Month: September 2021

Starting with a promise that the first official trailer will drop on Thursday, the promotional campaign for The Matrix Resurrections kicked into bullet-time on Tuesday with the launch of an interactive site that brings up some late 90s/early 2000s internet vibes that people are loving. By logging onto WhatIsTheMatrix.com, the original website for the first groundbreaking film, users are given the choice between a red and blue pill, which will give them a constantly-changing teaser from the highly anticipated fourth movie that reunites Keanu Reeves and Carrie Ann-Moss, along with adding newcomers Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Neil Patrick Harris, and Christina Ricci.

Via Variety:

In the context of the teaser, each choice presents users with two different angles on what appears to be the central story in “Resurrections” (as first teased to exhibitors during CinemaCon in August). Keanu Reeves’ Neo is back inside the Matrix, taking blue pills and seeing a therapist played by Neil Patrick Harris, until a man portrayed by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II steps into Neo’s life and gets him to see that his reality is just a mirage.

Judging by the reactions online, The Matrix fans are loving the old school marketing campaign, and, yes, it feels weird to call the online marketing campaign old school now. What even is reality anymore? Folks also loved the brief glimpses of brand new footage, and there were also several reactions to Reeves looking almost exactly like John Wick. Not that anyone’s complaining.

The Matrix Resurrections hits theaters and HBO Max on December 22, 2021.

(Via Variety)

Tony Soprano dreamed of talking fish and getting intimate with his therapist. The Sopranos creator David Chase dreams of someone asking him about his Wikipedia.

Deadline published a lengthy interview with Chase on Tuesday that covers the Sopranos prequel movie, The Many Saints of Newark, and the HBO’s show legacy. The whole thing is worth a read (out-of-context quote: “I didn’t say I pleasure myself. I said please myself… I don’t do that either very often”), but my favorite section is at the end, when the interviewer asks Chase if there’s anything he wants people to know. This is a common technique by reporters to get a subject to discuss something that may have been missed — but Chase’s answer was anything but common.

“Well, I’ve dreamed about people asking me this question because I’ve dreamed about finally giving the answer to it. And the answer to the question is this,” he said. “It says in Wikipedia that my name was David DeCesare, but that’s not true. My name was never David DeCesare, and I’ve tried to get them to remove all this.” Chase continued:

“My father was born with the name DeCesare, and he changed it back in the ‘30s. So I didn’t change my name. That was never my name, and when we first started the Sopranos, I said to HBO, should I go back to my Italian name, our family name? And they said no because you’re known. I wasn’t even that well known, but people know you by this name…”

It goes on from there, but you get the idea. His griping must have worked: the only Wikipedia mentions of Chase’s last name being “DeCesare” are “his paternal grandmother had changed the family name from DeCesare to Chase” in Early Life and “says his name was not David DeCesare at birth in this interview” in References.

Chase must have sent a guy to Wikipedia HQ to “fix” the problem. Wink.

(Via Deadline)

Not long after news broke that The Wire star Michael K. Williams had passed away at the age of 54, fans began reminiscing about everything from his iconic roles to his lifelong attachment to his beloved Brooklyn. And that love of his hometown became even more bittersweet return people started remembering the time he appeared on the last episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations in 2012. After committing suicide in 2018, Bourdain’s absence has still loomed large over the food and travel world, and seeing him with the now-deceased Williams brought out an understandable surge of emotions on social media.

The No Reservations clip showcases two great dudes bonding over Caribbean food in Crown Heights, where you can feel Williams’ excitement over sharing the local treasure with Bourdain. He orders food for both of them and then immediately declares that they’ll be sharing. The mood is infectious as you watch the clip that left Twitter buzzing with feelings:

The Bourdain and Williams love also caused a 2018 Late Show clip to resurface where Williams tells Stephen Colbert about filming the now iconic episode. According to Williams, Bourdain was “down” with visiting Flatbush instead of the “bougie Williamsburg,” and he was completely gracious to everyone they met. Even more impressively, Bourdain knew the right way to eat oxtail: No fork and knife. He was “my kind of guy,” Williams told Colbert.

You can watch the clip below:

(Via James Crugnale on Twitter, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert)

Rifle-Republican Lauren Boebert (R-CO) might be in an unofficial self-own competition with Ted Cruz. It’s hard to guess why else both of them can’t stop being the public figures on Twitter who most frequently embarrass themselves, but between her praise of the Taliban, silly Siri question, and not-so-kind pronoun discussion, she can’t stop tripping herself up. Following her most recent shenanigans (a tweet-and-delete in which she confused Samuel Adams with John Adams), Boebert still hasn’t stepped away from social media for a break. And now, she’s dragged a poor goat into it.

On Labor Day, Boebert showed off a photo of herself (in a lily-white dress, presumably for a Sunday occasion) with a goat who could not possibly look less thrilled to be seen with the right-wing congresswoman. “I made a new friend yesterday!” she excitedly tweeted with her true intentions remaining unknown.

