Music

British New Wave veterans The Fixx released their first new studio album in a decade, Every Five Seconds, today.

The album features 10 new original songs from the band. Commenting on the themes of the record, Fixx frontman Cy Curnin says, “Life can either be a series of broken obsessive thoughts or it can be a wonderful mosaic of moments. Every Five Seconds reflects this human paradox. The constant struggle between bewilderment and betterment.”

Four tracks from Every Five Seconds were released in advance of the album — “Wake Up,” “Closer,” “Woman of Flesh and Blood” and “Take What You Want.” In addition, an animated music video for the latter tune, featuring enigmatic images of disembodied hands, debuted in April on The Fixx’s official YouTube
channel.

The band will support Every Five Seconds with a U.S. tour that gets underway on June 10 in Las Vegas and runs through a June 30 performance at Milwaukee’s Summerfest.

The Fixx scored a string of hits during the 1980s that included four songs that reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 — “Saved by Zero,” “One Thing Leads to Another,” “Are We Ourselves?” and “Secret Separation.”

The group’s most recent previous album, Beautiful Friction, was released in 2012.

Here’s the full track list of Every Five Seconds:

“A Life Survived”
“Closer”
“Take What You Want”
“Wake Up”
“Suspended in Make Believe”
“Lonely as a Lighthouse”
“Cold”
“Spell”
“Woman of Flesh and Blood”
“Neverending”

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More new Jack White music is coming your way.

The White Stripes/Raconteurs/Dead Weather rocker will be dropping a fresh solo tune called “If I Die Tomorrow” next Wednesday, June 8. The track is available to presave now.

“If I Die Tomorrow” will appear on White’s upcoming album Entering Heaven Alive, the second of two solo records he’s releasing this year, following April’s Fear of the Dawn.

Notably, White sings the phrase “If I die tomorrow” on the Fear of the Dawn single “What’s the Trick?” But judging by a preview of the tune, “If I Die Tomorrow” will be much different sounding song.

Entering Heaven Alive arrives July 22. It includes the previously released songs “Love Is Selfish” and “Queen of the Bees,” as well as an acoustic version of the lead Fear of the Dawn single “Taking Me Back,” dubbed “Taking Me Back (Gently).”

White is currently supporting both albums on his Supply Chain Issues tour, which continues Friday in Reno, Nevada.

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Taylor Swift’s not touring, but you want to dance and scream along to her songs at the top of your lungs with all your friends. What to do?  Hit up the Taylor Party, a traveling Taylor Swift-themed dance party that’s probably coming to a city near you this summer.

At the Taylor Party, fans dress up as Taylor, take photos in front of a giant Taylor Swift red carpet-type setup and dance and sing as a DJ plays her music and a giant screen shows clips from her videos. There are also Taylor-themed balloons that say, “We’re too busy dancin.'”

As Vox reports, the Taylor Party was started by nightlife producers Brian Howe, Josh Bakaitus and Steve Soboslai in December of 2021. Howe and Bakaitus were trying to come up with a concept for a themed party, and it just so happened that Bakaitus had been listening to Taylor a lot. As Howe tells Vox, “He wanted a place where he could hang out and listen to the songs.” 

Tickets for the first event sold out, so they planned a second one. More than 50 Taylor parties have been held so far.

“An interesting comparison would be to a Comic Con or a Star Wars convention,” Howe tells Vox. “A bunch of people in a room that love one thing, and want to be around other like-minded people without the pressures of the outside world for a limited amount of time.”

According to Vox, the most-requested song at the Taylor Party is — of course — the 10-minute version of “All Too Well.”

This weekend the party visits Austin, TX and Atlantic City, NJ. For upcoming shows and tickets, visit TaylorSwiftNight.com.  By the way, it isn’t affiliated with, endorsed by, authorized by, sponsored by, or in any way officially connected with Taylor Swift.

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Strip culture is oftentimes viewed as taboo in America, and while some of the entertainment industry’s most celebrated celebrities — like Cardi B, NeNe Leakes and Lady Gaga — trace their beginnings to a strip club, exotic dancing is frowned upon by many. Katori Hall, creator of the hit strip-based series P-Valley, says she didn’t think twice about showcasing strip culture on the big screen.

Ahead of the season 2 premiere on June 3, Hall spoke to ABC Audio about her “humanizing project” that’s been in the works for over a decade. “I never had any reservations,” she said. “I think because I knew that these women were just like me, were just like you. They have struggles, they have dreams.”

Hall said the history of hypersexualization of Black women cemented her desire to create an in-depth story and put forth a “nuanced portrayal of why women go into sex work.”

“These women are doing a type of work that, yes, a lot of people denigrate, but it is work,” she said. “I just really wanted people to understand that there’s a world that has created the reason as to why a lot of women step into this lane.”

Hall said she’s never felt pressure working on the record-breaking Starz show, instead she feels blessed to produce groundbreaking work.

The cast members — Brandee Evans, Nicco Annan, Parker Sawyers, Elarica Johnson, J. Alphonse Nicholson and Shannon Thornton — who, like Hall, have waited almost two years for the return, say they’re excited for fans, aka the “Pynk Posse,” to finally get what they’ve been asking for.

As for what to expect on season 2 of P-Valley, debuting on Starz at 9 p.m., Hall says, “You better get your glue ‘cus these edges about to get snatched baby!” 

