In 2023, Seattle’s Dean Johnson shared his debut album Nothing For Me, Please on his 50th birthday and became an Americana darling. Today, he’s sharing his new song “Blue Moon” and announcing his signing to Saddle Creek.

Ezra Edelman, Oscar- and Emmy-winning director of the docuseries O.J.: Made In America, directed a nine-hour Prince documentary for Netflix that will seemingly never come out. Last year, after reports emerged that the doc contains some unflattering allegations about Prince — physical altercations with a girlfriend, antisemitic lyrics, asking Wendy Melvoin to renounce her homosexuality — multiple companies managing Prince’s estate took legal action against Netflix. Last month Netflix announced that it had mutually agreed with the estate to shelve the documentary and let Prince’s people make their own. Now Edelman is on the warpath.

The Las Vegas emo and punk nostalgia festival Best Friends Forever has announced the lineup for its second year. Taking place Oct. 10 to Oct. 12, again at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center, BFF ‘25 will feature reunions from the long-dormant bands Minus The Bear (playing Menos El Oso), Texas Is The Reason, Knapsack, Hey Mercedes, Marietta, and Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate).

Last year, a lawsuit against Sean Combs was refiled by an anonymous Jane Doe, accusing Jay-Z of raping a 13-year-old girl alongside Combs in 2000. Shortly after, she admitted to inconsistencies in her story. She dropped the suit last month, and now Jay-Z is suing her.

Last year, Paul McCartney was one of many to endorse Foreigner to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, which was a campaign spearheaded by Mick Jones’ stepson Mark Ronson. Now, the Beatle is advocating for the late English blues-rock singer Joe Cocker, who was revealed as a nominee last month.

Taxidermists are a lo-fi indie rock duo from western Massachusetts who’ve been picking up some steady buzz as of late. Members Cooper B. Handy and Salvadore McNamara initially met on MySpace in 2007 when they were preteens and always bonded over music, but they didn’t really get the ball rolling on Taxidermists until last winter. Their new album 20247 is out this Friday, and today, they’re sharing the final single “Needles To Say.” (Yes, that’s “needles,” like the pointy objects.)

Sean Baker is one of two filmmakers who have won four Oscars during a single ceremony; the other is Walt Disney, way back in 1953. However, Baker is the only filmmaker to have won four Oscars for the same movie, and that movie is Anora, the Mikey Madison-starring romantic-dramedy that swept the awards show Sunday night.

Puddle Of Mudd played a benefit concert over the weekend during Daytona Bike Week in Florida, maybe the most appropriate event to ever warrant a Puddle Of Mudd performance. Ahead of the show, they auctioned off a signed guitar for $5,000 to go to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. That’s all fine and good, but once Mudd hit the stage, shit hit the fan.

The 97th Academy Awards are currently underway, hosted by Conan O’Brien, and the two music categories have their winners. Clément Ducol, Camille, and Jacques Audiard won Best Original Song for “El Mal,” the Golden Globe-winning tune Best Actress winner Zoe Saldaña performed in Emilia Pérez. Daniel Blumberg, former frontman of Yuck and 2007 Stereogum Band To Watch Cajun Dance Party, won Best Original Score for The Brutalist.