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The nominations for the 2022 American Music Awards were announced yesterday (October 13). Bad Bunny is the most-nominated artist of the year and he’s making history at the awards for Latin artists.

Bad Bunny received eight nominations. Proving that Latin music has become mainstream, the Puerto Rican superstar is nominated in many of the top categories, including Artist Of The Year, Favorite Male Pop Artist, and Favorite Touring Artist. This is the first time in the history of the AMAs that an artist who sings primarily in Spanish is the most-nominated artist of the year. He’s followed by Beyoncé, Drake and Taylor Swift, who have six nominations each.

The next top nominated Latin artists include Colombian singer Karol G and rising Puerto Rican star Rauw Alejandro with three nominations each. Karol G has two nominations in the Favorite Latin Song category for her global hit “Provenza” and “Mamiii” with Becky G. Alejandro’s breakthrough hit “Todo De Ti” is also up for the award. They both face Bad Bunny’s “Me Porto Bonito” featuring Chencho Corleone. Bad Bunny’s collaboration is up for Favorite Music Video as well.

Spanish pop star Rosalía picked up two nominations. She is up for Favorite Female Latin Artist against Karol G, Becky G, Kali Uchis, and Anitta. Rosalía’s Motomami faces Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti and Alejandro’s Vice Versa for Favorite Latin Album.

Voting for the AMAs is now open at VoteAMAs.com. The 2022 American Music Awards will broadcast live on ABC on Sunday, November 20 at 8 p.m. EST.

The senate race in Wisconsin is officially no-holds-barred. On Thursday night, Republican senator Ron Johnson — who has served the state since 2011 — went head-to-head with his Democratic opponent, Mandela Barnes, for the second and final time in a debate held Marquette University. As Politico reports, the theme of the evening seemed to be: this guy is the worst!

“The tone of the evening was even nasty when the two candidates were asked to name something they found admirable about their rivals,” wrote Politico’s Holly Otterbein. While Barnes mustered up the strength to describe Johnson as “a family man,” which we guess is a compliment, Johnson couldn’t return the favor — at least not without resisting the temptation to add in an unnecessary dig.

“I appreciate the fact that Lieutenant Governor Barnes had loving parents,” Johnson said, before adding: “What puzzles me about that is with that upbringing, why has he turned against America?”

If Johnson — who recently made what some thought was a Freudian slip when he told Fox News’ Maria Batiromo that he “condones” white supremacy — thought that was a way to win over the crowd, it was a gross miscalculation. Instead, they loudly booed him.

Still, Johnson did manage to get a few laughs during the debate. Unfortunately, they were at him. The senator, who has been implicated in helping to orchestrate the events of January 6th (which he described as a “peaceful protest,” has admitted to texting with one of Trump’s lawyers on that day. And tried to explain away the “wild charges” Barnes has made against him because of it. His reply? “The FBI set me up.” (Cue the laugh track.)

(Via Politico)

For the past two weeks, Rap Twitter — especially the part dealing mainly with female rappers — has been in utter shambles, and while she’s rarely been at the center of things, Nicki Minaj has always had a connection to the chaos. That changed on Thursday (October 13), when she finally got pulled into her own contentious debate with Latto after voicing a complaint about the Grammy Awards’ categorization of her single “Super Freaky Girl,” comparing it to Latto’s “Big Energy.”

See, Nicki — who is very, very concerned with things like awards and streaming stats, yet apparently never bothered to learn how such things work — is upset that “Super Freaky Girl” has been classified as a Pop record, while the “Fantasy”-sampling “Big Energy” was not. Had she bothered to use Google at, like, any point, she’d know that it has little to do with the production style and everything to do with the lyrics — Nicki raps for less than 51% of “Super Freaky Girl,” disqualifying it from Rap category contention. However, because she’s an icon and the song is very popular right now, the Grammys committee still wanted to honor it.

