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

2008 is about to come to a close.  And 2008 in music has been huge: we've heard new music from The Academy Is..., Kanye West, Gym Class Heroes, Panic at the Disco, Pink, Ashlee Simpson, Rihanna and Fall Out Boy, to name a few.  Plus, we saw the official comeback of Miss Britney Spears herself.  The list...

Depression is a scary, scary topic.  And often, one of the major issues with seeking help for depression is the disease itself stands in your way: everything seems overwhelming, even seeking treatment. Read more...

Anyone who's seen the Cobra Starship video for "The Church of Hot Addiction" knows that Gabe Saporta is a big fan of bunnies.  After all, in the video he marries one.  Who later turns out to be Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy.  But that's another story all together.

We've had speculation and now we have confirmation: The first list of bands for Warped Tour 2009 was just released to the internet. And the '09 Warped Bands are...

Hey gang!  I ended up putting together a gallery chronicling My Chemical Romance's attempts at "taking some time off."  It's part of Buzznet's Best of 2008 stuff that's going on, so go check it out and check out the other journals and galleries by some awesome Buzznet users.  And share your thoughts on everything '08 had to offer!

Are you a fan of video games?  Are you a fan of Fall Out Boy?


Then are you ever gonna love this news:  X-Box's "Game with Fame" is giving you the chance to play Call of Duty: World at War against Fall Out Boy this Friday.  You may remember "Game with Fame" as the same group that gave fans the chance to play Halo 3 against the guys from The Compromising of Integrity, Morality and Principles in Exchange for Money Tour: Every Avenue, The Maine, Mayday Parade and All Time Low. 

The deal is similar to the way it worked for the Money Tour guys: if you're interested in playing and have an X-Box Live Gold membership, you can send a request to their gamertag no later than half an hour before the game starts.  Game starts at 2PM EST, meaning you'd have to have a request in by 1:30PM EST at the latest.  The gamertag they'll be using is GWF FallOutBoy.

Make sure you report back to Buzznet if you get a chance to play against the guys.  And watch out, because drummer Andy Hurley has mentioned on Twitter he's a fan of the game.  Odds are he's practiced.

Twilight: you likely either think of it as a joyous phenomenon or as that annoying itch that just won't go away.  Either way, it looks like not only is it sticking around, but Hollywood is looking to cash in ASAP.  Because despite the Twilight movie only hitting theaters one month ago, they've already announced a release date for the sequel, New Moon. Rush, rush...

We've all had the chance to see the equipment, but now Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz has dished on what he's done with it.  In an appearance on Howard Stern the morning of December 16th, Pete apparently celebrated the release of his band's new album Folie a Deux by spilling the beans about his sex life. If you really want to know...

Folie a Deux, the title of Fall Out Boy's third major label album, is meant to mean "a madness shared by two." Which means this album is madness!

No. This...is...Fall Out Boy. Read the review...

We all know Gabe Saporta of Cobra Starship has been having difficulties with his vocal chords.  Between missed shows on the Sassyback Tour and a canceled UK tour, it's obvious the frontman was not at 100%.  Or even, like, 69%. He may need some well wishes...

Hey, all you people who still think Ronnie Radke is innocent!  Don't worry, while you're making your signs reading "ZOMG FRIE RONNIE I LUV HIM HES SOOOOOOO HAWT!" your object of imprisoned infatuation is working hard to reward your efforts.  Because the former Escape the Fate lead singer has started a new band.  Behind bars. Seriously...

While Jon Walker blogged earlier today, we've also got new news from Panic at the Disco guitarist Ryan Ross.  Ryan apparently spoke to Rolling Stone about the "...Live in Chicago" CD and Book that was just released.  And while a lot of the information is about the making of the book, he also provided some information on the band's writing process as they prepare for their follow-up to this year's Pretty.  Odd.


Ryan does mention that musically the new CD is set to sound a lot like Pretty.  Odd.  "You’ll be able to know it’s the same band from Pretty.Odd. to our next album; it won’t be the leap it was from the first album to the second. Hopefully it’s just better," Ross laughs.  And while that may disappoint fans who weren't thrilled with Panic's sound on the new CD and wished for a return to the sound from A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, Ryan firmly believes if the band had time to mature, things would have been quite different.  "That’s the funny thing — if there was a year and half or two years of us being a band like every other band and then getting signed, we would probably have made Pretty. Odd. as our first album instead."

