Alternative Music
Chan-wook Park’s Decision to Leave Is a Sizzling Romantic Thriller: Review
This review is part of our coverage of the 2022 New York Film Festival. The Pitch: A mountain climber is found dead at the bottom of one of Busan’s most intimidating peaks. An accident? Probably. But ace Busan detective Hae-jun (Park Hae-il) still finds himself drawn to the man’s Chinese widow, Seo-rae (Tang Wei), with whom he shares a beguiling, unspoken connection. She’s elusive, enigmatic; he grows more obsessed with her the longer he watches her on long stakeouts. And the closer the two get, the harder it is for him to see the woman she truly is — and the harder for her to hide it. The Mist: If there’s one thing you can count on from a Chan-wook Park film, it’s that it will be chock full of surprises. That’s certainly true of Oldboy, Stoker, and The Handmaiden, thre...
Lil Nas X Pauses Atlanta Concert to Take a “Mean Shit”
When it comes to a Lil Nas X performance, you have to prepare for the unexpected. That advice can also extend to the rapper himself, who was forced to paused his Atlanta show earlier this week to take a “mean shit.” As we saw in our recap of Lil Nas X’s first night at Radio City Music Hall, the “Long Live Montero Tour” consists of three acts, giving the performers a brief break between each as the curtains close. Evidently, Lil Nas X took that as his opportunity to answer nature’s call: “I’m backstage and this is not a part of the show, but I’m taking a mean shit,” he told the audience over the venue speakers. “I’m gonna be, like, a minute or two, and I’ll be right back.” If you ask us, the music biz could always use a little more transparency, and some fans took to Twitter to ex...
California Bill Restricts Rap Lyrics from Being Used as Criminal Evidence
Creative expression has scored a major victory in California, as Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill restricting rap lyrics from being used as evidence in court. The Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act was unanimously approved by the state’s senate and assembly back in August before being signed into law. Per Variety, a virtual signing ceremony was held featuring speeches from rappers including Killer Mike, Meek Mill, Too $hort, YG, E-40, and more. CEO of the Recording Academy Harvey Mason Jr. and leaders from the Black Music Action Coalition and Songwriters of North America also joined the ceremony. “For too long, prosecutors in California have used rap lyrics as a convenient way to inject racial bias and confusion into the criminal justice process,” Dina LaPolt, entertainmen...
Prince Estate Denied Sinéad O’Connor Documentary Use of “Nothing Compares 2 U”
The Prince estate denied Nothing Compares, a new documentary about Sinéad O’Connor, the rights to her cover of Prince’s song, “Nothing Compares 2 U.” In a statement to Billboard, Prince’s half-sister and co-heir wrote, “I didn’t feel she deserved to use the song.” Prince wrote “Nothing Compares 2 U” for his side project, The Family, and the song appeared on their self-titled 1985 debut. O’Connor’s 1990 cover transformed her career, taking her from a buzzy singer-songwriter with a few minor hits in Europe to an international sensation with three Grammy nominations, including Record of the Year. There’s a reason that documentary director Kathryn Ferguson chose that name for her documentary. “Initially we had intended to use the song, but we received a refusal (which as the rights h...
Beyond the Boys’ Club: Ann Wilson of Heart
Beyond the Boys’ Club is a monthly column from journalist and radio host Anne Erickson, focusing on women in the heavy music genres, as they offer their perspectives on the music industry and discuss their personal experiences. Erickson is also a music artist herself and has a new EP and single, “Last Love,” with Upon Wings. The latest edition of Beyond the Boys’ Club features an interview with the legendary Ann Wilson of Heart. As one of the founding members of female-led rock mainstays Heart, Ann Wilson knows just how difficult it was for women to break into rock music decades ago. She also knows what it takes to have staying power as a musical artist, as Wilson is still releasing imaginative new music and playing jam-packed shows. Wilson released her latest solo album, Fierce Bliss, ear...
Who Should Take Over The Daily Show After Trevor Noah Leaves?
The Daily Show was must-see viewing during the last days of a time when American TV viewing habits were a lot more predictable. Today, the continued fragmentation of late night has meant that every show, not just The Daily Show, has had a reduced impact on pop culture — but the show’s legacy endures from the Jon Stewart era, making current host Trevor Noah’s announcement that he plans to leave the series after seven years very interesting news for any comedian who might be interested in suiting up for a desk job. Noah’s departure actually follows how Stewart announced his plans to leave The Daily Show without an immediate successor in place. Noah was revealed as the new host several weeks following Stewart’s departure, after making spending six months as a correspondent, and if the series ...
