Fans haven’t heard from Montreal’s Ada Lea (in terms of new music) since her 2020 EP Woman, Here. Now, though, the artist (real name Alexandra Levy) is back with a soul-baring new song, “Hurt.”
Press materials describe the track as “[living] in a snowy Montreal winter, a city that Levy calls home and lives and breathes through her music.” Levy also says of the song, “I wanted to find a way to communicate complicated feelings using the simplest language possible. I came with a narrative and removed almost every detail, so as not to obfuscate the feeling — but left it open in terms of a resolution: was this hurt necessarily a bad thing?”
She also explained the song’s background on Instagram and noted that she worked on it with Phoebe Bridgers collaborator Marshall Vore, writing, “so much to say… so many ways to say it… so much writers block… stream of consciousness is that this song was recorded in pasadena w the 1 and only [Vore] in early 2020- we were joined by my ride or die; [Mara Wild] on the drums, [Harrison Whitford] on guitar wizard and bass & angel vocals by [Johanna Samuels]. several months later [M̸onse Muro, Peter Hostak, Alice Cloutier-Lachance] and I drove 7 hours north of the 514 and shot this video and thus, hurt was birthed.”
Peter and Lisa Marshall’s romance began 20 years ago, after the former neighbors had each gotten divorced. They lived in different states and maintained a long-distance relationship for eight years, as neither wanted to uproot her kids. After Lisa’s youngest went off to college in 2009, the couple decided to get married.
A dream Turks and Caicos beach wedding followed. Lisa moved to Peter’s home in Connecticut, where they enjoyed seven years of marital bliss. Then the warning signs hit.
Peter started giving Lisa directions to their home. He began having trouble finishing sentences, struggling for the words
“Instead of the word ‘airplane,’ he’d say, ‘that thing that goes up in the sky,’ ” Lisa told The Washington Post. “He also became pretty forgetful, but the word deficiency was really hard to ignore.”
Peter went to a neurologist in 2018 and was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. He was 52.
“Before his diagnosis, I always thought that Alzheimer’s was an old person’s disease,” Lisa told the Post. “Now I know better.”
Peter’s cognitive impairment accelerated quickly. By January of 2019, he had to quit his job. The following year, Lisa quit hers to become his full-time caretaker.
Needless to say, it’s been an incredibly difficult journey for Lisa, and well as the couple’s five children, as Peter’s memory of his life and loved ones fades—including his memory of being married to Lisa.
But late last year, a beautiful moment of hope broke through the darkness. Lisa and Peter were watching a show that featured a wedding when Peter suddenly looked over at Lisa and said, “Let’s do it!”
“Do what?” Lisa asked.
Peter pointed to the wedding scene on the TV.
“Do you want to get married?” Lisa asked.
With a big smile, Peter said yes.
“Well, okay,” Lisa responded. “We should get married then.”
He wouldn’t remember the proposal the next day, but the idea of renewing their wedding vows resonated with Lisa. “For better or for worse” had taken on a whole new meaning after Peter’s diagnosis, and his condition has worsened since January of this year. For the past six months, he has seen Lisa as his favorite caretaker, not his wife.
Lisa’s daughter, Sarah Brehant, runs a wedding planning business and offered to organize the ceremony. She networked with vendors, who all offered to provide their services for free.
“I knew that my stepdad, who I am very close with, was there through some of the toughest times of my life,” Brehant told the Post. “He means so much to me, and my mom is my best friend, so I was proud to be able to take on such an important role.”
Sarah wrote in a touching Father’s Day post that Peter had started telling her he loved her every chance he got after his diagnosis.
“I knew he wanted to make sure I knew before he couldn’t tell me anymore,” she wrote. “He’d say it every chance he could get while he still could, every time we saw each other.”
Peter and Lisa renewed their wedding vows on April 26 in a ceremony attended by friends and family and officiated by a dementia specialist who helped Lisa set up a care plan for Peter.
“It was just magical — straight out of a fairy tale,” Lisa said.
When Lisa got to the altar, Peter leaned in and gave her a kiss.
