Category: News

The United States Women’s National Team has not started the 2023 World Cup off the way we are accustomed to seeing them, as they won their first match against Vietnam 3-0 but have since been able to only pull off a 1-1 come from behind draw against the Netherlands and, early Tuesday morning, played Portugal to a scoreless draw.

That was enough to scrape by into the Round of 16, finishing second in their group behind the Dutch, but for a team that’s been the most dominant in the world for decades, there is a decidedly different feel to this year’s group. There has been ample criticism of the team’s manager, Vlatko Andonovski, for asking them to play a style that seems to run counter to their strengths, but it’s also a team in a transition period with a handful of veterans from World Cups past joining a crop of youngsters trying to figure things out on the global stage for the first time.

The results haven’t been great so far, although they do still have time to turn things around, and it’s not just fans that are frustrated with what’s going on with the team. After Tuesday’s draw with Portugal, the Fox studio crew was rather shocked by the reaction from the team as they were dancing on the field and celebrating moving on, even though they’d done so in unspectacular style. That bothered former USWNT star Carli Lloyd, who ripped the team for celebrating in that manner when, as she said, the player of the match was the post.

The USWNT will wait to find out their Round of 16 opponent and will have five days to try and figure some things out as they won’t play that match until Sunday. In the meantime, there will be plenty of folks breaking down what has gone wrong to this point to lead them to back-to-back lackluster showings, and at least one former star of the team is among those who will be demanding to see a bit more pride in their performance going forward.

As Ron DeSantis struggles to gain momentum in the polls even with Donald Trump facing a series of damaging indictments, his top donors have been calling out the Florida governor’s bumbling campaign.

In addition being a disaster in public and sparking intra-party fights with his inflammatory stance on slavery, DeSantis has been routinely criticized for being “too online.” That criticism reached a fever pitch after a Semafor report implicated a now-fired campaign staffer for tweeting out a pro-DeSantis video loaded with Nazi imagery. Turns out, the DeSantis team is reportedly dropping considerable amounts of money on memes, and his donors are pissed.

Via Rolling Stone:

Following publication of the Semafor report, one major GOP donor who contributed to Team DeSantis tells Rolling Stone: “If they keep blowing money on f*cking memes, I’m out… [He] better deliver the greatest debate performance in the world [in August] or… I can promise you, a lot of people won’t be giving Ron another nickel.”

Another DeSantis ally told Rolling Stone that they heard rumors of the “meme factory,” but hoped it wasn’t real. Meanwhile, a top GOP donor who has backed DeSantis had a much more blunt response: “For f*ck’s sake.”

The backlash to DeSantis’ online messaging has grown at a steady rate all through July. The Florida governor was dragged by his own party after an anti-LGBTQ video that essentially criticized Trump for not being homophobic enough. Since then, the message from donors to the embattled candidate has been very clear: Stop doing “stupid stuff.”

(Via Rolling Stone)

Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.

Every week, Uproxx is rounding up the best new indie music from the past seven days. This week we got new music from Slow Pulp, Jeff Rosenstock, Mitski, Field Medic, and more.

While we’re at it, sign up for our newsletter to get the best new indie music delivered directly to your inbox, every Monday.

Be Your Own Pet — “Big Trouble”

As the artwork of a shoulders-up leather-clad person against floral wallpaper may suggest, “Big Trouble” by Be Your Own Pet is a sick song. The track is taken from Mommy, their first album in over 15 years and it’s a punk anthem that confronts “the daily injustices are all connected to the overarching societal issues of living in a patriarchy,” bandleader Jemina Pearl said in a press release.

Hotline TNT — “Protocol”

Hotline TNT is known for reverb-drenched, free-flowing songs that focus on ambiance first and foremost. “Protocol” is a shoegaze earworm that keeps building and building, the guitars mesmeric and catchy. The lyrics are structureless and brief, but Will Anderson uses the words like instruments, “After the fall / I pretend that it’s all / My fault.”

