Category: Viral

Last week, John Mayer started teasing something called Sob Rock. He asked, “What is Sob Rock” and shared a handful of different answers to that questions, with modern images filling in the blank of the sentence, “Sob Rock is [blank] rock.” Now, we know what Sob Rock is: It’s a new album that’s set for release on July 16 via Columbia.

Mayer shared the news today by posting the retro-styled cover art on social media. Ahead of that reveal, he shared a mock-up of a vintage-looking magazine cover that reveals Mayer will share music and “details” (presumably about the upcoming album) this Friday, June 4. Furthermore, Mayer’s new sobrock.net website includes links to pre-save the album and reads simply, “It’s time to love an album again.”

Sob Rock is set to be Mayer’s eighth album overall and his first since 2017’s The Search For Everything. Mayer has released some singles in the years since that album, and it’s not yet clear if any of the three — the Platinum-certified “New Light,” “I Guess I Just Feel Like,” and “Carry Me Away” — will be included on the release.

Aside from the album, Mayer has been busy lately, as he has reportedly been in talks to host his own talk show.

Sob Rock is out 7/16 via Columbia. Pre-order it here.

The first two games of the Hawks-Knicks series were close fought battles that saw each team pick up a win in New York, but when the series shifted to Atlanta, things turned dramatically in favor of the Hawks. Back home, Atlanta won both games at State Farm Arena to take a 3-1 lead back to New York, winning the two games by a combined 28 points to take firm control of the series.

In those games, the Knicks’ offensive issues have continued to stand out, as their All-Star Julius Randle has struggled mightily from the field and the lone continuous bright spot has been the play of Derrick Rose, but that simply hasn’t been enough to keep pace with a Hawks team finding its stride. New York’s frustration is also starting to show in the form of some chippy play, most notably a shove Julius Randle gave Danilo Gallinari in Game 4.

On Tuesday, the Hawks met with the media after shootaround and Clint Capela was asked about the Knicks getting physical and trying to get the Hawks off of their game, and responded that Atlanta is embracing that type of play and is more than prepared to give it back to them — while making sure to note they can do so and get wins in the process.

“They are trying to play tough, push our guys around and talk sh*t,” Capela said. “But we can do that too. We showed them as soon as we came back here that we can do that too. We can push guys around too. We can talk sh*t as well, so what you gonna do about it? Oh, and we can get a win with it. So what you gonna do about it? Game 4, you’re coming back again, well it’s going to happen again. We win the game, we talk sh*t, and we push around. So what you gonna do about it? That’s what happened. We can do it too. We can be physical, but we can win games as well. Now we’re coming to your home to win this game again, and send you on vacation.”

On the other side, Randle and Rose shrugged off questions about Capela taking issue with his play in Game 4.

It adds yet another layer to a series that has already been feisty from the start when Trae Young heard it from the MSG crowd and gave it right back after hitting the game-winning shot in Game 1. Game 5 on Wednesday night in New York will surely have more tension and drama — although hopefully no more fan incidents — as the Knicks are desperate for a win to stay in the series while, as Capela says, the Hawks are looking forward to sending the Knicks on vacation.

Earlier today, the official Battlefield Twitter account announced plans to reveal the newest entry in the Battlefield series next week. The big reveal is set to begin June 9 at 7 AM PT, and will formally announce the sixth mainline game in developer DICE’s popular wartime saga — which could simply be called Battlefield based on the assets we’ve seen so far. The game is scheduled for release this holiday season on both Sony and Xbox’s next-generation consoles and PC.

This announcement comes days after Eurogamer first reported on some leaked Battlefield 6 footage making it’s way on to Reddit. Based on the footage shown, it appears the next entry in the Battlefield series might just be set in either modern times or the not-so-distant future, something the series hasn’t done since 2013. This shift in perspective is big news for Battlefield, and could be a very welcome change after Battlefield V‘s fairly stale take on the series.

EA itself teased Battlefield 6 in a blog post shared earlier this year, which stated the upcoming game has the “biggest team ever on a Battlefield game” and takes “everything we love about Battlefield . . . to the next level.” According to the post, this means we can expect “Epic scale. All-out military warfare. Crazy, unexpected moments. Game-changing destruction,” and “massive battles, packed with more players and mayhem than ever before.”

