Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2221

ALIEN: COVENANT Trailer Bridges the Gap Between ALIEN and PROMETHEUS

Now this might just be the Alien prequel we’ve all been waiting for.

Yes, finally, when we land on an alien world, we are armed. Will it help? Considering we see a chestburster about to take  a U-turn and bust out of a person’s back, I suspect not.

That said, it looks like Alien: Covenant will combine the mysterious excitement of finding a brave new planet with the blood-drenched violence we expect from the parasitic xenomorph we know and love. Evolution moved fast to get the hammer-headed Deacon creature from Prometheus up to speed as the killer critter we know and love. Though if spores can enter your ear to make the lethal symbiosis happen, we are well and truly doomed.

James Franco is nowhere to be seen in the trailer, which may suggest a different and significant role (remember how late Guy Pearce’s part as Peter Weyland was revealed). Here’s hoping he plays a crazy auteur who somehow plans to direct the xenomorphs in a movie of some sort. Or, y’know, not.

Regardless, it looks like the latest Alien movie is at least pumping up the fear. Even though you may know how the creature emerges, the right circumstances can still creep you out. Is Ridley Scott still able to do that? Judging from what we see here, yes, yes he is.

Are you licking your inner jaws for more Alien? In space, can anyone nearby hear us scream for joy? Will the Engineers return and explain their elephantine helmets? You tell us. In comments, everyone can hear you talk back.

Image: Fox

How acidic is Alien blood, really?

Racing Through THE FLASH Open World Video Game That Almost Happened

The Flash may be the fastest man alive, but even he couldn’t outrun the forces that bankrupted Brash Entertainment and left the Flash’s first open world video game as an unrealized dream. But now, previously unseen footage from The Flash video game and details about its characters and storylines have been revealed as a tantalizing glimpse of what might have been.

Did You Know Gaming’s newest episode of Liam Robertson’s Unseen64 has thrown the spotlight on The Flash video game that was developed by Bottlerocket Entertainment for the Xbox 360, PS3, and the Wii. This one is particularly heartbreaking because it appears that Bottlerocket had laid the groundwork for The Flash to be extremely faithful to the comics, with a lineup of established villains, two cities to explore, and even an original storyline overseen by comic book legend, Marv Wolfman. There’s also a lot of clips from the game in this video, which illustrates just how far along the title was when it faced its untimely cancellation.

This video also contains some very detailed accounts about some of the Flash’s boss fights and a few of the twists that players would have encountered throughout the game. Apparently, the genesis of the project originally had an even more ambitious goal that would have featured the Flash aiding several other DC heroes including Superman and Batman in their own respective cities.

It’s unfortunate that this game will never be finished, as it could have done for the Flash what the Batman: Arkham video game series did for Batman. That said, there may never be a better time for Warner Bros. to try making a new open world game based on The Flash. The TV series on The CW has made the Flash more popular than ever, and even though The Flash movie is still looking for a director, it’s bound to happen as well.

While Bottlerocket’s Flash game focused on Wally West (who was the main Flash in the comics at that time), any future games will probably use Barry Allen as the lead character. But the current season of The Flash has set up Wally as a speedster hero as well, so there’s no reason not to use both heroes in any potential game down the road. The current console generation could easily pull off the open world aspect of it, and we also think that The CW series has a lot to offer any future Flash games. Note that Bottlerocket’s game gave Flash remote support from another character, which is almost exactly the role that Team Flash plays on the show.

Speaking of Team Flash, Vibe and Killer Frost are now so closely associated with Barry Allen that they would probably belong in any future game as well. Additionally, it would be very cool to see a Flash multiplayer option that would let players control the comic book Flashes, Grant Gustin‘s incarnation, John Wesley Shipp‘s ’90s era Flash, and even Ezra Miller‘s Flash from the DC Extended Universe.

What did you think about this video? And what do you want to see in any potential Flash video game? Unleash the Speed Force in the comment section below!

Image: DC Comics

Of course, a Flash game would need an Infinite Mass Punch.

Comic Book Club: Best of 2016

Guests Nat Towsen and Jason Torres help Comic Book Club take a look back at the year in comics!

