A few weeks ago, New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced the state would reopen large arenas at 10 percent capacity for sports and music — spiking Google searches for “concerts in 2021” and setting off a flurry of excited chatter about live music‘s long-awaited return. “One thing is clear, we …
Read More »Phoebe Bridgers on 'SNL': Yes, It's OK for Women to Smash Guitars
Phoebe Bridgers concluded her Saturday Night Live performance on February 6th by attempting to smash her guitar onstage — a fitting finale for an apocalyptically intense folk-rock song called “I Know the End.” There was Bridgers doing her very own London Calling, attempting to smash her Danelectro Dano ’56 baritone …
Read More »Forgiving Student Debt Alone Won't Fix the Crisis
Joe Biden says he supports canceling $10,000 in federal student debt through legislation, while congressional progressives like Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) say they want five times that amount wiped out right away, by executive order. The New York Times says the $10K-versus-$50K debate will be “one of the first tests …
Read More »John Lennon: A Special Tribute on the Anniversary of His Death
O n December 8th, 1980, John Lennon was murdered outside of his New York City apartment building. Three days prior to the tragic event, he spoke with Rolling Stone for nine hours. He was famously photographed by Annie Leibovitz for that story, naked and curling up in a fetal position …
Read More »Trump's Massive Debts Are a National Security Crisis
WASHINGTON —There’s a good rule of thumb for thinking about President Trump’s personal finances: It’s not what he owns; it’s what he owes. The New York Times’ explosive new investigation into Trump’s history of tax avoidance and IRS battles not only reveals that Trump paid a measly $750 in federal …
Read More »Linda Martell, Country's Lost Pioneer
L ong after the music faded out, she can still hear the hateful words. The year was 1969, and Linda Martell hoped to become one of country music’s breakthrough acts. She had a single on the charts, an album on the way, and the backing of a Nashville industry player. …
Read More »Congress' Stinginess Is Putting Democracy at Risk, State Election Officials Say
WASHINGTON — A few weeks ago, more than 2,000 election officials from across the country participated in a virtual-training program known as a table-top exercise. Organized by the Department of Homeland Security, the training brought home the many obstacles facing state and local election officials in this pandemic year. Election …
Read More »Coronavirus Is Here: What We Know So Far
Over the past few weeks we’ve been confronted with daily reports about the coronavirus, but a lot of the information out there is confusing or contradictory. To start with, it’s a coronavirus, not the coronavirus. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a coronavirus is part of a large virus …
Read More »'The Only Thing Missing Was Her, Physically.' Inside the Whitney Houston Hologram Tour
“Good evening, everyone, and welcome to Whitney Houston, very much live,” a holographic Whitney tells a small crowd of reporters in Los Angeles during a dress rehearsal for the late singer’s upcoming “An Evening With Whitney: The Whitney Houston Hologram Tour.” While Houston has been dead for eight years, the …
Read More »Oscars 2020: 'Parasite,' '1917,' 'Joker' Win Big
Whimsical goofs, pleas for humanity, and calls for Hollywood to tell more diverse stories were on full display at the 92nd Academy Awards on Sunday night, when Parasite, 1917, and Joker each won multiple Oscars. Bong Joon Ho‘s unpredictable satirical thriller Parasite, about a poor family that ingratiates itself into …
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