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Scoop
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Wednesday Announce New Album 'Bleeds'
Wednesday announce their anticipated new album, Bleeds, due 19th September via Dead Oceans. With Bleeds Wednesday present an intoxicating collection of narrative-heavy Southern rock that—like many of the most arresting passages from the North Carolina band's discography—thoughtfully explores the vivid link between curiosity and confession. Bleeds i s a patchwork-style triumph of literary allusions and outlaw grit, of place-based poetry and hair-raising noise. Karly Hartzman —founder, frontwoman, and primary lyricist—credits Wednesday's tightened grasp on their own identity to time spent collaborating on previous albums, plus a tour schedule that's been both rewarding and relentless. 'Bleeds is the spiritual successor to Rat Saw God, and I think the quintessential 'Wednesday Creek Rock' album,' Hartzman said, articulating satisfaction with the ways her band has sharpened its trademark sound, how they've refined the formula that makes them one of the most interesting rock bands of their generation. 'This is what Wednesday songs are supposed to sound like,' she said. 'We've devoted a lot of our lives to figuring this out—and I feel like we did.' 'Wound Up Here (By Holdin On),' released today alongside a video by Joriel Cura, is a perfect example of this alchemy. "This song is inspired by a story my friend told me, from when he had to pull a body out of a creek in West Virginia. Someone had drowned but they took a few days to resurface because of the current,' Hartzman explains. ''I wound up here by holdin on' is a line from my friend Evan Gray's poetry book: Thickets Swamped in a Fence-Coated Briars. He gave me and Jake a copy of it to read on tour once and that line stuck out to me as pure genius so I stole it and wrote the rest of the song in my own words around it." Last month the band shared 'Elderberry Wine,' a twangy and timeless new single, to wide critical praise that included being named 'Best New Track' by Pitchfork, one of 'The Best Songs of 2025 So Far' by TIME Magazine and praised by The Guardian in their playlist as a 'pedal-steel-sweetened heartwarmer'. The band performed the track and made their television debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert upon its release. Just like Rat Saw God, one of the defining rock & roll records of the 2020s so far, Bleeds came together at Drop of Sun in Asheville and was produced by Alex Farrar, who's been recording the band since Twin Plagues. Hartzman again brought demos to the studio, where she and her bandmates— Xandy Chelmis (lap steel, pedal steel), Alan Miller (drums), Ethan Baechtold (bass, piano), and Jake 'MJ' Lenderman (guitar)—worked as a team to bulk-up the compositions with the exact right amounts of country truth-telling, indie-pop hooks, and noisy sludge. More than ever, the precise proportions were steered by the lyricism—not only its tone or subject matter, but also the actual sound of the words, as well as Hartzman's masterfully subjective approach to detail selection. BLEEDS TRACKLISTING: 1. Reality TV Argument Bleeds 2. Townies 3. Wound Up Here (By Holdin On) 4. Elderberry Wine 5. Phish Pepsi 6. Candy Breath 7. The Way Love Goes 8. Pick Up That Knife 9. Wasp 10. Bitter Everyday 11. Carolina Murder Suicide 12. Gary's II
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
How Did XXXTentacion Die? Revisiting the Rapper's Shocking Murder, 7 Years Later
XXXTentacion was shot and killed during a robbery in June 2018 Four men were charged in connection with his death Three of the men involved in XXXTentacion's death were sentenced to life in prisonFans are still mourning the loss of XXXTentacion — and grappling with the complicated legacy he left behind. The 20-year-old rapper, born Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, was shot and killed during a robbery outside a Florida motorcycle dealership in June 2018. Four men were later charged in connection with the murder. XXXTentacion first made his name as a founding member of the underground hip-hop collective Members Only, and was gaining traction as a solo artist shortly before he died. His debut solo album, 17, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in 2017, and his second, ?, debuted at No. 1 the following year. But his career was also clouded by serious legal issues, including allegations of aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, false imprisonment and witness-tampering, according to Pitchfork. He denied the accusations and was working to resolve the charges at the time of his death, XXXTentacion's attorney J. David Bogenschutz told PEOPLE at the time. Here's everything to know about how XXXTentacion died and what happened to the four men responsible. On June 18, 2018, XXXTentacion was blocked by a dark-colored SUV as he was leaving a motorcycle dealership in Deerfield Beach, Fla. According to the Broward County Sheriff's Office, 'two armed suspects' approached the rapper's car and attempted to steal his Louis Vuitton bag. One of the assailants fired multiple shots at XXXTentacion before fleeing the scene with the bag. An hour later, the rapper was pronounced dead at a local hospital. XXXTentacion's bag contained $50,000, which he had withdrawn from a Bank of America branch in Coconut Creek, Fla., earlier that day, per CBS News. XXXTentacion originally intended to withdraw $250,000, but the bank didn't have that much cash available, according to testimony from the teller that was later reported by the outlet. In July 2018, four men were indicted on first-degree murder and armed robbery charges in XXXTentacion's death: Dedrick Williams, Michael Boatwright, Trayvon Newsome and Robert Allen. Williams