Jurassic 5

'SNL' Star Andy Samberg Recruits T-Pain, Justin Timberlake, Norah Jones For New Album

11 Dec 2008 12:51:00 EST

'Ji-- in My Pants' will be first single from Lonely Island's Incredibad.
By Gil Kaufman

It takes a lot of, um, guts, to name your first single "Ji-- in My Pants." But that's the plan for the unabashedly raunchy debut album from Lonely Island, the three-man musical wrecking crew led by "Saturday Night Live" It Boy Andy Samberg and his writing buddies, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer. The disc, Incredibad, is due out on February 10 and will feature some help from an impressive roster of heavy hitters, including T-Pain, Norah Jones, Jack Black, E-40, the Strokes' singer Julian Casablancas and, of course, Justin Timberlake.

With a mix of songs made famous in digital shorts on "SNL" over the years — including the Emmy-winning Timberlake collaboration "Di-- in a Box," as well as "Lazy Sunday" (co-starring Chris Parnell) and the Natalie Portman-assisted "Natalie Raps" — the album is meant to make you laugh, but Samberg said he wouldn't mind if you nod your head to it a bit too.

"We definitely wanted it to be a classic comedy album, but also one you put on more than once," Samberg told MTV News. "We've gone out of our way to make it musically pleasing. We started on a few songs that were not funny enough, for us, but they sounded pretty cool. And the bottom line for the project was, 'Is it going to be funny first and music second?' I think it's 95 percent music, and we hope people would throw it on and bump it."

The trio, who've been posting NSFW songs and videos on TheLonelyIsland.com for years, shared a home in Encino, California, over the summer and collaborated on the 14 tracks. Samberg said Universal Republic Records had been after the troupe to do an album since the "Lazy Sunday" digital short dropped on "SNL" in 2005. And, as Samberg told MTV News in 2006, the friends always did want to make an album.

"We finally had the free time to do it this summer," he said. Though some of the "SNL" songs have become instant classics, Samberg thinks there's an added value to the ones that never appeared on the show "because Jorma and Akiva aren't castmembers, and our songs normally require three dudes with very specific rap skills."

Though he was skimpy with the details, not wanting to ruin the surprise, Samberg did reveal that the album is heavy on hip-hop beats but has some of the signature new-wave goodness of songs like "Space Olympics" and the island vibes of "Ras Trent."

"Jorma makes a lot of the beats, but because we knew we had a set amount of time on this, we asked for any and all beats we could get," Samberg said. That resulted in a combination of homebrewed rhythms and professional help from reggae legends Sly & Robbie on "Ras Trent," as well as a few beats from Jurassic 5 turntable master DJ Nu-Mark and underground producer/DJ J-Zone, who has worked with everyone from Gnarls Barkley to Biz Markie and Pete Rock.

Samberg said he's particularly proud of the thump on the first single, "Ji-- in My Pants," which made its debut on the show last week with cameos from a mop-wielding Timberlake, checkout girl Jamie-Lynn Sigler and club hottie Molly Sims. "When I first heard that beat, it sounded like a Timbaland beat," Samberg said. "My first reference was a Missy Elliott club jam, and then we threw some generic Euro Brit dudes on top, because, to be honest, we don't have the chops to crush a Timbaland beat." The video, which features Taccone rapping alongside Samberg, was shot a week before the current "SNL" seasons started, and Samberg said he had "no intentions" of the Universal-funded clip making it onto the show, but once it played in dress rehearsal, the reaction demanded that it make it on air.

While Samberg admitted the three have an affinity for dirty jokes that end somewhere south of the equator, he said they tried not to make the album all locker-room humor. "I would hope that isn't our theme, but it was getting harder and harder to deny," Samberg said. "When we did 'Di-- in a Box' — and that's what most people know us for — it's an uphill battle from there."

Samberg promised that the album's T-Pain song, "I'm on a Boat," is "straight hip-hop," while the Jack Black tune, "Sax Man," finds the Tenacious D frontman singing his heart out. He also revealed that mellow torch singer Norah Jones (who appears on the tune "Dream Girl") is a "goofy girl" who loves comedy, and his normally dour buddy Casablancas shows some comedy chops that might surprise on "Boombox."

The record is also slated to feature Bay Area hip-hop legend E-40 on the song "Santana DVX," as well as the songs "Who Said We're Wack," "Punch You in the Jeans," "We Like Sportz," "Shrooms" and the "SNL" classic "Iran So Far" with Maroon 5's Adam Levine. There will also be an accompanying DVD, but Samberg said he couldn't talk about what would be on it yet because the terms are still being negotiated.

Samberg would love to take the show on the road, but for now, given his hectic schedule, that remains to be seen. "Some of us are more anxious to do it than others," he said.

Related Artists

President Bush Starring In A Hip-Hop Video? Leave It To Jurassic 5

11 Aug 2006 14:30:00 EDT

'Work It Out' features hook by Dave Matthews Band.
By Corey Moss

It's a good thing Will Ferrell is busy making movies.

When Jurassic 5 recruited the Malloys (Black Eyed Peas, Wolfmother) to direct their video for "Work It Out," the treatment featured Ferrell, well, working out to the song. When it became clear the actor's schedule was too packed, however, the clip went in an even better direction.

"They were like, 'Well, what if the president were working out for the video?' " Jurassic 5's Chali 2na recalled. "And we were like, 'Now that would be even sicker than Will, if we could pull that off.' "

Of course, getting George W. Bush to star in a hip-hop video is about as easy as getting him to pull the troops ... oh never mind. But the Malloys managed to get the next best thing: a really good impersonator. And not just for Bush, but Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice too.

"They were dead on, the mannerisms and everything, it was just crazy," 2na said. "We had a lot of fun behind-the-scenes moments with our own little personal cameras, just having [the impersonators] do and say little silly stuff."

