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After Coachella followed a wave of other festivals and opted to cancel their 2020 dates, festival organizer Goldenvoice was hopeful that it would be able to return in 2021. Last June, Coachella announced it would be taking place the second weekend of April 2021, but Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser says otherwise.

Per a report from Palm Springs’ KESQ-TV, Dr. Kaiser has ordered Goldenvoice to cancel their 2021 festivals Coachella and Stagecoach. The official order notes that the festival usually attracts people from all across the world, increasing the risk of the virus’ spread:

“This Order recognizes that both the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach Music Festival are music concerts and gatherings of an international scope, attracting hundreds of thousands of attendees from many countries, including several disproportionately afflicted by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. This order is intended to reduce the likelihood of exposure to COVID-19, thereby slowing the spread of COVID-19 in communities worldwide. If COVID-19 were detected at these festivals, the scope and number of attendees and the nature of the venue would make it infeasible, if not impossible, to track those who may be placed at risk.”

At the time of this post, Coachella has yet to share an official announcement about the festival’s cancellation.

Read Dr. Kaiser’s cancellation order above.

Since the 2018 forming of indie powerhouse trio Boygenius, made up of musicians Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus, many have made the same comparison: Boygenius is the contemporary answer to Crosby, Stills & Nash. But if that were true, it begs the question of who would be Boygenius’ Neil Young. Uproxx’s Ask A Music Critic column said a good edition would be Mitski, but Bridgers has now given an answer of her own.

Bridgers recently sat down with Radio.com’s New Arrivals show with Bryce Segall. Revealing who Boygenius would ask to be their fourth member, Bridgers named Big Thief’s vocalist Adrianne Lenker. “It’s Adrianne Lenker. She’s out there doing her own thing,” she said. “I feel like we would go on tour and every five years Adrianne would join.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Bridgers said that if she didn’t make indie music, she’d want to try her hand at pop tunes. “Sometimes I do listen to things that are totally opposite from my music,” she said. “I would love to top-line write for someone ridiculous, as in the opposite of my music. Like, the next Skrillex album I’ll be writing some really, really poppy top-line… I’d love that, it would be great.”

Listen to Bridgers’ conversation with Radio.com’s New Arrivals with Bryce Segall above.

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

Like a college freshman desperately attempting to acclimate themselves to the bitter taste of coffee, I have tried so goddamn hard to get into MMOs.

I’ve wandered in World of Warcraft, journeyed through several levels of Lord of the Rings Online, and have taken more than my fair share of forays into Final Fantasy XIV. I’ve dabbled with Star Wars: The Old Republic, saved lives in both DC Universe Online and City of Heroes, and spent far too long creating a character in Black Desert Online, but ultimately–whether these sandboxes are set in space or The Shire–I come to the same conclusion every time: MMOs just aren’t for me.

And please believe me when I say, dear reader, I wish they were. I see the way my peers’ eyes light up when their favorite home away from home gets a new patch. I’ve watched from afar as these brave heroes recount how horribly that raid went and bond over their hatred of darksoldier321’s “bad heals.” After years and years of free trial and error, however I am forced to admit I will never truly “get” the appeal of MMOs. Unless they’re Destiny.

Whereas some may argue the Destiny games aren’t “real” MMOs, I argue they’re massively multiplayer, they’re online, and they’re the only ones I’ve got so please, let me have them. I must admit, though, they aren’t what comes to mind when you think of the genre and so I can understand enthusiasts giving them the ol’ side-eye. Even previous publisher Activision billed the series as the first “shared-world shooter” prior to its release in 2014, perhaps to somewhat detach the franchise from the MMO label.

Traditional MMOs conjure images of sprawling servers and a world populated by potential pals–or at the very least folks with amusing usernames. And we do get that in the Destiny games, but admittedly not to the same extent. Furthermore, beyond technicalities, there are a lot of other ways in which Destiny deviates from what we expect MMOs to be, making it perfect for those of us who bounce off of them.

