Sunday, September 13, 2009

The 2009 VMA Awards

Trying something new... gonna live blog my thoughts during the 2009 VMA's. Here we go:

The show is starting with a tribute to Michael Jackson. Madonna is introducing the tribute and talking about Michael's life, telling stories about her interactions with him. It's a sad beginning. The crowd is subdued. Madonna looks different, took me a minute to recognize her. Her speech is very touching, she looks like she has been crying. I am close to crying myself.

The entire place goes dark as Madonna finishes talking. On the jumbo screen various Michael Jackson video clips begin to play and live dancers appear on stage to recreate the dances wearing various outfits that are Michael's classic style. And then Janet hits the stage as Scream plays. The crowd is going nuts. Beyonce looks like she's meeting a celebrity for the first time when she spots Janet.

Now the show kicks off for real and Katy Perry sings "We Will Rock You" as Russell Brand rises up out of the stage wearing a top hat and looking sexy. Seriously, the guy is HOT. And the english accent just makes him hotter. He's wearing a version of a suit with "skinny pants" and I'm liking them. Of course now he's talking about the "sack of magic and wand" he keeps "tucked up in these delicious trousers" and Taylor Swift is looking seriously embarassed.

First award is up - Best Female Video. Shakira and Taylor Lautner (Jacob from Twilight) are presenting. They cut to show Lady Gaga in the audience and she is looking like a freak. Seriously. I'm embarassed for her. Anyway, she's up against Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry & Pink. And the winner is... Taylor Swift. Was there ever any doubt? Nope. I am fairly sure she will win every award she's been nominated for tonight. My brother jokes around that Taylor Swift could easily take over the world and I completely believe him.
OMG, Kanye West just crashed the stage and stole the mic from Taylor in the middle of her speech to say that he believes Beyonce had the best music video. That was the most douchebag thing I've ever seen. I already knew the man was a major asshole. He has always managed to make a scene at awards shows. But to take somebody else's moment in a category that has nothing to do with him is worse than him just being a dick about not winning one he was nominated for. I love the guys music but I don't think it's worth listening to anymore. He's proved on multiple ocasions that he's not deserving of any respect. Taylor didn't even finish her speech. She just looked so mortified. I feel bad for both her and Beyonce that this happened. What a way to start the show.

After the break, Russell Brand reminds everyone that "we are here to love each other in Michael Jackson's honor". He is referring to the Kanye scene, but doesn't bring any special attention to it by addressing it directly.

Up next, the award for Best Rock Video and Jack Black comes on stage with huge fake muscled arm and a tshirt that says Brutal Legend. Green Day takes the award away from Coldplay, Fall Out Boy, Kings of Leon & Paramore.

Next up is Taylor Swift perfoming live from the subway and then coming out onto the street in front of Radio City Music Hall. I believe this performance was pre-recorded, so there's no evidence of her trouble with Kanye a few moments ago. Next performance after the break is Lady Gaga. This chick is weird. Very weird. And one of her male dancers is wearing a lace thong over his face. But I like her music and even though it's not my normal taste in performances, there's no doubt that it is entertaining. She even began bleeding profusely from her bra right after she banged on the piano. And now she's hanging from the ceiling, spinning slowly and appearing dead. Hmm... oh good, it's over. (Don't tell anyone, but I kinda liked her performance in a way).

Now we're to the Best Pop Video and it's Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Cobra Starship, Wisin Y Yandel (never heard of them or their song) going head to head. And the winner is... Britney Spears. Wow, I'm kind of shocked that it wasn't Taylor.

Green Day performs next and they start inviting the crowd up on stage. Not sure if anyone realized they were going to do that or not, but there were no major injuries so it all worked out.

Then we get an extended trailer of the new Twilight saga movie "New Moon". Love, love, love these books. The movies are decent and the new one looks good. But the books are where it's at.

Beyonce takes the stage with the next performance. I have a huge girl crush on Jennifer Aniston and believe that Jen is the most beautiful person in the world, but Beyonce runs a tight second place. She is absolutely gorgeous. And she's got moves that make the men squirm in their seats.

