Month: March 2022

The last 12 months have been quite busy for Candace Parker, who joined the Chicago Sky a year ago, led her hometown team to a WNBA title, and got married to her wife, Anna Petrakova, with the two welcoming their new son earlier this year. All the while, she’s continued her work with Turner Sports on NBA TV and TNT’s coverage of the NBA, and this week, she’ll shift her attention to the college ranks for Turner’s coverage of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

On Monday, we got a chance to catch up with Parker about her busy year, why she’s so excited about her upcoming Title IX documentary with Turner, and to break down her beloved Vols and the rest of the teams and players she’s looking forward to seeing as March Madness begins.

First off, how’s the family doing and how are you adjusting to life with a baby around again?

Oh my goodness. Well, thank you for asking. The family is fantastic. We couldn’t be happier. The adjustment is [laughs], it’s a lot. You know, fortunate to have a good amount of help so we’re making it, but babies are no joke. So it’s been a long time since we’ve had a baby in the house but we’re in love. So it’s, it’s going well, thank you.

Good. I mean, if you go back to March 2021, you’re going back to Chicago, and now you’re a champion again, you’re married, you have a new son. What has this last year been like for you personally?

It’s been a whirlwind. I’m fortunate enough to be able to spend a lot of time with family. You know, I think that’s the biggest thing for me, is just during this time of having my son and even before that, like, just being able to spend the quality time over these last few years, I’ve been able to see my daughter grow up and spend time with my wife and just — we spend time with family back in Chicago as well. So, for me, yes, it was. Winning the championship was unbelievable, but it was just as amazing to be able to meet my best friend for lunch, and have my dad come over and fix my blinds, and my mom made me pregame meals, and my parents be at all the games, go see my grandma. So I think those are the moments, like spending time with family and friends, that I really haven’t taken for granted and have really enjoyed.

Absolutely. And now you’re adding producer to that list with with your upcoming Title IX documentary. How did that project come about? And what are you excited for people to see with this?

This is a huge passion project, I would say, for me. This has been years in the making. I can remember the first conversation I had with my agents about trying to put something like this together. Being able to do it with Turner where I’m at as the first real project, it means a lot, because like I said, it is a passion project. It is something that … the reason why I am is because of Title IX. I think it’s definitely being brought to light through my eyes and how I’ve been able to take advantage of the opportunities that are presented because of Title IX, and how it goes far beyond sports. But I think those are the two things that I really want to bring the light and also those that paved the way for us to be able to even have these opportunities and an entire generation that didn’t have these opportunities and the previous generation before that. So I think you know, among other things, those are kind of the the main things that I hope that this documentary is able to accomplish.

Definitely. And we’re seeing the continued push for equity in women’s sports. What do you see from this new generation of athletes who certainly seem to be so confident and so willing to stand up to some of these institutions and call things out? I mean, you think to what Sedona Prince did last year with the NCAA Tournament and posting those videos and all that. Are you proud to see how this new generation continues to push that forward?

I go back to the whole point of Title IX was to create opportunities and I think with those opportunities, athletes have been able to create their own platforms — as a result of social media, as a result of their skills, as a result of their opportunities, as a result of having the skills necessary to stand up for yourself and to understand what is right and what is wrong. And I think a lot of that comes from sports. And so I think now these athletes, being able to have those platforms to stand on, now you’re seeing entire leagues whereas before it was a couple athletes — it was the Billie Jean Kings of the world, right, that stood up and made these statements and backed it up with action and the way that they played and things like that.

However, I feel as though we still have so far to go and I do see the changes. You know, the NCAA versus when I was in school is a lot different. You know, even just small things that have come from acknowledging that the playing field is far from level. You know, the referees being paid the same amount to it actually been called March Madness. You know, ESPN actually putting the women’s bracket as a topic as opposed to just the five minute conversation on SportsCenter that night, because visibility is important. You’ve seen how with March Madness, people that don’t even watch college basketball fill [brackets] out and there’s a tension behind it with men. So we need that same energy with women.

