Eminem is outside for the summer. The Detroit previously made his way back to the spotlight with the announcement of his upcoming album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) and the release of its lead single “Houdini.” Eminem have his live debut of the song during the “Live From Detroit: The Concert At Michigan Central” show which celebrating the reopening of the refurbished Michigan Central, a historical landmark in Detroit. The show itself was co-executive produced by Eminem and his longtime manager Paul Rosenberg. It also featured performances by Diana Ross, Jack White, Big Sean, Fantasia, Jelly Roll, Common, Slum Village, the Clark Sisters, Kierra Sheard, and Melissa Etheridge.
Eminem and Jelly Roll – Sing For The Moment – performance at Michigan Central Station, (June 6, 2024). pic.twitter.com/6gm9tn5aYI
Eminem was not originally on the bill of performers for the night, but it’s no surprise that he joined in on the fun to perform a few songs. Eminem’s surprise set included the live debut of “Houdini,” a performance of “Not Afraid” and “Welcome To Detroit” with Trick Trick, and a special rendition of “Sing For The Moment” with Jelly Roll who stepped in to sing Steven Tyler’s parts on the classic record.
“Timing worked out for us fortunately great because we just dropped a single — that wasn’t always the case when we agreed to jump on board,” Rosenberg said about Eminem’s performance according to Billboard. “We weren’t sure we were going to have new music out. It happened to work out great, and it became an opportunity to perform a new song.”
The “Live From Detroit: The Concert At Michigan Central” was livestreamed on Peacock and will be edited into a one-hour NBC special at 7pm PST/EST on June 9. As for Eminem, he’s weeks away from the release of em>The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grace) which Billboard says will arrive on July 5.
You can watch Eminem’s performances of “Houdini” and “Sing For The Moment” in the videos above.
After a brief Sportscast on the media meltdown over Caitlin Clark’s early stint in the WNBA, Steven and Ian have perhaps the least likely conversation in Indiecast history about Ian going to a Sarah McLachlan concert (!) and seeing a fight almost break out (!!). They also talk about Steven’s upcoming book event on June 11 at Book Soup in LA that Ian is hosting.
From there, they talk about the new album from Texas band Good Looks, Lived Here For A While, which is one of 2024’s best indie rock records along with being one of the easiest to root for. They also talk about Brat, the new album by Charli XCX, as well as a larger conversation about how “indie pop” became known as “middle class pop.” Finally, they conclude with a discussion of The Killers’Hot Fuss, which turns 20 this week.
In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks up the emo band Southtowne Lanes while Steven recommends the Indianapolis band Everything, Now!.
New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 192 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.
A Hot Girl Summer continues. Over the past few weeks, the ladies of rap have been dropping heater after heater. And tonight (June 7), this pattern continues with a remix of Latto‘s “Sunday Service.” Joined by Megan Thee Stallion and Flo Milli, Latto takes the scorching diss track to the next level.
Flo Milli pops in with her brand of pretty girl magic, questioning why someone would bring their man to an event “if you know he thirsty.”
On Meg’s verse, she is well aware that she is the standard, even if her opps try change the rules of the rap game when she reaches unbeatable heights.
“I meet the goalposts, b*tches move it, they say I can’t, then I do it / Your favorite rapper might not like me but his boo gon’ jam my music,” raps Meg.
As the ladies have been known to do in their individual records, they deliver on bars, as well as pure, carefree fun. Eliminating the need for the competition the game tries to put them in, the girls display a sense of collaboration, uplifting each other and bringing each artist to brand new heights.
You can listen to the “Sunday Service” remix above.
“Genesis” is a seven-minute long track, on which, RAYE shows she is a master of a multitude of genres. Over the course of the song, she displays her rap chops, over orchestral and instrumentation, and later showcases powerful R&B vocals.
“I see a sad little sinner, in the mirror / The devil works hard, like my liver / I don’t wanna be alive, but I don’t wanna die / A fist full of pills and rivers in my eyes / I’ve nothin’ left to lose, dear God in the sky / Hear my cry, hear my cry / When it’s too dark to see / Let there be light.
RAYE has been working on this song for quite some time. She’s performed versions of the song — which was previously nicknamed “Let There Be Light” by fans — at festival appearances, and earlier this year on Saturday Night Live.
