Search Results for: hard rock

When Avril Lavigne released album No. 2 in 2004, the spunky teen pop star announced to the world that she was growing up. Gone were the baggy pants and skater-chick image that first earned Lavigne the media-christened nickname of “the anti-Britney.” On that year’s “Under My Skin,” punky anthems like “Sk8er Boi” were replaced largely with grammatically correct, midtempo teen-angst rockers. The album was released a few months shy of Lavigne’s 20th birthday, and the black-and-white Goth imagery made it clear that Lavigne was dealing with some intense late-teen issues. Today, Lavigne is done with all that. On April 17,… Read more »

New York City symbolically banned use of the word nigger on Wednesday, the latest step in a campaign that hopes to expunge the most vile of racial slurs from hip hop music and television. The City Council unanimously declared a moratorium that carries no penalty but aims to stop youth from casually using the word, considered by most Americans to be the most offensive in the English language. The New York City measure follows similar resolutions this month by the New York state assembly and state senate, and supporters of the ban are taking their campaign to The Recording Academy,… Read more »

Britney Spears is certainly not the first celebrity to go off the rails in full view of her once-adoring public. But hers is one of the most spectacular falls from grace in recent memory, meticulously documented by paparazzi and bystanders, and uploaded instantly for the titillation of the masses. At 25 she’s certainly young enough to resume her career after she regroups, and for perspective, we’ve compiled some of the most notorious celebrity flameouts of the past 10 years, along with the success (or not) of their efforts to get back on track. We’ve rated these 1-4 in ascending order… Read more »

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire – Fellow marchers in The Black Parade : If you are like me, after being blown away last fall by the astounding musical achievement that is My Chemical Romance’s latest album, you thought to yourself, ‘How are they ever gonna do this live?’ The record – art rock meets glam rock meets punk, with a dash of vaudeville – is chock-full of death and hospitals and cancer and soldiers and scary teenagers, and it begs for an over-the-top live show. At long last, the boys have delivered. After months of teasing us with holiday radio sets and… Read more »

By all accounts, Gachapin didn’t need this. After all, he’s already got millions of adoring fans and superpowered “energy balls” on his wrists. But when the Killers came calling, offering him a starring role in the video for their new single, “Read My Mind,” there was no way he could say no. After all, who else could serve as the band’s unofficial Tokyo tour guide? By now, you’ve probably seen the “Mind” clip, in which the Killers engage in various Tokyo-related shenanigans – directing traffic near Shinjuku Station, playing “DrumMania” in one of the city’s mega-arcades, getting down with an… Read more »

LOS ANGELES CA–The traveling band of merriment known as HELLOGOODBYE will embark on a headlining tour this spring. Kicking off April 4th, the two month tour will encompass the US and Canada, and even jump the pond for the Give It A Name Festival in the UK. Providing HELLOGOODBYE tour support is Boys Like Girls, The Rocket Summer and The Hush Sound. A full itinerary, as well as pre-sale ticket info to come. The Top 20 single, “Here (In Your Arms)” reached gold status the week of February 10th. This is the first gold single in Drive-Thru history including artists… Read more »

WEST HOLLYWOOD, California – When he was once asked, “Can you ever conceive of a circumstance in which the Police would do a reunion tour?,” Sting replied, “I think that’d be a good cause to have me certified insane.” So … “Yes, I am certifiably insane,” Sting joked Monday (February 12) at the Whiskey a Go Go after the above sound bite was played to begin a packed press conference announcing a Police reunion tour. “If anyone comes at me with white coats, just let them through.” More than 20 years after the Police last toured – behind 1983’s massively… Read more »

With Sting’s simple “Ladies and gentlemen, we are the Police,” one of the most iconic bands of the last 30 years ended a long absence from live performing to launch the 49th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night. Blasting off with the unmistakable, reggae-fied “Roxanne” riff from guitarist Andy Summers and the hard jazz drumming of Stewart Copeland, the Police lived up to their top billing on the show, providing a spirited kickoff to one of the most anticipated reunions in a year full of get-backs. With a buff-if-balding Sting in fine form and voice, the trio’s homage to a… Read more »

MxPx has rejoined Tooth & Nail Records, reestablishing a strong and familiar relationship that dates back to the beginning of the legendary Washington state trio’s illustrious recording and touring career. “We were at a place where, somehow, we found ourselves on this freeway looking at a Tooth & Nail off-ramp. And it looked pretty good!” says singer/bassist Mike Herrera. After three albums and two EP’s on Tooth & Nail (including the landmark “Life in General”), as many more for a major label and 2005’s widely-hailed return to form “Panic,” MxPx is hard at work in a Seattle studio on what… Read more »

It’s no secret – particularly to various employees at Gambleversity.com, MyBookie.org and/or BetOnAnythingThatMoves.net – that we here at MTV News enjoy the occasional foray into the exhilarating world of wagering. Of course, the key word here is occasional. But with Sunday’s Grammy Awards on the horizon, we convened the MTV News Bet-ological Braintrust – which is really nothing more than a couple of writers and “Hammerin’ ” Hank Goldberg on speakerphone – and determined just which of the Grammy’s 108 categories are most ripe for some sweet speculation. While there are plenty of intriguing possibilities – the battle between Eddie… Read more »