Absolutely. As you kind of shift your focus now going into the men’s tournament with your with your work with Turner, how do you approach this month? Because obviously you go from NBA coverage into NCAA, and I recently talked with Reggie Miller about the same thing, how he navigates kind of living in living in both worlds as an analyst and making sure that you’re keeping an eye on both.

Yeah, it’s really difficult sometimes to shift. I mean, I’m a basketball junkie, so basketball’s always on. But it’s different when you’re covering it the entire year. You know, the NBA, it’s like I’m on NBA TV and I can remember the game from October, November when, you know, the Bucks played the Lakers or whatever. Like I remember those games, and it’s like with college, obviously, I have certain teams that I follow and on Sunday, it’s always on, or on Saturday, it’s always on, but you know, it’s different. And so now shifting your brain to the rules, to the players, to in studio, what are we talking about, things like that. So, I think it’s definitely shift, but basketball is basketball to me. When you see certain teams, you know they either have it or they don’t in terms of making a run. And so in NCAA, I look for those things, and they might be different than what it takes to win an NBA championship, but, you know, they’re still similar.

Definitely. Who are some of the teams that you’re most excited to see in the next couple of weeks?

Well, of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention my Tennessee Volunteers. Tennessee, I thought deserved a higher seed. You know, they got the 3-seed, which to me, if you’re gonna have a conference tournament and kind of see where everybody’s at — I understand like the entire resume of the year matters — but also how you finish matters, too. I think what I’ve been most impressed about Tennessee is their ability to continually get the ball to the third side. And that is underestimated in how important it is even in the NBA, even in the WNBA, how important it is to be disciplined enough to get the ball on offense to the third side, because you’re making the defense shift two to three times. And so having players that are disciplined and not taking a shot before that, I think Tennessee just put that on display an SEC tournament. I’m excited to watch what [Josiah]-Jordan [James] is going to do. [Kennedy] Chandler, obviously, high IQ coming in, can create, can make plays. If Tennessee is knocking down the three ball, I think that they can go far, even winning this thing, to be honest with you.

You mentioned the the differences in what it takes to win an NCAA Tournament compared to an NBA championship and so much of that is format considering you need to win six games to win an NCAA Tournament, you need to win 16 to win an NBA championship. What are the things that you look for in a team, just generally speaking, when it comes tournament time and the formula to make that run to a second weekend and to a Final Four?

I would almost argue with you that it’s harder to win the six games because you can’t lose you have to be 6-0 whereas —

Oh, I was just saying different. Not easier or harder. Just a different format.

Yeah, yeah, a different format. Okay. With the NBA format, you have to get 16 wins, but at the same time, you can have 12 losses. The format [is harder] in terms of always having to be on top of your game. I think for me, it comes down to three things. It comes down to being able to play both ways, meaning fast teams really struggle NCAA Tournament, because the game is going to slow down. So you have to be able to play fast and you also have to be able to play in the halfcourt. I think that’s one thing.

You also have to be able to defend and match up well in multiple positions defensively. I think when you have guys that are fours and fives that can guard multiple positions, you’re at an advantage, so that athleticism and things like that. And the third thing is you have to have great guard play. You have to have guys that can come down get you into sets, and go getters, people that can create. Create for you, create for the team, because everybody’s gonna be able to scout by game three or game four. They’re gonna know exactly what you want to do. But the team that’s disciplined enough to continue to stick with it is going to be the team that successful. So those, to me, are the keys to trying to win a championship.

I think it’s interesting this year because a lot of the talk, at least at the top of the draft this year, is about big guys — you got Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith, those guys. But who are the guards that you look at and think could be difference makers. Jaden Ivey, obviously, is the standout for Purdue, but who are some of the guards that you think could be the ones that can carry a team in one of those close games, in those late game situations and maybe lift their team to a deep run?

