Music
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Liturgy’s Hunter Hunt-Hendrix Comes Out Publicly as Transgender
Hunter Hunt-Hendrix, the leader of the acclaimed experimental black metal group Liturgy, has come out publicly as transgender, writing, “I am a woman.” In an Instagram post, Hunt-Hendrix discussed her previous hesitance in making a statement, remarking, “I could have done this before Liturgy started, but I didn’t, out of fear. I knew I was female and not male, emotionally and in my experience of my body. But I was afraid – of social rejection, romantic rejection, career rejection, rejection by my family, failure.” Hunt-Hendrix’s statement reads in full: “I am a woman. I’ve always been one. The love I have to give is a woman’s love, if only because it is mine. To varying degrees many already understand this, but I’d like to make a clear statement about my actual gender. I could have done th...
Broadway to Remain Closed Through Labor Day
Broadway will remain dark through Labor Day as New York City continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. “While all Broadway shows would love to resume performances as soon as possible, we need to ensure the health and well-being of everyone who comes to the theater — behind the curtain and in front of it — before shows can return,” Broadway League president Charlotte St. Martin said in a statement Tuesday (via THR). “The Broadway League’s membership is working in cooperation with the theatrical unions, government officials and health experts to determine the safest ways to restart our industry. Throughout this challenging time, we have been in close communication with Governor Cuomo’s office and are grateful for his support and leadership as we work together to bring back this vital par...
Run the Jewels Detail New Album RJT4 Featuring Zack de La Rocha & Josh Homme
After years of anticipation, Run the Jewels have officially announced their new album, Run the Jewels 4. The follow-up to 2016’s RTJ3, the 11-track effort is due out digitally on June 5th via Jewel Runners/BMG. Physical versions are expected later this year in September. The full-length includes an impressive roster of guests, including Greg Nice of Nice & Smooth and DJ Premier, who appeared on the early single “Ooh LA LA”. Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de La Rocha cameoed in that song’s video, but it turns out he also features on the LP alongside Pharrell Williams on a cut called “Ju$t”. Soul icon Mavis Staples and Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme join RTJ on “Pulling the Pin”, while 2 Chainz drops in for “Out of Sight”. The previously revealed “Yankee and the Bra...
“Streets of Rage 4” Game Composer Structured the Soundtrack “Like a DJ Set” and Borrowed from Skrillex
The Streets of Rage series, one of the most iconic video games to emerge in the 90s, recently released “Streets of Rage 4” after a painful 26-year wait following the release of its third edition in 1994. Between its first three games, which were developed and published by fabled gaming franchise Sega for its seminal console Sega Genesis, and its freshly released fourth, the series has gone through many developments over the course of its storied history. One thing, however, has remained constant—its soundtracks, which consist of trailblazing electronic dance music. The names of Streets of Rage’s composers, Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima, are etched in the history books of both gaming and EDM. Ingeniously blending disco with chiptune, they crafted quirky, ad...
Nu Deco Ensemble Premieres Symphonic Daft Punk Suite
One of dance music’s most iconic discographies meets the symphony orchestra in “Humans vs. Robots (Daft Punk Suite),” featuring the music of Daft Punk. Hailing from Miami, the New Deco Ensemble pride themselves on creating genre-bending experiences and have been known to deliver fresh, creative adaptations of existing musical works. This is not the first time the group’s co-creator, Sam Hyken, has made the ambitious move to adapt the music of Daft Punk into a symphonic arrangement. When creating the current rendition, “Humans vs. Robots (Daft Punk Suite),” Hyken’s goal was to highlight more of the classical elements present in Daft Punk’s music. Removing the drum elements from the arrangement, Hyken wanted to focus on dissecting wha...
Spotify Launches “Group Session” Feature for Premium
After a prolonged developmental period, Spotify‘s shared listening feature “Group Session” has launched into the beta testing phase. Arriving in the era of social distancing, the new feature is the latest offering to hit the platform specifically for premium subscribers. With Group Session, those in close proximity can collectively control the music that plays. The shared queue allows participants to collaboratively develop a playlist as well as play, pause, and skip music in real time. It’s this real time sharing component that makes Group Session an upgrade from existing shared features on Spotify such as collaborative playlists. Group Session is a feature that has been in development since at least May of 2019, when the original code was discover...
