Alternative Music
HBO Max and Discovery+ Will Become One Streaming Service
Following the recent merger of Warner Bros. Discovery, the company confirmed plans to re-launch its two streaming platforms, HBO Max and Discovery+, as a single service, projected to roll out in the U.S. beginning Summer 2023. Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav announced the news during the company’s Q2 earnings call on Thursday (August 4th). By combining HBO Max, “the most acclaimed streaming service among consumers,” and Discovery+’s library of “real-life entertainment,” Warner Bros. Discovery says the new streaming service will achieve the “best of both” — acknowledging customer complaints aimed at HBO Max’s user interface and Discovery+’s catalog. Ultimately, the company said their “leading objective is growing engagement.” Once both apps are integrated, the company said, they’ll begin ...
Jury Orders Alex Jones to Pay Sandy Hook Parents $4 Million in Damages
A Texas jury has ordered conspiracy theorist and Infowars owner Alex Jones to pay the parents of a Sandy Hook shooting victim $4 million in compensatory damages in an ongoing defamation lawsuit. Jones has spent almost a decade arguing that the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School — which left 28 people, including 20 children, dead — was a hoax, and that the parents of the victims were “crisis actors” upholding the lie. One set of parents, Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, sued Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, in 2018 for defamation, and originally asked for $150 million in compensatory damages. In a verdict signed by 10 members of the 12-member jury, the group landed on $4 million, but a separate trial to decide how much Jones will pay in punitive damages is still forthco...
Pallbearer Announce 10th Anniversary Reissue of Sorrow and Extinction
Pallbearer have announced a 10th anniversary deluxe reissue of their debut album Sorrow and Extinction. The band is teaming up with its original label 20 Buck Spin for the release, which comes in a trio of formats: a triple-LP deluxe edition (shipping September 16th), a double-LP version in multiple colorways (shipping September 1st), and the first-ever cassette release of the album (available now). The deluxe edition is limited to 500 copies and is housed in a foil-stamped slip case. The tri-color splatter vinyl consists of the double-LP version of Sorrow and Extinction and a bonus LP featuring the band’s 2010 demo on one side and a B-side featuring live versions of “Devoid of Redemption” and “The Legend” recorded at The Glass House and previously only available on a 2012 Scion A/V vinyl ...
Stanning BTS: HOBIPALOOZA
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Radio Public | Pocket Casts | RSS After kicking off his post-BTS Off Season arc with Jack in the Box, j-hope brought everything he had to his headlining “HOBIPALOOZA” performance at Lollapalooza 2022. Featuring elaborate stage design, excellent choreography, and a career-spanning setlist, it was a performance ARMY won’t soon forget. Advertisement Related Video His set also made history, as it marked the first time a South Korean headlined a main stage at a major American music festival. Though he may have been a later addition to the lineup, the festival seemed like his for the taking. Stanning BTS hosts Kayla and Bethany were there for all of the action. Join them as they re...
Lady Gaga Dognapper Receives Four-Year Prison Sentence
One of the three men charged with the armed robbery of Lady Gaga’s former dog walker Ryan Fischer has been sentenced to four years in state prison after accepting a surprise plea deal. Jaylin Keyshawn White pleaded “no contest” to second-degree robbery on Wednesday, August 3rd in return for prosecutors dropping two other charges of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit robbery. Judge Richard Kemalyan sentenced White to three years for the robbery conviction and gave an extra year for gun enhancement because another defendant involved in the case, James Howard Jackson, was armed. Fischer, who was shot during the February 2021 dognapping, suffered from nerve damage and a collapsed lung as a result of the attack. Rolling Stone reports that he gave a tearful speech in court. “You left me b...
Maturity is Scarce in Archer Season 13 Trailer: Watch
TV’s favorite narcissistic secret agent is returning for a lucky 13th season. FXX has today shared the official trailer for the upcoming Season 13 of Archer head of its premiere on August 24th. In this go around of the ever–evolving adult cartoon, Archer and The Agency have been acquired by Fabian Kingsworth and the spy conglomerate known as IIA (International Intelligence Agency), who assign odd missions to the crew. In-between jobs, the crew struggle to find their identity amid this change, fearing that they might succumb to the corporate overlords in the process. “I’m looking for one of you to take the mantle of leadership,” Fabian tells the members of The Agency in the trailer, juxtaposed with a montage of all the spies’ rather foolish recent mishaps. “Until now, I’ve been the car...
