Just yesterday in Berlin, Jay-Z was rapping his ode to New York, “Empire State of Mind,” at the MTV Europe Music Awards (see photos here!) and today he was back in Manhattan doing his Blueprint 3 hit at the Yankees’ World Series victory parade. “Empire” has gone global, and Jay-Z and Keys’ song has not only become an unofficial theme for the Yankees and one of autumn’s biggest hits, it’s also one of the best New York songs ever. But is it the best? That’s what we’re asking our readers in this weekend’s Rock List. Tell us your favorite songs about the Big Apple, and on Monday we’ll reveal NY’s true anthem. Check out our personal picks below:
• Billy Joel – “New York State of Mind” • Jay-Z – “Empire State of Mind” • Madonna – “I Love New York” • LCD Soundsystem – “New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down” • Bruce Springsteen – “New York City Serenade”
After 17 years, Nirvana’s incredible headlining set from the 1992 Reading Festival was finally (officially) released on CD/DVD as Live at Reading this week. As Rolling Stone previously reported, Kurt Cobain and Co. also played Reading in 1991, performing on the bottom third of the bill on the fest’s first day. Just one year later, they were headlining Reading’s third night. Since you can see all of the ‘92 show on DVD, this week’s Flashback journeys back to the band’s ‘91 Reading with a windblown rendition of “School.” Compare it with “School” from the ‘92 Reading here.
As Rolling Stone previously reported, director Robert Zemeckis and Disney brokered a deal that would allow them to re-submerge the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, turning the 1968 animated film into a performance-capture 3-D digital production. What was at first a Hollywood rumor is now a fact as Zemeckis confirmed to MTV Movies Blog that he’s already working on the script, which he’ll also direct. However, one thing the Back to the Future director doesn’t know is whether Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr will participate in the film.
“We haven’t gotten the word yet on the two surviving Beatles, whether they’re interested in doing it or not,” Zemeckis said after admitting his wish is that Macca and Starr provide the voices for their characters. In the original Yellow Submarine, voice actors played the role of the Beatles, with the Fab Four only appearing in a live-action sequence at film’s end.
Zemeckis plans to utilize the technology he’s previously showcased on films like The Polar Express, Beowulf and this weekend’s Disney’s A Christmas Carol starring Jim Carrey. “I think Yellow Submarine is a perfect example of a movie that can be re-envisioned in the digital cinema and be absolutely beyond spectacular,” Zemeckis told MTV. Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers isn’t exactly the biggest fan of this type of filmmaking, often arguing that film’s live-action transition to digital CGI often leaves the characters with dead, emotionless eyes (see his review of A Christmas Carol).
As Rolling Stone previously reported, Yellow Submarine is eying a 2012 release that will coincide with the Summer Olympic games in London. A musical based on the film may also spawn out of Zemeckis and Disney’s deal.
A second excerpt of Rihanna’s 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer aired this morning on Good Morning America, in which Rihanna finally reveals for the first time what happened inside of Chris Brown’s rented Lamborghini the night of February 8th. Prior to this interview, both stars have let their lawyers and police evidence do the talking; Brown has previously sidestepped the question, saying he wanted to respect Rihanna’s privacy.
Rihanna confirmed that the couple’s argument was sparked by a text message another woman sent to Brown. “I caught him in a lie and he wouldn’t tell the truth. I wouldn’t drop it. I couldn’t take that he kept lying to me and he couldn’t take that I wouldn’t drop it,” Rihanna said. “So it escalated into him being violent towards me and… it was ugly.”
Brown repeatedly punched Rihanna while still operating the vehicle. “That’s all I kept thinking the whole time. When’s it going to stop, when’s it going to stop? He had no soul in his eyes, just blank. He was clearly blacked out. There was no person when I looked to him,” Rihanna said. “I was bleeding, I was swelling in my face.” The full interview with Sawyer and Rihanna will air tonight on 20/20, and the Rated R singer is expected to reveal even more details about the assault.
Rihanna says the pair’s whirlwind relationship became an obsession for both of them. “We just fell really fast. The more in love we became, the more dangerous we’d become for each other, equally as dangerous,” Rihanna said. Despite the assault, as RS reported yesterday, Rihanna later returned to Brown before eventually parting ways with her “first big love.” “I don’t hate him at all. I actually love and care about him. I’m concerned about him doing well. I want him to do well, have a great career, have a great life and grow up. Just take this as something you had to go through to grow up,” Rihanna said.
Brown will tell his own story of what happened the night before the Grammys when his interview with MTV News airs tonight at 6 p.m.
Dr. Arnold Klein, Michael Jackson’s personal dermatologist and a subject of scrutiny in the months following the singer’s death, sat down with TMZ’s Harvey Levin for a 90-plus minute interview that revisits Jackson’s alleged prescription drug use and his insecurity over his acne.
“He was in the hands of doctors who didn’t know what they were doing,” Klein told TMZ, adding that Dr. Conrad Murray, the focus of the investigation into Jackson’s death, was both unqualified to administer Propofol and shouldn’t have been offering the drug to Jackson in the first place. TMZ asked Klein about medical records showing that Klein himself administered Demerol to Jackson at a frequent rate — at one point, there were 179 procedures in three months — but Klein responded by saying the treatments were necessary as he attempted to “rebuild” Jackson’s face.
“Do you know how terrible his acne was? He wouldn’t go to school. He used to tell me he would scrub his face with brillo because he thought it would help his acne. He had some really severe acne scarring,” Klein said, adding later, “Do you know how many weekends I spent doing this, trying to rebuild his face? It’s not easy.” Klein reiterated that it was Jackson’s Propofol addiction that caused the singer’s premature death, which was eventually ruled a homicide.