The big change?  Panic's mindset.  Ross says " I kind of look at [our earlier music] now and laugh a little — not at it, but just at how much we’ve changed as people, much less as a band."  He defines that change as "...we really did grow up a little bit. If we weren’t doing this, we would have been in college at that time and that’s when you move out of your house and get away from your parents and become a person; you’re not a kid anymore."

But one thing is still for sure: Ryan is NOT Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger.  "We were in this park in Canada throwing a frisbee around, and there was a homeless guy there who swore to God I was Mick Jagger. I kept telling him I wasn’t, and he kept thinking I was Jagger and wanted to play frisbee with us. Then he heard a siren coming and thought I called the cops — and he ran away!"  The best part?  "I don’t think I look like [Jagger] at all."

Cobra Starship lead singer Gabe Saporta's recent vocal cord issues have been well documented, to say the least.  Gabe was diagnosed with a vocal cyst right before the Sassyback Tour began and refused to cancel the dates for surgery.   This led to Ryland Blackinton taking over vocals for Gabe on occasion and even then a few dates on the tour were rescheduled.  Read more...

Well, we might not have a full list of bands yet, but now you can find out when the 2009 Warped Tour will be coming to a city near you!


Dates were posted today on Warped Tour's official website.  Venues are still listed as "To Be Announced," unfortunately.

The 2009 Warped Tour Dates:

Jun 26    Pomona, CA
Jun 27    San Francisco, CA
Jun 28    Ventura, CA
Jun 30    Phoenix, AZ
Jul 01    Las Cruces, NM
Jul 02    San Antonio, TX
Jul 03    Houston, TX
Jul 05    Dallas, TX
Jul 07    Indianapolis, IN
Jul 08    Pittsburgh, PA
Jul 09    Cleveland, OH
Jul 10    Toronto, ON
Jul 11    Montreal, QC
Jul 12    Hartford, CT
Jul 14    Washington, DC
Jul 15    Buffalo, NY
Jul 16    Scranton, PA
Jul 17    Camden, NJ
Jul 18    Uniondale, NY
Jul 19     TBA, NJ
Jul 21    Boston, MA
Jul 22    Virginia Beach, VA
Jul 23    Charlotte, NC
Jul 24    Orlando, FL
Jul 25    Miami, FL
Jul 26    Tampa, FL
Jul 28    Atlanta, GA
Jul 29    Cincinnati, OH
Jul 30    Milwaukee, WI
Jul 31    Detroit, MI
Aug 01    Chicago, IL
Aug 02    Minneapolis, MN
Aug 03    St. Louis, MO
Aug 04    Kansas City, MO
Aug 07    Boise, ID
Aug 08    Salt Lake City, UT
Aug 09    Denver, CO
Aug 12    Calgary, AB
Aug 14    Vancouver, BC
Aug 15    Seattle, WA
Aug 16    Portland, OR
Aug 19    Fresno, CA
Aug 20    San Francisco, CA
Aug 21    Sacramento, CA
Aug 22    San Diego, CA
Aug 23    Los Angeles, CA

See your city?  Looking forward to the 2009 tour already?

So, remember the long wait between A Fever You Can't Sweat Out and Pretty.  Odd.?  Well, if you were afraid Panic at the Disco was going to pull the same stunts again, never fear!  Bassist Jon Walker has updated Panic's blog at We're So Blogging with information about the band's plans for the future.



This information goes along with what Panic told Buzznet's own Bree during the early stages of the Rock Band Live Tour with Dashboard Confessional.  Well, okay, not the stuff about Jon's cats, but the stuff about the new album at least. 

However, the news of another tour planned for next Spring is new and huge!  I just hope this tour brings them to some areas they've been neglecting.  Like Pittsburgh.  We have many bars, gentlemen.  Many bars.

Looking forward to a new Panic album?  Where do you hope they go with a new CD?

