Month: February 2022

Pop-R&B singer Tinashe’s known for the high-concept treatments of her music videos such as “X,” “Bouncin,” and “Pasadena,” but rarely have they been as viscerally provocative as her new video for “Naturally.” Seemingly inspired by 1970s psychological horror (and its recent resurgence), the video finds Tinashe covering herself in gore for a literal bloodbath on a sun-soaked farm where she apparently slaughters some local livestock and performs choreography with a team in Western ranch regalia.

“Naturally” is the first single from the deluxe version of Tinashe’s 2021 album, 333, which adds four new songs to the singer’s second independently released album. Two of the songs also bring in new featured guests, Compton dance musician Channel Tres, and Oakland rapper Christian Blue.

In a recent interview, Tinashe talked about her pioneering, experimental sound and why she hated being categorized as “just” an R&B artist. “I hated being called an R&B star,” she said. “I really, really had a strong aversion to that. I felt that created a ceiling to my artistry that really turned me off in the early days. I didn’t want to be in that box that I felt had some type of inevitable lid on it. I’ve always honestly classified myself as a pop star. That’s always been what I see for myself, and then I think people’s interpretation of what that means is maybe where it gets convoluted because some people think pop means mainstream. Like, I don’t know, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, or something. But I think that’s not what that really means. To me, it’s more like what you embody more so than, I think, what it sonically sounds like.”

Watch Tinashe’s “Naturally” video above.

With the 2022 NBA All-Star Game just a week away, the Philadelphia 76ers announced on Monday that James Harden would sit out through the All-Star break as he continues to work his way back from the hamstring injury that kept him out in Brooklyn prior to the trade.

As such, NBA commissioner Adam Silver was tasked with naming a third replacement player, after Dejounte Murray and LaMelo Ball were added to the roster in place of Draymond Green and Kevin Durant. There were a few players with strong candidacies, with two as the expected favorites for the suddenly open spot: Cavs center Jarrett Allen and Raptors forward Pascal Siakam.

Later on Monday afternoon, the league announced Allen would join the squad and represent the home team alongside Darius Garland.

Allen is averaging 16.2 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, with career highs in points and rebounds for the surprising Cavs, who sit in third in the East at 35-22. Allen’s presence on the defensive end has been particularly important for Cleveland, as he’s the anchor alongside Evan Mobley for one of the NBA’s best defenses. Siakam likewise had a strong statistical case for a spot, but it’s hard to argue with Allen, particularly when considering he plays for the hometown team as well.

Considering the All-Star rosters were very guard heavy, it’s also not a surprise that they’d look to add another center to the mix, with Allen joining Team LeBron’s roster in place of Harden — who was rather hilariously the last pick in the draft last week.

Multiple times per week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts and ratings) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.

10: (TIE) Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures film on HBO Max)

Guillermo del Toro assembled a wildly impressive ensemble cast (Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Rooney Mara, Ron Perlman, and more) here, and of course, that’s not the sole reason that one should hop on board a project. Yet this movie (which has bagged four Oscar nominations) makes it easy to get absorbed in this carnival world (set in the late 1930s and 1940s) where Cooper’s leading man (who has already done some shady things) determines to pull the wool over the eyes of the extremely wealthy. It’s atmospheric, noir-soaked, and even worth the 2+ hour runtime.

10: (TIE) Reacher (Amazon Prime series)

The controversial Tom Cruise casting of the movies doesn’t exactly get erased with this series, but the show takes great pains to be more authentic with the leading man’s hulking stature. Alan Ritchson is 6’2″ and comes by the “hulking” detail honestly, and he picks up with this adaptation of Lee Child’s bestselling novels about the vet who’s having an interesting time with civilian life. Naturally, there are shadowy forces at work here because that’s how this story rolls, so cue the conspiracies.

9. Spencer (NEON movie on Hulu)

Kristen freaking Stewart finally (and fully) puts her Twilight days behind her in this film, in which she portrays Princess Diana and earned an Oscar nomination. The film revolves around a pivotal few days towards the end of her ailing marriage to Prince Charles, and Stewart fully pulls out the emotional stops. It’s a gutsy-as-hell career move and fully watchable, all while knowing that this film made the British royals steam under the collar, as with The Crown.

8. The Tinder Swindler (Netflix film)

This selection grew popular right ahead of Valentine’s Day, hopefully in an effort to save you from running to the apps on a very commercial holiday. Welcome to the sordid true-crime tale of the self-dubbed “Prince of Diamonds,” a faux billionaire playboy (Simon Leviev, actual name Shimon Hayu) who cruised Tinder, leaving women wondering what happened after they opened their wallets to him. This guy even succeeded in fooling people into thinking he was the son of real-life multi-millionaire Lev Leviev. Yikes.

