Month: November 2020

After co-opting Matchbox Twenty’s ’90s classic “3 AM” in his “The Wishing Hour” video, RMR continues his 4th Quarter Medley project’s storyline with “That Was Therapeutic” featuring Amber Rose. Swapping out 25-year-old jams for a more recent hit, RMR puts his mischievous spin on Drake’s summertime smash “Laugh Now Cry Later.”

Picking up where the previous video left off, “That Was Therapeutic” finds RMR visiting a literal therapy session with Amber Rose playing the perceptive professional to whom he vents. RMR even unmasks — off-camera, of course — so Amber can get a hands-on look at his signature accessory before he walks off into the next portion of the medley, previewing another reimagined ’90s bop: The Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris,” which was incidentally also covered fairly recently by another artist, Phoebe Bridgers. We can’t wait to see what kind of profane vandalism he’ll perform to the beloved City of Angels soundtrack standout.

RMR’s been developing his trap-crooner remixes of hit songs since he first drew attention with the viral “Rascal” video, becoming something of a gritty, ski-masked version of Weird Al Yankovic. Despite this, he’s also had plenty of success with original works as well, including “Dealer” and “Welfare” from his debut EP, Drug Dealing Is A Lost Art.

RMR is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

“34+35” made waves when Ariana Grande released Positions, mostly due to the song being about as explicit as she has ever gotten on record. The title is of course a reference to a sexual position (do the math), and she sings on the chorus, “Can you stay up all night? / F*ck me ’til the daylight / Thirty-four, thirty-five.” The song has become a fan favorite, and now Grande has pleased her devotees by releasing a new video for the track.

She discussed the song in a recent interview on the Zach Sang Show, saying, “I’ve been very nervous about ’34+35′ because I don’t want it to distract from the rest from the album, but I do love it, and sonically, it’s one of my favorite things we’ve ever done.” Sang then asked why the song is important to the album, and Grande responded, “Oh because I just think it’s ridiculous and so funny and stupid. It’s like absolutely absurd. It was just a fun thing. We heard the strings that sounded so like Disney and orchestral and full and pure, and I was like, ‘What is the dirtiest possible most opposing lyrics we could write to this?’

Watch the “34+35” video above and read our review of Positions here.

Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels, but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.

Every week, Uproxx is rounding up the best new indie music from the past seven days. This week we got the first taste of a new Foo Fighters album, a Goo Goo Dolls cover from Phoebe Bridgers with an assist from Maggie Rogers, and a barn-burning pure rock and roll LP from The Bluechips. Check out the rest of the best new indie music below.

Chris Stapleton – Starting Over

Believe it or not, Chris Stapleton is one of the biggest songwriters in the country these days. He doesn’t reinvent the wheel on his latest album Starting Over, opting for his tried and true formula of exceptional heartland rock, as described by Steven Hyden for Uproxx: “Take the soulful bar-band raspiness of Bob Seger, meld it with the simple yet catchy homespun melodies of John Mellencamp, sprinkle in some Tom Petty guitars and add the smallest pinch of Waylon and Willie.”

Told Slant – Point The Flashlight And Walk

Told Slant took an extended hiatus after the release of 2016’s Going By, quietly working on and refining the follow up. Point The Flashlight And Walk delicately balances influences of experimental folk and indie-pop, “examining psychic pain and searching for transcendence,” according to Steven Hyden in the latest Indie Mixtape newsletter.

William Basinski – Lamentations

You might know the name William Basinski from his lauded four-volume 2002 album The Disintegration Loops. The avant-garde composer and multi-instrumentalist’s latest effort Lamentations is his second release of 2020, but Basinski doesn’t sacrifice quality for quantity, with each release pushing the boundaries of the previous.

The Bluechips – Say Goodbye

Hailing from Westchester County, New York, The Bluechips have cut their teeth over the last few years as a bar band, perfecting covers from classic rock greats. On Say Goodbye, they incorporate all of these influences into a concept album, which examines the state of the world from a birds eye view on an airplane, taking sequencing inspiration from Pink Floyd’s Animals. If you’ve read this column in the past, you probably know I am a sucker for big hooks and guitar solos… This album is chock full of both.

Foo Fighters – “Shame Shame”

Shortly debuting the track live on Saturday Night Live‘s post-election episode, Foo Fighters shared the studio version of “Shame Shame,” the first single from their tenth album Medicine At Midnight. It’s a different sound than we’re used to hearing from Dave Grohl and co., incorporating a groovy sensibility more akin to David Bowie than Motörhead. Nonetheless, it certainly sets the bar high for the forthcoming LP.

