Month: February 2023

Why did Ben Affleck look so miserable at the Grammys? The official explanation is that he was tired (a powerful reminder that no more awards show should be longer than two and a half hours, maybe two hours and 45 minutes), but I think it’s because he was feeling glum that he hasn’t starred in a Dunkin’ movie yet. It’s OK, Ben. You’re getting the next best thing: a Super Bowl commercial for Boston’s favorite chain restaurant.

Dunkin’s first Super Bowl commercial will star the actor and feature a cameo from his wife, Jennifer Lopez (is it asking too much to get Doughboys co-host and Quincy native Mike Mitchell in there, too?). The ad was filmed in Boston in January, “and will have exclusive behind-the-scenes videos with Affleck after the ad airs during the big game on Sunday,” according to People. Dunkin’ teased the ad on Instagram with a video that reads “Something’s Ben Brewing 2.12.23,” along with the caption, “feelin’ like we could all use some Dunkin’ today.”

Affleck filmed the spot at a Medford, Massachusetts, location. He was captured on the set serving up the breakfast chain’s coffee and donuts to unsuspecting drive-thru patrons. While working at the window, the devout Dunkin’ fan wore an employee uniform.

He gave up playing Batman to star in a Dunkin’ commercial? Honestly, I’ve never respected Affleck more (I am being 100 percent serious).

(Via People)

As post-apocalyptic monsters make a killer comeback (if they ever really left), the next great origin story is currently in the works. A Quiet Place: Day One will tell the origin story of the sound-hating aliens that were introduced in 2018’s hit horror movie A Quiet Place, which was led by John Krasinski and Emily Blunt.

Krasinksi confirmed that production on the film has begun with new photos from the set, and by making a Day One pun on Day One of Day One. It works! While he won’t be directing or starring in this one, he said he “cannot wait to see what magic they conjure in this one!” Those monsters are so magical!

Perhaps the official A Quiet Place account would have tweeted the photos, but that account seems to be suspended. Twitter is going through a lot these days.

Day One will be directed by Michael Sarnoski, known for 2021’s PIG. The star-studded cast includes Lupita Nyong’o, Alex Wolff, and Stranger Things season four golden boy Joseph Quinn. Krasinski himself wrote the story, and it will be produced by Andrew Form, Brad Fuller and Michael Bay (!) so we can be guaranteed at least one really elaborate explosion in there.

While details for the new prequel are sparse, A Quiet Place follows the aftermath of a curious alien invasion where the aliens are sensitive to sound and high-pitched noises. The first two installments in the series became unexpected hits, and Part II was able to bring some of that fun alien magic back into theaters as one of the first post-lockdown movies, so clearly nothing brings people together like slimey alien beings!

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.

Before Mike and Nate Kinsella had any LIES songs, they had code names – Robyn, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Peter Gabriel. But if Mike had his way, LIES might’ve gone all in on the gated snares and Aqua Net to tailor their arena synth-pop ambitions in the image of Def Leppard. No longer beholden to Owen or American Football’s expectations of modesty and melancholy, Mike put aside his trademark twinkles and dreamed of guitarmonies upon guitarmonies – the multi-tracked riffs you might associate with “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak,” but also, say, “The Boys Are Back In Town” or most Boston songs. While the Kinsellas were working on one of the sketches from their debut album Lies, Nate remembers “that [guitarmony] came in and I do remember sinking down on the couch.” Mike does not deny the Hysteria allegations – “you and [producer] Jason [Cupp] were so mad.”

But this was just about the only point of contention between the Kinsellas in the creation of Lies – the longest, most daring and sonically complex record the cousins have ever made together and also somehow the easiest. The latter was a necessity if LIES was going to be more than just another pandemic-inspired lark. Though this is the first time Nate and Mike have been exclusive creative partners, there are many, many branches on the Kinsella Family Tree – both played in Tim Kinsella’s long-running Joan of Arc, Nate joined the JOA offshoot Make Believe and contributed to several of Mike’s albums as Owen, while also starting his own band Birthmark. But the Kinsellas naturally want LIES to be seen as explicitly distinct from American Football, which Nate joined as a touring member upon their reunion and as a full-on contributor to their 2019 album. The comparisons are inevitable and also somewhat warranted. Though Mike sings in character throughout Lies, aching melodies are unmistakable as those of Mike Kinsella. “[Nate] wanted me to be a little more gentle but I only do ‘on or off,’ I don’t have a lot of nuance,” he jokes.