“There is a Nina Simone quote, ‘It is an artist’s duty to reflect the times’. This quote is everything to me and I believe the best way I can try to do this is through my art and my music,” said RAYE in a statement. “There is so much darkness and pain in this world we live in, and I wanted to create something both as deeply personal and as raw as I could find myself to be about my own mind and the world I see around me. The song is a 7-minute piece that I have crafted and scrutinized over the last year and a half, experimenting with different genres and sonic expressions, beneath all the layers and the lyrics, the underlying message is ‘Let There Be Light’. It is a prayer and a plea and a cry for help and I really hope this song will be able to bring some hope, the way this music does for me, to those who need it most.”
Omar Apollo is dancing the pain away. Tonight (May 7), the queer heartbreak king has shared “Less Of You,” the latest single from his upcoming sophomore album, God Said No.
On “Less Of You,” Apollo recalls a special encounter while overseas. As days go by, he feels a connection with this person, however, he can slowly feel the other person distancing themselves from him. Apollo handles this hurt in the best way he knows how — by writing a smash.
“I can’t let you go / I see you everywhere / I’m seein’ less of you / I’m still undressing you
Am I depressing you? / Felt like a blessin’, you,” he sings on the song’s chorus.
Over a pulsating euro-influenced beat, Apollo experiments with his sounds, taking his brand of lyrical healing to the next level. According to a press release, the song was partly inspired by his exploration of London’s nightlife.
But while Apollo isn’t afraid to tap into these raw emotions, it certainly won’t be a sad boy summer for him. In July, Apollo is set to embark on the God Said No Tour.
You can listen to “Less Of You” above.
God Said No is out 6/28 via Warner. Find more information here.
The Boston Celtics drew first blood in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Thanks to the most convincing first quarter that has ever occurred in a Finals game, the Celtics were able to defend their home court against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night en route to a 107-89 win.
Things were back-and-forth during the early portion of the first quarter. It was less like the two teams were trying to feel one another out, and more like they looked as though they had plenty of time to rest up and were just playing good basketball for the opening stretch of the game.
And then, Kristaps Porzingis checked in. Boston held a 12-11 lead at the time that he checked into the game, and while Dallas was briefly able to take a 1-point lead after that, Porzingis keyed an absolutely ferocious end to the first quarter. The Celtics ended the frame on a 23-5 run, powered largely by the 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting and three blocks that Porzingis gave them in seven minutes of work.
As such, the Mavs found themselves dealing with an avalanche, as Boston played with the rhythm that led to them being a 64-win team in the regular season. And with TD Garden absolutely on fire, the Celtics made their way to the bench at the end of the period with a 37-20 lead, the largest lead any team has had at the end of the first quarter in NBA Finals history.
Boston continued to take it to Dallas second, with their lead getting up to as many as 29 points — in fact, after a Jayson Tatum three with 4:11 to go before the half, the Celtics found themselves doubling up the Mavs with a 58-29 lead.
From that point on, Dallas was able to settle down a bit and closed the half with a 13-5 run. But even though the score was a little more respectable going into the locker room, Boston was still comfortably ahead with a 63-42 lead. Porzingis got up to 18 first half points off the bench, while Jaylen Brown gave them 13. As a team, the Celtics shot 11-for-17 from behind the three-point line, while the Mavs were only 3-for-13 from deep. And while Luka Doncic scored 17 points in the first half, no other Dallas player reached double-figure scoring, which included six points from Kyrie Irving on 3-for-9 shooting.
In the third quarter, the Mavs started to come to life. Slowly but surely, the once insurmountable Celtics lead got smaller and smaller, as Doncic continued to look like one of the best players in the world and Irving began heating up, all while Boston — as it is prone to do — looked sluggish.
But Boston was able to settle down on both ends of the floor, and just as it looked like the game was hanging in the balance, they were able to rip off an 14-0 run that put themselves back firmly in control. And while Daniel Gafford broke up that run by hitting a pair of free throws to close the quarter, the Celtics sat pretty with a 86-66 lead after three.
The run that Dallas needed early on in the fourth just never came, as Boston was able to cut off any attempt at building up a head of steam before it started — the Mavs never got within 17 points in the final 12 minutes. And with just under five minutes remaining, Jason Kidd decided that there was no path to a win, as he got his starters on the floor and emptied out his bench.
