Eva Thai

Nick Cave shares his thoughts on “the point of life”: “Kindness is the force that draws us together”

Nick Cave has responded to a fan who asked him what he thinks “the point of life” is. READ MORE: I don’t believe in God – but I do believe in Nick Cave The Bad Seeds singer answered Beau on his The Red Hand Files blog earlier this month, laying out his argument that “we must first understand what it is to be human” in order to find meaning. “We are capable of the greatest atrocities and the deepest sufferings, all culminating in a vast, collective grief. This is our shared condition,” part of Cave’s blog post reads. Advertisement “Yet happiness and joy continue to burst through this mutual condition. Life, it seems, is full of an insistent, systemic and irrepressible beauty. But these moments of happiness are not experienced alone, rather they are almost entirely relational and are dependent on a connection to the Other – be it people, or nature, or art, or God. This is where meaning establishes itself, within the connectedness, nested in our shared suffering.” Nick Cave performing at All Points East Festival 2022. Credit: Jim Dyson/Getty Images He continued: “I believe we are meaning-seeking creatures, and these feelings of meaning, relational and connective, are almost always located within kindness…. Read More →

20SEPNews

Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Use Your Illusion I + II’ fully remastered on new “super deluxe” box set

Guns N’Roses have announced the release of a box set edition of ‘Use Your Illusion I + II’. Set for release on November 11, the “super deluxe” box set features 97 tracks – 63 of which are previously unreleased. It also includes a 100-page book containing unseen photos and images, as well as “a treasure trove of collectibles and archival documents”. READ MORE: Horns up! What’s driving film and TV’s metal revival? The original studio albums have been remastered in full for the first time ever as part of this box set, which also comprises live versions of many of these tracks alongside older hits such as ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ and ‘Sweet Child O’Mine’. Some of these were recorded at New York’s Ritz Theatre on May 16, 1991, while others are taken from the band’s concert at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on January 25, 1992. Advertisement Listen to the brand new version of “You Could Be Mine” live from New York below The box set comes in numerous configurations, including CD and BluRay, LP and BluRay, digital download and streaming. All configurations can be seen, pre-ordered and pre-saved here. Check out the tracklist for the “super… Read More →

20SEPNews

Harry Styles continues to break Billboard chart records with ‘As It Was’

Harry Styles is continuing to break records on the Billboard chart with ‘As It Was’ after the track hit Number One for a 14th week. READ MORE: Harry Styles’ new song ‘As It Was’ is a reflective ode to the bittersweet nature of change The ‘Harry’s House’ lead single, which was released in April, is currently in the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart in the US. In turn, it ties as the fourth longest reign in the Billboard Hot 100’s 65-year history alongside hits including ‘Uptown Funk!’ (by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars), ‘I Gotta Feeling’ (Black Eyed Peas) and ‘I Will Always Love You’ (Whitney Houston), all of which spent 14 weeks in the top position (via Billboard). Advertisement ‘As It Was’ marks the longest Billboard run since Lil Nas X‘s ‘Old Town Road’ (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus) remained at Number One for a record-breaking 19 weeks in 2019. Additionally, ‘As It Was’ is the joint longest-running Number One track by a solo artist, joining Elton John‘s ‘Candle In The Wind’ (1997), Whitney Houston‘s ‘I Will Always Love You’ (1992) and Mariah Carey‘s ‘We Belong Together’ (2005). ‘As It Was’ is also the first song ever… Read More →

20SEPNews

Brad Pitt unveils debut as sculptor in Finnish art gallery alongside Nick cave

Brad Pitt has unveiled his debut sculptures at a Finnish art gallery, alongside Australian musician Nick Cave. On Saturday (September 17), the actor presented his first-ever public art display at the Sara Hildén Art Museum in Tampere, the third-largest city in Finland. The presentation was part of a larger exhibition by British artist Thomas Houseago. Pitt’s nine works in the show included a moulded plaster panel “depicting a gunfight” and a series of house-shaped sculptures that have been fired upon with different types of ammunition. Advertisement Meanwhile, Cave presented a series of ceramic figurines depicting “the life of the Devil in 17 stations”, reflecting his life-long interests in religion and mythology. “For Nick and I this is a new world and our first entry. It just feels right,” Pitt told Finnish broadcaster Yle at the opening ceremony. pic.twitter.com/IwDNNQFf9k — Brad Pitt (@BradPittPlanB) September 18, 2022 Speaking about his sculptures, Pitt added: “To me, it’s about self-reflection. It’s about where I have gotten it wrong in my relationships, where have I misstepped, where am I complicit. “For me, it was born out of ownership of what I call a radical inventory of self, getting really brutally honest with me and taking… Read More →

