Month: July 2021

Chris Meloni’s Law & Order: Organized Crime spinoff — the return of Elliot Stabler to the Dick Wolf-created universe after a decade away — turned out to be a runaway hit. That was no surprise, given Stabler’s enormous popularity and how well the spinoff dragged him while incrementally dismantling those good-ol’-boy tendencies that won’t (and can’t) fly with cops on TV anymore. And she show scored a swift renewal for Season 2 while Law & Order: SVU keeps on cranking after 21 seasons, and now we’re getting Meloni guest appearances there, too. It’s all good, but there was the lingering question of whether Dylan McDermott, who portrayed what many fans called the greatest Law & Order villain of the franchise, would be back.

McDermott had a fabulous time as mafia-brat antagonist Wheatley, a Bond-baddie-esque character who uses a Dippin Dots’-imitator company as a front for his crime. He’ll kill anyone at the blink of an eye (or maybe trap someone in his cage/wine cellar), but his most nefarious scene included him wielding an octopus as an intimidation tool. It’s a delightfully chilling turn from McDermott, who generally doesn’t have much fun with his intense-yet-stiff roles that likely fill his wallet but (and I’m guessing here) not his soul. Perhaps that’s why he’s been tweeting (and retweeting) up a storm ever since the season finale, when Wheatley was put behind bars for his role in Stabler’s wife’s murder. Whether or not he’d be back looked to be up in the air, but McDermott clearly wanted another shot (as he even declared on Twitter) and kept on going:

Well, good news. Even though Wheatley’s behind bars, that may not last for long? McDermott’s been signed for a “major recurring arc” for the coming season, and it sounds like he’s getting handsomely paid. Via Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva:

McDermott originally signed on as a series regular with a one-year deal to play Stabler’s (Meloni) Season 1 nemesis. His character was so well received by fans that NBC and Wolf approached The Practice alum about coming back. After negotiations, I hear McDermott has committed to return for eight episodes of Season 2 in what is believed to be one of the most lucrative guest-star deals on network television.

Will there be more cephalopod scenes in Wheatley’s future? Only time will tell, but if they ever decide (god forbid) to kill him off, he’ll need to go out like this:

(Via Deadline)

Veteran rap producer The Alchemist stoked the fires of anticipation in rap fans for his rumored joint project with Vince Staples after he tweeted his refutation of the Long Beach rapper’s claims that he takes “hella long” to complete work. Vince himself sparked the rumors when he appeared on Ebro’s Apple Music Radio show to make the claim that he recorded “30 verses on 30 beats” during a smoked-out session with Alchemist and Earl Sweatshirt. Vince said he got tired of waiting, so he recorded Vince Staples with Kenny Beats in the meantime.

However, Alchemist told fans Vince is “full of sh*t” today on Twitter. “I’ve had a finished 6 song EP with JUST HIM for over 3 months!!” he insisted. “MIXED! Plus mad songs with him and Thebe.” Alchemist has been known to send Rap Twitter into frenzies in the past, such as when he suggested he and Earl hid a joint album on YouTube under a fake name.

Of course, Vince was rumored to be releasing multiple projects this year, so it’s entirely possible that this was always going to be the second project and this back-and-forth is just their elaborate way of promoting it (weirder things have happened). Either way, rap fans who were already champing at the bit to hear more are now absolutely ecstatic to learn that the sessions Vince mentioned had possibly born fruit.

Now that this tidbit has been revealed, I guess we’ll have to see if Earl chimes in to make his own outrageous claim, at which point Rap Twitter might simply implode. If nothing else, this whole episode proves that rap in 2021 has been more fun than ever.

Everyone loves that moment in a movie when a bully gets his comeuppance, which explains why millions people have watched the viral video of Fox News host and scourge on humanity Tucker Carlson being confronted by a customer in a fly fishing store in Montana and being told, “You are the worst human being known to man.”

Now, in what is clearly a case of l’esprit d’escalier (the term for when you think of the perfect comeback after the fact, which literally translates to “staircase wit”), Carlson is talking up a good game of what he would’ve done to the so-called “Montana Man” had cameras not been rolling. As Mediaite notes, Carlson joined a handful of his Fox News playmates to appear on The Five when the topic of his recent face-off came up.

“I find it very frustrating that adult men are now becoming like mean girls,” co-host Greg Gutfeld not-so-wisely observed. “He could have come up to you and actually expressed himself and you could have had a conversation. But he couldn’t do that without someone filming it, because he knew if he had someone to film it that would impact your response, which, as a wise person in the media, you know that.”

