Alternative Music
The Used’s Bert McCracken Seeks Mental Health Treatment, Band Cancels Festival Gigs
The Used singer Bert McCracken has announced that he will seek professional treatment for mental health struggles. As a result, the band has canceled its scheduled gigs at the Slam Dunk festival slated for this coming weekend (June 3rd and 4th) in the UK. McCracken revealed his current “struggle with mental health” via the band’s social pages on Tuesday (May 31st), apologizing for skipping the high-profile festival performances while asserting that it’s the best decision for his personal well-being. The singer’s full statement reads as follows: “I have always been open about my struggle with mental health and have recently found myself facing new and overwhelming challenges. For this reason, I won’t be able to play the upcoming shows at Slam Dunk. I am so sorry but needed to make this deci...
Pauly Shore Teases Possible Encino Man Sequel: “I Would Do It for the Fans”
Love them or hate them, remakes, reboots, and revivals are having a moment in Hollywood and on streaming. Disney+ might be cashing in next with a sequel to 1992’s Encino Man, according to one of the film’s stars, Pauly Shore. Speaking in an oral history of the film with Inverse, the actor added that if his co-stars Brendan Fraser and Sean Astin were on board, he might be down for a remake. “I know Disney+ is talking about possibly doing the sequel,” Shore said. “If they want me to do it and the script was right and Brendan and Sean were on board and it made sense, I would do it for the fans! It’s what George [Zaloom, who wrote Encino Man] has been working on. So ask him about it.” When asked, Zaloom offered little in terms of clearing the air: “If you ask me ‘Is there going to be anot...
How Accurate Is the Sex Pistols Show Pistol? Here’s a Fact Check
This week’s release of Pistol, FX’s six-part limited series about the short existence of U.K. punk group Sex Pistols helmed by Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle, has been met with excitement by fans and some serious trepidation by critics. So far, reviews have been mixed (for the record, we liked it) but even among the pans, one aspect that nearly all the writers seem to approve of is the show’s attention to detail. The team behind Pistol went above and beyond to replicate the look and feel of mid-’70s London, the groundbreaking fashion designs of Vivienne Westwood, and the physical mannerisms of the real-life people being portrayed on screen. As for the story being told in Pistol — a group of striving lower-class Londoners who through sheer chutzpah and the machinations of their manager ...
Actor Joe Quinn “Listened to a Lot of Heavy Metal” to Prep for Breakout Stranger Things Character Eddie Munson
Those of us who’ve watched all or some of the recently premiered Volume 1 of Stranger Things Season 4 have been captivated by the new character Eddie Munson, an ’80s metalhead who is also a Dungeons & Dragons freak. Munson is played by British actor Joe Quinn, who revealed in a new interview that he immersed himself in heavy metal music to prepare for the role. Without revealing any spoilers (except for those who absolutely don’t want to know any details), the character of Eddie leads a Dungeons & Dragons club at Hawkins High School. His appearance screams ’80s metal, with long hair and a denim jacket that has a Dio back patch and various band pins. Quinn, who previously had a small role on Game of Thrones, attempted to immerse himself into the Stranger Things role via Dungeon...
Melvins Announce Fall 2022 “Five Legged Tour”
The Melvins have a heavy year of touring ahead. Just weeks after announcing the summer “Electric Roach Tour,” the sludge veterans have announced an additional 43 dates for Fall 2022, dubbed “The Five Legged Tour.” Beginning September 5th in San Francisco, the US trek makes a point to give fans ample opportunities to see The Melvins. King Buzzo and company have sketched out several shows in multiple states, including a healthy eight stops across California and six stops in Florida. As Osbourne said in a statement, “Nationwide once again! Nothing like touring the USA in the fall. Everyone’s a winner!” “The Five Legged Tour” wraps up October 29th at The Halloween Freakout Festival in Los Angeles. Austin psych rockers We Are the Asteroid lend support on all dates. Tickets to the tour become av...
Ukranian Eurovision Winners Sell Trophy to Crypto Exchange for $900,000 to Buy Drones for Military
Despite the best efforts of Russian hackers, Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra were the winners at Eurovision 2022. To aid their home country’s military against the Russian invasion, the group auctioned off their trophy on Sunday and raised $900,000. “You guys are amazing!” Kalush Orchestra wrote Facebook following the sale. “We appreciate each and every one of you who donated to this auction and a special thanks to the team [of cryptocurrency exchange platform] Whitebit who purchased the trophy for $900,000 and are now the rightful owners of our trophy.” Kalush Orchestra frontman Oleh Psiuk had previously announced on Instagram that proceeds from selling the crystal microphone would be used to purchase three Ukraine-made PD-2 drone systems. According to Fortune, Psiuk also raised another $370,00...