Check out the website at comicbookclublive.com to find out how to watch the show live! And follow the show on Twitter: @comicbooklive, @azalben, @jtsizzle, and @realpetelepage

Enjoy a Roaring Yule Log With BB-8 This Christmas

Christmas weekend is upon us! And while you could put on the traditional Yule Log or even a burning Darth Vader, there’s a new option for Star Wars fans: to enjoy one hour in front of the fire alongside The Force Awakens‘ breakout droid, BB-8.

Sphero has posted a BB-8 themed Yule Log video; which features the adorably excitable droid as he embraces a Christmas ritual that has absolutely nothing to do with “a galaxy far, far away” (we’re really not sure how “canon” Life Day is any more) . Although this isn’t a full size recreation of BB-8, it’s the much smaller, app-enabled version of the droid that Sphero offers for sale on its website and other stores. And while BB-8 occasionally moves his head and makes a few of his distinctive chirps, he doesn’t really do much at all in this video. This is about as chill as BB-8 gets, but there’s still something soothing about the noises made by the fire.

This isn’t the first time that Sphero has used its BB-8 to spread a little holiday cheer. The droid has such emotive gestures that the company has been able to create several BB-8 videos on its YouTube channel, including this fun clip of BB-8 encountering some very “impressive” carved pumpkins for this year’s Halloween celebration.

We also really enjoyed this clip in which BB-8 reacts to his own reflection, with humorously disastrous results. You can watch more of the BB-8 videos here.

What did you think about Sphero’s BB-8 Yule Log video? And which holiday traditions should BB-8 explore in Sphero’s next video? Use the Force to share your comments below!

Image: Sphero

‘Member when they made a BB-8 airplane? We ‘member!

Kylo Ren’s Review of ROGUE ONE Might Be the Only One That Matters

The sound-editing geniuses at Auralnauts have done it again, taking advantage of a villain who wears a mask in the best way.

We’ve seen and heard their pitch-perfect Kylo Ren impersonation redub scenes from The Force Awakens, and react to the Rogue One trailer. But now he’s seen the new Star Wars story in its entirety, and needless to say, he has opinions. Lots of them. And they’re not all what you’d think.

He admits he doesn’t completely hate Jyn Erso. He finds Cassian Andor “BORRRRRING!” And Chirrut Imwe, whom he derisively referred to as “Magic Stick Man,” turns out to be a surprising favorite, though Kylo thinks less of Imwe’s partner Baze Malbus, calling him “Admiral Aim-Bot.” We think he’s just jealous that stormtroopers will never be able to shoot that straight.

Naturally, he’s full of praise for every scene involving Darth Vader, including that one near the end. And he’s relieved to learn that in some cases, what previously seemed like dumb luck for the Rebels has turned out to be actual sabotage, proving his conspiracy theories. In fitting “Emo Kylo” mode, he even compares his own angst to his grandfather’s literal burned, amputated body. Robot Chicken and similar shows will undoubtedly have their fun with the former Ben Solo in the years to come, but Auralnauts have crafted a pretty definitive satirical portrayal that’s going to be hard to match, and even feels of a piece with Matt, the Starkiller Base technician.

And just like us, he’s mad that that Jyn versus TIE fighter scene from the trailer isn’t in the final film. Possibly for different reasons, though!

Do you agree with Kylo Ren, or is he just being an angsty jerk again? Watch his review and let us know!

Image: Lucasfilm/Auralnauts

But could Kylo lift Mjolnir using the Force? Yes, we went there.

Bill Murray’s SCROOGED Is the Christmas Movie We Need in 2016

Charles Dickens has been called “The Man Who Invented Christmas,” not in reference to the holiday itself, but how we celebrate it in the modern world. That lofty moniker is primarily due to his hallowed story A Christmas Carol, because it changed the way people thought about and honored the holiday. That’s why there are roughly nine million movie versions of the story; it is Christmas as we know it, or at least how we think of it–and ourselves–at our best. But at the end of this unhappy year we’ve called 2016, one adaptation of A Christmas Carol stands out as being the one we need the most, the one that reminds us that the world we’ve created today needn’t be the future we live in, and that’s Bill Murray‘s Scrooged.

