Month: October 2021

Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels, but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.

Every week, Uproxx is rounding up the best new indie music from the past seven days. This week we got the an impressive new single from Mitski, the intense new album from The World Is…, and another beautiful Big Thief single. Check out the rest of the best new indie music below.

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James Blake – Friends That Break Your Heart

Two years removed from the release of Assume Form, James Blake is back with his fifth studio album. Friends That Break Your Heart is an impressive new entry to Blake’s catalogue, chock full of contributions from his famous friends, including SZA, Finneas, and his girlfriend Jameela Jamill.

Porches – All Day Gentle Hold !

Porches has been more or less prolific over the last decade or so, with each release building upon the last. Aaron Maine’s latest effort, All Day Gentle Hold !, might just be his finest to date, incorporating all of the sounds that have generated hype around the project while channeling all influences and sonic experimentation into an impressively succinct 25-minute album.

Magdalena Bay – Mercurial World

After gaining a cult following from their 2020 EP, A Little Rhythm And A Wicked Feeling, Magdalena Bay set their sights on a full-length debut. The resulting Mercurial World finds Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin reveling in the insanity of isolation by creating a musical world that they could fully live within. It’s an impressive debut for the duo, one that sets the bar quite high for what’s to come.

The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die – Illusory Walls

It’s been four years since we last heard from legendary emo outfit The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die. Now, the band is back with Illusory Walls, which Steven Hyden called in a recent Indie Mixtape newsletter “their most intense effort yet.” Featuring two tracks with runtimes longer than 15 minutes, it’s clear that the band has a lot to say, and they’re not going to be shy about it.

Mitski – “Working For The Knife”

After years of silence, Mitski suddenly returned last week with the new song “Working For The Knife.” Hopefully our first taste of a new album, the song is built atop asynchronous beats and Mitski’s signature vocal styling as she sings about what she described in a statement as “going from being a kid with a dream, to a grown up with a job, and feeling that somewhere along the way you got left behind.”

Gang Of Youths – “The Man Himself”

Gang Of Youths have been popping up here and there over the last few months, building anticipation for their forthcoming studio album. “The Man Himself” looks to be the first proper preview of that as-yet-untitled album, which Adrian Spinelli describes for Uproxx as opening with “pristine strings that unfurl into a drum and bass beat before Le’aupepe delivers the song’s chorus with an emotive tour de force akin to Bono.”

Big Thief – “Change”

Just a few days after announcing that their new album is going to be a massive 20-track double LP, Big Thief shared another new single. “Change” falls into Adrianne Lenker’s description of the new album as featuring tracks that are “raw and no fat, just songs, and acoustic.” After dropping the soaring, almost shoegaze-inspired “Little Things,” the latest single shows the wide spectrum of sounds that will appear on the new record.

Tears For Fears – “The Tipping Point”

For the first time in 17 years, we have new music from legendary English dream pop band Tears For Fears. “The Tipping Point” incorporates all of the intensity and melodrama that brought the band to prominence in the mid-80’s, channeled through a modern lens. The timing of the new song couldn’t be better, as fans (like myself) have been revisiting albums like Songs From The Big Chair to celebrate the incoming spooky season.

Tonstartssbandht – “Pass Away”

Florida-based due Tonstartssbandht is prepping their first album since 2017, and the forthcoming Petunia “feels like a potential breakthrough,” wrote Steven Hyden in a recent Indie Mixtape newsletter. New single “Pass Away” features vocal stylings reminiscent of Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young over dreamy 12-string guitars as the track picks up speed and drives toward an extended melodic guitar solo section. Everything I’ve just described is something we need more of in 2021.

Diners – “Brain Song”

Arizona solo act Diners is gearing up to announce a new record to close out 2021, but for now, Tyler Blue Broderick has graced us with one of the simplest and most infectious hooks in recent memory. Layering groovy, warbling instrumentals with straightforward vocals, “Brain Song” will be a fall playlist staple.

