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Sharon Van Etten has been in a collaborative mood lately. She recruited a bunch of artists to cover her songs for the recent Epic Ten reissue, and now she has teamed up with Angel Olsen on a huge new single, “Like I Used To.”

Van Etten said of the track, “Even though we weren’t super close, I always felt supported by Angel and considered her a peer in this weird world of touring. We highway high-fived many times along the way…. I finally got the courage in June of 2020 to reach out to see if she would want to sing together. I got greedy and quickly sent her a track I had been working on.”

Olsen also added, “I’ve met with Sharon here and there throughout the years and have always felt too shy to ask her what she’s been up to or working on. The song reminded me immediately of getting back to where I started, before music was expected of me, or much was expected of me, a time that remains pure and real in my heart.”

Furthermore, Van Etten wrote of Olsen on social media, “I have loved @angelolsenmusic’s music for a long time. I have been to her shows and cried in the audience. I have cheers’d her post show on the road. She has sent me inspirations and support in my high and lows along the way. I never thought I would get the courage to send her an unfinished song and ask her to do a duet with me and here we are. Thank you, Angel, for calling my bluff and lifting me up, and making this song better than it ever could have been. I hope you all enjoy this collaboration that has spanned a year in the making. I am so happy to share it with you.”

The song was produced by John Congleton, who knows both artists well at this point: He previously worked with Van Etten on Remind Me Tomorrow and with Olsen on Burn Your Fire For No Witness and All Mirrors.

Watch the “Like I Used To” video above.

Okay, there are a lot of super hero movies, like… a lot a lot. However, of these countless, action-packed adventures, a frankly staggering amount are about one caped crusader in particular: Batman. Now seeing as he does have a few dozen handfuls of movies about him, Bruce Wayne doesn’t need much introduction and you probably don’t need to hear about Thomas and Martha Wayne getting murdered again. However, there are some stories about the “dark knight” we haven’t heard enough about, and with all the recent announcements regarding up both upcoming live-action and animated Batman films, we’re getting antsy to see them._ Here are just a few of the stories that are great enough to grace the big screen — and fingers crossed one day they do.

1. The Black Mirror
The Black Mirror — much like quite a few Batman stories, honestly — isn’t a perfect story. I mean, for starters the way it portrays mental health leaves much to be desired. However, it’s a really interesting story about the power of empathy and has a lot of compelling beats throughout. The story takes place after Bruce Wayne hangs up the cowl and decides to focus on training the next generation of crime fighters. In his place, he leaves Dick Grayson, who is struggling with some major imposter syndrome in his new role as the Batman. The story kicks off when Detective Jim Gordon’s son, Jim Gordan Jr., returns to Gotham after being sent away from his home due to his psychotic tendencies. The overarching story focuses on these two men — the “son” of Wayne and the son of Gordon — and their drastically different views on humanity and compassion. It’s a pretty dark story, but it’s a pretty good one as well.

2. The Court of Owls
The Court of Owl storyline proves once and for all that the most terrifying villains are the ones that are ageless and engrained in a society — the ones that have always lived among us and are just out of reach of the law. In Gotham City, the Court of Owls exists as an absurd legend, accompanying nursery rhyme and all, and Bruce Wayne never put much stock into it. However, in these comics, Wayne comes to discover the secret society exists, and is comprised of many of Gotham’s rich and powerful families. Using their combined influence, these individuals have been terrorizing and pulling the strings of the city for centuries, and make for an army that is subtle, vast, and suffocating. In addition to containing all this political intrigue and a strong message regarding the abuse of power and wealth, the story is also visceral, high-stakes, and captivating.

3. Knightfall

While we definitely saw elements of Knightfall in The Dark Knight Rises, we’ve yet to get a proper adaptation of its iconic storyline. Perhaps some of this oversight comes from the fact that this slow burn of a story takes place over the course of six months, as Batman overcomes not only a pretty major physical injury (see above image), but nurses a few mental ones as well. Now you might be asking just who watched over Gotham during Batman’s forced timeout, and the answer to that is none other than the “hero” Azrael, which leads to even bigger troubles for Bruce Wayne. You see Azrael believes that extreme circumstances call for extreme measures, and his heroism turns into brutal terror while Wayne is away, causing Gotham City to lose its trust in its vigilantes. It is because of the lessons learned in Knightfall the “bat family” (Robin, Batgirl, etc…) is created, and the Batman story was forever altered.

