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On and on, with reckless abandon. Such is the modus operandi of Angels & Airwaves, as shown last Friday at the Kool Haus. While there can be no denying that many people still yearn for some sort of blink-182 reunion, Angels & Airwaves have proven that sentiment moot because quite simply, they seem like a confident, ethereal, and impassioned rock outfit. As Call To Arms began the show, and within the first two lines, you're hit with "THIS IS IT CAN YOU HEAR ME!?", it feels as though everything Monsieur DeLonge says enters your neo-cortex blistering hot, like a 1000x faster Vortex. As he continues, "We can go, only if you believe", you get the feeling that he legitimately believes this, and it resonates so deeply that, even if you choose not to believe, you at least have to consider the possibility. And what does he want you to believe in? Yourself? Him? The band? The world as your oyster? Maybe some of that, maybe none of it, but I'll be damned if the dude isn't really, really convincing.

So two albums in, A&A; seem to have found a niche, their celestial brand of rock designed to echo, with anthems around every corner. This is a good fit for a live setting, especially an intimate one. The thing that I appreciate most about A&A; is that even if you don't like every song, they shoot for the moon all the time, so there's something to appreciate, sway in awe to or consider the constellations in wonderment to, in every song. When a band can make you feel not only like the venue has no roof, but as if the concert is constantly shifting in the atmosphere, above and below clouds, beside and beneath stars, you know - you know - you've found something to hold onto.

Essentially every song was an anthem, but personal favourites of mine were: It Hurts (with the line 'Your best friend is not your girlfriend' having particular gravitas for anyone who has ever faced that distinct dilemma), Distraction, The Adventure (this song is pure bliss, and I have a sneaking suspicion, try though they may, A&A; may never top this 5 minute anthem for the ages), Good Day, and Sirens (contains my favourite lyric on the new album: 'I do this from time to time, where I like to watch you as you sleep, I do this from time to time, where I like to think of you with me...'). Even those stir crazy Blink fans were sated as Tom performed an acoustic version of Reckless Abandon. I'm pretty sure the band even performed My First Punk Song, originally by Boxcar Racer, although clarification of this is needed.

The verdict was simple, the fans seemed fulfilled, as was I (play Do It For Me Now next time though), the band seemed tight, the drumming was military-style authoritative, and Tom DeLonge had lost none of his affability, gusto and charm. If I could enjoy a show like this from time to time I would be better off, a believer, feeling alive, floating somewhere in and around the stars...

Setlist:

Call to Arms
It Hurts
Love Like Rockets
Everything's Magic
Distraction
The Adventure
Breathe
Reckless Abandon/Rite of Spring (acoustic)
Good Day (stripped down version)
Secret Crowds
The Gift
Sirens
Valkyrie Missile

Encore:
True Love
The War

Melanie C was here yesterday, she was loverly, here are some pictures, and the interview is up on AXS! Plus: I interviewed her, so keep your eyes out for that!

madonna hard candy tracklisting.jpg Yes, we all know that Madonna's new album is entitled Hard Candy (hence the Twizzlers) with a release date of April 29, 2008, but now we finally have the supposed tracklisting:

01. Candy Store
02. 4 Minutes To Save The World
03. Give it 2 Me
04. Heartbeat
05. Miles Away
06. She's Not Me
07. Incredible
08. Beat Goes On
09. Dance Tonight
10. Spanish Lesson
11. Devil
12. Voices

Reported collaborators include Pharrell Williams, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Akon, Kanye West and basically anyone else who is "hot" right now.

Pic: rollingstone.com

* Boxers or briefs? Barack is keeping it on the down low.

* Is Katie Holmes pregnant? The answer is probably no.

* John Mellencamp and Stephen King will join.. EVIL ... forces to create a musical about Jack and Diane, two American kids doin' the best they can with a possessed, murderous car. Was that joke too MuchMoreMusic?

* Nicole and her behbeh on the cover of People, aww.

* And here's Zac Efron, because there's nothing else to post about.

* SCANDAL - gasp! - on American Idol! One wears a wig, one used to be a stripper, and one took a cue from Jerry Lee Lewis. Ey-yiy-yie! [yawn]

* Watch your favourite actors read children's books. Or not.

* Digital versions of Hollywood's 'perfect woman' and 'perfect man'... I'm totally creeped out.

* Mel B and James Blunt party it up in Toronto. I was supposed to be there, but I had better things to do. Like sit at home in my pajamas and watch Girlicious. And cry myself to sleep.

* Dumbledore is a Play-ah!

* Rihanna sports hot pink pants. The perfect accessory? A pink bowling ball, of course!

There's something fishy goin' on in them there waters of the music industry.

Peep this: new artist Bryan Hawn's song for "More Than Enough." It might sound a tad familiar... like OneRepublic's "Apologize" perhaps?! [DUn Dun duuuuuuu]

Sure "Apologize" is now over-played, over-heard, and over-done, BUT to find its instrumentation in a brand new song reeks of laziness and plain ol' stupidity.

Hey Bryan, changing up the melody a bit isn't going to fool anyone. Not even silly and gullible ol' me. So I think you should call up OneRepublic and - wait for it - APOLOGIZE! [Bah-hahahaha!]

Bryan Hawn - "More Than Enough"

OneRepublic - "Apologize"

UPDATE!

Someone actually made a video, combining BOTH of these songs! It's so bizarre. It starts off sounding a bit like an absurd campfire round sing-along, but after the 2 minute mark it becomes apparent that - yup! - they're the same song after all...

OneRepublic vs. Bryan Hawn

pilgrimstad album cover blog edit 3.jpg

Remember that age old game where to pick your "porn star name" you take the name of your first pet plus the street you grew up on? [NB. My porn star name would be "Paula Highway 118"]

Well keeping in that vein, you can now make your own band/CD cover! Popcandy links to a page that gives you all the instructions for a little rainy day digital arts n' crafts: The CD Cover Meme.

Basically, you are given three links: the first takes you to a random quote page (that gives you your album name), the second takes you to a random wiki page (that gives you your band name), and the last one takes you to a random flickr page (that gives you your album art). I then threw all three elements up in Photoshop and voila! The "album cover" above is what I ended up with. I must say, not too shabby, no? Now if only I knew how to make music...

Pic from thezephyrsong_tzs

Soja and I were discussing the other day (well, every day) how in Europe (and especially in Eastern European countries) the countdown charts are TEEMING with techno and dance tracks that would be absolutely pulverized in North America - if they ever saw any promotion in the first place.

Anyhoodle, I was just re-reading my Nada Surf interview wherein singer Matthew Caws talked about a bizarre phenomenon in Europe (of course) called "tecktonik" or tck. It's not on urbandictionary.com and not really in Google, but it's ALL over YouTube. UPDATE: It's on Wikipedia.

Techtonic appears to be primarily a French thing - people make home videos of themselves dancing to techno in a wild and jive-y way. Everybody loves watching people dance (SYTYCD, Dance Crew, etc.), so why not showcase your freestyle dance moves online? And there's a whole subculture of "tecktonik" dancers, among them: Boobiz, Vavan, Treaxy, Vavan and Fredo (these last three are featured in the first video below).

Here's my favourite one - I gotta say, with the combination of Yelle's A Cause Des Garcons and the killer sneaks, I kinda like it! There are hundreds more where this one came from. Just do a search for the tag "tck", which is apparently the correct term.

And this one's got 7 million views...ay-yoy.

It's a little known fact that Nada Surf were recently in town (and will be again in April for a proper show!) to do an exclusive in-store performance in support of their (then unreleased) new album Lucky. We had a chance to talk to Matthew Caws (vocals) and Ira Elliot (drums) about a bunch of things that we were dying to know, and here's what the lads had to say!

Do you have any current fixations? Like TV?

Matthew: You know, the only show I've watched first episode to last - and I mean, glued, like, had to be home to watch it was The White Rapper Show. It was flippin' fantastic. I was thrilled.

Ira: I'm a really fan of The Whitest Kids You Know. They showed it I think on Fuse. It's five young kids doing sketch comedy, kind of like Kids In The Hall - really irreverent and super funny. I'm kind of in love with those guys.

What was the first record you bought with your own money?

Matthew: My first record was a Jackson Five triple set - it wasn't gatefold or anything, just three records crammed into one sleeve. They were wearing nudie suits! It was a white cover and they were wearing white nudie suits with clouds and sheep and fences. Bill Cosby narrated one song called "The Day That Basketball Died".

Ira: Mine was a double album - 1975. Kiss Alive. Not Kiss Alive 2 - that was crap. Kiss Alive is a proper rock album. I was obsessed with Kiss for about two years.

And...what word makes you cringe when you hear it?

Matthew: Well, I like the concept, but I don't like the word "fantasy". It's the T and S - so close to each other, and yet, making such a ruckus. I'm not fond of that word at all. There's a word in French that I really don't like. It's the word for spoon - cuilliere. It's queasy. It's got queasy built right into it!

What's the most confusing trend that you've seen develop in the last few years? Crocs, Ugg boots, you tell me.

Ira: Those are very good examples right there!

Matthew: There's a new trend in Europe that was being described to us, called Techtonic. I went online and checked it out. It's a lot of arm jive, hand jive with oversized neon t-shirts. But a LOT of jive. A lot.

Ira: And the soundtrack to it is classic Euro disco really fast. It's sort of modern rave. Some weird French subculture.

Matthew [pondering]: I mean...Ugg boots in summer. ARE they comfortable?

Well, I don't subscribe to that particular fashion phenomenon.

Ira: Yeah, why would SHE know? That's just terrible.

Do you have any favourite recent music videos? Do you still watch videos?

Matthew: I guess I watch them on YouTube. A friend of mine, BA Miale, she won the Les Savy Fav contest to do a cheap video for them and she just did another one.

Ira: I haven't been watching videos at all, and if I do, I turn on one of those retro classic channels.

What about your own videos?

Matthew: We just did a video for Whose Authority. It follows a bike messenger's day. We play little cameos and at one point he almost runs two businessmen over and that's me and Ira. Daniel wasn't in town at the time so they made posters for his fictitious solo album and Ira and I walked to rehearsal past this wall of posters in the video. And then you see someone sitting under a tree reading a magazine and it's got Daniel on the cover. It's super low budget except for at the end where there's a helicopter shot that pulls back to show the whole city.

What do you consider your career high & low?

Matthew: One of our career highs was having Joey Ramone join us on stage for six or seven songs that we'd learned ahead of time, because we played a record release party for this Iggy Pop tribute record that we were all on. It was suggested that we be his backup band, which we were. So we did "I Wanna Be Sedated" and "1970" which was The Stooges song that he covered. And he apparently really enjoyed it and he said next time you have a show, learn your six or seven favourite Ramones songs and I'll get up on stage and sing with you. And that was unbelievable!

Ira: Yeah, that was pretty mind-blowing.

Matthew: It was so surreal. I mean I still have the setlist and it makes no sense that we actually got to that and it was great.

Ira: There's a video recording of it, that I saw. We sound pretty authentic. I have to say, we did a great job.

Matthew: As for career low? Hmm...oh, actually, opening up for INXS. That was SO lame. That was in Paris in 1997 or so. And clearly the whole audience was NOT having it. What were we even doing there? Ira is not Michael Hutchence, and neither am I, and neither is Daniel for that matter. And for anybody to be on stage who's not Michael Hutchence is just...bring on the main course. So that was a lousy half hour

Your songs have been in a lot of TV shows - do you ever watch the shows?

Matthew: Well, the ones we're in! I saw ten minutes of The O.C. But I don't watch One Tree Hill. I do watch Six Feet Under when I can...and I like Heroes a lot!

I mentioned to a few people the song If You Leave and they said "yeah, by Nada Surf" - they didn't know it was a cover!

Matthew: That's hilarious! I find that disturbing.

Ira: Our version's a lot different. We took out about sixteen of the key changes. The original one changes keys about every eight seconds. We took out about half of them.

Matthew: That song by King Missile called "Detachable Penis" was credited to us SO many times!

Ira: There's talking in it, so people thought it was us.

Matthew: When I was first fooling around on Napster, I was searching to see if our own songs were there. And Detachable Penis kept popping up all over the place as being by us! At first I took it upon myself to actually write to these people one by one to say "that's not our song. Please change the name of the artist!"

How often do people still talk to you about Popular in interviews?

Matthew: Pretty often, and it's always like "score one for me!" We're fine with it.

Ira: They always start with an apology - "now I don't really want to dwell on this, but..."

Matthew: That was an albatross around our neck for about two years...and since then it's kinda fun.

Ira: ...but now it's just a little canary in a cage.

What are your favourite chocolate bars?

Ira: Fallback for me is always a Twix bar. You've got the crunchy, and the chocolate...I've always liked those.

Matthew: Oh, I like Bounty. I think it's pretty tasty. I think it's more interesting than Almond Joy. I don't really think you need that almond in there. I just wanna go right for the coconut.

Ira: Some people are really against nuts in chocolate. Raisins...

Matthew: I really like the Fruit & Nut bar, kind of kooky. I really like super dark chocolate and seeking out the 77%.

Ira: Dark chocolate M&Ms.; Mm.

Matthew: I know this is a con, because it's white chocolate, but I love white chocolate covered pretzels. The salt and the crunch, and the white....ooh.

Ira: Ben & Jerry's made an ice cream that was peanut butter, chocolate, and then white chocolate pretzels IN the ice cream. They weren't kidding around man - that was a stoner treat.

Matthew: Oof. Wow. I saw someone with chocolate Altoids - that was a LITTLE weird.

Saved By The Bell or 90210?

Matthew: 90210!

Ira: See I have to agree, because I've been compared to Screech enough times that I can't even go there...and it was just once.

Pretty In Pink or Sixteen Candles?

Matthew: I'd probably say Pretty In Pink for plot, but Sixteen Candles because I was in a pilot that somebody put together for VH1 and it didn't make it in the end. But it was a theatre rock thing and then it would cut to the band. I sang the Thompson Twins song "If You Were Here".

Hillary or Obama?

Matthew: I feel like Hillary is probably better qualified and might in the nuts and bolts of it do a better job, but Obama will do more globally in terms of having a new 'face' on the country. And having other countries that we've lost as friends being more likely to imagine that we can redeem ourselves by having a fresh direction.

Ira: I have to agree. I've been vasillating between the two, because I think they're both really good candidates but that does bother me - the Bush/Clinton thing. She's very divisive that way - people still equate her with Bill. And Bill's gonna be sitting there saying "You know, I don't think you oughtta do that, honey." I would probably lean toward Obama!

This week's theme is ~*~CONFIDENCE~*~ .. but someone has a problem with that. Right, Natalie?

ep 2 girlicious-ani.gif

Don't give me that sass. We're all sassed out of you. And it's only week 2!

The girls move into the Pussycat Dolls Loft and they LOVE it!

There's a dance studio, exercise equipment and just the right amount of bedroom separation to create maximum drama. We'll get to that in a second. Meanwhile, the first three girls of the episode to speak are Natalie, Cassandra and Megan, which means that they're the ones who will be in trouble this week. That's the rule. Natalie says, "one thing I have over these girls is that I'm attractive. .. Also, I have a good personality." LOVE IT! HA, ha, ha. You have a personality, that's for sure, but maybe more of the villain variety.

We get short back-stories from Megan and Cassandra, including old photos and video footage. This is how you know they're really in trouble this week, because before you boot someone off the show, you gotta at least feature them in some way. It's the rule.

Natalie and Chrystina stake claim to their room and immediately start with the trash talking. "I can't believe some of these girls made it into the house," whispers Natalie. "Tee hee!" replies Chrystina.

Natalie: "You know what Nichole said? 'I don't want to room with you guys because you'll be gossiping the whole time.' Isn't that stupid?" Oh, irony. You are a cruel and also hilarious mistress.

PCD MAIL! The girls watch their first piece of video mail featuring Nicole Scherzinger and the rest of them. No, seriously - she is completely separate. There are group shots in the video that are sans Nicole. What's up with that? Anyway, basically the message is that this week's theme is CONFIDENCE, and now go to the dance studio. They go. There, Robin says, "you're now in Pussycat Dolls boot camp" and then splits them into groups of 4.

Nichole, Natalie, Tiffanie and Ilisa will sing "Holiday" by Madonna, and they freak out.

Megan, Cassandra, Alexis and Jamie will sing "Hit Me Baby One More Time" by Britster, and they freak out.

Jenna, Charlye, Chrystina and Carrie will sing "Tearin' Up My Heart" by *NSync, and they freak out.

Hey. Chill. It's not like you're meeting Lance Bass or anything.

Chrystina says that she really wanted to be in a group with Natalie, cause Jenna and Carrie aren't dancers. She's really worried. Jamie says that Cassandra is the worst singer, and she hopes it doesn't affect the group. CONFIDENCE!

O hai, hottie...

Did Megan look this broke down last week?

In practice, Cassandra has some problems with her vocals and Carrie walks like a horse (according to Robin). Choreographer Mikey says that Carrie is an underdog, because she has no dance training. It's also because she's a soccer mom.

Back at the lab, Natalie and Chrystina continue to trash talk. Mostly Natalie. Tiffanie is so dramatic! Nichole thinks she's the best singer here! I really wish I was in a different group! This is how Tiffanie sings!

Chrystina: Tee hee!

Outside, Nichole rolls her eyes and wonders how she'll ever put up with this cattiness. By being catty in return, of course!

THE NEXT DAY:

Don't be scared, Jenna .. it's only JC Chasez! JC surprises the girls mid practice and Charlye ambushes him. She explains that when you meet a member of *NSync, you scream and you jump, because that's what you're supposed to do. Point taken. JC says, "when you practice, you have to practice full out." And "you have to be willing to sound bad to sound good." It's ok, JC. Some of these girls have that in the bag.

Back to boot camp, Mikey uses intricate instructions to teach his choreography.

"Back and pop. Back and pop. Uhhhh. Uhhhhhh." I wonder if he gets his lips done at the same place as Robin and Lil Kim?

