In the words of Mariah Carey, it’s time. Well, Laufey hear the countdown and immediately jumped into holiday season mode. Today (November 1), the “Bewitched” singer shared her jazzy rendition of a Christmas classic.
Back in November 2022, Laufey released her holiday album, A Very Laufey Holiday, but her time delving into those tunes aren’t quite over. With the help of director Jason Lester, Laufey put her Grammy Award-winning vocal spin on “Santa Baby.”
But this time, she will surely be added to the naughty list after flipping Santa off. In the visual, which could have been pulled from Macy’s famed window display, Laufey outlines exactly what she wants from the North Pole boss. To get in the holiday spirit, Bill Murray served as the video’s official narrator.
Before things took a PG-13 turn, Laufey was joined on screen by American Ballet Theatre’s principal dancer Isabella Boylston along with a host of other ensemble of ballet dancers (choreographed by Alex Wong).
In a statement, Laufey spoke about tackling the beloved record and tapping Murray for the visual. “I’m so excited to continue adding to ‘A Very Laufey Holiday’ with my version of the holiday classic, ‘Santa Baby.’” she said.” It was so much fun creating this version, and the music video became the perfect visual representation of the track. We were so lucky to have Bill Murray and Isabella Boylston of the American Ballet featured in the video for this fun and festive story.”
Watch Laufey’s official video for “Santa Baby” above.
On the album cover of Blood Incantation’s Absolute Elsewhere, two magma-red pyramids sit alone on a desolate planet, surrounded by pits of lava and mountains as the outer-space sky looms above it, richly coloured with deep purples and incandescent stars. The sky itself is home to a couple of vacant planets and, of course, the barely legible Blood Incantation logo resting at the top in a mustard yellow. The hand-painted artwork is as dense as the music within it: vast journeys that make Homer’s epics seem quaint by contrast; intricate arrangements that rival those of symphonic orchestras; blast-beats and shredding so intense you can envisage the calluses and blisters forming in real time. This is all to say that the visual artist behind the record’s cover is as much a visionary as the Colorado death metal band behind the record itself.
Steve Dodd is not an easy man to get in touch with. His home, a small town in Tennessee with a population of around 2,000, is where he has lived and worked for all 79 years of his life. He has no computer, no internet access, no cell phone, and no landline. He communicates exclusively via handwritten snail mail, even with his own family, who also live in town. Miraculously, Blood Incantation vocalist and guitarist Paul Riedl found a way to get in touch with Dodd’s sister, who then acted as an intermediary between the two parties. At first, when Riedl wrote to Dodd in early 2023, he wanted to commission a piece for their single “Luminescent Bridge.” Dodd was unavailable at the time, but he agreed to license some paintings of his from 2018 and 2019 for the front and back of the physical release. This gave him the time he needed to paint what would become the striking original cover for Absolute Elsewhere.
Century Media
As Riedl tells me over Zoom, Dodd retired a decade ago, and he hasn’t stopped painting since. He quit painting for approximately 30 years until his retirement, which freed up his schedule to focus on his art more than he’s ever been able to. “He’s the most prolific he has ever been,” Riedl says. “He started exactly where he stopped. He did not try to incorporate modern technology. He did not try to reevaluate his technique. He didn’t do anything except keep painting.” The group knew that Dodd was the right fit because none of his paintings includes humanoid figures, which was the single caveat they gave Dodd when they outlined their initial hopes for what the cover would look like.
From a narrative standpoint, the cover for Absolute Elsewhere continues the story of Blood Incantation’s visual universe. For their full-length debut, 2016’s Starspawn, astronomical artist Don Dixon portrays a planet freshly struck by a meteor, smoke rising from the ground; a sense of mystery permeates the cover, which is partially answered by Bruce Pennington’s artwork for its follow-up, 2019’s Hidden History Of The Human Race. Although it does include a humanoid, alien figure, “it’s such an iconic, classic image that you can’t really argue with its accuracy of portraying what that music and album represent,” Riedl says. It’s the same cover used for the 1957 science fiction novel Space, Time and Nathaniel by Brian Aldiss. Otherwise, “we don’t want little green men; we don’t want astronauts; we don’t want human civilization to be a part of the Blood Incantation aesthetic dialogue.”
