Chappell Roan has been turning heads with alluring songs like “Naked In Manhattan” and “My Kink Is Karma.” These beloved tracks will appear on her debut LP The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess, which she announced recently and described as a “14-song album holding stories of unearthing my true self and fearlessly embracing queerness.”
She’s back with an anthemic new single called “Hot To Go!” It bursts with her vivacious energy that fans love her for as she makes her own danceable chant: “H-O-T-T-O-G-O / Snap n’ clap n’ and touch your toes,” she sings against buzzing synthesizers. In the music video, she’s as enthusiastic and entertaining as the music, donning an array of glittery outfits.
Chappell said about the song in a statement, “I wrote this song so I could live out my cheerleader fantasy! I just wanted to make something simple and silly that I could do with the audience because I’m a huge fan of audience participation. Also, selfishly (and shamelessly) wanted to bounce around on stage singing a song about being hot.”
Watch the video for “Hot To Go!” above.
The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess is out 9/22 via Amusement/Island Records. Find more information here.
One of the best albums of the last few years, Big Thief’s masterpiece saw multiple years of support, but both Buck Meek and Adrianne Lenker announced that the band would be taking a year off from touring following the sold-out show (don’t worry too much, the time off will include at least the upcoming Buck Meek solo album). Lenker went on to thank the band’s crew, management, and even merch person by name, noting that it was an emotional moment to close this chapter. But anyone who’s been following Big Thief knows that the band’s eras are much more blurry than other artists. At this point in the tour, nearly half the set was comprised of music that has yet to be released, following the Animal Collective model of touring the album to come as much as supporting the album released.
All that said, it was a magnificent 90-minute set in a perfect atmosphere, with Lenker acknowledging the weirdness of playing where people are buried (and possibly performing for their spirits). Early in the set, the band set the bar high by inviting a fan, Sophia, to the stage to sing harmonies on “Sparrow” — and she knocked it out of the park. Elsewhere, “Simulation Swarm,” “Not,” “Masterpiece,” “Spud Infinity,” “Certainty,” the recent “Vampire Empire,” and the finale, “Change” all elated fans ranging from children to grandparents. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Big Thief is the best band in the world right now and it isn’t particularly close. Their rest is much deserved, and based on the new material, their next era might raise the bar even higher.
Check out some exclusive photos of Big Thief at Hollywood Forever Cemetery below:
It’s been just about a year since DJ Khaled’s last album, God Did, highlighted rising star Lil Baby with Drake and Future-assisted singles and reminded the world just how good at this rap stuff Jay-Z really is. So, what with the accelerated album release cycles we’ve seen in the streaming era, it stands to reason it’s just about time for a new DJ Khaled album to drop soon.
Evidently, Khaled himself agrees. After announcing the impending release of his fourteenth(!) studio album, Til Next Time, he followed up today with its first single. Fittingly the new single, “Supposed To Be Loved,” also features Lil Baby, as well as Future and Lil Uzi Vert. Til Next Time will be Khaled’s first album under a new joint venture between his We The Best Music and Def Jam.
To announce the album, he tapped into his recent infatuation with golf, crafting a four-minute trailer that sees him hit some impossible shots alongside his sons Asahd and Aalam, and his wife Nicole. The first single, “Supposed To Be Loved,” contains a sample of Michael Jackson’s “PYT” and marks Khaled’s first-ever collab with Lil Uzi Vert. While a release date for Til Next Time has yet to be announced, considering his usual rollout schedule, it can’t be too far off. Check out the album’s trailer and the first single below.
Petey is doing well: His comedic videos have earned him 1.5 million followers on TikTok and his music recently landed him a new record deal with Capitol Records. The signing was announced last month when he dropped “I’ll Wait,” the first single from his upcoming album, USA. (His social media handle has long been @peteyusa, hence the album title.) The project is set to drop in a few weeks, but ahead of that, Petey has shared a new single, “Did I Mention I’m Sorry.”
He also shared a video for the track, in which he and his band give their debut talk show performance… on a fictional, low-budget Bulgarian talk show. Press materials describe the song as “a high-octane anthem for anyone who’s ever been caught in a loop of missteps and half-hearted apologies.”