Well, people immediately started feeling bad for this poor goat. He didn’t look enthused to be hanging out with an incendiary lawmaker who’s also been complaining about redistricting, even as Republicans often delight in actual gerrymandering at any given opportunity. That’s beside the immediate point, though.

Look at this goat’s face. No really. He knows the drill.

Goaty McGoaterson for mayor of any town. Any town at all.

Being the youngest musician to take home a Grammy in all major categories should give anyone a healthy boost of confidence, but despite her career success, Billie Eilish still has some self-doubt. Awards and critical acclaim aside, Eilish still doesn’t think of herself “as a singer.”

Eilish expanded on her thought process in a recent interview with UK grime rapper Stormzy for i-D magazine. Eilish has been singing ever since she was a child, and chokes up the fact she doesn’t consider herself a singer to “imposter syndrome”:

“I loved singing, too. Since I was a little kid, I was singing all day. My parents were like, ‘Shuutttt uppppp!’ But still to this day I don’t really think of myself as a singer. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s impostor syndrome? When I was a kid my favorite thing to do was sing, but I’d never have told you that. I thought of all the other kids who were singing as singers, but never myself. I was just like, I like to sing! It’s not like a thing. It’s just something I love to do.

Eilish continued to describe how her songwriting career took off by accident. “My mom wrote songs, and she taught me and my brother to write songs, and we’d write by ourselves, and then one day we just started writing songs together,” she said. “That was when I was 13, and that’s when we did ‘Ocean Eyes.’ We put it on SoundCloud. I wasn’t trying to be an artist. It was a fun thing me and my brother did, and it just grew and grew and grew… And then I began, more and more, to feel more like me. I feel more like myself now than I ever did before. I never thought anyone would give two sh*ts.”

Read Eilish’s full interview with Stormzy for i-D here.

In the days leading up to the 2020 Democratic Convention, Dr. Jill Biden reintroduced herself to the nation after serving as the Second Lady during the Obama administration. On Twitter, she reminded everyone that “Teaching isn’t just what I do. It’s who I am.”

The statement was a bold proclamation of her priorities when she was on the cusp of becoming the First Lady of the United States. Her continued commitment to being an educator while holding one of the most high-profile positions in the world may seem extreme to some, but it’s something every teacher understands.

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Teaching is not what I do. It’s who I am.

I’ll be giving my convention speech tonight from my former classroom.

B… https://t.co/UBQAwhYHst

— Dr. Jill Biden (@DrBiden)
1597752721.0

Dr. Biden has kept up that commitment since moving into the White House. Last year, during the pandemic, she taught her classes virtually. But now she’ll return to her classroom at Northern Virginia Community College, where she has worked since 2009.

But that doesn’t mean America will be without a First Lady during the school year. She will continue to perform her duties as First Lady and will travel on days she isn’t scheduled to be in the classroom.

“There are some things you just can’t replace, and I can’t wait to get back in the classroom,” she told Good Housekeeping magazine.

Dr. Biden’s return to work shows her commitment to education but it’s also historically important. She is now the only First Lady in the position’s 231-year history to have a full-time job outside of the White House.

“It shatters the norms of what first ladies do,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, according to the Associated Press.

“She will really be bringing the role of first lady into the 21st century,” First-Lady historian Katherine Jellison told USA Today.

“Americans have historically wanted their first ladies to be in the White House and at the president’s side whenever possible,” Jellison said. “Maybe the time has come when Americans will be more accepting of the idea that a president’s wife can simultaneously be a first lady and a working professional.”

Dr. Biden’s decision to continue her career is a great example for women, too. It shows that even if your spouse has the most important job in the world, you can — and should — have your own life outside of their shadow.

via U.S. Embassy London

Her decision to return to work is also a way for her to show the value of educators. Teaching is too important for her to give up in exchange for a role that, at times, can be ceremonial and perfunctory.

“If we get to the White House, I’m going to continue to teach,” she said before the 2020 election. “I want people to value teachers and know their contributions and to lift up the profession.”

Dr. Biden shared why a teacher’s job is so important in a recent op-ed she wrote for Time magazine.

“Educators, always remember that right now, someone out there is a better thinker because of you. Someone is standing a little taller because you helped her find the confidence she needed. People are kinder because you showed them what that meant,” she wrote. “Your strength and resilience, your creativity and kindness, are changing lives and changing the world.

Dr. Biden’s decision to work shows that Americans have come a long way in their expectations of a First Lady. Hillary Clinton was greeted with scorn back in 1992 when her husband was running for president. Many thought it was improper for the then governor’s wife to be working as a lawyer.

“I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas,” she said. “But what I decided to do was pursue my profession, which I entered before my husband was in public life.”

At the time, her comments were seen as a major gaffe that dogged her for years. But now, they show how strong women like Clinton have changed the role that women can play in public life.

Hillary Clinton on “baking cookies”

www.youtube.com

Kanye West finally released Donda recently (whether he wanted to or not, it seemed). The creative process of the record was a public affair, as West held three listening parties and made changes to the album between them. Mike Dean, who worked on the album with West, says that after the listening parties, he took reactions to the songs into consideration when making alterations to the album, including online reviews.

