Entertainment News
Austin City Limits TV Season 46 Premieres with John Prine Tribute Episode: Watch
Season 46 of Austin City Limits TV premiered over the weekend with a tribute to John Prine, who died in April after contracting COVID-19. The special hour-long episode compiled highlights from the late singer-songwriter’s eight appearances on the long-running series over a span of 40 years. Entitled “The Best of John Prine”, the episode opened with a message from a modern torchbearer of Prine’s songwriting style, Jason Isbell. “If the artist’s job is to hold up a mirror to society, John Prine had the cleanest and the clearest of anyone I’ve ever known,” said Isbell, who previously participated in a livestream tribute to Prine over the summer. “Sometimes it seemed he had a window, and he would climb right through.” From there, the performances proceeded chronologically, starting with a 1978...
Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Actor and Spike Lee Collaborator, Shot and Killed in Atlanta
Thomas Jefferson Byrd, a longtime collaborator of Spike Lee, was shot and killed in Atlanta on Saturday. The Georgia native appeared in eight of Lee’s films, beginning with 1995’s Clockers. He also had roles in Girl 6, Get On the Bus, He Got Game, Bamboozled, Red Hook Summer, Sweet Blood of Jesus, and Chi-Raq. Aside from his work with Lee, Byrd also appeared in such films as Antoine Fuqua’s Brooklyn’s Finest, Jamie Foxx’s Ray Charles biopic Ray, and F. Gary Gray’s Set It Off. In 2003, he received a Tony Award nomination for for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. In an Instagram post, Lee wrote, “I’m so sad to announce the tragic murder of our beloved brother Thomas Jefferson Byrd last night in Atlanta, Georgia. Tom is my guy.” He proceeded to sha...
Trump Supporters Play Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” Outside Military Hospital
Because the whole Donald Trump has COVID-19 thing isn’t enough of a fiasco, the president’s supporters had to drag Bruce Springsteen into this. A small group of MAGA sycophants stood outside Walter Reed Medical Center on Sunday to show their love for Trump — by playing “Born in the USA”. To emphasize for what has to be the bajillionth time, “Born in the USA” is not a pro-patriotism song. It’s a lament for a country addicted to feeding its working class populace into pointless wars, only to leave them neglected once they return. So the fact that these people were blasting this protest song outside of a military hospital, where actual members and veterans of the military are trying to rest and be cared for, crosses irony over to actual ignorant cruelty. That’s without even mentioning Springs...
John Prine Performs “Sam Stone” in Previously Unaired Austin City Limits TV Clip: Watch
Austin City Limits TV returns this weekend with the launch of its 46th season. While new episodes began filming in studio sans audience earlier this month, the season premiere will actually focus on archival footage. Specifically, the episode will be a retrospective celebration of the late John Prine, featuring selections from his impressive eight ACL appearances. Spanning five decades from Prine’s first solo acoustic set in 1978 to his final one in 2018, the footage includes one previously unaired clip from 1987. It finds the country folk great singing his classic elegy for a drug addicted veteran, “Sam Stone”. Ahead of the ACL TV season premiere on October 3rd, this rare performance is being shared today. Before going into the track from his 1971 self-titled debut, Prine did what he did ...
Lana Del Rey Criticized for Wearing Mesh Face Mask
Lana Del Rey is drawing criticism for her choice of face wear during a recent indoor book signing. Earlier this week, Del Rey appeared at a Los Angeles Barnes and Noble to sign copies of her new poetry book, Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass. As photos and videos posted to Del Rey’s own Instagram show, the singer opted to wear a mesh face mask. With hundreds of tiny little holes, the covering offered Del Rey little in the way of protection during the COVID-19 pandemic, but at least it was sparkly! Not surprisingly, Del Rey was immediately hammered on social media. “Lana Del Rey wearing a face mask // a random Karen wearing a face mask,” read one comment posted to her Instagram. Another read, “What is wrong with Lana del Rey like she’s literally not okay why is she wearing a fishnet mask...
Motörhead’s Röad Crew Craft Beer Comes to America for Ace of Spades 40th Anniversary
Motörhead and beer are two things that go together. For the 40th anniversary of the band’s classic album Ace of Spades, the Motörhead-branded Röad Crew beer is being brewed and widely distributed in America for the first time. The original Röad Crew beer was first brewed by Camerons Brewery in the United Kingdom back in 2015. For the new release, Madison, Wisconsin brewery Ale Asylum was tapped for the first-ever American edition of the beer, putting their own spin on the beverage. The resulting brew is a newly crafted American pale ale “packed with hoppy citrus aromas.” Ale Asylum’s Otto Dilba told The Post Crescent, it took “two seconds” for him to accept the offer to work with Motörhead. Apparently, the band’s camp was intrigued by another beer the brewery released earlier this year cal...
