• During an interview with Diane Sawyer on Friday night, Bruce Jenner topped the worldwide Twitter trend and gave Kanye West a nice shout-out. The former Olympian said West helped wife Kim Kardashian accept Jenner’s gender reassignment by telling her:
Look, I can be married to the most beautiful woman in the world, and I am. I can have the most beautiful little daughter in the world, and I have that. But I’m nothing if I can’t be me. If I can’t be true to myself, they don’t mean anything.
Jenner did not share any additional information about the release date of West’s new album, but let’s hope he‘ll now have access to Kimye’s stash of Balmain couture. Because after such a great show of bravery, honesty, and courage, Jenner deserves more than just a pair of Yeezy Boosts.
• Also on Friday, Drake was heavily booed by the crowd as he sauntered into the play-off game between the Toronto Raptors and the Washington Wizards. Drake tried to brush off the reception with good humor, bowing while he silently repeated “Legend” to himself. (It might be a little more difficult to brush this off though.)
• So who’s signed up for the latest and greatest streaming service, TIDAL? (Crickets.) While it does have some irresistible offerings—such as Willow Smith’s new single, Jack White concert footage, and Beyoncé snippets that you can probably catch real quick on YouTube before they get pulled down—Jay Z still felt the need to defend it over the weekend. The co-owner took to Twitter to address current criticisms and make a really bad joke about Daft Punk, but it still felt like a poor defense in the face of the company’s recent lay-offs. Now, if Jay wants to address the rumor that his long-awaited collaborative album with none other than ‘Yoncé herself will be available only on TIDAL, I’ll be willing to listen. Otherwise, I say turn the whole thing over to Tina Knowles. She’ll take care of business and make the staff dress all in white like a flock of guardian music angels.
• Since I mentioned Jack White in passing, we know he will take a long hiatus from playing live after this tour, but not to worry. Dan Auberbach of the Black Keys will step up and fill the vacant “egotistical white dudes in rock” hole with his second solo album. While Auberbach did not drop a release date for this auspicious piece of work, he promised Rolling Stone it will be “extra-weird.” Two tracks—”Stay In My Corner” and “Tomato Can”—will be available on 7-inch via independent retailers on May 2, the same day as the Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao fight, because the album is vaguely boxing-related? Oh yes, it will also be released under the moniker the Arcs, as it appears even Auberbach gets tired of seeing his own name on occasion.
• On Saturday night, world-renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking addressed a crowd at the Sydney Opera House via hologram. While Professor Hawking spoke on the dangers of climate change—and stressed that the continuation of the human race depends upon other planets as we’ve shot this one all to hell—he also took time to address real concerns, such as Zayn Malik’s abrupt departure from One Direction. When questioned about the “cosmological effect” of Malik’s absence, Hawking replied:
My advice to any heartbroken young girl is to pay close attention to the study of theoretical physics. Because one day there may well be proof of multiple universes. It would not be beyond the realms of possibility that somewhere outside of our own universe lies another different universe. And in that universe, Zayn is still in One Direction. This girl may like to know that in another possible universe, she and Zayn are happily married.
(The LGBTQ community has yet to address their exclusion from Hawking’s statement, but in a parallel universe he might have included them as well.)
• We’ve only got a week to go before the release of Ciara’s sixth studio album, Jackie, but the singer posted a few quick peeks of tracks “One Woman Army” and “Fly” to keep our appetites whetted. I don’t even care if “I Bet” is really an Usher song, I am very excited about this record. Also, there’s the little ol’ rumor that Ciara happens to be dating Russell Wilson. Supposedly, Wilson intended to bring her to the White House Correspondents Dinner, but the quarterback actually escorted his grandma. (Collective chorus of “Aaawwwwww!”)
• Now if you want to catch up with your listening, I’d prioritize this remix of Jeremih’s “Planes,” from Chance the Rapper and his band the Social Experiment, over that Replacements song about Whole Foods. There’s also a First Listen (and a must-listen, in my opinion) for Torres’s Sprinter over at NPR. And I’d watch Killer Mike’s lecture for MIT’s Hip Hop Speaker Series before your lunch break.
• Also, if you’re looking for work, it appears that Waka Flocka Flame still has a position open while he hits the road on his presidential campaign.
• Nice to meet you, Seattle. Thanks for having me.
Lindsay Hood is the former news editor of the late, great Wondering Sound and a recent Seattle transplant. She’ll be doing music news roundups several times a week on Slog. Lindsay’s pledge: “I’ll try and pay attention to the important stuff—you know, like Rihanna’s Instagram—then round it all up for you to devour in the morning. I look forward to learning more about the local scene as the column develops. Feel free to drop off helpful tidbits in the comments.” Lindsay’s Twitter is right here.