Month: June 2023

This week Steven and Ian reach back to a momentous year in music and both of their lives: 2013. One man discovered the joys of Phish and jam bands that year. And the other man fell hard for the burgeoning emo revival. Somehow, they both managed to also listen to music that wasn’t Phish or emo. And we discuss a lot of that music in this episode.

Before we get to that, the guys talk about the upcoming tour pairing emo legends The Hotelier with Foxing, which is a big deal in Ian’s world. But will audiences turn out? They also answer a listener question about The Idol in comparison to another poorly reviewed HBO show about the music business, Vinyl. Steven has seen both shows and he has some thoughts. (Also, the conversation also drifts back to Tulsa King, as it often does on this show.)

Finally, Steven and Ian get to 2013. Our categories include “Most 2023 Album Released In 2013 and “Most 2013 Album Released In 2013” along with more straightforward fare like “Most Underrated.” They also try to figure out if there’s a difference between the “best” and “favorite” albums for the year.

In Recommendation Corner, Ian goes to bat for hardcore favorites Militarie Gun while Steven praises U.K. singer-songwriter Hamish Hawk.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 144 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

Late this week, the Coast Guard confirmed what many suspected about the recent Titanic submersible voyage launched by Oceangate. Upon the discovery of a debris field, it followed that all five passengers perished when the vessel imploded while descending toward the Atlantic Ocean floor.

The saddest aspect of this tragedy arose when a relative revealed that 19-year-old Suleman Dawood was “terrified” about the doomed voyage and didn’t want to go. He relented and did so as a Father’s Day gesture toward his dad, Shahzada Dawood. Now, another prospective passenger — who was the object of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush’s sales pitches — revealed that he averted danger after being wooed for the same $250,000-per-head voyage.

Via Page Six, Jay Bloom, a property finance mogul, received a sales pitch from Rush, who had been sending solicitations back in February. Then in April, Rush offered a “last-minute price” of $150,000 for Bloom and his son to take the trip, and Bloom declined after having already expressed safety concerns for what was intended as a May voyage. That dive got postponed until this past weekend with, and the spaces turned down by Bloom were occupied by Suleman and Shahzada Dawood.

On Facebook, Bloom wrote about the “very wrong” belief of Stockton, who insisted that the dive would be “safer than crossing the street”:

I expressed safety concerns and Stockton told me:
“While there’s obviously risk it’s way safer than flying in a helicopter or even scuba diving. There hasn’t been even an injury in 35 years in a non-military subs.”
I am sure he really believed what he was saying. But he was very wrong.
He passionately believed in what he was doing … I told him that due to scheduling we couldn’t go until next year. Our seats went to Shahzada Dawood and his 19 year old son, Suleman Dawood, two of the other three who lost their lives on this excursion (the fifth being Hamish Harding).
One last time.. RIP Stockton and crew.

You can read Moore’s full Facebook post and see screenshots of his text chain with Stockton below.

Since the vessel’s initial disappearance over the weekend, the world has heard from multiple parties who have witnessed highly questionable safety practices and obvious red flags regarding the Titanic subversive vessel. Following confirmation about the implosion, CNN spoke with a medical professional who believes that no remains will be recovered following this tragedy.

(Via Page Six, Jay Bloom on Facebook & CNN)

K-pop fans were stoked to hear that Blackpink‘s Jennie would be starring in The Weeknd’s controversial HBO series The Idol. However, they were disappointed when her role (as the character Dyanne) was relatively limited.

Luckily, they’re getting more from this collaboration. Today (June 23), The Weeknd shared the song “One Of The Girls” from the soundtrack (which is still rolling out alongside the episodes), which features Jennie, as well as Lily-Rose Depp, who plays the sleazy pop star protagonist Jocelyn. The three trade verses in the brooding, seductive song, and it has the salaciousness of the show: “Lock me up and throw away the key / He knows how to get the best out of me.”

Rumors recently spread that The Idol would not return for a second season. Many people weren’t surprised by this due to the overwhelming backlash from viewers. However, HBO posted a statement from their official PR social accounts to clear up the gossip: “It is being misreported that a decision on a second season of The Idol has been determined,” read a tweet. “It has not, and we look forward to sharing the next episode with you Sunday night.”

Listen to “One Of The Girls” above.

Now that Doja Cat has everyone looking following the release of her new single, “Attention,” she’s ready to take this show on the road. The rapper is heading out on her first North American arena tour this fall. The Scarlet Tour, backed by Live Nation, will consist of 24 dates across the United States and Canada.

Set to launch on Halloween (October 31) in San Francisco, Doechii will appear as the supporting guest for half of the tour across the first ten or so nights. Then, Ice Spice will step in for the remaining dates as the opening act until the tour concludes in Chicago on December 13.

