Month: July 2022

Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels, but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.

Every week, Uproxx is rounding up the best new indie music from the past seven days. This week we got new music from Beabadoobee, Tegan And Sara, Death Cab For Cutie, Black Midi, Interpol, and more.

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Beabadoobee — Beatopia

Since the release of her 2020 debut album Fake It Flowers, UK musician and Uproxx cover star Beabadoobee has become quite the indie sensation after she burst onto the scene with a ’90s-inspired alt-rock sound. But with her new LP Beatopia, Beaabadoobee leans into hazier, ballad-like territory. Sure, songs like “10:36” and “Talk” still hold on to early aughts pop punk influences, but her track “Sunny Day” carries a rhythmic, R&B-inspired sound while several songs are acoustic-led lullabies.

Black Midi — Hellfire

Prolific and jazzy UK experimental trio Black Midi dropped off Hellfire this week, a conceptual 10-track project that’s perhaps their most ambitious yet. Flowing between cinematic strings, spoken-word refrains, and jolting, disorienting instrumental breaks, Hellfire shows Black Midi’s feverish approach to songwriting is working.

Interpol — The Other Side Of Make-Believe

With their first album since 2018’s Marauder, Interpol prove their relevance hasn’t waned since their early aughts debut with the fervent effort The Other Side Of Make-Believe. With highlights like “Toni” and “Something Changed,” the album gets back to the core of what Interpol does best; crafting detached and danceable post-punk that fits snugly into their discography as a whole.

Ian Sweet — Star Stuff

After showing off her experimental side with the vulnerable and electrifying 2021 effort Show Me How You Disappear, Ian Sweet drops a neatly packaged collection of songs with her EP Star Stuff. The three-track project (with the addition of a remix) is a dreamy and cathartic effort combining Sweet’s emotionally charged lyrics with bright, percussive beats.

Tegan And Sara — “Yellow”

Sister duo Tegan And Sara have been releasing music since 1999 and are showing no signs of slowing down yet. Announcing their tenth studio album Crybaby, Tegan And Sara drop the vibrant single “Yellow.” Opening with sparse instrumentation before breaking down into a cathartic, crashing chorus, the song was, according to Sara, written to “take steps to heal the bruises” they’ve both carried since adolescence.

Surf Curse — “TVI”

LA-based band Surf Curse are having a bit of a moment right now thanks to their song “Freaks” going viral on TikTok. But now, the band is right around the corner from releasing the album Magic Hour, their debut on Atlantic Records, which they’ve previewed with the beachy single “TVI.” Armed with upbeat and jangly guitars, Surf Curse show of their refined, rollicking sound. “TVI is an anthem about trying to stay out of trouble, whatever your trouble might be,” vocalist Nick Rattigan noted about the single.

Death Cab For Cutie — “Here To Forever”

Death Cab For Cutie are celebrating their 25th year as a band with the forthcoming album Asphalt Meadows. Throughout their career, the band has honed an ability to speak to contemporary issues in a unique way. Their latest single “Here To Forever” is no different, with lead singer Ben Gibbard’s recognizable vocals croon veiled lyrics that speak to the unfortunately relatable “feeling that the fabric that weaves a functioning society together was crumbling during the pandemic.”

The Beths — “Expert In A Dying Field”

Breakout New Zealand band The Beths make music that toes the line between jaunty indie rock and electrifying power pop, a sound that’s on full display in their latest single “Expert In A Dying Field.” The song is the title track to their upcoming project, which is out this September, and is a driving and anthemic effort that speaks to the idea of loss and knowing when to let go.

Gordi — “Inhuman”

Aussie singer Gordi is about a month away from releasing the new EP Inhuman, a six-track exploration of what it means to be human. The project takes a deep dive into themes of faith, celebration, and sorrow. The title track was written with the latter in mind after the singer visited victims of a massive wildfire in the hospital who shared stories of how their homes had been destroyed. Gordi’s deep, textured vocals offer comfort on the single, draped over the urgent combination of skittering synths and emotive guitar.

Young Fathers — “Geronimo”

The last we heard from inventive group Young Fathers, they had just released their wildly popular 2018 album Cocoa Sugar. After a four-year hiatus, Young Fathers return with the heady number “Geronimo.” The song slowly builds to its cinematic and striking peak while keeping in line with their genre-bending reputation. “It’s a track about contrast, because life is contrast – pushing through, giving up, all at the same time,” the group said. “Wanting everything and then wanting nothing, then wanting everything again.”

