Music

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Dolly Parton’s still in the running to join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, despite the fact that she asked the organization earlier this week to remove her from consideration.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation issued a statement Thursday acknowledging Dolly’s request, but saying they’ll move forward with her as a nominee.

“From its inception, Rock and Roll has had deep roots in Rhythm & Blues and Country music. It is not defined by any one genre, rather a sound that moves youth culture,” the statement reads, in part. “Dolly Parton’s music impacted a generation of young fans and influenced countless artists that followed.”

Along with Dolly, 16 other nominees have been named for possible inclusion in the Class of 2022 to join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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Arcade Fire fans: prepare to get struck by “Lightning.”

Earlier this week, the indie rockers announced the release of “Lightning I, II,” their first official new music in five years. As it turns out, “The Lighting I, II” is actually two different songs: “The Lightning I” and “The Lightning II.”

Both “The Lightning” songs are available now via digital outlets, and are combined for a single video streaming now on YouTube.

But that’s not all: “The Lighting I” and “The Lightning II” will appear on the just-announced new Arcade Fire album, titled WE. The follow-up to 2017’s Everything Now will arrive on May 6.

Here’s the WE track list:

“Age of Anxiety”
“Age of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole)”
“Prelude”
“End of the Empire I-III”
“End of the Empire IV (Sagittarius A*)”
“The Lightning I”
“The Lighting II”
“Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)”
“Unconditional II (Race and Religion)”
“WE”

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Pearl Jam has been recording new music with producer Andrew Watt, and, so far, the results have been “killer.”

That’s according to guitarist Stone Gossard, who tells SPIN that the grunge icons have “recorded a little bit” with Watt.

“We’ve got some things going already, and they’re killer,” Gossard says. “We’re psyched. Andrew is a total character. Really, like immediately, we were writing quickly. Spontaneously. Bring in a riff. Let’s knock it out.”

The guitarist adds, “[Drummer] Matt Cameron is playing his a** off. We didn’t bring any gear down. We were just doing some recording in Andrew’s basement in Beverly Hills, basically. So far, so good.”

Watt was primarily known for producing pop music, having worked with artists including Post Malone and Justin Bieber before linking up with Ozzy Osbourne for the metal legend’s 2020 solo album, Ordinary Man. He then produced PJ frontman Eddie Vedder‘s solo effort Earthling, and played in his live backing band.

“He’s known for some of his pop hits, which I personally love, but he really is a great musician and he knows the band well enough to know when we’re hitting something,” Gossard says of Watt. “His perspective has been great. I hope we continue with that process. It’s been fruitful, everything that we’ve done so far. We’ll see how long it takes to finish it off.”

Earlier this week, Pearl Jam confirmed the details of their North American tour, which will finally kick off in May after a two-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ll be supporting their latest album, Gigaton, which dropped in 2020.

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Mickey Guyton has joined the bill for the 2022 MusiCares Person of the Year tribute event, which will honor famed singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell this year.

Others in the lineup include Brandi Carlile, who often covers Mitchell favorites like “Blue” and “A Case of You” during her live shows. Americana singer Allison Russell will also perform, alongside other acts that span genres and generations.

Cyndi Lauper and Chaka Khan are two of the bill’s most legendary names, and Leon Bridges, Herbie Hancock, St. Vincent, Jon Batiste, Pentatonix, Billy Porter, Black Pumas, Sara Bareilles, Lauren Daigle and more round out the star-studded evening.

In addition to their performances, Brandi and Jon are contributing to the event as Artistic Directors. That kind of artist participation is a first for the annual tribute.

The MusiCares Person of the Year show will take place April 1 in Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Conference Center. In addition to an evening of music, the event will feature a reception, dinner and silent auction to benefit MusiCares.

Tickets to the event are on sale now.

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The Kid LAROI is taking his time with his sophomore album and is letting fans know they need to be patient.

Speaking to Sony as part of their Set the Stage concert series, the “Stay” singer responded to fan questions about the album’s release date with “I don’t know. I still got to finish it.  It’s not done!”

The Kid LAROI also shared the strangest thing that’s happened while he was recording music. “I was working with Post [Malone] and we tattooed each other,” said LAROI, though he didn’t share details about the song the two were recording together.  He did say he plans to release it “hopefully on my own,” then again dodged a release date question and followed up with, “We have one for his [album] too.  I don’t know if I was supposed to say that, though.”