Get excited!

The chances to actually get on a plane and go to some parts of Europe this summer are increasing rapidly. Yesterday, the European Union set a deadline for its 27 members to “relax” travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travelers. The crux of this is based on all 27 member states adopting and implementing a digital COVID passport app by the first of July.

The EU is recommending that a fully vaccinated person (two weeks out from their final dose) should be able to travel to and around EU countries without restrictions. EU president Ursula von der Leyen tweeted that “Europeans should enjoy a safe and relaxing summer. As vaccination progresses, we propose to gradually ease travel measures in a coordinated way with our common tool: the EU digital covid certificate.”

The idea behind the EU implementing “the EU digital certificate” would be the freedom to travel between EU’s 27 countries without having to quarantine. In theory, that would also make it possible for you to go to, say, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Cologne without having to fill in COVID forms at the Belgian, Dutch, and German borders. Instead, you’ll have an app or printed piece of paper with a QR code that’ll have your vaccine dose and dates (and/or PCR test) information already uploaded.

This comes after countries like Spain, Greece, and Iceland opened their borders to fully vaccinated travelers. And that’s where it’s worth adding one caveat. Each EU country can do what they want when it comes to opening and closing their borders, implementing internal lockdowns, quarantines for arrivals, and so forth. Case in point, France and Germany have just restricted most travel from the U.K. due to serious concerns gripping the continent over the Indian variant of the disease spreading like wildfire this summer. At the same time, both Spain and Portugal announced they would allow all travelers from the U.K. to arrive even without a test, much less a vaccine. That means if things go badly in Spain and Portugal, places like France and Germany could close their borders to them, etc.

All of this is to say, that there’s never going to be a magic bullet that “reopens” the 27 countries in the European Union, much less the whole continent. But today’s news certain indicates travel will be less restricted by July 1 than previously expected.

Following up on his standout 2020 debut album Live Forever, Bartees Strange has shared a comforting visual to his gleaming track “Flagey God.” The black-and-white video not only highlights the thumping tune, but it also announces his anticipated 2021 tour.

Directed by Drew Horen and Lauren H. Adams, the “Flagey God” video evokes the disorienting energy of the club’s dance floor and depicts the musician soul-searching various locations. In a statement about the song, Bartees Strange says, “In my spare time, I make beats all the time. It’s honestly more fun than writing with guitars sometimes. ‘Flagey God’ came from a really natural and comfortable place for me musically, despite its moodiness thematically.”

The musician adds that he wrote “Flagey God” after feeling comfortably anonymous in Flagey Square, Brussles: “No one knew me there. I was super lost in my life at the time and confused about what to do next, but in Flagey, I felt like I was capable of anything… A Flagey God.”

Watch Bartees Stranges’ “Flagey God” video above and find his US and European 2021 tour dates below.

09/11 — Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Festival
09/24 — Flushing, NY @ Governors Ball
09/30 — Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre *
10/01 — Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom *
10/02 — Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre *
10/05 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Urban Lounge *
10/06 — Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre *
10/08 — Iowa City, IA @ Englert Theatre *
10/09 — Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
10/12 — Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall *
10/14 — Toronto, ON @ The Opera House *
10/15 — Montreal, QC @ L’Asataral *
10/16 — Boston, MA @ House Of Blues *
10/18 — South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground *
10/22 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club *
10/29 — San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands
11/03 — Reykjavik, Iceland @ Iceland Airwaves
11/07 — Munich, Germany @ Milla Club
11/08 — Berlin, Germany @ Badehaus
11/10 — Koln, Germany @ Helios 37
11/12 — Cardiff, UK @ Club Ifor Bach
11/13 — Glasgow, UK @ The Hug and Pint
11/14 — Manchester, UK @ YES
11/16 — Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Community Room
11/17 — London, UK @ Powerhaus
11/21 — Brussels, Belgum @ Witloof Bar
11/22 — Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso Up

* with Lucy Dacus

Live Forever is out now via Memory Music. Get it here.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have just met their greatest foe yet: taxes. According to a report from The New York Times, Viacom, which owns the rights to the Turtles along with Transformers and a slew of other intellectual property, is under intense scrutiny after a Dutch non-profit alleged that the media conglomerate has been going to great lengths to avoiding paying the U.S. government billions in taxes by using a convoluted loophole where it attributed revenue from the blockbuster franchises to foreign entities.