Meanwhile, Latto, after apparently sending Nicki a direct message to clear the air, decided that enough was enough. Calling out the rap pioneer directly, she challenged, “Ur literally older than my mom tryna be a bully.” This sparked a larger back and forth that included Nicki calling Latto a Karen for standing up to her. And while Nicki’s Barbz would likely remain loyal if she personally set them on fire and punched their moms, others are celebrating Latto for calling out Minaj after a long-rumored history of shady behavior behind the scenes. Nicki’s been accused multiple times in the past of sabotaging other artists’ careers while playing the victim when things don’t go her way, although it’s probably fair to say that she has faced numerous challenges that many of her predecessors will never have to because of her efforts. (By the way, Nicki has deleted most of her responses to Latto, but not the ones to Barbz provoking the beef).

That would be enough for many pioneers, but Nicki refuses to accept less than utter adulation at all times — and, well, that’s her prerogative as someone who’s earned her “legend” over the past decade or so. But at some point, you’ve got to put the phone down. Meanwhile, there are others who remain skeptical that either really has a chance in the first place — after all, the Grammys have a long history of making some truly atrocious calls, especially in the rap categories. We’ll see how it all plays out on February 5, 2023. Meanwhile, let’s all hope the rap girlies get the hell off Twitter and take it to the booth for once. If they’re gonna do all this, let’s at least get some music out of it!

Guy Fieri has never been on SNL, but “Guy Fieri” has. Bobby Moynihan made multiple appearances as the Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives host during his time on the sketch show, and it’s partially thanks to a chance encounter with the real celebrity chef.

Fieri was asked about Moynihan’s impression by host Chris Wallace on the latest episode of Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? on HBO Max. “I love Bobby. I think Bobby’s hysterical,” he replied. “Matter of fact, the first time and only time I’d made it to Saturday Night Live was actually the first night he performed. And I met him at the wrap party later that night.” Fieri was flattered by the colorful impression, and he and Moynihan are now friends. “I’ve been on his podcast. And he, matter of fact, Bobby is on the beginning of Guy’s Ultimate Game Night. You’ll see a fantastic show with him on there,” he said.

Fieri also expressed interest in hosting SNL — with one request.

“I’m still looking forward to it one of these days, I’m gonna go host SNL. And then when I do it, I want Bobby to come be, I want him to do me and then me to critique how he’s doing me.”

We once asked if SNL should let Guy Fieri host an episode. The answer: obviously.

Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? is available on HBO Max.

Omar Apollo is tilting into Prototype Tour mode, and he gave a taste to the audience at Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday (October 13) with a timeless performance of “Evergreen.”

The jam-packed episode was headlined by guests George Clooney and Julia Roberts, who were promoting Ticket To Paradise, a callback to the rom-com heyday, and Apollo’s “Evergreen” also brought fresh and nostalgic energy in equal measure. The jazz-tinged track finds Apollo questioning what broken parts of him made his lover leave. Apollo’s silky voice paired harmoniously with his background singers and complemented the subtle contributions from his band until the charged bridge amped up the energy. “Shoulda broke it off to date myself,” Apollo asserts. “You didn’t deserve me at all, at all, at all.”

“Evergreen” is a standout single from Apollo’s Ivory, arriving in April and receiving an expanded version, Ivory (Marfil), in August. The song debuted at No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 last month, the Mexican-American star’s first Hot 100 entry.

Apollo previously stunned with “Evergreen” during his NPR Tiny Desk Concert to kick off El Tiny in celebration of Latinx Heritage Month. He’s set to bring the Prototype Tour to Anaheim, California, next Wednesday (October 19) and San Diego on October 21, with dates in Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado before returning to Los Angeles for a sold-out stop at the Greek Theatre on November 1. See his complete tour schedule here.

Omar Apollo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

After the January 6 House committee voted unanimously to subpoena Donald Trump, the former president has reportedly calculated a plan to turn the whole thing into a circus. (He also freaked out about it first on Truth Social, as Trump does.) Of course, Trump testifying in front of the committee would be a disaster. His attorneys have historically tried to keep him off the witness stand because there’s always a constant fear that Trump will perjure himself thanks to his tendency to basically say whatever pops into his head. It’s why his lawyers fought tooth and nail to keep him from testifying for Robert Mueller.

