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There aren’t many drawbacks when it comes to vinyl, but here’s one that’s a perpetual elephant in the room: it sure can get expensive. So, if you have a vinyl collector in your life who could use a fancy new record and you want to save them the stress of selling a kidney to pay for it, why not get them a slick new LP for their library this holiday season?

In terms of where to start your hunt, we’ve done some legwork for you. A lot of fantastic new vinyl releases dropped this year (which we keep up with in our monthly Best Vinyl Releases round-up, by the way) and we’ve collected a few of our favorites here. These picks span genres, price points, and formats, so no matter who it is you’re shopping for, the following list should at least point you in the right direction.

Taylor Swift — Midnights

Price: $29.99

Midnights is perhaps the biggest album of the year, and as always, Taylor Swift came through with the merch. Her webstore has four differently colored versions of the album on vinyl, too. If you want to dig deep into your pockets and buy all of them, the four editions can be placed together and form a clock face on their back sides.

Get it here.

Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982 Vinyl Box Set

Price: $400

If your vinyl library doesn’t have any Blondie in it, this box set is probably the best possible place to start your collection off right. It has the band’s first six albums — Blondie, Plastic Letters, Parallel Lines, Eat To The Beat, Autoamerican, and The Hunter — as well as four additional LPs that feature outakes, B-sides, and other exclusive rarities that add up to 124 total studio tracks.

Get it here.

Lizzo — Special

Price: $24.98

One of the year’s most colorful albums has gotten a decidedly less vibrant vinyl release. It’s a beauty, though, as this edition of Special is pressed on silver vinyl, and if it piques your interest, you ought to act fast: It’s exclusive to Lizzo’s web store and only 7,000 copies are set to be sold.

Get it here.

Harry Styles — Harry’s House

Price: $39.98

It could be argued that Harry Styles had a bigger year than anybody else in music, with “As It Was” spending 15 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, making it one of the longest-running chart-toppers ever. With that in mind, Harry’s House is a definite vinyl buy, especially if you opt for one of the exclusive colors (orange and seaglass green) available in his webstore.

Get it here.

The Beatles — Revolver (Reissue)

Price: $29.99 – $199.98

A Beatles vinyl reissue isn’t exactly a hard sell, especially when it comes to this new release of Revolver. This version features newly mixed audio available in mono, stereo, and Dolby Atmos iterations, and the Super Deluxe edition even comes with a 100-page hardbound book. It’s a must-own for any Beatles fan, and probably any music fan, too.

Get it here.

Alex G — God Save The Animals

Price: $22

Uproxx’s Ian Cohen previously declared that God Save The Animals, the new Alex G album, is the artist’s best. He wrote in part, “Folky Alex G, abstract Alex G, slowcore Alex G, rawk Alex G, it’s all here, but God Save The Animals manages to circle back to his origins placing the vocals higher than they’d ever been since Race or Rules.”

Get it here.

The War On Drugs — I Don’t Live Here Anymore (Limited-Edition Deluxe Box Set)

Price: $69.98

It’s been over a year since The War On Drugs dropped their latest album, 2021’s I Don’t Live Here Anymore. To mark the occasion, they have a limited-edition deluxe box set available now, which includes unreleased tunes “Oceans Of Darkness” and “Slow Ghost” on a 7-inch. They’ve even gone through the trouble of making an unboxing video for the release, so check that out above for more details about what’s included in the expansive set.

Get it here.

Steve Lacy — Gemini Rights

Price: $22.99

Steve Lacy was perhaps the year’s biggest breakout star thanks to his No. 1 hit “Bad Habit,” and furthermore, Gemini Rights was one of 2022’s best-received albums. The soulful, psychedelic R&B sounds of the LP are begging to be played via turntable, so you can’t go wrong adding this one to the collection.

Get it here.

Paul McCartney — McCartney I II III Box Set

Price: $89.98

Super young Paul McCartney fans might know the Beatles leader best by his latest solo album, 2020’s McCartney III (or perhaps the next year’s McCartney III Imagined project featuring contemporary artists). Well, as the title suggests, it’s part of a trilogy of albums, which have now been collected in a new box set. The vinyl edition includes special photo prints as well as notes about each album from McCartney himself.

Get it here.

The Weeknd — Dawn FM

Price: $39.99

The Weeknd had one of the year’s biggest albums with Dawn FM, and now fans can secure their own uncommon piece of it: The album has gotten an exclusive vinyl edition that’s only available at Target and features alternative artwork and silver translucent vinyl.

Get it here.

ABBA — Vinyl Album Box Set

Price: $249.98

ABBA (who somehow only just picked up their first-ever Grammy nomination, by the way) have a storied discography and now you can own it all thanks to a new box set. It features each of the band’s nine albums — including their latest, last year’s comeback LP Voyage — along with ABBA Tracks, which includes non-album singles and B-sides.

