Category: Worldwide

Since COVID-19 was identified in December 2019, it has spread around the world, wreaking havoc on our daily lives.

As of July 6, 2020, there have been over 11.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported across 216 countries and territories.

Over 500,000 people have died.

Cities and countries instituted strict lockdowns or issued shelter-in-place orders, but as we retreated indoors to flatten the curve, economies ground to a halt. Millions of people have lost their jobs. Hospital ICUs hit capacity. Inequality has been made painfully obvious as the most marginalized communities are forced to bear the worst impacts. Never before has it been more clear just how interconnected our health and the health of the planet truly is.

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Experts have been warning of a coming pandemic for decades and yet, we weren’t ready when the reality hit.

Now, as cities and countries work towards recovery, it’s clear we’ve come to a crossroads. If we want true recovery and resilience in case of a future disaster, we’re going to need both social and environmental justice.

That is why in April 2020, C40 mayors launched the Global Mayors COVID-19 Recovery Task Force.

The goal is simple: rebuild cities and economies in a way that improves public health, reduces inequality, and addresses the climate crisis — keeping global heating below 1.5°C.

The mayors laid out their collective vision for a better future by detailing what actions they’re doing or plan to do:

Step one is creating green new jobs for an inclusive economy.

Los Angeles, for example, is investing in training for new green jobs to transition to an inclusive economy, while Seoul plans to create around 20,000 green jobs by retrofitting buildings by 2022.

This also involves taking steps towards upskilling or reskilling the workforce.

Medellín, Colombia is training 25,000 people in science, technology and innovation. They’re also devoting special focus to empowering women.

“We bet on science, technology, and innovation to deal with the coronavirus,” says Mayor Daniel Quintero. “But [we] also recognize that education is the most powerful tool for transforming, not only this society, but any society.”

“We can’t build a society that leaves half of its people behind.”

Step two is working towards resilience and equity by providing fundamental public services for everyone.

This involves investing in public services, such as clean water, food, sanitation, and affordable, safe housing.

It also means investing in public transit, cycling, electric vehicles, and low emission zones.

London is rolling out one of the biggest car-free initiatives of any city in the world. Ongoing efforts to improve air quality have already reduced air pollution in the city by 35%. Meanwhile, Quezon City has launched an urban agriculture program by changing its zoning ordinances. These urban farms will improve the city’s resilience to climate breakdown. In fact, during the pandemic, the city government and their partners have already provided 3.2 million food aid packages to vulnerable populations in just two months.

Finally, step three is taking action for health and well-being by giving public space to people and nature, reclaiming streets, guaranteeing clean air, and creating livable communities.

Freetown committed to growing and planting one million trees across the city in one year as part of this and Melbourne is planting 150,000 trees and other plants to create habitats, support biodiversity, and create jobs for people unemployed due to COVID-19. Both Milan and Paris committed to adopting plans to transform into “15-minute cities,” where all residents will be able to meet most of their needs within a short walk or bicycle from their homes.

But the C40 mayors aren’t stopping there. They’re also calling on national and regional governments, central banks, and international institutions to join them.

Specifically, they’re calling on them to deliver a green and just recovery by:

1. Ensuring that the only stimulus is a green stimulus
2. Committing to an equitable and inclusive recovery
3. Protecting and championing mass transit
4. Prioritizing and investing in clean energy
5. Investing in resilient cities as the engines of recovery
6. Ending all public fossil fuel investments and subsidies.

Want to ensure your city gets involved? Sign this petition and tell G20 countries to spend public money on a safe and just recovery for everyone in your city.

Long before Brad Pitt was outcool-ing Leonardo DiCaprio (and the entire audience) in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, he was turning down a ton of roles. (No surprise there.) Those roles included what was eventually an iconic turn by Keanu Reeves in The Matrix, and now, Cameron Crowe is opening up about another role that Pitt decided to slide past. On a Cadence13 podcast, “Origins,” Crowe visited to celebrate on an episode called “Almost Famous Turns Twenty.” The director revealed that Pitt had crushed hopes and dreams that he’d rock out as charismatic Stillwater lead guitarist Russell Hammond.

Billy Crudup went on to play the role, but Crowe revealed to host James Andrew Miller that he cried after learning Pitt’s decision regarding the semi-autobiographical picture. Pitt was Crowe’s first choice and had even read for the role alongside Natalie Portman (as Penny Lane, who Kate Hudson eventually played, leading to an Oscar nomination), but it simply didn’t come together with the Se7en star. Via Radio.com:

“I wept. I knew that [Brad Pitt] had never fully fallen in love with the character. He had fallen in love with the idea of the character. But maybe there just wasn’t enough on the page. He told me that [the salary] wasn’t the case. I think it was probably half and half. I think he was also uncomfortable with the age difference between Russell and Penny Lane.”

