Delaware’s attorney general is hiring an investment bank to advise on OpenAI’s for-profit conversion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The independent evaluation could prolong the transition, or gum up OpenAI’s plans even further. OpenAI’s conversion will help it attract new investment and eventually go public, but first, the startup needs to secure approvals […]

Tinder Gold and Premium subscribers in the test group will have access to the feature, but not free users.

Black Forest Labs, the AI startup whose models once powered the image generation features of X’s Grok chatbot, on Thursday released a new suite of image-generating models — some of which can both create and edit pics. The most capable of the models in the new family, called Flux.1 Kontext, can be prompted with text […]

If there’s one thing that the great Loretta Lynn was known for…. it’s not pulling punches. A trailblazing country music icon, she was known for her distinctive voice and unapologetic storytelling, often pushing boundaries in a genre that often shied away from controversial or feminist topics. Throughout her career she had multiple songs banned from the radio (14 of them to be exact) for being to controversial for the traditionally conservative genre, but the banning had an adverse affect to what they planned. Of course, if we’ve learned anything from cancel culture in the past 5 years, it’s that often times canceling something leads to even a bigger level of support. And for Loretta, that was certainly the case. These songs didn’t go away… they became anthems for her and the women who felt that she was speaking for them. In an interview with Parade, Loretta said it’s all about the telling the truth: “I just write what I feel, what is going on with me and my life. It just happened that a lot of other women felt the same. I would never set out to write something just for it to shock someone; I am not that clever. It’s always been about truth and if that means radio wants to ban it, well that’s their problem. Most of my records they banned became No. 1 anyway.” So with that being said, here’s five of her most controversial songs “The Pill” – Back To The Country (1975) This is easily the one that caused the most backlash, even leading to a preacher denouncing the album during a sermon, which more than likely just enticed attendees to go buy it. The song is a wife telling her husband there’d be no more never-ending pregnancies, a strong theme throughout her catalogue, because she’s now got the pill. Birth control became widely available in the ’60s, and the sexual revolution was well underway, but even by 1975 when more than 10 million women were on the pill, country music was not ready for a pro-birth control anthem. The song was banned by at least 60 radio stations throughout the country, yet the ban had little to no effect on the single’s sales, which peaked at about 15,000 units a week and went to #5 on the country charts. “Rated X” – Entertainer of the Year (1972) “Rated X” is her take on how unfair divorce was back in her day, with men getting off pretty much scot-free and women being looked at with shame, yet simultaneously being marked as a target for men. A divorced women was looked at negatively by other woman, and as possibly being “easy” to other men… Loretta took exception to that stereotype and dismantled it. Despite the risqué nature of the song, and hesitation from a number of radio stations, it went on to become the sixth #1 of her career. “Wings Upon Your Horns” – Here’s Loretta Singing “Wings Upon Your Horns” (1969) Losing virginity is always a touchy subject, especially when religious themes are used to express the idea but, like we’ve come to love, it didn’t stop Loretta from speaking her mind. The song tells the story of a young woman who is seduced into giving up her virginity, and then left disillusioned by the betrayal. The use of religious imagery seemed blasphemous to some, and in small town, Conservative, country music America in the ’60s… a woman talking so publicly about sex was still very taboo. It failed to break the top 10, landing at #11 on the country charts, but still quite the success given the subject matter and the fact that not every station was willing to play it. “Don’t Come Home A Drinkin’ (With Loving On Your Mind)” – Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind) (1966) Loretta brought her own life into many of her songs, including this one. Loretta was more than open about her tumultuous 50-year marriage to an alcoholic and a cheater brought this song about. In fact, he inspired a number of her more controversial songs. This was one of the first country songs to openly address marital issues, specifically a woman rejecting her husband’s drunken sexual advances, and even though it had a temporary ban from some radio stations, it went on to become a #1 single for Loretta. “Fist City” – Fist City (1968) While not diving into subjects as touchy or taboo as the others, Loretta’s warning to women who flirt with her man while she’s touring was done so directly and forcefully it made people do a double take. Once again, this song sent a message that was counter to the popular view of how women were supposed to act in conservative small town America in the ’60s. Women were supposed to be heartbroken, crying and sad over their cheating man, but for Loretta, the answer was… physical violence? Unheard of. Some radio stations were reluctant to play the aggressive song, but it still topped the charts. And personally, this is probably my favorite Loretta song. The phrase “Fist City” for an a**-whooping is just so great, we need to start using it more often. The post 5 Loretta Lynn Songs That Were Too Controversial For Country Radio first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Did anyone else just throw up a little bit? Or is it just me? I was having a great day until I laid my eyes upon Billboard’s Top Hot Country Songs of the 21st Century chart earlier this morning. Listicals are sometimes meant to get a rise out of people, and I’m here to say that it most definitely worked on me. Billboard knew exactly what they were doing when they put this 100-song ranking out. And labeled “Meant To Be” by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line as the No. 1 hot country song of the 21st century. Now to be clear, this list was put together solely based on the performance of Billboard’s weekly Hot Country Songs chart. They looked at the rankings from 2000 all the way to the end of 2024, and then just ran the numbers to see which songs fell where. Technically, there’s no doubt about the success of “Meant To Be.” My only concern with its ranking is… are we sure it’s even a country song? Unfortunately, the “Bro Country” movement occupies much of the Hot Country list, which is a testament to just how dominant it was when FGL was in the commercial prime of their career. That’s also why the sound has been so hard to shake off since its inception, but I think country music is know moving in the right direction in 2025 And on the plus side, we’re only 25 years into the 21st century, so there’s still plenty of time for this list to correct itself… and I sure hope it does. Though it might seem like the sky is falling with “Meant To Be” at the top spot, the rest of the list doesn’t get much better. While we’re at it, I suppose I can go ahead and include the Top 10 list of Country Songs of the 21st century (according to Billboard), which is admittedly atrocious. Besides a couple of contenders from Morgan Wallen, I don’t see a legitimate country music artist in sight on this list: 10. “The Bones” by Maren Morris 9. “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen 8. “Wasted On You” by Morgan Wallen 7. “You Proof” by Morgan Wallen 6. “Fancy Like” by Walker Hayes 5. “Tequila” by Dan + Shay 4. “I Hope” by Gabby Barrett 3. “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line 2. “Body Like A Backroad” by Sam Hunt 1. “Meant To Be” by Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line Are we sure that Billboard didn’t reference the wrong list? Or perhaps forget what country music actually is? Obviously, since the rankings are solely based on “country song” performance, Billboard can’t be entirely to blame with having an almost full-on “Bro Country” takeover with the Top 10 Hot Country Songs of the 21st Century chart. I suppose we music fans have to shoulder some of the weight. Billboard was just reporting the numbers. Still though… “Fancy Like” by Walker Hayes at No. 6? “Tequila” by Dan + Shay a spot ahead at No. 5? It almost feels like a satirical list when you think of actual, quality, genuine country music. God help us all as we move through the rest of the 21st century, and let’s hope that some other, actual country songs come along to dethrone some of this Top 10 list.The post Billboard Names Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line’s “Meant To Be” As The No. 1 Country Song Of 21st Century… & The Only Good News Is We Have 75 Years To Fix It first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

