This past weekend saw the release of NBA 2K24, which is always one of the most highly anticipated sports video game releases of the year alongside Madden. Fans of the game were excited to see if the promised upgrades really delivered improved gameplay, and if the tweaks to the various game modes improved each of those experiences.
However, there is also the excitement to see what glitches will exist at launch. The reality of sports simulation video games is that as they keep adding more movements and variables to the game to make it as lifelike as possible, they increase the possibility for the game to break. As the masses get the game, they’ll run into situations the testers didn’t, and the results can be hysterical (and/or frustrating, depending on how seriously you take the game) until they get patches done to fix things.
This weekend, the best 2K24 glitch to hit social media was, by far, players running into a crazy situation where sometimes guys that went for a dunk would get stuck on the rim and spend multiple possessions flailing about wildly — often until a timeout was called. Sometimes those players would even cause an offensive goaltending because they were spinning around on the rim when a shot went up.
I’m sure the folks at 2K will (or already have) patch this up, but it’s incredibly funny to see guys just spinning around the rim like a helicopter. It’s also a funny paradox that the more lifelike you try to make a video game, the more likely you are to create the least realistic glitches imaginable.
While 2023 represents the 50th year of hip-hop, it’s also the 75th anniversary of one of the labels that has had a huge hand in making hip-hop the global phenomenon it is today. Today, Atlantic Records announced its plans to celebrate making it three-quarters of a century (especially in an industry that has seen so much upheaval almost from day one), which include a year’s worth of vinyl reissues of classic and contemporary albums that have defined its first 75 years.
The campaign will kick off in October and include 90 albums from the likes of Aretha Franklin, Bad Company, Booker T & The MGs, Bruno Mars, Cardi B, Christina Perri, Coldplay, Foreigner, Gucci Mane, Jack Harlow, Janelle Monáe, John Coltrane, Kehlani, Led Zeppelin, Lupe Fiasco, Matchbox Twenty, Otis Redding, Phil Collins, Ray Charles, Velvet Underground, Willie Nelson, and more. Some will be special pressings; others will be releases that have never been on vinyl before. There’s also exclusive, limited-edition merch, and partnerships with Vinyl Me, Please and Acoustic Sounds.
The collection will be curated by Atlantic Records chairman/CEO Craig Kallman, who’s been working on it for years. “It was stacks of paper making sure we didn’t miss anybody,” he said in a press release. “It was painstakingly done. There was a lot of internal debating… We tried to include records that were culturally significant, that were groundbreaking for the company, that were blowout sales successes. It was about records that defined the label and the culture of the company.”
Kallman had a personal investment in much of that history, joining Atlantic in 1991 after his dance label, Big Beat Records, was acquired by Atlantic. And although he said he thought it’d be cool to limit the run to 75 titles, he found he just couldn’t, resulting in the 90 planned releases (might as well up it to 100, Craig!). From the names of the albums included, it looks like a worthwhile endeavor and we can’t wait for the year ahead.
Atlantic Records and Uproxx are both independent subsidiaries of Warner Music Group.
Big Thief and its members seemingly can’t stop releasing music and that’s not a habit they curbed today (September 13) with the release of a new single, “Born For Loving You.” The mid-tempo, country-inspired song features Adrianne Lenker singing about an ever-present and enduring love.
The song, paired with the recent “Vampire Empire,” will be released on a limited 7-inch vinyl on October 20 via 4AD. That can be pre-ordered here.
The band has had the song in their live setlists since earlier this year, and after a March performance, Lenker explained of the song’s origins, saying, “That was a mishear. I heard a lyric in a song that was like, ‘I’m falling in love with you,’ or something, and I was like, ‘Did they say that I was born in love with you?’ And then of course… of course there’s other songs with ‘born for loving you,’ but… then I was also very inspired in Florida by the pop-country coming out of the trucks that are parked on the beach.”
The song follows the group’s 2022 album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, as well as Buck Meek’s solo album Haunted Mountain that was just released in August.
Meek recently told Uproxx’s Steven Hyden of what’s next for Big Thief, “The thing about making records is, we really don’t know until we’re there. I will say we have lots of ideas and we’re always working on new songs, especially on the road. […] But the truth is, even we don’t know what’s going to happen. We have all kinds of plans, we have all kinds of ideas, but we don’t know what’s going to happen until we’re actually in the room recording.
It’s official: Joe Rogan is bad for your love life.
