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| Britney Spears And Justin Timberlake Appear Onstage With Madonna -- Just Not Together Posted: 07 Nov 2008 05:52 AM PST Brit reportedly left right after JT performed '4 Minutes' with Madge at the Los Angeles show.
It was the power pop summit nobody thought would ever happen again. Madonna was set to reunite exes Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake onstage Thursday night during a stop on her Sticky & Sweet Tour at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Only Madonna, who had worked with both singers in the past, could bring the former Mouseketeers and teenage sweethearts back into the same frame. Well, there are some things even Madonna can't, or won't, do. Though Spears and Timberlake both hit the stage with Madonna at the show — which was delayed three hours due to problems with the set — they did it at separate times, according to E! Online. Britney, wearing black pants, a white tuxedo-style shirt and black heels, came out to join Madonna for the show's third song, "Human Nature." One fan told OK! Magazine that it was a whole new Spears who performed with her former VMA smooching partner. "This was a completely different Britney from a year ago," the unidentified concertgoer told the magazine. "She was glowing! It looked like she actually wanted to be on the stage." While there were no kisses this time, the pop divas apparently bonded onstage, as Madonna flung her arm around Britney's shoulder as soon as the singer came out and told the crowd, "She is not your bitch," prompting Britney to laugh and drop her signature line, "It's Britney, bitch." The two did actually kiss as Britney left the stage, but only on the hand. According to reports, due to a collapse of some of the stage on Wednesday, it was unclear if the show would go on at all, but Madonna said she was determined to pull it off, even if it meant using mood lighting. "Half of my stage is missing ... which is why we're in the dark," Madonna told the crowd, according to E!. "The absence of light makes it very hard to look into the audience eyes, and that's what makes performing such a joy. So come close. And thank you for your understanding." While Britney enjoyed her moment in the spotlight (her first major live performance since the disastrous 2007 VMAs), the singer was quick to leave the backstage area moments after Timberlake re-upped with Madonna for their Hard Candy duet, "4 Minutes," later in the show. It's unclear if Spears and Timberlake had any face time backstage. OK! reported that the now-single Madonna was not shy about grinding on JT during their song, eliciting a wide, mischievous grin from Timberlake. The onstage action didn't seem to bother Madonna's alleged boyfriend, Alex Rodriguez, who was in the audience. Madonna also got seriously political Thursday night. "I am sorry we did not win Proposition 8," she lamented, referring to the gay-marriage ban passed on Tuesday in California. "If we can have an African-American in the White House, we can have gay marriage," she told the audience, as an image of President-elect Barack Obama appeared on the big screen behind her. Related Artists |
| Linkin Park Are Writing 'Delicious' Concept Album To Follow <i>Minutes To Midnight</i> Posted: 07 Nov 2008 04:59 AM PST Frontman Chester Bennington says they plan to enter the studio before December.
