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The National And Taylor Swift Hauntingly Reflect On A Past Romance With Their New Duet, ‘The Alcott’

The National‘s much-anticipated ninth studio album, First Two Pages Of Frankenstein is finally here. While fans of The National have been anxious for new music, the album’s collaborations have fueled even more interest in their latest record.

On a song called “The Alcott,” The National collaborated with Taylor Swift, in what feels like a long overdue duet.

Over a haunting piano track, the band’s lead vocalist Matt Berninger reflects on a romance that no longer exists, he is joined by Swift on the chorus, and part of the latter verses, and their vocals blend harmoniously.

“It’s the last thing I wanted / It’s the first thing I do / I tell you my problems / And you tell me the truth / It’s the last thing I wanted / It’s the first thing I do / I tell you that I think I’m fallin’ / Back in love / Back in love with you,” they sing.

The collaboration comes as a full-circle moment, as The National’s Aaron Dessner produced much of Taylor Swift’s eighth and ninth studio albums, Folklore and Evermore. Swift and The National also collaborated on the Evermore cut, “Coney Island.”

You can listen to “The Alcott” above.

First Two Pages Of Frankenstein is out now via 4AD. Find more information here.

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Fox News Has Been Hemorrhaging Viewers Since Brian Kilmeade Replaced Tucker Carlson

Way back in the long-ago days of March, Tucker Carlson was still riding high as Fox News’ most popular on-air personality, with his primetime “news” show averaging about 3.4 million viewers per night. On Wednesday night — two days after the surprise announcement that Tucker had gone bye-bye — the 8 p.m. time slot had lost about 60 percent of its audience, according to The Wrap.

That’s bad news for Fox News and for Brian Kilmeade, who has been filling in for Tucker since Monday night. (Clearly, people must have missed Kilmeade’s recent interview/game of catch with Ron DeSantis!)

While Monday night’s show saw its ratings hold steady (perhaps partly out of morbid curiosity)‚ Kilmeade is no Tucker — at least as far as Fox’s nightly viewers seemed to be concerned.

As The Wrap writes:

But boy, what a difference a couple of days makes: While the 8 p.m. hour got 2.59 million total viewers on average on Monday, viewership dropped to 1.7 million viewers on Tuesday, and slid further to 1.33 million total viewers on Wednesday, falling just behind MSNBC in that time-slot, according to Nielsen live plus same-day figures.

While Fox is used to being America’s most watched “news” network, Wednesday’s showing put that slogan in jeopardy. MSNBC’s All In With Chris Hayes topped Fox News’ 8 p.m. news hour by a slim margin of just a few thousand viewers. Maybe if Fox News viewers knew that Kilmeade once questioned why anyone would hire a pregnant woman and famously declared that he read Mein Kampf in high school, they’d tune back in.

(Via The Wrap)

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The Hawks Failed On Four Straight Inbound Attempts Against The Celtics With 19 Seconds Left In Game 6

No one expected the Hawks to push the Celtics to a Game 6, but on Thursday night the two teams returned to Atlanta for what turned out to be a rather thrilling conclusion to a surprisingly entertaining series.

Boston jumped out to a 12-2 early advantage, only to see the Hawks storm back to take their own 7-point lead before the game settled into a back-and-forth affair. Neither team could grab control of the action until the late fourth quarter, when Boston got a string of big time buckets and big time stops on the other end to extend their lead out to eight with the Hawks going more than four minutes without a made shot. By the time the Hawks offense found its footing again, the deficit was almost insurmountable, but Atlanta doomed itself with one of the strangest sequences we’ll see all playoffs.

After Bogdan Bogdanovic went 1-of-3 from the line to cut the deficit to six, the Hawks retained possession on a ball that went out of bounds on the sideline deep in the corner of the court. From there, the Hawks failed on four consecutive attempts at getting the ball in play, with Trae Young throwing it off of Marcus Smart twice (including one straight into Smart’s nuts) and De’Andre Hunter bouncing one off Al Horford before throwing a pass to absolutely no one for a turnover.

It really is one of the most bizarre things you’ll see in the playoffs, as the Hawks simply could not get the ball in play, as if they’d never worked on an inbounds play from the corner all season. Young struggled with Smart’s length, while Hunter seemed likewise bothered by Horford, and the result was Atlanta not even getting a chance at a miraculous comeback because they could never get the ball to a shooter. Boston would ice the game at 128-120 to advance to the conference semis where the Heat are waiting, and while this wasn’t quite Grayson Allen dribbling out the clock on Milwaukee’s season, it was certainly a rough way for the Hawks to close out a series in which they fought so valiantly.