A recent Change Research poll, made up of 1,033 registered voters between the ages of 18-34, found that 55 percent of women call their partner listening The Joe Rogan Experience a “red flag.” That’s ranked seventh, behind identifying as MAGA, having no hobbies, saying “All Lives Matter,” believing there are only two genders, never asking for details, and classifying as a communist. Only 35 percent of men have the same red flag about Rogan.
Other potential red flags include a partner refusing to see Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (53 percent for women, 31 percent for men), being really intro astrology (20 percent for women, 41 percent for men), and owning a gun (27 percent for women, 13 percent for men). Common ground was found on sending green texts, with seven percent for women and six percent for men.
As for green flags:
Among women surveyed, top green flags are potential partners who read, research the best deals and rates before buying, and say Black Lives Matter. Other green flags for women include prospective partners who look better in person (51%), take candid pictures (50%), and identify as liberal (39%).
Only seven percent of women consider their partner listening to The Joe Rogan Experience to be a good thing, compared to 25 percent for men. There needs to be this kind of poll for every podcast. Somehow, Doughboys would be a 100 percent red and green flag.
When it comes to tequila, forget about words like “smooth,” “smoky,” and “rich.” It’s not that there aren’t tequilas that fit that bill (añejos explore this territory quite well), but the spirit really shines when the flavors of blue Weber agave — the plant tequila is exclusively made from — are at the forefront. A well-crafted, agave-forward bottle of tequila is bright, peppery (green pepper more than black), fruity, earthy, or vegetal, with a nice buttery finish that glides across your palate.
These more earthy-floral-peppery notes are part of the reason why I almost always prefer blancos and reposados over the more aged expressions whether I’m sipping or mixing a cocktail. Don’t get me wrong, añejos are great. But I think whisky tends to cover that smoky, rich, and smooth territory in more interesting ways.
To help get you on board with what I think is tequila’s best quality, we’re shouting out eight bottles that we’re really digging right now that highlight the flavor of blue Weber agave. For variety’s sake, I’ve left off El Tesoro, Fortaleza, and LALO’s blanco tequilas — not because I don’t think they’re great bottles (all three are amazing additive-free tequilas), but I’ve already heavily covered these particular expressions in past lists this year and we want to give some other brands a little shine.
The brand’s mantra is “no celebrity required” which… whew, that’s certainly an idea we can get behind. It’s made at NOM: 1438 — a highland and lowland 50-50 agave blend — unaged, and open-air fermented after brick oven roasting. No additives, obviously.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Welcome to green (and a tad bit of black) pepper-ville! That’s the first note but it’s quickly balanced by creamy vanilla. If you jam your nose right in the glass you will get some ethanol warmth but not much.
Palate: Here the order reverses — it’s sweet up front and peppery on the back. There’s also a nice little salt-brine-crushed oyster shell note (without any smokiness).
Finish: The agave is alive on the backend — roasted and deeply enjoyable. I don’t love the term smooth but this does go down silky and easy.
The Bottom Line:
This is “Intro to sipping 101” for those who still want to taste what makes tequila tequila. It’s buttery to the point of needing a tad more potency for my palate — but beginning sippers will appreciate that quality.
This is the bottle for the beginner sipper who wants that
Founded in Austin Texas (but crafted in Jalisco, obviously) it took a bit for La Caza to win me over. The brand cooks and ferments its agave for one hundred hours to the sounds of classic music, which makes me roll my eyes so hard that it hurts my head.
But gimmick aside, this tequila delivers where it should: process and flavor. Produced at NOM 1414, La Caza cooks its agave in stone brick ovens, extracts the juices with a roller mill, and ferments the juice in open-air stainless steel tanks with champagne yeast and pours the results into a nice hand-blown glass bottle.
Does the classical music make a difference? Doubtful, but it’s good so… rock on, I guess!
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The roasted agave jumps out on the nose with some dusty warm citrus character.
Palate: Peppery and spicy with a very green vegetal quality and a hint of jasmine.
Finish: Sweet agave with a buttery finish that goes down with minimal burn.
The Bottom Line:
Plenty of brightness and pepper notes without a ton of burn — another great pick for the new tequila sipper.
Produced at NOM 1523, Agrotequilera de Jalisco, where it is the only brand in production, Volcan De Mi Tierra is the type of tequila you’re proud to display at your home bar. No, looks are everything, but just look at this bottle! With its lava rock-like look, it’s hard not to fall in love, luckily, the tequila is even better than looks would suggest.
