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Mick Jagger says The Beatles were “just a blues cover band when they started out”
Mick Jagger has responded yet again to Paul McCartney‘s comment that The Beatles were a superior band to The Rolling Stones. McCartney made the comments in an interview with Howard Stern in 2020, when he agreed with the host’s assertion that his band were better. “[The Stones] are rooted in the blues. When they are writing stuff, it has to do with the blues. We had a little more influences,” McCartney said. “There’s a lot of differences, and I love the Stones, but I’m with you. The Beatles were better.” Advertisement When asked for his response at the time to Zane Lowe, Jagger said: “That’s so funny. He’s a sweetheart. There’s obviously no competition. “The big difference, though, is and sort of slightly seriously, is that The Rolling Stones is a big concert band in other decades and other areas when The Beatles never even did an arena tour, Madison Square Garden with a decent sound system. They broke up before that business started, the touring business for real.” Now in a new interview with The Times, he has commented again on McCartney’s words. The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. CREDIT: Getty “He said the Beatles… Read More →
Watch Pete Davidson’s no-holds-barred ‘SNL’ ‘Barbie’ spoof ‘I’m Just Pete’
Pete Davidson sang in a Barbie spoof sketch on Saturday Night Live‘s season premiere addressing the comedian’s recent controversies – watch the clip below. The SNL alumni returned to Studio 8H to host the first episode of the show’s 49th season last night (October 14). Davidson appeared in a spoof remake of ‘I’m Just Ken’ from the Barbie movie (a scene which was nearly cut from the original film). Singing morosely from a plastic-pink Barbie dreamhouse littered with bongs and drinks, Davidson began by referencing the lukewarm reception to his new show Bupkis: “No one cares about the work I do,” he crooned. “I made a show with Joe Pesci, too / And no one streamed it but my mom” Advertisement Davidson also joked about his feud with Kanye West. “People online still call me Skete / Because of a guy whose name I can’t say legally” he sang, as a photo of the rapper flashed momentarily. There were also lyrics that nodded to Davidson’s rehab stints, his “Big Dick Energy”, purchasing a boat whilst stoned with fellow cast member Colin Jost, and his tumultuous romances (“my dating life is not discreet”, he admitted). [embedded content] The sketch concluded with… Read More →
Jada Pinkett Smith says Tupac Shakur had alopecia
Jada Pinkett Smith has revealed that her late friend Tupac Shakur had alopecia. The pair became friends while they were both studying at the Baltimore School for the Arts and their friendship was depicted in the 2017 film All Eyez On Me. Their friendship forms a significant part of Pinkett Smith’s soon-to-be-released memoir, Worthy. Pinkett Smith was diagnosed herself with the autoimmune condition, which causes unpredictable hair loss, in 2018 and has been a prominent advocate for awareness surrounding the condition. In contrast, she has now said that she doesn’t think Shakur “ever talked about” his own experience with it publicly. Advertisement The actress told People that Shakur’s symptoms began around 1991 after he was arrested for jaywalking by the Oakland Police Department in California. Shakur went on to sue the police department related to the incident but the lawsuit was later settled. “After he was in Northern California with the police officers that beat him up, he started losing his hair. And his alopecia patterns were far more extreme than mine,” Smith recalled. “I don’t think Pac ever talked about his alopecia, but he also looked really good with a bald head,” she continued. “But that was during a time and during… Read More →
Ice Spice and Rema team up for new song ‘Pretty Girl’
Ice Spice has dropped a new single, ‘Pretty Girl’, featuring Nigerian rapper Rema. The track is the first new single from Ice Spice since the deluxe edition of her debut EP ‘Like…?’ was released in July, and sees her gush over a new love interest – “Yeah, you the one, there’s no number two/If I had three wishes, I’d waste ’em on you,” she raps, while Rema sings the chorus. The music video, meanwhile, sees the pair perform against a colourful animated background, while they’re also seen leaning against a retro-looking car. Advertisement Check out the visuals for ‘Pretty Girl’ below: [embedded content] The rapper’s other musical endeavours this year have included collaborations with PinkPantheress, Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift. Meanwhile, Ice Spice is set to make her Saturday Night Live debut tonight (October 14) on the first episode of the late night show’s 14th season, and its first episode in six months. The previous season of SNL was cut short by three episodes as a result of the writers’ strike in the US. Two weeks ago, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) announced the end of its months-long strike in Hollywood. In other news, the rapper addressed accusations that she is… Read More →
