Month: March 2021

The FBI has been using social media to help crowdsource some of its investigations into just who stormed the US Capitol in a riot that left several people dead and shook the country at large in January. There’s a lot of “talk sh*t, get hit” style moments here, with a lot of the same people the FBI are looking for found elsewhere saying they either did nothing wrong or admitting that, yes, they were there doing treason.

But some of the isolated images have gotten bigger reactions than others, including one shared on Sunday that looked a lot like a very famous movie star: Rick Moranis.

The actor hasn’t done much work lately, but he’s certainly still remembered by many. And so when the image circulated of a man that looks a bit like him hit social media, well, it got a lot of reactions on Twitter.

Moranis, unfortunately, has been the victim of violence himself in recent months. The reclusive actor made headlines late last year when someone sucker-punched him in Manhattan during an incident that was captured on camera. That brought outrage, and eventually justice, but it would be a pretty wild leap for Moranis to go from unfortunate victim to Capitol rioter in a few short months.

Mostly, though, people just wanted to make jokes about the helmet-clad usurper looking a lot like Moranis from Honey I Shrunk The Kids.

With all the attention the post has gotten, it’s likely a matter of time before we actually know who this person is. But right now it should be made clear that it’s not Rick Moranis. No matter what goofy hat you put on him.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons was one of the few comforts for people in lockdown when the game was released last spring, and now it’s a place where Rick and Morty have also had a very weird island adventure. The two properties were officially mashed up on Saturday when Adult Swim shared a short where the cartoon characters transport themselves into a universe where raccoons with Bells control the local economy.

The short was written and directed by kyttenjanae and has some pretty interesting artistic concepts. Not only are Rick Sanchez and his grandson Morty transported into the Animal Crossing universe, but some friends show up, too. There are a few Mr. Meeseeks tending to some in-game foliage.

“After a very brutal year i wanted to make art about the games and shows that brought many of us comfort and connection,” kyttenjanae wrote when sharing the project on Instagram.

For fans of both the show and the game, it’s certainly a fun mashup that shows Morty mostly playing the game the way it’s supposed to be played while Rick is, well, Rick. There are bee chase scenes, big robots and even some lounging by the beach. It’s a bit more psychedelic than playing the real thing, but the crafting animations are absolutely spot on.

On Saturday, Verzuz made its return with a hip-hop focused battle between Wu-Tang Clan members, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah. The matchup saw fans head on a trip down memory lane through the artists’ respective catalogs, both as solo acts and with their Wu-Tang cohorts.

From Ghostface’s Supreme Clientele and Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx to Wu Tang’s 36 Chambers, viewers enjoyed the battle, which proved to be more of a collaborative affair if anything. Once the night came to an end, Verzuz returned with exciting announcements for the future.

Shortly after Raekwon and Ghostface Killah’s battle concluded, Verzuz announced a string of matchups folks can expect to see over the next couple of months. First, the platform will welcome The Isley Brothers and Earth, Wind & Fire for an exciting Easter Sunday competition on April 4.

“Time to SHOUT for the #IsleyBrothers!” Verzuz said on Instagram, referencing their 1959 debut album, Shout! Less than three weeks later, the Timbaland and Swizz Beatz-led platform will return with a battle between Redman and Method Man for a “How High” special on April 20.

As if the pair of announcements weren’t enough, Verzuz also confirmed an untitled battle on May 8, a “Mother’s Day Special” on May 9, and a “Rematch” during Memorial Day weekend. A “Ladies Night” and two additional untitled battles were also revealed, but their dates were not shared. Participants for these matchups were also withheld in the announcement.

You can read the flyer for the upcoming Verzuz nights above.

Lana Del Rey officially released her seventh album, Chemtrails Over The Country, last week. It’s an effort that her supporters spent months waiting for, but the singer wasted no time giving them another project to look forward to. On Saturday, Lana announced her eighth album, entitled Rock Candy Sweet, and revealed that it would arrive on June 1. I

n addition to the album news, the singer also shared that her goal for the album is to push back against a narrative that’s been placed on her, one that’s largely because of her own doing.

