Category: News

Taylor Swift shocked the music world this morning by announcing that she will release a new album, Folklore, tonight. In her announcement, she noted that Aaron Dessner was a huge part of the record, but Dessner may not exactly be a household name in pop circles. Indie fans know him well, though, thanks to his work as a member of The National. He has also been seen performing with Michael Stipe recently, and some people were (incorrectly) convinced that he was an Antifa organizer.

Now, he has described what it was like working with Swift, and he makes it clear that he walked away from the experience very impressed with the pop star. He wrote about collaborating with Swift remotely and his surprise at how quickly he and Swift were able to produce finished songs. He noted that working with Swift, he has “rarely been so inspired by someone,” writing:

“I was excited and honored when Taylor approached me in late April about maybe writing some songs remotely together. I had been isolating with my family but writing a ton of music in the first months of quarantine which I shared. I thought it would take a while for song ideas to come and I had no expectations as far as what we could accomplish remotely. But a few hours after sharing music, my phone lit up with a voice memo from Taylor of a fully written version of a song — the momentum never really stopped. Over the next few months, we remotely finished 11 songs (She also recorded several others with the amazing Jack Antonoff) of her magical new album ‘folklore’. I’ve rarely been so inspired by someone and it’s still hard to believe this even happened — these songs came together in such a challenging time.”

The post concludes, “I’m very proud of all these songs and profoundly grateful to Taylor for inviting me into and trusting me in her process. She is one of the most talented, hardworking and deeply caring artists I’ve ever encountered. There’s a palpable humanity and warmth and raw emotion in these songs that I hope you’ll love and take comfort in as much as I do.”

Dessner also reveals some of the other folks who contributed to Swift’s album, including Beirut member Kyle Resnick, multi-instrumentalist Rob Moose, and pianist and producer Thomas Bartlett (also known as Doveman). The latter two have worked with an esteemed roster of indie artists like St. Vincent, The National, Sufjan Stevens, Vampire Weekend, and Florence And The Machine. Bartlett also produced Stevens’ Call Me By Your Name song “Mystery Of Love,” which was nominated for a Grammy and an Academy Award.

Find Dessner’s full post below.

“I was excited and honored when Taylor approached me in late April about maybe writing some songs remotely together. I had been isolating with my family but writing a ton of music in the first months of quarantine which I shared. I thought it would take a while for song ideas to come and I had no expectations as far as what we could accomplish remotely. But a few hours after sharing music, my phone lit up with a voice memo from Taylor of a fully written version of a song — the momentum never really stopped. Over the next few months, we remotely finished 11 songs (She also recorded several others with the amazing Jack Antonoff) of her magical new album ‘folklore’. I’ve rarely been so inspired by someone and it’s still hard to believe this even happened — these songs came together in such a challenging time. It wouldn’t haven’t been possible without so much help from first and foremost my engineer Jon Low. And my brother Bryce Dessner’s beautiful orchestration on several songs from across the ocean. Justin helped to write and sing a beautiful song and so many other friends from our community contributed brilliantly from their respective isolation — Ben Lanz, Bryan Devendorf, Bryce Dessner, Clarice Jensen, Dave Nelson, James McAlister, Jason Treuting, Josh Kaufman, JT Bates, Kyle Resnick, Rob Moose, Thomas Bartlett, and Yuki Numata Resnick — More on them later! I’m very proud of all these songs and profoundly grateful to Taylor for inviting me into and trusting me in her process. She is one of the most talented, hardworking and deeply caring artists I’ve ever encountered. There’s a palpable humanity and warmth and raw emotion in these songs that I hope you’ll love and take comfort in as much as I do.”

After going 10–24 last season, the New York Liberty are in full rebuild mode and will begin a new era on July 25, 2020, at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Some major changes came to New York this offseason — the Liberty traded All-Star player and franchise cornerstone Tina Charles to the Washington Mystics, while Walt Hopkins replaced Katie Smith as head coach. This team has one the youngest rosters in the league with seven rookies, including the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft, Sabrina Ionescu.

WUBBLE ROSTER

Sabrina Ionescu
Kia Nurse
Jazmine Jones
Kiah Stokes
Joyner Holmes
Layshia Clarendon
Jocelyn Willoughby
Amanda Zahui B
Kylee Shook
Megan Walker (has not yet reported)
Leaonna Odom

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH

Sabrina Ionescu: Truth be told, the California native is a star before she plays a game as a professional basketball player. Ionescu is entering the league as one of the best college players ever, as she became the first men’s or women’s player in NCAA history to reach 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,000 assists in a career. She also holds the record for the most career triple-doubles with 26. The Oregon product is the new face of the franchise and is expected to impact the game right away.

