Month: June 2022

Top Gun: Maverick has been both a critical and box office success, culminating in the biggest opening weekend of Tom Cruise’s career, and now, that cake is going to get some pretty impressive icing. According to a new report, the massive amount of interest in Top Gun: Maverick has propelled the original Top Gun to the top of the streaming charts where it surprisingly dominated Stranger Things 4 and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Both series were super expensive undertakings for Netflix and Disney+, respectively, but apparently, they just couldn’t compete with audiences’ interest seeing a very young Tom Cruise and his need for speed.

Via Variety:

Here’s the full top 10 from Reelgood for the week:

“Top Gun” (Paramount+, Prime Video)
“Obi-Wan Kenobi” (Disney+)
“Stranger Things” (Netflix)
“The Lost City” (Paramount+)
“The Lincoln Lawyer” (Netflix)
“Better Call Saul” (Netflix, AMC+)
“Sonic the Hedgehog 2” (Paramount+)
“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” (HBO Max)
“Night Sky” (Prime Video)
“Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers” (Disney+)

Top Gun besting Stranger Things 4 is particularly notable given that series has been demolishing viewer records over at Netflix. (Top Gun was on the streaming platform until June 1 when it switched over to Amazon Prime.) It’s an interesting look into the opaque world of streaming. Stranger Things 4 is obviously doing great for Netflix and delivering a Game of Thrones-style epic, and yet, if these rankings are accurate, a 36-year-old movie swooped in thanks to the massive hype from its sequel. Now that’s a plot twist.

(Via Variety)

Rowdy Rebel has adjusted well to the new sound of Brooklyn drill despite his time away. Since being released from prison in 2020 after serving a six-year racketeering bid, the former(?) GS9 member has released a trickle of new music showing off his chops, despite some issues with his label. This year, he dropped a chest-beating freestyle over Lil Durk’s “Ah Haa” and the conflicted “Rowdy Vs. Rebel.” Today, he followed up with his latest foray into the modern drill scene, “Woo Nina.”

He certainly fits right in. It probably helps that not much has changed since the days when “Hot N****” and “Computers” ruled the streets. The lean, mean track clocks in at just over two minutes, and in the video, Rowdy is surrounded by residents of his home borough, who woo walk and wheelie motorbikes through the streets as Rowdy poses for pics and boasts his hood bona fides.

Despite dropping three new singles this year, Rowdy has yet to announce a new album. This likely stems from his previously stated issues with Epic Records, where he and Bobby Shmurda signed in 2014. Shmurda also complained about the label before buying out the remainder of his contract and going independent earlier this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rowdy did something similar to ensure he finally gets a release date.

Watch Rowdy Rebel’s “Woo Nina” video above.

Stranger Things 4 is the show’s most expansive season yet, with the action split between Indiana, Nevada, Russia, and California. The first three locations are essential to the plot, but — and this is one of the biggest questions and criticisms I’ve seen online about the new season — why did creators Matt and Ross Duffer, known professionally as the Duffer brothers, send Eleven, Joyce, Mike, Will, etc. to California, only to have them almost immediately flee the state? Basically, it’s the same reason Captain Marvel didn’t instantly destroy Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War? She was, uh, busy.

“I guess if there is a formula to Stranger Things, the idea of everyone kind of solving one piece of the puzzle and then joining forces together, that is not possible in the same way that it was before,” Matt told Variety. “So we love the idea of throwing that challenge at our characters, the idea that Eleven is so far away from Hawkins that she can’t swoop in like Superman in the same way she has before and save the day.”

Also, Eleven doesn’t have her powers (except for the power to smack bratty girls in the face with a roller skate).

Matt added that one of the reasons why Stranger Things leaned “much harder into horror movie territory” in season four is due to Eleven’s absence. “It’s so often that she’s able to come in and kind of rescue our characters and she isn’t there. And so they feel particularly vulnerable,” he explained. “They are exposed and vulnerable in a way that they haven’t been before as they move into this final fight with Vecna.”

Stranger Things returns for two very long episodes on July 1.

(Via Variety)

Things are looking solid for Johnny Depp at the moment: The actor is fresh off being awarded millions of dollars at the end of his defamation trial with Amber Heard. He was seemingly feeling good even before the verdict was handed down, as this past weekend, he joined Jeff Beck for a surprise appearance at his show in Sheffield, England.

