DJ AM ‘Left A Really Wonderful Legacy,’ Katy Perry Says
August 31, 2009
'He was such a wonderful person, full of life,' Perry says of DJ, who died Friday.
By Jocelyn Vena
Katy Perry
Photo: Amy Graves/ Getty Images
It was just under a year ago that Katy Perry took the stage at MTV's 2008 Video Music Awards alongside Travis Barker and the late DJ AM, where they put a unique spin on Madonna's classic "Like A Virgin."
As the music world was still mourning the loss of the DJ, who was found dead in his New York apartment on Friday, Perry spoke to E! News before her gig at the Palladium in Los Angeles about him.
"I think that he left a really wonderful legacy," she said. "I know that he mentored a lot of people. I wasn't, you know, really good friends with him. I only met him a few times but every time I met him, he was such a wonderful person, full of life, very bright."
She said that in the wake of his unexpected death, hopefully people will remember to to embrace the ones they love. "It continues to remind everybody to live life to the fullest [and] love the people around you," she said. "I think don't ever hold back. Count your blessings, for sure.
"It's really sad," she continued. "But he is making everybody dance right now upstairs."
On Friday when it was first reported that DJ AM had passed away, Perry tweeted about the loss. "My deepest condolences for DJ AM, you were a great artist and will be severely missed. My thoughts and prayers to his family and friends." Perry wrote. "Rest in peace, friend."
Related Videos- DJ AM And Travis Barker's Full 2008 VMA Performances
- Remembering DJ AM
- DJ AM's Last Interview With MTV News
Megan Fox Admits Her ‘Superiority Complex’ With Men
August 31, 2009
'I always called them boys,' the 'Jennifer's Body' star tells Cosmopolitan.
By Jocelyn Vena
Megan Fox
Photo: Jean Baptiste Lacroix/ Getty Images
Megan Fox may not mind kissing girls onscreen, but in real life, the 23-year-old "Jennifer's Body" star says she likes to dominate men in her relationships.
"Women hold the power, because we have the vaginas. If you're in a heterosexual relationship and you're a female, you win," she said in an interview for the October issue of Cosmopolitan. "I never call them guys. I always called them boys. Maybe it's a superiority complex — my needing to keep them down."
Although she's had a very on-again, off-again relationship with her beau, Brian Austin Green, she told the magazine that she has "no problem" with committing to someone. "I have no problem with commitment — you can't have a real relationship without it," she said. "I can flip on a switch in my brain, and even if the next Brad Pitt is standing next to me, I won't look at him. But I can also turn that switch off, and then I collect attractive boys."
In addition to revealing her fear of "touching newspaper" and regret that she wasn't in "The Hannah Montana Movie," Fox also talked about the challenge of dating actors, because they always try to flash their power and money in her face. "It's fun when someone intends to put you in his back pocket, but instead, he walks away wounded," she said. "I make it a mind game, so they don't know if I'm hitting on them or mocking them. Male actors drop lines about their private jets, trying to seem powerful, but I don't give a sh--. I don't need someone else's power. I'm obtaining my own."
MTV is taking you "Behind the Screen" on Friday, September 4, at 7 p.m. Tune in to check out exclusive clips from "Jennifer's Body" and "Ninja Assassin," your first look at "Clash of the Titans," a special appearance by Rain and a revealing exclusive interview with Megan Fox.
Check out everything we've got on "Jennifer's Body."
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
Related PhotosAubrey O’Day Fears She’s ‘Going To Fail’ As Solo Act
August 31, 2009
'I let the haters get the best of me some days,' says former Danity Kane member.
By Jocelyn Vena
Aubrey O'Day
Photo: MTV News
These days Aubrey O'Day is busy trying to get her reality show off the ground, getting ready to make her debut in "Peepshow" in Las Vegas and even recording a few tracks here and there, but she knows that there's still the possibility that she won't make it as a solo act.
"[Being] on my own and [taking] total control of my career," is what intimidates O'Day about a career without the four other Danity Kane girls to back her up, she told MTV News.
She knows it's not going to be easy, but she's still motivated enough to try to make it all on her own. "It's scary," she said. "Every day, I'm scared [and] I'm nervous. I feel like I'm going to fail. I let the haters get the best of me some days. Some days I feel like I'm on top of the world, like I can't be stopped."
But compared to the "traumatic" experience O'Day described of recording an album while also taping "Making the Band," maybe things will go more smoothly than she expects.