According to earlier reports, pictures of Bronx Mowgli Wentz, the son of Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, were rumored to be worth roughly $2 Million.  And fans anxiously awaited news of who would get the bid for the first photos of Bronx with his extremely proud parents.  Would they go with People?  US Magazine?  Or shoot for Rolling Stone, since both parents are well known in the music industry? Read more...

It looks like Frank Iero is getting ready for a busy 2009.

Not that he was exactly slacking in 2008.  Between touring with My Chemical Romance early in the year and his side project LeATHERMOUTH in the fall, he's found time to play in a Cure cover band, continue running his Skeleton Crew record label and clothing store and, in between it all, he married his longtime girlfriend Jamia Nestor.  But there's more...

While Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz eagerly awaited the birth of their first child, Bronx, they were getting parenting advice from all over.  Both of their parents and friends such as Nicole Ritchie and Joel Madden were likely offering up tips.  But they also got some parenting advice from Cesar Millan, the famous Dog Whisperer.


That advice wasn't about how to raise Bronx, obviously.  Apparently, Pete and Ashlee were having some issues with one of their OTHER children: Pete's longtime companion Hemmingway, an English bulldog who's a fixture in Pete's blog as well as his clothing line.  But apparently Hemmy was getting a little too agressive for the expecting couple, so they called Millan in to help.


Want to see how it went?  Well, the results will appear in an upcoming episode of The Dog Whisperer, set to air Sunday December 28th on the National Geographic Channel.

Comic books are quickly taking over Hollywood.  Between this past year's hits Iron Man and The Dark Knight and with a highly anticipated movie adaptation of Watchmen in the near future, it seems like comics are becoming a viable option for Hollywood.

But what about BROADWAY?


Well, apparently someone longs to test the ability of a mainstream comic to successfully adapt to the stage.  Because, ladies and gentlemen, we are drawing ever closer to the premier of "Spiderman: The Musical."

So, if Peter Parker running around dressing like Pete Wentz in Spiderman 3 didn't do it for you, imagine your friendly neighborhood Spiderman swinging in to rescue the girl next door Mary Jane (rumored to be played by Evan Rachel Wood), while belting out a tune.  And who better to put words into the mouth of Broadway's Spidey than U2's Bono and The Edge?  Honestly, folks, I can't make this stuff up.

And apparently somebody's taking it very seriously, because the production is set to cost roughly $40 Million.  What does that mean?  Well, “a weekly running cost of $1 million, [and the show] will have to run about 8,000 years in a Broadway theater just to break even," according to the New York Post. 

You know what could save this for me?  Having Stephen Colbert play J. Jonah Jameson and belting out a song about how he wants pictures of Spiderman.  After all, Colbert DID appear in a Spiderman comic earlier this year!

What do you think of the concept of a Spiderman musical?  Would you pay to see it?  Could you think of a superhero you'd RATHER see in a musical?

By now, everybody knows about those nude photos of Pete Wentz, right?  But let's face it, those were not great quality and were never supposed to be seen by the world.  And, if you're like me, kind of perverted, you're thinking "Wow, wouldn't it be great if we could get nice, professional nudes of a member of the Decaydance family?"

Never fear.  Because a member of Panic at the Disco has given the world new hope for tasteful nudes. Read more...

Hey, all you Tokio Hotel fan girls who rag on Ashlee Simpson for her SNL debacle!  Guess what?  Looks like you might have some explaining to do.  Because Tokio Hotel's live show might not be as "live" as you think. Oh, really?

It's kind of hard to imagine Patrick Stump, lead singer of Fall Out Boy, as someone afraid to sing.  After all, the man has an amazing voice and, by his own admission, "range like no motherf-cker knows!"  And his voice is one of the most fantastic features of Fall Out Boy's upcoming album Folie a Deux.


But according to an interview with Rolling Stone, Stump didn't used to practice singing so much as he practiced imitations.  "I started out by doing a bitchin' Elvis Costello impression. I can do a good Tom Waits and a good Prince. I was totally bashful about singing in front of people, but when you're making a joke of it, it's a completely different story," he says. In contrast, his first performance with Fall Out Boy didn't go so well.  "I couldn't even sing, I was so horrified."

