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In this week’s episode, Ian and I review new albums by M83 (which we like) and 100 Gecs (which we are mixed on but are intrigued about). But before that, we delve into the week’s biggest controversy: That tweet from a political writer about how The White Stripes would have been better with a more technically proficient drummer.

Now, this is obviously a bad take. But why do we get so upset about bad takes stated by random people we don’t know or care about? This is the mystery of social media — how does it warp our brains and goad us into arguing with ghosts? Perhaps this why the goddess Meg White has disappeared from this world in the first place, and is now enjoying a quiet life in retirement.

Later in the episode we take a deep dive into our mailbag to address questions about other important issues, including: Will Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois will work as a musical? What are the best ’90s rap skits? And why is it so hard to make a good music biopic?

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 130 here or below and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

The latest trailer for The Little Mermaid has over one million downvotes on YouTube. Compare that to other live-action remakes, like The Lion King (45,000) and Beauty and the Beast (10,000), and something is, ahem, fishy.

Josh Gad took to Twitter to criticize the racist and “pathetic” trolls who are mass disliking The Little Mermaid, which stars Halle Bailey as Ariel. “Imagine being so broken and pathetic in life that your chief concern is the skin color of… a make-believe singing mermaid,” the frequent Disney actor wrote in response to a Call to Activism tweet about “the controversy surrounding Halle Bailey’s casting” and how he important thing is “that we remember a beautiful and talented actress won the role. We can’t allow racism to ever be normalized.”

“I definitely think that because I love this movie so much, and I’ve treasured it since I was a little girl, I did put a bit of pressure on myself,” Bailey said about playing the gadgets and gizmos-loving mermaid. “Just because I want to deliver all of the feels that I saw when I was a little girl… Knowing that gave it my all and gave 110 percent into everything of this film, I am really proud of myself.”

The Little Mermaid comes out on May 26th.

Yesterday, Billie Eilish confirmed rumors that had been swirling around, that she had landed an acting role in Donald Glover and Janine Nabers’s new Amazon Prime Video series Swarm, which premiered today (March 17). Given that this was Eilish’s live-action acting debut (after her The Simpsons short), it was unclear how good of an actor she would be, but it seems like everything thinks she nailed it.

Warning: spoilers for Swarm are below.

Nabers told Rolling Stone that Eilish’s cult leader character Eva was inspired by Keith Raniere, leader of the NXIVM cult and corporation who was sentenced to 120 years in prison in 2020. Nabers also said of Eilish and Fishback’s performance in the episode, “She came in and their chemistry was really wonderful. This show, in terms of women and violence, is so empowering for me, because you see it from such a masculine standpoint usually in the history of film and TV. To subvert that with this, and with Billie, was great.”

Fishback also said of Eilish, “She’s so respectful of the craft. She came in with ideas, wanting to talk about it, being game to rehearse. I think she’s wonderful. I’m such a fan of her as a person due to what I experienced with her on set.”

Eilish fans were similarly laudatory of Eilish’s performance, offering plenty of compliments about her acting skills.

In particular, fans made note of the moments in which Eilish kisses other women.

Check out some more clips from the episode below.

For years now, a critical component of hip-hop history has been missing from the streaming music landscape: De La Soul. Finally, though, the trio’s music hit Spotify, Apple Music, and the rest last month. Tragically, however, this all finally came together shortly after the death of member Trugoy The Dove. To celebrate their streaming debut, though, surviving members Posdnuos and Maseo visited The Tonight Show yesterday (March 16) to talk about it.

A couple minutes into the conversation, Jimmy Fallon spoke about how the trio’s debut album, 1989’s 3 Feet High And Rising, has changed the lives of so many music fans and asked Questlove to share how the album changed him. Quest explained, “For the first time, we just saw, like, ourselves. This is how the group bonded, Tariq [Black Thought] and I. We saw three friends just having fun with each other, practical jokes and all that stuff, and we had never seen that in hip-hop before.”

Elsewhere during the conversation, Fallon started by acknowledging Trugoy’s death and how hard the current De La Soul revival must be in light of that. Posdnuos noted that it’s been “bittersweet.”

Later in the episode, the pair teamed up with The Roots for a performance of “Stakes Is High.”

Watch the interview above and the performance below.

(WARNING: Spoilers for this week’s Power Book II: Ghost episode will be found below.)

