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Getting To Know Caroline Jones

Her new album, Homesite, touring with Jimmy Buffett, and more

Caroline Jones has already had a career that any music-lover would be envious of- a mentee of music titans Zac Brown Band and the late, great Jimmy Buffett...she has toured with mega-names in the industry like The Rolling Stones, The Eagles, and Carrie Underwood, and now performs alongside Zac Brown Band as a member.

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New Releases

Taylor Swift Shares "From the Vault" Track "Mr. Perfectly Fine," Which Is Probably About Joe Jonas

The track is set to appear on Swift's upcoming re-recording of Fearless.

Taylor Swift - Shutterstock

In the latest endeavor on her quest to rewrite her entire career history, Taylor Swift has unearthed "Mr. Perfectly Fine," a track set to appear on her upcoming re-recording of Fearless.

"Mr. Perfectly Fine" joins the Maren Morris-featuring "You All Over Me" as the most recent addition to her "From the Vault" series. The upbeat breakup tune was co-produced by Swift's usual go-to, Jack Antonoff, though its country-rock flair (complete with a key change in the final chorus) feels right in line with the Fearless era. Listen below.

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MUSIC

Is Morgan Wallen Just a Scumbag?

This morning it was revealed that Wallen's use of a violent, racist epithet seemed to give his career a boost.

Morgan Wallen arrives at the 53rd annual CMA Awards on Nov. 13, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn

Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

At a maskless pool party in Tampa, Florida, last night, Diplo caught the attention of TMZ after he spun "Heartless," his country-pop duet with singer Morgan Wallen.

The performance came mere days after Wallen was caught on camera drunkenly spewing the n-word, the latest controversial act in what has become a tiresome cycle of lewd behavior from the singer.

Wallen's career briefly hit a snag as a result of this particular incident. He was not only suspended from his label, but his music had been removed from multiple radio outlets.

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TV News

Fired "Squidbillies" Star Unknown Hinson Blames YOU for the Fallout of His Dolly Parton Attack

We apparently "ruined" his life by not being racist and sexist enough to accept his attacks on Dolly Parton.

Dolly Parton53rd Annual CMA Awards, Show, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, USA - 13 Nov 2019

Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock

On Sunday guitarist and voice actor Stuart D. Baker, better known as his stage persona Unknown Hinson, was fired from the long-running Adult Swim show Squidbillies.

Baker had voiced the show's main character, Early Cuyler, for over 12 seasons, lending his distinctive voice to a show dedicated to stereotypes of ignorance and intolerance in the rural south. Unfortunately for Baker, it turns out that his act as a belligerent sexist bigot was...not really an act.

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Music Features

Lady A's White Privilege Is Showing

The country band, FKA Lady Antebellum, are suing a Black blues singer over the rights to their new name.

Lady Antebellum - Need You Now

Last month, the country band formerly known Lady Antebellum showed their support for the Black Lives Matter movement by changing their name to Lady A—a name that had already been used by Black blues singer, Anita White.

Now, Lady A (the band) are digging themselves an even deeper grave by suing Lady A (the singer). But, hey! At least their original band name isn't racist anymore.

"Today we are sad to share that our sincere hope to join together with Anita White in unity and common purpose has ended," Lady A (the band) said in a statement to CBS News. "She and her team have demanded a $10 million payment, so reluctantly we have come to the conclusion that we need to ask a court to affirm our right to continue to use the name Lady A, a trademark we have held for many years."

According to the lawsuit, Lady A (the band) had been using that nickname in tandem with their original name, Lady Antebellum, since as early as 2006, and it became an official trademark for the band in 2011. The lawsuit also reads that "prior to 2020, White did not challenge, in any way, Plaintiffs' open, obvious, and widespread nationwide and international use of the Lady A mark as a source indicator."

The suit says Lady A (the singer) has identified as that name since 2010, although she told Rolling Stone she's been using the stage name for 20 years, adding: "It's an opportunity for them to pretend they're not racist or pretend this means something to them. If it did, they would've done some research. And I'm not happy about that. You found me on Spotify easily—why couldn't they?"

Although Lady A (the band) and Lady A (the singer) have seemingly been in a constructive discussion over their shared name, the singer's ultimate opinion is that this is an issue of "white privilege."

Under a trademark coexistence agreement, it is possible for two artists to share a trademark so long as the artists in question don't interfere with each others' enterprises; for example, two singer-songwriters can both be known as Alex G because they access different markets. The Lady A debacle could possibly fall under this agreement, if both the band and the singer comply.

But, as Lady A (the singer) pointed out, Lady A (the band)'s decision to sue their namesake is indicative of their white privilege. From the start, the band's choice to change their name was met with a debate over whether or not it was actually constructive in achieving racial justice.

The world "antebellum" literally means "before the war," but it has since come to be most often associated with the Civil War; for example, the Antebellum South describes the period from the late 18th century to the end of the Civil War, when the southern United States depended on and profited off of slavery.

Due to the racist undertones of the word "antebellum" and the recent spark in Black Lives Matter activism, Lady A (the band) shortened their name—although we all still know what the word stands for. Though the band claimed the word "antebellum" was referencing the style of architecture of the home where they took their first band photos, to use the word at all was a gross move. To then adopt a Black artists' name as your own without doing your research and sue that artist is incredibly backwards logic.

Though it's understandable why Lady A (the band) would feel such a strong attachment to the name, perhaps they'd be better off changing their name entirely. Considering the fact that their only other statement regarding the Black Lives Matter movement was a photo of a Martin Luther King, Jr. quote (and no mention of Black Lives Matter at all), it seems clear that Lady A (the band) aren't set on achieving racial justice or effecting any real change—this legal battle is just an attempt at self-preservation.