Even though many of us are currently a month or more into working from home, that doesn’t mean we’re remotely used to this new normal yet. Sure, we can set up schedules so that we complete our work in a timely manner, but a mid-afternoon nap or yet another snack break always seems to beckon us away from our laptops, like the proverbial siren’s song.

Partly out of hunger, but mostly due to boredom, many of us have found that we’re stuffing our faces with pretzels, chips, and cheese balls during these long quarantine days. We’re also snacking on sweets and desserts. With our seemingly endless free time we’re baking up brownies, blondies, and any number of cakes. And we need something to pair them with — that “something” being whiskey.

To get more specific, we asked some of our favorite bartenders to tell us the best whiskeys to pair with our insatiable sweet snacking.

Oban 14 Year

Peter Ruppert, beverage director at Short Stories in New York City

Dessert can be tricky because it’s very much so its own dish but if I were to pair it with anything, I’d say Oban 14 Year fits. Although it’s aromatic, it’s not too smokey or oaky so it actually has the ability to compliment something like a rich cake without stealing the show.

Michter’s American Whiskey

Piero Procida, bartender at The London West Hollywood in Los Angeles

Michter’s American Whiskey. I enjoy desserts that are typically very sweet, but you also don’t want to overpower it with a heavy, smoky, or spicy whiskey — which is easy to do with most Whiskey’s. Michter’s has a subtle sweetness which complements a sweet treat very well, but is still strong enough to cut down the sugars. I think that makes for a great pair.

Laphroaig 10 Year

James Arensault, director of food & beverage at Harbor View Hotel on Martha’s Vineyard

I’d pair a single malt possibly Glenfiddich or Laphroaig. Scotch and blended Scotches typically pair better with sweeter items. The smoothness and oak notes present a good contrast.

Glenmorangie Nectar d’Or

Zac Johnson, general manager at JJ’s Wine, Spirits, and Cigars in Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Glenmorangie Nectar d’Or would be my choice. It’s been finished in French Sauternes barrels so it has a great natural orange and lemon sweetness to it that would go great with any kind of cheesecake as a compliment. My choice, I would go with a basic chocolate and caramel drizzled cheesecake.

Blanton’s Bourbon

Brandon Carter, chef at FARM in Bluffton, South Carolina

Probably Blanton’s. It tastes like French toast and French toast (even though it’s not technically a dessert) sounds pretty delicious right now.

Glenfiddich 15 Year

Sebastien Derbomez, brand advocacy manager at William Grant & Sons

Glenfiddich 15 Year will be my choice; the solera system used to age this whisky makes it truly unique. It’s a multi-layered silky smooth whisky, it will take your dessert experience to the next level.

Rebecca Creek Texas Whiskey

Jon Joseph, bartender at JL Bar Ranch, Resort & Spa in Sonora, Texas

We would have to go with Rebecca Creek. This whiskey is a blend of bourbons that can range from 10 years and younger. It’s silky smooth on the pallet like a good dessert. We don’t want to overpower it, but complement it. You taste some dried tropical fruits with a finish of nuts and vanilla. Of course, this is from Texas.

Aberlour 12 Year

Hayden Miller, head bartender at Bodega Taqueria y Tequila in Miami

A Speyside Scotch whisky with sherry in the finish really comes to mind for me with something like a rich, sweet dessert. Both Balvenie and Aberlour double cask mature their 12-year statements, the marriage of oak and sherry creates a unique finish. The nature of Scotch itself both complements and cuts the sweetness of the dessert while the subtle notes of sherry blend with the richness.

Monkey Shoulder

Nicole Quist, beverage director at Bartaco in Aventura, Florida

A great dessert deserves a balanced, blended whisky. I’m a Monkey Shoulder blended Scotch whisky girl. The vanilla notes + richness make it the perfect dessert pairing whisky.

Writer’s Pick:

Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon

This high-rye bourbon is full of favors like dried fruits, vanilla, chocolate, and caramel and would pair perfectly with something like sticky toffee pudding or simply a piece of dark chocolate.

HBO‘s Betty follows a group of young women — all real-life skaters, who aren’t Actors with a capital “A,” in fictionalized roles — who simply want to skate. Depending on your baseline interest in their culture, you might initially assume that this TV show is not for you. Yet if you take the ride, you’ll be treated to the street-level adventures of effortlessly cool characters, several of whom would literally give you the shirts off their back… to mop up the blood when you inevitably fall and scrape the hell out of your own bod. You’re probably not as hip as they are, but they’d still have your back, quite like they watch out for each other. It’s also a freeing viewing experience that lets you live vicariously as the ladies glide down the street in beautifully shot, authentic sequences.

