures, adding more layers and atmospherics to the record — that was his input. The best thing about working with him is he dives in to every project he works on and treats it like it's his band. He stresses out about things, stays up all night to fix things and do things. ... He was very motivated, and it was nice to work with someone who was on the same page with us."

The record features a guest spot from As I Lay Dying's Tim Lambesis, and it was a collaboration Schieppati claims was a long time coming.

"When we were looking for a bass player in 2003 [after the departure of Vijay Kumar], Tim was actually going to play bass for us, because As I Lay Dying were losing faith in themselves, and he came to us, like, 'Hey, do you guys need a bass player, because I'd love to play bass with you guys,' " he said. "We told him that a couple of weeks prior, we'd added Ryan [Wombacher] to our band, and I think a couple of weeks after that, As I Lay Dying were signed to Metal Blade, and the rest is history. So it worked out good, because I've always wanted Tim to be on one of our records."

The rest of the week's metal news:

On September 30, Chicago's Disturbed will issue a new live album, Live and Indestructible, but you won't find it in stores. The release will be an iTunes exclusive, and we'll be bringing you more details on the downloadable LP when they're released. ... Hardcore legends H20, Bane, Energy and Cruel Hand will be joining forces next month for a U.S. trek, which kicks off in Detroit on October 28. Dates for the run are booked through November 23 in New York. ...

Sludgy hardcore act 16 have wrapped the recording of their forthcoming LP, Bridges to Burn, and the effort is being planned for a January 20 release. The guys recently re-formed with their original lineup, and they have just one gig booked: December 16 in Los Angeles. ... Even though they've thrown in the towel, San Francisco death thrashers Light This City will be releasing a new album November 11. Stormchaser will feature 12 tracks, including "Fragile Heroes," "The Anhedonia Epidemic" and "A Desperate Resolution." ...

Madball and Testament will be playing together later this year. They've booked nine gigs together, scheduled for December 1 in Cleveland; December 2 in Philadelphia; December 4 in New York; December 5 in Sayreville, New Jersey; December 6 in Baltimore; December 7 in Norfolk, Virginia; December 9 in Detroit; December 10 in Chicago; and December 11 in St. Paul, Minnesota. ...

See You Next Tuesday will release their new one, Intervals, on October 14. Look for the set to feature 17 fresh cuts, including "She Once Said I Was a Romantic," "Forever on Deaf Ears" and "This Time the Keys Are Broken." ... Darkest Hour have parted ways with guitarist Kris Norris, replacing him with Mike "Lonestar" Carrigan. In November, the band plans to hit the studio to begin tracking its next effort, which will be in stores this coming spring.