You could call Linkin Park a lot of things, but you could never accuse them of being lazy. Frontman Chester Bennington's back injury forced them to sit out their October tour through China, but it looks like the band is not slowing down anytime soon. It's been just a few short months since the conclusion of this summer's Projekt Revolution tour — featuring Busta Rhymes, Chris Cornell and the Bravery, among others — and already, Linkin Park's members are planning their return to the studio. Even as their latest release, 2007's Minutes to Midnight, inches toward the 2.6 million-sold mark, the band has been writing new material for months, Bennington said. Just don't ask him what that material sounds like. "Asking someone to describe what something sounds like is like telling a blind person to guess what I look like," Bennington told MTV News over the weekend. "It's almost impossible. I can tell you that it's our first stab — and perhaps our only stab, depending on how good we do — at creating a concept record, so there are a lot of things that are going to either free us up in a lot of ways or restrict us in a lot of ways. In terms of describing what it sounds like ... it sounds like peanut butter and jelly. It's sounding delicious." According to Bennington, it was a friend's idea to write a concept piece. Though he wouldn't discuss the concept in detail, he said he was looking forward to the challenge. "For me, you say the words 'concept record,' and the first thing I think of is theater or the opera or something," he said. "There's a story, and everything has to relate to that story. It sounds a little daunting to me, so, I think my confidence level will drop, but when it was presented to us by this friend of ours, we liked the idea. It was an inspiring idea, and it was something we could relate a lot of the things we like to write about to. It couldn't have come strictly from us — an outside source brought it to us in a way that was exciting." Linkin Park plan to enter a recording studio before December to track the as-yet-untitled effort, at about the same time the band's Road to Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes live CD/DVD is set hits stores on November 25. Bennington estimates that it will take six weeks to record the new album. He said the band would be open to working with Rick Rubin (who produced Minutes to Midnight) again on the project. They just haven't yet decided in whose hands they'd like to put their first conceptual album. Bennington has been working with producer Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, Daughtry) on the debut disc of his side project Dead by Sunrise. He said he wrote all of the material for the band's inaugural offering with a very specific mission in mind. "I wanted to make sure the record was different from the Linkin Park record," he said. "It's not as hard as it sounds. If you take Mike [Shinoda] out of the equation — because I personally feel he's created our signature sound — it automatically sounds different. It's more of a standard rock record. There are elements to it where you can tell where the inspiration comes from, but it's pure rock with melody." Dead by Sunrise — also featuring Orgy's Amir Derakh and Ryan Shuck — have been working on the LP over the last couple of years and should be finished tracking the disc sometime in early 2009, with plans to release the set in spring. "I would say that, in terms of working with the band, it all works very similar to the way Linkin Park works," he said. "I've written all of the songs personally, on an acoustic guitar, and we take it from its acoustic guitar level and build it. Whether it's a heavy rock track or a ballad, or taking all the rock elements out and creating primarily an electronic-driven track, we do it together." Related Artists |
| Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Common Celebrate Barack Obama's Win With New Tracks Posted: 06 Nov 2008 01:07 AM PST Diddy, Nas, Will.I.Am, Mary J. Blige also praise the president-elect.
The Barack Obama afterglow continues in the hip-hop community. Don't think rappers are going to stop supporting the president-elect just because the election is over. Wednesday night in New York, Diddy, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige and Keyshia Cole sang Obama's praises while at a victory party/ Diddy birthday bash at the Mansion nightclub. And the Obama love continues to spread. A piece of a Jay-Z song called "History" aired on New York radio station Hot 97 Wednesday afternoon and has since circulated on the Internet via radio rip sent around by former XXL magazine Editor in Chief Elliott Wilson. Hov raps about victory and defeat as if they were people, and the man whose mantra is "I Will Not Lose," of course, leans toward his love of victory. The Jigga man has spoken incessantly about his support for Obama through his music, interviews and concerts.
First-time voter Busta Rhymes worked with producer Ron Browz on a new version of the street hit "Pop Champagne." "We pop champagne for Barack's campaign," Browz sings with heavy AutoTune on his vocals. "We voted for a change, now we made it/ No disrespect to McCain or Palin." "To all my people in the street that always bang this in their truck/ We celebrating this Barack win/ Put your hands up," Rhymes raps. He also spits about voting at 7 a.m. "First thing I want to tell the fans or the people reading this is congratulations to them," Busta told MTV News. " 'Cause at the end of the day, the possible reality of us being able to live this experience is impossible without the support and coming together. People took the time out and dedicated their lives. People wasn't allowing nothing but death [to] stop them from getting out and supporting Barack. That was inspiring to me because it helped me realize that we will make the decision to do the right thing when it's unanimously obvious that it's the right thing. A lot of the times, we take for granted that the common man is not as smart to the do right thing. Election Day was a testament to prove everybody wrong who might have felt that way." Common kicked a verse of a record called "Changes" on Wednesday's episode of "TRL." On Thursday (November 6), the entire record hit the Net. The Chicago word wizard aspires to give the world hope, just like President Obama. "I found a purpose why I MC/ Inspire a young world to be greater than me," he raps. "Travel on with the food I provide you/ To awaken the voice that's inside you." The record ends with the last few seconds of Obama's presidential acceptance speech. On Tuesday, Nas dropped "Election Night," and Will.I.Am just released "It's a New Day," his third pro-Obama track. Related Videos Related Artists |
| T.I., Fall Out Boy, Jay-Z And Others Keep The Love Coming For President-Elect Obama Posted: 06 Nov 2008 04:33 AM PST 'How do you even describe this feeling?' Busta Rhymes asks MTV News.
