The Los Angeles Lakers won’t have LeBron James for Thursday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and his absence looks like it will extend beyond just this one game. James is dealing with an abdominal strain, and according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the plan is to take a slow and stead approach to getting him back onto the floor.
While no timeline for his return has been provided by the Lakers, a source familiar with the injury told ESPN that the team’s medical staff “wants to take their time” with James’ recovery.
A clear-cut timeline still is not available for when James can take the floor, but Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that the expectation is the Lakers star will miss at least a week due to the injury.
Lakers star LeBron James is expected to miss at least one week with abdominal strain, sources tell @TheAthletic@Stadium. Lakers want to be cautious with James’ injury early this season.
James has missed two games this season, although both of those were due to a lingering ankle issue. This injury, per McMenamin, was aggravated on Tuesday night against the Houston Rockets. The Lakers sit at 5-3 at this early point in the season — they went 1-1 in James’ previous absence — while the team’s former league MVP has struggled by his lofty standards. On the year, James is averaging 24.8 points, seven assists, and 5.5 rebounds in 37 minutes per game.
Rhea Seehorn plays a lawyer on TV, but she’s an expert in confidentiality in real life, too. She’s probably been asked dozens, if not hundreds of times about the final season of Better Call Saul and whether her character, Kim Wexler, will survive, but she hasn’t slipped once. For instance, in a Variety interview to promote her short-form digital series Cooper’s Bar, Seehorn kept her lips sealed about Saul‘s “deep dark secrets.”
But she did reveal that Bob Odenkirk, who suffered a heart attack in July, is “doing amazing. And like I said, whether I’m in scripts or not, I get to read them and I can tell you that this season is insane. It’s going to blow people’s minds. I can’t wait for it to come out.”
In the season five finale, Saul and Kim are jokingly pitching ways to ruin Howard’s career in order to get the Sandpiper case to settle — until Saul realizes that Kim isn’t joking with her talk of misconduct and bribery. “You would not be OK with it. Not in the cold light of day,” Saul warns. Kim takes a pause. “Wouldn’t I?” she says before getting up and flashing him the same finger guns that he gave her in the season four finale. The first half of 2022, when Better Call Saul is expected to return, can’t get here soon enough.
Gifting fans a brand new anthem full of resilience in “Everytime I Cry” back in June, today she’s dropped a massive collaboration with dance music scion Tiësto. “Ava is such an exciting young talent and her beautiful voice adds such depth to the song,” the producer said of their collaboration. “I cannot wait for the world to hear our collaboration. ‘The Motto’ is the party anthem keeping us dancing into 2022 as we close out a crazy year!” For her part, Max said she related to the song’s empowering, carefree message. “When Tiesto shared this record with me, I fell in love and couldn’t stop playing it,” she said. “‘The Motto’ is empowering — it’s about not caring, doing you, having a good time, and letting the world know!” Check out the dark and rebellious new collab up above, and keep an eye out for a lot more coming from Ava very soon.
Dorian Electra was just confirmed to headline Noise Pop’s 2022 lineup, but that’s not all the hyperpop singer has in the works. This week, they’re releasing a deluxe edition of their 2020 album My Agenda, which features 12 new remixes. To celebrate, Electra shared an eye-catching video to their album’s title track, which, true to the boundary-pushing artist’s brand, is an eclectic mix of internet memes and subculture references.
Like any good hyperpop video, Electra’s “My Agenda” video kicks off with a strobe light warning, which also lets viewers know they are in for a wild ride. In the visual, Electra acts as a dystopian city’s commander, urging citizens to “drink the water” to stay subjugated. But an alternate version of Electra, decked out in pride flags and backed by an army of furries, comes to the rescue.
“With the track ‘My Agenda,’ before we even considered having those people on it, it was always this military-sounding song. I always imagined it as a military boy band vibes. I thought it was kind of like ‘NSYNC with the orchestra hits and the lyrics. We have actual marching sounds in the song and it’s a parody of how the conservatives can sometimes portray the ‘gay agenda’ like it’s a gay militia or something. I run with that in a self-aware, sort of self-mocking but also critical way. Yes, we are the ‘gay agenda.’”
