Month: March 2024

To those mourning the end of J. Cole’s partnership with Puma and the RS-Dreamer, will be happy to know that Cole is readying a follow-up. The rapper/producer won’t be dropping the new shoe with Puma though, and those hoping for a Nike team-up will have to keep wishing because from what we can tell so far, it looks like Cole is going independent with this one.

Cole’s teased the new low-top sneaker via Vol. 2 of his Might Delete Later vlog (buried about halfway through the video, which is essentially a teaser for his upcoming album The Fall Off) where he can be seen rocking the new kicks in an indoor court while he sinks buckets.

The new sneaker, dubbed the Dreamer Indie 5000s, is just a prototype as of now according to Cole, who can be heard rapping, “This shit I designed with Italians, call them the Indie 5000s,” and feature a low-top 90s-esque b-ball design with a zig-zag overlay. Like the RS-Dreamer, the Dreamer Indie 500 conveys motion in its design. Overall, I think it’s a major improvement, but I know the RS-Dreamer has plenty of die-hard fans who might not agree.

Eagle-eyed Cole fans will recognize this design as Cole has been teasing them in public appearances and even appeared on a special cover of NBA 2K23 wearing a pair. As of now release information is not available but given the fact that the shoe got a special section in Vol. 2 of Might Delete Later, we’re assuming these will be released around or along with The Fall Off’s drop.

We’ll update you as soon as we know more, for now take a closer look at the prototype with these images collected by Nice Kicks.

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Khruangbin is another day closer to the release of their fifth studio album, A La Sala. It’s not just any day, though; it’s a single release day. The song in question is the mostly instrumental “Pon Pón,” which features a funky groove and whispered Spanish lyrics throughout. Mark Speers’ electric guitars maintain a constant conversation with DJ Johnson’s Rhodes organ, as Laura Lee Ochoa’s bass naturally takes the lead. The song continues the through-line started by “A Love International” and “May Ninth,” offering another scintillating preview of the upcoming album.

The band is also previewing the album at a series of listening events at four different James Turrell Skyspaces locations this month. They’ll give headphones to attendees to hear the record as the Skyspaces “illuminate at sunset,” offering a visual counterpoint to the psychedic sounds. Then, of course, the trio will hit the road for their A LA SALA tour dates, beginning in April and including appearances at the Boston Calling, Bonnaroo, Coachella, and Red Rocks festivals.

Check out “Pon Pón” above and see the tour dates below.

A LA SALA is out 4/5 on Dead Oceans. Get more info here.

Khruangbin 2024 Tour Dates

04/14 — Coachella @ Indio, CA
04/18 — Alex Madonna Expo Center @ San Luis Obispo, CA*
04/21 — Coachella @ Indio, CA
04/23 — Brooklyn Bowl @ Las Vegas, NV*
04/24 — Brooklyn Bowl @ Las Vegas, NV*
04/26 — Revel @ Albuquerque, NM*
04/27 — Revel @ Albuquerque, NM*
05/22 — The Met @ Philadelphia, PA^
05/23 — The Met @ Philadelphia, PA^
05/25 — Boston Calling @ Boston, MA
05/26 — Saratoga Performing Arts Center @ Saratoga Springs, NY^
05/28 — Rockin’ At The Knox @ Buffalo, NY^
05/29 — Jacob’s Pavilion @ Cleveland, OH^
05/31 — History @ Toronto, ON^
06/01 — History @ Toronto, ON^
06/02 — History @ Toronto, ON^
06/04 — The Masonic Temple Theatre @ Detroit, MI^
06/07 — The Salt Shed @ Chicago, IL
06/08 — The Salt Shed @ Chicago, IL^
06/09 — The Salt Shed @ Chicago, IL^
06/11 — Red Hat Amphitheater @ Raleigh, NC
06/14 — Bonnaroo @ Manchester, TN
08/15 — Greek Theatre @ Berkeley, CA%
08/16 — Greek Theatre @ Berkeley, CA%
08/18 — Edgefield @ Troutdale, OR%
08/19 — Edgefield @ Troutdale, OR%
08/21 — Kettlehouse @ Bonner, MT%
08/22 — Kettlehouse @ Bonner, MT%
08/24 — Granary Live @ Salt Lake City, UT%
08/27 — Red Rocks @ Morrison, CO&
08/28 — Red Rocks @ Morrison, CO%
09/20 — Forest Hills Tennis Stadium @ New York, New York+
09/21 — Forest Hills Tennis Stadium @ New York, New York+
09/23 — The Anthem @ Washington, DC$
10/02 — The Factory @ St. Louis, MO$
10/03 — The Factory @ St. Louis, MO$
10/09 — Saenger Theatre @ New Orleans, LA$
10/10 — Saenger Theatre @ New Orleans, LA$

