Month: June 2022

Closing off Pride month and leading into her new era with a bang, Hayley Kiyoko has dropped “Deep In The Woods,” the much-anticipated follow-up to her sophomore album Panorama‘s lead single, “For The Girls.”

On “Deep In The Woods,” Kiyoko tells a queer love story, chasing the joy she found in a brief encounter. Over a chilling instrumental, Kiyoko sings, “Baby I / I know I met you in another life / You’re unforgettable / It’s like you’re my dream, my deja vu, a ghost / You’ll be right there, wherever I go.”

The song is produced by Danja, along with Kiyoko’s frequent collaborators, Pat Morrissey and Kill Dave.

“‘Deep In The Woods’ is a song that captures the feeling of instant connection, as if you’ve known someone forever even though you’ve only just met,” said Kiyoko in a statement. “It feels as if your entire being is haunted by their presence wherever you go. It’s that instantaneous moment of knowing you are willing to do anything to be with the one you love.”

Check out “Deep In The Woods” above.

Panorama is out 7/29 via Atlantic. Pre-save it here.

Hayley Kiyoko is a Warner Music Artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Charlotte Hornets were left without a coach going into this year’s draft after Kenny Atkinson reneged on his commitment to become the team’s head coach. Many thought the other reported coaching finalist, Mike D’Antoni, would fill the coaching position and turn the LaMelo Ball Hornets into a zoomer-charged version of the seven seconds or less Suns.

However, on the morning of the NBA Draft, Marc Stein reported that a possible reunion with former head coach Steve Clifford was in play for the Hornets.

One day later and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports Clifford will, indeed, return to Charlotte.

Clifford coached the Hornets for five seasons and was fired at the conclusion of 2018. He then went on to coach the Orlando Magic for three years and spent this past season out of the league.

Throughout his tenure in both Charlotte and Orlando, Clifford installed air-tight defensive systems that pulled both franchises out of the metaphorical NBA gutter to a level respected competition. He even pushed the Hornets into becoming a top-5 defense early in his tenure and led the franchise to two playoff appearances.

Clifford inherits a much more talented roster than the one he left in 2018 with Ball on a path for stardom and, potentially, a Miles Bridges extension on the horizon. Charlotte finished 22nd in defense last season and that will be Clifford’s primary focus this season — Charlotte’s selection of Duke center Mark Williams in the draft should go a long ways towards shoring up that defense.

There is no end in sight to the waves of citizens and artists who are voicing their disdain for the Supreme Court’s partisan decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. And why should there be? Denying abortion and reproductive rights to women in many US states is something that millions of women and families will have to deal with for years to come. The critiques will not be devoid of nuance as we continue to process what the future looks like in light of this, and Jack White just posted a lengthy statement on Instagram directed mainly at former president Donald trump.

“The two party system by proxy puts this clown in a position to pick THREE conservative supreme court justices, THREE,” White said in reference to Trump. “And now these three judges, completely disinterested and unaffected by what the actual majority wants and needs, have just taken the country back to the 1970’s to start all over again fighting for women’s rights.”

His passionate and reasoned statement ended with perhaps the biggest shot fired at Trump: “I hope your dad is smiling and waving down on you from heaven, while his other hand holds a record of all the abortions you secretly paid for behind closed doors. ”

Read White’s full statement below.

“Congrats America! Let’s start at the beginning; life isn’t black and white, but it is in a two party system! That concept allows the chance for one of the parties to promote a professional wrestler of a “politician” with absolutely no experience in govt., who cares only about his own ego, who uses christianity (of which he isn’t one) to propel his career at the expense of those christians (and the rest of us all), who uses patriotism as a dog whistle for racism and fear etc., and all of this goes unchecked because the OTHER party doesn’t have enough of a majority to keep this person from slowly destroying any progress we’ve made in this country . So then this is what happens: the two party system by proxy puts this clown in a position to pick THREE conservative supreme court justices, THREE. And now these three judges, completely disinterested and unaffected by what the actual majority wants and needs, have just taken the country back to the 1970’s to start all over again fighting for women’s rights. I can’t beleive i just typed all of that out and it’s all true, is this a bad movie? Congrats republicans, you beat hillary (yeah! fuck free health care too!) so that this unchecked egomaniac could take us down the worst, regressive path to the point of an insurrection in our capital building threatening the lives of the vice president and congress members, and in turn made our govt. an embarrassment to the entire world (of which you’re all still living in fear of his “wrath” and STILL defending this monster.) yeah! You and your Ar-15’s are one step closer to heaven! Congrats democrats, your weakness in allowing trumps illegal activities to go unpunished during his entire term lead to this. Fillibuster anyone? Your “majority” in govt. is useless. Rewind the tape to how we got here, a third political party of ANY shape or platform breaking up this left/right, them/us nonsense would’ve prevented this before it even started. Think about it. Well trump, you took the country backwards 50 years. I hope your dad is smiling and waving down on you from heaven, while his other hand holds a record of all the abortions you secretly paid for behind closed doors. -jack white”

It’s quite the parallel universe that today in America, citizens everywhere are lamenting the Supreme Court’s controversial decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, thus denying legal abortions to American women in many states, while in the UK, the biggest music festival celebration of the year, Glastonbury, is currently happening. It’s been quite the juxtaposition on the Twitter timeline to see Americans tweeting their grave displeasure with the Supreme Court and America as a whole, while Europeans are over the moon at performances from acts like Wolf Alice, Idles, and Phoebe Bridgers.