“There wasn’t a dry eye, and I was over the moon,” she said. “I hadn’t seen Peter that happy in a long time.”
“It was absolutely magical,” Sarah told The Knot, “and Peter was bright and present the entire day. The sweetest moment of the day was when he had a very lucid moment and he leaned in and whispered in my ear, ‘Thank you for staying.'”
Watch this beautiful video of highlights from the big day:
Emotional Vow Renewal // Mill 1 at Open Square // Lisa + Peter
As lovely as the vow renewal was, it would be disingenuous to leave the story there. Lisa has been documenting the couple’s Alzheimer’s journey—the inspiring and the challenging—via her Facebook page Oh Hello Alzheimer’s. In her posts, it’s clear what an up and down experience it is to love someone who is losing themselves.
On June 14, Lisa shared a bittersweet post about the difficulty of watching Peter disappear, only to be reassured by him when she cried into his chest, “We still have time.”
Then, just five days later, Lisa shared a post about how Peter’s condition has reached a point where the daycare that gave Lisa a respite from full-time care was no longer viable as he’s grown more anxious and agitated. Alzheimer’s patients can become increasingly paranoid and hallucinate as the disease progresses, which can lead to anger and aggressive behavior.
“I knew the call would come,” Lisa wrote, “I was well aware that it would happen. I just thought I’d have more time.”
The decisions about care for a loved one with advancing Alzheimer’s are never easy, and time is never guaranteed. Although Lisa and Peter’s story is hard to witness, her openness is also providing solidarity and support for countless families who are going through similar experiences with their loved ones.
Lisa has also used her Facebook page to raise money for Alzheimer’s research, and after seeing Peter’s story, it’s obvious why it’s so needed. As Lisa reminds us, Alzheimer’s is a terminal disease, and as of now, there is no cure. You can donate to the Alzheimer’s Association via Lisa’s team link here.
As for advice for other couples, “The only thing that matters is love and respect,” Lisa told The Knot. “You treat each other with gentle kindness every day and you reach deep into your heart for more patience and understanding than you think you have. You love deeply and immensely and you make memories intentionally. Be present.”
Despite Peter forgetting her, Lisa added, “I’m the luckiest woman in the world. The man of my dreams fell in love with me and asked me to marry him twice. He chose me again.”
All our best to Lisa and Peter as they navigate their remaining time together.
Brooklyn-based five-piece group Geese are breaking out on the post-punk scene as the newest signees of Partisan Records. Joining the likes of Idles, Fontaines DC, and Laura Marling on the label’s roaster, Geese showcase their DIY sensibilities with the rowdy debut single “Disco.”
The band, comprised of a group of 18-year-old longtime friends, first began as a basement project. They started recording their music on mic stands held up by sneakers and old blankets draped over their amps. Their debut track “Disco” reflects their home made style, combining disorienting riffs and droning chords to capture a cutting edge post-punk sound.
About the track, Geese note that “Disco” was born out of organized chaos:
“‘Disco’ was our first big step forward as a band. It’s a very urgent and restless song, which was indicative of all our headspaces at the time. ‘Disco’ has a lot of organized chaos at its core; the music, the lyrics, and even the way we recorded it all speak to a sort of manic energy we were all working through. It’s a song that sounds like it’s perpetually on the verge of collapse–and yet it always manages to keep itself together. There’s a bit of chaos in all of our songs, or a sense that they could explode at any moment. ‘Disco’ represents that the most for us: the little bit of chaos each of us carry and bring to our music.”
Diana Taurasi has been sidelined since May 21 due to a fracture in her sternum, and the Mercury guard is eyeing a return on Sunday against the Sparks, according to ESPN. Taurasi suffered the injury on May 16, but continued to play in two more games before resting. She scored 30 points on 11-of-21 shooting with five assists in the pair of games combined.
This is great news for both her Mercury and Team USA teammates. Taurasi was named to her fifth Olympic roster on Monday, and could use the time to work herself back into game-shape before the July 26 tip-off date. Phoenix should be eager to have her back, too, as the team has gone just 4-5 in her absence. Skylar Diggins-Smith and Brittney Griner — who will join her in Tokyo — have stepped up without her, but it’s clear the Mercury need the league’s all-time leading scorer to compete at their best.