* with Hermano Gutiérrez
^ with John Carroll Kirby
% with Peter Cat Recording Co.
+ with Men I Trust
$ with Arooj Aftab

Better Call Saul took Breaking Bad fans deeper into Gus Fring’s backstory, but if it were up to Giancarlo Esposito, he’s ready to go back even further.

While fielding fan questions for British GQ, Esposito gave an enthusiastic response when asked about his interest in a Gus Fring prequel show. The actor has apparently given a lot of thought to how Fring rises from his humble beginnings in Chile to become the “Chicken Man” kingpin of a massive meth operation in New Mexico that’s brilliantly disguised by the impeccably run fast food franchise Los Pollos Hermanos.

Via ScreenRant:

Yeah, I would love that, too. My backstory is he was a military guy who worked his way up through the ranks and could have become president, el jefe, el presidente, even possibly the dictator and have taken over. But he wanted to do something that could not be controlled by others, and he wanted to control his own destiny. And so he took off to create a new life for himself in America and become a meth dealer, a businessman.

Esposito also revealed that he’s already cooked up a title for the prequel.

“I think, in his younger years, he was someone who could have been more Tony Montana,” Esposito continued. “But he worked his way into becoming level enough to listen, hear, and see through his emotional state. We would hope that it might be The Rise of Gus.”

You can watch Esposito answer more fan questions below:

(Via British GQ, ScreenRant)

116 years ago, the Pasterze glacier in the Austria’s Eastern Alps was postcard perfect:

Snowy peaks. Windswept valleys. Ruddy-cheeked mountain children in lederhosen playing “Edelweiss” on the flugelhorn.

But a lot has changed since 1900.

Much of it has changed for the better! We’ve eradicated smallpox, Hitler is dead, and the song “Billie Jean” exists now.

On the downside, the Earth has gotten a lot hotter. A lot hotter.

The 15 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1998. July 2016 was the planet’s hottest month — ever.

Unsurprisingly, man-made climate change has wreaked havoc on the planet’s glaciers — including the Pasterze, which is Austria’s largest.

Just how much havoc are we talking about? Well…

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A series of stunning photos, published in August, show just how far the glacier has receded since its heyday.

First measured in 1851, the glacier lost half of its mass between that year and 2008.

A marker placed in 1985 shows where the edge of the glacier reached just 31 years ago. You can still see the ice sheet, but just barely, way off in the distance. In between is … a big, muddy lake.

The view from the glacial foot marker from 1995 — 10 years later — isn’t much more encouraging.

Even in just one year, 2015, the glacier lost an astounding amount of mass — 177 feet, by some estimates.

Ice continues to melt daily, and while the dripping makes for a good photo, it’s unfortunate news for planet Earth. Glacial melting is one of the three primary causes of sea-level rise.

According to a European Environment Agency report, the average temperature in the Alps has increased 2 degrees Celsius in the last 100 years — double the global average.

It’s not unreasonable to assume that that’s why this mountain hut has been abandoned by the flugelhorn-playing children who once probably lived in it.

Is there anything we can do to stop climate change besides look at scary glacier photos?

Climate change is, unfortunately, still a robust debate in the United States as many of our elected officials refuse to acknowledge that we humans are the ones doing the changing. As of last year, that list included a whopping 49 senators. Calling them to gently persuade them otherwise would be helpful. Not voting for them if they don’t change their minds would be even more so.

