Entertainment News
Alice Cooper Unveils New Song “Don’t Give Up” to Offer Encouragement During Pandemic: Stream
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect communities around the world, Alice Cooper is offering words of encouragement in the form of a new song, “Don’t Give Up”. The rock legend shared the music video for the track, which was recorded remotely during isolation. Cooper recently invited fans to participate in the video, which features his band members performing separately while in quarantine. More than 20,000 fans responded, with many of them seen holding signs of the song’s positive lyrics in the clip. “‘Don’t Give Up’ is out today,” Cooper said in a press release. “It’s a song about what we’ve all been going through right now and about keeping our heads up and fighting back together. And whatever you do — don’t give up!” The song is pure positivity, a mid-tempo rocker that begins ...
Over 700 Independent Musicians Sign Open Letter Asking Congress for COVID-19 Relief
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, over 700 musicians have signed an open letter asking the US Congress to increase relief measures for artists. A wide range of acts have signed the petition so far, including Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto, Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo, Deafheaven, Julia Holter, Charly Bliss, and Jeff Rosenstock. The newly formed Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) penned the letter as a way to ask their government representatives — especially Speaker Pelosi, Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and leaders of the Congressional Arts Caucus — to consider more helpful COVID-19 relief measures for artists. To make contacting representatives easier, the union has created a special phone number to connect callers to the aforementioned offices, the prompts of which ar...
Foo Fighters Streaming 2008 Live at Wembley Stadium Concert for Free: Watch
For the latest edition of Foo Fridays, Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters have unlocked the concert film Live at Wembley Stadium. The footage was compiled over two sold-out shows in London on June 6th and 7th of 2008. The set drew heavily from the Foos 2007 album Echoes, Silence. Patience & Grace, and included special guest appearances by Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. With Grohl on the drums and Taylor Hawkins on the mic, they played the Zeppelin favorite “Rock and Roll”, before Grohl and Hawkins switched places for “Ramble On”. In introducing Page and Jones, Grohl said that the country of England “made us the band we are today,” and so he felt compelled to plan something special. “Just so you know, tonight, playing here at fucking Wembley Stadium, i...
Bruce Willis Wears Original Armageddon Suit to Save Us
Cue up the Aerosmith, Bruce Willis is dialing things back to Summer 1998. On Thursday, the blockbuster star waxed nostalgic amidst quarantine by dusting off his trademark orange jump suit from Michael Bay’s Armageddon. His daughter Rumer Willis, posted the hilarious photo on her Instagram, writing, “He said this is ‘His saving the [world] outfit’ (Actual one from Armageddon).” She also added an appropriate hashtag: “#ThisManIsADamnLegend.” Not gonna lie, it’s good seeing Harry Stamper back in action, particularly after he saved the world at the end there on that nasty asteroid. As you’ll see below, Willis is in true action star mode, too, and his eyes say it all: “Back off, Covid.” Here’s hoping he dusts off the Hudson Hawk hat next week.
R.I.P. Phil May, Frontman of UK Rock Band Pretty Things Dies at 75
Phil May, the longtime vocalist of UK rock band Pretty Things, has died at the age of 75. According to The Guardian, May died in a Norfolk, UK hospital due to complications from hip surgery. His death was not COIVD-19 related. May formed Pretty Things in 1963 alongside former Rolling Stones guitarist Dick Taylor. They were initially a part of the British blues rock scene, achieving six top 50 hits between 1964 and 1966. Their biggest single, “Don’t Bring Me Down”, peaked at No. 10 on the UK charts, while its follow-up, “Honey I Need”, hit No. 13. Despite their early success, and sharing the same management as Pink Floyd, Pretty Things failed to achieve the same international success as fellow rock bands of their times. They later attributed their lack of fame in the US to a decision to tou...
Rock and Metal Album Covers Get Reimagined With Simpsons Characters
The Bart Simpson parody poster of Nirvana’s Nevermind has adorned its fair share of desktop wallpapers, but Instagram account “Springfield Albums” has taken the concept even further. Artists Edgar Portelo and Lila Rouge “Simpsonize” rock and metal album covers, inserting characters from the long-running animated show The Simpsons into classic sleeves by Metallica, Alice in Chains, and many more. No band or character is off limits, with Portelo and Rouge parodying everything from Exodus’ thrash masterpiece Bonded by Blood — with Bart taking the place of original’s siamese demon — to Korn’s Follow the Leader, which sees Homer about to hopscotch off the cliff. Another thrash parody, Slayer’s 1983 debut, Show No Mercy, is adorned with “Evil Homer” from the season four episode “Whacking Da...
