I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post includes blurbs on Hit-Monkey, Vikings: Valhalla, Johnny Cash, Miranda Lambert, MisterWives, Nikka Costa, Mckenna Grace, The Smashing Pumpkins, Ruthie Foster, and Succession.
- Check out the official trailer and key art for the second season of Hulu's Hit-Monkey. Season 2 of Hit-Monkey will premiere Monday, July 15 on Hulu. Season 2 Synopsis: In New York City, Monkey finds a path to escape his life of killing, while Bryce attempts to repair the damage to those he wronged in life. But what will it cost them to undo the past?
- From Creator/Showrunner/Executive Producer Jeb Stuart (The Fugitive, Die Hard), Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment brings you the next chapter in the Vikings franchise, with the release of Vikings: Valhalla: The Complete First Season on Blu-ray and DVD on August 27, 2024. One hundred years have passed, and a new generation of legendary heroes have arrived to create their own destiny — and make history! On August 27, all 8 gripping episodes from the first season will be available for purchase online and in-store at major retailers. Pre-order your copy today. Vikings: Valhalla chronicles the heroic adventures of some of the most famous Vikings who ever lived — the legendary explorer Leif Eriksson, his fiery and headstrong sister Freydis Eriksdotter, and the ambitious Nordic prince Harald Sigurdsson. As tensions between the Vikings and the English royals reach a bloody breaking point and as the Vikings themselves clash over their conflicting Christian and pagan beliefs, these three Vikings begin an epic journey that will take them across oceans and through battlefields, from Kattegat to England and beyond, as they fight for survival and glory.
- In the powerful opening song, “Hello Out There” from Johnny Cash’s acclaimed new album, Songwriter (available everywhere now via Mercury Nashville/UMe), the late legendary musician and songwriter sounds as if he’s reaching out from the beyond concerned about mankind and the state of the world as he bellows, “Hello out there/This is planet Earth/Calling Calling Calling Calling Calling,” facilitating his own echoes, before continuing, “Hello out there/our net worth is/Falling Falling Falling Falling Falling.” As the “cleverly disguised gospel song” continues, as his son and album co-producer John Carter Cash describes it, the song crescendos with a glorious swirling of Marty Stuart’s spacey guitar licks, strings, steel guitar, pounding drums, the angelic backing vocals of Ana Cristina Cash and Harry Stinson, and Johnny’s prescient message of salvation, sonically falling somewhere between cosmic country and gospel. Recorded just before Johnny was recruited by U2 for Zooropa album closer, “The Wanderer,” the songs could be celestial cousins of sorts. “I believe dad wrote it about the Voyager spaceship sometime around when it launched,” said John Carter. “I remember him sitting in Cowboy Jack Clement’s office in the early ‘80s and singing it for him.” WATCH “HELLO OUT THERE”
- “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” croons multi-hyphenate superstar Miranda Lambert on current single “Wranglers,” which arrived last month as the biggest streaming debut of her career. Now, Stereogum’s “single greatest country star to come along this century” doubles down on her signature theme of empowerment as a woman liberated on “Dammit Randy,” a rousing anthem about reclaiming independence. Listen HERE. “This song came out of a conversation the night before Jon Randall and I went into the studio to make this album,” Lambert shared. “We were talking about how excited we were to be starting this journey with a new label family (Republic and Big Loud) and how supported we felt by them, which turned into chatting about situations where you might not feel so supported by someone – in this song’s case, an unappreciative Randy. So, this one’s for anyone with a Randy they need to move on from.”
- New York City/Los Angeles-based alt-pop group MisterWives share the official VEVO performance of booming single "Organized Chaos" out now, premiering exclusively via PAPER Magazine. PAPER dives into the video itself and the "art of bringing repressed feelings to the surface." Later this summer, the band will release the deluxe version of their 2023 album Nosebleeds, Nosebleeds: Encore complete with reworked tracks and new surprises. This Fall, MisterWives will embark on the MisterWives: Just For One Night! tour with support from Joan, Juliana Madrid, Moody Joody and Meg Smith beginning with the band taking the Austin City Limits stage on October 6 and October 13. Tickets are on sale now here.
