Last October, Sasami announced her new album, Squeeze, promising an exploration of sounds from metal to folk pop and beyond. We got exactly that on the indie-pop, guitar-driven “The Greatest” and the explosive nu-metal assault of “Skin A Rat,” with co-production from Ty Segall on both, and drums from Megadeth’s Dirk Verbeuren on the latter. Now Sasami has introduced a new wrinkle on her latest track, “Say It.”
The industrial vibes are strong on this track that feels inspired by Nine Inch Nails or even KMFDM. It has Kyle Thomas of King Tuff (who engineered Squeeze) on guitar and bass, and co-production from Moaning’s Pascal Stevenson. The track opens with a basement club bang, before pulling back to let Sasami’s vocals be front and center as the flashing drum beat remains.
“‘Say It’ is a rage anthem dance track about spinning out because someone isn’t communicating with you,” Sasami said in a statement. “I feel like when I hear the song I see a hot femme with a mystical flamethrower engulfed in emotional blue flames throwing elbows alone in an industrial dance club in outer space.”
Gotta love that imagery. Listen to “Say It” above and check out Sasami’s headlining and Mitski support tour dates here.
Squeeze is out on 2/25 via Domino. Pre-order it here.
Kevin Porter Jr. saw what started as a rather dreadful week turn around in a big way on Wednesday night when he hit a sidestepping, game-winning three at the buzzer to give the Rockets a much-needed win over the Wizards on the road.
The shot stopped an 8-game losing streak for Houston, but also saw Porter Jr. bounce back from his one-game suspension for an argument he had with an assistant coach during a loss on Saturday in which he reportedly threw something and then left the arena entirely at halftime. It was a redemptive moment and the kind of response Stephen Silas and the Houston coaching staff were certainly hoping for when they sent the message to Porter Jr. and Christian Wood with their suspension for poor behavior — Wood had 22 points in the win.
However, on the home feed of the game, the Wizards broadcast marred the moment with some of the worst, most unnecessary commentary you’ll ever hear in such a moment during the replay, saying, “Kevin Porter Jr., like his dad, pulled that trigger right at the right time.”
“Kevin Porter Jr., like his dad, pulled that trigger right at the right time”
I can’t believe this was actually said on the Wizards broadcast.. Completely inexcusable. pic.twitter.com/bZcWEVqPOP
Now, the only possible, somewhat acceptable explanation is that they thought Porter’s father was the former Washington Bullet, Kevin Porter, who played in the 70s and early 80s. That is not the case. Porter Jr.’s actual father was a basketball player from Seattle, but his story makes the reference truly horrific.
Porter Jr. lost his father when he was four after he was shot in a Seattle bar in 2004. Eleven years prior, his father was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for first-degree manslaughter, initially pursued as first-degree murder after a witness claimed he shot the girl purposefully, but later dropped to manslaughter after the witness recanted, and Porter Sr. saying he was handing the girl his semiautomatic weapon and it accidentally discharged, killing her.
If it was purposeful to reference that, it is an abjectly horrible thing to bring up so casually and callously in any situation, but particularly during a basketball game in one of the biggest moments of Porter Jr.’s young career. If an accident and a case of mistaken identity, it is the worst coincidence ever and, in any case, a sincere apology is in order.
The Blazers and Heat met on Wednesday night in Portland with both teams down two stars, as Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo were all out of action. After Kyle Lowry got tossed on an incredibly soft second technical foul in the second quarter, there wasn’t a ton of star power on the court, but the two teams did battle til the end of a game that became very chippy late.
With a minute to go and the Heat up 10, Jusuf Nurkic knocked Tyler Herro down with a legal but hard screen and then admired his work for a second, standing over Herro, before eventually rolling to the rim. As he rolled, Herro popped up and ran after Nurkic, shoving him in the back and setting off a brief kerfuffle, with Nurkic pawing at Herro’s face before players and referees stepped in to separate everyone getting a bit chesty.
