MGMT sue Nicolas Sarkozy, get creative while answering boring questions

Sarkozy's party, UMP, failed to give proper compensation for the use of "Kids" in online videos.

UMP has admitted using it, but said it was a mistake and has offered a symbolic gesture of one euro (£0.89).

LOL WHAT. There is something wrong with that. That is a straight-up insult if I've ever seen one.

On winning NME Award for Best New Band:


On winning NME award for Best Track:

"Credit crunch anthem," are you kidding me? I think I'm going to revive my 15-year-old self's dream of being an NME journalist, because apparently you can get away with asking incredibly moronic questions and being a terrible interviewer in general. Ordinarily, I'd say that Andrew must just be really high to come up with something like that praying mantis business, but I'm sure that after over a year, having to talk about the same stuff over and over again gets really boring. I think I've found my calling in life.

Picture.

NME Awards '09

Winners are bolded.

Best British Band
Bloc Party
The Last Shadow Puppets
Muse
Oasis
Radiohead
(Not surprising, although I don't know why you'd choose Oasis over Radiohead.)

Best International Band
Crystal Castles
The Killers
Kings Of Leon
MGMT
Vampire Weekend
(Seriously? Day & Age sucked.)

Best Solo Artist
Ladyhawke
Laura Marling
Lightspeed Champion
Jay-Z
Pete Doherty
(Pete Doherty, I will always love you.)

Best New Band
Glasvegas
Late Of The Pier
MGMT
Vampire Weekend
White Lies
(I can't remember if I voted for MGMT or Vampire Weekend. Still, good for them, they've come a long way in the past year. Also, I found it quite fitting that people out of the Skins cast presented the award to them, considering that "Time To Pretend" was such a huge part of the series 2 finale.)

Best Live Band
The Killers
Kings Of Leon
Muse
Oasis
Radiohead
(No surprises here.)

Best Album
Bloc Party – 'Intimacy'
Glasvegas – 'Glasvegas'
The Killers – 'Day & Age'
Kings Of Leon – 'Only By The Night'
Oasis – 'Dig Out Your Soul'
(But people in the UK are supposed to be familiar with their older and vastly superior work!)

Best Track
Kings Of Leon – 'Sex On Fire'
The Last Shadow Puppets – 'The Age Of The Understatement'
MGMT – 'Time To Pretend'
The Ting Tings – 'That's Not My Name'
Vampire Weekend – 'A-Punk'
(A good choice. And hey, it wasn't "Sex On Fire.")

Best Video
The Last Shadow Puppets – 'My Mistakes Were Made For You'
Late Of The Pier – 'Heartbreak'
Oasis – 'The Shock Of The Lightning'
Radiohead – 'House Of Cards'
Vampire Weekend – 'A-Punk'

Best Live Event
Glastonbury
Isle Of Wight
Reading and Leeds
T In The Park
V Festival

Best TV Show
Gavin & Stacey
The IT Crowd
The Mighty Boosh
Never Mind The Buzzcocks
Skins
(I really need to watch more Boosh.)

Best Dancefloor Filler
Bloc Party – 'Mercury'
Crystal Castles – 'Courtship Dating'
Dizzee Rascal & Calvin Harris – 'Dance Wiv Me'
Friendly Fires – 'Paris'
Late Of The Pier – 'Bathroom Gurgle'

Best DVD
Arctic Monkeys – 'At The Apollo'
Foo Fighters – 'Live At Wembley Stadium'
Kaiser Chiefs – 'Live At Elland Road'
Muse – 'HAARP'
The Rolling Stones – 'Shine A Light'

Hero Of The Year
Alex Turner
Barack Obama
Brandon Flowers
Noel Fielding
Noel Gallagher

Villain Of The Year
Amy Winehouse
George Bush
Gordon Brown
John McCain
Pete Doherty

Best Dressed
Alex Turner
Alexa Chung
Brandon Flowers
Noel Fielding
Noel Gallagher
(Alexa is so pretty!)

Worst Dressed
Amy Winehouse
Brandon Flowers
Johnny Borrell
Katy Perry
Pete Doherty
(Has she given up on those terrible slippers yet?)

Worst Album
Britney Spears – 'Circus'
Coldplay – 'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends'
Jonas Brothers – 'A Little Bit Longer'
Razorlight – 'Slipway Fires'
Scouting For Girls – 'Scouting For Girls'
(hahaha. I must say, if I compare their to the bad emo poetry I was writing when I was 15, they're acceptable.)

Worst Band
Fall Out Boy
Jonas Brothers
Oasis
Scouting for Girls
Tokio Hotel
(I personally voted for Tokio Hotel. However, Jonas Brothers have that nasty thing where they're significantly more pervasive in culture than Tokio Hotel, thus upping their ability to be annoying.)

