New York City in the early aughts became a hotbed for indie artists when bands like The Strokes, Interpol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and more suddenly ignited a new era of indie rock. On this week’s Indiecast episode, hosts Steven Hyden and Ian Cohen revisit that nostalgia-inducing era by sharing their thoughts on the new Meet Me In The Bathroom documentary, which uncovers footage from the ’00s NYC music scene. Plus, they review a new album by another early aughts band, Phoenix, who just dropped their first LP in five years, Alpha Zulu.
When it comes to music news this week, the biggest story comes from… Taco Bell? The fast food chain tapped Turnstile to use one of their songs in a commercial, prompting Steven and Ian to wonder if Taco Bell handing out cash to indie bands can mend the touring industry. Plus, Indiecast talks Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover and whether or not they’ll decide to shell out $8 a month to keep their verification.
In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Ian shouts out the Canadian band Arm’s Length and their new album Never Before Seen, Never Again Found, which hearkens back to peak 2013-era Tumblr. Meanwhile, Steven recommends Bob Dylan’s Philosophy Of Modern Song, which is the musician’s first book of new writing since 2004.
New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 113 here or 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.
Thalia is getting back into the groove with her new music video for “Psycho B**ch.” In the disco-influenced video that was released today (November 4), the Mexican pop icon nods to iconic moments in her career while dancing into the future.
Thalia has over 30 years of hits that have helped push Mexican and Latin culture into the global spotlight. “Psycho B**ch” is her first taste of new music this year. With her comeback single, she wanted to make an empowering statement.
“This track is happy, uplifting, and very spicy,” Thalia told Uproxx. “To me, [Psycho B**ch] means someone who is out there, someone who does whatever they want, and they’re honest, and they’re real. It’s like embracing being a ‘Psycho B**ch.’”
In the fierce dance track, Thalia sings about a man who is driving her wild. He is in for a surprise when he sees how loca she can really get. In the sassy lyrics, Thalia references her classic songs from the nineties “Sudor” and “Saliva.” She brings the disco sound of the song to life in the dazzling video. When Thalia is not straddling a giant disco ball, she is grooving with her dancers who are dressed like the character from her 1995 video “Gracias a Dios.”
“Back then in [the ‘Gracias a Dios] video, that character, that Thalia who is singing that song was a little psycho,” Thalia said. “It’s validating that I always was and I always will be a little psycho b**ch. We want to applaud that history.”
“Psycho B**ch” will be leading to more new music from Thalia. She was recently spotted with Mexican pop star Kenia Os, so there could be a collaboration from them coming soon.
“She’s adorable!” Thalia said. “I love her! She’s super nice. We’re always chatting. Being in touch with new generations is so exciting. So invigorating. They have so many things to teach me and I think I have something to teach them.”
Thalia will host the 2022 Latin Grammy Awards alongside Anitta, Luis Fonsi, and Laura Pausini on November 17. In 2019, she was honored with the President’s Award from the Latin Recording Academy.
Taylor Swift just released her new album Midnights along with music movies and tour dates that she described as “a journey through the musical eras of my career.” She’s back today with the announcement of even more tour dates.
“UM. Looks like I’ll get to see more of your beautiful faces than previously expected… we’re adding 8 shows to the tour,” she wrote on Twitter. The new dates include the following cities: Tampa, FL; Nashville, TN; Philadelphia, PA; Foxborough, MA; East Rutherford, NJ; Seattle, WA; Santa Clara, CA; Los Angeles, CA.
Another month of K-pop releases are about to fall down like leaves this November. Though it seems like it’s not as jam packed as October, November still has a solid lineup of K-pop acts, varying from the second, third, and fourth generation, returning to the music scene.
However, as South Korea is currently in their period of mourning following the tragic crowd crush in Itaewon last weekend, some entertainment companies followed suit by either delaying or cancelling releases, concerts, and events set for the first week of November. (The period of morning ends on Saturday, November 5.)
Though there are probably a good amount of releases that have yet to be announced (just like BTS member Jin‘s last month), here is some of the new music we are looking forward to this month.
Nature — THE 3rd MINI ALBUM [NATURE WORLD: CODE W]
Originally scheduled to release on November 2, Nature and n.CH Entertainment pushed back the girl group’s release to November 6 at 6 p.m. KST. This marks the septet’s third EP and will include their lead single “LIMBO! (넘어와).”