Ionescu is a good facilitator and a good shooter from beyond the arc, averaging 42 percent from three while at Oregon. She is good off the dribble and is excellent in catch and shoot situations.

Kia Nurse: She averaged 13.7 points for New York last season and earned her first WNBA All-Star berth. Last season, Nurse finished as the Liberty’s second-leading scorer behind Charles and ranked sixth in the WNBA in three-pointers made with 65. The third-year guard, along with veteran Layshia Clarendon, is expected to provide guidance for this young team on and off the court.

EXPECTATIONS

Setting high expectations for this season doesn’t seem realistic. With young and less experienced players, observers expect the Liberty to finish at the bottom of the standings. However, the young core could set the organization up for years to come. This season will be a great learning experience, and while that does not necessarily mean wins should be expected, player development is an absolute must.

The Liberty have 16 games scheduled to be televised on national TV, while the reigning WNBA champion Washington Mystics only have eight. While the Liberty are one of the youngest teams in the league with seven rookies, Ionescu brings star power and excitement, although being media darlings may not bode well with the more established players in the league.

It might be a few years before the team’s hard work pays off. This is a game of chess, not checkers. It may be tough in terms of winning, but fans will likely have other things to cheer for and become excited about. This team should be considered one of the better up-and-coming young squads with a bright future.

X-FACTOR

Louisville product Jazmine Jones looks to bring her athleticism and defensive prowess to the WNBA. In her final collegiate season, Jones averaged an impressive 14.1 points, five rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting a career-high 53 percent from the field and 37 percent from three. She also is a prolific defensive player who was an All-ACC first-team and All-ACC defensive team selection as a senior.

Jones, a 6-foot guard, is an energetic player who has the ability to work on both ends of the floor and will be a compliment to Ionescu.

BIGGEST ON-COURT QUESTION

Will the Liberty live up to the hype? Will Ionescu be able to dominate the WNBA the way she did the NCAA? The young team will be thrown into the fire and have to learn on the fly. Building chemistry and continuity will ultimately help them compete at a high level, whether that’s this year or, more likely, down the road. Their first test is a big one, as the Liberty will kick off play against the Seattle Storm, which will have Sue Bird and Breonna Stewart returning from injury.

Andy Shauf shared his charming record The Neon Skyline at the beginning of the year, the entirety of which details one tumultuous night at a local dive bar. Shauf previously said he wrote upwards of 50 songs for the record before whittling the tracklist down to a more digestible 11. Now, Shauf is opening up his songwriting vault and sharing a pair of songs that didn’t make it to the final record.

Shauf debuted The Neon Skyline B-sides “Judy” and “Jeremy’s Wedding” Thursday. Both songs emanate Shauf’s soft-rock sound, but the singer described them in a statement as “outliers to the narrative” of his record. “They fit a little bit outside the timeline, as I was trying to keep everything to a single night,” he said. “They were also slightly different arrangement wise, so I decided that they might be best released together, apart from the album.”

In an interview with Uproxx, Andy Shauf described how he shifted from writing love songs to penning a concept album:

“I was kind of getting tired of just framing songs around love. I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to sit down and I’m going to write a song about a guy who gets mugged.’ And that was the first song that I made that was intentionally a story about someone. That was a different kind of rewarding experience, so I just kept digging away at that, and seeing what I could do with stories. Eventually it was like, ‘Oh, you can connect these stories,’ rather than just putting a bunch of one-off stories together. Now, I’m obsessed with doing that.”

Listen to “Judy” and “Jeremy’s Wedding” above. Get the 7-inch vinyl here.

Thandie Newton’s recent gloves-off interview about working with Tom Cruise (and not being thrilled about the experience) caught the eye of Scientology critic Leah Remini. The Scientology and the Aftermath host comes by her stance on the organization honestly, given that she’s not merely a critic but an ex-Scientologist. She’s also a former second-generation member, who was born into L. Ron Hubbard’s organization, which has been the subject of many allegations of human rights violations over the years.

To briefly recap on the Newton front, the Westworld actress previously spoke with Vulture about being “scared” of Cruise on the set of Mission: Impossible 2. Overall, she considered the experience a “nightmare,” in which she was the main recipient of energy from a “stressed” and “frustrated” Cruise, who she said also gave out Scientology paraphernalia (recruiting materials) as gifts to cast and crew. Overall, it is safe to say that Newton (who did concede that she doesn’t think Cruise is “terrible,” just very intimidating) is happy to have that part of her career in the rear view mirror.

