Why isn't 'Batgirl' a valid career choice?

He's performed on stage with Fall Out Boy for packed crowds of screaming girls.  He's worked with artists in genres from hip-hop to indie rock.  And he's done it all with a hat firmly planted on his head to hide his dirty little (bald) secret.

So what the hell is Patrick Stump afraid of? Don't be 'fraid!

So, now that Ashlee Simpson-Wentz has given birth, and now that she and husband Pete Wentz have announced their baby boy's name is "Bronx Mowgli Wentz," it's time for the next step in the baby hype:

When are we getting the first pictures? Grin for the cams, baby...

Okay, so, my internet and my back up laptop have both been dead since November 21st, when I got the chance to see Forever the Sickest Kids and Cobra Starship on their Pittsburgh stop on the Sassyback Tour.  I also apologize because, due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, I ended up without a single usable shot from the concert. Sassy, sassy, and more sassy...

Still holding your breath for new Fall Out Boy music?  Stop that, you're going to make yourself pass out. Now, follow us...

When Paramore first announced they were recording a song for the Twilight soundtrack, later revealed to be "Decode," frontwoman Hayley Williams talked about being a fan of the best selling series of books.  And, if there's anything I've learned from talking to series Twilight fans, there's one huge question you have to answer before any other: Team Edward or Team Jacob? Find out...

Fans have been rocking out to the We The King song "Secret Valentine" all through Bill and Trav's Bogus Journey.  And now, the rockers from the the panhandle state are giving you the chance to rock out to the song in the new music video! The info.

The Gym Class Heroes have made a name for themselves for being genre-straddling artists.  Not quite hip-hop, not quite punk, not quite pop, the boys have a kind of appeal that transcends genre lines.  And their tours have done the same. What now?

So it's that time of year when the weather starts cooling off and, in some places, the snow starts falling.  And it's beautiful for about two minutes before you realize you're freezing cold and the road conditions suck.

Well, Glamour Kills is hoping to help a few lucky winners out with at least one of those problems.  They're teaming with Buzznet to run the Glamour Kills Winter Contest where you can win your choice of two Glamour Kills limited edition hoodies to keep you warm.  And the grand prize winner wins an 8 gig iPod Touch to listen to while you wait for the roads to clear...or when you're stuck in traffic behind a snowplow.


Head over to enter!  You've gotta live in the US and you've only got until December 10th to get your entry in.  And don't forget to visit Glamour Kills on Buzznet!

While Twilight hasn't even hit theatres yet, director Catherine Hardwicke is already talking about the DVD's special features.  Start salivating now, Twilight fans, because she's giving you more Edward Cullen for your buck. DAZZLE ME!

So, a few days ago, Frank Iero talked to MTV.com about Leathermouth and their upcoming debut album.  And he talked about a lot of things: how the band is different from My Chemical Romance, the band's beginnings and his experience writing lyrics for this project.

However, like in most interviews, something was left out.  In transcribed interviews, reporters tend to leave out little things like "um" or "uh," because everyone says them.  It's generally not really vital to have that sort of stuff in the quotes or transcript.  And in phone interviews, the interviewee is usually doing something else at the same time...think of how often you wash dishes or catch or a bus or DRIVE while on your cellphone.  These guys are no different.


But MTV.com was pleased to share with the world an outtake from Frank's recent interview.  I'll warn you now, it's supremely gross and there's a damned good reason it didn't show up in the actual article.  But I think, if nothing else, it proves that Frank Iero is one rocker who will never go Hollywood on us:


Told you it was gross.

Melissa Auf Der Maur isn't content to just put out a solo album.  Which makes sense, she used to rock out on the bass for The Smashing Pumpkins and Hole.  And after experiences like that, you're bound to have a little bit of both artsy and sheer insanity rub off on you.  Combine that with Auf Der Maur's natural talent and ambition and you don't just get an album.  You get what's being called a "Fantasy Noise Experiment."


