music blog
Alexandre Desplat Is Top Nominee for 2023 SCL Awards: Full List of Nominations
Less than 24 hours after Alexandre Desplat was shortlisted for Academy Awards for best original song and best original score for his work on Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio, the French composer emerges as the top nominee for the 2023 SCL Awards for his work on that same film. Desplat is nominated for outstanding score for a studio film and outstanding song for a musical/comedy for “Ciao Papa,” which he co-wrote with Del Toro and Roeban Katz. The awards by the Society of Composers & Lyricists, now in their fourth year, will be presented on Feb. 15, 2023, at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Actor-musician Darren Criss is set to host. Many of the SCL nominees were shortlisted for Oscars on Dec. 21, but some who were left off received nods here, including Michael Giacchino (nomi...
Kate Bush Reflects on ‘Running Up That Hill’ Success, Shares Message of ‘Hope’ in 2022 Christmas Message
Kate Bush is looking back on the ups and downs of 2022. In a bittersweet message titled “Merry Christmas” on her website, the 64-year-old U.K. pop icon reflects on the pains of the the past year, including the war in Ukraine and death of Queen Elizabeth II, but also shares thanks for the renewed success of her classic 1985 song “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” and expresses hope for a brighter 2023. “I don’t think any of us have ever known a year like this one,” Bush begins her note. “Life became incredibly frightening in the pandemic, but just as we think it might be over soon, it seems to keep going. It’s a bombardment — the horrific war in Ukraine, the famines, the droughts, the floods… and we lost our Queen.” The singer-songwriter then turns to a more uplifting topic: the resur...
Chrissy Teigen Jokes About Posing for ‘Storks Illustrated’ in Bikini Photo Baring Her Baby Bump
Chrissy Teigen is proving that being a swimsuit model and being pregnant aren’t mutually exclusive. In a new Instagram photo from her and John Legend‘s beachside holiday getaway, the former Sports Illustrated covergirl showed off her baby bump in a black bikini — a shot she hilariously dubbed “Storks Illustrated.” In the a photo shared Wednesday (Dec. 21), Teigen stands on a sandy shore with her feet in the water, looking on as her son, 4-year-old Miles, runs from an approaching wave. Facing slightly away from the camera, the Cravings founder’s belly is on full display in her two-piece, which she revealed in a followup post is from the brand Monday Swimwear. “storks illustrated? I don’t know,” she jokingly captioned the post. Teigen is currently expecting her third child with Legend, with ...
TWICE’s Tzuyu Gets Into the Holiday Spirit With a Christmas Cover of Ava Max: Watch
With just days left until Christmas, TWICE‘s Tzuyu is spreading cheer to ONCEs everywhere by gifting them a cover of a holiday track on Wednesday (Dec. 21). The K-pop star went with a modern Christmas song and put a sweet spin on Ava Max‘s 2020 song “Christmas Without You.” The TWICE vocalist filmed a video to accompany her take from the studio, and is in a cozy white sweater, red scarf and a festive reindeer headband complete with small antlers. Kicking off the first verse, Tzuyu went with a serene delivery of the track and its chorus. “Lights on the trees under fallen snow/ You get a bit closer when the winter’s cold/ Now I can’t wait ’til you’re by my side/ All of the best gifts, you just can’t buy,” she sang. “Wherever you go, you light up the room/ I hope that you’ll make it back home...
Young Thug Reportedly Enlists Hip-Hop Historians To Testify in Upcoming Trial
Young Thug is calling on experts of hip-hop music to testify in his upcoming trial. According to documents allegedly submitted by the rapper’s lawyer Brian Steel, which were obtained by AllHipHop, one “hip-hop historian” and two “lyrics experts” will serve as expert witnesses in the trial for Thug’s RICO case. Thug’s defense will call on Dr. Erik Nielson, who authored the book Rap on Trial: Race, Lyrics and Guilt in America and is named as a hip-hop historian/expert in the documents. They’ll also be tapping Dr. Adam Dunbar of the University of Nevada, Reno and Dr. Charis Kubrin of the University of California, Irvine. Both professors are listed in the document as hip-hop/lyrics experts. Other witnesses the defense will enlist include a video analysis expert, a cell phone expert and a drug ...
Madlib’s Mastery of Beat-Making Knows No Boundaries
From collaborating with Freddie Gibbs and Erykah Badu to the late legends MF Doom and J. Dilla, Madlib has been proving his beat-making skills for over three decades. Known for his meticulous approach to sampling — the act of reusing and remixing sound from another recording — it may seem like the producer has the process of engineering the perfect loop down to a science, but really, he says, anyone can do it. (Turns out, despite being one of hip-hop’s most influential names, he’s also a pretty humble guy.) According to Madlib, sampling is just about listening for a catchy sound to pull from a track and then chop, layer and warp to create something new. It’s a process that launched him to legend status following the release of 2004’s critically-acclaimed Madvillainy, the sole LP to come ou...