What makes the "Work It Out" video such a stand-out, though, is not just the comedy in watching them jog and do calisthenics (or in Cheney's case, drive a scooter), but the video manages to subtly address many of the issues for which the administration is often criticized. For instance, Bush jogs by a group of people sitting outside the State Unemployment Board office, accidentally reveals a citizen's phone call being wiretapped, and even manages to inadvertently up the price of gas to more than $10 a gallon. And then there's the group running alongside him ... with the border patrol on its tail.

"It's pushing the envelope as well as just having fun," 2na said of the video, which features blink-and-you'll-miss-them cameos from Jurassic 5. "I mean, as political as it is, more than anything it's satirical. We said, 'If we're going to be making fun of the president, what are some of the issues that we need to address right now?' So we just threw all the different topics out there."

Along with having an instantly classic video, "Work It Out" is probably Jurassic 5's most commercially accessible song ever, no doubt due to a hook courtesy of the Dave Matthews Band.

"We played with Dave Matthews a couple times, at Bonnaroo, and just kind of figured out that a lot of his fans are our fans as well," 2na said. "And we found out that he was just mad cool and he was a fan of ours as well. So when we were recording our album, Mark 7 was like, 'Man, this would be something dope if Dave Matthews sang on it. Let's send it to them and see what he thinks.' So we sent it to him and he was like, 'Yo, let's do it.' "

2na calls the track his baby on Feedback, the just-released follow-up to 2002's Power in Numbers (see "Jurassic 5 Want To Be More Than Friends With R&B Radio") and first album since Cut Chemist left to focus on his solo career. (The turntablist's first studio album, The Audience's Listening, hit stores July 11, two weeks before Feedback.)

2na said he adores the track "simply because nobody would have expected a collaboration like that. I'm not saying that Dave ain't one of the most amazing musicians, but nobody would be like, 'Yo, we gonna get Dave Matthews so we can make this a hit.' 'Cause radio probably treat Dave like how they treat us in a lot of ways. So it's more about just loving crazy collaborations."

Along with Matthews, Feedback includes an appearance from Mos Def, who lends his voice (talking, not rapping) to "Where We At."

"It's basically a sarcastic view of the people who look in on what we do, who are not necessarily into the type of hip-hop that we're doing," 2na said. "And he just basically summed it up from a mirror perspective and not from ours, 'cause we could easily be, like, talking down about them and pointing fingers. And he's telling us if anybody's pointing fingers, point it back at us, so it was cool. I loved that."

The album also includes a female duo called Brick & Lace on the second single, "Brown Girl," produced by none other than Scott Storch. (J5's own DJ Nu Mark traditionally produces their tracks.)

"A lot of people don't really know, but Scott Storch used to be one of the original members of the Roots," 2na said. "And we were trying to challenge ourselves and Scott challenged himself as well, because you wouldn't necessarily think it sounded like a Scott Storch production. So he basically had the beat and was like, 'Yo, I got these girls that I know.' ... And they came in the next day and I was blown back. Man, those girls sung. The little melody that they had, it just worked something amazing."

Related Artists

Jurassic 5

Pharrell Loses Billboard Battle To LeToya And Now 22

02 Aug 2006 11:43:00 EDT

Former Destiny's Child member tops albums chart; rapper/producer comes in at #3.
By Chris Harris

Pharrell or LeToya? Which artist could dethrone Now That's What I Call Music! 22, ending the compilation's two-week reign atop Billboard's albums chart?

In My Mind, the long-awaited, much-delayed solo debut from Pharrell Williams — one-half of the hit-making production team the Neptunes — was a popular pick for #1. And with nearly 142,000 copies snatched up its first week in stores, the disc came close to the top. But in the end, Pharrell had to settle for third place.

LeToya, the debut solo LP from LeToya Luckett, an original member of Destiny's Child who co-wrote and performed the group's gold-certified singles "Bills, Bills, Bills" and "Say My Name," outsold Now by 14,000 copies to finish the week with close to 165,000 scans — and a chart-topping opening.

According to the latest SoundScan totals, Pharrell fell shy of second place by a mere 9,000 copies. The #2 position belongs to the 22nd installment in the Now franchise — an album featuring tracks by Rihanna, Chamillionaire, Chris Brown, Nick Lachey and Kelly Clarkson — which moved 151,000 units its third week out.

LeToya and Pharrell's debut outings are joined in the top five by one other new release: Tom Petty's Highway Companion. The third solo album from the Heartbreakers frontman bows at #4 after selling more than 112,000 copies its first week in stores. Petty's disc steps in just in front of Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere, down one to #5 with 54,000 scans.

The soundtrack to the Disney Channel original movie "High School Musical" can't be stopped, and takes the chart's #6 opening this week with just under 47,000 sales. Rihanna's A Girl Like Me follows at #7 with 46,000-plus scans, while Nelly Furtado's Loose slips one spot to #8 with close to 45,000 sales. The Pussycat Dolls' PCD climbs one spot to #9, selling more than 44,000 units. Rascal Flatts' Me & My Gang rounds out the top 10 with nearly 44,000 scans.

In all, 17 fresh releases make the top 200 — including Jurassic 5's Feedback, which takes the #15 slot on the upcoming chart with sales nearing 34,000. Livin' It Up! the latest from former Van Halen mainman Sammy Hagar and his Wabos, surfaces further down the chart at #50 with 16,000 first-week sales. Flogging Molly's Whiskey on a Sunday bows at #67 with 14,000 copies sold, while rapper Trae's Restless debuts at #87 with 10,000 scans. Gym Class Heroes open at #93, selling more than 9,000 copies of As Cruel as School Children.

