'Hunger Games' Soundtrack Lands Taylor Swift, Arcade Fire

Decemberists and Civil Wars also on the disc.
By Gil Kaufman


Taylor Swift
Photo: Getty Images

The soundtrack to "The Hunger Games"
 will feature a bumper crop of new and unreleased songs by Taylor Swift, the Arcade Fire and the Decemberists.

The album will be produced by Grammy-winning producer T Bone Burnett and released before the movie hits theaters on March 23. Burnett and the group the Civil Wars got together to write an original tune for the CD with Swift, the first single, "Safe and Sound," which was released to iTunes on December 23. The tune shot to #1 on the iTunes singles list within 24 hours of release.

Also serving up fresh tracks are the Arcade Fire, who collaborated with Burnett on "Horn of Plenty," and the Decemberists, who've offered up the original song "One Engine." The rest of the lineup has not been released, but according to a press release the soundtrack will feature all new songs based on themes that figure into the movie's storyline.

Oscar-winning composer Danny Elfman recently exited the film, citing scheduling issues as he works to finish up the music for "Dark Shadows" and "Men in Black 3." He was replaced by James Newton Howard, who is responsible for dozens of famous scores, including "Batman Begins."

Inspired by the best-selling young-adult novel by Suzanne Collins, "The Hunger Games" follows the path of 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), who is chosen to compete in a vicious televised tournament in which 24 teenagers from a post-apocalyptic society fight to the death for the entertainment of the masses. The film also stars Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth, as well as Woody Harrelson and rocker Lenny Kravitz.

Lawrence will not only star in the movie, but she will also lend her vocals
 to the soundtrack. Producer Burnett had high praise for her singing, telling MTV it was "beautiful. She did great. She's singing great. Killer actor too."

Fans are totally geeked about the new big-screen adaptation that could be the next-generation "Twilight" series, which is why we put together our list of the top 10 "Games" moments of 2011.

What other artists do you think would fit on The Hunger Games soundtrack? Tell us on Facebook!

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Dave Grohl, Josh Homme, John Paul Jones Unveil Supergroup1617950

Them Crooked Vultures make their debut with a post-Lollapalooza set.
By James Montgomery



Photo: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

Officially, Lollapalooza ended Sunday night in Chicago's Grant Park, with dueling sets from the Killers and Jane's Addiction. Unofficially, it ended very early Monday morning, across town at venerable rock club the Metro, with a surprise show by Them Crooked Vultures. To the unfamiliar, the Vultures might seem like an odd choice to close out Lolla weekend ... until you realize that they're made up of Foo Fighters frontman/ former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age mastermind Josh Homme and Led Zeppelin legend John Paul Jones. And their gig at the Metro was their world premiere. According to some reports, the Vultures actually turned down Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell's request to replace the Beastie Boys as headliners at the festival, opting to debut in front of some 1,100 super-psyched fans at the Metro, rather than 75,000 in Grant Park (tickets for the gig were announced via Foo Fighter/ QOTSA fan clubs). Meaning that, in a lot of ways, this was the most sought-after ticket in town. Taking the stage just after midnight, the Vultures — Grohl on drums (of course), Homme on guitar and vocals, Jones on bass and keys and frequent QOTSA contributor Alain Johannes on guitar — ripped through 12 songs in 80 minutes, all taken from their upcoming debut, which may or may not be called Never Deserved the Future, and may or may not be hitting stores on October 23 (early "promo" videos touting both those facts were revealed over the weekend to be hoaxes perpetrated by QOTSA fans). The songs, with appropriately Homme-ian titles like "Scumbag Blues," "Mind Eraser (No Chaser)," "Caligulove" and "Interlude w/Ludes," sounded pretty much how you'd expect, given the band's pedigree. They rocked, hard — Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot described them as "fresh, invigorating and just plain nasty" — delving off into psychedelic, reverb-filled excursions and exploring proggy territory, "both of the old-school Yes variety, and the more modern Tool flavor," according to the Chicago Sun-Times' Jim DeRogatis. It's not known if Monday's Metro performance was a one-off event for the Vultures — there have been whispers of a full-blown tour, but a spokesperson for Homme had not responded to MTV News' request for comment at press time. Nor was it clear whether or not they'll have an album out in October. Early Monday, a Crooked Vultures Twitter account, which had previously posted links to the band's official-looking Web site and the Metro's online ticketing site — posted a link to what appears to be the group's first bit of official merchandise: a Deserve the Future T-shirt. Cost: $30.

