Quoteworthy
Rush’s Alex Lifeson Doesn’t Feel “Inspired or Motivated” to Play Music Following Neil Peart’s Death
Next week marks six months since the death of Rush drummer Neil Peart, however, bandmate Alex Lifeson is still finding it hard to return to music. In a recent interview, he said that not only has he barely picked up his guitar, but that there’s currently little “motivation” to make music in general. “It’s been difficult,” Lifeson recently admitted on the sports radio program Talkin’ Golf (via Rolling Stone). “After Neil passed in January, I’ve played very little guitar. I just don’t feel inspired and motivated.” Fans of the legendary rock band have wondered whether the surviving members would forge ahead without Peart, but it sounds as though that won’t be happening anytime soon. “I don’t know if the motivation is there for us to really do anything now,” noted Lifeson. “We’re cer...
Tyler, the Creator is Fine with GOLF Store Property Damage During Protests
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, cities around the US have imposed strict and early curfews in an effort to prevent violent protests and looting. However, rapper and GOLF Wang clothing founder Tyler, the Creator doesn’t seem to care about property damage to his own store. Tyler’s GOLF store was recently vandalized during protests in Los Angeles. Rather than condemn demonstrators and looters, though, he simply posted a picture of the Black Panther Party on his GOLF WANG Instagram account. “BLACK FURY: keep your eyes wide and educate yourself,” the Odd Future artist wrote in the caption. In a later comment, Tyler acknowledged that the issues gripping the nation go far beyond a broken door or window. “and the store is fine, but even if it wasnt, this is bigger than getting some glass fix...
The National’s Aaron Dessner Confirms That No, He Is Not an Antifa Organizer
In a world gone mad, the Twitterverse reveals itself as both a tool for positivity and asinine outrage. At the same time as K-pop stans mobilized to sabotage a Dallas Police Department snitching app, right-wing trolls spread false allegations of The National’s Aaron Dessner being an Antifa organizer. He has since clarified that, of course, he’s not. Video circulated over the weekend of a bearded white man at a Columbus protest appearing to pay black protesters cash to, as the accusers claimed, start a riot. Twitter user @LilBlondie45, a woman whose name reads “Michelle 🇺🇸 PUT CUOMO IN A NURSING HOME” and whose account has since been suspended, thought she recognized the man as Dessner, and sicced people on the musician. “Meet @aaron_dessner he’s an Antifa org...
Billie Eilish: “If I Hear One More White Person Say ‘All Lives Matter’ … I’m Gonna Lose My Fucking Mind”
In an impassioned post on Instagram, 18-year-old pop star Billie Eilish eviscerated the All Lives Matter movement, writing, “If I hear one more white person say “aLL liVeS maTtEr” one more fucking time I’m gonna lose my fucking mind.” The message was captioned with the hashtags #blacklivesmatter and #justiceforgeorgefloyd. Like millions of Americans, Eilish was incensed after George Floyd’s killing by a white Minneapolis police officer on May 25th. Ex-officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, continuing almost three minutes after Floyd went unconscious. After Floyd died, Chauvin was subsequently fired, but only placed under arrest after several days of sustained protests. Eilish began her post by writing, “I’ve been trying to take this week to figure out a way ...
Lil Wayne on George Floyd’s Death: “If We Want to Place the Blame on Anybody, It Should Be Ourselves”
Lil Wayne has addressed the killing of George Floyd, the Minneapolis man who died with the knee of police officer Derek Chauvin on his neck. In a conversation with Fat Joe on Instagram Live on Friday, Wayne said, “If we want to place the blame on anybody, it should be ourselves for not doing more than what we think we’re doing.” The controversial remarks came after a conversation about the time a police officer saved Wayne’s life. At the age of 12, the precocious rapper discharged a hand-gun and shot himself in the chest. Robert Hooper, an off-duty cop whom Weezy referred to as “Uncle Bob,” appeared on the scene. He said that, on the way to the hospital, Cooper “sat in the backseat with me and held me in his arms.” At the conclusion of that story, Fat Joe asked Lil Wayne about the death of...
Taylor Swift Eviscerates Trump for “Stoking the Fires of White Supremacy and Racism”
Last year, Taylor Swift vowed to be more politically active, especially during the 2020 Election cycle. Keeping her promise, the pop megastar has just eviscerated Donald Trump in her very first public tweet to mention him by name. “After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence?” she wrote on Twitter on Friday. “‘When the looting starts the shooting starts’??? “We will vote you out in November. @realdonaldtrump” After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence? ‘When the looting starts the shooting starts’??? We will vote you out in November. @realdonaldtrump — Taylor Swift (@taylorswi...
