30 SECONDS TO MARS WINS BEST ROCK BAND AT EMAs

30 Seconds to Mars rocked the world's face at the EMA awards last night with their song, "Hurricane." Madrid was very kind to our boys; "WOOOOOOOO!" transcends all language barriers. The flashing cameras only intensified the atmosphere that was so Spanish and so MTV and so awesome. The crowd was completely enamored...and you know what? so was I!

This song deserves the attention -- it's a brilliant collaboration between 30STM and Kanye West. It should have been included on This is War, but their respective labels wouldn't play nice, so the album is without Kanye...but with everyone else! I can't get over what a fantastic idea it was to include vocals from a crowd of fans on the album.


At any rate, the band rocked the transition into the hip-hop section - it wasn't so much abrupt as it was already happening before I realized how much I was enjoying it. The drums aided the transition, but the synth strings preserved the beloved 30STM vibe. Even Kanye himself borrowed Jared's vocal styling a tiny bit. ("In the MOOOOrnin'!" sounds much like "This, is, WAAAAAAR!" Watch the performance and you'll see what I mean.) And then it eased into a dance remix sound, which was SO COOL.

I nonetheless think EMAs are trying way too hard to honor a very specific subgenre within the media. Hurricane is only sort of conveying an environmental message...the song is more about the depravity in human nature than the rights of the planet and learning to appreciate it. Sure, there's references to pollution and acid rain, but that's all it is. A reference. The EMAs take an underwhelming approach to the concept on This is War.

But at the same time, can I really complain about a venue that lets us see this?


He might look like he dressed as Michael Jackson's ghost for Halloween, but he can wear whatever he wants to with bone structure like this.