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When Taylor Swift’s new album Midnights arrived after being announced at the MTV VMAs at the end of August, many fans missed Aaron Dessner, the musician from The National and Big Red Machine who collaborated with Swift on the fan-favorite albums Folklore and Evermore.

Luckily, Swift met those needs with the deluxe version of Midnights (dubbed the 3am Edition), which arrived at, yes, 3 a.m. ET with seven extra tracks. Three of them are co-written and co-produced by Dessner: “The Great War,” “High Infidelity,” and “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve.” He also co-wrote and co-produced “Hits Different” from the deluxe CD edition.

He seemed to tease a role on the record when a few days ago he took to Twitter to share a cryptic message: “Always have to remember things aren’t necessarily how they seem!” After the 3am Edition dropped, Dessner tweeted, “congrats @taylorswift13 @jackantonoff and all who contributed to the brilliant main album and [applause] to the chaotic 3am deluxe shift also…..incredibly honored as always to help make songs with you.”

In July of 2021, the “Cruel Summer” singer also wrote about her appreciation for working with him: “I can’t believe I get to work with Aaron Dessner. When Aaron came into my life, I was ushered into his world of free-flowing creativity where you don’t overthink, you just make music. His generosity of spirit and humility bleeds into every part of his life.”

Listen to “The Great War” above and “High Infidelity” and “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” below.

Midnights is out now via Republic. Get it here.

After making a brief appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Charlie Cox fully returned as Daredevil in the final two episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and man, did the fans love it. Like a lot of people, Cox just assumed Marvel would reboot the character with a new actor when Netflix pulled the plug on his Daredevil series ahead of the arrival of Disney+. However, the “Save Daredevil” campaign kept fighting, and now, Cox is set for a brand new series, Daredevil: Born Again, which will continue his character’s adventures in the MCU (for real this time).

While talking to Marvel.com about his well-received appearance in She-Hulk, Cox made sure to credit the fan campaign for fighting like a devil when he could not:

MARVEL.COM: You’ve joined the MCU. Daredevil is back. Everyone is over the moon about this. Is there anything you want to say to the fans who have literally been begging for this to happen for the last few years?

CHARLIE COX: There’s so much I want to say. Whatever happens to my career going forward from this point on, I owe most of it to the “Save Daredevil” campaign. That even when I had lost hope years ago, they did not, and they continued to campaign and support. And over the years, I’ve met many of them, and they’re such an enthusiastic, passionate crowd.

Speaking of fighting, Cox also revealed that he’s already training for Born Again, and he’s adding some MMA to Matt Murdock’s already brutal repertoire.

“That’s something that I would like to be more familiar with when we get into this other show so that when we do see him in combat, we are able to at times recognize rather than just someone who’s like a bit of a brawler, someone that has had training in various disciplines and is able to employ certain techniques depending on who he’s fighting,” Cox said.

(Via Marvel.com)

Este Haim might not have been there at the Olive Garden tale mentioned in Taylor Swift’s “No Body, No Crime,” but she was at The White Lotus red carpet last night praising her friend’s newly-released tenth studio album, Midnights. Este was there for the Los Angeles Season 2 premiere of the popular HBO show, on which she serves as a music consultant. Instead of speaking to that aspect of her career, she followed through with standard Swiftie behavior.

“Taylor Swift is about to drop the album of the century,” she told an Entertainment Tonight reporter. “You heard it here first.”

“I will be home by midnight,” he responds.

Este jokingly checks her watch, noting, “It’s incredible. You should be listening to it right now.”

Swift has been a longtime friend of the Haim sisters (Este, as well as Alana and Danielle) — which explains the namecheck in their 2021 collaboration murder mystery track.

“We can’t figure out why we hadn’t collaborated sooner. We’ve toured together, played live together, choreographed dances like we’re at summer camp, but it took a song about avenging your friend’s murder to give us the idea to take this step,” Swift told Entertainment Weekly about the initial “No Body, No Crime” release. “Long story short, I’m the 4th Haim sister now.”

Watch Este praising Midnights above. Continue scrolling for a few other fun celebrity reactions.

Midnights is out now via Republic. Get it here.

