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| John McCain And Barack Obama Slug It Out In Aggressive Second Debate On Economy, Foreign Policy Posted: 08 Oct 2008 09:49 AM PDT Neither candidate was afraid to throw a zinger during town-hall-style matchup.
This was more like it. If you thought the first debate between presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama was more like a polite disagreement on the economy and foreign policy, Tuesday night's (October 7) second showdown on those same topics found the Senate colleagues staring each other down for a tense 90 minutes during which they tried to draw very clear lines on how their policies differ. After a bare-knuckle week in which the airwaves were flooded with talk of McCain's ties to the "Keating Five" savings and loan scandal of the late 1980s and Obama's relationship with a former 1960s radical became Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's favorite topic, both candidates avoided those old scandals in favor of focusing on what needs to be done to get the United States economy and military back on track. But, like the first debate, neither candidate seemed to make a major mistake or land a sound-bite-worthy punch that has the potential to change the race as it speeds toward its November 4 conclusion. What they did do was frequently repeat the same criticisms audiences have heard in their stump speeches and in previous debates, including McCain's claim that "we don't have time for on-the-job training." And when McCain followed that criticism up — as he did several times in the men's first debate 12 days ago — by charging that Obama "doesn't understand" our national-security challenges, the Illinois senator went on the attack in an aggressive way supporters claimed he failed to do during the first debate. "It's true," Obama said. "There are some things I don't understand. I don't understand how we ended up invading a country that had nothing to do with 9/11, while Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda are setting up base camps and safe havens to train terrorists to attack us. That was Senator McCain's judgment, and it was the wrong judgment. When Senator McCain was cheerleading the president to go into Iraq, he suggested it was going to be quick and easy, we'd be greeted as liberators. That was the wrong judgment, and it's been costly to us." In a format that is more comfortable for McCain, the candidates were seated on stools in a small theater on the campus of Belmont University in Nashville, surrounded on three sides by a horseshoe of 80 uncommitted voters who submitted questions, along with queries from Internet users. Moderator Tom Brokaw set up the questions and struggled mightily all night to get the presidential hopefuls to stick to the strict two-minute response and one-minute follow-up times. The first hour of the debate focused on the economy and domestic-policy issues, with McCain going hard after Obama's health care plan at one point, claiming the Democrat would impose "mandates" and fine families and businesses that don't sign up for the plan. "That's remarkable," McCain said. "If you're a parent and you're struggling to get health insurance for your children, Senator Obama will fine you." Taking a page from McCain's running mate's book, Obama mostly disregarded the next question on whether health care is a privilege, a right or a responsibility and denied that his plan would impose fines or mandates, explaining, "It's true that I say that you are going to have to make sure that your child has health care, because children are relatively cheap to insure and we don't want them going to the emergency room for treatable illnesses like asthma." With McCain now trailing in national polls and the economy spiraling further down with each passing day — a situation that most pundits agree favors Obama — both men tried to portray their economic plans as the salve the country needs to get back on its feet, while pointedly tearing down the other's priorities. Obama lashed McCain for supporting the "failed economic policies of the last eight years" under President Bush, saying the Arizona senator's plan to provide $300 billion in tax cuts would mostly benefit big business and oil companies. McCain countered by saying that with the "encouragement of Senator Obama and his cronies and friends in Washington," the failed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made risky loans to people who couldn't afford them, which served as the "match that lit this fire." McCain also claimed that Obama was the second highest recipient of Fannie and Freddie money in history. "Some of us stood up against [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] and others took a hike." Unlike the first debate, where Obama sometimes agreed with McCain before disagreeing with him, in Tuesday night's showdown, Obama hit back that it was McCain's actions that were the real catalyst for the meltdown, tarring his opponent with being behind the deregulation of the financial system that helped lead to the sub prime