How to Get Tickets to Gabriel Iglesias’ 2022 Tour
Gabriel Iglesias is set to hit the road again for his appropriately titled circuit, “Gabriel ‘Fluffy’ Iglesias Back On Tour,” so if you weren’t one of the 56,000 fans who grabbed tickets to the comedian’s sold-out Dodger Stadium show earlier this year, you’ll have plenty of chances to catch his headlining set with a whole new list of dates announced. Get tickets here, and read on for more details including pre-sale dates. What Is Gabriel Iglesias’ Next Tour? Iglesias’ ongoing trek will resume in Verona, New York on August 5th, then spend the majority of August in the Midwest between Minnesota, Ohio, Indiana, and Oklahoma. He plays two nights in Santa Ynez, California on August 26th-27th, then opens the next month with a series of two-a-day’s in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on September 2nd, Atl...
Monica Lewinsky Calls Out Beyoncé Over “Partition” Reference After Ableism Controversy
After learning Beyoncé would be removing an ableist slur from her new Renaissance cut “Heated,” Monica Lewinsky inserted herself into the conversation and called upon the artist to change a lyric from 2013’s “Partition.” “Uhmm, while we’re at it… #Partition,” Lewinsky wrote in a tweet linking to an article about Beyoncé promising to replace the word “spaz” on “Heated.” “Partition” appears on Beyoncé’s 2013 self-titled album and references Lewinsky’s highly publicized affair in the late ’90s with then-President Bill Clinton when she was an intern at the White House. On the track, Beyoncé sings, “He popped all my buttons and he ripped my blouse/ He Monica Lewinsky’d all on my gown.” Advertisement Related Video Naturally, the Beyhive proceeded to swarm Lewinsky after spotting the tweet, with ...
Eddie Vedder Joins The Strokes for “Juicebox” in Seattle: Watch
The Strokes played the first of several shows opening for Red Hot Chili Peppers at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park on Wednesday night. As luck would have it, Eddie Vedder was back in town following Pearl Jam’s own recent European jaunt, and he sat in with The Strokes for a performance of “Juicebox.” Watch fan-captured footage of the on-stage collaboration below. The Strokes and Vedder have shared the stage on numerous occasions, including at PJ20 in 2011 and at Ohana Fest in 2019. Vedder and Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme also collaborated with The Strokes on a 2006 cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy Mercy Me.” It’s great to see Vedder back in action, as Pearl Jam were recently forced to cancel several shows on their European tour after the singer’s voice was damaged by wildfires in France. He an...
Stella Donnelly Asks “How Was Your Day?” on New Single: Stream
Maybe the only thing more terrifying than staying single forever is winding up in a relationship that’s grown stale. Stella Donnelly navigates the woes of a spark that’s burned out on today’s new single “How Was Your Day?,” another sample of her forthcoming album Flood. Inspired by watching numerous romantic relationships succumb to ennui throughout the pandemic, “How Was Your Day?” is quintessential Donnelly, blithely switching between her perky singing voice and deadpan spoken word. “Level-headedness has made way for a disastrous love,” she rants over an upbeat jangle. “I know it, you know it.” You can almost imagine her pacing around a living room mid-argument to her partner’s chagrin. “This is my attempt at building a song out of a very specific dynamic between two monogamously in...
The 1975 Announce Tour Dates, Ponder “Happiness” on New Single: Stream
The 1975 have shared another sample of their upcoming album, Being Funny in a Foreign Language, ahead of its October 14th release. Entitled “Happiness,” the song is a shimmering, certified dance-floor jam that evokes the adrenaline rush of falling in love. Watch the song’s music video below. UPDATE: The 1975 have also mapped out a North American tour kicking off in November (get tickets here). On “Happiness,” The 1975 frontman Matty Healy’s pop star vocals depict the lengths to which he’d go just for the attention of his love interest: “Oh, oh, I would go blind just to see you/ I’d go too far just to have you near.” Near the end of the track, Healy repeats “I’ll never love again,” a sentiment that carries both the relief of having found the one and the fear of losing it all....
Whitmer Thomas Announces New Album The Older I Get the Funnier I Was, 2022 Tour Dates
Whitmer Thomas has unveiled his new album, The Older I Get the Funnier I Was, as the follow-up to his March EP Can’t Believe You’re Happy Here. It was produced by Jay Som’s Melina Duterte and arrives October 21st. The comedian-musician will embark on a newly-announced Fall 2022 North American tour directly after (grab your tickets here). The Older I Get features contributions from Duterte, Al Menne of Great Grandpa, Christian Lee Hutson, and Phoebe Bridgers’ guitarist Harrison Whitford. It was partially inspired by the reaction to Thomas’ acclaimed 2020 HBO special The Golden One — particularly the surprisingly muted response from residents of Alabama where most of his coming-of-age material was set. In a statement, he shared, “In the years I’d been performing that show, I’d been romantici...
