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Elissa Mielke is no stranger to the music industry. After growing up in Canada and leaning into the Toronto music scene (she even starred in one of The Weeknd’s videos), Mielke moved to LA in 2019 and began focusing on her own musical journey. She spent the last two years writing and recording music, and Mielke is finally ready to unveil her aptly-titled EP Finally.

On Tuesday, Mielke returned to share a new lyric video to her acoustic ballad “Trying.” The visual came pared with a first look at the singer’s Finally cover art, as well as the EP’s official release date, which is slated for mid-June.

In a previous statement about the EP and her songwriting process, Mielke wrote:

“Writing songs has helped me navigate, survive and gloop through so many strange, dark, or confusing times. Even when I’ve been deeply discouraged about finding ways to share my music, grieving, struggling through isolation (or one of 3 concussions-oops!), sitting at a piano always makes some invisible thing click, heal, clarify. I can often address my inner critic with clarity through music in a way I can’t otherwise, and through writing I can dialogue with fear instead of running away. […] These songs already did what they needed to for me, so now I just hope that listening to any songs I put out in the future offers you any feeling of what making them offers me.”

Check out the Finally EP’s cover art below and watch Mielke’s “Trying” lyric video above.

Finally is out 6/11 via Slashie/Mom + Pop. Pre-order it here.

A week ago, a jury in Minneapolis found former police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all three charges — second degree murder, third degree murder, and second degree manslaughter — for killing George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes. For NBA players, who had spent last summer leading and participating in protests following the murder of Floyd, the response was mostly one of relief, that finally a guilty verdict had been handed down to an officer filmed on camera killing a Black citizen.

As many noted, far too often the officers involved in such incidents get lesser charges or walk altogether, which only further exemplifies the way the system is built to fail Black Americans. For Chauvin to be convicted provided less a sense of victory than a sense that finally some accountability was handed down — many, including LeBron James and Karl-Anthony Towns, made sure to note this was accountability, not justice, as justice would’ve been George Floyd being alive and getting his day in court for any alleged criminal activity, rather than being murdered in the street.

On Tuesday, an interview with NBA commissioner Adam Silver was published by Time, in which he was asked for his reaction to the Chauvin verdict.

“I had a sense of pride in our system,” Silver said. “It was an opportunity for me to reflect and realize that there’s a reason why, despite its flaws, our country is so special and unique and great. Here was a tragedy that played out on video for the American public, but with an ultimate outcome that at least people could say, as terrible as this killing was, we do have a system we can believe in, where justice is meted out fairly.”

For the commissioner of a league that has had players step up to be such vocal leaders in calling for systemic change to say this provided him a “sense of pride in our system,” is simply a major misstep on his part. You could say there was a sense of relief or even happiness that there was finally accountability handed down for such an action, but to say it means we have a “system we can believe in” when players have been pointing out regularly how that is far from the case simply misses the mark for what this comment should’ve been. A system where an officer murders someone and is then convicted of murder is still a system with major flaws, because a functional system — a system that everyone can believe in — is one where brutality and violence from the state doesn’t disproportionately impact a portion of the population.

Experimental UK group Squid have a new album Bright Green Field dropping next week, and they’ve previewed it previously with singles like “Paddling.” Now they’re back with another advance look at the record before it drops next week (on May 7), returning with “Pamphlets.” The 8-minute track establishes a quick and consistent pace early before embarking on a frenetic post-punk journey.

Squid drummer and lyricist Ollie Judge says of the song, “It’s about all the rubbish right-wing propaganda you get through your front door. It imagines a person with that as their only source of news being taken over by these pamphlets.”

The band also previously said of their upcoming album, “This is the debut album we’ve always wanted to make and without a doubt the most ambitious thing we’ve ever done. We can’t wait for you to hear the whole thing. And especially to be able to play it to you in person…….”

Listen to “Pamphlets” above. Squid has also announced their first-ever US tour, so find all of their upcoming dates below.