Jusuf Nurkic lowers a shoulder on the screen of Tyler Herro. Herro takes takes exception and shoves Nurkic. Nukic goes after Herro. Fight ensues.
It’s hard to know if it was the screen itself that angered Herro or Nurkic standing over him and maybe saying something to him about it, but it is a touch ironic that a member of the Heat would be shoving someone from behind given how upset they got as a team about Nikola Jokic leveling Markieff Morris from behind earlier this season (to be clear, it wasn’t a good move from either player). In Herro’s case, he happened to be shoving a much larger man, meaning all he did was poke the bear and anger Nurkic rather than sending him to the court.
Both players were tossed, rightfully, for their actions — Nurkic grabbing/slapping at Herro’s face and Herro for the shove in the back. The game got tight from there, but Miami ultimately hung on for the win despite all of the absences and ejections.
The good people over at Bourbon Pursuit podcast just dropped a new whiskey (their third). This time, it’s a Blended Straight Rye Whiskey that’s part Kentucky and Maryland rye whiskey. Both of those places are great for rye whiskey production, so I’m intrigued.
Since this is a rye whiskey being made by bourbon experts and part of the whiskey comes from Kentucky rye, I’m going to assume from the jump that this is going to be a bourbon-y expression. There’s not a single thing wrong with that. Rye is as varied as any style of whiskey, and I tend to love the fruitier ones from Kentucky over the spice bombs from Indiana.
Okay, let’s get into what’s in the bottle and review our first whiskey of 2022!
This release is a blend of whiskeys from Kentucky and Maryland (which is the source of America’s rye whiskey heritage). The Kentucky rye is from Bardstown Bourbon Company (a 95 percent rye), which is contract distilling and aging whiskey for Pursuit United. The other rye is from Maryland’s famed and beloved Sagamore Spirits (a 52 percent rye), which makes some of the best ryes in the country. Kenny Coleman and Ryan Cecil took barrels from each warehouse and masterfully married them to create this expression with a touch of water to bring the proof down a notch.
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a big Kentucky rye vibe of cherry syrup spiked with loads of cinnamon and nutmeg next to an almost buttery note that’s part brown sugar streusel and part caramel candy beside a slight hint of leather. There’s also a touch of vanilla extract lurking in the background of the nose. The palate is so soft and builds from that cherry spiced syrup towards a hint of wet wicker to an apple tree that ends on the stems and core of an overripe Granny Smith. The finish takes its time and has a light touch of dark spice that’s more on the sweeter side than “hot,” while the apple gets woodier and hints at the brown sugar and vanilla very late.
The Bottle:
The rounded bottle is an eye-catching shape. It’s sort of a cross between a stubby and port bottle. The label is underplayed and, thankfully, not cluttered with too much information [though it does look like an airline logo — ed]. Still, this feels more like a rail bottle than a bar cart centerpiece bottle at the end of the day.
Bottom Line:
This really feels like a bourbon lover’s rye whiskey. There’s a nice, svelte nature to the sip that makes it super easy to sip neat. While there were no big surprises, I can’t wait to try this in an old-fashioned or Manhattan.
Ranking:
89/100 — This is a really nice rye whiskey. Still, it felt like a bourbon drinker’s rye more than a big and bold rye that might expand on or build on someone’s ideas of the style. That being said, this is going to make some killer cocktails later.
Kyrie Irving played in his first game of the season on Wednesday, scoring 22 points in a 129-121 win for the Nets in Indiana. We won’t see Irving back on the court until January 10 because Brooklyn’s next two games are at home and Irving still cannot play in home games as he continues to refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine and does not meet New York City’s mandate.
After the game, Irving, who recently said he knew the potential consequences of his actions but at the same time wasn’t prepared for them, was asked if he’s changed his stance and may get the vaccine soon to be able to play in all games. As was the case when he spoke at length about his decision not to get the vaccine in the first place, Irving said an awful lot of words — including some weird sports cliches that don’t make a lot of sense in this situation — to effectively just say “no.”
