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The Mars Volta Detail New Self-Titled Album, Third Single
The Mars Volta’s comeback continues to roll along. The group’s first album in 10 years, a 14-track, self-titled affair, will arrive Sept. 16, and the third pre-release track from it, “Vigil,” is out now. The accompanying black-and-white video was directed by group member Omar Rodriguez Lopez. [embedded content][embedded content] Like prior singles “Blacklight Shine” and “Graveyard Love,” “Vigil” doesn’t have much in common with the frenetic and expansive heavier rock vibe of The Mars Volta’s classic-era sound. Indeed, “the new album shakes loose some of band’s long-standing shibboleths, with only two tracks lasting longer than four minutes, and the dizzying, abrasive prog stylings of earlier albums absent,” according to a statement. Pre-order the album here. As previously reported, The Mar...
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Doechii
Given the Zoom fatigue of the past two years, you can’t blame Doechii for having her camera off during our conversation. Still, despite the possible interview burnout she’s experiencing, her energy is palpable: Our faceless face-to-face chat flows freely from new music to her zodiac sign to who would win in a fight, Junie B. Jones or Lilo from Lilo & Stitch. (“Junie B. is gonna swing first, and it’s gonna catch Lilo off guard,” she rationalizes. “Lilo do got hands, though.”) Even in life’s most tiresome moments, she’s effervescent. It’s been a whirlwind year. In March, the Tampa-bred 23-year-old (given name Jaylah Hickmon) inked a deal with Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), becoming the label’s first female emcee. This summer, she made her solo network TV debut on The Tonight Show with Jim...
Queen of Sheba May Be thee Most Interesting Album of the Year
Queen of Sheba, a new collaboration album by Angélique Kidjo and Ibrahim Maalouf, tackles some serious subjects in telling the ancient story of the mysterious African monarch’s visit to King Solomon. And their telling of it was spurred by a mutual drive for Benin-born singer-composer-activist Kidjo and Beirut-born trumpeter-composer Maalouf to trace the links between their African and the Middle Eastern heritages. But watch videos from the handful of performances they did of this material over the last few years — at Carnegie Hall, at the Netherlands’ North Sea Jazz festival, in the stately Basilique Saint Denis outside Paris — and one thing comes through clearly: They were having fun. “A lot of fun,” says Kidjo, joined by Maalouf on a laughs-filled Zoom chat. “It felt to me that I’m...
WILLOW Releases Blazing Video for ‘hover like a GODDESS,’ Announces New Album
Last year, WILLOW went pop-punk with the release of lately I feel EVERYTHING, which featured Travis Barker, Avril Lavigne and more. Today, the young star announced that her next studio album, <COPINGMECHANISM>, will be released on Sept. 23. It was produced by WILLOW and Chris Greatti (YUNGBLUD, Pussy Riot). From that album, WILLOW has shared a video for “hover like a GODDESS.” In the clip, she roils beneath pink, blue and white strobe lights, as close-up camera angles shift between her face, black platform lace-up boots and a gleaming statement necklace. [embedded content][embedded content] “You know I don’t like to take my time” she cries out with Hayley Williams-esque vigor. “I’ll never be fine if you won’t be fine.” The song is a nod to self-worth. “Every woman deser...
Drake Reschedules Young Money Reunion With Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne
After Drake was forced to postpone a concert set for earlier this week after testing positive for COVID-19, the Young Money reunion concert with Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj, has been rescheduled. The event is part of his October World Weekend, which is billed as the “Road to OVO Fest,” and it takes place this Saturday on August 6. “Negative test…positive outcome…this was the only date available until the fall and because the family is so solid everybody is flying back in to make it happen for you all…SEE YOU SATURDAY…young moulaaa,” he wrote. Earlier this week, Drake released a new music video for his Honestly, Nevermind single “Sticky.” Before testing positive for COVID, Drake performed at October World Weekend with Nelly Furtado. All products featured on Pitchfork are independently selecte...
Lollapalooza Security Guard Faked Mass Shooting Threat to Leave Work Early, Prosecutors Say
A Lollapalooza security guard has been charged with making a false terrorist threat, which is a felony, after allegedly circulating two fake mass shooting messages to get out of work, reports The Chicago Tribune. After the messages were relayed to Chicago police and the FBI Joint Counterterrorism Task Force, digital tracing led back to the security guard, 18-year-old Janya Williams, who later confessed that she sent the messages “because she wanted to leave work early,” according to prosecutors. On Friday (July 29), Williams allegedly sent her supervisor an anonymous text message using TextNow that said, “Mass shooting at 4pm location Lollapalooza. We have 150 targets.” After the supervisor informed higher-ups at Lollapalooza’s security team, CPD and the FBI were notified. Williams t...