Get it here.

Yusuf/Cat Stevens — Harold And Maude (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Price: $35.98

Harold And Maude has become one of the defining films of its era, and Yusuf/Cat Stevens played a part in that with his soundtrack. That first came out 50 years ago, and now this vinyl reissue of it combines Stevens’ songs with dialogue from the film for the first time.

Get it here.

Big Thief — Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You

Price: $30

Not only is the latest Big Thief album a killer listen, but this particular vinyl edition of it is sustainably produced. The jacket is printed on 100-percent recycled board, while the two LPs are produced from recycled materials (which means any given individual record won’t look exactly like the one in the photo above, so it’s a responsible way to give a truly unique gift).

Get it here.

PJ Harvey reissues

Price: varies

For months now, PJ Harvey’s entire discography has been getting the vinyl reissue treatment, so there are options here. A particularly compelling one is the 6-LP B-Sides, Demos & Rarities set, with features 59 tracks, most of which are unavailable on other formats and 14 of which were previously unreleased.

Get it here.

Roxy Music reissues

Price: varies

Roxy Music have been riding the same wave as PJ Harvey this year, as they too have given all eight of their albums fresh vinyl pressings. This is the best these classic LPs ever sounded, too, as they were all remastered at half speed and are packaged with revised artwork with a glossy laminated finish.

Get it here.

Beyoncé — Renaissance

Price: $44.98

It’s Beyoncé. On vinyl. This one isn’t really a tough sell. Renaissance was one of the year’s most anticipated albums, “Break My Soul” was a hit, and some (like Questlove) are already calling the release a classic. So, if it’s not already in the collection, it ought to be.

Get it here.

Alvvays — Blue Rev

Price: $27

Speaking of anticipated albums, Blue Rev was the Canadian group’s first album since 2017 and it’s perhaps the most critically acclaimed release of their career. Aside from the bold blue pressing shown above, there’s also a slick translucent edition that’s limited to just 4,000 copies that’s another appealing option.

Get it here.

Vinyl Me, Please

Price: varies

Time and time again, Vinyl Me, Please comes through when it comes to exclusive, appealing vinyl pressings. Pictured above is a gorgeous reissue of Interpol’s Turn On The Bright Lights (grab it here if that’s what you want), but their entire inventory is worth perusing to find the right album for your giftee. They also offer different options for gift memberships, so sending a loved one on that journey could be the way to go and the gift that keeps on giving.

Get it here.

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

NEW YORK – Sabrina Ionescu has certainly had a busy offseason. The former number one pick and first-time All-Star in 2022 took another step forward in her development, earning All-WNBA Second Team honors as the Liberty earned the seven seed and lost their first round series to the Chicago Sky.

But off the court, she’s been taking inspiration from everywhere. Ionescu was recently named Director of Athletic Culture at Oregon, made the Forbes 30 under 30 list, hosted her SI20 youth camp, and attended British Vogue’s Forces for Change dinner last week in London. While each doesn’t directly impact her scoring output or rebounding and assist numbers, they showcase the growth Ionescu is making as she continues to find her voice as a representative for the league and a leader for the Liberty.

Ionescu is also taking part in the American Express x NBA 2K23 Gaming Lab this weekend in SoHo, which features gaming areas with coaches so those who drop in can improve their 2K game. She joked during a fireside chat that she might take advantage of that coaching, since she hasn’t had enough time lately to pick up the sticks and stay sharp. But she enjoys playing as herself in the game, and has been wowed by how similar some of the moves are to ones she actually does on court.

Ionescu took a few minutes to speak with Dime about her continued growth as a leader, where the Liberty go from here, the impact the league can have, and the relief she felt that Brittney Griner is finally coming home.

First off, with today’s news, I know how hard all of you worked on getting Brittney back. How does everyone feel today? Just, is it relief?

Absolutely, yeah. I mean, relief, honestly, for her and her family. No one really knows what she’s had to go through, and I think we’re all just really happy to see her safe return back home and be able to be with her family. And obviously, I think it speaks a lot about this league and what we’ve done and keeping her at the forefront of all conversation and in every aspect.

There’s a lot of things that the league is great for, but I mean the W as a whole, if there’s a message, if there’s a cause, no one in sports does a better job than y’all do about keeping the main thing the main thing, whatever that is. And it seems like this was a powerful, concerted effort to not let anyone forget that she was a human being and she needed help.

Yeah, for sure. We talked about it from when we heard the news to now, whether we were writing letters, sending emails, had pins on our jerseys in the All-Star game, wore her name on the back of our jerseys, whatever it was, we were making sure to use our platform and voices. And so we know that she saw the support that we all had and that probably helped her a lot in time of need. And so at this point, you could look back. But I think it’s looking forward and we’re really excited that she’s going to make her safe return and just be able to be back with her family on U.S. soil.

