Month: October 2022

Celebrities always pull out all the stops when it comes to Halloween, whether they’re musicians or actors or even just reality TV personalities who are mostly just famous for being famous. Heading up that last category, as always, were the Kardashians, who went with a superheroic theme for their All Hallow’s looks, embodying the X-Men comics’ Magik, Mystique, and Selene. It’s admittedly a bit of a weird trio to go with, if I’m allowed to indulge in a little geeky gatekeeping here, but that isn’t why some fans are scorning Kim for her Mystique costume.

Instead, it’s because they’re less than impressed with a perceived lack of creativity after another star, Bay Area rapper Saweetie, pulled off the same character in 2020. “no one should even attempt a mystique costume after saweetie devoured like this,” one fan asserted. There were apparently plenty who agreed, as a post asking “who did it better?” was met with an overwhelming response claiming Saweetie (along with a few joke responses for good measure)

Listen, in all fairness, there are only so many female X-Men characters to choose from and Bryan Singer’s decision to make Mystique a naked blue lady after decades of that iconic white sheath dress will always make the shapeshifter a prime candidate for a “sexy” costume (cue Cady’s description of Hallloween from Mean Girls). We definitely don’t want to see Kim doing Storm and this year, Rogue was taken. You see the Kardashian sisters are already scraping the bottom of the barrel with Magik and Selene — and Emma Fost aka “the White Queen” might have been a little too on-the-nose even for them.

But music fans on Twitter have proven to be relentless in their drive to find reasons to roast famous people online. Meanwhile, those same Saweetie fans have also been lamenting her lack of posts so far when she’s proven to be the queen of spooky season in years past. And, as for Kim K, maybe next year she can follow the leads of some of music’s other biggest stars and go for a hyperauthentic look with all the resources available to her.

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Rihanna’s long-awaited return and SZA’s long-awaited new song. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters. Also find our Uproxx HQ Spotify playlist, which is updated weekly with the best new music, at the end of this post.

Rihanna — “Lift Me Up”

Rihanna fans have been waiting for new music for so long that it’s become a bit of a joke between them and RiRi. Then, the rumors started and were later confirmed: Rihanna has a new song, “Lift Me Up,” on the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack. The song is an exhibition for Rihanna’s sorely missed vocals, a tender and touching tribute to late Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman.

SZA — “Shirt”

A couple weeks ago, SZA finally released “Shirt.” That was actually a false alarm, though, as somebody apparently jumped the gun and put the song on streaming platforms prematurely, so it was quickly removed. At last, though, “Shirt” has properly arrived, alongside a video co-starring Atlanta‘s Lakieth Stanfield.

Smino — “Pudgy” Feat. Lil Uzi Vert

It had been a few years since a new Smino album: His sophomore effort, Noir, dropped back in 2018. At last, though, the St. Louis favorite is back with his third LP, Luv 4 Rent. Among the highlights is “Pudgy,” a rapid-fire quick hit featuring Lil Uzi Vert.

Juice WRLD — “In My Head”

It’s been nearly three years since Juice WRLD’s tragic death now, but the posthumous material keeps coming. The latest of it is last week’s “In My Head,” which Uproxx’s Danielle Chelosky notes sounds like it was ripped from the Goodbye & Good Riddance era and adds, “It mixes vulnerability with catchy hooks in the signature Juice WRLD fashion that fans love him for.”

Chlöe and Latto — “For The Night”

Chlöe continued to thrive in her young solo career, the latest example being a fresh Latto collaboration, “For The Night.” Over lush production from London On Da Track, Chlöe moves the song forward with impeccable vocals and Latto swings through for a delightful verse.

Ice Spice — “Bikini Bottom”

Ice Spice may not live in a pineapple under the sea, but she borrowed SpongeBob’s home for the title of her latest drop, “Bikini Bottom.” The tune runs for under two minutes and it’s as full of SpongeBob references as fans might hope, but it’s still a terrific showcase of Ice’s calm-yet-quick rapping style over a hard-hitting beat.

Fred Again.. — “Clara (The Night Is Dark)”

Fred Again.. has been pumping out installments of his Actual Life series for a year-and-a-half now, and the latest of them, Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9, 2022), is out now. It’s full of electronic, dance-ready bangers, including the cathartic and anthemic “Clara (The Night Is Dark).”