Megan says that she doesn't want to be associated with pageants anymore, because she's been doing them since she was 6 months old. 6 months old?! Anyway, Mikey says that Megan just isn't funky. What do you mean, Mikey?

Not funky? Or too funky?

Later, Robin shows up at the loft and tells the girls to get some cute heels and sunglasses. Then they go to a minor league baseball field. I understand the sunglasses but man, all those heels are gonna do is put holes in the grass. And then some poor baseball man will fall in a hole and then what? Meanwhile, Natalie's sunglasses eat her face.

Robin sends the girls off in their groups to rehearse the National Anthem. The group with the best arrangement will open the game in front of a "massive audience", and the girl in that group who shows the most confidence will be safe from elimination. Right away, Natalie is all mopey, complaining that she won't do well. Nichole gets pissed at her pessimistic attitude. She confessionals, "this week's theme is about confidence - what is wrong with you?!" Answer: everything. Then Tiffanie is all, "I could have punched her. I could have took her hair and chopped it off."

That? Is awesome. New favourite alert. Also, Tiffanie kind of looks like Oprah here, Y/N?

The groups perform for Robin and the clear winner is Carrie's group because, well, they can all sing. Jenna says, "this is the first time I've sung in a stadium with thousands of people." And by thousands, she means...

Dozens. Whoa, that picture looks like moving!

After their big debut, Carrie is the obvious winner. And by this point, I'm starting to feel bad that I said she looks 40. I'll drop that number to 30.

She was actually quite adorable when she won, and said, "I'm still worried. I still have to work it for the judges cause if I do bad, it makes the whole group look bad." Respect! She's the first girl so far to be shown with other people's best interest in mind.

Nichole feels that Natalie sabotaged their group and confronts her at the loft. She says that Nat's lack of confidence made her feel that Natalie didn't believe in the group. "Right off the bat you thought we wouldn't win. I really didn't like that."

Natalie confessionals that she doesn't think Nichole is the sweetheart she's made out to be. Tiffanie joins in on the discussion and agrees that her lack of confidence wasn't cool, and made the group feel bad. Natalie starts crying.

She calls her mom and says that everyone is ganging up on her. Her mom says, "at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is what?" Natalie: "winning." Mom: "Is you being proud of who you are." Nah. Winning is so much better than believing in yourself!

Later, the girls go to the Pussycat Dolls Lounge for the first time for their performances. Mark introduces the judges and the show begins. First up is Natalie, Nichole, Ilisa and Tiffanie singing "Holiday". For all the infighting, they're pretty good, but Robin says it wasn't amazing. Lil Kim says that she wanted that "Madonna alluringness" from Ilisa. Alluringness? Oh, Lil Kim.

Jamie, Megan, Cassandra and Alexis are up with "Hit Me Baby One More Time". Lil Kim is all:

Yeah. It's awful. Ron Fair says that their pitch was out the window, and that it's nice to see Cassandra but not to hear her. Ouch. But true.

Carrie, Jenna, Chrystina and Charlye sing "Tearin' Up My Heart". Lil Kim is all:

Robin says that she really enjoyed watching them, and Kim says that she felt like she was at a girl *NSync concert. Lil Kim is the best judge ever!

The judges discuss in private and agree that the "Hit Me Baby" group was the worst. They bring the girls out, and it comes down to Megan and Cassandra:

But Megan's lack of funk loses out to Cassandra's lack of vocals, and the girl with the cherry tattoo on her lady business gets to stay another week. It's cool, I think I like Cassandra.

Next week: Ilisa is weird. A listening party for Nicole Scherzinger's new CD. Is that still coming out?!

It's no secret that I'm a fan of the fun, poppy Europe music scene, but today while looking at Billboard's European Hot 100 Singles chart, I noticed that in the number 4 spot, following OneRepublic, Leona Lewis and Rihanna, there was someone I had never heard of before: Yael Naim.

So I did a little research: She's in her late 20's, born in Paris and grew up in Israel. Her sound? I would liken it to Feist. It's airy and light, yet somehow contains weight.

The single on the charts is called New Soul. Give 'er a listen. I'm sure the plunky piano and the cute accent will win you over in no time:

PS: She also does a great, very mellow and eerie cover of Britney Spears' Toxic.

Tom Delonge: "What have I done?"

Angels & Airwaves, eh? Secret Crowds... eh?

This band's got me torn. I don't know how to feel. I've been secretly pretending that this band does not exist. But people keep sending me links to the brand new video for Secret Crowds...it must stop. Forced by Kat, I'm willing to talk about this band, but only this one time. Honest.

First, the good things...the things I like about Angels & Airwaves.

They sound good. The production and tone on their albums is amazing. The timing and composition are exactly what they should be. I'm always impressed when a group can put out something with such a polished and well-tuned sound. +183 points

An amazing lineup. All of the talent in this band is well established. The musicians have been part of this for so long that it's tough to argue they haven't earned our respect. The fact that they continue to make music that people want to hear speaks volumes about what they are doing. +143 points

I also like that some of the better parts of the last Blink album evolved and found a place in this album. The last Blink album was clearly their best album and a welcome change to the previous two albums. Angels & Airwaves still carries a distinct Blink sound, but moves it into slower rock song; very cool. +115 points

Unfortunately none of this can overcome the fact that I have one deep ideological difference with this band. I just can't stand Tom doing lead vocals for a band. Backing on Blink tracks was one thing. Leading on this is another.

I feel as though I can't (emotionally) take the contrast between how much the music has grown and the pop-punk sound of his vocals has not. -623 points

The music is wonderful, sounds great and bears the mark of Tom's musical experience and history. The added connection of watching a group grow up while I was growing up makes me want to like them (honestly)... But because of the way his voice and my ears interact, I can never really enjoy this band. And that hurts me... so much that I don't want to taco bell it anymore.

Seriously, stop sending me the link to the video... you're breaking my heart.

P.S.: There's a secret prize associated with this post...but I can't even tell you what the contest is, it's that secret.

Photograph Courtesy Getty Images

* Madonna's new album officially has a name: Hard Candy. Mmm.. candy.

* Not gonna lie - kinda interested to see what kind of show Tyra and Ashton will pull out of their arses when they work together.

* The Spicers had their last show ever (?) in Toronto last night - here's some video!

* Diddy is so happy for J-Lo that he's gonna send her some Sean John baby clothes. Always marketing, that one!

* WHOA - check out Gwen!

So yesterday while I was at the gym shredding on the elliptical, I heard a life-altering song. It was so epic that I was driven to amp up my workout to a level the likes of which my body has never seen. I was listening to a BBC's Essential Mix from Radio 1's Big Weekend that featured Mylo and Pete Tong, among others. The thing to keep in mind here is the buildup that's essential to every good live house mix...you really have to keep your audience anticipating that drop for just long enough that once it comes, faces start being torn off and feet start twitching uncontrollably. This is what Pete Tong did with his mix, and the point where this song comes in is brilliant.

Listen: Switch - A Bit Patchy (Eric Prydz Remix)

The part is 3:50 where some vocals kick in...total gorgeosity.

Another thing to note is that in the world of house and techno, discovering a song that was on a live 2006 mix and raving about it is the equivalent of saying "hey, I heard this cool new band called The Clash". 2006 is DECADES ago in the DJ world. If a track isn't white label and/or if you're able to find ANY info about it using Google, it's ooooold news. So I'm a bit late in the game with this one.

Switch, aka Dave Taylor, is a UK-based DJ & producer who you may have already heard of - he produced M.I.A.'s latest album Kala and he's buds with her bf Diplo (they came through Toronto together in '07).

I realized yesterday that I had seen some fliers advertising a Switch DJ set in Toronto sometime soon. And, anger of all angers, it already happened on February 11. Grr. Next time!

Links:
MySpace: Pete Tong
MySpace: Switch
BBC 1 Essential Mix
Radio 1's Big Weekend (Festival)

* Amy Winehouse is launching a beauty line. Her perfume will have a top note of body odour which gently gives way to the natural richness of whiskey, stale cigarettes and the sensual, feminine charm of urine, which is the heart of the fragrance.

* You mean the cast members of Beverly Hills, 90210 weren't all actually 16-years old? Blow. My. Mind.

* Justin Timberlake will induct Madonna into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March. Madonna will then induct Justin Timberlake into manhood.

* Drew Barrymore and Justin Long make each other's cheeks hurt.

* And finally, have a melody stuck in your head? Tap it out with your spacebar and have Songtapper tell you what it is.

Remember a few weeks back when I wrote about STP getting back together and a possible tour? Well, the lineup for Edgefest has just been announced and they are headlining Edgefest '08 with Linkin Park!

Edgefest, which will make its return this year, will be held at Downsview Park on July 12. This is the next best thing for anyone who didn't get to go to a Stone Temple Pilots concert when they were in their prime.

Other bands included on the bill are Sam Roberts Band, The Bravery, Attack In Black & more! Tickets go on sale Saturday, March 1st @ 2pm.

Enjoy!

Links:
Stone Temple Pilots
Linkin Park
Sam Roberts
The Bravery
Attack In Black

Yesterday Ryan Phillippe dropped by MOD with Victor Rasuk to talk about their new movie Stop Loss (WHY did Joseph Gordon-Levitt not come as well?). Here are some pics, and you can watch the interview on AXS too!

Bigger pics?

Last night I checked out hugely-buzzed Toronto duo Crystal Castles, who are finally getting around to making a mark on their hometown after nearly a year of globetrotting. Last year at around this time when Klaxons were in town, they were totally namedropping them since they were on tour together. And in every issue of NME, at least one performance pic includes some British buzz band wearing the Crystal Castles' Madonna tshirt (this one).

The pic above was taken by the uber-talented David Waldman (aka Kid With Camera) at Crystal Castles' Thursday night show, for which Health did not open, but which was essentially the same setup - Alice was wearing pretty much the same outfit last night and the crowd was equally spastic. Now it's true that the spastic effect was enhanced greatly by a strobe light that was going for 100% of the show...but still. People were LOVING it. And Crystal Castles sounded TERRIFIC. They had a live drummer, and a great mix of songs (some instrumental ones that I hadn't heard before)...and they played for 40 minutes, compared to last year when they played at The Social with Thunderheist. Oh, and everybody has a crush on Alice Glass.

Their debut album's release date got pushed back from late February to March 18 and is being released by Last Gang. I kinda wish they had offered the album for sale at the show last night, in advance - CC are embarking on a 25+ date North American tour and it would have been a nice bonus for the fans.

If you didn't get to see the pair of shows this time around, don't worry cause they'll be back on March 28 at Circa! Don't miss them live...it's really a sight to behold!

Links:
MySpace: Crystal Castles
MySpace: Health

Photograph Courtesy David Waldman - www.formertransformer.com

* Tina hosted SNL on the weekend, and while I still have yet to watch it, this skit is HILARS!

* Jamie Foxx will star in a movie about Mike Tyson? Mike Tyson will produce? SOMEONE loves themself. Or needs money.

* Jamie Lynn passed her GED. Paaaarrrrtaay! No, wait. Not yet. Milk and cookies for all.

* Alex Turner from the Arctic Monkeys has teamed up with Miles Kane from the Rascals to form a new band, and here's their first interview.

* Even screenwriter Paul Haggis, who is writing the new Bond movie, has no idea what Quantum Of Solace means. That is a bad sign for the rest of us.

* Matt Damon is said to be doing a fourth Bourne movie. You know, the first three were great, but don't overdo it!

* This makes me laugh: the Jonas Brothers surprised a school in Illinois to kick off a campaign promoting healthy eating. They're so wholesome, you guyyysssss!

* What's up with Paris Hilton dating Benji Madden? Weirdness, much?

* Janet Jackson trying her hand at comedy in a YouTube video? Unexpected!

* Something about Diablo Cody and shoes for the Oscars and mini-scandal but not really.

* Channing Tatum is hot and these pics are nice and so I will link to them.

Radiohead.

August 15 @ Molson Amphitheatre

Commence flame burstage.

It had already been confirmed that the band would be making its way through North America in support of In Rainbows in August. And now you know exactly when. Almost 5 years to the day that the original Hail To The Thief tour was scheduled in Toronto, but the blackout ended up postponing it to September.

Now keep your pants on while we wait for info about an onsale date & time! As soon as I hear, I'll post the info. In the meantime, I'll continue to refresh W.A.S.T.E. every 20 seconds.

Photograph courtesy of Getty Images

So I went to see Alanis open for Matchbox 20 on Friday night at the ACC, and it brought back soooo many emotions that I *thought* I had long let go - BUT nope, it all came back. It was like getting this huge slap in face - a wake up call of what had happened with my life in the past decade.

I don't mean to sound like a "Princess" (thanks Trevor for pointing that out) but I'd NEVER sat further than 2 rows back from the stage at an Alanis show until Friday night. My tickets were great (thanks Craig), but it just felt weird sitting that "far". I was excited to be there but not that excited until she hit the stage and started singing the songs that brought back so many memories and emotions. I rocked out a little. I laughed. And I wept. Don't judge. I didn’t think I would cry but I did. Deal.

Anyhoo, let me give you a little bit of a background on why and how Alanis's music has meant a lot to me - I will try and make this as short as possible.

Picture it, 1995.
Scarborough.
Unemployed.
Lack of motivation.
Enter Jagged Little Pill ... changed my life.

For some reason this album gave me that push to do something with my life and change me forever. Cheesy I know, but it really did change my life. The next 3 years were never going to be the same for me. I signed up for Improv classes, joined an Improv troupe and finally got accepted to attend a Radio/TV and Film college program. In the meantime though, I had met some truly wonderful people because we had that one common thread - we were fans of Alanis. These people inspired me, supported me and would become a part of my life forever. It all started with us chatting online about Alanis to arranging meet-ups at shows to going on nationwide road trips together to see her perform to becoming a big part of each other's lives.

Almost thirteen years have passed since Jagged Little Pill was released and things have changed. Well for one, I sort of messed up (my bad) a close friendship with one of the wonderful people I met since Jagged Little Pill. We remained friends but then I pushed her away for some stupid reason. I thought that going to see Alanis in concert again was going to be like seeing any other artist perform but being at that show on Friday brought me back to ALL the amazing times I had shared and experienced with certain friends.

Here's the set list:
Moratorium-Intro (New song)
Uninvited
All I Really Want
8 Easy Steps
Hand in my Pocket
Citizen of the Planet (New song)
Moratorium 2 (New song)
Everything (New song)
My Humps
You Oughta Know
You Learn
Thank U
Ironic

In the words of Trevor Boris, who was also at the show on Friday, "It was like going to Church". I too felt reborn again. I'm not religious in any way but I felt like Alanis was my "god" 10 years ago, and today she is my "saviour". During the show I started to type a text to the friend I pushed away but then would delete it. After 5 attempts of sending the text of telling her how sad I was that she wasn't there to share this experience with me and that I missed her, I did it. I hit send.

Thanks to Alanis's performance on Friday night, it made me realize that I had pushed away a friend who made a difference in my life.

So I thank you for reading this and a BIG thank you Alanis for Jagged Little Pill.

Peace, love and Alanis,
Cat

Happy not the weekend! (What?) I know I'm late, but a couple blokes from Angels & Airwaves were here on Friday, and voila: pictures. Link to the interview coming soon!

Sometimes, just sometimes, they get it right. Sometimes politics take a back seat to what is just instinctively meant to be. Last night, Falling Slowly from the film Once won Best Original Song. In the category the Disney film Enchanted had three of the five nominations, the odds were stacked heavily against the little Irish song. Yet it seemed liked the timing was fated. The song was snubbed at the Golden Globes, lost at the Grammys and nearly deemed ineligible for the Academy Awards. The ultimate underdog, they crept into the industry's biggest awards show and walked away with what they so rightfully deserved.

Let me fill you in on my love affair with Once. I saw the film last year on a hot summer night for no apparent reason other than I was drawn to the title. "Once". One time. One opportunity. In this strange thing called life sometimes that is all you get. After I watched the film I couldn't get it out of my head. Raw honesty in art is rare and when you find it, feel it, you know that you are in the presence of something perfect. I discovered that it had been made for less than 200,000 dollars and that the two leads, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, were not professional actors, but rather, professional musicians. The film is about destiny and a chemistry so fated that in actual life Glen and Marketa fell in love.

They toured the soundtrack of the film around world last fall. I managed to get tickets and crept into the show on a cold icy Toronto night. It was like peeking through the window of two people who share a secret love. It was captivating and heartbreaking and overwhelming. Just like the film, it seems that against all odds they found each other and have succeeded beyond anyone's wildest hopes because of the strength of what is right. As you dig deeper into the story you find that Glen wasn't supposed to act opposite Marketa. The film almost was never made on several occasions. Glen and Marketa have a huge age difference. But it happened. The struggles and obstacles has only strengthened the realization that every obstacle was put there for a reason. Somehow it came together in the way that it was supposed to.

Watch the film. Buy the soundtrack. Support honest art, real music and believe that what is right will eventually unfold.

Photograph Courtesy Getty Images

Holla! America's Best Dance Crew is back with Episode 3!

Mario Lopez brings all Crews on stage for a lil' introduction, looking cool and casual in his jeans and hoody, slicked back hair and perfect complexion. Hey-o! Proactiv much?

So this week the Dance Crews had to bring their own flavour to a recent dance craze - along with a surprise challenge.

Part 1 - Live in Color

dance crew 3 live in color.jpg

Dance Craze: DJ Unk's "2 Step" from the Dirty South.

Challenge: During your routine, your crew must exhange clothing.

Once again, Live in Color bring it OUT! 2 Steppin', krumping, and even a little ballet, this high energy crew pulled out all the stops. And the switchin' of the clothin'?! Hold up - that was sick. (woah - did Shane Sparks just take over my fingers...?) Speaking of Shane Sparks, here is what the judges had to say:

Shane: "Y'all just represent."
JC: "I thought it was OK."
Lil Mama: "Make sure everything is tight."
Mario: "I thought y'all looked tight."

Um, Mario - we only need one Shane Sparks, thank you very much.