HIGHLIGHT — THE 4TH MINI ALBUM [AFTER SUNSET]
The second generation boy group returns with a sophisticated pop sound compared to their past releases. Releasing their fourth EP as HIGHLIGHT, the quartet presents [AFTER SUNSET] and their title track “Alone” on November 7.
AleXa — Girls Gone Vogue
After winning the nation over on NBC’s American Song Contest earlier this year with “Wonderland,” K-Pop’s cyberpunk queen AleXa makes her returns during her birthday month with her EP Girls Gone Vogue. The EP is set to drop on November 11 with its lead single “Back In Vogue.”
Xdinary Heroes — 2nd Mini Album: Overload
Initially set to release on November 4, the JYP Entertainment rock band is now set to make their first comeback on November 11 with their first EP Overload. The EP will consist of seven tracks that include “Zzz..,” “LUNATIC,” “Crack In The Mirror,” “Ghost,” “X-MAS” and the lead single “Hair Cut” as well as its instrumental counterpart.
VeriVery – 3rd Single Album [Liminality – EP.LOVE]
Fresh off their US tour last month, K-pop boy group VeriVery will release their third single album on November 14 with the lead single “Tap Tap.” Though the group’s release date wasn’t affected by the period of mourning, Jellyfish Entertainment postponed all promotions leading towards the release date until November 7.
Set to drop on all streaming platforms on November 15, Victon’s eighth EP Choice will consist of five tracks including the lead single “Virus.” This would mark the group’s first comeback as a five-member group after the departure of member Chan.
B.I. — Love Or Loved Part.1
Following his viral hit “BTBT” over the summer, the Korean soloist returns with a new EP that was first announced in April. Described as a “global album project,” one can only anticipate the type of music the EP will entail after the slew of collaborations B.I. worked on this year.
BIBI — Lowlife Princess: Noir
With three pre-release tracks out — “Animal Farm,” “Sorrow of the Mother,” “Motospeed 24” — BIBI is set to drop her long-awaited debut album on November 18. Following the success of her radio hits “The Weekend” and “Best Lover,” the Korean R&B princess continues to partner with 88rising to present a grandiose album that maximizes BIBI’s ability as a well-rounded artist in the industry.
RM — Solo Album (TBA)
With little to no information provided except for a confirmation and release date from HYBE, there is no doubt BTS’ very own leader RM has one of the most sought after releases of November. His solo album (TBA) comes after the solo releases of member J-Hope and Jin this year. But one thing’s for sure: November 25 is RM Day. Not Black Friday.
Kara — 15TH ANNIVERSARY ALBUM “MOVE AGAIN”
One of the pioneering girl groups of second generation K-pop reunites for their 15th anniversary with a full-length album offering to fans worldwide. This marks KARA’s first release since 2015 with their seventh EP In Love. Members Nicole and Jiyoung, who departed from the group in 2014, will join Gyuri, Seungyeon, and Youngji for this special album for Kamilia worldwide.
Chen – Last Sequence
Originally slated for a Halloween release (October 31), SM Entertainment artists and EXO member Chen has yet to confirm the new date for his newest EP Last Scene. However, prior to its release, SM Entertainment unveiled a music video teaser to the song featuring Squid Game actor Park Hae Soo.
Initially set to release on November 1, Apink’s very own Jung Eunji unleashes a five track “remake” album. The album consists of Eunji’s rendition of classic tracks from legendary Korean artists like Cho Yong-pil, YB, Kim Young-hwan, and more.
It’s a new day and that means there are new whiskeys on the shelf. Rye whiskey is bourbon’s funky cousin with notes that dip into florals, herbs, and sharp spices while still holding onto that American new-oak aging vibe with plenty of vanilla, cherry, and caramel notes (amongst hundreds of others). Today, I’m taking eight new rye whiskeys — some are brand-new releases, some are 2022 batches of classics — and tasting them blind to find the best rye whiskey for you to buy this November.
This is a really straightforward blind tasting. I’m looking for quality above all else (even price). What tastes the best? What has the most depth? What do I actually want to drink after this tasting? Sometimes it doesn’t need to be any harder than answering those questions.