Betty also does something notable with its title. It reclaims an often pejorative term, used by male skaters, used to describe female hangers-ons at skate parks, who didn’t always, you know, skate. Let me assure you that these ladies skate, and they frequently do so together out of a sense of community, although they might happen to pull off solo board-bound tricks in parks along the way, all in six breezy half-hours of programming.

As a TV show, Betty is very slice-of-life and doesn’t necessarily set out to make any heavy-hitting statements. A few do happen, although they feel organic, and the show feels like an immersive experience for all involved, including the audience. The series is part-continuation/part-spinoff of the 2018 narrative feature film, Skate Kitchen, from director Crystal Moselle (The Wolfpack), once again working within the cinema verité movement with a slightly different structure than the movie. That film brought us the coming-of-age adventures of an inclusive group of friends who spend their free moments in skate parks. Things got a little heavy at times when real-life responsibilities (and people) intruded on the vibe, but Betty manages to cut out a lot of those distractions, even with an increased overall runtime. Much of the cast reprise their roles with their characters experiencing fewer outside stressors to conquer, leading to a series that’s a little lighter, more freewheeling, and pure pleasure to witness.

The plot of Betty also feels fast-and-loose, and mostly there to string together the tight relationships between these characters. They’re largely a collective, yet the end result of their tight-knit group is liberating, in a way that showcases Moselle’s nearly unparalleled ability to harness an authentic view of youth culture. A lot of that, I believe, is down to how she discovers her subjects in a way that feels like fate. Moselle’s been perfectly open about how, prior to making The Wolfpack, she spotted the six Angulo brothers, all dressed like the suited-and-sunglassed characters from Reservoir Dogs, and chased after them down a New York street to investigate their story. That encounter led to a documentary film, but with Skate Kitchen, Moselle’s initial discovery of her stars turned into inspiration to cast them in fictionalized roles. The end result is that we, like Moselle, want to follow them and see what happens next, even if they’re only spending a day tracking down a backpack or getting high or having conversations that give viewers a fly-on-the-wall look at what young women really discuss when guys aren’t around.

As the origin story goes with the Betty ladies, Moselle overheard a conversation between these two (^^^^^^) New York skaters, Nina Moran and Rachelle Vinberg, and she immediately felt compelled to learn more about the pair. She subsequently met their friends from the Skate Kitchen gathering of female skaters, and she got to know their struggles and successes, on and off the board. Moselle simply hung out with them, much like what happens in Betty with plot coming secondary. So, what actually happens takes a back seat to the overarching attraction — like the director, the audience is driven to simply follow these girls in a quest to learn more about them.

Skate Kitchen viewers will notice that the main characters keep their names for the TV series, but some of their personalities are tweaked. They meet and interact with each other in slightly different ways, and their backstories also receive adjustments. For that reason, the stories presented in Betty feel fresh. This happens sort-of in an alternate-universe way but one that still feels comfortable and true to the characters’ spirits. The tweaking of these stories also helps to reinforce how these ladies were meant to find each other and become almost family, all while standing firm in a male-dominated world, in which men do still sometimes consider them outsiders, despite the occasional public display of respect for their tricks and speed skills.

Here’s a quick rundown of the main fab five of Betty (from left to right, above), who all appeared in Skate Kitchen:

– Honeybear (Kabrina “Moonbear” Adams) is an enigmatic documentarian whose story takes her into first-love territory while examining her true self in relation to what her family expects;

– Indigo (Ajani Russell) is the hustler of the bunch, as both a bit of a weed dealer and an aspiring model. She’s inventive when it comes to digging out of scrapes and is fiercely loyal. Unlike with the movie, she’s a novice skater in the TV show;

– Kirt (Nina Moran) is the most mellow, stereotypical stoner type of the bunch, never worrying about anything until someone attempts to do one of her friends dirty. If that happens, watch out, the fists will fly;

– Janay (Dede Loveless) is the vlogger who finds herself tangentially involved in a #MeToo story, one that demonstrates Betty‘s deft handling of a few complex issues in contemplative ways without falling into heavy-handed approaches;

– Camille (Rachelle Vinberg) is the reflective, bespectacled one who expends too much energy in attempting to be taken seriously by the guys. She’s most prone to straying from the girl gang but always knows how to come home;

