MTV VMA’s…The Second Hour

Coming into the home stretch, about to begin the second half! Taylor Swift! Maybe Kanye! Whoo!

7:05 pm PST…GLEE! Jane Lynch, Corey Monteith, Amber Riley, and Chris Colfer! Best pop video goes to…Lady Gaga! Bad Romance! Again!

ALERT: Wardrobe Change! Gaga is now rocking a huge, black, floor length gown that’s “too heavy to walk in.” Now she’s got a black spiky mohawk!

MTV asked Gaga to cut out a lot of her videos before they would air them, how much did they cut?

7:10 pm PST…Taylor Swift! Sings a song…about Kanye? Still an Innocent? Totally confused…and slightly suspicious. MTV probably baited us all on the “song about Kanye and the VMAs…”

Admittedly, the song is a bit catchy. And Taylor Swift is very earnest (S.A.T. WORD!) in her expressions. That steel guitar was pretty awesome to boot.

7:21 pm PST…Non-VMA side note: OMG Sunday football! Who saw the Texans win against the Colts? There goes everyone’s pick ‘em leagues!

7:22 pm PST…Justin Bieber asserts that he’s not wearing a wig…Chelsea asserts that she was not, in fact, his babysitter.

7:26 pm PST…The stars of the new movie “Social Network” including Justin Timberlake, announce Drake with Mary J Blige, and Swizz Beats.

Mary nails her vocals. As usual.

7:32 pm PST…professional VMAs…too many to name, but good work all around obvi.

7:33 pm PST…Here’s the cast of Jersey Shore. In a hot tub. Chelsea Handler just hopped in and now we’ll get back to awards show…

7:35 pm PST…Sofia Vergara (not sure who she is?) presents for best Hip Hop video, which goes to…Eminem “Not Afraid.”

7:35 pm PST…Man, another commercial break? Really?

7:36 pm PST…Kanye is all the buzz on twitter…@KanyeWest

7:44 pm PST…Paramore’s Hayley Williams and Bruno Mars do a little bit of an intro for B.O.B, the acoustic piano is a nice touch…and a solid transition into a Paramore performance.

7:50-53 pm PST…commercials…

7:53 pm PST…Best New Artist! Woo…the winner is…Jutsin Bieber! And he’s confused! he doesn’t know where to go! But he does know how to sing….Bay-be, Bay-be, Bay-be…He thanked Usher for being his mentor! Fab!

7:55 pm PST…Linkin Park singing their single “Catalyst.” Didn’t know they were still recording! This is a pretty cool set up! They’re playing on top of huge cubes on top of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.

8:04 pm PST…Cher!?! What?! Really?

8:05 pm PST…Lady Gaga wardrobe change!

8:06 pm PST…VMA for Video of the year…..and it goes to….LADY GAGA!!! And she’s wearing….meat. No really. Raw meat. MEAT.

8:07 pm PST…Lady Gaga announces the title of her new album “Born this Way.”

8:08 pm PST…Aziz Ansari announces Kanye West for the finale performance!

8:09 pm PST…Kanye is all decked out in a red suit and gold chains…and red hi-tops…he’s singing about all sorts of unsavory types…types we cannot type out on this blog!

8:14 pm PST…and heres another example of auto-tune equalizing the singing playing field…

And we’re done! Thanks for reading! All of you on the East Coast…time for bed! Those of us on the West Coast, time for dinner!

MTV VMAs…The First Hour

6:02 pm PST…Eminem opens the show with his hit single “Not Afraid.” The start of show resembles the underground basement shows he used to do during the beginning of his career, and then opens up onto the stage with some fierce taiko drummers. Eminem has been in and out of rehab, the news, the gossip rags, and the music industry…but this was solid performance.

6:05 pm PST…RHIANNA. She’s definitely channeling a mid-80′s Madonna with her white ballerina skirt, large crucifix, and combat boots. Rhianna is featured in Eminem’s most recent song “Love the Way You Lie.” We wrote about the song on Talk It Out a few weeks ago. The song is obviously about an abusive relationship, but what is Eminem trying to say about that sort of relationship?

6:08 pm PST…Chelsea Handler!…and Lindsay…asking why her SCRAM bracelet is going off…well at least she’s kind of working again. Right?

6:09 pm PST…Okay so Chelsea just had to spoof Lady Gaga, totally digging the garage door opener bit.