Sexiest Male
Carl Barat
Keith Murray
Matt Bellamy
Miles Kane
Pete Doherty
(This is a travesty. Keith Murray is much, much, much sexier.)

Sexiest Female
Alison Mosshart
Hayley Williams
Kate Jackson
Lykke Li
Stephanie Dosen
(Are people blind? How could you possibly compare Hayley Williams to Alison Mosshart?)

Best Website
Bebo
Facebook
Last FM
MySpace
YouTube

Best Venue
Brixton Academy
Manchester Apollo
London Astoria
Glasgow Barrowlands
London O2 Arena

Best Album Artwork
The Cure – '4:13 Dream'
Guillemots – 'Red'
The Killers – 'Day & Age'
Muse – 'HAARP'
We Are Scientists – 'Brain Thrust Mastery'

Best Band Blog
Foals
Lightspeed Champion
Little Boots
Noel Gallagher/Oasis
Radiohead

As far as red carpet style went, Alex Kapranos and Paul Thomson from Franz Ferdinand looked like they went shopping in Ozymandias' closet, but they can do no wrong in my eyes. Noel Fielding wore some sort of burgundy velvet tunic thing that David Tennant would probably love and some totally awesome silver boots that I want to make mine. I also really want his bag. (Years ago, I accepted the fact that I dress like a British man.) The Geldof spawn continue to be disgusting, and Patrick Wolf continues to be fierce and crazy. Despite some sort of lace shirt with asymmetrical buttons being involved, MGMT's Andrew VanWyngarden was wearing the most normal outfit I have ever seen him in, though he probably had an emergency head scarf in his pocket. Despite some sort of lace shirt with asymmetrical buttons being involved and looking more busted than ever, I still find him weirdly attractive.

Scattered thoughts on Oscars '09

Oh my God. This was, um, this was not an easy film to make. First off, I have to thank Cleve Jones and Anne Kronenberg and all the real-life people who shared their stories with me. And, um, Gus Van Sant, Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, James Franco and our entire cast, my producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, everyone at Groundswell and Focus for taking on the challenge of telling this life-saving story.

When I was 13 years old, my beautiful mother and my father moved me from a conservative Mormon home in San Antonio, Texas to California, and I heard the story of Harvey Milk. And it gave me hope. It gave me the hope to live my life. It gave me the hope one day I could live my life openly as who I am and then maybe even I could even fall in love and one day get married.

I wanna thank my mom, who has always loved me for who I am even when there was pressure not to. But most of all, if Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago, I think he'd want me to say to all of the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told that they are less than by their churches, by the government or by their families, that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights federally, across this great nation of ours. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you, God, for giving us Harvey Milk.
--Dustin Lance Black

Thank you. Thank you. You commie, homo-loving sons-of-guns. I did not expect this, but I, and I want it to be very clear, that I do know how hard I make it to appreciate me often. But I am touched by the appreciation and I hoped for it enough that I did want to scribble down, so I had the names in case you were commie, homo-loving sons-of-guns, and so I want to thank my best friend, Sata Matsuzawa. My circle of long-time support, Mara, Brian, Barry and Bob. The great Cleve Jones. Our wonderful writer, Lance Black. Producers Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks.

And particularly, as all, as actors know, our director either has the patience, talent and restraint to grant us a voice or they don't, and it goes from the beginning of the meeting, through the cutting room. And there is no finer hands to be in than Gus Van Sant. And finally, for those, two last finallies, for those who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that way of support.

We've got to have equal rights for everyone. And there are, and there are, these last two things. I'm very, very proud to live in a country that is willing to elect an elegant man president and a country who, for all its toughness, creates courageous artists. And this is in great due respect to all the nominees, but courageous artists, who despite a sensitivity that sometimes has brought enormous challenge, Mickey Rourke rises again and he is my brother. Thank you all very much.
--Sean Penn

Do a Holocaust movie, get an Oscar. Words of wisdom, Ricky Gervais.

Ben Stiller as Joaquin Phoenix was amazing. I couldn't even tell who it was under that giant beard until he turned to the side and I recognised his profile.

I almost cried during Dustin Lance Black and Sean Penn's speeches, ngl. I'd say I was surprised that Westboro Baptist Church protested, but they've gone so far that they can't be shocking anymore.

As much as I love Paul Newman, etc., the In Memoriam thing took so long that I thought M.I.A. was going to recover enough to show up.

The dance routine to Jai Ho was so epic until John Legend came along. No surprises with Slumdog Millionaire--the little kids were way too adorable, and everyone involved obviously took great pride in their work. Dev Patel, let's get married.