Together, they’re an unassumingly entertaining crew, whose stories don’t shy away from harsh realities, from which they eventually emerge with glorious results. This is where I want to briefly mention the first scene of Skate Kitchen (available on Hulu) because that’s what the movie, and Betty, all come back to reinforcing. The scene was actually a sobering one and lifted straight from Rachelle Vinberg’s (first) real-life credit-carding trauma. That crude injury’s name refers to what crudely happens when a lady skater takes a spill and lands with the board between her legs. Yes, it’s gruesome, but the scene sent an immediate message: Moselle aimed to present the female skater experience, not only through brutal realities but by later showcasing transcendent moments that make the bruises, scrapes, and stitches seem like badges of honor.

There’s an overriding freedom that these young women claim from the perspective of their boards. They’re well aware of the risks, and their journey is an intoxicating one. Betty is contagious and worth your time to witness.

HBO’s ‘Betty’ debuts on Friday, May 1 at 11:00 pm EST.

Leslie Knope friends with her whole heart on Parks And Rec, making it her mission to give the best gifts and be there for the people in her life with unflappable dedication and fervor. It’s a lot, but it’s all coming from a place of love so you need to just deal with it and be overpowered by the force of her goodness. The question is, who is Leslie’s best friend? Ben Wyatt, her adorkable husband is, of course, an easy answer, but we’re gonna go ahead and disqualify him for the purposes of this conversation. Instead, we’re looking at two prime, non-soulmate candidates: Ann Perkins and Ron Swanson. To be sure, each has a case to make, and two of our writers are game to try as we both debate the matter and look back on some of the best episodes from both the Leslie-Ann and Leslie-Ron friend odyssey in recognition of Thursday night’s one-off return on NBC.

“The Fight” Season 3, Episode 13

Leslie and Ann have their first major fight thanks to a bottle of Snake Juice and Ann’s refusal to prep for a job interview (that Leslie forced upon her).

Jason Tabrys (Team Ron): I feel like before we can even decide whether Ron or Ann wins the blue ribbon here, we need to discuss Leslie’s penchant for treating her friends like paper dolls, arranging their lives in a way that pleases her. Is Leslie, herself, best friend material with this bad habit?

Jessica Toomer (Team Ann): Leslie certainly suffers from “know-it-all syndrome,” but her heart is always in the right place and I think that’s what makes it forgivable. I also suspect you’re trying to postpone this debate because you’ve chosen the wrong side to argue for and I refuse to let you use Leslie as a scapegoat. You picked the mustachioed meat-eater, make your case, or let’s move on.

Jason: I’m not stalling, but I do want to take a moment to note my respect for booze. This isn’t an appreciation of it, though that could also be warranted. It’s respect, and a little bit of fear. As you see in this episode, booze can be a truth serum, of sorts, nudging people to more easily spill when it comes to the mistakes they think their friends are making (in this case, related to Ben and Leslie’s pacing and Ann’s taste in men). I’m team Ron all the way on all the things, but I’ll acknowledge that it’s a win for your side that Leslie and Ann can find a way to move past a night of copious drinking and truth-telling. Hell, it’s impressive that they survived Snake Juice at all.

“Ron & Tammys” Season 4, Episode 2

Ron’s first ex-wife, Tammy 1, and his mother, Tammy 0, begin exerting their control over his life so Leslie enters a “prairie drink off” to win Ron his freedom from both women.

Jessica: Lots of regret and shame is the official slogan of Snork Juice for a reason, but even more deadly than that vial of rat poison is Ron’s legion of ex-wives: The Tammys. We meet Tammy One first and Leslie is woefully outmatched. What’s worse? She doesn’t even know it. Perhaps, if Ron was more forthcoming about his personal life, this entire fiasco could’ve been avoided.

Jason: I like my friends to try and preserve the mystery and live lives independent of me. Ron doesn’t feel the need to lean too heavily on other people. He’s the perfect friend to sit stoically with, forsaking all touchy feeliness. Still, Leslie is the opposite of that and her heart is so quakingly big that she has to be the savior when people don’t want or can’t convey their need to be saved. Is it as big as her liver after going up against Ron’s mamma in a drink off? Only medical science can know.

Jessica: Isn’t that the rub though? Should Leslie have to literally risk her life just because Ron refuses to share anything of meaning with her. I adore their workplace friendship but at the end of the day, that’s all it really is. If Leslie wasn’t so involved in the Parks and Rec department, would these two even have a relationship?