mortgage meltdown. "Now, with respect to Fannie Mae, what Senator McCain didn't mention is the fact that this bill that he talked about wasn't his own bill," Obama said. "He jumped on it a year after it had been introduced and it never got passed. And I never promoted Fannie Mae. In fact, Sen. McCain's campaign chairman's firm was a lobbyist on behalf of Fannie Mae, not me." Given the rampant distrust of government in light of the financial crisis and skepticism about the recently passed $700 billion bailout plan, an audience member asked how Americans could trust either man with the country's purse strings. Again attempting to tie McCain to Bush, Obama noted that the country went from record surpluses to historic deficits under Bush and that McCain voted for four out of five of those budgets. He then said his priorities would be to reform the health care system, come up with a new energy plan that cuts our dependence on foreign oil and invest in college affordability. As he did several times during the evening, McCain took the opportunity to say that, unlike Obama, he has worked with Democrats often over the years and that the situation requires a bipartisan effort. "This is the most liberal big-spending record in the United States Senate," McCain said of Obama, pointing out that the Senator is proposing $860 billion in new spending and once voted for $3 million for an overhead projector at a planetarium in his native Chicago. "I have fought against excessive spending and outrages. I have fought to reduce the earmarks and eliminate them." Neither presidential hopeful was above throwing a zinger at the other. McCain lamented that nailing down Obama's tax plan was "like nailing Jell-O to a wall," and in an answer to how he would deal with the looming Social Security crisis, Obama hit back at McCain's claims about Obama's tax plans by saying, "I think the 'Straight Talk Express' lost a wheel on that one." When the topic finally turned to what is perceived as McCain's strength, foreign policy, in response to a question about whether the United States can still act as the peacemaker of the world given the financial crisis, McCain argued that he has the judgment and experience to make that call, while charging that, "Senator Obama was wrong about Iraq and the surge. He was wrong about Russia when they committed aggression against Georgia. And in his short career, he does not understand our national-security challenges." In a follow-up question about whether the U.S. would ignore borders and go after al Qaeda terrorists wherever they were, Obama once again asserted that the U.S. was wrong in going into Iraq in the first place when the job of hunting down terror mastermind Osama bin Laden was not completed, and said, "If we have Osama bin Laden in our sights and the Pakistani government is unable or unwilling to take him out, then I think that we have to act and we will take them out. We will kill bin Laden; we will crush al Qaeda. That has to be our biggest national-security priority." Citing president Theodore Roosevelt's maxim "speak softly, but carry a big stick," McCain chided Obama's tactic of talking "loudly," saying it was wrong to "announce that he's going to attack Pakistan. Remarkable." At that point, though there was no time for a follow-up, Obama insisted on one, and Brokaw — who jokingly referred to himself as the "hired help" - agreed to break the format and allow it. Obama then strongly asserted that he never called for an invasion of Pakistan. "Now, Senator McCain suggests that somehow ... I'm green behind the ears and ... I'm just spouting off, and he's somber and responsible," Obama said. "Senator McCain, this is the guy who sang, 'Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran,' who called for the annihilation of North Korea. That I don't think is an example of 'speaking softly.' This is the person who, after we had - we hadn't even finished Afghanistan, where he said, 'Next up, Baghdad.' " Both men ended with a plea in which they said they were the right person to help put America back on track, with Obama arguing, "We need fundamental change. That's what's at stake in this election. That's the reason I decided to run for president, and I'm hopeful that all of you are prepared to continue this extraordinary journey that we call America. But we're going to have to have the courage and the sacrifice, the nerve to move in a new direction." Leaving their bitter differences aside for the moment, McCain answered Obama's plea for a greater calling, pledging, "I believe in this country. I believe in its future. I believe in its greatness. It's been my great honor to serve it for many, many years. And I'm asking the American people to give me another opportunity and I'll rest on my record, but I'll also tell you, when times are tough, we need a steady hand at the tiller and the great honor of my life was to always put my country first." The final debate will take place at Hofstra University in New York on October 15. To weigh in on who you think won the debate, head over to the Newsroom blog.