Watch Electra’s “My Agenda” video above.
My Agenda (Deluxe) is out 11/5 via Dorian Electra. Pre-order it here.
Draymond Green’s name popped up in a report on Thursday morning about Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver. In the aftermath of a Golden State Warriors win over the Suns, Sarver reportedly used the n-word on multiple occasions in a conversation with then-head coach Earl Watson, asking why Green was allowed to say it but he is not.
Sarver denied the incident — which Watson said, on the record, happened — in a statement through his lawyers to ESPN, mentioning that a player on the Suns got a technical foul for using the n-word during a game:
In the case of the Oct. 30, 2016, game versus the Warriors, Sarver and his lawyers wrote that Sarver did not have that conversation with Watson but had one with a Suns player who had received a technical foul for what they said was using the N-word during the game. Sarver said he encouraged the player to appeal the technical foul because Green had used the word in the game — the technical foul was later rescinded by the league.
In response to this story hitting the internet, Green took to Twitter and shared his thoughts on the situation in Phoenix.
This incident didn’t lead to Green getting any sort of reprimand from the league, but in 2020, he drew the NBA’s ire for comments he made about Devin Booker. Green was hit with a $50,000 fine for tampering after saying on Inside the NBA that “They gotta get Book out of Phoenix. I need my man to go somewhere where he can play great basketball all the time and win, because he’s that type of player.”
While the winning has come for Booker and the Suns, it appears Green still believes that there are major issues in Phoenix that were put on display by ESPN.
Lo-fi rapper Steven Moses doesn’t look how he sounds, but his somber UPROXX Sessions performance of the tortured, downtempo singles “Reaper” and “Post Post Mort” instantly eases the cognitive dissonance as he smoothly delivers his sinuous, tightly-wound rhymes. On “Reaper,” he details his struggles with addiction and depression, while on “Post Post Mort” he unreels his nihilistic worldview, somehow both bragging about and lamenting his hedonistic lifestyle with a swaggering, almost off-the-dome style delivery.
Hailing from Hollidaysburg in central Pennsylvania, Moses fell in love with hip-hop through Nas’ seminal debut Illmatic and it shows in his own wordy, borderline cerebral flows and beat choices. He’s also become something of a fashion plate thanks to his decisively left-of-center style, highlighted by dashes of designer offset by his grungy, post-punk posture. His Def Jam debut, 99, dropped in the summer of 2020, and he hasn’t slowed down yet.
Watch Steven Moses perform “Reaper/Post Post Mort” for UPROXX Sessions above.
UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.
Christmas gifts for the pop fan in your life are officially sorted — thanks to Dua Lipa. Earlier this week, the rising pop icon announced her special edition Christmas merchandise, and it’s pretty freaking adorable. After the success of both her debut self-titled album in 2017, and the lasting power of last year’s never-ending dancefloor shimmer on Future Nostalgia, in just four years Lipa has gone from relative unknown to massive pop star. So, it’s not surprising that her fans would need some holiday cheer to express their love for her.
“Santaaa babyyyy my first xmas merch collection is here !!!,” the singer wrote on Instagram on Tuesday. “Get everything you need for the cosiest holiday yet! Whether it’s for yourself or a loved one, from beanies and hoodies to wrapping paper, I GOT YOU! it’s never too early! #DuaXmasCollection.”
The illustrations on the merch sets are all original works by Seoul-based illustrator and animator Seoyoung, and the items are also very affordable with price points between $15 and $85. Along with sweatsuits — the ultimate Christmas break uniform — the set also includes beanies, a special Dua stocking, wrapping paper, ornaments, and even a Christmas-y Dua Lipa-y mug. There’s something for everyone in the collection, and it supports a rising female Korean designer to boot! Check out some high res images of the options below, all the items are available for purchase right here. It seems like the drop is very limited though, so get the special Dua merch while you can.
Like a SXSW-style city takeover of the San Francisco Bay Area (minus the panels), Noise Pop Festival is back for its 29th annual edition. The festival has long been a champion of independent culture in San Francisco and has expanded in recent years to be a fixture at venues in Oakland as well.