All Christmas movies are inherently about hope: hope for peace and kindness among mankind, hope that we can and will do better if we remember the selfless spirit of the day, a day of giving to one another. That’s what A Christmas Carol is about, where Ebenezer Scrooge, who has forsaken love in his heart for gold in his pocket, is given a chance to see not only the error of his ways, but what lies ahead for him if he does not change. By the end he isn’t a different man, he’s just the best version of himself, one whose life is measured by what he does for others and not by his bank account.

Scrooged tells the same story, but in a setting that looks very much like our modern world. Far too much like our modern world actually.

Murray plays Frank Cross, the youngest president in television history. His life is defined by ratings and the prestige that comes with it, so much so that he is putting on a live version of A Christmas Carol (in the movie it is called Scrooge–no “d”) on Christmas Eve, even though that means hundreds of people working on it will be pulled away from their families, along with millions who will be watching TV instead of enjoying the night with theirs.

The movie was released in 1988, but it’s world doesn’t feel much different than 2016, where integrity and compassion are worthless compared to Nielsen ratings. Murray’s Cross would have killed it this year, no doubt eager to feed into peoples’ worst fears and instincts. That’s not hyperbole; in the movie he runs a commercial for Scrooge so violent and terrible that it kills an old lady out of actual fear. When he hears the news he celebrates. “You can’t buy publicity like this!” It’s supposed to be an over-the-top ridiculous line, but it sadly rings true today.

Of course we know what happens. He sees past Christmas Eves, and through them his transformation into the greedy, uncaring man he is today. Then he sees the present, with examples of real love in the world, before he sees the dark future that awaits him.

But it’s not just his own dark future that stands out, and in turn makes the movie so relevant this year specifically, it’s the future of the woman he loves. While Scrooged has its own Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim (here filled by Frank’s secretary Grace and her young son who doesn’t speak after he saw his father killed years earlier) this adaptation is anchored by his relationship with the woman he once loved, Claire, played by Karen Allen.

Claire is the opposite of Frank; she is selfless and has dedicated her life to others. He turns to her throughout the movie when he is in trouble, and it is the loss of her love that defines his past. He was happiest with her, but he chose ambition and success instead. The good man he once was disappeared with her.

It looks like he is starting to figure this out after seeing the Ghost of Christmas Present, and he goes to Claire for help, but she just needs a quick moment to deal with something at the homeless shelter she volunteers at. He wants her attention this second, and takes her refusal to ignore others and see to his needs immediately as proof that she is the selfish one, not him. Things fell apart between them because she wasn’t there for him, so he doesn’t need to feel guilt about the choices he made. He tells her to forget everything, and says, “I’m gonna give you a little advice, Claire: scrape ’em off. You wanna save somebody? Save yourself.”

She tells him that’s not exactly the Christmas spirit, and he responds, “Bah humbug.” So much for lessons learned.

He’s acting childish, needy, and of course, selfishly, like he always does, but it’s the way he dismisses everything that is important to her that makes this so horrible. She lives for others, and he tells her her life is worthless because of it. It’s his worst moment in the movie, and it turns out to possibly be the worst thing he has ever done in his life.

Because when he is with the Ghost of Christmas Future the worst vision he is shown is what will happen to Claire. He sees her dressed in a fancy dress at a fancy restaurant wearing way too much makeup, and outside the window some homeless children have come begging for help. Her dinner mates feel badly for them, but she scolds them and explains why these kids mean nothing to her.

“I wasted twenty years of my life on pathetic little creatures like those. Finally, thank god, a friend of mine said to me, Scrape ’em off, Claire. You wanna save someone–save yourself.'”

He says to himself, “I’m sorry, Claire,” as she turns around and whispers a thank you to him as a tear runs down her face.

He is so selfish and heartless that his actions will turn the woman he loves, the woman who is so good, into a monster too. This is will be his legacy, not merely to deprive the world of good, but to rob it of the good it already in it.

And that’s where many people find themselves this Christmas, afraid that Claire’s future could be our own. All of the Ebenezer Scrooges and Frank Crosses of the world can easily turn us into the worst version of ourselves if we let them, because when all seems hopeless it’s easier to “scrape ’em off” instead of trying to do what we know is right. If no one will worry about me, I won’t worry about them. We aren’t in this together, so I’ll be in it for myself.

