March 29, 2024

About the author  ⁄ Brenna Ehrlich

Watch These Adorable Cats Try To Rap

by 6 mins ago

El-P has some kick-ass producers on tap for his next extremely ambitious project. Now, all he needs is talent. And that talent, guys, better be comprised of some pretty cool cats. Literally.

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Just the other week, El-P announced that he would be making the fevered cat lady in all of us’ dreams come true when he told us that the Kickstarter for Meow The Jewels, an all-kitty remix of the upcoming Run the Jewels 2, alongside Killer Mike, would become a reality. Now, he’s just looking for the right cats for the job, as you can see in the below audition video.

The idea for the Meow mix (get it?) came about when El-P and Killer Mike were doing promo for Run The Jewels 2, the follow-up to last year’s critically acclaimed Run The Jewels.

“I was sitting at a table and I was just joking around and I just decided, on the spur of the moment, to come up with a bunch of obviously completely ridiculous and joke pre-order options, one of which was, that for $40,000, we will remix the record using nothing but cat sounds and call it Meow the Jewels,” El-P told Entertainment Weekly.

Fans took that idea and ran with it, creating a Kickstarter that has raised nearly $60,000 for the project. El-P agreed to follow through on the absurd (and wonderful) promise, recruiting Run The Jewels 2 producers like Geoff Barrow, Just Blaze, Zola Jesus and Boots to work ...

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Anna Todd Turned Her Love For One Direction Into A Full-Time Job

by 39 mins ago

If you’ve ever been mocked for being a super fan, you really only need two words to defend yourself from your haters: Anna Todd. An avid Directioner from Texas, Todd parlayed her love of One Direction into not only a six-figure book deal, but also an upcoming film via Paramount. “Not bad” seems an understatement.

Todd obviously didn’t score many a writer’s dream via staring at photos of Harry Styles and Co., however — although that was admittedly part of it. No, her success sprung from a serialized story called “After” that she penned almost obsessively on WattPad, an online fan fiction community — one that cast Harry as your average hard-to-resist bad boy, and a girl named Tessa as the one who tries (and fails) to resist him. A smash-hit success, the story scored Todd a three-book deal this past summer, the first installment of which drops Tuesday (October 21) — a.k.a. today. News of the film came just a few days ago.

We spoke with Todd in honor of her book birthday to get the rundown on how “After” took off, who she hopes will play Harry in the movie and whether One Direction has ever said anything about her extreme fan status.

MTV: So how did you start writing “After”?

Anna Todd: I was reading on WattPad for about five months before I started writing and the stories I was reading, both of them, weren’t updating so I didn’t know ...

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How Not To Be The Worst Person At A Concert

by 1 min ago

Art by Julia Panek

Going to concerts is big fun! Fun that will commence right about now in New York City at the 2014 CMJ Music Marathon. A weeklong music fest such as this means a few things: 1.) Tons of music (duh), 2.) Long nights (Mm-hmmm), 3.) Copious opportunities to act like a pain in A to the double S while partaking in all that music during those long nights.

Yup, show etiquette is a lost art — or at least one that might require a brush-up in most music lovers’ books — which is why MTV has a complied a handy concert manners guide below. Whip it out if you’re hitting up CMJ in NYC this week, or if you’re a living, breathing person who sometimes sees live music and doesn’t want to be a pariah.

See ya in the pit!

1. Don’t Film The Entire Show With Your Smartphone

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2. And If You Must, At Least Hold Your Phone Correctly

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3. Don’t Talk Incessantly During A Show

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4. And If You Sing Along, Make Sure You’re Not Louder Than The Band

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5. Dance. Don’t Just Stand There

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6. And If You’re Super Tall, Don’t Stand — Or Dance — In The Front

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7. Crowdsurfers: Aim For People Your Own Size

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8. And Everyone Should Watch Their Elbows

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9. And Their Drinks — Take A Gulp Before You Head Into The Pit

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Taylor Swift Calls Her Haters ‘Sexist’

by 23 mins ago

As Taylor Swift shares more and more lyrics and singles from her upcoming record, 1989, there’s probably going to be tons more speculating as to who those songs are about. (coughHarryStylescough)

But before the haters can start wagging their tongues about Swift’s predilection for taking exes to task through song, the “Out Of The Woods” singer has something to say: Guys, you’re being more than a little sexist.