Fatboy Slim releases 25th anniversary reissue of ‘You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby’ for National Album Day
Fatboy Slim has released a 25th anniversary reissue of his seminal album ‘You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby’ to celebrate National Album Day today (October 14). The reissue is part of an exclusive list of limited edition albums reissued especially for National Album Day. This year’s event, which is organised by the BPI and is now in its sixth edition, is themed around big albums from the ’90s. For its sixth year, the annual event commemorating the album as an art form is focusing on albums from the ’90s and to celebrate, numerous big albums for the decade are getting special limited edition reissues. Advertisement The album was remastered at Abbey Road Studios at half-speed for the best audio quality possible. Fatboy Slim ‘You’ve Come A Long Way Baby’ artwork. Credit: Press Reflecting on the landmark anniversary, Fatboy Slim said: “I’m still surprised and gladdened by the response that ‘You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby’ has had. I didn’t see it going global, I thought it was a very ‘English’ sounding record. I definitely did not imagine people would still be talking about it 25 years later. I remember saying as much at the time! Thank you to everyone to… Read More →
Nicki Minaj drops confident new track ‘Bahm Bahm’
Nicki Minaj has dropped a surprise new song, ‘Bahm Bahm’. The track was uploaded exclusively to Minaj’s website and features the rapper on characteristically sassy form, on which she declares: “There I go again, kickin’ some dumb flow,” before she raps in the chorus: “They say my price ridiculous / I don’t like them bitches / Pussy tight and vicious / Hit them likes to lick this (bahm, bahm) / Screamin’, ‘Fuck the opposition.’” On Thursday (October 12), Minaj asked fans which of three songs they wanted to hear. Alongside ‘Bahm Bahm’, she also offered options of unnamed collaborations with Juice WRLD and Future. Advertisement All three options seemed to be popular at first, leading Minaj to add in a further post: “Lol it’s a tie y’all. I can’t make this up. Look. Keeping the polls open for another 3 hours. If it’s a tie then, it’s a tie.” Minaj later revealed that there were other factors aside from the poll that went into deciding what song she should release next. “There’s a winner [trophy emoji],” Minaj wrote. “It was based on MANY deciding factors in addition to the 2 polls. It’ll appear shortly on the music player on my… Read More →
Megan Thee Stallion says she has no label and her next album will be self-funded
Megan Thee Stallion has revealed she will be releasing her next album independently and will be financing it herself. While speaking to fans on Instagram Live, the rapper confirmed that she is without a record deal but is proceeding to make new music regardless, funded out of her own pocket. “This part of my album is definitely very much funded by Megan Thee Stallion because y’know… we tryna get off [laughs]… y’all know what’s the tea,” she said. “But I have no label right now and we’re doing everything funded by Megan Thee Stallion’s pocket. The budget is coming from me, motherfucking Hot Girl Productions. It’s all coming straight from Megan Thee Stallion – Megan Thee Stallion[‘s] brain, wallet… we in my pockets, hotties, so let’s do our big one. Advertisement “We’re really doing our big one and I’m so excited. We’re doing something for the first time independently since it was just me and my mama. I’m so excited ’cause it’s literally just me this go round until we sign to a new label. But I don’t want to sign to a new label right now because I just want to do it myself.” The artist had released her… Read More →
Charli XCX to release Sam Smith collaboration ‘In The City’ next week
Charli XCX is set to drop a new song, ‘In The City’, featuring Sam Smith next week. The track, which is expected to appear on the singer’s forthcoming sixth album, is set to drop on Thursday (October 19). It is the first single Charli has released since ‘Speed Drive’, which features on the Barbie soundtrack and contains an interpolation of Toni Basil’s hit ‘Mickey’. Last week, the artist shared a snippet on the track on her social media, which appears to be an upbeat dance-pop track and the lyrics “I never thought I would find it, but I found what I was looking for/I found it in the city, in the dark/In the city, in your heart” can be heard. Advertisement Charli recently confirmed she had begun working on the follow-up to last year’s ‘Crash’. Last month, she shared several photos and a video on her Instagram in a gallery captioned “album 6 i guess”. The post included a photo of her holding a notebook evidently full of lyrics for a song called ‘The Apple’, another of her producer and creative director A.G. Cook and one of her with The 1975‘s George Daniel. in the city 🤍 oct 19 https://t.co/8drk1WNOc3 pic.twitter.com/iVHJc6J29l — Charli (@charli_xcx) October… Read More →
