It starts with a woman being bashed in the face with a tire-jack (get it?!) and ends, literally, in hell. In between those two particular poles of depravity, Lars von Trier‘s The House That Jack Built “treats” viewers to a litany of violent images: stranglings, shootings, stabbings, beatings, bludgeonings, post-mortem …
Read More »Inside the Trump Administration's Census Scam
Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, is a liar. And according to lawsuits brought by former business partners, a thief. Now he’s attempting his biggest swindle yet: rigging the 2020 census to favor the Republican Party. A vulture capitalist with no experience in government, whose private-equity firm was fined by the …
Read More »Watch Mumford & Sons Perform Inspiring 'Guiding Light' on 'SNL'
Mumford & Sons shifted their own musical boundaries with the release of their fourth album Delta, returning to the acoustic instrumentation that dominated their first two records and blending electronica, jazz and rap elements together. For the band’s third appearance as musical guest on Saturday Night Live, Mumford & Sons …
Read More »How Damien Echols Used Magick to Survive Death Row
Damien Echols’ interest in magick can be traced back to when he was seven years old. While reading one of his grandmother’s tabloids in his family’s Mississippi trailer, he saw an ad for a book: “Wanna learn magick? Send $5.95 to this address, and we’ll send you this book,” he …
Read More »How the 'Serial' Podcast Exposes Epic Dysfunction in Cleveland's Criminal Justice System
The first season of Serial, the explosively popular podcast from host Sarah Koenig and co-creator Julie Snyder, told the story of Adnan Syed and Hae Min Lee, the 18-year-old high school student murdered and left in the woods of Maryland. Syed, her ex-boyfriend, was found guilty of her murder and …
Read More »The Album Is in Deep Trouble – and the Music Business Probably Can't Save it
Make no mistake, the album is fighting for its life. Sales of music’s most beloved format are in free fall in the United States this year. According to figures published by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), the value of total stateside album sales in the first half of …
Read More »Ted Cruz Defeats Beto O'Rourke in Historic Texas Senate Race
Incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) fended off a surprisingly fierce challenge in Tuesday’s midterm election, defeating progressive El Paso Congressman Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) in a contest that captured the imagination of Democrats around the country. Polls favored the sitting senator throughout the race, but tightened over the last few days, …
Read More »Colorado Man Pleads Guilty to Murdering Wife, Daughters
On Tuesday, November 6th — less than three months after his arrest on first-degree murder charges — Christopher Watts, 33, suddenly agreed to plead guilty to killing his pregnant wife, Shan’ann Watts, 34, and the couple’s two daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3. Members of both of the defendant and …
Read More »Spotify Can't Keep Losing More Than $1 Billion a Year. Can Podcasts Rescue Its Business Model?
Tim Inghamis the founder and publisher ofMusic Business Worldwide,which has serviced the global industry with news, analysis and jobs since 2015. This is the first in a series of weekly columns for “Rolling Stone.” They say if you want the truth, follow the money. So if you want the truth …
Read More »SiriusXM Is Making Some of the Most Money In Music
Those who claim radio is on its way out will second-guess themselves after SiriusXM’s latest earnings report. For the third quarter of 2018, the satellite radio company posted revenue of $1.5 billion — a quarterly record for the company — and got nearly 300,000 new subscribers, bringing its total subscriber …
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