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Inside the Making of Prince’s Clairvoyant Welcome 2 America
Early in Barack Obama’s first presidential term, the U.S. showed the wear that would ultimately become a crisis a decade later — when sniping, arguing and a full-blown culture war engulfed the country in a seemingly inescapable spiral. In 2010, however, many Americans were optimistic that better days were on the way. But Prince was deeply concerned about where things were going: with people’s consumption of technology (especially with the iPhone and other modern tech staples in their nascent days) and with race relations in America, particularly issues affecting the Black community. “His forethought as to what’s going to happen now by who would be consumed by these things, like the iPad and technology was just fascinating,” Prince’s creative director Morris Hayes tells SPIN over Zoom. “Whe...
Billie Eilish’s 10 Best Songs
When Billie Eilish released her breakout hit “Ocean Eyes” at just 14, critics and fans were dumbfounded at the sheer possibility that a voice like that could come from a teenager — much less one with a persistently glazed stare, an aloof pout, and an affinity for clothing three sizes too large. Like the Taylor Swifts and Lordes before her, Eilish possessed a precocious talent that cemented her status in pop canon almost instantaneously. But what Eilish had from the start — that most of her fellow teen idols didn’t — was her arresting presence as both a performer and a personality. Often backed by eerie, industrial stage setups, she commanded rowdy live crowds with the ferocity of artists at least ten years her senior; meanwhile, her unfiltered social media persona only further solidified h...
Joey Jordison’s 10 Most Jaw-Dropping Slipknot Drum Moments
The tragic passing of Joey Jordison at the age of 46 this week meant the loss of one of modern metal’s greatest drummers. As a founding member of Slipknot, he influenced countless young musicians with both his skills behind the kit and his prolific songwriting. Jordison played drums in Slipknot from 1995 through 2013, and appeared on the band’s 1999 self-titled LP, 2001’s Iowa, 2004’s Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses, and 2008’s All Hope Is Gone. His frenetic, idiosyncratic playing came to define Slipknot’s percussive sound, and he was responsible for co-writing a number of their best-known tracks. Following Jordison’s death, two of metal’s best all-time drummers — Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater, The Winery Dogs) and Dave Lombardo (ex-Slayer, Misfits) — praised Jordison as an “incre...
EDM.com Presents Synth Sisters, Vol. 13
There is so much talent within the electronic music community that it’s difficult to keep a finger on its pulse. To assist you on your music discovery journey, EDM.com’s monthly “Synth Sisters” series illuminates new releases from brilliant women producers of all genres and sizes with the hope of celebrating their contributions. “Oxygen” feat. Christina Rotondo – Seiren After a two-year lull in solo production, Seiren recruited vocalist Christina Rotondo to break her musical hiatus. Released on Tuned Theory Records, “Oxygen” is a powerful and intoxicating single that offers a snippet into what’s to come from the Australian talent. “Freak It” – Canabliss Canabliss made her SSKWAN debut with “Freak It,” a pulsating experimental and future bass hybrid that ...
An Oral History of Skateboarding in the U.K.: Part 1, 1970-2000
When the history of skateboarding is told, the influence of the U.S. is everywhere. From the early days documented in Dogtown and Z-Boys — and the much-told story of California’s long, hot summers — to how Supreme conquered the world from Lafayette Street, skateboarding is predominantly documented as an American activity. Away from the States, however, skateboarding has formed subcultures and communities in countries worldwide — and arguably nowhere more so than across the Atlantic in the U.K. After skating became more widespread in Britain in the late ‘70s, the scene has gone through peaks and troughs, as it rose and fell in popularity and cultural capital. But British skating has become a foundational part of the culture, from Liverpool-born Geoff Rowley winning Thrasher’s Skater of the ...
Margot Robbie and James Gunn Say Harley Quinn’s ‘Pretty Awesome’ Fight Scene is Their Favorite Part of ‘The Suicide Squad’
Though only one word separates James Gunn’s upcoming The Suicide Squad from David Ayer’s 2016 Suicide Squad, the two films exist in entirely different realms. Five years following the adversely-received movie that gave rise to Warner Bros’ revamped take on the DC Universe, Gunn’s The Suicide Squad is not a sequel, but an alternate look at the entourage of mischievously tactical supervillains. Similar to the first film, the plot oversees a group of comic convicts, each equipped with their own set of vicious superpowers. The haphazard ensemble must embark on a series of life-threatening black ops missions under the authority of Amanda Waller, a master agent without an ounce of empathy, played by Viola Davis. In Gunn’s edition, though, the squad is tasked with overtaking a modern ...