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Britney Spears 'In A Good Place,' Kevin Federline Says1676192

K-Fed says he's 'totally happy' for his ex-wife as pop star celebrates engagement in Las Vegas.
By Jocelyn Vena


Britney Spears and Jason Trawick in Las Vegas
Photo: Denise Truscello/WireImage

Britney Spears spent the weekend celebrating her engagement to Jason Trawick in Las Vegas with friends and family. On Friday, hours after the news of their impending marriage was confirmed, the singer took to her Facebook page to make it official, changing her relationship status to "engaged."

She also shared with her fans on Twitter just how excited she is to be tying the knot with longtime boyfriend Trawick. "Still glowing!" she wrote. "About to jump on a plane to Planet Hollywood in Vegas. Throwing a Bday Party for Jason at Chateau Night Club. So fun. Xxoo. And celebrate they did. People.com reported that the couple and her two sons checked into Planet Hollywood before making their first public appearance since the news broke. Spears rocked not only a body-hugging Hervé Léger bandage dress, but also her Neil Lane engagement ring. The couple shared dinner and dancing at two Sin City hotspots, Sugar Factory's Chocolate Lounge and Paris' Chateau Nightclub. "Tonight was one of the most magical nights of my life," she later wrote on Twitter. "Such an amazing time with my new fiance and our closest friends and family. #Blessed" While Spears was celebrating, her ex-husband Kevin Federline sent out his well-wishes. "I'm really happy for her — I think he's a great guy," he told TV Week magazine while filming the reality show "Excess Baggage" in Australia. "She's happy; she's doing really well. I want to say she's in a good place. I haven't spoken to her much since I've been over here, both of us have been busy with her being on tour, but I do know from talking to the kids and talking to the kids' teachers that they're doing really good. It's a good step in the right direction. I'm totally happy for her." And Federline doesn't seem to have any hard feelings toward Trawick. "He's a really good guy, I've heard a lot about him," he added. "I've spoken to him quite a few times as of now. He seems like a really good guy. The kids speak highly of him [and] her family loves him."

Share your well-wishes for Britney and Jason in the comments!

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Chris Brown, Rihanna Tweeting Each Other?

Multiple sources are writing that Chris Brown and Rihanna have been tweeted sweet messages back and forth to each other. This is a bad idea, and Rihanna needs to just leave him alone. First off, it’s really hard to be sure that they are actually sending these tweets to each other. They are not sending messages directly to each other and are definitely not doing Twitter mentions. I’m pretty sure that would violate the terms of their restraining order. Yes, it’s worth mentioning that they have a restraining order against each other until sometime in 2014. That hasn’t stopped them from sending tweets that seem to be obviously meant for each other. Here is the most recent one that has cause people to freak out: @chrisbrown: Love U more than u know! @rihanna: I’ll always love u #1LOVE I’m sure they would be the first to say that those tweets aren’t meant to go together, but one came right after the other. Maybe they think this is the only way they can communicate without getting in trouble. I’m surprised they are even allowed to have each other as Twitter followers. That doesn’t even make sense after what happened. If Rihanna [...]

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Beyonce, Britney Spears And More: 25 Best Songs Of 20111675901

We count down the year's most memorable musical moments, in Bigger Than the Sound.
By James Montgomery


Britney Spears on the cover of "Till the World Ends"
Photo: Jive

In 2011, we shuffled and shook it out. We found love and decided to dance until the world ends. We rolled in the deep and celebrated the boys with the booming systems. Shoot, at one point, we even went to Paris with Will Ferrell. It was, to say the very least, an interesting 12 months.