I mean, you look at Gonzaga, and you look at even what Jalen Suggs was able to do last year just even knocking down shots — and I know it was a three pointer at the buzzer, whatever. But at the same time, he’s able to get you into position, and I look at Andrew Nembhard kind of the same way. He’s a guy that when you need to make a play … and I think everybody thinks plays are always at the end of the game. And it’s not, like, you sometimes need a big run going into the second half, or you need to be able to sustain a run from the other team, or you need to come down and you need to know when you’re going to get in your sets. So I think Andrew Nembhard has done that. Like, he’s been the guy that shoots well from beyond, from the field, he is able to create for others. I just want to see him be able to match up against the physicality of other conferences, to be able to match up with the physicality and the speed and quickness that he’s going to face him into a tournament.

If you were to look ahead, we’ve had a day now with the bracket, as you map this thing out, who is your Final Four and what are the matchups that you think we are gonna see?

So I haven’t settled on my Final Four yet. I’m one of those where I’m going to take until that Thursday to fill out my bracket. Just because I’m like, I want to measure everything and I’m still gonna be wrong, like everybody’s gonna be wrong.

For me, I picked the darkhorse of Loyola Chicago. I just like the way they play, I like the way that they spread it around. However, I have it coming to an abrupt halt when they play Tennessee in the Sweet 16. So I look at that matchup as a little bit of redemption — a couple of years ago, I think Sister Jean had something to do with the ball hanging on the rim and going in for Loyola Chicago. I look at that matchup. I would say I do like the matchup — I know this is probably second round — but Houston-Illinois to me is really cool, if Illinois can get past Chattanooga. Going to school in Knoxville, of course, I paid attention to Chattanooga, and the way that they play is so fun to watch, but I just want to know if they can do that and play that fast and with that much high octane in the NCAA Tournament. I would say, let’s see, I think Arkansas-Connecticut is another one that I look at in terms of the second round that could be really intriguing. But again, I think you’re right. I don’t know if I’m gonna have, more than one or two 1/2 seeds in the Final Four. I think this year it’s it really is wide open. Like we could see another VCU, we could see another of those types of teams that are able to get deep into this.

I live in Chattanooga now. And yeah, they are a fun team.

They are so fun to watch! And they have size.

Well, that’s the thing, like Silvio De Sousa’s a beast.

Yeah you usually see teams like that and they don’t have that size.

Yeah, I went to Georgia State so we did not have a fun draw. I’m gonna be honest with you, I’m not even looking forward to watching. We have like one guy in the rotation who’s over 6’8, and we have to play Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren, like, cool. Cool cool cool cool cool.

Yeah, it’s gonna be tough. I think Timme will do better. But anytime for me, my knock on Chet is when people get into him, he struggles against guys that are shorter and stockier than him. So I want to see him play against the 6’6 posts that’s got a little size.

You know, I appreciate the optimism.

You’re welcome.

I needed that. Well, I appreciate you taking some time, Candace. Always a pleasure, and enjoy the next few weeks of the Tournament and hopefully it’s as exciting as it looks because, yeah, it does look like we could have some chaos.

Yeah, it’s gonna be fun. It’s gonna be a lot of fun. It’s never what you expect, right? You go in with so much like promise with your bracket and then you’re just ripping it up no matter what. And you’re just like, how could I not have predicted that, but you can’t predict it.

Hindsight’s so much easier.

Yeah it is.

I’m a much bigger fan of hindsight than predicting.

[laughs] Me too.

Rosalía is in the midst of a busy stretch when it comes to being in the public eye: Her album Motomami is out in a couple days, she was on The Tonight Show last week (where she told a great Harry Styles story), and she was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live this past weekend. Now, ahead of the album, she has dropped a video for “Hentai,” a sexually charged piano ballad.

The song, of course, is named after hentai, the sexually explicit genre of manga and anime. While the video itself isn’t hentai, it’s certainly sex-forward, as parts of it feature Rosalía striking suggestive poses on a bed in the middle of a rodeo arena.

