Year: 2022

Kanye West is one of the more outspoken artists in music today, but he’s far from the only one. One of his peers who has developed a bit of a reputation for picking fights with other musicians is Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, who has never been known to hold his tongue. He’s never been a fan of some of Kanye’s more outrageous stunts, either, vehemently refusing Kanye’s claim of being the world’s “greatest living rock star” in 2015. More recently, it seems Kanye has once again got Taylor’s goat, prompting him to thrash the recently-divorced rapper in an interview with Metro UK.

This time, he’s taking issue with Kanye’s Donda 2 release tactic of selling the album exclusively through his $200 stem player, which Taylor characterized as “pompous and ridiculous,” going so far as calling Kanye a “f*cking moron” over it. The stem player, which separates the music into four separate tracks or “stems,” allows fans to transform the music as it plays, controlling the volume on each track and allowing some degree of speed and sound reversing. To Taylor, this is akin to “releasing all the parts for a car and sending them to people’s houses and going there, you got a free car, now you’ve got to figure out how to build the goddamn thing.”

Contrary to Taylor’s comments, the album is pre-downloaded in full and the touch controls merely allow fans to play around with how each song plays — i.e., lowering drums or vocals (my personal favorite use for it so far). Although his words suggest a slight misunderstanding of how the stem player works, Taylor’s got another point as well. “You’re assuming that the audience has the access and same technology that you have but you’re a f**king moron for doing that. Are you serious? It doesn’t work that way. The thinking that that’s a smart thing to do just shows you how convoluted and off the f**king property Kanye West really is.”

“When you’ve got that much money and that much people around you telling you exactly what you want to hear, your concept of reality just goes right out the f*cking window,” he continued. “People can’t afford their f*cking apartments for f*ck’s sake. It’s not right. It’s just so pompous and ridiculous.” He’s kind of got a point there; as fans have already programmed emulators to get around having to buy the players. Even Nipsey Hussle still kept his $100 mixtape, Crenshaw, free to stream while also running his “proud to pay” campaign, and he offered value besides periodic patches of an unfinished project. And while Kanye claims that the stem player returns profits and control back to artists, he has yet to demonstrate how the $200 devices really benefit anyone other than himself.

With the second Florence And The Machine song release in as many weeks, Florence Welch is taking a forceful look at femininity. Whereas “King” looked lyrically at shattering traditional female roles, the newly-release “Heaven Is Here” doubles down with a furiously choreographed video featuring a cast of talented women that was filmed in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv.

“‘Heaven Is Here’ was the first song I wrote in lockdown after an extended period of not being able to get to the studio,” Welch explained in a statement. “I wanted to make something monstrous. And this clamour of joy, fury and grief was the first thing that came out. With dance studios also shut it was my dream to one day create choreography with it. So it’s one of the first pieces of music I have made specifically with contemporary dance in mind.”

Recorded in Kyiv in November of 2021, the video sees Welch flanked by a group of dancers in a studio in the currently war-torn city. The way they enact the impassioned dance (choreographed by Ryan Heffington) is equally as affecting as Welch’s lyrics: “More catholic taste than the Devil, all gilded and golden. Yes, I’m your girl. Hell, if it glitters, I’m going.” It’s the second Florence And The Machine video in a row directed by Autumn de Wilde.

Welch explained in an Instagram post that two of the dancers are actually sheltering in Kyiv right now. “To my brave and beautiful sisters Maryne and Anastasiia. I love you. I wish I could put my arms around you. Strength,” she said in the caption. She also shared a link to support Ukraine via Rescue.org.

Watch the video for “Heaven Is Here” above.

Although Kanye West’s macabre, stop-motion animation video for his and the Game’s new song “Eazy” has ruffled a lot of feathers on the internet, even prompting a response from the artist himself arguing for his right to express himself artistically, at least person — arguably, the person who should be most offended by it — reportedly found it pretty darn amusing.

Pete Davidson, whom Kanye targeted in the video with a claymation effigy that gets kidnapped, buried, and turned into a planter, found Kanye’s video “hysterical,” according to Entertainment Tonight Online. A source told ET that not is Pete “not threatened by Kanye in any way, shape or form,” but that he also “finds the fact that Kanye included a cartoon version of him in his music video hysterical. He is almost flattered by it all because it is so ridiculous to him.”

Kanye’s anger at the comedian stems from the fact that Davidson has been dating Kim Kardashian, Kanye’s ex-wife, for the past several months as the couple takes opposing views on their ongoing divorce. While West wants to reconcile, Kardashian has expressed repeatedly she has no desire to do so, even going so far as to request the court expedite the legal status of their split — which was granted last week, on the same day Kanye shared the “Eazy” video on Instagram.

