If you’re reading There Goes The Fear, you’re probably quite up with new music, and quite a big music fan. Sure, you might not be the weird person who paid $14,000 for a piece of chewing gum that Britney Spears spat into the crowd, or paid £7,000 for Mylene Klass’ ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’ bikini, but let’s face it, the modern music fan will often do anything to get their hands on stuff from their favourite celebrities.

MTV have a shiny new show called Music Junkie to take this idea and offer people the chance to win a special something from their favourite stars – a bit of Robbie Williams’ hair, a scooter from Mr Hudson, Tinchy Stryder’s trainers and tonnes more from lots of other artists.

Fast paced and energetic, the show (somehow) managed to fit in at least three full songs and interviews with artists into just 30 minutes, and is filmed in just a day – I certainly don’t envy them having to co-ordinate it all! The whole show is presented by Kiss FM breakfast show presenters and Sony Award winners Rickie and Melvin in front of a live studio audience, and the the first show features Marina and the Diamonds, Shakira, Tinchy Stryder, Mr Hudson and Robbie Williams.

There’s a preview below, but I’d strongly suggest that you catch Music Junkie next Friday, 18th December at 6:30pm on MTV UK

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MTV know how to put on a good party. I think we can all agree on that. So when they announce that they’re organising a huge party in Malta for 50,000 people and it’s free, you know it’s going to be good before you even hear who’s playing or any of the important details.

This year’s Isle of MTV is hoping to capitalise on the success of the two previous years’ events, which saw the likes of Akon, Enrique Iglesias, Maroon 5 and The Kooks all play the event. For 2009, The Black Eyed Peas (pictured right), Lady Gaga, Metro Station and Esmée Denters all play the gig this year on Wednesday July 8th, just over two weeks time.

The four hour live event takes place in Malta’s Il-Fosos Square and will be turned into a 90 minute TV special, which is possible thanks to the support of Air Malta, Grand Hotel Excelsior and the tourist board, Visit Malta. They’ve all made it possible collectively for locals to experience world-class bands that normally they wouldn’t have a chance to see, something that I’m quite keen on – Radio 1 have done it with their Big Weekends, bringing big bands to towns in the UK that don’t normally have great music scenes, and MTV are doing it for Malta.

So, if you’re looking for a last minute summer break with some great music, or just something to catch on MTV later in the summer,  be sure to check out Malta and Isle of MTV.

Music and sex have always gone together hand in hand, so it makes sense that MTV has recruited some stars to create special playlists to promote their Staying Alive charity.

Staying Alive is a charity which raises cash for health education and awareness projects in the UK and overseas, and as part of their current campaign they want you (yes, you!) to sign their safe sex pledge. Now, that’s not like one of the abstinence pledges that seem to be growing increasingly popular, instead it encourages safe sex… and you can win some great prizes from MTV and Bodyshop.

Rather shockingly, there are 33 million people living with AIDS and HIV, a number that is increasing each day. As part of the campaign MTV and The Body Shop are also joining forces to raise cash for the Staying Alive Foundation – a charity which raises money for health education and awareness projects in the UK and overseas. A new fundraising Tantalising Lip Butter (RRP: £5.00) is now on sale in The Body Shop stores internationally and online in the UK with nearly £4 per pot sold going to help fund sex education work and save lives.

So… head on over to the “Yes to Safe Sex” website, and sign up to win prizes and be safe…

Check out our exclusive Spotify playlist on the Yes Yes Yes blog here. Top picture comes from masochismtango’s flickr stream under the Creative Commons License.

We introduced a few weeks ago MTV’s hunt to find “The Greatest Album Ever“. It raised a fair few questions, and a lot of angry responses from you guys as you listed your favourite bands who weren’t included.

Rather unsurprisingly, Michael Jackson topped the poll, having announced his sensational run of London shows between the announcement of the show and the results. Almost one in three of all votes went to the crazy American. In a shock move, Craig David was number 2 in the poll, and has been deemed more popular than Radiohead and Nirvana, receiving more votes than the Oxford based quintet and Seattle grungers combined. Surely that’s got to be some kind of mistake?

Over forty thousand votes were cast, which gives a pretty good perspective of what people think. Many in the comments of the previous post asked about some pretty seminal albums, however it should be noted that these are the best albums since 1981 – when MTV began, so many classics (Pink Floyd, Smiths, Who etc) aren’t eligible for the list. However, as Thom so rightly commented…. no Libertines? Crazy, no?