“I think frankly that’s a very sexist angle to take,” Swift said in a recent interview with regard to how she’s sometimes criticized for writing about past lovers. “No one says that about Ed Sheeran. No one says that about Bruno Mars. They’re all writing songs about their exes, their current girlfriends, their love life and no one raises a red flag there.”

The interview — which appeared on Australia’s “Jules, Merrick & Sophie” radio show — basically echoes what Swift says in “Shake It Off”: “I go on too many dates/ But I can’t make ‘em stay/ At least that’s what people say, mmm-mmm.” And, well, you know how the chorus goes.

Swift opined that she won’t be dropping her love life from her music any time soon, as her use of her real life as musical fodder is about artistic integrity more than anything else. That’s how she’s always written songs — even before she was famous.

“The most important thing for me is maintaining artistic integrity, which means as a songwriter I still continue to write about ...

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FKA Twigs Makes Google Glass Look Cool In New Video

by 44 mins ago

So FKA twigs has done the near-impossible: She has managed to make Google Glass look cool. I know. I didn’t think it was possible, either.

The “Video Girl” singer put out a brief video titled “#ThroughGlass” Monday (October 20), melding technology and dance as she performed moves and choreography she’s looked up using Glass. She also directed the piece and shot parts of it via Glass.

A glitchy — although lovely — little piece of film, the video features a new version of “Video Girl,” off of her debut record LP1, as well as “Glass & Patron.”

Check it out — and envy twigs’ ability to pull off wearable software — below:

Brenna Ehrlich is a reporter for MTV News as well as the senior writer/editor for the O Music Awards. In the past, she served as associate editor at Mashable, penned a netiquette column for CNN and co-authored the blog and book "Stuff Hipsters Hate." She likes trying not to die in moshpits and listening to songs on repeat. Follow her on Twitter @BrennaEhrlich for news on cats and punk bands.
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Niall Horan Asks Jessie J To Marry Him

by 27 mins ago

Jessie J managed to bang bang her way into a very eligible bachelor’s heart Sunday night when she took the stage on “X Factor” to perform her hit — sans Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj. That single dude’s name? Niall Horan. And get this — he proposed marriage. Cue the inevitable flood of Directioner tears.

Keeping it simple, Niall was clear as a beam of heavenly sunlight with his intentions, tweeting the below to Jessie as she pranced around the “X Factor” stage dressed in a netted bodysuit:

Don’t worry, though, 1D fans: The “Price Tag” singer has yet to answer Niall’s query — or request, rather. There’s no question mark in that tweet.

I feel like there’s a joke about stealing his girl in here, but that might just be because I’m excited to see that music video — someday.

Brenna Ehrlich is a reporter for MTV News as well as the senior writer/editor for the O Music Awards. In the past, she served as associate editor at Mashable, penned a netiquette column for CNN and co-authored the blog and book "Stuff Hipsters Hate." She likes trying not to die in moshpits and listening to songs on repeat. Follow her on Twitter @BrennaEhrlich for news on cats and punk bands.
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Fall Out Boy’s ‘Centuries’ Video Is Basically ‘Gladiator II’

by 46 mins ago

Remember Fall Out Boy‘s epic new single, “Centuries”? Well, it just got an equally epic music video. And we do mean epic.

A classic story of the little guy versus the giant, the video sees the band facing off — gladiator-style — against a massive monster with murder in its eyes.

“Getting back up. Dusting it off. My dad used to tell me the most important part of any of it was getting back up on the horse –- I didn’t grow up on a farm –- but it still applied,” Pete Wentz said of the video’s themes. “David vs. Goliath, us vs. them, you vs. the world… brains, talent and luck are great but heart will always trump them. That is the sentiment of this video.”

Replete with lions, loincloths and tons of religious imagery, “Centuries” culminates in a massive fight to the death — with Rick Ross stepping in at the end for a surprise, and twisted, cameo.

We’ll be watching this video — and listening to Fall Out Boy’s other single, “Immortals” — for centuries… or at least until the band’s as-yet-unnamed record drops.

