Month: June 2023

Alaina Marie Scott may be Eminem’s oldest daughter, but she went with another rapper’s classic to celebrate her recent nuptials with longtime boyfriend Matt Moeller. In a post on Instagram, the new Mrs. Moeller showed off her ring before and after she said her “I dos” in a Reel soundtracked by Jay-Z’s 2003 Black Album interlude “Public Service Announcement.” It’s a fitting selection, as Jay opens up the track by demanding, “All me to reintroduce myself.”

You certainly can’t fault her for going with Jay over Em, considering the contrasting content of their music. While “PSA” isn’t exactly romantic, could you imagine her using “My Name Is” in the reel above? It just wouldn’t work.

Scott announced her engagement back in December 2021, posting photos of Matt popping the question at the rooftop Monarch Club in her native Detroit. Meanwhile, in March of this year, Eminem’s younger daughter Hallie Jade got engaged to her boyfriend Evan McClintock as well, setting up another addition to the Shady family tree.

While Alaina, who Em adopted more than 20 years ago according to the Los Angeles Times, tends to keep a lower profile as a travel influencer, Hallie has embraced her peripheral fame, launching the podcast Just A Little Shady detailing her experiences in and around the music industry.

Finding a classic bourbon isn’t hard. Finding a great classic bourbon that’s actually worth your cash is… a tad tougher. There are a lot of old-school brands on the shelf and each one has a ton of expressions, adding to the confusion of what to actually buy. Since it’s National Bourbon Day, I’m going to run a blind taste test of 10 stone-cold classic bourbon labels and crown an absolute winner to help you sort through it all.

Before I dive in, let’s get a handle on “classic” here. I’m looking squarely at heritage brands from Kentucky. Yes, bourbon can be made anywhere in the United States, and there are “craft” bourbon brands that have been around long enough to be modern classics. But we all know that Kentucky is the heart of bourbon.

I’m also looking at brands that are iconic and instantly recognizable. Every single bottle I’ve chosen for this blind tasting (organized by my lovely and very patient wife) is a household name. Even if you don’t know whiskey all that well, you’ve probably heard the words “Jim Beam” at some point.

I’ve also taken this a step up from the bottom-shelf expressions from classic bourbon brands. Look, Evan Williams Black Label or Jim Beam White Label or Wild Turkey 80 Proof are fine for mixing with soda. They’re not going to win any blind tests though. So these are the bottles that are still classic but a step above the entry-level stuff. Basically, I’m looking at the wheated bourbons, the bottled in bonds, the little bit higher proofs, and the slightly older age statements while still being ver findable and affordable.

That makes our lineup today the following classic bourbons:

• Wild Turkey 101 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Bulleit Bourbon Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Weller The Original Wheated Bourbon Special Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Maker’s Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky
• Elijah Craig Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Woodford Reserve Double Oak Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Jim Beam Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Eagle Rare Aged 10 Years Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 9 Years
• Evan Williams Bottled-In-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

When it comes to the ranking after the blind taste test, it’s all about taste. Whichever pours run the deepest and offer the most satisfaction while tasting like a classic bourbon (let’s be fair, these all taste like “classic bourbons”) are going to rank higher. Let’s dive in!

• The 100 Best Bourbon Whiskeys From Kentucky, Ranked
• The 100 Best Bourbon Whiskeys Of 2022, Ranked
• The Absolute Best Bottle Of Whiskey From Each Of The 50 States
• Our Head Drinks Critic Reveals The Expensive Bourbons He *Won’t* Pay Above Retail For
• The Absolute Best Bourbons Between $50-$60, Ranked

Part 1 — The Classic Bourbon Blind Tasting

Taste 1

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Sweet and buttery toffee is countered by burnt orange, old oak, and a hint of cumin and red chili pepper flakes on the nose.

Palate: The palate leans into soft vanilla pudding cups with a touch of butterscotch swirled in next to orange oils, nougat, and a hint of menthol tobacco that’s just kissed with chili and cherry.

Finish: The midpalate tobacco warmth gives way to a finish that’s full of woody winter spices and a whisper of Cherry Coke next to orange/clove by way of a dark chocolate bar flaked with salt.