The project is, in Auf Der Maur's own words "a three dimensional concept art," featuring music, video, photography and comic illustrations.  Set to be released as an album, a film and a comic, all titled "Out of Our Minds," focus on a strong and fairly dark theme: blood.  “It’s the connector between you and me, the animal, and the tree,” Melissa said. “It’s the life force that connects us through our pulsing heart.”

Jack Forbes has provided the comic illustrations for the project, rendered in black, white and red.  It, like the film, will be totally wordless (don't worry, the album will be the exception to this!).  The reason for this goes deeper into the theme of the project: “How do you strip everything away, including words, and lose your mind, leave your mind, and follow — we use the word lightly, but — our heart. We follow our heart to the center of the conflict, or the center of the lifeforce. It sounds very general, but it’s not.”


While "Out of Our Minds" (or OOOM, "which is maybe the eternal sound,”) won't be out until next spring, fans can look forward to a three song LP in digital and vinyl formats called "This would be Paradise" and the launching of Auf Der Maur's website (hopefully later this month) which will be updated for the next two years with more information and bits and pieces of the project.

What do you think?  Intriguing idea?  Or too clever for it's own good?  How do you think this "Fantasy Noise Experiment" will all work out in the end?

With Fall Out Boy's recent decision to play small club shows that are only announced to fans a few weeks beforehand, a lot of fans are chomping at the bit to find out if FOB is playing near them.  Recently, Philadelphia got treated to a club show (check out CubistManifesto's awesome review and concert shots!) and early December will bring Fall Out Boy as well as their pals from The Academy Is... to (in no particular order) the Paramount in Seattle, WA, the House of Blues in Orlando, FL(also featuring local boys We The Kings), the Fillmore in Detroit, MI, and a sold out show in Denver, CO, at the Ogden Theatre. Next up...

While we already knew that All Time Low was going to be playing the Jingle My Bells Festival, the guys have also announced they'll be doing a small, four date "Christma-Hanu-Kwanza" Tour.  The supporting bands will be The Audition, Hey Monday, The Friday Night Boys, and Sparks The Rescue.

After this tour, the ATL boys have a few more dates lined up and then, hopefully, they'll head back to the studio to work on their follow up to So Wrong, It's Right.


The dates are:

12/17/08  Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon
12/18/08  Farmingdale, NY @ The Crazy Donkey
12/19/08  Syracuse, NY @ Westcott Theatre
12/20/08  Clifton Park, NY @ Northern Lights

What do you think of the line up?  Think you'll head out to sing carols and get your egg nog on with the bands?

So, in case you haven’t seen the Korean film Oldboy, based on the epic manga and filmed as part of Park Chan-wook’s “vengeance” trilogy, you might want to stop reading.  Because I’m going to post some major spoilers here.  Because there are things in Oldboy which just wouldn’t really work with an Americanized remake.

Which normally wouldn’t be a big deal, except...

So, MTV.com's 10 days of Twilight is counting down to the release of the movie next Friday.  And today, in an article about Twilight star Kristen Stewart, the Twilight franchise was called "The Star Wars of our Generation." LOLWHUT?

Six new Watchmen Posters have hit the internet.


Look, Twilight, both of our movies are being incredibly hyped.  You've got complaints about how they cast your film, we've got a squidless film. You've got Paramore on your soundtrack, we've got My Chemical Romance.  And neither movie will live up to The Dark Knight.  The end.

Frank Iero's band Leathermouth has been crazy busy during My Chemical Romance's recent hiatus.  Between opening for Reggie and the Full Effect during a recent tour, the band has been busy getting signed to Epitaph records and working on their debut album.  And now, Leathermouth is set to open a few tour dates for Mindless Self Indulgence this December. O RLY?

At long last, we have the new music video from The Hush Sound!  The video for "Medicine Man" from Goodbye, Blues is here!



What do you think?  And are you ready to catch the Hushies on tour with Augustana, One Republic and Spill Canvas?

Though Fall Out Boy's delayed Folie a Deux is still a month away, the boys have been staying busy playing shows in the UK and some US clubs, showing up on Leno to play their single "I Don't Care" and gracing the cover of the December issue of Alternative Press.

