Cindy Choek

News

Griff and Sigrid reveal release date for collaborative single ‘Head On Fire’

Griff and Sigrid have announced when their collaborative single ‘Head On Fire’ will be released after revealing its existence this week. The two pop stars began teasing the joint project last week in a series of cryptic videos posted on their social media accounts. READ MORE: Sigrid: “There’s a part of me that comes out when I play live – it’s my superpower” Now, the duo have confirmed when fans will be able to hear the track in full. “Pop girls unite,” Griff wrote on Instagram yesterday (January 4). “Support our tired little faces and presave head on fire.” Advertisement The post that accompanied the caption featured photos of Sigrid and Griff in the studio and a short video of them singing a line from the song, while Sigrid plays piano. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Griff (@wiffygriffy) Griff announced the track on Monday (January 3) in a post on her TikTok account. “Sigrid and I have an important message,” the video said. “We’ve written a song called ‘Head On Fire’. “It’s about your head being on fire, which I’m sure you can relate to,” it continued, while audio of the song played in the background. You… Read More →

News

Radiohead side project The Smile share debut single ‘You Will Never Work In Television Again’

Radiohead side project The Smile have shared their debut single, ‘You Will Never Work In Television Again’ and announced three live shows. The group – which is comprised of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, plus Sons Of Kemet’s Tom Skinner – premiered the song during their Live At Worthy Farm secret show last year. READ MORE: Jonny Greenwood’s film scores – ranked! ‘You Will Never Work In Television Again’ was produced by Yorke and Greenwood’s long-time collaborator Nigel Godrich. Advertisement “Turn the lights down low, put the bullet on you,” Yorke sings on the punky track. “You’ll never work in television again.” Listen to it below now. Later this month, The Smile will play three consecutive live shows within 24 hours at Magazine London. The gigs will be held with a seated audience in the round, while they will also be broadcast in real-time via a livestream. Each show will feature the band’s performance and a cinematic film from director Paul Dugdale (The Rolling Stones, Adele, Paul McCartney). Physical and livestream tickets will go on general sale from 9am on January 7, with physical passes available here and livestream tickets here. Fans can also sign up to The Smile’s mailing… Read More →

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The Weeknd announces “livestream experience” to accompany his new album ‘Dawn FM’

The Weeknd has announced details of a special “livestream experience” to accompany the release of his imminent new album ‘Dawn FM’. The Canadian artist (real name Abel Tesfaye) will drop his latest LP on Friday (January 7), which will serve as the follow-up to his March 2020 album ‘After Hours’. READ MORE: The Weeknd – ‘After Hours’ review: his most all-encompassing record to date is also an existential quandary The Weeknd has now partnered with Amazon Music for ‘103.5 Dawn FM’, which is described as “a livestream experience” that will be part of the rollout for ‘Dawn FM’. Advertisement Set to begin at 5am UK time on Friday on the Amazon Music channel on Twitch and in the Amazon Music app, ‘103.5 Dawn FM’ will be broadcast by The Weeknd from “somewhere in Los Angeles”. together pic.twitter.com/Z3w6FckYYi — The Weeknd (@theweeknd) January 5, 2022 “The power of the ‘103.5 Dawn FM’ experience is that maximum fulfilment comes when all who hear it are tuned in at the same time,” The Weeknd explained in a statement about the online event. Exclusive merch for ‘103.5 Dawn FM’ – including a limited-edition hoodie, t-shirt and sweatshirt marking the livestream – will also be… Read More →

News

Father John Misty announces special orchestral live show in London

Father John Misty has announced details of a special orchestral live show in London in support of his upcoming new album. The singer/songwriter’s new record, ‘Chloë and the Next 20th Century’, is set for release on April 8 and was previewed earlier today (January 5) with the single ‘Funny Girl’. READ MORE: Father John Misty – ‘Off Key In Hamburg’ review: a timely reminder of the power and beauty of a really good gig Misty (real name Josh Tillman) will perform a pair of special orchestral live shows in 2022 in support of ‘Chloë and the Next 20th Century’, with one set to take place at the Barbican Hall in London on April 7. Advertisement The musician will perform alongside Barbican Associate Ensemble Britten Sinfonia and conductor Jules Buckley at the Barbican. Tickets will go on sale to Barbican patrons and members later today before a general sale commences on Friday (January 7). You can find out more ticket information for the London gig here. Misty will also perform an orchestral concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA on February 25, where he’ll be backed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Ticket details for that show can be found… Read More →