She recently told Vice of the song, “In this new album, there’s some humor. In my other projects, I didn’t allow a sense of humor. ‘Hentai’ is much more suggestive, much more erotic for me. Hentai is more interesting than conventional porn. And why not talk about something like that as an inspiration for a song? Having sex is part of life. It’s all the same. I put everything on the same level.”

Watch the “Hentai” video above.

Motomami is out 3/18 via Columbia. Pre-order it here.

On the 20th anniversary of his gastric bypass surgery, Al Roker shared photos on social media of his weight loss journey. “Hard to believe it was 20 years ago today, I wore these jeans to my #gastricbypass at 340 lbs and here I am today,” the Today weather anchor wrote. “It’s still a struggle but I’m never going back. I may have setbacks but I work on it ever day.” In the photos, Roker is holding an old pair of now-oversized jeans that could now fit both him and jorts king Kevin Smith, who also lost a ton of weight.

Roker (who shared a video of his fitness routine in a follow-up Instagram post) discussed his transformation on Today. “I’m thrilled about where I am,” he told now-disgraced anchor Matt Lauer in 2013. “Life is terrific; I wouldn’t trade it for a moment. But you always wonder where you would be if ‘x’ hadn’t happened. I’m thrilled that I’ve finally got to this place at 58 years old. I finally got it figured out. I feel good about it.”

There have been some post-surgery complications, though, including the time he pooped his pants in the White House. “I pooped my pants. Not horribly, but enough that I knew,” Joker, I mean, Roker said, adding, “I got to the restroom of the press room, threw out the underwear, and just went commando.” Hopefully he threw out those pants, unlike the ones in the photos below.

As Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the United States Congress on Wednesday in a rousing plea for aid that earned him a standing ovation. In what’s being described as a “historic” speech, Zelensky urged the U.S. to enforce a no-fly zone in Ukraine and provide fighter jets to the country as it attempts to repel Russian attacks. While the U.S. has been resistant to these requests, which could be treated by Russia as an act of war, Zelensky nonetheless urged Congress that such help is desperately needed, and he might actually be shifting the debate, according to CNN:

“Remember Pearl Harbor, terrible morning of December 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you,” Zelensky said. “Just remember it, remember, September the 11th, a terrible day in 2001 when evil tried to turn US cities into battlefields, when innocent people were attacked from air, just like nobody else expected it and you could not stop it. Our country experiences the same, every day, right now at this moment.”

Obviously, this is a dire situation involving a president who has stayed in the midst of combat to defend his country against a massive military invasion, but if you ask economist Peter Schiff, the true crime is that Zelensky wore a t-shirt while addressing. You cannot make this up.

“I understand times are hard, but doesn’t the President of the #Ukraine own a suit?” Schiff tweeted. “I don’t have much respect for current members of the U.S. Congress either, but I still wouldn’t address them wearing a t-shirt. I wouldn’t want to disrespect the institution or the Unites States.”

Considering the outpouring of support for Ukraine, Schiff was almost instantly roasted in the replies to his god awful take. Seriously, a dude wearing a T-shirt in the middle of a warzone is what Schiff zeroed in on? You can see just a small sample of the reactions below, which are already in the thousands:

(Via CNN)

Let’s hope that the next generation of up-and-coming rappers is learning from the mistakes of their predecessors and reading those contracts (let’s be real, they probably aren’t). With the rise of social media and music blogs, more and more artists’ struggles with their record labels are coming to light lately; Meek Mill, Megan Thee Stallion, and Rowdy Rebel have all had widely publicized falling outs with their respective labels and they’re all far from the only ones.

Lest anyone think that it’s only major label artists who can find themselves in unfavorable contracts, Conway The Machine recently revealed that even his deal with indie label Griselda Records — which was founded by his blood brother Westside Gunn — was tilted more toward Griselda’s benefit than his own. During his recent appearance on The Breakfast Club to promote God Don’t Make Mistakes, Conway stressed the importance of thoroughly reviewing all the terms of a label deal.

