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SXSW was one of the first festivals to cancel their event in 2020 in light of the pandemic. While they’re still not holding in-person events this year, they plan on going ahead with a full virtual festival in 2021. Organizers have just unveiled the film festival’s lineup, and it includes premieres of documentary films following several acclaimed musicians.

Charli XCX’s documentary Alone Together will kick off SXSW’s events. Directed by Bradley Bell and Pablo Jones-Soler, the film will follow Charli as she wrote, recorded, and produced her album How I’m Feeling Now over the course of just two months in quarantine. Along with a look at Charli’s life, SXSW will premiere Demi Lovato: Dancing With The Devil, a YouTube Originals documentary about the singer’s nearly fatal overdose in 2018 and her healing process afterwards.

SWSW isn’t staying exclusive to the pop world, as they will also show the Tom Petty film Somewhere You Feel Free. Directed by Mary Wharton, it’s composed of recently discovered 16 mm archival film showing Tom Petty at work on his 1994 record Wildflowers.

Speaking in a statement about this year’s festival, Director Of Film Janet Pierson said:

“It’s been a year unlike any we’ve experienced, first marked by the cancellation of SXSW 2020. We feel privileged to have been able to pivot to SXSW Online and present a fantastic treasure trove of programming, including a pared down and wonderful selection of films that we know will delight, entertain and move our attendees. SXSW Online will bring attendees a multifaceted event that speaks to so many areas of creativity in one five-day experience that everyone can access on their laptops, phones and TVs. While we won’t have the wonderful in-person SXSW that we know and love, we can gather together to be inspired by the work.”

Because the festival has gone fully virtual this year, ticketing looks a little different. SXSW will launch seven films concurrently in two-hour increments from 11 am to 9 pm EST. Once a film is streaming, it will remain available for ticketholders to view until the event ends. SXSW is a global event, but certain films may have restricted access due to rights or the filmmaker’s discretion.

SXSW takes place from March 16 to 20. Get tickets here.

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

Rebecca Black first released her song “Friday” at age 13 and, for better or for worse, it instantly went viral. People everywhere began to ridicule the song and Black by extension. But now, ten years later, Black has shirked her critics and she’s ready to reclaim the song. This time, she’s tapped Dorian Electra, Big Freedia, and 3OH!3 to turn the auto-tuned track into a hyperpop banger. The song was also produced by Dylan Brady of 100 Gecs.

The video, directed by Weston Allen, plays up the campiness song while adding elements to call back to the original video. Black can be seen riding in the back seat of the convertible that appeared in the 2011 video, but this time, she’s drag racing with Dorian Electra and has her RIAA-certified Gold plaque siting shotgun.

Speaking about the remix, Black said:

“I’d had the idea to do this remix of Friday for years leading up to now but honestly it was also mildly insane for me to think anyone else would want to be a part of it. As I started talking about it with other artists and producers I couldn’t believe how stoked people were about it. I am thrilled to have some of my favorite artists (and people) as a part of this moment – Dylan Brady, Dorian Electra, Big Freedia, 3OH!3.”

Echoing Black’s statement, Big Freedia expressed her excitement about the project: “When they asked me to be on the remix I was like yasss! ‘Friday’ defined an era and changed the music industry! It was a fun project.”

Watch Rebecca Black’s “Friday (Remix)” video above.

Kenan Thompson has been one of the most versatile comedy pillars on Saturday Night Live for 17 seasons, and after a number of false starts, he’s finally landed his own sitcom vehicle, Kenan, which debuts later this month on NBC. With Thompson finally landing his dream gig of starring in a sitcom (spawned after catching a glimpse of a delighted Matthew Perry leaving the set of Friends in a convertible one day in 2002), a fair question to ask is if Kenan will mean the end of Thompson’s time on SNL. It’s a question he’s certainly asked himself after securing his spot as the longest-running castmember. (Darrell Hammon was the previous record holder with 14 seasons.) But in a new profile ahead of Kenan‘s debut, Thompson confirmed that he’s not leaving SNL for a few more years if he can help it. Also, he wouldn’t mind leaving on a nice round number. Via Variety:

“I have a certain number I would love to get to,” he says of how many seasons he’s aiming for. “I think 20 is a good, round, even number that I’m close to. I feel like that is in reach, but also it would be respected if I don’t get there. Like, 18 is fine, 19 is fine. It doesn’t really matter. What matters is, will I have time for my family? There’s only 24 hours in a day.”

