Raising Sand, from Led Zeppelin vet and bluegrass superstar, wins five Grammys on Sunday night.
By James Montgomery with MTV News staff
Alison Krauss and Robert Plant accept the award for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards on Sunday
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images
"I'm bewildered," Robert Plant said onstage as he accepted the Grammy Album of the Year award with Alison Krauss on Sunday night. "In the old days we would have called this selling out, but it's a good way to spend a Sunday."
He was probably one of the few who were surprised, because Raising Sand, which won five trophies at Sunday night's show, is in many ways the perfect Grammy album. It features two respected veterans, a critically lauded producer, some sandpaper-and-velvet vocals and a baker's dozen of time-tested standards.
You're probably familiar with Robert Plant from his Led Zeppelin days, and you might be aware of producer T-Bone Burnett's work on the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack (it won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2002). And if you don't know who Alison Krauss is, she possesses a haunting set of pipes and is one of the meanest fiddle players in the world. Oh, and she's won 21 Grammys, more than any other female artist and the seventh-most in history.
Really, she's the key to Sand's success, and not just because of her voice (or her fiddle playing). She and Plant first met in 2004, at a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tribute to legendary bluesman Leadbelly, and the former Zeppelin man was amazed by her knowledge of American Roots music — so much so that they began kicking around the idea of recording an album together. Three years later, Sand was released.
And while Plant possesses the more famous voice, the album's finest moments radiate from Krauss. Whether she's getting bluesy on Little Milton's "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson" or entwining with Plant's husky voice on songs like "Please Read the Letter" and Roly Salley's winsome "Killing the Blues," she more than carries her end of the bargain.
And perhaps that's also due to producer Burnett, who handpicked the 13 songs the duo cover on Sand. His arrangements are sparse — giving the two voices ample room to breathe — yet dense, warm and crackling at the same time. It's a testament to his work that he's often given just as much billing as Plant and Krauss on the project ... and it's certainly justified.
To date, Sand has sold more than 1 million copies, heaped tons of acclaim and actually earned a Grammy last year — "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" took home the award for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals.
One expert was surprised not by the album's success, but by the fact that it's actually quite a good album.
"At first, the album seemed like a vanity project. ... Two names, clearly a one-off record, didn't have to be any good, you know?" New York Times music critic Jon Caramanica said. "Led Zeppelin fans would buy it because of Robert Plant, Alison Krauss would get a check. But it actually turned out to be a really thoughtful, really good record. So when you combine all that with the fact that the Grammys love to lionize one of their own, I could really see it taking home some awards."
Related Videos Related ArtistsSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1604582/plantkrauss-win-album-year-grammy.jhtml
Kasey Chambers Kat Von D Kate Beckinsale Kate Bosworth Kate Groombridge
Kelly Ripa Kelly Rowland Kerry Suseck Kim Kardashian Kim Smith
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pinkisthenewblog/~3/LZp6bpcIkPQ/
Kelly Clarkson Kelly Hu Kelly Monaco Kelly Ripa Kelly Rowland
Singer tells MTV News about gay fan inspired by her song 'Animal.'
By Gil Kaufman
Ke$ha knows all about the perks of being a headliner. On her Get $leazy Tour, the singer gets to call all the shots, blast her fans in the face with tons of glitter and handpick which dudes she wants to party and share the stage with.
But it's not all backstage shenanigans and groupie love. When MTV News sat down with the "Blow" singer in New York earlier this week before her gig at Roseland Ballroom, Ke$ha said that amid the nightly onstage parties there have also been some poignant moments on her first headlining outing.
"Best moment? There are so many. Every night's amazing. I have kids outside right now chanting my name and it's awesome," she said of the first leg of the tour. "There was one night a fan came onstage, I invited him onstage, and he had a tattoo of the dollar sign. I was like, 'Oh, that's awesome! Badass. You're part of the cult, man.' "
And then, she said, he began to cry and explained that he was able to come out of the closet to his friends and family thanks to her song "Animal."
