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Norwegian-American multi-hyphenate Okay Kaya — aka Kaya Wilkins — has announced a new covers mixtape, The Incompatible Okay Kaya, arriving in October via Jagjaguwar. To celebrate, the Berlin-based artist has shared its lead single, a minimalist cover of gospel standard “If I Can Help Somebody,” which was originally written by composer Alma B Androzzo and recorded by Turner Layton in 1946. Over the years, the hymn has also been covered by Doris Day, Mahalia Jackson, Joseph Locke, Liberarce, and more. Check out Wilkins’ rendition above.

This is certainly not Wilkins’ first time on the covers grind: She earned some love for her haunting cover of Cher’s “Believe” in 2019, and The Incompatible Okay Kaya will feature covers of Nick Cave (“Into My Arms”) and The Magnetic Fields (“Book Of Love”). The mixtape follows Wilkins’ Jagjaguwar debut, Watch This Liquid Pour Itself, and its companion album, Surviving Is The New Living, which also came out in 2020. which dropped last year. Check out the mixtape’s track list below.

The Incompatible Okay Kaya tracklist:

1. “If I Can Help Somebody”
2. “Zero Interaction Ramen Bar”
3. “Calendar Girl”
4. “Book Of Love”
5. “Dance Like U”
6. Into My Arms”
7. “Psychward”
8. “Fake It”
9. “Without Her”

Listen to “If I Can Help Somebody” above. Look for The Incompatible Okay Kaya on 10/22 via Jagjaguwar. Pre-order it here.

Reports that MMA’s Conor McGregor tried to take a swing at rapper-turned-rocker Machine Gun Kelly at the 2021 MTV VMAs are greatly exaggerated — at least, according to Conor McGregor. The Irish fighter denied the “rumors” that he tried to hit Kelly in an interview after the alleged incident, throwing shade at his would-be opponent in the process. When asked what exactly happened by an Entertainment Tonight reporter, McGregor said, “Absolutely nothing. I just showed up — and I don’t know, I don’t even know the guy.” He couldn’t resist taking a verbal jab, though, saying, “I only fight real fighters, people that actually fight. I certainly don’t fight vanilla, white rappers. I don’t even know the guy — except that he’s with Megan Fox.”

Of course, that’s not how some sources, including TMZ, reported it — at least initially. Reportedly, when McGregor asked MGK for a photo on the red carpet ahead of the show, Kelly shoved him away, spilling his drink. Supposedly, McGregor threw the drink at MGK before the two were separated by security. However, in an update to the story, it appears nothing so dramatic happened, as instead, McGregor merely approached MGK with his hand out to say hello and was shoved by MGK’s security guard. As he says above, he doesn’t know what MGK said to prompt that response from security, but a photo of McGregor with his arm out was interpreted by fans as him throwing a punch (because apparently, people don’t know what a punch looks like).

The two both made it inside without any further fuss and, as Conor said, he doesn’t fight non-professional fighters, so the odds of an escalation are low — although it looks like MGK may have lost himself a fan, and vice versa.

Last night, the MTV VMAs brought their unique blend of fun, scandal, and quirky ceremony back to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, bringing along a live audience for the first time since 2019. Doja Cat hosted, performed, and wore a truly hilarious sequence of off-the-wall costumes. Olivia Rodrigo threw her own prom. Chloe, Normani, and Teyana Taylor saluted the show’s salacious history while paying homage to their heroes. It felt like VMAs were “back,” for lack of a better term.

But while the fans in attendance seemed to be having the time of their lives, an undercurrent of discontent rippled among those watching from home, eventually bubbling up to the surface on Twitter. Viewers skewered the show for its treatment of hip-hop, which they felt had been reduced to an afterthought by the show’s attempt to cover a wide swath of musical genres and generations. While neophyte performers like The Kid Laroi teamed up with their elders like Justin Bieber (congratulations, you’re old now) and even the aging Foo Fighters got their due, for some, it seemed like hip-hop had been left in cold.

Were it not still summer, that would be a literal assessment. Performers Latto and Saint JHN performed their sets from a pavilion outside the main venue and although each was given multiple opportunities to perform — three songs each — home viewers noted that those performances basically amounted to snippets of each song functioning as advertising bumpers. One only lasted for thirty seconds, which more than one commenter observed was shorter than one of the commercials that followed it.

