Peacock has officially transformed the classic arcade game Frogger into a new competitive game show (from Holey Moley producers Eureka Productions) that’s ready to jump onto your TV. In the first official trailer, host Damon Wayans Jr. introduces the massive real-life set that will force contestants to contend with everything from moving vehicles, flooded streets, and precariously floating lily pads as they battle their way across the street for a chance to win $100,000.
“Frogger will feature a variety outrageous obstacle courses or ‘crossings,’ including Frog City, Candy Frog Land, Frogs in Space, Frog Skull Island, Ribbit River and Toad Temple,” according to a press release from Peacock. “These physically demanding challenges will see contestants dodge treacherous traffic, leap over snapping gators and hop over hungry hippos to conquer the course.”
Here’s the official synopsis:
A worldwide phenomenon since its introduction by Konami in 1981, Frogger has remained one of the most classic and beloved video game franchises of all time with a library spanning more than 30 titles across various platforms. The show FROGGER brings to life this popular franchise and supersizes it on an epic course! Audiences and contestants alike will be transported into a wild, whimsical FROGGER world, filled with all the simple but challenging elements of the mega-hit from Konami.
Frogger will stream new episodes every Thursday starting September 9 on Peacock.
Phoebe Bridgers has released three new remixes of Punisher standout “Kyoto” courtesy of Glitch Gum, Bartees Strange, and The Marias. Check out the Bartees rework — which sounds more like a straight-up cover — above.
“I wanted to find a way to make this song hit in a completely different way, but still retain some of the big and small moments that make the song special to me,” Bartees said. “At first I was thinking through how I could use the stems, but the more I got into it the more I wanted to take it somewhere else entirely. Crushing tune, glad I could mess around with it.”
Meanwhile, Glitch Gum morphed “Kyoto” into a wild, hyperpop ride, complete with Auto-Tuned vocals and crashing choruses. “All I know is one day, when I was in between Zoom classes last fall, I thought, ‘Man, what if Phoebe Bridgers did hyperpop?’ That idea turned into a 30-second snippet of ‘Kyoto,’ which turned into a full song, which turned into working with Phoebe and her team to make this little quarantine project come full circle in ways I could never even fathom,” Glitch Gum said. “It was so fun deconstructing the musical realms of both Phoebe and I and combining them into something that filled the hyperpop-indie-crossover-shaped hole in my brain. I am just really happy with how it turned out and forever thankful for Phoebe, her friends, and their continuous support.”
Things calm down somewhat on The Marias’ version, which presents as more of a mid-tempo chillwave affair. “I remember seeing Phoebe years ago at an open mic here in Los Angeles, and I knew right off the bat that she was really special,” The Marias said in a statement. “Working on this remix was a sort of full circle moment for us. ‘Kyoto’ is an amazing song as-is, so with the remix we were just curious to see what it would sound like with the vocal slowed down and adding some of our favorite synth sounds behind it.”
There’s a kind of intimacy that comes from hearing someone recount the odyssey of their life. Subtle sways in tone that give away the emotion behind a certain beat in the story. 7 Years (which you can hear on Audible), by Tariq Trotter, aka Black Thought, delivers on that promise as we learn about the hip-hop icon’s childhood, the emergence of The Roots, and his many influences — both in music and life. But it’s not an obvious choice for anyone to be this open and introspective.
In this expansive interview, we spoke with Trotter about opening up, his guiding philosophy about control and flexibility, anxiety about joining forces with Jimmy Fallon, his influences, and not forcing music history onto a younger audience.
What’s the motivation behind going deep and telling your story like this? Is it a want to be more deeply understood or is it more about doing a personal excavation?
I think it was initially about being more deeply understood, but as you embark on that sort of project, different layers sort of reveal themselves during the process. So there’s definitely a certain degree of self-discovery that takes place, which is the beautiful part. For someone like me who hasn’t been as accessible as I am in this moment in time… I’ve shared personal stuff about my past and my family in Philadelphia and The Roots early on in our career and stuff like that, but I’ve never gotten too deep into any of it. So there’s something to be said about just sort of getting things off your chest and off your shoulders and just being able to lift some of those weights and to be more transparent. I was able to be vulnerable, on the 7 Years project, in ways that I’ve yet to in my music.
Why do you think you haven’t been as open in the past?