With the conclusion of BMF season two, comes the start of another season in 50 Cent’s cinematic universe: season three of Power Book II: Ghost. The show stars Michael Rainey Jr. as Tariq St. Patrick and Gianni Paolo as Brayden Weston. It’s been a little over a year since the finale of season two which brought an end to a collection of shocking events that occurred within the season’s final two episodes. Mecca, Zeke, and Lauren were all killed in that finale and Monet was exposed at the family dinner table for sleeping with Mecca and lying for years about Zeke being her nephew when he was actually her son — one she shared with Mecca. It was quite the dramatic end to season two of Power Book II: Ghost and now it’s time to pick up where we left off.

In the season three premiere of Power Book II: Ghost, we return to see that Monet is still heavily grieving the loss of Zeke while actively demanding that her family do whatever they can to find his killer. Much of her anger is directed at Diana, but that isn’t too much of a surprise when she was the one who exposed her true life in front of the Tejada family at the dinner table last season. As for Tariq, he’s enjoying a new peaceful life away from the drug with his new girlfriend Effie. However, as it always does, Tariq’s past caught up to him leaving him to deal with a pesky business partner and the demands of Mecca’s boss who arrives to wreak havoc on his life more than anyone else has before. Elsewhere, Brayden begins work with the Weston family and continues to work with Tariq, Cooper Saxe continues to be the bothersome act we’ve known him to be as her works with the enemy a bit more than expected, and the truth of Lauren’s disappearance somewhat comes to light.

Here are some of the biggest takeaways that we have after season three’s first episode, “Your Perception, Your Reality”:

Tariq’s Reality Is He’s Forever Attached To His Past

The way we perceive the world can also be defined as our reality, and Tariq’s reality is he’ll never be able to have a fresh start. Sure, the eldest St. Patrick is an effective and successful drug dealer considering the fact that he doesn’t own a car (I really hope this is solved in season three), but he doesn’t want to do this forever. Tariq’s side hustle as a drug dealer began as a way to get money to pay his lawyer Davis McClean to free his mother from prison in season one. This forged a relationship with Monet that he now maintains today. Now that his mother is out of prison, Tariq doesn’t need to hustle but he’s in too deep with Monet to exit until she’s ready to. Fast-forward to now and in the first episode of season three, Tariq admits that he’s enjoying the break from hustling after Mecca’s death in the season two finale. Unfortunately for him, that break is now over as Noma, a new and more threatening drug connect than Monet ever was in Power Book II: Ghost, has arrived and forcibly employed Tariq, Cane, and Brayden to sell the leftover product that Mecca had in his possession before his death. For Tariq, he can try his best to run away from a past that looks like his father’s, no matter how much he despises that idea (just don’t say that to him before you end up like Bash, RIP to him). For now, there’s no such thing as a fresh start for Tariq St. Patrick, just a repeat of the past with different details.

Noma Is Here To Fill In Monet’s Shoes And Then Some

Season three of Power Book II: Ghost begins with Monet still grieving heavily over the loss of her son Ezekiel “Zeke” Cross. As is sometimes the case with people who are grieving over a heavy loss, Monet is quite snappy and short-tempered with her family — especially with Diana and Lorenzo. The one person Monet is still kind to so far this season is Tariq because he was the one person who was with her at the time of Zeke’s death, so she knows Tariq wasn’t responsible for it. There’s a bit of love between the two in their lone conversation in the season three opener, which is a big contrast from the strictly business relationship we’ve seen them exhibit in prior seasons. If you thought that meant Tariq was getting a break, well it’s time you met Noma. She was Mecca’s boss and fiancée, and in her search to learn what happened to Mecca, she stumbles upon Tariq, Cane, and Brayden. In a matter of a few minutes, the trio watches Noma shot and kill a young lady, pistol-whip Cane, and threaten to kill them all if they do not tell her how Mecca was killed. In the end, Tariq, Cane, and Brayden (and later Effie) are tasked with moving what’s left of Mecca’s drug supply. If Tariq thought Monet was a lot to deal with, it’s only going to get worse with Noma. The stakes are higher and the risk is higher, but it remains to be seen if the reward will be higher as well.

Cooper Saxe Is Still A Nuisance

If there’s one character I don’t miss from Power Book II: Ghost it’s Cooper Saxe. The prosecutor who worked tirelessly to put James St. Patrick behind bars in the original Power series is now a defense attorney working in Davis McClean’s. Yet, he struggles to stay on the same team as the main characters of the show. Between eavesdropping on Tariq and Davis’ conversation in the latter’s office to working with prosecutor Jenny Sullivan — despite being a defense attorney — to help her prove that Davis is working for Tariq and the Tejada family, Cooper Saxe is just all over the place. With his motive for season three out in the open, it’s clear that Cooper Saxe will continue to be a nuisance to Tariq and his circle of friends and associates — and not in the Sergeant Blanca Rodriguez “talented cop” kind of way. It’ll be trademark Cooper Saxe making a bunch of mistakes on his way to hopefully solving an investigation that will eventually be ruined because of his own mistakes. Hooray!

