Category: News

Chicago is aptly named “The Windy City,” and in baseball we typically hear about the howling winds at Wrigley Field, where a day where it blows out can lead to tons of home runs, and days it blows in can lead to a pitcher’s paradise.

The wind still blows on the Southside, too, and the White Sox took advantage of a blustery Thursday afternoon with one of the funniest sequences you’ll see all year in Major League Baseball. With two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, the White Sox trailed 2-0 when Adam Engel skied a ball straight up in the air, causing chaos for the Mariners infield who moved back and forth trying to track it in the wind, ultimately leading to a drop by the catcher and Engel reaching second on the error.

The very next batter was Jake Burger, who likewise sent a baseball straight up in the air and had the wind drive the ball from straight over the pitcher’s mound to out by shortstop, where it was dropped again as Engel calmly rounded the bases and scored.

It is a hilarious way to score a run, as the two pop-ups couldn’t have traveled much more than 100 combined feet but they managed to manufacture a run out of just those two swings to cut the Seattle lead in half.

The ink is barely dry on Warner Bros. and Discovery officially completing their merger and already the newly-formed entertainment giant is looking to overhaul one of its biggest intellectual properties: DC Comics. Despite The Batman and Joker being recent hits that bucked the shared universe trend over at Marvel, Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly looking for a Kevin Feige-like hire who can bring all of the DC Films and TV series together into one unifying entity like… well, like Marvel.

Oh, and also, the new suits are kind of curious why Superman is sitting on the bench. Via Variety:

Discovery insiders believe that although DC has achieved cinematic success with recent films such as “Aquaman” and “The Batman,” it lacks a coherent creative and brand strategy. Discovery believes that several top-shelf characters such as Superman have been left to languish and need to be revitalized. They also believe that projects like Todd Phillips’ “Joker” are a shining example of how second-billed characters from the DC library can and should be exploited (Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn is another example).

Like a hastily fired-off tweet, Warner Bros. Discovery’s aims seem to be at odds with each other. Joker‘s success was built on crafting a film that was entirely free of connecting to other DC Comics’ films. Same with The Batman, which as of now, operates in its own separate Bat-universe that’s unburdened by whatever the heck is happening in the other DC Comics films, where Michael Keaton is taking over as the main Batman following Ben Affleck’s exit.

Complicating things even further, the Keaton/Batman overhaul is being anchored by Ezra Miller, whose future at Warner Bros. was reportedly put on pause after the actor’s recent legal troubles.

In short, good luck with all of that.

(Via Variety)

The lineup for the 75th Cannes Film Festival was announced on Thursday, with new films from James Gray, Claire Denis, Park Chan-wook, Kelly Reichardt, and not David Lynch. David Cronenberg‘s Crimes of the Future will also premiere at the festival, which is exciting news because it’s his first movie in eight years.

It’s also a return to Cronenberg’s body horror roots with movies like Videodrome, The Fly, and The Brood. That’s evident from the teaser above, which features a man with his ears on his forehead and his mouth sewn shut, a child (?) eating a garbage can (??) next to a toilet (!), and Kristen Stewart freaking me out by doing something to her eye.

Welcome back, David Cronenberg. Here’s the official plot synopsis:

As the human species adapts to a synthetic environment, the body undergoes new transformations and mutations. With his partner Caprice (Léa Seydoux), Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen), celebrity performance artist, publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances. Timlin (Kristen Stewart), an investigator from the National Organ Registry, obsessively tracks their movements, which is when a mysterious group is revealed… Their mission: to use Saul’s notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution.

Crimes of the Future will open in the United States in June.

Florence And The Machine’s fifth album, Dance Fever, is due out on May 13th and Florence Welch and company have been extremely thorough with a well-thought-out series of drips leading up to the album’s release. There have been powerful videos like the Ukraine-filmed “Heaven Is Here” and the death-defying dancing on “King.” Two weeks ago the band announced a North American Tour slate with support from Arlo Parks, Yves Tumor, King Princess, Wet Leg, Japanese Breakfast, and Sam Evian, and now the full album tracklist has been revealed in the coolest ways possible.

On the band’s website, a series of beautiful tarot cards, each bearing a track title and chapter number, is on display. Click into each one and if a video is out for it, you’ll be taken to the clip. If it isn’t yet, you get sent to a pre-order link. We can’t say enough about how beautifully designed each card that depicts Welch is. Shout out to the super fans at FlorenceBrasil.com, who took the liberty of clipping these track listing cards and tweeting them out one at a time.

Welch then tweeted out the complete tracklist herself, but the tarot cards layout on the website merits your consumption here.