News

Father John Misty shares cryptic teaser for new single ‘Funny Girl’

Father John Misty has shared a cryptic teaser for his new single ‘Funny Girl’, ahead of its official release tomorrow. READ MORE: 10 of Father John Misty’s finest lyrics The 30-second clip, which you can view below, features a piano and film production details scribed on a black board. The video is set to drop on YouTube at 5am GMT tomorrow (January 5). It comes after Misty (real name Josh Tillman), recently shared details of his forthcoming fifth studio album, ‘Chloe And The Next 20th Century’. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Father John Misty (@fatherjohnmisty) Advertisement The album was formally announced through a flexi-disc vinyl sent to a handful of fans. When recipients played the record, they were greeted by a spoken-word passage detailing ‘Chloe And The Next 20th Century’. The suave, pitched-down voice (presumably Tillman’s) said: “Is this real? It is. This is the album. You’re listening to it right now. That’s nice. 11 new tracks produced by Jonathan Wilson and Josh Tillman. ‘Chloe And The Next 20th Century’. It’s technically new.” The record will land on April 8, 2022 via Sub Pop and Bella Union and will be available physically on vinyl, CD and cassette,… Read More →

News

Pale Waves’ third album will be released this year

Pale Waves have confirmed their third album is finished and will be released later this year. READ MORE: Pale Waves: “I’ve been hiding who I am for so long now. I don’t wanna do that any more” Taking to Twitter earlier this week, the band wrote: “See u all next year with shows and a new album.” Earlier in December, vocalist Heather Baron Gracie confirmed that the band had finished recording the follow up to 2021’s ‘Who Am I?’. Taking to Instagram, she said: “Album 3 = done”. see u all next year with shows and a new album? pic.twitter.com/sa1aqq7mVZ — PALE WAVES (@palewaves) December 31, 2021 Advertisement In September last year, the band revealed they were in the studio recording their new album by sharing some behind the scenes photos. One of which was a notebook containing the potential lyrics “Fragile as a feather, can’t afford to break. As I’m getting older, fear I’ll make the same mistakes. Broken around the edges.” Baron-Gracie then went on to confirm the band had written a new song inspired by Netflix‘s Sex Education by posting a still from the show featuring Otis and Maeve (portrayed by Asa Butterfield and Emma Mackey respectively). “Wrote a… Read More →

News

Sadiq Khan wants to decriminalise Class B drug offences for young people

Sadiq Khan has revealed plans to decriminalise some Class B drug offences for young people. READ MORE: It’s time for Britain to legalise marijuana According to The Telegraph, Khan plans to introduce speeding course-style classes instead of arrest for under-25s, under a scheme that is expected to be launched later this year. Youth workers, rather than the police, will lead the rehabilitation process, with offenders also offered counselling if necessary. Advertisement Three London boroughs (Lewisham, Bexley and Greenwich) would trial the new scheme, with police officers told not to arrest young people caught with cannabis, ketamine or speed. According to the report, the pilot could be announced as soon as later this month, and will be spearheaded by the mayor of Lewisham, Damien Egan. Sadiq Khan is to begin decriminalising drugs in London and plans to end the prosecution of young people caught with cannabis, The Telegraph has learned https://t.co/4zExfMn2mf — The Telegraph (@Telegraph) January 3, 2022 The Mayor’s Office said Khan was “investigating various ways in which young people can be diverted away from low-level drug use by being better informed about its harm,” adding that he believed “drug use and its related crimes are preventable and not inevitable”…. Read More →

