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  • Posted 5/24/13 at 10:15 AM
  • Dancing

Ken Cosgrove Dances to Daft Punk: A Mash-up

Last week on Mad Men, Ken Cosgrove did a nifty jig, so right on cue, here is your "Ken Cosgrove Dancing to Daft Punk" mash-up. We have one or two issues with the song choice — wouldn't the ragtime breakdown on "Touch" have made more sense? Wouldn't anything besides the Panda Bear song have made more sense? — but as the old saying goes, don't look a gift Daft Punk viral video in the mouth. Our mother taught us that.

Also: Celine Dion dances to "Get Lucky." »

  • Posted 5/24/13 at 8:30 AM
  • Beef

Katy Perry Apologized to a Very Aggressive Chief Keef

A few days ago, Katy Perry heard 17-year-old Chicago rapper Chief Keef's song "Hate Bein' Sober" on the radio. She tweeted concern, saying, "I now have serious doubt for the world." Keef, who wasn't directly mentioned in the tweet, found out on Thursday evening and got pretty salty. "Dat bitch Katy Perry Can Suck Skin Off Of my Dick," read one tweet. "Ill Smack The Shit out her," read another. For some reason, Katy Perry decided an apology was owed. From her. To him.

Watch a Supercut of the Best Musical Moments From Arrested Development

Among the many wonderful things about Arrested Development is the show's facility with jokes in all manner of forms: dialogue, signage, visual gags, and even music. More than just the hidden musical gags in ringtones or background audio, Arrested Development created hilarious original songs (or bits of songs as it were) like GOB and Franklin's "It Ain't Easy Bein' White," the Fünke's "There's No I in Teamocil," and the de facto banana stand anthem"Big Yellow Joint." But the show also made us think of old tunes in a new way: Will you ever hear Europe's "The Final Countdown" without thinking of GOB dancing around and flicking playing cards? Won't "Solid As a Rock" always be "Solid As Iraq?" Prepare for your season-four viewing with a little afternoon delight and watch our supercut of the best musical moments from the show here.

Random Access Accessories: 30 Albums to Listen to If You Love the New Daft Punk

The initial reaction to Daft Punk’s hugely anticipated Random Access Memories was slightly shocked, as eager fans realized that, far from the set of summer-dance anthems promised by the first single "Get Lucky," it's actually an eccentric reimagining of retro sounds often deemed beyond good taste: yacht rock, Euro-disco, jazz fusion, Broadway-musical piano ballads. But the album has been getting mostly great reviews since then, and looks set to sell big. So, if you find yourself inspired by Daft Punk to spend the summer gazing at the ocean in a pair of pressed white linen pants and Wayfarers while sipping a piña colada and listening to spaced-out soft disco and Christopher Cross, here are 30 albums that probably helped inspire Random Access Memories.

From Chic to Kavinsky. »

Grimes on Math, Memes, and Breathing Problems

What was the last thing Grimes Googled as of Tuesday this week? "Why can't I breathe?" she told us at the Webby Awards. "I thought there was maybe mold in my house or something. So I typed in, "Why can't I b —" and then things like be skinny, be pretty all come up. I was like, Oh my god. It really stressed me out." Here's how the rest of the conversation went. (Preview: Things got personal.)

"Keanu Reeves is a meme? I knew about Ryan Gosling." »

  • Posted 5/23/13 at 1:45 PM
  • Fakes

There’s a Psy Impostor Running Around Cannes

Psy "was spotted all over town," says The Hollywood Reporter. Except it turns out that Psy was never in Cannes, and a random man was just pretending to be him so that he could party with celebrities. (Not the worst plan.) This continues to be a very strange festival.

Ciara’s Nicki Minaj Track ‘I’m Out’ Is Massive

Ciara's self-titled fifth album — her first since 2010's Basic Instinct — is coming this July, a factoid lots more people will stay aware of after hearing this volcano of a track. (Spin did warn us that lead single "Body Party" is the only ballad on the record.) Album opener "I'm Out" starts with a brief melodic intro from Ciara, then Nicki Minaj erupts into some of her most unrepentantly aggressive bars in a good while. ("I'm Nicki and Weezy and Baby," spat at full velocity, is a standout — Nicki's only one Drake short of saying she is Young Money). Then Ciara's fire, burning squarely in the single ladies department, stacks up to Nicki's pretty effortlessly. Now we've gotta hear "Super Turnt Up," the track listed as "featuring Ciara," despite the fact it's on a Ciara album called Ciara.

