On Tuesday, January 30, TMZ reported that security had been increased at the gravesite of Megan’s late mother, Holly Thomas, after its location was shared online (reportedly by the Barbz). You would think there would be nowhere to go with this after that, but Minaj then hopped on Joe Budden’s X (formerly Twitter) Spaces on Wednesday, January 31.
HipHopDX captured portions of Minaj’s rant in the Space. It’s dizzying, to say the least, and nobody can be blamed for not comprehending a word Minaj said, but we will attempt a summary.
Minaj questioned how Megan could be “twerking two days later,” referencing when the since-convicted Tory Lanez shot Megan Thee Stallion in the feet in July 2020. “First of all, emotionally — even emotionally — you just got shot,” Minaj said while cackling, and then clumsily stumbled into “what really grinded my f*cking gears,” which was that a producer bragged on social media about “not clearing a beat for Nicki Minaj.”
That led into a complaint about YouTube bots, Twitter ads, longtime music executive Lyor Cohen, and “the paid for TikToks, the paid for tweets, to the point where people got their little $250 for they tweet to say something bad about Nicki Minaj.” TLDR: Minaj alleged “a smear campaign” against her by people who believe she’s “crazy.”
Eventually, Minaj got back to Megan Thee Stallion, comparing how she handled her trauma from Lanez shooting her versus Rihanna’s domestic violence at the hands of Chris Brown.
“Rihanna is just known for being herself,” Minaj said. “You get what you see. You see what you get, you get what you see type of vibe, right? […] That’s what we know Ri as. Rihanna never would milk something like this. Like, you could tell she couldn’t wait to get that part of her life — you could tell she couldn’t wait to just try to move on with her life. You understand?”
Minaj continued, “And then, people even bashed her for not dragging it out, not milking it. And she was just like, ‘Yo, I was mad young. We were young. I just wanna move on with my life now.’ You know why? Because Rihanna knows that she was a superstar, with or without controversy. She’s beautiful, with or without controversy. She’s loved, with or without controversy. I’m sorry — sympathy. Sympathy, sympathy, sympathy.”
Remember streaming password sharing? For ages the online movie and TV companies did nothing as subscribers gleefully gave their logins to everyone they knew. Who could afford to watch all the hot shows when subscribing to every streamer was costing more than having cable? Turns out that wasn’t profitable for the companies. Netflix started cracking down first. Disney+ followed suit later (while raising rates). Now the axe is coming down for one of their fellow corporate streamers.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, subscribers to Hulu — which, like ESPN, is also owned by Disney — received a surprise email on Wednesday bearing a new agreement, effective starting March 12.
“Unless otherwise permitted by your Service Tier, you may not share your subscription outside of your household,” it read. “‘Household’ means the collection of devices associated with your primary personal residence that are used by the individuals who reside therein.”
There was also some ominous threats.
“We may, in our sole discretion, analyze the use of your account to determine compliance with this Agreement,” the message read. “If we determine, in our sole discretion, that you have violated this Agreement, we may limit or terminate access to the Service and/or take any other steps as permitted by this Agreement.”
The move was teased last summer during a Disney earnings call, when honcho Bob Iger said he and his team were “actively exploring ways to address account sharing and the best options for paying subscribers to share their accounts with friends and family.” The solution they came up with? Only sharing accounts with family and/or friends subscribers live with.
The news comes after Netflix, which was once bleeding subscribers and cash, reported two consecutive quarters of big subscriber growth, totaling 22 million. Surely Disney is hoping the same windfall will happen to their streamers.
So if you’ve been sharing your Hulu login — or, better yet, been generously gifted with someone else’s — you have less than a month-and-a-half to change your ways. The move should particularly irk those who’ve been handed logins to Hulu’s ad-free version, because ads are so numerous now that viewers aren’t the only ones annoyed.
The bock is a great beer style for the winter. This dark lager known for its rich, caramel malt flavor (often made with Vienna or Munich malts) is so rich, flavorful, and refreshing that you’ll want to continue drinking it well into the spring. Maibocks, doppelbocks, and traditional German bocks — we’re happy to spend these colder months drinking them all!
