Month: March 2024

Jake Gyllenhaal‘s breakthrough performance was in Donnie Darko, which also starred Patrick Swayze. In a full-circle moment, Gyllenhaal is now ripping throats in a remake of one of Swayze’s best films, Road House. The actor paid tribute to his on-time screen partner in a sweet Instagram post.

“I’ve been thinking back about my time working with Patrick on Donnie Darko, and rewatching this great man in the original Road House plus so many other films. I’ve never stopped being a fan,” Gyllenhaal wrote. “He was such a talent and I continue to have so much respect and admiration for what he put out and into the world. I’ll never forget his kindness to me when I was starting out— he didn’t have to take the time, but he always did. We’ve made a different RH this time around, but hoping it’s one he would’ve had fun watching!”

If you took out the references to Road House, this post could also apply to a certain nightmarish bunny from Donnie Darko. “I’ve been thinking back about my time working with Frank the Rabbit on Donnie Darko…”

Road House, which also stars Daniela Melchior, Conor McGregor, J. D. Pardo, Arturo Castro and Billy Magnussen, comes to Amazon Prime Video (not theaters) on March 21.

(Via Instagram)

There are two kinds of good observations that a writer can make. The first kind of good observation is one the audience has also made and therefore instantly recognizes. The second kind of good observation is one the audience has also made but didn’t know that they made until the writer pointed it out to them.

I’ll give you an example. Mike Maple of the Michigan power-pop band Liquid Mike once heard a story about a local man who built a statue in his backyard called Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot. Did Paul Bunyan actually have a slingshot? I have no idea, but it’s not pertinent to the story. What’s important is that Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot became an oddball tourist attraction. It became so well-known that some high school kid decided to sneak into the local man’s backyard and chop it down.

“It just sounded like a folk tale in itself,” Maple tells me during a Zoom call from his home in Marquette last month, “that some kid could chop down this guy who’s larger-than-life. It felt like a big metaphor, so we just ran with it.”

Maple is explaining the inspiration for the title of Liquid Mike’s endearing recent album, Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot, as well as the central thematic idea that links his hooky, funny songs about small-town Midwestern life. As the band’s principal songwriter, Maple is preoccupied with both the specific peculiarities of his community in Michigan’s remote Upper Peninsula and the almost-certain possibility that you can live your whole life in a place like that and not come close to mattering to the outside world. Maple writes about this predicament with dark, offbeat humor (the song “K2” is about killing time with drugs and the so-called “choking game” viral pastime) without diluting the very real fear inherent to living a lower-middle-class life in flyover country. (“The American Dream is a Michigan Hoax,” he sings on the deceptively bouncy “Mouse Trap.”)

Back to Paul Bunyan. Listening to Liquid Mike made me realize something I already knew but didn’t know I knew: Countless nowhere towns in Middle America claim Paul Bunyan as their own local myth and erect statues in his honor. I live in Minnesota, and there are multiple shrines to the giant lumberjack scattered throughout the state. The town in Wisconsin where I went to college has one, too, as does the resort community where my family vacationed last year. I could name many more examples. And, like Maple says, there’s a big metaphor here related to the big fella. When your town isn’t known for anything, glomming on to Paul Bunyan (or chopping him down) can be an identity. It might even be thing that keeps you from feeling invisible.

Have I mentioned that Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot is the most purely enjoyable rock record to come out in the early months of 2024? Barreling through 13 songs in just 26 minutes, Liquid Mike evokes mid-’90s Guided By Voices with an overlay of golden-era alt-rock radio dynamism inspired by Maple’s misspent youth listening to Weezer, Green Day, and Everclear. It’s music as engaging and unpretentious as the lyrics are witty and unsparing, in a manner that recalls another indie band with Midwest roots, The Hold Steady. (There’s song literally called “Drinking And Driving” and another song literally called “Drug Dealer.”)

Like Robert Pollard, the 27-year-old Maple had no expectations of ever reaching a wide audience. He moved to the U.P. in 2015 from his hometown of Ashland, Wisconsin in order to attend Michigan Tech. His plan was to study audio engineering, but when he learned the classes had more to do with “how to set up a theater for plays” than recording bands he pivoted to a communications degree. But once he was out of school, he landed one of the few jobs that were available in town, a mail carrier at the local post office.

