The Last of Us, one of the best video games of the 2010s, was released when Bella Ramsey was 10 years old. The Game of Thrones actress did not play it then — a big break for her parents who didn’t have to explain what a “Molotov cocktail” is — and she still hasn’t played it now, even after being cast as Ellie in the HBO adaptation.
“I was actually encouraged not to,” Ramsey told USA Today when asked if she’s played The Last of Us. “After my first audition, they asked me, ‘Have you played it?’ And I said, ‘Nope,’ and they said, ‘Keep it that way.’ [Laughs.] I did watch some of the game play on YouTube just to get a sense of it.” Hopefully she looked up a guitar tutorial for “Take On Me,” too.
Ramsey continued:
“I’m so excited for it to come out – it was such a big part of my life. I shot for a whole year, which is quite a long time when you’ve only lived for 19 years. Pedro wrote a little card to me at the end, saying, ‘How interesting that something so huge and life-changing should happen so early in your life and so late in mine.’ I thought it was a really sweet observation and I just had the best time.”
For approximately nine months beginning in June 2015, Jeb Bush and Donald Trump were both angling for the GOP presidential nomination — rendering Jeb one of Trump’s favorite punching bags. In addition to famously (and regularly) labeling him as “low-energy,” some of Trump’s choicest other comments about the former Florida governor included calling him “an embarrassment to his family,” “a stiff,” “not a guy who can be president,” “desperate,” “sad and pathetic,” “loser,” “liar,” and “a nervous wreck” (and that’s just for starters). But, as The Daily Beast reports, Jeb mustered up enough of that low energy to hit back at Trump, who attempted to sully the name and reputation of Jeb’s dad — former president George H.W. Bush — over the weekend.
At a Sunday rally in Arizona, Trump continued obsessing over the FBI’s recent reclamation of several highly classified documents that the 45th president removed from the White House and brought home with him to Florida. While he seems to be bouncing back and forth between claiming the documents were declassified (possibly just with his brain), accusing the FBI of planting said documents, and brushing it off as no big deal, the former president opted for Door No. 3 during Sunday’s event. Without any evidence to back up his claims, he began rattling off how several of his predecessors had done the exact same thing that he had — but stored the documents they took from the White House in far less secure areas.
When he got to George H.W. Bush, Trump claimed that he had taken “millions and millions of documents to a former bowling alley pieced together with what was then an old and broken Chinese restaurant. They put them together. And it had a broken front door and broken windows. Other than that it was quite secure.”
I am so confused. My dad enjoyed a good Chinese meal and enjoyed the challenge of 7 10 split. What the heck is up with you? https://t.co/LT1jET2kor
The crowd sort of chuckled, but Trump didn’t seem to be kidding — and Jeb didn’t really know how to respond to the wild, and super-specific, accusation. So he did what most of us do after listening to Trump spin a yarn and admitted: “I am so confused.”
Another day, another blunder by Dr. Oz’s campaign. Although, at least this time he wasn’t standing in front of Hitler’s car. It can’t get worse than that, can it? (It can.)
On Monday, New York Magazine published a blistering report from Rebecca Traister that zeroed in on the Oz campaign’s attempts to exploit John Fetterman’s health issues after the Democratic candidate suffered a stroke shortly before the Pennsylvania primary election. Oz’s people are also attempting to frame Fetterman as soft on crime, which has proven to be a more effective campaign tactic despite Fetterman’s history of combatting gun violence while mayor of Braddock, Pa.
Traister also brought up reports that Oz was involved in medical testing that led to the death of over three hundred dogs, which would not go over well with the TV’s doctor campaign. Via New York Magazine:
The inversions and ironies are mind-boggling. Oz, a man who came to politics after having been questioned on the Senate floor about making unsubstantiated claims regarding “miracle” weight-loss pills, is framing Fetterman as less than medically forthcoming. Oz, who built a daytime-television empire thanks to Oprah Winfrey and by telling women it’s bad to be fat, is feminizing Fetterman and shaming him for being lazy and overweight. Oz, whose medical research led to Columbia University being fined for cruel experimentation on and the deaths of more than 300 dogs, is running a billboard using the image of a little girl and a puppy to cast Fetterman as some sort of deranged pansy, while repeatedly calling him “pro-murderer.”