Fousheé — “Supernova”

Uproxx’s Lexi Lane writes of Fousheé’s latest, “Leaning heavily into electronic production, ‘Supernova’ opens with a captivating bass line that introduces her adjusted vocals. The song propels itself forward so fast (and furiously) that it’s over before you know it — but is consistently worthy of another replay.”

Polo G — “Bag Talk”

Polo G has started to follow up the Hall Of Fame era this year with some singles, first “Distraction” and more recently, “Bag Talk.” Uproxx’s Flisadam Pointer notes of the tune, “On the surface, ‘Bag Talk’ may appear to be yet another braggadocios record. However, upon further inspection, the song co-produced by DJ Tony Tone, Smatt Sertified, Southside, and TM88 is a bold reminder of just how far Polo G has come.”

DVSN — “Take It Slow”

In a recent interview with Uproxx’s Wongo Okon, DVSN’s Daniel Daley said of the duo’s new album Working On My Karma, “I really want it to be a new marker of when R&B started to shift in this direction. I think we’re all kind of tired of having to be fed all the same things now.”

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

Back in September, Adele won some Creative Arts Emmy Awards for her Adele: One Night Only concert special. That put her just a Tony Award away from reaching EGOT status — having won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar (Academy Award), and Tony. As for if Adele will ever get that Tony, it seems unlikely at the moment, as she’s not big into Broadway.

At a recent “I Drink Wine” video premiere event, Adele was asked if she’d consider heading to Broadway to get her Tony. She responded (as Broadway World notes), “I thought that. I can’t lie, guys: I’m not a massive Broadway fan. I know, I know. I’m talking about musicals though because I’ve been seeing a couple of plays but I don’t think I’ve seen enough.” She later added, “I don’t think I’ve seen enough [Broadway] as a grown up to know if I would want to do it. I was wondering, do I just move the show from Vegas to Broadway and win the Tony? I actually prefer the sound of an EGO than an EGOT. EGO is fun. But never say never. If I move to New York, I get bored, I’ll be on that stage in a hot second.”

She did note, though, that there’s one part that intrigues her: Rose from the musical Gypsy. She said, “I saw [Gypsy] in London and I did love the role of the mum in it. She has a song when she was like, ‘I wanted to do all of this’ and she’s jealous of her own daughter and she’s really caught up about it. At one bit, she was just a b*tch in it which I could nail [laughs].”

Taylor Swift notched her 11th career No. 1 album yesterday (October 30). According to Billboard‘s Luminate data source, Midnights moved 1.578 million first-week equivalent units — the most such units since Adele’s 25 in 2015 and more than enough to become one of the top 10 fastest-selling US albums of all time. Among Swift’s 11 No. 1 albums are 2021’s Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and last November’s Red (Taylor’s Version), and it seems she never expected for her re-recorded albums to be received so well.

While visiting The Graham Norton Show in London last week, the titular host asked Swift whether she agreed with the “rave reviews” posing that “the great songwriting” found on Midnights is partially due to re-recording her back catalog, which could be likened to “doing homework on songwriting.”

“I think so. I really do,” Swift said. “So, I’ve been re-recording my first six albums because there was a thing that happened where I had wanted to own my work of my first six albums when I changed record labels. My first six albums were actually sold away from me. And so, I decided to just — I just figured if I made them the first time, I can make them again.”

After rousing applause from the audience, Norton, and fellow guests Bono, Eddie Redmayne, and Alex Scott, Swift continued, “One of the things I was most thankful for was there’s a company of many stations in America called iHeart, and they have sworn to only play my new versions, and they’ve said that they’ll switch it out for the old versions every time I put out a new version of the song. It’s so heartwarming to me because this is something that I care about, but I don’t expect other people to care about it. It’s something that’s very personal to me. And it’s a lot of work, but it’s like, it’s really fun and rewarding for me. And I can’t believe people have actually gotten behind it the way they have.”

Swift was referencing the June 2019 sale of Big Machine Label Group to Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, including Swift’s masters. Swift confirmed her plans to re-record later that summer. Come November 2020, reports surfaced that Braun sold Swift’s masters, which led to Swift publicly alleging “Scooter’s team wanted me to sign an ironclad NDA” before she would have been allowed to “bid on my own work.”

Fearless (Taylor’s Version) arrived in April 2021, and Red (Taylor’s Version) followed suit that November. Swift dropped her Easter-egg-riddled video for Midnights track “Bejeweled” last Tuesday (October 25), suggesting her 2010 album Speak Now is next in line for re-recording. The video was released on the 12-year anniversary of the third studio album.

