Category: News

Earlier this month, BTS’ RM released his debut solo album Indigo. He played some of the tracks in an NPR Tiny Desk, he unveiled music videos, and now he’s sharing a video of his live performance at the Dia Beacon art museum in New York City.

The video watches RM performing in different sceneries — outside surrounded by trees and inside by mesmeric art installations. His vocals are nearly identical to his recordings. Still, in this setting, they take on an even more substantial, alluring emotional weight as he expresses the songs with his entire body. He starts with “Wild Flower” featuring Youjeen, then goes on to “Still Life” featuring Anderson .Paak. This is followed by “Change pt.2” and finishes with “No.2” featuring Parkjiyoon.

About working on Indigo and stepping out as a solo musician while also inviting collaborators onto the LP, RM said, “You might be surprised that many people participated in my first solo album, but this album is like an exhibition I curated myself. You will be convinced of this if you can see the synergy that those people and I have together. They were all the best people that could have been invited, and their frequencies cannot be replaced!”

Watch his performance above.

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

The Atlanta Hawks picked up a badly-needed home win on Sunday evening. The Hawks needed overtime and a buzzer-beater from rookie AJ Griffin to defeat the Chicago Bulls, but the victory came on the heels of six losses in eight games, and Atlanta’s roster was in a celebratory mood after the positive result was secured. That included star guard Trae Young celebrating with a relatively typical action and, on Monday evening, he was fined $25,000 by the NBA for what transpired. In short, the fine was assessed “for throwing the game ball into the spectator stands,” and Young immediately lamented his punishment.

This is a funny reaction for Young, who will miss Atlanta’s game in Memphis on Monday with low back tightness. It’s also a reaction that seems justifiable, especially if he actually didn’t know he couldn’t do that and, in his words, he believes players “can’t celebrate sh*t anymore.”

Of course, the other side is that the league probably doesn’t love this reaction from a superstar within minutes of a public fine. It isn’t as if $25,000 is life-changing money for Young, though, and this is a window into what his natural response likely was less than 24 hours after a memorable victory.

Although the experts say that sparkling wine is meant to be enjoyed beyond celebratory occasions (which I most certainly agree with), there’s something undeniably special about popping bubbly during the holiday season. In addition to being festive, fizzy, and super food-friendly, sparkling wine has a unique way of making every situation feel like a party.

However, not all sparkling wines are created equal. Beyond the usual suspects, there are actually a few more styles of sparkling wine worth getting to know—and no matter what you reach for, we always believe that understanding a little bit about what you’re drinking makes the experience all the sweeter. Today, we’re breaking down everything you need to know about the industry’s most popular sparkling wine categories, just in time for the holiday season. Get your flutes ready, it’s about to get bubbly.

Champagne

In the world of sparkling wine, Champagne sits atop the throne. Regarded as the world’s best sparkling wine-producing region, this eponymous viticultural zone just east of Paris is home to some of the industry’s best—and most expensive—bottles of bubbles. Yet all that comes from Champagne needn’t be expensive! There are still a number of affordable gems to be found.

A few things to know about Champagne: first, the region’s three main grapes are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier, though a handful of lesser-known varieties are also permitted (though rarely used). Champagne is produced via the méthode traditionelle (traditional method), which involves taking an already-fermented wine and allowing it to go through a secondary fermentation in bottle. This is done by adding a liqueur de tirage (a mixture of sugar and water) to the wine to ignite fermentation. Since CO2 is a byproduct of fermentation, the gas becomes trapped in the bottle – voila, your bubbles await.

The wine is then aged for a minimum of 15 months (in the case of non-vintage wines), riddled, disgorged, and bottled with a last bit of sugar (or not, in the case of Brut Nature wines), and released. Brut Nature will be the driest version of Champagne, followed by Extra Brut and Brut, which will also be dry. Wines labeled Demi-Sec and Doux will be sweet.

Prosecco

Produced in Italy’s Veneto region, Prosecco has long been the answer to affordable, go-to bubbles that promise to get the job done. Contrary to the traditional method used in Champagne, these budget-friendly bottles are produced via the Charmat method, meaning that secondary fermentation is executed in large, pressurized tanks rather than bottles. The resulting wines are generally fresh, fruit forward, and released much younger than those that undergo the traditional method of vinification. While there are exceptions (a handful of producers use the traditional method in Prosecco, for example), these wines are great for simple holiday gatherings, mixing into cocktails, or popping at holiday brunches everywhere.