Our lineup today is:
Nashville Barrel Company Hand Selected Straight Rye Whiskey Cask Strength Batch One “Dads Drinking Bourbon”
Kiamichi A Willett & Followill Family Collaboration Aged 8 Years
Sazerac 18 Years Old (BTAC 2022)
Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
Bespoken Spirits Rye Whiskey
Oak & Eden Charred Oak Rye & Spire
291 M Colorado Rye Whiskey Finished with Aspen Wood Staves and Maple Syrup Barrels
There’s a soft, cherry-froward nose with hints of old boot leather, apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks, and black tea leaves with a hint of star anise and clove soaked in a hot toddy. The palate is thick and juicy with cherry vanilla spiced holiday cake — heavy on the dark cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg — with a hint of orange creamsicle that fades towards a singed herbaceous note almost like burnt caraway or coriander seeds. The end packs on the warmth with a spicy tobacco buzz full of dark cherry and woody winter spices.
This is a great place to start. I really liked the depth of this one, especially with the shift from spicy to almost botanical on the mid-palate.
Taste 2
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Subtle notes of old glove leather kissed with years of menthol cigarette smoke mingle with a spicy cherry-cinnamon cake frosted with creamed walnuts and vanilla with a brandy butter with a whisper of tannic old oak staves that has a twinge of waxy cacao nib. The palate soaks some dried figs in spiced honey with an Earl Grey vibe accentuating a bitter salted dark chocolate, rummy minced meat pies, and wet brown sugar cut with dried ancho chili flakes. The end leans into the spice with a Hot Tamales cinnamon candy sweet/spicy sensation next to a lush mouthfeel.
This is delicious. I want to call the tasting right here, pack in the rest of the Glencairns, and just call it a day.
Taste 3
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
There’s a bitter burnt orange aura on the nose with lemon-poppy seed muffins, new leather, dark molasses sweetness, and plenty of orchard tree bark with a hint of singed sensations next to old tobacco leaves braided with old wicker canes. The palate leans into that dark molasses with layers of dusty cumin, hot red chili pepper flakes, and coriander-encrusted rye bread with a hint of woody maple syrup over cinnamon-apple fritters. The end goes slightly savory with fresh bay leaf next to wild sage and a hint of dry sweetgrass followed by a plush cherry/vanilla woodiness.
This is another winner. It didn’t quite hit the same heights as the last sip in grandeur, but it’s damn close.
Taste 4
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This has a lighter nose but it’s still full of dark orchard fruits, soft vanilla pods, old oak staves with a hint of old barrel house funk, and a mix of spicy orange rind next to freshly cracked black pepper and sharp cinnamon powder. The palate leans into the cinnamon and layers it into chewy and buzzy tobacco with hints of vanilla sweetness, cherry bark woodiness, and sharp fancy root beer vibes. The end pings on that old musty rickhouse one more time as a humidor full of vanilla, cherry, and cinnamon-spiced tobacco fades towards a rich and buttery toffee with a hint of rye fennel on the very backend.
This was the most accessible sip so far. This was quintessential Kentucky rye (cherry, toffee, vanilla heavy) that was truly easy to drink from top to bottom.
Taste 5
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Drip coffee and caramel come through on a tannic nose with a touch of brown spice and vanilla. The palate has a touch of celery salt that leads to caraway and rye bread vibes next to plenty of dark citrus and stone fruit with a hint of soft creamy honey. The end has a soft and very fruity finish with a hint of black pepper and cinnamon sticks.
This was fine.
Taste 6
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
The nose is leathery and full of old vanilla, tannic bitter coffee notes, and general spiciness. The palate offers lush vanilla with more of that tannic nature followed by black pepper and chili pepper next to green dill and maybe some fresh mint. The end has a mild medicinal tone that leads back to the pepperiness and vanilla underbelly.
Eh, this wasn’t for me. It’s very all over the place and somehow light and listless.
Taste 7
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
There’s a good sense of maple syrup on the nose with blueberry pancakes, fig jam, and toffee candies next to cinnamon sugar and a hint of burnt orange layered into caramel sauce. The palate has a French toast vibe with plenty of custardy lusciousness and nutmeg leading to dark chocolate and powdered sugar with a slight woody winter spice warmth. The end turns into a cinnamon bomb that’s kind of like taking a whole box of Hot Tamales to the face and chasing it with maple-syrup-soaked French toast and spiced apple cider.
I can’t decide if I love this or not. It’s very sweet and feels way more like a bourbon than a rye. Still, there’s nothing at fault here. I just might not have enough of a sweet tooth today to fully enjoy it.