Paul McCartney to Reissue His Rupert Bear Short Film and Soundtrack
The iconic British comic strip character Rupert Bear is celebrating his 100th birthday this year, and one of his most famous fans, Paul McCartney, is marking the occasion in a big way. On November 6th, The Beatles rocker will reissue Rupert and The Frog Song, a 1984 short film he dedicated to the yellow-scarfed little bear, as well as its original song “We All Stand Together”. Written and produced by McCartney, alongside director Geoff Dunbar, Rupert and The Frog Song follows Rupert as he embarks on a merry walk throughout the hills. The friendly bear ends up witnessing a rare ritual called The Frog Song, which is of course “We All Stand Together”, or simply “The Frog Song” as its more colloquially known. It’s a kids film, obviously, but it’s quite cute and was a total hit that even earned...
Spider-Man 3 Adds Jamie Foxx as Electro in Shocking Casting News: Update
In news that will truly shock Marvel fans, The Hollywood Reporter has it that Jamie Foxx is in final negotiations to reprise his The Amazing Spider-Man 2 role of Electro in the upcoming Spider-Man 3. Foxx portrayed the classic villain six years ago in the second and final movie featuring Andrew Garfield in Spidey’s webs. While the film was the ninth-highest-grossing release of 2014, its $709 million box office take remains the lowest of any Spider-Man movie to date, and it was generally panned by critics and fans alike. In fact, it was so poorly received that Sony abandoned plans for more sequels and a Sinister Six spinoff in favor of its now legendary deal with Marvel Studios bringing Spider-Man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Infamously, Sony attempted to reclaim the web-head last summ...
Bon Iver Pays Tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg with New Song “Your Honor”: Watch
Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon (photo by Ben Kaye) and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (photo via WikiCommons) Ever the political advocator, Justin Vernon recently launched For Wisconsin, a get-out-the-vote initiative in his home state. As part of the registration drive, the Bon Iver frontman is hosting “A Visit with Vernon”, in which fans nominate a friend who is undecided about voting to have a conversation with Vernon. Video of the first visit has been revealed, and it includes the debut a new Bon Iver song dedicated to Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Entitled “Your Honor”, the song came about shortly after RBG’s passing two weeks ago. Though Vernon said writing new music is something “I never do anymore,” he was compelled to recognize the late Supreme Court Justice’s legacy. “Times getting sho...
Tekashi 6ix9ine Hospitalized After Overdosing on Weight Loss Pills and Caffeine
Tekashi 6ix9ine recently spent two days in the hospital after overdosing on diet pills and caffeine. In an interview with The Shade Room, the TattleTales rapper said the combination of Hydroxycut and McDonald’s coffee caused him to experience an “overdose reaction.” 6ix9ine began taking Hydroxycut, a weight loss supplement, following his release from prison earlier this year. Though he’s already down 25 pounds, 6ix9ine admitted to taking double the recommended amount. According to The Shade Room, Tekashi has since been discharged from the hospital and is “doing fine.” Despite the adverse effects, he intends to continue taking Hydroxycut until he reaches his pre-prison weight of 150 pounds, at which point he plans to rejoin Instagram. In February 2019, 6ix9ine was sentenced to 24 month...
Kali Uchis Shares Spanish-Language Single “La Luz”: Stream
Over the summer, Kali Uchis shared the Rico Nasty collaboration “Aquí Yo Mando”. The track found Uchis singing mostly in Spanish for the first time, and it looks like we can expect a lot more bilingual lyrics from the Colombian-American artist. She’s today shared “La Luz”, the second single from her forthcoming sophomore full-length, which is said to be “her first Spanish language project.” “La Luz” — which translates simply to “the light” — features a guest verse from Puerto Rico singer-songwriter Jhay Cortez alongside production from Tainy. The Latin vibes are strong with this one, bouncing slowly on a sweaty beach groove. Like “Aquí Yo Mando” before it, the track finds Uchis making it very clear who’s in control. “You or if it’s not me/ We’re going to turn the lights off/ And we’re goin...
Joni Mitchell Shares the First Original Demo of Her Career, “Day After Day”: Stream
Joni Mitchell has shared a rare piece of folk history today: the first-ever demo from he illustrious career. The track is titled “Day After Day” and it comes from Mitchell’s forthcoming collection Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967), which is due out October 30th. Stream it below. “It was my firstborn,” said Mitchell of the track. “I didn’t know whether it was a good song or a bad song. It was just the first one that came out.” “Day After Day” was recorded as a demo for Elektra records co-founder Jac Holzman back on August 24th, 1965. While it’s not her earliest-known recording — that title goes to her cover of “House of the Rising Sun” from 1963, which is also included in the upcoming collection — it is her first original demo and one that was previously unavailable...