After the trial, Depp once again popped up at a Beck concert, last night (June 2) in Gateshead, England. There, Beck revealed he and Depp have actually recorded an album together, which is apparently set for release in a matter of weeks.

Beck said, “I met this guy five years ago and we’ve never stopped laughing since. We actually made an album. I don’t know how it happened. It will be out in July.”

Depp, of course, has plenty of experience as a musician. He, Alice Cooper, and Joe Perry are members of the supergroup Hollywood Vampires, who released a self-titled debut album in 2015. Depp’s discography also includes appearances on songs by artists like Oasis, Marilyn Manson, Iggy Pop, and Aerosmith. He has also contributed to the soundtracks of some of his movies, with the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street behind perhaps the most notable example.

There has been a lot of discussion about major labels in the wake of the Halsey controversy, in which they claimed that their label wouldn’t let them release a song until they had a viral TikTok moment first. In a recent interview with TMZ Live, rapper Russ, who never hesitates to share his beliefs, has weighed in with his opinion on major labels.

“I do think at some point [major labels] will become obsolete, just because the juice isn’t worth the squeeze. You don’t need them; they’re not doing anything for you that you can’t do for yourself,” he said. “I just think that some artists are not very business-minded and they kinda just want to be the artist, so that’s why they go the label approach so that they have a team that does everything for them.”

He added: “But you can get a team to do everything for you and still just be the artist without the label. Artists in today’s day and age, they’re their own digital marketing. I think digital marketing is one of the biggest facades in the music industry. You get with the label and they’re like, ‘Here’s your digital team.’ And it’s like, ‘What do y’all do exactly?’”

Watch the interview below.

The Wire, one of the greatest TV series of all-time, premiered 20 years ago this week. In honor of two decades of “Omar coming” (RIP), chess lessons, and deez nuts, creators David Simon and Ed Burns spoke to the New York Times about the show’s legacy, and whether HBO would still make it today, in a post-Game of Thrones landscape.

“No, definitely not. HBO was going up the ladder at the time,” Burns said. “They didn’t understand The Wire until the fourth season. In fact, they were thinking about canceling it after three. We caught that moment where networks were thinking, ‘Oh, we need a show for this group of people.’ But now, it’s got to be Game of Thrones.”

He continued, “It’s got to be big. It’s got to be disconnected from stepping on anybody’s toes. I’ve watched a couple of the limited series on HBO, and they’re good shows, but they’re not cutting new paths. They are whodunits or these rich women bickering among themselves in a town.” Burns said he doesn’t hear anyone saying, “Hey, that’s a really great show” on HBO, which is not fair to The Righteous Gemstones, Barry, and Succession, three great shows. (I would add HBO Max’s Hacks in there, too.)

An argument could be made that HBO would still greenlight The Wire in 2022, but — and here’s the big difference between then and now — it wouldn’t have run for five seasons. Enlightened was also little-watched critical hit for HBO, but it only lasted for two seasons. Imagine if The Wire had ended after season two with Ziggy and his duck.

The Wire would have a very different legacy.

(Via the New York Times)

In all the years they’ve been going to concerts, Indiecast hosts Steven Hyden and Ian Cohen have seen many great performances…. and some pretty terrible ones. This week on Indiecast, Steven and Ian dive into their fan mailbag to answer questions on bad concert experiences, the best driving music, and times pop music ripped off indie artists.

Indiecast also discusses some of the biggest indie news from this week. Kate Bush is having a major moment thanks to her song “Running Up That Hill” getting featured in Stranger Things, prompting Steven and Ian to reminisce on Bush’s initial critical reception. In terms of new music, The 1975 confirmed their fifth studio album is on the way. Plus, two early aughts bands, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Phoenix, dropped singles this week.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Ian raves about emo revivalists Algernon Cadwallader’s reunion tour announcement. Steven shouts out Angel Olsen’s newest album Big Time, which leans into alt-country territory.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 91 below, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

Thanks to Elon Musk‘s very public attempt to purchase Twitter, Tesla stock has been plummeting, and now, another hit is reportedly coming to the electric car company with CNBC’s news that shares immediately plunged again on Friday. In short, it’s a bad week for Tesla stock, which lost another 6% of its value after two leaked emails from Musk, and that adds up to a 25% drop over the past four months.

