Month: August 2022

If there’s a pop album you’ve enjoyed in the past five years or so, there’s a good chance Jack Antonoff was involved in making it; Since 2017, he’s produced for Taylor Swift, Lorde, Lana Del Rey, Clairo, Florence And The Machine, and plenty of others. He also worked with The 1975 on their upcoming album Being Funny In A Foreign Language, and now the band’s Matty Healy has explained what it is that makes Antonoff “so good” as a producer.

In a recent interview, Healy told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe about working with Antonoff, saying:

“I think that guy has a reputation for being busy, but I can tell you, he’s just good. He’s so good. What he does is identifies what an artist is really good at or where the truth is coming from. And it’s a bit like, if you think of like a great comedian, the language of, like, sense of humor, they can sense where the humor is in the situation. Jack’s like… he’s like me, you know what I mean? He’s like culture vulture, he’s full of references. He knows his sh*t, man. He understands what artists need at any given moment.”

Check out the interview here or below.

Kendrick Lamar is in the midst of his The Big Steppers Tour right now, but he took some time out of his schedule to pen a reflective message for fans.

In an Instagram Story last night, Lamar wrote about the personal importance of rap and his place in it:

“ngl jesus jojo and mary. took a n**** twenty years to find mother i sober. rap has truly helped my expansion of self. beyond the perception of who I believed to be. on jojo. music is air to a young n**** at this point. mr morale. the catalyst of my self expression. ill never forget the process of falling in love with imperfection. the piano. my fans. the stories of reconciliation i hear from penitentiaries to small villages. Some words will find you today. Some will find you in 10. find your children type sh*t. sitting in the corner like an old book. im forever underground. infratrating the mainstream a la carte. these cities still beautiful to watch. on jojo. ily

-ok ok!”

In the hours before the message, Lamar also took to his Instagram to share 50 photos from his tour, each picture getting its own post.

Find Lamar’s original message below, as well as some of the photo posts.

If there was ever a sign that you should always arrive at a concert early enough to catch the opening act, Eddie Vedder just gave it to us. You see, The Strokes were merely the opening act for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who were making a tour stop at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park in support of their latest album, Unlimited Love. And get this, The Strokes were the opener. Pretty sweet bill, right? Especially considering that Thundercat was the first opener. But I digress, because Eddie Vedder surprised the heck out of the Seattle crowd by popping in to sing with The Strokes and by the looks of it, his recent ailments with his voice/throat have gotten better.

Vedder jumped on stage with Julian Casablancas, Albert Hammond Jr. and The Strokes to sing “Juicebox,” off of The Strokes’ 2006 album, First Impressions Of Earth. Talk about a treat for Vedder’s hometown crowd, who worships the Pearl jam singer. Eddie Vedder could run for mayor of Seattle tomorrow and he’d win. But nobody saw this coming in the Seattle concert crowd and fans who shared clips and photos on social media were stoked.

“I’m at thundercat/strokes/rhcp tonight and the strokes just brought out eddie vedder. idk what to do with myself,” one fan tweeted. WHile another lucky fellas said, “The Strokes opening for Chili Peppers. They just brought out some dude named Eddie Vedder to sing a song. Think that kid might have a future.”

And for the superfans out there, Vedder has come out with The Strokes in both 2019 and 2021 to sing….you guessed it: “Juicebox”. Here’s a couple clips from the Twitter vault:

When people ask someone how they’re doing, they often don’t actually care about the answer. What’s lost is the opportunity to connect with another person. In the new “How Was Your Day?” video, Stella Donnelly shows a genuine interest in other people’s struggles.

The video is about loving thy neighbor as seen through a variety of characters. Donnelly is dealing with a troubled relationship, keeps moving about her room, appearing flustered. There’s also a car crash victim nursing her bloodied forehead, a man drowning in the ocean, and a young child lying on the floor in pain while soccer players sprint around him.

Eventually, as the singer continues to switch between full singing and spoken word, each character magically receives a phone, which they use to speak to someone, presumably Donnelly, about what’s going on. The fact that someone cares gets the girl to stand up and dust herself off, the man to leave the ocean, and the soccer player to get back in the game. It’s a powerful depiction of what a little empathy can do.

