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As Putin’s war in Ukraine began, word began to spread about how ill-prepared the Russian army felt for a cause that they didn’t even want to fight. Audio footage of Russian Army officers revealed that they were incensed about the situation, and the situation has grown much worse with much of the army losing their lives to such a degree that no more willing soldiers could be found, even in prisons. Putin then stomped his foot and decided to mobilize 300,000 men into the war, and that’s even led to his regime handing draft papers to protesters upon their arrest. There’s a mass exodus out of Russia, but those soldiers on the frontlines are still feeling the pain.

Via the Daily Beast, Ukrainian intelligence intercepted a phone call (which they posted on Facebook) that reveals a frontlines soldier speaking to his lady partner about his frustrations and fears. Putin is threatening hefty prison sentences against Russian soldiers who choose not to continue fighting, and the soldier talked about the dire nature of what he’s enduring:

“I need to get wounded,” he quickly responds before going on to tell her his morale at the moment is “complete sh*t.”

“Earlier there was a joke that you’d leave here only wounded or dead. Now it’s not a f*cking joke,” he says.

He then goes on to inquire about “f*ck face” Putin’s speech to the nation, which he said he had heard had included some supposedly “comforting words.”

It’s not great over there, to say the very least. By late July, half of Russia’s army had reportedly died or sustained wounds that took them out of commission. Meanwhile, Putin’s waving nuclear threats around and claiming that he will soon annex many areas of Ukraine in a war with no end in sight.

(Via the Daily Beast)

Pusha T is at it again. After penning the “Spicy Fish Diss” for Arby’s dissing McDonald’s’ Filet-O-Fish sandwich, the Virginia rapper once again takes aim at the fast food giant with “Rib Roast,” a Western-themed takedown of the Golden Arches’ beloved McRib. “McDonald’s, what you selling, mystery meat?” Push sneers. “Pop up and go away, what does history teach?” Somehow or another, he manages to make it through the whole thing without sneaking in a bar about cocaine… Growth?

For what it’s worth, Arby’s signing Pusha to be its official attack dog has proven to be pretty lucrative for Arby’s. According to an Apex Marketing estimate in March, the jingle/diss track was worth more than $8 million in advertising for Arby’s, whose previous tagline, “We have the meats,” has become pretty ubiquitous if not particularly enticing. It’s also proven a worthwhile endeavor for Pusha, who allegedly penned the “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle for McDonald’s for a flat fee and never got a royalty check. Considering he’s been after Lil Wayne for over a decade over who wore a hoodie first (and subsequently expanded that feud to include Wayne’s protege Drake), this whole fast food beef (heh) offers him the perfect excuse to exercise his petty and get paid for it.

Watch Pusha T and Arby’s’ “Rib Roast” video above.

When the lineup for the inaugural Portola Music Festival in San Francisco dropped in May, nobody could believe the collection of talent that Goldenvoice had amassed for its new electronic music festival. Top to bottom, it was one of the most comprehensive lineups of the year — for any kind of music festival. It seemed like every buzzy act across a wide swath of electronic music and then some was captured on this bill, and fans across the country were jealous of what was coming to the Bay Area in September.

And the fact that it was happening on the historic 60-acre Pier 80 complex, the largest cargo terminal in San Francisco, made it even more intriguing. While most cargo traffic these days comes in across the Bay in Oakland, San Francisco’s old waterfront piers remain in a state of flux regarding their future use. So for Goldenvoice to secure the Pier 80 site to kick off Portola — from the notoriously slow-moving SF Port Authority no less — felt like a coup in and of itself.

The 400,000-square-foot Warehouse Stage greets you as soon as you walk through the festival gates. And 400,000 square feet is as big as it sounds. This might’ve been the largest warehouse I’d ever been in, with a second row of speakers midway down to relay the tunes all the way through. On Saturday night, Jamie XX showed yet again that he’s one of the best selectors in the world, jumping from soul to dub to jungle, progressive breaks and techno, telling a story with each record he spins. He closed his set with his own “Gosh” and “I Know There’s Going To Be (Good Times),” but the rustic vaulted ceilings of the warehouse bounced as much sound from the music as it did from the endless chatter from the crowd. Kelly Lee Owens’ Saturday set was much better suited for the area, with the way she constantly pushes the envelope vocally as her cascading intonations ricocheted off of the ceiling in heavenly fashion.

