Category: Worldwide

Reports indicated the 2025 Grammys were “highly likely” to be postponed in light of the Los Angeles wildfires, but the Recording Academy quickly refuted those claims, announcing the show “will proceed as planned.”

That doesn’t mean everything Grammy-related is happening as normal, though: Spotify announced they have canceled their 2025 Grammy events.

In a post shared on Spotify’s website yesterday (January 16), Joe Hadley, Spotify’s global head of music partnerships and audience, wrote:

“We’ve spent the last few days considering how to best show up for LA, the music industry, and the creative community. Ultimately, we’ve decided that the most impactful approach is canceling all our Grammy Week events, including our annual Best New Artist party, and redirecting funds to support efforts to reach local fans and charitable organizations. It’s also important to remember the effect this has on the production industry, so we are ensuring that our vendors are compensated despite this shift. While this year will look and feel different, our commitment to emerging artists is unwavering.”

Canceled events include the annual Best New Artist party and the 2025 Songwriter Of The Year party, the latter of which may have been sparsely attended anyway.

This comes days after Billboard also canceled its Grammy events.

Steven and Ian open with a discussion of the recent Robbie Williams’ biopic Better Man, in which the British singer is portrayed by a CGI monkey. Shockingly, the movie didn’t catch on at the box office. They also do a quick Sportscast on the Eagles beating the Packers, and an even quicker Politics-cast on the upcoming inauguration. Then, finally, they get down to talking about music, touching on the new Lucy Dacus album announcement, the Rilo Kiley reunion, and the re-release of the classic rock documentary Dig!.

In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks about the “nu-blog rock” band Lots Of Hands and Steven stumps for the singer-songwriter Todd Snider.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 222 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

New York underground rapper MIKE has been a fixture on the alt-indie hip-hop scene since his teens, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive that his next album, Showbiz!, will be the tenth of his career so far, following 2024’s Pinball. There are rappers twice his age (26) who have half that number, but on January 31st, he’ll reach rare air for any artist, let alone one still a presidential term from his 30th birthday.

Today, he released the tracklist for Showbiz!, along with a signature low-key video for its opening track, “Bear Trap.” As with most of his music to date, his dense, mumbly flow is paired with a murky, but pretty, soul loop. The video is shot at a laundromat, with super tight closeups of the coin-operated capsule toy machines. The track ends with a loving voice mail from his father, which highlights the down-to-earth vibes he’s espoused throughout his career.

Watch MIKE’s “Bear Trap” video above.

Showbiz! is out on 1/31 via 10k Projects. You can pre-save it here.

Showbiz! Tracklist

01. “Bear Trap”
02. “Clown of the Class (Work Harder)”
03. “Then We Could Be Free..”
04. “Watered Down”
05. “Man In The Mirror”
06. “Artist Of The Century”
07. “What U Bouta Do?/A Star Was Born” Feat. 454
08. “Belly 1”
09. “Da Roc”
10. “The Weight (2k20)”
11. “Lost Scribe”
12. “You’re The Only One Watching”
13. “Lucky”
14. “#82”
15. “Too Hot (Interlude)”
16. “Pieces Of A Dream”
17. “Strange Feeling”
18. “Zombie Pt. 2”
19. “Burning House”
20. “Showbiz! (Intro)”
21. “Spun Out”
22. “Miss U” Feat. Duendita
23. “When It Rains”
24. “Diamond Dancing (Broke)”

It’s been a while since we last heard from J. Cole-co-signed North Carolina rap crooner Morray. After taking a year-long hiatus, he returned today with the anxious, edgy video for “FTA (Failure To Appear),” his first new single since 2023’s “High Price” with Lil Tjay.

Picking up where he left off, the new song is in a similar lane to the ones he’s released in the past; a slippery delivery halfway between soulful crooning and country rapping, with lyrics about surviving the mean streets of Fayetteville.

In a statement about the new song, he said, “This song is me telling everybody that I’m no longer going to fail you to appear in my career, I’m going to continue to pop. I’m going to continue to bop. I’m going to continue to go. I’m going to continue to grow. All I’m doing from this point on is dropping and keep going crazy. This drop is saying I’m out the pot. They thought they had me cooked, I’m just better.”

It certainly sounds like the bluesy bar-slinger is preparing to finally drop an album. He previously admitted that J. Cole advised him to scrap much of his old music, because you only get one chance to make a first impression. Considering his consistency in the past, if the quality is finally up to his fellow Ville native’s standards, 2025 could be the year Morray makes good.

Watch Morray’s “FTA (Failure To Appear)” video above.

