Category: News

In the late ’80s, J Mascis’ band Dinosaur Jr. shocked the world, or at least the college radio crowd, by proving that grimy, noisy punk only sounded better when you added Neil Young-style guitar solos. He surprised close listeners by proving that a man that outwardly never seems to display any emotion beyond resigned bemusement could write eloquently about loneliness and the fraught complexities of adolescent male friendships. He surprised us when he broke up the original line-up featuring drummer Murph and bassist Lou Barlow, and somehow went on to MTV stardom without losing his dignity. And after a decade’s worth of passive-aggressive warfare between Mascis and Barlow, he surprised us when he got the original line-up back together, proved that reunion albums don’t have to suck, and somehow made Dinosaur Jr. more beloved than they’ve ever been. Hell, last year they even surprised themselves by having a hit song in Japan for reasons that are as strange as they are complicated.

Somewhere along the way, Mascis somehow turned himself into an internet fashion icon. His penchant for brightly colored pastel t-shirts, chunky eye-glasses, dope sneakers, loud Adidas jackets, and the ever-present Mishka “Keep Watch” Eyeball hat has made him an object of social media fascination. With his crotchety public persona and affinity for classic rock, Mascis seemed a bit like an old man when he was young. Now that he’s older, he dresses like a hip-hop loving teenager who is besotted with Millennial Pink and the latest Supreme drop… and he makes it work for him through superhuman nonchalance. Mascis has never really cared what anyone thinks, and if he wants to wear the brightest purple jacket you’ve ever seen while playing the loudest guitar solo you’ve ever heard, you have no choice to respect it.

Mascis has a reputation for being a hilariously unenthusiastic interview subject. In fact, I lovingly goofed on this facet of the J Mascis Cultural Experience a long time ago. But once he got over his obvious confusion that this was indeed the subject that I wanted to talk to him about, he got about as enthusiastic as is possible for him. Hey, some people really love pastels.

I want to talk to you today about the fact that you’ve become a fashion icon these days. How would you describe your current style?

Jeez. I describe it as just kind of like, you know, whatever I’ve kind of collected over the years and throw on.

When did you start getting into brands like Mishka?

This one was probably about 2008 or something, I’m not sure exactly. I saw a friend had an eyeball pad or something, and I think it was Damien (Abraham) from the band F*cked Up, and I asked him about it and he said, “Oh, they could send you some stuff right now.” So they sent me some stuff and I just started wearing it.

Yeah, there’s a lot, like a lot, of photos of you wearing Mishka hats or shirts with the giant eyeball on it. Why do you think you like it so much?

I’m wearing it right now. I guess it seems like non-specific. I just like the image. I just kind of went with it just because it’s not like a band T-shirt or something. I just like the eyeball.

There’s also plenty of photos of you wearing bright pastels. Why are you attracted to that look?

I like stuff that pops up a little bit. Around here where I live, everything was hippie granola brown. So I like purple especially, but just brighter colors to fix up my mood.

Being from Massachusetts, you’ve always been surrounded by earth tones. So you want to rebel against it.

Exactly.

Who are some of your favorite designers and brands? I know you’re a big fan of Jeremy Scott.

I thought a lot of his Adidas things were really cool. I mean, I used to like Paul Smith in the ‘90s. Fred Perry.

Have you always been a person who pays attention to fashion, or is it something that you came to later in life?

Yeah, I think my dad was pretty fashionable, and I would say one thing he would do with me is bring me clothes shopping. We wouldn’t do that much together, but that was one thing and he was always a snappy dresser. I guess it started from him.

Mishka has sponsored a lot of hip-hop mixtapes, and street style in general is associated with hip-hop. Are you the only band that works with them?

Oh, I have no idea.

A couple of years ago you had your own capsule design with Mishka. How hands on were you with it?

That’s the thing, I really kind of like the stuff they do. So, yeah, when they showed me stuff they come up with, I was mostly really into it already.

Do you have a stylist?

No.

So it’s all stuff you pick up yourself?

Yeah.

Do you keep up with trends or read fashion blogs?

No, I just kind of pick up stuff here and there.

In addition to the eyeball swag, we also see you a lot in your now signature all-clear glasses. Who makes those, and why do you like that look?