P. Diddy comes out next with some chick I don't care enough about to remember and presents Best Male Video. This one has Eminem, Jay Z, T.I., Kanye & Neyo battling it out. As P. Diddy is running through the script before the nominees are announced, he says Kanye's name and the crowds goes crazy booing. No love for douchebag Kanye. And T.I. wins the award. I was voting for Eminem, but as long as it wasn't douchebag Kayne, I am happy. I actually got much love for T.I. too, so it worked out.

Jennifer Lopez presents the award for Best Hip Hop video. Eminem beats out Flo Rida, Kanye West, Jay Z, and Asher Roth. Eminem takes the stage to accept his award and thank the fans. He definitely looks a bit older, but I still think he's cute as hell. I'm a huge Em fan.

And now my man Marshall is on stage with Tracy Morgan to present the Best New Artist Award. The nominees are Lady Gaga, 3OH!3, Asher Roth, Drake and Kid Cudi. Lady Gaga wins and she is in another, even weirder outfit than earlier. She's almost wearing a red lace dress (it's like see through) and she's wearing a red lace mask and a huge feathered hat. Halfway through her speech, she does take off the mask and hat and throws them down on the stage so she can speak clearly. Then she tells us that her moonman is "for God and the gays."

Pink performs next and while on stage she is blindfolded and steps into a harness which lifts her 30 feet above the crowd. As she's rising, she rips of the blindfold so I'm not sure why it was even put on. But now she's dangling above everyone doing flips and acrobatic tricks while singing "Sober". It should also be noted her that the left side of her body suit is transparent and a pink glittery heart is the only thing hiding her left breasticle from us. They are really doing some major tricks up there in the air and her voice sounds great through it all. I'm impressed. She lands safely on stage and gets a standing ovation.

This brings us to Video of The Year and we're back to the major names. Beyonce, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Kanye West and Britney Spears. Luckily, Kanye didn't win this one either. Beyonce takes home the award for "Single Ladies". She got up on stage and immediately asked for Taylor Swift to come out and reclaim her moment that had been stolen from her. Beyonce didn't even give her own speech. Very classy Beyonce, I really appreciate that. Taylor finally gets to give her speech and thank everyone she wanted to for her earlier award.

The big finale for the night is Jay Z. They're making a huge production of his arrival and he gives us an amazing performance. He was joined by Alicia Keys who has a big, amazing voice.

As the show is wrapping up, we see a trailer for the movie being released in October that is Micael Jackson's rehearsal footage from the huge London tour he was preparing for. I will go see that movie. The man was amazing. I love you Michael.

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

My Brother, The Creep


Last night, at around 10:00 pm, someone knocked on my front door. I was in my bedroom playing video games on the computer and watching MTV2 on the TV. I was vaguely aware that I had heard Scott walking down the hallway sometime in the last 30 minutes or so, but I was pretty sure I heard him say he was going to bed. So I ignored the knock, whoever it is can just go away. I'm not interested. About a minute later, the doorbell rings. I glance at my watch again... yep, it's 10:03. I'm not answering the door for some stranger this late at night. I lean around the corner of my doorway and look at Scott's bedroom door. His door is shut, the lights appear to be off. He's definitely in bed. But he hasn't been there very long, maybe he's still awake. So I give him a loud whisper "Scott, someone's at the door". No answer. Oh well, back to ignoring the stranger at the door.

Another minute passes, more knocking and another ring on the doorbell. I tiptoe quietly down the hall, careful not to make any noise. I sneak up to the door and peek through the peephole. Our porch light isn't on, so all I can see is a shadowy figure. I stare through the peephole for several minutes. I'll admit I was a little freaked out. Especially when this shadowy figure rattled the doorknob. I didn't want to turn on the porch light because I didn't want anyone to know I was standing there, so I just continued staring. The figure turned around and I could see some sort of writing or image on his back. This made me think "what if it's a police officer who needs to tell us something".

By this time it's been almost 10 minutes since the first knock on the door. I reach over, flip on the porch light and crack the door open slightly so I can see who's there. Imagine my confusion to find Scott standing on the porch looking slightly aggrevated. "What the crap is going on?" I ask as he pushes his way inside. Apparently when he laid down to go to sleep there was a very loud frog right outside next to his wall or window, so he had grabbed a flashlight and went outside around the house to scare it away. Locking himself out in the process. It was hilarious. Here I was afraid to open the door and the shadowy figure I was being creeped out by was my own brother. He's lucky I finally braved up and opened the door. He might have had to sleep with that frog otherwise.