Talker – “Sad Chick”

Talker’s “Suck Up” was one of my favorite tracks of 2020, and it was very exciting to get new music from Celeste Tauchar in my inbox last week. “Sad Chick” is another excellent pop punk-inspired track that is built upon drum machines and soundscapes, vulnerable in its songwriting but empowering in its delivery.

Bent Knee – “Queer Gods”

Bent Knee make a type of avant garde alternative music that’s reminiscent of Glass Beach, which is to say that it resists genre conventions and creates a world unto its own. “Queer Gods” previews the forthcoming album Frosting, and has flourishes of horns, synthesizers, and smooth vocals that will certainly make Bent Knee stand out from the crowd.

Near Tears – “Love Under Surveillance”

“Love Under Surveillance,” the latest track from Southern California-based artist Near Tears (aka Justine Dorsey) takes cues from the classic era of new wave bands that played at CBGB in New York. The inspiration is clear in Dorsey’s vocal delivery and the clean guitar arrangements, echoing the greats like Blondie and The Pretenders. “I grew up in a really manicured place, learning how to be wild,” Dorsey explained in a statement. “Even if it was just from staying in, watching hours of sty footage of my favorite bands on YouTube.”

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

The modern American justice system has proved itself to be exactly that — more of a system than a benevolent entity of justice. It’s driven by for-profit businesses that care little for those reentering society, all in the hopes that they’ll become return customers. In the state of California, the average parolee released from prison walks out with $200 in state funds, mountains of time-consuming paperwork, and the clothing they walked in with. For those without a safety net like family and friends to rely on, that can feel like little more than a return ticket back behind bars.

According to a 2005 study conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice (this sort of study is always on a time delay, as they span years), 67.8% of the 404,638 state prisoners released across 30 states were arrested within three years of release and over 75% within five years. Early indications are that those numbers will only get worse — due to the rise of homelessness across the country and growing economic inequality. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, the rate of homelessness is especially high amongst people who have been recently released from prison, as well as those who have been incarcerated more than once, hitting people of color and women the hardest.

Without a strong support system, the challenge of successfully reentering society is immense. But Alia Kruz — actress, producer, activist, and founder of the Bail Bag Foundation — is doing her part to change that. Her work hopes to fill in the gaps, in a very practical sense, when the justice system fails those awaiting trial or parolees.

Bail Bag Foundation is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization that helps formerly incarcerated people transition back into society successfully by supplying each parolee with a duffle bag packed with living essentials.

“Imagine this scenario,” Kruz says, “you’re released on a hot summer day into the outfit you were wearing when you were arrested four years ago. Then you have to take a two-hour bus across town to get a phone that requires no credit check. The cost of that trip plus the phone is about $110, followed by a sandwich next door for $8. On top of that, a motel at $60 for the night. Now you‘ve got $22 to last you until you find a job, work it for two weeks then wait to receive a check .. all while returning to work in that same four-year-old fit. And this is assuming you got a job in the first week you were out!”

Each bag consists of a full tracksuit, a pair of sneakers, dress shoes, a casual pair of dress pants, a collared shirt, undershirts, underpants, socks, hygiene essentials, and a journal at the cost of around $300. By offering these essentials, Kruz hopes Bail Bag can help get people back on their feet quicker and avoid recidivism.

“I personally shop for each one of these people and I’m telling you the look on their faces when they see that someone has specifically thought of them is so worth it,” says Kruz. “I get it, a lot of these people committed crimes. No one‘s trying to make them the victims. But releasing people into conditions like this is beneath their dignity and likely to create similar conditions to the ones that lead them there to begin with.” She pauses, adding. “Therefore, it’s counterproductive to society at large.”

Kruz hopes that those who have been recently released from prison can use the gear supplied for future job interviews or to return to school. And though it’s a small-scale program, so far it’s proven a success — Bail Bag has provided over 100 bags to recipients in Southern California and has become a powerful resource across six major counties in the Southland, with a steadily growing demand.

Kruz already sees ways in which the program can scale up to meet the moment.