The clear ones I haven’t worn in a long time. I guess lately I really like Selima Optique. I got some frames somewhere, and my friend who is a stylist told me they have a store in New York. I had no idea. So I went there, and since I’ve gotten a lot of stuff there.

Why do you think you like that brand?

Whatever I like, I like and I stick with it, I guess. I’m always looking for purple or pink frames, but it’s hard to find any. They don’t seem to make any for men in those colors.

That’s a shame. You have a right to purple glasses.

I know, I don’t understand. I’m always frustrated that women’s colors are more my style in sneakers or anything, like the women get all the good colors and men get what’s left over or something.

It’s really unfair.

I don’t know what to do about it.

Hopefully someone reading this article will make it for you. I know you really like Adidas. Are there other sneaker brands that you’re into?

I mean, I like Puma and Vans.

There are sneaker heads out there who will wait outside overnight at some shops when limited edition stuff comes out, and they’ll buy and sell pairs of rare things online for thousands of dollars. Are there any particularly rare shoes you’ve ever bought or at least that you’ve wanted someone to buy for you?

Yeah, I wanted those Ben&Jerry’s dunks that came out. And they were, you know, right as soon as they came out, they were thousands of dollars. I didn’t get up on the Nike app or anything.

I’m sorry.

That was annoying, but I’ve gotten some Kyrie Patrick Spongebob shoes that are kind of cool.

Are you a big Spongebob fan?

Not really, but I like the shoes. They were pink.

A lot of people start dressing more conservatively as they get older, but you are just rocking more and more bright colors and cooler, cutting edge stuff and moving in the opposite direction. Is that a conscious thing?

I don’t know, it’s kind of. I feel like I’ve dressed a lot crazier when I was younger and then I kind of dulled down for a while and then it’s coming back up, maybe? I looked at some stuff I was wearing, I don’t know, in my worst fashion period. That was maybe around 2000 or something. I just looked uninspired and dull when I look at pictures.

I said to my editor that you look like Odd Future’s cool older uncle. Do you meet people, especially maybe younger people, who are surprised that this is how you dress now?

I don’t know, it’s hard to say. I’m surprised sometimes that some people like some stuff I’m wearing. I can’t really tell.

Do you ever meet younger people who maybe aren’t fans, and they’re like, “Whoa, you’re wearing those? That’s pretty awesome, dude.”

Yes, mostly that’s kind of random, just like at Target or something, some guy will go “oh, cool shoes” but I don’t think they were fans or anything.

Streetwear is also heavily associated with skateboarding, and a few years ago you shot the video for “Tiny” at a Brooklyn skateboarding park. Are you big into skateboarding?

Yeah, I skated a lot when I was 11 and 12. Tony Alva was kinda my hero back then, right? I haven’t quit really, I just don’t do it that much. I get really envious that there’s a lot of cool skateparks around now that I wish were around when I was a kid.

But do you still occasionally get on the board?

Yeah. I definitely don’t, you know, go into bowls or anything. I feel more breakable for sure.

When Dinosaur Jr. first started, did you think a lot about how you wanted the band to look?

I thought about just myself and the other guys were on their own trips. Lou was into sweaters. My fashion idol was Nick Cave, I guess, when we were starting the band, so I was kind of sticking my hair up gothic-ish looking. And a lot of jewelry, I don’t seem to much anymore, but I had a ring on every finger and a ton of necklaces and beads.

You had a ring on every finger?

Yeah.

That’d be a cool look. You should bring that back. Bring back the necklaces.

It seemed to get harder to wear a ring when I played guitar. It’s kind of like I don’t wear anything on my finger anymore.

Now what kind of necklaces are we talking about? Big chunky ones or little chains?

Usually like some big medallion kind of thing that was hanging from the chamber and then like flowery beads.

That sounds like something a rapper would wear. Then again, so is Adidas. I guess you’ve always had that interest.

Well, more like weird old lady jewelry that I find in the Salvation Army.

When “Feel The Pain” was an MTV hit, and you did the Lollapalooza tour and alternative rock was huge and you were at your maximum level of exposure, how important was your visual presentation when you were doing public appearances and playing big shows?

