Entertainment News
Axl Rose Calls Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin an “Asshole”, Mnuchin Responds
Axl Rose is no stranger to ripping apart political figures on Twitter, but this time he actually provoked a response from one of his targets. After the singer called Steve Mnuchin an “asshole”, the Secretary of the Treasury replied by questioning the Guns N’ Roses frontman’s worth to the United States (or Liberia, if you consider his initial response). Earlier this evening (May 6th), Rose tweeted out, “It’s official! Whatever anyone may have previously thought of Steve Mnuchin he’s officially an asshole.” A short time later, Mnuchin responded to Axl’s tweet, remarking, “What have you done for the country lately?” Initially, Mnuchin added a Liberian flag to the end of his question, as captured by Associated Press reporter Philip Crowther in the tweet below. Mnuchin then deleted that respons...
Tom Morello Is “Disgusted” That Young People Won’t Practice Guitar Eight Hours a Day
Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello had some choice words for young musicians trying to cut corners to get famous, especially when it comes to practicing. In an interview that previously ran in Metal Hammer’s print edition but was just shared online this week, Morello lamented over the current lack of guitars in popular music. “I’m disgusted by the fact that a lot of young people these days aren’t willing to sit down and practice the electric guitar for eight hours a day,” said Morello. “They are all looking for an easier route to becoming famous. Look at the Top 50 songs on the radio in the U.S. — there are no guitar solos in them.” While it’s tough love from the ever-opinionated guitarist, he went on to suggest that young musicians likely don’t have a chance of topping th...
Roger Deakins and Wife Launch New Filmmaking Podcast
Roger Deakins is taking his talents to audio. With every major Hollywood production shutdown, the Academy Award-winning cinematography (The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo, Blade Runner 2049), has launched a podcast with his wife James that they’ve aptly dubbed, Team Deakins. The goal of the series is to offer a platform for Deakins to dispense his wisdom for either young filmmakers or cinephiles who pick up their jaws and wonder how he achieved such sterling, magnificent portraits. “Over the years, we have done many Q&As and, afterwards, answered individual questions and realized that we often answer the same questions,” James Deakins told Collider. “So the idea of a podcast came to me late last year and Roger thought it would be something interesting.” James went on to credit the “s...
Sundance Film Festival May Have Contributed to Spread of Coronavirus
The Sundance Film Festival may have been a contributing factor to the spread of COVID-19, at least according to a new report by The Hollywood Reporter. The publication profiled several attendees — from festival regulars to one anonymous high-profile actor — all of whom reported similar symptoms linked to the coronavirus. One of the report’s more forthcoming interviews involved actress Ashley Jackson, who admitted that she and her colleagues had been calling their illness the “the Sundance Plague” at the time. “We all had the same symptoms, all had the cough, all had trouble breathing at night,” she explained. “Some of us got humidifiers and some got oxygen.” Eventually, Jackson recovered three weeks later. However, once news of COVID-19 began to spread, she stopped speculating and contacte...
Kamasi Washington Scored the Michelle Obama Documentary Becoming
Multi-instrumentalist and jazz composer Kamasi Washington has written the score for the new Michelle Obama documentary Becoming. The Netflix film drops today, while the score will be released on May 15th. Based on the former First Lady’s memoir of the same name, Becoming picks up where the 2018 book left off, following Obama on a 34-city promotional tour while revisiting some of the memoir’s most striking moments. It was directed by Nadia Hallgren, who knew she wanted to work with Kamasi Washington before she put the book down. She said in a statement, “Mrs. Obama loves music, and when I read the line in her book ‘And heaven, as I envisioned it, had to be a place full of jazz,’ I knew immediately Kamasi was the artist that could interpret her experience musically.” In a press rel...
Neurosis’ Steve Von Till Announces New Solo Album and Poetry Book, Shares Single “Dreams of Trees”: Stream
Neurosis singer Steve Von Till has announced a new solo album, No Wilderness Deep Enough, as well as book of poetry and lyrics, Harvestman: 23 Untitled Poems and Collected Lyrics. Both arrive August 7th. Von Till also offered up the album track “Dreams of Trees”. Like much of Von Till’s solo work, the track is rooted in softer aesthetics and electronic instrumentation rather than the atmospheric sludge metal of Neurosis. Here, he explores ambient soundscapes, giving emphasis to the words and poeticism of his lyrics. The spiritual tug and introspection of his prior solo outings remains intact. “It’s about personal longings and loss, and the loves and insecurities we all feel combined with meditations on humanity as a whole,” Von Till said in a press release. “I’m exploring the great disconn...
