One of the most high-profile marriages in the world is reportedly coming to an end: Sources tell The New York Times that, after seven years, News Corp honcho Rupert Murdoch is filing for divorce from Jerry Hall, the model and actress who spent over 20 years in a long-term relationship with Mick Jagger. It will be Hall’s first divorce. For Murdoch, it will be his fourth.
Details are still thin on the ground, though some close to Hall expressed surprise at the end of their marriage. What’s up in the air is how a divorce will affect Murdoch’s media empire. NYT notes that it’s “unlikely” to change the structure of the businesses in which he has a stake, including Fox News and The Wall Street Journal. But, they speculate, the split “could reverberate throughout his business empire” in some fashion.
The October-December pairing — Hall is currently 65 while Murdoch is 91 — turned a lot of heads at the time. (Though it’s worth noting Hall’s ex Jagger, 78, is in a long-term relationship with a woman in her mid-30s, meaning his relationship has over a decade on Murdoch and Hall’s.) There was lots of head-turning when news of their divorce went public, including lots of jokes.
Some noted that there sure are a lot of divorces amongst conservatives like Murdoch, who peddle traditional family values to their audience.
Rupert Murdoch, Rush Limbaugh, Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump, and Newt Gingrich will combine for 14 divorces between them when the ink dries on this one.
Murdoch and Hall were married in 2016, and at the time Murdoch was so elated that he vowed to devote less time to work and more time to his fourth wife. He went so far as to tweet that he was considering quitting Twitter, which he joined in 2012. “No more tweets for ten days or ever!” he wrote the day of his wedding. “Feel like the luckiest AND happiest man in world.”
No more tweets for ten days or ever! Feel like the luckiest AND happiest man in world.
Well, guess what? As of this writing, that remains his last tweet. Whereas most people who dramatically announce they’re quitting Twitter, like Chrissy Teigen (who, granted, hasn’t posted since April), tend to last about two hours, the guy who runs a company that peddles vaccine misinformation stuck to his guns. Good for him. Of course, let’s see if he returns now that he’ll have more free time.
The cast for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes isn’t as long as the movie’s title, but it’s getting there. It was announced last month that the Hunger Games prequel will star West Side Story breakout Rachel Zegler, the only Oscar attendee to call into a talk show co-hosted by “George Lucas” and Watto after presenting an award. The Ballad of Sticks and Stones Will Break My Bones But Peeta’s Disguise Will Always Haunt Me also stars Hunter Schafer, who plays Jules on HBO’s Euphoria.
Varietyreports that Schafer will portray Tigris Snow, the “cousin and confidante of Coriolanus Snow,” the evil ruler played by Donald Sutherland in the Hunger Games original trilogy. In the prequel, Coriolanus will be portrayed by Tom Blyth. Here’s more:
It follows the Snow family, which has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, Snow is is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Zegler), a girl tribute from impoverished District 12. From there, things get gladiatorial and, Lionsgate dearly hopes, so gripping that its most successful franchise will be relaunched to sequel spawning effect.
We’re in the thick of summer now and feeling the heat across the United States. If you’re already sweltering this year and also don’t totally dig the firecracker thing (or need to stay inside and take care of your pups), then there’s a bucket full of content waiting for you in July. I’m assuming that you’ve already binged The Umbrella Academy as well, right? Good, and now Netflix is bringing you more of The Upside Down as well as a ridiculously good cast in The Gray Man, starring Chris Evans’ wily mustache. Also, Dakota Johnson’s starring in an Austen adaptation that looks like it’s designed to upset a few people, so just have some fun with that one.
Comedy and documentaries are also the name of the game. Bill Burr returns for a stand-up comedy special, and there’s a true crime story coming your way that you’ve probably heard about many times before, but it’s compelling enough for a new spin. Also, Boogie Nights, Goodfellas, and many other classics come to this streaming platform, too.
Happy binging. Here’s everything coming to (and leaving) Netflix in July.
