John Legend recently sat down for an interview with Time 100, where he discussed his thoughts when it comes to reproductive rights and other aspects regarding being pro-choice.
“We have to speak up for reproductive rights, absolutely,” Legend responds, which earned cheers from the audience. “I think all of America, now that the Dobbs decision has come down, is realizing the level of control and authoritarianism that would be required to implement the so-called ‘pro-life’ agenda. It’s not a pro-life agenda, it’s a pro-control over women’s reproductive choices agenda.”
“It’s trying to take America back to an era where women didn’t have autonomy or didn’t have control over their economic decisions and of course, their body,” he adds. “When we talk about miscarriages, and we talk about late-term abortions, often, they’re the same thing.”
John Legend says that men need to speak up for reproductive rights: “It’s not a pro-life agenda, it’s a pro-control over women’s reproductive choices agenda” #TIME100pic.twitter.com/Jbn26WE3bd
Legend’s wife, Chrissy Teigen, had revealed last year that a miscarriage she had in 2020 was instead a late-stage abortion that was needed to save her life — which prompted the question from the interviewer about what role men need to play to protect those rights.
“These conversations are life or death for these women,” Legend says later in the video. “30 weeks. 35 weeks. When they have to make these wrenching decisions, it is the hardest decision they’ll make. It is traumatic. It is painful. It is harrowing.”
Instead of six feet tall, Post Malone towers over at what feels like ten. Because, in this universe, anything seems possible. His eyes follow, no matter where I move in the arena. During his concert, he also brings out special guests, including The Kid LAROI for “Wasting Angels” and Fleet Foxes for “Love/Hate Letter To Alcohol.”
In a move that would only be potentially possible at a major festival, I can easily jump to a Foo Fighters set — being front row, to some degree. And it’s for free.
I am only reminded that I am a cartoon, a mere avatar, when I hear another figure — a woman — standing beside me. She starts to cheer for Dave Grohl playing “This Is A Call,” the band’s lead single from their debut album. “I was JUST thinking of this one earlier,” she exclaims, as I’m surprised more by the fact that I can hear other people, just like I could at a typical show… Or, anywhere in the general real world.
This is my first encounter with concerts in what many have called the “Metaverse.”
Meta, the umbrella company behind Facebook, Instagram, and, most recently, the Meta Quest VR headsets, have been working with prominent musicians and companies like iHeartRadio to bring crystal-clear experiences that users can attend right in their living room. While the company doesn’t own the Metaverse, but merely occupies a part of the vast, virtual world, they are also trying to make it a unifying experience between other virtual fans, rather than a solo, isolating one. The goal is to simulate a real-life concert to the best of their ability.
“It’s also about bringing an opportunity to fans to get to experience something together that they might not otherwise get to,” Mina Lefevre, Meta’s Director Of Media Partnerships, explains. “We spend a lot of time thinking about how teens and young adults are using tools to be able to connect with each other, whether you live across the country or in another part of the world.”
“We took feedback from how Post Malone fans were engaging with his concert and applied that to some of our future experiences,” she adds.
And it isn’t just the Post Malone fans who have offered feedback on Meta’s VR experience. While my Foo Fighters watch went off without a hitch, that wasn’t exactly the case when their concert premiered on the platform, as users on social media cited an inability to get into the virtual venue, a lobby that didn’t work, and camera issues.
This issue was largely due to the demand for the band and a free show — as is commonplace for all Meta concerts at the moment. Attendance estimates were also reported by Futurism to be anywhere from 7,000 to 12,000 as a Horizon Worlds VP, Vivek Sharma, cited that “the demand was unprecedented.”
Still, as many concert-goers have experienced throughout the past year, the live music industry has been a whirlwind, with fans of Bruce Springsteen, Bad Bunny, and many more major artists expressing disdain for the way Ticketmaster has significantly skyrocketed prices. And this doesn’t even factor in the bots that buy them for resale purposes. Musicians like Maggie Rogers and The Cure’s Robert Smith have attempted to remedy this through in-person ticket sales and opting out of dynamic pricing.
Yet, it raises the question: Why even go through the hassle when you could attend an immersive experience for free?
The rise in popularity of VR concerts has frequently been attributed to Fortnite, the video game — popular among predominantly younger users — with Travis Scott’s April 2020 concert reportedly pulling in over 12 million attendees. However, he only played for ten minutes, so do with that what you will.
