Category: Worldwide

There’s never really a bad time to discuss the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls, one of the most captivating teams in NBA history. That’s been magnified lately due to ESPN’s upcoming 10-part documentary series The Last Dance, which takes a deep dive into that team thanks to interviews and hours upon hours of footage. Add in that the network moved its release up amid high demand from basketball fans during the COVID-19 pandemic and that Bulls squad has been a major topic of conversation recently.

Ahead of the documentary’s debut on Sunday evening, Michael Jordan sat down with Robin Roberts of Good Morning America for a rare interview. At one point, Roberts asked Jordan what he remembered most about that season, with Hall of Fame inductee looking back on how difficult it was going through the campaign.

“Well, it was a trying year,” Jordan said. “We all were trying to enjoy that year knowing that it was coming to an end. I was hoping that … the beginning of the season, it basically started when Jerry Krause told Phil that he could go 82-0 and he would never get the chance to come back, and knowing that I married myself to him, obviously, if he wasn’t gonna be a coach, then obviously I wasn’t gonna play. So, Phil started off the year by saying, ‘This is the last dance,’ and we played it that way.”

M.J. went on to express that going through such a mentally taxing year was hard, but did make it clear that playing under those expectations helped them in their championship pursuit.

“It also centered our focus to making sure we end it right,” Jordan said. “As sad as it sounds at the beginning of the year, we tried to rejoice and enjoy the year, and finish it off the right way.”

Of course, that Bulls team did end things on the highest of notes, taking down the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals before Jackson departed and Jordan retired for the second time. Plenty has been written and said about that team, and starting on Sunday, The Last Dance promises to give an unprecedented look into Jordan and co., even if it doesn’t necessarily portray His Airness in the most positive of lights. Its director, Jason Hehir, recalled a conversation he had with Jordan regarding his skepticism about the documentary in a piece by Richard Deitsch of The Athletic.

“I said to him, ‘why do you want to do this?’ And he said, ‘I don’t.’ And I said, ‘Why not?’ And he said, ‘When people see this footage I’m not sure they’re going to be able to understand why I was so intense, why I did the things I did, why I acted the way I acted, and why I said the things I said.’ He said there was a guy named Scotty Burrell who he rode for the entire season and, ‘When you see the footage of it, you’re going to think that I’m a horrible guy. But you have to realize that the reason why I was treating him like that is because I needed him to be tough in the playoffs and we’re facing the Indiana’s and Miami’s and New York’s in the Eastern Conference. He needed to be tough and I needed to know that I could count on him. And those are the kind of things where people see me acting the way I acted in practice, they’re not going to understand it.’ I said to him, ‘That’s great because this is an opportunity. We have 10 hours here to peel back the onion and have you articulate all the things you just articulated to me.’

Part 1 of The Last Dance airs this Sunday at 9 p.m. EST on ESPN. The second chapter of the series will air immediately following. You can check out the entire broadcast schedule for the series right here.

Joji is ushering in a new era. Following his acclaimed debut record Ballads 1, Joji announced his sophomore album Nectar. To celebrate the upcoming album, Joji released the dreamy single “Gimme Love” along with a captivating, narrative video.

The accompanying visual was directed by Joji himself and Andrew Donoho, who has worked with the likes of Khalid, Janelle Monaé, and The Strokes. Touting Joji as a mad astrophysicist, the fast-paced video chronicles the singer’s tumultuous rise to an astronaut. While he begins with lots of ambition, Joji’s vision eventually goes haywire as he frantically throws items around the lab and someone loses a hand in the process. But that doesn’t stop Joji, who has gone insane from his ambition. Eventually, he makes his dreams come true. Joji locks up the other astronauts, rushes to the rocket, and flips off the control center before launching himself in the air.

The visual mirrors the tempo of the single. Beginning with a frantic tempo that was produced by Joji himself, the video cuts between scenes in unison. Halfway through the track, the tempo drops and expansive synths build toward an orchestral crescendo, offered by Joji’s collaborator Bekon & The Donuts.

Watch Joji’s cinematic ‘Gimme Love’ video above.

Nectar is out 7/10 via 88rising. Pre-order it here.

While artists like Lady Gaga delay the releases of their albums amid the pandemic, Laura Marling was one of the few musicians who opted for the opposite. Originally slated for a summer release, Marling pushed her album, Song For Our Daughter, to April. Celebrating the record’s early release, Marling grabbed her acoustic guitar and performed three tracks for NPR’s At-Home Tiny Desk concert series.