Taste 8
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a soft leatheriness that’s embued with dry chamomile tea, burnt orange, dark cherry bark, and old cinnamon sticks that spent too much time in mulled wine with a hint of sour cherry and tart apple. The palate amps up the tea leaf vibe with lush Earl Grey next to dark chocolate-covered espresso beans flaked with salt and maybe some dried nasturtiums that build out the spices toward a spiced winter cake. Those baked winter spices lead back to a soft creamy espresso dusted with nutmeg and dark chocolate powder and layered into a spiced tobacco leaf rolled with cedar bark.
This is Indiana rye sent down to Texas where it’s bottled with a charred American oak spire to add a little something extra. The whiskey is MGP’s classic 95/5 (rye/malted barley) four-ish-year-old juice that ends up in a lot of bottles like this.
Bottom Line:
This was the lightest and most forgettable bottle on the panel today. It’s a pretty easy skip for me.
Yet again, we’re dealing with MGP’s 95/5 rye (like above). In this case, the whiskey is bottled in California.
Bottom Line:
This wasn’t bad by any stretch. There was a nice fruitiness. That said, this was the lightest whiskey of the bunch and one I’d be more inclined to mix with than sip.
6. 291 M Colorado Rye Whiskey Finished with Aspen Wood Staves and Maple Syrup Barrels — Taste 7
291 out in Colorado is an award darling distillery and a crowd-pleaser as well. This whiskey is made with shorter aging in new American white oak with treated Aspen staves in that barrel to accelerate the maturation process. That whiskey is then transferred to old 291 barrels that were used to age maple syrup in Wisconsin for Lincoln County Reserve Maple Syrup. Finally, those barrels were batched and bottled at cask strength as-is.
Bottom Line:
The remaining six whiskeys are all stellar. This was a little lower on the rankings today due to its audacious sweetness and breakfast diner vibes. I think I’m going to break this one out for brunch cocktails.
This brand-new whiskey from cult-favorite Redwood Empire out in Sonoma, California, takes their tried and true method of blending California, Indiana, and Kentucky whiskeys to the next level. The blend ended up being a lightly wheated rye with a mash bill of 94% rye, five percent malted barley, and a mere one percent wheat. The barrels were all a minimum of four years old (with some reaching past six years) when batched and bottled as-is.
Bottom Line:
This felt classic through and through. I really want to make a killer Manhattan with this whiskey.
This hand-selected single-barrel expression hits on some pretty big classic rye notes with Kentucky bourbon vibes underneath it all. The juice is selected from the center cuts of the third through fifth floors of the Wild Turkey rickhouses. There’s no chill filtering and the expression is only slightly touched by water before bottling.
Bottom Line:
This had a light and fruity nature that just worked. It was also familiar and really easygoing. This is definitely what I’m going to reach for when making Sazeracs or rye sours this fall, but it also works wonders as a simple sipper.
This whiskey started its journey back in 2003 and 2004 when the original juice was distilled with Minnesota rye, Kentucky corn, and North Dakota barley. The hot juice was loaded into new white oak from Independent Stave from Missouri with a #4 char level (55 seconds) and left to rest in warehouses K, M, and P on the second, third, and fourth floors. Overly nearly two decades, an average of 74% of the juice was lost to the angels before proofing and bottling.
Bottom Line:
Now, we’re into the pure delicious part of the ranking. This was a little on the woody side, but that’s just me grasping for anything to rank these amazing whiskeys.
2. Nashville Barrel Company Hand Selected Straight Rye Whiskey Cask Strength Batch One “Dads Drinking Bourbon” — Taste 1
This whiskey is made from an extremely small batch of Indiana rye with a mash of 95/5 (rye/malted barley). The handful of barrels in the mix was around six years old when blended by the team at Nashville Barrel Company. Beyond that, this was bottled as-is with zero fussing.
Bottom Line:
This is luxurious and enticing rye. It’s just delicious.
1. Kiamichi A Willett & Followill Family Collaboration Aged 8 Years — Taste 2
This whiskey is the second in a series of collaborations between Kings of Leon and Willett Distillery. The whiskey is a six-barrel small-batch blend of Willett’s low-rye mash bill. The hot juice was loaded into ISC oak barrels that were cured for nine months before getting a semi-high char. The band hand-selected the barrels themselves and the team at Willett made sure the rest was done exactly right.