Sorry — “Let The Lights On”

North London band Sorry prove they’re one to watch with the propulsive new track “Let The Lights On,” a song which heralds their sophomore album Anywhere But Here. It’s rhythmic and blissful, speaking to the anxiety and excitement of new love. “It kinda touches on how you want to be honest and say things directly, but in the end that can also ruin them,” the band said in a statement.

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

Boy, does that Donald J. Trump really want to become president again. And for a good reason: Without the legal protection that comes with having the most powerful gig on Earth, he sure is vulnerable to a whole mess of legal and financial doozies. Alas, while he’s itching to start his 2024 campaign ASAP, he might have one opponent that could give him what-fer: Ron DeSantis. And at least in Florida, over which DeSantis lords, the odds don’t appear to be in Trump’s favor.

As per Mediaite, a presidential preference poll conducted in the Sunshine State found DeSantis not only beating Trump but absolutely, indubitably clobbering him. In the aggregate poll, the governor is leading him by double digits: 61% to Trump’s 39%. It is, as Florida-based pollster service Victory Insights notes, the widest margin over the former president in any 2024-based poll.

DeSantis is also well ahead of Trump in the favorability metrics, including popularity, likability, enthusiasm, and strong Supporters. Enthusiasm is of particulary interest, as DeSantis is at 93% and Trump down there at a respectable but not great 72%.

Oddly, there is one poll where Trump comes out on top. When asked who’s done a “better job” in their major gig, Trump is actually 51% over DeSantis’ 4 Popularity, Likability, Enthusiasm, Strong Supporters 49%.

It gets worse: It appears there have been multiple focus groups where absolutely no one wanted the guy who’s alleged to have attacked a Secret Service agent who wouldn’t let him overturn democracy.

Then again, careful what you wish for! Trump may be a well-known nightmare, but so is DeSantis, a guy who bullies kids who’s responsible for legislation widely seen as homophobic and transphobic. And who is better at keeping their cool and getting what they want? It’s not the guy beefing with a guy who also embarrassed himself on SNL.

(Via Mediaite)

ABC’s “The Good Doctor” is centered around Dr. Shaun Murphy, a man with autism whose near photographic recall and ability to remember details make him an incredible surgeon. However, as a person with autism, he has difficulty communicating with his patients and fellow healthcare workers.

It’s a good show for families to watch because it takes on issues faced by people who have autism spectrum disorder. The show is also a great way for young people to learn life-saving techniques, according to a story reported by Fox News.

David Diaz Jr., 7, was eating lunch with his friend DeAndre at Woodrow Wilson Elementary school in Binghamton, New York, when he noticed his friend choking on a piece of pizza. David looked around and saw that he was closer than any of his teachers, so he got behind the choking child and performed the Heimlich maneuver.

David had learned the technique after watching “The Good Doctor” with his father, David Diaz Sr.

“The adults were circulating the cafeteria, monitoring,” Kristin Korba, a second-grade teacher at the school, told Fox News. “David rushed behind [the choking student] and performed the Heimlich. “I went over right after it happened and checked [on the student],” Korba continued. “He was cleared by the nurse and parents [were] contacted.”

After saving the boy’s life, David told Korba that he saw the technique on TV and thought it was something he should remember because it seemed to be something “important.”

David was commemorated for his bravery at a ceremony in his classroom where New York State Sen. Fred Akshar (R) presented him with a New York State Senate Commendation Award.

“When somebody needed it, you saved their life,” Akshar told the boy in a video he posted to Facebook. “So I was pretty excited to be able to come because really, as your teacher said, you are a hero. You are. You saved somebody’s life. In the world in which we live it’s nice to know there are people amongst us who are willing to give of themselves and help others and that’s what you did.”

Then he presented him with the award in front of his cheering classmates and DeAndre.

While it is pretty astonishing that a 7-year-old kid not only knew about the Heimlich maneuver, but how to successfully apply the technique, experts say it’s age-appropriate. The Heimlich Heroes foundation has training guides that teach children as young as the second grade to help people who are choking.

“Everyone can learn the Heimlich maneuver, regardless of size and strength,” the organization says on its website.

After his act of bravery, David’s dad isn’t discounting a career in medicine for his young son.

“If he’d like to pursue becoming a doctor when he grows up, I’ll be happy to help him achieve that later in life. But it’s really up to him,” Diaz Sr. said.

The Heimlich maneuver was developed by Dr. Henry Heimlich more than 40 years ago and has saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

Learn more about how to perform the Heimlich maneuver at Mayo Clinic.

After securing their fourth championship, the Golden State Warriors have found smart low risk ways to round out their roster. Golden State had a few roster slots to fill after Gary Payton II and Otto Porter Jr. left for larger deals in free agency and Nemanja Bjelica returned to Europe. There’s an expectation that Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga will take on larger roles to replace Payton and Porter, but Golden State still needed some veteran talent to fill the void left by Payton and Porter.