Yes, I would like to get stuff made, like jackets and stuff, when I was going to be on a TV show or I wore a Paul Smith suit that had cow patterns on it, but it was blue and black. I would just kind of get things for TV things, but playing live on stage I wouldn’t dress up much. I remember we played in suits on Jon Stewart’s show, that was fun.

You don’t seem like a suit guy.

We like suits, and we’d look for special occasions to wear them at.

Do you talk to the guys in the band at all about dressing up these days, or are they on their own?

They are really on their own. We don’t have anything in common with clothes.

Do they ever comment on how you dress?

Yeah, like, I think Lou sometimes when we got back together said, “If I had my way, no one would wear band t-shirts in the band” and I think, again, maybe sneakers on stage, too. That was something when I played with Ron Asheton from The Stooges. He would be mad if I wore sneakers on stage.

What’s Ron’s problem?

It’s frowned upon in some circles. You’re supposed to wear shoes like Beatle Boots.

Are there any fashion rules you personally have for what you wear on stage?

Definitely not shorts. I like wearing shorts a lot, in the summer, but not on stage.

Right, a lot of people feel that way.

I think it’s a good move.

You mentioned Nick Cave, who are some of the other musicians you’ve looked to throughout your life, like that’s a fashionable person and I kind of want to look like them?

It could just be like I remember after Nick Cave, I saw some kid at college walking around with a flannel shirt, Doc Martens, and long hair. That’s when Doc Martens were hard to get. I saw that as “ok, that’s going to be my next look.” I saw that as the blueprint for my next stage, or whatever. I was into what Keith Richards would wear. Lemmy, I was into his clothes.

There’s an episode of Gilmore Girls wherein the punk rock character Jesse wears a t-shirt that’s the cover of the Green Mind album. It’s since become a recurring object of fascination amongst Gilmore Girls fans.

Yeah, I was really into the Gilmore Girls. That was a great show.

Were you excited when you saw Jesse wearing it?

Yeah, but I wish I’d gotten to be on the show like Sonic Youth got to be on the show. I did get some Gilmore Girls American Apparel sweatpants, I guess when they ended the show, they had these sweatpants and gave them to everyone on the crew and the lady knew that I was into it. I think she gave them to Kim Gordon to give to me.

The last time I saw Dinosaur Jr. I noticed you were selling the Green Mind t-shirt at the merch stand. Did the Gilmore Girls bump make your fans want to cop that one?

Yeah, I mean we’ve been selling that.

Well thank you for talking with me. My last question is, do you consider yourself a fashionable person?

I guess not really. I would like to be, but I just feel like they don’t pay enough attention or something. I dunno.

When you get called a fashion icon, how does it make you feel?

Yeah, I’m into it.

Just like everyone, as the year winds down, Steven Hyden and Ian Cohen are getting reflective. But rather than just creating another regular old list compiling the best of 2020, Hyden and Cohen are launching the official Indiecast awards show, The Indiecasties. In the second of a special two-part episode, the duo are wrapping up the show for the year by awarding the highly sought-after Indiecasties to the most surprising, overrated, and genuinely impressive releases of the year from artists like The Killers, Fiona Apple, Phoebe Bridgers, and more.

This week, Hyden and Cohen are ready to bestow some trophies upon the albums that best embodied the aesthetics of 2020, as well as the artists who made the best comeback this year. Also on the slate for this episode are artists who defied the odds set by their back catalogue to surprise critics with the strengths of their most recent release, and the most overhyped albums that actually managed to deserve the praise, among many more.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 20 on Apple Podcasts and Spotify below, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts here. Stay up to date and follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

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

Dvsn’s latest single, released overnight, is a departure that may have some longtime fans raising their eyebrows at the mature themes. That’s because those themes aren’t “mature” in the way one usually finds on a Dvsn record. Instead of their usual debauchery, on “Blessings,” Nineteen85 is sampling gospel and Daniel is singing about getting married. It looks like our boys grew up.

Of course, there’s still the usual touch of mischief in their use of a religious refrain in the song’s sample, as Daley transforms prayer into the soundtrack for a night of more carnal activities. “And she’ll keep sayin’, ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,’” he croons with a wink. “Neighbors hear you screamin’, screamin’, screamin’.”

