Detroit native Jack White is the musical director for the immersive, experimental film Motor City. You might be wondering, ‘What do you mean by experimental?’ Well, there’s hardly any dialogue in the Potsy Ponciroli-directed picture. Today, he’s shared the first trailer for the flick, which is soundtracked by Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain.”

There’s an old wives’ tale known among crafty folks as the Sweater Curse: Knit your boyfriend a sweater, and you’ll soon be paid for your hours of hard work in the form of a breakup. My mind instantly referenced the Sweater Curse when, back in June 2024, Sabrina Carpenter cast her then-boyfriend Barry Keoghan in the music video for “Please Please Please,” soon-to-be her first #1 hit. “I know that you’re an actor, so act like a stand-up guy,” Carpenter pleads in the song, released just as Saltburn was making Keoghan a household name. Whether by curse or not, they were broken up by the end of the year.

If you are named Cradle Of Filth, perhaps a mess is to be expected. That’s what’s been unfolding for the veteran English metal band. Last weekend, two band members, spouses Zoë M. Federoff and Marek “Ashok” Šmerda, quit Cradle Of Filth, citing “unprofessional behavior” including management withholding proper compensation and band leader Dani Filth’s “foolish,” much-publicized decision to collaborate with dweeby pop superstar Ed Sheeran (a collab that has yet to materialize). Thursday, the conflict intensified as Federoff shared a new statement condemning the band’s “toxic” work environment and “psychopathic” session contracts. Now, we can add even more filth to the cradle.

Last night, pop-punkers Blink-182 kicked off their Missionary Impossible Tour with Alkaline Trio at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida. Not only did they perform a mix of old classics and new songs from their catalogue, according to setlist.fm, they played a bunch of rarities.

Earlier this year, the big-deal dance producer Fred again.. and the long-established London grime star Skepta got together, joining forces with streamer PlaqueBoyMax to release a single called “Victory Lap.” That song was a massive hit, reaching #4 on the UK singles chart, Skepta’s best-ever showing. A random-ass group of rappers — Denzel Curry, That Mexican OT, D Double E, Hanumankind — appeared on remixes. Last week, Skepta and Fred again.. followed that single with another one called “Back 2 Back.” Today, the two of them release Skepta .. Fred, an entire collaborative EP that wasn’t announced ahead of time.

On Valentine’s Day, Frog shared 1000 Variations On The Same Song, our Album Of The Week. Now the prolific New York duo is already announcing its followup, The Count.

Almost exactly one year ago, newly minted pop star Sabrina Carpenter released Short N’ Sweet, her sixth album but her real-deal breakout. Now, she’s already back with another one. Carpenter has already gone through a cover-art mini-controversy around her new record Man’s Best Friend, and “Manchild,” the record’s one advance single, debuted at #1. Today, the whole album is out, and so does Carpenter’s grand and ridiculous video for new single “Tears.”

In the FromSoftware action RPG Elden Ring, you play as an anonymous, mute character belonging to a caste known as the Tarnished. You’re set loose in the Lands Between, a blighted world that has fallen into chaos. Your mission is to restore the Golden Order and become Elden Lord. In the beginning, you’re a weakling, with poor stats and worse armaments. The first bosses you encounter exist primarily to beat you into the ground, to humble you. The low chime that accompanies FromSoft’s signature “YOU DIED” animation burrows its way into your head through constant repetition. At some point, you realize that you can go somewhere else on the game’s massive, open-world map, so you do. You strengthen yourself in encounters with lesser enemies, and eventually, you return to smash that boss that gave you so much trouble a few hours ago. Repeat that process ad infinitum. That’s Elden Ring.

Jürgen Bartsch, co-founder of the long-running and influential German underground metal band Bethlehem, has passed away. Current Bethlehem singer Yvonne “Onielar” Wilczynska revealed the news of Bartsch’s death in an Instagram post, writing that he last a battle to an unspecified illness on Wednesday. In a note translated from German, Wilczynska says, “He died many times… But death was only temporary.” As of now, Bartsch’s cause of death and age are unreported.

In the past few days, the great Philadelphia hardcore band Jesus Piece has come apart in dramatic, contentious fashion. About a month ago, the Arizona festival One Big Party unveiled its lineup, which features “JE$US PIECE” high up on the bill. Earlier this week, Jesus Piece frontman Aaron Heard reposted the lineup, writing, “that’s me and the homies.” Twenty minutes later, Heard’s Jesus Piece bandmates David Updike, John Distefano, and Luis Aponte shared a joint statement, claiming that the band has broken up and expressing their frustration that Heard would launch another project under what’s basically the same name: “Anything you see associated with this name or similar, playing our music and using our art, is not related to anything we worked for over the last 10 years… To try and continue that without us or in spite of us, is a mockery of what we’ve done and tried to do.” Now, Heard has offered his response.