Initial Thoughts:

This is about as classic as it gets with a spicy/cherry edge that’s iconically Wild Turkey. The spice does lean more heavily toward the end, which means this has a great finish. I like this one.

Taste 2

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose is just classic bourbon — cherry tobacco, apple cider doughnuts, plenty of cinnamon, eggnog, and a little grassy.

Palate: The spice on the palate is squarely in the cinnamon category with creamy vanilla, more warm fruity tobacco, and a hint of orchard bark lurking in the background.

Finish: The end is warm but fades pretty quickly, leaving you with soft oak, dark spice, brown sugar, and a whisper of sweet and creamy grits.

Initial Thoughts:

This isn’t quite as bold as the last pour but does have a really good balance. It fades pretty quickly but delivers plenty to enjoy throughout.

Taste 3

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a sense of old oak next to sweet cherries, vanilla cookies, and that Buffalo Trace leathery vibe with a hint of spiced tobacco lurking underneath.

Palate: The palate has a sharp texture before malted vanilla ice cream over a hot apple pie cut with brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and walnuts next to Frosted Raisin Bran takes over.

Finish: The end adds sweet cherry to the tart apple and layers it into a light tobacco leaf with a mild sense of old musty barrel warehouses with a hint of fall leaves outside but fades super fast.

Initial Thoughts:

This is 100% a Weller. The leatheriness on the nose and the earthiness on the finish are dead giveaways. This is great but fades away so quickly that it almost disappears.

Taste 4

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose has classic hints of caramel and vanilla with a grassy underbelly next to soft cherry, hints of oak, and a touch of apple orchard.

Palate: That grassiness becomes vaguely floral as slightly spiced caramel apples arrive, along with a chewy mouthfeel that leads towards a soft mineral vibe — kind of like wet granite.

Finish: The end holds onto the fruit and sweetness as the oak and dried grass stay in your senses but fade into proofing almost instantly.

Initial Thoughts:

This is also clearly wheated but Maker’s — that instant fade out is too fast and clearly that whisky. It’s very solid until then though.

Taste 5

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a light sense of rickhouse wood beams next to that mild taco seasoning on the nose with caramel apples, vanilla ice cream scoops, and a hint of fresh mint with a sweet/spicy edge.

Palate: The palate opens with a seriously smooth vanilla base with some winter spice (especially cinnamon and allspice) next to a hint of grain and apple pie filling.

Finish: The end leans towards the woodiness with a hint of broom bristle and minty tobacco lead undercut by that smooth vanilla.

Initial Thoughts:

This is another classic spicy/fruity bourbon that has some serious depth.

Taste 6

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a welcoming aroma of marzipan, blackberry, toffee, and fresh honey next to a real sense of pitchy, dry firewood.

Palate: The taste drills down on those notes as the sweet marzipan becomes more choco-hazelnut, the berries become increasingly dried and apple-y, the toffee becomes almost burnt, and the wood softens to a cedar bark.

Finish: A rich spicy and chewy tobacco arrives late as the vanilla gets super creamy and the fruit and honey combine on the slow fade.

Initial Thoughts:

This is a pretty big standout. There’s just more going on here thanks to the nuttiness and honey. It also has a nice long tail on the finish that actually lasts for a while. This is a good whiskey, full stop. It’s probably Woodford.

Taste 7

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Vanilla pound cake and salted caramel are countered by spicy cherry tobacco, mulled wine vibes, and dark chocolate cut with orange zest and a hint of corn husk.

Palate: The palate brings more orange oils with a mild sticky toffee pudding feel next to more spicy cherry tobacco and a hint of coconut cream pie.

Finish: The end amps up the cherry toward (good) fountain Cherry Coke with a hint of back porch wicker rocking chair, cigar humidor, and a hint more of that dark chocolate.

Initial Thoughts:

Deep cherry like this can only be Jim Beam. This is good but very … normal.

Taste 8

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Old leather boots, burnt orange rinds, oily sage, old oak staves, and buttery toffee round out the nose with a fleeting hint of walking through a fruit orchard on a brisk fall morning.

Palate: Marzipan covered in dark chocolate opens the palate as floral honey and ripe cherry lead to a winter cake vibe full of raisins, dark spices, campfire roasted nuts, and toffee sauce just kissed with salt.