However, what Trump wants and his lawyers want are not always the same thing. According to Maggie Haberman, the former president reportedly wants to testify in front of the January 6 committee “live” with cameras. Haberman made the revelation during a recent interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, who couldn’t believe that Trump’s legal team would let him go through with the plan. However, both he and Haberman acknowledged that he’s not exactly working with the best representation these days, which is why at least one of his lawyers is trying to make the live testimony happen. Via Mediaite:

HABERMAN: At least one of his lawyers was sounding people out about the idea today of him — of him testifying and agreeing to it as long as the committee would let him do it live. And so I certainly don’t think they’re all shutting him down. I do think that there are people who would be concerned about it, for the same reason that his lawyers, when he was being investigated by Robert Mueller, the special counsel, were concerned about him meeting with Mueller and testifying, which Trump wanted to and they did not want him to, for the reasons you just said.

Considering the January 6 hearings brought in huge ratings, it completely tracks that Trump wants in on the action with his own live special. That’s peak Trump. Even if the questioning goes horribly wrong for him in front of the entire nation, we’ll never hear the end of it if Trump’s testimony kills in the ratings department. He won’t shut up about it.

(Via Mediaite)

Lil Baby’s new album, It’s Only Me, is out now on Quality Control Music and while it’s already looking like a triumph on the order of his last two albums, Harder Than Ever and My Turn, some fans are paying closer attention to one song in particular, since Baby appears to take a swipe at QC labelmate Quavo.

Last week, fans speculated that a line on “Messy” from Quavo and Takeoff’s new album, Only Built For Infinity Links, referred to a rumor about Lil Baby dating Quavo’s ex, Saweetie. And although Lil Baby ostensibly turned in It’s Only Me before hearing “Messy,” there is a line on “Stand On It” that appears to address Quavo’s initial supposed response to the dating rumor in which he wrote on Instagram, “Ain’t trippin we can swap it out!”

Now, on “Stand On It,” Baby takes a quick shot back, rhyming, “I don’t want your bitch, we can’t swap out.”

Fans are rightfully beside themselves over the possible tension between the labelmates, as it could represent the end of an era. While they never really collaborated much over the years, only really appearing as guest artists on other rappers’ songs, they did work together on Quavo’s 2018 album Quavo Huncho on the song “Lose It.” Now, if they really do have beef, it could be fun to see a pair of rappers actually… y’know… rap about it rather than passive-aggressively tweet at each other for a change.

Of course, it’s also been said that “rap is wrestling” so if this all does turn out to be a case of extreme kayfabe, let’s just hope it offers up as much entertainment value as it promises.

The Rundown is a weekly column that highlights some of the biggest, weirdest, and most notable events of the week in entertainment. The number of items could vary, as could the subject matter. It will not always make a ton of sense. Some items might not even be about entertainment, to be honest, or from this week. The important thing is that it’s Friday, and we are here to have some fun.

ITEM NUMBER ONE – Enough

It is my opinion that dolls should not come to life. This kind of thing happens a lot in movies and I hate it every time. It is very creepy. If I am ever in a room with a doll and the doll looks at me and blinks, I can assure you at least one of us will not be in that room about five seconds after that happens, either because I have fled in terror or because I have heaved it out of a window or both. I do not even super enjoy dolls that are not alive but look lifelike. I do not like their faces and eyes. Why are their eyelashes so long? It’s not right.

Perhaps this “no living dolls” stance might seem at odds with my noted pro-Muppet position. I can see you sitting there right now cranking away on this one. “But Brian, aren’t the Muppets kind of like dolls that can walk and talk? How is that different?” Well, first of all, how dare you? The Muppets are not weird humanoid dolls with porcelain skin that gain sentience and a sudden thirst for blood. They are plushy goofballs who, as far as I am concerned, have always been alive. And they do not commit murders. I’m mad you even brought this up. Come on.

