The MTV Video Music Awards. Sigh.

First of all, why do they even have a video awards show WHEN THEY DON”T PLAY VIDEOS. On any of their channels- MTV, MTV2, MTV 4000. It’s all just a big opportunity for publicity and for a bunch of people to pat themselves on the back for a medium that has gone the way of the CD. Seriously. If anyone watched videos, if junior high schoolers or high schoolers left MTV on in their bedrooms 24-7 like they did 15 to 20 years ago, MTV would play videos. But they don’t. No music, just reality shows. Why don’t they have a reality show awards show? That would be the perfect train wreck they’re looking for.

Why have this…

When you could have this…

My instinct said it was all set up. As a wrestling fan, I know that one of the first rules in their business is that if its on TV, it’s fake. MTV wants ratings and attention and they want to look cool and relevant. So they go to Kanye West, the ultimate egotistical attention hog, with a grand idea in the tradition of Bruno or Borat. You make news. You make a good moment happen. Maybe you let Taylor Swift in on the joke, maybe you don’t. Heck, it took 20 years for people to find out that Andy Kaufman vs. Jerry Lawler on David Letterman was fake.

Do I know this is true? No, not all all, it’s just my gut feeling. That goofball West could have just been drunk and looking to get himself on TV. Who knows?

But hey, MTV got what they were looking for. Even a low-level tenth rate blogger like myself is talking about the incident, despite my disgust.

What happened to the good old days, MTV?

It’ll open as a PDF, which is the compleat interview as opposed to the abridged version on the website.

It’ll be available in several different formats: a 4 cd set of 48 songs; a giant boxed set of 5 cds with 62 songs, two DVDs- one a live show and one a documentary, a Blue Ray disc of all the audio tracks, and a remastered vinyl bootleg; a seven LP set; and a digital version called the “Superhighway Tuor” with special multimedia bonuses and advance downloads.

You can read about everything in detail here.

Sounds very cool. Unlike the recent Neil Young boxed set, I think Petty is giving fans enough reason to shell out for the big boxed set. If you like to listen to music in your car or don’t really care about all Neil’s multimedia bells and whistles (I mean, really, how often do you really want to see that stuff,) you’re getting everything you’d want.

To this:

Here’s a great review.

Personally, as I’ve written before on here, I wish they would have remixed all the stereo versions since, until the White Album, they were never properly done. In Geoff Emerick’s book, “Here There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Beatles,” he explicitly says they did not really care about the stereo mixes.  Maybe if these reissues are successful, Apple will consider a total remix. I’m not going to hold my breath on that one, since it took 22 years to get these.

Overall, it’s probably good for Marvel. Of course that may mean it’s bad for us, because they’ll be shoved down our throats. Read DC, people!

Well, it’s official. Bob Dylan will have “Here Comes Santa Claus” and “Winter Wonderland” in his recorded catalog. As announced by his website today, on October 13, uncle Bobby will release “Christmas in the Heart,” his first Christmas album.

Here’s the press release:

“Dear Friends,

We at Columbia Records are happy to announce the October 13 release of Bob Dylan’s brand new album of holiday songs, Christmas In The Heart.

Christmas In The Heart will be the 47th album from Bob Dylan, and follows his worldwide chart-topping Together Through Life, released earlier this year. Songs performed by Dylan on this new album include, “Here Comes Santa Claus,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Little Drummer Boy” and “Must Be Santa.”

All of Bob Dylan’s U.S. royalties from sales of these recordings will be donated to Feeding America, guaranteeing that more than four million meals will be provided to more than 1.4 million people in need in this country during this year’s holiday season. Bob Dylan is also donating all of his future U.S. royalties from this album to Feeding America in perpetuity.

Additionally, Bob Dylan is partnering with two international charities to provide meals during the holidays for millions in need in the United Kingdom and the developing world, and will be donating all of his future international royalties from Christmas In The Heart to those organizations in perpetuity. Details regarding the international partnerships will be announced next week.

Bob Dylan commented, “It’s a tragedy that more than 35 million people in this country alone — 12 million of those children — often go to bed hungry and wake up each morning unsure of where their next meal is coming from. I join the good people of Feeding America in the hope that our efforts can bring some food security to people in need during this holiday season.”

Christmas In The Heart will be available for pre-order starting today on Amazon.com

Your friends at Columbia Records”

It’s for a good cause and all, but is the Apocalypse near?

Thankfully enough, Charlie Sexton has rejoined the band. Read about it here.

My favorite comic book writer will be adapting one of my favorite comic book characters to the big screen!

If you’re only familiar with the phrase “Shazam!” because of the band or the music serach engine or because it’s what Gomer Pyle says when he gets excited, you’re sadly uninformed.

“Shazam!” is what Billy Batson shouts to become the original, the one and only, the true Captain Marvel. Created in 1939 by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character was Fawcett Comics’ answer to Superman. Billy Batson, a teen who works as a radio news reporter was chosen to be a champion of good by the wizard Shazam. When he says the wizard’s name he transforms into the powerful Captain Marvel.

Although there was a short lived TV series in the 1970s, a film adaptation has long been in development. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been attached to play Marvel’s nemesis, Black Adam, altough I’m not sure if that’s still the case.

Geoff Johns, the writer behind Green Lantern, JSA, Blackest Night and multitudes of other DC Comics goodness is now producing and co-writing. Finally DC is starting to get in the game. Johns is also working on a Flash movie and there is a Green Lantern movie that will soon start shooting with Ryan Reynolds in the lead.

Newsarama has the story here.

Well, even if you can’t get down to Music City, you’ll be able to laugh along with them here in Southern Illinois. The Showplace 8 theater in Carbondale will carry the live broadcast of this event at 7 p.m., Thursday night. Tickets are $12.50.

Here’s what the Rifftrax website has to say about the event:

“Join the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 for the comedy event of the year!

Fathom Events presents RiffTrax LIVE: Plan 9 from Outer Space, an evening of LIVE riffing on the Worst Movie Ever Made beaming into movie theaters nationwide on Thursday, August 20th at 8PM ET/ 7PM CT/ 6PM MT/ Tape Delayed at 8PM PT.

Join Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy (Tom Servo) and Bill Corbett (Crow T. Robot), now of RiffTrax.com, as they are reunited in HD for the first time ever on the big screen! This event will feature the world premiere of a brand new, never-before-seen short and non-stop hilarious riffing on a COLOR version of “Plan 9 from Outer Space”- a 1959 science fiction/horror film written, produced and directed by Edward D. Wood Jr.

This event will be hosted by Veronica Belmont, the Host of Tekzilla on Revision3 and Qore on the PlayStation Network, with Musical Guest Jonathan Coulton and a special segment by Rich “Lowtax” Kyanka of Something Awful.”

And I’ll stand on Norman Lear’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say the same thing.