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Mike Levine, bassist for the Canadian power trio Triumph, says a tribute album celebrating his band’s music is being overseen by producer Mike Clink, best known for his work on most of Guns N’ Roses‘ albums.

Levine tells ABC Audio that Clink, who also produced Triumph’s 1986 album Sport of Kings, is working on the project in Los Angeles, and that it’s “close to being finished.”

“[The album] got delayed like everything else during COVID because nobody wanted to go to the studio, but everybody seems to want to play again,” Mike notes. “So he’s getting near the finish line with it. So we’re hoping to see that early next year.”

Levine reveals that among the guest artists who have contributed to the record are Starship singer Mickey Thomas and ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach.

Levine says he thinks Thomas “is one of the greatest singers in rock ‘n’ roll,” while Bach is a huge Triumph fan who discussed his love of the band in the 2021 documentary Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine. Bach also briefly toured with Triumph in 1993 just before the band broke up that year.

Mike says with a laugh that Sebastian “wanted to sing every song, and we [told him], ‘No, you can’t do that.'”

Levine reports that a number of “top-draw players” also have contributed to the album, including longtime John Fogerty touring drummer Kenny Aronoff and Bon Jovi guitarist Phil X. Phil played with Triumph in 1992 and ’93 after founding singer/guitarist Rik Emmett left the band.

Triumph hasn’t played together since a surprise reunion at a special 2019 fan event, as documented in Rock & Roll Machine, although the trio of Levine, Emmett and singer/drummer Gil Moore have participated in a number of events promoting the film.

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—Pharrell Williams is teaming up with Tyler, the Creator and 21 Savage on a new song, “Cash In Cash Out,” with an expected release date of next Friday, June 10. 

He shared the news in an Instagram post, along with 3D-type image of the three rappers. “CASH IN CASH OUT @feliciathegoat @21savage 6/10 💸 Presave at the link in bio,” Williams said.

The super producer’s announcement comes just a few weeks before his Something in the Water festival is set to kick off in Washington, D.C., June 17. The festival ends June 19. 

—Jeannie Mai and her husband, rapper Jeezy, welcomed their baby girl Monaco Mai Jenkins in January, but the former The Real host hadn’t shown images of the baby until Thursday. 

In the latest installment of her YouTube series, Hello Hunnay, Mai, alongside her mother, “Mama Mai,” introduced the couple’s 5-month-old daughter to the world. 

In the emotional monologue leading up to the reveal, Jeannie said she was “so nervous” for everyone to finally get a glimpse of her baby. 

“Please excuse the nerves,” she said before Monaco was carried out by her grandmother to meet mom on the couch. Jeannie then delved into her journey as a new mom, including the anxiety she’s experienced since giving birth.

–In the latest news in the Tasha K/Cardi B. defamation case, Tasha K’s attorney filed an appeal to overturn the judge’s ruling for the YouTuber to pay Cardi $4 million. According to Billboard, Tasha’s legal team says the judge “withheld key evidence about the rapper’s ‘character’ and didn’t let jurors see who Cardi B ‘truly is.'”

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BTS‘ Jimin and Jungkook hung out with H.E.R. after hitting up the White House. They shared videos to their Instagram Stories of them going to an arcade with the R&B singer, where they tried their luck at a punching-bag game and a rapid-shot basketball game. H.E.R. tied with Jungkook on the latter … in second place.

To hype their upcoming single “Skin Of My Teeth,” Demi Lovato is heading to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, June 9. Headline Planet reports Demi will be interviewed on the show and also serve as its musical guest. The Grammy winner will release their new single on June 10.

The Weeknd teamed with Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, for his After Hours Til Dawn tour, reports City A.M. This will allow him to create the first world trek to use Web 3.0 technology, which gives him an “innovative edge.” “There are so many possibilities with crypto and I think this is just the beginning,” The Weeknd said of his new partnership. His tour starts on July 8.

People love Shakira‘s hips — as in, her song “Hips Don’t Lie.” Her smash 2005 hit is the latest member of Spotify’s Billions Club, meaning fans have streamed the song over 1 billion times. “So humbled. Thank you for all of the love,” she said of the surprise honor.

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It’s been 25 years since Aqua released their smash-hit single “Barbie Girl.” To celebrate, the Danish pop group wants fans to get in on the fun.

Taking to TikTok, the hitmakers unveiled a fun new contest where the grand prize is a trip to their native Denmark.  

“Barbie Girl turns 25!  Can you believe it? What an amazing ride,” the group announced, saying they want to “celebrate the life of Barbie Girl and Aquarium [their debut album] with all of you.”

Singer Lene Nystrøm encouraged her fans to, “Share with us your favorite ‘Barbie Girl’ moment” using #BarbieGirl25 on social media.  

She explained the winner will be flown to Denmark to “see us in concert, meet us backstage and hang out” at an upcoming music festival.

It is unknown when the contest ends.

The group recently celebrated their “Barbie Girl” music video hitting a billion YouTube views and told fans, “Absolutely crazy!  Thank you for all the love.”

The song was released in April 1997 and went on to become a global phenomenon. It peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 after it was officially released in the U.S. on August 12, 1997.  

The debut album, Aquarium, is RIAA-certified three times Platinum after selling over 3 million units in the U.S.

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