More pointedly, most of Lies evolved from sessions meant to create American Football LP4 – intended as a departure from their well-received reunion records, but an American Football album all the same. “I knew we wanted to go in a new direction,” Mike states, and initial sessions yielded about 20 sketches with quintessential, searching American Football guitar melodies on top. “Oh, these could work! You can see in the future where these could live in American Football world.”

A remote workflow wouldn’t necessarily preclude a successful American Football record – their 2016 self-titled was largely conceived through Dropbox files and knocked out quickly in Omaha between family and career obligations. But as those same concerns arose throughout 2020, Mike admits “the process of trying to write with four people took its toll,” as hourlong Zoom sessions between the band would yield ideas but little tangible results. “Yeah there will be a second guitar thing, it’ll be there…or Nate would be, yeah, “I’ll add the strings and it’ll sound real lush,’” he shrugs, tapping into the “hurry up and wait” frustration familiar to anyone whose job has become reliant on committee meetings on Zoom. “There will be a thing that exists later, then what are we doing now?”

Having streamlined to a duo, LIES bypassed those production bottlenecks and the committee thinking that might’ve ruled out some of their quirkier decisions – such as the broken-glass beats and Foley effects in “Broken” or the concussive kick-drum of lead single “Resurrection.” “I did worry about the new direction starting with synthesizers,” Nate reflects. “I could see some American Football purists like, ‘what are they doing, this is terrible, they’re jumping the shark.’ It was nice to shed that and not think about it at all.”

Nate, how close were you to Mike and Tim while you were growing up?

Nate Kinsella: When we were really little, we’d see each other quite a bit for holidays. I lived in Central Illinois, Bloomington-Normal area. When I was 10, I moved to Minneapolis and that’s when they started forming Cap’n Jazz, American Football, Owen – I caught up with them later when they started touring, they’d come through Minneapolis and then I’d just show up. I was following everything they were doing, literally going on the release date and waiting at the record store for their albums to show up.

Mike Kinsella: Eventually we showed up to Minneapolis and little cousin Nate would have his own math-rock emo band that was playing this show, like, oh – “Nate fucking shreds.” At some point, you brought your bass to Thanksgiving or Christmas or something and you were rocking Jane’s Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers…“hey, cousin Nate, we should drag him into this shitty indie world that we’re in.” Cheap labor at the time.

Nate: It wasn’t until years later, when I moved to Chicago in 2003 and that’s when I got to join up with Joan of Arc. Whatever was happening, I was more than happy to jump in.

Mike: You moved to Chicago because we had a Joan of Arc US and European tour and I didn’t want to play drums. So we recruited you to play drums so I could play bass and have more fun.

Mike, was there a point where you started to really see Nate as a musician rather than “cousin Nate”?

Mike: I remember on that long Joan of Arc tour, after a couple of weeks, we’d think, “oh, this would be so cool if it was like a drum jam with the two of us,” and we built this half kit around your kit. We had drum jams and rewrote songs for the live experience. I mean, we’re into the same shit, even if it’s not the same artists, we bob our heads at the same part of songs. We feel shit the same and that was evident early on when Tim was trying to deconstruct [Joan of Arc songs], we spoke the same language.

Nate: I remember helping you out on an Owen album you recorded at your mom’s place. You wanted some help mixing and recording, so I came out for a weekend or a couple of days – that was probably the first time it was just the two of us.

Mike: At the time, I was trying to home-engineer and you were absolutely into it and went to school for it and had actual talent. But we’re both really into that part of the process, whereas there are other dudes in other bands that I’m currently in still, they just don’t understand what we’re going for on this take in the studio. Like, we don’t need to nail every little thing.

Especially as the pandemic started, I’ve seen a lot more established artists dedicate themselves to making singles or one-off projects without the expectation of turning them into albums or tours. When did LIES start to emerge as something more viable long-term?

Mike: It’s been so long since the whole thing started, I feel like we were the old guys saying, “let’s just do a bunch of singles ad nauseum. Let’s release two songs at a time for the next 18 months so we don’t have to get in the studio.” But it was too hard to press six little tiny records, so we compiled enough songs [for an album]. A bigger question was when we figured out the album could exist cohesively. There was a plan to release two songs, all inspired in different ways and the artwork would correspond – the shoegaze songs, the goth songs, the pop songs, the dark songs. That became logistically impossible. But we had enough songs that we liked where we thought, “we should absolutely keep working on these.”

Nate: Everything was in pairs already, we had that in mind from the get-go. We tried to mix everything up with the album sequence, but we kept it with how it was.

