Music News & Videos

By Shawn Adler

All over MTV today, we’ve been wondering about the end game for “The Hills” with series co-star Audrina Patridge. Will there be a season five? Will there be a “Hills” movie?

We admit, though, that there is one possibility we don’t even dare to consider, because the mere idea is so undeniably awesome: a “Hills” movie starring James Franco and Mila Kunis instead of L.C., Heidi and Audrina.

For the uninitiated, during the writers strike early this year, Franco and Kunis filmed a spoof for FunnyOrDie.com, in which they imagined a world without scripts. They read a transcript from “The Hills,” with Kunis standing in for Patridge and Franco for her sometimes boyfriend Justin Bobby. The spot was hilarious, mostly due to the fact that the pair were mocking the “Hills” duo.

Later, Franco even laughingly told MTV News that he had so much fun filming the takedown that he wants a whole Justin Bobby movie.

So considering that the whole point of the piece was to make fun of Patridge and Bobby, any hard feelings? None for Patridge, who told us from the set of her new movie “Sorority Row” that she thought the clip was hilarious.

“Yeah, I saw [the Funny or Die clip], and a week after I saw it, I ran into Mila, and we just looked at each other and started laughing,” Patridge said. “I thought it was really funny. They did a great job. James Franco [especially] was awesome.”

Truer words were never spoken.

So we’ve got those two roles down. What other stars would you cast in a real “Hills” movie? Sound off below.

You’ve heard “Womanizer” nonstop by now, but what else does Miss Britney Spears have to offer to Circus-goers? Today, the singer released the cover art for her upcoming sixth studio album, due out on her birthday, December 2.

Spears also announced that the next single will be the title track, “Circus,” produced by Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco. It’s the second cut on the album, after “Womanizer.” The rest of the songs under Britney’s big top include “Out From Under,” “Kill the Lights,” “Shattered Glass,” “If U Seek Amy,” “Unusual You,” “Blur,” “Mmm Papi,” “Mannequin,” “Lace and Leather,” “My Baby” and as a bonus track, “Radar.”

That last track might be a little confusing to Brit fans, considering that she already has a song called “Radar,” produced by Bloodshy and Avant (the team behind “Toxic”) and the Clutch. Is this a separate song, or is Britney going on repeat mode? Her label, Jive Records, tells us it’s the same song, but it might be a different mix.

What do you think of Britney’s album cover and song titles?

You’ve heard “Womanizer” nonstop by now, but what else does Miss Britney Spears have to offer to Circus-goers? Today, the singer released the cover art for her upcoming sixth studio album, due out on her birthday, December 2.

Spears also announced that the next single will be the title track, “Circus,” produced by Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco. It’s the second cut on the album, after “Womanizer.” The rest of the songs under Britney’s big top include “Out From Under,” “Kill the Lights,” “Shattered Glass,” “If U Seek Amy,” “Unusual You,” “Blur,” “Mmm Papi,” “Mannequin,” “Lace and Leather,” “My Baby” and as a bonus track, “Radar.”

That last track might be a little confusing to Brit fans, considering that she already has a song called “Radar,” produced by Bloodshy and Avant (the team behind “Toxic”) and the Clutch. Is this a separate song, or is Britney going on repeat mode? Her label, Jive Records, tells us it’s the same song, but it might be a different mix.

What do you think of Britney’s album cover and song titles?

Photo: Mazur/Getty

• AC/DC graced their first ever cover of Rolling Stone the same week Black Ice sold 784,000 copies in the U.S. and topped the charts in over two dozen other countries. We went behind the scenes on the band’s cover shoot, watched their Excel video, sat front row at their tour-opening gig in Wilkes-Barre, previewed an excerpt from the cover story and looked back at AC/DC through the years.
• Led Zeppelin fans were greeted this week with news that the band would reunite for a tour. Unfortunately, the tour won’t include lead singer Robert Plant. While John Paul Jones insists they won’t hire a Plant facsimile, we took the liberty of searching for appropriate replacements.
• The makers of Rock Band defeated Guitar Hero in the war of the rights to the Beatles, as the Fab Four revealed they’ll have their own video game out next year. However, Guitar Hero countered with a brand new game for Nintendo DS! We also explored the season’s upcoming video games.
• Sad news this week as Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and nephew were found murdered in Chicago. The Hudson family received condolences from everyone from Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell to Queen Latifah and Barack Obama. Fortunately, police recovered the murder weapon, an essential piece toward putting away the alleged killer.

