Category: Worldwide

Speedy Ortiz leader Sadie Dupuis is readying a new Sad13 solo album (Haunted Painting), and she has teased it with some creative visuals before it drops in about a month. Now she is back with another, this time for “Hysterical.”

In the clip, Dupuis is browsing the internet on her laptop, and before she knows it, a murderous ghost enters her life and those of her friends. The song is targeted at “unfunny comedians [who] love to argue that ‘PC culture’ destroys comedy.” She expanded on that idea in an interview with The Fader, saying:

“I think there were three comedians in really short proximity last year who made some kind of claim that comedy isn’t funny anymore and they can’t work in it because ‘PC culture’ and ‘cancel culture’ have made things unfunny. I think one was Todd Phillips in promoting Joker, he was like, ‘I won’t do comedy because the feminists have destroyed it’ [laughs]. This was around the time that Hari Kondabolu — who did The Problem With Apu — was getting death threats again because they finally decided to relent on that character in The Simpsons. It’s just a common refrain that, to me, is ironic. I never had a big interest in comedy growing up because it was always not for me. It was intentionally shutting women out or making them the butt of jokes that just weren’t good. As comedy has become more inclusive, I’m actually interested in it now and was able to get some of my favorite people in comedy to be in this music video.”

Watch the “Hysterical” video above.

Haunted Painting is out 9/25 via Wax Nine. Pre-order it here.

Video of police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin shooting Jacob Blake in the back seven times as he entered his car where his children were, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down, has launched more protests against police violence towards Black people. Athletes around the country are speaking out against the latest evidence of police escalating and using unnecessary and potentially lethal force against Black Americans.

It comes at a time where the list of victims of police brutality and violence has continued to grow, leading to nationwide protests and calls to action to defund and reform police departments. Athletes have promised to use their platform to promote and enact change, but the shooting of Blake has left many wondering if there’s more to be done. Bucks guard George Hill questioned Monday why he and other players agreed to play the restarted season in Orlando, which he believes offers a distraction from the social issues at hand. Norm Powell of the Raptors indicated NBA players have discussed boycotting games, noting kneeling in protest is “not getting it done.”

In the NFL, the Detroit Lions protested outside the team facility, speaking as a group to the media who had gathered for a practice that the players canceled after a lengthy team meeting in the morning, via Tori Petry.

If the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery served as a wake up call for the nation, the police shooting of Jacob Blake further evidenced how far there is to go and how much work is needed to be done. This is something happening nationwide, from Minneapolis to Brunswick, GA to Louisville to Kenosha, WI to Los Angeles to New York. It isn’t something new that Black people deal with, but the visibility of it is with everyone having the ability to take cell phone video now and to ignore it is to condone it.

Athletes have steadily stepped up and found their voice in recent years amid calls for social justice and an end to systemic racism, but their frustration with a lack of action and change is more than understandable. As such, they will continue to be a voice for the oppressed and will consider taking greater actions than just speaking out if it means ensuring their voices are heard and this issue remains the central focus.

Justin Townes Earle — singer, songwriter, and son of acclaimed musician Steve Earle — died at 38 years old. At first, Earle’s cause of death was undisclosed, but now police have revealed the singer died of a “probable drug overdose.”

According to Nashville’s WKRN, police responded to a wellness check Sunday at the singer’s Tennessee apartment. Police spokesperson Don Aaron said a friend had made the initial call because no one had heard from the singer since Tuesday. The autopsy is still pending, but police say his death is suspected as a “probable drug overdose” and there was no evidence of struggle or foul play.

Per Consequence Of Sound, Earle has long struggled with drug use. According to the report, Earle began using heroin at the age of 14 and reportedly overdosed five separate times before he was 21.

The news of Earle’s death was confirmed in a post on his Facebook page: “It is with tremendous sadness that we inform you of the passing of our son, husband, father and friend Justin. So many of you have relied on his music and lyrics over the years and we hope that his music will continue to guide you on your journeys. You will be missed dearly Justin.”

Revisit Uproxx’s 2017 interview with Earle here.

Lionel Messi may be on the move for the first time in his legendary career, as the footballing superstar has reportedly informed Barcelona, the club with which he’s been with since he was 13 years old, that he would like to leave.

The report comes from Argentina’s TyC Sports, indicating Messi plans to utilize a clause in his contract that allows him to leave the club for free — as opposed to another team needing to pay the 700 million Euro release clause. The question is whether that clause is still active, as it was set to expire on May 30 when the Champions League final was supposed to take place. The pandemic obviously changed a lot of things in the soccer world, but whether Messi’s key contract dates are included in that is not known.

This all comes with a variety of caveats, including Messi having threatened to leave Barcelona in the past in order to push the club to acquiesce to his demands, but it seems this may be different. Messi, 33, just saw Barcelona get railroaded by Bayern Munich in an 8-2 loss in their latest early exit from the Champions League and subsequently fire manager Quique Setien.

Further indication this seems very real is that Messi’s former Barcelona teammate Carles Puyol offered him well wishes and support.