Jason: You’re dealing in hypotheticals. Leslie’s life is her job. All of her friends are connected to that place, even Ann. She met Ann at a town forum. Got closer to her because of efforts to clean up the lot next to her house and closer still when they started working together. Ann is a work friend and Ron is a work friend. It just so happens that they both have non-work things spill over into their day to day at city hall. That doesn’t mean they’re bad friends, just terrible employees.

“Ann’s Decision” Season 5, Episode 12

Ann decides she’s ready to have a baby but her sperm donor candidates fail to impress Leslie.

Jessica: Harsh, but fair. Still, Ann and Leslie’s friendship feels exponentially more intimate than whatever she has with Ron. Case in point: this episode, which sees both women wade through potential sperm donors when Ann decides she’s ready for motherhood. It’s clear Leslie doesn’t agree with this path, but after she voices her opinion, she still tries to help Ann in her pregnancy quest. I think the mark of a good friendship is understanding that your differences don’t have to be deal-breakers. Of course, that also means sometimes you need to compromise your own views to support the other person. I think Ron Swanson would probably label the term “compromise” the fallacy on which the bureaucratic quagmire that is local government is built, no?

Jason: Ron and Leslie are so opposite that every minute he tolerates the incursion that is her friendship qualifies as a compromise. Still, he lets her get deeper into his life than almost anyone. It’s also worth pointing out that while Ann and Leslie’s friendship is more intimate, attaining an intimate friendship with Ron Swanson is a harder won glory. With that said, I recognize the powerful emotional connection a more immersive friendship delivers… you know, from stories and what other people tell me. So while I see a lot of value in the Ron/Leslie dynamic, I’m starting to cede territory in this fight because there’s no Ron/Leslie moment that compares to the heartache and destruction endured when Leslie and Ann experienced real distance from each other.

“Ann & Chris” Season 6, Episode 13

Leslie throws a going away party for Ann and Chris before they leave Pawnee for good but she runs into problems when her plan to surprise Ann leads them both on a scavenger hunt.

Jessica: I feel like you’re luring me into a false sense of security here, but fine, I’ll go with it and concede a small victory to you in return. Is it unfair that Ann ends up leaving Pawnee, which gave the show an excuse to highlight the entirety of their friendship with this going away episode? Probably. But you’ve got to admit watching them scramble to get Lot 48 opened so they could personally break ground together before Ann took off for Michigan was the perfect tribute to their friendship.

“Ron & Jammy” Season 7, Episode 2

To win a crucial re-zoning vote, Leslie enlists Ron’s help in prying Councilman Jamm from Tammy 2’s evil clutches.

Jason: No Swanson fan would diminish the power of completing a long-in-development project, though they might remark that said project only took so long because it was bogged down by governmental bureaucracy. Permit me, however, to add that while that achievement was a defining triumph for Ann and Leslie, Ron faced his (and any other human person’s) greatest fear in a seductive, magnetic, soul-sucking ex with only Leslie and the confidence earned by his relationship with a total non-Tammy (a relationship partially made possible by Ron’s softened edges and willingness to let people in thanks to his friendship with Leslie) and came out unscathed. Improvement, the rarest of human achievements. Made possible by the rarest of friendships.

Jessica: Dial it back. Was it nice to see the dynamic duo back together again to take on Tammy Two? Sure, but this whole de-radicalization session was instigated by Leslie in an effort to sway Jamm to her side … and away from Ron’s. The only reason she recruited Ron’s help was that Jamm was in too deep, and the only reason Ron gave his aid was because he can’t stand weakness or pathetic imitations of his mustache. Nothing felt solved in this episode, just backburnered and that’s another strike against the friendship between Ron and Leslie. Both are willing to let grudges fester for the sake of their own pride. Ann would never.

“Leslie & Ron” Season 7, Episode 4

The Parks and Rec gang lock a feuding Leslie and Ron in their office in a bid to get them to hash out their differences and resume their friendship.

Jason: I always thought it was a weird tonal shift to go from the de-escalation pact to the heights of antipathy that we see in this episode before the eventual thaw. But I think it’s important to look in awe at a friendship that can mend rifts, even long term ones. It takes a big person to admit their wrong and a big friendship for two people to do that and also be vulnerable. Especially when you consider how big a move that is for Ron. Though, I will acknowledge that it’s something Ann and Leslie also did as well.

