Friday, January 27, 2012

Ludacris Taps Usher For Upcoming Spring Album

'I'd say we're maybe about 40 percent done,' Luda tells Billboard about his Ludaversal.
By Rob Markman


Ludacris attends MAGNUM Live Large project at Highline Ballroom on April 4, 2011 in New York City.
Photo: Dave Kotinsky/ Getty Images

<P>Are you ready for another <a href="http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/ludacris/artist.jhtml">Ludacris</a> album? It's been two years since 'Cris dropped his last album, <i>Battle of the Sexes,</i> and the Atlanta MC estimates that his next one will hit stores this spring. "I get the beats together and I put out my ideas, so I'd say we're maybe about 40 percent done," the rapper told <a href="http://www.billboard.com/column/the-juice/ludacris-eyes-spring-ludaversal-release-1005831952.story#/column/the-juice/ludacris-eyes-spring-ludaversal-release-1005831952.story" target="_blank"><i>Billboard</i></a> of his upcoming eighth LP, <i>Ludaversal,</i> which he anticipates will be out around May with a first single dropping in March. Luda, who dropped his <a href="/news/articles/1674369/ludacris-1.21-gigawatts-mixtape.jhtml"><i>1.21 Gigawatts</i> mixtape</a> in November, also revealed one big-time guest on the LP. "<a href="http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/usher/artist.jhtml">Usher</a> is one person that I've already worked with," he said. "In terms of other artists, you can say that there's going to be a lot of surprises on here." <center><embed src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:uma:video:mtv.com:711235/cp~id%3D1674412%26vid%3D711235%26uri%3Dmgid%3Auma%3Avideo%3Amtv.com%3A711235" width="460" height="260" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" base="."></embed></center> The pair already have a few collaborations under their belt. Who can forget Usher's inescapable smash "Yeah!" from his 2004 <i>Confessions</i> album? The two also hooked up on Lil Jon's "Lovers and Friends" in the same year and then again two years ago on Usher's "She Don't Know." As far as what the two have cooked up for <i>Ludaversal,</i> fans will just have to wait and see. Throughout his career, Luda has shown a ton of versatility. An undeniable hitmaker, at times the nimble-tongued lyricist has been comical (2001's "Area Codes" and 2004's "Number One Spot") and in other instances delivered healthy amounts of substance (2006's "Runaway Love" and 2008's "Do the Right Thing"). For <i>Ludaversal,</i> he will get a little personal. "It's been a minute since I've been away from music, and there is just so much to talk about," he said. "So [the album] is mostly about my personal life, my travels, my experiences, rumors, gossip &#8212; you know, everything coming together in one." <i>What are your expectations for Ludacris' new album? Tell us in the comments!</i></p>

Related Videos Related Artists

Source:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677113/ludacris-usher-ludaversal.jhtml

Aubrey ODay Audrina Patridge Autumn Reeser Avril Lavigne

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The Shins Change, Stay The Same On Port Of Morrow

Band may have changed labels — and members — but mastermind James Mercer insists to MTV News, 'It is still a band.'
By James Montgomery


James Mercer of The Shins
Photo: MTV News

Nearly two years ago, when James Mercer was doing press for Broken Bells, his collaboration with producer Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton told MTV News that he had no intention of abandoning his day job as frontman/songwriter for the Shins.

The problem was, Broken Bells ended up being bigger than either man could have expected, and that long-awaited fourth Shins album kept getting pushed back further and further. Though through it all, Mercer maintains he was always working on the record; he was just never quite sure when he was going to be able to finish it.

"It's been five years [since the Shins' Wincing the Night Away], but the Broken Bells kind of takes a two-year chunk out of that, and I've got two kids now, so it's really only been six months," he laughed. "The songs started to build up, so during times when I wasn't down working with Brian or doing other things, I was home, fiddling with the guitar like I always do, and the songs just sort of kept coming, and I realized I was definitely going to want to do another Shins record."

On March 20, that record, Port of Morrow, will finally see the light of day. But to say the Shins are the same band would be incorrect, to put it mildly. They've lost longtime members Marty Crandall and Jesse Sandoval and left Sub Pop and signed with Columbia, which will release the album through Mercer's own Aural Apothecary label. But to Mercer, really, nothing has changed — and the Shins are still very much the Shins.

"In theory, I could have named the first Shins record 'The James Mercer Record,' but I just don't like the sound of that. There was a time when I was wondering, 'Should I just start a new band?' and I pretty quickly realized that I've always had — especially in the recording process — people coming in and helping out, or sometimes I would do a whole lot of it myself," he explained. "And although that might be a difficult transition for people to make, out there listening, that's nevertheless the reality of it, so I need to do what will keep me going, and so wanting to work with new people and wanting to stay engaged in the whole exploration of music is sort of what I'm doing now."

