Month: November 2020

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AJ Soprano has never seen a gutter but he has seen The Matrix.

This week on Pod Yourself A Gun, Samer Kalaf, Managing Editor of Defector Media, joins Matt and Vince to talk about one of their favorite subjects: beautiful little idiot AJ Soprano. Samer sets the bar high for future guests by not only taking notes for episode 3 season 9, “The Telltale Moozadell,” but he’s actually seen all of The Sopranos.

The episode itself is near perfect (solid B+), and features a young Lady Gaga as one of the girls AJ is trying to impress when he goes all Fred Durst and breaks stuff in the school late at night (on his mother’s birthday?!?). The fellas learn from Vince’s wife that unlike young men, not all young women go through a needless destruction phase. Good for them, I guess, but everyone should get to break one window in their life just to feel that power.

Speaking of power, Gloria can’t resist the power of Tony’s raw, animal sexuality, even at the zoo, when he’s surrounded by gorillas with the exact same posture and body type. Can Tony resist the urge to recognize his mother’s traits in Gloria?

Resist the urge to break stuff long enough to listen and leave a five star review on Apple Podcasts. (-written by Brent Flyberg)

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There aren’t many teams that are the right mix of desperate to make the playoffs and flexible roster-wise in order to conceivably pull off a trade for Russell Westbrook, but one is the New York Knicks, and multiple reports on Friday suggested the Knicks’ interest in Westbrook is legit.

It was first indicated by Jonathan Macri, an independent Knicks reporter, in his Knicks Film School newsletter, who wrote Friday morning that New York was exploring a package centered around Julius Randle and multiple draft picks (the Knicks also have a couple Dallas first-round picks remaining from the Kristaps Porzingis trade).

The deal, according to Macri, hinged on Houston accepting a deal that did not include any of the Knicks’ premier young players or the eighth overall pick next week.

That reporting was backed up later in the day by Marc Stein of the New York Times, who said the Knicks have “weighed” a deal for Westbrook, and that the Rockets would be amenable too it so long as they were not taking back equally exorbitant salaries in return, which the Knicks don’t really have.

This pathway works for New York because the team can create tens of millions of dollars in cap room if they decline team options for Bobby Portis, Wayne Ellington, and Taj Gibson, in addition to potentially cutting Elfrid Payton. If the Knicks can avoid giving up players like R.J. Barrett or Mitchell Robinson, the decision would likely come down to basically if New York is willing to give up some late first-round picks and consolidate its spending on Westbrook rather than the few players it signed last summer who now have team options.

The height of 3OH!3’s popularity was around 2008, when the single “Don’t Trust Me” became a duo’s first top-10 hit, with their second, the Kesha-featuring “My First Kiss,” following in 2010. The group has periodically put out albums since then, with their most recent, Night Sports, dropping in 2016. Now it’s 2020 and they’re back, joining forces with 100 Gecs for their first new single in four years, Lonely Machines.

The electronic tune opens with lyrics that brings back feelings of 3OH!3’s heyday: “You’re lookin’ cute with that gap in your teeth / Jean jacket with the t-shirt underneath / You tell your boyfriend if he still got beef / That over time, it’s gonna give him heart disease.” 100 Gecs’ Laura Les also offers a distorted verse.

In an interview from August 2019, Les showed love for 3OH!3, saying, “I used to be such a big 3OH!3 fan and then I think for two years maybe, I was like, ‘Man, 3OH!3’s not cool, that’s just whatever.’ And now [I] just went to go see them a few months ago when they came back around. I was like, ‘This is this sh*t, why the f*ck would I ever say that 3OH!3 was not the sickest?’ I think if [1000 Gecs] helps people rediscover some sh*t that they liked at one time and then thought that they didn’t, and they listen to our album and they’re like, ‘Man, I love Skrillex,’ I’m not disappointed with that reaction. If it gives them a reminder that dubstep is cool, then I’m happy with that.”

Listen to “Lonely Machines” above.

A truly bizarre report popped up on Thursday afternoon. According to J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star, Victor Oladipo would say something to the extent of “can I come play with y’all?” to players on other teams, in front of his teammates, with individuals on the Heat, Knicks, and Reports being the team that got this request.

Oladipo had been quiet on this front in the immediate aftermath of the report, but on Friday afternoon, that changed. Oladipo spoke to Shams Charania of The Athletic and stated that this report is not true, and he’d like to stay in Indiana.

“I know there have been people saying that I have asked players to trade for me,” Oladipo said. “That’s just not true, period. I love my teammates, I cherish the state of Indiana and I’m focused on leading this franchise to a title.”

