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It’s been over a year since the last in-person music festival took place in the US. However, with the roll-out of vaccines taking place across the country, festival organizers are confident that large-scale live music events will be able to return in the coming months. Hard Summer Music Festival is especially optimistic, as they’ve unveiled their lineup for this summer’s event.

The hip-hop focused festival has invited big-names to perform at their event. Headliners include Future, 2 Chainz, Lil Durk, Don Toliver, and Iann Dior. Other musicians have also been tapped to take the stage like Mario Judah, Snot, Rubi Rose, Dillon Francis, and Jauz.

The festival is usually held in Fontana, California, but this year, Hard Summer is headed to NOS Event Center in the city of San Bernardino the weekend of July 31 to August 1. The new location makes it possible to have a more spread-out event, taking place across five different stages. Organizers are making efforts to have COVID precautions in place for the event as well. In press materials, the festival claims, “Hard will be working closely with local officials to implement necessary safety precautions and will follow state and local health guidelines in place at the time of the event.”

Hard Summer tickets go on sale 4/2 at 10 am PST. Get them here.

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

As NBA Top Shot continues to blow up, funding, unsurprisingly, is coming in. The latest infusion of cash for its parent company Dapper Labs comes via a round of private funding, according to the Associated Press. Among those putting their money behind the project, which has exploded in popularity in recent months since public beta testing started up in October, is Michael Jordan.

“We want to bring the same magic to other sports leagues as well as help other entertainment studios and independent creators find their own approaches in exploring open platforms,” Dapper Labs CEO Roham Gharegozlou told the AP after the company raised $305 million.

Dapper Labs, per the AP, has received funding from NBA players like Spencer Dinwiddie, Kevin Durant, Kyle Lowry, and Klay Thompson, although it is unclear if they were among those who contributed to the recent $305 million that came in. What makes Jordan so interesting is that Top Shot releases have largely been related to more recent moments, and in a piece by Brian Windhorst of ESPN, it was made clear that the company would like to get more historical Top Shots in the mix.

The company has also already started talks with retired NBA players to secure rights to historic highlights. There has already been one series of these created, called Run It Back, released. The idea of classic Michael Jordan Moments, like “The Shot,” for example, being released in limited supply could set records.

Jordan is famously reserved about giving up his name, image, and likeness for things — the footage that made The Last Dance sat in a vault for nearly two decades before he signed off on things in 2016 — and it’s worth mentioning that even though he invested in Dapper Labs, this does not necessarily mean we’re getting Jordan Top Shots any time soon.

Warner Music Group is a partner in Dapper Labs. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Jordan IIIs will forever hold a special place in the hearts of Jordan heads. In part because the design still ranks highly amongst the 35 silhouettes that make up the full Air Jordan lineage. But more significantly, the iconic sneaker represents the start of the Tinker Hatfield era of the Jordan brand.

Hatfield’s name is almost as big as MJ’s (okay, not really… but kinda) in the sneakerhead community. He’s the designer behind many of Nike’s most beloved kicks and his fingerprint is seen everywhere in the sneaker world. Without a doubt, the III was his coming-out party.

The story of the Air Jordan III is a fascinating one, well worth a deep dive. For the sake of brevity: they’ve been credited as the shoe that saved Nike after Hatfield’s then-unconventional design won Jordan over just as he was contemplating leaving the company. Where was his-Airness headed? Off to partner with Peter Moore, the designer of the Jordan I and II, who was launching a new sneaker company, Van Grack. According to Mental Floss Magazine, Moore had essentially sealed the deal to poach Jordan but the superstar was convinced to say after a final meeting during which Hatfield’s design for the Jordan III was revealed.

Hatfield’s Jordan III implemented design specifics that Jordan himself had voiced in the past and introduced the Jumpman logo (originally sketched by Moore) on the tongue of the sneaker. This proved to Jordan that the brand was as invested in him as a cultural icon as he was, willing to make his personal branding more central than their own famous Swoosh.
The whole thing proved a masterstroke by Hatfield — Moore was offering a 1/3 partnership stake, Nike topped that simply by repositioning a logo and adding Jordan’s recommended cement texture.