Mac Miller’s long-awaited album Balloonerism is finally out after months of speculation, and as it turns out, it won’t just be a musical experience, but a visual one, as well. In addition to the 14 songs, Mac Miller’s accounts shared a trailer for a short film based on the album, which looks like it’ll be a magical, animated adventure film. Part Stuart Little, part Toy Story, and part apocalyptic fantasy, the film looks like it’ll have a much more chaotic vibe than the mellow album, which grew from jam sessions prior to the completion of his mixtape Faces.

The film was screened in a variety of one-night-only showings around the world, including Auckland, New Zealand; Berlin, Germany; Dublin, Ireland; London, UK; Melbourne, Australia; New York City; Paris, France; Pittsburgh; Sydney, Australia; and Toronto. Details about its official release remain scarce, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Miller’s estate worked out a deal with one of the big streamers.

In a statement, the family wrote:

“Many of Malcolm’s fans are aware of Balloonerism, a full-length album that Malcolm created around the time of the release of Faces in 2014. It is a project that was of great importance to Malcolm — to the extent that he commissioned artwork for it and discussions concerning when it should be released were had regularly, though ultimately GO:OD AM and subsequent albums ended up taking precedence.

We believe the project showcases both the breadth of his musical talents and fearlessness as an artist. Given that unofficial versions of the album have circulated online for years and that releasing Balloonerism was something that Malcolm frequently expressed being important to him, we felt it most appropriate to present an official version of the project to the world. With that in mind, we’re happy to announce that Balloonerism will be released on January 17th, 2025.”

Balloonerism is out now via Warner. You can listen to it here.

Central Cee has been raising his profile with a steady release of music, and in 2025, he’ll capitalize on his growing buzz with his debut album, Can’t Rush Greatness. The Londoner’s cross-continental appeal finds a solid complement in fellow Brit-turned-ATLien 21 Savage on the latest single from the album, “GBP.”

While his guest may call Georgia his home, Cee proudly flies his Union Jack in the song’s Cole Bennett-directed video while he shouts out some staples of UK streetwear. “Red carpet in my trackie and Air Max / They want a boy with a London style,” he raps. However, he says, “If it weren’t UK, would have had an AK, gang outside with a samurai sword,” maintaining that he’d be stuck to the streets no matter where he grew up. Of course, Bennett makes sure that ski-masked hood ninjas duel with the aforementioned blades in the imaginative visual. Meanwhile, 21 Savage pays similar homage to his birth country in his verse, particularly the national pastime: “Up on the opps, seven to nil, Premier League, I’m in the field,” he cracks.

21 isn’t the only Atlanta rapper Cench collaborated with in the run-up to Can’t Rush Greatness; last May, he teamed up with Lil Baby on “Band4Band,” showing that his rudeboy style travels well.

Can’t Rush Greatness is out on 1/24 via Columbia. You can pre-save it here.

Watch Central Cee “GBP” video with 21 Savage above.

Joel McHale has added another role that could further delay the upcoming Community movie, but that actually isn’t the controversial part of McHale’s horror-movie casting. Instead, the fuss has everything to do with Patrick Dempsey’s franchise role that now appears to have bitten the dust.

This is a confusing update, for sure. Dempsey had not simply been Internet rumored to be coming back for Scream 7. The Grey’s Anatomy and Dexter: Original Sin star addressed the subject by recently admitting to have had “a conversation” about returning as Mark Kincaid, who was assumed to have married Neve Campbell’s Sydney Prescott sometime after Scream 3. Neve had previously departed the franchise after a salary dispute, but the production came through to a degree that she climbed back onboard for Scream 7.

Now, Entertainment Weekly has confirmed that “Dempsey is not in the movie at all” after reaching out to both Spyglass and Paramount. That news arrived after Deadline reported that Sydney is indeed married to a “Mark,” but his name is Mark Evans, and he will be portrayed by McHale:

Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has a husband, and it’s not Detective Mark Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey) of Scream 3, as has been speculated online. Set to play her spouse, Mark Evans, in Scream 7 is none other than Joel McHale, who’s currently in production on the film in Atlanta.

It’s strange stuff, indeed.

Scream 7 has been the source of upheaval for Spyglass Media Group and Paramount Pictures on not only director shufflings (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have been replaced by Kevin Williamson) but much casting upheaval. Melissa Barrera was fired over social media postings, and Jenna Ortega left for scheduling reasons. Some original cast members are onboard, and those include Courteney Cox as Gail Weathers and, of course, Neve Campbell. The movie will arrive in theaters February 27, 2026.

It has been a rollercoaster of a season for the Golden State Warriors, who came out of the gates red-hot to start the year but have cooled off significantly, falling to 10th in the West at 20-20 as we reach the midway point of the season.