7. Peacemaker (HBO Max series)

John Cena’s insufferable, super-patriotic The Suicide Squad character may have annoyed everyone in that movie, but he’s back and doing everything to entertain through campiness and multiple dance sequences. One of them even puts Cena in tighty whities, so here’s to James Gunn for adding some Eagly to the mix for unconditional love.

6. The Power of the Dog (Netflix film)

Oscar nominations all around for this film, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch’s a sinister, charismatic rancher who’s menacing side comes out in accordance with his own insecurities and toxic masculinity. He terrorizes his sister-in-law and her son, and both Jesse Plemons and Kristen Dunst won acting nominations along with Cumberbatch himself. Director Jane Campion earned accolades as well, so catch up on this one soon.

5. Pam & Tommy (Hulu series)

Pam & Tommy is a gloriously decadent show that revels in 1990s debauchery but also doesn’t shy away from difficult conversations about consent and misogyny. Pamela Anderson got a raw deal here, all while Tommy Lee and Rand Gauthier’s completely dumb beef worked high-stakes collateral damage upon her. The cast pulls out the stops, as does the incredible hair and makeup team. Plus, Jason Mantzoukas does the talking-penis thing. You can’t lose here.

4. All Of Us Are Dead (Netflix series)

Expect some Squid Game parallels to arise while you watch this K-drama series that rose to the peak of Netflix’s global charts immediately upon release (a few weeks ago). This show comes with the added bonus (?) of zombies while high school students try their hardest to survive the difficult conditions while realizing that there’s no hope of rescue on the horizon. Binging is the name of the game here, so clear your schedule.

3. Inventing Anna (Netflix limited series)

Julia Garner can’t be stopped after dominating the screen in Ozark, and she’s here with a wild, hybrid, mysterious accent and wigs and glasses and a master con-woman character who takes everyone on an intense ride, as inspired by Jessica Pressler’s New York Magazine article. The degree of commitment of Anna Delvey (real name Anna Sorokin) to the long con is nearly as impressive as those who clung to her coattails and got burned. There are no winners here, but there’s entertainment.

2. Euphoria (HBO series on HBO Max)

Guys, it is not looking good for Zendaya’s Rue as she attempts to drag herself out of her latest drug binge. After that happens, she’s got more troubles lurking in the background, and there are still a few more episodes to go before season finale time. Before that happens, we have a lot of theories to consider and musical considerations until next week’s edition with a next-season renewal in the cards.

1. The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window (Netflix series)

The critics were not wild about this show, but the people love it. You’ve undoubtedly heard of (or even seen) the similarly titled Girl On The Train, which has nothing to do with this film, although the spookiness arrives in a darkly comedic manner here. Kristen Bell’s the woman with the wine in the window, and she grows entrenched in observing the lives of her new neighbor and daughter. Sit down for that finale, too. Hoo boy.

On Sunday, the Rams defeated the Bengals to win the Super Bowl. This marked the end of the 2021-22 NFL season, and it was also the final game that everyone had the opportunity to say goodbye to NFL legend John Madden. The famous coach, commentator, and video game creator died late December 2021 and the NFL used what was left of the season to honor him.

EA Sports, the company that Madden himself helped make famous with the Madden NFL series of video games, also gave a final goodbye to the former NFL coach on Monday. It posted a tribute video to its YouTube channel where it spends seven minutes letting the people who got to know John Madden over the years remember him for his work on the football field, in the TV booth, and what he did to make the video game so special.

It’s a well-made tribute that features players who once played under Madden such as Fred Biletnikoff, people who shared the booth with him like Al Michaels, and current legends who looked up to him like Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. It’s another way that everyone is able to remember the influence that one person had on not just the sport of football, but the presentation of the sport itself. Without John Madden, the way we enjoy the sport would look completely different today and his impact is hard to be overstated.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers never got to have a championship parade after winning the 2020 NBA championship in the Orlando Bubble.

It was part of the unfortunate reality of the beginning of the pandemic, as restrictions on gatherings prior to the availability of COVID-19 vaccines didn’t allow the Lakers to celebrate with their fans in the streets of L.A. — despite James stumping for a parade to happen anyways at the time. Almost two years later and the Dodgers and, most recently, the Rams have won championships since the Lakers won their title and LeBron seems to be having a little FOMO when it comes to the impending title parade for the new Super Bowl champs.

On Monday, LeBron floated the idea of the Rams, Lakers, and Dodgers all getting a parade through L.A. to celebrate the three champs.

