Month: September 2021

Josh Klinghoffer may not be a household name among casual music fans, but he’s played a role in two of the biggest rock bands of the past few decades. For ten years, he was the guitarist for Red Hot Chili Peppers before amicably being relieved of his duties with the band in 2019. Now, he’s rebounded with another all-time great group: Pearl Jam.

As Consequence notes, Pearl Jam performed at Asbury Park, New Jersey’s Sea.Hear.Now Festival on Saturday, and Klinghoffer was on stage for the whole set, on guitar, percussion, and backing vocals. A representative for the band confirmed that Klinghoffer has been added as a touring musician for the band.

Klinghoffer previously spoke about his dismissal from the band, saying of the moment when his then-bandmates broke the news to him, “I turned up last and they were all sitting in the backyard and Flea seemed somber when I got to the door, and he just got right to it and said, ‘We decided to ask John to rejoin,’ and I just sat there quietly for a second and said, ‘I’m not surprised. I wish I could’ve done something that would’ve made this an impossibility. But I’m really happy for you guys.’ I’m happy for John. I wanted to leave the feelings that I had in that moment untouched, which were just the love for those guys. I love those guys deeply. I never saw myself as deserving to be there over John.”

Fresh off of Ted Lasso damn near sweeping the Emmys, Hulu has unveiled Jason Sudeikis‘ newest TV role: The ghost advisor to an assassin primate in Marvel’s Hit-Monkey. (Think Obi-Wan Kenobi, but with more tattoos, and Luke Skywalker is a Japanese snow monkey with a gun.) The show was announced years ago when Hulu was shaping up to be the home for Marvel animated series before Disney+ became a major player. However, at least two of the four shows announced by Hulu were shelved as M.O.D.O.K. became the only project to see the light of day until now.

Thanks to a new trailer, Marvel fans can get a first look at Hit-Monkey, which also stars Olivia Munn and George Takei in the animated series that will arrive later this fall.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Monkey’s peaceful existence in the Japanese alps is shattered by the tragic loss of his tribe—setting him on a course of revenge and violence in the very world of humans that are responsible for his plight. He’s a killer of killers with a bit of a rage problem. Throughout the series, he must learn to navigate the struggle between his inherently sweet nature and the evil acts he must commit. It’s through his complicated friendship with the Ghost of Bryce (a former assassin and now, Monkey’s unwanted conscience), that will determine whether Monkey will be consumed by his rage or channel it for good. This is the story of Hit-Monkey.

Hit-Monkey starts streaming on November 17 on Hulu.

(Via Hulu)

If you’ve spent any time in cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Dallas, or Portland, you might be familiar with the restaurant chain Dave’s Hot Chicken. Well, Drake‘s a certified fan, because the Certified Lover Boy rapper announced on Monday that he’s taking on a minority stake in the chicken chain. “I tried the food and it was amazing,” the rapper said in a statement. “After meeting the founders and hearing their story, I jumped at the opportunity to invest.”

“Started from the bottom now we’re here. welcome to the Dave’s Hot chicken family @champagnepapi @futuretheprince,” Dave’s wrote on Instagram. “WHERE DO YOU WANT US TO OPEN A STORE NEXT.” Wow, I suddenly need to go grab some lunch. I don’t care if it’s not even 11 a.m.

Anyway, in other Drake news, Certified Lover Boy posted a huge debut last week. After delays that stretched out over eight months, the rapper released the album, which came with a stacked lineup of features: Jay-Z, Travis Scott, Future, Young Thug, Kid Cudi, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, 21 Savage, Ty Dolla Sign, and more all appeared on the project. It wound up giving Drake his tenth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, making him one of only eight artists to do so. Now, for its second week on the chart, Certified Lover Boy maintains its position at the top.

Certified Lover Boy is out now via OVO Sound/Republic. Get it here.

