Month: August 2023

Brian Kilmeade has had a rough week so far. His MAGA hero received his fourth indictment, which led the Fox And Friends co-host to look like someone flushed his goldfish, and that wasn’t even the first time that this sort of Kilmeade face had materialized on Fox News. After Trump’s second indictment, Kilmeade’s spirit openly deflated while Doocy merrily explained how bad this was for Trump. And that followed long after the show transformed into Fox And Frenemies when Doocy went rogue by pushing back at Trump’s on-air claim that he’d be a call-in guest every week.

Now, however, the trio moved onto a different subject — the Bud Light controversy that will not die — and Kilmeade was thrilled. He tried to get his groove back (and that of Bud Light) after word that Billy Busch wanted to buy the beer brand back from InBev. The Recount aptly described this clip of Kilmeade performing “fan fiction about how Busch could deliver it to bars on the back of a truck himself.” And he gets into it while wildly gesticulating. I’ve actually never seen a fan fiction roll out online with this much enthusiasm.

“What if the guy who created it, from the family who marketed it, wants it back and says, ‘Sorry about them, they’re gone. You know me. We create it, we sold it. My family understands YOU, I’ll be on the back of the trucks delivering it with them.’” Kilmeade triumphantly proposed. “That would be one way to rescue Bud Light.”

Sure, that will totally make Kid Rock stop shooting up innocent beer cans for sport. For a bonus, here’s Kilmeade growing very excited about pull-off tabs vs. the modern incarnation.

Well, he’s coping, and it’s kind-of working. That is, until the next time Trump gets indicted.

After being delayed due to flooding in Sacramento, the 2023 edition of Sol Blume kicks off this Saturday, August 19. Although a pair of performers won’t be able to make it, there are still plenty worth seeing, from headliners Teyana Taylor, Kehlani, Ella Mai, and Brent Faiyaz, to notable names down the lineup such as Isaiah Rashad, Joey Badass, Jessie Reyez, Pink Sweat$, Chloe, Coco Jones, Muni Long, and more. (Personally, I’m most excited about Bay Area rap fixtures such as LaRussell and P-Lo.) With alternating stages and plenty of 20-minute sets, it helps to be prepared; here are the set times so you can plan out your weekend.

On Saturday, the Blume stage starts with bLAck pARty at 12:45, Fana Hues at 1:25, Phony Ppl at 2:10, Rini at 3:00, LaRussell at 4:00, Amber Mark at 5:10, Sabrina Claudio at 6:30, Isaiah Rashad at 8:00, and Brent Faiyaz at 9:45.

The Bless stage opens with Myles Lloyd at 12:25, Tre Armani at 1:05, Alex Isley at 1:45, Mereba at 2:35, Kalan.FrFr at 3:30, P-Lo at 4:30, Mariah The Scientist at 5:50, Joey Badass at 7:10, and Ella Mai at 8:50.

On Sunday, Christian Kuria opens the Blume stage at 12:10, followed by Zae Frances (12:50), Durand Bernarr (1:30), Noodles (2:20), Zyah Belle (3:10), Muni Long (4:00), Thuy (5:10), Chloe (6:15), Jessie Reyez (7:35), and Kehlani (9:10).

Finally, the Bless stage starts at 12:00 with ♡♡♡, then proceeds with Samaria (12:30), Aria Ray (1:10), Marc E Bassy (1:55), Destin Conrad (2:45), Mahalia (3:35), Jacquees (4:35), Coco Jones (5:45), Pink Sweat$ (6:50), and Teyana Taylor (8:20).

Things appear to be tumultuous in Britney Spears’ world right now: Reports surfaced yesterday (August 16) that she and husband Sam Asghari are separated, and that Asghari is filing for divorce over cheating allegations. It appears now that Jamie Lynn Spears has heard and subtly responded to the news: E! notes that People shared a post about the news on Instagram and that Jamie Lynn’s account liked it.

Britney and Jamie Lynn have had a real up-and-down relationship. In January 2022, Britney wrote of her sister, “I wasn’t strong enough to do what should have been done … slapped you and Mamma right across your f–king faces !!!!!” Then, that February, while apologizing for another insult, Britney wrote, “I’m sorry I called you scum but why did you lie about when I went home ??? It’s like you’re going out of your way to lie about me and make me look bad !!! And if I wasn’t your sister I would believe everything you’re saying in your interviews … you’re actually believable !!! It’s scary !!!”

Lately, though, it seemed things have been trending upward: This past June, Britney indicated that her and Jamie Lynn had a positive visit, writing, “It was nice to visit my sister on set last week !!! I’ve missed you guys so much !!! Loyal girls stay home but it’s so nice to visit family [relieved face emoji] !!!”

So, it’s not clear what’s going on with Jamie Lynn liking that post and where things between her and her sister are at currently.

I don’t think Las Vegas residencies work this way, but Keke Palmer deserves royalties for Usher’s Usher: My Way The Vegas Residency. We lost the plot in the best way possible. What started as a semi-innocent residency in July 2022 has morphed into “a pop moment” of the utmost petty this summer.