"And I'm standing onstage about to sing a song about growing back a pair of testicles ["Grow a Pear"] and I had tears rolling down my face and chills all over my body," she said. "Because that's really the reason I do music, to inspire people to be themselves."
Ke$ha has been a vocal supporter of the "It Gets Better" video project, which aims to help gay, bisexual and transgender youth find hope in the face of teasing and bullying.
The "Get $leazy" juggernaut continues on Saturday night with a show at Clarion University in Clarion, Pennsylvania.
Are you planning to see Ke$ha on her Get $leazy Tour? Tell us in the comments.
Related Videos Related ArtistsSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1662061/kesha-get-sleazy-tour.jhtml
Lokelani McMichael Lori Heuring Lorri Bagley Lucy Liu Luján Fernández
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pinkisthenewblog/~3/Cj0y-Tcfcgo/
Monet Mazur Monica Bellucci Monica Keena Monica Potter Monika Kramlik
'I think a lot of you are already surprised by this and you're going to be even more surprised when you hear it,' Carey says in video message.
By Jocelyn Vena
Justin Bieber
Photo: Christopher Polk/ Getty Images
After much speculation, Justin Bieber confirmed that the Queen of the Christmas song, Mariah Carey, will appear on his holiday album, Under the Mistletoe.
And to make it even more special, the pair re-recorded her classic track "All I Want for Christmas" for the album. In the lead-up to the announcement of the collabo, Bieber kept his Twitter followers guessing about who the special guest for the album — which is already filled with a number of big names — might be.
"Oh yeah ...didn't I promise everyone I would tell them who my last special guest is on my christmas album #UnderTheMistletoe ??? #nov1st I mean we know we got my big bro @UsherRaymondIV and @thebandperry and @BusaBusss and @BoyzIIMen on the album ... but who is the last guest??" he teased his loyal followers. "Who is the living legend that I got on the album???? #UnderTheMistletoe #Nov1st."
After his followers offered their guesses, Bieber offered this hint: "I mean, the fact that I might be singing with one of the greatest voices ever, one of the greatest songs of christmas ever ...... #NOV1st." Before the big reveal, he tweeted out a link to a video message from the singer, then added, "Well like I said ... #UnderTheMistletoe is not your normal christmas album. right @mariahcarey. #NOV1st."
In the video message, while being her usual over-the-top diva self, Carey said, "I'm very excited about it. I think a lot of you are already surprised by this and you're going to be even more surprised when you hear it."
A full track list for Bieber's Under the Mistletoe also hit the Net. The album will include "Only Thing I Ever Get for Christmas," the first single, "Mistletoe," "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" featuring Usher, "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," "Fa La La" featuring Boyz II Men, "Christmas Love," "All I Want for Christmas Is You" with Mariah Carey, "Little Drummer Boy" featuring Busta Rhymes, "All I Want Is You," "Christmas Eve" and "Home This Christmas" featuring the Band Perry.
The deluxe edition will include an a cappella version of "Fa La La," as well as "Silent Night," "Pray" and "Someday at Christmas."
Tricky Stewart, who produced the album, shared with MTV News the one song he felt needed to make it on the record. "For me, I knew I wanted 'Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,' " he said. "That's one of those that makes everyone feel good. So we did it and I think it's a really cool version of it."
The first single from Under the Mistletoe, "Mistletoe," drops October 18, with the album due November 1.
Related ArtistsSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1672005/justin-bieber-christmas-mariah-carey.jhtml
Marika Dominczyk Marisa Coughlan Marisa Miller Marisa Tomei Marla Sokoloff
Casey Anthony told her probation officer this week that she is unemployed, but hasn't used any illegal drugs, according to a report released by authorities.
The 25-year-old reported to her probation officer at an undisclosed location in Florida, saying she has had no source of income during the past 30 days.
Her probation order requires her to "work diligently at a lawful occupation," but being jobless doesn't necessarily put Anthony in violation of her probation.
Casey was acquitted in July on charges of murdering her daughter, Caylee.
Thousands of other probationers are without jobs, given Florida's 10.7 percent unemployment rate, not to mention many, many other law-abiding citizens.