The “indie rock mailman” thing is central to the band’s blue-collar, underdog narrative, though Maple isn’t sure how much longer he’s going to do the job. The critical success of 2023’s S/T and now Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot is growing their audience. (Also, the mail trucks at work “are just falling apart non-stop because they’re so old,” he says, which sounds like another potential metaphor.) Having caught their show last month at Minneapolis’ 7th Street Entry, one of their first concerts outside of Michigan, I can confirm that they will soon be (if they aren’t already) an in-demand touring act. On stage, their music is loose but relentlessly on-point, adding layers of muscle and noise to their rock-solid songs.

When I was growing up, the most famous export from the U.P. was the novelty band Da Yoopers, who were a big deal in Wisconsin and presumably Michigan in the ’80s and ’90s. Do you know them?

I’m a big Da Yoopers fan. They rock. They’re from Ishpeming, actually, which is just the next town over from Marquette. I don’t know if they coincide with “Weird” Al. But they’re very DIY. They all do it themselves. It’s pretty cool.

Are you looking to dethrone Da Yoopers as the most famous band from the U.P.?

It’s impossible. People that don’t listen to music up here know who they are. It’s crazy. Like, Joe Pera’s got that show that takes place up here. But I would guess that 60 percent of the town has no idea that he has a show that takes place here. But I would say 98 percent of people in Marquette know who Da Yoopers are.

The shtick with Da Yoopers was making fun of the U.P. accent, which just seems like an exaggerated Wisconsin accent.

And people ham it. They really like to crank it up when they’re at the bar. They start turning the accent up. But it’s not much different than a Wisconsin accent.

Do you feel like Liquid Mike has any kind of profile in Marquette? Do your neighbors know that you’re becoming known on the internet?

People at my work just figured it out. I was trying to keep it a secret for as long as I possibly could. But now they know.

How’d they find out?

Facebook. That seems to be the way things travel around up here. We haven’t had any Facebook presence for the longest time. But the Rolling Stone thing, that’s a very Facebook shareable article. And it had the word “mailman.” Then it was game over.

How do you feel about that being a narrative for the band, that you work a day job as a mailman?

I certainly didn’t invent the “musician having a day job” title. I brought it up once and I think people just kept running with it because it was a cool story, I guess. But I’m fine with it. It’s not my main selling point, I don’t think. I would hope not. But I don’t have any control over that either.

It would be different if you worked at a bank. There’s something all-American about being a mailman. You picture your own mailman and you think, “Oh, that guy would never be in a band.”

Some people hate their mailman too, so I wonder if that hits people like, “Yuck, I’m not going to listen to that.”

How did you become a mailman?

It’s just not a whole lot of shit to do up here as far as options. I just needed some money at the time. Before that, I worked at Menards and it just sucked working for that guy. But I always thought that it would be my dream job: I’ll just walk around outside for eight hours and I’ll have weekends off. It ended up being that I’m walking around for 10 hours and I don’t get weekends off. It bit me in the ass a little bit, but it’s a good job. It’s a normal-person’s job. I’m fine with that.

Guided By Voices gets brought up a lot as a reference point for Liquid Mike. You can certainly see the connection musically — like GBV, you write short, punchy songs that are catchy and lo-fi. But is GBV’s story — particularly the bit about Robert Pollard writing all of these amazing tunes while working as a schoolteacher — also an inspiration?

Yeah. I mean, that’s my favorite band for sure. But I didn’t get into that band until pretty late into college. I don’t think I would’ve gotten it, maybe, in high school. But it hit me at the right time where I was about to graduate and I was like, “Oh, you can just do this.” You just can live in obscurity and still be fine. Because I love all those records too, all the pre-Propeller stuff. I just thought that you could do it with dignity. You could just keep making music. I think that was the big thing that caught me. I do think that’s the best story in rock ‘n’ roll.