Ultimately, our quibbling doesn’t really matter. Both of these characters had amazing TV relationships with Leslie that, honestly, portrayed some of the best parts of friendship. I’m ready to extend the hand of peace and understanding here and say, in the most un-Swanson-y of ways, that perhaps this contest should end in a draw and the declaration that Leslie can, in fact, have two best friends. Will you meet me halfway?

Jessica: How very Ann Perkins of you. But yes, I suppose in the grand scheme of things, Leslie needed both Ron and Ann, her cunning, pliable, chestnut-haired sunfish as her best friends to truly succeed — in her career and in life. And really, they’re both a giant step up from Parker Posey’s Lindsay Carlisle Shay. She once fed waffles from JJ’s Diner to a dog. WAFFLES!

Jason: On this, we can agree. Dogs are amazing. Mine is my true best friend, but that doesn’t mean I’d share my waffles with her… or anyone, to be honest.

‘Parks And Rec’ is available to stream on Netflix.

Days after Beyonce and Meg Thee Stallion linked up for a thrilling remix of “Savage,” another pair of prominent female artists are putting their talents together for a remix of their own. After garnering a huge amount of attention from her sophomore album, Hot Pink, Doja Cat recruits Nicki Minaj to deliver a new remix of her hit song, “Say So.”

Giving the “Say So” an added dose of color as it currently sits at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, Nicki Minaj’s remix comes just weeks after fans of both artists found themselves in a war of words on Twitter. After declaring herself a “huge fan of Nicki” in an interview with Billboard, a fan shared a fictional Rolling Stone cover that’s depicted Doja, Nicki, and Megan Thee Stallion standing together from left to right. A fan suggested that Doja should be in the center position as opposed to Nicki, and soon the Barbz emerged to battle and defend themselves Nicki after Doja referred to them as “Twitter Gangsters.” The battle would later cause #DojaCatisOverParty to trend, but with the fire out for the time being, Doja and Nicki use the beauty of music to unite their fans.

The remix also comes a little over a month after Doja Cat delivered a remix of Ari Lennox’s “BMO.”

Watch the video above to hear “Say So (Remix).”

Lil Tjay recently passed the half-year mark for his debut album, True 2 Myself, an album that saw a top-five placement on the Billboard album charts and churned out a pair of gold singles in “Leaked,” which would be later remixed by Lil Wayne, and “Ruthless,” as well as the platinum single, “Brothers.” After sharing a tropical video for “Sex Sounds” earlier this month, Lil Tjay may be beginning the journey towards his next project thanks to his latest release.

Sharing “Ice Cold” with fans, the single finds him looking to overcome the struggles life have presented to him. Last week, Lil Tjay announced on Instagram that “Lane Switch,” which also appears on his True 2 Myself debut, achieved gold status. In the post, Tjay said, “I got some shit for y’all coming soon… appreciate ya for everything thoe we just getting started.” Keeping his promise, Tjay teased a preview of “Ice Cold” for fans while driving through the city. Arriving much sooner than expected, the single makes a smooth arrival for fans to enjoy.

Lil Tjay also appeared on Fivio Foreign’s recent released project, 800 BC where the two collaborated on “Ambition.”

Press play on the video above to hear “Ice Cold.”

Billions moves fast. Really fast. The Showtime drama about power-hungry hedge fund traders and the power-hungry government officials trying to stop them careens from one storyline to the next at a speed that makes the show deliciously addictive. It also makes it a little tricky to keep up with. I adore the show completely and yet even I, a person who is paid to watch and write about it, sometimes have trouble remembering everything that has happened over its run.

And so, with the fifth season upon us and four seasons of plot in our rearview, a project: A Billions Glossary, with a (somewhat) helpful nugget about the show assigned to each letter of the alphabet. Does it mention Ice Juice? Oh, you know it mentions Ice Juice. Is the entry for P “poop train”? Yup, that’s in here, too. Will there be screencaps of a mostly nude Paul Giamatti strapped into leather contraptions? My friends, you need only wait until the letter B.

Get out your highlighters. We are doing education.

Axe Capital

The hedge fund run by Bobby “Axe” Axelrod, an apex predator masquerading as a blue-eyed human, who is constantly under investigation by someone or under attack from a rival billionaire. Usually both. Everyone who works there is a terrible person. Everyone on the show is a terrible person, actually. That’s what makes it fun.