19SEPNews

LE SSERAFIM announce October comeback with ‘ANTIFRAGILE’ in new teaser

Rookie K-pop act LE SSERAFIM will be making their first-ever comeback next month. READ MORE: LE SSERAFIM on being HYBE’s first girl group: “Diamonds are made under incredible pressure” On September 19 at Midnight KST, the quintet shared an exciting new teaser on their YouTube channel, announcing the title and release details for their upcoming sophomore record, ‘ANTIFRAGILE’. The black-and-white visual features obscure clips of the members, before revealing the question: “Do you think I’m fragile?” It is soundtracked by an upbeat rock instrumental, possibly hinting at the sound for the upcoming release. Advertisement ‘ANTIFRAGILE’ is due out on October 17 at 6pm KST. Details like record’s tracklist and rollout schedule are expected to be revealed over the coming weeks. Source Music soon followed up with the album’s physical release details on Twitter, which comes in the regular or compact format. The regular edition, which includes a poster and stickers, is available in three versions, while the compact release has five versions. ‘ANTIFRAGILE’ is now available for preorder through HYBE’s official WeVerse shop and other online music retailers. The new record comes about five months after the girl group’s debut with ‘Fearless’ back in May. It also marks their first… Read More →

19SEPNews

Post Malone injures ribs after falling through stage during St. Louis show

Post Malone suffered a fall at his show in St. Louis over the weekend, injuring his ribs when he tripped into a giant hole in the middle of the stage. READ MORE: Post Malone – ‘Twelve Carat Toothache’ review: his sobering comedown The rapper and singer (real name Austin Post) was performing his 2019 hit ‘Circles’ when he appeared to miss the middle section of his stage setup – a small, circular platform in the arena’s standing floor left open to store the equipment for an acoustic section of his set. Post fell into the hole, slamming his ribcage and right arm against the stage as he caught himself. He quickly pulled himself back onto the stage, screaming and writhing on his back while paramedics rush over. The song stopped within seconds, and Post was taken off the stage. According to Consequence, he reemerged around 15 minutes later, finishing up his set while he held his chest. Advertisement Have a look at some crowd-shot footage of the moment below: Posty fell on the stage tonight. ? Seems like he’s okay, and back performing. #TwelveCaratTour — Hope you feel good, @PostMalone! pic.twitter.com/5sWd0ZVLoB — Post Malone News (@NewsPosty) September 18, 2022 Post Malone… Read More →

18SEPNews

Heavenly announce first gig in 28 years and album reissue series

Heavenly have announced details of their first gig in 28 years, alongside details of an extensive album reissue series. The ’90s indie band will reissue all four of their studio albums via the Skep Wax label across a two year period. The first album to be reissued will be their 1991 debut LP ‘Heavenly vs. Satan’, which is due to come out in November and feature updated notations from the band and a 7″ lyric booket. Advertisement Next May (May 20, 2023), the band will then play their first live show together in nearly three decades, taking to the stage at London’s Bush Hall. The line-up for the gig will see Amelia Fletcher, Peter Momtchiloff, Robert Pursey and Cathy Rogers joined by Ian Button on drums, and you can find ticket details below. Big news #2: to celebrate the re-issue of our LPs we are doing a special one-off gig (20 May 2022). https://t.co/R2W0tYW29y — Heavenly (@HeavenlyIndie) September 16, 2022 After forming in Oxford in 1989, Heavenly released their four studio albums inside half a decade, with 1991 debut ‘Heavenly vs. Satan’ followed by ‘La Jardin De Heavenly’ (1992), ‘The Decline And Fall Of Heavenly’ (1994) and their final studio… Read More →