Every member of Boston’s starting five, along with Porzingis, hit double-figure scoring on the night, with Brown’s 22 points, six rebounds, three blocks, three steals, and two assists leading the way. Porzingis gave them 20 points, six rebounds, and three blocks off the bench, while Tatum gave them a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
The story of the game, however, was the Celtic defense, which got Dallas to shoot 41.7 percent from the field, 25.9 percent from three, and forced 11 turnovers while only allowing nine assists — Doncic, arguably the best passer in the NBA, only had one assist on the evening, marking the first time he was held to one assist in a playoff game. While he was otherwise very good, going for 30 points and 10 rebounds, Boston was able to limit Irving to 12 points, while P.J. Washington had 14 points without making a single attempt from three. Jaden Hardy was able to give them 13 points off the bench.
Game 2 between the Celtics and the Mavs will take place on Sunday night in Boston, and is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. EST on ESPN.
Rihanna has certainly been busy. Though it’s been over eight years since she released her last studio album, Anti, she definitely hasn’t been laying low. Outside of music, she has been killing the make-up game with her Fenty Beauty collection, laying down the laws of the bedroom with her Savage X Fenty intimates, and most recently, giving a spin at hair care with her newly announced Fenty Hair.
Additionally, she has been on mommy duty with her sons, RZA and Riot. All of these things considered, it’s a miracle if she’s had anytime to work on new music.
Still, fans are itching for a new album from Rihanna, and while a performance at the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show seemed to indicate that she hasn’t completely said goodbye to music. But since then, we’ve heard very little from Rihanna in regards to her long-awaited ninth studio album.
Earlier today (June 6), Rihanna was photographed in New York City wearing a shirt that read “I’m retired.” There was some text at the bottom which read “This is as dressed up as I get,” which was obscured by a bag she was carrying.
Nevertheless, fans have taken this as an indicator that we may never get new music from her.
ESPN has long struggled to figure out its studio show setup, as they’ve lagged behind the incomparable Inside the NBA in that space. However, for all the hand-wringing about who they put on their NBA studio show desk, which has been a revolving door for years, the biggest issue is the way they structure their shows.
Where TNT has excelled by creating as much space for the Inside guys to have conversations and actually get into it — whether that’s basketball conversation or whatever tangent Chuck or Shaq lead them down — ESPN has gone the opposite direction. Their show is far more rigid in going from topic to topic, creating a stiffness that stands in stark contrast to the TNT production.
Their halftime show is the worst offender in this space, especially in the Finals, as ESPN and ABC seem determined to fit as many commercials and sponsored segments into a 15-minute space as humanly possible. It has long followed the same structure (I wrote this two years ago) that provides the talent with approximately three actual minutes of halftime show to try and vomit out their first half takes as quickly as possible.
During Game 1 of the 2024 Finals, with Boston blowing the Mavs out by 21 at the half, ESPN seemingly went for a new record as they went from one commercial break to another in 22 seconds, with Malika Andrews and guest analyst Josh Hart looking at the “Kia Halftime Highlights,” which was one (1) slow-motion replay of Kristaps Porzingis block before throwing it right back to commercial break.
ESPN halftime came back from a long commercial only to show 22 seconds worth of highlights before going back to commercials pic.twitter.com/rr8w4fzo5A<
I fully understand the NBA Finals are big for business, and ESPN is about to shell out $2.5 billion per year to keep them. However, at some point this has to change. Again, this isn’t a talent issue, or even a production issue at the level of the people in the truck. This is at the very top where they’re making the decision that they are not going to allot any time for a halftime show to actually have space to talk about the game, which is a shame in the biggest games the sport has to offer.
If nothing else, it’d be more honest to not even bother and just run commercials for 15 minutes straight.
At long last, Tems‘ debut album is finally here. Tonight (June 7), the Nigerian R&B hitmaker has shared Born In The Wild, her long-awaited full-length project. With her years of features, EPs, and viral tracks, Tems delivered on her promise of pure quality. On Born In The Wild is “Free Fall,” a collaboration with J. Cole.
Neither Tems or Cole avoid facing difficult emotions, but on “Free Fall,” the two find themselves confused as to how to move forward with a love that is draining them of their energies.
“Hopeless, in the moment / I free fall straight into you / I don’t know if I can fight what you do in my mind / Or and more can collide with you,” sings Tems on the song’s intro.
