Month: January 2023

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

Every week, Uproxx is rounding up the best new indie music from the past seven days. This week we got new music from Mac DeMarco, Boygenius, Wednesday, Andy Shauf, and more.

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Wednesday — “Chosen To Deserve”

At the end of last year, Asheville, NC-based band Wednesday hinted at a new record with the explosive “Bull Believer.” With the release of this new single “Chosen To Deserve,” they announced Rat Saw God, their follow-up to 2021’s colossal Twin Plagues. “Chosen To Deserve” digs into their twangy side, balancing Americana nostalgia with indie rock triumph.

Boygenius — “$20”

Few things are as highly anticipated as a Boygenius reunion, but it’s finally happening. The supergroup of Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus announced their debut The Record and unveiled three singles. The standout track so far is the cathartic whirlwind “$20,” which culminates into a powerful outro that bursts with gut-wrenching screams.

Fall Out Boy — “Love From The Other Side”

Fall Out Boy’s last album was 2018’s Mania, a divisive departure from their typical sound. “Love From The Other Side,” the lead single from their just-announced album So Much (For) Stardust, is a return to their roots — rough-edged, theatrical rock: “Sending my love from the other side of the apocalypse,” bandleader Patrick Stump sings.

Andy Shauf — “Telephone”

Indie singer-songwriter Andy Shauf hates talking on the phone, so he wrote a ballad imagining the opposite. “I wish you’d call me on the telephone,” he sings, “I want to hear your voice / Reaching late into the night.” It’s a free-floating, delicate serenade that fits perfectly amongst the recently released singles from his forthcoming album Norm, which is sure to be an enchanting listen.

Mac DeMarco — Five Easy Hot Dogs

Though Mac DeMarco has an entrancing voice, the indie icon focused on instrumentation for Five Easy Hot Dogs, his new album. At a little over 30 minutes, he creates sparkling, immersive sonic landscapes that sprawl comfortably over the listener like a fuzzy blanket.

Tanukichan, Enumclaw — “Thin Air”

“Thin Air” is a dreamy new song from Tanukichan, that encapsulates the hazy, atmospheric aura of their music. Enumclaw are the perfect addition, adding a layer of effortless coolness with deadpan vocals against soaring guitars. The track comes from Tanukichan’s forthcoming record Gizmo.

Squirrel Flower — “Your Love”

“Your love is a disaster / Your love is a diamond,” Ella Williams opens her new song “Your Love” singing. Her music has always captured this balance of pain and enchantment, especially with her colossal last album Planet (i). “Your Love” hits hard in only a little over four minutes, bursting with desire: “Take me dancing / Touch my skin and hold me / Anything / Anything to feel close again.”

The National — “Tropic Morning News”

The National have been doing a lot of teasing — from postcards to fans in the mail to a digital preview of a new album. Finally, the LP was announced. It’s called First Two Pages of Frankenstein and “Tropic Morning News” is a compelling taste, sputtering with a catchy beat but still brooding, containing a dark, seething energy under the surface.

Miya Folick — “Get Out Of My House”

“Get Out Of My House” is an anthem for not putting up with sh*t anymore. Miya Folick finds clarity and isn’t afraid to shout it from the rooftops: “Thought I needed your glow / Needed you to be home / But I’m better alone,” she sings excitedly. There’s not a trace of sadness — just enthusiasm for the future.

Arlo Parks — “Weightless”

My Soft Machine by Arlo Parks was just announced, and “Weightless” is a stunning preview of the record. The song shimmers with a sparkling, atmospheric sound and her silky vocals only strengthen its trance. “Cardamom and jade as your eyes streamed / On the night you showed your volcanic side / And I’m afraid to need validation,” she sings earnestly.

Ex Pilots — Ex Pilots

Ex Pilots are here to shred. That’s one thing that’s clear from the kickoff of their new self-titled album. Based in Pittsburgh, the band cites My Bloody Valentine and Guided By Voices as influences, which explains their hypnotically staticky sound, like they’re playing in a basement across the street and all you can hear is the enrapturing reverb.

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

Surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly depending on who you ask, menopause and perimenopause aren’t really talked about much. Women sort of fumble through this part of life relaying on whatever information your mother or older relative can remember. For some reason what happens to women’s bodies when hormones start to decline is still a mystery, even to some medical professionals.