We’ll start at the beginning. OK, not right at the beginning because let’s be real, character creation takes a good twenty minutes, but right after that. Every time I’m lured into starting an MMO, the hard sell I’m given comes with a promise that “it gets better later on.” And hey, I’ve recommended plenty of hard-to-get-into things to friends, I get the tactic and I know their heart is in it, but in all the traditional MMOs I’ve played, I’ve yet to get to “later.” The thing with MMOs is, in my opinion, they work best for those of us who can successfully delay gratification–the best of us, really.

With these games, the dopamine hit doesn’t come from repeated, instantaneous actions, it instead comes after you’re done putting in the work, step back and think, “wow, I absolutely couldn’t do that before.” There’s something to be said about the folks who can power through the work in search of that bit of growth, but I’ll be completely honest and say that when I play games, work just isn’t what I want to do. But Destiny? Destiny rewards both kinds of players.

I can play Destiny on a very casual level and not feel like I’m putting in an exorbitant amount of work or grinding to get to “later,” not that “later” is particularly needed when I’m having fun right away. Whereas in traditional MMOs you’re stuck killing 20 rats for a few hours clad in some nice burlap fit, Destiny lets you in on the action much earlier. I think a great deal of this comes from the game being an absolutely fantastic feeling first-person shooter, which in turn gives us that repeated, instantaneous rush that impatient folks like me need to keep going. Additionally, modes like Crucible allow us to jump in with friends right away, and anything that eliminates the awkwardness of my level 40 friend watching me collect 10 mosquito needles for my level 6 quest is very welcome.

Furthermore, Destiny is not only great at both welcoming and rewarding new players but is also less stressful to pick back up than a traditional MMO—especially if you’re like me and have a tendency to only jump back in when the newest expansion is out.

Thanks to Bungie implementing methods to help Guardians be battle-ready when the Next Big Thing begins, I’ve never felt seriously dissuaded coming back from hiatus, either. This isn’t to say the game isn’t made for near-daily play; bounties and weekly events, such as nightfalls, strikes, and raids, keep things interesting for everyone while still being accessible for on and off again fans. And for those who love the grind, the grind is absolutely there. But I’ve never felt like I needed to put in ten hours of work to get gauntlets that make me feel badass when the loot you get through casual play is honestly great-looking and effective.

The other element that keeps me coming back is how Destiny handles its world and narrative. We tend to throw this word around a lot, but Destiny truly does feel immersive. The combination of gorgeous environments, interesting character design, and top-notch voice acting makes me feel more connected to the world than I do in a traditional MMO. I’m not drowning in text or empty sidequests when making my way through the solar system, I’m in the middle of the action and a story that is compelling and deep if you’re keeping tabs and truly invested, but still rad as hell if you’re just along for a brief ride. During my time with the games, I’ve gotten better at retaining the overarching plot of the game, but even when I jumped into Forsaken a while back, I found what was immediately happening interesting enough to call that DLC one of my absolute favorites of the year.

The sad truth of the matter is when you start getting older–or paid to write about games, so a real double whammy on my part–your relationship with them changes. You start to celebrate ones that are more respectful of your time, that are more forgiving to those who can’t put in their 20 hours a week or power through an 80-hour story. MMOs aren’t for me because, quite frankly, I lack the willpower to commit to something that doesn’t commit to my joy immediately. But Destiny does and gives us a chance to enjoy a game with all the best elements of an MMO RPG and none of the ones that might make us wary of getting started. So while I might be missing out on darksoldier321’s poor teamwork, I’m thankful Destiny has given me the opportunity to groan while I tell my friend “we gotta res that guy again.”

With the premiere of his new ABC show For Life and his upcoming series Power Book III: Raising Kanan, 50 Cent has a lot on his plate. The rapper recently appeared on a radio show to chat about his upcoming projects, and the rapper also addressed the possibility of him appearing in a celebrity boxing match.