The new incarnation of the band will be augmented (live at least) by Richard Swift on piano and organ, Jessica Dobson on lead guitar, Yuuki Matthews on bass and Joe Plummer on drums, and fans have already been given a taste of what to expect on Morrow in the form of first single "Simple Song," which, interestingly enough, isn't actually all that new.

"I wrote the majority of it in 10 to 15 minutes, sitting on the living-room floor with my wife, and then it sat like that. That was during Wincing the Night Away's production," Mercer said. "But I knew it was going to be something that was fun to get into. And, to be honest, the night before we let go of that song, I was really nervous about it. ... I was really anxious and wanted people to like it."

So far, the consensus seems to be that people do. Though it's been a long time coming, Mercer said he's been inspired by the response so far, and he can't wait for fans to hear the rest of Morrow. And while he's taken on the lion's share of the responsibilities this time out, he's not feeling any pressure to validate whether the Shins are still the band folks have celebrated — because no matter who's playing with him, the Shins are always going to be the Shins.

"Some don't [understand how this band works], but that's because I wanted it to be a band, the aesthetic of that, and when I'm working in the studio, people are helping me do this," he said. "So it is still a band; it's just not like 'We all met in grammar school and came up together.' But, like, Neutral Milk Hotel is not that, but they're allowed to do that, so I'm figuring, 'Why can't I?' "

What are you expecting from new Shins music? Let us know in the comments below!

Related Artists

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677889/the-shins-port-of-morrow.jhtml

Kat Von D Kate Beckinsale Kate Bosworth Kate Groombridge

Monday, January 16, 2012

Les News, 011512

Minimalist Star Wars posters. [Buzzfeed] The White House will NOT support SOPA. [Huffington Post] Golden Globe Awards from days past. [PopSugar] First Lady Michelle Obama can’t stop dancing with the cast of iCarly. [GossipCop] Russia really needs to work on its space program. [Newser] Flying Devil Rays are freakin’ cool. [Heavy] Michael Jackson sells over [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pinkisthenewblog/~3/PGwW1J-5J98/

Haylie Duff Heidi Klum Heidi Montag Hilarie Burton

Sunday, January 15, 2012

'Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' Track List Revealed

First single from Trent Reznor/ Atticus Ross soundtrack is Karen O cover of Led Zeppelin song.
By Gil Kaufman


Rooney Mara in "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"
Photo: Giles Keyte/Columbia Pictures

<P>You kind of can't go wrong when the soundtrack you've put together for one of the most eagerly anticipated literary adaptations in years kicks off <a href="/music/artist/yeah_yeah_yeahs/artist.jhtml">Yeah Yeah Yeahs</a> singer Karen O's take on <a href="http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/led_zeppelin/artist.jhtml">Led Zeppelin</a>'s "Immigrant Song." </p><div class="player-placeholder right" id="vid:693384" width="240" height="211"></div><p> Fans heard the throbbing industrial take on the rock classic cooked up by former Nine Inch Nails mastermind and O when a trailer for the David Fincher-directed "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" leaked back in May. And on Thursday, Oscar-winning industrial-rocker-turned-film composer Reznor and musical partner Atticus Ross unveiled the full track list for their "Tattoo" score album. The follow-up to their award-winning "The Social Network" score was a labor of love, according to a <a href="http://nin.com/?id=102677" target="_blank">post</a> Reznor put up on the NIN site on Thursday announcing the disc. "For the last fourteen months Atticus and I have been hard at work on David Fincher's 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,' " he wrote about the American version of the tale of pierced and punished hacker <a href="/news/articles/1655879/rooney-mara-dragon-tattoo.jhtml">Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara)</a> and her muckraking journalist compatriot <a href="/news/articles/1667542/daniel-craig-rooney-mara-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo.jhtml">Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig)</a>. "We laughed, we cried, we lost our minds and in the process made some of the most beautiful and disturbing music of our careers. The result is a sprawling three-hour opus." The album will be released on iTunes on December 9 in two versions. Right now, you can download the Karen O song on iTunes when you pre-order the 39-track album. That download purchase will also give you a link to the <a href="/news/articles/1675297/girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-trailer-extended.jhtml">eight-minute "Dragon Tattoo" trailer</a>, for which Reznor and Ross created a unique score. </p><div class="player-placeholder right" id="vid:674399" width="240" height="211"></div><p> But, if you visit the <a href="http://www.nullco.com/GDT/usd.php" target="_blank">NIN online store</a>, Reznor is offering the soundtrack in a variety of forms, from a free six-track sampler to a deluxe 3,000-piece limited-edition signed $300 package with your choice of MP3 formats; the full album on six pieces of 180 gram vinyl; a deluxe book package with a metal cover; an exclusive custom 8 GB metal razor blade USB drive pendant containing the full album; and a fold-out poster. The full album score track list is as follows: <br> <b>&#187;</b> "Immigrant Song" (Led Zeppelin cover) [ft. Karen O]<br> <b>&#187;</b> "She Reminds Me of You"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "People Lie All the Time"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "Pinned and Mounted"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "Perihelion"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "What If We Could?"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "With the Flies"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "Hidden in Snow"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "A Thousand Details"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "One Particular Moment"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "I Can't Take It Anymore"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "How Brittle the Bones"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "Please Take Your Hand Away"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "Cut Into Pieces"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "The Splinter"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "An Itch"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "Hypomania"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "Under the Midnight Sun"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "Aphelion"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "You're Here"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "The Same as the Others"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "A Pause for Reflection"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "While Waiting"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "The Seconds Drag"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "Later Into the Night"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "Parallel Timeline With Alternate Outcome"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "Another Way of Caring"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "A Viable Construct"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "Revealed in the Thaw"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "Millennia"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "We Could Wait Forever"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "Oraculum"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "Great Bird of Prey"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "The Heretics"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "A Pair of Doves"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "Infiltrator"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "The Sound of Forgetting"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "Of Secrets"<br> <b>&#187;</b> "Is Your Love Strong Enough?" (Bryan Ferry cover) <b>Check out everything we've got on <a href="http://www.mtv.com/movies/movie/456914/moviemain.jhtml">"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."</a> For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more &#8212; updated around the clock &#8212; visit <a href="http://moviesblog.mtv.com/">MTVMoviesBlog.com</a>.</b></p>