I’m a guarded person by nature, and I’m sure some of it has something to do with the time and place from which I come, but, you know, it’s a habit. I feel like it served me, it served me fine throughout my career to not necessarily be in the forefront, to not necessarily share that much information about my personal life. That’s the way that I’ve moved, so it was a decision that I made earlier on. [But] I feel like, at this point in my career, it’s sort of the final frontier. If you asked someone who’s a long-time fan and who has supported us over the years, what they’d like or what would be ideal for them in a project… which I’ve done, and people tell me, “I would just like to know more about you. About the person.” So, it’s a delicate balance because I am still very private, but yeah, I feel like this is sort of the ideal time to open up in that way.
I subscribe to a lot of what you were saying about the need to be flexible and kind of realizing our smallness against the forces of nature, the wind, as you use as a metaphor or the waves. When did you kind of land on that as sort of a bedrock principle with the need for reinvention every seven years and that need to be flexible?
I don’t even know that I had it when I was coming up, as much as it was something that dawned on me as an adult. I would say, in recent years, it’s something that I came to understand. Before then, it’s something that I always felt but never really could put my finger on why I felt that way. I wasn’t able to make sense of it until more recently, I would say.
We all have this healthy ego and we see ourselves as this indestructible force, but to have that ability to step aside and realize that we’re not and we need to kind of just try to hang on to as much as we can while surviving is really fascinating to me.
I agree. You know, when you think of things like the overview effect, and how that affects astronauts who leave Earth’s atmosphere and go out into space, it can be overwhelming for some. It depends on sort of how you’re prepared for it mentally. It could be overwhelming or it could be… It’s definitely life-changing, from what I understand, but it could be just this huge, more of a revelation when you sort of come to understand… not only the role that we play here on the planet but just how small of a cog the planet Earth is in the machine that is the universe. I feel like there are parallels in just the level of acceptance that you need to exercise in order to sort of come through, come out on the other side of it, without losing your mind. I think it’s comparable to that.
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It seems clear that you guys were looking at the Fallon job as a clear pivot, but when you went into that situation, did you envision that it would be that much of a commitment and this long-term of a thing?
No. I don’t think we had a complete understanding of how much of a commitment we were getting into, or how long of a run it would be. I feel like so much has happened over the past 12 years. Then I also feel like 12 years has sort of gone by in the blink of an eye. I don’t think we had any clue. We also had no idea how we were going to sort of navigate all our other endeavors and sort of balance that stuff out. Would that sort of be the end of one version of The Roots and the beginning of another? Obviously, yes, on some levels. Would we sort of lose ourselves in the process? That sort of remains unknown. You have to sort of watch it unfold in real-time.
It has been a blessing working on The Tonight Show and just working in the capacity of a comedian and just being in front of an audience every day and being on TV every day has only made us better. I think it’s made us sharper, it’s made us a tighter unit as a collective, just a higher level of artistry and brotherhood and everything that sort of goes with it. I feel like it’s definitely the best decision, but we couldn’t have known at that point in time.
Being more home-based during that time, as opposed to traveling as much — how do you think that’s influenced you? From the albums that you’ve recorded during this time to even this project, because I would guess that you could say that maybe you wouldn’t be as willing to be accessible if you hadn’t had that exposure constantly with Fallon. Is that fair to say?
Yeah. I think that might be fair to say. There’s a certain level of reinvention, reintroduction, like reminder introduction that takes place when you have a long career working in one capacity and then you pivot in the way that we did. I’m constantly trying to sort of … I mean, not that I’m frantic about it, or something that happens on as much on a conscious level as it does on a subconscious level. To a certain extent, I am just trying to balance the identity that people sort of know me as. You know what I mean?
Yes.
There are folks who weren’t familiar with The Roots before we came to NBC, who only know me as Tariq from The Tonight Show. They think I’m funny and they know I’m quick-witted and I can improvise songs on the spot. They don’t really know or understand the journey, or realize that from which The Roots sort of come. Then there are people who were diehard Roots fans from day one, who don’t necessarily know this person. They’ve gotten to know the person that I am or what my identity has become on The Tonight Show. Just like trying to balance that out is something that happens constantly. It’s a continuous thing. So, you just go from one end of the spectrum, and just as soon as you’ve sort of balanced out everything on that end, you need to return to the opposite end to restore balance down there.
Were you worried about that kind of situation when you jumped into this job, the idea of people only knowing you from The Tonight Show, not knowing how deep The Roots music goes? Also, are you surprised at how comfortable you’ve become with the knowledge that “Okay, some people know me for this, some people know me for that”? Where was your headspace then versus now?
