Month: November 2021

Just when you think all of the love song tropes have been explored and done before, Courtney Barnett arrives to offer a different take. Back in August, she sweetly professed on “Before You Gotta Go” that “If something were to happen, my dear, I wouldn’t want the last words you hear to be unkind.” It’s her ability to capture what we could possibly say before a door shuts and partners split for a period of time that challenges the romantic mind.

Now today, she’s shared “If If I Don’t Hear From You Tonight,” a song about the matter-of-factness of being in love, something that feels very apropos of the Courtney Barnett canon. It’s the final single ahead of the release of Things Take Time, Take Time this Friday. “And it’s so quiet outside, with this curfew lullaby / Is now an okay time to tell you that I like you? I wait for your reply, wait for your reply,” she sings over drums by Warpaint’s Stella Mozgawa and Cate LeBon on bass.

In the clip — directed by Claire Marie Vogel — the trio play the song basking in the creatively-charged sunshine of Joshua Tree National Park and it further drives home the upbeat nature of Barnett’s approach to love songs. In a statement, she shared a very cool sentiment on writing this one:

“I think my stance in the past was like, ‘There’s so many love songs and they don’t mean anything,’ but there’s something really special about zooming in on a moment and capturing it.’ ‘If I Don’t Hear From You Tonight’ comes from the state of where my head was at — trying to communicate honestly instead of keeping [my feelings] guarded.”

Watch the video for “If I Don’t Hear From You Tonight” above.

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

This summer brought King Princess’ first new music of the year with the single “House Burn Down,” and now she’s back with more. It’s not one of her own songs, though, as she joins Oberhofer for the duet “Dreaming Of U.” The hazy ballad comes from Oberhofer’s upcoming album Smothered, which is set to drop this week and will be his first LP since 2017’s Table 19 (Motion Picture Soundtrack): Oberhofer’s Ultimate Wedding Mixtape.

Oberhofer spoke about the inspirations behind the song with Consequence, saying, “Exploding Head Syndrome is a condition that happens during your sleep. The most common symptom is hearing a loud noise as you fall asleep or wake up. I wrote this song around 4 a.m. as I was falling asleep and wanted to create a cacophony of pleasant sounds I might hear while on the verge of slumber.” He also noted, “[Oneironautics is] the concept of being able to travel via dream and interact with the dreams of another person. The lyrical concept of this song was derived from a time I dreamt about someone three times one week, and when I told them, found out they had dreamt of me, too.”

He also said the “Dreaming Of You” video was inspired by the visual for the 1984 single “Bachelor Kisses” by The Go-Betweens, saying, “This was the first place I went in my head when I thought of ideas for this video.”

Aside from King Princess, Oberhofer’s upcoming album also features contributions from Jónsi, Teddy Geiger, Shamir, Nick Valensi of The Strokes, and Girlpool.

Watch the “Dreaming Of U” video above.

Smothered is out 11/12 via Telephono. Pre-order it here.

The gigantic NFL mess with Aaron Rodgers testing positive for COVID (after lying about his vaccination status) continues. He missed Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, which and he’s since revealed himself as a skeptic who reportedly questions fertility implications of the shot. He also went on a rant about the “woke mob” and declared that he’s been put in a “cancel culture casket.” Oh, and he admitted that he took COVID advice from his pal, Joe Rogan. (And NFL fans weren’t thrilled!)

Rogan, of course, took the right-wing-propelled Ivermectin and then got upset and threatened to sue CNN because he got mocked for the “horse dewormer” thing. Fast forward to the Rodgers developments, however, and Rogan couldn’t be more thrilled to defend the Green Bay Packers QB. “He’s not vaccine-hesitant because he’s like a conspiracy theorist,” he declared on the Tuesday edition of The Joe Rogan Experience, according to Mediaite. Rogan also addressed Rodgers’ claim that he’s allergic to the mRNA Covid vaccines, and he declared Rodgers to be “not a dummy” but a “f*cking smart dude”:

Rogan went to the CDC website and read the following, “if you have a had a severe allergic reaction or an immediate allergic reaction – even if it was not severe – to any ingredient in the mRNA Covid-19 vaccine – you should not get either of the currently availably MRNA Covid-19 vaccines.”

“He’s literally following the CDC’s recommendations on their website. He’s not a dummy, he’s a f*cking smart dude,” Rogan told his guest Theo Von.

That allergy wouldn’t prevent Rodgers from getting the Johnson & Johnson shot, but that might be beside the point, which is that Rogan seems thrilled that Rodgers listens to his advice, and that Rodgers is a monoclonal-antibodies believer. And if you were wondering what Rodgers’ girlfriend, Shailene Woodley thinks, well, she’s got a different take to tell you about.