“I’mma keep it a buck,” he admitted. “I didn’t even read that contract, bro. I didn’t read that shi*t. I just signed that sh*t and moved on. Unfortunately, the contract wasn’t in my favor. So now, going forward, it’s time to redo all that. I gotta make sure it’s in my favor now.”

While he didn’t elaborate on which terms he took issue with, he did say that while he feels he “didn’t get no money” after signing the deal with Griselda, Interscope, and Shady Records, he intends to work something out with Gunn. Now that he’s turned in his third and final album under the deal he said he’s contractually finished with both Griselda​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ and Shady Records. “It’s free agency right now,” he declared. “I need that supermax. I need that Giannis bag.” If I have anything to add, it’s that I hope he’s got a good lawyer and a better understanding of how most recording contracts work because it’d be a shame if he didn’t get a better deal the next time around — or better yet, stay independent.

You can watch Conway’s full interview above.

Ahead of the release of her upcoming debut EP, A Study Of The Human Experience, Vol. 1, GAYLE stopped by The Late Late Show to perform her latest single, “Ur Just Horny.”

During her performance of the explosive follow-up to her viral hit “ABCDEFU” — which has since peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart — GAYLE was in rockstar mode, rocking a guitar and strumming along as she sang to a cheering crowd.

“You don’t wanna be friends, you’re just horny,” she sings in her pop-rock-influenced track.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, the Plano, Texas native said she wrote “Ur Just Horny” about a friend who began treating her differently after they became intimate. “I thought I was the one at fault,” she said. “Like, ‘F*ck, I really f*cked up our friendship. ‘But then I realized, ‘No. They were trying to get into my pants the whole entire time: That was their goal. They never cared in the first place. Maybe I’m not completely the problem.’”

Check out the performance above.

A Study Of The Human Experience, Vol. 1 is out 3/18 via Atlantic. Pre-save it here.

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

Over the past month, the world has watched while Ukrainian President Zelensky has heroically risen to the occasion after refusing a ride out of his war-torn country. Russian troops continue their invasion while a real-life horror movie unfolds by the hour, and given that Zelensky’s a former comedian/satirist/actor (many consider him to be a Jon Stewart of sorts), people sitting helplessly by at home would like to soak in some of his better days. To that end, his previous 2015 TV series, Servant of the People, is finally available to stream in the U.S.

The question of when this day would come (given that the show has been sliding up the global charts over the past few weeks) was a prominent inquiry, and the streaming platform has abided. The U.S. market, however, proved to be a little trickier (possibly because of rights), but Netflix has apparently come out of that bidding exchange in a victorious (and renewed) way.

“You asked and it’s back!” the streamer tweeted. “The 2015 satirical comedy series stars Volodymyr Zelenskyy playing a teacher who unexpectedly becomes President after a video of him complaining about corruption suddenly goes viral.

As The Hollywood Reporter previously relayed, the series sort-of snowballed into Zelensky’s political ambitions in real life. He subsequently channeled the popularity of this series into a political party (also named Servant of the People) and eventually ran for Ukrainian president with a 2019 landslide victory. His continued journey and bravery in the face of unspeakable atrocities can be an inspiration to us all, so let the streaming begin.

Those who live in areas with clear night skies understand the impact of star-gazing. It puts into perspective just how small we are in the grand scheme of things — a thought that can be both terrifying and invigorating. LA-based musician Celeste Tauchar, who makes music under the moniker Talker, knows this feeling all too well. Tauchar is inspired by her own insignificance and uses the feeling to re-examine what’s really important on her upcoming eight-track EP In Awe Of Insignificance.

After making music in various projects for years and touring with the electro-pop group FRENSHIP, Tauchar decided to develop a solo sound. Tauchar’s upcoming EP was the result of intentional vulnerability, something she couldn’t have done without the encouragement of her community. Throughout eight tracks, the singer delicately explores themes of mental health and self-growth over cascading guitars and disco-inspired beats.