The Scarlet Tour also signifies two other important factors outside the major arena milestone. First, if the tour’s name reflects Doja Cat’s upcoming album’s name, the mystery has finally been put to bed. Secondly, The Scarlet Tour will mark Doja Cat’s return to touring since she was forced to pull out of The Weeknd’s After Hours Til Dawn Tour in 2022 due to medical reasons.

In an effort to combat bots, professional resellers, and scalpers, tickets for The Scarlet Tour will be using Ticketmaster’s Fan Verified system. Registration runs through Sunday, June 25, at 10 pm PST. Pre-sale codes will be sent out to random registrants starting on Wednesday, June 28. The general sale begins on Friday, June 30, at 10 am local time. Find more information here.

View the full tour schedule below.

10/31 — San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center *
11/02 — Los Angeles, CA @ Crypto.com Arena *
11/03 — Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena *
11/05 — San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena *
11/06 — Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center *
11/08 — Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center *
11/10 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena *
11/13 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center *
11/15 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center *
11/16 — Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center *
11/19 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena *
11/21 — Miami, FL @ Kaseya Center #
11/24 — Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena *
11/26 — Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center #
11/27 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena #
11/29 — Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center #
11/30 — Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center #
12/02 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden #
12/04 — Columbus, OH @ Nationwide Arena #
12/07 — Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center #
12/08 — Omaha, NE @ CHI Health Center #
12/10 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena #
12/11 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena #
12/13 — Chicago, IL @ United Center #

* with Doechii
# with Ice Spice

Generally, I find all the deepfakes and AI use in music today — especially when it comes to deceased artists’ posthumous releases — ethically iffy, if not downright creepy. I’m willing to make an exception for Lyrical Lemonade’s off-the-wall “Doomsday” collab between Juice WRLD and Cordae, though. For one, Juice and Cordae were very tight in real life, and for another, both were extremely close with director Cole Bennett, who was instrumental to both of their careers.

But mostly, it’s because the project came out super tight, which is something you can’t always say for similar works. In this case, we get another opportunity to hear both young rappers at the respective heights of their game — something they got too few chances to give us while Juice was alive — as well as to hear Juice really rapping. Also, the deepfake effect in the video is used in a creative way, allowing Cordae to perform for the both of them as he morphs back and forth between his own face and Juice’s.

Eminem, whose song “Role Model” is sampled here, even makes an appearance at the beginning of the video and his association with Cordae and Juice is just enough to make you wonder whether it’s more digital trickery, or really the man himself showing love to the younger rappers (and Cole, who directed his “Godzilla” video).

Check out the “Doomsday” video above.

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

If you travel often enough, you might spot a celebrity or two in the crowd. However, Noel Gallagher took it one step further. To blow off some steam after traveling, the former Oasis guitarist treated fellow nomads to an impromptu performance at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida.

The only problem is no one asked for it or seemingly cared enough to pay attention.. or at least that’s how it looks in the photos. The musician took to social media to joke about the moment on Instagram, writing, “Headlining Carousel two, Palm Beach International Airport, Florida.”

Musician Samantha Whates, who is touring with Gallagher, also shared some photos of the moment.

Gallagher has probably had his fair share of tough crowds over the many decades of his career, but apparently, none as unimpressed as people vacationing in Sunshine State. Although the entertainer’s comment section wished it had happened to them, some even asked him to hit their local airports. Others couldn’t help but let every joke in their mind fly free.

One user chimed in to add the lyrics from Oasis’ 1994 song “Talk Tonight,” “Sittin’ on my own, chewin’ on a bone. A thousand million miles from home.”

Another hilarious inquired about the setlist, posting, “Are you doing “Leaving on a jet plane,” references John Denver’s 1966 track.

It is only but a matter of time before Gallagher’s arch nemesis, brother Liam Gallagher, checks in to poke fun at the moment.

Well, it’s the end of June, which means we’re all halfway through another year. This feels like a good time to stop and look at how things are shaking out. That’s what we’re doing here, taking a moment to run through the best movies we’ve seen so far in 2023. (Check out our list of TV shows here.) The Uproxx staff submitted lists of their Top 10s and used math — 10 points for each top pick, 9 for each number two, and so on — to compile a collective list. You might disagree. That’s fine. Variety makes things fun. Just do not shout at us. That’s really all we ask.

10. Reality

People who knew Sydney Sweeney only from her roles in shows like Euphoria and Everything Sucks saw a different side of her in this project, a feature-length look at the real-life interrogation of Reality Winner, the former government intelligence specialist who was convicted for releasing classified information about Russian interference in the 2016 election. It’s one of those movies that’s not so much a “fun” watch as it is an eye-opening and important one, and it’s a nice reminder that Sweeney has plenty of range beyond “angsty high school student.” Worth checking out if you can stomach it.