The Warehouse Stage was the same area that Charli XCX on Saturday and Fred Again.. on Sunday drew the largest crowds of the entire weekend. But this gave rise to Portola’s biggest sticking point that made the rounds on social media. The ingress into the Warehouse consisted of a series of wrap-around lines into a single entrance that felt like waiting for a ride at an amusement park or a crowded airport. When the festival announced that the stage was at capacity shortly after Charli began her set — a message that was sparsely delivered considering overloaded cell towers in the area couldn’t handle the influx in traffic and made cell service a luxury — many dozens of people waiting in line took matters into their own hands and hopped the barricades into the outdoor VIP section and into the warehouse; a rise of the festival proletariat, if you will.

Videos circulated on Twitter (filmed from the VIP section) where people scoffed at the sight and local and national media outlets picked up the story, some even likening it to the Astroworld tragedy. This felt like a click-hungry take on something that, while related to crowd control, was definitely not the same. Yes, Portola underestimated the draw of two of their acts on this otherwise enormous area. But there were no injuries, no arrests and the festival said it, “…was quickly addressed and corrected.” Insinuating that this was akin to Astroworld is disrespectful to people who suffered in Houston and whose lives were changed forever. This wasn’t even in the same galaxy.

Beyond the behemoth warehouse, the vast majority of the festival footprint lay ahead. The Pier Stage was the festival’s main area and had epic views of the San Francisco skyline, while people danced on a massive carpet strewn atop the pavement as the fog crept in each day. Here, headliners The Chemical Brothers kicked off their set with “Block Rockin’ Beats,” a track that hits as hard as it did 25 years ago. Their expansive visual display dominated the Portola landscape on Sunday night, like a big beat Big Brother following you around as the duo’s career-spanning set pounded away (even if the sound did bleed notably into other areas.) Earlier in the day at the Pier Stage, Toro y Moi at sunset was a welcome shift from a weekend’s worth of bass, and early in the evening, James Blake sucked me back in when I heard him playing 2010’s sublime “CMYK.”

But the gems of the weekend were tucked away on the smaller Ship Stage, and especially on the farthest corner of Pier 80 where the Crane Stage low-key stole the show all weekend. Apart from an array of (pretty cool) disco balls that Portola used as its calling card, it felt like the festival cut corners on art and visuals all weekend. Instead, organizers relied on the industrial venue’s characteristics to do the heavy lifting. While it was a big missed opportunity to incorporate artwork and installations throughout the grounds, the Crane Stage was perfectly planned out. A giant container crane hovered over the tent that housed the music and inside, lighting rails and nine disco balls along the tent’s ceiling made for unforgettable audiovisual moments like Fatboy Slim mixing Underworld’s “Born Slippy” into his iconic “Praise You.” Peggy Gou’s Sunday set had the Crane Stage as packed with revelers and Gorgon City closed out Saturday night with a bang.

On the Ship Stage, a dance tent popped up in front of a gigantic old cargo ship (everything on Pier 80 is large, if you couldn’t already tell) and despite an incredibly inconsistent soundsystem, acts like Caribou, DJ Shadow, and Drama still managed to stand out. Shadow’s set was bursting at the seams, as he traversed the lineage of his most notable samples across his indelible productions (but yeah, the sound was lacking.) Drama gave one of the festival’s best performances, with singer Via Rosa and producer Na’el Shehade sounding like a stripped-down Basement Jaxx set that leaned towards R&B instead of house.

By all accounts, Portola was a spectacularly-curated affair. But it really felt like we were witnessing a proof of concept more than the finished product of what it could become. There are many kinks that need to be ironed out. Besides inadequate cell service and the sound quality issues that you’d expect in open-air tents, there is much that can be learned from the flow of the crowd in year one. VIP areas were too big for the amount of VIP ticket holders. At all stages, the GA areas were packed, with more than enough room to spare in the VIP zone. Some adjusting is in order.

The warehouse stage got to be a sh*tshow twice. There’s actually a second 400,000-square-foot warehouse on Pier 80 that perhaps could be used in the festival’s next iteration. Garbage cans were often overflowing and cups, aluminum, and plastic bottles were all over the grounds. SF’s Outside Lands has built an incredible relationship with Clean Vibes, an organization that has helped the festival maintain a tidy playground all weekend en route to achieving over 90% trash diversion rate. Portola would be wise to follow suit. And again, visual art needs to be stepped up. The disco balls were rad and the one disco chicken installation was fun. But more, more, more. In the warehouse, too. Maritime disco aesthetic anyone?

