Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes recently started dating, and during the Coronavirus pandemic the two are quarantined together in Miami. That meant it was no problem for them to participate in the iHeartRadio Living Room Concert for America together, and though fans might’ve expected them to deliver an acoustic rendition of their 2019 duet “Senorita,” they instead did a song off Camila’s latest album, Romance, “My Oh My,” that features rapper DaBaby on the original version.
Before their performance, Camila urged everyone watching to remember that staying home is the best way to protect each other and our loved ones through social distancing, and Shawn also shared a specific thank you for all the first responders in hospitals. While the spread of COVID-19 and Coronavirus has reached crisis levels in areas of America like Washington, California, and New York, there are still parts of the country that aren’t taking it as seriously.
Hopefully, those who aren’t directly impacted yet are watching massive livestream events like the iHeartRadio Living Room Concert for America and realizing just how severe the threat has become. The livestream features plenty of other artists weighing in on the crisis and performing acoustic songs at home for fans, including Finneas and Billie Eilish. Watch Camila and Shawn perform above.
One of the most heartwarming things about human beings is our ability to adapt to changing circumstances. As the Coronavirus pandemic becomes a very real threat to public health, and social distancing is the most effective way to halt the spread of the virus, all tours and concerts have been canceled across America. Not only does this leave fans and audiences hungry to hear from their favorite musicians, but it also leaves these performers stuck at home, unable to express themselves.
Almost immediately, the ability to host livestreams from the safety of living rooms and houses began to crop up, and the iHeart Living Room Concert for America is just the latest platform to enlist musicians who are more than willing to get on camera from the comfort of their own home to entertain fans who are cooped up in isolation.
Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas were part of the show’s offering that aired live tonight, delivering an acoustic version of “Bad Guy” from their couch in Highland Park. Finneas even joins in on some harmonies, a welcome touch to update the song that dominated last year and helped catapult Eilish to break Grammys records at this year’s awards. Watch above.
Phoebe Bridgers recently returned with new music, sharing “Garden Song” as the first solo material since the release of her breakout debut album, Strangers In The Alps in 2017. Tonight, she’s returned with another bit of music for fans, although it’s not quite new material – Bridgers released a cover of Conor Oberst’s “Mamah Borthwick (A Sketch),” off his 2016 album Ruminations. In the caption of the video uploaded to Instagram, Phoebe shared that she’s releasing the song to help raise money for the employees of the local Los Angeles music venue The Bootleg. The link to that fundraiser is here.
She explains that it was the place where she met Oberst, who has since become her collaborator on the project Better Oblivion Community Center. “The Bootleg is raising money to pay their employees and hopefully keep the doors open once this is over,” she wrote. “Here’s me singing a Conor song because I met him there. It’s a special place. Help out if you can. Link in my stories. #coverthebootleg”
For those unfamiliar with the story of Mamah Borthwick, she was the mistress of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and you can learn a lot more about her story via this post from the tumblr that annotates songs by Conor Oberst.
In the final minutes of this week’s The Walking Dead episode, “Look at the Flowers,” right before Beta rips off half his mask and does the “Thriller” dance with a horde of zombies, we are briefly introduced to a wild new character (pictured above).
Her name is Juanita Sanchez, and in the comics, she goes by “Princess,” because “Queen” makes her sound too “old.” She is played by actress Paola Lazaro. Princess is a trip, one of those horribly damaged people (she was repeatedly tied up, locked in a closet, and abused by her evil step-brother and step-father in the comics) who uses comedy to mask her pain. Princess has a lot of pain, so her sense of humor is wonderfully off-kilter and inappropriate. Princess has also spent so much time alone that she’s not sure that those she encounters are real or hallucinations. She is very cheerful and very talkative.
In the comic series, she is discovered on a mission similar to the one that Eugene is carrying out now; Eugene wants to meet Stephanie, a woman from a new community with whom he is smitten. In the comics, Eugene, Yumiko, Magna, Michonne, and Siddiq encounter Princess in Pittsburgh on the way to The Commonwealth in Ohio. Here, however, Siddiq is dead, Michonne is in search of Rick, and Magna has decided to stay behind (although, a sickened Ezekiel — dead in the Comics at this point — is along for the ride).
So, presumably, Eugene’s girlfriend, Stephanie, is from The Commonwealth, which is possibly also where Maggie and Georgie reside. They’re meeting in Charleston, West Virginia, which is about halfway between Alexandria and Ohio, which is where The Commonwealth is set in the comics, so that makes perfect sense. The lure to The Commonwealth — which is a functioning society of 50,000 people with modern amenities — may be the medical care that it can offer Ezekiel, who is otherwise dying of treatable cancer. The Commonwealth is also likely to play into CRM and The Walking Dead spin-off, The World Beyond.
We’ll learn more about Princess in next week’s episode, which is not the season finale, but because of delays, it is the last episode for awhile.