9. Air

The big selling point of this movie when it came out was Ben Affleck and Matt Damon together again — as Nike CEO Phil Knight and super-agent David Falk, respectively — in a movie about the sneaker giant wooing a young Michael Jordan. And it was that. Very much. No false advertising here. But focusing too much on all that misses the real point, which is that Viola Davis (as Jordan’s mother, Dolores) and Chris Tucker (as Nike executive Howard White) absolutely run away with this movie in their short bursts on screen. More movies should have Chris Tucker in them. That’s probably the takeaway here.

8. Cocaine Bear

The nice thing here is that there was no false advertising. The movie called Cocaine Bear was indeed about a bear that ate a lot of cocaine and went on a murderous rampage. Which is great. No notes from us about any of this, except maybe to note once shrub that this same real-life story also inspired one of the best seasons of Justified, too. The surprising thing was the talent on hand. This wasn’t some slapped-together cable movie starring washed-up sitcom stars. We had some heavy hitters in here. Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Margo Martindale, O’Shea Jackson, freaking Ray Liotta, all in the movie about the coke-fueled murder bear that was directed by Elizabeth Banks. There are lessons to be learned here. Probably. Maybe. Who knows? Let’s just keep giving animals cocaine and setting them loose in the woods. In movies. Not in real life. Please.

7. M3GAN

It had been a while since we all had a movie about a doll coming to life and killing every human that crosses it, so we were due, in a way. And here came M3GAN, a movie about a creepy doll of the same name who did, uh, exactly that. You saw all the memes and the clips of this thing dancing. It was terrifying. Dolls should not come to life. That is our position on this matter. And if they ever do, well, let’s just go ahead and post the best official policy on these types of things.

Thank you.

6. Polite Society

What we have here:

• A charming action-comedy set at a wedding
• A description that reads as follows: “A martial artist-in-training believes she must save her older sister from her impending marriage. After enlisting the help of her friends, she tries to pull off the most ambitious of all wedding heists in the name of independence and sisterhood.”
• There’s no need for a third bullet point when the first two are that good

There’s a chance this one slid under your radar so far this year. Please consider remedying that this summer.

5. John Wick: Chapter 4

The franchise that started almost a decade ago with some goons killing Keanu Reeves’ dog wrapped up its main story after globe-trotting adventures and hundreds of revenge killings and creating a style and tone all its own. It’s fun to think about the first part of that sentence sometimes. Everything that happened in these movies — trips to Italy and the Middle East, library fights and numerous discotheque shootouts, glowing neon lights everywhere — stemmed from some kid killing a dog over a car. And, as weird as it feels to say this… thank god he did. Because if he didn’t, we wouldn’t have one of the best pure action franchises of the last 20 years, once that ended with a thrilling and satisfying and sad final chapter.

Silver linings, you know?

4. Alice, Darling

Anna Kendrick carries this movie about a woman in an emotionally abusive relationship and the friends who help her try to escape it. It’s a different kind of role for Kendrick, especially if you’re familiar with her from quirky and fun comedies like Pitch Perfect, but it’s one she takes on well. Very rarely will seeing someone on a paddle board feel like such a victory. That’s the nice thing about movies, though.

3. Sanctuary

Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott star in this movie about a dominatrix and a sad rich boy circling each other like cobras in a fancy hotel, with blackmail and safe words and domineering fathers and plans for succession and all of it. It’s quite a ride, both on paper and on the screen. But it’s also a good movie, one that gets to the nature of human relationships and the way parents can leave scars on children way below the surface. It’s a lot, to be sure, and disturbing in places, but top-notch performances by the two leads make this a compelling watch.

2. Past Lives

In another, lesser movie, Past Lives would be about “childhood sweethearts who reconnect 20 years later and realize they were meant for each other,” as one character puts it. But the A24 film is more refreshingly complex than that. Featuring masterful performances from Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro and an Oscar-worthy script from director Celine Song, Past Lives explores the full spectrum of romance, from youthful crushes to marriage to what-could-have-beens, told over decades. It’s the most emotionally mature movie of 2023 — and one of the best, too.

1. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

The first Spider-verse movie was a surprise, a visually stunning and heartfelt look at the world of Spider-things that we thought we were all familiar with until it took us deep into multiple universes populated with multiple Spider-men. This film, the long-awaited sequel, was a surprise, too, in a different way. Here the shocking part was just that they managed to take a leap from the already-great first movie, crafting a sequel that built from the foundation and extended out to new and exciting places. There were cameos galore and animation sequences that could melt your brain a little and, yes, another story that rips open a little hole in your heart and crawls inside to stay there for a while. It’s kind of crazy that these movies work as well as they do. But they definitely do. Comic book movies have been dragged through the mud a little lately, not always for undeserving reasons, but this one right here…

This one is special.

