• Although it was rumored that Prince’s new song “Baltimore” would only be available to TIDAL subscribers, the Purple One chose to post it on SoundCloud over the weekend.
According to Stereogum, “it was recorded at his studio in Paisley Park with 3RDEYEGIRL, and features vocals from Eryn Allen Kane (who recorded them separately).” Yesterday evening, TIDAL also had a live audio feed of Prince’s Rally 4 Peace event at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore. And, in the smartest PR decision the streaming service has made thus far, it was free to all for the duration of the event. (Now it appears as if you are forced to subscribe again, even though there’s a “free trial period.” No credit card info, no Jaÿ-Z B-Sides.) TIDAL also provided listeners with a donation button and promised to match the proceeds. Incidentally, Insanul Ahmed wrote an interesting op-ed over on Complex, suggesting Jay Z use TIDAL to provide mixtapes as part of the service and attract new subscribers out of pure convenience. It’s good reading. I suggest giving it a look.
• In other Jay Z news, he and Beyoncé recently purchased a renovated church in New Orleans for $2.6 million, so it looks like the slow progress of TIDAL isn’t setting them back any. Bey also has been getting more involved in the couple’s pet vegan project, 22 Days Nutrition, which they co-own with trainer Marcos Borges. (It costs $600 for 22 days of vegan food because Beyoncé blesses every box before it gets shipped to your house.) She wrote the foreword for Borges’s new book, 22-Day Revolution, and told the New York Times how much she loves the recipe for something called walnut tacos, which, frankly, sound like a personal affront to carnitas everywhere. Then again, if they make your body look like this:
• Last week, Miley Cyrus launched the Happy Hippie Foundation. According to the Foundation’s manifesto, “[their] mission is to rally young people to fight injustice facing homeless youth, LGBT youth, and other vulnerable populations.” In an interview with TIME, Cyrus also addressed speculation in regards to her own sexuality, stating:
I’m not hiding my sexuality. For me, I don’t want to label myself as anything. We love putting people in categories, but what I like sexually isn’t going to label me as a person… There are times in my life where I’ve had boyfriends or girlfriends. And there are times where I just love being with myself and don’t want to give part of myself away to someone else… There’s all this pressure to define yourself sexually, but why?
To coincide with the Foundation’s launch, Cyrus snagged Joan Jett to perform “Different” for her long-neglected Backyard Sessions series. (Personally, I was thrilled. I always send Miley naysayers her cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” to prove the woman’s got a spectacular set of pipes.) Cyrus and Jett were also joined by Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! to cover the Replacements’ “Androgynous.” My personal favorite, however, was when Cyrus provided backup for Grace when she sang “True Trans Soul Rebel” off Transgender Dysphoria Blues—the album Against Me! released last year.
• For the last four days, Taylor Swift has been inundating her Instagram feed with promotion for the upcoming video for “Bad Blood.” It all started with the introduction of her aptly named character, Catastrophe:
The lineup has stretched to include Lily Aldridge, Zendaya, Hayley Williams, Gigi Haded, Ellie Goulding, Hailee Steinfeld, and, more recently, Lena Dunham. Just this morning, Swift also announced that Kendrick Lamar will be making an appearance. After his promotional salad, it’s like, hey. Sure. Why not?
Despite the onslaught of promotion, the actual video itself will not premiere until May 17 during the Billboard Music Awards. So, there’s some bad Sin City knockoff concepts to look forward to for an entire week.
Happy Monday. Let’s watch Carrie Brownstein throw the first pitch at the Mariners game on Saturday to remind us of what’s good in the world.
Anybody need a reliever? @carrie_rachel throws a perfect first pitch at tonight’s @mariners game.
A video posted by Sleater-Kinney (@sleater_kinney) on