Bondage

There’s no way around it: if you watch Billions, you’re going to see Chuck Rhoades, the former U.S. Attorney and political candidate and full-time schemer played by Paul Giamatti, shacked into all sorts of leather contraptions. Heck, the whole series opened with him getting humiliated and urinated on by a dominatrix. Like, in the first 90 seconds. It’s part of his personality, exerting dominance and power in his job and seeking submission and pain in his leisure time. In season four, these aspects of his private life were about to be revealed to the public, so he beat everyone to the punch by revealing it all himself in a press conference.

It was kind of like the press conference where Tony Stark reveals that he’s Iron Man, but… different.

Clandestine Meetings

There are so many clandestine meetings on Billions. Just an absolute smorgasbord of them. At the docks, on a roof, in the kitchen of a Michelin-starred restaurant, in a park in the middle of the night, really anywhere that two characters can meet in secret to discuss ruining a third character, which happens at least one per episode and is a blast. Clandestine meetings are fun. We should all be having more of them.

Dollar Bill

A few notes about Dollar Bill Stern:

• Morally bankrupt trader who will do almost anything to make money
• Has two separate families, which is mentioned very infrequently on the show and is something I would watch an entire episode about
• Played by Kelly AuCoin, who also played Pastor Tim on The Americans, which will mean very little to you if you haven’t seen both shows and will be earth-shattering news if you have

He’s a maniac. It’s great.

Eastern District of New York

The office that was headed up by Chuck Rhoades when he was a U.S. Attorney, probably the most famous and important district in the country, and the one largely tasked with tackling corporate and Wall Street malfeasance. You may also recognize it from the Fyre Fest documentary, which referenced Billions, in a snake-eating-its-rail situation unlike any other.

Facial hair

Lots of great facial hair on Billions, starting with Mike “Wags” Wagner, Axe’s number two at the firm, an unapologetic hedonist and the possessor of a truly magnificent mustache that curls into two evil little points at the ends.

It’s not just mustaches, though. Please also note the eyebrows sported by Chuck’s father, Charles Senior, who is becoming more and more hilariously debaucherous each season and might at any point tell his grown son about things he did in a bathhouse 30 years ago.

Giamatti

Yes, the bondage was already mentioned, but Paul Giamatti gets a second entry on this list. It can’t be avoided. The performance he gives on Billions is masterful, the full Giamatti, rage and embarrassment and dancing and all of it. The man is an icon, as this context-free GIF from the show can confirm.

Note the spittle. Always note the spittle.

Heidecker, Craig

The show’s stand-in for Elon Musk, who, in a brief run, seduced Chuck’s wife and then died in a private rocketship explosion that was broadcast on live television. Also, and this is extremely important, he was played by James Wolk, the actor responsible for the roles of Bob Benson on Mad Men and renegade zoologist Jackson Oz on Zoo and for saying the phrase “squid pro quo” on Watchmen. A remarkable career.

Ice Juice

Everything happens so much on Billions, to a degree that it could be easy to overlook the names of the companies the characters are investing in. Don’t do that. Never do that. If you do that, you might miss solid gold like Ice Juice (an all-natural energy drink company that Axe ruins by poisoning its supply and tanking its IPO) and SugarVape (a vape company that… actually, you probably get the gist of this one already). Billions does the big things very well, but it might do the small things even better.

Jeffcoat, Jock

Attorney General, big loud Texan, fan of analogies about bulls and other livestock, thorn in the side of Chuck Rhoades, champion in the field of establishing dominance by putting his feet up on someone else’s desk. Gets cussed out in Italian by Chuck in a rant that you can understand completely without translating a single word. Great villain.

Kleptocracy

The surprising thing isn’t that Billions introduced a mysterious and menacing Russian oligarch played by John Malkovich in a full-on “Teddy KGB from Rounders” accent. The surprising thing is that it took them all the way until season three to introduce a mysterious and menacing oligarch played by John Malkovich in a full-zone Teddy KGB from Rounders” accent. He lost his battle with Axe and retreated to Russia and the possibility of his return at any moment is very exciting.

Liars

Everyone on the show is an unrepentant liar who will smile in your face while picking your pocket. Most lines of dialogue involve a scheme or a plot or an ulterior motive. Everyone is playing an angle, all the time. If this seems like a pretty obvious and straightforward entry for the letter L, that’s because the other option here was “Leather” and I’m not sure this article can sustain that much Bondage Giamatti. So, liars it is.