Stranger Things 4: Volume 2 (Netflix series streaming 7/1)
Yes, yes. Again with the bifurcated season approach, and that’s no complaint. This second batch of Season 4 episodes promises to destroy fans in a way that they’ll hopefully love. War is definitely in Hawkins with Jamie Campbell Bower’s Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) doing the psychic-monster thing. Millie Bobby Brown’s out there somewhere, and the Duffer Brothers have warned that maybe not everyone will make it out alive. Does that sound ominous enough for you? It’s almost time to find out why, and hopefully, we’ll get some more Kate Bush, too. That would be a good rule for life.
The Gray Man (Netflix film streaming 7/22)
Come for the Chris Evans mustache and stay for… Chris Evans? Hey, Ryan Gosling (also with a mustache) and Anna de Armas are onboard, too, in this story about a CIA agent who stumbles upon information that the agency doesn’t want getting out there. And then a rogue operative comes for him (with a bounty), and we’ve got intrigue and action. This will either be a brilliant sendup or another over expensive, A-list Netflix movie, but maybe we’ll get lucky, and it’ll be both of those things.
Persuasion (Netflix film streaming 7/15)
Dakota Johnson’s bangs star in this evident retooling of the Jane Austen classic novel. Johnson portrays Anne Elliot, who decided not to marry a poor but handsome dude, and they get a second chance. Hopefully, someone will toss some limes into the frame for fun. If they’re gonna go off book, then why not go all the way and get meta with Limes Lies?
D.B. Cooper: Where Are You?! (Netflix documentary streaming 7/13)
Does the world really need another D.B. Cooper take? Well, we’re getting one, even after countless pop culture references (including Loki and Justified) and an HBO documentary. Netflix gives this story a whirl, too, so sign on to watch more about the 1970s skyjacker who disappeared with all that cash and a never-surfaced identity.
Boo Bitch (Netflix series streaming 7/8)
Lana Condor is a gem, and here, she’s a gem that realizes that she’s a ghost who (naturally) decides that this is the best time to live her best life. This looks charming as heck and like a fuzzy summery confection.
Bill Burr: Live at Red Rocks (Netflix comedy special streaming 7/12)
The above compilation doesn’t reflect Bill Burr’s upcoming (and fifth) Netflix comedy special because the new trailer hasn’t materialized as of yet. But expect Bill (following the end of F Is For Family) taking on how his wife gives him bad reviews, and yeah, he will obviously address cancel culture again. Get ready.
Avail. 7/1 Stranger Things 4: Volume 2 A Call to Spy
Big Daddy
Blue Jasmine
Boogie Nights
Catch Me If You Can
Deliverance
Falls Around Her
Final Score
GoodFellas
I Am Legend
Insidious
LOL
Mean Girls
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous
Natural Born Killers
Old School
Police Academy
Semi-Pro
Seven
Snatch
The Dark Knight Rises
The Dirty Dozen
The Pursuit of Happyness
The Talented Mr. Ripley
The Terminal
Vampires
Wyatt Earp
Zero Dark Thirty
Avail. 7/3 Blair Witch (2016)
Avail. 7/4 Leave No Trace
Avail. 7/6 Control Z: Season 3 Girl in the Picture
Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between
King of Stonks
Uncle from Another World
Avail. 7/7 The Flash: Season 8 Karma’s World: Season 3 VINLAND SAGA: Season 1
Avail. 7/8 Boo, Bitch Capitani: Season 2 Dangerous Liaisons
How To Build a Sex Room
Incantation
Jewel
The Longest Night
Ranveer vs Wild with Bear Grylls
The Sea Beast
Avail. 7/10 12 Strong
Avail. 7/11 For Jojo
Valley of the Dead
Avail. 7/12 Bill Burr: Live at Red Rocks
How to Change Your Mind
My Daughter’s Killer
Avail. 7/13 Big Timber: Season
D.B. Cooper: Where Are You?!
Hurts Like Hell
Never Stop Dreaming: The Life and Legacy of Shimon Peres
Sintonia: Season 3 Under the Amalfi Sun
Avail. 7/14 Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight
Resident Evil
Avail. 7/15 Alba
Country Queen
Farzar
Love Goals (Jaadugar)
Mom, Don’t Do That!
