Month: September 2020

With 16 years of sobriety under his belt, Dax Shepard has served as a beacon of hope for people in recovery. With a reset of his sobriety clock last week after confessing to a slip with prescription painkillers, he still is.

The actor has been open about his addiction to alcohol and cocaine, and that transparency and honesty has undoubtedly helped many people through their own recovery journeys. But recovery from addiction is not always a one-way, detour-free road. Even people who have been sober for years must be diligent and self-aware or risk relapsing in ways that are easy to justify.

That’s the scenario Shepard described in his recent podcast, in which he announced that he’s now seven days sober. For people who struggle with addiction, it’s a cautionary tale. He didn’t take a drink, and he didn’t touch cocaine. His slide into addiction relapse happened with prescription painkillers—Vicodin and Percocet. He started taking prescription pain pills after a motorcycle accident in 2012, moved to taking pills with his dad who was dying of cancer, and then came a gradual spiral of justifications, lying, gas lighting, and other addictive behaviors that enabled him to abuse those pills without acknowledging he was doing so.

Shepard laid it all out to his podcast partner, Monica Padman, last week. The way he was careful at first to only take the pills his wife, Kristen Bell, administered. Then how he’d save his two nighttime pills, because they made it hard to sleep, only to take them the next day with his morning pills to get the high he wanted. How he’d ask himself if this was a slip, start feeling like he was maybe in trouble, then convince himself he had it under control.

He talked about how easy it was to convince himself it wasn’t really a problem because the pill use felt “manageable.” He knew if he started drinking or doing cocaine, he’d be out of control—he understood those to be unmanageable addictions. But the pain pills didn’t keep him from doing his work or his dad duties or his normal daily life, so it was easy to keep using them.

Then he explained how, after more injuries this year, his painkiller use got “shadier and shadier.” He started buying pills instead of just using the ones he was prescribed. When he started lying to his loved ones and was high at his 16-year sobriety celebration earlier this month—which he called “the worst hour of my life”—he knew he was in trouble.

So in recent weeks, Shepard came clean to Bell and Padman privately and gave them all of his remaining pills. He spoke to a friend he looks up to, who frankly told him that his biggest character flaw was arrogance, that he basically thought he was smart enough to outsmart addiction. He realized the only antidote to that was extreme humility.

Shepard attended an AA meeting and shared the whole story with them as well. He said it was one of the most powerful experiences he’s had ever had.

“So Tuesday really was day one. Yeah. And then, so I went to this meeting and I…man, I’ve known the men in this meeting for seventeen and a half years because I had many attempts before I got going. And I told my whole story and I told it honestly. And I went first and I was crying and it turned into the most incredible, like, 90 minutes I’ve ever experienced, where there was just so much love and there was so much understanding and kindness in unconditional love.

And it’s the only—there’s probably been many others—but it’s the only experience I can remember having that was just grace, the definition of grace, and it was very emotional and it was a really, really surreal kind of experience.

And when it was over, I actually mentally, for the first time in a very long time, felt optimistic because for the last while, a long time, I’ve known intellectually that things are going to get worse, that each encounter with it has gotten more shady and more dangerous, and I recognize that the next go around would be, oh, I can’t get pills, let’s snort heroin. And, you know, and I’ve had a lot of friends that I’ve watched go through this whole cycle.

And I finally have the humility to say I will not be any different, I won’t be special, I won’t be smarter. I will be exactly like everyone else.”

Then he decided to come clean publicly, despite a great deal of fear and embarrassment in doing so. He said he worried about how it affect opportunities for Kristen, how it might impact him financially due to companies that might not want to work with him now, how the bombardment of judgments about what he should have done or could have done might feel, how people who looked up to him for his sobriety might feel betrayed or misled.

He ultimately decided that total and complete honesty was the only way to go. And of course, that authenticity is what his fellow recovering addicts really need to see.

“So if you got more than seven days, you got more than me. So you’re my elder and I look up to you,” said Shepard. “And, you know, onward and upward for all the people who have been along on this whole journey for the last few years. I feel—and this is not to sound cheesy, but I feel the same responsibility to the people who love the show and are with us, because I think it’s such an emotional connection we all have.”