Get informed! Head to Choose or Lose for nonstop coverage of the 2008 presidential election, including everything from the latest news on the candidates to on-the-ground multimedia reports from our 51 citizen journalists, MTV and MySpace's Presidential Dialogues, and much more. Related Videos | |
| Who Do You Think Won John McCain And Barack Obama's Second Debate? Posted: 08 Oct 2008 09:49 AM PDT Sound off in the Newsroom blog.
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| 50 Cent Drops 'Get Up,' The First Track From <i>Before I Self Destruct</i> Posted: 07 Oct 2008 04:44 AM PDT Plus: Tony Yayo says G-Unit might tour with Lil Wayne after all.
Rise and shine! The G-Unit General says there's no lying down on the job. 50 Cent just released "Get Up," the first record from his upcoming Before I Self Destruct LP. "Trust me, homie, I'm not playing/ I'll have the dance floor off the chain," 50 promises on the record. He also gives his word to make "every other week feel like Mardi Gras." "You dudes better follow instructions/ I said, 'Get up,' " he adds over the pounding bass. Fif released the track on ThisIs50.com, and it immediately started getting play on New York radio. A few days ago, 50 told Blender magazine that he was still in Detroit working on Self Destruct with Eminem. He said they had at least one song called "Norman Bates Motel" completed. "Dre sent over a bunch of beats, and we're just going through them all, picking out who wants what," 50 told the mag. "We already finished one joint and just started vocals on another. It's gonna blow you away, I guarantee." While 50 is in the lab recording, he's also contemplating a major outing. "We was slated to do a 52-date tour, but our schedule got crazy," G-Unit member Tony Yayo told MTV News. "So I guess on Self Destruct, we should be doing a big tour." 50's right-hand man hinted that the G-Unit/Lil Wayne tour talked about several months ago might be resurrected. "That'd be cool man," Yayo said. "Lil Wayne is a big artist. I'd love to be on a tour with Lil Wayne. It would be an issue. I actually spoke to Wayne a couple of months ago on the phone, him and Baby. They some cool n---as. I'm happy for the boy [Weezy]. What he did was make people wanna go hard again, because it's possible you can do them big numbers that first week." Related Artists | |
| Robin Thicke Hoped To 'Achieve Some Healing' On <i>Something Else</i> Posted: 08 Oct 2008 05:00 AM PDT 'Having sympathy and understanding for what she goes through made me wanna write songs,' singer says of his wife, actress Paula Patton.
For his LP Something Else, Robin Thicke found inspiration from two places: Motown records and the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. He hopes to capture that nostalgic flair on the album. "I mean with a little wind in our sails after having the success on the last album, we were all excited to go in [to the studio]," he said. "We wanted to have all the equipment set up, all the percussion instruments and all the guitars and have everybody ... just like kids in a candy store."
This album, for Thicke, was about finding some peace and coming to terms with a world that he sees as unfair at times. "I really just wanted to achieve some healing, and I needed to be healed," he said. "I needed to believe in myself, and my wife — being an African-American actress and being African-American in this world — she faces a lot of challenges that I, as a white man, [don't] have to face. ... Having sympathy and understanding for what she goes through made me wanna write songs." Thicke also wasn't afraid to mix business and pleasure when he sat down to work on the album. For one song, "Beautifully Imperfect," he sought the advice of his wife, actress Paula Patton. "I wrote it with my music partner, who plays guitar, and my wife actually threw in a few lines here and there. ... I was at the house writing the song, and I had the chorus and some of the verse, but she was struggling with her business and the opportunities in her business because of the color of her skin." Working together was a natural fit for the couple, and with subject matter that hit so close to home, the song was born from a very organic place. "We just started talking about 'Don't we wish that that those things would go away and we could live in a different world and a different society?' and that's where that song comes from," he said. Thicke didn't feel the need to impress anyone when he was making Something Else. Why? Because Thicke feels pressure to be good no matter what. "I've always put so much pressure on myself, nobody could ever do that to me," he said. "I'm never happy with what I'm doing, and I can't wait to get to the next one so I can do even better — even though some people say this is my best," he added. "That's the job of an artist — to leave the past behind and bear down onto the future to try to make something even better." Related Videos Related Artists | |
| Phish Reunion: The Rebirth Of (Un)Cool, In <i>Bigger Than The Sound</i> Posted: 08 Oct 2008 05:00 AM PDT Nostalgia leads our resident music snob to admit his excitement for band's reunion.
