Category: News

Bruce Springsteen had a run-in with police officers last fall in New Jersey that resulted a driving while intoxicated (DWI) charge. News of the incident broke earlier this month and on Wednesday morning, Springsteen appeared in virtual court to for a scheduled arraignment. The singer plead guilty to one misdemeanor charge, but his more serious DWI and reckless driving charges were dropped.

Back on November 14th, Springsteen was on a motorcycle in Sandy Hook, New Jersey’s Gateway National Recreation Area. A police officer pulled him over and noted that he had a blood alcohol level of .02, well under the legal limit. “I had two small shots of tequila,” Springsteen told the judge during his hearing. But because drinking is prohibited in the area, the officer charged him with reckless driving, DWI, and consuming alcohol in a closed area.

According to AP News, prosecutors did not have sufficient evidence to convict Springsteen for driving while intoxicated and reckless driving, so they have decided to drop the charges altogether. However, because Springsteen plead guilty to the misdemeanor charge of consuming alcohol in the prohibited area, he’ll face a fine of $500 for the offense, plus $40 in court fees.

At the time that news broke of Springsteen’s arrest, he was just days away from appearing in a Jeep Super Bowl commercial. But because Jeep didn’t want someone with a DWI charge to appear in their ad, so they decided to pull it off the air. As a Jeep spokesperson had said, “It would be inappropriate for us to comment on the details of a matter we have only read about and we cannot substantiate. But it’s also right that we pause our Big Game commercial until the actual facts can be established. Its message of community and unity is as relevant as ever. As is the message that drinking and driving can never be condoned.”

Zach LaVine is in the middle of a historically great offensive season, and there’s really no way around that. But because the Bulls have hovered below .500 most of the year and LaVine has a reputation that he is not necessarily a winning player, there was a lot of doubt over whether he would be named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Now that he has indeed made the team, though, Chicago is rightly pumping up their guy.

The team tricked LaVine into joining what he thought was a media availability session on Zoom, but was actually a collection of his friends and family members who had come together to wish him congratulations. His parents looked back on the work it took to get here, his mentor Jamal Crawford gave him praise for the dedication he’s shown since being a kid in the Pacific Northwest, and his little sister even called in during a dinner run to help ring in the big moment.

These are the people LaVine likely would have been around all season if not for the restrictions put in place during this pandemic season, so it had to be nice for LaVine to see them, even if it was virtual.

LaVine was also consistent that his work isn’t done, and when teammate Thaddeus Young chimed in on the call, the two doubled down on their goal of making the postseason with the Bulls this year. So while LaVine’s prolific scoring season (he’s averaging nearly 29 points per game on 52 percent shooting) is impressive, the All-Star game is just one reward on his journey toward proving he can be a winning player.

Vic Chesnutt was an important musician to many in the ’90s and ’00s. Most famously, he was honored on the 1996 compilation album Sweet Relief II: Gravity Of The Situation, which featured covers of his songs from folks like R.E.M., Garbage, and Madonna. Now his music has been covered again, and this time, it’s Bright Eyes tackling “Flirted With You All My Life.”

Conor Oberst says of the cover, “I had the pleasure of seeing Vic perform many times over the years and from a young age. I can truly say he deeply changed my worldview and what it meant to write a really unique and thought-provoking song. One of the greatest ever. Always missed. Here is our humble version of one of his best.”

This recording is actually one Bright Eyes fans have heard before: It was a B-side on the vinyl single “Persona Non Grata” released in August 2020. However, this is the first time the cover is available on streaming services.

The song was a tragically prophetic one for Chesnutt. The song addresses his thoughts on death, with lyrics like, “I flirted with you all my life / Even kissed you once or twice / And to this day, I swear it was nice / But, clearly, I was not ready.” The song appears on his 2009 album At The Cut, which was released shortly after the artist died on Christmas 2009 due to an overdose of muscle relaxers.