Surprisingly, Traister received a response from a campaign spokesperson for Oz — who mostly just wanted to insult her.
“Suppose you were the dumbest person in the world,” the spokeperson said. “Now suppose you were a reporter for New York Magazine. But I repeat myself.” However, as Traister notes, “He did not deny the allegations about the puppies.”
On Friday night (October 7), Rosalía‘s Motomami Tour touched down in Inglewood with special guests that were even a surprise to her. During the concert, the Spanish pop star was joined onstage by her boyfriend Rauw Alejandro and MIA.
The Motomami Tour visited Inglewood’s YouTube Theatre on Friday and Saturday night. With the tour was in the LA area, Rosalía had a few friends and loved ones visit her during the concert. While she was performing “Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi,” MIA emerged from behind the stage. Rosalía had a look of shock on her face when she recognized MIA. They shared a hug and MIA was whipping her hair to Rosalía’s hit.
Shortly after MIA’s appearance, Rosalía proceeded to perform the next song in her set, “Despechá.” She was once again in shock when Puerto Rican superstar Rauw Alejandro was the next guest to hit the stage. Rosalía was blushing when they were dancing together. At the end of the song, they shared a passionate kiss. Considering that “Despechá” sparked breakup rumors back in July, Rosalía and Alejandro showed during that song that they are very much in love.
After both special guests left the stage, Rosalía admitted to the crowd that she had no idea that either of them were going to pop out and join her. She also said that MIA was an “inspiration” for her as an artist.
Rosalía and Alejandro are the second most-nominated artists at the 2022 Latin Grammy Awards with eight nominations each. Rosalía’s Motomami album has an additional nomination in a technical category. Bad Bunny is the most-nominated artist of the year with 10 nominations.
Kanye West’s last week or so has been quite eventful — so much so that he’s released a 30-minute documentary about it titled, fittingly, Last Week. It also doubles (triples?) as something of a short film and music video, as it contains a belligerent new song in which he lashes out at his critics, as well as an extended sequence in which he plays himself as a sort of video game avatar.
The documentary section follows him as he holds meetings with business partners, including Adidas executives; during his Adidas meeting, he plays the attendees what appears to be porn. Afterward, he attends his daughter North’s basketball game as the sound mysteriously cuts out. In the new song he works on in the video, he raps, “You a fake b*tch/ You don’t really love Ye/ Go listen to Drake, b*tch.”
This July marked 10 years since Frank Ocean rocked the music landscape with Channel Orange, and its lasting impression can be quantified in a new way. The seminal album has now spent 100 total weeks on the Billboard 200, sitting at No. 157 on the chart revealed Monday (October 10). It joins Blonde, Ocean’s 2016 sophomore studio album, in achieving that benchmark. Blonde has charted for 298 total weeks.
Frank Ocean’s ‘Channel Orange’ has now spent 100 total weeks on the #Billboard200 (No. 157 this week). It’s his second album to reach the milestone, after ‘Blonde’ (298 weeks and counting).
Ocean, famously enigmatic, seemed to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Channel Orange on July 10 by reviving Blonded Radio on Apple Music 1, which had been dormant since last Christmas. Rumors about Ocean’s highly anticipated next album have been swirling for years. He dropped “DHL,” his first single in two years, in October 2019, followed by “Dear April” and “Cayendo” in March 2020. Come September 2021, a Hits Daily Double report surfaced that Ocean was “shopping a new album” to different labels by “taking meetings and playing the music for execs.” Still, no album.
And then in late September, Ocean wiped his Instagram page. That’s usually a universal indicator to fans that an artist is gearing up to begin a new era — we’re just one year removed from the Adele 30 frenzy — but any true Ocean fan knows better than to expect a conventional rollout strategy. The one confirmed morsel of information about Ocean’s near future? He’s expected to headline Coachella in 2023.
Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.
This week saw Quavo and Takeoff add a new wrinkle to the ongoing Migos drama and Alvvays dropping what may go down as one of the year’s best indie albums. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
It sure looks like Migos is continuing as a sans-Offset two-man group: Last week, they dropped Only Built For Infinity Links, their first album as a duo (which is credited to themselves, not Migos). A particularly eyebrow-raising track from the LP is “Messy,” on which Quavo appears to address rumors of an affair between Offset and Saweetie: “B*tch f*cked my dog behind my back but I ain’t stressing / You wanted the gang you should’ve just said that, we would’ve blessed you.”
Alvvays — “Velveteen”
Alvvays have a hit on their hands with the just-released new album Blue Rev (it’s the most well-received album in their discography, per Metacritic). In his review, Uproxx’s Steven Hyden calls “Velveteen” “one of the album’s best songs” and notes, “Alvvays even take on the arena synth-rock sheen of another past collaborator of [producer Shawn] Everett’s, The Killers, with unprecedented swagger. ”
Carly Rae Jepsen — “The Loneliest Time” Feat. Rufus Wainwright
Carly Rae Jepsen has been making top-tier pop for well over a decade now, and more of it is set to arrive soon with her upcoming album, The Loneliest Time. The title track is, ironically, the only song on the album with a credited feature: fellow Canadian favorite Rufus Wainwright. The song dropped last week and it’s an upbeat duet with a fun arrangement and energy.
Jazmine Sullivan — “Stand Up”
Till, a new biopic about civil rights leader Mamie Till-Mobley, is in theaters now and Jazmine Sullivan played a part in bringing the movie to life. Her contribution comes via soundtrack cut “Stand Up,” a soulful and moving track that mirrors the movie’s theme of perseverance in the face of adversity.
Willow — “Ur A Stranger”
We’re fresh off a Willow weekend: Shortly after releasing her new album Coping Mechanism, she was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. One of the songs she played was the single she dropped to accompany the album’s release: “Ur A Stranger,” an intense track carried by metallic guitar riffs and Willow’s impassioned vocals.
Charlie Puth — “Loser”
In the lead-up to Charlie, Charlie Puth has made it a point to express as clearly as possible how vulnerable his new album is. Indeed, a number of individual tracks make that case, like “Loser,” which Uproxx’s Megan Armstrong describes in her Charlie review as being “soaked in self-loathing and blame for someone leaving.”
Fred Again.. — “Kammy (Like I Do)”
UK producer Fred Again… has been on a roll as of late, with Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9, 2022), his third album since early 2021, dropping at the end of the month. He previewed it last week with “Kammy (Like I Do),” a dance-ready number he says is “about diving further and further down into something that alienates you from everyone around you.”
Kali — “Bout U”
This summer, Kali was included in XXL’s Freshman Class Of 2022 and for good reason. She continued to live up to the hype last week with “Bout U,” and Uproxx’s Danielle Chelosky notes “the track has a booming bass on top of which Kali repeats the title with an addictively infectious melody in her signature whisper-rap voice for which listeners love her.”
Gryffin and Tinashe — “Scandalous”
After his 2019 debut album Gravity (which topped the US dance charts), Gryffin has a new LP, Alive, set to drop this year. On the latest single, “Scandalous,” he gets Tinashe to take the vocal reigns, with her singing cooperating with the catchy and thumping instrumental to move the kinetic song forward.
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie — “B.R.O. (Better Ride Out)” Feat. Roddy Ricch
It’s been nearly three years since Artist 2.0, but A Boogie has a new LP on the way at last. Me Vs. Myself drops in about a month and it sees him reuniting with regular collaborator Roddy Ricch on “B.R.O. (Better Ride Out),” on which both take time to reflect on and appreciate the friendships they feel so blessed to have.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
There’s plenty of Jeopardy! for fans to absorb these days, and trivia fans are loving the return to new episodes after the traditional summer break. Season 39 is well underway this fall, and with it comes new episodes of the syndicated game show along with a Celebrity tournament hosted by Mayim Bialik.