Fans all over are probably grateful he got over that fear eventually.  And apparently that had a lot to do with Fall Out Boy's Grammy nomination in 2006.  Stump recalls thinking "I don't belong here."  "Elvis Costello was sitting across from me, and Stevie Wonder was up onstage, and I said, 'I need to step my game up, just so I don't feel disrespectful.'" 


But that doesn't mean he's given up his vocal imitations.  He even mentions channeling David Bowie on a track on Folie a Deux.  Stump says that while recording "What a Catch, Donnie," his deep vocals made him feel like he was impersonating Bowie.  "All of a sudden I had a British accent."

With a background in imitation, and apparently a penchant for picking up accents, it's surprising that Stump hasn't sought out more acting opportunities since his appearance on Law and Order where he played Marty Dressler, a fish loving psychopath you kind of just wanted to hug.  And of course, he, unlike Stump, is not also into hats.  Though Patrick defends his headgear as not being related to his bald spot.  "It goes back to that naked feeling of singing. Once I have my hat on and take my glasses off — so I can't see past the first row — I can relax."

Part of that relaxation seems to come with listening to music, and Stump isn't afraid to share his thoughts and feelings on modern artists.  "Kanye West is the best thing happening in pop music right now. He's the Prince of his generation. He's doing whatever the fuck he wants, dragging pop music with him kicking and screaming. McCain says he's a maverick. No, Kanye's the maverick."

Stump also relaxes occasionally with a drink (despite his fear of bartenders) but maintains that Fall Out Boy is not a partying band.  "I'm too busy to get drunk. I'll have a glass of wine at dinner, but that's about it."  So don't worry, ladies.  While Patrick's not exactly straight edge, he's not an alcoholic either.  He's hit that sweet, sweet middle ground that does, in fact, exist.


But what about other "substances?"  Patrick doesn't cop to smoking weed in the present, but does take time to tell the story of the first time he got stoned.  Apparently, some friends got out a bong, convinced Patrick to take a hit under extreme protest, and then he drove home doing 20 miles per hour.  And then?  "I don't want my mom to know I'm stoned, so I race up to my room. Now, I know this is blasphemy to so many people, but I was never a huge Pink Floyd fan. But I had a copy of Dark Side of the Moon, and I was like, "If I'm ever going to do this, it's right now." It's the only time I've ever listened to that record. It was amazing!"

So, since their elopement, pseudolebrities Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt have probably been getting marriage advice from the far more famous people they tend to hang out with.  And while it's possible Spencer's been getting marriage advice from the likes of Pete Wentz, there's another source that's apparently been giving him some sage advise as well: Tom Cruise.


Yeah, you read that right.  Tom "Jesus of Scientology" Cruise. 

MTV.com reports that Cruise's advice was mostly about the wedding itself, telling Spencer to make sure it was an affair that Heidi would remember.  "She's gonna remember it forever," Cruise said.  And really, Tom should know, since his 2006 Italian wedding to Katie Holmes was ridiculously extravagent and star studded.  Pratt apparently told US Magazine that a big wedding would be possible under one condition: "If Tom's the best man, we'll have a big wedding!"

Of course, though out all of this, I find myself wondering when Tom Cruise slipped Heidi and Spencer copies of Dyanetics and told them to call him if they needed help understanding any of it.  After all, Scientology would likely KILL for a very special episode of The Hills where Heidi and Spencer have their Thetan count calculated.

So it's still cold here in parts of the US, but some of us are already looking forward to next summer and at least one stop at the annual punk rock summer camp that is Warped Tour.  This past year, bands and artists like Cobra Starship, The Academy Is..., Gym Class Heroes, All Time Low, Bring Me the Horizon, 3OH!3, MC Chris, Swayze and Katy Perry along with a myriad of others put on one hell of a show for concert goers.  And of course, Buzznet's birthday girl Breesays was there to bring us all an inside scoop! What's the word on '09?