Kanye’s since taken down the video, replacing it with his post denying that it was a legitimate threat to Davidson. Meanwhile, ETOnline reports that Pete and Kim have decided that the video is an obvious bid to cause friction between them but say it’s done just the opposite, bringing them closer together as Kanye keeps attacking both via social media.

Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman has been aggressively calling out Republican politicians for their tacit, and not so tacit, support for Vladimir Putin as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine. On Sunday, Vindman, who testified against Donald Trump during his impeachment trial for withholding military aid from Ukraine unless President Volodymyr Zelensky announced an investigation into Joe Biden, got into it with Marjorie Taylor Greene, who tried to blame the situation in Ukraine on the current administration.

“Tragically, people are dying because of Biden’s poor decision making leading up to Putin declaring war on Ukraine,” Greene tweeted. “Biden’s weakness and failure as a leader not only has put America last but is a danger to the entire world.”

Vindman was not having it and blasted Greene for damaging U.S. efforts to help Ukraine. “Nope. It’s because you and your pro-Putin party encouraged Putin to invade, by cheerleading him,” Vindman tweeted. “Worse yet, you undermined @POTUS efforts to signal punishing costs… you undermined U.S. efforts deter the war. You have blood in your hands. The American people will not forget.”

On Monday morning, Greene fired back at Vindman, but in her response, she notably did not deny being pro-Putin. “This clown wants to drag Americans into war with Russia with his big tough tweets and his zoom interviews on CNN. Go ahead and go fight yourself since you’re from Ukraine,” Greene tweeted. “You are clueless about Americans being fed up with sending our sons and daughters to die in foreign lands.”

In what’s becoming a recurring theme, Greene’s rhetoric has not been going over well with her Republican colleagues. Before the dust-up with Vindman, she was already facing intense scrutiny after speaking at a white nationalist event, which even her biggest supporters in Congress called unacceptable. However, there seems to be little traction on removing her from the party. Via ABC News:

“This may be a chance to burn out the cancer of the Republican Party — those that are, you know, Putin sympathetic,” said Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., a former military pilot who broke with his party over the Trump presidency.

But he worries that McCarthy and other GOP leaders will stop short of kicking Greene out of the party. “He won’t because she has power, let’s be honest, but I’m embarrassed by it.”

To emphasize Kinzinger’s point, following her spat with Vindman, Greene retweeted Lou Dobbs, who accused Vindman and his twin brother, who’s also a lieutenant colonel, of weakening the Army. Don’t expect any lessons to be learned here.

(Via Raw Story, ABC News)

2020 was major year for The Weeknd’s foray into animation. First he got to appear in an episode of one of his favorite shows, American Dad, and just months later, he voiced some characters on Robot Chicken. Here in 2022, he’s getting back into the saddle, as he is set to make an appearance on the cartoon: The Simpsons.

According to The Futon Critic, The Weeknd is set to voice a couple characters, Orion Hughes and Darius Hughes, on the March 20 episode, titled “Bart The Cool Kid.” An episode synopsis reads, “When Bart befriends a famous kid influencer who owns an ultra-cool skate wear brand, Homer leads a rebellion of loser dads against them.” Michael Rapaport is also set to guest star as as Mike Wegman.

The Weeknd himself confirmed the news by shared a report from a fan account on Twitter and writing, “proud of this one.”

Shortly before the premiere of his American Dad episode, The Weeknd indicated that getting to appear on The Simpsons would be a dream come true, saying in a Variety interview, “American Dad was everything I wanted. It’s going to be hard to beat this in the TV cartoon world, but an obvious bucket list would be to work on The Simpsons. That would be a dream — and if they’re reading this, I actually have a pretty cool idea if they’re down.”

After going sequel-heavy in the late-2010s (Finding Dory, Cars 3, Incredibles 2, and Toy Story 4 were released in a three-year span), Pixar has been on a strong run of original films. Onward was a successfully charming attempt at fantasy; Soul won Best Animated Feature Film at last year’s Oscars; Luca is up for Best Animated Feature Film at this year’s Oscars; and Turning Red is being called the studio’s best movie in years.

