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The Chainsmokers’ Massive ‘Drive-In’ Concert Under Investigation for Social Distancing Violations

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Last Saturday (July 25), The Chainsmokers played a ‘drive-in’ charity concert in Southampton, New York called Safe and Sound, with ticket packages ranging from $1,250 to $25,000. Though the event was supposed to abide by the necessary safety precautions, footage soon surfaced showing attendees disregarding social distancing measures, TMZ reports.

As a result, gov. Andrew Cuomo has now announced a New York Department of Health investigation of the concert. “Videos from a concert held in Southampton on Saturday show egregious social distancing violations,” he wrote. “I am appalled. The Department of Health will conduct an investigation. We have no tolerance for the illegal & reckless endangerment of public health.”

Dr. Howard Zucker, New York’s health commissioner, added: “I am at a loss as to how the Town of Southampton could have issued a permit for such an event, how they believed it was legal and not an obvious public health threat.”

In a statement to the New York Times, event organizers In The Know Experiences and Invisible Noise said that temperatures were taken, parking spots were limited to 20 feet by 20, bathrooms were positioned six feet apart, hand sanitisers were widely available, and masks were handed to anyone who came without one.

Proceeds from the concerts were donated to the charities No Kid Hungry, Southampton Fresh Air Home, and the Children’s Medical Fund of New York.

BLACKPINK Announce Debut Album

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K-pop group BLACKPINK have announced their highly-anticipated debut album. It comes out October 2 via YG Entertainment/Interscope. According to the teaser poster, it’s referred to as THE ALBUM, though it’s officially a self-titled LP. Below, check out its official artwork.

Last month, the quartet – consisting of Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa – dropped the lead single from the album, ‘How You Like That’, which reached 82 million views in just 24 hours. They have now also announced a new single coming out next month, with the promise of a “surprise feature”.

Back in 2018, BLACKPINK released the compilation LP BLACKPINK IN YOUR AREA, which collected songs from 2017’s self-titled EP and 2018’s Square Up EP. After the success of that project secured them a deal with Interscope, they released Kill This Love EP in 2019 and played a gig at Coachella. Earlier this year, BLACKPINK made a guest appearance on Lady Gaga’s ‘Sour Candy’ from her latest album Chromatica.

BLACKPINK Album Artwork:

Lana Del Rey Releases New Spoken Word Poetry Album

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Lana Del Rey has released a new spoken word album, Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass. Featuring music from producer Jack Antonoff, it serves as the audiobook version of her poetry collection of the same name, out now via now via Interscope and available for purchase through Google Play and Audible (the album does not yet appear on streaming services). Below, check out the sample track, ‘LA Who Am I To Love You’.

First announced back in December, the album is one of two spoken word poetry projects the singer is planning to release this year, the second of which is titled behind the iron gates – insights from an institution and has no release date as of yet. Back in May, del Rey unveiled the track ‘patent leather do-over’ from that album.

According to the intitial announcement, proceeds from the audiobook will “benefit Native American organizations around the country, whether it was for preserving their rights or trying to help keep their land intact”; in July, del Rey confirmed Navajo Water Project as the beneficiary.

In addition to the two spoken word poetry albums, del Rey reportedly also has another LP in store, titled White Hot Forever and scheduled for release on September 5th. The singer announced the album in a post that sparked controversy where she spoke about double standards in the music industry. Her last album was 2019’s Norman Fucking Rockwell!

This Week’s Best New Songs: Taylor Swift, Gorillaz, The Avalanches, Samia, and More

Throughout the week, we update our Best New Songs playlist with the new releases that caught our attention the most, be it a single leading up to the release of an album or a newly unveiled deep cut. And each Monday starting today, we round up the best new songs released over the past week (the eligibility period begins on Monday and ends Sunday night) in this new segment.

This week, we have a stunning highlight from Taylor Swift’s surprise new album, in collaboration with producer Jack Antonoff; another colourful single from the Gorillaz’s Song Machine series; a spacey, dynamic new cut from The Avalanches featuring Jamie xx, Neneh Cherry, and Australian artist CLYPSO, as well as Mick Jones of the Clash on drums; a playful, driving new single from Samia; the sprawling, ambitious lead single from Metz’s recently announced upcoming album (and their longest track yet); the bright, heartfelt opening track of Katie Dey’s new album; and an evocative, shimmering new single from Madeline Kenney.