Vinyl Saved My Life: A Tribute to Biz Markie
I envisioned an overcrowded Chinatown, and those glazed shiny ducks rotating around in the display windows of the restaurants. I remember feeling mournful for the ducks; their skin dripping with grease and crackling, the flames scorching their meat to the bone like a sacrifice for all to see. I would stop mid-stride against the determined shoppers and think, “that’s really fucking disgusting.” But today, I’m totally convinced those ducks had it way better than I did. For on this day I would find myself on a bus without working air conditioning—stuffed in the middle bunk of twelve sleeping compartments. Even though I had survived New York City summers, where the heat rising off the pavement would distort buildings and create optical illusions that made the buildings do sexy belly dances. Th...
Before Galantis, Linus Eklöw Was a DJ Named Style of Eye: Here Are 5 of His Best Songs
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a certain creature named the Sea Fox had yet to exist. Neither did EDM anthems like “Runaway (U & I)” and “Peanut Butter Jelly”—what ever did the ravers do? While it might seem like these cultural staples have been around forever, their mastermind, Galantis, only popped up in 2012. But if we go back in time, it turns out that the musical influence of its two Swedish members, Christian Karlsson and Linus Eklöw, goes back decades. One of Karlsson’s past projects, for example, wrote and co-produced Britney Spears‘ “Toxic.” Eklöw, on the other hand, got his start in the early 2000s as a DJ named Style of Eye. Style of Eye performing at Mumbai’s Drop Nightclub in 2012. Submerge.in Und...
Chris Hemsworth’s Personal Trainer Luke Zocchi Tells Us How We Can Train Like Thor
Between effortlessly wielding Mjölnir and single-handedly overpowering Thanos, it’s befitting that Thor, aka Chris Hemsworth, possesses the physique that is equal to his worthiness as the Asgardian God of Thunder. Many Marvel fans who also enjoy working out and lifting heavy at the gym have looked up to the Australian actor and his build as an ultimate goal, but for most of us, looking like a Hollywood star seems almost impossible to achieve. Hemsworth’s childhood friend and personal trainer Luke Zocchi — pictured above on the right of Hemsworth, while on his left is his stunt double — is a fitness expert with roots in boxing, and has joined us at HYPEBEAST to speak about his experience with Thor himself, the training program the two came up with together, and why one should never skip car...
An Oral History of Skateboarding in the U.K.: Part 2, 2000-Today
After charting British skateboarding’s journey from the late ‘70s to the turn of the millennium in Part One, the second installment of our oral history of U.K. skateboarding looks at its modern era. Beginning with the cultural impact of Tony Hawk’s Pro-Skater, this was the period when the Southbank was saved and that Palace was born, placing the U.K. on the skateboarding map in a way that had never happened before. Alongside that, skateboarding crossed into the mainstream to an unparalleled degree. On one hand, luxury houses from Lanvin to Louis Vuitton began looking to skateboarding for inspiration, while on the other skateparks were built up and down the country, and a new — more diverse — generation became involved in the sport. This is how British skateboarding moved from the rough wor...
Bands and a New Trend Brewing
Todd Ahsmann isn’t sure if he’s ever seen live music without a beer in his hand. The Goose Island president and former music industry vet says beer and music go hand in hand. “We should be collaborating,” Ahsmann says. “The half-joke used to be that rock radio was funded by beer because beer companies were mostly buying advertising. Concert venues and festivals make just as much off beer sales as they do ticket sales. They’re dependent on each other.” Since 2013, Ahsmann’s Chicago craft brewery has partnered with musical groups like Japandroids, Sharon Van Etten, and Parquet Courts for exclusive beer releases during the Pitchfork Music Festival. The first collaboration was a Belgian wheat ale with Run the Jewels. When Ahsmann first pitched the idea, festival founding director M...
Alex Lifeson on Solo Music, Envy of None, ‘Really Cool’ Upcoming Rush Reissue
Alex Lifeson didn’t have some grand master plan for all of this: the glossy-looking website, the big rollout of new music, the subsequent parade of interviews. But the dominos just keep tumbling, and he’s going with the flow. With the launch of his new signature Epiphone electric guitar, the Alex Lifeson Les Paul Axcess Standard, he finds himself in a rare solo spotlight — probably the most attention he’s faced since Rush retired from touring in 2015. “I stayed away from social media forever,” he tells SPIN. “I really wanted to protect my privacy and wasn’t really interested in doing all the things that are required because I’m generally a lazy person. But now with the Epiphone account, with the demand of creating an Instagram and my own website, I’m going to try to utilize those things an...