If you haven’t been paying attention, Palmer attended Usher’s Vegas show in an outfit that her then-boyfriend, Darius Jackson, deemed inappropriate for a mother to wear. (Palmer and Jackson welcomed a son in February.) Palmer defended her right to have fun in true boss fashion, and this week, she and Usher collaborated on a single aptly titled “Boyfriend.”

On Thursday morning, August 17, Usher confirmed that there will be several more opportunities for him to seductively serenade celebrities (or anyone) by announcing the final 12 dates of My Way The Vegas Residency. Per a press release, the added dates are November 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 22, 24, 25, 29 and December 1 and 2, 2023.

There will be a pre-sale for Citi cardmembers beginning on Friday, August 18, at 10 a.m. PST and lasting through Thursday, August 24 at 10 p.m. PST. Fans can also gain access to the pre-sale by following this link.

Separately, members of MGM Rewards, MGM Resorts International’s loyalty program, Live Nation, and Ticketmaster will have access to a pre-sale from Monday, August 21 at 10 a.m. PST to August 24 at 10 p.m. PST. The public sale is slated for Friday, August 25 at 10 a.m. PST.

The press release additionally states that “limited tickets” are still available for previously scheduled residency shows on October 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 22, 25, 27, and 28. Tickets begin at $80.09 (before taxes and fees), and VIP meet-and-greet packages are available for purchase. Find more information here.

No offense to the (alleged) coke booger in The Last Waltz, but Stop Making Sense is the greatest concert film of all time. It says so right there in the trailer for A24‘s 4K re-release of the movie, which you can watch above.

Directed by Jonathan Demme, Stop Making Sense was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater in December 1983, when Talking Heads were at their commercial peak. The film begins with a legendary performance of “Psycho Killer” with just David Byrne on stage before he’s joined by Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, and Tina Weymouth, who later sings “Genius of Love” in maybe the coolest part of the show.

“Jonathan followed us on tour for about a week or so prior to filming, so he knew the show pretty well,” Byrne told Time in 2014 about how the film came together. Demme (who sadly passed away in 2017) added, “The big suit, the lighting, the staging, the choreography, the song line-up — everything was there in the show before the filmmakers showed up.”

Stop Making Sense will play in IMAX theaters exclusively beginning on September 22nd before coming to theaters everywhere on September 29th. Talking Heads will also reunite for the first time in forever at the Toronto International Film Festival. Everyone who goes should wear their biggest suit.

Mike Lindell’s Election Summit is going as expected. After kicking off the event, which is apparently touting some sort of “Election Crime Bureau” because of course this thing was going to be centered around Donald Trump’s Big Lie, Lindell stumbled immediately out of the gate by accidentally showing a video of his humiliating interview with Jimmy Kimmel. The situation did not improve from there.

Conservative commentator Derrick Evans tweeted a photo from inside the event where he attempted to pump up the obviously sparse number of attendees.

“Great crowd for the Lindell Event in Missouri,” Evans tweeted. “This is one of two rooms with people also in the lobby area where more media is set up.”

Twitter users weren’t buying it. Lindell and Evans got lit up in the replies where the conservative commentator attempted to deflect criticism by saying the summit is an “invite only” event.

You can see some of the reactions below:

Of course, the “Election Summit” was already suspect from the moment Lindell announced the event on Steve Bannon’s podcast, which was a huge red flag right there. Lindell touted an incredible plan that will secure future elections and be so incredible that both parties will love it.

“It’s never been even suggested before, and when you get up on August 18th, you’re gonna wake up and go, ‘This is the greatest thing ever!’” Lindell told Bannon. “I don’t care if you’re a Democrat, Republican, or who you are, you’re gonna have so much hope.”

In reality, the Election Summit turned out to be a gaggle of election fraud pushers loyal to Trump including Rudy Giuliani who was just indicted earlier this week for pushing said election fraud.

(Via Newsweek)

Depp v. Heard, a three-part Netflix series about the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard defamation trial, claims to show “both testimonies side by side for the first time.” It also (mostly) answers an important question: who pooped the bed?

During his testimony, Depp claimed to have found something “absurd and grotesque and cruel” in their bed in April 2016. It was “human fecal matter,” he said. Heard countered that it didn’t come from a person; it was dog poop. “She had eaten Johnny’s weed when she was a puppy and had bowel control issues for her entire life, among some other issues, we regularly had to take her to the vet. She had some control issues,” the actress explained. When asked if the poop was a prank, Heard answered, “Absolutely not. First of all, I don’t think that’s funny. I don’t know what grown women does. I was also not in a pranking mood, my life was falling apart.”

Depp disagreed with Heard’s dog defense. “They’re teacup Yorkies. They weigh about four pounds each. The photograph that I saw — I lived with those dogs for many years. It was not the dogs,” the Pirates of the Caribbean star said on the stand. But Depp v. Heard casts doubt on whether the actor actually thought the dogs weren’t capable of pulling a Frank.

