Month: December 2021

Despite not dropping an album this year and leaving fans waiting for his next release, The Weeknd took home a big award for his work in 2021. The singer was given Apple Music’s Global Artist Of The Year at the platform’s third annual ceremony. “I’m so grateful for this huge honour and want to thank Apple for all its support, not only for my work but also for great music by newer artists, where it matters so much for creators to be found and supported,” he said according to Complex.

The win comes after The Weeknd was recognized as an artist who had one of YouTube’s most trending videos thanks to his one for “Save Your Tears.” The runner-up for that honor is Pooh Shiesty and Lil Durk’s “Back In Blood.” The Weeknd was also honored for his 2021 Super Bowl Halftime Show, which appeared in YouTube’s Top Five list of overall trending videos.

Elsewhere, The Weeknd had his 2019 single “Blinding Lights” named as the “No. 1 song of all time” by Billboard. Prior to that, the song became the longest-charting song of all time after it logged its 88th week on the Hot 100 in mid-August.

You can see an image of The Weeknd with his award in the post above.

After gaining some attention from a series of standalone singles over the last few years, Korean-American producer-songwriter James Ivy has finally welcomed us into his unique musical world with the Good Grief EP. Built upon a driving sense of groove, the EP combines elements of anthemic rock, electronica, and early-2000’s pop sounds that almost feel like they’re from a lost era. The EP is what Ivy calls “a project that I’ve been wanting to make for a long time,” and the attention to details is palpable throughout its five tracks.

To celebrate the new EP, Ivy sat down to talk Linkin Park, Korean food in New Jersey, and more in the latest Indie Mixtape 20 Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

Fun, Funny, Full, and Fucked.

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

I’d like it to just leave a mark on people in any capacity! Just to know that the music that moved me while making it, also moved other people who listened to it is enough for me.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?

Had the most insane time performing in Brooklyn about a week ago. I think I just got super amped to play cause I knew a bunch of my friends were coming hahaha. But we play our first night in Austin tomorrow so we’ll see how that measures up. I feel like it’s gonna be a crazy one.

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

It truthfully changes all the time and the question can really be interpreted in so many different ways. I feel like my parents inspired me and gave me a lot of opportunities growing up to pursue what I wanted in life, in this case, music. Right now I think my biggest musical inspiration is Thom Yorke. But the people who have most inspired my work have honestly all been my friends, peers and contemporaries. There’s really nothing like getting inspired by people your age doing cool shit.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life?

So Moon Nan Jib in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Favorite Korean food ever.

What album do you know every word to?

Meteora by Linkin Park. I can’t really remember song lyrics like I used to when I was a kid. Think I know Mike Shinoda’s whole verse on “Nobody’s Listening” Lol.

What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?

No bias, Nurture Tour Live. Porter’s set is seriously crafted with so much love and care and it really really shows. I think closely behind is seeing Show Me the Body live in New York.

What is the best outfit for performing and why?

Jeans and a Tee-shirt. Makes it really simple every night if you have a bunch of shirts you like and jeans that fit well. Dressing up to perform is hard hahaha I’ve given up a bit and have kept it pretty simple on this tour.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?

Action Bronson. Super inspiring person for real. Larger than life personality too.

What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?

We don’t play a ton of music on the bus because we drive a lot at night and we are all sleeping for the most part. But I put on my headphones every night and fall asleep to ambient music a lot of the time. Brian Eno’s Music For Airports and Alvedon’s song “WEArgue.”

What’s the last thing you Googled?

“Demon Slayer Movie Stream”

What album makes for the perfect gift?

The Blue Nile – Hats. Great sad holiday gift record.

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

Honestly, haven’t crashed in any weird places yet! Green room couches in states I’ve never been is about as wild as it’s gotten so far.

What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?

I was in Austin and I had just turned 18. A few of my friends out there had started getting tattoos and we all joked about me getting a tattoo on my trip. I actually said I was going to do it at one point and they didn’t let me take it back. I had no idea what to get so I found this picture of the character Bloo from the cartoon Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends and decided on getting it on my upper thigh so it wouldn’t be visible if I was wearing pants, only in shorts. We drove to this place off the side of the highway called “Atomic Tattoo” I think and it was so shit hahaha. The person who gave it to me used the thickest lines ever and had the heaviest hand. My most painful tattoo by far.

