Month: December 2021

Much has been made about Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi’s involvement in the new movie Don’t Look Up, but they’re not the only recognizable music stars who played a part in bringing the film to life. As the movie ends, a new song from Bon Iver and film composer Nicholas Britell, “Second Nature,” plays, and now the track, an evocative and cinematic tune, has been shared.

Rolling Stone offers some background on the song, noting that director Adam McKay thought a Bon Iver track would be a perfect fit for the end of the movie. So, Britell called up Vernon — as the pair have known each other for years — and the two got to work.

Vernon told the publication, “I was energized and inspired beyond words, kinda like a bull in the pen before the rodeo.” He added, “I love the words, ‘We will see you next time… they’ll be water in the rain.’ Like next time, we’ll have a new chance, but the irony is we won’t have a second chance when it comes to climate change.” Britell noted, “It’s a beautiful thought but there’s also a warning there. And that’s the double meaning of the song; talking about what’s happening to nature and human nature’s role in that. I also love the line, ‘When’s that Rapture… will there be merch?’”

Vernon also said, “I think this movie is truly incredible and important. It brings levity and reality to us through humor and art. I’m incredibly moved to be a part of it.”

Listen to “Second Nature” above.

Coi Leray’s “Twinnem” has become a bonafide hit, surpassing her breakout “No More Parties” and proving that she’s no mere one-hit-wonder. In addition to its TikTok takeover, the song also spawned a remix featuring DaBaby and landed on Uproxx’s Best Songs Of 2021. But the story doesn’t stop there; Coi’s released another new remix of the track, this one in time for the upcoming holiday for Amazon Music. Adding a gospel choir to reflect the churchy organs already present in the song, Coi’s Amazon Music Exclusive displays a new dimension that might just extend its run into the new year.

Coi’s 2021 has come after an extended grind, during which she dropped a string of mixtapes and viral singles that established her rap credentials but didn’t take her to the next level. She was so discouraged that she contemplated quitting music until Lil Durk convinced her to stick it out with his belief in “No More Parties” — he appears on the remix. Since then, Coi’s future has been pretty bright, including a selection to XXL‘s 2021 Freshman Class, a bunch of successful singles and features including “Big Purr,” “Bout Me,” and Earthgang’s “Options” remix, and receiving a confident co-sign from NLE Choppa, who counted her among the female artists who “got next” alongside Flo Milli, Lakeyah, Rico Nasty, and Rubi Rose.

Listen to the Amazon Music remix of “Twinnem” above.

Very few artists in hip-hop have had as good a year as Polo G. The 22-year-old Chicagoan released his latest studio album, Hall Of Fame 2.0, his third in as many years, building on the momentum from his first two well-received albums, Die A Legend and The Goat. That momentum paid off in a big way: Hall Of Fame yielded the rapper’s first No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 chart as well as his first-ever No. 1 hit on the Hot 100 chart with album single “Rapstar.”

This past new music Friday, he doubled down on this success with the release of the almost inevitable deluxe edition of the album, Hall Of Fame 2.0. And while I have issues with this trend as a whole, as Hall Of Fame 2.0 is likely the last one of the year, I think it demonstrates something about Polo G that explains how he’s been able to become so dominant so quickly and remain so consistent since — his strategic thinking.

While most artists never seem to have much discernible logic behind their deluxe follow-ups to their albums, Polo’s release seems intentional. It’s become customary to release as many as 20 new songs under the auspices of an existing release up to a year after the original, which is a tactic with both pros (juicing those streaming stats) and cons (you really could just release an EP or mixtape and save the marketing budget for your next full-length).

However, Polo drops his at the very tail end of the year, where it can garner more attention in a less saturated market and function as an unofficial victory lap, reminding fans of his accomplishments in 2021 while setting up his springboard for the coming year. The 14 new tracks fit with the original set; Polo is firmly in his comfort zone here, and only the heads-up single, “Bad Man (Smooth Criminal)” pushes any boundaries with its unexpected Michael Jackson sample.

