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John Mayer is currently touring behind his surprisingly great new album, Sob Rock (a sh*t-post, if you will), and since it’s a No. 2 album, the sh*t is obviously resonating. But fans at last night’s show at Madison Square Garden got an unexpected treat. At the last minute, Mayer’s touring drummer, Steve Ferrone was out with Covid and couldn’t play the show — so Mayer hit up his friend Questlove, who was supposed to attend the show, to see if he could fill in.

Here’s what Quest had to say about the experience:

Welp. I thought I was hangin with the crew tonight. the plan was seeing a kick ass band at @thegarden —-I came home from LA early to do @fallontonight then me & my guys @bsherman2222 @sugasteve (from @qls) & @rayangry headed to see @johnmayer & @greg_phillinganes_live & @pino_palladino_official_ & @drh3 & @sharkey335 @steve_ferrone & the rest of “the avengers of music”——-I got out my show clothes all exited & then I checked my phone: “Ferrone got covid, can you sit in?”

Truth be told I coulda played the whole show. I texted Jimmy earlier I felt like Don Henley in 1988 when last min he played drums for @gunsnroses at the @amas (weirdest version of #Patience ever) I was anxious, amped, timorous, excited, scared & hyped!!

Gotta say once onstage it was gravy. I haven’t played with this combo since the @rootspicnic in nyc 2013 w D’angelo & we haven’t lost a step. It was hella fun tonight!

This also marks the THIRD time a circumstance kept me from seeing my idol drum (Ferrone is literally WHY I drum—-first time Petty’s unfortunate passing prevented me from seeing him drum & then I went to the 8th floor at 30rock to watch him sit in on @latenightseth & of course 3/16/22 the world shut down so that was strike two——and now this lol—-ONE OF THESE NIGHTS imma see my hero play drums.

Thanks Y’all.

Mayer also had to chime in on the situation, explaining his side of things and appreciation for Quest. Mayer said that the night will “bond us forever.”

Tonight’s show was special in ways that I’m still processing. We send our love to @steve_ferrone and @made4good in hopes they traipse through Covid and return to the stage quickly.

My boundless appreciation goes out to the legendary @questlove, who stepped in on an hour’s notice to help end the show on such a powerful and definitive note.

The brilliant musicians in this band stepped up in ways that I will never forget, and will bond us forever.

Most importantly, I thank everyone in attendance whose enthusiasm and energy in the face of some disappointing news lifted us all to something far greater than I could have ever expected. It’s the honor of my life to share these nights of music with you. The next couple of tour stops will feature this format (minus the very otherwise-engaged @questlove) and I will devote every moment to making sure we bring you the best show we can. Thank you, NYC.

Not going to lie, a little jealous I didn’t get to witness this firsthand. Is there a supergroup project in the future?

Mark Lanegan, a central figure in both the grunge rock movement of the 80’s and 90s, and the desert rock rise of the early 00’s, has died at the age of 57. Born in Ellensburg, Washington and a staple in the Seattle scene, Lanegan passed away earlier today at his home in Killarney, Ireland.

A statement from his verified Twitter account read as follows:

“Our beloved friend Mark Lanegan passed away this morning at his home in Killarney, Ireland. A beloved singer, songwriter, author and musician he was 57 and is survived by his wife Shelley. No other information is available at this time. We ask Please respect the family privacy.”

Known for his deeply psychedelic vocals, Lanegan formed the Screaming Trees in 1984 and fronted the band across their eight albums. The 1992 single, “Nearly Lost You,” is undoubtedly one of the cardinal data points in the rise of the grunge rock era, which also featured contemporaries like Nirvana, Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, and others.

When Screaming Trees broke up in 2000, Lanegan found new life as a singer and songwriter with the Josh Homme-led desert rock band Queens Of The Stone Age. He appeared across a number of the band’s albums, from Rated R, to Like Clockwork… He also never stopped focusing on his solo work, which began with 1990’s chilling cult classic, The Winding Sheet on Sub Pop Records and culminated with 2020’s collision of genres, Straight Songs Of Sorrow on Heavenly Recordings.