Bottom Line:
Goddamn, this is f*cking good whiskey. It’s so well-balanced and nuanced while still maintaining a completely accessible and even welcoming flavor profile. This is the stuff to chase down.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
Zach Johnston
The rub on rankings like this is “access.” Some of these are going to be pretty hard to find if you’re not in certain markets. That’s just the way things are. To that end, I’d highly recommend the Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel Rye if you can’t find the others. You should be able to find that pretty much coast to coast and all stops in between. It’s affordable — while still feeling special — and truly a great drinking whiskey.
The rest of the top six are all worth the hunt and I wish you luck in seeking them out, trying them, and falling in love with their fantastic flavor notes.
When Lady Gaga strutted down the MTV VMA’s red carpet wearing a dress made of raw meat, she left a legendary mark on pop culture. Gaga was still a rising star at the time and the dress, of course, plastered headlines the next day. The divisive look was designed to garner a visceral reaction; some people were disgusted and others praised the pop singer for her ambition and inventiveness. The outlandish look positioned her as a groundbreaking artist committed to pushing the status quo and, because nothing like it had been seen before, the dress went down in history as one of the most memorable red carpet statements. But like most indelible pop culture moments of the past few decades, Gaga alone didn’t come up with the look. There was an entire team of people, helmed by a creative director, who conceptualized and executed the dress.
The average music fan is familiar with many front-facing roles in music industry. Publicists, managers, and booking agents are jobs that get a lot of mainstream credit. But many people would be surprised to learn all the work that happens behind the scenes in their favorite artists’ music, branding, concerts, and content. One of those roles is that of a creative director. But what exactly does a creative director do, and how does their work impact the music industry?
To answer that question, Uproxx spoke with Original Creative Agency co-founders Jesse Rogg and Jesse Rose. Original Creative Agency — OCA for short — is the first of its kind. They represent nearly 50 of the leading creative directors across the globe whose portfolios include work like Beyonce’s Homecoming film assets, Travis Scott’s Astroworld tour, and yes, even Gaga’s raw meat dress.
To better explain creative directors’ roles in projects, OCA’s co-founder Jesse Rose likened it to building a house. “Creative directors are really like architects,” he says. When a person hires an architect, they sign on during the very early stages of a project. The client usually has some vague idea of how they want their house to look, including layouts that are non-negotiable like number of rooms, bathrooms, and specific details like exposed beams and crown molding. But for the most part, the architect is the one that takes their client’s general idea and creates a blueprint of the bigger picture. “If you imagine an architect doing the drawings to build a house, then the creative director is building the vision of a campaign,” Rose says. Creative directors create decks and outlines to conceptualize everything from what an artist will wear in a certain project to which director, photographer, and graphic designers will best fit the project’s vision. From there, they hire a project manager to keep everything on track and work with stylists and makeup artists to make sure the project’s concept stays focused. “Like an architect, once you’ve laid those plans, you are there building the house with the artist and with the team,” Rose adds. “And it becomes a coherent world.”
OCA’s job comes even before a creative director signs on, though. When a musician, brand, or fashion designer comes to them, OCA pulls from their master list of the world’s top creative directors to find which person will best match the client’s personality to push the envelope and help their vision come to life. “It’s almost more of a talent agency, if you will, that represents these creative directors,” Rogg describes. “We’re the first and only company in the world that’s done this purely for creative direction. We wanted to give [creative directors] an environment where they can really focus purely on the creative and we handle all the rest of the communication, accounting, forward-planning, and all that stuff.”
The world of creative direction looked very different when OCA was first founded. “It was still in the days when creative directors were considered sort of a dirty little secret that the artists wanted to keep private, because they wanted it to look like it’s all coming from the artist,” Rogg says. But now, artists are proud to credit their creative directors. “Creative directors have come out of the shadows, if you will.”
Like many fields, the pandemic played a part in altering the industry and helping creative directors go from dirty little secret to front and center. For one, there was a massive influx of demand for OCA’s services. Touring — which up until 2020 had been one of the biggest ways to promote releases — wasn’t happening, so artists found themselves suddenly competing for attention in a way they never had before. “Creative directors are more needed than ever because it’s sort of an arms race to have the most viral or most exciting visual campaign in the world. Because that’s what gets shared around,” Rogg says. So, they had to get clever. With the help of creative directors, artists promoted their music with everything from video games to stop-motion videos. Soccer Mommy, for example, created 8-bit performance videos in lieu of her canceled tour. Doja Cat did something similar, redesigning her website into an 8-bit video game world.