On The Record: I Am A Phish Fan. I Am Relatively Unashamed I don't really want to admit this, but there was a little piece of me that stirred when the news of Phish's reunion broke last week. It's a bit of me that I don't really use all that much anymore, a vestigial organ from a previous lifetime that really serves no purpose any more — call it my musical appendix. Anyway, when I learned that Phish were getting back together, my musical appendix practically burst. Not in the appendicitis kind of way, mind you, but rather in this warm, really sort of joyous manner. And that sort of terrified me. After all, I thought that part of me was dead and dormant ... or at least, I had hoped it was. I am, by all accounts, an unapologetic music snob, and if there is one rule of Music Snobbery, it is that you must never — under any circumstances whatsoever — express admiration for so-called "jam bands," especially Phish (though, surprisingly, it is OK to admit to liking the Grateful Dead's Workingman's Dead and American Beauty albums). This is just not done, and it can result in expulsion from our very exclusive glass house. And yet, knowing all that, here I was, still somewhat ... excited by the possibilities of seeing Phish one last time. It was as if my inner 15-year-old — the skinny, never-sexed kid with the terrible long hair and the baggy corduroy pants — had suddenly taken control of my brain. I found myself on Phish's Web site, repeatedly watching the video piece that announced their three-night stint at the Hampton Coliseum, huge goose bumps coursing up and down my arms. My brain on autopilot, my fingers then guided me to the official ticket-request form for the shows, and — somewhere between a blackout and an embolism — I dutifully submitted mine. What would my friends and colleagues think?!? What about my wife?!? Would I ever be allowed inside Sound Fix Records again?!? My mind boggled. My palms poured sweat. And then, in a proactive bit of damage control, I decided to write this column. Head 'em off at the pass, you know? So here it is: My name is James Montgomery, and I am a Phish fan. I am not (totally) ashamed to admit it, either. This might get my membership revoked from certain establishments and might cause me to be ridiculed ad infinitum by those closest to me — but so be it. Phish's reunion stirred within me a great awakening. From here, there is no looking back. And I think I am OK with this. See, back before I was cool, or before I knew any better, I positively, absolutely loved Phish. I have seen them no less than five times (possibly six, the memories are a bit hazy), and those were some of the best shows I've ever attended, if not so much for the music as for the extracurriculars that went along with them. During a February 1993 show at the (long gone) Edge Concert Field in Orlando, Florida, I smoked too many funny cigarettes and spent most of the evening wandering around looking for the dudes who drove me to the show. (I do remember Phish's Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon trading solos while bouncing on trampolines, though.) Later that night I threw up and then passed out underneath a dry-docked boat at a lake by my friend's house. In 1995, I saw them at the UCF Arena with my friend Hot Rod. We drove my banged-up Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera there, the bumper tied on with a length of rope. They opened with "Chalkdust Torture" and during intermission, they moved a chess piece on a giant board hanging behind them. (That was the theme of that fall tour: an ongoing chess match between the audience and the band. Seriously.) We shimmied like idiots and drank underage and then — I think — drove home. This was bad. But good. There were other shows, and I have other amazing stories — their Y2K shows on the Big Cypress Indian Reservation, where my then-girlfriend and I spent 14 hours stuck in traffic on Florida's Alligator Alley, waiting to get in and worried because the dudes 10 cars up were telling everyone that the cops were searching everyone's cars — but the point is, none of mine are particularly unique, which is what's beautiful and amazing about Phish shows in the first place. Every single gig is special to someone somewhere, and if you ask anyone who's seen them live, I can assure you they'll tell you the same thing. Phish shows were where you went to take too many, um, illicit substances or make some bad decisions and to feel like you were part of some sort of community. Phish shows are where kids grew up. They are universal in that regard. And while I'll freely admit to having lost all connection to the band soon after those Y2K shows, I'll always have my memories, and as such, I continue to hold a bizarrely warm place in my heart for Phish. I will defend their musical output from 1990 to 1994 (everything from Lawn Boy to Hoist) to anyone. I still have my old issues of their "Doniac Schvice" newsletter at my parents' house. I even own that album they did with the Dude of Life, even though it's terrible (cue the angry letters). I have