“In-kind sponsorships are huge!” she says. “Partnerships with corporations that are willing to donate items it is key. Sketchers [shoe company] has been so generous with us I don’t even have the words. As we expand, we would also like to do private label to lower the cost of the bags themselves.”

While Kruz’s key goal is to supplement both the items and the empathy that the current prison system lacks, she also wants to educate the public on the challenges that parolees face.

“We see a lot of inmates released without their IDs,” she says. “This seems like a solvable problem, seeing that when citizens are incarcerated all of their information is right in front of them. There should be a two-part system that releases citizens with IDs from the get-go.”

Responding to a system that often seems counter-intuitive is a constant challenge. But Kruz is optimistic that we can strengthen our respective communities by acting as a community. And she’s not shy about asking her own community for support while educating people about the challenges parolees face.

“Just be cognizant of our own social stigmas toward the formerly incarcerated,” she says. “And if you want to support our initiative, spread the word, share a link, tell someone about it, pass it along to someone else who might be interested in supporting or has a similar cause to ours. As of now, we are self-supported so every dollar you gift goes directly to the cause.”

To find out more about The Bail Bag Foundation, check out the organization here or follow Alia Kruz on social media.

Smash Mouth have been known to go viral in recent days, whether they’re performing at a COVID super-spreader event or dragging Rolling Stone writers on Twitter. But earlier this week, the band went viral after lead singer Steve Harwell’s very disoriented performance at a wine and beer festival in New York. Now, just a day after videos of the set were shared far and wide, Harwell has reportedly announced his departure from the band.

The retirement was first announced through a report by TMZ, who claims his “health challenges” had “become too much for him”; The 54-year-old rocker diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle, nearly eight years ago. According to Variety, the diagnosis led to other major health setbacks like heart failure and Wernicke’s encephalopathy, an acute neurological condition which impacts his speech, memory, and other motor functions.

In a statement given to TMZ, Harwell thanked thanked his bandmates and said his dreams came true with Smash Mouth:

“Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of being a Rockstar performing in front of sold-out arenas and have been so fortunate to live out that dream. To my bandmates, it’s been an honor performing with you all these years and I can’t think of anyone else I would have rather gone on this wild journey with.”

Ahead of announcing his retirement, fans had noticed that Smash Mouth had been performing with a replacement lead singer, but no one could figure out exactly who it was. The band didn’t reveal who the performer was, but did note that no one had been fired from the band.

When it comes to living with mental illness, the notion of gratitude may seem obscure. After all, depression hasn’t always made me a good person, or parent. It has affected my friendships and relationships, making me a shitty daughter, mother and wife. It has negatively impacted my work. I’ve quit (and lost) jobs due to my poor mental health. And I withdraw from everyone — and thing — when I’m in the midst of a depressive episode. I turn off the lights and hide beneath the covers, shutting the door on those I care about and love. In short, depression sucks. Living with a long-term mental illness sucks. But it’s not all bad. In spite of the hurt, loneliness, isolation, shame and pain, there are many upsides to living with mental illness, and I am thankful for depression — and my diagnosis. I am thankful for my mental health condition.

woman sitting on black chair in front of glass-panel window with white curtains

Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash

You see, depression has given me many gifts. Because of my illness, I am able to appreciate the little things more. When I am well, I stop to smell the proverbial roses. I take in the “sights.” Because of my illness, I know my value. I realize my worth, i.e. when I am well, I recognize my power — and my strength. I know that I am more than a feeling, mood or diagnosis. I also know that I have survived “episodes” before and can survive them again because I am a fighter. I am strong. And I’ve made friends because — not in spite — of my illness. Some of the best relationships in my life were forged in the fire. They were formed during depressive episodes and solidified over shared struggles. Over the difficulties we faced and our plight.

Depression has made me resilient. My mental illness has taught me that no matter what life throws at me, I have a chance. It might not be the best chance, or an opportune one, but it is a chance. And it’s what you do with those chances that counts. (And yes, sometimes getting up is resilient. Showering and showing up is courageous and strong.)