Part 2 - Jabbawockeez

dance crew 3 jabbawockeez.jpg

Dance Craze: The song that started the Southern snap movement that is now sweeping the Nation - Dem Franchize Boyz' "Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It."

Challenge: You must create the illusion you can defy gravity, but according to one astute member, "we're human - how are we supposed to fly?" Well if it was easy, it wouldn't be called a "challenge" now would it... geez, stick to dancing buddy...

But OH MY GOD! WHAAAT?! Jabbawockeez do not disappoint! Catching bandannas whilst breakdancing, crazy creepy costumes, "tight" choreography - I personally believe these boys are the ones to beat. But what do the actually paid judges think, huh?

Lil Mama: "Crazy! Cra-zy!"
JC: "Bit of a rollercoaster for me. I like what you do, but you can't get lazy."
Shane: "Y'all the sickest group I've ever seen in my life. That Superman thing at the end? Murder. I'm done."

Part 3 - BreakSk8 & Kaba Modern

First up: BreakSk8

dance crew 3 breaksk8.jpg

Dance Craze: Cupid's "Cupid Shuffle," Louisiana's version of a hip-hop line dance.

Challenge: During a section of the "Cupid Shuffle" you must all join together and become physically connected. Connected? On skates? I'm sensing some serious spills coming up... Roller Derby, anyone?

BreakSk8 take to the stage and I can't help but just feel a little bit "meh." I mean, they are good, but I fear "good" isn't "good" enough... Kapeesh? Step it up, BreakSk8... step it up. [pun obviously intended]

JC: "I was worried at first, but you did it well."
Shane: "Y'all have to be perfect. Good job but watch it."
Lil Mama: "Y'all got to bring it. It's sloppy so you gotta bring it. Just listen to what I say and make it happen."

See? I should be a judge, no?

Then there's Kaba Modern...

dance crew 3 kaba modern.jpg

Dance Craze: Lil Mama's new school take on the old electric slide with "G-Slide," which one Kaba member calls "Electric Slide version 2.0." Nerd alert!

Challenge: Each crew member must partner up and perform a lift.

Holy crapola, I love this group's isolations. I know they do it everytime and it's what they are good at, but damn - it's so fun to watch. But only one simple lift? I want to see up over the head lifts! Dirty Dancing-style! Kaba kaba kaba... you are one of my faves, but step it up a notch, no?

Lil Mama: "This group is so hot. I love when people keep who they are but still bring something new to the table."
Shane: "I don't think nobody really understand how intricate y'all choreography is. But next time you get a task, take it to the limit."
JC: "I like that you have a girl/guy battle, but the guys didn't really do anything! The girls whooped them."

Speaking of girls, all-female group Fysh n Chicks is next.

Part 4 - Fysh n Chicks

dance crew 3 fysh n chicks.jpg

Dance Craze: Yung Joc's "It's Goin' Down" which is known for its signature move "the motorcycle" originating in Atlanta, Georgia. One "Fysh" explains, "It's just about the shoulders and wrists - it's pretty basic." Hey! Don't get cocky now...

Challenge: You must perform some of the steps in reverse.

I like these girls, but why they gotta be so sloppy? Last week's "Freak em Dress" was stellar but this...? In a blatant attempt at being punny, I believe that they might actually be "goin' down." Ha! Get it! It's the name of the song! "It's Goin' Down!" So are they! Ha! ...I kill me. Judges?

Shane: "I like what ya'll did. The reverse was dope."
Lil Mama: "It was sick. The ending was crazy."
JC: "It was cute - the theatrics were cute. And the rewind? I know Shane thought it was cool - it was a touch sloppy."

Thank you JC, for seeing what I'm seeing, you see?

Part 5 - Status Quo & Iconic

In the fight for who's staying in the game, Status Quo is up first.

dance crew 3 status quo.jpg

Dance Craze: Soulja Boy's "Crank Dat," a Southern snap dance that became a phenomenon on the internet.

Challenge: At some point you must perform the moves upside down.

This challenge turns out to be great for the injured member who is under doc's orders to stay off his ankle. Can he pull it together...? Wow - pretty impressive. I have to admit, I've never been a big Status Quo fan, but upside down moves, human skipping ropes and flips galore, they have definitely won me over. Although every time ankle-injury-boy does a flip, I can't help but cringe in pain.

Iconic takes the stage to defend their honour of all things jiggy...

Dance Craze: Webster's "Chicken Noodle Soup" - a new symbol of the New York club scene.

Challenge: At some point in your routine you must perform on your backs.

There is something about Iconic that makes me laugh. Looking on them, they don't seem like your typical gang of dance crew members, but throw them up on stage, they really deliver. Their choreography is creative and their moves are together. They don't have the stunts that Status Quo do, but they definitely are equally talented. I think the judges will have a hard time deciding...

Now this is the part of the show I hate. The judges get all diplomatic: JC loved Status Quo's stunts and dancing, Shane loved the Iconic's "Chicken Noodle Soup" on the floor, and Lil Mama thinks both groups did it so well, it makes it hard for them. Oh you guys... way to NOT pick a favourite. Geez.

But hold up! Who is actually safe...? STATUS QUO!

That means Iconic's banner must fall... along with their dignity. Awwww.

Until next week, suck-ahs!

* The winner's list from last night's Oscars! (I lost horribly in my Oscar pool. If only Norbit had been nominated more!)

* I Know Who Killed Me set a record at the Razzie Awards. Poor Lohan...

* Janet Jackson defends Amy Winehouse. If only we cared.

* Peep this red hot remix of Britney Spears' latest single 'Break The Ice'. It's been on repeat on my headphones all morning.

* A little while ago, Sarah Silverman was "F**king Matt Damon." Now Jimmy Kimmel is shooting back with a star-studded video of his own entitled "I'm F**king Ben Affleck." Funny stuff indeed.

* A CNN employee gets fired for blogging. Oh crap, I'm in trouble...

5. Hustlin' (watch) - This term goes too far back to give proper credit to any modern artists, but it really came back when Rick Ross dropped his song of the same name and pushed it over the top.

4. Stan (watch) - Eminem's song about a fan's obsession changed the way people refer to superfans, anyone loves an artist too much has since become a "Stan".

3. Ether (watch) - Nas came out swinging at Jay-Z after their simmering beef became public at SummerJam. Anyone who gets annihilated by a battle-rap has now been "Ethered."

2. Make It Rain (watch) - Making it rain means to throw money on a crowd of people, ie. raining money. Fat Joe and Lil' Wayne made the term mainstream and get the credit for this one.

1. Bling Bling (watch) - B.G. made this phrase cool for your grandparents to say when he released the song in '98, not so cool anymore but saying it once is still acceptable.

Photo By Chris Johnson

OK, I have an admission to make...and this is terrible: the number of shows I've attended this winter is less than one per month. Basically I've been on hiatus and it started making me twitchy. So, when my friend Vivek, invited me out to the Plants And Animals CD release I had to take him up on his offer.

While I'm making admissions, I've got another one to make. Prior to Vivek's invite I had never heard of Plants And Animals. I was going to this show completely free from any expectations. I didn't even know if I should expect to see an opening band. Last night was about breaking the dry spell of shows and discovering something new.

Doors opened at 9pm and, as it turns out, there was an opening band; The Bruce Peninsula. They began taking the stage around 9:30 and it took them a bit to set up since I think I counted about nine of them on stage. hey introduced themselves and went into their first song.

Their sound was unique - folk, sometimes gospel, sometimes rock but always interesting and something that I hadn't seen in Toronto before. Their song arrangements were very complex, making good use of a whole group of vocalists at various points in the set. At times the male vocals reminded me a lot of Nick Cave. Straightforward, gravelly and moody. This is a band I'm going to keep my eye on, partly because I liked what they did last night and partly because I'm hoping to catch them covering the tune Stagger Lee.

I was worried that after the stage party that was Bruce Peninsula the three guys on stage for Plants And Animals would be underwhelming. After a short break, Plants And Animals came out and went into the opening track of their new CD, Bye Bye Bye. My worries melted away. They had a great presence and filled the stage keeping me listening and watching.

Their songs ranged from some lighter sounds to an all-out everyone-in- the-room-is-moving rock out. I know that's a terrible description, but I'm really having trouble describing this band. At times I'm almost certain I can see similarities to bands like CSNY. At other times I'm convinced they could have helped write the Hedwig soundtrack. Ultimately, I've come to the conclusion that they should really just be taken for what they are - extremely talented and interesting songsmiths that are on to something.

Check out their new album Parc Avenue and let me know what you think. Also, if anyone can find lyrics for either of these bands, I'd love to read them.

Links:
Official Site: Plants And Animals
MySpace: Plants And Animals
Record Label: Secret City Records

Kyle and I are both mere moments away from bursting into flames with the announcement of these two shows:

May 9 - Cut Copy & Black Kids @ Lee's Palace
May 30 - M83 @ Mod Club Theatre

!!!

Facts:
I'm obsessed with Cut Copy - I saw them open for Franz Ferdinand in 2006 and DJ afterwards at The Gladstone, and have been waiting for word of a new album and accompanying North American tour (they're from Australia) ever since that day. New album In Ghost Colours comes out on April 8 and was produced by Tim Goldsworthy, who rubs elbows with the likes of James Lavelle (UNKLE) and James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem), and is also co-founder of DFA Records. Also, according to MySpace, Cut Copy sound like "your ex-wife".

M83's 2005 show with Ulrich Schnauss at Lee's Palace ranks as one of my top five shows of all time. I was a little sick that night, and after the show I had full blown laryngitis from yelling so much, followed by a ruthless case of whooping cough. Yes, I'm an adult and I had whooping cough in the 21st century. The government was beating down my door for swab samples and pleading with me to keep away from small children.

Black Kids (not to be confused with Cool Kids or Black Ghosts) have a killer debut EP called Wizard Of Ahhs that you must hear. I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You was listed on countless "best singles of 2007" lists and is being released as a proper single in early April. You should listen to it now on the band's MySpace page.

Links:
MySpace: M83
MySpace: Cut Copy
MySpace: Black Kids

It's been five years since Erykah Badu released the album "Worldwide Underground" and to reward us for the wait, Miss Badu-ism will release her latest effort "New Amerykah (Part One, 4th World War)" on both CD and USB, the latter of which will include access to exclusive web content and the music video "Honey".

Speaking of "Honey", you should probably watch it right now. No, really. Watch it. If you consider yourself a music fan - watch it.

Watch The Video: Honey

Co-directed by Chris Robinson and Erykah (who also brought us the wonderful clip for "Love Of My Life"), "Honey" is an ode to influential albums and the vinyl-heads who collect them. Set in a mom & pop record store, we flip through merchandise with a shopper, pulling out the occasional album to get a closer look - and here's where the video gets amazing: each record cover becomes a live-action animation of the original album art, with Erykah replacing the original artist on the sleeve. Bam! How fabulous is that.

There's Erykah as Diana Ross on her "Blue" album. There's Erykah taking Eric B's role on Eric B. & Rakim's "Paid In Full". Erykah on the cover of The Beatles' "Let It Be". Erykah as Nas. Erykah as Grace Jones. Erykah as Olivia Newton John. Erykah, Erykah, Erykah!!

Most notably, an issue of Rolling Stone pops up close to the end of the video and there's Erykah, getting all Yoko on us, acting out the famous John Lennon/Yoko Ono cover from 1981. But I think the best is when De La Soul's "Three Feet High and Rising" album makes an appearance - there's something I really love about Erykah when she gives props to old school hip-hop. Oh, and what about the shout out to her ex-boyfriend (and baby daddy) Andre 3000 when she includes the video for "Hey Ya"!

I can't give all the genius credit to Badu-ism here - director Chris Robinson did a spectacular job and his back catalogue is nothing to sniff at either, with videos by Nas, Alicia Keys and T.I. as well as the feature-length film ATL.

So, to rehash what I said earlier, watch the video. It warms the cockles of my heart to see R&B;/Hip-Hop artists with lots of integrity and originality in a world full of ringtone rap.

Links:

Videography: Chris Robinson
Myspace: Erykah (how funny is it that her music style is listed as "Showtunes/Comedy")
More Info: Full Inventory of Albums Featured In The Video

neyo mug shot blog edit.jpg

* The po-po arrest Ne-Yo for reckless driving.

* I want George Clooney to come to MY house for dinner! He could teach me how to rob casinos and how to woo the ladies. (I'm a loser).

* Dave Grohl as president?

* The Hanson brothers keep popping out kids.

* Meanwhile The Jonas Brothers are saving themselves 'til marriage.

* P. Diddy is moving to Hollyweird to concentrate on his acting career.

* Ashton Kutcher may have given Hep A to Madonna, Kate Hudson, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, Liv Tyler, and Gwyneth Paltrow at his birthday party. Ashton, I believe this is taking Punk'd a little TOO far...

sex and the city blog edit.jpg

So an extended trailer for the Sex and the City movie has been released online and I gotta say, it looks damn good. But before watching said trailer, be warned: it gives a lot away. I gather Carrie flees her wedding, Charlotte gets preggers, Miranda and Steve have trust issues and Samantha is excited to see Smith Jarrod again (but not-so-excited to see Miranda's pubic hair - see expression above).

So I have to admit: I'll be shamefully walking into the theatre to see this come May.

Anyone with me...?

Anyone...?

*crickets crickets*

* J-Lo has her twins and then eats them for breakfast.

* Also in baby land, Raine Maida and Chantal Krevs are having another bb!

* ALSO in baby land, my new favourite family will be on Oprah tonight! YESSS JON & KATE PLUS 8!!!!

* AND FURTHER IN BABY LAND, my friend is having a baby right now. You go, Lila.

* Oh, Aaron Carter. When I looked upon your squealing 11-year-old face back in 1998, I knew that one day you'd be caught with a lot of pot.

* Considering the hot quotient in the upcoming X-Men movie, I will be there with bells on. First Ryan Reynolds, now Daniel Henny! (It's ok if you don't know who he is. He's my secret)

* Paramore: trouble in Para...dise?

* Check out this video of Idol front-runner David singing to first season contestants 7 years ago!

* This is a bit old, but worth re-sharing: Hot Chip's killer remix of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab."

* Another hole in the ozone layer is created as Tyra Banks burns her bras.

* First Bennifer. Then Brangelina. Then Zanessa. Now HALO?

* Defamer.com thinks we should brace ourselves for a surprise Juno win for Best Picture.

* They also noticed that the plot for Be Kind Rewind was stolen from Amanda Bynes.

* And finally, There Will Be Blood gets the Kanye West treatment.

NME.com is reporting that music makes us healthier. Now this isn't exactly new knowledge, but I do think it's worth repeating. We've all heard the studies that state listening to classical music when doing homework helps you retain more information, and playing music to your baby while it's still in your tummy will... I dunno exactly - make your baby the next Mozart..? Well whatever the case, music is good for you.

Apparently music is used to help stroke victims regain memory. And supposedly listening to jazz music before bed will help you get a better night's sleep. Also, studies show that music makes exercise more fun, thus aiding in weight loss.

It's this last little tidbit that I'd like to zero in on. Now that that New Year's resolution of getting to the gym is starting to lose its appeal, it's important to stay motivated. So our MuchMusic.com team has offered their top "work-out" songs off their iPods (or other respective mp3 player):

Kat: "I have a workout playlist!"

Avril Lavigne f. Lil Mama - Girlfriend
Michael Sembello - Maniac
Haddaway - Rock My Heart
Britney Spears - Toxic
OneRepublic - Apologize ("Ideal for squats")

Wendy: "Eliminating choices is not an option."

M.I.A. - Bamboo Banger
Mark Ronson feat. Lily Allen - Oh My God
Benny Benassi - Satisfaction
Cool Kids - Black Mags

Mark: "Lame but effective."

Kanye - Diamonds are forever
Linkin Park - Numb
Daft Punk - Alive 2008 - any track

Dan:

Loverboy - Working for the Weekend

Klye: "I listen to random shite when I work out. Mellow music motivates me so I may abstain from this survey."

So these are the very-varied and random songs that make us run, jog, lift, step, elliptical, whatever. What do YOU listen to when exercising? Let's help motivate each other and continue to have a healthy music-filled 2008!

* This blog post was written purely as motivation to get me to the gym. I hate that place.

Oh, those boys.

Eyeball the interview and two performances now!

Last night I checked out Super Furry Animals & Times New Viking at the Mod Club. The Furries have been making music for nearly fifteen years and have TONS of hits that you probably didn't even know were by them, and Times New Viking are a "one to watch" band.

When I arrived, Times New Viking were ready to get started. The first track they played (what was it?) was definitely my favourite, and I was excited to play more, but unfortunately for the band, their already noisy set was stunted by technical difficulties from the start. Still, their newest album Rip It Off is worth a listen on its own. Pitchfork says so.

Note to Times New Viking: Please add more size small t-shirts to your merch repertoire. You knew that your shows would be TEEMING with hipsters after Pitchfork's glowing review, and you also knew that the average hipster does NOT wear an XL shirt. What gives!

When it was finally time for Super Furry Animals to take the stage, people were restless. They were about fifteen minutes behind schedule, and with over half an hour between bands it felt like an eternity! Before anyone got on stage we started to hear chirping noises. And then bullfrogs. And then some sort of mating call, and then all the noises at once. One by one the Welshmen got on stage, with Gruff Rhys joining them at the end - dude was wearing a COLOSSAL Power Rangers-style helmet. Or more accurately, mask, because you couldn't see where his face was inside, but he held the microphone to the upper right to sing the opening verse of Slow Life (this pleased me greatly - I was hoping they'd play it!!). After Slow Life they immediately launched into another hit, (Drawing) Rings Around The World. I was pretty pleased with the setlist all night, they played a great mix of songs from all eight of their albums.

Just before they played Zoom!, Gruff asked everyone to help out with audience participation. He had the house lights turned up so he could see us and then asked everyone to make bunny ears and wiggle our fingers throughout. And everyone pretty much did. The song seemed to last a really long time - really epic. And then immediately after, they busted out the four-part anthem Receptacle For The Respectable - Gruff even took out carrots and celery and chewed them for the crunching finale of the song (Paul McCartney's vegetable chewing was recorded over the phone for the studio version).

