Month: September 2021

It’s not surprising that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who once suggested that Southerners should welcome Joe Biden’s “police state friends” with firearms, is offering her (unvaccinated) supporters a chance to win a .50 caliber rifle. But it should be. It really, really should be. There is nothing normal about the giveaway — or the deeply weird hype video she posted on her YouTube channel.

“Joe Biden abandoned Americans in Afghanistan, got 13 of our best soldiers killed, gave a kill list of Americans to the Taliban, And armed an Islamic terrorist nation with $83 billion in weapons… like this one,” Taylor Greene said, lifting a comically large gun. “Biden should be impeached. Now I’m doing a gun giveaway of my own, but for Americans only. I want you to win this .50 caliber rifle that Democrats will ban if they keep the House next year.” She then started talking about Nancy Pelosi, for some reason, before adding, “In 2022, I’m going to blow away the Democrats’ socialist agenda.” This is depicted by MTG shooting a car with “socialist” printed on the side.

These are all real images from the video:

Taylor Greene — who valued the rifle at $10,000 and called it “the same type of gun the hate-America gun-grabbers in DC would love to BAN if they ever get the votes” — previously posted an image of herself holding a deadly weapon next to Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib:

“Squad’s worst nightmare,” said text at the bottom of the image, referring to the nickname for the group of leftist women of color in Congress. In the post, Greene called Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, and Tlaib “hate America leftists [who] want to take this country down.”

You can watch the… whatever is happening above.

(Via Raw Story)

Jeopardy! producers (which no longer include Mike Richards) still haven’t settled on a full-time host to replace Alex Trebek (again, no Mike Richards), but they have decided on who will host the rest of the season. TMZ reported and Variety confirmed that Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings will fill in following Richards’ exit from the legendary game show:

Sony production sources tell us the quiz show is going to keep it semi-consistent from here on out — at least for this season — with Mayim on hosting duty for more than half of the episodes, and Jennings shooting a few weeks worth of episodes. We’re told execs have not decided about next season yet, but are still searching for a full-time, permanent replacement for Alex Trebek, and as we’ve told you … Mayim still seems to be the frontrunner.

Richards was axed as host after offensive comments he made on a podcast were resurfaced. “It pains me that these past incidents and comments have cast such a shadow on Jeopardy! as we look to start a new chapter,” he said in a statement, adding, “I want to apologize to each of you for the unwanted negative attention that has come to Jeopardy! over the last few weeks and for the confusion and delays this is now causing. I know I have a lot of work to do to regain your trust and confidence.” He did not regain the crew’s trust and confidence.

Meanwhile, Matt Amodio has the third longest winning streak in Jeopardy! history.

(Via TMZ and Variety)

There’s maybe no roster spot more in flux on a fantasy team than the defense, as opponent matchups dictate the fantasy success of defenses almost as much as the talent they put on the field. Playing a team like Jacksonville or [insert New York team here] is going to make your defense one of the best in the league for that week, and as such it’s a mad dash each week on the waiver wire for defenses that have favorable matchups.

On the opposite side of that, even a good defense is going to give up points and yards to the NFL’s elite offenses, making them unplayable against the likes of Kansas City, Tampa Bay, Buffalo and the rest. As such, vigilance in scouting matchups is key to ensure you aren’t trotting a defense out there that’s about to run into a buzz saw.

Each week, we’ll be compiling a consensus ranking of NFL defenses based on their fantasy projections, which take into account matchup and past performance, from four sites (ESPN, NFL, CBS, FantasyPros).