So, why is there such a steadfast refusal to include people on Blood Incantation LP covers? “We want to deal with something so far in the future that it transcends the limitations of the measly planet Earth,” Riedl explains. “And we also want to inspire the person from wherever they might be. So if a reptilian looks at our album cover, they’re not ostracized, or if a humanoid sees the album cover, they’re not intimidated by seeing a Pleiadian. We want to have no types of figures to exclude any person’s experience of where they’re going to be taken on this journey of the music.” Riedl illustrated some preliminary sketches of pyramids and planets to give Dodd a rough idea of what he envisioned, and, aside from these fairly minimal guidelines, Dodd had free creative rein.
Dodd replied with an epistolary description of what the final cover would become: The sky will be dark and full of stars above; the pyramids will be a nebula shade of blue with violet hues; the crescent moons will be orange with some red on their left sides; toward the left of the cover will be a giant, red decaying sun that will cast a reddish glow on the sides of the pyramids; the landscape in general will be painted in browns, reds, and ochre; the two crevices in front of the pyramids will glow red from the lava within them; and purple snow will drift around the edges of those crevices. “What do they say today,” Riedl asks shortly before answering himself with the punchline. “He understood the assignment.”
The band had no notes or revisions for Dodd. All four members loved his painting the instant they got a first glimpse. Dodd’s cover contains elements from all of Blood Incantation’s previous works, from the planetscapes and lava to the pyramids and obelisks. In the music video for last year’s “Luminescent Bridge,” the single’s artwork becomes fully animated into a three-dimensional terrain, which transports the viewer through the portal gracing its two-dimensional cover. Once you’re through the gate, you end up in another world, which is the place depicted in Absolute Elsewhere. As a result, Dodd is not just someone who lent his artistic talents to a death metal band. He is an active participant and collaborator within Blood Incantation’s immersive world-building. Despite being so averse to technology, Dodd’s staunch adherence to purely analog modes of creation is wildly futuristic.
When I ask Riedl whether he’d like to work with Dodd again, he says that “it’s more of a question of what we’ll do next.” He continues: “It’s part of creating this consistent narrative in the aesthetic.” That’s a field in which Dodd has unequivocally proven himself, as he’s able to weave Blood Incantation’s extant visual hallmarks into his own sci-fi painting style. Corresponding only through handwritten letters certainly took a long time, but Blood Incantation’s patience paid off. “It’s easy to get frustrated in this digital age of instant gratification and point-click satisfaction,” Riedl says. “But we are not in a hurry. We’re not in a rush to make something impressive.” As both Blood Incantation’s music and Dodd’s painting demonstrate, impressive art will come with time.
You would think that the possibly final movie from one of America’s greatest filmmakers would be in at least 3,000 theaters in its opening weekend, right? Right…? Well, that’s not the case with Juror #2, the new legal thriller from director Clint Eastwood. As previously reported by Variety, Warner Bros. Pictures is “putting out the feature in a limited release of less than 50 theaters [with] no current plans to expand to more locations in the following weeks.”
That’s despite excellent reviews from critics (91 percent on Rotten Tomatoes) and a strong premise. In Juror #2, Nicholas Hoult plays Justin Kemp, a family man serving as a juror in a murder trial who “finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma… one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict — or free — the accused killer,” according to the logline.
So, how can you watch Juror #2? Well, if you’re in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and about a dozen other markets across the country, it’s in theaters now (you can see the full list here). For pretty much everywhere else, you’ll have to wait until it’s streaming on Max. No date has been announced yet.