Over the decades, Hatfield has ascended to god-status in the design world, but his beginnings are humble. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in architecture and was hired at Nike to help design marketing material. It wasn’t until entering a company-wide contest that Hatfield was “discovered” for his sneaker designing talents. An impressed Moore put the upstart to work, where Hatfield’s very first produced design became the Nike Air Max, which pulled the revolutionary move of exposing the sneaker’s air-unit — redefining the look of Nike shoes forever.

Hatfield’s second sneaker? The Jordan III. Seriously, dude is that good.

Unlike the Air Jordan I and II, which were high-top sneakers, the III featured a less restrictive mid-rise cuff at Jordan’s request — then unheard of for a basketball shoe and a highly controversial move for an athlete coming off a broken ankle. It also featured a soft, tumbled leather upper, which helped Jordan break in the shoes instantly, an exposed Air bubble, and the sneaker’s two most defining features — a gray cracked print around the toe and heel (called “cement” by Nike), and an oversized tongue baring an iconic image of Jordan dunking, used without Nike’s direct permission and based on a throwaway sketch by Moore that caught Hatfield’s eye.

Jordan rocked the IIIs at the 1988 Slam Dunk Contest, where he dunked from the free-throw line — solidifying this silhouette’s must-have status amongst basketball fans. If that legendary moment wasn’t enough to convince people that the IIIs were the future of shoes, the genius ad-campaign directed by and starring Spike Lee as She’s Gotta Have It’s Mars Blackmon would.

Today, in celebration of what many consider the Jordan Brand’s GOAT, we’re running through the twenty best designs in the sneaker’s 33-year history — from its debut in 1988 to the best colorways of 2021.

Air Jordan III White Cement, 1988

We can’t say for certain what Tinker Hatfield’s original AJIII prototype looked like, but we imagine it must’ve been similar to the White Cement. Jordan laced these up in 1987 and they’re the colorway he rocked when he crushed the Slam Dunk Contest, creating a moment that lives rent-free in the minds of all basketball fans, forever.

Released to the public as one of the debut colorways, the White Cement is very much the icon of the AJIIIs and you’ll find that most of the colorways on this list are merely subtle alterations of this original design.

Hatfield really knocked it out of the park with this first one.

Air Jordan III Black Cement, 1988

Worn by Jordan in 1988 at the NBA All-Star Game, the Black Cement is still the AJIII’s hottest silhouette — fetching the highest prices on the aftermarket and topping several Jordan III rankings floating around on sneakerhead message boards. It’s identical to the White Cement, only it features a black leather paneling with grey accents instead of a clean white upper, which meshes nicely with the cracked cement panels.

The university red eyelets and Jumpman logo also pop in a radically different way than the red on white. We could argue in the comments all day about which is the more iconic release, but we won’t.

Air Jordan III Fire Red, 1988

During the 1988 NBA Playoffs, Jordan switched up his White Cement kicks for this Fire Red iteration. While the Fire Red seems to be the least popular of the original four colorways, it birthed an iconic Nike colorway that would find fame on several other Jordan silhouettes in the future.

The Fire Red is sleek, the elephant skin print (we’re sticking to calling it that, which feels more accurate) has been blacked out here, which allows the angles of the sneaker’s panels to really shine. Overall, the Fire Red makes it easier to appreciate how revolutionary Hatfield’s design was amongst all the other basketball sneakers out there.

Air Jordan III True Blue, 1988

The Black and White Cement colorways may be the most iconic of the original four AJ III colorways, but the True Blue is the sleeper hit. With its mix of university blue, and red, the same bright white upper as the White Cement, and an extra hit of elephant print at the eyestay, the True Blue is still one of the best colorways the silhouette would ever be dressed in.

MJ rocked these in an exhibition game between the 1988 NBA All-Stars and Team USA and wore them again in 2001, when he briefly played for the Washington Wizards.

Air Jordan III Mocha, 2001

Jordans always look great in Mocha colorways and this 2001 release of the AJ III is no different. The first colorway to step away from the OG makeups, the Mocha features a double all-white upper with brown-toned elephant print panels and a matching outsole and Jumpman logo.

