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For a movie filled with drug-filled orgies, there’s sure been a lot of talk about the tame-by-comparison smooches in Babylon. Margot Robbie improvised a kissing scene between her character and Brad Pitt’s in director Damien Chazelle’s old-school Hollywood spectacle (“When else am I gonna get the chance to kiss Brad Pitt? I’m just gonna go for it”), which resulted in a mini-scandal. Li Jun Li also locked lips with Robbie, but she makes it clear that it’s not as “sexy” as it sounds.

Li called Robbie “lovely” but the kiss itself, which comes after Robbie’s character is bitten on the neck by a venomous snake, was “challenging” and “really messy.” She told People, “She had this prosthetic piece on her neck that was filled with honey. And because we’re in the desert, there was a lot of sand and dust in the air. And of course, with her fighting the snake and struggling with a snake, once I get to her, it’s already covered in sand.”

That mixture of honey and sand (which sounds like the name of every day spa) “is not exactly the most sexy,” Li added. At least no fake blood was involved.

For more on Babylon, read our interview with Damien Chazelle and Jean Smart.

(Via People)

Despite his face looking exactly like The Grinch (It’s uncanny, right?), Matt Gaetz accused the Democrats of trying to steal Christmas with their omnibus spending bill. The Republican congressman, who’s still embroiled in an ongoing sex trafficking scandal, blasted the opposing party on the latest episode of his Firebrand web show.

“What I can report to you now is, as the 117th Congress is coming to a close now, the Democrats are doing their very best to steal Christmas by holding us all hostage while they try to pass their 4,000 page omnibus spending bill,” Gaetz ranted. “Bunch of Grinches, I would say. And I wouldn’t touch this bill with a 39 and a half foot pole.”

Of course, it should be noted that the omnibus bill is the result of intense bipartisan negotiations, which Gaetz conveniently didn’t mention. As for what it covers, well, let’s just say it would legitimately cancel Christmas for a whole lot of people if the bill didn’t pass. Via CNN:

The legislation includes $772.5 billion for non-defense discretionary programs and $858 billion in defense funding, according to a bill summary from Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

The sweeping package includes roughly $45 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine and NATO allies, boosts in spending for disaster aid, college access, child care, mental health and food assistance, more support for the military and veterans and additional funds for the US Capitol Police, according to Leahy’s summary and one from Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Unfortunately, passing the bill will stymie Gaetz and some of his colleagues’ dreams of a government shutdown, but maybe he should try being a good boy next year.

(Via PatriotTakes on Twitter)

Back in November, Donald Trump hosted an event at Mar-A-Lago. Present was Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain, who performed the band’s classic “Don’t Stop Believin’” as Republican figures like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Kari Lake sang along on stage. (Cain’s wife, Paula White, is a televangelist and Trump’s spiritual advisor.) Journey bandmate Neal Schon didn’t much care for that and now he’s taking legal action.

Variety reports that Schon (who co-wrote the song with Cain and Steve Perry) served Cain with a cease-and-desist order over the performance. The letter reads in part:

“Although Mr. Cain is free to express his personal beliefs and associations, when he does that on behalf of Journey or for the band, such conduct is extremely deleterious to the Journey brand as it polarizes the band’s fans and outreach. Journey is not, and should not be, political.

Mr. Cain has no right to use Journey for politics. His politics should be his own personal business. He should not be capitalizing on Journey’s brand to promote his personal political or religious agenda to the detriment of the band.”

It also calls the performance a “harmful use of the brand” and notes the cease-and-desist doesn’t intend to “further add to the animosity that is currently plaguing the band and the relationship between Mr. Schon and Mr. Cain.”

21 Savage and Drake pulled off an extravagant fake media press run around the November release of their collaborative album, Her Loss, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Part of the faux blitz was a staged Howard Stern interview, during which Savage declared he “might be the greatest rapper from my country.”

Savage was referencing England, where he was born and lived until immigrating to the US at seven years old (as noted by Pitchfork). But Savage grew up in Atlanta, and his bond with the city is stronger than ever.

On Wednesday, December 21, Savage’s Leading By Example Foundation staged its fourth annual Grant-A-Wish charity event at Wade Walker Family YMCA in the Atlanta suburb of Stone Mountain, Georgia. Per TMZ, Georgia State Representative Billy Mitchell was there to lead a proclamation ceremony and declare December 21 “21 Savage Day” in Georgia moving forward.

“The honor comes as a tribute to 21’s efforts in the community and for the students he’s helped through his ’21 Savage Bank Account’ campaign to create social awareness around financial literacy. He granted a total of 21 scholarships at $1k each to get it started,” TMZ relayed. “The campaign aims to encourage youth to understand the basics of managing money, opening bank accounts and saving for college.”