The following day, Minecraft held an immersive concert with Charli XCX and 100 Gecs, which raised over $50,000 for Feeding America. “As far as what we did, anybody could put that together with the right amount of experience and know-how,” 100 Gecs’ Laura Les told Pitchfork at the time. “Hopefully it gets pushed into a direction of more people being aware of it and f*cking around with it enough so that they can throw a party.”
And, with the pandemic being another key player to the growth of VR concerts, as users signed on in 2020 while quarantining at home, the ease of being able to hear your favorite artists’ music was a plus in place of the real thing.
Even after live music has made a significant return in the three years since, this aspect of accessibility also helps bring the feeling of being front row at a high-ticket concert to fans who might not typically be able to attend — whether for financial or other accommodation reasons.
As Malika Quemerais, Meta’s Director Of Artists Partnerships, explains, the filming process can vary in scope, going between “a 180 screen or more versus just the flatness of 2D,” depending on each shoot’s direction.
“I think the biggest difference is in that and the artists knowing how to play with depth-of-field,” she says. “For example, with J Balvin, we played a lot with lighting and the dancers to really give you that depth-of-space experience.”
Meta also works with the company HyperReal, which cites itself as “the future of digital humans and avatars” on their website and has contributed digital technology to Sony, PepsiCo, and more high-level corporations. It’s this partnership that, by working with the estate of the late Notorious B.I.G., they brought the rapper back to life for a special concert. “It’s only in VR where you can have that experience where Biggie’s avatar is interacting with Latto and Diddy,” the team explains.
“Initially, Biggie’s son, in addition to the tons of images and photography they had of Biggie, they were able to use his son to sort of model it a little bit and he looks a lot like him,” Lefevre says. “It really helps if you have the sort of depth of the material that we had because of the Estate being involved.”
In this way, the concerts honor musicians who’ve since passed since the VR filming, as Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins plays with the band in the show.
On the night of certain live events, Meta lets users enter a waiting room before the show starts, building anticipation and giving fans opportunities to talk to each other. As Meta’s reps note, this area might hold more people, while only a few users enter an individual room — rather than the entire waiting room population cramming into one arena.
“We’ve done a lot of work to create that balance of intimacy versus also still feeling like you have the community and social that Malika was mentioning,” Lefevre adds. “Basically, there’s thousands of instances of that same concert, but you yourself would be in there with 10, 15, sometimes 20, depending on which venue it is.”
In terms of the larger impact toward the future of fandom, the company doesn’t just have their sights focused solely on VR, as Quemerais explains about their push to incorporate AR (Augmented Reality) as well. Unlike the experience of putting on a headset to fully be immersed in a realm, Meta’s AR technology brings aspects of a fake reality to the real one — their Instagram filter with LeBron James being an example.
Meta also has plans to expand their Augmented Reality with musician partnerships as soon as later this year, providing fans with even more exciting opportunities to connect with their favorite artists through a digitally unique space.
It might seem strange to think about, considering where social media was at just a decade ago, the future of technology is rapidly advancing, and the Metaverse is just one example of that. While virtual concerts will hopefully never replace the experience of the real thing, they provide another avenue for fan engagement, working with live performances to give fans new ways to experience their favorite artists.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Expensive Scotch whisky isn’t always worth it. Once you get over $500 a bottle, you run the risk of running into gimmick bottles made for investors and not really for drinking. I know that sounds outlandish but it’s real. Scotch is an old-school investment commodity and not much is going to change that. Certain super pricey and rare bottles aren’t the absolute most enjoyable drams out there.
That begs the question, which bottles at an ultra-high price point are actually worth drinking? Let’s answer that today.
For the list below, I’ve pulled 12 bottles of Scotch whisky that actually taste so amazing that they’re worth the insanely high price. Obviously, that’s sort of subjective — I don’t know your finances. But, look, I’m lucky enough to get to taste, sample, and judge these whiskeys on an international stage. I’m amongst the elite few who know what I speak on this front. I can at the very least guide in you the right direction when selecting very expensive Scotch whisky.