On her Instagram Story, Lana reposted a Harper’s Bazaar article titled, “Lana Del Rey Can’t Qualify Her Way Out Of Being Held Accountable,” and said, “Just want to say thank you again for the kind articles like this one and for reminding me that my career was built on cultural appropriation and glamorizing domestic abuse.” She added, “I will continue to challenge those thoughts on my next record June 1 titled Rock Candy Sweet.”

In a second post, she responded to a specific paragraph from the article that criticized her defense of the Chemtrails Over The Country artwork in which she said “I have Black friends,” as well as her comments on the January 6th insurrection. “You’re right it would have been unnecessary if no one had significantly criticized everything about the album to begin with,” she said. “But you did. And I want revenge.”

You can check out the announcement and Instagram Story posts above.

Chemtrails Over The Country is out now via Interscope. Get it here.

Next year will be a big one for AMC, as three of its biggest TV series will end their runs, The Walking Dead, Better Call Saul, and Killing Eve. AMC, meanwhile, is selling ad time for those last three series, and in an effort to earn all it can out of these departing series, Variety reports that the network is also adding a few digital original series that can air on “YouTube, IGTV, SVOD, AVOD and FAST channels” (and AMC+, no doubt).

I would not expect any of the digital series to be crucial in understanding their parent series, but they might be fun diversions that enhance the stories. One such digital spin-off will be Dead in the Water, a scripted series tying into season six of Fear the Walking Dead that “tells the story of a submarine crew fighting for survival, cut off from the surface world just as the apocalypse hits, becoming a nuclear-fueled walker-filled death trap with no way out.” That submarine will be familiar to viewers of Fear — it washed up in Galveston, Texas; Morgan has the sought-after key to it; and it bears the message, “The End is the Beginning” written on it in spray paint.

Fear showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg will produce along with Scott Gimple. Jacob Pinion, a writer on Fear who also wrote a digital tie-in last year surrounding Althea’s tapes, will script the series.

Meanwhile, AMC is also developing an animated prequel to Better Call Saul called Slippin’ Jimmy. Set many years before the events of Saul, it will be set in the home of young Jimmy and Chuck McGill in Cicero, Illinois. It is being created in the “retro style of Fat Albert” and each episode pays homage “to everything from spaghetti Westerns to Buster Keaton to After Hours.”

AMC is also developing Cooper’s Bar — about a “unique watering hole located in the backyard of one man’s bungalow” — and it comes from executive producer Rhea Seehorn, who plays Kim Wexler on Saul. She will also co-direct the digital series. Finally, the producers of Hot Ones are partnering with AMC on Run the Dish, a The Walking Dead-inspired cooking show featuring cuisines from the apocalypse.

No air dates have yet been set on any of the digital series.

(Via Variety)

“Trust me girl / You’ll wanna be high for this.” Quite the bold statement coming from someone who you couldn’t even make out in a crowd.

The lyrics from “High For This,” The Weeknd’s House Of Balloons opener, embody everything the artist stood for: drugs, dependency, and defenselessness. It’s hard to picture The Weeknd (born Abel Tesfaye) as anything but an international megastar. But upon the release of his debut mixtape, which celebrates its 10th anniversary today, he was merely a faceless enigma.

At the time, no one knew what a “The Weeknd” was. It was unclear if Drake’s right-hand producer Noah “40” Shebib was behind it after Drake’s manager Oliver El-Khatib posted a handful of The Weeknd’s songs on the OVO blog in 2010. Critics didn’t know if it was a solo act or an R&B group, and fans only saw shadowy black-and-white photos he posted during the mixtape’s rollout. Even the cover art was obscure, featuring a woman in a bathtub whose face was hidden by balloons with only her left breast exposed. All we had was a voice: a light tenor that could go from sweet to dangerous in a quick octave change. The mystery looming over his artistry is what lured listeners in.