I get it, he never got that parade from 2020 and I can fully understand wanting that, but it’s also a rather hilarious idea for the Lakers to join a parade in the middle of a season in which they are currently in ninth in the West at 26-31. Not only that, but this current Lakers team has three players who were on that championship team — LeBron, Anthony Davis, and Dwight Howard (and Avery Bradley but he didn’t join the team in the Bubble) — which means the logistics of getting the actual title team to a joint parade is nearly impossible considering those players are scattered all over the league. So they either would just have the few still on the roster there or a bunch of guys who didn’t actually win a title celebrating for a team they weren’t on in the middle of what has been a rather dreadful season.

What feels far more likely is that LeBron will join the Rams for the parade as a special guest if it’s on a day he’s able to, but it seems like it’s probably a bit too far removed from that 2020 title for the Lakers to really get a proper parade as James wants so badly.

After kicking up a whole media circus by testing positive for COVID and then immediately going out to eat at a New York City restaurant, Sarah Palin‘s defamation suit against The New York Times has been dismissed. The former Alaska governor, whose reckless dining habits sparked an official warning from Mayor Eric Adams, was facing an uphill battle in proving the Times defamed her with a 2107 article, and now, it seems her misadventures in the Big Apple were for naught. Via The Daily Beast:

The lawsuit alleges that the Grey Lady intentionally tried to harm Palin in a 2017 piece entitled “America’s Lethal Politics.”

“My job is to apply the law,” Rakoff said on Monday, noting that he anticipates an appeal in the case. “The law sets a very high standard for actual malice and in this case the Court finds that standard has not been met.”

As the Beast notes, even Palin’s attorney expected this outcome. During his opening statement, attorney Shane Vogt flat-out admitted that he didn’t expect the lawsuit to succeed due to the landmark 1964 New York Times v. Sullivan ruling, which provides protection to journalists.

However, Palin’s trip to New York City wasn’t a total loss. On top of potentially spreading a deadly virus, she reportedly found time for romance with former New York Rangers Ron Duguay. The two claim to be just friends, but Duguay was by her side during her several COVID dinner outings, and she was spotted in court wearing a New York Rangers mask. You know what they say, unlucky in lawsuits, lucky in love.

(Via The Daily Beast)

With most of us still a bit hungover from yesterday’s Super Bowl festivities, it’s understandable that there hasn’t been that much Valentine’s Day celebration. After all, who’d want their brand-new, holiday-themed song washed away by the rush of conversation about that incredible performance? Fortunately, there’s one band that remains undaunted by the prospect — and they’ve got the perfect remedy for the above condition.

Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars, who teamed up last year as the romantic duo Silk Sonic, once again joined forces to play into their lover-man schtick for the most romantic holiday, offering a new song about love and all its benefits. Tapping even deeper into the 70s-and-80s-inspired funk aesthetic from which they derive their air of casual cool, this time they directly lift from their influences, covering Bay Area band Con Funk Shun’s 1983 R&B hit, “Love’s Train.”

For a generation of funk and R&B fans, this is Con Funk Shun’s signature hit, and for the most part, Andy and Bruno play it straight, with buzzing bass and soaring horns backing their velvety vocals. Of course, the song is secretly perfect for them — while it masquerades as a love anthem, it’s as much about the messiness as anything on their debut album, An Evening With Silk Sonic, as it was originally penned about a woman two of Con Funk Shun’s members tried to woo at the same time.

Listen to Silk Sonic’s cover of “Love’s Train” above.

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

While many had hoped Mad Men’s Jon Hamm would grace the stage at the 2022 Oscars, it looks like Hamm might have removed himself from the race to host the ceremony.

According to Variety, the hosting duties will go to Amy Schumer, Regina Hall, and Wanda Sykes. The official announcement will take place Tuesday on Good Morning America, but sources tell the site that the three comedians have won the coveted hosting gig.

The trio has never worked together, but could have some great chemistry due to their comedy backgrounds. Schumer had her own sketch show, Sykes has had dozens of guest appearances on sitcoms, and we all know Hall can kill it with comedic timing from her role in the iconic Scary Movie franchise.

Over the years, the ceremony has been hosted by a slew of comedians, late-night hosts, and also Neil Patrick Harris. For the last three years, the award show has gone host-less, probably because of the pressure and how easily the internet can ruin someone’s life by announcing the wrong thing. Perhaps a group of three will make the gig a little easier. Or, if two of them drop out, there is still an understudy. The show must go on!

Unless you’ve been living blissfully off the grid the past couple of months, you’ve undoubtedly seen the world become enamored with Wordle.

Completing the simple word game with a delightfully wholesome origin story has become a daily routine for millions of us who appreciate the collective challenge and the limit of only playing once per day. (I don’t actually have stats on how many people play it, but considering the fact that The New York Times paid the creator seven figures for it, I’m assuming it’s millions.) We share and compare scores. We whine together when it’s hard. We keep the answer secret as part of an entirely new social contract that the game engendered and get annoyed when people think they’re sharing a clue that doesn’t give it away but actually does give it away.

