NEWS
Unpacking Taylor Swift’s Huge Debut & Grammy Album of the Year Chances
When Taylor Swift’s surprise album Folklore blasted in atop the Billboard 200 chart with the biggest week of the year for any album, she not only did it without the benefit of any pre-release promotion, but also while taking a sonic left-turn away from pure pop and into a more alternative soundscape. On the latest Pop Shop Podcast (listen below), the team discusses Swift’s epic chart feats achieved with Folklore and its single “Cardigan,” and speculates on if the album would have achieved such great heights if it had been a surprise-released customary pop effort. The Pop Shoppers also chat about on how Folklore may have brought in new fans to the Swift fold, thanks to her collaborations with alt-rock acts like Bon Iver and The National’s Aaron Dessner. And finally, could Folklore factor in...
Macy Gray Ramps Up ‘My Good’ Nonprofit to Help Families of Victims of Police Brutality
In response to incidents of police brutality across the United States, singer Macy Gray is ramping up her nonprofit My Good. The organization, founded quietly earlier this year, seeks to help families and loved ones of victims of police violence with financial, emotional and mental health support. The org is also at work curating different platforms for the victims’ families to be heard including support groups with grief experts and ministers among other initiatives. One needn’t search far and wide to find examples as recent deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, to name a few, gripped the nation and helped inspire Black Lives Matter protests across the country. For Gray, this issue and the aftermath for families is personal. Gray watched her aunt and uncle struggle after their ...
Despite Closure, Famed Berlin Club Berghain Opens New Sound Installation to the Public
The venue’s new sound installation “Eleven Songs” reportedly has the ability to induce dissociative experiences. Berlin’s most renowned club, Berghain, is humming to life with eclectic sounds as a new sound installation called “Eleven Songs – Halle am Berghain” has taken ahold of the building. For the moment, the world’s most exclusive club—a worldwide destination for techno—has had its dance floor closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, artists Sam Auinger and Hannes Strobl, known collectively as TamTam, have used the opportunity to get a better understanding of how sound travels through the monolithic venue. The duo are using various sounds and the architecture’s natural resonance to entertain guests in a one-of-a-kind e...
UK Club Switch Reopens By Reclassifying Itself as a Bar
UK’s Switch drew controversy after making changes that allowed it to reopen as a bar. UK club venue Switch, in the city of Preston, has successfully reopened its doors following a contentious disagreement with the local city council. Switch, formerly a club, has effectively reclassified itself as a bar, thereby claiming it is no longer subjected to the stricter lockdown measures that govern nightclubs. Switch’s owners say they’ve cut capacity from 1,200 to 400, added sanitizer stations, and implemented one-way systems for the bar and restrooms, paving the way for them to make the change. Switch was originally planning to reopen with live music on August 1st, but was prevented from doing so after UK’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, reversed course on easing...
Pioneer DJ Announces New Season of “DJs in PJs” with Kaskade, Modestep, More
The livestream series is back for its second pajama party. Leading DJ technology company Pioneer DJ is back with the second season of its “DJs in PJs” livestream series, partnering with world-renowned DJs for free and immersive live pajama parties. The second season of “DJs in PJs” is slated for its official launch on August 6th, 2020 and performances will be broadcasted bi-weekly on Thursdays at 4PM PT (7PM ET). The first show will feature UK duo Modestep, who have emerged as elite DJs and sound designers in the bass music sphere. Pioneer DJ is urging viewers to submit questions for each performance, which will be addressed in a 20-minute moderated artist Q&A hosted by Ryan Roth, Marketing Specialist or Lars Schlichting, Director of Product Planning and Artist ...
Rihanna Is The Next Cover For ‘Harper’s Bazaar’
Source: WENN/Avalon / WENN Rihanna is back snatching our edges. View this post on Instagram Like many of us, Rihanna has spent the past six months living on lockdown. But unlike any of us, she’s Rihanna. Head to the link in our bio to see the full cover shoot with @badgalriri for our September issue. #BAZAARxRihanna Photographer: @graysorrenti Creative Director: @jenbrillbrill Profile written by: @kahlanabarfield Hair: @ursulastephen Makeup: @priscillaono Nails: @kimmiekyees Rihanna wears @fenty, @savagexfenty, @chanelofficial, @manoloblahnik, @artifact.newyork, @yvantufenkjian, @amwaj_jewellery, @gaspargloves, and @aminamuaddi A post shared by Harper's BAZAAR (@harpersbazaarus) on Aug 4, 2020 at 5:29am PDT The superstar has been tapped for the cover the iconic fashion magazin...