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

Last Week Tonight supposedly decided to cool the Adam Driver obsession that inserted itself into otherwise bleak COVID updates, in which John Oliver declared that “Adam Driver fever” is the only infectious disease that should exist. In addition, the show declared Driver to be a “f*ckable redwood,” “brooding mountain,” and “big unwashed buffalo,” who Oliver begged, “Sneeze in my McFlurry, you pensive bison. Ravage my lungs, you relentless hillock.” This culminated (again supposedly) with Driver appearing on 2020’s last episode to call things out. Driver’s demeanor appeared to be stern, though one would imagine that (to some degree) that he’s enjoying the joke. Maybe?

Well, the obsession continued when the show recently responded to Driver’s new Burberry ad, in which he shirtlessly frolics in the ocean and turns into a centaur, and at Sunday night’s Emmys, the show’s writing staff dedicated their honor to Driver: “He knows what he did, and we know what we’d like him to do.”

Also, Deadline caught up with Oliver backstage (after the show not only picked up that writing award but also their sixth consecutive Variety Talk Series Emmy). Via Deadline, Oliver answered a question of whether Driver appeared in the episode submitted for Emmy voting consideration, and here’s how the host responded:

“I mean, if he wasn’t, most of last year, even if we didn’t mention his name, his presence was felt throughout all our scripts. So, I don’t know if he was, we noticed Adam Driver last year. I don’t know if you noticed us noticing him. We had said we wouldn’t do the joke again — but if he’s mad about it, that’s what we are really looking for.”

When further asked whether Oliver had helped write jokes while at home in his underwear, he got downright naughty. “It’s not just writing the show,” he declared. “You don’t see me below the waist for a reason. So, yeah, I’ve been naked from the waist down for the last 18 months.” Hang on, was Oliver pantsless during the below moment? Never mind, I don’t need the answer to that question.

(Via Deadline)

Despite original series like The Crown and The Queen’s Gambit raking in 11 wins each, Netflix‘s global TV chief would have liked to see more diverse Emmy winners after every major acting award was awarded to white actors. While talking to reporters following Sunday night’s award ceremony, Bela Bajaria opened up about the bittersweet feeling of sweeping the Emmys, but not having any of the streaming giant’s more diverse shows walk away with a win. Via The Wrap:

“We did put a lot of support behind diverse shows like ‘Bridgerton,’ we also put a lot of support behind ‘Never Have I Ever,’ which is very near and dear to me, and I wish we would have seen that recognized,” Bajaria told reporters on Monday morning. “Ultimately, the voters decide what wins, but I do think it was really great to see such an amazing sort of — if you look at all the nominees — like a really great diverse group of nominees.”

Despite Bridgerton and Never Have I Ever going home without an Emmy win, Bajaria made it a point to note that the streaming platform will continue to push for more diverse stories regardless of award show recognition.

“The biggest impact is really continuing to support with investment into the storytelling and what shows get made,” Bajaria said. “To me, that is going to be the biggest by far impact.”

(Via The Wrap)

On Saturday, Eric Clapton performed at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, playing classics like “Layla” and “Wonderful Tonight” during his 14-song set. Nothing about that seems particularly notable, but the show actually did raise some eyebrows given Clapton’s recent history.

As the venue notes on its website, in order to gain admittance, “all ticketholders age 12 and above, staff, vendors and participants must provide evidence of 1) having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine that has received full approval or emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the World Health Organization or 2) evidence of a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken no more than 72 hours prior to entering the event.”

The fact that Clapton performed a show in this environment goes against what he previously said. On July 19, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that vaccine passes would be required in order to enter venues. In response to that, Clapton shared a statement that read, “Following the PM’s announcement on Monday the 19th of July 2021 I feel honor-bound to make an announcement of my own. I wish to say that I will not perform on any stage where there is a discriminated audience present. Unless there is provision made for all people to attend, I reserve the right to cancel the show.”

Training camp’s across the league are set to open next week, but in Philadelphia, that won’t mean everyone will be in town as Ben Simmons is still planning on not reporting to 76ers camp.