Monologues

One of the best things about Billions. Often happens at the clandestine meetings. A surprising number of them start with an interesting fact about nature or wildlife and then slowly wind and twist their way to making a point about the events on the show through that illustration. It’s kind of like how supervillains in comic book movies explain their motives with a speech that opens with “When I was a boy…” but instead it gives you a cool fact from National Geographic. It’s awesome. Everyone should talk like this all the time. Like, the next time a waiter asks you if you want an appetizer, start your reply with a long pause and then say “Anteaters, on average, consume over 30,000 ants a day” and keep talking for 90 seconds. Then order the bruschetta.

Non-binary

One of the show’s main characters, Taylor Mason, a brilliant trader and burgeoning rival for Axe, identifies as non-binary, using they/them pronouns instead of he/him or she/her. Taylor is a great character, perhaps the most interesting on the show, and a refreshing addition to the Swaggering Dude Energy you see at Axe Capital (and at most real-life hedge funds). At one point they had a fling with a character played by Mike Birbiglia, because Billions is tremendous at rolling notable guest stars in and out of the series.

Ortolans

A substantial number of scenes in Billions happen during meals, and many of those meals probably cost as much as your lawnmower. It’s borderline food porn in places, with slow-motion shots of truffle-shaving and long lingering looks at primo cuts of steak. The best example of this was the time Axe and Wags got together to eat ortolans, small birds you consume whole in a cult-like ceremony that involves draping a cloth over about 70 percent of your face. If this does not make you hungry (no thanks!), just wait. Wags will shove a cheeseburger into his mouth at some point and get the train back on the track. Speaking of trains…

Poop Train

In season four, as part of a plot to get revenge on Jock Jeffcoat, Chuck Rhoades was able to stall a train near his Texas home, which would not have been a big deal had the train not been filled with human waste from New York construction site Port-a-Pottys that smelled so rancid it cause multiple people in its downwind path to vomit immediately. It was an important plot point. Serious consequences were felt by many. Because of the Poop Train. Your favorite show could never pull this off.

Quants

Quants are the math whizzes who use cold logic and many computers to identify potentially profitable trades. The old school traders like Dollar Bill hate them. Most of them are hopeless nerds, except for this guy, who looks like he’s about to explain The Matrix to you. The movie and the general concept.

Rhoades, Wendy

Quite possibly the most conflicted character on a show filled with conflicted characters. Brilliant psychologist, masterful performance coach, part-time dominatrix, also both married to Chuck and employed by Axe, two cobras who are circling each other at all times unless they are working together. Sometimes seems like the only character on the show with a conscience and then suuuurprise she’ll support a plan that involves seducing a heartsick puppy dog trader or ruining an oncologist who is in the way. Might be the smartest character on the show.

Sacker, Kate

Attorney who once worked for Chuck in the Eastern District, stayed there after he left, and is proving to be incredibly formidable. Does this thing when some guy is saying something dumb where she blinks her eyes long and slow and then, when her eyelids rise back up, reveals two lasers that are slicing that guy into pieces right where he stands. This is a metaphor. Barely.

Trickitude

Billions is chockablock with delightful words and phrases. In a single conversation, the show dropped “financial trickitude” and “trifecta of chicanery” as characters discussed how to bury “a patsy.” At one point, Chuck’s father described his sexual predilections as “childish enthusiasms.” The show can be a real treat for the ears sometimes.

Uncertainty

“I am not uncertain.” This is a phrase that is used frequently around Axe Capital, often by Dollar Bill. What it really means is something along the lines of “I know this for a fact but can’t say that because doing so would be an admission of guilt involving fraud or insider trading or both, so I’ll say this instead to give us the thinnest and flimsiest cover possible in case anyone is ever asked about it under oath by a government official.”

Vests

Nothing on this show is more accurate than the staggering number of fleece Patagonia vests worn by people in the finance industry. Vests galore. Vests as far as the eye can see. Not a sleeve in sight.

Wags

Mentioned yet again because Wags is the best. Sometime the show will have very little for him to do besides yell profanities at his underlings. Other times he’ll get kidnapped by foreign nationals or find himself mustache-deep in a multi-season ruse that involves wearing makeup and a dress to a prestigious event only to find out he’s been fooled by an attorney whose high-status burial plot he swiped using subterfuge. Wags is a terrible man who would leave you penniless in a heartbeat if it earned him a single dollar and yet he is still a joy in every way. It might be the show’s greatest trick.