Slow Pulp — “Doubt”

From the raucous “Cramps” to the more downtempo “Slugs,” Slow Pulp’s Yard singles have bewitched in different ways. The newest one, “Doubt,” has a more pop texture with a perky atmosphere and infectious melodies helped by Emily Massey’s singing: “I just wanted your do do do do do do do do do do doubt.”

Mitski — “Bug Like An Angel”

Mitski has announced her new album The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We coming in September. “Bug Like An Angel” has a holy feeling as a choir sporadically joins her intimate voice against careful guitar strumming. The words are vulnerable: “As I got older / I learned I’m a drinker / Sometimes a drink feels like family,” she sings.

Field Medic — “iwantthis2last!”

Field Medic’s insightful, delicate Grow Your Hair Long if You’re Wanting to See Something That You Can Change was a highlight of 2022. The California musician is back with the more jangly but still lyrically fragile “iwantthis2last!” The song captures the transient nature of feelings as he desperately repeats, “I want this to last.”

Cafuné — “Demise”

Cafuné have been keeping the attention on them since their viral TikTok hit “Tek It.” “Demise” proves that they’re worth more than just background music for a video; for almost three minutes, the track sprawls with a hypnotic aura as Sedona Schat mesmerizes with her stunning voice.

Sinai Vessel — “Tangled”

Sinai Vessel make thoughtful, moving ballads. “Tangled” is a beautiful examination of mental health struggles such as anxiety. “The mind is a tricky machine / Protecting the body by learning / But what when the lesson’s wrong?” Caleb Cordes sings earnestly. “We are at the mercy of a tangled web of wires / Snaring one another / Strung up by our words.”

Jeff Rosenstock — “Healmode”

Hellmode by Jeff Rosenstock comes at the beginning of September, and “Healmode” is casually apocalyptic: “The street outside is flashing / Underneath infrequent bursts of glaring headlights / Moving like a glacier,” he sings, weaving together the personal with the political often in this complex ballad that prioritizes love over existential dread.

Open City — “Return Your Stolen Property Is Theft”

Open City is a hardcore supergroup with members from Ceremony, Lifetime, and Titus Andronicus. Their 2017 self-titled debut was a ruthless celebration, and they’re finally following that up with Hands In The Honey Jar, arriving in October. “Return Your Stolen Property Is Theft” is a wonderfully clamorous return with piercing guitars and vicious vocals.

Dabda — “Flower Tail”

Seoul-based Dabda have announced their new EP Yonder and the lead single “Flower Tail” is an alluring taste. With mathy guitars and a shoegaze ambiance, the song is a whirlwind of effervescent sound. It’s a journey at nearly six minutes, but every second is immersive and enlightening.

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

On my deathbed, in however many years, I won’t remember the name of the first girl I kissed or where I put my dang keys. But I will remember these four words: “Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers.”

That may sound grim, but few things in life have brought me more joy recently than saying or thinking about Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers. It’s impossible to not read the title of the game show in Walton Goggins’ sticky Southern drawl, and see his bleached teeth, too.

Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers (I’m going to type that collection of words as many times as possible) was my favorite thing about season three of HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones. But it was followed closely by Uncle Baby Billy’s entrances. The host of Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers appeared in six of the nine episodes this season, and he made an impression during his first scene in all of them. Judy might think Baby Billy’s sh*t sucks, but we don’t. Let’s rank his entrances, from great to greatest.

6. Episode 4, “I Have Not Come to Bring Peace, But a Sword”

How did Walton Goggins react when The Righteous Gemstones star and co-creator Danny McBride asked him to play a 70-year-old man of god? “I started laughing, because I didn’t think he was serious,” he said. McBride added, “It was amazing to watch him transform into this old man. Walton just disappears in every role that he’s in, I think he’s one of the most talented actors I’ve ever been around.” (We agree.) Goggins really leaned into Uncle Baby Billy’s physicality this season, whether he was pushing a stroller with the force of someone shoveling snow during a blizzard (we’ll get there) or hiding in the bushes before threatening to turn his nephew’s fat ass red.