Persuasion
Remarriage & Desires
Uncharted
Avail. 7/16 Umma
Avail. 7/18 Live is Life
My Little Pony: A New Generation: Sing-Along
StoryBots: Laugh, Learn, Sing: Collection 2: Learn to Read
Too Old for Fairy Tales
Avail. 7/19 David A. Arnold: It Ain’t For the Weak
Avail. 7/20 Bad Exorcist: Seasons 1-2 Virgin River: Season 4
Avail. 7/21 Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous: Season 5
Avail. 7/22 Blown Away: Season 3 The Gray Man
ONE PIECE: New Episodes
Avail. 7/25 Gabby’s Dollhouse: Season 5
Avail. 7/26 August: Osage County
DI4RIES
Shania Twain: Not Just a Girl
Street Food: USA
Avail. 7/27 Car Masters: Rust to Riches: Season 4 – Dream Home Makeover: Season 3 The Most Hated Man on the Internet
Pipa Rebelde: Season 2
Avail. 7/28 A Cut Above
Another Self
Keep Breathing
Oggy and the Cockroaches: Next Generation
Avail. 7/29 The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem: Season 2 Case Closed: Zero’s Tea Time
The Entitled
Fanático
Purple Hearts
Rebel Cheer Squad: A Get Even Series
Uncoupled
Avail. 7/31 The Wretched
Leaving 7/2 The Social Network
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Seasons 1-7 We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Leaving 7/6 Brick Mansions
Leaving 7/7 Home Again
Midnight Sun
Leaving 7/11 The Strangers: Prey at Night
Leaving 7/14 The Brave
Leaving 7/15 Radium Girls
Leaving 7/19 Annabelle: Creation
Leaving 7/21 Chicago Med: Seasons 1-5
Leaving 7/23 Django Unchained
Leaving 7/25 Banana Split
Leaving 7/31 21
30 Rock: Seasons 1-7 The Edge of Seventeen
Forrest Gump
Friday the 13th
The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia
Lean on Me
Little Women
Love Actually
My Girl
Poms
Texas Chainsaw 3D
You’ve Got Mail
In the post-Pink Floyd era, guitarist Roger Waters has been producing some of the greatest live performances of all time. Both his Dark Side of The Moon and The Wall tours are among some of the finest live concert productions you’ll ever see, bar none. Now Waters is gearing up for his rescheduled This Is Not A Drill Tour that begins next month, and stopped by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night to give a taste of what’s to come.
Playing a medley of Pink Floyd classics taken from The Wall, the performance begins with “The Happiest Days of Our Lives” complete with Waters doing the spoken word re-enactment at the top. The six-minute medley then morphs into “Another Brick In The Wall Part 2” (just as it does on the album), before crashing into “Another Brick In The Wall Part 3.” Waters also has a very full band on stage with him, including a chorus of backing singers as they coursed through the songs from the 1979 album.
Watch Roger Waters perform a Pink Floyd medley on Colbert in the video above and heck out the This Is Not A Drill Tour dates below.
07/06 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
07/08 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
07/09 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
07/12 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
07/15 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
07/17 – Quebec, QC @ Videotron Centre
07/20 – Albany, NY @ Times Union Center
07/23 – Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
07/26 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
07/28 – Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum
07/30 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
08/02 – Cincinnati, OH @ Heritage Bank Center
08/05 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
08/06 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
08/10 – Columbus, OH @ Nationwide Arena
08/13 – Elmont, NY @ UBS Arena
08/16 – Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
08/18 – Raleigh, NC @ PNC Arena
08/20 – Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
08/23 – Miami, FL @ AmericanAirlines Arena
08/25 – Orlando, FL @ Amway Center
08/27 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
08/30 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
08/31 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
09/03 – Kansas City, MO @ T-Mobile Center
09/06 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
09/08 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Arena
09/10 – Portland, OR @ Moda Center
09/13 – Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place
09/15 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
09/17 – Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome
09/20 – Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center
09/23 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
09/24 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
09/27 – Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center
09/28 – Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center
10/01 – Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena
10/03 – Glendale, AZ @ Gila River Arena
10/06 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center
10/08 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
Tequila has progressed light-years beyond the cheap shooters that dominate the American marketplace just a decade or two ago. That’s not to say there wasn’t great tequila out there back then (there always was). It’s more to say that we, as consumers (and specifically American consumers), are finally waking up to it.
