The notable artists on your television this week include: The Shins (Kimmel; 4/11), John Mayer (Kimmel; 4/12), and Future Islands (Conan; 4/12).
Bands on TV (Week of April 10th)
Drake Tops Charts Again
Drake is once again on top of the Billboard charts.
More Life is the first album to spend its first three chart weeks at No. 1 since Drake’s own Views, back on June 4, 2016. (Views spent its first nine weeks at No. 1, following its debut atop the tally dated May 21. Views then later returned three more weeks in the penthouse from July 30-Aug. 13, and then one further frame at No. 1 on Oct. 8.)
NBA Watching the Basketball Tournament’s Innovative Approach to Crunch Time
Zach Lowe, writing for ESPN:
Elam, a Mensa member, has devoted most of his spare time since 2004 to solving the slog of NBA crunch time. Oklahoma City’s win was remarkable to Elam because the Thunder’s deliberate fouling worked.
Elam has tracked thousands of NBA, college, and international games over the last four years and found basketball’s classic comeback tactic — intentional fouling — almost never results in successful comebacks. Elam found at least one deliberate crunch-time foul from trailing teams in 397 of 877 nationally televised NBA games from 2014 through the middle of this season, according to a PowerPoint presentation he has sent across the basketball world. The trailing team won zero of those games, according to Elam’s data.
I’m not convinced this idea doesn’t make most of the game kind of pointless, but it’s definitely outside of the box.
Chris Shiflett Streams New Album
Chris Shiflett’s new album, West Coast Town, can be streamed below.
The Story Behind the ‘Essential Guide to Emo Culture’ 10 Years Later
Rabab Al-Sharif looks at the story behind the book, Everybody Hurts: An Essential Guide To Emo Culture, as it turns ten:
“A lot of people, mostly critics and Pitchfork disciples, were quick to write off emo as a passing trend. They thought it was a gateway music that would provide an adequately angsty soundtrack to your teen years. Then, after puberty passed, you’d throw away the eyeliner, hide the flat irons, and try to forget whether mics were for singing or for swinging,” Simon says.
I’ve known Leslie Simon for a long time now and I can’t believe it’s been ten years since this book came out. What a trip down memory lane. I can see my copy sitting on the bookshelf from where I write this.
Sidebar: Why is loading one page on AltPress.com over 16 MB? That website is a mess.
David Letterman Inducts Pearl Jam Into Hall of Fame
David Letterman inducted Pearl Jam into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Friday.
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Russian-Owned LiveJournal Bans Political Talk, Adds Risk of Spying
Beth Elderkin, writing for Gizmodo:
LiveJournal, a blog community that’s hosted a lot of science fiction authors and fans (including George RR Martin), has officially banned “political solicitation”— which can mean anything that criticizes the Russian government, as well as pro-LGBTQ discussions. There are also concerns users can be subject to Russian spying.
Billboard Music Awards Announce 2017 Nominees
Billboard have announced their 2017 music award nominations:
Drake and The Chainsmokers lead the pack with 22 nods. Among those, Drake will compete for Top Artist, Top Male Artist and Top Billboard 200 Artist. The Chainsmokers will also vie for Top Artist, as well as Top Duo/Group and Top 100 Artist.
Twenty One Pilots follows with 17 nominations, then Rihanna with 14, The Weeknd with 13 and Beyonce with 8.
The Story So Far Begin Working on New Album
The Story So Far have begun working on their next album.
The Scandals – “Hostage”
The Scandals have released their new song “Hostage.” The song was produced by Brian Fallon.
Pre-Orders for John Mayer’s New Album Are Up
Pre-orders for John Mayer’s The Search for Everything are up on Amazon.
Lynn From PVRIS Responds to VIP Package Criticism
Lynn from PVRIS has posted a statement on Twitter about the band’s higher VIP ticket prices this year.
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Girlpool – “It Gets More Blue” Video
Girlpool have released a new video for “It Gets More Blue.”
HalfNoise Perform Live With Hayley Williams
HalfNoise performed “As U Wave” with Hayley Williams at the Lucky Bamboo in Nashville over the weekend. A fan shot video of the performance has been uploaded to YouTube.
Chris Bevington, Spotify Executive, Dies in Stockholm Attack
Chris Bevington, an executive at music streaming service Spotify was killed in the Stockholm truck attack Friday (April 7), the company’s co-founder/CEO Daniel Ek confirmed on Facebook.
“It is with shock and a heavy heart that I can confirm that Chris Bevington from our Spotify team lost his life in Friday’s senseless attack on Stockholm,” Ek wrote on Facebook Sunday. “Whilst this terrible news is sinking in, our primary focus is on supporting the family and loved ones of Chris in any way we possibly can.”