But Bridgers has connected these timezones in triumphant fashion. During her Glastonbury performance, she paused to speak to the audience and glow in the moment, but also be totally open about how torn she feels right now. “In all honesty, it’s like super surreal and fun. But I’m having the sh*ttiest day,” she began, before asking, “Are there any Americans here?” When a small, but audible section of the enormous crowd cheers, Bridgers then asks, “Who wants to say F*ck the Supreme court on three?” The roar grows louder and she immediately revs her engine: “One, two, three…F*CK THE SUPREME COURT!!!”

Americans, Europeans, and other internationals at the music festival all joined Bridgers in this bittersweet moment of catharsis. Bridgers then put a final bow on it before jumping into her next song: “F*ck that sh*t. F*ck America. Like…f*ck you. All these irrelevant old motherf*ckers trying to tell us what to do with our f*cking bodies. Ugh. F*ck it.”

Evan Rachel Wood might be in the midst of promoting the new season of Westworld, but that doesn’t mean she can’t show off her pretty impressive vocal skills. While stopping by The Tonight Show on Thursday, Wood not only opened up about her upcoming role as Madonna in Roku’s Weird Al Yankovic biopic, but she gave the audience a taste of how well she can channel the iconic girl by belting out a performance of “Material Girl” at Fallon’s request.

According to Wood, she’s become prone to using her Madonna voice to “disarm” interviewers. As for taking on the iconic role, she felt much better playing the singer in the Weird Al movie than the full-fledged Madonna biopic that stars Julia Garner in the coveted role, which she deemed “too much pressure.” Regarding her casting, Wood added, “Honestly, like I thought I was gonna take a break the rest of the year, and then I got an email and the first thing I read is ‘You’ve been offered the role of Madonna,’ and I just burst out laughing like…. you just spit your drink out when you read that. Like, you’re not expecting that as a Tuesday.”

As for when you can see Wood play Madonna in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Roku has yet to provide a release date for the biopic that stars a surprisingly ripped Daniel Radcliffe in the title role. However, the film is scheduled to premiere some time this year, which is already halfway over, so the wait shouldn’t be too long.

(Via The AV Club)

If you haven’t been hipped to Domi & JD Beck yet, a good primer is the keyboardist and drummer’s four minute tribute to Madvillainy. The two classically-trained prodigies are well-versed in the finer points of jazz, as much as they are dexterous hip-hop instrumentalists, and it made them one of our artists to watch last month. Signed to Anderson .Paak’s Apeshit Records, the pair have just announced their debut album, and it’s set to feature appearances from Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Herbie Hancock, Thundercat, Mac DeMarco, and of course, Paak.

At 21 and 18, respectively, Domi and Beck are already at the top of their game — they even co-wrote Silk Sonic’s hit “Skate.” But it’s what they do with their own work that showcases why they’re true game-changers ushering in the next era of jazz music. Take their latest single “Whatup,” a spaced-out number that starts with Domi’s unassuming keys, that quickly give way to Beck’s frenzied snare-dominant drums, before they keyboard shoots straight to another dimension.

There’s a lot to like about this duo, who represent a glimpse into the future of jazz. And it’s their well-rounded approach that isn’t confined by any boundaries — neither stylistic nor academic — that’s going to keep them rising deeper into mainstream consciousness.

Listen to “Whatup” above and check out the album art and tracklist for Not Tight below.

1. “Louna’s Intro”
2. “Whatup”
3. “Sile”
4. “Bowling” (feat. Thundercat)
5. “Not Tight”
6. “Two Shrimps”(feat. Mac DeMarco)
7. “U DOn’t Have To Rob Me”
8. “Moon” (feat. Herbie Hancock)
9. “Duke”
10. “Take A Chance” (feat. Anderson .Paak)
11. “Space Mountain”
12. “Pilot” (feat. Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Anderson .Paak)
13. “Whoa” (feat. Kurt Rosenwinkel)
14. “Sniff”
15. “Thank U”

Not Tight is out on 07/29 via Apeshit/Blue Note Records. Pre-order it here.

A new report by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN laid out how things are currently going as Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets talk through a potential contract extension. Irving has a player option for the 2022-23 season, but reports in recent days indicate that he might not return to Brooklyn this year, with teams like the Los Angeles Lakers interested in bringing him on board.

Wojnarowski’s report on NBA Today certainly makes it sound like things are not going particularly well if Brooklyn wants to keep Irving around, going as far to say that the situation is getting “acrimonious” and raising concerns about Kevin Durant’s future, too.

