Month: March 2022

Toronto quartet Pup have been a bit of a DIY punk rock phenomenon. The critical darlings effectively broke through with the 2019 album Morbid Stuff, and the band are clearly poking fun at that in the new video for “Totally Fine,” which is presumably the final pre-album single before The Unraveling Of PupTheBand drops next week.

The song sees Pup raucously beating through another punk anthem. The drums are wild, guitar riffs are flying all over the place, and it’s the reckless abandon that people have come to embrace about the band. The video, however, is on a whole new level. Part Don’t Look Up and part sinister Steve Jobs saga, it sees the band “quitting music,” to go corporate, only to prove themselves as crooked as the very corporations who govern us all — they’ve dubbed it one of the “Greatest Music Videos Of All Time.”

It’s a cathartic song released among capitalism’s never-ending hoopla and the band shared a statement on the serendipitous inspiration behind it:

“We wrote ‘Totally Fine’ after a long creative drought. We all agreed to take a break from PUP during lockdown, to take some time to deal with our mental health and get some space from each other. After 3 months of not writing any songs, ‘Totally Fine’ was the first thing to pop out. It broke this creative dam wide open, just months worth of pent up frustration all smashed into this one song. After that, we ended up going on a bit of a tear and wrote the rest of the record really quickly. The drumming on this song still blows our minds. It’s so manic and wild and makes the song feel like it’s about to fall apart at any moment, which is kinda like how it feels to be in PUP.”

Watch the video for “Totally Fine” above.

The Unraveling Of PupTheBand is out 4/1 via Little Dipper/Rise Records. Pre-order it here.

When Lorde released her album Solar Power last year, one of the immediate highlights was the Robyn-featuring cut “Secrets From A Girl (Who’s Seen It All).” Now, Lorde has gone ahead and given the tune an official video, which premiered this afternoon.

Lorde previously told Apple Music of the song, “This is me talking to my younger self trying to impart some of the things that I learned. It was a fun place to write from. To me it’s very Eurythmics meets Robyn. And then we got Robyn to do the incredible spoken part. She’s someone I have learned a huge amount from, through song. She really completed the experience.”

She also told Spotify, “I was listening to ‘Ribs’ and just thinking about who I was at that time of life. I was so apprehensive about what was to come. I took two of the chords from that song and reversed them. This is future me talking back saying… ‘It’s going to be OK.’”

Last summer, she noted of Robyn, “I think there’s just so much room in Robyn’s world for being a hot mess or being this sort of ball of emotions shooting out in every direction. I think about a song like ‘Call Your Girlfriend’ — she’s not in a traditional hero’s role; she’s telling someone to break up with their girlfriend so they can be with her. But she’s also having a huge amount of empathy for that other woman – that is some really big, complex adult sh*t to be tackling in a dancefloor banger!”

Watch the “Secrets From A Girl (Who’s Seen It All)” video above.

Solar Power is out now via Universal. Get it here.

Kid Cudi has always been multi-talented, making his acting debut in How To Make It In America the same year he dropped his debut album, Man On The Moon: The End Of Day. His acting career turned out to be no fluke or passing fancy; he’s since gone on to appear in more than 20 feature films including the recently released horror flick X, as well as taking on a slew of roles for TV including his Netflix series Entergalactic and Kids See Ghosts, both of which are currently in post-production.

Now, Cudi will add feature film director to his extensive, growing resume with Teddy, a film project with Netflix that he also wrote and will star in. In a lengthy Instagram post explaining its origin, evolution, and concept. He also thanked the film’s co-producers, who include Jay-Z, James Lassiter, and The Harder They Fall Director Jeymes Samuel (lotta Jameses there, eh?). Jay-Z, of course, executive produced The Harder They Fall with Samuel (aka The Bullitts), while James Lassiter is best known as the co-founder of Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment and also co-produced The Harder They Fall, as well as King Richard.

“This year im directing my first feature film ‘Teddy’ at Netflix which I wrote and will also be starring,” he wrote. “This is a story I started writing in 2013 because I always wanted to write my own movie, so I said f*ck it and started doing it. The road has been long, from it being a tv show for years to finally being a film… I cant wait for u all to meet Teddy, his friends, his family and take a walk in his world for a bit. If I could sum up what the movie is about in one sentence, id say this: It’s as if I took the song ‘Pursuit of Happiness’ and wrote a movie about it.”

So far, there’s no release date for Teddy, but stay tuned.