Lenny Kravitz bares all in video for new song ‘TK421’
Lenny Kravitz has announced details of a new double album called ‘Blue Electric Light’, which will be released on March 15. The rock musician has also shared the album’s lead single, ‘TK421’ – watch the video for the song below, in which Kravitz is seen, from behind, entirely naked. ‘Blue Electric Light’ will be Kravitz’s first album since 2018’s ‘Raise Vibration’, and it will be released through his own label, Roxie Records, with distribution by BMG. Advertisement [embedded content] It will be the 59-year-old’s first double album and 12th studio effort overall, made up of 12 tracks that he recorded in his studio in the Bahamas. Kravitz wrote and played most of the material himself, alongside the guitarist and longtime Kravitz collaborator Craig Ross. Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for four years in a row from 1999 to 2002, setting the record for most consecutive wins at the awards ceremony for a male artist. His best known songs include 1998’s ‘Fly Away’, 1993’s ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way’ and 1991’s ‘It Ain’t Over ‘til It’s Over’. Last month, Kravitz joined TikTok, with his first post being a five second video in which he… Read More →
Crowd leads chant of “fuck EasyJet” at Easy Life’s final concert under current name
A chant of “fuck EasyJet” broke out at Easy Life‘s last gig under their current band name in London tonight (October 13) following a legal battle with the airline’s licensing company EasyGroup. READ MORE: Murray Matravers on Easy Life’s rise: “If you’re enjoying it and you’re healthy in your mind, that for me is success” The band performed their sold-out farewell show at London’s KOKO today, following a goodbye date at the O2 Academy in their Leicester hometown last night (October 12). Both shows were performed in light of the recent legal action the members faced from EasyGroup over their band name. Advertisement Frontman Murray Matravers told the London crowd that they hadn’t quite worked out what to say at the farewell shows, which was met by supportive cheers from fans before an impassioned chant of “fuck EasyJet” erupted. Matravers quipped in response: “Your words, not mine. I’m not allowed to say such things, but I concur.” Crowd leads a chant of “fuck easyJet” at @easylife’s London show tonight pic.twitter.com/corffX5GKM — Hollie Geraghty (@Hollie_geraghty) October 13, 2023 “Loads of you have been saying, ‘I’ll never use that airline again’,” Matravers added. He continued that while they “appreciate the sentiment”, fans should… Read More →
Orbital announce 2024 UK and Ireland tour
Orbital have announced details of their 2024 UK and Ireland tour. The band, which consists of Kent brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll, will tour their 1991 self-titled debut (also known as the ‘Green Album’). The track ‘Belfast’ from the record appeared in the soundtrack to the seminal Cool Cymru film Human Traffic (1999). You can get tickets for the tour here and see all tour dates below. Previously, Orbital toured the UK and Ireland in 2023 for their most recent album. ‘Optical Delusions‘ is the duo’s tenth studio album, and featured a collaboration with Sleaford Mods on ‘Dirty Rat’. Advertisement “This track is a giant capital letter,” explained Paul. “Like in the Book of Kells, where the very first letter always gets the big treatment from the monk when he’s doing his illustrated borders. It’s got that old school dance music vibe with bits of Cabaret Voltaire in there, even bits of The Shamen. It’s a little bit punk rock, nice and loud. A really refreshing, ‘wake up’ kind of track. And Jason is just brilliant!” [embedded content] “I guess it’s about telling people to take responsibility for their own actions,” added Phil. “You know, all these politicians don’t come… Read More →
Elisabeth Elektra teams up with members of Mogwai and Chvrches for new single ‘Broken Promises’
Elisabeth Elektra has teamed up with members of Mogwai and Chvrches for her latest single ‘Broken Promises’. Written by Elektra, ‘Broken Promises’ was co-produced and performed by herself and Jonny Scott of Chvrches. Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai provides guitars on the track. Speaking of the song’s creation in a press release, Elektra said: “I wrote this song while I was going through a particularly difficult time in my life.” She continued: “Everything felt so unstable and disorienting, but I realised even at the time that I was being forged by trauma into a stronger, more resilient and powerful person. Music has always been a way for me to channel more difficult emotions such as rage into something productive. The song is about the realisation that all the things we worry about really don’t matter, only love matters. Everything else fades away.” Advertisement [embedded content] Directed by Brighton-based director Agnès Haus, the single’s accompanying video was filmed at Beachy Head with an entirely female and nonbinary team. Elektra’s ‘Broken Promises’ EP is set for release on November 16. According to a press release, the EP is a “collection of songs that share common threads of liberation through self-actualisation, love, and magick.” Elsewhere,… Read More →