Nobody Is Ready For The Truth

This week’s episode title couldn’t be more perfect for the events that led by and took place in the season three premiere of Power Book II: Ghost. “Your Perception, Your Reality” the title reads for episode one. In numerous instances in this episode, we see examples of how the characters’ perception of their worlds become their new reality. Tariq was made to believe that Lauren is dead, but we now know that’s not the case. Monet thinks Zeke’s killer is still on the loose when little does she know that they’re living in her home — that being her husband Lorenzo. Davis believes Saxe is on his side when he’s really helping Jenny get evidence that Davis is working for Tariq and the Tejada family. However, as the saying goes, “when perception changes, truth changes,” but this saying could also work if it were flipped. The truth always comes to light, and among all the aforementioned situations, one of them will indeed come to light and shake up someone’s world and their perception of it. The truth that we know for now is that no one is ready to hear it. Whether it be Lauren’s return, the discovery that Cooper is working for the other side, or the truth about Zeke’s death, whichever comes out, if not all in season three, the damage that follows will be heavy.

New episodes of ‘Power Book II: Ghost’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am EST and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm EST.

Has the evil of Ticketmaster been defeated? After pissing off several artists and their respective fan bases, it appears Robert Smith and The Cure were able to talk some sense into the ticket giant.

Yesterday (March 15) Smith and several of The Cure’s fans expressed their chagrin toward Ticketmaster, as they were met with steep prices when they attempted to purchase tickets for the band’s upcoming tour.

Today, Smith took to Twitter and revealed that he met with Ticketmaster and discussed this fiasco. In turn, Ticketmaster is partially reimbursing fans for the excessive fees they paid.

“AFTER FURTHER CONVERSATION, TICKETMASTER HAVE AGREED WITH US THAT MANY OF THE FEES BEING CHARGED ARE UNDULY HIGH, AND AS A GESTURE OF GOODWILL HAVE OFFERED A $10 PER TICKET REFUND TO ALL VERIFIED FAN ACCOUNTS FOR LOWEST TICKET PRICE (‘LTP’) TRANSACTIONS…,” said Smith.

Smith continued, saying, “AND A $5 PER TICKET REFUND TO ALL VERIFIED FAN ACCOUNTS FOR ALL OTHER TICKET PRICE TRANSACTIONS, FOR ALL CURE SHOWS AT ALL VENUES; IF YOU ALREADY BOUGHT A TICKET YOU WILL GET AN AUTOMATIC REFUND; ALL TICKETS ON SALE TOMORROW WILL INCUR LOWER FEES.”

The general on-sale for The Cure’s upcoming tour will take place tomorrow, and thankfully fans won’t have to worry about excess fees.

(WARNING: Spoilers for this week’s BMF episode will be found below.)

Each week for the ‘BMF’ To Blowin’ Money Fast series, we’ve recapped each episode by looking at a few key things to see how they hurt Meech and Terry’s money-making goals and overall well-being. Each item was marked as a profit or a loss, the former keeping them in the black and the latter pushing them into the red. Now that the season is over, we’ll give a few major characters final markings based on the events that took place over the last ten episodes.

Meech and Terry finally have everything that they’ve desired and fought for with BMF. Their low-income days are long behind them as their business skills helped to make BMF a success long before they ventured outside of Detroit. They earned the respect of the city, whether it was by force or by fire — gunfire specifically that is. The Flenory brothers were eventually able to venture outward and set up bases in cities like Cleveland and Atlanta. They also found their own connect outside the country, in Colombia specifically, which would help them have a steady supply not only to sell to their normal clientele but to small organizations as well. As of episode nine in season two, all is well for the Flenory brothers, but it only lasted for so long.

For the season two finale of BMF, Meech and Terry are ready to take things to a new level with their business, but a few roadblocks and loose ends will need to be taken care of first. First, the Flenory brothers discover that Lamar killed Monique and Meech is dead set on seeking revenge. Meech and Terry also figure out a way to get B-Mickie’s gun out of Detective Bryant’s possession, but when the detective’s son Kevin gets ahold of it, things take a turn for the worst on both sides. Nonetheless, the episode ends with Meech deciding to move to Atlanta to continue the expansion of the BMF empire. With that, Terry will remain in Detroit and be in charge of the operation there. Elsewhere, Lucille grows more distant and angry with Charles despite his attempts to make things right, Terry finds himself in some trouble with the ladies in his life, and Lamar’s time may have come to an end in BMF.