When it comes to which bottle you should try, I have you covered there too. I’ve ranked these whiskies by how truly transcendent they are (they’re all amazingly tasty of course). I’ve also included my professional tasting notes to give you an idea of what you’re in for. I tried to keep the net pretty wide with classic unpeated malts and peated killers, special age statements, and one-of-a-kind cask finishes. There’s truly something for everyone, so click on that price link of the bottle that speaks to you. Let’s get into it!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Scotch Whisky Posts of The Last Six Months
This bottle was originally released in 2016 along with the launch of Lagavulin 8. The whisky is a sherry-cask-aged whisky that was left alone for 25 long years in a storehouse next to the cold and black sea. The honey barrels that made it through that era of aging were then vatted and bottled as-is at cask strength into only 8,000 bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose meanders through old wood varnish, rich sticky toffee pudding with salted caramel sauce, savory figs, black-tea-soaked dates, meaty smoked prunes, peppery smoked beef fat, chewed-up Band-Aids, and an old cedar box that’s been filled with pennies for decades.
Palate: The palate feels like raspberry saltwater taffy wax wrappers filled with smoked honey candies and waxy cacao nibs straight off the tree. A soft cherry wood smoke meanders through more honey and pine kindling with plenty of pitch, tart yet dry cherry tobacco, long and dry willow branches, and burnt mint leaves.
Finish: Candied orange peel drives the mid-palate back to that smoked honey and peppery beef fat as dried chipotle chilis mix with a very dark and bitter chocolate, a dash of BBQ ash, and a little bit more of that pine resin.
Bottom Line:
This is the best Lagavulin that you can buy. I’ve tasted some that are a little older from the cask — that are only marginally better — in that aforementioned storehouse. But those will never be released. This is as close as you’ll get to that but you’re going to need to act now. These won’t be available forever.
11. Johnnie Walker Masters of Flavour Aged 48 Years
This whisky is so rare that the casks it’s made from are from ghost distilleries. Those are the ones that no longer operate. In this case, that’s barrels from Port Dundas, Brora, Glen Albyn, and Glenury Royal. Though, the Brora distillery has officially reopened as of spring 2021 after a nearly 40-year closure. Regardless, single malt barrels from each of those distilleries that were a minimum of 48 years old came together to make a mere 288 bottles for this release.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a soft breeze on a misty pebble beach with a grill box smoking away somewhere in the distance with some oysters and salmon on the fire as dates wrapped in nori mingle with rum-soaked prunes, a hint of winter spice, and an old leather tobacco pouch that’s more old tobacco oil and old dirt than rawhide.
Palate: The palate leans into the smoke but layers in dried cherries, blackberries, and slightly tart currants as the spice kicks in with sharp cinnamon with browned buttered layered into an apple fritter with a hint of vanilla and a touch of nuttiness.
Finish: Hot fireplace coals, burnt toffee, and smoked berries round out the finish as a final note pulls in the beachside grill box smoke, berries, spice, and leather into a subtly soft end.
Bottom Line:
This is Johnnie Walker going so hard in the paint that it’s ridiculous, especially price-wise. But the whisky in the bottle delivers something truly extraordinary that we’ll never see again.
10. Glenfiddich Suspended Time Aged 30 Years, Time Re:Imagined Collection
This new line from Glenfiddich is all about slow and steady aging over decades. In this case, this ultra-rare whisky was aged for three decades in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks until it hit a perfect point for batching, proofing, and bottling this year.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Soft hints of stewed plums cut with sweet cinnamon, bitter clove, and salted dark chocolate mingle with a sense of old but very soft suede, dusty oak beams in an old wine cellar, and this fleeting sense of old honey stored in stone pots of eons with an echo of orange blossom.
Palate: The palate builds on that mild floral vibe with and aura of rose-water-laced moist marzipan dipped in creamy dark chocolate with an edge of cinnamon bark and dried apple bushels countering everything.
Finish: The end has another note of that old honey and stone pots with a lingering sense of pipe tobacco dipped in apple honey and rolled with dry strings of cedar bark and strips of musty leather.
Bottom Line:
This Glenfiddich release is one of the most delicious unpeated malts out there and a truly unparalleled drinking experience.