18SEPNews

Kanye West says he’s never read a book: “Reading is like eating Brussels sprouts for me”

Kanye West has revealed that he feels an aversion to literature, comparing books to Brussels sprouts and explaining that he sees evolved forms of communication as crucial to his vision of an optimised future. READ MORE: ‘Donda 2’: Kanye West’s ego is scuppering these half-baked, dashed-off sounding songs The revelation came in a new episode of the podcast Alo Mind Full, where the rapper joined Alo Yoga co-founder Danny Harris and host Alyson Wilson to “paint a sonic picture of what’s on his mind”. Harris spoke of a book he’d read over 100 times, which included philosophies on self-confidence that he and West mutually agreed on. “[West] was telling me that he hasn’t read this book,” the entrepreneur said, “but I was telling him that every positive attribute [detailed in it], he naturally embodies. And that’s extraordinary, you know, to have that confidence – you know, from being such a young kid and going out there and inspiring and having this vision, and actualising it, is extraordinary.” Advertisement West responded to the sentiment by clarifying that he’d not only skipped on reading the book Harris mentioned, but “actually [hasn’t] read any book”. He explained: “Reading is like eating Brussels sprouts, for… Read More →

16SEPNews

The Mars Volta on going “pop” and those Kanye West rumours

The Mars Volta have spoke to NME about their new “pop” album and the rumours of them working with Kanye West. Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López released their new self-titled album as The Mars Volta today (September 16) – a record that draws influence from the likes of Van Morrison, Slade, David Bowie’s later work and Peter Gabriel. “It’s safe to say we’ve made a pop album,” explained Bixler-Zavala. “It’s there in the name, Volta,” he continued. “It’s almost like a warning to people: don’t get too comfortable with your favourite era because by the time you like it, we’re already moving on. That’s just a natural progression of someone that is very selfish with art. Our actual fans understand that the unspoken truth is to just let us do what we do. And that there really is no room for requests.” Advertisement He went on: “Peter Gabriel’s solo stuff has always been progressive and direct about the emotions he’s talking about, so he’s a strong, obvious choice to pull from”. Admitting that they considered reaching out to Gabriel to feature on the album, Bixler-Zavala came to realise: “Once I listened to everything though, I realised we didn’t need a… Read More →

16SEPNews

Mura Masa’s new album ‘Demon Time’ was inspired by ‘Sonic The Hedgehog’

Mura Masa released his third album ‘Demon Time’ today (September 16) and has revealed it was inspired by Sonic The Hedgehog. READ MORE: Mura Masa – ‘Demon Time’ review: a future-facing, post-pandemic mash-up The follow-up to 2020’s ‘R.Y.C’ features collaborations with Lil Uzi Vert, Shygirl, Slowthai, Pa Salieu and PinkPantheress but according to Mura Masa (real name Alex Crossan), Sega’s iconic mascot also played a big part in the creation of the record. Speaking to Consequence, Crossan said that Sonic The Hedgehog was one of the biggest visual inspirations behind the record. Advertisement “I mean, it’s not a very high-brow answer, but there was an image of Sonic The Hedgehog that I had remembered seeing years ago and I was like… ‘that seems like a cool pose.’ He’s got this circular look, his shoes are kind of bending around and his hair is crazy. So that image of Sonic and the joyfulness that he’s projecting, that became a muse of mine.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by @the_mura_masa Crossan went on to talk about how a lot of people mention Y2K when talking about ‘Demon Time’ “and that wasn’t something conscious that I was focusing on, but… Read More →

16SEPNews

Elton John has given Rina Sawayama some “great advice” on upcoming new music

Rina Sawayama has revealed that Elton John has offered her some “great advice” regarding some as-yet-unreleased music. The British-Japanese artist, who released her second album ‘Hold The Girl’ today (September 16), collaborated with the legendary musician on a reworking of her song ‘Chosen Family’ last year. READ MORE: The NME Big Read – Rina Sawayama: “I want to make live moments and memories that last forever” It came after the pair struck up a friendship, with John having praised Sawayama’s debut studio record on his Rocket Hour radio show in 2020. He’s since been avid fan and supporter of her work. Advertisement Speaking to NME for this week’s Big Read cover feature, Sawayama spoke further about John assisting her with clearing a guitar riff on her single ‘This Hell’, which bears similarities to the ABBA‘s ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)’. “I was stressed as fuck because I was like: ‘this is our first single, this is our lead single, and I can’t use the guitar riff that I want’,” she recalled, adding that John ended up putting her in contact with the Swedish pop icons. ABBA’s Benny Andersson subsequently gave Sawayama his blessing to keep the original part… Read More →