If you don’t love this song, we can’t be friends. Gretchen Wilson came out swinging in 2004 with her debut single “Redneck Woman,” which was included on her debut album Here for the Party, both of which were released in 2004. She co-wrote the song with half of Big & Rich duo John Rich, and it remains her only number-one single on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. It was minor crossover hit, too and reached #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It earned her a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards in 2005, and of course, remains her signature song to this day. I was a kid when this song came out, but I have vivid memories of hearing it on the radio, both country and Top 40, all the time… I think I had those words memorized before I was even 10 years old, if that gives you any indication of how I grew up. This song came out in the early 2000’s, during a time when artists like Faith Hill were extremely popular… no slight to Faith, I love her, but let’s be honest, she isn’t necessarily the most relatable women on the planet just by her looks alone. Songs like “Breathe” had come out towards the end of the ’90s, and mainstream country music was starting to lean back into the more polished music that sounded nothing like “Redneck Woman,” which is why Wilson was afraid it wouldn’t work. During a recent interview, she talked about how she just felt like women like her, who wanted a simple life that included raising kids and dogs out in the country, and who didn’t look like Faith Hill, weren’t represented, and deserved to be celebrated too: “‘Redneck Woman’ was it. I mean, it was the whole, people tell you, there are a lot of really talented people, but it takes the right voice, also the right song and the right time. Those things have to kind of come together for you to have a really monster hit. And that’s what happened with redneck woman. And it was just the perfect time. Women like me weren’t really being spoken to or sung about, and you know, when I turned on the music channels, all I saw was beautiful women like Faith Hill rolling around on silk sheets, ‘I can feel you breathe.’ And I’m like, who the hell looks like that at 6 o’clock in the morning, you know? Not me, or anybody that I know. So it was just the time, it was time to write a song for women like me that we’re happy to be like me. That thought that their whole world was fulfilled living in a mobile home, driving a pick up truck, raising kids and dogs and then going to the football game on the weekend. Not everybody wants the same thing in life, and if that’s what your life is, and that’s what you’re happy with, you should be celebrated too.” While she obviously didn’t know what a huge hit it would become, she knew it was special to her because she had finally written a song that “truly represented” who she was. Though the fear was that no one else was doing anything like that at the time, so it may not work, that ended up being the reason it did work so well: “It felt special to me, because it felt like my home. It felt like I finally, truly, had written a song that that really represented me. Honestly, our feeling was nobody’s gonna play this. We were in a in a moment in country music where that pendulum was swinging more towards the slicker sound, and we just thought that we might’ve missed our window, or that the timing wasn’t right. Girls weren’t doing what I was doing at that moment, so that’s the reason it worked, but we were afraid that it could be the reason that it wouldn’t.” Not only did it work, but it became a huge hit, and the start of a very successful career that Wilson still enjoys to this day. There’s just something in this song that scratches a certain part of my brain… I become a different person when this song comes on, and I have never heard the full story behind it, which makes it that much better. Turn it up… “Redneck Woman” The post Gretchen Wilson Wrote “Redneck Woman” Because Country Music Wasn’t Singing To Girls Like Her: “All I Saw Was Beautiful Women Like Faith Hill Rolling Around On Silk Sheets” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

You’ll never refer to them as just “baby skunks” or “baby peacocks” again.