9. Mortlach Midnight Malt Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged for 30 Years
This is 30-year-old Mortlach from a couple of barrels that actually made it that long without drying out or becoming undrinkable — it’s kind of a miracle in that sense. The vatted whisky was finished in a trio of barrels — Bordeaux wine, Calvados, and Guatemalan rum — before bottling completely as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a lovely hint of malt dipped in honey with a touch of apple stewed with cinnamon and saffron that leads to roasted pork skin and fat cut with a sense of rosemary and singed sage before a honeyed oaked sweetness arrives again
Palate: The taste is like a creamy, apple-forward, malty lush elixir cut with hints of black pepper, burnt orange, and marzipan that leads to a sense of honey-soaked cinnamon sticks floating in apple cider.
Finish: There’s another rush of that black pepper late that leads to woody apple cores and wintry barks that eventually fade towards a mildly spiced apple-cinnamon tobacco leaf packing into an old cedar box.
Bottom Line:
Mortlach is that little distillery that only the most hardcore whisky connoisseurs will know and love. And this is one of the rarest bottles from that shingle.
Overall, this is such a rare find that if you do find one, you’ll be one of the lucky few. If so, can I steal a pour? It’s too sad a prospect to face that I may never taste this again.
8. Springbank Aged 25 Years Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky
This is a very rare whisky aged in 60% sherry casks and 40% bourbon casks for 25 long years in the tiny and very old Springbank Distillery in Campbeltown. After that whisky is touched with a little local water, and it’s filled into only 1,300 bottles per year (there are insane lines to get it at the distillery when it drops).
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a soft marriage between fresh raspberries and subtle rose petals with old cellar beams, cobwebs, and a dirt floor rounding things out, with a whisper of seaside air lurking in between.
Palate: The palate veers from that nose pretty drastically with hints of rum-soaked overripe bananas next to wet brown sugar, rock candy, and a hint of large salt flakes.
Finish: The end builds on that saltiness with a rush of malted barley and sweetgrass after the rain.
Bottom Line:
I would argue that it’s worth actually flying to Scotland for this release. If you’ve earmarked $1,000 for a bottle of whisky, you may as well experience getting it from the source. The ancient distillery is worth the trip alone, add in the beauty of the Kintyre peninsula and the whisky friends you make along the way, and you’ll have more than just a bottle of great whisky. You’ll have a great story to tell to everyone you share it with.
I’d argue that this is the sort of whisky that deserves that level of effort.
7. Bowmore Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aston Martin Masters’ Selection Aged 22 Years
This is the next step in the much-lauded high-end Aston Martin series from Bowmore. The whisky is batched from special barrels of Bowmore’s famed barely-peated whisky into a final product that’s refined and just kissed with that iconic Islay spring water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Gently smoked cherries and smoked orange come through on the nose with a mild sense of smudging sage ash next to bourbon vanilla and apple fritters with a soft powdered sugar glaze.
Palate: That sweetness presents on the palate with a smoke chocolate powder vibe next to spiced malts, singed vanilla husks, and more of those smoked cherries but this time they have a twinge of tartness with a pinch of salt.
Finish: The finish combines the tart yet salty smoked cherries with the dark chocolate next to a deep sense of oak and spicy malts.
Bottom Line:
This is a delicious whisky. It has a slight gimmick with the Aston Martin tie-in. But that’s washed away when you actually taste how good this stuff is. It’s a perfectly balanced low-peat malt that delivers on every level, making it a great whisky for any fan of Islay who doesn’t need a peat monster on their cart.
6. Ardbeg 25 Years Old Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
This expression from Ardbeg is also their oldest expression (as of their current lineup). The whisky is the epitome of peat on Islay. What makes this expression so special and extremely rare is that it was distilled and casked when Ardbeg was on its knees as a company, in the early 1990s. They simply weren’t making that much whisky back then and there’s hardly any of it left. That makes this a one-and-gone whisky with only 278 bottles, 90 of which were sent to the U.S.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Heavy cream, smoked toffee, lemon pith, and ashes from last night’s campfire open this one up on the nose before veering toward soft sea-filled air, a touch of muddy bog, and old shovel handles from a well-worked farm.
Palate: On the palate, there’s this deep sense of potting soil that’s still in the plastic from the garden shop next to uncooked smoked bacon rashers with plenty of black pepper and a slightly sour edge leading back to that heavy cream and smoked toffee by the mid-palate.
Finish: Finally, hefty/spicy packed tobacco chewiness brings about a full-on head buzz — it’s a wild sensation.
