Month: September 2021

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

In the lead-up to the release of his debut album, Montero, Lil Nas X was confronted with a question. The question’s method of delivery and its questionable messenger failed to undermine its import — although it also likely highlighted a different problem than the inquirer intended. Pointing out the Montero tracklist’s lack of Black male artists, our concern trolling, gay panic conspiracy theorist wanted to draw attention to the project’s so-called “agenda.” Instead, they only threw Nas’ historical position within hip-hop into stark contrast.

Hip-hop has always had a homophobia problem. From its very inception, the genre has touted an image of Black masculinity that left little room for alternative expressions of manhood. Words like “gay,” “homo,” “f****,” and more have been slung indiscriminately for decades in the music of giants like 50 Cent, Big L, Diplomats, Eminem, Jadakiss, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Meek Mill, Nas, and Tyler The Creator. Even so-called conscious rappers and seemingly progressive allies, including Chance The Rapper, J. Cole, and Nicki Minaj have peppered their ostensibly innocuous bars with language that undermines their positive messages.

It’s even more astonishing that Tyler The Creator eventually came out as queer on his 2017 game-changer Flower Boy. It cast his prior offenses in a new light, while also muddling the impact of his admission. Why, if Tyler was gay or bi, would he spend so much of his early career flinging this specific species of invective? It was never haphazard either — the intentionality of his jabs was seen in the unapologetic way he handled the question in interviews, even before coming out. Was this the only way he felt he could establish his credibility in a genre that so often rejects queer people, let alone artists seeking their fortunes within it?

And is this why Lil Nas X, whose first attempt to breakthrough in the industry was the rap-focused Nasarati mixtape, built himself as more of a pop star now? Never mind how he defines himself, though, because the backlash he’s drawn has come much more from rap mainstays like Dave East, Joyner Lucas, and Lil Boosie than it has from pop circles. His music, though it’s pop-influenced, is grounded in hip-hop’s production, vocal delivery, and flair for braggadocio, even as he takes tremendous steps away from pure rapping on Montero.

This is where the crooning, grungy closer “Am I Dreaming” lives. As Nas duets with Miley Cyrus, he implores the listener to take his stories and experiences with them. It’s the most outward-facing song here, the one time the album truly acknowledges what Nas is doing for the rest of the album: Creating a space for artists like himself to flourish in a hostile environment, simply by being too talented to ignore. If no other Black male artists will work with him, he won’t just make do, he’ll jump the entire pop music hierarchy, tapping mega stars like Miley and icons like Elton John (who appears on the sobering “One Of Me,” on which Nas addresses the pressure to fit in and serve the whims of a fickle audience) to validate himself instead.

Elsewhere, Nas nods to the wave of female talent currently tipping hip-hop’s scales away from its hypermasculine origins, employing Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion, two of his fellow No.1 record-holders from 2020, to replace artists who couldn’t or wouldn’t show up. If rap fans are so miffed about Jack Harlow’s placement on “Industry Baby,” then that ire should be directed at all the other rappers who could and should have jumped at the chance to rock along with Nas on what would assuredly be a massive hit. Of course, if those fans kept open minds, they would hear razor-sharp verses from the atypical trio of rap guests — especially from Doja, who delivers a witty missive on “Scoop.”

But the star remains Lil Nas X and his unique perspective — at least within hip-hop. Perhaps the most telling aspect of his stature is the fact that songs like “Call Me By Your Name” and “Sun Goes Down” have resonated so deeply within the audience, despite departing so sharply from the usual content and texture expected of rappers in the modern era. Even when he treads familiar territory such as depression on “Tales Of Dominica” and “Don’t Want It” and alienation on “Life After Salem,” his most relatable material is informed by two things: 1. The fact he is a gay Black man, and 2. His clearly defined pop sensibilities.