Towards the end of the year, Petey is set to embark on a tour in November (with one December date, at The Fonda Theater in Los Angeles). The trek kicks off in Atlanta and will hit storied venues like Washington DC’s 9:30 Club, Philadelphia’s Union Transfer, and New York’s Irving Plaza. More information on the tour can be found on Petey’s website.
Watch the “Did I Mention I’m Sorry” video above and revisit our 2021 interview with Petey here.
USA is out 9/22 via Capitol. Find more information here.
Sacha Baron Cohen might be dusting off one of his classic characters. While the comedian is best known for his portrayal of Borat, who now has two movies under his belt, Cohen looks to be going back to his roots by bringing back Ali G, the character that started it all.
According to Variety, Cohen is reportedly developing a stand-up tour featuring Ali G, whose absurd interviews put the actor on the map. Ali G originally appeared in the late ’90s on the British TV sketch series, “The 11 O’Clock Show” before making the jump to HBO where Ali G became a breakout hit with American audiences in the early-to-mid 2000s.
However, a source close to Cohen made it a point to “strenuously deny” that a new Ali G movie was in the works and that Cohen is “strictly abiding” by strike rules. “As a SAG and WGA member he is supporting the ongoing strike alongside his fellow writers and actors,” the source told Variety.
While Cohen has focused mainly on Borat, Ali G has reemerged a handful of times. The actor famously surprised audiences with the character at the 2016 Oscars thanks to the help of wife Isla Fisher. More recently, Cohen dropped a secret Ali G set at The Comedy Store in Sydney in 2021 where he may have been laying the groundwork for the pending stand-up tour.
“I just wanted to get on stage and muck around and see what Ali G would be like with a crowd,” Cohen said after the performance. “It was really good fun.”
Along with the record, the star has shared a music video for the third track, “Mi Ex Tenía Razón.” It’s a stunning visual accompaniment that depicts the pink-haired performer singing by the water in a chic translucent cowboy hat.
In our interview with Karol about Mañana Será Bonito, she touched on who the music is intended for. “There are songs for everyone,” she said. “There’s a song for people in love, if you have a broken heart, if you’re feeling crazy, or if you want to party with perreo. With everything that’s happening, I want to enjoy the present with my music and remember that tomorrow everything will be great. Tomorrow will be beautiful.”
Watch the video for “Mi Ex Tenía Razón” above.
Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season) is out now via Universal Music Latino. Find more information here.
It’s hip-hop’s 50th birthday and to celebrate, LL Cool J and The Roots appeared on The Breakfast Club to talk about the genre’s culture and impact while sharing anecdotes from their own pioneering careers. One detail revealed by LL in the course of the interview was that he and fellow Queens native 50 Cent once recorded an entire album together — but that LL decided to shelve it himself.
The album was first announced in 2006, right around the height of 50’s reign, with LL saying at the time, 50 reminds me a lot of the things that I used to do and the places I used to be in my life, and I think we can have a good time together. He’s talented and I feel like I have something I want to say — I think he can help me get it off my chest.”
Unfortunately, he wasn’t so fond of the end result. As he tells The Breakfast Club in the interview above, “When it was done, I listened to it. I’m like, ‘It sounds good. I like the music, it sounds cool, but it ain’t me.’ So, I ain’t put it out. It was nothing against 50, I love 50. I just wanted to try something different. Maybe we collaborate, write together … It didn’t work.” The collaboration did produce one of LL’s later hits though.
“50 wrote the chorus on ‘Paradise’ for Amerie, which she sung,” LL notes. “He didn’t write my rhymes … when that happened, I didn’t even know 50 was involved. That was The Trackmasters, they got that done.”
Earlier this week, rootin’ tootin’ Lauren Boebert didn’t exactly go ballistic over the price of groceries, but she did post a photo of herself launching grenades after ranting about Bidenomics and, yes, the price of groceries. Granted, reaching for ammo is her default mode, and now her ex-congressional friend, Marjorie Taylor Greene, has arrived on the subject of groceries, too.