Not much to say here, this one still looks like a must-have twenty years later. Luckily, the colorway gets refreshed often.

Air Jordan III Black Cat, 2007

Check out that gap in years between the Mocha and the Black Cat! AJ III colorways hit a bit of a lull in the early ’00s but ’07 would bring about a sort of renaissance for the silhouette due, in part, to the release of the Black Cat. Inspired by Jordan’s “Black Cat” nickname — earned for the way he attacked the opposing team and dominated the court — this colorway began Nike’s obsession with the Triple Black colorway.

A detail that’s hard to catch unless you’ve owned a pair, the Black Cat’s feature elephant print shoelaces, which Nike needs to bring back immediately.

Air Jordan III Pure Money, 2007

Following the template of the White Cement/Black Cement, the Pure Money is the all-white answer to the AJ III Black Cat. The Pure Money features an all-white upper with grey eyelets and a platinum Jumpman logo. They very much look like a rich person’s pair of sneakers. We gotta go with the Black Cat as the superior pair though.

Air Jordan III Flip, 2007

The Flip has always seemed like a weed-influenced design to me. I imagine Nike designers sitting around and getting high until someone blurted out, “But like… what if we flipped the upper with the elephant print mudguard and put the elephant print as the sneakers upper…man” And then that’s what they did.

It’s kind of cool to see the elephant print get a bigger canvas to breathe, but we wouldn’t trade these in for any regular non-flipped colorway, so this is more of a curiosity than an essential.

Air Jordan III Do The Right Thing, 2007

The AJ III “Do The Right Thing” should’ve been an AJ IV (that’s what Buggin’ Out was wearing in the film that shares this sneaker’s name) but for whatever reason, it’s a III. We’ll take it. Named after and inspired by Spike Lee’s superb film Do The Right Thing, the DTRT features a blue and mustard yellow colorway with radiant green threading that borrows its colorway from Do The Right Thing’s movie poster.

Air Jordan III Cool Grey, 2007

The Cool Grey looks like a cityscape, this colorway features an all-grey upper with Nike’s Sport Red on the Jumpman logo and Orange Peel at the eyelets which really pop against the more drab and understated upper. A reissue of this colorway dropped this year and it, as you might’ve guessed, sold out instantly.

Air Jordan III Doernbecher, 2010

Made as part of Nike partnership with Portland’s OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, the Doernbecher was designed by Cole Johanson — who covered the upper in a metallic diamond-patterned varsity red colorway and listed the two comforts that he credits with helping him beat his lymphoma on the sneaker’s insole: spaghetti and chocolate.

The drop was so popular at the time — probably because it represented a radical shift in the look of the AJ III — that Nike re-released it again three years later. Proceeds benefit OHSU and Doernchecher’s.

Air Jordan III Oregon Ducks Pit Crew, 2011

Released in both a White and Black iteration (this is the White, obviously) the AJ III Oregon Ducks Pit Crew was made in honor of the University of Oregon’s student cheer section, known for their insane team spirit at home games. The Pit Crew was the name given to the fans who would routinely show up at U of O games no matter where the team traveled. The design of the sneaker featured duck prints in place of the Nike logo.

Air Jordan III Black Flip, 2011

We considered just including the Black Flip on this list and skipping over the OG, because in every way this design is just better. But it also felt wrong to talk about the Black Flip without mentioning what came before. The Black Flip is superior because the all-black take on the elephant print pattern is a lot more subtle, so the sneaker looks less like a confusing mess and more like a curious alteration on a classic design.

Air Jordan III Legends of Summer, 2013

We were THIS close to not including the AJ III Legends of Summer all-red colorway. This. Close. But just… look at it? Clearly inspired by the Yeezy Red Octobers, this design dropped as part of the merch on Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z’s world tour of the same name. Since the first day they were teased by JT, Nike fans have been feverishly waiting for another drop.

What are you waiting for Nike? The tenth anniversary? Cool, hopefully, a refresh is just two years away from now.

