Entertainment News
What’s Streaming on Disney+ in December 2020
Disney+ is bringing some much-needed Soul to Christmas. Yes, on December 25th, the Mouse House is rolling out its would-be Pixar blockbuster on their streaming service. Unlike this past September’s release of Mulan, however, Soul will be completely free to subscribers. Consider it a gift from Mickey. Of course, that’s not the only present to unwrap this month. There’s also Jillian Bell’s new comedy Godmothered, the exhaustively titled High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special, and the remaining episodes of The Mandalorian Season 2. Editors’ Picks Elsewhere, nostalgics can enjoy watching Tom Hanks play Josh Baskin in Big, head to the clouds with Kurt Russell in Sky High, and pretend like they’re watching Max Keeble’s Big Move for the first time. Into the Woods is somewhere...
Corey Taylor Stars in Horror Film Bad Candy, Says Slipknot Could Release New Album in 2021
Longtime horror cinephile Corey Taylor has filmed a starring role in the upcoming movie Bad Candy alongside Zach Galligan of Gremlins fame. In addition to discussing the film, Taylor hinted in a separate interview that Slipknot could release their next album in 2021. The movie is structured in the classic horror anthology format. Taylor plays a radio DJ who weaves scary stories to his listeners — a task well-suited for the voice of Slipknot — with his co-host (played by Galligan). In a Creepshow-inspired twist, the stories come to life in graphic reenactments that owe much to the great horror films of yore such as Halloween and, of course, Gremlins. “It’s a pretty cool little horror movie that has a linear story going through it, but it’s really kind of made up of different short...
Billie Eilish Discusses Her Identity Crisis, New Music in “Time Capsule” Interview: Watch
Back in 2017, when only a handful of outlets knew she would become a breakout star, Billie Eilish stopped by Vanity Fair for a video interview. Since then, they’ve invited her back each year to answer the same questions and see how she’s changed — and the 2020 installment of “Time Capsule” might be the best yet, as it sees Eilish touching on her identity crisis, new music she has yet to release, and everything in between. The 27-minute-long video places Eilish’s annual answers side-by-side for easy comparison. The big takeaways? She never wants to stop performing live, and living through a global pandemic where the safest option is staying home has made her all the more aware of that. “I never thought I wouldn’t be able to do shows someday. It’s the one thing I feel like I’ve ever been goo...
Mysterious 2001-Like Monolith Reappears In Romania
Some seriously freaky shit is going on. Last week, state officials in Utah stumbled upon a mysterious shiny monolith in the middle of the desert. Five days later, it suddenly disappeared. Now, a nearly identical structure has been spotted roughly 6,000 miles across the ocean in Romania. When the first monolith was initially found, there were a couple running theories for who could be behind it. The first was that an ambitious 2001: A Space Odyssey fan had planted a structure in the desert as an ode to the monolith that appears in Stanley Kubrick’s beloved sci-fi film. The second and more likely theory, which was detailed in The New York Times, is that it was planted there years ago by someone associated with the late sculptor John McCracken, who was known for making shiny monolit...
What’s Streaming on HBO Max in December 2020
HBO Max is bringing home a blockbuster for the holidays. Unless you’ve been floating among the wreckage of Krypton, you probably already know that the streaming service is premiering the highly anticipated Wonder Woman 1984 on Christmas. So, be sure to clear your schedule during the holiday. Right behind the great goddess is a real-life one in Meryl Streep, whose latest feature Let Them All Talk arrives on December 10th. Veteran filmmaker Steven Soderbergh helms the picture that also stars Candice Bergen, Dianne Wiest, and Lucas Hedges. Other exclusive originals this month include Christmas specials involving Euphoria and Carrie Underwood. The latter sees the country star performing traditional favorites and new original material from her first Christmas album. Editors’ Picks In...
James Blake Gets in the Holiday Spirit with “In the Bleak Midwinter” Cover: Stream
James Blake has shared a cover of “In the Bleak Midwinter”, the iconic Christmas carol first set to music in 1906 by Gustav Holst and popularized by Harold Darke in 1911. Stream it below exclusively through Apple Music. The Assume Form singer was approached by Apple Music to record a holiday song for their streaming platform earlier this year. At first, Blake wasn’t sure which song to pick, namely because he wanted to choose something pop-leaning that would do well on a playlist. That’s when he began a mental tug-of-war about playing into algorithms versus staying true to his interests. Eventually, Blake realized he should just pick an old British gem he loves instead. “Look man, all the pop Christmas songs have been covered a million times. I’m not going to out-sing Mariah,” Bla...