Outside of The Menu actor, Juror #2 also stars Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, Chris Messina, Gabriel Basso, Zoey Deutch, Cedric Yarbrough, Leslie Bibb, Kiefer Sutherland, Amy Aquino, and Adrienne C. Moore.
Amid the raging successes of Severance and Silo along with long-lived powerhouse For All Mankind and the franchise-spawning Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters, Apple TV+ read the room. As a result, sci-fi devotees (and those of survival thrillers, creature features, and high-concept B movies with added polish) will keep reaping the benefits.
Expect a buffet of new sci-fi shows on the horizon, including Neuromancer (starring Callum Turner as a console cowboy) and Murderbot (with Alexander Skarsgård as a homicidal yet vaguely rebellious bot), and the tech giant’s streaming service isn’t planning to ignore the movie department either. Hence The Gorge, a feature film that will not only include a sci-fi legend but will be scored by atmospheric wizards Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Let’s dive into what we can expect to hear (and see) in this movie.
Plot
Apple TV+
Directed by Scott Derrickson (Sinister, Doctor Strange, The Exorcism Of Emily Rose), The Gorge will revolve around twin operatives (Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy) who are assigned to guard a gorge that contains a mysterious threat, which (unless the above key art is a complete misdirect) sure seems monstrous. The world that they are protecting is a corrupt one, but these two are lethal weapons in and of themselves, a combination that suggests a twisty thrill ride of a story. From the series synopsis:
Two highly-trained operatives are appointed to posts in guard towers on opposite sides of a vast and highly classified gorge, protecting the world from an undisclosed, mysterious evil that lurks within. They bond from a distance while trying to stay vigilant in defending against an unseen enemy. When the cataclysmic threat to humanity is revealed to them, they must work together in a test of both their physical and mental strength to keep the secret in the gorge before it’s too late.
The action-heavy thriller’s appeal will be bolstered by the masters of the postmodern film score, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. While speaking with GQ earlier this year, the pair alluded to “a kind of haunted, chanting murmur” that will pervade throughout The Gorge. Additionally, Ross divulged that Derrickson requested extra intensity (for a scene with “Teller and Taylor-Joy in an evil-looking spiky forest”) beyond the pair’s original vision:
They were working on a lengthy, music-dependent scene that they’d already mostly scored. But, Ross said,
the director wants it to be a bit more, I can’t think of a better word than just a bit more scary and intense.” They weren’t sure what that directive meant, exactly, but they were content-they were happy-to try to figure it out: to enter the room once again, carrying nothing, and to try to leave it with something that didn’t exist before.
The full article is a fascinating one with Reznor’s method for tackling scenes being to “improvise some music” before Atticus uses his “superpower” to make magic happen in context of a specific project. Reznor dryly remarked, “I can come up with a melody and a chord change, and he can make that sit on the scene in a way that is meticulous, and mind-numbingly boring to watch him do.” Can’t wait to hear it.
Cast
Apple TV+
Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy will be accompanied by sci-fi queen Sigourney Weaver, who is accustomed to starring alongside nasty creatures.
Release Date
Apple TV+
Apple TV+ hasn’t given this movie a precise release date beyond “2025.”
Trailer
Nope. Not yet. However, Reznor and Ross recently (ahead of Challengers) dissected their most iconic tracks, also in a GQ interview:
Metro Boomin has been sued for battery and sexual battery in Los Angeles court by a woman who says he raped her in 2016. According to Billboard, Vanessa LeMaistre, the plaintiff, says that she visited Metro’s studio in September, where she took a shot of alcohol and a Xanax pill and blacked out; after which, the producer allegedly took advantage of her. After the incident, she says learned she was pregnant, getting an abortion in November that year.
She also claims that the incident was referenced on Metro’s 2017 collaborative album Without Warning with 21 Savage and Offset on the song “Rap Saved Me.” On the chorus of the track, the two rappers recite the lines: “She took a Xanny, then she fainted / I’m from the gutter, ain’t no changing / From the gutter, rap saved me / She drive me crazy, have my baby.” Although Metro does not rap on the song and the authorship of those lines is unclear, LeMaistre says that hearing the raps “caused further trauma.”
