Month: August 2021

Since Alex Trebek’s death last November, Jeopardy! hasn’t had a permanent host. Instead, the game show has cycled through celebrity guest hosts, including fan favorite LeVar Burton, Aaron Rodgers, and Katie Couric. But last week came reports that executive producer Mike Richards was offered the full-time gig (despite allegations of workplace discrimination during his time on The Price is Right). He confirmed in a statement that “I was asked if I would consider hosting the show,” but “no final decisions have been made and discussions with me and other potential hosts are still ongoing.”

According to the Daily Beast, a final decision has been made.

Sony Pictures Television is set to announce that Jeopardy! executive producer Mike Richards will host the long-running daily syndicated program and actress Mayim Bialik will host primetime and spin-off specials of the famous quiz show, The Daily Beast has learned… Richards, who had been the frontrunner for a hosting gig, will start Season 38 as host of the daily syndication while Bialik, best known for her starring role in CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, will host new spin-off series — the first of which will be the Jeopardy! National College Championship on ABC.

Jeopardy! has never had two hosts before. But before this year, Jeopardy! had never been hosted by a cast member of Blossom before. History is being made before our eyes.

UPDATE — 11:50am EST: The Hollywood Reporter is reporting official word from Sony to confirm that Richards will be full-time host of the “syndicated talk show” as Trebek’s official replacement with Bialik hosting “Jeopardy primetime and spinoff series.” Here’s more via THR:

“We are thrilled to begin the next chapter of America’s Favorite Quiz Show with Mike hosting our daily show and Mayim hosting new versions of Jeopardy!,” said Ravi Ahuja, Chairman of Global Television Studios and Corporate Development for Sony Pictures. “We took this decision incredibly seriously. A tremendous amount of work and deliberation has gone into it, perhaps more than has ever gone into the selection of hosts for a show – deservedly so because it’s Jeopardy! and we are following the incomparable Alex Trebek. A senior group of Sony Pictures Television executives pored over footage from every episode, reviewed research from multiple panels and focus groups, and got valuable input from our key partners and Jeopardy! viewers.”

(Via the Daily Beast & The Hollywood Reporter)

Ambient-pop player Samia recently released the digital edition of her EP, Scout, and ahead of its physical release this Friday, she’s shared a reimagining of When In Rome’s 1988 new wave favorite “The Promise” featuring genre-surfing San Diego performer Jelani Aryeh. In the accompanying video, the pair share what looks like a very idyllic day in Los Angeles (both Malibu and Silver Lake neighborhoods make cameos). As they hang by the ocean and walk around the Silver Lake reservoir, their version of “I Promise” is the perfect kiss-off to summer.

“I’ve always loved ‘The Promise,’” Samia shared in a release. “I love how dramatic it is. [I] was gonna do a theatrical piano cover but took it to my friend Boone and we thought it would be fun to try and replicate the original as accurately as possible.” She continues, “It shares a common sentiment with the rest of the EP, and it was a perfect opportunity to beg my new favorite artist, Jelani Aryeh, to sing with me. We met up in Malibu for the first time and spent the day filming each other jumping around and driving PCH listening to Wolf Alice!! It was perfect.”

Check out “The Promise” above. The digital version of Scout is out 7/23 via Grand Jury. Grab the physical release on 8/13 here.

Andrew Cuomo resignation as governor followed his ill-advised, kissing-and-touching photo-montage response to the New York Attorney General’s office releasing a 165-page report that summarized the sexual harassment investigation against him. Putting himself forth as a touchy-feely guy, not a groper, while resigning led to utter disbelief from the masses, who also expected him to dig in his heels for the long haul. Lots of notable responses surfaced, too. Alec Baldwin went astonishingly tone deaf, although that wasn’t much of a surprise, and Bill O’Reilly issued his own slimy take, and maybe those guys should sit down because AOC has arrived.

