Month: June 2022

Even though Beyonce has announced her comeback album, Renaissance, and released its house-influenced first single “Break My Soul,” there were probably at least a few fans who still thought she might be trolling. But no, it’s definitely real. Beyonce herself shared the latest evidence via her little-used social media profiles, dropping the striking cover for the album, which features a near-nude Beyonce sitting astride a crystalline horse glowing with electricity.

The rollout for Renaissance has been a roller coaster of emotions for members of the Beyhive, who got their first inkling of a potential new project early this month when Beyonce wiped her social media. Then, when she updated her official site with a placeholder image for the album, fans wondered whether she was just plotting on another Ivy Park drop, refusing to fully invest lest she dash their hopes with a new collection of sweatpants or something.

But then, she actually announced the album — which appears to be a multi-parter heavy on both dance and country vibes — leading to excitement and relief as the long wait since Lemonade finally appears to be coming to an end. Meanwhile, “Break My Soul” has generated a wave of good vibes, drawing emotional responses from the song’s inspiration Robin S., sampled artist Big Freedia, and writer The-Dream.

It’s just too bad Azealia Banks isn’t too enthused about the mashups with her music the song has inspired. Aside from Banks’ sour grapes, though, the anticipation has been a lot of fun and July 29 can’t get here soon enough. Check out that art above.

Donald Trump didn’t invent the phrase “deny, deny, deny,” but he sure has popularized it among his fellow seemingly-willing-to-lie-at-all-costs Republicans. Case in point: Tina Peters, an indicted Colorado election official who somehow had the legal ability—and absolute gall—to run for secretary of state. Peters lost her bid to former county clerk Pam Anderson. And now she’s taking a cue from George Constanza’s mantra that “It’s not a lie if you believe it” by denying that she lost. Here we go again!

As The Daily Beast reports, Peters—who “flogged election conspiracy theories and was then indicted for allegedly breaching her own voting machines”—is now screaming “VOTER FRAUD!” Her actual words? “We didn’t lose, we just found evidence of more fraud… They’re cheating and we’ll prove it once again.”

That “once again” is doing a lot of heavy lifting, as—spoiler alert!—she never proved any type of cheating or election fraud in the first place. In fact, in March, Peters was indicted by a Colorado grand jury on 10 counts of tampering with voting equipment—seven of them felony charges. But that doesn’t matter to folks like Peters, who now has the full attention of soup-for-brains pillow magnate Mike Lindell, who seems downright desperate to find someone—anyone—who’ll voluntarily be on his (losing) side. And he seems to really think Peters is that person, as he texted The Daily Beast late Tuesday night to plead her case:

“Biggest fraud!!! We caught them!!!”
“We caught them in their fraud!!! Prison for Dominion!”
“How the votes came in (in real time). This is impossible!!!!!”

That’s a lot of exclamation points!!!

It should be noted that Peters wasn’t even the runner-up in the election. According to Newsweek, Peters came in third with just 28.3 percent of the vote. Mike O’Donnell came in second with 28.5 percent, while Anderson whooped both their asses with 43 percent of the vote. But it certainly won’t be the last we hear on the matter.

​​”This is not over,” Peters told her supporters. “I’m sorry we had faith in the system once again.”

(Via The Daily Beast)

Some things just don’t fly at The Eagles gig — such as brawling, which is what happened on June 26, before security guards had to swoop in and kick some people out. At Hyde Park in London, the classic rock band launched into “Take It Easy,” and for reasons unknown, fans in the Diamond VIP section did not take it easy.

Photos and footage from Metro show that security guards had to intervene to calm down several people by taking them down onto the ground and then making them leave the venue. The Diamond VIP package costs at least £399, which translates to over $485. The video shows one man attempting to push security away from him, probably after too many beers, but who’s to say. Despite the drama, the Eagles remained unbothered, continuing to play their chill song.

The Eagles are known for being uncool music, serving as a perpetual punchline like Coldplay, Nickelback, or Maroon 5 are today. This was perhaps never more clear than the famous scene in The Big Lebowski when The Dude tells his cab driver: “I f*ckin hate the Eagles.” Definitely don’t tell this to fans at an Eagles show, because apparently, they’re not afraid to throw hands.

Watch footage of the havoc below.