The sh*t is about to hit the royal fan in The Crown, which is saying quite a lot, given that Season 4 stomped all over the fairy tale by dramatizing a lot of what has already been in the public sphere regarding Diana’s (alleged) less than optimal experience with The Firm. The show depicted Diana being dragged by Prince Charles for the offense of being adored by the public, all while he apparently continued to *cough* hold court with Camilla Parker Bowles. That was part of the buildup for Season 5, and this week’s trailer turned out to be even more in-your-face about Diana going public about what she endured, which is interspersed with romantic scenes of Charles and Camilla.

As everyone is aware, Diana departed the royal family, and following the 1996 finalization of her divorce from Charles, the People’s Princess died during a 1997 paparazzi chase in Paris. The show apparently will not depict the crash itself, but there’s been an upswing in criticism from the Royals (and their supporters) as Season 5 approaches. Although the trailer shows Charles blowing up over Diana refusing to stay quiet, Deadline reported that the monarchy is particularly upset about a 1990s scene where Charles allegedly complains about being made to wait to ascend to the throne. Little did anyone know back then that he’d be waiting over 25 more years, but it doesn’t look fantastic, especially given the timing of Queen Elizabeth II’s 2022 death. The show’s coverage of Diana’s most infamous interview hasn’t helped the lack of royal goodwill, and after critics including Judi Dench have trashed the show’s “crude sensationalism,” Netflix has apparently relented.

On the trailer’s YouTube page, the following disclaimer can now be viewed: “Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatisation tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign.”

Other signs of Netflix possibly pulling back on the franchise? The Royal pushback may or may not be the reason that Netflix apparently chose to pump the brakes on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s documentary. That project was reportedly going to follow a few weeks after The Crown‘s fifth season, but interestingly enough, Deadline relayed word from a Netflix spokesperson, who declared, “[T]here’s never been any documentary from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed.”

In 2020, Meghan and Harry signed a Netflix deal, which (via Variety) was said to include “documentaries, feature films, scripted television shows and children’s series.”

The Crown returns on November 9.

The UK rock scene is clearly alive and well since two of this week’s buzziest albums come from bands across the pond. On the latest Indiecast episode, hosts Steven Hyden and Ian Cohen share their thoughts on the much-hyped albums from two UK artists: Arctic Monkeys’ The Car and Dry Cleaning’s Stumpwork.

Because it’s MLB playoffs this week, Steven and Ian have some obligatory baseball banter. They talk the Padres and the legacy of San Diego’s music scene. The city is not only Blink-182‘s hometown, but it’s also known as the breeding ground for ska bands like Slightly Stoopid and Sublime.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Ian mentions the Philly band Knifeplay, whose new album Animal Drowning manages to pull off a a darker edge that’s missing in most modern sheogaze. Meanwhile, Steven shouts out Field Medic, who writes lo-fi Bob Dylan-inspired music that carry heavy subject matters on the new album Grow Your Hair Long If You’re Wanting to See Something That You Can Change.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 111 here or below and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

Carly Rae Jepsen has been exploring the concept of loneliness. She started with the heartbreak-inspired Dedication, and with her new album, The Loneliest Time, she dives into more existential loneliness inspired partly by the pandemic and partly by the emptiness of modern dating. But suppose the title has you worried that she’s gone full Morrissey. In that case, you should know the songs are also full of meditations on romanticism, a concept that has defined Jepsen’s sound since “Call Me Maybe” rocketed her into the pop music stratosphere.

The 13 tracks on this album were culled down from over a hundred songs, many resulting from Zoom writing sessions during the pandemic. But this go-around, Jepsen wasn’t writing towards some overarching concept. Instead, she followed a mantra to do what felt good. So the title and its hints of loneliness are a reference to all she had to endure during the pandemic — the death of two family members, including her grandmother, and the general sense of isolation and solitariness that everyone experienced — come out more as a mood board around an idea than, say, the depths of despair. Instead, Jepsen comes as close as she’ll get to a sense of mourning with “Joshua Tree,” “Far Away,” and “Bends,” which sound like remembrances of people and places that are rendered not unpleasant and a little nostalgic thanks to the ’80s-inspired soundscapes she incorporates into most of the album. The latter song, in particular, uses minor chords and the minor third (aka the saddest musical interval) to evoke a heavy feeling. But the song ends on an optimistic, if minor, note with the chords stepping up all the time into Jepsen’s elegiac refrain, “I can see the sun on you.”