15SEPNews

Former IZ*ONE singer Lee Chae-yeon set for solo debut in October

Ex-IZ*ONE member Lee Chae-yeon has been confirmed to debut solo next month. READ MORE: Kwon Eun-bi reflects on her career in K-pop: “I might have taken a different path and not become a singer” South Korean news publication News1 reported earlier today (September 15) that the K-pop idol is slated to make her anticipated solo debut with her first album sometime in October. Lee’s agency, WM Entertainment, confirmed the news in a brief statement to TV Report shortly after. “Lee Chae-yeon is preparing for her solo album with the aim of an October release,” the label wrote, as translated by Soompi. Specifics about Lee’s new music, including a tracklist, exact release date and the record’s format, will be unveiled by the entertainment company at a later stage. Advertisement Lee’s forthcoming solo debut will mark her first official music since IZ*ONE parted ways in April 2021. Thereafter, she competed in the hit Mnet reality series Street Woman Fighter as a member of the dance crew WANT. The series first aired in late August 2021 and wrapped up in October that same year. Thus, Lee will be the fourth former member of IZ*ONE to debut as a soloist post-disbandment, after bandmates Kwon Eun-bi, Jo Yu-ri and Choi Yena,… Read More →

14SEPNews

Paul McCartney pens letter requesting immediate aid of abused Indian elephant

Sir Paul McCartney has penned a letter requesting immediate action be taken to aid an abused Indian elephant. McCartney – a long-time PETA supporter – sent an urgent letter to Indian Union Cabinet Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, requesting immediate action be taken to send an abused elephant named Jeymalyatha (also known as Joymala) to a rescue centre for her recovery from psychological trauma. Joymala has been held captive the Srivilliputhur Nachiyar Thirukovil temple in Tamil Nadu. In a viral video, the animal can be seen being beaten with weapons and controlled using pliers. Advertisement In his letter, McCartney said: “I am confident that action will be taken to send sorely abused elephant Jeymalyatha (Joymala) to a suitable rescue centre where she can receive the specialised care she needs for her psychological wounds, and can live unchained and in the company of others of her kind.” McCartney added that though the videos of the animal were heartbreaking, “equally heartbreaking is that this social, intelligent animal is still being forced to live in solitary confinement”. “I trust you agree that Jeymalyatha has suffered more than enough, and that she deserves to spend the rest of her time… Read More →

14SEPNews

Ghost fans crash Spotify Live servers forcing cancellation of band’s Q&A

Fans of Ghost crashed the Spotify Live servers as they waited for a special Q&A session with the masked rock band, forcing the event to be cancelled. READ MORE: Ghost – ‘Impera’ review: Swedish metallers go bigger than ever A special appearance and Q&A session with Ghost was due to take place on September 13. Due to overwhelming demand, however, fans crashed the Spotify Live servers, forcing the platform to cancel the event. Both Spotify Live and Ghost confirmed in tweets that fans were indeed responsible for the widespread outage. Advertisement Spotify Live said “overwhelming demand” had caused “technical difficulties”. “We want to sincerely apologize to all @thebandGHOST fans,” they streaming giant said. We want to sincerely apologize to all @thebandGHOST fans who were invited to today's exclusive live room. Unfortunately due to overwhelming demand, we experienced technical difficulties and had to cancel. — Spotify Live (@SpotifyLive) September 13, 2022 In their own Twitter post, Ghost said though they were “proud” to have caused Spotify’s servers to crash, they were disappointed. “We wish to inform you Ghost appreciates their fans’ dedication & time,” they wrote. “Alternative opportunities are being explored, because nothing shall keep us apart.” [MESSAGE FROM THE CLERGY]… Read More →

