Ed Sheeran enjoyed a second week at Number One on the Rolling Stone 200 this week. No.6 Collaborations Project was streamed 53 million times. Sheeran’s only serious challenger this week was Beyoncé with The Lion King: The Gift, a companion album that accompanied the new remake of the Disney classic. …
Read More »'The Lion King: The Gift' Is Beyonce's Love Letter to Blackness
Nine days before the new Lion King remake hit theaters, Disney released a clip from the “Hakuna Matata” scene in which a CGI-rendered Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa sing the beloved showtune with the facial expressiveness of a Real Housewives cast after two decades worth of intensive botox treatments. The clip …
Read More »Why Did Trump Make the 'OK' Sign While Talking about AOC?
While referring to New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a speech on Tuesday, President Trump flashed a distinctive hand gesture. Here’s a video, captured and shared on Twitter by Vox reporter Aaron Rupar. The gesture is traditionally the symbol for “OK,” but, mutated by a wildly successful 4chan hoax and …
Read More »'The Clearing' Podcast Tells Story of Serial Killer — With Help From His Daughter
If there’s anything true crime fans love more than stories about unsolved murders and serial killers, it’s speculating wildly about serial killers and unsolved murders. Playing armchair sleuth has become something of a sport in itself, and entire podcasts are devoted to little more than gossamer theories about who may …
Read More »Amazon Music Is Growing Three Times as Fast as Spotify
When Amazon rolled out a standalone music-streaming service in 2016, the music business largely dismissed it as yet another Spotify clone, entering far too late in the game. But the e-commerce company’s efforts in music are quietly shaping up to be major drivers in the industry. Days after Amazon enlisted …
Read More »Watch Ed Sheeran's Raucous Music Video for 'Blow'
Ed Sheeran has embraced the rock ‘n’ roll vibe of his recent track “Blow,” which features Bruno Mars and Chris Stapleton. The music video for the song, directed by Mars himself, showcases an all-female rock band taking over the stage at Los Angeles venue the Viper Room. Sheeran, Mars and …
Read More »What is Necrotizing Fasciitis? Flesh-Eating Bacteria Hits Florida, Again
Every summer, it seems, your mom texts you a link to a news story about some brain-eating amoeba or infectious bacteria found in a swimming hole or water park. This summer, the concern seems to be over the spread of flesh-eating bacteria, or necrotizing fasciitis, a rare bacterial condition that, …
Read More »Flashback: Helmet Bring the Oddball Metal of 'Betty' to 'Jon Stewart'
One of 1994’s heaviest albums was also one of its strangest. Released on June 21st of that year, Betty, the third full-length from NYC four-piece Helmet, retained the huge staccato riffs, free-form solos and supple vocal hooks that had helped make their prior album, 1992’s Meantime, into a period classic …
Read More »Song You Need To Know: Joan Shelley, 'Coming Down For You'
Joan Shelley sees Kentucky as her nest. But looking for fresh perspective, she decided to work on new music in Reykjavik, Iceland, at Greenhaus Studios. “Coming Down For You” suggests it worked out quite well. The sound will be familiar territory to fans of her six previous albums (not counting …
Read More »Watch 'Hadestown' Cast Perform Two Songs on 'CBS This Morning'
The cast of Hadestown stopped by CBS This Morning to perform two songs from the Broadway show ahead of the Tony Awards on June 9th, where the musical is nominated for 14 awards. The cast, featuring Fates Jewelle Blackman, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer, and Kay Trinidad, sang a funky rendition of “When …
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