I definitely feel it was a concern in the beginning. We had worked very hard, and we had made very many sacrifices, even at that point in our career, which ’07 was when we first met Jimmy. ’07 or early in ’08, something like that. Yeah, we had already made so many sacrifices just to maintain a certain level of integrity and to maintain a certain bar that we set with the brand. Yeah, it was definitely a concern. I was concerned that we were starting from ground zero again in very many regards. So there was that. Over the years, I have sort of been … I’ve surprised myself, just with my evolution… as a storyteller and as a musician and as an actor and as a comedian and TV personality, costar. Being able to sort of step up to the plate in all the different regards. I surprise myself. Sometimes I got to jump back and kiss myself. [Laughs] No, I’m just playing.
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This project also has the benefit of being able to take some of those fans that only know you from The Tonight Show and introduce them to the deeper complexity of your work and The Roots.
Absolutely. I think this project is able to function as the perfect sort of bridge on either side. For people who may have thought, or may have had a certain impression of what it’s like to be on a TV show, or ways in which my life may or may not have changed, I think I sort of paint an accurate picture. You know? And it serves as a bridge.
The situation with Questlove and with DaBaby where DaBaby said he didn’t know who Questlove was when responding to the criticism Questlove laid out there: hearing something like that, how does that make you feel?
I mean, I’m fine with it. You know? I don’t know. I can’t say that he’s not telling the truth. You know what I’m saying? Of course you know who Questlove is. Everyone doesn’t. You know what I mean? Some people work with musicians, producers… There are people who work in folks’ homes who the people whose homes they’re working in don’t know their names. So I can’t just assume because he’s been on The Tonight Show and because Questlove played drums for him that he’s familiar with him. I don’t know if someone knows Questlove or not. It doesn’t really matter to me. I feel like there are bigger fish to fry, especially in the world and in this moment. I mean, it is what it is.
This came to my mind when I was listening to 7 Years. The detail you bring to the conversation about all the artists that influenced you and the really broad coalition of sounds that you exposed yourself to… To me, when someone says that kind of comment, they’re kind of telling on themselves if they say they don’t know who somebody is. Is that a fair assessment?
I think it’s a pretty fair assessment. I mean, you know, the younger generation, just younger people, younger artists, for them, and I might be completely off on this, I can only speak to the way it seems or the way it feels. It doesn’t feel, to me, like paying homage to the foundation and to where the music sort of came from, to the old school, is as important to younger artists or the artists of today, as it has been over the years or as it’s been to me personally or to as important as it is and always has been to people from my graduating class. You know what I mean?
Yes.
I have children in their 20s. And I’m an artist, and I’m their father, and I don’t know that they’re… They’re not up on the legacy, the history, what made me want to do want it is that I do. This person influenced this person who influenced me. I mean, I don’t impress it upon my kids, but I don’t impress it upon them because they’re disinterested. They could care less. I don’t hold that against them. It’s just one of those things. The world has changed. People have changed, and what their concerns are have evolved to something completely different. Sometimes, I try to understand it, but more often than not, I just give up and I just accept that I don’t understand it and won’t. [Laughs]
At the end of the day, all you can do is what you’re doing, which is talking about your influences, putting those names out there, and drawing a map for people to find if they want to go down that path. Right?
Exactly. But it’s a delicate balance. I don’t want it to be preachy. I want it to feel like if you want to go down that path. I don’t want to have you reluctantly taken down that path against your will all the time.
You can download Tariq Trotter’s ‘7 Years’ on Audible by going here.
Beyonce-approved pop R&B duo Chloe X Halle are reunited now that Halle has completed filming Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid and to commemorate the occasion, the Bailey sisters appeared on matching covers of Flaunt magazine earlier this week. Posing in Fendi in contrasting water/fire-themed shoots, the sisters drew outsized reactions on social media when they posted their respective photos — including from peers like Lil Nas X, who had a raunchy, borderline-NSFW compliment for older sister Chloe and her shoot.
Responding to Chloe’s tweet posting a pair of fiery stills from her cover story, Nas — who may be attracted to men but apparently isn’t above handing out thirsty comments on women’s sexy pics too — wrote, “no disrespect but u need yo ass ate for this because wow.” Far from being offended by the fresh reply, Chloe responded with a string of emojis and a “thank you boo.” Judging by the replies in the thread, their mutual fans were bemused by the comment, considering Nas’ orientation, which he made pretty explicit in his recent “Industry Baby” video.
no disrespect but u need yo ass ate for this because wow
Both artists are currently working toward releasing new projects; while Lil Nas X is nearer each day to releasing his debut album, Chloe has been teasing her first solo single, “Have Mercy,” sharing a pre-save link this week.
