Month: August 2021

After starting off the day with a cryptic teaser video from Taylor Swift, her eagle-eyed fans were quick to discover that Phoebe Bridgers was going to be one of the surprise guests on the re-recorded version of Red that Swift is dropping this fall. But she actually shared even more than that a few hours later, previewing some of the best-known songs on her Instagram story — new versions, obviously. Check out snippets of “22” and her infamous foray into EDM “I Knew You Were Trouble” below.

But because Taylor knows exactly how to keep a news cycle spinning, she also shared even more with fans today. Confirming their decoding skills, Taylor let fans know that yes, Phoebe Bridgers would indeed be on the new version of Red, along with Chris Stapleton, and a new collab with her longtime friend, Ed Sheeran, who is of course featured on another iconic Red song, “Everything Has Changed.”

The new songs from the vault with collaborations are as follows: “Nothing New” featuring Phoebe Bridgers, “I Bet You Think About Me” featuring Chris Stapleton, “Run” featuring Ed Sheeran. Check out Taylor’s tweet above for other new songs from the vault, including the 10-minute version of “All Too Well,” and her own take on “Better Man,” a song she wrote for Little Big Town.

Stranger Things executive producer Shawn Levy assured fans that Season 4 release date would be revealed “quite soon,” and a new teaser for the Netflix sci-fi horror series has fulfilled, well, part of that promise. The official Stranger Things Twitter account dropped the latest preview on Friday morning along with a timeframe for the heavily anticipated new episodes.

“See y’all in the Upside Down. Stranger Things returns in 2022,” the caption read above the new video, which offers a very brief glimpse of Season 4, particularly Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and a bald, but very much alive Hopper (David Harbour). The teaser also seems to heavily suggest that something is coming, and in the Stranger Things world, that’s never good.

While 2022 is a vague timeframe, it does track with Stranger Things‘ delayed production due to the pandemic. Season 4 was still filming as of July. Also, any hope (from fans) of a late 2021 release may have gone out the window once The Witcher Season 2 nabbed a December date despite having production delays of its own.

There is a silver lining though for fans hoping for more Stranger Things. Levy also recently confirmed that the creative team has been having discussions with Netflix about a spinoff.

“What’s been made clear is there is an interest and a real voracious appetite for any offshoot, any other iteration format or extension of the franchise, the characters, the mythology,” Levy told Collider. “And certainly those conversations are hardly evolved, but they’re also not non-existent.”

(Via Stranger Things on Twitter)

During last week’s episode of Indiecast, Steve and Ian took some time to theorize that Billie Eilish’s new album Happier Than Ever might be heading in the direction of a sophomore slump. However, the latest effort from the young superstar is a good example of an LP featuring a handful of underwhelming singles that misrepresent an otherwise pretty good album. Happier Than Ever seems to share some inspiration DNA with the new Clairo album, in that they are both reactions to fame records, but instead of going abrasive they’ve gone even quieter and more hushed. Overall, the new album from the young superstar feels very much apiece with how people listen to music now, and a thoroughly enjoyable affair.

Next up on the docket is Draw Down The Moon, the latest opus from St. Louis band Foxing. It’s the follow-up to the band’s third studio album Nearer My God — which Ian is quick to name the best album of any genre of the last five years — and goes to places even grander and enveloping. Long story short, it can either take the band to completely new heights in their career… or destroy them entirely. Only time will tell!

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Steve is recommending No Medium, the new album from Rosali that was released a few months ago. Ian has been vibing with Lantlôs, the German “post-black metal” band that dropped their latest effort Wildhund last week.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 51 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.

Just when you were finally coming to terms with the fact that you’d probably only ever be able to revisit Schitt’s Creek again in reruns—bam!—Dan and Eugene Levy have announced that they’ve penned a tell-all book about what went down behind the scenes of the quirky Canadian comedy that swept last year’s Emmy Awards.

The tome is titled Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: The Story of Schitt’s Creek and will be released on Tuesday, October 26 via Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. This is how the publisher describes it:

This beautifully produced, keepsake coffee-table book is the ultimate celebration of the series, the town, the characters, and the state of mind that is Schitt’s Creek. Capturing the essence and alchemy of all six seasons of what is now considered to be one of the most groundbreaking comedy television series of the last decade, Best Wishes, Warmest Regards is a gift to fans everywhere who have made the show their own.