been told by my so-called "cool" friends that all of this makes me some sort of hippie — I'm more likely to call myself nostalgic. And that's probably why I'm so excited about the Phish reunion. I realize that on many levels, Phish are uncool, slightly goofy and rather embarrassing, but in my mind, none of that matters. To me, their Hampton shows are events on par with the recent Pixies and My Bloody Valentine tours, if not even more important. This probably says a lot about me — hippie, idiot, embarrassment — but I'm willing to say the hell with all that. I am a Phish fan, and coolness be damned, I'll be there in March at the Hampton Coliseum, running like an antelope, laughing as 15-year-old versions of me wander around looking for the dudes who drove them there. That seems strangely perfect. Questions? Comments? Hit me at BTTS@MTVStaff.com. Related Artists | |
| Clearing Up Voting Myths, Registration Deadlines And More Election Info Posted: 07 Oct 2008 03:44 AM PDT Can you wear an Obama shirt to the polls? Does your vote count? We separate fact from fiction.
Maybe you've been forwarded the e-mail from a friend, or even your mom, that begs you to "please, please, please" not wear any hats, pins or T-shirts hyping Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama when you go to vote November 4, or else risk being turned away by polling officials. Though Obama pieces of flair and T-shirts have been trendy lately, the warning would also seem to apply to any John McCain gear as well — but is it true?
Yes and no. It is true that in some states, wearing campaign gear is not allowed at the polls (it could be interpreted as "electioneering"), but your vote cannot be taken away. According to urban-myth debunking site Snopes.com, these rules are typically meant to cover overt campaigning, such as plastering posters or banners near polling places, passing out pamphlets or verbally trying to convince voters to choose your candidate. At most polling places, voters sporting political ware may have to take off their buttons or put a jacket over their T-shirts (in Pennsylvania, you can turn your shirt inside out). But the rules vary by state, and most object to anyone making political statements at the polls while wearing the clothes. This is a very ambiguous issue, so if you really want the details, take a look at this document listing each state's rules and regulations. Here's the truth about other common voting myths: Voter Turnout Keeps Going Down Due to Voter Apathy Fact: This primary season saw record-setting turnout for both major parties across the country, and voter-registration numbers are reaching record proportions from Florida to California. According to The Associated Press, more than 3.5 million new voters joined the rolls between January 1 and March 31. The myth of a decrease in turnout reportedly comes from the fact that surveys of the total turnout for elections typically look at the whole voting-age population, which includes millions of people who aren't eligible to vote, such as non-citizens and convicted felons, whose numbers have increased steadily over the past few decades. Registering to Vote Makes You More Likely to Get Called for Jury Duty Fact: Not really. In most states, your name goes into the jury pool when you purchase a house or a car, register with the local DMV or file a state income-tax return. But registering to vote can also get your name in the jury-duty hopper. Unless I Vote for One of the Presidential Candidates, My Ballot Won't Count Fact: Not true. You don't have to vote for president if you're not truly committed to one of the candidates, but you should go to the polls to cast ballots for other local and state races. Any ballot with even one filled-in spot will be counted. Not counting a ballot with a skipped or inadvertent vote would be considered forcing a vote, and that's unconstitutional. My Vote Won't Make a Difference Fact: Wrong. The old adage is "every vote counts," and in the past two presidential elections, that's been truer than ever. In 2004, President Bush beat Democratic rival Senator John Kerry 51 percent to 48 percent, winning by just more than 3 million votes. The 2000 election was even closer: The final official count in Florida had Bush winning the state by just 537 votes, thus clinching the election. Someone Can Find Out How I Voted Fact: The only record of the vote you cast is the number on your ballot, and even the judges in polling places don't see the number when they hand you a ballot. Those judges also don't open the ballot boxes, only bringing them to the elections office for counting. That office doesn't get a list of who voted until after the ballots are counted and locked back in the box. The only thing someone can find out about you is whether you voted, not how you voted. Students Who Change Their Addresses For Voting Will Be Dropped From Their Parents' Insurance or Lose Financial Aid Fact: Not true. You can't be dropped for registering to vote. This is typically used as an intimidation tactic to suppress the vote, as recently