Dressed similarly to Joe Jackson, Klein also took a shot at everyone from the Jackson family to law employment agents who are looking to profit in the wake of Jackson’s death. “That’s why this whole thing bothers me, because you get a famous person who dies, and everybody wants to be in front of the spotlight. It becomes really appalling to me,” Klein earnestly said — in an interview with TMZ.
Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance” [Chew Fu H1N1 Club Mix] Are we really ready for mixes to be dubbed the “H1N1 mix”? Are we at that point yet? Last we checked, people still weren’t sure if they wanted to get the cure for that thing (see Corgan, Billy), let alone swivel their hips to it on the dance floor. Name aside, Chew Fu turns this track inside out, making it both sleek and superpowered. We anxiously await “Party in the USA (Ebola Mix).”
Beastie Boys, “Intergalactic” [Polymorphic Remix] Polymorphic is a Russian DJ, and while the only MP3s we usually get from Russians cost 10 cents and are sold to us under a specious legal framework, this weird, warped reworking of (underrated!) Beastie Boys single “Intergalactic” enhances the fury of the original один-fold.
Sia, “Under the Milky Way” [Church Cover] In the 21 years since this song was originally recorded, no one ever pondered this weird existential dilemma: earth? Yeah, it’s part of the milky way. And so if the protagonist of this song is “under” the milky way, where does that put them? Are they writing this song from some other parallel galaxy, where they’re getting dumped just like we do in our galaxy? So many questions.
Four Tet, “Iron Man” [Black Sabbath] We pretty desperately want to play this for Ozzy, just to gauge the reaction. It’s a testament to the song’s infernal power that Four Tet can essentially turn it into “Sounds of Silence” and it still sounds badass.
Converge, “Locust Reign” [Live] Because when a band that’s been around as long as Converge manages to remain as good as Converge, we have to, in some way, acknowledge. A recent story reports that, before shows, the band members occasionally beat one another with belts. With belts. This live version of a Converge classic gives just an inkling of the insanity on their latest perfect full-length, Axe to Fall.
Photo: Diamond/Getty (Swift), Merritt/Getty (Mayer) Another track off John Mayer’s Battle Studies has leaked before its November 17th release date: “Half of My Heart,” a duet with Taylor Swift. The pair team up for a nice piece of Fleetwood Mac-inspired pop in which Mayer sings, “Half of my heart is a shotgun wedding to a bride with a paper ring, but half of the heart is the part of a man who hasn’t truly loved anything.” Hit up Perez Hilton to listen to a stream.
If the track has a flaw, it’s that Swift’s appearance is, well, too swift. This weekend’s Saturday Night Live host and musical guest doesn’t pop up until the 2:45 mark, where she delivers the line, “I can’t stop loving you” twice before again receding to the background, only to appear again for some last-second harmonizing before the fadeout. Even with the lack of Swift, the track will no doubt be in constant rotation for fans of Mayer, Taylor and Rumours. Also, there’s no opening references to getting stoned, so radio should like it, too.
“Half of My Heart,” track three on Battle Studies, appears on the brighter side of Mayer’s new LP, as the guitarist recently told Rolling Stone, “The record starts out sort of like the sun is out, then it gets darker. And then the sun comes back out at the end.” “Half” also seems to avoid all the combat metaphors featured on Studies. “I was loving the war theme, the battle theme. The militaristic, vulgar, violent side of a relationship on the down slope,” Mayer told RS.
Mayer has already charted out a plan of attack for his 2010 tour, so check out the Battle Studies dates here.
The award for Best Live Act was the first trophy handed out at yesterday’s MTV Europe Music Awards, and it went to U2 for their massive 360° Tour. Stripped of their spaceship and playing a free concert outside the EMAs to a small crowd of 10,000 at Berlin’s Brandenburg Park, U2 showed why they deserve the honor by breaking out a 20-minute concert featuring hits, No Line on the Horizon tracks and a surprise collaboration with Jay-Z just days after teaming up with the Black Eyed Peas at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th anniversary concerts.
Performing in honor of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, U2 started with “One” and “Magnificent,” and the show returned to to their mini-gig to close out the ceremony. Midway through “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” Bono asked the fans to greet the “Mayor of New York,” alluding to Jay-Z and not the reelected Mike Bloomberg. Jigga emerged from the sidelines to freestyle a verse over the “Sunday” riffs before joining hands with Bono and leading the 10,000-strong audience in a chant of Bob Marley’s “Get Up, Stand Up” in honor of the Berlin Wall’s demolition.
Beyoncé was the show’s big winner at Berlin’s packed O2 Arena, grabbing three Euro Moonmen for Best Song (”Halo”), as well as Best Female and Best Video for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It).” During her acceptance speech for Best Video, Beyoncé shouted out her husband, saying, “There is one person I want to thank, and that is Jay — for putting a ring on it!” Jay-Z also took home a trophy for Best Urban. The biggest couple in music took the stage separately, too: Beyoncé sang “Sweet Dreams” and Jay-Z gave Berlin a taste of his “Empire State of Mind.”
Other winners include Lady Gaga for Best New Act and Eminem for Best Male. Katy Perry served as the EMAs’ host, while Shakira, Tokio Hotel, Leona Lewis and the Foo Fighters took the stage to perform. Green Day also turned in an explosive performance, kicking off the show with a medley of “Know Your Enemy” and “Minority.”
If you weren’t among the estimated two billion who tuned in, MTV is streaming the EMAs on their Website now. And as expected, there was a Hasselhoff appearance.
Photo: Astute/ABC 
Photo: Getty 
Photo: Polk/Getty
Photo: Diamond/Getty (Swift), Merritt/Getty (Mayer)