You might recall us singing the praises of Sara Beth, the exuberant young mom with major vocal chops dubbed the “Accidental American Idol.”
During Sara Beth’s initial audition for the show, judge Katy Perry made a joke that rubbed many viewers the wrong way.
Before Sara Beth even began to sing, the 25-year-old revealed that she had three children, which prompted Katy Perry to dramatically stand up from her seat and feign shock. When Sara Beth, all smiles, said, “If Katy lays on the table, I think I’m going to pass out,” Perry retorted, “Honey, you’ve been laying on the table too much.”
So many fans began calling out Perry’s comment that Sara Beth herself spoke out in a TikTok video that has since gone viral.
“At the start of my audition, before I sang, I mentioned that I had three children and was a young mother, and Katy Perry made a joke that wasn’t super kind,” Sara Beth explained, using air quotations around the word “joke.”
She continued, “I don’t have too much to say on my feelings about it because I feel like it’s probably pretty self-explanatory. I mean, it was embarrassing to have that on TV. And it was hurtful and, you know, that’s that.”
From there Sara Beth could have gone on the defensive, but instead chose to offer some positivity and encouragement.
For the moms who had reached out with supportive comments—and all moms in general—she said, “I see you and I hear you and I am grateful for you and you’re worthy…Keep loving your babies.That’s all that really matters and other comments don’t feel necessary.”
Really, Sara Beth’s sentiments can be boiled down to this one statement: “I think that women supporting and uplifting other women is so cool, and I think that mom-shaming is super lame.”
Well. I didnt think id be making this video, but i just wanted to say a couple things since im being flooded with articles and comments/messages about this.
Sara Beth had the comments turned off for her video, but with over 25,000 likes, it feels safe to say the message resonated with others. And from the looks of things, it seems like that joke, however hurtful, hasn’t really kept Sara Beth down. Her demo “Last October” just debuted on Spotify, and she is posting a ton of amazing covers over on TikTok. Good for you, mama.
Disclaimer: While all of the products recommended here were chosen independently by our editorial staff, Uproxx may receive payment to direct readers to certain retail vendors who are offering these products for purchase.
Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the internet. After an incredibly slow but strong week, we’re following it up with… another slow week. We’ve got nothing but bad news for sneakerheads, not only is this week another slow one, it’s arguably one of the weakest we’ve had all year with only six notable drops, two of which are wider releases of sneakers we talked about last week.
That means there are only four new shoes in this roundup. Only four, notable, new designs. That’s straight-up sad.
On the bright side, things will get better beginning next week. But not much. We know this isn’t an ideal way to start a “best sneakers of the week list” but we’re just being real with you — save your money for something truly great! But that isn’t to say this week is dominated by duds, it’s not, some of the notable releases this week include the latest MSCHF drop, a Nike collaboration with Fly Streetwear, a new Billie Eilish branded AF-1, and the return of the Big Bubble Air Max, all of which are legitimately dope and worth your time.
Let’s dive into the six best sneaker drops of the week!
Nike SB x Air Jordan 4 Pine Green
Nike
No, you’re not experiencing Deja Vu, this is a drop we highlighted last week, but that was when it was exclusive to Nike-affiliated skate shops across the country. This week it finally got a wide release online, and yeah, we’re going to talk about it again (it’s a slow week!). Featuring a strengthened toe box, flexible plastic detailing, and a heavy tread zonal gum rubber outsole, this Jordan 4 is altered and strengthened to stand up to the abuse of street skating.
It manages to satiate the desires of both skatewear fans and Jordan heads. A meeting of the minds that looks great in the process.
The Nike SB x Air Jordan 4 Pine Green is out now for a retail price of $225. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or your favorite aftermarket site.
NikeNike
MSCHF Super Normal 2 Mint
Hot on the heels of launching what is arguably 2023’s most talked about shoe, MSCHF is back with another sneaker release and this time it looks like they’re playing it shockingly safe. As safe as a sneaker that apes the shape and vibe of a famous Nike silhouette can be!
The Super Normal isn’t a new design for MSCHF, but the AF1-esque silhouette now has a new minty colorway. Featuring a white leather upper with wavy panel designs and mint detailing on the outsole, tongue, collar, and eyestay, the Super Normal 2 shows that pranks aside, MSCHF is really good at making dope shoes.
The MSCHF Super Normal 2 Mint Green is out now for a retail price of $170. Enter a raffle to pick up the shoes at MSCHF or hit up your favorite aftermarket site.
