Not to be outdone by Glendale, Arizona, which temporarily renamed itself Swift City ahead of Taylor Swift‘s two concerts there, her next tour stop of Arlington, Texas, is upping the ante.
Taylor is set to play Arlington’s AT&T Stadium this weekend, and according to a press release, the city is in a “friendly competition” with other U.S. Eras Tour cities to see who can show their loyalty to Taylor in the biggest way. To that end, Arlington has changed one of its streets, Randol Mill Road, to Taylor Swift Way and is inviting fans to pose for photos with the temporary street sign.
In addition, Arlington Mayor Jim Ross plans to present Taylor with a key to the city and proclaim this to be Taylor Swift Weekend, while some large steel sculptures in front of the town’s City Hall are being lit up in red.
And taking it to a comical extreme, Arlington Animal Services is running a pet adoption special, which will allow adopters to get a cat or two — just like Taylor — for $40, in honor of Taylor’s 40 top-10 hits. There’s also a $9 adoption fee in honor of Taylor’s nine number-one hits.
Kanye West is accused of breaching a contract in a new suit filed by a former Yeezy staffer. TMZ reportsDoraSzilagyi, the company’s former director of product innovation, claims the rapper now owes her $275,000.
In court docs obtained by the outlet, Szilagyi alleged that Ye convinced her to give up her job at Adidas and hired her in June 2021 to work for him full time.
She said the rapper claimed he’d pay her a $275,000 severance payment if she was terminated after September 1, 2021. However, she was fired in mid-December 2021 and has yet to receive any money. TMZ reports the former staffer believes Kanye just wanted to steal her away from Adidas and never planned to follow through on the severance payments.
Former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackettis set to release two of his ’90s solo albums on vinyl for the first time ever. The albums, 1993’s Guitar Noir and 1999’s Darktown, have been newly remastered specifically for vinyl and will be released June 2 as Gatefold 180g two-LP sets.
“I’m thrilled that my two albums Guitar Noir and Darktown are being release[d] on vinyl for the first time!” Hackett shares. “My music took on a darker edge for both those albums, and I explored additional sounds and genres I hadn’t touched before.”
As previously reported, Hackett recently announced he’ll be coming to North America for a tour in which he’ll play Genesis’ 1972 album, Foxtrot, in its entirety, plus other songs from his catalog. The tour kicks off October 3 in Montreal, Canada, and hits the States October 5 in Ithaca, New York. A complete list of dates can be found at hackettsongs.com.
Composed by Dan Isbell, Ben Hayslip and Jacob Rice, the song features a nostalgic ’90s country-inspired production with infectious guitar lines.
“So, let’s drink what’s left of this bottle of wine/ Move a little closer ’til the sparks start flyin’/ Turn the lights down low and pull the Conway off of the shelf/ Then we’ll dance through the kitchen and straight down the hall/ Let my old blue jeans and your sundress fall/ Girl, we’re holding the lighter/ And fires don’t start themselves,” Darius sings in the seductive chorus.
“When I first heard ‘Fires Don’t Start Themselves,’ the hook immediately got me,” Darius recalls. “The beginning of the chorus, ‘Let’s drink what’s left of this’ is classic ’90s country. I love it!”
“Fires Don’t Start Themselves” will be on Darius’ forthcoming album, Carolyn’s Boy.
On Sunday, April 2, Darius will appear on the 2023 CMT Music Awards to perform a duet of “She Talks to Angels” with The Black Crowes.
“I’ve been a fan of The Black Crowes for decades, and I’m grateful that we’ve also become good friends over the years. The first time I heard ‘She Talks to Angels,’ I remember being so moved by the lyrics that I went around Columbia, South Carolina, asking every single bar to play it,” Darius shares.
“I went home that night and put on Bonnie Raitt’s Home Plate, and decided I was going to try to write ‘She Talks to Angels’ for her. ‘Let Her Cry’ was what poured out of me,” he continues. “These guys have been so impactful on my career and I can’t wait to share the CMT stage with them.”
