Alternative Music
John Lydon, Who Wrote “Anarchy in the U.K.,” Says “Anarchy Is a Terrible Idea”
By this point, John Lydon’s status as a one-time punk pioneer has been overshadowed by a series of right-leaning political faux pas. But perhaps unsurprisingly, the man once known as Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten has now gone so far as to retract the message of his band’s debut single “Anarchy in the U.K.,” saying that he isn’t an anarchist at all. “Anarchy is a terrible idea,” Lydon wrote in a new essay for The Times. “Let’s get that clear. I’m not an anarchist. And I’m amazed that there are websites out there — .org anarchist sites — funded fully by the corporate hand and yet ranting on about being outside the shitstorm. It’s preposterous. And they’re doing it in designer Dr. Martens, clever little rucksacks and nicely manufactured balaclavas.” Just in time for Queen Elizabeth II’s ...
Angel Olsen Delivers Country-Sized Emotions on Big Time
Angel Olsen has never repeated herself. Her debut Half Way Home introduced Olsen as a psych-folk songwriter with a powerhouse voice, before the lo-fi indie of Burn Your Fire For No Witness reframed her within the context of a band. Two years later, My Woman upped the production value and saw Olsen at her most intense and confrontational. All Mirrors wiped clean any pre-conceptions of Olsen, and even when she literally repeated herself with Whole New Mess, it felt like an entirely new statement. Since the one-two punch of All Mirrors and Whole New Mess, Olsen has kept fans guessing on which direction she might be headed next. In 2021, she released her Sharon Van Etten collaboration “Like I Used To,” a victory lap of an indie rock song for two of the genre’s most accomplished singer-songwrit...
Not Even Post Malone Can Save Post Malone on Twelve Carat Toothache
Twelve Carat Toothache (out today, June 3rd) is Post Malone‘s shortest album to date. And according to Posty, this is a deliberate play to resist the overloaded track lists that dominate streaming platforms; “I’ve made a lot of compromises, especially musically, but now I don’t feel like I want to anymore,” he said in a Billboard cover story back in January, “I don’t need a No. 1; that doesn’t matter to me no more, and at a point, it did.” This points to a few different potential outcomes for his fourth studio album — now that Post Malone has indeed scored his multiple No. 1s, ascended to true headliner status, and became a “sensitive bad boy” icon, taking some of that pressure off to make hit after hit could absolutely work in his favor. If he has nothing to lose at this point in his some...
Fire Island Review: A Delicious Jane Austen-Infused Rom-Com That Matches the Master’s Wit
The Pitch: Right from the jump, thanks to the voiceover of Noah (Joel Kim Booster) and a carefully planted copy of Pride and Prejudice, Fire Island tells you what it’s going to be — a retelling of the Jane Austen classic tale, relocated to a place and time that Jane Austen would have had a very hard time imagining: the titular gay party mecca centered in the hamlets of Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines. Noah and his friends (including Matt Rogers, Tomás Matos, and Torian Miller) are making their annual trek to the island for a week of fun, sun, drugs, dancing, and most importantly — hooking up. But this year, things are a bit different. For one thing, their beloved adoptive mom Erin (Margaret Cho) has to sell her house on the island soon, giving this trip an air of finality. And also, Noa...
Jerrod Carmichael Slams Cancel Culture: “That’s Just to Give Boring People Something Interesting to Talk About”
Breaking news: A famous comedian has an opinion about cancel culture. Jerrod Carmichael is the latest funnyman to chime in on the topic, saying during a new roundtable interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he thinks “cancelation” is just coinage “to give boring people something interesting to talk about.” The interview in question featured Carmichael alongside fellow TV comedians Danny McBride, Michael Che, Will Forte, Jake Johnson, and Bowen Yang. The topic of cancel culture arose when interviewer Lacey Rose asked Che about a recent episode of his show That Damn Michael Che, during which the SNL star explored what being “canceled” might actually feel like. “I think the lie that we tell each other, and ourselves, is that we don’t feel [being canceled],” but we...
Judge Declares Young Thug a Potential “Danger to the Community,” Denies Request for Bond
Young Thug was denied bond by a Fulton County, Georgia judge on Thursday (June 2nd). After an hours-long hearing, the rapper — who was arrested last month on gang activity and racketeering charges — was deemed a potential danger to the Atlanta community and case witnesses. As The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, Young Thug (born Jeffery Williams) pleaded not guilty during the hearing and his attorneys promised to hire a team of off-duty law enforcement officers to monitor his activity if he was allowed to enter house arrest. Williams’ attorney, Brian Steel, said the rapper was also willing to to wear an ankle monitor, undergo regular drug tests, and surrender his cellphone and passport. Both Machine Gun Kelly and 300 Entertainment co-founder Kevin Liles spoke on Young Thug’s behalf du...