Taurasi is expected to have a CT scan on Tuesday, which could clear her to practice five-on-five. Sunday will be the team’s first game in nine days, and they’ll play five more before the Olympic break, with games against the Lynx (twice), Aces, and reigning champion Storm (twice).
In four total games this season, Taurasi is averaging 15.8 points per game on 41.3 percent shooting from the field with 3.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds.
In recent months, Britney Spears has reportedly spoken out against her current conservatorship, or at least her father’s role in it. It turns out that while the #FreeBritney movement has picked up steam in just the past couple years, Spears has apparently tried to end her conservatorship for nearly a decade now.
This is according to a new report from The New York Times, which is based on “confidential court records obtained” by the publication. The records indicated that Spears “expressed serious opposition to the conservatorship earlier and more often than had previously been known,” and that the arrangement “restricted everything from whom she dated to the color of her kitchen cabinets.”
As early as 2014, Spears apparently questioned her father’s fitness for the role, with her court-appointed lawyer, Samuel D. Ingham III, saying Spears wanted to remove her father as her conservator due to his drinking and other points on a “shopping list” of complaints.
In a 2016 report, an investigator wrote, “She articulated she feels the conservatorship has become an oppressive and controlling tool against her. […] She is ‘sick of being taken advantage of’ and she said she is the one working and earning her money but everyone around her is on her payroll.”
As live music returns in 2021, the growing list of festivals and tours being announced has a new entry from a dark horse: A new festival called Once Upon A Time In LA is gaining attention for its impressive, diverse lineup, which includes headliners 50 Cent, Al Green, The Game, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and YG. The festival is billed for December 18 at Banc Of California Stadium in Los Angeles, as well as the surrounding Exposition Park area.
Further down the list, the lineup appears to be a similar mix of (mostly) LA rap favorites spanning the last three decades of hip-hop and the funk and soul bands that inspired the original G-Funk sound that put the West Coast on the rap map in the early ’90s. While names like Cypress Hill, DJ Quik, Mack 10, Warren G, and WC should satisfy old-school hip-hop fans, their soulful counterparts include The Delfonics, George Clinton, The Isley Brothers, Lisa Lisa, Morris Day, Rose Royce, War, and Zapp.
Meanwhile, younger fans — and those older fans who are young at heart, I guess — can enjoy newer acts like Blueface, Drakeo The Ruler, OhGeesy, and RJMrLA. Out-of-towners range from Bay Area legends like E-40 and Too Short to Clevelanders Bone Thugs N Harmony and Memphis’ own Three Six Mafia.
Jensen McRae‘s breakout moment arrived with her viral track “Immune,” which was an imagined cover of a Phoebe Bridgers song about getting vaccinated. But McRae had been honing her musical craft at a well before the song’s release. After making music for years and even joining onto a Grammys songwriting camp, McRae celebrates the release of her official debut EP with a glossy video to her “Starting To Get To You” single.
McRae’s six-track Who Hurt You? EP was released to the world on Tuesday and expertly combines bedroom indie-folk and cutting-edge dream pop sensibilities. McRae showcases her captivating sound in her intimate “Starting To Get To You” visual. Directed by Elizabeth Archer, the clip shows McRae reflecting on the state of a budding relationship in the quiet comfort of her living room.
In a statement about the video, McRae said she wanted to capture the “quiet chaos” of infatuation:
“‘Starting To Get To You’ is a song I will always have a soft spot for, about a person I will always have a soft spot for. There is something so magical falling in love (or something close to it) with a friend, even if it’s only for a brief moment of time. This video seeks to capture the quiet chaos and warm, gentle magic of becoming infatuated with someone, and realizing that those feelings are slowly being reciprocated. I want you to feel like you’re in your room, on the other end of a breathless phone call, hearing that yes, it finally happened, your best friend has fallen again, but this time someone was there for the big catch.”
Watch McRae’s “Starting To Get To You” video above.