You might have noticed that bock beers are often adorned with an image of a goat. The reason for this is because of confusion with an accent. As the story goes, the style was originally called Einbock when it was first brewed in Bavaria. When it made its way south to Munich, the city’s brewers thought it was called “ein bock” which means a male goat. They began calling the beer bock (dropping the original “ein”) and… that’s still the name it goes by today.
Now that you’ve learned a little bit about the style, it’s time to find some bocks to drink this winter. Lucky for you, we did all the work — finding eight great bock beers and ranked them on flavor and overall seasonal appropriateness. Keep scrolling to see them all.
This German-style lager is brewed each year to celebrate the return of spring even though they release it in January. Since we’ve got that spring feeling too, we love this malty, sweet, lightly hoppy beer brewed with 2-row Pale base malt, Vienna malt, Munich malt, and Caramel malt as well as Mt. Hood and German Saphir hops.
Tasting Notes:
This golden-hued lager begins with a nose of freshly baked bread, clover honey, sweet malts, and spicy, floral hops. The palate continues this trend with a ton of caramel, bready malts, citrus peels, honey, cereal grains, and floral, earthy hops. The finish is hoppy, crisp, and very memorable.
Bottom Line:
This is a classic, no-frills, crisp, flavorful bock that you’ll want to continue drinking well into the spring.
Rogue Dead Guy Ale is one of the most popular bock beers in America. This German Maibock-style lager is brewed with 2-row, C15, and Munich malts as well as Pacman yeast and Perle and Sterling hops. It’s adorned with a skeleton, but there’s nothing spooky about this full-flavored beer.
Tasting Notes:
A nose of dried fruit, honey, orchard fruits, orange peels, caramel malts, and floral hops greets you before your first sip. Drinking it reveals notes of caramel malts, candied nuts, honey, yeasty bread, and snappy, floral, lightly spicy hops. The finish is gently bitter and leaves you wanting more.
Bottom Line:
Rogue Dead Guy Ale is for the beer drinkers who prefer a little more hop bite in their bock beers.
Germany is well-known for its bock beers, especially its award-winning doppelbocks. One of the best is Paulaner Salvator. Referred to as “The father of all strong beers”, this caramel, chocolate, and Noble hop-centric beer is brewed with Pilsner malt and Munich malt as well as Herkules and Hallertau Tradition hops.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is a blend of dark chocolate, caramel malts, molasses, roasted malts, coffee, and light floral hops. The palate is loaded with chocolate, roasted malts, toffee, molasses cookies, and dried fruit. The finish is lightly bitter with sweet caramel. This is a full-flavored, warming beer perfect for the winter months.
Bottom Line:
Paulaner Salvator is a great example of the traditional German doppelbock style. It’s balanced, flavorful, and has a high enough ABV to keep you warm this winter.
This traditional German-style bock was brewed using the Reinheitsgebot beer purity laws. It’s made with simple ingredients with nothing extra. This means it’s only made with malted barley, malted wheat, hops, yeast, and water. The result is a classic bock known for its mix of coffee, chocolate, caramel, and floral notes.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find aromas of freshly baked bread, toffee, dark chocolate, coffee, and light floral hops. Drinking it brings forth notes of freshly baked bread, bitter chocolate, coffee beans, dried fruit, and floral, grassy hops. The finish is malty and sweet.
Bottom Line:
While there are some small hints of hops, this is a winter (and spring) beer for fans of malty, sweet, coffee, and chocolate-filled bocks.
This year-round 8.2% ABV doppelbock is brewed with Chocolate, Munich, and Pilsner malts as well as lager yeast and German Northern Brewer and Magnum hops. The result is a sweet, malty, crisp, highly refreshing beer you won’t soon forget.
Tasting Notes:
Complex aromas of raisins, caramel candy, vanilla beans, and bready malts make for a very inviting nose. The palate continues this trend with vanilla beans, toffee, freshly baked bread, dried fruits, cracked black pepper, and floral hops. The finish is gently bittersweet and dry in the best way possible.