“In the beginning, I was very insecure. I hated how I looked in pictures,” Tesfaye revealed in 2013’s career-first interview with Complex. “I was very camera shy. People like hot girls, so I put my music to hot girls and it just became a trend. The whole ‘enigmatic artist’ thing, I just ran with it. No one could find pictures of me. It reminded me of some villain shit.”

And what a villain he was. Rather than the typical monster you see in action films, House Of Balloons introduced Tesfaye as a villain who forced the gloomiest parts of your life into the spotlight.

The mixtape’s title is ironic: a balloon-filled house sparks images of carnival-like bacchanal. But it compared despair to a straggler that simply won’t leave the party. The Weeknd’s music was as captivating as it was chilling, as he utilized his Michael Jackson-inspired falsetto to reveal a revolving door of emotionless sexual escapades that were often brought on by drug binges.

The general public was introduced to The Weeknd when he packaged his 2011 mixtapes (House Of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes Of Silence) into the major-label Trilogy re-release the following year. But listening to the House Of Balloons mixtape is the only way to ingest its authenticity (he’s since tweeted the original release with its intended mixes and samples will be on all streaming platforms on Sunday).

Aaliyah’s “Rock The Boat” sample that opens “What You Need” adds to its seductive allure as Tesfaye puts on his dirty macking best. The ending of “The Knowing” is more explosive as he confronts both his and his girl’s infidelities. The singer shares his adoration for dream-pop duo Beach House, as their 2008 song “Gila” is the base for the uncharacteristically heavenly “Loft Music” and “The Party & After Party” samples 2006’s “Master Of None.”

“The Party & After Party” is a nearly eight-minute-long opus, with The Weeknd promising that he’ll provide his girl with an endless supply of cocaine and sex. The track turns sadder and more manipulative in the second half. “Gimme right attention or I’ll start drowning from my wrist,” he mutters. It’s a bleak moment that reveals just how dependent he is.

And of course, there’s the definitive trio: “High For This”, “Wicked Games” and “House Of Balloons / Glass Table Girls.” The heart-stopping production of “High For This” isn’t as glossy as the re-released version, with the singer handholding a fearful lover into a world filled with drugs. “Wicked Games” (no relation to Chris Isaak’s 1989 hit) is him at his most vulnerable and sleaziest. Sex is a transactional tool to mask shame, trading it for a baseless promise of fame.

“House Of Balloons / Glass Table Girls,” which has since become The Weeknd’s signature song, is the mixtape’s highlight. This mix is actually glitchier than the mastered version; laid atop a heavy sample of Siouxsie And The Banshees’ 1980 single “Happy House,” “House Of Balloons” is chaotic in its debauchery. It’s peak euphoria that is accented by the rattling bassline, needle-sharp synths, and that hair-raising falsetto. The rapid comedown occurs on “Glass Table Girls” as the singer darkly urges girls to test out the 707 glass tabletops. His creepy advances are bolstered by woozy bassline and chopped & screwed vocals. Singing about drugs isn’t new in music, yet The Weeknd personalizes it with self-deprecation as he shamefully reveals predatory instincts.

House Of Balloons is frightening in its relatability. It forced listeners to confront the loneliness they feel after realizing partying is the only thing that sustains them. There’s no joy in watching the sunrise on the loft’s rooftop. Rather, its harsh sunlight calls attention to bloodshot eyes, a parched mouth following endless rounds of alcohol, a red nose caked with residue, and overall desperation. I can say this all because I was just as reckless. Being only a year younger than Tesfaye, we had parallel coming-of-age experiences: dabbling in similar substances, using all-night college parties as escapism from depression, and ultimately sought comfort in a mixtape that targeted a shared despondency.

The mixtape reflected a doomed generation who grew up with films like Kids, Trainspotting, Requiem For A Dream, and A Clockwork Orange. We didn’t want to be seen. Like Tesfaye, we hid our faces behind Tumblr photos that showed both a brilliant, snarky sense of humor and a not-so-subtle cry for help.