On the tour front, Darius will kick off his Starting Fires Tour on June 15.
Lil Wayne makes this week’s New Music Friday with a new album. Here’s what else dropped:
Lil Wayne, I Am Music — The compilation features songs spanning Weezy’s career, including “Lollipop,” “A Milli,” “Fireman” and “Mr. Carter” with Jay-Z.
DJ Drama, I’m Really Like That— The 14-song track list features over 30 guest appearances from the likes of Lil Baby, Lil Uzi Vert, Rick Ross, Jim Jones, Roddy Ricch, T.I., the late Nipsey Hussle and others.
Tyler, the Creator, Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale — Featuring songs left over from Call Me If You Get Lost, the album’s on streaming platforms, with a CD and a limited edition three-LP Geneva Blue vinyl also available.
Chlöe, In Pieces — The singer’s first solo full-length is out now. “I put my entire heart and soul into this,” she says. She also dropped the video for “Cheatback” ft. Future and Joey Badass.
Quavo, “Honey Bun” — In the new song, accompanied by a video, Quavo alludes to Takeoff‘s death, shares his thoughts on the status of Migos and more.
Jhené Aiko, “calm & patient” — “there is a fit…even in the madness,” the singer wrote when announcing the song’s release. It’s her first solo release since welcoming son Noah.
Chance the Rapper, Writing Exercise 17 — The rapper took to Instagram to share his latest exercise, which highlights the exploitation of African countries for their resources and labor.
G-Eazy, “Tulips & Roses” — The single, released with a video, finds the rapper discussing his official comeback to music after a short break.
Daniel Caesar, “Valentina” — The song, which finds Daniel desiring a woman who’s already taken, will appear on his upcoming Never Enough, out April 7.
Coi Leray, “Players (Tokischa Remix)” — Coi’s “Players” has been remixed yet again, this time by Tokischa.
Bebe Rexha has released her new single, “Call on Me.” The catchy club anthem is the latest track from her upcoming album, Bebe, which is due out April 28. “God only knows how long I’ve waited for this, it’s been the longest time,” she sings on the song. “If I need a lover, someone to save me, someone to set me free—I call on me.”
Charlieonnafriday teams up with Lil Tjay for the song “Same Friends.” They also released the music video for the track, featuring Charlie and his pre-fame pals from Seattle hanging out in a nice L.A. home, before heading out to Lil Tjay’s house, where they continue the hang session with Tjay’s group of friends.
Charlie Puth joins forces with country-pop duo Dan + Shay for a new tune called “That’s Not How This Works.” On Thursday, Charlie debuted a six-minute short film to accompany the song, co-starring Sabrina Carpenter. A shortened version of the music video is also out now.
BLACKPINK’s Jisoo is out with her first solo single album, [ME]. The two-song collection features the lead single “꽃(FLOWER)” — which gets a floral-filled music video — and a track called “All Eyes on Me.”
Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding have dropped the Church Version of their new song “Miracle,” featuring echo-y angelic vocals by Ellie set to organ and harp instrumentals. A performance video shot in St. Bartholomew the Great, London’s oldest surviving church, also premiered Friday.
Michelle Rodriguez is pretty hard to kill onscreen. But when it comes to her character Trudy in 2009’s Avatar, she insisted to director James Cameron that she stay dead.
To Vanity Fair, the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves star recalled turning down the Oscar-winning director for Avatar: The Way of Water. “I came back in Resident Evil, I wasn’t supposed to. I came back in Machete, I wasn’t supposed to. I came back with Letty [in the Fast and Furious movies], I wasn’t supposed to. We can’t do a fourth, that would be overkill!”
She explained, “He was like, ‘I was thinking, “What if Michelle came back? A lot of the other characters came back [in The Way of Water].”‘ I was like, ‘You can’t do that — I died as a martyr.'”
Indeed, her pilot character met her end trying to stop an invasion of fellow humans on the planet Pandora.