The firebrand congresswoman from New York’s 14th congressional district didn’t hold back while weighing in on how Cuomo continued to gaslight America by stating that he was simply “too familiar with people” yet also refusing to admit to any wrongdoing. Cuomo’s position, of course, is that he is simply misread and misunderstood. AOC addressed that tactic while tweeting, “When abusers of power blame everyone else for ‘misunderstanding’ their abuse, it is often a way to gain sympathy from those who’ve ever been / could be involved in a misunderstanding.” She then added, “[b]ut the intentional environment of fear & intimidation harassers create is far from a mistake.”

Ocasio-Cortez continued while pointing out the difference in learning from an “awkward interaction” and “mobilizing entire networks and institutions to bring in victims, silence coverage, and retaliate against those who report abuse.”

Ultimately, AOC declared that Cuomo stepping down “is necessary and long overdue.” She added that this shouldn’t be the end of the story. Rather, she hopes that society won’t drop the ball and will work to “reverse the ways our institutions were molded over years to maximize the impunity and lack of transparency necessary for these abuses to unfold as they did.” Put an exclamation point on it.

Cuomo’s resignation will be effective in 14 days with Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul coming into view as his successor and the first female governor of New York.

Future and Brittni Mealy, the mother of his son Prince Wilburn, have had their personal disputes go public, and last night brought another one to the spotlight.

As HotNewHipHop notes, Mealy shared what appears to be a text conversation between Future and his son, in which he tells the child, “Your mother is a hoe!” Some people accused Mealy of fabricating the texts, to which she responded in an Instagram Story, “TF I GOT TO LIE FOR YOU SAID IT definitely your # and his SO STAND ON IT AND PIPE DOWN IF U DONT WANT THESE RECORDING POSTED!” She also added, “On GAWD YOU SAID IT THEY NEED TO CANCEL YOU. Cruelty to children! Haven’t seen him in 3 months but in the same State I can Keep Going! Got a refund on his school Clothes today! Petty cause someone Don’t wanna be sexually active with you and just want to co parent!!”

Future tweeted, seemingly in response to the situation, “Pray for Her.” His mother, Stephanie Jester, also shared some words, writing, “It’s sad when ppl can’t get their way so they turn to social media for attention. No matter how much you give a person it’s never enough. We have to really pray for self-love because ppl take it out on everyone else.”

It’s quite the situation, so check out screenshots of some of the posts below.

Big Red Machine — aka the delightful pairing of The National‘s Aaron Dessner and Bon Iver‘s Justin Vernon — are set to debut their LP How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? later this month. In the lead-up, they’ve debuted a new song, “New Auburn,” during a live set for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which you can view above. Rounding out BRM’s Colbert set were Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold, Anaïs Mitchell, The Westerlies, The National’s Scott Devendorf, drummer JT Bates, and keyboardist Nick Lloyd.

The web exclusive set also featured a performance of “Phoenix,” which you can watch below.

When it was released, Dessner had this to say about “Phoenix,” which features vocals from Mitchell and Pecknold:

“‘Phoenix’ was one of the last songs we wrote for this record. I was thinking about The Band and the Grateful Dead …maybe imagining this Big Red Machine album was some version of the Last Waltz. Justin first heard it while driving and immediately the chorus melody came into his head. I shared the sketch with Robin Pecknold, who I’ve been a fan of forever and who I’d been dreaming would join us on this record. Robin wrote the verses and pre chorus as a kind of dialogue with Justin, recalling a conversation they once had backstage in Phoenix. Later Anais wrote words to the chorus and the Westerlies added their magic to the instrumental. JT Bates rumbles around in rare form on the drums on this song. I think it’s what I always imagined Big Red Machine would sound like.”

How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? is out 8/27 via Jagjaguwar/37d03d. Pre-order it here.

Following the damning results of a months-long investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct, Andrew Cuomo shocked the political world by actually resigning as governor on Tuesday. All signs were pointing to Cuomo stubbornly refusing to leave office and attempting to “wait out” the mounting number of sexual harassment allegations, but instead, he surprisingly stepped aside. However, during his resignation speech, Cuomo attempted to downplay his actions by saying that he’s Italian and that’s the way he “greets” people, which is as ridiculous as it sounds. Enter Amy Poehler who stopped by Late Night with Seth Meyers with her reactions to Cuomo’s “greetings.”