But for all that didn’t necessarily meet the expectations production-wise, it’s truly the music that I’ll remember most about Portola Festival’s maiden voyage. Stumbling into Arca’s Saturday night set below the Ship Stage’s many disco balls was a magical trip. Playing on Author & Punisher’s industrial metal instruments, Arca delivered the most visceral and provocative set of the weekend. One of the instruments moves like a circular saw on rails and every time Arca pushed it to the end of the line, a frenetic thump would blast. My only regret was arriving midway through and missing part of the set, because good god did I want more. Then back on Crane, Four Tet + Floating Points closed out the weekend with a two-hour set. What a vibe and what a glorious, glorious rave. It was good to the last drop of Four Tet’s “Looking at Your Pager” sending us back to our respective abodes.

“I’ve been a DJ since 1984 and I truly love what I do,” DJ Shadow said to the crowd on Sunday afternoon. “It’s an honor to be able to do this for different audiences and different contexts.” He embodied the gratitude that the DJs showed all weekend for the fans and it was certainly reciprocated. Here’s hoping we’ll get a chance to do it again next year.

Family Guy has made fun of hundreds of celebrities over 21 (!) seasons, but as far as I can tell, never Chloë Grace Moretz. So why does the actress have a negative association with the animated show? Because it reminds her of a “horrific” meme.

In 2016, photos of the Let Me In and The Peripheral actress bringing pizzas to her hotel appeared beside a still from an episode of Family Guy. She was being compared to Legs Go All The Way Up Griffin, Peter’s great-aunt who is all face and legs, literally.

“For a long time I was able to be the Chloë that people see and the Chloë that I am in private. Then those two worlds collided and I felt really raw and vulnerable and open. And then came the onslaught of horrific memes that started getting sent to me about my body,” Moretz told Hunger magazine. “There was one meme that really affected me, of me walking into a hotel with a pizza box in my hand. And this photo got manipulated into a character from Family Guy with the long legs and the short torso, and it was one of the most widespread memes at the time.” She continued:

“Everyone was making fun of my body and I brought it up with someone and they were like, ‘Oh, shut the f*ck up, it’s funny.’ And I just remember sitting there and thinking, my body is being used as a joke and it’s something that I can’t change about who I am, and it is being posted all over Instagram. It was something so benign as walking into a hotel with leftovers. And to this day, when I see that meme, it’s something very hard for me to overcome.”

The memes haven’t kept Moretz off social media, but she uses Twitter as it ought to be used: for video game recommendations.

(Via Hunger)

It looks like one of the contestants in yesterday’s (September 26) Twitter feud was forced to bow out. Cardi B and Atlanta rapper Akbar V were the trending topics of the day after what started as a subtweet turned into an explosive argument. Insults were traded, sex tapes were posted, and now, Akbar V’s account has apparently been suspended, although it’s unclear why or whether it was voluntary.

The two rappers spent an hour or so on Monday going back and forth, culminating in Akbar crying foul after Cardi posted an explicit video of her on the timeline. However, after Cardi had deleted the video in response to Akbar’s protests, fans in the comments pointed out that Akbar herself had already capitalized on the tape, using a still from it as a single cover (to be clear, this doesn’t make Cardi less wrong). It’s a whole mess, but it looks like Akbar won’t be able to continue the beef — at least, not on Twitter — for a while.

In some fans’ views, Akbar was lashing out at Cardi as a proxy for Nicki Minaj, with whom Cardi had another well-publicized feud a few years ago and Akbar recently collaborated. Interestingly, while all this was going on, Nicki was beefing with YouTube for age-restricting her booty-filled new video for “Likkle Miss” featuring Skeng.

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Jimmy Kimmel Live aired from New York City’s Brooklyn Academy Of Music for the first time in three years on Monday night (September 26). To mark the occasion, Kimmel welcomed famous New Yorkers Charlamagne Tha God and Amy Schumer. It was Brooklyn-bred El-P and Atlanta’s very own Killer Mike, best known as innovative hip-hop duo Run The Jewels, who stole the show with “Ooh La La” featuring Greg Nice and DJ Premier.

