Alternative Music
Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek’s Uhura Dead at 89
Nichelle Nichols, immortal forever as the original Nyota Uhura of Star Trek, has died at the age of 89. The actress was renowned not just for her decades playing the character in the original television series as well as subsequent feature films, but also for her activism and volunteer work. Her legacy includes encouraging entire generations of diverse candidates, including women and people of color, to explore careers in STEM. Nichols was originally cast as the groundbreaking crew member of the U.S.S. Enterprise in 1966, and infamously considered leaving the show in its first year, before being talked into staying on the show by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King had told her that Uhura was an invaluable role model for young Black women, a fact which might be considered anecdotal — except fo...
R.I.P. Pat Carroll, Who Voiced Ursula in The Little Mermaid, Dead at 95
Pat Carroll, who famously voiced the villainous Ursula in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, has died at the age of 95. According to Deadline, Carroll passed away on July 30th while recovering from pneumonia. Carroll’s career spanned over seven decades, beginning with her work as a a civilian actress technician in the United States Army in the 1940s. Upon leaving the military, Carroll became a mainstay in the world of TV variety shows, appearing on programs like The Steve Allen Show, The Red Skelton Show, and The Carol Burnett Show. Notably, her work on Caesar’s Hour earned her an Emmy Award in 1956. Related Video In the late 1970s, Carroll’s one-woman theater show on on Gertrude Stein earned universal praise, including a Grammy for Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama. Advertisement Carroll c...
Netflix Sues The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Creators for Copyright Infringement
A scandal worthy of Lady Whistledown’s poisoned pen. On Friday, Netflix filed a lawsuit against the creators of The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical for copyright infringement. In the court papers, which were filed in a Washington DC District Court, the streamer alleges duo Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear “have taken valuable intellectual property from the Netflix original series Bridgerton to build an international brand for themselves.” “Bridgerton reflects the creative work and hard-earned success of hundreds of artists and Netflix employees,” the court filing reads. “Netflix owns the exclusive right to create Bridgerton songs, musicals, or any other derivative works based on Bridgerton. Barlow & Bear cannot take that right — made valuable by others’ hard work — for themse...
Lollapalooza 2022 Day Three Recap and Photos: J. Cole, Turnstile, Dashboard Confessional & More
Day three of Lollapalooza 2022 took place on Saturday, July 30th, with more incredible acts taking the stages at Grant Park. Headlined by J. Cole, the day saw acts like Big Sean, Turnstile, Wallows, and Dashboard Confessional rock the crowd. Also performing on Saturday were the likes of Fletcher, Alexander 23, and Meet Me @ The Altar. Advertisement If you missed all the action, you can relive it vicariously through our extensive Lollapalooza day three photo gallery below. Revisit our recaps from day one and day two, and stay tuned for our full coverage of the remainder of the festival. Advertisement [flexi-common-toolbar] [flexi-form class=”flexi_form_style” title=”Submit to Flexi” name=”my_form” ajax=”true”][flexi-form-tag type=”post_t...
Lil Durk Hospitalized After Being Struck in the Face by Pyrotechnic at Lollapalooza
A major accident befell Lil Durk during his Lollapalooza set on Saturday, July 30th when an onstage pyrotechnic blew up in his face. In fan-captured video of the performance, the “What Happened to Virgil” rapper can be seen covering his face with his T-shirt after walking through the blast, but ended up finishing his full set after taking a moment to reorient himself. (During the performance, Lil Durk also had what appears to be milk inexplicably thrown at him from the crowd.) However, he revealed on Instagram later in the day that he actually went to the hospital upon leaving the festival, posting a selfie with a mask on and his eye covered in a giant bandage. “Due to the incident that happened at Lollapalooza in Chicago on stage, I’ma take a break & focus on my health. I finished my ...
Arcade Fire Kick Off Tour with Heart and Soul at Montreal’s Osheaga Festival: Review
Arcade Fire pick and choose their moments very carefully. It’s fitting that the Montreal band decided to release their first album in five years, the ambitious and heartfelt WE, in a pandemic-affected universe, urging us to relish in the fact that we are still, in fact, alive. It’s even more fitting that Arcade Fire began their extensive WE tour in Montreal, the band’s birthplace, at Osheaga Festival, which is celebrating its first year back since 2019. However, Arcade Fire’s appearance at Osheaga on Friday night (July 29th) was a stroke of good and bad luck: originally scheduled to headline were Foo Fighters, who cancelled all their tour dates after the untimely death of drummer Taylor Hawkins. But nabbing Arcade Fire as a replacement headliner is an excellent booking, and their pres...