Likewise, the album’s features stick largely to Polo’s established wheelhouse; we hear him again collaborate with his compatriots Lil Baby and Lil Tjay, and he taps generational peer NLE Choppa, as well as Choppa’s fellow Memphian Moneybagg Yo. The subject matter remains as chilling as ever, with morose recollections of fallen friends and fatalistic threats steeped in the real-life violence of Chicago’s rougher neighborhoods. Especially effective is “Young N Dumb,” a somber salute to homies that have passed on.

What sets Polo apart from the glut of similar acts is the sharpness of his pen; he writes rhymes like a veteran backpacker, clumping together clusters of multisyllabic rhyming patterns that still value narrative and imagery over wordplay — of which there’s still plenty. He’s probably one of the most complete rappers his generation has produced so far, which makes his ascension all the more impressive.

But it’s that strategic mindset that is his true attribute and why he has avoided the pitfalls that have tripped up so many predecessors and peers. He stays out of drama; you’ll almost never see him on the news for getting into it with haters or “opps” (he dodged charges in Miami for allegedly fighting with police) he used his rap money to buy his mom a house rather than an ostentatious display of wealth, he has released music on a consistent schedule, and when he does indulge in trends like putting out a deluxe reissue rather than a new album, he makes it worth fans’ while and ensures the release stands on its own.

Even naming it Hall Of Fame 2.0 makes it feel like a separate project, even if it is ultimately an extension of the original. I even wondered whether the timing was planned out to give him enough leeway to take a break, live some life and build some distance between him and the trauma that marks his first three releases so he can stylistically evolve for his fourth full-length. It would keep with his overall strategic mindset, which suggests that his future will live up to the goals he’s set with each of his album’s titles.

Hall Of Fame 2.0 is out now via Columbia Records. You can stream it here.

WARNING: Spoilers for the series premiere of And Just Like That… below.

As Sex and the City fans tuned in for the premiere of the new revival series, And Just Like That…, they were greeted with quite the shock as the show proceeded to kill one of its major characters. After working out on his Peloton exercise bike, Chris Noth’s Mr. Big dropped dead of a heart attack, which was not only a surprise to viewers, but also to Peloton, who thought it had signed up for an innocuous product placement. Not even close!

Following Big’s death after getting in a workout on his Peloton, the company’s stock price dropped, and it quickly went into crisis mode by busting out some Sex and the City trivia to pin the blame for Big’s death on his lifestyle. Via Us Weekly:

“I’m sure SATC fans, like me, are saddened by the news that Mr. Big dies of a heart attack. Mr. Big lived what many would call an extravagant lifestyle — including cocktails, cigars, and big steaks — and was at serious risk as he had a previous cardiac event in Season 6,” the company stated in a statement from Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum to Us Weekly. “These lifestyle choices and perhaps even his family history, which often is a significant factor, were the likely cause of his death. Riding his Peloton bike may have even helped delay his cardiac event.”

The whole situation has been a debacle, so naturally, the internet has been having a field day. People can’t get over the thing where Peloton had no idea one of its products was about to kill a beloved Sex and the City character, and the reactions have been non-stop. It’s the Crock Pot in This Is Us all over again.

And, finally, the best idea of them all, which Peloton should absolutely jump on. Seriously, make this happen.

The Cleveland Browns arrived at their bye week in Week 13 at a time when they very much needed a chance to hit the reset button. At 6-6, the Browns aren’t out of the playoff race in the muddled AFC, but with some key players banged up, an offense that needs a kickstart, and a lot of the excitement coming off last season’s playoff run gone, a week away seemed like it arrived at the right time on the banks of Lake Erie.

The best and most consistent player on the Browns this season has been, once again, Myles Garrett. The star defensive end has wrecked opposing fronts all season, piling up 14 sacks in 12 games (already a career high) to go along with 42 tackles (25 solo, 12 tackles for loss). Garrett is among the favorites to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors thanks to his production this season, and his dominance has led the way for a resurgent defensive effort from the Browns as a whole in recent weeks, keeping them afloat in the AFC playoff race.