THIS IS THE SKIN OF A KILLER. Our friend RPattz was clearly getting a headstart on looking like a tortured stalker.

Not that Hugh Jackman was bad, but it would have been nice if someone like Tina Fey had hosted. I think that these sorts of things generally go over better if a comedian hosts.

Dominic Cooper was lookin' fly (as were many other people), too bad Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens had to be involved in that musical extravaganza. I am so excited for An Education. The previews made me even more pumped for 500 Days Of Summer, too--Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel are way too cute.

Brit awards results

Bolded are the winners, underlined are my picks.

British Album:
Coldplay - Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
Duffy - Rockferry
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
Radiohead - In Rainbows
The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
While I try to not rate everything from a scale of 1 to Radiohead, In Rainbows is just so wonderful.

British Group:
Coldplay
Elbow
Girls Aloud
Radiohead
Take That

British Single:
Adele - Chasing Pavements
Alexandra Burke - Hallelujah
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Dizzee Rascal featuring Calvin Harris and Chrome - Dance Wiv Me
Duffy - Mercy
Estelle ft Kanye West - American Boy
Girls Aloud - The Promise
Leona Lewis - Better in Time
Scouting for Girls - Heartbeat
The X Factor Finalists - Hero
I genuinely do like Mercy, and American Boy really grew on me after hearing it so often during the summer.

British Male Solo Artist:
Ian Brown
James Morrison
Paul Weller
The Streets
Will Young

British Female Solo Artist:
Adele
Beth Rowley
Duffy
Estelle
M.I.A.
Seriously, M.I.A. is too fierce for words.

British Breakthrough Act:
Adele
Duffy
The Last Shadow Puppets
Scouting For Girls
The Ting Tings
Oh, Alex Turner, you've grown up so much.

British Live Act:
Coldplay
Iron Maiden
Scouting For Girls
The Verve
Elbow

International Album:
AC / DC - Black Ice
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
The Killers - Day & Age
Kings of Leon - Only By The Night
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Day & Age was such a letdown. Meanwhile, there's not a song I don't love on Oracular Spectacular.

International Group:
AC / DC
Fleet Foxes
The Killers
Kings of Leon
MGMT
I kind of feel like the Killers and Kings of Leon have already gotten their dues in the UK, but I don't know what their records are like award-wise, at least not with Kings of Leon. But no seriously, I think I might have thought that Kings of Leon were British at one point because all I saw was people from the UK raving about them.

International Male Solo Artist:
Beck
Neil Diamond
Jay-Z
Kanye West
Seasick Steve

International Female Solo Artist:
Beyonce
Gabriella Cilmi
Katy Perry
Pink
Santogold
I don't know much about Gabriella Cilmi except that she was rather irritating on Buzzcocks.

Critics' Choice Award winner:
Florence & The Machine

Producer of the Year:
Bernard Butler

Apparently along with Katy Perry puking backstage, Jared Followill's ladyfriend got into a fight after spotting her boyfrand flirting with someone else. I'm not sure why you would try to pursue a serious relationship with a member of Kings of Leon--I think I knew that all of them were banging a different groupie every night before I actually heard any of their music. In other news, Matthew Followill has announced that KOL's next album will be "a little grungier," which can only be a good thing.

Photo by riotonsunset.

I wish I could dance like Thom Yorke

If I was in the USC marching band, I'd probably be thinking, "Well, I guess I can die happy now, because my life can never be more epic than it was during the four minutes I spent performing with Radiohead at the 51st Grammy Awards."

NME Awards shortlist

The shortlist is up for the NME Awards and voting is open. The nominees:

Best British Band
Bloc Party
The Last Shadow Puppets
Muse
Oasis
Radiohead
(As much as I love Bloc Party and the Last Shadow Puppets, they can't compare to Radiohead.)

Best International Band
Crystal Castles
The Killers
Kings Of Leon
MGMT
Vampire Weekend
(Kings Of Leon are probably going to end up getting this at the rate that they're going, especially because they were big in the UK first.)

Best Solo Artist
Ladyhawke
Laura Marling
Lightspeed Champion
Jay-Z
Pete Doherty
(Interesting mix. As much as I still love Pete Doherty, I'll be voting for Laura Marling.)

Best New Band
Glasvegas
Late Of The Pier
MGMT
Vampire Weekend
White Lies
(Glasvegas are even more overrated than "Sex On Fire," and that's saying a lot.)

Best Live Band
The Killers
Kings Of Leon
Muse
Oasis
Radiohead
(I can't really judge fairly on this, as I've only seen Kings Of Leon live--they were quite solid, though. However, judging from my old collection of bootlegs, Brandon Flowers can't sing live.)