A lot of power pop bands come up when describing Liquid Mike. Weezer and Superdrag, for instance, seem like obvious touchstones. But are there influences that are less obvious that people haven’t clued in on?

I would definitely say Everclear. I mean, I grew up with XM Radio. There was no college radio for me to tune into growing up. The XM Station was as alternative as it got until I started with YouTube. I never heard that Superdrag record until people started throwing that out a lot when the self-titled record came out. And then I was like, “This is good.”

I understand that you also play in an AC/DC cover band.

I do. I love AC/DC so much. I feel like that shit kills harder up here than when Liquid Mike plays. People love the AC/DC covers.

I heard you’re the singer.

Yeah. I only can do Bon. I love Brian, but I cannot do his voice. There’s something about it where it feels like it’s even another octave upper than Bon. It’s just so squeal-y. But that was my first show I ever saw. The Black Ice tour.

One thing I responded to when I heard your music was the sense of place. You can tell immediately that you come from a specific part of the country with a unique sensibility. The fact that I come from the same place, of course, added to the appeal. I imagine that this regional identity was important to you as well.

For sure. I was scared that no one was going to get it. Because we are pretty isolated and it’s a bubble up here. But I did try to make a more personal record, at least from the writing standpoint and thematic stuff. People think about the U.P. and the first thing they think of is probably bearded dudes, like lumberjacks. I was leaning into that, but subverting it. I’ve never seen a lumberjack in my life. I remember my friend Corey — who I play in some bands with — said the most Yooped up thing he’s ever seen is a girl wearing basketball shorts in the middle of January with a Cookie Monster hat. That’s the most Yooped up shit ever. And it’s true. Low household incomes and poverty. That’s a big thing up here.

There’s a line in “Drinking And Driving” about how “400 Airbnbs will welcome you tonight.” It make me think about how a lot of these rural towns get used as vacation spots for people from bigger cities.

It’s expensive to live up here. Marquette is a college town. It’s pretty condensed. But there’s a lot of remote workers coming in, which sucks. Because it’s driving up housing. And there’s Airbnb. I think the town is finally putting a stop to it. It’s reached its Airbnb limit or something. There’s some sort of sanction in place, which is good. But I have friends that have gotten kicked out. Their landlord boots them out and it gets turned into an Airbnb that gets used four months out of the year. It’s just super whack.

A recurring theme in a lot of these songs is feeling like you’re not going to matter, that your life isn’t ever going to be significant. Are you writing about that from a place of fear or from a place of acceptance?

Definitely both. I’m terrified of death, as all good young men probably should be. But I was chill with it. I guess that’s why I made songs. Because I didn’t think anyone would ever listen to it. It was just for me, maybe, to wrap my head around it.

The song “AM” references one of my favorite films, the 1999 documentary American Movie, which has a similar theme.

Cody [Marecek, the drummer] wrote that song, actually.

Awesome.

We’re both huge fans of that movie. Maybe the story attracted me in the same way the GBV stuff did, where it’s this guy just clawing for a way out. Or clawing for self-actualization probably more so. Those are kind of the records that I always lean toward anyway. I like when people have vision and they can execute it on their own.

Are you hoping to make music your full-time career? Or do you like being a small-town mailman who makes records for fun?

I want something in the middle. I don’t think that music is going to be my main thing for a while. But I do want a more flexible day job so I can take these opportunities that are coming. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be working at the post office, I guess. It’s been really stressful lately. They got rid of a route. Everyone at the office just bitches about it all day. That’s part of the culture, to just complain all day, in a good way. But our trucks are just falling apart non-stop because they’re so old. They’re from the early ’90s. It’s just sad.

Picture this: You’re on a long international flight. Maybe you’re not sleeping that well on the plane. At one point, you look around and it sure seems like you’re seeing global music superstar Calvin Harris cracking and eating six raw eggs, but only the yolks. Perhaps you’re just overly tired and imagining things. Or, maybe you were a witness to something that Harris has revealed he actually does.

In a recent interview on BBC Radio 2’s The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show, Harris explained, “I was on a British Airways flight only a couple of weeks ago, and the air hostess told me she’d never seen anybody crack eggs and pour them into their mouth in their seat before. But that was me, that’s what I do.”