Lil Nas X, Lizzo, Lil Yachty & More Rally To Save TikTok From The Scourge That Is Donald Trump
Source: NurPhoto / Getty While Microsoft is working at breakneck speed to finalize a deal to purchase TikTok to keep it operating in the United States, some of music’s biggest names are rallying to save the social media platform. Despite the threat of TikTok being possibly banned by Donald Trump, the social media platform’s most popular users, not named Jason Derulo, are still posting and rallying behind the Chinese-owned app. Lil Nas X, Lil Yachty, Lizzo, DJ Dillon Francis, and more have all continued to show their support for the troubled app in their own unique ways. Lil Nas X who till this day still has the biggest TikTok hit of all-time, voiced his support on Twitter with a straight to point message screaming: “free my n*gga tik tok” free my nigga tik tok &mdas...
Reebok & Khalid Kick Off “Write Your Legacy” Contest For Aspiring Singers
Source: Reebok / Reebok Okay future stars of the music industry, Reebok and Khalid are ready to give someone the chance of a lifetime and give a very lucky person the chance to become the “Lovely” singer’s apprentice. Source: Reebok / Reebok Reebok and Khalid have kicked off their “Write Your Legacy” contest which allows anyone living in the U.S. to submit a 2 minute video to in which they explain what they want their legacy to be and blessing Khalid with a sample of their singing skills. The lucky winner of the contest won’t just be bestowed with two 60 minute singing and songwriting virtual workshops with Khalid and his producers, Denis Kosiak and Khyrie Tyler, but they’ll also receive a cool $10,000 to kickstart their career along with a year...
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Azealia Banks Claims Kanye West Is In The Closet, Then Shaves Her Head [Video]
Source: American rapper Azealia Banks performs at O2 Academy, Brixton Featuring: Azealia Banks Where: London, United Kingdom When: 19 Sep 2014 Credit: Carsten Windhorst/WENN.com Just when you thought Azealia Banks had ran out of tea she brews a new batch. She has called out one Rap’s biggest names and then followed it up with a drastic makeover. As spotted on HipHopDX, the Harlem, New York native is once again doing the most on her social media channels. On Friday, July 31 she took to Instagram to discuss some current topics one of which was Kanye West and his recent outbursts. “Maybe the fact that a lot of those mothers did not want to abort their child, you know? Maybe due to f***ing systematic races and you know, you can’t make an equality” she asked. The “212” r...
Read Nick Cave’s Tips on How to Rise Above Writer’s Block
Nick Cave detailed his process for overcoming writer’s block in his latest Red Hand Files post. The songwriter — answering the fan question, “What do you do when the lyrics just aren’t coming?” — examined how many musicians misdiagnose their own slow pace as a blanket lack of inspiration. “In my experience, lyrics are almost always seemingly just not coming,” he wrote in the lengthy letter. “This is the tearful ground zero of songwriting — at least for some of us. This lack of motion, this sense of suspended powerlessness, can feel extraordinarily desperate for a songwriter. But the thing you must hold on to through these difficult periods, as hard as it may be, is this — when something’s not coming, it’s coming. It took me many years to learn this, and ...
Ben Gibbard Covered John Fogerty’s ‘Centerfield’ Before Mariners Opening Day
If you know anything about Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard beyond his music, you know that he’s a diehard Seattle Mariners fan. If you don’t, then have a look at how he thinks the team will do this season in our 2020 MLB preview. What does that have to do with anything? Well, Gibbard participated in the team’s 2020 virtual Opening Day ceremony because, you know, fans can’t go to games (or really anywhere) this year. As part of the event, Gibbard tackled John Fogerty’s baseball standard, “Centerfield,” by home plate, which you can see below. Unlike the boisterous original, Gibbard’s version on acoustic guitar and in a much more subdued fashion. The singer, sporting a Mariners jersey, also tweaked the words to reflect his baseball fando...
Leaked: The Jeep Gladiator Adds a Retro Willys Trim for 2021
The 2020 Jeep Gladiator is a well-packaged truck that’s extremely capable off the beaten path. It was a welcome addition to the Jeep lineup, and according to JeepGladitorForum.com, a few new trim levels are coming to the Gladiator for the 2021 model year. One forum poster claims to have obtained a leaked dealer bulletin that confirms the truck will get a Willys package and an 80th Anniversary Edition model for the new model year. <!– –> Much like the Willys trim level that’s already available on the Wrangler, the Gladiator’s Willys package will come in two levels: the Willys Sport and the Willys (the Willys Sport being the cheaper of the two). All Willys-trimmed Gladiators will get black 17-inch wheels with mud-terrain tires, rock rails from the Rubicon ...