The only main stage rap performance came from Busta Rhymes, who’s been around as long as the Foo Fighters have and whose most recent mega-hit (“Touch It”) might actually be older than half the audience that attended. That, of course, doesn’t count Doja Cat, whose hybrid pop-R&B sound is often punctuated by secretly impressive raps honed on LA’s indie-hip-hop performance circuit (shout out to Bananas!) or Machine Gun Kelly, who still maintains a penchant for spitting the odd 16-bar missive despite ostensibly making the switch to pop-punk, emo-rock tribute. Lil Nas X may have started as a rapper, but he calls himself a pop star now. While Busta’s performance was lauded (again I ask, does the man even breathe during his “Look At Me Now” verse?), it also highlighted the VMAs’ utter lack of main stage hip-hop from this decade — of which there would certainly appear to be no shortage.

Now, we don’t know all the behind-the-scenes, contractual details. There’s still a pandemic on, and many of rap’s top names have flouted reasonable safety precautions over the past year — even Busta himself, who gave a weird, anti-mask rant just a few months ago and has always at least rapped like an anti-vaxxer, even if he might not really be one (rap is wrestling, let’s not forget). But still, there was a decided dearth of appearances from the likes of Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Lil Uzi Vert, hell, even Lil Wayne (yes, I know, hip-hop has a lot of “Lils” — if you’re still complaining about this in 2021, maybe you aren’t the audience for it. Go listen to Foo Fighters or something).

Even Travis Scott only showed up to accept his award for Best Hip-Hop Video (for “Franchise”), giving a short speech before probably bouncing from the building entirely. Plenty of hip-hop artists and videos were nominated — very few won Moon People, despite their videos’ arguable worthiness. Fans were right to be incensed. However, this is the MTV VMAs we’re talking about here. They’ve almost never given any level of serious thought to rap as a genre or hip-hop as a culture, and as mostly fan-voted awards like Artist Of The Year have shown time after time, MTV’s audience has never quite been as invested in them as much as they have pop megastars like Britney Spears and Taylor Swift (or Swift’s heir apparent, Olivia Rodrigo) — the obvious exception being Eminem, for obvious reasons.

So disappointed, but not surprised, is probably the sentiment that best describes how many of us feel about the show’s treatment of hip-hop — which is, if nothing else, reflective of how mainstream America views the perceived creators and purveyors of hip-hop. It’s just a little more disappointing after so many of the show’s efforts in 2020 to acknowledge Black Americans’ plights, making the progress feel more performative than anything. On the bright side, the ratio of Black performers was greater than it’s been since Busta and Missy ruled the VMAs (and took home a paltry handful of awards in their primes, although Missy was honored with a Vanguard Award in 2019). One of them was a gay Black man, expressing his sexuality unabashedly in a flamboyant performance preceding a win for Artist Of The Year.

That’s how progress actually looks. It’s rarely a straight line, with everything moving forward at once. Maybe we take some Ls along the way. Maybe one thing moves forward while others stay stagnant or suffer setbacks. We shouldn’t be discouraged by this. We shouldn’t overlook it either, because the only way we keep moving forward is by constantly fighting for it. But we should take stock and appreciate the wins too. Black women won last night, even if they didn’t take home as many Moon People as some would have liked. Busta Rhymes, a sometimes overlooked legend, got his flowers. Lil Nas X got to stand in a place no one like him would have just a decade ago, as Billy Porter pointed out in his introduction of the “Industry Baby” performance.

And as for Latto and Saint JHN, they got to play more songs than anyone else. Maybe those in the venue wouldn’t have seen them, but far more people watched the broadcast and got to see two of rap’s rising stars multiple times. Those who watched certainly know who they are now — which, when you think about it, is actually the point of these shows in the first place. We don’t always remember who won which award, but those performances can be the first time we fall in love. Someone somewhere did just that last night — and that’s the first step toward becoming the sort of fan-favorite with a shelf full of Moon People.

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

After delivering a bizarre, rambling speech to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, Rudy Giuliani is attempting to set the record straight that he wasn’t drunk during the memorial dinner event because he’s not the raging alcoholic that numerous media reports have made him out to be.

While talking to Meghan McCain‘s new place of employment, The Daily Mail, Giuliani repeatedly denied being drunk while delivering his speech, which included, as all speeches do, threats of ripping off General Mark Milley’s military awards and shoving them down his throat. “America’s Mayor” also made entirely unprompted references to Prince Andrew and randomly proclaimed, “Never had a drink with him, never was with a woman or young girl with him. Ever, ever, ever.”