Depression has made me passionate. When I am well, it is clear to me how lucky I am and I do not want to waste one moment. I pursue my dreams with fervor and intention. I live life like tomorrow was not promised. I fight for my ambitions, aspirations, happiness and dreams.

Depression has made me humble. Over the course of two decades I’ve learned that I cannot do this alone. I need — and deserve — help. If you live with a mental illness, know that you do too.

Depression has made me appreciate my friends and family more because their love is vast and endless. Even when I am sick and withdraw, from them and the world, they do not give up on me. Their love knows no bounds.

Depression has made me empathetic. Having struggled — a lot — I sympathize when others are hurt or in pain. My capacity for compassion is like a well, endless and deep.

person reaching black heart cutout paper

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

And depression has made me a better person and parent. Because of my depression, I am a better mom. How so? Because my depression is teaching my daughter many things. During my episodes, she learns about self-care, and how to ask for help. It’s okay to take a break, for example. She is learning the power of self-awareness and the gift of saying no. When I am well, my daughter and I talk (ad nauseum) about her feelings. We discuss emotions like sadness, anger, hurt, and pain. And she is learning how to process each one.

Make no mistake: I don’t like living with depression. I wish I would wake up one day and the veil would be lifted. My disease would be gone. I also know I’m extremely lucky. I have the tools and resources necessary to combat my illness. My therapist and psychiatrist are excellent. My medication is well-managed and working, at least right now. But after 20-plus years living with depression — and a smattering of other mental health conditions — the lessons which I’ve learned which cannot be dismissed. I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything in the world.

So take that, dearest depression. Take that, my old “friend.” Because I’m living better with you and in spite of you. I’m surviving and thriving today because of my diagnosis and disease.

Peach was just a kitten when Chris Henderson fell head over heels for her. He had recently moved from Scotland to Houston, and the whole city was under quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic. Chris was waiting for his fiancé Emma’s visa to come through so she could join him, and he was feeling a bit lonely. He thought perhaps a pet might help with that. When he found Peach on Best Friends Animal Society’s website, he was struck by her.

“There was just something unusual about her coat, and she looked pretty adorable,” Chris said.

Best Friends

A few days later, he met Peach at her foster home and the rest, as they say, is history. After he adopted her, he was grateful to have learned about the kitten’s habits from her foster mom.

“Peach uses her voice a lot when she wants something,” Chris said. “It would have worried me, as it was different to the cats I had growing up. But knowing that was just her nature really put my mind at ease.”

Emma met Peach via video chat and was instantly smitten. Once Emma arrived in the U.S., the couple adopted another kitten from Best Friends—a little black and white sister for Peach named Lyra.

“Adopting her was the best decision I made during the pandemic by a large margin,” Chris says.

Best Friends

Chris and Emma weren’t the only ones who turned to pets for comfort and companionship when the pandemic hit. A record number of pets found temporary or forever homes in 2020. In fact, some animal shelters saw their kennels cleared out for the first time ever as people sought pets to keep them company.

However, pandemic pet adoptions have waned as people have started to come out of isolation and return to work. According to Best Friends, pet adoptions are down 3.7% overall this year. Meanwhile, the number of animals coming into shelters in June was up 5.9% compared to 2020. Despite rumors of hordes of people returning their “pandemic pets”, the data doesn’t actually show that trend; however, shelters are struggling with too many pets in need and not enough homes to help them.

Adding to the crisis, shelters are experiencing the same employee shortage affecting many industries nationwide. A survey of more than 150 shelters and animal organizations conducted by Best Friends found that 88% are short on staff, 57% have cut hours or programs due to short staffing, and 41% are down more than 25% of normal staff levels. This, of course, puts more stress on those who are still working in shelters.

“I’ve said it many times before, but now more than ever, we need the public to adopt or foster,” says Julie Castle, CEO of Best Friends Animal Society, a national animal welfare organization dedicated to saving dogs and cats in shelters around the country and helping families to keep pets in homes.