The actress went on to tell the magazine, “I don’t understand, it’s so weird. I guess they don’t know what to do with the girl who doesn’t have a boyfriend. ‘She doesn’t have a boyfriend. Should we keep her alive, or kill her?'”
While she stepped away from working in the billions-making blockbuster sequel, she’s in both this weekend’s well-reviewed D&D movie and in May, Fast X, the 10th installment in another billions-grossing franchise.
The unplugged recording will appear on the prog outfit’s upcoming release, Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon, which is described as the “folk record” version of The Mars Volta.
“This acoustic rendition furthers the mission of the source music, which drew into sharper focus the traditional Latin influences that have always inspired Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala,” a press release reads.
You can listen to the acoustic version of “Palm Full of Crux” now via digital outlets. Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon will be released April 21.
The Mars Volta will launch a U.S. tour in May. The run includes a date opening for Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Pink Floyd is continuing the 50th anniversary celebration of their classic album The Dark Side of the Moon with a very special event. Unfortunately for U.S. fans, it’s in Australia.
The band has announced a listening event on April 20 on a remote peninsula off the coast of Western Australia to coincide with the Ningaloo Eclipse. The plan is to hit play on the album at 10:16:54 a.m. so the line “… but the sun is eclipsed by the moon” will sync exactly when the total solar eclipse happens.
The band is holding a contest that will give eight lucky Australian fans a chance to experience this unique listening opportunity. Those interested just have to submit a 30-second video by April 7 explaining why they should be picked.
The winners will then be filmed, with video of the experience featured on Pink Floyd’s social media pages.
(NEW YORK) — The unprecedented indictment of former President Donald Trump in New York has thrust the top prosecutor in Manhattan into the spotlight.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr., a Harvard grad and New York native, picked up the investigation into Trump that never got off the ground during his predecessor’s tenure.
Bragg has had a storied career in the New York courts and have been involved in various high-profile cases.
Here’s what to know about him:
Alvin Bragg
Bragg, 49, grew up in Harlem and received his law degree from Harvard. He began his career as a clerk for the Hon. Robert P. Patterson Jr. in the Southern District of New York and then joined a private law firm, according to his campaign bio.
In 2003, he joined the New York State Attorney General’s office, working under then AG Elliot Spitzer on numerous cases from white-collar crimes to investigations into drug cartels, his campaign bio said.
From 2006 to 2009 Bragg served as the New York City Council’s chief of litigations and investigations before moving to the Southern District of New York as an assistant U.S. attorney. In 2017, then-New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman appointed Bragg as the Deputy Attorney General of New York.
It was in this role that Bragg first went up against Trump in a legal setting, when he led the office’s prosecution against the Trump Foundation for “extensive unlawful political conduct” with the charity’s money and using it for personal matters. The foundation was dissolved and Trump was forced to pay $2 million as part of a settlement.
Bragg would leave the New York Attorney General’s office in December 2018 to serve as a visiting professor at New York Law School, but six months later he announced his candidacy to run for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in 2021.
During the campaign, Bragg spoke openly about the DA’s investigations into Trump and cited his experience in the AG’s office as a qualification. He won the election and assumed office in January 2022, becoming the first Black Manhattan DA.
Less than two months into his term, Bragg was put on the hot seat involving an ongoing investigation into Trump and his real estate business.
Two assistant district attorneys who worked on the case, Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz, resigned. Pomerantz released a book in January, about the investigation and his resignation and accused Bragg of making a mistake by failing to bring a criminal case against former President Trump at the onset of his tenure.
Bragg told reporters a week after the book was released that Pomerantz’s case was not ready.
“I bring hard cases when they are ready,” he said.
Bragg’s office empaneled a grand jury and had been investigating Trump’s role in the alleged hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
He secured an indictment Thursday, although the details of the case are under seal. Trump and his legal team have decried the prosecution.
“President Trump has been indicted. He did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this this political prosecution in Court,” his legal team said in a statement.