CONSENSUS WEEK 2 DEFENSE PROJECTION RANKINGS

1. Washington
2. New England
3. New Orleans
4. LA Rams
5. Denver
6. San Francisco
7. Cleveland
8. Tampa Bay
9. Pittsburgh
10. Green Bay
11. Bufalo
12. New York Giants
13. Chicago
14. Arizona
15. Carolina
16. Kansas City
17. Seattle
18. Indianapolis
19. Cincinnati
20. Miami

It’s been two years since Lil Nas X released his record-breaking debut single “Old Town Road,” and he’s now gearing up for his debut album, Montero. But since the musician doesn’t do anything conventionally, he’s been advertising that he’s “pregnant” with his debut album for weeks, going so far as to sport a fake baby bump. Now that he’s just hours away from the LP’s officially release, Lil Nas X continues to lean into the pregnancy stunt by now saying he’s having painful contractions.

Promoting the impending release of Montero, Lil Nas X shared a video of him tightly clutching his rotund belly and breathing heavily in pain. “I think it’s coming. I think the baby is coming,” he says while pretending to have contractions.

Along with experiencing the pains of contractions, Lil Nas X also wanted to have some fun with his pregnancy, so he threw a Pinterest-ready baby shower. His event was complete with cupcakes with images of his Montero album frosted on top, balloons, and a silver throne. But much to his disappointment, none of his guests arrived on time to the baby shower. “spent hours setting up for my baby shower and no one showed up,” he wrote alongside a video of the event.

Montero is out 9/17 via Columbia. Pre-order it here.

Embattled Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) can’t stop dusting her guns off to come back swinging. This week’s disastrous toilet joke may have led Sarah Palin Lite to try and up her game with some slightly philosophical musings, but that hasn’t gone over well, either. All of this has happened recently after she earned a horrific nickname before blaming God for her place in Congress and failing at fashion commentary.

She is not to be deterred, even after stumbling mightily on Twitter with her praise of the Taliban and completely botching her use of the word “patriots” during a rude pronoun discussion. This doesn’t even account for her historically inclined flubs, including a confused Samuel/John Adams tweet, and yet, here we are.

Are you ready for Boebert’s proclamation on how she believes government should work? Presumably, this is about Covid guidelines (given that she reportedly threw a mask at a House staffer before raging against Nancy Pelosi’s “totalitarian” mandates), but let’s get on with her actual declaration.

“The proper role of government is not to keep you safe every day,” she tweeted. “The proper role of government is to keep you free.”

Her usual word-salad methods aren’t too prominent here, but consider this. On Sept. 19, 2020 (and while running for Congress), Boebert tweeted that “the government is supposed to both defend our individual rights and our collective safety.”

How soon they forget. However, no one has forgotten about Boebert’s self-declared hardline pro-military and pro-law-enforcement stances. And of course, people still can’t forget about the Daily Beast’s coverage of Boebert’s restaurant, Shooter’s Grill, allegedly giving people food poisoning at a rodeo.

Will Boebert be back for more? You betcha.

There is no position in football more loathed than the kicker. Misses drive fans and coaches insane, while makes (at least those not in a clutch moment) are expected and rarely celebrated with great fanfare. It is the position most affiliated with mental fragility, where opposing coaches literally try to psych out a kicker by icing them with a timeout.

Some fantasy leagues have done away with the kicker entirely, but others still press on with football’s least favorite position occupying a key roster spot. Even moreso than any other position, projecting kicker production feels like a complete shot in the dark, but we’ve compiled four different fantasy projections (ESPN, NFL, CBS, FantasyPros) and averaged them together to come up with the top 20 kickers for Week 2.

CONSENSUS WEEK 2 KICKER PROJECTION RANKINGS

1. Ryan Succop (TB)
2. Justin Tucker (BAL)
3. Harrison Butker (KC)
4. Brandon McManus (DEN)
5. Matt Prater (ARI)
6. Chris Boswell (PIT)
7. Cairo Santos (CHI)
8. Jason Myers (SEA)
9. Jason Sanders (MIA)
10. Chase McLaughlin (CLE)
11. Tyler Bass (BUF)
12. Mason Crosby (GB)
13. Matt Gay (LAR)
14. Robbie Gould (SF)
15. Tristan Vizcaino (LAC)
16. Younghoe Koo (ATL)
17. Aldrick Rosas (NO)
18. Rodrigo Blankenship (IND)
19. Dustin Hopkins (WAS)
20. Daniel Carlson (LV)

It’s been nearly a decade since The Black Keys‘ seventh studio album El Camino catapulted the duo from a relatively underground rock band into the mainstream, earning them three Grammy Awards among several other accolades. To celebrate the landmark LP’s success, The Black Keys are releasing a special 10th anniversary edition of the album, complete with live sessions, exclusive posters, and more.