For the taste test below, I’m pulling three reposado tequilas (aged two months to 11.9 months in oak) and three anejo tequilas (aged over a year). The point is to see if that extra aging really adds that much difference to the agave distillate. The tasting also introduces a bit of a “is there a cheaper bottle that can beat the big-ticket ones?” question. In this case, the reposados range from $20 to $70, and the anejo and extra anejos range from $130 to $350, which is a pretty big price variable.
Our lineup today is:
Codigo 1530 Origen Extra Anejo
Lobos 1707 Reposado
Familia Camarena Reposado Tequila
El Tesoro Anejo Single Barrel Mundial Collection: The Laphroaig Edition
Codigo 1530 Tequila Reposado
El Mayor Tequila Extra Anejo Port Cask Aged
Let’s dive in and see how these tequilas stack up!
Also Read: The Top Tequila Articles From The Last 6 Months
This has a deep nose with echos of vanilla, cinnamon, and sweet bell pepper. The palate is full of peppery agave spears next to a hint of caramel and thin lines of dried fig and prune. The finish is peppery with nice layers of vanilla wafers, nougat, and cinnamon spice cake.
This was a nice place to start but didn’t blow me away.
Taste 2
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a dose of sour cherry next to raw agave, plenty of spice, and a hint of old oak staves. The taste leans into agave with a sour cream vibe next to firewood and moss. That all leads to a rich black pepper spice with notes of sweetgrass, vanilla, and fresh honey making appearances.
This was okay, but a little light in the middle.
Taste 3
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This is just classic. The nose is full of freshly cracked black pepper over cottage cheese with a hint of vanilla and caramel leading to a sweet toasted agave note. The palate leans into the black pepper with a hint of clove and anise next to vanilla tobacco leaves and a hint of toffee with a buttery underbelly. The finish leans into the sweetness with a nice counterpoint of black pepper, dried chili pepper, and a dash of ginger.
This really feels like a true classic through and through.
Taste 4
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a classic note of tannic black pepper oakiness with hints of floral honey, soft vanilla, and dried fruit. The palate leans into the honey as the black pepper fades toward gentle chili spice with a fresh edge. Then the taste veers dramatically toward asphalt paper laying on a hot road with a deep tannic and almost iodine vibe. It’s bizarre and great at the same time.
This has to be the Laphroaig cask.
Taste 5
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
The nose has a raw agave feel that leads to subtle notes of pepper, cinnamon, and clove with a hint of bar simple syrup. The palate is soft with a slight pepperiness but kind of washed out. The finish peters out too without echos of woody spice, honey, and roasted agave.
This is just okay.
Taste 6
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
The nose is super dark and sweet with plenty of figs, plums, and dates (this must be the port cask finish). The palate edges toward a tannic old barrel vibe with plenty of sour red wine next to rich vanilla, orange zest, and a drizzle of salted caramel. The end marries the plums and spices into a plum jam with a good dose of sharp cinnamon and maybe a little bit of cardamom next to a vanilla-plum tobacco leaf.
This goes through an autoclave and roller mill. Then this expression is aged in old wine and bourbon barrels for less than a year before proofing and bottling.
Bottom Line:
This was just too washed out to stand up to the rest of the bottles on this list. That does, however, make this a good candidate for a shooter with a beer back.
Lobos 1707 comes from the southern Los Altos region of Jalisco (NOM 1460, Compañia Tequilera de Arandas distillery). The front end of the tequila-making process is pretty much the same — Weber, autoclave, ex-bourbon barrels, etc. — with the finishing on this one standing out.