And to talk about looking forward after the season that y’all had. I mean, seeing teammates make the growth that they had with Han Xu and Marine [Johannes] and other players who made a leap, and you’re obviously improving too. Where do you think that you can go from here?

I think sky’s the limit. We’re still young at our core. But obviously free agency, we’ll start here in a couple months and we’ll see, continue to tweak pieces to the puzzle and figure out how we can continue to get better and work on the things that we have to work on. And our coaching staff, now that we’ll have a second year with and just know them a little bit better and know the offense and defense we’re trying to run and the goals we’re trying to set. And so, we’re not really starting at ground zero anymore. We have room to grow and improve. And so that’s what we’ll do next year.

How do you respond to the support that you’ve seen in the team in the time that you’ve been there? It seems like every year it’s louder. There’s a more vocal fan base and it really seems like people have really embraced the Liberty.

Every year the fan base has grown, the support has grown, ticket sales have gone up. And that’s all a part of what this organization is trying to build here in New York. From the Nets to us, having great owners that are putting women’s sports at the forefront of what they’re trying to do and treating us equally and really standing behind us and making sure our voices are heard. And so I’m excited. I know that this year is going to be even better than the last, and I think that’s really important.

For you individually, I know it’s so important to continue to keep adding things to your game. Where are you looking for inspiration and what are the things that you’ve really honed in on this offseason?

Just continue to improve on everything and anything. Looking back at last season, what I wanted to get better at, which was just speed, quickness, being able to create my own shot and not rely on others to have to get me in that position. And so I think obviously having a healthy season and being able to play, you can really dissect into the off season. And so that’s what I’ve been doing.

And how was London?

It was fun! Went to British Vogue and that was really fun and Nike’s a big investor in that. And so it was nice to be able to see the crossover between Nike and fashion.

What are your takeaways when you get to experience opportunities like that? Because I know it’s not always comfortable at first, but then when you get into that world, there’s things that you kind of walk away with – and it’s hard not to get swept up and that romanticism of the fashion industry.

I think honestly being able to be there and be like a sponge absorbing everything. There’s a lot of great women in that room that are really strong and stand for something in their sport and in their art and what they’re trying to accomplish, not only for themselves but for the world and society as a whole. So I think it was just inspirational. It was nice to go out there and see what that was like because it was my first time.

What do you want to keep doing moving forward with your voice and your platform?

Just continuing to be loud and strong in what I believe in. And there’s going to be 100 people that tell you that it’s not right or they don’t believe it. But I think as long as you hone in on that, nothing else really matters. And so I think just making sure that I’m aligned with my values and everyone else in my circle is as well. And just staying true to that.

In terms of that growth you’ve taken almost as a leader, not just on the court for your own team, but off the court, is that something you grew up thinking you would want to be when you started to see the trajectory that you had and the profile that you had? Or has that been a little bit difficult? I mean, not everyone always grows up thinking, “Oh, I’m going to be loud. I’m going to be the loudest voice in the room. I’m going to really use that platform.” But they kind of grow into it.

For me, I really try and lead by example. I’m not normally the loudest voice in the locker room or kind of the hoorah type of player, but I think when I do speak, I want my voice heard and I know by leading by example and making sure I do what I’m preaching, that will all happen. So I think, obviously being a young player in this league, there’s a lot of room for me to grow in that category, but I think year by year and season by season, that’s all just going to unfold.

It kind of takes care of itself. And then lastly, what does it mean to you personally to be able to be a part of events like this, to continue to have your face out there, to continue to promote women’s sports like this? I mean, even five years ago, you weren’t always getting W players at 2K events. You’re not getting yourself in the game. There’s still a lot of work to do. But I mean there’s got to be a lot of young women out there who see you at things like this and think, “Oh, maybe that could be me someday.”

I think it shows the values of American Express, NBA 2K, and how they positioned us. It’s an honor for me to be able to be here representing the WNBA at this event and be able to come back tomorrow and actually play and interact and have fun. Yeah, I’m really excited and honestly very thankful.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

‘Tis the season for holiday music. Even if you don’t celebrate holidays, it is hard to deny to warm feeling holiday music brings. R&B singer Ari Lennox is the latest in a long line of musicians to release a cover of their favorite festive jams.

Instead of following the footsteps of tradition, Lennox opted for a sultry soul rendition of the play, The Sound Of Music‘s most popular tune, “My Favorite Things.”

The “POF” singer did not hold back any pressure as she smoothly belted out the track’s mantra-inspired lyrics. With strength and precision, Lennox brings together the song’s classic element with a pop of soulful flair.