In a nutshell, the 9/11 speech was peak Rudy, but if you ask him, it was a beautiful moment, people were laughing, and, look, he only had a Scotch beforehand. In his own words, he’s not even sure he “drank the whole damn thing.” He also lashed out at accusations that he’s a drunk. Via The Daily Mail:

‘If I was an alcoholic, I’d be fricking dead by now. It is [a] complete lie. I’m on television all the time. I’m as lucid as you can be. I’m not demented like Joe Biden. I can go before the Supreme Court … I have already many times. I write. I do a podcast twice a week. I do a radio show … five times a week. I answer questions from people constantly. I’m probably one of the sharpest guys you’re ever going to meet. And you want to put me in a court room and I’ll kick the s*** out of anybody. I am not an alcoholic.’

According to Giuliani, rumors of his alcoholism are simply a misunderstanding about his love for Scotch and cigars. “I drink moderate amounts of Scotch,” he said. “I mostly drink Scotch because I like to have it with cigars.” While that may have been a convincing argument, these were the very next words out of Giuliani’s mouth, again, unprompted. “I didn’t have a cigar last night.” Absolutely incredible that this is the legal mind that used to take down mob bosses.

(Via Daily Mail)

The Ted Lasso Power Rankings are a weekly analysis of who and/or what had the strongest performance in each episode. Most of the list will feature individual characters, although the committee does reserve the right to honor anything from animals to inanimate objects to laws of nature to general concepts. There are very few rules here.

Season 2, Episode 8 — “Man City”

HONORABLE MENTION: Keeley (full-on giggled at that opening scene with her chatting up a silent Beard and Roy); Phoebe’s teacher (imagine having a parent-teacher conference and world-famous footballer and cusser Roy Kent walks in); Higgins (like a little broom closet Yoda); Jamie’s crappy dad’s friend Bug (man changed his name to Bug because he eats bugs, I have no choice but to respect it); my sweet uncircumcised prince Dani Rojas (I now want a full 90-minute standalone episode about his wedding, whenever that is); Stephen Sondheim (a talented man); Mae (an enigma with a butt tattoo); Dr. Sharon’s friend/therapist Bridget (I have never met a Bridget who was not a fun person); Jan Maas (BE QUIET WHILE ISAAC IS WORKING, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD); getting hit by a car (not ideal); referee Mike Dean (never mess with Mike Dean)

10. Colin (Last week: Unranked)

I think what I need here is for Colin and Will the New Kit Man — whose full name, according to last week’s credits, appears to be Will Kitman, a fact I will never let go of even for a second — to become friends and get an apartment together and maybe go on a road trip through the Alps. Just two sweet ignored and/or bullied boys zooming around the mountains, having sweet little conversations, listening to… oh, I don’t know. Let’s say the soundtrack to The Lion King. Belting it out together in mismatched harmonies until they run out of gas in Switzerland because they each thought the other filled up the tank.

Look at this beautiful soul.

I love him very much and want him to thrive in every way but I also must admit that him dying by choking on the bar while doing the bench press in a crowded but distracted room would be kind of perfect. Someone must protect him.

9. Nate (Last week: 10)

Nate is still dancing on that line between naive little woodland creature (Keeley ropes him into stuff so easily, almost by accident) and burgeoning mini-tyrant. Look at the sentence in the screencap. It’s a perfect insult. Just rolls right off the tongue. I suspect, especially after hearing his confession, that he actually thought of it weeks earlier and had been saving it for the right moment. I hope he has a whole file in the Notes app on his phone that’s full of the most awful put-downs you’ll ever see.

I want to see Nate and Roy get into an argument now. I feel like Roy would resort to a headbutt at some point. This would be excellent television.

8. Sambecca (Last week: Unranked)

Good news and bad news here…

GOOD: This was all kind of adorable, especially the way Sam — who I did not realize was only 21! — dove right into things, completely unbothered by the age difference that makes Rebecca old enough to be his mother, all of which was predicted by these very Power Rankings as recently as last week. He’s a sweetheart, that one, and apparently a smooth one, too, based on that whole “I’m at your door but you can use my address next time” move. Good for him. Good for them.

BAD: We are one tabloid expose away from this all blowing up in a bad way for Rebecca, for a slew of reasons she articulated right away, the biggest of which is the thing where she’s his boss and the power dynamic at play is not great. The paparazzi will run wild. At the very least, these two need to start closing the front door before they smooch on each other. Although it would have been wildly funny if the show had cut from that straight to a shot of Trent Crimm hiding like 25 feet up in a tree with his little notepad. Something to consider.