Check out the album artwork and complete Dance Fever tracklist below.

1. “King”
2. “Free”
3. “Choremania”
4. “Back In Town”
5. “Girls Against God”
6. “Dream Girl Evil”
7. “Prayer Factory’”
8. “Cassandra”
9. “Heaven Is Here”
10. “Daffodil”
11. “My Love”
12. “Restraint”
13. “Time Bomb”
14. “Morning Elvis”

Dance Fever is out 5/13 via Polydor Records. Pre-save it here.

Detroit rapper Babyface Ray is joined by his hometown peer Icewear Vezzo in his new video, “6 Mile Show.” In the latest video from his breakthrough album Face, the two ride through Detroit and show off their jewelry while dancing outside of an empty and sitting on top of a couch.

When the beat switches, the video then cuts to a coke- and lean-fueled house party, filled with dancing, neon lights, and money flashing.

In addition to the “6 Mile Show” video, Babyface Ray has announced the “Sincerely Face” tour, a 21-date tour across the US. Supporting him on his tour on are rappers Peezy, Baby Money, GT, LOS, and Natty, all of whom are Detroit artists.

Check out the “6 Mile Show” video above and the list of tour dates below.

05/08 — Washington DC @ Broccoli City Festival
05/21 — Seattle, WA @ Neumos
05/22 — Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
05/25 — Denver, CO @ Cervantes Other Side
05/27 — Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
05/28 — Chicago, IL @ The Bottom Lounge
05/29 — Grand Rapids, MI @ The Stache
05/30 — Cleveland, OH @ House Of Blues – Cambridge Room
05/31 — Toronto, ON @ Axis Club
06/02 — New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
06/03 — Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
06/04 — Philadelphia, PA @ Roots Picnic Festival
06/06 — Philadelphia, PA @ Foundry At The Filmore
06/07 — Washington D.C. @ Union Stage
06/08 — Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
06/09 — Atlanta, GA @ The Loft At Center Stage
06/11 — Dallas, TX @ Studio At The Factory
06/14 — Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live Studio
06/17 — Oakland, CA @ The New Parish
06/19 — Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory – Constellation Room
06/20 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy Theatre

Face is out now via Wavy Gang. Stream it here.

Just about every show on Wet Leg’s US and Europe tour sold the heck out and with good reason: the Isle Of Wight duo have easily been the buzziest new band in indie-rock this year on the strength of their blasé, tongue-in-cheek lyrics and electrifying guitars. So if you’re feeling sad about missing out on the Wet Leg concert in your town, the band just put out a live video of a homecoming performance on a small porch that straight up rips and feels pretty close to seeing them on stage (remember the influx of peak-pandemic livestream concerts?).

On the five-song set, Wet Leg come straight to get you, opening with their breakthrough hit “Chaise Longue” before hitting their stride with the vocal ranging of “Supermarket.” They coast into “Wet Dream,” with singer Rhian Teasdale showing no signs of being slowed from a dense tour schedule. The fourth track is “Oh No,” with probably the best guitar hook from their self-titled album courtesy of Hester Chambers, before they close the set out with the epic arrangement of “Too Late Now.”

So, if you feel like watching a concert from your living room without giving some ticketing tech company your money, you can watch Wet Leg’s Live On The Porch clip above.

Following the passing of iconic comedian Gilbert Gottfried, there’s been an outpouring of love for the beloved comic’s comic most memorable moments. As there should be. Examples include his roast performances, of course, as well as his epic trolling of Hollywood Squares contestants, and his scene-stealing lines as the wise-cracking parrot Iago in Disney’s Aladdin. About that last one: While the Disney classic already had Robin Williams in the cast, co-directors John Musker and Ron Clements quickly realized they needed an “opening act” before Williams’ Genie arrives 40 minutes into the film. Enter Gottfried.

Musker and Clements revealed in a new interview that the famously raunchy comic was their first choice and used his scene from Beverly Hills Cop II as part of their pitch to then-Disney president Jeffrey Katzenberg. Katzenberg was not a fan of Gottfried’s voice, but the directors still pushed through and brought the comedian in for an audition. Gottfried turned out to be such a hit that, like Williams, he was allowed to improvise during the recording sessions, and many of his unscripted lines made it into the film. Others, however, have yet to see the light of day. For good reasons. Via The Ringer:

“The makers of Aladdin were very open to have me improvise,” Gottfried said in a Reddit AMA in 2016. “They gave me a lot of freedom but often they would have to stop and go, ‘Gilbert, this is a family film.’”

“I think there were things locked away,” Clements says with a laugh. “There were things with Robin, too. In terms of recording sessions, they tend to be loose and freewheeling. I think Gilbert had a lot of fun doing it.”