Over the past few months, Manifest fans have mounted hashtag campaigns, hoping to save the recently axed sci-fi drama from eternal streaming purgatory, focusing most of their efforts on a possible Netflix renewal. The show has consistently performed in the streaming platform’s coveted Top 10 ranking, prompting Netflix execs to take a second look at the addictive series that had previously ended with a season three cliffhanger that had fans hoping it might be picked up elsewhere. Now, after some concerted efforts by the creators and cast of the show, it seems Manifest might be that much closer to a revival.
According to Deadline, the show’s producing studio, Warner Brothers TV, is “in the home stretch” of negotiations for more seasons to be housed on Netflix. Those negotiations are so far along, that now, WBTV is kickstarting talks with the cast and crew of the show, making “if-come” offers to the writers and reaching out to key members of the cast whose contracts officially ended in June. This marks the most progress in the show’s renewal process so far and seems to be a solid sign that Manifest could find a new home on Netflix sometime soon. Cast members like Josh Dallas and Melissa Roxburgh have been tweeting in support of the show’s renewal, joining the fan-fueled #SaveManifest campaign on social media, as has creator/showrunner Jeff Rake, who gave some encouraging, if cryptic, updates to fans earlier this week.
No news yet, folks. But I’m back in the place where it happens.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have announced plans to release a follow-up to 2005’s B-Sides & Rarities, simply called B-Sides & Rarities Part II, arriving on October 22 on double vinyl, double CD, deluxe double CD and all digital platforms. Super-fans will also be able to buy B-Sides & Rarities Part I and Part II together as a limited-edition deluxe vinyl box set including 83 rare tracks and exclusive sleeve notes.
Featuring 27 rare and unreleased tracks that span the years between 2006 and 2020 (including the first recordings of “Skeleton Tree,” “Girl In Amber,” and “Bright Horses”), B-Sides & Rarities Part II was compiled by Nick Cave and longtime band member Warren Ellis. Unreleased songs include “Vortex,” which is available to hear now.
“I always liked the original B-Sides & Rarities more than any of our other albums,” Cave said in a statement. “It’s the only one I’d listen to willingly. It seems more relaxed, even a bit nonsensical in places, but with some beautiful songs throughout. There is something, too, about the smallness of certain songs that is closer to their original spirit.
“B-Sides & Rarities Part II continues this strange and beautiful collection of lost songs from The Bad Seeds,” added Cave. “I love the final side of the last disc because it reveals the small and fragile beginnings of some of my favorite Bad Seeds songs. ‘Waiting For You’ complete with bizarre ‘canning factory’ rhythm track, a gorgeous ‘Life Per Se’ deemed too sad for Skeleton Tree, and ‘Earthlings’ that some consider the finest track of the Ghosteen sessions.”
Check out “Vortex” above.
B-Sides & Rarities Part II is out 10/22. Pre-order it here.
Marvel’s Eternals has a new trailer ahead of its theatrical release on November 5, 2021 and while it mostly covers a whole lot of what we’ve already seen, it also contains a scene that’s caused quite stir on Twitter. Shortly past the one minute marker, the trailer cuts to Gemma Chan’s character, Sersi, looking up at a giant being clad in garnet armor and seemingly floating in space.
Marvel
In typical Marvel fashion, the trailer made no further mention of who this figure could be, leaving fans alone (or, you know, with thousands of other Twitter users) to speculate and theorize on the mystery behemoth’s identity. Several fans, understandably, jumped to Galactus, the theorized next big bad for the Marvel Cinematic Universe following Thanos’ defeat. However, long time Eternals fans were quick to point out the figure is likely Eson the Searcher, a member of the ancient race known as the Celestials who once possessed the — wait for it — power stone. Yes, those stones are still in play somehow. While some broke the news nicely and others were a bit more direct, just about all the tweets were pretty damn funny.
Galactus is trending because no one knows what Galactus looks like.
In addition to some pretty funny discussions revolving around Eson, several Twitter users also has some pretty funny things to say about the seemingly unstoppable Eternals not intervening during the events of Avengers: Infinity War and End Game , and people wonder what the MCU will look like with them in it going forward. Some joked about how the Eternals could have ended Thanos in a single punch, while others tugged on the heart strings just a touch by imaging RDJ’s Iron Man looking down from heaven more than a little pissed about how things transpire.
what the hell bucky finna do on a battlefield with the eternals, wanda, thor, shang-chi, doctor strange, and captain marvel? pic.twitter.com/7YcbmWAb9Y
And last but not least, of course plenty of thirst tweets have begun to circulate Twitter as well. With an all-star ensemble cast consisting of Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie, we can’t say we blame them.