With five games left to try and earn back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 1989, Garrett and the Browns will look to finish with a flurry — Garrett says the mindset from here on out is every game is “a playoff game and we have to win out.” Garrett spoke to Uproxx this week about his partnership with Ladder supplements and how he’s found more consistency thanks to a better nutrition plan, the Browns defense starting to play up to their potential, the mentality he has to have to take on double teams constantly, and the focus of the team on the bye week in getting ready for the stretch run.

How would you describe this season so far for you and for the team?

I mean, we’ve had some ups and downs. At the end of the day we’re just trying to find some consistency overall. And it’s been tough at times, but I like seeing some of the growth in locker room as far as guys maturing and finding themselves and just trying to be better people, better men. That kind of growth helps on the field as far as chemistry and becoming who we want to be.

As a defensive unit, you guys have seemed the last six weeks or so to start to get some of that performance back from where you were when you were at your best a year ago. What have you felt has been the biggest area of growth for this defense as a whole as you start to get healthy and started to see some some of these results coming on that side of the ball?

We’re starting to take away the ball at a higher clip right now. So that’s been big for us, trying to swing the turnover margin in our favor. And just being better on third down. We were low and we’re trying to work on that and trying to get their offense off the field, get ours back on there and get some points scored. Right now we need to start scoring on points on defense.

What’s been the focus on this bye week, getting ready for a big game with the the Ravens on Sunday, and just kind of having this week to reset and get ready for the late push here?

Well, it’s just as you said, just resetting, getting healthy, getting the mind right. And we have five more games and everything’s up in the air right now in the AFC. So we still have a chance. We don’t need to doubt ourselves away about what happened before. We’re 6-6, might as well be 0-0. Next games are playoff games and we got to win out.

Having that experience from last year of making a push to the playoffs and knowing what it takes. What do you think as a team you guys are able to pull from that and kind of lean on a little bit of experience here as you get ready for the last five weeks?

Just got to keep on grinding. I know some of these guys have been through it, whether it’s been on another team or on this team. It doesn’t make any difference when you’re out there. You got to go out there, make big plays, and the experience helps especially the D-line room, some of the older guys. Me, JD [Clowney], Malik [McDowell], and just trying to show these guys that we’re one play away, no matter who makes it. So someone’s got to step up whether it’s me, MJ [Malik Jackson], McDowell, one of the guys in the backend, like they stepped up big last game. We need to put some more points on the board, you know, house one of those picks but we know we have what it takes to get it done. Now we had to put it all together efficiently and consistently.

For yourself, I do a lot of NBA stuff and talking with guys like Damian Lillard, they talk about how once you get to a certain point, it’s about self scouting and being willing to put the work in in the offseason to know yourself and know how teams are going to attack you. And then, you learn how to counter that knowing what teams want to do to you and how you can start beating that. What has been the work that you’ve put in during the offseason to get to this point where you know teams are going to come with doubles, teams are going to come with help, but still being able to make that impact on the field with your production?

Just trying to work on being able to take on those double teams. Expecting them. Knowing how to counter them. Really, it becomes a mental game. Physically, I don’t feel like I’ve peaked, but I feel like I’m getting better each each year and each day. But mentally, how do I know maintain focus? How do I make sure I give myself the best chance to beat the double team without giving the quarterback an escape lane? Working on games with my teammates to try to get them free if I’m getting double teamed, because I don’t always have to be the guy to make the player. If they’re focusing so much on me, they might let him get free and make the play. So just not trying to be just a stat guy, trying to be a team player and allow us to flourish and make the play regardless if I’m in on it or not.

You mentioned continuing to work to where you think you can get to your physical peak and a lot of that comes with the training and the nutrition off the field. How did this partnership with Ladder come about and why were they something that you felt aligned with what you are trying to do?