So, how else to sum up the year than with my picks for the 25 Best Songs of 2011: odes to partying and pumped-up kicks, songs of sadness and beauty, tunes about getting loaded and getting revenge. Pop, hip-hop, rock, bed-tronica, they're all here, and they're all important in some way, mostly because they all helped guide us through a rather tumultuous time. But that's enough from me, let's get to the songs. Oh, and I'd like to hear your picks too — drop me a line in the comments below. So now, on with the countdown. 25. Nicola Roberts, "Beat of My Drum": Supremely saccharine single from erstwhile Girls Aloud member mashes together every notable pop moment in recent history, yet somehow manages to be better that the sum of its parts. That's thanks mostly to the supercharged, sing-a-long chorus, where the whole thing comes together in a head-spinning rush. She should go solo more often. 24. Against Me!, "Russian Spies": Searing, surging punk from Gainesville lifers proves their time on Sire Records didn't soften them one bit. It only made them more resolute. And, strangely, sadder too. 23. Kreayshawn, "Gucci Gucci": Either the smartest song of 2011 or the dumbest, the beauty of "Gucci Gucci" — and Kreayshawn, for that matter — is that the answer is probably both. The goofy, horror-movie synth squiggle, the dollops of low-end whomp, the part where Kreay claims to have swag coming out her ovaries ... it's all good. Even if it's not. 22. Gospel Music, "This Town Doesn't Have Enough Bars for Both Of Us": Peppy, poppy, pocket-rock that laments the lack of quality drinking establishments in Owen Holmes' hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, and dares to ponder one of life's great post-breakup quandaries: When does our place become just my place? He's not smart enough to know the answer; instead, he spends his genius on barroom bon mots like, "I'm not drinking anymore/ But I'm not drinking any less." Works for me. 21. Demi Lovato, "Skyscraper": For about a week, this was the biggest song in the world (or the Internet), a fact that had nothing to do with irony, our nascent sense of superiority or kittens, and everything to do with the startling connection Lovato makes with the track itself. Oh, and the fact that she sings the absolute beejezus out of it. Given everything that's happened in Lovato's life, that connection makes sense, but it's the maturity she shows on the song — and that final, chill-inducing chorus — that opened eyes, and served notice. Welcome to the club, Demi. 20. Lykke Li, "Get Some": Overlooked, otherworldly single off Li's equally overlooked (and otherworldly) Wounded Rhymes album, this one is very much about sex. Thumping, bumping, panting ... and then Li pushes it all over the top with her smoldering, sumptuous vocals. The kind of song that requires a cigarette and a cold shower after repeat listens. 19. The Black Keys, "Lonely Boy": After spending portions of their breakout Brothers album getting slightly contemplative, the Keys roar back with "Lonely Boy," a song that only contemplates how best to make a guitar rev like a V-8 engine. A hard-charging, and even harder-chugging treat (with an equally hard-partying music video), it's the kind of classic claptrap you always knew they were capable of making. 18. Chris Brown, "Beautiful People": Folks can talk about Brown's hip-hop turn on "Look at Me Now," but this single represents his biggest reinvention to date. A slippery, shiny club track helmed by Benny Benassi, like most of Breezy's work it is undeniably sexy, but it's also subtly smart too. And that's where he made his biggest strides. Also, unlike "Look at Me Now," he doesn't even mention Mr. Miyagi once. 17. YACHT, "Dystopia (The Earth Is on Fire)": Every day the sky gets lower (lowerlowerlower!) And every day the flames get higher (higherhigherhigher!) So, with apologies to I could deny this song. Super-charged star-burst synthesizers, robo-vocals and, of course, that iconic "Woah-Oh-Oh" chantalong, it's the party jam for the post-apocalyptic future. And because of all that, it's also an important song; not only a reminder that Britney is still capable of making truly terrific pop music, but that, really, she never stopped. And coming from one of her most ardent critics, that's high praise indeed. 09. Beyoncé, "Love on Top": You wanted a throwback jam, you've got a throwback jam. Big, bold, brassy and blissed-out, it represents everything B was going for on her 4 album, recalling roiling old R&B classics and the supreme diva-tude of the all-time greats. Sure, I could've gone for something like "Run the World (Girls)" or even "Countdown," but "Love on Top" is where it all clicks, sublimely so. Joy for days, which, given our dire times, made this one an absolute lifesaver. Oh, and as is the case with all of her best tunes, Beyoncé belts here. And really, what else do you need? 08. Nickelback, "Bottoms Up": Take away my cred card, but I am unapologetically in awe of this song. I wrote an entire column about its boozy brilliance earlier this year, but suffice to say, it is without a doubt the greatest thing Nickelback will ever do, in that they are first and foremost a party band, and this is their ultimate party jam: a song about getting supremely sh--faced, about drinking everything from Jim Beam to "straight gasoline," complete with a crushing, ALL-CAPS chorus and appropriately chugging riffs. Oh, and at one point, Chad Kroeger rhymes "bar" with "fire," mostly because he can. Hammer down, now and forever. 07. Bright Eyes, "The Ladder Song": For as much noise as Conor Oberst is capable of making, it's often the quieter moments where his rickety, ramshackle genius shines brightest. And "Ladder Song" — a heartbreakingly raw tribute to a friend who committed suicide — is not only his quietest, it's one of his best. Backed by little more than a piano and a handful of otherworldly room tones, Oberst plumbs the depths of despair, his voice reedy and wavering, and, when he reaches bottom, discovers there are small beauties that make life worth living. It's too bad, he ultimately laments, that his friend didn't discover them too. The year's most achingly beautiful song, by a hair-raising mile. 06. Drake, "Take Care": There are no short

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