Air Force 1 Low Billie Triple White
Nike
Billie Eilish’s next collaboration with Nike has just dropped and it’s the best one yet! The massive pop star’s collaborations with Nike are quietly some of the best (more people need to get on the Billie train before it’s too late!) and this week she’s tackling the mighty AF-1 in the legendary Triple White colorway. ‘
Featuring a patchwork mosaic upper, cork sockliner, and cross-stitched detailing, Eilish’s AF-1 is equal parts traditional and elevated. Altering what is easily one of the most iconic silhouettes in the sneaker universe isn’t an easy feat, but Eilish nails it.
The Air Force 1 Low Triple White is set to drop on March 23rd at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $130. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.
NikeNike
Action Bronson x New Balance 990v6 MADE in USA Baklava
New Balance
Another sneaker we covered last week, Action Bronson’s first New Balance collaboration, the Baklava, is getting a wide release this week. Featuring a vibrant colorway with pigskin and synthetic overlays, mesh underlays, and a FuelCell cushioned midsole, this 990v6 was apparently inspired by ‘life-giving elements’ like water, earth and electricity, and sports reflective accents, a large bold blue ENCAP midsole, and TPU back tab pieces.
It’s got a lot going on but it manages to capture Action Bronson’s vibe and that’s all we ever want from a collaborative sneaker.
The Action Bronson x New Balance 990v6 MADE in USA Baklava is set to drop on March 24th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $219.99. Pick up a pair via the New Balance webstore.
New BalanceNew Balance
Nike SB Dunk Low x Fly Streetwear Gardenia
Nike
Nike and Fly Streetwear are teaming up for a new SB Dunk that celebrates skate culture and city life. Featuring embroidered bouquet graphics, a tough suede and leather build, and a mix of Game Royal blue and white with key lime accents, the sneaker, dubbed “Gardenia” was inspired by the gardenia flower streets vendors of Shanghai.
The sneaker is dropping alongside a matching apparel collection.
The Nike SB Dunk x Fly Streetwear Gardenia is set to drop on March 25th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $120. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT.
NikeNike
Nike Air Max 1 ’86 Original Big Bubble
Nike
Nike is bringing back the legendary 1986 Big Bubble Nike Air Max 1. Replicated from CT scans, this sneaker recreates the original Air Max 1 design which featured a larger Air unit window — hence the name — in its original grey, white and University Red colorway.
The original pair was limited to 400,000 pairs and was subsequently replaced because Nike engineers found that the large air unit and window led to lots of cracking in colder temperatures, so the design detail was shrunk down giving us the Air Max 1 we all know and love. Does that mean these will one day crack given the right temperature conditions? Nike isn’t saying, but we doubt it.
The Nike Air Max 1 ’86 Original Big Bubble is set to drop on March 26th at 7:00 AM in both Men and Women’s sizing for a retail price of $150. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.
Questlove is one of the most celebrated musicians of the present day. The Grammy Award-winning artist’s latest business venture is the perfect avenue for him to bridge together his wide array of passions. In a new interview with The New York Times, the entertainer (real name Ahmir Khalib Thompson) revealed that he’s launching his own book imprint at MCD Books.
Named in homage to the late Prince, Auwa Books will feature, in his words, “a mix of fiction and nonfiction that ranges from memoirs to books about music history and business.”
The first release slate to be released from the company is funk music icon Sly Stone’s memoir, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) written with Ben Greenman. Next year, Thompson and Greenman will team up for Hip-Hop Is History, an examination of hip-hop’s first 50 years.
When asked about what inspired him to launch the imprint, Thompson said, “With the rapid influx of death happening with Black creators and no one to pass the recipes down, I wanted to bring action to a dire situation.” This was the driving force behind his Oscar Award-winning documentary Summer Of Soul.
He later added, “I’m in a phase of my life where I’m trying to rebuild the world I never had myself as a kid,” he said. “Through this imprint, I’m offering a platform.”
Questlove has already written several books of his own, including Mo’ Meta Blues, Creative Quest, and Music Is History; with a children’s book on the way, there’s no doubt Auwa Books will be a success.
In a new NME interview, the Death Cab For Cutie leader said that he and Jimmy Tamborello tried to make more Postal Service material in 2007, but they found themselves unable to re-capture the lighting in a bottle that spawned their debut album. Gibbard explained that when it comes to the demos from that period, they’re… not great:
“That was put to bed long ago. I was cataloguing some old hard drives and came across some demos from 2007 when Jimmy and I were trying to make some new Postal Service songs. I’m telling you guys: they’re not good! I’m not being hard on myself, they’re just really not good. It just got to a point where it was this unique moment in time and I was young enough to have the hubris to think that I could write two records at the same time. I did so, and I can say, without too much self-aggrandizing, that they were both very successful. It was a unique and odd moment in time that can never be repeated.”