Ball, understandably blown away by what she was hearing, replied, “You took an egg and cracked…” Harris then cut her off, interjecting, “No, six,” which left Ball even more flabbergasted.

Harris continued, “I like to get rid of the white, so I just do the raw yolk. I find it gets rid of jet lag.”

Ball had a great follow-up question: How does Harris manage to transport a half-dozen raw eggs in his luggage without breaking them? Harris responded, “You just stick them in your bag. I’m surprised they get through security, because for me, that’s liquid. For me, that’s liquid. But it’s never ever been flagged. The albumen to me is quite runny, isn’t it?”

People have all sorts of different ways to combat jet lag (I personally used an app called Timeshifter for a recent trip to Japan #notsponsored), but if raw egg yolks get the job done, power to you, Calvin Harris.

Sydney Sweeney has been trending on X since making her SNL hosting debut (with musical guest Kacey Musgraves) for a few reasons. There’s her acting work (nun horror movie Immaculate, coming to theaters soon!), the “Hooters Waitress” sketch, and a supposed “leak” video.

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of posts like “I’m sending the Sydney Sweeney leak to anyone that likes the post, check your dm after liking, comment missed if you haven’t received it” and “I will send the Sydney Sweeney leaks to anyone who likes this post, follow me so i can dm you the video.”

It should be obvious by the tone of the tweets, but: there is no Sydney Sweeney leak video. It’s random accounts — many of which are dedicated to soccer players, for some reason — trying to get people to follow or message them with the promise of… something. It’s unclear. But don’t fall for it.

In her SNL monologue, Sweeney joked about the affair rumors with her hunky Anyone But You co-star Glen Powell and the disastrous reception to Madame Web. “You might have seen me in Anyone But You or Euphoria. You definitely did not see me in Madame Web,” she said. “But I do have a new film coming out called Immaculate. I play a nun, so it’s perfect casting. But tonight, I’m excited for everyone to get to know the real me. I feel like people only see me as the girl on TV who screams, cries, and has sex. Sometimes it’s all three at the same time.” You can watch the full monologue here.

Towards the end of 2023, Camila Cabello and Drake sparked some dating rumors when they were seen together. As Daily Mail noted at the time, the two were spotted at Noah’s Ark Beach Club in Turks And Caicos in December. Cabello and Drake were apparently “jet-skiing together and having an intimate conversation.”

Now, though, Cabello herself has explained what was going on there.

Cabello is the guest on the upcoming March 6 episode of the popular Call Her Daddy podcast. In a teaser video shared yesterday (March 4), host Alexandra Cooper mentions that Cabello was “on a vacation with Drake.” Cabello’s initial response was an “oh gosh” before adding, “It was vacation plus some work.” Cabello then gives a wink in response to Cooper’s intrigued reaction. That’s all the teaser clip offers in terms of Drake, but perhaps there will be more to that conversation topic in the full episode.

Also in December 2023, Cabello suggested that she was releasing new music in 2024, so perhaps fans will get to hear a Cabello/Drake collaboration in the near future. What fans probably won’t get soon, though, is a Fifth Harmony reunion. There have been rumors about one lately, but subsequent reports have indicated all the talk is actually false.

Killer Mike’s mission to snag a date with Taylor Swift has apparently been shelved. Yesterday (March 4), the “Motherless” rapper took to Instagram to announce his latest priority—a summer tour.

Beginning in August, the Grammy Award winner will travel across Europe for part one of his headlining Down By Law Tour. So far, Mike has revealed 7 of the 12 dates, including stops in Dublin, London, and Paris. The remaining five dates are slated to be shared further down the line.

As of today (March 5), he hasn’t unveiled the tour’s official supporting acts. However, the poster shows that each stop will feature his longtime choir, Mighty Midnight Revival is expected to take the stage with Mike.

Killer Mike’s Down By Law Tour ticket sale is set to kick off on Friday, March 8, at 9 a.m. GMT (4 a.m. EST). The pre-sale for each O2 location will launch on Wednesday, March 6, at 10 a.m. GMT (5 a.m. EST). Find more information here. Continue below for the entire tour schedule and official tour poster.

