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Eight months after going on hiatus, comedy rock duo Tenacious D are back. Sort of. The Jack Black-fronted two-man band appear on a new compilation album benefitting victims of last month’s deadly Los Angeles wildfires, Good Music to Lift Los Angeles. The contribution is a cover of REO Speedwagon’s 1980 power ballad “Keep on Loving You,” a song they’ve performed live in their patented urgent acoustic style before.
The 90-track compilation released today (Feb. 7) contains previously unreleased recordings, new songs, covers, remixes, live versions and demos from Animal Collective, Blondshell, Perfume Genius, R.E.M., Dawes, Death Cab For Cutie, TV on the Radio, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, MJ Lenderman, My Morning Jacket, Interpol, Mudhoney, Manchester Orchestra, The New Pornographers and many more.
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It was unclear at press time when the band — which also features guitarist/singer Kyle Gass — recorded the song; you can buy the album exclusively now on Bandcamp. The compilation will be available for one day only, with proceeds going to the L.A. Regional Food Bank and California Foundation’s Wildfire Fund.
At press time it did not appear that Black or Gass had commented on the song’s inclusion on the compilation, which comes after they announced a break and cancelled a planned Australian tour following Gass’ controversial on-stage joke about the assassination attempt against then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.
After the comment, Black apologized and announced that the group would take a break in light of criticism from Australia’s right-wing over the joke Gass made at a show in Sydney in July when Black rolled out a birthday cake for his longtime musical mate and asked him to make a wish. “Don’t miss Trump next time,” Gass quipped, just weeks after a 20-year-old gunman opened fire on a Trump rally in Butler, PA, grazing Trump’s ear and killing a rally attendee.
In a deleted post, Gass apologized, writing, “I don’t condone violence of any kind” and saying he was “incredibly sorry for my severe lack of judgement.” Shortly after, Gass was dropped by his agent and the remainder of the Australian tour, as well as a planned fall run of U.S. shows in swing states ahead of November’s presidential election, were cancelled.
Black also posted an apology on Instagram at the time, writing, “I was blindsided by what was said at the show on Sunday. I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form.” At the time of the tour cancellation, Black’s statement said that “all future creative plans are on hold.”
In August, Black told Variety that the duo needed “to take a break. Everybody needs a break sometime,” while also promising “and we’ll be back.”
In the meantime, earlier this week, Black posted a video from the set of his new movie Anaconda in which he sang the names of his co-stars while one of them, Paul Rudd, accompanied him on a hand drum.
Check it out below.
K-Pop girl group NewJeans announced that they’ve changed their name to NJZ in the midst of their long-running dispute with their label, ADOR. Singer Hanni spoke to CNN about the change, saying that the five-member group decided to rebrand as a means of “turning this rough period of time into something more exciting.”
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The first public outing under the new banner will come at the three-day ComplexCon Hong Kong in March, where Hanni, Haerin, Minji, Hyein and Danielle said they will debut a new song.
“We are working a lot to resolve everything so that we can go… back to normal,” Hanni, 20, added, saying that the band doesn’t want their legal spat with ADOR to “be the focus of our careers.”
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In a statement announcing the name change and upcoming gig, Minji said, “We are thrilled to be stepping onto the stage for the first time as NJZ and share something new with everyone. It’s a big moment for us and we can’t wait for fans to be a part of this journey with us and show the world our new music that we have been eagerly waiting to share.”
Back in November, NewJeans announced that they were parting ways with ADOR, a subsidiary of the K-pop management firm HYBE, over allegations that the label violated their contract. “Once we leave ADOR, we’ll aim to proceed freely with the activities that we really desire,” Danielle said at the time. “We really wish to be able to release new music for Bunnies, next year, as soon as possible, whenever,” she added, in reference to their fan group nickname. “We really hope that we have the opportunity to meet you guys from all around the world.”
They also noted in November that due to their contract termination, they might no longer be able to use the group name they’ve performed under since 2022. ADOR responded to the news, maintaining that its contract with NewJeans “remains in full effect,” urging the group to continue collaborating with them on upcoming projects. ADOR has disputed the allegations from the group, who’ve accused the label of “manipulation,” “deliberate miscommunications” and workplace harassment and have filed a lawsuit against NewJeans, and, according to CNN, filed for a court injunction that would prevent NJZ form signing advertising deals.
The band’s announcement of their split came after months of rancor in a management dispute between HYBE and ADOR’s former CEO, Min Hee-jin, who also serves as the group’s creative director. Last year, HYBE accused Hee-jin of attempting to take the company independent, a claim he denied; NewJeans said in November that they would like to continue working with Hee-jin.