The high-energy performance showcased RTJ’s natural command of any and every stage, but it was relatively tame compared to the April 2020 “Ooh La La” music video that trashed piles of money and “imagined the world on the day that the age old struggle of class was finally over.” The provocative track is housed on RTJ4, their fourth studio album that dropped in June 2020. RTJ4 (Deluxe Edition) arrived in September 2021.

There were glimmers of hope that RTJ’s fifth studio album might be cooking this spring. Nothing has been confirmed, but RTJ are plenty active anyway.

RTJ played the main stage at Coachella in April. They opened on tour for Rage Against The Machine throughout the summer, including five nights at Madison Square Garden in August. Around the same time, they stopped by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to perform RTJ4 track “A Few Words For The Firing Squad.” And earlier this month, RTJ released their theme song for Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm

Watch RTJ on Kimmel above.

A new Joshua Bassett EP, a Dominic Fike tour, rumors of Taylor Swift playing the Superbowl Halftime Show which were then debunked, more weirdness from Grimes, and of course the Adam Levine DMs… It’s been a week full of great releases and drama.

Each week, Uproxx rounds up the best new pop releases. Listen up.

Sam Smith, Kim Petras — “Unholy”

A perfect place to start with is the highly anticipates “Unholy,” a steaming collaboration between Sam Smith and Kim Petras that blew up on TikTok before its official release. Shorter than three minutes, the song is intense throughout, thumping with chaotic energy as the two narrate a sultry affair that pulls the listener in with its danger.

Lewis Capaldi — “Driver’s License”

The Spotify Singles continue to get better as more artists participate. This is especially true with Lewis Capaldi’s new rendition of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Driver’s License” — a great choice, but definitely hard to master. However, his voice throbs with emotion and captures the heartbreak of the hit, giving it a new layer of pain.

Khalid — “Satellite”

Khalid has mastered the art of a swift, catchy pop song, and this new track “Satellite” is a great example of that. It’s free-flowing and infectious, moving at just the perfect speed, and his vocals are as enchanting as ever.

Joshua Bassett — “Lifeline”

Joshua Bassett’s new EP Sad Songs In A Hotel Room is a vulnerable collection of ballads. “Lifeline” is a glimpse into hospital rooms and anxiety. He narrates an impending loss with a sense of fear: “Lately I’ve been praying / To a god I’ve never known / I can’t do this on my own.” It’s impactful, drawing the listener into his grief.

5 Seconds Of Summer — “Bad Omens”

5 Seconds Of Summer know how to capture intensity in their songs and pair it with a catchy melody. “Bad Omens” does this, moving forward with a constant thumping that builds and builds into something cathartic. They don’t let the energy pause for a second — they’re relentless.

Zolita — “20 Questions”

Zolita is unhinged and unrestrained on this new song “20 Questions” — as she should be. The explicit anthem centers around a lover who cheated, and the interrogation that follows: “Was she sweet, did you cry / Was it everything you wanted / Was she drunk / Were you high?”

Kailee Morgue — “Queen B*tch”

Kailee Morgue’s “Queen B*tch” was written after feeling disillusioned by the music industry and then listening to Hole’s Celebrity Skin. “Queen B*tch” is a retaliation against the media for fetishizing youth, but it bursts with an infectious, compelling energy that proves that she’s going to make her songs heard anyway.

Iann Dior — “Saddest Soundtrack”

Pop-punk singer Iann Dior is devoted to songs of resentment and melancholy. “Saddest Soundtrack” shows contempt off the bat: “Imma take your smile and turn it upside down / Imma take the sun and cover it in clouds,” he spits in an MGK-like deadpan flow.

Pol Granch — “Nena”

After receiving a Latin Grammy Award nomination, Pol Granch unveiled this new single “Nena” from his forthcoming album Amor Escupido. The song is as thoughtful as it is alluring, previewing an interesting record that’s sure to be good.

Kelsea Ballerini — “Muscle Memory”

Kelsea Ballerini makes great pop-tinged country songs that are full of personality. “Muscle Memory” has an exciting kick to it and her vocals are heavy with longing and desire as she sings about a love so strong that it almost possesses her.

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

Yesterday (September 26), folks enjoying an afternoon at the House In Paradise club at Ibiza’s O Beach got quite the surprise: Out of nowhere, Ed Sheeran popped up.

After being introduced as “the biggest pop star in the world,” Sheeran performed a brief four-song set (as NME notes). He started with his own “Shape Of You” before devoting the rest of his time on stage to covers. First, he busted out a rendition of Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way” before getting into Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” and wrapping up with Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time.”