Speaking with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Dean said (as HotNewHipHop notes):

“It was interesting. It was grueling, lots of hours, lots of changes. Came out great, though. […] Kanye had three listening parties, so each listening party was like a test, kind of. And after each one, I think he wanted… I can’t talk too much about his process. He took all the information he got from everyone — including online reviews, personal friends’ reviews — and he just kind of digested it all and adjusted the album the way he wants.

He also noted that during the events, he was attuned to how the audiences were feeling about the songs, saying, “I definitely looked at how the crowd moved to different songs. I was up at the top of the stadium, DJ-ing.”

As unconventional as the process was, the results speak for themselves: Donda topped the charts and two of the album’s songs debuted in the top 10 of the Hot 100 this week.

In just a few days, Melbourne punk outfit Amyl & The Sniffers will release their sophomore album, Comfort To Me. Prior to that, they’ve released a kickass new video for “Hertz,” featuring frontperson Amy Taylor bashing around an empty warehouse and kicking the ocean. Additionally, the band has announced a livestream where they’ll perform Comfort To Me in full on October 5.

“‘Hertz’ is a daydream of wanting to go to the country/bush and see landscapes other than the city,” Taylor opened up in a statement. “It was written in 2019 but it very much sounds like a pandemic song, because it’s a daydream about being repulsed by confinement, and frustrated over being stuck in one place.”

Back in July, Taylor opened up about recording Comfort To Me, which arrives on September 10:

“All four of us spent most of 2020 enclosed by pandemic authority in a three-bedroom rental in our home city of Melbourne, Australia. We’re like a family: we love each other and feel nothing at the same time. We had just come off two years of touring, being stuck in a van together eight hours a day, and then we’re trapped together for months in this house with sick green walls. It sucked but it was also nice. We spent heaps of time in the backyard listening to music, thrashing around in shorts, eating hot chips. The boys had a hard time being away from the pub and their mates, but it meant we had a lot of time to work on this record. Most of the songs were really intuitive. Main thing, we just wanted it to be us.”

She added, “If you have to explain what this record is like, I reckon it’s like watching an episode of The Nanny but the setting is an Australian car show and the Nanny cares about social issues and she’s read a couple of books, and Mr Sheffield is drinking beer in the sun. It’s a Mitsubishi Lancer going slightly over the speed limit in a school zone. It’s realizing how good it is to wear track pants in bed. It’s having someone who wants to cook you dinner when you’re really shattered. It’s me shadow-boxing on stage, covered in sweat, instead of sitting quietly in the corner.”

Watch “Hertz” above.

Comfort To Me is out 9/10 via ATO/Rough Trade. Pre-order it here.

Lil Nas X always commits to a concept. When his viral track “Old Town Road” took off, the musician was always seen sporting a cowboy hat. Now, Lil Nas X is gearing up for the release of his debut album Montero by faking a pregnancy and is never without his massive baby bump. Further leaning into his pregnancy cosplay, Lil Nas X has officially opened a “baby registry.”

Much like everything else he does, Lil Nas X’s baby registry isn’t typical. Instead of linking to items like onesies or cribs, Lil Nas X is using the baby registry as a way for fans to donate to important charities.

Lil Nas X made the announcement on social media alongside a few photos of him chilling with is faux-pregnant stomach. “Me and my team have set up a ‘baby registry’ for many charities if you guys would like to donate,” he wrote.

The registry is set up to mimic his Montero album’s tracklist, with each song linking to a different charity. Some of the organizations include the Transinclusive Group, which aims to create a safe space for transgender and gender non-conforming people of color to be their authentic selves, and The Bail Project, a national nonprofit organization on a mission to end cash bail, one of the key drivers of mass incarceration and structural racism in the US criminal legal system.

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

Cheerleading — it’s all the rage lately! Between Pom Pom Squad, Olivia Rodrigo, and now Muna‘s new “Silk Chiffon” video, I’m almost regretting not trying out for the squad in high school. (LOL, JK.) That said, LA electropop trio Muna, who recently signed to Phoebe Bridgers‘ label Saddest Factory Records, have dropped a fun new single and video, “Silk Chiffon,” which features a cameo from Bridgers.

Evoking candy-colored But I’m A Cheerleader imagery (if you haven’t seen that movie, stop what you’re doing right now and watch it), “Silk Chiffon” is directed by Ally Pankiw and features the Muna girls in full cheer garb, with a pink-haired Bridgers strumming a guitar and singing a verse from the balcony of what could be a sorority house. Talking about the poppy new track, guitarist Naomi McPherson said “Silk Chiffon” is “a song for kids to have their first gay kiss to.”

“I think what the music does is attempts to reach through the screens and reach through the headphones of the people that are listening to say: ‘Maybe you’re like us and maybe we’re like you, and maybe we’re all a lot more similar than we think,’” McPherson told NPR in 2019 about what their message is to fans.

Next up for Muna, the trio will be supporting Bridgers on her North American tour, kicking off September 8. They’ll also be supporting Kacey Musgraves on her 2022 tour.

Watch Muna’s delightful “Silk Chiffon” video above.