(Via Mediaite)

After her debut LP Miss Universe became one of 2019’s most fascinating breakouts, Nilüfer Yanya is back with even more music. Her driving new single “Stabilise” officially kicks off a new era of music, which she confirmed with the announcement of her upcoming album, Painless.

The “Stabilise” video, directed by Molly Daniel, captures Yanya in constant motion. She starts off on a run as the camera emphasizes the uniform, block-like buildings on her street. She then hops in a cab and rides a bike to her final destination, which sees her rocking out on stage.

Speaking about her inspiration behind the single and it’s visual, Yanya describes how exhausting it can be at times to live in a big city:

“I was really thinking about your surroundings and how much they influence or change your perception of things. A lot of the city is just grey and concrete, there’s no escape. The video plays on the central theme in the song of no one coming to save you ever. It’s set in depths of reality in every day life where we are the only one’s truly capable of salvaging or losing ourselves. Nothing is out there -both a depressing and reassuring statement (depending on how you look at it). Sometimes you have to dress up as a spy or a rock star and just hope for the best.”

Watch Yanya’s “Stabilise” video above and see her Painless cover art and tracklist below.

1. “The Dealer”
2. “L/R”
3. “Shameless”
4. “Stabilise”
5. “Chase Me”
6. “Midnight Sun”
7. “Trouble”
8. “Try”
9. “Company”
10. “Belong With You”
11. “The Mystic”
12. “Anotherlife”

Painless is out 3/4/2022 via ATO. Pre-order it here.

There’s a memorable turn in Tyler The Creator’s Call Me When You Get Lost, when the album flips to the nearly ten minute “Sweet / I Thought You Wanted To Dance.” It’s clear how much fun Tyler is having fun on the record and it’s symbolic of the creative peak he’s been riding for the past three years. Brent Fayiaz spits a verse, but there’s this angelic singer stitched through the track giving it the sweetest R&B lean of any moment on the record. It’s Fana Hues (pronounced “fawn-ah”) and hers is the last voice we hear, singing, “So don’t forget about me, I’ll save a dance just for you…”

It’s a lovely moment for the Pasadena native, who’s been building on her own in the meantime, with last year’s excellent project Hues and now with the first taste of what’s to come in the new video for the magnificent “Pieces.” The dimly lit visual establishes her as a benevolent diva of sorts and a flat out magnetic singer. Directed by Phillip Youmans, the clip takes us through a showcase of the bizarre, but nothing lingers more than Hues and her tears of gold at the end.

Signed to indie label Bright Antenna, Hues is a unique emerging force. “Pieces” is a masterful showcase of the wavy R&B that she creates. It’s intriguing music and an approach that she reflected upon in a statement: “I want to capture all the different shades of one idea.”

Watch the video for “Pieces” above.

The next time you talk to your parents on the phone, don’t bring up Yellowstone unless you want it to be a two-hour long conversation. There’s a good chance that the Paramount Network series, created by Taylor Sheridan (Sicario, Hell or High Water) and John Linson (Sons of Anarchy) and starring Kevin Costner as a rancher, is your dad’s favorite series — and there’s a lot of dads out there who still subscribe to cable.

The season four premiere “averaged 8.12 million viewers over its two hour-plus running time, setting an all-time high for both the series and Paramount Network as a whole,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. The first of the two episodes was seen by 8.38 million people, which is the second largest viewership of any show on any broadcast or cable this year behind only another mom and dad-favorite, NCIS.

Yellowstone also drew the biggest same-day audience for any cable scripted series in almost four years, since an episode of The Walking Dead in November 2017.

The series premiere of Dexter: New Blood wasn’t a Yellowstone-sized hit, but it still did well. The episode drew 678,000 viewers for its initial airing (the most for Showtime since the Shameless series finale earlier this year), while “streaming and on demand viewing gathered 1.3 million viewers, and an additional 188,000 caught an on-air replay, bringing the cross-platform total for Sunday to 2.17 million.” That’s the most for a “premium cable scripted drama premiere” in 2021. A niche distinction, but a distinction nonetheless.

Oh, and in case you were wondering: Yellowstone airs on Sundays, so you should think about leaving the folk’s home the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Otherwise, you might get sucked into the show. Kevin Costner’s rugged handsomeness has that effect on people.

(Via the Hollywood Reporter)

Former professional athletes getting into boxing has become a popular venture in recent years, albeit one that can sometimes end in disaster, as Nate Robinson learned the hard way.

Still, many get into boxing or martial arts as a way to stay active after their careers end and their natural competitive desire leads them to wanting to try their hand at an actual fight. Deron Williams and Frank Gore will be the two latest former stars from the world of basketball and football who will try their hand at the sweet science in December, when the two meet on the undercard for the Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury main event on Showtime PPV on December 18 in Tampa.