Green Day Play a Whole Bunch of Rarities at Surprise Chicago Club Show
Ahead of their headlining performance at Lollapalooza on Sunday, Green Day played an imitate warmup show at Chicago’s Metro on Friday night. For fans who managed to score a ticket to the 1,100-persons capacity venue, they witnessed a career-spanning 28-song set that included a number of live rarities. Green Day seemingly treated the night as akin to a club show from their early days, playing most material from early albums like Kerplunk, Dookie, Insomniac, and Warning. Notably, the band performed “Warning” and “Church on Sunday” for the first time since 2001. They also delivered the first full band performance of “Watsername” since 2005. Advertisement Related Video The setlist also included “Letterbomb,” “Private Ale,” “Christie Road,” “One of My Lies,” “Geek Stink Breath,” and “J.A.R.” — ...
R.I.P. Jim Sohns, Founding Vocalist of The Shadows of Knight Dead at 75
Jim Sohns, co-founder and vocalist of the garage rock band The Shadows of Knight, died on July 29th. He was 75. Sohns died after a suffering a stroke on July 22nd, according to a statement via The Shadows of Knight’s Facebook page. His daughter, Rachael, confirmed the news: “Absolutely devastated,” the statement reads. “My thoughts go out to Jimy’s family and friends at this time. My best friend is gone, and I will miss running this page with him. His legend will live on forever.” Born James Alan Sohns in 1946, Sohns began recording with The Shadows of Knight in 1965. Inspired by British rock bands of the era like The Animals as well as the blues scene from their Chicago hometown, The Shadows of Knight were best known for their 1965 recording of Van Morrison’s “Gloria.” Advertisement Relat...
Lollapalooza 2022 Day Two Recap and Photos: Dua Lipa, Wet Leg, MUNA & More
Lollapalooza 2022 day two went down on Friday, July 29th, and we’ve got the photos to prove it. The Chicago festival brought a ton of top tier talent to Grant Park, from headliner Dua Lipa to rising stars like Genesis Owusu and The Regrettes. The day also brought strong sets from indie pop favorites like King Princess and MUNA, hip-hop both classic (Don Toliver) and alternative (Genesis Owusu), and even former Artists of the Month like Wet Leg. Advertisement It was another glorious day fill with live music, and you can check out our complete photo gallery from Lollapalooza day two below. Revisit our day one recap, and stay tuned for our full coverage of the remainder of the festival. <img data-lazy-fallback="1" data-attachment-id="1229690" data-orig-file="https:...
Tom Morello Praises 10-Year-Old Guitarist Ludovick Tshiswaka: “Some of the Best Guitar Playing I’ve Witnessed”
If your shredding skills have gotten a nod from Tom Morello before you’re even old enough to drive a car, it’s safe to say you probably have a bright future ahead. The Rage Against the Machine guitarist took to Twitter yesterday to praise “some of the best guitar playing” he’s heard recently, which comes from a 10-year-old legend in the making named Ludovick Tshiswaka. Tshiswaka is a Brazilian-Congolese musician and producer whose cover videos on Instagram and YouTube have garnered a moderate social media following. Other music-related accounts tend to circulate his videos, too, which is how Morello came across him: “Well that’s some of the best guitar playing I’ve witnessed in quite some time,” he said, quote-tweeting a clip of Tshiswaka effortlessly playing some jazz licks over a backing...
Drake Duets “I’m Like a Bird” with Nelly Furtado at Toronto Show: Watch
America’s favorite Canadian Drake hosted a big night of music on Thursday (July 28th) called All Canadian North Stars, a concert spotlighting some of his home country’s best hip-hop exports. As a surprise during his October World Weekend festival, the rapper brought out 2000s pop icon Nelly Furtado to duet her 2000 hit “I’m Like a Bird.” “Right now I need you to sing as loud as you possibly can, because this right here took a lot,” Drizzy told the crowd at the Toronto venue HISTORY. “This next person’s music changed my life so much. I love her with all my heart.” Cue Furtado’s entrance to her unforgettable smash “Promiscuous,” which immediately set the crowd into a frenzy. Considering the singer hasn’t toured since 2017, the reaction feels very appropriate. Drake and Furtado then led the c...
Late Metallica Bassist Cliff Burton Immortalized with New Collectible Statue
Late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton is being immortalized with a new KnuckleBonz Iconz collectible statue. The finely detailed statues are limited to 3,000 pieces and retail for $164. They’re currently in production with an anticipated ship date of early 2023. A portion of the proceeds will support the Cliff Burton Music Scholarship Fund. The KnuckleBonz statues are hand-crafted by artists using “a fine-arts process where each figure is hand-cast, painted, and numbered.” The 1/9 scale figures stand 8.5 to 9 inches tall and come with a certificate of authenticity on the base. Advertisement Related Video “Working on this design allowed us to go back to the foundations of thrash and this is our way to pay tribute to the ferocity and brilliance of Cliff Burton,” said KnuckleBonz CEO/creative d...