Yesterday was the first day of Ketanji Brown Jackson‘s Supreme Court confirmation hearing, and yup, The View hosts had a lot to say about the Republican’s line of questioning, which basically amounted to airing petty grievances. As always, Whoopi Goldberg kicked things off by coming at the Grand Old Party for using the hearing as an excuse to “bitch,” which is not a world Goldberg uses lightly on the daytime talk show.

“But of course, yesterday, some Republicans whose names you know, used their time at the hearing to bitch,” Goldberg said at the top of the panel discussion. “They put their grievances out there, grievances from like 1910, all the way up to yesterday.”

Following Goldberg’s remarks, co-host Sunny Hostin, who’s served as a prosecutor, revealed she got emotional watching the questions hurled at Jackson by Republican senators. Via The Wrap:

“I will say I spent yesterday rewatching the proceedings and crying the ugly cry, because like you, as a black woman who went to predominantly white institutions my entire life, I know how hard it is, it was for her to get to where she is,” Hostin said. “And I know what it’s like to be the only person in the room. And I cried because my daughter now will see this, because my cousins now will see this, and little girls all around the country will see this.”

To the surprise of no one, the situation did not improve during the second day of Jackson’s confirmation hearing. Senator Lindsey Graham took up the torch this time and proceeded to demand answers on Jackson’s faith as well as her history as a defense attorney for Gitmo prisoners. He also continued to drag out ancient grievances, which resulted in the South Carolina senator being widely mocked on social media.

You can see some of the reactions to Graham’s questions below:

(Via The Wrap)

Sometimes I think I would be happier if I only watched daytime TV. Kendall Roy’s permanent existential crisis? Jimmy McGill’s transformation into Saul Goodman? The Yellowjackets finale? Too depressing. Give me Drew Barrymore having a delightful chat with Keanu Reeves; Drew Carey taking The Price is Right on the road; and Kelly Clarkson faceplanting after Anne Hathaway recognizes “Since U Been Gone” before she does. That’s happiness right there.

On Tuesday’s episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, the American Idol champ competed against Anne Hathaway in a game of “Sing That Name That Tune.” After Clarkson asked the band to “play a fricking song I’ll know,” they obliged, and started performing “Since U Been Gone.” Within the first five seconds, Hathaway stepped forward and started belting out the titanic chorus. A defeated Clarkson dropped to the ground and wondered, “How did you know it from just that?” Because it’s a perfect song, that’s how.

“Kelly Clarkson, if you do not understand how much we all love that song…” the WeCrashed actress replied. “Everybody here knew it on the first one. Everybody here knew it!” Clarkson then yelled out an expletive, but I can’t tell which one because it was bleeped. Let’s assume it was “Kelly Clarkson.”

You can watch the clip above. And check out some reactions below:

Phife Dawg‘s long-anticipated posthumous album has finally arrived today. Forever comes on the sixth anniversary of the A Tribe Called Quest rapper’s death.

Forever is Phife Dawg’s second solo album, following 2000’s Ventilation: Da LP. Phife appeared A Tribe Called Quest’s 2016 reunion album We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service, which was released just months after his death. Phife was said to be working on solo music up until that time.

“We faced a lot of ups and downs trying to get the album completed, and only by God’s grace and patience were we able to,” said Phife’s longtime manager Dion Liverpool in a statement. “I would like to thank his fans for being patient and understanding that nothing that is good and timeless will happen overnight. I took on the responsibility to help the family complete Forever and honored that I was trusted to do so.”

Forever features production by DJ Rasta Root, who co-produced the album alongside Phife, along with the likes of J Dilla, 9th Wonda, Potatohead People, and more. The album boasts several collaborations, including tracks with fellow Tribe member Q-Tip, Redman, Dwele, Busta Rhymes, and Rapsody.

Check out Forever below.

https://open.spotify.com/album/5LgEGVdC1X8xgrNa09MS6f?si=4bbRdG8CSoq7QVKBFaPb-A

Forever is out now via Smokin’ Needles.

The upcoming sixth and final season of AMC’s hit crime drama Better Call Saul arrives on April 18th, but if you need to catch up before then, you’re in luck! The fifth season will finally hit Netflix on April 4th.

Season five aired in the unfortunate months of February to April 2020. The ten-episode season picked up right where the previous season left off, following the lovable scam artist Jimmy McGill before he became Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad.

That gives fans just a few days to catch up on the fifth season before the sixth premieres later in April. The first seven episodes of the final season will air in April, with the second half of the season starting back up in July, and the series finale in August.

