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We Blind Taste Tested Fast Food Single Cheeseburgers, Here Is The Undeniable Champ

A person who prefers the single cheeseburger over a big juicy double is sort of like a person who likes hamburgers over cheeseburgers — f*cking weird. I’m sorry if that’s mean but I have a hard time understanding why the single fast food cheeseburger is even a thing. If you’re making a burger at home, or hitting up a restaurant I get it, there is no need for a double when you’re dealing with some thick and meaty patties, but the typical fast food cheeseburger is paper thin, throwing off the meatcheese-bun ratio. They’re almost always too bready and certainly not cheesy enough.

Some fast food restaurants, particularly the local chain variety (Jims, Douglas, Louis, Tams — whatever your city’s equivalent is) have gargantuan cheeseburgers that most people can’t take down in a single sitting. But even at those establishments, I’d rather order a double and split it in half with a friend than grab a single. The single cheeseburger, as far as I’m concerned, is a joke. Which of course got me wondering:

Could any fast food chain prove me wrong? Who actually makes the greatest single cheeseburger in all of fast food?

To get to the bottom of this, I put five single cheeseburgers from my five favorite fast food burger spots to the blind taste test to see if any of them could blow me away.

Methodology:

For this burger experiment, I zeroed in on five different stock cheeseburgers from a mix of fast casual and fast food restaurants. These five burger brands represent, in our opinion, the best of the best in the fast food landscape. The five brands we picked have routinely ranked in the top tier of our various double cheeseburger rankings, so presumably, the single cheeseburgers should also be delicious.

Because I wanted fair parameters, I opted against obscure burger builds and secret menu items with one exception. Here are the burgers we’re working with:

  • McDonald’s — Quarter Pounder
  • Five Guys — Patty Melt
  • In-N-Out — Single Cheeseburger
  • Shake Shack — Shack Burger
  • Wendy’s — Dave’s Single

So why Five Guys’ Patty melt over a regular Five Guys single cheeseburger? Because the patty melt uses the exact same bun, but flips it inwards, and the result is a significantly better burger (see our single review here). It won’t cost you more, it’s essentially the same burger, but better — so who is getting hurt here?

Because most of these burger restaurants aren’t right next to each other like the other restaurants in our fast food blind taste tests, it would’ve been impossible to make it home in time without the burgers getting soggy and cold, so I ate them at a local park. As an additional measure, I ordered each burger without sauce so they wouldn’t get too soggy in transit. That’s going to make each burger drier, but it’ll give the other ingredients an opportunity to really shine.

Once the five burgers were rounded up, I wore a blindfold and had my girlfriend cut each burger in half, and pass me each at random (I photographed the remaining half after the fact). I recorded some voice notes of my initial impressions, and once I had tasted all of them, ranked ’em from worst tasting to best. Here are the results.

Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Food Rankings From The Last Month

Part 1: The Burger Tasting

Taste 1:

Single Cheeseburger Ranking
Dane Rivera

Meaty and salty, I’m getting a pronounced American cheese flavor here that pairs nicely with the beefy flavor, which is very present despite this being a single cheeseburger. The tomato adds a blast of freshness, but this lettuce is terrible, it waters the burger down and drowns out some of the flavor.

I’m getting a small hint of onion in this one, not really enough to be prominent in each bite but enough to give a subtle spicy kick on the aftertaste.

Taste 2:

Single Cheeseburger Ranking
Dane Rivera

The beef here is overcooked, it’s dry and mealy. This is the sort of burger that obviously uses sauce to hide that. It’s cheesy and beefy with brine-y pickle notes and a very sharp onion finish. I don’t love this one, but I think it works as a single, it packs a lot of flavor.

Taste 3:

Single Cheeseburger Ranking
Dane Rivera

Wonderfully savory, the last two burgers gave me a sense that I was wrong to think single cheeseburgers were a waste of time but this one really seals the deal. The beef is juicy and bursting with flavor with each bite. The cheese has more complexity than Taste 1 and Taste 2, aside from being salty it has a sweet-almost-buttery vibe.