First off: It’s funny that anyone thinks Carlson would or could ever have “a conversation” with someone, as his understanding of the concept seems to be shouting into the void with no rules or any factual basis for the damaging lies he spews. Which is exactly what Montana Man was complaining about. Even more amusing was Carlson’s response, which was essentially the wimpiest “Why I outta…” ever uttered:

“Hassling me in front of my kids? I mean, I had some dark thoughts which I’m not going to articulate here. Leaving me totally out of it, the bigger problem is the Mountain states are completely invaded by the people who destroyed California. What’s so interesting is they’re the exact same people who lecture you day and night about diversity, and it’s so important, and that you’re a racist and etc. And then they run to Montana — they literally run to the hills away from diversity. The hills greatly suffer when they do that. I will leave it there.”

Not exactly the most cogent of responses, but hey, what can one expect from the worst human being known to man? You can watch the full clip, beginning around the 25-minute mark, below.

(Via Mediate)

Miley Cyrus has gone through distinct stylistic phases in her career, trying on different musical identities with each album. The Bangerz era was pop/R&B/hip-hop, Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz was experimental/psychedelic, Younger Now was country/pop-rock, and now we’re at Plastic Hearts, which is rock/synth-pop. Here in the Plastic Hearts era, Cyrus has become known for her rock covers and reverence for previous generations of artists. That was on full display during her Lollapalooza set last night, which featured a bevy of covers and guest appearances.

Her 26-song set (as setlist.fm notes) began with “We Can’t Stop” before moving into a cover of Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?.” From there, she sprinkled other covers throughout the set, including Blondie’s “Heart Of Glass,” Cher’s “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down),” Temple Of The Dog’s “Say Hello 2 Heaven,” and Sinéad O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.” Most notable, she was joined by Billy Idol and they performed a couple of his songs together, “Night Crawling” and “White Wedding.”

Speaking of guests, aside from Idol, Cyrus also at various points had on stage G Herbo (to perform “Love Money Party”), Wiz Khalifa and Juicy J (“32”), and The Kid Laroi (“Without You”).

Cyrus posted some clips and photos from the performance and from around the festival, so check those out below, as well as some other videos from the show.

By this point, we all know the story of James Gunn getting fired by Marvel in the summer of 2018 after angry right-wingers dug up a series of offensive tweets (that he’d already apologized for years before) and managed to create enough of a social media stir that Disney had him axed from directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Granted, Gunn and Marvel patched things up, and by March 2019, he was reinstated, but in that between time, Gunn had crossed the street to DC Comics where he signed on for The Suicide Squad.

What most people don’t know is how quickly Warner Bros. (DC Comics’ parent company) moved to snatch up Gunn, and according to The Suicide Squad producer Peter Safran, it was barely 72 hours after he’d been dropped by Marvel. Here’s what Safran told the Hero Nation Podcast via Comic Book:

“It came along because, truly, the Monday after James Gunn was fired by Marvel — on the Friday or the Thursday before — I ran into [Warner Bros. Pictures Group Chairman] Toby Emmerich at the Warner Bros. gym. I ran into him there and he said, ‘Hey, tell James that we love him. We love James. Whatever he wants to do, we want to do it here — whether it’s DC or otherwise, we want to work with him.’”

“And so I went to James, I talked about a couple different properties, but I really pitched him hard on The Suicide Squad because I thought that nobody puts together a disparate group of renegades and sends them on a mission better than James Gunn,” Safran said.

One of those properties was Superman, which Gunn ultimately passed on, but he didn’t land on The Suicide Squad immediately. While talking to Uproxx‘s Mike Ryan, Gunn revealed that he was trying to decide between the supervillain film and another DC project. “And I was writing those. And The Suicide Squad was just the one that began to sing,” Gunn said. As for what that other DC project was, good luck getting Gunn to tell you, because he ain’t talking.

The Suicide Squad hits theaters and HBO Max on August 6.

(Via Hero Nation Podcast)

DaBaby may see himself as the victim of a witch hunt this week after his call to action at Rolling Loud was “taken out of context,” but that hasn’t stopped his peers in the music business from doing their best to educate him on why his comments were wrong.

His “Levitating” collaborator Dua Lipa was “surprised and horrified” while some radio stations have taken to playing the rap-less version of the song, Questlove called him out only to have DaBaby lie in the whole internet’s face about knowing who he is, and even Sir Elton John chimed in to try to provide some clearly much-needed education on HIV/AIDS.

In the spirit of that education, the latest voice to join the chorus belongs to another pop icon, Madonna, who posted her own response to Instagram in an effort to inform the North Carolina rapper why his remark about HIV/AIDS killing people in “two to three weeks” was wildly off the mark.

“A message to DaBaby,” she wrote. “If you’re going to make hateful remarks to the LGBTQ+ community about HIV/AIDS then know your facts.” She provided some of those facts, which you can read below.