I feel like sports nutrition was kind of something that I’ve been lacking on, and I wanted to take the next step as far as what I was putting in my body and just trying to get the most out of myself. I need to put in quality fuel if I’m going to get the high quality performance I’m expecting on the field consistently. I know sometimes I walked into games, I just didn’t feel well just because of how I ate or what I drink before games. And I just wanted to find something or someone such as Ladder that would give me a foundation to rely on so that I felt like I could walk into every game confident knowing that I not only put the work in, but I put the fuel in that’ll get me through the game and I’ll feel correct.

How has your nutrition routine or intake changed over the years? Because that’s something that a lot of guys have to make adjustments to as they get into to being a pro because how your body reacts to food changes, and also, you know you’re going up against guys who have personal chefs who have these routines in a different way than than college. What were the lessons that you learned early in your career that got you to this point where you say, “this is something that I need to continue to take seriously if I’m going to go to the next step”?

Like you said, some of the really good ones and the great ones are taking their nutrition very seriously. They have their own chefs. They’re putting the work in beside you, so how can you take the next step past them. So I had to learn to be better with my food intake, eating my colors, trying to make sure I get protein — and I wasn’t a big protein guy. I felt like if I tossed protein in, if it wasn’t for like a smoothie, then I was like cheating myself. I wasn’t been really doing that, more of how the guys of old used to do it. I felt like they just went out there and just played. It was just natural.

So, I just had to get over that hurdle with myself. Find the next step, because everyone’s trying to find the next step and I can’t be lagging behind because I have this idea of who my idols were back in the day. So, just trying to find ways with eating some of the Ladder products that they had, or using them in my meals or my drinks, the superfood greens and whey protein. But using that in my diet to try to get me to the next level, because everyone’s trying to find that next step, but finding it consistently and also having a chef who was being always on his toes and putting in quality meals. I think I might have the best chef in Ohio with the quality meals that he provides, morning and night. So those things coupled together with Ladder and him, I think they’ve really helped me take my game to the next level one, and hopefully in the future, it stays like that.

Isaiah Rashad and SZA stopped by the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show to perform a groovy rendition of their new song “Score” from Rashad’s new album, The House Is Burning. Decked out in a button-up shirt with a scintillating pattern, the Chattanooga rapper delivers the laid-back lines with an easygoing flair. SZA emerges midway through the performance in a letterman jacket and jeans with a flannel shirt tied around her waist, and the two artists show off their chemistry, a smooth blend of silk and grit.

Isaiah is in the midst of a triumphant comeback, releasing The House Is Burning, his second studio album, after a near-five-year hiatus during which he got clean and recovered from his irresponsible early career spending habits. After rolling out The House Is Burning with videos for enjoyable singles like “Headshots (4r Da Locals),” “Wat U Sed,” and “From The Garden,” he embarked on the Lil Sunny’s Awesome Vacation tour before releasing a deluxe edition of the album, with appearances from the likes of Juicy J, Project Pat, and Young Nudy.

Meanwhile, Isaiah’s collaborator SZA is slowly inching her way toward releasing her own big follow-up to 2017’s CTRL with new singles like “I Hate U” and “The Anonymous Ones.”

Watch Isaiah Rashad’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! performance of “Score” with SZA above.

Like most 30-somethings, Jennifer Lawrence has a connection to the Wu-Tang Clan. Unlike most 30-somethings, she didn’t memorize every lyric to Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) while driving around upstate New York in their Chevy Prizm (couldn’t be me). She had to learn the words to “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F’ Wit” for a scene in Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up, her new movie with Leonardo DiCaprio.

“The song came back on my phone recently and I was like, ‘All right, it’s been enough time. I’ll listen to it.’ It took awhile. Something happened with COVID, where that ended up being my very first scene on the movie,” the Oscar-winning actress told Collider. “It was horrifying because I was in this huge hanger and it was so quiet. I didn’t know anybody. And I had to rap Wu-Tang Clan. It was just horrendous.”