Photo: Mazur/Getty

• AC/DC graced their first ever cover of Rolling Stone the same week Black Ice sold 784,000 copies in the U.S. and topped the charts in over two dozen other countries. We went behind the scenes on the band’s cover shoot, watched their Excel video, sat front row at their tour-opening gig in Wilkes-Barre, previewed an excerpt from the cover story and looked back at AC/DC through the years.
• Led Zeppelin fans were greeted this week with news that the band would reunite for a tour. Unfortunately, the tour won’t include lead singer Robert Plant. While John Paul Jones insists they won’t hire a Plant facsimile, we took the liberty of searching for appropriate replacements.
• The makers of Rock Band defeated Guitar Hero in the war of the rights to the Beatles, as the Fab Four revealed they’ll have their own video game out next year. However, Guitar Hero countered with a brand new game for Nintendo DS! We also explored the season’s upcoming video games.
• Sad news this week as Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and nephew were found murdered in Chicago. The Hudson family received condolences from everyone from Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell to Queen Latifah and Barack Obama. Fortunately, police recovered the murder weapon, an essential piece toward putting away the alleged killer.

Photo: Perez/Splash News

Halloween week is always fun in the rock world because it allows musicians to dress up even sillier than they normally do. This year’s gold medal goes to Mariah Carey and husband Nick Cannon, who went to their own party dressed as milk and cookies (hopefully with a concept album on the way). Other prizes this week go to Gwen Stefani (who dressed up as an egg) and Bruce Springsteen (who posed on his own website as, we assume, Pharoahe Monch). Click below for these shots plus the rest of the week’s biggest photos.

• Random Notes: Mariah Carey, Gwen Stefani, Bruce Springsteen and the Week in Rock

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• Bruce Springsteen’s Halloween Download Treat

• Kid Rock Helps Induct Booker T & the MG’s, The Crickets Into Musician Hall of Fame

• Beastie Boys Rock the Vote in Virginia

Photo: Perez/Splash News

Halloween week is always fun in the rock world because it allows musicians to dress up even sillier than they normally do. This year’s gold medal goes to Mariah Carey and husband Nick Cannon, who went to their own party dressed as milk and cookies (hopefully with a concept album on the way). Other prizes this week go to Gwen Stefani (who dressed up as an egg) and Bruce Springsteen (who posed on his own website as, we assume, Pharoahe Monch). Click below for these shots plus the rest of the week’s biggest photos.

• Random Notes: Mariah Carey, Gwen Stefani, Bruce Springsteen and the Week in Rock

Related Stories:

• Bruce Springsteen’s Halloween Download Treat

• Kid Rock Helps Induct Booker T & the MG’s, The Crickets Into Musician Hall of Fame

• Beastie Boys Rock the Vote in Virginia

What better way to celebrate Halloween than a Rock List looking back at the scariest videos of all time? Tell us your favorite nightmare-inducing clips, like Tool’s “Sober” in the video above, and on Monday we’ll timidly count the votes and reveal the scariest videos ever to air. Before you start arguing whether directors Mark Romanek or Chris Cunningham made more frightening clips, check out which videos had us reaching for our teddy bears at night:

• Tool - “Sober”
• Marilyn Manson - “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These)”
• Aphex Twin - “Come to Daddy”
• Nine Inch Nails - “Closer”
• Michael Jackson - “Thriller”

Related Stories:

• MTV Launches New Video Based Site

• Rolling Stone’s Scariest Covers

• Bruce Springsteen Gives Out Halloween Download Treat

What better way to celebrate Halloween than a Rock List looking back at the scariest videos of all time? Tell us your favorite nightmare-inducing clips, like Tool’s “Sober” in the video above, and on Monday we’ll timidly count the votes and reveal the scariest videos ever to air. Before you start arguing whether directors Mark Romanek or Chris Cunningham made more frightening clips, check out which videos had us reaching for our teddy bears at night:

• Tool - “Sober”
• Marilyn Manson - “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These)”
• Aphex Twin - “Come to Daddy”
• Nine Inch Nails - “Closer”
• Michael Jackson - “Thriller”

Related Stories:

• MTV Launches New Video Based Site

• Rolling Stone’s Scariest Covers

• Bruce Springsteen Gives Out Halloween Download Treat

Photo by Rory O’Connor for RollingStone.Com

With CMJ officially ending the festival season, it’s time to take a look back at the highlights of the summer season, from Rock Dailiy’s visit to the red carpet at VH1 Rock Honors: The Who to our trips through Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, Coachella and the rest of the year’s biggest festivals. Click below for highlights from all the season’s biggest events, featuring video interviews with Wayne Coyne, Panic at the Disco, Tegan & Sara and Ben Harper.

• Video Guide: The Best of Summer 2008

Next Tuesday, Duran Duran’s 1982 LP Rio gets the “Classic Albums” treatment as the Eagle Rock DVD tracing the album’s creation and impact hits stores. Rock Daily’s got two exclusive clips: First, Nick Rhodes tells the story behind “Hungry Like the Wolf” and deconstructs the song down to its synths, guitars and drum sounds to demonstrate how it all came together in the studio. Then, click here to watch a a new live performance of the song.

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• Duran Duran Roll Out the Red Carpet on Broadway

• Duran Duran: Still Pretty

• Duran Duran Album Reviews

The first tune to drop off Michael Nau’s (who was once known as Page France and is now using the moniker Cotton Jones) January LP Paranoid Cocoon (Suicide Squeeze) is a Doors-esque Sixties groove with a recession-ready title. Click below to give it a listen on the Breaking blog.

• Download Cotton Jones’ “Gotta Cheer Up”

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• Download Uh Huh Her’s “Not a Love Song”

• Hear Tom Jones’ “If He Should Ever Leave You

• Breaking: The Subways

Cover photograph by Timothy White

The cover of Rolling Stone isn’t always about sexy ladies or rugged looking rockers — sometimes that space is reserved for fear. So in honor of Halloween, click below for a special gallery of the scariest Rolling Stone covers, from Charles Manson to Marilyn Manson.

• From Charles Manson to The X-Files: The Scariest Covers of Rolling Stone

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• Flashback: Rob Zombie

• Bruce Springsteen’s Halloween Download Treat

• Peter Travers Video Review: Saw V

After almost 30 years of major label success, Def Leppard are considering going the indie route. “For the last five or six years we haven’t had the greatest of support from our record label,” singer Joe Elliott told The Age. “We signed our contract in 1979, a lot of regimes ago. Once there was respect for what you’d done, but it’s all just bean-counters now. I find that very sad.” With their contract expiring and no major offers in sight, the band are considering going the same course as bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails. “If Radiohead and the Eagles can go off and do it on their own, that’s an acceptable yardstick to measure our own chances by,” said Elliott. Radiohead enjoyed great success in this new frontier, the Eagles raked in the royalties from Long Road Out of Eden thanks to a deal with Wal-Mart. Elliott believes that Def Leppard has been around long enough that they no longer need the major label support, as their fanbase is firmly set. With no deal in place, Elliott says the band will seek a lucrative agreement for touring and online sales while recording as independent artists.

Related Stories:

• Tour Preview: Def Leppard Admit “If You Play New Songs, The Audience Walks Out”

• Radiohead Publishers Reveal In Rainbows Numbers

• Nine Inch Nails, Eagles, Smashing Pumpkins: Who Needs Labels?

Yesterday, we got a chance to spend some time with one of everyone’s favorite German import bands, Tokio Hotel, who were in New York for the last date of their current U.S. tour. We wanted to spread some Halloween love, American style, to our visitors, so we brought them a boatload of every kind of candy we could think of. Read about and watch Tokio Hotel’s first Halloween experience here.

And watch them demonstrate the glories of candy cigarettes after the jump.



Happy Halloween!

On this happiest of Halloweens, Rock Daily pays tribute to Rob Zombie. The rocker-turned-film-director has not only delivered some fantastically spooky metal as a solo artist and as frontman of White Zombie (with a box set coming out in November), but he’s also directed one of the greatest horror films in a generation in The Devil’s Rejects. Click above for his conversation with Peter Rosenberg on a New York hip-hop radio station, where he defends his flicks and talks over the track to Busta Rhymes’ “New York Shit.”