The musicians aren’t the only clients OCA works with. Their portfolio includes brand work for companies like Nike and creative direction for fashion brands like Miu Miu and Louis Vuitton. “When we first started this company, we started it purely aimed at music because we both come from music,” Rose says. At the time, Rose was a DJ managed by Roc Nation and Rogg was producing and in a band signed to Island Records. In fact, the two met because Rogg was producing an artist Rose worked for. That’s when they realized even massive artists in the industry were lacking a creative team. “We met up and were like, we’ve managed to change culture a bit within our music careers, but how do we change culture on the world stage? And knowing that there was a need for a creative agency, we started the company,” Rose recalls. That was only five years ago. “And then when we started getting approached by brands and fashion houses, we thought, “Oh, this is a completely different type of world,” Rose says. But they soon found out that the fashion and music industries aren’t so different after all.
“Especially in the lifestyle and culture side of things, brands look to the music industry and what people are doing in music for inspiration and for sort of lead creative leadership,” Rogg says. “So a lot of the brand work comes through the music work that we’ve done, and then vice versa.” Rose agrees, adding: “I think fashion has always been influenced by music. In fact, any youth culture brand, music is normally the catalyst for inspiration. And then it makes sense that [fashion brands] would want to work with the people who are starting that inspiration.”
Whether it’s creating a campaign in the fashion world or creating a show-stopping stage design for The Weeknd’s tour, one thing OCA strives to be is intentional. “Having an intention and staying on that track is so key,” Rogg says. When a number of people from an artist’s management team to higher-ups at a label are involved, it’s easy for a project to become disjointed. “Unless there’s one person, one creative director that is that wayfarer that keeps things on track and keeps things moving forward and upwards, the intentionality can get lost.”
Being intentional isn’t something OCA does alone. The co-founders believe it’s a trait all artists should have, especially those trying to break into the industry. “I think when you start and your an upcoming artist, you should really be reading magazines, going to art galleries, really just looking around and finding a definition for yourself and who you see yourself as,” Rose advises. Once you have a vision and enough of a following, bringing a creative director onto your team is vital. “At the beginning, I think you find your own voice and then you have creative directors to amplify it,” he adds. Rogg agrees: “No matter if you’re a young artist starting off or if you’re a hugely established artist, being aware of who you are and what your vision is and how people see you is important.”
Ross Chastain has enjoyed a breakout season in 2022, but the driver of the No. 1 car for TrackHouse Racing wasn’t likely someone casual sports fans who don’t watch NASCAR week-to-week knew much of.
That was until Sunday when Chastain’s last lap pass, flooring it in the final turn and riding the wall to move from 10th to 5th and passing Denny Hamlin in the process to get into the Championship 4, went viral after he brought video game racing to real life. It was a surreal moment to witness, but Chastain isn’t so sure he deserves too much credit for brilliance in taking his NASCAR 2005 skills to the real track, as he’s quick to point out that he expected to end up wrecked moreso than punching his ticket to the final race still part of the NASCAR Playoffs.
Even as he’s deflected a bit, it’s been a move that captivated the sport and sports fans well beyond NASCAR diehards. On Wednesday, we got a chance to talk with Chastain about the move, going viral, his breakout season, and why the new car has created opportunity for smaller teams as he got ready to fly out to Phoenix for the final race of the season with the Cup Series Championship on the line (Sunday, 3:00 p.m. ET on NBC).
How’s the last week been for you? Because it has to have been pretty crazy since Sunday.
Yeah, man it is. It’s been it’s been good obviously, right? A lot of good. A lot of people reachin’ out, so there was a little bit of time of reflection on it, but then it’s been full speed ahead on Phoenix.
We’ve all seen the videos, the in car, everything, but as you’re going through that and when you get told you’ve got to get two spots, as it just this is the only possible shot? Like what are the things that go through your mind as you’re trying to process how do I get to Phoenix in the Championship 4?
Yeah, I mean, it was the thought came to my head when we took the white flag and, and really had no thoughts about it before that and just thought that was my only way to try, and I wanted and had to try something and I was willing to do whatever it took and for some reason it worked.
