For many years, there’s been widespread speculation that the famously anonymous British street artist Banksy is really Robert Del Naja, otherwise known as Massive Attack co-founder 3D. Banksy and Massive Attack have crossed paths many times over the years, and Banksy claimed to be from Bristol, Massive Attack’s hometown. But that speculation was always part of the fun of the Banksy phenomenon. He’s became arguably the world’s most sought-after artist while remaining anonymous, and that anonymity has been central to his art. That time may be over. Today, Reuters published a huge exposé, more than 7,000 words, that purports to reveal Banksy’s real identity “beyond dispute.” Their conclusion: It’s not Robert Del Naja.
The fastest rising release on Apple Classical’s streaming service is the pianist Alice Sara Ott playing transcriptions of the late Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson.
Here’s the week’s top ten:
1 J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations Yunchan Lim
2 Jóhann Jóhannsson: Piano Works Alice Sara Ott
3 Schumann: Violin Concerto Midori, Festival Strings Lucerne, Daniel Dodds, Özgür Aydın
4 Sleep Max Richter
5 Chopin Orbit Hayato Sumino
6 Bach: Cello Suites Anastasia Kobekina
7 Forgotten Melodies Alexander Malofeev
8 Live at the Met Lise Davidsen, James Baillieu
9 Solo Piano Ludovico Einaudi
10 Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel
Not too terribly long ago, Geese released Getting Killed, which was our favorite album of 2025. Thus far in 2026, Geese have hit a ton of career benchmarks. They performed on SNL. They won the BRIT Award for International Group Of The Year. Guitarist Emily Green made her runway debut at Givenchy’s Paris Fashion Week show. Earlier this month, frontman Cameron Winter released the new solo song “Warning” on the HELP(2) benefit compilation. Geese have reportedly written a bunch of new music since finishing Getting Killed, and they debuted a brand new track in Berlin last night.
Another Academy Awards is in the books. One Battle After Another was this year’s big winner, taking home six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Paul Thomas Anderson, Best Supporting Actor for Sean Penn, plus Best Editing, and it took home the first-ever Best Casting Award.
Sinners, which set a new record for most nominations at 16, took home four, including Best Original Screenplay for writer-director Ryan Coogler, Best Actor for Michael B Jordan, Best Score for Ludvig Göransson, and Best Cinematography for Autumn Durald Arkapaw (the first woman and first Black person to win that award).
Kpop Demon Hunters won Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for “Golden.”
Not all Best Song nominees were performed at Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony, but you can watch “Golden” from Kpop Demon Hunters and “I Lied to You” from Sinners below.
Elsewhere, Jessie Buckley won Best Actress for Hamnet and Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress for Weapons. Sentimental Value won Best Foreign Language Film and Mr Nobody Against Putin won Best Documentary Feature.
Interesting stat: Veteran songwriter Diane Warren, who was nominated for Best Song for “Dear Me” from the documentary Diane Warren: Relentless, now holds the record for most Oscar nominations without a win at 17. She’ll probably get another chance next year.
Conan O’Brien was host for a second year in a row and opened the telecast with a parody of Weapons that incorporated footage from the Best Picture nominees, and closed the night with a One Battle After Another parody. Matt Berry was this year’s announcer, and had a funny bit with Conan.
2026 OSCAR NOMINATIONS
Best Picture
Bugonia
F1
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme WINNER: One Battle After Another
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams
Best Director
Chloé Zhao, Hamnet
Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme WINNER: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Joaquim Trier, Sentimental Value
Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Best Actor
Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon WINNER: Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
Best Actress WINNER: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Kate Hudson, Song Sung Blue
Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value
Emma Stone, Bugonia
Best Supporting Actor
Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo, Sinners WINNER: Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value
Best Supporting Actress
Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdottter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value WINNER: Amy Madigan, Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners
Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another
Best Original Screenplay
Blue Moon
It Was Just An Accident
Marty Supreme
Sentimental Value WINNER: Sinners
Best Adapted Screenplay
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet WINNER: One Battle After Another
Train Dreams
Best Casting
Hamnet
Marty Supreme WINNER: One Battle After Another
The Secret Agent
Sinners
Best Documentary Feature Film
The Alabama Solution
Come See Me in the Good Light
Cutting Through Rocks WINNER: Mr. Nobody Against Putin
The Perfect Neighbor
Best International Feature Film
The Secret Agent
It Was Just an Accident WINNER: Sentimental Value
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Sirât
Best Animated Feature Film Arco
Elio WINNER: Kpop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2
Best Film Editing
F1
Marty Supreme WINNER: One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Best Cinematography
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another WINNER: Sinners
Train Dreams
Best Production Design WINNER: Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Best Sound WINNER: F1
Frankenstein
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Sirât
Best Original Score
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another WINNER: Sinners
Best Original Song
“Dear Me” from Diane Warren: Relentless WINNER: “Golden” from Kpop Demon Hunters
“I Lied to You” from Sinners
“Sweet Dreams of Joy” from Viva Verdi!