Totally additive-free, Volcan is made from a blend of tequila cooked in stone brick ovens and autoclaves that is extracted via roller mills and a tahona, fermented in stainless steel tanks with champagne yeast, and cold filtered. The result is a bit of a mix of flavors typical of both lowland and highland agave.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Roasted and raw agave combine for an inviting musky vanilla aroma.
Palate: Freshly cracked black pepper with some juicy citrus notes, a kiss of dark cherry, and some minerality.
Finish: Fruity and a touch minty but it leaves the palate a bit too quickly. I wish the flavor would stick around more because I want to savor it, but that can be remedied by another drink.
The Bottom Line:
Pepper and spice are counterbalanced by juicy fruity notes. A great tequila for mixing in cocktails and one that is always interesting to sip and let your palate explore the flavors.
Our only true budget bottle to hit this list, Tres Agave is produced at NOM 1614, Tequilera Tap, and is made using agave cooked in a high-pressure autoclave that is roller mill extracted and bottled right after distillation with no additives and no aging.
It lacks some of the easy drinkability of the other bottles on this list, but it’s the only bottle for this price that’ll get you palatable agave flavors. It’s a great option for cocktails, but admittedly, you probably don’t want to sip this one.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Citrus zest and roasted agave with a hint of alcohol.
Palate: Bright and sweet with crisp pear flavors and some agave sweetness.
Finish: A bit harsh but not enough to cause you to wince or burn your throat. But it definitely hits back.
The Bottom Line:
A great affordable tequila that tastes like agave without breaking the bank. Reserve this one for cocktails.
Produced by 4th generation master distiller Felipe Camarena, G4 is made at NOM 1579, Destileria El Pandillo, where it is one of six brands in production. The agave here is cooked in stone brick ovens, tahona extracted, and made with natural spring and rainwater with absolutely no additives.
The bottle design and branding are weak but don’t let that dissuade you, this is one of the finest Blanco tequilas in this price point.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Prominent agave notes. It has a warm spikiness to it that tickles the nose like inhaling spices.
Palate: A beautiful mix of roasted agave and warm citrus notes. This tequila is all bright and grassy.
Finish: Warm and nutty with a supple oily mouthfeel.
The Bottom Line:
A strong agave forward tequila that perfectly captures the bright, vegetal and subtly sweet tones of agave.
Men’s Journal listed Tapatio’s Reposado as one of the “Best Tequilas In The World,” and we’re not going to go that far but… Tapatio is damn good! And a favorite amongst many a tequila snob.
Produced at NOM 1139, the famed La Alteña, Tapatio cooks agave in stone brick ovens, extracts the juice via a roller mill, and ages the liquid in bourbon barrels for a mellow additive-free tequila that still retains some of that characteristic agave bite.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Roasted agave with some warm barrel oak which helps to bring forth the vanilla elements.
Palate: That oak does a lot to mellow out the flavors here. You still get some roasted agave earthiness and vegetal qualities, but it’s backed by sweet vanilla and caramel.
Finish: Buttery and soft with just a touch of zest.
The Bottom Line:
A fine reposado tequila that is perfect for sipping. It’s mellow, but not to the point of masking the natural agave flavors.
Hands down our favorite reposado on this list, Cascahuin is a fantastic tequila that highlights the sweetness of agave. Produced at NOM 1123, at Tequila Cascahuin (the distillery’s namesake!), this is another additive-free tequila made from agave cooked in stone brick ovens, roller mill extracted, and aged for 6-8 months in American oak barrels.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Roasted agave kissed with caramel and citrus.
Palate: Warm as soon as it hits the palate, Cascahuin begins sweet with some cinnamon spiciness before hitting you with black pepper and spice.
Finish: A mix of mint and pepper with roasted agave hovering on the backend.
The Bottom Line:
The best agave-forward reposado currently on the market in our opinion. A versatile bottle that is perfect for sipping and mixing.
Moving things back into the unaged territory, Siete Leguas’ Blanco tequila is produced at NOM 1120, a distillery of the same name, where it is the only brand in production.
The agave is cooked in stone brick ovens, tahona, and roller mill extracted, and made with natural spring water. The juices are fermented in stainless steel tanks and twice distilled in copper pots with no additives.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Warm inviting agave notes with some wet rock character.
Palate: Earthy and highly vegetal with a strong green grass flavor and some cracked pepper spice.
Finish: Citrusy with a hint of vanilla and some cool mint on the backend.