The lettuce and tomato combination are salad fresh, the tomato imparts a nice sumptuous umami flavor that pairs well with some caramelized notes on the beef. The real star though is that bun, it’s soft, sweet, and a bit gummy, it’s not dry at all, almost like a Hawaiian sweet roll. I think we might have a winner on our hands here.

Taste 4:

Single Cheeseburger Ranking
Dane Rivera

I spoke too soon, this burger is even more of a flavor bomb than the last. It doesn’t have the same complexity, the tomatoes and lettuce are barely noticeable, but what you get instead is rich beefy flavors, complex and rich caramelized onion notes, perfectly melted cheese, and a buttery bun that is toasted and crispy, yet soft on the inside, altogether combining for a perfect savory bite.

It’s not as elegant as Taste 3, and it’s getting all over my hands and face, but from a flavor perspective, it’s a home run.

Taste 5:

Single Cheeseburger Ranking
c

Right off the bat, this bun is over-toasted. I feel like I’m eating a straight-up piece of morning toast, when I bite into it there is an audible crunch. I don’t like that. From a flavor perspective, it’s very good — it’s salty with easily the best-caramelized onion flavor of the lot, the lettuce is very prominent, and the tomato imparts a lot of juiciness, which makes up for the lack of sauce.

But where is the beef? I’m just not getting enough of it. What is there is good, but this desperately needs to be a double. It’s going to be hard to rank this one, the flavor is great, but the form factor is all off.

Part 2: The Burger Ranking

5. McDonald’s — Quarter Pounder (Taste 2)

Single Cheeseburger Ranking
Dane Rivera

Maybe it’s the lack of sauce but I’m pretty sure either way this burger would’ve ranked last. It’s just too dry in comparison to the competition, and now that I know it’s McDonald’s that makes a whole lot of sense. Of the five fast food burgers we ate, this is the only one that uses flash-frozen patties.

Aside from the dry meat, it just feels like the other ingredients are doing too much of the heavy lifting. Too much onion, too many pickles, when I order a burger I want the meat to be the star of the show. This one fails that so it’s ranking last.

The Bottom Line:

As a single cheeseburger, it works, but at the end of the day, it was the beef that held this one back in comparison to the other four.

Find your nearest McDonald’s here.

4. Wendy’s — Dave’s Single (Taste 1)

Single Cheeseburger Ranking
Dane Rivera

I ride hard for the Dave’s Single and because it uses fresh beef I thought it had a chance against the fast-casual chains but… it doesn’t. In this case it’s not the beef that holds this burger back, it’s everything else. The lettuce and tomato here are too watery, the bun is thick and bready, and the pickles and onions are flavorful, but not enough to really compete with what the other burgers offer.

The Bottom Line:

In the landscape of big national fast food chains, Wendy’s probably makes the best single cheeseburger you can buy. But against the fast casual chains that specialize in burgers, this one just lacks complexity.

Find your nearest Wendy’s here.

3. In-N-Out — Single Cheeseburger (Taste 5)

Single Cheeseburger Ranking
Dane Rivera

In-N-Out is my favorite burger chain so this one hurts but the experience of eating this single cheeseburger is probably why I think single cheeseburgers are a waste of time in the first place. It just doesn’t work. The beef is way too thin, so what you end up with is a lot of bread, lettuce, tomato, and onion flavor.

All of those individual ingredients are good but that doesn’t matter when it drowns out all the beef flavor.

The Bottom Line:

At In-N-Out, you have to get a Double Double. Period.

Find your nearest In-N-Out here.

2. Shake Shack — Shack Burger (Taste 3)

Single Cheeseburger Ranking
Dane Rivera

Shake Shack was so close to taking the number one spot here (the Shack won our Double Cheeseburger Challenge). I have no complaints about this burger, it was near perfect. Each ingredient delivered here but the true highlight was that perfectly cooked beef patty. It was rich, complex, and featured a perfect Maillard reaction-type crust.