Check out the full list of tracks below, and follow our Spotify playlist for last week’s additions.

Best New Songs: July 27, 2020

Gorillaz, ‘Pac-Man’ feat. ScHoolboy Q

The Avalanches, ‘Wherever You Go’ (feat. Jamie xx, Neneh Cherry, and CLYPSO)

Samia, ‘Big Wheel’

Metz, ‘A Boat to Drown In’

Taylor Swift, ‘mirrorball’

Katie Dey, ‘Darkness’

Madeline Kenney, ‘Pictures of You’

Listen to Bill Callahan’s New Track ‘The Mackenzies’

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It’s been about month since Bill Callahan announced his new solo album, Gold Record, and every Monday since then, the singer-songwriter has shared a new song from the album. Today, he’s released the fifth track from the LP, titled ‘The Mackenzies’. Listen to it below.

Another spare yet subtly stunning track, Callahan’s latest finds him telling the story a man who ends up going over for dinner at the house of some neighbours he’s never spoken to. “I’m the type of guy who sees a neighbour outside and stays inside and hides,” he sings.

Previously, the artist shared the tracks ’35’, ‘Pigeons’, ‘Another Song’, and ‘Protest Song’. Gold Record is due September 4 via Drag City.

JPEGMAFIA Drops New Song and Video ‘Living Single’

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JPEGMAFIA has dropped a self-directed video for a new song called ‘living single’. Clocking in at two-and-a-half minutes, the new track opens with the rapper interpolating the lyrics from Mariah Carrey’s 1996 single ‘Always Be My Baby’, of which he posted a cover back in February. Check it out below.

‘living single’ follows a series of singles released in 2020, but it’s the first with a lowercase title. Earlier this year, he put out the tracks ‘BALD!’, ‘COVERED IN MONEY!’, ‘BODYGUARD!’, ‘CUTIE PIE!’, ‘THE BENDS!’, and most recently, ‘ROUGH 7’ with Tommy Genesis. He also made a guest appearance on BROCKHAMPTON’s ‘chain on / hold me’. His last album was 2019’s All My Heroes Are Cornballs.

Rilo Kiley Announce Reissue of Debut Album

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Rilo Kiley have announced they will be reissuing their self-titled, self-released 1999 debut album, a collection of demos also known as The Initial Friend EP. Now, for the first time in 20 years, the album will be available in limited edition vinyl and on digital platforms on October 2 via Little Record Company. Below, revisit the video for single ‘Fug’, and check out the album’s tracklist and cover art.

Formed back in 1998 in Los Angeles, Rilo Kiley inititally consisted of Jerry Lewis, Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, and Dave Rock. They booked their first show at the Silverlake venue Spaceland shortly after, and none other than comedian Dave Foley was in the crowd that night. He loved their music so much that he ended up funding their first demo recording, and eventually, their debut LP.

In a new statement, Foley recounted that experience: “January 1998, I was a young man, young compared to now, hanging out in L.A’s alt. rock club scene. One night in particular, I found myself at Spaceland, at the bar drinking when a band started playing. They were good, so good that I stopped fighting for the attention of the bartender and turned to see who it was. On stage was a very young, delightfully unpretentious group named Rilo Kiley. Between songs they were charming, smart and funny. During songs they were brilliant. After the set I introduced myself and learned that this was their first public performance. I was astonished.”

He continued: “They invited me back to their rehearsal space for Thai food and to hear some songs they didn’t have room for in the set. Dreamily, I filled my belly with noodles and my head with one great song after another. I was in a full on, pop music fan swoon. Having decided to force myself into their lives, I suggested (insisted) that I should fund a demo recording. They relented. I also tried to talk them into changing the band’s name. They were unrelenting. A lot of years have passed. I remain proud to know Rilo Kiley and grateful that I had the opportunity and ability to be of some help.”