After six months in bourbon barrels, this is aged in Pedro Ximinez sherry casks for a final rest.
Bottom Line:
This was very much in the “that’s fine” section of the tasting. It’s well-rounded and tastes fine but there’s no wow factor. I’d probably use this more for making cocktails than sipping.
Codigo comes from NOM 1616, just outside of Tequila, Mexico. The juice in the bottle is made from Tequila Weber agave and runs through both autoclave and roller mills before fermentation and double distillation. The spirit then spends six years mellowing in Napa Valley Cabernet French white oak barrels. Those barrels are then batched and the tequila is brought down to proof with local deep well water.
Bottom Line:
This was very solid. Looking at the price now, I’d have likely ranked it lower because it’s not that good. That said, I need to try this over a rock to let it bloom a bit in the glass and see what else is there.
3. El Tesoro Anejo Single Barrel Mundial Collection: The Laphroaig Edition — Taste 4
This tequila from Jalisco Highlands is about that finishing barrel. Before the juice gets to that barrel, it’s made in old stone overs and ground with a stone Tahona wheel before open-air fermentation in old wooden tanks. After all of that, the tequila spends time aging in old Laphroaig barrels, which is one of Islay’s peatiest whiskies.
Bottom Line:
This was funky and weird. I really dig it but I need more time to love it. It’s a lot to take in thanks to that hardcore tar/asphalt vibe on the palate. Still, there’s a lot to dig into with this pour.
2. El Mayor Tequila Extra Anejo Port Cask Aged — Taste 6
El Mayor Tequila
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $130 (Coming Soon)
The Tequila:
This tequila is made in the Southern Highlands of Jalisco via autoclave and roller mill. There’s a long fermentation and double distilling involved before the hot spirit rests in ex-bourbon barrels for a spell. Finally, the tequila is re-filled into old Port casks for a final maturation before proofing and bottling.
Bottom Line:
This very much felt like it was trying to hook bourbon drinkers on high-end tequila. And … it worked. This is really good, deeply hewn, and keeps your attention from nose to finish as it takes you on a journey.
This tequila from the Southern Highlands of Jalisco is fairly modern. The pinas are cooked in brick ovens but autoclave (high-pressure cooking) and diffuser are used as well. The twice-distilled juice then goes into oak for 60 days before it’s proofed down with deep well water and bottled.
Bottom Line:
I can see why this is winning so many awards lately, it’s bold yet refined. There’s a real depth that’s also easy drinking. Plus, it just tastes damn good.
Obviously, this is my ultimate tequila value pick.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
Zach Johnston
Well, look at that! A cheaper reposado carried the day.
Moreover, that Camarena felt bigger and more refined that anything else on this list. It was a deeply structured tequila that felt as distinct as it felt classic. It’s just damn good stuff.
As for the higher-end pours, I think they all have their place. But, they’re not for the everyday sipping. That Laphroaig Cask bottle is still haunting and I can’t decide whether or not to dive back in or forget it forever. I am thinking about it, so maybe it’s already won the battle.
In the end, that Camarena was the true stand-out and unequivocal winner today.
When the Philadelphia 76ers were knocked out of the playoffs by the Miami Heat in the second round, Joel Embiid and others on the team lamented their lack of players with the same fight in them as the Heat.
It appears now that Philadelphia will look to the Miami roster to fix that problem, as soon-to-be free agent PJ Tucker is atop their wishlist. Tucker is declining his $7.4 million player option with the Heat and while it’s possible that he returns to Miami on a larger deal, they will have plenty of competition for the 37-year-old forward. The Sixers are chief among those pursuing Tucker, and if the latest report from Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer is correct, Miami may have a tough time topping Philly’s planned offer.
Pompey reports the Sixers are looking to give Tucker a 3-year, $30 million contract offer, which would certainly be a tough deal to want to match if you are the Heat given that the final year of that contract would take Tucker into being 40 years old.
Multiple sources have the Sixers intending to offer him a three-year, $30 million contract. Time will tell what will happen. But a source added that there’s mutual interest between Tucker, 37, and the Sixers.