Crowe also revealed that Frances McDormand’s role, that of Elaine Miller, nearly went to Meryl Streep, but clearly, everything worked out well for the movie. McDormand and Hudson both got Academy Award nods, and so did Crowe’s screenplay and film editors Saar Klein and Joe Hutshing. As for Pitt, he’s also doing fine. One can speculate all day about the reasons that he turned the role down, but I like to imagine he was still tired out from a certain cartoonishly violent Meet Joe Black scene.

(Via Cadence 13 & Radio.com)

Kamaiyah wants an apology from YG, her “Why You Always Hatin?” collaborator and former business partner, for things he said when she left his label, 4Hunnid Records. Despite being a XXL Freshman in 2017, Kamaiyah felt that 4Hunnid wasn’t the most supportive environment, leading to a falling out that dissolved their working relationship. The Bay Area rapper recounted the situation and expressed her wish for an amicable resolution in a recent interview.

“It’s just like, I’m not gon’ flourish here. If I stay here, I’m not gon’ ever be what I’m supposed to be and reach my maximum,” Kamaiyah said. “This ain’t a fit for me. It ain’t what I envisioned myself being.” She explained that although she tried to “stay loyal” to YG, the circumstances surrounding her departure from 4Hunnid have left the two on the outs — she said they haven’t been on speaking terms since, and explained that she won’t even try to reconcile unless she receives an apology. While she doesn’t share what was said between the two, she remains adamant on the apology.

“There was some things said that until you rectify and apologize, I feel like, ‘What’s the point in me having a conversation?’” she elaborated. “”‘Cause then, I’m pacifying your actions. And me being a woman and a queen that stand on my word I felt like you gotta be a man and stand on yours and apologize for some off the things that was said and done.”

Since then, Kamaiyah secured a release from Interscope and independently released her album Got It Made. YG, meanwhile, signed a new rapper to 4Hunnid, Day Sulan, whose Rubi Rose collaboration “Big” has become a sensation due to its racy video.

Yesterday, SZA shared a bit of an update about some music she’s been working on. She took to Twitter to reveal that she sent it to her mother to listen to, writing, “This morning I sent my mom unreleased music for the first time.. no ones opinion matters more than my ma .. cause she don’t know me like dat .. but she know me like det.”

A few hours later, her mother weighed in with some loving feedback. SZA shared a screenshot of the laudatory text her mother sent her, which reads, “Sitting here eyes closed, rocking from side to side to your music. There is no one quite like you and your sound. Soothing and disrupting at the same time. Such rich variations in texture, tone and tempos. And I was surprised and touched by the sweet homa’ge to your granny. Love it and love you and thank you so much for stepping out of what’s comfortable to share it with me. I feel so special [heart emojis]. Excited for you!”

This is a different reaction than it seems SZA’s mother had for Ctrl, as SZA doesn’t think her mother ever listened to her debut album. A fan asked if SZA’s mom still plays the album, and SZA responded, “Tbh ion think she ever did. before it came out she told me Beyoncé album made her feel too naked … so I knew once she heard doves n the wind it was a wrap for me.”

Almost exactly 25 years ago, Foo Fighters released their self-titled debut album. At the time of the band’s inception, Dave Grohl had extensive experience touring with Nirvana, but he wasn’t used to being the center of attention on stage. In honor of the band’s quarter-century anniversary, Grohl reminisced on the “terrifying” experiences of leading the band in the group’s early years.

Speaking about the band’s early years in an interview with Apple Music’s Matt Wilkinson, Grohl addressed the difficulty pivoting from being the drummer in Nirvana to leader of Foo Fighters. “Coming out and standing [on stage]… I mean, f*ck, I’d been sitting on a drum stool for so long that, oh my god, now I have to stand in front of people?” Grohl recalled. “How does my body move? What do I say in-between songs? These are the things that go through your head, and if you’re not feeling it or you don’t have that connection or confidence, it can be f*cking terrifying — and it was for eight years, 10 years or so. It took a long time for me.”