Included are character profiles from the cast of Johnny, Moira, David, and Alexis, and all of the characters that populate the town, major moments from Moira’s endorsement of Herb Ertlinger Winery, to Patrick and David’s first kiss, to Cabaret and the Rose Family Christmas episode. Also included are special features, such as the complete, illustrated catalogs of David’s knits and Moira’s wigs, Moira’s vocabulary, Alexis’s adventures, and behind-the-scenes moments from Dan and Eugene Levy and the cast of Schitt’s Creek.

Though you’ve still got a few months until it arrives in your hot little hands, the book is available for preorder now.

(Via TV Insider)

For at least the second time this year, Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera and conservative pundit (and evil Facebook mastermind) Dan Bongino aired their grievances on Hannity. Last time, it was over Israel and Palestine; on Thursday night, they started yelling at each other over COVID and the “health crisis” on the border.

“On Tuesday in Florida, there were 16,000 new infections. Yesterday, Wednesday, there were 17,000,” Rivera said near the beginning of the… I was going to call it a “conversation,” but that would be inaccurate. There were too many interruptions for it to be considered a conversation. Remember Sports Shouting from 30 Rock? It was like that. “Ron DeSantis saved every older person,” host Sean Hannity jumped in. “This is not bash Ron DeSantis… A lot of these cases are coming here because of Joe [Biden].”

Rivera, seemingly dumbfounded, said, “This has nothing to do with Joe,” to which Hannity quipped, “Oh yes it does,” and called on Bongino to speak. It was all downhill from there, as Bongino declared that “Geraldo doesn’t know Ron DeSantis. He doesn’t know the numbers. I live here. Florida’s 26th in COVID deaths.”

Bongino told Rivera that “it’s not my fault you never know what you’re talking about. It’s not my fault you never research anything before you come on the air,” while Rivera fired back, “You are so full of crap! You are so full of it! That’s why I hate coming on with you, because you are such a cheap shot artist, a backstabbing cheap shot.” He also said he was “embarrassed” to be on the air with Bongino. At times, it was impossible to make out what the guests and Hannity were saying because they were screaming over each other.

Rivera asked Bongino if he wanted to “put your money where your mouth is” and bet $1,000 that he was right about the number of COVID cases in Florida. Bongino agreed to the terms — and now owes Geraldo a thousand bucks.

I love civil discourse.

(Via the Daily Beast)

Kid Cudi and Kanye have been friends and collaborators for years now — even recently releasing a whole joint album together as Kids See Ghosts — so it’s no surprise that Cudi would show up on Kanye’s new project, Donda. And though plenty of artists trust Kanye with creative freedom, it seems the last-minute preparations for the album are so down to the wire that Cudi hadn’t heard the final version of the pair’s collaboration on the record. “Havent heard the final this is new to me too!!” he wrote on Twitter as fans were excitedly posting clips from the live streaming event.

He later clarified that he knew he was on the album, just hadn’t heard final mixes of the track. “I knew!” he reassured a fan. “Just didnt hear final mixes.”

The song is reportedly called “Moon” and also includes vocals from Don Tolliver, although it seems like even those details might be subject to change before the album is actually finally released. Check out some clips and snippets of the song below and keep an eye out for the ever-shifting Donda release date. Hey, there’s always the Round Jacket pre-order aka the red jacket Yeezy wore at the first listening to hold the super fans over if needed.

For years now, Kanye’s clothing designs have been just as important to the rapper and producer as his music, and he cut a striking figure at a recent Donda listening event in a bright red jacket, which is part of the Yeezy Gap collection. Retail expert, Mickey Drexler, who formerly worked at Gap, raised eyebrows when he said in an interview he thought the partnership was a risky one, and actually advised Gap against partnering with Kanye. But perhaps Gap saw something Drexler didn’t, because the jacket reportedly sold out, racking up over $7 million in one night, presumably the first night of the Donda listening.

For those looking for a similar style to the jacket that sold out a pre-order link for another Yeezy jacket is now live, dubbed the “Round Jacket” and available for the surprisingly reasonable price of $200, is right here. This is a pre-order link with a slated ship date for 2022. At a second listening event last night, Kanye played a revised and refined version of the Donda album he shared in late July, but despite promises the project would be available for fans today, it’s still not quite live on streaming services. An Apple Music pre-order for a 24-track version of the album now has a date of tomorrow, August 7th, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for that. Either way, it seems new music is finally going to be in fan’s hands soon. And in the meantime, they can order the jacket to tide them over.