Related Stories:

• Album Review: Rob Zombie, Educated Horses

• Rob Zombie Completes Work on Long-Awaited Box Set

• Best of Rock Artist Picks: Rob Zombie

The weather is getting colder, which means it’s time to stay inside and play the biggest, hottest, most blow uppiest video games hitting the market this fall. Click below for a guide to the top games of the season, from the epic Fable 2 to the spandex-and-chairs romp WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 09, complete with video previews of each title.

• Fall Gaming 2008: How Real Can It Get?

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• Gadget Envy: Rock Band 2

• Video Games Help Virgin Megastore Defy Market Gravity, Turn Profit

By Jocelyn Vena

I grew up in New Jersey, and when driving down the shore, my parents would always try to scare me and my brother with the tale of the Jersey Devil. And it seems that fellow Jersey native Bruce Springsteen was also terrified by the story.

It being Halloween and all, the Boss is giving away more than just fun-sized candy bars: He’s offering a new song and video called “A Night With the Jersey Devil.”

On his Web site he writes, “Dear Friends and Fans, If you grew up in central or south Jersey, you grew up with the ‘Jersey Devil.’ Here’s a little musical Halloween treat. Have fun! Bruce Springsteen”

In the blues song, Bruce tells the tale of the Jersey Devil. In 1735 a woman named Mother Leeds gave birth to her 13th child, who transformed into a creepy and evil creature. His parents threw him in the river, and he now haunts the Pine Barrens in N.J.

Bruce takes on the role of the Devil in the video, emerging from a river, riding a horse and recounting how he killed his family as revenge and gained notoriety for it.

In other Bruce Springsteen news, earlier this week, he announced that he and his wife would not hold their annual elaborate Halloween display at their New Jersey mansion.

A message on his site reads, “So as not to inconvenience you this Halloween, due to ‘catastrophic success’ (read: too many visitors for the neighborhood to handle) and concern for the safety of kids and parents! We won’t be having our usual Halloween display this year in Rumson. We wish everyone a safe and Happy Halloween!”

Notorious B.I.G, Mr. Cee’s Legendary 4 Hour Biggie Mix [Mixtape]
Four hour of Biggie. You could start this mixtape and Dances With Wolves at the same time, and be left with a whole other hour of Biggie. That’s enough Biggie to drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. It is, once again, FOUR HOURS OF BIGGIE.

Snow Patrol, “Take Back the City” [Tronic Youth Dark City Dub Remix]
We were not aware Snow Patrol could be this scary. This is perfect for the upcoming episode of Gray’s Anatomy where Dr. Shepherd goes crazy and kills everyone. Spoiler alert!

Built to Spill, “Paper Planes” [M.I.A. Cover]
“Paper Planes,” at this point, has become the new “Justice Remix.” It’s everywhere, and anything we ever loved about it in the first place is starting to fade. It’s like that new guy at the office who seems hilarious at first, but then you realize he’s only got like four jokes and he just keeps telling them over and over and over. So leave it to Built to Spill to give it some serious mouth-to-mouth: clanging guitars, big beats and yelping vocals. “Paper Planes,” how could we ever have betrayed you?

Jay-Z, “Heart of the City/Sunday Bloody Sunday” [Live Mashup]
The only downside to this recording of Jay performing “Heart of the City” over “Sunday Bloody Sunday” in Dublin two years ago is the possibility that Bono will hear it and try to do it himself. As Noel Gallagher has taught us, it’s best not to jock Jay-Z.

Marnie Stern, “Don’t Stop Believin’” [Journey Cover]
Are we still supposed to reference the Sopranos finale when we talk about this song? We got past that, right? This version is for those of you who thought the original did not have enough notes. Marnie Stern could outplay Yngwie Malmsteen. And yes, Yngwie, that is a dare. If you’re reading this. Which you’re probably not.

Tokio Hotel Discover The Joys Of Halloween Candy

The band samples some American treats not found in their native Germany.

