music
HAIM Unleash New Song “Feel the Thunder”: Stream
Some say rock music has gone the way of the Neanderthals, but HAIM are bringing it back with their new song “Feel the Thunder”. Produced and co-written by Ariel Rechtshaid, the track appears in the upcoming animated caveman comedy The Croods: A New Age. With booming drums and guitars as flashy as a lightning storm, “Feel the Thunder” is a throwback to the go-go 1980s. As the band told Rolling Stone, they wanted to evoke the glamorous swagger of Guns ‘n Roses. That’s one of the reasons they tapped Rechtshaid, because according to Danielle Haim he is “the biggest Guns ‘n’ Roses fan.” She said, “He’s obsessed with them – he went and saw them on their most recent tour a bunch of times. And so I figured that that’s what we were looking for. We were like, ‘Let’s get Ariel.’ But I’d nev...
System of a Down’s Comeback Songs Help Raise $600,000 for Artsakh and Armenia
System of a Down surprised the music world with their first new songs in 15 years this past Friday. Less than a week later, the charitable singles have helped raise more than $600,000 for Artsakh and Armenia amid ongoing conflicts with Azerbaijan and Turkey. While the Armenian-American metal act has remained an active touring entity, the band hadn’t released new music since 2005’s Hypnotize until dropping the songs “Protect the Land” and “Genocidal Humanoidz” last week. The members of System of a Down explained that they set their creative differences aside to record the songs to aid their ancestral home of Armenia and its neighboring state Artsakh in the midst of “horrific injustices and human rights violations” being perpetrated by Azerbaijan and Turkey. Now, the band has unveiled a vide...
Selena Gomez to Portray Gay Mountaineering Icon Silvia Vásquez-Lavado in New Biopic
Last we heard from Selena Gomez, the pop star had just collaborated with K-pop sensations BLACKPINK, as well as purchased Tom Petty’s former California mansion. Gomez has now found her next big project: the 28-year-old has just been cast to star in a new biopic about Silvia Vásquez-Lavado, the first openly gay woman to ascend the highest mountain on each continent, a.k.a. the Seven Summits. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the forthcoming film is titled In the Shadow of the Mountain and based on a forthcoming memoir of the same name by Vásquez-Lavado, who is also credited with being the first Peruvian woman to scale Mt. Everest. Elgin James (Little Birds, FX’s Mayan’s M.C.) has been tapped to write and direct the movie, while Oscar winner Donna Gigliotti (Shakespeare in ...
Marilyn Manson’s Team Issues Statement Addressing Evan Rachel Wood Controversy
Marilyn Manson’s publicity team has released a lengthy statement addressing the singer’s former relationship with actress Evan Rachel Wood. The statement comes after Manson hung up during an interview with Metal Hammer when he was asked about Wood’s 2019 testimony in which she revealed she was in an unspecified abusive relationship. The allegations stem from Wood’s testimony before California senators last year during the creation of the Phoenix Act. Without naming any one specific, Wood described an abusive relationship with an older man when she was 18 — around the time she was known to have dated Manson, who was 36 at the time. After Manson cut the interview with Metal Hammer short, the news outlet sent his UK publicist 10 questions regarding the topic that they wanted answered from the...
Mr. Bungle Unveil Derek Cianfrance-Directed Video for “Sudden Death”: Watch
Mr. Bungle, photo by Eric Larsen Mr. Bungle have unveiled a music video for recent single “Sudden Death”. The clip was directed by acclaimed filmmaker Derek Cianfrance. The director is best known for his 2010 drama Blue Valentine and 2013’s The Place Beyond the Pines. He brings striking visuals to what singer Mike Patton called “the least commercial and longest song” on Mr. Bungle’s new album, The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo. “That’s where his eyes and ears go,” Patton said of Cianfrance in a press release. The two became friends after working together on Pines, which was scored by Patton. The new video continues a lifelong fandom for Cianfrance, who remembers growing up and blaring Mr. Bungle out of his 1974 Mustang while cruising the streets of Lakewood, Colorado, as a teenager...
Sinéad O’Connor to Enter One-Year Rehab Program for “Trauma and Addiction”
Sinéad O’Connor has announced she’s entering a one-year rehab program to address “trauma and addiction.” Over the last few years, O’Connor has been open about her struggles with mental health. In a 2017 interview with Dr. Phil, she spoke about being abused as a child and her subsequent suicide attempts. But 2020 has been an especially hard year for reasons both obvious and personal, and O’Connor has made the decision to seek help. She revealed her thinking in a Twitter thread on Tuesday, November 10th, writing, “Message for folks who have tickets for next year’s shows: those shows are being postponed until 2022 so that I may go into a one year trauma and addiction treatment program because I had a very traumatic six years and this year was the end of it but now recovery starts.” Without de...
Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, Sheryl Crow Set for Stand Up for Heroes Livestream
Jon Stewart (photo via CBS); Bruce Springsteen and Sheryl Crow (photos by Ben Kaye) For the past 14 years, New York City has hosted Stand Up for Heroes to honor US veterans and their families. It’s a beloved tradition, and despite the pandemic, this year’s event will take place as scheduled — albeit in the form of a livestream. Longtime event host Jon Stewart will return to emcee this year’s edition of Stand Up for Heroes. Throughout the night, he will be joined by a string of comedians and musicians, including Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, Tiffany Haddish, Brad Paisley, Patti Scialfa, and Iliza Shlesinger. A handful of special guests will make appearances as well, such as Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex (!), Ray Romano, Jeannie Gaffigan, and more. Proceeds rais...
The Antlers Unveil New Single “It Is What It Is”: Stream
Last month, The Antlers returned with their first single in six years, “Wheels Roll Home”. Proving their comeback isn’t just a one-time affair, the indie rockers have shared another new song, “It Is What It Is”. While the preceding offering saw The Antlers overjoyed at the thought of reuniting with an old friend, today’s single is a more sobering listen. On it, frontman and lead songwriter Peter Silberman is forced to come to terms with an unexpected, and oftentimes less-than-ideal, reality. “‘It Is What It Is’ is a song about hindsight. It considers what might have changed had you handled things differently back then, and the reluctant acceptance that it’s too late for all that now,” he explained in a statement. “It’s the inevitability of changing seasons, transitions that feel like loss ...
Ticketmaster Will Require Fans to Verify COVID-19 Vaccination or Negative Test Prior to Attending Events
This week brought news that Pfizer is well on its way to developing an effective vaccine for coronavirus, which could be available to the general public by next spring or summer. At that point, live music and other entertainment industries involving mass gatherings will *finally* begin to ramp back up. Even so, Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation plan to be extra cautious by requiring attendees of its events to either prove they’ve been vaccinated or tested negative for COVID-19 prior to entry. According to Billboard, Ticketmaster is developing a verification system that uses smart phones to verify ticket-holders’ vaccination status or whether they’ve tested negative for the coronavirus within a 24 to 72 hour window. Under the current plan, ticket-holders will be asked to verif...
BTS Reveal Tracklist for New Album BE (Deluxe Edition)
Rise up, #BTSARMY! BTS have just unveiled the tracklist for their highly anticipated new album, BE (Deluxe Edition). The forthcoming full-length consists of eight songs, including titles like “Fly to My Room”, “Blue & Grey”, “Telepathy”, and “Dis-ease”. The explosive and record-breaking “Dynamite” serves as the LP’s closing track, while “Life Goes On”, said to be the K-pop outfit’s next single, opens the entire album. According to a previous statement, the new BTS record “imparts a message of healing to the world by declaring, ‘Even in the face of this new normality, our life goes on.’” BE (Deluxe Edition) is also significant as it marks the first time the septet was involved in the overall production, from the concept concept, to the composition, to the design, and more. Edi...
Phoebe Bridgers Announces New Copycat Killer EP
Phoebe Bridgers has announced a new EP called Copycat Killer. Featuring four fresh takes on tracks from Bridgers’ latest album, Punisher, the EP will be available on November 20th. Punisher landed in June with all the force of a lightning strike. A quiet, searching effort, it’s one of those rare records that even the most cautious of critics would feel comfortable labelling an instant classic. Now, Bridgers has re-worked four standout songs: “Kyoto”, “Savior Complex”, “Chinese Satellite”, and “Punisher”. To do so, she’s enlisted the help of Rob Moose, co-founder of yMusic and occasional member of Bon Iver. Moose’s stirring string arrangements have added razzle-dazzle to songs by everyone from Sufjan Stevens to Taylor Swift. On paper, this partnership sounds just about perfect. Co...
Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta on Weight of the False Self, Adjusting to the Pandemic, Podcasting, and More
Like many musicians, Jamey Jasta thought he had his 2020 plans set. He was gearing up to release a new album with Hatebreed in the spring, plus the band had two tours booked with the likes of After the Burial, Havok, Creeping Death, Parkway Drive, Knocked Loose, and Fit for a King. Then, COVID-19 hit. Right as the band was set to begin promoting their new album, the concert industry shut down, and the album’s release date was pushed back indefinitely. Now, Jasta and Hatebreed are set to unleash their eighth LP, Weight of the False Self, on November 27th via Nuclear Blast Records. The album is one of the veteran Connecticut metal outfit’s most aggressive to date, with heavy riffing and powerful themes of self-reflection, loss, and the state of the world. While the concert industry remains s...