So the sequencing of Lies is essentially chronological?

Nate: I think it totally is.

Mike: With [opener] “Blemishes,” we threw everything at it. It’s a bunch of things buzzing around all over from start to finish. The second session was a reaction [to the first] – they’re acoustic and pared down a little more. Lyrically, “No Shame” is not that many lines.

The maximalism does seem to peak halfway through with “Broken.” With things like the party–horn sound that comes in, do you have a backlog of samples where you think, “where can I throw this in?” or do you search after the fact?

Nate: It’s more searching, “oh, this calls for a party horn!” I have so many Splice credits, I don’t know what to do with them. We get the feel of what’s going to happen and then we can back away and sculpt from the outside. Even “Blemishes,” all the vocals, those were after the fact, fun things to throw in. Then I had a friend record vocals over that to add a more human element to it.

Were there other artistic projects that you dedicated yourselves to during the pandemic?

Mike: A bunch of things for me – I’m gonna parent a different way, etc. It all lasts a couple of weeks and then you’re like, “I want my real life back.”

Nate: We started a project like this once before that was way looser and had no parameters and it sorta fizzled out. These all started as American Football songs, that’s where they were gonna end up and that was a project that fizzled out too.

Mike: This was the impetus for LP4. We went to Jersey and stayed at one of [Nate’s] friend’s apartment for like 40 hours and just sifted through his little synth sketches. There’s something about being in a room and making music with people live and you’re amped up and there’s immediate satisfaction. And then we’d Zoom the whole band, an hour would go by and then it’s time to go.

Once you decided that LIES would be a duo, were the Zoom sessions scheduled in advance or was it more a matter of when inspiration struck?

Mike: If enough time went by, we would plan something. Like, in two weeks, let’s spend all Sunday [working]. We get a lot done on the Zooms. But you don’t need to sit here on Zoom and watch me noodle on guitar. That’s not productive. When we meet in two weeks, I’ll have the guitar thing or I’ll send you a file.

Nate: We tried to make it as efficient as possible, because the wi-fi’s shaky. We’d set aside an entire weekend and set a cable out into the shed, just to sit down and have something not work. We’d make checklists a lot of the time, we had to figure out what our limits were.

Using that method, how long does it take to complete a LIES song?

Mike: I don’t even know if we’ve had [the album] done for a year and a half or two years. I don’t even remember when we started this shit, because of the pandemic and whatever. “Rouge Vermouth,” that’s one of my favorites – it’s not technically hard to play, I had two lines and a melody that I liked. I knew what it was supposed to be and what it would be. “Echoes,” not so easy – fuck, how did this song end up over five minutes? When I’m on my own working on something, it’s so satisfying to think, “I’m not getting anywhere, I’m going to shelve this and open another file.” And my brain’s like, “this is so easy, this melody is so easy.” It seems way less arduous to have all these different parameters on each song, American Football is like…it does live within this little world. I can come back and think, “it’s still gonna be in 11/7, it’s still gonna be frustrating.”

Nate, were there songs or even moments that made you think, “I’ve never heard that from Mike before?”

Nate: Committing to the “Camera Chimera” vocals, that sounded really awesome. Or the drum line on “Broken,” that was Mike’s idea – “I hear a marching band, do you have a marching band?” I have one, right in the computer.

Mike: It would take me four seconds to have an idea and then Nate would have to spend a month on it. “Aw, this isn’t the right marching band, this isn’t the right one!”

I recall that you brought in a bunch of local kids to do the choral part with American Football’s “Heir Apparent,” did you do something similar in finding a marching band for “Broken”?

Nate: I found some marching band samples and we went to redo it, we mixed them together. We didn’t end up hiring one. We did work with a harpist I was a big fan of, that was fun. Angel Deradoorian sang on some stuff, so did my friend Arone Dyer who sings in Buke & Gase, we were roommates and we went to high school together. Also, Miya Folick…and, oh, my wife.

Mike: You can hear her laugh at the end of “Blemishes.”

Most of the placeholder code names you had for these songs are bigger names, were there any that were more obscure or personal?

Nate: They were all big picture.

Mike: I’ll think, “oh, that part sounds like Tsunami.” In my head, I’ll think this one little thing sounds like 1996 indie rock with a girl singing even if it doesn’t sound that way at all. There has to be moments where, Nate, you’re like, “I want to put a party horn here because that’s what NNAMDÏ would do.”