Cava

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmCm60uN5Fs/

For Spain’s answer to delicious, budget-friendly bubbles, look no further than Cava. Crafted in the Penedès region of Spain from the Xarel-lo, Macabeo, and/or Parellada varieties, these textured and tasty bubbles are produced via the traditional method (same as Champagne) and are required to age for a minimum of nine months on the lees prior to release. For those looking to dive deeper into the world of traditional method sparklers, Cava offers a fun, more wallet-friendly option than Champagne, with a variety of age markers and designations (Reserva, Gran Reserva, etc.) to boot.

For stocking stuffers and go-to gifts for coworkers, friends, and in-laws, you really can’t go wrong here.

Pét-Nat

Looking to score a unique bubbly gift for the wine lover in your life? Reach for a bottle of pét-nat. Contrary to Champagne, Cava, and Prosecco—all of which undergo a secondary fermentation–pét-nats are created via the méthode ancestrale, which only incorporates one fermentation. In short, wines are bottled prior to the completion of fermentation and are allowed to finish in bottle, which in turn, leaves a bit of CO2 (less than that of wines that undergo secondary fermentation) and oftentimes a touch of residual sugar in the bottle. In turn, these wines are fresh, fruit-forward, and extremely easy to drink, as well as often boast a lower ABV than other sparklers.

Fair warning, most pét-nats are not disgorged, meaning the wines may be a bit cloudy / have some sediment in them – which are nothing to worry about!

Crémant

If you’ve perused your local shop’s sparkling wine section, you’ve likely seen the word crémant a time or few. Simply put, these sparklers are produced via the traditional method—that is, the same way that Champagne is made—though aren’t allowed to be called Champagne, as they aren’t produced in the eponymous region of France. Therefore, any wines made in a Champagne style outside of the region boast the title of crémant. Crémants are produced in nearly every region of France, though are often aged less than Champagne (and can also be produced from a number of different grape varieties).

Crémants from the Loire are often made from Chenin Blanc, whereas crémant from Bourgogne are made from Chardonnay. Other common crémant-producing regions are Bordeaux, Jura, and Limoux.

Franciacorta

Although Prosecco tends to get the spotlight, Franciacorta is Italy’s other—perhaps even more interesting—style of sparkling wine. Produced in the country’s Lombardy region, these tasty bottles of bubbles are produced using the metodo classico (AKA, the traditional method used in Champagne and Cava), from a combination of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir (Nero), and/or Pinot Bianco. However, these wines actually have a stricter lees-aging time than Champagne; contrary to Champagne’s 15 months, Franciacorta must spend an impressive 18 months on the lees prior to release—and a whopping 60 months for vintage-designated bottlings!

Sekt

Sekt is the term for sparkling wine produced in Germany and Austria, though its regulations are much less strict than those of other regions. German and Austrian Sekt are produced in both the traditional style (Champagne) and Charmat / tank style (Prosecco), from a variety of grapes, and are bottled at varying levels of dryness / sweetness. This can make it a bit harder to navigate in terms of knowing what you’re getting strictly based on looking at the label, though many bottles will indicate some form of information with regards to the dryness / sweetness level of the juice inside.

These bottles are less commonly found in the United States than the regions above, but always promise a tasty, unique, and thought-provoking time.

Lambrusco

For those who can’t decide between red wine and bubbles, we ask, why choose? With Lambrusco, all of your red bubbly dreams promise to come to life. Crafted in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, these delicious red bubbles are frothy, fizzy, and seriously easy to throw back, no matter what time of day. Lambrusco is produced all across the flavor profile spectrum, but even the driest expressions are still extremely juicy and fruit-forward.

Never tried one before? Pop a bottle with your next charcuterie board or pizza night, you’ll thank us later.

Note: There are a number of other lesser-known wine-producing areas making delicious bubbles, such as Italy’s Trentino region (Trentodoc), and numerous regions across the United States (California, Virginia, New York State, and more). While these regions’ productions are much smaller than those of regions listed above, we implore you to try bubbles from as many wine-producing regions around the globe as possible!

Warning: This post contains spoilers for The White Lotus Season 2 finale.

In Season 1 of The White Lotus, Jennifer Coolidge’s wealthy Tanya didn’t only avoid death; she also became the only cast member to return for round two. But if you’re reading this, you know she won’t make it to round three. On Sunday night’s Season 2 finale, it was revealed Tanya was the body found floating in the water at the start of the season premiere. But she wasn’t alone; she took out at least three people with her, characters who wished her harm. That’s left the actress torn: sad that Tanya’s gone, stoked that she went out fighting.