Savage capped off his momentous day courtside at the Atlanta Hawks game inside State Farm Arena. The team tweeted out a photo of Savage with the meme-inducing “Rich Flex” line, “21, can you do somethin’ for me?” (“Rich Flex” was one of eight Her Loss tracks to invade the Billboard Hot 100 top 10, peaking at No. 2.) Flo Milli and Atlanta Braves All-Star second baseman Ozzie Albies were also in attendance.

The Hawks unfortunately fell to the Chicago Bulls, 110-108, on an Ayo Dosunmu’s buzzer-beater. Better luck next 21 Savage Day.

Drake and 21 Savage’s Her Loss is full of disses and shout-outs. One of the latter is praise for Bad Bunny, who was No. 1 on the year-end Top Tours chart, Apple Music’s Artist Of The Year, and his album Un Verano Sin Ti was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums year-end chart. Drake took some time on “Major Distribution” to commend these achievements.

On the song, he raps, “Major distribution / Labels call me Bad Bunny numbers / It’s a robbery / 500 million, just for Aubrey.” Bad Bunny appreciated the compliment — he posted a video yesterday, December 21, of him bobbing his head to the rhythm of the track and even picking up a weight and lifting it. It’s safe to say he liked the excuse to flex.

Drake shared the clip on his own account, writing: “You know who’s really running up the money. it’s me and the [rabbit emoji].”

The Honestly, Nevermind performer also recently responded to often being turned into a meme, like with the “Rich Flex” meme. “I understand after all these years that, I feel like I have a polarizing presence,” he said. “I’m almost a character in people’s movies and therefore there’s a running a dialogue. There’s jokes, you’re either the villain to some people or hero to some people. It is what it is, it just comes with the territory… I’ve always been able to laugh at myself, but I really do feel now that I mentally am able to separate the two. So I just want to stay in that zone, that’s kinda my resolution.”

One can’t swing a dead rat on the sinking ship of making money in the music industry without hearing about how TikTok has become this incredible tool for music discovery. And sure, it’s true — a new generation has learned to vibe with Fleetwood Mac, Gayle, and Kate Bush. Wait, hold up, that last one, while a TikTok banger, was on the Netflix to TikTok pipeline in 2022. While TV shows aren’t using music as prolifically as they once did or introducing us to as much new music (there are a lot of great shows leaning heavily on catalog songs and fewer shows like the recently completed tastemaker Insecure), it’s still a fantastic music discovery tool.

As is the case every year, this year a myriad of shows wowed us with clever placements — although more and more of them are catalog songs. The Dropout made fine use of reintroducing Wolf Parade’s excellent “I’ll Believe In Anything,” an underappreciated track in its own time that caused a bit of furor among aging indie rock fans since it was released in 2005 and soundtracked a moment set in 2002. Author and showrunner Jenny Han turned in a pitch-perfect soundtrack with The Summer I Turned Pretty, packed with familiar hits from artists modern (Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Cardi B, and Kim Petras all made the first episode) and classic (Electric Light Orchestra, Edith Piaf, and the Pussycat Dolls appear throughout the season). Season 2 of Euphoria dug deeper than most and made us all fall in love with Gerry Rafferty’s 1978 not totally forgotten hit “Right Down The Line” and Sinead O’Connor’s 1987 deep cut “Drink Before The War” by embedding them into pivotal lives of the characters. Derry Girls took us back to the late ‘90s with an emotional Fatboy Slim-soundtracked episode. The Bear and Station Eleven provided fantastic music moments for dad rock. Stranger Things gave us justice for Kate Bush.

TV in 2022 dealt a lot of wins to the well-known artists of the current generation and the forgotten hits of the near and not-so-near past — no doubt Rafferty and O’Connor had to scramble to get official versions of those songs up on YouTube to cash in, just as Spotify had to scramble to get them featured on some playlists. And a lot of songs that hit the sweet spot after a TV placement go on to viral success elsewhere — the number of TikToks suddenly throwing Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” on a video about the best places to eat in a random city or relationship advice was through the roof, and more than a little weird. It feels like, for the past several years now, TV has been running to the catalog instead of trying to break new artists. The Sex Lives Of College Girls and She-Hulk may have done the most to feature new artists, with soundtracks heavily focused on the hottest and newest from Gen Z and contemporary women in hip-hop, respectively. Although neither has quite had the cultural capital to create a breakthrough moment for a new artist. If, as The Guardian suggested earlier this year, “syncs (industry terminology for music used in shows) are becoming a bigger part of the music industry than ever,” aren’t we missing a massive opportunity for syncs to break artists?

