November 13, 2008

Photos From The 2008 mtvU Woodie Awards

Over the past few years, mtvU's annual Woodie Awards have been unexpectedly bloggable. But last night we couldn't rely on Jordan Catalano picking fights since he was busy being king douche somewhere else, and Spank Rock seemed sober which meant no drinking from stilettos or jacking liveblogs, so we were left with ... music? Well music and asymmetical haircuts because remember this is all about COLLEGE. Before the show I spent some time on the indoor red carpet because it was warmer than the outdoor no carpet. It was fruitful: Chromeo promised new material will sound more like the "Momma's Boy" than "Tenderoni," Santogold confirmed that mtvU press release was erroneous and that she is still indeed Santogold, Vampire Weekend smiled and Palin'd as they didn't stop to take questions from the liberal elite media, etc. Through the din of answers from guylinered bands I didn't know, I heard the words "Dirty Projectors" and "TV On The Radio" and thought maybe things were changing. I looked up to see the lovely ladies of Au Revoir Simone. Things in fact are not changing.

But! There were some cool moments.

Lykke Li's been known to cover Tribe Called Quest's "Can I Kick It" while splicing it with Lou Reed's "Wild Side," so she ended her three-song set with that last night. And that's when Q-Tip came out. Kamaal stuck around for three of his own ("Move," "Vibrant Thing," and "Gettin' Up") and to plug The Renaissance. Vampire Weekend did "A-Punk," "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," and invited Chromeo and their vocoder onstage for a version of "Kids Don't Stand A Chance". (The Chromeo guys told me they'd recorded a different arrangement of it with VW for the single-release, out soon.) Santogold did "L.E.S. Artistes" and "Shove It" with Naeem, and was introduced by Debbie Harry. Scott's favorite radio station in college (91.7 FM, WICB in Ithaca) won a Woodie. Moby spoke eloquently of the inspirational backstory of Sudanese rapper Emmanuel Jal. Mark Hoppus looked handsome and made me wonder Why, Tom DeLonge? Some group that sounded like a third-generation knockoff of the second-generation angst-in-a-hairspray-can band that inspired them played and made me wonder Why, College Youth Of America? And a big old etc.

But there were awards, and there were winners, and there are so many pics by photog Dese'Rae L. Stage to scroll through. Please enjoy.

SANTOGOLD, BJORN & LYKKE

SANTOGOLD & TREVOR ANDREW

SANTOGOLD

BJORN YTTLING

LYKKE LI

VAMPIRE WEEKEND

VAMPIRE WEEKEND & CHROMEO

CHROMEO

AU REVOIR SIMONE

MOBY

MOBY & EMMANUEL JAL

PARAMORE

ASHER ROTH

MARK HOPPUS

KID SISTER

THE COOL KIDS

A-TRAK

SPANK ROCK

ZOE KRAVITZ

THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS

DEBBIE HARRY

This year's winners:

Woodie of the Year (Artist of the Year) - Paramore
The Breaking Woodie (Best Emerging Artist) - There For Tomorrow
Left Field Woodie (Most Original Artist) - Chromeo
Best Video Woodie - Motion City Soundtrack "It Had to be You"
The Good Woodie (Greatest Social Impact) - Jack's Mannequin's "Dear Jack Foundation" - Established by lead singer, Andrew McMahon, a leukemia survivor, this group raises money and awareness for cancer research.
Performing Woodie (Best Tour) - Atmosphere
College Radio Woodie (Best Campus Radio Station) - 91.7 FM, WICB Ithaca College
Best Music on Campus Woodie - The Bride Wore Black

The Woodies air on mtvU starting 11/19, and there'll be a half-hour "Best Of" on MTV and MTV2 on 11/22.

[All photos by Dese'Rae L. Stage]