Did You Hear?

:: There are some probably-untrue rumors about Marilyn Manson dating Lana Del Rey. (Not that he hasn’t snagged a comely young lass before.) Well, if you thought a guy who played “Video Games” all day was bad, Lana, we can’t wait to hear what you have to complain about after this breakup. [Gawker]

:: In other probably-untrue “she’s too good for him” dating news, Rihanna was apparently spotted leaving Ashton Kutcher’s place in the middle of the night. We approve of this only slightly more than we approve of her getting back with Chris Brown. [PopCrush]

:: Tweeting at Deadmau5 may just make you a vocalist on one of his tracks. [Spinner]

:: Starships are meant to fly, but we’re not sure what these teddy bears are meant to do in Nicki Minaj’s Ustream session. [That Grape Juice]

:: Usher will play Sugar Ray frontman Mark McGrath in the upcoming biopic Hands of Stone. Wait, no — sorry, we misread that. Usher will play Sugar Ray Leonard in the upcoming biopic Hands of Stone. That’s much better. [Billboard]

After the jump, find out which music acts you can find on the tube today.

Music On TV:

:: Late Show with David Letterman (CBS) — Train
:: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (CBS) — Black Dub (repeat)
:: Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC) — Shinedown
:: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC) — Swervedriver
:: Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC) — Wallpaper, Ducky

No, we are not getting a jump on April Fool’s Day. Yes, you read that headline right. According to MTV, Tim Burton’s muse and his river-crying buddy will be recording together, and not just on any old song — a cover of one of the greats, Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain.” It should maybe come as no surprise that a guy who played Sweeney Todd, Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka, Ed Wood, the Mad Hatter, John Dillinger, and so on is, um, “eccentric” enough to be BFFs with the shock rocker, or that he’d want to appear on an album called Born Villains (seriously, check out his resume). Oh, and one last thing — that Carly Simon song? Totally written about us. [MTV]

Did You Hear?

:: Madonna is launching a “lifestyle brand” (think clothes, shoes, handbags and fragrances) called Truth Or Dare By Madonna. “Over the past several years, I have been approached countless times to create my own brand,” the pop star said, adding that “the timing is right.” Of course it is — she’s about to drop a new album. [Just Jared]

:: Is Demi Lovato dating Wilmer Valderrama? More importantly, Wilmer Valderrama is still around? [Neon Limelight]

:: Marilyn Manson had one ka-razy night in Las Vegas, which included singing Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me A River” six times in a row. [Huffington Post]

:: Kanye West shares some nice words about his ex-girlfriend Amber Rose while performing live. Wiz Khalifa, pretend you didn’t hear any of this. [PopDust]

:: Glee’s “sexual-awakening” episode titled “First Time” is said to be hot and heavy. Get the exclusive details on what will be going down in next’s week raunchy new episode. [E! Online]

Head below to find out which music acts will be taking over your tube today.

Music On TV:

:: Late Show With David Letterman (CBS) — Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
:: The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (NBC) — Mute Math
:: Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC) — Primus (repeat)
:: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (NBC) — Childish Gambino
:: Last Call With Carson Daly (NBC) — Weezer

Did You Hear?

:: Latina lovelies Selena Gomez and Christina Aguilera were honored with three nominations each at this year’s Alma Awards. Xtina even got a Best Actress nod for Burlesque! Miracles do happen. [Just Jared]

:: Skylar Grey has roped in the services of Marilyn Manson for a zombie-themed song on her debut album, Invisible. [Pop Dust]

:: Independent record stores are up in arms about Kanye West and Jay-Z releasing the deluxe edition of Watch The Throne exclusively in Best Buy stores. [Entertainment Weekly]

:: Miguel’s “Quickie” video contains vampires and cigarette butts. We hope it was good for you as it was for us.  [Soul Bounce]

:: Ciara performs a Michael Jackson medley in Africa. [Rap-Up]

After the jump, find out which music acts will be appearing on the tube today.

Music On TV:
:: Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC) — Kelly Rowland
:: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (NBC) — Big Sean
:: Last Call With Carson Daly (NBC) — Soundtrack Of Our Lives (repeat)
:: Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC) — Owl City (repeat)
:: Tavis Smiley (PBS) — Barry Manilow
:: The Gayle King Show (OWN) — Rebecca Black

Did You Hear?