50 was asked who he’d be willing to face off in the ring in a recent interview with Radio.com and V-103’s The Morning Culture. It didn’t take long for 50 to name Floyd Mayweather as a worthy opponent, but there’s a catch. “I don’t think I could make weight though,” he said. “I’d fight Floyd (Mayweather) if I could get down there. Or he’d just have to let me not get down to 150. I tried I looked like a homeless person. I could make it down to probably, like 180.”

Elsewhere in the interview, 50 knocked down the possibility of him ever appearing on a Verzuz battle in the future. For him, Verzuz is more of a trip through memory lane rather than an actual battle. “Verzuz was more interesting when we were completely stuck in the house,” he said. “It showed up when D-Nice was the only DJ left on the plane, but other than that, it’s trying to re-write history to me. It’s already happened. The performance for the evening, if you played the music, it usually marks time. It’s that period that you dominated musically, and you felt when that song came on. We could play music right now and it takes you back to how you felt when you were around that person. Right now, Lil Baby is having a moment. So when his music comes on, I’m feeling Lil Baby.”

In 2003, MTV aired its first episode of Punk’d, a celebrity prank show so huge that it would be revived by MTV in 2010, by BET in 2013, and by the short-lived Quibi in 2020. Hosted by Ashton Kutcher, the show’s very first prank came at the expense of then 22-year-old Justin Timberlake. He was approached outside of his home by actors posing as IRS agents, and he was told that his possessions, including his car and his dogs, were being seized for nonpayment of taxes.

In the segment, Timberlake is seen at times freaking out, confused and unsure as to why all of this is happening to him. At one point, it looks as though Justin Timberlake is about to cry before Ashton Kutcher finally comes out and reveals that Timberlake is being “Punk’d.”

The prank not only helped launch Punk’d, but it has since been called one of the greatest moments in reality-television history. This week, Justin Timberlake appeared on the Armchair Expert podcast where he was reunited with the actor playing the lead IRS agent in the prank, Dax Shepard. Obviously, their episode of Punk’d was a big topic of conversation.

“The whole network was there,” Dax Shepard told Timberlake about the episode, “because MTV knew their relationship with you was very valuable … I was in your garage for an hour-and-a-half being told everything I could and could not say.”

Shepard said that it was a bizarre, high-stakes experience for him because he knew that if he messed it up, he wouldn’t work again for another 10 years. But he also said that what he learned about Timberlake from the experience is that he’s “just a beautiful guy. I’m not kidding. He just took his buddy golfing. He’s out on a Saturday, and he’s not hungover.”

“But when I brought up your dogs,’ Shepard said, “you got really emotional.” Shepard thought that he had gone too far. “I thought, ‘This is a f***ing beautiful dude. He cares about his dogs. It’s the only thing he cares about. He didn’t care about losing his house, he didn’t care that all his sh*t was locked up. All he cared about was losing his dogs.”

What Timberlake revealed about that day, however, was that there was a reason he was so emotional about those dogs. First off, while Shepard was right in that Timberlake wasn’t hungover, “I was so stoned, SO stoned,” Timberlake said, ‘that I swore off any type of cannabis for at least a year” after the episode was taped. “MTV edited out a lot because at one point I sat down on my porch and looked at [my friend] and I was like, ‘I’m so high man. Is this real? Is this really happening? I am so high.”

But there was also a reason a totally stoned Timberlake was emotional about the dogs. “The dogs? They were actually my mom’s,’ Timberlake revealed to Shepard. “My whole life, my mother has had some sort of terrier … and her dogs are everything to her.”

“When the dogs got involved, that’s when all bets were off. I just sat down on the stoop and I had this thought, ‘What if my mom never sees her dogs again? Will she ever forgive me? My mom will never forgive me.”