Congratulations on your sobriety and thank you for your honesty, Dax. Onward and upward.

You can listen to Shepard’s Armchair Expert “Day 7” podcast episode here.

The next generation of video game consoles is right around the corner, but that won’t stop the last gen from going out with a bang. Reviving one of its most beloved game franchises — as well as the advertising concept behind it — Activision recruited the help of one of music’s biggest stars to bring back Crash Bandicoot in the trailer for the new game, Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time. Atlanta rapper Quavo of the group Migos looks like he’s having a ball in the ad as he trades rhymes with a Crash Bandicoot mascot outside a shoe store.

The concept is updated from the original Crash Bandicoot trailers which featured an actor in a Crash mascot suit — complete with a hole in the middle for his face to poke out and make the whole thing even more tongue-in-cheek — trash-talking Nintendo’s ever-popular mascot Mario as the then-new PlayStation first launched. Of course, since then, Mario has only become more popular while Crash faded into semi-obscurity, but the anthropomorphic marsupial apparently remains enough of a cultural touchstone for the millennial generation to warrant a feature from Quavo (who admittedly does features with just about everybody).

Quavo isn’t the first rap star to help bring back a beloved franchise. Two years ago, Crash’s fellow PlayStation mascot Spyro the Dragon starred in a remastered release of his own original trilogy, announced with the help of Snoop Dogg. At this rate, we can only hope that the next PS1 hero to return is the one best known for his own crafty rhymes: Parappa The Rappa.

With the game dropping October 2, there’s still — ahem — time to pre-order it at the official website for some wild, retro in-game character skins.

Watch the trailer for Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time featuring Quavo above.

Sufjan Stevens contributed some lovely songs to the 2017 film Call Me By Your Name, an endeavor that led to what Stevens now describes as one of the worst times he’s ever had.

At the 90th Academy Awards in 2018, Stevens took the stage to perform “Mystery Of Love,” one of his songs from the Call Me By Your Name soundtrack. Stevens and some backing musicians were on stage for a couple minutes, and his performance went over well. Still, in a new interview with The Guardian, he called it a “traumatizing experience” while absolutely roasting the Oscars as an institution, saying:

“Honestly, one of the most traumatizing experiences of my entire life. [It was] a horrifying Scientology end-of-year prom [representative of] everything I hate about America and popular culture. […] I didn’t want to have anything to do with that world and that culture. I don’t want to be part of any room full of adults hemming and hawing over plastic trophies.”

This take shouldn’t be too surprising to anybody who has listened and paid attention to Stevens’ new album The Ascension, which is packed full of lyrics and themes about his pessimism towards America and culture more broadly.

A quote he shared about his song “Video Game,” for example, may as well be directly about the Oscars and other award shows: “It’s unfortunate that we live in a society where the value of people is quantified by likes, followers, listeners and views. So many people are seeking attention for the wrong reasons. I think we should all be doing our best work without looking for accolades or seeking reward.” On “America,” meanwhile, he sings, “I have loved you, I have grieved / I’m ashamed to admit I no longer believe,” and, “Don’t do to me what you did to America / Don’t do to me what you do to yourself.”

Read the full interview here, and revisit Stevens’ Oscars performance below.

Spillage Village commune with nature for a spell in their worshipful video for “Hapi” from their new album Spilligion. As the group’s members Benji., Mereba, and Olu ruminate on spirituality and the day-to-day struggles of life alongside Dungeon Family poet Big Rube, a congregation meets to listen to a sermon in the woods, a group of little boys plays, and a family shares a meal.

Spilligion, which the group released last Friday, finds the group as a whole reflecting on the current state of the world; pandemics, civil unrest, racism, and violence, but also on hope, faith, family, friends, and perseverance through the hard times and how our common goals should connect us. They similarly elaborated on such themes throughout their previous singles “End Of Daze” and “Baptize,” both of which have videos filled with quasi-religious imagery as well.

Throughout the album, the group employs the gamut of American musical tradition — including folk, jazz, and gospel — to spell out this interconnectedness and highlight how powerfully history can resonate on the present. After standing out on Dreamville’s Revenge Of The Dreamers III compilation, Spillage Village is set to become a breakout crew on their own, even as individual members 6lack and JID look forward to possible solo releases later this year.