Throughout his prolific career, he collaborated with acts like Nirvana, Mad Season, Afghan Whigs, Unkle, Martina Topley-Bird, Moby, Neko Case and more. He co-wrote the theme music to Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown with Homme and was never nothing short of a tireless creator.

The battle between Megan Thee Stallion and her label, Carl Crawford’s 1501 Certified Entertainment, had simmered down over the past two years after a judge granted the rapper an order allowing her to release music again, but today, hostilities flared up again as Megan sued the label over the classification of her most recent project. Complex reports Megan is upset that Something For Thee Hotties wasn’t counted as an “album” according to the terms of her contract, despite being 21 tracks and over 45 minutes long.

The point of contention here is that Meg’s contract with 1501 is for four albums and that despite releasing Tina Snow, Fever, Suga, Good News, and Something For Thee Hotties in the four-odd years since she signed the contract, only Good News was counted against that total. Obviously, she wants out of her original contract, and her popularity is such that she may never actually need to sign another one. But having her under contract is (ostensibly) a good thing for 1501, which gets a percentage of all her royalties, whether they come from “albums” or “mixtapes.”

Unfortunately, 1501 is operating from a well-established playbook — it’s actually common practice for labels to count projects as mixtapes to keep artists under contract for longer, a problematic legacy of hip-hop’s penchant for putting out unauthorized, unofficial, or surprise releases. However, by the strictest terms, anything 45 minutes or more should technically count as an album as they’ve been defined for the past 80 years or so (EPs are 22 minutes, leaving a lot of wiggle room between the two designations). That’s Meg’s argument here; her lawyers write in the suit, ” There are no other parameters or requirements under the contract for what can be deemed an ‘Album’ other than total run time of the album. As such, Something for Thee Hotties satisfies her ‘Minimum Recording Commitment’ for the second option period of the agreement.”

Incidentally, Megan showed her teeth earlier today after Crawford posted a headline boasting of a victory in their previously existing case; however, it seemed he had misunderstood which of the cases against him she’d dropped. The suit regarding fair royalty splits is still ongoing and now, Megan’s added another one to the collection in the hopes of no longer dealing with Crawford again.

Now that she’s free of The View, conservative commentator Meghan McCain has been leaning even harder into the reactionary bag of tricks in her new column for the Daily Mail, where she routinely spouts right-wing talking points and even hurls bombs at her old workplace. Recently, McCain blasted the new Sex and the City revival series, And Just Like That…, for being another victim of Hollywood “wokeness.” (Yup, she’s that predictable now.)

Here’s just one of the excerpts from McCain’s Daily Mail column:

The problem with the new series is the clumsy attempt to reformat the show into the woke and puritanical times we are living in. For example, Carrie now plays the part of the ‘cisgender woman’ on a podcast with younger co-hosts. One of them is — of course — queer and nonbinary. Because it’s so boring and un-evolved to be a straight white woman. I don’t know who to blame, the writers of the show or this particularly stupid and repressive time we are living in.

Over the weekend, the cast of And Just Like That… called into Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM show, where he asked them to respond to McCain’s criticism. (An interesting move considering Cohen and McCain are believed to be close friends.) Naturally, the cast had some thoughts, starting with Cynthia Nixon, who said the show has always “pushed every kind of boundary.” Nicole Ari Parker, however, went right at McCain

Via Mediaite:

“Comments like that say more about the person saying them. … What’s too much? Maybe in your living room or when you step outside, it looks the same as inside, and you go to the grocery store and it’s the same,” she said, addressing McCain directly. “Maybe it is too much for you. For these characters in New York City, it’s not.”

After catching wind of the cast member’s response, McCain was uncharacteristically diplomatic and actually starstruck that they even talked about her.

“Honestly, I’m just entertained the cast of ‘and just like that’ took time to respond to my column,” McCain tweeted. “I continue to disagree and felt the reboot was a missed opportunity (as do many longtime fans) but that’s ok, and what’s so great about freedom of opinion in America!”