Bottom Line:
This is the bottle that you buy when you want to be challenged on every level of your senses and palate. But the reward is so deep and grand that I think it’s worth it. Still, we’re talking about creamy and funky peat here, so maybe try a dram at your local whisky bar before you commit to a whole bottle.
5. The Dalmore Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 25 Years
Like many whiskies on this list, this is all about the casks. This whisky spends around 25 years aging in ex-bourbon casks and Tawny Port pipes and casks, some of which held Matusalem oloroso sherry for 30 years before they got to The Dalmore. Those barrels are married and then the whisky is proofed down before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a hint of lychee next to grilled papaya before veering more traditional with sticky toffee pudding, Earl Grey tea, salted toffee sauce, and a good dusting of dried orange blossoms.
Palate: The palate amps up the vanilla to the point of rich and oily pods being squeezed in your hands as waxy cacao nibs mingle with soft wintry spices and plum pudding with plenty of dark stone fruit.
Finish: The finish takes on a slight maple syrup vibe before hitting a soft cedar bark braided with a single leaf of ginger-infused tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is The Dalmore’s sweet spot. This is the Highland malt at its categorical zenith as well as one of the best examples of unpeated whisky on the planet.
4. The GlenDronach Grandeur Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 28 Years
The GlenDronach Grandeur Batch 11 was created by Dr. Rachel Barrie (who also created the BenRiach above). Dr. Barrie hand-selected a tiny number of rare Pedro Ximénez and oloroso Sherry casks that were filled with The GlenDronach malt almost 30 years ago. Those barrels were vatted and bottled with a touch of water into just over 3,000 bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a sense of black-tea-soaked dates blended with Saigon cinnamon and freshly ground nutmeg next to blackstrap molasses, walnut cake, old oak staves soaked in floral honey, moist marzipan laced with orange oils and dipped in salted dark chocolate, and a little twinge of bourbon vanilla cherries.
Palate: The palate pops with dark cherry cordial on the palate next to stewed plums with anise and clove, old leather tobacco pouches, and a touch of creamy espresso.
Finish: The end is a mix of dark chocolate and brandy-soaked cherries next to spent oolong tea leaves, walnut shells, and salted black licorice with a whisper of spiced caramel malts.
Bottom Line:
This was exciting. It felt new and fresh with a hardcore depth that was fascinating and alluring. This is the bottle you buy and sip when you want to push your palate to new heights.
3. Talisker Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 30 Years
Talisker’s seaside vibes are on full display in this beautiful bottle. The 2021 limited release (the 30-year is on a random release schedule) was around 3,000 bottles, making this a very rare expression from the Isle of Skye distillery. Those bottles were pulled from both ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks and masterfully blended right next to the sea at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is shockingly subtle and soft with velvety notes of smoldering dried nori next to matchsticks that have been dipped in a buttery and rich dark chocolate with sea salt gently sprinkled all over.
Palate: The palate leans into the dialed-back peat by bringing about a smoked cream with fire-seared peaches next to a hint of wet cedar, very old tobacco leaves, and a touch of almond or oat milk flecked with salt.
Finish: That salt drives the mid-palate towards a finish that’s like getting kissed by merfolk on a beach next to a campfire that’s heating a cauldron full of spicy stewed peaches in more of that cream.
Bottom Line:
I love Talisker. It’s the whisky that got me interested in whisky years ago. The beauty of this expression is that the wide-eyed wonder I felt first sipping a Talisker 10 back in the day is still there in this whisky but this expression brings new heights of flavor. That nostalgia aside, this seaside peated malt is so subtle and deeply refined that you’ll always find something new and different with every nose and sip. And I promise you that there’s something to love in there if you take the time to find it.
2. Caol Ila Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 24 Years 175th Anniversary
This whisky was bottled to celebrate the 175 years Caol Ila has been operating on Islay. 3,000 bottles were rendered from barrels of at least 24-year-old whisky, each of which highlighted the sophisticated brand’s nuanced peatiness and fruitiness.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a sense of a beach campfire far away as fresh brioche filled with nougat and dusted with nutmeg dries the profile toward raisins soaked in mulled wine with plenty of orange and clove.