Ahead of the release of In Awe Of Insignificance, Tauchar sat down with Uproxx to discuss musicians who inspired her music, her best concert experience, and her love of pirozhkis in the latest Indie Mixtape Q&A.

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

Catharsis, glitter, sunsets, intimacy.

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 hope this isn’t too unrealistic of a prediction! I want my music to be remembered (and viewed) as the manifestation of my inner world. Everything is intentional, from the soundscapes to the visuals to the way I describe it. I try to view it as one big art project cause that makes it more fun for me and I hope people can view it with that lens as well.

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

I love performing in Seattle, I’ve never had a bad night there. Also, I got to perform in Madrid while touring with FRENSHIP a few years ago and it was one of my favorite performance experiences as well — a crowd I still haven’t forgotten and I really hope to get back there with Talker.

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

I really don’t think there’s one person who has single-handedly most inspired my work. Especially because I think that it has shifted depending on where I’m at in life. So I’m gonna be a brat and give you a few: Ben Gibbard from Death Cab For Cutie has had one of the biggest influences on my songwriting and I think he has really influenced my approach to narrative and visual tools in songwriting. David Byrne and Talking Heads have had a huge impact on my love for the weird and learning to take risks and pursue the theatrical — something that I was afraid to do when I started this project and have really opened myself up to more on this record. And Mitksi is the last one I’ll name here for now. I think there are obvious comparisons you can make, but in particular, seeing her live in 2019 reignited a desire in me that I had lost for a while. She was such an incredible performer, there were props, there was dance, and it was such a great reminder that regardless of genre you can be big and bold and make it something bigger.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life?

Dishoom in London. It’s possibly a bit overrated but it’s also just really good. And there are others but I can’t remember their names!

What album do you know every word to?

The Jonas Brothers’ self-titled album. It will never leave my brain.

What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?

Okay please don’t judge me but I saw The 1975 at the O2 in London like five years ago when they were recording their live album. It was so magical because I happened to have an overnight layover in London on my way to visiting family in Germany so I got tickets and took the subway straight from Heathrow to the arena and then just kind of found myself there by myself taking it all in. It was also a great show but it was just kind of this wild jet-setting solo traveling experience.

What is the best outfit for performing and why?

I love a crop top and wide-leg high-waisted pants. It makes me feel really good about myself but I can also run around and kick my legs in the air and throw myself on the ground without worrying that people can see up my clothes.

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

I follow this account on Instagram called artworkunity and it’s my favorite thing ever. I get so stressed out looking at social media. I try to avoid looking at it in the middle of the day. But I love this account because it’s just like videos of people creating really incredible and soothing art pieces.

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

My drummer JR loves Madonna and really got me into her on one of our tours. I don’t know about a specific song but she funny enough might be one of the artists I’ve listened to the most in the van.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

“Who were the beat poets.” LOL. I’m currently reading On The Road and wanted a comprehensive list of everyone that culture considers “beat” just to see who was on there.

What album makes for the perfect gift?

Any classic. For me, it would be The Beatles White Album or Queen’s A Night At The Opera.

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

One time I was playing in Orlando and our tour manager at the time booked us an Airbnb. When we got there, what was supposed to be enough beds for 6 adults turned out to be a bunch of twin beds with Disney sheets. The guys’ feet were all sticking out past the end of the bed. And I vividly remember finding a bunch of corn nuts in the couch. I try not to think about it.

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

I love all of them. But my favorite is probably my moon phases tattoo on my left arm. It’s super simple but it’s in a style I love, based on María Medem’s art, and serves as a reminder to me to move with the changing tides instead of trying to fight against it. It’s also my biggest tattoo so it kind of broke this barrier for me — my prior ones were all in places I could easily hide them, but this one was like. Here it is! So now I feel more excited to get new, bigger pieces.