Adam Sandler Opts for the Lay Up with Broad Sports Drama Hustle: Review
The Pitch: In his first major dramatic outing since 2019’s Uncut Gems, Adam Sandler returns to the arena of basketball, this time as Stanley Sugarman, a depressed but whip-smart scout for the Philadelphia 76ers. Unlike the impulsive, materialistic Howard Ratner, Sugarman is a selfless and honest working man, tirelessly trotting around the world to bring the best of the best to the NBA. Even with his passion for the game, Sugarman’s intense drive causes friction both at work and at home. His stubborn approach drives a wedge between him and his slimy boss Vin (Ben Foster) and his constant international traveling costs him quality family time with his supportive wife Teresa (Queen Latifah) and their aspiring-filmmaker daughter (Jordan Hull). On one lucky scouting trip to Spain, Sugarman comes...
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Kick Off Tour with Led Zeppelin and Everly Brothers Covers: Setlist + Video
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss kicked off their Raise the Roof world tour on Thursday (June 1st) in Canandaigua, New York, where they performed tracks from their two collaborative albums and even a few Led Zeppelin classics. Watch videos from the concert and see the full setlist below. Beginning with “Rich Woman,” the Dorothy LaBostrie and McKinley Millet-penned track that opened the duo’s 2007 smash Raising Sand, Plant and Krauss went on to perform cuts like The Everly Brothers’ “The Price of Love” and Raise the Roof original “High and Lonesome.” Perhaps most exciting, however, was their duet of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll,” which Plant and Krauss had never before performed together. Sharing vocal duties, the pair countrified the song with a boisterous violin and shu...
Harry Styles Brings Back Apple’s Iconic Silhouette Ad, Donates Paycheck to IRC
Harry Styles appears in a new ad for Apple Airpods, a visually striking commercial which harkens back to the company’s old-school days of advertising the iPod with dancing silhouettes. Even better than this hit of nostalgia, the pop star donated his paycheck to the International Rescue Committee. The IRC, a global humanitarian aid organization, tweeted its thanks to Styles and Apple on June 2nd. “From all of us at the IRC: Thank you to @Harry_Styles and @Apple for your generous donation to the IRC,” the organization said. “Working in more than 40 countries, your support will help us reach even more refugees and people in need in the world’s toughest places. Honored to have your support!” The donation comes as the IRC aids the more than six million refugees who have fled Ukraine in recent m...
Tame Impala Covers The Strokes’ “Last Nite” at Primavera Sound: Watch
After a member of The Strokes tested positive for COVID-19, the band was forced to postpone its appearance at Primavera Sound this weekend. To help fill the void, Tame Impala covered “Last Nite” during their own headlining set on Friday night. Watch fan-captured footage below. The Strokes were originally set to headline Primavera Sound on Saturday, but were forced to postpone their appearance until next weekend due to “an ongoing positive COVID-19 case in the band.” (The Strokes were also forced to scrap last weekend’s set at Boston Calling; they were replaced by Nine Inch Nails at the last minute.) As of now, The Strokes are set to play Primavera Sound on Saturday, June 10th. They’re also confirmed to play Los Angeles’ This Ain’t No Picnic in September. Advertisement Editor’s Note: Visit ...
Post Malone Unveils New Album twelve carat toothache: Stream
Post Malone has released his long-awaited album twelve carat toothache via Mercury Records/Republic Records. Stream the LP below on Apple Music and Spotify. Led by The Weeknd duet “One Right Now” and the Roddy Ricch-assisted “Cooped Up,” the studio set follows Posty’s hit third LP Hollywood’s Bleeding, which rocketed to the top of the charts to become his second career No. 1 album upon its September 2019 release. Twelve carat toothache is chock full of other collaborations as well — from “I Like You (A Happier Song) with Doja Cat and its antithesis with Gunna, “I Cannot Be (A Sadder Song) to “Love/Hate Letter to Alcohol” with Fleet Foxes, and “Wasting Angels” with The Kid LAROI. Advertisement Related Video “I want to make an album that will uplift and show that people are not alone in thei...
St. Vincent Covers “Funkytown” for Minions: The Rise of Gru Soundtrack: Stream
St. Vincent is going straight to “Funkytown.” Today, Annie Clark has unveiled her cover of the Lipps Inc. classic for the soundtrack to Minions: The Rise of Gru. Take a listen below. “Won’t you take me to funkytown?/ Won’t you take me to funkytown?/ Won’t take me to funkyto-own?/ Won’t you take me to funkytown?” she asks again and again with a healthy amount of vocoder over a bouncing, synth-driven beat produced by Jack Antonoff. The song will be featured in the upcoming sequel to 2015’s Minions, which promises to tell “the origin story of how Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), the world’s greatest supervillain, first met his iconic Minions, forged cinema’s most despicable crew and faced off against the most unstoppable criminal force ever assembled,” all set in the flash of the 1970s. Advertis...