Palate: There’s a sense of that deeply ruddy mulled wine on the palate with star anise, allspice, cinnamon bark, and rum-raisin butter next to prunes, dates, figs, and tart dried red berries with a flourish of moist vanilla cake frosted with salted toffee and dusted with dark chocolate shavings.
Finish: The end leans into the woody spices with mulled wine-soaked cinnamon bark and clove buds next to salted caramel tobacco leaves rolled with old cedar bark and strips of nori as that whisper of beach campfire smoke sneaks back in.
So why is it not number one on this list? While I adore this whisky, it’s super-duper niche and not as awarded or available (relatively) as the next pick.
1. Benromach Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 40 Years
This Speyside distillery is for the whisky nerds out there. This particular release just dropped last summer with only 1,000 total. The whisky in those bottles was produced in 1981 and then spent four decades chilling out in old Oloroso sherry casks before going into the bottle as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is soft on the nose with flourishes of plum puddings and mince meat pies next to candied ginger, lightly spiced malts, a hint of dark cacao powder, orange zest, and old brown sugar.
Palate: The palate keeps that subtly as stewed apples with a hint of saffron dance with a dash of grapefruit pith, more orange zest, old maple syrup, and waxy dark cacao nibs freshly picked from a tree.
Finish: The end has a trace of tannic old oak stave with dry sweetgrass and cedar bark braids next to a thin line of black-tea-soaked dates and allspice.
Bottom Line:
2022 was the year that Benromach went from a niche little Scotch brand to a global powerhouse and this particular multi-award-winning whisky is a big reason why. This is one of those bottles where you take a sip and then “get it.” “Get” what, you ask? You instantly understand why there’s so much fussing, delight, and obsession with whisky at this level.
With two days until the 2023 NFL Draft begins, there is a general consensus that Bryce Young will be the first overall pick of the Carolina Panthers after they traded up with the Bears to land the top spot last month.
After months of debate over who is the top quarterback in this year’s class, things have settled out on Young being the prohibitive favorite (-1600) to hear his name called first on Thursday night. C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, and Will Levis all expect to hear their names called early as well, but there’s a lot of variance on what order and what teams will be taking them.
On Tuesday morning, however, the odds market began shifting rather dramatically in favor of Levis, as the former Kentucky Wildcat vaulted Stroud and Richardson to having the second-best odds to go first overall. The reason for that leap from +4000 to +400 (now +500 at DraftKings)? A Reddit post about Levis allegedly telling people he was going first.
Someone on Reddit posted Will Levis is ‘telling friends and family Carolina will in fact take him’ as the No. 1 pick…
While this all could be noise, many sports bettors will remember a similar thing happening prior to last year’s NBA Draft, when newsbreakers insisted Jabari Smith Jr. was going to go first, while bettors hammered Paolo Banchero’s odds. The bettors, in that case, turned out to be right and cashed in big time when the Magic took Banchero. We’ll find out in a couple of days if this is a smokescreen or a real fire, but a number of folks jumped along for the ride to try and cash in again on some late draft steam.
Yet “No More Lies,” his new track with Tame Impala out today, is his first song in three years. It’s quite a strong comeback, shimmering with a radiant atmosphere and hypnotic vocals: “You and I both know it’s harder than it seems / Love is a two-way street / I’m letting go because the both of us don’t need to drive / Baby, it’s one at a time,” Thundercat sings. Kevin Parker’s voice adds another layer of serenity: “I’ll just be on my own / I’ll just be home alone / My troubles are my own,” he croons.
“I’ve wanted to work with Kevin since the very first Tame Impala album,” Thundercat shared about “No More Lies” in a statement. “I feel that I knew that us working together would be special. I’ve been excited about this song for a long time and hope to create more with Kevin in the future.”
The track ends with a conflicted monologue, ending with the unreal lines: “It just looks like I don’t care / Because my emotions have been sanded off / I live in LA, sweetie, what do you expect?”
Listen to “No More Lies” above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Chance The Rapper is making quite a lot of headlines lately for his new collaboration with Vic Mensa and G-Eazy for “Swish” as well as for getting enthusiastically twerked on at a carnival in a viral video. Either way, it looks like he’s keeping up the momentum with even more news.