Michael Franti and Spearhead's Yell Fire! opens at #125, with sales coming in at 7,000 and then some. The New York Dolls' One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This, the seminal punk band's first album in 32 years, follows at #129 with 7,000 sales — just in front of Pastor Troy's By Choice or by Force, which lands at #130 with 22 fewer scans. Stellar Kart's We Can't Stand Sitting Down debuts at #135 with 7,000 scans. The soundtrack to Lian Lunson's film "Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man" — chock full of some of Cohen's most revered cuts performed by artists including U2, Nick Cave and Rufus Wainwright — claims the #176 slot with 5,000 sales.

Related Artists

New Releases: Pharrell, LeToya, Beastie Boys, Gym Class Heroes, Jurassic 5, Tom Petty & More

25 Jul 2006 06:00:00 EDT

Also due Tuesday: Flogging Molly, Adam Green, New York Dolls, Long Winters, Tapes 'n Tapes.
By Kurt Orzeck

Pharrell at Last: Given his Neptunes and N.E.R.D. projects and the number of hits he's already crafted, it hardly seems fair to call Pharrell a "rookie." But so he is, technically, which sets up his solo debut, In My Mind, as the most anticipated one of the year. Gwen Stefani makes a fleeting appearance on the first track, "Can I Have It Like That," while Jay-Z keeps it real on "Young Girl/ I Really Like You," Slim Thug helps "Keep It Playa" and Snoop Dogg swoons with Pharrell over "That Girl." And if you haven't heard the Kanye-featuring "Number One" by now, one's gotta wonder where your mind's at.

Luckett Strikes: This week may be all about Pharrell, but there's another big-name solo artist debuting this week in LeToya Luckett. The ex-Destiny's Child singer is also going by her first name only and has roped in Slim Thug for some support (on "Hey Fella"). He's not the only one lifting up LeToya, though: she's also getting props from Paul Wall ("All Eyes on Me"), Mike Jones ("Gangsta Grillz" and a remix of "Torn"), Jazze Pha and Bun B ("Tear Da Club Up").

Unleash the Beasties: Surprises abound on the DVD version of the Beastie Boys' fan-filmed documentary, "Awesome; I F---in' Shot That!" For starters, they've separated MCA, Ad-Rock and Mike D's vocal channels into an a-cappella-only feature that lets viewers cut out the rest of the music. Fans also have the option of switching between different camera angles — sort of a given, since so many fans submitted footage — or use the "hidden detours" feature to see other angles. And also, the short film starring comedian David Cross that prefaced the one-night theatrical showing of the Beasties' flick and was only supposed to surface just that one time, is included on the DVD.

Life According to Gym: Fans of the Beasties should take note of another collection of comical New York rap-rockers: Gym Class Heroes. The Fall Out Boy friends stick tight to the concept of their sophomore LP, As Cruel as School Children, breaking the tracks into class periods. Don't miss "Lunch: Sloppy Love Jingle, Pt. 1," "6th Period: Viva la White Girl" and "13th Period: On My Own Time (Write On!)," because if you do — need we say it? — you'll be headed to detention.

Trivia Time:

Puffy AmiYumi have a 10th anniversary to celebrate, and some unlikely friends to celebrate it with. The Offspring's Dexter Holland sings on the Japanese pop duo's Splurge, with Butch Walker and Jon Spencer also contributing.

The Sleepy Jackson are going the way of the Brian Jonestown Massacre. Leader Luke Steele has already dumped three sets of backing bands, one including his brother, and he's only on his second record, this week's Personality (One Was a Spider, One Was a Bird).

Serj Tankian has given System of a Down fans more heavy music to chew on by putting out Bad Acid Trip and Buckethead releases, but he's toning it down a bit with his latest signing, Slow Motion Reign, and their piano-based, eponymous debut.

Silversun Pickups (Carnavas), Adam Green (Jacket Full of Danger), Code Red (All Aboard) and the Rosewood Thieves (From the Decker House) have something in common, but we're not telling.

Joan of Arc will have you seeing double, if their wildly experimental post-punk concoction doesn't already do the trick. The band's back in time for its 10th anniversary, putting out a new LP (Eventually, All at Once) on its own label and a retrospective (The Intelligent Design of Joan of Arc) via former home Polyvinyl.

Tom Petty's Highway Companion is just his third solo album (he's giving most of the Heartbreakers a break this time around).

Terror play hardcore but have a soft spot for hip-hop: Murs and Atmosphere DJ Mr. Dibbs add some verses to the band's Always the Hard Way.

Sammy Hagar likes tequila? Who knew? Listen to "One Sip" or "I Love This Bar" on his and the Wabos' Livin' It Up!

Erase Errata and Mika Miko, who respectively issue Nightlife and C.Y.S.L.A.B.F. this week, just toured together.

Raul Malo doesn't have writer's block — he only has one original song on his You're Only Lonely to make room for salutes to Willie Nelson, Harry Nilsson and the Bee Gees.

Mew ought to be touring with Dinosaur Jr. instead of Bloc Party. The band's And the Glass Handed Kites has two guest-vocal spots by J Mascis.
Pastor Troy is making at least two appearances this week, logging his own By Choice or by Force and adding to The Source Presents: Fat Tape, Volume One with his "Crossroads."

Spoon's Telephono/ Soft Effects makes two early releases by the band readily available again, and is packaged as a double-CD with a bonus video for "Not Turning Off."

Barbie Hit Mix 2 is more like karaoke for children, what with songs by Ashlee, Gwen and Hilary being covered by an unspecified group of "today's kids."

Professor Murder isn't a rapper. Professor Murder Rides the Subway heralds what the wacky white boy — who uses cowbells and a whistle — has dubbed "progressive post-punk."

Gaelic Storm hope to win over a few boozers with Bring Yer Wellies, but they're going to face some serious competition in fellow Irish band Flogging Molly and their Whiskey on a Sunday documentary DualDisc.