The scene only last five seconds, which Lawrence wishes she had known at the time because “it was the worst day of my life. It was [a really strange experience]. Everybody was behind masks. It was very embarrassing.” She still knows all the lyrics, though, and even shouted out the line, “Dr. Doom, prepare for the boom.” RZA must be her favorite.

Don’t Look Up is in select theaters now and hits Netflix on December 24.

(Via Collider)

Having a conversation with Dave Bayley after witnessing him perform with Glass Animals is a bit like going to meet Superman and finding Clark Kent instead. Onstage, Bayley is electric, an incredible performer with the kind of charismatic energy that fills arenas. He carries the show with a look or a goofy dance, seemingly completely at ease commandeering thousands of voices as they sing along with his. But sitting outside at an empty hotel cafe — after the first of two sold-out shows at the Santa Barbara Bowl — Bayley is mild-mannered, soft-spoken, and sometimes even self-effacing. One shared element does comes through crystal clear in both instances: This is someone who is “deeply obsessed with music.”

The chasm between Bayley’s performing persona and conversational self is perhaps not that surprising. Though the band’s most recent album, Dreamland, easily translates into a psychedelic spectacle during their live shows, it’s also full of intricacies, juxtapositions, deep-seated anxieties and cultural commentary that suggests an introspective and empathetic observer. And, it’s worth noting, most of it was written while the life of one of the band’s members hung in the balance. Ultimately, that tragedy is the impetus that led Glass Animals to their most vulnerable album to date, and a trajectory that catapulted them to become one of the biggest bands on the planet, including a recent Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, their first nod from the Recording Academy. Because for this group, despite their pop success, is a band, and everything started with relationships.

Formed in 2010, Glass Animals is Bayley, drummer Joe Seaward, bassist Ed Irwin-Singer, and guitarist Drew MacFarlane, all of whom were childhood friends spending formative years in and around Oxford. “The band was just an excuse to hang out and have fun,” Bayley remembered during our sit-down conversation in Santa Barbara. “It was basically a hobby, our weekend hangout thing. The guys would come to London, we’d listen to music, make some music. Then somehow someone started paying us… and it just spiraled out of control quite quickly. I wouldn’t change it, though.” Bayley is, fairly typically, downplaying what really happened: The band was scouted by Adele’s producer himself, Paul Epworth, who noticed them immediately after attending one of their early gigs in London.

Bayley remembers Epworth being “a pushy date” — that’s how insistent he was about the band working with him, almost immediately signing them to his own label, Wolf Tone. At that point, Bayley was still in medical school, but dropped out to pursue music full-time. The decision was so fraught for him, he kept the truth of it from his mother for almost two years — though luckily, the band’s success meant the choice wasn’t a regretful one in the end. Quickly gaining global attention for their tremendous fusion of psych-pop, Brit-rock, and hip-hop, Glass Animals released their debut album, Zaba in 2014, and followed it up after two years of touring with 2016’s How To Be A Human Being. Their second album was certified silver in Britain, and nominated for the country’s most prestigious music award, The Mercury Prize, in 2017.

In the summer of 2018, however, things took a nightmarish turn when the band’s drummer, Joe Seward, hit by a semi-truck while riding his bike in Dublin, suffering a broken leg and a complex skull fracture that impacted his brain. Even his survival was unclear at first. Seward required two surgeries, one on his leg and one on his skull, and it was uncertain if he would make a recovery at all, let alone talk, walk, or play music ever again. Given his background in med school, perhaps no one understood better than Bayley exactly how serious the situation was. He was at the hospital around the clock during Seward’s recovery, helping translate between the doctors and his friend’s family, and, pretty naturally, reflecting on his own mortality. The band canceled all of their remaining concerts for the year, and the future for the formerly thriving group was in doubt.