Listen to Bright Eyes cover “Flirted With You All My Life” above.

Not that Matthew McConaughey needs to worry about his bank account, but he could have a few extra millions in there if he continued making romantic comedies like he did throughout the 2000s. The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Failure to Launch — they all made money (even Ghosts of Girlfriends Past grossed over $100 million), and as he wrote in his memoir, “I enjoyed being able to give people a nitty-minute breezy romantic getaway from the stress of their lives where they didn’t have to think about anything, just watch the boy chase the girl, fall down, then get up and finally get her. I had taken the baton from Hugh Grant, and I ran with it.” But by 2010, he was ready to move on. McConaughey turned down a $14.5 million paycheck to make another rom-com where he takes his shirt off, and thus, the McConaissance was born.

There isn’t really a new rom–com king (Noah Centineo does not count), so Jared Leto sees an opening. The Oscar winner and recent Golden Globe nominee was interviewed by W magazine for the publication’s “Best Performances” issues, where he was asked if he ever would star in a Notting Hill-style romantic comedy.

“You know, I was threatening to do, like, an opposite McConaissance. I just go dive straight into early-2000s-style rom-coms. Shoot on the beach in either Mexico or Hawaii — that’s contractual. Eight-hour days, maybe six, just show up and have a blast,” Leto answered. “The hardest part of preparation is the keto diet. That’s basically what it’s going to come down to. Avoiding those carbs can be tough work.”

I can see it already: boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy gives girl a dead rat, girl gets her own movie, boy turns into Jesus. A tale as old as time. Starring Jared Leto!

(Via W magazine)

Freddie Gibbs has built a reputation as one of the funniest rappers on Twitter and today, he brought that off-color sense of humor to the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. In the four-hour conversation, Gibbs, Rogan, and comedian Brian Moss talked boxing, Freddie Gibbs’ wild, secret Instagram profile, and more. You can check it out at the link below.

Meanwhile, Gibbs has been promoting his upcoming major-label debut album, dropping the animated video for his first single “Gang Signs” earlier this month. The video transforms Gibbs into a hedonistic white rabbit (a euphemism for his favorite subjects) as he goes about the same activities he generally likes to rap about, mining the juxtaposition for some head-scratching, borderline inappropriate comedy.

In addition to “Gang Signs,” Gibbs recently collaborated with Big Sean and Hit-Boy on “4 Thangs” celebrating LeBron James. Meanwhile, he’s kept fans entertained with his social media antics, which have included freestyling over his Piñata partner Madlib’s new instrumental album Sound Ancestors in an Uber. The one thing fans won’t be able to expect from him is a Verzuz appearance; aside from disapproving of Jeezy’s recent match with Gucci Mane, Gibbs shot down speculation over a potential battle between himself and hip-hop’s other resident coke rap connoisseur, Pusha T.

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

For years, people have criticized the Grammys for historically recognizing white artists over talented Black and brown musicians, and this year the Recording Academy received similar backlash. Three musicians nominated for Best Children’s Album even asked for their nominations to be removed this year in protest of the all-white category. But the Recording Academy is trying to appease their critics by breaking ground on the first-ever Black Music Collective pre-Grammy event, which will highlight iconic Black musicians making waves in the industry today.

The event will feature performances by Grammy-winning artists HER, PJ Morton, and Yolanda Adams. Freddie Gibbs, who is now a first-time Grammy nominee, is also set to perform with The Alchemist. Along with live music, honorary chairs John Legend, Janelle Monáe, Issa Rae, Jimmy Jam, Quincy Jones, and activist Tamika Mallory will join in for fireside chats about racial justice and the Black experience.

In a statement about the inaugural event, chair and interim president/CEO of the Recording Academy Harvey Mason Jr. said they intend to “amplify Black voices” with the event:

“As the first of its kind, we created this event with every intention to amplify Black voices and each of our experiences within the industry. The BMC will continue to foster a space for members and industry professionals to educate and elevate Black creators during Grammy Week and beyond.”