Bottom Line:
Troegs Troegenator is a great bock beer. It’s big, bold, high in ABV, and just as high in memorable flavor notes.
Named after Saint Korbinian to honor the founder of the Weihenstephan monastery, Weihenstephaner Korbinian is a strong, malty, sweet doppelbock. It’s well-known for its complex flavor profile of sweet malts, dried fruits, and rich chocolate.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find roasted malts, toffee, candied orange peels, raisins, and chocolate. The palate continues this trend with notes of freshly baked bread, dark chocolate, caramel, plums, more orange peels, and roasted malts. The finish is a mix of sweetness and bitterness.
Bottom Line:
Weihenstephaner Korbinian is a rich, sweet, highly complex doppelbock that you’ll look forward to drinking every winter (and the rest of the year for that matter).
If you’re a fan of American takes on classic European beer styles and you’ve never had Schilling, what are you waiting for? We suggest Burkhart, the New Hampshire-based brewery’s take on the German bockbier style. It’s known for its mix of caramel malts and gentle hop bitterness.
Tasting Notes:
The aromas of freshly baked bread, sweet toffee, roasted malts, candied nuts, and dried fruits greet you before you even take a sip. The palate is filled with caramel candy, yeasty bread, raisins, figs, honey, molasses, and gently bitter, floral hops at the very end. A truly balanced, highly flavorful bock.
Bottom Line:
This is one of the most balanced bock beers on this list. The sweet malts and gentle hops work together in perfect unison. Everything in between is just a bonus.
You don’t necessarily need a reason to celebrate to enjoy an Ayinger Celebrator, but it helps. This bottom-fermented dark doppelbock has won numerous awards over the years for its fruity, chocolate, roasted malt flavor.
Tasting Notes:
A lot is going on with this beer’s nose. There are notes of sweet malts, dried cherries, toffee, and chocolate. Drinking it propels you into a symphony of flavors including dark chocolate, coffee, molasses, dried cherries, raisins, and roasted malts. The finish is lightly bitter and leaves you wanting more.
Bottom Line:
If you only try one bock on this list, make it Ayinger Celebrator. It’s so flavorful that it will change your whole idea of what a great beer can be.
How Long Is André 3000’s New Blue Sun Live Tour Concert?
According to a Reddit user who attended the first show in Brooklyn, André 3000 and his band “played for 90 minutes, cellphones weren’t allowed, and at no point did it get boring.”
Read the full review below.
“Native ATLien and lifelong ‘Kast devotee who just happened to be in NY this week for a work trip, so I was able to catch the inaugural show in Brooklyn.
It was really pure and beautiful — it’s clear that not one iota of it is contrived, and it’s not a display of virtuosity on Dre’s part, but of exploring the joy of finding beautiful ways to express what he’s been thinking and feeling (he’s arguably the biggest virtuoso ever at rap, so nothing to prove).
All the players in the band are stone cold killer and kept a vibe going all night. Dre worked thru technical difficulties and nerves early on by talking a pretty good bit about what joy the journey of playing flute (with no real intention) has brought him and others around him. This man redefined a genre, made a diamond-selling album, and is approaching this new thing with the joy and curiosity of a child, in the best way.
They played for 90 minutes, cell phones weren’t allowed, and at no point did it get boring. It’s an utterly unique experience, and if you go in with an open spirit, you might just unlock a new core memory.
Can’t wait to see what others think as the tour rolls on.”
The bock is a great beer style for the winter. This dark lager known for its rich, caramel malt flavor (often made with Vienna or Munich malts) is so rich, flavorful, and refreshing that you’ll want to continue drinking it well into the spring. Maibocks, doppelbocks, and traditional German bocks — we’re happy to spend these colder months drinking them all!
You might have noticed that bock beers are often adorned with an image of a goat. The reason for this is because of confusion with an accent. As the story goes, the style was originally called Einbock when it was first brewed in Bavaria. When it made its way south to Munich, the city’s brewers thought it was called “ein bock” which means a male goat. They began calling the beer bock (dropping the original “ein”) and… that’s still the name it goes by today.