California and its sunshine play no minor role in The Loneliest Time, certainly partly due to Los Angeles being the city Jepsen found herself in for much of the pandemic. It makes numerous appearances, including “Western Wind.” The song is the album’s sole collaboration with Rostam Batmanglij, a former founding member of Vampire Weekend, who Jepsen has co-written with numerous times. There’s a space to the song and more of a human feel than many others. It gets at that lonely feeling too, thanks largely to Batmanglij’s indie-influenced musical proclivities.

So much is alienating, but it’s easy to find yourself on woman-identifying TikTok listening to complaints about dating apps. Synths and drum-programmed tracks with a disco influence belie Jepsen’s intent: to create an album we can dance to when it’s hard not to feel alone together. They aren’t that different from “Beach House,” but the latter has a more infectious beat. This cheeky song roasts the surrealism of finding a datable person on these apps (and the lyric “I’ve got a lake house in Canada and / I’m probably gonna harvest your organs” is sure to become a meme). “Shooting Star” tapes into the equally viral nature of horoscope culture, integrating Jepsen’s bold embrace of life as a Scorpio (IYKYK) and electro laser synths that also pop up in the equally danceable “So Nice.” And if you don’t get 1984 MTV vibes from the album’s lead track, “Surrender My Heart,” then you’ve got to break your new wave records out for a refresher.

So, where is the loneliness on this album? In most songs, the music puts it in the rearview. It opens with a definitive statement: “I want to be open, I want to be honest with you.” And it closes with the title track, a lament on giving a relationship another try that’s old-school enough to invoke a smoking habit. It’s also the most disco-adjacent bop on the album, with string parts and synths evocative of the most cinematic Bee Gees hits. Jepsen paints herself as an active character, not a wallower. And if the person on the other side of the speakers isn’t in quite that same place, the melodies on many tracks beckon them to the dance floor.

The Loneliest Time is out 10/21 via Interscope and School Boy. Pre-order it here.

Happy Midnights release day to all those who celebrate! As a present, Taylor Swift treated fans to the music video for “Anti-Hero” — the first of what appears to be many, as her tenth studio album will be a visual one. Matching the themes of feeling out of place and misunderstood by those around you, Swift references everything from Alice In Wonderland to (potentially) 30 Rock as she finds the best company in… other iterations of herself.

The most comedic part of the “Anti-Hero” video comes during Swift’s bridge, where she lyrically describes her daughter-in-law killing her for the money, but the family members think she’s “laughing up at us from Hell” because nothing was left.

At the funeral scene in the video, Swift is referenced as an old woman in a painting, posing with, of course, a bunch of cats. It follows the traditional concept of a portrait resting by someone’s coffin, only Swift in present day hides inside hers, peaking out as her pretend family fights. (It also might be a reference to the long-held belief that she travels in suitcases to avoid paparazzi.)

Adding to the humor, Swift enlisted comedians John Early (Search Party, 30 Rock), Mary Elizabeth Ellis (It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia), and Mike Birbiglia to play her children fighting over the will.

Watch Swift’s music video for “Anti-Hero” above. Continue scrolling for additional Swiftie reactions.

Midnights is out now via Republic. Buy/stream it here.

James Corden doesn’t care if you think he’s an a**hole, which is just the sort of thing you’d expect to hear from a guy who reportedly acts like a monster to the people who wait on him. The Late Late Show host sat down to breakfast (LOL) for a weirdly-timed interview with The New York Times’ Dave Itzkoff with the purpose of talking about Mammals, the new Amazon Prime series that Corden executive produced and stars in — playing a chef, of all things. But Itzkoff could hardly ignore the giant egg-yolk omelette in the room, which Corden clearly did not want to rehash. According to the intrepid reporter, things got awkward.

When Itzkoff mentioned that he was surprised Corden hadn’t wanted to cancel the sit-down, the late-night host seemed perplexed as to why he would even consider that — and why they were even still talking about him being banned (then un-banned) from dining at perennial New York City brunch spot Balthazar (and its sister restaurants) after owner Keith McNally called him out on Instagram for apparently being a total wanker.

“I haven’t done anything wrong, on any level,” Corden said. “So why would I ever cancel this [interview]?” While it’s only natural that the American public would be interested to hear that the guy they watch on TV sometimes might be a total jerk in real life, Corden — totally dismissing why treating service industry workers like pieces of sh*t might rub people the wrong way — seemed to think it was more bizarre that he was even still talking about the incident… despite the fact that it all transpired (at least on social media) just days before their chat.

