One way to size up pop stardom is to measure how much noise an artist can create with a deluge of new music. Think of Ariana Grande releasing two Number One albums in less than six months, just because she can, jamming up radio programmers with five different singles in …
Read More »Yeah, About that Biden Speech…
America had the greatest orator in modern presidential history working in the Oval Office for eight years, and millions of white people spent virtually all that time getting angrier. Violent right-wing extremism is bursting the nation at the seams, and has for generations now. We didn’t need last weekend’s twin …
Read More »'Weird Al' Yankovic Revamps Classic Parodies With an Orchestra at NYC Show
To most people, pairing the music of “Weird Al” Yankovic with a symphony orchestra probably seems like a ridiculous proposition. After all, does “I Love Rocky Road” really need a string section to adequately convey Al’s love of ice cream? Can’t we laugh at the Amish and Coolio in “Amish …
Read More »Flashback: Black Sabbath Play 'Paranoid' With Bill Ward For Last Time
Earlier this month, original Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward went public with his desire to reunite with the group via a video on his Twitter account. “I wanted to say that I love Tony [Iommi, guitar], Geezer [Butler, bass] and Ozzy [Osbourne, vocals] very much,” he said. “I’ve loved them …
Read More »Beyoncé and Donald Glover Update 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight' From 'The Lion King'
25 years ago, a generation of children watched two animated lions fall in passionate and steamy love, while a cartoon meerkat and warthog peeped on in despair. “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” soundtracked the intimate moment. Among the unimpeachable bangers Elton John and Tim Rice cooked up for The …
Read More »What's Scooter Braun Doing?
Imagine for a second that the Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun drama played out in the music business last week was an orchestrated PR campaign. I don’t say that because I believe that it was one, you understand. I say it because, hypothetically, if it was one, it really couldn’t …
Read More »Travis Scott Has Made the Greatest Cereal the World Will Ever Know
“Side Hustle” is a recurring column in which staff writer Charles Holmes reviews celebrity and celebrity-adjacent products. You can read his previous entry, on Ed Sheeran’s ketchup, here. If the mood takes you, you can also read his review of Rick Ross’s hair care and grooming line here. Celebrity: Travis …
Read More »Sleater-Kinney Drummer Janet Weiss to Leave Band
Longtime Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss announced her departure from the seminal alternative rock band. In a public statement, Weiss said the band was “heading in a new direction” and that “it is time for me to move on.” “I will never forget the heights we reached or the magnificent times …
Read More »Court Smacks Down Funding of Trump's Beloved Wall
President Donald Trump‘s biggest campaign promise, to build a wall along the United States-Mexico border, looks less likely to ever happen thanks to Friday court rulings in two separate cases. Unless, of course, Mexico suddenly decides to pay for it. The US District Court for Northern California made permanent a …
Read More »Perry Farrell Performs Hard Rocking 'Pirate Punk Politician' on 'Fallon'
Perry Farrell, the frontman of LA alt-rock band Jane’s Addiction and one of the co-founders of the Lollapalooza festival, performed “Pirate Punk Politician,” on The Tonight Show Monday night. The track is from his latest solo album Kind Heaven. The song is a slinky hard rock anthem with unsurprisingly political …
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