Rilo Kiley released their final LP, Under the Blacklight, in 2007, four years before they broke up.

Rilo Kiley Cover Artwork:

Rilo Kiley Tracklist:
1. Frug
2. Papillion
3. Always
4. 85
5. Glendora
6. Teenage Lovesong
7. Sword
8. Asshole
9. Gravity

Emily Burns Unveils Video for ‘I Love You, You’re the Worst’

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Singer-songwriter Emily Burns has unveiled the music for her single ‘I Love You, You’re the Worst’, from her recently released EP of the same name. Matching the vibrant, colourful tone of the song, the visual sees her encountering different versions of herself in various settings. Check it out below.

Speaking of the new video on Twitter, Burns wrote: “‘I Love You, You’re The Worst’ is about chasing after someone who doesn’t want you back… It was so fun to play all the different characters in this video, I might actually keep the pink gloves. I’m so grateful to the team who pulled this together.” 

To celebrate the release of her new EP, Burns will perform a live-streamed show from Abbey Road Studios on July 30th, with all proceeds from the performance going towards AKT Charity, which helps support young and vulnerable LGBTQ+ people faced with homelessness. Find more information here. Winking face

A Look Into Bojack Horseman

BoJack Horseman is a popular Netflix TV series. It first aired in August 2014 and since then has produced 6 successful seasons. While at the start the whole TV series gives the vibes of something very much close to our hearts and souls like Family Guy, The Simpsons, or Futurama, at some point it took a turn. A deep turn.

The story revolves around a humanoid horse. Reverse centaur with the body of a male but the head of a horse. He was a star of a show in the ‘90s sitcom where he played as an adoptive father of three kids. It was a major hit however met an abrupt end due to cancellation. The actual TV series starts 18 years from this incident where BoJack decides to make a spectacular comeback into show business.

It goes without saying that after this point there will be some spoilers. If you are still pondering about whether to watch the series or not – we do recommend it. It is an awesome experience with quite heavy plot twists in the middle and a very unique and strong perspective about alcoholism, drug addiction, depression, gambling, and other serious ordeals of adult life. Anyhow, it goes without saying that the show is not for children. The tone itself is very humorous however due to the dosage of strong feelings that the series is awakening in the hearts and souls of the audience it is something everyone should try.

It is a rollercoaster. In 6 seasons BoJack manages to become an alcoholic, get severely and clinically depressed, hurt people with disabilities or terminal illnesses, give teens booze, almost sleep with the underaged, sink other people’s careers to boost his own, and even manages to leave someone to die. However, even though all of this the main character manages to be extremely relatable and strangely – human. Depression in particular is depicted really well within the TV series and is one of the main draws for a lot of people who watch it.

One of the most crucial moments of the show is when BoJack is playing the main role in the movie called Secretariat. The story follows an independent-minded young horse who wants to become a professional runner. He takes up this career to “run away” from the abusive family he grew up in. Unfortunately, Secretariat meets his end by his own hands via suicide. However, it is widely believed in the community that he was actually murdered by his trainer to cover up his gambling addiction.

Gambling is one of the biggest problems all across the world at this moment. This has been the main focus of lots of different TV shows, movies, books, etc. However, BoJack, who is a den of psychological problems, is surprisingly not that much into gambling. Lots of people in the past kept covering things up, however, the modern world has turned tables on such issues with the introduction of online gambling. Canada is one such country where more than 500,000 people are considered to be having problems with gambling. Even though lots of countries permit it the idea is that there is much less chance of getting caught by your family or loved ones in the process of gambling when you can just open your smartphone and have fun with online blackjack in Canada or anywhere else in the world. Even though BoJack Horseman TV series does not speak about this issue openly, the potshot is still being taken with the underlying cause of death of the Secretariat. It is an extremely important touch for us as the communities not only in Canada but across the globe are struggling with such issues. However, it is a good opportunity gone to waste as this heart-wrenching possibility could’ve been much more deeply explored.