The Bottom Line:
A highly grassy and vegetal tequila that perfectly captures the bright characteristic of agave.
I’ve highlighted Tequila Ocho a lot in the past, but until now I haven’t had the chance to sing the praises of its plata expression. Produced at NOM 1474, Cía Tequilera Los Alambiques, where it is one in three brands in production, the agave here is hand harvested between 7-10 years, cooked in stone brick ovens, roller mill extracted and fermented in wood vats before being twice slow-distilled in copper pots.
It has absolutely no additives.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Roasted agave, minimality, and fresh-peeled orange rind.
Palate: Very citrus forward counterbalanced by sweet roasted agave flavors, a bit of pepper, and lots of herbal interest.
Finish: Grassy and bright with a subtle mint and pepper finish. Almost cilantro-like.
The Bottom Line:
Orange citrus zest balanced by sweet agave, Tequila Ocho’s plata is a joy to slow sip and makes a Cointreau margarita come alive.
Original Watchmen author Alan Moore seems to famously dislike every project that adapts his work. I’m certain that he must dislike Damon Lindelof’s Lube Man if he dislikes the HBO series in general. Yet I’m still mystified about how, even though Alan Moore is notoriously critical of modern adaptations (like Joker) that also take inspiration from his work, he couldn’t at least appreciate the messaging behind Lindelof’s continuation of Moore’s groundbreaking graphic novel.
The series didn’t even attempt to literally translate the source material because Zack Snyder had already been there and done that. Instead, Lindelof recontextualized the story by launching with an onscreen depiction 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and kept on running with a skewering of racial injustice by adding texture to the Hooded Justice and Doctor Manhattan characters. This was a transcendent approach that piggybacked upon Moore’s own before-its-time deconstruction of superheroes. And also, the giant squid! That was fun, even as it highlighted a modern character’s trauma alongside other characters’ generational trauma.
Lindelof’s angle of continuation on the original source material makes it an extra head-scratching affair to reconsider that Moore disliked HBO’s Watchmen but has now directed DC to send his royalties to Black Lives Matter.
The Telegraph asked Moore if reports were true about him taking all of the money he makes from film and TV series and dividing it among the writers and other creatives, to which the writer answered: “I no longer wish it to even be shared with them. I don’t really feel, with the recent films, that they have stood by what I assumed were their original principles. So I asked for DC Comics to send all of the money from any future TV series or films to Black Lives Matter.”
He doesn’t really specify which DC-based films currently upset him, but Joker is probably high on that list. And again, only Alan Moore really knows why he hated HBO’s Watchmen, but he previously told GQthat he “had disowned the work in question” and told Lindelof as much before filming began. He further found the idea of another adaptation to be “embarrassing,” and then he was appalled when the show won awards:
When I saw the television industry awards that the Watchmen television show had apparently won, I thought, “Oh, god, perhaps a large part of the public, this is what they think Watchmen was?” They think that it was a dark, gritty, dystopian superhero franchise that was something to do with white supremacism. Did they not understand Watchmen? Watchmen was nearly 40 years ago and was relatively simple in comparison with a lot of my later work. What are the chances that they broadly understood anything since? This tends to make me feel less than fond of those works. They mean a bit less in my heart.
Well, Alan Moore has the right to be upset, of course, but he seems to have thought that people were taking the project as a literal adaptation when it very obviously was not one. Lindelof simply harnessed part of the political spirit of the original graphic novel, and he concluded that “the equivalent of the nuclear standoff between Russia and the U.S.” was “undeniably race and policing in America.” The bigger takeaway here, though, is that Moore wants Black Lives Matter to receive all monies going forward, so perhaps he is more in agreement with Lindelof’s thematic take than he would ever publicly admit.
These days, it seems every new artist who finally catches their big break with a viral hit also tends to catch accusations of being an “industry plant.” Totally aside from this being a delusional way for sourpuss haters to undermine other peoples’ successes, it’s also usually a reflection of a triumphant rollout doing exactly what so many fans say they want: Artist development.
Naturally, Flyana Boss has been the target of exactly those sorts of allegations as a result of the ubiquity of their hit single “You Wish.” They tackle those head-on in the video for the song, which they finally shared today after three months of social media dominance and a remix featuring none other than OG “weird Black girl” Missy Elliott.