Maybe the bigger question is whether there’s a club out there that can make the financials work for Messi, who commands a massive salary and a potentially historic transfer fee from Barcelona (pending whether his opt-out clause is extended or not) — which is made all the more difficult amid the COVID-19 pandemic that’s cut profits for Europe’s top clubs tremendously with no fans in stadiums. Manchester City has been the team most widely speculated to be a landing spot for Messi should he push his way out of Barcelona, as they employ his former manager Pep Guardiola and are England’s biggest spenders, and they have reportedly been eyeing the Argentinian legend for some time.

Should Messi be determined to leave Barcelona, it would end one of the greatest eras in club soccer history between a star and organization. Whether that’s this offseason or at the end of next season when his contract officially runs up, it would rock the footballing world and any team that got his services would gain not just one of the best players on the pitch in the world, but also pick up support from his legions of fans around the world.

Decades after Kurt Cobain’s death, he and his work with Nirvana continue to be beloved. Just this year, Post Malone raised millions of dollars with a Nirvana cover set livestream, James Blake offered a lovely rendition of one of the band’s classics, and Cobain memorabilia is selling for huge amounts of money. Now another one of Cobain’s admirers, Kid Cudi, has paid tribute to the late musician, having done so with a new tattoo.

The ink of is Cobain wearing a t-shirt featuring the album art of Johnston’s 1983 album Hi, How Are You, like he did at the 1992 MTV VMAs. Cudi shared the arm tattoo and wrote, “4 Kurt and salute to Daniel.”

Cudi has long been public about his admiration for the Nirvana leader. One of the first tweets on Cudi’s Twitter account, from February 2011, reads simply, “kurt cobain.” Later that year, he shared a video of himself visiting the park that was right near where Cobain died in Seattle. A few months after that visit, he tweeted, “Im obsessed with Kurt Cobain. I wish he was still here, so he could teach me guitar tricks.” He also tweeted in 2015, “Never not thinkin’ about Kurt Cobain.” More recently, he and Kanye West sampled Cobain on a Kids See Ghosts track in 2018.

Following the breakout success of her debut record Hold On, Fenne Lily is gearing up for her sophomore release. Now sharing a label with the likes of Phoebe Bridgers and Khruangbin, the singer continues to preview the upcoming effort with a collection of introspective singles. With “Solipsism,” the singer aims to unpack her anxieties with a critical eye.

Directed by Tom Clover, the “Solipsism” visual depicts the singer wandering through a dystopian grocery store. Lily seems aimless, that is, until she discovers her face is on nearly every brand in sight.

About the song, the singer said it was a reflection on how her anxiety makes her fee “uncomfortable” in many situations, especially when she’s stoned at the grocery store:

“A lot of situations make me uncomfortable — some parties, most dates, every time I’m stoned in the supermarket. ‘Solipsism’ is a song about being comfortable with being uncomfortable and the freedom that comes with that. If you feel weird for long enough it becomes normal, and feeling anything is better than feeling nothing. I wanted this video to be a reflection of the scary thought that I’ll have to live with myself forever. It’s surreal to realise you’ll never live apart from someone you sometimes hate. Dad, if you’re reading this you killed it as shopper number 2.”

Clover, the visual’s director, urges fans to watch the illustrations closely as to not miss any intentional details: “I asked Fenne what products she wanted to be and then worked backwards from there with the illustrators. Most of the references came from Asian Supermarket packaging – they are way more interesting. The most important thing was making sure that it reflected upon Fenne’s personality — there’s a bunch of details you might miss on the first watch!”

Watch Fenne Lily’s “Solipsism” video above.

Breach is out 9/18 via Dead Oceans. Pre-order it here.

Earlier this year, partially due to quarantine-related timing and partially due to a slew of bonkers twists, Netflix’s documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness became a viral sensation, and it seemed like no less than 100 shows and movies were quickly being developed to capitalize on its fame. Now, one of them is actually happening.

Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon is officially locked in for a new Tiger King series that will air across NBC, USA, and Peacock. McKinnon will play Carole Baskin, the eclectic animal activist whose feud with zoo owner Joe Exotic led to his arrest and conviction after he attempted to have Baskin killed in a murder-for-hire plot. However, Baskin also has some skeletons in her closet when it comes to the mysterious disappearance of her husband. Via Variety:

Based on the Wondery Podcast of the same name, the show centers on Carole Baskin (McKinnon), a big cat enthusiast, who learns that fellow exotic animal lover Joe “Exotic” Schreibvogel is breeding and using his big cats for profit. She sets out to shut down his venture, inciting a quickly escalating rivalry. But Carole has a checkered past of her own and when the claws come out, Joe will stop at nothing to expose what he sees as her hypocrisy. The results prove dangerous.

Baskin recently made headlines after she bashed Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B’s latest video for “WAP.” Baskin claimed that if the tigers featured in the video weren’t a visual effect, then the animals mistreated. Her criticism prompted a reaction from Cardi B that finished the work Joe Exotic started because this sure sounds like a murder.

“I’m not gonna engage with Carole Baskin on that. Like, that’s just ridiculous you know? Oh, Lord,” Cardi told i-D Magazine. “Like, girl you killed your goddamn husband.” Allegedly, Cardi B. Allegedly.