After decades of hard won scientific research, there are life saving medicines available to children born with HIV, to people who contract HIV through blood transfusions, dirty needles, or exchange of bodily fluids.

These new [antiretroviral drugs] can keep a person with AIDS alive for the rest of their lives!!! AIDS is not transmitted by standing next to someone in a crowd. I want to put my cellphone lighter up and pray for your ignorance. No one dies of AIDS in 2 or 3 weeks anymore. Thank God.

And your sexist remarks about Ladies whose pussies need to smell like water only encourage more discrimination against women who fight daily against the oppression of living under the constraints of the Male Gaze.

People like you are the reason we are still living in a world divided by fear. All Human beings should be treated with dignity and respect regardless of race, gender, sexual preference or religious beliefs. AMEN.

While the odds DaBaby knows (or cares) who Madonna is are about the same as the ones for him knowing Elton John or Questlove, considering his adverse reaction to Quest’s message, he probably won’t take hers any better.

Anybody who thought the vinyl resurgence was just a fad was mistaken: The industry has experienced a legitimate revival. As a result, music fans are interested in physical media in ways they may not have if the decades-old medium hasn’t made a comeback. That doesn’t mean everybody is listening to just their parents’ old music, though. That’s part of it, sure, thanks to rereleases that present classic albums in new ways. A vital part of the renewed vinyl wave, though, is new projects being released as records, of which there are plenty.

Whatever you might be into, each month brings a new slew of vinyl releases that has something for everybody. Some stand out above the rest, naturally, so check out some of our favorite vinyl releases of July below.

Various Artists — Bills & Aches & Blues

To celebrate 40 years of being fine music purveyors, 4AD has put out a compilation featuring artists covering songs from throughout their history. They secured quite the roster, too, as the album includes Big Thief, Future Islands, Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox, US Girls, Aldous Harding, Tine-Yards, Jenny Hval, and Helado Negro, among others.

Get it here.

2Pac — Until The End Of Time (20th Anniversary Reissue)

For the first time in 20 years, Tupac’s multi-Platinum album Until The End Of Time is available on high-quality, 180-gram audiophile vinyl. This 4-LP release is pressed on bone-colored vinyl and it comes with a four-page folio book that features previously unseen photos and a handwritten tracklist from Tupac himself.

Get it here.

The Mars Volta — De-Loused In The Comatorium (Reissue)

The Mars Volta dropped their expansive, career-spanning La Realidad De Los Sueños box set earlier this year, but now they’re offering an option for folks who want to pick up albums from their discography individually. They started the rerelease series with a reissue of Tremulant in June, and July brought De-Loused In The Comatorium, and subsequent months will bring subsequent albums.

Get it here.

Various Artists — Almost Famous: Music From The Motion Picture (Reissue)

Almost Famous is one of the more memorable music movies of the past few decades, and now the music that inspired it (as well as the original songs from the movie) are available on a gigantic vinyl collection. Aside from some classic tunes, among the 103 total tracks are dozens of unreleased songs and exclusive new versions of songs you already know.

Get it here.

The Beach Boys — Feel Flows: The Sunflower And Surf’s Up Sessions 1969-1971

The Beach Boys’ defining output came in the mid-’60s, but now they’re honoring a pair of their also-excellent early-’70s albums, Sunflower and Surf’s Up, with a giant new box set. There are 135 tracks in total, with 108 of them being previously unreleased tracks, live recordings, demos, alternate versions/mixes, instrumentals, and a capella tracks.

Get it here.

Bryan Ferry — These Foolish Things, Another Time, Another Place, Let’s Stick Together, In Your Mind, The Bride Stripped Bare, and Boys And Girls (Reissues)

As Roxy Music was enjoying its generation-defining success, Bryan Ferry went ahead and launched a vaunted solo career of his own. Now the first six of those albums have been re-pressed on 180-gram black vinyl and come with enhanced versions of the original artwork, overseen by Ferry himself.

Get it here.

Abbey Lincoln — It’s Magic (Reissue)

Abbey Lincoln carved out a major place in pop culture in the ’50s and ’60s, and now one of her defining albums has gotten a shiny new rerelease via the folks at Vinyl Me, Please. This edition of the 1958 album was newly remastered and it comes with a booklet of listening notes to help you fully immerse in the record. To celebrate this album, the 50th of VMPs Classics track, they held an essay contest to win every Classics album they’ve put out.

Get it here.

Dolly Parton — Coat Of Many Colors (Reissue)

Dolly Parton remains a pop culture icon today, and now one of her classic releases has been given new life with a Vinyl Me, Please reissue. It’s a lovely-looking vinyl pressing as well with its rainbow splatter coloring, and to top it off, the album has been freshly remastered, meaning this should be the best this album has ever sounded on vinyl.

Get it here.