Finish: The end has a balance of all things winter treats as the marzipan returns and the winter spice amp up alongside a hint of spicy cherry tobacco and old cedar cut with creamy eggnog and dry orchard barks.

Initial Thoughts:

This is another Buffalo Trace whiskey — that leatheriness is so distinct. This is also f*cking delicious, long-lasting, and deep. I like this one a lot.

Taste 9

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on this feels classic with a sense of rich vanilla pods, apple cider-soaked cinnamon sticks, buttered and salted popcorn, and a good dose of cherry syrup with a hint of cotton candy.

Palate: The palate mixes soft almond, orange, and vanilla into cinnamon sticky buns with a hint of sour cherry soda that leads to a nice Kentucky hug on the mid-palate.

Finish: That warm hug fades toward black cherry root beer, old leather boots, porch wicker, and a sense of dried cherry/cinnamon tobacco packed into an old pine box.

Initial Thoughts:

That cherry is so Beam but so much deeper. Nuttiness, wicker, leather, and spice all add a lot to this one, making it taste far more interesting. And it lasts a lot longer on the finish, which is a big plus.

Taste 10

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a soft nose at play with mild chili spice next to creamy vanilla, caramel-dipped apples, and plenty of nutmeg.

Palate: The palate has a minor note of cornbread muffins next to cherry-vanilla tobacco with a dash of leather and toffee.

Finish: The end leans into some fresh gingerbread with a vanilla frosting but fades pretty quickly, leaving you with a hint of corn husks and cherry root beer where the ice has fully melted in the glass.

Initial Thoughts:

There’s a good balance here but it just fades out so fast and leaves you feeling a little cheap, you know, like an Evan Williams.

Part 2 — The Classic Bourbon Ranking

10. Evan Williams Bottled-In-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 10

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $19

The Whiskey:

Look, Heaven Hill makes great whiskey, especially inexpensive bottled in bonds. This “b-i-b” is tailored for the Evan Williams flavor profile. Still, this is Heaven Hill, so we’re talking about the same mash bill, same warehouses, and same blending team as beloved bourbons like Elijah Craig and Heaven Hill releases. This is simply built to match a higher-end Evan Williams vibe.

Bottom Line:

This tasted cheap. Now, mind you, that doesn’t mean it tasted bad. It tastes nice all things considered, and is very clearly a classic bourbon. It’s more that this tasted like something that you mix with more than anything else.

9. Maker’s Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky — Taste 4

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $24

The Whisky:

This is Maker’s signature expression made with Red winter wheat and aged seasoned Ozark oak for six to seven years. This expression’s whiskey is sourced from only 150 barrels (making this a “small batch”). Those barrels are then blended and proofed with Kentucky limestone water before bottling and dipping in their iconic red wax.

Bottom Line:

This tasted really good but had the weakest finish overall. It never once felt cheap or thin though. It really felt like you should be making old fashioneds or Manhattans with it.

8. Bulleit Bourbon Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 2

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $32

The Whiskey:

This whiskey embraces a high-rye mash bill that’s comprised of 68% corn, 28% rye, and 4% malted barley. The juice is then rested for six years before blending, cutting down to proof, and barreling.

Bottom Line:

This just tasted good. Had it not faded out so quickly on the finish, it would have ranked higher. Still, this is perfectly fine as a shooter, mixer, or table whiskey pour.

7. Weller The Original Wheated Bourbon Special Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 3

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $24

The Whiskey:

This is a classic wheated bourbon from Buffalo Trace, which doesn’t publish any of its mash bills. Educated guesses put the wheat percentage of these mash bills at around 16 to 18%, which is pretty average. The age of the barrels on this blend is also unknown. Overall, we know this is a classic wheated bourbon, and … that’s about it.

Bottom Line:

I liked this but, again, this felt like something you make cocktails with more than sip. Still, there was a good overall balance from beginning to end, just without anything really exciting going on.

6. Elijah Craig Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 5

ABV: 47%

Average Price: $25

The Whiskey:

This is Elijah Craig’s entry-point bottle. The mash is corn-focused, with more malted barley than rye. The whiskey is then rendered from “small batches” of eight to 12-year-old barrels to create this proofed-down version of the iconic brand.