In the most inclusive move yet by the toy-brick company, LEGO has unveiled a new LGBTQ set that will arrive in time for this year’s Pride Month in June. The set is called “Everyone Is Awesome,” a clever callback to “Everything Is Awesome,” the hit song from The LEGO Movie. The set features eleven LEGO minifigures representing all colors of the LGBTQ rainbow.

“We’re super excited to reveal our new set – LEGO Everyone is Awesome! Because we celebrate every LEGO builder,” LEGO wrote on its official Twitter account, along with photos of the Pride-themed set.

The “Everyone Is Awesome” set is already receiving praise from LGBTQ groups, who are happy to see the Denmark-based company foster an accepting environment for children. Via CNN:

“Having LGBT-inclusive toys creates a space for families to let LGBT children know that they are loved and accepted,” Joe Nellist, from the UK’s LGBT Foundation, told CNN. “Growing up in a world which often tells you there is something ‘wrong’ with you can lead to a person developing a deep sense of shame — something we know can have a long-lasting impact on both mental and physical health.”

According to the set’s designer, Matthew Ashton, he was happy to celebrate LEGO’s passionate fanbase of all ages and all backgrounds. “We share love for creativity and self-expression through Lego bricks and this set is a way to show my gratitude for all the love and inspiration that is constantly shared,” he told CNN in a statement.

(Via LEGO on Twitter)

Kid Cudi is just a few months removed from releasing his December 2020 album Man On The Moon III: The Chosen. That’s not stopping him from working on new music, though, as he already has something new cooking. He revealed as much late, late last night, when he took to Instagram to share a snippet of fresh music for his fans who were still awake long after the sun had set.

At 3:18 a.m. last night, Cudi tweeted, “Who’s up?” About 20 minutes later, he followed that with, “Check my story on instagram.”

Fans who were up and checking in on Cudi at that hour were pleased to find that Cudi had taken to Instagram and shared a 30-second video of himself dancing to a new song he’s been working on.

On Twitter, Cudi noted, “Im still writin!! Wasnt sure about it and wanted to get ur opinions. Tell me what u think!! I love you!!” He also added, “I like doin this in the late night hours. Not so many eyes, just the lucky few.”

This new music comes not long after he performed on Saturday Night Live. Notably, he wore a dress on stage, a choice that drew praise from Pete Davidson.

Check out the new snippet above.

Former President Barack Obama’s never too far away from public view these days while weighing in on everything from UFOs (which he does take seriously) to Amazon Prime’s The Boys (he’s definitely a fan, and Homelander actor Antony Starr loves it). Barack was certainly never been a Trump fan, and he’s expressed disapproval of his follow-up prez’s policies, but we’ve never really heard 44’s unfiltered take on 45, until now.

The Guardian details key excerpts from a new book, Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats’ Campaigns to Defeat Donald Trump, by The Atlantic staff writer Edward-Isaac Dovere. The book’s arriving with a May 25 release date, and contains claims that Obama called Trump a “corrupt m*therf*cker” along with “madman,” “that f*cking lunatic,” and “racist, sexist pig.” Here’s how that all apparently went down:

“He’s a madman,” Dovere reports Obama telling “big donors looking to squeeze a reaction out of him in exchange for the big checks they were writing to his foundation.”

“More often: ‘I didn’t think it would be this bad.’ Sometimes: ‘I didn’t think we’d have a racist, sexist pig.’ Depending on the outrage of the day… a passing ‘that fucking lunatic’ with a shake of his head.”

Obama’s strongest remark, Dovere reports, was prompted by reports that Trump was speaking to foreign leaders – including Vladimir Putin, amid the investigation of Russian election interference and links between Trump and Moscow – without any aides on the call.

