Tenacious D is adding a bit more tenacity to The Beatles with a new charity single that has gotten a thumbs-up from Paul McCartney himself.
The comedy duo has released “You Never Give Me Your Money”/”The End,” an acoustic mashup of two tracks from the Fab Four’s Abbey Road medley. Being a Tenacious D performance, the cover also includes some extra four-letter words that pop up amid Jack Black‘s signature riffing vocal style.
Reacting to the cover, McCartney writes on his Facebook page, “This Tenacious D cover of our song is fantastic! It’s so imaginative and so well performed. What a great tribute to the original. Guys — I love it.”
Black and band mate Kyle Gass also have debuted an over-the-top mixed-media music video for their Beatles homage, which depicts the duo an a variety of surreal scenarios and locations, including on a mountain top, at Stonehenge, at Big Ben, in a forest, and in a jail cell. Gass dons a poorly fitting Beatles wig throughout most of the clip.
“Tenacious D are paying tribute to the greatest band in the world…not themselves…The Beatles!!!” the duo proclaims. “In the spirit of healing the world…please enjoy Tenacious D’s mashup of two classics from Abbey Road.”
You can download “You Never Give Me Your Money”/”The End,” now via digital outlets. The vinyl single version, which is available now for pre-order, will raise money for Doctors Without Borders.
Last fall, the D released a star-studded cover of the Rocky Horror Picture Show classic “Time Warp” to encourage voting.
Jim Morrison, the iconic lead singer of The Doors, died 50 years ago this Saturday, July 3, 1971, at age 27.
Morrison died unexpectedly during an extended stay in Paris while on hiatus from The Doors. He was found dead by his longtime girlfriend, Pamela Courson, in the bathtub of their rented apartment. His official cause of death was listed as heart failure, but the actual cause remains a mystery, since no autopsy was performed.
The late Doors frontman’s influence on music and popular culture has been immeasurable, thanks to his charismatic persona, his powerful vocal style, his exploration of dark themes and his talent for combining poetry with rock music.
Morrison had a fascination with pushing social boundaries that, unfortunately, coincided with a penchant for excess that included a serious alcohol dependency.
Doors drummer John Densmore recalls that he heard that Morrison had died while he was jamming with band mates Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger.
“[Jim] had been away for a few months and we wanted to make music and we were jamming on stuff, hoping he’d be back to help us,” Densmore tells ABC Audio. “And then, the manager came downstairs and said Jim had passed.”
John says that when Morrison was in Paris, he worried about the singer knowing his issues with alcohol.
“I was hoping he wasn’t drinking, but, you know, the Parisians have wine for breakfast,” Densmore notes. “[Paris] might not have been such a good place for him.”
As tragic as Morrison’s young death was, Densmore says he’s grateful for what he and the band created together.
“[I]t became bigger than its ingredients that came together in a garage in Venice [Beach, California,]” John notes. “And we gotta honor that muse and be thankful that something came in [that was] magic.”
Amber Heard surprised fans on Thursday with the news that she’s a new mom.
The Aquaman actress took to Instagram to announce the birth of her daughter, Oonagh Paige Heard, on April 8, 2021. The newborn appears to be named after Heard’s mother, Paige, who died in 2020. Oonagh [OO-nah] is a traditional Irish name that is variously translated as ‘lamb’ or ‘unity.’
“I’m so excited to share this news with you,” Heard, 35, began. “Four years ago, I decided I wanted to have a child. I wanted to do it on my own terms. I now appreciate how radical it is for us as women to think about one of the most fundamental parts of our destinies in this way.”
“I hope we arrive at a point in which it’s normalized to not want a ring in order to have a crib,” she continued. “A part of me wants to uphold that my private life is none of anyone’s business. I also get that the nature of my job compels me to take control of this.”
The post, which included a picture of Heard laying in a hospital bed cradling her newborn daughter, concludes by calling the baby “the beginning of the rest of my life.”
Heard is currently embroiled in a contentious legal battle with ex-husband Johnny Depp. The couple divorced in 2017 after two years of marriage. She went on to date Elon Musk, but the two went their separate ways in 2018.
Just in time for the 4th of July, Netflix is offering a U.S. civics lesson with their new animated series We The People.
Executive-produced by Barack and Michelle Obama, Kenya Barris and Chris Nee, the 10-episode animated music series, which has been compared to Schoolhouse Rock!, is designed to educate young Americans about their rights as citizens. Nee tells ABC Audio that the first episode, “Active Citizenship” was actually President Obama’s idea.