Echoing Mason Jr.’s statement, BMC chair and Atlantic Records executive Riggs Morales expressed his excitement about the event: “We are thrilled to announce this virtual program as the BMC continues to celebrate Black music and those who share our mission to foster and accelerate Black representation, equity and inclusion throughout the music industry. The Black Music Collective will continue to tailor events for Black creators to feel uplifted and supported and we are excited for this Grammy Week kickoff.”

The Black Music Collective pre-Grammy event kicks off 3/10 at 5 p.m. PST. Watch it here.

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

The following is a preview of “Home Sweet Home,” season 10, episode 17 of The Walking Dead, which has already aired on AMC+ and will air on AMC this Sunday, February 28th. Details about the story — AND MINOR SPOILERS — will be revealed, so if you want to go in fresh, please skip this post.

There has only been one episode of The Walking Dead over the last 325 days, which was the original Season 10 finale that saw the defeat of Beta, but The Walking Dead universe itself has been mostly centered on the first half of Fear the Walking Dead Season 6 and the first season of The World Beyond. The latter seemed to find its legs near the end of its first season, while Fear featured its best season at least since the front half of Season 4.

With that said, there’s always something very comforting and satisfying about watching episodes of the parent series, and seeing these characters we’ve been with for the last decade feels, fittingly, like returning home (the title of the first episode back is “Home Sweet Home”). That is doubly so this time around, because not only will these six bonus episodes be the first string of episodes we’ve seen in nearly a year, the opening episode also spends an extensive amount of time with Maggie for the first time since Episode 5 of Season 9, about two and a half years ago.

For Maggie, it’s actually been much longer than that, because of the time jump after Rick was abducted by the Civil Republic Military (i.e., the villains in The World Beyond). It’s been about seven or eight years for Maggie. It’s also been that long since she’s seen Negan, the guy who killed her husband. Their first confrontation is awkward and tense, to say the least. It’s doubly weird because while Negan made considerable strides with Daryl, Carol, and the others (especially Judith) after he killed Alpha, Maggie has no such history with Negan. It’s also Maggie’s rightful home, and her return immediately leaves Negan as the odd man out, which is both understandable and somewhat disappointing given his redemption arc. It feels like Negan will have to re-earn all this goodwill back with Maggie, although it is unclear whether the two will ever be able to co-exist.

In the episode, however, Maggie doesn’t really have time to deal with her concerns with Negan, because she has other pressing matters. There’s possibly another group of big bads called The Reapers, who may or may not have followed Maggie from her previous camp. We don’t see where Maggie’s been in flashbacks, but she does reveal her whereabouts over the last several years to Daryl in a heart-to-heart the two have. It’s not a particularly compelling backstory — at least not yet.

In fact, most of the pressing concerns with Negan and with rebuilding what the Whisperers destroyed (Alexandria and The Hilltop) are likewise put on the back burner, as the episode instead has something of a story that I sense will exist as a part of a stand-alone arc limited to the next six episodes. In fact, these six episodes will probably do more to catch us up with moments we missed offscreen (like Negan’s origin story, or Daryls’ whereabouts during his lengthy absence after Rick’s abduction) than they will in advancing the story. That’s not to say that the story will not be advanced at all in the next six episodes. It’s more that this arc will serve as a bridge between the tenth season and the final season. Hopefully, that will also include some sort of resolution to Maggie and Negan’s relationship, one way or another. This new outside group of villains, The Reapers, may in fact provide Negan with an opportunity to earn Maggie’s trust.

Otherwise, the first episode back introduces us to two new characters who came with Maggie, Elijah (Okea Eme-Akwari), the masked ninja who is not quite who he seems, and Cole (James Devoti), who actually seems to serve a function similar to the one that Dante served in the comics. He’s a sort of right-hand man and potential (but not likely) love interest to Maggie.

