Although we mentioned earlier he will be playing the third-annual Roots Picnic this summer, Mayer Hawthorne is having a bad day — at least in the video for ”I Wish It Would Rain,” off the multi-instrumentalist’s latest album, A Strange Arrangement.

As Hawthorne slowly strolls along in this Henry DeMaio-directed clip, the Los Angeles sky looks crisp and cloudless. However, upon closer inspection, you see the singer is being showered by his own personal rain cloud, which obviously symbolizes the blues he’s carrying around.

The rainstorm continues through his day, following him to a date with a girl at a coffee shop, a magazine stand and then on his way back home — all the while he sings this gorgeous, falsetto-fueled, ’70s-soul ballad.

Check out the video for Mayer Hawthorne’s “I Wish It Would Rain” below. A Strange Arrangement is currently available.

Photo credit: Mark Metcalfe / Getty Images

Paramore’s Hayley Williams has become quite the fashionista. Sure, she might not be taking the same risks as Lady Gaga, but her style is equally as unique—yet totally accessible and affordable. Finally! A fashion icon for girls on a budget!

We recently spotted (pun intended) Paramore performing at the Soundwave Festival in Sydney, Australia, and couldn’t help but fawn all over Ms. Williams’ ferosh leopard pants. Wonder where she picked up such a pair? We can’t be exactly sure we came up with a couple animal-obsessed possibilities:

FIERCE: True Religion Stella Leopard Velveteen Jeans - If these jeans solidify your title as Queen Of The Fashion Jungle, then I don’t know what will. Dress them up with heels or, if you’re like Hayley, a sturdy pair of Vans or Converse. Either way, they totally RAWR-K! (Zappos.com, $163.30)

FRUGAL: Forever 21 Studded Leopard Skinny Pant – If you don’t have a ton of money to burn, then these jeans are purrrrrrrrrrrrrrfect. Not only do they have metal-stud embellishments, but they’re made of a cotton/spandex blend twill, which means the waistband will be totally forgiving if you decide to indulge in an In-N-Out hamburger, animal-style. (Forever 21, $22.80)

Sampling in hip-hop is becoming somewhat of an endangered art-form. How come? Well, it’s just too expensive to go around taking Aerosmith guitar riffs (Run-DMC’s “Walk This Way“) or Led Zeppelin drums (Beastie Boys‘ “So What’cha Want“). Those days are decidedly gone—or are they?

Enter Philadelphia underground rap duo Chiddy Bang and their insanely catchy new single “Opposite Of Adults.” Sure, we love the cut’s combination of easily-to-relate-to nostalgic lyrics, courtesy of Chiddy Bang’s MC, and the giant, tumbling beat, thanks to DJ/producer Xaphoon Jones. But another reason the song’s so great likely stems from an ingenious sample of MGMT’s “Kids.”

Cut and pasted and re-arranged, the keyboard hook from MGMT’s hit sounds fantastic in this hip-hop context and, well, don’t get us started on the kooky video. Ever wanted to see large superimposed heads of the Chiddy Bang members on younger, smaller bodies?

We’ll take that as a “yes.” Check out the video below and hit up Chiddy Bang’s MySpace page for more tunes and touring info. Plus, while you’re here, let’s revisit the MGMT video for “Kids,” shall we?

(Credit: Scott Gries/ MTV)

Sometimes the walls close in, the pressure and temperature rise, it all gets too much, and the need to mosh becomes most apparent.

Look, I like an engaging narrative in my music video as much as the next bro. There’s nothing like a love story, or a comical mishap or two people shooting machine guns while walking towards one another to get me interested in a clip. But sometimes, if the tune is right, you don’t need all the ornamentation.

San Fran band Set Your Goals know this. That’s why their not-so-new, but still rad video for “This Will Be The Death Of Us” (taken from the ‘09 album of the same name) more or less cuts to the chase and gets to the moshing. Even if it’s just in my chair.