El Camino (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) is available for purchase in several formats. A Super Deluxe edition of the album includes five vinyl LPs or four CDs, featuring a remastered version of the original album, a previously unreleased Live in Portland, ME concert recording, a BBC Radio 1 Zane Lowe session from 2012, a 2011 Electro-Vox session, an extensive photo book, a limited-edition poster and lithograph, and a “new car scent” air freshener. A three-LP edition of the deluxe release features the remastered album and the live recording, as well as a special fan club version of the three-LP set.

Announcing the new edition of the album, the band shared a new trailer featuring Derrick T. Tuggle, reprising his role in the band’s original “Lonely Boy” video. Watch the trailer above and find The Black Keys’ El Camino (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) tracklist below.

Remastered El Camino Album
1. “Lonely Boy”
2. “Dead And Gone”
3. “Gold On The Ceiling”
4. “Little Black Submarines”
5. “Money Maker”
6. “Run Right Back”
7. “Sister”
8. “Hell Of A Season”
9. “Stop Stop”
10. “Nova Baby”
11. “Mind Eraser”

Live in Portland, ME
1. “Howlin’ For You”
2. “Next Girl”
3. “Run Right Back”
4. “Same Old Thing”
5. “Dead And Gone”
6. “Gold On The Ceiling”
7. “Thickfreakness”
8. “Girl Is On My mind”
9. “I’ll Be Your Man/ Your Touch”
10. “Little Black Submarines”
11. “Money Maker”
12. “Strange Times”
13. “Chop And Change”
14. “Nova Baby”
15. “Ten Cent Pistol”
16. “Tighten Up”
17. “Lonely Boy”
18. “Everlasting Light”
19. “She’s Long Gone”
20. “I Got Mine”

Zane Lowe BBC Session (Super Deluxe Edition only)
1. “Howlin’ For You”
2. “Next Girl”
3. “Gold On The Ceiling”
4. “Thickfreakness”
5. “I’ll Be Your Man”
6. “Your Touch”
7. “Little Black Submarines”
8. “Dead And Gone”
9. “Tighten Up”
10. “Lonely Boy”
11. “I Got Mine”

Electro Vox Session (Super Deluxe Edition only)
1. “Dead And Gone”
2. “Gold On The Ceiling”
3. “Howlin’ For You”
4. “Lonely Boy”
5. “Money Maker”
6. “Next Girl”
7. “Run Right Back”
8. “Sister”
9. “Tighten Up”

El Camino (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) is out 11/5 via Nonesuch Records. Pre-order it here.

The Black Keys are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Last month, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds announced plans to release a follow-up to 2005’s B-Sides & Rarities, simply called B-Sides & Rarities Part II, arriving on October 22 on double vinyl, double CD, deluxe double CD and all digital platforms. Ahead of the release, they shared the previously unreleased track “Vortex.” Now, they’ve followed up with “Earthlings,” an eerie, haunted-sounding song that features thundering choral harmonies.

An unheard track from the 2018-2019 sessions that became Ghosteen, “Earthlings” is, as Cave puts it, “the finest track of the Ghosteen sessions,” adding: “‘Earthlings’ is the missing link that binds Ghosteen together. A lovely song that just got away…”

Featuring 27 rare and unreleased tracks that span the years between 2006 and 2020 (including the first recordings of “Skeleton Tree,” “Girl In Amber,” and “Bright Horses”), B-Sides & Rarities Part II was compiled by Nick Cave and longtime band member Warren Ellis. “I always liked the original B-Sides & Rarities more than any of our other albums,” Cave said in a statement last month. “It’s the only one I’d listen to willingly. It seems more relaxed, even a bit nonsensical in places, but with some beautiful songs throughout. There is something, too, about the smallness of certain songs that is closer to their original spirit.