What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?

I don’t want to sound like a snob but I never listen to radio anymore. It’s really aux cord, bluetooth, or bust at this point. If it’s an oldies channel and they’re playing the Cars or the Cure or something I’ll stick around though.

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

My friend Instupendo modded my 3DS once and put an insane amount of games on the console itself so it just had every game I’d ever want to play on it ever. Also added a bunch of cute backgrounds and homepage themes for me. Gotta be the most thoughtful gift I’ve ever gotten.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

I would tell him to stop chasing what other artists have already done!!! Feel like I wasted so much of my life trying to replicate my inspiration’s work, rather than finding something in me that was more of my own. Would also give him some better music to listen to, and maybe some advice on how to dress.

What’s the last show you went to?

I went to see Wavedash and Anamanaguchi play live in Pittsburgh. Such a great show I love all those guys dearly.

What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?

I always watch About Time if it’s ever on. Most goated Rom Com ever hands down no debate.

What would you cook if Obama were coming to your house for dinner?

Instant ramen.

Good Grief is out now on FADER. Listen here.

‘Tis the season that Home Alone and its first sequel are airing pretty much round the clock. (That goes less so for the three other follow-ups, including the one with a young Scarlett Johansson.) So naturally the franchise would fuel yet another in an unusual new trend: Airbnb one-offs involving movies and TV shows. It happened to Sex and the City. It even happened to House of Gucci. And now it’s happening to the series about a kid with a forgetful family who effs up some burglars but good.

As per Deadline, the rental giant is offering the palatial suburban mini-mansion featured in the first two Home Alones is up for grabs for a single night. The booking won’t open up till Dec. 7 and, unlike the Sex and the City rental, there’s no set price. Moreover, the lucky winner(s) will have to pony up for travel to scenic Winnetka, Illinois, located a hop, skip, and a jump from Chicago (ditto the airport that felled the McCallister clan twice).

In an Airbnb statement attributed to Buzz, the casually sadistic older brother played by Devin Ratray (who brags about running his own security firm), invites “one crew of mischief makers to let their inner eight-year-olds run free in my childhood home on Dec. 12” while the cats are away.

Amenities include “plenty of Chicago’s finest pizza and a candlelit dinner of microwavable Kraft Macaroni & Cheese,” plus a chance to watch the Disney+ revival film Home Sweet Home Alone. The winners will also get their mitts on such props as the deadly paint bucket and the bronze statue repeatedly mowed down by the pizza guy.

The special deal will raise funds for Chicago’s La Rabida Children’s Hospital.

Apparently the current owners are cool with having strangers bop about their movie-famous abode, even though they paid a whopping $1.585 million back in 2012 to keep it for themselves.

(Via Deadline)

Keeping track of all the new albums coming out in a given month is a big job, but we’re up for it: Below is a comprehensive list of the major releases you can look forward to in December. If you’re not trying to potentially miss out on anything, it might be a good idea to keep reading.