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Micah Parsons Was ‘Sick’ Watching The Eagles Draft Jalen Carter

The Philadelphia Eagles are going to go down as one of the big winners of the 2023 NFL Draft. While it’s rare that you can safely say this in the middle of round one, the reigning NFC champions managed to add to their already stout defense by moving up one spot to select Jalen Carter, an indomitable defensive tackle prospect out of the University of Georgia.

There are some who believe that Carter is the best player in the 2023 NFL Draft, so for the Eagles to acquire him at all is a coup. Add in that they only had to trade up one spot — they sent the No. 10 pick and a 2024 fourth-round selection to move up — and it’s a home run for Philadelphia, which now has a tailor-made replacement for Fletcher Cox when his time with the team is over.

Of course, not everyone is happy about this. Here is Micah Parsons, who plays for the Dallas Cowboys and therefore has to deal with the Eagles twice a season, getting very upset during Bleacher Report’s NFL Draft show, saying that he is sick to his stomach watching Philly add a player of Carter’s caliber.

To add insult to injury, Bleacher Report had Eagles receiver A.J. Brown call in and tell Parsons that he should “just be a Philadelphia Eagle at this point.” Our hunch is that the Dallas Cowboys are not going to trade Micah Parsons (who is, it must be noted, a Pennsylvania native) to the Philadelphia Eagles, but if that changes, we’ll let you know.

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Micah Parsons Was ‘Sick’ Watching The Eagles Draft Jalen Carter

The Philadelphia Eagles are going to go down as one of the big winners of the 2023 NFL Draft. While it’s rare that you can safely say this in the middle of round one, the reigning NFC champions managed to add to their already stout defense by moving up one spot to select Jalen Carter, an indomitable defensive tackle prospect out of the University of Georgia.

There are some who believe that Carter is the best player in the 2023 NFL Draft, so for the Eagles to acquire him at all is a coup. Add in that they only had to trade up one spot — they sent the No. 10 pick and a 2024 fourth-round selection to move up — and it’s a home run for Philadelphia, which now has a tailor-made replacement for Fletcher Cox when his time with the team is over.

Of course, not everyone is happy about this. Here is Micah Parsons, who plays for the Dallas Cowboys and therefore has to deal with the Eagles twice a season, getting very upset during Bleacher Report’s NFL Draft show, saying that he is sick to his stomach watching Philly add a player of Carter’s caliber.

To add insult to injury, Bleacher Report had Eagles receiver A.J. Brown call in and tell Parsons that he should “just be a Philadelphia Eagle at this point.” Our hunch is that the Dallas Cowboys are not going to trade Micah Parsons (who is, it must be noted, a Pennsylvania native) to the Philadelphia Eagles, but if that changes, we’ll let you know.

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The Lions Made The First Shocking Pick Of The NFL Draft Taking Alabama RB Jahmyr Gibbs At No. 12

In recent years, running backs going early in the first round have become a rarity, typically reserved for a select few that boast rare physical tools and piled up ridiculous production at the college level in one of the power conferences.

However, the 2023 NFL Draft is maybe showing a shift in running back valuation as two backs went off the board in the first 12 picks, marking the first time that’s happened since 2017 when Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette went early in the first round. The first back off the board came as little surprise, as Texas star Bijan Robinson went to the Atlanta Falcons with the 8th overall selection. While some quibbled with the value at No. 8 just based on running backs as a whole, no one doubted Robinson’s talent, as many had him as a top-5 player on their big board (stripping away positional value).

When the Detroit Lions, who had traded down with the Cardinals from No. 6 to No. 12, arrived on the clock no one was expecting a second back to come off the board, but Detroit shocked just about everyone when they selected Jahymr Gibbs out of Alabama.

You can see the surprise from the NFL Network booth, as no one can quite believe another back came off the board, even one as talented as Gibbs. The Alabama standout (who starred at Georgia Tech prior to transferring to Tuscaloosa) figured to be in play late in the first round for contending teams looking for an elite pass catcher out of the backfield, but no one had him pegged as a top-12 pick. Detroit clearly was going off their board and no one else’s with this pick, and will look to replace Jamaal Williams’ production with Gibbs, as they add another Alabama playmaker to last year’s first round pick, receiver Jameson Williams.

The stunning part isn’t just the sudden run on running backs early, but that two backs were taken before a single receiver went off the board. In a pass-happy league, we usually see multiple receivers drafted before a single back, but this year the tables were turned and Gibbs and Robinson broke the trend and shattered mock drafts everywhere.

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The Cardinals Traded Back Up With The Lions To Take Paris Johnson Jr. At No. 6

The Arizona Cardinals were busy on Thursday night in Kansas City, as they were making moves all over the board in the early goings of the 2023 NFL Draft. First, they moved down from No. 3 to No. 12 in a trade with the Texans, gathering the 33rd overall pick, a 2024 first, and a 2024 third rounder in the process.

