Alternative Music
Mike Patton Reveals Battle with Alcoholism During the Pandemic
Mike Patton has once again opened up about his mental health struggles, revealing that he coped with alcoholism during the pandemic. In a new interview with The Guardian, Patton discussed the upcoming sophomore album from his hardcore-thrash supergroup Dead Cross, stating that it was “forged through COVID, cancer, and alcoholism.” Patton alluded to guitarist Mike Crain’s battle with squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer. Crain’s cancer eventually went into remission, with the guitarist crediting the making of the new Dead Cross album with helping save his life. Then the COVID pandemic happened, which sent Patton into a life of seclusion and solitude. Advertisement Related Video “My initial response to the pandemic was: ‘I love this shit!’,” Patton said. “It allowed me to be an ant...
Bruno Mars, Post Malone, and DJ Khaled to Headline Saudi Arabian Music Festival
Since Saudi Arabia began opening its borders to foreign entertainers in recent years, many performers have been willing to overlook the country’s history of human rights abuses, discrimination against women and LGBTQ+ people, and silencing of critics. Now, you can add Soundstorm ’22 festival headliners Bruno Mars, Post Malone, and DJ Khaled to the list. The festival will take place December 1st through 3rd in Banban, a district on the outskirts of the capital city of Riyadh. Each of the aforementioned artists will be making their debut performance in Saudi Arabia. Other international names on the lineup include Wizkid and Marshmello, as well as returning DJs like Carl Cox, Solomun, DJ Snake, and David Guetta. A press release for the self-described “largest music festival in the Middle East...
Kennedy Descendent Who Dated Taylor Swift Says He Fought in Ukraine
Conor Kennedy, Senator Bobby Kennedy’s grandson whose fling with Taylor Swift reportedly inspired songs on Red, says that he served in Ukraine’s International Legion and helped fight against Russia. “Like many people, I was deeply moved by what I saw happening in Ukraine over the past year,” Kennedy said in a social medium statement last week. “I wanted to help. When I heard about Ukraine’s International Legion, I knew I was going, and I went to the embassy to enlist the next day.” He added that “I wasn’t a great shot, but I could carry heavy things and learned fast. I was also willing to die there. So they soon agreed to send me to the northeastern front,” an area that includes the hotly-contested Donbas region where much of the fighting has taken place. Advertise...
Rome and Duddy Share Origins of New Single “Cannabis Tree”: Exclusive
Origins is our recurring feature series in which artists are given a space to dive into everything behind their latest song. Today, Rome and Duddy give fans an exclusive listen to their new collaborative track “Cannabis Tree.” For two guys who are so intrinsically connected, Sublime with Rome’s Rome Ramirez and Dirty Heads’ Duddy B haven’t released a lot of music together. Since Dirty Heads’ “Lay Me Down,” featuring Rome, first brought the two together, they’ve dropped a handful of singles and even toured together. Yet all this time, fans have been waiting for a full collaborative project from the duo. Thankfully, the time has almost arrived, as Rome and Duddy are teasing their upcoming joint EP, Cactus Cool, with a lead single called “Cannabis Tree.” Advertisement The song demon...
Mavi: Laughing so Hard, it Hurts
Mavi was expecting to follow his acclaimed 2019 debut, Let the Sun Talk, with a record called Shango, which the 23-year-old rapper has taken to calling “a very manly, muscular album” and which was eventually shelved. In its place came first the slightly tortured EP End of the Earth, released early last year, and now the gently probing Laughing so Hard, it Hurts, a record whose raw nerve endings sizzle and pop to make even its weariest verses seem animated by a desire for contentment, for harmony. It’s intimate by design, with Mavi’s frequently muted voice drawing the listener’s ear close to the speaker, but expansive in scope: Its opening song is named for a folk hero from American slavery, and its closing one traces the running routes through his native Charlotte, North Carolina that are ...
Jury Rules Kevin Spacey Is Not Liable in Anthony Rapp Sexual Misconduct Case
A New York City jury has ruled that Kevin Spacey is liable for no damages at the conclusion of a contentious sexual misconduct lawsuit brought by Anthony Rapp, multiple outlets report. Rapp had sought $40 million. The jury took less than two hours to deliberate following closing arguments in the two-week trial. Rapp, who starred in Rent and Star Trek: Discovery, had said that when he was 14 years old, a 26-year-old Spacey made aggressive and unwanted sexual advances towards him. He alleged that Spacey physically lifted him in the air “like a groom picks up a bride,” and moved him to a bed in order to initiate sex. Rapp, now 50, took the stand during the trial, calling the encounter “incredibly upsetting” and the “most traumatic single event of my life.” Spacey...