Old school hip-hoppers have always rejected rap’s categorization as pop… but sometimes I wonder why. Is it because pop is seen foremost as the domain of women, especially young white women? Is it because relating too closely to those sounds and sentiments can be seen as feminine, and therefore as gay? I can certainly see why that would feel like a threat, even boys are taught games like “Smear The Queer” before they are even old enough to know what “queer” means (see: Moonlight). Being different means being a target… but it also means standing in the spotlight. It means being seen for better or worse. By embracing pop and hip-hop and all the parts of himself he’s always been told not to, Lil Nas X sets an example. He makes space for the next generation. He moves the balance ever so slightly toward acceptance.

Montero is out now via Columbia Records. Get it here.

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

Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman springs back to life (again and thankfully) as an Audible Original on September 22. Act 2 arrives a full year after Act 1, and it’s still hard to believe that this is happening. After all, dark fantasy fans have wondered if we’d see any sort of The Sandman adaptation since the comic’s 1989 debut. Multiple aborted movie attempts (a big whew to those never happening) and finally, three decades later, it’s receiving a literal reading on Audible (along with a Netflix TV series in production).

That’s more than one could have expected, and the same goes for this audio version’s cast, which weaves through space and time during an era when we couldn’t possibly need dreams more. And yes, that cast. Not only does Kat Dennings portray Death (and she told us how Neil honest-to-god told her to play the character), but the legendary Brian Cox stops by to play Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar. Obviously, one should not expect a standard retelling of what you’ll find in history books. Instead, there’s a tragic and profound take by the author, and Brian Cox was thrilled to perform as such.

Cox, of course, has been in the business for a solid 40 years, although he’s also the star of a current HBO phenomenon, Succession, which returns in October. This shall be the third round of Logan Roy telling everyone to f*ck off, and as it turns out, people really enjoy asking the same of him on the street. Naturally, I couldn’t resist making that same request as well, and thank god that Cox was (profanely) gracious about the whole thing.

Hi Brian, how are you?

I’m good! I’m in Las Vegas right now.

Uhhhh, how’s that going?

It’s okay, I’m working here, so I don’t really get into the, shall we call them, “events.”

I have to admit being slightly afraid of you going “full f*cking beast” on me after watching the new Succession trailer.

Oh, I promise I won’t go full beast on you.

I believe you, and you’re not new to the Neil Gaiman realm. You played Death in Good Omens, a different Death than The Sandman‘s version. What brought you to play Augustus?

Really, it was the project itself, as well as the role. It’s a great role, but I also love Neil Gaiman’s work. And I also love the notion of the podcast, and how popular, rightfully, it has become. Walking down Sunset Boulevard, there was a huge ad, which I have never, ever seen in my life for a radio or podcast broadcast, for The Sandman. It was huge, like for a Marvel movie, and I just thought, “Wow, what a way we’ve come.” I’ve always been passionate about the radio, ever since I started, way back in the ’60s, I did radio and you know, I did a series on the radio in Scotland for thirteen years — McLevy, the Scottish detective. It’s my favorite medium of all mediums. I love radio more than anything.

I have a theory for you. With podcast interviews these days, they run for an hour or two, and people tend to get really loose on them and unwind, a lot more than we’ll be able to do during these fifteen minutes.

Yes! They’re great, and I’ve done a couple, one from David Tennant and one here in L.A., and I love them. And I also think that people want to listen now. Apparently, there’s been a huge rise in audiobooks during this whole Covid period, and I think it has a lot to do with not being able to see people’s faces. A lot of people really don’t know how to speak behind a mask. I like to give speaking-behind-mask lessons because they really don’t know how to project through a mask, so it’s like…. [mimics the most muffled voice in the universe]

Maybe I should put on a mask right now and grab a lesson.

It’s tricky! I think that’s why people just want to hear. And not just music, they want to hear the spoken word. That’s a huge plus, and I think that’s going to stay in the memory for quite a while when they’ve lost that advantage of actually listening again. To listen, that’s great, and something like The Sandman fills that bill beyond measure.

Also, for decades, people have taken comfort in The Sandman‘s stories that Neil wrote. What do you hope that people take from the Audible version?