Phoebe Bridgers – “Iris” (Goo Goo Dolls cover ft. Maggie Rogers)

On election day, Phoebe Bridgers tweeted a promise that she would cover “Iris” by Goo Goo Dolls “if Trump loses.” Well, Phoebe is nothing if not true to her word, and she has shared the promised cover, enlisting help from none other than Maggie Rogers on backing vocals. The track was only available on Bandcamp for 24 hours, but it’s out there if you can find it.

The Antlers – “It Is What It Is”

While they haven’t announced a new album just yet, The Antlers are setting the stage for a comeback after six years out of the spotlight. Peter Silberman calls the relaxing new single “It Is What It Is” a “song about hindsight,” and it reminds us what we were missing in the years since 2014’s Familiars.

Chloe Moriondo – “Girl On TV”

The latest track from 18-year-old Chloe Moriondo perfectly combines bedroom pop sensibilities with arena rock grandeur, making for a more aggressive approach than we have heard from Moriondo previously. In a statement, the songwriter said that the song is “about the sort of underlying superficial jealousy that comes along with the usual disdain myself and I think a lot of others feel when looking at rich influencers with seemingly perfect faces and bodies and lives!!!!”

Kali Masi – “The Stray”

It’s tracks like “The Stray” that make me really miss shows — it just seems like a song that would take on a completely new life in the live setting. A heavy and raucous punk number, it’s the first taste of the band’s forthcoming LP [laughs].

Teddy Grossman – “What I Owe”

Teddy Grossman recorded his debut single to a tape machine, teaming up with Ryan Pollie for a lo-fi number that takes inspiration from the heartland folk feel of Neil Young’s Harvest for an intimate look at Grossman’s joy in finally feeling settled after a cross-country move.

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

Rudy Giuliani’s Trump campaign press conference at Four Seasons Total Landscaping in Philly is already the stuff of (dubious) legends. The sex shop next door is still fielding calls, and the debacle has been memorialized in LEGO form. There’s also a petition going to get this place registered as a historical site, and as for the landscaping company itself? Things are going great. Not so much for Rudy, of course, who has filed as general counsel to represent Trump in federal court (for his Pennsylvania fight) despite being suspended by the DC bar association for neglecting to pay his fees. That should be a fun realization for Trump, but again, the Four Seasons Total Landscaping guys are enjoying being a tourist attraction.

Not only are they selling merch like hot cakes, but they’ve gotta market themselves. They’re in the big leagues now, after all, so they’ve responded accordingly by beefing up their social media presence. And they are tearing it up on Twitter with jokes about blaring “the Nickelback CD Rudy left here” while working hard to meet the public’s demand for their products.

They’re shouting out Rob McElhenney in an attempt to get Four Seasons Total Landscaping onto It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

And if you’re wondering where all this vigor sources from, they’re sending out credit to a special “freelance brand invigorator” named Alexis Rose (it’s a clever wink to the Emmy-winning Schitt’s Creek, which is so hot on Netflix now).

The series responded on Twitter in an appropriate fashion.

And the reverse fanboy-ing commenced.

Don’t forget, though, Four Seasons Total Landscaping does landscaping, too!

G Herbo returned earlier this year to release his fourth studio album PTSD. The rapper worked on the LP for much of 2019 and was even able to secure a feature by Juice WRLD before the rapper’s tragic death last December. In mourning, the PTSD cover art offers a nod to Juice WRLD as well as other friends he has lost. Continuing to honor the late rapper’s legacy, Herbo tapped Chance The Rapper to perform the PTSD title track on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

The filmed performance was directed by Armani Martin with Chance serving as the creative director. The two Chicago rappers took over an abandoned industrial building to deliver their verses amid foggy mood lighting while Juice WRLD’s voice cuts in at the chorus. At the end of their performance, Chance and Herbo parted ways as the camera panned to a giant lit-up mural of Juice WRLD.

Just ahead of their performance, Chance told Fallon that his father wasn’t initially gung ho about his choice of a career path. “I don’t know if they were supportive of it, but it was understood,” Chance said, continuing that their relationships saw some “friction” after he graduated from high school. Eventually, though, Chance said his dad came around and supported him with the business side of his career. “But in the beginning, my dad did not want me to be a rapper, for sure,” Chance said.

Watch Chance and Herbo perform “PTSD” above.

PTSD is out now via Machine/Epic. Get it here.

Before developing a reputation as a pugnacious gatekeeper and instigator of rap beef, Russ built an impressive fan base on the strength of his rapping, singing, and songwriting, leading to a very successful independent career built on boisterous bars and a diligent, DIY approach to his pursuit of stardom. Now that rap fans have turned on him, it looks like he wants to re-establish his credentials as an upper-echelon wordsmith, releasing the star-studded Chomp EP, on which the controversial indie rap advocate challenges himself to keep up with Ab-Soul, Black Thought, Busta Rhymes, and more.