In an era where so many things divide and polarize us, Wordle has brought people of all walks of life together in a weird and wonderful way.

So while some may be tired of seeing people’s Wordle scores on social media, the Wordle sensation is a good thing. And we need more good things.

To sum it all up, the Holderness family created a Wordle-themed parody of Aladdin’s “A Whole New World” and it’s hilarious. They nailed so many elements of the Wordle phenomenon, from why we play to how we try to convince our loved ones to play to everyone groaning over the word “MOIST.” (I have never understood people’s issue with that word. It makes me think of chocolate cake. Nothing but yumminess.)

So kick back, relax and enjoy “A Whole New Wordle.”

“Let me share my Wordle score with youuuu…” So cute and clever.

To be honest, I’m feeling a bit salty today after experiencing my first Wordle loss this morning. It was bound to happen sometime, but for a person who works with words for a living, the failure hits hard. The fact that this video made me laugh out loud several times is a testament to the Holderness family’s ability to entertain. It’s healing my wounded Wordle heart. Well done, Penn and Kim.

The Olympics are upon us again and as we all gather around the television, or keep track of the medals won via our mobile device, there now seems to be a bit of a shadow. Not only are athletes having to contend with the COVID-19 crisis and strict protocols, resulting in no fans to cheer them on, and losing some team members to quarantine, they’re also contending with a new doping scandal.

Fifteen-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for a restricted substance, which should have disqualified her from competing. This disqualification would have cost Russia the gold, but as the world awaited the decision, we were left with more questions than answers. Valieva would be allowed to continue to compete.

Shau2019Carri Richardson was prohibited from competing at Olympics due to out-of-competition positive of drug unrelated to sport performance.nKamila Valieva is being allowed to compete at Olympics although she had in-competition positive of drug clearly related to sport performance.pic.twitter.com/pz8upIWQXs

— Neal Rogers (@Neal Rogers)
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Last summer we saw a different scenario play out with Sha’Carri Richardson, a young American runner who was poised to medal in the summer Olympics but was disqualified for a failed drug test shortly before the games were scheduled to start. Richardson tested positive for marijuana, which she admitted after finding out her mother died during an interview. The committee knew what transpired that led to the lapse in judgment, and Richardson took accountability for her mistake, yet she was still disqualified in an effort to keep the Olympic games drug-free and the rules fairly applied across the board.

With the news of Kamila Valieva failing her drug test for a substance called trimetazidine, people are scratching their heads, including Richardson. Trimetazidine is a heart medication that can be used as a performance enhancer due to its ability to increase blood flow to the heart, which then pumps more blood to the muscles enhancing one’s ability to compete. Richardson posted to Twitter calling out the decision-makers, saying “Can we get a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mines? My mother died and I can’t run and was also favored to place top 3. The only difference I can see is I’m a black young lady.”

Can we get a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mines? My mother died and I canu2019t run and was also favored to place top 3. The only difference I see is Iu2019m a black young lady.https://twitter.com/usatoday/status/1493190527348449289u00a0u2026

— Shau2019Carri Richardson (@Shau2019Carri Richardson)
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While Valieva is young, and the drugs found in her system were likely the result of the adults around her hoping to give her an edge over the competition, it still doesn’t fall in line with the anti-doping rules of the Olympic Committee, yet the Court of Arbitration for Sports has given the green light for Valieva’s continued participation. This decision not only seems to disregard the athletes working to compete in a way that is fair, but also those who have stayed clean of any and all performance-enhancing substances. The decision is also one in stark contrast to the one swiftly handed down to Richardson, so one must ask what the difference could be?

Marijuana isn’t known for enhancing anyone’s ability to do anything other than watch a marathon of your favorite show on Netflix while eating your weight in chips and queso, but that didn’t seem to matter when it counted most for Richardson. This is a tale of two athletes. One, a white child with adults around her likely making the poor decision to violate the anti-doping rules, and the other, a Black young woman who made a poor choice in her grief after she found out she lost her mother from a reporter during an interview on live television. Why is one the exception to the rule?

There seems to be a fairly clear answer to this question, but according to the Court of Arbitration for Sports, it would have caused Valieva “irreparable harm” to be disqualified. If irreparable harm is the factor that keeps Kamila Valieva in the games, then we all owe Richardson a heartfelt apology. Her mother passed away, and she was informed in a way that would’ve crushed anyone, and yet she had to sit out a career-changing and life-altering moment because she grieved in the way that brought her a moment of relief.