was arrested two days after the shooting and was charged with first-degree murder without premeditation, driving without a valid license and a probation violation for theft of a car. On July 5, 2018, Boatwright was taken into custody for unrelated drug charges. Allen was arrested in Georgia in July 2018, according to CNN, while Newsome eventually turned himself in in August 2018, per the outlet. Allen later accepted a plea deal for second-degree murder and testified against Williams, Boatwright and Newsome, per the Associated Press. During his testimony, Allen claimed that he and his three co-defendants had made a plan to rob unsuspecting victims that day. While gathering supplies for the crime, the group allegedly ran across XXXTentacion and decided to go after him. Allen claimed he told his co-defendants it wasn't 'a good idea,' but they went through with it anyway. Newsome and Boatwright were identified as the two armed assailants who approached XXXTentacion. The latter was the fatal gunman, according to the Associated Press. In April 2023, Boatwright, Newsome and Williams were all sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Allen was sentenced to seven years in prison, with credit for five years of time already served, and 20 years of probation, per the Associated Press. Allen was released in November 2023, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. While the rapper's exact last words haven't been made public, an undated clip that resurfaced after his death revealed what he hoped his legacy would be. 'If worse thing comes to worst, and I f------ die or some s--- and I'm not able to see out my dreams, I at least want to know that the kids perceived my message and were able to make something of themselves,' XXXTentacion said in the footage, adding that he loved and appreciated his fans. He continued, 'Do not let your depression make you. Do not let your body define your soul, let your soul find your body. Your mind is limitless. You are worth more than you can believe. All you have to do is dream and all you have to do is want to fulfill that dream and have the strength.' After XXXTentacion's death, fans held an impromptu memorial for the rapper in Los Angeles and were later invited to an official service at the BB&T Center (now known as the Amerant Bank Arena) in Sunrise, Fla. He was buried after a private funeral attended by his family and friends, according to E! Online. The rapper's death wasn't without controversy, as his music was often overshadowed by his run-ins with the law. At the time of his death, XXXTentacion was awaiting trial for multiple felony charges for allegedly assaulting a pregnant woman while they lived together. He denied the accusations, with his attorney, Bogenschutz, later claiming to PEOPLE that the artist had been 'absolutely perfect' in the eight months before his death. '[He] had reached the point in his life where he had realized this is his life and that's not something that he squanders,' the lawyer said. 'And one of the unfortunate things about this is that he realized that and was moving toward an ability to handle his own life finally ... and it's less than serendipitous that this was when he was struck down.' XXXTentacion's attorney added that the rapper was 'in the process of reaching a resolution' at the time he was murdered. After he died, XXXTentacion's mother revealed that his girlfriend, Jenesis Sanchez, was expecting a child. XXXTentacion's son Gekyume Onfroy was born on Jan. 26, 2019. The rapper picked out his son's name before death, as his family shared in a statement to PEOPLE. 'Gekyume's name is derived from a word X created prior to his passing, which means 'a different state' or 'next' universe of thought," they said. "XXXTentacion specifically chose this name for his first born son; his family is honored to fulfill his wish and shower baby Gekyume with love." Read the original article on People
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The critical response to Miley Cyrus's Something Beautiful exposes pop's gender double standards
With her latest album Something Beautiful debuting at number four in the Billboard 200 and in contention to reach the top of the UK album charts, Miley Cyrus's commercial appeal appears as strong as ever. Something Beautiful is Cyrus's 9th studio album, described by the singer-songwriter as an attempt to bring the divine into the day to day. It's an ambitious, sprawling record, but, despite its commercial success, its eclecticism has led to a polarised reaction among critics. Negative reviews are, of course, not uncommon, and we need look no further than The New York Times' 1969 review of Abbey Road to see that even the most celebrated and acclaimed artists aren't immune to the critic's poison pen. But, while some degree of criticism is inevitable for all artists, when it comes to discussing experimentation and musical identity, female and male artists seem to be treated differently. Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here. During her Billboard Music Awards woman of the year speech in 2016, Madonna commented that 'there are no rules – if you're a boy. If you're a girl, you have to play the game.' In the same year Björk observed that female artists are criticised if they sing about anything other than their boyfriends. She might have been exaggerating a little, but Björk's and Madonna's points are clear: if you're a woman in music, you should stay in your proverbial box. Most of the negative reviews that Something Beautiful received were along these lines. Pitchfork, for example, criticised Cyrus's 'nonsensical lyrics' (translation: stick to writing about relationships). The i Paper claimed her weird and experimental choices created a distance from her listeners (translation: don't do anything your fans won't like). They also condemned the lack of accessible, radio-friendly pop (translation: be one-dimensional). And the Guardian said that it fell short of the hits that made her a star (translation: as Beach Boy Mike Love allegedly said, 'don't fuck with the formula'). For two of Cyrus's male contemporaries, Justin Bieber and Harry Styles (both around one year her junior), it's a very different story. While the Guardian also notes the absence of 'hits' on Bieber's 2020 album Changes, instead of presenting it as a negative as it did with Cyrus, it's seen as a sign of maturity on a fitfully lovely album by a pop star who no longer wants chart domination. In the case of Styles' 2019 album Fine Line, artistic innovation was praised by the Guardian, which observed that the most endearing moments occur when he experiments. And where Pitchfork lambasted Something Beautiful's genre-hopping eclecticism for being tonally confused, Fine Line is praised for the 'incredible' sound produced due to its 'flock of influences'. Cyrus has been told by critics that she must choose between being an accessible pop star or an unconventional artist and 'can't have it both ways'. Even if she did decide to plump for one camp or the other rather than ably straddling both, it'd still be debatable as to whether the ever-fickle critics would be satisfied. Pitchfork's 2020 review of Cyrus's album Plastic Heart suggests it'd be a 'no' in their case, at least. Complaining that the heavier songs on the album sounded like 'canned, Muzak versions of rock songs', the publication proposed that Cyrus might sound like an actual rock star if paired with someone like producer Jonathan Rado. When Cyrus and Rado did collaborate on Something Beautiful, however, they remained unimpressed. You just can't please some people. Thankfully, Cyrus is either oblivious to such noise or chooses to ignore it, and recently teased that Something Beautiful is merely 'the appetizer' for a 'an extremely experimental' upcoming album. In an era where formulaic pop music dominates the charts and AI-generated content threatens to make things even more generic, we should be encouraging the idiosyncrasies of our female artists, not labelling them as having identity problems when they are brave enough to be different. In her woman of the year' speech, Madonna also noted that, as a female artist, 'to age is a sin: you will be criticised, you will be vilified, and you will definitely not be played on the radio'. Perhaps, then, Cyrus's biggest offence isn't her refusal to become a stereotype or her desire to experiment and make music that she likes. It's daring to grow up. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Will Smith says Oscars slap fallout was brutal
Three years after he slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars, Will Smith says making a mistake so publicly was "brutal". "The last few years for me have been really deep reflection," the actor tells 1Xtra's Remi Burgz. "After the Oscars I shut it down for a minute and really went into the internal work and just taking a big, strong, honest look at myself." Will was banned from the awards ceremony for 10 years after he hit the comedian for joking about his wife's shaved head - a result of alopecia, a hair loss condition. "For the first time in my career, [I was] having to deal with a level of disapproval that I never had to experience," Will says. "The addiction to the approval of others that I had to dissolve, it was brutal." At the 2022 ceremony in Los Angeles, Chris Rock mocked Will's wife Jada's appearance. Clips showing Will immediately marching on stage and slapping him across the face and telling him to keep his wife's name out his mouth have been viewed millions of times online. Will resigned from the Oscars Academy shortly after, saying his actions were "shocking, painful, and inexcusable". The 56-year-old tells 1Xtra the fallout has also given him to time to reflect. "It was just like there was a manhole cover over some unexplored areas and the manhole cover came off," he says. "It was scary for a minute what was in there. "But then all of a sudden, all these new thoughts, new energies, new creativity came through like a geyser and it started showing up as music." Earlier this year Will released his first album in 20 years, Based On A True Story, and tells 1Xtra he asked for advice before heading back to the studio. "When I started writing, I called Jay Z and I called Kendrick," he says. "Kendrick said you have to say those things you've always been scared to say and Jay Z said don't even go near it if you're not trying to tell the truth." The new music hasn't been a hit with critics. Pitchfork said it was "excruciatingly corny" while Rolling Stone described it as "cringey... clunky and dated" in a two-and-a-half star review. But Will says it was a "fun way to express the madness of what goes on in my head". "It is the exploration of what I call the 'despicable prisoners'. "It's the parts of myself that have been banished, the parts of myself I'm not allowed to talk about on the radio, the part of myself I'm not even allowed to acknowledge is real. "Working in that space of authenticity, honesty and imperfection, allowing that to grow into a higher perfection than the imagery of Will Smith is where I am as an artist and as a human right now." Remi's full interview with Will Smith is available to stream on BBC Sounds. Why did Will Smith hit Chris Rock? Will Smith resigns from Oscars Academy over slap Will Smith banned from Oscars for 10 years Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
Scotsman
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Sabrina Carpenter's album cover is not liberation - it's glamorous despair