After making his major-label debut in 2017 with There’s Really A Wolf, Russ unfortunately began alienating fans with his anti-drug t-shirt. After memeing his self-serious sartorial choice into oblivion and back, fans seemed to have decided that the New Jersey-born, Atlanta-based rapper was a self-righteous jerk — a perception Russ himself did little to mitigate as he continued to double down on his criticisms of mainstream stars. He may even have furthered it with physical altercations between himself and relatively harmless party rappers like Smokepurpp and Guapdad 4000.

However, Russ has his defenders as well, while his recent actions have toned-down his image somewhat. By teaming up — and in some cases, actually going bar-for-bar — with respected vets and newcomers like Kxng Crooked and Benny The Butcher on Chomp, Russ may get fans to once again focus on what’s important — his music — and not his antics.

Chomp is out now. Get it here.

“Old Town Road” was a massive cultural event. Aside from the song’s chart success, the “Official Movie” and “Official Video” versions of the clip have over a billion combined views on YouTube. If you ask Lil Nas X, though, that’s not his best video, or even his second best.

A fan Twitter account recently posed the question, “Now that we’ve had time to enjoy the ‘HOLIDAY’ video, In what order would you rank all of Lil Nas X’s Music Videos?” Nas himself replied in a now-deleted tweet, ranking his videos from first to last, “Holiday,” “Panini,” “Old Town Road,” and “Rodeo.

He also recently responded to a fan commenting on the success of “Holiday.” Nas tweeted, “i took a 8 month break, and still we hit 12m on youtube, top 20 on spotify. i’m thankful for that. now is my time to promote and build a bigger fanbase. i’m working as hard as ever. we got this guys. a year from now every song i drop will pop.” Somebody else chimed in, “dont skress it bro. mfs finna tune in for CMBYN! Holiday a bop regardless,” and Nas replied, “not stressed king. otr took months to take off, panini didn’t peak until 4 months later. yeah they will tune in to cmbyn but Holiday is the focus rn. we will make it work.”

Revisit the “Holiday” video here.

The first trailer for Zack Snyder’s Justice League, a.k.a. the Snyder Cut, was released in August during the DC FanDome event, but it’s since been pulled due to music rights issues. Unlike Shrek, Justice League couldn’t use “Hallelujah,” apparently. But on Tuesday, the filmmaker shared a new black-and-white trailer — once again set to the oft-covered Leonard Cohen classic, as nature is healing — with his millions of Twitter followers, most of whom responded with the Mario holding a crown meme. Who knew so many people want to see a “road-weary” Joker? You can watch the new trailer below.

Here’s more on Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which includes “four minutes or five minutes of additional photography” in its massive runtime:

In Justice League, fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes — Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash — it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Amy Adams, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, and Just Kidding Simmons, is expected to come out on HBO Max in 2021.

This week in pop music saw some exciting releases from big and up-and-coming artists alike. Billie Eilish signaled the beginning of an era with a new single, Tones And I returned with a vulnerable tune, and Benee released her anticipated debut album.

Each week, Uproxx rounds up the best new pop music. Listen up.

Billie Eilish — “Therefore I Am”

It’s been over a year and a half since Billie Eilish’s debut album When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go? catapulted the singer into global stardom and earned her a number of Grammy Awards. Now, after a handful of quiet tracks, Eilish is back with her familiar brooding pop on “Therefore I Am.” Over a teeming beat, Eilish aims to bring an egotistical counterpart down a few notches on the kiss-off single.

Tones And I — “Fly Away”

Tones And I’s carefree tune “Dance Monkey” took over global airwaves and became the most Shazam’d song of all time but now, the singer is offering a closer look at her artistry. Debuting the touching song “Fly Away,” Tones And I gets personal over a pumping beat. “‘Fly Away’ is about chasing your dreams, reaching your goals and the realities that comes with it,” she said in a statement. “Being a busker, I obviously had bigger dreams. However, this song is inspired by the way I thought I would feel versus the way I actually feel. I think that’s very powerful, at least to me. It’s about genuine happiness and what we think we need to have happiness versus what we actually want.”

Benee — “Sheesh” Feat. Grimes

After her breakout single “Supalonely” went viral on TikTok, fans have been waiting to see what New Zealand musician Benee has in store next. Maintaining her momentum, Benee is back with her debut album Hey U X which boasts a number of exciting collaborations, including the head-spinning track “Sheesh” with Grimes. “I’m writing music for one human listening to the music,” Benee said about the record. “I want them to feel as connected as they can to my mind. I called it ‘Hey U X’ like a message that you send to a friend.”

