Entertainment News
Back to the Future Cast Reunite, Recreate Iconic Scenes on YouTube Livestream: Watch
Josh Gad built a time machine… out of a YouTube channel. After reuniting the Goonies last week, Gad’s new livestream series “Reunited Apart” has now brought back together the cast of Back to the Future. In addition to the trilogy’s stars, Michael J. Fox (Marty McFly) and Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown), the reunion featured appearances from franchise cast members Lea Thompson, Mary Steenburgen, Elisabeth Shue, and Claudia Wells. Director Robert Zemeckis, screenwriter Bob Gale, “The Power of Love” songwriter Huey Lewis, and composer Alan Silvestri also joined. Even recent Star Wars director and longtime Back to the Future fan J.J. Abrams hopped on the stream to participate in the festivities. Editors’ Picks As with Gad’s Goonies reunion, the Back to the Future v...
Billy Joel Delivers Poignant “Miami 2017” Performance During Rise Up New York! Benefit Livestream: Watch
Last month, Bruce Springsteen led Jersey4Jersey, a livestreamed concert benefiting COVID-19 relief efforts in the state of New Jersey. On Monday, New York held its own virtual fundraising event, headlined by its own local hero in Billy Joel. Following appearances by New York celebrities (Spike Lee, Jennifer Lopez, Robert De Niro) and politicians (Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mayer Bill De Blasio), the Piano Man himself closed out the virtual telethon. Joel aptly chose to pay tribute to the Big Apple, the war-weary epicenter of the pandemic, by playing a moving rendition of his 1976 single “Miami 2017”, also known as “Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway”. As Rise Up New York!’s main event of the evening, Joel’s performance was broadcast on big screens all across the shuttered city, including Times...
Bernie Sanders Has a Red Hot Chili Peppers Poster Hanging Up in His Office
One of the unexpected consequences of the global quarantine is the chance to get a peak inside the homes of celebrities, politicians, and other high-profile public figures. Livestreams and webinars don’t just provide entertainment, they also scratch a voyeuristic itch. For instance, if not for the quarantine, how else would we have learned that Bernie Sanders has a Red Hot Chili Peppers poster and a Prince bass drum head hanging up in his home office? The music memorabilia could be seen in the background as Senator Sanders posed questions during a virtual hearing about COVID-19 on Tuesday. To his left was a framed Red Hot Chili Peppers poster, and to his right hung a bass drum head from Prince’s backing band New Power Generation. It’s worth noting that Bernie previously recruited both...
Moog Announces New Subharmonicon Analog Synthesizer, Shares Musical Score by Suzanne Ciani
Moog has unveiled its new analog synthesizer, the Subharmonicon. The instrument finally arrives on the consumer market after a prototype version was teased during a workshop at Moogfest, the company’s curated music festival, in 2018. To commemorate the occasion, Moog shared a short film, Music as Living Matter, featuring a score by electronic music pioneer Suzanne Ciani, composed entirely with the Subharmonicon. The hype is well deserved. The early models used during Moogfest sold for thousands on the second hand market, leaving artists and hobbyists wondering when the instrument would see an official rollout, much like Moog’s Werkstaat. The latest evolution in Moog’s arsenal of semi-modular analog synths, the Subharmonicon offers a limitless creative portal worthy of the iconic brand. To ...
Lou Barlow Says Next Dinosaur Jr. Album Is Finished, Plays New Song: Watch
Late last year, bassist Lou Barlow revealed that Dinosaur Jr. were in the studio recording their next record. Now, relishing his role as the official Dino-leaker, Barlow has announced that the album is finished and mixed. What’s more, he’s premiered a new, currently untitled song. The news came from Barlow’s laundry room during a lockdown livestream performance on Monday. “We just finished mixing the Dinosaur Jr. record. Of course we did it remotely,” he said, adding that John Agnella had done the work alone in his North Carolina studio. “I have two songs that I contributed. I had three but I couldn’t finish the third one because of…” He gave a shrug that took in the general state of the world. “This. There’s been a lot of cancelled Dinosaur Jr. stuff, too, but we have a record so we have ...
The Beths Second-Guess the Future on New Single “I’m Not Getting Excited”: Stream
This summer, The Beths will return with a sophomore album called Jump Rope Gazers. After previewing the release with last month’s “Dying to Believe”, the New Zealand indie pop outfit is unboxing a new single in “I’m Not Getting Excited”. While musically a jumpy, driving number, its subject matter is about denying oneself the freedom to enjoy excitement and success — all because of constant second-guessing. In a statement, lead singer Elizabeth Stokes explained this case of imposter syndrome, “People always ask ‘are you excited!?’ and it’s a fair question, because exciting things do happen to us sometimes. Support slots, overseas tours, music releases. Stuff we’ve dreamed about for years. So the correct answer is always ‘yes.’ But the truth is that deep down there’s a tiny Liz saying, ‘don’...