(Via Variety)

This was supposed to be the Summer of Dev Patel, with the actor starring in two of the season’s most anticipated indie films: The Personal History of David Copperfield and The Green Knight, both of which had their release dates pushed back due to the pandemic. Unfortunately, A24’s foray into medieval fantasy hasn’t been rescheduled yet, but David Copperfield is scheduled to come out this week, on August 28.

Based on Charles Dickens’ novel and not the magician, The Personal History of David Copperfield was written and directed by Armando Iannucci and stars Patel as the titular character. The Skins actor was originally confused why the Veep creator wanted him for the role — David Copperfield is typically depicted as white, and Patel is of Indian descent — and as he told IndieWire, his first question to Iannucci was, “Are you sure?”

He was sure:

“When I knew I was making the film, I could only think of Dev playing David,” he said. “I just thought, that’s how I must cast the whole film, cast who you think is the best person for that role.”

Patel hopes that Personal History leads to more colorblind casting. “There’s so much more opportunity out there, and I’m very grateful for that. I think Armando is really keeping the doors open on this, and hopefully there’s some other brave filmmakers that will follow in his footsteps,” he said. If Steve Buscemi can play a Soviet politician without using a Russian accent, Patel should be able to play whoever the heck he wants.

You can watch the The Personal History of David Copperfield trailer below.

(Via IndieWire)

Spotify has revealed its most-streamed songs of the summer and to no one’s surprise, the top song is one that has remained in plenty of fans’ rotations since its release. It’s DaBaby’s “Rockstar” featuring Roddy Ricch, the TikTok dance favorite. The Blame It On Baby single also has a Black Lives Matter remix and has remained near the top of the ‘Billboard’ Hot 100 all summer. The song racked up more than 380 million global plays on Spotify from June 1 to August 15.

Following up on the global list is The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights,” the late November After Hours single which the singer revealed is about drunk driving for a booty call and being blinded by streetlights (he dislaimed that he does not condone this behavior). “Blinding Lights” trailed “Rockstar” by about 40 million plays. After that, comes rap&B genre-bender Saint Jhn’s “Roses,” Jason Derulo and Jawsh 65’s “Savage Love,” and Harry Styles’ inescapable “Watermelon Sugar.”

Both the full Global list and US list can be seen below.

Global Top 10

1. DaBaby — “Rockstar” feat. Roddy Ricch
2. The Weeknd — “Blinding Lights”
3. SAINt JHN — “Roses – Imanbek Remix”
4. Jason Derulo & Jawsh 685 — “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)”
5. Harry Styles — “Watermelon Sugar”
6. Powfu, beabadoobee — “Death Bed (Coffee For Your Head)”
7. Lady Gaga — “Rain On Me” feat. Ariana Grande
8. Drake — “Toosie Slide”
9. Topic, A7S — “Breaking Me”
10. Tones And I — “Dance Monkey”

US Top 10

1. DaBaby — “Rockstar” featuring Roddy Ricch
2. Lil Mosey — “Blueberry Faygo”
3. StaySolidRocky — “Party Girl”
4. The Weeknd — “Blinding Lights”
5. Harry Styles — “Watermelon Sugar”
6. Jack Harlow — “What’s Poppin”
7. Juice WRLD — “Wishing Well”
8. Kid Cudi & Travis Scott (aka The Scotts) — “The Scotts”
9. Roddy Ricch — “The Box”
10. Juice WRLD & Marshmello — “Come & Go”

As the world went into lockdowns and quarantines barely two months into 2020, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah was one of the first broadcasts to switch to an “at home” format featuring Noah on his couch wearing a comfortable hoodie. Jokingly rebranded as The Daily Social Distancing Show, Noah became a go-to for insightful commentary and information in the early days of the pandemic. His surprisingly no-nonsense and engaging interview with Dr. Fauci before he became a Saturday Night Live sketch, and political target, has been viewed over 11 million times.

Unfortunately, the coronavirus wasn’t the only major news event that broke during the spring. The killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor sparked nationwide and global Black Lives Matter protests in late May. At the time, The Daily Show was on a two-week hiatus, which Noah appreciated for a simple and insightful reason.

“I was glad that we weren’t on the air. I couldn’t speak. I had to listen,” Noah explained to Variety. The time absorbing the protests also caused Noah to rethink details like his wardrobe when the show returned to cover the growing movement. “I wore a black hoodie for a while. Not to build it up, but I just — I didn’t feel like color, you know? Every day, when I walked into the closet, it didn’t feel like a purple day; it didn’t feel like a green day; it didn’t feel like a red day. It felt like a black day.”

It’s that type of thinking that led Jon Stewart to recently praise The Daily Show for being “better” with Noah behind the desk, especially when it comes to bringing more diverse opinions to the show. While admitting his own failings at not making The Daily Show more inclusive, Stewart had nothing but praise for Noah while talking to Howard Stern. “It took 16 years to change it at a glacial pace. Because that kind of mindset to me, because I didn’t grow up in it… it’s not a part of me,” Stewart said. “For Trevor, it’s a part of him. It flows from him naturally… It makes it better. The show is better.”

(Via Variety)