Today’s VMA-of-the-day post is about people who unfortunately showed up at past VMAs dressed like human trashbags, either literally or metaphorically, in the you-left-your-dignity-in-the-Dumpster sense.

And no Trashbag Tuesday post would be complete without Rose McGowan! Oh, Rose! You were so great in Jawbreaker, and your M4 leg in Grindhouse was scarifying and cool! But you know what was scaryifying and NOT cool? Seeing every inch of your pasty body when you slid yourself into what looked like a series of poorly constructed silver-plated necklaces and not much else at the 1998 VMAs.

Like, everyone and their half-blind grammaw could see everything from like, what you had for breakfast to your boobiedos and cheeks, to, like, the results of your last gynecological visit. Observe:

Rose’s full-frontal (and butt-al) exposure made it easy to forget that she showed up with freak show Marilyn Manson at her side. Who cares that your boyfriend’s got red hair and two different colored eyes when the whole world’s staring up your crack?

Stay tuned for the possibility of more butts — or senseless outfits at the very least — at the 2008 VMAs, live from Hollywood on Sunday, September 7th.

+ Plus: relevant videos: Iggy Pop, “Butt Town,” and, of course, Sir Mix-A-Lot’s evergreen ode to the exit door…

(Credit: Ben Ritter)

If you’ve never heard of Hit the Lights, now’s your chance to jump on the (emo) bandwagon. Find out when the group was formed (”Two thousand…three?”) the real story behind their name (Hint: It has nothing to do with Christian Slater) and why they — like Forever the Sickest Kids — shun sports drinks in favor of human urine. Then catch up on all things HTL by checking out these exclusive band photos, watching their latest vid, “Stay Out,” and reading up on their fun-lovin’ tour buddies, All Time Low.

(Credit: Paul Morigi/WireImage)

Madame Tussauds, you done did it again. The wizards of wax cast their spell on the Jonas Brothers, who are the latest young addition to the museum’s cadre of mute celebrities. The boys were added to the museum’s Washington, D.C. location yesterday.

Good for them, I say. While it may be undeniably creepy, it’s certainly a benchmark of success (I haven’t see any wax effigies of LFO lately), though here are my few criticisms:

+ Kevin was erroneously cast with a Donny Osmond Care Bear stare.
+ They aged Joe by about 15 years!
+ Nick looks unhappy — maybe because they dressed him like a white Chuck Berry.
+ NO ONE is wearing skinny jeans, and therefore INACCURACIES ABOUND! WTJ?

Your thoughts on the Jonas Brothers wax sculptures please??

Plus: check out my recap of the Jonas Brothers: Live & Mobile event that was the be-all-end-all of in-your-face Jonas action, and see which VMA hopefuls they’re up against for Best Pop Video and Video of the Year.

I suck horribly at video games — honestly, even “Pac-Man” eludes me — so it goes without saying that I’m terrible at “Monsoon” the game, but I know some of you die-hard Tokio Hotel fans have it mastered.

So who’s cracked the code? And is there a level where you get to help Bill do his hair? What’s your highest score? Erzähl mir!

Plus:
+ Check out Buzzworthy’s exclusive Tokio Hotel interview and TRL performance of “Monsoon.”
+ See which VMA Tokio Hotel’s up for!
+ Get more video games by the people who actually know how to play them at Multiplayer Blog.

+ Rapper 50 Cent has officially knocked Jay-Z out of the top spot in Forbes‘ “Hip-Hop Cash Kings” rankings. Or, as we call it, the “Richest Guys Still Rapping About Being From The Streets” list. (MTV)

+ And speaking of Hov, here’s Part XX of the Jay-Z vs. Oasis feud. (Nah Right, via RS)

+ Jurassic flashback! Before they were hanging with the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez were chillin’ at Barney’s crib. (People)

+ Breaking: The Destiny’s Child reunion tour may contain new material! Which doesn’t change the fact that we only want to hear them play “Survivor,” “Bootlycious” and “Independent Women Part 1″ on repeat. (NME)