Grohl continued that he’s since gained confidence at center stage: “I mean now when I walk out on stage, it’s just like, ‘Hey. Okay, let’s go.’ But a long time ago, even doing interviews, I was shy. I was just insecure, self-aware. I just felt like I wasn’t used to being put in the forefront like that, and I can not even watch interviews from those days back then.”

Listen to Grohl’s full interview here.

Netflix is famously hesitant to release its viewership numbers, meaning we’ll never find out which season three episode of Fuller House is the most popular season three episode of Fuller House. How rude. But in a rare-if-deceptive peak behind the digital curtain, the streaming service has revealed its 10 most-watched original movies ever.

The data was acquired by Bloomberg, which notes, “Netflix only recently began to release handpicked data, often disclosed in quarterly financial results, and this is the first time Netflix has released a list of its 10 most popular original movies.” There’s a giant grain of salt we’ll get to, but for now, here’s the top-10 with the number of viewers within the first four weeks of the film’s debut. There’s a reason Bird Box 2 is in production:

1. Extraction (99 million)
2. Bird Box (89 million)
3. Spenser Confidential (85 million)
4. 6 Underground (83 million)
5. Murder Mystery (73 million)
6. The Irishman (64.2 million)
7. Triple Frontier (63 million)
8. The Wrong Missy (59 million)
9. The Platform (56.2 million)
10. The Perfect Date (48 million)

The list is dominated by star vehicles (Sandra Bullock in Bird Box, Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston in Murder Mystery) and action movies (Extraction, Spenser Confidential, Triple Frontier), while the two surprising inclusions are The Perfect Date (not the Noah Centineo teen movie I would have expected) and The Irishman. A great movie! But a three-hour-plus movie that lacks the crowd-pleasing high energy of, say, Goodfellas. The “oldest” film in the top-10 was released in late 2018, which might explain the lack of Bright and The Cloverfield Paradox; people are watching Netflix now more than ever.

Speaking of that: remember the grain of salt from before? The viewership numbers weren’t confirmed by an outside source, so you have to take Netflix’s word that they’re accurate; also, 99 million viewers sounds incredible, but 99 million people (probably) didn’t finish Extraction, as Netflix counts a view as someone who watches only two minutes. It’s misleading, but this list isn’t so much about the number of viewers; it’s about how much people freaking love Adam Sandler and/or Happy Madison movies.

Let’s start a campaign to get Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga in the top 10. I ONLY WANT TO HEAR “JA JA DING DONG” (sorry it’s in your head).

(Via Bloomberg)

Towards the start of the pandemic, Troye Sivan told fans he was growing restless in quarantine and that he planned to release new music soon. It looks like we’ve reached soon: Today, Sivan shared a new song called “Easy” and announced a new EP, In A Dream.

On the track, Sivan reflects on a relationship that’s falling apart, singing on the hook, “I can’t even look at you / Would you look at the space just next to your feet? / The wood is warping / The lines distorting / This house is on fire, woo! / Burning the tears right off my face / What the hell did we do? / Tell me we’ll make it through.”

Sivan says of the EP, “A story that’s still unfolding, this small collection of songs explores an emotional rollercoaster period in my life when the feelings and thoughts were most shockingly fresh. Revisiting these songs and moments is tough, but I’m proud of this music and excited to have it out in the world.”

Listen to “Easy” above and find the In A Dream art and tracklist below.

1. “Take Yourself Home”
2. “Easy”
3. “Could Cry Just Thinkin About You”
4. “Stud”
5. “Rager Teenager!”
6. “In A Dream”

In A Dream is out 8/21 via Capitol Records. Pre-order it here.

Noname won’t let her recent negative experiences with social media backlashes prevent her from continuing to share her thoughts on politics and social justice. Tuesday afternoon, she tweeted — and later deleted — another controversial opinion, this one relating to the current occupant of the White House.

While plenty of folks have expressed their distaste for Donald Trump, Noname warned against setting all of the current issues plaguing the world at his feet, reminding her followers that he’s just the latest in a long line of office holders who have supported harmful policies.

“Framing Trump as the worst president in U.S. history is unproductive and misleading,” she tweeted. “”You can’t measure presidents against each other when they’ve all in one way or another enacted crimes against humanity. Unless a president abolishes this U.S. colonial empire, they are all the same.”

She offered a few examples, writing, “Trump is horrible and has no business in any position of power but let’s not forget who expanded the prison industrial complex. Let’s not forget who had more drone strikes than any other president. Let’s not forget the 200,000 murdered during “War On Terror” which was imperialism.”