Right now is prime time to find the best fish sandwiches in the fast food game. Between Lent and Easter, most fast food chains will add a fish patty menu item to their lineups, that’s especially true if the fast food joint does a decent fried chicken sandwich. It’s also kind of a golden era for the fried fish sandwich, thanks to the return of Popeyes Classic Flounder Fish Sandwich and the advent of “spicy” everything — you can even get Burger King’s Big Fish with spicy sauce now for instance.
All of this is to say that it’s high time we ranked all of the fried fish sandwiches we could find in the fast food world. And this year there are a lot of them.
I’ve been busy eating since I moved back to the U.S. Generally speaking, whenever I order something at a fast food restaurant, I’ll add a fish sandwich on the side if there’s one on the menu. I don’t know if that habit is a hangover from being raised on the Salish Sea in the Pacific Northwest or if I’m just a sucker who loves fried fish sandwiches in general (probably some combination of the two). Either way, I’m that guy who still gets a McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish every time, even though I’m not sure I even like them anymore. Nostalgia is a hell of a thing.
PART I — Method
Here’s what I look for in a good fried fish sandwich from a fast food joint.
The fried fish filet needs to be legit. No mushiness in the piece of fish, nice flaking, well-seasoned, crunchy breading, and not too greasy.
The tartar sauce needs to be on point (this is where most fried fish sandwiches fall down). Tangy, herbal (dill and marjoram), creamy, and a touch pickle-y (maybe throw a caper or two in there or some dill relish).
A well-toasted bun feels essential (again, this is where a lot of these sandwiches fail). Overall, a little butter, nice crispiness on the edges, and a soft sweetness to the bread are ideal.
Don’t overdo it with the salad or extras. Cheese isn’t always necessary (but not unwelcome either) and wilted lettuce can kill the vibe (so can mushy tomato slices).
Over the last few months, I’ve been able to retry most of the classics while traveling around Kentucky for work and inevitably stopping at various fast food joints for lunch. I also live in a small town that has the holy grail of fast food restaurants within one mile of each other — Wendy’s, Arby’s, Long John Silver’s, Dairy Queen, McDonald’s, and Burger King are all there, alongside Taco Bell, Domino’s, Papa John’s, and so forth.
So below, I’m listing 14 of the best fish sandwiches from the biggest fast food chains. I’ve added some smaller chains like Jack In The Box, Culver’s, and Whataburger as well but kept the super regional stuff off the list. Each of these entries has to be available in more than one or two states and actually carry a fish sandwich (obviously) either year-round or seasonally.
Okay, let’s jump in!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Food Posts From The Last 6 Months
This sandwich is made with a pollock filet that’s breaded in panko and deep-fried right next to the tacos and fries. The construction has tartar sauce on the top and bottom with a handful of shredded lettuce over the fish patty. It’s served on a butter-toasted bun.
Bottom Line:
Whenever I’m back in Washington to visit family, I get my Jack In The Box fix. I know I should just order a Jumbo Jack to relive my college days but I end up with one of these and some tacos every time. I’m not sure why. This is trash.
The tartar sauce is just okay but a little bland — it barely feels like mayo with sad pickle chunks in it. The fish patty is meh. There’s a flake (kind of) but it’s not really seasoned. The lettuce is an abomination.
The Filet-O-Fish is a classic example of a fast food fish sandwich. The combination of the steamed bun, tangy tartar, fried fish filet (Alaskan pollock), and a slice of American cheese just works.
Bottom Line:
If you grew up eating these, then you’ll still order them. If not, this is a hard sell.
The bun is tasteless and chewy. Well, it does have a hint of cardboard to it. The fish filet has a decent crust but tastes of nothing. There is a real, decent flake to the fish though. The only thing that saves this is the tangy tartar sauce. Still, that’s simply not enough these days when fast food joints are adding legitimately spicy sauces to help their sandos really pop.
How To Order:
Add pickle and onion on a sesame seed bun with extra tartar sauce.
The fish is 100% White Alaskan pollock that’s coated in panko bread crumbs. The bun is a butter-toasted brioche. The spicy mayo sauce is applied to the bottom and top bun with a layer of lettuce and pickle on top of the fish filet.