Opening with her album’s lead single, Marling begins crooning the lyrics to her gentle ballad “Held Down.” Next, the singer picks up the pace to strum along to “Strange Girl.” Marling ends her three-track set with a rendition of her record’s title track. “Do you remember what I said? / The book I left by your bed / The words that some survivor read,” Marling swoons.

In a statement ahead of her album’s release, Marling poetically detailed its theme:

“I’d like for you, perhaps, to hear a strange story about the fragmentary, nonsensical experience of trauma and enduring quest to understand what it is to be a woman in this society. When I listen back to it now, it makes more sense to me than when I wrote it. My writing, as ever, was months, years, in front of my conscious mind. It was there all along, guiding me gently through the chaos of living. And that, in itself, describes the sentiment of the album — how would I guide my daughter, arm her and prepare her for life and all of its nuance?”

Watch Marling’s Tiny Desk concert above.

Song For Our Daughter is out now via Partisan/Chrysalis. Get it here.

Along with the tragedy and uncertainty that a pandemic brings, some bizarrely delightful stories keep emerging.

Indiana’s 14 First Alert Chief Meteorologist Jeff Lyons set up a green screen in his living room and has been giving weather forecasts from home during the lockdown. And though he usually broadcasts alone, he’s gotten a new partner to share the weather with—his cat, Betty.

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Betty made her debut last week when she wanted some attention during a weather broadcast. Lyons picked up the fluffy feline and cradled her in his arms while he talked about the weather. The response was so great, the station shared a little behind-the-scenes green screen fun with Betty and the clip that ended up airing on television.

Sometimes Betty just hangs out watching her human do his professional human thing.

However, like all cats, Betty doesn’t like to perform when requested. (Like how they only want to sit on your lap when you’re trying to work. Cats gonna be cats.)

People are loving Betty’s cameos in Lyons’ from-home forecasts, though. Viewers have even been sharing photos of their own cats on Lyons’ Facebook page, and fans have begun tuning in from around the world to see Betty being Betty.

Pets have become even more beloved companions as everyone’s lives during the pandemic, as people find themselves spending more time at home and less time with other living, breathing beings. At this point, anything sentient that we’re allowed to get close to feels like a best friend.

Thanks for bringing an extra measure of joy to people right now, Betty, and enjoy your newfound fame. (We’d warn you not to let it go to your head, but you’re a cat—the diva is already built in.)

“Air Drake” has joined the fight against the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Drake is offering fans flights on his private jet as part of Michael Rubin‘s #AllInChallenge circulating on social media among various celebrities. After being nominated by NFL star Tom Brady, Drake posted a video to Instagram explaining how he wants to help raise money.

After joking that he would give away Brady’s house and car, he said, “Whoever wins, you’ll get the chance to fly on Air Drake. I’ll have the OVO package waiting for you on the plane, the Nike Air package waiting on the plane, fly you to LA, where you’ll get to come and party with us at one of our private parties at Delilah, we’ll have a great time.” He then sweetened the deal by throwing in a pair of tickets to a show in the winner’s city whenever it’s possible to tour again.

Drake’s baseline for entry is a $10 donation to AllInChallenge.com, where donors can see all of the available auctions from celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres, Kevin Hart, Justin Bieber, Mark Cuban, Magic Johnson, and more.

Drake’s getting the most out of his 767 Boeing private plane, which he was reportedly given for free by Cargojet as a promotional gimmick. By putting up the flight for auction, he’s contributing to a good cause — although there are many who would argue that these millionaire entertainers could just as easily donate way more money directly than they could fundraise from their fans’ pockets, plenty of stars are doing just that, as well. Anyway, you can enter the contest here.

As the pandemic rolls on, restaurants are closed and a lot of people are home for most of the day. Consequently, some folks are doing more cooking than ever, with mixed results. Lizzo, for example, had a kitchen mishap during a recent Instagram Live session.

Lizzo took to Instagram to chat with her fans for bit yesterday, offering some insight about what she’s been up to, saying of her upcoming music, “I’ve been working on sh*t in my studio with people, and I have songs, I’m really excited about them. Any maybe when they get a little bit more finished, I’ll play them for you hoes. I might give you little snippets, because I know every artist…” At this point, she had a sudden and urgent realization, as she stopped mid-sentence and exclaimed, “Oh my god, my f*ckin’ pizza nuggets! F*ck, sh*t. My f*cking pizza nuggets, bro. Oh sh*t, I left them in the f*cking oven. F*ck!”