John Boyega Goes Off Following George Floyd Killing: “I Really Fucking Hate Racists”
John Boyega is a man who stands by his words. Struck by the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, the Star Wars actor tweeted out, “I really fucking hate racists.” When confronted by other Twitter users about his seemingly unassailable opinion, Boyega refused to apologize. It began when Boyega posted a tribute to Floyd, the unarmed black man who was killed when a cop pinned his neck to the ground while he was handcuffed. “This just burns,” the actor wrote. “Seems to be a never ending cycle. The murderers need to be charged severely. Even in the face of death this man was given zero empathy.” In a separate follow-up tweet, Boyega shared his aforementioned opinions on racists. And because the Twitterverse is a swirling netherworld of echoing contempt, people actually to...
Lana Del Rey Reveals New Album Title, Name-Checks Marianne Williamson in Latest Attempt to Clarify Controversial IG Post
Lana Del Rey took to Instagram on Friday to announce a new album and poetry collection — but the message was largely lost in the context of the rest of the post. The singer drew the Internet’s ire for framing a rebuff against critics by comparing herself to other female singers, mostly naming women of color like Doja Cat and Beyoncé, “who have had number ones with songs about being sexy, wearing no clothes, fucking, cheating, etc.” Meanwhile, Del Rey argued, she is met with allegations of glamorizing abuse “when in reality I’m just a glamorous person singing about the realities of what we are all now seeing are very prevalent abusive relationships all over the world,” The pop star insisted that modern feminism should allow for her point of view, too: “There has to be a place...
Paul Feig Blames Ghostbusters Reboot Backlash on Anti-Hillary Clinton Movement
In 2016, Hillary Clinton became the first female presidential candidate to be backed by a major US party. Gender was not surprisingly a hot button issue throughout the Clinton vs. Donald Trump election, dividing households nationwide, but longtime film director Paul Feig believes that the vitriol against Clinton had a substantial impact beyond politics: he blames the anti-Hillary movement for the backlash he received for his female-led Ghostbusters reboot. Speaking on Jess Cagle’s SiriusXM show last week, Feig said, “I think some really brilliant author, researcher or sociologist, needs to write a book about 2016 and how intertwined we were with Hillary [Clinton] and the anti-Hillary movement.” Officially titled Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, the reboot hit theaters Summer 2016, just ...
Dr. Dre Thinks Social Media Destroyed the Artist Mystique
Dr. Dre (British GQ) No wonder Dr. Dre doesn’t post much online. In a new interview with Jimmy Iovine in British GQ, the prolific rapper said he thinks social media has “destroyed” the artist mystique by offering fans too much access into the life of musicians, reports NME. Dre and Iovine’s conversation primarily revolved around how digital fame plays a role in an artist’s success nowadays. “I probably would’ve hated social media when I was coming up,” said Dre. “There’s a certain mystique that gets destroyed. I like the mystique. I like waiting. I don’t need anybody to know where I am every minute or what I’m doing. Or what I’m about to do… There’s a certain mystique that came along with music that was entertaining to wait to see what was about to happen.” From there, Iovine took Dre...
Lana Del Rey Responds To Instagram Backlash: “Don’t Ever Ever Ever Ever Bro- Call Me Racist”
It’s been a day for Lana Del Rey. In an Instagram post on Thursday morning, Del Rey announced the September 5th release of her new album and name-checked major pop stars of color like Beyoncé and Cardi B in a lengthy digression on the glamorization of abuse and feminism’s place in pop music. Shocker: It didn’t go down so well, eliciting all sorts of backlash from fans and passersby alike. Del Rey has since responded to the vitriol by replying to comments on her own Instagram post. To further broadcast her sentiments, Del Rey then republished her own comments in an Instagram story. Here’s the first comment: Bro. This is sad to make it about a WOC issue when I’m talking about my favorite singers. I could’ve literally said anyone but I picked my favorite fucking people. And this is the proble...
Lana Del Rey Announces New Album, Rejects Critics Who Say She “Glamorizes Abuse”
Lana Del Rey has been teasing a spoken word record for the last few months, but apparently she has even more up her sleeve. In an Instagram post early Thursday, she announced she will release a new album on September 5th, the follow-up to last year’s stellar Norman Fucking Rockwell!. Del Rey also appeared to shade major pop stars of color like Beyoncé and Cardi B in a lengthy discussion about the glamorization of abuse and feminism’s place in pop music. Del Rey’s social media post was predominantly focused on rejecting the criticisms that her music glamorizes abuse. “I’m fed up with female writers and alt singers saying that I glamorize abuse when in reality I’m just a glamorous person singing about the realities of what we are all now seeing are very prevalent abusive relationships all ov...