Greene is not known for being a lover of logic, and she tends to leap into conclusions whereas at least some of her MAGA colleagues will cautiously back into their chosen perspective. And Greene is here with yet another call to impeach Biden, and this time, her reasoning has to do with (hmm) cereal and bread prices. As absurd as that sounds on its face, it sure bolsters the revival of comments made earlier this year by The Purge creator James DeMonaco, who made clear that Greene’s ideology is an inspiration for an upcoming sixth movie in the franchise.
While speaking to Newsmax, Greene’s grocery-store remarks do not improve the situation:
Greene: This comes down to consumers like a single mom who can’t afford to buy cereal because the price of grain has gone up so much with this war in Ukraine.. and this is why we have to do everything we can to impeach Joe Biden pic.twitter.com/hnC0kr7xZD
Take for example, a single mom that is just trying to feed her kids. When she goes to the grocery store, she can hardly afford cereal and bread. Do you wanna know why? Because those products are made with grain. Let’s look at where the bread basket of the world is. That is in Ukraine… so this comes all the way down to consumers like a single mom who can’t afford to buy cereal because the price of grain has gone up so much with this war in Ukraine… you have to connect the dots… and this is why we have to do everything we can to impeach Joe Biden
Rebutting a Greene argument can often seem like a fruitless exercise, but it bears mentioning that the war in Ukraine is widely considered unjust as launched by Vladimir Putin. Additionally, Russia is responsible for recently shutting down a deal (previously brokered by the U.N. and Turkey) that allows Ukraine grain exports on a global basis (primarily Africa and Asia). This was, of course, a Putin chess move, and he has recently attempted to drum up goodwill for Russia by offering a “benevolent” deal to send Russian grain to African countries, from which there were apparently few or even zero takers. Meanwhile, Reuters quotes an expert that expects Putin’s maneuvering to have little effect on global grocery prices, or at least, not in the long term.
Meanwhile, Greene argued about connecting the dots but didn’t really do so herself, so there’s that.
Layover, the long-awaited solo debut album from BTS’ V (real name Kim Taehyung), is slated to hit streaming service at the top of September. To hold fans over until the entire project is available, the singer has dropped his new soulful single, “Rainy Days.” On the track and in the supporting video, V proves that even K-pop stars have difficulty dealing with heartbreak.
Across the record’s three-minute run time, V mourns the end of his relationship. As he sings, “Staring at my phone / I’m wide awake / Hoping for your call lately / I’ve been on my own maybe / What’s now behind us? / Every day I think of / Time with you was so amazing / Haven’t changed, it’s still the same me / I know it’s too late but somehow / Can we go back to that moment again? Yeah,” V emphasizes how lost he feels navigating his new reality.
Throughout the visual, V shows his fans how he copes in those times of despair with his adorable pet Pomeranian Yeontan by his side. With the forthcoming release of his album, Layout, V is the final member of BTS to make his solo debut. But based on “Rainy Days,” the wait was well worth it, especially with the group’s unsure future due to their military obligations.
Watch the video for “Rainy Days” below.
Layover is out 9/8 via BigHit. Find more information here.
That said, this boozy whiskey-driven cocktail’s genesis is somewhat murky. What we do know is that a “cocktail” was first defined in print in 1806 as a mix of spirit, bitters, water, and sugar based on recipes that reached back deep into the 1700s. Throughout the 1800s, that simple recipe evolved to include a million different options, basically straying from the original “old fashioned” core cocktail recipe. By the 1850s, people were already asking for an “old fashioned” cocktail without all the jazzed-up extras. The Chicago Daily Tribune mentions the phenomenon in 1880 as a combination of “spirits, bitters, water, and sugar from seventy-six years ago” directly. (It’s also worth noting that back in those days, folks were asking for gin, brandy, and whiskey cocktails the “old fashioned” way — not just the whiskey ones.)
In 1881, Master Distiller James E. Pepper tasked a bartender at The Pendennis Club in Louisville, Kentucky, with making an “old-fashioned cocktail” with bourbon. He later supposedly brought the drink to the bar at New York’s famed Waldorf-Astoria, where it really gained popularity. Then as with all things, the old fashioned boomed and busted over and over again as the decades blazed past until you reach today where it is again the cornerstone of any whiskey bar menu. Yes friends, we’re deep in yet another old fashioned cocktail boom.