Last season was a weird one for Oladipo, who worked his way back from a quadriceps tear and never fully looked like himself. That was particularly the case in the NBA’s Orlando Bubble, which he had originally planned to sit out but reversed course. On the year, Oladipo averaged 14.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 0.9 steals in 27.8 minutes per game. As an added wrinkle, he is an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season.

In 2018, it was announced that Ryan Reynolds would produce Stoned Alone, a pot-heavy riff on Home Alone about a “twenty-something weed-growing loser who misses the plane for his holiday ski trip. He makes the best of things by getting high.” That could be the feel-good ending (it’s the Quibi of movies!), but there’s more: “Paranoia sets in and he believes he hears someone break into his house. Turns out thieves have broken in. Fully stoned and fueled by paranoia, he tries to thwart the thieves and defend his castle.” Stoned Alone — which somehow wasn’t written by Seth Rogen — isn’t officially part of the MCU (McCallister Cinematic Universe), unless Macaulay Culkin shows up in the third act with a bong ex machina, but it’s obviously inspired by the Christmas classic. Home Alone director Christopher Columbus isn’t amused by the connection.

“The reboots are just silly to me,” Columbus, who also directed Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, told the Independent. “When I read about something called Stoned Alone, they were going to do with Ryan – it was an R-rated Home Alone movie about stoners – I thought to myself, ‘This is just an insult to the art of cinema.’ If you’re making a comedy, a musical, no matter what film I’m making, my goal is to treat it with the same respect as if I was making The Godfather. Home Alone is not The Godfather, but you have to treat it with that kind of respect and this idea of remaking things that already exist and are working well? Watch the original! Forget about it. It’s just never going to be as good.”

Sounds like someone needs to chill. If only there was a way to do that.

Look, I will never say anything bad about Columbus, because he wrote Gremlins and Gremlins is one of the greatest films of all-time; he also directed the first two Harry Potter movies. But his complaints are peculiar. It’s not like Stoned Alone is a Home Alone sequel, something like Home Alone 6: Kevin Is a Dirtbag Stoner Who Listens to Umphrey’s McGee Now. It’s a parody, like Scary Movie was to Scream. Besides, if we’re talking insults to cinema, you can find a big one down the hall and to the left in Home Alone 2.

If you feel like watching Home Alone before it gets Deadpool’d, it’s on Disney+.

Kanye West and Lil Wayne have left bad tastes in some of their fellow rappers’ mouths this year with their political leanings. However, 2 Chainz, who has frequently worked with both artists, has decided to not let that affect his relationships with them, as he said during a Breakfast Club interview.

Charlamagne Tha God asked how Kanye and Wayne felt about 2 Chainz supporting Joe Biden during the election, and he replied:

“You know, I don’t know. They’re not my partners based on their political preference or their thoughts. They’re my partners because of who they is. They’re my partners because of our relationship, what we’ve built over time. So whatever Wayne decides, he’s a whole grown man with kids. I’m not going to stop talking to him. Whatever Ye go through — the thing about me, I think I take pride in is my relationships aren’t industry-based. I don’t have to ever do another song with either one of these cats. We still gonna have a rapport. We still gonna have a relationship. I saw it happen, but these folks grown. You’ll have to ask them what their angle was and what their beliefs was.”

Check out the full conversation above, with the talk about Kanye and Wayne starting at about 16:48 into the video.

In a pair of moves announced Friday, the Miami Heat will retain one instrumental part of their renowned culture and bring back someone who once played for the franchise and whom they likely hope will bolster that culture further.

Initially it was Udonis Haslem, who at a local community event announced he would be returning to the NBA for his 18th season, all of which have been played with the Heat. Haslem has long been thought of in Miami as almost an extra assistant coach, a player who brings far more as a locker room leader and workout partner these days, as he’s no longer really a part of head coach Erik Spoelstra’s playing rotation.

“I have to do these things in order to move the needle from a perspective of a guy that’s actually not getting minutes,” Haslem said.

The more surprising news came later in the day when Miami announced it would hire longtime NBA veteran Caron Butler, who was back in the headlines this summer hosting a digital series for the NBA and taking the lead in many of its social justice initiatives in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis.

Butler played for the Heat for the first two seasons of his career from 2002-04 alongside Haslem.

Though Butler has not been on a coaching staff since retiring in 2016, the 2011 NBA champion is widely respected around the NBA and, like Haslem, a thoughtful and hard-working guy who made it work in the league for a long time despite not possessing typical NBA athleticism or star power.

As Miami gears up for another potential title run, they’re doubling down on the culture that’s long made them such a force in the league.