The tweets garnered a mixed reception — as they so often do. Of course, some commenters held the opinion that Trump has either severely mishandled a number of crises or outright attacked the civil liberties of marginalized people over the course of his first term. Others, meanwhile, thought that Noname had a point.

Noname herself previously admitted that she is no leader, but that she educated herself and started her book club to help others do the same. However, the outsized influence of her platform has certainly ensured that her opinions will reach a much wider group of people with diverse philosophies and beliefs and that not all of them will agree.

Previously, we wrote about the best bourbons for rum fans. So it’s only fair that we flip the tables and shout out the best rums for bourbon fans. In the prior piece, we talked about the flavor notes found in both spirits. Vanilla, baking spices, and toasted oak, to name a few. From there, the tastes of the two spirits can either diverge wildly or stick to a parallel path. The fun is tasting them and testing for overlap.

Since we’re talking about rums for bourbon fans, you can go ahead and put away that bottle of white rum immediately. For sipping purposes, you’ll need the aged stuff to really match the notes found in bourbon. Zack Musick, beverage director at Merriman’s in Hawaii likes to switch out friends’ bourbons for similar rums to see if they can even tell the difference.

“A great aged rum has a very similar flavor profile to bourbon,” he says. “The longer it’s spent in oak the more your whiskey fan will enjoy it.”

To make sure you find rums that you enjoy just as much as your favorite bourbons, we enlisted the help of a handful of well-known bartenders to help us find the right bottles.

Real McCoy 5

Kurt Bellon, general manager and beverage director at Chao Baan in St. Louis

Real McCoy 5 year, aged in heavily charred oak bourbon barrels, can start a nice semantics-based discussion of what really constitutes a whiskey.

Zacapa XO

Lynnette Marrero, mixologist and founder of Speed Rack

I would recommend Zacapa XO for bourbon fans because Zacapa rum is aged in two different bourbon casks. Initially in uncharred barrels that previously held bourbon, then again in re-charred barrels. The char level is set at #4 which re-engages the flavors of the whisky it previously held. The aromas and characters of vanilla, cherry, spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, all come through and add to the complexity of the rum. It continues into sherry barrels — which a lot of scotch is aged in.

So Zacapa Rum is crafted and aged in a way that whiskey lovers can appreciate.

Diplomatico Mantuano

Zack Musick, beverage director at Merriman’s in Hawaii

The rum that I find works the best is the Diplomatico Mantuano Extra Anejo. Beautiful dried fruit qualities as well as plenty of oak and vanilla. Serve it neat to turn any bourbon drinker into a rum lover.

Papa’s Pilar 24

Leo Morjakov, bartender at The Ebbitt Room at The Virginia Hotel in Cape May, New Jersey

The Ebbitt Room carries great rum from Key West — Papa’s Pilar 24. This is a great Caribbean rum with the taste of fruits and the color of bourbon. If you like an old fashioned, you should try one with this rum.

The Real McCoy 12

John Marchetti, bartender at Dr. BBQ in St. Petersburg, Florida

In my humble opinion, The Real McCoy 12 Year Aged Rum is superior to any other that I’ve tried. While I’m not the biggest bourbon drinker, I can appreciate a good bourbon when I taste it. This Barbados-born rum, free of any added sugar and coloring I might add, mixes the best of both worlds. It’s got enough sweetness to remind you that you’re drinking a rum but the fact that it’s been aged for 10 years in charred American oak bourbon barrels, gives it those wood and spice notes that some of the best bourbons’ are known for.

Perfect for bourbon fans who want a bit of sweetness but don’t want that syrupy mouthfeel of something mass-produced.

Ten to One

Nazar Hrab, beverage director at The Pineapple Club in New York City

Ten to One aged rum is the best rum for bourbon fans. They age it in bourbon barrels and this one is the easiest way to trick people into drinking rum.

Rhum Barbancourt 8

Melissa Reigle, beverage manager and head bartender at Byblos in Miami

Rhum Barbancourt 8 Year is a great rum for bourbon lovers. Because it is a rhum agricole it has lots of depth and funk, and the French oak barrel aging imparts the vanilla and baking spices from the rickhouse that bourbon lover’s love. Barbancourt also has enough heat to light up the back of your pallet like a solid rye but ends with a sweet, grassy note.

Rhum Clément 10

Juyoung Kang, lead bartender at The Dorsey inside The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas

The best rum for bourbon fans is Rhum Clément 10 Year because, taste-wise, it’s in the same range as a 10-year bourbon. It also has a complex barrel essence and just enough vanilla and baking spices to mimic bourbon.