Brenna Ehrlich is a reporter for MTV News as well as the senior writer/editor for the O Music Awards. In the past, she served as associate editor at Mashable, penned a netiquette column for CNN and co-authored the blog and book "Stuff Hipsters Hate." She likes trying not to die in moshpits and listening ...

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It’ll Be Hard To Find A Native American Headdress At This Festival

by 17 mins ago

At 2015′s Glastonbury music festival you will likely not be able to purchase such incendiary devices as: cigarettes, flares and Native American headdresses.

Yup, the U.K. fest is just the latest in a growing number of organizations that are perking up their ears and taking note when Native people point out that something seemingly innocuous is actually offensive. You know, like putting on a sacred piece of ceremonial garb and twerking on a muddy field.

The restrictions on the sale of headdresses came about after U.K. citizen Daniel Round created a Change.org petition, according to The Guardian.

Related: Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Wear A Native American Headdress

“There has long been consensus among indigenous civil rights activists in North America about the wearing of headdresses by non-Natives — that it is an offensive and disrespectful form of cultural appropriation, that it homogenises diverse indigenous peoples, and that it perpetuates damaging, archaic and racist stereotypes,” Round wrote in the petition.

Only 65 people signed the digital document, but that was apparently enough to tip the fest organizers’ hands. There has been no public statement on the issue, however; headdresses have merely been added to the list of things you cannot sell at the fest “without prior authorisation or discussion with the markets’ management” — right after flags and before gazebos.

This isn’t the first time headdresses have been effectively banned from a fest. The Bass Coast Festival in Canada previously nixed war bonnets from their event partly because ...

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Is Punk Dead? We Asked Joan Jett

by 31 mins ago

Next time someone shows you a photo of a celebrity wearing a Black Flag shirt or a studded dog collar from Hot Topic and declares punk to be “dead,” just whip out MTV News’ brand-new interview with Joan Jett. This will silence ‘em faster than a particularly rowdy crowd-surfer’s boot to the head.

MTV News caught up with the iconic musician — best known for classics like “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” and “Bad Reputation” — at a red carpet event for The Foo Fighters‘ new HBO documentary series, “Sonic Highways,” which premieres this week ahead of their record by the same name. In the series, Dave Grohl and Co. travel around the country, telling the stories behind eight cities’ music scenes and interviewing and collaborating with musicians like Jett.

Related: Rock ‘N’ Roll Is Not Dead — Here’s Living Proof

I got a peek at the first two episodes of the series, which feature a ton of info about the birth and proliferation of punk in America, so when I came face-to-face with the legend herself, I decided to ask Jett what she thinks of the state of the genre today.

I won’t spoil anything here. Just watch her answer over and over again. I’ll give you a minute — or 60.

Brenna Ehrlich is a reporter for MTV News as well as the senior writer/editor for the O Music Awards. In the past, she served as associate ...

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Why Does One Direction Have ‘Stockholm Syndrome’?

by 8 mins ago

Someone is holding One Direction captive — and they kind of like it. Or, you know, at least it seems that way given the title of track #11 on their upcoming record: “Stockholm Syndrome.” Yup, the dudes just released the tracklist for Four today and there is was — nestled among “Spaces” and “Clouds.” Patty Hearst all the way.

Stockholm syndrome, defined by Merriam-Webster, is “the psychological tendency of a hostage to bond with, identify with, or sympathize with his or her captor.” It was coined as such after a bank robbery in Sweden in which bank employees developed sympathy for the dudes holding up the bank.

We’re guessing 1D’s new track isn’t about literal Stockholm Syndrome — just like “Steal My Girl” and “Fireproof” aren’t about larceny and flame retardant materials. The jam is probably about being in some girl’s thrall and being OK with it. Or, you know, they could be being held captive by the below…

Harry Styles’ Man Bun

harry-styles-man-bun

It has become self-aware. The man bun is not a force to trifle with.

Their Love For ‘Divergent’

theo-james-divergent-four-gifs-districtdivergent

I mean, the record is called “Four”… Everyone loves that dude.

Carrots

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Directioners got me on this one.

Spoons

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I mean, this is the most likely culprit…

Brenna Ehrlich is a reporter for MTV News as well as the senior writer/editor for the O Music Awards. In the past, she ...

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