6:15 pm PST…rules for award acceptance (post Kanye): hand to hand combat? Self Defense tactics? Kinda not cool Chelsea. While everyone should get to accept their award without interruption (ahem, Kanye), let’s not get advocate physical aggression.

6:16pm PST…Ellen Degeneres announces Best Female Video: Lady Gaga…”Bad Romance”! Can we take a second look at the song “Bad Romance”…unhealthy relationship? Yeah definitely.

6:20 pm PST…And here’s the cast of Jack A$$ 3-D, and a preview… too painful to watch. Anyway, they’re here to announce the nominees for best rock video. And the winner is…30 Seconds to Mars for “Kings and Queens.” (Side note…Jared Leto is their front man? Whoa mid 90′s flashback).

6:30 pm PST…the Biebs! BIEBER FEVER!

6:31 pm PST…Kinda loving the barbershop band throw back outfits the back-up dancers are rocking. And the pint sized side kicks, those 6 year olds are breaking it down! OOOhhhh like Babe, babe, babe…

6:33 pm PST…Justin plays the drums? He handled that drumstick slip very well…

6:39 pm PST…Halloween costume idea: MTV Moon Man. Maybe?

6:39 pm PST…Ke$ha is kind of rocking the garbage bag…it’s almost Project Runway inspired. Anyway, she’s here to introduce USHER!

6:41 pm PST…USHER performing! Very cool stage set up with dancers rocking out on acrylic scaffolding. Man he can move. His dancing has always looked like an MJ homage, but he makes it his own. No wonder he’s been around for.ever.

6:46 pm PST…Wardrobe Change! Chelsea has switched to a red dress…

6:46 pm PST…Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj rock multi colored hair…and award best male video…Eminem “Not Afraid.” But he bailed on the awards early to jet back to NYC for a performance, Nicki Minaj accepted it on his behalf.

6:49 pm PST…There’s a plastic Mickey Mouse DJ-ing the awards. A little disturbing…

6:54 pm PST…Oh auto-tune…giving everyone a shot at singing stardom

6:55 pm PST…Florence and the Machine performing the “Dog Days are Over”…pretty cool aerial affects and of course, pretty cool beehive updos.

Up next…a performance by Taylor Swift!

MTV VMA’s…the Pre-Show

Ok. So here we go…MTV VMA’s and our first ever live blog. Here’s how we’ll work it: as the night goes on we’ll continue to update our posts, and keep track of all the juicy tid-bits that the Video Music Awards has in store.

Stay Tuned

5:00 pm PST…The countdown has begun! Drake is looking pretty great in his all black get-up. Also love the shout out to the ladies everywhere. Drake, a rookie? No.

He’s also talking about his on again, off again wifey, Nicki Minaj. They may not be together, but he has a lot of respect for her work. And we totally respect that.

5:04 pm PST…Paramore. So chill. So relaxed…maybe a little too cool for school.

5:07 pm PST…MTV’s first ever Twitter Jockey Gaby. She’s totally fabulous. MTV want’s the VMAs to be a trending topic, so their asking the twitter world to tweet #ifbiebermetgaga…if you want to tell us what you think your can tell us on twitter @TNCTweets.

5:09 pm PST…Katy Perry has her husband with her…on her fingernails. Not sure what to say about that.

5:15 pm PST…Jay Sean. Amazing entrance with an amazing entourage. He claims that Nicki Minaj has a better British accent then he does…and he’s British!

5:17 pm PST…Sean Kingston! Loved working with Nicki! Did you know she was Caribbean?

5:17 pm PST…Snooki! But no Snooki pouf? I thought that was where she hid her secrets (anyone get the Mean Girls reference here?).

5:19 pm PST…Lady Gaga is trending at a higher number than Justin Bieber! Where are all those Bieber lovers?

5:19 pm PST…Best Collaboration Video: Lady Gaga and Beyonce for “Telephone”. Obviously, we relate to the song a little bit…textual harassment? Not cool in our books. So what can you do when that one particular person just doesn’t get that you’re busy with life? Check out www.ThatsNotCool.com and send around a Callout Card. We love this one…

5:25 pm PST…30 Seconds to Mars. not quite sure what’s going on here. Chicken outfit? Confetti? Bicycles? This just requires lots of head scratching.