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

I really don’t listen to the radio very much. I use it to tune everything out so I basically just listen to KJazz.

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

This is such a tough question because I don’t know that I’ve ever had some sort of extreme gesture — I’ve been lucky to not need any sort of grandiose thing in life. But there have been a lot of really amazing people in my life who have deeply impacted my trajectory and I wouldn’t be where I am without them. I have a group of incredibly supportive collaborators and friends who champion me, and those who have been further along in this industry than me at one point or another have always sent my music to people and pushed for me to get opportunities. My roommates and household throughout COVID really became more of a family than any normal roommate relationship. We really operate like family, from the good to the bad and the obligations and the joys. I don’t know that there’s one thing. But I feel really lucky with the people who have come into my life.

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

Don’t be so desperate and let everything just take its time.

What’s the last show you went to?

I saw Real Estate play “Days” in full for the album’s 10th anniversary in December. It’s kind of crazy ’cause that was like, right before everything got insane again and I can’t imagine being at a show that big right now.

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

Anything with Hugh Grant.

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

The same thing I would make for anyone else which is the one thing I consistently make any time I get to cook for someone: pirozhkis. They’re this Russian street food that’s kind of like a hot pocket but made from scratch and so so much better. My grandma has always made them for me cause I love them so much. I’m not sure where she got it from though because we’re not Russian, but I am obsessed with them.

In Awe Of Insignificance is out 3/25 via Wehearnoise Records. Pre-order it here.

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

It’s been a little more than a month since the Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets pulled off a blockbuster trade centered around Ben Simmons and James Harden. In that time, we’ve seen Harden suit up for Philly, while Simmons has been sidelined in Brooklyn as he deals with a lingering back issue.

Despite the fact that the Simmons saga went on for months and has been resolved for some time, Joel Embiid still is confused as to how we got to a point that Simmons determined his best path forward was never suiting up for the Sixers again. Embiid appeared on Draymond Green’s podcast and got asked about Simmons’ departure, and shot back after Green said that he “expressed your dismay with the situation, expressed ‘get him out of here,’ then.”

“I never said that, to get him out of there,” Embiid said at the 1:25 mark of the above video. “I just didn’t understand what was going on, honestly. I didn’t understand, like, what happened and what led to that whole situation. To this day, I don’t understand. Even when you look at — and I don’t have any problems with him, and like I said, obviously we didn’t win a championship together, but in the regular season, we were dominant. Every single season, 50-win seasons. I always believed that we had a chance to win together. I always believed it. Even to this day, I believe that we had a chance to win, and what we were able to accomplish, obviously winning matters the most but I feel like we had a chance, and that’s why I don’t understand what was going on, honestly, what caused him to want to leave. I understand his explanation, but a lot of things don’t make sense.”

Embiid had quite the reaction in the immediate aftermath of the trade, making clear that he was ready for the whole thing to come to an end. Throughout this season in the lead-up to the trade, Embiid expressed his desire for Simmons to come back, even if he, on a few occasions, spoke candidly about the situation.

In Deep Water, coming to Hulu this week, Ben Affleck’s wife won’t stop cuckolding him. Right in front of him, too, and seemingly with a new guy every week. Where does she find them? How does she find the time? She’s like the Tyler Durden of cuckoldry, setting up franchises while the rest of us are sleeping.

Ana De Armas plays Melinda, the wife, and sexy though she may be, you have to wonder what’s keeping her rich guy husband, Vic (Affleck), from leaving her. Sure, they have a daughter together, divorces are expensive, and custody battles can get ugly, but nothing is worth repeated humiliation like this, right?

Deep Water is a throwback in the best way. The tendency in 2022 would be to try to explain Melinda (assuming someone was bold enough to write her in the first place), to make the act of diagnosing why she is the way she is the whodunnit propelling the narrative — the old “trauma plot,” as it has come to be known in this age of ubiquitous armchair psychiatry. Deep Water, adapted from author Patricia Highsmith (The Talented Mr. Ripley and a million others) and directed by Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal) — with a script adapted by Zach Helm and Sam Levinson — comes from the oldest of old hands at the “psychological erotic thriller” genre, and it shows.