Cinematic literacy has never been a strong suit for conservatives. Case in point: A bizarre new video posted by the Ron DeSantis super PAC, Never Back Down, shows the Florida governor’s head on Obi-Wan Kenobi during the climactic scene for the Star Wars prequel Revenge of the Sith. Donald Trump also appears as the severely beaten Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader who’s missing several limbs and burning alive after being beaten by his Jedi master, now portrayed by DeSantis.

The strange clip leaves all of the original dialogue intact, however, which doesn’t make a lick of sense. You can watch below:

Via Mediaite:

“You were the chosen one,” says Kenobi, or in this case DeSantis.

“It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them. Bring balance to the force, not leave it in darkness,” he continues, before Vader — or Trump — screams, “I hate you!”

The context of the scene has barely any connection to Trump and DeSantis. The former president being heralded as a conservative champion who would bring the Republican Party to glory? Sure, that kinda plays. The whole thing falls apart after that though.

For starters, DeSantis never mentored Trump, who was definitely not a Meatball Ron apprentice. On top of that, while Obi-Wan technically defeats Anakin in their fiery lightsaber duel, the Jedi master ultimately loses. He’s forced into exile for the next 19 years while Anakin becomes the iconic, helmeted version of Darth Vader who becomes even more powerful as he rules the Empire with an iron fist.

To quote Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi, “This is not going to go the way you think.”

(Via Mediaite)

The Lauren Boebert-Marjorie Taylor Greene feud has gone next level after a bathroom fight last year for the former congressional BFFs. This week, Greene called Boebert a “little b*tch” right to her face on the House floor. Greene also alleged that Boebert “copied” her Biden-focused articles of impeachment.

From there, Greene quadrupled down and told Semafor that Boebert “has genuinely been a nasty little b*tch to me” and that there was no hope for reconciliation. Whereas Boebert attempted to take the high road by telling HuffPost, “I’m not in middle school” while denying the “copying” accusation. As The Daily Beast notes, Boebert aimed for the same route with Hannity, below, although one must wonder if she feels differently behind the scenes. Here’s the Hannity clip, and we’ll discuss below.

“Sean, I did not put my life on pause and leave my four boys and my now grandson to come here and just get in spats with people, I came here to legislate and to be effective for Coloradans … Marjorie is not my enemy. Joe Biden’s policy, the Democrats, that is my enemy that I am combatting right now and I am doing everything I can to make sure I put them in check and hold them accountable and take our country back from this radical extremism that we are seeing.”

So yes, high road was the target here, but is there a twist?

Politico has pointed towards infighting within the Freedom Caucus, for which both Boebert and Greene are members. Currently, anyway. In a discussion from the group on who should be purged, “two members” are reportedly pushing for Greene to get the boot. The purported reason for this would be Greene’s alignment with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (who she supported for speaker and who recently let her preside over the House), who obviously isn’t a far-enough right of a move for the Freedom Caucus to approve.

The timing of the ousting-in-process sounds about right, however, for this to have received fuel from the “little b*ch” insult even if the officially stated motivation ends up being Greene’s support of McCarthy. And it sure would be something if we found out that the “two members” were Boebert and Matt Gaetz. He has been infighting with Greene (over McCarthy) as well, and Insider reported that she recently took a verbal swing at him while dubbing herself as “the leading MAGA voice in Congress.”

Man, these people.

(Via The Daily Beast, Politico & Insider)

Hot Union Strike Summer continues unabated.

With 50 days of striking under their belt, the WGA continues to hold firm in their demands to protect wages and ensure humans won’t be replaced by robo-writers who start every screenplay with “FADE IN: As an AI language model, Sam wakes up groggy in his hotel bed, slapping the snooze button on his blaring alarm clock.”

To show his support for the WGA strike, Dermot Mulroney walked out in the middle of his interview on The View, a pre-taped segment that will air today as-is. According to Variety, Mulroney plugged Secret Invasion and chatted a bit about his career before politely bailing to, as the actor explained to the hosts, “symbolically walk off in support of the writers.” A pretty solid example of eating your cake and having it, too.

He picked an excellent venue for it. The View is notably (largely) unscripted, which allows the hosts to make waves and say some headline-grabbing statements, and most of the staff are not union. Mulroney said in a statement, “Since I have such respect for The View, a news program with a heart, it was there that I felt comfortable enough to draw attention to the ongoing WGA strike for fair wages and working hours, as I find it incredibly important to continue to support the union.”

If you’re interested in Mulroneying, you can find ways to support the WGA strike here.

(via Variety)