“When you have an injury of that level, usually people don’t make a particularly good recovery,” Bayley explained, referencing that medical school past. “I had to keep a strong face for the family, to make sure I was trying to be really optimistic so they weren’t panicking — even though inside I would absolutely be panicking.” In the end, Seward did end up making a full recovery, something that Bayley can only describe as “miraculous,” but during those days when he and his bandmates were trapped in the hospital, unsure of what was going to come next, they entered a state that eerily mirrored what people endured in the initial stages of the pandemic.

“It was very much that kind of locked down state that I think a lot of people ended up in during the pandemic,” Bayley said. “You’re not going out, you’re not able to do the things that make you feel real, or human, or comfortable. You’re stuck in a room, waiting, not sleeping. Because the future is totally unknown. And that’s what happened while he was in the hospital, and I was in the hospital, waiting. I went back to all those old places… your brain starts to wander.” So the basis for the band’s third album, Dreamland was set — and it seems only right that an injury at the magnitude of Seward’s would impact whatever direction the band went in next.

Previously, Bayley describes his lyrics as “basically indecipherable,” words that were chosen for sound, and kept low in the mix. “When we started, the music was definitely quite shy,” he said. “I was shy, I still am shy, but that’s really why, on the first record, I had no idea what I was doing. I was just nervous for anyone to hear it. So everything is quite abstract. In the hospital, though, I started remembering things I never thought I’d remember. Whereas most people would try to bury that — put something on the television, nip that in the bud — I was doing the opposite. ‘What else can I remember? What’s the strangest thing that’s ever happened to me? What’s the most uncomfortable I’ve ever felt?’”

As Seward began to recover, Bayley took these unearthed memories and surreal thoughts and went back into the studio, by himself, and started to meticulously construct the songs that would become Dreamland. Representing a complete pivot from the way he’d approached lyrics and songwriting itself in the past, Dreamland is a wholly autobiographical album for Bayley, and leans more into the pop and hip-hop world than ever before. And something about his vulnerability, his search for the brutalist truths of childhood, and the depictions of failing relationships and toxic cycles, struck a chord with a world in lockdown. While 2020 unfolded, and more and more people entered the dream-like terror that is wondering if a loved one in the hospital is going to survive, or experiencing extended anxiety, the album only became more relevant. Interwoven with real snippets of audio from home videos Bayley’s mother took during his childhood, for plenty of millennials, listening to Dreamland might feel a bit like drifting back through their own childhood.

Even so, like plenty of other artists, Glass Animals were up against a brick wall last year when their long-promised new album was finally ready for release. In the middle of a year that will forever be marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the isolation, anxiety, and grief that came along with it, putting music into the world felt like a fraught decision. Add to that conversations around Black Lives Matter in June 2020, and reason enough for a delay seemed clear. Originally slated for July 10, Dreamland was pushed back to August 7 in order to keep focus on, as Bayley put it then “understanding how to defeat prejudice.” In person he elaborated more: “I thought there was a lot to learn and a lot to pay attention to,” he said. “I didn’t want to distract my attention from that by trying to put out an album.” In that moment, the band released their fourth single, “Heat Waves,” instead, a song that Bayley describes as “realizing you can’t make everyone happy … realizing it’s ok to be defeated by something.”

When Dreamland did come out in August, the pandemic was still in full swing, so the band had to resort to digital methods of engaging with fans. Thinking about bored listeners stuck at home, the band made all their song stems and artwork available on an open-source website, along with working on TikTok trends, a remix contest for “Heatwaves,” livestream internet shows, and a handful of TV performances that could bring some of their performance energy to fans experiencing the band’s first album release without a tour. But as the months went by, no one could have expected the way in which “Heat Waves” took on a life of its own. Winning Triple J’s Hottest 100 of 2020 contest, and becoming the first British band to top that indie-prestigious chart since Mumford & Sons “Little Lion Man” in 2009, the single picked up even more speed in 2021.