Sabrina Carpenter‘s new music is coming sooner than you think. Today, the former Disney star turned pop singer announced her fifth studio album, Emails I Can’t Send, set to arrive next month.

Emails I Can’t Send marks Carpenter’s first album since leaving Hollywood Records and signing to Island. Ahead of the album, she has released the songs “Skinny Dipping” and “Fast Times.”

Earlier this year, Carpenter spoke with British GQ about her new music and what fans can expect.

“My recent songs ‘Fast Times’ and ‘Skinny Dipping’ don’t sound like anything else I’ve put out previously,” she said. “And I think that’s a good indication for what the rest of the album is going to bring. The [other] songs don’t necessarily sound like those two, but there will be an unexpectedness. I can say that everything is based on my life, so you’re going to get some specific stories and memories, [and] that is actually quite terrifying. I’ve experienced both me being discontent and also happy, so I want to show that. It’s going to be complex.”

Carpenter will drop the album’s newest single, “Vicious,” tonight, on all digital streaming platforms.

Check out the album artwork below.

Emails I Can’t Send is out 7/15 via Island. Pre-save it here.

Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.

Since the last update of this weekly R&B column, we’ve received plenty of music and news from the genre’s artists. Beyoncé officially kicked off her Renaissance era with the release of “Break My Soul” and Brent Faiyaz announced the release date for his Wasteland album with his “Price Of Fame” single. Elsewhere, Giveon released a video for “Lost Me” as did Ambre for “Wild Life…” while Ravyn Lenae dazzled with a performance at NPR’s Tiny Desk.

Here are some more releases you should check out:

Giveon — Give Or Take

Giveon’s pair of 2020 EPs — Take Time and When It’s All Said And Done — helped establish him as one of R&B’s newest and most promising artists. Nearly two years after the latter project arrived, Giveon returns with his official debut album Give Or Take. Through 15 songs, the Long Beach singer struggles to both find and commit to love.

Jessie Reyez — “Fraud”

More than two years removed from the release of her debut album Before Love Came To Kill Us, Jessie Reyez arrives with her new single “Fraud.” On the vulnerable record, Reyez details her experience with unrequited love and her efforts to try and free herself from the cycle that brings her more pain than happiness.

Vedo & OG Parker — “Face Down”

In 2020, Vedo dropped his fourth project For You which spawned the fan-favorite “You Got It.” The following year, he dropped his fifth effort 1320 which was highlighted by songs with Ari Lennox, Eric Bellinger, and more. Now he’s kicking off his next era with the sultry and seductive “Face Down” which features production from OG Parker.

Chris Brown — Breezy

For the first time in almost a decade, Chris Brown delivered an album that was not insanely long and a workout to get through. Breezy, his 12th album, arrives with 24 songs, a fairly normal amount in the streaming era, and a slew of collaborators that includes Lil Durk, Lil Wayne, Wizkid, HER, Bryson Tiller, Ella Mai, Blxst, and more.

Kent Jamz — Fanclub

Since 2008, Kent Jamz has been best known as a member of the Overdoz rap collective, a group that’s released five projects between 2008-2017. after all those years, Jamz has stepped forward with his debut album Fanclub. It presents 14 songs and guest appearances from Buddy, ASAP Ferg, and GodoJoon.

Kirby — “New D”

A new chapter is underway for Philly singer Kirby, and to kick things off, she returns. with “New D.” The song is her first single since 2021’s Sis. He Wasn’t The One, and on it, Kirby expresses her displeasures with a current relationship and she desires a new man — and “New D” — to really spice things up.

Blk Odyssy— Blk Vintage: The Reprise

Almost a year after he released their debut album, Blk Odyssy — the project of New Jersey artist Juwan Elcock — returns with the project’s deluxe version. The re-release extends the project to 15 songs with the addition of five songs and collaborations with Baby Rose, Mereba, Benny The Butcher, and more.

Bils — Bad Guys Need Love Too

After years of releasing loose singles to his growing supports, Nigerian singer and songwriter Bils returns with his first project in five years with Bad Guys Need Love Too. The project, which follows 2017’s Pay Your Bils: Eviction Notice, arrives with six songs and features from Big Klef, Simi, Ice Prince, and Liya.

