Category: News

You’re walking down the sidewalk, earbuds in, listening to your favorite hip-hop beats. As your head bobs to the sounds, the sun warms your back. It’s a perfect day.

When the chorus hits, the empty Sprite bottle in your hand becomes a drumstick, passing traffic becomes a sea of concertgoers, and the concrete beneath your feet is suddenly a stage. Spinning on your heels, you close out the song with your face to the sky and hands in the air.

Spotting a bright blue bin, you chuck in your imaginary drumstick. The sound that echoes back is satisfyingly cool, a deep, reverberating clunk so loud you can hear it over the music.

That is the sound of recycling.

Imagine how harmonious it would sound to mix the tones of millions of bottles going through the recycling process—the melody of all of us doing our part?

The Coca-Cola Company recognizes its responsibility to help address the world’s plastic packaging crisis. Several of the company’s most popular brands were historically made in green plastic bottles—however, when green plastic is recycled, it is usually turned into single-use items that do not get recycled again. To take one more step toward greater sustainability, Sprite, Fresca and Seagram’s are now being packaged in clear plastic bottles, increasing the likelihood of them being recycled over and over again—a process known as “closed loop recycling.”

Surprisingly enough, closed loop recycling and music have a lot in common. Music producers typically use a technique called sound sampling: the process of taking an old sound, chopping it up, and flipping it into a completely new beat. Just like the process of recycling, old can be new in sound sampling. An old sound is used in a new track, which is morphed again into a newer track, and so on. Beats being made today will be recycled by another creative in the future. Que Uptown Funk!

To celebrate the shift from green to clear, The Coca-Cola Company partnered with iconic, genre-defining/defying producers Mark Ronson and Madlib to create the world’s first album composed of the sounds of the plastic recycling process itself. The Recycled Records EP uses real ambient sounds sampled from various points in the closed-loop recycling chain at four different recycling facilities scattered across the United States. From the percussion of a forklift beeping, to the tonal beat of a conveyor belt, to the hi-hat of air blown into a plastic bottle, the EP brings to life the magic of multiple reuses.

“It sounds very crazy to say it, but anything can become a sample…any sound can be manipulated. The sound of opening a barrel of plastic has its own funk and flow to it,” said Ronson.

Not only did The Coca-Cola Company find a way to literally turn the sounds of recycling into music, thanks to the Recycled Records Beat Machine, you can be part of that process, too. Using the site, music enthusiasts are able to remix the very same recycled sound library used by Ronson and Madlib into innovative compositions of their own through an interactive, one-of-a-kind digitized version of an 808 beat machine. Generally, the biggest obstacle for many aspiring artists is accessing the proper musical technology, which is yet another reason why Recycled Records is so dang cool—this beat machine is free and accessible to anyone with an internet connection.

Innovation and creativity are the way of the future; tap into yours today by creating a Recycled Record of your very own. Maybe someday, other people will be dancing down the street listening to YOUR beats!

It’s been nine difficult months since Adam Cole laced up his boots and stepped inside the squared circle. For a time, there was a real fear that he might never be able to wrestle again.

A shoulder injury was the least of his concerns, because suffering two consecutive head injuries that made day-to-day activities like sleeping or riding in the car difficult. He met with doctors multiple times a week and wondered at one point whether or not he could ever drive again, much less wrestle.

He would attempt to watch wrestling, but his passion for the business is so strong that he says it would break his heart not to be out there doing what he loves. As he recovered, messages continued to pour in from fans, and he used that as motivation to continue pressing forward. In the months that followed, Cole passed test after test, overcoming both mental and physical hurdles to climb inside the ring and begin training again.

That lengthy process will reach its conclusion on March 29, when Cole’s journey culminates in two milestone moments. He’ll first face off against Daniel Garcia in his highly-anticipated return match, before a behind-the-scenes look at his long journey back airs on the debut episode of AEW All Access.

“I have a huge amount of emotions going through my body, both physically and mentally as far as excitement, as far as nervousness goes. My journey coming back was an incredibly difficult one. There was a real fear for a long time of me wondering if I was ever going to be able to wrestle again,” Cole told Uproxx Sports. “I just remind myself constantly how lucky and fortunate I am that I’ve been able to recover and get to a point where I’m able to get back to doing what I love to do. Of course there are nerves. I have never in 15 years not wrestled for nine months. That has never happened to me before. So that part of me is nervous. But generally speaking, I am so excited and ready to get back to work.”