After some brief emoting by singer Matt Wilson, the hammer drops in the chorus and singer Jordan Brown (yeah, TWO SINGERS) whips the gathered horde into a frothing, camel-kicking fury, as he sings about “terrible lies.” Lies are a major trope of hardcore punk rock.

Set Your Goals are currently on tour with Motion City Soundtrack. Stay tuned for full-length performance footage from Set Your Goals’ live show with Motion City Soundtrack at New York’s Irving Plaza from Tuesday, February 2.

Today’s good news comes with a healthy dose of sarcasm in the form of a very special video message from Never Shout Never’s Christofer Drew, who gets a special phone call from his Big Important Tour Manager Guy (who looks A LOT like his actual tour manager, Jeremy).

If you hate surprises and enjoy a good spoiler in your life, the voice on the other end of the call is about to inform the Never Shout Never brain child that on Thursday, February 4, Christofer Drew will be coming to MTV in New York City to perform an acoustic live set. The MTV Buzzworthy Blog (an easy way to remember how to find it is that you’re reading it right now!) will be streaming the entire set live and hosting a live chat with Christofer beforehand. After the performance, you can watch a full-length performance of “What Is Love,” plus photos and footage of Never Shout Never at MTV.

The live chat with Christofer Drew starts at 3pm ET, with the live acoustic performance to follow.

But, you don’t have to take my word for it…

In a recent interview with Cinematical, Matthew Broderick, actor and, in days of yore, star of the classic John Hughes-directed teen movie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, was asked what he thought of a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off remake.

Broderick said he’s “perfectly happy for somebody to do that.” So we thought we’d help the process along by nominating some folks for the lead role of Ferris in the totally hypothetical Ferris Bueller’s Day Off re-make.

Alex Gaskarth (All Time Low)
Videos like “Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don’t)” have shown Gaskarth and his All Time Low cronies can do highs school, and “Dear Maria, Count Me In” and “Six Feet Under The Stars” shows they can be funny. Add the two together, along with Gaskarth’s charm and good looks, and you get a perfect recipe for Bueller.

Joe Jonas
Already rocks the ’80s style blazers with the sleeves rolled up and already wants to do more acting. Kevin is married, Nick’s got an administration to run, and that leaves Joe with some down time before another Jonas Brothers album. Besides, couldn’t you see him leading the city of Chicago through a rousing rendition of “Twist And Shout?“

Justin Bieber
C’mon. This dude is Ferris Bueller. Probably the most age-appropriate of all the choices. Bieber seems like the kind of kid who would be the apple of many a gal’s eye while remaining lovingly faithful to his girlfriend, all while maintaining good ties to motorheads, geeks, wastoids and dweebies. Everyone thinks he’s a righteous dude.

Kid Cudi
Kind of a wild card, we picked Cudi because of his sarcastic, laconic sense of humor (as seen in vids like “Make Her Say“). Something about Cudi just tells us he could pull off the Abe Froman, sausage king of Chicago prank.

Demi Lovato
This would be our personal choice. If you’re gonna reboot a franchise, why not come at it from a completely different angle; in this case, flipping Ferris’ gender and making him a teenage gal? And who better than Demi Lovato?

Now, granted, Demi has been a little more Gaga than high schooler these days (as seen in the “Remember December” video above), but she’s still got that really likable vibe. And maybe Selena Gomez could play Cameron?! We’re just spit-balling here!

+ Who do you think should play Ferris Bueller?

If you missed the Golden Globes, here’s a quick recap: Avatar won Best Motion Picture, Drama, everyone was like OH MAN I LOVED THAT MOVIE when The Hangover won Best Motion Picture, Comedy, Mariah Carey won Goldenest Globes, Penelope Cruz looked like she fell asleep standing up in a spray tan booth, celebs acted like they’d never seen rain before, and many of them looked like they’d never seen food before. So THANK YOU, Christina Aguilera, for wearing an absolute STUNNER of a Versace dress and looking like the best-dressed girl there.