Bottom Line:
Two things kill this sandwich. The fish filet is garbage. It’s not mushy per se but it’s not flaky either, more stringy. Then there’s that f*cking lettuce. It’s always wilted and nasty. This does have a properly spicy sauce on it though, which makes it a little more desirable than the last two but only barely.
How To Order:
Hold the f*cking lettuce and get it on a sesame bun.
The Texan fish sammie has a nice, crispy fish filet (yes, Alaskan pollock). The top bun is covered in mild tartar with lettuce and tomato. The latter adds a nice layer of brightness to the whole fish sandwich concept and helps protect the lettuce from the heat of the filet.
Bottom Line:
I ordered one of these and took it with me to the airport in Austin. Even after a 20-30 minute rest in a bag, the salad held up. Well, the tomato did. I knew to ask them to hold the lettuce. That aside, this has a decent piece of fish that’s thin but feels real with a small flake to it. It’s seasoned well and nicely crispy.
The tartar sauce is pretty bland though and the bun is kind of listless.
How To Order:
Hold the lettuce and tartar. Add pickle and Whataburger’s One-of-a-kind Creamy Pepper Sauce or Spicy Jalapeño Ranch (or both). If you really want to take this to the next level, 86 the bun and have them put it on a biscuit. It’ll be a delightful mess.
Midwest mainstay, Culver’s, has a pretty deep fried fish menu. For this mainstay of the menu, the bun is a small hoagie roll that has real heft to it. The North Atlantic cod is beer-battered and fried well. Then there’s shredded American cheese, shredded lettuce, and plenty of tartar on the bottom bun.
Bottom Line:
I just had one of these and it just didn’t sing as it used to. The saving grace here is the bun and fish. The bun does have a real bready quality with a nice sweetness and hint of tang. The fish was a nice, big morsel with an excellent flake, good batter crispiness, and nice seasoning.
On the other hand, the lettuce was pointless and the shredded cheese was almost offensively bland and plasticky (it clearly comes out of one of those huge bags of shredded cheese). The tartar sauce was pretty bland too, all things considered.
How To Order:
Culver’s is one of those places where you can 100% customize everything. So, go to town with this one. Lose the shredded cheddar and lettuce. Then add a slice of white American cheese and coleslaw. The slaw will live up to the bun and the fish and add a nice and tangy crunch.
This is your typical Alaskan pollack coated in panko breading and deep-fried. The fish sandwich is served with crisp lettuce, tartar, crinkle-cut pickles, and a toasted brioche bun.
Bottom Line:
This is very much in the “fine” category. It’s not exciting or that great but it gets the job done without being overtly offensive in some way. Nothing here is terrible but it’s not great either. The fish patty is fine. The tartar sauce is decent. The pickles and bun are on point. The lettuce is superfluous, sure but besides mediocrity, that’s the only real downside to this sandwich.
How To Order:
Hold the lettuce. Maybe add a slice of American cheese and extra tartar sauce.
This sandwich is made with wild Alaskan pollock as well. The bun is toasted and served with lettuce and a tangy tartar sauce.
Bottom Line:
This isn’t … bad. The lettuce was pretty fresh on the last one I ordered, which was a surprise. The tartar sauce is actually tangy (almost unexpectedly so for an ice cream joint). The bun is mediocre and soft with a lack of any distinguishable flavor. Overall, it’s not terrible and kind of something I go back to every now and then (well, that and DQ’s chili dogs).
How To Order:
This is fine as is. Though you can add some pickle, tomato, and American cheese if you’re into it.
These mini fish sandos are simply done pretty damn well. The mini filet is Alaskan pollock with a panko breading. The rest is just the iconic White Castle slider bun and a small slice of American cheese. That’s it.
Bottom Line:
This is way better than it has any right to be. There’s not even tartar sauce on that little steamed bun!
Look, this is basic but delivers a decent fish patty with a small flake, good seasoning, and a nice crispy outer coating. The cheese moistens it along with the soft bun to create a good textural experience.
We have another panko-breaded pollock filet here. The sandwich is built on a sesame seed Hardee’s bun with a touch of toasting, creamy tartar sauce, and a handful of lettuce on the bottom bun.
Bottom Line:
The fish is the star of this sandwich. It’s a bigger piece that delivers a filling meal. There’s a real flake to it and it’s well-seasoned with a legit crispy coating. The tartar sauce is actually creamy and tangy and the lettuce isn’t terrible.
Overall, this is a pretty good, standard fish sandwich.
How To Order:
The lettuce on the bottom sort of saves this one. Add some pickles and red onions to spice it up.