Cole hops in, noting that he cam empathize, however, he feels frustrated at the woman’s inability to open up to him.
“Toxic, who would’vе thought whats comin’ was a plot twist / Soon as you let me in, you start hunting for the locksmith / Now thе key I once had to your heart does not fit / I got three choices, bad on your door or lock-pick / Or walk away confused at your logic,” raps Cole on his verse.
Though Cole’s hot streak of verses has recently been called into question, recently with his verse of Cash Cobain’s “Grippy” and his removal of the Kendrick Lamar diss track “7 Minute Drill” from streaming platforms. But with “Free Fall,” he bounces back, and makes a return to melodic, rhythmic form.
And ultimately, Tems’ debut album proves to be worth the wait, and only the beginning of a long, promising career.
You can listen to “Free Fall” above.
Born In The Wild is out now via RCA. Find more information here.
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Cosmologist and science educator Carl Sagan made a name for himself in popular culture as the host of the TV show “Cosmos” and the author of more than a dozen books bridging the gap between the scientific complexities of the world and the people who live in it. Intelligent and eloquent, he had a way of making science palatable for the average person, always advocating healthy scepticism and the scientific method to seek answers to questions about our world.
But Sagan also possessed a keen understanding of the broad array of human experience, which was part of what made him such a beloved communicator. He wrote about peace and justice and kindness in addition to science. He did not shun spirituality, as some sceptics do, but said he found science to be “a profound source of spirituality.” He acknowledged that there’s so much we don’t know but was adamant about defending what we do.
Now, a quote from Sagan’s 1995 book, “The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark,” has people talking about his uncanny ability to peek into the future. His predictions didn’t come through supernatural means, of course, but rather through his powers of observation and his understanding of human nature. Still pretty spooky, though.
He wrote:
“I have a foreboding of America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time–when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all of the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; with our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.
And when the dumbing down of America is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30-second sound bites now down to 10 seconds or less, lowest-common-denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance.”
— (@)
His words seem downright prophetic in an era where the least qualified people rise to the highest levels of power more and more often, people glom onto outlier voices that contradict broad scientific consensus on everything from climate change to public health, and social media sound bites fuel more and more extreme views devoid of nuance and complexity.
And the most frustrating part is that the people who get wrapped up in quacky conspiracy theories or take on radical stances based on illogical rhetoric don’t see their own ignorance. They’re told they’re the ones thinking critically, they’re the ones who are knowledgeable simply because they’re questioning authority (as opposed to the “ability to…knowledgeably question those in authority” Sagan refers to, which is not the same thing).
“When we are self-indulgent and uncritical, when we confuse hopes and facts, we slide into pseudoscience and superstition,” Sagan wrote. We watched this play out in the U.S. during the pandemic. We see it daily in our politics at either end of the spectrum. We witness it in social discourse, especially online. One thing Sagan didn’t foresee was how ignorance, pseudoscience and superstition would be rewarded in today’s world by algorithms that determine what we see in our social media feeds, creating a vicious cycle that can feel impossible to reverse sometimes.
However, Sagan also offered a hopeful reminder that people who fall prey to peddlers who push “alternative facts” for their own gain are simply human, with the same desire to understand our world that we all share. He warned against being critical without also being kind, to remember that being human doesn’t come with an instruction manual or an innate understanding of how everything works.
“In the way that scepticism is sometimes applied to issues of public concern, there is a tendency to belittle, to condescend, to ignore the fact that, deluded or not, supporters of superstition and pseudoscience are human beings with real feelings, who, like the sceptics, are trying to figure out how the world works and what our role in it might be,” he wrote. “Their motives are in many cases consonant with science. If their culture has not given them all the tools they need to pursue this great quest, let us temper our criticism with kindness. None of us comes fully equipped.”
Discerning truth from falsehood, fact from fiction, science from pseudoscience isn’t always simple, and neither is the challenge of educating a populace to hone that ability. Taking a cue from Sagan, we can approach education with rigorous scientific standards but also with curiosity and wonder as well as kindness and humility. If he was right about the direction the U.S. was heading 30 years ago, perhaps he was right about the need for understanding what led to that direction and the tools needed to right the ship.
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HOUDINI – EMINEM [FULL PERFORMANCE AT MICHIGAN CENTRAL] pic.twitter.com/MBISzyC6Ex
Game 1 on ABC 