Without giving anything away, however, I will note that the biggest moment in the episode involves the introduction of Glenn and Maggie’s son, who it is clear shares a lot in common with both his mom and dad. His introduction to the series makes the first episode back worth watching alone, and I’m very excited to see little Hershel eventually meet Judith Grimes. I suspect they will become fast friends.

Will the bonus episodes be necessary viewing? Perhaps not. They’re likely to be smaller in scale and tell more intimate stories given the COVID-19 protocols in place. Without a doubt, however, it feels good to spend some time with these characters again, and while the other The Walking Dead universe series (and the Rick Grimes movie) will serve as able replacements in the years to come, this serves as the beginning of the end for The Walking Dead. We all need to prepare ourselves for a future in which most of these characters, who have been in our lives so long, will no longer be around.

AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’ officially returns on Sunday, February 28.

In a lengthy feature profiling her colorful and fascinating career that saw her pivot from a fashion model to America’s number one home-maker, Martha Stewart has revealed one of her biggest regrets in life besides (obviously) going to jail. Although, this regret is related because, after serving her five-month sentence in federal prison after being convicted of obstructing justice and giving false statements during the investigation into her alleged insider trading, the already steel-willed Stewart came out a “stronger” person. But despite immediately starting a fashion trend by wearing a scarf knitted by a fellow inmate on the day of her release, Stewart’s career bumped into a significant problem: her probation officer who shot down a gig that Stewart would’ve loved to add to her long list of accomplishments. Via Harper’s Bazaar:

Nevertheless, there’s one thing Stewart wishes she could do over. “My only big regret that I can talk about is that Saturday Night Live asked me to host. My probation officer wouldn’t give me the time,” she says. “That really pissed me off, because I would have loved to have hosted Saturday Night Live I’d like that on my résumé.”

While Stewart missed out on hosting SNL because of her jail stint, she did earn the respect of Snoop Dogg as the two became close friends and frequent collaborators. In fact, when rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine recently cooperated with federal prosecutors while facing racketeering charges, Snoop called him out by noting that Tekashi should’ve been more like Stewart. “As we watch Tekashi 69 (or whatever his name is) snitch on EVERYBODY, I invite you all to remember Martha Stewart snitched on NOT ONE soul during her trial,” Snoop wrote on Instagram. “Baby girl kept it 10 toes down and ate that prison sentence by herself, like the true baddie she is.”

(Via Harper’s Bazaar)

These days, we find ourselves passing fewer and fewer joints between friends and spending more time smoking solo, or via Zoom (which is actually waaaaay more fun than it sounds). Smoking solo isn’t so bad, but let’s face it, cannabis is best enjoyed with friends who you can laugh with or learn from. So until the pandemic is completely over and we’re able to hang out in large friend groups and do the gross weird stuff we used to do — like pass joints between complete strangers or share bongs and vapes at a party — we suggest replacing your stoner friends with some stoner pods.

Podcasts about weed generally include hosts and guests who are lighting up mid-conversation, so if you grab your favorite herb and your device of choice and smoke along while you listen, it’s kind of like smoking with a group of funny or really interesting semi-strangers you can’t actually see or interface with. That sentence will read really sad once this pandemic is over, but right now even that level of connection is incredibly appealing.

The following picks offer a mix of comedy and education/science-focused podcasts, so whether you’re looking to laugh or looking to learn, we’ve got you covered!

The Adam Dunn Show

Now 6 years deep, the Adam Dunn Show provides an astounding three-hours of content per week without fail, airing live from Denver, Colorado every Friday at 4:20 MST. It’s pretty much the Joe Rogan Experience of weed podcasts — without all the conspiracy peddlers — offering long-form and informative discussions with guests including cannabis business leaders, doctors, lawyers, and other professionals working in the cannabis industry.

It’s more on the informative side than it is humorous, but each episode will leave you with a wealth of knowledge.