Fortunately, the dogs were not taken. In fact, Timberlake’s mother herself was in on the joke. However, it does explain why Timberlake got so emotional during the prank: The dogs weren’t his, and he was really baked.

Source: Armchair Expert

On next week’s episode of People’s Party with Talib Kweli, Talib Kweli and Jasmin Leigh will be joined by everyone’s favorite thrift store fit-copping rapper, Macklemore, who will sit down with our hosts to deep dive on the in and outs and ups and downs of his career in hip-hop. Long outspoken about his struggles with addiction, Macklemore also offers some advice for young people currently struggling with drug and alcohol abuse and reveals to Kweli and Leigh that he credits his early stint in rehab with literally saving his life:

“I didn’t know that there was a bunch of people, thousands in my city, that were convening in the basements of churches in random old halls talking about this disease that I had. I didn’t even know it was a disease at the beginning, I went for years like ‘why can I not fucking stop, why can I not drink and smoke like my friends. Why when I wake up is that the first thing I’m thinking about…’ I didn’t know that there was a community that was there to support and love me unconditionally that had the same fucking disease.”

Finding a community to relate to was key in Macklemore’s recovery, and he stresses the importance of that community for young addicts who have yet to recognize that they have a disease.

“There is a therapeutic value of one addict to another sharing their experience, strength, and hope that saved my fucking life and continues to save my life. You work these twelve steps and you get better, you excavate that bullshit, you figure out your character defects, you say sorry to some people, you have a spiritual awakening, and you go out and you carry that message to somebody else and that’s the most important thing in this world, being of service to other people…”

Check out the clip above to hear more about Macklemore’s struggles with addiction and his ongoing recovery and be sure to catch the full People’s Party episode when it airs on Monday.

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SAMHSA’s National Helpline is found at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). It is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.

Randall Park is having a pretty good week. Not only did his Marvel character, FBI agent Jimmy Woo, make his WandaVision debut on Friday, but the actor just learned the day before that he’s been vaccinated against COVID-19 for the past four months. If you were wondering how Park could be vaccinated without knowing it until now, there’s a pretty cool explanation: he took part in a clinical trial back in September out of sheer boredom, and there was a 50/50 chance of him actually receiving the vaccine. While appearing on The Talk, Park explained how he was convinced to join the trial by fellow actor (and medical doctor) Ken Jeong, who let him know that the facility was specifically looking for Asian-American candidates. Via The Hollywood Reporter:

“And you know, I was thinking, ‘Oh that’s interesting.’ Then, I found out it was near my home, not far, and I was bored because it was the pandemic,” he said. “I was stuck in the house. And I was like, ‘Maybe I should donate my body to science.’ I figured it would be my way to, kind of, fight this thing happening throughout the world. So, I enlisted in the trial. And I didn’t know if I got the placebo or the actual vaccine, but I just found out yesterday that I got the vaccine.”

On top of receiving the good news that he’s now vaccinated against the pandemic, WandaVision fans have been loving Park’s return to the MCU, and the bond that his character quickly built with Kat Dennings‘ Darcy Lewis as the two watch the show’s “sitcom” unfold.

(Via The Talk)

Everyone has had an embarrassingly bad haircut at some point in their lives and unfortunately for Grimes and Elon Musk’s baby son, that day came sooner rather than later. Grimes cut her baby’s short hair with long kitchen scissors this week — and it went unsurprisingly south very quickly.

Grimes and Musk welcomed their baby boy back in May, whom they decided to name X Æ A-Xii. Since the baby is pushing nine months old, the singer decided it was time for his first haircut. Since many hair salons are shuttered due to lockdowns, Grimes opted to give him a trim herself. It was already off to a rocky start when she decided to use massive kitchen scissors on the baby’s delicate head, and things got worse when she started to hack off the sides of his hair.

The cut, which she documented on her Instagram Stories, didn’t go quite as planned. It resulted in a mullet, which Grimes proudly said made him look like a viking. “not sure this hair cut went well but he’s a Viking now,” she wrote.

