Category: Viral

Last year, The Cure’s frontman Robert Smith announced a new album was in the works. Although the rock band didn’t drop a project of original music, they did share a remastered version of their breakout album, Wish, to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Now, the group is heading out on their first North American tour since 2016.

Kicking off in New Orleans in May, supporting them on tour is Scottish post-punk band The Twilight Sad. Consisting of vocalist James Graham, guitarist Andy MacFarlane, bassist Johnny Docherty, keyboardist Brendan Smith, and drummer Grant Hutchison, the group has successfully toured with The Cure in the past, as recently as 2016, for international dates.

While The Twilight Sad hasn’t reached peak popularity in the States, alternative music fans consider their 2014 album, It Won’t Be Like This All The Time, to be groundbreaking in the indie rock scene. The Twilight Sad and The Cure’s discography pair well with each other, making them ideal for touring companions.

Continue below for the complete tour schedule. Find ticket information here.

5/10 – New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center
5/12 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
5/13 – Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion
5/14 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center
5/16 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater
5/18 – Phoenix, AZ @ Desert Diamond Arena
5/20 – San Diego, CA @ NICU Amphitheatre
5/23-25 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
5/27 – San Francisco, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
6/01 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
6/02 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
6/04 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Smart Home Arena
6/06 – Denver, CO @ Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
6/08 – Minneapolis, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
6/10 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
6/11 – Cleveland, OH @ Blossom Music Center
6/13 – Detroit, MI @ Pine Knob Music Center
6/14 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
6/16 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
6/18 – Boston, MA @ Xfinity Center
6/20-22 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
6/24 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Arena
6/25 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
6/27 – Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
6/29 – Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena
7/01 – Miami, FL @ Miami-Dade Arena

Earlier this week, we learned that Donald Trump is publishing a book about his favorite topic: himself. Letters to Trump “captures the incredible, and oftentimes private correspondence, between President Donald J. Trump and some of the biggest names in history throughout the past 40 years,” including former The Tonight Show host Jay Leno. The thing is, Trump apparently never got permission to publish Leno’s letter, which — have you heard about this? — could get him into legal hot water. That’s so unlike Trump.

“Jay did not release, nor authorize any use of any letter to Mr. Trump,” a representative from Leno’s production company, Big Dog Productions, told Newsweek. The rep isn’t even sure which letter will be in the book. Maybe it’s about trucks, or as Leno likes to call them, big cars.

Trump also never cleared his letters to/from Hillary Clinton, because “of course he didn’t,” her spokesperson Nick Merrill said. “Nothing says deeply-insecure-has-been quite like publishing private correspondence with the hope that people will believe you once garnered respect,” he told Newsweek. “Feels like the adult equivalent of when a toddler proudly presents you with what they’ve done on the potty.” Here’s more:

He may face potential lawsuits in doing so. It is unclear whether Trump has the legal right to publish the letters without the sender’s permission… The principle that the writers of the letters, not the recipients, retain the copyright has been “well-established in copyright law” for hundreds of years according to Jane C. Ginsburg, professor of literary and artistic property Law at Columbia University School of Law in New York.

Sadly, Trump’s note to Joe Biden that he left at the White House, which is probably about the dearly departed Diet Coke button or the best toilet for definitely not flushing documents, didn’t make the cut.

(Via Newsweek)

After taking a brief hiatus from releasing music and performing, Megan Thee Stallion is set to make a return to the stage. The “Plan B” rapper will perform her first live show of the year in Houston on March 31 at the AT&T Block Party.

The AT&T Block Party takes place March 31 through April 2, in Houston’s Discovery Green park, and is set in conjunction with the Men’s Final Four weekend.

“There’s no place I’d rather be for my first performance of the year than my hometown of Houston,” said Meg in a statement. “The AT&T Block Party Concert is gonna be such a vibe, and I can’t wait to get back on stage in the city where it all began. I’m looking forward to seeing my Hotties and putting on an unforgettable show for them.”

Meg’s upcoming performance will also mark her first Houston show since 2019, as the last time she performed in her hometown was during Astroworld festival right before the pandemic.

Lil Nas X, Maggie Rogers, and Mickey Guyton are also set to perform during the second and third days.