“If you have been considering getting a new pet, now is the time. The public stepped up during the pandemic, and we need to do it again because countless animals’ lives are at stake if this progress backslides.”

Adopting or fostering from shelters genuinely does save lives. When animals outnumber people willing to take them in and the cost of caring for the animals outweighs available resources, animals unfortunately end up being euthanized. Thanks to advocates like Best Friends, the U.S. has gone from killing 17 million animals per year to about 347,000, which is great, but we need to remember that each one of those numbers is a life lost. Best Friends is dedicated to making the U.S. an entirely no-kill nation by 2025—an ambitious goal, but one that is within reach if more people choose pet adoption.

Best Friends

People who love animals but don’t want to commit to lifelong care can foster, which frees up space in shelters, gives animals a temporary loving home until they are adopted, and helps get animals socialized with humans.

Fostering can also be a first step. Alix Walburn had only been a foster mom to a sweet dog named Giddy for about a week when she realized she didn’t want anyone else to adopt her. Giddy had heartworm disease, and the plan was for Alix to foster her just during her course of medication. As it turned out, Giddy snuck right into Alix’s heart with her cute face, loving eyes, and cuddly, playful personality.

“She will just curl up next to you, or put her little head on your lap,” says Walburn. “No matter where you are, she just instantly melts into your hands.”

Foster-Win! Heartworm positive dog gets adopted by amazing foster

www.youtube.com

“Shelters, and the animals in them, need our help in a big way,” Castle says. “Pets have been a part of our lives long before the pandemic, and we want to work with families to help them find their best friend while also saving a life.”

Not everyone is in a position to adopt or foster animals, of course. But you can still help animals by donating or volunteering with your local shelter. You can also support the Best Friends mission of making the U.S. a no-kill nation by 2025 by checking out the Pet Lifesaving Dashboard to see where your community ranks. (Shelters with a 90% save rate are considered no-kill shelters, since some animals arrive at shelters too injured or sick to save. So far, just two states have achieved no-kill status, so there’s work to be done.)

Adopting or fostering a pet from a shelter is a win-win-win choice—the animal gets a loving home, the shelter gets space freed up to help more animals, and you get a new friend to love and enjoy. If you’ve been thinking of adding a cat or dog or some other pet to your life, now is the time. Go to bestfriends.org to learn more about how to adopt or foster a pet.

John Carpenter is, let’s say, to the point in interviews. What’s great about interviewing Carpenter is that, no matter how gruff a response might be, he still has this grin on his face in a way there’s really no way to take it personally. This is just the way John Carpenter answers questions. And, frankly, it’s pretty entertaining to be on the other end of the whole thing.

Carpenter is back in his role as the music composer for the latest entry into the Michael Myers saga, Halloween Kills, and as a sort of advisor role, which Carpenter explains what that exactly means. Though even beyond Halloween Kills, it feels like Carpenter’s movies are having a moment right now. At the beginning of the pandemic, everyone was watching The Thing. And it just feels, maybe anecdotally, that a lot of people just kept going and have been devouring his whole filmography. And Carpenter seems to have the attitude of, well, that’s all fine and dandy, but where was everybody back then? (He has a point, though deep down I get the impression he likes it that people like his movies.)

Halloween Kills picks up right where David Gordon Green’s 2018’s Halloween leaves off, just like the original Halloween II does. And just like Halloween II, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) spends a lot of time in the hospital. (But unlike Halloween II, she is given much much more to do.) And Carpenter’s score is very present in this movie, as we hear him do different takes on the Halloween theme we already know so well. Speaking of Halloween II, I try to make a case that it, technically it could still, maybe, be considered canon? (The 2018 Halloween is, officially, a sequel to only Carpenter’s first movie.) And, well, Carpenter gets to the point about what he thinks about that idea very quickly. But, first, we start off by talking about William Friedkin’s under-seen 1977 classic, Sorcerer.