The conversation about the Warriors this season has been very similar to what it was last season, as it is clear they do not have the firepower alongside Stephen Curry to be one of the best teams in the NBA. The Warriors search for a second star has seen them pop up in rumors for everyone from Paul George to Lauri Markkanen to, most recently, Jimmy Butler, but at no point have they been willing to part with their best assets to make a push right now. For his part, Curry (and Draymond Green) noted recently that he doesn’t want the Warriors mortgaging their future for right now, which led to some frustration for Warriors fans who feel like the organization has given up on maximizing the end of the Curry era.

On Wednesday night, the Warriors beat the Timberwolves on the road to get back to .500 in a thriller that saw some late-game heroics from Curry, and afterwards he had a message for all of the folks cooking up fake trades for the Warriors in his postgame interview with Scott Van Pelt.

“All the Twitter fingers who got deals we need to make can kind of shut up a little bit and let us figure this thing out,” Curry said. “We know we can be competitive, we showed that toughness tonight. Obviously every team is trying to find ways to get better, and for us we’ve been great for a very long time, this is just a unique year where we have to stay relevant and give ourselves a chance and just have some life in a playoff series. And we have a whole lot of confidence that we can beat anybody.”

He elaborated on that and the critique from fans of the recent comments by he, Green, and Kerr in his postgame presser, explaining in no uncertain terms that he’s not alright wallowing away in mediocrity, but pointed out there’s a difference between that and being “reckless.”

“Anyone who thinks I’m okay with being on an average basketball team is insane,” Curry said. “Take whatever I said, I still stand on it, but that doesn’t mean that you’re not in a situation where you’re trying to get better, make appropriate moves that help you do that. Mike knows that, we’ve talked about it. That’s the expectation from me trying to help lead the team where we want to go. Again, that doesn’t mean that you’re reckless. What people’s definition of that is is what I was talking about the Twitter fingers thing.Trade machines are fun, but what does that actually look like? We’re gonna handle our business. Mike’s gonna handle his. We’ll see where we end up.”

I enjoy playing with the trade machine as much as anyone and we like to float fake trades here for fun, but I absolutely understand why the constant trade chatter this time of year would be frustrating inside a locker room. Curry, as the team’s leader, has to walk a fine line because he needs the buy-in of his teammates while also having the kind of presence and voice in the organization where they will value and seek out his input on deals. He has never been one to publicly wield that power too much with the media, so it’s not a shock he would push back on the idea the Warriors need to just make a trade at any cost, while still making it clear that he wants the team to get better — whether that’s from external additions or internal improvements.

At the same time, it’s understandable why Warriors fans would be frustrated with how the team has operated the last two years and their inability to get Curry the kind of secondary star help the team is so clearly lacking. Their public overtures on George and Markkanen this summer felt as much like the organization making it look like they were trying as it was an earnest effort to go all-in one more time. That has led Warriors fans to become skeptical of whether ownership and this front office are truly willing to do what it takes to chase one more ring with Curry, who proved this summer with Team USA he still can reach incredible heights.

How they navigate the next three weeks will be fascinating, but no matter what Curry says after a win (and again, it’s exactly what he should be saying as the team’s leader), I don’t think anyone, even in the Warriors fan base, believes this team as constructed can be a legitimate contender in the West. That said, the reality might also be that there’s not one player out there that turns them into one, and Curry and company may recognize that a larger overhaul in the summer might need to be their path to one last run rather than a trade for one of the few available stars at the deadline.

The weirdest saga in the NBA right now involves Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat. Butler, the veteran wing who has been the face of the franchise ever since joining them in 2019, very badly wants a new deal, but even dating back to this past offseason, Pat Riley has made abundantly clear that it would be hard to justify giving him one — Butler has the potential to hit unrestricted free agency this summer if he declines the player option in his contract for 2025-26.

This is led to a very strange season, and in recent weeks, tensions have an escalated between Butler and the franchise to the point that he received a seven game suspension, which is due to end on Friday. Butler has made very clear that he would like a trade, presumably to a place where he can get a contract extension this summer, but if Kevin Love is to be believed, there might be a resolution on the horizon that involves Butler staying in Miami. Love put the following post on his Instagram account of arguably the most famous scene in The Wolf of Wall Street.

Now, the overwhelming likelihood is that this is just Love, who likes to joke around about stuff, making a joke about Butler meeting with the front office, namely Heat owner Micky Arison. But it was pointed out that Butler went as far as to like this post. Our assumption is that this is just two veteran guys who are known for having silly senses of humor having some fun on the internet, but if it turns out there is something else going on here, we will be sure to keep you posted.

The third round of All-Star fan voting was released by the NBA on Thursday, the last update before the starters are officially unveiled on January 23 on TNT. In it, there was some movement, with LeBron James vaulting to second in the West frontcourt as the most notable change from the last update. But for the most part, things have held in place at the top of each group.