Xavier

There is, at present, no character named Xavier on the show, although it would be nice if one is introduced soon, both because Xavier is a cool name and because it would help writers who pitch something like “what about a Billions Glossary?” to their editors without considering how tough it will be to find an entry for X.

Yarn Walls

Bryan Connerty is the Charlie Brown of Billions, an attorney who worked for Chuck before becoming hellbent on taking him down, to the degree he created a conspiracy board in his home. You know the ones, with pictures of the conspirators arranged in a triangle and pieces of string or lines of marker connecting them as the plot is uncovered, the kind usually created in mob or cartel investigators and/or by law enforcement types who are getting in way too deep and are slowly becoming unhinged. It feels like Connerty has had Chuck cornered at least three different times, only to watch him wriggle free at the last moment.

The whole series might end with everyone still rich and powerful and blessedly free of lessons learned except for Connerty, who will be penniless and sleeping on a park bench and mumbling about Ice Juice to a group of pigeons he feeds and created names and backstories for. This poor man.

Zero

The number of these people you’d want to know personally, despite them making for beautiful television.

Giving fans an ample prelude to his upcoming sixth album, Drake shared his latest project, Dark Lane Demo Tapes Thursday night. Fourteen songs deep with guest appearances from Future, Young Thug, and more, one highlight appearance on the project is made by Playboi Carti. Drake and Carti’s highly-anticipated single, “Pain 1993,” appears on the project after months of rumored release dates and leaked snippets.

The song’s history tracks back to last summer after longtime friend and fellow A$AP Mob associate, Ian Connor, posted a screenshot of the song’s audio file to Twitter. At the time Carti nor Drake confirmed the track existence and the storm of excitement around the song eventually died down. Months later, talk about “Pain 1993” increased once again after Drake not only previewed the song during an Instagram Live session with his engineer OVO Mark, but requested that Carti release the song for fans.

Carti would eventually return from hiding to release “@ Meh,” his first single in nearly two years. Upon its release, fans began to believe that his third album, Whole Lotta Red was very close to arriving while others believed that another single, “Pain 1993,” would be the next release from Carti, but both possibilities failed to become true. Putting the ball in Drake’s court, the track is now in the hands of both Drake and Carti fans thanks to Dark Lane Demo Tapes.

Press play on the video above to hear “Pain 1993.”

Dark Lane Demo Tapes is out now via OVO Sound. Get it here.

Following the strong return put forward by his fourth studio album, 4Real 4Real, it seemed like YG would make another quick return to music thanks to his Kehlani-featured single “Konclusions.” However, the apparent infidelity around their previous relationship tarnished the original look of the song as it set both artists on their own separate paths. Two months later, YG looks to get back on track and more importantly, enjoy the moment with his new single, “Laugh Now Kry Later!”

Chuckling throughout the song’s chorus, YG asks fans to do themselves a favor by laughing now and saving the tears for later. The track’s creation lands closer to the release of 4Real 4Real than the present as YG mentions his home being raided by authority back in July 2019 following a fatal shooting involving his SUV. “They just raided my house, they some fuckin’ haters / Momma on the phone, like, ‘Gotta be safe’ / Granny on three-way, granny sayin’ prayers.” Attached with a matching visual, YG shows off his carefree energy as he races along the coastline in a tan-colored Lamborghini.

The song also arrives after YG signed Day Sulan as the first artist to his 4Hunnid Records imprint after he inked a joint venture deal with Epic Records.

Press play on the video above to hear “Laugh Now Kry Later!”

---

View Entire Post ›

Last month marked the one-year anniversary of Khalid’s sophomore album, Free Spirit. The album earned a Grammy nomination for Record Of The Year with “Talk,” but prior to Grammy Award ceremony, Khalid was back in action sharing new music with fans just four months after the album thanks to a remix to “Right Back” with A Boogie With Da Hoodie. This trend continued for the following months and produced a number of singles including “Up All Night,” “Eleven,” and “Know Your Worth.” Fresh off sharing a remix for the latter with Davido and Tems, Khalid returns with Summer Walker by his side for another remix, this time for “Eleven.”

Embarking on a nighttime adventure together, Khalid announced the single with a 30-second teaser that found he and Summer Walker channel their Fast And Furious alter egos as they prepared to battle each other in a fierce race through the city. With Khalid keeping his verse intact on the remix, Summer Walker enters after with a verse of her own that finds her admitting to losing track of time with her lover and being unable to stay upset with she’s with them.

Press play on the clip above to hear the remix.