Kyrie Irving was asked whether his stance on getting the vaccine has changed. Below is his full answer. pic.twitter.com/t05Dp8H5Su
I honestly do not know what “I’m just taking it one day at a time” means regarding a vaccine, but that’s what Kyrie is going to be doing. He talks about hoping for a “collective agreement” with the league, but the NBA isn’t the issue here, as it’s a city mandate that’s keeping him out rather than an NBA rule. As for the “However it looks later in the season, we’ll address it then” part, that is almost certainly Irving knowing that while it’s one thing for him to play in only road games during the regular season, that’s not a very tenable situation come playoff time — particularly for a Nets team that will likely have homecourt advantage for two rounds, if not through the NBA Finals should they make it there.
The new year is already off to a bizarrestart (though it could have been even weirder). So here’s another news story that’s perhaps too random even to be considered Mad Libs-y: As per The New York Times, the FBI arrested a young man who had allegedly been scamming hundreds of people in the publishing industry out of unpublished manuscripts by the likes of Ethan Hawke and Margaret Atwood. Why? The feds will have to figure that one out, too.
That man is Filippo Bernardini, a 29-year-old who works as a rights coordinator for Simon & Schuster UK, who over the span of five years “impersonated, defrauded, and attempted to defraud, hundreds of individuals” out of hundreds of manuscripts. He’s been charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Bernardini certainly went above and beyond:
According to the indictment, to get his hands on the manuscripts, Mr. Bernardini would send out emails impersonating real people working in the publishing industry — a specific editor, for example — by using fake email addresses. He would employ slightly tweaked domain names like penguinrandornhouse.com instead of penguinrandomhouse.com, — putting an “rn” in place of an “m.” The indictment said he had registered more than 160 fraudulent internet domains that impersonated publishing professionals and companies.
Mr. Bernardini also targeted a New York City-based literary scouting company. He set up impostor login pages that prompted his victims to enter their usernames and passwords, which gave him broad access to the scouting company’s database.
Bernardini’s phishing emails spanned the globe, hitting targets in the United States, Sweden, and Taiwan. The case has haunted the publishing industry for years, and it was so wide-spread, NYT pointed out, that some assumed it couldn’t possibly have been the work of one person. Not only is no motive yet known, but it’s not clear what Bernardini did with his pilfered manuscripts. None showed up on the black market or the dark web, and ransom demands were never issued. Perhaps the guy just really wanted some free books.
Kyle Lowry picked up an early technical foul against the Blazers, arguing a call with the officials, and quickly added one of the weakest second T’s you’ll ever see after tossing the ball back to the official after a foul call, who seemed startled by it and immediately ejected Lowry from the game.
Kyle Lowry has received his 2nd technical and has been ejected from the game after tossing the ball back to the official after a play…
There is the slightest hint of frustration from Lowry in the toss, but he doesn’t launch the ball at the referee. It just happens to catch the ref off guard and, somehow, that ends in Lowry getting tossed from the game. There are times where we don’t know things that are said and what magic words earn players technical fouls in what otherwise looks relatively tame, but this one is just inexcusable. Lowry isn’t trying to hit the ref or fire the ball at him, but rather seems a little upset about the situation as a whole with a foul being called and lobs the ball underhand back to the ref with the slightest bit of pace.
This might be a technical that, upon review tomorrow, gets rescinded to save Lowry the fine and take it off his record for the season, but that won’t get him back on the floor for the second half and Miami’s task in holding onto their 11-point lead will be quite difficult.
Dirk Nowitzki was honored on Wednesday night in Dallas with his jersey retirement ceremony following a 99-82 Mavs win over the Warriors, as the future Hall of Famer saw his No. 41 go into the rafters, with many of his former teammates coming together for the occasion to honor him.