7. Ted (Last week: 6)

Lot going on here. Perhaps too much to address right now. Ted’s admission about his father was a heavy shoe that dropped, and one that goes a long way toward explaining a lot of things, starting with the thing where he deflects with positivity as a way to ward off bad vibes. That’s a classic symptom of trauma, spinning plates and juggling and riding a unicycle all at once to prevent the people around you from feeling sad. So much of this show makes so much more sense now.

We will undoubtedly circle back to this again at some point in the future, probably whenever he actually sits down to discuss it all with Dr. Sharon. In the meantime, please note for the record that I found it hilarious that he tried to do the “it’s the same court/field” speech from Hoosiers about Wembley and was corrected right away. That one was a little joke for Brian.

6. Phoebe (Last week: Unranked)

She’s a good egg. She just swears a little. That’s fine. There is nothing funnier than little kids saying swear words with their little voices. I say this as someone who does not have any children. I suspect my take would be different if it were my child getting sent home from school for inventive profanity. Maybe. Either way, give me at least one Roy/Phoebe scene every week. I know they are just playing directly to my emotions in a manipulative bid to be adorable but I also do not care.

Gimme.

5. Dr. Sharon (Last week: 3)

While there is plenty to get to regarding Dr. Sharon and her bicycle accident and the thing where she has a corporate apartment littered with empty booze bottles, I would like to focus on two things here:

• I like that, per the above screencap, we are now screaming toward an implied or — please, lord, let it be true — literal “We’re not so different” moment between Sharon and Ted, and I could not possibly be happier about it
• It was just last week that I suggested that Dr. Sharon would be a blast at a pub for karaoke, and now we hear her belting out songs from West Side Story while concussed, which is not exactly the same as doing karaoke after a few drinks, but is also not exactly not the same, either

The important thing here is that I was correct. Thank you.

4. Isaac (Last week: Unranked)

Effective immediately and going forward indefinitely, I want nothing in this world more than a haircut from Isaac. I say this because it looks fun and like a borderline religious experience, but also because I just really like getting my hair cut and think I would enjoy it. I do not care how much it costs. You only live once. Give me a five up top and a two on the sides and blend that sucker in nicely. Take your time. I’m not in a rush.

3. Jamie (Last week: 8)

A handful of wonderful developments for Jamie Tartt this week:

• He got a little chunk of plot all his own to examine his own parental issues in a way that, like Ted, kind of goes a long way toward explaining why he is how he is
• He got the satisfaction of punching his dad — who looks kind of like Mel Gibson, in a move I choose to believe was intended — square in the kisser after a lifetime of probably wanting to do it
• He said the phrase “textual chemistry” in that accent of his, which was admittedly a bigger thing for me than for him, but still

Good for Jamie.

2. Roy (Last week: 2)

Did you cry a little? Be honest. Did you cry a little when Roy marched across the room and grabbed Jamie and pulled him in tight in the warmest and most powerful embrace that has ever been depicted in a show about an American football coach who begins coaching a soccer team in England and wins over the players and the community with his infectiously upbeat personality?

I did. A little. Again, I know there’s an element to this “Roy is a kind and lovely man under his rugged exterior” stuff that is being played out for this exact reason. I know they’re trying to make me feel things. I imagine one day they’ll push it a little too far and I’ll roll my eyes about it all. But we’re not there yet. Roy is a good man. I love him.

And somehow, the hug wasn’t even my favorite thing he did with his body this week. That honor goes to this eyebrow raise he tossed at Phoebe’s teacher.

I might put this on a t-shirt. Or a billboard. Or I might hang it from a giant sheet that I’ve tied to the bottom of a blimp that I’ve rented or stolen and started flying around the country. Blimp heist. No jury in the land will convict me.

1. Coach Beard (Last week: 1)

Three notes about my beloved Coach Beard:

• His relationship with Jane fascinates me, almost as much as it fascinates me that he coached an entire game while dosed on mushrooms and no one even realized it
• I like that he’s the one who escorted Jamie’s dad out of the locker room, mostly because I’ve always felt like Beard can handle himself physically — in my head he spent three years of his 20s cage fighting in Southeast Asia — and it was nice to have that validated
• I could not possibly be more excited about next week’s episode after seeing the teaser and reading this description: “After the semifinal, Beard sets out on an all-night odyssey through London in an effort to collect his thoughts”

The greatest.

