Listen to Coco Jones’ empowering playlist to accompany The Cover

Brent Lang Executive Editor When Michael Angarano was trying to get “Sacramento,” his indie buddy comedy about two friends who go on a road trip to a certain state capital off the ground, the question he’d get was always the same. Does it really need to be set in Sacramento? “At one point we were ready to shoot the movie in Atlanta — we had the financing and everything,” remembers Angarano, who directed the film, as well as co-wrote it. “And this was for a movie called ‘Sacramento.’ But it’s like why try to cheat it? Maybe, we should we just call it ‘Athens’ or ‘Savannah’?” And even though Angarano and his co-writer Chris Smith weren’t that familiar with the city that inspired their film, its appearance on a highway sign, informing them of the California city’s distance from Los Angeles, was foundational.

David Byrne and Devo have shared an unearthed collaborative song called ‘Empire’ – you can listen to it below.The track was originally written by the pair for the former Talking Heads frontman’s fifth solo album, 1997’s ‘Feelings’, but it didn’t make the final cut. A version of the tune appears on Byrne’s 2004 record ‘Grown Backwards’.As announced earlier this year, the almost three-decade-old team-up between Byrne and Devo will feature on ‘Noise For Now, Vol.

Alex Jones is seeking a court greenlight to liquidate his holdings, as he faces about $1.5 billion in defamation judgments stemming from his promotion of false conspiracy theories related to the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting massacre.

Coronation Street fans think they have guessed Ellie's next move as she was discovered alive following a sudden disappearing act earlier this week. Her link to Joel Deering was revealed in the ITV soap as it was also confirmed the solicitor is behind the disappearance - and suspected murder - of Lauren Bolton.

In these days of extreme political polarization, one longs for signs of unity and humanity, even if we have to reach back nearly 40 years in the wayback machine to find it. 

Labour has committed to renewing the nuclear deterrent based on the Clyde.

NME’s latest stars of The Cover, Kneecap, have shared a playlist exclusively to accompany the story’s launch – check it out below.The Irish rap trio are on this week’s (June 3) edition of The Cover, a renewal of NME’s commitment to supporting emerging talent across the globe on a weekly basis. Every week, a rising artist will feature on The Cover – you can read the profile of Kneecap here, written by Andrew Trendell and featuring photography by Joseph Bishop.Accompanying the story is an exclusive playlist Kneecap have compiled, ‘Songs To Shoplift To’, featuring Bicep, Overmono, Bonobo, Tiësto and more.

After welcoming her second child last September, Alexandra Burke is in her element as she embraces life as a mum while working in the job she loves.The singer, 35, who became a household name after winning The X Factor in 2008, shares two children – aged nine months and 23 months old – with footballer boyfriend Darren Randolph.The couple have kept their little ones’ names and genders private. And while it’s not even a year since she gave birth, Alexandra hasn’t slowed down one bit – with music on the back burner while her acting career thrives. She is currently starring alongside Ruth Jones in the theatre production of Sister Act, and has bagged a role in the new Paramount+ TV series Curfew, which is being filmed this year.

Amyl & The Sniffers have announced a 2024 UK and European tour, set to kick off later this year.The Australian punks will be kicking off the tour on November 5 at the National Stadium in Dublin. From there, they will be making stops in Glasgow, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and London.Amy Taylor and co.

Nicki Minaj has been placed under arrest in the Netherlands for suspicion of carrying marijuana in her luggage at the airport as she was exiting the country en route to Manchester for a scheduled performance this evening. Marijuana is legal in the Netherlands.

Paul McCartney delivered an amusing roasting of Bruce Springsteen at the Ivor Novello Awards last night (May 23).The Boss became the first international songwriter to receive the Fellow of the Ivors Academy at Grosvenor House in London, following in the footsteps of Elton John, Kate Bush, Annie Lennox and Paul McCartney.Becoming an Academy Fellow is the highest honour the organisation bestows, and with it, the iconic singer, songwriter and guitarist becomes the first American songwriter that the Academy has inducted into Fellowship in its 80-year history.Presenting the prize, McCartney who brought Springsteen onstage along with Dave Grohl during his headline slot at Glastonbury in 2022, jokingly said: “Like Bruce’s concerts, I’m going to keep this brief,” referencing the Boss’ three hour plus concerts, before adding that he “couldn’t think of a more fitting” recipient “except maybe Bob Dylan, or Paul Simon, or Billy Joel, or Beyoncé, or Taylor Swift. The list goes on.”He also spoke about his performance at Glastonbury and said he never expected the Boss to show up.“Springsteen is a Dutch name. Did you know that? In Dutch it means man in charge.