Now that you’ve learned a little bit about the style, it’s time to find some bocks to drink this winter. Lucky for you, we did all the work — finding eight great bock beers and ranked them on flavor and overall seasonal appropriateness. Keep scrolling to see them all.
This German-style lager is brewed each year to celebrate the return of spring even though they release it in January. Since we’ve got that spring feeling too, we love this malty, sweet, lightly hoppy beer brewed with 2-row Pale base malt, Vienna malt, Munich malt, and Caramel malt as well as Mt. Hood and German Saphir hops.
Tasting Notes:
This golden-hued lager begins with a nose of freshly baked bread, clover honey, sweet malts, and spicy, floral hops. The palate continues this trend with a ton of caramel, bready malts, citrus peels, honey, cereal grains, and floral, earthy hops. The finish is hoppy, crisp, and very memorable.
Bottom Line:
This is a classic, no-frills, crisp, flavorful bock that you’ll want to continue drinking well into the spring.
Rogue Dead Guy Ale is one of the most popular bock beers in America. This German Maibock-style lager is brewed with 2-row, C15, and Munich malts as well as Pacman yeast and Perle and Sterling hops. It’s adorned with a skeleton, but there’s nothing spooky about this full-flavored beer.
Tasting Notes:
A nose of dried fruit, honey, orchard fruits, orange peels, caramel malts, and floral hops greets you before your first sip. Drinking it reveals notes of caramel malts, candied nuts, honey, yeasty bread, and snappy, floral, lightly spicy hops. The finish is gently bitter and leaves you wanting more.
Bottom Line:
Rogue Dead Guy Ale is for the beer drinkers who prefer a little more hop bite in their bock beers.
Germany is well-known for its bock beers, especially its award-winning doppelbocks. One of the best is Paulaner Salvator. Referred to as “The father of all strong beers”, this caramel, chocolate, and Noble hop-centric beer is brewed with Pilsner malt and Munich malt as well as Herkules and Hallertau Tradition hops.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is a blend of dark chocolate, caramel malts, molasses, roasted malts, coffee, and light floral hops. The palate is loaded with chocolate, roasted malts, toffee, molasses cookies, and dried fruit. The finish is lightly bitter with sweet caramel. This is a full-flavored, warming beer perfect for the winter months.
Bottom Line:
Paulaner Salvator is a great example of the traditional German doppelbock style. It’s balanced, flavorful, and has a high enough ABV to keep you warm this winter.
This traditional German-style bock was brewed using the Reinheitsgebot beer purity laws. It’s made with simple ingredients with nothing extra. This means it’s only made with malted barley, malted wheat, hops, yeast, and water. The result is a classic bock known for its mix of coffee, chocolate, caramel, and floral notes.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find aromas of freshly baked bread, toffee, dark chocolate, coffee, and light floral hops. Drinking it brings forth notes of freshly baked bread, bitter chocolate, coffee beans, dried fruit, and floral, grassy hops. The finish is malty and sweet.
Bottom Line:
While there are some small hints of hops, this is a winter (and spring) beer for fans of malty, sweet, coffee, and chocolate-filled bocks.
This year-round 8.2% ABV doppelbock is brewed with Chocolate, Munich, and Pilsner malts as well as lager yeast and German Northern Brewer and Magnum hops. The result is a sweet, malty, crisp, highly refreshing beer you won’t soon forget.
Tasting Notes:
Complex aromas of raisins, caramel candy, vanilla beans, and bready malts make for a very inviting nose. The palate continues this trend with vanilla beans, toffee, freshly baked bread, dried fruits, cracked black pepper, and floral hops. The finish is gently bittersweet and dry in the best way possible.
Bottom Line:
Troegs Troegenator is a great bock beer. It’s big, bold, high in ABV, and just as high in memorable flavor notes.
Named after Saint Korbinian to honor the founder of the Weihenstephan monastery, Weihenstephaner Korbinian is a strong, malty, sweet doppelbock. It’s well-known for its complex flavor profile of sweet malts, dried fruits, and rich chocolate.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find roasted malts, toffee, candied orange peels, raisins, and chocolate. The palate continues this trend with notes of freshly baked bread, dark chocolate, caramel, plums, more orange peels, and roasted malts. The finish is a mix of sweetness and bitterness.