It was an interesting dichotomy: In a world where touring has been suspended for the longest break in recent memory, a group that is ostensibly a rock band had released a yearning, emotionally resonant pop hit, and the charts were accepting it as one. At the time it was released, though he considered the song a special one on the album, it was just a standout song. Neither Bayley, nor anyone else, realized it would soon become the biggest song in the band’s history so far, and one of the biggest songs of 2021. “With ‘Heat Waves,’ it was coming to terms with the fact that it’s okay to understand, appreciate and know that you’re missing someone — that it’s actually probably quite healthy,” he remembered. “That you should let yourself do that, you shouldn’t try to bury it the whole time. It’s kind of like a eureka, euphoric moment. Or it can be.” Picking up a couple nods at the Billboard Music Awards for top rock album and top rock song for “Heat Waves,” the track also amassed Spotify streams and social media traction.

As the band was finally able to embark on live shows behind the record in the spring of 2021, the impact of the album — and its hit single — began to grow. Eventually making its way into the Billboard Hot 100 in America, this fall the song shot all the way up to the No. 7 spot due to some more viral TikTok use, and also went all the way to No. 5 in the UK. The song’s growth mirrored the band’s expansion through live performances, which included a predominantly sold-out run in both Europe and North America (mostly rescheduled from canceled 2020 dates), and major festival appearances at Life Is Beautiful and Outside Lands (along with a scheduled performance at Bonnaroo, which was canceled due to weather). Context on how the band’s live performances grew over 2020 and 2021: This year, the band was booked for a series of mid-tier performances at festivals, for next year, they’ve already been announced as a headliner for at least one festival, Lightning In A Bottle.

Named Variety’s Group Of The Year for their annual Hitmakers series, and Grammy hopefuls for the Best New Artist award next month, the band’s manager, Amy Morgan, was also recently recognized for her excellence by Bloomsbury for their 2021 Artist & Manager Awards. Morgan called the award was “a huge honor” and gave as much credit back to the band for making her job feel like a “privilege.” From her perspective, the band’s growth is most apparent in their live show, which is, in so many ways, a completely different accomplishment, a separate beast from the album itself. “Glass Animals is a team, so I think it was an award for us all, really,” Morgan said. “They’ve always taken their craft as musicians super seriously. The live setup is something they developed themselves. It’s complicated and there are no shortcuts — they’re absolute purists and technically as well as creatively brilliant. Watching them build the current show made me very aware of how much they’ve learned over the years touring… it’s great watching them put it all into practice.”

The band’s ability to take Dreamland’s already dance-heavy, R&B-leaning sound and translate it into something even more dynamic for audiences is truly impressive to watch. After a year and a half trapped indoors — and, even with vaccines, no real end in sight — one of the only reliefs of 2021 versus 2020 is the ability to gather together (especially outdoors) and listen to live music once more. Though the band never shied away from live performances as a place where songs could morph and change before, they seem to have taken the show angle even more seriously for this latest tour, populating the screen with nostalgic, ‘90s-themed computer imagery, using fluorescent pinks and pastel greens in the backdrop, incorporating a basketball hoop and hotel neon. Perhaps some bands would’ve shied away from making their live show bigger and bolder than ever before after a pandemic, but for Glass Animals, the maximalism worked.

In the pit at one of their Santa Barbara shows, the crowd was eager to dance along to Dreamland stand-outs: The Timbaland-cribbing “Your Love (Déjà Vu),” the bubbly effervescence of “Tangerine,” their earliest hit, 2014’s “Gooey” — which is prescient of the sounds on this latest album — lead single “Tokyo Drifting” (sans the ferocious Denzel Curry appearance, sadly), and of course, the set closer and their discography-defining hit, “Heat Waves.” Morgan remembers her own reaction to the track after an initial listen: “I loved the song and I knew it was one of the most important songs Dave had written but I don’t think anyone could have predicted what would happen!”