+ Linkin Park pays tribute to Guns N’ Roses by decimating “Welcome to the Jungle.” (Idolator)

+ Ice Cube proves he’s still got it by doin’ his “thang” on his new music vid. (The Boombox)

+ Buzzin’ boys Shwayze and Cisco Adler discuss their foolproof plan for avoiding underage girls. (Karma Loop)

+ As expected, Britney Spears isn’t just losing custody of her children. She’s also losing custody of the $700,000 she owes in legal fees, not to mention K-Fed’s fat palimony checks. (MTV)

Indeed, the VMAs are all about fashion — from classy to trashy (oy, Jessica Simpson, honey, your bra’s showing…) performances that become an indelible part of pop culture, and Courtney Love falling over drunk.

But the VMAs are also a good time to show you care about things beyond see-through minidresses. So put your money where your mouse is and bid on an awesome MTV Staying Alive VMA auction with a prize package that’ll send you to the VMAs, where you can see all of the OMG outfits, live performances and hot messes up close.

Here’s what you get:
+ 2 tickets to the VMAs
+ Walk down the red carpet
+ Meet and greet with Audrina from The Hills
+ 3 nights at The Standard in LA
+ Other fancy stuff!

Proceeds from the auction benefit the MTV Staying Alive Foundation. So go bust open your piggy bank, pick out your most ridick outfit ever (or “ensemble” for all you Mimi fans out there), and start bidding!

Plus: More VMAs | More The Hills

(Credit: Brian Appio)

What would you say if we told you that the good looking fellow in the Gucci hat is continually mistaken for Akon? And not because they look alike (although both men do share a predilection for dark shades and neon shirts) but because many incorrectly attribute his smash hit, “Dangerous,” to the man who signed him.

Sure, that’s Akon’s voice on the chorus, but the real credit goes to Kardinal Offishall (born Jason Harrow), the dancehall reggae rapper/producer who’s been waiting to burst out onto the scene for just over a decade. And by “waiting to burst out,” we actually mean collaborating with big-name talent like Lil Wayne, Rihanna and Busta Rhymes, plus winning a Juno award — the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy — for Choclair in ‘00.

And if that wasn’t enough, Kardinal Offishall also has the innate rhythm, smooth flow and explosive delivery of Ludacris and an impressive collection of wide-brimmed hats. So check the rest of his exclusive photos and watch the video that brought the so-called “Canadian ambassador of hip-hop” stateside. Then get ready to see a whole lot more of the Ontarian terror, because Kardinal Offishall has officially arrived.

Ezra Koenig, Vampire Weekend’s obviously hyper-educated frontman (that name alone), has said that “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,” the fourth single off the band’s self-titled album, was inspired by a stop in London while en route to India, which got him “thinking a lot about colonialism and the aesthetic connections between preppy culture and the native cultures of places like Africa and India.” Rrrriiight. Still, it pretty much explains why the band and the video’s cast members are dressed like extras in every 1980s movie played on TBS ever, with the exception of the girl dressed like pre-marital Avril.

More evidence of the video (and the band’s) ’80s homage: Koenig is dressed in a denim suit a la Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly in Back to the Future; the backyard party looks a little like the croquet scene in Heathers; there’s a keytar present; Koenig’s transformation (spoiler!) feels a bit like Michael Jackson’s quasi-lycanthropic zombie from “Thriller.”

Plus, post-modern post-hip-hop points go to VW’s shout out to Louis Vuitton, Reggaeton and possible f—king.

The VMAs are sorta like the biggest, most over-the-top prom in the universe: everyone dresses up, occasionally fights break out, and, also like prom, every year has its own theme, except, to my knowledge, there’s never been an “Under the Sea” or a “Night to Remember” theme, which is absolutely for the best.

