Alternative Music
Tim Heidecker Unveils New Song “Punch in the Gut”: Stream
Tim Heidecker is back with “Punch in the Gut,” a new single from his forthcoming album, High School. Listen to the twangy track below. High School unsurprisingly chronicles the trials and tribulations of adolescence, and “Punch in the Gut” takes us back to the type of schoolyard fight scene you’d see in a network sitcom — with an unfortunate twist. “This one started while thinking about how Warren Zevon might approach a high school parking lot, high noon style showdown,” Heidecker explained in a statement. “But as I worked it, I recalled an incident where a friend of mine was visiting my school and was falsely accused of stealing. He was Black and it felt like profiling to me.” Heidecker describes the incident over chiming, back-and-forth guitars, singing about his friend’s doome...
NASA Scientists Hope to Send Nudes in Message to Aliens
Leave it to NASA to come up with a new way to send unsolicited nudes. In a recent study proposing a new type of message to beam to intelligent life forms, scientists shared a slide containing a naked photo of a man and a woman. Named A Beacon in the Galaxy, the message was laid out in a paper written by Jonathan Jiang, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and his colleagues. The team hopes to build on past attempts to connect with extraterrestrials through a message written in binary code that contains basic concepts in mathematics, chemistry, and biology. One of the slides is titled “Illustrations of the Human Form,” and it contains a pixelated man and woman standing next to each other with nary a piece of clothing in sight. On one side of the “depiction of human mal...
Janelle Monaé to Play Josephine Baker in A24 Series De La Resistance
Janelle Monaé is set to portray cabaret singer-turned secret agent and civil rights activist Josephine Baker in A24’s forthcoming television series De La Resistance, Deadline reports. Created and run by Jennifer Yale (Legion, Outlander), De La Resistance follows Baker’s career as a barrier-breaking entertainer and a World War II secret agent for the French Resistance. Born in America but loyal to France, Baker performed at the Folies Bergère in Paris and was the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture, the 1927 silent film Siren of the Tropics. In 1939, she was recruited into France’s military intelligence agency, where she socialized with Germans at embassies, ministries, and night clubs to gain information for the war effort. She was later award...
Fans of Garth Brooks Cause Small Earthquake During LSU Concert
Since his version of “Callin’ Baton Rouge” doubles at LSU’s unofficial anthem, Garth Brooks must have expected his performance of the country standard at Tiger Stadium would get fans shaking in their boots. But even he couldn’t have predicted it would cause a literal earthquake captured by the school’s seismograph. Around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday night, Brooks teased the crowd of more than 100,000 by saying, “I have to ask you, Baton Rouge? Is it time?” Once the opening strains of the fiddle hit, the crowd proceeded to lose their shit while singing in unison, clapping their hands, and stomping their feet. In the process, they registered a small earthquake on a seismograph set up in anticipation of the performance. “The noise level in the stadium was insane!” wrote one attendee on Faceboo...
Wu-Tang Clan Announce Wu-Tang Forever 25th Anniversary Collection
Wu-Tang Clan’s sophomore album, Wu-Tang Forever, is celebrating its 25th birthday this June. In honor of the occasion, Get On Down and Legacy Recordings have announced a special anniversary collection, giving Wu-Tang fans even more reason to love the 1997 gem. There’s a lot coming your way from Wu-Tang: The collection includes a 4xLP vinyl reissue of Wu-Tang Forever with a lyric booklet, a silver colored 7-inch single of “Triumph” with “Heaterz” as the B-side in a picture sleeve, and a reissue of the double cassette in a slip case. Available to pre-order now, the bundle will cost you $85.45, though you can also purchase the LPs, 7-inch, and cassettes separately. The bundle and standalone cassettes are expected to ship in late July 2022, while the vinyl reissue and 7-inch single are ex...
Black Star’s No Fear of Time Proves Even 24 Years Is Just a Number for Hip-Hop Greats
Time is crazy, right? It’s the one thing we never have enough of and, sometimes, can’t wait to have in the rearview mirror. Time is on the mind of Black Star, the duo who surprised hip-hip 24 years ago with a debut album still spoken about in hushed tones today. Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey (f.k.a. Mos Def) capitalized on that success with their own solo careers. Still, fans kept asking — sometimes incessantly — where’s the next Black Star album? After two decades, the day finally arrived as the Brooklyn group released their sophomore album, No Fear of Time (currently only available on Luminary). While mere mortals might quake in their boots simply thinking about the prospect of releasing a new record so many years after a landmark debut and finding a way to match those lofty expectations, K...