See the Prosthetics That Might Win Bradley Cooper an Oscar in Leonard Bernstein Biopic Maestro
Academy Award voters love a good prosthetic, and plastic-aided transformations have garnered Oscars for Robert De Niro, Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, and more. Perhaps we’ll soon be adding Bradley Cooper’s name to that list; the many times-nominated superstar is directing himself in the Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro, and first look photos show him wearing a double-sized nose, jowls that hang down over his chest like a bronze chain, and eyebrows so bushy they tried to invade Iraq. Maestro is produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment and Martin Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions. Cooper himself co-wrote the script with Josh Singer, and he’ll be starring opposite Carey Mulligan as Felicia Montealegre, Chilean actress and Bernstein’s wife. Although Bernstein is best rememb...
Bo Burnham Releases 63 Minutes of Unreleased Footage from Inside: Watch
Bo Burnham has shared 63 minutes of unreleased outtakes from his Emmy Award-winning comedy special, Inside. What’s more, a deluxe edition of the special’s companion album, Inside (The Songs), will be released on June 3rd. Burnham shared his quarantine special Inside in May 2021, and it quickly became a pandemic sensation. Filmed at the same house that Wes Craven used for the exterior of A Nightmare on Elm Street, the special was less a traditional comedy special than a musical exploration of an unravelling mind. It went on to win Emmy Awards for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, Outstanding Music Direction, and Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media for “All Eyes on Me.” Consequence also honored Burnham by...
The National Debut Three New Songs in Spain: Watch
Over the weekend, The National kicked off their first tour since COVID-19 hit, and they marked the occasion by debuting three new songs. Performing in Pamplona, Spain on May 28th, Matt Berninger and company performed hits like “Bloodbuzz Ohio” and “Day I Die” in between the new tracks, dubbed “Grease In Your Hair (Birdie),” “Tropic Morning News (Havisham),” and “Bathwater (Mount Auburn).” Surprisingly, they didn’t perform the December single “Somebody Desperate,” but perhaps the songs that did make the band’s set more accurately preview the band’s follow-up to 2019’s I Am Easy to Find. Speaking of which, Bryce Dessner spoke about the band’s next album in an interview with The Up Coming. “It’s all very exciting: it kind of feels back to the classic National sound in a way, which was r...
Robert Fripp and Toyah Rip Through Hole’s “Celebrity Skin”: Watch
Rock and roll couple Robert Fripp and Toyah are back with yet another eyebrow-raising cover, as this week they’ve tackled Hole’s 1998 classic “Celebrity Skin.” Backed by hand-painted signs declaring “Celebrity Fripp” and “Hail Queen Courtney,” Fripp’s crunchy power chords and Toyah’s operatic vocals manage to make “Celebrity Skin” sound lo-fi and extra dramatic all at once. Even better, Toyah — always one for elaborate costumes — dons a pink dress that looks exactly like something Love herself would’ve worn in her Hollywood actress/pop star era. The clip ends with a few wholesome outtakes, where Fripp punctuates every bum note with an impassioned “Bollocks!” Watch the whole grungy performance below. Fripp and Toyah are the second stars to cover Hole as of late, as Doja Cat recently took on...
Boston Calling 2022 Recap: Overcoming a Curse of Storms and Cancellations
Editor’s Note: Check out our complete coverage of Nine Inch Nails’ Friday night headlining set here, and see a photo gallery from all three days of Boston Calling 2022 here. Is the 2022 festival season cursed? With many events coming back for the first time in three years, there’s a rash of bad luck running through the landscape. From bad weather to artist cancellations to simply mediocre lineups, few events have been immune to misfortune in the early days of summer. Boston Calling was perhaps hit harder than most — by no fault of its own, mind you. If there’s one thing the annual Memorial Day Weekend event could have done to avoid being caught in this whirlwind of crappy luck it would be not announcing headliners a year in advance. Even without a pandemic, situations change, something fes...
Dave Navarro Shares Experience with Long COVID: “The Fatigue and Isolation Is Pretty Awful”
Dave Navarro revealed in a since-deleted Instagram post that he’s been “sick since December” due to the longterm effects of COVID-19. “So yeah, I’m one of the ones who came down with the ‘long haul covid,’” Navarro said (via Ultimate Classic Rock).. “Been sick since December and supposedly will be back to my old self in… nobody knows how long.” Long COVID refers to symptoms felt long after the initial contraction of COVID-19, including fatigue, cough and difficulty breathing, and brain fog. In his post, Navarro offered words of support for those experiencing the illness. “If there are any of you who are still suffering long after your negative results, I’m just saying you aren’t alone,” he said. “The fatigue and isolation is pretty awful but try to spend your time with the ones you love an...
