Entertainment News
System of a Down’s Serj Tankian: If You Love Our Music and Trump, “You’re a Hypocrite”
The recent political back and forth between System of a Down bandmates Serj Tankian and John Dolmayan is as jarring as some of the band’s most popular songs. While neither band member is directly responding to the other, they’ve each been using social media to share views from opposite ends of the political spectrum. Tankian leans far left, while the right-wing Dolmayan seems like he’s auditioning for a show on Fox News. On Monday, Dolmayan called the Democratic Party the “true bigots” and wished Donald Trump good luck in the November election. Now, the focus shifts back to Tankian, who is digging up old System of a Down lyrics to help illustrate his disdain for Trump. In a new Instagram post, Tankian shared the lyrics to the early System of a Down song “Temper”, which appeared on the band...
Riot Fest 2021 Lineup: My Chemical Romance, Smashing Pumpkins, Pixies, and Run the Jewels
Run the Jewels (Ben Kaye), My Chemical Romance (David Brendan Hall), and Smashing Pumpkins (Philip Cosores) to play Riot Fest in 2021 The bad news? Riot Fest, like every other major live event in North America sans a Trump rally, is being postponed until next year. The good news, once Riot Fest does return in 2021, festival-goers are in for a real treat. Today, Riot Fest announced the postponement of its 2020 festival while also revealing the first wave of its 2021 lineup. My Chemical Romance, Smashing Pumpkins, Run the Jewels, Pixies, and Coheed and Cambria sit at the top of Riot Fest’s 2021 bill. Other confirmed acts include Taking Back Sunday, Circle Jerks, L7, Lupe Fiasco performing The Cool, Gogol Bordello, Toots and the Maytals, Vic Mensa, Sublime with Rome, Fucked Up, Best...
My Chemical Romance Reschedule Reunion Tour for 2021
My Chemical Romance have announced the rescheduled dates for their highly anticipated reunion tour, which will now take place in fall 2020. Originally set for this summer, MCR’s reunion was postponed after just a handful of performances due to the pandemic. The new North American dates don’t begin until September 8th, 2021 in Philadelphia, and as the band said in a statement, they “would never want to distract from the challenges we are facing right now.” However, they chose to announce the schedule well in advance “so that we can offer people a refund on tickets in these difficult financial times.” Their statement continued, “It is a long time away, and there is so much for all of us to do to make the world a better place in the interim. We cannot wait to play for you. Take care of each o...
Live from Here Canceled Amid COVID-19 Budget Cuts
Live from Here with Chris Thile, the variety program that replaced the famed A Prairie Home Companion, has been canceled by the Minnesota Public Radio amid budget cuts related to COVID-19. After over 50 years of broadcasting, the original Peabody-winning A Prairie Home Companion was re-branded as Live from Here in 2017 after MPR canceled its contract with original host, Garrison Keillor, following accusations of inappropriate behavior. Chris Thile, who had taken over hosting duties in 2016, changed the name to Live from Here shortly after Keillor’s firing. During its short-lived time, Live from Here welcomed guest musicians such as Paul Simon, Jeff Tweedy, Father John Misty, Neko Case, and Norah Jones, as well as Sufjan Stevens, Courtney Barnett, and Trey Anastasio. It aired every Sun...
Alekhine’s Gun Premiere New Song “21”: Stream
Brooklyn band Alekhine’s Gun, fronted by Jessica Pimentel, have been working on the follow-up to 2014’s …And Things Will Fall EP. The group is now premiering its new single, “21”, exclusively via Heavy Consequence. The track picks up where the band left off in 2014. Building from an angular riff, the song is blast of blackened death metal, with improved production over past Alekhine’s Gun releases. The six-year hiatus paid dividends for the band, which sounds as strong as ever on “21”. Pimentel, best known for her role as Maria Ruiz during all seven seasons of Orange Is the New Black, offered some conceptual background on the song’s lyrical themes. Like on prior records, Pimentel mines the spiritual and philosophical for her weighty, literary subject matter. She says of the track: “Inspire...
Introducing Kyle Meredith Live: A New Instagram Series
Kyle Meredith Live… You’ve heard him on the radio, you’ve downloaded his podcasts, you’ve even seen him on television. Now, it’s time to watch him from your phone: Introducing Kyle Meredith Live, a new bi-weekly series exclusively on Consequence of Sound‘s Instagram. Every Tuesday and Thursday at 3:00 p.m. EST, the WFPK host will speak with artists and talent about the hottest topics in music going down at the moment. Today, Kyle will speak with Billy Hardison, Kentucky’s precinct captain for the recently formed National Independent Venue Association, about his work to save independent music venues across the country amid the COVD-19 pandemic. On Thursday, Kyle will connect with Tyler Williams of The Head & The Heart for a discussion on how musicians are currently surviving the p...