In response to NewJeans’ announcement of their new name, ADOR told CNN, “we regret the escalation of this matter to court and believe that most claims advanced by NewJeans members thus far have arisen from misunderstandings… We worry that announcing an unauthorized new group name or engaging in entertainment activities before a legal judgement is reached… could constitute a material breach of the exclusive agency contract.”
CNN reported that the group began posting content under the new name on the jeanzforfree Instagram page, which at press time had a “sorry, this page isn’t available” note.
A preliminary court hearing for the injunction is scheduled for March, with the lawsuit set to be heard by a judge in April. While they wait, Haerin said the group are working on making and performing their new music, which she described as having a “very unique and different sound… there’s nothing holding us back anymore.”
Hanni added that they thought long and hard about the new name, considering fans’ suggestions and landing on a moniker that retained the “essence” of their original one. “Even though we have to leave our previous name behind us for a bit, we’re not fully moving on from it,” she said. “And we don’t want to either, because (being NewJeans) was still a very special period of time to us, and it’s something that our fans also probably hold really dear.”
She also said their new era will be “very different” from what fans have come to expect from the group whose 2023 Get Up EP hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Hanni promised that the new image will also come with “different types of performances,” explaining, “Beforehand, we were very focused on being the kind of ‘girl next door’… So, we’re going for a (look that’s) a lot more sharp, a lot more bold,” said the singer, who along with her bandmates serves as an ambassador for global luxury brands Chanel and Louis Vuitton.
“And fashion wise: We love wearing streetwear and non-gendered kind of clothing. I think that concept and aspect is going to play a really strong role in our (new) fashion as well.”
The Weeknd continues his streak of dominance on the ARIA Albums Chart, debuting at No. 1 with his sixth studio album, Hurry Up Tomorrow.
This marks his fifth consecutive studio album to top the chart, following Beauty Behind The Madness (2015), Starboy (2016), After Hours (2020), and Dawn FM (2022). His 2021 greatest hits collection, The Highlights, which peaked at No. 2 in 2021, also sees a boost this week, rising to No. 8. The album, which The Weeknd has described as the final installment in a trilogy, arrives amid speculation that he may retire his moniker and release future music under his real name, Abel Tesfaye.
Meanwhile, Luke Combs’ ongoing Australian tour has reignited interest in his catalog. His 2017 album This One’s For You reaches a new peak at No. 5, surpassing its previous best of No. 7, while his latest album, Fathers & Sons, re-enters the top 10.
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Luke Combs continues to see a major surge on the ARIA Albums Chart thanks to his ongoing Australian tour. His 2017 album This One’s For You climbs to No. 5, hitting a new peak after previously reaching No. 7 in both 2019 and 2022. His latest album, Fathers & Sons, also returns to the top 10, moving up from No. 13 to No. 11.
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Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, British singer-songwriter Lola Young holds onto the No. 1 spot for a second consecutive week with “Messy,” continuing an unprecedented run of female artists dominating the top position since mid-August 2024. This streak has included No. 1 hits from Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter, Rosé (with Bruno Mars), Gracie Abrams, and Mariah Carey.
Rosé and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” remains strong in the runner-up position at No. 2, while Gracie Abrams’ “That’s So True” holds at No. 3. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ collaboration “Die With a Smile” sits at No. 4, with Chrystal’s “The Days – Notion Remix” rounding out the top five.
On the ARIA Vinyl Albums Chart, Hurry Up Tomorrow lands at No. 1, proving its demand across all formats. Luke Combs’ Fathers & Sons follows at No. 2, with Birds of Tokyo’s Universes at No. 3, Gracie Abrams’ The Secret of Us at No. 4, and Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft at No. 5.
Poppy has put her own spin on “Taste,” Sabrina Carpenter’s sultry viral hit, delivering a stripped-down yet edgy reinterpretation for Like A Version, the long-running cover series from Australian radio station triple j.
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The performance, which was recorded during her recent Australian tour with Bad Omens, also featured an unexpected nod to The Divinyls’ “I Touch Myself,” seamlessly woven into the chorus. “I love her voice, and I think she’s very pretty,” Poppy said of Carpenter, explaining her song choice. “And the song is really fun to sing, so here we are.”
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Dressed in a sleek all-black outfit, Poppy’s performance brought a darker, moodier edge to “Taste,” stripping back its glossy pop production in favor of a more industrial-tinged arrangement.
Adding to the intrigue was the masked presence of Jordan Fish, formerly of Bring Me The Horizon, handling production duties. The unexpected interpolation of “I Touch Myself”—an Australian classic originally released in 1990.
“The first time I heard [‘Taste’], I thought it sounded like ‘I Touch Myself’, which is also my favourite karaoke song, so combining it made sense,” Poppy said of her choice to add the twist to Carpenter’s track.