5. Episode 8, “I Will Take You by the Hand and Keep You”

Uncle Baby Billy doesn’t have much to do in the penultimate episode of the season. He speaks as Jesse’s “spiritual mentor” during a meeting with Eli, who he scolds for not paying a $15 million ransom. Baby Billy’s exit is more memorable than his entrance; he leaves the room doing a half-hearted moonwalk while wearing a flashy suit that looks like pajamas. We also learn that he believes in reincarnation, so that’s something to explore in season four.

4. Episode 6, “For Out of the Heart Comes Evil Thoughts”

This episode might have ranked higher if it included the hologram of Aimee-Leigh glitching into a digital DMX performing “Party Up (Up In Here),” but that comes later on, and therefore isn’t eligible. Besides, this episode belonged to Tim Baltz’s BJ. If Uncle Baby Billy was season three’s biggest scene stealer, BJ was the MVP (it could also go to Edi Patterson’s Judy, but she would win every year). His balls-tugging tussle should be taught in self-defense classes.

3. Episode 7, “Burn for Burn, Wound for Wound, Stripe for Stripe”

Let’s go straight to the clip.

This is better than any Kramer entrance. Also, Baby Billy and the delightful Tiff are one of my favorite couples on television. All they need is each other… and some roadside ass… and a stack of waffles… and a syndicated game show that definitely isn’t a religious rip-off of Family Feud. We should all be so lucky.

2. Episode 3, “For Their Nakedness Is Your Own Nakedness”

Should Uncle Baby Billy’s first appearance of the season, when he sings “Pay Day” while wearing a decadent giant clam shell by the pool of a religious-themed resort, be number one? Maybe! It’s a sublime sequence, and I’m tickled by Goggins being sent the song while he was “working in Namibia.”

But there are two reasons why I have it as the runner-up. The first: As much as I enjoy seeing Uncle Baby Billy sing to sunburnt Christians about how the lord promised them a payday that day, it’s still the show’s second-best musical number after the iconic “Misbehavin’” from season one. I haven’t run around the house with a pickle in my mouth since. As for the second reason, well…

1. Episode 9, “Wonders That Cannot Be Fathomed, Miracles That Cannot Be Counted”

As soon as I saw Uncle Baby Billy tell his nephews about the time he and race car driver Dusty Daniels, played by the great Shea Whigham, went to a Y2K Party where they may or may not have met Gene Hackman and may or may not have had sex with each other at an orgy, I got the idea for this post and started writing. I eventually watched the rest of the episode and enjoyed the heck out of it (still waiting on that Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers spinoff series), but the cold open was the best part. It’s like an album peaking with track one. And this is the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” of Uncle Baby Billy’s entrances.

In the wake of Angus Cloud’s death earlier this week, tributes to the late actor have poured in from across the hip-hop world. The actor, who was 25 and best-known for his role as Fez on Euphoria, was apparently beloved in the hip-hop community and counted a number of rappers among both his fans and friends. While luminaries like Drake and Questlove likely loved Cloud from afar as fans of his work, others, like 03 Greedo and Guapdad 4000, apparently shared closer connections.

Quest, for instance, shared his thoughts on Instagram, writing, “Fez was the spiritual center of Euphoria and definitely my fav character on the show. Love to his entire family and to those who knew him.” Drake simply shared a photo of the actor captioned “good soul.”

However, Bay Area natives like Guapdad 4000 and Mistah F.A.B. had more personal observations, sharing memories of their encounters with Angus. “It’s weird posting when my friends from oakland die..it happens so much i cant keep up,” wrote Guap. “its weirder posting when my ‘famous’ friends die . So this one is double weird . It’s hard to find someone from the same place doing what you do and being where u at. Bay Area Icon.”

F.A.B., meanwhile, remembered Cloud’s visits to his store Dope Era in Oakland, recalling that the actor would “come in and drop bands.” “I’m saddened to see the news of him passing because he was such a humble human,” he reflected. Another California rapper, 03 Greedo, remembered how Cloud would DM him to keep his spirits up while he was incarcerated in Texas on drug charges.

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

Wilco unveiled the plans for their next album, Cousin, as they shared the new single, “Evicted.” Produced by Cate Le Bon, lead singer Jeff Tweedy described the record in a press release as a “feeling of being in it and out of it at the same time.”