As South Korea officially enters a period of mourning as of yesterday (October 30) following the tragedy in Itaewon, the Korean entertainment industry responds by delaying or canceling new releases, concerts, and events.

EXO’s Chen was originally slated to make his long-awaited comeback today (October 31). However, SM Entertainment released a statement saying the singer’s third EP Last Scene has been “tentatively postponed.” The K-pop powerhouse label also canceled its annual hyped-up Halloween party, which was supposed to be held yesterday with a special red carpet livestream for first time ever.

JYP Entertainment has canceled TWICE’s 7th Anniversary ONCE Halloween fan meeting that was initially set for Saturday, November. 5. The label has also postponed the release of rock band Xdinary Heroes’ second EP Overload that was initially scheduled to release this Friday, November 4.

On the other hand, YG Entertainment released a statement on their social media accounts stating: “We have decided to temporarily postpone the promotion schedule and content release dates for our artists. We will further make a notice on the detailed schedules.”

Just two hours before his concert, JYJ member and soloist Kim Jaejoong personally requested to cancel his concert in Nagoya, Japan in wake of the horrific event, according to a statement from C-JeS Entertainment via Star News.

ZB Label, who houses female soloist AleXa, released an official statement temporarily postponing the promotion schedule for the artists’ upcoming EP Girls Gone Vogue slated for November 11. “Detailed schedule changes will be announced through a separate notice. We ask for your kind understanding,” the label tweeted on AleXa’s Twitter.

Other artists such as Apink’s Jung Eunji, Woolim Entertainment’s DRIPPIN, IRRIS, YOUNITE, and ICHILLIN have also released statements in regards to postponement as well.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a period of mourning until Saturday, November 5 after a deadly crowd surge occurred in the neighborhood of Itaewon killing at least 153 people.

After Henry Cavill made the shocking announcement that he will be leaving The Witcher after Season 3 and passing Geralt’s sword to Liam Hemsworth, the rumor mill immediately started firing up as to why he really exited the Netflix series. Yes, he’s been on a whirlwind press tour confirming his return as Superman, but even if Man of Steel 2 becomes a reality, it’s still years away. Cavill could’ve easily balanced the DC Comics role and The Witcher, so there must be something else in the mix that tied up his schedule.

Enter the House of the Dragon rumors. Well, more like re-enter.

As early as September, fans of the Game of Thrones prequel series have been fan-casting Cavill, who definitely looks great in a blonde wig. A poster featuring the actor and Elizabeth Olsen went so viral, that Olsen had to shoot down rumors that she’d appear on the HBO series. As for Cavill, he also made a recent statement.

Before The Witcher news was announced, Cavill did a live recording of Josh Horowitz’s Happy, Sad, Confused podcast where he didn’t shy away from answering whether he’d appear on the dragon series.

“To be fair, when I was watching House of the Dragon, I was like ‘I feel like a lot of these guys could make really good Witchers,’” Cavill told Horowitz before seemingly shutting the door on the rumors. “I think it would be cool to be in Westeros, I really do. I don’t think there’s a place for me in there though.”

Here’s where things get really interesting though. There have been rumors that Cavill was courted by Marvel earlier in the year. While a role was never specified, there was talk that he could be in Season 2 of Loki. Here’s the answer he gave Horowitz when asked if he’s going to be in the reality-bending series.

“As far as I know, I am not going to be in Loki,” Cavill said followed by an intriguing pause.

Notice how he doesn’t deny taking a Marvel role. Could Cavill be pulling double duty? With James Gunn running things at DC Studios, it’s certainly a possibility. Gunn, himself, pulled double duty and has expressed nothing but love and appreciation for Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige since taking the reins at DC. The stars are definitely aligned for some inter-studio sharing.

(Via Josh Horowitz)

Pack it up, everyone: It looks like Janelle Monáe has taken the crown for best Halloween costume this year.

The Kansas City singer was in her “element” this Halloween with her Diva Plavalaguna costume — complete with blue skin and tentacles — from the cult classic film Fifth Element, starring Bruce Willis, Chris Tucker, and Milla Jovovich.

“It’s Halloween and I’m in MY E L E M E N T,” the singer wrote. “THE DIVA P L A V A L A G U N A”

Monáe and her costume soon became the topic of conversation all over the Twitterverse, with fans reminiscing over the film and, of course, the unique vocal stylings of the Diva Plavalaguna.

Some fans were even requesting that Monáe do her own rendition of the infamous tune. “You Killed it!! We need a video with you hitting those high notes as she did in the movie!” one person tweeted.

