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Lindsey Buckingham bemoans his firing from Fleetwood Mac; Stevie Nicks calls his version “factually inaccurate”

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham in 2018; Lester Cohen/Getty Images for NARAS

Lindsey Buckingham, who’s preparing to release his new self-titled solo album next week, has a lot to say about his 2018 dismissal from Fleetwood Mac in a new Los Angeles Times interview.

It’s been reported that Buckingham was fired from the group after Stevie Nicks gave Fleetwood Mac a “him or me” ultimatum following an incident at the 2018 MusiCares Person of the Year gala. Buckingham told the Los Angeles Times that he was disappointed that band mates Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie didn’t have his back in that conflict, while suggesting that financial concerns may have been a factor.

Lindsey maintains Mick has “never quite gotten to the point where he’s financially stable all the time,” adding, “He’s been married and divorced many times. He’s just not smart with his money.”

As for Christine, Buckingham reports that she sent him an email after his firing that read, “I’m really sorry that I didn’t stand up for you, but I just bought a house.” Lindsey also posed that Stevie wanted him out of the band so she could garner more attention and more control of the group’s direction. “I think she saw the possibility of remaking the band more in the Stevie Nicks vein,” he maintains.

The Los Angeles Times informed Nicks about Buckingham’s comments, and she sent a message in response, saying that Lindsey’s version of the events surrounding his firing “is factually inaccurate.”

She continues, “To be exceedingly clear…I did not demand he be fired. Frankly, I fired myself. I proactively removed myself from the band and a situation I considered to be toxic to my well-being.”

Nicks says “many lengthy group discussions” followed, and Fleetwood Mac “found a new path forward with two hugely talented new members,” referring to Mike Campbell and Neil Finn.

Boy on the way: Rotimi reveals his fiancée is expecting their first child

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Rotimi is about to become a father for the first time.

The Power and Coming 2 America star made the announcement with a series of Instagram maternity photos with his pregnant fiancée, Vanessa Mdee.

“My greatest gift has been you. You changed my life and now we are beautifully linked forever to raise a little us.” Rotimi commented. “I pray our son has your glow Your heart, Your mind, and your spirit. I will protect you and our son with everything I have.”

He added, “You belong in a museum, baby…. Buttascotch prince on the way.”

Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child commented, “Simply beautiful!!”

“We are super excited to welcome our son. As first-time parents, everything about this experience has been a brand-new challenge,” the couple told People. “We love it.”

The actor/singer and the songwriter from Tanzania met at the Essence Festival in New Orleans. They were engaged on December 30, 2020 in Atlanta.

Rotimi, who released his debut solo album, All or Nothing, on August 27, will appear in the upcoming remake of the classic 1990 film House Party, which starred Kid ‘n Play, Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell, A.J. Johnson and the late Robin Harris, plus Full Force members Paul Anthony and Bow-Legged Lou.

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North Korea holds 1st military parade since Biden took office

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NORTH KOREA) — North Korea hosted its 73rd anniversary parade late Wednesday going into early Thursday morning, with a display of soldiers in bright orange hazmat suits and gas masks marching in Pyongyang, according to the Korea Central News Agency, the nation’s state media.

Along with top officials, a thinner Kim Jong Un appeared in the square, where he “extended warm greetings” and waved back to the crowds, KCNA reported. Parachutists came down from the sky, there was a fireworks display and tractors hauled artillery behind soldiers, the news agency reported, though photos depict only fire trucks and tractors.

But the image of a strong, healthy regime painted by the country’s state media is the opposite of what the parade truly showcased, according to Gordon Chang, author of “Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes on the World.” The parade indicated a much less ambitious North Korea, Chang said, one that has been decimated by the coronavirus pandemic despite zero cases reported by the country.

“All those guys in the red hazmat suits, which were really striking, that wasn’t directed to us, that was directed to the North Korean people basically saying that the regime has this well in hand because it obviously doesn’t,” he said.

The pandemic and international sanctions have damaged the economy and caused widespread famine. In July, South Korea’s central bank released its 2020 economic estimates for its northern neighbor, finding that North Korea’s economy shrunk by 4.5% last year — the largest decrease in at least 10 years, according to the report.

Photos of Kim at the parade also showed that his weight loss has continued since he began slimming down this summer.

Martyn Williams, a researcher at 38 North, which provides analysis about the country, tweeted that “It’s striking how much healthier Kim is looking in these photos from yesterday. However he is doing it — and there are theories — he looks a lot better than he did a few months ago.”

Chang also speculated as to why Kim had lost weight.

