Ted Cruz Casts Pat Benatar’s Music as the Embodiment of Demonic Evil; World Is Puzzled

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Live music was back, in 2022, but in 2023 it’s really back-back. Taylor Swift is soon to have history’s first billion-dollar-grossing tour, and in an era when music can sometimes feel shunted off to the side in pop-culture conversations, the “Eras Tour” feels bigger than any movie or TV show.

Back on Sunday, the White House in Washington, DC was briefly evacuated after a suspicious white powder was found in one area of the hallowed presidential home.

Communist party?Senator Ted Cruz unleashed boxed-up anger at the upcoming “Barbie” movie for including what his office called Chinese communist propaganda in the anticipated summer blockbuster, out July 21.The Margot Robbie-starring film came under fire for its pro-China, on-screen representation of islands in the South China Sea that are disputed — and have been the subject of two separate military campaigns in 1974 and 1988 — between both Vietnam and China.In 2016, a United Nations court ruled that China’s claim to the regions had no basis in international law.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre canceled a planned appearance on ABC’s The View on Wednesday because of the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The 2024 Grammy race may have just gotten a shakeup. Jon Batiste, who dominated the 2022 awards with his breakout album “We Are,” has announced a followup, “World Music Radio,” set to come out Aug. 18 on Verve/Interscope. Among the guests on the album is Lana Del Rey, returning the favor from Batiste’s recent appearance on two tracks on her “Did You Know There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” release earlier this year. Their collaboration, “Life Lesson,” is listed as a bonus track wrapping up the 21-song release, but is likely to be the most anticipated track, however it’s billed. Other guests include Lil Wayne on “Uneasy,” Kenny G on “Clair De Lune,” Native Soul on “Raindance,” Leigh-Anne on “Running Away,” Jon Bellion and Fireboy DML on “Drink Water,” Rita Payés on “My Heart,” Heroes on “Movement 18′” and Michael Batiste on “Call Now (504-305-8269).”

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Is it heresy to say that one of the greatest albums of all time just got a little bit better, 57 years after the fact? Possibly, but it doesn’t feel like too strong a statement to make after hearing the just-released Dolby Atmos mix of the Beach Boys’ 1966 classic “Pet Sounds,” as played back in one of the most state-of-the-art Dolby rooms in the world. It’s going to sound different under other listening circumstances, of course, whether the spatially immersive mix is being heard in a home with dozens of carefully calibrated speakers or through one of the all-in-one Atmos boxes that are now coming out. But what’s almost certain is that any status Brian Wilson’s masterpiece might’ve had as your own personal pet project is only going to be elevated with a lusher and richer audio interpretation of the work.

column, published Saturday, McCain called out President Joe Biden for inviting “America’s disgraced First Son” to this weekend’s White House State Dinner, calling the President’s son “an elitist scumbag,” among several other flashy titles.“Mr. President – when will you realize that your nepo-baby scumbag son doesn’t deserve to be an honored guest at the People’s White House?” McCain wrote in the opinion piece.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Who wouldn’t want to sing Kelly-oke to a brand new Kelly Clarkson album? But just be prepared to go to a few darker places, as some of the deeply confessional songs on “Chemistry” come up, many of them prompted by her 2020 divorce from Brandon Blackstock and the events that led up to it. Even if she insists that she put some of the most baldly personal songs she wrote away in a drawer, what’s left is still altogether autobiographical, having been written during some of her darkest days roughly three years ago. Not that it’s entirely daunting stuff; Clarkson made sure to include some songs harking further back in her relationship, before the chemistry went sour, to cover the heat generated in the early stages of a relationship, too. She joined Variety via Zoom to discuss the full arc of what “Chemistry” covers.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic When Bobbie Nelson, longtime pianist for her brother, Willie Nelson, died in March 2022 at age 91, she left behind a recently completed posthumous album, recorded collaboratively with singer Amanda Shires. That record, “Loving You,” is finally seeing the light of day and shedding additional daylight on Nelson’s supreme talent as a player, which wasn’t always the main point of focus in the Nelsons’ family band, for obvious reasons. As a happy byproduct, this beautiful labor of love also casting sunshine on Shires’ skills as a vocal interpreter, as they both take on Willie songs, standards (“Over the Rainbow” and “Summertime,” the latter with a guest vocal from Bobbie’s brother) and other shared favorites.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Musical tag-teaming doesn’t have results much more fruitful than what came about when the showrunners of “A Small Light” picked Ariel Marx to compose the score for the limited series and Este Haim to serve as executive music producer. Neither Haim nor Marx was in a position to take anything about the job lightly, given that the eight-episode series for National Geographic and Disney+ tells the story of a Dutch woman, Miep Gies, who helped hide Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis. Yet, in their very separate roles, both found ways to bring musical light or even levity into a drama that inevitably skews toward tension. Este Haim took on the EMP job for the first time with “A Small Light” after previously scoring or co-composing “Maid” and “Cha Cha Smooth” — on top of her day job as one-third of the rocking sister trio Haim. For “A Small Light,” she produced episode-ending covers of songs from the first half of the 20th century, performed by Angel Olsen, Moses Sumney, Kamasi Washington, Sharon Van Etten with Michael Imperioli, Remi Wolf, Weyes Blood, duet partners Orville Peck and King Princess, and her sister Danielle.