This big sandwich comes with a large piece of beer-battered Alaskan pollack. It’s served on a small sub roll (or hoagie) that’s lightly coated with tartar sauce and stacked with pickles.
Bottom Line:
If Long John Silver’s tartar sauce wasn’t such hot trash, this would have won. It’s baffling how tasteless and thin their tartar sauce is for a freakin’ fried fish restaurant. It’s kind of maddening.
That said, this is one of the best pieces of fish by far — it’s well-seasoned, crispy, and has a nice flake. The bun is big but tastes like real bread. The pickles have a nice bite to them.
How To Order:
Hold the tartar and add your own (or go to the grocery and get your favorite tartar sauce and bring it with you).
This sandwich uses “premium” flounder that Popeyes marinated in “authentic” Louisiana herbs and spice. The fish is then fried in their signature southern crispy coating before going into the oil. The sandwich is served on Popeyes butter-toasted brioche with their tangy spicy sauce with pickles (exactly like their spicy chicken sandwich).
Bottom Line:
This is so close to great but the fish just whiffs too hard. The flounder just tastes and feels cheap. There’s a tad bit of mushiness at play with light muddiness (which can be a virtue for some). Everything else was on point.
Wendy’s fish sandwich starts with panko-breaded Alaskan pollock. The fried fish patty is put into a classic Wendy’s toasted bun with creamy dill tartar sauce, American cheese, pickles, and lettuce.
Bottom Line:
Every element of this rings true. The fish is perfectly fine (well-seasoned, crispy, flaky) while the bun and pickle shine. The real star of the show is the tartar sauce though. It’s miles better than everything else on this list. It feels like the Wendy’s team actually thought about this component and made something that truly stands out. It’s creamy, herbal, tangy, and feels well-rounded.
How To Order:
I usually have them hold the lettuce and get extra tartar sauce on the bottom bun (or on the side).
This sando starts off with a large panko-breaded pollock filet. The sandwich has two layers of tangy tartar with shredded iceberg lettuce and a toasted sesame seed bun.
Bottom Line:
This seasonal sandwich has a lot of fans out there and it’s easy to see why. You’re getting a large piece of fish on a decent sandwich. The large fish filet is really good and is actually filling. There’s a good flake and seasoning. The tartar sauce is decent with a nice tanginess and pickle bite. The lettuce is actually fine as it’s crispy and adds texture for once. The bun works well and tastes like a classic sesame burger bun.
How To Order:
It’s pretty good as-is. Though get a little Horsey Sauce on the side for dipping if you want to really go wild. The horseradish will help every bite pop.
This is the fish sandwich that gets it. The build has two beer-battered fish filets that are dipped in a spicy batter, building the heat into the fish very nicely. Those two filets are stacked on a toasted bun with a tangy creamy tartar sauce and a handful of iceberg lettuce.
Bottom Line:
This one simply has the best fish and tartar combo of any sandwich on this list. The fish is legitimately spicy and well-seasoned with an excellent large flake that’s still juicy. The beer batter is wonderfully crispy and hot. The tartar is high-quality with a good tanginess. The bun is fine. The lettuce is actually okay too and holds its own thanks to being a thicker iceberg.
How To Order:
Get it straight off the menu. No notes. No hacks. No substitutions.
Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin think nothing of the arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, which accused the Russian president of “the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.” In fact, Putin decided to travel to one of the small slices of Ukraine that Russian troops (and his reportedly jilted private army) have captured. And of course, there appears to be some propaganda involved.
Putin emerged in Mariupol with the intent of putting a happy face on his incredibly deadly invasion that has now lasted over a year. Via Max Fras on Twitter, some purported “residents” awaited Putin and seemed thrilled to see him in the dead of night while a camera crew happened to be lingering nearby. One woman even apparently remarked, “This is our little piece of paradise.”
“This is our little piece of paradise” says the lady at the end
As Business Insider relays, however, one clip includes a woman heckling Putin while yelling, “It’s all lies, it’s all just for show!”
In one video showing Vladimir Putin’s visit to occupied Mariupol, a woman can be heard shouting “It’s all lies, it’s all just for show!” After this, Putin’s security detail can be seen desperately looking around, presumably trying to see where the shouting came from… pic.twitter.com/B3OrEINj98
Business Insider further reports that the clip did emerge within Russian media and made it to airtime, but “[a] new version of the video released later was missing the heckler’s comments.” Not ideal, but it’s on brand. As well, the BBC previously reported that Mariupol’s exiled mayor, Vadym Boychenko, reacted to the visit by branding Putin as a “criminal” who decided to “return to the scene of the crime.” He sure did look satisfied, too.
