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People are calling him "the Tommy Wiseau of metal," in reference to the famously self-funded filmmaker behind The Room. Jared Threatin bought thousands of social media followers; faked press clippings and awards; made up a record label; and generally bamboozled venues across Europe into booking his eponymous band, which was in fact unknown.

Threatin hired band members for the tour, which kicked off on Nov. 1 in London for an audience of...three. When the music world started to wake up to the reality of what Threatin was (or, more to the point, wasn't), several of the booked gigs were canceled, while two out of Threatin's three bandmates quit.

The website Metal Sucks went in search of Jared Threatin's true identity and discovered that in fact he's a guy named Jared Eames from Moberly, Missouri. While he is an actual musician with legitimate connections in the metal world, his latest project was essentially unknown until he faked a fanbase and became infamous.

"What is Fake News?" writes Threatin in a statement on his website. "I turned an empty room into an international headline. If you are reading this, you are part of the illusion."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzkIhkSQCG0

This week's new music releases

Anderson .Paak: Oxnard

Distinctive hip-hop R&B stylist Brandon Paak Anderson has released his third studio album as Anderson .Paak. "The rapping, singing, and drumming polymath approaches the funk canon from a rap perspective, offering a wide-angle portrait of Los Angeles' hedonistic landscape," writes Pitchfork.

Mariah Carey: Caution

Mariah Carey — icon, diva, and one of the top ten best-selling artists of all time — is bumping her numbers with a 15th studio album. Caution is sultry and saucy, the sound of a grown woman with nothing to prove, except maybe that her inimitable voice fits as well with trap beats as stately piano chords. Before you start spinning Carey's Christmas classics, kiss 2018 goodbye with sassy jams like "GTFO" and "A No No," then bring your bubbly into the bathtub for ballads like the album-closing "Portrait."

Smashing Pumpkins: Shiny and Oh So Bright Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.

Speaking of '90s artists who occasionally release albums with absurdly long titles, Smashing Pumpkins have dropped their tenth studio album: Shiny and Oh So Bright Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. Got that? With none other than Rick Rubin at the board, three-quarters of the band's founding lineup have reunited for a record that's getting decidedly mixed reviews. While Rolling Stone does hear "small flickers" of magic, overall they find the 31-minute album "Smashing Pumpkins in name only."

Karen O and Danger Mouse: "LUX PRIMA"

Busy producer Danger Mouse seems like he's worked with just about everyone, but this is new: he's making an album with singer-songwriter Karen O, best-known as frontwoman of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Album release details aren't yet available, but a first track from the duo takes us on a nine-minute journey into what Danger Mouse calls "a place rather than a sound." Karen O helpfully adds, "The more I live the less is clear to me. When you create from a blurry place you can go places further than you've ever been. I think we both were excited to go far out." (Rolling Stone)

Songs sampled in podcast
Jahzzar: "Comedie" (CC BY 4.0)
Threatin: "Identity"
Anderson .Paak feat. Snoop Dogg and The Last Artful, Dodgr: "Anywhere"
Mariah Carey: "Portrait"
The Smashing Pumpkins: "Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)"
Karen O and Danger Mouse: "Lux Prima"