GoneTrending

Jessie Reyez is back with the announcement of her new album Yessie out this fall. This comes with the release of her new single “Mutual Friend,” a sonically haunting track with vividly resentful lyrics that tell an immersive story: “Our mutual friend / Don’t know that you’re too self-serving / But I do and that’s why your words don’t mean sh*t,” she sings, and adds: “And guess what? / This heartbreak morphed into hate.”

The video is as powerful as the song, depicting Reyez singing in a house and getting swept up into a visceral dance choreography. One scene captures the singer sitting on a couch surrounded by dying flowers — a heavily symbolic image that evokes the same intense emotions as the ballad does. The lyrics grow even more clever and razor-sharp as the song continues to build over the course of nearly four minutes: “And guess what / Your karma’s that you love me still,” she sings.

Yessie follows the eclectic 2020 LP Before Love Came To Kill Us, which soon after became extended as a surprise deluxe album that features verses from A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Rico Nasty, and more.

Watch the stunning video for “Mutual Friend” above.

Yessie is out 9/9 via FMLY/Island Records.

After watching the first episode of the record-breaking fourth season of Stranger Things, I nearly pitched an article to my editor with the headline, “Stranger Things Has A Toy Story Problem.” The gist of the post would have been with every season and movie, Stranger Things and Toy Story, respectively, add new characters, leading to diminished screen time for our old favorites. I enjoyed Ducky and Bunny in Toy Story 4, but not as much as I love Rex, who barely factored into the (still very good) film. The reason I never pitched the piece, however, is because by episode two of the Netflix series, I was obsessed with Eddie, Chrissy (even if she didn’t make it past the premiere), Argyle, Enzo, and most of the new characters. Except Jason. Jason deserved what he got.

It must be tempting for creators Matt and Ross Duffer to try and find another Eddie for the fifth and final season of Stranger Things (Metallica would enjoy that), but in an interview with IndieWire, the brothers vowed to keep the focus on the original cast. “We’re doing our best to resist [adding new characters] for season five. We’re trying not to do that so we can focus on the OG characters, I guess,” Ross said.

Matt also discussed the process behind adding a new character:

“Whenever we introduce a new character, we want to make sure that they’re going to be an integral part of the narrative. So that’s something with Eddie this season, where we go, ‘Well, we need a character here for this storyline to really work, and to give it the engine that is needed.’ But every time we do that, we’re nervous, because you go, ‘We’ve got a great cast of characters here, and actors, and any moment we’re spending with a new character, we’re taking time away from one of the other actors.’ So we’re just very, very careful about who we’re introducing. And then specifically in the casting process, it took a very long time to find Joe Quinn, and you just go through so many edits, because you know that we can’t add someone that’s going to just take away from our characters if they’re not terrific.”

Stranger Things season five is expected to premiere, well, there’s no expected premiere date yet. But hopefully it comes quicker than the three years between seasons three and four.

(Via IndieWire)

The past few days have been tough for Michelle Branch. On August 11, she accused husband and The Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney of infidelity, writing in a now-deleted tweet, “Just found out my husband cheated on me with his manager […] while I was home with our 6 month old daughter.” This morning, she confirmed she and Carney are separating, saying in a statement, “To say that I am totally devastated doesn’t even come close to describing how I feel for myself and for my family. The rug has been completely pulled from underneath me and now I must figure out how to move forward. With such small children, I ask for privacy and kindness.”

Now, there’s another layer to the story: Branch was reportedly arrested for domestic violence against Carney.

TMZ reports that police were called to Branch and Carney’s home for a possible domestic disturbance. This happened at around 2 a.m. on Thursday morning (August 11), which was shortly after Branch shared her aforementioned tweet, which was posted just minutes earlier at 1:28 a.m. According to court documents, Branch admitted to slapping Carney in the face “one to two times” and was arrested and taken into custody. Carney did not appear to have any visible injuries.

Page Six notes the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office confirmed with them that Branch was released late Thursday after posting a $1,000 bail. TMZ notes “it appears she was released from custody early because she’s breastfeeding the couple’s 6-month-old.” Page Six reports Branch has a hearing scheduled for November 7 to face a charge of domestic assault by offensive/provocative conduct.