There is some tentative good news — the Paris Agreement signed in December 2015 commits 197 countries, including the U.S., to take steps to limit future global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius. While it may be too late for the Pasterze glacier, if we really commit as a world, we might be able to stop ourselves from sinking whole countries and turning Miami into a swimming pool and stuff like that.

And who knows, with a little luck, and a little more not poisoning the sky, we just might recapture a little of that Alpine magic one day.

This article originally appeared on 3.11.17

It’s tough to quantify whether today’s parents are stricter or more permissive than previous generations, but the overall sentiment seems to be that parents are more lenient than they were a few decades back.

A poll by YouGov found that younger Americans are more likely than their elders to have been raised by “not very strict” or “not at all strict” parents. Thirty-nine percent of under-30s say that their parents weren’t very strict or not strict at all, compared to only 15% of over-65s.

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Nicola Kraus, author of “The Nanny Diaries,” believes that it’s a natural outgrowth of the fact that we know a lot more about children than we did in the past.

“We are deeply aware that our children are cognizant, conscious humans in a way previous generations weren’t aware. Children were treated like pets or-worse-release-valves for their parents’ stresses and fears, then expected to magically transform into healthy, functional adults,” she writes.

But this change in parenting has encouraged other trends that many think are creating a greater number of entitled young adults who can’t fend for themselves. These days we have helicopter parents, bulldozer parents and dependent parents whose overinvolvement in their children’s lives renders them incapable of becoming fully integrated adults.

Reddit user u/qquackie asked the online forum “What parenting ‘trend’ do you strongly disagree with?” and got an overwhelming number of responses from people who think that today’s parents are raising entitled children.

Many of the responders think that parents are being too sensitive with their children and they don’t provide firm boundaries. They also think it’s a big problem for kids to think they’re the center of the universe.

Here are 21 of the most popular responses to the parenting question.

1. Pretending that not parenting is parenting

“I won’t tell my child to stop kicking your leg repeatedly because i don’t want to crush his spirit!’ — StoicDonkey

2. ​Denying your kid any negative experiences or emotions

“They are a normal part of being a person, teach them to handle negative emotions now before you send them out into a world they are not prepared to handle.” — IAmRules

3. Fake “gentle parenting”

“You hear and see so many parents letting their children do whatever they want, no matter how destructive, rude or hurtful their behaviours are. Parents find themselves beholden to the whims of their childrens’ emotions in the name of gentle parenting, instead of true gentle parenting where (so I hear) boundaries are set alongside validating emotions.” — candianuk

4. Not setting clear boundaries

“You are the adult, not the kid. Children benefit sooo much more from clear rules and consequences.” — NorthWeight3580

5. The “bulldozer” parent

“The parent who removes all obstacles/challenges from a child’s life so they don’t learn about perseverance, problem solving, failure (sometimes you can try hard and still not get the reward) and learning from mistakes – unless the goal is to develop a highly anxious person – then, being a bulldozer parent is great.” — spinefexmouse

6. Stage-mom syndrome

“Abusing the talents of your child just to boost your self image in society.” — sweettooth_92

7. Nonstop supervision

“Hovering over them at every turn. Whatever happened to tossing them in a play area in another room and letting them create, explore, and get the occasional bumps?” — ansibley

8. Not believing the teacher

“‘My kid never lies to me.’ Seriously. Parents absolutely should be their kid’s biggest supporter. But support sometimes means holding the kid responsible when they don’t do the right thing.” — jdith123

9. “No talking back!”