14SEPNews

‘Just Dance 2023′ to feature BTS’ ‘Dynamite’ and ITZY’s ‘Wannabe’ on tracklist

Ubisoft has unveiled the first look at the upcoming 2023 edition of its popular video game Just Dance, set to feature songs by BTS and ITZY on its tracklist. READ MORE: Jackson Wang – ‘Magic Man’ review: a glorious manifestation of growth The game’s new trailer was released via Nintendo on September 14, introducing the game’s new features, songs and refreshes made to the game since its last rendition. The video uses BTS’ ‘Dynamite’ as its background music, while also featuring snippets of the song’s choreography, altered for the Just Dance interface. Another K-pop song spotted in the new trailer for Just Dance was ITZY’s 2020 hit track ‘Wannabe’, the Just Dance choreography for which highly resembles the song’s original dance routine. The new Just Dance 2023 will launch on November 22 on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Welcome to a new era of dance! Discover a never-ending party experience with new content releasing year-round when #JustDance2023 Edition comes to Nintendo Switch on Nov. 22! #NintendoDirect pic.twitter.com/ShA2h1WCAw — Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 13, 2022 Advertisement While Just Dance already has over 30 K-pop songs in its catalogue from past renditions of the game, ‘Dynamite”s and ‘Wannabe”s appearances on Just Dance 2023 will mark the first time songs… Read More →

14SEPNews

Fred again.. announces new album ‘Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022)’

Fred again.. has announced details of his third album, ‘Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022)’ and shared its first song. READ MORE: Fred again.. – ‘Actual Life 2 (February 2 – October 15 2021)’ review: acclaimed producer turns despair into hope The latest album in the artist and producer’s ‘Actual Life’ series will land on October 28 via Atlantic, and is being previewed today by first single ‘Danielle (smile on my face)’. The record follows debut album ‘Actual Life (April 14 – December 17 2020)’, which came out in April 2021, and follow-up ‘Actual Life 2 (February 2 – October 15 2021)’ from later that year. Advertisement After a US tour that begins next week, Fred again.. will then play European headline dates that end with a newly announced hometown gig at London’s Brixton Academy on December 8. Listen to ‘Danielle (smile on my face)’ below, pre-order ‘Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022)’ here to get priority tickets for the Brixton Academy show, before a general sale begins on September 23. Fred again.. 2022 UK/European tour dates: NOVEMBER 2022 22 – Dublin, 3Olympia 25 – Amsterdam, AFAS 27 – Berlin, UFO Velodrom 28 –… Read More →

14SEPNews

EXO’s Xiumin cast in his first K-drama role in seven years

EXO’s Xiumin has been cast in a new K-drama titled Sajangdol Mart (literal translation), marking his first role in seven years. READ MORE: HallyuPopFest London 2022 review: K-pop festival’s UK debut suffers some hiccups but emerges triumphant On September 14, South Korean news outlet JTBC News reported that the K-pop idol will be starring as the lead in a new K-drama titled Sajangdol Mart. The claims were later confirmed by SM Entertainment in their response via XSports News later that day, as translated by Soompi. Other details regarding the new series, including a premiere date, full cast list and visuals, have yet to be confirmed by the production company behind Sajangdol Mart. Advertisement According to JTBC News’ original report, Sajangdol Mart will allegedly depict the journeys of several individuals, who were all former K-pop idols, as they endeavour to open and run a supermarket together. The series will reportedly be helmed by director and producer Lee Yoo-yeon, previously known for her work on the web drama Best Mistake. Xiumin’s highly anticipated role in Sajangdol Mart will mark the singer’s first acting project in roughly seven years, since making his acting debut in the 2015 romantic-comedy web series Falling For Challenge. He was involved in that series as its lead, starring alongside Kim So-eun,… Read More →

13SEPNews

Grimes discusses new album, health issues and “ten thousand cancellations”