The process of managing many months of fear and anxiety that came with his injuries was difficult for Cole. He credits his girlfriend, Britt Baker, for the love and support that has helped him get back to this point. He also worked with others within the industry like Bryan Danielson and Christian as he navigated his recovery, managing emotions, and eventually returning to training.

Cole also makes a point to reiterate his gratitude toward Tony Khan and the AEW medical staff as the ones responsible for getting him to see multiple doctors, going to brain physical therapy, and ensuring he was taking the right steps to recover with no sense of urgency or push to get him back in the ring.

“We’re not invincible. For the longest time it was like, oh my God, yeah, I’ll do anything and I’ll fall on the concrete, or I’ll take this move, or I’ll fall off the top of this,” Cole says. “I certainly am more in tune and I’m going to listen to my body better. Because there are times where you have to find that difference between I’m banged up and something’s wrong. As far as I’m concerned, this feels like a second chance. I want to come back and have the best run of my entire career. That doesn’t necessarily mean I have to do a ton of death defying stuff every single night. But at the end of the day, wrestling is a high risk, high reward type of profession anyway. I guess the best way for me to put it is I’m aware now of making sure that I listen to my body, but at the same time I want to go out and just be the best version of myself.”

The best version of Adam Cole has been prominently displayed throughout his career, highlighted by runs through Ring of Honor and most recently NXT. Cole reflects on his time in NXT fondly, with his proudest accomplishment being his 403-day reign atop the promotion.

Cole was known for his run with Undisputed Era and the classics he put on, but his promo with Karrion Kross has been elevated from simply a moment on weekly episodic television to being a viral classic that the internet goes nuts over every few months. Cole laughed and acknowledged he sees the clip pop up here and there.

“It’s wild. I’m incredibly flattered and I think it’s so cool that so many people are interested still in that promo that we had. When we did the promo, I remember thinking like, oh, that went well. But not in a million years did I expect people to still be talking about it so much,” Cole said. “I think the world of (Kross). I’m so happy for him and glad he is doing great, but I had so much fun doing the segment and I would love to work with him again in the future. He’s great.”

As for other memorable moments in NXT, Cole points to his time working under Shawn Michaels and Triple H as significant learning moments in his career.

“There’s a lot of things that I’m really proud of and really thankful for. I’m incredibly thankful for the knowledge and the things that I learned from Triple H and Shawn Michaels. They were two of the smartest guys I’ve ever met and so helpful,” Cole said. “Shawn helped me in various ways, but the one thing that really sticks out to me was his ability and his sense of gauging the cadence of a match. For the most part, I had a general idea of how I wanted to build a match and when I wanted to do my moves and things like that. But as far as the speed at which I did it, it was one of those things that I just did. Sometimes I went faster, sometimes I went slower.

“Shawn has such an incredible ability to be able to listen to an audience while it’s happening and determine whether he wants to go super quick or slow down a little bit and let the audience process everything that’s happening. So his attention to that detail is something I didn’t pay attention to near as much as I do now and I’m incredibly thankful to him for that.”

While it was the in-ring work Cole praises Michaels for helping him with, it was the passion Triple H brings to the table that stands out to him.

“As far as Triple H goes, this guy’s one of the busiest guys that I know. He would always show up to NXT with incredible ideas and incredible thoughts, but most importantly, incredible passion. He had this incredible ability of making everyone that was around want to just put on the best possible show and you really feel like you’re a part of a team and something you’re working towards. And I think as a leader, that’s an incredibly important quality to have,” Cole says. “That’s something I learned, as far as the way that I wanted to approach matches, the way I approach talking about angles or storylines. It’s that passion and excitement that he had and also opening up the floor when it came to discussion or thoughts or ideas about different directions that we could go. It felt like such a fun, awesome process to talk creatively with him.”

When he left NXT, Cole looked forward to traveling and spending more time on the road with Baker, working with some of his close friends, and more consistently streaming on Twitch. As he approaches his return to the ring, those priorities remain the same. He’s also got some unfinished business in the squared circle, beginning with March 29 going as smoothly as possible against Garcia, and hopefully building to another world title.