They were able to acquire Donte DiVincenzo on a modest deal that could potentially pay off big if DiVincenzo can get back to being the knockdown shooter and quality defender we saw in Milwaukee before his injury. There was still a need in the frontcourt, though, and on Tuesday it was reported that JaMychal Green plans to sign with Golden State after he completes a buyout with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Green played 16 minutes a game last year for the Denver Nuggets, but was traded to Oklahoma City shortly before the draft to shed some salary for Denver. At 32, Green does not fit OKC’s timeline, which led to the reported buyout. His ability to defend the power forward position and occasionally play as a small ball center could prove useful for the Warriors, particularly as insurance for Draymond Green should the future Hall of Famer miss any extended time as he did this past season. Green only shot 26 percent on threes last year, but he is a career 36 percent three point shooter who could provide even more space for the potent Warrior offense if he can return to the form of old. On the whole, Golden State gets one more tool to assist them in their title defense next season, and while Green’s not a groundshaking move, it’s a solid addition that gives Steve Kerr yet another option for his rotation.

The Wii U and Nintendo 3DS are two consoles that went down very different paths for Nintendo. While the Wii U failed to ever catch on and only had a five-year lifespan before Nintendo brought out the Switch, the 3DS was extremely popular worldwide and continued to receive new games well past its expiration date.

However, both consoles don’t do much more than collect dust these days as Nintendo rolls around in its piles of money from Switch console sales. So it was unsurprising when Nintendo announced that the two consoles’ respective eShops would close in March of 2023.

Unfortunately, despite many fans asking Nintendo to reconsider for the sake of game preservation, Nintendo hasn’t changed its mind. It recently confirmed that both eShops will shut down on March 23, 2023, and it was also stated that the final day to add funds to these accounts with Nintendo eShop cards will be August 29, 2022.

It’s also worth noting that anyone interested in purchasing Fire Emblem Fates will need to do so a month beforehand as that will be removed from the shop in February 2023. On the plus side, anyone that has already purchased a game on the eShop will be able to download games to their consoles for the foreseeable future. So get on that while you still can.

The Gray Man is Ryan Gosling’s first movie in a while, which is a reminder: A lot of actors these days have regular gigs in one comic book Cinematic Universe or another. Not Baby Goose. Perhaps he’s just waiting for someone to finally greenlight The Nice Guys 2. There was a rumor that the forthcoming Ken was going to make his MCU debut as Nova, but in a new interview he shot that down while cracking a very Canadian joke.

In a new interview with MTV News (as caught by IndieWire), Gosling quickly shot down that Marvel hearsay. “I don’t know anything about Nova, if that’s what you’re going to ask me,” he told reporter Josh Horowitz. “It doesn’t matter. I wasn’t right for it.” But there is one comic book character he’s eager to play. “I was waiting for the Captain Canada call.”

Gosling’s joking (probably). Thing is, there really is a Captain Canada. He was created in 1979 in a Canadian strip published in the Newfoundland Herald called — you guessed it — Captain Newfoundland. In the strip, it’s Captain Newfoundland who mentors Captain Canada, despite the latter being named after the entire nation and the former only after a single province. But then, Captain Canada is but a mere mortal, while Captain Newfoundland is a member of a godlike race that once occupied the lost city of Atlantis. Someone make this movie! (There’s also a Captain Canuck.)

Horowitz, who also hosts the Happy Sad Confused podcast, later mentioned that there’s another character Gosling would like to play, and it’s one already essayed by no less than Nicolas Cage.

“Ryan and I chatted about the Nova rumors yesterday which he said aren’t true,” Horowitz wrote. “BUT this morning Ryan reached out to me to say there is one superhero he wants to play…GHOST RIDER.”

That property has laid dormant since 2011’s Spirit of Vengeance. So get the Goose on that one, too, while you’re at it.

You can watch Gosling’s MTV News interview in the video above.

(Via IndieWire)

NBC doesn’t hang onto sci-fi shows for too long — does La Brea count as part of the pattern? it’s too soon to tell — and a few years ago, the network made the abrupt move of cancelling Manifest while the bonkers mystery show sat atop the Netflix streaming charts. This left fans with no way to learn what happened with Flight 828’s passengers (and their equally perplexed families), but eventually, Netflix decided to pick up the show for a fourth and final supersized season of the inexplicably addictive show.

During that fan upheaval, Stephen King revealed himself to be a devotee (while dropping a #SaveManifest tag) because the man enjoys a good mystery, as his accurate prediction of the Mare of Easttown killer’s identity proved. Granted, Manifest isn’t nearly as stripped down and efficient as another show that King enjoyed, Black Summer, but both shows share a sense of solid momentum.