The song, originally written by Oscar Hammerstein with composition by Richard Rodgers, has become a staple across the music industry, not just musical theater. Most recently, in 2019, pop singer Ariana Grande sampled the track on her single “7 Rings.” The interpolation was heard in the song’s opening stanza, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s and bottles of bubbles / Girls with tattoos who like getting in trouble/ Lashes and diamonds, ATM machines / Buy myself all of my favorite things.”

It is nearly impossible to miss the mark with “My Favorite Things,” but Lennox’s cover is in a league of its own, and fans online agree.

Listen to the full track above.

María Becerra released her highly-anticipated album La Nena De Argentina today (December 9). While the rising Argentine pop star has scored global hits alongside J Balvin and Camila Cabello, she wanted to shine solo on her new LP. Becerra talked with Uproxx about her decision to leave out the features and her time working with Cabello.

Since emerging last year, Becerra has become the most-streamed female artist from Argentina on Spotify. She has over 22 million monthly listeners on the music platform. Her success has led to multiple collaborations with global artists like J Balvin, Sofía Reyes, and Manuel Turizo. Earlier this year, Becerra featured on Cabello’s Latin album Familia. The two Latinas teamed up for the disco-pop bop “Hasta Los Dientes.”

“She’s a very normal person,” Becerra told Uproxx. “You feel comfortable with her. Her and her mom are very Latina, like my mom. It felt like a family environment. I felt like I was with a friend. Camila and her mom, they treated me very well and I felt a lot of love.”

In all her songs, Becerra calls her self La Nena De Argentina. She said the title is like her “trademark” in music. Becerra celebrates her come-up from Argentina in the title track, a reggaeton-pop anthem where she lives up to her title. Across the 12 tracks, she stands alone with zero features.

“I felt like it was a good moment to establish the name,” Becerra said. “What could be better than putting La Nena De Argentina on an album that’s just me. More than anything, it has music I wanted to make by myself. That’s why I decided on the [album’s] name.”

While Becerra has scored multiple hits in reggaeton like the revved-up “Automático,” she used her second album as an opportunity to explore different genres. In the kiss-off track “Adios,” Becerra blended cumbia with Latin pop music. The sultry “Hasta Que La Muerte Nos Separe” marks her first time working with influences of bachata music.

“I feel like [the album] is showing me as a complete artist,” Becerra said. “It’s different. It’s very versatile. I love experimenting with all the genres. I’m a person who likes challenges and I learn from them each them.”

La Nena De Argentina is also a personal album for Becerra. In the vulnerable track “Inspiradora,” she embraces being openly bisexual by singing to another woman. Becerra is always proud to represent the LGBTQ+ community that she’s a part of.

“Always in my albums, I have included a song that represents the LGBTQ+ community because that’s something that represents me as well,” she said. “That’s the person who I am. I like men and women. It’s an album that describes me in each song with a lot of my own experiences. I sing about that because it’s a way to normalize [queer relationships], also to open myself up to people, and show them who I really am.”

La Nena De Argentina is out now via 300 Entertainment LLC. Listen to it here.

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

If Taylor Swift wrote “Today Was a Fairytale” in 2022, instead of 2008, the song wouldn’t be about some guy telling her that she’s pretty when she looks like a mess. It would be about Guillermo del Toro giving her the book that inspired him to make Pan’s Labyrinth.

While appearing at the Modern Art Film Benefit at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art on Thursday, the Oscar-winning filmmaker was asked whether he heard that if Swift could swap places with anyone in Hollywood for one day, it would be him. “Yes, yes,” del Toro told W magazine. “She’s a very accomplished director, she’s incredibly articulate, and deep about what she’s trying to do — and what she will do.”

The Pinocchio director also revealed that he’s met her before.

“I have the greatest admiration for her; we had one of the most stimulating and gratifying conversations. We have many, many common interests. And her interest in fable and myth and the origins of fairy tale is quite deep. I gave her a few books that I thought would be interesting for her — among them, very importantly, a book that was useful for me in creating Pan’s Labyrinth called The Science of Fairy Tales, which codifies and talks about fairy tale lore.”

Can you feel this magic in the air? Yes, and it feels like Swift making a Pan’s Labyrinth-inspired movie for her directorial debut.

(Via W magazine)

UPROXX’s Show Up has a central ethos — “Some people refuse to wait for change, they show up and do it themselves.” That central ideology resonates deeply in the latest episode of the series, in which Between The Lines co-founder Lamont “Tory” Stapleton takes us on a deep dive into recreational therapy in U.S. prisons via a basketball program.