O'Day said that her life has been like "a roller coaster of emotion," and she's riding it wherever it leads. "I live for the good days," she said. "I try to move through the bad days and at the end of the day the one thing I continually remind myself of [is] at least I'm trying to do it the way I believe it should be done. If I fail, then I fail, but at least I tried to do it the way I believe."
Related Videos Related ArtistsNoel Gallagher Split From Oasis Due To ‘Violent And Verbal Intimidation’
August 31, 2009
Guitarist says lack of support from management and bandmates left him with 'no other option.'
By Jocelyn Vena
Oasis' Noel and Liam Gallagher
Photo: Dave Hogan/ Getty Images
After taking to Oasis' Web site on Friday to discuss his latest split from the band, guitarist Noel Gallagher has further elaborated on why he left, citing "violent and verbal intimidation" and a "lack of support" as some of the reasons for his departure.
"The details are not important and of too great a number to list," he said in the latest statement, posted on Saturday. "I feel you have the right to know that the level of verbal and violent intimidation towards me, my family, friends and comrades has become intolerable. And the lack of support and understanding from my management and bandmates has left me with no other option than to get me cape and seek pastures new."
He thanked his fans for Oasis' "amazing" 18-year run, adding that his time in the band was a "dream come true." He said, "I take with me glorious memories."
Gallagher also apologized to fans for missing gigs at England's V Festival and in Paris, where Noel and brother Liam Gallagher reportedly fought backstage. Noel's original statement on Friday said he "simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer."
"Apologies are probably not enough, I know, but I'm afraid it's all I've got," he wrote on Saturday. "Again, I can only apologize — although I don't know why. It was nothing to do with me. I was match fit and ready to be brilliant. Alas, other people in the group weren't up to it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a family and a football team to indulge."
The departure of Noel, who was responsible for most of the songwriting for Oasis, has left the fate of the rest of the band in flux.
"I expect in the next couple of days, a decision will be made as to how to continue or if they continue," the group's spokesperson said in a statement to the BBC.
Alan McGee, who discovered Oasis and signed them to Creation Records, said that the band will probably get back together, even though he sees this split as "the worst fallout that they've ever had, and they've had some pretty bad ones. ... I think you'll have a reunion tour in about five years' time," he said. "They love each other. When people love each other, they'll always make peace. You can't control Oasis — they do what they want to do. That's the beauty and the skill of the band."
Related ArtistsTenacious D, M.I.A., Dead Weather Bring Swagger To Outside Lands
August 31, 2009
Band of Horses, Modest Mouse, Matt & Kim help close out San Fransico fest.
By Marc Hawthorne, with additional reporting by Kyle Anderson
M.I.A.
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ FilmMagic
With the Beastie Boys out of the picture due to Adam Yauch's cancer, the title of main attraction was up for grabs on the final day of the Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival in San Francisco.
Tenacious D, Jack Black and Kyle Gass' jokey acoustic metal duo, replaced the Beasties as the main-stage headliner on Sunday night, but it wasn't entirely clear if the majority of people who showed up in Golden Gate Park were there to see the D (even despite the chants of "We want D!" prior to their set). The band appeared to have a sense of humor about its fill-in status, selling a shirt at the festival that spoofed the Beastie Boys' Check Your Head album cover and warned, "Check Your Headliner."
Audience members particularly fond of phallus and Satan jokes — or maybe just the ones who saw Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny — would probably go ahead and give the "main attraction" honor to the headliners, who were playing two days after Black's 40th birthday. In addition to performing songs like "Tribute," "Wonderboy" and "F--- Her Gently," the duo (which had an ace backing band behind them) acted out several skits, including one that played on Black's recent milestone and featured a stunt double doing flips and cartwheels. (Gass then temporarily quit the band when Black wouldn't admit to the crowd that he wasn't actually responsible for the athletic feats.) Black's best stunt of the night was all his own, however, when he closed the night by stripping down to his underwear and throwing his shirt and pants into the audience.
A few vocal audience members during Band of Horses' set at the nearby Sutro stage definitely gave their votes to frontman Ben Bridwell and company, offering up chants of "Main stage! Main stage!" during the hourlong set. The group's countrified indie rock was downright explosive, and Bridwell seemed to be just as impressed with the performance as his fans were. Sporting lots of hair and beards, the South Carolina outfit tore through an excellent selection of songs from 2006's Everything All the Time — including Outside Lands' unofficial theme song, "Weed Party" — and 2007's Cease to Begin, as well as a cover of Gram Parsons' "A Song for You."