Here’s the part where you might want to sit down. While Gottfried’s first audition turned out to be a smash success and sparked some of Iago’s most memorable lines, Musker and Clements were not prepared for the first time Gottfried started recording without his iconic “voice” — because it’s not real.

“I don’t hear Gilbert anywhere,” Clements recalled. “Where’s Gilbert? We didn’t quite realize until then that that voice is actually put on. It’s a character.”

Obviously, Gottfried slipped into his trademark voice for the final product, but now you know how dedicated he was to comedy that his entire persona was a bit. Who even has the discipline to pull off that anymore? Nobody.

(Via The Ringer)

According to a new report from the San Francisco Chronicle, California Senator Dianne Feinstein — the oldest member of the United States Senate — is experiencing memory issues that have started to threaten her ability to do her job.

People close to the senator spoke with the newspaper, confirming rumors that Feinstein’s health was on the decline and that her “rapidly deteriorating” memory was preventing her from carrying out the simplest of tasks such as following policy discussions and recognizing her longtime colleagues. The Chronicle writes that the 88-year-old “can no longer fulfill her job duties without her staff doing much of the work,” recounting episodes of memory lapses that include a disturbing encounter with a fellow Democrat that Feinstein has known for 15 years. When the two had a conversation recently, Feinstein’s colleagues had to introduce themselves multiple times.

“I have worked with her for a long time and long enough to know what she was like just a few years ago: always in command, always in charge, on top of the details, basically couldn’t resist a conversation where she was driving some bill or some idea. All of that is gone,” the congressperson told the Chronicle. “She was an intellectual and political force not that long ago, and that’s why my encounter with her was so jarring. Because there was just no trace of that.”

While Feinstein’s colleagues admit her lapses aren’t constant, they appear to be jarring, something fellow Democrats like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have adamantly denied. Both Pelosi and Alex Padilla, the junior senator from California, have called these reports “ridiculous.” Feinstein also addressed the rumors, admitting she’s struggled over the past year because of the loss of her husband, but that hasn’t affected her mental fitness or her ability to carry out the duties of her office.

“The last year has been extremely painful and distracting for me, flying back and forth to visit my dying husband who passed just a few weeks ago,” Feinstein said. “But there’s no question I’m still serving and delivering for the people of California, and I’ll put my record up against anyone’s.”

Feinstein will soon become the longest-serving female Senator in history and though her term isn’t official up until 2024 — at which time she’ll be 91-years-old — staffers and co-workers, out of respect for her incredible career, hope that someone steps in soon to assess whether she should serve out her remaining years in office.

“It shouldn’t end this way for her,” one lawmaker said. “She deserves better. Those who think that they are serving her or honoring her by sweeping all of this under the rug are doing her an enormous disservice.”

(Via The San Francisco Chronicle)

UPROXX cover artist Baby Tate lets her freak flag fly in the latest UPROXX Sessions, gracing the stage to perform her raunchy new single, “S.H.O.” Break out the headphones because this one is certainly not safe for work — or polite company in general.

Tate dropped the song in February, just days after Valentine’s Day. The timing couldn’t have been a coincidence, as the song dismisses romantic feelings in favor of a fling with no strings attached.

The Atlanta rapper has been on a run lately, releasing “S.H.O.” shortly after making an appearance on JID’s new single “Surround Sound” alongside 21 Savage. She also recently released “Pedi,” building on the success of her 2020 EP, After The Rain.

Watch Baby Tate perform her new song “S.H.O.” for UPROXX Sessions above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

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

Coachella is now just hours away from kicking off on Friday, April 15. At this point, it would be safe to assume there wouldn’t be time to make changes to the lineup, save for perhaps an unprecedented cancelation. That’s just what organizers have done, though, as they revealed today that Arcade Fire will be performing at this year’s festival.

This afternoon, Coachella shared a list of set times for the festival’s first weekend, with Arcade Fire, who were previously not announced to be involved with the 2022 fest, scheduled from 6:45 to 7:45 p.m. on the Mojave stage, after Carly Rae Jepsen and before Idles.

This came about 90 minutes after Arcade Fire shared Win Butler selfie posed in front of some palm trees and captioned it, “Decided to spend my birthday somewhere warm and dry [palm tree emoji] @coachella.” While the post could have been interpreted as Butler revealing he was simply attending the festival, it’s now clear the post was actually a tease/announcement of their addition to the lineup.

The band will presumably be performing without Will Butler, who announced last month he was leaving the group, writing, “There was no acute reason beyond that I’ve changed — and the band has changed — over the last almost 20 years.”