I’ve seen you mention how much you like the movie Sorcerer in interviews. I recently watched that movie. You are 100 percent correct about that movie.

Isn’t that a great film?

Yes.

Unreal.

Do you feel a kinship with that movie? Because it came out right after Star Wars came out, so no one saw Sorcerer, and I know you’ve had some experiences like that with The Thing and E.T. But everyone now loves The Thing. People still don’t know Sorcerer.

There’s an initial disappointment with Sorcerer because the title suggested an Exorcist type movie.

Or like something supernatural.

That’s correct. And it wasn’t. It was The Wages of Fear. But I don’t know why people don’t respond to it. It’s a dark film.

It sure is.

But it’s brilliant.

With both the 2018 Halloween and this one, I was always keep reading David Gordon Green saying something along the lines of, “We didn’t do anything without John Carpenter’s approval.” What does that actually mean? How often do they actually come to you and ask what you think of something?

Initially, we talk about the screenplay, and the ideas behind it. And I pretty much stay out of the way because David’s such a fine director, and wouldn’t have to worry about me. My main contribution is the music. That’s when I really go to work.

Yeah the score is very good.

Thank you.

I feel like you were mixing some stuff up with stuff that we’re familiar with, but different takes on it…

Absolutely.

When do you decide to do that? I’m assuming you have the movie in front of you and you’re just reacting to what you’re seeing?

Pretty much that’s it. We started with a basic situation of a score that exists in 1978, the one I did way back when. So, we take various parts of that and we amplify it and bring it into the modern era, modern sounds, and that’s 40 percent of what you hear. Then the rest is we improvise right on the spot in terms of what’s necessary for the movie – whether it’s for the characters, for the story, atmosphere – whatever is needed, we’re there. We’re there to fill it in. And David, we have a big spotting session with him where he says, “I want something here and I want something like this,” and that’s what we go off of.

There are a few references in this movie to Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Whose idea was that?

I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t know.

The masks from Halloween III: Season of the Witch are in Halloween Kills.

Good.

Do you not like that movie? I can’t tell.

I love that movie. Yeah, I love that movie.

I think it’s gained traction over the last few years. People love that movie now. I know at the time people didn’t know what to make of it.

It was pretty rough back in the day because it was a big flop. The audience said, “Where’s Michael Myers?”

I’m a big fan of Dr. Dan Challis.

Anyway, I like that movie a lot. I think that movie’s terrific.

I didn’t consider myself a huge horror fan, but now, during the pandemic, I think a lot of things reset. People who don’t consider themselves horror fans are watching movies from that era and really loving them. Are you noticing this? I know you noticed that everyone was watching The Thing at first, but just overall, do you think there’s been a reset of what people want from horror? Because there’s a fun aspect that I think has missing over the last few years.

That’s interesting. I hadn’t really paid much attention to that, but it’s much more fun than the torture movies.

Right.

The only one of those that was any good, the only one of those that were fun was the Saw movies, which were fun. But, no… horror there’s an edge. You don’t want to step over that edge. That’s not something that you should do.

A friend of mine was telling me about your last concert here in New York. Are you thinking about touring again soon?

We have thought about it, but there’s a pandemic we have to get over first. And I’m an old man now. I can’t go back out there in the world unless everybody’s healthy and happy.

You’ve only directed one sequel, but there are almost an infinite number of remakes and sequels made from your movies. I’m curious why you yourself have not directed many sequels, other than Escape from LA?

I just never had the interest to do it. I was involved in the Halloween II sequel as a writer, and I was involved in the Escape sequel, but other than that no big interest. That’s all I can say.

Speaking of Halloween II, does that still exist in the canon? Because in the 2018 Halloween they do make reference to Michael and Laurie being brother and sister and it’s explained away as something someone made up. I feel like I could still work Halloween II into this timeline if I want to. Is it up to me?

[Laughs] That’s right. It’s up to you! I think that was a desperate story idea that I shoved in there because I didn’t have anything else to do, but I think, wisely, they avoid that. Wisely.

