Ledger-Directed Music Vid Drops Tomorrow

Actor worked with Australian singer, a childhood friend

(NEWSER) - A music video, one of a few directed by Heath Ledger for little-known artists he liked, made its online debut yesterday. Australian rapper N'fa Forster-Jones, a childhood friend of the late actor's, posted the video along with a behind-the-scenes look at the project, the AP reports. "Every day I count my blessings that I got to have him direct this piece of art," says Forster-Jones, who showed the video at the Rome Film Festival. More»

Takes a stand against illegal whale hunts

(NEWSER) - Modest Mouse has debuted Heath Ledger’s whimsical-yet-dark video for the song “King Rat," the AP reports. In the video, which takes aim at illegal whale hunts, Dr Seuss-like animated whales and dolphins go on a bloody hunt for humans, notes Vanity Fair. Watching it might require a little Dramamine, it adds. The video concludes with the message, “This began with our friend, a great defender of life, and was completed in his spirit.” More»

Rapper, director deny On To The Next One contains occult images

(NEWSER) - With the conspiracy-theory corners of the Internet gnawing through the idea that Jay-Z’s latest video, for the single On To The Next One, is chock-full of Satanic imagery and the symbols of Freemasonry, the rapper and the vid’s director are laughing it all off. “That’s crazy to me,” Jay-Z tells MTV . “I gotta remind people I’m from Marcy Projects. I can’t get into a golf club in Palm Springs.” More»

Lady Gaga looks surprisingly low-key in Beyonce's 'Video Phone'

(NEWSER) - The weirdest part of Beyoncé’s collaboration with Lady Gaga for the “Video Phone” video, which premiered on MTV early today, is Gaga's cameo—"mostly because it's shockingly normal," writes James Montgomery. "It's definitely not the Gaga we're used to seeing," nor the Beyoncé for that matter. More»

Nine Inch Nails, Pearl Jam, incestuous Gainsbourgs make list

(NEWSER) - With MTV's Video Music Awards set for Sunday (not that you'll see many videos on the channel these days), Oddee.com takes a look at some of the form’s most controversial:

• Closer, Nine Inch Nails: To go along with the explicitly sexual lyrics, this 1994 piece includes a monkey fixed to a cross, a nude woman with a crucifix mask, and a diagram of a vulva. And it’s in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection.
• Jeremy, Pearl Jam: The 1992 video depicts a boy who, after being teased, heads into a classroom with a gun; MTV banned it after the 1999 Columbine massacre.