The docuseries inserts transcripts from the previous Depp v Heard showdown, a libel trial in the U.K. wherein lots of different evidence was presented. In that transcript, a text sent from Depp to one of his friends is read into evidence. It reads: “Will you squat in front of the door of the master bedroom and leave a giant coil of dookie so that Amber steps in it and think that it’s one of the dogs, primarily Boo has a major problem. It’ll be funny.”

The text proves that Depp knew the dogs, especially Boo, were capable of leaving a “a giant coil of dookie.” So, Heard was probably telling the truth. It also shows that rich people play weird pranks on each other.

(Via Decider)

The Jonas Brothers’ The Tour is underway after back-to-back sold-out shows at Yankee Stadium followed by two nights at TD Garden in Boston. And while they’re only four shows into a massive stadium run that will stretch into June 2024, those four shows have been plenty eventful.

Jimmy Fallon made a surprise appearance at Yankee Stadium, and Nick Jonas stumbled into a hole in the stage during the first Boston show, which doubled as a 34th birthday party for Joe Jonas on Tuesday, August 15. Joe’s wife, Sophie Turner, didn’t need his birthday as an excuse to celebrate him. The Game Of Thrones actress posted an Instagram carousel after last weekend’s successful Yankee Stadium stint.

The first photo is traditionally adorable, as Turner kisses Joe’s hand as they walk backstage, but the second photo shows Turner’s wry humor. Swifties will immediately clock Turner’s reference to the friendship bracelet fad associated with Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour. They will also notice that one of Turner’s bracelets seemed to spell out, “Mr. Perfectly Fine,” a “From The Vault” song from 2021’s Fearless (Taylor’s Version) that is widely believed to be about Joe; Swift briefly dated Joe in 2008.

When Fearless (Taylor’s Version) released in April 2021, Turner posted about “Mr. Perfectly Fine” on her Instagram Story, writing, “It’s not NOT a bop @taylorswift.” Swift reposted with the note, “forever bending the knee for the [crown emoji] of the north.”

Joe touched on his relationship with Swift while appearing alongside Nick and Kevin for a May episode of the Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard podcast.

“I’m cool with Taylor. We’re cool,” he said, later noting, “I hope to think [Swifties] like me. … No one f*cks with the Swifties, you know?”

Joe can rest easy knowing at least one Swiftie likes him. He married Turner in 2019. They share Willa, 3, and another one-year-old daughter.

In April, The National released First Two Pages Of Frankenstein. Next month, they’re hosting their Homecoming Festival after a five-year break, with artists like Patti Smith And Her Band, Pavement, The Walkmen, Weyes Blood, and more in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Now they’ve shared two new songs, “Space Invader” and “Alphabet City,” their first new material since the record. Both move gently with their slow-burning, intimate brand of indie rock. It also has their remarkably visceral lyrics sung in a hushed lull. “I’ll still be here when you come back from space / I will listen for you at the door,” Matt Berninger sings. “Take forever off anytime you want / I’ll save your place.”

Aside from their own music, The National is known for collaborating with Taylor Swift on Folklore and Evermore. Aaron Dessner also worked with Ed Sheeran for the pop star’s latest album – (Subtract). “I couldn’t be more proud of this record and the vulnerability and honesty Ed showed in making these songs with me,” Dessner wrote in a statement. “There’s something deeply vulnerable and ultimately cathartic and therapeutic about shifting sadness and pain and anxiety into music, transforming darkness into light in this way and sharing these sentiments with others.”

Listen to “Space Invader” and “Alphabet City” above.

Back in 2013, Sky Ferreira released her debut album, Night Time, My Time. Since then, fans have been waiting for a follow-up, but the project has been plagued by delays. Now, she has publicly agreed with a post that claims she’s being “held hostage” by Capitol Records, her label.

An Instagram post from Fader shows off a “Free Sky Ferreira” billboard that popped up in New York City’s Times Square on August 14. A text overlay on the video explains, “Sky Ferreira fans buy Times Square billboard, say she’s being ‘held hostage’ by Capitol Records.” Ferreirashared the video on her Instagram Story and wrote simply, “It’s true.”

The billboard appears to have been purchased by the @free.skyferreira Instagram account, or it’s at least endorsed by them.

Earlier this year, Ferreira shared frustrations with the current status of her career, writing, “Being ‘difficult’ or ‘high strung’ doesn’t give people the right to damage & stall my career. I am in a DIFFICULT situation & I have to be ‘difficult’ to get through it. I have to protect my work & myself somehow? A lot of it is not being allowed to say or do anything I want/need without being it being dismissed. the thing I actively tried to avoid happens & it somehow gets reversed. I can’t think of a time in the last 7 years where I’ve been able to just focus on what I’m supposed to do & my work being presented the way I want it to or my shows being the way one needs it to be to perform & play well.”