Meech

PROFIT

In terms of where BMF started and where they ended in season two, Meech should receive most of the credit for the group’s success based on the events depicted in season two of the show. He united the former 50 Boyz with the 12 Street Boys to create BMF. He convinced the city’s top connect K-9 to work with the group and give them product. He ventured out to Atlanta and made sure to return a new supply of cocaine when things got bad in Detroit. Meech earned the group a major connect with the cartel in Colombia, a move that made them the top dogs in Detroit while also giving them the ammo to expand. The season two finale of BMF ties a few loose ends by setting up Detective Bryant to take the fall for the gun he’s been holding over B-Mickie’s head as he used it to kill Jay Mo and Kato. Meech also takes care of Lamar once and for all, but not in the way we expected. So as Meech rides off into the sunset to take on Atlanta and make BMF a name to remember in that city, he leaves Detroit knowing that he accomplished everything — and then some — in regard to his dreams as a hustler and businessman. Still, the grind doesn’t stop.

Charles

LOSS

Talk about a lack of contributions this season. Charles has done nothing, but stress out his family — and I mean every single one of them. In season one, his actions were more warranted as he simply wanted his children, Meech and Terry, to stay out of the streets and rather than risk death. However, this season Charles was nothing more than a nuisance, that again, stressed everyone out. He was a bad business partner to Terry with the Flenory Car Ride Service by refusing to listen to Terry’s great ideas for the company. So much so, that Terry eventually concluded that life in the streets brought him more peace of mind, and money of course, than dealing with his father to such a close capacity. As if that wasn’t enough, Charles also cheated on Lucille with Mabel, a woman from their church. With that, Lucille is considering a divorce, regardless of her decision on that, she wants nothing to do with him at the moment. Furthermore, Nicole has a completely new perspective of her father, one that makes her doubt that there can be any good in love. The only good things that Charles did this season occurred when he gave money to Meech and Terry before they fled to Atlanta and when he grilled food for Meech’s going away party. I may be missing a thing or two, but the point is, it’s not a long list.

Terry

PROFIT

Terry’s progression through season two of BMF was a bit of a journey. He started as a man fully committed to being a law-abiding citizen through the Flenory Car Ride Service with his father. However, by the end of season two, he was back in his role as the brains of BMF. Terry really tried to stay out of the streets, but with a combination of his nagging father, Meech being shot, and a desire for a more flashy and profitable lifestyle, Terry eventually convinced himself that rejoining BMF was exactly what he wanted and needed in his life to feel fulfilled. His impact on the group was felt immediately. Terry helped seal the deal between BMF and their new Colombian connect while also being a second enforcer to the group to make sure things stayed afloat. Though he had his own fair share of errors, like getting Denise arrested with their product and almost having him, Meech, and others arrested, Terry was and still remains an extremely valuable asset to the group — which we knew already. Now, his value will go up as he’s left in charge of things in Detroit, and Meech ventures to Atlanta to set up shop.

B-Mickie

LOSS

We all had the feeling that things weren’t going to end well for B-Mickie at some point this season. For most of season two, B-Mickie played the role of an involuntary informant to Detective Bryant who found the gun he used to kill Jay Mo and Kato. With Bryant hanging a double murder over his head, B-Mickie was forced to give Bryant information on BMF, Meech specifically, to hopefully avoid jail time. Eventually, Bryant bit off more than he could chew, and we saw in the season finale, Meech and the rest of BMF put together a plan to finally get that gun out of Bryant’s possession. It’s a solid plan, but a move from Bryant’s son Kevin throws a wrench in the plan. Though, it seemed like B-Mickie was finally in the good graces of BMF, especially members of the group who found him untrustworthy due to his work with Bryant. However, after Sterling spots an interaction between B-Mickie and Detective Jin, he reports it to Meech and frames it as if B-Mickie is still working with the police. Little do they know that B-Mickie just told Jin to kick rocks after she tried to convince him to turn himself in for the double murders. That’s just it though, BMF doesn’t know that this is the case. So in his final move, Meech tells B-Mickie that he’s “dead” to him and that he’s no longer a part of BMF. As we head into season three, the hope is that B-Mickie doesn’t take out his frustration by giving Bryant and Jin the info they want.