Among them is current Mavs head coach Jason Kidd, who donned a Nowitzki jersey after the game to give a speech about Dirk, and while he eventually got to talking about Nowitzki’s work ethic, what he meant to the franchise and the league, and thanking him for that 2011 title, he had to shoot his shot with an offer to come back.
“We’re giving out 10-days, you want to come back?” is a tremendous line and Kidd delivers it with such a straight face you know he’s just a little bit serious about it. Dirk, wisely, will not be trying to make an appearance in a 22nd season, as he’s living his best life in retirement, but if Joe Johnson can come back and Lance Stephenson can have a 20-point quarter in Indiana again, it was worth a shot from Kidd.
Beyond (kind of) joking about bringing Dirk back, the Mavs also unveiled the statue they’ll put out front of the American Airlines Center, with Nowitzki shooting his signature leg-up fadeaway.
Mark Cuban unveils the concept for the statue that will be placed in front of the Mavericks arena pic.twitter.com/JLSVZfyi6m
It’s an interesting concept for a statue, particularly with the three basketballs to mimic the shot, and we’ll have to see how it looks once its full-size rather than model size.
This time last year, then-vice president Mike Pence could have died. On Jan. 6, 2020, a violent mob of Trump supporters, whipped up by voter fraud lies from the nation’s 45th commander-in-chief, stormed the Capitol building, hoping to overturn the 2020 election. Some of them wanted to hang Pence, who had refused to help. Since then, Pence has downplayed the event that could have led to his death. But his former staff isn’t following suit.
As per Axios, people who were part of or around Pence’s office have been extremely cooperative with the House Select committee investigating that fateful day. Some of them didn’t even need a subpoena. Among those playing ball are his former press secretary Alyssa Farah, who went on to become communications director for White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
There’s also former chief of staff Marc Short, who reportedly said he wouldn’t have cooperated had Pence given him the okay to do so.
Many of the ex-Pence staffers, Axios reports, met solely with the committee’s sole Republican members, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.
Among the areas the committee is focusing on are the 187 minutes between the end of Trump’s speech and when he finally called them off, long after those around him, even Fox News stars, were begging him to do so. They’re also interested in learning more about what they call the “procedural coup,” which began on Election Night 2020 and which involved them sowing distrust in the integrity of the election results, in case Trump lost. Which he did.
Meanwhile, Trump was supposed to ring in the first anniversary of the day that effectively ended his single term in disgrace, but he pulled out of it, much as he did his failed blog.
Dubbing something “underrated” really comes down to what your definition of underrated actually is. To us, it has nothing to do with a beer’s sales but entirely with its perception. That’s why both a high-selling macro brew and a little-known craft beer can both be underrated and underappreciated.
When talking about underrated beers, Eric Warner, brewmaster at Karbach Brewing Co. in Houston, refuses to pick one specific beer. Instead, he opts for a whole style.
“I’m a huge fan of helles,” he notes. “The ‘every day’ pale lager that is on tap in every bar and restaurant in Munich. The malt aromas are often reminiscent of light bread and honey, and the subtle hop notes are floral and spicy. The taste is slightly sweet up front but then clean on the finish without being dry or bitter.”
While it’s easy to pick underrated styles, selecting underappreciated beers is a tougher task. To help out, we asked a handful of well-known brewers, beer professionals, and craft beer experts to tell us their picks for the most under-valued beers of all time. Keep reading to see all of their selections.
Professor Fritz Briem 1809
Professor Fritz Briem
Garrett Oliver, brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery in Brooklyn, New York
Dr. Fritz Briem’s 1809 Berliner Weisse is almost single-handedly responsible for the new rise of Berliner Weisse in the United States. When people talk about some seminal punk bands, they say “Almost no one went to their shows, but each person who went started their own band.” That’s Briem Berliner Weisse, the complexity of which showed us that real Berliner Weisse didn’t need a “schuss” of fruit syrup to be great.