Bottom Line:
Weihenstephaner Korbinian is a rich, sweet, highly complex doppelbock that you’ll look forward to drinking every winter (and the rest of the year for that matter).
If you’re a fan of American takes on classic European beer styles and you’ve never had Schilling, what are you waiting for? We suggest Burkhart, the New Hampshire-based brewery’s take on the German bockbier style. It’s known for its mix of caramel malts and gentle hop bitterness.
Tasting Notes:
The aromas of freshly baked bread, sweet toffee, roasted malts, candied nuts, and dried fruits greet you before you even take a sip. The palate is filled with caramel candy, yeasty bread, raisins, figs, honey, molasses, and gently bitter, floral hops at the very end. A truly balanced, highly flavorful bock.
Bottom Line:
This is one of the most balanced bock beers on this list. The sweet malts and gentle hops work together in perfect unison. Everything in between is just a bonus.
You don’t necessarily need a reason to celebrate to enjoy an Ayinger Celebrator, but it helps. This bottom-fermented dark doppelbock has won numerous awards over the years for its fruity, chocolate, roasted malt flavor.
Tasting Notes:
A lot is going on with this beer’s nose. There are notes of sweet malts, dried cherries, toffee, and chocolate. Drinking it propels you into a symphony of flavors including dark chocolate, coffee, molasses, dried cherries, raisins, and roasted malts. The finish is lightly bitter and leaves you wanting more.
Bottom Line:
If you only try one bock on this list, make it Ayinger Celebrator. It’s so flavorful that it will change your whole idea of what a great beer can be.
When it comes to Louisville’s Old Forester, there’s one bottle that rules them all — Old Forester Birthday Bourbon. I cannot overstate how much people lust after this bottle. I’ve been at auctions and seen single bottles go for five figures easily. The main reason is that this is unassailably amazing American whiskey that’s super rare and always interesting.
Read our review of the 2023, 2022, and 2021 vintages by clicking on the dates.
Well, that, and it’s released once per year with a very small bottle count making it into the masses. The whiskey is usually a blend of 12-year-old barrels that were all filled on the same day (hence the “Birthday” moniker). It also always comes in at a very sippable 96-proof.
Last year, the rarity was amped up even more by Old Forester moving to a lottery system to get your hands on one from the distillery. Yes, small allocations went out to elite bars and restaurants. But if you wanted to get your own bottle as a consumer, you had to win a distillery lottery and go to Kentucky to pick up your bottle. That’s commitment, folks.
That means for some, it’s just easier to pay a premium on the secondary retail market or at auction. Or taste it at a whiskey bar.
This bottle becomes available in September every year. That means that you’ll need to enter the lottery in mid/late August. Old Forester will announce the lottery in mid-summer, with the lottery usually running the last two weeks of August. It’s on you to track Old Forester’s socials and whiskey groups’ news and announcements to see exactly when the 2024 lottery will take place.
Last year, 500 folks we lucky enough to win the “sweepstakes” and get the honor of buying a bottle. It’s probably best to assume that this year’s winners will be around the same number. So you have about six months to keep track and get ready to enter. Good luck!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
Over the last couple years Donald Trump has burned through quite a lot of lawyers. And no wonder: Apart from the sheer volume of his alleged crimes, he has no impulse control. On the rare occasions he shows up to court, he acts like a petulant child, making things worse for himself. At this point he’s scraping the bottom of the barrel, and he’s knows it, admitting that at this point anyone who would take him on must have several screws loose.
Per The Daily Beast, the former president is in the midst of trying to appeal the whopping $83.3 million a jury ordered him to pay E. Jean Carroll, who successfully sued him for defamation, again. In a post on his rinky-dink Twitter clone, Trump informed fans he was “in the process” of deciding which law firm he’ll go with. Of course, even he knows his options are limited.