The only thing I didn't like about the set (and I can't remember from previous shows if this is typical of an SFA show) was the large amount of backing tracks and pre-recorded vocals. At some points no one was even singing...it was all backing tracks. I can understand how during a song like The Man Don't Give A F**k, Gruff might get tired of singing - I mean, the line "You know they don't give a f**k about anybody else" is repeated forty-eight times in a row (sidenote: they released a live, 23 minute version in 2004 where the chorus is repeated 100 times). But come on...

Setlist:
Slow Life
(Drawing) Rings Around The World
The Gateway Song
Run-Away
Golden Retriever
Do Or Die
??
Northern Lites
She's Got Spies
The Gift That Keeps Giving
Zoom!
Receptacle For The Respectable
Juxtapozed With U
Into The Night
??
Calimero (in Welsh)
Hello Sunshine
The Man Don't Give A F**k
Keep The Cosmic Trigger Happy

Those two songs that I can't identify are driving me nuts. I tried to lyric search them to no avail. If you were there and you know what they were, please post in the comments!

As you can see, the band didn't play an encore, which I LOVE. Back in the day encores used to be an impromptu surprise based on crowd enthusiasm, but nowadays they're slotted in and scheduled just like the rest of the setlist. Sometimes bands don't even leave the stage for more than 30 seconds before rushing back out with an insincere "OK, OK, you love us. FINE, we'll play another song." But I love it when bands go out with a bang.

And last night people actually DID try to earn an encore - the clapping and chanting continued for a good ten minutes, but it was past Mod Club curfew (midnight) at that point. Terrific show!

Links:
MySpace: Super Furry Animals
Official Site: Super Furry Animals
MySpace: Times New Viking

* Ma gurl Kate Nash scored at the Brit Awards, and the rest of the winners are here too!

* And just a-cause Mark Ronson is awesome, here's his "with guests" performance from the Brits.

* Tim Burton? Alice In Wonderland? *GAPE* Something tells me that Depp might show up with sharp utensils on his fingers.

* Paula Abdul thinks her music video is bad. Not Heidi Montag bad, but bad.

* Speaking of The Hills, here's a trailer for the next season. I know, right? ... I don't even know what that means.

* The Albs is having twins? Yeesh.

* Avril Lavigne goes on a baby clothes shopping spree in LA.

* Jesse McCartney attempts online dating. Someone message him! Don't leave his inbox empty!

* Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson meet Prince Charles. Um, why?

* Nicole Kidman vs. Katie Holmes! In the ultimate sartorial face-off!

* And finally, the Evolution of Terminator's John Connor.

It might be a bit obvious to do a "Glamorous" parody all about Facebook app "Scrabulous." But who cares - if it's done well, it's H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S. Hopefully Hasbro takes note and realizes how pissed everyone would be if they yanked Scrabulous from their humdrum lives. And by "everyone" I mean "me."

[This post is inspired by Rich at FourFour, our spark plug for all things amazing]

Hey, rapping sensation Lil Kim, the Pussycat Dolls show is back for a second season! What do you think of that?

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I knew you'd be excited!

Robin Antin just wants you to know that she is the brains behind the operation that is PCD, and since imitation is the greatest form of mockery (I mean, flattery), what better way to make a few more bucks than create another girl group called Girlicious? So many other better ways! Oh, Robin. Prepare to tank.

Robin tells us that she's going to take three girls from "obscurity to international fame", and that "Girlicious is what every girl will aspire to be". Every budding young trollop, sure. The winning trio will possess "good vocals, dancing ability, and superstar charisma". Host Mark McGrath explains that a national search concluded with 15 finalists, who've all come to Hollywood to show their stuff (read: implants & asses) to a panel of judges.

Asia, is that you? It's too late, your time is gone. Not Asia? Sorry, my mistake.

We meet the finalists, and apparently awkward name spellings were a prerequisite. Nichole, Tiffanie, Charlye (pronounced "Charlie") and Chrystina make my spell checker bleed.

Here's Carrie. She's 25 and she "reeeeallllly loves to party!"

She's kind of like the Mom in Mean Girls, grasping at her youth with every claw and making sure the young'uns know how jiggy she is. I'm not saying 25 is old, I'm saying that Carrie looks 40.

Here's Keshia. This is her "I'm a lesbian, you guys!" face:

Next, we learn about Charlye, whose father died of leukemia. But things can't get too depressing on the Girlicious show: cue the vaginal tattoos!

"My name is Cassandra and I have a tattoo of cherries on my hoo ha." Cut to shot of Keshia looking very interested. By the way, "my name is Cassandra and I have a tattoo of cherries on my hoo ha" is the new "my name is Cassandra, nice to meet you."

This is where we meet Charlotte:

She is "so much more mature than a lot of these girls" and is just horrified about hoo ha cherries. Also, she's lived on five continents and as such, "can relate to everybody".

The girls are divided into 5 groups of 3, and each batch must perform a "classic" girl group song (2 of which are PCD tunes, natch). This is when our first dose of real drama hits the fan: the meeting of Charlotte and Natalie.

At first, Natalie thinks that Charlotte is her biggest competition, cause they both have Latin looks. Soon, Natalie just thinks Charlotte is annoying, because her father was a Diplomat and she lived all over the world and she studied at Berkeley (on a scholarship) and she plays three instruments. Of course, she could also be jealous.

Chelsea, is that you? No? My bad.

That's Jenna, who like Chelsea, also struggles with her weight and can't dance. She also can't sing like Chelsea, but we'll save that for another day. Jenna starts to feel sick during practice and takes a break to lay down. Her group mates are like, "eh, whateva". Carrie, meanwhile, is also having problems with her dance moves, which frustrates choreographer Mikey to no end. He sighs, "Her look is so tragic, I can't even begin to talk about it." Back at drama camp, tension builds between Charlotte and Natalie. Nat, the good dancer, doesn't have patience for Charlotte, the slow learner. Mikey asks if she's upset. "No, I just wish we could learn more ... Some people are just slower learners than others," says Natalie the Passive Aggressive Wonder.

Sidenote: Kenn Hicks the vocal coach is a supreme master of sass, and I wish to see more of him.

After practice, Robin tells the girls that they're going to an exclusive Interscope party at the Tom Tom Club - but they only have 15 minutes to get ready. *shriek!*

The beefing continues when Charlotte asks to borrow a pair of Natalie's boots. Natalie, of COURSE, says no. An argument ensues. "Nobody said, 'hey Natalie, pack boots for Charlotte,' they said, 'pack boots for Natalie.'" Thank you, Captain Obvious. The girls proceed to trash talk each other in separate cars; others are annoyed. By the by, did you notice that when driving to the club it was broad daylight, but when arriving at the club it was night time?

When Robin said "exclusive party", what she meant was "nobody else will be there". But then Nelly Furtads shows up for some KARAOKE, woo! Carrie is super excited, cause "They used to call me Carrie-oke".

GET IT?!

After drawing songs out of a hat, half of them perform Sugar Ray's "Fly" and the other half sing Nelly's "I'm Like A Bird". Natalie is "really nervous because Nelly Furtado is there". Really? We didn't get that. Charlotte scoffs at Natalie's performance, calling her "tone deaf". Meanwhile, Nelly's having an AWESOME TIME:

After the club, Jenna confesses to a producer that she's not feeling so hot, and they call 911. At the hospital, she's diagnosed with a ruptured cyst and told to take it easy. The next day, she rolls into rehearsal on a wheelchair, shocking Robin and Mikey. "Can you dance in your wheelchair?" asks Robin.

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Bust it, girl.

I love how Jamie is like, "What if Jenna doesn't get the dance steps right because she's in a wheelchair, you know, and she just brings our whole group down?" Jamie = the essence of compassion. Later, Jenna loses the wheelchair and practices the way nature intended her to practice: mediocre-ly!

The next day, the 5 groups vamp it up for the judges Robin Antin, Chairman of Geffen Records Ron Fair and of course, Lil Kim. The groups, if you please:

* Tiffanie, Alexis, Megan ("Tainted Love" - as performed by PCD)
* Keisha, Ilisa, Carrie ("My Lovin'" - as performed by En Vogue)
* Jenna, Charlye, Jamie ("Where Did Our Love Go" - as performed by the Supremes)
* Nichole, Cassandra, Chrystina ("Right Now" - as performed by PCD)
* Charlotte, Natalie, Kristin ("We Got The Beat" - as performed by the Go Gos)

All the groups manage to turn it out ok, with the stand-outs being girls we have barely met thanks to Charlotte and Natalie. The judges say that Alexis (who?) has star power and they love Ilisa's (the red head above)look.

In the end, it comes down to Charlotte, Natalie, Kristin, Keshia, Ilisa and Carrie. Ilisa is SAFE. And then.. Natalie is SAFE. And with pretty Charlotte and endearing lesbian Keshia left on the plate, they choose to save... CARRIE?!

Carrie, in her cheesy lounge waitress get-up? Carrie, with her Atlantic City lip-liner?! CARRIE-OKE??! Ok, fine. The girl can sing. But colour me shocked.

AND HOLD UP - is this Natalie in TEARS after her mortal enemy was eliminated?! Or just the powers of editing?

So there it is .. 12 girls remain - next week, they move into their new digs and WHEN ARE THE MAKEOVERS? Carrie-oke needs some help.

Coming up: Everybody hates Natalie. Imagine that!

Ahhh, the first Live@Much of the year - and who better to kick it off than Simple Plan? Now, while I snack on chips swiped from their green room (heh, heh), enjoy these photos. Yes, they're pretty much all of Pierre. Hey, he's a cutie. Shaddup. You stop buggin' me and I'll give you the exclusive performance links tomorrow, mmkay?

UPDATE: Watch clips from last night as well as web-only performances right now!

time to pretend mgmt 3.jpg

The debut music video from MGMT is for the song "Time To Pretend" from their debut album "Oracular Spectacular". And the video is spectacular, indeed.

Combining low-budget elements which include to be what looks like homemade costumes and green screen effects, set at what looks to be the local beach, director Ray Tintori has somehow created a visual experience that is extraordinary. These elements scream amateur but the end result is clearly anything but. It's risky and the risk has paid off.

Watch The Video: Time To Pretend

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Tintori, 24, is no stranger to the scene. He attended LaGuardia High School (the school Fame was based on), has studied film at Wesleying University, has worked on many short films (his short-film entitled Death to the Tinman won praise and an "Honorable Mention" at Sundance last year), and worked in the art department on Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. But Tintori's shift to music videos is not surprising. In a recent interview, he said "I have a bunch of other shorts I'm writing that are narrative things, but I have a lot of respect for guys like Michel Gondry and Spike Jonze, who go back and forth between these visually inventive music videos to really imaginative narrative projects. And I love pop music; I would just be tremendously thrilled to start working as a video director and have the opportunity to keep making my narrative projects. I just graduated from college and this is the first thing that's happened. It's great."

It's no surprise that Tintori cites Michel Gondry as a major influence. Gondry is responsible for some of the most visually interesting music videos ever created. Having directed countless White Stripes videos, along with videos for Bjork, Rolling Stones, Daft Punk, Kylie Minogue and many many more, Gondry has indeed managed to successfully maintain a career in many visual mediums.

But Ray Tintori is no copycat - he definitely has a visual style of his own that's fresh and unique. With a video like "Time to Pretend" he is proving to be the director to look out for, in the same way that MGMT is the band to look out for. Both are capable of great things, so it's only fitting that they work together.

So Gondry, watch out - it looks like there is a new kid in town.

time to pretend mgmt 2.jpg

Links:
Official Site: Ray Tintori
Official Site: MGMT
MySpace: MGMT

Past Video Spotlights:
a-ha - Take On Me
Adele - Chasing Pavements
Missy Elliott - Ching-A-Ling
Protest The Hero - Bloodmeat
Feist - I Feel It All

* Ryan "Future Husband" Reynolds has been cast in the latest X-Men movie, for which I expect him to beef up handsomely.

* Paula Abdul's new video: better than "Rush, Rush"?

* Is this clip actually from the Where The Wild Things Are movie?

* Did you know that JoJo could have been Hans Montans? I didn't.

O hai, Pussycat Doll founder Robin Antin - why so pleased with yourself?

Is it because your first foray into reality television, and consequent hiring of "new Pussycat Doll" Asia was a roaring success?

No? Ok. Is it because you're going to milk this series for all it's worth and make another girl group? That deserves a pat on the back!

Or the ass. You show 'em, choreographer Mikey.

So, it's in the bag - there's no going back. Episode one has ridden off into the sunset and what's left in the dust? Three sobbing girls, no longer in the running to be America's Next Top Member of Girlicious.

But let's rewind. Fifteen girls were chosen from thousands to appear on the show and fight for a spot in Robin's new group.

Once the girls are broken into 5 groups of 3, the drama begins almost immediately. Charlotte ("I'm so much more mature") and Natalie ("Charlotte is my biggest competition") start beefin' because Charlotte is stuck up and Natalie won't let Charlotte borrow her boots. Whine, whine, whine. This intolerable situation becomes the A Plot of the entire episode. They suck.

Meanwhile, there's Jenna, who begins to feel a little "weezy". One visit to the hospital and one ruptured cyst later, she's dancing in a wheelchair for a few hours. The girl's a firecracka.

The groups perform in front of your esteemed panel of judges: Robin, Chairman of Geffen Ron, and Lil Kim to many blank stares and confused expressions. Either the judges are really good at covering their true thoughts or they just realized that there's no way in hell they'll get a decent girl group out of this bunch.

In the end, three girls get the boot: one half of the feuding duo in Charlotte, as well as Kristin and Keshia.

And so far, I don't like anybody! Wee!

Full episode one recap to come tomorrow!

PS: Here's the show page!

* Adam Levine shows up to a hot new club and says "NO!" to VIP booth and "YES!" to stepping behind the bar and getting all Cocktail on people's asses.

* Could Harry and Hermione be .. dating?!

* Let's pretend that Rembrandt lives now, and he paints the most influential people of the present. Such as...

* Jessica Alba recreates famous movie scenes, shows the same range of emotion in all.

* Jessica Simpson has decided not to do a fitness video, and the production company is so upset that they're saying things like "Jessica is hurting millions of fat people".

This was found over on viruscomix.com.

evolution of music blog edit.jpg

Agree? Or Disagree?

~~AC Slater~~ Mario Lopez and his personal Dance Crew of Judges (Shane Sparks, Lil Mama & JC Chasez) were back for episode 2 of America's Best Dance Crew. Things got off to a dramatic start as Lopez announced that Kaba Modern was in the Top 4, meaning Fysh n Chicks were in the Bottom 4. (Noooo!!!! Fysh n Chicks are favourites of mine, so hopefully they stick around).

The theme of the week was to recreate the moves of some famous dance videos, with the flair of your own style. Kaba Modern was first up with Chris Brown's "Wall to Wall." The clan was hesitant at first, since the dance style in the video was so different than their own, but in the end, they successfully merged both styles. At points they resorted to the isolations that Kaba Modern is known for, but they looked tight. Shane Sparks said, "Y'all can dance," JC said they "did it well," and Lil Mama said they "pulled it together." Smiles all around.

Then: MORE DRAMA(!) as Lopez announced that Live In Color was in the Top 4, placing Iconic in the dreaded Bottom 4 - then it was time for Live in Color to strut their stuff. The video they had to emulate was the frenetic "Hey Mama" from the Black Eyed Peas, but Live In Color didn't think it was frenetic enough! The tempo of the song is slower than what their usual quick moves allow, but when they unleashed their fury on stage, most were thrilled.

Lil' Mama said, "You did it better than the video," JC called it "a bit theatrical and that was smart," while Sparks was quick to point out that it was the "first time you were a little sloppy." Oh, snap!

DRAMA DRAMA! Lopez announced that Jabbawockeez, along with BreakSk8, were in the Top 4, meaning that both Femme 5 and Status Quo were in the Bottom 4. But the energy picked right up again as the always interesting Jabbawockeez took the stage. With their trademark masks, they performed a stunning rendition of Omarion's "Ice Box." The judges were nothing but warm.

Sparks stated that it was "the best performance on this show from y'all," JC observed that they "keep performing at a high level and fly under the radar," and Lil' Mama proclaimed, "I. Love. Jabbawockeez!"

Next? Crowd favourites: BreakSk8, doing Ciara's sexually-charged "Get Up" routine. But whaaaat? It turned out one of the roller-clad guys had hurt his knee and the choreography required a lot of humping and grinding - can you hump with a bum knee? It turns out you can! BreakSk8 provided the goods.

Lil Mama reassured them that they were "masculine" but then said, "make sure your arms are always strong." Sparks said, "y'all was creative," while JC went on to talk about one of their moves being called a "Nutcracker." Yes, a rollerskate to the crotch is never good.

We were then teased with the possibility of a Status Quo ankle injury... DRAMA!

But next up was the Bottom 4... who was going to be the Bottom 2?! Iconic was known for their Broadway style, but could it be their curtain call? Femme 5's previous slip-ups could cost them the competition - did the viewer's agree? Fish n Chicks had sloppy moves last week - did the audience also catch their mistakes? And Status Quo were one of the judges' favourties, but it seemed liked America may have felt differently...

After much stalling, it was announced that Femme 5 and Fish n Chicks were the Bottom 2, meaning Status Quo and Iconic were safe. So naturally, it was time for more dancin'!

Iconic took the stage with Chris Brown's "Kiss Kiss." They ditched their trademark Broadway stylings for a little more urban flavour and it was well-received. Sparks called it "perfect" and "beautiful," JC called it one of their "better routines," and Lil Mama offered some advice (while plugging the new Step Up movie perhaps..?) by saying, "Take it to the streets more."

Status Quo were up! And yes, there WAS an ankle injury. Tears were shed, confidence ran low, and then it may have shown in their performance of MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This," since Lil Mama was left "confused." She thought the "energy was great, the stunts were ridiculous, but a little disappointed as a group." She then went on to warn them to "pick it up. I'm watching you." Wow - who knew that little 18-year old Lil Mama could be so aggressive?