It’s also considerably thick, Shake Shack’s burger has a pretty small footprint in comparison to the other burgers we tasted but the patty itself is very thick and meaty — this allows for a nice meat-cheese-bun ratio.

The Bottom Line:

A perfect burger, every element delivers but it’s not quite as decadent as our number one choice and decadence wins.

Find your nearest Shake Shack here.

1. Five Guys — Patty Melt (Taste 4)

Single Cheeseburger Ranking
Dane Rivera

Is it wrong to give what is essentially a patty melt the number one spot in a single cheeseburger ranking? Nope. At the end of the day, the best single cheeseburger you can order is from Five Guys. I mean, is it really even a patty melt when it’s the same bun just flipped inside out? We don’t think so… not quite, at least.

If you’re scratching your head about how to order this, it’s easy, just ask for “grilled cheese, add a patty, grilled onions, lettuce, and tomato,” and bam, you’ve got a burger that rivals Five Guys’ Little Cheeseburger in every single way.

While I don’t think the beef is quite as delicious as Shake Shack’s, the toasted bun takes the whole experience to the next level thanks to the savory and salty buttery flavor that greets your tastebuds on each bite. Couple that with the insane amount of cheese and you have a decadent burger that satisfies your tastebuds as much as any double or bacon cheeseburger ever could.

The Bottom Line:

The best single cheeseburger in fast food is a slight menu hack, but once you try it you’ll never turn back. This burger is so good it can rival any double cheeseburger in the fast food universe. It comes across as more decadent, savory, and enjoyable than any simple double-meat cheeseburger in the fast food landscape.

If you want rich flavor and a decadent experience but don’t want all the extra meat, this is the move.

Find your nearest Five Guys here.

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‘The Princess Bride’ Star Mandy Patinkin Roasted Elon Musk (On His Own Website!) For Mangling A Famous Line From The Movie

Mandy Patinkin has been busy these days. He’s not been acting; he’s been picketing with Writers Guild of America strikers. He’s good at signs, too. The one he’s been using reads, “You killed residuals. Prepare to pay.” It’s a reference to his most famous line as Inigo Montoya, the vengeful fencing master of The Princess Bride. But the actor and singer took some time out from demanding a better WGA contract to roast Elon Musk…for weirdly invoking The Princess Bride.

On Tuedsay, the Tesla/Space X/Twitter top dog gave a pretty bonkers interview with CNBC’s David Faber. At one point they discussed Musk’s recent dodgy tweet about George Soros, who he compared to Magneto, the X-Men villain who, like the progressive billionaire, is a Holocaust survivor. Faber asked Musk why on earth anyone, let alone the second richest person on the planet, would tweet something that could easily be read as an anti-Semitic dog whistle. After a long, awkward pause, Musk decided to (mis)quote a movie.

“There’s a scene in The Princess Bride — great movie — where [Montoya] confronts the person who killed his father,” Muskl replied. “And he says, ‘Offer me money. Offer me power. I don’t care.’”

He then got to his point, sort of: “I’ll say what I want to say, and if the consequence of that is losing money, then so be it.”

That’s…not really the point of the scene, in which Montoya and Christopher Guest’s villainous, six-fingered villain Count Rugen square off. Rugen is responsible for killing Montoya’s father. They duel. Montoya bests Rugen. Rugen tries to barter with him. Montoya asks him to give him his father back before driving him through with his sword. It’s all about revenge and grief and wanting the impossible. It has nothing to do with wanting to say whatever you want and balking at any consequences.

So Patinkin let Must know he was wrong, and on the social media service he owns, no less. “I do not think it means what you think it means,” he tweeted while sharing video of the exchange.

It’s not the first a Princess Bride cast member has torched someone from the right wing, which Musk is increasingly becoming. Ted Cruz, who counts it as his favorite movie, knows full well that another of its stars, Cary Elwes, hates his guts.