The cover came in three flavors: Fall Out Boy Sucks, Fall Out Boy Rules and a subscriber only "split personality" edition.  Buzznet readers even weighed in on which they liked better.


And now, we've got behind the scenes footage from the AP shoot:


Behind the scenes of Fall Out Boy's AP cover shoot (AltPress.com exclusive) from Alternative Press on Vimeo.

How awesome are these guys?

It’s what fans were holding their breath about when they heard the original rumblings.  And now they can breathe out and start complaining.

Let me open with this: the Pittsburgh bus system can die in a fire.

Because of the extreme difficulty of getting to Mr. Small's Theatre/Funhouse (which is located OUTSIDE the city because heaven forbid you make anything accessible to young people.  You'd rather make it incredibly difficult for them to get to shows or anything fun that's not sports related, and then complain that they leave the city after high school.  And you don't take the chance to build more venues in the city to attract bigger acts and maybe bring in some fracking money.  OH NO!  YOU WON'T DO ANYTHING THAT MAKES SENSE.  Done now) via a bus, I completely missed the opening sets.  Hey Monday had unfortunately canceled, but this means I missed all of Carolina Liar.  I apologize, I was really hyped on seeing and shooting their set.  Blame a combination of the Pittsburgh bus system, Google Transit and my own bad mood that evening.


However, I did get to see the sets by both We the Kings and The Academy Is...  And that was plenty worth the trip.

I'd seen We the Kings earlier this year when they were out on the Really, Really Ridiculously Good Looking Tour with Cobra Starship.  Afterwards, "Check Yes, Juliet" became one of my favorite songs of the summer, largely because it brought back memories of the band closing their high energy set with the song.


And the guys didn't disappoint on Saturday night either.  While Travis apologized for his voice not being in top shape, you could hardly tell.  Plus, the sold out crowd was too busy singing along to really notice!  The guys kept the crowd rocking and rolling through songs like "Secret Valentine" and, of course, "Check Yes, Juliet."  Oh, and they managed to include a cover of "Feel Good, Inc." by the Gorillaz, with Travis and Hunter sharing vocal duties during the song's incredibly dirty rap.

Oh, and don't forget, these guys are up for an MTVU Woodie Award for "Breaking Woodie."  I'll...leave the sexual overtones of that alone.  They're up against artists like All Time Low and Tyga, but we won't know until November 19th who takes the Woodie home.

...I even find that to be in somewhat poor taste.

One the guys finished up, it was time for The Academy Is... to take the stage. 

And really, what can I say about a TAI... show that fans don't already know?  All five of the guys are incredibly talented and put on one hell of a show.  They get intensely into their music, Mike Carden, Michael Guy Chislett and Adam T. Siska rock the fuck out.  Siska races from the back of the stage to the front of the stage constantly, and shares grins with The Butcher in between numbers.  Oh, and drinks from a mysterious red plastic cup.  Don't think I didn't see that, Sisky. 

Then there's William Beckett.  Beckett has pretty much elevated the rock star strut to an artform like no one since Mick Jagger.  The man can work a crowd like few I've ever seen before.  During nearly every song he reaches out into the audience to hoardes of screaming (mostly female) fans.


He even makes me fangirl a little bit while I'm trying to do the serious photographer/reporter thing.  When he hit the line "I'm not saying that I'm not breaking some hearts tonight," in "Slow Down" I have to confess: my knees went weak. 

Along with "Slow Down," TAI... showed off their musical chops with songs like "The Phrase that Pays," "Almost Here," "Neighbors," and the heart wrenching "Everything We Had" which is even harder for me to listen to in person.  They also rocked out with stuff from their new CD Fast Times at Barrington High, including the singles "About a Girl" and "Summer Hair/Forever Young," as well as "His Girl Friday," and Guy Ripley's favorite "Beware!  Cougar!"

