Countless celebrities have vocalized how much they loathe Donald Trump lately — Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, Cardi B, Neil Young, Dave Grohl, and even the late Frank Sinatra! — but arguably no person has gone from apolitical to attacking the president as quickly as Jim Gaffigan did on Twitter last night. Once the final night of the Republican National Convention concluded with Trump accepting the nomination, Gaffigan commiserated the end of honesty and transparency for our country, writing, “RIP Truth.” “Look Trumpers, I get it,” the comedian tweeted. “As a kid I was a Cubs fan and I know you stick by your team no matter what, but he’s a traitor and a con man who doesn’t care about you. Deep down you know it. I’m sure you enjoy pissing people off, but you know Trump is a liar and ...
After years of waiting, The New Mutants has finally been released — in theaters, no less! The wait apparently doesn’t seem to have been really worth it, if early reviews are to be believed. One viewer who’s certainly unhappy is New Mutants co-creator Bob McLeod, the original artist on the comic book written by the legendary Chris Claremont. Not only is he displeased with how his characters look on the big screen, he’s understandably pissed that his name is misspelled in the credits. In a Facebook post, McLeod vented his dismay. Even though he wasn’t entirely on board with the “interesting idea” to make it a horror movie, he still “was very excited” the New Mutants were being adapted at all. But then he saw how the characters’ appearances changed in the new medium, and he began having doubt...
Elliott Smith’s sophomore self-titled album turned 25 years old last month, and Kill Rock Stars is celebrating the anniversary by releasing a new deluxe reissue of the LP. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. This deluxe edition features a fresh remaster of all of the album’s tracks, thanks to the official Smith family archivist Larry Crane pulling the from reels, cassettes, files, and DAT tapes to get recordings as close to the original Elliott Smith mix as possible. In addition to the original tracklist, the reissue includes the previously unreleased Live at Umbra Penumbra, capturing a September 17th, 1994 performance at Portland, Oregon’s Umbra Penumbra that’s the earliest known recording of Smith playing a solo acoustic show. “There are fan-traded MP3s out there of this sh...
Prior to finding solo success, Andrew Bird played in a number of different groups. One of those was the jazz and swing band the Squirrel Nut Zippers, with whom he recorded three albums, the most recent being 1998’s Perennial Favorites. Today, Bird reunites with SNZ on a new single called “Train on Fire”. Taken from a new SNZ album, it’s a twangy and noticeably eerie listen, and one that welcomes Bird’s talents (namely violin and backup vocals) back into the fold. According to a press statement, upcoming record Lost Songs of Doc Souchon (September 25th) promises plenty more unsettling SNZ tunes. “This new album was inspired by all of the mysterious characters from the history of New Orleans jazz music,” commented the band. “It speaks to the hidden roots of where our aesthetic, interests and...
Leonard Cohen’s estate is exploring “legal options” following the unauthorized use of “Hallelujah” during Thursday night’s Republican National Convention. In a statement, Brian J. Monaco, president and global chief marketing officer of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, said that “on the eve of the finale of the convention, representatives from the Republican National Committee contacted us regarding obtaining permission for a live performance of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’. We declined their request.” The RNC nonetheless played two different versions of “Hallelujah” during last convention: a recorded cover by Tori Kelly and a live performance sung by opera singer Christopher Macchio. Michelle L. Rice, the legal representative for the Cohen Estate, said the family was “surprised and dismayed that...
Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are two of the all-time best detectives in the supernatural TV game, but there’s some cases in The X-Files world too weird for the duo to tackle — or at least that’s what executives have dreamed up. Hence the creation of The X-Files: Albuquerque, a new spin-off series at Fox that will follow a team of agents who handle the projects Mulder and Scully don’t have time for. According to Variety, The X-Files: Albuquerque is an animated comedy show that’s already quietly in development. Creator Chris Carter is onboard as the executive producer of the show, Rocky Russo and Jeremy Sosenko are writing the script and executive producing, and Gabe Rotter — who worked on The X-Files revival — will also executive produce. Bento Box will provide animation. Unfortunately...
Nicolas Cage is following in the proud lineage of Sean Connery, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Rachel Weisz by lending his voice to a CG dragon. The actor has signed on to play the title character in Amazon Prime’s adaptation of Highfire (via Deadline). The live-action series is based on the crime thriller novel by Eoin Colfer, best known for his Artemis Fowl series (which took Disney years to turn into a completely terrible movie). Unlike those books, though, Highfire is aimed at an adult audience, with The Guardian describing it as “True Detective meets Swamp Thing.” It’s centered on Highfire (Cage), a dragon who used to lord over his brethren but now lives in the Louisiana Honey Island Swamp. Going by the name “Vern,” he hides amongst alligators when he’s not watchin...