Put aside the serial rapists, sexual harassers, and child porn enthusiasts and Hollywood has some pretty darn good men. At least that’s what Diane Keaton is telling us, and she should know. She’s been working steadily within the industry for more than 50 years now and has collaborated with some legendary actors and directors—including Woody Allen, with whom she made more than a half-dozen movies over the years and was romantically involved. So, as The Wrap reports, she took it upon herself to post a fairly bizarre video to Instagram on Thursday in which she celebrates the good men of Hollywood in song, which she aptly titled “Good Men” and posted with the caption “GOOD MEN!!!” Alright, good men, got it, let’s go…

The fact that the video itself is just a series of black-and-white head shots of some of Hollywood’s most famous leading men with Keaton singing Rosemary Clooney’s “You’ll Never Know” in the background makes it sort of feel like an Oscar tribute to old white dudes who have recently died, but it’s not that (at least not in most cases). It’s assumedly Keaton making sure that while we’re bombarded with headlines about Harvey Weinstein and the like, we don’t forget the very good men who are out there. Like Warren Beatty, Michael Douglas, Richard Gere, Jude Law (meh), Martin Short (weird choice, but solid), Sam Shepard (hot!), Mel Gibson, Steve Martin… wait—back that sh*t up! Mel Gibson? The guy from Mad Max and those unhinged drunk driving videos where he spews some anti-Semitic hate? The same man who apparently asked Winona Ryder, who is Jewish, if she was an “oven-dodger.”

But listen, people are different behind closed doors and it’s entirely possible that Keaton knows a side of Gibson that is not a fountain of hate speech. And just because she specifically included him in her list of “Good Men!!!” doesn’t mean that we should ever question the Oscar winner’s opinion… even when she’s swearing up and down that Sofia Coppola was “fantastic” in The Godfather Part III (dear reader: she was not).

You can watch the full video for yourself above.

(Via The Wrap)

Post Malone hasn’t been shy about partnering with brands he supports, from Crocs shoes to Monster Energy Drink, but today his management team’s venture arm, Electric Feel Ventures, has taken a major stake in a plant-based burger company, Actual Veggies. According to the Vegconomist, the veggie burger company has only been around since last March, but they’ve already raised $2.8 million including the previous round of funding and total contributions.

The brand differs from competitors in one key way — instead of trying to look like meat or imitate its flavor, their patties are designed to look and taste like the vegetables or other ingredients they’re made from. The four offerings so far include a black bean base, a sweet potato base, a beet base, and a “green” burger that features kale, spinach, and broccoli.

“Since we launched the company, it’s been an incredible whirlwind and despite the challenges of 2020, we made it a reality,” the co-founder and co-CEO of Actual Veggies, Hailey Swartz, told Vegconomist. “The growth we have seen over the past few months far exceeded our expectations as we expanded nationally with partners including Sprouts Farmers Market, HungryRoot, Imperfect Foods, Sunbasket, QVC, and FreshDirect. We are humbled by our new partners’ shared excitement and look forward to building off our success to further scale Actual Veggies.”

Maybe this means the plant-based offerings will be available on-site at Posty Fest this year!

Summer didn’t turn out exactly as planned this year for humanity, but fortunately there’s plenty of programming relief to distract us, so we can happily avoid crowding with the masses. To be certain, Netflix knows how to complete the assignment and offer something for everyone. This week, kids will be thrilled, and parents will be equally happy to park their progeny in front of the TV to enjoy the latest Lin-Manuel Miranda animated offering. There’s also some rough stuff on the way about some drug kingpins and a non-cooking show from Paris Hilton that promises to take your mind off everything while wondering what the heck is going on. Here are the most bingeworthy selections of early August, so that you can chill out and never need to step out your front door for some entertainment.

Here’s everything else coming to (and leaving) the streaming platform this week.