“I guess I was trying to write from the point of view of someone struggling to make an argument for themself in the face of overwhelming evidence that they deserve to be locked out of someone’s heart,” he added. “Self-inflicted wounds still hurt and in my experience they’re almost impossible to fully recover from.”

Ahead of dropping the full album this fall, the band will be touring across the world starting in August. Fans can expect to catch Wilco at a number of shows across Europe, the US, and Mexico throughout the rest of the year. A complete list of dates and more information on tickets can be found via the band’s website.

Check out “Evicted” above. Below, find the cover art and tracklist for Cousin.

1. “Infinite”
2. “Ten Dead”
3. “Levee”
4. “Evicted”
5. “Sunlight Ends”
6. “A Bowl And A Pudding”
7. “Cousin”
8. “Pittsburgh”
9. “Solider Child”
10. “Meant To Be”

Cousin is out 9/29 via dBpm Records. Find more information here.

Hayley Williams doesn’t mind putting a fan in their place when they overstep her boundaries, even if she later comes to regret it. One fan on social media learned this the hard way: Last week, Paramore announced their decision to postpone several shows at the last minute, which didn’t sit well with a few fans.

Although the band hinted at the reason — writing in their note on social media, “In the interest of our health and the ability to put on a show you all deserve” — a few fans continued to push back.

One individual questioned why the group couldn’t manage to push through when other acts — such as Metallica and Iron Maiden, who dealt with medical strain — did. In screenshots gathered by Stereogum, Williams responded to the asinine remarks by writing, “Neither James [Hetfield] nor Bruce [Dickinson] are gonna suck your d*ck for this, love.”

Things really heated up when the fans called Williams “whiney,” to which she clapped back by saying, “I have a lung infection, you soft sh*t! Not a broken limb. One you can sing with for two hours, another you can’t.”

Paramore is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Keeping track of all the new albums coming out in a given month is a big job, but we’re up for it: Below is a comprehensive list of the major releases you can look forward to in August. If you’re not trying to potentially miss out on anything, it might be a good idea to keep reading.

Friday, August 4

• Activity — Spirit in the Room (Western Vinyl)
• Annie Hart — The Weight of a Wave (Uninhabitable Mansions)
• BAMBII — Infinity Club EP (Innovative Leisure)
• Brett Young — Across the Sheets (BMLG Records)
• Chris Farren — Doom Singer (Polyvinyl)
• Computerwife — Computerwife (Danger Collective Records)
• Current Joys — Love + Pop (Secretly Canadian)
• Didirri — Caught in the Act (Liberation)
• Emil Amos — Zone Black (Drag City)
• The Front Bottoms — You Are Who You Hang Out With (Fueled By Ramen)
• Girl Ray — Prestige (Moshi Moshi)
• Holy Wave — Five of Cups (Suicide Squeeze Records)
• Homeboy Sandman — Rich (Dirty Looks)
• Jah Wobble — A Brief History of Now (Cleopatra)
• The Jesus and Mary Chain — Sunset 666 (Fuzz Club)
• Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers — Pursuit of Wonder (Nettwerk)
• Jordi — Sorry I’m Late (Thirty Tigers)
• M.A.G.S — Destroyer (Smartpunk)
• Mammoth WVH — Mammoth II (BMG)
• Miles Kane — One Man Band (Modern Sky)
• Nathan Micay — To the God Named Dream (LuckyMe)
• Quavo — Rocket Power (Quality Control Music/Motown/Capitol Records)
• Rachel Bobbitt — Two Bit EP (Fantasy Records)
• Robert Jon & The Wreck — Ride Into the Light (Journeyman Records)
• Skindred — Smile (Earache Records)
• Stolen Jars — I Won’t Let Me Down (Thirty Tigers)
• Teenage Wrist — Still Love (Epitaph Records)
• TOMORROW X TOGETHER — SWEET (UMe)
• Trippie Redd — A Lover Letter to You 5 (10k Projects/1400 Entertainment)
• Tyla Yaweh — Heart Full of Rage 2 (Epic Records)
• Vince Gill and Paul Franklin — Sweet Memories: The Music of Ray Price & The Cherokee Cowboys (BMG)
• Vinyl Williams — Aeterna (Harmony Records)
• Wilmette — Hyperfocused (Mutant League Records)