As one of the only songs with a single writer and producer to reach the heights it has on the charts, the success of the track plays back into the live show in the same way that Bayley’s ultra personal lyrics are buoyed by the presence of a full band. There’s no one without the other, the story is only complete with the two taken together: live rock band and hit pop song, the tragedy within the band with Joe’s injury and Dave’s reaction to it, trauma and recovery, both within the band and the entire global ecosystem. After everything that the band, and Joe, went through, Bayley’s main takeaway is that a second chance cuts both ways. It’s a reminder of how easily things can be taken away, but also a cue to savor the lucky moments for all their worth. “Being able to tour again, with Joe, it makes you feel so lucky,” Bayley said. “It also makes you realize… it could be taken away at any time. So it makes you feel lucky every day, about pretty much everything that you have.”

Since Ja Morant became sidelined with a sprained left knee, the Memphis Grizzlies have won six of their last seven games and sit fourth in the Western Conference at 15-11. A significant portion of that run has been the play of fourth-year big man Jaren Jackson Jr., who’s averaged 21 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, and one steal while shooting 41.3 percent beyond the arc over that span.

He’s playing the best basketball of his young career and attributes his improvement to one very important thing: water.

“If you drink water when you’re dead tired, that’s just ’cause you needed it really badly,” Jackson said following the Grizzlies’ win against the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday night. “You just gotta keep drinking water, and then when you go home, you get a good meal, drink some water. It’s just, it tastes good.”

When someone off the screen interjected with an inquiry about the topic at hand, Jackson made clear what he was discussing and why he was discussing it.

“I’m drinking water, man, that’s what I’m talking about,” he said. “My questions are all about water right now, for real. Big, huge water guy, I’m telling you. Drink water.”

From there, Jackson went on to explain how he is getting more water into his day-to-day life. It involves a canteen.

Jackson is not the first rising star to give water a shout out during a post-game media session as of late. LaMelo Ball did the same a few weeks back after a win over the Indiana Pacers. Both of these players are enjoying delightful seasons and water, in some capacity, seems to playing a prominent role for them.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued one of the most scathing dissents we’ve heard so far in response to the Supreme Court’s latest ruling on the controversial Texas abortion ban.

Just to recap: Texas enacted a law that made it possible for everyday citizens to sue not only abortion providers, but anyone involved in the “abortion process” if a procedure happened after the six-week gestational mark — a truly ridiculous benchmark seeing as most women don’t even know they’re pregnant by that time. The law means that everyone, from a receptionist at an abortion clinic to a friend who books an Uber driver, to the actual driver who offers transportation to and from the clinic, could also be sued for punitive damages. It’s the first and harshest abortion ban of its kind, and it made its way to the Supreme Court earlier this year.

But now, in a decision that’s obviously angered Sotomayor and a few of her fellow justices, the Supreme Court has kicked the case back to the states, leaving the law intact but allowing abortion providers to sue state officials in retaliation for enacting such a harsh abortion law. In her dissent, Sotomayor dragged her fellow Supreme Court justices, writing (via Raw Story), “The Court should have put an end to this madness months ago before S. B. 8 first went into effect. It failed to do so then, and it fails again today.”

Sotomayor continued, writing that the Supreme Court’s decision to basically refuse to make a definitive ruling on the case invites other states to refine the Texas abortion ban to curb the individual rights of women, saying “The Court thus betrays not only the citizens of Texas but also our constitutional system of government.”

And then, in the most scathing section of her dissent, Sotomayor referenced slavery laws, comparing the Texas abortion ban to other measures put in place to rob citizens of their basic human rights.

Sotomayor said the state’s challenge to federal abortion laws “echoes the philosophy of John C. Calhoun, a virulent defender of the slaveholding South who insisted that States had the right to ‘veto’ or ‘nullif[y]’ any federal law with which they disagreed.”

“The Nation fought a Civil War over that proposition,” she concluded. “But Calhoun’s theories were not extinguished.”

(Via RawStory)