House In Paradise promoter Joshua Makinson told the Evening Standard, “I was absolutely blown away that Ed has come to House in Paradise at O Beach. We’ve had artists turn up in the past and perform but to have one of the biggest pop stars in the world perform is magical.”

“Shape Of You” is a song that Sheeran recently said he doesn’t think he’ll ever stop performing live, telling James Corden this summer, “I put it in my head, I was like, ‘I’m a massive Coldplay fan, and if I go to a Coldplay show and they don’t play ‘Fix You’ or ‘Yellow,’ I’m going to be like [shrugs].’ So in my head, I’m like, ‘People are going to think that coming to my shows,’ so I would always have ‘Perfect,’ I’d always have ‘Bad Habits,’ ‘Shape Of You,’ then you got ‘Thinking Out Loud,’ ‘The A Team.’”

Check out some clips from the performance above and below.

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

Russia will not be submitting a film to the 2023 Oscars in protest of the United States aiding Ukraine. Vladimir Putin’s disastrous invasion has not gone well, prompting Russia to further isolate itself from the West. However, the head of Russia’s Oscar committee is not thrilled about the move. According to Pavel Tchoukhraï, the decision was made behind his back by the Russian Film Academy, and he’s since resigned in protest.

Via The Hollywood Reporter, this move follows Russia’s accusation of the U.S. “directly intervening in the war.” Here’s more:

Russia has regularly submitted films for the Oscars and Russian films have a strong track record with the US Academy. Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Loveless was a 2017 Oscar nominee. Kantemir Balagov’s Beanpole (2019) and Andrei Konchalovsky’s Dear Comrades, were both shortlisted for the best international feature honor.

Russia’s military invasion led many major film festivals to ban films backed by the Russian state. There have also been calls for a blanket boycott of all Russian films, though few major festivals have taken that step.

The Oscar news arrives after a series non-stop humiliating headlines for Vladimir Putin. The Russian president has reportedly arrested an alarming number of protestors who will be shipped off to the front lines in Ukraine where the invasion is going so badly that even Russian state TV is calling out Putin. There has also been talk of oligarchs overthrowing Putin, which has led to a number of mysterious deaths recently.

However, Putin’s reaction to the failed invasion has raised concerns amongst the international community. The Russian leader has been threatening to use nuclear weapons, and many believe he’ll follow through on the threat to appear “victorious.”

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Earlier this year, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone admitted that their very cool way of reliving a childhood dream — deciding to invigorate one defunct Casa Bonita restaurant in the Denver area with actual good food — had quickly turned into a money pit. Actually, they word that Stone used was “a nightmare.” The eatertainment venue’s famed fountain needed to be demolished and rebuilt, and that was only the start of construction needed to get this thing up to code. This all put the project behind (imagined) schedule, but Stone told The Denver Post that they had poured “all our money” into the project, and “we’re committed.”

Fast forward a few more months, and it turns out that Parker and Stone (by way of “The Beautiful Opco, LLC”) also invested those dollars into the restaurant’s employees. According to CBS News, “they’ve been paying a few dozen staff members to stay on” ever since buying the sopapilla paradise. While the joint remains closed, these workers are not only volunteering at places like Habitat for Humanity, but they’re also attending bilingual language classes. So, English-to Spanish and vice versa, and it’s a move to build camaraderie, and the employees are thrilled:

“I don’t hear of any company that does this. I think it’s the first company to do this, to take care of the workers,” said Alex Perez, a 29-year veteran of Casa Bonita, who took English classes.

“One of the barriers we have is the language. So front of the house, back of the house, they don’t communicate,” said Dana Rodriguez, the executive chef at Casa Bonita. “I was really impressed with the English speakers because you feel like you’re in your comfort zone. You feel like you’re in your country. You don’t need to learn the language. But if they want to be part of Casa Bonita, an iconic place, they feel like they should do it,” She said. “That means a lot in our culture. It’s respect. It’s love.”

As of now, Casa Bonita still doesn’t have a set reopening date, but one can bet that the (eventual) experience should be unparalleled when it happens. In the meantime, here are some photos from the Denver-area CBS affiliate’s Jeremy Jojola, who was on hand to meet with Chef Rodriguez and to gather a promise for a margarita.

(Via CBS News)