Related Artists

Source:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1675322/girl-with-dragon-tattoo-soundtrack-listing.jhtml

Alessandra Ambrosio Alexis Bledel Ali Campoverdi Ali Larter

Friday, January 13, 2012

Katy Perry, Tim Tebow A Possbility?

Could there be a possible Katy Perry, Tim Tebow relationship? Well, maybe if the singer?s parents get their way. It?s all over the web today. The strangest combination of names you can think of: a professional quarterback who is more popular off the field, and a singer who just had her heart broken. Why are they even being mentioned together? It all started in an article printed by OK! Magazine, which says that Katy has always had a thing for Tim. Her parents are also big time bible thumpers, which probably means they would drink Tebow?s bath water if they had to. The magazine quotes a ?source,? who said ?Katy?s mom firmly believes the best cure for heartache is to quickly fall in love again? In her mind, Tebow is the perfect guy for her daughter?? Wouldn?t he be the perfect guy for ANYONE?S daughter? I mean he?s handsome, and seems like he has his head on straight. The whole ?GB2? ? which means ?Go Broncos? and ?God Bless? is super-viral right now. Photos of people doing the ?Tebowing? stance are showing up world wide. He is a superstar. Guess who else is a superstar right now? That?s right, Katy [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/b6PGKJ7UBNo/

Melania Trump Melissa George Melissa Howard Melissa Joan Hart

Friday, January 6, 2012

Reader Reviews

The movie tie-in edition of "20 Times a Lady"—now called "What's Your Number?"—is now available wherever fine books are sold!

To celebrate its publication, a few of my favorite readers came up with these great reviews...

"What's Your Number? is like Harry Potter minus the wizards, wands, and Lord Voldemort." —Michelle Bell

 

"‎What's Your Number? is like Gone With the Wind except with less hoop skirts and poverty and more beaus..." —Karen Meyer

 

‎"What's Your Number? is like To Kill a Mockingbird without all the racism and children." —Julie Stone

Thanks ladies!

Please add your review in the comments!

Source: http://www.prettyinthecity.com/blog/2011/9/7/reader-reviews.html

Kristanna Loken Kristen Bell Kristin Cavallari Kristin Kreuk

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

'Forrest Gump,' 'Bambi' Added To National Film Registry

There are a lot of movies in the world, some of them even very good. It's a hard task keeping track of all of them, but that's what big government is for -- specifically, the Library of Congress's National Film Registry, which every year selects a list of films deemed worthy of preservation. For everyone [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/12/28/forrest-gump-bambi-added-to-national-film-registry/

Giuliana DePandi Giulianna Ramirez Grace Park Gretha Cavazzoni