“Train Dreams” from Train Dreams
Best Visual Effects WINNER: Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
Jurassic World Rebirth
The Lost Bus
Sinners
Best Costume Design
Avatar: Fire and Ash WINNER: Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Sinners
Best Makeup and Hairstyling WINNER: Frankenstein
Kokuho
Sinners
The Smashing Machine
The Ugly Stepsister
Best Animated Short Film
Butterfly
Forever Green WINNER: The Girl Who Cried Pearls
Retirement Plan
The Three Sisters
Best Live Action Short Film
Butcher’s Stain
A Friend of Dorothy
Jane Austen’s Period Drama WINNER (tie): The Singers WINNER (tie): Two People Exchanging Saliva
Best Documentary Short Film WINNER: All the Empty Rooms
Armed Only With a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
Children No More: “Were And Are Gone”
The Devil Is Busy
Perfectly A Strangeness
Californian musician Mr. Grossman wholeheartedly embraces his inner chameleon on his wantonly eclectic full-length album “After a Fashion”, released January 30th via his independent label Nindiscordant Music. Grossman stirs up a curious sonic gumbo drawing from equal parts trip hop, dream pop, neo soul, synth pop and progressive rock. It’s an adventurous concoction, yet seamless and interconnected […]
Conan O’Brien drew gasps from the Oscars audience after a joke at last night’s (Sunday March 16) ceremony.
During his opening monologue, the comedian noted the fact that there were no British nominees in the lead acting categories.
“It’s the first time since 2012 that there are no British actors nominated for Best Actor or Best Actress,” he joked. “A British spokesperson said, ‘Yeah, well at least we arrest our pedophiles’.”
“It's the first time since 2012 that there are no British actors nominated for Best Actor or Best Actress. A British spokesperson said, 'Yeah, well, at least we arrest our pedophiles.'"
“Security is extremely tight tonight,” the comedian told the the audience. “I’m told there’s concern about attacks from both the opera and ballet community.”
The night’s wins were dominated by One Battle After Another, which won six awards including Best Picture and Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson, while Sinners followed with four including Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan, Best Original Screenplay for Ryan Coogler, as well as a historic Best Cinematography win for Autumn Durald Arkapaw as she became the first woman and first woman of colour to win the category.
Jessie Buckley took the Best Actress prize for Hamnet, while Sean Penn and Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress for their respective turns in One Battle After Another and Weapons.
Described by Pitchfork as “one of the sexiest albums in music history,” Marvin Gaye’s number one record I Want You is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. In celebration, UMe has planned multiple vinyl releases.
The first highlight is a premium Vinylphyle reissue of the original album; the latest entry in a series of critically acclaimed audiophile releases. As with all releases in the Vinylphyle series, lacquers were cut from the original analog tapes and pressed at 180gm at RTI. The packaging features a tip-on gatefold jacket with the now-iconic cover by Ernie Barnes, reproductions of the original tape boxes, and liner notes by producer and songwriter SaLaAM ReMi.
“I’ve been listening to ‘I Want You’ repeatedly in different ways for most of my life and have gotten a perspective of it over time,” ReMi writes in the liner notes. “I realized this album is when I realized my adulthood… [it] gives me all the things I look for in music.”
The celebration continues with I Want You 2, a special 2LP set featuring bonus tracks, alternate takes, and rarities first issued on CD in 2003. Pressed on 180g vinyl, the packaging houses an exclusive lithograph, and introductory liner notes by R&B artist and songwriter Arin Ray.
Gaye had a big task following up 1973’s Grammy Hall of Fame album Let’s Get It On. He found a collaborator in Leon Ware, known for his work with Michael Jackson, The Miracles, and Minnie Ripperton among others, and the two worked on the record in Marvin’s new custom studio, now known as “Marvin’s Room,” on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.
Those sessions yielded such staples as “Come Live With Me Angel,” “I Wanna Be Where You Are” (a reworking of the Michael Jackson hit), “Since I Had You,” and “After The Dance.”
Alex James has kicked off his ‘Britpop Classical’ tour, and performed some powerful orchestral covers of Blur, Oasis, Pulp, Radiohead and Stone Roses and more – check out footage and the full setlist below.
The opening night took place at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday (March 11), and has since seen shows hit Birmingham, Manchester and Brighton over the past few days.
At each set, the show is split into six parts, each filled with huge hits, and James performs alongside a full live orchestra, rock band and chorus, as well as special guests including ‘Parklife’ icon Phil Daniels, Saffron of Republica and Gary Stringer of Reef.