In an exit interview with Vanity Fair, Coolidge — who won an Emmy for the first season and could very well win another for the second — revealed that show creator Mike White told her Tanya’s fate when he revealed that she’d be returning for Season 2. He braced her for the bad news:

Mike called me up and he goes, “Sicily is beautiful, Jennifer, you can’t believe how beautiful Sicily is and we’re gonna shoot it all here in Sicily, except for a few shots in Rome, but it’s all gonna be in Sicily and you’re gonna be blown away by how, you know, the beauty and all that–” He kept saying stuff like that, and then he goes, “and Jennifer?” I go, “Yeah?” And he goes, “and you’re gonna die.” Oh, no! I was like, “No! Mike! Mike, why?”

White justified offing the show’s most popular character by saying she’s a “tragic figure” that it’s “in line with all the great operas that were ever written.” (At one point in Season 2, Tanya even attends a production of Madama Butterfly, weeping while sharing glances with Tom Hollander’s Quentin, one of her future-almost murderers.)

Still, Coolidge admitted she was “kind of bummed,” even though she felt it was “awfully greedy of me to think that I should just keep going,” given all the “brilliant actors in the world” who could get to have a sad vacation at some far flung high-end resort.

Besides, there was a silver lining: Before taking a fatal fall off the yacht on which she’s trapped, Tanya shot three of her would-be killers dead. “You know, I just I was just thrilled that although I was going to lose my life, I was going to take a lot of lives,” Coolidge said. I liked that there were gonna be some bad guys that were going to get their—they deserved it. They deserve what they got and they were bad guys.”

Still, Coolidge pointed out she’s no fan of guns. But in fiction, when justified to spare Tanya’s life and take out some very dangerous people, that’s more than fine.

(Via Vanity Fair)

The Detroit Pistons find themselves in last in the East with a 7-22 record so far this season, as their hopes of taking a step forward with a young core has not come to fruition. A major reason for that has been the absence of Cade Cunningham, who has missed all but 12 of their games this year with a shin injury.

Unfortunately for the former No. 1 overall pick, he has not seen enough improvement in his injury after a month off, and per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, he will undergo season-ending surgery.

Cunningham, who’s been sidelined since November 9, consulted with multiple doctors in recent weeks and ultimately decided with the Pistons and his representatives at Excel Sports to undergo a procedure that’s expected to have him fully recovered ahead of training camp in 2023-2024, sources said.

It is a significant blow to the Pistons, who wanted to let Cunningham and this year’s No. 5 overall selection, Jaden Ivey, spend the year getting acclimated to playing together in what they hope will be their backcourt of the future. Instead, Cunningham will have a lost year for his sophomore campaign, while Detroit will likely have to even further shift its attention to the future. In the meantime, Killian Hayes will continue to get an extended audition as he looks to solidify his place in Detroit’s rotation — or at least prove to be a rotation guard somewhere else in the NBA — alongside Ivey, and other teams will keep their eyes on veterans like Bojan Bogdanovic in hopes that the Pistons will be willing to make deals as the deadline approaches.

For the last few months, there have been major shakeups at Warner Bros. Discovery. The DCEU is undergoing a massive make-over that might not even have room for a third Wonder Woman. HBO Max shows have been put in jeopardy. Now one of them has been cancelled despite its second season nearing completion. And the show’s fans are pissed.

That show is Minx, the comedy about a young feminist (Ophelia Lovibond) teaming up with a low-rent publisher (Jake Johnson) to make the first women’s erotic magazine in the porn-happy ‘70s. As per Variety, the show, which premiered in March of this year, was renewed shortly thereafter. Filming for the second season was nearing completion when the show was suddenly scrapped. Not only will those new episodes never air on HBO Max, but the first season will be stricken from the streamer. The show’s producers are looking to find it a new home.

News of the cancellation shocked many, including creator Ellen Rapoport, who tweeted, “I am obviously disappointed that Minx (along with several other shows yet to be announced) is leaving HBO Max. I’m proud of the show we’ve made and am confident that the audience will come with us to our new home. Thank you to the best cast and crew in the business.”

Others were baffled.

Many were furious.

Some pointed out that, with this and the cancellation of Batgirl and the Scoob! sequel earlier this year, Warner Bros. Discovery aren’t exactly showing themselves to be a welcome home for creators.

Some pointed out to another Jake Johnson show unceremoniously cancelled: Stumptown.

But many were cautiously optimistic about it finding a new home.

For now, you can stream Minx on HBO Max. Until they delete it.

