Entertainment News
Chris Cornell’s Daughter Lily Cornell Silver Covers Alice in Chains for First Public Performance: Watch
Lily Cornell Silver, the eldest daughter of late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, made her first public performance during the MoPOP Founders Award ceremony on Tuesday night. She covered Alice in Chains’ “Black Gives Way to Blue” in tribute to the evening’s honorees. The livestream event saw numerous grunge and alt-rock luminaries covering the songs of Alice in Chains. Members of Soundgarden participated in the festivities, and one of the evening’s major highlights came when Lily — whose mom is Alice in Chains’ longtime manager Susan Silver — played a touching piano version of “Black Gives Way to Blue” with musical accompaniment by Queensrÿche’s Chris DeGarmo. Like her father, Lily has a strong singing voice, elevating the emotional content of an already heart-wrenching song. We can onl...
Lady Gaga Is Getting Her Own Oreo
While the rest of us were swooning over her “911” outfits and praising her for saving pop as we know it, Lady Gaga was secretly busy creating her very own Oreo. Announced earlier today, the limited-edition cookie is tied to her latest album, Chromatica, and will reportedly be available to purchase in stores soon. Unsurprisingly, the official Lady Gaga Oreo is a pink-colored cookie with heart-shaped detailing and green creme filling — a playful spin on the cover artwork of one of the best albums of 2020. The whole thing comes packaged in a neon pink wrapper emblazoned with Lady Gaga’s name in giant, metallic text, too. It’s bold, it’s flashy, and it’s very much up her alley. To break the news, Gaga shared a video of herself opening the new Oreo flavor while lounging with Koji, her pet dog, ...
The Secret Service Investigated John Mulaney After His SNL Monologue
The Secret Service questioned John Mulaney after he hosted SNL in February, even though, as the comedian stressed, the joke in question “was not about Donald Trump.” Mulaney related the experience last night in a remote appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. He explained that “there’s a service that operates for the president, and they are secret,” and he was only sure they existed because, “they investigated me.” He said, “In February, I did a joke that was not about Donald Trump. The joke was about how it was a Leap Year, and Leap Year had been started by Julius Caesar to correct the calendar. And another thing that happened with Caesar was that he was stabbed to death by a bunch of senators because he went crazy. And I said, ‘That’s an interesting thing that could happen.’” He...
Britney Spears Celebrates Birthday by Sharing Unreleased Song “Swimming in the Stars”: Stream
Looks like Britney Spears fans have been granted their Christmas wish this year. In celebration of her 39th birthday, the pop icon has unearthed a previously unreleased song called “Swimming in the Stars”. Out through RCA Records, “Swimming” is a leftover track that was originally recorded during sessions for Spears’ 2016 album Glory. Despite having been shelved all these years, its positive lyrics — about briefly forgetting our worries and holding onto joy — actually make for a refreshing and relevant remedy for this hellish 2020. “Head first, all the way down/ In gravity’s arms we’ll drown/ The world is ours/ When we’re swimming in the stars,” sings Spears. Stream it down below. Editors’ Picks The newly revealed song will be included on the deluxe vinyl edition of Glory, which...
The Hold Steady Announce New Album Open Door Policy, Share “Family Farm”: Stream
The Hold Steady have announced their eighth studio album, Open Door Policy. The follow-up to last year’s Thrashing Thru the Passion is due out on February 19th via the group’s own Positive Jams label and Thirty Tigers. The new full-length was almost entirely written and recorded prior to the pandemic. However, “the songs and stories explore power, wealth, mental health, technology, capitalism, consumerism, and survival – issues which have compounded in 2020,” according to frontman Craig Finn. Recording took place at The Clubhouse in Rhinebeck, New York with assistance from producer Josh Kaufman and engineer D. James Goodwin. The album is The Hold Steady’s second to feature their current six-piece lineup, which has been described by Finn as the band’s “best” iteration. Editors’ P...
Sylvan Esso Drops Surprise With Love EP: Stream
Sylvan Esso has dropped a surprise new EP titled With Love. Take a listen below via Spotify, and also watch a live performance video of “Numb”. It doesn’t get any fresher than this: The six-track EP was recorded on Tuesday night — mere hours ago as of publication — as part of the final installment of their virtual concert series “From the Satellite”. The epic performance saw bandmates Nick Sanborn and Amelia Meath rework tracks off their latest album — this past September’s Free Love — alongside a 10-piece “dream team” band. Said “dream team” includes members of Bon Iver, Wye Oak, Hiss Golden Messenger, Mr. Twin Sister, Hand Habits, Mountain Man and Mandolin Orange. This is the very same band they toured with last year. Editors’ Picks The EP caps off an epic year for Sylvan...