“How Was Your Day?” follows Stella Donnelly’s three previous singles released this year: “Flood,” “Lungs,” and “Proof.” Her next album Flood is out on August 26 via Secretly Canadian, coming almost three and half years after the release of Beware Of The Dogs.

Check out “How Was Your Day?” above.

Flood is out 8/26 via Secretly Canadian. Pre-save it here.

Things aren’t looking so hot over at HBO Max. On Wednesday, rumors swirled about how the semi-newly merged Warner Bros. Discovery may be coming for one of the world’s most popular streamers. There’s talk of mass layoffs. Original scripted content may come to an end. That’s got lots of people worried about their favorite HBO Max shows, including The Flight Attendant, Our Flag Means Death, and Hacks. But one show, at least, is said to be safe — for now.

As caught by Deadline, amidst the furor, a fan of Peacemaker, the spin-off show about John Cena’s Suicide Squad member, sought answers from the show’s creator himself. They asked James Gunn, director of the Guardians of the Galaxy films and last year’s super-gory, confusingly titled sequel The Suicide Squad, if the show was safe. Gunn wrote back, simply, “Yes, guys, calm down.”

Of course, Gunn only confirmed that Season 2 is fine. If HBO Max is no longer producing original shows — or if it has morphed into something else entirely — then it might have to find another home, if it can.

It’s understandable that people are freaked out. The day before the HBO Max death talks began, Warner Bros. Discovery announced they were shelving two films that were either already done or near completion: Batgirl and Scoob!: Haunted Holiday. It was a shocking — and unprecedented — move, and it got many worried about what other drastic changes were en route. In the meantime, keep the streamer that has it all — from good original shows to classic cinema to delightful garbage ‘90s thrillers — in your thoughts.

(Via Deadline)

Most people have dreams but may not be fortunate enough to pursue them. Instead they live a life they don’t enjoy but feel obliged to keep. Idles displays this vividly in their new video for “Stockholm Syndrome.”

Directed by Charlotte Gosch and Idles’s own Lee Kiernan, it opens with two kids walking through the streets. They appear optimistic before encountering their impending future, but the scene then shifts to a horde of masked people in black jumpsuits performing manual labor as the British band riffs in the background. The two kids walk in the middle of the group, quickly becoming afraid as the masked workers encircle them and the video comes to a close.

The video serves as a metaphor for being drowned in the realities of life and perhaps not being able to escape. It’s a powerful statement conveyed through a layered narrative.

Idles have been riding high since the release of their fall 2021 album Crawler. As the group prepares for their North American tour, this will serve as a nice reminder of how impactful their music can be in any setting.

Check out the video for “Stockholm Syndrome” above.

Crawler is out now via Partisan Records. Listen to it here.

There’s a big shake-up afoot at the semi-newly merged Warner Bros. Discovery. Details have yet to be made public, but the rumor is that new CEO David Zaslav is planning on dramatically altering their popular streamer HBO Max, gutting the scripted division and jettisoning some of its vast and diverse shows and movies. (Already subscribers can no longer watch An American Pickle.) But the changes may go even deeper still.

In a Rolling Stone piece about the shocking, unprecedented shelving of Batgirl and Scoob!: Haunted Holiday, there’s one alarming aside (caught by Discussing Film) about one of the more high-profile HBO Max releases: the fabled “Snyder Cut” of Justice League. The company forked over a small fortune so that Zack Snyder, who left the 2017 all-star DCEU film while it was still in production due to family issues, could rehab a version of his original, ambitious vision. Thing is, apparently company brass are trying to pretend it doesn’t exist:

In a telling sign of how far the studio is looking to distance itself from Snyder, a source says documentary filmmaker Leslie Iwerks recently asked to license clips from the 2021 Justice League for a film on the history of DC and was told there is only one Justice League: the 2017 incarnation.

Whereas the “Snyder cut” received strong reviews, the suspiciously short 2017 version that hit theaters did not, leading to an underwhelming box office haul. Will Snyder’s four-hour version last much longer on the platform? Will the rumors prove true and a “Red Wedding”-level streaming bloodbath is near? Who’s to say? Perhaps the company is just peeved that so many of those calling for a new, pricey version of a movie that didn’t make much money anyway were reportedly Twitter bots.

