mtv

Rock Band 3 gets its keytar

Thanks to a Green Day Rock Band tease, this was one of the least-kept secrets leading up to E3, but nevertheless, here's the visual proof: Rock Band 3 is getting itself a keytar. We felt certain enough to make it one of our "lock" predictions at this year's E3. Well, check that off the list.

EA/MTV/Harmonix's franchise already has 2,000-plus songs, a variety of discs, and a band full of instruments including guitars, bass, three-part microphone harmony, and drums. The newest game will have 83 songs from 83 bands and support for … Read more

I want my MTV...app

If you're over the age of, oh, 25, this may not interest you much. For you youngsters out there, however, this is, like, so totally cool: MTV just got its own app.

Free but ad-supported, MTV News serves up the latest pop-culture gossip--er, news--about music, movies, TV, celebrities, and gaming. It's available for the iPhone and the iPod Touch now; an iPad version is in the works.

You can browse breaking news in a fairly standard list view or a much cooler photo grid, which, when left alone for a few seconds, reverts to a kind of screensaver … Read more

MTV, Cirque du Soleil to help launch Project Natal

When Microsoft opens the door to its special Project Natal event at the beginning of the E3 video game convention in Los Angeles next month, it will have two special partners on hand.

All invitees got an e-mail on Thursday morning informing them that the Natal event will feature a "spectacular live performance imagined by Cirque du Soleil."

That kind of makes sense, given that Project Natal is a hands-free motion controller, and I can't really think of a better group of people to put the new system through its paces than a bunch of Cirque performers. … Read more

The 404 554: Where Justin and Wilson take a trip to the Jersey Shore (podcast)

Look for me and Wilson at an Ed Hardy store near you! We might just pop up on your television set too, if all goes well with a casting call in L.A. asking for Asian-Americans to audition for a reality show based on "Jersey Shore" and "The Hills."

It's rumored to be set in Koreatown, and we're not putting much faith in the series based on the fact that Jin and this guy are the only two Asians on TV right now. That being said, an Asian-American reality television show would be a real gag...maybe their first order of business will be to help Snookie and the Situation get that elusive GED.

Artist Jack White of The White Stripes has a few words of advice for aspiring musicians, not the least of which is to put down the plastic guitars and drums and learn how to play a real instrument.

While we completely agree with Mr. White that the fad has turned living rooms across the country into nurseries, there's still an element of self-appointed stardom that goes along with the Guitar Heroes and Rock Bands of the world, and it doesn't look like it's going away any time soon.

That being said, real musicians have an opportunity to show off their recording skills in our ongoing The Audiophillie Music Awards for Excellence in Recorded Sound, so get going and you could win a set of either Monster Turbine Pro Gold ($299) or Pro Copper ($399) headphones.

We're excited about a new pilot for a show called "Immersion" that tests video game concepts out in the real world. One real-world scenario is the idea of a third person steering like you'd see in a driving game. To put it to the test, the crew mounted a camera on a long arm behind a car and put a monitor in front of the driver. To make things more "video game realistic," they also blacked out all the windows in the car. It's a hilarious and creative premise, and we're looking forward to an episode where they compare GTA to real life.

The second half of the show is all about a list of the eight most irritating types of gadget owners. Characters like "The Bluetooth Warrior" and the "Super Tech Spec Guy" are universal, but we really spend the whole time complaining about our own personal tech pet peeves, like our friends who are "too cool" to get on Facebook or refuse to own a cell phone in order to "reduce their carbon footprint."

And don't think we've forgotten about the main perpetrators of tech-induced fury: our PARENTS! Share in the horror of showing your father how to import a CD in iTunes, teaching a grandparent to cut and paste, and forcing your mother to use a Roomba.

EPISODE 554 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Foursquare goes to the 'Jersey Shore'

We already knew that in the heated battle among location-based social-networking start-ups, Foursquare already had Ashton Kutcher on its team. Turns out it also has "Jersey Shore" star "DJ Pauly D," one of a handful of MTV and VH1 celebrities who are featured in a new marketing campaign that MTV Networks has inked with the pumped-up Foursquare.