It would seem that another amazing outlet for syncs for newer, emerging musicians would be reality TV. The genre has garnered quite a lot of buzz in the past year for its soundtracks, especially on the splashy Netflix shows. When Selling Sunset dropped, all we wanted to know was where all this comically bad “girlboss” music came from — and the show leaned all the way into that genre in season 2, which dropped in two parts this year. One of the songwriters told Buzzfeed, “It’s been very funny to watch Twitter, and I feel like so many people have been talking about the music. They don’t understand that we know this is garbage.” And as another artist who creates a lot of reality TV music told Mashable, “This music is so hilarious, so funny to create, but at the same time, yes, it’s so dumb some of the time.”

It’s the same story in the universe of Real Housewives, The Kardashians, the cooking competition genre on the Food Network, and the full constellation of Netflix reality shows. Why is so much of this music trash?

In short, most reality shows are set up to use music libraries rather than license actual music. The Hollywood Reporter gracefully broke down how that process works in an interview with former Laguna Beach and The Hills showrunner Adam DiVello, the current showrunner for Selling Sunset. Twenty-ish years ago, when he was working on the MTV shows, the network had it in their licensing agreements with labels that it was allowed to use any song a video was submitted for in the soundtrack of their shows for a minimal fee. As major label groups renegotiated, and indie labels objected because they were getting a lot more money from The OC and Grey’s Anatomy, it became more than the budget of a reality show could bear to license real music. So, the network began creating a music library. And it set the tone for the whole industry: now using libraries that license what’s known as bed music. And as time has gone on, it’s become more and more common for these unknown library artists to get prime placements and long needle drops (industry speak for when a song plays) in reality shows.

Those extended placements have bands and labels hungry again. Polygon noted that Coldplay got in on the Love Is Blind season 3 action this year, licensing their song “Biutyful” partly because the show does such long needle drops. The Kardashians will license a track from the Billboard Hot 100 from time to time, which has been the blueprint of their reality history from nearly the beginning. But otherwise, we’re getting a bunch of music that’s cheesy on purpose to soundtrack TV that executives like and continue to green light because the production budget is so low.

Musicians lose on all fronts in this scenario. Those library artists who create tracks earn a flat fee for licensing their music, and it can be as low as hundreds of dollars for a use — or even one dollar. If the show airs on cable or network TV, they can collect money from the performing rights organization (PRO) that represents them, with fees in the low thousands, depending on when and on what network it aired and for what duration. But that’s not enough — it’s nowhere near the tens or hundreds of thousands that music licensed through a label or agency would cost. And we have yet to see a career launched from a reality TV show placement. If it’s not creating social cache and delivering anything to the discourse — and we all think it’s kind of dumb — what is the point?

This model is also not doing any favors for working-class musicians. And is it just happening because production companies are being cheap? It’s time to ratchet up the budget, take a chance on some up-and-coming artists, and make some careers.

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

Netflix premiered three of its biggest shows ever in 2022 (Stranger Things season four, Wednesday season one, and Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story), but it hasn’t been a great year for the streaming service. The last 12 months were defined by “backlash stemming from cancellations, layoffs, and bad reviews for its biggest shows — not to mention hemorrhaging subscriber numbers,” as well as the whole Dave Chappelle controversy. Netflix also launched an ad-supported tier that hasn’t been a hit among subscribers. Will things get better in 2023? Maybe (You is back in February!)… or maybe not, once the streamer begins cracking down on password sharing.

The long-dreaded elimination of sharing your password with your parents / kids / cheapskate ex-boyfriend who still uses your account, without having to pay an additional fee, will begin in “early” 2023, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Netflix has updated its customer help pages this year to say accounts are only to be shared by people who live together. The company has said it would enforce its rules based on IP addresses, device IDs and account activity. To mitigate consumer backlash, Netflix has discussed dialing up the pressure on password sharing gradually, according to people familiar with the situation. Some executives warned against making the service too complex and not consumer friendly, a practice a few of them referred to internally as Comcastification, a dig at the cable giant.

It’s estimated that “222 million paying households share passwords with an additional 100 million households that Netflix wants to monetize,” Mac Rumors reports. How else will the streamer be able to afford the latest generic action movie starring The Rock?

(Via the Wall Street Journal)

The spotlight has been on Nick Cannon when it comes to celebrities with a lot of children. He even joked about fathering 11 kids in a recent video. It turns out Akon has been flying under the radar this whole time, though, as he has nine kids himself. Furthermore, in a new interview, he said he has Cannon’s back when it comes to propagating as he does.

