For a decade and a half, Melina Matsoukas has helmed moody, swoony, sexy music videos that subvert expectations by turning an idol’s image inside-out — whether it’s re-imagining Snoop Dogg as a keytar-wielding lounge act (“Sensual Seduction”) or transforming Katy Perry into a grieving World War II widow (“Thinking of …
Read More »The Who by Fire
Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend have known each other for 60 years. They love each other. “I used to say that I love him, but with my fingers crossed,” says Townshend of Daltrey. Townshend, gangly and hunched, his angular face having grown into his long nose, sits in a Dallas …
Read More »Gawker Got Shut Down for Posting a Sex Tape. Why Can the 'Daily Mail' Publish Nudes of Katie Hill?
In 2013, Gawker published a sex tape featuring the wrestler Hulk Hogan and a female partner, the then-wife of his best friend Bubba the Love Sponge. The outrage following this story emerged at a slow trickle: while some media commenters suggested the story may have been in poor taste, most …
Read More »Ronan Farrow on His Bombshell New Book: 'Sometimes, the Conspiracy Theory Is Real'
On an unseasonably warm October afternoon, in a basement in the historic Cooper Union Building in Manhattan, Ronan Farrow, flanked by a team of well-dressed publicists, is diligently signing books. It is Tuesday, the day of the book’s release, and he says it is the first time he has seen …
Read More »Paul McCartney Reminisces About Beatles, John Lennon on 'Colbert'
Paul McCartney reminisced about the Beatles during an interview with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show on Monday. The legendary musician, who recently released his new children’s book, Hey Grandude!, spoke of his bond with John Lennon, experiencing the fallout from the Beatles’ break up and how his dreams have …
Read More »Democrats Are Holding a Vote to Force Republicans to Take a Side on Trump's Racism
Only a handful of House Republicans commented on President Trump’s recent racist attacks against a group of congresswomen of color. On Tuesday, all 197 of them are going to have to weigh in. Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) has introduced a resolution to condemn Trump’s “racist comments toward Members of Congress,” …
Read More »Winners and Losers of the First Night of Democratic Debates
The 2020 Democratic primary debate season is officially underway. The first batch of 10 candidates hashed it out onstage in Miami Wednesday night, and though the back-and-forths may not have been as contentious as those from some of the similarly large Republican primary debates in 2016, the night still provided …
Read More »Exclusive: How Bruce Springsteen Wrote and Recorded 'Born In The U.S.A.'
My new book, Bruce Springsteen: The Stories Behind the Songs, tells the tales behind every officially released studio recording of Bruce Springsteen’s career so far. In addition to my years of Springsteen reporting, including five interviews with the man himself, the book draws on over 60 hours of brand-new interviews …
Read More »The Pentagon's Bottomless Money Pit
A retired Air Force auditor — we’ll call him Andy — tells a story about a thing that happened at Ogden Air Force Base, Utah. Sometime in early 2001, something went wrong with a base inventory order. Andy thinks it was a simple data-entry error. “Someone ordered five of something,” …
Read More »Will Michael Cohen Deliver the Goods on Trump?
Do you believe Michael Cohen? Several outlets reported on Tuesday that Trump’s former lawyer and fixer is prepared to offer damning testimony concerning his former boss, including that he engaged in criminal conduct while in office. The revelations will come Wednesday, when Cohen is scheduled to testify publicly before the …
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