Plenty of fans of would have also awarded the highlight crown to the Dead Weather, Jack White's stunningly cool quartet that also includes singer Alison Mosshart from the Kills. Buoyed by White's muscular guitar-playing and a crack set of tunes from their recently released debut, Horehound, the band tore through their set with reckless abandon while still looking cool. It helped that even though they played in the middle of the afternoon, the cloud cover and slight chill from the Bay breeze turned the festival's second-largest stage into a dangerous after-hours juke joint. The climax had little to do with the songs, as the group took a brief moment to jam while Mosshart sultrily smoked a cigarette sitting on the side of the stage. Nobody indulged in a vice with more rock and roll swagger better all weekend than the Dead Weather's singer.
Speaking of swagger, M.I.A. had a convincing campaign judging from the bodies convulsing during her bass-heavy workout on the main stage. Modest Mouse had a much harder sell earlier in the day, when they delivered a set that leaned closer to band favorites rather than fan favorites and included almost no banter from enigmatic leader Isaac Brock. It's a formula that Modest Mouse has used in the past in festival settings, but it's difficult to tell if the band is being contrarian or if adamantly playing by its own rules is a survival technique. Either way, it meant that megahit "Float On" was nowhere to be found, though songs like "The View," "Dramamine" and "Paper Thin Walls" sounded good on the big speakers.
It's safe to assume nobody shelled out a hundred bucks just to see Matt & Kim play the Panhandle stage at 3 in the afternoon, but the Brooklyn duo certainly performed as if most of the people watching them did. With beach balls and audience members bouncing, Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino spent most of their 40 minutes smiling and blasting through their keys-and-drums songs, slowing down only to explain why drummers shouldn't wear big earrings and asking the sun to come out so their solar-powered stage wouldn't run out of juice. Schifino even crowd-surfed before she and Johnson closed their set with a low-fi cover of Europe's "The Final Countdown" and their own "Daylight," which recently received some good airtime thanks to Bacardi.
In addition to the music, the second-annual Outside Lands — which is produced in part by Superfly Productions, the same folks behind Bonnaroo — offered plenty of other diversions, including a salon, pitching and batting cages, the Today Is So Yesterday Lounge featuring an oxygen bar, and a "Beatles Rock Band" lounge. And it being the Bay area and all, there was a wine tent and food options included heirloom watermelon, soju cocktails and portobello skewers offered by local businesses. All that combined with 72 hours worth of experimental rock, crowd-pleasing pop and euphoric R&B made for three days worth of San Francisco-style bliss.
Related Photos Related ArtistsDJ AM Death Reportedly Not Suicide
August 31, 2009
Law enforcement sources believe AM died of accidental overdose.
By Gil Kaufman
DJ AM
Photo: Chris Weeks/ WireImage
Despite reports that DJ AM (born Adam Goldstein) might have been depressed over a recent breakup with model Hayley Wood before his death on Friday, law enforcement sources believe the celebrity DJ's death was an accidental drug overdose, not suicide.
Citing unnamed police sources, TMZ reported that recovering addict AM had developed a dependency on Xanax and a number of other anti-anxiety drugs after the fiery plane crash he and Blink-182's Travis Barker survived last year. Both men were seriously injured in the accident, which took four lives and resulted in Barker and AM receiving a number of painful skin grafts to treat the second- and third-degree burns they suffered.
TMZ reported that AM had developed a serious anxiety about flying, something he had to do frequently for his many DJ jobs all over the country. The site, citing unnamed sources, said AM's doctors prescribed Xanax and other anti-anxiety medications to relieve the fear of flying, but that those drugs helped trigger a "recent" relapse, noting that AM was not abusing the drugs for very long before his death.
Among those weighing in on what might have killed AM was addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky, the host of VH1's "Celebrity Rehab." Pinsky told The Associated Press that he believes the pain medications AM was taking to treat the injuries he sustained in last year's plane crash in South Carolina might have led him to relapse after more than 11 years of sobriety.
"It very slowly and subtly reawakens addiction," Pinsky said of pain medication. "I'm not saying it was inappropriately prescribed; I'm saying he didn't know the risks."
AM, 36, was found dead in his Soho apartment in New York on Friday evening, reportedly with a crack pipe and prescription pills nearby. Like a number of friends who expressed grief over AM's death over the weekend — including musical partner Travis Barker, ex-girlfriend Mandy Moore and a host of fellow DJs — Pinsky said he was upset by the loss of someone he considered a "very close" friend. The doctor said AM had been a model for people going through addiction and praised him for his selflessness in helping others get clean.