If the Knife aren't the first musicians to go by that moniker, then they're almost definitely the first Swedish brother/sister team to do so. Silent Shout has already topped the charts in their homeland.

Damon McMahon's Mansions is less a solo album than a collection of refined leftover tunes by his prior band, Inouk.

Crash Kelly have toured with Alice Cooper and Skid Row, but they've got Guns N' Roses on the brain these days: Their Electric Satisfaction was produced by former GN'R guitarist Gilby Clarke.

Ali Farka Touré's Savane was the last album the Mali singer/guitarist recorded before his death earlier this year.

Steve Lawler has divvied up his Viva into three discs, named "Day 1," "Day 2" and "Day 3." But those aren't live recordings from the producer's recent trip to Ibiza; the "days" actually refer to "states of mind."

Song Title of the Week:

"Cream and Bastards Rise" from Harvey Danger's Little by Little ...

Other Notables:

Tapes 'n Tapes's The Loon: Hipsters have been pining for the official release of this LP since the hooky band took South by Southwest by storm earlier this year. The album, 10,000 copies of which the Minneapolis quartet previously issued on its own, features the priceless lyric "And when you rush/ I'll call your name/ Like Harvard Square/ Holds all inane."

Jurassic 5's Feedback: The Los Angeles squad is hoping the Dave Matthews Band guest spot on their new "Work It Out" single and video gives them a much-needed sales boost. But in case that doesn't work, they've got the Scott Storch-produced "Brown Girl" to fall back on — and a tour schedule that puts other hip-hop groups to shame.

Voivoid's Katorz: The 14th release by the Canadian prog-thrash band also captures its last recordings with Piggy D'Amour, who died from cancer last year. The guitarist asked the remaining bandmembers to use his tracks on their LP, and with help from producer Glen Robinson (Gwar, Annihilator), they did.

New Releases:

Archie Bronson Outfit - Derdang Derdang (Domino)
Bargain Music - American Born (enhanced; Cornerstone)
Boy Kill Boy - Civilian (Island)
Randall Bramblett - Rich Someday (New West)
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians - Stranger Things (Fantasy/ Concord)
Bridge 61 - Journal (Atavistic)
Michael Brook - RockPaperScissors (High Wire)
Brötzmann/ Mangelsdorff/ Sommer - Pica Pica (Atavistic)
Burn in Silence - Angel Maker (Prosthetic)
Code Red - All Aboard (Toucan Cove/ Universal)
Crash Kelly - Electric Satisfaction (Liquor & Poker)
Disaster Strikes - Liberty Toast (Alternative Tentacles)
The Drams - Jubilee Dive (New West)
Erase Errata - Nightlife (Kill Rock Stars)
Excepter - Alternation (5 Rue Christine)
Gran Bel Fisher - Full Moon Cigarette (Hollywood)
Flogging Molly - Whiskey on a Sunday (DualDisc; Side One Dummy)
John Flynn - Two Wolves (Mettafour/ Kindred Rhythm)
Michael Franti and Spearhead - Yell Fire! (Anti)
Gaelic Storm - Bring Yer Wellies (Megaforce)
Gorgoroth - Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam (Candlelight)
Gosling - Here Is ... (V2)
Grave - As Rapture Comes (Century Media)
Adam Green - Jacket Full of Danger (Rough Trade)
Buy Now: Jacket

Related Artists
Pharrell Williams

Pharrell Williams

LeToya

Beastie Boys

Gym Class Heroes

For The Record: Quick News On Mariah Carey, Foxy Brown, Courtney Love, Franz Ferdinand, Relient K & More

23 Dec 2005 14:42:00 EST

Mariah chases down the Beatles; judge threatens Foxy with jail time; Courtney home up for auction.
By MTV News staff report