Judging from the song art, which reads Amusing Her Feelings and references their last album, A Muse In Her Feelings with a play on words, it looks like their fourth full-length project is in the works after the duo was long-listed for the Polaris Prize (Canada’s Grammys), and enjoyed a year out of the spotlight after releasing Muse. Whether “Blessings” marks a full-time shift in content to songs about long-term commitments over one-night stands remains to be seen.

Listen to “Blessings” above.

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

Around this time last year, some old Eminem lyrics leaked, and people didn’t much care for them. Referencing Chris Brown’s 2009 assault on Rihanna, Eminem rapped, “I’m not playing Rihanna / Where’d you get the VD at? / Let me add my two cents / Of course I side with Chris Brown / I’d beat a bitch down, too.” Now, on his surprise new expanded edition of Music To Be Murdered By, Em took the opportunity to apologize to Rihanna.

On “Zeus,” he raps, “But, me, long as I re-promise to be honest / And wholeheartedly, apologies, Rihanna / For that song that leaked, I’m sorry, Ri / It wasn’t meant to cause you grief / Regardless, it was wrong of me.”

On the same track, he also takes a shot at Snoop Dogg (who declared this summer that Eminem isn’t one of the ten best rappers ever), saying, “As far as squashin’ beef, I’m used to people knockin’ me / But, just not in my camp / I’m diplomatic ’cause I’m tryna be / Last thing I need is Snoop doggin’ me / Man, dog, you was like a damn god to me / Man, not really / I had ‘dog’ backwards.”

Listen to “Zeus” above.

Music To Be Murdered By — Side B (Deluxe Edition) is out now via Shady Records/Interscope. Get it here.

In a recent interview with Glamour, Joe Biden’s campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon was asked whether it’s possible for Democrats and Republicans to compromise. “That’s what we need. The president-elect was able to connect with people over this sense of unity,” she said. “In the primary, people would mock him, like, ‘You think you can work with Republicans?’ I’m not saying they’re not a bunch of f*ckers. Mitch McConnell is terrible. But this sense that you couldn’t wish for that, you couldn’t wish for this bipartisan ideal? He rejected that.” This — O’Malley Dillon using an extremely light swear word — was enough to (ahem) trigger White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.

“Biden Campaign Manager called us ‘F***ers’ !!! She can try to walk back, but this says volumes about her boss who calls for ‘unity’ while shouting that we are ‘assaulting democracy:’ They think we are deplorable, irredeemable ‘F***ers.’ SICK,” McEnany tweeted, conveniently forgetting that she works for someone who called Mexicans “rapists” and white supremacists “very fine people,” who bragged about sexually assaulting women, who frequently gives insulting nicknames to anyone he disagrees with, who… the list goes on. But one Democrats says “f*ckers” once and it’s all over.

McEnany certainly hasn’t said anything “deplorable” in her past, though, right?

How I Met Your Mother co-creator Craig Thomas got involved, too.

“Make America Great Again” isn’t the defining slogan of the Trump administration. It’s “there’s always a tweet.”

“I’m a rapper, I just play around in fashion,” Saweetie raps on her song “Pretty B*tch Freestyle,” a 2-minute ode to her icy girl lifestyle.

The Bay Area artist, born Diamonté Harper, has taken over social media in the past few months with digital content featuring her designer bags and clothing as special guests. Before this year, the rapper began to evolve her style with looks at fashion week, and a collection with Pretty Little Thing. Now, she has posted indoor and outdoor looks throughout the year, launched another collection with the fast-fashion brand, and solidified herself as a style influencer.

Her steady ascension in fashion is not by accident. Saweetie shared with UPROXX via email, her dedication to learning the history of style and design.

“My style is always growing because I am always researching to better my fashion, style, and taste,” she says. “I have a lot of vintage books like YSL fashion books to study past models and innovation on how these designers design their collections. I’m always eager to learn.”

In February, the “My Type” rapper attended Milan fashion week for the first time. She wore posh pieces from Prada, HARRYHALIM, Moschino, and a Romeo Hunt look she dubbed her one of her favorite.