But we could pretend that what happens in that movie still happens because in 2018 they discount that one part of it?

It’s all good. That’s right. Everybody’s happy now.

Was it weird for you when Mike Myers started becoming famous?

Well … Oh, I see what you mean. No. No, I didn’t find it weird.

You need to get him in one of these movies.

You’ve got to understand Michael Myers was named after a real person.

Yes, I knew that.

So, nothing surprised me after that.

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

It seems like for the past few weeks, all anyone has been able to talk about is Squid Game, the Korean Netflix drama that has captivated viewers with its grotesque concept and sly social commentary. That includes rappers, as well; Meek Mill apparently enjoyed it and was able to connect with the show’s themes, making an astute observation on Twitter that unfortunately, didn’t go over well with some of his followers.

“Squid games”pay attention how fast people switch and kill each other to survive,” he noted. “Now think about the ‘hood’ poverty …it’s the exact same thing …if you just help them with work/money they won’t be that way ‘just a common sense message.’” Parsing his words a bit, it seems as though he’s pointing out what sociologists and activists have been saying for a long time. Impoverished areas need more resources because crime and violence are a result of that lack, not intrinsic nature.

Of course, not everyone was amenable to this observation, likely thanks in part to Meek’s hit-and-miss social strategy, including his own recent missed opportunity to “give back.” Some of the responses argued that it takes more than resources, while others thought that the theme of the show — which is spelled out pretty clearly throughout its nine episodes — points to a different conclusion. One commenter rejected the premise of the tweet entirely, telling Meek to “get in the studio” despite the fact that his latest album is less than a week old.

However, many agreed with Meek’s perspective on the message that Squid Game conveyed. The show revolves around a group of desperate people who sign up to play children’s games for a large jackpot. However, they quickly learn that the losers are shot and killed. Given the opportunity to opt-out and return to their respective dire circumstances, many of the players return, playing out the violent six-round game to completion, becoming more vicious as their numbers dwindle and the games themselves turn them against each other.

You can watch Squid Game on Netflix now.

Meek Mill is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

With Halloween Kills’ theatrical release mere days away, its not all that surprising director David Gordon Green is ready to announce his next big project. However, with three Halloween movies and a couple stoner titles under his belt — Your Highness and Pineapple Express — just what type of movie Green’s next film is might come as a bit of a surprise for fans of the off-beat director.

According to Deadline, Green is reportedly teaming up with Disney Studios to direct a Disney+ original movie about Walt Disney’s “journey to building Disneyland, the ‘Happiest Place on Earth.’” The film is set to follow the enterprising animator up to the grand opening of Disneyland on July 17, 1955, and showcase the highs and lows him creating the only Disney theme he directly supervised the construction of.

Seeing as how closely involved Disney is with the project (and how squeaky clean they like to keep their image), it seems highly unlikely the film will dig into the Disneyland creators “eccentricities” and go more of a comedic, mockumentary-style route with the film, making it a pretty unusual choice for Green. However after genre-jumping and creating the highest-grossing Halloween movie of all time, this could be the a new and exciting challenge for the director. Plus, with 2013’s Saving Mr. Banks still the most recent Walt Disney biopic out there, there’s a lot of untapped potential and Disney stories just waiting to get the silver screen treatment.

Evan Spiliotopoulos, a Disney veteran who’s written on films such as The Jungle Book 2, Pooh’s Heffalump Movie, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure and the live-action reboot of Beauty and the Beast, is set to write the upcoming film, with Cavalry Media and producer Jason Reed helping to helm the project. Allison Erlikhman will oversee for Disney Studios, and Cavalry Media’s Dana Brunetti and Matt DelPiano will produce alongside Reed. As of right now, no title, timeline, or cast details have been revealed.

With its release just one month away, The Shrink Next Door dropped its newest trailer that explores the tension building relationship between Will Ferrell’s Marty and Paul Rudd’s increasingly “unconventional” therapist Dr. Ike. WandaVision‘s Kathryn Hahn is also along for the ride to round out one hell of a cast.