Well, it’s satirical, it’s deeply ironic with a lot of classical, kind-of comic irony, and there’s a lot of stuff which is quite serious. So, it’s a potpourri of stuff, and I think that’s what’s great about Neil’s writing because Neil is essentially unpredictable, so you have this element of “where are we going to go next?” He did that in Good Omens, and I think he continues to do it.

So, there’s some Shakespearean edge in The Sandman, and it can be arguably inferred in the issue with your Augustus character. Succession is also very, as you know, Shakespearean. You’ve got extensive theater experience in this realm, too. You can’t stay out of the Shakespeare stuff, can you?

I think it’s there in the air. You can’t really get around him. He’s probably the most quotable author ever in the English language. There is a phrase for practically everything. There’s a phrase that describes responsibility, like in the theater, “Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounc’d it to you, trippingly on the tongue. But if you mouth it, as many of our players do, I had as live the town crier spoke my lines.” You can’t get away from that simplicity of language and the knifed-edge accuracy of language. Naturally, those phrases get passed down through time, and they’re in the consciousness, and of course, you have to acknowledge that there are elements of Lear in Succession because that’s what Lear is all about. He starts out dividing up his kingdom [between his four kids]… It’s wonderful in the best kind of way: infectious.

Now as far as history goes, some people would say creative liberty was taken in the August issue, and where it goes with the fall of the Roman empire.

I think that Neil is perfectly entitled to take as much liberty with history as he wants because he’s an artist.

That he is, no argument there.

He’s creating something else. He’s not a documentarian. He’s not saying, “It was like this.” He’s saying, “Yes, it was like this, but this is how it affects me, and this is how I’m interpreting it, what I believe in terms of my own philosophical basis.” And that’s valid as anything… and I also find that with history, there’s something bogus about it. I mean, I love history, and I think history is important in my profession, to know the genesis of certain actors and how it all came about. That’s nice, but at the same time, history is full of lies. It’s full of people saying, “This was this person,” and offering someone up to venerate, and we don’t get the full character or always get who that person really is. With Neil, as many great authors do, they circumvent that in an absolute proper way, by saying, “Who is this person? What are the circumstances, and what about if we shift or change these circumstances? What happens then?” And that’s the drama, that’s the excitement. It’s Neil’s province, and he should truly inhabit that province.

You know, I really can’t stop drawing parallels to Succession, so forgive me here. With August, there’s also the whole notion of family being the basis of empires.

Yeah, I’m afraid that’s true of so many families. And we’re obsessed with families, from Dallas to Dynasty and all of those kinds of series, long-running series like Coronation Street… it’s a field day, and yeah, it’s right to acknowledge that certain foundations to lie in families. The famous Medicis, that kind of lineage that they had.

I was also struck with the idea of Augustus disguising himself for a day to blend in with people. Do you ever have the desire, as a public figure, to do so?

[Laughs] Oh, I’ve never! But also, it’s a frame of mind. My favorite story is of the actress Jean Arthur, very very popular in the ’30s. She was a star, and she was out with a friend walking in New York, and a friend said, “Jean, no one ever recognizes you, that is so extraordinary. Nobody ever recognizes you.” And she said, “That’s because I don’t want them to.” She said, “What do you mean, you don’t want them to?” She said, “I don’t put that out, I just don’t attract that, so people don’t recognize me.” She said, “What are you talking about?” She said, “I’ll show you want I mean.” So, she took herself into a shop window… and she walked out, and everybody started going, “Oh, it’s Jean Arthur!”

We are running out of time here, but if you could take Augustus as Neil has written him, and also Logan Roy, and put them into different projects, where would you want them to go?

Ohhhh god, that’s a tough question. I think with Augustus, it would be a sort-of time-travel project, where he finds himself in the mid-20th century, or even actually later. It would be interesting to see Augustus land in a post-Covid situation and deal with what’s going on now, given his history and what he has to deal with. The element of what we’ve had to deal with and the opposite. And with Logan, I’d like to see the younger Logan in the newspaper business, as a writer of stuff, and how he forms his opinions and how his disillusionment arises in terms of himself as a young journalist and someone who’s quite ambitious.