(Via Variety)

To say that this has been an outstanding year for the world of whisky would be an understatement. Some exquisite juice has been bestowed on drinkers from Scotland to Kentucky, Nashville to Denver, and Ireland to Japan. And the hits just keep coming from every corner of the whiskey world.

As a whiskey influencer, investor, and co-founder of the revived Whisk Live USA! shows, I have been fortunate enough to have tasted some absolutely outstanding drams this year. The number is well over 1,000 bottles give or take, and that’s excluding the San Francisco World Spirits Competition judging I did earlier this. I’ve also been able to travel the globe seeking what the best distilleries have to offer, and I can assure you that there’s a lot of great stuff out there (and not-so-great stuff too — none of this exists in a vacuum).

With all of that being said, here is my list of the ten absolute best whiskeys for 2022. I will apologize in advance for the level of effort that some of these requireto obtain but that just means you have a good excuse to visit these countries to try to find them on distillery visits, whiskey bar crawls, and shop drop-ins!

Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months

• The 100 Best Bourbon Whiskeys Of 2022, Ranked
• We Put A Whole Bunch Of Bourbons To A Giant Blind Test And Discovered Some Absolute Gems
• The Affordable Vs Expensive Blind Bourbon Bottle Battle
• The Best-Known Basic Bottles Of Bourbon, Blind Tasted And Ranked
• The 30 Best Bourbon Whiskeys For Fall, Blind Tasted & Ranked

10. Lagavulin 14 Jazz Festival 2022

ABV: 55.4%

Average Price: $250 (Distillery only)

The Whisky:

This year’s Jazz Festival release from Lagavulin was another spectacular pour from the brand. The malt is mellowed in re-fill American oak barrels before being transferred into former brandy barrels for the rest of those years. Finally, the whisky was bottled at cask strength from a few select barrels aged by the sea in Islay.

Tasting Notes:

This is an absolute beast. It’s so insanely sweet, which makes you question if it really is from Islay until that incredible smoke and peat comes at you. The cherries, both maraschino and ripe and lush from the orchards, come through marvelously, which all stem from the brandy cask finish here. Brown sugar kicks in and alternates between sweet and smoked, leaving you wondering what will happen next.

Bottom Line:

I realize smokey and peaty whiskies aren’t for everyone. But if you can get a hold of this (only 3,000 bottles are available at the distillery), you will not be sorry!

9. The Dalmore ‘The Luminary 2022 Edition’ 15-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

ABV: 46.8%

Average Price: $450

The Whisky:

Being the first person outside the distillery to have tried this, I can tell you that this limited-edition series is spectacular and extremely unique. Master whisky makers Richard Paterson, OBE, and Gregg Glass really stepped it up here for this 15-Year-Old gem. The whisky was finished in first-fill bourbon casks, Amarone red wine casks, and bespoke “Kintsugi” casks made from Scottish Tay Oak.

Tasting Notes:

This is special. The nose is complex and hugely sweet. The palate comes in with that amazing Christmas Cake vibe that Dalmore is known for, with chocolate shavings and a hint of Orange Zest. Sweet spices come through in a generous form on the palate, with a long finish that leaves you wanting more.

Bottom Line:

This is available in markets outside the U.S. only, making it highly collectible in the U.S. market … if you can find it! And if you can, you’ll be in for a wonderful single malt treat with every nose and sip.

8. Michter’s 10-Year Single Barrel Rye 2022

ABV: 46.4%

Average Price: $269

The Whiskey:

I did not enjoy rye whiskey until 2017, when I first came upon Michter’s 10-Year-Old Single Barrel Rye. What Master Distiller Pam Heilmann (since retired) did back then was nothing short of immaculate. This current version by Master Distiller Dan McKee and Master of Maturation Andrea Wilson reminds me of that first one still thanks to the serious depth found in some truly astounding barrels.

Tasting Notes:

Despite a relatively low ABV (for an American Whiskey these days), this one still packs a massive spice punch on the nose that then shifts into spicy warmth, sweetness, then roasted marshmallows on the back of the palate. Overall, it is long and lingering with pure rye essence that coats your palate so perfectly.

Bottom Line:

This is, without a doubt, a top rye whiskey for me every year!

7. Stranahan’s Snowflake 2022 Batch 25, Humboldt Peak

ABV: 47%

Average Price: $120

The Whiskey:

This is the best malt from Stranahan’s thanks to the mature American single malt whiskey that Colorado distillery is producing. Older versions of Snowflake used to include two to five-year-old single malt but this version has a backbone of nine-year-old malt, a stark contrast from before. Stranahan’s believes in “layering” their whiskies, meaning that they blend several different cask styles together, and see what hits.