Speaking about his rise to fame, LAROI said, “It’s been really cool.  It definitely wasn’t overnight, but it does feel really quick.” He also insisted he’s not “thinking about it too much,” because other artists who became “enamored by it” began taking themselves too seriously. 

“You just got to keep it moving onto the next thing,” LAROI stated, saying that’s what allows him to stay “100 percent” connected to his music.

When another fan asked how he chose his stage name, LAROI agreed “It’s a sick name,” but did not elaborate. 

He was also asked what Australia smells like, which he says is “fresher than LA.”

LAROI also performed his smash-hit single, “STAY.”

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Chris Rock took to the podium during the National Board of Review honors in New York City Tuesday evening, and his surprise appearance might have some wishing he was back as host of this year’s Academy Awards.

Rock poked fun at Licorice Pizza, Paul Thomas Anderson‘s award-winning coming of age film, according to USA Today. 

“I’m here for Paul Thomas Anderson,” Rock reportedly said, “a person who has never cast me…Nothing!” joked the 57-year-old stand-up. “Not even to wash his car!”

Rock admitted, however, that Licorice Pizza was “probably the best movie I saw this year,” but allowed, “I only saw about four movies,” before adding, “It’s a good thing I’m not hosting the Oscars this year, like, ‘I hope you saw this [stuff], because I didn’t'”

Of the film, in which Cooper Hoffman‘s high school-aged character ends up in a relationship with an older Alana Haim, Rock riffed, the leading man is, “not obviously handsome enough to get Alana, and that’s kind of the (plot) of the movie.”

He added of Hoffman’s character, “He works really hard. And she learns that money and hard work do for men what women think plastic surgery does for them.”

Rock also took a shot at Licorice Pizza‘s Sean Penn for reportedly filming a documentary in Ukraine amid the battles there. “I know he has something to do with this war. I know he’s mixed up in it,” Rock said. “Sean Penn is getting waterboarded as we speak.”

Jabs notwithstanding, Licorice Pizza won National Board of Review’s Best Film Prize at the ceremony, and has been nominated for three Oscars, including Best Picture, at this year’s 94th Annual Academy Awards, which air live on ABC on March 27.

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Michael Ray just premiered the music video for his new single, “Holy Water,” and it’s an especially personal clip for a few different reasons.

For one thing, it was filmed nearby his hometown of Eustis, Florida, at the church he and his family went to when he was growing up. The singer got a chance to put the visual spotlight on some of the places that were near and dear to him as a kid, and many of the people featured in the video are family members and friends to the singer.

But that’s not the only story that’s true to life in “Holy Water.” The song — which tells the story of a preacher who’s got a side operation selling moonshine — is a little slice of Michael’s family history, too.

“My family has a little back history of running some moonshine through the state of Florida,” the singer told fans in a livestream Q&A that aired on YouTube before the music video’s premiere. “So I knew I wanted to really show a different side of my town, but also give y’all some history on where I’m from and places that meant a lot to me.”

“Holy Water” follows Michael’s multi-week chart-topper, “Whiskey and Rain.” Both those tracks come off his Higher Education EP, which came out last year.

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Megan The Stallion, who’s currently on tour with her “Sweetest Pie” collaborator Dua Lipa, shared a hilarious behind-the-scenes video of her getting ready for their pit stop in Denver.

Taking to TikTok, the self-proclaimed “biggest Chanel bag owner” said she teamed with Dua, who asked her to “pop on” some of her tour dates. Megan documented herself checking out a nearby museum before the show and noted the trippy, neon-colored decorations.

“I thought I was in Euphoria,” she cracked, referencing the hit HBO show. “I really think that this whole place is for people who do acid but I do not do drugs because dare to be different, b****!”

Meg then shuttled off to the venue and said it was “cute” how Dua prepared her green room for her. She showed off a bunch of cookies the “Levitating” hitmaker made for her arrival, which included some decorated to look like “hottie sauce” bottles and, of course, celebrated their sweet new collaboration.

Megan then shared snippets of her opening the show and later joining Dua on stage to perform “Sweetiest Pie,” as the crowd goes wild. “Dua Lipa and I killed it,” Meg declared.

Meg is set to do it all again when Dua takes her Future Nostalgia tour to Tulsa on March 17, which is tonight, and in Phoenix on March 20.

(Linked video contains uncensored profanity.)

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