- Artist: Michael Jackson
- Label: MJJ
- Director: Spike Lee
- Album: HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Michael Jackson - They Don't Care About Us
Billy Joel Pulls the Plug on Memoir
Billy Joel is keeping his memories to himself.
Three years after signing a $3 million deal with Harper Collins to write his memoir, the "We Didn't Start the Fire" singer has decided not to publish The Book of Joel.
In a statement on his website, the piano man says: "It took working on writing a book to make me realize that I'm not all that interested in talking about the past, and that the best expression of my life and its ups and downs has been and remains my music."
Joel plans to return the portion of the advance he received from the publishing company.
It's interesting that Joel decided not to publish the memoir now -- after it's already been written. But with his colorful past of failed marriages and alleged substance abuse problems, as well as his daughter's recent emotional issues, it's possible it was all too personal to put out into the world. And we think it's pretty admirable that Joel chose not sell out for cash.
Deadmau5 Brings Dance Music To The 'Masses,' Wolfgang Gartner Says
'He has a major role in the younger generation to this music,' producer/DJ tells MTV News of his collaborator.
By Adam Stewart
deadmau5
Photo: Charley Gallay/ Getty Images
It's no secret that 2010 was a pivotal year for electronic dance music here in the States. With deadmau5 and Swedish House Mafia becoming household names, the genre's momentum shows no signs of slowing down. Using a conduit of collaboration, artists such as deadmau5 (a.k.a. Joel Zimmerman) have paired up with various underground acts to further the rapid expansion of the genre.
Perhaps one of the most notable movers and shakers of the year is now-Grammy-Award-nominated producer and DJ Wolfgang Gartner, who recently sat down to chat with MTV News about deadmau5 and dance music's rise to the top.
"He has a major role in the younger generation to this music," Gartner says, "but there have been certain artists that have been instrumental in helping it cross over and reach the mainstream — which I think is a good thing. I think rap artists using dance beats is a great thing. I think it just brings more people towards this music that we all love."
Thanks to several key moments, such as deadmau5 taking the helm as house DJ (well, technically "House Artist") for the 2010 VMAs, dance music has been thrown into the forefront of America's youth, a key demographic for any genre.
"Everybody knows who he is now and he's kind of exposing the masses to dance music. These little five-, six- and seven-year-old kids latch on to this 'mau5head' logo — they get into the music and he's bringing this tiny young generation into this music that probably wouldn't be exposed to it."
Gartner certainly doesn't mind the exposure either. Unless you were living under a rock for the past six months, you probably heard one of this past summer's hottest anthems, "Animal Rights," a collaborative effort brought forth by deadmau5 and Gartner.
"It was interesting because I kind of had a preconceived notion about how he would be to work [with]," said Gartner. "I think our sounds are really similar, so I figured he would work in a similar way to me, but the way that he writes music is actually completely different to me. But he achieves kind of the same sound through a completely different process."
Recorded in deadmau5's favorite Los Angeles studio — that would be rocker Tommy Lee's House — "Animal Rights" is a thumping progressive house anthem that melds Wolfgang's unmistakable harmonics and funk riffs with the driving bass line and wobbly synths that make deadmau5 one of the unique forces in the dance music world.
"[Deadmau5] writes these rich complex chord progressions and he does it by drawing these little bars on a grid, which is just amazing that you can do that and get that result," Gartner goes on to say. "It just proves you don't have to be able to play keyboards to write amazing music."
The two sound pioneers never cease to stop pushing the limits on what they are able to produce. Using drastically difference production approaches, deadmau5 and Gartner had the ability to play off each other's strengths while recording the track.
"I'd say the biggest thing is that I play everything in on a keyboard, like even my drums," says Gartner. "I play everything in live and he draws it in with notes on a mouse, which blew me away because his music is very musical."
What do you think 2011 will hold for deadmau5 and Gartner? Let us know in the comments below!
Related ArtistsLady Gaga Gets Birthday Wishes From Friends, Fans
'You are all the present I need in the world,' she tweets to fans upon turning 25.
By Jocelyn Vena
Lady Gaga
Photo: C Flanigan/FilmMagic
On Monday (March 28), Lady Gaga reached another milestone in her life, turning 25. And it seems that all her pals didn't forget their Queen Bee on her big day. In fact, the singer even got some birthday love from ... herself.
"Drawing on table at restaurant. If I had to give it all back, but got to keep my fans, that'd be ok," she wrote on Twitter. She included a photo of a drawing she made that reads "Happy Birthday Me" with hearts all around it.
As a birthday treat, her fans trended the hash tag "#bornthisday" in honor of their Mother Monster. In another tweet, she thanked her fans for making her a trending topic on Twitter in honor of her big day. "Thank you for trending #BornThisDay monsters! The sweetest tweet! You are all the present I need in the world. I'll be 25 in about 4 hrs!"
Her "Born This Way" producer, Fernando Garibay, also tweeted some love for Gaga. "Happy Birthday @ladygaga; cause you were Born This Day!!!!" Nicola Formichetti, Gaga's loyal stylist and Thierry Mugler creative director, teased the kind of fun the group was having in honor of Gaga. "So much fun!!!" he wrote. "What a party!! happy birth day my love, gaga!!! #mother monster."
Fellow Gaga collaborator DJ White Shadow, who worked on the track "Government Hooker," shared a similar sentiment, adding, "Fun birthday party tonight."
Gaga pal Perez Hilton, who celebrated his birthday just days ago, sent some love to the pop star on his Twitter. "Hey @ladygaga! Happy birthday, bitch!!!!" he wrote. "BornThisDay LOVE YOU!!!! xoxo"
When MTV News caught up with Hilton at his birthday bash, he had this wish for his birthday: tons more success for Gaga. "My birthday wish for this year is for Lady Gaga's new album, Born This Way, to sell over 1.2 million copies the first week," he said. "That would beat Taylor Swift's 1.1-something!"
In addition to all the birthday love from her inner circle, it was announced on Monday that Lady Gaga would be receiving the "Always Next, Forever Now" Award at Logo's NewNowNext Awards, which air on the network on April 11. She receives the prize three years after she performed for the first time on television during the 2008 show.
Related Photos Related ArtistsSupernatural ?My Heart Will Go On? Promo Pics Released & Episode Details!
After a six week hiatus CW’s Supernatural is getting ready to make its April 15th return to the air! Get the details here on what’s to come in the season 6 episode entitled ‘My Heart Will Go On’. Plus get a load of the latest promo pics (with more below) of Sam, Dean, [...]
Friday, April 1, 2011
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