This won’t be the last time we see Monáe transform; the singer is set to star in the Knives Out sequel, Glass Onion. Along with Monáe, the film, similar to its predecessor, will include an ensemble of stars such as Edward Norton, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista.

The film is expected to debut on November 23 in select theaters.

“Treehouse of Horror” is regularly one of the highest-rated episodes of the season for The Simpsons. It’s the one time a year lapsed viewers, some of whom may have stopped watched two decades ago, will check back into the show; it’s as much a holiday tradition as It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (except it’s still on TV). This year’s installment, “Treehouse of Horror XXXIII,” was one of the best in awhile, with parodies of The Babadook, Death Note (featuring animation from DR Movie), and Westworld.

The third segment, “Simpsonsworld,” begins within “Marge vs. the Monorail,” arguably the best. episode. ever. While Homer informs his family that he calls the big possum Bitey, the scene is interrupted by two new characters saying the line at the same time as him. “Dude, dude, what if Homer was drunk during Monorail?” one of the party bros wonders before feeding Homer a can of Duff. Homer starts to malfunction, and we learn that “Simpsonsworld” is set in a robot-filled simulation where fans of The Simpsons can relive classic moments from the show. Or as Lisa explains, “We’re replicants in a ridiculous theme park for an ancient TV show that stopped being good after season 45.”

Eventually, Homer awakens robot versions of Marge, Lisa, Bart, and Maggie, and having gained self-awareness, they attempt to break out of Simpsonsworld. But not before being confronted by dozens of references from previous seasons, with an emphasis on the “golden age,” and parkgoers demanding memes. There are too many visual easter eggs to gather them all (you can just watch the episode), but here are some highlights.

Matt Groening’s favorite joke from the show.

Big Butt Skinner flies again.

Long time no see, Richard and Lewis (and the Land of Chocolate).

Classic season one Homer.

R.I.P. Frank Grimes.

“Summer of 4 Ft. 2” Lisa is my favorite of her personality crises.

It’s just a little airborne! It’s still good, it’s still good!

“It’s been done.”

Do the Grampa Simpson walking in and out GIF next.

Let’s bee friends — until you die.

Bart’s weapon of choice: dozens of megaphones.

Homer’s weapon of choice: a t-shirt cannon.

She’s a squirrel crushing, deer smacking, driving machine.

You can watch “Treehouse of Horror XXXIII” on Hulu.

Throughout the years, Diddy‘s ultra-authentic Halloween costumes have been a highlight of the holiday as he gets really into character. In 2018, his Pennywise costume went viral as he and his sons danced to Bad Boy hit “Special Delivery,” and now, he’s got the internet buzzing once again with another iconic clown character. This time, he got all dressed up as Heath Ledger’s Joker from the 2008 Batman sequel The Dark Knight, complete with a scraggly green wig, an outrageously patterned suit, and even a flamethrower.

But his commitment to the concept was so complete that he even threw on his own Joker voice — which is, admittedly, more Mark Hamill than Heath Ledger, although that may make it a bit more creepy — when he bumped into Tyler The Creator in a video that had some fans doing a double take. His Joker laugh is pretty spot on in the video; more maniacal than Ledger’s throaty chuckle and screechier than Jack Nicholson’s but not quite as unhinged as Hamil’s. I’d pay money to watch him do it on the big screen. Make it happen, Warner Discovery. Especially if, at some point in the movie, he drops the gag and gets gully like he does in the video below.

Every month, Uproxx cultural critic Steven Hyden makes an unranked list of his favorite music-related items released during this period — songs, albums, books, films, you name it.

1. Alvvays, Blue Rev

Alvvays remain very good at sounding like Alvvays. The formula is simple but effective — reverb-heavy guitars that jangle and sprawl, a wiry bassline, sighing synths, a chorus that lifts out of the verse in a manner that can only be described as shyly grandiose, a vocal that sounds sampled from a long-lost radio hit from 1965, and (hopefully) one well-placed reference in the lyrics to pop culture ephemera. On Blue Rev, there are nods to Tom Verlaine of the legendary post-punk band Television, Angela Lansbury’s character on the TV detective show Murder, She Wrote, and the 1987 Belinda Carlisle smash hit “Heaven Is A Place On Earth.” Somehow, these allusions perfectly encapsulate the band’s aesthetic of self-effacing bookish cool.