Fans can see a full schedule of events and register for tickets here.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

It’s ironic; as a member of De La Soul, the late Trugoy the Dove helped pioneer hip-hop’s so-called “Daisy Age,” but it’s only after he passed that he’s receiving his flowers. The latest tribute to Dave Jolicoeur comes from frequent collaborator Damon Albarn, who praised the rapper’s generosity in an audio clip shared by Dave’s bandmate Posdnous.

“I just want to talk about Dave’s generosity, I think,” Albarn says in the clip. “[He was] very generous with his spirit and he had some amazing future-taking ideas that he was able to articulate with the rest of De La Soul. In a way, they changed the paradigm so I just wanna say I miss you and love you.”

Albarn was one of De La’s greatest advocates during the time their music was not available to stream, tapping them to feature on multiple projects with his virtual band, Gorillaz, starting with “Feel Good Inc.” from 2005’s Demon Days. Most recently, they appeared on the deluxe version of Cracker Island on the song “Crocadillaz,” which was released shortly after Dave’s passing.

The group’s music is finally on streaming now, though, and after a tribute concert in their hometown to celebrate in which Plug Three, Maseo, got emotional talking about Dave’s impact, fans can also honor the pioneering rapper by running up the numbers on Stakes Is High.

Today, tools for music creation and distribution are more available than ever. While accessibility is good, with a larger talent pool, it’s not always easy for deserving acts to stand out. Now, though, Coca-Cola and Warner Music Group’s WMX are teaming up to help some of those artists out with the Coca-Cola Transformation Team.

To put it broadly: Transformation Team is a talent search that will give a select few artists significant development and exposure opportunities, ones that could set their careers off in a brighter new direction.

Interested emerging artists can submit video entries to be considered for the Transformation Team. Only three will be chosen to take part in a multifaceted one-day boot camp that’ll be guided by a Warner Music Group industry expert. Artists will be given major tools for success as they learn about songwriting, stage style, mixing, and other topics.

The opportunity doesn’t stop there, as participating artists will be the subjects of video profiles and will give their own performances on The Eye. The esteemed, stripped-down performance series is the perfect way to show off undeniable talent and has previously hosted recognizable figures like Kevin Gates, Maisie Peters, and Pink Sweat$, among others.

The road to stardom is often difficult and rarely looks the same for two artists. For a few talented up-and-comers, though, Transformation Team could be a pivotal part of the journey.

More details about Transformation Team can be found here.

On this week’s episode Ian and I covered a wide range of topics, like we always do. But we also acknowledged an obvious fact at the start: Neither one of us is as good at music criticism as Jamie Lee Curtis. Her idea to have more matinee concerts is brilliant. (At least I think so — Ian disagrees.)

In our mailbag, we address the state of bands performing on late night television. Doesn’t it seem like that golden era of a band killing it and then going viral with a late-night performance is over? It’s been a while since it happened, right? We also counted down some of our favorite performances, which I also recounted in this column from 2021.

Then we delved into the meat of the episode, which included a discussion about my recent Bruce Springsteen live experience; the controversy over The Weeknd’s new HBO show and whether he’s too big to cancel; the rumors about a possible reunion tour by The Hotelier; and the recent wave of dance-punk bands inspired by the mid-aughts, including Model/Actriz and The Dare.

In Recommendation Corner, Ian recommends the latest album by Slowthai, Ugly, while I give props to the brand new EP by Manchester Orchestra, The Valley Of Vision and the excellent new single by Ratboys, “Black Earth, WI.”

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 129 here or below and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at indiecastmailbag@gmail.com, and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

Scream VI stabbed its way into theaters today and is already terrifying audiences by unleashing a wildly brutal and aggressive new Ghostface in Manhattan. This one’s hellbent on hunting down Jenna Ortega and it’s not about to let a sprawling metropolis get in the way. In another new twist for the horror series, Scream VI has also bucked tradition by including the franchise’s first post-credits scene.

However, in a very on-brand move for the Scream films, which started out by having Jamie Kennedy’s Randy Meeks pick apart predictable horror movie cliches, the Scream VI post-credits scene mocks the cinematic trend that’s become a recurring staple for Marvel, the Fast & Furious films, and whatever the heck is going on with the DC Universe.

As summed up by Inverse:

The post-credits scene is a single line of dialogue spoken by Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown), who looks right into the camera and says: “Not every movie needs a post-credits scene.” That’s it. End of movie.