Amy Poehler has shared the story behind her appearance on the cover art of Yo La Tengo’s 2000 single, ‘You Can Have It All’.On Tuesday (May 22), Poehler was featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live! as a special guest to promote her upcoming film, Inside Out 2. In the Pixar sequel to the 2015 animated movie, Poehler reprises the role of main protagonist Joy.At the start of the interview, host Kimmel mentions that a staffer passed him a CD copy of ‘You Can Have It All’, which he brings out to show Poehler and the audience.Kimmel asks Poehler if the red substance around her lips is blood, to which she clarifies that it is, instead, pasta sauce – part of a sketch segment by her former comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade.“That’s a sketch I did with UCB, my sketch group, called ‘Spaghetti Jesus,’” she explained.“The premise of the sketch is that the face of Jesus is found in a bowl of spaghetti, and then someone ate it.

The Splendour of Life” (“Une splendeur de vivre”) is set to start principal photography at locations across Canada and the Philippines, the producers revealed at the Cannes Film Festival. The ensemble cast includes Camille Rutherford (“Anatomy of a Fall”), Garance Marillier (“Raw”), Sue Prado (“Your Mother’s Son”), Kyrie Samodio (“Hito”) and Amaryllis Tremblay (“Genesis”). Set against a lush countryside backdrop, Marie (Rutherford) questions her relationship, while Noée (Marillier) grieves her father.

Holly Jones Brazilian auteur Carolina Markowicz will head to Bucharest to hone her third feature, “The Funeral.” In development, the film was selected for the 2024 Pop Up Residency, pairing Markowicz with multi-prized Romanian producer Ada Solomon for a three-week consultancy. “It’s truly a privilege to be able to dialogue with an industry professional like Ada, a producer who has made some films I truly admire. Daring, original and different.

Is Billie Eilish going more Taylor Swift? Or are fans just quicker to pick up on this kind of thing thanks to Tay? Either way, we’re kind of into it!

Eurovision bosses have defended the recent decision to disqualify Joost Klein from the 2024 final.The 26-year-old singer was selected to represent the Netherlands with his song ‘Europapa’ for this year’s edition of the song contest, but was withdrawn from the competition just hours before Saturday’s final (May 11).The incident marked the first time in the competition’s 68-year history that an act had been disqualified after reaching the Grand Final.

The Beach Boys have discussed their new Disney+ documentary, the support they had from The Beatles, and the health of songwriter Brian Wilson.Interviewed by Mariella Frostrup alongside The Beach Boys’ documentary director Frank Marshall at Abbey Road Studios last night (May 13), the pair revealed that the 81-year-old Wilson – who has recently been placed under conservatorship for what his doctors call a “major neurocognitive disorder” – was still able to perform with the band for the film.“Brian remembered things that I had forgotten from high school at times,” said Love. “His long-term memory is right there.

Eurovision contestant is likely to face charges, according to police.Joost Klein – who was set to represent the Netherlands with his song ‘Europapa’ – was disqualified from the contest in Malmö, Sweden just hours before Saturday’s finale (May 11). At the time, police stated that the decision was made after he was accused of making verbal threats towards a female member of production crew.The incident marked the first time that an act had been disqualified after reaching the Grand Final in the competition’s 68-year history and, before his disqualification, the 26-year-old singer was named as one of the favourites to win.Now, a spokesperson for the police, Jimmy Modin, has spoken to The Guardian about the indecent and revealed that it is looking likely that Klein will face legal action.Modin confirmed that the investigation was over, and a decision about whether or not to press charges should arrive “within the next couple of weeks”.Emil Andersson, the police officer in charge of the case, shared a similar sentiment with Swedish broadcaster SVT.

EXCLUSIVE: We can tell you that James Franco and Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones are leading the action thriller The Razor’s Edge from producer Corey Large (Paradise City, It Follows, The November Man) and filmmaker Demian Lichtenstein (3000 Miles to Graceland).

Eurovision Song Contest 2024.This year’s competition, which was ultimately won by Switzerland’s Nemo, was surrounded by controversy for allowing Israel to compete amid the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza.A statement shared by the EBU to both The Mirror and The Irish Times read: “We regret that some delegations at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö didn’t respect the spirit of the rules and the competition both onsite and during their broadcasts. We spoke to a number of delegations during the event regarding various issues that were brought to our attention.It continued: “The EBU’s governing bodies will, together with the heads of delegations, review the events surrounding the ESC in Malmö to move forward in a positive way and to ensure the values of the event are respected by everyone.A post shared by European Broadcasting Union (@ebu_hq)“Individual cases will be discussed by the event’s governing body, the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group made up of representatives from participating broadcasters, at its next meeting.”The statement’s release comes after the slew of controversies that took over this year’s edition of the song contest.