If anything has defined 2016 it has been a lack of empathy and compassion, and those failings are at the heart of Scrooged. But much like Frank Cross had a chance to make the future better, we too will still determine how 2017 and beyond are defined.

We don’t have to be the Claire that scrapes them off, we can be the Frank Cross who ends the movie by reminding us that Christmas is just a wonderful idea, an idea that doesn’t have to be one we only hold one day a year.

“I get it now! Then if you give, then it can happen, then the miracle can happen to you! It’s not just the poor and the hungry, it’s everybody’s who’s GOT to have this miracle! And it can happen tonight for all of you. If you believe in this spirit thing, the miracle will happen and then you’ll want it to happen again tomorrow. You won’t be one of these bastards who says ‘Christmas is once a year and it’s a fraud’, it’s NOT! It can happen every day, you’ve just got to want that feeling. And if you like it and you want it, you’ll get greedy for it! You’ll want it every day of your life and it can happen to you. I believe in it now! I believe it’s going to happen to me now! I’m ready for it! And it’s great! It’s a good feeling, it’s really better than I’ve felt in a long time. I, I, I’m ready. Have a Merry Christmas, everybody.

Who do we want to be? What do we want the future to look like? Do we want to be the best version of ourselves, or do we want to only look out for ourselves?

Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol in 1843 and forever shaped the way we think about the holiday, but Scrooged looks and sounds an awful lot like the world of 2016, and that’s why it’s the reminder we need–at a time we need it the most–to remember that we can all be a force of good.

But also that it can be easy to give up on that idea if we let others tell us we can’t.

Everyone remembers Tiny Tim’s line about god blessing us, everyone, but it’s something Claire says in Scrooged we shouldn’t forger this year, to make sure that everyone is blessed in the years to come.

“That’s the one good thing about regret: it’s never too late. You can always change tomorrow if you want to.”

We can’t change 2016, just like Ebenezer and Frank Cross couldn’t change the mistakes they had made, but we can all make sure we don’t regret who we are in the future. It’s the lesson we need this year.

What do you think of Scrooged? Is there another Christmas movie that would be a better choice this December? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images: Paramount Pictures

Half Hour Happy Hour #106: Drunksmas Day 6

Time to get a little nostalgic with Alex’s TRS co-host and 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg.

Follow @HalfHourHappyHr and hosts @alisonhaislip, @alexalbrecht and Tom “Super Volcano” Krajewski on Twitter

GAME OF THRONES Re-Throned: “Kissed By Fire” (S3, EP5)

Winter is coming, but not soon enough. So to help pass the time until season seven of Game of Thrones, we’re doing a weekly re-watch of the series, episode-by-episode, with the knowledge of what’s to come and—therefore—more information about the unrevealed rich history of events that took place long before the story began. Be warned, though: that means this series is full of spoilers for every season, even beyond the episode itself. So if you haven’t watched all of the show yet immediately get on that and then come back and join us for Game of Thrones Re-Throned.

Because the next best thing to watching new episodes is re-watching old ones.

——

Season 3, Episode 5: “Kissed By Fire”

Original Air Date: April 28th, 2013

Director: Alex Graves

Written by: Bryan Cogman

The fifth episode from Game of Thrones‘ third season, “Kissed By Fire,” is yet another fantastic installment in the series (season three has a real claim to being the best season of them all). We get to see how Thoros of Myr can bring back Beric Dondarrion from the dead, which will prove slightly relevant after Jon Snow eats a belly full of knives, and we also witness just how little regard Tywin has for the happiness of his children, when he tells an incredulous Tyrion he is to marry Sansa Stark and that Cersei is to marry Loras Tyrell. The family name matters far more than the actual family.

But it’s a scene with Tywin’s other child that still stands out as being one of the best, most powerful, and most revealing from the show—and that’s Jaime‘s revelation about exactly what happened the day he killed the Mad King. It’s an emotional scene that not only completely changes how we view a character that thus far we thought was nothing more than a villain, but one that proves just how messy concepts like duty, honor, and justice really are.