The show, of course, officially has two hosts in Bialik and Jeopardy! GOAT Ken Jennings. And in a joint interview with Good Morning America, the two talked about the new season and the added wrinkles of having two different people at the helm of the same show. Jennings and Bialik say they have settled into co-hosting duties nicely, with Bialik noting that it “it doesn’t really feel different” this year despite their roles being official.
In fact, Jennings said there’s an underrated positive to officially having two hosts. Via ABC News and GMA:
“One of the nice things about having two hosts is the focus is a little less on who is the iconic host of ‘Jeopardy!’ And it’s really more about ‘Jeopardy!’ as a game,” Jennings said. “Some nights it’s gonna be me. Some nights it’s gonna be Mayim. But it’s always ‘Jeopardy!’”
Of course, that hasn’t stopped superfans from comparing and contrasting their performances. But the quote does speak to something late host Alex Trebek often said about Jeopardy! itself: the focus should be on the contestants, not who is actually hosting. And while the drama around who will host — and how that got decided in the first place — was great for generating buzz about the show, it was far from positive at times. As Bialik noted in the interview, both hosts are on the same page about what the show should be about: the people actually giving answers in the form of questions.
“I think for both of us, we feel like we’re really ushering in what Alex facilitated so beautifully, which is, again, highlighting contestants and the show that people know and love,” Bialik said. “I think for me and Ken, we do love the purity and the fun ‘Jeopardy!’ has been and will continue to be.”
That unified approach is welcome news to fans who want to focus more on the game than who is running it. The full interview has some fun moments from the new season, as well as some mistakes the two have made. But so far, everything seems to be going smoothly in the Alex Trebek Studio. Which is certainly a big change after a very tumultuous year or so on set.
When Jack Daniel’s drops a new whiskey, it’s a pretty big deal. The world’s best-selling whiskey brand is known for its super reliable Old No. 7 black label Tennessee whiskey, which is better than you remember it. But Jack Daniel’s as a whiskey brand is much more than just Old No. 7. There are dozens of expressions released by the brand that touch on everything from single malt to barrel finishes to Tennessee rye whisky, which is a truly underrated arm of the JD game.
The two latter aspects are what we’re focusing on today. Jack just released two brand new Tennessee rye expressions that have special barrel finishes. The whiskeys were selected by the wife and husband team Lexie Phillips (Assistant Distiller and Master Taster) and Josh Phillips (Taster) as a duo. So they’re meant to be enjoyed side by side, so to speak. The actual juice comes in a half-bottle hip flask and will be available at the distillery and in select Tennessee retailers and bars. That makes this whiskey pretty damn special albeit fleeting.
Still, Jack’s rye whiskey is one of the better ryes in the whiskey game. Their standard Tennessee rye — which is the base of these two new drops — is subtle and delicious with a great body for cocktails, especially Manhattans, Sazeracs, and old fashioneds. A more refined version of that whiskey is very exciting, so let’s dive in and see what’s in these bottles.
Also Read: The Top Five Rye Whiskey from the Last Six Months on UPROXX
The whiskey is created with a mash of 70 percent rye, 18 percent corn, and 12 percent malted barley. After sugar maple charcoal filtration, that rye is aged for four years in new oak before going into a high-toast, no-char maple wood barrel for another year of rest. Finally, the whiskey is batched from those maple barrels and proofed down for bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Sweet notes of rum-raisin, creamed honey, walnut-laden banana bread, sweet cinnamon, fresh nutmeg, brown butter, and sticky maple syrup mingle on the nose with a whisper of sour mash and pine bark. The palate dances through notes of cherry hand pies covered in powdered sugar icing next to dark chocolate and pecan nut clusters with a hint of vanilla seeds, poppy seed pound cake, and a little fresh wood paneling next to fresh leather and a hint of salted caramel ice cream in a waffle cone. The end is super soft and slowly meanders through the poppy seed pound cake, vanilla, and soft and very subtle threads of cedar bark.