Metro denied the accusations through his attorney, Lawrence Hinkle II, who told Billboard, “These are false accusations. Mr. Wayne refused to pay her months ago, and he refuses to pay her now. Mr. Wayne will defend himself in court. He will file a claim for malicious prosecution once he prevails.”
When we think of an overnight success, TikTok takeovers and viral dance videos come to mind. Country breakout Dasha has those — her breakup banger “Austin” put everyone’s For You Page in a chokehold just a few months ago — but her chart-topping ascension has a few plot twists you might not expect.
In the latest episode of How I Blew Up, the California native and Nashville transplant maps out her weird and winding journey to the stage. It’s a story that starts with a childhood poetry contest entry before getting sidetracked by a pandemic, a genre switch-up, and a messy ex.
“It’s always been about songwriting for me,” she says, “It’s always been about three chords and the truth.”
Learning guitar at a young age, studying everything from opera to improv, Dasha’s endgame has always been music, but when Covid hit in 2020, she dropped oout of college, ditching the Zoom classes she’d been taking as a songwriting major to get some more real life experience. In LA, she was labeled a pop star, a designation that just didn’t sit right with her lyrical soul. “I felt almost icky,” she recalls of dropping her first album, an alt-pop entry that dropped in early 2023. “This is not me. I’m going back to my roots. I’m going back to country music.”
A genre switch, a cross-country move, and one masterfully-planned social media roll-out later, Dasha is now gracing late night talk shows and performing at music festivals like Austin City Limits. Raw, vulnerable, and fearless in her songwriting, her debut country album, What Happens Now, effortlessly blends her natural talent for penning a killer hooks with playful melodies that merge her two worlds, creating a brand of contemporary country that could convince almost anyone to dust off their boots and attempt her TikTok patented line dance.
Check out the full video above for more of Dasha’s story.
Man, it can be brutal out there. So, for Halloween, Olivia Rodrigo decided to lighten things up a bit. Yesterday (October 31), the “So American” singer decided to spend the ghoulish night handing out sweet treats. But she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have some fun while doing so.
In an adorable clip for Jimmy Kimmel Live, Rodrigo decided to prank trick-or-treaters alongside Guillermo. As the video begins, Guillermo, sporting a Rodrigo costume, answers the doors for kids seeking the goodies. Taken by surprise over his get-up, the children skeptically look on, but nothing will stop them for their candy mission. As they let their guards down, the actual Rodrigo appears to heighten the prank.
Throughout the clip, each group of trick-or-treaters has a uniquely hilarious reaction to Olivia’s presence. One young lady burst into “happy tears.” Others are rendered speechless, to the point where Olivia nearly requested medical assistance. Another ironically demanded to see Olivia’s driver’s license. Another group of innocent girls just flat-out screamed, and considering that is Olivia’s thing, she simply joined in.
Elsewhere for the holiday, Olivia Rodrigo enjoy the occasion by dressing as Elphaba (viewable here). Although it wasn’t quite as extravagant as Janelle Monáe or Heidi Klum’s ET costumes, Wicked lovers enjoyed it nonetheless.
Watch the full video of Rodrigo pranking trick-or-treaters on Jimmy Kimmel Live! above.
Sabrina Carpenter had Halloween off from her ongoing Short N’ Sweet tour, but she took time to celebrate the holiday during her October 30 show, at Dallas’ American Airlines Center. Last year, Carpenter dressed up as “the love of ur life,” but this year, she went with some more concrete looks.
In case you’ve missed it, on tour, Carpenter has taken to wrapping herself in a towel before revealing an outfit. Well, on the 30th, the reveal was a sequined Playboy bunny costume, as Entertainment Weekly notes. Later, she shared a TikTok video of her in the costume, lip-syncing to a clip of the Anna Faris movie The House Bunny.