(Via The Daily Beast)

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‘The Princess Bride’ Star Mandy Patinkin Roasted Elon Musk (On His Own Website!) For Mangling A Famous Line From The Movie

Mandy Patinkin has been busy these days. He’s not been acting; he’s been picketing with Writers Guild of America strikers. He’s good at signs, too. The one he’s been using reads, “You killed residuals. Prepare to pay.” It’s a reference to his most famous line as Inigo Montoya, the vengeful fencing master of The Princess Bride. But the actor and singer took some time out from demanding a better WGA contract to roast Elon Musk…for weirdly invoking The Princess Bride.

On Tuedsay, the Tesla/Space X/Twitter top dog gave a pretty bonkers interview with CNBC’s David Faber. At one point they discussed Musk’s recent dodgy tweet about George Soros, who he compared to Magneto, the X-Men villain who, like the progressive billionaire, is a Holocaust survivor. Faber asked Musk why on earth anyone, let alone the second richest person on the planet, would tweet something that could easily be read as an anti-Semitic dog whistle. After a long, awkward pause, Musk decided to (mis)quote a movie.

“There’s a scene in The Princess Bride — great movie — where [Montoya] confronts the person who killed his father,” Muskl replied. “And he says, ‘Offer me money. Offer me power. I don’t care.’”

He then got to his point, sort of: “I’ll say what I want to say, and if the consequence of that is losing money, then so be it.”

That’s…not really the point of the scene, in which Montoya and Christopher Guest’s villainous, six-fingered villain Count Rugen square off. Rugen is responsible for killing Montoya’s father. They duel. Montoya bests Rugen. Rugen tries to barter with him. Montoya asks him to give him his father back before driving him through with his sword. It’s all about revenge and grief and wanting the impossible. It has nothing to do with wanting to say whatever you want and balking at any consequences.

So Patinkin let Must know he was wrong, and on the social media service he owns, no less. “I do not think it means what you think it means,” he tweeted while sharing video of the exchange.

It’s not the first a Princess Bride cast member has torched someone from the right wing, which Musk is increasingly becoming. Ted Cruz, who counts it as his favorite movie, knows full well that another of its stars, Cary Elwes, hates his guts.

(Via The Daily Beast)

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Blxst Is Bringing His West Coast Flavor To The ‘NBA 2K23’ Season 7 Soundtrack

Along with its annual updates, expansive play modes, and increasingly realistic graphics, the NBA 2K franchise is best known for its soundtracks, which highlight both rising stars and top talent with its in-game menus and gameplay background tunes. The newest update for the current edition, NBA 2K23, has taken things a step further, bringing in talented West Coast artist Blxst and his label, Evgle, to curate the season 7 soundtrack.

In addition to a pair of tracks from Blxst’s March EP Just For Clarity 2 — “Passionate” featuring Roddy Ricch and “Keep Calling” featuring Larry June — the new soundtrack also includes a number of tracks featuring Blxst, such as Babyface Ray’s 2022 single “Spend It,” and showcases label member Jay Millian with his new single “Baby.”

“IDC” by Jordan Ward and “Progress” by Westside Webb put the spotlight on more rising artists, while the last two tracks are big-name standouts: Benny the Butcher‘s 2020 track “Trade It All” and “Stop Breathing” from Roddy Ricch’s latest project, Feed The Streets III.

In a press release, Blxst said, “I’m excited to have Evgle included on the NBA 2K23 soundtrack simply because it’s a childhood dream. I can speak for most of us in saying that we grew up playing this game. So, to be a part of this is mind-blowing and it’s crazy how music bridges the gap. These songs were hand-picked by me and the Evgle team because this is what we like to listen to get inspired. I like to look at myself as a tastemaker and each artist on this playlist is a different ingredient to the soundtrack of my lifestyle right now.”

After premiering in the game this Friday, May 19, and remaining game exclusive through the weekend, the soundtrack will hit DSPs on Tuesday, May 23 along with Millian’s single.

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When Does ‘Platonic’ Come Out On Apple TV+?

Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne are reuniting on-screen for the first time since their Neighbors run ended with their Apple TV+ comedy series, Platonic. This is the kind of news that should be scrolling on the CNN chyron. Plastered on Time Square billboards. Trending in that Twitter sidebar absolutely no one pays attention to.