“I think he’s either realized it doesn’t look good from a public relations point of view to be overly heavy, or he’s just dealing with a personal health problem,” he said.

Aside from the apocalyptic looking hazmat suits, the parade lacked North Korea’s signature missiles, which are routinely used to boast the regime’s military might.

This was the nation’s first military parade since President Joe Biden took office. North Korea has been very quiet on the international scene in recent months — which is very uncharacteristic, according to Chang.

“They have been very, very quiet for a long time which means we should start to worry about what’s going on because something is not right,” he said.

OK Computer: Radiohead announces ‘Kid A Mnesia Exhibition’ video game

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

First Radiohead got a TikTok, and now they’re making a video game.

Thom Yorke and company have announced Kid A Mnesia Exhibition, a “upside-down digital/analog universe” inspired by the band’s albums Kid A and Amnesiac, which were released in 2000 and 2001, respectively. It was made in collaboration with Epic Games, the developer and publisher behind the massive Fortnite.

Kid A Mnesia Exhibition will be released in November on Playstation 5, and on PC and Mac via the Epic Games Store. You can watch a trailer now streaming on YouTube.

Earlier this week, Radiohead announced reissues of Kid A and Amnesiac, due out November 5. They also revealed the details Kid Amnesiae, a compilation featuring “half-remembered, half-forgotten sessions and unreleased material” from the Kid A and Amnesiac eras. That arrives November 5, as well.

Afghan girls in climbing group wait and hope, desperate to escape Taliban rule

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(AFGHANISTAN) — For girls and young women accustomed to mountain climbing and physical fitness training six times a week, being confined in a crowded wedding hall near an airport in northern Afghanistan is a different kind of challenge — one with their fates at stake.

It’s the new reality for dozens of them affiliated with Ascend, an organization that teaches Afghan women and girls athletic-based leadership skills. They came to the airport in Mazar-e-Sharif 10 days ago for evacuation flights the Taliban have blocked, heightening their fears they’ll be left behind.

“We’re trying to remind them we haven’t forgotten you. The world hasn’t forgotten you,” Marina LeGree, founder and executive director of Ascend told ABC News. “But some of them are losing hope.”

While the first passenger flight out of Kabul since the Taliban seized power took off on Thursday, carrying some U.S. citizens and other Westerners on board, life-and-death concerns loom for at-risk Afghans still in the country, especially for women like those of Ascend who have exercised independence in the last 20 years, free from Taliban rule.

Founded in 2014, Ascend is a U.S.-based nonprofit operating in Afghanistan that recruits a new group of Afghan girls and young women aged 15-24 each year to embark on a two-year mountaineering program. The recruits — who have trained in Ghaza Stadium, used by the last Taliban government for public punishment — have a mission of fostering leadership, volunteerism, and physical and mental well-being for the next generation.

But if the group in Mazar-e-Sharif is left behind, LaGree fears they’ll be married off to Taliban fighters — or worse.

Ahead of Genesis’ upcoming tour, Phil Collins admits he can “barely hold” drumsticks: “It’s very frustrating”

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Elena Di Vincenzo/Archivio Elena Di Vincenzo/Mondadori via Getty Images

Genesis‘ upcoming tour is called The Last Domino?, but the question mark at the end of that phrase should be an exclamation point, as far as Phil Collins is concerned.

Phil appeared on BBC Breakfast on Thursday along with band mates Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford, and said flatly, “We’re all men of our age, and I think to some extent, I think [this tour] probably is putting [the band] to bed. I think just generally for me, I don’t know if I want to go out on the road anymore.”

Phil, who’s 70, has been sidelined by a number of serious health problems; his son Nicholas will be playing the drums on the tour this time around. Asked if he’s still able to play, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer admitted, “No. No. I would love to but…I mean, I can barely hold a stick with this hand, so there are certain physical things that get in the way.”

He added that his condition is “very frustrating, because I’d love to be playing up there with my son.”

During his I’m Not Dead Yet solo tour, which ran from 2017 to 2019, Phil sat on stage and sang while Nicholas played drums, although he did play a cajón — a percussion instrument played with the hands — at some shows.

The Last Domino? tour will be the first time Genesis, which has been in existence for more than 50 years, has toured together since 2007. The trek kicks off in the U.K. next week, and if all goes according to plan, it’ll come to the U.S. in November.

Mark Proksch reveals his real-life inspiration for his “energy vampire” in ‘What We Do in the Shadows’

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Based on the acclaimed film of the same name, FX’s comedy series What We Do in the Shadows follows a coven of inept vampires who live in a house in the New York borough of Staten Island.

