Taking Back Sunday Celebrates 20 Years with Grown Up Anniversary Album
*By Tracey Cheek*
Taking Back Sunday is growing up.
The band that started in the early aughts as part of the emo scene is about to turn 20 years old ー and to celebrate, it's releasing an evolved rock album, "Twenty."
According to bassist Shaun Cooper and drummer Mark O’Connell, the album is a combination of old and new: two fresh songs, “All Ready To Go” and “A Song For Dan,” and 19 hits from their head-banging past.
The members of the Long Island-born band are now based in multiple states, but they managed to collaborate across state borders.
“We worked on some of the songs on Long Island and then John and Adam live in North Carolina,” Cooper said. “We emailed stuff back and forth and we all flew down to North Carolina, worked on the songs, and they came out great.”
The band is going to kick off its world tour on Jan. 9 in Australia, and will eventually travel to Asia, South and North America, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and Germany.
“We’re going to be playing our first three albums: 'Tell All Your Friends,' 'Where You Want To Be,' and 'Louder Now,'" O’Connell said. In some cities, there will be a two-night show, and the band will choose the albums played each night with the flip of a coin. Literally.
“We’re going flip a coin so you’re never exactly sure what you’re going to get each night, but we’re going to do it live on stage,” Cooper said.
“We have special coins and everything.”
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/taking-back-sunday-turns-20).
Some of Tiktok's biggest stars have a message for the platform: It is time to pay up! As the platform has skyrocketed in popularity, many content creators have been given the opportunity to garner millions of fans and even sometimes billions of views. In 2020, the company launched a creator fund in order to incentivize the platform's users. However, while the group of creators has grown larger, the pool of money has remained the same, and creators are fed up, they claim as Tiktok becomes more successful. Senior Editor at Engadget, Karissa Bell, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
In 2021, QAnon, the community which traffics in conspiracy theories saw a rapid growth in its numbers. As a result of vaccine rollouts, a number of conspiracies surrounding them also began to circulate which then led to the rise of "Anti-Vaxxers". As a result, the QAnon and anti-vax communities have become increasingly intertwined and the results could be costing lives. Senior Researcher at Media Matters Alex Kaplan, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Neil Young gave the streaming service Spotify an ultimatum demanding that his music be removed if the Joe Rogan experience remained on the platform. Joe Rogan's platform has been questioned a number of times as a result of some of his takes on covid treatment strategies and at times downright misinformation. Ultimately, Spotify decided to stick with Joe Rogan's podcast. The Director for the Business and Entertainment Program at American University, John Simson, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Nutritional supplement beverage company Athletic Greens has achieved unicorn status. The company announced a new $115 million funding round, bringing its valuation to $1.2 billion. The company's flagship product AG1 combines 75 different vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients into one daily serving. Athletic Greens says it is poised to reach the millions of consumers who are currently driving the health and wellness market's exponential growth. Athletic Greens founder and CEO Chris Ashenden joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Michael Mitchell, senior director of brand at Mailchimp, joins Cheddar News to discuss the launch of Bloom Season and what every BIPOC entrepreneur needs to know to succeed.
Janet Jackson shared that she had a conversation with Justin Timberlake who had asked her if he should make a statement during the scandal over her Super Bowl XXXVIII wardrobe malfunction, in her new self-titled Lifetime documentary. The musical icon said that she viewed the incident as an accident and remains "good friends" with Justin Timberlake.
The gaming industry has seen multiple large scales deals this month alone, including Microsoft's megadeal for Activision Blizzard. And, seemingly in response, rival Sony, picked up Bungie for $3.6 billion, a studio once owned by both Microsoft and Activision. The sector is reportedly on track to spend $150 billion on mergers and acquisitions just this year alone, a record-breaking total, according to investment firm Drake Star Partners. Michael Metzger, a partner at the firm specializing in technology, media, and communications, joined Cheddar to discuss the flurry of deals in the gaming space and what might be behind the hot M&A activity.
Ari Redbord, head of legal and government affairs and TRM Labs, joins Cheddar News to discuss why Facebook is ditching its crypto project and what that means for the space.