Like January Jones, who wore a similar pastel Versace Atelier deco-inspired dress to the 2009 Emmys, Christina Aguilera brought some old-school Hollywood, blond bombshell bravado to the Golden Globes and more than made up for Drew Barrymore’s ode to the coral reef. And Kate Hudson’s Marchesa wedding dress, which looked like a series of tubes and envelopes.

Once again, Christina Aguilera proved that she only looks better — and younger — with age. Viva la Aguilera!

With American Idol’s 9th season debuting on January 12th, what better time than now to sit down with last season’s fourth-place finisher, Allison Iraheta, and throw some MTV Buzzworthy Blog fan-submitted questions her way?

In this fan interview, Allison, who released Just Like You just last month, answered all sorts of queries.

Allison talks about which song on Just Like… she connects with most on a personal level (“No One Else”) and how she feels about the album as a final product. She also gets tested on the topic of crazy fan encounters, touring plans, body image issues (she used to be insecure but then she realized how awesome she is…which she is), and her beloved leopard-print Snuggie.

Check out the entire Allison Iraheta Buzzworthy Blog fan interview, and re-fall-in-love with Allison’s video for “Friday I’ll Be Over You,” below.

First things first: Brendan, bass player for Texas band Disco Curtis, and guitarist Garrett are champions. I see you dudes with your vinyl-polyblend jackets and the sleeves pushed up, and dudes? I applaud you for it.

The look fits; Disco Curtis are practically three-notes and a couple of emo-drenched vocal ticks away from sounding like Rick Springfield or The Outfield (“Your Love” FTW).

Disco Curtis’ fun new video for “Ashley” (taken from their album, Play With Fire Get Burned), directed by Saint Productions, is not dissimilar to Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me.” It chronicles the timeless, if high-school-centric, themes of nerdery (singer, Tanner) vs. popularity (nameless “Jock”) in the battle for a gal’s (“Ashley”) heart.

Play With Fire… is out now, and Disco Curtis are on a rather relentless touring schedule, so you’re bound to catch them soon.

“Ashley” Official Music Video

(Credit: Michele Crowe, MTV)

Way back in the bygone age of December, 2009, we begged and pleaded for you to send in your most pressing questions for Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba. Now we have the answers to these queries.

Among the various topics covered in this Dashboard Q&A are Carrabba’s overseas touring plans, his time spent in Further Seems Forever, his song “Get Me Right” and its connection (or lack thereof) to New Moon and which Dashboard jams are closest to Carrabba’s heart.

Watch Dashboard Confessional’s MTV Buzzworthy Blog fan interview below. And check out brand-new Dashboard Confessional photos here.

They’re about to drop that ball, which means it’s time to drop my #1 Top Song of 2009…

“Empire State Of Mind”

Call me biased (I work in Times Square), but no song knocked harder or louder this year than Jay-Z’s love song to the Big Apple, “Empire State Of Mind.” From its chase-you-down beat, to Jay-Z’s always-hypnotic roller coaster cadence, to Alicia Keys‘ plunky piano parts and soaring, raise-the-roof chorus, “Empire State Of Mind” either made you proud to be a New Yorker or wish you were one.

Happy new year! Once more, with feeling!

(Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, live at the 2009 MTV VMAs… in New York!)

Buzzworthy’s #1 Top Video Of 2009: Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance”

Lady Gaga’s built her bottle rocket of a career on full-frontal performance art, freakish fashion, and insanely infectious hooks. But the platform upon which those pillars are built is Lady Gaga’s ability to absolutely next-level everything she does. Where some artists take a good idea and repeat it, Lady Gaga doesn’t just reinvent the wheel — she makes a better one — and takes it a step higher every time, from her VMA performance to her American Music Awards performance (uh… FLAMING PIANO!??!) down to the red dress she wore to meet the Queen of England. But nothing Gaga’s done has been more next-level than her “Bad Romance” video.