5:27 pm PST…Andrew Jenks moves in with all sorts of people for a week, and documents their life. Sneak peak of the Double Date: Hip Hop style…Seems like any other type of date. Is there a R&B date? A heavy metal date? A date for Hungarian folk music?

5:29 pm PST…Usher, USHER!

5:29 pm PST…and Justin Bieber! Want to vote for “Best New Artist?” You can vote all the way up until the end of the show on www.mtv.com.

5:30 pm PST…Nicki Minaj and Will.i.am. Her vocals seem like they might be a bit off, but we’re totally digging how hard she’s rocking the stage. It’s hard to imagine that a reflective jumpsuit can be very comfortable.

Will.i.am…rocking some body paint and white sunnies. You can definitely here the Caribbean influence in her music, some of it seems like a throw back to dance music from the early 90′s. Including the “Video Killed the Radio Star” sample in the back beat.

5:41 pm PST…commercial break. Phew!

5:43 pm PST…Jack A$$ 3-D. Really? Didn’t we outgrow this phase of reality TV…in like, 2005? Watching Steve-O on Dancing with the Stars was painful enough.

5:47 pm PST…VMA Moon Man Badge on FourSquare, the winner got two tickets to the show. Social Media has officially saturated the VMAs.

5:51 pm PST…Clip of new Kanye video, his new album Runaway drops very soon.

5:51 pm PST…Snooki may have lost her pouf, but Ke$ha seemed to have caught it. She’s also wearing a garbage bag…no, seriously. It’s a big shiny black garbage bag.

5:58 pm PST…LADY GAGA. Golden  mohawk and silver-gray hair, Alexander McQueen dress…she just found out that she won Best Dance Video and Best Collaboration. Lady Gaga gets behind a lot of causes, and tonight she stood next to several US Soldiers during her entrance into the show. How many costume changes will we see tonight?

That’s Not Cool Blog: Rebooted

Okay. You talked us into it. We’re rebooting our blog, and starting with the VMAs. We’ll be live blogging Sunday night, 9pm Eastern (that’s 6pm Pacific). Is there something sooo fabulously newsworthy that we should write about it…well here’s how you can get a hold of us:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thatsnotcool

Twitter: www.twitter.com/TNCTweets

Holla!

Day 14 – St. Louis!

Has it really been two weeks already? Even though we were working and on our feet for the majority of thirteen hours every day, it feels like the past fourteen days have all run in to each other. It really is hard for me to believe that we won’t get to meet anyone else on the road, but as I said, all good things must come to an end, and this is where we’ll leave you.

 

St. Louis had a late start for set up because everyone had a ten hour drive the night before. The That’s Not Cool zone was set up right near the Main Stage and across from the skate ramp, which made for a perfect day. I haven’t had a chance to really write about the bands on the tour, but this year there is a combination of old-school punk and ska bands and newer, younger pop-punk and electronica bands. It’s an interesting mix, and it’s been enjoyable getting to watch the whole mash-up while working every day. We’ve seen some band members, including Bucky from Down With Webster and Nat from 3OH!3, sporting everyone’s favorite yellow t-shirt around the shows, which is awesome. It’s great to have their support.

 

Since today was our last day, Carly, Melvin and I were feeling extra generous when we gave out t-shirts. We weren’t allowed to hand out stickers yet again, so we felt we had to make up for it in some way. I hope all of you who got one appreciate them as much as it seemed you would when we gave them to you!

 

A girl named Erika came by the tent today to let me know how That’s Not Cool had helped her recently. She saw the Walkie Stalkie commercial that’s now airing on tv, and came to the conclusion that what it depicts is exactly what her now-ex-boyfriend was doing to her. She checked out thatsnotcool.com after she saw it and told me it helped her break off her relationship with the guy. This is yet another story that makes oh so proud of what That’s Not Cool is all about. So, thank you for sharing it with me, Erika, and if any of you other readers are feeling uncomfortable with how a boyfriend or girlfriend is treating you (IknowIsaythisalotandit’sgettingrepetitive,but I’mserious!!) go to That’s Not Cool.

