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Tom Hanks Is the Voice of Oakland A’s “Virtual” Concession Vendors
Finally, an acting role for Tom Hanks that’s truly one-of-a-kind: voicing a “virtual” concessions vendor for the Oakland A’s during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The MLB season has officially begun and that means baseball teams are going head-to-head like normal. However, to prevent the spread of COVID-19, stadiums are not allowing fans to attend games in person. Playing a game without the ambient noise of a crowd is eerie and, at times, difficult for the players, so MLB organizers have been playing pre-recorded crowd chatter from older games through baseball park speakers during games. And now, the king of summer blockbusters will be one of the voices mixed in with the crowd. Every baseball team in the US has been using pre-recorded crowd audio at their games, but only the Oakland A’s...
Taylor Swift’s folklore Dismantles Her Own Self-Mythologizing: Review
The Lowdown: Born of isolation, Taylor Swift’s eighth album, folklore, interrogates the pop star’s self-mythologizing and turns her gaze outward. Created during the ongoing pandemic, Swift collaborated remotely on 11 songs with Aaron Dessner of The National, who shared orchestrations composed inside his own quarantine. The results lean toward modern folk and glitchy experimentation, abandoning pop bombast but not the drama of swelling strings or anxious percussion. The accompanying visuals depict a gloomy summer, and listeners can imagine Swift watching storms barrel across the Atlantic horizon and wandering old-growth forests in half-done braids, alone or with a companion socially distanced beyond the frame. Dropped on 24 hours’ notice without her typically painstaking roll-out, the 16 mo...
Watch The Strokes Zoom Through Time in Animated ‘Ode to the Mets’ Video
Just in time for baseball season’s opening day, The Strokes construct an animated voyage through time and space with their dizzying “Ode to the Mets” video. The clip, directed by friend and collaborator Warren Fu, unfolds across eight chapters — the perspective literally zooming backward from the prehistoric era (where a vintage arcade game looms) to an abandoned high school gymnasium (decorated for a 1969 homecoming) to an underwater New York City. “Ode to the Mets” highlights the Strokes’ April-issued sixth LP, The New Abnormal, which also features the singles “At the Door,” “Bad Decisions,” and “Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus.” The album, which follows the 2016 EP Future Present Past, marks their first full-length since 2013’s Comedown Machine. The Strokes — who recently launched t...
Pearl Jam Announce 2021 European Tour Dates
Pearl Jam’s plans to tour their new album, Gigaton, had to be postponed, like everyone else’s tour, due to the global pandemic. But now there’s some good news. The band has released the new dates for the European leg of their tour that will take place next year. Set to kick off on June 16, 2021, in Amsterdam, Pearl Jam are going to the same places they had initially planned to go to this and also added two new concert dates, including the Pinkpop Festival. Supporting acts will be announced in the near future. “We look forward to returning to Europe, pending these events can safely take place in Summer 2021. The safety and well-being of the band’s fans, crew and event staff continue to be priority,” the band wrote on their website. Tickets will be valid for the rescheduled shows. And i...
Omar Rodríguez-López Talks New Three-LP Box Set and Working With Erykah Badu
Over the past 25 years, Omar Rodríguez-López has been one of the most visionary and diverse musicians, producers, and artists on the planet. Fusing the post-hardcore and punk sounds that originally brought him to fame with At the Drive-In alongside the psychedelic, electronic, ambient and Latin influences that have contributed to his solo work and other projects (the Mars Volta, Bosnian Rainbows, Antemasque, a tangential yet integral role in Le Butcherettes, and much more), Rodríguez-López hasn’t just developed a style that’s all his own, but an evolving catalog of sounds that are distinctly his. Part of what makes Rodríguez-López so unique — whether he’s performing, producing, or directing films — is his complete lack of formal training in music. While others may be concerned about music ...
The Track List For Max’s New Album Confirms the Collab With BTS’s Suga We’ve All Been Wishing For
The just-revealed track list for pop singer Max‘s upcoming sophomore album, Colour Vision, features the BTS collaboration he’s been teasing since he revealed that he hung out with his “new brother” Suga earlier this year. The pair will meld their voices on the track “Blueberry Eyes,” one of a handful of duets on the album, due out on Sept. 18. They previously teamed up on “Burn It” from Suga’s D-2 mixtape. Also included on the 12-track release are previously-released collabs with Hayley Kiyoko (“Missed Calls”), Chromeo (“Checklist”) and Quinn XCII (“Love Me Less”), and the next single, “Working For the Weekend,” which will drop on Aug. 14. Check out the full Colour Vision track list below....
Which Taylor Swift Album Is Your Favorite? Vote!