Thankfully in the age of the internet and middle aged women who no longer care for many societal niceties, like not talking about menopause in mixed company – women are being educated about their bodies. Kristina Kuzmic, a social media influencer and author posted a video where she and a friend discuss menopause. Out loud.

Earlier in the month, I also posted on my page about those pesky hormonal changes and the things no one tells you about. In both instances, the comments were full of women shocked at the symptoms or sharing their own wisdom. But overwhelmingly, women of varying ages were thankful that the conversation was being had.

Most people know menopause is a thing that happens and is defined by when a woman has not had a period in 12 months. But what happens leading up to that? That’s the stuff we don’t talk about and that phase is called perimenopause and can start as early as your 30s and last for up to 10 years, though some women in the comment sections are saying it can last much longer.

The symptoms are kind of all over the place, which may be why some doctors don’t put things together right away. In Kuzmic’s video they go over symptoms like hair loss, hot flashes, heart palpitations, brain fog and more, in a humorous way. For starters, they call menopause “cougar puberty.”

“Am I going to smell like my teenager’s bedroom,” Kuzmic playfully asks after being told that your body odor changes. While the video is funny, it also brings a lot of information forward in an easily digestible way and the comments prove women are happy it’s being talked about.

“Peri-menopause and I’ve got it all….thanks for making me feel semi-normal today. Some days I know in my head that these changes are normal…. some days my brain says I need to run to a doctor cause I’m totally dying,” one woman wrote.

Another woman said, “Cougar Puberty. Totally love it. Totally glad to see an educational and humorous video about it.”

“A mandatory party no one wants to attend. That sums it up perfectly. Thank you for sharing candidly all we have to look forward to and hope we don’t get 1st prize of all the symptoms,” one commenter wrote.

If you’re ready to learn all about “cougar puberty” check out the video below:

I remember when I heard Måneskin — the Italian band presently marketed as the latest “saviors” of rock music — for the first time. It was about a year ago, and I was in my car and listening to a local rock station. Before Måneskin came on, I’m pretty sure they were playing the Chili Peppers, because this station is usually playing the Chili Peppers. Then, without warning, “Beggin’” entered my airspace.

A garage-y cover of a 1967 Four Seasons hit, it sounded like Buckcherry doing a klezmer-rock jam. I could tell they weren’t American, which gave their Euro take on stateside butt-rock an “uncanny valley” quality, like an android performing a mildly glitchy and semi-human take of “How You Remind Me.” I can’t say I liked it, exactly, but I was intrigued: This, at the very least, is not the Chili Peppers, I thought.

After Shazam’ing the song, I swiftly learned the basics of Måneskin via my phone — quartet from Rome, runner-ups on the Italian version of X Factor, unexpected victors at the 2021 Eurovision song contest, insane viral success, proponents of “sexual freedom,” wardrobe borrowed from The Darkness when they were consuming most of the cocaine in London. Based on the resume, I assumed “Beggin’” was a novelty hit. Difficult to hate, impossible to take seriously, here today and gone tomorrow.

For now, at least, that snap judgment has proven to be dead wrong. “Beggin’” has been streamed 1.2 billion streams on Spotify, which puts it in the vicinity of “Wonderwall.” An original tune from 2021’s Teatro d’ira: Vol. I, “I Wanna Be Your Slave,” has wracked up an additional 750 million spins. And now this month comes their third album (and first mostly English language release), Rush! Co-produced by pop maestro Max Martin, the LP features a guest slot from Tom Morello, who recently declared that Måneskin are “standard-bearers” for the latest generation of rock fans.

Before I assess the merits of Rush!, allow me to go on a mini rant about how bands like this are always covered in the media. Various publications have already positioned this record in terms of its relationship with the overall health of rock music. (To be fair, I sort of did the same thing in the first sentence of this column.) For instance, in a positive review of the album, Rolling Stone charged that Måneskin is “the only major-league rock band making any dent in the culture at large.”