Sitting in a bathtub with an embarrassed Brienne, the Kingslayer—considered by all to be a “man without honor”—reveals that he didn’t put a sword through Aerys II’s back because he abandoned his vows, but because it was the only way to save thousands of innocent people from the Mad King’s plan to “burn them all.” He had pleaded with the Mad King to turn himself  over peacefully, but instead he was ordered to bring back the head of his father Tywin. Yet even that wasn’t what really made Jaime murder him, it was when the Mad King placed the order to set off his scores of wildfire he had hidden under the city.

Jaime, a knight sworn to protect the innocent, was faced with the choice of breaking one sacred vow in the name of the other, and so he chose to protect the innocent instead of the madman who wanted to see them all burn. And Jaime’s reward for this act of heroism was complete condemnation and hatred from every subject of Westeros forever.

Brienne asks him why he never told anyone the truth, and he says it’s because when Ned Stark found what he had done he immediately judged Jaime as an oathbreaker, and that explaining himself wouldn’t have accomplished anything. Sure, Ned was rebelling against the king, but Jaime was his sworn shield who only killed him at the end when the war was over and Tywin had taken the city. To Ned, oaths weren’t subject to the changing winds of life, and Jaime had done something unforgivable.

We see, in this very episode, the exact same kind of stubborn adherence to duty that made Ned despise Jaime Lannister from Robb Stark. Lord Rickard Karstark, in a mad fit of rage, kills the two innocent Lannister boys that were Robb’s captives. He slaughtered them, two children, to get his revenge at Jaime. It wasn’t just murder, it was treason.

Robb ignores the good, reasonable, pragmatic advice of his wife, mother, and uncle, about keeping Lord Karstark alive as a prisoner to ensure the loyalty of the Karstark forces, and beheads him. Of course the Karstark army abandons Robb, which ultimately leads to Robb going back to Walder Frey for help. That….that doesn’t work out. The Red Wedding doesn’t happen if Robb put aside what was “right” for what was “smart.”

Robb was a good, just leader, and he would have made a great king, but unfortunately the same attributes that made those things true also got him killed He never understood that sometimes difficult choices must be made in the name of the greater good, the same mistake that Ned made. Both were such honorable men that it got them both killed.

Meanwhile, as a young man Jaime Lannister made an impossible choice and in doing so saved countless lives, an act of courage that he paid for it with his own honor. When he dies someday he will not be remembered with love and respect the way Ned and Robb are remembered, he will forever be a man without honor.

We know he might once again be called to make an impossible decision, if he is the only one who can stop his sister the queen from accomplishing what the Mad King couldn’t because Jaime killed him, but even that sacrifice and bravery won’t matter.

That’s because life isn’t fair, not in Westeros, not across the Narrow Sea, not anywhere. Duty, honor, justice—these are concepts that don’t always mean what we think they should, and that’s why he never Jaime never told anyone what really happened until he sat in that bathtub as a broken man. He didn’t think anyone would care.

The sad thing is just how right he was.

What did you think of that scene? What about this episode? Tell us in the comments below.

Images: HBO

HARRY POTTER Makes His Comic Book Debut For LOVE IS LOVE Benefit Special

In today’s Holiday Edition of Comics Relief, we start off with news of Harry Potter’s long awaited arrival in the world of comics, which is happening all for a very good cause. Read on for all the details!

Harry Potter finally makes his comic book debut in Love is Love benefit comic

For years, fans have been asking for characters from the Harry Potter universe to come to comics, and so far, no dice. Until now that is. Although it’s just a small inclusion, JK Rowling has approved her characters to appear as part of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting benefit comic book Love Is Love, in an officially authorized piece by artist and DC Comics co-publisher Jim Lee, with colors by Mark Chiarello. You can see a preview of the image above.

Love Is Love is being produced by IDW in conjunction with DC Comics. It depicts Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasely, and Albus Dumbledore conjuring a rainbow with a quote from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that reads “Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.” The quote comes from Dumbledore himself, who author J.K. Rowling has confirmed in recent years as being gay.