With the extra time inside created by the events of 2020, when not recording music, Saweetie managed to merge her carefree personality with a natural skill for content creation, using Instagram and other social media platforms as her stage. She introduced viewers to her Birkin bags as play items, assigning them personas as one would play with Barbie dolls. In fact, the ‘Birkin Bag Bratz’ have their own Instagram account with over 50k followers.

For the “Tap In” rapper, it was not a huge struggle to adjust to more time alone.

“I have only child syndrome,” she says, “so I flourish by myself. I flourish in solitude and I have a lot of fun by myself. I’m always thinking of creative stuff to do, so quarantine has been fun to me. I don’t know; my mind is like a playground. I come up with these ideas and I think of them and write them down and then I execute.”

Saweetie has managed to capture the essence of her personal style and package it for retailer Pretty Little Thing. She has now released three collections with the brand which described the clothing and accessories as “our baddest collection yet” on the company’s landing page. The self-proclaimed creative director ensures the drops are only the beginning.

“You can always expect more from the Icy Girl,” she says. “My favorite brands range from Santee Alley to Rodeo Drive. It just depends on how your girl is feeling,”

Although she often name drops luxury brands on wax, taking on titles such as “The Hermes Mermaid,” Saweetie does not always rely on a pricy label to solidify her daily aesthetic. Still, despite her high fashion trajectory, she continues to infuse her personal style into her looks through hair, nails, and accessories. Her high-end pieces are often juxtaposed with style elements native to streetwear and staples to Black girl style. Jewelry such as oversized hoop earrings, layered chains, styled baby-hair, and long acrylic nails are often paired with sneakers, jeans, and crop tops. Most of her style inspiration comes from personal sources such as her mother, grandmother, and aunties.

“All the women in my family are fly as hell and they always had their own sense of style,” she says. “They all smelled good, they all can beat their face. I have always been inspired by them to look my best.

She also makes sure to empower Black communities and Black-owned brands as well as her other favorite non-Black designers, and she does so with intention.

“I feel like as any Black public figure, it is our job to endorse anything that can make our community better whether it is fashion or social justice,” she explains. “My favorite [Black-owned] brand to wear is Kai Collective.

Saweetie is hyperaware of the double standards imposed on female artists compared to their male counterparts when it comes to fashion and style. She uses the example of wearing a piece twice when making her point.

“I feel like women are always critiqued and put against each other when we wear the same thing and that’s lame,” she says.

Moving beyond the restraints placed on women in hip hop, on stage, on-set, or off work, the 26-year-old promises to be draped in an upload worthy look. In her latest music video “Back To The Streets,” featuring Jhene Aiko, she got to experiment with bold looks from head to toe. The entire scene was set to give viewers a new take on their view of California.

“I feel like Saweetie is more stage and Diamonte is more day to day looks, but I feel both of them are still serving,” she said. “My favorite look was the baldie look. That was my first time going bald. I wanted to give a fresher look of the West Coast that people have never seen before.

Soon, the West Coast rapper will release her debut album, Pretty B*tch Music. Much like her fashion sense, she has the highest standards for her new tunes. What can fans expect? “A culture reset.”

With the Electoral College certifying his victory in the 2020 election, President-elect Joe Biden sat down for an interview with Stephen Colbert where he fielded questions on, basically, what happens next? After four years of Donald Trump, the nation is more divided than ever and in the middle of battling a once-in-a-century pandemic. On top of that, Russia has reportedly spent months hacking into several government agencies, which is adding even more to the incoming administration’s plate. However, Biden told Colbert that he’s confident that once Trump leaves office, the Republican Party will be more willing to cooperate. That assessment includes Senator Lindsey Graham who Biden president-elect called a “deep personal disappointment” after watching his long-time friend attack him in service to Trump. Via Rolling Stone:

“I think I can work with Republican leadership in the House and the Senate, I think we can get things done. And I think once this president is no longer in office, I think you’re going to see his impact on the body politic fade, and a lot of these Republicans are gonna feel they have much more room to cooperate.”

In a later segment, Dr. Jill Biden joined the president-elect where they fielded questions from Colbert about their son, Hunter Biden, who was the subject of numerous attack ads and is currently facing a federal investigation into his taxes. Colbert asked Biden how he’ll be able to work with the GOP who won’t hesitate to use Hunter as a political weapon.