On The Zeze Millz Show, Akon said of Cannon (as Complex reports), “I agree with him 1,000 percent. That’s how life is supposed to be. Why not? He’s rich. He’s responsible. He takes care of every one of those children. And the baby mothers are with it. And they hurt for nothing. And they live comfortably. […] He’s there for every one of them. He’s there for every single one of those kids. I got nine and I’m there for every one of mine.”

The host then asked, “So every single time, you’re at every single recital?” Akon responded, “No, that’s a white man’s thing. Who gives a f*ck about a recital? No, seriously. Listen, my job is to raise my kids, to be responsible, to be understanding, to protect their mother, to give a hand with their father, and to assist with family planning, and to be responsible adults. […] Now guess what? While I’m taking care of my responsibility to make sure the family has a roof over their head and food, if I have the time to do that and show love, yes, I will do that. But my responsibility is to make sure they grow up responsible and strong.”

Watch the full episode above.

In October, Rex Orange County (real name Alexander James O’Connor) was charged with six counts of sexual assault in the UK. At the time, a representative said, “[O’Connor] is shocked by the allegations which he denies and looks forward to clearing his name in court. He is unable to make any further comment because of the ongoing proceedings.”

Now, O’Connor has cleared his name in court and made further comment: Today (December 22), he revealed all charges against him have been dropped and offered some context about the situation.

In a written post shared on social media, O’Connor starts, “Today, all charges against me have been dropped. The Crown Prosecution Service reviewed the evidence and decided that there is no merit in this case going to trial, not guilty verdicts were entered to all the charges. I have always denied these allegations and am grateful that the independent evidence has cleared me of any wrongdoing. I have never assaulted anyone and I do not condone violence or abusive behaviour of any kind.”

He goes on to note that he was “wrongly accused of touching someone one evening on their leg, neck, back, and bottom,” but that “CCTV footage obtained by the police contradicted their version of events.”

NME contacted Crown Prosecution Service and a spokesperson confirmed the charges have been dropped, saying, “CPS prosecutors have a duty to keep each case under review. Having carefully considered all the evidence, our legal test for a prosecution was no longer met and so we will not be continuing a prosecution. We will always seek to prosecute sexual offences, where our legal test is met, no matter how challenging.”

Find O’Connor’s post below.

“Today, all charges against me have been dropped. The Crown Prosecution Service reviewed the evidence and decided that there is no merit in this case going to trial, not guilty verdicts were entered to all the charges. I have always denied these allegations and am grateful that the independent evidence has cleared me of any wrongdoing. I have never assaulted anyone and I do not condone violence or abusive behaviour of any kind.

I would like to clarify some details around what I was accused of, as I have not been able to address this until now and inaccuracies about the case have circulated. I was wrongly accused of touching someone one evening on their leg, neck, back, and bottom. That led to 6 charges of sexual assault. The only evidence against me was the individual’s account. However, CCTV footage obtained by the police contradicted their version of events. Their partner was also present throughout the evening in question and gave a statement to the police which did not support the allegations against me.

It’s been a difficult time for everyone involved and I’d like to thank the people who have helped me through it as well as my family and loved ones for their continued support.”

The Jan. 6 committee wrapped up its final hearing on Monday, which ended with a bang: Among those they awarded a criminal referral was the big guy himself, Donald Trump. More revelations are bound to come pouring out as they make still more material public, but they’ve already started releasing transcripts of their depositions. One of those belongs to Roger Stone, the longtime GOP fixer and Trump World boogeyman, who played a key role in the lead-up to that fateful day. Alas, Stone proved so cagey that he pulled an Eric Trump and pleaded the fifth on even the most anodyne questions.

As caught by CBS News correspondent Scott MacFarlane (which in turn was caught by Raw Story), when Stone appeared before the committee for his deposition last December, he really committed to the bit. When asked his address, he replied, “On the advice of counsel, I will be availing myself of myself of my Fifth Amendment rights in all of the questions today, including that one.” When asked his age, he said much the same thing.

His interrogator soon asked, “Mr. Stone I understand that you’ll be asserting your Fifth Amendment right to each question we ask today.” When he was informed that “the Fifth Amendment protects your right to refuse to answer questions if the truth itself is incriminating,” he replied, “On the advice of counsel, I will yet again assert my right to decline to answer your question respectfully on the basis of the Fifth Amendment.”

Stone is a famously cagey guy, but he doesn’t always hang out with those who feel likewise. Back in 2019, Matt Gaetz was caught on a hot mic telling Stone he could get Trump to give him a pardon a month before a grand jury convicted him of obstruction over Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference. Stone didn’t serve a day.

(Via Raw Story)