Björk Shares New Version of “Sonnets” Featuring Iceland’s Hamrahlid Choir: Stream
Like many Icelandic artists before her, Björk spent much of her teenage years singing as part of the renowned Hamrahlid Choir. Things have now come full circle, as the experimental artist has contributed to the choir’s upcoming album, Come and Be Joyful. The two acts have specifically collaborated on a new version of “Sonnets”, originally taken from Björk’s 2004 album Medúlla. This completely reworked a cappella rendition was actually first premiered live by the choir during Björk’s mesmerizing “Cornucopia Tour” in 2019, but hasn’t been released to the public until today. “[Hamrahlid Choir founder] þorgerður is a legend in iceland and has guarded optimism and the light in the tumultuous times that teenagedom is,” Björk praised the choir’s leader on social media. “she has also encoura...
Nick Cave Blasts BBC for Censoring The Pogues “Fairytale of New York”
‘Tis the season for classic holiday songs, which means ’tis also the season for society to wrestle with outdated and offensive holiday lyrics. Our latest discourse is brought to you by Nick Cave, who is incensed at the BBC’s decision to censor a homophobic slur in The Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York”. In the latest edition of his Red Hand Files, Cave wrote that the BBC had “tampered with, compromised, tamed, and neutered” a track that he considers “the greatest Christmas song ever written.” “Fairytale of New York” is a duet with Kirsty MacColl that first appeared on The Pogues’ 1988 album If I Should Fall from Grace with God. The lyrics are set on Christmas Eve “in the drunk tank,” and features frontman Shane MacGowan trading insults with MacColl. MacGowan’s character calls MacColl’s “...
Liam Gallagher Performs Oasis’ “Hello” for the First Time in 18 Years: Stream
This year marks the 25th anniversary of (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, the seminal sophomore album from Oasis. Recently, Liam Gallagher performed the LP’s opening track, “Hello”, for the first time in 18 (!) years. The momentous performance took place on BBC Radio 2 late last week. Gallagher, not missing a beat after the last two decades, charged through “Hello” like it was any ordinary in-studio Oasis session circa the ’90s. The British rocker’s voice stretched out in that nasally way fans have come to love, as he sang out, “Nobody ever mentions the weather/ Can make or break your day/ Nobody ever seems to remember/ Life is a game we play.” “It’s never gonna be the same,” continued the 48-year-old Gallagher, a line that seems to have taken on a different meaning considering the break-...
Limp Bizkit’s Wes Borland: Deftones Made “Right Move” by Renouncing Nu Metal
Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland achieved massive success amidst the nu metal craze of the late ’90s and early 2000s. That said, he thinks fellow nu metal pioneers Deftones made the “right move” for their longterm career by renouncing the genre. While appearing on Dean Delray’s Let There Be Talk podcast, Borland was asked about where Bizkit fit in during the rise of nu metal. “A lot of it sort of all developed at once — Korn, and the Deftones … The Deftones really tried to separate themselves from everything, which was the right move, for sure. Because they were able to maintain longevity.” Deftones consciously made the decision to not tour with bands like Limp Bizkit and Korn, and abandoned the nu metal genre in terms of both scene and sound. In the process, Deftones have earned critical...
BTS Score Second No. 1 Album This Year with BE
BTS’s new album BE has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. BE bowed with 242,000 equivalent album units, Billboard’s all-in-one metric that combines album sales and different measures of streaming. These strong numbers were buoyed by “Dynamite”, the global smash that set records as the first K-pop single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. This is the second time the Bangtan Boys have achieved the top position this year following the success of February’s Map of the Soul: 7. The achievement makes them the first group to land two No. 1 albums in 2020, and second act overall. But even more impressive is the fact BE marks BTS’s fifth No. 1 album in the US in a little over two years and six months. The only group to have accomplished that...
Utah’s 2001-Like Monolith Mysteriously Disappears
A week after the bizarre discovery of a metal monolith in the Utah desert, the mysterious object has disappeared. The three-sided structure was found on November 23rd, while a helicopter from the Utah Department of Public Safety was conducting a survey of bighorn sheep. Located in a remote area of Red Rock County, it reminded film fans of Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. Standing ten to 12 feet tall, it had been installed with “some type of concrete-cutting tool or something to really dig down… and embed it really well,” a spokesman told The New York Times. It’s unclear who put it there, when they’d done so, and why. Now, it’s gone. On November 28th, Utah’s Bureau of Land Management said in a statement that “an unknown party” had “removed it on the evening of No...