On November 4, 2008, many people around the world were struck with renewed faith, pride and relief. In New York's Times Square, it felt like the Yankees and Mets had both won the World Series ... on New Year's Eve. All through Africa, people ran through the streets in a celebration that hasn't been as big since Nelson Mandela was released from prison. In Europe, Asia — same thing. A resounding number of people shared united merriment: Barack Obama had been announced as the president-elect. Some of music's biggest artists shared in the revelry. "I really do thank all of the young people, man, who went out there and made it a priority to stand in line and make them folks respect their vote," T.I. said from his trailer on an L.A. movie set. "I really do appreciate you. You're number one in my book." "We're so lucky to be a part of this big, big election," Swizz Beatz said in a mini-documentary he posted on online that details his voting experience. "This is history in the making for a whole new generation. ... Our last president didn't lead us into the right way. So Obama is hope — not only for the black people. He's the hope for the world. First time I feel like our people have a voice." While Fall Out Boy wish they could have been in Chicago to live the moment in their hometown (FOB guitarist Joe Trohman actually lives walking distance from Grant Park), it still didn't overshadow their reaction to Obama's win. "As we were waking through [New York's] JFK [Airport] and they called Ohio — because that was such a turning-point state in the last election — the whole airport started to light up, the Obama supporters," frontman Patrick Stump said on "TRL." "The McCain supporters, you could see them in the back [shaking their heads]. There was an immediate reaction. It kind of felt like one of those travel movies like 'Planes, Trains & Automobiles' or something. Where as I'm traveling to my hotel, it gets more and more crazy, and by the time I got into my hotel, I made it in time to get the announcement. One of the big things for me, and it was, like, really emotional, was seeing it on CNN. They pull up the first shot that announces Obama. It's my skyline in Chicago, and I just see Grant Park and Barack Obama elected president. It was pretty awesome. It's a shame we weren't home for it, but it's just amazing." You know the moment is monumental when Busta Rhymes, a man who never has problems making his voice heard, is speechless. "How do you even describe this feeling?" Busta asked MTV News. "I'm trying. It's an indescribable emotion right now." On Thursday, Jay-Z talked to radio personality Angie Martinez on New York's Hot 97, playing an unmixed version of his new song "History." Jay said he didn't make the record about the election but decided to let the public consume it because it was feel-good music and appropriate timing. Kanye West produced it. "How I feel is fantastic," said Jay, who admitted that Obama may be even cooler than him. "I felt like the world changed in one day. People that have nothing to do with our political process was affected by this. It was a beautiful thing for us worldwide. ... All our enemies will sit down and have a conversation with him. He comes from an oppressed people as well." Jay was home when the results of the election were announced. "I was exhausted," he said. "I couldn't go anywhere. I pushed myself to exhaustion trying to help out with the campaign." Jay voted Tuesday at 6 in the morning. He was up at 4:30, in line by 5 and was the fourth person in line. Related Videos Related Artists |
| Beyonce Offers To Perform For Barack Obama's Inauguration Posted: 06 Nov 2008 09:19 AM PST 'If they need me to volunteer, they need me to sing, I'm there, and I'm ready,' the singer offers.