Add the sugar, water, and bitters to the mixing jug and give it a pre-mix with the spoon until the sugar starts to dissolve. If you’re using a raw sugar cube, you’ll need a muddler to break the cube into the bitters and water.
Add the bourbon or rye and give it a stir for ten or so seconds to dissolve the sugar (that water helps this as alcohol doesn’t dissolve solid sugar).
Add a big handful of ice and stir for about 20-ish seconds until the mixing glass is ice-cold to touch.
Fetch the glass from the freezer, add a large cube to the glass, and strain the cocktail into the glass.
Express the oils from the orange peel over the cocktail and run the peel around the rim and body of the glass. Twist the peel and drop it onto the ice cube. Drop in a cherry and serve.
Johnston isn’t the only one who loves the classic whiskey-driven flavors of an old fashioned. Most bartenders do. After all, the entire point of an “old-fashioned cocktail” over the last 200-plus years is that there are no bullshit extras, and there’s a whole genre of bartenders who absolutely live for that sort of pedantry. But amidst all the dedication to tradition, we’ve also seen some unique (and fun!) riffs over the decades. Below you’ll find unique interpretations of the beloved cocktail from some of our favorite bartenders.
Also Read: The Top Five Cocktail Recipes of the Last Six Months
By Scott Taylor, Beverage Director at Harris’ Restaurant in San Francisco
The story goes that the Wisconsin-style old fashioned debuted at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago using brandy with muddled orange and cherry in the sugar and bitters that’s topped with a splash of soda water. For our version, we use bourbon, which is also known as an Old Fashioned No. 2. The muddling of the fruit in the base makes for a well-balanced cocktail.
Ingredients:
2-3 oz. bourbon of choice (Harris’ uses Legent Bourbon)
1 orange slice
1 maraschino cherry
1 brown sugar cube
3 dashes Angostura Bitters
Ice
Splash of soda water
Preparation:
Muddle the ingredients (fruit, sugar, bitters) in the glass, and then add ice and your whiskey of choice. Stir to incorporate all the components, top with soda water, garnish with a citrus peel and serve.
Barr Hill’s Tom Cat Gin is beloved by whiskey and gin drinkers alike. Our iteration with Tom Cat Gin brings a sweetness through the raw honey used in its distillation process that mingles beautifully with the Angostura Bitters and demerara syrup. The Tom Cat Old Fashioned is the perfect drink to end the night.
Ingredients:
2 oz. Tom Cat Gin
1/2 tsp. demerara sugar syrup
2-3 dashes of Angostura Bitters
Ice
Orange Twist
Preparation:
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass, add ice, stir, and then strain into an old-fashioned glass over fresh ice. Garnish by squeezing the citrus twists over the top of the cocktail. Serve.
Nocino Old Fashioned
Principe
By Alan Wither, Bar Manager at Principe in New York City
This old fashioned variation is our first ode to the autumn and winter seasons drawing closer every day. The essence of nuts and cocoa nibs really gives this cocktail a sweet and slightly bitter edge.
Ingredients:
2 oz. cocoa nib-infused bourbon
.25 oz. Nocino walnut liqueur
.25 oz. demerara sugar syrup
2 dash Orange Bitters
3 dash Angostura Bitters
Ice
Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass. Fill with ice and stir for 30 seconds. Strain into a double rocks glass with a large ice cube and garnish with an orange wheel.
Cocoa nib-infused bourbon:
100 g cocoa nib
1-liter bourbon
Preparation:
Toast cocoa nibs in preheated oven at 350f for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and combine with bourbon in an airtight sterile container overnight. Strain into a fresh bottle.
The Wagyu Pastrami Old Fashioned was brought to life by combining two things that Papi Steak does best — Wagyu Pastrami and a lavishly over-the-top experience. We took one of the most recognizable classic American cocktails and flipped it on its head by elevating it with an aged Japanese whisky and garnishing it with wagyu pastrami. We delicately build the cocktail, place it through a glass smoker, and present it tableside with white glove service. It doesn’t get much more Miami than this.