(Via Mediaite)

Aziz Ansari will make his directorial debut for Searchlight Pictures with a movie starring legendary actor Bill Murray. Not only will the Parks and Rec actor be directing, but he also wrote the script, will produce, and star in the project alongside Murray.

The untitled movie will be a comedy-drama based on the book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, a non-fiction account of Dr. Atul Gawande and his experience working as a surgeon in hospice and end-of-life care. (That is probably where the “drama” aspect of the movie comes in.)

In a statement from Searchlight Pictures presidents David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield, the studio is “thrilled” to work with the duo. “Aziz Ansari is an incredible talent and, with this script, he brings a singular combination of insightful humor and pathos. We’re thrilled to be partnering with him on his feature directorial debut, which is long overdue, and, of course, working with the genius Bill Murray once again.”

Ansari is known for co-creating Netflix’s hit Master of None, which has snagged two Emmys. This will be his first time in the director’s chair for a major motion picture, though the actor previously directed a handful of episodes of Master of None. Ansari also has a new comedy special Nightclub Comedian which just premiered on Netflix last month. Ansari took a brief hiatus from Hollywood after alleged sexual misconduct allegations in 2018. No charges were ever filed.

Murray has recently joined the MCU as a “bad guy” in the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp installment, alongside Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly, who has been spewing some questionable takes about vaccines. Maybe Murray can take over as Wasp?

If you aren’t already following “Weird Al” Yankovic on Twitter, first off, how dare you. Also, you really should, because he’s been posting photos from the set of Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, a tongue-in-cheek biopic coming to The Roku Channel that “promises to hold nothing back and explore every facet of his life, from his childhood through his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like ‘Eat It’ and ‘Like a Surgeon,’ while touching on his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle.” Here’s a sample tweet:

An exciting day two update:

Things got real on day four when Yankovic tweeted, “SHOOT DAY #4: Breaking news – @Zendaya is NOT joining the cast of #WEIRDTheAlYankovicStory! We didn’t even ask her! Just figured she’d be too busy.” But you know who has joined the cast? “Cosplayer weirdo” Daniel Radcliffe, who plays the “Smells like Nirvana” singer in Weird.

The following photo is not from The Batman, I swear:

“Wearing the Hawaiian shirt is a huge responsibility that I don’t take lightly,” the Harry Potter star told People, “and I’m honored to finally share with the world the absolutely 100 percent unassailably true story of Weird Al’s depraved and scandalous life.”

You won’t believe what this sicko “Weird Al” did in his college bathroom (record “My Bologna”).

(Via People)

Evan Rachel Wood’s advocacy for sexual assault survivors took a turn after she came forward in 2021 to name Marilyn Manson (real name Brian Warner) as the alleged abuser that she had discussed for several years, including during legislative testimony. In director Amy Berg’s two-part documentary, Phoenix Rising (which debuted at Sundance), the Westworld actress elaborates upon her previous allegations (that Manson terrorized, groomed, and abused her during their relationship) against him.

The documentary will soon debut on HBO, and in the above trailer, you can watch Evan discuss how grateful she is to feel that people believe her allegations. The documentary seeks to bring visibility to survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. From the synopsis:

PHOENIX RISING, a two-part HBO documentary, follows actress and activist Evan Rachel Wood as she takes her experience as a survivor of domestic violence to pursue justice, heal generational wounds and reclaim her story. Almost a decade after escaping a dangerous relationship, Wood co-authors and successfully lobbies for passage of The Phoenix Act, legislation that extends the statute of limitations for domestic violence cases in California.

Within the documentary, Wood accuses Manson of “essentially raping” her on the set of 2007’s Heart-Shaped Glasses video, in which she says that she agreed to simulate sex before Manson allegedly had nonconsensual intercourse with her on camera. In a later statement, Manson denied the accusations via a representative, who declared, “Brian did not have sex with Evan on that set.”