The haircut wasn’t the only thing on Grimes’ mind this week. Following the head-turning news of GameStop’s stock skyrocketing, the singer penned a cheeky poem about the market madness. “In the vast ocean / My tear is a drop / My dollar a single photon / Of the light of GameStop,” she wrote.

Check out photos of Grimes giving her baby a haircut above.

Another day, another wild conspiracy theory from Marjorie Taylor Greene‘s past coming back to haunt her. This time around, the QAnon Congresswoman reportedly suggested that the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had been replaced by a body double. She doesn’t elaborate on why RBG had been replaced or by who, but given Greene’s history, it could have been anyone for any reason. She made the claim back in September 2019 while appearing on a streaming broadcast for a pro-MAGA site. Via Media Matters:

Toward the conclusion of the show, a caller asked Greene if she had seen “the picture” of Ginsburg at “the airport” — an apparent reference to an image of her at National Airport — “walking straight up right like it’s a whole new person” and asked her if she believes “that is Ruth.” Host and Greene ally Will Johnson added, “It’s almost like a body double like Hillary Clinton” (Conspiracy theorists have also claimed that Hillary Clinton has used a body double.)

Greene responded: “ I do not believe that was Ruth. No. I don’t think so.”

The RBG body double claim is actually one of Greene’s tamer beliefs. While her pre-congressional social media history has been an alarming trove of violent rhetoric and accusations that Hillary Clinton steals the faces off of babies, Greene made headlines on Thursday night following a report that she posted a theory on Facebook that the California Camp Fire was started by a secret Jewish space laser that was firing beams into the ground to facilitate a high-speed rail project and/or harvesting power from the sun. It’s pretty obvious when you think about it. (It’s not.)

(Via Media Matters for America)

The Little Things (HBO Max film) — Three Oscar winners headline a film that’s mostly landing on streaming (there are few limited theaters in the mix), so thank goodness for the Internet during pandemic times. The movie stars Denzel Washington and Rami Malek as police officers hunting a 1990s-era serial killer in Los Angeles. (Yep, Denzel is playing a cop again! You can’t hate on that.) Their prime suspect is portrayed by Jared Leto, and this is a tale of overarching obsession and secrets that are best left uncovered.

Wandavision: Episode 4 (Disney+ series) — The Marvel Cinematic Universe has launched into Phase Four with abandon, and oh boy, things got seriously dark this week. The good news is that we got a lot of answers this week, and there’s one heck of a villainous curveball coming your way if you haven’t watched yet. The show’s more inventive than most superhero-oriented fare that we’ve seen in the past few years, and it’s fantastic to finally see the Marvel titles coming our way once more.

We Are: The Brooklyn Saints (Netflix series) — Rudy Valdez, the Emmy-award winning filmmaker who poured his soul into HBO’s The Sentence, is here with more intimate verité footage of his newest subject. Here, Valdez turns his camera upon a youth football program in the heart of inner city Brooklyn. The program, of course, is much more encompassing than a pastime but also a vehicle for opportunity for these boys. They also become family with an incredible support system of coaches and parents, all while they strive for victory and overcome losses on and off the field. All of this, hopefully, will point toward a brighter future for all involved.

50M2 (Netflix series) — This Turkish hitman series (and how can you not be intrigued?) revolves around Gölge doing the second-chance thing while doing dirty work for Servit Nadir while taking refuge in a tailor shop. Gölge is masqurading as the late tailor’s son, and he’s transforming the neighborhood and vice versa. Meanwhile, Gölge doesn’t recall his own childhood, so get ready for the photograph-related fallout there.

Here’s the rest of this weekend’s notable programming:

Saturday Night Live (Saturday, NBC 11:29 p.m.) — This grand return is not a moment too soon. John Krasinski hosts with musical guest Machine Gun Kelly.