Well, I’d like to close with a predictable request. Logan Roy is known for his insults, so if you could possibly, you know insult me?

[Pauses] Well, you’re not the first person who’s asked me to just fuck off, and you won’t be the last person to ask me to just fuck off, so all I can say to you is to just…. fuck off.

And right back at you.

Neil Gaiman’s ‘The Sandman: Act II’ debuts September 22 on Audible.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah took San Francisco mayor London Breed to task on Tuesday night after Breed was caught on video without a mask inside a crowded bar where ’90s group Tony! Toni! Toné! was playing. When confronted by the media, Breed provided one of those moments that are an absolute field day for late night comedians like Trevor Noah.

During a news clip, a defiant Breed is shown saying that that it’s a shame that more people aren’t recognizing the “monumental” importance of all of the original members of Tony! Toni! Toné! performing together for the first time in 20 years. To Breed, it’s regrettable their reunion is being lost in all of the coverage of her not wearing a mask. As for why she wasn’t wearing one at the show, Breed says she was eating and drinking with friends, and she was not going to “sip, put my mask on, sip, put my mask on” especially when she’s there to give a good time seeing Tony! Toni! Toné! back together. She couldn’t have teed up The Daily Show host better.

“COVID truly is a mystery virus,” Noah said. “It kills your sense of smell, can make you sick for years, but you can’t catch it when ’90s R&B is playing. Something tells me this thing was made in a lab. Seems too specific.”

“Oh, and as for the mayor,” he continued. “I feel like she’s using some pretty interesting reason there, right? She’s like, ‘I know I said people have to wear masks indoors, but Tony! Toni! Toné! was playing for the first time in 20 years, and I wanted us to kill them.’”

The power of positive thinking is real, Sexy Beasts is returning to Netflix. We did it all with our mind power and our collective want to watch fit people inexplicably and fascinatingly conceal their looks with fantastical character makeup. Something that, frankly, unlocks a best-left-unexplored thirst for what is, essentially, sexy Calico Critters. And right on time for Halloween!

Details are sparse, but the official press release promises six new episodes that will drop on Netflix on October 7. And then it’s just a lot of pictures of new contestants in full costume. Which, if you ask me, sort of blows the lead if you’re coming to the show for its visual wow and not to see the paper-thin reasons people reach for to reject a match. Here are some of those pictures, though, as I am a cog in the great machine, giving people what they want instead of the mystery that they need. These images include a lion cub with a Rachel haircut and a heartbroken rabbit. Enjoy!

One big unanswered question is whether Rob Delaney will return to offer play-by-play. Another: how the show and concept have evolved following a debut season that cobbled together a collection of curious lookie-loos, hate watchers, and ardent fans. Personally, I think you gotta make it so everyone around the couples is also in full makeup and create a whole fairytale forest vibe with where they go on dates. Titillate my sense of fantasy, Netflix. To paraphrase Justin Timberlake, here’s how they should bring sexy (beasts) back: “A million dollars spent on production isn’t cool. You know what is? A billion dollars spent on production.”

Also, let’s up the stakes and keep the losing contestants in their costumes for six months and show them trying to navigate real life as a nymph-y beaver or an armadillo club kid.

Alright, that’s all the free help I can give. Here are a couple more pics for you from season 2.

Once again, Netflix’s Sexy Beasts season 2 debuts on October 7.

St. Vincent and Carrie Brownstein’s new movie The Nowhere Inn has been out for a few days now, and so too has its accompanying soundtrack album. Ahead of both of those releases, St. Vincent shared a title track, which serves as the de facto theme song for the film, and now she has brought the track to Jimmy Kimmel Live! for its debut late-night performance.