As the Times explains, a former Viacom employee sued for “retaliatory firing” after she objected to the practice in 2016, but both parties eventually settled and sealed the terms of the agreement. However, details of the lawsuit have now been made public, which paints a picture of the alleged tax scheme:

In the suit, the executive accused Viacom of “hatching a plan to attribute” the revenue from the popular franchise “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” to the Netherlands for tax advantages. While the rights to the franchise are owned by a Dutch entity, “all of the business concerning those rights took place in New York,” the suit read. “The sole purpose of transferring the licensing rights to the Netherlands company was to avoid the U.S. tax burden,” the suit added.

The study noted that Viacom transferred its intellectual property rights to a subsidiary in Britain in 2015 while keeping the Dutch entities (operating as a subbranch of the British unit) as the jumping-off point for selling foreign rights.

The transfer — essentially a sale from one Viacom subsidiary to another — created a tax benefit, the study said. The transaction was worth $1.8 billion, according to company records cited by the study, a sum it can amortize over many years.

We’re guessing Leo, Mikey, Don, and Raph would never willingly take part in such a scheme that fails to live up to the values and principles of the cowabunga lifestyle.

(Via The New York Times)

Every year, Heaven Hill releases three versions of their Larceny Barrel Proof bourbon whiskey. These whiskey drops have become some of the most awarded and beloved wheated bourbon releases of the year. Larceny is also a wheated bourbon that you can actually afford for day-to-day sipping and mixing — a hell of a perk in an industry where hype can cause prices to skyrocket.

Today, we’re reviewing the latest edition of Larceny’s Barrel Proof, labeled B521. That’s the “b” or second release of the year that was bottled in May (“5”) of 2021.

You should be able to find this release on shelves very soon, but you might only be able to find them in Kentucky at close to the MSRP. These are limited releases of a very popular whiskey. Prices will inch up the further away from the Ohio Valley you get.

Larceny Barrel Proof B521

ABV: 60.5%

Average Price: $50 MSRP, $70 retail

The Whiskey:

These barrel blends from Heaven Hill are meant to highlight the precise quality of the distillery’s prowess from grain to bottle. This small batch of wheated bourbon is derived from barrels between six and eight years old. The juice then goes right into the bottle with no cutting or filtering, allowing the masterful craft to shine through in every sip.

Tasting Notes:

This has a mellow nose that ebbs and flows between soft maple syrup cut with cinnamon sticks, a light touch of brioche, new leather gloves, and bruised apples. It offers a warm rollercoaster ride through figgy puddings touched with burnt sugars, dried fruits and nuts, holiday spices, and a brandy butter silkiness. The taste has a hint of almond or walnut shell on the end that marries to a dry mouthfeel, vanilla, and a touch of tobacco chewiness.

The warmth lingers pretty long but never overpowers and almost becomes halfway between fizzy and buzzing as it fades, leaving you with a woody, bourbon vibe and a very late wet straw note.

The Bottle:

These Larceny bottles are pretty straightforward. They’re sort of shaped like a glass lock with a keyhole label. It’s a unique bottle for sure and a great name, but not a bespoke decanter or anything like that.

Bottom Line:

I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. The ABVs are definitely there but feel less intrusive than the Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. It’s a full-fledged bourbon experience from the nose to the long finish that’s definitely worth checking out this year.

Rating:

90/100 — this is a really solid barrel proof that’s very sippable (even neat) and definitely affordable.

Dwayne Johnson is a very large man. But the football player who became a wrestler who became a king of scorpions who became one of the most bankable movie stars in the world is only getting larger. Or at least his tree-trunk legs are.