Hamilton Movie Being Released 15 Months Early on Disney+
Disney is fast-tracking the release of a film version of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical, Hamilton, starring the original cast. Originally, the film was set to hit theaters in October 2021, but with millions of Americans currently stuck at home in quarantine, the studio is now altering those plans. Not only will Hamilton be released 15 months early — July 3rd, 2020, to be exact — but it’ll be streaming exclusively on Disney+. “In light of the extraordinary challenges facing our world, this story about leadership, tenacity, hope, love and the power of people to unite against the forces of adversity is both relevant and impactful,” Disney chairman Bob Iger said in a statement. “We are thrilled to bring this phenomenon to Disney+ on the eve of Independence Day, and we hav...
Hundreds of Hard-to-Find Peel Sessions Cataloged on YouTube
John Peel’s BBC 1 radio show was iconic at the time it aired. In hindsight, it’s only grown all the more legendary. The legendary broadcaster recorded over 4,000 sessions with over 2,000 artists, which is, objectively speaking, a lot. To help make sorting through the Peel Sessions archive easier, angel-in-disguise and blogger Dave Strickson has uploaded and alphabetized hundreds of available recordings from the show to stream online (via BrooklynVegan). Most of the original studio sessions from Peel’s radio show were released as Peel Session EPs by his label, Strange Fruit Records, but many of those are unavailable to stream online. Thankfully, listeners occasionally upload those almost-lost-to-time recordings to YouTube. That’s where Strickson comes in. To help make the process of di...
Jordana Makes Sleek Pop on New Single “I’ll Take It Boring”: Stream
Bedroom pop artist Jordana is back with a brand new single called “I’ll Take It Boring”, and it’s pretty much another guaranteed hit from the 19-year-old wunderkind. A few months ago, Jordana signed to Grand Jury Music and re-released her debut album, Classical Notions of Happiness, through the label. If you haven’t heard it, check it out ASAP. It’s a collection of folk-tinged pop songs that’s as witty as it is personable, landing Jordana alongside fellow young singer-songwriters like Sidney Gish and Caroline Rose. Thanks to “I’ll Take It Boring”, fans don’t have to wait to hear what she was working on as a follow-up. “’I’ll Take It Boring’ is a song about my experience at a Halloween party which I regretted attending,” Jordana said in a press release when asked about the track’s origins. ...
Elon Musk Reopens His Tesla Factory Against Local Coronavirus Orders
Elon Musk has resumed production at his Tesla factory in Fremont, California, defying local shelter-in-place orders to slow the spread of COVID-19. “I will be on the line with everyone else,” he tweeted today. “If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.” The Tesla CEO and new father seems hell-bent on making electric cars for people right now, as if those who could afford a Tesla in the first place are unable to wait a few months to purchase one. Apparently his Fremont factory is packed to the gills like a normal work day, reports NPR, because photos of its company parking lot show each spot filled. “California approved, but an unelected county official illegally overrode,” Musk tweeted. “Also, all other auto companies in US are approved to resume. Only Tesla has been singled out. Th...
Bryan Adams Blames “Bat Eating”, “Virus Making Greedy Bastards” For COVID-19
Bryan Adams was supposed to kick off a residency at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Monday, but because of the coronavirus, those dates have been delayed indifferently. The “Summer of ’69” songwriter and devout vegan isn’t holding back on who he blames for the crisis. “Thanks to some fucking bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards, the whole world is now on hold,” Adams wrote in an Instagram post on Monday night. “My message to them other than ‘thanks a fucking lot’ is go vegan.” While other musicians such as Paul McCartney have expressed similar sentiments regarding China’s wet markets, Adams’ tone and word choice has led some to accuse him of racism and xenophobia. It is worth noting that there is no conclusive evidence that COVID-19 originated from a wet market...
Snoop Dogg and Meek Mill Blast Tekashi 6ix9ine After Post-Prison Song
Snoop Dogg and Meek Mill have both called out the media for their coverage of Tekashi 6ix9ine following his comeback single, “GOOBA”. The two vented their frustrations on Instagram, with Snoop going as far to say, “Fuck Tekashi 6ix9ine… Feel me on this, and if u don’t fuck u 2.” Tekashi 6ix9ine got a lot of attention for his new song — it racked up over 36 million views in less than 24 hours on YouTube — and part of that praise was coming from music writers and influencers alike. Snoop Dogg and Meek Mill had enough when they saw Elliott Wilson, Rap Radar founder and a longtime hip-hop journalist, share the cover art for “GOOBA” in his Instagram Stories, notes HipHopDX. Snoop Dogg has been a vocal critic of Tekashi 6ix9ine for a while, so it’s no surprise he was angry to see the felon ...