But yes, creepy dolls are back in the news, as they often are in spooky season, thanks to the trailer for the upcoming movie M3GAN, which took the whole damn internet by storm this week.

Some thoughts:

• No
• I hate it
• I hope someone smashes it with a hammer

Maybe I’ll feel better about it after I read the description, though. Maybe it’s not as bad as it looks.

Gemma (Allison Williams), a brilliant roboticist at a toy company, uses artificial intelligence to develop M3GAN: Model 3 Generative Android a life-like doll programmed to be a child’s greatest companion and a parent’s greatest ally. After unexpectedly gaining custody of her orphaned niece Katie, Gemma enlists the help of the M3GAN prototype – a decision that has horrific consequences.

Jesus Christ, Gemma. Get it together. Watch one movie. This was all easily avoidable. Have you not seen Chucky? Have you not seen any other movie where some android gets half its face blown off and then turns its mangled undead head towards its assailant and stares sometimes literal lasers out of its exposed glowing red eye? It’s madness. Any good neighbor would have seen you unloading this doll out of your car and hopped in your driver’s seat and backed over it for your own good. Lots of people are at fault here.

I mentioned all of this earlier this week and a buddy of mine, Matt, made an excellent point: You rarely see movies like this set in Philadelphia. And there’s a good reason for that, which I say mostly as an excuse to remind everyone about the HitchBOT thing, which was written up by the New York Times under one of my favorite headlines ever: “Hitchhiking Robot, Safe in Several Countries, Meets Its End in Philadelphia.”

Good. Yes, sure, it was a friendly little thing at the time. A sweet little way to bring people together. But that’s how it starts. One day someone was going to look in the rearview mirror and that thing was going to sneer at them and try to strangle them with the seatbelt. You can’t be too careful with these things.

In conclusion, M3GAN should have been a very short movie that ended like this.

Thank you and Go Birds.

ITEM NUMBER TWO – Few developments in history have been less surprising than “Tom Cruise is going to outer space”

Tom Cruise is a maniac who will go to incredible lengths and risk catastrophic bodily injury if it means you will drive to a theater and buy a ticket to one of his movies. Or any movie, really. I kind of do not think he cares. If you saw Tom Cruise on the street and told him you’re excited to go see the new Mario movie in a theater I bet he would do that really intense clap and smile thing he does when he’s happy. You know the one. The Tom Cruise thing. You’re probably picturing it right now. That one.

Anyway, he’s going to space soon. Like, real space. Astronaut space. From an interview with the BBC with a movie executive named Donna Langley, who seems pretty excited about it all.

Langley tells BBC News that Cruise plans to take a rocket up to the International Space Station. The movie plot, which Cruise and director Doug Liman pitched to her on Zoom during the pandemic, “actually takes place on earth, and then the character needs to go up to space to save the day”.

The hope, she adds, is that Cruise will be “the first civilian to do a spacewalk outside of the space station”.

What I like about this is… well, two things. The first is that I saw this story earlier in the week and read the last sentence of that blockquote and my first thought was “yeah, that makes enough sense, I suppose.” Like, if I came up to you on the street and said “Hey guess who is gonna be the first civilian to do an astronaut-ass spacewalk,” I feel like you would get to Tom Cruise in three guesses. Probably less. It’s a very Tom Cruise piece of business.

The second thing I like about this is that it was announced the same week noted astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson had kind of a meltdown on Twitter about the science of Top Gun: Maverick.

“Late to the party here, but In this year’s @TopGunMovie, @TomCruise’s character Maverick ejects from a hypersonic plane at Mach 10.5, before it crashed. He survived with no injuries. At that air speed, his body would splatter like a chainmail glove swatting a worm. Just sayin’,” deGrasse Tyson tweeted. He added, “When Maverick ejected at Mach 10.5, he was going 7,000 mph, giving him 400 million joules of kinetic energy — the explosive power of 100 kg of TNT. A situation that human physiology is not designed to survive. So, no. Maverick does not walk away from this. He be dead. Very dead.”