Speaking of wacko Jacko’s win, Trevor Nelson commented

I don’t think there’ll ever be another album like it ever in the history of music. There will never be a marriage of producer and artist and song writing and pop sensibility – it just won’t happen again. And also, due to the way people buy records now, there’ll never be an album that sells as many copies – and that’s the thing that will keep it at number one.

Interestingly, Zane Lowe didn’t agree with Craig David’s high ranking, commenting

The guy was hugely successful and there’s no denying that album is a great listen from start to finish as a pop record. It probably stands up as the greatest British urban pop record of the last twenty years. Still no one’s really topped it – apart from Winehouse. Should it be number two in The Greatest Album of all time? No, in my opinion, but I’m not going to begrudge anyone’s success, and if his fans voted for it then what’s encouraging for me is that they still consider that record to be an important part of their lives and that’s what music is.

After the jump: the complete list of albums
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It seems every awards season we have another “Greatest album” survey, most of them from one random source who have basically surveyed their friends to see what they like best that day.

However, when MTV do a survey you know it’s going to be the right choice. They’ve just launched their hunt to find the “Greatest Album Ever“, after they crowned Duran Duran’s Rio as having the “Greatest Video Ever” last year.

In conjunction with music industry experts, MTV’s flagship music channels VH1, MTV Two and MTV Base have each collated their top ten greatest albums since 1981, the year MTV launched. The debates to select the albums were chaired by channel presenters Edith Bowman (VH1), Zane Lowe (MTV Two) and Trevor Nelson (MTV Base).

Suggs (of Madness fame) was one of the key contributors to the shows, talking about Amy Winehouse’s decline and then subsequent rejuvenation:

It’s great to see her looking marvellous again. There was quite a gap between her first and second album and I used to see her around Camden a lot, and when you see someone regularly its harder to notice their demise. I’m so glad she looks well again. It was fate putting her together with Mark Ronson for Back to Black, and was so good for her putting her voice right in the middle of it.

Meanwhile, as only MTV can, Pete Burns gave us an, erm, “intriguing” insight into his friendship with Morrissey, who failed to make the top 10 for any of his solo albums, but whose Smith’s classic “The Queen is Dead” appeared in both VH1 and MTV 2’s top 10’s:

I knew him personally back in the day, he gave me a copy of this album. I loved it from track one. He has a very unique sense of irony and humour. As a person he’s very difficult and awkward to get on with. He stopped talking to me over a fur coat, and still to this day he holds a grudge about it!

Personally, I’d love to see REM get the award. All the others are great, but people seem to underestimate the consistency of REM. Plus, Michael Stipe is a legend in my eyes. Either that or Human League, but I can’t see them beating the big boys – can you?

Voting for the top album is now open over on MTV’s website. Each channel’s review of the top 10 albums can be seen this weekend, with Trevor Nelson presenting the MTV Base run down Saturday 28 February at 9pm, followed by Edith Bowman presenting VH1 and Zane Lowe MTV Two both on Sunday 1 March at 9pm. The final winner will be announced on Sunday 12th April.

After the jump, check out the top 10 albums chosen by each channel.
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I’m not going to lie. I used to think Pete Doherty was a bit of a twat. The drugs, prison spells and the Kate Moss stories meant that I only knew him to be a no-good layabout who once had some great songs, but whose best times were firmly behind him.

However, after managing to blag our way to see a preview of a new documentary about the former Libertines frontman, I must say I found my opinions about him changed. Yes, he has his issues (doesn’t everyone though?), but he is an incredibly articulate, intelligent and above all, funny man.

For the hour long show, MTV followed him for a day as he gears up to be the star attraction of a fashion show that evening in a London pub with trendy label Gio Goi which Pete appeared to know worryingly few details of. Along the way we got some really amusing sights to see: Pete hoovering whilst singing Queen’s “I want to break free”, how he thinks his house is haunted (Pete: “Hear that creaking? It’s a ghost…” Producer: “isn’t that you leaning on the chair?” Pete: “oh….”), and the comments of those he worked with: “It just wouldn’t be the same if Pete didn’t go missing…”. How true that is.

A snippet from the show. Main post continues after video.