Song of the Week: Paramore Gives Us a Reason to Leave the House with “This Is Why”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Paramore make a huge return with “This Is Why.” It’s been 20 years since Hayley Williams moved from Mississippi to Tennessee, met the Farro brothers, and began the story of Paramore, one of the most exciting bands of the new millennium. Paramore has outlived most of their contemporaries, not just by continuing to exist as an entity, but also in terms of their enduring cultural relevance. While many bands of the Warped Tour Era flamed out or carried on by catering to nostalgia, Paramore have managed to remain vi...
Bill Skarsgård and Lily-Rose Depp to Star in Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu
In one of the most perfect casting decisions since, uh, the last time he was picked to play a heavy-lidded horror character, Bill Skarsgård will star as the titular vampire in Robert Eggers’ upcoming Nosferatu retelling. Joining him in Transylvania is Lily-Rose Depp, playing a haunted young woman who becomes Nosferatu’s latest obsession, Deadline reports. There’s not much else we know about Eggers’ follow-up to The Northman, but we do know he’s been wanting to do this for a while. The director almost got his Nosferatu off the ground back in 2019, with Harry Styles and Anya Taylor-Joy attached to the project. Budgeting and schedule conflicts eventually brought the film to a halt, but Eggers made sure to nab Skarsgård — whose portrayal of Pennywis...
Björk Unveils Her “Mushroom Album” Fossora: Stream
Fossora, the new album from Björk, is here. After previewing it with the singles “Atopos,” “Ovule,” and “Ancestress,” the Icelandic musician has released her follow-up to 2017’s Utopia in its entirety. An avid fungophile, Björk has dubbed Fossora her “mushroom album” — earthly, organic, grounded, and reminiscent of the circle of life. The personnel behind Fossora also includes a sextet of bass clarinets, beats crafted by Indonesian dance duo Gabber Modus Operandi, and vocals from her son Sindri, her daughter Ísadóra, and the musician Serpentwithfeet. Björk’s late mother has two songwriting credits, making the album’s references to life and death all the more poignant. On a lighter note, Björk also says her 10th studio album embodies “what it’s like when you walk into th...
Neil Young and Crazy Horse Announce New Album World Record, Share “Love Earth”: Stream
Neil Young has announced World Record, a new album from Crazy Horse, that’s out November 18th. What’s more, first single “Love Earth” is available to stream now. Young and Crazy Horse recorded World Record live at Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La studio in Malibu, with Rubin mixing the project to analog tape to ensure it reached audiophile Young’s standards. In keeping with the artist’s love for quality, physical media, the album will be sold on a three-sided double vinyl with an etching on side four, as well as Young’s first-ever clear vinyl. World Record will additionally be available on cassette, double CD, and premium streaming services like XStream and Atmos/Spatial (but still no Spotify). Pre-orders are ongoing. With a wholesome, infectious melody, lead single an...
Björk Is as Vibrant as Ever on the Moving, Earthy Fossora
Aside from her unmatched ability to constantly and successfully reinvent herself, one of Björk’s greatest qualities is her deft, poignant interrogations on the complex ties between humanity and nature. On her previous album, 2017’s lovely Utopia, the Icelandic experimental pop singer envisioned a world beyond ours, contrasting ethereal imagery and feather-light production with her growing concerns about the environment and her lingering grief around her divorce. Fossora — the followup to Utopia and her 10th overall record, out Friday (September 30th) — finds Björk coming back down to Earth, surveying the decay of our natural world and meditating on its debilitating effect on our own relationships. We don’t take care of our planet, Björk seems to suggest, because we fail to take care o...
Royal & the Serpent Shares Origins of New Video “Death of Me”: Exclusive
Royal & the Serpent has returned with the music video for “Death of Me,” the second chapter of a five-part series, premiering exclusively via Consequence today (September 30th). The latest installment from the Los Angeles artist (born Ryan Santiago) is a somber electropop train of thought, and the accompanying visual sees the singer-songwriter thrown into her own version of A Clockwork Orange. Santiago has been releasing a track and video each week as a part of a project dubbed happiness is an inside job, an effort that will allow listeners to join her in pursuit of happiness. “Death of Me” marks the followup to last week’s chapter, “IM FINE.” “It’s kind of like a journey through my thoughts on figuring out how the fuck to be happy (which you would think would be simpler, but they real...