I choose to believe Tom Cruise is going to space just to make Neil’s head explode a little bit. It’s more fun that way. It’s fun the other way, too. It’s really just fun. I guess that’s my point. And that I’m kind of nervous to see where Tom goes after this. It’s hard to get bigger than space. He might just start running around with sticks of little dynamite while shouting “GO SEE A MOVIE.” It’s gonna get weird. I’m a little excited.

ITEM NUMBER THREE – I must have more popes

I think sometimes people think I’m joking when I tell them that the two seasons of Paolo Sorrentino’s extended papal universe — The Young Pope and The New Pope — were some of the most legitimately moving and beautiful television I’ve ever seen. I can understand that. I’m always posting screencaps of the weird stuff the show did. Like, the thing where the Australian government gave Jude Law — the Young Pope — a kangaroo as a gift and someone murdered it a few episodes later. Diane Keaton played a nun who was obsessed with basketball. The pope kind of prayed someone to death. It was wild.

And it might be coming back for a third installment, at least according to producer and Sorrentino collaborator Lorenzo Mielo, who said, and I quote, “There is an idea that Paolo has that maybe is going to happen. The third and last.” Yup, good enough for me. I hope Danny DeVito plays the pope this time.

That’s not all Mieli said, either. He also elaborated on the process of creating the show. It turns out he had been trying to work with Sorrentino for a while before they settled on this idea. And the way they settled on it was… I mean, pretty much perfect.

After two further failed pitches, Mieli eventually set a project with Sorrentino. The resulting project would be the director’s popular HBO TV series, The Young Pope. Sorrentino brought the idea for the show to Mieli.

“He brought me an idea about a pope, an American pope, that smokes cigarettes. That was the pitch, and I said fantastic. That seemed to me a very good pitch.”

Hmm. Yes, I love it. Imagine you’re a big-time Hollywood executive and some guy struts into your office and goes “okay, so there’s this pope, and he’s an American and he smokes cigarettes” and then he just stops talking. Silence and anticipation fill the air as you wait to see what he says next. And… nothing. Seconds pass. A full minute. He’s just looking at you, waiting. At some point, you realize he’s done and that was the entire pitch. You stroke your chin and ponder what has taken place. You ponder and ponder. Hmmmm.

I would greenlight it, too. Just out of curiosity.

ITEM NUMBER FOUR – My favorite trope is thriving on the dragon show

Regular readers of this column know about my deep and incredibly pure love of the thing where one character in a movie or television show looks another character in the eye and explains that the two of them are not so different, really. It makes me so happy, every time, and it’s one of those things that you can’t stop noticing once you have started noticing. It happens all the time. It happened just this week on House of the Dragon, during the series of toasts at the dinner where my sweet and miserable pile of loose skin King Viserys pleaded with everyone to get along for 30 seconds before he died. That’s the line up there in the screencap. It’s a modified “not so different,” sure, but has the same energy, which is enough for me to count it.

The best part is that it’s not even the first time the show has done this, in slightly modified fashion. There was this, too, from earlier in the season.

It’s delightful. It brings me so much joy. It’s probably one of the reasons I’m enjoying the show so much more than I expected. It might be the main reason. Well, Matt Smith and his smirking are up there, too. I need him to say it next. Straight into the camera. I do not ask for much but I am asking — begging, pleading — for this. I’ve been very good and think I deserve it.

ITEM NUMBER FIVE – This is probably too many episodes

Hey, let’s check in with Netflix to see how th-

In a data point sure to fuel more quantity-versus-quality debate, Netflix broke its own record for number of original episodes released in a single quarter — with 1,026 in the third quarter of 2022, according to a tally by Wall Street firm MoffettNathanson.

This seems like too many episodes to me. It definitely seems like a lot of episodes. Like maybe they should be making fewer of them. But maybe this is just normal for a big fancy streaming serv-

That’s more than five times any other streaming rival: Amazon Prime Video and Hulu released 223 and 194 episodes, respectively, and Disney+ debuted 140 original episodes, per the report. HBO Max, now owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, released 114 episodes in the third quarter — significantly fewer episodes than usual and comprising the lightest slate for the service since Q2 2020, the second quarter after launch.