Carly Rae Jepsen Premieres New Album The Loneliest Time: Stream
Carly Rae Jepsen has returned with The Loneliest Time, her first album since 2019’s Dedicated. Listen to the project below via Apple Music and Spotify. The Loneliest Time is said to be Jepsen’s “most introspective body of work to date,” but as its TikTok famous disco title track — as well as single “Beach House” and Song of the Week “Talking to Yourself” — shows, the record is still as infectious and bubbly as ever. Tavish Crowe, Bullion, Captain Cuts, John Hill, Kyle Shearer, Alex Hope, and Rostam Batmanglij all appear on the project, while Jepsen duets with Rufus Wainwright on the album’s title track. Advertisement Jepsen is in the midst of a North American tour with support from Empress Of, and tickets are on sale now over at Ticketmaster. The Loneliest Time Art...
Arctic Monkeys Return With New Album The Car: Stream
Get your 2014 Tumblr flannels — or, rather, your 1970s hot pants — ready, because Arctic Monkeys have unveiled their new album The Car. In his review of the album, Paolo Ragusa says that The Car “is sonically aligned with the slow-burning psych pop of 2018’s Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, the band farther away than ever from the tense post-punk or bluesy garage rock that characterized much of their output pre-2018. Orchestral flourishes, though not overwhelmingly frequent, give many of The Car’s songs a classic feel, while Turner’s vocal persona evokes a midlife crisis David Bowie.” Arctic Monkeys previewed The Car with the singles “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball” (which we named Song of the Week) and “Body Paint” (which they performed on Fallon). Advertise...
Taylor Swift Unveil New Album Midnights: Stream
Taylor Swift has returned with Midnights, her 10th studio album. Listen to the project below via Apple Music and Spotify. In a statement, Swift says Midnights tells the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life. This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams. The floors we pace and the demons we face. For all of us who have tossed and turned and decided to keep the lanterns lit and go search – hoping that just maybe, when the clock strikes twelve … we’ll meet ourselves.” The follow-up to 2020’s folklore and evermore, the 13-track project was once again produced by Jack Antonoff and features a collaborative song with Lana Del Rey. Zoë Kravitz and Swift’s boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, also have songwr...
The Sword Break Up After 18 Years as a Band
Acclaimed metal act The Sword have broken up. The group’s singer-guitarist John D. Cronise made the announcement via the band’s social media pages on Thursday (October 20th), stating that “it’s time to bring The Sword’s long and storied career to a close.” The Sword earned a strong following and critical praise during their nearly two decades as a band, combining elements of stoner and doom metal into their six studio albums. Three of their studio LPs cracked the Top 50 of the Billboard 200 chart upon their respective releases, and four them landed in the Top 10 of Billboard’s Top Hard Rock Albums tally. Following the band’s most recent album, 2018’s Used Future, The Sword released the compilations Conquest of Kingdoms and Chronology: 2006–2018 in 2020. It now appears as if those collectio...
Smino Details New Album Luv 4 Rent, Shares “Matinee”: Stream
Ahead of its release on October 28th, Smino has revealed the full tracklist for his new album, Luv 4 Rent, and shared a fresh single titled “Matinee.” Stream the track below. The 15-track project features the previous Rap Song of the Week “90 Proof” with J. Cole. Other notable guests on Luv 4 Rent include Lil Uzi Vert (“Pudgy”), Lucky Daye (“Modennaminute”), rising TDE artist Doechii (“Pro Freak”), and Smino’s cohort in the Zero Fatigue collective, Ravyn Lenae (“Settle Down”). On the Karl Banx-produced “Matinee,” Smino boasts about how easily he’s able to turn up the romance on potential love interests. “Diamonds dance in the Tesla, ‘Electric Slide,’ get it?,” the St. Louis native raps. “I don’t text her, let it fester/ I don’t stress her, I just stretch her.” Advertisement Relat...
Cro-Mags Announce December 2022 US Tour
New York hardcore legends Cro-Mags have announced a 13-date December 2022 US Tour. The outing kicks off December 6th at Shaskeen in Manchester, New Hampshire, and runs for nearly two weeks before wrapping up on December 18th at Underground Arts in Philadelphia. You can pick up tickets via Ticketmaster. “In December we will be playing songs spanning the entire Cro-Mags catalog, from the first album all the way to the most recent releases 2020 and In the Beginning,” remarked the band’s founder Harley Flanagan via a press release. “I am really looking forward to playing in some of these places I haven’t played in in over 20 years.” Related Video The December dates will conclude a busy year for the band, which played a 55-show run this past spring/summer. Advertisement “It was gratifying, sati...