Ah, it's that season where family, friends, fans and even bands are in the giving spirit.  And We the Kings, the Florida Foursome who recently rocked out with The Academy Is... on the Bill and Trav's Bogus Journey Tour, are set to give fans a great, if not entirely seasonally appropriate gift. 


We the Kings will debut their video for "Secret Valentine" on December 12th via their Myspace page.  You might remember that the band put out a casting call in Brooklyn a few weeks back, so we knew the video was in the works.  But up until now we hadn't had any word about how long it would be until we got to see what they were planning. 

Well, now the wait is almost over.  Anyone else as excited for this as I am?  Oh, and did any of you out there end up getting in as extras for the video?  If so, share anything you can with us!  You know we want the scoop!

While Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba are responsible for bringing us the story and artwork in their hit series The Umbrella Academy, the comic might have never been.  After all, day after day comics are written, pitched and rejected by major publishers.  And while Gerard's celebrity status may have helped, let's face it, his name wouldn't mean much to someone who didn't know who the hell My Chemical Romance was.

Like Dark Horse editor Scott Allie.  In a guest blog for MTV.com's Splash Page, Allie confesses he'd never heard of Gerard Way or My Chemical Romance before Gerard pitched The Umbrella Academy to Dark Horse Comics.  What won Allie over wasn't Gerard's name or band, but the story itself.  "I’d never wanted to edit superhero comics—except that this was the superhero comic I hadn’t known I’d wanted to edit. This was a surrealistic superhero epic with heartbreak, Grant Morrison with a soft spot."


Allie, who has also worked with Joss Whedon in creating the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel comics, talks about the struggles of launching a new title with never before heard of characters.  "Getting a new book up and running is hard these days, to be perfectly frank. The economics of comics, like everything else, is harsh, and many start only to fail. It may sound cowardly, but I don’t like to start it unless I feel like I know how to make it work."  But luckily for them, when it came to comic sales, the demographic that most companies are aiming for was EXACTLY the demographic that My Chemical Romance largely appeals to: teenage girls.  Comic companies are chomping at the bit to figure out how to get those girls out of buying manga (which they can pick up at the bookstore) and into comic shops, with hope that buying one title will expose them to other titles as well.

And in many ways, it worked.  Even Gerard Way has mentioned in interviews how many young female fans have told him The Umbrella Academy is the first comic they've ever read.  And although there's no telling how many of those girls have become interested in other titles because of TUA, it's safe to assume that comics shops across the country are seeing these new customers at least once a month.

The demographic is not responsible for all of the comic's success, as Allie is quick to note.  "But I’m very clear, and Gerard is clear, that that other career of his allowed us to tell the story we wanted to tell. But MCR wasn’t why mainstream comics fans got behind the book, and it wasn’t why we won the awards we did."  Though, even he mentions "Although, yeah, My Chemical Romance probably is responsible for all those teenaged girls heading into comics shops for the first time."

How many of you headed out to the comic shop for the first time to buy The Umbrella Academy?  Have you started reading anything else because of it?  And established comic fans, any suggestions for Umbrella Academy fans?  I, honestly, figure you can never go wrong with Neil Gaiman's Sandman.

Just last month, No Doubt made two huge announcements: one, they are still working on a long awaited follow-up to 2001's huge album Rock Steady, and two, they'll be finishing the album while on tour in 2009!


Can't wait that long to rock out?  Well, if you've got Rock Band, you're in luck!  Because next week, you'll be able to download 13 Master Tracks from No Doubt's 2003 greatest hits album, "The Singles" for Rock Band! 

The announcement was made on the official Rock Band forums and listed the 13 downloadable tracks, as follows:

1."Just a Girl"
2."It’s My Life"
3."Hey Baby"
4."Bathwater”
5."Sunday Morning"
6."Hella Good"
7."Underneath It All"
8."Excuse Me Mr.”
9."Running"
10."Spiderwebs”
11."Simple Kind of Life”
12.“Don’t Speak”
13.“Ex-Girlfriend”

Downloads will be available on 12/9/2008 for Xbox 360 users and on 12/11/2008 for PS3 users. 

So what do you think?  Any Gwenabees out there ready to step up to the mic on this?  You know I am!