The 2022 edition will take place from February 21st through the 27th and the Phase One Lineup announcement is eclectic to say the least. While Alex G and Dorian Electra are currently at the top, it’s bookings like The Drums playing Portamento, Titus Andronicus performing The Monitor, South African singer-songwriter Alice Phoebe Lou, drummer Makaya McCraven, and ambient producer William Basinski that offer a different experience.
Given that bands like Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips, and The White Stripes all played small rooms in the early days of the festival, it’s always been a place for discovery of acts that will stand the test of time. It’s also a dedicated showcase for local Bay Area acts who provide the support slots at just about every show, and others like rapper Guapdad 4000 and the doom rock of King Woman that headline their own sets. Showcasing venues include the likes of Bay Area fixtures like Great American Music Hall, Bottom Of The Hill, SF Jazz, Rickshaw Stop, Swedish American Hall, August Hall, The New Parish, 1015 Folsom, and others.
Festival badges are on sale now and tickets to individual concerts go on sale tomorrow at noisepopfest.com. Check out the full Phase One lineup below, the festival poster with artwork by SF-based artist Megan Badilla, and look out for phase two in the coming weeks.
Alex G
The Drums performing Portamento
Dorian Electra
King Woman
The Microphones
Guapdad 4000
VTSS
Vegyn
Quasi
Titus Andronicus performing The Monitor
VanJess
LSDXOXO
Arooj Aftab
William Basinski
Hand Habits
Moor Mother
MIKE
Alice Phoebe Lou
Makaya McCraven
Nate Smith + KINFOLK
Irreversible Entanglements
Tomberlin
HUNNY
India Jordan
Ian Sweet
Topaz Jones
Smerz
The Greeting Committee
MAN ON MAN
Naked Giants
Papercuts
Exes
John-Robert
Tipling Rock
Hello Yello
Spiritual Cramp
Ragana
Bnny
Faten Kanaan
Enumclaw
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Mia Berrin calls her stage style “High School Americana” — preppy and saccharine, what you’d expect of a band called Pom Pom Squad. But it’s not just a cheer uniform she’s sporting; she’ll definitely add patent leather gloves.
Pom Pom Squad’s first full-length album, Death Of A Cheerleader, came out in June and reflected much of the aesthetic choices Berrin has been making since the band’s inception: a soft, feminine style contrasted with some sort of harshness. Specifically, on this album, Berrin wanted to emulate both red vinyl and red velvet.
“I’ve always been interested in how stagewear can tell a story,” Berrin says. “When I first started Pom Pom Squad and as I was carving out the initial imagery, it was a little bit more straightforwardly inspired by riot grrl and actual cheerleaders and cheerleading uniforms. Now I just focus on an elevated version of that core concept, which is continuing to tell a story, continuing to create a world around the project, but I’ve definitely become more into making custom stuff and trying to go a little bit bigger and more theatrical with it.”
Her custom outfits — which span the likes of a deconstructed wedding dress, corsets, and satin mini dresses — are often made by friend and former coworker Bailey Elayne, a Parsons- and Central Saint Martins-educated designer.
“I have so many people in my life whose art I genuinely love, but there are certain people who your visions just align really suitably [with],” Berrin says. “Bailey’s one of the only people I work with who I’m just kind of like, ‘Alright, here’s the idea, the initial, send me a sketch’ and then whatever arrives that day, I’m always ecstatic about that outcome.”
Berrin cites her “Red With Love” video, for which Elayne created a mini dress composed of numerous thrifted slip dresses alongside a large train and crystal-embellished stockings; she also mentions the corset Elayne made for “Head Cheerleader.” Of course, stage and video outfits have different considerations, whether it’s how the guitar sits over the outfit, if straps or sleeves are going to fall down mid-show (distracting!), or how the colors work on screen.
“I made these two mini dresses … they were for some at-home, live sessions that they did,” Elayne says. “And on the camera they looked so beautiful, and I made matching gloves for both of the dresses and it’s — it made me cry a little bit. I’m obviously very proud of the work that they’re doing and then to see something that I made in such a beautiful setting and shot so well was really a very heavy moment for me.”