Per Marc Stein, the “expectation” is that Simmons will not report to camp when it opens next week. He also reports that the 76ers still plan on trying to get Simmons there, despite the star’s desire to be traded.

This tracks with what was reported roughly three weeks ago that the 25-year-old Simmons had requested a trade away from Philadelphia and told the team he would not come to camp. It would seem that Simmons and his camp’s stance hasn’t changed as the league’s most pressing personnel storyline continues to unfold. What’s still unclear is if this will press Daryl Morey’s hand and perhaps make him make a trade before the season starts, which it would seem would require him to drop his asking price for the 3-time All-Star. It’s also unclear how long Simmons would be willing to hold out. He’ll be fined for every day he misses and won’t receive game checks if he’s still holding out when the season starts.

From the outside, this feels like a situation where both sides are trying to make the other blink first. Simmons wants out and has certain teams he’d prefer to go to. The 76ers clearly have interest in dealing Simmons, but they don’t seem in a rush to do a deal if it’s not going to get them the type of return they feel is necessary to support Joel Embiid — or at least bring in the assets that could be used in the future to land the type of second star to pair with the big man. We’ll find out soon which side blinks first.

The saga of The Wrens’ follow-up to their beloved 2003 album The Meadowlands has been just that: a saga. Summarized by Uproxx’s Steven Hyden, here’s the breakdown: The New Jersey indie figureheads formed in the late ’80s, put out two critically beloved albums in the ’90s (1994’s Silver and 1996’s Secaucus), followed that up with 2003’s The Meadowlands, and then got to work putting out a fourth album… which never arrived.

No one ever quit The Wrens, though — technically, they’re still together. That follow-up has just been in the works for about 18 years. “[The follow-up is] all done and has been done for a while, so plans are afoot, I guess. Or something,” guitarist/vocalist Charles Bissell told Uproxx.

Anyway, The New York Times is now reporting that some new Wrens tracks are imminent, just not exactly the way fans have been anticipating. Band member Kevin Whelan has taken the five songs he wrote for the band’s The Meadowlands follow-up, remixed them, added five new ones, and is putting them out as Observatory on December 10 under the name Aeon Station, which “sounds like a band,” he said. Kevin’s brother and fellow Wren Greg, as well as drummer Jerry MacDonald, have also contributed to the album, but Bissell did not. According to the Times, the two haven’t spoken since Whelan told Bissell about Aeon Station.

“Charles wanted to feel more understood, more heard about what he contributed,” Whelan said. “I was never against that, but when we started talking about how to do it, it got very drawn out and complicated.”

Read the interview in full here. Look for Observatory‘s arrival on 12/10.

A lot has happened within the past two years in this country, including but not limited to the exposure of inequality resulting in racial discrimination, an insurrection, and of course, the pandemic. Imagine writing a TV series amid such tumultuous conditions, but nailing it successfully. That’s just what the writer and executive producer Karin Gist did in bringing the forthcoming new Fox series Our Kind Of People (premieres on Tuesday, September 21st at 9PM) to life.

Inspired by Lawrence Otis Graham’s critically acclaimed book, Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class, the series follows the rich and powerful Black elite of Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard. Angela Vaughn, an ambitious single mom, is on a mission to reclaim her family’s name and make an impact with her revolutionary haircare line, showcasing the natural beauty of Black women. The series has it all: thrilling mystery, Black empowerment through achievements, and eye-opening exploration of race and class in America – and that’s just season one.

Gist is the writer and executive producer alongside Empire‘s Lee Daniels, Ben Silverman, Rodney Ferrell, Marc Velez, Claire Brown, Pam Williams, and Montrel McKay. Tasha Smith, who’s directed for 9-1-1, Big Sky, and P-Valley, directed the series premiere. As if the lineup of seasoned writers and producers weren’t impressive enough, the show has a star-studded cast comprised of Yaya DaCosta, Morris Chestnut, Joe Morton, Nadine Ellis, Lance Gross, Rhyon Nicole Brown, Kyle Bary, and newbie Alana Bright.