Vince Staples — Vince Staples (Reissue)

Vince Staples fans wanted a vinyl edition of his new self-titled album, and thankfully, the rapper delivered. What wasn’t so fortunate was how limited the available quantities were, as many fans on Twitter lamented their missed opportunity to pick up the album. As for the music itself, Uproxx’s Aaron Williams said of it, “Clocking in at a truly breezy 22 minutes and with two interludes among its 10 tracks, it’s an even quicker listen than FM! — yet, due to its comforting sonic palette, it feels more cozy than disappointing, prompting repeat playthroughs to try and catch the witty wordplay and cushy vibes of Kenny Beats’ production.”

Get it here.

Stone Temple Pilots — Tiny Music… From The Vatican Gift Shop (Super Deluxe Edition)

Stone Temple Pilots’ adventurous third album is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, so the band has re-issued it with a bunch of goodies. Aside from the remastered original album, it has been expanded with unreleased studio and live recordings, which include early versions, instrumentals, and alternate takes.

Get it here.

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

The Green Knight is one of the year’s best reviewed movies. It’s also one of the year’s sexiest movies. It might sound weird to describe a fantasy film based on a 14th-century story about a would-be knight and his CGI fox sidekick trying to kill a tree-monster that way, but did I mention The Green Knight stars Dev Patel? Now you understand.

“He’s incredibly appealing in every sense of the word and yes, he’s incredibly sexy. I see no shame in wanting to capture that,” director David Lowery (A Ghost Story) told USA Today about his decision to cast Patel as Sir Gawain. “I was like, ‘I want to see Dev looking as beautiful as he is onscreen and I don’t want to shy away from that.’ He has such a nobility to him that hasn’t been utilized in films because he’s such an affable actor who’s so quick to break into this boyish smile. It’s what made everyone fall in love with him, but in addition to that, there’s severity to him that’s really captivating.”

A24 has played up Patel’s attractiveness on social media with tweets like “you can call him Sir” and posters reading “Hot Summer Knights” and “Round Table’s Hottest Bachelor,” which the Academy Award nominee calls “very sweet. [In the movie], you just see me quite miserable and cold and muddy. Those gorgeous costumes by Malgosia [Turzanska] – I think anyone would have looked regal and awesome in that stuff.”

There are two foxes in The Green Knight: an actual fox and Dev Patel.

(Via USA Today)

After landing a guest host gig on a wave of public support that hopes to see him become Alex Trebek’s successor, LeVar Burton is wrapping up his Jeopardy! stint by bringing in an impressive haul for his charity of choice: Reading is Fundamental. According to a press release from Sony Pictures Television, the classic game show has now surpassed over $2.5 million in charitable donations after Burton’s guest host gig earned $204,800 for the literacy organization.

A lifelong children’s literacy advocate, Burton selected Reading Is Fundamental to receive this contribution. Reading Is Fundamental is committed to a literate America by inspiring a passion for reading among all children, providing quality content to make an impact and engaging communities in the solution to give every child the fundamentals for success. As the nation’s largest children’s literacy non-profit, Reading Is Fundamental maximizes every contribution to ensure all children have the ability to read and succeed.

After graciously thanking fans for starting a petition to make him the next Jeopardy! host, Burton made a noticeable shift in April when he started leaning into the fan campaign back in April. To the delight of supporters, the former Reading Rainbow host was really going for it, and fans couldn’t be more thrilled when Burton got his chance at the podium.

Although, it wasn’t an entirely smooth ride. In a candid interview with the Seattle Times, he admitted that his first taping wasn’t his best, and he was thankful for his wife being straight with him about it. “Now, this is a woman who loves me enough to tell me the truth. She said it wasn’t me,” Burton said.

However, the Star Trek: The Next Generation actor found his footing by not trying to be as “smooth as Alex” and just be himself. “So that became my point of focus,” Burton revealed. “And when it did, I started having fun.”

Time flies when you’re having fun: this week marks the one-year anniversary of Indiecast! Steve and Ian kick off the new episode with reflections of their highs and lows from a year of doing the show, and take a moment to thank all of the listeners who have engaged with the show and submitted questions.

The meat of this episode has Steve and Ian revisiting the Indiecast Hall Of Fame, which is dedicated to honoring albums that are under-appreciated in the modern lexicon of indie rock. The new albums receiving honors include The Soundtrack Of Our Lives’ 2002 effort Behind The Music, Screaming Trees’ Dust, and more.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Ian is paying tribute to Joey Jordison, the late Slipknot drummer who passed away earlier this week, and reminding fans to revisit the first Slipknot album. Steve, on the other hand, is prepared to start revving the engine of the hype train around Let Me Do One More, the new album from Illuminati Hotties that isn’t due until October.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 50 on Apple Podcasts and Spotify below, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts here. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.