Watch Spillage Village’s ‘Hapi’ video featuring Benji., Mereba, Olu, and Big Rube above.

Spilligion is out now on Dreamville / Spillage Village. You can listen to it here.

If you’ve paid attention to the world of craft brewing over the past decade, you’ve surely noticed a trend in the way bottles and cans are adorned. Instead of simply labeling their beers “Hazy IPA” or “Imperial Stout” with nondescript, boring logo work, breweries have taken to hiring artists and graphic designers to create eye-grabbing labels. To the point where a beer’s label has become a significant part of how it attracts attention.

In the past, this trend led to a range of highly-sexualized labels and subsequent labeling rules. But thanks, in part, to better representation across the beer industry, brands are learning how to navigate the line between edgy and offensive.

This week, the craft beer subscription service Tavour compiled a list of the “most popular beer labels of all time.” Their exact metric is hazier than a New England IPA (isn’t Bud Light the “most popular” label of all time because it’s the best selling?), but the beers they’ve highlighted are all well-known fan favorites. Here are tasting notes (from us and/ or the brewery), along with a little bit about each entry.

Crane Brewing – Guava Weisse

ABV: 4.5%

The Story:

To make this truly unique, tropical sour ale, the folks at Missouri’s Cane Brewing used more than 500 pounds of pink guava (yes, there are different types of guava). This highly popular brew has been made since 2012 and has garnered well-deserved hype while racking up awards along the way.

The label is simple, stark, and incredibly memorable — with an origami-style bird in flight.

Tasting Notes (from The Brewery):

It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly you’re tasting with this beer as it’s a hybrid of a sour beer and a saison. It’s tart, tangy, subtly sour, and loaded with pear, peach, and of course guava flavors.

More Brewing Company – Razzimus Prime

ABV: 7.5%

The Story:

If you’re a child of the 80s (or you’ve seen one of the 100 Transformers movies), you’re well-acquainted with Optimus Prime. But you might not know about Rodimus Prime, who had to take over when his predecessor was killed by the evil Megatron. This beer is called Razzimus Prime and we can only assume this super fruity sour beer is ripe to take over if Rodimus meets his demise.

Tasting Notes (from The Brewery):

Made with 50 pounds of raspberries in every barrel, this beer is sweet, tart, and just the right amount of sour. It’s fruity, juicy, and pretty much like popping a fresh raspberry into your mouth in beer form.

Adroit Theory Brewing Company – Evangelion [XII Leliel Edition]

ABV: 10%

The Story:

Adroit makes this eagerly awaited IPA every year. This year is — as the name indicates — the 12th annual offering. It’s hazy, juicy, and pretty hard to find if you weren’t able to grab a few cans when it was released.

The can art is downright terrifying — with a skeleton moth and a very spooky horned demon.

Tasting Notes (from The Brewery):

While every year the brewery drops a new IPA in this series, they’re not all the same. Evangelion [XII Leliel Edition] was double dry-hopped with Mosaic, Sultana, Citra, Enigma, Motueka, and Simcoe hops. This juice bomb is full of fresh, sweet tropical fruit flavors and sits at a potent 10 percent ABV.

Mikkeller Brewing Company – Oh Hi Murk

ABV: 7.8%

The Story:

If you’ve seen the catastrophic movie The Room or the movie about the movie The Disaster Artist, you know all about the mysterious figure named Tommy Wiseau. This beer (and its cartoonish label) is a reference to one of his most famous lines in the original film.

Dry-hopped with Simcoe and Citra cryo hops, this beer is perfect for when you and your friends want to throw around a football for no reason.

Tasting Notes (Mine):

The name “Oh Hi Murk” is not only a reference to The Room, it’s also referencing the hazy, murky, juicy nature of this New England-style IPA. The use of flaked barley and malted oats gives this juice bomb, a nectar-like body that works perfectly with its juicy pineapple, mango, and guava flavors.

Evil Twin Brewing – Do You Have This I Love NY T-Shirt in My Size?