I don’t mean to single out one review, as this sort of thinking is common. It speaks to the weird cultural amnesia that exists in relation to the latest generation of bold ‘n’ brash rock resuscitators. Whenever we talk about one, we seem to instantly forget all of the other ones. The truth is that the world is positively swimming in rock bands, and a significant number of those are in the dent-making business. Even if we set aside the scores of legacy bands that continue to do big business on the road, Rolling Stone just this month put Boygenius on its cover and posed them in a manner intended to evoke the most iconic rock band of the 30 years.

Oh, but that’s not a “rock” rock band, you might say. Herein lays the rub with the deathless “is rock dead or not?” conversation — a “rock band” is defined only in the narrowest of terms, and always by a standard that resembles an anachronistic caricature of the music. A “rock band” therefore must resemble an arena act that sold millions of records between 1986 and 1993. Which means they need to traffic in the most laughable of outmoded clichés. This requires projecting a “decadent” image that seemed dangerous back when Rikki Rachtman was a gainfully employed television host, while also feeling safe enough to exist inside of the corporate record label industrial complex.

But even if we only count cartoonish caricatures of rock stars as “rock stars,” there are other recent successes — Yungblud (a “divisive Gen Z rock star,” according to the U.K. Rolling Stone), Machine Gun Kelly, Ghost, my own guilty pleasure Greta Van Fleet, even the ubiquitous “true rock star” Harry Styles. (I almost put The 1975 in that rundown, though I fear this compliment might be construed as a putdown.)

My point is that there is something inherently limiting about reducing rock to a band like Måneskin. It’s like basing the “health” of hip-hop as a genre on whether rap stars are still dressing like the cover of Run-DMC’s Raising Hell. Then again, I’m probably burying the lede here — the fact is that cartoonish caricatures of rock stars are clearly popular. Because the caricature is fun, even if it is an artistic dead end.

Fun and artistic dead ends both appear in abundance on Rush! A good amount of the former comes from Martin, who is joined by a battery of producers whose credits include other rock-flavored pop hits from the likes of Walk The Moon, Grouplove, and Imagine Dragons. (The songwriting and production credits stretch as long as most pop records.)

In the aughts, Martin was responsible for co-writing and co-producing one of the era’s best pop-rock confections, Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone.” Måneskin similarly emulates the post-Strokes rock that dribbled down to dozens of enjoyably sleazy knock-offs that have long since been forgotten. While their posturing and iconography feels borrowed from Netflix’s low-rent 2019 Motley Crue biopic — a foundational text for modern caricature rock co-starring (of course) Machine Gun Kelly — musically they’re closer to the bump-and-grind riffitude of Jet. (“Are You Gonna Be My Girl” is like the first Velvet Underground album for these acts.)

I have a decent amount of tolerance for this sort of thing, so I couldn’t help but smile when Morello did his best C.C. DeVille impersonation on the stupid-good single “Gossip.” I could even get behind the part in “Kool Kids” when singer Damiano David — who in the past has looked like Timothée Chalamet playing Jason Todd in a Woodstock 99 biopic — sings, “We’re not punk, we’re not pop, we’re just music freaks!” Sure, man, whatever you say! They’re not punk, but they do have some secondhand post-punk affectations, like the talk-singing in “Bla Bla Bla,” which is like if Jack Black wrote a Wet Leg song.

But over the course of an album, the relentless disco-rock thump inevitably feels one-note and wearying. (Actually, the power ballads are worse — “Timezone” is like one of the Alicia Silverstone songs from Get A Grip after a handful of Xanax.) I prefer the memory of this band appearing out of nowhere on the radio, making a singularly weird impression, and ultimately signifying nothing greater. Don’t expect Måneskin or anyone else to “save” rock. Thankfully, rock is strong enough to withstand the existence of all these messiahs.

Freddie Gibbs showed off his “Aquaman lungs” on Monday night (January 23) on The Tonight Show with Anderson .Paak to perform a medley of songs from his major-label debut album, Soul Sold Separately. Gibbs’ gift for breath control is already legendary but last night, a huge audience got to witness his prowess as he blazed through satin-smooth renditions of “Blackest In The Room” and “Feel No Pain.”

Dappered down in an all-black two-piece suit, Gibbs appeared not to take a breath as he recited his rapid-fire lyrics backed by The Roots. .Paak kept his usual ’70s-inspired look, with a fur-cuffed jacket and his signature cabbie hat, brushing the dirt off Gibbs’ shoulders.