Despite being on the show for 17 seasons, Thompson is still having moments that he can’t believe, like when Dave Chappelle returned to host SNL the first weekend after the 2020 election. “He told me I was good at my job, and I almost cried, you know what I’m saying?” Thompson told Jimmy Fallon a few days after Chappelle hosted the show. “The dude is, I mean, as far as the pinnacle of people I look up to in the voice of my generation, it’s that guy.”

(Via Variety)

As the Tampa Bay Lightning did after winning the Stanley Cup, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrated their Super Bowl victory with a boat parade through the city in an effort to allow for a somewhat distanced celebration — although, people still packed onto boats to participate.

The parade featured a lot of boats, including Tom Brady riding around on a blue, $2 million vessel, soaking in his seventh championship celebration. The Lombardi Trophy was passed from boat to boat, typically with the boats sidling next to each other, but when it came time for Brady to pass it off, well, the QB couldn’t help but complete one more pass this season, risking the Lombardi sinking to the bottom of the river.

Other valuables didn’t avoid the fate of sinking to the bottom of the Hillsborough River, however, as Chris Godwin’s phone ended up swimming with the fishes after Scotty Miller dropped it into the river on what was the top party boat with Godwin, Mike Evans, Miller, Rob Gronkowski, and Cameron Brate.

There were also lots of cans of beer flying around, some of which found safe passage to the hands of players, while others weren’t quite so lucky.

Leonard Fournette, who was among the Bucs’ top stars of the Super Bowl, was having so much fun on his boat hanging out with Jason Pierre-Paul that he couldn’t help but marvel at the Bucs’ star defensive end being as good as he was without all of his fingers.

In all, the Bucs had quite the time on the river and luckily no one and no trophies found their way into the water.

A month ago, producer Danny L Harle announced Harlecore, an innovative album on which he presents a vision of a futuristic club. Each room of the club is home to DJs with distinct musical styles: DJ Danny, MC Boing, DJ Mayhem, and DJ Ocean. Now, we may have the identities of the latter two DJs thanks to two new tracks from Harle, “Ocean’s Theme” and “Interlocked.”

According to the songs’ credits on Spotify, Caroline Polachek co-wrote “Ocean’s Theme” (which is credited to DJ Ocean) while Hudson Mohawke co-wrote and co-produced “Interlocked” (credited to DJ Mayhem), which suggests that those two are the mysterious DJs credited on the tracks. Additionally, the latter song also has writing credits for Chvrches’ Lauren Mayberry and Martin Doherty. These new songs follow “On A Mountain” and “Boing Beat,” on which Eyelar and Hannah Diamond are credited, respectively.

Polachek and Harle have a long history of working together. Back in 2016, they collaborated on a song called “Ashes Of Love” and Harle was an executive producer on Polachek’s 2019 solo album Pang. More recently, Harle produced Polachek’s cover of The Corrs’ “Breathless.”

Listen to “Ocean’s Theme” and “Interlocked” above.

Harlecore is out 2/26 via Mad Decent. Pre-order it here.

The Dallas Mavericks garnered attention on Tuesday night for something they’d been doing all season. The team made the decision to not play the national anthem prior to its home games this year, with Tim Cato of The Athletic reporting that it wasn’t even announced to team employees that the decision had been made.

In a statement to Cato, a league representative said “under the unique circumstances of this season, teams are permitted to run their pregame operations as they see fit.” On Wednesday, the league released a statement indicating that once the circumstances under which this season is being played change — i.e. arenas having limited or no fan presence due to the COVID-19 pandemic — playing “The Star-Spangled Banner” before games will be required.

“With NBA teams now in the process of welcoming fans back into their arenas, all teams will play the national anthem in keeping with longstanding league policy,” NBA chief communications officer Mike Bass said.

