The passing of Chadwick Boseman came as a shock not only because of his relatively young age, but because few people knew he had colon cancer. Even studio executives at Disney and Marvel, who you’d think would have been aware given the longterm contracts they had with Boseman, were kept out of the loop, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Some have speculated that Marvel must have known about Boseman’s diagnosis, as it would make sense for major studios to have their blockbuster lead talents medically examined for insurance purposes. As film finance attorney Schuyler Moore explained to THR, that’s not necessarily the case. “Big studios don’t often [get] completion bonds,” Moore explained. “They are more prevalent in the indie filmmaking world. Sometimes, the big studios will look to insur...
In addition to releasing one of the year’s best albums so far, Phoebe Bridgers has spent the summer months covering a number of iconic artists. In June, she shared her official recording of John Prine’s “Summer’s End”, which she then followed up with a rendition of Gillian Welch’s “Everything is Free”, done in collaboration with Courtney Barnett. Now, Bridgers has taken on an alt-rock classic in “Fake Plastic Trees”. The indie folk artist’s Radiohead cover came as part of the BBC Radio 1 program Phil Taggart’s Chillest Show. And chill it certainly was. Bridgers recorded her delicate version of The Bends original inside of a church with help from rising R&B star Arlo Parks, who provided icy piano accompaniment. Bridgers previously covered “Fake Plastic Trees” live in concert in 2017, as...
With our new music feature Origins, artists have the chance to pull back the curtains on the stories behind their latest single. Today, Plants and Animals discuss the je ne sais quoi or “Le Queens”. After four years away, Plants and Animals are set to return with their new full-length, The Jungle, on October 23rd. Early singles like “House on Fire” and “Sacrifice” portended a collection of catchy but chaotic sonic landscapes. The latest sample of the effort, “Le Queens”, offers a counterpoint to that aural bedlam — with a touch of Quebecois. A haze of distorted guitars and synthesizers, “Le Queens” is a much mellower tune than the previous Jungle singles. But there’s still a sense of disorder in the background, with percussive samples running ramshackle beneath the kaleidoscopic flow of th...
Sade Adu and her eponymous band have announced a new vinyl box set that collects every Sade album to date. The career-summing This Far will be available October 9th through Sony Music. Over six luscious LPs, Sade has written about the great human passions with disarming sincerity and a killer instinct for the smooth. The lady herself was always the star, ensnaring and elusive, with a rare gift for retaining her charms even as she maintained her privacy. But real ones know, Sade is a beloved band and not just a beloved singer, and the contributions of Stuart Matthewman (saxophone/guitar), Andrew Hale (keyboards), and Paul Spencer Denman (bass) should not be dismissed. Now, all six records — Diamond Life (1984), Promise (1985), Stronger Than Pride (1988), Love Deluxe (1992), Lovers Rock...
Earlier this year, Cro-Mags released In the Beginning, their first full-length studio album in 20 years. One of the songs on the album, “Between Wars”, is also the title of a new independent film starring Cro-Mags’ Harley Flanagan and Sopranos actor Michael Imperioli. The legendary New York hardcore band has teamed up with Heavy Consequence to unveil the music video for the track. The film was briefly released to the Internet over the summer, but it is currently being shopped around to major streaming services. The movie centers around a Marine named Franny Malloy (played by Shaun Paul Costello), who struggles to re-enter civilian life after combat in Afghanistan. Flanagan portrays a an old-school Bronx gangster named McManus, while Imperioli plays a Marine turned PTSD psychologist called ...
Fall is upon us and just begging for a return trip to Haddonfield, Illinois. Waxwork Records has some tricks and treats for the occasion as they’ve announced the debut vinyl release of the soundtracks to Rob Zombie’s Halloween and Halloween II. What a treat, indeed. Both soundtracks feature score cues by composer Tyler Bates, select dialogue from the movie, and songs from the respective films, which range from Alice Cooper and Kiss to The Moody Blues and Motörhead. Both also come pressed on colored 180 gram vinyl and feature exclusive liner notes by Rob Zombie, a booklet of unseen set photography from Zombie’s personal collection, a 12”x12” art print insert, and beautiful new artwork by Robert Sammelin. Pre-orders are currently on-going for the set with a release set for — you guessed it —...
Last year, Wilco celebrated the 20th anniversary of their seminal album Summerteeth. Now, the band has announced a new deluxe reissue bursting with additional demos, outtakes, and live recordings. The five-disc set includes the original album, remastered in 2020 by Bob Ludwig, as well as previously unreleased demos of tracks like “Tried and True”, “I’m Always in Love”, and “She’s a Jar”. There are also countless alternate versions and outtakes of “My Darling”, “Every Little Thing”, and “Viking Dan”, among others. As an additional bonus, the reissue features a 1999 concert recording from Colorado’s Boulder Theatre. For fans looking to splurge a bit more, the limited edition deluxe vinyl reissue boasts an extra LP containing audio from an in-store performance at Tower Records held just ...
Nick Cave has announced a physical release for his recent one-off solo piano performance called Idiot Prayer. It will be available digitally and on CD and vinyl beginning November 20th. Additionally, the film will screen in select theaters globally on November 5th. Idiot Prayer was recorded at London’s Alexandra Palace in June 2020 as the UK slowly emerged from lockdown, and “was conceived as a reaction to the confinement and Isolation of the preceding months,” a press release notes. The 22-song set included material ranging from early Bad Seeds and Grinderman through Cave’s most recent album, Ghosteen. The film first premiered in July as a one-off paid livestream. The forthcoming physical release will include four unaired performances, and be pressed on double vinyl. Pre-orders for t...
Another day, another artist is pissed at Donald Trump for using their music without permission. This time, it’s former The Animals frontman Eric Burdon, who bashed Trump after he used “House of the Rising Sun” during a recent campaign event. Trump’s people played “House of the Rising Sun” on Wednesday, September 2nd as Air Force One taxied at North Carolina’s Wilmington International Airport. Upon learning that his song played over the speakers at the rally, Burdon took to Instagram to express his displeasure. “Even though nobody asked my permission, I wasn’t surprised to learn that #Trump #864511320 used #HouseoftheRisingSun for his rally the other day,” Burdon wrote in the caption of a selfie in which he was wearing a “VOTE” mask. “A tale of sin and misery set in a brothel suits him...
James Bond … is still planning to return in 2020. In a wild twist of fate, the highly anticipated and much-delayed No Time to Die may actually be one of the few remaining blockbusters to see the light in this godforsaken year. Today, MGM recharged the hype machine with an explosive new trailer that promises 007 will be back by November. Now billed as “the mission that changes everything”, the fifth and final outing for Daniel Craig appears to be his diciest yet. In the trailer below, we see even more glimpses of his adventure, which includes the kind of literal high-wire stunts that may just be enough to get this bloody writer back into theaters again. Just maybe. We also get our first real look at Oscar winner Rami Malek as main villain Safin. His face is certainly a far cry away from the...
H1GHR MUSIC, the independent record label founded by South Korean-American pop rapper Jay Park, has released RED TAPE, the first installment of their new two-part compilation album The New Chapter. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. Park originally founded H1GHR MUSIC in 2017 to shine a light on the undiscovered artists from his hometowns of Seattle and Seoul. While he was busy collaborating with Charli XCX and getting signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, Park was simultaneously spending his time inking deals with K-pop and hip-hop artists for his own label. He’s amassed quite a roster since then and the proof is in The New Chapter, which combines various singles and collaborative tracks by members of H1GHR MUSIC to surprisingly cohesive results. The New Chapter is split into two parts, ...