Smashing Pumpkins Perform “CYR” on Fallon: Watch
On Tuesday night, Smashing Pumpkins delivered their first-late night television appearance in support of their new double album, CYR. Billy Corgan, James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin, and Jeff Scroeder beamed remotely into The Tonight Show for a performance of the album’s title track. Watch the replay below. In a review of CYR for Consequence of Sound, Tyler Clark said the sprawling double album is “as frustrating as it is ambitious.” In other news, the Pumpkins recently announced a 33-song (!) sequel album to Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness in honor of its 25th anniversary. The group is also planning to embark on an arena tour next year in further support of the classic record. [embedded content] Related You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are lookin...
South Korea Amends Law to Let BTS Postpone Compulsory Military Service
Given that BTS accounts for $5 billion (!) of South Korea’s gross GDP, members of #BTSArmy weren’t the only ones worryingly counting down the days until the K-pop group’s members became of age and would be forced to enlist into the military, as required by the country’s constitution. Well, as luck would have it, South Korea’s National Assembly has just passed legislation revising South Korea’s Military Service Act. According to the New York Times, the revised law allows top K-pop stars to postpone military service until they turn 30 — two years later than originally required. Additionally, K-pop entertainers who have received government metals for their cultural impact can now apply for deferment from the military. The timing of the legislation is by no means coincidental: BTS’s oldest mem...
Slash Unveils Gibson “Victoria” Les Paul Standard Goldtop Electric Guitar
Gibson and Slash have announced the “Victoria” Les Paul Standard Goldtop electric guitar, the latest instrument in the company’s expansive Slash Collection of signature models. The “Victoria” Les Paul Standard features a maple top, a solid mahogany body, a dark back finish and personal touches from Slash, including a C-shaped neck profile, uncovered Gibson Custom BurstBucker Alnico 2 pickups, color coordinated hardware appointments, hand-wired electronics with Orange Drop capacitors, and a vintage style brown hardshell case. Exclusive to the collection is Slash’s “Skully” drawing on the back of the headstock and the guitarist’s signature on the truss rod cover. Developed in tandem with Slash himself, if you want to play and sound like the guitar legend, look no further than this new Les Pa...
Studio Ghibli Shares Trailer for First Fully-CGI Movie Earwig and the Witch: Watch
Studio Ghibli has shared the first trailer for Earwig and the Witch, the Japanese animation studio’s first fully-CGI movie. The story is based on a 2011 book of the same name by the late British writer Diana Wynne Jones, best known in film circles for providing the source material to Howl’s Moving Castle. It follows a brilliant young orphan named Earwig who has the misfortune to be adopted by the evil witch Bella Yaga. With brains, a bit of magic, and a friendly talking cat, Earwig sets out to escape the witch’s haunted house. The new trailer is in Japanese, and it’s not clear if the title has been correctly translated. While sources like Ghiblioteque are reporting it as Earwig, the movie was initially announced in English as Aya and the Witch. But the two-minute clip does a...
Steven Spielberg Secures Restraining Order Against Stalker
Steven Spielberg knows a thing or two about close encounters — he’s currently living one. As TMZ reports, the blockbuster filmmaker has secured court-ordered protection from a woman he believes is threatening to murder him. According to legal documents obtained by TMZ, Spielberg filed a restraining order against a woman named Sarah Char. He claimed Char has been harassing him for months and was told by law enforcement she even purchased a gun to kill him. What’s more, Spielberg stated that Char dropped into his Twitter DMs, writing: “If I have to personally MURDER people for stealing my IPs‚ I WILL. Get me?” No word on what IPs Char is referring to, though let’s hope it’s not one of the dozens of pop culture Easter eggs found within 2018’s Ready Player One. All joking aside, the restrainin...
Bad Religion Announce Four-Part “Decades” Streaming Performance Series
Bad Religion were hoping to tour in celebration of their 40th anniversary this year. Instead, the punk-rock veterans will mark the milestone with a four-part streaming performance series dubbed “Decades”. “Decades” will be divided into four episodes, one for each decade of the band’s existence: “The ’80s”, “The ’90s, “The ’00s”, “The ’10s”. Each episode will feature footage from a new set filmed at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles. In addition to the new performances of songs from each era, the episodes will include exclusive interviews, archival footage from each decade, and more. The band will also participate in a live chat as each episode premieres. “I can speak for the whole band when I say that we were so disappointed to not be able to tour this year,” said singer Greg Graffin in a pr...