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I must say that since watching it, I can honestly say that I changed my opinions of the guy – I can sort of see now how the “cult of Pete” has drawn people in. Sure, he’s not your average guy, but he harks back to the days of old when artists weren’t just “musicians” or a “painter” – he combines all the talents together to become one of the most interesting and influential figures in the entertainment business today.

After the showing, a quick Q&A session with the director and producer raised some interesting questions and little extras about the show: surprisingly (to some) there was no drug use seen during the 24 hours they spent with Pete, the filming was all done with next to no planning, which just re-inforced what we’d seen – an interesting guy, battling his issues but ultimately winning.

If you’re in next Sunday night (and, let’s face it, who goes out on a Sunday night these days?) catch it on MTV One, and let us know your views.

Trailer:

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Pete Doherty in 24 hours is shown next Sunday at 10pm on MTV One. More information (and more videos) about the show can be found here

The amount of emails we’ve been getting this past week has been quite something – so many new opportunities, great bands getting in touch, and some quite bizarre questions too (including one genius who asked if TGTF was a “music website”…. erm, last time we checked it was!)

First up, Daniel Merriweather (pictured top) has a new single out on February 2nd. Recognise the name? Yes, it’s him from “Stop Me”, Mark Ronson’s massive hit. He’s got a great voice, and he’s embarking on a solo career at the moment, starting with “Change”, the first single to be taken from his forthcoming “Love & War” album. I have a feeling I’m gonna have this stuck in my head, much like “Stop Me”. Watch the video below, and fall in love with him…

Some of you may have spotted that iTunes have announced a new flexible pricing scheme for their music, and (perhaps the biggest news story) have ditched the irritating copy protection from their songs (Guardian news story here). It seems to have been hailed by just about everyone, with Popjustice commenting “Does this DRM-free thing mean that people have now totally given up on the idea of revenue through music sales?” (Twitter). We7’s CEO Steve Purdham (who we first mentioned last week) hailed the news by commenting that “the spectrum of choice for music lovers is now greater than ever before and the stage is set for 2009 to really open the boundaries of digital music consumption”. Couldn’t have put it better myself.

Coming up on There Goes The Fear, we’re going to catch a preview screening next week of a new MTV show about Pete Doherty, and we’ll be bringing you a live review of the Kerrang! Relentless tour after the 20th when we catch the tour in Oxford. We may also be catching Keane in February, and possibly the Gaslight Anthem too. Yes, it’s all go.

As ever, if anyone wants to write for TGTF please don’t hesitate to contact us – tell us a bit about yourself, and we’ll take it from there.

MTV’s Gonzo has announced it’s annual round of birthday shows for October as they stop off at a series of Barfly venues over two weekends.

Tickets for the below dates go on sale on Friday (12th September) at 9am.

Friday 10th October – The Automatic and Iglu And Hartly at Liverpool Barfly
Saturday 11th October – Mystery Jets, Noah And The Whale at Birmingham Barfly
Sunday 12th October – Kaiser Chiefs and Late Of The Pier at London ULU
Friday 17th October – Foals, Esser at York Fibbers
Saturday 18th October – Glasvegas, Friendly Fires at Aberdeen Moshulu
Sunday 19th October – Bloc Party, Magistrates at Glasgow Barfly

The Pigeon Detectives, Fratellis, Zutons and CSS have all been announced to be headlining their own three night UK and Ireland tours for MTV as part of their “Brand Spanking New” tours. Some of the best names and up and coming names in the music biz will be making their way around the country, playing venues smaller than they normally do. So be sure to get your tickets when they go on sale on Friday (7th March) at 9am.

The Pigeon Detectives / The Metros / The Rascals
Monday 28th April – Cambridge Junction
Tuesday 29th April – London Islington Academy
Wednesday 30th April – Liverpool Academy

The Fratellis / The Ting Tings / Alphabeat
Sunday 27th April – Cambridge Junction
Monday 28th April – London Islington Academy
Tuesday 29th April – Liverpool Carling Academy

The Zutons / One Night Only / The Script
Sunday 4th May – Cardiff University
Monday 5th May – Glasgow ABC
Tuesday 6th May – Dublin Academy

CSS / The Futureheads / MGMT
Monday 5th May – Cardiff University
Tuesday 6th May – Glasgow ABC
Wednesday 7th May – Dublin Academy