Beyoncé's putting the word out: She is at President-elect Barack Obama's service, if he needs her at his inauguration in January. "I'm there," she told The Associated Press. "I can't wait. I feel like all of us, we're ready to do whatever we have to do. Whatever they want — if they need me to volunteer, they need me to sing, I'm there, and I'm ready. I've never been so patriotic! I'm just beyond excited." The singer's husband, Jay-Z, had been actively supporting Obama's campaign and performed two shows to encourage voter registration in October. And while the president-elect has publicly admitted to being a fan of Hova, his feelings on the 27-year-old singer and actress are unknown. But B is definitely a fan of his. Though she was scheduled to be in Japan on Tuesday to promote her new album, I Am ... Sasha Fierce, she decided to stay home to watch the election results come in. "I said, 'What am I doing? I'm completely making a bad decision. I have to go home, I'm gonna kill myself if I'm not home in America,'" she said. "I knew I needed to be here. "I fell asleep crying and smiling at the same time," Beyoncé said of her reaction on election night. "I woke up with mascara running and a smile on my face!" She also said she hopes Obama's win will inspire people to pursue their dreams regardless of their skin color. "My nephew, who is 4, when we say, 'You can do whatever, you can be whatever,' it's not cliché," she said. "You have no doubt that it's not true." Related Artists |
| Posted: 07 Nov 2008 05:00 AM PST 'This one is deliberately a little more raw and more aggressive,' guitarist Mark Morton says of LOG's new album.
Of all of Lamb of God's albums, 2006's Sacrament was perhaps the least political. Coming on the heels of 2004's anti-war opus Ashes of the Wake — a furious and relentless musical onslaught that was just as scathing in its lyrical attack on the Bush administration — Sacrament was a more personal offering, with frontman Randy Blythe deliberately steering clear of politically charged themes. But on the Virginia metallers' next one, Wrath, Lamb of God sort of return to form, setting their sights on the outgoing president, but using the experiences of others to make their point. "It's not as soapbox-y, though, and not as rant-y about the government — it's more about personal experiences," guitarist Mark Morton told Metal File. "We've met a lot of people and fans who've served in these wars that are going on around the world, so it's a little more personal, tying the worldview into how it affects individuals. And then there's stuff that has nothing to do with CNN at all. There are songs on this record that talk about our experiences, and are aimed at certain people we've met along the way, who, through jealousy or whatever, found some reason to betray us or turn their back on us or try to stab us in the back. As you have success, people kind of turn against you sometimes, so there are a couple of songs directed at those people. Hopefully, they'll know who they are." According to Morton, Lamb of God decided well before even writing a single note for Wrath — which has been set for a February 24 release — that they wanted to make a record that sounded nothing like Sacrament, and the guitarist feels they were able to do just that. "We usually try to do something fresh every time," he said. "This one, I think, is deliberately a little more raw and more aggressive than Sacrament was. Sacrament was a really, really dynamic record on every level, and the songs were all over the place — it was also heavily produced. This one's really raw and real-sounding, from every angle, and we're celebrating imperfections on this record. We're choosing what takes stay on the record based more on their character and personality than how completely mechanically precise they are. It's more about vibe and attitude in the takes than it is about, 'Wow, that was perfect.' It's the perfect ones that get thrown away, because they're just too sterile." For Wrath, LOG called upon longtime friend and associate Josh Wilbur to produce, opting not to rely on Machine (who'd produced Ashes and Sacrament) a third time. Morton admitted that Wilbur is something of a novice when it comes to major label productions, but feels it worked to the band's advantage. "Josh is someone who has been in the camp for quite some time," Morton explained. "He worked heavily on Sacrament, engineering the drums and my guitars; he also mixed the live audio for [2008's] 'Walk With Me in