- LA-based soul and funk singer Nikka Costa shares the release date of her new single “Dance 'N Forget” taken from her highly anticipated album Dirty Disco. The album was recorded with and produced by Justin Stanley (Prince, Jamie Lidell, Beck, etc.) and will be released on August 16th. Today, tickets to her first tour in over six years go on sale at 10 am PST here. She adds that “”Dance ‘N Forget” is about that feeling you get when you’re just DONE and wanna hang with your friends and forget everything. It’s lights out, shoes off, people you love, music loud, no worries, all fun, zero %$#ucks! “Amnesia, give me a dose of it so I can care less. Something to turn off my mind.” Known for her powerful vocals, dynamic stage presence, and diverse musical influences, Nikka Costa returns from a six-year musical career break with future-forward disco-inspired sounds.
- Narrating life as it passes by, rising musician, songwriter and actor Mckenna Grace marked her 18th birthday today with the release of her pop/punk inspired new single, "LOSER!!." now (via Photo Finish Records) HERE. Produced by David Burris and written by Grace, Burris and Kella Armitage, this angst-filled track, released on Grace's 18th birthday, is brimming with the internal dialogue and social awkwardness that Grace's fans adore and expect from her. Today, Grace additionally shared her high school prom-inspired companion video for “LOSER!!”. Directed by Justin Mitchell and Lottie Abrahams the video humorously revolves around Mckenna’s big Prom night. Adorned with both corsage and electric guitar, Mckenna guides viewers through all the quintessential prom night feels, angst, exuberance and friendship. The quick cut scenes capture everything from intimate girl talk in the bathroom to playful antics in the back seat of a limo. The fun and relatable video reaches its climax with Mckenna and her friends coming together, rocking out and ultimately celebrating the inner "Loser" in all of us. Watch HERE.
- Two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning iconic rock band The Smashing Pumpkins will release (Rotten Apples) The Smashing Pumpkins Greatest Hits on vinyl for the very first time on August 9, 2024, via Capitol/UMe. Spanning the first decade-plus of their discography, (Rotten Apples) The Smashing Pumpkins Greatest Hits comprises some of the band’s most recognizable anthems, including “Today,” “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” “Cherub Rock,” “1979,” “Ava Adore,” and more. It also features their fan-favorite Lost Highway soundtrack cut, “Eye.” Plus, the collection notably concludes with “Untitled”—which would be the last song recorded by Billy Corgan, James Iha, and Jimmy Chamberlin for seventeen years until their 2018 reunion. The latter has never previously been pressed on vinyl. (Rotten Apples) The Smashing Pumpkins Greatest Hits will be available as a 2LP on 180g black vinyl and multiple collector-worthy, limited-edition 2LP color variants pressed on standard weight or 180g color vinyl. Preorder (Rotten Apples) The Smashing Pumpkins Greatest Hits HERE
- Ruthie Foster, the acclaimed singer-songwriter known for her powerful blend of blues, folk, and gospel, unveils her evocative new single "Heartshine," the second release from her highly anticipated album Mileage, set to drop on August 23 via the legendary Sun Records. This single follows the uplifting "Rainbow" and continues to showcase Foster's unparalleled ability to meld soulful melodies with heartfelt storytelling. "Heartshine" emerged from the creative synergy between Foster and her collaborators, Tyler Bryant (of Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown) and Rebecca Lovell (one-half of Larkin Poe). The trio found a profound connection in their songwriting process, and their conversations evolved into poetic lyrics and resonant melodies.
- Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment will be newly releasing Succession: The Complete Series on Blu-ray. Get ready to binge on all 39 episodes from HBO’s Emmy® award-winning original series, along with all the previously released special features. The brilliant high-stakes drama following the Roy Family and their quest for power will be available to purchase online on August 13. Pre-order your copy today. Succession stars Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, Alan Ruck, Matthew Macfadyen, Nicholas Braun, J. Smith-Cameron, Peter Friedman, David Rasche, and Fisher Stevens. The series was created by Jesse Armstrong; executive produced by Jesse Armstrong, Adam McKay, Frank Rich, Kevin Messick, Jane Tranter, Mark Mylod, Tony Roche, Scott Ferguson, Jon Brown, Lucy Prebble, Will Tracy, and Will Ferrell. Jesse Armstrong served as showrunner.