Today (April 25), the performer announced that he’ll be celebrating ten years of his beloved album Acid Rap — which features hits like “Cocoa Butter Kisses” and “Favorite Song” — with a show in Chicago at the United Center with his collaborator Saba as support. He shared this exciting information on social media, along with a trippy teaser clip and a phone number where you can text him to stay updated: +1 (312) 494-1081.
He is also releasing the track “Juice” in its original format, coming Sunday, April 30.
In 2019, he discussed what that record meant to him in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “When I first started working on [The Big Day], the concept, the theme,” he explained, “we have school, we have acid, we have faith and family, and the fourth one — really the first one — the concept was ‘Best Album Of All Time.’ And that’s not really a good concept to make an album. It gives you no direction.” He continued, “To me, personally, the best album of all time … Acid Rap.”
Rae Sremmurd’s Swae Lee got into a serious brawl at Coachella ahead of his performance at the festival. TMZ, who obtained video of the fight, report that Lee and his crew were entering the security checkpoint before things broke out between security guards and those from Lee’s team.
All the while, one of Lee’s own guards went to protect the musician’s baby, who was also present in a car seat.
“As Swae Lee attempted to enter the festival with his newborn son and working crew, overzealous security guards confronted them. As 1/2 of Rae Sremmurd, he was due to perform on Coachella’s Outdoor Theatre stage at 5:55 PM. Security claimed not to recognize the talent and then aggressively initiated contact as they attempted to make their way to the stage,” Lee’s management shared with the publication, offering more insight into how things went south.
“The security guards, which we presume are independent contractors, are seen clearly being the aggressors and then throwing gang signs at end of the video in a celebration,” they added.
Thankfully, nobody has seemed to be injured, and Lee — along with Slim Jxmmi and the rest of the Rae Sremmurd setup crew made it into Coachella in time to take the stage.
Let’s take a trip back to 1920s Sweden! Women were finally allowed to vote, Greta Garbo landed her first acting gig, and a young man named Jan Skarsgård was born. Skarsgård didn’t know it yet, but he changed Hollywood as we know it today by helping to create a small army of good-looking Swedes who were born with the peculiar ability to look both charming and scary on screen. History was born that year!
Of course, Jan Skarsgård had a son, Stellan, who became a well-known actor and then spawned more well-known actors, including Alexander, Gustaf, Sam (the one son who just had to go be a doctor instead of an actor), Eija (model instead of an actor) Bill (who often plays a clown) and the youngest Valter. The entire family tree was just a setup for this one joke in the most recent episode of Succession, in which Alexander Skarsgård says the following:
The joke landed well with everyone who has been haunted by a Skarsgård in their life, whether it be Alexander in True Blood or Big Little Lies or Bill in Castle Rock or It or The Barbarian. What is it with these guys? Luckily, they seem to be in on the family business joke, which is why so many people pointed out just how ironic it was that Alexander’s character says such a thing to the Roy family.
the bit in the succ ep when mattson went “there’s more of them?” reminded me of how people are always surprised by how many skarsgards there are
— hfirlx || succession spoilers (@hfirlx) April 24, 2023
I love that Mattson/Alexander Skarsgard says “there’s more of them???” when he met cousin Greg cuz that’s how ppl react when they discover another Skarsgard #Succession
official succession account dropping a reaction video for the next “55th skarsgard brother was cast in a new project” film update pic.twitter.com/n0wrhlfmHw
Now that the Skarsgård family has found the secret to both cloning and acting, maybe there can be a Lukas Matsson prequel series that stars every iteration of Skarsgård. It would be the scariest show on television.
While Coachella 2023 has officially come to a close, it was truly a chaotic time as the headliners shifted from Frank Ocean to Blink-182 and Skrillex/Fred Again../Four Tet between the two weekends. Despite the hectic nature, great things resulted out of it too. Many performers blessed us with special guest appearances and new music. And sometimes, as we’ve seen this week, some decided to combine the two, proving the festival to be a significant promotional tool for the pop world.
Here is Uproxx’s roundup of the Best New Pop music from this week.
Grupo Frontera, Bad Bunny — “Un x100to”
Bad Bunny, being one of the main headlining performers at Coachella, used his set to bring out the band Grupo Frontera for their new collab, “Un x100to.” A quick way to get the crowd hyped up, it’s a story of trying to patch things up with an ex — with the added stress of a phone battery dying.