Larrenwong — “Deacon”

Los Angeles singer Larrenwong ended his 2021 year with his It’ll Make Sense Soon EP. Nine months later, Larrenwong is ready to release a new body of work and he kicks things off with “Deacon.” The track is from his upcoming project, Songs That I Hate To Sing, which is set to arrive next month on July 15.

Chxrry22 — “Call Me”

Back in April, Toronto singer Chxrry22 released her debut single “The Falls” after inking a deal with The Weeknd’s XO Records. A couple of months later and she returns with the uptempo “Call Me,” a record that she says came as a result of her “missing a bop” from her upcoming project. When that body of work will arrive remains to be seen, but for now, make sure to enjoy her latest record.

Rose Gold — “Addicted”

You may recognize Rose Gold’s name through work with Terrace Martin, YG, and more, but now it’s time that you get familiar with some of her solo work as well. Her latest single, “Addicted,” continues a streak of releases that dates back to late 2019. “Addicted” is also Rose Gold’s first release since 2020’s “Soon As You Get Home.”

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

If you’ve ever sat down to watch Stranger Things and thought “hey, I could make that!” then 1) you are not alone in that and 2) now you can!

Stranger Things creators The Duffer Bros have launched a series on MasterClass where you can learn the tips and tricks of writing your own TV show, though you probably don’t have quite the same amount of resources that Netflix has, but you can get there eventually!

The class will consist of 18 video lessons, totaling 5 hours and 18 minutes (about the length of three or so Stranger Things season four episodes, give or take). The brothers will go through their storyboarding, character development, and more to help fans create their very own storyline. Those who wish to take the course will have to sign up for a MasterClass subscription which costs about $180 a year.

“Our class is for anyone who dreams of telling stories for a living,” Matt Duffer said in a statement. “Writing can be a blast, but at times it can feel overwhelming, even impossible. We have spent months staring at a blank page, with no idea how or where to begin. But after years of struggle, we finally developed a writing process that works for us, a process that we now use every single day on Stranger Things.”

MasterClass says that the class will also feature “never-before-seen documents including initial brainstorms and plot outlines for Stranger Things.” Where is the plotline that brings Sean Astin back?

Ross, the other Duffer, added, “Finding an effective writing process is a huge step in your journey, but not the only one. What if, like us, you grew up far away from Hollywood, with no connections? How do you get anyone to read — much less buy — your script? In our class, we’ll cover that too. We’ll show you how to get your foot in the door — and how to get that idea off the page and onto the screen.” Maybe YOU can write the next smash Netflix series?! Please don’t kill off everyone’s favorite characters.

(Via Variety)

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

Guided By Voices was once dubbed “the Grateful Dead of beer,” a jokey but accurate allusion to the Ohio-based indie-rock institution’s hard-drinking ways and the devotion of their small but committed cult of fans. Though it could also apply to the restless creative process of GBV’s founder and sole charter member, Robert Pollard.

As is the case with the world’s most famous jam band, Pollard ultimately cares more about the journey than the destination. The flash of inspiration and the thrill of creation are what matter most, regardless of whether the resulting songs fully land or not. At its best, GBV’s music communicates that initial whippet-like excitement to the audience — you feel like you’re hearing Pollard’s songs as they occur to him for the first time. It’s an addictive experience, and it keeps you listening to every LP, EP, solo album, and side project, no matter how half-baked, because the possibility of serendipitous genius always, tantalizingly, remains.

GBV is also like a jam band in that following Pollard’s prodigious output can feel like a full-time job. When I came to his music in the mid-’90s and subsequently followed GBV on the road like a certifiable Miller High Life-head, I had a lot more time on my hands to dutifully sift through each volume of his endless Fading Captain series. But somewhere between Suitcase box sets — in which Pollard released literally hundreds of songs that somehow didn’t already end up on any of the dozens of albums he’s officially put out over the years — I became more of a dabbler than an attentive Padawan. I got married. I had kids. And, of course, there are always other bands to care about.

All the while, Pollard kept moving. He broke up one iteration of Guided By Voices — the one from the late ’90s and early ’00s, which I saw on many drunken nights, let’s call them GBV 2.0 — and then revived the “classic” ’90s era 1.0 lineup while also putting out music under his own name and with various collaborators. And then he formed yet another GBV lineup for the current 3.0 era, which brings us up to now.