Brave New Weed

The Brave New Weed Podcast bills itself as “high-minded conversations for the post-prohibition era” and they definitely deliver on that promise. Whether we’re learning about the ins and outs of weed legalization with big names in the weed space from politicians, to authors, to scientists and advocates to having deep and thoughtful conversations about the legalization of all drugs and the enlightening powers of magic mushrooms and the psychedelic renaissance, Brave New Weed provides just over an hour per episode of deep discussion on serious topics.

Your typical stoner hang-out session this Brave New Weed is not, but if you want to explore the pulse of the most exciting things happening in the psychoactive space, this pod is will have all of that and more.

Cannabis Cultivation and Science Podcast

The bookishly titled Cannabis Cultivation and Science Podcast is a great resource if you’re mostly interested in the science behind growing cannabis, offering the latest information and discussions surrounding the art of organic growing from experts in the industry. Whether you’re looking into the latest tech, like formulated soils and grow lights, or looking for tips on how to increase your yields or how to set up your indoor or outdoor operation, the Cannabis Cultivation and Science Podcast has more than enough useful information to get you started on your journey.

Cannainsider

If you’re looking for a pod about weed stocks, the latest industry trends, federal legalization, and the expanding employment opportunities in the hemp, cannabis and CBD industry, Cannainsider is for you. Airing every week and hosted by Matthew Kind from Colorado, Cannainsider currently offers over 300 episodes featuring interviews with the biggest names in the cannabis industry.

With Cannainsider, you’ll hear from manufacturers, growers, seed companies, investment gurus, dispensary owners, and cannabis chemists, all lending their expertise to a long-form discussion about the business of weed. It can be a bit dry, but if you’re looking for pure information, it’s a great resource.

Dude Grows Show

Dude Grows Show is a podcast for people looking for the latest in cannabis news and culture, and some deep knowledge and know-how on the grow scene with expertise provided by the show’s super chill hosts The Dude, Scotty Real, and Guru. With over 1162 episodes, there is more than enough content here to keep you supplied to your heart’s content, so feel free to browse through episodes and zero in on topics you’re really passionate about, rather than following along chronologically.

While Dude Grows Show is very news-heavy, it’s informative without being boring, thanks in large part to the sense of humor of the pod’s good-natured hosts.

Getting Doug with High

Getting Doug with High hasn’t had a new episode since before the pandemic, but its collection of over 250 banked episodes means there is more than enough content to keep you occupied. Hosted by eternally high comedian Doug Benson, each episode of this pod features Benson joined live by fellow comedians as they get high, play trivia games, swap stories, and deep dive on all things weed.

Our favorite segment of the show is easily High History, where a guest shares stories about the first time they got high, with some of our favorite guests including Sarah Silverman, Reggie Watts, Tommy Chong, David Cross, and Tiffany Haddish.

Kevin Smith makes an appearance too. After all, this is a podcast about smoking weed and if there are two things Smith loves, it’s getting high, and talking.

Great Moments In Weed History with Abdullah and Bean

Although Great Moments in Weed History with Abdullah and Bean hasn’t had a new episode since late last year, the official GMIWH Twitter and Instagram are still active with hints of a brand new episode set to drop any day now. We can’t wait. We love this pod for the way that it combines history and weed in a variety of interesting ways on a per-episode basis while staying hilarious and never getting boring.

Hosted by How to Smoke Pot (Properly): A Highbrow Guide to Getting High author David Bienenstock and Abdullah Saeed of Bong Appétit and High Maintenance fame, each episode of GMIWH features a deep dive into a different historical aspect of our favorite plant, from an exploration of Willie Nelson’s relationship to herb to serious (and humorous) discussions about weed and Jesus, the history of Amsterdam as a haven for weed, and Maya Angelou getting stoned.

It’s well researched, thoughtful, and a blast to listen to. The perfect stoner podcast to listen to at the start of a session. Be careful though, you might find yourself packing multiple bowls before the episode’s end.