Rex Orange County Has Sexual Assault Charges Dismissed
A London court has dismissed six charges of sexual assault filed against Rex Orange County earlier this year, BBC News reports. The British singer-songwriter had denied a woman’s allegations of unwanted touching. In a statement today, he said independent evidence including CCTV footage and a witness account had failed to support the allegations. The Crown Prosecution service told the BBC that the evidence no longer met its test for prosecution. “I have never assaulted anyone and I do not condone violence or abusive behaviour of any kind,” Rex Orange County’s statement reads, in part. “It’s been a difficult time for everyone involved and I’d like to thank the people who have helped me through it as well as my family and loved ones for their continued support.” Prior to the dismissal, Rex Or...
Kate Bush Reflects on Nursing Strikes and the Queen’s Death in Christmas Message
In her annual Christmas message, Kate Bush has expressed support for striking nurses in the United Kinggdom, lamented Queen Elizabeth II’s death and the Ukraine war, and furthered her (already quite extensive) celebration of Netflix’s Stranger Things. “It’s a bombardment—the horrific war in Ukraine, the famines, the droughts, the floods… and we lost our Queen,” she wrote. “Many of my friends were surprised at how upset they were at her death especially as we aren’t royalists, but I think her passing became a focus for grief, for unexpressed loss that so many people had felt during the pandemic.” As British nurses strike for better pay and working conditions, Bush said, “I hope that the nurses will be in a position where they are appreciated—they should be cherished.” Of her resurgent class...
5 Things to Know About Molly Tuttle, Best New Artist Nominee at 2023 Grammys
While Molly Tuttle has technically been part of the bluegrass scene since 2006, the 29-year-old reached new heights in 2022, netting two nominations at the 2023 Grammys: Best New Artist and Best Bluegrass Album. This year saw the artist release her first project since 2020’s …but I’d Rather Be With You. Tuttle’s third studio album Crooked Tree, recorded with her band Golden Highway, arrived in April 2022, and landed her the Best Bluegrass Album nomination. As for the Best New Artist nod, Tuttle will be up against Anitta, Domi & JD Beck, Latto, Omar Apollo, Samara Joy, Muni Long, Tobe Nwigwe, Måneskin and Wet Leg in the category, come Music’s Biggest Night on February 5th, 2023. Advertisement Related Video Here are five things to know abut Molly Tuttle prior to the 2023 Grammy Awards, a...
Young Dolph’s Legacy Celebrated With Traveling ‘Dolphland’ Pop-Up Museum
Last week, Young Dolph’s estate released its first posthumous LP from the late rapper, entitled Paper Route Frank. The album dropped one year after Dolph, whose real name is Adolph Robert Thornton Jr., was tragically murdered in his hometown of Memphis at the age of 36. The rapper’s estate, along with Paper Route Empire and the Trap Music Museum, will continue to celebrate Dolph’s legacy and impact on rap music through a touring pop-up museum exhibit. The museum, called Dolphland, will “display original curated art and personal items that reflect Young Dolph’s unforgettable lyricism, personality, entrepreneurial spirit, philanthropy, and historic moments from his legendary career,” the press release reads. The touring pop-up will kick off in New York City on January 13 through 15. It won’t...
Rex Orange County Has Sexual Assault Charges Dropped Before Trial
Rex Orange County has shared a statement saying that all charges against him in a sexual assault case have been dropped. In October, the musician, real name Alex O’Connor, was charged with six counts of sexually assaulting a woman in London — pleading not guilty to all of the charges at Southwark Crown Court. The singer-songwriter was accused of assaulting the woman on six occasions between June 1 and 2. He allegedly assaulted the woman twice in London’s West End — once in a taxi, and three times at his home in Notting Hill. Following the allegations, he was set to provisionally face trail on January 3, 2023. Now, in a statement posted today, Rex Orange County revealed that all the charges against him have been dropped. “Today, all charged against me have been dropped,” he said...
Mac DeMarco Covers “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”
After releasing a jolly rendition of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” last year, Mac DeMarco is continuing his tradition of covering Christmas songs with a new take on the classic, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” The two-minute track arrives with an accompanying music video, in which DeMarco and Dan McNeill explore Los Angeles on motorcycles dressed in inflatable costumes of Santa Claus and a gingerbread man. DeMarco has long covered Christmas songs around the holidays. In seasons past, the artist has also dropped renditions of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” “The Christmas Song” and “Wonderful Christmastime.” Outside of the holiday music circuit, DeMarco released his latest album, Here Comes the Cowboy, in 2019. The 13-track effort, which marked his fourth full-l...