“President Obama came up with [it] on his own [because] he thought [it] was an important separated topic,” she says. “And the rest of it [laid] out what would be the basics and a curriculum.”
Sung by Grammy-winner H.E.R., the first We The People episode also features Biden inauguration poet Amanda Gorman, whom Nee says “takes [viewers] into the future” with her words. “Active Citizenship” director Peter Ramsey agrees, noting that H.E.R.’s lyrics also served as a “big inspiration” for the episode.
“H.E.R.’s line, ‘If I’m just one person, will my voice even stand out?,’ put her finger on an emotion that anyone can feel,” Ramsey explains. “Most people have asked that question in their daily lives. So taking that and saying, ‘Well, yeah, how can you make your voice stand out? What can you do? And then what can happen as a result?’ That was kind of the spirit of what we wanted to get across.”
As for H.E.R., she says joining the project spearheaded by the Obamas was an easy decision to make, considering it was “in line with what [she does]…in music.”
“Which is tell the truth and make people feel something through music and give people perspective,” H.E.R. says. “So I was so excited to be a part of it.”
Machine Gun Kelly has collaborated with jxdn on a new song called “Wanna Be.”
The pop-punk banger, which is available now for digital download, is accompanied by a video starring both artists, as well as Blink-182‘s Travis Barker, whose DTA Records released jxdn’s brand-new debut album, Tell Me About Tomorrow.
You can watch the “Wanna Be” video streaming now on YouTube.
MGK and jxdn will reunite this fall when the latter opens for the former’s Tickets to My Downfall tour, which kicks off in September.
In related news, Machine Gun Kelly is set to star in an upcoming movie that at one time was called Good News, but is now changing its title.
The film, according to Deadline, follows the “last days of a rising but troubled musician,” played by Kelly under his birth name, Colson Baker. It’s said to be a fictional work that takes inspiration from late artists including Mac Miller, Lil Peep, Juice WRLD and Pop Smoke, and its title is a reference to a posthumous Miller song.
That last bit irked Miller’s brother, Miller McCormick, who reportedly posted an Instagram Story reading, “F*** you f*** your movie at least change the title.”
In a statement to E! News, the film’s production company says it will be adopting a new title.
“Our film is about a fictional musician on the rise with a troubled life,” the statement reads. “It’s not in any way a biopic or based on any artist’s true life. We realize the title, which was intended as an homage to Mac Miller, and other artists gone too soon, feels disrespectful. We’ve heard from many people on social media who have found offense with the title so, without hesitation, we will change it.”
Stanislav Kogiku/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — USWNT player Alex Morgan says she’s “still not sure” about whether the new Tokyo Olympics policy for nursing mothers will allow her to bring her 1-year-old daughter to the games.
The soccer superstar took to Twitter to verbalize her confusion on Thursday.
“Still not sure what ‘when necessary’ even means. Is that determined by the mother or the IOC?” she tweeted. “We are Olympic mothers telling you, it is NECESSARY. I have not been contacted about being able to bring my daughter with me to Japan and we leave in 7 days.”
Several athletes have complained about the initial restrictions, which banned them from bringing their families along. On Wednesday, the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee issued a statement that the restrictions have now been eased to allow nursing mothers to bring their children with them to the Games.
“It is inspiring that so many athletes with young children are able to continue competing at the highest levels, including at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and we are committed to doing everything possible to enable them to perform at the Tokyo 2020 Games,” the committee said in a statement obtained by “ABC News.” “After careful consideration of the unique situation facing athletes with nursing children, we are pleased to confirm that, when necessary, nursing children will be able to accompany athletes to Japan.”
The committee stated that the residential zone of the Olympic and Paralympic Village is restricted to athletes and team officials only so nursing children “must stay in private accommodation approved by Tokyo 2020, e.g. hotels.”
“It is great to see so many mothers compete at the highest level, including at the Olympic Games,” the International Olympic Committee said in a statement. “We are very pleased to hear that the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee has found a special solution regarding the entry to Japan for mothers who are breastfeeding and their young children.”
The wording of the policy, however, is now drawing criticism, with Morgan’s teammate Megan Rapinoe also showing support for Olympic parents.