Friday, August 11

• Andrew Hung — Deliverance (Lex Records)
• Andy Frasco & The U.N. — L’Optimist (Fun Machine Records/Soundly Music)
• The Band Camino — The Dark (Elektra Records)
• Benny the Butcher — Everybody Can’t Go (Def Jam)
• Bonnie “Prince” Billy — Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You (Drag City)
• carina — after the stars EP (Don’t Sleep)
• Caskets — Reflections (SharpTone Records)
• Cordovas — The Rose of Aces (ATO Records)
• Curling — No Guitar (Thirty Tigers)
• Darrell Scott String Band — Old Cane Back Rocker (Soundly Music)
• EZ Mil — DU4LI7Y: REDUX (Virgin Music)
• G Flip — Drummer (Future Classic)
• The Hives — The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons (Disques Hives)
• Hurry — Don’t Look Back (Lame-O Records)
• JayWood — Grown On EP (Captured Tracks)
• Joell Ortiz and L’Orange — Signature (Thirty Tigers)
• Jungle — Volcano (Caiola Records/AWAL)
• Killah Priest — Mystery Channel EP (600 Block Records)
• Laura Groves — Radio Red (Bella Union)
• Lawrence English and Lea Bertucci — Chthonic (American Dreams)
• Liam Gallagher — Knebworth 22 (WM UK)
• Louis Cato — Reflections (Thirty Tigers)
• Neil Young — Chrome Dreams (Reprise/Warner Bros. Records)
• Noname — Sundial (self-released)
• O.N.E. The Duo — Blood Harmony (Visionary Media Group)
• Olive Klug — Don’t You Dare Make Me Jaded (Nettwerk)
• PJ Western — Here I Go (New West Records)
• Public Image Ltd. — End of World (PiL Official)
• Rob Moose — Inflorescence EP (Sony Music Masterworks)
• Ryan Bingham — Watch For the Wolf EP (Thirty Tigers)
• Spencer Zahn — Statues I (Cascine)
• Sundressed — Sundressed (Rude Records)
• Tash Sultana — Sugar EP (Lonely Lands Records)
• Tom Speight — Love & Light (Nettwerk)

Friday, August 18

• Anna Tivel — Outsiders (Live in a Living Room) (Mama Bird Recording Co.)
• Arnold Dreyblatt & The Orchestra of Excited Strings — Resolve (Drag City)
• Atreyu — The Moment You Find Your Flame EP (Spinefarm)
• Bearings — The Best Part About Being Human (Pure Noise Records)
• Birdy — Portraits (Atlantic)
• Bobby Rush — All My Love For You (Deep Rush Records/Thirty Tigers)
• Cautious Clay — KARPEH (Blue Note)
• Cory Wong — The Lucky One (Roundwound)
• cumgirl8 — Phantasea Pharm EP (4AD)
• Dan Sultan — Dan Sultan (self-released)
• DeYarmond Edison — Epoch (Jagjaguwar)
• Diners — DOMINO (Bar/None)
• East Forest — Music For the Deck of the Titanic (Bright Antenna)
• Fiddlehead — Death is Nothing to Us (Run for Cover Records)
• Fran Lobo — Burning It Feels Like (Heavenly Recordings)
• Genesis Owusu — Struggler (Ourness/AWAL)
• Grace Potter — Mother Road (Fantasy Records)
• Gregory Alan Isakov — Appaloosa Bones (Suitcase Town Music)
• Hozier — Unreal Unearth (Columbia Records)
• Idina Menzel — Drama Queen (BMG)
• Iris Ell — Undergod EP (Cascine)
• j-hope — Jack in the Box (HOPE EDITION) (Big Hit)
• Jill Andrews — Modern Age (Non Serviam Records)
• Jon Batiste — World Music Radio (Verve/Interscope)
• Karina Rykman — JOYRIDE (AWAL)
• Lady Lamb — In the Mammoth Nothing of the Night (Ba Da Bing Records)
• Magnolia Park — MoonEater EP (Epitaph Records)
• Magnolia Park — SoulEater EP (Epitaph Records)
• Mapache — Swinging Stars (Innovative Leisure/Calico Discos)
• Margaret Glaspy — Echo the Diamond (ATO)
• Mick Jenkins — The Patience (RBC Music/BMG)
• Mipso — Book of Fools (Mercury/PolyGram)
• Miso Extra — MSG EP (Transgressive Records)
• Movements — RUCKUS! (Fearless Records)
• Mr. Greg and Cass McCombs — Mr. Greg & Cass McCombs Sing and Play New Folk Songs for Children (Smithsonian Folkways)
• Naked Lungs — Pressure (Amber Light Records)
• OSEES — Intercepted Message (In the Red)
• Point North — Prepare for Despair (Hopeless Records)
• Reneé Rapp — Snow Angel (Interscope Records)
• Rhiannon Giddens — You’re the One (Nonesuch Records)
• Russ — Santiago (Columbia)
• Shamir — Homo Anxietatem (Kill Rock Stars)
• Sloppy Heads — Sometimes Just One Second (Shrimper)
• Sonic Youth — Live in Brooklyn 2011 (Silver Current/Goofin’)
• Taylor Ashton — Stranger to the Feeling (Signature Sounds)
• Teddy Thompson — My Love of Country (‎MRI)
• Tribes — Rabbit Head (Downtown Music)
• Victoria Canal — WELL WELL EP (Parlophone)
• The View — Exorcism of Youth (Cooking Vinyl)
• Yatta Bandz — TUFF LUV (Empire)