“B-Sides & Rarities Part II continues this strange and beautiful collection of lost songs from The Bad Seeds,” added Cave. “I love the final side of the last disc because it reveals the small and fragile beginnings of some of my favorite Bad Seeds songs. ‘Waiting For You’ complete with bizarre ‘canning factory’ rhythm track, a gorgeous ‘Life Per Se’ deemed too sad for Skeleton Tree…”

Check out “Earthlings” above. B-Sides & Rarities Part II is out 10/22. Pre-order it here.

In a new cover story for Ebony magazine, hip-hop pioneer Nas reveals that he contracted COVID-19 late last year and details his struggles with the virus. “I caught COVID in late October,” he admits. “This is the first time [I’m] mentioning it. It was a tough time. It was mentally and physically hard. It’s just today’s world, with chemical warfare, crazy politics, racism, food shortages, police malpractice, Black-on-Black murder. The human spirit is being tested. I think that God has a plan for all of this. But right now, we’re in a serious time.”

Elsewhere in the profile, he reveals the contemporary rappers who inspire him while freely offering his advice for them to reach the level at which he currently finds himself. “I like Lady London,” he says, praising the rising rapper whose freestyles on social media have repeatedly gone viral, making her part of a rising tide of female rappers distinguishing themselves in the modern streaming era. He also salutes another pair of rappers who have impressed him lyrically. “Kendrick Lamar. Cordae. I think rappers today have [an] entrepreneurial spirit, and they know even more than what I used to and are seizing opportunities. They just have to balance the street and their long-term goals.”

Meanwhile, Nas himself sees his inspirations as the high watermark to achieve. “I just wanna become as great as the ones I came up thinking were the greatest,” he says. “Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, LL, Slick Rick, Ice Cube—the list goes on. I just wanna be able to look at myself and say that I did what they are doing.”

You can read Ebony‘s full feature here.

The Pope might be the literal face of all that is good and holy for Catholics around the world, but even he doesn’t have time for people’s anti-vaxxing bullsh*t in the middle of a pandemic that has killed more than 4.5 million people around the world, and counting.

As AP reports, the Pope doesn’t seem to quite be able to wrap his head around the number of people who are risking their lives—not to mention the lives of those around them—by opting out of one of the many COVID vaccines available. “Humanity has a history of friendship with vaccines,” the supreme pontiff said while traveling aboard the papal plane, a.k.a. the Flying Popemobile, on Wednesday.

Though he didn’t name names, His Holiness noted that even within the higher-ups of the Catholic Church, there are some non-believers—who could easily turn into non-breathers. “Even in the College of Cardinals, there are some negationists,” he said, explaining how one “poor guy” who refused to get vaccinated ended up testing positive for COVID and being hospitalized. (“That was an apparent reference to U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke,” AP wrote, “who was hospitalized in the U.S. and placed on a ventilator last month after contracting the virus.”)

What the Pope (and the rest of us) find most confusing is how and/or why so many people—especially parents with kids—have been happily vaccinated against measles, mumps, and polio, “and no one said anything.”

Of course, thanks in large part to conspiracy theorists/sh*t disturbers like followers of the 45th President of the United States and conservative media personalities, many people seem to view the COVID pandemic as less of a public health crisis and more of a political minefield. Not only did the Pope confirm that it was “morally acceptable” to receive the vaccine, but noted that not getting it was tantamount to “suicide.”

For those who are afraid of what might be in the vaccine, the Pope suggests it’s time to “talk with serenity.” And if Serenity isn’t picking up or your calls are going straight to voicemail, try Logic.

(Via AP)