It is hardly the first time that the role the national anthem plays in NBA’s pregame routine has received attention. Over the years, there have been numerous conversations about what would happen should players opt to do something like take a knee while the anthem played, to which the league would always point to its policy that standing for the anthem is compulsory. That did change during the NBA’s Orlando Bubble, where players and coaches knelt during “The Star-Spangled Banner” as they saw fit.

After landing the first overall pick in the WNBA Draft for the second straight year, the book on the New York Liberty heading into the offseason was that they would add another promising young player to line up next to Sabrina Ionescu and form a young one-two punch for many years in Brooklyn. But rather than do all that, the Liberty have reportedly executed a deal to ship the No. 1 pick out for 2019 Defensive Player of the Year Natasha Howard.

The news was first reported by Rachel Galligan of Winsidr and Bet MGM and is part of a much larger set of transactions.

As part of the trade, the 29-year-old Howard will sign a four-year contract with New York starting just below the “super-maximum” amount.

In a press release, the Liberty announced the full set of trades: New York acquired the No. 6 pick in 2021 and a first-round pick in 2022 from the Phoenix Mercury by sending out All-Star guard Kia Nurse and second-year forward Megan Walker. The Liberty then flipped that 2022 first-round pick along with the No. 1 overall pick this year and New York’s own second-rounder in 2022 for Howard.

Subsequently, Seattle traded this year’s top overall pick to acquire stretch forward Katie Lou Samuelson, second-year wing Mikiah Herbert-Harrigan (from the Minnesota Lynx) and 2022 second-round picks from both Dallas and New York.

“The magnitude of Natasha choosing to be in New York cannot be overstated,” said Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb in a statement. “She is an All-WNBA talent who has worked for and earned everything that she has achieved, who has contributed to championship runs on multiple teams, and who will fit seamlessly into (head coach) Walt Hopkins’ system.”

This move comes after the Liberty signed reigning WNBA Most Improved Player Betnijah Laney to a multiyear contract in another move that will likely bolster the Liberty’s ninth-ranked defense. Adding Howard shores up the interior and gives New York another veteran as they look to make a playoff push in 2021, with Ionescu fully healed from an ankle injury that cost her most of her rookie season. New York still holds the No. 17, No. 25 and No. 29 picks in the 2021 draft and has 14 players currently on roster. They must get down to 12 by the start of the season in May.

The trade sends ripple effects to nearly every corner of the league. Dallas now holds three picks in the top five including the No. 1 overall selection, while Phoenix has a glut of guards behind Skylar Diggins-Smith and Diana Taurasi. The Storm could have used the top pick to potentially spur a dynasty forward, but instead opted to add depth.

With all that said, the moves are likely not finished as WNBA free agency moves forward toward April’s draft.

Canadian trio The Dirty Nil rung in the new year with a brand new album, pleasantly titled F*ck Art. Spanning eleven tracks and clocking in at just 35 minutes, the album is the type of punk rock jumpstart that feels increasingly necessary during the dreary months of winter. Don’t let the chugging hardcore riffs of album opener “Doom Boy” fool you: this album is as melodic as they come, with infectious choruses and snarky songwriting.

To celebrate the release of F*ck Art, guitarist/vocalist Luke Bentham sat down to talk ‘Goodfellas,’ learning about guitar distortion, and The Replacements in the latest Indie Mixtape 20 Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

Jubilant, Homies, Thrash, Rodeo

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

As a band that wrote their own playbook and always did what they wanted to do.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?

I would have to say Toronto, though Minneapolis, Chicago, Philly and London are close 2nd’s.

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

Hard to say, probably my Godfather, a man named John Struthers. He gave me my first guitar and shared stories of seeing bands like the MC5 and The Beatles. Most Importantly, he showed me the distortion button on the starter amp he bought me, my life has been about chasing the high of that first ‘TWANGGGG’

Where did you eat the best meal of your life?

The plain egg omelette from Mickey’s Diner in St. Paul MN

What album do you know every word to?

Johnny Cash – Live at Folsom Prison.

What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?

The Replacements first gig in 22 years, at Riot Fest in Toronto 2013. That was my favourite at least.

What is the best outfit for performing and why?