In some ways, the performance was similar to the song’s recently released video. In that visual, St. Vincent sings the song and comes face to face with a faceless copy of herself. That’s not quite how the Kimmel performance went, but the band that joined her in playing the song did all wear black St. Vincent-style wigs, presumably to mirror the video in a way that made sense for live television.

St. Vincent recently said of the movie, “I’m so amazed and thrilled that somebody let us… gave us money to make a crazy film about me, sure, but also just about identity and the pitfalls when someone starts to believe in their mythology and floats off into outer space, or becomes craven in an attempt to hold onto their little idea of things.”

Watch St. Vincent perform “The Nowhere Inn” above.

Nightmare Alley is Guillermo del Toro’s first movie since The Shape of Water, which won four Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Production Design. This is a big deal because the director starts a lot of movies that don’t get made for one reason or another. He has an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to “unrealized projects” — it’s separated by decade, which is helpful for differentiating that he tried to make a CGI The Wind in the Willows in the 2000s and an “untitled Van Helsing project” in the 2010s.

Del Toro was recently tagged in a tweet along with James Gunn and Edgar Wright about how many screenplays they’ve written that never got made. “By my count I have written or co-written around 33 screenplay features. 2-3 made by others, 11 made by me (Pinocchio in progress) so- about 20 screenplays not filmed,” he responded. “Each takes 6-10 months of work, so, roughly 16 years gone. Just experience and skill improvement.” He’s spent nearly Olivia Rodrigo’s whole life on “unrealized projects.”

We were robbed of a third Hellboy movie. Via Wikipedia:

On July 10, 2008, del Toro expressed his interest in directing a third Hellboy film, saying that he would work on the film after finishing The Hobbit. In 2010, during the production of the unmade At the Mountain of Madness, del Toro mentioned that he would direct Hellboy III after his next project, even though the script was not yet written. However, on July 8, 2013, del Toro said that the film was unlikely to be released, and suggested the possibility of telling its story in comic book form. Hellboy creator Mike Mignola refused to accept the idea.

At least we have Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army, which both rule.

(Via Guillermo Del Toro on Twitter)

If you want to talk to Bill Gates about megabytes versus gigabytes or Linux’s vulnerabilities, the Microsoft co-founder will be happy to engage. But if you want to see what happens when a human being freezes in the same your sh*tty old PC is always doing, just ask him a question about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

On Tuesday night, PBS News Hour’s Judy Woodruff sat down with the Microsoft co-founder, who is in New York City this week as part of the United Nations General Assembly to address global threats including climate change, COVID-19, and racism. But when the topic turned to Epstein, well, things got painfully cringey—both for Gates and viewers alike.

After more than 10 minutes of niceties, Woodruff turned the topic to Gates’ relationship with Epstein, as Mediaite notes. Here’s how that conversation went:

Woodruff: You had a number of meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, who—when you met him 10 years ago—he was convicted of soliciting prostitution from minors. What did you know about him when you were meeting with him, as you’ve said yourself, in the hopes of raising money?

Gates: You know, I had dinners with him. I regret doing that. He had relationships with people he said would give to global health, which is an interest I have. Not nearly enough philanthropy goes in that direction. Those meetings were a mistake. They didn’t result in what he purported, and I cut them off. You know, that goes back a long time ago now. So there’s nothing new on that.

Woodruff seemed to question that version of events, noting: “It was reported that you continued to meet with him over several years, and [that there were] a number of meetings. What did you do when you found out about his background?

Gates’ response?

Then he just basically repeated himself: “You know, I’ve said I regretted having those dinners, and there’s nothing, absolutely nothing new on that.”

Then came the real kicker:

Woodruff: Is there a lesson? For you—for anyone else looking at this?

Gates: Well, he’s dead, so… Ahhhh… In general, you always have to be careful. Uhhhh…

It’s hard to argue with that: Epstein is dead.

You can watch the super awkward exchange beginning around the 10:50 mark above.