This year’s blend ended up being seven different casks from their standard American single malt to a sherry cask finished malt, Barbados rum cask finished, and a bottled in bond malt thrown in there. It’s just outstanding.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is all Christmas all day with sweet notes followed by the most beautiful gingerbread cookies and holiday cake on the palate with that sweet white icing on top. This lingers for quite some time and then the baked apple pie and brown sugar settle in perfectly. The finish is long and sweet, making this dram ideal at 47%.

Bottom Line:

Named after one of the iconic “fourteeners” (there are over 50 peaks above 14,000 feet in Colorado), Stranahan’s Snowflake Humboldt Peak is simply on another level from years past. Having recently tried the last seven versions, I can say with confidence that this is lights-out the best.

6. Teeling Purple Muscat Cask Aged 32 Years

ABV: 53.7%

Average Price: $3,269

The Whiskey:

This is the pinnacle of Irish whiskey and a sign of the times. As Irish whiskey continues to explode, the older expressions just keep topping one another. It is truly uncanny. Teeling won World’s Best Whiskey a few years back with their 24-year-old, and I can say with confidence that this new, extremely limited 32-Year expression tops that winning and beloved pour of Irish whiskey.

Tasting Notes:

This is full of tropical fruit, something this Dublin distillery is known for. The pineapple and guava on the palate are bountiful, and then upside-down pineapple cake just comes in and whisks you away!

Bottom Line:

This is hands down worth buying for both drinking and collecting purposes. It’s perfect neat, but a drop or two of water really lets it bloom into a fruity, creamy dream of a sip.

5. Benromach 40 2022

ABV: 57.1%

Average Price: $3,818

The Whisky:

Last year, I ranked Benromach 21-Year-Old as my second-best whisky of the year behind Paul John Mithuna Indian Single Malt. This year, their 40-Year-Old expression blew me away too, especially after winning World’s Best at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition earlier this year. This highland distillery keeps it coming from their Organic expressions to their classic 10-Year-Old and right up to their almost unattainable 50-Year-Old. It is also a byproduct of the Gordon and Macphail family, which has been creating some of the world’s oldest whiskies for generations.

Tasting Notes:

This one opens with a chocolatey sensation. The nose has robust sherry notes, which work beautifully while transitioning to the dark chocolate berries on the palate. The age really shows itself perfectly as it is deep, rich, complex, and mature without being even slightly over-oaked. The balance is extraordinary. Some espresso starts to filter through late on the palate. It’s wonderful! There’s a very long finish with chocolate shavings that eventually mellow everything out. Brilliant.

Bottom Line:

A lot of scotch whisky drinkers are still unfamiliar with this brand, and that shocks me given how damn good everything is that this distillery has been doing. It’s time to stop sleeping on this stellar single malt.

4. Caol Ila 14 Year Old The Four Corners Of Scotland Collection 2022 Distillery Exclusive

ABV: 53%

Average Price: $185 (Distillery Only)

The Whisky:

I was torn on how high to rank this one, as it was equally nostalgic for me as it is outstanding. This simply dominated on my recent trip to Islay with the Lagavulin 14 Jazz Festival (above) coming in 2nd on that particular trip. The juice is mellowed for 14 years in refill and freshly charred hogsheads right on the sea in Islay. The barrels are picked to create this specific flavor profile that highlights what made me fall in love with Caol Ila years ago.

Tasting Notes:

Smokiness and sweetness dominate the nose with dark fruits that are wonderfully incorporated. Then there’s this vanilla custard that comes across the tongue brilliantly. The peat kicks in, but is not overbearing in the least, and that medicinal Islay feel is right where it should be, subtle and lurking underneath everything else.

Long and sweet and smokey on the finish, this has got to be the best thing to come from my favorite Islay outpost in a long while!

Bottom Line:

The magic lasts from start to finish and genuinely leaves you wanting more. So much so that I bought a case because I knew that I would not be going back to Islay anytime soon and there are only 3,000 bottles in this run.

3. The Irishman Single Malt Irish Whiskey Aged 17 Years

ABV: 56%

Average Price: $170

The Whiskey:

This is kind of a no-brainer but is almost certainly the underdog on this list since The Irishman is just making its way back to the U.S. market for the first time in a long while. The actual juice is made from 100% Irish malted barley and only three casks were made (with only one coming to the U.S. market). Those few barrels were bottled as is at cask strength without chill filtration.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is deliciously sweet with a toasted malting floor coming at you as if you were in a distillery coupled with honey and raisins from the sherry maturation. The palate has some Bananas Foster to it with hints of burnt sugar on a crème brulee. The finish is mildly long and full of dried fruit.