Ahead of the season premiere next Tuesday, I had the opportunity to chat with Gist about the inspiration behind the series, and what she’s learned about herself in the process, plus there’s a little gem to whet your appetite for the pilot. Check it out below!

Going into the inspiration, what were a few of the notable points that enlightened you from Lawrence Otis Graham’s book?

I loved hearing more and reading more about organizations. When I was growing up, my mom belonged to a club that was like a ladies club. I was just like, “Oh, it’s so much more than just kind of a social thing.” I loved reading about the agency that a lot of people in that community had in terms of really trying to impact Black people in this country. It made me proud to read it and just learn more about it.

Piggybacking off your thought about the historical relevance of what you read, I think the series is so unique because it really sheds a light on the intersection of race and class. It’s not about stereotypes for once. So, with the Oak Bluffs, why did you choose that town as opposed to say, Atlanta or L.A.?

Not only does Oak Bluffs have that historic piece baked into the location, but it’s also really pretty. The idea of seeing beautiful Black people of all different shades on a beach in the sun, living life, having that lightness to some of the stories, even though a lot of the stories have their struggle; there’s pain, there are ups and downs. Setting it in a place that’s on a beach: we don’t ever really get to see that and just kind of enjoy that and feel the lushness of that. So, I thought that made it a little bit different.

How long has this been in the works?

1,300 years! [Laughs] No, it’s something I’ve been developing for about two and a half years. When the pandemic hit and I was still writing I think the second episode at the time, but it’s been quite a while and then we were waiting for pickup and waiting to see when we could go into production. So, it’s been a labor of love for a couple of years for sure. I pitched it while I was on Star. I continued working on it while I was on Mixed-ish.

Besides the pandemic obviously being a hurdle, what would you say were some of the challenges you faced with being the writer and executive producer of this series?

Just trying to make sure I was telling the stories that felt grounded, authentic, and different. I don’t know if you’ve seen the pilot, but there are lots of generations in the world. So, I wanted to just make sure I had a different point of view for each character and each generation. Building out a world is like making a patchwork quilt. So, you want to make sure each square stands on its own and is beautiful, but that it all works together. So, just keeping a balance of that was really a challenge – and it’s still a challenge – because there we have a lot of characters, and there’s a lot that I like to cover.

I also really like to like stories that have different levels and layers to them. And so just kind of balancing all those balls in the air, and still trying to make sure it was saying something that mattered to me, but still entertaining. There were a lot of balls in the air I had to juggle and I’m still trying to juggle.

So, the challenge is trying to make sure that what I set out to do is what’s coming through on the page and finding the uniqueness. For example, Angela’s character and how that’s different from Leah’s character. One of the things I’ve always wanted the show to do, I didn’t want to vilify any group or social class. The show is really about bringing people together in a way that’s a delicious soapy network drama, so you got to have conflict and all that stuff, but I wanted it to be for people; even if you have money or don’t have money, you see yourself on either side of a class divide and the audience can see themselves in these characters in the women and the men.

I love the illustration of the quilt. Also, I agree with you on identifying with the characters. How did you come to the decision of who to cast for the role of Angela?

When Tasha Smith and I heard that Yaya [DaCosta] might be available, we were just so extremely excited. Angela is in Yaya. So, that was for me, just a dream come true. We got on the phone with her one night, I think she was still on the set of her Chicago Med and she was wrapping that up. She was already leaving. We just had a really nice, Black girl chat on Zoom about what we wanted the show to do and be and it was just one of those moments where, you know, you don’t get that a lot where it just felt like it kind of came together.

That’s so exciting! I’m so here for the Black girl chat, and definitely getting insight from an actress.