Carney has yet to offer a public statement about the alleged infidelity or Branch’s domestic assault charge.

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

A spicy, lime-filled, ice-cold cocktail is perfect for the dog days of summer. The sweltering heat of August cries out for a little chili pepper to help us sweat and cool down while also demanding something deeply thirst-quenching and citrus-y. Enter the spicy vodka gimlet.

While the classic gimlet is generally made with gin and Rose’s Lime, a hot summer day feels more like a vodka day. It’s simpler and less taxing without those gin botanicals. Add in some serious chili pepper that mimics the cooling juice from the bottom of a cold ceviche or pico de gallo bowl, and you’re really set.

To achieve that we’re using a very specific chili pepper vodka for this recipe, St. George Green Chile Vodka. That expression is made with layers of fresh bell peppers and various California-grown hot and mild chili peppers, along with a touch of lime and cilantro. The corn-vodka base is also dialed in and doesn’t have any of that “crafty” butterscotch or steely note that so many small producers can’t seem to get past when making their juice. This is high-quality flavored vodka that over-delivers on the promise of its label, making it perfect for this cocktail.

Now then, let’s get shaking!

Also Read: The Top Five Cocktail Recipes of the Last Six Months

• Our ‘Perfect Whisky And Coke’ Recipe Uses The Last Brand You’d Expect
• The Hemingway Daiquiri Is A Deeply Refreshing Summer Cocktail — Here’s The (Very Simple) Real Recipe
• The Godfather Is A Simple Scotch Cocktail To Power You Through Winter
• Recipe: The Amaretto Sour Is The Ideal Cocktail To Close Out January
• The Tom Collins Is A Classic Cocktail That’s Perfect For The Hotter Days Ahead

The Spicy Vodka Gimlet

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. St. George Green Chile Vodka
• 0.75 oz. Rose’s Lime
• Lime peel
• Ice

This is all pretty straightforward. I won’t restate everything about St. George’s chili pepper vodka from above. Still, this is the perfect base for this recipe. You can get the bottle here. Alternatively, you can use a standard chili pepper vodka if you can’t find this. Or you can infuse some standard vodka with sliced chili pepper overnight and then strain the pepper from the vodka and, voila, you have pepper vodka. But be warned, you won’t get the same depth/nuance as using St. George Green Chile.

Lastly, any legit gimlet needs Rose’s Lime, which you can find at any grocery or liquor store.

What You’ll Need:

• Cocktail shaker
• Cocktail strainer
• Coupe or lowball glass
• Jigger
• Paring knife

Method:

• Prechill the glass in the freezer for at least an hour.
• Add the two ounces vodka, .75 ounce lime cordial, and a handful of ice to a cocktail shaker. Affix the lid and shake gently for 10 to 15 seconds or until the shaker is ice cold to touch.
• Remove the glass from the freezer and strain the cocktail into it.
• Cut a thin slice of peel from a lime and express the oils over the glass (gently bend with your thumb and index finger with the outside of the long edges of peel toward the glass, making sure not to break the peel).
• Drop in the peel and serve.

Bottom Line:

This is great. It’s kind of like a spicy lime shooter in a cocktail format. The citrus is soft and welcoming, creating a limeade vibe while the chili, cilantro, and bell pepper all make appearances, which really add some depth.

This isn’t too hot but there is a fresh green chili pepper edge that kind of feels like standing in a pepper field and taking a bite of a fresh green chili pepper right off the vine. The mild cilantro and almost creamy lime really help balance the heat toward citrus and sweet, creating a nice nuance to the cocktail.

Overall, this is one of those cocktails that goes down almost too easily on a hot summer day. Consider yourself warned.

At some point over the last decade, there was a shift in how people responded to certain movies. Instead of getting one good Marvel movie every few years that satisfied fans and critics alike, the studio decided to jam-pack as much superhero content as they possibly could in one year, releasing various streaming shows, movies, and even some multiverse one-shot episodes. Yes! They are fun! But as time went on…they just became the standard. And fans have grown to expect handfuls of trailers and movies every year.