(Via Mediaite)

Earlier this week, BTS popped up at the 76th United Nations General Assembly to perform “Permission To Dance” and discuss vaccines. They are, after all, the “special presidential envoy for future generations and culture,” a formal diplomatic designation bestowed upon them by South Korea president Moon Jae-in. Naturally, the group’s visit was the topic of much discussion, and now James Corden finds himself on the receiving end of some backlash over comments he made on The Late Late Show.

During a monologue after the BTS UN appearance, he cracked some jokes, most of which were innocent, like noting that BTS — who have been on The Late Late Show on numerous occasions — has one of the largest armies (their fan base is known as the BTS Army) in the world. Where he ruffled some feathers, though, was when he said, “Historic moment: It actually marks the first time 15-year-old girls everywhere found themselves withing that they were Secretary-General António Guterres.”

The reaction to Corden’s comments got him trending on Twitter, and one BTS fan summarized the tone of and/or the reason behind the reactions well, writing, “James Corden, as a teenage girl myself I just want to take a moment to say leave us alone. I’m not brainless for liking a boy band, and neither does me liking a boy band invalidate their achievements. Stop using my gender and age as a way of mocking other people and what they do.”

Others took exception with Corden referring to BTS’ appearance as “unusual.” One user pushed back on that characterization, noting that BTS has “dropped millions on donations, voice their views on climate change, and have spoken up about equality of gender, age, and sexual identity.”

Check out some other reactions below.

The death of The Rolling Stones’ legendary drummer Charlie Watts was a difficult blow for the band, their fans, and those close to the musician. Although he already wasn’t slated to head out on tour with the band on their upcoming tour due to health concerns, it still makes the band’s latest stint on the road a very bittersweet one. Perhaps it’s for the best, then, that the band got to try their luck at performing without him during an unofficial private gig tonight.

According to Variety the show was thrown by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and was just a small concert held at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. During the set, Mick addressed the fact that it was the band’s first performance in close to sixty years without Charlie keeping time for them. “This is the first show of our 2021 tour, this is it, this is the tryout,” he began. “I must say though, at this point it’s a bit of a poignant night for us: This is our first tour in 59 years that we’ve done without our lovely Charlie Watts. And we all miss Charlie so much.” From there, the band went on to dedicate the entire show to their fallen friend and bandmate. Check out Mick’s speech below.

The Stones tour officially kicks off on September 26 at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Golden State Warriors keep popping up as a potential trade destination for Ben Simmons despite the fact that the team seems adamant that it does not want to make a deal happen. The logic for including them in these conversations is sound: they like stars, Simmons is a star, and as their core is aging, he can serve as a bridge and a featured member of whatever the team looks like in the post-Steph Curry/Klay Thompson/Draymond Green era.

The issue is that the Warriors aren’t especially keen on doing this. While it had been reported in the past, owner Joe Lacob confirmed the team has major reservations about a Simmons deal in an interview with Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. While he did not specifically name Simmons — he said a “Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Philadelphia” — it’s not hard to read between the lines.

“In some ways, it doesn’t really fit what we’re doing. He makes a lot of money. And, can he finish games? I don’t know,” Lacob said, per ClutchPoints. “He’s very talented. The problem is: We have Draymond. Draymond and him are very similar in the sense that neither one really shoots and they do a lot of the playmaking. That’s one issue. The salary structure is another.”

The fit with Green has been a reason folks bring up while expressing reservations about a Simmons-to-Golden State trade, because while Curry is Curry and Thompson was a flamethrower prior to his back-to-back serious injuries that have kept him out since 2019, two non-shooters negate the advantage that comes here. And while there are avenues for the Warriors to make this trade happen financially, it would be largely dependent on Philly being willing to take Andrew Wiggins back in a deal along with whatever number of young players they’d want.

This trade is a fun hypothetical, and it would certainly not be the first time an executive used the media as a smokescreen before doing the exact thing they said wouldn’t happen if the Warriors choose to go down that route. Having said that, it appears Lacob is steadfast in saying that the team isn’t in the Simmons market right now, and they might not ever end up there.