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Baby Keem deliver on his promise with his debut album and Kacey Musgraves channel her heartbreak into another superlative release. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.

Kacey Musgraves — “Simple Times”

While Golden Hour was an album driven by love, Star-Crossed is more about loss, a change that mirrors Musgraves’ life following her divorce. On “Simple Times,” the loss is that of childhood, as the song sees her reminiscing about her younger years (the titular simple times). She also shared a video for the track (a clip from the Star-Crossed film), in which she is joined by You‘s Victoria Pedretti, Princess Nokia, and Drag Race‘s Symone.

SZA — “The Anonymous Ones”

The uber-successful musical Dear Evan Hansen is making its way to the big screen with a movie adaptation, and they got some big names to assist with the soundtrack, providing covers of the musical’s songs. SZA took on “The Anonymous Ones,” filtering it through her pop/R&B lens.

Baby Keem — “Issues”

Baby Keem may have at one point been best known as Kendrick Lamar’s cousin, but with his debut album The Melodic Blue, he’s proving that he’s his own person. Indeed, save for a handful of features (including a couple from Lamar), Keem goes about it mostly solo on his album, like on “Issues,” an emotional cut he debuted on The Tonight Show.

Ed Sheeran — “Shivers”

After taking some time off, Ed Sheeran is continuing his mathematician-approved saga of albums with =. He’s promoted the effort with some singles thus far, and his latest his “Shivers,” which continues on the pop path forged by the album’s lead single, “Bad Habits.” The track also comes with a surreal video staring awkward and kooky encounters between Sheeran and actress AnnaSophia Robb.

Chlöe — “Have Mercy”

Chloe Bailey has generated a lot of attention for herself since announcing her intentions to go solo. Finally, she made good on all the hype last week with her debut solo single, “Have Mercy.” The tune borrows from R&B and pop, and Bailey says the later genre is the direction her new album will take.

Big Thief — “Certainty”

Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek dropped some great solo projects in recent times, but now they’re back to focusing their efforts on Big Thief. The band has shared some singles this year, and they did so again last week with “Certainty,” a lovely folk tune the group wrote during a multi-day power outage.

Syd — “Right Track” Feat. Smino

It’s been a few years since Syd dropped a new solo project, and while nothing on the follow-up front is set in stone yet, there’s at least a new single, “Right Track.” Uproxx’s Wongo Okon describes the song as “a change in tempo from the singer’s often breezy and chilled-out songs” and notes that on it, the artists “beg for trust and commitment from their partner while promising that they’ll reach the next level together if things stay on the ‘right track.’”

Rico Nasty — “Switch Places”

Rico Nasty is at the point where it’s a big deal when she releases something, meaning there’s some sort of fanfare about a new project from her. So, fans were caught off-guard last week when she went ahead and dropped a group of new songs on SoundCloud. The collection highlights Rico’s genre-spanning sensibilities, as Uproxx’s Aaron Williams outlines: “There’s the puffy sugar trap of ‘Show Me Your Love,’ the JetsonMade-produced banger ‘How Ya Feel,’ the stripped-down ‘Switch Places,’ the spacey ‘Cotton Candy,’ and the surprisingly vulnerable ‘Grow Up.’”

J Balvin — “Perra” Feat. Tokischa

J Balvin’s fans have been eating well, as last week brought the release of Jose, his fourth annual album since 2018. Among the highlights is the final pre-album single, “Perra,” a rhythmic tune with Tokischa that’s a fitting send-off to summer as we leave the warm months behind.

Lisa — “Lalisa”

Lisa is forging her own legacy outside of Blackpink, which she kicked off last week with her debut solo album, Lalisa. She shared a video for the project’s title track, and describing the visual as “ultra-maximalist,” Uproxx’s Rachel Brodsky notes, “this is pretty much everything you’d want a pop music video to be: costume changes galore, bonkers dance routines, super-slick sets, etc.”

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

Taylor Swift isn’t from the UK, but she should still be pretty recognizable on that side of the pond, considering that her last seven albums have topped the charts over there. She’s apparently not an icon among the patrons of Ed Sheeran’s local pub, though, as he once brought her there and nobody seemed to care all that much.