  • Posted 5/23/13 at 12:05 AM
  • Robots

Daft Punk to Remix Themselves, Sell Many Albums

Industry prognosticons (prognosticators only concerned with robo-music) are betting on a Billboard win for Daft Punk's Random Access Memories, which may debut to more than 300,000 copies sold. Big news for an act whose last album, Human After All, has only moved 125,000 copies in America in eight years. Additionally: Expect a remix of "Get Lucky" by the end of June. "We’re working on some mixes ourselves,” Thomas Bangalter says. "So, yes, there will probably be Daft Punk mixes of Daft Punk. Usually, we never mix ourselves, that’s something we feel we’re interested in doing this time."

Paris Hilton Really Did Sign With Cash Money

She was talking it up at Cannes, and now Birdman confirms it: Paris Hilton has signed with Cash Money Records. (His announcement: "Welcome@ParisHilton to tha Family. RichgangRichgirl. YMCMB.") Paris is apparently working on her second album, which she promises will be "a lot different … it's really going to be house music." She also plans to do a D.J. residency in Ibiza this summer, so, good news! More of these videos are coming your way.

Justin Bieber’s Party Waiver Seems Perfectly Reasonable

In its latest update on the wild and bratty ways of one Justin Bieber, TMZ reports that Biebz now requires his house guests to sign a nondisclosure agreement, forbidding public discussion of any events that might happen on his property and any "spiritual views" that might be discussed. There is also a clause warning visitors about "catastrophic injuries" from "potentially hazardous" activities; the document threatens a $5 million lawsuit to anyone who violates the agreement. The most obvious response to the above is "What the hell is Justin Bieber doing at his house?" followed by the broken-record "Justin Bieber is a terrible child star" rant. But really, if you think it over for a second, this is perfectly reasonable. It is even — dare we say it? — legally responsible. He's Justin Bieber! He can't just be letting random strangers into his home and then allowing them to sell weird stories to tabloids. You've seen what happens in that scenario (the weed photos). An NDA is just good planning (as the other celebrities who require them would tell you). Justin Bieber: always thinking ahead, like swaggy adults do.

Watch the Backstreet Boys Get Quizzed on the Silliest Quotes From Their Past

Last week, the Backstreet Boys announced a new album and tour — the first as the complete original group in eight years. But these guys have actually been singing together for a full twenty years (!), which means they've said plenty of ridiculous things in thousands of interviews. So Vulture combed the archives to pick out a handful of silly quotes from the guys, and quizzed them to find out how much they remember and how well they really know each other. Watch as Vulture's own Julie Klausner even convinces them to harmonize some of their (oft-correct!) answers. (Download Julie's Podcast "How Was Your Week?" or subscribe on iTunes here.)

Now the Courts Are Investigating Tim Dog’s Death

Last week, a Mississippi woman named Esther Pilgrim alleged that Tim Dog faked his own death in order to avoid repaying various debts. (Tim Dog was convicted in 2011 for defrauding Pilgrim and other women he met on dating websites.) The local news subsequently did some digging and found that information on the rapper's death — like a death certificate — is hard to come by. And now the courts are involved: Mississippi prosecutor Steven Jubera has obtained an actual arrest warrant for Tim Dog. "I need proof," Jubera told WREG Memphis. "I need a death certificate showing that’s he’s dead because as far as I’m concerned, he’s alive.” This continues to be a strange story!

Vampire Weekend Has Another No. 1

Modern Vampires of the City, the third, excellent album from Vampire Weekend, debuted atop the Billboard 200 this week with 134,000 copies sold. It's Vampire Weekend's second No. 1 (Contra had a weeklong run back in 2010). Congrats, Vampire Weekend! Congrats, Steve Buscemi.

Quiz: Can You Name Daft Punk’s Most Iconic Songs in Just Three Notes?