“Any lawyer who takes a TRUMP CASE is either ‘CRAZY,’ or a TRUE AMERICAN PATRIOT,” Trump wrote, adding, “I will make my decision soon!”
It’s true, a lawyer who represents him must really love dealing with a client who enrages judges and juries alike, and who so far hasn’t had much luck with cases against him. They’d have to be a masochist — or whatever his definition of a “patriot” is, which increasingly seems to mean “adores Trump more than American democracy.”
Ignoring the “patriot” part, this is a rarity: a moment of honesty who usually only tells the truth when it’s done by accident.
It’s Barbie’s world and we’re all just living in it. The film that became a global phenomenon, making the most money of any film in the U.S. and worldwide for the year, has also made a strong showing during awards season. Among this year’s list of Grammy nominees, it dominates. The soundtrack, which is a major feature of the film’s merchandising, landed Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year nominations for Billie Eilish, Finneas, Mark Ronson, and Andrew Wyatt. That track, “What Was I Made For?” also garnered a Best Pop Solo Performance nom for Eilish. Dua Lipa’s “Dance The Night” also has a nomination for Song Of The Year.
It goes on from there. Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s reinvention of Aqua’s “Barbie World” got a Best Rap nomination — and the latter is up for Best New Artist. The soundtrack itself is nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media while Ronson and Wyatt share a nomination for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media (Includes Film And Television). And, perhaps most remarkably, in the category of Best Song Written For Visual Media four of the five nominees are from Barbie — the three songs listed above and “I’m Just Ken,” performed by Ryan Gosling and written by Ronson and Wyatt.
For those keeping score at home, that’s a total of 11 nominations for one soundtrack, besting the year’s most nominated artist, SZA, who has nine. And aside from the Barbie soundtrack and SZA, women lead the Grammy nominations this year — which is exactly the kind of domination that Barbie Land expects from women in the Real World. But does it mean that we’ve reached equality (or even established a matriarchy) in music and the problems of feminism are solved?
Obviously not — the Annenberg Institute’s annual report on gender inequalities in music notes that despite the prevalence of women nominated this year, down to it being a record-breaking year for women nominees in the big four categories (Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Album Of The Year, and Best New Artist), women are underrepresented in behind-the-scenes roles, including producing and songwriting. So let’s start there, with the men who produced and wrote much of the Barbie soundtrack.
Ronson stepped in to executive produce a soundtrack and score the film after being texted the question, “Barbie?” by music supervisor George Drakoulias, the AP reports, who previously worked with filmmakers Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach across several of their films, including Marriage Story and Frances Ha. It is Ronson’s first time scoring and creating an original soundtrack for a film, although he previously contributed to some of the most-awarded songs on the soundtrack for A Star Is Born in 2018, including “Shallow.”
What Ronson and Wyatt ended up doing with Gerwig and the film’s editor, Nick Houy, went far beyond commissioning original pop songs for the film that fit Barbie. Obviously, it was heavy on women artists who were asked to look at the world through Barbie’s eyes or narrate her experience. One standout moment that became a breakout single from the film is Dua Lipa’s “Dance The Night,” which plays during a party and choreographed dance scene only to record scratch to a halt when Barbie asks, “Do you ever think about dying?” The moment was so powerful that it was in early trailers for the film to set the tone. Ronson and Wyatt constructed the music, which Gerwig used as a placeholder and to choreograph the dancing, but they brought Dua in later to write lyrics. “Dua Lipa wrote specific lyrics to picture, similarly to Lizzo, which was extraordinary,” Gerwig told IndieWire. “I mean she’s just standing in a studio making up lyrics to Margot [looking at] the camera and [gesturing] at the camera.” Gerwig and Huoy decided the song was so good that they wanted to use it everywhere in the score, ultimately blending it in every time the Mattel executives were on screen. Lizzo’s song “Pink” was similarly constructed, with the singer ad-libbing lines to the scene over music by Ronson and Wyatt.
The group did something similar with Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?,” preparing a 30-minute cut of the movie, because there wasn’t a specific scene they wanted a song from Eilish for, and tasking her with writing a song that would explain what was on Barbie’s mind. Ronson and Wyatt took stems of the final product and created score that lilts in and out of the film’s score repeatedly. “By the time you get to it at the end, you’ve actually been hearing it the whole movie,” Gerwig said.