Okay, yeah, this is too many episodes. Maybe they should try t-

Netflix has taken a “something for everyone” strategy, as Netflix co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos has said — although that doesn’t mean everyone will be a fan of everything on the service. (Indeed, watching more than 1,000 episodes in a 90-day span would be virtually impossible.) According to the streamer, customers on average watch six different genres every month, ranging from drama to horror and from comedy to kids.

I don’t know. It feels to me like maybe Netflix should chill out a little and make a smaller amount of shows that are cool and good. Shows like, to cite an example completely at random and also because I put it right at the top of this section under the bold letters, American Vandal. That was a good show. I know I make this point a lot but I only do that because it’s true and I want everyone to know. I feel great about it. The end.

READER MAIL

If you have questions about television, movies, food, local news, weather, or whatever you want, shoot them to me on Twitter or at [email protected] (put “RUNDOWN” in the subject line). I am the first writer to ever answer reader mail in a column. Do not look up this last part.

From Chris:

My college buddy is getting married in a couple of weeks in one of those weird fall weddings. Me and the other groomsmen want to get name tags and put dumb fake names on them and force everyone at the reception to refer to us by those names only. This whole thing was at least partially inspired by your affinity for a good fake name, so I figured I’d come to you for some suggestions. I know you won’t let us down.

Chris, I am honored. In a few different ways. Here are 10 decent ones to get the ball rolling:

Percy Valentine
Burt Razor
Pog Sheraton
Terry Lasagna
Wally Colorado
Hank Rockledge
Tito October
Chase Montecarlo
Bosco Radison
Dash Silverado

Tell the bride and groom I say congratulations and that I am sorry.

AND NOW, THE NEWS

To Italy!

Several explosions inside of Italy’s Stromboli volcano sent enormous plumes of smoke into the sky and major streams of lava into the Tyrrhenian Sea over the weekend.

Excuse me.

Lava oozed from the northern crater of the volcano after a partial collapse of the crater terrace, Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said. Authorities issued a middle-level warning to about 400 residents who live on the island – which is part of the Aeolian archipelago off the northeast coast of Sicily – after the eruption was confirmed on Sunday morning, the agency said.

I need to be clear about two very important things here:

• I hope everyone is safe and healthy and not substantially impacted by the gushing lava and plumes of ash spitting out of this thing
• If I went to an Italian restaurant and saw something on the menu called “The Stromboli Volcano,” I would order it sight unseen

I bet it would be delicious.

The Stromboli volcano, active almost continuously for at least 2,000 years, has erupted several times this year alone, according to records from the Smithsonian Institution.

Two more things:

• This is kind of terrifying
• This paragraph would also be a fun description of the Stromboli Volcano on the menu or that Italian restaurant

I’m sorry. I’m very hungry.

You’ll probably never hear the Hermanos Gutiérrez sing. But if you ever have the opportunity to hear the instrumentalist duo speak as they share stories of each of their songs during tour sets, you’ll find that the vividness in their words aligns with the transcendence of their music. Their upcoming album, El Bueno Y El Malo, contains sounds inspired by their Swiss and Ecuadorian upbringing, channeling the rhythms and melodies found in the ‘50s and ‘60s Latin tunes they grew up on.

Upon hearing Hermanos Gutiérrez’s music, particularly their latest effort El Bueno Y El Malo, the listener can paint a picture of Sergio Leone films, scored with dreamy, heady guitars, matching each other’s familial energy throughout. It’s an album that finds the brother duo, Estevan and Alejandro Gutiérrez, taking risks, most notably working with a new producer after years of solely working with each other.

The record was co-produced with Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, with much of the recordings taking place at Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound Studio in Nashville. With this particular album, the hermanos wanted to create a musical landscape in the desert and pay homage to Spaghetti Western films.