At least 10 NBA players have tested positive for COVID-19, with the first confirmed case being that of Rudy Gobert which, subsequently, forced the league to come to a halt. Since then, members of seven organizations have tested positive including players from the Nets, Lakers, Celtics, Pistons, and Jazz.
Gobert and teammate Donovan Mitchell were both cleared of the virus this past week, as was Christian Wood of the Pistons, and on Friday, Marcus Smart became the latest player to get cleared of the virus. Smart announced the news on Sunday night, saying Mass Health cleared him a couple days back and he was now “Corona Free.”
Corona Free as of two days ago. Cleared by Mass Dept of Health.
Thanks for everyone’s thoughts and prayers and I’m doing the same for everyone that’s been effected by this. Stay safe and stay together- apart!
Much love!— marcus smart (@smart_MS3) March 30, 2020
It is good news to hear that the players are being able to beat the virus and get cleared of it, and hopefully they will follow in the footsteps of ESPN analyst Doris Burke in seeking out ways that they can possibly help others by donating blood and plasma as doctors look to treat coronavirus patients with plasma from those that have had the virus and have built up significant amounts of antibodies to fight it.
Hopefully others that have been affected by the virus around the league will find ways to recover, and people will continue taking social distancing seriously so as not to overwhelm hospitals that are facing down this crisis.
The idea of “cinema therapy” might be as old as the movies themselves. When you need a good cry, laugh, escape or new perspective, movies can offer an emotional catharsis that even books, TV shows and music can’t quite match (all right, a good sad song can do wonders, as Elton John noted).
Right about now, everyone needs some kind of good emotional release, and movies are a great place to turn – but there are just too many choices on too many streaming services. With that in mind, here are five films that can fit many of the complicated moods you may be feeling right about now.
FEELING SCARED?
Defending Your Life
Defending Your Life (1991) Official Trailer – Albert Brooks, Meryl Streep Movie HD
www.youtube.com
From writer-director Albert Brooks, Defending Your Life is about a man who suddenly finds himself isolated from everyone and everything he knows: He dies. But he’s whisked away to Judgment City, a strangely comforting blend of theme park and office complex. His task is to sit in literal judgment of his life and defend himself against accusations he lived in too much fear. An perfectly winning cast led by Brooks, Meryl Streep, Rip Torn and Lee Grant make this romantic-comedy sparkle, but there’s something deeper here, something that all of us can use right now: a reminder that we are all stronger than we think and that fear doesn’t need to get the best of us.
(Available on multiple streaming services for about $4)
FEELING WORRIED?
Joe Versus the Volcano
Joe Versus The Volcano (1990) Official Trailer – Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan Comedy HD
www.youtube.com
In Joe Versus the Volcano, Joe Banks (played by Tom Hanks) lives in constant anxiety. He’s stuck in a job he hates, and a visit to the doctor reveals a dread diagnosis. That’s when he gets a most unusual job offer that propels him on a trans-Pacific voyage that turns into a grand adventure that makes him face his anxieties. This 1990 film is endlessly silly, sometimes downright weird, and certainly an oddity. It’s also emotionally daring and honest: writer-director John Patrick Shanley wears his heart on his sleeve, and gladly. In a rare triple performance, Meg Ryan shines brightly – she has a monologue about being “soul sick” that will resonate with anyone in self-isolation or quarantine with another person. The visually magnificent moment in which Joe acknowledges a higher power is about as poetic as movies could possibly get.
(Available on multiple streaming services for about $4.)
FEELING DOUBTFUL?
OH, GOD!
Oh, God! (1977) Official Trailer – John Denver, George Burns Movie HD
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We’re living in a deeply fraught time that could understandably make someone doubt religion. But what if God showed up in the world with a message of faith? That’s the setup of director Carl Reiner’s 1977 comedy Oh, God!, written by Larry Gelbart (“MASH,” Tootsie). God is played by the inimitable comedian George Burns (if you don’t know him at all, this will be a special treat), and his modern-day prophet is played by a deeply doubtful John Denver (yes, the singer). Despite its subject matter, the movie is completely agnostic – God, it turns out, doesn’t really go in for the religious stuff. Gently, sweetly, the movie takes on some huge issues: Does God even care? Why is there suffering? Does God make mistakes? It’s also a great snapshot of the way suburbia looked in 1977 – yes, it really was that funky. But there’s something undeniably reassuring about its ultimate message.
(Available on Amazon and Turner Classic Movies On Demand)
FEELING CURIOUS?
The Andromeda Strain
The Andromeda Strain (1971) Trailer
www.youtube.com
While fear and anxiety are understandable, sometimes it can help to take a more clinical approach and to examine the problem from a more dispassionate angle. That’s what happens in director Robert Wise’s 1971 film The Andromeda Strain, which is based on a novel by Michael Crichton, undisputed master of science-based fiction. But once you do, you’ll not only marvel at the eerie familiarity of scientists alarmed by the appearance of a never-before-seen virus that causes some pretty awful symptoms and is always fatal … except to two people. You might also feel increasingly comforted by seeing the dedication that four scientists in particular have to learning about and defeating the microbe. Wise also directed Star Trek: The Motion Picture and The Day the Earth Stood Still, and he knows his way around intelligent sci-fi.