Finneas — “Where The Poison Is”

While people across the world were celebrating the prospects of Donald Trump’s presidency coming to an end, Finneas was writing about it. The producer/singer released “Where The Poison Is” as a politically-charged track, touching on the president’s mishandling of the pandemic and even labeling him “poisonous.”

Aya Nakamura — “Doudou”

Malian-born French artist Aya Nakamura released her anticipated record Aya this week, and on it arrived the hip-shaking tune “Doudou.” The singer injects an infectious energy on the track as she sings of testing her limits with a newfound love interest.

Tayla Parx — “Fixerupper”

Tayla Parx is just a few days away from releasing her sophomore album Coping Mechanisms. To offer one last taste of her lavish sound, Parx debuted a sincere single. “’Fixerupper’ marks a moment of growth,” Parx said in a statement. “It came after I ended up meeting my next love. I recognized the need to get over some situations, be patient, and understand there are some bandages necessary to fix me up.”

Anne-Marie — “Problems”

It’s been two years since the release of Anne-Marie’s debut album. But she’s since held fans at bay for new music by dropping collaborations with Doja Cat and Lauv. Now pivoting back to her solo material, the singer shared “Problems” this week. Over a revved-up beat, Anne-Marie sings of working through her relationship issues to be with the one she loves.

3Oh!3 — “Lonely Machines” Feat. 100 Gecs

It’s been a while since we’ve heard a peep from ’00s electronic duo 3Oh!3 but that didn’t stop the left-of-center pop artist 100 Gecs from bringing them back into the limelight. The two groups teamed up for “Lonely Machines,” a reference-filled track parodying the importance of technology in today’s world.

Chloe Moriondo — “Girl On TV”

At just 18-years old, Chloe Moriondo is making a name for herself. Following-up her 2018 debut album, Moriondo is teasing the beginning of a new era with a handful of sunny singles. Releasing “Girl On TV” this week, Moriondo said: “‘Girl On TV’ is about the sort of underlying superficial jealousy that comes along with the usual disdain myself and I think a lot of others feel when looking at rich influencers with seemingly perfect faces and bodies and lives.”

Powfu — “When The Hospital Was My Home” Feat. Rxseboy

On the heels of his Double Platinum hit “Death Bed (Coffee For Your Head),” Powfu is back with a new single inspired by the 2019 movie 5 Feet Apart. “The movie inspired me to write a song from the perspective of someone living in a hospital,” Powfu said. “When I played it for my dad, he broke down and started crying when he heard the lyrics: ‘I don’t wanna let go when we hug, one thing worse than dying is losing who you love’. I knew at that point that this was something special.”

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

During the recent election, many hip-hop fans were disappointed to find that some of the genre’s biggest stars chose to support Donald Trump in spite of his policies. Lil Wayne, Lil Pump, and more posted to social media openly professing their preference for Trump over his opposition Joe Biden, while others like 50 Cent joked that they liked Trump’s tax policy more than Biden’s. In a recent interview with The Atlantic, former president Barack Obama tries to explain why Trump’s presentation tended to resonate with this particular demographic.

“I have to remind myself that if you listen to rap music, it’s all about the bling, the women, the money,” he says. “A lot of rap videos are using the same measures of what it means to be successful as Donald Trump is. Everything is gold-plated. That insinuates itself and seeps into the culture.”

Indeed, there’s a lot of rap music that is explicitly about the topics mentioned above (and just as much that isn’t), while even some of the most progressive-minded minded rappers across the genre’s 40-year history have engaged at least a few of these tropes in their efforts to make their music and videos palatable to the widest variety of fans. Rappers in the 90s and 2000s often name-checked Trump to associate themselves with the perception of wealth and those constant cameos were a driving force in Kanye West’s 2016 decision to meet with Trump despite the then candidate’s divisive rhetoric. In Obama’s mind, this is symptomatic of growing materialism in the broader American culture, which makes someone like Trump seem more attractive than they really are.

“America has always had a caste system — rich and poor, not just racially but economically — but it wasn’t in your face most of the time when I was growing up,” he explains. “Then you start seeing Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, that sense that either you’ve got it or you’re a loser. And Donald Trump epitomizes that cultural movement that is deeply ingrained now in American culture.”

He does point out his optimistic view of the future, however, expressing his hope in a younger generation who values different standards for success. “When you look at the younger generation, Malia and Sasha’s generation, you see that more clearly,” he adds. “It’s more often articulated, what they want out of life. They’re much less likely to have a need to be on Wall Street by such-and-such date. That is not how they seem to be defining themselves quite as much. That makes me more optimistic.”