Then JC rambled a bit about God-knows-what, only to be cut off by Lil Mama who wanted to show a slow-mo replay of the dance. Sparks put an end to that nonsense by stating that he was "let down" and that dancing with an ankle injury is not an excuse because he "has a friend who would dance with nubs." I don't know what that means, but I'm sure it puts BreakSk8 to shame. And then finally JC got his words back (written by Paula Abdul, I'm sure) stating, "Reach into your hearts. Show how great you are."

Then EVEN MORE DRAMA! It was the girls versus the girls as Fish n Chicks and Femme 5 took to the stage. Fish n Chick's version of Beyonce's "Freak em Dress" was much more captivating than Femme 5's version of Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" - thus giving Femme 5 the boot, who then had to take their final walk as their banner fell (in slow motion) from the ceiling.

Yay, Fish n Chicks!

Who will get thrown back to the streets next time? Stay tuned.

Wait - did you just read this entire recap?! So silly! Just watch it all for yourself on MuchAXS!

This weekend when a friend asked me to go see a movie, it occurred to me that I had already seen everything (good) that was playing at major theatres. Usually this close to Oscars time every year I'm totally clueless and haven't seen even half of the best picture contenders, but this time 'round I'm well prepared (to win the annual Oscar pool). I still have to watch Away From Her, but every time I try to start, I get depressed and change my mind.

Now this is just my personal opinion, but here are my ratings for these new movies, from best to most disappointing - and I say most disappointing because the bottom five movies were HIGHLY recommended to me by Metacritic & Rotten Tomatoes. Not to mention the fact that people won't shut up about one of them, another has a 99 rating and 100% scores from every critic walking this planet, and yet another is directed by one of three famous people I'd invite to a dinner party. Their corresponding Metacritic score at the time of posting is in brackets next to my foul rating.

Keep in mind the way that Metacritic scores work - for example, a rating of 80 means everyone LOVED it, 20 means everyone thought it was HORRIFIC, and 40-60 means an equal number loved or hated it.

I'm going to wager that Soja's list will be in the polar opposite order, as we seem to have inverse taste in movies (see also: Once, Me, You & Everyone We Know).

16 Movies I've Seen Recently, In Order Of Enjoyment:

There Will Be Blood - 10/10 (Metacritic Score: 92)
Before The Devil Knows You're Dead - 9/10 (Metacritic Score: 84)
Gone Baby Gone - 9/10 (Metacritic Score: 72)
The Diving Bell & The Butterfly - 7.5/10 (Metacritic Score: 92)
Juno - 7/10 (Metacritic Score: 81)
Atonement - 7/10 (Metacritic Score: 85)
Michael Clayton - 7/10 (Metacritic Score: 82)
The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters - 7/10 (Metacritic Score: 83)
I Am Legend - 6.5/10 (Metacritic Score: 65)
Eastern Promises - 6/10 (Metacritic Score: 82)
Waitress - 5/10 (Metacritic Score: 75)
No Country For Old Men - 5/10 (Metacritic Score: 91)
The Savages - 5/10 (Metacritic Score: 85)
This Is England - 4/10 (Metacritic Score: 86)
4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days - 2/10 (Metacritic Score: 99)
Be Kind Rewind - 2/10 (Metacritic Score: 42)

Photograph Courtesy Getty Images

* Lil' Cruz Beckham break dances at the Spice Girls concert in NYC.

* Want to morph the faces of your favourite celebrities? Then Morph Thing is the morph thing for you!

* Oscar's are coming up! TIME takes a look back at movies that SHOULD have won.

* Fall Out Boy get drawn. As comics.

* WTF! Bindi Irwin raps. Sort of.

* And finally, Smurfs come to the big screen.

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* Avril Lavigne on the cover of Maxim?!!!

* The trailer for 'The Happening' is now online. Looks like M. Night Shyamalan might've gotten his groove back.

* Tokio Hotel thank their awesome Canadian fans (but in German).

* Eddie Vedder will go on a short tour in support of his 'Into The Wild' Soundtrack, kicking off in Vancouver.

* Kanye West has announced all his tour dates. And yes, Wendy, there is a Toronto date.

* Hilary Duff: "I've got a lovely bunch of earrings/There they are a'standing in a row/Big ones, small ones, some as big as my head!"

* And finally, Heidi Montag's video for 'Higher' gets the Pop-Up Video treatment.

partyshank blog edit.jpg
Partyshank do their thing

NME.com has listed what MySpace thinks will be the top 10 British bands to look out for in 2008, along with predicting a few trends (like "Double Dressers" who will be friends who dress as twins... Whaa?).

Predicting music and trends is fun and all, but does it really stand up to the hype? Here is the MySpace list, linked to some of their MySpace pages, so you (the music fans) can decide for yourselves!

1. Partyshank
2. Peggy Sue And The Pirates
3. Riuven
4. Naz T Da Younger
5. Tape Deck
6. Conan and Mockisans
7. Ebony Bones
8. Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong
9. Dead Disco
10. Make Me A Model

Do you agree with this list? What new band have YOU been listening to that didn't make the list? Let us know - share your music.

Things you didn't know about Norwegian superstar band a-ha:

- they're still together and making albums
- their last album, 2005's Analogue, sold 2.5 million copies
- over the past 20 years they've sold 81 million albums worldwide. 81 million!! Each of their eight albums has gone platinum.
- the entire country of Norway has a population of just over 4 million (ie: fewer people than Toronto, but more than Montreal)
- a-ha won 8 MTV Video Music Awards in 1986 - at the time, the most any band had ever won in one year
- in 1991, a-ha set a Guinness World Record by playing for the largest paying audience in the world: 198,000 people.

So the band's first album, Hunting High And Low, is coincidentally the first album I ever bought with my very own money. It has sold 10 million copies, likely thanks to the monster hits The Sun Always Shines On TV and Take On Me. IMO that album is flawless. I listen to it constantly and two decades later it's still amazing. And two decades later, who doesn't remember the then (and arguably still now) innovative video for Take On Me??

Watch the video: a-ha - Take On Me

The video was directed by Steve Barron, who also directed Michael Jackson's Billie Jean, a trio of Bryan Adams videos (Cuts Like a Knife, Heaven, Summer Of '69) and also a bunch for Culture Club. Take On Me incorporated a combination of pencil-sketch animation and a technique called "rotoscoping" that involves tracing over individual frames of live action video. The result is very realistic animated movements.

The "star" of the video is actress Bunty Bailey, who dated a-ha frontman Morten Harket for some time before leaving him for another 80s heartthrob, Billy Idol. In the video sits in a coffee shop and reads a comic book about competitive motorcycle racing. As she reads, the book comes to life, and Morten, the motorcycle race winner, reaches through the book and pulls her into his world with an animated hand. Bunty & Morten see each other alternately in live action and animation. While the pair are off cavorting together, two of the race losers come back for revenge and smash the comic frame. Struggles ensue. Near the end, Morten suffers a bunch of injuries after thrashing back and forth within a doorframe at Bunty's house as he flashes between animated and live action. And you know how the video ends.

Links:
Official Site: a-ha
MySpace: Morten Harket
MySpace: Magne Furuholmen

Madonna, Madonna, Madonna... what hast thou wrought? I just watched the little clip from your directorial debut Filth & Wisdom and I am left scratching my head. Although I'm not a crazy fan of yours, I do think that you're pretty damn good at what you do and I actually don't mind your "cute" faux-british accent and I'm the only who didn't think Swept Away was THAT bad. So it is from this standpoint that I can openly ask: What is this crap?

This clip looks so bloody amateur. What you've offered here looks shoddy, contains questionable performances and bizarre dialogue. There is no excuse for this: you're a multi-millionaire artist with an acclaimed director for a husband!

Maybe since it's just one clip from the whole movie that, taken out of context, it doesn't convey the full scope of your vision. I hope that's the case - perhaps my judgments are a tad premature. I trust in you, Madonna. I trust that you can produce a piece of cinematic art that is relevant.

[Warning: Clip contains scantily clad women and the F word. Envelope pushing, I know...]

UPDATE: Eek - turns out Filth & Wisdom is poo. The film debuted at the Berlin Film Festival on Wednesday and People.com reports that reviews haven't been good. Britain's The Guardian found it "so incredibly bad that Berlin festivalgoers were staggering around yesterday in a state of clinical shock, deathly pale and mewing like maltreated kittens."

* LA may introduce a new paparazzi-aimed law named after Britney. The thrill! The honour!

* In tying of the knot news, Liam Gallagher has married his long-term lady Nicole Appleton AND cutie Diego Luna may have also taken the plunge.

* Not to be a hater, but why is Hans Montans presenting at the Oscars? So the kids will watch?

* EW ponders the present of past ANTM contestants. Did that make sense?

* Just what I always wanted - eyeball stickers!

So get this - remember last week when Wendy lost touch because of Kanye West's Glow In The Dark tour announcement? The juggernaut of a tour features Kanye, Rihanna, NERD AND Lupe Fiasco.

Well, MuchMusic is presenting the tour across Canada and we really, really want you to snag tickets before the shows sell out. If you live in any of these cities, head to the links below from now till Friday, February 15 @ 10pm (local time).

The pre-sale password is music.

Dates:
May 27 @ Credit Union Centre, Saskatoon - Buy Tickets
May 29 @ Rexall Place, Edmonton - Buy Tickets
May 30 @ Pengrowth Saddledome, Calgary - Buy Tickets

Go! Now! We're urging you as strongly as our fingers can type...cause you KNOW it's gonna sell out, right?

P.S.: Stay tuned as Kanye gets around to adding more Canadian cities to his tour!

* Happy Valentine's Day, ladies... Here's a slice of Ryan Reynolds pie, just for you.

* NME.com is linking to a selection of mp3's of remixed and re-imagined Radiohead tracks from their 'In Rainbows' album.

* Feist chats about the pros and cons of having her song 1,2,3,4 used in an iPod ad.

* Nelly Furtado preggers? Promiscuous Girl indeed! (Yes, I went there).

* Martin Short loses it on the "paparazzi" and it's hil-ar-ious.

* And finally, if you aren't making out with anyone tonight, at least you can look at these pics of celebs sucking face!

Even though I am a big fan of No Country For Old Men (that dialogue! suspense! pacing! acting! cinematography!), I can understand why a good handful of people aren't. Simply: the last 5 minutes. I'm not convinced anyone actually "gets" it. If you're the one person who does, congrats! Come Oscar night, this is for you, ya smug bastard:

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Photo courtesy someecards.com

FACT: "Flashing Lights" is one of the best songs on Kanye's Graduation album - dramatic, bold and beautiful (much like a soap opera, also called The Bold and The Beautiful).

What would you expect from a literal, glossy translation of the song? Couture? Glamour? Sheen and shine? ... Flashing lights? It almost seems too easy. But when Kanye teams up with someone like Spike Jonze to direct a video, you're going to get anything but a predictable, literal translation of the song. And that's an understatement. To wit:

*Gape*

I never would have expected that. But as Jenifa says, the video actually works with the song - a woman scorned, fed up with being over-sexualized, perhaps? But I wince when I watch the ending (which, by the way, cuts off the song, but I take that as an artistic choice) - so brutal!

What do you think? Is this video too graphic for TV?

Links:

Watch all Kanye videos here
See Kanye's artist profile

On Monday, season two of Skins, one of my top five current TV shows (the others being Californication, The L Word, Lost and Dexter) premiered in the UK, and I have to say, I am PUMPED about the upcoming season. We finally get to see what the outcome of the finale of season one is (if I'm speaking in extreme generalities here it's because I don't want to spoil anything, since you MUST watch this show), and it continues to be awesome.

If you haven't already seen the show, season one is now available on DVD at Amazon UK. Or should I say "series" one. Personally, I bought mine on eBay...so there are many ways for you to get your hands on it.

The music in the season two premiere was amazing as usual. You'll recall that there's a companion CD to the music from season one, and the trailer for season two (which didn't really give anything away) featured an instrumental version of Radiohead's Nude.

Anyway, the show's new official site, skinslife.com, is going to be posting a companion music guide to each episode. Each post has embedded samples of the songs featured in the episode, along with a blurb about the song itself and where/why it was used. Episode 1's is here, and it featured music by Feist, Grizzly Bear, Tunng (!) and Asobi Seksu.

The episode ends with a song that I absolutely adore by Asobi Seksu called Thursday. And the scene that it plays in is PERFECT. It's just the most absolutely perfect moment to play it.

Asobi Seksu - Thursday

Links:
Official Site: Skins
e4: Skins
MySpace: Asobi Seksu

(Said in the voice of Rachel Dratch playing a drunk hooker on 30 Rock: "Happy Valentime's!")

* Teaser trailer for new Indiana Jones movie!

* Contestant on American Idol was once in a boy band and was rumoured to be dating Britney waaaaaay back in the day!

* Yesssssss SNL is back this weekend with Tina Fey as host! And then Ellen Page on March 1 - Halifax represent!

* Oh god, Bai Ling was arrested for shop lifting.

* Xtina choo choo chooses People magazine to show her fiwst baby photos.

* Good Charlotte are guesting on Ludacris' new solo album. But Ludacris also wants Eminem to join the fun. Good Charlotte and Eminem collaborating on the same album? That really IS ludicrous! (Grooooan)

* I hate Seal but I love Heidi - so at least this Elle photo spread is half-bearable.

* K-Fed's acting is horrible. But it's for One Tree Hill. So he kinda fits in.

* Gary Coleman secretly marries a girl half his age and tells his inkjet printer that "you just need to die." Honestly.

* I hope Katherine Heigl's new haircut is for the role of some soccer Mom. In some forgettable made-for-TV movie. That I never have to sit through.

* Chocolate Rain singer, Tay Zonday, covers Lily Allen's Smile. And I frown. And cry. And wipe the blood out of my ears.

* BWE.tv goes backstage at the Westminster dog show and it's furry fun. Now please give me a doggie treat.

To all hip hop junkies - this track is nuts!! Hopefully you've heard it already, but if you haven't check it out.

If you don't like rap...and don't respect the genre, you'll definitely appreciate Joell Ortiz's wordplay. This is what hip hop is really about, and what really makes it what is. Not the stuff playing on the radio. Mind you, this dude should be touring around the world!

Links:
MySpace: Joell Ortiz

It's hard to really explain the kind of excitement I had in me before Vampire Weekend took the stage last night at the Horseshoe Tavern. Kind of like the feeling you get when you're a kid at Christmas and you've pre-opened your gifts, so you know what treat you're in for this year. But even so, it could be a bust. All the hype you've worked up about your new train set could be an absolute fluke. Not this year.

It was amazing how crowded the small bar could get ten minutes before Vampire Weekend kicked off their show, with not the particular crowd you may have expected. People young and old, hipsters, physics graduates or just your grandpa were there to experience what they had to offer, and I'd like to think no one was let down. The show began the same as the CD with Mansard Roof and I couldn't imagine it any other way. The dancing began, even the 60+ year old man in front of me was doing his own version of spirit fingers that was hip in the 60s. The audience never missed a beat through the hour long set. By the time A-Punk had started, there wasn't a still person in the place. Even the wallflowers had to give it up.

Before it was time for the 'sing along song' - aka One (Blake's Got A New Face) - Ezra had a specific question for the crowd. "How many of you have seen us in Toronto before?" and it was outstanding how few people in the crowd had! There couldn't have been more than a dozen hands in the air, but to be fair, I couldn't see anyone in the back of the club. And although most of us had never seen Vampire Weekend before, I can assume that most of us will be selling out their next show in Toronto.

They lived up to all the hype and pressure new fans had put on them. In fact, they blew us away. Or at least me!

Links:
MySpace: Vampire Weekend
Videos: MuchAXS

Surely you know that tomorrow is Valentine's Day. But what you might not know is that from 1:30-2:30pm ET we'll be airing an hour's worth of Valentine's Day requests for your sweeties. It's an all request show, so send in your requests & dedications! Three ways:

a) email: muchmail@muchmusic.com
b) webcam: Show Me Yours
c) phone: 1-800-265-MUCH

In the meantime, we've compiled almost 100 love-themed videos for you to enjoy - check out our Valentine's Day Playlist in MuchAXS! If you want to see any of these on the tube tomorrow afternoon, you know what to do...

One last thing - do you have a Valentine's Day horror story? Or maybe your bf/gf is the most adorable cuddlebunny in the world and you want the world to know why...post your best/worst Valentine's Day stories in the comments and a VJ might read them on air tomorrow from 1:30-2:30pm ET!

MOD was a City And Colour-a-thon yesterday, with Dallas stopping by to perform a few songs and co-host the show. The good news is we have pics - the bestest news is that you can watch performance clips from the show right now! That includes a web exclusive of "Death Of Me"!

When news broke that the Stone Temple Pilots were getting back together I was stoked at a possible reunion tour! Growing up in the 90s introduced me to a lot of great bands, to name a few: Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Foo Fighters, Oasis and of course Stone Temple Pilots.

Back then I wasn't able to attend their concerts because I was about 11 years old so now that there is a theme of bands reuniting I am lucky to have another chance at seeing STP live!

Stone Temple Pilots are kicking off (what I hope to be a full tour) in Columbus, Ohio with the Rock on the Range Festival. With the Stone Temple Pilots going on tour and a possibility of Led Zeppelin hitting the road, this year could be a great one for concerts!

Links:
MySpace: Stone Temple Pilots
Rock On The Range
STP On Tour

* Yessssssssssssssssss the writer's strike is officially OVA.

* WTF?! Polaroid is going to stop making instant cameras and film. NOOOOO! Let's all take a moment to shake it in silence.

* Best: Nic Cage is suing Kathleen Turner for claiming that he once stole a chihuahua. Wait, what?

* Since Paris or the parents wouldn't bail wee Barron out of jail, his friends had to do it. That'll learn him!

* Aretha Franklin is none too pleased that Beyonce called Tina Turner the Queen on Grammy night, thank you very much. She also has beef with the Queen of England, Dairy Queen, and every bee Queen in existence.