Directed by Domee Shi (Bao), Turning Red is about a boy band-loving teenage girl who turns into a red panda whenever she experiences strong emotions (“which is practically ALWAYS,” as the official plot description notes). In her glowing review, Thrillist‘s Emma Stefansky wrote, “What’s so wonderful about Turning Red is that its themes of growing up and learning to live with a complex and mature set of feelings are clear without being obvious or simplistic,” while Polygon‘s Petrana Radulovic noted, “With a bright visual style and specific, evocative storytelling, Turning Red is an incredibly special addition to the Pixar canon, and one of its best films.” The praise is near-universal.

The Hollywood Reporter:

Turning Red is original, funny, and tender, an affectionate reminder that adolescence is a time of life not easily tamed, and sometimes the animal inside us demands release.

The Globe and Mail:

There may not be a gut-punch moment of overwhelming emotion like, say, the climax of Toy Story 3, the profoundly unexpected imagination of Up, or the form-busting audaciousness of Wall-E (though the plush-toy-ready Panda Mei is as easy a product to sell as Toy Story 4′s Forky). But Turning Red immediately announces itself as top-tier Pixar.

SlashFilm:

Turning Red is another Pixar home run, a low-stakes adventure turned high-stakes thanks to its heightened emotions and envelope-pushing animation style. It’s loud and unapologetic, and while that frenzy of stuff can sometimes turn frantic, it’s one of the most accurate cinematic depictions of what it was like to be a hormonal teenage girl — city-destroying kaiju fights, and all.

Little White Lies:

With all of its visual delights and expert use of its colourful onscreen spaces, its ever-a-shame that it’s the latest Pixar movie exiled to Disney’s streaming services – because it’s one of their best animated movies in years.

ScreenCrush:

It’s not only the studio’s best movie (and metaphor) since Inside Out — it’s one of their best movies ever. Wherever the company’s next project premieres, I just hope they keep getting to make original, heartfelt, beautiful films like Turning Red. It’s one of those special movies where during your first viewing you already know there’s going to be a 100th viewing someday.

It sure would be nice to see Turning Red in a movie theater. Instead, it’s coming out on Disney+ in March 11.

What a freaking concept. Back in January 2019, Russian Doll kicked off a fantastic year on TV with a hefty (and much needed dose) of Natasha Lyonne, who executive produced alongside Amy Poehler and Leslye Headland. The first season (of Groundhog Day-esque universe f*ckery) was close to perfect, which (of course) presented quite a challenge: how to actually do justice to that debut while upping the stakes on Nadia and Charlie’s respective ongoing plights in a followup.

That’s a tall bill. The good news is that Russian Doll (hopefully) took the time to get the job done right, and Season 2 will will not only recruit Annie Murphy but also shows Nadia toasting the universe over its insistence upon sh*tting all over her. The YouTube revealed tagline — “The universe is back on its bulls@%t” — surfaces alongside this teaser, and oh boy, we’ve got subway stairs. Here’s the season synopsis from Netflix:

Set four years after Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) and Alan (Charlie Barnett) escaped mortality’s time loop together, season two of Russian Doll will continue to explore existential thematics through an often humorous and sci-fi lens. Discovering a fate even worse than endless death, this season finds Nadia and Alan delving deeper into their pasts through an unexpected time portal located in one of Manhattan’s most notorious locations. At first they experience this as an ever-expanding, era-spanning, intergenerational adventure but they soon discover this extraordinary event might be more than they bargained for and, together, must search for a way out.

Charlie Barnett’s mustache is certainly a twist. I’m still waiting on that Oatmeal spinoff over here, but I can be patient.

Also important: Russian Doll will return on April 20.

Phoebe Bridgers is heading back on the road to extend last year’s Reunion Tour. The recent Billboard Trailblazer and radio show host has announced a massive run through the US, the UK, Europe, and Canada. Since her breakout album Punisher was released during the pandemic, her first tour on the album had to be virtual; now she’s trying to catch up on everywhere she hasn’t stepped foot. Bridgers is known for having special, meaningful live performances, so this is something to keep an eye on.

Check out the dates below and get more information on tickets here.