On its own, as a record, “Bad Romance” was almost too big to be believed. And the anticipation wrapped around the “Bad Romance” video was an event in and of itself. It’s hard to think of a video since “Thriller” that, well, thrilled like “Bad Romance.” It became an instant classic and Gaga’s best video yet. In 2009 we needed to escape, and no artist’s video met that need better than Gaga in “Bad Romance.”

Let’s check the rear-view for the other Top 5 Songs of 2009. Number 5: Mario, “Break Up,” Number 4: Paramore, “Where The Lines Overlap,” Number 3: The Clipse, “Popular Demand (Popeyes),” Number 2: Drake, “Best I Ever Had,” and now…

+ Number 1: Phoenix, “Lizstomania”

An unassailably perfect pop song, taken from Phoenix’s amazing Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix album. The opening tinkle of keys, the galloping beat, The Smiths-esque guitars that crash in before the chorus and those ponderous lyrics; are they about composer Franz Liszt’s 19th Century rise to stardom? A regretful look at the end of a relationship? Both? Doesn’t matter, once Thomas Mars coos, “So sentimental/Not sentimental, no” you’ll fall under this brilliant song’s spell.

And then there was one. Quick recap of my Top 5 Vids of 2009: #5: Rihanna, “Russian Roulette,” Number 4: Vampire Weekend, “Cousins,” Number 3: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Heads Will Roll,” and Number 2: Handsome Furs, “I’m Confused.” And now…

+ Number 1: Taylor Swift, “You Belong With Me”

Gurl! Don’t look so surprised! “You Belong With Me” was a teen rom-com (a bunch of teen movies, actually) wrapped up in a music video, wherein Taylor plays two roles (whoa there, Meryl Streep!); one bad brunette, convertible-pushing mean girl, the other a nerd-tastic band geek vying for the attention of the boy of her dreams.

While things don’t look so good in the beginning (notes are written with Sharpies and read through windows… because your parents suspended your texting privs or something?) this is, ultimately, a love story, and, baby, he says, “yes.” TEAM TAYLOR!

Yesterday I threw some shine on my #3 Top Video of 2009, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Heads Will Roll.” But the hits keep on coming. My #2 Top Video of 2009 is…

+ Handsome Furs, “I’m Confused”

Director Scott Coffey’s clip for the Handsome Furs’ lo-fi/new-wave rave up (taken from their awesome album, Face Control) is basically Night Of The Living Dead Cool Kids. Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade) and Alexei Perry kick out the jams at a house party until a serious case of Zombie Flu hits the crowd. Then, well…you know how these things go; sooner or later, everyone’s stumbling around, spitting infected black grime at one another, and it all looks like a hipster version of “Thriller.”

Cliff’s Notes to Chris’ Top 5 Songs Of 2009: #5: Mario, “Break Up,” #4: Paramore, “Where The Lines Overlap,” #3 The Clipse: “Popular Demand (Popeyes)” and now…

+ Number 2: Drake, “Best I Ever Had”

Ah, Drake. Music’s Can’t-Miss-Kid drew a considerable amount of ire for “Best I Ever Had”’s Kanye West-directed, chest-focused video. Regardless of how you feel about Kanye the filmmaker, Drake’s qualities as a a singer/songwriter/rapper/burgeoning star are pretty much indisputable.

The Canadian DeGrassi veteran/Young Money all-star made a big splash with this mixtape cut (taken from his essential So Far Gone). It’s got everything that’s good about Drake: hooks coming at you from all over the place; a great match of voice and beat (Drake’s smooth tones over the rising/falling bass line); and, of course, a lot of aw-shucks-I’m-the-greatest charm and braggadocio.