“It definitely changed the culture. No one can do a trilogy again without thanking The Weeknd,” he told Rolling Stone of the mixtape’s impact in 2015. “A lot of artists started doing things faster and quicker after that: Justin Timberlake dropped two albums in a year, Beyoncé dropped a surprise album. I’m not gonna say any names, but just listen to the radio. Every song is House Of Balloons 2.0.”

It’s partly true, as House Of Balloons and its follow-ups found mostly white critics who previously shunned R&B all of a sudden praising it. They dubbed it “PBR&B”, a nod to the inexpensive beer often drank by hipsters. But the movement surrounding The Weeknd and counterparts like Frank Ocean, FKA Twigs, Miguel, and Tinashe surpassed whatever trend critics wanted to brand it as. It sparked a refreshing sonic shift in R&B that called back to the experimentation seen during the late ‘90s neo-soul era and the peaks of Prince, Janet, and Michael Jackson’s careers.

Artists like H.E.R., PARTYNEXTDOOR, and DVSN (the latter two signed with Drake’s OVO Records) were shrouded in similar mystery as Tesfaye, while frequent collaborator Future exposed his dark battle with drug use. Even Drake got into the mix, with Tesfaye’s credits sprinkled atop a murkier-sounding Take Care at the end of 2011 (he later revealed “Crew Love,” “Shot for Me,” and “The Ride” were supposed to be on House Of Balloons). And just last year, The Weeknd sparked controversy after claiming Usher’s 2012 “Climax” single ripped his early sound. He later clarified while co-producer Diplo acknowledged the influence. “When I heard those early records they blew my mind,” he tweeted. “Soulful in their silences, and a spacey iconic voice that felt uniquely internet. The idea of R&B having dark edges was what I wanted to bring to Usher.”

The Weeknd’s career trajectory is absolutely bonkers. There have been more sinister moments pre-crossover fame (Echoes Of Silence’s terrifyingly coercive “XO/The Host” and the nightmarish “Initiation” that alludes to gang-rape, and the John Carpenter-inspired screams on 2013’s Kiss Land title track). But he’s now a bonafide pop star; he was Oscar-nominated for 2015’s “Earned It,” won three Grammys, he teamed with pop masters Max Martin and Daft Punk, he has five chart-topping singles, he had a Super Bowl halftime show (he tributed “House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls”), and his recent single “Blinding Lights” made history was the first song to spend a year on Billboard’s Hot 100 top ten.

But the remnants of House Of Balloons haven’t dissipated, from haunting singles like “The Hills” and “Party Monster” and the entirety of 2018’s bleak My Dear Melancholy to his continued work with the mixtape’s original producers Illangelo and Martin “Doc” McKinney. There are still broken pieces to Tesfaye. But he’s now learned how to piece them all together.

The Texas Longhorns are dancing no more. In the final game in the opening round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, No. 14 Abilene Christian went blow-for-blow with the No. 3 Longhorns, and thanks to one of the most inspired defensive efforts you’ll ever see, managed to come out on top at the very end. When the dust settled after Wildcat forward Joe Pleasant hit a pair of cold-blooded free throws, ACU picked up a 53-52 win.

The story of the game was how Abilene Christian, which came into the game tops in the nation at turnover percentage, taking the ball away from Texas over at will. In a scene reminiscent of Longhorns coach Shaka Smart making the Final Four with VCU behind his “havoc” defense, ACU forced 23 Longhorns turnovers over the course of the game. That, combined with the Wildcats absolutely mauling UT on the boards (they had 20 offensive rebounds compared to Texas’ five), meant that even though they went 20-for-67 from the field, the Longhorns just got up so few shots (18-for-40) that it did not matter.

Still, Texas was right there at the end. Battle-tested guard Andrew Jones got a look to put his team ahead in the game’s waning moments, and his shot could not have been more pure.

On the ensuing possession, an attempted layup by ACU’s Reggie Miller went horribly awry, but the ball fell into the hands of Pleasant, who was fouled with 1.2 seconds left.