09/07 — Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2
09/09 — Bristol, UK @ Marble Factory
09/10 — Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
09/23 — London, UK @ Printworks
09/24 — Birmingham, UK @ The Crossing
09/25 — Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
09/27 — Newcastle, UK @ NUSU
09/28 — Glasgow, UK @ SW3
09/29 — Belfast, UK @ Empire
09/30 — Dublin, IE @ Button Factory
10/03 — Cardiff, UK @ Tramshed
10/04 — Southampton, UK @ 1865
10/05 — Exeter, UK @ The Phoenix
10/07 — Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
10/08 — Brussels, BE @ Botanique
10/09 — Paris, FR @ Trabendo
10/11 — Cologne, DE @ Bumann & Sohn
10/12 — Hamburg, DE @ Molotow Skybar
10/15 — Malmo, SE @ Plan B
10/16 — Stockholm, SE @ Melodybox
10/18 — Berlin, DE @ Berghain Kantine
10/19 — Prague, CZ @ Underdogs’
10/21 — Munich, DE @ Heppel & Ettlich
10/23 — Zurich, CH @ Bogen F
10/24 — Düdingen, CH @ Bad Bonn
10/25 — Milan, IT @ Magnolia
10/25 — Bologna, IT @ Locomotiv
10/28 — Barcelona, ES @ Upload
10/29 — Madrid, ES @ Independence
10/30 — Vigo, ES @ Masterclub
11/09 — Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
11/10 — New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
11/12 — Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern
11/13 — Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
11/17 — Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge
11/19 — Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
11/20 — San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
11/22 — Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
11/23 — Seattle, WA @ Crocodile

Bright Green Field is out 5/7 via Warp Records. Pre-order it here.

The Daily Show is offering up its thoughts and prayers to Fox News because the network is going through a truly terrible time right now. Not only is the imaginary federal hamburger ban that some of their conservative hosts have been pinning on President Joe Biden all weekend not real, they now have to admit that their faux outrage over this anti-red-meat conspiracy was born out of their inability to fact-check fake news.

To understand just how devastating this whole return to journalistic integrity has been, we need to go back to the beginning. On his Friday afternoon show, Fox personality John Roberts incorrectly reported that a 2020 study from scholars at the University of Michigan and Tulane University was serving as the basis for Biden’s climate plan, a plan that included cutting consumption of red meat to just 4 pounds per citizen a year. That’s just one hamburger a month!

Before Fox realized that the study was actually done independently and well before Biden was even elected president, hosts from other shows jumped on the meat-eating bandwagon. Some bemoaned the fact that this meant “no burgers on July 4th” and “no steaks on the barbie.” Some even imagined the elites still enjoying their prime cuts while cosplaying as a conservative Marie Antoinette, shouting “Let them eat kale.” As the anger over this nonexistent government cutback grew, people like Donald Trump Jr. and some Republican governors began retweeting Fox’s warning of vegetarian authoritarianism. The red meat banned seemed primed to become yet another talking point for Biden’s right-wing opponents.

And then, in a shocking turn of events, Roberts appeared on his Monday show to admit the whole thing was false. The study was done years before Biden announced a plan to tackle climate change as president and it did not mention Biden or a government-mandated meat ban. So how did Fox News connect the two? It seems someone at the network is a fan of The Daily Mail, a British tabloid that linked the study to Biden for unknown reasons. Once one Fox News host shared that information as fact, the rest jumped on board, which lead to Roberts finally issuing an on-air retraction.

Fortunately for Roberts and crew, The Daily Show knows just how difficult admitting to fueling a misinformation campaign (intended to spark distrust and hate towards our government) is for the network that once had a host hide in the bushes to catch a migrant family crossing the border. This is a hard time for Fox News, and during hard times, The Daily Show is here.

Alama Records R&B singer Sainvil has been steadily building an audience since being signed to the label in 2019 — becoming the label’s first R&B singer in the process. His latest single “Ashley” may help kick his recognition up a notch thanks to its bootylicious video and a timely appearance from guest rapper Guapdad 4000, who’s in the midst of a breakout of his own after releasing the heartfelt album 1176 with Illmind.

Sainvil explained the inspiration behind his new single in a press release, saying, “I named the song after a crush I had on a gorgeous girl named Ashley when I was a kid. This song is about appreciating and uplifting the Queens that teach, love, protect, and fight for us Black men. Something they can have fun getting dressed to all summer, but ultimately celebrates and disarms colorist notions among a group of beautiful people.”