Netflix study says nearly half will cancel subscription if prices increase
A new study has found nearly half of Netflix‘s users would cancel their subscription entirely if they increased the price of their ad-free tier. The news follows from the streaming platform’s recent announcement that they were raising the price of their ad-free tier once the SAG strike ends. It was not clear how much prices would be raised, or exactly when this would take place. Netflix declined to comment on the report to NME. In a new study by CivicScience, 39 per cent of users said if Netflix increased the rates of their ad-free account, they would cancel their subscription outright. 31 per cent reported they would subscribe to Netflix with ads; 29 per cent would continue with their ad-free subscription. Advertisement The study, which was conducted on October 10 and garnered around 4,000 respondents, also spoke to only ad-free subscribers about what they would do. 35 per cent said they would cancel Netflix, 17 per cent would down-grade to the ad-supported tier, and 48 per cent would continue with the raised fees. Netflix logo seen displayed on a smartphone. CREDIT: Getty/Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket The price hike will most likely be implemented in the US and Canada first. In the US,… Read More →
Jesse Jo Stark shares heartfelt new single ‘Fallout’
Jesse Jo Stark has shared her heartfelt new single ‘Fallout’ ahead of her final debut headlining North American tour date. The melancholic track features confessional lyrics that are both deeply personal and universally relatable. “Don’t buy me a ring / the scariest thing about being all alone / clouds grow / I don’t know how not to have you around / the beautiful thing about the things that come out your mouth fallout / I don’t know how not to have you around,” Stark sings in the song. Directed by Christina Bryson, the accompanying video for ‘Fallout’ features footage of Stark on tour performing the track to her loving fans. “I really believe we have to continue to fight for love and fight for each other. If I’ve learned anything at all, it’s to love hard. It’s what I have to offer that is left,” she tells the crowd at the beginning of the video. Advertisement [embedded content] ‘Fallout’ marks the first song that Stark has released since her 2022 debut LP ‘Doomed’. She gave her fans a preview to the track while playing different shows across the UK, Europe and North America while on her debut headlining tour that… Read More →
ABBA’s Agnetha Fältskog was initially “suspicious” of ‘Voyage’ show
ABBA‘s Agnetha Fältskog has revealed that she had early reservations about the ABBA Voyage show, sharing that she was initially “suspicious”. Back in 2017, it was announced that the band would reunite in digital form in 2019. After the reunion tour was delayed, ABBA Voyage was finally announced in September 2021. The virtual tour has been a huge hit at the purpose built ABBA Arena in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – described by NME as “an epic avatar mega-mix from a brave new world” – and has now been extended into 2024. Advertisement However, Fältskog has revealed that she wasn’t totally convinced by the idea at first. The Swedish singer-songwriter – who today released her new album ‘A+’ – told The Guardian in a new interview: “I was a bit suspicious, I must say – you know, what is this?” “We were working the whole of February [2020] to prepare – it doesn’t sound so much, but it was, performing the songs with all these technicians and all the things on your body. We were working really hard and I’ll be totally honest, I was not so comfortable with it. [embedded content] “But after maybe four or five days… Read More →
Daft Punk share footage of the first time Pharrell Williams heard ‘Get Lucky’
Daft Punk have shared a video of the first time Pharrell Williams heard ‘Get Lucky’ – check out the footage below. The French house duo have been releasing episodes of ‘Memory Tapes’, which spotlights the many collaborators of their final album ‘Random Access Memories‘. The album, which was released ten years ago, was reissued earlier this year. In their latest episode, footage is shown of Pharrell hearing ‘Get Lucky’ and ‘Lose Yourself To Dance’ for the first time. ‘Get Lucky’ snagged Daft Punk their first number one hit in the UK. After initially coming into their studio to write and record ‘Get Lucky’ and ‘Lose Yourself To Dance’, Williams wouldn’t hear the songs in their final form until a full year later. The camera captures him bobbing his head in delight to the beat of ‘Get Lucky’, and tapping his knee to ‘Lose Yourself To Dance’. Advertisement “Wow,” he said. “That’s my only word. Wow, man.” [embedded content] He continued: “Doing your record, putting out crazy material, that’s amazing,” he continued. “I’m so honoured and humbled to be part of that.” Williams talked about what made the song so special: “It’s very arresting though, as soon as it comes on,… Read More →