Part One sees the show open mainly with huge names who helped inspire the artists who helped form the Britpop scene, and songs covered include ‘Help!’ by The Beatles, ‘Rebel Rebel’ by David Bowie, ‘Waterloo Sunset’ by The Kinks and ‘My Generation’ by The Who.
From there, Part Two includes songs by Ocean Colour Scene, Supergrass and Nirvana, while Part Three is formed by songs from Oasis, Joy Division, The Stone Roses and more.
“They were the ultimate band,” he told us. “An amazing drummer singing backing vocals, brilliant grooves, great guitar and a genius savant singer. They opened the door for everything that happened after.”
Part Four includes three Blur songs, ‘Country House’, ‘Girls & Boys’, and ‘Parklife’, as well as songs by Reef, The Wannadies and Chumbawamba, while Part Five only features The Verve’s ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ and Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ – the latter being one that James recently revealed made him cry because of how “emotive” it was.
Part Six sees the show wrap up with songs by The La’s, Pulp and Oasis, and the encore features a rendition of Blur’s ‘The Universal’.
Check out more footage and the full setlist below.
Part 1 ‘Help!’ (The Beatles cover) ‘Rebel Rebel’ (David Bowie cover) ‘Get It On’ (T. Rex cover) ‘Waterloo Sunset’ (The Kinks cover) ‘My Generation’ (The Who cover)
Part 2 ‘The Riverboat Song’ (Ocean Colour Scene cover) (with Simon Fowler) ‘Ready to Go’ (Republica cover) (with Saffron) ‘Alright’ (Supergrass cover) ‘Unbelievable’ (EMF cover) (Mashed up with Connection by Elastica) ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit ‘(Nirvana cover) (Mashed up with Song 2 by Blur)
Part 3 ‘Fuckin’ in the Bushes’ (Oasis cover) ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’ (Oasis cover) ‘He’s Gonna Step on You Again’ (John Kongos cover) ‘The Only One I Know’ (The Charlatans cover) ‘I Wanna Be Adored’ (The Stone Roses cover) ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ (Joy Division cover)
Part 4 ‘Country House’ (Blur cover) ‘Place Your Hands’ (Reef cover) (with Gary Stringer) ‘You and Me Song’ (The Wannadies cover) ‘Girls & Boys’ (Blur cover) ‘Tubthumping’ (Chumbawamba cover) ‘Parklife’ (Blur cover)
Part 5 ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ (The Verve cover) ‘Creep’ (Radiohead cover)
Part 6 ‘There She Goes’ (The La’s cover) ‘Disco 2000’ (Pulp cover) ‘Common People’ (Pulp cover) ‘Wonderwall’ (Oasis cover) ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ (Oasis cover)
He also spoke about the structure of the show and said that it was categorised into “suites”, starting with the music icons who inspired the Britpop giants of the ‘90s.
“There’s not much in there that’s contentious. The show is broken into suites. It opens with just the band waking everybody up with all the heritage stuff where all the influences came from: the classic ‘60s songwriters, a bit of Kinks, a bit of Who, a bit Beatles, a bit of Bowie, a bit of T-Rex. It’s all over in three minutes, BLAM-BLAM-BLAM,” he said.
“Then the lights come on for the orchestra and there’s this real crescendo that builds into *BAM* ‘Riverboat Song’ by Ocean Colour Scene and it’s fucking game over,” he continued. “There’s a high-energy suite, and a Manchester suite, a feel-good suite, then the orchestra get their chance to shine with ‘Creep’ and [The Verve’s] ‘Bittersweet Symphony’. By the time you get to the sing-along suite towards the finale, you could hear 60 per cent audience and 40 per cent band.”
The tour continues tomorrow (Tuesday March 17) with a show in Nottingham, before continuing throughout the month with stops in Newcastle, Glasgow and Sheffield.
Alex James’ ‘Britpop Classical’ remaining UK tour dates are:
MARCH 17 – Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham 18 – O2 City Hall, Newcastle 19 – Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow 21 – Sheffield City Hall, Sheffield
JUNE 13 – Guildhall Square, Southampton 18 – Lincoln Castle, Lincoln 28 – Llangollen Pavilion, Llangollen
JULY 17 – Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Scarborough 19 – The Piece Hall, Halifax 24 – Dreamland, Margate 26 – Latitude Festival
Also in the recent interview with NME ahead of shows kicking off in London, James explained how the songs from the Britpop era “mean more to people now than they did when they came out.”
“They’ve matured like fine wine. It’s actually been wonderful studying all these songs. They’re songs that everybody knows but when you dig in, they all have this brilliant simplicity, but there’s a cleverness and craft there,” he said.
“Singing any of them in the shower would give you goosebumps, even just singing them with an acoustic guitar is probably enough to make you cry, so when you add all the majesty and and might of a symphony orchestra and a chorus of singers and the special guests, it’s overwhelming,” he added.
One of the final chances to see this show – Sigur Rós are coming to Ireland in September…