Eilish manages to hit on something else with her song that became a big topic of discourse around the film: the complexities of performing femininity. As Barbie experiences the realities of objectification and sexism in the Real World, Eilish’s lyrics explore themes of self-actualization. While Barbie explains to Ken that he has to stand on his own, Eilish examines transactional relationships and being “something you paid for.” And while Barbie struggles with depression after failure, so does Eilish. Talking to Apple Music, Eilish admits that after writing the initial song and listening back to it, she realized she was writing about her own life. “Every single lyric is exactly how I feel. It’s about my life,” she said.
Those songs are accompanied by a gaggle of other talented women artists, including Haim, Charli XCX, Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice, Karol G, PinkPanthress, Gayle, and Ava Max. Atlantic Records and Warner Brothers set the soundtrack up to be an international success, with artists from all over the globe included and singles released regionally. It reflects the Barbies in the movie who represent a range of ethnicities, body types, and (of course) hair colors.
The b-side (and film’s b-story) comes in the voice of Ken, whose biggest splash on the soundtrack is “I’m Just Ken,” written by Ronson and Wyatt and performed by Ryan Gosling. It’s an unhinged diatribe from a rejected guy with lines funny enough to stop him from being an incel (see “a life of blonde fragility” and “anywhere else I’d be a 10”) and brilliantly stupid enough to stop him from being sympathetic. It’s a fan favorite we may never forget or forgive for coining the term “Kenergy.”
What makes the Barbie soundtrack an oddity is what also made it such an interesting success. It’s not a feminist point of view or the award nominations it has garnered for women artists. It’s the return of the original soundtrack. It would have been easy to load this movie up with Aqua’s “Barbie Girl,” drop a ‘70s disco track into the dance scene, and commission one original song to be the “heart” of the film. In fact, that’s what most movies do. It takes a guaranteed blockbuster — with a blockbuster budget — to even be able to afford to pay for this many new songs. And it required the distribution arm of an international company, perhaps subsidized by some Mattel money, to have the marketing dollars to get this many hit singles off a soundtrack, let alone fund the awards-season campaigns for them. But after seeing it happen with A Star Is Born and Ronson’s years of mastering the mixtape with his compilation releases — as well as his time producing albums by some of the most successful women in music — it’s an out-of-the-ballpark home run in Barbie.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
This development flies in the face of public opinion on the topic. A recent poll found that 88% of Americans wish they had been taught financial literacy in school. The same number said their state should require either a semester or year-long personal finance course for graduation.
A teacher in Charlotte, North Carolina, has taken that problem to heart and is giving her 3rd-grade class rigorous, hands-on lessons on the importance of personal finance.
Shelby Lattimore, a math and science teacher at Renaissance West STEAM Academy, gives her students jobs in the classroom and they pay differently depending on how hard the students work. “We have a teacher assistant, line leader, door holder, recess basket, lunch basket. We have a cleanup crew,” Lattimore said.
Hard Life Lessons in 3rd Grade, my students had to pay rent for the first time! Year Two of collecting classroom rent and it is still the best feeling ever! #rent #money #teacher
Every month, they must pay her “rent” for use of their desks and chairs, just like their parents have to do. And just like in the real world, rent just went up. It was $5 and now it’s $7.
The kids are allowed to use their money for rewards, so they have to consider whether to spend or save every month. “They get paid twice a week and then they have to pay rent once a month, just like me,” Lattimore told WCCBCharlotte.
“Parents from my class are thanking me because a lot of them do live check to check, and they were never taught to think of money, long term,” said Lattimore.
Lattimore believes that teaching financial literacy is especially important in her classroom and surrounding community.
“Charlotte is known for generational poverty,” Lattimore told NBC News. “A lot of my students of color, Hispanic, Black, whatever it may be, they see their parents, they see their guardian, they see their grandmothers, grandfathers, whatever, may be living check to check. They see the money management of not thinking long term necessarily and the consequences of it.”