Happy Folklore day, Swifties! On Friday (July 24), Taylor Swift dropped her surprise eighth album with less than 24 hours notice, sending Swifties around the globe deep into their feelings over her thoughtful, incisive storytelling. And now that you’ve had time to digest the LP’s 16 exquisite tracks in full, Billboard wants to know where you think Folklore ranks in the superstar’s storied, ever-growing discography. Is 2012’s transitional, pop-driven fan favorite Red the T. Swift album you love the most? Are you obsessed with the dark cityscapes of 2017’s Reputation or booming pop of 2014’s 1989? Are you still wrapped up in the warm glow of 2019’s Lover or have you traded that album for Swift’s latest cozy “Cardigan&#...
‘Short, Precise and Catchy’: Farruko Breaks Down His Recipe For a Successful Single
Previewing his forthcoming album, Farruko has released his new single “La Tóxica” — a core reggaetón track that takes the Puerto Rican singer-songwriter back to his roots — today (July 24). “It’s the kind of reggaetón that made me,” Farruko tells Billboard. “I always experiment with different rhythms but I wanted to go back to my roots with this one.” Penned by Farru, Sharo Towers, Ghetto and K4G, “La Tóxica” starts off with a simple piano tune. Then, nearly one minute in, an explosive reggaetón beat carries the rest of the song. And, as a true testament to Farruko’s slick writing skills, it includes a catchy chorus line. “I always make sure that my songs have good content, but I also make sure I includ...
First Beat: New Music By J. Cole, Logic, Queen Naija and More
For this week’s edition of First Beat, we see the return of J. Cole, the farewell of Logic and more. Check out our picks below. J. Cole, Lewis Street The elusive J. Cole is in album-mode. On Wednesday night (July 22), The Dreamville captain unleashed a meaty two-pack titled Lewis Street, which will serve as the precursor to his forthcoming album The Fall Off. His first track titled “The Climb Back” Cole logs in a commanding performance. The five-minute exhibition showcases Cole’s lyrical mastery over a chilling sample, rapping; “You see how I flip like exclamation points.” On his second showing, “Lion King on Ice,” Cole seemingly ruminates about his past sit-down with Lil Pump and addresses the aftermath of their conversation, which includes the Gucci Gang rapper’s descent from stardom. &#...
Taylor Swift Gets Lost At Sea In Stirring, Autumnal ‘Cardigan’ Video
Taylor Swift, folkie of the woods, is here. The artist dropped her wonderfully stripped-back, bright yet smoldering eighth album Folklore at midnight on Friday (July 24), featuring a treasure trove of indie-folk flourishes courtesy of The National’s Aaron Dessner, who co-wrote most of the album with Swift; his brother, Bryce, who handled some orchestration; and a slew of other notable collaborators, including Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and trusted pal Jack Antonoff. But none of it would work if it wasn’t for Swift herself, who’s written some of the most affecting, drivingly narrative, and endearing songs of her catalog for Folklore, an album she ostensibly wrote and recorded in quarantine. That searing, crackling personality comes through in the lovely “Cardigan...
The Chicks’s Kiss-Off, Bartees Strange’s Urgency, Kylie Minogue’s Return, And More Songs We Love
Less than a year after Taylor Swift blessed us with her seventh studio album, Lover, the superstar songstress is back to save 2020 with the surprise release of a new album. Folklore, out today (July 24), gave Swifties less than 24 hours of notice from announcement until release, throwing a major wrench in whatever plans they thought they had this weekend. The album’s first single “Cardigan” debuted alongside with a mystical music video that shows where Swift’s head is now. While Lover gave us plenty of bright colors, pink glitter, and various meanings of love, Folklore evokes a whole new mood of gray skies, woodland scenes, and soothing indie-pop melodies filled with beautifully detailed stories Swift has carefully crafted in her mind. “Cardigan” breaks your heart, conveying fe...
PANTERA Launches ‘Cowboys From Hell’ Collection In Celebration Of Album’s 30th Anniversary
PANTERA has announced the launch of a special collection in celebration of the band’s critically acclaimed album “Cowboys From Hell”, which was released 30 years ago today on July 24, 1990. “Cowboys From Hell” was PANTERA‘s breakthrough record, and it has since attained platinum certification in the United States. It has been praised by critics as one of the most influential albums on the metal scene in the 1990s. IGN named “Cowboys From Hell” the 19th most influential heavy metal album of all time. The collection, available at PanteraStore.com, features brand new merchandise including a 30th-anniversary “Cowboys From Hell” long sleeve shirt, tee and hoodie, a limited edition mirrored pint glass, and most notably, an RIAA personal...