happened in Virginia, according to the New York Times. I Won't Be Allowed To Vote If I Don't Have a Photo ID Fact: Not entirely true. Most states don't have a government-issued ID law, but Georgia and Indiana do. In Ohio, for instance, you have to show some form of ID, but it can be anything from a driver's license or state ID card with your name and address (it doesn't have to be your current address) to a utility bill or paycheck with your name and current address. If you show that ID and are turned away, your rights have been violated. Any Polling-Place Official Can Challenge My Right to Vote Fact: Not entirely true. There are challenge statutes that vary from state to state that allow people to challenge the registration of someone they believe is not allowed to vote, said Eric Marshall, the campaign manager for the National Campaign for Fair Elections. "But that person has to have personal knowledge that the person they are challenging is not eligible to vote in that area," Marshall said. "Someone can't stand there and say to everyone that walks in, 'I don't think you can vote here.' " For the answers to these and many other questions, check out the National Campaign for Fair Elections Web site. Now you know about some of the myths, but none of that matters if you don't register to vote to begin with. Jay-Z and Bruce Springsteen barnstormed the country last weekend, playing shows in Detroit; Philly; Columbus, Ohio; and Ypsilanti, Michigan, to encourage voters to register by Monday, which is the last day to register in those and 14 other places (including Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Virginia, Texas and Mississippi). Some states, such as Alaska, Washington state, Rhode Island and South Carolina, had already closed their registration by then, but voters in a number of states have until later in the month to get themselves registered. You can find out more at Think.MTV.com. Upcoming Registration Deadlines October 8: Missouri (In Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Wyoming, you can register at the polls.)
Get informed! Head to Choose or Lose for nonstop coverage of the 2008 presidential election, including everything from the latest news on the candidates to on-the-ground multimedia reports from our 51 citizen journalists, MTV and MySpace's Presidential Dialogues, and much more. Related Videos | |
| Eminem Is The Best Rapper Alive, According To <i>Vibe</i> Poll Posted: 07 Oct 2008 08:58 AM PDT MC, who has been very quiet in recent years, still beat out Jay-Z, Kanye West, Game, Ludacris in mag's readers' poll.
According to Vibe magazine's fans, Lil Wayne isn't "The Best Rapper Alive." He isn't even in the top two. After weeks of online voting, Eminem was crowned the globe's top MC in a tournament-style contest. In a contest on the magazine's Web site, 64 of today's top rappers — from MTV News' reigning "Hottest MC in the Game" Kanye West toRick Ross, Nas and T.I. — were given brackets, similar to NCAA basketball teams during March Madness. Fans began voting on head-to-head matchups in July, with MCs gradually being eliminated until Marshall Mathers was tapped as the ultimate victor this month, beating out Brooklyn lyric guru Jay-Z. Slim Shady received 69 percent of the votes in the finals. The magazine said more than 920,000 votes were cast. (What do you think of the results of Vibe's poll? Sound off in the Newsroom blog!) "It's obviously an honor to have won the fans' support by being voted the Best Rapper Alive," Em said in a statement released Tuesday (October 7). "I don't think that there is any one rapper that is simply the best, though. Everyone who was in consideration and many others are the best at certain things, and at what they do. But since Vibe's offering the distinction, hell yeah, I'll accept!" "Vibe is thrilled we could put the debate about the Best Rapper Alive in the hands of the fans," the mag's music editor, Sean Fennessey, said. "Eminem isn't just one of the most successful MCs of all time, he's also one of the most beloved. The proof is in the voting." Vibe will be rolling out Eminem's win in their November 2008 issue. Presidential hopeful Barack Obama will grace the cover of that issue. The win comes after several years of near-silence from Eminem. Most of his public speaking has been done on his satellite radio station Shade 45 during brief, lighthearted interviews. Eminem appeared on the show a couple of weeks ago, telling listeners he's been focusing on his own material. During a press run for the movie "Righteous Kill," Em's most well-known signee, 50 Cent, said he was in Em's Detroit home studio working on tracks for his next album Before I Self Destruct. Dr. Dre was also revealed to be working with the two. 50's album is slated for release on December 9; no release date or title has been announced for Eminem's next project. Related Artists | |
| Kanye West Says 'Love Lockdown' Video Was Inspired By 'American Psycho' Posted: 07 Oct 2008 02:43 AM PDT Rapper also explains what led him to write his book, 'Thank You and You're Welcome.'