• Tokio Hotel

Photo: Getty

AC/DC have come to the rescue of all those bored in their office, re-releasing their “Rock N’ Roll Train” as “the world’s first music video in an Excel spreadsheet.” The video is exactly like the new RS cover boys‘ initial “Train” video, except this time around singer Brian Johnson is composed of ampersands and asterisks. Plus, the video actually runs through Excel, so it’ll look like you’re doing work instead of spending company time watching AC/DC videos. We’re not entirely sure how they made this video, either some kind of computer program was employed or some guy in his cubicle has entirely too much time on his hands, but it’s pretty awesome. Watch a preview of the video here, or download the entire Excel-ready clip here.

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• AC/DC Return to the Road With Same Old Awesome Song and Dance

• The New Issue of Rolling Stone: AC/DC

• AC/DC’s Black Ice Tops 29 World Charts

Bruce Springsteen has a Halloween treat for all his fans, posting a new song “A Night with the Jersey Devil” as a free download. “If you grew up in central or south Jersey, you grew up with the ‘Jersey Devil.’ Here’s a little musical Halloween treat. Have fun,” Springsteen says in a handwritten note on his website. Springsteen’s Halloween was slightly dampened earlier in the week when he revealed that his Jersey home wouldn’t have its usual bombastic display due to the “catastrophic success” it had in the neighborhood, but this song more than makes up for it. In case you’re not up on your Garden State folklore, the Jersey Devil is a strange, winged creature that dates back to the 1800s and supposedly inhabits the state’s Pine Barrens region.

Related Stories:

• Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel Form Supergroup for Obama in NYC

• Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z Lead Obama Swing State Drive

• Bruce Springsteen Inspires Voters With Passionate Acoustic Set at Philadelphia Rally

Photo: Getty

• Coldplay’s new video for the Viva La Vida track “Lovers In Japan” is available now on iTunes. The video will be offered as a free download for the next week.
• Gnarls Barkley have posted a teaser trailer for “Mystery Man,” a track from their upcoming Who’s Gonna Save My Soul EP, due out November 11th.
• Randy Newman has canceled his European tour due to severe neck and back pain. Newman plans to reschedule all the missed dates.
• The Breeders will curate their own All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival in May 2009 in the UK. Joining the band will be a reunited Throwing Muses, Bon Iver, Teenage Fanclub and Holy Fuck.

Police continue to piece together the time line in the murders of Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew, Julian King. On Thursday, a police source said officials believe that King was not killed along with his grandmother and uncle at their South Side Chicago home, but in the SUV where he was found on Monday. Police are still not saying when they believe the child was murdered. The Hudson family has set up a foundation for the families of murder victims and their families.

Read the latest news on the Hudson murders here.

Photo: Getty

It didn’t take long for the latest rumored Jackson 5 reunion to get shot down: A day after Jermaine Jackson said the family was getting back together, Michael Jackson squashed the idea, saying he’s currently in the studio and won’t participate in any reunion. “My brothers and sisters have my full love and support, and we’ve certainly shared many great experiences, but at this time I have no plans to record or tour with them,” Michael said in a statement. “I am now in the studio developing new and exciting projects that I look forward to sharing with my fans in concert soon.” So while we’re not getting a Jackson 5 tour, at least there’s a King of Pop tour to look forward to. Meanwhile, little sister Janet continues to struggle with her own Rock Witchu tour. Rather than reschedule a date at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Connecticut (originally postponed because of Jackson’s vertigo, Janet has canceled that show altogether, reportedly due to poor ticket sales. This comes only a few days after opening act LL Cool J bailed as the opening act due to “scheduling conflicts.”

Related Stories:

• Jermaine Jackson Says Jackson 5 Reuniting For Tour, Album

• Janet Jackson To Resume Tour After Bout With Migraines

• Michael Jackson at 50: His Four-Decade Career in Photos

50 Cent Flips The Script With 'Get Up'

Fif talks about his love for the West Coast and his new movie and album, <i>Before I Self Destruct.</>

• 50 Cent

The Killers' Bird-Jacket Flap

Frontman Brandon Flowers has been the topic of conversation among animal activists because of his feathery coat.

Sneak Peeks Of 2009's Scariest Movies

As MTV's Halloween Week comes to a close, we have exclusive clips and photos from next year's best horror films.