Around the Tubes: July 25, 2020

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Taylor Swift, Alison Brie, Summer Sonic, Morgan Harper-Jones, Evie Irie, South of Eden, Katy J Pearson, and Nelly.

- Most of the things Taylor Swift had planned for the summer of 2020 didn’t end up happening but…there was something magical that did happen, the surprise release of her 8^th studio album, folklore.  “Before this year I probably would’ve overthought when to release this music at the “perfect” time, but the times we’re living in keep reminding me that nothing is guaranteed,” said Taylor. “My gut telling me that if you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world. That’s the side of uncertainty I can get on board with.”  This spectacular 16-song album was produced by Aaron Dessner, Jack Antonoff and Taylor Swift and features a musical collaboration with Bon Iver. CD, Vinyl and Cassette editions of the album will feature one bonus track.  “cardigan” - the first official single release from folklore - is also released today. It is written by Taylor Swift and Aaron Dessner and produced by Aaron Dessner. The accompanying music video was directed by Taylor Swift.

- Alison Brie and Dave Franco Wrote a Rom-Com in Two Weeks:


- One of the world's biggest annual music festivals, Summer Sonic, will stream legendary archive live performances on July 22 and 23 for Free via the Summer Sonic YouTube channel: Here.  Day 2 (Thursday, July 23) of the streaming event will present epic sets from Green Day (2012), Nine Inch Nails (2009), Rihanna (2012), The Prodigy (2008), and X JAPAN (2011).

- Hailing from Rochdale in Greater Manchester, 23 year-old newcomer Morgan Harper-Jones has today shared her debut EP Breathe, including a new reimagined version of Whitney Houston's iconic "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)". Watch and listen to it HERE.  A talk all night, tales for days, brutally honest songwriter and storyteller, Morgan Harper-Jones has been perfecting her craft and performing across the north west of England for a few years; in early 2020 she stepped into focus and introduced herself to the wider world with a simply stunning debut release. "Breathe" went on to draw praise from a slew of radio stations including BBC 6 Music’s Lauren Laverne & Tom Robinson, BBC Radio 1’s Huw Stephens, BBC Introducing in Manchester, The Selector/BBC 1Xtra’s Jamz Supernova, and more.

- Buzzing as a bona fide artist to watch, seventeen-year-old Sydney-born singer/songwriter Evie Irie unveils a new single entitled “Little More Love” today. Get it HERE via Republic Records. Check out the official lyric video HERE.  The song heralds the arrival of her much-anticipated new project, The Optimist EP, releasing on August 14, 2020.  On the “Little More Love”, Evie comments, “I wrote this song in a time when I felt the world needed a little more love. A year later I have realised that love isn’t just something we need in moments of struggle, love should always be a constant.”  

- After their announcement that they have officially signed to Lava/Republic Records, Columbus, OH four-piece South of Eden release the official music video to their new single “Dancing With Fire.”    Watch the official music video for “Dancing With Fire” Here!  On the music video the band said “ “We wanted this to be a personality piece, and with all of us in quarantine we knew the best way to do that was to show what we have accomplished leading up to this release. John Payne, our media man, has been following us around for the last two years! The best thing to show with raw music is raw footage.”

- Katy J Pearson is pleased to announce news of her debut album, Return, which will be released on November 13th, 2020 via Heavenly Recordings. Alongside this news she has shared new track "Fix Me Up" and its accompanying video. Watch and listen HERE.  Speaking about about the track Katy said: "Quite an old song now, but it’s still very special to me! It’s very personal and is really about wanting independence in life after messy situations. In times of darkness feeling that pang of loneliness; wanting someone else to be there to help you put all the pieces back together - which I’m sure is something we can all relate too."

- Nelly, the St. Louis-bred hip-hop juggernaut revered for No. 1 hits like "Grillz," "Hot in Herre," "Dilemma," and "Shake Ya Tailfeather," will re-release his stone-classic debut album Country Grammar on July 24 via Republic/UMe. Hailed upon release by Rolling Stone as "the best thing to come out of St. Louis since Redd Foxx," by NME as the "album of the year so far" and by People, who proclaimed that Nelly "marked his hometown of St. Louis as a major contender," Country Grammar debuted at No. 3 on the Top 200 and soon vaulted to No. 1. In 2016, the RIAA certified the album Diamond, selling more than 10 million copies to date, a feat which placed Nelly among rock superstars like Led Zeppelin, the Doors and Bruce Springsteen.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: July 19, 2020

Snowpiercer: I had a theory that there was a second train out there with Mr. Wilford that is actually the train we saw in the movie, I just never thought we would see it, at least not this soon. Especially considering Jennifer Connelly just admitted to killing him. Not her first lie I guess. So are there other tracks? I guess that would be smart in case something happens and you can just switch over. But this show has taken some major liberties with just how physics work, but the train boarding the other train may be the most absurd of them all.
You can download Snowpiercer on iTunes.

The Chi: Make Chicago great again… oh my. I guess it could be worse, Kanye could be running to the mayor of his hometown. I may have to vote none of the above if I were I were in Chicago.

Black Monday: Is Mo really going to give himself up to save everyone else? I think he has another plan working that will probably take out the other Lehman brother. Hopefully it is a better plan than Blair’s claiming he cured of homosexuality.

Stargirl: That was the weakest episode since they stopped spending so much time on on Stargirl herself. But I do have a new theory that the janitor is one of the Seven Soldiers of Victory that happens to have eight members. Unfortunately an upcoming episode title seemingly confirms this.

The Challenge: Total Madness: What an apropos way to end a disappointing season that was bogged down by the Dee mess by having Johnny win for the first time since he screwed over Sarah. On the bright spot, it will likely be a very long time until we see another season. Granted, the Challenges house have probably passed around worse diseases than the Coronavirus.
You can download The Challenge: Total Madness on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: How did they make anew Coulsen so fast? Did they have a spare? And what happened to the Max Headroom version? And what does it mean to the future that the one guy who should have been sacrificed to HIVE keeps royally forking up history? Does Daisy even get born if her mother is not at that commune?
You can download Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Doom Patrol: Wait, if the original primary is black, why does the body look like Jane instead? And why does she still look like Jane now that the original primary has taken back control? And why did the Chief leave Robotman in space?