Barbara Walters' ABC television special The Most Fascinating People of 2011 included some predictable newsworthy profiles, incluing the Kardashians, Simon Cowell, Katy Perry and Derek Jeter. But the most surprising entry was the person who earned the number one spot on Walters' list.
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As MTV unveils our year-end favorites, we ask 'Pumped Up Kicks' rockers and Florence and the Machine frontwoman for theirs.
By James Montgomery, with reporting by Matt Elias
Foster The People's Mark Foster and Cubbie Fink
Photo: MTV News
In 2011, we saw new acts break through to the big time and formerly new ones continue on their paths toward superstardom. We welcomed the likes of the Weeknd and Frank Ocean to the party and watched with pride as Drake and Adele marched on to greatness.
But of all the year's brand-new stars, few broke out to the degree that L.A. rock trio Foster the People did, thanks in no small part to the success of their smash hit "Pumped Up Kicks," #7 on MTV's Best Songs of 2011. Of all the returning stars, none returned with the power and grace of Florence and the Machine, who wowed critics and fans with their sophomore album, Ceremonials, and stirring single "Shake It Out."
So, as MTV looks back on 2011, we're reaching out to a host of acts — who not only dominated the past 12 months, but also came to define them — to get their take on the year in music. And who better to ask than Foster and Florence, two artists who did both ... and then some?
We spoke to both bands about their favorite songs, albums and artists of 2011, and the rather diverse range of answers sort of sums up the year rather nicely. After all, outside of Adele, was there anything we could all agree on?
"I'd say probably my favorite album of the year is Bon Iver's new album, and I hope he sweeps the Grammys, because the guy's just killing it right now," Foster's Cubbie Fink said.
"We're competing with him!" frontman Mark Foster laughed.
"And I hope he wins!" Fink said. "I've listened to that album on repeat all year. It's really amazing."
As far as their favorite artist? Well, Iver ranks pretty high, but of all the acts they listened to this year, none resonated with Foster the People quite like Swedish electro act Little Dragon.
"They've been a favorite band of mine for a while, and we've got to play with them a couple times this year and see them live in a bunch of different settings," Foster's Mark Pontius said. "I'm always just so inspired by them live, and the new record that came out this year [Ritual Union] is pretty fantastic as well."
Florence Welch was inspired this year by the magnificent murk of Canadian R&B producer/singer Abel Tesfaye, better known as the Weeknd.
"My favorite song of the year was the Weeknd, 'High for This,' " she said. "That was this year, [right]? I've been obsessively listening to that song for the past few days on repeat. I must've listened to it about 700 times."
Of course, when it comes to her favorite artists of 2011, Welch kept things close to home, choosing a pair of British bands — one of which didn't even release an album this year.
"I'm really into this English band called the Alpines; I think they're really good," she said. "And I've just heard some of the Maccabees' new stuff, and I'm so excited about their new record coming out, because from the first song I've heard, it just sounds amazing. I'm such a big fan of theirs, so I'm really looking forward to that."
All this week, watch "AMTV" on MTV every day at 8 a.m. ET for our Best of 2011 lists. Then, come to MTVNews.com at 5 p.m. as we reveal our top picks of the year!
Related Videos Related ArtistsSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1675985/foster-the-people-florence-best-of-2011.jhtml
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By Randee Dawn
The comic genius of Tracy Morgan baffles many. He's funny, but he's also usually appears to exist on a different plane than the rest of us. And even his co-workers over at "30 Rock" -- like Alec Baldwin -- aren't always privy to the inner workings of his brain.
On Monday night's "Conan," Baldwin explored some Morgan non sequiturs, such as the time he walked into Morgan's dressing room during the show's first season. It was 7 a.m. and Baldwin found a very tired Morgan watching old Michael Jackson specials from the 1970s.
Baldwin stood up and did a little Jackson 5 dancin' and singin' for the audience, then dropped into an impeccable imitation of Tracy Morgan's slightly zoned-out tones: "Michael, man. He was powerful."
"He's a man-child," said Baldwin of the comedian. "He's very sweet and very sensitive."
Check out the clip for some more top-notch impersonation!
What do you think of Tracy Morgan's comedy? What about Alec Baldwin's take? Tell us on our Facebook page!
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Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=d7feefd4713b48b32d12acaae716bcad
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RQ-170 (File Photo, via Aviation Weekly)
A day after the Pentagon acknowledged that an unmanned American reconnaissance drone went missing while on an operation in western Afghanistan late last week, Defense officials still smarting from the incident have come forward to dismiss Iranian claims that the drone was brought down by hostile activity. And American cyber experts similarly expressed skepticism over Iranian contentions that hackers based in Iran brought down the drone by penetrating its software or jamming its signals."The one thing I can tell you is we don't have any indications that the UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle], that we know we no longer have, was brought down by hostile activity of any kind," Pentagon spokesman Capt. John Kirby told reporters at a Pentagon press briefing Monday otherwise short of many further details on the embarrassing incident, ABC News's Luis Martinez reported. "As it says in the statement, the controllers lost control and, without getting into specific details, I think we're comfortable stating that there's no indication of hostile activity."
Likewise, the reported contention made by some Iranian military officials that an Iranian cyber-warfare unit commandeered the drone strains credulity, cyber-security expert James Lewis said.
"Iran hacking into the drone is as likely as an Ayatollah standing on a mountain-top and using thought waves to bring it down," Lewis, a former Reagan administration official now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Yahoo News by email Monday. "The most likely explanation is that it crashed on its own."
"If you could hack into a drone, you wouldn't use it for some spontaneous fun, you'd save it for a rainy day," Lewis continued. "You'd need to be able to hack either the control network in the U.S. or a satellite.? Neither is easy, and both are probably not something the Iranians can do."Read More ?
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TOKYO ? Japan's crippled nuclear power plant leaked about 45 tons of highly radioactive water from a purification device over the weekend, its operator said, and some may have drained into the ocean.
The leak is a reminder of the difficulties facing Tokyo Electric Power Co. as it tries to meet its goal of bringing the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant to a cold shutdown by year's end.
A pool of radioactive water was discovered midday Sunday around a decontamination device, TEPCO said in a statement on its website. After the equipment was turned off, the leak appeared to stop. Later, workers found a crack in a concrete barrier leaking the contaminated water into a gutter that leads to the ocean.
TEPCO estimated about 300 liters leaked out before the crack was blocked with sandbags.
Officials were checking whether any water had reached the nearby ocean.
The leakage of radioactive water from the Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean in the weeks after the March 11 accident caused widespread concern that seafood in the coastal waters would be contaminated.
The pooled water around the purification device was measured Sunday at 16,000 bequerels per liter of cesium-134, and 29,000 bequerels per liter of cesium-137, TEPCO said. That's 270 times and 322 times higher, respectively, than government safety limits, according to the Citizens' Nuclear Information Center in Tokyo.
Cesium-137 is dangerous because it can last for decades in the environment, releasing cancer-causing radiation. The half-life of cesium-134 is about two years, while the half-life of cesium-137 is about 30 years.
TEPCO is using the purification devices to decontaminate water that has been cooling the reactors. Three of the plant's reactor cores mostly melted down when the March 11 tsunami knocked out the plant's cooling system.
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