Williams owns an MMA gym and has been practicing mixed martial arts for some time, but will now look to show off the hands in the ring with Gore. The two issued statements in an official release when the bout was announced on Tuesday.

“Combat sports have been a part of my life since my youngest days. Before I was a basketball player, I was a wrestler,” said Williams. “Since 2015, I have had the privilege of owning an MMA gym, and through that I have trained in various martial arts to stay active. Over the last year, I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to translate my training into a professional debut. I’m making that happen on December 18 against Frank, one of the physically strongest NFL players in history.”

“I’m excited to be fighting on this card and can’t wait to show the world what I’ve been working on,” said Gore. “Boxing has me excited, and on December 18 expect fireworks!”

It will be a fairly fascinating fight given Williams certainly has more training in combat sports, but not exclusively boxing. Gore, meanwhile, was able to carve out a 16-year NFL career at a position that typically pushes players out in half that time, if they’re lucky, and has taken up boxing much more recently. As guys like Robinson, Chad Johnson, and others have learned when they’ve gotten in the ring for an actual fight, the stamina required in boxing is a wholly different type of being in shape to football or basketball. That’s a big reason this is only a four round fight, but whichever of Williams and Gore can stay fresher for longer will likely have the upper hand. That they’re fighting another ex-ball player rather than a professional fighter also lends itself to making this fight have the potential to be much more entertaining.

No offense to any of the various musicians who’ve partnered with fast-food chains for co-branded merchandise, but Megan Thee Stallion’s latest drop with Popeye’s might actually be the coolest one yet. Dubbed the “Animegan” collection, the latest set nods to the Houston Hottie’s love of Japanese cartoons with a tote bag, T-shirt, hoodie, and bandana featuring an illustrated Megan surrounded by flames — a clear reference to one of her favorite characters, Shoto Todoroki from My Hero Academia, whose powers make him a human flamethrower. Megan has cosplayed as him a number of times in the past.

But the coolest item — at least, to me — is an adorable Megan Thee Stallion plush doll with a cowboy hat and a Hottie chain. I mean, come on, just look at this thing:

The latest drop follows the “Thee Heat” collection, which included a flame emoji emblazoned bikini, a Popeyes three-piece box dog plush toy, and a cropped “Saucy” T-shirt. There’s still no word on bottles of the Hottie Sauce, but it’s Megan Thee Stallion — if nothing else, she gives her fans what they want (see also: her new EP, Something For Thee Hotties, and her booty-baring graduation photos). Fingers are firmly crossed.

You can check out the new merch here.

Holly Humberstone is sitting in Central Park on a sunny early fall day, watching the boats and raving about her first time visiting New York City. “Oh my gosh, it’s so lovely,” she exclaims. “Everything looks like a movie. It looks like a film set. It’s amazing. I’m having a lovely day.”

It’s safe to say the Grantham, England, native has been enjoying a string of lovely days as of late. The previous night, Humberstone played her second sold-out show of the week at the Bowery Ballroom. These gigs came on the heels of a pair of sold-out shows in Los Angeles. And, just hours after our interview, she’ll appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, performing the synth-dappled “Scarlett” for an adoring audience.

For Humberstone, playing live gigs is a slightly disorienting experience. Incredibly enough, her entire career has unfolded — and taken off — within the last two years, as the world navigated the extended pandemic-related break. Her first single, the spare and searing “Deep End,” arrived in early 2020, right before the first lockdown in the UK, while the piano-sprinkled “Falling Asleep At The Wheel” arrived in March 2020.

“I found it hard to gauge if my music is connecting because everything was online and over social media,” she says. “I’ve really never toured these songs. Getting a chance to play these songs and seeing people singing them back [to me] is so, so, so surreal and bizarre. But so cool — and so affirming, encouraging, and inspiring.” Naturally, she’s found the crowds to be extra energetic and supportive. “Everybody has been so excited to be there,” she says. “I feel like I don’t have the type of music where people get rowdy and jump around. Everyone’s been so excited to be there and just rooting for me as well. I feel like I have them to thank for everything.”

Humberstone herself turned to music as solace during the pandemic, especially as a listener; Phoebe Bridgers and Flyte were faves. “I found throughout lockdown I really relied on music for my personal human connection to the outside world,” she says. “Because there wasn’t really anything else.” However, during lockdown, she found writing for herself much more difficult. “I find that I’m most inspired when I’m really busy, seeing my friends, [being] in the city and out and about and doing things. When my senses [are] overloaded, I find I’m really, really good at writing and creating. [During lockdown] I didn’t have anything going on apart from the pandemic, and there’s nothing inspiring about being trapped inside for months and months.”