Mariah Carey is zeroing in on the Beatles' record of 20 #1 hits thanks to her latest chart-topper, "Don't Forget About Us." The singer's 17th #1 song hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 on Thursday, putting Carey in a tie with Elvis Presley at #2 on the all-time list. (Click here for photos from a surprise party held in Aspen, Colorado, to celebrate Mariah's 17th #1.) ...
A judge threatened Foxy Brown with jail time and forced her to apologize after she stuck out her tongue in a New York court on Friday (December 23), according to The Associated Press. Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Melissa Jackson asked Brown to stop chewing gum, at which point Brown — who said she did not have gum in her mouth — opened her mouth and wagged her tongue, according to the AP. Brown was then handcuffed and a shouting match ensued between her and a female court officer. Brown later apologized after the judge threatened her with 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine; she was in court because of assault charges stemming from a nail-salon fight in Chelsea ...
A 100-year-old historic home in Olympia, Washington, owned by Courtney Love has been put up for public auction to pay off debts in a foreclosure case. According to The Associated Press, the house on 13 acres was bought by Love eight years ago and was most recently occupied by the sister of her late husband, Kurt Cobain. Love owes about $367,000 on the home, including the loan balance and legal fees. According to documents filed in a lawsuit over the property, Love stopped making mortgage payments on the property in December 2003. Love can hold onto the house if she pays off the debts before the public auction on January 6. ...
Howie Day was arrested for rowdy behavior on Wednesday at Logan International Airport in Boston after allegedly mixing alcohol with a sleeping pill on a flight, according to The Associated Press. The singer/songwriter was charged with interfering with the flight crew but pleaded innocent when he was arraigned in a Boston court on Friday. Day was released on personal recognizance and is due back in court March 16. ... Franz Ferdinand guitarist Nick McCarthy's got himself a side project — with his wife of five months, Manuela. Called Box Codax, the electro synth-pop duo plan to release their first single, "Naked Smile," next month in the U.K. through Thin Man Records. The disc will also feature the track "Red Wine in Tunis." Both cuts have been made available for download on iTunes. ...
The fifth Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival is scheduled for June 16-18 on the same 700-acre site in Manchester, Tennessee, which last year drew tens of thousands for sets by Dave Matthews, the Mars Volta, Jurassic 5 and Modest Mouse. Though organizers have not announced a lineup yet, they said they are reducing the capacity of the event by 10,000 in order to make it more manageable. ... Relient K will celebrate guitarist Matt Hoopes' birthday on February 15 with the launch of a 24-date tour that kicks off in Kansas City, Missouri. Called the Matt Hoopes Birthday Tour, the trek will run through April 1 in Columbus, Ohio. ...
Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy has announced plans for a solo tour in 2006. The trek kicks off January 31 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and runs until February 12 in Los Angeles. Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche will support Tweedy on most of the dates. ... The New York Dolls are returning to the studio on January 15 for the first time since 1974. Jack Douglas, the veteran producer who worked on the Dolls' self-titled debut in 1973, is returning behind the board. ...
Enigmatic guitarist Buckethead will be working his way down the West Coast this February as part of a nine-gig trek that kicks off February 17 in Seattle. The guitarist — who was briefly a member of Axl Rose's retooled Guns N' Roses — will wrap up the tour on March 1 in Flagstaff, Arizona. ... Boston punks the Dropkick Murphys will mount an 18-date tour on March 1 in New York. The trek will also feature Sick of It All, Horrorpops and the Tossers. The run will wind down in Beantown with five shows at the Avalon March 16-March 19. ...
12.22.2005
Ho, ho, Hova! Jay-Z is proving he's no Scrooge this holiday season. With millions of New Yorkers finding it so difficult to maneuver through the city due to the transit strike — which has now come to an end — the Jigga sent out several limousines to pick up pedestrians around the city who were trying to make it to work over the past three days. Then on Christmas, Jay will hold his annual toy drive in Brooklyn, New York's Marcy Projects, where kids will receive $10,000 worth of toys. ...
Parts of the Golden Globe-nominated Johnny Cash biopic, "Walk the Line," will look familiar to the inmates at California's Folsom Prison when they get a special screening of the flick on January 3. That's because the movie opens and closes with scenes of Joaquin Phoenix as Cash playing his famous shows at the prison nearly 40 years ago that became the basis for the classic Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison album. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Phoenix will be on hand for the screening. ... On Tuesday, the third state law signed this year to ban the sale of explicit video games to minors became the third to hit a legal bump in the road. A federal judge put a temporary hold on a California law that would have gone into effect on the first of the year, saying game-industry lawyers had raised sufficient doubt about the state's ability to prove that ultra-violent games can cause psychological harm to children — the state's impetus for the law. In recent weeks, a similar temporary hold was put on a Michigan law, while a bill in Illinois was struck down pending appeal. ...
Though there's still no title or release date for the album they've been working on since August, Radiohead have announced who'll be producing the record — and it's not who you'd think. For the first time since their 1993 debut, Pablo Honey, the band will be working with someone other than Nigel Godrich: Mark "Spike" Stent, who's worked with Madonna and Björk, will helm the sessions for the new album, set to resume in February. Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien made the announcement on BBC Radio Wednesday night, adding that while the band remains good friends with Godrich, it was looking to break the "comfort zone" it had built over the decade-plus partnership. "You've got to do stuff that you're scared of doing," O'Brien said. "With Nigel, we've been working together for 10 years, and we all love one another too much." ... Every Time I Die have been added to the Warped Tour's 2006 lineup, which also features Motion City Soundtrack, Thursday, From First to Last, NOFX, Anti-Flag, Underoath, Rise Against and Against Me. ...
Nickelback have added two more stops to their upcoming North American tour with support act Trapt: February 7 in St. Louis and February 9 in Wichita, Kansas. ... The Flaming Lips are aiming for an early April release date for their new album, At War With the Mystics, according to their label, Warner Bros. The first single off the record, "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song," is due to hit radio in March. Mystics is the Lips' first album of new material since 2002's Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. ...
The Velvet Underground's "Live MCMXCIII" will hit stores on January 24 on DVD. "Live MCMXCIII," which has been available on VHS for years, features live footage shot back in 1993 in Paris during the band's brief reunion trek. ... Irish rock legends the Pogues have booked a nine-date East Coast tour. The group will kick things off in Washington, D.C., with a pair of shows on March 9 and 10. Then it's off to Atlantic City, New Jersey, on March 11, followed by two dates in Boston on March 14 and 15. The run ends in New York with four concerts scheduled for March 16-19. ...

Related Photos

Mariah Carey Celebrates Her 17th #1 Song in Aspen, Colorado

Related Artists

Mariah Carey

Courtney Love

Courtney Love

Franz Ferdinand

Dave Matthews

Black Eyed Peas, Busta Rhymes Drafted For 'NBA Live 06' Soundtrack

12 Sep 2005 21:48:00 EDT

Hip-hop-heavy set also features cuts by N.O.R.E., Jurassic 5, Q-Tip, Stat Quo.
By Stephen Totilo

Hip-hop may not be the official soundtrack of the NBA, but video gamers shouldn't be blamed for thinking otherwise.
Electronic Arts announced on Monday that "NBA Live 06" will feature a soundtrack that's wall-to-wall hip-hop, featuring 16 tracks, including licensed songs from the Black Eyed Peas and Stat Quo, sneak peeks from Jurassic 5 and Q-Tip (with Busta Rhymes), and exclusives from Chamillionaire, N.O.R.E., Bishop Lamont and Spider Loc. In-game beats will be provided by Da Riffs.
While some hip-hop sports series have branched out into other musical genres (see "Paul Wall, Louis XIV, Bloc Party On 'SSX' Game Soundtrack"), basketball games have remained stridently hip-hop for years. Take-Two Interactive's "NBA 2K6," for example, includes 14 exclusive tracks, all originally recorded for the game, from the likes of Common, the Roots and Little Brother. (The rival games don't just have dueling soundtracks; they each sport cover athletes from the same team: "NBA Live" has the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade; "NBA 2K6" has Shaq.)
EA is also planning to release the game's exclusive tracks as part of a special iTunes mix, timed for release when the game hits store shelves for all major consoles in the final week of September.
"NBA Live 06" track list, according to Electronic Arts:

Afu-Ra - "God of Rap"

Bishop Lamont featuring Chevy Jones - "We Got Next"

Black Eyed Peas - "My Style"

Chali 2na featuring Anthony Hamilton - "Don't Stop"

Chamillionaire - "Grind Time"

Fort Minor - "Remember the Name"

Jae Millz - "Streetz Melting"

Jurassic 5 - "In the House"

Lupe Fiasco - "Tilted"

M.I.A. - "Bucky Done"

N.O.R.E. featuring Gem Star and Big Mato - "Deportes EA"

Q-Tip featuring Busta Rhymes - "For the Nasty"

Spider Loc - "Elementary"

Stat Quo - "Like Dat"

Tego Calderón - "Mil Cosas"

The Perceptionists - "Let's Move"

Related Artists

Black Eyed Peas

Busta Rhymes

Noreaga

Jurassic 5

Q-Tip

For The Record: Quick News On Velvet Revolver, JC Chasez, Courtney Love, Johnny Cash, Mudvayne, Jurassic 5 & More

22 Aug 2003 17:18:00 EDT

By MTV News staff report

It's official: Velvet Revolver have inked a deal with RCA Records. Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland, ex-Wasted Youth guitarist Dave Kushner and the former Guns N' Roses trio of Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum hope to have their debut album in stores by the end of February. Chinese Democracy, meanwhile, is still nowhere in sight. ...
JC Chasez, Tyrese, Daisy Fuentes and Jessica Alba are among the first presenters to be named for the fourth annual Latin Grammy Awards, which will feature performances by Ricky Martin and Kelly Clarkson. Comedian George Lopez will host the event, to be held September 3 in Miami and broadcast on CBS. ... "Bootylicious," "boy band" (and "girl band") and "turntablist" are among the 3,000 new entries in the latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. Pop culture terms "bada bing," "reality TV" and "SARS" have also been added. ...
Courtney Love's upcoming solo album, America's Sweetheart, has been pushed back to November 4. Last month, Love described her album as having, "a lot of God and a lot of sex." ... Johnny Cash's collaboration with late Clash singer/guitarist Joe Strummer will appear on the country legend's box set, due out this Christmas. The five-disc set, tentatively titled Unearthed, is a collection of outtakes from the country legend's work with producer Rick Rubin. ...
Mudvayne will launch a tour September 4 in Springfield, Illinois. The band will be sharing the stage with such groups as Powerman 5000, Evanescence and Godsmack during the trek, which ends September 24 in Waterloo, Iowa. ... The August 15 Detroit stop of the Kiss/Aerosmith tour that was canceled due to the blackout has been rescheduled for September 7. ...
The Used and S.T.U.N. will join forces for a few weeks of shows, beginning September 19 in Las Vegas and ending September 26 in Denver. ... Jurassic 5, the Polyphonic Spree, Damien Rice and Gary Jules are the first performers to be announced for KCRW-FM's annual A Sounds Eclectic Evening in Los Angeles. Last's year's benefit included Beck, Pete Yorn and Aimee Mann. ...
8.21.2003
Beanie Sigel had been scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing in his attempted murder case on Thursday (August 21), but the hearing has been continued until Monday. Sigel remains in prison. ...
T-Mobile is hosting five free concerts that will take place simultaneously September 4 in New York (Ashanti), Los Angeles (311), Chicago (Jason Mraz), Dallas (Live) and Philadelphia (Fuel). Tickets can be acquired at www.tmobile.com. ...
Live From the Road, Chevelle's 10-track live album, will be available exclusively on the band's Web site (www.chevelleinc.com), which begins taking orders Tuesday. The LP, recorded during the band's spring tour, will ship September 2. ... Thanks to an invite from director John Landis, MxPx covered a few songs (including the theme) for the forthcoming 25th anniversary edition of "National Lampoon's Animal House," which is scheduled for release next week. The punk band has already shot a video for the song "Shout" and will perform at the launch party for the DVD. ...
Electronic duo Goldfrapp's remix of Marilyn Manson's new single, "This Is the New Sh--," was called "the most creative remix that anyone has done for me" by the man himself. The reworking will become available as an import single September 1. ... A dozen years after appearing naked as the day he was born on the cover of Nirvana's Nevermind, 12-year-old Spencer Elden has shot a second album cover, for The Dragon Experience, a recently released collaboration between Skinny Puppy principal Cevin Key and Ken "Hi Watt" Marshall. Key's girlfriend was once Elden's baby sitter. ...
Thursday recently enlisted Joakim Ahlund, who has worked with similarly minded Swedish hardcore band Refused and subsequent spinoff act (International) Noise Conspiracy, to direct the clip for "Signals Over the Air," the first single from their forthcoming major-label debut, War All the Time. ... Anti-Flag will be supported by Paint It Black, Pipedown and Thought Riot on a U.S. tour in support of their forthcoming album, The Terror State, which was produced by Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello. The trek will kick off October 14 with a record-release show in Cincinnati. ...
Aerosmith will attend a practice by their home team, the New England Patriots, on Tuesday and are expected to announce a new partnership with the NFL in the days ahead. ... Sheryl Crow has recorded a cover of Cat Stevens' "The First Cut Is the Deepest," which will be featured on an as-yet-untitled greatest-hits package due in early November. ...
Less Than Jake have posted the video for the song "The Science of Selling Yourself Short," from their latest album, Anthem, on their Web site, www.lessthanjake.com. ... Lou Barlow and Jason Lowenstein, the creative nucleus of indie rock darlings Sebadoh, will reunite for an acoustic show celebrating the 10th anniversary of Domino Records, whose first release was Sebadoh's 1992 EP, The Forest, according to the label's Web site. The show will take place October 14 in London. ...
Circle Jerks singer Keith Morris has posted on the band's Web site that he will not be participating in Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn's "reunion" shows, which have been billed as "Black Flag: The First Four Years." "I was told that my presence or services were not necessary," Morris wrote, adding, "I made a commitment to do the shows based on the word of one of the main players that [certain people] were going to be a part of it. ... If there is no appearance of Ron Reyes, Chuck Dukowski or myself I guess that would make it the last year of the first four, or some silly stupid such thing." Morris has already participated in several reunion-type shows (and the benefit album Rise Above) with fellow ex-Black Flag frontman Henry Rollins, where the Rollins Band performed Black Flag material in order to raise money for the legal aid of three West Memphis, Arkansas, men many believe were wrongly convicted of murder. ...
Former Bauhaus and Love and Rockets bassist David J will release his first solo album in seven years, Estranged, on September 9. The disc features a collaboration with Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro and drummer Stephen Perkins. The cut was sort of a payback to J, who co-wrote "Strays," the title track from the new Jane's album. Red House Painters frontman Mark Kozelek plays acoustic guitar and sings backup vocals on the record. ...
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced the launch of the DeWitt Clinton High School-Lehman College Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music, which was so-named to honor Cruz, the late Queen of Salsa. According to the Associated Press, 90 students from an applicant pool of 700 were accepted for this fall's freshman class. ... The Rolling Stones canceled their Wednesday Forty Licks Tour date in Amsterdam due to doctor's orders concerning frontman Mick Jagger's sore throat. A spokesperson for the band said that no other dates have yet been affected by Jagger's illness, though the group is erring on the side of caution. The scrapped show will be rescheduled for late September. ...