* Britney's teaching dance lessons and it seems to be going well so far!

* Spongebob voice actors overdubbed scenes from classic movies - Patrick's voice is used perfectly in Singin' In The Rain!

tokio hotel and vera blog edit1.jpg Remember when you all got to vote for your favourite Tokio Hotel music video on ShowMeYours? And remember how commenting on said videos meant you could win tickets to the Toronto concert along with a chance to meet the band?! Well the winner turned out to be Vera Raposo! The picture of her and the boys may be a bit blurry, but I'm sure her memories are anything but. Awwww. Now here's what the excited uber-fan had to say:

First of all, i just wanted to thank YOU SOO SOO MUCH for giving me this AMAZING opportunity to meet the band. It was by far the BEST day of my Life! I still cant believe it happened. It was SO AMAZING, the concert was AWESOME! I had so much fun. Everything was just perfect! It was a dream come true. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Vera

Familiarize yourself with this name: Mathew Cullen. You may not know who he is but there's no doubt that you've come across one of his projects and stopped dead in your tracks.

Remember that HP commercial where Pharrell uses his hands to perform visual magic tricks? Yes, that commercial alone spawned knock-offs from some of the biggest artists in the biz (Please see Fergie's Clumsy and Talib Kwelli f. will.i.am's Hot Thing/In The Mood. And most recently Excel used Cullen's collapsible folding concept from Beck's Girl video to sell their long-lasting gum. Ripoffs aside, it's quite obvious that Mathew Cullen's work is not going unnoticed. Hell, plagiarism is the best form of flattery. So tell me again why you don't know who he is?

Well, my friends, you're about to find out.

Mathew is one of the co-founding members of the film studio Motion Theory. What initially started off as something small has evolved into something much bigger. Motion Theory is now a successful and renowned creative studio that brings together directors, animators, writers and visual effects artists to create innovative and unique projects. Their latest project is the Mathew Cullen directed video Chasing Pavements by Britain's chart-topping artist Adele.

Watch The Video: Chasing Pavements

Hands down, this video has to be the Best Video of 2008. A scene of a car accident becomes the stage for an injured couple's breathtaking dance set entirely against the ground. As the story unfolds we watch the couple fall in and out of love. Matched in tune with their dance are the movements of the surrounding passersby, as seen through the black silhouettes. These carefully choreographed movements heighten the raw emotions felt by the two lovers.

Cullen, once again, uses his visual wizardry to bring to life this 2-D video. Unlike, his previous works, the special effects are captured using just the camera (pretty wicked, eh?). Instead the illusions of the silhouettes are carefully brought to screen by precise choreography and lighting. It's so rare to see a video that's not only beautifully shot, choreographed but that also has a strong narrative story. This video will surely toy with your emotions as you watch this heart-breakingly sensual story unfold.

And that's not all.

We were fortunate enough to interview Mathew Cullen about this video. Here it is:

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer questions about the video. It has been a while since I've been touched by a music video. The visual story that unfolds is breathtaking.

Thank you!

Anyways, I'd love to hear about how the collaboration between you and Adele came to be?

She was a fan of videos we've done in the past and I was a fan of her songwriting and incredible voice.

What was your creative inspiration behind this particular video?

The song's themes were the main inspiration - following after someone you love even though it will never work out. The unconscious couple coming to life to retell their relationship was a perfect storytelling device for the song.

Do you think it's important for music videos to have a narrative story?

The most memorable videos often involve story.

The choreography in this video is absolutely beautiful, how long did it take the actors to nail down the scenes?

It took about 2 weeks to develop the choreography. Marguerite Derricks (the choreographer) and I talked about using movements that could only be done on the ground. The interesting thing is that in developing the dance the couple needed to use each other to create the illusion of defying gravity. It actually worked as a great tie into the themes of the video.

What truly is amazing about this video is the fact that there were no special effects involved in this video. Why was it important for you to keep it simple?

I love using special effects but only when it's appropriate. Because of the subject matter it was important to keep everything as real as possible. We wanted them to feel like they were defying physics but also still grounded in reality.

You've directed some pretty innovative videos in the past and so has your team, how do you feel when you see other directors copying your ideas?

We are all inspired by each other. We just expect them to do it better or bring something new to it.

Lastly, who and what do you turn to for inspiration? (could be musically, through film or anything else)

There isn't a single place really. The important thing is to record your ideas when you have them. People have short memories.

Links:
Official Site: Adele
Videography: Mathew Cullen

As you know from our extensive obsessing, Tokio Hotel was here yesterday for an interview and performance. Well, good people of earth, we now have the live interview for you to watch (Bill and Tom used a translator). And good people of Canada, you can check out the performances - including a web exclusive hootenanny of "Breakaway"!

Oh, and guess what - here are some pics.

diary of the dead blog edit.jpg

* Cloverfield-meets-zombies in George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead. It opens this Friday and I can't wait. Check out the trailer.

* Frances Bean Cobain gets her own photo spread in Harper's Bazaar, plus reveals some cool life tidbits.

* Paris Hilton gets a big ol' "rejected!" from John Mayer. Hey-o!

* Colin Farrell will be best man at his bro's gay wedding.

* Gossip Girl's Blake Lively hits on David Letterman. And he doesn't seem to mind. Wrong, all around.

* And finally, I pulled a Zack Morris and only scored a 53% on this Saved By The Bell Quiz. Bayside, I thought I knew ye.

* Paris Hilton + Box Office = laughable disappointment.

* Paris Hilton + Lindsay Lohan = cat fight.

* Scarlett Johansson + Ryan Reynolds = secretly engaged?

* Dolly Parton postpones her tour and blames her breasts. And I'm actually serious. For once.

* Jack Nicholson's pick-up line: "When did you get pregnant?" Try it. It worked for me!

* Miley Cyrus doesn't wear a seatbelt. Mom's are PISSED!

* Ha! K-Fed and Wilmer Valderrama had to sit next to each other at Fashion Week. Oddest pairing, I must say.

tokio hotel interview at muchmusic.jpg
Me (centre) with (L-R) Tom, Bill, Gustav & Georg before their MOD performance

Today was the day. I put on my lederhosen, climbed to the top of the Alps, and met up with the very German Bill, Tom, Gustav & Georg of TOKIO HOTEL for a quick sit-down interview. I asked some of my own questions and also a few from the many suggestions that you - the super fans - suggested. Turns out the boys were incredibly down to earth and fun. The following is how it all went down:

First off, Claudia Schiffer or Heidi Klum?

All: Heidi Klum!

Why?

Bill: We are all big fans of Heidi Klum.

Tom: She's great.

Bill: Yeah, she simply looks great. She's definitely our favourite model, right?

Georg: Yeah.

[All nod in agreement]

Bratwurst or Schnitzel?

All: Schnitzel!

Oh, wow. I would've said Bratwurst.

Bill: Well actually Schnitzel and Bratwurst look pretty good together.

Tom: I don't really like Bratwurst.

Bill: Yeah, me neither.

Gustav: Yeah, me neither.

Georg: Well sometimes it's not so bad.

Tom: I just don't like a big "wurst", but maybe it's because I have such a big "wurst".

Bill: [groans, rolls eyes]

Tom: But no, I don't really like Bratwurst.

What do you first think of when you hear the word 'Canada'?

Gustav: Maple leaf.

Bill: Hm. And cold.

All: Yeah, cold.

Bill: Especially right now. Oh - and definitely the CN Tower.

Did you guys already go up in it?

Bill: Yup! We were just there!

How do your Canadian fans compare to your German fans?

Bill: I don't think you can categorize fans by country like that. I mean, I think each fan is in itself different and everyone has their own personality but regardless, we are all very excited about our fans here in Canada. We were just in Montreal and now here in Toronto and the support, it's been quite incredible, the concerts were great. We're really enjoying ourselves - it's been a great start.

What is it like playing these smaller gigs in North America, when compared with the bigger concerts in Germany?

Tom: Well it's definitely been a nice change because here we have our small gigs but then directly after this we are going on our European tour where things will be much bigger. But it's been a while since we've played in small clubs and it's a lot of fun. Both concerts in Montreal and Toronto were great!

Georg: And it's definitely reminiscent of when we were younger and new to it all, like when we started out playing the small clubs in Magdeburg.

Bill: Yeah, it's cool.

Can you teach me some German slang?

[All laugh]

I know "Scheisse," "Arschloch," "Fick."

Bill: Well those are already the most important ones.

Georg: Yeah, "Scheisse" and "Arschloch" are already pretty good.

Well what do I need to know to be cool?

Bill: Oh, God.

Tom: That's always really hard.

Bill: Well we say things like instead of saying "Wie geht es dir?" (How are you?) you'd say "Was geht?" And we always actually say "Tierisch". "Tierisch" is a word you would never really use, but we say it when we think something's really cool.

Gustav: Yeah, like "Tom always looks Tierisch."

Bill: Yeah, so if you used that word, people would think, "Ok, he's from around here."

Tom: And to greet someone, you can also say "Fick mich." Simply walk by them and say "Hey! Fick mich!"

[All laugh]

What was the first record you bought with your own money?

Bill: For me it was a Nena CD.

Nena? Oh right - 99 Luftballons.

Georg: For me it was a CD from Oasis.

Gustav: Metallica - the Black album.

Tom: Definitely Aerosmith.

What's your favourite music video?

Georg: Well Ready, Set, Go from Tokio Hotel is great.

Tom: Yeah, if Ready, Set, Go isn't on rotation yet it should be.

Georg: Heavy rotation.

Tom: Yeah, definitely. But other than that, I also really like...

Georg: Monsoon?

Yeah, it's "Tierisch".

[All laugh]

Gustav: Ah! Exactly!

What's a fun trivia fact that most people wouldn't know about you?

Tom: Well the fact that Georg actually has two other names, is not that well-known. Georg's actual name is...

Tom & Bill: Georg Mortiz Hagen Listing!

Georg: [not impressed] "Tierisch" funny.

Bill: And Gustav's name is...

Tom & Bill: Gustav Klaus Wolfgang Schafer!

Gustav: Shit.

Tom: My second name is Don. Tom the Don.

[All laugh]

What's something that's super popular in Germany that isn't popular here?

Bill: Well until now, Tokio Hotel.

[All laugh]

Techno?

Bill: Techno? You don't listen to techno?

Not really.

Gustav: That's for the best.

Bill: Well in Germany there are quite a few techno clubs but I guess that's not even that popular anymore. Hm. I have no idea.

Do you have any weird talents?

Bill: Georg can cramp his fingers in a really weird way.

Georg: Yeah [demonstrates]

Bill: Ugh!

[All laugh]

Georg: That's the only thing I'm good at.

Bill: Yeah, yeah.

What bad habits do you have?

Bill: Habits? Hm. Well I can't keep my legs still.

Nervous?

Georg: No, that's definitely just a tick.

Bill: Yeah, it's a tick. I'm definitely always shaking something. I can't sit still.

Tom: Hm - what kind of habits do I have...? None really. Well, it's hard for me to find any faults. [All groan]. Georg has the habit of messing up in concert.

Bill: And he's always late. Georg is always late. And Gustav is a "Tierisch" bitch.

Gustav: See, there "Tierisch" is used differently.

All: Negative.

Gustav: Well it can be both negative and really positive.

Tom: And with me, it's really hard to come up with something. I don't have any bad habits.

Georg: [rolls eyes] Yeah, none.

With such sudden success, how do you all keep your egos in check?

Georg: Now that's a question for Tom. Ego! How do you keep your ego under control?

Tom: I spend most of my time with women. And that pulls me back to earth a bit.

[All laugh]

Bill: I think we all keep each other in check. We've known each other for 7 years now and because we know each other so well we can watch out for each other and make sure no one gets out of control. But, we have to regularly watch out for Georg.

Georg: [rolls eyes] Yeah, OK.

What are some modern pop songs that are 'earworms' for you - songs that get stuck in your head?

Georg: [starts humming Ready, Set, Go - everyone joins in] What was the name of that song again...?

[All laugh]

Tom: I really liked [One Republic's] Apologize.

[All agree]

Bill: Yeah, Apologize - I think it is still number one or something in Germany. I can never get it out of my head.

Are there ever a lot of disagreements between group members?

Bill: Yeah, definitely. But most of the time we understand each other, and other times we are too busy to fight - we're constantly on the go - but yes, we fight. It's something that happens when on tour. But I must say, we all bounce back quickly - we understand each other well.

And finally, how's Knut?

Bill: Knut?

All: KNUT!

Gustav: There's a new one now! Her name is Flocke.

Georg: Yeah, Knut's totally savage now. No one can go in the pen with him anymore.

Bill: Yeah, he's huge.

Whoa. Whoa. Elizabeth co-hosts The Shift this week and SHE GOT TO MEET THE SPICE GIRLS. That's freakin amaymay. Watch it all go down on Wednesday at 9pm ET! Here's what Liz has to say about her experience:

So on January 31st, I opened my door to find Tim Deegan, thinking that it would be one of the friends. I was really excited to find out that this was the start of a great experience. Tim told me that we would be spending an entire day and co-hosting the show "The Shift" together. To top it all off, he informed me that we would be going to see my favorite group, the Spice Girls, on Febuary 4th at the ACC for their reunion tour. I was so excited!!

Our seats were on the floor, and I spent the entire concert leaning on the runway looking up at my idols. When Tim surprised me at my house, he also told me that we would be going to meet the Spice Girls BACKSTAGE. We went backstage before the concert and we got to go on a exclusive tour of the girls' wardrobe. When we met the girls, I was so shocked and I was speechless. I barely worked up enough courage to tell them that I listened to them all the time when I was a little girl. I am so grateful to MuchMusic and Tim for allowing me to be on the show and take me to a concert I have been wanting to see since I was little. I also want to thank Much for allowing me to bring my friends on the show and co-host with Tim and I. We all had a really good time, and there were a lot of laughs involved. Thank you Sharon, for all your hard work and effort that was put in to making this happen for me.

Tokio Hotel mayhem in Toronto officially kicked off last night! The boys arrived in Toronto after their sizzling North American debut in Montreal (they appeared on Musique Plus' Plus Sur Command, which is the French equivalent of MuchOnDemand, on February 8, and then moved on to perform their first of five sold out shows at Le National. Check out some YouTube clips - they literally went up hours after the show.

So back to last night.

Had it not been -30C with the windchill, I'm positive that fans would have already been lining up when I drove past the Mod Club at around 3pm. No matter - when I got back to the venue at 6 there was already a line even though doors didn't open till 8. It was interesting to see how the night unravelled - the only other time I've seen people packed so tightly towards the front of the stage was for Hot Chip in 2006. The guys at the merch table got absolutely no rest all night, they were so busy selling t-shirts and other stuff.

After what seemed like hours (oh wait, it WAS about two hours since I had arrived), Tokio Hotel took the stage...one by one...starting with Gustav and his drum bit...then Georg added the bass...then Tom on guitar, and finally Bill stormed out just in time to kick off the vocals on Ready, Set, Go!. From the moment the vocals started, everyone was taking photos and going berserk. It was super energetic. They played ten songs before coming back for a two song encore that ended with Bill saying, "We want to see how your German is!" and urged fans to sing along to Durch Den Monsun, the original German version of Through The Monsoon. Here's a video of the entire encore - you can hear just how crazy it was; everyone was singing along! After the show ended and the band did their bows, no one was BUDGING in the hopes that they'd come back out. I swear it was like 20 or 30 minutes before people finally filed out!

If you were at the show, post your pics to Show Me Yours so we can see them!

Can't wait to interview the guys in about an hour and then watch them soundcheck and perform on MuchOnDemand! Should be a total shitfest! If only it wasn't so cold outside...

Photographs Courtesy Justin Erdman/umusic.ca

I heard a great story about Kanye recently, and it explains where Kanye got his inspiration for "Stronger". At the '06 MTV Europe Awards Kanye was nominated for Best Video, I think it was for "Touch The Sky". The award was announced and went to Justice vs. Simian "We Are Your Friends". Kanye had a great video with a huge budget, so fairly enough he thought he was going to win and was pretty angry when he didn't. So he gets up on stage and interrupts the acceptance speech to voice his displeasure.

(Ok, now a little back story, Kanye has a DJ named A-Trak. He's awesome, he's from Montreal and is a prodigy. Kanye saw him spinning in a record store and immediately took him in for a 40 city tour.) So A-Trak is really forward in music, he's ahead of the curve. When Kanye got mad about Justice winning over him, his DJ A-Trak had to explain why Justice was actually awesome and deserved the award. Kanye, being a smart dude himself, appreciated the new info and A-Trak agreed to show him some other new artists coming up. (See: A-Trak's girlfriend Kid Sister blowing up with Kanye rapping on her first single, "Pro Nails") So A-Trak officially became Kanye's guide for the hottest in underground music.

How does this relate to "Stronger"? Well Daft Punk was obviously another new act for Kanye, and if you know that "Stronger" is heavily based on Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger", then it's pretty easy to see the connection: A Montreal DJ gave Kanye the inspiration for the single that helped him take out 50 Cent.

Friday was insane. Five crews from the week's battles returned for the ultimate show-down - this time with a panel of judges:

Ladies and gentlemen, your joodges - Director RT!, George and professional dancer Blake McGrath.

Nu-Limit came out strong and sexy...

Rated Rage failed to impress the judges overall...

Black Ice KILLED. IT.

DLM Dance Crew impressed with their costumes, but not so much their routine...

... and then Rated X were ridiculous!! There was no question that the judges had made up their mind without even consulting with each other - Rated X was the sickest crew of the day!

Check out more pics here!

Do you ever have those nights when you have something all planned out, only for it to change dramatically on a whim? I should start whimming more often, because this past Saturday night proved to be one of the most exciting nights I have ever had!

The condensed version goes like this: I was at home downloading music by buzz band MGMT from iTunes. I liked what I heard, so I checked out Ticketmaster to see when they were coming to town, I realized that it was THAT NIGHT, and that they were playing with fellow Brooklyn buzz band Yeasayer. I altered the plans I had and scrambled down to the El Mocambo to try and make the show. Once in line I realized the show was sold out, and with only minutes before Yeasayer were set to go on, a random girl came outside and offered up a free ticket! I jumped at the chance, and entered the venue just as Yeasayer were about to perform. Whew!