Friday, December 3

• 1K Phew & Lecrae — No Church In A While (Reach Records)
• Aisha Badru — The Way Back Home EP (Nettwerk Records)
• Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge — Remixes JID010 (Jazz is Dead)
• Andrew Gabbard — Homemade (Colemine Records)
• Arca — Kick iii (XL Recordings)
• Arca — Kick iiii (XL Recordings)
• Berner — Gotti (Bern One Entertainment)
• Carleigh Aikins — Junk Jewelry (SilverDoor)
• Cold Collective — Weathervane (Rise Records)
• Deep Throat Choir — In Order To Know You (Bella Union)
• Emilia Anastazja — Flower House EP (Young and Aspiring)
• Failure — Wild Type Droid (Failure Music)
• Fruit Juice — Mirke vs. The Dreamy LLC (Easy Street Records)
• Full Bush — Movie Night EP (Brutal Panda Records)
• G’emma — Types of Water EP (Sonar Kollektiv)
• Jason Boland — The Light Saw Me (Proud Souls Ent.)
• Jesse Cook — Libre (Outside Music/Redeye)
• Kathryn Williams & Carol Ann Duffy — Midnight Chorus (One Little Independent)
• Kenny G — New Standards (Concord Records)
• Khalid — Scenic Drive (Right Hand Music)
• LP — Churches (PIAS Recordings)
• Luttrell — Music For My Memories (Anjunadeep)
• MadeinTYO and UnoTheActivist — Yokohama (Private Club Records)
• Marissa Paternoster — Peace Meter (Don Giovanni Records)
• Mike Block — Planispheres (Bright Shiny Things)
• The Mother Hips — Glowing Lantern (Blue Rose)
• Nardo Wick — Who Is Nardo Wick? (RCA)
• New Found Glory — December’s Here (Hopeless Records)
• Nils Frahm — Old Friends New Friends (LEITER)
• NLE Choppa — Me Vs. Me EP (No Love Entertainment/Warner)
• No Rome — It’s All Smiles (Dirty Hit)
• Pepper Lewis — She Told Me To Sing My Heart Out EP (AWAL)
• Pick A Piper — Sea Steps EP (Tin Angel)
• Polo G — Hall of Fame 2.0 (Columbia Records)
• Quinn Christopherson — I Am Bubblegum EP (4AD)
• Rival Consoles — Overflow (Erased Tapes)
• Sky H1 — Azure (AD 93)
• So Hideous — None But a Pure Heart Can Sing (Silent Pendulum)
• Tom Morello — The Atlas Underground Flood (Mom + Pop Music)
• Treetop Flyers — Old Habits (Loose Music)
• Trini Lopez — The Rare Reprise Singles (Omnivore Recordings)
• Volbeat — Servant Of The Mind (Republic Records)
• Wajatta — Do You Even Care Anymore? (Brainfeeder)

Friday, December 10

• Aeon Station — Observatory (Sub Pop Records)
• Big Boi and Sleepy Brown — The Big Sleepover (HITCO)
• Buck Owens and Susan Raye — Together Again (Omnivore)
• Clear Mortifee — Fairies: Act II EP (AntiFragile)
• Fela Kuti — Vinyl Box Set #5 (Knitting Factory Records)
• Green Day — The BBC Sessions (Warner Records)
• Herman Dune — Santa Cruz Gold (Yaya Tova)
• Honey Guide — A Tidy Room Is A Tidy Mind EP (Bam Bam Records)
• Horse Show — Falsterbo EP (PNKSLM Recordings)
• Jeff Parker — Forfolks (International Anthem/Nonesuch)
• Jlin — Embryo EP (Planet Mu)
• Joan Avant — Dies Irae (Red Masque Records)
• Juice WRLD — Fighting Demons (Grade A Productions/Interscope Records)
• Kid Dad — Bloom EP (Long Branch Records)
• Majid Soula — Chant Amazigh (Habibi Funk Records)
• Mercury X — Imprisoned (Frontiers Music)
• Michot’s Melody Makers — Tiny Island EP (Nouveau Electric Records)
• Monsta X — The Dreaming (Starship Entertainment Co. Ltd./Intertwine Music)
• Moses Sumney — Live From Blackalachia (Tuntum)
• Mouth Congress — Waiting For Henry (Captured Tracks)
• Nalan — I’m Good. The Crying Tape (Mansions and Millions)
• Nicole Atkins — Memphis Ice (Single Lock Records)
• The O’My’s — No Swimming EP (ADA/Warner Music Group)
• Rick Ross — Richer Than I Ever Been (Maybach Music Group)
• San Fermin — In This House (Better Company)
• Spell Songs — Spell Songs II: Let The Light In (Thirty Tigers)
• Teen Daze — Interior (Cascine)
• Ziemba — Unsubtle Magic (Sister Polygon)