On the KISS Breakfast show, Sheeran spoke about a night out with Swift in his small hometown of Framlingham in Suffolk, England. He compared the experience to bringing Stormzy to the same pub, where the rapper drew more attention:

“I took Stormzy to my local pub, and it was one of those ones where the locals were trying to be funny with him, but it just ended up being like, ‘Oh, can you not say that, please?’ […] I took Taylor [Swift] there once, but when I took Taylor there, no one really clocked. It was like a week later that the person behind the bar was like, ‘Did you bring Taylor Swift in here last week,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah.’ No one clocked it at the time.”

Sheeran and Swift have been pals for a while, and that relationship will be further cemented on Red (Taylor’s Version), which is set to feature a song the pair wrote together on the day they met each other.

Watch the full interview below.

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

Before Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards, rapper-turned-pop punk Machine Gun Kelly tweeted, “never been this nervous in my life.” He could have been nervous for his performance of “Papercuts” with Travis Barker, or not winning Best Alternative Video (he did for “My Ex’s Best Friend”), or his near-brawl with Conor McGregor on the red carpet. But he shouldn’t have been nervous about any of these situations, or at all. Everyone stopped paying attention to Machine Gun Kelly the second he arrived with Megan Fox.

The Jennifer’s Body actress walked the carpet with MGK in “an embroidered sheer illusion dress by Mugler, from the Spring Summer 2021 collection, designed by Casey Cadwallader. The striking number revealed silver undergarments and showed off Fox’s toned physique,” as Entertainment Tonight described it.

“He was like, ‘You’re gonna be naked tonight,’” Fox joked, pointing to her rocker boyfriend. “I was like, ‘Whatever you say, daddy!’” Fox also said she’s “so proud” of Kelly for all he’s accomplished, adding, “He’s the most talented boy in the world.”

Here’s that interview:

“It’s 50/50,” Kelly said about who gets to have the flashier outfit for events they attend together. “This one she took the lead and I get the pleasure of having her on my arm all night. She’s beautiful.” He later called Fox a “mermaid.” I hope those crazy kids make it.

(Via Entertainment Tonight)

Back in July, Coldplay announced that their ninth studio album, Music Of The Spheres, would be arriving in October. Now, the UK pop-rock stalwarts have shared that their forthcoming collaborative single with K-pop titans BTS, “My Universe,” is coming on September 24. According to a press release, the track will be sung in both English and Korean and was written by Coldplay and BTS. Plus, it’s produced by none other than Swedish pop mastermind Max Martin, who helmed all of Music Of The Spheres.

“My Universe” will follow Coldplay’s already-released lead single “Higher Power,” plus promotional single “Coloratura.”

According to Coldplay singer Chris Martin, “Higher Power” was actually inspired by a huge bathroom sink. Speaking to ETalk, he said, “I was staying in a house with a big sink. I don’t know why but I just started hitting it. Violence against bathroom objects. It sounded really good so I just recorded a bit of this loop on my phone and took that loop and went and sat on the keyboard. Then the song just went, ‘Here I am.’”

Music Of The Spheres is out 10/15 via Atlantic. Pre-order it here.

Coldplay is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music.

It’s been 24 years since Matt Damon and Ben Affleck won Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting, a surprise hit that also won Robin Williams his only Oscar. The actors have worked together in the two decades since, including in Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Jersey Girl (and occasionally even non-Kevin Smith projects), but not as writers — until The Last Duel, Ridley Scott’s historical drama that comes out next month (they co-wrote it with Academy Award nominee Nicole Holofcener).

Why did it take them so long? Besides the whole “getting together with Jennifer Lopez, then breaking up with Jennifer Lopez, then getting back together with Jennifer Lopez years later” thing.

“I would attribute a lot of it to the fact that Good Will Hunting took us so long to write because we didn’t really know what we were doing,” Damon told EW. “We had no deadline; it’s not like anyone was waiting for it. We were unemployed. We hadn’t ever taken a class on how to structure a screenplay, so structure was definitely not our strong suit. What we really understood were the characters, so we ended up writing thousands of pages of scenes where we’d just make up a scene idea. We’d write that scene and then we crammed it all together into something that looked like a screenplay. Both of us thought it would be so consuming to write together again, we just didn’t bother.”

Affleck added that Damon is “one of the few people I really trust and believe has my best interests at heart and gives good feedback. We’ve often talked about movies and collaborated in that way.” It’s fine, guys. You can give the real reason it took so long to write a follow-up to Good Will Hunting: lengthy trips to Dunkin.

The Last Duel opens on October 15.

(Via EW)