Grimes has taken to social media to update fans on forthcoming new musical releases, leaving her record label, and a recent health scare, among other subjects. READ MORE: Grimes – ‘Miss Anthropocene’ review: an iconoclast continues to march to the beat of her own drum The Canadian artist promised new music arriving on September 30, stating that her new album was finished and now simply “waiting on approvals for [the] next single and mixing”. Asked if the record, reportedly called ‘Book 1’ according to an earlier interview, is still about AI lesbianism, Grimes replied that it was “about militarised AI courtesans among other things”. The record also appears likely to include a contribution from Jennie from BLACKPINK, confirming rumours after the K-pop star appeared in the video for ‘Shingami Eyes’ and were spotted together in 2021. “Jennie taught me many lessons,” she wrote. It also seems that the release date of ‘Sci-Fi’, a forthcoming collaborative track with The Weeknd, “depends on Abel [Tesfaye] and Columbia”. Advertisement Grimes added that earlier in the year she had an “intense medical situation” and is “just getting back to health,” though did not clarify the nature of the situation. Yes it’s about militarized ai courtesans… Read More →

13SEPNews

Chris, aka Christine and The Queens, postpones ‘Redcar’ album and live shows

Chris, aka Christine and the Queens, has delayed his new album ‘Redcar les adorables étoiles’ and its accompanying live shows after suffering an injury in rehearsals. The French singer-songwriter – who is performing as the character Redcar for his current project – “injured himself on stage while dancing” last Thursday night (September 8), an official statement confirmed. READ MORE: Christine & The Queens: “My last EP was the result of emotional short punches in my face” “The doctors have forbidden him to return to the stage for at least three weeks, the time to recover. We are therefore obliged to cancel the concert in Arles on 17 September and to postpone the concerts in Paris and London.” Advertisement Chris has also pushed back the release of his ‘Redcar…’ album from September 23 to November 11. The artist’s accompanying live shows were scheduled to take place at Cirque d’Hiver in Paris on September 22 and 23, and the Royal Festival Hall in London on September 30. The French performances have been moved to November 9 and 10. A new date for the London concert is yet to be announced. Fans who are unable to attend the rescheduled gigs can apply for a… Read More →

13SEPNews

Manic Street Preachers on their US tour with Suede: “We share a DNA”

Manic Street Preachers and Suede have announced a co-headline US and Canadian tour. Check out the dates and ticket details below, as Manics’ frontman James Dean Bradfield tells NME about their history with the band and other recent activity. READ MORE: Manic Street Preachers interviewed: “We talked ourselves through oblivion” Come November, the Manics and Suede (known in the US as The London Suede due to copyright reasons) will be both be hitting the road once again – recreating the line-up of a European tour they did together back in 1993. “I can’t think of a band I’d rather share a stage with than Manic Street Preachers,” said Suede frontman Brett Anderson. “They have long been an inspiration to us, and I know there are thousands of Suede fans who feel the same. It’s nearly 30 years since we last played together and I think these shows are going to be something really special.” Advertisement Suede. CREDIT: Dean Chalkley For the upcoming tour, Bradfield promised that the Manics would deliver “a banging greatest hits set – as simple as that”. Looking back on their joint 1994 jaunt back when the Manics were promoting their seminal third album ‘The Holy Bible’,… Read More →

13SEPNews

Nick Cave on playing live being part of his grieving process: “The care from the audience saved me”

Nick Cave has discussed finding comfort throughout the grieving process in his audience when performing live, following the deaths of two of his sons in the past seven years. READ MORE: EXIT Festival 2022 day two review – Nick Cave delivers an unforgettable emotional release Cave’s son Arthur died in 2015 after falling from a cliff in Ovingdean, near Brighton. In May of this year, Cave’s son Jethro Lazenby also died, at the age of 31. The musician later thanked fans for sending their “condolences and kind words”, adding that they were “a great source of comfort”. In a new, in-depth interview with The New York Times, which arrives ahead of Cave’s book Faith, Hope and Carnage being released later this month, the singer-songwriter talks about how the support he received from fans has helped him throughout his grieving process. Advertisement “When Arthur died, I was thrust into the darkest place imaginable, where it was almost impossible to be able to see outside of despair,” Cave said. He goes on to say that part of he and his wife Susie’s ability to “pull ourselves out of” that period was the response he got from those who wrote to him saying, “This… Read More →