Guns N’ Roses Collaborate with James Patterson on New Children’s Book Sweet Child O’ Mine
Years ago, the idea of one of the world’s most debauched bands, Guns N’ Roses, collaborating with best-selling thriller author James Patterson on an illustrated children’s book would have been an odd thought. But that’s exactly what’s happening in 2020 with the new book Sweet Child O’ Mine. According to People, the book was inspired by two girls named Maya and Natalia, the daughter and niece of one of Guns N’ Roses’ managers, Fernando Lebeis. The book plays off the lyrics of the classic GN’R song “Sweet Child O’ Mine”, turning them into a narrative children’s story. “My sister and I have been lucky to be able to watch our daughters — Maya and Natalia Rose — grow up while touring with the [band],” said Lebeis in a statement. “We ourselves have been part of the ‘Guns family’ for over 30 year...
Tiger King Park Reopens to Huge Crowds Despite Social Distancing Guidelines
Netflix docuseries Tiger King was a perfect storm: ridiculous characters, mockable music, and a release date that caught freshly quarantined Americans itching for something new to watch. This past weekend, the infamous zoo at the center of it all held its grand reopening since closing due to the coronavirus pandemic. Unsurprisingly, fans flocked to the zoo to rub elbows with the villainous celebrities — blatantly ignoring social distancing guidelines in the process. Recently renamed “Tiger King Park” to capitalize on every inch of newfound fame, the zoo was packed with hundreds of paying visitors throughout the weekend, reports TMZ. The demand was so high that a line snaked around the Wynnewood, Oklahoma lot. Allegedly Tiger King Park reopened under “new CDC social distancing and sanitatio...
Grateful Dead Announce 50th Anniversary Reissue of Workingman’s Dead
Mark those calendars, Deadheads. This summer, the Grateful Dead will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Workingman’s Dead with a special reissue featuring a bonus live album. Pre-orders are now ongoing Due out July 10th, the reissue will be available as a CD and on vinyl, with the latter format limited to just 10,000 picture discs. Both come with a newly remastered version of the original album, but the CD edition boasts a little something extra. Fans who purchase the CD reissue will also receive a live album capturing the iconic rock group’s February 21st, 1971 concert at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York. Altogether there are 24 recordings on this collection, the setlist pulled from Workingman’s Dead as well as its follow-up, American Beauty. One of those tracks is a live...
Fiona Apple’s When the Pawn… to Receive First-Ever Vinyl Release
Fiona Apple’s excellent sophomore album, When the Pawn…, will be released on vinyl for the first time ever. VinylMePlease has partnered with the legendary artist to create an exclusive pressing, a 180-gram LP on black vinyl with a new cover picked by Apple herself. “While Tidal introduced us to Apple, the awkward and sullen girl, When the Pawn… had her shooting back with a fiery vengeance at a time when Tori Amos and Alanis Morissette were making anger feminine and more mainstream than their punk predecessors,” the VinylMePlease description reads. “On the record, Apple sings with a gnarly gruffness. She begins most songs with a deceptive sweetness, building to an angsty climax, wielding her voice as a weapon against ex-boyfriends and bullies.” When the Pawn… was arguably Apple’s best album...
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cast and Crew Reuniting for Virtual Pizza Party
DAAAAAAAAAAAAMN! It’s been 30 years since Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hit theaters, which means the titular heroes are now in their middle-age. To celebrate, the original cast and crew are reuniting online for a virtual pizza party. Actress Judith Hoag, aka April O’Neil, announced the event in an all-too-cute video, saying: “We want to get together, hang out with you, and eat some pizza. I personally will probably be having a martini while I’m doing it.” The event goes down on Saturday, May 23rd, which just so happens to be Turtle Day. There’s no scheduled time in place yet, but you can keep an eye out on the event’s Facebook page for more information — and behind-the-scenes materials. Editors’ Picks That also includes the guest list, which has yet to be announced. With Hoag involve...
Alison Mosshart on Writing Songs for Film and TV
Kyle Meredith With… Alison Mosshart Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Alison Mosshart jumps on the line with Kyle Meredith to talk about her new solo single “Rise” from the Facebook Watch series Sacred Lies. The Kills vocalist goes on to discuss her fondness for writing for film and TV, working with Alain Johannes, her recent obsession with making her own videos, and the upcoming B-side to “Rise” called “It Ain’t Water”. Mosshart then goes further into the year to let us know about the Third Man Books re-release of Car Ma, its accompanying spoken word companion (“weird shit inspired by the book”), in addition to a small update on the next record from The Kills. Kyle Meredith With…&n...