Phil Elverum Announces The First Microphones Album in 17 Years, Microphones in 2020
Phil Elverum has reactivated The Microphones for the project’s first album in 17 years, Microphones in 2020. The effort — comprising a single, 40-minute-long song — is due out August 7th via the musician’s own P.W. Elverum & Sun. The Microphones’ last release was 2003’s Mount Eerie, a name which Elverum began performing under not long after. In a press release, Elverum said that regardless of the name, his work has always been about “exploring autobiographically in sound and words with occasional loose participation from friends.” Last year, he delivered a rare performance as The Microphones for “no big reason.” However, the attention and interest garnered by that show at the small “What the Heck?” event in Anacortes, Washington inspired him to “step back into ...
Roger Waters Announces US + Them Live Album
Today brings the digital home release of Roger Waters’ latest concert film, US + Them, chronicling his 2017-2018 world tour of the same name. Come October 2nd, the Pink Floyd legend will release a companion live album, as well as a physical version of the film on Blu-ray and DVD. The concert film follows Waters as he embarked on a massive 156-date tour around the world. Waters co-directed the film with Sam Evans, using footage from his dates in Amsterdam and the UK. It captures the spectacle of the “Us + Them” tour, with its dizzying image projections and trippy rainbow laser pyramid. The setlists, too, were something to behold, chock-full of Pink Floyd’s greatest hits from The Wall, Wish You Were Here, and Dark Side of the Moon, as well as rarely performed tracks ...
Eminem Reveals His List of Greatest Rappers of All Time
Eminem revealed a new list of iconic MCs that he considers to be the greatest rappers of all time. Mr. Mathers first waded into the G.O.A.T. debate on the 2002 song “‘Till I Collapse”. “I got a list,” he spit. “It goes Reggie [Redman], Jay-Z, 2Pac and Biggie/ André from OutKast, Jada, Kurupt, Nas, and then me.” Now, 18 years later, he’s provided an update, albeit in non-rhyming form. YouTuber NoLifeShaq precipitated the discussion, posting a video in which he DM’ed 30 rappers asking who they believe is the best. Eminem chose to answer publicly, replying to NoLifeShaq on Twitter. Over a series of posts, he wrote, “For me, in no particular order… Toss up between wayne, pac, royce, jay, redman, treach, g. rap, biggie & king crook….Plus redman, LL, nas, joyner, ken...
Howard Stern Responds to Donald Trump Jr. Bringing Up Old Blackface Sketch
Howard Stern and Donald Trump Jr. Howard Stern used to be close buds with Donald Trump, having him and members of his family as guests on his show numerous times over the years. His alliances have clearly changed, as he’s called Trump’s initial campaign for president a publicity stunt while also encouraging his supporters to drink bleach. That turn of opinion has raised the ire of Donald Trump Jr., who called Stern out over the weekend for an old bit he did in which he wore blackface and used the n-word repeatedly. Now, the shock jock has responded on his SiriusXM morning show. For context, the 1993 sketch in question aired during a New Year’s Eve pay-per-view special. Stern was lampooning Ted Danson, who had worn blackface to a Friar’s Club roast with his then-girlfrie...
DMC Joins Anthrax, Volbeat, Suicidal Tendencies Members for Run-DMC Quarantine Medley: Watch
Rapper Darryl “DMC” McDaniels celebrated his legendary hip-hop group Run-DMC with a quarantine performance featuring members of Anthrax, Volbeat, and Suicidal Tendencies. Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante has arranged a number of socially distant performances during the pandemic. For this one, he was joined by his former Anthrax bandmate and current Volbeat guitarist Rob Caggiano and Suicidal Tendencies bassist Ra Diaz, as they back McDaniels on a medley of Run-DMC classics. “I always wanted to do a medley of Run-DMC songs, so back in March I decided to put an arrangement together and asked these amazing people to be a part of it,” explained Benante in the YouTube description. “How can you do a Run-DMC medley without the King of Rock — Darryl McDaniels DMC.” The drummer added, “I have been a...
The Cast of Ghostbusters Reunite for Josh Gad’s YouTube Show: Watch
Since the start of lockdown, Josh Gad’s YouTube series Reunited Apart has digitally brought together casts of classic cinema like Goonies and Back to the Future. On the latest episode, the team behind Ghostbusters were the ones to answer the Zoom call. Besides the ever-resistant Rick Moranis, all the films’ surviving stars were present: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts. Director Ivan Reitman was also present, as was his son, Jason Reitman, who is helming the upcoming sequel to the original franchise, Ghostbusters: Afterlife. There were also a number of surprise guests, including William Atherton (Walter Peck), and actors with bit parts like Steven Tash and Jennifer Runyon (the students Murray’s Peter Venk...