“We have great confidence in our son,” Biden told Colbert. “I am not concerned about any accusations that have been made against him. It’s used to get to me. I think it’s kind of foul play but — look, it is what it is. And, he’s a grown man, he is the smartest man I know, I mean from a pure intellectual capacity. And as long as he’s good, we’re good.”

You can watch Biden talk about the GOP attacks on his son below:

The mainstream music world got to know who D Smoke was by the end of 2019 as the Inglewood native went home as the inaugural champion of Netflix’s Rhythm & Flow. While that moment may have been a huge milestone for him at that time, D Smoke would go ahead to reach new heights this year thanks to his Black Habits album. With just weeks left until 2020 comes to a close, the rapper lays off one last single with “It’s Ok.” The track is quite the triumphant effort that seems to remind himself and those who are listening that today’s struggles will be a thing of the past tomorrow.

In just under two months, D Smoke will have the opportunity to win one, if not, two Grammys at the upcoming 2021 award show. He was nominated for Best New Artist alongside Chika, Doja Cat, Kaytranada, Megan Thee Stallion, and others while also getting a nod in the Best Rap Album category. His Black Habit album joins Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist’s Alfredo, Nas’ King’s Disease, and Jay Electronica’s A Written Testimony.

Additional content from D Smoke comes in the form of a recent feature he made alongside D Smoke on their “Headshots” collab as well as his “Optimistic” track with Rexx Life Raj.

You can listen to “It’s Ok” in the video above.

People love to mock the very serious Mike Pence, who can’t even do a VP debate without attracting The Fly and inadvertently sparking an avalanche of jokes. So of course, when confronted with the very serious situation of receiving Pfizer’s COVID vaccine, some roasting ended up following him there, too.

On Friday morning, Pence and his wife, Karen (a.k.a. “Mother”), rolled up their sleeves for the shot on live TV. The sitting VP (who wrote six months ago on the White House’s website that a “second wave” isn’t a thing) has changed his tune. He sat beneath a sign that said, “SAFE and EFFECTIVE,” and he declared, “I didn’t feel a thing.” Pence followed up by expressing hopes that his display “will be a source of confidence and of comfort to the American people,” and that “these days of hardship and heartbreak will, in a day not too far in the future, be put in the past.”

There’s lots of layers there, including some dark takes from both the right and the left on Pence’s dramatic change of heart. Then there are, well, the jokes… because Mike Pence wore short sleeves, which is something that he customarily does not do in public. It was strange! People definitely had some reactions, including a hearty, “Ladies, welcome to the gun show” and “Mother” jokes and beyond. And remember all of the right-leaning commentary that seemed “threatened” by Michelle Obama’s arms? Yep.

The poor Fly appears to have lost the spotlight.

(Via USA Today & ABC News)

As Hanukkah comes to a close, so too does Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin’s “The Hanukkah Sessions,” their series of covers by Jewish artists in observance of the holiday. They brought the series to a close tonight with a cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Rock And Roll,” an upbeat rendition on which Grohl and Kurstin both pulled double-duty, with Grohl on drums and vocals and Kurstin on keyboard and piano.

Alongside the cover, Grohl shared a message reflecting on the experience of his Hanukkah celebration:

“As 2020 comes to a close and another Hanukkah ends (my first!) I am reminded of the two things that have gotten me through this year: music and hope.

This project, which initially began as a silly idea, grew to represent something much more important to me. It showed me that the simple gesture of spreading joy and happiness goes a long way, and as we look forward, we should all make an effort to do so, no matter how many candles are left to light on the menorah.

Toda Raba to Greg for being a musical genius and spending 2 1/2 days barnstorming through these songs together. You never fail to amaze me. Big round of applause for Markus Rutledge, the poor soul that had only 24 hours (8 days in a row) to churn out each of these videos for us! You deserve a medal for sleep deprivation! Huge hearts for the force of nature known as Peaches! You brought the real. And, of course to all of you for joining in on the fun. I hope that you enjoyed watching.

So, sing along one last time to “Rock and Roll” by The Velvet Underground, a song about music and hope, and let’s keep spreading the joy and happiness. It goes a long way…..

Dave.”

Watch Grohl and Kurstin perform “Rock And Roll” above.