Killer Mike 2024 Tour Dates: Down By Law Tour

08/19 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
08/22 – Dublin, IE @ National Stadium
08/23 – Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy
08/26 – London, UK @ O2 Forum Kentish Town
08/27 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
08/29 – Paris, FR @ Bataclan
08/30 – Cologne, DE @ Carlswerk Victoria

Killer Mike’s Down By Law Tour poster

From the beloved My Way The Vegas Residency to his record-setting Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show performance, Usher has had quite an impressive few years. But before the “Good Good” singer hits the road for his Past Present Future tour, Usher is using the downtime to enjoy some family time.

Based on Usher’s latest post online, it appears atop his list was celebrating his nuptials with his longtime partner, Jennifer Goicoechea. During Super Bowl LVIII weekend, the pair snuck away to officially tie the knot. Shortly after, Usher began a hectic promotional run to discuss his latest studio album, Coming Home.

After wrapping up his press tour, it appears the Raymonds jet set off on their official honeymoon. However, fans aren’t happy about the destination the couple chose.

Did Usher Visit Russell Simmons In Bali?

On February 25, Usher shared a video and photo from a tropical location with his wife. Neither upload onto his official Instagram page revealed the exact country. However, according to Russell Simmon’s latest post, it might’ve been his new stomping grounds, Bali, Indonesia.

In a vlog shared on March 3, Simmons revealed that Usher visited him in his new residence. Simmons went on to pen a sentimental message about the encounter. “When I was at the lowest point in my life, I woke up, and this man was sitting by my bed,” he wrote. “I had known Usher since he was a kid, but we really bonded because of our mutual love for self-discovery and our belief in Yogic science as a direct route to realizing God’s consciousness in ourselves.”

He closed the post by thanking Usher for his ongoing support. “People remember to remember this: a friend walks in when others walk out,” he wrote. “I will never forget the generosity of spirit I witnessed in this man. God bless you, baby bro Usher. [I] love you!”

Fans of Usher slammed the recording artist for being spotted with Simmons, given the sexual assault allegation the former mogul is facing. View their remarks below.

Usher hasn’t issued a response to the blowback for users online.

With several billions of streams to his name, Metro Boomin has quickly become a household name. Even if you don’t recognize the musician from his notable collaborations (Future, Post Malone, Young Thug, etc.) or his impressive film soundtrack work, most can immediately identify his producer tag.

One fan has taken some creativity liberties with his infamous “If Young Metro don’t trust you, I’m gonna shoot you” line. In a resurfaced viral video captioned: “If Young Metro don’t trust you, it ain’t good coochie,” a woman named Fifa performed a smell check on her lady parts. As she removed her fingers from her private area, she gestured toward Metro for his final approval.

Well, Metro didn’t enjoy that clip being shared on X (formerly Twitter). He clapped back with a message for the initial uploader. “U so lame enjoy the clout,” he wrote.

Seeing nothing wrong with the video, Fifa replied to Metro. “N****, you know it was just a joke/skit that you agreed to do,” she wrote. “This video went viral years ago. Your people [are] the one[s] who sent it to me.. .”

Given that the segment was recorded in the same area where food was being prepped and cooked, users online didn’t see any humor in the sketch. View a few of their response below.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Dr. Jason Singh, who has all kinds of medical insights on TikTok, recently weighed in on the topic he joked was “more debatable than pineapple on pizza.”

That debate would be whether it’s better to shower in the morning, or at night.

You would think the “right answer” would be largely up to personal preference, much like which way to face while showering and whether or not to snack in the shower…two previous hot button issues online.

But according to Singh, there are definitive pros and cons to each option, which could settle the debate once and for all.

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Singh says in the clip that overnight, “your body can accumulate germs such as bacteria and fungus” through “processes like sweating and shedding skin cells,” all of which help create odor. When you shower off this residue in the AM, it brings your “skin microbiome back to a more hygienic baseline.”

Makes a pretty compelling case for morning showers, doesn’t it? Just wait.