"He [sponsored] other people, and in his words, [would] go to the mat supporting people on their recovery," Pinsky said. "He was someone I referred people to to learn about recovery."
On Saturday, the New York medical examiner's offices said the results of an autopsy were inconclusive, and further toxicology and tissue tests were necessary to determine a cause of death. Those tests will take several weeks to complete. TMZ reported that its sources said the evidence in the case strongly indicates that the cause of death will be a combination of crack cocaine and the anxiety drugs.
AM was set to star in an MTV special in October called "Gone Too Far," in which he stages interventions with other people battling addictions and discusses his own struggle with drugs; the network has not yet announced its plans for the show.
Related Videos- Remembering DJ AM
- DJ AM And Travis Barker's Full 2008 VMA Performances
- DJ AM's Last Interview With MTV News
Chris Brown On Rihanna Assault: ‘I Made A Mistake’
August 31, 2009
Singer, mother Joyce Hawkins and lawyer Mark Geragos talk to Larry King about the incident.
By Gil Kaufman
Chris Brown on CNN's Larry King show slated to air on Wednesday night
Photo: CNN
When Chris Brown sees the infamous leaked photo of ex-girlfriend Rihanna with a bruised and battered face following his early-morning assault on her on February 8, he still can't believe it.
"When I look at it now, it's just like, wow, like, I can't — I can't believe that — that actually happened," Brown told CNN's Larry King in an interview slated to run on Wednesday night, his first since his arrest in February. Brown also claims in the interview that he cannot remember that night's violence, which police said included the then-19-year-old singer punching, biting and choking Rihanna.
Brown told King that he still loves Rihanna and that he's still in love with her, but the judge's stay-away order will keep him apart from the singer for the next five years. Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault on June 22 in a deal that helped him avoid up to five years in jail, but includes five years of probation and six months of community labor service.
Brown said he realizes now that his violent actions have real-world consequences. "They want me to pick up trash, remove graffiti," he said, dubbing the judge's sentence as fair. "I'm a hard worker. It's something I'm willing to do."
Brown's attorney, Mark Geragos, told King that he's grown to love the singer as a "son or a nephew," and that the sentence means Brown has to walk "the straight and narrow for five years." So far, Brown appears to have gotten off to a shaky start, as questions were raised last week on the day of his sentencing about whether his celebratory dancing at a Los Angeles nightclub may have been a violation of his probation. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles District Attorney's office and one for the probation department said on Friday that they have not opened any investigation into whether a probation violation occurred.
Geragos said he has a "high degree of confidence" that Brown will keep his nose clean. "I'll say it now, so that you can play it back if he ever does anything — but a high degree of confidence that he's not going to do anything like this in the future."
Brown's mother, Joyce Hawkins, said she still cannot figure out why her son got so violent that morning. "Chris has never, ever been a violent person, ever," she told King. Brown has talked in the past about the domestic violence he saw at home growing up, and Hawkins told King that her husband was abusive and her son knew about it.
"I used to be scared to go to bed," Brown said. "Nobody taught us how to love one another. Nobody taught us a book on how to — how to control our emotions or our anger. ... I wish I could have changed that night."
Hawkins said Rihanna still calls her "mom" and that the two have spoken and seen each other periodically since the incident. "[I] let her know that I was very, very baffled, what had happened, and apologized for my son, along with [saying], 'I'm so sorry what happened to you,' " said Hawkins, who is not bound by the same protection order as her son. "And I didn't know what — I didn't know what else to say, and I gave her a hug, and she hugged me as well."
Brown said his goal now is to prove that he can be a role model. "That's not who I am as a person, and that's not who I promise I want to be," the singer said, adding that the months of separation from Rihanna have been "difficult" and that it will be hard to see the singer move on to dating other men. "At the end of the day, I mean, we're not together, so, if she's happy, I'm cool."
Still at work on his first album since the incident, Brown said he realizes that as much as he wants to move on, it will not be that easy to do. "I made a mistake," he said. "And it was just something I have to live up and own."
Related Videos Related Photos Related ArtistsChris Brown Says He Does Remember Rihanna Assault
August 31, 2009
'I just misspoke,' Brown says in statement about 'Larry King' interview clip.
By MTV News staff
Chris Brown
Photo: Pool/ Getty Images
In the first clip to emerge from Chris Brown's interview with Larry King, the singer told the CNN host that he didn't remember the February assault of then-girlfriend Rihanna. But on Monday (August 31), Brown released a statement saying he knows full well what happened that night.
