NEWS
The Ghia Clan Was a Weird and Wonderful Take on the Ford Falcon
The Ford Falcon doesn’t get the respect it deserves. There wouldn’t be a Ford Mustang at all without the Falcon donating its underpinnings. A small, honest car with an economy mindset; it amazed Ford brass by selling like hotcakes after launch. It even, in a roundabout way, formed the foundation for a long-running Australian muscle car scene. But the first-generation Falcon wagon simply wasn’t that exciting. Blame the fact it was powered by a pair of miserly (and rather miserable) inline-sixes and held back by frumpy styling. That is until Carrozzeria Ghia of Turin got their hands on the Blue Oval’s bird. See all 37 photos Yes, the wild-looking fastback you’re looking at is actually Falcon-based. Ghia had originally played with a similar idea on a Fi...
These Tender Dua Lipa Covers of ‘Don’t Start Now’ & ‘Hallucinate’ Will Give You Goosebumps
Dua Lipa already remixed her Future Nostalgia hits for a Club Future Nostalgia compilation with The Blessed Madonna, which debuted at No. 28 on the Billboard 200 this week (dated Sept. 12). But Ingrid Andress and Declan McKenna arrived fashionably late with their own covers. Andress recorded a couplet of Spotify Singles, which she released Wednesday (Sept. 9). In addition to a reimagined version of “Lady Like,” the titular track of her debut album this year, the 28-year-old country singer-songwriter showcased her cover of Lipa’s No. 2 Hot 100 hit “Don’t Start Now.” She transposed the upbeat disco-inspired breakup anthem into a down-tempo piano ballad that’ll have listeners in their feels rather than forgetting them on the dance floor. ...
BMI Posts Record Revenue Despite Pandemic Hit to Licensing
Collections from April to June fell by an estimated $60 million, but a digital boost helped make up the difference. BMI generated $1.311 billion in revenue in the year ended June 30, 2020, a 2.2% increase over the $1.283 billion it reported in the year earlier period. Distributions were up too, totaling $1.233 billion — a 3.1% increase from the $1.196 billion paid out to songwriters and publishers in the prior fiscal year. Domestically, the performance rights organization collected $961 million, increasing 1.9% from the year-earlier period. Foreign receipts grew 2.9% to $350 million. As a percentage of revenue, that breaks out to 73.3% domestic and 26.7% foreign, a 0.2% shift in favor of international collections compared to the prior year. BMI estimates that its fourth quarter reven...
Ronald ‘Khalis’ Bell, Co-Founder of Kool & the Gang, Dies at 68
Ronald Bell, also known as Khalis Bayyan and the co-founder of Kool & the Gang with his brother Robert “Kool” Bell, died suddenly Wednesday morning (Sept. 9) at his home in the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to a statement from his publicist. He was 68. No cause of death has been announced at this time. Ronald Bell and his older brother Robert joined forces with their Jersey City neighborhood friends Dennis “D.T.” Thomas, Robert “Spike” Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown and Ricky West in 1964 to whip up a unique blend of jazz, soul and funk. Their infamous band recycled many monikers — Jazziacs, The New Dimensions, The Soul Town Band, Kool & the Flames – before cementing themselves as Kool & the Gang in 1969. Born on N...
The Players Behind DaBaby & Roddy Ricch’s ‘Rockstar’: See the Full Credits
DaBaby’s “Rockstar” feat. Roddy Ricch officially finished out the season at No. 1 on Billboard’s 2020 Songs of the Summer chart, having led the tally for 13 out of 15 tracking weeks. The annual chart tracks the most popular songs based on their cumulative performance on the weekly streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Billboard Hot 100 chart between Memorial Day and Labor Day. In addition, “Rockstar” was the most streamed song of the summer, having racked up 514.6 million streams, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. It topped the Hot 100 for a total of seven weeks. Explore the team of musicians, producers, engineers and more behind the track with recording credits provided by Jaxsta below. ArtistsMain Artist – DaBabyFeatured Artist – Roddy Ricch Songwriters:Composer Lyricist &#...
HHW Gaming: ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’ Multiplayer Looks Retroactively Lit
Source: Treyarch / Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War We got our first look at Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s action-packed 80s themed campaign late last month. Now its time to take a peek at the game’s multiplayer. If you played the multiplayer feature in any of Call of Duty’s latest games, then you basically played them all. Treyarch is looking to enhance that experience with Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War being that this newest installment in the fame first-person shooter franchise will take the game into the next generation of console gaming. Black Ops Cold War aims to build off the connected experienced introduced with Modern Warfare and the free-to-play juggernaut that is Warzone and give players an even better COD multiplayer experience. To help this game’s multiplayer stand out...
