Each week here on the VH1 Blog, ourVH1 Top 20 Video Countdown host Jim Shearer (@jimshearer on Twitter) will be sharing his Shearer’s Spotlight with us. Be sure to tune into the Top 20 Countdown on Saturday morning when it airs on VH1 at 9 a.m. ET/PT.
Jim Shearer
Halloween is tonight, but if you’re not an adolescent kid daydreaming of packing your pillowcase full of Snickers bars, you’ll probably be out and about looking to celebrate. While you’re stepping into your costume, click on these music videos that will surely entertain the ghoulish music fan within you:
10) Peaches, “Trick Or Treat”
If you’re familiar with Peaches, then you know this trick-or-treating party is for adults only.
9) Lady Gaga, “Telephone”
It’s always Halloween in Gaga’s world; soda cans in her hair only confirms it!
8) Michael Jackson, “Thriller”
I guess I had to include this one, huh?
It’s a wrap for Yeah Yeah Yeahs lead singer Karen O‘s self-described debut “psycho opera,” Stop The Virgens, that ran at New York’s St Ann’s Warehouse this month, but the production sure left a lasting impression on everyone who was lucky enough to snap up one of the highly sought-after tickets.An orgy for the senses, Stop The Virgens was nothing less than stimulating, both musically and visually, from the moment guests stepped across the threshold and into Karen’s tunnel. And I mean that quite literally, in fact; the show began in a cavernous, snaking shroud of gossamer sheets and mist, from which a cast of “Virgens” writhed enticingly as the audience meandered through, their heavy breathing rasping from behind translucent veils.
Each Friday here on the VH1 Blog, ourVH1 Top 20 Video Countdown host Jim Shearer (@jimshearer on Twitter) will be sharing his Shearer’s Spotlight with us. Be sure to tune into the Top 20 Countdown tomorrow morning when it airs on VH1 at 9 a.m. ET/PT.
Next Wednesday, Sept. 14, the Big 4 Festival will descend upon Yankee Stadium in New York City. The participants will include the “big four” bands (i.e., pillars, staples, torch bearers, etc.) of thrash metal music: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax. Here are some other acts that could pull off a Big 4 Festival of their own:
1) Big 4 of Millennial Pop: Britney Spears, *NSYNC, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys
This past summer, the Backstreet Boys created some buzz when they toured with their boy-band predecessors, New Kids On The Block, as NKOTBSB; but could you imagine the pandemonium they could create by teaming up with late ‘90s peer/rival, *NSYNC? The reunions alone would sell tickets on this tour: Justin and *NSYNC, Justin and Britney, Britney and Christina, and three old Mouseketeers back together again.
Over the long Memorial Day weekend, we’re guessing that most of you probably took advantage of the good weather and went outside to barbecue with friends and family. However, those of you who are either heliophobic or addicted to air conditioning likely took to the Internet instead, where one of the weekend’s biggest stories revolved around the supposed “leak” of the redband trailer for the upcoming film, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The highly-anticipated adaptation of the best-selling book by the late Stieg Larsson not only stars Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, but is also directed by the maestro of gloomy psychological thrillers, David Fincher.
The trailer is somewhat unique in that it doesn’t contain a single line of dialogue, but that doesn’t mean that the tone of the film isn’t readily apparent. Keeping in line with the graphic content of the novels, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo looks to be Fincher’s most ominous and scary film since Se7en, thanks in large part to the decision to score the trailer with Trent Reznor and Karen O‘s hauntingly driven cover of Led Zeppelin‘s “Immigrant Song.” There’s a certain mystical feel to the Led Zep original, but Rezner and O’s swaps that essence for something, well, colder; it’s got a sonic aura that’s as icy as the Scandinavian landscapes contained within the film and, frankly, gave us nightmares when we went to sleep last night.
Even though this trailer only contains a small portion of the song, this new take on “Immigrant Song” already ranks among our all-time favorite Led Zeppelin cover songs. Do you feel the same way? What Led Zep cover songs are your favorites? Hit us up in the comments below!
As if she hadn’t cemented her status as every indie dude’s fantasy, Scarlett Johansson is working on her debut album with members of Yeah Yeah Yeahs and TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek. This news comes on the heels of her reported Tom Waits cover album and her Coachella performance with the Jesus and Mary Chain. As reported by the Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, Louisiana, the Lost in Translation star spent 33 days recording at Dockside Studio. Owner Steve Nails described the album as, “a theater, big screen. Lots of heavy bass tones in it. Without a bass guitar, we used all kind of different instruments to create these sounds. It was a great experiment. Very avant garde. She sounds like Marilyn Monroe.” Which seems like a no-brainer comparison to us. We’re guessing there won’t be any Justin Timberlake duets.[Pitchforkmedia / Image credit: Getty]
As if she hadn’t cemented her status as every indie dude’s fantasy, Scarlett Johansson is 