Friday, December 17

• Beverly Glenn-Copeland — Keyboard Fantasies Reimagined (Transgressive)
• Chuck Berry — Live From Blueberry Hill (Dualtone Records)
• John Dwyer, Ryan Sawyer, Greg Coates, Wilder Zoby, and Andres Renteri — Gong Splat (Forced Exposure)
• Johnny Marr — Fever Dreams Pt 2 EP (BMG)
• Nick Cave and Warren Ellis — Les Panthère Des Neiges — Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Invada Records/Lakeshore Records)
• Small Jackets — Just Like This! (Go Down Records)
• Various Artists — Sing 2 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Republic)

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

Wolves center Karl-Anthony Towns finished Wednesday’s Wolves-Wizards game with a 34-point, 10-rebound performance in Minnesota’s 115-107 road loss. He was once again fantastic amid a strong season for him, but he did have to leave the game early after slipping off the rim on a dunk in the fourth quarter.

Towns, it appears, had too much momentum going forward as he completed the dunk, causing him to fall hard onto his tailbone as he finished the dunk. The play put him in obvious pain, causing him to leave the game to be examined on the bench while lying down. Before the game ended, Towns went to the locker room, presumably for further examination.

At this time, it’s not clear how severe the injury is. It’s a scary fall to see considering he fell straight back after finishing the dunk. The hope would be that it’s nothing serious and that he won’t have to miss any time, or, at the worst, he would only miss a handful of games. With a showdown with the East leading Nets in Brooklyn on Friday, Minnesota will be hoping their star is only sore and able to give it a go against one of the best teams in the NBA.

If Towns is out for any period of time, it could be a blow to Minnesota as they jockey for position in the Western Conference. Currently, they are 11-11 and in the thick of the playoff picture. It’s early, but in a competitive conference, every game matters.

UPDATE: Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, X-rays returned negative on Towns, which is obviously a good sign.

For a few years now, Tom Brady has used social media to recap the football games he’s won with both the New England Patriots and, now, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. These recaps usually feature a motivational message from the football player followed by some highlights, usually with a song from a popular artist playing in the background. For this past Sunday’s win against the Indianapolis Colts, Brady recapped the game with a video that featured Freddie Gibbs and Big Sean’s “4 Thangs” in the background. Gibbs caught wind of this development and took to social media to celebrate.

Gibbs reposted Brady’s video on Instagram and wrote, “Tom Brady bout to turn me to a Bucs fan [laughing emoji].” He also reposted the video on Twitter, writing, “My dog TB12!!!”

Gibbs, who hails from Gary, Indiana, has spoken about his distaste for the Indianapolis Colts for well over a decade, as tweets from 2010 prove. “I fux wit DA BEARS and anybody that’s that’s playin the f*ckin colts,” he wrote in one tweet while another simply read, “F*ck the colts.” Gibbs also once wrote, “All y’all n****z from Gary that know y’all grew up as BEAR fans please stop d*ck ridin’ the colts cuz they in the super bowl.” This is in reference to the Colts’ Super Bowl matchup against the New Orleans Saints, in 2010 which they lost by a score of 31-17.

Freddie Gibbs is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Years ago, the NBA and NCAA instituted penalties for players who leave the bench area during a fight to try and prevent things from becoming all out brawls between teams. Still, sometimes guys can’t help but break free of the bench area to check things out, either to be peacemakers or to be instigators.

On Wednesday night, longtime hated rivals [checks notes] Nebraska and NC State met in Raleigh and in a tie game in the fourth quarter, things got heated and bit of a fracas broke out near the NC State bench. A number of technical fouls were handed out, with Kobe Webster of Nebraska and Cam Hayes of NC State being the two chief participants, but the scuffle became a viral sensation thanks to the presence of Trey McGowans, who scooted across the court from the Huskers bench to check out what was going on — his little brother, Bryce, was down there — and his leisurely roll across the court was a hysterical visual.

McGowans doesn’t get involved, but couldn’t help but want to check things out. As the announcers note, it’ll be interesting to see if there’s further penalties on folks for leaving the bench — with McGowans obviously sticking out as the only person on the floor riding a knee scooter. In any case, he’s provided us with basketball’s NED moment, and we can all be thankful for that.