In some follow-up videos posted on her Instagram Story, she detailed how that situation ended up, saying, “Sh*t was burnt, but you know what I’m saying, I’ll just put a little bit of barbecue sauce on ’em.” “Pizza nuggets” may not be a household name sort of food, but Tyson introduced pizza-flavored chicken nuggets last year, so perhaps that’s what Lizzo was having.

While Lizzo’s culinary endeavors may not be going so well, at least she’s feeling creatively inspired.

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

There are only six blockbuster movies still left on the schedule between now and Labor Day: Tenet (Christopher Nolan is going to pull a Newsroom at the first person who suggests the film comes out on VOD), Mulan, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, Wonder Woman 1984, Bill & Ted Face the Music (which barely counts as a “blockbuster,” but let me have this), and A Quiet Place Part II, already on its second release date. No wonder the internet went nutso over the first looks at Denis Villeneuve’s Dune. We’re starved for content (it’s our “the spice”) — and thirsty for the film’s cast, including Timothée “Timmy” Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, and, most importantly, Oscar Isaac. Most importantly for me, at least.

I mean.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say: Oscar Isaac, handsome man. Which makes it all the more baffling that he’s virtually unrecognizable in X-Men: Apocalypse, which might as well have been called X-Men: Anonymous for much I remember about it. I saw it opening night, and bits and pieces of it on cable afterwards, but four years later, the only thing I can recall about the movie is: why would you do THIS to Oscar Isaac?

It’s a classic example of hiring a famous hot person to play a role that could have been done by anyone, because you don’t see beneath the makeup and CGI. You’re paying for the goods, but not showing us them. (“The goods,” in this case, is Oscar Isaac’s beard.) I, an extremely shallow not-hot person, would have gladly played Apocalypse in an X-Men movie. Not for scale, though. I have too much pride for that. At least $2 million. Anyway, seeing all the Dune love led me to wonder if Oscar Isaac as Apocalypse is the most egregious example of a hot person being unrecognizable in a (recent) movie.

For this highly scientific exercise, I’m excluding any Hot People playing real-life figures (i.e. no Charlize Theron in Monster, Margot Robbie in Mary Queen of Scots, etc.) or animated movies, obviously, and mo-cap performances; also, they have to be actually unrecognizable. Michael Keaton — hot in the ’80s, still hot in the ’20s — is the pale-faced Ghost with the Most in Beetlejuice, but he’s still unmistakably Michael Keaton (that sounds meaner than I meant it to). Let’s go through some of the other possibilities.

Keri Russell in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

You: The Rise of Skywalker is a mediocre movie because of its pacing problems and silly plot twist and unearned emotional climax.

Me: The Rise of Skywalker is a mediocre movie because Keri Russell wears a helmet the entire time. While I’m happy that Russell got paid to be in a Star Wars movie, and she’s a talented physical actress with a pleasant voice, J.J. Abrams of all people should know better than to conceal her very famous hair. Rian Johnson would never.

Tom Hardy in The Dark Knight Rises / many movies

This piece might as well be dedicated to Tom Hardy, who apparently hates his face as much as we love it. As the Ringer wrote in 2018, “For whatever reason—a deep insecurity or just a pure love of characters in masks—Hardy’s upward trend toward full facial obscurity seems destined to continue. We can safely expect Tom Hardy to keep covering his face like he’s got a hickey or a hangover to hide, well into the future.” It was obscured in Dunkirk, it was obscured in Venom (when he wasn’t munching on a lobster, that is), it was obscured in The Dark Knight Rises, where we only see his full face, without the face-hugger over Bane’s mouth, for all of three seconds. Unacceptable.

Karen Gillan in Avengers: Infinity War / Endgame / Guardians of the Galaxy, etc.

Nebula is probably Karen Gillan’s most well-known role, but she’s rarely synonymous with the Marvel Cinematic Universe character, because so many people can’t tell it’s her. “I WAS TODAY’S OLD WHEN I FOUND OUT THAT NEBULA AND RUBY FROM JUMANJI ARE LITERALLY THE SAME PERSON WTF,” goes one tweet, while another adds, “I have just been informed that Amy Pond and Nebula are the same person and now my brain hurts.” Wait until that person finds out she was in Selfie, too.