Remini, who spoke at length with The Daily Beast about her distaste for Cruise (and his fronting of Scientology), found satisfaction in seeing Newton speak her mind:

“That takes huge balls to do what she did, and if more people speak out in that way, and be brave enough to do so, I think we might get somewhere. Tom has gotten away with being this ‘nice guy,’ because that’s what Scientology policy says — to create good PR in the world and make those ‘good actions’ known. But if you actually look at his actions, they’re not consistent.”

Remini didn’t stop there. She described how Scientology officials pushed back when she (during her membership) asked why Cruise was “the poster child” for the organization while he was jumping on Oprah’s couch and blasting psychiatry. Remini said that, for her effort, she was reprimanded “because Tom Cruise is considered a messiah in Scientology,” and she counters that Tom’s not “this super-nice guy” like people believe. Remini also calls Cruise “irrelevant,” other than Mission: Impossible, which isn’t true, but it’s clear that the animosity won’t be fading on either side of this issue.

After she broke away from Scientology in 2013, Remini published a bestselling memoir (Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology) and also hosted three seasons of the Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath A&E docuseries, which landed the 2017 Emmy for Outstanding Informational Series or Special. She also recently celebrated the filing rape charges against Danny Masterson while declaring, “This is just the beginning. Scientology, your days of getting away with it is coming to an end!”

(Via The Daily Beast)

There have been rumblings that One Direction was planning something to commemorate their tenth anniversary, rumors that were confirmed last week. Sure enough, yesterday, the group made their first post on their Instagram page in four years. Another post went up on the page today teasing the group’s website, where fans can go to “relive [their] favourite One Direction memories.” However, it looks like too many fans visited the site, as it currently features just an error message: “Uh oh… you guys broke the internet (again). Sorry about that! We’re working on a fix as fast as we can – sit tight! #DIRECTIONERSBREAKTHEINTERNET”

Not all is lost, though, as the individual members of the group — Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson, but not Zayn Malik — have shared personal messages looking back on the big anniversary.

Styles wrote on Instagram:

“I’ve been struggling to put into words how grateful I am for everything that’s happened over the last ten years. I’ve seen things and places that I’d only ever dreamt of when I was growing up. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and working with some of the most incredible people, and gained friendships that I know I will treasure for the rest of my life. None of this would be possible without the support you’ve given along the way. And for that, I will be forever thankful.
I just can’t believe it’s been ten years. Thank you to our crew, our team, and everyone else who helped us along the way. To all the fans, I love you, and I thank you with all my heart. You did it all, and you changed everything.
And finally.. to the boys, I love you so much, and I couldn’t be prouder of everything we achieved together. Here’s to ten. H.”

Horan’s post reads:

“when I met these four gents there was no way I thought we would go on to do what we did. So many unbelievable memories we shared together. We felt the adoration of millions from around the planet on a daily basis and it was mind blowing. It’s such a major part of our lives and always will be. Cheers to US today boys and thank you to all you beautiful people who have supported us over the last 10 years. @liampayne @harrystyles @zayn @louist91 #10yearsofonedirection.”

Meanwhile, Payne and Tomlinson penned shorter posts. Payne wrote, “What a journey… I had no idea what we were in for when I sent this text to my Dad ten years ago at this exact time the band was formed. Thanks to everyone that’s supported us over the years and thanks to the boys for sharing this with me #10YearsOfOneDirection.” Tomlinson also wrote, “Our first ever photo together. The memories we’ve shared together have been incredible. Can’t believe its been 10 years already. I look back incredibly proud. Thanks for everything lads and love to you the fans as always x.”

Check out Syles, Horan, Payne, and Tomlinson’s posts below.

After spending the majority of his career following firmly in his famous father’s footsteps, Jaden Smith switches out of the rap lane in his comeback single, “Cabin Fever,” which he released Wednesday night while most fans were absorbed in DMX vs. Snoop or J. Cole’s latest lyrical displays. Taking a cue from prior rap genre benders like his good friend Tyler The Creator or Post Malone, Jaden adopts a soft rock approach as he lends his melodic sensibilities to a mellow tune about having a quarantine crush.

Jaden joined Zane Lowe to talk about the new song and offer a progress report on his new mixtape, Cool Tapes Volume 3. “I’m just trying to make the kids happy right now,” he said of the track. He even talked about learning guitar, which helped bring the right pop rock vibe to “Cabin Fever.” “I just wanted to be able to really listen into different types of style of music and pull in different inspirations that I could use for my own music.”

On Cool Tapes Volume 3, he said, “I’m bringing it inside and I’m making it more of a world that other people can participate in… It’s kind of bringing all my fans who have been with me from the beginning… and kind of updating them onto everything that’s been happening.”

Listen to Jaden Smith’s “Cabin Fever” above.