In an Instagram post about his training process for Black Adam, Johnson wrote, “Late night training. Big week for #BlackAdam shooting my ‘champion’ scenes with my shirt off and showing my body. Been working extremely hard dieting, training and conditioning unlike any other role of my entire career.” He then explained how he’s getting in shape for the DC superhero movie.

Manipulating water, sodium, cardio but also having to push and pull real iron to have dense, dry, detailed muscle. It’s a real science that takes months and months to dial it all in with my strength & conditioning coach @daverienzi who keeps a very watchful eye, constantly fine tuning our strategy daily.

The Rock can be seen wearing his Iron Paradise shirt (the name of his gym) in the workout photo below; there’s also a ubiquitous American flag in the background and Brahma Bull hat on his head. The bull started as a tattoo, but it’s become “a symbol of strength, resilience, heart, power, and defiance to so many people around the world,” he once wrote. If you think that’s maybe overstating a tattoo’s influence, try telling that to this guy.

(Via Instagram/The Rock)

It seems like BTS is always making some sort of history. In fact, their latest single, “Butter,” just broke a handful of Guinness World Records a few days ago. Now that this week’s Billboard Hot 100 chart is out (after a one-day delay thanks to Memorial Day), BTS have further cemented themselves in music history. On the chart dated June 5, “Butter” debuts at No. 1, meaning the single is now their whopping fourth No. 1 song in just the past nine months. In fact, “Butter” topping the chart comes exactly nine months after their first No. 1 single, “Dynamite,” did on the chart dated September 5, 2020.

With “Butter,” BTS has achieved the quickest journey to four No. 1 singles among groups since the Jackson 5 in 1970. Furthermore, BTS is now just one of a handful of artists to achieve their first four No. 1 singles in under a year. The list they join includes The Beatles, The Supremes, Justin Timberlake, the Jackson 5, Mariah Carey, and Paula Abdul.

BTS isn’t the only artist making waves on this week’s Hot 100, though: Rodrigo has three songs in the top 10, with “Good 4 U” at No. 2, “Deja Vu” at No. 3, and “Traitor” at No. 9. This makes Rodrigo the first artist ever to have three songs from a debut album concurrently in the top 10.

Now here’s something you don’t see every day.

On Memorial Day, security footage caught an incredible encounter between a mama bear with her two cubs and a human mama bear with her four dogs. Don’t try this at home, kids.

Surveillance video shows Hailey Morinico, 17, intervening when a brown bear began swatting at the family’s four dogs from atop a brick wall in the yard of their Bradbury, California home. The video, which was shared on TikTok by Hailey’s cousin (@bakedlikepie) with music for effect, has been viewed more than 47 million times on TikTok alone, in addition to going viral on Twitter.

And if you want to see the raw footage without the hilarious “Oh No” music:

Hailey explained in follow-up video that her family lives in a mountainous area and that bears wandering into their yard isn’t a rare occurrence, especially in the summer. However, the shoving of the bear off the wall was unusual.

At first, when Hailey heard the dogs barking, she thought they were barking at another dog or a squirrel or something. When she went out to the yard to tell them to stop, she saw the bear leaning over the wall trying to pick up the youngest of the family’s four dogs. Hailey said that her first instinct was to push the bear, which is exactly what she did.

It’s common knowledge that you don’t mess with a mama bear, and it’s unclear whether Hailey noticed the two cubs that were on the wall just before the confrontation. She is fortunate that she was not attacked by the bear herself. She said she didn’t have to push it very hard to make it lose its balance, perhaps because she took it by surprise while it was distracted by the dogs.

Hailey ended up with a sprained finger and a scraped knee, but she and the dogs are both fine following the incident.

“My daughter is a hero,” Hailey’s mother Citlally told McClatchy News. “My daughter literally made eye contact with death and pushed it off a ledge.”

This is one of those stories that no one would believe if it hadn’t been caught on film. “She ran up and shoved the mama bear right off the wall!” Yeah, right. Oh, you mean she literally did exactly that? Okay then.

Lessons learned: Humans, don’t mess with mama bears. And bears, don’t mess around with Hailey.