Related Artists

Velvet Revolver

JC Chasez

Courtney Love

Courtney Love

Johnny Cash

Linkin Park, The White Stripes To Get Livid

05 Aug 2003 17:30:00 EDT

Other acts performing at Australia's Livid music festival include the Roots, Jurassic 5, Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
By Rachel Josue

Summer may be winding down in the States, but it will soon arrive Down Under, a fact not lost on Linkin Park, the White Stripes and others lined up for Australia's Livid music festival.
L.P., the Stripes, Jurassic 5 and the Roots are only a few of the 60-plus acts scheduled to participate in the Aussie festival slated to kick off its thee-city, five-stage event at Sydney's Moore Park on October 11.
Other bands jumping on the bandwagon so far include both international and Australian acts such as Goldfinger, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Living End, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Frenzal Rhomb, Turbonegro, Resin Dogs, Rocket Science, Butterfingers, Gelbison, and For Amusement Only. More artists will be announced shortly.
After hitting up Sydney, Livid will head south to rock Melbourne's Melbourne Park on October 12, followed by a trip back up the coast to Brisbane's RNA Showgrounds on October 18 for the 17th annual show in that city.

Related Artists

Linkin Park

The White Stripes

Jurassic 5

The Roots

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Jane's Addiction Headline But Audioslave Steal Show At Lollapalooza Launch

07 Jul 2003 11:47:00 EDT

Donnas, Jurassic 5, Rooney, Queens of the Stone Age also help kick off tour.
By Ryan J. Downey

NOBLESVILLE, Indiana — Even heavy rain, sluggish ticket sales, a one-hour mid-show delay, last-minute cancellations and Spinal Tap-like sound problems couldn't stop Perry Farrell from getting Lollapalooza back on the road.
"Thank you, God, for the beautiful weather," he said during the resuscitated festival's storm-soaked opening night, not long after technical difficulties kept Dave Navarro's guitar from being heard through most of Jane's Addiction's first number, "Stop!"
Judging by the applause, Farrell's attempts to turn Lollapalooza's lemons into lemonade were appreciated by the reportedly half-capacity crowd at the Verizon Wireless Music Centre near Indianapolis on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, a brief but brutal downpour had created Woodstock-like mudslides in the venue's lawn and prompted the folks in charge to stop the show for almost an hour as Queens of the Stone Age waited in the wings.
Though the mainstage performances eventually resumed, the second stage was shut down for good, before the Distillers or "Jackass" star Steve-O had a chance to perform.
The new beginning of the now 12-year-old and once trailblazing touring festival — which Farrell began in 1991 and more or less put on hold after a 1997 jaunt that boasted Tool and Snoop Dogg — started out on a hot and humid day as an estimated 12,238 ticket holders filed into the 24,000-capacity venue.
The mainstage area was barely half full when the Donnas took the stage shortly after a brief set from Rooney, the '80s pop-influenced band fronted by Robert Carmine, the younger brother of actor and Phantom Planet drummer Jason Schwartzman ("Rushmore").
Sporting sleeveless shirts, the Donnas emerged with the sounds of Guns N' Roses' "You Could Be Mine" blaring over the PA system before their own AC/DC-inspired stomp took over.