Bottom Line:

The longer aging in this “entry point” expression from Elijah Craigh really does shine through and helps this stand out as something more than “average.” That aside, this just tastes good and is purely classic from top to bottom. I can really see sipping this over a rock or mixing it into my favorite cocktails easily.

5. Jim Beam Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 7

ABV: 54%

Average Price: $24

The Whiskey:

Each of these Jim Beam bottlings is pulled from single barrels that hit just the right spot of taste, texture, and drinkability, according to the master distillers at Beam. That means this whiskey is pulled from less than 1% of all barrels in Beam’s warehouses, making this a very special bottle at a bafflingly affordable price.

Bottom Line:

This was really good and classic through and through. It didn’t quite stick the landing but everything else was so dialed and tasty that it didn’t really matter as much. This is a good pour for everyday use over ice or in cocktails.

4. Wild Turkey 101 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 1

ABV: 50.5%

Average Price: $19

The Whiskey:

A lot of Wild Turkey’s character comes from the hard and deep char they use on their oak barrels. 101 starts with a high-rye mash bill that leans into the wood and aging, having spent six years in the cask. A little of that soft Kentucky limestone water is added to cool it down a bit before bottling.

Bottom Line:

This was just bolder. It finished super strong. It tasted classic. Drink it however you like to drink your whiskey. You won’t be disappointed.

3. Woodford Reserve Double Oak Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 6

ABV: 45.2%

Average Price: $49

The Whiskey:

This expression takes standard Woodford Bourbon and gives it a finishing touch. The six to eight-year-old bourbon is blended and moved into new barrels that have been double-toasted but only lightly charred. The whiskey spends a final nine months resting in those barrels before proofing and bottling.

Bottom Line:

This is where we get into the interesting and truly standout pours. This had so much more going on, stuck the landing, and tasted really fine. I can see sipping this anytime over a big rock and being really happy.

2. Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 9 Years — Taste 9

ABV: 50%

Buy Here: $45 (one-liter)

The Whiskey:

This is Jim Beam’s small batch entry point into the wider world of Knob Creek. The juice is the low-rye mash aged for nine years in new oak in Beam’s vast warehouses. The right barrels are then mingled and cut down to 100 proof before being bottled in new, wavy bottles.

Bottom Line:

This had a kick to it that sticks with you. You feel this pour well after the glass is empty in all the best ways. I would lean toward over ice or in whiskey-forward cocktails for sure. You’ll get some serious depth with this one.

1. Eagle Rare Aged 10 Years Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 8

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $51

The Whiskey:

This might be one of the most beloved (and still accessible) bottles from Buffalo Trace. This whiskey is made from their very low rye mash bill. The hot juice is then matured for at least ten years in various parts of the warehouse. The final mix comes down to barrels that hit just the right notes to make them “Eagle Rare.” Finally, this one is proofed down to a fairly low 90 proof.

Bottom Line:

This was the clearest and most deeply hewn bourbon by far. Everything works in this whiskey. It also tasted like something special. That really helped it stand above the rest, kind of by far. Pour this over a big rock and let the day melt away.

Part 3 — Final Thoughts on the Classic Bourbons

Yes, Eagle Rare really is that good. Buy it. Hell, buy a case and enjoy it for the rest of the year as your house pour.

That said, there really wasn’t a bad whiskey in the mix. They all had their place. If I was reaching for a cocktail whiskey, I’d go with the Knob Creek. If I was reaching for an inexpensive everyday pour, I’d probably go with the Jim Beam. And if I couldn’t find the Eagle Rare, I’d get the Woodford. You can find it everywhere at a great price. You can’t beat that.

Despite facing serious charges over his mishandling of classified documents, Donald Trump held a celebratory event on Tuesday night just hours after being arraigned in Miami. As always, the former president was full of usual bluster, which over the past few days has involved lobbing attacks at special counsel Jack Smith as well as accusing Joe Biden of having boxes of documents stored in Chinatown? (Your guess is as good as ours on that one.)

However, according to Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly, the former president’s behavior is a telltale sign that he’s quaking in his golf pants.