(WARNING: Spoilers for The Last of Us Season 1 finale below.)
With The Last of Us Season 1 officially over after delivering dynamite ratings for HBO, showrunner Craig Mazin opened up about adapting the first game for TV and nailing the game’s bleak, yet highly memorable ending.
While the season finale stuck very close to the source material by having Joel gun down a hospital full of Fireflies to prevent them from cutting open Ellie’s brain to look for a Cordyceps cure (and more importantly, lying to her about what went down), Mazin revealed that the series almost tweaked Joel and Ellie’s final moments.
The change was really more something that Ali Abbasi, our director, had been playing around with. He had this thought of just playing out this slightly longer, sadder version where Ellie says, ‘okay’, and then she turns and walks away. And Joel looks after her. We see the two of them walking, not really together but apart, down towards Jackson. It lingers and then fades. There was something beautiful about it. Everybody was like ‘what do we do?’
According to Mazin, the creative team began having a “meta-discussion” about how fans of the game, and viewers who aren’t familiar with the source material, will react to the change. Ultimately, they decided not to mess with success by tinkering with the game’s ending.
“In the end, there’s something very specific about ending on that close-up of Ellie,” Mazin explained. “Not knowing what comes next. Not knowing what she does. Does she walk away from him, does she walk with him, how does she feel? That moment gets suspended permanently. As we’re recording this, we haven’t aired it yet and we don’t know what the reception is going to be. I think people will get angry!”
Good news: Everybody loved it. You did it, guys.
The Last of Us Season 1 is available for streaming on HBO Max.
Tuesday night was a particularly difficult one for the Los Angeles Clippers, as they not only dropped a game at home to the Thunder that would’ve tied them with the Suns for fourth in the West, but they also saw star forward Paul George get helped off of the floor after suffering a right knee injury after a collision and awkward landing after a rebound.
Paul George had to be helped to the locker room after this…Prayers.
There was considerable concern about George’s health given how bad it looked when his knee bent backwards and how much pain he was clearly in, as he reportedly left the arena on crutches afterwards. On Wednesday, an MRI was scheduled for George and the Clippers organization and its fans waited with bated breath to find out the severity of the injury. The team brought word in the afternoon that George’s injury was not as severe as initially feared, with an MRI revealing a knee sprain that will be re-evaluated in 2-3 weeks.
The Clippers announce that Paul George will be evaluated in two-to-three weeks, likely ruling him out for the rest of the regular season, after sustaining a sprained right knee Tuesday night.
That likely means the Clippers will have to navigate the remainder of the regular season without George, as two weeks would be April 5, with the regular season ending on April 9. However, this seems to open the door for George to be back for a playoff series, which is obviously a necessity for the Clippers to be a contender in the West for a deep playoff run. George is averaging 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.1 assists on 45.7/37.1/87.1 shooting splits this year.
What George’s injury does do is further narrow the margin for error for the Clippers, as they will now have even more reason to want to avoid the play-in, with George’s status up in the air for the end of the regular season and the dates for the play-in tournament. L.A. is currently one game up on the Warriors for fifth in the West standings and 1.5 games up on the Thunder and Mavs in 7th and 8th, meaning they will need to close strong without their second-star in order to maintain one of those six guaranteed playoff spots, which will buy George a touch more rest before a first round series begins.
On a Wednesday morning, indie-pop band Wednesday has shared a new song from their upcoming album Rat Saw Good. On their latest single, “TV In The Gas Pump,” vocalist Karly Hartzman offers vivid recollections of life on the road, traveling between tour stops, and the interesting places the stumble upon along the way.
“Violently came up / in a Dollar General / You took too much / Jake walked into a Starbucks / TV in the gas pump / blares into the dark,” sings Hartzman over soft, guitar-and-drum-driven instrumental.
With the vivid imagery, Hartzman paints a picture of the places one comes across while touring.
“This is the first song I’ve written about being on the road, and I really just wanted to collect all that imagery you ingest on tour,” said Hartzman said in a statement. “A few images that made it in the song include: the never-ending gas station stops that blend together and the dystopian gas pump advertisements, a stressful experience in a Panera Bread, and a story of coming up from taking what you thought was a microdose of shrooms in a Dollar General.”
In the song’s trippy accompanying video, a Sims-like version of Wednesday is seen playing music along the side of a railroad, hitchhiking, and, as its title suggests, staring at the small screen in a gas pump.