Stapleton — a former college ball player and now fashion designer — co-founded Between The Lines (with Darren Duncan, another former basketball player) to address the lack of positive community, recreation, and artistic expression in the U.S. prison system, starting with California’s prisons. The thrust of their program is to offer a community that delivers a “belief in oneself, the value of discipline and hard work, responsibility, accountability, how to be a team player, overcoming obstacles and adversity, dealing with wins and losses, persistence, time management, making sacrifices, and an overall respect for others,” according to the Between The Lines mantra.

That may sound like a lot, but Between The Lines takes this challenge one step at a time with coaching and games in the prisons that bring inmates together and helps them reintegrate into the world after their sentences are served, with a focus on decreasing recidivism rates with all who participate in the program. Part of that comes through the lessons learned on the court and part of that comes through the feeling of ownership that Between The Lines brings by having an in-house artist tailor each court to the men playing on it every day.

This reaches a high point with a testament from Salvador Gomez, Between The Line’s Reintergal Program Leader and former inmate, whose life was changed through being part of a team while in prison, playing some hoops, and feeling like he had a chance once he made it to the outside world again after 20 years inside. Gomez tells it simply, Between The Lines is all about “becoming better people … becoming better humans.”

To learn more about this generous program, watch the whole episode of Show Up above.

The favorites to lift the World Cup are heading home. While a Neymar goal in extra time looked like it was going to lead to his first World Cup semifinal appearance, Croatia defeated Brazil in penalties on Friday in the quarterfinal to secure a spot in the semis after a Marquinhos effort to extend the game went off the post.

Croatia, as they are wont to do, spent all 90 minutes of regulation frustrating Brazil. Every time it looked like the South American giants had the opportunity to score, Croatia put out the fire, proving nigh impossible to break down.

That continued for much of the first period of extra time. The fourth official put up one added minute, and while Brazil could have sat on the ball and waited for the referee’s whistle to blow, Neymar had other ideas. The Paris Saint-Germain star stood on the ball and executed a series of 1-2s — first with Rodrygo, then with Lucas Paquetá — to get himself into the box.

Croatia’s defense, once again, scrambled to try and put out the fire. Instead, Neymar shrugged off a challenge by Borna Sosa, got around Dominik Livaković, and smashed the ball into the top of the net.

There may not be a team in world football more capable of rallying back in this exact sort of situation as Croatia, though, as seven of their last eight knockout round matches have gone to extra time. And in the 117th minute, the tying goal came by way of a sensational counterattack that saw Mislav Oršić run into the box and play a ball into Bruno Petković.

Marquinhos tried to block his effort, but instead, the ball came off of his leg in such a way that Alisson couldn’t stop it from going into the net.

In penalties, Nikola Vlašić stepped up first and scored, while Brazil went with Rodrygo, who was denied by Livaković. The second round of penalties came awfully close to going the same way: Lovro Majer beat Alisson, while Livaković guessed right on Casemiro’s effort. Unfortunately for him, the Manchester United star placed it just out of his reach.

Luka Modrić, one of the greatest midfielders of all time, made it 3-for-3 for Croatia, while Pedro did what he needed to do by converting. In the fourth round of penalties, Oršić put Croatia on the verge of advancing — Alisson guessed correctly but could not get to it. Marquinhos stepped up for the Brazilians, and while Livaković went the wrong way, the PSG defender hit the post.

With the win, Croatia will wait to see if they’ll have a semifinal matchup with the Netherlands or Argentina. Those two teams are slated to play on Friday at 2 p.m. ET on Fox.

SZA’s long-awaited sophomore album, S.O.S., is (finally) out now via RCA and Top Dawg Entertainment, and fans have been celebrating all day. They’ve marveled at her reimagining of Radiohead’s signature hit “Creep” on “Special,” fallen in love with the lush songwriting on her Phoebe Bridgers collaboration, “Ghost In The Machine,” and relived their emo glory days thanks to the pop-punk vibes of “F2F.” But, as it turns out, Ms. SZA wasn’t finished yet.

12 hours after the album’s release, SZA has shared the music video for her latest single, “Nobody Gets Me.” It’s a soul-searching breakup anthem on which she relatably questions the wisdom of walking away from the only person she feels truly understands her, and the video reflects that vibe. Shot in moody grayscale, the video sees SZA standing on a rooftop overlooking the city in one of her trademark, baggy, sports paraphernalia looks as she sings, “How am I supposed to let you go? / Only like myself when I’m with you.”

“Nobody Gets Me” builds on the momentum of her previously released singles, “Shirt” and “I Hate U,” but fans are already picking their favorite songs from the album, which already looks like like a worthy successor to her debut CTRL and a smash hit in its own right.

Watch SZA’s “Nobody Gets Me” video above.

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 – Be honest

The end of the year is a great time to take stock of things. Things that happened, things that didn’t happen, things you want to happen before the end of the next year so you’re not beating yourself up about the same junk next December. It’s a time for looking back and looking forward at once, which is kind of impossible but we all try to do it anyway. It’s one of the stupid things about having a brain. We should be thankful it just does its job of keeping us alive, but then here we are, every year, just as it starts getting cold and dark and miserable outside, cranking away on all of our successes and failures. Again, stupid.