Lamar

PROFIT

At long last, Lamar is a problem of the past — we hope he is at least. All season, Meech and Terry searched up and down for ways and opportunities to take out Lamar, but they struggled to complete the mission. On the flip side, Lamar seemed to have an easy time tormenting and wreaking havoc on the Flenory brothers. Lamar shot Meech and nearly killed him in an ambush at the hospital shortly after. He almost attacked the boys once again before they escaped to Atlanta and he also made a surprise and scary visit to Lucille while Meech and Terry were gone. However, when he killed Monique that proved to be the last straw for Meech. He finally tracks Lamar down and though he approaches him with a gun, he opts to give him a slow death by forcing him to smoke a crack rock that is much more damaging and addictive that anything Lamar has experienced. As season two comes to a close, we see a strung-out Lamar under a city bridge on the search for more of that drug. Maybe this needed to be done to permanently eliminate Lamar as a danger. However, if a gunshot failed to accomplish this at the end of season one, I’m not too confident that this is the solution. We’ll just have to wait until season three to see if that’s the case.

Season 2 of ‘BMF’ is available on the STARZ app.

Metro Boomin‘ has shared an updated version of his collaboration with 21 Savage and The Weeknd, “Creepin’.” Though, some fans may say that this update feels quite like a throwback. You see, “Creepin’” interpolates a 2004 song called “I Don’t Want To Know” by Mario Winans, Diddy, and a vocal sample from Enya. Almost 20 years later, Diddy revisits his classic heartache anthem, creating a special feel of early aughts nostalgia.

The “Creepin’” remix features its standard verses — which comprise of The Weeknd’s recreation of Winan’s verses, as well as Enya’s vocals, an original verse by 21 Savage — and a new verse by Diddy.

“They ain’t real ain’t they ain’t Puff / Ain’t a place in this world that my feet ain’t touch / I got visions that cost millions and make billions / Baby girl, we can make love or make trillions” raps Diddy on his verse.

Diddy’s verse is notably different from that of the 2004 original, on which, he laments the thought of his woman cheating. This time, Diddy is assured, as in the nearly two decades since “I Don’t Wanna Know,” he’s reached billionaire status.

Still, it makes for a pleasant union across two generations of hip-hop.

You can check out the “Creepin’” remix above.

Lil Yachty fans were disappointed tonight, as the rapper’s scheduled performance at SXSW has since been canceled due to rain and lightning in Austin. In addition, all other outdoor venue performances were evacuated from the Moody Amphitheater.

“Attention Moody Amphitheater Guests: Due to current conditions, the venue is being evacuated and all event programming has been cancelled. Our primary concern is the safety of our patrons and staff,” the venue tweeted.

“Unfortunately, we have to evacuate the venue,” a voice says in the video captured by an attendee — and everyone in the crowd audibly boos. “Just for the time being. We will let you know when it is safe to enter. I know this is not what anyone wanted to do.”

While the music will go on safely still inside with other acts, concertgoers are wondering if Yachty will return to make it up to them on another night of the festival.

“Sooo are we gonna get refunded??? cuz i guarantee we did not come to see anybody but yachty…” one fan wrote, tagging SXSW.

Another pointed out that Yachty had apparently posted to his Twitter and Instagram story that the show would go on before eventually deleting it — meaning it’s unlikely considering the weather conditions are causing power outages in some parts of the city and state.

Lil Keed‘s estate has released his posthumous album, Keed Talk To ‘Em 2. On the heels of the album’s release, Keed’s team has shared the video for “Hitman.”

The song is a braggadocious anthem, which recalls his tough-natured persona.

“Yeah, I’m drippin’, I stunt on these motherf*ckers / All this jewelry, I can’t hide from your baby mother / She a real headhunter, she eat the rubber / Tote my Cuban links on me, my neck is cluttered,” he raps on the song’s first verse.

The song’s accompanying visual is one of the last Keed filmed before his untimely death last year. In the video, Keed is seen in a mansion, surrounded by beautiful women, as well as his close associates, who are on guard for him at any moment.

At the end of the film is a message to fans from Keed’s family, explaining that this is the rapper’s final music video.

Keed Talk To ‘Em 2 was executive produced by his daughter, Naychur Render, who Keed often said was his biggest inspiration.

You can check out the video for “Hitman” above.

Keed Talk To ‘Em 2 is out now via Young Stoner Life and 300 Entertainment. Find more information here.

Lil Keed is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.