Air Jordan III Solefly Lotto, 2014

No, you’re not seeing things, the Solely Lotto AJ III’s look very similar to both the Fire Red and White Cement colorways, except for a splash of yellow under the tongue, and a flamingo logo in place of the Jumpman. Inspired by the appearance of Florida lottery tickets, the shades used are slightly different than the OGs. We have a mix of white, laser crimson, nightshade, and laser orange, so it’s a bit more vibrant than the White Cement and Fire Red, which utilize the moodier University Red.

Air Jordan III Seoul, 2018

The AJ III Seoul resembles the True Blue makeup in a lot of ways, but the design is much cleaner here — using a combination of an all-white upper with colors borrowed from the South Korean flag on the collar. Made in collaboration between Tinker Hatfield and Dan Sunwoo at Nike’s Innovation Kitchen, Seoul is easily one of the best AJ III colorways to drop over the last five years.

Other details include the use of the taeguk symbol from the Korean Flag in place of the left sneaker’s Jumpman logo.

Air Jordan III Tinker Oregon Ducks, 2018

Borrowing the colors of Tinker Hatfield’s alma mater, the Tinker Oregon Ducks feature a green apple nubuck upper with yellow cement and grey accents. In a radical departure from the original design, the Tinker Ducks sport a blunted Nike Swoosh, which gives the sneaker a radically different look.

Air Jordan III Laser Orange, 2020

A future classic, the AJ III Laser Orange was released as a woman’s exclusive and was clearly made as a gesture to Nike’s growing customer base. Though you have to wonder, if Nike would’ve just offered all those classic AJ III colorways in women’s sizes to begin with, maybe they could’ve made a whole lot more money, since small-footed sneakerheads have been up-sizing kid’s sizes for years before Nike bothered to take notice.

The Laser Orange is clean, if Nike would drop a full-size run people would certainly be clamoring for them.

Air Jordan III UNC, 2021

Is it wrong to say that one of the top five AJ III colorways to ever release didn’t drop until 2021? Because we’re saying it. The UNC deserves a spot amongst the OGs, this design is just too clean. Made in homage to Michael Jordan’s alma mater, the UNC features University Blue accents over a dual-textured leather upper with an embroidered Jumpman logo and those iconic elephant print panels.

Hell, I’ll say it, I think the UNC is the BEST Jordan III colorway.

Air Jordan III Georgetown, 2021

The AJ III Georgetown dropped in March 2021, the same month as this article! That means if we would’ve written this earlier, some other sneaker would’ve made the list. That’s wild. Borrowing the colors of Georgetown University, the Georgetown or Midnight Navy, as it’s also known, features a mix of Midnight navy, cement grey, and white and is being released in celebration of March Madness.

2021 has been a great year for Jordan IIIs and it feels like the design is in the midst of another renaissance. To which fans of the show say: Bring it.

Last week, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed into a law a highly controversial voting bill that has already spurred lawsuits and threats of boycotts over what critics call a “Christmas tree of goodies for voter suppression.” By design, The Election Integrity Act of 2021 disproportionally affects Black voters, which is why President Joe Biden dubbed it “Jim Crow in the 21st Century” and has vowed to have the Justice Department look into the situation. But while the controversial bill works it way through the courts, director James Mangold, whose next project is the fifth film in the Indiana Jones series, has vowed to not direct a film in Georgia in protest.

After catching word of Mangold’s protest, Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill has also committed to not filming in the state until the voting bill is repealed. Hamill tweeted his support for Mangold over the weekend, which you can see below:

However, the boycott is having trouble gaining supporters, and for a complicated reason. While Black activist groups denounce the controversial voting bill, they have been vocal in making it clear that a filming industry boycott would only hurt Black workers in the state. Via The Hollywood Reporter:

Georgia-based actor Steve Coulter, who has appeared in shows like P Valley and Yellowstone, asked Mangold to think twice before boycotting: “James … we here in GA fought like hell the last 4 years to turn it blue. We gave you two Dem Senators. Your boycott only hurts us, the thousands of rank & film actors & crew. Think before you cancel. Please. We’ve worked too hard.”

Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter Bernice King has also voiced her concerns that a Georgia boycott “would hurt middle-class workers and people grappling with poverty.”

(Via Mark Hamill on Twitter)

Last week, fans of the Quavo and Saweetie couple were devastated to learn that the pair had broken up. Although both artists shared claims that the other was at fault, many fans speculated that Quavo’s infidelity was the reason behind the split. However, today, TMZ surfaced a new video that shows the two had a lot more problems than it appeared on the surface.

In the video, Quavo and Saweetie have an altercation in an elevator, caught by the elevator’s security camera. Saweetie takes a swing at Quavo, and the two scuffle over an orange suitcase with Quavo ultimately grabbing Saweetie and flinging her to the floor of the elevator. There is no sound, so we can’t hear what the two say to each other, but there’s some discussion before Saweetie gets up and walks past Quavo, who stays behind after propping open the door with the suitcase.

The former couple was a fan favorite before their breakup, with the story of Quavo’s DM icebreaker becoming a meme and sweet, behind-the-scenes stories filtering into their interviews. Fans fawned over the couple’s luxurious gifts to each other, but in her tweet confirming their breakup, Saweetie admitted that gifts weren’t enough to “band aid scars.” While those scars were initially thought to be emotional, this new revelation prompts the question of whether some were physical as well.

You can watch the video on TMZ.

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

Over the past few days, Lil Nas X has proven yet again that he knows how to get all sorts of reactions out of all sorts of people. With his “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” video and his controversial sneakers (both of which are Satan-themed), he has delighted some onlookers while making others irate. Now, he is hoping that his story will inspire an episode from a show that gets similar reactions out of its fans and haters: South Park.

This afternoon, Nas seemingly tried to will an episode of the show into existence by tweeting, “this gone be a good ass south park episode lmao.”

A South Park episode about Nas’ new controversy certainly isn’t outside of the realm of possibility. The show is made quickly, which allows Trey Parker and Matt Stone to tackle specific contemporary topics: Just this month, they released a special episode about the coronavirus vaccine. Meanwhile, Satan is actually a recurring character on South Park, so it’s not like an appearance from the devil would be out of the ordinary.

There’s certainly a lot of source material to work with: The maker of the “Satan shoes” is reportedly being sued by Nike and the Church Of Satan is on board with what Nas has been up to.

British R&B singer-songwriter Tiana Major9 is currently working on the follow-up to her 2020 Motown debut At Sixes And Sevens, but while fans await more information on its impending release, Major9 has been sharing a string of acoustic performances and remixes of fan favorites from the confessional full-length, including today’s drop, the “Real Affair” remix featuring Vince Staples.

Although the song’s theme would appear to be outside of Vince’s usual wheelhouse — it’s a song about smoking away the breakup blues, and Vince is notoriously straight-edge — he acquits himself well, choosing to focus on the breakup blues part more than the smoking one. “If anything, I know we got through whatever roadblocks,” he muses. “I ain’t gotta feel on the flame to know the stove hot.”

Tiana’s remix EP is set for an April 2 release date and features her recently released collaboration with Lucky Daye, “On Read,” as well as an appearance from SiR of Top Dawg Entertainment. She recently revealed that she’s in “album mode,” teasing the phrase with a game of hangman on her Twitter. Meanwhile, Vince most recently popped up on Lil Yachty’s “In My Stussy’s,” but has otherwise been laying low, leaving fans to wonder when his FM! follow-up for Motown Records will arrive.

Listen to Tiana Major9’s “Real Affair” remix featuring Vince Staples above.

Cardi B gets pulled into conversations about cultural appropriation so often, that she feels as though she has to give a history lesson every few months. The rapper is Dominican and has long embraced her Afro-Latina roots, continually noting that nationality is different from race. Now, the singer aims to take the conversation off Twitter and into the beauty market with her own line of hair products that will educate consumers on various hair types.

Cardi has long been open about her hair care methods, which oftentimes involve natural DIY hair masks. But after being pulled into yet another Twitter conversation about race and nationality, Cardi wants to take her beauty secrets to the public while also educating people about Afro-Latina culture. “Hair texture def don’t make you a race however I am Afro Latina,” she responded to someone on Twitter earlier this week.