It’s the kind of news that should make the entire nation collectively pause, and the workings of world governments grind to a halt. To celebrate. To raise their middle fingers to the “strike proof” TV programming that thought to entertain us with reality dating shows about geriatric bachelors. You can keep your televised retirement home orgies Disney because Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen are bro-ing it out onscreen once more.

But, sadly, no one’s taken to the streets, nude and carrying their recently purchased artisanally-crafted pottery bongs to mark the occasion because Apple TV+ has really skimped on their promotional efforts for this thing. In fact, with just a week until the show premieres, fans are still Googling its streaming release date. It’s shameful really. A true injustice we intend to fix right now.

Apple TV+’s Platonic premieres May 24th on the streaming platform.

Oh, you need to know more? How about this: Platonic is a sharp buddy comedy helmed by Neighbors director Nicholas Stoller that sees Byrne and Rogen playing two former best friends who rekindle their bond at the worst time and kind of destroy their lives in the process. The first three episodes will be available upon its release with new episodes airing weekly thereafter.

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Do You Have To Watch The Original ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ Before The 2023 Reboot?

Later this week, a new spin on White Man Can’t Jump dribbles onto Hulu, and the big question is… do you need to watch the original film starring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson before streaming the reboot?

Simply speaking, no, you don’t need to watch the original White Man Can’t Jump before checking out the remake starring Jack Harlow and Sinqua Walls. Like most reboots, the film will tell its own story while pulling familiar elements from the original movie that aren’t necessary to know. Could those elements help with the appreciation of in-jokes and easter eggs? Sure, but they’re not a necessity.

That said, watching the original film is never a bad idea because it’s just a downright good movie. Harrelson and Snipes have incredible chemistry on-screen, and you know it’s an enduring film because Hollywood couldn’t resist trying to remake it.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Multi-platinum rap superstar Jack Harlow makes his movie debut as Jeremy, a former star of the game whose injuries stalled his career, and Sinqua Walls stars as Kamal, once a promising player who derailed his own future in the sport. Juggling tenuous relationships, financial pressures and serious internal struggles, the two ballers–opposites who are seemingly miles apart–find they might have more in common than they imagined possible.

White Man Can’t Jump premieres May 19 on Hulu.

Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

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Dr. Teeth And The Electric Mayhem — The All-Muppet Band — Are Officially Billboard-Charting Artists

If the Muppets are the Beatles, then Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem are Wings. Don’t think about this too hard. Just accept it, because vocalist Dr. Teeth, drummer Animal, guitarist Janice, bassist Floyd Pepper, guitarist Janice, trumpeter Lips, and saxophonist Zoot have made it to the Billboard charts. And it only took nearly 50 years!

The Muppets Mayhem: Music From the Disney+ Original Series, a companion album to Disney+’s Muppets Mayhem, debuted at #13 on the Kid Albums chart. “The 22-track set includes 17 songs credited to Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, plus five scores by Mick Giacchino,” according to Billboard. “While some songs are original compositions for the series, others are covers of classics by The Beach Boys, Cyndi Lauper, Simon & Garfunkel, and more.”

Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem isn’t the first Muppets-related project to reach the charts — “Rubber Duckie” peaked at #16 on the Hot 100, while “Rainbow Connection” reached a high of #25 — but I’ll take Animal drumming to Kiss over Ernie singing about his dang bath toy any day of the week. Put down the duckie, indeed.

Other albums currently in the Kids Albums top 20 include Bluey: Dance Mode!; the soundtracks for Encanto, The Lion King, and Moana; and A Charlie Brown Christmas, despite it being, y’know, May.

(Via Billboard)

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All The Best New R&B From This Week That You Need To Hear

Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.

Since the last update of this weekly R&B and Afrobeats column, we’ve received plenty of music and news from the genre’s artists.