As the results of the 2020 presidential election continue to solidify a resounding victory for Joe Biden, Donald Trump has still refused to concede the election or cease his ongoing efforts to question its legitimacy. The situation has reached a critical point where Republicans are starting to break ranks and cautiously call for Trump to concede, but it’s not going well. However, Fox News personality Geraldo Rivera claims to have made progress during a recent phone call with Trump, but Rivera’s description of the conversation is already spurring an avalanche of reactions.

“Just had heartfelt phone call w friend @realDonaldTrump who said he’s a ‘realist’ who’ll do the ‘right thing,’” Rivera tweeted. “But he wants to see ‘what states do in terms of certifiction (etc)’ He sounded committed to fighting for every vote & if he loses, talking more about all he’s accomplished.”

If seeing the words “heartfelt” and “Donald Trump” jumped out at you, you’re not alone. Twitter quickly had a field day with Rivera’s tweet as people found it hard to square Trump being “heartfelt” as he continues to ignore surging coronavirus rates and obsess over the election instead.

And, of course, it wouldn’t be a Geraldo moment without mentioning Al Capone’s vault:

While Geraldo may be pushing the idea that Trump will eventually do the right thing, Trump fired off this bad boy around the same time as Rivera’s heartfelt tweet, and it’s really not helping his case:

That doesn’t sound like a “realist” who’s moments away accepting the election results anytime soon. Maybe go get a mustache wax, Geraldo. Sit this one out.

(Via Geraldo Rivera on Twitter)

For female rappers, wardrobe malfunctions are always a concern thanks to their often-skimpy ensembles and admittedly sexy dance routines but in recent years, that risk has increased due to the prevalence of social media and phone cameras — especially for those who use services like Instagram to interact with fans with their guard let down. Cardi B recently accidentally posted an intimate photo on IG, prompting fans to create the #BoobsOutForCardi hashtag on Twitter to defend her from cruel comments about her breasts (specifically, her areolas).

Those fans may need to revamp that hashtag for one of Cardi’s “Twerk” collaborators next. JT of City Girls was recently on a live stream with fans when she leaned over searching for a remote controller in her house. The action caused her top to shift and when she turned back to the camera, fans got an eyeful of her nipple, which had popped out to say “hi.” However, JT — who, along with her partner-in-rhyme Yung Miami, is a strip club veteran — was unfazed by the nipple slip, joking with her fans: “It’s always the nip slip. I don’t even care no more. It’s like… bitch. Y’all see it or y’all don’t.”

Considering some of the risque outfits she’s worn for performances in the past, it’s not even technically the first time most of us have seen it, so her cavalier attitude makes sense. Besides, she’s in good company; Nicki Minaj once had a boob pop out on Good Morning America, which gets a lot more views than the average Instagram Live stream, and other rappers, like Kash Doll, have had similar incidents. In fact, some have even turned to OnlyFans to generate revenue during quarantine — including many male rappers like Tyga. Naturally, fans are still having a field day on Twitter, with memes and the usual shenanigans celebrating the unusual achievement.

If nothing else, it’ll be a great promotion for City Girls’ “P*ssy Talk” remix with Jack Harlow, Lil Wayne, and Quavo, which you can check out here.

When Miley Cyrus announced her new album Plastic Hearts last month, that news didn’t come with a tracklist. She has shared that now, though, and aside from herself, there’s some firepower on the album. Cyrus will be mostly solo on the album, but she will be accompanied by Dua Lipa on “Prisoner,” by Billy Idol on “Night Crawling,” and by Joan Jett on “Bad Karma.”

Cyrus spoke at Jett’s Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction in 2015. She also offered praise for Jett while speaking about Stevie Nicks on The Tonight Show recently, saying, “You ask me about new artists and what my advice would be for them, and one thing that I’ve just learned from [Nicks], from Dolly, Joan, all in the same, is that they’re so open and welcoming to the younger artists coming up and they offer their mentorship. It’s just been really incredibly important in my career, having someone like her to look up to. Everyone looks up to Stevie Nicks, but having that direct relationship, it’s been kind of life-changing and just so important.”

Check out the tracklist below.

1. “WTF Do I Know”
2. “Plastic Hearts”
3. “Angels Like You”
4. “Prisoner” Feat. Dua Lipa
5. “Gimme What I Want”
6. “Night Crawling” Feat. Billy Idol
7. “Midnight Sky”
8. “High”
9. “Hate Me”
10. “Bad Karma” Feat. Joan Jett
11. “Never Be Me”
12. “Golden G String”

Plastic Hearts is out 11/27 via RCA. Pre-order it here.

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