04/13 — Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Federal Theatre
04/15 — Indio, CA @ Coachella
04/22 — Indio, CA @ Coachella
05/13 — Las Vegas, NV @ The Amp at Craig Ranch
05/14 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Block Party
05/17 — Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
05/19 — Dallas, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
05/20 — Austin, TX @ Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park
05/21 — Houston, TX @ The Lawn at White Oak Music Hall
05/22 — Gulf Shores, AL @ Hangout Fest
05/24 — Tampa, FL @ The Cuban Club
05/25 — St Augustine, FL @ St Augustine Amphitheatre
05/27 — Atlanta, GA @ Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
05/28 — Louisville, KY @ Forecastle Festival
05/31 — Kansas City, MO @ Starlight Theatre
06/01 — Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room Outdoors
06/03 — Milwaukee, WI @ BMO Harris Pavilion
06/04 — Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
06/07 — Toronto, ON @ RBC Echo Beach
06/08 — Montreal, QC @ MTelus
06/09 — Portland, ME @ Thompson’s Point
06/11 — Washington, DC @ The Anthem
06/12 — Washington, DC @ The Anthem
06/13 — Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony Summer Stage
06/15 — Brooklyn, NY @ BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival at Prospect Park Bandshell
06/20 — Dublin, IE @ Fairview Park
06/22 — Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland
06/24-25 — Somerset, UK @ Glastonbury
06/26 — Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy
06/30 — Roskilde, DK @ Roskilde Festival
07/02 — Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter Festival
07/03 — Ewijk, NL @ Down The Rabbit Hole Festival
07/05 — Milan, IT @ Carroponte
07/07 — Bilbao, ES @ Bilbao BBK Festival
07/08 — Madrid, ES @ Mad Cool Festival
07/09 — Lisbon, PT @ NOS Alive Festival
07/14 — Ostrava, CZ @ Colours of Ostrava
07/17 — Paris, FR @ Lollapalooza Paris
07/22 — Suffolk, UK @ Latitude Festival
07/23 — Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo
07/26 — London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton
08/07 — Saint Charles, IA @ Hinterland
08/18 — Spokane, WA @ Spokane Pavilion
08/20 — Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum Theatre
08/23 — Redmond, WA @ Marymoor Park
08/25 — Troudale, OR @ Edgefield Amphitheater
08/27 — Paso Robles, CA @ Vina Robles Amphitheatre
08/28 — Los Angeles, CA @ This Ain’t No Picnic

DaBaby’s career may never fully recover from his controversial statements on the Rolling Loud stage in Miami last year, but apparently, that won’t stop him from continuing to defend himself from accusations of homophobia. During a recent appearance on New York’s The Breakfast Club, he once again addressed the backlash sparked by his awkwardly-worded call to action, pointing out how social media can warp perceptions, and refusing to make apologies for himself.

“I didn’t mean what you think I meant,” he said. “What you want me to do? Go look myself in the mirror and say, ‘You don’t like gay people?’ Nah. I’m not trippin’ on gay people at all. If I said what I said to get people to raise they cell phones and it was misinterpreted by people who watch a five-second clip at home. You not supposed to understand what’s going on. You could raise your cell phone if you wanted to. You ain’t supposed to be able to digest a clip that’s been altered and shortened with a narrative to go along with it, with enough people driving it, it gonna do what it do.”

However, he’s still failed to address how and why his comment was taken so poorly, or successfully explain what he really meant. During his set, as he hyped up the Rolling Loud crowd, he said, “If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, or any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases, that’ll make you die in two to three weeks, then put your cellphone lighter up… Fellas, if you ain’t sucking dick in the parking lot, put your cellphone lighter up.”

Since it’s easy to see how such a statement could be interpreted as homophobic — to say nothing of the misinformation about people living with HIV and/or AIDS — the least he could do is acknowledge as much while providing an alternative translation. And while he did issue two separate quasi-apologies on Instagram, he later deleted both and has since argued that the people who took offense were being too sensitive and twisting his words.

Watch the clip above.

Richard Linklater is going where none of his films have gone before: a Netflix release. Also, space! Linklater’s latest film Apollo 10 1/2 tells the story of a young boy who is recruited to go on a top-secret space mission in 1960s Texas, since he is the only one small enough to do it.

The movie stars Glen Powell, Zachary Levi and Jack Black and was inspired by Linklater’s own childhood. The film will be released on Netflix on April 1st after premiering at SXSW this week. When asked about the film’s inspiration, Linklater said:

“Eighteen years ago, I was pulling out memories of 2nd grade to help me construct the narrative of Boyhood’s second year. Even though that movie is a celebration of the non-extraordinary, it became clear to me I had lived through and close to something truly extraordinary – the grandest and most enduring engineering feat in human history I think it took decades for us to fully process that the Apollo program and walking on the moon was the apex because we’d all believed it was just a great beginning.”

The director has combined two key elements of two of his greatest movies: childhood wonder from Boyhood and rotoscope animation from the very underrated A Scanner Darkly in order to create the dream-like look of Apollo 10 1/2. Also another key Linklater element: Jack Black. Check out the trailer above.