“If this also counts… Parents who punish their kids for speaking up or otherwise explaining something, saying that they’re ‘talking back.’ I honestly don’t get why most parents refuse to admit they’re not always right sometimes. Besides, what if their kid one day comes up to them and says another adult is touching them inappropriately?” — EntryRepresentative5

10. Helicopter parenting

“Kids need freedom to explore the world, get dirty, engage in free play. I am not advocating putting the child outside on a Saturday morning and telling them to come home when the street lights come on, but an age acceptable level of freedom.” — Cat_Astrophe_X

11. Pushing them too hard

“Pushing them too hard in sports, academics, etc. Like pushing til they need therapy or get injured, no free time, no downtime. FFS, they only get to be young & without excessive responsibilities once.” — Oh-Oh-Ophelia

12. Tablets in public

“Loud cartoons and games on tablets in public places.” — StarrCreationsLLC

13. Potty training too late

“Oh man, I’m a nanny and work in daycare. I can talk so much about this. One is late potty training. Waiting to potty train a child is more and more common. Which I generally agree with. Wait until they’re 2.5-3 and knock it out. Some take longer, some are probably ready earlier. Better than rushing it and causing issues. What this has turned into. Not potty training. I nanny a 4 year old that is still in pull ups. She is more than capable of using the potty. Our 4 year old classroom just installed a diaper genie because so many 4 year olds are starting preschool in diapers. My best friend who is a Kindergarten teacher had 2 kids start kindergarten in diapers. Luckily they’re potty trained now.” — cleaning-meaning

14. Kids on social media

“Creating social media channels for your children where they proceed to upload videos and photos of their kids. Perfect place for pedophiles.” — AJSK18

15. Too much structure

​”I guess the overall trend of prioritizing academics/extracurriculars and college admissions over everything else. Give your kids some chores and let them hang out with their friends outside of structured sports and musical activities!” — hausfrau224

16. Tablet addiction

“Constantly giving your kid(s) a tablet or cellphone to keep them busy because you can’t be bothered to actually be a parent or pay attention to them.” — ZRuneDemonX

17. Letting the kid make all the choices

“I believe kids should have reasonable choices, like what their snack is and the character that’s on their bedspread, but you can’t let your 3 year old decide when you’re allowed to leave your house. The world doesn’t work that way.” — cihojuda

18. Silence

“Saying ‘what goes on in this house, stays in this house.’ I know hundreds of victims of abuse, go through years of pain because of this phrase.” — Dixie_Maclant

19. Birthdays

“The social media trend that keeps upping the expectations for birthday parties and any celebration connected to a kid. When I was a kid, birthdays consisted of a handmade invitation made by me, a cake from the grocery store, food that my Mom cooked and then inviting some friends and family over for games. Today’s expectation is that every monthversary and half-birthday consist of a huge arch of balloons that will end up in the trash, a customized three-tier fondant cake, gift wrapping that color-coordinates with the themed party favors and of course, a very intentional outfit for the numerous photo ops that will take up most of the day. Anything for the ‘gram, right? Don’t even get me started on gender reveal announcements.” — littlebunsenburner

20. Parent, not friend

“Trying to be your kid’s ‘friend,’ not a parent. A parent is there to provide guidance and responsible behavior to model. Yes, sometimes making their actions have consequences and setting boundaries can be difficult and they’ll not be too happy with you. That’s part of the job. Ultimately I think that will result in a healthier relationship than being the “cool” permissive parent. I’ve seen results of that style of (not) parenting with very sad outcomes.” — DataPlenty

21. You’re not special

“Perpetuating the myth that one’s children are somehow special. With about 97% certainty, they are not. Teaching them that they are just sets them up for crushing disappointment down the road. It’s far better to raise kids to believe they are ordinary people with a few gifts, but also some flaws and weaknesses.” — AssistantToTheSensei

This article originally appeared on 2.20.23

In less than a month, Maggie Rogers will unleash her latest album, Don’t Forget Me, on the world. The project is set to drop on April 12, and today, she shared “So Sick Of Dreaming,” a breezy folk-rocker of a single.

(The YouTube upload above is titled “Sick Of Dreaming,” but both Spotify and a press release refer to the song as “So Sick Of Dreaming.”)

Rogers previously said of the album, “I wanted to make an album that sounded like a Sunday afternoon. Worn in denim. A drive in your favorite car. No make up, but the right amount of lipstick. Something classic. The mohair throw and bottle of Whiskey in Joan Didion’s motel room. An old corvette. Vintage, but not overly Americana. I wanted to make an album to belt at full volume alone in your car, a trusted friend who could ride shotgun and be there when you needed her.”