Have you been surprised at all by the by the reaction to it and how it became this, this theme that so many people have latched on to and it’s kind of gone beyond just NASCAR fans and it’s become such a big thing for for sports fans in general?
I was just more surprised that it worked in the first place. I mean, I just fully when I committed to turn three up on the wall I just I had no idea what was gonna happen. If I was gonna just come to a stop, crash, wreck, something, you know, but the risk of it was worth the potential reward of transferring and so that’s my surprise. The rest of it, that’s what’s so great about social media. Stuff can get from Martinsville, Virginia across the world in an instant and we did that with the NASCAR race.
As you mentioned you shift your attention now to Phoenix. That’s a track where you finish second earlier this year, so you’ve got some good vibes there. Is it nice going to that track knowing like you’ve performed well there and you theoretically have an idea for setup and how to handle it?
Yeah, look, I feel a lot better that we finished second and not 22nd in the spring. So that’s not to say that we’re going to get to finish second again or anything. This car has been the greatest reset the sport has ever seen and for the duration of this year from the preseason testing to the March Phoenix race to this November race, the car is evolving at a rate that’s just unprecedented. It’s handling different, it’s driving different, it looks different on the setups, and nothing will be the same as what we had in the spring. So no guarantees but it does feel good just as a competitor and just the racer in me that we had a good run, but I’ve been around long enough though it doesn’t really mean much.
Well, even factoring in the changes, recently you’ve been having plenty success with with four top fives, and what do you feel has kind of come around for this team and has made you guys so consistently good to be able to bring a good car to the track and have a good strategy to get you guys up near the front pretty consistently during the playoffs?
It’s just a continuation of our preparation. I mean the races are — the speed is found at the race shop. And then executing it, throughout the summer I didn’t do a great job but earlier in the year and late this year we’ve done a really good job of just finishing where we belong, and then the times like Martinsville outkicking our coverage a bit. So just learning the cup series. It’s hard. These are the best drivers in the world and we’re going up against them.
What has this been like for you in the playoffs? With the week to week stress and handling that and what has the learning experience been for you as a driver in your first championship chase?
It’s been learning, a lot of learning. Look, from myself to my crew chief, spotter, we’ve never won races in our current roles in the Cup series. We’ve never been in the playoffs. So we as TrackHouse are learning all this as we go and I wouldn’t want to be doing this with anybody else. And the fact that we’re building this together, the way we are is just absolutely incredible. It’s just not supposed to happen this way. And I’m thankful it is.
Yeah. We’re so used to seeing the big teams, seeing the Hendricks and the Gibbs and the established teams that we’ve known for years. What does it feel like when you’re building something and just kind of bringing something fresh to the sport, having a team that we aren’t necessarily accustomed to seeing in the Championship 4?
It’s our arrival. So it’s kind of hard to give an unbiased opinion, because I’m on the inside looking out, right? But I think you’re gonna you’re gonna see this man. This sport is changing and evolving and your legacy teams are going to continue, but with this new car, there’s more opportunity than ever for a team to come in and compete. So, I’m glad to be in the sport at this time and in the potential that this car affords all of us, it’s just unmeasurable right now and it’ll be years maybe even decades down the road before we truly, I think understand what this car has done for the sport.
Is there is there anything specific that you can speak to as to why that is, you know, for somebody who doesn’t necessarily know the ins and outs of the car and what has changed so dramatically?
They’re truly the same. Never before in the history of our sport has this been the case. So in the past, from the very first NASCAR race to Phoenix in 2021, each team was a manufacturing facility. We manufactured race cars and then we raced them. Now we buy race cars and we assemble them so I truly have the same chassis that another competitor has on another manufacturer team. I have the same control arms. I have everything the same — now we can assemble them different, we can bolt them together at different angles and use different parts, but we all have the same parts book to order out of and that’s just never been the case in the sport.
Megan Thee Stallion fans aren’t the only ones upset about a possible mention on Drake and 21 Savage’s new album Her Loss. Virginia crooner DRAM “woke up to some f*ck sh*t” and felt the need to vent on Twitter, as well. Apparently, he’s miffed about lyrics from the song “BackOutsideBoyz,” which he believes name check and taunt him over an old dustup between the two.