So, if you don't know by now, My Chemical Romance has recorded a cover of Bob Dylan's Desolation Row for the upcoming film version of the classic graphic novel Watchmen.  And while originally it was thought that the song would play over the end credits, apparently things have changed in a major way. Tell me more, tell me more...

While America is setting up for a major change come January of 2009, right now we're still living in the troubling reality of the Bush Administration and are still majorly suffering from the entire government's poor economic decisions in the past 8 years.  And before you start screaming that you don't want to see politics and economics on Buzznet, keep in mind that the economic crisis is affecting people on all levels, including employees of places such as Buzznet.

And now, it's affecting MTV. Aw, crap...

It's December again, and you know what that means.  Cheer, merriment, goodwill, and holiday greetings from Fueled by Ramen artists.


In the past, FBR has given us video of Pete Wentz and Joe Trohman making Fall Out Boy bandmates Patrick Stump and Andy Hurley make out, so you generally never know what's going to appear in the videos.

Well, so far this year, we have video greetings from The Cab, The Hush Sound and Cobra Starship!

The Cab

The Hush Sound

Cobra Starship

Make sure to keep watching the Fueled by Ramen YouTube Channel for greetings from their other bands, like Paramore, Panic at the Disco, Gym Class Heroes, The Academy Is... and of course, Fall Out Boy!

Kristen Stewart's already got a huge post-Twilight project lined up.  And no, I'm not talking about the sequel, New Moon, which for whatever reason was greenlit.  Stewart will go from playing the ultimate "good girl" Bella Swan to playing a woman who is infamous for not giving a damn about her bad reputation: Joan Jett. Oh srsly?

Didn't get a chance to make the Cobra Starship Sassyback Tour?  Don't worry, the band still has something special in store for you!  They've released the video for their song "Kiss My Sass" featuring Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes.  Kind of fitting since it's the song that opens with "I'm bringing SASSY back!" More sass, plz...

New parents Pete and Ashlee Wentz will be ringing in 2009 in style.  While Ashlee just gave birth in late November, it looks like they'll be leaving baby Bronx Mowgli with a sitter on New Year's Eve while they host a part at Pure nightclub in Las Vegas.

Last year, pictures surfaced of Pete and Ashlee partying together on New Years while he DJ'ed.  But apparently this year he'll be handing the turntables over to DJ Hollywood while he and his new wife (and babymama) mingle with guests.  But really, who are we kidding, odds are Pete'll end up spinning a little bit himself.  Do you really think he could resist?


No word on who else will be attending as of yet, but I wouldn't bet against at least one of Pete's Fall Out Boy bandmates showing up.  After all, they'll have a lot to celebrate with Folie a Deux releasing December 16.  And hey, with the club being in Las Vegas, what do you want to bet Pete's boys from Panic at the Disco will be showing up?  After all, they've had a hell of year themselves!

Wanna get in on the action?  Well, you'll have to have an extra $200 kicking around in order to afford a ticket.  Plus, being able to legally get into the club would be helpful!

Of course, those of us who can't manage to make a celebrity party can still have a good New Years Eve!  Do you have any plans yet?  Even tentative ones?  Share 'em or start making 'em here!

So, I'll get it off my chest: I don't hate Britney Spears' music. 

Okay, to clarify, I don't like the stuff that was out when I was in high school.  So "Baby One More Time," "Oops, I Did It Again?"  Nah.  I'll still pass in favor of Christina Aguilera's albums from that time.  But when Britney started doing more club and dance oriented music, like "Me Against the Music" and even "I'm a Slave for You" (I refuse to spell it in netspeak),  I can get into it.  It's a lot like Cobra Starship in a way: fun to dance to, and you shouldn't take it too seriously. Review ahead...

So, apparently I’ve been living under a rock.  Because if I had been anywhere else, I would have known about the 2009 Street Fighter movie and I would have done anything in my power to stop it.  Read more...

A few months back, we found out LeATHERMOUTH had signed with Epitaph records and was planning their debut album for a January 2009 release.  And sure enough, the Frank Iero fronted project has released more information on the album, XO! Details!