Marc Stein corroborated this report, noting the Sixers are “by far” the favorite to land Tucker if he opens his free agency up beyond re-signing in Miami. As for how they plan on opening up $10 million in cap space, Pompey reports the Sixers are looking to work a three-team trade that sends Matisse Thybulle and the No. 23 pick in this year’s draft out for a first round pick in return, paving the way for Tucker to join the Sixers and provide “That Dog” that they lack. Philly is also looking to move Danny Green’s $10 million salary, with Green expected to miss most of the season after tearing his ACL and LCL in the Sixers Game 6 loss to Miami, to further pave the way for offseason moves.
We will know the Sixers intentions — and if they’re going to be able to make such an offer to Tucker — soon, as they’ll need to complete a deal on Draft night to have any real chance of making a splash. What teams get in the mix for Thybulle, who is an elite defender but is a liability offensively, remains to be seen.
Music discovery is at an all-time high. With algorithms, blogs, social media, and direct marketing by artists and their reps, it seems like every day is a chance to find yourself falling in love with a new artist’s music. But the downside is that there are so many that it can be hard to keep track of them all, let alone figure out which ones are fly-by-night flashes in the pan and which are the real deal.
That’s why live shows are still the best form of music discovery, even with all the newfangled technology throwing new rappers and singers onto our radars all the time. There’s an opportunity to connect with what makes each artist special, their unique energy, charisma, and how they engage with a live audience — that’s what separates the one-hit-wonders from the rising stars and the superstars in the making.
In Los Angeles, the live showcase that best displays the next generation of stars before they gain national attention is TheBasement Series. A monthly industry showcase, TheBasement Series highlights some of the hottest emerging talents from across the country. This week, the show featured rising stars Dub Aura, GoGo Morrow, Inayah, Josh Levi, and KenTheMan, who electrified the stage at Break Room 86 in downtown LA. Each artist also told us which song of theirs fans should check out first. You can get to know each from the quotes and photos below.
Dub Aura
“A song that represents and speaks to who I am right now the most would be ‘New Ways.’ It’s a pretty solid depiction of who I am. There’s many dynamics to the record for me – there’s the lyrical aspect, a tone of vulnerability, and also the wittiness of growing up in New York City, specifically Harlem which makes up who I am and what I represent.”
GoGo Morrow
“As an artist on the rise, I think the best song for fans to listen to from me, to get to know me, would be ‘In The Way.’ A lot of people have been through the same situation that I sing about, but it’s the perspective that truly identifies me as a woman and as an artist. In the song, I sing about deserving to be loved properly and if he can’t, that’s ok, because there’s someone else out there who will. In real life, I’m a soft girl, but I’m dominant as well. ‘In The Way’ is just that; vulnerable and cutthroat all at the same time. And that’s truly who I am… that’s GoGo.”
Inayah
“They should definitely tune into ‘Always Something.’ It’s one of those records that just resonates so deeply with many people’s realities with a message that’ll forever be relevant. “
Josh Levi
“if you listened to ‘NASA’ you’d get a super quick look into the world I live in sonically, a combination of the past and the future. ‘VICES’ would give you a picture of where my head has been at mentally and spiritually, making decisions that are healthy and good for the mind, body, and soul.”
KenTheMan
“I would say ‘Love Yourself’ expresses a lot of me but as a KenTheMan supporter you can’t limit yourself to just one of my tracks. There is so much diversity in my music that exudes self-love, women empowerment, and being in control; you find pieces of me in my entire catalog.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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.
In her famous poem “Lady Lazarus,” Sylvia Plath writes, “Dying / Is an art, like everything else. / I do it exceptionally well.” It was penned in 1963 and published posthumously in 1965. Centering on her two suicide attempts, she summons the image of a “peanut-crunching crowd” watching her perform a “big strip tease”; she’s removing her soul from her body, becoming bare, empty of life. But it’s as seductive as it is dark, while also flirting with humor and engaging in nursery rhyme: “Gentlemen, ladies, / These are my hands / My knees.” The voyeurism is simultaneously disturbing and bewitching. In many ways, just reading it feels wrong, as if the reader is in the peanut-crunching crowd also, entertained by her unraveling.