“‘That corrupt m*therf*cker,’ he remarked.”

Weirdly enough, I can totally hear Obama saying “m*therf*cker” in my head even though Obama has never come close to uttering that word in public. And if you’ve had the same thought, too, we’re not alone. Now, if you’d like to hear how Stephen Colbert also imagines Obama saying, “m*therf*cker,” check out the clip at the 3:30 mark below.

(Via The Guardian)

This time last year, director Steven Soderbergh was on lock down in the Tribeca neighborhood of New York City. Next month, his new film will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. What a difference 12 months (and a life-saving vaccine) makes.

No Sudden Move is about a group of small-time criminals (the best kind, imo), “who are hired to steal what they think is a simple document. When their plan goes horribly wrong, their search for who hired them – and for what ultimate purpose – weaves them through all echelons of the race-torn, rapidly changing city.” The 1950s-set film has a stacked cast, including Don Cheadle, Benicio del Toro, David Harbour, Ray Liotta, Jon Hamm, Amy Seimetz, Brendan Fraser, Kieran Culkin, Noah Jupe, Julia Fox, and Bill Duked.

Cheadle, Fraser, and Julia Fox? The movies are back, baby!

“We’re absolutely thrilled to have No Sudden Move as part of this year’s lineup. Once again, Steven has assembled a powerhouse ensemble cast in a story that is uniquely Soderbergh,” Tribeca chief content officer Paula Weinstein said in a statement. “The festival’s audiences are eager to celebrate the moviegoing experience together again and this film will thoroughly entertain.”

No Sudden Move premieres at Tribeca on June 18 before an HBO Max debut on July 1.

On Wednesday, the House approved the creation of an independent commission to investigate the Capitol insurrection of January 6, 2021—but with no help from the GOP. Seth Meyers dedicated his Wednesday night “A Closer Look” segment to reminding the Republicans who are trying to create an “alternate universe” surrounding what happened that day, and Donald Trump’s legacy as president as a whole, that Americans have the receipts.

“Republicans have also been busy trying to rewrite the history of what happened at the Capitol on January 6th. That’s why GOP leaders like Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell have come out against creating an independent commission to investigate it and many Republicans have straight-up lied about it. Which is hard to swallow because we all—every one of us—saw it happening in real time with our own eyes. Most of the people doing it were also filming it. It was one of those collective national moments where we were all watching the same thing unfold together in shock. Like the O.J. Simpson trial or the Apollo 13 landing or David Copperfield making the Statue of Liberty disappear.”

On Wednesday, the FBI released new video of the attacks on the Capitol in an attempt to solicit the public’s help in identifying the “most violent” rioters, and have already arrested more than 300 people for their actions on that day.

Between social media and on-the-scene videos shot by both the global media and the rioters themselves, there are hundreds of thousands of single pieces of evidence as to what happened that day—yet the GOP is still firmly against creating a commission to make the events of that day a part of the public record (a decision that has apparently angered Capitol police).

“It’s all there, on camera, for us to see,” Meyers said. “And yet Republicans are engaged in an intensifying effort to rewrite the history of that day by claiming, preposterously, that the entire thing was a peaceful protest.” He concluded:

“This is why we need a commission: to lay out the facts as we know them for the historical records so that Republicans can’t lie about it and create an alternate reality where it didn’t happen. If there isn’t an accurate historical account of the insurrection, with shame and consequences for the people involved, it could very well happen again.”

You can watch the full clip above.

On Wednesday morning, Albert Watkins—lawyer to the so-called “QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley, a.k.a. the guy who stormed the Capitol wearing horns and fur but no shirt—appeared on CNN in what seemed to be a mild attempt to walk back his very bad decision to describe the Capitol insurrectionists of January 6th as “f*cking retarded” and f*cking short-bus people.” But he made a big mistake (in a long list of them, obviously) when he dared to invoke the name of Chris Cuomo, CNN’s muscle-bound darling of prime time, in explaining his decision to use such triggering language:

“I was on Chris Cuomo when he decided the way to respond to my suggestion that these people needed compassion and patience and help was to call them ‘crazy.’”