After Kanye West unveiled the new video for his single "Love Lockdown" on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on Tuesday (October 7), he admitted that the clip's modern look was inspired by a chainsaw-wielding maniac. "On this album, I kind of embody Patrick Bateman from 'American Psycho,' " he joked on the show, adding, "You know at the end of the movie [that] he didn't really kill anyone. [I just liked] the clean aesthetic and the way he was all about labels. I wanted to express all of that in the video." The rapper, who sings on the single, explained that he was ready to try a different direction on the upcoming album 808s and Heartbreak, which was recently slated for a November 25 release. "I had all these ideas and I just needed to get it out as an artistic vision," he said. "I don't have a rapper's name, [but] I have really good taste and anyone who likes it probably has really good taste too." In addition to opening up about his late mother, Donda West, the rapper also talked a bit about his unlikely turn as an author and the philosophy behind his book, "Thank You and You're Welcome." "I wanted to come up with a theory that applies to my life in 2008, not someone else's thousands of years ago. I wanted to make a book for non-readers, like myself," he said. "I only read when necessary, so me and my friend designed this book." The "Love Lockdown" video, which DeGeneres deemed "brilliant," can be seen on her official Web site. Related Artists | |
| Coldplay, Jay-Z Team Up For 'Lost!' Remix Posted: 07 Oct 2008 07:59 AM PDT 'Lost +' readied for Prospekt's March EP, deluxe edition of Viva la Vida.
Late last week, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin posted a handwritten note (poor penmanship and all) on his band's official site, thanking fans for their support and announcing that "in the spirit of trying to do things a bit differently ... we are going to do a few musical moves that we have not previously attempted." And just what would those moves be? One is the release of an EP called Prospekt's March, which is filled with songs that didn't make it onto their Viva la Vida album, plus new mixes of a couple of songs that did. The other? Well, that would be a collaboration with Jay-Z. As Martin put it, "We are going to release a version of 'Lost!' which has a guest experience on it in the form of Jay-Z." (Don't worry, we're not totally clear what constitutes a "guest experience," either.) And while the announcement got plenty of pickup, no one seemed to know exactly when or where the Jigga-fied version of the song would be available. Until now. On Tuesday (October 7), Coldplay's label, Capitol Records, announced that the Coldplay/ Jay version of "Lost!" — now dubbed "Lost +" — will be available November 25, both as part of the Prospekt's March EP and as a deluxe-edition of Viva la Vida, called the Viva la Vida — Prospekt's March edition, which contains both the album and the EP. Martin wrote that the songs on the EP have "each been the subject of many discussions and arguments," because they don't fit the mold of a traditional Coldplay track. But, being the completists they are, the band decided to release them anyway. "We are very proud of these and are pretty excited to release them," the singer wrote. "Some might be considered too catchy or too heavy for Coldplay songs, but in our minds, they complete the Viva la Vida picture." "Lost +" isn't the first time Jay-Z and the Coldplay frontman have joined forces: Martin sung the hook on "Beach Chair," a track on Jay's 2006 Kingdom Come album. The track list for the Prospekt's March EP, according to Capitol: 1. "Life in Technicolor ii" |
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