An individual appears to have set himself on fire outside of the Manhattan courthouse the moment jury selection was finalized in the criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump. The apparent self-immolation was carried live by several news networks, who initially believed a fire had broken out in …
Read More »Taylor Swift Producers Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner Celebrate 'Tortured Poets' Release
Two prominent faculty members of the Tortured Poets Department are toasting their chair. On Friday, Taylor Swift‘s close collaborators Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner shared their excitement about the release of Swift’s new album, saying they were “forever grateful” and “overwhelmed” to work with Swift. “Love this album more than …
Read More »'The Notebook' Musical Cast Recording Is Here. It Will Probably Make You Cry
Ingrid Michaelson is used to people crying when they talk to her about The Notebook. Earlier this year, she tells me on Zoom, her piano in the background, she did an interview about her work on the Broadway musical adaptation of the beloved 2004 film, based on the novel by …
Read More »Swifties Are Not Happy That Taylor's Matty Healy Situationship Gets So Much Attention on 'TTPD'
The few weeks of 2023 during which Taylor Swift was presumably dating Matty Healy can only be accurately categorized as diabolically insufferable across the board. When the singer’s never-confirmed fling with the 1975 frontman reportedly ended after just a few months, it quickly became a distant memory — the kind …
Read More »The Power of Black and Indigenous Voices This Earth Day and Beyond
Climate change is a multi-faceted crisis. While it’s perpetuated by the burning of fossil fuels and other extractive human practices, it’s also continuing due to the impact of economic systems that support social and racial inequities. One of my biggest takeaways at COP28 last year was that too many corporations …
Read More »Elvie Shane Once Outran the Cops. He's Still Trying to Outrun the Holler
It’s a few hours before I’m supposed to meet Elvie Shane at a racetrack in Bowling Green, Kentucky, when my phone starts blowing up. The lanky, tattoo-covered country singer, who scored a Number One hit with “My Boy” in 2020, is meeting me to put the 2024 Corvette E-Ray — …
Read More »Mandisa, Contemporary Christian Star and 'American Idol' Contestant, Dead at 47
Mandisa, the Grammy-winning contemporary Christian artist who enjoyed a successful run on American Idol, died Thursday. She was 47. The musician, whose full name was Mandisa Lynn Hundley, was found dead at her home, her family said in a statement shared on social media. “At this time we do not …
Read More »Matty Healy Is Taylor Swift's Unlikely Inspiration and Six Other Takeaways From 'TTPD'
We were already prepared for the devastation Taylor Swift’s eleventh albumThe Tortured Poets Departmentmight yield but no one could have imagined that she had two albums’ worth of material for everyone to sift through. Her latest is mix ofMidnightssynths andFolklore/Evermoreindie-folk, giving insight into the romantic chaos behind one of her …
Read More »Perrie Reminisces About a Past Love in 'Forget About Us' Video
Perrie can look back at her old relationship with a smile. On Friday, the former Little Mix member released the music video for her debut solo single “Forget About Us,” the sweet track co-written with Ed Sheeran, David Hodges, and Steve Solomon. “I don’t want you ever to forget about …
Read More »Hear Zac Brown's Heartfelt Adios to Jimmy Buffett 'Pirates & Parrots'
A few months after the death of Jimmy Buffett, the Zac Brown Band is paying tribute to their friend with a new song, “Pirates & Parrots.” “We’re all here missing you,” Brown sings, “All the pirates and the parrots sing, ‘So adios my friend, anchor where that ocean ends.” The …
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