Getty Images Pornified pop proliferates to mass applause and justification, while we all simultaneously wring our hands over teenage girls' mental health Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The photo depicts a beautiful woman in her late twenties kneeling on the floor, her hair tightly wound around a besuited man's fist. Her lips are plumped and parted, she gazes doe-eyed at the camera, in a skin-tight short black dress. The couple's attire suggests they've been out at a swanky event; perhaps one where they laughed together, presenting an image of love and togetherness. Now, in the privacy of a hotel room, the faceless man will shed off any pretence this relationship is one of equals. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad As ever, the woman performs for the camera. Her male partner's face is an irrelevance. I refer to the cover of American pop-star Sabrina Carpenter's latest album 'Man's Best Friend.' Anyone with a teenage daughter will know who that is. The popular songstress has gained acclaim for her albums, with their pleasant blend of folksy-pop and cutesy, catchy lyrics, which Pitchfork magazine describe as 'deliciously dumb and possibly genius.' I can't pretend to have known who she was before this week. My initial response to seeing her album cover was formed in ignorance of her work, but deep knowledge – and at least 20 years – of seeing similar imagery become ever more mainstream and ubiquitous. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad To promote her album, Carpenter has also appeared naked – aside from white lacy stockings - on the cover of Rolling Stone. Once again on her knees, her voluminous hair was placed to 'protect her decency' as we used to call it. The internet has subsequently exploded with competing takes, which I imagine was the intention. On the one hand, Sabrina's fans, who deride those taking issue with the images: we're lacking in 'humour.' We're also unaware of the 'irony' Carpenter employs in her 'choices.' Salon Magazine's Amanda Marcotte argues that young women who attend Sabrina's concerts in their thousands are 'simultaneously relishing femininity while sending it up.' Carpenter's schtick is therefore 'camp for straight women,' Marcotte argues, defending a stance that 'feminists can't let male porn producers be the only ones selling sex.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This take is consistent if the root argument is that the pornification of everything is inevitable. Also, that mandatory 'femininity' can somehow be liberating and not a prison. It's going to happen anyway, women are expected to be this way, so why shouldn't they coin in on the action? On the other hand, however, far away from the world of glitzy-kitch and glamour of pop-stardom, we have hard-working, beleaguered women fighting strenuously against male violence, often on a shoe-string and in a hostile environment. 'We've fought too hard for this,' said Glasgow Women's Aid in a social media post. 'Carpenter's cover takes us backwards, they argue, to a time when women were viewed solely as 'pets, props and possessions.' This isn't 'subversive, it's regressive.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad I admit a weariness that pornified pop proliferates to mass applause and justification, while we all simultaneously wring our hands over teenage girls' mental health. In a world of Andrew Tate and accompanying incels, #MeToo and the devastating rise of domestic violence, a beautiful, talented, wealthy young woman stripping to her stockings and aping porn images can't possibly be viewed as 'empowering' for anything other than her bank balance. And fair enough, some would argue. She's making a 'choice' to do this. Well, yes. And that can be many things, but it takes some chutzpah to call it 'liberating for women,' or remotely 'feminist,' as some are trying to. In my twenties, when I was starting out as a performance poet in the early noughties, there was a notable appetite for burlesque. At late night cabarets during the Festival, such acts featured alongside male musicians and comedians. I'd take to the stage with spiky poems, almost entirely about dating, boozing, and sex. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad One evening, in a bit of frustration, I took to the mic and said, 'I'd like to congratulate the programmers for their gender balance this evening, though I think I'm the only woman on the bill keeping her clothes on!' I'd thought it an amusing quip, but instead was hissed. Oops. These days, no doubt, I'd get a social media pile-on and a reputation for being an 'anti-sex feminist,' which is activist speak for 'joyless, prudish hag.' But even at that early age, I was bored of it all. The constant push to make porn ordinary and the private act itself a public carnival. And that was pre-social media, pre-Cardi B and 'WAP,' the lyrics of which are unprintable. It was also well before your average 12-year old had easy access to extremist depictions of group-sex and torture-pornography, in just a few clicks. Add fear to that previous boredom. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Porn is to sex what parkour is to walking down the street. It is performance – an often vicious one. I'm not sure it is possible to be 'ironic' about what it is doing to us. Frankly, it is not just young people we need to worry about. Reports earlier this year showed a direct link between pornography addiction and adult men viewing images of child abuse. This is the context in which the 'playful' Sabrina is making her 'choices.' Just as Glasgow Women's Aid are correct to say that images like Carpenter's are regressive, I'd argue that mostly, they convey resignation: this is just how women are portrayed now, they'll always be made to, so I'll 'subvert' that by doing it to myself.