“The concern right now for, I think, the Nets organization is negotiations — listen, people try to gain leverage,” Wojnarowski said. “If you’re Kyrie Irving, you are trying to get the Nets to give you a longer-term deal with more guaranteed money than they want to give, the Nets are trying to go in the other direction — shorter deal, incentivized, because he just hasn’t been on the floor as much as they’d like the last couple years.

“This is getting acrimonious, and I think that’s the concern when you look at not just Kyrie Irving’s future in Brooklyn, but Kevin Durant’s future and whether they can hold this thing together right now,” Wojnarowski continued.

A report on Thursday from Shams Charania of The Athletic indicated that the expectation is Irving is not going to stick around in Brooklyn, but this certainly makes it sound like the two sides are trying to figure something out. The problem, however, is that it doesn’t look like either side is close to what the other one wants.

It’s wild to think that with all he’s accomplished, Dave is still in the first half of just his second decade of life. In the past year, he’s won BRIT Awards, toured the US, been announced as the headliner of both his home nation’s Wireless Festival and the first-ever Toronto Rolling Loud, and received the co-sign of Drake, who is still widely considered the number-one talent scout on the planet. All of that before turning 24, which he did on June 5 this year.

To celebrate, he’s issued an introspective freestyle titled “My 24th Birthday,” which is a spiritual successor/continuation of his 2017 track “My 19th Birthday.” Although he’s skipped a few years in the series, he can be forgiven; the past five years have been pretty busy, full of ups and downs for the rising star. But now he’s also got plenty to reflect on, from buying his mom a house and earning his second UK No. 1 with “Starlight,” to the newfound problems that come with fame and fortune for a kid from the endz of South London.

“But what’s livin’? Is it clubbin’ and bangin’ chicks or plannin’ trips?” he wonders on the track. “Or some sort of pleasure I haven’t managed to factor in? / I guess I’ll let you know when the stats are in.” Perhaps he’ll do so on his 29th birthday.

Listen to “My 24th Birthday” above.

Sometimes, there’s nothing quite as hypnotic and inspiring as hearing birds chirp away in the sky. When the world is at a standstill, the birds will still never stop singing. Nature’s musical phenomenon is something that we can all appreciate and obviously artists can find creativity in the music made by our avian friends.

Enter For The Birds: The Birdsong Project, a five-volume, 242-track benefit compilation of new tracks by some of the biggest names in music who all have one thing in common: Their love of birdsong. The first volume came out in May, and today, the second volume is out into the world.

Featured on the second volume are stars like Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, indie duo Girlpool, psych rockers The Flaming Lips, producer Dan Deacon, Beck, Elvis Costello, and more. The album also features an illustrious list of spoken-word contributors, including Jeff Goldblum, Florence Welch, Matthew McConaughey, Robert Pattinson, Natasha Lyonne, Bobby Canavale, Alice Waters, and many more.

All proceeds from The Birdsong Project benefit the National Audubon Society, which works to protect threatened bird populations.

Watch the video for Yo-Yo Ma’s “In The Gale” above.

For The Birds: The Birdsong Project Vol. 2 is out now via The Orchard. Listen to it here.

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

Less than a week before the NBA’s 2022 free agency period commences, Marc Stein reports that the New York Knicks’ pursuit of Jalen Brunson is “gaining major momentum.” The Knicks have long been linked to Brunson as a team that intends to target him aggressively this summer and Stein’s latest report makes clear those efforts are building steam.

“Sources say that New York’s ability during Thursday night’s NBA Draft to offload Kemba Walker’s $9.2 million salary for next season, coupled with a growing belief that it can shed further salary to expand its offer when the marketplace officially opens next Thursday, has established the Knicks as a very credible threat to bring Brunson to Gotham,” Stein wrote. “One source close to the process described that threat as ‘very, very, very real.’ ”

Stein reports that New York is expected to offer Brunson a four-year deal in the $100 million range, while the Dallas Mavericks believed a four-year deal worth roughly $85-88 million would presumably be enough to retain him when their season ended last month. Further, he notes that Brunson may want to become New York’s undisputed lead guard and call Madison Square Garden his home arena.

“Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose is not only Brunson’s former agent but essentially regarded as a Brunson family member after breaking into the player representation business with Brunson’s father, Rick, as his first client,” Stein wrote. “The Knicks also recently struck a deal to hire Rick Brunson as a new assistant for coach Tom Thibodeau’s staff. Father and son are extremely close, while Leon’s son, CAA’s Sam Rose, now operates as Brunson’s day-to-day agent.”

While Dallas does hold Brunson’s Bird Rights and is the lone team able to offer him a five-year deal that comfortably eclipses $100 million, Stein reports “it is not yet known how far beyond New York’s projected $100 million total Dallas is willing to go to try to keep Brunson.” Additionally, whether that fifth year and increased total salary could sway Brunson is undetermined.

Brunson enjoyed a career-best campaign in 2021-22, averaging 16.3 points, 4.8 assists and 3.9 rebounds on 58.3 percent true shooting during the regular season. He also starred in various playoff games and helped lead Dallas to its first Western Conference Finals appearance since 2011.