Quick recap of my picks for Buzzworthy’s Top Videos of 2009! Buzzworthy’s #5 Top Video of 2009 went to Katy Perry’s ‘Waking Up In Vegas.” The #4 Top Video of 2009 is Fall Out Boy’s “What A Catch, Donnie.” The #3 Top Video Of 2009 went to Beyonce’s “Sweet Dreams.” Which brings us to the #2 Top Video of 2009, which is…

Matt & Kim, “Lessons Learned”

Not only is Matt & Kim’s “Lessons Learned” video, directed by Taylor Cohen and Otto Arsenault, the starkest video of the year as well as the nakedest, but it’s one of the most scintillating videos of 2009 — and not just because they’re naked. Matt & Kim’s snapshot of public indecency — in true DIY spirit, Matt and Kim actually, for-real stripped down (and not in the acoustic way) and streaked Times Square — embraces the sheer joy of the song… until you get to the didn’t-see-that-coming ending.  While the impact of the video’s end is absolute, its meaning is nebulous — does it signal the end of wide-eyed innocence? The inevitability of “The Man” keeping you down? The power of anarchy? You decide. Just don’t try it at home.

Watch the video that won a 2009 VMA and a 2009 mtvU Woodie Award, and watch Matt & Kim perform “Lessons Learned” live at the 2009 mtvU Woodie Awards.

Yesterday we took a look at Buzzworthy’s #5 and #4 Top Videos of 2009 — Katy Perry’s ‘Waking Up In Vegas” at 5 and Fall Out Boy’s “What A Catch, Donnie” at #4. Today, my #3 Top Video Of 2009 goes to a woman whom no best-of list would be complete without. Beyonce.

+ Number 3: Beyonce, “Sweet Dreams”
Beyonce’s “Sweet Dreams” video, directed by Adria Petty, isn’t just another high-fashion look at Beyonce, though there are direction allusions to designer Gareth Pugh’s Autumn/Winter 2009 video presentation. But beyond Beyonce’s designer wardrobe, “Sweet Dreams” picks up where the “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” video left off. It’s the dark yin to the brighter, lighter fare of “Single Ladies.” This is a 360-degree look at Beyonce’s life: Beyonce the woman, Sasha Fierce the performer, and the powerful force that occupies the spaces in between. Beyonce goes to sleep as Beyonce, turns into Sasha Fierce, and emerges as da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, only a woman. Woven throughout the “Sweet Dreams” video are darker shades of the occult and stranglehold of mind control. Like I said — definitely not just a fashion video.

Yesterday we admired the creepy interrogation scenes of Rihanna’s “Russian Roulette” and the manic, tracking shots and jumpy editing of Vampire Weekend’s “Cousins.” Now, we continue the countdown of my favorite Buzzworthy music video with this cabaret scene from a galaxy far, far away. The next clip on my list of Buzzworthy’s Top Videos of 2009 countdown is…

+ Number 3: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Heads Will Roll”

In this RIchard Ayoade-directed clip (taken from The YYY’s It’s A Blitz album), Karen O. and her boys are playing a dinner theater that’s one part Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” video, one part David Lynch film and one part budget-Werewolf schlock flick.

However, you’ll be hard-pressed to pay attention to anything other than Karen O.’s insane bubble-wrap-butterfly-wings and her minimal, hip-shaking dance moves as she commands this lush, disco-rock anthem from the stage.

Yesterday, in beginning the countdown of my favorite songs of the year, I gushed about Paramore and Mario making music out of bits and pieces of multiple sub-genres. Today, no such post-modern biz will take place. Nope! These next cats make straight-up hip-hop for those who like their rap uncut. Get prepped, students: the #3 song on my Buzzworthy Blog Top 5 Songs of 2009 countdown is…

+ Number 3: The Clipse, featuring Cam’ron, “Popular Demand (Popeye’s)”

Over a crunching, old-school Neptunes beat, the brothers Thornton (they’re twins, btw) rhyme about hotels, NBA ballers, balling out, and eating fast food. Riding over the horns and pianos, Malice, Pusha and their pal — Harlem’s own Cam’ron — sound cocky and comfortable talking about how great they are.

“Popular Demand” is probably the strongest song off a very strong album (Til The Casket Drops). It’s a healthy dose of NYC-style hip-hop (even though they hail from Virginia) and a welcome return from arguably the decade’s greatest rap duo.