As we wait for the show’s hopeful fall release (showrunner Jeff Rake previously mentioned the target month of November), King has a key request to make: “I hope they can avoid ‘It’s complicated’ and ‘Trust me.’ Otherwise, I can’t wait.”

Yup, same. Although in all fairness to Michaela Stone, it’s difficult to urge people to believe anything when voices pop into one’s head. At times like those, “trust me” is probably the most sane thing that can be said, if that makes sense.

So far, we’ve heard that Manifest‘s final round will hold 20 episodes and arrive in two parts. Part of me wouldn’t mind waiting until the show’s actual Death Day (June 2, 2024) to find out what happens, and maybe that was part of the original plan for NBC? No one’s talking on that note, so it’s… complicated.

To give credit where credit is due, it is hard to be a streaming company the same way that it’s hard to do anything these days. But Netflix has really had a tough year. Following their not-so-great first quarter was a pretty bad second quarter where they lost 970,000 subscribers from April 1st to June 30th. But, it’s okay! Netflix isn’t upset, according to Netflix.

The company had projected an almost two million subscriber loss earlier this year, so, in terms of setting themselves up for disappointment, they did pretty well. Or they are bad at predicting things. It can really go either way.

Netflix currently has 220.67 million subscribers worldwide and projects that they are going to gain an additional one million subs in Quarter 3, which ends Sept. 30th. While it won’t have another season of Stranger Things to boost those sub counts, Netflix is probably hoping that cracking down on password-sharing and introducing ad-supported tiers will help to even out their subscriber count once parents kick their college kids off their family accounts.

For some perspective, Disney+ and Hulu have a combined 205.6 million subscribers as of April, while Paramount+ trails behind with 62.4 million. It seems like South Park: The Streaming Wars unfortunately did not help their streaming numbers. It’s tough all around!

(Via Variety)

This past weekend, Post Malone teamed up with Meta for a VR concert of live performances of songs from his new album Twelve Carat Toothache, and to start the week, he shared a pair of the songs from the performance on his YouTube. Culling standouts “Love Hate Letter To Alcohol” and “Wasting Angels” featuring his tiny Australian doppelganger The Kid Laroi, Post gives fans who didn’t catch the original live stream the opportunity to see what they missed out on.

The performances take a lot of inspiration from 17th-century architecture, as he performs in a fog-filled space surrounded by arches and dressed in an ensemble resembling priests’ robes. The stripped-down setting allows Post’s passionate vocal delivery to take center stage as he growls and bleats with that distinctive voice of his.

Twelve Carat Toothache continued Post’s streak of No. 1 debuts on the Billboard 200 and was critically praised. Uproxx’s Alex Gonzalez wrote, “On Twelve Carat Toothache, Malone seeks to make more than quick hits. The album is his most cohesive body of work to date, and his first worth a listen from beginning to end.”

Watch Post Malone’s live performances of “Love Hate Letter To Alcohol” and “Wasting Angels” featuring The Kid Laroi from his Twelve Carat Toothache: A VR Experience concert above.

To commemorate 25 years of the iconic animated series lambasting celebrities and pushing the boundaries of network television, South Park is going on tour for the newly announced “South Park: The 25th Anniversary Experience.” The five-city tour is being touted as “an immersive, traveling exhibit showcasing props, memorabilia, artwork, collectibles and never-before-seen scripts, storyboards concept art & more.”

Via South Park Studios:

Inspired by the real South Park Studios storage unit where many of the items displayed have been held for the past 25 years, the exhibit is housed within a custom fabricated shipping container: giving fans the authentic experience of ‘stepping into the South Park vault for the very first time.’ The shipping container — which features a custom, Cartman inspired paint job — will also serve as an interactive photo opp: giving fans the opportunity to pose alongside their favorite characters against 3 different iconic South Park landscapes.

Here are the official tour dates for the events, which are free to attend (you read that right) and coming up very quickly:

NYC: Saturday, 7/23 at Union Square
Chicago: Saturday, 7/30 at Navy Pier
Red Rocks: Tuesday, 8/9 & Wednesday 8/10 at Red Rocks Trading Post
Denver: Friday, 8/12 & Saturday 8/13 at McGregor Square
Los Angeles: Saturday, 8/20 at Hollywood & Vine

Collider reports that the Red Rocks event will also coincide with a 25th Anniversary Concert featuring Primus and Ween as well as appearances by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. No word if they’ll come bearing Casa Bonita grub, but there will be a tailgate experience, which will be free to attend. You kids have fun.

(Via South Park)