The Weeknd, Future — “Double Fantasy”
A preview of the soundtrack from his upcoming show, HBO’s The Idol, The Weeknd enlisted Future for “Double Fantasy.” Keeping in line with the risky nature of the series, the duo detail just what they’re looking for out of relationship. As The Weeknd shared in a recent interview, he intended to take Purple Rain to the “next level” in terms of inspiration.
Ed Sheeran — “Boat”
Ed Sheeran’s new song, “Boat,” serves as a metaphor for his experience with depression. Still, he maintains a sense of hopefulness to keep holding on, as the lyrics were co-written by him and The National’s Aaron Dessner.
Kim Petras, Nicki Minaj — “Alone”
“She just changed my life in so many ways with that verse and that verse rips,” Petras told Billboard about her brand new collaboration with Nicki Minaj, where the two trade off their creative wordplay. “I love her and I’m so inspired by her always, it’s crazy to me. I don’t know how she does it, but she’s just the greatest ever.”
Muna — “One That Got Away”
After Muna teased “One That Got Away” during the first weekend of their Coachella performances, the trio released a new favorite that has fans talking. The dance-pop track makes exactly sure to remind someone just what they’re missing and how much better off the band is without them. More specifically, Muna views it as “a song about somebody fumbling the bag.”
Bree Runway, Khalid — “Be The One”
Another brilliant collaboration from this week, Bree Runway and Khalid unite on the quest for love with their new track, “Be The One.” She has described realizing just how perfect their voices fit together and it’s spot on. The production perfectly complements their harmonies as they join each other in the chorus.
Agust D — “Haegeum”
Venturing out for his new solo album under his Agust D project, BTS’ Suga finally dropped the long-awaited D-Day with some truly introspective and powerful songs. One of which, “Haegeum,” finds Suga grappling with two different sides of himself and craving freedom, a concept that also is woven into the music video.
Bebe Rexha, Snoop Dogg — “Satellite”
What better way to pass the time on 4/20 earlier this week than by having a new collab with Snoop Dogg? Bebe Rexha’s “Satellite” does exactly that. The laid-back stoner style carries over into their animated music video, which is also how the song came about. “He called me at 7:00 the next morning with a big blunt in his hand being like, ‘Yo, check your email. You have an email,’” Rexha told People Magazine.
Tiësto, AR/CO — “Back Around”
Another new album out this week is Tiësto’s Drive, which includes his recent hits with Tate McRae (“10:35”) and Charli XCX (“Hot In It”). One of the other newly-released collaborations is with the duo AR/CO on “Back Around.” Opening with a hypnotic electronic instrumental and added vocals, it doubles as a chill spacey pop song and a club-ready anthem.
Gus Dapperton, Benee — “Don’t Let Me Down”
The latest in their stunning string of songs together, Gus Dapperton and Benee reunited for “Don’t Let Me Down.” As Dapperton revealed, Benee sent her vocals back extremely fast after contacting her. “She’s an incredible writer and has a beautiful voice. This beat came quickly when I was filling in the blanks with all the moods I wanted to convey on this project. I immediately thought of her voice,” he said.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
In a rare avalanche of breaking news, Monday saw both Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon get fired from their respective jobs at Fox News and CNN. Thanks to the shocking nature of Carlson’s departure (the controversial pundit was reportedly in the middle of negotiating a new five-year contract), the reports coming out of Fox News dominated the headlines. If you ask Howard Stern, that outcome made Lemon a very “lucky” man.
“Don Lemon got fired over at CNN and then some other guy at NBC, Jeff Shell, who’s an executive, got fired. And I’m like, Jeff Shell’s so lucky and so is Don Lemon because Tucker Carlson getting fired on the same day you get fired,” Stern said via Mediaite. “You barely make news, like no one will even notice.”
The shock jock took things even further by suggesting that once the other networks learned that Carlson was getting the axe, they saw the perfect opportunity for dropping bad news that will quickly be buried.
“I’ll tell you what happened. Tucker Carlson got fired and CNN called a quick meeting, said, ‘Hey listen, let’s go fire Don Lemon and let’s get rid of Jeff Shell too because now is the time to get rid of everybody cause no one’s gonna really make a big deal about it,” Stern told co-host Robin Quivers, who agreed that everything got “dwarfed” by Tucker’s exit.
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|| succession spoilers (@hfirlx) 
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