The cover arrives as both Poppy and Carpenter celebrate major career milestones. Poppy was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 2025 Grammys for “Suffocate,” her collaboration with Knocked Loose that reached number 50 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs. Meanwhile, Carpenter took home her first two Grammy Awards for Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album.
“Taste” has been a breakout moment for Carpenter, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song, featured on her album Short n’ Sweet, which held No. 1 for four weeks on the Billboard 200.
Poppy, meanwhile, continues to push genre boundaries, evolving from her early YouTube days into an avant-garde force within the metal and alternative scenes.
Poppy’s Like A Version session adds to a long history of memorable covers on the program, which has hosted artists like Billie Eilish, Arctic Monkeys, and Childish Gambino reworking unexpected tracks. Whether this signals a future collaboration between Poppy and Carpenter remains to be seen, but for now, the metal provocateur has put her own mark on one of the year’s biggest pop hits.
Watch Poppy’s Like A Version cover of “Taste” below.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, PJ Harvey, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, DEVO, Primal Scream, and more have joined forces for Los Angeles Rising, a new benefit album raising funds for musicians affected by the recent LA wildfires.
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Spearheaded by Kevin Haskins of Bauhaus and Love and Rockets, along with producer Nick Launay, the compilation features previously unreleased tracks from some of alternative music’s most influential artists. All proceeds from the album will go directly to Sweet Relief, a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance to career musicians in need.
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The album, which is available exclusively on Bandcamp, includes a reimagined version of “California Dreamin’” by Jarvis Cocker, an alternate take on Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Turn Into” from Show Your Bones, and a new track from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds titled “Michelangelo.” Primal Scream contributed an orchestral version of their song “False Flags,” while Danny Elfman added his own surreal spin with “Monkeys on the Loose.” DEVO, Gary Numan, and Flea also feature on the 16-track compilation.
Haskins and Launay, both longtime LA residents, were personally affected by the fires and said the project came together quickly as they watched the devastation unfold.
“As the wildfires were raging and destroying thousands of homes around Los Angeles, both my neighborhood and Nick’s were instructed to evacuate. But we were the lucky ones,” Haskins said in a press statement. “The fire threatening our homes and recording studios was thankfully extinguished by firefighters just minutes away, but countless musicians and friends lost everything.”
Launay added, “This harrowing experience and witnessing the monumental destruction of entire communities inspired Nick and I to team up to create a compilation album to raise money for the less fortunate. We reached out to our musician friends for unreleased recorded gems and the response was incredible! PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, Primal Scream, Gary Numan, and Devo are just some of the artists that rushed in to help.”
“Nick and I were lucky. We had to evacuate, but our homes and studios survived,” Haskins said in a statement. “So many musicians we know lost everything.” The two reached out to artists who had worked with them over the years, asking if they had unreleased tracks that could help raise money. “The response was incredible,” Launay added. “These musicians didn’t hesitate to contribute to something that could directly help their peers.”
The album arrives amid a broader industry-wide effort to support wildfire relief. Bandcamp recently announced that all proceeds from purchases made on Feb. 7 would be donated to MusiCares, while a separate benefit album—featuring contributions from R.E.M., Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service, and more—is also in the works.
Los Angeles Rising is available now on Bandcamp, with vinyl pressings and limited-edition merchandise set to be released later this month. As wildfires continue to impact communities across California, the music industry is once again proving its ability to rally support when it’s needed most.
Heavy metal pioneer Ozzy Osbourne has revealed he can no longer walk as he heads towards his final live performance.
The 76-year-old made the admission on his SiriusXM program Ozzy’s Boneyard, where he discussed what fans might be able to expect from his recently-announced farewell show.
“I have made it to 2025. I can’t walk, but you know what I was thinking over the holidays? For all my complaining, I’m still alive,” he said. “I may be moaning that I can’t walk, but I look down the road, and there’s people that didn’t do half as much as me and didn’t make it.”
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On Wednesday (Feb. 5), Osbourne announced his final live performance, which will take place at his hometown of Birmingham, England on July 5. The biggest headline is the inclusion of Black Sabbath, who will play their first show since Feb. 2017, and their first with the band’s original lineup since 2005.
Dubbed ‘Back to the Beginning’, the high-profile event will also include performances from Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, as well as the likes of Pantera, Lamb Of God, Mastodon, Alice In Chains, Halestorm and recent Grammy Award-winners Gojira.
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Songwriter and former Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, meanwhile, will serve as music director for “Back to the Beginning.” In a press release, he described the upcoming gig as set to be “the greatest heavy metal show ever.”
The event is also described as a charitable affair, with profits going towards the likes of Cure Parkinson’s, a U.K. charity working to end the disease which Osbourne was diagnosed with in 2019.
