Rare Round-Up: Entertainment News of the Week (17/11/2023)

Another week comes to an end and another weekend comes around, and thus another exquisitely crafted Rare Round-Up for your reading pleasure.

Following that excellent opener if I do say so myself, let’s dive into a Friday mainstay: new music! This week, The National are back with their tenth studio album. Their second this year, Laugh Track was produced at the same time as their ninth studio album, First Two Pages of Frankenstein. The two albums follow, as described by lead singer and lyricist Matt Berninger, “a very dark spot where I couldn't come up with lyrics or melodies at all.” Laugh Tracks also give the single Weird Goodbyes a home, having been released in 2022 but not appearing on First Two Pages of Frankenstein.

Emilie Sandé joins New Music Friday this week with her fifth studio album How Were We to Know. Regarding the album, Sandé said:

“There was a lot I wanted to say about myself, and I hope that through the lyrics people will get to understand me on a deeper level.”

There’s also a brand-new album by musical icon Dolly Parton. Following her declining a nomination into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022 because of her background in country music and not rock, Parton has decided to justify her inclusion with this, a rock and roll album! For her fourty-ninth studio album, aptly titled Rockstar, Parton collaborates with a number of other musical icons that do have backgrounds in rock including Sting, Stevie Knicks, Joan Jett and even her goddaughter Miley Cyrus to cover and duet their tracks. The album is not entirely comprised of songs written by others though- with Dolly also re-recording some of her own songs as well as releasing new ones.

As for re-releases and remasters, three albums by the late Whitney Houston are seeing release on special edition vinyl. Namely The Preacher’s Wife, the musical companion to the film of the same name which Houston also starred in, and the best-selling gospel album of all time; as well as My Love is Your Love and I’m Your Baby Tonight.

The other re-release is Evanescence with their 20^th Anniversary edition of their 2003 debut, Fallen. Undoubtedly one of the most successful rock bands of all time, Fallen is the sixth best-selling album of the 21^st century. The 20^th Anniversary remastered edition includes updated cover art, B-sides, rarities, and live recordings!

Lastly but certainly not leastly, the soundtrack of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is also available from today. Songs both from and inspired the film and featuring a variety of artists including Lil Wayne, ASAP Rocky, Lil Uzi Vert, James Blake, Coi Loray and others.

Moving onto film, we’re now in the finale of Disney’s 100 year celebrations! With movies, merchandise, and music all on offer, now’s the time to stock up on those classics and new favourites that you haven’t added to your collection yet. Plus, Disney include Star Wars and Marvel in their festivities so you can enjoy tales from galaxies far, far away as well!

Plus, Disney have also let us all in on a little secret that Frozen 4 is in the works! This comes ahead of even a release date for the third instalment in the franchise, which the work on so far has reportedly left one of the creators of the original film “blown away."

Bouncing off of that, the now-Disney owned 20^th Century Fox-produced film Titanic, also known as the fourth highest-grossing film of all time, is seeing a 4K release for the first time ever! You can secure your copy from now to re-live the love, the drama and the tragedy and unlike Elsa, we aren’t letting go.

Also, 88 Films have announced an array of titles coming to their library worth getting excited for!

For video games, the biggest release this week is the magical open-world of J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world. Hogwarts Legacy has landed broomsticks and all on Nintendo Switch! Following the releases of its PlayStation, Xbox and PC versions earlier this year, the game allows players to be fully immersed in all the wonders of the Harry Potter universe.

What are you most excited for this week? Let us know and don’t forget to check back here every Friday!