Lollapalooza Tour Launch Photos

Despite their relatively extensive back catalog, the Bay Area, California, quartet stuck as closely to material from their major-label debut ("You Wanna Get Me High" and, of course, "Take It Off" were noticeable crowd pleasers) as they did predictable rock and roll banter between songs, though they did manage to sneak in "Hyperactive" from 1999's Get Skintight and a cover of the Kiss classic "Strutter."
Counterbalancing the Donnas rock-for-rock's-sake bravado before the rain drove them away, a wide variety of progressively minded organizations had tents set up on the path to the second stage, including Organic Consumers, Global Exchange, Earth Save, the youth-directed Peta2 and Unite!
Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello's Axis of Justice tent housed Amnesty International and Bloomington, Indiana's Boxcar Books, which sold titles by writers like Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore.
About the same time as Cut Chemist and Jurassic 5 followed the Donnas, Boston's Cave In played for oblivious, mosh-happy second-stage stragglers and a small handful of devotees from the band's metalcore days who braved the fest solely to catch their set.
Whether or not Cave In's major-label debut causes them to go the way of either Sense Field and Into Another or AFI remains to be seen, but the band's energetic and inspired renditions of tracks from this year's Antenna and the even more spaced-out melodic, post-hardcore wail of their 2000 effort, Jupiter, definitely seemed to win them new fans.
As thunder and lightning drew near, fans booed when the mainstage video monitors informed them there'd be at least an hour delay as crew members covered Queens of the Stone Age's equipment. As a consolation, lawn ticket holders were invited to take temporary shelter in the pavilion, where they were allowed to hang until Queens eventually plugged in and started the opening chords of "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire."
Despite having to play some of this year's catchiest basslines at the same time, a shirtless Nick Oliveri nearly swallowed the mic as he screamed with heavy metal abandon, while, as always, singer/guitarist Josh Homme's more laid-back approach provided some necessary balance. "No One Knows," which momentarily turned into a bit of a jam, rounded out a competent set that still undoubtedly would have gone down better without the unintended hour-long slowdown.
Speaking of jams, a very easygoing Incubus seemed comfortable to still be between records, using the opportunity to ease into tried and true favorites like "Warning" while continuing to break in bassist Ben Kenney and road-test new material with a sharper edge than last year's Morning View that builds upon their established loud/soft dynamic.
Absolutely nothing seemed in need of breaking in for Audioslave, whose recent time in Europe seems to have finally gelled them into less of a convenient collaboration and more of a genuine band. Chris Cornell, his pipes sounding stronger than ever, struck an appropriate balance between earnest and playful while Morello, alternately, ably proved why he's one of the true guitar heroes still playing in venues that big.
Like Farrell, Cornell saw something vaguely spiritual about the weather. "I like the fireworks with all the thunder and lightning and the God sh--," he said, as lightning periodically flashed nearby. "I like that."
Dressed in a wife-beater and camouflage shorts, the former Soundgarden singer was visibly pleased by the response delivered for Audioslave album tracks like "Gasoline," the sing-along-heavy "Set It Off" and "I Am the Highway," which he tackled two-thirds of the way alone onstage with an acoustic guitar.
"We're gonna make lots and lots of records, and come back many, many times," Cornell assured the crowd before the dual bombast of "Show Me How to Live" and the most Rage Against the Machine-like of the band's songs, "Cochise." Judging by the constant roar of the crowd, which unlike the responses for other performers persisted during the band's songs as well as between them, and the amount of people who left after their set concluded, Audioslave likely could have headlined the Verizon Wireless amphitheater by their lonesome.
Nevertheless, Jane's Addiction were the official headliners, and besides the very bumpy beginning, managed not to disappoint by playing a healthy blend of Jane's classics like "Summertime Rolls" and tracks from their forthcoming Strays, though, thanks no doubt to the rain delay, their set seemed abbreviated.
Playing on set pieces that looked like some kind of shiny stunt track for oversized Hot Wheels, Jane's Addiction were flanked by three stripper-like dancers who writhed on curved poles, groped the bandmembers and filmed each other with a camera. Farrell himself swigged liberally from a wine bottle — even sharing it with a random audience member.
As flamboyant and erratic a performer as ever, he played primarily off of the red sparkly pants and (briefly) red feather boa-sporting Navarro, though he did occasionally wander over to bassist Chris Chaney and once playfully referred to powerhouse skin-basher Stephen Perkins as "Perky."
Whether Farrell's eccentricities helped him to overlook the day's setbacks and shortcomings or simply made him oblivious to them is anyone's guess, but after a six year gap in Lollapalooza runs and a cancelled tour opener in Michigan, after Saturday one thing is for certain: the show will go on.
For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

Related Artists

Jane's Addiction

Audioslave

The Donnas

Jurassic 5

Queens of the Stone Age

Jurassic 5 Want To Be More Than Friends With R&B Radio

14 Feb 2003 07:57:00 EST

Group teams with Mya to remix 'Thin Line' for latest single.
By Corey Moss

After crossing over to modern rock radio with Power in Numbers' first single, "What's Golden," Jurassic 5 are eyeing R&B.
The Los Angeles hip-hop group is releasing a remix of "Thin Line" featuring Mya as the second single from its second major-label release. Nelly Furtado sings on the album version, but not on the remix (see "Nelly Furtado, Big Daddy Kane On New Jurassic 5 Album").
"That track is basically about when you have a relationship with a friend that's of the opposite sex that you could cross that line with, that sexual line, but you respect the relationship so much that you never do," rapper Chali 2na explained. "I think all of us have that kind of friend or have went through that at some point."
2na said they're going to test the remix at radio before shooting a video.
In the meantime, Jurassic 5 plan to continue touring, first with a U.K. outing in March, and later on Lollapalooza with Jane's Addiction, Audioslave, Incubus, Queens of the Stone Age and others (see "Lollapalooza Back To Showcase Musical Revolution, Perry Farrell Says").
Jurassic 5 will carry the torch passed by Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill and Beastie Boys as one of the few hip-hop acts on a primarily rock bill. Fortunately, with Warped Tour experience behind them, they are prepared.
"We just try to entertain," 2na said nonchalantly. "Hopefully we catch you with more than just audio. We're trying to catch all five of your senses."

Related Artists

Jurassic 5

Jurassic 5 - Work It Out

07 Aug 2006 00:00:00 EDT

Work It Out

Artist: Jurassic 5

Label: Interscope Records

Director: The Malloys

Album: One Step Beyond