Speaking to the BBC, Osbourne’s wife and manager Sharon explained that the show was a chance for Osbourne to end a career which has been affected in recent years by numerous cancellations and health issues.
“He’s doing great. He’s doing really great,” she said. “He’s so excited about this, about being with the guys again and all his friends. It’s exciting for everyone.”
“Ozzy didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to his friends, to his fans, and he feels there’s no been no full stop. This is his full stop.”
In another interview with The Sun, Sharon added that Ozzy would be match-fit for the highly-anticipated event despite his ill health.
“He’s very happy to be coming back and very emotional about this,” she said. “Parkinson’s is a progressive disease. It’s not something you can stabilize. It affects different parts of the body and it’s affected his legs. But his voice is as good as it’s ever been.”
Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart is taking a look at one of music’s most iconic names for his latest record, Dave Does Dylan.
Arriving as part of the global Record Store Day celebrations on April 12, Stewart’s 14-song homage to Bob Dylan sees the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer performing live, one-take covers of Dylan’s catalog – armed only with guitar and vocals. Featuring cover artwork evocative of Dylan’s Nashville Skyline, the record largely features tributes to Dylan’s songs from the ‘60s and ‘70s, though latter-period tracks also make the cut.
In a statement, Stewart explained that he had been a fan of Dylan since childhood, going so far as to perform two Dylan covers as part of his earliest gigs as a teenager in the mid ‘60s.
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“I was insistent on getting into folk clubs, but I looked about 12 years old, so they kept me out for a while,” he recalled. “Then one chap, Mick Elliot, took pity and allowed me to play at The George & Dragon which became the center of the folk music scene in my hometown, Sunderland N.E. England, in the 1960’s. It was like stepping into a sacred room where visionaries and rebels converged — actually, it was simply a room upstairs in a pub full of older folk singers, beer, whisky and cigarette smoke everywhere. I was allowed to sing two songs, so I would play Bob Dylan songs from his albums that my brother had left behind when he went to college.
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“The audience was always a bit shocked that this kid, who looked so young, was singing these lyrics — especially in that kind of folk club,” Stewart continued. “It was mostly old folk music that was being played from the local area about the coal mines and about the shipyards, which I loved too…and Dylan would have loved also. I started to sing and play these Dylan songs anywhere I could; in other folk clubs, even on the street all over the north east of England. From then on, I got every Bob Dylan album — and still do to this day — on vinyl and in every possible variation.”
“Captain Dave is a dreamer and a fearless innovator, a visionary of high order, very delicately tractable on the surface but beneath that, he’s a slamming, thumping, battering ram, very mystical but rational and sensitive when it comes to the hot irons of art forms,” Dylan himself said in a statement.
“An explosive musician, deft guitar player, innately recognizes the genius in other people and puts it into play without being manipulative. With him, there’s mercifully no reality to yesterday. He is incredibly gracious and soulful, can command the ship and steer the course, dragger, trawler or man of war, Captain Dave.”
Ahead of the release of Dave Does Dylan, Stewart is also set to tape an episode of the Recorded Live at Analog series on March 22 at Analog inside Nashville’s Hutton Hotel. The appearance will see him performing tracks from his upcoming record with the addition of strings, pedal steel guitar, and keys. The episode will air on PBS on an as-yet-unspecified date in July, with tickets available for audience members to attend the taping.
“I’ve played on stage with Bob in London, L.A. and Tokyo, and I find conversations with him — whether on the phone or when we’re together — really relaxed and easy,” Stewart added. “As you can imagine, he is full of great observations and wisdom, all wrapped up in a poetic language.
“I’m so, so grateful for getting to know him personally and to now record this album of songs after years of singing them to friends and to myself. It’s been a long road and these lyrics and melodies have kept me company through the best and the worst of times. I hope my album can do the same for Dylan fans out there—who understand the mastery and the mystery Bob has bestowed on us, and still does to this day.”
LISA is continuing her Alter Ego roll-out by calling on some of her fellow female pop stars. The 27-year-old BLACKPINK star teamed up with Doja Cat and Raye for a sultry new single, “Born Again,” released on Friday (Feb. 7). Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The glamorous […]
Rema released his Sade-sampling single “Baby (Is It a Crime)” on Friday (Feb. 7). He first teased the single back in November with a 1-minute, 21-second clip of him smoking while nonchalantly vibing to the track. “Baby/ Baby sunmoni/ You know say you match my steeze/ You know I’m a G/ Shawty I’mma always keep […]
Clairo is kicking off 2025 with a bang, unveiling a brand new music video for her breezy track “Terrapin” on Thursday (Feb. 6), starring none other than “Weird Al” Yankovic. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The four-minute theatrical visual finds Yankovic emerging from a teal green home […]