What made me smile the most, however, was that the band played "Black Mamba."  That is THE song that made me a fan of The Academy Is...  Something in me resonates with the song's message of "I'm doing this and screw what the critics say."

I would like to take this chance to say that I had no pit to shoot in.  I was directly offstage the whole show.  Which both helped and hurt my shots.  But I would like to take this chance to apologize to Mike Carden and William Beckett who both seemed surprised to see me taking pictures off stage:

I am really sorry if I got flash in your eyes.  I tried not to.  And I'm sorry if I was distracting.  But THANK YOU and the rest of your band, and We The Kings and Carolina Liar (;_;) for adding that extra show in Pittsburgh.  It was an amazing night.

Bill and Trav's Bogus Journey continues.  And check out the rest of my shots from the show here!

My father was a police officer.  So was my maternal grandfather.  I am a writer.  Through my life, I have defended the police to my peers by saying "Not all officers are bad.  They are not all racist.  They are not all power crazy."

And yet...at 2:45 in this video:




LISTEN TO ME, AND LISTEN WELL, THIS IS NOT A THREAT.  THIS IS SOMETHING YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN:

As the media grows, as interactive and quick updates happen via blogs, via YouTube and via Twitter, it is easier for us to expose you and your wrong doings.  This is not a situation where you can move a glove and not get caught.  This is not a situation where you can beat down an innocent person or persons and not have a million people instantly see it.  This is no longer a world where the media is for the elite first.

This is a world where people like me, like the rest of this site, like the two men you attacked during a protest today, can almost instantaneously let the world see you for who and what you are.  And, if I may put it bluntly?

YOU DO NOT FUCK WITH US.

I have seen a few people bemoan that, in the near future, we will see another civil war in our country.  They have said it in reference to the fact that on Tuesday we elected Barack Obama as the first non-white president in the history of the United States.

But ladies and gentleman, our next civil war will not be about race.  Our next civil war WILL be about a difference in ideology, an argument over the legislation of morality versus legality.  It will once again be about whether or not all men are created equal, whether the United States of America is still a country based not on the denial of basic human rights, but on the granting and celebration of the rights of all men and women.

Our next civil war is being fought in the streets of California as we speak.  This is not the first instance, nor will it be the last.  Our next civil war will hopefully be prevented by the new administration set to take power in January of 2009, an administration that I hope down to the deepest part of my heart with honor the words that make MY and OUR country great, the same words delivered to an unjust government in 1776.


And yet our goverment continues to deny a right to many of it's citizens, the right to celebrate love and life with another person because the couple in question is of the same sex.

Earlier this evening, some of Buzznet's own were jailed during a protest against Proposition 8, which repeals the rights of same sex couples to marry in the state of California.  A right that people should not have to fight for, a right that should be granted to them as citizens of the United States of America, regardless of the gender of their spouse.  These arrests are as ridiculous as the idea that there should be any reason to ban marriage between same sex couples. 

No person in this country should be a second class citizen.  Regardless of race or gender, whether they are natural born citizens or immigrants, whether they be straight, gay, transexual or what have you.  We are Americans.  And we deserve the same power that our forefathers had: to grant rights to our people rather than deny them out of fear.



All my love tonight to Mark, Rich and the others out there.  Keep them in your thoughts and/or prayers.  And remember, change is slow to come, but the fight for it is, no matter what, a worthy one.

As The Compromising of Integrity, Morality and Principles in Exchange for Money Tour (around these parts mostly known as the "Money Tour") continues, it makes some sense that the guys from All Time Low, Mayday Parade, The Maine and Every Avenue would want to kick back and relax a little.  And what better way to do that than the way a whole lot of other guys their age would do that: playing a little Halo 3. Embrace your inner gamer...