The theme for the 2008 VMAs is “Music. Mayhem. Music.” Which is to say that there’s two parts music, one part mayhem. And since this year marks the 25th VMA, that theme is sort of a recapitulation of what’s always happened at every VMA — music and mayhem, and, a lot of times, both at the same time. Like when Eminem performed at the VMAs in New York.

The year was 2000, the location was the once-hallowed Radio City Music Hall, and Eminem was at the absolute tippity top of his game.

To kick off his live performance of “The Real Slim Shady,” Eminem marched into the venue, ready for battle, all the way from streetside at Sixth Avenue, surrounded by a posse of Emimen lookalikes, complete with he’s-in-the-army-now blonde buzz cuts, three-to-a-pack oversized white tees, matching kicks, and baggy jeans with added room for extra crotch-grabbage. Even when the real Slim Shady himself stood up, it was hard to correct ID him. The effect was mesmerizing, and it’s a move I imagine Kanye West’s probably still bitter he didn’t think of first.

Other unbelievable events that went down that evening and kept with this year’s theme of “Music. Mayhem. Music.” include the following:

+ When he reached into his pocket to pull out his speech to accept his Award for Best Male Video (he won for “The Real Slim Shady” — watch it at the bottom of this post), Eminem accidentally dumped out a handful of pills. Oopsers! Eminem, consider this a warning: give your personal assistant your stash before accepting televised awards!

+ Eminem also addressed the audience, referring to the big night as “… the one night where you can fit all these people I don’t like into one room.” Zing!

+ The 2000 VMAs was the also when Rage Against the Machine’s Tim Commerford climbed a big-ass fake palm tree behind the podium as Limp Bizkit accepted the award for Best Rock Video. (See who’s nominated for 2008 Best Rock Video here.) Egged on the Bizkit (Tim, do you always do everything Fred Durst tells you to?), the audience all was like “Jump!” (soooo Van Halen!), Commerford refused to come down, was arrested, and spent the night in jail. Rock as hell!!!

+ Macy Gray accepted her Best New Artist (see who’s nominated for 2008 Best New Artist here) award looking like a tripped-out drunk dinoasaur. What else is new?

+ Justin Timberlake’s hair was mayhem in and of itself.

+ For her performance of “Oops!… I Did It Again,” Britney stripped down to a flesh-colored body suit. At this point in history/life, that was considered shocking.

The 2008 VMAs — way better than your prom. Watch the mayhem unfurl this year at the 2008 VMAs, happening live from Hollywood on Sunday, September 7th.

+ Katy Perry’s evangelical mother isn’t exactly thrilled with her daughter’s VMA-nominated ode to bicuriosity. Instead, she says, “its message is shameful and disgusting….When ["I Kissed A Girl"] comes on the radio I bow my head and pray.” Fortunately for Katy, lots of us disagree. (Popeater)

+ The Game to Lil Wayne: “I don’t ever put nobody before myself,” says Game. “I feel I’m the greatest alive, I hold it down. But Wayne, he’s got it right now. So I don’t mind stepping behind for a minute until it’s my turn.” (MTV)

+ Calling all “Buddy Holly” fans! Weezer needs some extras for their new “Troublemaker” video. Preferably, those living in the “Beverly Hills” area. (Pitchfork)

+ Those never-before-heard U2 songs that hit the web this weekend? Apparently, they were the work of an overzealous fan, who staked out Bono’s house and then recorded the sunglasses-wearing frontman listening to his own stereo. Seriously. (Rolling Stone)

+ Forget about Octoberfest. Phil Spector will spend the days leading up to St. Hallow’s Eve getting retried for murder. (BBC)

+ Bad news for DMX. The oft-jailed rapper could be stuck behind bars until October. (The Boombox)

+ Jared Leto’s not about to take a $30 million lawsuit — against his band, 30 Seconds to Mars — sitting down. Instead, he’s firing back, describing the suit as “ridiculously overblown,” “insane” and “totally unrealistic.” Angela Chase would be super proud. (MTV)