The script already existed, and she had already read it, but there was some serendipity in it. She was like, “I see Angela” and she was already kind of on that path for herself where she could see Angela or see how she could learn from Angela. Then of course, when you do finally cast an actor, it’s like you’re meeting a friend. For example, we just talked about how long it had been with me developing out who she was going to be and trying to find the balance. Angela was like my friend. I had to share my friend with somebody. That’s something so lovely to it. Creating a character is a living, breathing thing. It’s been really beautiful to watch her infuse her version of Angela into it and into the words that were on the page. It’s remarkable. It’s been awesome.

That’s great. I can hear that enthusiasm you have. What would you say you’ve learned about yourself in the process of creating this series?

I’ve been tested. Resilience is a big thing. Just continuing to try to go deeper, to find more, [and] pull out more, trying to fit the goal in writing this during the lockdown, and writing it during all the racial – or the exposure of what was already happening in this country. So, writing the show during that time would change things and now they’ve changed back. I could take all of that out or put a lot of that in my work. So, I learned it kind of helped to sharpen some of the commentary that I wanted to make.

Two years is a long time as a writer and working on a script for that long, you can kind of get weary; but I learned that this matters a lot to me. I love it very much. I have a relationship with these stories and these characters. I learned that you just keep going no matter what. You keep persevering. I think that that’s probably the biggest thing. There were some challenges along the way of like, is this going to happen? Are we going to find the right people? Am I going to nail this character right? Am I saying the right thing? So, I learned to just stand still and make sure to check in with myself and make sure I was feeling good along the way.

So, are you happy with the outcome?

I am very happy with it. I hope everyone is too. I’m proud of not only just the work that I was able to do over the course of developing it, but that everybody who has touched it has brought something special to it and have kind of bought into what I was trying to do and then helped me make it even better than I thought it could be. I’m proud of all the people around it. The studio network has been nothing but supportive. Every actor brings their A-game. I honestly think we have the best cast on TV, honestly. Every time we cast someone I was like, “Oh my god, this is amazing!” So, we have so many people who are just here to help us tell the story and believe in not only just the soapy drama of it but how and why it can be special and unique. I’m proud of that.

What do you hope viewers will walk away learning or feeling – or both?

We try to put little cultural nuggets in there. So, if anybody picks up on that, I hope they learn something that they didn’t know. I hope people feel like the characters are universal and stories are universal. I hope a little girl watches it and feels and sees herself and feels beautiful. I hope Black women see themselves and feel beautiful and seen and heard. I hope people feel like they want to watch again. I hope they feel proud of seeing themselves on TV – whether the audience looks like the characters or not, I hope the stories resonate in that way.

‘Our Kind Of People’ premieres on FOX, Tuesday September 21 at 9PM

‘Our Kind Of People’ premieres on Tuesday, September 21st on FOX

Halsey teamed up with Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross on If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, an adventurous alternative-pop album. Now they have given one of the project’s premiere cuts, “I Am Not A Woman, I’m A God,” a fresh visual via a live performance video.

The video features a single angle, zoomed in on her face and upper torso. While singing the song, Halsey alternately focused on the camera and at various points beyond it, all while being dramatically and artistically lit. Partway through the video, Halsey finds themselves getting splattered in blood.

Halsey previously spoke about how Trent Reznor pushed her out of her comfort zone, saying, “Trent said something to me that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life, where he was like, ‘Hey, the record is great how it is.’ He was like, ‘So you could not do this with us and put it out. Or, the way a lot of modern music is right now is it informs the listener not to pay attention. It says, ‘This song is safe.’ You can put it on a playlist. You can listen to it in a car. You can play it on a party, and it’s not going to f*ck up the vibe. It blends in with everything else. It’s a mood. It’s chill. But it informs you not to pay attention.’ He was like, ‘Your songs, I think, deserve better than that, and I think that they should make people pay attention to what you’re saying. So I’m going to make some really weird choices.’ I was like, ‘Please make weird choices. Make the weirdest choices.’”

Watch the live “I Am Not A Woman, I’m A God” video above.