Bottom Line:

This is hands down the best value for money on this list, considering its limited run and price. At around $170, you could add another $50-$60 to the price tag here and it would still be well worth it.

2. Jura Distillery Exclusive Fèis Ìle Edition 2022

ABV: 57.2%

Average Price: $145

The Whisky:

This one stands out amongst many and has to be the best from this year’s Fèis Ìle Whisky Festival on Islay. The whisky in the bottle is a 14-year-old malt that was matured in ex-sherry butts until it was just right for this special, one-off bottling for the whisky fest of only 700 bottles.

Tasting Notes:

The nose has that beautiful and light Jura smoke with some stunning sweetness to it. The orange comes to life with sea-salted caramel and continues into the palate with citrus and more subtle smoke and coffee notes. The orange citrus notes continue into the finish and pair perfectly with the sea salt that is so complimentary to this dram.

Bottom Line:

Finally, something from the tiny town that could! Dubbed as the “most difficult place in the world to get to” and where George Orwell wrote 1984, Jura has some fantastic releases but often gets overlooked as The Dalmore’s younger sibling. This excellent release should help to change all of that.

1. Heaven Hill Heritage Collection 17-Year Bourbon

ABV: 59.1%

Average Price: $3,200

The Whiskey:

It goes without saying that anything coming out of Heaven Hill Brands is going to be top-notch. This bourbon is an instant classic that’s built from 28% 20-year-old barrels, 44% 19-year-old barrels, and 28% 17-year-old barrels that were stashed around the Heaven Hill campuses in Bardstown, Kentucky. Once batched, that whiskey went into the bottle completely unadulterated, creating this brilliant pour.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is so beautifully hot, the heat continues into the palate with that stunning candy corn sweetness. The 12% malted barley in the mash bill plays a massive role here, bringing lovely nuttiness to the forefront, and let’s not forget the fire-roasted cherries on that insane palate. This is tens all around!

Bottom Line:

I don’t often go with bourbon in the top spot, for the simple reason that there aren’t too many ways one can play around with bourbon compared to other whiskies of the world. Yes, there are many variants from mash bill, time, location of cask in the rickhouse, etc. But without being able to play freely with the style of the base cask — where so much of the flavor comes from — it makes it tough to really play around with flavor profiles.

I’m not trying to knock bourbon by any means, but the proof is in the pudding since you can find thousands of “finished bourbons” nowadays. But that’s what arguably stands out more with this absolutely unbelievable bottle, that’s simply made from standard bourbon barrels spread around a few warehouses in Kentucky. There’s no special finishing, just amazing bourbon straight from the barrel.

It’s been a year of high, lows, and now one final big payoff for Little Simz. After cancelling this year’s US tour in support of her fantastic 2021 album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, because of financial concerns, Simz’s album would up winning the 2022 Mercury Music Prize as the top album in the UK. Then just last week, she announced an upcoming follow-up album, No Thank You. Now today, without any singles or build-up, it just came out.

No Thank You was produced by Inflo, who’s been plenty busy himself, producing three tracks on Adele’s 30 and releasing not one, not two, not three, not four, but five albums at once from his Sault project last month. Mentioning Sault in the same breath as Little Simz makes a lot of sense when you press play on No Thank You, as the first song features Sault’s Cleo Sol, who’s become a right-hand vocalist of sorts for Inflo and also appears on tracks off of Introvert, like “Woman.” Furthermore, the choral, angelic, and cinematic production of No Thank You also feels extremely congruent with what Inflo has been exploring on his most recent Sault drops. It’s hard to listen to all of this music and not feel like it’s all part of a great ecosystem within Inflo’s Forever Living Originals label collective.

You can listen to that opening track, “Angel” above and check out the No Thank You album artwork and tracklist below.

1. “Angel”
2. “Gorilla”
3. “Silhouette”
4. “No Merci”
5. “X”
6. “Heart On Fire”
7. “Broken”
8. “Sideways”
9. “Who Even Cares”
10. “Control”

No Thank You is out now via Forever Living Originals. Buy or stream it here.

Tom Brady’s struggles this season continued on Sunday in a rather pathetic 35-7 loss by the Bucs on the road against Brock Purdy and the Niners, and with the Bucs sliding back below .500 at 6-7, his play and the Bucs issues were once again a leading topic on sports talk TV shows on Monday morning.