Interestingly, the probation report said she had not attended mental health or therapy programs in the past month, or educational or vocational classes.
What the heck is she doing then?
Former party girl Anthony also told the probation officer that she has not used any illegal drugs and that she has consumed alcohol but not to excess.
She currently is serving probation at an undisclosed Florida location for unrelated check fraud charges, and is said to be bored, despised and alone.
Making matters worse, this Casey Anthony jail video - deemed too inflammatory to play in front of a jury - was unsealed and released last weekend:
Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/10/casey-anthony-unemployed-not-on-drugs/
Melissa Howard Melissa Joan Hart Melissa Rycroft Melissa Sagemiller Mena Suvari
Them Crooked Vultures make their debut with a post-Lollapalooza set.
By James Montgomery
Dave Grohl (file)
Photo: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
Officially, Lollapalooza ended Sunday night in Chicago's Grant Park, with dueling sets from the Killers and Jane's Addiction. Unofficially, it ended very early Monday morning, across town at venerable rock club the Metro, with a surprise show by Them Crooked Vultures.
To the unfamiliar, the Vultures might seem like an odd choice to close out Lolla weekend ... until you realize that they're made up of Foo Fighters frontman/ former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age mastermind Josh Homme and Led Zeppelin legend John Paul Jones. And their gig at the Metro was their world premiere.
According to some reports, the Vultures actually turned down Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell's request to replace the Beastie Boys as headliners at the festival, opting to debut in front of some 1,100 super-psyched fans at the Metro, rather than 75,000 in Grant Park (tickets for the gig were announced via Foo Fighter/ QOTSA fan clubs). Meaning that, in a lot of ways, this was the most sought-after ticket in town.
Taking the stage just after midnight, the Vultures — Grohl on drums (of course), Homme on guitar and vocals, Jones on bass and keys and frequent QOTSA contributor Alain Johannes on guitar — ripped through 12 songs in 80 minutes, all taken from their upcoming debut, which may or may not be called Never Deserved the Future, and may or may not be hitting stores on October 23 (early "promo" videos touting both those facts were revealed over the weekend to be hoaxes perpetrated by QOTSA fans).
The songs, with appropriately Homme-ian titles like "Scumbag Blues," "Mind Eraser (No Chaser)," "Caligulove" and "Interlude w/Ludes," sounded pretty much how you'd expect, given the band's pedigree. They rocked, hard — Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot described them as "fresh, invigorating and just plain nasty" — delving off into psychedelic, reverb-filled excursions and exploring proggy territory, "both of the old-school Yes variety, and the more modern Tool flavor," according to the Chicago Sun-Times' Jim DeRogatis.
It's not known if Monday's Metro performance was a one-off event for the Vultures — there have been whispers of a full-blown tour, but a spokesperson for Homme had not responded to MTV News' request for comment at press time. Nor was it clear whether or not they'll have an album out in October.
Early Monday, a Crooked Vultures Twitter account, which had previously posted links to the band's official-looking Web site and the Metro's online ticketing site — posted a link to what appears to be the group's first bit of official merchandise: a Deserve the Future T-shirt. Cost: $30.
Related Videos Related Photos Related ArtistsMalin Akerman Mandy Moore Maria Bello Maria Menounos Maria Sharapova
I'm here! I'm here! And I saw my first gang-banger get arrested yesterday so I feel like a total Angeleno.

I'm getting ready to go to the gym (again, like a total Angeleno!) so I will update later about my run-ins with Alexander Skarsgard, Pauly Shore, and Jeremy or Jason London (I'm not sure which one it was and seeing if I could force him to do drugs to find out seemed unfair. Besides, as it turned out, he was telling the truth?)
Anyhoo, I've got a lot to tell you about gardening! (Did you know if you get dirt wet it turns into mud? Yuck.)
And bumpers! (They don't bump off anything... they go, "Scraaaaaaaatch!")
And there's probably more but, again, I have to go because I have to get to the gym!
Source: http://www.prettyinthecity.com/blog/2011/6/9/los-angeles.html
Kate Mara Kate Moss Kate Walsh Katharine McPhee Katharine Towne