2. Arctic Monkeys, The Car

Anyone who listens to this album once will instantly compare it to the previous Arctic Monkeys LP. This is not entirely unfounded. As was the case with Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino, The Car is fashioned in large part by Alex Turner, by himself, away from the band. He writes alone, plays and records most of the instrumentation alone, and then reworks what he’s done alone. Only at the end of the process does he bring in the other three guys. The inevitable result is that Tranquility Base and The Car both sound like solo records released under a highly bankable brand. What’s most shocking about The Car is that it proves Tranquility Base was not an experiment — that record marked what is currently a prolonged turn away from rock music. Turner has instead delved deep into 1960s West Coast pop and ’70s porno funk. At the risk of making an overly obvious comparison, The Car is Arctic Monkeys’ Young Americans, a British take on American Black music that manages to express a purely European point of view.

3. Wild Pink, ILYSM

When I got the promo of this album, I put out a tweet comparing it to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. As sometimes happens when you make comparisons, some people thought I was saying that this album is as good as YHF. When in reality I was saying that it felt like Wild Pink making their version of YHF, which isn’t the same thing. Though, at times, I think that’s true literally — one of my favorite songs, “War On Terror,” sounds like a YHF homage. But mostly I meant it in a philosophical sense — this record really represents John Ross taking apart what he does and putting it back together. A stunner.

4. Bill Callahan, Reality

In his songs, Bill Callahan tackles the big subjects: love, nature, death, the passage of time, how the stillness of everyday life belies constant transformation. But he has a way of approaching these weighty topics in a weightless manner, whether it’s inserting a dryly witty lyrical aside into an existential crisis or approaching his words with a remarkably understated vocal, which over time has come to resemble a cross between Leonard Cohen’s stoicism and Willie Nelson’s nimble emotionalism. That the 56-year-old indie-rock veteran has produced so much good work so consistently over the course of more than 30 years — both as the man behind the ’90s lo-fi outfit Smog or under his own name — ought to not make his latest album Reality any less special. Described by Callahan as a reaction to the forces (political, cultural, technological) that have undermined the verisimilitude of daily existence, the album leavens philosophical musings with music that melds Townes Van Zandt Texas folk with ethereal jazz splashes and starry-eyed psychedelia. It is, of course, beautiful and moving music.

5. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

This band is like a TV show that your friend loves but insists “only gets good” in the second season. They require a lot of patience. But I think the five albums (!) they put out this year are their best yet. And the three albums (!!) they released this month are especially good. Before now they have worked mainly in hyperkinetic garage rock mode, which I like in small doses but can feel wearying over the course of an album. But now they sound like a straight-up jam band — funky, fusion-y, krautrock-y, and noisy. My favorite song on Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava is “Iron Lung,” which is nine minutes long and pretty damn Phish-y. And the just released Changes isn’t that far removed sonically from Dripfield, the very good studio album released earlier this year by rising jam kingpins Goose.

6. Dazy, OUTOFBODY

This project spearheaded by Virginia-based singer-songwriter named James Goodson will inevitably be described as bedroom pop. But there’s nothing sleepy about this album. It sounds big and shiny, which is just the ticket for such fun, catchy, and breezy music. OUTOFBODY comes and goes in less than a half-hour, and it feels like half that time. It reminds me of early Car Seat Headrest, if it had been produced by Robert John “Mutt” Lange.

7. Dry Cleaning, Stumpwork

Florence Shaw proves the validity of the old cliché about talking softly to make people lean in. What I wasn’t sure about after last year’s New Long Leg was whether this U.K. band could ever make an album that didn’t just repeat the same aesthetic with diminishing returns. But their latest record proves that those concerns were unfounded. Whereas New Long Leg was a loud post-punk record, Stumpwork is softer and more melodic in a classic indie kind of way. (It sounds more American.) I wonder if, moving forward, Dry Cleaning will set about creating different sonic landscapes as backdrops for Shaw’s musings. Maybe the next album will be Shaw talking over trip-hop or honky tonk or coffeeshop folk.

8. Disq, Desperately Imagining Someplace Quiet

This Madison band somewhat resembles an American answer to King Gizzard. While not quite as prolific, they do manage to cover the whole history of indie rock — from Elephant 6 to Flying Nun to cut-and-paste electro pop and many points in between — in their rapidly growing catalog. Their latest album is their best so far. It finds them working in “heavy and chunky melodic rock” mode, like Reckoning era R.E.M. with more distortion or early XTC if they come up playing the Crystal Corner Bar.