News

BTS members RM and Jin recover from COVID-19

BTS member RM and Jin have recovered from COVID-19 and are no longer in quarantine. READ MORE: BTS live in LA: a euphoric return to live performance for the K-pop juggernauts Earlier today (January 4), Big Hit Music announced that both members have made full recoveries from coronavirus through a statement posted on fan community platform Weverse. The statement added that RM and Jin’s quarantine period ended at noon on the same day. “RM and Jin, who had been receiving treatment from home for the past ten days from Saturday, December 25, are now able to return to their daily activities,” their statement read. Big Hit Music also added that Jin had a slight fever during the early days of his home treatment, but has since recovered. Advertisement “We would like to thank all fans who have shown concerns for the artist’s health as well as those in the medical field who are doing their best to overcome COVID-19,” it continued. “We will continue to place the health of the artists as our top priority, and to vigilantly follow the healthcare guidelines.” RM and Jin were diagnosed via a PCR test while in self-quarantine on December 24, a day after member… Read More →

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BTS’ Jin says he’s “shocked” by retail price of boyband’s new merchandise

BTS member Jin recently took to social media to express his shock at the pricing of his new self-designed merchandise line. READ MORE: ‘Bad And Crazy’ first look review: solid cop drama with huge stars, humour and plenty of punches Earlier this week, HYBE launched the Artist-Made Collection by BTS, a merchandise collection featuring designs created by each member of the group. According to the entertainment company’s announcement, each member would have a release date dedicated to their merch line. The first merch collection to launch was Jin’s, which was comprised of an ergonomic pillow and pajama sets in angel and devil designs. The pillow retails for ₩69,000 (roughly £43), while the pajama sets retail for ₩119,000 (roughly £74) each. ARTIST-MADE COLLECTION BY #BTS Merch. Style Photo – Jin ver. ?GOOD DAY / ?BAD DAY PAJAMA BY Jin #BY_BTS #BY_Jin pic.twitter.com/xIRDdzBV0e — HYBE MERCH (@HYBE_MERCH) January 1, 2022 Advertisement Following the launch of his self-designed merch collection, Jin personally took to community platform Wevese to express his surprise over the items’ pricings. “I did ask them to use a nice material for the pajamas… but even I was shocked at the price,” the vocalist wrote, as translated by Koreaboo. Fans… Read More →

Hit Singles

Rare Lou Reed demos dropped and withdrawn

A collection of rare Lou Reed demos were released over the holiday period and then quickly withdrawn in an apparent copyright dump. ORDER NOW: Paul Weller is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut According to Variety, RCA/Sony Music uploaded a 17-track album of Lou Reed demos to iTunes in Europe on December 23 titled I’m So Free: The 1971 RCA Demos. It was then removed a couple of days later. Matthew Goody, the author of Needles And Plastic: Flying Nun Records, 1981–1988, took to social media last Thursday (December 30) to point out that the album had been released, sharing a link that previewed the album’s artwork. Advertisement “Apparently Lou Reed‘s RCA demos from 1971 were dumped on Apple Music in Europe on Xmas Eve,” he tweeted. “No sign they’ll be available anywhere else.” Apparently Lou Reed’s RCA demos from 1971 were dumped on Apple Music in Europe on Xmas Eve. No sign they’ll be available anywhere else: https://t.co/WniMgCiXwL — Matthew Goody (@m_c_goody) December 30, 2021 The tracklist for I’m So Free includes rough versions of nearly every song from Reed’s self-titled 1972 debut solo album and his breakthrough follow-up, Transformer, although two tracks, “Kill Your Sons” and “She’s My… Read More →

News

Mick Jagger explains why he visits local spots while touring with The Rolling Stones: “Each town has something of great interest”

Mick Jagger has shed some light on why he visits local haunts while touring with The Rolling Stones instead of doing “typical tourist things” – excursions he documents on his Instagram account. READ MORE: Charlie Watts, 1941 – 2021: the ballast that kept The Rolling Stones tempered and on-track Since creating his Instagram account in 2013, the rock icon has posted a slew of pictures taken at unique spots while on tour with the Stones. Attention to his account has since recently picked up, notably beginning in 2019, when the Stones began their ‘No Filter’ tour – thanks to images of Jagger visiting spots usually only frequented by locals. One incognito visit he made to a Charlotte, North Carolina establishment called the Thirsty Beaver Saloon made US headlines in October. Advertisement In a recent interview with The Washington Post, Jagger revealed how he picked unique places to visit while on the road. “Each town has something of great interest, whether it’s a beautiful park, or a lovely picture, or a museum that’s interesting to you, or some odd thing that you never thought of”, he said, adding that planning is key when the band’s time in a city is limited. View… Read More →