(Available on multiple streaming services for about $4.)
FEELING LIKE YOU NEED A GOOD CRY?
Terms of Endearment
Terms of Endearment – Trailer
www.youtube.com
The best thing we can do sometimes is just let it all out. But when we’ve been holding it in, we need something to help us break through the emotions, and cinematically speaking you can’t do better than 1983’s Terms of Endearment. Writer-director James L. Brooks puts screen legend Shirley MacLaine together with Debra Winger in a still-hilarious comedy about an over-protective mother and her rebellious daughter who have to maintain a long-distance relationship back when communication wasn’t as speedy. A plot twist turns the story into a heartbreaking drama that is massively effective at getting the tears flowing and letting the emotions out, even when sly, salty Jack Nicholson is on screen.
(Available on multiple streaming platforms for about $3-4 – which will be well-spent for those who need to let it all loose)
After a nearly four year wait, fans of The Weeknd finally received his fifth album, After Hours last week. The album did fairly well critically but it did even better commercially, debuting atop the Billboard album charts. It’s The Weeknd’s third No. 1 album and, thanks to After Hours, fourth No. 1 release overall.
The album, which had a first-week total of 444,000 equivalent album units sold, served as the biggest opening week for The Weeknd, surpassing the previous mark set by his 2015 album, Beauty Behind The Madness. On top of that, After Hours also had the biggest overall opening week and the second-biggest pure album sales week of 2020, falling second to BTS’ Map Of The Soul 7, which nabbed 347,000 pure album sales in its opening week. Of the 444,000 equivalent album units sold, 275,000 were pure album sales — most likely coming from the merch bundles he offered on his website — while 163,000 were streaming equivalent album units.
In addition to the aforementioned accolades, the first-week numbers for After Hours gave it he biggest streaming week ever for an R&B album, registering a total of 220.7 million on-demand streams, and the biggest overall week for an R&B album since Beyonce’s 2016 album, Lemonade.
Elsewhere on the top five, Lil Uzi Vert’s Eternal Atake moved down one stop to No. 2, with 115,000 units sold, and Lil Baby’s album, My Turn, also moved down a spot to No. 3 with 60,000. Bad Bunny’s YHLQMDLG comes in at No. 4 with 51,000 units sold and Conan Gray’s debut full-length album, Kid Krow, checks in at No. 5 with 49,000 units sold.
Read our review of After Hours here.
[via Billboard]
We’re all handling this epic quarantine in different ways, but it’s clear we all have one thing in common: Everyone’s watching Tiger King, Netflix’s latest true crime doc-series spectacular. Twisty, wild, and weird, the show has made a viral star out of its own star: Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka Joe Exotic, the zoo owner-turned-presidential candidate-turned-prisoner, who’s currently serving a 22-year sentence for animal abuse and murder-for-hire. He’s also a musician! Strange music videos, featuring songs that are already being covered, are peppered through the show, featuring Joe’s own brand of country music, on the subject of cats. Alas, that’s one thing too strange to be totally true.
After some “light research,” Vanity Fair reporters concluded that the songs are performed by Vince Johnson and vocalist Danny Clinton — two struggling musicians hired by Joe to write some cat songs. They did it for free, because Joe told them it was for a TV show hungrily sought by Animal Planet, Discovery, and National Geographic. They recorded songs for him, assuming he’d re-record them himself. He did not.
“I had no idea he was going to Milli Vanilli the songs,” Johnson told Vanity Fair by email. He continued:
“It was a couple of months and two or three songs [into the collaboration] when I was on YouTube one night and just happened to look up Joe Exotic. And there he was, lip-syncing and acting like the ghost of Elvis [in these music videos]. I called him up, I was hot…And he bamboozled me about his reality show—that it was coming soon and he would make everything right as rain. I just wanted the proper credit.”
The two went along with it for a while, hoping the music would at least make it to television. Instead it only went so far as Joe’s YouTube channel.
“When it finally ended, I told him they could have filmed Gone With the Wind for all I cared—let alone a crummy reality show starring a jerk-off con man kook,” Johnson added.
Johnson and Clinton’s songs were eventually heard by many, once Tiger King made it to Netflix. The two are listed in the film’s credits, but Joe himself wanted to keep his ruse under wraps. Rick Kirkham gave Vanity Fair the skinny:
“It was absolutely ridiculous … One time,” he said, “Joe got a little bit drunk and high, and we actually coaxed him into singing part of one of the songs. He couldn’t even hold a tune. It was just so ludicrous. It was a big joke within the crew and staff that it wasn’t him [singing in the videos]—but he was damned insistent to anyone and everyone, including us and my studio crew, that that was him.”
Anyway, weird world.
(Via Vanity Fair)