ABV: 8%

The Story:

This Imperial IPA is so named because of its general exclusivity to the brewery’s New York City taproom. It’s a reference to the well-known t-shirts you’ll find at the local airports and pretty much every tourist trap store in the city.

Tasting Notes (Mine):

Made with double dry-hopped Citra and Comet hops, this brew is super fresh, juicy, sweet, and filled with sharp citrus and sweet melon notes. It’s smooth, surprisingly light, and highly drinkable. Just be aware that it’s eight-percent ABV and pace yourself.

Jester King Brewery – Das Wunderkind

ABV: 4.5%

The Story:

This farmhouse ale is adorned with a very creepy, red-haired, steampunk looking character that we can only assume is the aforementioned “Wunderkind.” It’s a very interesting brew made by combining a barrel-aged beer that was fermented a second time with wild yeast together with an un-aged, dry-hopped beer.

Tasting Notes (Mine):

The result of this marriage is a very hazy, unfiltered brew perfectly suited for the warm days of early autumn. It’s light, refreshing, and filled with hints of citrus, mango, pineapple, and subtle peppery spice.

Odd13 Brewing – Hop Hop Troll Troll

ABV: 8%

The Story:

If you’re a fan of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, you’re sure to recognize the iconic episode titled “Nightman Cometh” in which the gang acts out the possible perverse story of the Dayman and Nightman on stage. Danny DeVito’s character Frank plays a troll and this beer was made to pay tribute to yet another tremendous acting performance.

The ‘troll toll” in this beer is five whole pounds (per barrel) of Citra and Motueka hops.

Tasting Notes (From The Brewery):

While Frank prefers drinking red wine out of beer cans, we’ll take this hoppy, refreshingly juicy IPA any day. It’s surprisingly easy to drink even with its high ABV and is filled with subtle resin and tropical fruit flavors.

Brouwerij West – Bunny Fuku

ABV: 7.3%

The Story:

There’s a children’s song about “little bunny foo foo” who enjoys scooping up field mice and bopping them on the head. While this is a strangely violent song to sing to toddlers, the folks at Brouwerij West decided to take the whole thing one step further and redub the character “Bunny Fuku.”

This hazy homage to the anti-social rabbit was made with a slew of Nelson and Citra hops.

Tasting Notes (Mine):

Like getting knocked over the head by a psychotic bunny, this beer is ripe with hop flavor. Its hazy, juicy, and full of sweet orange, pineapple, peach, and subtly resinous hops.

Anchorage Brewing Company – The Elk Prince

ABV: 10.4%

The Story:

Triple IPAs are no joke and this royal brew is sitting at a potent 10.4% ABV. This double dry-hopped beer is made with Lotus, Southern Passion, Equinot, and Mosaic hops. The label features an elk wearing what appears to be a wolf’s skull on top of his head.

Tasting Notes (Mine):

You don’t have to be a king, prince, or even a lowly pauper to enjoy this delicious hop-fueled brew. This is truly a beer for fans of the resinous, pine-flavored ingredient. On top of the obvious hop presence, this IPA also features hints of mandarin oranges, papaya, and fresh pineapple.

Trap Door Brewing – Issa Trap

ABV: 5.2%

The Story:

This New England-style pale ale is one of the most well-loved beer labels of all time for a reason. That’s because the can is adorned with the squid-looking Admiral Ackbar who uttered the infamous line “It’s a trap” in The Return of the Jedi. Brewed with double dry-hopped Galaxy, Cashmere, and Citra Hops, it’s an explosion on par with the destruction of the Death Star.

Tasting Notes (From The Brewery):

Double dry hopping gives this beer an added kick of hops while mellowing out the bitterness. It’s highly crushable, thirst-quenching, and full of sweet pineapple, pear, and sharp citrus flavors.

Beabadoobee’s upcoming album, Fake It Flowers, is one of the most anticipated debut albums (and most anticipated albums overall) of the fall. She had kept the hype train going ahead of the album’s October release with a string of singles, and now she’s back with another. Today, Beabadoobee has dropped a video for “How Was Your Day?,” a softer track than the rockers that preceded it.