As My Chemical Romance continues to taunt us with the NONEXISTENCE of their follow up to The Black Parade, they are at least trying to keep fans somewhat satiated.  After all, we did get the fantastic live CD/DVD set The Black Parade is Dead!, as well as an update on the plans for the next album, complete with a promise that My Chem will be going back to a more raw and less produced sound. Deets.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

(I would also like to applaud John McCain on his graceful and eloquent concession speech last night.  He had the option to continue to fight, to draw out this bitter election beyond election day...and instead he did what he claimed so many times in his campaign that he could and would do: he reached across party lines, nodded to President Elect Barack Obama and said "They have chosen you.  Now let's fix this country."  Even when his supporters chanted at him "We're not done," McCain shook his head and let them know that the election is over, but now the fight to end partisanship and the divide in our country needs to be over as well.)

So, last night there was no "Heroes," because of the SNL election eve special.  But that doesn't mean we can't, in some small way, discuss Parkman and his turtle. Let's discuss...

With Halloween behind us, it's now time to start thinking about the holiday season.  Okay, so retailers have been trying to get us to think about whichever Winter Gift Giving Festival and/or Celebration of Returning Light you happen to celebrate since roughly AUGUST, but we've officially hit the point where bells can start jingling.  Hey, look at it this way: normally the holiday shopping season starts on October 31st.  Which is why I once had to spend an entire day pricing Christmas CD's while in full pirate regalia.

I regret nothing.

Anyway, who better to deck some halls and jingle some bells than Santa's Little Helpers in All Time Low? 


Nobody, actually, which is why ATL will be headling the 2008 Jingle My Bells Festival in Torrington, CT.  Other acts scheduled to appear are Valencia, Ace Enders, The Color Fred, There For Tomorrow, The Morning Light and The Friday Night Boys.  You can grab tickets here if you're planning to attend in your one horse open sleigh with some chestnuts roasting on an open fire. 

But do me a favor and keep Frosty the Snowman out of the circle pit this year.  It NEVER ends well.

We were all holding our breath when Gabe Saporta announced that, despite being diagnosed with cysts on his vocal chord ("which is like a calloused blister or some other gross shit," according to Gabe) Cobra Starship would NOT be putting the Sassyback Tour on hold.  Fans were warily excited, torn between wanting to see Cobra as well as tour mates Forever the Sickets Kids, but also worried about Gabe's voice and health.  Especially considering Cobra are set to head back into the studio to record a follow up to last year's epic Viva La Cobra. Read more...

The moment you've all waited patiently or not-so-much for is finally here!  Paramore's music video for "Decode" has officially been released onto the internet. Get dazzled, y'all...

So, ever since rumors hit the internet that German rockers and MTV's Best New Artist of 2008, Tokio Hotel, were supposedly going into the studio to collaborate with Disney pop rocker Miley Cyrus, you'd have thought the Apocalypse had finally come.  And while that happening would probably not be the end of the world (Gabe Saporta hasn't sent out the party invitations yet), we won't have to test the theory anytime soon.  Because in an interview, Tokio Twins Bill and Tom Kaulitz have let their fans know that the rumored collaboration is just that: a rumor. Breathe easy, TH fans...

So, despite selling like hot gothcakes, being nominated for a Scream Award and winning an Eisner Award earlier this year, Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba's comic The Umbrella Academy was missing one important thing: a website.  Oh, yes, they had an official Myspace, but no actual WEBSPACE.

Until now!


A new Umbrella Academy Zone has appeared on Dark Horse's Official Website, complete with TUA images and a message directly from the creator, Gerard Way.

Way's message talks about the honor of winning the Eisner Award, as he puts it, a "childhood dream" come true for both himself and Gabriel, about the need for a location for fans to get information as well as for Gerard and Gabriel to share notes and other special features with them.


But of course, Gerard's way with words is one of the most amazing features of the current site:


The "new semester" starts later this month when The Umbrella Academy: Dallas hits comic stands on November 26th.  The series will apparently pick up with Apocalypse Suite left off and will explore what happens after the heroes mostly saved the world.

Oh, and what comic site would be complete without message boards?  Gerard asks you use those and the rest of the site responsibly, however:

So, on behalf of the entire UA team, I welcome you to the Umbrella Academy Zone, ask you to play nice, respect each other, and try not to be late to class.