Clap For Him: It Only Took 274 Years, But Princeton Finally Has Its First Black Valedictorian
Source: Lisa Festa, Center for Career Development / Nicholas Johnson/Princeton Some good news during these absolutely trying times, Princeton has announced that it will have its first Black valedictorian in the school’s 274-year history. The prestigious university made the announcement that Montreal native, Nicholas Johnson was named the valedictorian of the class of 2020. The decision marks the first time Princeton will have a Black person who will hold the highest academic achievement in the school, which has a checkered past when it comes to slavery. View this post on Instagram Congratulations to Nicholas Johnson, named valedictorian and Grace Sommers, named Latin salutatorian for #Princeton20! 👏 Nicholas Johnson ’20 Hometown: Montréal, Québec Major: Operations Re...
HHW Gaming: Job Listing Claimed PS5 Was Dropping In October, Sony Says Aht Aht
Source: SOPA Images / Getty We can’t front, but the rollout for the PS5 has been extremely sloppy. Sony already announced that its highly-anticipated console, PS5 was arriving on shelves this holiday. The video game world’s eyebrows were raised after they spotted a Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan job listing that claimed the PlayStation 5 was coming October 2020, a few months earlier than expected. Today (May 12) one Twitter user, @Nibellion, shared a tweet featuring a photo of the listing and it states: “PlayStation 5 scheduled to be released in October 2020.” Typically, Sony has historically launched its consoles around November. Still, due to COVID-19, the supply chain for components for the PS5 has been disrupted, possibly leading to the console being limited at launch. Since the ...
Robert Pattinson Is the Best Kind of Crazy, And These Quotes Prove It
Let’s great one thing straight: Robert Pattinson is an incredible actor. After rising to reluctant fame on the shimmering back of the Twilight franchise, he’s challenged himself and audiences alike with roles in films like The Safdie Brothers’ excellent Good Time or Robert Eggers’ brilliant The Lighthouse. Despite his resistance to maintaining his workout regime while The Batman is on hold, all signs point to him making an intriguing Bruce Wayne. We love R. Patz — but the dude is an agent of chaos. Don’t get us wrong, he’s the best kind of crazy, a playful loner who very simply is who he is. He’s a genuine article, unflinching in his own offbeat persona and peculiarities. Few other Hollywood stars can play the big-budget franchise and selective indie film circuits the way Pattins...
Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt to Score Jonas Åkerlund’s New Netflix Miniseries Clark
Fellow Swedish artists Jonas Åkerlund and Opeth frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt are set to collaborate on a new Netflix miniseries called Clark. Åkerlund will direct while Åkerfeldt will provide the soundtrack for the six-part gangster story. Between Åkerlund and Åkerfeldt, there’s some serious metal pedigree. Åkerlund, a former drummer for Bathory, recently helmed the black metal biopic Lords of Chaos, and has directed numerous music videos for bands like Metallica, U2, and others. As for Åkerfeldt, his prolific songwriting output in the bands Opeth and Bloodbath is more than a worthy resume, with Clark being his first music score project. The miniseries is a six episode drama about Swedish criminal Clark Olofsson, who’s considered the country’s first celebrity “pop-gangster” and “has given ris...
Tekashi 6ix9ine’s $200,000 Donation Rejected by Child Hunger Charity
Looks like Snoop Dogg and Meek Mill aren’t the only ones who don’t want to hear from Tekashi 6ix9ine now that he’s out of prison. The rapper/glorified snitch recently made a $200,000 donation to the child hunger charity No Kid Hungry, only to see it rejected. 6ix9ine announced his donation on Instagram, writing in a since-deleted post, “During this pandemic I understand we have nurses and frontline Hero’s who risk there life daily to save others. But NEVER forget the children & families who depend on OUR PUBLIC schools for daily meals and nutritions to keep our future leaders growing to their best potential.” [sic]. The caption accompanied a still from the video for his comeback single “GOOBA”; that song and the merch released alongside it reportedly netted him $2 million in under a we...
Experts Recommend No Moshing or Crowdsurfing Once Concerts Return
The coronavirus pandemic has temporarily changed the future of live music. Drive-in concerts are now a thing, as are drive-in raves, because experts predict shows won’t return until 2021. With prominent figures like Live Nation now planning to resume concerts at “full scale” next year, organizers at nonprofit Event Safety Alliance have drafted a new guide to keep concertgoers and venue employees safe. Unfortunately, it includes a temporary ban on moshing and crowdsurfing (via Alternative Press). The Event Safety Alliance guide was created to help venues that plan to reopen eventually but want to do so safely. The suggestions within the document were written after staff members Steven Adelman and Jacob Worek spoke to over 400 promoters, caterers, Ticketmaster employees, and other worke...