Although Soul Sold Separately (and its recently-released deluxe edition) is barely half a year old, Gibbs refuses to rest on his laurels. He recently revealed that he’s currently working on as many as four albums at once, including his oft-teased R&B album.

Watch Freddie Gibbs’ late-night performance on The Tonight Show above. He’s also expressed a wish to branch out dramatically with more film and television roles after the positive reception for his feature debut, Down With The King, so don’t be surprised if the next time we see him with Jimmy Fallon and the gang, he’s sitting on the couch with that 1,000-watt smile beaming.

Freddie Gibbs is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

In 2022, Harry Styles spent a lot of time being a movie star, as he had lead roles in two major films: My Policeman and the much-discussed Don’t Worry Darling. Meanwhile, this morning, the nominees for the 95th annual Academy Awards were announced, and Styles didn’t get a single nod. In fact, neither did those two movies.

Fans had mixed reactions to this. Of course, there are those who are heartbroken:

Then there are those who understand, like one who wrote, “i love harry but i know no one watched this and thought oscar worthy…bffr.”

Uproxx’s Vince Mancini reviewed both films and had nice things to say about Styles’ performance in Don’t Worry Darling, noting that he and the rest of the cast were “mostly acting their butts off” in a movie that’s “very alluring and sexy and intriguing right up until the point when it reveals that it has nothing to say.” As for his work in My Policeman: “I’m not going to say pop star Harry Styles is a terrible actor; he’s not. Mostly he’s perfectly adequate at saying the lines in the script convincingly enough that it doesn’t take you out of the story or make you think, ‘Jeez, this guy sucks.’ Mostly you think, ‘Eh, he’s fine.’”

Find the full list of this year’s Oscar nominees here and some more Styles reactions below.

Kim Petras, on the heels of dropping her fiery new single “Brrr,” popped by Late Night With Seth Meyers to deliver the debut performance.

Keeping to the visual theme, Petras opens surrounded by blue smoke and backed by an icy mountain visual. She’s also covered in blue sparkles. However, the black leather coat and gloves fit the song’s actual aesthetic, as it relies on a heavy electronic beat and some seriously suggestive lyrics in typical Petras fashion.

She also sat down with Meyers for an eight-minute interview where she spilled some serious tea. Petras talked about what it was like to perform “Unholy” with Sam Smith on SNL, where she had to hide under a massive dress.

“Someone on TikTok predicted it, but other than that, it was a surprise,” she joked.

Petras also attended the afterparty where she posed for some viral pics with Madonna and the episode’s host, Aubrey Plaza. “We talked and I was really obliterated drunk and I was just like, ‘You’re my queen!’” Petras said.

Later in the interview, they also touch on her Grammy nomination and Petras’ singing dog, Karl. Oh yeah, and she also revealed that she’ll be hitting the road on tour this summer, giving fans something to look forward to.

Watch Kim Petras perform “Brrr” and her interview on Late Night above.

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

Wanda Sykes had quite the meal for her first night as guest host of The Daily Show. During Monday’s episode, the comedian tore into Donald Trump for his bizarre eulogy at the funeral for Diamond of “Diamond and Silk” fame. The two women were, for lack of a better term, “celebrities” in the world of MAGA, which merited an appearance from the former president. However, Trump mostly complained about the length of the ceremony, and he made things especially awkward by saying that he didn’t even know there was a Silk despite meeting the duo numerous times.

“Normally, I don’t find funerals funny,” Sykes joked. “But here’s a story about a funeral that I found hilarious.”

After roasting Diamond and Silk for “setting the Black race back 50 years,” Sykes then went to town on Trump telling the crowd that he didn’t know there was a Silk. Via The Daily Beast:

Shaking her head, Sykes replied, “Oh my God! Trump showed up to that funeral like, ‘Diamond’s dead, but I’m gonna bury Silk. There’s room for two in that casket.’”

“I mean, c’mon, to say you know Diamond but don’t know Silk is wild because they’re always together!” she continued. “That’s like saying, ‘I know Bert, but I’ve never heard of this Ernie fella, what’s his deal?”

Sykes ended the segment with a theory on what might have happened to Trump.