She recently announced the The Don’t Forget Me Tour, or rather, “part 1” of it, so it would seem more dates will be announced. As for the shows we know about, they run from May to June and most of them will feature support from The Japanese House.

Listen to “So Sick Of Dreaming” above.

Don’t Forget Me is out 4/12 via Capitol Records. Find more information here.

Monday night saw a pair of absolutely vicious poster dunks in the NBA, as it was a bad night to be a defender standing in the paint on a fastbreak.

The first (and one everyone talked about) was Anthony Edwards detonating on John Collins in what Edwards called “the best dunk of my career” after finally getting to see a replay. The other one happened in Hawks-Lakers a little later in the evening when Jalen Johnson skied over Austin Reaves trying to take a charge on the first play of the game, which was a very poor decision.

The Lakers would go on to blow out the Hawks, which meant Reaves was in a good mood when he met with the media and was willing to have some fun with his early misfortune being on the wrong end of a nasty dunk. When Dan Woike began to ask about the dunk, Reaves joked “this is why I don’t like you” and after Reaves initially pushed back on there being anything to add, noting everyone saw it, Woike had a great rebuttal with “nobody had your view.”

Reaves quipped “you don’t want my view” but then gave an actual answer about how it was probably the first time he ever really got dunked on, joking it was a pretty good run for a guy that’s not super athletic, but this time he tried to take a charge and Johnson “got one.” As Reaves notes, it’ll probably happen again as there’s a lot of insane athletes in the NBA and if you have a long enough career you’re gonna get caught a few times. This time, at least, someone else got caught worse on the same night so Reaves can send Anthony Edwards a thank you card for that.

Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy has weathered the end of the world on multiple occasions. Each of these apocalypses is guaranteed to somehow be worse than the last such adventure, although to be fair, each “apocalypse” by definition should be as world-halting as any other arrival of doom. It’s quite amusing, however, how the show manages to up the ante without seeming “overdone,” but the credit there, thus far, has largely been down to the original source material.

That would be Gerard Way and Gabrial Ba’s The Umbrella Academy comics, although there might be a slight snag here. The third season of this Netflix series covered the The Sparrow Academy volume, and that was all that Gerard Way wrote on that note. So, Netflix is now going into uncharted territory, much like Game Of Thrones after the show moved past George R.R. Martin’s books (though he does promise to finish Winds of Winter sometime, maybe, possibly).

Hey, GRRM is a busy dude, and we’re moving on to the subject at hand. What will be in store for the Hargreeves siblings next?

Plot

Viewers will recall that, after heading back to the 1960s a few seasons ago, the original siblings found that Bad Dad Reginald Hargreeves had “replaced” them with another set of brothers and sisters that he dubbed the Sparrow Academy. This group contained another Ben, which allowed that character to come back after supposedly dying for good. And during the third season finale, Allison took an unexpected turn when she presumably made a deal with Dad and then reunited with her decades-past husband.

However, the Kugelbliz issue was apparently solved by hitting “reset” on the world, and the Hargreeves all apparently lost their powers and perhaps went off to live “normal” lives with Elliot Page’s Victor getting the last (profane) word. The show could have ended there, logically speaking, but showrunner Steve Blackman delivered welcome news, which is that the series writers had managed to concoct an off-book story to fully settle the score and “have fans on the edge of their seats until the final minutes.”

Clear as mud, right? Here’s what Elliot Page had to add (this week) when quizzed by RadioTimes: “I’m not really allowed to say anything but it’s gonna be, as per usual, very fun, classic Hargreeves chaos and hijinks.” Alright, fine. Perhaps the synopsis can tell us more:

Last season ended with a major twist: There’s a new timeline dictated by the family patriarch, Reginald (Colm Feore), and the siblings no longer have their powers. That’s not the only oddity in this timeline, where the stakes are higher than ever before — there are new enemies who want to see them wiped from existence, but how do they face them without their powers? And will the siblings ever get them back?