The clip appears to come from a scene earlier in the movie where Mindy breaks down the rules of surviving a horror franchise, which according to her is what the story has now become.

So there you have it. Yes, there is a post-credits scene in Scream VI, but be prepared to get mocked for sticking around to see it.

Scream VI is now playing in theaters.

(Via Inverse)

Vladimir Putin quickly realized that his Russian army (now chock full of inexperienced troops after cycling through massive deaths and subsequent drafts) wasn’t able to get things done on its own in Ukraine. That would be the sole reason why he reeled in the Wagner Group to be his private army of mercenaries against Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces. Recently, however, reports indicated that those hired guns were apparently being ground to pieces (in vast numbers), too, and they also began desperate recruiting tactics to replenish forces as the second year of Putin’s war gets started.

Surprise, plans appear to have changed on behalf of Putin. What’s even more bizarre, though, is that those plans seem to have changed without anyone informing the Wagner Group. CNN has published audio footage, in which Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is complaining that the Kremlin won’t take his calls. Putin is now allegedly giving him the cold soldier and leaving Wagner soldiers to twist in the wind in Ukraine. All of this is happening while Prigozhin claims that the group has been cut off from ammunition supplies, and he asserts that the situation is seriously messed up:

“To get me to stop asking for ammunition, all the hotlines to offices, to departments, etc., have been cut off from me, but the real humdinger is that they’ve also blocked agencies from making decisions [related to Wagner].”

Not ideal! The Wagner Group reportedly dropped around 50,000 soldiers into Ukraine over the course of a year, and they’ve paid the price in blood (with up to 30,000 casualties) during this military conflict. And yet, dead silence is coming from Putin, according to Prigozhin, who declared, “I’m knocking on all doors, sounding the alarm with ammunition and reinforcements, as well as covering our flanks.” An artillery unit representative is heard adding, “At the moment, we are completely cut off from from the ammunition supply.”

Where is Putin lately? Somewhere freaking out about cabbage. Priorities.

(Via CNN)

The dream duo is back at it again: Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding have teamed up for a new collaborative track called “Miracle.” On the new track, Harris plays around with a more trance-like EDM sound, while Goulding delivers her signature, soft-tinged vocals.

“Are you too cynical / To believe in a miracle / That just slipped through my hands / But could you take a chance on me? / Can you forgive it all / To believe in a miracle?,” sings Goulding on the song’s chorus.

“Miracle” marks Harris and Goulding’s third collaboration, their first being 2012’s “I Need Your Love” and their second 2014’s “Outside.” In a recent interview with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe, Harris revealed what its like to work with Goulding and how the song came together rather quickly.

“She knocks it out the park, then goes home,” Harris said. “And I’m just like, ‘Well, that was obviously very easy for you,’ but it’s like absolute gold, the best vocal I’ve heard in years of on a dance song. So I don’t know. I definitely have very defined sort of likes and dislikes for music and artists. And one of my likes is an Ellie Goulding angelic vocal. One of a kind. You’re not going to get this from anyone else. Ellie can do a lot of different things, for me, this is my absolute favorite thing that she does, and only she can do it, in my opinion.”

Listen to “Miracle” above.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is just a month away from hitting theaters and the Nintendo/Illumination PR team is going all-out to promote it. In addition to crafting an interactive website for a hypothetical Mario Bros. plumbing business and releasing a new, final trailer yesterday showing off even more of its Mad Max-inspired Rainbow Road sequence.

The cast and crew weren’t done yet, though. The film’s voice actors — consisting of Chris Pratt, Jack Black, Anya Taylor-Joy, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, and Charlie Day — stopped by The Tonight Show for a musical sketch in which they sing the iconic Super Mario Bros. video game theme song acapella alongside the show’s host Jimmy Fallon and house band The Roots.

In a Brady Bunch-like sequence, each singer appears in their own squares, which slide and shift across the screen while scenes from both the video game and the movie scroll by. Jack Black appears to be having an utter blast, especially when the game’s underground theme kicks in. Then, as they all reach the “end” of the level, they’re joined by a few more special guests: Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Illumination founder Chris Meledandri (who gets vocal backup from the Minions, naturally).

It’s a cute bit, which is to be expected from The Tonight Show, but it’s also a testament to how truly iconic and generational the Mario brand has been for the past four decades.

Watch the clip above.