“It gives you a life lesson on how money is,” a female student told WCNC.
The average adult only correctly answers 48% of the questions on the 2023 TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index, a test that measures financial knowledge. Those numbers were lower for Black (34%) and Hispanic people (38%) who took the test.
Students and parents love Mrs. Lattimore, but she’s also found a significant following on TikTok, where over 890,000 users follow her posts. The videos are simple. Lattimore sits at her desk and teaches lessons to her students.
A video where she explained the ins and outs of personal hygiene has received nearly 20 million views. “As a child growing up being neglected, you are going to be remembered as their favorite teacher,” Gigi wrote in the comments. “So glad you’re teaching them. Some kids don’t have this at home,” Brinley added.
Replying to @Ms.L Pt.2 I never thought I’d have to brush my teeth in front of my entire class but we are here…. #hygieneproducts #teeth #teacher
“It’s organic. You know, they see the relationship that that me and my kids have built together and I think that’s why the following is amazing,” Lattimore told WCCBCharlotte.
So when Elmo asked all the grownups on X to how they were doing, it triggered a deluge that spoke to people’s need to share their mental and emotional struggles as well as the safe place Sesame Street has been for generations.
It all began with a simple question: “Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?”
Elmo surely did not expect thousands upon thousands of people to dump their emotional loads on him like they were in a therapy session, but that’s exactly what happened.
@elmo Elmo we are tired
— (@)
Not only did people respond that they were tired—a common refrain—but they also shared about the deaths of loved ones, their relationship struggles, jobs they’d been laid off from, their feelings of despair and depression. Clearly, some people needed a place to put their woes, and who better to receive them than a beloved childhood character who we know understands and accepts us unconditionally?
To Sesame Street’s credit, they handled the trauma dump as best a fictional world filled with fictional characters possibly could. After the initial post’s impact, Elmo posted, “Wow! Elmo is glad he asked! Elmo learned that it is important to ask a friend how they are doing. Elmo will check in again soon, friends! Elmo loves you.” Elmo added the hashtag #EmotionalWellBeing.
And then the other Sesame Street characters started chiming in.
— (@)
One by one, all perfectly in character, the Sesame Street crew showed up on their respective accounts to offer their support, all using the #EmotionalWellBeing hashtag.
“I’m here if you ever need a shoulder to lean on. I’ll make us both a warm cup of tea,” wrote Bert.
“If you need some cheering up, let me know! I love making others smile,” wrote Ernie.
“Me here to talk it out whenever you want. Me will also supply cookies,” wrote Cookie Monster.
“I, Grover, am here to be a good listener whenever you need it,” wrote Grover.
Even Oscar the Grouch weighed in with some honesty and support. “I’m not great at listening to other share their big feelings, but my worm Slimey is. You should talk with him if you ever need to chat.”
Yes, it’s silly. But it’s also not, because Sesame Street truly has been a lifeline for countless kids who found solace, support and celebration of themselves in those beloved characters, sometimes even more than they found at home.
But the wave of support and words of kindness and understanding didn’t stay confined to Sesame Street. All kinds of big accounts, from NASA and the United Nations to Xbox and Verizon—even the President of the United States himself—weighed in with gratitude for Elmo checking in and reminders that we’re all making our way through this life together.
@elmo Thanks for checking in @Elmo. Reminding you all that you are made of star stuff. u2728
— (@)
Does it get more wholesome than NASA reminding us we’re made of stardust?
I know how hard it is some days to sweep the clouds away and get to sunnier days.nnOur friend Elmo is right: We have to be there for each other, offer our help to a neighbor in need, and above all else, ask for help when we need it.nnEven though it’s hard, you’re never alone.
— (@)
The entire phenomenon was a testament to the enduring influence of Sesame Street, but also a good reminder to check in with people once in a while. You never know who might need to offload some emotional weight, and as cathartic as it might feel to drop it all on a beloved icon like Elmo, nothing compares to a real-life friend who offers a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on.
Thank you for the inspiration, Sesame Street creators. Still managing to nurture the children within us, all these years later.
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