An album you’ll likely see on many end of the year lists is Grimes’ highly acclaimed fourth LP, Art Angels (we’re fans too!). Over at The Talkhouse, a site where musicians talk about music, Arcade Fire’s Will Butler has decided to throw in his tangent-filled two cents on her album… or perhaps its genre influences: “My problem —my personal problem— is that I grew up prejudiced against 2000s pop, and that the atmosphere of the Jurassic period has the wrong ratio of elements for my organism. I’m more Cretaceous.” Other equally jarring analogies include Eiffel 65’s “Blue” and the potential cordiality between Orthodox Jews and Mormons in spite of the whole Jesus thing. In less confusing news, Grimes is in the midst of a world tour to promote her new album. Last night, she headlined the Buckhead Theater in Atlanta, GA, and which included a surprise appearance by Janelle Monaé, and performance of their collaboration, “Venus Fly.”
The origin of Limbo has an interesting backstory, starting with a Reddit writing prompt by Adam Spielman. Filmmakers Fangso Liu and Haines Landry adapted the story after creating a successful Kickstarter campaign year to fund a short film, which debuted at the Florida Film Festival back in April. Now, the short film is available online… but you probably shouldn’t watch it at work. H. Jon Benjamin (Archer; Bob’s Burgers; Master of None) plays a man who suffers a fatal heart attack on the beach, only to wake up unscathed at a restaurant. A waitress named “Angel” shows him the ropes, guiding him through the various vices available to him: pizza, fried chicken, beer, and girls. Eventually, he meets “Lucy” (played by Natasha Legerro of Drunk History and The Bachelor spoof Burning Love ), who warns him about his new home’s bureaucracy before cryptically suggesting that the truth can wait.
A lot of the media coverage for the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship 193 pay-per-view (as well as most UFC coverage in general) has focused on the dominant and undefeated Ronda Rousey. In the month or so leading up to the fight, she has made headlines due to her role in the upcoming Road House reboot, her beef with Floyd Mayweather, her endorsement of Bernie Sanders, and details of her past domestic violence that she recounted in her autobiography, My Fight / Your Fight, released back in May. Comparatively, not a lot has been said of her opponent, former boxing champion, Holly Holm. USA Today has a profile of the fighter simply known as “The Preacher’s Daughter” that touches on her upbringing, her pre-fight psyche, and her penchant for crafting. Rousey and Holm will duke it out this Saturday, November 14th in the main event for the Bantamweight Championship.
Lia Bekyan for Hopes and Fears
Speaking of profiles, here are two worth the long-read. The first comes from Hopes and Fears’ (and occasional Flavorwire contributor!) Zoe Leverant, who interviewed Portland, OR natives YACHT. The group’s newest album, I Thought The Future Would Be Cooler, was released back in early-October, and is their first since relocating to Los Angeles; in the interview, the band elaborate on the differences between the two cities in regards to expectations of a “sound,” as well as the album’s theme of lamenting about the disappointments of the digital age. In a similar vein, New York Times has a profile of Adele focusing on the long, arduous process—dealing with writer’s block exacerbated by post-21 expectations; motherhood; and reclusion in an age of social media’s rampant exposure—that culminated in her forthcoming album, 25.