Singh went on to say that nighttime showering has “ ‘three things going for it.”

One, it helps release melatonin to help induce sleep. Plus, when your body adjusts from a warmer temperature to a cooler temperature, that also helps your body prepare for a good night’s rest.

The second benefit is that it washes away “the entire day’s grime.” Which, let’s be honest, can be very therapeutic sometimes. And lastly, showering at night is the ‘better way to help hydrate your skin,” making it a better option for those with sensitive or dry skin.

Singh’s bottom line: “Overall night-time showers have more benefits to it but morning showers have really one benefit and that’s better hygiene.”

@drjaysonisfresh

More debatable than pineapple on pizza

♬ original sound – Dr. Jason Singh

Singh encouraged viewers to weigh in with their own opinions, and they didn’t hold back.

“You will never convince me to go to bed dirty,’ person wrote. Another argued “The worst part about night time showers is long, wet hair. I hate going to bed with wet hair!”

There ended up being some pretty funny responses as well. One person joked that they opted for morning showers since it helps them “Get my head together. Generate a to-do list. Fight with pretend people.”

Another person noted that timing preferences can be dictated by their schedule, commenting, “might showers during the work week and morning showers on the weekends.”

Many argued that two showers a day was the actual best option. That way you don’t go to bed dirty, and you’re fresh for the morning.

Obviously, showering at any time consistently is perfectly find, but Dr. Singh offered some valuable food for thought.

Of course, you could always follow in this viewer’s footsteps, whole wrote:

“I prefer to roll around in dust like a chinchilla.”

There’s usually a big dividing line between Jeopardy! and Celebrity Jeopardy!, and with good reason: Celebrities don’t have to qualify to be on the show like everyone else. They get to compete because they’re famous (and smart). But after Ike Barinholtz, of shows like The Mindy Project and The Afterparty, conquered the first season of the latter, they decided to make an exception. On Monday’s episode of Jeopardy! Barinholtz duked it out during this year’s Tournament of Champions, with “regular” Jeopardy! champs. And guess what? He kicked butt.

Per TV Insider, Barinholtz — who won three games of Celebrity Jeoaprdy!, ultimately defeating Patton Oswalt and Wil Wheaton — took the stage alongside Melissa Klapper and Ray Lalonde. Klapper had also won three games. Lalonde won 13. If Barinholtz was nervous, it didn’t seem that way. He started off well and continued to do so.

Barinholtz even got one of the Daily Doubles. It was for the category “Numeric Movie Titles,” and he decided to make it a true Daily Double. The clue? “Federico Fellini felt he’d directed 7.5 films before making this 1963 gem.” Did Barinholtz say “What is 8 ½?” He sure did, bringing his total to $15,200.

By Final Jeopardy, Klapper was in the lead, with 21,400 to Barinholtz’s $14,800 and Lalonde’s $13,800. Alas, Klapper did not get the right answer. Barinholtz did, and bet enough to bring it to $28,601 and win the episode.

Before the show aired, Barinholtz excitedly took to Instagram to tell people to watch.

“I feel like a guinea pig a little bit, but I like guinea pigs, they’re adorable, like me. But yeah, it’s an honor to be here.” Barinholtz said. “A lot of people were giving me well wishes, and a lot of them were tinged with the tone of, ‘I thought you were dumb,’ and I am, full disclosure, but it was wonderful. People were surprised, but I was happy they were saying nice things to me.” In other words, it was a “pleasant surprise,” as Jennings put it.

After his win, people on social media couldn’t believe that a famous face was a) a Jeopardy!-level brainiac who b) bested two of the show’s best.

This won’t be the last time you watch one of the guys who wrote the Dwayne Johnson-Kevin Hart comedy Central Intelligence compete on regular Jeopardy! His win means he advances to the semi-finals.

Earlier this year Emma Stone revealed one of her dreams is to compete on Jeopardy! She didn’t want any of that Celebrity Jeopardy! business; she wanted to be on the regular show, qualifying just like anyone else. Barinholtz didn’t take that path, but it should show Stone that a famous person can hold their own with the regulars.

(Via TV Insider)