On Tuesday, CNN took the logical step after discovering one of their news hosts had abetted in a politician’s sketchy defense: They suspended him. Chris Cuomo, brother of disgraced former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, was put on indefinite leave from his weeknight show after a New York Times report made some shocking revelations. But Chris had more than a CNN show. He also has a podcast. And the day after, he used it to comment on the career blow.

As per The Daily Beast, Chris devoted a part of Wednesday’s episode of Let’s Get After It, his SiriusXM show, addressing the sizable, noisy elephant in the room.

“Quick note, the obvious,” Chris said. “I’ve been suspended from CNN. You know this already. It hurts to even say it, it’s embarrassing, but I understand it and I understand why some people feel the way they do about what I did. I’ve apologized in the past and I mean it. It’s the last thing I ever wanted to do, was compromise any of my colleagues and do anything but help.”

The NYT report, published Monday, contradicted statements Chris had said earlier in the year, namely that he had played a minimal role in his brother’s defense over multiple accusations of sexual misconduct. He even admitted to using his sources to dig up dirt on his brother’s accusers. After months of pushback, Andrew stepped down in August, to the shock of many.

The day after the report went live, CNN top brass said they were planning a “thorough review and consideration” of their employee’s actions. By the end of the day, he was on suspension. On his podcast, Chris tried to sound diplomatic.

“I know they have a process that they think is important and I respect that process,” Cuomo told his listeners, “so I’m not going to talk about this anymore than that.”

In the meantime, Chris can take solace that at least two people have his back: Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Notre Dame found itself in a stunning position this week, as head coach Brian Kelly left for the LSU job, the second such shocking poaching in college football this week — USC swiped Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma on Sunday.

In the aftermath, there was plenty of speculation about who the Irish would look to as a replacement. Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell, a midwestern Catholic, was long suspected as a top target of Notre Dame whenever Brian Kelly left, but with his Bearcats on the precipice of becoming the fist Group of Five team to make the College Football Playoff, the timing of the Irish job coming open couldn’t be much worse. Iowa State’s Matt Campbell is another prominent Catholic coach in the midwest who many figured would be interested, but with the Cyclones falling a bit short of expectations this season, timing, likewise, wasn’t on his side.

Defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman was the other expected top candidate, as Notre Dame could look to promote from within in an effort to continue what has been a pretty tremendous run in recent years. Freeman has been considered one of the fastest risers in college football in terms of assistants to watch for head coaching openings, with Kelly even saying earlier in the year that he was going to be a head coach sooner than later. On Wednesday night, numerous reports started to emerge that Freeman was indeed the selection.

Along with Freeman being elevated to head coach, offensive coordinator Tommy Rees will also be sticking in South Bend despite a massive offer from LSU to join Kelly in Baton Rouge, as he told the team on Wednesday night.

Rees sticking around was apparently part of what needed to happen for Freeman to become the head coach, as the Irish clearly wanted to keep as much in place as possible after five straight 10-win seasons.

With Freeman being promoted and Rees sticking around, there’s one fewer major head coaching opening, but two high profile coordinator jobs still to be filled in LSU, where they will be looking to pay big money to lead their offense and defense.

Less than a year after he dropped his fourth album Wonder, Shawn Mendes is back to releasing new music. It became his fourth No. 1 album and set him up for a seven-month world tour that begins in March. Before that, though, Mendes returns with “It’ll Be Okay,” a tender single that finds him delivering assurance to both an ex-lover as well as himself after they’ve decided to end their relationship.

On the new song, Mendes sings, “If you tell me you’re leaving, I’ll make it easy / It’ll be okay” He adds, “If we can’t stop the bleeding / We don’t have to fix it, we don’t have to stay / I will love you either way.”

The track arrives after Mendes and Camila Cabello announced in a joint statement on social media that they had called it quits. “Hey guys, we’ve decided to end our romantic relationship but our love for one another as humans is stronger than ever,” they wrote. “We started our relationship as best friends and will continue to be best friends. We so appreciate your support from the beginning and moving forward.” So that’s too bad, isn’t it?

You can listen to “It’ll Be Okay” in the video above.