Strong Rope JJ Bollerack Brown Ale
Strong Rope
Alex Wenner, owner and brewer at Lasting Joy Brewery in Hudson Valley, New York
ABV: 6.2%
Average Price: Limited Availability
Why This Beer?
I’ll give you an underrated beer in a criminally underrated style: Strong Rope Brewery’s JJ Bollerack Brown Ale. American brown ales are no longer the staple of every craft brewery that they were a few years ago, and honestly, it makes me sad. Jason Sahler at Strong Rope Brewery however brews this one just the way I like it with dark toast, dank hops, a little spiciness from the rye, and a little bit of a burnt caramel finish. It’s perfectly balanced, sweet, and bitter.
This is a beer that won’t be the one you talk about the next day but will order every time you see it.
Pilsner Urquell
Pilsner Urquell
Andrew Hood, wood cellar manager and brewer at Sun King Brewery in Indianapolis
The most underrated beer would be Pilsner Urquell. It’s a great lager that’s still brewed with an old-world style. Not many breweries are still doing that to this day. It’s crisp, refreshing, light, and highly crushable. What more could you ask for in a beer?
Coors Banquet Beer is that beer for me. This ubiquitous beer — that probably doesn’t rate high on the craft beer list — is wonderful with its refreshing sweet notes, light malt aroma, and zippy carbonation. Beer industry secret follows: It’s one of the favorites with my brewery sisters and brothers.
Zillicoah Kellerpils is my pick. The kellerbier style seems to fall off the radar for most beer-drinkers, but I’m drawn to it. It’s a little less refined than your classic pilsner. It’s unfiltered, dry, and crisp. So crushable.
The most underrated beer in my opinion is the brown ale. While I agree many can fall short and be a little lackluster, when you do find a good one, you’ll know it. The mouthfeel needs to be in that sweet spot: Not too thin or too heavy, sweet yet still refreshing with a hint of brown sugar and perfectly paired hops. My favorite brown ale, when I can get my hands on it, is Face Down Brown by Telluride Brewing Co.
I’m not sure if we’re talking about styles or specific brands, but we don’t make a brown ale anymore and really do love that style. We don’t make the style because it’s close to our Pop’s Porter and we wanted to focus on one dark style throughout the year. I think Cigar City Brewing’s Maduro is an excellent representation of a great brown and it’s delicious. We’re honestly lucky that we can get that beer year-round here in Florida. The malt backbone with the silky mouthfeel makes it a full-bodied brown ale that hits just right. You get some nice hints of chocolate and coffee too.
Samuel Smith’s Taddy Porter
Samuel Smith
Stephen Hale, founding brewer at Schlafly Beer in St. Louis
Although we’ve brewed quite a few porters over the years (including Holy Smoke Papal Porter for the Pope’s visit years ago), we currently don’t have a regular one in the lineup. Porters are generally understated, and pretty fabulous black ales without the big roastiness of stouts, and the ABV is often moderate which is a big win. Not that Tadcaster is underrated, it’s just that porters need a brighter spotlight sometimes.
Regardless of the time of year, it’s really hard to beat the clean, crisp, refreshing taste of a well-made pilsner. There’s a reason it’s one of the most popular beer styles in the world. Trumer Pils is a highly crushable 4.9 percent ABV and features a complex, well-balanced flavor profile of bright, floral hops and flavorful malts.
There’s a chance that you’ve never heard of this beer. And if you have, there’s a good possibility your father or grandfather drank it. But maybe they were on to something. This classic cream ale that’s been brewed the same way since its inception in 1960. It’s like a combination of a bold lager and an ale. It’s filled with flavors like caramel, sweet corn, fresh-baked bread, and a creamy vanilla-like sweetness. But there’s also a nice crisp, refreshing aspect as well.
Overall, this is a beer that deserves much more acclaim.
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