"There have been reports on the Internet that I didn't remember what happened that night with Rihanna," Brown's statement reads. "I want to try and set things straight.
"That 30 seconds of the interview they used of me was taken from a one-hour interview during which that same question was asked something like four or five times — and when you look at the entire interview, you will see it is not representative of what I said.
"The first four times — or however many times it was — I gave the same answer, which was that I didn't think it was appropriate for me to talk about what happened that night. I said it was not right for me and it really wasn't fair to Rihanna. The fifth time — or whatever it was — I just misspoke. I was asked, 'Do you remember doing it?' and I said, 'No.'
"Of course I remember what happened. Several times during the interview, my mother said that I came to her right afterwards and told her everything. But it was and still is a blur. And yes, I still can't believe it happened because it is not me or who I am, nor is what happened like anything I have ever done before.
"As I have said several times previously, I am ashamed of and sorry for what happened that night and I wish I could relive that moment and change things, but I can't. I take full responsibility for my actions. What I have to do now is to prove to the world that this was an isolated incident and that is not who I am, and I intend to do so by my behavior now and in the future."
Brown's full interview with King is set to air Wednesday night. Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault in June and was sentenced to five years' probation and 180 days of community labor service last week.
Related Videos Related Photos Related ArtistsJay-Z Looks At Blueprint 3 Leak As ‘A Preview’
August 31, 2009
'I may be the most bootlegged artist in history,' Hov tells MTV News.
By Shaheem Reid and Jayson Rodriguez, with additional reporting by Tim Kash
Jay-Z
Photo: MTV News
Jay-Z's forthcoming album, The Blueprint 3, unsurprisingly leaked before its release, and we've got a profile.
It was only a matter of time. Last week a number of tracks from Jay-Z's upcoming The Blueprint 3 leaked online, including his collaboration with Rookie of the Year Drake on "Off That." Now, Hov has to deal with his entire album being on the Web: The Blueprint 3 popped up on blogs this morning around the time Jay-Z appeared at a press conference announcing his 9/11 tribute concert.
"I may be the most bootlegged artist in history," he told MTV News shortly after his album leaked. "It's a preview. I'm excited for people to hear the album. I'm very proud of the work I've done, so enjoy it."
(Hear the full album--legally and for free--right now on MTV.com's full album preview of The Blueprint 3.)
The album is as diverse as any project he's put together when it comes to collaborations. Australian musician Luke Steele of pop duo Empire of the Sun appears on the opener, "What We Talkin' About." The cut features the lyrics Jay spit earlier this summer during his Las Vegas show that target the Game and his former business partner, Dame Dash.
The Mr. Hudson-assisted "Young Forever," a pensive track on which Jay puts his career in perspective, closes the album. After threatening to retire for years, the Brooklyn wordsmith sounds like he's about to kick-start another run of yearly output. "Bye-byes aren't for legends/ I'm forever young, my name shall survive," he raps.
And in between, The Blueprint ranges from the familiar — "Run This Town" and "D.O.A" — to the more experimental.
"Hate," produced by and featuring Kanye West, is syrupy slow — in sound and flow — as Jay and his protégé take aim at detractors. "Hoover, Hova/ Both are American gangsters/ You choose who's colder/ Rappers getting nasty in the booth, but I'm grosser/ I can't even stomach myself, ulcer," Jay raps over West's syncopated sounds.
On "Empire State of Mind," Jay writes his name alongside Frank Sinatra and Robert De Niro as one of New York's favorite sons. Joined by Alicia Keys, the Roc Nation CEO takes listeners for a ride in the back of the Maybach, detailing his rise from the Marcy Projects to his SoHo Penthouse. "I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can/ You know I bleed blue/ But I'm not a crip, though," he raps, before Keys croons, "I'm from Neeeeww Yooooork/ These streets will make you feel brand-new/ Bright lights will inspire you."
"Already Home" is that triumphant, soulful magnum opus that hearkens back to its oldest brother's "Heart of the City." Jay makes fun of his critics and rapper detractors alike.
"Only time they exciting is when they mentioning Shawn," Jigga raps. "... Don't they know that I'm on?/ Don't they know it's foolish to try and kill me with songs?/ ... I opened the door for them, what else can I do?/ These n---as want me to walk for them."
Guest star Kid Cudi's hook is almost equally as absorbing as it is off-key: "They want me to fall, fall from the top," the Kid from Cleveland sings. "They want me to drop/ They want to stop/ They want me to go, I'm already gone/ The sh-- that I'm on/ I'm already home."