And while there are the traditional blood-suckers, a fan favorite from the series has become Colin Robinson, is an energy vampire, played by Mark Proksch. The nerdy character can literally sap the life from anyone he comes across via office high-fives, boring stories, and speeches at public hearings.

Robinson was created by movie and series co-creator Jermaine Clement, but Proksch’s take on him — and inspiration from his real life — landed him the job.

“…[U]ntil I was in my early 30s, I was doing a lot of temping, mostly in the Midwest,” he explains to ABC Audio. “And so when you’re temping at in the marketing department of a bank, you tend to meet these energy vampires and emotional vampires. And I’ve met my fair share, as we all have when working in offices. And so, yeah, there’s definitely inspiration that I’ve mined from there.”

The mockumentary series was nominated for eight Emmys its first season, including Outstanding Comedy Series, and its fan base continues to grow as its third season just premiered.

“It’s been really great,” Proksch explains. “You’re lucky when you’re on a show that it has any fan base at all. So many shows nowadays, it feels like you tune in for a little bit of it, and you can’t imagine who watches that show. And so to be on a show that is not only critically recognized but also recognized among people of all different generations has been really, really special.”

What We Do in the Shadows airs tonight at 10 p.m. on FX.

Morris Chestnut is undecided about returning to ‘The Resident’

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Morris Chestnut on “The Resident”; Guy D’Alema/FOX

Morris Chestnut has starred in the Fox medical drama series The Resident since 2019, and now he’s also featured in the new Fox series, Our Kind of People, executive-produced by Empire creator Lee Daniels. While promoting his new show, the 52-year-old actor said he’s undecided about his future with The Resident.

“I’m not sure exactly what’s going to happen with The Resident,” Chestnut revealed during a Television Critics Association panel on Wednesday, according to Deadline. “I love the cast, I love everything about that show but I also love everything about this show.”

The NAACP Image Award winner, who launched his 30-year career in John Singleton‘s iconic 1991 film, Boyz n the Hood, has shifted to a recurring role as Dr. Barrett Cain in The Resident. He says he was immediately drawn to Our Kind of People and the plot about the life of the rich on the Martha’s Vineyard island in Massachusetts.

“I actually had an opportunity to go back to The Resident full time, but when the opportunity came to be on this show and I read the script…I wanted to be part of this world.” Chestnut says. “I felt that this story about affluent wealthy Black people who are not playing ball or in entertainment was something that the world needed to see and I wanted to be a part of that. It was a no-brainer for me to sign onto this show.”

The Resident returns on Tuesday, September 21 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on Fox, immediately followed by Our Kind Of People at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.

“It’s a boy!” Jennifer Love Hewitt and husband Brian Hallisay welcome baby number three

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

With a cute announcement on Instagram that shows a winking pair of eyes drawn onto her very pregnant belly, Jennifer Love Hewitt announced that she and husband Brian Hallisay have had their third child.

“This l this is how my kids sent me to the hospital,” the 911 star said of her baby bump, on which was also penned “almost cooked” “It’s a boy,” and “9 months.”

“My belly was a big hit,” she contended.

Hewitt shared, “It is said that women leave their bodies in labor… they travel to the stars to collect the souls of their babies, and return to this world together,” before revealing the name of her new son.

“It was my greatest honor to go and collect you Aidan James,” Hewitt said, “Now back to snuggles and resting.”

Love’s two other children, 7-year-old daughter Autumn and 6-year-old son Atticus, share the same first initials and middle name as their new baby brother.

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Lorde explains dropping off the VMAs: “It wasn’t gonna be what I dreamed”

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Last week, the MTV Video Music Awards announced that Lorde would no longer be performing at this year’s show, citing “a change in production elements.” Now, the “Royals” artist is explaining what exactly that means.

In the latest edition of her fan newsletter, obtained by Billboard, Lorde shares she was “planning this insanely amazing, many-bodied intimate dance performance, not fully understanding the (very necessary!) safety protocols that are in place, and the masking and distancing just meant it wasn’t gonna be what I dreamed.”

“You know I can’t make something less than outstanding for you guys. I hope you understand,” she adds. “There will be many more TV performances, don’t you worry.”

This is the second time that Lorde’s VMA performance has been unexpectedly impacted. In 2017, she was so ill with the flu that she wasn’t able to sing, and instead performed an interpretive dance to “Homemade Dynamite.”

Artists who will be performing at the 2021 VMAs include Machine Gun Kelly, Twenty One Pilots and Foo Fighters. The ceremony airs this Sunday, September 12.

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