But if we can’t change it, we might as well make the best of it. And with that said, I’d like to look back and forward at two things I think are pretty important:

• Better Call Saul ended this year and we should really all be so thankful that show was as good as it was, mostly because a prequel of another good show based on a character who was there for comic relief has a degree of difficulty about **thisclose** to “impossible”
• We should all probably focus more of our energy going forward on making Rhea Seehorn as big of a star as she wants to be

How good was that lady in that show? I mean, honestly. Everyone was good in that show, to be fair, and I promise this is not me preparing to launch into another 1000-word rant about my beloved Lalo Salamanca, but still. It is both fair and a little wild to say that Seehorn, as Kim Wexler, was the best part of the whole thing. The show was about Bob Odenkirk’s character journey from Slippin’ Jimmy to the devious Saul Goodman, but none of it would have worked at all without Kim’s journey next to him. Look at these two.

But you knew that. Or you should have known it. Or you know it now. Either way, not the main point I’m getting at. The main point I am getting at is that we all — you, me, everyone — need to focus on continuing this momentum for Rhea Seehorn going forward. I am doing my part by writing these paragraphs. Vince Gilligan, the mastermind of the whole Breaking Bad universe, is doing his part, too, with the mysterious new series he sold to Apple TV earlier this year that will star her and occupy a little beachfront condo in my mind until I learn more about it.

“After fifteen years, I figured it was time to take a break from writing antiheroes… and who’s more heroic than the brilliant Rhea Seehorn?” Gilligan said in a statement. “It’s long past time she had her own show, and I feel lucky to get to work on it with her.”

So he and I are good here. We’re checking our own individual boxes. That leaves… well, you, the person reading this. What are you doing to help Rhea Seehorn continue to thrive? Have you even started doing anything? I say this with only minimal judgment, I swear, seeing as I just wrote this thing up last night to get myself on the board with Vince, but it is something to think about as we head into 2023. Maybe you think there’s not much you can do, at least not without big-time Hollywood connections or a WordPress login and a very patient editor. But this is where you need to think outside the box. Think big. And think small. And medium, too, just to cover all your bases.

I’ll give you some ideas to get started:

• Pool some money together with friends and rent space on a billboard near the highway and have it say “RHEA SEEHORN IS PRETTY GOOD”
• Start a little appreciation group that meets at the library every other Tuesday to talk about ways to get the word out
• Make t-shirts
• Hold a bake sale and put little notes that say “HEY DON’T FORGET ABOUT RHEA SEEHORN” inside the aluminum tins so people see them when they finish their pie
• Share this article with everyone you know
• Skywriting
• Take a hostage and wait for the news cameras to get there and then read a manifesto about it

Hmm. Maybe not that last one. That’s too far. But some of the others could work. Something to think about over the holidays, I guess.

ITEM NUMBER TWO – [GRUNTS, SNIFFS]

This one is great for a few reasons, which we can cover quickly both for efficiency and to avoid over-explaining an objectively good thing.

REASON NUMBER ONE: It is a screencap of Jennifer Coolidge doing cocaine in Palermo on the most recent episode of The White Lotus. That’s a fun sentence to type and then read back to yourself, maybe out loud. It’s not quite as much fun as “Judith Light doing cocaine at the rodeo in the short-lived basic cable reboot of Dallas,” but it’s close, which, given the competition, is its own small achievement in a way. The silver medal ain’t so bad when you’re swimming against Michael Phelps.

REASON NUMBER TWO: The caption on this sucker is “[GRUNTS, SNIFFS]” and that’s… I mean, it’s beautiful. It’s the GRUNTS that really does it for me. Reasonable arguments can be made that it’s my favorite caption since The Righteous Gemstones gave us “[ALL SOBBING AND RETCHING]” last season, which I will use to link to this and remind you to always watch television with the captions turned on.

REASON NUMBER THREE: It allows me to remind you about all the slurping this season. I did not think they could ever top that in the caption department. But then, blammo, “[GRUNTS, SNIFFS]” right there in all caps. It will take me weeks to get over this. Maybe months.

It’s a good show.

ITEM NUMBER THREE – Inside the NBA is one of our finest television shows

The important thing here is that Kenny Smith shoved Shaq into a Christmas tree. He really did. Watch the video up there one or 800 times if you don’t believe me or want to experience joy in your life for a while. It’s so good. He catches him mid-stride and sends about 375 pounds of NBA Hall of Famer flying into a physical representation of Christmas cheer. I could watch it every day. I kind of have watched it every day since it happened earlier this week. I suspect I’ll keep watching it every day until Christmas. I might just keep going until spring. It’s good to keep the holiday spirit in your heart throughout the year.

