Laugh it up, film fans! Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker is almost upon us, ready to unleash a wave of crime — and think pieces — the likes of which Hollywood hasn’t seen since Heath Ledger terrorized Gotham City in The Dark Knight over a decade ago. But the …
Read More »Musicians on Musicians: David Byrne & Tierra Whack
D avid Byrne is busy preparing for one of his most ambitious undertakings ever — a Broadway show in which he’ll perform songs from his entire career. But today he ended rehearsals early to ride his bicycle into Brooklyn and catch Tierra Whack at the Afropunk fest. The former Talking …
Read More »Musicians on Musicians: Diddy & DJ Khaled
I n a suite at the Ritz Carlton in downtown Atlanta, Sean “Diddy” Combs instructs DJ Khaled to walk through a cloud of cologne. He’s creating a vibe, one that will carry the pair of hip-hop mega-producers into a 2 Chainz birthday party later. “I love being a rapper!” Diddy …
Read More »A Jeffrey Epstein-Clinton Conspiracy Theory Was Trending — And That's a Problem
On Wednesday night, NBC News reported that disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who is currently awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking and sex trafficking conspiracy, was found injured and semi-conscious in his cell with two abrasions on his neck. While initial details were sketchy, sources at Metropolitan Correctional Center, the …
Read More »The Inside Story of Bob Dylan and Martin Scorsese's New 'Rolling Thunder Revue' Doc
Early on in Martin Scorsese‘s new documentary The Rolling Thunder Revue, Bob Dylan tries to explain the idea behind legendary 1975/76 tour and quickly grows flustered. “I’m trying to get to the core of what this Rolling Thunder thing is all about,” he says, “and I don’t have a clue …
Read More »In Praise of 'John Wick,' The Last Great American Action-Movie Franchise
It was just a guy’s name. You could guess that he was played by Keanu Reeves, given that we’d seen laughing with a woman over a meal and kissing her against a picture-postcard vision of Manhattan’s skyline. Then we go from Sad Keanu sitting bedside in a hospital to Sadder …
Read More »The Eternal Revenue Stream of Led Zeppelin
While Led Zeppelin fans were busy digging up their favorite old T-shirts and nostalgia-dusted tour photos in the months leading up to the band’s 50th anniversary this year, Tim Fraser-Harding’s team at Warner Music Group was drawing up a battle plan. As Warner Music Group’s president of global catalog of …
Read More »Peggy Lipton, 'Twin Peaks' and 'The Mod Squad' Actress, Dead at 72
Peggy Lipton, the model and actress who starred on The Mod Squad and Twin Peaks, has died at the age of 72 after a battle with cancer. Rashida and Kidida Jones, Lipton’s daughters from her marriage to music producer Quincy Jones, confirmed their mother’s death in a statement to the …
Read More »Why the Assange Arrest Should Scare Reporters
Julian Assange was arrested in England on Thursday. Though nothing has been announced, there are reports he may be extradited to the United States to face charges related to Obama-era actions. Here’s the Washington Post on the subject of prosecuting Assange: “A conviction would also cause collateral damage to American …
Read More »Lady Gaga, Travis Scott, Dua Lipa With St. Vincent to Perform at 2019 Grammys
Lady Gaga, Travis Scott, Dua Lipa, St. Vincent, Mark Ronson, Yolanda Adams, Fantasia, Andra Day and Chloe x Halle all joined the performance line-up for the 2019 Grammy Awards. The Recording Academy tweeted the latest announcements on Wednesday. Lady Gaga will perform with Ronson — and though no specific song …
Read More »