“Short term, I just want to feel good and I want to perform, and I want to do well on March 29th. That’s the biggest thing. Once I get that out of the way, I’m going to feel like a million bucks. I’m so excited to have that match and have that moment,” Cole said. “As far as long-term goes, it’s the same as when I first came to AEW, and that is to be the AEW World Champion. Every company that I’ve ever worked for, whether it be Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Gorilla, NXT, I’ve been fortunate enough to be put in a situation where I’ve had record breaking reigns as champion. I have that exact same goal, that exact same mentality when it comes to AEW, and at the end of the day, I think if you don’t want to be AEW World Champion then what are you doing? So that is 100 percent my goal and my focus going forward.”

Today (March 28), Conan O’Brien dropped a new episode of his Conan Needs A Friend podcast, featuring singer Billie Eilish, and her brother, producer, songwriter, and singer, Finneas.

During the interview, Finneas recalled purchasing a toy guitar, inspired by the Disney-Pixar movie, Coco. Eilish then noted that she and Finneas used the guitar to record her hit single, “Happier Than Ever.”

O’Brien then shared one of his favorite guitar moves with the musician siblings, saying, “There’s this famous shot of The Ramones on their way to a gig in like, ’76, and they don’t have guitar cases. They have their guitar’s in sh*tty shopping bags.”

He then imitated the band’s lead vocalist Joey Ramone, shouting “Dee Dee! Where’s Dee Dee? Let’s go.”

This prompted Eilish to ask O’Brien how loud he can shout.

“I would like it if you’d sit in the corner and shouted as loud as you could,” said Eilish. “I want to hear those pipes.”

“Alright, f*ck it,” O’Brien said, as he walked to the corner of the room.

He then shouted with great fervor, as Eilish and Finneas were laughing uncontrollably.

“This is one of the weirdest moments of my life,” said Finneas, as he was laughing.

You can check out the interview above.

March might be wrapping up, but the music sure isn’t. As we head closer into summer, more and more pop performers will be throwing songs in the ring to contend for the season’s biggest hit. It might be early, yet some picks on this list very well could take over. There’s also some somber selections and new soundtrack faves — giving something for every type of listener.

Here is Uproxx’s picks of the Best New Pop music from this week.

Lana Del Rey – “Margaret” (feat. Bleachers)

Lana Del Rey dropped her new album last week, which features the Bleachers collab, “Margaret.” Written about his fiancé and her friend, Margaret Qualley, it’s just an all-around sweet dedication. And, in typical fashion, it has a brief spoken word from Del Rey. “By the way, join the party,” she says, before adding she wants to “waltz this out.”

Ed Sheeran – “Eyes Closed”

Ed Sheeran’s “Eyes Closed” is an emotional tale of grief, as he recounts losing a loved one — in whatever form that may be. “I pictured this year a little bit different / When it hit February / I step in the bar, it hit me so hard, how can it be this heavy? / Every song reminds you’re gone / And I feel the lump form in my throat,” he sings, seemingly referencing his late friend, Jamal Edwards, in touching lyrics.

Rosalía, Rauw Alejandro – “Beso”

Rosalía and Rauw Alejandro are making serious headlines for their romantic new, “Beso,” but not for the reasons some might think. The real-life couple used the music video to announce their engagement, which had fans online incredibly excited.

Jimin – “Like Crazy”

“Like Crazy” is featured on Jimin’s debut solo EP, Face, and was inspired by a 2011 romantic film of the same title. “I tried to express the feelings of that movie,” Jimin said. “You know, the somewhat complex, somewhat lonely, somewhat happy emotions. I tried to express all these ambiguous and subtle emotions in a slightly sexy way, but I’m not sure how it’ll end up being received by people.” As it turns out, fans are loving it just fine.

Rina Sawayama – “Eye For An Eye”

Sawayama not only is making her film acting debut in the new blockbuster, John Wick 4, but she also contributed a song for the soundtrack. “Eye For An Eye” channels the vengeful chaos, over an industrial-sounding instrumental. “I’ll see you in hell on the other side,” she warns in the chorus.

Nell Mescal – “In My Head”

“’In My Head’ is a song about searching for a love you had in the past, a feeling you’re never sure you’ll find again so you seek comfort in relationships that are emotionally draining and one-sided,” Mescal said about her latest single. “It’s about thinking that it must always be your fault and eventually leading to resentment towards the other person. We all have that person we look back on and miss, this track captures the moment they slip into your head.”

