IN MEMORIAM: Mark Weinstein

It was a tremendous shock to hear that Mark Weinstein passed away this week and it is with sadness that I relay that news.

Anybody with any connection to the music video programming or promotion world probably knew Mark Weinstein. He had been involved with music videos for about as long as MTV. As one of the first freelance music video promoters —€” hence the name of his company, Rock 'n' Roll Freelance (aka R 'N R, for short) —  Weinstein quickly became associated with rap music in the early days of the genre, promoting and working with such groups as De La Soul, Kid 'N Play, 3rd Bass, Slick Rick and many others in their prime. Weinstein remained passionate about music video promotion — he actually emailed me on Monday about some new video priorities he had — even as he branched out into executive producing and commissioning videos. Prior to all that, he founded and wrote the Production Preview column for the now defunct music video trade magazine CVC Report — the same column that I began to write over ten years later and eventually lead me to where I am now.

Mark would often refer to certain associates as "music people." That was probably the highest compliment  you could get from him. A music person is somebody in this business for the right reasons. Somebody who lives and breathes and thrives upon the discovery of new music. Somebody who then takes that spark and shares it with as many as people as possible.

Mark was a music person to the core. He will be missed.

A group of associates and friends are hosting a celebration of Mark's life next week in NYC. They are also soliciting for any photographs and memories about Mark which you would like to share. If you are interested in either, please email: markweinsteinmemorial@gmail.com.

NEWS: mtvU Woodies Nominees And Details

Looking for the inverse of MTV's VMAs? Well, look no further than MTV — well, mtvU to be exact.
MTV's college network celebrates its commitment to indie rock and emerging acts with the fourth annual mtvU Woodie Awards — scheduled for November 8 at Roseland Ballroom in NYC. The show will premier November 15 at 8pm ET simultaneously on mtvU and mtvU.com, with a rebroadcast on MTV2 November 18 at 12:30am ET.

The Shins lead all nominees Nominees with three nods, while Modest Mouse, Gym Class Heroes, Lily Allen, Justice, Linkin Park and The Academy Is... are each up for two apiece. Winners will be decided via online voting that runs through November 2 at mtvu.com.

Check out the full list of categories and nominees after the jump. As always, you should vote early and often.

Categories and nominees for the 2007 "mtvU Woodie Awards"are:

Woodie of the Year – (Artist of the Year)
The artists who made the biggest splash on mtvU and the college music scene this past year.

• Amy Winehouse (Universal Republic)
• Common (Geffen)
• Gym Class Heroes (Atlantic/Fueled by Ramen)
• Lily Allen (Capitol)
• The Shins (Sub Pop)

The Breaking Woodie – (Best Emerging Artist)
mtvU is where new developing artists are test driven for the first time by the toughest critics around: college students.  One of this year’s newest artists will win the coveted “Breaking Woodie.”

• Boys Like Girls (Columbia)
• Peter Bjorn & John (Columbia)
• Rich Boy (Interscope)
• Silversun Pickups (Dangerbird)
• Tokyo Police Club (Paper Bag)

Left Field Woodie – (Most Original Artist)
They’re genre-busters. They resist classification.  They came out of left field, and we’re still not sure what section of the record store to find them in.   

• CSS (Sub Pop)
• Klaxons (Geffen)
• Madvillain (Stones Throw)
• Rodrigo y Gabriela (ATO)
• The Knife (Mute)

Best Video Woodie  – (Best Video of the Year)
The music video that is so incredible, we’d watch it even without the music.

• Justice "D.A.N.C.E." (Downtown/Vice)
• Motion City Soundtrack "Broken Heart" (Epitaph)
• RJD2 "Work It Out" (XL)
• Say Anything "Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too" (J)
• TV on the Radio "Province" (Interscope)

The Good Woodie – (Greatest Social Impact)
The award for the artists whose commitment to a social cause has effected the greatest change this year. 