Others in the industry have noticed this. While fans love getting to see their favorite Marvel superheroes as much as possible, it becomes less of an exciting thing and more of an expected thing, which is the problem, according to the Watchmen showrunner Damon Lindelof.

Lindelof joined Vulture’s “Into It” Podcast to talk about a number of fun topics, including why Marvel just won’t let some of their storylines get a nice easy ending. He explained, “It’s always going to be hard because once you’ve got someone’s attention, you want to keep it. And so the idea of letting it go and not knowing if you’re ever going to get it back again is sort of like, it’s antithetical to the way that we’re wired.” It’s true: everyone loves to see Thor onscreen, as they have for the last decade. But when is it time to, you know, let Chris Hemsworth do anything else?

“From a slightly sort of more cynical standpoint, this is a business. It’s an industry. And if you make a couple of great Marvel movies, the instinct is, ‘We need to make more Marvel movies, and we need to expand this,’” Lindelof explained. “And I have this sort of interior feeling of like, ‘Wow, I wish they made less because it would make each one that came out a little bit more special. But I watch all of them. … People don’t want things to end. I do.”

It can make things seem a little less exciting when fans are constantly bombarded with new superheroes and content every few months, instead of taking the time to appreciate what they had so they can be praised individually instead of lumped together with seven other movies. As Marvel’s VFX artists have been pleading with the company for more time and pay, it’s time we learn to spread out these releases a bit more. It’ll be like 2008 again! So retro!

Of course, Lindelof knows that it’s ultimately a business that needs to keep making money. “I don’t begrudge them the right to keep it going. I’ve made prequels and sequels and reboots, so I can’t be a hypocrite and say, ‘God, come up with an original idea.’ Meanwhile, I’m making two Star Trek movies and Prometheus.” There is nothing wrong with a couple of fun reboots here and there….as long as they are good.

(Via Variety)

Donald Trump is probably experiencing a wide range of emotions at the moment: fear, paranoia, embarrassment, guilt, an overwhelming sense of dread that he’ll soon be trading his Mar-a-Lago palace for a cot behind bars. But last night it was rage that he was focused on.

After the FBI raided his palatial golf resort — apparently looking for classified documents about our nuclear weapons program that definitely weren’t supposed to be sitting in cardboard boxes down in Florida — Fox News ran a commercial made by The Lincoln Project that left Trump fuming. Rupert Murdoch’s media darling has been quietly distancing itself from their former right-wing golden boy for the past few months (though that took a dramatic turn this week), but Trump clearly still felt betrayed by his buddies there for hosting an ad created by the same group of Republican strategists who broke with their party after the 2016 election and spent most of Trump’s reign throwing public digs at the president and his cronies.

“Why does Fox put them on?” Trump raged on his Truth Social channel. “The perverts of the Lincoln Project were ‘run out of town’ after it was learned that they did some really ‘bad stuff.’ Perversion anyone? Now they have re-emerged with a different but similar name. Keep these sickos off television!”

Above is the ad that sent Trump into such a tantrum, and just a warning, it’s both hilarious and kind of weird.

(Via RawStory)

In April 2019, Michelle Branch and The Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney got married. Now, though, that union is coming to an end: Branch confirmed to E! News that she and Carney are separating.

A Branch representative shared a statement with E! that says, “To say that I am totally devastated doesn’t even come close to describing how I feel for myself and for my family. The rug has been completely pulled from underneath me and now I must figure out how to move forward. With such small children, I ask for privacy and kindness.”

As for the rug that was pulled, On August 11, Branch accused Carney of infidelity in a now-deleted tweet from early that morning, writing, “Just found out my husband cheated on me with his manager […] while I was home with our 6 month old daughter.”

Carney has yet to offer a public statement about the separation.

After starting their relationship in 2015, the pair got engaged in 2017. They have two kids together: Rhys James Carney was born in August 2018, and this past February, Branch gave birth to Willie Jacquet Carney.

Aside from their marriage, Branch and Carney have also become musical collaborators. Carney produced and performed on Hopeless Romantic, Branch’s 2017 album that was her first since 2003’s Hotel Paper. Carney also co-produced Branch’s upcoming fourth album, The Trouble With Fever.