Nate: My favorite sound is the opening to Dinosaur Jr.’s “Feel the Pain,” where they pull the cork out of the bottle. That’s totally my thing. We dialed that back a bit actually.

When starting a side project, I know that many artists try to set ground rules so they don’t sound like their other ones. Was anything like that in place with LIES in relation to American Football?

Mike: It was way more, “what can we do?” We could put horns, strings, harp, all these things. It’s not like we can’t do that in American Football, but there always has to be a couple of guitar melodies. Here, the drum beat could be glass being broken, we don’t have to consider, “how do we do this on tour?” Well, now we do.

The beat of “Resurrection” reminds me of the time I saw American Football do a one-off opening for Chvrches, was there an impulse to push the songs here towards those bigger, more arena-rock type sounds?

Mike: Every time. When we were in New York, Nate puts [sings the intro synth riff] down and…that was it, that buh-buh-buh was the song at the time. Well, what the fuck was that? Then I put my guitar over it and, OK, cool, that could be American Football because of the noodle guitar. But “Camera Chimera,” [sings synth riff] – that’s the song.

I appreciate how that song taught me the proper pronunciation of “chimera,” I’d been getting it wrong this whole time.

Nate: After we finished it, I got home and I asked [my wife] Jamie…how do you pronounce this word? I want to make sure we did this right.

Mike: When I write in Owen, it’s always just a little story. But this, the music was like, “fuck, we can literally do whatever we want.” I had those two words together, I don’t know what they mean, I had to work backwards. But “camera chimera,” they work with this song.

In contrast to the more straightforward storytelling of Owen, how did your approach to lyrics and vocals change to match the instrumentation of LIES?

Mike: It was sort of like a cover band. After we figured out “this sounds like the Cure” and we have all the tones, cool – what’s the darkest Robert Smith kind of shit and I’m going to sing it that way. Nate, because he doesn’t want it to be just a cover band, says, “I’m gonna put growls underneath the vocals.” He’s still making it playful and fun. “Camera Chimera” is totally Depeche Mode, funneled through me. It’s dark and sexy and generic but you’re like…it’s relatable because it’s so vague. “No Shame,” that’s the Majical Cloudz one, it’s inspired by how I felt it was taking shape. I feel like I’m just telling stories and being in character. I can’t get away with that in Owen. Once I put myself sitting in flip flops on the first album cover…eh, i’m just that guy now. no one’s gonna believe i’m someone else. I can’t come out with a leather jacket on at an Owen show. I can, but it’s probably too late.

Lies is out 3/31 via Polyvinyl. Get it here.

Upcoming LIES Tour Dates:
04/23 – Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village
04/24 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe
04/28 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
04/29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Ukie Club
04/30 – Washington, DC @ DC9

The countdown to Ghostface’s “Why I’m Leaving New York” essay begins now.

Paramount Pictures has released a new teaser for Scream VI, in which Ghostface follows Sam and Tara (played by Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, respectively) from Woodsboro to the Big Apple. Welcome to New York, it’s been waiting for you… to die — especially after Ortega’s Tara calls Ghostface a “motherf*cker.” Never a good idea. The new teaser will also play during the Super Bowl this Sunday, alongside trailers for Fast X, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

Paramount also announced a Scream VI 3D Fan Event Screening, with a “special show in 3D prior to the film’s wide release at participating theaters across the country,” as well as “special content curated for this event, plus will receive a limited-edition collector’s print designed by UK artist Doaly.” Tickets are on sale now.

Scream VI, which is directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (who made the very fun Ready or Not) and also stars Courteney Cox, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, Hayden Panettiere, Dermot Mulroney, Henry Czerny, Samara Weaving, and Tony Revolori (but not Neve Campbell), opens in theaters on March 10.

Bad Bunny, Christina Aguilera, and actor Jeremy Pope are the celebs being honored at this year’s GLAAD Awards.

Bad Bunny is earning GLAAD’s Vanguard award, intended for those who constantly present LGBTQ+ allyship. Previous Vanguard recipients include Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Cher, and Janet Jackson.

“Bad Bunny uses his role as one of the world’s most popular music artists to boldly shine a light on LGBTQ people and issues, including transgender equality and ending violence against trans women of color,” GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis shared via Variety. “By consistently advocating for our community, elevating our stories and demanding action from anti-LGBTQ leaders, Bad Bunny redefines the positive influence Latin music artists can have within the LGBTQ community, and has set an example for all artists.”

Aguilera is set to receive GLAAD’s Advocate for Change award, as she has raised over $500 million for HIV research through Mac Cosmetics. She has also been an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.