The piece was produced with Rowling’s approval–the only such approval the author has given for use of Harry Potter imagery in official comic books. Proceeds from Love Is Love will go to Equality Florida to benefit the victims of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting and their families. The one-shot will be on shelves December 28. [New York Times]

Titan Comics announces Robotech ongoing series writer

Back in June, UK publisher Titan Comics announced they had acquired the rights to ’80s hybrid anime series Robotech from Harmony Gold. Although a cover image for issue #1 was released,  which you can see above, we had no creative team attached. Now Titan has announced that Brian Wood (Briggs Land, Rebels) is set as series writer.

In a statement, Harmony Gold USA’s President of Animation Tommy Yune said “We are excited to have the opportunity to work with Brian to expand the Robotech universe. His bold approach to storytelling is thoughtful and will be full of surprises for fans.” Robotech #1 will arrive in the first quarter of 2017. [CBR]

IDW gives Star Trek the Deviations treatment

This year, IDW did a series of one-shot specials under the banner “Deviations”, where famous stories from beloved pop culure properties like X-Files and Transformers deviated from their known timelines. Now Star Trek is joining the Deviations specials in March of next year.

Coming from writer Donny Cates and artist Josh Hood, Star Trek: Deviations centers on an alternate timeline where the Romulans are the alien species that make first contact with Earth rather than the Vulcans (as seen in Star Trek: First Contact). Instead of giving birth to the United Federation of Planets, Earth becomes a harsh penal colony. Below is the official synopsis:

“Resistance fighter William Riker has uncovered a vast conspiracy, and together with his band of prisoner outlaws (you just might recognize a few!), must fight to rescue a mysterious prisoner in the darkest level of the Romulan dungeons. The only man on Earth that still holds the key to humanity’s return to the stars!” So, will it be Captain Kirk or Jean-Luc Picard? Or could it be Janeway or Sisko? Or even Spock?? Find out in March of 2017. [io9]

Greg Capullo becomes DC Comics exclusive

Although he has spent most of 2016 working on Reborn with writer Mark Millar, artist Greg Capullo is coming back to DC Comics, and specifically his Batman partner Scott Snyder. Greg Capullo has announced via Twitter that he just signed a new contract with the publisher, and  is re-teaming with Snyder on a DC event book scheduled for release in the summer of 2017. Earlier this year, he teased his return, saying “Yes, we’re gonna be doing a big summer event, next year, next summer. It will be very Batman centric, and very rock ‘n’ roll.” [Newsarama]

Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott’s Black Magick return faces slight delay

Writer Greg Rucka and artist Nicola Scott have wowed fans all year with their run on Wonder Woman: Rebirth, but in doing so, they had to put their creator-owned series Black Magick on hiatus. Now that Scott’s time on Wonder Woman is ending the duo are planning the return of their Image Comics series. Although it was originally announced as returning in April with new issues, Rucka has now stated that they are delaying it to June in order for the next arc to be released monthly without any skip-months.

In a recent tweet, Rucka sad “So upon reviewing the schedule with Nicola Scott and Jeanine Schaefer for Black Magick, we’ve decided to push back our return date. Instead of the April-as-planned return, we’re going to push to June. We’re doing this for one reason, honestly – we want the arc to ship monthly. That means needing lead time. Apologies for the delay, but necessary, I’m afraid. It’ll be worth the wait!” Black Magick first launched in October 2015, with the first collected edition going on-sale in April. [Newsarama]

Justice League vs. Suicide Squad hints at pre-New 52 DCU returning (Spoilers)

In case you haven’t been reading DC lately, over the past year of DC Rebirth, there have been many hints that the pre-New 52 continuity would be making a comeback in some way. And in this week’s Justice League vs. Suicide Squad #1, writer Joshua Williamson dropped an even bigger hint: While the Justice League and the Suicide Squad are battling it out, villain Maxwell Lord had broken the most dangerous criminals in the world out of a secure location and gathered them together. But the location of the book’s final image is very telling.