The critically acclaimed Breaking Bad prequel began filming its final season last year when star Bob Odenkirk famously collapsed on set but thankfully made a full recovery.

In addition to the new season, earlier this year, AMC announced a short animated series Slippin’ Jimmy that will premiere digitally this spring. Produced by Rick and Morty animators and written by Better Call Saul show-runners, the six-episode series will tell stories of young Jimmy McGill’s childhood misadventures in Chicago. There will also be new episodes of the Better Call Saul Employee Training Video streaming later this year.

Eric Trump is working hard to be his dad’s number one boy, this time by dragging President Joe Biden for *checks notes* … riding a bike.

Trump paid a visit to Fox News where he spent most of his time on-air trying to find fault with Biden for exercising instead of standing in front of fighter jets to intimidate his fellow world leaders. No, really. Apparently, Trump was irked by both Biden’s love of cycling and the large reflector on the front of his bike intended to make him visible to drivers.

“My father would be giving speeches in front of F-35s, talking about how he’s building the greatest military the world has ever seen,” Trump said. “Believe me, that was sending a true message of strength.”

While we’re sure photo-ops in front of a government-funded plane collection would indeed strike fear in the hearts of every other first-world leader — who also has access to legions of fighter jets — Biden’s outdoor hobby wasn’t the only bone Trump had to pick with the president. He also took umbrage with the time of day Biden chose to go for a ride.

“This is the commander in chief of the United States of America,” he said. “What message does that send the world that is literally in the middle of, just, some horribleness?”

Perhaps, the message is similar to the one Donald Trump sent when he went golfing at one of his resorts during the border wall crisis … or the Coronavirus pandemic … or during the Iran nuclear conflict … or after the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Maria … or … you get it.

Megan Thee Stallion famously deals with a lot of bullsh*t — from haters online, from the media, and from Tory Lanez, who was accused of shooting at her feet in 2020 as well as unleashing a smear campaign against her. He was charged with felony assault with a semiautomatic firearm, but she’s still dealing with, you guessed it, haters online.

A Twitter user wrote: “At this point Megan Thee Stallion is going to have to show us the bullet wound or something,” and the “Sweetest Pie” rapper quote-tweeted it yesterday: “B*tches like this have ACTUAL CUM FOR BRAINS. Dick eating ass bitches. My hospital records are public record the DA has made a statement… yall choosing to be dumb at this point. You better hope a man never assaults you and nobody especially women believe you!”

Meanwhile Megan is being countersued by her label. The label’s attorney, Steven M. Zager, wrote, “MTS knows that each ‘album’ must include at least twelve new master recordings of her studio performances of previously-unreleased musical compositions. She also knows that 1501 gets to approve the musical compositions to be included on each album. And MTS knows that none of that happened here.” The countersuit blames Roc Nation, Megan’s management company, for “trying to persuade its management clients to leave their record labels.”

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Nirvana’s 1991 masterpiece Nevermind is such a classic album that even the non-singles are widely known and beloved. One such song is “Something In The Way,” which has gotten more attention lately thanks to its appearance in The Batman: When the movie’s trailer was released in August 2020, “Something In The Way” made its first appearance on a Billboard chart, hitting No. 2 on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart.

The Batman was released this month, which has led to an increase in streams for the Nirvana tune. Now, that listening uptick is translating to some major chart success: On the new March 26-dated Hot 100 chart, “Something In The Way” debuts at No. 46. The song is now Nirvana’s fifth to appear on the chart and their first since “You Know You’re Right” in 2002. The band’s other three charting songs all come from Nevermind: “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (which peaked at No. 6), “Come As You Are” (No. 32), and “Lithium” (No. 64).

In a 2021 NME interview, Nevermind producer Butch Vig said of recording “Something In The Way”:

“That was the hardest song to do by far on Nevermind. The other songs we tracked pretty quick — once we were set up, had the sounds and everything, they nailed everything in one or two, three takes tops. Then we go back and I get Kurt to overdub some guitars or double guitars or double some vocals and things. We tried doing ‘Something In The Way’ out in the studio and it just didn’t work; the drums were too big and loud. Kurt tried an electric guitar, he couldn’t play it on acoustic [at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California] because the room was just too loud. So out of frustration, he came into the control room and started playing it on the couch. And I said, ‘Hold on, let’s just record it right here.’ So I kicked everybody out of the control room, brought a mic in, turned the fans off, and unplugged the phone, and we recorded him on acoustic guitar there and then and built the song from it.”

Revisit “Something In The Way,” both the album version and the MTV Unplugged rendition, below.