Thundercat Announces 2022 Headlining Tour Dates
Thundercat has announced a number of new headlining tour dates to go along with his upcoming stint opening for Red Hot Chili Peppers. Between July and September, the funk maestro will play shows in cities like Las Vegas, Vancouver, Milwaukee, Richmond, New Orleans, and Houston. Check out the tour’s full schedule below. Tickets for the newly announced dates go on sale Friday, May 6th at 10:00 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster. A Live Nation pre-sale will proceed the public on-sale on May 5th (use code FINALE). Advertisement Related Video The upcoming dates come in support of Thundercat’s latest album, 2020’s It Is What It Is. Thundercat 2022 Tour Dates:05/16 – Tokyo, JP @ Ebisu Garden Hall05/17 – Osaka, JP @ Big Cat05/18 – Nagoya, JP @ Club Quattro06/04 – Seville, ES @ Estadio Olimpico de la...
Rob Halford on Judas Priest’s Rock Hall Induction: “That’s the Blessing We’ve All Been Waiting For”
Judas Priest are set to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2022. The legendary British metal band is receiving the Musical Excellence Award — the same award that saw the posthumous induction of Randy Rhoads last year. Although Judas Priest weren’t voted in by the Hall’s proper voting body, frontman Rob Halford called the induction a “blessing.” “It’s a very, very important institution for recognizing various people that have been in music since music began, right from the beginning of rock ‘n’ roll,” Halford told Billboard. “To be part of that is, like, wow. And glory hallelujah, there’s another metal band in now. That’s the blessing we’ve all been waiting for.” Advertisement Related Video Judas Priest were a constant on the Hall’s fan ballot for years ...
Shamir Announces 2022 Headlining North American Tour
Shamir is embarking on a 2022 headlining tour in support of his stellar album Heterosexuality. After kicking off on July 20th with a pair of rescheduled dates supporting Courtney Barnett, the summer trek will proceed with headlining stops in Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Washington, DC before wrapping on August 18th in Denver. A rotating cast of Evil, Poolblood, Creeping Charlie, Fashion Club, Lance Redeker, and Spyca will serve as openers. See the full itinerary and tour poster below the jump. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 6th at 10:00 a.m. local time. Grab yours via Ticketmaster. Related Video As a preview of what’s to come, Shamir released a live performance video of the Heterosexuality cut “Cold Brew.” Watch the enthralling clip below. Advertisement Heterosexua...
Beach Bunny Receive a Broadcast from Bob Odenkirk in New “Karaoke” Video: Watch
Beach Bunny are gearing up to share their sophomore album Emotional Creature. But before it’s out July 22nd, the Chicago power-pop quartet have unveiled the record’s third single “Karaoke” today, as well as its galactic music video that features an out-of-this-world cameo from a longtime fan of the band: Bob Odenkirk. “Karaoke” is a sun-soaked guitar pop jam and an instant earworm. Its lyrics navigate the sweet nuances of a crush in its early stages, where you understand just enough about someone to feel that sense of overwhelming attraction while still maintaining a sense of playful mystery. “I learn all the words to your daydreams/ Like I’m trying to sing karaoke,” bandleader Lili Trifilio sings, before ushering in a ba-ba-ba chorus that immediately encourages you to sing along. “[‘...
Bob Dylan to Release New Version of “Subterranean Homesick Blues”
Bob Dylan is set to release a newly recorded version of “Subterranean Homesick Blues” on Friday, May 6th. The re-recording is tied to a new audio project from legendary producer T Bone Burnett called Iconic Originals. Specifically, Burnett has developed a new analogue sound technology that he says “possesses a depth, resonance and sonic fidelity that exceeds that of vinyl, CD, streaming or any other means of experiencing recorded music.” To launch the project, Burnett enlisted Dylan to re-record some of his most iconic songs. “An Ionic Original is the pinnacle of recorded sound,” Burnett said in a statement. “It is archival quality. It is future proof. It is one of one. Not only is an Ionic Original the equivalent of a painting, it is a painting. It is lacquer painted onto an aluminum disc...
Daniel Radcliffe Stars as “Weird Al” Yankovic in First Trailer for Upcoming Biopic: Watch
Daniel Radcliffe stars as “Weird Al” Yankovic in an upcoming biopic about the legendary musician, comedian, and parodist. Ahead of the film’s premiere this fall, the first teaser trailer has been released. Watch it below. The film, aptly titled WEIRD: The ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Story, was written by Yankovic himself alongside Eric Appel, who also serves as the film’s director. The biopic “holds nothing back, exploring every facet of Yankovic’s life, from his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like ‘Eat It’ and ‘Like a Surgeon’ to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle,” promises a press release. “WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story takes audiences on a truly unbelievable journey through Yankovic’s life and career, from gifted child prodigy to the greatest musical legend...