Friday, August 25

• A Giant Dog — Bite (Merge Records)
• Alice Cooper — Road (Earmusic)
• The Armed — Perfect Saviors (Sargent House)
• Ashnikko — Weedkiller (Parlophone/Warner)
• Asking Alexandra — Where Do We Go From Here? (Better Noise Music)
• Be Your Own Pet — Mommy (Third Man Records)
• Becca Mancari — Left Hand (Captured Tracks)
• Buck Meek — Haunted Mountain (4AD)
• Candlebox — The Long Goodbye (Round Hill Records)
• Charlotte Cardin — 99 Nights (Cult Nation)
• Cindy Wilson — Realms (Kill Rock Stars)
• Clementine Valentine — The Coin that Broke the Fountain Floor (Flying Nun Records)
• Common Kings — Celebration (Island Empire/Mensch House Records)
• Crooks and Nannies — Real Life (Grand Jury)
• Des Rocs — Dream Machine (Sumerian Records)
• Drab Majesty — An Object in Motion (Dais Records)
• DREAM — whoever wants to hear EP (Universal)
• Fat Tony and Taydex — I Will Make A Baby in this Damn Economy (Carpark Records)
• Fay Victor — Blackity Black Black Is Beautiful (Northern Spy Records)
• Gareth Donkin — Welcome Home (drink sum wtr)
• Georgia Mooney — Full of Moon (Nettwerk)
• Grandaddy — Sumday: Excess Baggage (Dangerbird Records)
• Handsome Ghost — Handsome Ghost (Nettwerk)
• Hannah Georgas — I’d Be Lying If I Said I Didn’t Care (Real Kind Records)
• Harmony — Dystopia Girl EP (Fantasy Corp)
• Hiss Golden Messenger — Jump For Joy (Merge Records)
• Ida Mae — Thunder Above You (Thirty Tigers)
• Islands — And That’s Why Dolphins Lost Their Legs (Elf)
• jaboukie — All who can’t hear must feel (Interscope)
• Kendra Morris — I Am What I’m Waiting For (Colemine Records)
• Khalab — Layers (Hyperjazz)
• Kibi James — delusions (Bayonet Records)
• Laeland — look at the mess we made (Nettwerk)
• Mason Jennings — Under the Roses (Loosegroove Inc.)
• Missio — I Am High EP (RCA Records)
• Morgan Wade — Psychopath (Sony Music Nashville)
• MxPx — Find A Way Home (Independent)
• myst milano. — Beyond the Uncanny Valley (Phantom Limb)
• Nellie McKay — Hey Guys, Watch This (Hungry Mouse)
• Nightly — wear your heart out (BMG)
• Nora Kelly Band — Rodeo Clown (Mint Records)
• Old Crow Medicine Show — Jubilee (ATO Records)
• Ora Cogan — Formless (Prism Tongue)
• Patrick Droney — Subtitles For Feelings (Warner Records)
• Pleasure Forever — Distal (Solid Brass Records)
• Ratboys — The Window (Topshelf Records)
• Saccades — Land of The Hearth (Old World – New World Recordings)
• Sea Lemon — Stop At Nothing EP (Luminelle Recordings)
• Sid Sriram — Sidharth (Def Jam Recordings)
• Spanish Love Songs — No Joy (Pure Noise)
• Sonny and the Sunsets — Self-Awareness Through Macrame (Rocks in Your Head)
• Southern Shores — Anyplace There Is EP (Cascine)
• Spanish Love Songs — No Joy (Pure Noise)
• SPELLLING — SPELLING & the Mystery School (Sacred Bones)
• Tim McGraw — Standing Room Only (Big Machine Records/McGraw Music)
• Turnpike Troubadours — A Cat in the Rain (Bossier City Records/Thirty Tigers)
• Victoria Monét — Jaguar II (Lovett Music/RCA)
• Warren Zeiders — Pretty Little Poison (Warner Records)
• The Waymores — Greener Pastures (Chicken Ranch)
• William Shatner — Ponder The Mystery Revisited (Cleopatra)
• Who is She? — Goddess Energy (Father/Daughter Records)