Phoenix Rising premieres (on HBO) on March 15 and 16.

Earlier this month, Kylie Jenner announced she had given birth to her and Travis Scott’s second child together. Shortly after that, she revealed the kid’s name is Wolf Webster (Scott’s legal name is Jacques Berman Webster II). Now, it appears the little bundle of joy shares more with his father than just the last name.

TMZ reports in a birth certificate they obtained, the baby’s full name is written as Wolf Jacques Webster, with Jacques being, as noted above, Scott’s legal first name. The document also notes the boy was born at Cedars Sinai Medical Center on February 2 at 5:35 a.m. PT. The sheet also reveals the baby was delivered by Dr. Thais Aliabadi, why TMZ notes is the same OBGYN who delivered Wolf’s older sister Stormi and cousin True Thompson (the daughter of Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson) into the world. They also note that Wolf is different from Stormi in that Stormi’s birth certificate doesn’t include a middle name.

As for what Wolf looks like, fans have only caught a glimpse. Jenner shared a photo of Wolf’s hand when announcing his name, but that’s all we’ve seen of the little one so far. Stormi’s face has been seen online plenty of times in her short life, so it seems just a matter of time before fans get to see Wolf’s mug.

It’s Shamrock Shake season, baby!

Yesterday, McDonald’s brought back its annual St. Patrick’s Day-themed sweet treat for a limited time and that has us pretty psyched. Not because of the fact that for the next month it’ll be socially acceptable to drink a green milkshake, but because of what the Shamrock Shake signifies. The (s)lime green shake is a symbol that winter is coming to an end and we’re about to transition to the spring season — meaning more time outdoors, on the road, and amongst friends. Few things illustrate the ending of the dull sleepy months of winter like sipping a crayon green milkshake.

The Shamrock Shake, like the McRib or pumpkin spice flavored foods, benefits from seasonal hype. But is that hype actually justified? Is this thing any good or is it just… green?

We’re here to find out for you. But the Shamrock Shake isn’t the only new dessert on the menu — McDonald’s has also dropped a Shamrock McFlurry. So, in the spirit of competition, we’re pitting the two snacks against one another to see which is more worth your time and money. Do you stand by the old classic or throw it all away for that hot new thing?

Below, we break down each dessert, awarding a score from 1-5 for flavor, mouthfeel, and thickness. Let’s drink!

Shamrock Showdown: The Shamrock Shake vs. The Shamrock McFlurry

The Shamrock Shake

Tasting Notes:

We’re starting this fast food face-off with the OG. If you’ve never had a Shamrock Shake but you’re assuming that because it’s green it’s minty, you’re correct! Mint is the primary flavor of the Shamrock Shake. It’s cool and refreshing on the initial taste and settles into a slightly watered-down vanilla finish. The flavor is very reminiscent of green sweet stripes candy (wintergreen, but sweeter), so if your grandpa has ever given you candy, you’re about halfway there in terms of the flavor experience.

Here is the thing about McDonald’s milkshakes though… they aren’t actually milkshakes. When I say that I don’t mean in some weird arbitrary “not thicccccc enough” way. I’m not going to slap a Shamrock Shake out of your hand and say “that’s not a milkshake, this is a milkshake” while handing you a shake from Carl’s Jr (though I think I just wrote Carl’s Jr a free Super Bowl commercial).

I mean they’re not milkshakes. Legally.

That’s right, McDonald’s milkshakes aren’t allowed to be called milkshakes by law, as per Business Insider. In actuality the McDonald’s milkshake is soft-serve ice cream thinned out with something called “shake syrup” and whipped cream. In the Shamrock Shake’s case, they also add some minty green syrup. That messes with the mouthfeel. Where a traditional milkshake has a balance of thick and creamy qualities, the McDonald’s milkshake is airy, thin, and way too easy to drink out of a straw.

Flavor: 3. Minty, sweet, with a watery vanilla finish.