Beabadoobee says of the track and accompanying visual:

“‘How Was Your Day?’ is a track that explores all the relationships I neglected when I was away from home. I wanted to emphasize the rawness of the lyrics with the song sonically which is why I recorded it on a four-track with all the little mistakes and vocal wobbles included. I wanted the music video to feel nostalgic to me, to include all the people I cared about, it took me back to the time I first started making music.”

Furthermore, press materials note the song was recorded on a four-track cassette recorder in Beabadoobee’s boyfriend’s garden while her studio was closed around the beginning of the pandemic, and the video is made up of footage of Beabadoobee and her loved ones from the past few months.

Watch the “How Was Your Day?” video above.

Fake It Flowers is out 10/16 via Dirty Hit. Pre-order it here.

Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm and blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B music that fans of the genre should hear.

This week, Dreamville’s Ari Lennox debuted her new song “Chocolate Pomegranate” in the form of a live performance, Bryson Tiller offered a visual for throwback Trapsoul track “Right My Wrongs,” and Pink Sweats dropped the music video for “At My Worst.” Check out the rest of the best new R&B below.

Ari Lennox — “Chocolate Pomegranate”

As Ari Lennox readies for the follow-up to her 2019 debut Shea Butter Baby, the DMV talent is sharing some new music and this week she premiered her new song “Chocolate Pomegranate” on Genius’ Open Mic. The song isn’t available for streaming just yet, though. Fans will get access to the song on September 30.

Bryson Tiller — “Right My Wrongs”

Bryson Tiller is back in full form as he continues to share a string of solid single releases and this week he unleashed the music video for his track “Right My Wrongs” off his 2015 debut album Trapsoul. The Louisville crooner recently dropped four new tracks for a deluxe re-release of Trapsoul, including a collaboration with The Weeknd.

Pink Sweats — “At My Worst”

Pink Sweats put a vibrant visual to The Prelude track “At My Worst” set in a pink dry cleaner with the object of his affection. The Philly native is still hard at work on his debut Pink Planet which is set to be released soon.

Luh Kel — “All In You”

Rising R&B singer Luh Kel‘s debut album L.O.V.E. is set to drop on October 23. Ahead of its release, Luh Kel shares a song off the project titled “All In You” along with a music video that sees him searching for love. “I wanted to bring my own charm and swag to a concept like The Bachelor,” Luh Kel said in a statement. “’All In You’ expresses those feelings of liking someone so much, even if both of you have reservations about making the next step to be with each other.”

Daniel Church — “Too Much”

After penning songs for the likes Kid Ink and Trevor Jackson, singer-songwriter Daniel Church comes through with his first solo release of the year, “Too Much,” produced by Bizness Boi.

Saint Bodhi — “Blessed”

Saint Bodhi‘s debut album Mad World is on the way and if her latest flow of track drops is any indication about how potent the project will be, the alt-R&B leader just dropped a visual for her song “Blessed” as a reminder of its potential.

Lloyd — “They Don’t Care”

Lloyd emerged with a new song this week titled “They Don’t Care” in the name of social justice. The song lives on Empire’s compilation project Voices For Change, Vol. 1. “Our differences make us beautiful, not unequal,” Lloyd said of the powerful cut. “I use my voice to spread love, to inspire enlightening conversations, and, as a father, to make this world a more compassionate place for my son and daughter.”

Check out this week’s R&B picks, plus more on Uproxx’s Spotify playlist below.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Indiana Pacers were a pleasant surprise of the NBA regular season, earning the 4-seed in the East during the seeding round of the NBA Bubble despite the absence of Domantas Sabonis. That came after they spent half of the season without the services of Victor Oladipo as he rehabbed from a ruptured quad injury, and the former All-Star never really regained his form this season.

Without Sabonis and with Oladipo still not looking like his pre-injury self, the Pacers were swept by the eventual Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat in the first round and entered an offseason of serious uncertainty. Their first move was to fire Nate McMillan — after giving him an extension while in the Bubble — and with the coaching search still ongoing, Indiana also has some personnel things to consider. The Sabonis-Myles Turner pairing remains awkward at best, and at some point most expect the Pacers to have to make a decision between the two, with the most likely outcome being Turner dealt and Indiana sticking with Sabonis coming off of an All-Star season.