 

Before I sign out for the last time, I want to say hi to Kayla and Lauren who I met and gave t-shirts to today. I hope you guys had fun, and your photo is below! Tomorrow I’m heading home to New Jersey, most likely missing all that is Warped Tour, including the heat, wind, dust and rain. Thank you to all of you who have followed us on Twitter. We’ve already gotten 85 followers in less than two weeks, which is rad. It’s truly been a blast traveling around and meeting everyone. Your stories have been priceless and I really appreciate all of you who have stopped by the That’s Not Cool digital space, even if it was only for a little while. Check back to this blog for a possible video update later on. Until them, go to That’s Not Cool and post your input in the forums.

 

Adios amigos!

XO Morgan

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Day 13 – Minneapolis!

Oooh, Minneapolis. Today was yet another beautiful day with only a short period of rain toward the end of it. I’m pretty sure there have only been two days out of the 13 we’ve been on the road for that it hasn’t rained at least a little bit. No big deal, though; none of us are made of sugar. It’s kind of weird how much I’ve written about the weather in this blog, but since we’re outside all day, every day, it sets a major vibe for how I navigate my days.

 

This morning got me a little bit upset because it was our second to last day of the tour. It feels strange having to leave all my friends, old and new, after only two weeks. All good things must come to an end, though, and I’m more than proud of what the That’s Not Cool team has accomplished so far on the tour.

 

As I assured you in my blog from yesterday, I definitely made comments about Bobby’s World all day today. The accents around here are killer! They say New Jersey accents are funny, but I definitely think Midwesterners take the cake in that department. I seriously love it.

 

I want to now (finally) thank everyone who we’ve met over the past two weeks for not giving us any grief for what we try to help prevent and promote. There are so many nonprofit organizations and causes that constantly have naysayers telling them that what they’re doing is dumb or unnecessary. I can honestly say that I haven’t gotten any of that on this tour, which is very uplifting and exciting for us. So seriously, this is one big umbrella THANK YOU.

 

Tomorrow we’ll be our final day in St. Louis, Missouri. Every time I think of it, I still can’t believe our time together has already come and (almost) gone. I hope it turns out to be our best day yet, so all of you kids in STL, make sure you come by and hang out with us, and remember to visit http://www.thatsnotcool.com.

 

XO Morgan

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Day 12 – Chicago!

Today was the winner for the best weather we have had so far on Warped Tour for the sole fact that none of us sweat one drop throughout the whole day. It may have been a little cold, but it was a nice change of pace from the heat we’ve had on the earlier dates.

 

As a very fond user of Twitter, I got very excited when we got so many replies from the fans at the show today. They were all pretty clever so it was fun to read them all. Thank you again to all the new followers. If you haven’t checked it out, go to http://www.twitter.com/TNCTweets and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

 

I think the Midwest has captured my heart in a way I never expected. Everyone here has been so friendly and excited to meet us and I’m still so thankful for that. While I was unsure of how the kids who came to our tent would react to the games we play, it seems like everyone has enjoyed them. Nude-E-Calls remains a favorite for me, but I’ve gotten better at playing Text Invaders. The high score still belongs to Melvin, though, and only a few people have caught up to his score since we’ve been on the road. Maybe the conqueror will come through tomorrow.

 

We met one awesome kid today who came by the tent a few times. He’s from Texas, but since he goes to Chicago with his family every year, he came to the show today, too. He assured me today was better than the Texas date he went to, and that playing Text Invaders at our tent was one of his highlights. I’m not sure if that was just flattery, but I appreciated it regardless.

 

Tomorrow we’ll be in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Every time I think of that place, I think of the accent, and then think of the old cartoon Bobby’s World. So, if I make any references to that to anyone who comes to the tent tomorrow, I apologize in advance.

 

Stoked to see you all there, and remember if you need help with drawing your digital line, go to That’sNotCool.com.

 

XO Morgan

Day 11 – Detroit!

Why hello there, Michigan. I must say, after today, this city remains one of my favorites. The show was at Comerica Park, where the Detroit Tigers play. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky this morning and it was breezy all day long.  The wonderful people at Starbucks were here to give everyone on the tour as much free iced coffee as we wanted, which made the standard setup routine a little more enjoyable. I also (finally) got medicine last night so I think my sickness is on its last leg.

When volunteers for other sponsors came in the venue this morning, I met one of the nicest people ever. Her name is Casey and she automatically offered to cut my That’s Not Cool t-shirt in to a halter top. So sweet! Carly ended up wearing it, but thanks again, Casey! I also got to talk to one of our Twitter followers, Chris, who has been following the tour. He’s posted some photos of himself wearing his yellow That’s Not Cool shirt on TwitPic, which we love. So thanks go out to you as well, Chris. 