(Via Rolling Stone)

Bbymutha has not been hard to find. In 2020 alone she dropped the albums Muthaleficent and Muthaland, followed by The Bastard Tapes, Vol. 3 in 2021 and Cherrytape earlier this year. After sharing “Yaya” back in June of this year, the Chattanooga lyricist is back with another EP, Muthalefic3nt. This is special not only for the frequency at which she has released but also because the project is fully produced by Fly Anakin.

Bbymutha uses this almost featureless endeavor (Anakin spits on track two, “Blink!”) to expose more about herself and doesn’t hide the fact it isn’t pretty. The project is centered around darker, grimier sounds and subjects that may not be easily digestible for all. However, in true, enigmatic Bbymutha fashion, she puts a 32-year-old spin on “Ring Around The Rosie,” rhyming it with “Cocaine for my nosey” on “Blkdeath:(.”

Bbymutha displays his lyrical and melodic flexibility over the EP’s seven tracks, putting a major stamp on a strong last few years for the rapper. Though there is no news about a forthcoming album, it surely would not come as a shock if she released one before 2022 comes to a close.

Bbymutha’s Muthaleficent is out now via Lion Babe. Listen to it here.

If you’ve been on the fence about downloading a meditation app, now might be the right time. You’ll need the extra zen in your life as NBC moves Days Of Our Lives to its streaming site Peacock, and you’re enlisted to help explain to your parents and grandparents how to sign up, log in, and/or stream the show from the TV. Is it on the internet or on the TV? Yes. Hopefully no dongles will be harmed in the process.

After 57 years on the network, the soap opera has avoided cancellation yet again by making the shift. Or maybe the Peacock version is its evil twin? Hard to say.

According to Vulture, NBC is banking on diehard fans of the 14,000-episode series to boost Peacock membership numbers. Boomer jokes aside, chairman of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming Mark Lazarus said that most fans of Days of Our Lives (DOOL if you’re nasty) already watch the show online, so “this move enables us to build the show’s loyal fan base on streaming while simultaneously bolstering the network daytime offering with an urgent, live programming opportunity for partners and consumers.” In other words, the legacy series is stepping aside to make way for another show and to test whether an established, dedicated fanbase can help NBC navigate a shifting media landscape.

The show replacing it at the network will be NBC News Daily, which is quite the tonal shift from the dramatics of the Bradys and Hortons.

Even though the show continues on, it’s still the end of an era. Like sands through the hourglass, right?

(via Vulture)

Marvel is in the spotlight again after several VFX artists are speaking out about terrible working conditions. The complaints are industry-wide, but Marvel is one of the major villains. The biggest problem seems to be video game-style crunch, where artists are asked to do an unbearable amount of work with an excruciatingly tight turnaround.

And fans aren’t always impressed with the finished product. The first She-Hulk: Attorney At Law trailer included some wonky, cartoonish vibes from the big green menace, but it’s also a rare TV show that would feature such a massive, movie-sized amount of CGI. The question is whether Marvel and its VFX team are up to that task, and whether Marvel can treat those employees and contractors fairly.

According to Variety, She-Hulk herself is speaking up on the workers’ behalf. At a recent press event, she said “I feel incredibly deferential to how talented these artists are and how quickly they have to work, obviously, like much quicker than probably should be given to them, in terms of churning these things out. . . I do think that we have to be super conscious of how the work conditions aren’t always optimal and that they’ve made these amazing strides in this industry. I watch it and it doesn’t look like a cutscene from a video game. I can see the character’s thoughts. I feel very in awe of what they do.”

Head writer Jessica Gao added, “I think everybody on this panel stands in solidarity with all workers and is very pro-good working conditions,” and director Kat Coiro said “we stand with them.”

These are valuable statements, but it’s unclear how far that support can stretch given the scope and power of Marvel (read: Disney) to steer the process. She-Hulk: Attorney At Law premieres August 18th on Disney+, and the Marvel slate currently includes a Halloween Special, a Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, What If…, Loki, Echo, Ironheart, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guaridans of the Galaxy: Vol. 3, The Marvels, and Blade.

That’s just through 2023.

(via Variety)