Meanwhile, Pope, who starred in FX’s show, Pose, is getting the Stephen F. Kolzak award for being a “LGBTQ media professional who has increased queer visibility and acceptance through their work,” according to the publication.

In addition, there are over 250+ nominees that are up for possible awards in the 33 categories. The 2023 GLAAD Awards will be held on March 30 at Los Angeles’ Beverly Hilton.

Paul Rudd last prepped to get into Ant-Man shape for back-to-back Marvel movies, including 2018’s Ant-Man And The Wasp (seen above) and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, in which he delivered the funniest joke of the movie while also being in fighting form. Since then, the pandemic happened, which probably saw Rudd (like many people) eat a few donuts. Rudd had to get back into the suit for the upcoming Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, so the donuts had to go. And the workouts recommenced.

As 53-year-old Rudd (who still looks about 40 at most) told Men’s Health, this time around was much harder. This sounds a lot like proof that Rudd is actually human. Losing a few pounds was definitely harder for him than it was five years prior, and this goes to show that Rudd might actually be experiencing the aging process. Here’s what he told the publication:

“I worked really hard to get back into shape for Quantumania, and I realized, Oh my God, this is so much harder than it was [for the last Ant-Man project]. I had fallen off more than I had in the past. All of a sudden my clothes fit tight. And I thought, God, this sucks. I can’t even wear these pants. So I’d say to myself, Well, I might as well just eat some of these cookies. I was irritable and self-conscious. I just wasn’t in a good mood. I really beat myself up.”

In all fairness, Rudd was also probably thinking about being up against the extremely swole Jonathan Majors. He surely works hard as well but had an edge by overlapping a bodybuilding biopic during the course of portraying Kang, the MCU’s newest big bad, who is going over well with critics. Yet Rudd did succeed at putting down the cookies and dialing up his workouts. We’ll soon see the results when Ant-Man 3 arrives in theaters on February 17.

(Via Men’s Health)

After the 2023 Grammys this past weekend, Madonna (who presented an award on stage) became a trending topic on Twitter as some users commented on her appearance. Now, Madonna has responded.

In an Instagram post shared last night (February 7), she addressed the “Close-up photos of me Taken with a long lens camera By a press photographer that Would distort anyone’s face,” writing in part, “I have never apologized for any of the creative choices I have made nor the way that I look or dress and I’m not going to start. I have been degraded by the media since the beginning of my career but I understand that this is all a test and I am happy to do the trailblazing so that all the women behind me can have an easier time in the years to come.”

She concluded, “In the words of Beyonce ‘ You-won’t break my soul’, I look forward to many more years of subversive behavior -pushing boundaries-Standing up to the patriarchy -and Most of all enjoying my life. Bow down b*tches!”

Find Madonna’s post below.

“It was an honor for me to Introduce.
Kim Petras and Sam Smith at the Grammys. I wanted to give the last award which was Album of the year, but I thought it was more important that I present the first trans- woman performing at the Grammys– a History making moment!! And on top of that she won a Grammy!! [heart emoji]

Instead of focusing on what I said in my speech which was about giving thanks for the fearlessness of artists like Sam and Kim- Many people chose to only talk about Close-up photos of me Taken with a long lens camera By a press photographer that Would distort anyone’s face!!

Once again I am caught in the glare of ageism and misogyny That permeates the world we live in.
A world that refuses to celebrate women past the age of 45 And feels the need to punish her If she continues to be strong willed, hard-working and adventurous.

I have never apologized for any of the creative choices I have made nor the way that I look or dress and I’m not going to start. I have been degraded by the media since the beginning of my career but I understand that this is all a test and I am happy to do the trailblazing so that all the women behind me can have an easier time in the years to come.
In the words of Beyonce ‘ You-won’t break my soul’,

I look forward to many more years of subversive behavior -pushing boundaries-Standing up to the patriarchy -and Most of all enjoying my life.

Bow down b*tches!”

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

On April 5, 1984, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored his 31,420th point in the NBA, which broke the league’s all-time scoring record previously held by Wilt Chamberlain. For decades, that record felt unbreakable, but in recent years, it became clear that LeBron James would likely eclipse the mark one day. Well, that day was yesterday (February 7): In the Los Angeles Lakers’ losing effort against the Oklahoma City Thunder, James made the record-breaking shot near the end of the third quarter and put himself atop the all-time list.

Now, the NBA icon has received congratulatory message from music stars like Drake, Rihanna, Snoop Dogg, and Kendrick Lamar.