When Pop Smoke died, the rising rapper had a fair amount of material left to share with the world. Some of it came out on his new posthumous album, Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon, which debuted at No. 1 on the charts. There was still more to be had after that on the deluxe edition of the record, which added an astounding 15 new songs (aka an album’s worth of material).

Even with all this posthumous music that has been released, it looks like there is still more to come: Smoke’s manager, Steven Victor, revealed that more posthumous albums from the rapper are forthcoming, as is a project with 808 Melo, AXL Beats, and Rico Beats

In the comments of one of Victor’s Instagram posts, somebody asked, “i don’t wanna seem needy but is there gonna be more posthumous pop smoke albums? need more classics from him down the line.” Victor answered, “there will be. Also a project pop, melo, axl & ricobeats were working on.”

Meanwhile, four teenagers were recently charged in Smoke’s murder. Two of them are adults — Corey Walker (19 years old and Keandre Rodgers (18) — and they could potentially face the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted as charged.

The tenth season finale of The Walking Dead has not yet aired (although, we can expect an air date to be announced tomorrow), and no timetable has yet been set on when production will begin on the 11th season of The Walking Dead. This week, however, AMC at least began to put a crucial piece in place for when production does finally ramp up on the series, which in some ways, feels like progress. Not that there was any doubt, but the casting move at least says, “Yes, there will be a season 11 of The Walking Dead!”

The network has cast Margot Bingham in an unspecified role on season 11 of the show. We can guess what her role will be, however, because Bingham is not exactly new to the series. She has provided voiceover work for Stephanie, the mysterious woman with whom Eugene has not only been speaking on the radio, but who he, Yumiko, and Ezekiel have journeyed to meet, along with the show’s newest character, Princess.

In other words, Bingham sort of solves that mystery, inasmuch as we will know what Stephanie will look like (although, we still don’t know who is under the ninja mask). Stephanie is expected by many be the link to The Commonwealth, a city of 50,000 that is expected to be the subject of the story’s next major storyline. It figures that The Walking Dead would move from a more rural setting to a more urban one during a pandemic!

Bingham is best known now for a recurring role on NBC’s hospital drama, New Amsterdam, and a Netflix series based on a Spike Lee movie, She’s Gotta Have It. Boardwalk Empire fans may also remember her as Daughter Maitland.

With her entering as a cast member in season 11, don’t rule out the possibility that she also makes an appearance in the season 10 finale. We’ll find out during Friday’s Comic Con event when exactly that will air.

Source: Deadline

A couple nights ago, Kanye West fired off a series of tweets, from which there were a lot of takeaways to be had. He levied some accusations against his wife Kim Kardashian and expressed his desire to get divorced, and he considered suspending his 2020 presidential campaign in favor of a 2024 bid. That same night, he had high praise for Lil Baby, who he claimed isn’t interested in working with him. He wrote in a tweet, “Lil baby my favorite rapper but won’t do a song wit me.”

However, it looks like Lil Baby’s apparent refusal to collaborate with Kanye is actually a misunderstanding. Lil Baby caught wind of Kanye’s tweet and offered a response last night, saying that the two haven’t worked together because Lil Baby didn’t know Kanye was interested. He tweeted, “Nobody told me ye was trying to get me on a song [face with monocle emoji] that’s fucced up.” He then added, “@kanyewest no disrespect nobody told me [shrugging emoji].”

This praise from and potential collaboration opportunity with Kanye, one of the most successful rappers ever, is a cherry on top of the stellar 2020 Lil Baby has had so far. He achieved his first No. 1 album with My Turn, and his recent single, “The Bigger Picture,” became his highest-charting song with a peak at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Bill & Ted Face the Music was originally scheduled to hit theaters on August 21, 2020 (there’s a 69 joke built into that date), but it’s since been pushed back.

Not by much, though, and while Orion is still releasing the third Bill and Ted into the few theaters that will be open, it’s also coming out the same day on VOD. As noted by the Hollywood Reporter, Face the Music will “debut simultaneously on premium VOD and in any cinemas willing to play the threequel on September 2,” meaning you’ll be able to get your “party on” from your home. Excellent. You can watch the new trailer above.

Here’s the official plot synopsis:

The stakes are higher than ever for the time-traveling exploits of William “Bill” S. Preston Esq. and Theodore “Ted” Logan. Yet to fulfill their rock and roll destiny, the now middle aged best friends set out on a new adventure when a visitor from the future warns them that only their song can save life as we know it. Along the way, they will be helped by their daughters, a new batch of historical figures, and a few music legends – to seek the song that will set their world right and bring harmony in the universe.

Bill & Ted Face the Music also stars Samara Weaving, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Jillian Bell, Jayma Mays, Erinn Hayes, Beck Bennett, Kristen Schaal, and William Sadler.