Childish Gambino Joins Black Party on New Song “I Love You More Than You Know”
Black Party’s new album, Hummingbird, is out tonight (August 5). The release includes a song with Childish Gambino called “I Love You More Than You Know.” Below, check out the new track. Black Party is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who was raised in Arkansas and is now based in Los Angeles. Hummingbird is his third studio album, following 2019’s Endless Summer and his 2016 debut Mango. The new record is released via RCA and Childish Gambino’s management company and creative agency Wolf + Rothstein. Black Party previously worked with Childish Gambino on 2016’s “Awaken, My Love!” In addition, he co-produced “No Small Talk,” which Gambino has remixed. In a statement, Black Party described Hummingbird as “a journey about self love, romantic love and parental love,” one that “...
Pavement Set to Unveil Five Official Album-Themed Pierogi
On Friday, August 19, Pavement will be honored with special album-themed pierogi at an event in Parma, Ohio. Local businesses Schnitz Ale Brewery, Rudy’s Strudel, and the Current Year Records and Tapes are joining forces for the ticketed event, which will feature “special varieties of Pavement pierogi,” paired beer flights to match, and a vinyl DJ set by the band’s own Bob Nastanovich. “I’ve been thrilled and amazed by a group of Pavement enthusiasts striving to get our band to play at a local football stadium for some time,” said Nastanovich in a statement. “Led by Lidia at Rudy’s and the Stutzes, the effort has been heartening. I figured the least I could do is come visit, spin a variety of weird tunes, and try to raise some dinero for a good cause. I love the Cleveland area and it’s bee...
‘John Wick’ Director Chad Stahelski Asked Marvel If He Could Direct ‘Blade’ Reboot
The John Wick franchise’s director and former stuntman Chad Stahelski has revealed that he spoke to Marvel‘s Kevin Feige about directing the Mahershala Ali-starring Blade reboot. Speaking to Comicbook in a recent interview, Stahelski said that he had actually met with Feige to discuss potentially working on a project together. “Marvel was very influential in my career. I owe them a great deal. Kevin [Feige] is an awesome guy and I’ve worked for him many times on second unit,” said the John Wick director. “After John Wick 3, he was nice enough to carve out a big chunk of time and have nice talk…. And he actually asked me, ‘What could we ever do?’ I was like, ‘Look, I’m not going to lie to you. I don’t know if I fit that kind of studio mold, but Blade would be the one interest...
‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Now Has Lowest Rotten Tomatoes Rating In Whole ‘Thor’ Franchise
Thor: Love and Thunder has officially become the lowest-rated film within the standalone Thor franchise over on Rotten Tomatoes. Now carrying a critics’ score of just 65%, Taika Waititi and Chris Hemsworth‘s latest Marvel Studios film has dipped below the 66% rating that Thor: The Dark World achieved, bringing it down to the bottom of the list of films revolving around the God of Thunder. At that score, it also makes Love and Thunder the second lowest-rated Marvel Studios film ever released, sitting just slightly above Eternals, which received a disappointing 47% and is still the only certified Rotten title in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe library. What makes it even more surprising is the success Waititi has had with the franchise. Taking on his MCU debut with T...
CW Confirms ‘The Flash’ TV Series to Conclude With Season 9
After what would be nine years since its original premiere, CW‘s The Flash television series is finally coming to an end with its ninth season that’s currently scheduled to air in 2023. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show had intended to conclude with season eight but the studio ultimately managed to sign a new deal with lead star Grant Gustin as well as some of the other cast members for one final, but abbreviated, season, with 13 more episodes to come next year. The past season made The Flash one of the network’s most-watched shows in the 2021-2022 broadcast cycle, averaging more than one million viewers per episode while being one of CW’s most streamed series digitally as well. “Nine seasons! Nine years of saving Central City while taking audiences on an emotional jo...
Leslie Grace Responds to Warner Bros. Canceling ‘Batgirl’
Leslie Grace has finally responded to the recent announcement from Warner Bros. that Batgirl will not be released. Taking to Instagram, the actress shared several behind-the-scenes images and videos of the film’s production, which went on for seven months in Scotland with a budget of $90 million USD. “Querida familia! On the heels of the recent news about our movie ‘Batgirl,’ I am proud of the love, hard work and intention all of our incredible cast and tireless crew put into this film over 7 months in Scotland,” Grace wrote in the caption. “I feel blessed to have worked among absolute greats and forged relationships for a lifetime in the process! To every Batgirl fan – THANK YOU for the love and belief, allowing me to take on the cape and become, as Babs said best, “my own damn hero!...