Producer Kanye West comes with a track that has his signature Midwest bounce, draped in violins, piano and bass.
"N---as is mad/ Oh, they call me a camel, but I mastered the drought," Jay comes back later. "What the f---, I'm an animal/ Half man, half mammal/ My sign is Sag/ This is just what I planned to do."
Later, on "A Star Is Born" with J. Cole, Jay gives brief snapshots and memories of some of the most tremendous rap stars of the past 15 years.
"T.I. literally wanted to shoot up the charts," he raps. "What up Jeezy, what it do?/ That reminds me of us back in '92/ Outkast landed, Three Thou was ill/ Like a male version of Lauryn Hill/ Mobb Deep shook it, but Prodigy took it, a little too far/ Can't f--- with Brooklyn."
All day, fans were weighing in on the new record on Twitter and Facebook. Jay kept it cool despite his material leaking out 10 days before the official release day. The iconic MC, though, had reason to relax: He has his own indicator to let him know whether reactions to his music are good or bad.
"My pager is actually ringing right now, so people are probably calling me and telling me they pretty much like it," he explained. "I can tell by the way my pager rings if a song is good or not. It's really going crazy right now."
Related ArtistsWeezer’s New Album Will Get ‘Back To The Rock Element’
August 31, 2009
Guitarist Brian Bell says Raditude will bring back "Weezer rock music."
By Gil Kaufman
Weezer's Scott Shriner, Brian Bell, and Rivers Cuomo
Photo: Chris Weeks/ WireImage
After confounding some diehards with vocals from all four band members on their self-titled 2008 album, Weezer are heading back into the familiar Rivers Cuomo-only rock pocket on the upcoming Raditude (October 27). Weezer are heading back into the rock pocket on the upcoming Raditude (October 27). Rhythm guitarist Brian Bell promised that fans of the group's beloved 1994 self-titled debut and 1996's beloved Pinkerton will be more than pleased.
"It's very upbeat and it's fun and exciting and hopefully a bit unique," said Bell on Friday, the same day the group debuted their personal online radio station. "It's definitely getting back to the rock element of Weezer that might have been lost a bit for a second. It's kind of like taking the blue album and mixing it with Pinkerton and then throwing in some of Maladroit. The tempos are faster for sure." Unlike their previous album, though, the only voice you'll hear on Raditude is singer Cuomo. But, for the first time in their career, the band brought some outside songwriters in to help this time around.
Among the 14 songs vying for contention on the disc are ones written by hip-hop producer Jermaine Dupri ("Let It All Hang Out"), a ballad written with the Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler of the All-American Rejects ("Put Me Back Together"), as well as songs written with album co-producer Butch Walker (the high school reunion snapshot "The Girl Got Hot") and tunes penned alongside sugar pop wizard Dr. Luke (Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Katy Perry). Other cuts that could make the cut are "Trippin' Down the Freeway," "I'm Your Daddy" and "Can't Stop Partying."
Bell said both Walker and the album's other co-producer, Garrett "Jacknife" Lee (U2, R.E.M., the Hives) had powerful, positive and very different impacts on the album's sound. "I could see us continuing to work with Butch in the future ... he brought it back around to Weezer rock music and us playing together as a band," Bell explained. "I thought we were going a bit too far left with some of the stuff [on the last album], like, 'Wait, this doesn't sound like Weezer at all.' "
One of Bell's favorite songs is one Lee worked on, "Run Over By a Truck," in which he said the producer encouraged him to play his guitar almost like a violin. "He had me picking really fast high up on the neck in what I call 'butterfly picking,' " he said. "He would plug anything into anything to get something interesting, even if it sounded crappy."
With Cuomo firmly back in the vocal and songwriting lead — the guitarist said he didn't contribute anything this time around, saving his songs for the debut from upcoming solo project, the Relationship — Bell said to expect a more straight-ahead sound, but with Cuomo's signature lyrical quirkiness. "We've never written with outside people before, but somehow, oddly enough, it works."
Weezer, who are on the road with Blink-182, recently primed the pump with the parenthetically swinging "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To," which was leaked on the Internet a few weeks ago. Bell said the band is also planning to release a rarities compilation "real soon" in the vein of Cuomo's two Alone demo releases, though he didn't know when that might drop.
And, in the best news of all for those who love to throw up the W, he promised that the band plans to tour "a lot more than in the past" to support the new album.
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