Ron Zacapa 23

Jorge Centeno, chief spirits officer at the Deer Path Inn in Lake Forest, Illinois

Ron Zacapa 23 is the best rum for bourbon fans because it has many of the same characteristics as bourbon — a body with a spicy note and hints of rich chocolate.

Santa Teresa 1796

Frantjasko Laonora, head mixologist at Curaçao Marriott Beach Resort in Curaçao

Santa Teresa 1796. With elements of bitter chocolate, nuts, and buttery biscuits combined, this rum makes for a dry yet smooth and balanced rum. Whiskey drinkers might opt to drink this rum for it has a lot of oak and cherry notes.

WRITER’S PICK: Flor de Cana Centenario 12

This ultra-premium aged rum was matured for 12 years in American oak barrels. The result is a highly complex, oaky rum with hints of vanilla, honey, and caramel. A slow sipping rum worthy of the was ardent whiskey fan.

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

A fuzzed-out guitar teems with anticipation. It staggers before finding a confident stride as Elizabeth Stokes sings of giving up expectations. This juxtaposition between conviction and uncertainty defines The Beths’ sophomore effort, Jump Rope Gazers. Vibrant hooks like this one on their album opener, “I’m Not Getting Excited,” are what originally allured fans to the New Zealand indie rockers’ 2018 debut, Future Me Hates Me. Since then, The Beths have refined songs about anxiety and, through Jump Rope Gazers, speak to apprehension with the most confidence they’ve had yet.

The road to Jump Rope Gazers began with the success The Beths found in their debut record, which awarded them the opportunity to travel far from home. Subsequently, the band spent a year-and-a-half on the road, finishing off their world tour by sharing stages with the likes of Death Cab For Cutie and the Pixies. But despite the excitement, the rootlessness of life on the road also created a desire for stability.

The Beths returned home to discover more than themselves had changed — friends had moved to different countries and Stokes struggled to maintain emotional closeness with now long-distance friendships. Reflecting on these new challenges, Jump Rope Gazers wallows in nostalgia and grapples with self-doubt while leaning on the catharsis and comfort of shared experiences.

The record also makes use of all four members’ academic backgrounds in music — they originally crossed paths studying jazz at the University of Auckland — and they use their knowledge of theory to experiment more with tempos and time signatures, perhaps best heard on “Mars, The God Of War.” The drums thunder with a burst of energy before subsiding as Stokes lyrically details suppressed anger toward another. While they aren’t writing jazz compositions, they are using their knowledge and practice of music to pen tightly-packed power-pop.

But just as interesting as the musical construction of Jump Rope Gazers is how Stokes unpacks the intricacies of anxiety in a variety of ways, and songs like the album’s title-track touch on the subject more fluidly. Channeling contemporary songwriters like Soccer Mommy through Stokes’ scaling lilt, the cool-toned guitars leave a sense of sweeping sadness and nagging nostalgia. Stokes continues to wrestle with being direct, nearly disclosing her affection before second-guessing herself. “I’ve never been the dramatic type / But if I don’t see your face tonight / I… I guess I’ll be fine,” she sings.

Stokes has sung about battling self-doubt since the band’s inception but through Jump Rope Gazers, she has found new ways to cope with imposter syndrome. On “I’m Not Getting Excited,” lively chords contrast against Stokes’ lyrics, which speak to facing uncertainty with stoicism. But beneath the surface, Stokes knows this resignation really serves as a mask for insecurities. Piercing guitars offer a sonic metaphor for an all-encompassing sense of foreboding as Stokes sings of keeping her “grip on joy loose.” The guitar breaks down to a scaling solo during the bridge, evoking a bubble of anxiety as if it’s rising from the pit of the singer’s stomach.

Stokes is often guarded on Jump Rope Gazers but finds healing through leaning on loved ones for support. Tracks like “Don’t Go Away” overtly speak to the difficulties of losing relationships to distance. In between the effervescent power chords, Stokes reminisces on the times she took for granted before her best friend moved far from home while also recognizing the need for growth beyond a small town.

Through Jump Rope Gazers, The Beths learn age doesn’t promise self-assurance. Grappling with change and self-doubt can be daunting, but The Beths’ sophomore album finds solace through leaning on friendships while discovering that preparing for the worst can eclipse the joy in the present moment. Jump Rope Gazers recognizes that chasing dreams requires sacrifices but it’s ultimately worth the effort.

Jump Rope Gazers is out now via Carpark. Get it here.