Beyoncé launched her Renaissance Tour in Europe and SZA got honest about her albums. Janelle Monáe took one step closer to her upcoming The Age Of Pleasure album with “Lipstick Lover” and Jorja Smith did the same for her upcoming album with her new single “Little Things.” Elsewhere, The Weeknd wants to kill The Weeknd (his alter ego, that is), Ginuwine had a viral fall at the Lovers & Friends Festival (he’s okay), and

Here are some more releases on the new music front that you should check out:

Victoria Monét — “Party Girls” Feat. Buju Banton

Victoria Monét is here to claim the summer with her upcoming Jaguar II project and her latest single “Party Girls” with Buju Banton is proof of that. It’s a sultry combination of fun, passion, and sexy; things that make Monét the one-of-a-kind artist she is.

Kiana Ledé — “Deeper”

It’s been three long years, but Kiana Ledé will finally release her second album Grudges on June 16. The latest offering from that is “Deeper,” which strikes as a soaring that presents Ledé as a girl who craves passion in more ways than one. In all ways, she wants it to the fullest extent.

Keke Palmer — Big Boss

It’s been a little over 15 years since Keke Palmer dropped her debut album So Uncool, but after an acting career that reached new heights in that decade and a half of time, Palmer is back to the music. She checks back in with her sophomore album Big Boss which lands with ten songs and a full film attached.

Mario — “Like Her Too” Feat. Sabrina Claudio

Mario closed his 2022 year with the release of his single “Like Her Too” and now, he revisits the single with a new verse from Sabrina Claudio. The remix provides a new perspective to the sultry track while also improving it as Mario and Sabrina’s voices together make for an enchanting combo.

Layton Greene — “Spin Again”

After her 2019 EP Tell Ya Story, the East St. Louis, Illinois singer Layton Greene sought to launch the campaign for her debut album with 2020’s “Chosen One.” Fast forward to today and we’ve yet to get that album, but we have taken another step forward with her new single “Spin Again.” The emotional ballad admits to falling back to a lover because of their intimate connection.

Njomza — Stages

Two years removed from Limbo, Njomza is back with her best project with Stages. Its seven songs reach higher and provide just the right energy for the impending summer months of fun. Whether it’s a pumping party in the daytime, one at night, or a freeing drive in the sun, Njomza’s project has the soundtrack.

Josh Levi — Disc Two (Scratched Up)

A little over a year after Josh Levi released his sophomore EP Disc Two, the singer returns with an expanded edition of the project. Disc Two (Scratched Up) comes attached with three new songs including the braggadocious “Ego.”

Col3trane — “Queen’s Disease”

Col3trane is always hard at work and just a year after the release of Lush Life, the singer is back with a new single. “Queen’s Disease” is his latest offering and it’s a record that speaks about a partner who can’t seem to decide what they want and need in love.

Emotional Oranges & Nonso Amadi — “Not Worthy”

You can sure as hell bet that Emotional Oranges has a new project on the way, and their new single with Nonso Amadi brings more excitement to that body of work. This a record that’s perfect for the summer whether it plays under the sun at a city day party or by the coast for some time at the beach.

Tyla — “Girl Next Door” Feat. Ayra Starr

South African singer Tyla had been making waves for quite some time now and she’s only going to bring more attention to herself with her latest single “Girl Next Door.” The track features star Nigerian singer Ayra Starr as they sing about wanting their partners to stay focused on them and not let their eyes wander.

Devvon Terrell — “Single Friends”

For his second single of the year, Devvon Terrell is back with the fun and flirtatious “Single Friends.” The singer sees the potential for a relationship with a friend in his life, so he lays all his cards down to make a proposal that might just be too sweet to deny.

Boy Spyce — “Relationship”

Rising Mavins Records singer Boy Spyce returns with “Relationship,” another record that is proof of the afrobeats singer’s big potential. Here, Spyce showcases his waning interest in a relationship as he’s seen enough to make him turn away from them.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

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Indie Mixtape 20: Alex Lahey’s ‘The Answer Is Always Yes’ Is Perfectly Tongue-In-Cheek

Life can be endlessly absurd. So it’s better to embrace the absurdity than to deny it. That’s exactly what indie rocker Alex Lahey is doing on her forthcoming album The Answer Is Always Yes, which drops Friday.