• Alicia Keys "Keep a Child Alive"; promoting care for HIV/AIDS-infected children in Africa (J)
• Guster "Reverb"; "greened" more than 600 concerts in the last three years (Warner Bros. Records)
• Linkin Park  "Music for Relief"; aids victims of world catastrophes and combats global warming (Warner Bros.)
• Red Jumpsuit Apparatus;  mental health awareness efforts (Capitol)
• Thom Yorke – "Friends of the Earth"; fighting for legislation to prevent global warming (Beggars Group)

Performing Woodie – (Best Tour)
For those artists who take to the road and never let up, always giving that memorable live performance.

• Daft Punk (Capitol)
• Lil’ Wayne (Cash Money/Universal Motown)
• Muse (Warner Bros.)
• The Academy Is… (Atlanti/Fueled by Ramen)
• The Rapture (Universal Motown)

Alumni Woodie – (a.k.a. The You’re Still OK in our Book Award)
For the artists who’ve graduated into the wide world of mega-stardom, but who haven’t forgotten where they came from.  And we’re proud to say, “We knew them when…”

• Bright Eyes (Saddle Creek)
• Modest Mouse (Epic)
• Spoon (Merge)
• Talib Kweli (Warner Bros.)
• The Shins (Sub Pop)

Viral Woodie – (Most Downloaded, Streamed, Blogged, etc.)
A category for those acts that crashed servers and blew up the World Wide Interwebs all year long.  For the next four weeks, these artists will go toe-to-toe on mtvU.com, with college students propelling their favorites into the finals. The four artists left standing will battle it out for the (not contagious) “Viral Woodie.”

WEEK 1

• Akon "Don't Matter" (Universal Motown)
• Gym Class Heroes "Shoot Down the Stars" (Atlantic Records/Fueled by Ramen)
• Lily Allen "Smile" (Capitol Records)
• Linkin Park "What I've Done" (Warner Bros. Records)
• The Shins "Phantom Limb" (Sub Pop Records)

WEEK 2

• The Academy Is… "We've Got a Big Mess On Our Hands" (Atlantic Records/Fueled by Ramen)
• M.I.A. "Boyz" (Interscope)
• Modest Mouse "Dashboard" (Epic)
• The Decemberists "O Valencia! (contest version)" (Capitol)
• T-Pain featuring Yung Joc "Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin')" (Jive)

WEEK 3

• Arcade Fire "Neon Bible" (Merge)
• DJ Khaled, "We Takin’ Over"(Koch)
• Fall Out Boy "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race" (Atlantic/Fueled by Ramen)
• Paramore "Misery Business" (Atlantic/Fueled by Ramen)
• Shiny Toy Guns "You Are the One" (Universal Motown)

WEEK 4

• Cold War Kids "Hang Me Up to Dry" (Downtown)
• Justice "D.A.N.C.E." (Downtown/Vice)
• Meg & Dia "Monster" (Warner Bros./Doghouse)
• My Chemical Romance "Welcome to the Black Parade" (Warner Bros.)
• T.I. "Big Things Poppin' (Do It)' (Atlantic)

PHOTO: Tegan, Sara & Suzie Vlcek, director

Director Suzie Vlcek (right) with wonder twins Tegan & Sara on the set of their new video. Shot in Vancouver, Canada, "The Con" supports the  band's new Vapor/Sire/Warner Bros. album of the same name.

Suzie Vlcek is signed with The Revolver Film Company and repped by Labuda Management for music video.