Hell' DVD. He's not new to us — he's new to the producer's seat, and he's just done a great job. It was part of our strategy. Certainly, nothing was broke with Machine, who is a phenomenal producer and still a good friend — but this time around, from a purely artistic standpoint, to serve our purpose of trying to really do something a little different, I think it made the most sense to get another angle on the production aspect of it. Josh was the perfect fit, because he already knew us and was familiar with how we play and how we write music and how we record it." Morton said the record will feature between 10 and 12 songs, and that the band plans on playing at least one new track this December, when it heads out with Metallica for a three-week run of West Coast and Canadian gigs. What should fans expect from the new material? "The guitar tones are a little cleaner than normal," he said. "We're kind of getting into this mind-set that clean is heavy. Clarity is a lot heavier than oversaturated. It's just real raw and natural and organic-sounding, which, in itself, is kind of revolutionary these days, when kids are making pro audio-sounding recordings in their dorm rooms, on their laptops, and cutting and pasting verses and choruses. It's no longer cutting edge to make a completely space-aged, robotic-sounding record. I think it's almost fresh now to make one that sounds like an actual band played it. Don't get me wrong — it still sounds airtight and rehearsed, because it is all those things. But it's just real." Morton said he's not sure how fans will respond to the stuff, because some of the band's fans aren't familiar with LOG's entire body of work. "It's really going to depend on where they came in to the process," he said. "It seems like we gained a lot of fans on Sacrament, and I think those folks will maybe be taken aback a little bit by how aggressive this record is. The fans who came in a little earlier won't be as surprised by that, unless they're surprised that we've returned to that sort of approach. We're not denying Sacrament by any stretch of the imagination — it was just time for something different. "There had been a lot of stuff we were trying to get out of our system on Ashes and Sacrament, and it took a couple of records to do that," Morton continued. "With that out of our system now, we seemed to just gravitate back towards the things that were the initial genesis of the band, which was really just that cathartic, sonic release. There's a lot of that going on on this record, for sure." The rest of the week's metal news: Earth Crisis has wrapped the recording of their Century Media Records debut. Guitarist Scott Crouse says the guys are "very excited for everyone to hear what we've come up with," and hints that, while it sounds cliché, "it truly could be the best Earth Crisis release to date! No really, I know every band says that when they finish something new, but ... really!" ... Death-metal morticians Cannibal Corpse have dubbed their forthcoming LP Evisceration Plague. Set for a February 3 release, bassist Alex Webster claims that the band's goal "has always been to try and make each new album we record our heaviest," and he feels "we've been able to achieve this goal, and I think our fans will agree." Look for the set to include a dozen tracks, including "A Cauldron of Hate," "Carnivorous Swarm" and "Skewered From Ear to Eye." ... United Nations have booked their first-ever live performance for January 20 at the Black Cat in Washington, D.C. The band will perform as part of the "Demand in DC: Applauding the Empowerment of People Thru Art/ Photo/ Film/ Music" event; Anti-Flag, the A.K.A.s, and Ruiner are also on the bill. ... The Red Chord have decided to take a break from writing material for their next album to play a few shows with Overcast and Architects. You can catch them November 9 in Holyoke, Massachusetts; November 14 in Portland, Maine; and November 15 in Poughkeepsie, New York. ... The Number Twelve Looks Like You christened their forthcoming LP Worse Than Alone; that record will be in stores February 10. They have also booked a bunch of shows with the Fall of Troy, Warship and Black Houses. That tour kicks off November 28 in Salt Lake City, and runs through December 14 in Tacoma, Washington. Related Artists |
| Taylor Swift Talks About Joe Jonas Breakup Online, On The Radio, On TV And In Her New Album Posted: 05 Nov 2008 11:51 PM PST Singer says the split inspired her to record a last-minute addition to Fearless.