In the final two pages of the book, Max Lord’s gathering of baddies takes place at the old headquarters of Checkmate in the very same room where Maxwell Lord shot and killed Blue Beetle in Infinite Crisis back in the day. The cracked screen behind Lord (you can see the image above) indicates that those events still in fact happened in the current continuity… even though Ted Kord is alive and kicking in the pages of Blue Beetle right now. Not only that, but many of the villains gathered by Max Lord are clearly pre-New 52 versions of the characters. It seems that Justice League vs. Suicide Squad is a much bigger piece of the Rebirth puzzle than initially thought. [Comics Alliance]

Where do you think Rebirth is headed? Tell us your theories in comments!

Images: DC Comics / IDW Comics / Titan Comics /Image Comics / Warner Brothers 

Music Dispatch: Dave Grohl Drums on the New Nine Inch Nails

Trent Reznor is a genius, but boy does his music sound even better when a member of the Foo Fighters is drumming on it. Now we know why Nine Inch Nails’ new EP sounds so dang good. Guess what? That’s not the only shocking music news we learned recently. It turns out John Williams has never seen a single Star Wars film, Bon Iver has an entire concert you can stream in full, Spoon will drop a new album in barely three months, and Speedy Ortiz frontwoman Sadie Dupuis has a Christmas jingle you’ll sing with glee this holiday season.

Nine Inch Nails‘ new EP is exciting for many reasons. First of all, it exists, marking it as their first release since 2013’s Hesitation Marks. It’s the first release where Atticus Ross is now considered an official member. But the best news may be something a little more out of the blue. It turns out Not the Actual Events sees Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl behind the drums for “The Idea of You.” He brings the track to intense levels, elevating what’s already an intense Nine Inch Nails song on an intense EP. Give it a listen above as well as the rest of the EP. Oh, and one more thing: Nine Inch Nails have two more releases planned for 2017, so there’s plenty more goodness to come. [Consequence of Sound]

Arguably the most famous part of Star Wars is not its characters, but the music. People recognize Darth Vader’s theme instantly, the opening credits score, and even the jubilant jazz of the Cantina Band. John Williams is the mastermind who made that magic happen. As it turns out, he did so without ever watching the movies… and apparently hasn’t seen a single Star Wars movie since. He told The Mirror, “I have not looked at the Star Wars films and that’s absolutely true. When I’m finished with a film, I’ve been living with it, we’ve been dubbing it, recording to it, and so on. You walk out of the studio and, ‘Ah, it’s finished… Now I don’t have an impulse to go to the theater and look at it. Maybe some people find that weird, or listen to recordings of my music very, very rarely.” Now excuse us while we pretend we never learned this fun fact. [Consequence of Sound]

On December 4th of this year, Bon Iver took the stage at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, NY. It’s an artful space that aims to widen an understanding of oneself and the world simultaneously. There, Justin Vernon tapped into those with his new album, 22, A Million. Don’t feel bummed you missed it: NPR recorded the entire show’s audio and visuals, and now viewers can check it out in full. We suggest turning off the lights, plugging your HDMI cord in to screen it on the TV, and getting cozy. This is one live show that you don’t need a ticket for, but it will have an impact on you as if you were there all the same. [NPR]

Welcome in the finer feelings: Spoon is ready to return. The indie rock giants announced their ninth studio album will be out in March of next year, and with it comes a tour. No, the follow-up to 2014’s incredible They Want My Soul has no name yet, but it did see them teaming up with producer Dave Fridman with “multidimensional jams that showcase textured guitar riffs, warm keyboards, oddball studio effects, and [frontman Britt] Daniel’s sandpaper-rough croon,” according to EW. It’s also the band’s first time working with Matador Records since their 1996 debut, Telephono. New Spoon just in time for summer? Maybe 2017 really will be a great year. [Consequence of Sound]

The holidays aren’t always as merry as we want them to be. In the year of an election, talking politics with family can feel inevitable, and, sometimes, that’s a good thing. In her newest Christmas single, Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz wants to Make Christmas Great Again with “MCGA.” The song is like an extension of her Sad13 solo debut, but with slower guitars and fuller reverb. “Will we ever have a conversation where you disavow conversion therapy, stand for prison abolition, or free and unrestricted abortion rights?” she wonders in the song. “And holding sexual predators accountable and not electing them into the most powerful office in the country?” Well, leave it up to your family members to answer those questions. [Pitchfork]

Enjoy the holidays! We’ll see you back here next Friday.

Image: NIN online store