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YouTube Executives Ignored Warnings, Letting Toxic Videos Run Rampant

YouTube
Jason Tate

Mark Bergen, writing for Bloomberg:

Wojcicki and her deputies know this. In recent years, scores of people inside YouTube and Google, its owner, raised concerns about the mass of false, incendiary and toxic content that the world’s largest video site surfaced and spread. One employee wanted to flag troubling videos, which fell just short of the hate speech rules, and stop recommending them to viewers. Another wanted to track these videos in a spreadsheet to chart their popularity. A third, fretful of the spread of “alt-right” video bloggers, created an internal vertical that showed just how popular they were. Each time they got the same basic response: Don’t rock the boat.

Green Day to Release New Book

Jason Tate

Green Day will be releasing a new book called Last of the American Girls on October 29th via Dey Street Books.

Named after the song “Last of the American Girls” off “21st Century Breakdown,” the book is described as “an inspiring homage and handbook for the rebellious everywoman who refuses to capitulate,” according to a statement from their publisher. No further details are available at this time, but the book is being further billed as a celebration of “true rebel girls,” another song reference to the “American Idiot” track “She’s a Rebel.”

Weezer Already Working on New Music

Weezer
Jason Tate

In a new interview with Substream Magazine, Weezer confirm they’re working on two new albums:

Yeah, we’ve got two records. One of them is almost done, and I think the code name for that is OK Human. That’s something I’m super excited about. There’s this other idea about another record with the code name Van Weezer. That’s in the conceptual stage [right now]. We’re gonna make records forever at this point. We’re excited about it too, which is fun. It’s not lost on us that nobody wants us to do this. So we’re just gonna go for it.

Jawbreaker Working on New Material

Jawbreaker
Jason Tate

Jawbreaker confirm with Music Radar that they’re working on new music:

We’re writing right now and we’ve rescued a couple of old songs that we never had a chance to record right at the end of the band. We’re going to get together in San Francisco and get right back to it. We don’t have a label yet, and we haven’t booked any studio time. We’re just dipping our toes and taking it one step at a time.

Descendents Working on New Music

Descendents
Jason Tate

Milo Aukerman confirmed with The OC Register that the Descendents are working on new music:

When we put out the last record we thought, ‘OK, I bet we could put out another record after this one and not wait a decade to do it.’ It was such a rewarding experience and you know what? Our fans deserve better. They deserve more than a record every decade or so. We started writing almost immediately after that record was done. I have been writing and Stephen (Egerton) has really picked up the mantle, too. Between us I think we have like 20 songs written and Bill (Stevenson) and Karl (Alvarez) have been writing songs as well. We’ve done some basic tracking, but it’s still a work in progress but I hope we’ll have something out by the end of the yea

Icelandic Rock Band Sigur Ros Charged With Tax Evasion

Sigur Ros
Jason Tate

Associated Press:

Members of the Icelandic avant-garde rock band Sigur Ros have been charged with tax evasion three years after authorities launched a probe of the group’s finances.

An indictment issued by the district prosecutor Thursday accused the prominent musicians of submitting incorrect tax returns from 2011 to 2014, evading a total of 151 million Icelandic Krona ($1.2 million).

New Interview With Dave Hause

Dave Hause
Jason Tate

Dying Scene sat down with Dave Hause to talk about his new album:

Our shit’s fucked up, and yet we persist being human! For me, I just had kids, so I don’t really get to…(sighs) it’s a very dangerous proposition to look at the glass as either half-empty or filled with piss! (both laugh*) Maybe that could be true, but I can’t really afford to ruminate on that. I have to come up with a reason to look toward the shore despite feeling I or we, collectively, are drowning. I have to. At this point, it’s a job as I have as a dad. But, to some degree, I’ve always had that job. I’ve been a brother and a husband and a friend and a songwriter. I’m supposed to try to be of some good use to people. That’s, I think, what the search on the record is; yeah, our shit’s fucked up, but what are we going to do?

Panic! At the Disco’s ‘Pray for the Wicked’ Tour Approaches $50 Million Mark

Panic at the Disco
Jason Tate

Billboard:

According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, Panic has totaled $49 million since launching the trek on July 11, 2018, at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Its career-high mark includes grosses from two separate North American legs, plus a week of dates in Australia.

The act had never grossed $1 million in one night as a headliner prior to embarking on its 2018-19 trek but has crossed the seven-figure threshold six times since, highlighted by its Jan. 16 show at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

Brendon, do you wanna sponsor Chorus?

Less Than Jake Create Threadless Shop

Less Than Jake
Jason Tate

Less Than Jake have announced a new artist shop with Threadless.

We thought it would be great to bring back some classic t-shirt designs throughout the history of the band and be able to rotate designs in and out from past tours and fan favorites. Designs up this month might not be there the next but having this type of access to old art and new technology means we can keep things fresh for everyone.

Everclear’s Art Alexakis Reveals Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis

Art Alexakis
Jason Tate

Everclear’s Art Alexakis has revealed that he’s been diagnosed with a form of multiple sclerosis:

Three years ago I was in an automobile accident, and though I totaled my car, I am thankful that no one involved was seriously hurt. About two weeks later, I started feeling a tingle and numbness in my arm, thinking it was a pinched nerve in my neck, I went to the doctor and underwent an MRI. The report showed that I did indeed have a pinched nerve, but the pathologist also saw lacerations and suspicious marks on my spinal cord as well…scary, to say the least. I was sent to see a neurologist, who did a ridiculous number of tests – more MRI’s, a spinal tap, over fifty blood tests, and numerous cognitive and balance tests. After receiving the results, he told me that I have a form of Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS), and that I have had it for anywhere between 10 to 20 years. I went and sat in my car and called my wife, and cried for about half an hour. I’m sure people in the parking lot thought I was losing it, and I guess I kind of was.