According to an email obtained by Reuters, Musk is planning to layoff 10% of Tesla employees because, and this is a direct quote, he has a “super bad feeling” about the economy:

The message, sent on Thursday and titled “pause all hiring worldwide”, came two days after the billionaire told staff to return to the workplace or leave, and adds to a growing chorus of warnings from business leaders about the risks of recession.

Almost 100,000 people were employed at Tesla and its subsidiaries at the end of 2021, its annual SEC filing showed.

If Musk follows through on the layoffs, that would mean roughly 10,000 Tesla employees will now be out of a job. Then again, as Reuters noted, it hasn’t exactly been the best workplace over there this week. Not only did Musk threaten to fire anyone who didn’t stop working remotely, but he accused them of “pretending” to do their jobs.

Musk is also severely angering shareholders who are reportedly tired of the “circus show” he’s caused with his attempt to acquire Twitter. That deal lead to stocks plummeting for both companies. In fairness, Tesla’s stocks were already in trouble due to manufacturing delays caused by the recent COVID lockdowns in China, but Musk poured fuel on the fire with his egotistical desire to own Twitter. Compounding all of those issues, Musk is now facing allegations of sexually harassing a Space X employee.

In short, things aren’t going great for the Elon Musk empire.

(Via Reuters)

The Strokes, and therefore also their fans, were met with some unfortunate news yesterday, as they had to pull out of their headlining slot at this weekend’s Primavera Sound Festival due to a case of COVID-19 within the group. So, festival organizers made some changes so the show could go on, moving Caribou into the band’s performance slot and getting Mogwai to take Caribou’s set time.

Those two bands weren’t the only ones who helped fill the void, though: During their set, Tame Impala softened the blow of The Strokes not being able to make it by covering their iconic Is This It single “Last Nite” at the start of their encore. They didn’t really spin the track into anything else, either, as Kevin Parker and company kept their performance extremely faithful to how The Strokes themselves sound when playing the tune.

In other Tame Impala news, the group has been getting involved with the cinematic world lately. Last month, they and Diana Ross shared “Turn Up The Sunshine,” their collaboration for the Minions: The Rise Of Gru soundtrack. Shortly after that, it was revealed they would also be contributing music to the new Elvis Presley biopic.

Watch Tame Impala cover “Last Nite” above.

If you woke up this morning thinking, “Gee, I wonder how long it will take for me to hear yet another imbecilic theory from some Republican about why the recent mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas happened that has nothing to do with guns?,” well, your wait is over.

The latest excuse for America’s gun problem that doesn’t involve guns comes courtesy of Steve Bannon, who Mediaite reports is blaming…”open borders.”

Bannon was chatting up famously nutty right-wing commentator Gina Loudon on his podcast this week, when the two entered into an inane back and forth about the tragic events in Uvalde. “We have to get a timeline, a timeline down to the second of what happened here,” Bannon insisted. “Because this does not make sense, there are so many loose ends.”

What made even less sense was Bannon then insisting that “We have got to find out more about this gunman. This is going to be tied to the open borders, you watch.” Given that it was Bannon’s show, his guest was obviously in agreement—and even managed to take the argument one frightfully ignorant step further. “Everyone wants to take the pressure off guns and put it on mental health, I totally get that,” Loudon said. “But as someone who spent better than a decade of her life studying mental health, you do not want the Joe Biden Department of Mental Health and Gun Safety to be formed… That is the most dangerous thought ever.”

More dangerous than, say, a clearly unstable teenager buying himself two AR-15 rifles, then using them to kill 19 schoolchildren and two teachers? If you’re asking Loudon, the answer seems to be “absolutely.”

Loudon went on to state that the shooting in Uvalde had nothing to do with mental health, and everything to do with illegal immigration. “If our wall had been built and if we had the rule of law enforced, this shooting would never have happened and these children and adults would be alive today,” she claimed. Except that Salvador Ramos, the suspected gunman, was a U.S. citizen who was born in North Dakota. So we’re not exactly sure how she managed that leap of logic.

(Via Mediaite)