Combine ingredients into a cocktail mixer. Stir 20-30 times. Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube. Garnish with a dehydrated apple slice and a slice of Papi Steak’s signature Wagyu Pastrami [or regular ‘ol pastrami -ed]. Lastly, place the cocktail inside a glass cocktail smoker using applewood chips. Once the vessel has filled with smoke, remove the glass topper in a circular motion allowing the smoke to dissipate and serve.
Bidi Bid Bom Fashioned
ElNico
By Cristhian Rodriguez, Bar Director at elNico in Brooklyn, New York
The Bidi Bidi Bon Fashioned was Inspired by the exotic flavors of a chocolate bonbon by SoHo chocolatier “Stick With Me Sweets“.
Ingredients:
2 oz. coconut-infused Michter’s Bourbon
0.5 oz. black sesame-infused Michter’s Rye Whiskey
0.4 oz. demerara syrup
0.4 oz. Harmless Harvest coconut water
1 tsp. Szechuan oil
1 pinch of Maldon sea salt
Ice
Preparation:
Mix all ingredients in a mixing glass except the coconut water and place the whole glass in the freezer. Once a thin layer of oil has frozen on top, remove it from the freezer, spoon off the oil, and strain the cocktail through a fine filter paper (a drip coffee filter will work). Strain the cocktail into a waiting glass with fresh ice, add coconut water, and finish with a pinch of Maldon sea salt.
For me, the old fashioned is the very definition of a cocktail. And you really don’t need to mess with that. But of course, we do like to put our identity in our Signature Old Fashioned at Aperitif Bar. Using some kitchen techniques, we infuse the bourbon with beeswax for a smooth and rich mouthfeel using the sous vide. After the infusion, we coat the bottle with cheddar cheese for an extra nutty kick in the slightly natural honey flavor from the beeswax. To sweeten, we are using our homemade Mesoyi syrup (and Indonesian spice bark similar to cinnamon). A generous dash of Peychaud’s and Angostura Aromatic Bitters rounds up the flavor and leaves a robust taste that enhances the overall experience of our Signature Old Fashioned.
Ingredients:
1.5 oz. cheddar cheese and beeswax-infused bourbon
0.25 oz. Mesoyi syrup
3 dashes of Peychaud’s Bitters
1 dash Angostura Bitters
Ice
Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and begin to stir. Once chilled and diluted, pour into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass. Garnish it with a flamed orange peel.
Cheese Wax Bourbon:
Put 50 grams of beeswax and 1 bottle of bourbon (preferably Maker’s Mark) into a vacuum bag and then sous vide at 140F for two hours. After that, let the liquid completely cool and then strain using a fine strainer. Don’t throw away the beeswax yet. Pour the beeswax-infused bourbon into a large bowl and use the bain-marie method to incorporate 1.5 oz. of grated cheddar cheese and the beeswax from the sous vide bag into the bourbon. Slowly pour the bourbon into a fresh whiskey bottle and seal it. Slowly roll the whiskey around the bottles until the inside is completely coated with the solidifying cheese. Place the bottle in the refrigerator to chill completely.
Mesoyi Syrup:
Combine 10 oz. raw forest honey, 10 oz. brown sugar, 6.5 oz. water, and 0.35 oz of Mesoyi bark (you can use good cinnamon bark too) in a pan. Simmer till all sugar is dissolved and the aroma of Mesoyi has started to bloom. Let rest for one hour before straining and bottling.
Smoking Mirrors
Off The Record
By Rachel Sergi, Bar Manager at Off The Record in Washington, DC
This drink conjures up a fantasy of camping with a proper cocktail. The smoke provides mystery and a ‘campfire’ while the rye acts like your favorite wool blanket to keep you warm, and the syrup and bitters remind you of nature. The bacon? Well, everything’s better with bacon.
Ingredients:
2 oz. WhistlePig 10-Year Rye
.5 oz. maple syrup
2 dashes of Black Walnut Bitters
1 piece crispy bacon (skewered)
Ice (for chilling and a large cube for serving)
Preparation:
Place all of the ingredients (except bacon) in a stirring vessel with ice. Stir to incorporate, dilute, and chill. Place a large cube of ice into a rocks glass and pour the chilled mixture over. Use a smoking gun to fill your glass with applewood smoke. Cover the glass to keep the smoke inside. To serve, remove the cover and garnish the drink with skewered bacon.
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