However, they also seem to have another big move possibly being forced into their hands as Oladipo is reportedly wanting out of Indiana this offseason, as he enters the final year of his contract and will be a free agent in 2021, per The Athletic’s Jared Weiss.

Hayward won’t be opting out of his contract unless he has a long-term extension in place, which will be hard for a 30-year-old with a concerning injury history. Indiana is still home for the Haywards, and with Victor Oladipo looking to move on this offseason, according to sources, and Myles Turner possibly in the same boat, there could be an opportunity for Ainge to move Hayward and the abundance of draft picks in his war chest in a mutually agreeable way. Boston won’t have cap space again with three stars locked up long-term, so moving Hayward or Marcus Smart presents one of the few opportunities to get back a player making starter-caliber money.

It’s not the first rumbling of Oladipo looking to find a new home outside of Indiana, and his contract situation, coupled with health questions, make him far more difficult to move and gauge value on than, say, Paul George was when the Pacers moved him to OKC for Sabonis and Oladipo. What the market is for Oladipo this offseason is a huge unknown for a variety of reasons. One is that he is an expiring contract and the team trading for him would surely need to be a team that wants to sign him long term, but there will be some warranted trepidation about what level Oladipo is at as a player going forward that could limit what Indiana can get back in return.

On top of that, the league is dealing with financial uncertainty and is awaiting negotiations with the NBPA about how to handle salary cap ramifications from the loss of revenue during the pandemic that figures to be an impediment for every potential big move this offseason. In short, there are a number of hurdles to clear to find a trade partner Indiana would want to deal with — they made it pretty clear with the George trade they don’t want to deal stars in conference — who would be able to find common ground with the Pacers on value. Still, it’s certainly something worth monitoring as the NBA Draft approaches in November and free agency begins, as Indiana will surely have plenty of calls to see where the market on their star guard is, but dealing him seems far from certain.

Sienna Miller has revealed how the late actor Chadwick Boseman was a true ally in making sure she was compensated fairly when the two starred together in 21 Bridges. In an interview with Empire, Miller opened up about the Black Panther‘s star generosity while also admitting her hesitancy to tell this story for the first time. “There was no showiness, it was, ‘Of course I’ll get you to that number, because that’s what you should be paid,’” she said.

According to Miller, Boseman, who was also a producer on 21 Bridges, pursued her for a role in the film. However, Miller had been trying to take a break from acting, and her daughter was just getting ready to begin school. So she told Boseman that she’d take the part, but only if she’s “compensated in the right way.” To Miller’s surprise, Boseman immediately got to work securing her salary and even went so far as to chip-in part of his own pay to make sure she was paid fairly. “You’re getting paid what you deserve, and what you’re worth,” Boseman surprisingly told her. Via Empire:

It’s just unfathomable to imagine another man in that town behaving that graciously or respectfully. In the aftermath of this I’ve told other male actor friends of mine that story and they all go very very quiet and go home and probably have to sit and think about things for a while.

Miller had never told the story to anyone before, but after Boseman’s death, she decided it was important to let the world know about his quiet generosity. “I think it’s a testament to who he was.”

(Via Empire)

Earlier this month, BTS made history when “Dynamite,” their first English-language song, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated September 5, making them the first all-South Korean artist to have a chart-topping song in the US. They kept their run alive for a second consecutive week on the next chart, only to have Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” knock it from the top. “Dynamite” also spent the next week at No. 2, which brings us to this week: After two weeks away from the No. 1 spot, “Dynamite” is back on top on the chart dated October 3.

The song got a big boost thanks to a pack of remixes the group shared of the track: On September 18, the band shared “Bedroom,” “Midnight,” “Retro,” and “Slow Jam” remixes of the song, which accounted for 52 percent of the song’s overall sales in the tracking week.

Elsewhere on the chart, Justin Bieber and Chance The Rapper’s new collaboration “Holy” debuted at No. 3. That makes the song Bieber’s 20th top-10 hit, and it’s the third such song for Chance. Meanwhile, “WAP” has settled back into the No. 2 spot.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.