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

Jensen Ackles‘ performance as Soldier Boy is far and far away one of the best parts of The Boys Season 3. The Supernatural star brought a weary swagger to the classic Supe who presented the first real major threat to Antony Starr’s Homelander. Ackles’ deep, commanding voice also did some heavy lifting selling what’s basically an extremely dark (and horny) version of Captain America.

The hit Amazon series clearly knows that The Boys fans are all about Soldier Boy, so on Friday, the Vought International Twitter account shared a “preview” for Soldier Boy’s classic movie Red Thunder, which will now be available on the in-universe streaming platform Vought++ that recently took a not-so-veiled jab at the HBO Max fiasco. Obviously, the movie doesn’t really exist, but as Ackles revealed to Entertainment Weekly earlier in the summer, he actually shot more than just a promo. The actor filmed full scenes for Red Thunder, and now, you can watch one of them below.

Of course, The Boys account added a heaping helping of parody to the mix. According to the Vought tweet, Red Thunder will have a content warning to “properly prepare patriots before they press play.”

“This film portrays Soldier Boy as a hero of the American people,” the warning reads. “Though his time spent in Russian captivity radicalized him to a point where he took the life of Vought’s bravest lesbian, Queen Maeve, that should not dissuade us from remembering his time as a defender of democracy and freedom. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact so that we may all learn the lessons of history, together. Viewer discretion is advised.”

The first three seasons of The Boys are available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

(Via Vought International on Twitter)

If ever the “Where’s Ja?” meme was unironically appropriate, it was this week after Irv Gotti’s appearance on the Drink Champs podcast. During the inebriated chat, Gotti waxed nostalgic about the success of Murder Inc., but also messily shared details of his inappropriate relationship with Murder Inc. artist Ashanti. Disappointed fans called him out on Twitter, while Ashanti collaborator Fat Joe stood up for her on his own podcast. But the voice people most wanted to hear tugging on Gotti’s elbow to check his out-of-pocket behavior was the tentpole artist of the label Gotti once helmed.

Ja didn’t disappoint, either, putting up a supportive Instagram post featuring photos of Ashanti performing with him. In the caption, he wrote, “Brotherly love… The last few days have been very turbulent for me but it’s time to land the plane… I love my sis I love my bro but I DO NOT condone or agree with the behavior nor the way Gotti handled things on drink champs.” However, he also asked to be left out of the situation between the two, referring to himself as “Switzerland” (the nation is famous for its neutrality in geopolitical conflict). “I hope y’all understand how uncomfortable this is for me being in the middle of something I wish to not be,” he wrote. “Going forward all I ask is to be left out of this please and thank you!!! Sincerely, Switzerland Bennett.” (As in, “my name’s Bennett, and I ain’t in it.”)

While it might not have been the outspoken stand that Fat Joe took earlier this week, Ja does appear to be someone that has Irv’s ear. Hearing that one of his closest peers doesn’t rock with his comments might be enough to shake him out of his melancholy funk.

Megan Thee Stallion had a big night yesterday: Aside from releasing her new album Traumazine, she was also the guest host of The Tonight Show. Aside from co-helming the episode with Jimmy Fallon, she also played the more traditional role of interview guest. During that chat, she revealed she recorded over 50 songs for Traumazine, 18 of which ended up on the album.

Fallon asked Meg how she knows when an album is ready and she responded:

“I feel like it just feels good. Like, I literally… this is the longest time I’ve ever taken to record an album. Like, I had at least 50 songs recorded for this, and we only chose 18. It was hard because as an artist sometimes, your label can kind of try to control you and tell you what to do, and they kind of pick your songs for you. But I feel like I made it a point to write all songs that I loved and I like and that meant something to me, so out of however many songs I wrote, all of them feel good to me. I could put out all 50 of those songs and they still mean something to me.”

The tracks that didn’t make Traumazine could end up coming out at some point, though: The host asked if the unused songs just go “in the vault” and Meg replied, “They go in the vault, but I think… I do stuff like release mixtapes and things like that, just to keep my hotties on their toes, like, ‘Hey, I’m about to drop something.’”

Check out the interview above.

Traumazine is out now via 1501 Certified/300 Entertainment. Listen to it here.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.