Let’s Be Blunt with Montel

When we set out to make this list, we never imagined we’d be including a weed show hosted by Montel Jordan. We didn’t even know Montel had a weed podcast nor that it would be, ridiculously on the nose name aside, such a great listen. Let’s be Blunt sets out to explore where cannabis, activism, and health intersect, offering serious discussions that never dips into the more immature antics of some of the other pods on this list.

New episodes air every Thursday and feature Montel joined by a varied roster of interesting guests, from doctors to cannabis researchers, actors, editors, and professional fighters. Be sure to check out the episode on MMA and Cannabis with Jake Shields. It’s short, but a fascinating listen.

Sufficiently Chai

Hosted by Lindsey and Rachel, who describe themselves as “two Jewish blondes… professional weed smokers and very amateur Torah scholars,” Sufficiently Chai is a podcast about… well, it’s about two Jewish blondes who like to get high and talk about the Torah. It’s an admirable attempt to reframe religion — specifically Judaism — as interesting, modern, and most importantly, relatable to a young audience.

The show is hilarious and inviting enough that it makes a fun and addicting listen, even if you’re not Jewish. The pandemic seems to have put a strain on the pod, as it’s not updated quite as regularly as it once was, but the girls still make an effort to get together and put together nearly hour-long episodes every other month or so.

The Wine & Weed Podcast

The Wine and Weed Podcast is only about a year old now but it’s quickly building up an audience thanks to the remarkably chill vibe of the show’s host Steelo Brim and Chris Reinacher. What’s great about Wine & Weed is that it isn’t exactly a podcast about weed, but rather it’s an exploration of what’s currently bouncing around today’s cultural zeitgeist, all while Brim and Reinacher chop it up over a fresh joint and a glass of wine.

It’s a fun cross-faded hang, and it never gets too deep or pretentious about the weed or the wine, instead, Brim and Reinacher take a casual connoisseurs approach, and the vibe is all the better for it. It’s not the ideal podcast if you’re looking for content about weed but it makes the case why a casual glass and smoke of the good stuff is the perfect accompaniment to any podcast.

We strongly suggest going with the YouTube video version of the pod for this one.

Weed + Grub

Easily one of our favorite weed podcasts of all time, Weed + Grub consists of co-hosts Mike Glazer and Mary Jane Gibson chopping it up over the latest in pop culture, sex, food, and of course, cannabis. Both host’s expertise is well established, Glazer was a cook for Gordon Ramsey’s The F Word and is an Emmy-nominated comedian and Gibson is the culture editor over at High Times, but it’s the chemistry between the two that proves itself to be the pod’s most infectious feature.

Weed + Grub consistently pulls some of the most interesting weed-smoking guests, from Jim Belushi to Ron Funches, Buck Angel, and the always cranky David Crosby.

Back in August, FKA Twigs dropped a video for “Sad Day,” and it was a gorgeous, cinematic clip featuring an epic, mystical sword fight. There’s apparently more of that story to be told, because Twigs has expanded the clip into a full-blown TV show for FX.

Twigs made that reveal in an an interview with The Face, saying:

“But [I’ve done] a couple of fun things over lockdown, because I’ve had a lot of time with not traveling or touring. I’ve been able to get a couple of ideas down for TV series and films. There’s one that’s had the IP bought by FX, which is […] off the back of ‘Sad Day,’ a music video that I did for one of my songs off Magdalene. I’ve developed it into a TV series and they’ve picked it up. So I’m currently making my first TV series. […] It’s like a martial arts TV series which is very much centered around outsiders and the idea of wanting to fit in but not being able to. I’ve been putting a lot of research into the way that the Black community and the Chinese martial arts community have a really deep connection. It goes into music: the Wu-Tang Clan came together almost through martial arts. […] So we’ll see. I’ve been working on that and just allowing myself to try new things and not be restricted.”

For a taste of what Twigs’ upcoming show might be like, check out the “Sad Day” video below.