Karl Urban in Dredd

I would also accept Sylvester Stallone in Judge Dredd, if you’re into codpieces.

Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire

Oh wait, Mrs. Doubtfire is based on a real person. Doesn’t count.

Ralph Fiennes in the Harry Potter movies

I can deal with the baldness and the “Saul Goodman in the most recent episode of Better Call Saul“-looking chapped lips and the blobfish skin, but it’s the nose. The nose is the thing that gets me.

[redacted] in [redacted]

Those are all bad, but honestly, this is a two (hot) person race.

Do you recognize who this is? I sent the image to three friends who a) find this individual very attractive, and b) saw the movie it’s from, and they all drew a blank. It’s Idris Elba, the one-time Sexiest Man Alive, in Star Trek Beyond. Krall (definitely had to look that character name up) makes Macavity look dignified by comparison, but is it worse than Oscar Isaac in X-Men: Apocalypse, the only other true competitor to “why would they do that to their beautiful face” throne? It is not. Oscar is the clear winner (loser?).

For two reasons:

1. Unlike Star Trek Beyond, and Avengers: Endgame, Harry Potter, The Dark Knight Rises, etc., X-Men: Apocalypse is a bad movie. I’m too busy enjoying Guardians of the Galaxy to be annoyed by Karen Gillan being unrecognizable, but all I could think about while watching Apocalypse is: why would they do this to Llewyn Davis? That’s probably not what the filmmakers were going for. The billboards only made a bad situation worse.

2. Here’s how Oscar Isaac described filming X-Men: Apocalypse:

“That was excruciating. I didn’t know when I said yes that that was what was going to be happening. That I was going to be encased in glue, latex, and a 40-pound suit that I had to wear a cooling mechanism at all times… I couldn’t move my head. And I had to sit on a specially designed saddle, because that’s the only thing I could really sit on, and I would be rolled into a cooling tent in-between takes. And so I just wouldn’t ever talk to anybody, and I was just gonna be sitting and I couldn’t really move, and like, sweating inside the mask and the helmet. And then getting it off was the worst part, because they just had to kind of scrape it off for hours and hours. So, that was X-Men: Apocalypse.”

Poor Oscar Isaac. X-Men: Apocalypse: the only movie that can make Dune look fun.

Hugh Jackman’s friendly feud with Ryan Reynolds goes back so long, the Logan star can barely remember how it started.

There have been a lot of shots fired over the years, after all, including Reynolds “sharing” Jackman’s phone number (“Call someone who’s isolated and might need connection… Hugh Jackman’s # is 1-555--HUGH”) and Jackman suggesting that people should pee on Reynolds’ Hollywood Walk of Fame star. When asked about the origin of the “online flame war,” as the Daily Beast put it, Jackman had to think hard.

“How did it start? It’s gone back so long now… God, this is a classic sign where your feud has gone too long, where you don’t even know why or how it started,” he said. “I met him back on [X-Men Origins: Wolverine], and I used to ream him because I was very close friends with Scarlett [Johansson], and Scarlett had just married Ryan, so when he came on set I was like, ‘Hey, you better be on your best behavior here, pal, because I’m watching,’ and we started ribbing each other that way, and then it all escalated with the Deadpool thing and him calling me out, and trying to manipulate me through social media to do what he wanted.” In case you somehow forgot, this is the “Deadpool thing.”

It’s still pretty funny.

Elsewhere in the interview, Jackman revealed that he was offered a role in director Tom Hopper’s box office dud Cats, which he wisely turned down (“I’m in the theater, man, and I don’t want to be in the business of bashing people…”), and he just learned what the term “swole” means. Reynolds is going to give him so much sh*t over that.

Here’s the trailer for Jackman’s new film, Bad Education.

(Via the Daily Beast)

While George Clanton hasn’t announced a new project just yet, we’re still reveling in his collaboration with 311’s Nick Hexum, which was released late last year. It was a project that turned out to be way more exciting than anyone expected, a demonstration of unique chemistry between the two. Since that release, Clanton has been working hard on his 100% Electronica label, nurturing artists like Equip, Negative Gemini, Tonstartssbandht, and more.