So, do the lost powers mean that Klaus may no longer see dead people, and so on? Surely, they all still know the trauma of having Reginald as a father, which will ideally help the siblings band together when the guy inevitably sets another apocalypse in motion. Also, expect a reckoning to happen with the title of the season premiere: “The Unbearable Tragedy of Getting What You Want.” Perhaps normalcy does not go so well? Sounds like it.

Cast

Confirmed returning cast members include Elliot Page (Victor Hargreeves), Tom Hopper (Luther Hargreeves), Emmy Raver-Lampman (Allison Hargreeves), David Castañeda (Diego Hargreeves), Aidan Gallagher (Number Five), Ritu Arya (Lila Pitts), and Colm Feore (Reginald Hargreeeves). Oh, and Robert Sheehan will be back to bring his Klaus brand of levity/horror and Justin H. Min will onboard as some version of Ben Hargreeves, although which incarnation will that be? We shall have to wait and find out that detail, as well as more hints about the new set of sibling rivals. Remember, we’re off book now, so we are at the mercy of this show’s writers.

Are there any new cast members? Oh yes. David Cross will appear (“as a man desperate to reconnect with his estranged daughter”) and was recently thrilled to told us that “it was a f*cking treat and an honor to be a part of that.” Additionally, Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally will surface as a pair of college professors, who are guaranteed to be eccentric if they’re on brand with the rest of this offbeat show.

Release Date

The Umbrella Academy will return for its final season on August 8.

Trailer

No trailer has materialized yet, but try to watch the cast members reflecting on their journey without growing a little misty eyed.

Good news for fans of love, outdated Shakespeare adaptations and/or Glen Powell without a mustache: Anyone But You is finally heading to streaming!

Not only did the film get a Netflix release date, but Sydney Sweeney has also confirmed that her and Powell are on the lookout to star in another rom-com. “We’re fielding multiple scripts a week. It’s very exciting,” she confirmed this month. She has also expressed interest in a sequel for the film, which starred the two actors as a duo posing as a couple.

The movie hit theaters in December, and Netflix has announced that the hit rom-com will land on the streamer on April 23rd. It’s currently available for rent or purchase from AppleTV and Amazon Prime.

After Anyone But You became an unexpected box-office success, Sweeney told Variety that the success of the film has increased the interest in romcoms. “There are so many romantic comedy scripts that are getting sent to me now! And I would love to do another one. It just has to be the right script,” she explained.

Last month, Sweeney said there is “a high nine chance” that the duo will reunite for a sequel. While nothing has been confirmed, Powell seems to love starring in sequels (Top Gun! Twisters! Spy Kids 3-D!) so he will probably be on board.

We’re now less than two weeks away from Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter. While fans wait for the project to drop, they have a new question to ponder:

Did The 2016 CMA Awards Inspire Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter?

When Beyoncé revealed the Cowboy Carter album cover art on March 19, it was accompanied by a lengthy post telling some of the story behind the project. She wrote that the album was “born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed,” an experience that prompted her to educate herself more about the history of country music. A common fan theory is that Beyoncé is referring to the 2016 CMA Awards, where she and the Dixie Chicks (now The Chicks) performed “Daddy Lessons” together.

Read Beyoncé’s message in full below.

“Today marks the 10-day countdown until the release of act ii. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of the supporters of TEXAS HOLD ‘EM and 16 CARRIAGES. I feel honored to be the first Black woman with the number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart. That would not have happened without the outpouring of support from each and every one of you. My hope is that years from now, the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant.

This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history.

The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me. act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work.

I have a few surprises on the album, and have collaborated with some brilliant artists who I deeply respect. I hope that you can hear my heart and soul, and all the love and passion that I poured into every detail and every sound.

I focused on this album as a continuation of RENAISSANCE…I hope this music is an experience, creating another journey where you can close your eyes, start from the beginning and never stop.

This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album. This is act ii COWBOY CARTER, and I am proud to share it with y’all!”

Check out some tweets about Beyoncé and the CMAs below.

Cowboy Carter is out 3/29 via Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records. Find more information here.