Like many artists, Humberstone started to put pressure on herself to be creative, and began comparing herself to other people and what they were producing. “[I thought] everyone’s going to come out the other side of that albums and albums, and I can’t even write, like, a word,” she says. “I had all the time, suddenly — and I couldn’t even write.” Once she eased off and started being kinder to herself, the words started flowing once again. “But it was months and months before I could even kind of think about doing it,” she admits. “I learned creativity is just something that I can’t really force. I have to strike when I feel inspired and squeeze the creativity out of me then.”

Her instinct to wait for the right inspiration elevates the forthcoming The Walls Are Way Too Thin EP, which is out November 12. The release encompasses sinewy electro-pop (“Please Don’t Leave Just Yet,” a song co-written and co-produced by The 1975’s Matty Healy), somber piano balladry (“Haunted House”) and folk-pop (“Friendly Fire”). The diverse release reflects her changing personal tastes. “A lot of the first EP, I was listening to a lot of pop music and I was trying to figure out what I wanted my sound to be and how I wanted to kind of come across,” she says.

While writing The Walls Are Way Too Thin, Humberstone instead was listening to ’80s music, such as that decade’s offerings by Fleetwood Mac, Prince, and Bruce Springsteen. You can pick out these inspirations here and there on the EP, both lyrically (excellent pointed lines such as “We had a shelf life, but neither believed it”) and musically (the title track is very reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac’s Tango In The Night). However, The Walls Are Way Too Thin is pleasingly eclectic.

“I don’t know how to describe my music; I think it changes all the time,” Humberstone says. “I don’t really think that I have one particular kind of style or way of making music that I stick to. I make what I’m into at the time. The sound just changes with life. I’m not the same person as I was when I wrote the first EP, so it’s going to sound completely different. I’ve got different things going on in my life now.”

Indeed, in addition to navigating the emotional and creative ups and downs of lockdown, Humberstone has also experienced some major life changes since early 2020. The decaying old house in which she grew up and wrote the songs on Falling Asleep At The Wheel was deemed unsafe, meaning her family would have to move. This was no ordinary crumbling house; in fact, Humberstone describes an idyllic, magical home where she and her three sisters flourished.

“We didn’t have a TV, so we did art and did music and made things with our free time,” she says. “I was really lucky, because my parents are really nurturing and they just said, ‘Use this space — use the house as just your space to create and do creative, fun things.’ I love the house and I feel like it’s a seventh family member. It’s so scruffy, but it’s like my sacred place.”

At the same time, Humberstone also moved away to London and started living on her own. This was also tough: She didn’t know the city well and was separated from her friends and sisters, all of whom were away at different universities. “Everything seemed to be changing at the same time,” she says. “Everything all at once was changing around me. There wasn’t really much that was familiar anymore from my own my old life, I guess.”

These changes also inspired The Walls Are Way Too Thin. “I kind of just got a bit lost, really, in London and didn’t really know who I was anymore. It was just a really weird time. And the only way that knew how to process it was going into the studio and writing. That was the only thing I thought that I had still left from what I knew.” She starts laughing. “And that’s why the EP I think is quite pathetic. I think it’s got quite a lot of pathetic, ‘feeling sorry for myself’ songs on it.”

Humberstone’s self-deprecation is charming, but isn’t necessarily warranted. Her willingness to be open and vulnerable is refreshing and compelling, and has already led to gigs such as opening a massive Girl In Red tour in 2022. “To be able to work and to get opportunities in a pandemic, and still be busy — I’m feeling really, really lucky and just really grateful that I’ve managed to come out the other side and still able to do music,” Humberstone says. “I’m still able to do what I love and that be my job. I’m pretty much the luckiest person in the world.”

As the Aaron Rodgers fiasco continues, his fiancé Shailene Woodley has entered the discourse. Only Woodley isn’t so much concerned with addressing Rodgers’ anti-vaccine views (or more importantly, whether she shares them), but she does want everyone to know that the Green Bay Packers quarterback is, uh, well-endowed.

While swatting down a Daily Mail article accusing Rodgers of continuing to flaunt the NFL’s rules by allegedly going out for coffee in Brentwood, Woodley took to her Instagram Stories on Tuesday to point out that the photos the publication were using are not of Rodgers. How could Woodley tell? The “rando dude” was lacking in certain… areas. Via The Daily Beast:

This is straight up HILARIOUS. News outlets STILL grasping at straws to disparage Aaron. Finding random fucking men on the streets of la and saying it’s him.” She then drew a circle around the random man’s feet and wrote: “I know Aaron’s body. VERY well. First off, his feet, ahem and no offense to this rando dude, are a LOT bigger. 😉

As the Instagram Story continues, Woodley points out that it’s “no secret” that Rodgers has the “hairiest hands on the f*cking planet,” which the man in the photo does not. She also shaded the dude’s car and wrote, “Aaron would never drive this.”

(Via The Daily Beast)