:: The Jonas Brothers are taking their women on tour—Kevin’s wife Danielle will be joining the boys, as will Joe’s girlfriend Demi Lovato, who coincidentally happens to be their opening act. You know what that means—all the groupies go to Nick. [PopEater]

:: Why yes, that is Pharrell wearing jean shorts at Cannes Film Festival. Pharrell, pants. Pants, Pharrell. I see you haven’t met yet. [Rap-Up]

:: WTF couple Marilyn Manson and Evan Rachel Wood will reportedly star in a movie together called Splatter Sisters, described as being “the first in a planned franchise and is a sexploitation-serial-killer-slasher-road-movie circa 1989.” We’re pretty sure “first” is a relative term, since they probably won’t make a sequel to a movie no one will go see. [Just Jared]

:: Not everyone shares our enthusiasm over news that Mary J. Blige has been cast to play the iconic Nina Simone. But we still have faith in our MJB’s big-screen career! [Soul Bounce]

:: Check out this list of the 50 greatest hip-hop samples of all time. Warning: reading this is going to compel you to spend a LOT of money on James Brown albums. [Complex]

Music on TV Today

:: Tonight Show with Jay Leno — Taio Cruz
:: Late Show with David Letterman – Zac Brown Band, Michael Lynche
:: Lopez Tonight (TBS) – Weezer
:: Last Call with Carson Daly — 311 (repeat)
:: The Ellen DeGeneres Show — Justin Bieber

Mornin’ folks, it’s another bright, beautiful day in the world of music. Let’s mix it up!

Did You Hear?
:: Marilyn Manson and Evan Rachel Wood are not only back together, they’re engaged. As far as their honeymoon is concerned, we’ve got two words for you: bloody sex. [People]

:: Billy Corgan is starting his own record label, but is sadly unlikely to sign his purported, earwax-free girlfriend Jessica Simpson. [Spinner]

:: Rihanna’s Mexican vacation with new man-of-the-moment Matt Kemp continues, this time on a boat, on a boat, on a m-f’ing boat. [Celebuzz]

:: Spin unleashes its list of the Five Most Metal Movie Characters. Finally, a list without Harry Potter or those damn Twilight kids. [Spin]

:: In even more relationship news, Keyshia Cole is engaged to basketball star Daniel “Boobie” Gibson, and they are expecting their first child together. She decided to marry him after learning that he respected his mother enough to keep the nickname she gave him. [Concrete Loop]

Behind the jump: Nick Jonas is literally taking over our TVs.

Music On TV Tonight:
:: Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC) – Colbie Caillat
:: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC) – Nick Jonas & The Administration
:: The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (NBC) – OK Go
:: Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC) – Metric

Music Tomorrow Morning:
:: The View (ABC) – Nick Jonas co-hosts

VIDEO REWIND OF THE DAY: In anticipation of American Idol kicking off its ninth season next week, let’s take a look at the very first Idol winner’s very first post-show music video, Kelly Clarkson’s “A Moment Like This.” Not exactly the most riveting music video, but the tune is certainly the most memorable victory song bestowed forced upon an Idol winner.

Have a great day, everybody!

Our look at the closing lines of the week’s biggest new-music reviews continues with a roundup of reactions to The High End Of Low, the seventh album by Marilyn Manson:

• ”Eclectic, I’m-gonna-devour-you-oh-yeah-the-world-is-ending love jams.” [Christopher R. Weingarten, 1000TimesYes]

• ”Manson may be the self-proclaimed God of Fuck and Antichrist Superstar, but he’s just another monster under the bed these days, a particularly non-scary monster at that. The transformation suits him when he embraces it–here’s to a new era where Manson can be his weird-assed self without pandering to the disaffected goth youth. He’s so much more interesting when he does it that way.” [Matt Schild, Aversion]

• ”Whip-smart intelligence and a staggering lack of self-awareness have always co-existed on Manson discs, and this one is no different. These days he has to labor much too hard to be a provocateur. He doesn’t seem to realize it, but he’s much more interesting, much more human, as a spurned lover than he is as a fusty culture war relic, rattling his chains.” [Allison Stewart, Washington Post]

• ”Musically, the new tunes mostly evoke warmed-over Nine Inch Nails crossed with mediocre ’70s metal, and occasionally, the results can be fairly satisfying. But unless you’re a very impressionable 15-year-old, Manson’s safe as milk doom metal is unlikely to leave even a superficial cut.” [Tom Sinclair, EW]

Today is the 10th anniversary of the Columbine shootings.  I was curious to see if there were any tribute-style YouTube clips about the event, since it did take place before the advent of widespread online video.  Surprisingly, there are quite a few; more surprisingly, most are not altogether different from the graduation montages I looked at a little while back.  Both are sort of sad, wistful, and nostalgic, and accompanied by very similar tunes–but instead of fun in the sun, you get pictures of horror and loss and death.  But then they take an odd turn.  Let’s take a look.