(Serious question: Has this start-up jumped the shark already?)

The partnership tests a new kind of Foursquare account known as "Celebrity Mode," in which a prominent Foursquare user (ahem, Ashton) can choose to share "check-ins" … Read more

Rock Band 3 confirmed for holidays

After devoting last year's installment of the Rock Band franchise entirely to The Beatles, Harmonix and MTV Games are getting back to their roots. The pair announced via Facebook Tuesday that Rock Band 3 is set for release this holiday season. Electronic Arts will once again be handling distribution duties.

The Facebook status update promises that Rock Band 3 "will innovate and revolutionize the music genre once again," but provides no other details. Platforms, new features, song lists, and other details will be revealed at a later date.

MTV's sexting show to air stark message for teens

While it doesn't break any new ground, MTV's half-hour special, "Sexting In America: When Privates Go Public," is a good reminder for teens that taking and sending nude pictures is never a good idea.

The show will air at 9 p.m. PST and EST on Sunday--Valentine's Day.

The program, which is aimed at teens, explores the consequences--to one's emotions, reputation, and legal standing--in posing for, taking, distributing, or forwarding nude pictures by cell phone or computer.

The show features 19-year-old Ally, who was 16 when she sent a nude picture to an ex-boyfriend … Read more

Fist pump! All your 'Jersey Shore' finale tweets

When the biggest pop-culture sensation on television details the adventures of a bunch of loudmouthed, lowbrow twentysomethings, of course the buzz on Twitter is going to be a big deal.

So for the Thursday season finale of MTV's "Jersey Shore," the network has launched a "Twitter Tracker" to see which of the reality show's excessively tanned, middle-finger-flipping cast members are getting talked about the most.

Created in sync with social-media firm Radian 6, the tweet aggregator brings up extremely scientific graphs pulling in data for Twitter searches for the show's characters so that … Read more

If Real wanted to sell Rhapsody, who'd buy?

Billboard analyst Glenn Peoples predicts that RealNetworks will sell its 51 percent stake in music-streaming subscription service Rhapsody in 2010. My question: who'd buy it?

Rhapsody certainly appears to be a drag on RealNetworks' earnings. According to the company's financial filings for the third quarter of 2009, its music businesses--which include Rhapsody and sales of music through the RealPlayer store--posted an operating loss of $10 million. That's better than the $25 million operating loss in the same quarter of 2008, but the fundamentals aren't improving.

Subscriber numbers are down from about 800,000 at the beginning … Read more

The 404 Podcast 490: Where we finish things on a good note

It's the last live episode of The 404...of 2009. Russ Frushtick, chief gamer at MTV Networks, joins the show today along with Mark Licea of The Green Show to discuss the tumultuous, but exciting year in videogames. Finally, we get to the winners of our "Hangover" contest.

Because of the Great Recession, many games this year have been pushed back to the next year, and we've seen developers folding left and right. Jeff counts down his list of the most anticipated games of 2010--many of which were suppose to be released this year. Some of the games include Dark Void and Bayonetta. We think the main character of Bayonetta looks a lot like Sarah Palin.

Some of Jeff's favorite games this year were Ghostbusters and, of course, Modern Warfare 2, which Russ actually says didn't make his top 5. Most of that he says has to do with the so-so single player mode and the glitches and cheats in the multiplayer mode of the game. Jeff and Wilson think that Ghostbusters was pretty entertaining, but they both agree that the gameplay itself was a little unappealing after 6 or 7 hours.

Finally, we had a contest to give away copies of "The Hangover" in Blu-ray and DVD. Most of our hangover stories were definitely NSFW, but a couple of them reminded us of our own horrible hangover stories from college and our adolescent days. On that note, please take care of yourself during the holidays. We will see you on the other side of New Year's. In the mean time, send us an e-mail at the404 [at] cnet [dot] com or leave a voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET (2638). There's no guarantee we will get to it during our break, but we will appreciate it. Be safe and have a blast!

EPISODE 490 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more