Coming off the success of her previous releases, The Best Of Luck Club and Love You Like A Brother, Lahey’s tour plans were put on hold thanks to the pandemic, so she had ample time to contemplate her life. “Living in a world that wasn’t made for you makes you pretty strong and adaptive, and you find the fun in it,” she says in a statement. “It also makes you realize how absurd everything is. With this record, I wanted to get weird because the world is weird, and it’s even weirder when you realize you don’t fit into it all the time.”

Throughout The Answer Is Always Yes, Lahey looks upon uncomfortable situations with humor. Her catchy number “Congratulations” is a tongue-in-cheek reaction to exes getting married in a short span of time, while “They Wouldn’t Let Me In” is a post-punk-leaning track dissects the politics of “coolness” and all the places she didn’t feel accepted as a teen discovering her queerness.

Ahead of the release of The Answer Is Always Yes, Alex Lahey talks surprise birthday parties, Limp Bizkit, and Fleetwood Mac-level TikTok fame in our latest Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

Tongue in cheek core.

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

Hopefully the teens of 2050 will make one of my songs go viral on whatever the TikTok of the 2050 is so I can have a cushy Fleetwood Mac level retirement.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?

I don’t know what I did to deserve this, but Minneapolis has never failed me.

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

My old high school big band teacher, Mr Foley, inspired my attitude and approach to playing music with other people.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life?

I had a Ratatouille “life flashed before my eyes” moment when I first tasted the focaccia di recco at Chi Spacca in LA.

What album do you know every word to?

I listened to Young For Eternity by The Subways the other day for the first time in forever and couldn’t believe that I still knew every single word.

What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?

Paramore at Bonnaroo in 2018.

What is the best outfit for performing and why?

I mean, that’s up to the person performing, but my pro tip is a sports bra for ultimate support and avoiding grey because everyone will know you’re schvitzing.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?

I do love it when Ben Lee goes on a nostalgia kick on his Instagram.

What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?

“Break Stuff” by Limp Bizkit is omnipresent in the van.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

The train route from Heathrow to Shoreditch.

What album makes for the perfect gift?

One that means something to your relationship but isn’t too obvious. Play it coooooool.

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

In the loft of a mechanic’s garage in Brisbane where the only other tenant was a man with one leg.

What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?

I feel like I’m the only touring musician on the planet who doesn’t have any tattoos.

What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?

Currently it’s Alvvays, Bully, and Bonnie Raitt. What a holy trinity.

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

My mum and my partner threw me a surprise birthday party last year and I had NO idea it was coming and I was MOVED.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

Life is long — let it take its time.

What’s the last show you went to?

I saw Mmeadows at Gold Diggers in LA and they were unreal.

What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?

My gf roasts me for this all the time, but it’s Miss Congeniality.

What’s one of your hidden talents?

I can play the spoons.

The Answer Is Always Yes is out 5/19 via Liberation. Find more information here.

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When Does ‘Based On A True Story’ Come Out On Peacock?

The true crime streaming obsession is real for many people, and there has never been a more plentiful supply of dramatic reenactments based upon real-life than over the past few years. Kaley Cuoco has also never been more on fire than the past few years (Harley Quinn and The Flight Attendant, obvs), and she’s getting in on the gruesome game with a show that also has some fun with the fixation.

That would be Peacock’s upcoming Based on a True Story show. She portrays a woman who is so wrapped up in true crime narratives that she apparently gets hot and bothered at one point while thinking about the subject with her husband, portrayed by Chris Messina. The first eight-episode season of the series will be bingeable all at once on June 8.

Producers from The Boys and Ozark steer this twisted ship, so expect some mayhem. From the synopsis:

Based On A True Story follows a realtor, a former tennis star and a plumber who seize a unique opportunity to capitalize on America’s obsession with true crime. Emmy Award nominee Kaley Cuoco (The Flight Attendant) stars as ‘Ava Bartlett,’ alongside Chris Messina (Air) and Tom Bateman (Thirteen Lives) in your next obsession.

Based On A True Story arrives on June 8.