Via The Washington Post:

“He’s scared s—less,” said John Kelly, his former chief of staff. “This is the way he compensates for that. He gives people the appearance he doesn’t care by doing this. For the first time in his life, it looks like he’s being held accountable. Up until this point in his life, it’s like, I’m not going to pay you; take me to court. He’s never been held accountable before.”

According to legal experts, Trump should be scared. Even Fox News has called the indictment against him both “damning” and “overwhelming” in the amount of evidence that it presents. Not only that, but the Miami indictment might just be the start of Trump’s legal jeopardy.

Legal analyst Andrew Weismann told MSNBC that the evidence of Trump mishandling documents at his golf resort in Bedminster is missing from the current indictment. That could mean that the special counsel is looking to file another indictment in New Jersey, which could hit Trump for the dissemination of top secret intel that occurred in the state.

That would be the military plans for an “attack on Iran” that Trump bragged about having in his possession in the recording obtained by CNN. A criminal genius America’s former president is not.

(Via The Washington Post)

In No Hard Feelings, Jennifer Lawrence plays a broke 30-something who responds to a Craigslist ad posted by concerned parents asking for someone to “date” their teenage son before he goes to college. (It’s based on a true story.) Part of the movie involves both Lawrence and co-star Andrew Barth Feldman taking off their clothes to go swimming. What was the Oscar winner’s process for undressing? “I took a deep breath and then I disrobed.” Fair enough!

Barth Feldman told People that appearing nude on camera is “a weird and uncomfortable thing to do for any human being on the planet Earth,” but “it was so incredibly safe. Everyone was so kind, constantly checking in that we were OK.”

The actors’ scenes in the buff come when Maddie takes Percy skinny-dipping at night, and their clothes are stolen by other beachgoers. Without giving too much away, Percy winds up clinging to the hood of a car. “I never second guessed it,” Feldman tells People of his nude scene filmed atop a car. “Much like everything in this movie, you just have to do it, and then it will be done.”

In a way, the skinny-dipping scene brought Lawrence and Barth Feldman closer together. “I love him so much,” she said, to which he replied, “I’m so thankful that I get to do it with you. And with this story that I care so much about. It’s like it’s a weirdly perfect storm. It’s the best.”

No Hard Feelings opens in theaters on June 23rd.

(Via People)

It’s National Bourbon Day! That means that it’s a great day to make a killer bourbon cocktail. Hell, let’s not just make one cocktail, let’s make a batch that we can enjoy for the rest of the week. A batched Boulevardier, to be precise.

I love boulevardiers with bourbon. The sweetness and spice of the good bourbon really shine through the bitter Campari and sweet smoothness of good vermouth. It all just makes sense. It’s also a flavor bomb that travels through your senses from familiar and sweet to biting and bold to soft and almost creamy (especially when batched). Moreover, boulevardiers are the perfect candidate for cocktail batching. There are no components that can go off when you store them and it’s super easy to figure out the ratio/measurements when ratching this up from a single serving to a batch.

The key to any batch though is the water. Don’t forget to cut your batched cocktail with water. But we’ll get to that. Let’s dive in a make a big ol’ batch of one of the best bourbon cocktails there is!

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• How To Make A Batched Old Fashioned Just In Time For Super Bowl Sunday
• The Old Pal Is The Only Whiskey Cocktail You Need Right Now

Batched Boulevardier

Ingredients:

• 10 oz. bourbon
• 10 oz. sweet vermouth
• 10 oz. Campari
• 6 oz. water
• Large ice cubes
• Lemon peels
• Orange peels

The key to any bourbon cocktail — batched or not — is to use a really good bourbon that you love drinking. I’m using Michter’s Small Batch Bourbon here because 1) it’s delicious on its own, 2) it makes a killer cocktail, and 3) it’s bold enough to stand up to the big flavors in this Negroni variation.

I also like using French vermouth with this because it’s a little softer and more floral. It’s not as syrupy as the Italian sweet vermouths, which are much more suited to fall/winter mixing. Noilly Prat is my go to.

And yes, you need to add water to a batched cocktail. When you mix or shake a cocktail, you’re adding water by diluting the drink while chilling it. You need to add the water to the batch so that you can simply pour this over ice and you’re done. This recipe is ready to drink.