Bizarrap, Arcángel – “BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 54”

On the heels of Shakira’s hit collab with Bizarrap, he has returned with a new “BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 54” that features Arcángel this time. Still, he manages to make reference to her, noting in Spanish that he’s “killing them like Shakira did to Piqué” over an enticing beat.

Katherine Li – “If I Weren’t Me”

Li’s new song, “If I Weren’t Me,” is an emotional contemplation on whether someone would like her more if she could change aspects of herself. What if I was happier, funnier / Anything in between / ‘Cause all that I can wonder is / What if I weren’t me / Do you think you’d like me a bit better / If I was cooler, put together,” she wonders.

Amelia Moore, Jxdn – “FUMD”

As Amelia Moore is rising on the scene, she brought in Jxdn for their new “FUMD” song together. A rock-influenced pop track, the two detail the downside of someone ruining their sleep schedule, hence the acronym.

Maluma, Anuel AA – “Diablo, Qué Chimba”

While Maluma and Anuel AA appeared to have settled their feud, according to Remezcla, it seems this song might have been the start of another one. Per Mag, they claim that Arcángel’s previously-mentioned Bizarrap session might have some digs at Anuel or be an attempt to overshadow his collab. Despite this possibility, the song has these two embracing their devilish side, with verses about luxury items and ladies.

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

Has Lil Uzi Vert‘s insistent Jersey Club-influenced hit “Just Wanna Rock” peaked yet? It seems doubtful, but it has reached the point in its arc when they’re performing it live for late-night audiences. I wonder what the average Tonight Show viewer thought when they turned on their televisions last night to be confronted by the image of the tatted-up, mohawked, piercing-dotted visage of the pint-sized Philly MC bobbing and bouncing across the screen with a small fleet of punk-garbed dancers. Probably something about millennials.

But hey, maybe they enjoyed it. After all, Uzi’s new hit has that unbridled, chaotic energy that makes it almost undeniably one of the most fun products of the post-pandemic era. Uzi barely raps on the song, letting the persistent kick drums do most of the heavy lifting, punctuated periodically by their piercing, filtered “Daaaaaaaaamns.” The whole song is like one extended dance breakdown; knowing this, Uzi brings the energy, doing as much movement as the backup dancers that crowd the stages during performances of the track.

So maybe “Just Wanna Rock” has as much of a chance to play as well for the older late-night demographic as it did for the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice crowd. And if not, too bad. Something tells me that we’re going to be hearing this song for a long time.

Watch Lil Uzi Vert perform “Just Wanna Rock” on The Tonight Show above.

The iHeartRadio Music Awards last night (March 27) were full of wonderful moments. Artists like Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, SZA, and BTS won big, plus indie darling Phoebe Bridgers presented Swift with the Innovator Award. Another notable moment was Coldplay’s vivacious performance.

Chris Martin begins by standing on a stage of swirling colors and sharing his gratitude before launching into “My Universe.” He runs all over the stage while members of BTS appear on screens to sing their part of the song. It ends with the celebratory raining of confetti as well as the bursting of bright fireworks into the night sky. Hard to beat!

As well as making their concerts an extravagant experience, they’ve also been working to make them accessible. Martin explained on the Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend podcast: “They are called SubPacs. My partner, gave me one as a gift because she saw someone online experiencing whatever they are experiencing with this — it’s kind of like body armor — you put it on and plug it in and it connects to the base.”

He continued: “So, we started using it and it’s been so amazing and it should get better and better. We have ten or twenty now — every night — of those packs and so if you’re hearing impaired we have an area where you sign up and you put on the pack and you can feel the show.”

Watch their performance at the iHeartRadio Music Awards above.

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

Just days before the upcoming third season premiere of his semi-autobiographical sitcom Dave, rapper and actor Dave “Lil Dicky” Burd paid a visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

During his visit, Lil Dicky dished on what we can expect from season 3, which shows the semi-fictional version of Lil Dicky going on tour across the country. Over the course of the season, viewers will see several guest stars, including Killer Mike, Rick Ross, and Usher.

Lil Dicky revealed to Kimmel that he remembers seeing Usher in concert when he was younger.