After playing Cuomo’s speech, the comedy duo went to town on the soon-to-be-former governor’s greetings, and here’s what they had to say (via Mediaite):

Grip of the arm: “I don’t like the word grip,” Pohler said while noting she bruises easily. “I don’t want to remember that I met you.”

Pat on the face: Meyers shot this one down because he doesn’t like to be touched on the face, and we’re assuming he’s not alone on that one.

Slap on the back: Thanks to its “Irish feel,” Poehler isn’t entirely opposed to this greeting. “But in this case it’s Italian,” she added in a pointed dig at Cuomo.

Touch on the belly: Obviously, this one got shot down immediately because who the heck just walks up to women and starts touching their stomach? “That’s gonna be a no from me, dog,” Poehler quipped. “Any lady will tell you a belly is — you don’t — that’s not, unless you’re very proud of [your] abs, you don’t.”

(Via Mediaite)

After over a year without live music, festivals are coming back full-force. With news of rising COVID-19 cases due to the infectious Delta variant, though, some musicians are understandably cautious. That’s why Stevie Nicks decided to cancel all of her upcoming performances this year, including her scheduled appearance at a handful of festivals. Taking her spot at Shaky Knees Festival 2021, Foo Fighters announced they will now headline the event.

Foo Fighters are already booked to perform at a number of festivals this year. They took the stage at Lollapalooza and are set to play New Orleans Jazz Festival, Boston Calling, and Bonnaroo. Now, they’ll also headline Atlanta’s Shaky Knees on the first night, which is scheduled to take place the weekend of October 22 to 24.

Sharing the news on social media, the festival said, “We are thrilled to announce the addition of the legendary Foo Fighters in our Friday night headlining slot, and we’re not done there! Please also welcome Garbage, The Collection and Glove to this year’s Shaky Knees lineup.”

News of Foo Fighter’s new gig arrives just a day after Nicks announced she would be canceling all of her 2021 performances. “These are challenging times with challenging decisions that have to be made,” she wrote in a message. “I want everyone to be safe and healthy and the rising Covid cases should be of concern to all of us. While I’m vaccinated, at my age, I am still being extremely cautious and for that reason have decided to skip the 5 performances I had planned for 2021.”

Along with Shaky Knees Festival, Nicks was also originally booked at this year’s Austin City Limits. To replace the singer, ACL announced they have invited Duran Duran to perform both weekends, October 1 to 3 and 8 to 10.

Although their debut dropped in 2009, it wasn’t until the release of 2011’s The Big Roar that Welsh trio The Joy Formidable really broke through. That album boasted towering singles like “Whirring” and “A Heavy Abacus,” and earned them an opening slot on Foo Fighters’ Wasting Light arena tour later that year. Ten years later, the band is still going strong, with a new album called Into The Blue due a bit later this month. The album certainly doesn’t lack in big guitars, pummeling percussion, and Ritzy Bryan’s entrancing, ethereal vocals.

To celebrate the new album, the band sat down to talk disintegrating dresses, Jimi Hendrix, and Indian food in the latest Indie Mixtape 20 Q&A, with the first ten questions answered by Bryan and the second ten answered by bassist Rhydian Dafydd.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

Swirling, whirling, surging, churning. Although I might just like the way that rhymes!

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

Gotta hope that I’ll still be making music in 2050.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?

Every visit is different so it’s hard to be conclusive but I loved our time in Lima, Peru.

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

I’d say my bandmate Rhydian, he unconsciously challenges me every day to be a better writer.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life?

I do love food. I had a fantastic meal in Agra India when we played there. It was Tikka Paneer cooked on coals, that’s been a hard one to beat.

What album do you know every word to?

Probably King Of America by Elvis Costello. I used to sing it all the time as a kid.

What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?

Björk at Manchester Apollo. It was a stunning show.