You can listen to “TV In The Gas Pump” above.
Rat Saw God is out 4/7 via Dead Oceans. Find more information here.
The voice may well sound familiar, recalling Andy Samberg’s Nic Cage impression from SNL, but Digman! (which debuts tonight on Comedy Central) is not “The Nic Cage Show” or any kind of unofficial version of that. If you watch the show for more than 2 minutes, it becomes clear. What Digman! is is a kick-ass action-adventure cartoon filled with an enviable voice cast (Samberg, Tim Robinson, Mitra Jouhari, Guz Khan, Melissa Fumero) that channels the vibes of National Treasure and Indiana Jones while telling the story of a down-on-his-luck archeologist with a mammoth personality that’s trying to reclaim his place atop the food chain in a world that reveres archeologists.
Uproxx spoke with co-creators Samberg and Neil Campbell (who worked together on Brooklyn Nine-Nine) recently to discuss that voice, those inspirations, and a barrage of board games and animation staples that also influenced a show that also finds laughs in randomness, weirdness, and a little darkness. Bottom line, both Samberg and Campbell are having a lot of fun walking the line between satire and reverence for the genre, sending their characters through the streets of Venice, shouting catchphrases, dropping beautiful Hudson Hawk references (as if there were any other kind), and dealing with the sudden realization that neck snaps have consequences. Here’s Samberg and Campbell on all that and more.
So how did Digman! come to be?
Andy Samberg: Neil and I worked together a bunch of times, but most recently before this on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He was a writer on the show. We would hang out on set for hours and hours while shooting, and kept talking about how we wanted to do something together and create something together. We both agreed that doing an adult animation show would be perfect for us because we really wanted to do something that was super joke heavy.
We will be saying this a lot because it really is the truth, but the root thought behind this was wanting to make something where we never had to cut jokes we loved. Not that we don’t love Brooklyn Nine-Nine, I’m super proud of it and I know he is too, but when you are on a network and it’s that kind of a show, there are definitely jokes you come up with where you’re like, “Well, we can’t do that, obviously,” and that’s the correct answer. But we were like, “It would be nice to work on something where we never have to say that.” So we basically came up with this idea in hopes of actually staying true to that promise.
Are there any specific animated shows from the past that you guys pulled from as inspiration?
Samberg: I could tell you some of my favorites. Certainly, The Simpsons and South Park are the bar. I think everyone agrees, not just because of the longevity, but because they are so dedicated to jokes and comedy. For me, they are part of my comedic foundation and my language. Certainly the quality of the adventure aspects of Rick and Morty and Futurama, things like that, definitely came into play where that is what we would aspire to, shows that take care and do a great job with those elements and make you engaged not just on a comedic level.
Neil Campbell: Yeah, and I think The Simpsons and South Park, in some sense, are basically what helped shaped my sense of humor. Rick and Morty and Futurama are comedy touchstones. We love them, and then I think there’s lots of cool stuff out there that you go, “Oh, it would be cool if we did a sequence that’s like this thing, and this one moment in Neon Genesis Evangelion, or something, or in FLCL, or whatever. One-Punch Man, and other things we love. But I don’t know that we were like… I don’t know if I could point to one moment, as much as it’s just things in our brain that love and aspire to, that people enjoy the show as much as we enjoyed those shows.
Samberg: (With) our love of the genre, the live-action action-adventure genre, and specifically in the world of archeology, or your National Treasures… We were really hoping to give this a cinematic feel, and part of that is the animation, and the design of it, but another part of it is the score.
Yeah, the music is great.
Samberg: Oh, good. I’m glad you like it. It’s my buddy Cornbread, who has done a lot of Lonely Island stuff, and he kills it. We were like, “Go full John Williams,” go full all the stuff that we are paying homage to. That’s the energy we want, and I feel like he has been delivering it at such a high level. The music feels big and orchestral and bombastic.
How do you land on the, I guess, the character quirks, but also specifically his voice, which is familiar, maybe reminiscent of someone…
Samberg: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
I don’t know, it’s sort of close (to Nic Cage). How did that happen? Do you run that by anybody?