“I see this man on stage, and I remember weeping watching him,” he said, “as he would strip down into his underwear. And honestly, I now, strip down to my underwear when I get shows, because of Usher.”

Dicky also shared that he revealed this to Usher when he was on set for his cameo.

“How did he react to that?,” asked Kimmel.

“He thought it was cool,” said Dicky.

Elsewhere in the interview, Dicky teased even more surprises ahead of the upcoming season.

Check out the full interview above.

Season 3 of Dave premieres 4/5 on FXX at 10 p.m. ET. Episodes will air weekly and be available for streaming the following day on Hulu.

Ever since his father took office, Donald Trump Jr. has pivoted from know-nothing business executive to know-nothing right-wing commentator. However, where Don Jr. separates himself from the rest of the pack is his manic, blitzed out rants that make people wonder if he needs an intervention. Sure, he hits all of the usual talking points like a loyal MAGA foot soldier, but Junior always brings an extra level of energy that teeters on the edge of a heart attack.

In a new parody called “Cocaine News,” The Daily Show ruthlessly skewers Junior’s teeth-grinding commentary by literally just showing clips of him doing his thing with a couple cocaine graphics added for fun. It really didn’t take much to stick the landing on this one.

“Want a news show that parties? Watch Cocaine News with your host Donald Trump Jr.” a coked out voiceover says. “Hot takes, hard drugs and all the finger quotes you can handle.”

In a real “Methinks the lady doth protest too much” moment, Don Jr. recently complained that he has no idea why everyone thinks he’s on coke all the time. He’s just giving “impassioned” speeches, you guys.

“I got thrown into politics in my late 30s, and all the sudden, it’s like, hey, I just actually believe this stuff. I will more than happily fight for it,” Junior ranted on his podcast last month. “It would have been a lot easier to shut the hell up and be a real estate developer.”

(Via Huffpost)

[This post contains spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 4]

If the John Wick movies ended the same way as another action franchise, John Wick: Chapter 4 would have concluded with, “John Wick will be back…?”

Following a duel in Paris (A Duel in Paris kind of sounds like the name of a mid-tier Bond film, or the worst Woody Allen movie), John Wick is killed and buried under a “loving husband” tombstone next to his late wife. Or was he?!? I mean, yeah, he’s probably dead, but there are ways for John Wick 5 to happen.

“There’s a will and there’s an openness. And you could certainly interpret that ending in different ways,” Lionsgate motion picture group chair Joe Drake told the Hollywood Reporter. “We’re all going to take a tiny rest here and then scratch at ideas about whether there’s a credible way to get into five.”

He added, “But there’s no guarantee.”

John Wick 5 is only under consideration because John Wick: Chapter 4 had a franchise-best $73.8 million opening weekend at the domestic box office and made a massive $141.4 million worldwide; it’s the second best opening of Keanu Reeves’ career, behind only The Matrix Reloaded. (If you include his voice acting work, Toy Story 4 made more, which I only bring up to remind you that he played a Canadian daredevil named Duke Caboom.)

“Keanu and [director Chad Stahelski], rightly so, are very protective about never screwing with the audience. So we certainly have our work cut out for us,” Drake said. “Keanu is so beloved and that character is so beloved; that’s not lost on him.” If Keanu feels like John Wick’s story has been wrapped up in a neat little package, he could — and should — hand the franchise over to Rina Sawayama.

(Via the Hollywood Reporter)

Chloe Bailey’s sex scene in the new Prime Video series Swarm had fans talking once they realized it was her. However, others have viewed it as too NSFW and pushed back. Chlöe herself recently responded to this debate on Big Boy’s Neighborhood podcast.

“I’m an actress and I feel like it’s about art,” she said. “It’s not about seeing me in the mirror of that scene. But I think because it’s me doing it, that’s what kind of makes it blow out of proportion.”

During her appearance, she was also asked if she thought her scene partner, Damson Idris, had received a similar discourse — as Bailey is barely seen for a split second.

“I don’t think so because he’s a man,” she answered. I was just doing my job and people got to remember that I’m an adult and I’m an artist and nothing was seen that they haven’t seen from me. You didn’t see nipple. When I first received the script, I was just like… It was just insane and gorgeous and I think people are forgetting the plot of that scene.”

Along with her acting crossover, she is gearing up to drop her debut solo album, In Pieces.