Various celebrities recorded videos congratulating James on his historic achievement, with Snoop saying in his, “In the words of the great Snoop Dogg: ‘La-da-da-da-da!’ It’s the one and only LBJ: LeBron James! Great work, baby. Appreciate the love. Love what you do, keep doing what you’re doing, more buckets, more points, more love.”

Drake said in his clip, seemingly filmed at James’ high school gym, “LeBron: what a legendary night in NBA history. You’re breaking the all-time scoring record, and to honor that, I had to come back to the place that it all started: Akron, Ohio. Every journey has its beginning and tonight…” As he spoke, though, the illusion was broken thanks to a green screen malfunction, revealing a club environment behind him. He continued, “I lied, I lied to you. I’m actually still at the club in Miami, but definitely all the girls say congrats, though, right girls? Congrats, right?”

In a more straightforward video, Lamar said, “To see you with this type of accomplishment, it always give a confirmation of, you can be great no matter where you come from.”

In her tribute, Rihanna said, “It is important to recognize greatness and great accomplishments. […] If course, you’re no stranger to breaking records, but this record, this is one to be more than just acknowledged: this is one to be celebrated.”

Bad Bunny didn’t record a video, but he was there in person to give LeBron a hug after the record was broken.

Meanwhile, on Twitter, John Legend wrote, “Congratulations @KingJames !!!! This man has been in the spotlight and burdened with the highest expectations since he was a teenager. And he’s done nothing but exceed those expectations and build a historic legacy. What an incredible accomplishment!”

Check out the videos above and find some other tweets about James’ accomplishment below.

For years, Shaquille O’Neal has told the story of how he never heard from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar while he was on the Lakers, something that motivated Shaq in his time in L.A. to prove to Kareem he was one of the greats.

That disconnect between two of the best centers ever has apparently weighed on Kareem’s mind for some time, and on Tuesday night he wanted to publicly make some amends with Shaq and did so in a touching moment on TNT’s postgame show. Abdul-Jabbar joined the Tuesday night TNT desk to discuss LeBron James passing him as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, but took time at the end to make sure Shaq knew that he never had a problem with him and that he wanted Shaq to know that he loved him and appreciated his game and how he dominated.

It’s about as vulnerable a moment as you’ll get between two legends of the game on television, and it’s a pretty incredible thing to watch. You can tell how much it means to Shaq, who makes sure Kareem knows he doesn’t harbor any beef with the legend, but it’s clearly something that’s weighed on him for some time. For Kareem to ensure he had a chance to say this publicly to Shaq takes quite a bit, and I think for Shaq in particular, who lamented how long it took for he and Kobe to reconcile after Bryant’s passing, hearing this from someone he admired so much and never quite felt that same love back meant a lot.

In case you somehow hadn’t heard by now, LeBron James entered Tuesday’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder needing 36 points to break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career NBA scoring record of 38,387. And in case you hadn’t heard the follow-up to that news, he broke it late in the third quarter and ended with 38 points on the night.

After the game, James fielded questions and praise from TNT’s panel of Shaquille O’Neal, Candace Parker, Jamal Crawford and Adam Lefkoe. As the postgame interview wound down, James’ former teammate, O’Neal, directed a final question toward the NBA’s new king of scoring: Does this accomplishment make him the greatest to ever play?

“I said at the beginning of this show, I wish that I would’ve had this moment, the chance to pass up Kareem,” O’Neal began. “You now have passed up Kareem. I know what my attitude would’ve been. Does this now make you the greatest player of all time? Are you now the GOAT?”

Initially, James chuckled at O’Neal’s inquiry and didn’t address it directly.

“I’m gonna let everybody else decide who that is,” James said. “But it’s great barbershop talk.”

O’Neal wouldn’t allow for that.

“No, no. I wanna hear you say it, Bron Bron,” O’Neal interjected with a smile. “Say it with your chest, Bron, Bron.”

Finally, James relented cautiously.

“I’m gonna take myself against anybody who’s ever played this game,” James said. “But everyone’s gonna have their favorite. Everyone’s gonna decide who their favorite is. But I know what I’ve brought to the table. … I always feel like I’m the best to ever play this game, but there’s so many other great ones that I’m happy to just be a part of their journey.”

Amid a night full of celebration for James, wrapping up his on-court presence with some playful commentary from a former teammate was quite fun. The two clearly enjoyed it, especially O’Neal, who delighted in pressing his friend on the topic.