Who Hurt You? is out now via Human Re Sources. Get it here.
Former Galaxie 500 members Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang — who perform as the duo Damon & Naomi — announced the release of their first studio album since 2015, called A Sky Record. The album features the Japan-based electric guitarist Michio Kurihara, with whom Krukowski and Yang recorded when they visited the country in November 2019 — shortly before the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Krukowski and Yang said the record is a tribute of sorts to a BBC radio program called the Shipping Forecast, which has provided weather information for boats around the UK since 1911. Krukowski spoke about the single “Sailing By” in a statement, saying:
“‘Sailing By’ is also the title of a light classical waltz that’s played every night shortly before the 1am end of the broadcast day on BBC Radio Four, followed by the ‘Shipping Forecast’ (and then ‘God Save The Queen’!). The Shipping Forecast is simply the weather forecast for the sea around the UK. But it’s also a mesmerizing list of place names (‘Viking’ and ‘Tiree’ are examples) and slightly coded information about wind direction, etc — it has its own language. But for some reason, Naomi and I found ourselves listening to it almost every night during lockdown… It comes on just as we’re usually cooking dinner, which is how we stumbled on it… and then this marker became important to us, even though (or because?) it’s a report about conditions for places we couldn’t possibly visit…”
Listen to Damon & Naomi’s dreamlike new song “Sailing By” above.
Riot Act Media
A Sky Record is out 8/6 via 20-20-20. Pre-order it here.
The 2021 BET Awards airs live this Sunday at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT and will feature a special tribute honoring the late, great DMX. Among the performers honoring the late legend are Busta Rhymes, Griselda, Method Man, Swizz Beatz, and more, performing some of DMX’s most-beloved songs and new work from his posthumous album Exodus. Swizz Beatz curated the setlist to celebrate the life and music of DMX in conjunction with Ruff Ryders, including hits such as “Party Up,” “Where The Hood At?,” and “X Gon’ Give It To Ya.”
Connie Orlando, Executive Vice President of Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy, said in a press release, “We look forward to celebrating DMX’s indelible mark in music and pop culture. DMX inspired fans around the world with his signature raspy voice, the delivery of raw emotion through his lyrics and performances, and his giving spirit. We are proud to pay our respects to a hip-hop legend on our biggest stage, the BET Awards.”
Guest host Savannah Guthrie just got caught up in her first Jeopardy! controversy. While hosting Monday night’s episode, Guthrie become embroiled in a social media backlash after reading a clue that included an outdated and problematic name for a medical condition.
“Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome is also known as Grinch Syndrome because this organ is too small,” the clue read. The answer was the heart, but Guthrie and producers soon learned that there is a significant amount of controversy around the term “Grinch Syndrome” and associating it with POTS. Via Yahoo!:
It occurs mostly in younger women, and also includes elevated heart rate, extreme fatigue and lightheadedness as other common symptoms. There has also been an uptick in POTS diagnosis in patients who have had Covid-19.
But Jeopardy!’s use of the term “grinch syndrome,” and associating it with having a small heart – which is not currently linked to POTS – both rubbed people the wrong way. One viewer said, “Oh Jeopardy! this is shameful. I have POTs and am sad you would resort to this. How low. And I might add, incredibly incorrect.”
The show and Guthrie were also tagged in multiple tweets from Dysautonomia International, a non-profit that raises funds and awareness for issues like POTS. “Hey @Jeopardy no one with any credibility calls POTS ‘Grinch Syndrome,’” the non-profit’s Twitter account wrote. “Promoting outdated misogynistic terms to describe a debilitating autonomic nervous system disorder that impacts millions of Americans is not cool. We request an apology on behalf of our community. Do better.”
Following the social media backlash, Jeopardy! issued an apology on Tuesday afternoon for using the offensive term. “Yesterday’s program included a clue about postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). After hearing from the community, we found we used an outdated and inaccurate term for this disorder, and we apologize.”
Yesterday’s program included a clue about postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). After hearing from the community, we found we used an outdated and inaccurate term for this disorder, and we apologize.
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Once Upon A Time In LA