NEW RELEASE: The National "Apartment Story"

There's something oddly intriguing about the humming and crackling pop sound that happens when a guitar is plugged into an amp. It's like the calm before the rock. It draws you in. Go back and watch director Nigel Dick's "Sweet Child O' Mine" and tell me you don't get pumped when that buzz emanates from the connection of that cord into Slash's Les Paul. I'm willing to bet huge money (aka $5) that Banner Gwin — director of  The National's "Apartment Story"  — has seen that GNR masterpiece about as many times as I have and he's also acutely aware of the implicit romance of that coitus between jack and socket. That's right. I just wrote over 100 words about the first few seconds of this video. So, after an up-close introductory view of the band, the camera pulls all the way back to reveal that the performance is taking place at a dull, droney dinner party where the crowd quickly changes from disinterested to enthralled. --> watch "Apartment Story"

The National "Apartment Story" (Beggars)
Banner Gwin, director/editor | Ross Levine, producer | Boulevard Industries, production co | Andrew Gianetta, DP

BOOKED: Soulja Boy - Dale "Rage" Resteghini, director

This will not be the video for "Soulja Girl." Nor will this.

artist: Soulja Boy
song: "Soulja Girl"
label: Interscope
director(s): Dale "Rage" Resteghini
production co: Raging Nation Films

SHOT: Alter Bridge - Dale "Rage" Resteghini, director

Director Dale "Rage" Resteghini (third from left) with Alter Bridge — aka Creed with a different singer — on the set of "Rise Today," which will debut the band's new album Blackbird.

artist: Alter Bridge
song: "Rise Today"
label: Universal Republic
director(s): Dale "Rage" Resteghini
production co: Raging Nation Films

NEW RELEASE: Bob Dylan "You Go Your Way..."

Director Rupert Jones takes you on a stroll in with Bob Dylan through the years and his many guises and phases. While it doesn't take you behind the scenes, it does take you literally behind Dylan as an actor recreates some famous moments  — the cover of The Freewheeling Bob Dylan or the "Subterranean Homesick Blues" segment from the film "Don't Look Back" — that every music fan should recognize. Other scenes merely hint at what Dylan was up to, but everything is imbued with a "freewheeling" vibe that reflects the energy of this revampment by omnipresent hitmaker Mark Ronson and backing band The Dap-Kings. Ronson was AWOL from the shoot, as was the D-Man, but the Dap Kings are in full effect and Wyclef Jean makes a cameo — perhaps as a repayment to Dylan for appearing in Clef's "Gone Til November?" --> watch "You Go Your Way..."

Bob Dylan "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)"
[Mark Ronson re-version] (Columbia)
Rupert Jones, director | Meredith Welsh, producer | Draw Pictures, production co | Tim Ives, DP | Quin Williams, editor

SHOT: We Got The Bee - Vem, director

Jerry Seinfeld can do anything he wants. And if what he wants for his upcoming animated flick The Bee Movie is a music video shot at Shea Stadium with the New York Mets, than that is what he gets. And music video director Vem — seen here with Seinfeld and Mets third baseman David Wright — couldn't possibly be any happier about it. The video is for a remake/rewrite that updates The Go-Go's "We Got The Beat" into the more bee-appropriate "We Got The Bee." (Like I said: It's Seinfeld. If he wants "We Got The Beat" to become "We Got The Bee," he gets it.)

The video was produced by The Artists Company for The Bee Movie studios DreamWorks/Paramount. Vem is represented for music videos by Laure Scott.

NEWS: BET Hip Hop Awards Nominees

The nominees are out for the 2007 BET Hip Hop Awards. This celebration of  "urban music artists at the top of their game" will take place October 17 in Atlanta with a debut broadcast scheduled for October 17 at 8pm ET/PT. Comedian Katt Williams will host and performers include Nelly, Lil Wayne, Kanye West and Common.

T.I. leads all Hip Hop Awards nominees with nine nods, while Lil Wayne is up for seven awards and Kanye West for six Hip Hoppies. The other multiple nominees are Common, Jay-Z, Ludacris, 50 Cent, Diddy and UGK.  Also, KRS-One will (deservedly) receive the  "I Am Hip Hop" Icon Award.

Nominees for Video Director of the Year are:

• Bryan Barber
• Benny Boom
• F. Gary Gray
• Chris Robinson
• Hype Williams

Nominees for Best Hip-Hop video are:

• 50 Cent "I Get Money"
• Chamillioinaire f/ Slick Rick "Hip Hop Police" (directed by Marc Klasfeld)
• Common"The People" (directed by Neon)
• Ludacris f/ Mary J. Blige  "Runaway Love" (directed by Jesse Terrero)
  
• UGK f/ Outkast "International Players Anthem" (directed by Bryan Barber)
• Kanye West "Stronger" (directed by Hype Williams)

Stay with us through the jump for a full nominee list...