Guapdad, meanwhile, has been enjoying an increased degree of attention thanks to his ode to his own heritage, “Chicken Adobo,” which compares a woman’s love to the heartwarming taste of a favorite Filipino dish.

Watch Sainvil’s “Ashley” video featuring Guapdad above.

Guapdad 4000 is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

It’s been a few months since Lil Baby released his fan favorite track “On Me,” but he didn’t stop there. As a special treat for his listeners, Lil Baby tapped Megan Thee Stallion to hop on a remix of his Platinum-certified track. To celebrate the collaboration’s release, the two rappers team up to share an icy video.

The vibrant visual, directed by Mike Ho, positions Megan and Lil Baby as the rulers of an ice kingdom. It opens with the two rappers delivering the track’s lyrics in front of an ice palace. But when it comes time for Megan to launch into her verse, the rapper is suddenly seated atop an erupting volcano, continuing to rap amid the flowing lava.

Megan’s feature on the track arrives on the heels of her announcement that she’ll be taking an indefinite hiatus. Last week, a series of vague social media posts detailed that Megan will be “recharging” as a result of “the demands of the Hot Girl lifestyle.” Her posts also noted that the rapper “has now entered a period of regeneration to prepare for what’s next” and that her management team would be handling all of her social media for the time being.

Watch Lil Baby and Megan Thee Stallion’s “On Me (Remix)” video above.

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

It’s been a rough week for Herman J. Mankiewicz, better known as MANK. The Netflix film bearing his name won only two of the 10 Academy Awards it was nominated for, Best Cinematography and Best Production Design, which is still one more Oscar than Citizen Kane won in 1942. (It famously lost Best Picture, then called Outstanding Motion Picture, to the dreadfully boring How Green Was My Valley.) Mank’s masterpiece with Orson Welles is also no longer part of the 100% Club on Rotten Tomatoes, which would annoy the two writers if they knew what the internet was and weren’t long dead.

Of the 116 reviews for Citizen Kane on the critical aggregation website, 115 are positive and one is negative. That one was published 80 years ago in the Chicago Tribune under the headline, “Citizen Kane Fails to Impress Critic as Greatest Ever Filmed.” (As noted by Boing Boing, it was written by Mae Tinée, a “collective pseudonym then used by the paper’s film critics.” Get it?) Why was it added to Rotten Tomatoes in 2021 (it was updated between late-February and mid-April)? It’s unclear, but my theory is that Welles owed money to the grandfather of someone who works at Rotten Tomatoes.

Here’s an excerpt:

“You’ve heard a lot about this picture and I see by the ads that some experts think it ‘the greatest movie ever made.’ I don’t. It’s interesting. It’s different. In fact, it’s bizarre enough to become a museum piece. But its sacrifice of simplicity to eccentricity robs it of distinction and general entertainment value.”

Paddington 2 is a better film than Citizen Kane. I already knew this, but now it’s official.

(Via Boing Boing)

Tom Cruise is suddenly making loads of headlines lately, which is bound to happen when one dangles from a speeding train like it’s no big thing. Due to shooting that particular scene in Yorkshire, by the way, Tom’s also in the news over at the The Daily Mail, which published photos of him apparently saving a cameraman from falling off the train, possibly even saving the guy’s life. Well, it wouldn’t be the first time that Tom has pulled such a feat, and The Sun has details of a 1987 incident from the Cocktail set, where he literally saved his leading lady’s life.

That actress would be The Karate Kid‘s Elisabeth Shue (seen recently in The Boys and Cobra Kai), who had been filming the “horse riding on the beach” scene with Tom, and a helicopter nearly spelled Elisabeth’s demise. The Sun‘s report comes from a Facebook gathering of Crew Stories, which includes aerial camera operator Bill Bennett’s account of how Elisabeth and Tom had paused filming to receive director’s notes after a few takes. Elisabeth had apparently turned to run back to the part of the beach where they were shooting, and she nearly collided with spinning helicopter blades.

Tom tackled her, saving her life, and writer Mike Timm saw the Facebook post and alerted Mission: Impossible 7 director Chris McQuarrie. In turn, he mentioned it to Tom, who confirmed the story as truth. Here’s part of Bennett’s description:

“Tom saw where Elisabeth was going,” he added. “Tom is a pilot, rated in both airplanes and helicopters, and instantly saw the danger. He lunged after her, but only was able grab her legs, tackling her to the ground. “He rolled her over, dragging her at the same time, and you could see the momentary anger on her face while she was yelling “Why did you do that?”