When Elayne makes clothes for Berrin, she considers her own “not-well-respected interests,” like bows and pink, and challenges them with their opposites: “Making something cute but researching something in the horror field — how can this be really pretty but visually disgusting, or it’s really sweet, but it’s kind of short and sexy.”
These contrasts are essential — Berrin is always trying to “f*ck up” a trope or “texturally recontextualize a classic piece.” Her work in general is colored by the media she consumed as a teen — criticizing it but “learning how to take the things I love from it.” She cites Rookie magazine, Kathleen Hanna’s “Kill Me” dress (which she recreated), and The Virgin Suicides, a focal point of the “Lux” music video.
“[An] exciting thing about pulling from references is the kill-your-idols moment, in a way,” Berrin says. “You’re thinking about how you can bring your own originality of voice into something that has a lot of reference and loses reference as a way to kind of deepen a story overall.”
When she was younger, Berrin said she dressed for assimilation’s sake. It wasn’t until she started wearing a uniform in high school that she felt the urge to stand out as she “realized that I wasn’t ever going to really fit in with people around me.”
“The teen girl aesthetic — at least, as it was relayed to me as a teenager — it’s definitely predominantly white, and on the aesthetic level beckons to a conventional heterosexual young woman,” Berrin says. “I think part of the reason that I adopted that aesthetic in the first place was to put myself in it; I desperately needed that, I wanted that space and I wanted to be afforded that beauty and softness that I didn’t feel like was afforded to me as a young woman of color.”
That’s a big reason she turned toward alternative media like Rookie and riot grrl music.
“I started to think more about how I wanted to be perceived,” Berrin says. “It’s like, what do I want people to know about me? Do I want people to feel intimidated by me?” She calls it “creating my own story with clothes,” something that’s central to her stage persona and video storytelling.
Her go-to is a combination of hard and soft textures, like a cheer outfit with long, sultry gloves or a frilly white dress with a vinyl harness. In the video for “Crying,” Berrin “knew that I wanted these black PVC vinyl gloves to be this disrupting force in the video that served as the agent of chaos.”
Gloves are a hallmark of hers. “I feel like there’s something about gloves that make you move differently, they sort of change your behavior. I think when I was wearing them my behavior, it’s like you want to move in a creepy, dancey way because it’s just exciting to watch your hands move in this crazy textured fabric.”
“I do love wearing gloves. I wish that I could wear them on stage but I play guitar,” Berrin laughs. “No such luck.”
When it comes to both sci-fi and A-list stars, Apple TV+ is doing a pretty damn good job at swooping ’em all up. Following the streaming service promoting sci-fi series Foundation, Invasion, and Wool, Apple TV+ has revealed a trailer for another upcoming sci-fi project: Swan Song. Unlike the previously mentioned series however, the feature film is decidedly more grounded than galactic and — if it’s half as emotional as its first trailer is — promises to be a real tearjerker.
Directed by Oscar-winner Benjamin Cleary (Stutterer, Glimpse), Swan Song is a science-fiction drama that explores identity and asks how much you would be willing to give up to protect your loved one from pain. In it, fellow Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali (Green Book, Moonlight) plays Cameron, a husband and father who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness during his wife’s second pregnancy. However, before he can share the heartbreaking news with his wife Poppy (Naomie Harris), a scientist (Glenn Close) approaches Cameron with an offer to spare his family’s suffering by creating a perfect replicant of him — memories and all — who will carry on living with his wife and children after his death. Ultimately Cameron decides to go through with the plan, but finds himself in constant mourning and pain as he debates whether or not the choice he made is actually the right one.
In addition to Ali, Harris, and Close, Awkwafina, and Adam Beach also appear in the film. Swan Song is produced by Rebecca Bourke, Adam Shulman, Jacob Perlin, Jonathan King, and Ali and Mimi Valdeìs, and will be released in theaters and on Apple TV+ on December 17.
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!!!,” the singer wrote on Instagram on Tuesday. “Get everything you need for the cosiest holiday yet! Whether it’s for yourself or a loved one, from beanies and hoodies to wrapping paper, I GOT YOU! it’s never too early! #DuaXmasCollection.”
