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 John Legend, The Black Crowes, Kenny Rogers, Of Monsters and Men, Destroy All Neighbors, Hazbin Hotel, and Man on the Run.
- Multiplatinum, 12-time Grammy® Award-winner John Legend shares a new single entitled “Don’t Need To Sleep” out today via Republic Records. Listen HERE. It soars as a standout from the We Dare To Dream Soundtrack available on all DSPs. Executive produced by EGOT® superstar Legend and Academy® Award winner Angelina Jolie, the acclaimed 2023 Tribeca Festival selection and refugee sports documentary, We Dare To Dream, is now streaming exclusively on Peacock. Legend notably co-wrote “Don’t Need To Sleep” with Justin Tranter and Oak Felder—who also produced the song. On the track, soft strings unspool underneath striking and soulful verses punctuated by piano. It culminates on the climactic chorus as he reminds, “Don’t need to sleep to dream.” Be on the lookout for a powerful music video to accompany the song soon. It follows his 2022 double-album opus, LEGEND, out now. Listen HERE.
- world-renowned rock band The Black Crowes released the box set of their chart-topping sophomore album, The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion, via American Recordings/UMe. The album, which entered the US Billboard album chart at No. 1 upon release in 1992, was named after a post-Civil War southern hymnal and is home to some of the band's biggest hits, including "Remedy," “Sting Me,” and "Thorn in My Pride” which were #1 on the Billboard Main Stream Rock Airplay chart for a combined total of 21 weeks. Rich and Chris Robinson, alongside producer George Drakoulias, revisited the archives for the instant classic album. They also created a special super deluxe edition featuring unreleased studio recordings, rare B-sides, a live performance from Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, TX, on February 6, 1993, and a newly remastered album from the original 1/4″ production master. The boxset features 14 unreleased recordings, including a previously unreleased studio recording of "Miserable” and a new take on the Memphis soul classic "99 Pounds.” Originally from the catalog of renowned Memphis soul singer-songwriter Ann Peebles “99 Pounds” was first released on her 1972 album Straight From the Heart. The Black Crowes’ cover of is a classic Rock & Roll take on a Southern Soul ballad. The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion is available now on stunning 4LP, 3CD, 2 CD, and 1LP formats. An exclusive, limited-edition “Remedy” Lyric T-shirt or Trucker Hat is also available as Fan Packs bundled with the 1LP in the Black Crowes official store HERE. Alongside the box set, the band released a super deluxe digital audio today. The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion is now available HERE.
- Forty-five years ago, on December 16, 1978, Kenny Rogers’ trademark song “The Gambler” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, giving the country star his third No. 1 of the year. “The Gambler” would spend three consecutive weeks in the top spot and become a mainstream crossover hit, climbing to No. 16 on the pop chart. In addition to becoming Kenny’s signature song, it would launch his already successful career into the stratosphere. “The Gambler,” written by Don Schlitz, would go on to win the Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance and spawn a TV movie on CBS with Kenny starring in the titular role as he added actor to his impressive resume. The film was a smash hit which led to Kenny Rogers becoming a household name and eventually four additional films, making it the longest running film series franchise on TV. Meanwhile, the album The Gambler, featuring the follow-up crossover smash “She Believes In Me” and standouts “I Wish That I Could Hurt That Way Again” and “Tennessee Bottle,” went to No. 1 on the country chart, won Album Of The Year at the Country Music Awards and went five times platinum in the U.S. Stream The Gambler In Dolby Atmos: https://KennyRogers.lnk.to/
- Multi-platinum Icelanders Of Monsters and Men proudly present their award-winning and acclaimed short documentary TÍU on YouTube. Following the premiere at 12pm EST, the band will go live for a YouTube after party, engaging fans worldwide for what promises to be a very special chat. Watch TÍU—HERE. When the band’s 2020 world tour was canceled due to the Covid pandemic, they set out on a friends and family road trip/adventure around their native Iceland. Footage shot by friend and director Dean Deblois (How To Train Your Dragon, Lilo and Stitch and Sigur Ros’ Heima) ultimately became what is now the short documentary TÍU which has been recognized as an “Official Selection” at 2022 & 2023 film festivals around the world including a world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival and an international premiere at the Reykjavik International Film Festival. It also garnered an award in the category of “Best Short” at the 2023 Dumbo Film Festival.
- William Brown (Jonah Ray Rodrigues), a neurotic, self-absorbed musician determined to finish his prog-rock magnum opus, faces a creative roadblock in the form of a noisy and grotesque neighbor named Vlad (Alex Winter). Finally working up the nerve to demand that Vlad keep it down, William inadvertently decapitates him. But, while attempting to cover up one murder, William’s accidental reign of terror causes victims to pile up and become undead corpses who torment and create more bloody detours on his road to prog-rock Valhalla. DESTROY ALL NEIGHBORS is a twisted splatter-comedy about a deranged journey of self-discovery full of goopy practical FX, a well-known ensemble cast, and LOTS of blood. Streaming on Shudder January 12th.
- Prime Video released the official trailer for Season One of the highly anticipated adult animated musical comedy Hazbin Hotel. The trailer features a new original song, “Ready For This,” from platinum-certified artist Sam Haft and Emmy-nominated Andrew Underberg, who contributed original music and lyrics for the series. The first season of Hazbin Hotel consists of eight episodes, with four episodes premiering on Prime Video January 19, 2024 and two episodes rolling out weekly through February 2. The series will be available in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. Fans can continue to visit HazbinHotel.com to pre-order special packages that include exclusive Season One merchandise until January 12, when early access to the first two episodes will be available to stream on the A24 App one week before they release on Prime Video, along with a virtual Q&A event with Vivienne Medrano and special guests.
- This January, Netflix debuts the true crime feature documentary, MAN ON THE RUN, directed by Cassius Michael Kim (Stockton On My Mind, The Wonder List), uncovering the shocking true story of a corrupt group of co-conspirators who jeopardized a country's hope for financial stability. Their influence extended from the highest levels of the Malaysian government to the glamorous enclaves of Hollywood. MAN ON THE RUN follows the enigmatic Low Taek Jho—known to most as Jho Low – a mysterious businessman and playboy. Working with former Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia, Low orchestrated a scheme to exploit 1MDB, a sovereign wealth fund established in 2009 with the noble purpose of benefiting the people of Malaysia. In 2015, the intrepid journalist Clare Rewcastle-Brown receives leaked financial documents, setting off a global investigation that uncovers a staggering amount of money being funneled into international bank accounts to fuel Low's extravagant lifestyle. This included the acquisition of lavish properties, a private jet, a super-yacht, paying to party with A-list celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and dating supermodel Miranda Kerr. Dubbed the “Asian Great Gatsby,” Jho Low even financed Martin Scorcese’s controversial Oscar® nominated blockbuster, The Wolf of Wall Street. He now faces charges of money laundering and a slew of other offenses related to the multibillion-dollar scandal and is wanted by international authorities. The disgraced financier is on the run and believed to be hiding in China.