Any time any edition of GBV is playing in my area, I make sure to go see them. Still high-kicking and golden-voiced in his gray-haired mid-60s, Pollard remains one of my all-time favorite rock showmen and between-song shit-talkers. (Do I own Relaxation Of The Asshole on vinyl? Yes. Yes I do.) My most recent GBV gig was in March, and it was my favorite in years — not only did it spotlight Pollard’s ageless antics, but also the supple support of his band, the most athletic and versatile ensemble to ever support him, which was incredibly powerful.

As for GBV’s recent albums, I’ve found myself moving slowly from dabbler back to obsessive. For years in the late aughts and early 2010s, Pollard seemed to be writing the same song over and over, producing a lot of mid-tempo arena-prog caterwauling that sounded like Wire attempting to remake Genesis’ The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway without quite pulling it off. But working with the 3.0 lineup — which includes 2.0 ringers like drummer Kevin March and Pollard’s most crucial collaborator from the past 25 years, guitarist Doug Gillard — Pollard has expanded his musical palate more significantly than at any point this century. The outcome is a late-career golden age.

Still most associated with his mid-’90s work — in which GBV became indie-famous for minute-long, lo-fi songs on albums like 1994’s Bee Thousand and 1995’s Alien Lanes that somehow hit with the anthemic force of Who’s Next — Pollard in recent years has made some of his most ambitious and sprawling LPs, like 2019’s expansive 32-song, 74-minute Zeppelin Over China and 2021’s dense and often thrilling concept album Earth Man Blues (which sounds like Wire attempting to remake Genesis’ The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and actually pulling it off.) But what’s more impressive than the quantity or even the quality of GBV’s recent output has been Pollard’s ability to keep on surprising even his most loyal followers.

This Friday, GBV will put out its second LP of 2022, the (of course) inscrutably titled Tremblers And Goggles By Rank, which is precisely the sort of GBV album I would have never expected or thought I wanted — a tight rock record with zero filler. At 10 songs and 38 minutes, it’s 18 songs and three minutes shorter than Alien Lanes. You could even call it relatively “normal,” no matter that one of the catchiest tunes is called “Cartoon Fashion (Bongo Lake).” For this band, “normal” or “tight” are not necessarily compliments. But in this case, to my ears, they absolutely are.

Pollard has said that his guiding musical principle rests with the four P’s: pop, prog, psychedelia, and punk. These are the common elements that he’s worked with since he started writing songs as a pre-teen. But on Tremblers and GBV’s other (for now?) 2022 album, the similarly svelte and excellent 12-song Crystal Nuns Cathedral, the first “P” has been given special precedence. In fact, Crystal Nuns Cathedral and Tremblers And Goggles By Rank feel like a de facto double album that together culminate GBV’s current golden era. They stand as the best and most accessible music that Pollard has made since GBV’s last stab at “a tight rock record with no filler,” 2001’s Isolation Drills. I can’t stop playing them.

The pop appeal of Tremblers is obvious and immediate on the album’s first single, “Alex Bell,” an instant power-pop classic with a soaring, sun-kissed chorus that recalls “Chasing Heather Crazy.” The album’s second single, the hard-rocking “Unproductive Funk,” also nods to Isolation Drills, reviving the staccato guitar part from “The Enemy,” the most recycled riff in the GBV canon. (That riff is to Pollard what “Satisfaction” is to Keith Richards.) That song gives way to “Roosevelt’s Marching Band,” a Beatlesque beauty that (for the millionth time) shows off Pollard’s ability to inhale classic vinyl from the ’60s and ’70s and exhale new and sparkling bubblegum pop melodies.

When Pollard indulges the other P’s, he never lets up on the hooks. The pocket prog of “Cartoon Fashion (Bongo Lake)” is Yes’ Fragile by why of Big Star’s Radio City, with Pollard’s hilariously mush-mouthed, faux British accent howling over abrupt tempo changes and heart-tugging jangly guitars. “Focus On The Flock” evokes the big-sky psychedelia of 2021’s It’s Not Them. It Couldn’t Be Them. It Is Them!, and then explodes into a “Sparks”-like blowout. The album-closing “Who Wants To Go Hunting” is the album’s most epic statement, switching between lurching guitars and pastoral digressions beamed in from a Moody Blues record, before swelling to a stirring space-rock finale.