When it came time for that topic on Undisputed, Shannon Sharpe grew increasingly frustrated with “personal shots” taken at him by Skip Bayless, who took offense at Sharpe for saying Brady has been bad this year — which is objectively true. Skip went at Sharpe for “having to stop at 35” while Brady continues playing at 45, which wound Sharpe up for what became a minute-long screaming match.

Shannon is without question in the right here, but it’s also incredibly funny how Skip literally makes a fart noise at Shannon as he lists off his accomplishments as a Hall of Famer and Super Bowl champion before saying “Who cares?!” Getting so mad at someone saying Tom Brady — who again, has by all metrics not played well this year — has not played well that you go after them for not being as good or playing as long (while ignoring the massive differences in playing quarterback and tight end on the body) is truly incredible work by sports TV’s most obnoxious heel.

For years NBA fans have expressed their desire to have something akin to NFL RedZone, where Scott Hanson famously spends seven hours every Sunday showing fans every score and significant play from across the league.

It’s a great idea in theory that is difficult to execute for a variety of reasons, none bigger than the frenetic pace of NBA games where there aren’t clear parameters to cut over to a game like in the NFL when a team gets deep in opposing territory. Despite that challenge and others, the league has been testing a format for the past few years that has now become NBA CrunchTime, a free-to-watch show on the NBA App (no League Pass required), where Jared Greenberg and Channing Frye dive in on Monday nights to take fans around the league on the busiest night of the schedule.

Greenberg has been part of the various iterations of CrunchTime going back to when it was an occasional part of the NBA TV lineup. Now having it be a regular part of the schedule on the app has allowed them to establish a rhythm with the broadcast, which he credits to those working in the production room to bounce around from game-to-game and ensure that they’re hitting on the most important moments from around the league — live as often as possible, but with highlight packages as needed.

“We really feel like we are in a great spot right now in our crew,” Greenberg says, “led by our producer Bert Bondi, our director, Alisa Deanes-Davis, and then our tape operator, Dan Eisner. He’s a wizard back in the tape room where he’s got all these different tape machines and he’s working with tape operators and they’re making sure we turn stuff around so if we’re not live on something and we see something in another game, literally within a matter of seconds, [we show it]. We feel like we are in a great spot and we’re delivering a product that nobody else is delivering on the NBA side and truly is a one of a kind of experience for the NBA consumer.”

It is controlled chaos on those Mondays where there are sometimes 10 games going on at once — or, in the case of the first Monday in November, 15 with every NBA team in action prior to Election Day — but that’s an environment that Greenberg adores. With Bondi in his ear, pointing him to what game they’re going to next, a Slack channel open on the computer in front of him with the whole CrunchTime team discussing what’s happening and what’s important to show, and then Frye alongside talking to the viewers about the game on the screen, there’s an awful lot of noise for Greenberg to work through, but it’s an environment he fully embraces because it’s not all that much different than how he’d spend his night anyway.

“I love it,” Greenberg says with a smile. “I don’t know whether it’s like my short attention span that I have that that plays to this. It’s also it’s also my passion for the game. If I were not hosting this show I would be like you, I’d be on my couch bouncing around on League Pass from game to game to game, so for me this is just watching League Pass on steroids. And I love what this show affords me the ability to do which is sometimes give you the information that I prep for. As you can imagine, the preparation is absolutely crazy for this show. I have so much information, not only in my head but in front of me on my notes. I have all these different websites that give me information about what’s happening at that moment, and how to use all that is is a little bit nutty sometimes. But I also don’t get too prideful and understand that I don’t need to convey to you every little bit of nugget or information that I have, if I could instead lay out and send you to an announcer who’s going to give you an emphatic hometown call of a potential buzzer beater.”

The nights where the games cooperate and come down to the wire with the result in question are the easy ones for Greenberg and the CrunchTime crew, because that’s the core of what they want to do: show games in crunch time when the outcome is in doubt. When those moments are in abundacnce, it can be hectic going back and forth, but the objective is clear.

It’s when the outcome of who wins and who loses isn’t in question for much of the slate that requires some creativity on the part of Greenberg and Frye, but it’s also something they pride themselves on in embracing all the various things that fans are going to find important, from individual performances to a gambling perspective.