Bottom Line:
This is really nice whiskey. There’s a lovely sweetness to the body of the pour that is inviting and fresh, even convivial. It makes you feel warm inside and puts a smile on your face. Drinking it neat was a pleasure as well with almost zero alcohol burn.
Ranking:
91/100 — This is an excellent rye whiskey.
Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series Straight Tennessee Rye Whiskey Finished in High Toast Oak Barrels
This is the same rye as standard Jack Daniel’s, 70/18/12 rye/corn/malted barley. In this case, the hot juice was charcoal filtered and then loaded into new oak for five-year rest. Then the whiskey was re-barreled into new high-toast, no-char oak barrels for nearly three more years of mellowing. Finally, the best barrels were batched, proofed, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
The nose bursts forth with pine tar and cedar kindling next to hints of garam masala, bitter dark cacao powder, blackstrap molasses, deep-fried poblano, and a whisper of dark chocolate cream pie cut with darkly roasted instant coffee powder. Cinnamon cookies lead to salted caramel cut with clove and star anise next to a hint of Red Delicious apple core and skins before dark chocolate and molasses kick it with a slight hint of rum-raisin. The finish sweetens with a hint of that cherry pie filling vibe from Jack rye next to a mild sense of spicy ginger snaps and cinnamon scones.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice rye. I’m sort of on the fence compared to how sweet and lush the last one was.
That said, I tried this again with a little water and it really bloomed in the glass with a sense of rich and creamy toffee next to creamy espresso and dark chocolate pudding with a hint of marzipan.
Ranking:
85/100 — This is solid rye but I feel like I need to play with it a bit more to get a handle on the flavors in a cocktail context.
Michael Moore may be most widely known as a best-selling author and the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind 2002’s Bowling for Columbine, but he’s also got a pretty impressive record as a political prognosticator. In July 2016, when most people were still laughing off Donald Trump’s presidential nomination as a joke and assuming that Hillary Clinton had the election in the bag, Moore was trying to warn everyone of what was on the horizon when he laid out his treatise on “5 Reasons Why Trump Will Win.”
Damn you, Michael!
Now, as Salon reports, the Flint, Michigan native has offered up yet another prediction — this one far less terrifying: While political pundits around the world are worried that Democrats will struggle in the upcoming midterms, Moore is again going in the opposite direction. Beginning in late September, Moore began publishing a series of posts to his Substack that he has titled “Mike’s Midterm Tsunami of Truth.” (As of this posting, he’s up to post number 13 on the topic.) His theory? Come November 8, “the tens of millions of us who have had enough, are going to descend upon the polls en masse — a literal overwhelming, unprecedented tsunami of voters — and nonviolently, legally, and without mercy remove every last stinking traitor to our Democracy.” (Which sounds much better than “Trump will win.”)
In the lead-up to Election Day, Moore is using each day to post a new reason why he believes Dems will show up in 2020. Among the dozen-plus reasons he’s given so far?
The idea that Trump is a real threat is an illusion. He’s a bully — and is “about to be indicted.”
“No damn Democrat is going to screw this up for us again!” (That one was specifically in response to Joe Biden’s dwindling popularity, but Moore believes the current president is “irrelevant.”)
“The vast majority of Americans are repulsed by fascism.” And the fact that nearly 150 Republicans sided with the January 6th insurrectionists in voting to overturn the results of the totally legitimate 2020 presidential election is clearly a fascist move.
Framing the upcoming vote as a mass uprising of nonviolent civil resistance is exactly Moore’s plan. As he explains, his goal isn’t just to offer the public another version of the truth; it is also to call out the problems with media coverage. Much of what many in the media are telling you is patently false and just plain wrong,” he writes. “They are simply regurgitating old narratives and stale scripts. They are either too overworked or too lazy or too white and too male to open their eyes and see the liberal/ left/progressive/working class and female uprising that is right now underway.”
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