“I was there,” Corden said. “I get it. I feel so Zen about the whole thing. Because I think it’s so silly. I just think it’s beneath all of us. It’s beneath you. It’s certainly beneath your publication.” So… add “New York Times reporters” to the list of people Corden doesn’t seem to have much respect for (alongside flight attendants, and his wife).

Ultimately, Corden suspiciously claimed that he himself didn’t read much about the incident, and doesn’t think most Americans really cared. But he admitted that he’ll likely address it on his own show. “I think I’m probably going to have to talk about it on Monday’s show,” he said. “My feeling, often, is, never explain, never complain. But I’ll probably have to talk about it.” Based on what many who have interacted with the “Carpool Karaoke” creator say, he needs to work on the latter part of that maxim.

You can read the full interview here.

(Via The New York Times)

In the early months of the pandemic, Taylor Swift watched a lot of movies she had never seen before. Being one of the world’s biggest pop stars takes up a lot of free time, y’know? “I started watching lots of films. We would watch a different movie every night. I’m ashamed to say I hadn’t seen Pan’s Labyrinth before. One night I’d watch that, then I’d watch L.A. Confidential, then we’d watch Rear Window, then we’d watch Jane Eyre,” she said. Swift also watched 30 Rock, based on a lyric from her new album, Midnights.

In “Anti-Hero,” which Swift calls “one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written,” she sings, “Sometimes, I feel like everybody is a sexy baby / And I’m a monster on the hill.” The “sexy baby” line is jarring, but it’s most likely a reference to the season five episode of 30 Rock, “TGS Hates Women,” where Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) hires a female writer, Abby (Cristin Milioti), to join the TGS with Tracy Jordan staff. But Liz turns on Abby when she finds her to be an over-sexualized, stereotype of a woman, complete with pigtails and a “sexy baby” voice. “The whole ‘sexy baby’ thing isn’t an act,” Abby contends. “I am a very sexy baby.” (There’s also a “twist” in the extremely good episode that I won’t spoil.)

The nod to 30 Rock has not gone unnoticed:

Now where’s the duet with Jackie Jormp-Jomp, hm?

Taylor Swift just dropped a new video for “Anti-Hero” and there’s a lot going on in it, everything from ghosts to multiple versions of Swift. Of particular interest to comedy fans, though, is the straight-up comedy sketch that pops up in the middle of it. It stars comedian Mike Birbiglia, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia‘s Mary Elizabeth Ellis, John Early, and Swift herself.

The skit begins at 2:12 into the video and runs for about two minutes. It starts during, and is based on, the part of the song where Swift sings, “I have this dream my daughter-in-law kills me for the money / She thinks I left them in the will / The family gathers around and reads it / And then someone screams out / “She’s laughing up at us from Hell.”

It takes place at Swift’s funeral as attendees sit in front of her casket and a portrait of an elderly Swift surrounded by many cats. We then get a look at the characters involved: Kimber (Swift’s daughter in law, played by Ellis), Preston (the son married to Kimber, played by Birbiglia), and Chad (Swift’s other son, played by Early). Preston gets up to read Swift’s will, discovering that she left her beach house to three of her cats, and her children were given 13 cents each.

They’re initially dismayed by the news until Chad has a realization, saying: “There’s probably a secret encoded message that means something else!” The enthusiasm is quickly dampened, though, as Preston reads from the will: “PS: There’s no secret encoded message that means something else. Love, Taylor.” As Preston reads, Swift, lying in the casket at her current age, cracks the top open and takes a peek at what’s going on. This reveal of no Easter eggs leads to argument and chaos before the song and video continue.

Swift said of the video, “The Anti-Hero video is HERE, which I wrote and directed. Watch my nightmare scenarios and intrusive thoughts play out in real time. with some help from the excellent @birbigs, @bejohnce, and @meellisday who fabulously portray… get ready for it… my grown sons and daughter in law? Anyway. Forever grateful to my incredible DP @The_RinaYang and our amazing crew.”

The first tweet also includes a behind-the-scenes photo of Swift, Bigbiglia, Ellis, and Early filming the funeral scene.

Birbiglia also offered his own behind-the-scenes pic, writing on Instagram, “The casting decision I did not see coming.”

Watch the “Anti-Hero” video above.

Midnights is out now via Republic. Get it here.