Sarah McLachlan, “I Will Remember You”

McLachlan’s song is mixed in jarringly with audio from news reports; the two don’t really blend, and it results in making the song sound sarcastic.  If like Negativland or something put this out, it would make total sense.

Evanesence, “My Immortal”

This video has a Christian theme to this one, and is ostensibly related to the Virginia Tech shootings as well.  Maybe that’s why people made these videos after the fact?  There’s a similarly themed clip using Roxette’s “Never is a Long Time,” as well.

Rufus Wainwright, “Hallelujah”

Another creepy one, this one mixing the song with audio of the goddamn 911 calls.  (“Hallelujah” comes up in tribute videos for sad events all the time, of course.)  Again, there’s a Christian theme; this clip has a particular focus on Cassie Bernall, the girl who, the story goes, was shot after saying she believed in God.

Anouk, “One Word”

This song seems to be about regretting that you did not help someone who committed suicide, which is kind of weird given that the shooters were the ones who killed themselves at Columbine, but I guess that’s cool too.

Amy Grant, “Behind the Eyes”

Writes the creator: “In April 1999 I was stunned by the tragedy that took place at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. I didn’t have access to any media programs back then, but I created a PowerPoint accompanied by a song on a CD. It was a way to channel my grief.”  So that’s why they’re still popping up, I suppose.

Marilyn Manson, “The Nobodies”

And at this point, the videos began to take an odd turn: They began to be pro-shooters.  Manson, of course, was notoriously blamed for the incident, and instead of an ironic juxtaposition here the idea seems to be that the killers had the right idea.  A comment: “RIP Eric & Dylan.  They were the true victims.  They were bullied like fuck.  And they must have been bullied like hell if they came to the point where they had enough and was filled with so much rage and revenge that they killed those kids that made them depressed and treated them like nobodies.”

Michelle Featherstone, “God Bless the Child”

This one is just a mess, mixing a sad piano song with 9/11 calls on the audio, and then mixing news footage with statistics about gun violence and, I shit you not, scenes from One Tree Hill.  The on-screen text says things like “Bullying is the most common form of violence in our society; between 15% and 30% of students are bullies or victims.  On April 20, 1999, two men fought hard against it, resulting in one of the most horrific days in American History.” (All [sic].)

Superchick, “Hero (Red Pill).”

Writes the creator: “I think it’s very fitting, bullying was one of the main reasons for the shooters to commit suicide and take as many lives with them as they could.  But that doesn’t mean Eric and Dylan’s actings are justified.  I’m sorry for my bad English.”  The song is certainly anti-bully, losts of violence and things.

What to make of all this?  A few things, I suppose.  One would be that making tribute videos seems to be a way for people to work out their feelings in general about events unrelated to those being paid tribute to, given that most of the videos here were made long after the fact.  To memorialize someone who died in a meaningful way seems like an opportunity to either mitigate or encourage your emotions. 

But another thing would be that Columbine still seems to be powerful iconography for teenagers.  It’s hard to think of another shooting where the killers are actually mourned by anyone who didn’t know them, and despite the brutality and horror and general craziness of the Columbine shooters, their rhetoric and justifications seem to have a continued resonance with today’s youth.  Teenagers are not known for their empathy, of course, but it’s still interesting that they seem to find some justification for murder, identifying only with the shooters rather than the random teenagers who were killed.  The Columbine shootings served as a catalyst for making bullying a cause worth fighting against.  And, of course, from another angle it very much is: recently a young boy killed himself after being bullied for being “gay.”

But at the same time, of course, it’s hard to see the Columbine shooters as heroes except from an action-movie kind of perspective.  And teens seem to treat them that way, as almost freedom fighters. 

I am no stranger to these sorts of attitudes; as you may have guessed from my post about the Butthole Surfers, I did not have the most pleasant middle school experience (though high school was mostly OK).  Columbine was a big deal to me when it happened, maybe just because I was not used to seeing people like me in the news.  Teenagers taking revenge on those who wronged them is an undeniably romantic image: that’s why it was so effective in Heathers, certainly one of the best movies ever made about being a teenager.  But I didn’t expect it to have such legs.  Ten years later, despite being eclipsed in scope and horror by other events, it remains resident in our national pysche.  Maybe this is because, unlike other shootings, this one didn’t seem like just senseless violence, mental illness transformed into death.  No, Columbine had meaning.  But as it turns out, of course, it was meaning created by someone suffering from mental illness.  The lucid insane have an odd ability to catch and hold our imaginations, and that, I suppose, is why they’re so dangerous.