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

A lot of people have a celebrity “hall pass,” meaning that if somebody in a relationship had the opportunity, their partner would be OK with them sharing an intimate interaction with a specific famous person. You don’t hear a ton of stories of celebrities agreeing to this sort of arrangement, but Kelly Clarkson nearly did. There was just one thing in the way, though.

During her Chemistry Las Vegas residency performance at Planet Hollywood’s Bakkt Theater on July 28 (as Entertainment Weekly notes), Clarkson read a female fan’s sign that said, “My girlfriend gave me a hall pass for you.” Her response? “If I was into chicks, I’d take up the offer. I just, unfortunately, like dicks.”

Clarkson’s residency has been full of headlines. At one show, she delivered a cover of the Harry Styles hit “As It Was.” Elsewhere, she addressed the recent trend of fans throwing things at performers on stage, saying, “If you’re gonna throw sh*t, throw diamonds.” The Chemistry residency coincides with Chemistry, the new album that Clarkson released in June. It’s her first non-holiday album since Meaning Of Life in 2017.

Kelly Clarkson is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Earlier this week, Warner Bros. Japan understandably took issue with its U.S. counterparts after the official Barbie Twitter account interacted with a “Barbenheimer” meme featuring a mushroom cloud.

Because Barbie and Oppenheimer are from two different studios, “Barbenheimer” has been an entirely fan-driven campaign that celebrates both films opening on the weekend where they proceeded to shatter box office records. However, when the official Barbie account reacted favorably with some of the memes, that’s when Warner Bros. Japan took issue.

“We consider it extremely regrettable that the official account of the American headquarters for the movie ‘Barbie’ reacted to the social media postings of ‘Barbenheimer’ fans. We take this situation very seriously,” Warner Bros. Japan said in a statement. “We are asking the U.S. headquarters to take appropriate action. We apologize to those who were offended by this series of inconsiderate reactions.”

Since then, Warner Bros. has not only pulled the offending tweet, but issued a public apology. “Warner Brothers regrets its recent insensitive social media engagement. The studio offers a sincere apology,” the entertainment giant wrote in a statement to Variety.

Considering the sensitive subject of the film, which tackles the creation of the bombs that killed over 250,000 people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Oppenheimer has not opened in Japan and there are no plans to do so at this time. In addition to Warner Bros. Japan, the Japanese public has openly criticized the “Barbenheimer” social media craze.

(Via Variety)