Samberg: I will be totally honest. I did Cage on SNL, obviously. It was one of my favorite impressions. It was easily my favorite impression that I did. It was something that was assigned to me, and then it developed into something totally else. I wrote it almost every time with my buddy Rob Klein, and Cage came on the show and did it with me, and it was the best moment of my life. Certainly one of the greatest moments at SNL for me. It was so fun, he was so rad. He correctly pointed out, and we put it into the actual Weekend Update feature, that what I was doing was not actually an impression of him, it was actually a psychotic character that we had written and come up with. So I didn’t want to stop doing it. I loved that character. So we were like, “Well, how can we take this and not have it be we’re just doing The Nic Cage Show, because that is A) illegal, and B) not really something that I was interested in doing. I feel like when he came on and did it with me, that was like, okay, so this has run its course and it’s the most perfect ending you could imagine for it. So that helped us set the stage for the world we would do it in.
The beautiful thing about Digman!, I feel, is that we actually pivoted so hard into creating this whole universe where archeologists are the celebrities, and using that as a jumping-off point. It started as a joke of us talking about how all the movies we loved that have archeologists in them, like Indiana Jones, where everyone is like, “Yeah, an archeologist is a swashbuckling adventurer, who will run away from boulders.” And you’re like, “Yeah, I don’t know any archeologists in real life that do that, but this is pretty fun to watch.” So we were laughing, talking about that, and how that was fed to us, and took it and ran, and it became its own thing.
Do you worry about any kind of Nicolas Cage blowback from the familiarity of the voice?
Campbell: Every night.
Samberg: I certainly hope not. I feel like he’s got bigger fish to fry, honestly. The other thing I will say is this, there are definitely elements of the voice, but as we kept making the show, Rip started becoming something else, I think.
I would agree with that. In the second episode, I was thinking that actually. Not that it’s not still familiar, but it is definitely its own character. It’s not just Nic Cage from National Treasure.
Samberg: Yes, exactly, and we are not making any kind of Nic Cage jokes like the way we were on Update, where it was about the movies he had made, or about his tabloid stuff, or anything like that. So I think the longer we go with it, the less it even feels that way, which I’m really glad of, because, again, it’s not (him). I like that people are recognizing that there is a similarity in the voice, but I also don’t want it to be like, “We’re doing an unofficial show,” do you know what I mean? That was never the intention. It was more like, “Let’s make an adventure show.”
I think the show does a good job of walking the line of making sure you poke fun at some of the conventions of the live-action genre but doing it in a loving way. But I’m guessing that’s a part of it, is making sure that it still feels like it has a place in that genre.
Campbell: Yeah, I think a big thing for us was we love that sense of wonder, and that the world is full of mysteries and secrets and adventures, and stuff that’s part of that genre, like the Indiana Jones movies. But it’s also what Legend of Zelda feels like, and stuff like that, and I think there’s something that we really respond to and love about that kind of thing. What’s that old board game? Fireball Island! Stuff like that, where the world has traps, gangsters, treasures, and mysteries, and we got to find them. We were like, “Oh, well, we could write about some buffoons in a world like that.” And that felt like a lot of fun to us.
Samberg: Pitfall and Jungle Hunt, I would say, are our main two touchstones.
Board games that took an hour to set up.
Campbell: You pray it actually works, that you set them up right.
Samberg: Like Crossbows and Catapults. Did you ever play that? Oh my god, it was the best. You set up huge castles on either side of the room, and then you shoot either a crossbow or a catapult and try and break each other’s castles and get the flag to fall down, basically. Anyway, it was one of my favorite games. But it was a similar thing where it took forever to set up, and then you break it.
Who can I thank for the Hudson Hawk reference in episode two?
Campbell: I think it was you, Andy.
Samberg: Was it me? I feel like I said it, and you were like, “I was about to say Hudson Hawk.”
Endless praise for anybody who remembers that lovely film. I have the novelization of Hudson Hawk somewhere in here, the actual book.
Samberg: We have to reference the novelization of Hudson Hawk.
Campbell: We’ve got to get someone to do a novelization of the show.
It’s one of my all-time favorite things, and I talked to Jon Hamm for Confess, Fletch and asked him about it, so I have to ask you. Sergio on SNL. Is there any chance ever that there will ever be another shred of film of Sergio in this world? SNL50 is only a couple of years away.
Samberg: I can’t imagine if they ask us back for the 50th that Lorne will want anything but Sergio.
That’s the hope.
Samberg: I will say this, we did put Sergio in our 100th digital short. We did bring him back. He is near and dear to my heart. That one was funny because the first draft of that that I wrote was way too long.
Impossible.
Samberg: There is so much lore to it. There’s a Gremlins structure, throwing the curse or whatever. It’s almost like a shitty parable or something. But yeah, the last shot of Sergio, that last scene, was the thing that I really am the proudest of.
The first episode of ‘Digman!’ premieres tonight on Comedy Central at 10:30PM ET
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