Like their newfound mentor, Flyana Boss leans all the way into their geeky inspirations in the colorful video, which references one of their favorite cartoons, The Powerpuff Girls, casting the rappers as kaiju-like monsters demolishing a miniature cardboard city. They also have some fun with those “industry plant” accusations, plopping themselves into a planter marked “industry” and adding an interlude with a DoorDash delivery guy who declares himself the “brand plug” after realizing he’s on a music video set.
It’s a good, funny video that perfectly showcases the girls’ quirky shared sense of humor and dynamic, best-buds chemistry. Enjoy it above.
Flyana Boss is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Peso Pluma had a big night at the 2023 MTV VMAs yesterday (September 12). He didn’t win any awards, but he was nominated for three (Best New Artist, Best Latin, and Song Of The Summer) and he performed during the broadcast. The day overall wasn’t perfect, though: Before the show, he received a threat from a Mexican cartel.
As USA Today reports, a banner threatening the Mexican singer, real name Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija, was displayed on a bridge in Tijuana yesterday. It made note of his scheduled October 14 concert at Caliente Stadium in Tijuana, saying (translated to English), “This goes to Peso Pluma, refrain from presenting yourself on October 14 because it will be your last show due to your disrespect and loose tongue, you show up and we are going to (break you).”
The banner was signed by Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which in 2020 was dubbed by The Wall Street Journal as “Mexico’s top security threat.” The organization is headed by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, who Reuters in 2022 called “one of Mexico’s most wanted drug runners.”
Pluma hasn’t publicly addressed this yet, but USA Today notes that a number of his upcoming concerts have been canceled. His next show is currently set for September 28 in Reno, Nevada.
Fontaines DC have released a new deluxe version of their third studio album, Skinty Fia. This time, it’s titled Skinty Fia go deo, and has a lot of fun additions for fans to check out.
Between a live Glastonbury take of “Big Shot,” some songs from the Skinty Fia sessions, a cover of U2’s “One,” and much more, the band really packed in a lot of material with eight deluxe tracks in total. There is also a remix of their song “In ár gCroíthe go deo,” which loosely translates to “Forever in our hearts,” according to Google Translate.
“A lot of it is revealing itself to me to be largely informed and influenced by Irishness existing in England, and mutating and becoming a new kind of culture in general,” the band’s lead singer, Grian Chatten, told Rolling Stone last year.
Continue scrolling to view Fontaines DC’s Skinty Fia go deo album art and tracklist.
Partisan Records
1. “Big Shot” (Live at Glastonbury)
2. “Jackie Down The Line” (Skinty Fia Sessions)
3. “Roman Holiday” (Skinty Fia Sessions)
4. “I Love You” (Skinty Fia Sessions)
5. “One” (Skinty Fia Sessions) [U2 cover]
6. “Twinkle” (Skinty Fia Sessions) [Whipping Boy cover]
7. “The Couple Across The Way” (Skinty Fia Sessions)
8. “In ár gCroíthe go deo” (Orbital Remix)
With Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom set to arrive in theaters later this year, director James Wan has addressed Amber Heard‘s claim that the actress had her role of Mera diminished in the sequel because of Johnny Depp’s alleged harassment campaign against her.
During a courtroom appearance in the couple’s highly-publicized defamation trial, Heard testified that her role in Aquaman 2 became a “very pared-down version” than what was presented in the original script. The actress is reportedly only in the film for 10 minutes.
“I was given a script and then given new versions of the script that had taken away scenes that had action in it, that depicted my character and another character, without giving any spoiler aways, two characters fighting with one another, and they basically took a bunch out of my role,” Heard said. “They just removed a bunch out.”
While Wan didn’t specifically address the alleged edits to Heard’s screen time, the director explained to Entertainment Weekly that the sequel was always going to focus more on Jason Momoa‘s Arthur and his brother Orm played by Patrick Wilson:
“I always pitched this to everyone from the get-go,” Wan tells EW. “The first Aquaman was Arthur and Mera’s journey. The second movie was always going to be Arthur and Orm. So, the first was a romance action-adventure movie, the second one is a bromance action-adventure movie. We’ll leave it at that.”
In the Aquaman‘s sequel defense, Heard isn’t the only one who saw her screen time altered. The film was originally supposed to feature an appearance from Michael Keaton’s Batman. After some juggling of release schedules with The Flash, a decision was made to feature Ben Affleck’s Batman instead. Now, the film reportedly features zero Batmen, but with the way things are constantly changing at DC Studios, don’t quote us on that.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom dives into theaters on December 20.
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