What is the best outfit for performing and why?

Something that doesn’t disintegrate mid-set, I’ve had that happen with a vintage dress before. Pass the gaffa!

Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?

I follow @jacksonsanimalrescue on Instagram. They are an animal rescue in Wales & the North West of England. They word relentlessly to help the animals & be a resource for the community. I really admire the work they do. @ronsexsmith is pretty active on Twitter which I never would have expected. He’s posting some pretty good Dad jokes today.

What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?

A lot of Zappa from Matt! And we usually have Withnail & I playing.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

How do you play bass properly?

What album makes for the perfect gift?

Jimi Hendrix – Axis: Bold As Love

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

Onstage.

What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?

As indicated above, my obsession with Hendrix growing up led to ‘JH’ being scribbled on my butt of course. My one and only tattoo and no regrets!

What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?

Ooo many! To name a few…Dylan, Kate Bush, Cohen, Led Zeppelin, Jeff Buckley, PJ Harvey, Bjork, NIN, Mclusky, Battles, John Martyn, Nick Drake, Michael Kiwanuka, Tori Amos, Sade…..

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

I prefer to see this as a wider picture of those that have shown love, support and honesty. Not just a one off gesture. You know who you are! Diolch x

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

Freedom is found within discipline.

What’s the last show you went to?

physically….The Cure, online….Melissa Etheridge.

What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?

The Shining.

What would you cook if Obama were coming to your house for dinner?

Some Welsh cawl of course!

Into The Blue is out August 20. Pre-order it here.

The news that Brendan Fraser joined the cast of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flowers Moon was greeted with universal jubilation by the internet. How often does that happen? For all of social media to agree on something? A lukewarm take like “cereal is better without milk” will inevitably spiral into getting ratio’d and death threats. But everyone can agree that Brendan Fraser rules, and it’s good that he’s in a Martin Scorsese movie.

The 52-year-old actor, who’s in Oklahoma to shoot Killers of the Flowers Moon, was made aware of the internet’s appreciation during a virtual meet-and-greet with TikTok cosplayer @LittleLottieCosplay. “The internet is so behind you! We’re so supportive,” she said in the viral clip (below). “There are so many people out there who love you, and we’re rooting for you, and we can’t wait to see what you do next.” Fraser looked genuinely taken aback by the support. While on the verge of tears, he took a sip of water to regain his composure, tipped his hat, and said, “Shucks, ma’am.” It’s very charming.

Fraser never fully went away — in recent years, he’s been on HBO Max’s Doom Patrol and FX’s Trust, and he also had a scene-stealing turn in Steven Soderbergh’s No Sudden Move — but I will happily accept any excuse to throw a Brendan Fraser Appreciation Party. I might double feature George of the Jungle and Bedazzled tonight.

(Via EW)

As Courtney Barnett prepares to release the follow-up to 2018’s Tell Me How You Really Feel, the indie-rock vanguard has unveiled another new track from the forthcoming Things Take Time, Take Time called “Before You Gotta Go.” A contemplative, mid-tempo melody, “Before You Gotta Go” was co-produced by Barnett and Warpaint’s Stella Mozgawa. While it seems to be making sense of a romantic separation, the lyrics are gracious and understanding: “If something were to happen my dear, I wouldn’t want the last words you hear to be unkind.”

“Sometimes I try to say everything in one song, or put my whole belief system into a vox pop, but you just can’t do that — it’s impossible,” Barnett says about her forthcoming third album, which already has one single out, “Rae Street.”

“This extra level of self-reflections and depth [during lockdown] gave me an unobstructed view of myself that maybe before, in other circumstances, I could just avoid by distracting myself with people or activities or going out somewhere,” Barnett recently told The Independent of how she experienced the last pandemic year. “There was none of that. This was a forced, more direct look into myself. Certain levels of that were probably very confronting but I tried to make the most of the parameters set for me.”

Listen to “Before You Gotta Go” above.

Things Take Time, Take Time is out 11/12 via Mom + Pop Music/Marathon Artists. Pre-order it here.