“He probably only has room for one Black woman in his brain at a time,” Sykes said before joking that Trump was probably watching the comedian right now thinking. “Wow, Diamond’s hosting The Daily Show. A week ago she was dead, but thanks to me, she has risen!”

(Via The Daily Beast)

Southern rap legend Bun B joined People’s Party with Talib Kweli last week as the first solo returning guest outside of Yasiin Bey. The conversation spanned rap music, Pimp C, hip-hop’s therapeutic elements, and his new hamburger concept. Plus there was talk of a Kweli-Bun full-length album:

Bun B has paved his own path as an entrepreneur, college professor at Rice University, and a respected thinker in the culture of hip-hop. The music he made as half of the duo UGK altered hip-hop’s understanding of the power, scope, and potential of Southern rap. But even as UGK’s renown grew they needed a little extra light shone on them with bi-coastal audiences. Kweli noted that few people know that Jay-Z did exactly that — sourcing the opening four bars of the third verse of “99 Problems” from a Bun verse.

“People be like ‘Yo, Jay-Z took a piece of your rhyme. I didn’t know that was your sh*t,’” Bun recalls. “I’m like dope, it’s all good bro!”

Bun B then discussed how many artists display lyrical admiration and tribute by dropping these lines. Sometimes, it is taken as it is meant. Other times, an artist may have to compensate the person who was quoted. Bun stresses he never pursues cash from rappers who have quoted him.

“Hov has shown love,” he noted. “So much love to UGK. ‘Big Pimpin’’ is my international calling card. This is a record that is 22 years old. We can go to any country on the planet where people go to a club and dance. You can play that record and everybody that came to party will party to that record.”

To check out more of this incredible conversation about music, culture and art watch People’s Party with Talib Kweli and co-host Jasmin Leigh.

We are just weeks away from Super Bowl LVII, and while the game is a thrill in and of itself, fans look equally forward to the star-studded commercials. Over the past few weeks Doritos has teased a scandalous love triangle-themed spot with Jack Harlow. Now, it seems like hip-hop icon Missy Elliott is joining in on the fun.

In the clip, Elliott answers a phone call from the “First Class” hitmaker himself.

“What’s up? Collab? You know I’ve been waiting to collab,” she says on the phone.

Shortly after, Elliott looks puzzled.

“A love triangle?” Elliott says. “I don’t know about that.”

Though Harlow himself is neither seen nor heard during the sneak preview, Elliott’s reactions say it all. At the end of the clip, the screen reads “2.12.2023,” suggesting that both stars will appear in the Doritos ad set to air during the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl LVII will take place on February 12 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Kick-off will begin at 6:30 EST and the game will broadcast on Fox.

You can check out the sneak peek of the Doritos spot above.

Jack Harlow and Missy Elliott are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Well, one film is already blowing up social media heading into this year’s Oscars. You ready for it? My Year of Dicks. The title, which we swear to God is real, was nominated for Best Animated Short Film, and presenter Riz Ahmed had the room in stitches when he announced it. Of course, it probably didn’t help that the actor put a little extra mustard on the word “dick” while reading the list, and you can hear laughter all throughout the production.

Check it out below:

Once he finished the list of Animated Short Films, Ahmed was still giggling as co-presenter Allison Williams tried to keep it together and joked “No comment” before they moved onto the next category. However, Twitter was not ready to let go of the hilarious ordeal. Ahmed’s reaction quickly went viral as tweet after tweet poured in of people loving that we’re all just a bunch of schoolchildren, even the prestigious Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science.

You can see some of the reactions below:

Directed by Sara Gunnarsdottir, My Year of Dicks is about “a young girl on a mission to lose her virginity in the early ‘90s” and is adapted from the book Notes to Boys: And Other Things I Shouldn’t Share in Public by Pamela Ribon. Via Variety:

A fictionalized version of Ribon (the prolific film and TV writer) is the protagonist who chases a series of conquests — from an actual vampire to harrowing frat boys — in hopes of sexual awakening in a podunk town outside of Houston. Upon release, her uniquely etched characters drew comparison to those of “Superbad” and “Dazed and Confused.”

You can see the full list of nominees for Best Animated Short Film below:

(Via Variety)