Surprisingly, we had a lot of parents come to the Digital Space today asking what we’re about. Sometimes its hard to explain the types of situations That’s Not Cool is dealing with to older generations, as these problems never even existed for them. There are times when they just don’t want to believe things like pressuring for nude photos even occur, or at least not with their kids. However, as I wrote yesterday, now is a time when you’re digital life IS your real life and these things really do happen to kids every day. If you’re a parent and you want to fully grasp the program, or if you’re a kid who wants to explain your problem to your parents (in a slightly humorous way), please go to That’s Not Cool. We’re here for you and want to help more than anything.

Tonight is the 4th Annual Mustacho Basho for the Warped Tour. Everyone who goes to the party is required to have a mustache, be it real or fake. I think I will be in attendance, even if its only for a little while.

It’s hard to believe our run on this tour is already coming down to 3 more days, but I’m enjoying it while I can.
Tomorrow is our Chicago show, which is one of the biggest ones of the whole tour. It should be a good time and hopefully the rain will hold off again. Keep your fingers crossed, Chi town. We will see you soon!

XO Morgan

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Day 10 – Milwaukee!

After a rocky night on the road we woke up in Wisconsin this morning. It looked gloomy outside, much like the past few days we’ve had. This venue is right near Lake Michigan and is one of the coolest amphitheaters I’ve ever been to thanks to that. Right now I’m writing from a dressing room literally right behind the stage. Whoever’s playing on the Smart Punk stage right now is rattling the walls.

The gloomy day turned out to be beautiful and there were so many kids in our tent from the time doors opened until we broke down. I didn’t get any cheese brought to me but we still gave so many shirts away that we had to control ourselves by the end of the day. At that point, only those who were actually begging for them got them. 

Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to give out stickers yet again. But, I did get to talk to a lot of kids today since I felt better than I have recently. While they loved our t-shirts, it seems like a lot of the Milwaukee kids didn’t really understand the reason for That’s Not Cool’s existence until we fully explained ourselves. In one sentence I want to give you all the defining point of the organization: your digital life is not separate from, but an extension of, your real life. Even though what you do online and via text messaging isn’t physically tangible, you are still in control of it. What you do with technology is a reflection of you and may pop up in your real life at any point in the future. We’re here to both make you guys aware of that and help you navigate your way through it in order to get the best outcome. Go to That’s Not Cool if you’d like to know even more. 

Tomorrow we will be in Detroit Rock City!! I don’t know why I love saying that, but I always do when I think of the D. I also don’t know what it is about the Midwest but I love being here. So, thank you for yet another fun Warped day, Milwaukee. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves and I hope Detroit is ready for us.

XO Morgan

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Day 9 – Cincinnati, OH

Waking up to the rain in Cincinnati this morning did not seem promising for us, but as usual, we made the best with what he had. We set up in the rain and were pleasantly greeted with happily rained-on fans. When we see how happy and excited you guys are in whatever harsh weather we find ourselves in (ridiculous heat, downpours, etc.), it keeps us going.

 

Today I talked to a lot of kids about boyfriends or girlfriends logging in to their significant others’ Myspace or Facebook pages and changing things unnecessarily. I want to point out that pretty much every time I mention this problem to someone, they can relate to it. Guys and girls have been telling me this happened to them, and it seems like both boyfriends and girlfriends are crossing the line. If you have an issue with it, That’s Not Cool is your spot to get more information on what you can do to help yourself.

 

It’s so crazy how far so many kids traveled to get to this show today. Since we don’t hit any cities very close to here, tons of people traveled up from Kentucky and other parts of Ohio. Everyone was so nice and friendly; I think this was the most pleasant crowd we’ve interacted with so far. So thank you, Cincinnati! I also want to say hi to my new friend Nick. He’s such a great kid and it was fabulous meeting him.

 

Next up, we’ll be hitting Milwaukee. I loved that venue last year, so hopefully it won’t rain on us and we’ll have an awesome Wisconsin day. Maybe someone will even bring us cheese?! (Hint, hint!!)

 

XO Morgan

See and download the full gallery on posterous