Nominees for the 2007 BET Hip-Hop Awards

BEST HIP-HOP VIDEO

• 50 Cent "I Get Money"
• Chamillioinaire f/ Slick Rick "Hip Hop Police"
• Common "The People"
• Ludacris f/ Mary J. Blige "Runaway Love"
• UGK f/ Outkast "International Players Anthem"
• Kanye West "Stronger"

BEST COLLABO

• Birdman & Lil' Wayne "Stuntin' Like My Daddy"
• Diddy f/ Keyshia Cole "Last Night"
• DJ Khaled f/ Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Fat Joe, and Lil' Wayne "We Takin' Over"
• Fabolous f/ Ne-Yo "Make Me Better"
• UGK f/ Outkast "International Players Anthem"

BEST LIVE PERFORMANCE

• Common
• Lil' Wayne
• T.I.
• Ludacris
• Kanye West

BEST MOVIE

• Gridiron Gang
• Idlewild
• Shottas
• Smokin' Aces
• Stomp the Yard

BEST DANCE

• 2 Step
• Aunt Jackie
• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Crank Dat Soulja Boy
• Pop, Lock, & Drop It

LYRICIST OF THE YEAR

• Common
• Lil' Wayne
• Jay-Z
• T.I.
• Kanye West

VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

• Bryan Barber
• Benny Boom
• F. Gary Gray
• Chris Robinson
• Hype Williams

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

• Mannie Fresh
• Polow Da Don
• Swizz Beatz
• Timbaland
• Kanye West

MVP

• Common
• Lil' Wayne
• Jay-Z
• T.I.
• Kanye West

TRACK OF THE YEAR

• A Bay Bay by Hurricane Chris  (produced by Phunk Dawg)
• Big Things Poppin' (Do It) by T.I. (produced by Mannie Fresh)
• Can't Tell Me Nothing by Kanye West (produced by Kanye West and DJ Toomp)
• I Get Money by 50 Cent (produced by Apex)
• Party Like A Rockstar by Shop Boyz (produced by Pit)

CD OF THE YEAR

• Common Finding Forever
• Jay-Z  Kingdom Come
• Ludacris Release Therapy
• Nas  Hip Hop Is Dead
• T.I.  T.I. vs. T.I.P.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

• Hurricane Chris
• Lil Boosie
• MIMS
• Plies
• Rich Boy

DJ OF THE YEAR

• DJ Drama
• DJ Enuff
• DJ Irie
• DJ Khaled
• Tony Neal

HUSTLER OF THE YEAR

• 50 Cent
• Diddy
• Lil' Wayne
• T.I.
• Jay-Z

BEST UK HIP HOP ACT

• Dizzie Rascal
• JME
• Kano
• Klashnekoff
• Lethal B
• Wiley

BEST RINGTONE

• Crime Mob f/ Lil Scrappy "Rock Yo Hips"
• Hurricane Chris "A Bay Bay"
• MIMS  "This Is Why I'm Hot"
• Rich Boy f/ Polow Da Don "Throw Some Ds"
• T.I. "Big Things Poppin' (Do It)"

THE ALLTEL PEOPLE'S CHAMP (VIEWER'S CHOICE)

• Birdman & Lil' Wayne "Stuntin' Like My Daddy"
• DJ Khaled f/ Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Fat Joe and Lil' Wayne "We Takin' Over"
• Lil Boosie f/ Foxx and Webbie "Wipe Me Down"
• MIMS "This Is Why I'm Hot"

BOOKED: Common - Sanji, director

artist: Common
song: "I Want You"
label: Geffen
director(s): Sanji
production co: Violet Group
rep: Yell Productions