Once the show started, I was treated to an intense sonic journey with Yeasayer, as their rhythms pulsated and pounded off the intimate El Mocambo walls, never settling in any one place, shifting and hustling all over the joint, playing with muscle, all on point. When you listen to a Yeasayer song, it has this sort of off kilter dynamic that seems a bit strange at first. Upon further review, it's just that they are different than almost every band you know. In a live setting, their uniqueness simply blossoms. 2080 and Sunrise were simply majestic, and the smallish crowd was feeding off the band and returning their energy in spades. I didn't know much about Yeasayer, but after seeing them, I can only tell you that I say yea and I want to know more - much, much more.

I actually knew a little bit more about MGMT and their awesomely titled debut LP Oracular Spectacular, mainly because of their fan-bloody-tastic track Time to Pretend. The other songs were tight with delight, though it was hard for them to match the energy and enthusiasm of Yeasayer. The drummer did his best, looking and acting a helluva lot like Andrew WK, highlighted by his wicked guitar dubbing of the pre-recorded Kids.

Overall it was an amazing experience, and you could tell these bands were hip-to-the-drip as members of Metric and Finger Eleven were in attendance. For comparison's sake, I would say that right now Yeasayer has a leg up on MGMT in the performance and cohesiveness area, while MGMT have songs that would seem to have better hit potential.

Either way, both of these bands have great potential, and one would expect to hear a lot more from these fellow Brooklyn-ites. Most of all though, I learned that random, spontaneous Saturday nights are the way to go...

Protest The Hero dropped by on Friday amidst all the dance-off finals insanity, and for once, on-air discussion turned to something other than frivolities. Actually, things got quite interesting .. check out the interview on AXS!

Metric debuted several new tracks this past Thursday to a giant and raucous crowd at the newly-renovated Sound Academy (formerly The Docks). As far as the new songs go, if you're expecting Metric to waver from there tried-and-true sound, you're off the mark. At the same time, if you think that the formula they've perfected over the years has become tired, you're dead (disco) wrong. Metric simply have a way with melody that is part uncanny, part delectable, and just part-and-parcel with supreme aural pleasure. They opened the show with the tentatively titled Freddie Mercury, and its frenetic energy saw many audience members breaking a sweat quicker than you can travel a metre by a high speed jet.

Other new additions to the Metric repertoire included: Gimme Sympathy, Slo-Motion, and Stadium Love (all tentatively titled) and came across as confident, soaring pieces of music. Personally, I loved Slo-Motion, but I could see Gimme Sympathy and Stadium Love being two massive hits if Metric decides to release them as singles.

Otherwise, the show was a hit with the crowd, as Metric tore through their back catalogue. Standouts included Poster of a Girl, Dead Disco, Empty and an acoustic version of Live it Out. Fans of Metric had absolutely every reason to love the show, what with Emily Haines' trademark charisma in full bloom, and the swagger of the entire band on full display. This is what a band sounds like when they are fully aware that they can (very easily and seductively) Rock Me (YOU!) Now.

As a brief aside, the Sound Academy was looking really good, and the sound seemed to be improved upon from what was once quite lacklustre, but in all my years of clubbing and concert-going, I have never, EVER, seen such a mess in the coat check line (sea is more apt – hungry, starving, mob-tastic sea is more like it). In the words of the immortal Mooj from 40 Year Old Virgin as he preaches to a blue-balled Andy, Sound Academy, "you gotta get on that".

Setlist:

Freddie Mercury*
Poster of a Girl
Dead Disco
Slo-Motion*
Too Little Too Late
Empty
Hustle Rose
Handshakes
Gimme Sympathy*
Rock Me Now
Combat Baby
Live it Out (acoustic)

Encore:
Monster Hospital
Stadium Love*

* = tentative title

So, who all watched the Grammys last night?

Each year there is always ONE performance that has everyone talking the next day; a performance SO good that you know when you're watching it, you're seeing something truly special.

A few years ago Mary J. literally brought my jaw to the floor with an emotion-drenched rendition of No More Drama. And last year she turned in another memorable performance with U2. She knocks it out of the park every time, and few have ever rocked a Grammy stage better than Mary.

BUT - did y'all see Kanye West's performance last night?

Four words - PERFORMANCE. OF. THE. NIGHT.

Hands down.

Think whatever you want of Kanye West - he's certainly egomaniacal, so much so at times that it's almost cartoonish. But 2007 will go down as the year that he truly turned a corner, both professionally and personally. And that performance was proof.

For once, Kanye's ego was stripped down and we got a true glimpse of the man behind the headlines. His tribute to his beloved mother Donda was nothing short of awe-inspiring. It gave me goosebumps - and your heart must be made of stone if it didn't bring a tear or two to your eye. I was absolutely speechless.

It will no doubt go down as one of the best Grammy performances of ALL time. And no doubt, mama is looking down on her boy - and she's very proud.

* HEY! The Grammys happened last night. Confession: I watched 95% of that sheeit on mute. But here are some stand out performances...

* ... and here are the weiners ...

* ... and here are some red carpet pics...

* ... and it was also the BAFTAS over the weekend ...

* ... and it was also the EMCAs over the weekend ...

* ... and I don't know about you, but I totally wouldn't trust this guy as my publicist. Oompa loompas are to be in chocolate factories.

* Looks like Lily's new show is a bommmmmb.

* Writer's... Strike... tentative... agreement... more 30 Rock.. on .. HORIZON.

* I'm not sure what's going on in this picture, but I kind of love it.

* Best Week Ever TV presents: WHEN PAPARAZZI ATTACK

PS: Paparazzi freak me out. Just like a nest of spiders.

* Rehab has replaced The Ivy. Everyone and their dog is checking in! Lindsay, Eva Mendes, Drunkst, and now The Insider host Pat O'Brien!

* I hate doing sit-ups just as much as this baby does.

* Charlize Theron, always classy, likes to smack drag queens on the bum-bum.

* From England to America, Natasha Bedingfield flew - but on a plane? No, silly - simply by flapping her feathered shoulder pads!

* And finally, Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz get it on. HOT! (In front of Woody Allen. GROSS!)

We all want to be rockstars right? Playing sold out shows to millions of adoring fans around the world, listing things like (warm) white tube socks in your rider, and bypassing waiting in line - who doesn't want that? Well for us common folk, the path to stardom has been made THAT much easier with the inception of Battala Rockstars.

Wednesday night marked the final week of Round 1 that featured head-to-head action as bands battled song for song, high kick for high kick, and guitar solo for, well, guitar solo. I show up at Healy's Roadhouse (the new location on Blue Jays Way, of course) to be greeted by not one but TWO stages and a room full of music fans.

Soon after, Sons&Lovers; took the main stage and belted out their first of four songs (sidenote: these guys have their own light guy on stage as part of the band!). I shuffled with the crowd to the second stage to catch A.P.E. (A Primitive Evolution) front row centre.

The second pair of bands featured local acts Bury The Bully and Obsidian. And here's how it works: the first band would play one song and then the second band would play their first song. Then back to the first band. Cool, right? My ADD brain could actually keep up with what was going on here! Judges included Jeremy Taggart (Our Lady Peace), Gavin Brown (producer), and Karen Bliss (music journalist).

Tons of photographers and video peeps were out so I'm sure you'll be hearing about Battala Rockstars everywhere. They've got battles scheduled for Ottawa and Halifax in the coming months with bands competing towards recording and touring deals. Winners of last week's battle – which was sponsored by marketing/promotions team Must Be Santa - were Sons&Lovers; and Obsidian, who will both advance to Round 2. I can't effing wait to see more. Skate4Cancer has their night coming up in February!

This ain't your average battle of the bands, folks!

So the Grammys are around the corner, this coming Sunday. While award shows have lost their luster because stars have became all that much more accessible, the Grammys should be pretty good this Year. I mean, with the Golden Globes being cancelled and the Oscars still up in the air I pretty sure the stars will be out in full force.

I'm personally not a big fan of awards shows - the highlights are usually just as good as the show and they take up a fraction of the time! For a lot of people, I feel like reality television has taken the glamour out of being a 'star' because we all know with the right team and pro-tools anything is possible ...

Anyway that's beside the point. I think it's pretty dope that this coming Sunday Tone Mason, one of Toronto's finest, are finally getting the recognition they deserve by being nominated for a Grammy - although most are focused on Feist, and no doubt she's earned it - but so have these gentlemen. I mean they've been producing hits south of the border for some time under the name of other more reputable partners ... I'll never forget when Talib was here at Much and I asked him about Tone Mason and he didn't even know that TM had produced a track on his album??? Well hopefully after the Grammys they can go down south on the strength of their own name!!

Tone Mason produced 'Hood Boy' for Fantasia and she's nominated for a couple of Grammys.

P.S. I wish Kanye all the best his dope is dope ... but wouldn't a rant be great!

I have a confession. Two confessions, actually.

One: I have the Pussy Cat Dolls on my iPod, I have purchased no less than two (2) ringtones, and I watched every episode of The Search For The Next Doll.

Two: I hate the word "Girlicious".

Despite my annoyance with the term, and the fact that I'll soon be hearing it an average of once per minute, me and my reality TV show loving ass will totally be tuning in to see the premiere of Pussy Cat Dolls Present: G**lic***s on February 19. I've heard through the grapevine that episode one is amaymay and besides, it'll be the perfect companion piece for Top Model, which starts on February 20.

So the premise is that Robin Antin (creator of PCD) wants to make herself another girly group (cause we all know adding another doll to PCD didn't really work out as planned), and as you may have guessed, the group will be called ... *shudder* .. Girlicious. Dude, pre-naming a group is like the ultimate move in manufacturing, but I guess the personality of the group as a whole is already pre-determined - and they have no shame about the fact that this is a manufactured product. We all know people will eat it up.

The Dolls are once again going to make cameos, but it will be interesting to see how much Nicole is involved. And will we see appearances from any of last year's faves? Chelsea, mayhaps? Or will they separate themselves from season one altogether?

Based on pictures alone, I have one early favourite: Jamie. The rest of 'em - well, they'll have to prove themselves with winning personalities and sangin' voices!

Oh, and PS: we're going to be doing weekly recaps for y'all betches - with amusing visuals and accoutrements! They shall be both picturelicious and hilariouslicious.

Last night's battle was hype. Both crews were SICK and you can find out who won on today's MOD - and THEN, all four winning crews from the week will battle it out in front of judges like Blake McGrath from So You Think You Can Dance!

Here's some pics from yesterday, and remember, you can check out more photos here!

Hollywood Presents

Rated Rage

tokio hotel blog edit.jpg

Schrei... So laut du kannst! In case you've been living in a cave, we've been running our "Introducing Tokio Hotel" Contest on our website, where YOU got to vote for your favourite Tokio Hotel video - and now the time has come to play the winning video! Tune in to MOD on Friday, February 8th @ 5pm ET to see the vid that came out on top!

And THEN, on Monday, February 11th @ 5pm ET, Tokio Hotel will be here at MOD performing LIVE! Definitely come down to Much HQ to see them rock out the way only Germans can.

Now here's the fun part (for me, suck-ahs!): I get to interview them for RedHotMuch! I'll be posting said interview on this blog a day or two later, however I wanna hear from you. What would you like me to ask Tokio Hotel? What have you, the devoted lederhosen-clad uber-fans, been dying to know? TELL ME - maybe your question will make the cut.

Now Ready Set GO!

PS: If you have a question in German, all the better. hehe.

* So it looks like Wino will perform for the Grammys ... via satellite. It's like the theme of her life - so close, yet so far away.

* Writers could be back to work on Monday? Pleasepleaseplease.

* Of all the people who get to spend a night with Janet, whyyy must it be Perez?!

* If you like Passions, and you like Passions a lot .. you can, er, uh, go on a fan cruise.

* Would you go to see Fight Club on Broadway?

* This fake column by fake Tom Brady is HILARS.

The live music orgy known as the South By Southwest music festival held every year in Austin, Texas is back for its 22nd edition next month.

1500+ bands all vying for our attention. It's the biggest music festival in the world and everybody who's anybody in the indie music world shows up to party.

It's a 3 part festival: interactive, film and of course, sweet, sweet music. The full schedule for the bands that will be showcased this year was released today.

And that's just the official list.

Still to be announced, all these "unofficial" day parties organized around the festival. Hundreds of other bands will come to town just to have that SXSW experience and promote themselves like crazy.

Through the years, I've only heard good thing about this shindig. Always jealous of all the stories I've heard about the parties, the barbecues, the good Austinite people that welcome us strangers to their hip, happenin' city.

Well, I finally pulled the trigger this year and will be having my first SXSW experience.

Here's a list of the big names coming this year:

Buzz bands like Vampire Weekend, Tokyo Police Club, Simian Mobile Disco, The Cool Kids.

Old farts like R.E.M., The Slits, Moby and muthaf**kin' Ice Cube y'all.

Also, has-been 90's one hit wonder bands like Wheatus (seriously?), Fastball, Presidents of the United States of America and everybody's favorite boy-girl band Hanson.

It's a huge tapestry of bands that only SXSW can conjure up together for our delight. Soooo many bands, so little time to see them all.

Be on the lookout for the huge torrent file that SXSW releases every year to help festival goers to make up their mind as to what they should see. Even if you're not going, it's a great way to sample what's new music-wise out there!

* Spin Magazine's latest issue is online. On MySpace in fact. Check 'er out!

* "He was a boy/She was a girl/Can I make it any more obvious?" Um, I guess not, Avril - and that's why you find yourself on the list of "The 10 Dumbest Questions in Song Lyric History."

* Tyra Banks poo-poos herself?

* Amy Winehouse has been denied a U.S. Visa - so no Grammy performance for you!

* Paris goes to Harvard. (No, it's not a new twisted reality series).

* Lindsay Lohan may be substance free, but she's still full of vulgarities! (And by "vulgarities" I mean "middle fingers").

* And finally, Simon & Randy react to Paula's Super Bowl performance exactly the same way I did.

Be still my heart of pumping rhythm and rhyme and SOULLLLL ... Jay-Z and Mary J are TOURING TOGETHER! This news is made all the more better by the inclusion of a Toronto date - when was the last time Hov played a show in Toronto?! And omg what about hearing Mary sing live?! Can I express myself with any more exclamation marks and question marks?!?!? I'm gonna die.

If I get tickets to this show and Kanye's super massive mega tour (if he comes to Canada too!), I will spontaneously combust.

So far there are no other Canadian dates, but the full schedule hasn't been released yet .. and tickies go on sale next Friday!

james bond poster blog edit.jpg

Here is a list of things I love:

- clean lines
- minimalism
- simple execution
- lack of bullshit
- James Bond

I'm happy to report that this teaser poster for the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, contains all of these things.

Very sleek and sexy, just the way I like it.

Yesterday Nu-Limit battled the DLM Dance crew for your votes. Tune in to MOD today to see who won, and then check out today's dance off!

Here's some pics from yesterday - and just so ya know, all the pics are posted here!

DLM Dance Crew

Nu-Limit

* UH-MAZING photos paying homage to Hitchcock movies with current celebs. Love that they included "Rebecca" and "Strangers On A Train"!

* Looks like we're thismuchcloser to new TV! The end of the writer's strike may come sooner than later...

* No waaaaay! Winehouse may sing the theme for the new Bond movie QUANTUM OF SOLACE (all caps are necessary)

* Drunkst is in rehab? Guess it makes sense. You know, when your nickname is Drunkst.

* Tyra Banks: vaseline lover and Oprah envier.

* If you're like me, then you love Bon Jovi and are proud of it. And if you're like me, then you would never make a video for them stating why you love your hometown which could be played at their concerts. But just in case you wanna, feel free.

* The band is called Previously On Lost. Guess what their songs are about.

* Celine Dion's workout video (sorta).

* I actually had no idea that McSteamy Eric Dane was married to hottie Rebecca Gayheart. When you're both this goodlooking, don't you just cancel each other out?

* My Chemical Romance MySpace blog reads: The Black Parade is Dead!

* Naturally when someone steals the GPS out of car, you get your boyfriend to clean up the broken glass and you smoke a cigarette. I'm glad Katherine Heigl had this all figured out.

* And naturally, after you have a baby, your first post-pregnancy public outing is your local Best Buy. I'm glad Christina Aguilera had THAT all figured out.

* Your first look at Sean Penn and Emile Hirsch on the set of their Harvey Milk biopic. And by "first look" I mean "grainy, shaky video footage shot by passerbys."

* Molly Ringwald is 40?! Where have the years gone, I say...

And finally, here are some internal links, incase you skipped passed our homepage and went right for this lil' here blog of ours, yuk yuk.

* First Spin: Simple Plan
* First Spin: Michael Jackson
* Spice Girls Interview, Uncut
* Much Talks: Climate Change with Sum 41

Win this signed CD! Read about the contest below...

Last week I posted part one of my interview with Dallas Green, and as promised, here's the second beefy round - this time, talking about his new album (out next week!)!

Can I just say that the album art looks amazing! Who designed it?

My friend Dan, who plays guitar and singer in Attack In Black, he painted it.

You guys have a whole family affair thing!

Yeah, we're a team. Well, he helped me with the record - he played a lot of the instruments on it. He's very talented at everything, so I asked him if he'd be interested in doing the artwork for me. After a couple of weeks he was like, I told him I wanted white - I'm not very good with visuals at all - I wanted white and painted. And that's all I said. He came back a week later and said, "how do you feel about a painting of your face?" And I was like, *shrugs*, "oookay!" He actually did one before the official one that really looked like I was dead. It really looked creepy. It was all pale. And he was like, "I'm gonna redo it."

The fact that you're laying down in the video for "Waiting", does that correlate with the album art or is it a coincidence?

Kind of, I think so. A lot of the songs on the album are about death and my insomnia, so I think that the face laying - my eyes are closed so you don't know if it's a dead face or if I'm just sleeping. We started the video like that too cause it goes with it.