The other thing worth noting is that the show this happened on, TNT’s Inside the NBA, is one of our finest and funniest television programs and has been for a long time. I should put it on my Top 10 list every year. It’s as reliable as SNL for laughs and it does it with zero career sketch comedians, just Charles, Kenny, Shaq, and Ernie pontificating about basketball or whatever the hell else is on their minds between or after the game they’re allegedly covering. I watch a lot of television for this job and still, to this day, after watching probably thousands of hours of scripted comedy in my life, I do not think I’ve seen anything funnier than Shaquille O’Neal explaining that the moon can’t be that far away because he can see it from the ground in Georgia, unlike California. Please watch this clip. Watch everyone’s face as he keeps talking. Tell me any episode of The Office has ever been better than this.

It’s not just me, either. Bill Hader — a pretty funny guy! — appeared on a recent episode of The Steam Room and said that comedians routinely share clips from the show with each other even if they don’t watch basketball.

So there you go. Confirmed. And I don’t want to hear anyone coming to me with theories that the tree shove was faked or embellished or that Shaq jumped into the tree himself. Yes, I know he is a very large man and that sending him hurtling through the air would require a significant amount of force. My responses to this line of reasoning are as follows:

Shut up.

Let me have this.

Leave me alone.

Thank you.

ITEM NUMBER FOUR – Let Brett Goldstein make a damn Muppet movie!

It remains my position that The Muppet Christmas Carol is both the best version of the classic Dickens story and one of the top five Christmas movies of all-time, despite only being the second-best Muppet movie. I don’t really need an excuse to talk about it every year at the holidays, but I have one this time anyway, because this year marks the 30th anniversary of its release. So here we are. Also, here Brett Goldstein is, doing a lengthy interview with the Muppets about it. This is good. I love that Brett Goldstein loves the Muppets, in part because the Muppets rule and in part because he — as we’ve learned from Ted Lasso — is one of the world’s best cussers, and I like that juxtaposition.

Here’s a little taste from the chat, which I recommend reading and/or watching in full sometime this weekend:

GOLDSTEIN: Yeah. Gonzo, you are famously a stunt artist and you put your body through a lot in this film, falling out of windows, smashing into churches, all sorts of things. But actually, Rizzo is put through a lot worse. What was the biggest injury you sustained on set? And what was the hardest stunt to film?

GONZO: You know, as an actor, I use the Stanislavski method. He always told us, “If it doesn’t hurt, it’s not acting, and if it does hurt, you don’t have to act.”

KERMIT: Wait a second, Gonzo. You’re saying that you learned that from Stanislavski?

GONZO: Yep, good old Crash Stanislavski.

KERMIT: Different Stanislavski. Okay, got it. I’m sorry, Brett. Next question.

Three things are important to note here, and I’m going to knock them out via bullet point as well:

• It has been too long since we had a new Muppet movie
• We should let Brett Goldstein make one where he is allowed to cuss a little
• I don’t think we as a society spend enough time praising the people who do the Muppet voices for being brilliant improvisers who manage to whip out funny lines on the spot in character despite crouching on the floor under a table

I will say it again: The third Knives Out movie should take place at a ski lodge filled with Muppets and Daniel Craig should show up to investigate a murder that was committed by either Walton Goggins or maybe Christoph Waltz. I am not joking. It would be so good. Someone call Rian Johnson and yell at him about this.

ITEM NUMBER FIVE – Quinta Brunson rules

Everyone knows that Abbott Elementary and Quinta Brunson are great. I don’t need to hammer that point home. Especially not after an episode that featured appearances by both Vince Staples and NBA champion (and former Sixer) Andre Iguodala. We can file all of that away as previously known information and move along. To… well, to this. GQ honored Brunson in one of their big year-end award things and interviewed her a little bit and she said this, which I want to highlight quick.

“I am more interested in stories like Abbott that are about a neighborhood of a certain socioeconomic class that are more realistic for most Black Americans, I think,” she continues. “I think most Black Americans, they’re not fish out of water. Most of them live in neighborhoods with other Black people. And I loved my Black-ass neighborhood and where I’m from and my Black-ass upbringing. It wasn’t a sob story. It’s much like Abbott—these people who get by and love each other and that’s that. I know we put a lot of emphasis in American society on winning and big triumphant shit. But for a lot of people, just getting up out of the bed is the biggest task they could have completed that day—and it means something. It means that they made a choice to keep going. And to me that is where the real inspiration for Abbott comes from.”