Vivo (Netflix film streaming 8/6)

Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation paired up with a dream-team of filmmakers for a musical adventure that would be amiss if it didn’t star and feature new songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda. He portrays a one-of-kind kinkajou (a “honey bear” of the rainforest), who dreams of delivering a heart-shattering song to the long-lost love of his owner. Oscar nominee Kirk DeMicco (The Croods) is in the director’s seat with a co-directing assist from Brandon Jeffords (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2). The film also features the voices of Zoe Saldana, Michael Rooker, Brian Tyree Henry, Nicole Byer, and more. Ultimately, it’s a story about the universal languages of love and music and finding family in unexpected places.

Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami (Netflix series streaming 8/4)

There’s so much blow in this trailer, which gives the documentary treatment to the excess-filled life of two childhood pals who transformed into powerful Miami drug kingpins over the course of decades. There’s a tiger and bullfighting and speedboats and money flying everywhere, it’s no wonder why “Los Muchachos” were so darn popular. They were also slippery fellows, due to their world-champ powerboat-racing status. A $2 billion empire eventually came crumbling down, but not without a valiant fight from the duo and their prosecuting opponents.

Top Secret UFO Projects: Declassified: Season 1 (Netflix docuseries streaming 8/3)

UFOs are so hot right now, and Netflix is taking a crack at a docuseries ahead of J.J. Abrams’ Showtime series. Things might be coming to a head (as far as public interest goes) after the U.S. government’s so-called comprehensive report on Unidentified Flying Objects revealed zilch. This Netflix original series promises a “factual” approach to dig into the latest information and possible proof that would expose government projects that may have covered up extraterrestrial visits to Earth. The trailer looks fascinating, so here’s to hoping that the show delivers some fresh insight.

Shiny_Flakes: The Teenage Drug Lord (Netflix film streaming 8/3)

You’ve probably heard of Netflix’s German series, How To Sell Drugs Online (Fast), and here’s a documentary that delivers the inspiration. A German teenager, Maximilian Schmidt (who went by the “Shiny Flakes” nickhame) got busted in 2015 running several million euros worth of illicit substances out of his family home. This turned out to be an international drug empire, and most of the money’s still missing.

Cooking With Paris: Season 1 (Netflix series streaming 8/4)

If you wanted to watch a cooking show (that follows YouTubing in the same vein from the leading lady) with not-so-wonderful cooking, then you’re in luck. Paris Hilton can’t cook too well, and she doesn’t pretend otherwise, but she has friends who can cook, so she’s aiming to brave the kitchen to screw everything up. Also, she’ll go grocery shopping, so that’s gonna be strange.

Outer Banks: Season 2 (Netflix series streaming 7/30)

This is not your typical teen drama. Last season delivered loads of intrigue and flat-out woo-woo revelations following a hurricane and buried treasure and class warfare between different factions in an overall well-to-do community. There are Kooks and Pogues, and the power’s gone for the entirety of the summer, which sounds miserable, but the mysteries won’t stop, including the whereabouts of John B.’s dad. And oh yes, there’s so much soapiness to the characters’ dynamics that you might lose your footing while slipping towards that sunken treasure. This show is bonkers!

Here’s a full list of what’s been added in the last week:

Avail. 8/1
30 Rock: Seasons 1-7
Beethoven
Beethoven’s 2nd
Beowulf
Catch Me If You Can
Darwin’s Game
Deep Blue Sea
The Edge of Seventeen
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Five Feet Apart
Friday Night Lights: Seasons 1-5
Good Luck Chuck
The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia
Hunter X Hunter: Seasons 5-6
Inception
The Lincoln Lawyer
The Losers
The Machinist
Magnolia
Major Payne
My Girl
My Girl 2
The Net
The Original Kings of Comedy
Pineapple Express
Poms
Seabiscuit
Space Cowboys
Team America: World Police

Avail. 8/3
Pray Away
Shiny_Flakes: The Teenage Drug Lord
Top Secret UFO Projects: Declassified

Avail. 8/4
Aftermath
American Masters: Inventing David Geffen
Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami
Control Z: Season 2
Car Masters: Rust to Riches: Season 3
Cooking With Paris

Avail. 8/6
Hit & Run
Navarasa
The Swarm
Vivo

And here’s what’s leaving next week, so it’s your last chance:

Leaving 8/15
Jericho: Seasons 1-2
Wish I Was Here

Leaving 8/20
Kill the Irishman
Norm of the North: Keys to the Kingdom
The Founder

Leaving 8/22
1BR