Why did you decide to make this album more than "man vs guitar"?

I think that with the first record, it was never really supposed to be a record. It was just a couple days in the studio, I recorded some songs just to have and then we decided to put it out and see what happened. So, if I could go back and have more time, I think I would have made some of those songs more.. full band-y? But with this record I had some of the songs in my head for a year, and I started to learn how to play more instruments - I learned how to play the banjo and I learned how to play the piano a lot better. So I was like, why not just do it? A little extra stuff here and there adds to the mood sometimes.

For sure. Wait, the banjo?! You could totally sit out on the porch --

I look forward to doing that in the summer, as soon as it gets warm, to sit out on my porch and play the banjo. Yeah, we were on tour in the states and our bus driver at the time told us he plays the banjo. And I told him I'd love to learn how to play. We swung by his house in Florida and he grabbed his banjo and brought it for me. So I sat with him for the rest of the tour and learned how to play. But it was fun!

That's so awesome. It's just an odd instrument.

It is. A lot of people hate it, but a lot of people love it. Cause it's kinda weird sounding. Like, plinky.

Do you own the vintage guitars you used to record the album?

No, Dan Aiken, whoh owns the studio and helped produce the record, he has an unbelievable guitar collection. I was able to use them all, and there's just something about playing guitars that have been around for 50, 60 - there was one guitar I played that was from 1910. There's so much history involved. To think that it's been around for so long and it's still making music. It was really great to just hold those and play them.

All of the stories that have been told with that guitar kind of rub off on you. I don't know if that's just me.

What was it like recording with [Tragically Hip's] Gord Downie?

Scary. Even though he's super super nice guy, and he was awesome about the whole thing - but when he came to record, for the first three takes I just couldn't look at him. Even though I was supposed to be telling him how I wanted to do it, every time I was like, "that was great!" I think I would have taken anything he would've given me. It was amazing. He's Gord Downie! So for him to come and sing a song that I wrote ... and he said, "I really want to sing it the way you did it", cause I sent him a demo. And to have him say that, and he said really nice things to me - it's just a really great feeling to have someone who's been around for so long and recorded so many great albums to be a part of something you've created.

It's huge.

It is. I just couldn't look at him. I remember looking over at Dan and Gord was singing behind us and Dan was like, "this is awesome!" - he totally just mouthed the words to me, and I was like (mouthing), "I know!"

Do you keep a journal that you draw inspiration from for lyrics?

You know what, lyrics and me are not friends. I know a lot of people - like George, he just writes all the time. On tour, he'll grab his book and write tons and tons of lines. My problem is I can't do that. I write melodies first a lot of the time, and then I try to fit words to it, and usually the first line I come up with is what I'll build the song from. Sometimes I write a line, and then that's it, and two weeks later I'll come up with another line. I wish I could write more stream of conscious and have a wealth of lyrics to choose from. I just can't do it. It's just not my way of doing it.

Sometimes it might be better that way, cause you're really thinking about it ...

I have a really hard time writing abstract lyrics - you know, sometimes you listen to a song and you're like, "I don't know what that means!" But obviously it meant something to them when they wrote the words. But for me, it has to be more concise, cause I feel like if one line doesn't match up with another line, I can't do it. I do keep a journal though - if I'm sleeping or I'm in my bunk on tour, I'll think of a line and write it down and then look at it for a real long time, hoping I can write another one. And then it doesn't work and then I go back to sleep.

Read part one here!

*****

Answer Dallas' Questions And WIN!

So, City & Colour will be performing at a very exclusive concert at the Music Gallery in Toronto, which is pretty much invite only. But we've got ONE PAIR OF TICKETS to give away to the fan who can answer these three questions, which Dallas came up with himself. Oh! And we're also giving away a signed copy of City And Colour Live, so two people get to win something .. wee!

1. What do his knuckle tattoos say?
2. What kind of guitar does he play?
3. Who is his favourite singer of all time?

Email your name, age and answers to redhot@muchmusic.com - you have until February 7 (that's tomorrs!) to enter!

Don't forget to read the Rules and Regs! :-)

Yestermaday, One Republic and Silverstein stopped by Much On Demand for some chat-a-grams, and HERE'S PROOF IN CASE YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME:

Interview on the way!

Hello - Cone and Stevo from Sum 41 here!

We're here to tell you about the MuchTalks: Climate Change doc that we just filmed with MuchMusic. In early December, we flew to Alberta with Hannah, Kristine and Barb [camera] to film it. We knew this particular issue was a growing problem in our society but we were far from experts on the topic...as you will see.

We wanted to know more about what a lot of people call "the biggest problem of our generation". We wanted to see if the media had blown it out of proportion or if this in fact was a huge problem that we'll have to face. You can watch and form your own opinion as we did.

Along the way we interviewed oil companies, froze our asses off, hiked a glacier, froze our asses off, joined in on a demonstration march in Edmonton, froze our asses off, took a helicopter ride over the oil sands in Fort McMurray and yes, froze our asses off and a whole bunch more interesting and exciting stuff while freezing our asses off. All in all it was the most informative trip we've been on, the coldest trip we've been on and most exercise we've ever had - all in one trip. Watch us along with Hannah host a show on this very important issue - Monday, February 11 @ 8pm ET.

Sum 41, saving the world one country at a time!

- Stevo & Cone

Dave Meyers has directed almost 200 videos for some of the biggest superstars in the game - Britney, Jay-Z, Pink, Janet, Hilary - but you never really know what kind of twisted originality he can whip up until he pairs with one Missy Elliott. But this time, the duo have really out-done themselves, creating history with the first 3D music video EVARRR!!

Watch The Video: Ching-A-Ling

But let's back it up for a second here - it's no question that Missy has built a career on revolutionary music and video. That was clear when she trashed the music video competition in '97 wearing what appeared to be an inflated garbage bag in "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)". Or looking like MegaMan in "Sock It 2 Me". And then something wondrous happened in 2001: Missy found a director by the name of Dave Meyers, and together they made the video for "Get Ur Freak On". And it was good.

To the present!! Days ago, Missy 'n Dave released the first ever 3D music video, as I mentioned above, for the blazing hot single "Ching-A-Ling" (with a taste of "Shake Your Pom Pom" at the end). At its base, the video is typical Missy stylies - sick dancers dressed in amazing clothes, moving like you've never really seen anyone move before. This time, cues are taken from a stop-motion style of dance from Japan called Woomin, which Missy discovered on el internets. Kind of poppy and locky but with more whimsy. Of course the beat is on point, and while you're shaking your head at the dance crew try not to also let your head explode at the fact that the whole thing IS IN 3D. Have I mentioned that already?

Truthfully, it's a little tough to get the full 3D effect on the internet, so I'd recommend keeping your 3D glasses in an easy-to-grab place so you can see it properly on TV. What do you mean, you don't have 3D glasses?!?!?! Forgodsakes. I guess go to a toy section near you? Maybe a Miley Cyrus in 3D matinee? (JOKES). If all else fails, the video still looks pretty cool without the glasses, in a semi-blurry technicolour kind of way. No serious, you can still enjoy it without the glasses. Pinky swear. OR, you could just watch the non 3D version. That better?

Watch the non-3D version!

Note to self: Missy's latest album is supposed to drop this spring, and is rumoured to feature an appearance by Amy Winehouse (whaaaaaaaaaaaaat) and the return of Timbaland, who's been m.i.a. on Missy albums for about 4 years!

Links:
Official Site: Missy Elliott
Videography: Dave Meyers
Soundtrack: Step Up 2 The Streets

Yesterday two more crews performed for your votes - see who won tonight on MOD and two more crews will DAAAANCE! On to pics of yesterday:

Black Ice

TKO

The Clash in 1983

So I checked out the new documentary Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten.

Let's leave the music aside for a moment and just say it's a given that musically The Clash are easily one of the most important bands in the history of rock...cool?

THAT being said...

I have so much respect for The Clash and Strummer (outside of the music) because of what they stood for and the righteousness that Strummer carried throughout the rest of his life. He was the type of high profile artist who we forget can actually exist alongside gold records or a sold out tour as we are consumed today with manufactured rock stars and celebrity gossip...MY GOD, THE GOSSIP.

Joe Strummer brought songs about racism, police brutality and unemployment to the masses, in turn actually becoming a way for kids to learn about important issues and always fought to maintain low concert ticket prices and reasonably priced merchandise even at the height of his success. He was always known as amazingly dedicated to his fans, never forgetting how important they were to his success.

It's also a little known fact that long before musicians jumped on the global warming bandwagon, Joe Strummer was the first artist to make the recording, pressing and distribution of his records carbon neutral through the planting of trees.

I can speak about him in the same breath as people like Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Bob Marley or Woody Guthrie as a musician who will always be remembered not just for the music he made, but for the difference he made.

Go see this movie and listen to The Clash. [Editor's Note: If you live in Toronto you can catch Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten at The Royal this week at 7 or 9:30pm!]

=mw

Photograph Courtesy Getty Images

So last week I was embroiled in a discussion about self-titled albums that are released by bands well after they've established their spot in the music scene. ie: not their debut album.

My stance is that it's lame. You have three chances to release an eponymous album, and I'll tell you what they are:

a) your debut album
b) your tenth album or later - for example, after you've released SO MUCH music and so many albums that you've run out of album name ideas.
c) you're R.E.M., and you call the album Eponymous (brilliant!)

It grates on my nerves so much when bands that have two or three albums come out with a self-titled. It confuses new fans, who will always assume that a self-titled album is the debut. Simple Plan's third album came out yesterday, and guess what it's called? Simple Plan. Run dry for ideas already, boys? I look forward to seeing if the content of said album is a little more original than the title. ;)

That being said, what about bands that release more than one self-titled album?? This morning I was listening to Duran Duran's highly underrated album Duran Duran, which is commonly referred to as The Wedding Album, because the guys already have a self-titled album (their 1981 debut). Wikipedia has a list of bands with multiple self-titled albums - among them, Seal, Kylie Minogue and David Bowie. And technically, Weezer.

Is naming any album other than your first weak? Or a statement that you just don't give a toss what anyone else thinks?

spice girls interview blog pic.jpg

HOLLER! Spice Mania continues...

MuchMoreMusic's Traci Melchor caught up with The Spice Girls backstage at their recent Toronto concert and they got to have a lil' girl tawk. You wanna eavesdrop? WELL YOU CAN!

We have the uncut interview up on MuchAXS! Hear why the tour is ending at the end of the month, what their plans are after the tour and what David Beckham is like in bed, followed by a pillow fight and ice cream (ok, not all of that is actually part of the interview - we're professionals remember? - but feel free to fantasize).

Now watch the bloody interview!

* To celebrate Matty McConaughey's arrival today, behold! Matthew McConaughey: Allergic To Shirts!

* And it was good: the Bonnaroo line-up has been announced.

* OMG: The Top 10 Jokes that should be included in the rumoured Arrested Development movie... without explanation.

* Awesome - Moby is providing music for not-for-profit filmmakers and students. Love it.

* There you have it - accidental overdose.

* Is this an indication of what's to come for the 2008 Oscars?

* Ah-Nud's wife Maria Shriver joins Obama on his campaign trail. WTF?

* Mama Spears' FULL declaration against Brit's 'manager' Sam Lufti.

* Enchanted star Amy Adams joins Ben Stiller in the money-making sequel to Night At The Museum.

* And the awards are slowly starting to trickle in for our Canadian songbird Feist.

* This is too funny for words. Or am I the only one that thinks this is hilarious?

* Why are Conan & Colbert & Stewart so friggin amazing?

...and it's probably not the one you're thinking about.

Remember O-Town? Erik-Michael Estrada is back and singing his poor little heart out. Check out his MySpace page to hear some new music.

O-town reunion? Hey, it could happen. 2008 is the return of the pop band era. Spice Girls, NKOTB...an O-town reunion is just a rumour waiting to happen!

Links:
MySpace: Erik-Michael Estrada
Video: O-Town - Liquid Dreams

Photograph Courtesy Getty Images

It's SUPER TUESDAY and everyone is eagerly awaiting the results of tonight's vote south of the border...BUT let's not forget about the JUNOS! Today, the nominations for the music show were revealed and are we shocked? HELLS YEAH!

Celine Dion leads the pack with six nominations. YES, I said SIX! Two of the nominations are in the same category - Best Album of the Year - Really?!?! We can't think of another album that is better than another Celine record?

Feist, Michael Buble and Avril Lavigne follow closely behind with five. Other nominees include Hedley, Finger Eleven, Marianas Trench, Bedouin Soundclash, Jully Black, Arcade Fire, Tokyo Police Club and many more.

The coolest nomination has to go to Montreal dance duo Chromeo, who managed to snag a nomination for Best Dance Recording of the Year.

For a full list of nominees go check out the official site!

P.S. Did we mention that the HILARIOUS Russell Peters will be hosting the shindig?

Yo, dawg. One day Randy Jackson was watching himself of American Idol, dawg, and he saw a commercial for So You Think You Can Dance. At the same time, yo, his friend sent him a clip of some kids dancing on YouTube. Randy Jackson thought for a moment and said to himself, "dude, you could make some crazy money, dawg." And Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew was born.**

**may not have actually happened this way

So anyhaps, this show actually looks like it could be pretty hype. I've seen the audition special, which you can watch at your leisure (and by "leisure", I mean "watch it now") on AXS. The show travels to NYC, LA, Chicago and Atlanta in search of crazy dance crews, and 12 are chosen to perform for a live studio audience. At the end of the episode, finalists are chosen: 2 teams from the east coast, 3 teams from the west coast, 2 teams from the south and 1 team from the mid-west. And those crews will battle for the title of America's.. Next... Top -- no, wait. America's Best Dance Crew.

My personal faves are Fysh 'n Chicks, a fly group of girls who don't need to take off their clothes to be sexy (and powerful!), Status Quo, a bunch of Boston dudes who are BANANAS, Kaba Modern, students who keep their dance flow tight and BreakSk8, lads on roller skates who are making it sexayyy!

Slater is like, the cheesiest host ever (peep the attempts to be down with the lingo), and Shane Sparks may be the only believable judge (although Lil Mama is surprisingly well-spoken and knowledgeable about choreography .. but JC Chasez needs a little work - maybe his stumbly questions and comments will improve).

Let's hope as the weeks go by, the crews step it up and bring serious fire on the regular. I think this competish could get pretty intense, and definitely will make for some good watching. Speaking of which, every episode will be on MuchAXS, so, YAY!

Oh, and to kick off the show, MOD is having dance crew battles all week, and you can vote for your favourites. On Friday, the four crews selected by you will fight for the top spot as America's... Next.. Top -- no, MOD's Top Dance Crew? Yeah, that's the ticket.

When the hype machine decides to take a band and thrust them head first into the public consciousness, there would seem to be three options to consider: 1) ignore the hype 2) pay close attention and be ready to pounce on the negatives 3) pay close attention and let the positives consume all. Most concert goers with an open mind would probably fall somewhere between 2 and 3, but the warmth and honesty of Wintersleep leaves you no choice but to follow their blazing path to #3 and beyond.

The Phoenix was absolutely packed on Jan. 31, moreso than I have ever seen it, whether that be for a concert or a night of live-to-air mayhem. The energy was palpable was from the get go, 30 minutes before the band even got on stage! People were conversing, but people were ready. People were excited, but people were anxious. It's as if there's a certain smell in the air when fans, new and old, realize that something special is about to happen.

I'm a neophyte in the world of Wintersleep, having discovered them in the latter part of 2007, from such hook-filled songs as Archaeologists and Dead Letter & The Infinite Yes. If you can believe it, I was a latecomer to the majesty that is Weighty Ghost. That particular song is one that sifts and mingles more than effervescent singles! When it finally does hit you though, it's one of those songs that has the power to stay in your head for weeks. Luckily I had my ticket to the show a few weeks in advance so I was able to familiarize myself with Wintersleep's back catalogue, and I was astounded as to how strong it was. How had I not heard of them!? No matter though, I've heard of them now, and judging by the strength of their records and live act, you should make it a priority to know them too.

The band came out with a bang, performing an opus and new album track closer, Miasmal Smoke & The Yellow Bellied Freaks. The energy didn't wane after 8 minutes of intense jamming, and in fact it got even stronger. The band played three potential hit songs from their new album within the first five songs, culminating with Weighty Ghost, a track so gob-smackingly good live you tell yourself that your ears are deceiving you, and then your ears tell you to shut up and enjoy the piece of wonderment in front of you. Touché ears, touché.

The band plays with such confidence, with such a friendly air of invitation that it feels as though you've known about Wintersleep and its members for years. I know nothing about Paul Murphy except for his exceptionally strong and vulnerable voice, and I know nothing about Loel Campbell except for his relentless, balls out attacking of his drum kit. I know a bit more now though. I am glad for this.

I was surprised to find that the loudest cheering of the show, at least as my ears could tell, came when the band played a song from their first record, called Orca. With almost the entire crowd singing, “I'll be a killer whale, when I grow up, I'll be a vulture, I'll be an animal, a carnivore...” you half expected the band to usher in the beasts they mentioned, and for them to start performing. The magic of the show was such that a wild idea like that didn't seem implausible. Alas, the only beast on stage was Wintersleep, proving they could slay a crowd with nary a physical touch.

If you're into morals, the moral of this concert is that Wintersleep are a force – of nature, of music, of possibilities...don't be surprised if you see these guys headlining festivals in the not-too-distant future, they have that much potential. Whatever you do, just don't sleep on Wintersleep...

Set List:
Miasmal Smoke & The Yellow Bellied Freaks
Archaeologists
Caliber
Dead Letter & The Infinite Yes
Weighty Ghost
Murderer
?
Search Party
Jaws of Life
Sore
Oblivion
Laser Beams
Orca
Nerves Normal. Breath Normal.

Encore:
Drunk on Aluminum
Faithful Guide
Dance Macabre

Links:
MySpace: Wintersleep
Official Site: Wintersleep
MuchAXS: Wintersleep Videos