Do I want every Guided By Voices record to be as focused and fat-free as Pollard’s most recent output? Hardly. Nor would I expect Pollard to repeat himself. The next GBV record could be a triple-album, or it could come and go in three minutes. It’s been a few decades since Pollard stopped chasing mainstream acceptance, and started concentrating solely on making music only for himself and his audience. Not only do I appreciate his idiosyncratic artistic path, I find it inspiring. Even as listeners come and go from his flock, Robert Pollard has never lost his enthusiasm for making Robert Pollard music. The man has earned a toast, so I raise a beer glass to my indie-rock Jerry Garcia.

The best thing about writing about pop culture for a living, which I’m lucky enough to do, is getting early access to TV shows and movies, otherwise known as screeners. The worst thing about writing about pop culture for a living is the deep regret that you’ve wasted your life — and having to watch said TV shows and movies with a distracting watermark. You haven’t truly experienced Better Call Saul until you’ve watched it with your email address slapped across the screen to prevent privacy.

Elizabeth Olsen can relate.

The Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness actress still hasn’t seen the year’s second highest-grossing movie, as she explained on Wednesday’s episode of The Tonight Show. “I’m not one of those [actors who doesn’t watch her own movies],” Olsen said. “I’m one of those people who likes to study something so I can figure out how to make it better. But I had a cold when we had the premiere and I didn’t want to sit through it. And so I asked them to send a copy so I could watch it, and it had my name on it and it had the time that I was watching it, and I didn’t want to watch it like that.” She added, “My name was on it and the exact time and date. It’s just distracting.”

We’re not so different, you (the acclaimed star of multiple billion-dollar grossing movies) and I (a blogger). You can watch The Tonight Show interview above.

Since 2006, BBC’s CBeebies’ Bedtime Stories series has tasked a number of celebrity guests to offer a reading of a nice tale to set viewers off to bed. Phoebe Bridgers is one of the latest to take part in the storied tradition (her episode is No. 831), recording her installment from the Glastonbury festival grounds.

In a teaser clip, Bridgers introduces herself from atop a hill, with a view of the expansive festival area behind her. She also introduces the book, The Spectacular Suit by Kat Patrick with illustrations from Hayley Wells. Another clip shows Bridgers reading a brief portion of the story.

A publisher’s statement on the book reads, “A buoyant and heartwarming celebration of individuality, identity, and dressing to suit yourself! It’s almost Frankie’s birthday and everything is ready — except for something to wear. All of her party dresses feel wrong. Her family tries to help, but it’s no good. What Frankie longs for is a suit. A spectacular suit… Can Frankie find the outfit of her dreams?”

It also notes the book is “the perfect gift for birthday parties, crafters, and children who don’t identify with traditional gender roles” and a “wonderful conversation starter for teachers and librarians to explore gender and identity with age-relevant material from #ownvoice creators.”

Watch clips of the reading above and watch the whole thing here (but only if you’re in the UK).

Prepare yourselves: Cardi B season is nearly upon us. With the release of the Bronx rap superstar’s new single “Hot Sh*t” coming this Friday, Cardi decided to give fans a little taste of what’s to come. Now, posting snippets of upcoming singles is pretty commonplace in hip-hop, but Cardi B doesn’t do “common.” She shared her snippet of the upcoming song — which also features Lil Durk and Kanye West — while having a luxurious rooftop breakfast in full glam wrapped in a glittering bathrobe and hair towel. She’s also surrounded by visual reminders of her massive success: The plates bear the Playboy bunny and she’s got a can of Whip Shots, her alcoholic whipped cream, beside her.

As for the song itself, it’s got a Cardi B signature trap beat complete with a skittering snare and a boastful Bardi verse. Her flow is notably smoother — she’s definitely been working on her breath control — and her wordplay is immaculate. “I don’t know what’s colder, man, my heart or my necklace,” she sneers. “Pretty when I wake up, I’m a bad bitch at breakfast.” What a flex.

“Hot Sh*t” is out 7/1 via Atlantic. You can pre-save it here.

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