Earlier this year, officials announced their decision to bar all foreign spectators from attending the games, which includes any of the visiting athletes’ families. Officials also recently stated that all venues would be at 50% capacity, with a maximum of 10,000 people, to adhere to the Japanese government’s limits on public events.
Prior to the rule update, athletes were saying they felt forced to decide between being an Olympic athlete and a mom.
Marathon runner Aliphine Tuliamuk posted a photo Monday on Instagram saying she “feels torn” and has “cried a lot” thinking about not being able to bring her 5-month-old daughter, Zoe, with her to the Olympics.
Tuliamuk qualified by placing first at the Women’s 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials back in February 2020 and has been training since giving birth to be ready for the event.
“I have been working my butt off since having my daughter, I want to produce the best result possible, my long runs & workouts are coming together nicely, body is holding together well,” she wrote.
In her post, Tuliamuk stressed the difficulty in being apart from her daughter for even half a day, let alone the 10 days she’ll be away at the Olympics.
“I know that I will be leaving her for only 10 days, and she will be just fine, and that so many other moms have done the same, but I can’t even imagine being away from her for half a day,” she said.
“Motherhood is a beautiful thing, I love being Zoe’s mom more than life itself, I have never felt such immense, immeasurable love for someone before,” Tuliamuk continued. “Motherhood is also scary, I go down this rabbit hole sometimes, sometimes I think, what if something horrible happens and I never come home, like what if I never make it back from Tokyo? I am sure all moms understand this exact feeling. Motherhood has made me so vulnerable, I feel like my heart is hanging outside of my body.”
The 2021 Tokyo Olympics will begin July 23 and end Aug. 8.
Ed Sheeran opened up about the special meaning behind his daughter’s unique name. Last summer, the “Bad Habits” singer welcomed Lyra Antarctica alongside wife Cherry Seaborn.
“I realize some people think it’s quite a strange name,” Ed said on the British morning show Lorraineon Thursday. “But my wife’s called Cherry, and she is the only Cherry that I’ve ever met and I think that she’s the only Cherry that she’s ever met and I quite like that.”
Ed continued with a smile, “In my class at school, there were probably more Eds.”
Because of that, Ed revealed that he and Cherry “wanted to give [our daughter] a name that was unique, so that she would be the only one.”
However, the singer noted the name Lyra may continue to grow in popularity because of the successful fantasy trilogy-turned-television-series His Dark Materials, which features a protagonist with the same name.
Ed also divulged why he gave his daughter the middle name Antarctica, saying he visited the continent with Cherry before she became pregnant.
“I’ve basically toured every single continent but I’ve never been to Antarctica so that was always on our list,” he gushed. “So we went down there in 2019 and it was just incredible. The most amazing place on earth.”
The “Shape of You” singer also noted that his experiences as a first-time father influenced his upcoming album that is due out later this year.
(SURFSIDE, Fla.) — At least 18 people, including two children, have been confirmed dead and 145 others remain unaccounted for since a 12-story residential building partially collapsed in South Florida’s Miami-Dade County last week.
The partial collapse occurred around 1:15 a.m. on June 24 at the Champlain Towers South condominium in the small, beachside town of Surfside, about 6 miles north of Miami Beach. Approximately 55 of the oceanfront complex’s 136 units were destroyed, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Raide Jadallah. Since then, hundreds of first responders have been carefully combing through the debris in hopes of finding survivors.
Meanwhile, 139 people who were living or staying in the condominium at the time of the disaster have been accounted for and are safe, according to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who has stressed that the numbers are “very fluid” and “continue to change.”
The massive search and rescue operation, now in its ninth day, was temporarily halted for much of Thursday due to safety concerns regarding the structural integrity of the still-standing section of the building. Movement in the pile of rubble as well as in the remaining structure prompted the hours-long pause, according to Scott Nacheman, a structure specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Urban Search and Rescue support team.
Structural engineers, who have been on site monitoring the situation, are currently planning for the likely demolition of the rest of the condominium amid the ongoing search and rescue mission, according to Levine Cava. Nacheman, who is helping develop those contingency plans, told reporters it would be “weeks” before a “definitive timeline” is available.
The structure was cleared by crews last week, and all search and rescue resources have since been shifted to focusing on the pile of rubble. But the two sites are side-by-side and the remaining building has posed challenges for the rescuers trying to locate any survivors or human remains in the wreckage.