Detailing her new endeavor in an Instagram post, the rapper wrote that she has been working on at-home haircare for her and her daughter for some time now:

“This year I will be coming out with a hairline that I been working on at home for my hair and my daughters however,I think is time for people to educate themselves on nationality,race and ethnicity.Being Hispanic/Latina don’t make your hair long , don’t make your skin light or don’t make your face features slim specially Latin countries from the Caribbean islands. Dna have something to do with your hair not your nationality but guess what you can always maintain your hair …..and one more things not everyone that speaks Spanish is Mexican.”

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels, but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.

Every week, Uproxx is rounding up the best new indie music from the past seven days. This week we got the impressive new album from Citizen, a stellar single from Mannequin Pussy, and a new 1975-produced track from Beabadoobee. Check out the rest of the best new indie music below.

While we’re at it, sign up for our newsletter to get the best new indie music delivered directly to your inbox, every Monday.

Serpentwithfeet – Deacon

After gaining traction with 2018’s Soil, LA musician Serpentwithfeet is back with his sophomore effort, an album that manages to feel massive, while also displaying a palpable sense of Serpentwithfeet’s control and evoking a sense of calm. “I originally approached this project wanting to make something that felt very sensuous,” he explained in a recent statement. “This was my way of tapping into the energy many deacons possess.”

Citizen – Life In Your Glass World

On their latest album, midwestern heavyweights Citizen leave the emo infused pop-punk of their formative years firmly in the past. This is not to say that an album like Life In Your Glass World is any less intense than past Citizen efforts, but the aggression is, for the most part, set aside in favor of building the new songs around dance beats and infectious vocal hooks from Mat Kerekes.

The Antlers – Green To Gold

After seven years of silence, The Antlers are back with a gorgeous new album. Green To Gold takes on a more personal stance than the duo’s previous efforts — where Peter Silberman is usually writing about the human experience through a mythological lens, his new songs are more or less a reflection of the last few years of his life. The album is full of sparse, roomy arrangements that mark a triumphant return from the duo.

Early Riser – Vocations

Brooklyn’s Early Riser is a band that thrives on the energy of their live performance, and for their new album Vocations, the zeroed in on their collective strengths to capture that energy on record. Vocations is chock full of fun lo-fi punk tracks that have a unique freewheeling energy about them that is reminiscent of formative compilation albums.

Real Estate – Half A Human

After spending much of last week reminiscing on ten years of Real Estate’s Days, we shifted our focus to the present for the band’s new EP Half A Human. The six-track effort was produced remotely during the pandemic, but it doesn’t affect the band’s penchant for dreamy indie rock to create an essential vibe.

Mannequin Pussy – “Control”

Two years after 2019’s excellent LP Patience, Philadelphia punks Mannequin Pussy are back and better than ever for a new EP called Perfect. Lead single “Control” is what Derrick Rossignol calls for Uproxx “an exciting new track that starts with quiet guitar strumming and equally subdued vocals before exploding into an aggressive rocker.

Beabadoobee – “Last Night On Earth”

Beabadoobee’s debut album Fake It Flowers sounded like the soundtrack to a teen movie. Not even a year later, she’s back with even more excellent music, with a new EP produced by The 1975 due sometime this summer. Sure enough, “Last Night On Earth” sounds like what Derrick Rossignol calls for Uproxx “a mix of Beabadoobee’s ’90s-inspired work and the lighter tracks from The 1975’s recent output.”

Origami Angel – “Neutrogena Spektor”

Origami Angel made waves in the emo community with their debut album Somewhere City, with the most fervent fans calling themselves members of the “Gami Gang.” Well, now the DC-based band is back with an ambitious new double album paying tribute to those evangelists, called Gami Gang. “Neutrogena Spektor” is one of two singles that came with the album’s announcement, a “charged” emo number, writes Carolyn Droke for Uproxx.