“We are trying to deliver everything all at once to everybody without alienating anybody else,” Greenberg notes of the biggest challenge they face. “This is a show in this space for this sport that nobody’s ever done before. So for us, we want to run to, not away from, next level challenges. Whether it be technology, whether it be just new ways to watch, we’re gonna say ‘Alright, let’s try it.’ But we are very, very clear to ourselves. We have this conversation a lot to reiterate it and especially in my own head I reiterate it to myself a lot that the priority, first and foremost, is always going to be the game. We are going to let the game tell the story. If it is a tight game and we have the opportunity to show you that and talk about that, that’s going to be the story. If maybe the game is not as tight, well, then we start to look at other things. It could be players having crazy stat lines, or the gambling component, whether it be the line or the over/under.”

And some times that comes down to the multi-game box that NFL Redzone quickly became known for on the football side.

“Let’s not forget about the game here on the left that we’re showing you that’s coming down to the wire that we’re going to take you sound full and you’re gonna hear the announcers, but just just want to let you know that in city XYZ, this team just covered and the game went over,” Greenberg says. “Simple enough. Let’s go back to game number one, here’s the announcer. It’s little things like that, but we truly pride ourselves in staying true to who we are, which is CrunchTime. We’re going to give you as many other layers to that as possible. But first and foremost a priority has to be delivering close late games to the fans, and I pride myself and I say it a lot during the show. And it’s not just a cliche. I say it for the new viewer for the viewer to remind them. I say it to remind myself. I say it to remind our crew so it’s always hammered into our heads. Our mission statement each night is to take you to the biggest moments of the night as they’re happening live. If we have to abort that because the games don’t aren’t necessarily playing along, we’ll find other avenues to deliver you an entertaining show that the passionate basketball fans are gonna want to watch.”

A big part of that formula of creating an entertaining show each time on air is Channing Frye, as the former 14-year vet has the unique ability to toggle between having fun and providing analysis into what’s happening on the floor. That comes in handy on the fast-paced CrunchTime broadcast, and makes life considerably easier for Greenberg who can always lean on him to provide unique insight into play design or what the players are thinking — or at least should be thinking — in a crucial moment.

“I think as good as Channing is on the air when we’re on air and going back and forth about stuff, the craziest part is when I toss it out to an announcer to do the live call of whatever we’re watching, he doesn’t stop being an analyst or player mode,” Greenberg says. “Like he just keeps talking and like saying ‘No, why are you doing this!’ or ‘Yeah, find that, great pass,’ or ‘You gotta rotate.’ … His passion for the game is phenomenal. The coolest stuff is just to be able to sit there as if you were on your couch watching hoop and you’re watching these dudes watch basketball and you’re getting there as passionate as you are except he actually knows what he’s talking about when it comes down to the breaking down a play or like criticizing a player or coach. It’s such an awesome experience.”

As CrunchTime continues to grow, Greenberg says they have plenty of things they can try out and continue working on, but the most important thing for them is tailoring the product to what the fans want, working within the constraints they have. Broadcast rules limit them to five live cut-ins per game — up from three a year ago — and as such the production room has to pick and choose when to pop in live and when to do a highlight cutup to save a live look for later in the game. Still, they’re all about finding that balance between showing big plays, key moments like if a star goes down with an injury, spread and total drama in the gambling world, and, of course, the closing minutes of a close game. And the process starts with figuring out what fans want — and what they don’t — out of CrunchTime.

While we talked I mentioned how as someone whose job it is to keep an eye on everything going on, I love when they go double, triple, or quadbox showing live games, but Greenberg noted that, while on a TV that’s great, they know it can be a bit overwhelming for those watching on the phone. As such, they want fans to tune in and provide as much feedback as possible, because this is a show born out of the pleas of NBA Twitter, and they want to tailor it to them with as much input as they can get from the viewing public.

“We think we have a fantastic product, but we we are humble enough to understand that we’re going to learn new viewer habits,” Greenberg says. “We’re going to utilize different ways for us to be at our best at all times. But the single biggest thing is we need hoopheads to know about this. I think that is the biggest thing is the awareness right now.

Greenberg offers a plea to the viewers themselves, the ones who clamored for it for so long.

“We need people to understand that they have exactly what NBA Twitter has been begging for, for literally a decade if not more,” he says. “And we need you guys to watch and give us feedback. We need that. We just need to continue to do it more and have more people know about it know that it’s an option for them. And the fact that it’s so convenient that no matter where they are in North America, if they have a phone they can watch and it’s totally free.”

While the show will continue on Mondays throughout the season, the league will take the week after Christmas to bring CrunchTime to air all five nights on the app (8:30 p.m. ET Monday-Thursday, and 9 p.m. ET Friday) as Nabil Karim, Sam Mitchell, Tim Doyle, and Greenberg will all take turns teaming up for whiparound action to close out 2022.