Neither Cuomo nor his bulging biceps were about to let that comment lie. So Watkins appeared on CNN for a second time on Wednesday, this time as a guest on Cuomo Prime Time, in order to set the record straight about exactly what was said during Cuomo’s interview with Watkins way back in January as well as which product(s) Watkins uses to smooth his hair “so brilliantly and luxuriously back” (Cuomo’s words). What followed was a lot of this:

Cuomo: I never called them “crazy.”
Watkins: Well, I’ll tell you, my memory is that you called them—or called my client—crazy.
Cuomo: I have the transcript.
Watkins: Well you know I’d love you to share it with me.
Cuomo: I don’t have to, I’m just telling you you’re wrong. But I’ll give it to you.
Watkins: You don’t have to share anything with me. I’ll share with you.

Not exactly Frost/Nixon.

The sometimes-combative—at least as “combative” as two totally chilled-out dudes can get—dialogue only continued from there, with Watkins barely addressing his highly offensive language. He was more interested in changing the narrative surrounding his client and painting Chansley as a… peacemaker? Yes, Watkins, with a totally straight face, actually said that “In the case of Jacob Chansley, he was helping law enforcement garner items that had been stolen from them, stopping a theft that was going on.”

When Cuomo reminded Watkins that his client “entered the Capitol. He was flying in there with his spear. He was saying obnoxious things,” Watkins deemed that a total “mischaracterization.”

You can watch the full interview over at Mediaite.

It seems like Taylor Swift can do a bit of everything, and that apparently includes cooking lessons. On a recent episode of Jessie Ware’s Table Manners podcast, St. Vincent told a story about a time that Swift taught her how to cook a meal, which St. Vincent was later disastrously unable to replicate for her friends (as NME notes).

The tale began:

“Around… I think it was probably 2015, Taylor Swift — who you might know — invited me over to teach me how to cook a steak, asparagus, and cauliflower, something like that. And it’s very sweet of her to have done that and I don’t remember exactly why… I don’t remember if she experienced that I couldn’t cook and thought, ‘I’m going to help this girl.’ I’m not really sure how it came about, but she brought me home and she taught me how to do the thing.”

It was only much later that disaster struck:

“So flashforward, a couple months later, I’m at my Laurel Canyons studio and I’m like, ‘You know what, I’m going to have a couple of friends over, make this meal that Taylor showed me how to make.’ And my friends still mock me for it, to this day. I hear of them basically being ‘raw, crusty cauliflower’ and ‘hockey puck steaks.’ And these are people who one, they’re in the hospitality industry, they know how to cook. They know how to eat. You know, just people who know how to [be] like, ‘Here, come over,’ and there’s candles lit and there’s all the things that make an experience wonderful… I didn’t do any of that sh*t and I made them terrible food. They still mock me for it to this day.”

Listen to the full Table Manners episode with St. Vincent here.

Margot Robbie is an action movie star who’s been nominated for two Oscars (and one Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress: AnTEENcipated!). She also runs a production company that’s put out multiple Best Picture nominees, including Promising Young Woman. Robbie is a multi-hyphenate talent… but maybe don’t ask her to sing.

In an interview with the Associated Press, The Suicide Squad writer and director James Gunn said that Robbie, who plays Harley Quinn in the superhero movie, “can do anything. Or I thought she could do anything. And then one day she had to sing and I said, ‘OK, well you can do everything but one thing.’ But she’s such a great actress.” No wonder there’s not more signing in the “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” sequence.

Gunn continued:

“She embodies the character. She’s able to do the comedy. She’s able to do the drama. And physically, she is a pure athlete and is able to do these stunts in such a graceful, magnificent, beautiful way. And so I wrote the biggest action scene I’ve ever done all around Harley, and it was so fun to create just on every level from working with the stunt guys all the way through to working with her. It’s probably my favorite four minutes of film I’ve ever shot before.”

The Suicide Squad — which isn’t a musical, but I would love to see Harley and King Shark sing “Suddenly Seymour” together — comes out on August 6.

(Via the AP)