Julie Vincent Guest Contributor AFC Richmond brought some of its top players and an esteemed journalist to the Monte-Carlo Television Festival after the soccer team at the heart of Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” concluded its final season. Kola Bokinni, Billy Harris, Cristo Fernandez and James Lance bid a fond farewell to the show in Monaco. But is it truly good-bye? When asked about it, Harris replied: “We’re still pretty much together. We were in L.A. last week, and now we’re in Monte-Carlo. I suppose we’re enjoying the fruits of our labor.” Lance chimed in, saying: “The show may be over, but we’re just getting started, aren’t we? We’re still here, having a great time.”

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Multiple gunshot victims were reported as being treated after violence broke out in a campground at the site of the Gorge amphitheater in Washington state Saturday night, while performances were still going on inside the venue as part of the Beyond Wonderland festival. After initial reports of an active shooter, local authorities reported that a suspect had been apprehended. Information on the victims’ condition was not released prior to a scheduled law enforcement press conference set for 11:30 p.m. PT. But at 10:52 p.m., the Grant County Sheriff’s Office tweeted: “We have five confirmed injuries. The suspect is in custody. The scene has been secured.”

told Chris Wallace on the latest episode of his CNN show “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?”. “I just don’t think that you get reelected with 30% or 33% of people voting for you in your polls.

Cruz replied: “I don’t think Senate Democrats, if you had video of Joe Biden murdering children dressed as the devil under a full moon while singing Pat Benatar, they still wouldn’t vote to convict.”Cruz’s comment may have been a reference to the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s 1980 hit “Hell Is For Children”— but the song actually condemns child abuse. Benatar was all fired up Friday when she took to Facebook to post “Nice try!”She shares the Facebook page with her husband, Neil Giraldo, 67.When reached for comment, a rep for Benatar referred The Post to the Facebook post.The Post also contacted a Cruz spokesperson for comment. Meanwhile, Benatar’s fans roasted Cruz on Twitter for the rant.

American Family Association publicly attacked U.S. Senator Ted Cruz over the Texas Republican’s opposition to the “Kill the Gays” law in Uganda.

Sorry, but this guy wants to be president?!?

Eva Longoria is thrilled to present her new film ‘Flamin’ Hot’ at the White House on Thursday. After making her directorial debut, the 48-year-old star will be honored with a special screening for Latino leaders and community members, hosted by Joe and Jill Biden.The actress is sharing her excitement to attend, as she will also be joined by cast members.

About 24 hours after a federal indictment against Donald Trump was unsealed, the former president appeared at a Georgia rally and not at all surprisingly blasted the Justice Department and mocked special counsel Jack Smith.

preview for Newsom’s upcoming interview with Sean Hannity, which will air on Fox News’ “Hannity” on Monday, the cable news host asked the California governor for his response to Trump’s indictment on Friday, which charged the former President 37 felony counts originating from an investigation into the classified government documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate and other locations upon leaving office.“Sad,” Newsom told Hannity. “And I say that as an American.”Hannity went on to ask Newsom about his relationship with Trump, asking “were you friendly with him?”“Well, as you know, I didn’t have a closed fist — I had an open hand,” Newsom said in response.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Jason Isbell has a new album out, “Weathervanes,” and he says, “I’m happy to be talking about it. You know, I’ve been talking about a lot of other stuff lately, and it’s nice to actually discuss the job that I chose for myself.” Nothing against the Other Stuff on his part, mind you. He’s proud of the much-heralded HBO Max documentary that director Sam Jones made about him, “Jason Isbell: Running With Our Eyes Closed,” even if it did open him and his wife, Amanda Shires, up to a huge amount amount of personal scrutiny. And he’ll sure be spending an even bigger part of the year than he is now talking about his dramatic role in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which he now feels confident did not leave him in the position of “be(ing) the one guy that screws up this $200 million movie.”