On Wednesday, 415 members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously to pass the Music Modernization Act, a mega bill that aims to radically improve and streamline the system through which music creators are paid. As passed in the House, the MMA – which has garnered wide support from …
Read More »Sinclair Broadcasting's Hostile Takeover
One afternoon last December, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, was holding court at the lectern in the Brady Room, when a reporter raised a provocative question: Does President Trump understand the difference between Russian propaganda – the real “fake news” – and the American press? Sanders’ response …
Read More »Broadway Production of 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' Is Thrilling
Attention Potterheads: Harry Potter is alive and well on, of all places, Broadway. Let me explain. As the world knows by now, author J.K. Rowling didn’t sneak out an eighth Potter book or a ninth movie while you weren’t looking. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play (not …
Read More »Hear Tragic Country Singer Gary Stewart's Rare Motown Demo for Record Store Day
In 1975, hardcore honky-tonk singer shot to Number One on the country chart with “She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Doubles).” Penned by Wayne Carson (“The Letter,” “Always on My Mind”), and distinguished by Stewart’s jagged-edged vocal lying somewhere between Hank Williams and Jerry Lee Lewis, the tune was one of …
Read More »Deafheaven Detail New LP, 'Ordinary Corrupt Human Love'
San Francisco-based metal act Deafheaven will release their fourth album, Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, on July 13th via Anti- Records. The LP includes the recently issued, 12-minute lead single,“Honeycomb,” which they paired with a vivid video featuring in-studio footage and shots from around the Bay Area. Producer and frequent collaborator …
Read More »Illness Almost Killed Doom Metal Titans Yob – But Gave Their Work Life
In January 2017, Mike Scheidt missed an early appointment with death by only a few hours. Scheidt’s immersive doom metal trio, Yob, had been at home in Eugene, Oregon, for about a month, resting after a brief tour with their spiritual antecedents, Neurosis. The time off was good for Scheidt: …
Read More »Sugarland on Recording Taylor Swift Song: 'We Didn't Want to Mess It Up'
Taylor Swift is still keeping a connection to her country songwriting roots – she co-wrote Sugarland‘s new song “Babe.” The song, from the duo’s forthcoming album Bigger, follows Little Big Town’s Grammy-winning rendition of Swift’s “Better Man,” from their album The Breaker. The relationship between Sugarland and Swift actually goes …
Read More »See John Prine Sing With Brandi Carlile, Sturgill Simpson on 'Colbert'
Since the early Seventies, John Prine has delivered songs that are often as fascinatingly cryptic as they are thoroughly penetrating. “Summer’s End” is not only the latest of these, it is among the very best on The Tree of Forgiveness, Prine’s first album of new material in 13 years, officially …
Read More »See Noel Gallagher Talk U2 Fandom With Metallica's Lars Ulrich
Former Oasis mastermindNoel Gallagher talks about performing, songwriting and his love of U2 in a new interview with Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich on the latest episode of It’s Electric. The program airs on Sundays via Apple Music’s Beats 1 Radio, but a 20-minute excerpt is available to watch above. Gallagher was …
Read More »Who's Who at the Bill Cosby Retrial
The Bill Cosby re-trial began on Monday in a courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, 10 months after his first trial ended in a hung jury. Opening day proved dramatic, with a topless protester, accusations of bias among jurors and revealing statements from both the prosecution and defense. The climate toward sexual …
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