With new music hopefully on the horizon, Clanton sat down to talk loving 311, New York City, and modern country music in the latest Indie Mixtape 20 Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

vaporwave for boomers. boomers

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

I’ve spent my career going against the trend and playing the long game. I hope I’ll be remembered as a DIY innovator that inspired another generation of kids that they can do something unique wholly on their own terms and still be successful.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?

I gotta go with where the crowds are the craziest for me, and that’s New York City.

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

Picking one, Anton Newcombe of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, for a number of reasons but mostly in the way he does his own thing and has had a long and storied career instead of blowing up and fizzling out.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life?

A euphoric night at Night Market + Song in Los Angeles comes to mind.

What album do you know every word to?

Prefab Sprout – Steve McQueen

What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?

311 in 2003 was my first real concert and I thought they would just play the hits but they played some deep cuts that were my favorites and it blew me away as a first concert experience.

What is the best outfit for performing and why?

I like to wear fancy clothes a lot but they get destroyed in the pit so the best fit is a loose-fitting t-shirt and jeans you don’t mind getting beer dumped on, and tie your shoes tight so you don’t break your ankle.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?

I love watching @beachfossilsnyc Instagram stories, someone needs to give them a TV show.

What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?

When I start freaking out, I always put on my “Favorite Songs Playlist” to settle down. but if I had to pick one it seems like The Go-Betweens – “Streets Of Your Town” is always coming on the most.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

“What’s Beach Fossils Instagram”

What album makes for the perfect gift?

I used to buy up China Crisis records by the dozen because you can get them for $1. I’ve even got them as packing material in other used record purchases and just ended up with multiple copies. To me their records would be priceless if you couldn’t get them for $1, so that’s a great gift.

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

One time my fiancee and I slept in an abandoned hotel outside of Vienna for a show at a private birthday party. She (Negative Gemini) performed in the bottom of an empty pool while people did coke and ate beef stew watching from above, then we walked over to the next building to sleep. They had to turn the power on for that day only to so we could use the space heater and charge our phones. There was sewage coming up from the toilet somehow.

What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?

I don’t have any tattoos.

What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?

I always flip through looking for the modern country station, I like to see what they are up to. If Post Malone comes on along the way we have to turn that up and listen to it. Or the song that says “How many times you been shot, a lot.” Other than that I don’t expect to hear much on the radio.

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

That’s a nearly impossible question to answer, so many people have done amazing things for me. Like my family. But something more recent was my then-girlfriend now-almost-wife Lindsey changing my pee bags without complaining during the height of my ankle breaking fiasco.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

Don’t go to college, go directly to New York and figure it out.

What’s the last show you went to?

I think it was Maraschino at Zebulon here in LA.

What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?

Jaws.

What would you cook if Kanye were coming to your house for dinner?

Cacio e pepe. It’s simple, yet elegant and sophisticated, and everyone likes it. It’s one of my few perfected dishes. Basically fancy mac and cheese.

“Out Of The Blue” / “Under Your Window” are out now. Stream the 7″ here.

One of the nation’s most promising young basketball players will not attend college. According to a report by Jonathan Givony of ESPN, five-star guard Jalen Green has decided to forgo suiting up for an NCAA program and will instead opt for a more unconventional path that will involve a pit stop in the G League.

Green, the No. 3 recruit in the class of 2020 based on 247Sports’ composite rating, will take up what Givony calls “enhanced version” of the G League’s professional pathway, which the league launched back in 2018 as an alternate to playing college ball. The program offers recruits $125,000, although it is unclear how a player the caliber of Green following this pathway impacts that.

It was announced earlier this week that Green’s decision — which was expected to be between Auburn, Memphis, or a professional career — would occur on Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m. EST on his Instagram account. However, a video Green put on social media indicated the professional league in his sights was Australia’s NBL, not the G League.

Additionally, Gary Parrish of CBS Sports reported earlier in the week that going the pro route appeared to be the most likely result, with that decision getting reflected on Green’s 247Sports Crystal Ball.

An important thing to stress is that recruiting is an incredibly weird endeavor, and you never should assume you know what is going to happen until everything is signed, sealed, and delivered. Having said that, Green picking the G League would be quite the turn of events. Auburn, which boasts the No. 7 recruiting class in America, could stand to lose him, while Memphis, which sits at 137 nationally, will really regret not landing him. If this works out, though, and Green is able to parlay his year in the G League into potentially being the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, it would add some serious legitimacy to a path that has not been previously traveled.