Daft punk, with their ever-shifting style, were built to instantly stand out within a D.J.'s set. Their robot vocals, bass thumps, bleeps, and bloops are definitive: You just know a Daft Punk song when you hear one. But how quickly do you know it? In honor of Random Access Memories' release, we’ve picked some of their most famous jams from throughout their career and boiled them down to just three notes, Name That Tune style. Click to play twelve very short and stripped-down piano samples below, and when you think you know what song it is, reveal each track's full version to see if you were right. After that, maybe take it one more time. (Nice try — that reference does not guarantee "One More Time" is included.)

Zooey Deschanel Has No Respect for M. Ward’s Coffee Time

Have you ever watched the long version of the New Girl credits and thought, I wish this involved a sixties movie-musical dance sequence, and also maybe Zooey Deschanel talking to a stuffed duck? You are in luck! Because the Deschanel-directed video for "I Could've Been Your Girl" features all of the above, along with a sad, disgruntled M. Ward, who just wants to drink his cup of coffee. Whimsy is fine — this is a She & Him video, it comes with the territory — but really, can't we let M. Ward have his coffee first? Stop spilling the coffee!

Cannes: Justin Timberlake Met a Reporter Who Didn’t Realize He Had a New Album

Up until last year, journalists, and Vulture in particular, hounded Justin Timberlake for seemingly forsaking music for acting. He finally answered fans’ call this year with The 20/20 Experience, a two-part album whose second half drops on September 30. And now, before heading out on a summer tour, he stopped by Cannes to promote the Coen brothers' highly enjoyable folk-music movie Inside Llewyn Davis, in which he plays a painfully earnest sixties folk singer whose success is inversely proportional to that of the more talented titular wunderkind (played by Oscar Isaac). And there we have it: Proof that he can do both acting and music! And yet, at a press round table, one French reporter who had apparently dozed off in 2012 and not heard of The 20/20 Experience woke up determined to beg J.T. to get back to the music career that he had already resumed. This sycophantic scolding confused and bemused Timberlake, and soon the entire table of press was enjoying his biting/winking responses. 

Read More  »

And The-Dream’s New Album Is Now Online

Put another, rhyme-ier way: The-Dream is streaming. Listen to all of IV Play — including the Jay-Z-featuring "High Art," Beyoncé and 2 Chainz's "Turnt," and guest appearances from Kelly Rowland, Pusha T, and Gary Clark Jr. — below. Get frisky with your Tuesday.

Metallica’s Lars Ulrich on the Band’s New Movie and Having to Miss All the Films at Cannes

It’s not unusual to see odd sights at the Cannes Film Festival — people in costumes, dwarfs, even a horse wandering around. But one of the more striking sights I’ve seen in my three years coming here was perennially pale Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, in a suit, standing on a French beach. It was a sunny Friday afternoon and he had the air of an aimless vampire about him — though he was definitely there with a purpose: beating the drum for the band’s upcoming IMAX 3-D film, Metallica Through the Never, which opens in the U.S. on September 27.

"When I leave Cannes in two days, I will not have seen a single film." »

Beyoncé’s ‘Grown Woman’ Leaked

"Grown Woman" has been floating around since Beyoncé's Pepsi ad launched, and it's become a staple of her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. Now there's an alleged leak of the actual song, and listening to it is a lot more fun than watching shaky concert videos or soda commercials. Produced by Timbaland and co-written by The-Dream, "Grown Woman" is probably the lead single of Beyoncé's still-untitled, release date-less fifth album. Lyrically, it's a less grandiose continuation of "Run the World (Girls)" — it's also impossible to hear "bitches, I run this" without thinking of non-single "Bow Down" — but the beat certainly feels like new territory for Bey. While listening on repeat, feel free to imagine Beyoncé clicking "upload" right as she closes out of a pregnancy rumor post, looking over at Jay-Z and slyly quoting Don Draper/Peggy Olson: "If you don't like what they're saying, change the conversation."

Read More  »

Kanye West Might Get Will Smith to Rap Again

Will Smith, who spent some time with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian in Brazil earlier this year, says Kanye has been "pushing" him a little during some recent studio hangouts. "I might get the bug," Smith tells a reporter at an After Earth junket, seeming not exactly psyched to be talking about anything other than his film career. "I'm not gonna do it unless I'm truly inspired." What's more inspiring than the rapper who put out Willennium and Born to Reign trying to compete in a world where there's a rapper releasing an album called Yeezus?

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