“But by that time he is pointing at the tail rotor which is now a couple feet away, screaming at her that she almost died. At that point she turned white, and he pulled her back towards the front of the helicopter and they walked away. All of us in the helicopter, we’re quite shaken up by the close call, but there was nothing to be said. Tom had, in that instant, truly saved her life.”

Yikes. Cruise can be seen back in action on the big screen when Top Gun: Maverick arrives on November 19, 2021, followed by Mission: Impossible 7 on May 27, 2022.

(Via Daily Mail & The Sun)

Nearly three years after Super Mario Party first hit shelves, Nintendo has given folks a reason to return to the board game-shaped land of betrayal with the announcement of a free update that expands improves the game’s online multiplayer experience. Best of all, Mario fans won’t have to wait any longer to get playing with their pals online — expanded online multiplayer hits Super Mario Party today.

Prior to the update, online play in Super Mario Party consisted of “Mariothon,” a game mode that allows players to enjoy a small sample of the game’s popular mini-games in a very simplified way. As of today, however, both “Mario Party” and “Partner Party” modes can be played online, allowing up to four players to enjoy the traditional Mario Party experience in either a free-for-all battle or 2 vs. 2 pairings. For those unfamiliar with Mario Party, the popular Nintendo party game is essentially a board game. At the start of each turn, players roll their dice, move their respective Mario character, and engage in goofy mini-game battles and plenty of trash talk while trying to catch the most stars.

In order to take advantage of the free update and get playing online, Switch owners must own a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. Once connected, you can download the free update and get started in either a friend match — which is open for all friends — or private, password-protected game.

An otherwise forgettable pause during the Crystal Palace and Leicester City Premier League match Monday night in England turned out to be a beautiful display of sportsmanship from two teams that definitely had their priorities straight.

During the 35th minute of the match, Crystal Palace’s goalkeeper Vicente Guaita held onto the ball instead of making a goal kick. This allowed Leicester’s center-back Wesley Fofana and Palace’s midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate to break their Ramadan fasts.

The brief, voluntary stoppage gave Fofana a moment to guzzle some water and for Kouyate to down an energy gel. The stoppage happened shortly after sundown because Muslims are supposed to avoid food or drink while the sun is out during the month-long holiday.

This year, Ramadan runs from April 12 to May 2012.

Ramadan is the Arabic name for the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. It’s the holiest of Islamic months and is part of the Five Pillars of Islam. The Five Pillars are principles that are ordered by God. Muslims believe that the first verses of their holy book, the Qu’ran, were given to Prophet Mohammed during the month.

Muslims fast during the daylight hours throughout Ramadan feel closer to God and strengthen their resolve.

Muslims observe the fast by having a meal before dawn, then going without any food or drink until sundown. One can imagine how hard it is for an athlete to play at a professional level for an entire month without having proper nutrition or hydration.

Soccer players can run up to nine miles in a typical 90-minute match and elite players can burn up to 3,400 calories.

Fofana thanked the opposing club for their support on Twitter. “That’s what makes football wonderful,” he said.

Last week, Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers took Fofana out of the game at the 60-minute mark in a 3-0 win over West Brom to allow him to break his fast.

It’s believed that Monday’s match was the first time in Premier League history that a game was stopped to allow players to break the Ramadan fast. The decision was made before the game in a meeting between team captains.

Although fasting has to make it a lot harder for players to perform on the field, Rodgers believes it gives them more strength. “I’ve worked with lots of players with devotion to their faiths and for a lot of the guys it gives them strength,” he said in a press conference.

“He’s finding an incredible strength to play continuously and train during Ramadan. He’s a special talent and a big player for us,” Rogers continued.

In the world of professional soccer, a single game, score, or play can have huge consequences for players and their organizations. So it’s pretty incredible to see two teams put their competitive differences aside for a brief moment to focus on something that’s bigger than the game. It’s also a wonderful display of religious tolerance for the tens of thousands of people watching the game.