“[My brother and I] came prepared with 10 songs that we wrote together,” Estevan says. “We arrived in Nashville, we got to know Dan and the whole crew for about 20 minutes. And then we were already recording. It was amazing, because we felt like we knew each maybe in another life. It felt just so natural to be there to record. And we recorded 10 songs in two and a half days.”

They particularly enjoyed working with Auerbach as he didn’t impose ideas upon them, but rather, helped them expand upon their musical universe.

As one can imagine, the songwriting process is a bit different when their music doesn’t utilize any sung or spoken lyrics. Even during the early phases of the pandemic, working separately wasn’t an option for the hermanos. The two are bound by music and work together in a synergetic fashion.

“Once we have a clearer idea of something that we want to share with each other, then we show it to each other, and then it’s always like one part is missing,” Alejandro says. “And then we try to add stuff, and let it grow and be rich. But before we even go to the studio, I think we really want to have a clear structure of each song in the album. We want to want to be sure of the story we want to tell in the studio. And the more you’re prepared and have the structure you’re even more free to improvise stuff.”

As its title suggests, one of the main themes of El Bueno Y El Malo is duality. On a particular track called “Los Chicos Tristes,” the hermanos take inspiration from their grandfather, who they say taught them to embrace the beauty and power in feeling sad and vulnerable.

“Being sad doesn’t mean like,” Estevan says, before briefly pausing, “Yeah, does it mean having weight on your shoulder? Sometimes it does, but it’s an honest perspective. And how we try to transmit it to the music, it’s a powerful skill that we can all use to make something beautiful.”

The hermanos very briefly appear in the song’s music video, which is directed by Alejandro Sugich, as the music scores the story of a street vendor in Mexico City doing strenuous labor throughout the day, to come home and enjoy a calm, simple dinner with his family.

“We didn’t want it to make it about us,” Alejandro says. “We wanted to show someone and put a light on them. We were so overwhelmed by this idea of going there and portraying millions of stories that are happening every day.”

The hermanos were raised by a Swiss father and an Ecuadorian mother. Growing up between the cultures of Ecuador and Switzerland, the two learned how to be present in the moment, and to cherish things as they are, especially during the times when they’d be traveling between both countries.

The two often say that Ecuadorian culture takes place in the streets, as the children play and gather with their neighbors and friends; while Swiss culture takes place within the four walls of one’s home, focused on the safety and comfort of the family. As they are currently on tour, the sentiment continues to ring true, with the brothers continuing to recall and tell stories inspired by their upbringing through pure instrumentation.

“I remember we went to visit our relatives or grandparents in Ecuador, it was always kind of more loose, more free,” says Alejandro. “I remember our relatives would pick us up at the airport, and we were in the back of a pick-up, no safety stuff. You don’t have those kinds of things in Switzerland, but then going back makes you appreciate your other values. Not having something in a different culture makes you appreciate it even more in another culture.”

El Bueno Y El Malo is out 10/28 via Easy Eye Sound. Pre-order it here.

Russell Westbrook’s future with the Los Angeles Lakers is unclear. There is the possibility he is traded before his contract expires at the end of this season — there seems to be a new rumor every few weeks suggesting the Lakers have discussed a move with another team, with the Indiana Pacers a popular destination for the former league MVP.

And then, there’s the potential he just stays with the team this year, plays out his deal, and walks next summer. Should that happen, the question becomes whether he’ll remain in the starting lineup or come off the bench. While that’s been floated as a solution from early on in his Laker tenure, it’s never come to fruition, as Westbrook started all 78 games in which he appeared last season.

It appears that is on the verge of changing, at least for one night. According to Dave McMenamin and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Westbrook is going to come off the bench during the team’s preseason finale against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night.

As Woj went on to explain, the idea is that Westbrook can more or less be given free rein to play the way he wants with the team’s second unit.

Ham has mentioned he has “a clear plan” for how he wants to use Westbrook this season, although it was not clear if that meant bringing him off the bench.