Do We Blame the Columbine Parents? [NYT]

Trying to download the first single off Marilyn Manson‘s seventh album, The High End of Low, sends you into a Pan’s Labyrinth of links and e-mails and passcodes and military watchlists, so we’ll give you the spoilers: It sounds like the Antichrist Superstar has caught the same boogie-bug as Papa Trent. In fact “We’re From America” sounds almost exactly like LCD Soundsystem‘s “North American Scum.” (Which sounds like “Homosapien” by Pete Shelley, but whatever.) Though I doubt James Murphy could have come up with “We’re from America, where they let you cum on faces.” Spoo-ooky dancefloor time, kiddos! [Universal]

A few news items that you might have missed while sleeping off your cranberry-sauce-and-stuffing coma:

• Ne-Yo is going to bring his grown sexiness to the next Marilyn Manson album. [Hollywood Insider]
• There’s a Grammy Museum opening! It’ll be like a Hard Rock Cafe, except more self-important and with fewer franchises. [Variety]
• The latest ’90s band to have reunion rumors swirl around it: Faith No More. Don’t mess with my heart, you guys. [Blabbermotuh]
• And finally, lots of American breakfast tables were no doubt filled with confusing conversations about “this Internet thing” as Rick Astley came out to lipsync “Never Gonna Give You Up” during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, much to the delight of the Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends cast. Clip after the jump.

(My dad knew what Rickrolling was thanks to the whole Shea Stadium thing a few months back. Yay Internet?)

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade RickRoll [YouTube]

Marilyn Manson announced last night that he’d hired a new guitar player for his band, and that man is Wes Borland, late of Limp Bizkit and Black Light Burns. And from the way Manson referred to Borland’s previous musical exploits in the announcement, I wouldn’t expect Fred Durst to be invited backstage to any upcoming shows: “He used to be in a really terrible band that he left because he felt that it was a destructive force in art, and he has his own band, Black Light Burns, but now he is in Marilyn Manson,” Manson told a press assemblage in Seoul. “We don’t know how permanent that is, but starting tomorrow will be the first step. So this will be the most indestructible Marilyn Manson.” It can’t even be stopped by a horde of red-baseball-cap-wearing angry dudes, or even by people who think that Manson’s schtick is pretty tired by this point! Clip of Manson’s press conference after the jump.

Me, I’m just hoping that Fred Durst’s mom comes back to weigh in on all this.

Marilyn Manson Interview Korea 08 [YouTube via Blabbermouth]

When an audience member recently flung a bottle at Marilyn Manson during a gig, beaning his bassist in the process, MM took great pains not to repeat the error of the recently indicted Akon. (Who, as you may recall, dealt with a similar bottle-thrower last summer by pulling him onto the stage and then ejecting him onto the concrete, earning Akon a misdemeanor harrassment charge.) Why the caution? Because someone was filming the incident on a cell phone, of course!

So what’s the grosser take-away from this story? The people chanting “USA! USA!” during Manson’s “subtle” hints that the crowd stomp this guy, or the fact that the forthcoming video for his new single “features several softcore sex scenes” between Marilyn and girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood? Let’s call it a draw.

Marilyn Manson Does Not Encourage Crowds To ‘Beat The Sh*t’ Out Of Bottle-Throwers [Blabbermouth]

Remember a few months back when Stephen “Madonna Wayne Gacy” Bier, possibly better known to you as Marilyn Manson’s ex-keyboardist, sued Manson for skimming band profits to buy knickknacks like “African masks made of human skin, a full skeleton of a 4-year-old Chinese girl that Manson is said to have turned into a chandelier, and another skeleton of a man in a wheelchair”? As it turns out, Manson and his girlfriend spent a lot of weekends antiquing, because Bier’s amended his complaint with more “transgressive” home furnishings.

He allegedly continued his spree with swastika wall tiles and matching custom rugs, a mounted grizzly bear and two mounted baboons. Bier’s filing also says Manson arranged for his girlfriend, Evan Rachel Wood, to star in his “Heart Shaped Glasses” video for the “highest salary ever paid to any actress in any music video in history.” He also allegedly used funds to pay roadies to move suitcases filled with “Alice in Wonderland” books because he was obsessed with author Lewis Carroll.

To be fair to Wood, she does already pay the highest price for any actress in any music video ever, i.e. having to get personal with Marilyn Manson’s wang. The Post reports that “Manson’s rep couldn’t be reached,” possibly because he was negotiating the sale of a charm bracelet made out of the true cross, Alice Cooper’s body hair, and the dried blood of a Transylvanian orphan.