Speaking of the spooky season, there’s supposedly a “Sabrina Carpenter Curse” out there in the sports world. In short (n’ sweet), earlier this month, it was noticed that the last two times Carpenter wore a jersey for a specific team, that team went on to lose their next game.
Keeping track of all the new albums coming out in a given month is a big job, but we’re up for it: Below is a comprehensive list of the major releases you can look forward to in November. If you’re not trying to potentially miss out on anything, it might be a good idea to keep reading.
Friday, November 1
Alice Costelloe — When It’s Time EP (Al Costelloe)
BABYMONSTER — DRIP (Yg Entertainment)
Beardfish — Songs For Beating Hearts (InsideOutMusic)
Carpenters — Christmas Once More (UMR)
Chase Atlantic — Lost in Heaven (Fearless Records)
Contour — Take Off from Mercy (Mexican Summer)
The Cure — Songs of a Lost World (Universal)
Fionn Regan — O Avalanche (Nettwerk)
The Fleshtones — It’s Getting Late (…and More Songs About Werewolves) (Yep Roc Records)
Hayla — Dusk (Restless Minds Music)
Henrik Appel — Shadows (PNKSLM Recordings)
IDK — BRAVADO INTiMO (.idk.)
Illiterate Light — Arches (Thirty Tigers)
Jacquees — Baby Making (Cash Money Records)
Jennifer Castle — Camelot (Paradise of Bachelors/Solstice Radio)
Jeremie Albino — Our Time in the Sun (Easy Eye Sound)
Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler –brent iii (UMG)
Jimmy Fallon — Holiday Seasoning (Republic Records)
Johnny Delaware — Para Llevar (Normaltown Records)
Lil Zay Osama — The Streets Calling My Name, Pt. 2 (Warner Records)
Week 9 of the NFL season is here, and that means the halfway point of the campaign has arrived. Eight weeks are in the books. Eight weeks are still to come. And here we are in the middle.
In this space, the first half of the season was not at all kind on the whole, but we did post a winning record in Week 8. Perhaps that is a sign of things to come. At least I will tell myself that until Week 9.
Before getting to the five-pack of selections, let’s take stock.
Week 8: 3-2
2024 Season: 14-25-1
Come get these winners.
TEASER: Cleveland Browns (+7.5) over Los Angeles Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals (-1) over Las Vegas Raiders – Widely Available
We’re going back to the Jameis train after an outright win a week ago. I do like the Browns as a standalone investment at +1.5, but the teaser is even more appealing against a low-octane Chargers offense in a game with a very modest total. On the other side, the Bengals burned us a week ago, but this is a good spot for Cincinnati at home in what amounts to a virtual must-win.
New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers OVER 43.5 points – Widely Available
Jacksonville Jaguars (+7.5) over Philadelphia Eagles – Widely Available
The Eagles have won three in a row and all is right with the world again, right? Well, I don’t quite buy it yet. Jacksonville isn’t very good, which I will acknowledge, but the Jags have played at a much higher level in recent weeks, including in Week 8 against Green Bay. I like this above 7.
Green Bay Packers (+2.5) over Detroit Lions – Widely Available
In the interest of transparency, I nabbed this at 3 earlier in the week, but that line is gone now outside of opportunities to buy the half-point. Alas, I still like it at 2.5. Detroit has the best point differential in the league and things are rolling, but I’m a bit skeptical of the Lions defensively right now and, perhaps more importantly, this is the first trip outdoors for Jared Goff and the offense this season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+9) over Kansas City Chiefs – BetMGM
The Bucs are very banged-up, which is part of why this line is where it is. With that said, I think Tampa Bay is the side against a Chiefs offense that is still figuring things out. Kansas City is unbeaten and rightly so, but the Chiefs haven’t exactly dominated from an ATS perspective when laying more than a touchdown. We were right against them in Week 8. Going back to the well here.
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