This is… cool. It’s cool and true and a good philosophy and perspective to have about life, just generally. It’s also, in a way, something I’ve tried to hammer home about my own stuff, the thing where I have a spinal cord injury and use a wheelchair etc etc etc. So much of the scripted programming that focuses on people with disabilities is about overcoming obstacles and this big triumphant feel-good hooey where it all ends with the town throwing a parade. And that’s… I guess it’s fine. But there are so many other stories worth telling about cool and smaller things that are just as good, if not better, and it would be cool if we could all work on telling those, too. I’ve gone on this rant before. I’ll probably go on it again.

But the point here is that Quinta Brunson gets it. One of the best.

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 Rebecca:

Back when you and Alan Sepinwall were doing your TV Avalanche podcast, you mentioned that you always sing the wordless Brooklyn Nine-Nine theme song as “Brooklyn Nine Dash Niiiine” and ever since, that’s all I hear when the theme song plays (which is often, since the show is on a constant repeat in my home). You’re not the only one who has further broken my already quite broken brain in this way- the same thing happens with the South Park “flopping weiners” version of the “Game of Thrones” theme, and with Demi Adejuyigbe’s rejected lyrics to the Succession theme. I’ve even done it to myself by singing my own lyrics to the Stranger Things theme song (it goes “stranger things and stranger things and stranger things and stranger things.” I am not a complicated person.) I will watch these shows, and then these fake silly versions of the theme songs will get stuck in my head for hours or days at a time if I’m not careful. Just walking around singing nonsense while my boyfriend exhausts every synonym for the word “lunatic” he can think of. As previously mentioned, my brain is very broken.

My question is, what other wordless theme songs can you ruin for me with silly lyrics that reside in your own broken brain?

Well, this is a lovely email. I suppose it requires a little backstory, maybe, although Rebecca did a good job of hitting the main points. I did, in fact, used to do a podcast with Alan Sepinwall, and I did, at some point, torture that poor man — one of the nation’s most respected television critics — with the lyrics I created in my head for the lyric-free theme song to Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The lessons here are twofold: I am an idiot and I should not have a podcast.

But anyway, to answer the question… I do not actually have another good one right now. Which stinks! I’m going to place most of the blame on the Skip Intro button and some of the blame on lots of shows just straight-up bypassing theme music recently. But I will say these two things:

• I will once again be on the lookout for these now because they are fun to uncover and they ruin people’s lives once they get lodged into a brain, and I kind of love to do that
• If you have a good one, please tell me, because it makes me very happy

Thank you and I’m sorry.

AND NOW, THE NEWS

To Germany!

Authorities say about 60 containers of bull sperm were stolen from a farm in the town of Olfen, 90 kilometers (56 miles) northeast of Cologne, late Monday or early Tuesday.

Happens.

Police said in a statement Wednesday that while it’s unclear how the rustle happened, the precious cargo needs to be supercooled with liquid nitrogen at –196 Celsius degrees (–320 Fahrenheit) so it isn’t spoiled.

I have been thinking about this for days now and I can’t get over the mental image of a team of thieves wearing tuxedos with thermal vests underneath executing a multi-stage plan to steal dozens of containers of bull sperm and make off with it in refrigerated trucks like they’re stealing nuclear material from a facility in the polar ice caps in the first act of a James Bond movie.

That sentence was way too long but I was too excited for punctuation. This happens, too.

They are seeking tips from the public that might lead to the recovery of the sperm, which was intended for artificial insemination.

I like that they included the last phrase here. Just for clarity. Like there was some other reason a facility in Germany was storing 60 canisters of nitrogen-cooled bull semen. You never know, you know?

Bam Margera is reportedly battling a “very serious case of pneumonia.” The former Jackass star was hospitalized in San Diego earlier in the week and also reportedly tested positive for COVID. According to TMZ, doctors put him on a ventilator, and he’s currently in the ICU. However, his condition is stable as of this writing.

Possibly complicating matters is Margera’s history of drug abuse. He reportedly fled court-ordered rehab on multiple occasions and has been spotted partying for months now. Via TMZ:

Our sources say during one of his stints in rehab, he befriended an attorney who convinced him he could get him out of the court-ordered treatment and “free Bam.”

Since then, we’ve seen him partying it up in Atlanta in September, and hitting Las Vegas the following month. We’re told Bam never completed his court order and many people close to him were concerned for the former ‘Jackass’ star.

Margera’s struggles with substance abuse led to a significant falling out with his Jackass co-stars. He was cut from Jackass 4, which sparked a series of lawsuits, and at one point, death threats against director Jeff Tremaine. Margera likened the conditions he experienced to Britney Spears’ conservatorship, but Paramount’s lawyers stepped in and called his accusations “outright lies.” Specifically, this refers to Margera’s claim that he was fired from Jackass 4 because he tested positive for Adderall. According to the studio, Margera reportedly admitted that he “bought it off the street.”

(Via TMZ)