Peep The New Trailer For ‘Dune’
Source: Warner Bros. / Warner Bros. It’s about that time for another decades old classic to get the remake treatment and be blessed with new age tech and CGI to bring it’s story more vividness and depth. This time around it’s Frank Herbert’s classic 1965 novel Dune that’s due to get rebooted and from the looks of it’s first trailer, it’s head and shoulders above it’s 1984 predecessor of the same name (that joint was all kinds of struggle). The new Denis Villeneuve directed feature will be having everything that David Luynch’s 80’s adaptation did not (money, computers, more money), and because of that the new iteration looks like it will finally do Herbert’s classic some justice. With an all-star cast consisting of Jason Momoa, Zendaya, Oscar Issac and Timothée Chalamet amongst others, the ...
No Duh: Homeland Security Says White Supremacy Is “Most Lethal Threat” To U.S.
Source: Sandy Huffaker / Getty In a new draft document from the Department of Homeland Security, it was depicted that white supremacy poses the greatest challenges regarding domestic safety. In short, the document stated that radicalized and potentially armed white extremists present a “most lethal threat” to the United States through next year. In a detailed report from Politico, the draft document, which was revised twice by the time of reporting, share a consistent message: white supremacists and far-right extremists are the greatest threats to the Homeland through 2021, although they were categorized under the kinder “Domestic Violent Extremists” heading rather than earlier draft framing the group as “white supremacist extremists.” From Politico: The document discusses white supremacis...
Ronald ‘Khalis’ Bell, Kool & the Gang Co-Founder, Dies at 68
Ronald “Khalis” Bell, a co-founder of Kool & the Gang, has died at the age of 68. According to a statement from Bell’s publicist, the musician died “suddenly” at his home in the U.S. Virgin Islands. No cause of death was revealed. Born on Nov. 1, 1951, Bell, along with his brother Robert “Kool” Bell, formed a band with their pals Spike Mickens, Dennis Thomas, Ricky Westfield, George Brown, and Charles Smith in 1964. Initially known as the Jazziacs, the group went through several name changes before settling on Kool & the Gang in 1969. The group is known for blending elements of funk, soul, R&B and pop into their sound. Bell wrote and produced a number of the Grammy Award-winning band’s most popular songs, including “Celebration,” “Cherish,” “Jungle Boogie,” ...
Simeon Coxe, Synth Pioneer and Electronic Music Legend Behind Silver Apples, Dead at 82
Synth pioneer Simeon Coxe, the legendary electronic musician behind psychedelic rock band Silver Apples, has died at the age of 82. He passed away after a battle with pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive lung condition. Coxe’s band was ahead of its time, building bespoke synthesizers and oscillators that would go on to influence groups such as Portishead and Stereolab, among many others. When Silver Apples debuted in the late 60s, they flaunted a setup of nine audio oscillators and 96 manual controllers, an amalgamation Coxe dubbed “The Simeon,” which was constructed in part from discarded war equipment. “It never sounded weird to me,” Coxe told The Guarduan in 2019. “We weren’t intending to be futuristic. We were just kids playing ...
David Guetta and Sia Partner with TikTok to Premiere New Single “Let’s Love”
TikTok is continuing its mission to take over the music industry, landing the premiere of David Guetta and Sia‘s new single “Let’s Love” five days ahead of the official release date. The visionaries behind the hit single “Titanium” have made a calculated move to release a 15-second edit to the platform early, seeing that the tracks that have taken off through hashtag challenges and dance routines have catapulted to the top of charts around the globe. Making a single go viral on TikTok has become the new goal for many artists. Guetta has been encouraging his 1.2 million followers to join the #LetsLove hashtag challenge with hopes of spreading the uplifting message of the track to see how users are staying positive during these tough times. ...
System of a Down’s John Dolmayan Rips Customer Who Left a Bad Review for His Comic Book Store Due to Politics
Between protestors, Democrats and even his bandmate Serj Tankian, System Of A Down drummer John Dolmayan hasn’t been afraid to use his social media to hit back at those who have starkly differing viewpoints. In his latest Instagram post, Dolmayan — who also owns Torpedo Comics in Las Vegas — hit back at a critic of his right-wing views who left his comic book shop a bad rating on Facebook, and called the drummer “a fascist sympathizer” who dishes “racist conspiracy theories.” “If you care about Black lives, women’s choice, and actually fighting racism and fascism please do not buy from this store,” the customer, Jeff Jones, wrote on Facebook. Dolmayan fired back shortly after and even suggested that the account was fake. “This is of course [sic] his right, what ‘Je...