For the most part, there are few surprises in the fan vote. The three frontcourt starters for both conferences, per the fans, and the West backcourt are all locks to make the team no matter what happens with the media and player vote that make up 25 percent of the starter vote each. However, the East backcourt features one particularly fascinating case in LaMelo Ball, who is tops in fan voting but is not an absolute lock to make the All-Star roster.

Ball, to be clear, is putting up incredible numbers in Charlotte, averaging 29.6 points, 7.5 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game, which are unquestionably All-Star worthy stats. He is also one of the most creative offensive players in the league, and I’d argue he’s the kind of player that the All-Star Game needs, which is a big part of why he leads the fan vote. But, he has only played in 26 of the team’s 37 games, has not shot the ball efficiently, and the Hornets have the NBA’s second-worst record. Fair or not, team success has always played a significant role in All-Star voting, particularly when it comes to the reserve selections by the coaches and the media’s starter vote. This year, the East backcourt is the hardest group to narrow down the All-Star list, as there are nine or 10 guards with a legitimate case (including Ball) and many of them play big roles with strong statistical profiles on teams that are exceeding expectations, which always helps in All-Star and awards voting.

How Ball fares in the player and media voting will likely determine whether he ends up on the All-Star roster, because I think he’ll have a hard time beating out four of Damian Lillard, Trae Young, Darius Garland, Cade Cunningham, Tyler Herro, and Tyrese Maxey in the coaches voting. His top competition for the starting spots are Donovan Mitchell and Jalen Brunson, who I expect to be near the top of both the player and media voting lists.

Beyond the battle on those two ballots, it also will be crucial where Brunson, in particular, finishes in fan voting. Right now, Mitchell is second in fan voting by a healthy margin and feels like a guy you can write down in pen as a starter this year because he’ll end up high on both the player and media list (I’d be surprised if he isn’t first on both lists). Brunson, on the other hand, is fourth in fan voting, but closed the gap on Lillard significantly for third, and if he can close down that last 27,000 votes to pass Lillard for third in fan voting by next Thursday, that could determine Ball’s fate. Brunson is, I would guess, going to finish second in media voting. There are some talking themselves into Cunningham in that spot, but ultimately, I think it’ll be Brunson. He’s also well respected around the league, and I think he has a good shot to be second in player voting (a year ago he finished third with players).

However, even if he is second in both, finishing fourth in fan voting (which is the tie-breaker) would mean his average would make him the third guard. That means LaMelo could finish third in player voting and seventh in media voting and tie Brunson, with fan voting giving him the second spot — it’s not dissimilar to how Brunson and Lillard tied last year, with Lillard getting the spot thanks to a higher fan vote finish.

If Brunson can pick off that third spot in fan voting, though, a second-place finish in one and no lower than a third-place finish in the other would give him a floor of 2.75, which would make Ball’s path to a spot much trickier. To get to where he’d need to finish so that he’s guaranteed a starting spot (a finish of 2.5), Ball would need a combined average finish of fourth in player and media voting — for example, second place in one and sixth place in the other — which is unlikely. To get to 2.75, he’d need an average of 4.5 (third and sixth or second and seventh), which is more doable, but still not a guarantee.

Ball is seemingly well-liked around the league, and I don’t think he’ll deal with Trae Young’s issue in recent years of getting buried in the player voting. I don’t think anyone can feel particularly solid about predicting anything with the always chaotic player vote, but when Ball was mostly hurt last year, he still got 29 votes and finished seventh in player voting. If the players vote Ball at No. 1, this all is moot, but anything else will make things interesting. Ball will likely need to be high in player voting to offset a low finish on the media ballot, as I have a hard time seeing Ball finishing higher than sixth in media voting given the names also on the board. Last year, only six guards got votes from the media, meaning everyone got seventh that didn’t receive a vote. But this year, I expect it to be seven or even eight that get votes.

Ball earning a starting spot or not will have a considerable impact on the roster crunch for reserve guards. If he is a starter alongside Mitchell, then you only have two guaranteed spots and two wild cards for the rest of the group. That means there are, at most, four spots for Brunson, Lillard, Garland, Cunningham, and Young, all of whom have extremely strong candidacies. If Ball doesn’t get a starting spot, he could become an extremely rare fan voting winner to not even make the All-Star team, because Brunson likely gets the second spot and then it’s the four other names above and Ball competing for the last four spots. Given how coaches have voted in the past, I would make Ball an underdog to get one of those spots.

That would lead to plenty of discourse about the voting process, Ball’s candidacy, and what the All-Star Game is meant to be. Either way the next week of voting goes, LaMelo is going to be the pivot point for the East when starters are announced, and he may be in a position of being a starter or being left off the roster entirely.