So, it is not that much of a shocker when Plath is invoked on Soccer Mommy’s unsettling new record Sometimes, Forever. On the pained ballad “Darkness Forever,” Sophie Allison makes a casual reference to her notorious suicide: “Head in the oven / Didn’t sound so crazy / My brain was burning / Hot to the touch.” Lyrics about misery and despair paired with off-kilter ambiances make for a heavy experience, but it’s balanced with enough Plath-like awareness and wit that it becomes hypnotic. She doesn’t burden the listener with her lamentations; she evokes uneasiness and captivation, sending a chill down their spine in one moment and then making them laugh in the next. “Sophie finds magical ways to complicate her bubblegum melodies with a subtle weirdness: a twisted chord, a bent texture, some dark comedy,” album producer Daniel Lopatin told Pitchfork. “It’s addictive to listen to all that sweet and sour stuff she has going on, so I just tried to amplify that.”
Essentially, Allison has mastered the art of haunting, which is a bit of a pivot after 2018’s endearing breakthrough Clean and its intimate 2020 follow-up Color Theory. The lead single “Shotgun” proved this departure into darkness immediately; the sly bassline and her detached vocals in minor key concoct an eerie atmosphere, and the chorus likens love to a weapon, but on the second verse she sings, “Cold beer and ice cream is all we keep / The only things we really need.” It doesn’t even feel like a moment of levity, necessarily; it feels strangely prophetic and clever.
“It’s about this sense of fear and the overhanging of something bad because it’s about the beginning of falling in love — the really exciting feeling, but also you don’t know where it’s going,” Allison explains about “Shotgun” over the phone in early June. “But that kind of sense of just giving your heart over to someone — it feels not too scary, just intense in general. I compare it to uppers — this kind of sense of heart racing, on edge, never knowing what’s going to happen next. There’s this uncertainty and nervousness and fear. But it’s also just supposed to be about that fun feeling, that excitement.”
Panic and exhilaration become inextricable from each other, much like pleasure and pain. Masochism bleeds onto the bubbling shoegaze ballad “With U”: “But I’ll take the pain / Feel it every day / Just to have you look at me,” she admits. In “Still,” the bleak closer that is confessional to an almost risky extent, Allison lulls, “I cut a piece out of my thigh / And felt my heart go sky diving.” It resembles the opening lines of Plath’s poem “Cut”: “What a thrill— / My thumb instead of an onion.” The singer’s publicist warns: “You may notice that the lyrics to ‘Still’ are challenging to read.” The admission of — or even just allusion to — serious self-destruction does not come without awkward, uncomfortable consequences, but that sacrifice is part of what makes it powerful. In many ways, acknowledging self-inflicted pain and the complicated nature of it is incredibly difficult, let alone exploring it through art in front of millions of strangers. It’s brave. “Gentlemen, ladies, / These are my hands / My knees.”
It’s also tricky because listeners are, at the end of the day, consumers, not unlike a peanut-crunching crowd while Allison is laying herself bare on the stage, giving away parts of herself in a way that’s not unlike being disembodied. Sometimes, Forever confronts this weird dynamic of the music industry, and capitalism in general: “I’m tired of the money / And all of the taking at me / I’m barely a person / Mechanically working,” she deadpans on “Unholy Affliction.” “When it comes to artistry, there’s a strive for perfection and for success and all of these things, but all of that comes with playing the game,” she explains. “You can’t just make this perfect album and pop it on the internet and have this amazing rollout. Like, it doesn’t happen if you’re not already hugely successful.” To avoid feeling bought, she places less value on photoshoots and interviews and tries to only care about the art, but “Unholy Affliction” is evidence that this conflict inevitably seeps into her consciousness and her creations.