From there, after Anthony Richardson went fourth and Devon Witherspoon went fifth, they got back on the phones and landed the No. 6 pick from Detroit, sending the 12th pick they just acquired along with the 34th overall pick in the second round to the Lions in order to select Paris Johnson Jr., the star offensive tackle from Ohio State.

The Cardinals were in a bit of an odd spot picking third overall, but as the lone team in the top-4 without a need at quarterback, they were allowed to shuffle the deck a bit and slide back to land the offensive tackle they coveted. There had been noise that Kyler Murray, who will miss time next season after tearing his ACL in December, had been lobbying for Johnson to be the pick, as he was hopeful to get some more protection on the left side of the line.

Arizona obliged their star quarterback by getting his preferred tackle, who they had to jump the Raiders to land. For Detroit, there was an expectation they would be targeting Witherspoon given their need at corner after trading Jeff Okudah to Atlanta earlier this offseason, but when he went off the board, they started thinking big picture and slid back six spots and picked up another early second round pick to continue rounding out their roster. Detroit now has the 12th, 18th, 34th, 48th, and 55th selections in the first two rounds of the Draft.

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Black Thought And El Michels Affair Paid Homage To The ‘Glorious Game’ With Kirby On ‘Fallon’

Earlier this month, Black Thought And El Michels Affair shared their collaborative album, Glorius Game, which features Black Thought rapping over music produced and played by the lattermost band. Last night (April 26), the supergroup made an appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon and performed the album’s title track.

During the performance, Black Thought & El Michels Affair were joined by singer Kirby, as Black Thought rapped over the band’s jazzy, soulful instrumentals.

“My mind is hard to explain / Call y’all all aboard for this train / I float like a nautilus, mane / Damn, I love this glorious game,” raps Black Thought over a pre-chorus.

Kirby’s soft vocals gave the song a sparkling touch, as she sang “Ooh, these are the glory days / If, and they did it, baby / Back in the day, baby / I swear, these are the glory days.”

With more than three decades in the game, Black Thought has garnered an impressive resume as a member of The Roots, as a solo act, and as a collaborator. But in a recent interview with The Fader, he revealed that he still has a lot he wants to do.

“Most of the things I do I’d be doing whether there was compensation involved or not,” he said. “I’m a creative, an artist. This is what I’ve always been. The medium is ever-evolving. The disciplines cross. I work in different spaces, different fields, but it’s all as a creative and a storyteller, using whatever tools I have at that particular moment to tell the same story.”

You can watch the performance of “Glorious Game” above.

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The Texans Traded Up To No. 3 Overall In The 2023 NFL Draft To Select Will Anderson

The first two picks of the 2023 NFL Draft went according to plan. The Carolina Panthers, as expected, took Bryce Young out of Alabama at No. 1 overall, while the Houston Texans decided to get their quarterback of the future by selecting C.J. Stroud out of Ohio State with the second selection of the night.

And then, things got weird. The Arizona Cardinals were viewed as a potential trade partner for a team that wanted to get one of the other high-profile QB prospects at No. 3 overall, but instead, we got one heck of a curveball: The Texans decided to move up and get back-to-back picks.

Houston’s big swing led to them acquiring perhaps the best defensive player in the draft. After getting Stroud to be the face of their offense going forward, the team selected Will Anderson Jr. out of Alabama, who should immediately step in and become a force off the edge. It will, unsurprisingly, cost them a pretty penny, as the Texans will reportedly get the Nos. 3 and 105 picks in this year’s draft in exchange for a pair of firsts, a second, and a third.

Anderson was a back-to-back unanimous All-American selection in each of the last two season.

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Kelly Clarkson Took Paramore’s ‘The Only Exception’ To Brand New Heights During A ‘Kellyoke’ Performance

Kelly Clarkson isn’t slowing down on the slaying lately. Today (April 27), she delivered a captivating cover of a Paramore classic as part of the Kellyoke segment of her talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show

Joined by an acoustic guitarist, Clarkson, sang “The Only Exception,” which is one of Paramore’s more downtempo ballads, however, Clarkson still delivered powerhouse vocals. These vocals particularly shined through as Clarkson reached the song’s bridge, singing, “I’ve got a tight grip on reality, but I can’t / let go of what’s in front of me here.”

It’s been a busy April for Clarkson. Earlier this month, she released a pair of singles — “Mine” and “Me” — from her upcoming 10th studio album, Chemistry. She also received 11 Daytime Emmy nominations, leading the awards’ talk field. Her electrifying covers alone are proof of why so many people tune in every day.

This summer, she will launch a residency in Vegas, where she will perform new songs from the Chemistry album, as well as some of her several classics.

In the meantime, you can check out the performance of “The Only Exception” above.

Chemistry is out 6/23 via Atlantic. Find more information here.

Kelly Clarkson and Paramore are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.