Touring musicians have been gearing up to return to packed stadiums after over a year without live shows. But despite vaccine efforts, the rising number of COVID cases is causing some bands to reconsider their planned events. Nine Inch Nails have announce they are canceling the remainder of their 2021 concerts due to COVID concerns.
“It is with great regret that we are cancelling all NIN appearances for the remainder of this year.
When originally planned, these shows were intended to be a cathartic and celebratory return to live music. However, with each passing day it’s becoming more apparent we’re not at that place yet.
We are sorry for any inconvenience or disappointment and look forward to seeing you again when the time is right.”
The band’s decision to cancel their shows presumably means their headlining set at this year’s Riot Fest will be dropped as well. The band’s website has reflected their recent announcement, and the only upcoming date listed is their set at French music festival Hellfest in June 2022.
Nine Inch Nails aren’t the only musicians who have decided to cancel upcoming shows due to COVID precautions. Earlier this month, Stevie Nicks announced she would be canceling all of her planned 2021 appearances. “These are challenging times with challenging decisions that have to be made,” Nicks wrote in a statement. “I want everyone to be safe and healthy and the rising Covid cases should be of concern to all of us. While I’m vaccinated, at my age, I am still being extremely cautious and for that reason have decided to skip the 5 performances I had planned for 2021.”
During most of the pandemic, Canada’s border with the United States was closed to non-essential travelers. On August 9, though, the country started welcoming US tourists back into the country. This is good news for American musicians, as cities like Toronto and Montreal are major markets and common stops on North American tours. Billie Eilish is set to perform in both of those cities in early 2022, for example. She won’t be the first major US artist to perform in Canada, though, as that honor will go to Maroon 5 (according to Billboard, as NME notes).
The concert in question, for which Maroon 5 will be joined by Blackbear, is scheduled for September 2 at Toronto’s Budweiser Stage. Arthur Fogel, chairman of global touring for Live Nation, said of the border re-opening, “This step opens possibilities to get Canada back on the touring map for sure. Some artists already have shows planned with more conversations picking up.”
Meanwhile, earlier this week, Live Nation announced that all attendees of their shows and festivals will be required to present vaccinations or negative COVID-19 tests. Live Nation president and CEO Michael Rapino said, “Vaccines are going to be your ticket back to shows, and as of October 4th we will be following the model we developed for Lollapalooza and requiring this for artists, fans and employees at Live Nation venues and festivals everywhere possible in the US.”
With her latest album Lately I Feel Everything, Willow fully pivoted to pop-punk territory. The 11-track album boasts features from notable ’00s musicians like Travis Barker and Avril Lavigne, as well as contributions from indie groups like Cherry Glazerr. Now, Willow announces she’s gearing up to hit the road in support of her new album.
The singer officially announced dates to her 2021 Lately I Feel Everything tour Thursday. It kicks off in mid-September in Santa Ana and comes to a close in October in Atlanta. Shortly thereafter, the singer is set to join Billie Eilish on a handful of dates as support for the singer’s Happier Than Ever tour.
Check out Willow’s Lately I Feel Everything tour dates below.
09/14 — Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
09/17 — Las Vegas, NV @ Life is Beautiful Festival
09/18 — San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
09/19 — Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
09/21 — Seattle, WA @ The Showbox at Market
09/22 — Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre
09/23 — Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre
09/26 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda
09/29 — Dallas, TX @ Trees
09/30 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
10/03 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
10/04 — Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
10/06 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls
10/11 — Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere
10/12 — Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
10/13 — Boston, MA @ Royale
10/16 — Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
10/17 — Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
10/19 — Atlanta, GA @ Centerstage
02/03 — New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center*
02/05 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena*
02/06 — Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Music Center*
02/08 — Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena*
02/09 — Washington D.C. @ Capital One Arena*
02/10 — University of PA @ Bryce Jordan Center*
02/12 — Buffalo, NY @ KeyBank Center*
02/13 — Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center*
02/15 — Montreal, QC Canada @ Centre Bell*
02/16 — Toronto, ON Canada @ Scotiabank Arena*
02/18 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden*
02/19 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden*
02/20 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden*
02/22 — Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center*
04/08 — Inglewood, CA @ The Forum*
* supporting Billie Eilish
Lately I Feel Everything is out now via MSFTSMusic/Roc Nation. Get it here.
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(@LilNasX) 
thank you boo
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(@wandaandbucky) 
