albums

Taylor Swift has broken yet another record with Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). The superstar is the first living artist in nearly 60 years to have at least four albums at the same time in the top 10 on Billboard’s 200 chart. Midnights, Lover and Folklore join Swift’s newest album on the chart, where it sits at No. 1. The only other living artist to do so was Herb Alpert in 1966 with his albums Going Places, Whipped Cream & Other Delights, South of the Border and The Lonely Bull, according to…

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) becomes artist’s 12th Number One album Taylor Swift has made history with Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). As one of four albums the artist has in the Top 10 simultaneously, Swift becomes the first woman to achieve that milestone since the Billboard 200 combined mono and stereo album charts into one in August 1963, as Billboard reports. The album also bowed at Number One on the Billboard 200 albums chart and marks the largest week for any album this year.…

James Holden’s label Border Community introduced me to electronic music that I probably would never have listened to otherwise. Over the years, he seems to have moved away from club-based music in favour of a more organic, human sound. It’s been almost 20 years since the creation of Border Community and this album is a celebration of that. Each track feels like a nod to parts of his previous discography. The percussion on most tracks is very faint and makes the album feel like a lost memory. The only track where the beat…

Image: WB/Disney/NetflixThe weekend of June 16, 2023 has been a pretty big one for movies here in the west. Though the big one is arguably Warner Bros.’ The Flash, it’s sort of sharing the spotlight with four other movies, and each of them with their own different draw. Was It Intimidating to Play Mario and Luigi? | io9 InterviewWe’ve already covered The Flash at length, so let’s do a run down on the other flicks. For those who like their movies ridiculous and violent, there’s Netflix’s Extraction 2, the sequel to its…

Photo: Stu Forster (Getty Images)Nearly two months after AI created a viral hit song featuring (fake) Drake and The Weeknd that shook the music industry, The Beatles are getting ready to possibly do the same by using this advanced technology to release their “final song” with deceased member John Lennon.Time to Tackle the Taylor Swift Ticketmaster Turmoil | TechModo Beatles member Paul McCartney told the BBC on Tuesday that he had used AI to “extricate” Lennon’s voice from an old demo to complete the song, which is…

Bar Italia – Tracey DenimPerhaps the pandemic forced us to appreciate the art of lolling about, but for whatever reason, the sound of slacker indie is as popular as ever, and this London trio are peak practitioners. They sound as if they’d borrow your cigarettes outside a pub with the most cursory of thank yous – there’s shades of Justine Frischmann’s delivery at times – but they are far from aloof, covering a broad emotional and stylistic range: nervy post-punk, perky lo-fi pop and also a kind of sexy shoegaze on songs…

Kate Chenli’s debut YA novel arrives in October, and I don’t think anyone would mind if you judged this book on its cover, because the cover is absolutely stunning. A Bright Heart is inspired by wuxia storytelling tropes and takes us on a journey of revenge, reincarnation, and court intrigue. Does Charlie Have a Kryptonite to Her Power?After Mingshin is betrayed by the man she loves—the man she made king—she prays that the gods give her a chance to avenge herself. When she wakes up two years before she’s murdered, she…

Music streaming services are big on trying to give you algorithmically selected music so that you can discover your next favorite act. YouTube Music quietly rolled out a new feature that will show you recommended albums, according to Android Police. These are albums that the platform thinks that you should listen to. YouTube Music is one of the platforms that’s always making changes to the UI. Just recently, the app removed the skip button from its mini-player. Now, you simply have to swipe to navigate between tracks.…

You can almost always find Twitch streamer Juan Guarnizo in a crowd by listening for his very loud and unique laugh, beloved by his fans. If you’re at the Cupra Arena stadium in Barcelona, though, you’ll see Guarnizo first. He’ll be the one decked out in red to represent Aniquiladores FC, one of the 12 teams in the Kings League, and probably be wearing a baseball cap and shades. Guarnizo has 10.5 million followers on Twitch and serves as the president of Aniquiladores, which means “Annihilators” in English. He’s the…

Social media offers a never-ending stream of content, but to get it, you have to put up with a lot of manipulation. Influencers entice you with clickbait, notifications hijack your attention, and algorithms tune your experience to keep you glued to your phone. The internet can be a hostile place, but recently, I found a thriving little community that feels different. It’s called Blast Radio, and it’s the most creatively refreshing thing I’ve seen online in years.Does Charlie Have a Kryptonite to Her Power?Blast Radio is a…