“Given our ongoing safety concerns about the integrity of the building, we’re continuing to restrict access to the collapse zone,” Levine Cava said during a press briefing in Surfside on Thursday evening.
Shortly after search and rescue efforts resumed Thursday evening, the Miami-Dade County mayor noted that the crews “looked really, really excited to get back out there.”
Heat, humidity, heavy rain, strong winds and lightning storms have also made the conditions difficult for rescuers, periodically forcing them to pause their round-the-clock efforts in recent days. Officials are monitoring weather systems in the region as the Atlantic hurricane season ramps up.
Although officials have continued to express hope that more people will be found alive, no survivors have been discovered in the rubble of the building since the morning it partially collapsed. Bodies, however, have been uncovered throughout the site.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden traveled to Surfside on Thursday to meet with officials, first responders, search and rescue teams, as well as families of the victims. Recalling the 1972 car accident that killed his first wife and 1-year-old daughter as well as badly injuring his two sons, the president told reporters: “It’s bad enough to lose somebody but the hard part, the really hard part, is to not know whether they’ll survive or not.”
The cause of the partial collapse to a building that has withstood decades of hurricanes remains unknown and is under investigation.
Bessemer Trust, the wealth management firm approved Wednesday to act as co-conservator over Britney Spears‘ finances, has asked to be removed from the role.
Attorneys for Bessemer Trust filed resignation paperwork Thursday, noting that Britney’s testimony on June 23 indicated the conservatorship was not voluntary, as the firm understood it to be.
Bessemer Trust was not authorized to act as a co-conservator until Wednesday, so it has not taken any actions in the position, or had it taken any fees, according to the court documents.
Once the resignation is approved, Jamie Spears, the pop star’s father, will once again be the sole conservator of his daughter’s estate.
“Petitioner has become aware that the Conservatee [Spears] objects to the continuance of her Conservatorship and desires to terminate the Conservatorship,” the documents read. “Petitioner [Bessemer Trust] has heard the Conservatee and respects her wishes.”
A conservatorship governing Britney’s personal affairs and finances has been in place since 2008, when the pop star was hospitalized twice for psychiatric evaluations. Jodi Montgomery was appointed to serve as conservator of Spears’ personal affairs in 2019, after Jamie Spears stepped down from the position.
Jamie Spears is still in charge of his daughter’s finances, despite the singer’s request last year to remove him from her conservatorship. The pop star had petitioned for her father to be suspended as a conservator as soon as a corporate fiduciary was put into a position of control.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda J. Penny agreed to appoint Bessemer Trust as a co-conservator last November, but she declined to remove Jamie Spears from his role. That order was officially signed Wednesday.
Britney pleaded with a judge last month to end her conservatorship, claiming that it is “abusive” and is “doing me way more harm than good.”
(CHICAGO) — A 1-month-old girl and a 9-year-old girl were both shot in the head in separate acts of violence in Chicago on Thursday, according to police.
Seven people, including the 1-month-old baby, were shot shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday when three men got out of a black Cherokee Jeep and began spraying bullets on the city’s South Side, Chicago police said.
The baby was hit in the head and hospitalized in critical condition, police said.
The other six people shot were listed in good condition, police said.
The gunmen fled the scene and no arrests have been made, police said.
Hours earlier, at about 2:45 p.m., a 9-year-old girl was shot in the head while in a car on the city’s South Side, police said.
The 9-year-old was hospitalized in critical condition, police said.
A man in the car was also shot and hospitalized in good condition, police said.
The suspects, who may have been in a white SUV, fled the scene, and no arrests have been made, police said.
Chicago has had 1,489 shootings incidents this year, as of June 27 — a 12% increase from 1,333 shootings over the same time period last year, according to police department data.
These latest shootings come as the Chicago Police Department says it has a summer focus on removing illegal guns from the streets.
Police have seized 5,901 guns, including 290 assault weapons, so far this year — a 26% increase from the number of guns seized by the same time last year, David Brown, superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, said at a news conference Thursday.
The city is on pace to recover over 12,000 illegal guns by the end of the year, he said.
“There’s a lot of work to be done,” Brown said. “When crime happens, which is likely late evening into the early morning … is when our schedules are being adjusted. Because we are sworn to protect the people of Chicago. But we have also acknowledged 12-hour shifts and canceled days off are impacting our officers. … and we have implemented an officer wellness plan as a part of this.”
