The confusing situation with Zak Starkey has gotten even more confusing. After the drummer (and son of Ringo Starr) was fired from the Who in April for “overplaying,” Pete Townshend announced shortly after that Starkey was back in the band. The following month he was fired again. Starkey then explained that he had a phone call with Roger Daltrey, who told him he “hadn’t been ‘fired’…I had been ‘retired’ to work [on] my own projects.” He also said he was “gutted” about being excluded from the Oasis reunion tour (as he drummed for Oasis between 2004 and 2008). Now, he’s saying he turned down the Oasis tour to tour with the Who.

The remainder of Bonnaroo was canceled due to severe weather, but 2hollis got to perform on Thursday (June 12). The rising hyperpop rapper and producer brought his usual blown-out, invigorating chaos to the stage, including an unreleased track called “Warhorse.”

Our 2016 Artist To Watch Gordi has a new album called Like Plasticine arriving in August. Yesterday (June 13) the Australian artist made her solo US TV debut on The Kelly Clarkson Show to perform the single “Peripheral Lover.”

Doja Cat drama? In 2025? That’s right. It’s been too long. There’s always been tension between the rapper/pop star and her audience; in 2022, she was annoyed when people kept asking if she was OK after she shaved her head and eyebrows, and the following year she refused to say she loved her fans because “I don’t even know yall.” This time, the drama is a bit more personal.

Yesterday “Weird Al” Yankovic kicked off his massive Bigger & Weirder Tour in Vegas. The event was just as extravagant as fans expected, and it featured live premieres and rarities from throughout his lengthy career.

The remainder of Bonnaroo 2025 has been canceled. The event got underway Thursday on the Farm in Manchester, TN, but midway through this afternoon, performances were suspended due to severe weather. After a series of further delays, the fest announced a few minutes ago that the rest of this weekend’s festivities have been scrapped due to “significant and steady precipitation” forecasted by the National Weather Service. “We are beyond gutted, but we must make the safest decision and cancel the remainder of Bonnaroo,” festival management writes in a statement on their social media accounts.

Because we’re still having problems due to OpenWeb changing its API on us, I do not know your highest rated comments this week. I’m told I’ll get some comment data next week, but I’m not holding my breath. Shut Up, Dude was going to be coming to an end soon anyway; as you might have seen me mention in Gumcord, we are moving to a new, much better platform for the entire site in Q3 (maybe Q4). Its in-house commenting software will be more affordable too, but it will also make publishing a Best Comments list impossible. I didn’t want this column to end so unceremoniously, though, so I will give OpenWeb a couple of weeks and see if we can schedule a proper farewell tour. Anyway, #NoKings except Brian Wilson, so scroll through all of these best comments instead:

Panel hail from Minneapolis, where they kick out ultra-catchy rock music that veers between subgenres from song to song. Their music revolves around singer Annie Sparrows, whose mastery of shout-along melodies cannot be denied. The seven tracks on their debut A Great Time To Be An Empath, out today, range from power-pop to post-punk to grunge, and there’s even a swooning piano ballad called “Two Little Dogs” in the middle. Stream the album below — and if you only check out one, make it “Victoria,” a snappy little pop song that builds up a hell of a lot of momentum in under two minutes as Sparrows lets her voice fly high. (Thanks to see/saw for giving this one some shine.)

A couple days ago, we lost pop music visionary Brian Wilson. Since the news of his passing, there’s been a massive outpour of admiration for the late Beach Boy. Yesterday, Grammy nominated producer and musician John Wilson (of no relation to Brian), who has worked with musicians like Father John Misty, Angel Olsen, Margo Price, and DAWES, shared videos of the last music Brian Wilson recorded before he died.

Michael Tait, a founding member of DC Talk who more recently fronted another Christian rock band, Newsboys, faced allegations of grooming and sexual assault from three men, as well as substance abuse, in an investigation published by the Roys Report last week. Tait responded this week with a statement confirming, “For some two decades I used and abused cocaine, consumed far too much alcohol, and, at times, touched men in an unwanted sensual way.” He said he’d been living a “double life,” described his behavior as sinful, and said he was seeking repentance. The implication was that he is repenting not just of predatory behavior but of homosexual sex.