Starshirt, tucked into Levi’s with PF Flyers. They’re all sturdy items that show the kids that a proper rock and roll show is gonna happen.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?

Twitter has to be Dan Carlin of Hardcore Histroy/Common Sense, on Instagram I’d have to go with Catatonic Youths.

What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?

Depends on the tour, but probably “Wasn’t Me” by Shaggy overall.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

‘Napoleon Russia Campaign.’

What album makes for the perfect gift?

F*ck Art.

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

It depends on the definition of weird. I’d probably have to go with the time we stayed in a literal treehouse in British Columbia while we were on tour with Against Me!

What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?

Don’t have any.

What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?

Trooper, Missy Elliot

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

My family has been very supportive of the whole rock ‘n’ roll thing

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

Be nicer.

What’s the last show you went to?

The Beaches at the Danforth in Toronto.

What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?

Goodfellas.

What would you cook if Obama were coming to your house for dinner?

Shakshuka, side of garlic bread.

F*ck Art is out now on Dine Alone. Listen here.

In a sign that the burgeoning streaming platform is going big on animated series like Harley Quinn, HBO Max has announced three new adult comedy projects from some major talents. The series include a revival of Clone High from creators Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, a Velma/Scooby-Doo origin story from Mindy Kaling, and Fired on Mars from Pete Davidson. The announcement also confirmed that the adult animated series Close Enough has been renewed for two more seasons. Via The Hollywood Reporter:

“It is a tremendous privilege to build on the 100-year plus legacy of ‘cartoons’ at this company,” HBO Max exec vp comedy and adult animation Suzanna Makkos said in a statement announcing the slate Wednesday. “We can draw a straight line from our hundreds of childhood hours spent watching Bugs outwit Elmer to the current slate of adult animated projects we are building here at HBO Max and we think fans will agree. We are proud to introduce this distinctive group of series from a wide range of diverse creators that will form a first stop destination for animation lovers everywhere.”

The adult-oriented Velma will be voiced and executive produced by Kaling and focus on the amateur sleuth’s origin. And to answer the question on Twitter’s mind, HBO has not yet confirmed whether the series will address Velma’s sexuality. As for Fired on Mars, Davidson will executive produce and voice a character in the “workplace comedy” that’s based on a 2016 animated short by Nate Sherman and Nick Vokey. According to THR, this latest investment in adult animation stems from HBO Max’s success with drawing in viewers with the Cartoon Network series Rick and Morty, and its $500 million purchase of the exclusive streaming rights for South Park. Turns out people like cartoons, which they should, because they’re awesome.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

The outcry over Greta Van Fleet‘s 2019 Best Rock Album Grammy win seemingly earned just about as much press as the actual album rollout itself. But love them or loathe them, the Michigan rock revivalists are here to stay. They’re currently drumming up anticipation about their next LP, The Battle At Garden’s Gate, and have now shared the triumphant track “Heat Above.”

In a statement about the single, bass/keys player Sam Kiszka said, “There’s plenty of love left in this world, even though it may not seem like it. And that’s what ‘Heat Above’ is about, rising to the stars together.”

Ahead of their album’s announcement, it looked like Greta Van Fleet were gearing up for a release in 2020. Back in 2019, vocalist Josh Kiszka opened up about a new project, saying the band had been hard at work over the previous summer. “For about two months in the heart of the summer of this year we really poured everything into the writing and recording, and we’re hoping that sometime earlier next year we’ll be able to put it out,” he had said. But it seems as though the pandemic threw off the band’s album plans as their next LP is slated for a spring release this year.

Listen to Greta Van Fleet’s “Heat Above” single above and check out their The Battle At Garden’s Gate album art and tracklist below.

1. “Heat Above”
2. “My Way, Soon”
3. “Broken Bells”
4. “Built By Nations”
5. “Age Of Machine”
6. “Tears Of Rain”
7. “Stardust Chords”
8. “Light My Love”
9. “Caravel”
10. “The Barbarians”
11. “Trip The Light Fantastic”
12. “The Weight Of Dreams”

The Battle At Garden’s Gate is out 4/16 via Republic. Pre-order it here.