As the new trailer reveals, an increasingly distressed Marty is falling apart at work and agrees to see a therapist at the urging of his sister played by Hahn. But while Dr. Ike seems like a warm, friendly therapist who starts turning Marty’s life around, it becomes clear that he’s becoming too involved in his patient’s life. Soon, Dr. Ike is directly involved in Marty’s now successful business, and he’s urging him to ice out his sister who can plainly see what’s happening as the dark comedy unfolds.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Inspired by the true story of Marty and the therapist who turned his life around… then took it over. When he first meets Dr. Ike, Marty just wants to get better at boundaries. Over 30 years, he’ll learn all about them–and what happens when they get crossed.

The first three episodes of The Shrink Next Door premiere November 12 on Apple TV+.

The “Backyard Sessions” video of Miley Cyrus covering Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” seems to go viral at least once a year. And every time it does, the response is always the same: “Wow, she can really sing!” This is obvious to anyone who’s seen Miley live, as I did during the first weekend of ACL Festival 2021 in Austin, Texas. Over the course of a 90-minute headlining set, she showed why she’s a welcome addition to any festival lineup.

Cyrus kicked things off with a medley of her own “We Can’t Stop” and “Where is My Mind” by Pixies, setting the “pop hits mixed with rock classics” tone for the rest of the set. She looked like Debbie Harry after a long weekend spent on the Vegas strip (she even covered “Heart Of Glass,” along with Janis Joplin and Cher), and strutted the stage with the confidence of someone who’s seen it all.

And she has: from starring in a TV show before she could drive, to going on tour as her pop star alter ego, to the Robin Thicke incident, to making an album with the Flaming Lips literally called Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz, to accusations of cultural appropriation, to clickbait timelines of the famous people she’s dated, Miley Cyrus has been a near-constant presence in our lives for 15 years. And she’s provided some of the most enduring pop songs in that time, too. Miley’s not a nostalgia act, but when she played “Party In The U.S.A.,” I found myself fondly recalling my summer as a camp counselor listening to the song during free swim. For my teenage half-brother who also attended ACL, it was hearing “23” at a middle school dance. For both of us, and the thousands of others in the trampled Zilker Park field, it was feeling chills during a power ballad version of “The Climb” and giving into the exuberance of “See You Again.”

One person who literally doesn’t know a life without Miley Cyrus is Billie Eilish (she is, famously, a Belieber, but I’m sure she listened to “7 Things” on Radio Disney at least once). The umpteen-time Grammy winner was the Saturday night headliner for both weekends — I caught her during weekend two, a week after Miley and a few days after No Time To Die was released into theaters. Eilish didn’t perform “No Time to Die,” the second-best Bond theme of the Daniel Craig-era (“Skyfall” is untouchable), but she did provide the most memorable performance of the entire festival.

Eilish has called “Happier Than Ever,” the title track from her sophomore album, the “most therapeutic song I’ve ever written or recorded, like ever, ever, ever, ’cause I just screamed my lungs out and could barely talk afterwards… I had wanted to get those screams out for a very long time and it was very nice too.” After ACL was canceled in 2020 for obvious reasons, the 2021 crowd got their very long, very nice screams out, too. Happier Than Ever, the album, is a hushed, moody, occasionally jazzy mediation about what it’s like to be one of the world’s most famous musicians — if not people — before you can legally take a sip of alcohol. But “Happier Than Ever,” the song, is an opportunity to wave the proverbial — or perhaps literal — middle finger to every shitty ex- you’ve had the unfortunate experience of dating (you know what they say about ex’s in Texas…). It starts slowly before roaring to a fuzzed-out, scream-along finish.

“When I’m away from you, I’m happier than ever,” Eilish sings before the cathartic heavy metal finish, but she didn’t mean it about the festival crowd. The mood during the set closer was more akin to Miley’s final song: it was a party in the A.C.L.