Suge Knight says he won’t testify against anyone in Tupac murder case
Suge Knight has commented on the recent arrest of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, the alleged accomplice in the murder of hip-hop legend Tupac. On September 13, 1996, Tupac Shakur died at the age of 25 after being shot on September 7. He and Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight were driving from the Mike Tyson vs Bruce Seldon boxing match at the MGM Grand to a nightclub when the ‘I Get Around’ rapper was shot. Last month, Keefe D was arrested in connection to the murder, having allegedly obtained the gun used “for the purpose of seeking retribution against Tupac.” In a recent interview with TMZ, Knight was asked about his thoughts on Keefe D’s arrest, to which replied that he was “surprised”. Advertisement “I never thought Keefe D would get arrested,” he said. “Nor do I want to see him get arrested.” Tupac Shakur and Marion Suge Knight (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic) He continued: “We’re under a circumstance if he had involvement in anything, if he didn’t have involvement in anything. I wouldn’t wish somebody going to prison on my worst enemy.” When asked if he’d testify in any eventual trial, Knight said that he believed he wouldn’t be… Read More →
Doja Cat explains album title change: “I change my mind constantly”
Doja Cat has revealed why she decided to change the title of her latest album – see what she had to say below. Speaking to Sean Evans on the latest episode of Hot Ones, the rapper was asked why the album’s title was changed from its original intended name of ‘Hellmouth’ to ‘Scarlet’. In March, Doja Cat revealed that the album would be titled ‘Hellmouth’, only for it to be changed once the album dropped last month. “I don’t care about the meaning being so deep, as much as the word being a cool word,” she said. “I just like good words. I thought ‘Hellmouth’ was cool… it’s like the gates of hell. But that felt so aggressive to me after a while, and I don’t know if I even like it anymore.” Advertisement Doja Cat went on to add: “I change my mind constantly. And ‘Scarlet’ felt like the right thing to do, because it’s kind of an ode to ‘Hot Pink’. I did the name of a colour, but it’s not really; you think of Scarlett as someone’s first name, and not as a colour. That was kind of the twist to it. And also red is just… Read More →
IVE embody ‘Baddie’ attitude in colourful new music video
IVE have shared the official music video for their latest single, ‘Baddie’, which was released earlier today (October 13). The track is taken from the Starship Entertainment girl group’s new EP, ‘I’VE MINE’, which also arrived today. In the colourful video, the group becomes “cat humans” that inspire a wave of news bulletins warning: “These so-called baddies are ruining our society.” Advertisement Throughout the video, the members embody these apparent scourges, taking over supermarkets and performing choreography around a fire under the moon. “I’m a baddie / Pretty little risky baddie,” they chant on the chorus. “Whatever happens, happens catch me if you can / Baddie, baddie, baddie / Move out of the way, if you block me / I’ll fly up so catch me if you can.” [embedded content] The track was written by rapper BIG Naughty and K-pop producer Ryan Jhun, the latter of whom also co-composed all songs on ‘I’VE MINE’. Prior to ‘I’VE MINE’’s release today, IVE previewed the EP with two pre-release singles – ‘Either Way’ and ‘Off The Record’. The new record arrives six months after the release of their debut studio record, which was accompanied by the singles ‘Kitsch’ and ‘I Am’. In… Read More →
Tomorrow X Together: “Against all odds, you have to find your true identity”
“I was falling helpless in a shower of waste / Reaching my arms out toward the others / Falling in disorder everywhere around me.” In his poem ‘Free Fall,’ Thomas Kinsella talks about the “helpless” terror of free falling – hurtling towards the ground with blood-curdling velocity and little to dispel the oncoming crash. As he falls in a “shower” of waste – wasted opportunities, words never said, or simply the debris of his life – he flails about for support, perhaps disregarding the fact that this fall is collective, this agony and fear mutual. As they bring another chapter of their thesis on youth to a close, Tomorrow X Together are in a similar kind of free fall. On their last album, ‘The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION’, the group was gallivanting on a picturesque island, buoyant joy and liberation propelling them deeper into a dreamscape. Eventually, however, they realise they’re much like Pi and the tiger stuck on the algae island. What they had thought of as a manifestation of their innocent youth and freedom was, in fact, a cunning trap meant to lull them into a false sense of security. The island’s promised abundance was simply a deceptive “sugar… Read More →