Pleasant, a 58.5 percent shooter, made them both, and after Texas’ hopes of a miracle went awry, Abilene Christian picked up its first NCAA Tournament win in program history over the university that runs its state.

To celebrate, one Wildcat threw up a Horns Down, which will certainly go over well in the greater-Austin area.

The win was historic in that it marks the first time in Tournament history that four teams seeded 13th or higher will advance to the second round. Abilene Christian will play next on Monday, when they’ll take on the UCLA Bruins.

Tenet became the film of the pandemic over the course of 2020, for better or worse. Christopher Nolan’s insistence that the film debut in theaters saw it delayed several times over the course of the year, finally seeing the dark of theaters (the ones that were open, anyway) in the fall in the United States. After all that waiting, the actual film saw a mixed bag of reviews and left many of those who made their masks smell like popcorn a bit, well, confused about what actually happened in the film.

For those that may not have seen it, or need another run at the movie to figure things out, HBO Max delivered some good news. The streaming platform’s Twitter account shared on Saturday that Tenet would finally come to HBO Max on May 1.

The news came with a trailer for the movie, which after all those delays is actually a good reminder for some what Tenet even is about. And though it’s a movie that was supposed to arrive nearly a year after the announcement, the news is significant. Nolan was insistent that the movie not debut with a streaming element, pushing for a theatrical run against all odds. But the time has finally come for the film to join the rest of the Warners new movie lineup on HBO Max.

If anything, the news offers even more weird ways to watch Tenet on various devices that would require a lot less work than putting the movie on five Game Boy Advance cartridges.

The Los Angeles Lakers won’t have LeBron James for a while, as the team’s do-everything forward is out indefinitely due to a high ankle sprain he suffered on Saturday afternoon against the Atlanta Hawks. While chasing after a loose ball, Hawks forward Solomon Hill landed on James’ leg, and the reigning NBA Finals MVP went down in pain.

After the game, Hill was called out by two of of James’ teammates. Lakers forward Montrezl Harrell and guard Dennis Schröder both spoke to the media after the game and accused Hill of not making a normal basketball play when James went down.

“A guy dove for a loose ball, took his leg out from up under him,” Harrell said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “I really don’t feel like it was one of those loose-ball plays. He had to go through his leg to get the ball, man. He was turned sideways. The ball was behind him. I mean, you’re jumping at an angle, going across this way, I mean, I don’t know how you feel that’s a loose ball.”

Schröder shared this sentiment, calling it an “unnecessary play.” In response to all of this, Hill took to his Twitter account and made clear that his intention was not to hurt James, saying that doing so would be disrespecting the game.

The Hawks would go on to beat the Lakers, 99-94.

Zack Snyder’s four-hour Justice League cut finally hit HBO Max this week, and perhaps it’s the length of the film itself that’s delayed some reactions to what’s inside the reimagined superhero team-up. There are some big differences in the film, starting with a much more robust role and backstory for Cyborg. But that’s just the start of the changes for the R-rated film. And interestingly, one of the biggest fan reactions online was to the movie’s big bad, Steppenwolf.

Sure, he’s only one of the bad guys in the movie, with Darkseid looming large over everything in the Justice League universe. But he’s the one doing all of the work, searching the globe for the motherboxes he needs to be redeemed among his marauding conqueror brethren.

His new look in the Snyder Cut initially drew a lot of jokes when we first got a look at him last year. But after four hours of battling and anguish (mild spoilers ahead), people had a much different read on the character. A lot of people, well, thought he looked kind of adorable.

A mashup of Steppenwolf from the new cut even got the fancam treatment.

Fans actually felt bad that Steppenwolf tried very hard to keep up his end of the bargain and find redemption, only to not get much help from the other bad guys in the movie.

Some fans even pitched that Steppenwolf was the real hero of the Snyder Cut.

Whether that’s a bit too far is all your call, of course. But there’s a lot of movie there, so it’s no surprise that there are plenty of different interpretations of it all when you finally see it.