Mouthfeel: 3. It has a luxurious smoothness to it, but once it melts it feels like sweetened skim milk on the tongue. It’s also one of the easiest milkshakes to sip through a straw. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is up to you. We think it’s a bad thing.

Thickness: 2. It’s not thick, which a good shake should be. Instead, it’s thin and airy like it was frothed up in a blender.

Final Score: 8/15

The Shamrock McFlurry

Tasting Notes:

The Shamrock McFlurry was only introduced two years ago, so if you’ve never had one, we don’t blame you. This was also my first introduction to the Shamrock McFlurry and it was, by all metrics, a significant improvement over the middling quality of the Shamrock Shake. (Spoiler? Can you spoil fast food reviews?)

The Shamrock McFlurry improves upon everything that’s wrong with the shake version. It has that same mint-dominated vanilla flavor, so if you’re nostalgic for the Shamrock Shake, you’re still going to love this, but it’s greatly improved by the inclusion of the crushed Oreo cookies. The overwhelming minty sweetness of the green syrup & vanilla combo is reigned in with that dusty sweet dark chocolate flavor of Oreo cookies, adding richness to the experience. It’s got the texture of mint chocolate chip ice cream and the flavor of an Andes Mint.

It’s also much, much thicker than the shake. It’s essentially a mountain of soft serve in a cup, and isn’t thinned out by the mysterious “shake syrup” and it’s much easier to throw in the freezer and save for later if you get overwhelmed with the single serving.

The chunks of Oreos also improve the mouthfeel, adding some much-needed texture to this spoonable snack. Sure, you can’t drink it through a straw, but it’s easier to share, easier to save, and a better overall experience.

Flavor: 4. If you like the luxurious flavor of Andes Mints, and the texture of cookies and cream ice cream, you’re going to love this.

Mouthfeel: 5. Fantastic. It’s creamy and crunchy, but still capable of melting in your mouth if you want to savor the sweetness.

Thickness: 4. It’s not a milkshake, a spoon is an absolute must here. That makes it a bit less convenient, you’ll need two hands to eat this without making a mess, but it’s all-around a better treat.

Final Score 14.

Today’s Winner: The Shamrock McFlurry

Order the Shamrock McFlurry. Even with this poor mix quality, it has a better flavor, a better mouthfeel, it’s thicker, and it sounds like a villain from a Ducktails arc. It’s not the best milkshake or dessert snack you’ll find in the fast food universe (which is why it doesn’t get a perfect score) but it’s capable of earning a top-five spot in a fast food dessert ranking, while the Shamrock Shake that inspired it is middling at best.

The Shamrock Shake and Shamrock McFlurry are available at all McDonald’s nationwide for an unspecified limited time. Find your nearest McDonald’s here.

I’m not sure if anyone explained to Mesha Collins how this “stalker” thing works, but it looks like she’s got at least some of the details backward. According to Radar Online, Los Angeles Superior Court documents show that Collins, who broke into Drake’s house in LA and apparently stole bottles of water, Pepsi, and Sprite in 2017, has now filed a petition for a restraining order against the rapper — this just days after a judge denied a motion to restart a $4 billion lawsuit she filed against him for invasion of privacy.

And as far as that restraining order goes, it seems that Drake is the one who needs to file against Collins. She reportedly returned to his house on multiple occasions, including one in which she was arrested for spitting on police officers who responded to security’s call for assistance. However, her luck and timing are apparently as bad as her grasp of boundaries; Drake wasn’t home either time she trespassed on his property.

Meanwhile, in summer 2021, Collins apparently filed the $4 billion claim against Drake without a lawyer, claiming that he shared private information about her in songs and defamed her by sharing her private information on Instagram. However, Drake reportedly never had any clue who Collins even was (apparently, he was never given the name of the woman who rifled through his fridge like a rabid raccoon), and Collins was unable to prove he’d ever posted anything about her, prompting a judge to dismiss the case. In her ongoing quest to meet her hero, it seems Collins is now betting a little reverse psychology will work where none of her previous efforts did.