Not only are the lyrical decisions on this record brave, but the sonic ones as well. It digs deeper into the grunge sound that her past two studio albums flirted with. The experimentation, with the help of Lopatin, is showcased best on the aforementioned “Unholy Affliction” that skids and rattles, as well as on the meandering “Newdemo,” both of which have a sort of brooding feeling that’s interspersed with sputtering, supernatural synthesizers. When asked about what influenced her to go in this direction she mentions Black Sabbath, with a laugh of humility. “They are so heavy and doomy, and it can be slow and sludgy,” she says. “It feels heavy all the time, but it’s not like a thousand guitars or this crazy shredding. It’s really evil.”
This horror movie-like aura is the perfect backdrop for her words. Like Plath, her lines are at their most striking when as concise as possible: “It’s darkness forever / A cold sinking ocean / I want to feel the / Warm of release,” she sings on the mystical “Darkness Forever.” Throughout the 11 tracks, there are fragmented recollections of having sex in the backseat of a car, seeing a ghost, driving into a sunset with hopes of being swallowed by it, and feeling emotions so intense that it’s like being hit with a tidal wave. Revelations manifest in these unforgettable images, especially on “Newdemo”: “Sometimes I dream there’s a gate to a garden / That only the earth could break through / But what is a dream but a light in the darkness / A lie that you wish would come true,” she croons.
About the meaning of that song, Allison says it’s about feeling really low and dealing with cynical thoughts like, “What’s the point of hoping for things that won’t happen or clinging to nice thoughts that aren’t real?” She is quick to add, “But also, there is a point.” Sometimes, Forever would not exist without dreams and hopes for something better. Fantasizing is a kind of survival. In “A Birthday Present,” Plath writes: “Do not be mean, I am ready for enormity. / Let us sit down to it, one on either side, admiring the gleam.”
America’s infatuation with Johnny Depp sees no bounds. After winning a defamation suit against his ex-wife Amber Heard — in a trial that gripped America so much so that you’d think a bloody glove and a white Ford Bronco were involved — the actor is resurrecting his Hollywood Vampires “supergroup” with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry.
The hard rock band, which put out its second album Rise in 2019, will be heading out for a small tour in Europe. But don’t get too excited, as it doesn’t begin until June of 2023. Among the six scheduled dates, five of them are in Germany and one is in Luxembourg.
Cooper and Depp share vocal duties, with Cooper doing most of the lead work. Their albums are a mix of original material with some covers sprinkled in between, and their current top song on Spotify is a cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes.” All four members including Tommy Henriksen play guitar and the band is typically backed by a touring bass player, a drummer (Cooper drummer Glen Sobel), and a keyboardist who also plays guitar (because can you really have enough guitars?) The band’s debut self-titled album came out in 2015 and included appearances from Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney, Slash, Robby Krieger, and more.
Check out the list of tour dates for Hollywood Vampires below.
06/20 — Oberhausen, DE @ Rudolf Weber- Arena
06/21 — Esch-sur-Alzette, LU @ Rockhal
06/24 — Munich, DE @ Olympiahalle
06/27 — Hamburg, DE @ Stadtpark
06/28 — Berlin, DE @ Citadel Music Festival
06/30 — Mainz, DE @ Summer in the City
That was a couple weeks ago now but Nas hasn’t forgotten about the BET Awards, as he proves with his latest hilarious promo for his upcoming single, “Late To The Party.”
Last night, Nas shared a video that’s presented like a traditional sort of television commercial spot for the BET Awards broadcast. The differences are easy to spot once you get past the glossy veneer, though, like how all the B-roll is of Nas, Nas can be heard saying “F*ck BET” repeatedly in the background, and how the date and time of the awards show shown here is actually when Nas is releasing “Late To The Party” (this Friday at midnight ET). The ad is so well-executed that if it actually aired on TV, a viewer who wasn’t paying close attention probably wouldn’t suspect anything about it was unusual.
This all comes after Nas, the master of promotion that he is, got eyes on him and his antics by coming up with some hilarious fake company partnerships in the name of “Late To The Party.”
Check out the promo video above.
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