In the song, Drake rhymes, “Tried to bring the drama to me, he ain’t know how we cha-cha slide.” DRAM, who once accused Drake of copying his breakout hit “Cha Cha” on the 2016 megasmash “Hotline Bling,” obviously feels that this constitutes a shot across his bow, which he addressed in a video posted on Twitter earlier this morning.
“Ay, somebody tell Drake to shut the f*ck up about that sh*t, man,” he says in the clip. “[It was] f*ckin’ five years ago. This n**** never even f*ckin’ touched me. I pressed his ass. His bodyguards went to town on the kid. He ain’t touch me, he’s a b*tch. What’s good with the one-on-one though?”
Meanwhile, fans think another Drake line refers to Megan Thee Stallion. On “Circo Loco,” he raps, “This bitch lie ’bout getting shots, but she still a stallion,” which some fans have interpreted as a reference to Megan Thee Stallion’s accusation that Tory Lanez shot her in the foot. Contextually, it seems to be about a different kind of shots — i.e. fat injections to the posterior or the infamous “Brazilian butt lift” — while “stallion” is a longstanding slang term for a woman with large hips, thighs, and rump, but that hasn’t stopped those fans from grilling the Canadian star over it, even with his history of beef with Tory Lanez.
You can check out the seeming DRAM reference below.
Paramore returned this year with the announcement of their long-awaited sixth studio album This Is Why. Their live performances at festivals and on late-night television have been nothing but spectacular. After announcing some shows this year, they’re back today with the announcement of a full-on 2023 North American tour.
It’ll kick off in Charlotte, NC in May and end in St. Paul, MN in August. Accompanying them on the road will be Bloc Party, Foals, The Linda Lindas, and Genesis Owusu. In July, Hayley Williams said that Bloc Party was “the number one reference” when it came to making the new album.
Check out the tour dates below.
05/23 — Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center *^
05/25 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena *^
05/27 — Atlantic City, NJ @ Adjacent Festival
05/30 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden *^
06/02 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena *^
06/04 — Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse *^
06/05 — Indianapolis, IN @ Gainbridge Fieldhouse *^
06/07 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena *^
06/08 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena *^
06/10 — Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center *^
06/11 — Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paint Arena *^
06/13 — Orlando, FL @ Amway Center *^
06/14 — Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Live *^
07/06 — New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center +%
07/08 — Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena +%
07/09 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center +%
07/11 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center +%
07/13 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena +%
07/16 — San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena +
07/19 — Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum +
07/22 — San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center +
07/24 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena +%
07/25 — Portland, OR @ Veterans Memorial Coliseum +%
07/27 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Arena +%
07/29 — Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center +%
07/30 — St Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center +%
08/02 — St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center +%
* with Bloc Party
+ with Foals
% with The Linda Lindas
^ with Genesis Owusu
Tickets go on sale Friday, November 11 at 10 a.m. local time here.
This Is Why arrives 2/10 via Atlantic Records.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Drake and 21 Savage’s new album, Her Loss, continues to cause a stir online. As fans dig through each track’s lyrics and other production credit, many have begun to ask will Megan Thee Stallion receive writing credit? The simple answer — yes.
To be clear, Meg didn’t write on the album. However, 21 Savage did use an interpolation of her flow on song, “Rich Flex,” where he raps, “I’m a savage / smack her booty in Magic / I’ll slap a p*ssy n**** with a ratchet.”
The H-town hottie won’t be the only people unwittingly added to the credits, “Savage” co-writers J. White Did It and Bobby Sessions will also receive acknowledgment. This is not the first time an interpolation has been heatedly discussed online. Earlier this summer, Beyoncé’s usage of the 2003 song “Milkshake” on her album, Renaissance, sparked several debates on Twitter. Afterward, the interpolation was removed following Kelis’ expressed displeasure in not being asked beforehand.
On hearing lyrics from the song “Circo Loco,” some fans believe that Drake seemingly defends his fellow Toronto native Tory Lanez’s claims that he did not shoot Meg. After hearing the line, “this b*tch lie ’bout getting shots, but she still a stallion / She don’t even get the joke, but she still smiling,” Meg immediately shared her disgust on Twitter.
I know I’m very popular but y’all gotta stop attaching weak ass conspiracy theories in bars to my name lol Niggas nor hoes EVER address me or @ me WITH a fact or receipts. I AM CLOUT BITCH keep sucking my pussy
Receiving writing credits on an album where you are possibly being dissed — now, that’s savage!
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