Lastly, I like orange and lemon oils over my boulevardier. That’s a taste thing (it’s also how we served them at Vicotria Bar in Berlin — so it’s a habit thing for me too). The lemon brightens while the orange deepens. You can use one or the other if you’re not into both. But, trust me, both are better.

What You’ll Need:

• Pitcher
• Measuring cup
• Barspoon
• 1-liter bottle

Method:

• Add the bourbon, sweet vermouth, Campari, and water to a pitcher and stir a few times.
• Funnel the mix into a waiting bottle and chill for at least an hour.
• Pour four ounces of the boulevardier over a large ice cube in a rocks glass, expressed lemon and orange oils over the cocktail, and discard.
• Serve.

Bottom Line:

What I love about batching boulevardiers is that they get this creamy mouthfeel that really elevates the drink. You can get that by stirring individual cocktails for sure, but it takes longer. This is truly a pour-over ready-to-drink cocktail that rocks.

The palate is this wonderful mix of dark orchard fruit that’s cut with cinnamon and allspice that tumbles toward sweet bitter orange, candied lemon, dried lavender, and refined sweetness. It hits so softly at first then builds towards this bold and flavor-bomb finish that begs you to go back for more. Plus, that mouthfeel/texture is just glorious. This is a winner, folks.

The best part is that you have 1 liter of Boulevardier at the end. At four-ounce pours, that should give you nine cocktails to enjoy. Cheers!

Rootin’ tootin’ Lauren Boebert is attempting to move on from missing an incredibly crucial vote before claiming that she purposely skipped it as a “protest.” Of course, video evidence of a scrambling Boebert proved otherwise, so she’s now doing her best to ignore that fiasco (although she’s cleared out plenty of time in her schedule to complain about her hero’s indictment for the second time).

Part of that ignoring tactic apparently involves insulting Oversight Committee witnesses. That’s unfortunately what happened to NYU professor Sally Katzen in a hearing that did not go well on multiple fronts. First, Boebert refused to let Katzen continue her train of thought by continuing to insist, “It is my time.”

For unknown reasons, Boebert decided to mention the reported worth of Katzen’s home, which of course left the witness aghast at why this was relevant or warranted behavior at all. In response to this, Rep. Jamie Raskin remarked, “An insult is not a substitute for an argument.”

Then Rep. Jasmine Crockett took over, and she was not amused by her colleague’s antics:

“I do come prepared for committee, and then there’s always someone from this side who does something that throws me off, so… Oh, Jesus… First of all, let me apologize because that was uncalled for. Let me do what she would never do, which is to be an adult in this room or in this chamber. I am going to start with some nonsense she was trying to spew and unlike Ms. Boebert, I am legally trained, and I passed a few bar exams, and I also legislated before I got here.”

As a result, Twitter users would like to report “a murder”…

Daft Punk hung up their robot helmets and officially broke up years ago, but they’ve been in the news lately as they celebrate the tenth anniversary of their final album, Random Access Memories. The campaign has included a scavenger hunt and previously unreleased songs, and now they’re rolling out a series of mini-documentaries, focused on the collaborators who helped bring the album to life.

The duo started sharing installments, which run from 7 to 12 minutes in length, last week and have posted new videos daily since. There are seven episodes as of this post, and in a recent one, Pharrell reminisces about what it was like to first meet and work with the duo.

As DMY notes, the interview clips were originally recorded in 2013, during the making of the album. In the video, Pharrell explained that he first saw the duo (“the robots,” as he refers to them throughout) at a Madonna party, where Pharrell expressed a keen interest in working with the pair. Eventually, they met up in Paris, where Pharrell noted that he was in a Nile Rodgers phase at the moment. Daft Punk then played Pharrell a song they were working on, which had guitar from Rodgers. (The song? “Get Lucky.”)

Pharrel then noted that the duo gave him a tablet dissolved in water, which gave him a burst of energy. By the time he got back on the plane, though, Pharrell had “forgotten everything,” which had him wondering if the pair pulled a Men In Black memory erasure on him.

Watch the Pharrell video above and find the other mini-doc installments on the Daft Punk YouTube channel.