Matt Sweeney & Bonnie “Prince” Billy – “My Blue Suit”

More than 15 years after their first joint effort, Matt Sweeney and Bonnie “Prince” Billy are back with Superwolves. “My Blue Suit” is the latest sampling from the LP, a sparse number featuring nothing more than an acoustic guitar and raw vocal.

Bachelor – “Stay In The Car”

A month after sharing their first collaborative track, Palehound’s Ellen Kempner and Jay Som’s Melina Duterte have announced a new full-length album under the name Bachelor. “Stay In The Car” is a song that Duterte says was “inspired by The Pixies and The Breeders,” building around a driving bass line and detailing a dramatic narrative.

Rosie Tucker – “Habanero”

Los Angeles musician Rosie Tucker has been hard at work since the release of their 2019 effort Never Not Never Not Never Not, releasing a string of impressive standalone singles. All those tracks, as well as the brand new shimmering indie gem “Habanero,” will be included on their forthcoming new album Sucker Supreme.

Downhaul – “Eyesight”

Richmond, Virginia’s Downhaul make the expansive, cinematic type of emo that sent people in droves toward bands like The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die. Good news is, Downhaul’s latest single was produced by a member of that band, and you can hear the influence on the new track “Eyesight,” which takes on an air of drama and intensity as it continues building across its nearly five-minute runtime.

Shamir – “DsharpG” (Sharon Van Etten cover)

Sharon Van Etten’s upcoming reissue of Ten also comes with a full-album set of covers, and the latest installment is from Shamir. Shamir’s take on “DsharpG” gives the track a whole new life, bringing his signature authenticity while staying true to the original formation. Shamir’s music is truly original and a force to be reckoned with in his reimagining of a time where I grew up fondly, angsty & dreaming,” Van Etten wrote on Instagram.

Azure Ray – “Remedy”

Azure Ray went silent after 2010’s Drawing Down The Moon, but now the wait is over for new music. The new ten-track album Remedy was produced remotely during the pandemic, and the title track is a beautiful, flowing reentry for Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink.

Xixix – “Rich Kids”

Every time it seems like the days of bombastic, anthemic indie rock has officially faded into the rearview, there comes a band like Xixix that reminds us of how fun it can be. “Rich Kids” is a track that sounds like it was made for a festival crowd, creating a world of reckless abandon that makes it a perfect summer track.

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

Like most films scheduled to hit in 2020, Godzilla Vs. Kong saw its release date pushed into 2021, which was to be expected at that point. However, the next bit of news hit a little bit harder for director Adam Wingard, who was looking forward to his first major blockbuster eventually stomping into theaters. According to a lengthy new interview covering everything from his work on Godzilla Vs. Kong to his teenage obsession with writing a Thundercats screenplay that he’s finally getting to bring to life, Wingard reveals that the announcement that his massive monster battling film would debut on HBO Max left him “devastated.”

“This was my first big movie, a big opportunity. More than that, this is a movie that is meant to be seen on the big screen,” Wingard told Deadline. “If any movie is that, it’s Godzilla vs. Kong. You want to fill up the size of the screen, this is the one to do it with. I was depressed, upset, sad. It took a while to work out the details.”

But despite agreeing with filmmakers like Christopher Nolan who challenged Warner Bros.’s strategy, Wingard eventually came around to the streaming debut after seeing people’s reaction to the trailer:

“When it hit, I was blown away. We hit record numbers on trailer views, fans were putting out reaction videos. Those saved my life, watching people filming themselves watching the trailer, and reacting to it. It was special because we’d been deprived of blockbuster cinema in 2020, and finally, people were getting their first look at the biggest craziest popcorn movie you could imagine.”

As Wingard goes on to elaborate, why should he complain in the middle of a pandemic? “I thought, these people just need for movies to come out again. It means so much and if the only way certain people will see this is at home, so be it.” Fortunately, Wingard’s hope that Warner Bros. would keep its word and only use the HBO Max strategy for its 2021 film slate was not misplaced. The studio recently announced that it would be ending day-and-date releases in 2022 as promised, however, films will now have a 45-day window before hitting PVOD as opposed to 90 days, which was a change that was likely coming, pandemic or not.

(Via Deadline)