Taylor Swift is opening up about her split from Joe Jonas in all sorts of venues. After hinting at the split on her MySpace page weeks ago, she's been spilling the details as she hits the interview circuit to promote the November 11 release of her sophomore album, Fearless. In an interview with Ryan Seacrest on Wednesday, the 18-year-old told the radio host, "I've written about [the split], and I like to write about my life ... that's just how I deal with things," the 18-year-old told Ryan Seacrest on his KIIS-FM radio show. And when Seacrest asked her what she'd look for in a future boyfriend, she seemed to take a swipe at Jonas: "If they're not allowed to go out in public with me ... that's an issue too." She told Seacrest that she did a last-minute recording session of the song she wrote about the breakup, "Forever and Always," in order to get it on the album. "[It's] a song about watching somebody completely fade away in a relationship and wondering what you did wrong," she told People.com. But, Swift insists that she's doing just fine on her own. "It's all right, I'm cool," she said on an episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" that will air next Tuesday, UsMagazine.com reports. "You know what it's like, when I find that person that is right for me, he'll be wonderful. ... When I look at that person, I'm not even going to remember the boy who broke up with me over the phone in 25 seconds when I was 18. ... I looked at the call log — it was like 27 seconds. That's got to be a record." Back on her MySpace page, Swift has posted a video that's mostly a promotion for the album, but at the 4:20 mark, she holds up a Joe Jonas doll and says, "See, this one even comes with a phone, so he can break up with other dolls." Then she holds up a blond doll and warns it, "Stay away from him, OK?" In the post accompanying the video she addresses a rumor that she's pregnant. "I read a very creative rumor this morning saying I'm pregnant," she wrote, "which is the most impossible thing on the planet. Take my word for it. Impossible." Related Artists |
| Gay-Marriage Ban's Passage Incites Protests In California Posted: 05 Nov 2008 11:04 PM PST 'It's a real shame people are mixing up their church and state,' Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump says of Proposition 8.
The passage of California's Proposition 8 — a ballot measure that sought to amend the state's constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry — has sparked outrage and sadness among gays in that state. It's also provoked protests, riots and lawsuits. According to The Associated Press, thousands of people took to the streets of Los Angeles and West Hollywood, California, on Wednesday night for an hours-long, mostly peaceful rally protesting Proposition 8, which passed with 52 percent of the votes (close to 5.2 million).
What began as a small protest of 1,000 swelled to more than 4,000 before the night was through. Protesters blocked traffic, and reports suggest that up to seven people were arrested for disturbing the peace. Aerial footage of the protest also seems to indicate that police used force against at least some of those who attended the rally. Other footage shows at least one marcher standing atop a police car. He was wrestled to the ground by police. An additional group of about 500 protesters gathered outside CNN's Los Angeles bureau, where they were seen banging on the doors and walls and hoisting signs protesting the ban. In response to the rally, the Los Angeles Police Department issued a tactical alert, which called on all the department's officers, and some from surrounding precincts, to respond. Meanwhile, hundreds gathered outside San Francisco's City Hall, with some holding candles and carrying signs with messages like, "We all deserve the freedom to marry." Statewide, three legal challenges were filed Wednesday, with others still being prepared by Prop 8 opponents. According to one person who attended the rally, the event came together largely through Facebook and word of mouth. In addition, West Hollywood Mayor Jeff Prang issued an e-mail alert, informing residents that streets would be closed off to accommodate the rally. While Proposition 8's passage was a hotly contested issue in California, there was national opposition to the ballot measure. Several celebrities spoke out against the proposed ban, including Fall Out Boy, who, on Wednesday, sat down with MTV News' John Norris to reflect on its approval. "It's interesting how forward-thinking we come off by electing Barack Obama, but then how in the dark we still are by voting yes on Prop 8," guitarist Joe Trohman said. "It's sad how it's an obvious civil-rights issue, and sometimes, it's hard for people to look back in history and say, 'We've made these awful mistakes. Why don't we just man up and realize maybe we're being a little too bigoted?' " "The thing that bums me out is this is a hindrance on same-sex property ownership, the rights of visitation for same-sex couples," frontman Patrick Stump said. "These are basic human rights. It's a real shame people are mixing up their church and state." Related Artists |
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