Kesha has addressed a certain viral video from 2017. In the clip, Kesha is seen on the red carpet of a charity event for the David Lynch Foundation, where actor and comedian Jerry Seinfeld is also in attendance. Kesha approaches Seinfeld, in hopes that he would give her a hug, but Seinfeld, who was in the middle of being interviewed, rejected the embrace.

In a recent episode of The Best Show With Tom Scharpling, she shared a breakdown of the “really sad” moment. She recalled to the house how David Lynch invited her to participate in a charity event.

“I was in the middle of tour, I was exhausted,” she said, “but I really love David Lynch and I heard that Jerry Seinfeld was going to be there. […] I used to take my computer, when there was the CD, and I’d carry it around the world internationally, the little DVDs. […] When it got bumpy on planes, I’d pop in Seinfeld and I’d be like, ‘Everything’s OK in the world’, and watch my buddy.”

She continued by noting that she was looking forward to seeing someone who had brought her such joy over the years. However, the meeting did not go as she imagined.

“Then I get to the f*cking charity event and I got really excited because he brings me peace and love and all things good in the universe, and then he didn’t hug me in front of cameras,” she said. “And it was the most depressing, and hilarious, but also so sad. […] It was like the saddest moment of my life.”

In an interview with Extra taken around the time of the event, Seinfeld explained that he is not one “to hug a total stranger,” though the two did have a laugh about it later.

When Apple unveiled its highly questionable (and wildly expensive) new virtual reality headset, the Vision Pro, the almost overwhelming reaction on social media was that the device looked like something straight out of Black Mirror.

Thanks to the headset’s heavy use of augmented reality, or AR, which blends video calls and TV shows or movies with actual reality, the device already presents a disturbing level of dystopian possibilities out of the gate. But don’t take our word of it. Turns out, Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker couldn’t help but have the same exact reaction as everybody else.

“It’s weird, it’s really weird,” Brooker recently told Wired about the Apple Vision Pro. “One of my instincts when I saw that was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s so Black Mirror.’ We haven’t got anything quite like that in this season — but then that’s because we did it! We did it all years ago.”

Brooker is, of course, referring to the fan-favorite Black Mirror episode “The Entire History of You” written by Succession creator Jesse Armstrong. The story revolves around an eye implant that allows Toby Kebell’s characters to record and replay everything he sees, which goes bleakly wrong as Black Mirror episodes warning of the perils of tech so often do.

The Vision Pro isn’t the only recent tech innovation that Brooker has had words about. The showrunner recently opened up about his adventures with ChatGPT, the AI technology that’s been touted as an apocalyptic event for the writing world. Brooker, however, was not impressed.

“The first thing I did was type ‘generate Black Mirror episode’ and it comes up with something that, at first glance, reads plausibly, but on second glance, is sh*t,” Brooker told Empire. “Because all it’s done is look up all the synopses of Black Mirror episodes, and sort of mush them together.”

That said, Brooker did appreciate ChatGPT for teaching him that he writes way too many episodes about people being trapped inside a computer. He’s gonna try not to do that so much.

Black Mirror Season 6 premieres June 15 on Netflix.

(Via Wired)

Knocked Loose dropped two new singles: “Deep In The Willow” and “Everything Is Quiet Now.” The hardcore band’s latest drop finds them going full-throttle in some fun and creative music videos — ahead of their next album, Upon Loss.

“‘Deep in the Willow’ and ‘Everything is Quiet Now’ are a reminder that we are heavy, intense, and extreme,” lead singer Bryan Garris shared in a statement. “Some elements come and go, but those will never change. After ‘A Tear in the Fabric of Life’ we were inspired to see how much art we could incorporate moving forward — which led us to a style of video we’ve never attempted or approached.”

“Taking myself specifically far outside of my comfort zone and pushing the boundaries on how I’ve been seen in the past was a creative experience I will never forget,” he added. “This video wouldn’t be what it is without the collaboration with Eric Richter, someone we’ve admired for a while. And the songs wouldn’t be what they are without [producer] Drew Fulk, a new friend and creative ear in the entire process.”

Fans can expect to catch Knocked Loose at Bonnaroo this weekend — and other tour dates throughout the summer. Find more information here.

Check out “Deep In The Willow” and “Everything Is Quiet Now” above.