Iggy Pop Reads a Bedtime Story About His Beloved His Dog
Artist Maurizio Cattelan’s”Bedtime Stories” is a new initiative for NYC’s The New Museum in which musicians and other creators reading short tales in a soothing voice. The inaugural edition features Iggy Pop and his beloved dog Tromba. This is not your typical bedtime story, and should probably not be played for small children. While it begins with Iggy Pop falling in love with a stray “across the divided highway,” the story climaxes with Tromba’s death some time later after being hit by a car. But even so, the punk icon’s affection for the dog is never in doubt, and he peppers the story with moments of humor. “I picked you up and put you on my lap and thought about keeping you,” he said, “and in less than a minute I was covered in fleas.” He ends the tale with a touching message for ...
Timothy Olyphant Joins The Mandalorian Season 2
The Force is strong with Timothy Olyphant. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Deadwood star has joined the Star Wars galaxy by signing on for the second season of Disney+’s The Mandalorian. As of publication, there’s no word on who he’ll be playing, but given Olyphant’s hunky looks and trademark wit, we’re kind of, maybe, okay, we totally are, hoping he’s playing Dash Rendar from Shadows of the Empire. That may be wishful thinking, but seeing how we’re seeing Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano and Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett, it’s not exactly out of the question. At the very least, it would connect that Star Wars legend. Whatever the case, Olymphant joins a stacked cast that also includes The Terminator and Aliens star Michael Biehn in an undisclosed role. We’ll also take Biehn as Renda...
Hacker Group Leaks Confidential Lady Gaga Files, Threatens to Next Take Down Donald Trump
This week, a cache of confidential Lady Gaga files was leaked by a hacker group. Those same cybercriminals are now aiming to bring down Donald Trump. It all started earlier this week, when Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, one of the most prominent law firms in the entertainment industry, became the target of a hacker group using ransomware called REvil. The massive cyberattack resulted in over 750 gigabytes of stolen data pertaining to the firm’s A-list clientele, which include Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, Drake, U2, and Madonna, as well as Robert De Niro, Bette Midler, and LeBron James. The hacker group offered to return the classified data in exchange for $21 million dollars, according to Rolling Stone. Rather than cough up the ransom money, however, attorney Allen Grubman and the rest of...
Cats Musical Streaming for Free on YouTube for 48 Hours: Watch
Last month, Andrew Lloyd Webber teamed up with Universal Home Entertainment to stream a selection of his musicals for free. After playing some hits (The Phantom of the Opera) and some flops (By Jeeves), Weber has now unlocked Cats, the unkillable stage show with more than nine lives. As Playbill reports, Cats will be streaming for the next 48 hours, with suggested donations benefiting the Actor’s Fund COVID-19 Relief. Unlike Tom Hooper’s neutered film adaptation, the stage production of Cats was a massive, paradigm-shifting hit. It won Tony and Laurence Olivier Awards for Best New Musical, is one of the longest-running productions in Broadway and West End history, and has grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide. This particular version was filmed in 1998, and starred Elaine Paig...
Star Wars Fan Turns Roomba Into Working R2-D2 and Reveals His Jedi Secrets: Watch
Move aside DJ Roomba, there’s a new housekeeper in town. A total Jedi Knight of a Star Wars fan has reworked Roomba technology to build himself his own R2-D2 machine (which he’s calling R9-D9) — and, yes, it’s the droid we’re looking for. It sweeps. It mops. It even talks. What’s more, it can be yours. The man in question — filmmaker Matthew Scott Hunter — created a complete video breakdown on how he designed the thing using household items and materials. Editors’ Picks Essentially, he took his R2-D2 garbage can, inserted a fan motor for head movements, and added a Bluetooth speaker so it could talk. He even designed the thing to be remotely controlled, which should come in handy when it gets pesky as droids do. Okay, so it’s not exactly a Lego set, and may prove rather difficult for...
R.I.P. Astrid Kirchherr, Legendary Beatles Photographer Dies at 81
Astrid Kirchherr, the legendary rock photographer who documented the earliest days of The Beatles, has died at 81. Via The Guardian, Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn announced the news of her passing on Friday. No cause of death is known at this time. Born in 1938 in Hamburg, Germany, Kirchhherr became one of The Beatles’ earliest fans during their 1960 residency at Hamburg’s Kaiserkeller club. At the time the band consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe, and Pete Best. Kirchherr convinced them to sit for their first photo session, and later became engaged to Sutcliffe until his death in 1962. In addition to capturing the band’s time in Germany, Kirchherr famously advised them to cut their hair into mop tops. Those hairstyles became one the band...