Manson’s Sicko Spending [Page Six]

Marilyn Manson’s old keyboard buddy, Madonna Wayne Gacy, recently hit the gaunt cradle robber and former rock star with a breach-of-contract lawsuit, complaining that Manson had been skimming profits rightly owed to the band to buy stuff that makes Elephant Man-era Michael Jackson look like a quaint collector of roadside folk art:

The suit further alleges Manson took assets belonging to the rest of the band (money generated through touring, and album and merchandise sales) to purchase Nazi paraphernalia, African masks made of human skin and the full skeleton of a 4-year-old Chinese girl, all of which he has on display in his mansion at Chatsworth, California mansion.”

Is this what happens when an overgrown teenage boy who never lost his unfortunate fascination with serial killer chic starts making a lot of money? What catalog does one even start to look in to find masks made of human skin? At least Lars Ulrich just collects large, ugly paintings. Manson denies the allegations of financial impropriety, obviously, but not that he owns all that totally scary stuff, dude.

What’s In Marilyn’s Mansion? [The Guardian]

- Tour partners Marilyn Manson and Slayer are not in full-born feud phase yet, but they’re getting close! [MTV]
- 50 Cent may have to ready an exciting new flavor of Glaceau water: “Child-Support Strawberry.” [Page Six]
- The Killers. Panic! At The Disco and Muse will headline San Diego’s Street Scene Festival in September; the line-up also features G. Love and Special Sauce, who are contractually required to show up at every single festival on the West coast. [Billboard]

Every week, we round up the all-important, all-summarizing last sentences of the biggest new-music reviews. Today’s entry is Marilyn Manson’s Eat Me, Drink Me, which is released tomorrow:

- “Elsewhere, as on the single ‘Heart-Shaped Glasses,’ Manson sounds like a suicidal Billy Idol, tossing off trashy hooks with focus and some expertise. Some of Eat Me, Drink Me is ho-hum and bone-dry, with few hot choruses and even fewer chord changes. But unlike those breast implants he once had, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Three Stars.” [Rolling Stone]
- “He must miss his days as a scourge. ‘The legends get older/But I stay the same/as long as you have less to say,’ he sneers. But actually, no one is angling for his old job, since it has been utterly diffused. Amid extreme Internet porn, hi-res videogame violence and real-world war, Marilyn Manson has become just another public deviant.” [NYT]
- “Romance is compared to a vampire-victim relationship, and ‘They Say Hell’s Not Hot’ is either Manson breaking down or creasing up with laughter. The songs and Ziggy guitar solos are more accessible than usual. Manson can croak like an undead, but can’t sing to save his life. Three Stars.” [Guardian UK]

A question for the music bloggers WTF-ing themselves into a tizzy over Marilyn Manson’s Justin Timberlake cover: Heh? Are you really that surprised by the notion of an “edgy” musician doing a semi-ironic cover of a pop song? This has pretty much been a go-to attention-getting ploy for years, which is exactly why Manson did it. In fact, the only thing shocking about this ca-razy cover is that Manson didn’t do it six months ago:

Marilyn Manson – What Comes Around Goes Around [MP3, link expired; via Whudahexup]

- The Game was arrested in Los Angeles Saturday morning for making criminal threats; the resulting local-news broadcast may be honkier than anything you can possibly imagine. [KABC-TV]
- Did Marilyn Manson and Evan Rachel Wood, you know, do it while filming their new music video? And by “do it,” we mean “try to fill up some empty hole in their lives by being with each other?” [Radar]
- Sheryl Crow has adopted a baby boy, and amazingly, none of the British tabloids have managed a “Soak Up The Son” joke yet. [NME]

Marilyn Manson’s “edgy” gallery show in Florida has ended, so it’s time for him to return to his attempts to shock the world through his music. “Heart Shaped Glasses” is the first single from Eat Me, Drink Me, and honestly, it’s not bad–especially if you ignore Manson’s adolescent innuendos and two-”note” vocal range and instead focus on the glam-goth music that’s backing him:

Marilyn Manson – Heart-Shaped Glasses [MP3, link removed; via MetalSucks.net]

- Lindsay Lohan inadvertently provides another reason to hate James Blunt. [NY Daily News]
- Michael Jackson is hoping to build a fifty-foot “robot replica” of himself in Las Vegas, which will come complete with twenty-foot “Chapter 11 filing.” [NY Daily News]
- Marilyn Manson and Slayer will team up for a tour this summer; no word yet on whether the jaunt will reach Overland Park, Kansas. [Billboard]