To explain Melinda would be to soften her, to apologize for her. Far more interesting to focus on the dynamic between Melinda and Vic than on what made them this way. Sure, we get the occasional anecdotes about them, like that Melinda was kicked out of many different schools growing up, and that Vic invented a computer chip for use in drone warfare, but the central focus of Deep Water is on the tension between them. Which is to say, on what they actually do to get over on one another. If indeed that’s what they’re doing. What are they doing? What is their deal?

Neither of them are “likable,” in the traditional sense, more deliciously despicable. It’s always refreshing when filmmakers relegate the old “someone to root for” storytelling canard to the shitcan where it properly belongs. One of the most salient features of Deep Water is that it’s weird. It chucks dull, “relatable” situations out the window doing 90 on the way to provocative weirdness. Every new wrinkle creates a new angle for your brain to try to square with what we already know. Vic rides mountain bikes. Is that relevant? What about the fact that Vic raises snails? Does being a snailraiser predispose one to cuckolding, or is it some clue as to his motives? Maybe it’s a method of disposal?

In this age of frantically overplotted stories (partly due to the commercial reality of having to cram in as many heroes and villains as possible while fitting a movie into a broader outline; but I suspect also as a kind of screenwriter’s insecurity, undertaken with the belief that a confused viewer can’t be a bored one), Deep Water is judicious with what information it shares. And always in a way that feels purposeful. The key to a compelling story isn’t that it sounds like something you’ve heard before or that it’s true to your own experiences (zzzzz), it’s creating that bond between audience and storyteller, the faith that when the storyteller reveals a bit of information it’s going to be for a reason.

Vic boldly soldiers on, getting cuckolded again and again in ever more public situations in front of his extended friend group of New Orleans bon vivants, all the while fighting a one-man battle for his pride and peace of mind. Who’s going to break first? Where does Melinda keep finding new men? It’s a glorious plot contrivance that Vic is a retired rich guy and Melinda is his trophy wife — they literally have nothing better to do than play cat-and-mouse games with each other all day.

Deep Water is not a comedy by any means, but the dialogue is notably sharp, with multiple laugh-out-loud moments, and a solid supporting cast that includes Lil Rel Howery, Kristen Connolly, and Hall of Fame prick specialist Tracy Letts. Letts, whom you may remember from roles on Homeland or as Henry Ford II in Ford Vs. Ferrari, or from one of his one non-prick roles per decade, like as Saoirse Ronan’s dad in Lady Bird, is in fine form once again as Don Wilson, a pompous writer whose latest screenplay is a story about a writer like himself who has to solve a murder in his town. The character is not only hilariously dislikable, but key to understanding Deep Water; as, essentially, a parody of the kind of books in which a writer’s semi-autobiographical alter ego becomes the most important character in a story and ends up saving the day.

Without spoiling anything, Don’s big scene is reminiscent of Colin Farrell’s character’s in True Detective season two, expiring while waiting to send a text to his pudgy ginger son. Kudos to Zach Helm or Sam Levinson, surely this nugget wasn’t in Patricia Highsmith’s original 1957 novel.

After a movie full of twists and turns, thrills and chills, Deep Water ends on perhaps not its biggest narrative swing. It’s not quite the home run the rest of the movie promises, but it feels right enough, pleasingly symmetrical at least. All in all, it’s a story that gets its hooks in early and keeps stringing us along, without being exhaustively complicated.

A simple story that tracks, with aberrant characters and the boldness to be weird; when was the last time we got one of those? Deep Water is not only a refreshing throwback to the days of mid-budget thrillers aimed at adults, but perfect for at-home binging.

‘Deep Water’ begins streaming via Hulu on Friday. Vince Mancini is on Twitter. You can access his archive of reviews here.