Apart from this, there are quite a few other relatable characters like work-obsessed princess Carolyn, or ever happy Canadian Mr. Peanutbutter, Sarah Lynn – drugs and party obsessed teenager with strong parent issues, or just an extremely lucky but also good for nothing Todd Chavez, as well as one of the stars of the show Vietnamese American Diana Nguyen who plays a pivotal role in the development of BoJack’s character as well as the whole series. The cast makes it so that everyone can find someone from their friend circle to identify with the characters and Bojack himself is extremely relatable for anyone who had anything to do with addiction and depression.

As in real life, everything comes to an end. One cannot hide all of the bones they collected during their lives in their closet. The close is going to become full and start leaking. There is no way around it and much like in real life BoJack didn’t escape his demise as well. Seasons 3 and 4 becoming darker and darker and him ending up in the mental hospital in season 5. The idea is that even though he got all of his help the last two episodes of season 6 are quite difficult to understand as the fanbase is split.

Lord Of The Rings (TV Series) – What Do We Know So Far

Lord of the Rings is one of the most critically acclaimed fantasy titles of modern history. It is one of the most popular Book series in the world. With the addition of 3 movies in the early and mid-2000s and the release of the Hobbit series in 2010s. In total, the series has acquired 21 Oscars and earned eternal love and respect from a huge fanbase.

As of now, the lovers of LOTR are getting a new TV series. Although there were all of the major publishers competing for the rights to develop the series Amazon Studios came out on top. The company signed a $250 million rights contract in November 2017 with J.R.R. Tolkien’s estate, publisher Harper Collins and the Newline Cinema, which will produce a multi-season TV show.

Here we will discuss what we know up until this point about the development of the series.

Latest News

A little bit of fun trivia is that a lot of New Zealanders, or as they like calling themselves Kiwis, are flocking to the casting call which was issued for “funky-looking” people. It goes without saying that the world of the Lord of the Rings is full of different races like Hobbits, Elves, Humans, Dwarfs, Wizards, and etc. This means that the studio is on a lookout for people to fill up these backend roles.

The official release date is still yet to come. There has been no official word although Amazon is required to start filming during the next two years after signing the contract. This means that the filming has started somewhere around November 2019. In the recent update, Amazon executive Jennifer Salke stated that the production is going to start somewhere around 2021, although, there are lots of people who expect it to begin in 2020.

Even though Season 1 is still in production Jennifer has also confirmed in an interview with the Deadline that same writer who finished Season 1 has also been contracted to start working on Season 2 of the show even though the filming is still underway for the first one.

The budget of the film is set to be somewhere around $250 million. This is due to the fact that the contract was signed for this very same amount. Although there are news coming in from the Hollywood Reporter that the budget is set to be around $1 billion – which is the biggest in the television history.

The hype is real and New Zealand is becoming the center of attention due to the fact that the filming is taking place there. Local newspapers, TV channels, and media outlets have started sharing information about the series and pop culture also followed suit. This means that lots of different companies are looking into developing LOTR themed products, which involuntarily draw in a big chunk of the fan base. These are different movie stores, gaming channels, basically anything that is associated with the fantasy genre and not only. It is said that there has been a boom in casino slots for Kiwis which have been notoriously marketing on the hype around the TV series. The international casino companies have been eyeing out New Zealanders due to the fact that Kiwi Law explicitly forbids online gambling for companies based in the country. Although the citizens are legally allowed to pay and play away in companies that are outside of the state.

All of this is due to the fact that the filming for previous films was notoriously done in New Zealand and the TV series is no exception. This information has already been confirmed by the showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, who have come out stating that New Zealand captures the primordial beauty of the Second Age of the Middle Earth. They have explicitly outlined the fact that they see New Zealand as a majestic place with pristine coasts, forests, and mountains. It is also true that the country is full of one of the best movie sets in the world as well as studios and skilled individuals to work on the show. It is also a fact that the New Zealand government, people, and especially Auckland have been extremely supportive of the initiative and have aided the pre-production phase.

It is worth noting that Scotland was also considered as a place to film the new TV series, although, the uncertainty in connection with Brexit and the novel coronavirus outbreak have all forced the producers to reconsider. As an added bonus Amazon is committed to making 5 seasons of a Lord of the Rings TV series as part of the $250 million deal.