Best Album
Bloc Party – 'Intimacy'
Glasvegas – 'Glasvegas'
The Killers – 'Day & Age'
Kings Of Leon – 'Only By The Night'
Oasis – 'Dig Out Your Soul'
(I'm going to go with Bloc Party on this one. Day & Age was just not good.)

Best Track
Kings Of Leon – 'Sex On Fire'
The Last Shadow Puppets – 'The Age Of The Understatement'
MGMT – 'Time To Pretend'
The Ting Tings – 'That's Not My Name'
Vampire Weekend – 'A-Punk'
(Anything besides "Sex On Fire," please. Personally, I prefer "Oxford Comma" and "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" to "A-Punk" and "Kids" and "Electric Feel" to "Time To Pretend.")

Best Video
The Last Shadow Puppets – 'My Mistakes Were Made For You'
Late Of The Pier – 'Heartbreak'
Oasis – 'The Shock Of The Lightning'
Radiohead – 'House Of Cards'
Vampire Weekend – 'A-Punk'
(The "House Of Cards" video was pretty cool.)

Best Live Event
Glastonbury
Isle Of Wight
Reading and Leeds
T In The Park
V Festival

Best TV Show
Gavin & Stacey
The IT Crowd
The Mighty Boosh
Never Mind The Buzzcocks
Skins
(Simon Amstell, please be my best friend. While I do watch Skins, I can't say that it's actually good.)

Best Film
The Dark Knight
Juno
Quantum Of Solace
Twilight
Wall-E
(What is this list? You'd think that NME readers would be too pretentious for Twilight.)

Best Dancefloor Filler
Bloc Party – 'Mercury'
Crystal Castles – 'Courtship Dating'
Dizzee Rascal & Calvin Harris – 'Dance Wiv Me'
Friendly Fires – 'Paris'
Late Of The Pier – 'Bathroom Gurgle'

Best DVD
Arctic Monkeys – 'At The Apollo'
Foo Fighters – 'Live At Wembley Stadium'
Kaiser Chiefs – 'Live At Elland Road'
Muse – 'HAARP'
The Rolling Stones – 'Shine A Light'

Hero Of The Year
Alex Turner
Barack Obama
Brandon Flowers
Noel Fielding
Noel Gallagher
(It's got to be Obama. Or at least not Noel Gallagher.)

Villain Of The Year
Amy Winehouse
George Bush
Gordon Brown
John McCain
Pete Doherty

Best Dressed
Alex Turner
Alexa Chung
Brandon Flowers
Noel Fielding
Noel Gallagher
(Not going to lie, I still like Alexa Chung, she has some cute outfits sometimes.)

Worst Dressed
Amy Winehouse
Brandon Flowers
Johnny Borrell
Katy Perry
Pete Doherty
(What does Brandon Flowers even wear nowadays? In my mind, he hasn't shifted a day away from salmon pink Dior jackets.)

Worst Album
Britney Spears – 'Circus'
Coldplay – 'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends'
Jonas Brothers – 'A Little Bit Longer'
Razorlight – 'Slipway Fires'
Scouting For Girls – 'Scouting For Girls'
(I tried listening to that Razorlight album just to make fun of it. I succeeded.)

Worst Band
Fall Out Boy
Jonas Brothers
Oasis
Scouting for Girls
Tokio Hotel

Sexiest Male
Carl Barat
Keith Murray
Matt Bellamy
Miles Kane
Pete Doherty
(Keith Murray definitely deserves this. Dear Heathus, he is far too attractive.)

Sexiest Female
Alison Mosshart
Hayley Williams
Kate Jackson
Lykke Li
Stephanie Dosen
(I can't decide between Kate and Alison. Someday, I hope to be a fraction as fierce as either of them. I can't wait for Kate's solo stuff, I hope it's good!)

Best Website
Bebo
Facebook
Last FM
MySpace
YouTube

Best Venue
Brixton Academy
Manchester Apollo
London Astoria
Glasgow Barrowlands
London O2 Arena

Best Album Artwork
The Cure – '4:13 Dream'
Guillemots – 'Red'
The Killers – 'Day & Age'
Muse – 'HAARP'
We Are Scientists – 'Brain Thrust Mastery'
(I love the Brain Thrust Mastery artwork, the cougar photoshoot amuses me much more than it should. Also, that tasteful black/white/gold combination is delectable. So is Keith Murray. I need to stop talking now.)

Best Band Blog
Foals
Lightspeed Champion
Little Boots
Noel Gallagher/Oasis
Radiohead