Supermarket Sweep (Sunday, ABC 8:00 p.m.) — Leslie Jones and every bit of her enthusiasm will host contestants in this revival of the grocery-shopping game show.

Batwoman (Sunday, CW 8:00 p.m.) — Ryan Wilder’s still stretching her wings as the new Batwoman while doing the double-life thing. Mary is all for it, while Luke is most decidedly not for it, but Ryan goes ahead and unveils a new Batsuit.

The Lady and the Dale: Episodes 1 & 2 (Sunday, HBO 8:00 p.m.) — The Duplass Brothers are at it again, and this time Mark and Jay are bringing us a documentary series that digs into a 1970s auto scam that’s forged by a mysterious entrepreneur, Elizabeth Carmichael, who released a three-wheeled car in the midst of the 1970s gas crisis. Carmichael has a past, and the car’s technology ain’t all that it claims to be.

Charmed (Sunday, CW 9:00 p.m.) — The Charmed Ones must confront The Faction. This could bring the Destruction of the Sisterhood, all while Harry and Macy are in disagreement about a potential ally.

American Gods (Sunday, Starz 8:00 p.m.) — Wednesday does the biker gang thing (surprising or not?) while Shadow and Technical Boy are searching for Bilquis, who’s a captive.

Shameless (Sunday, Showtime 9:00 p.m.) — Finally, regular episodes return with Ian and Mickey getting creative with the security gig at the Alibi while Frank and Kevin team up to take down the Milkovich crew.

Your Honor (Sunday, Showtime 10:00 p.m.) — It’s penultimate episode time for the Panic-Cranston series, and the main man is still breaking bad as a corrupt judge. This time around, Michael is feeling the pressure surrounding Carlo’s trial while another family dinner get disastrous, but hopefully, it won’t be as bloody as the last mealtime gathering.

Finding ‘Ohana (Netflix film) — Two siblings who hail from Brooklyn head to rural O’ahu, where they explore their Hawaiian heritage and head off on an epic adventure in search of long-lost treasure. Naturally, this involves a cryptic pirate’s journal, and one of the siblings is very skeptical while the other’s plowing full-steam ahead. In the process, they learn to love their native culture and discover that the true treasure is family.

Fatma (Netflix series, Sunday) — A cleaning lady transforms into a killer, which is, yeah, a little unexpected, but it’s almost hilarious when she’s only considered a “cleaner” because her clients have no idea.

Jann: Complete Seasons & 2 (Distribution 360 series on Hulu) — This is a weird one but delighfully so. The show revolves around a former pop star, Jann, who’s attempting to get over. breakup, deal with her mother’s health issues, and finally conquer archrival… Sarah McLachlan? Alright.

Beyond the Clouds: A Promise Kept: Finale (Disney+ series) — It’s finale time for this incredible true story in miniseries form. The story’s an ode to the life of 17-year-old Zach Sobiech, a singer/songwriter who embarked upon a tragic and unforgettable journey after learning that he’s diagnosed with a rare bone cancer. He spends the last of his time on earth chasing after his dreams with the help of his best friend and a teacher who’s also a mentor. Before all is said and done, a record deal emerges.

In case you missed these recent picks:

Euphoria: Second Special Episode (Friday, HBO Max 9:00 p.m., Sunday, HBO 9:00 p.m.) — This installment is called “F*ck Anyone Who’s Not a Sea Blob,” so, yes, that’s cryptic. We do know that this episode will be a mirror reflections for what happened after Rue was left standing alone at a train station by Jules after the two scrapped their joint getaway plan. This led to some sad Zendaya diner action by the former, and the second episode (directed by creator Sam Levinson) will inform the audience of what went down on Jules’ end. Hunter Schafer, who portrays Jules, also co-wrote this one.

Flack: Season 1 (PopTV series moving to Amazon Prime) — Flack came out two years ago on Pop TV, presumably as a limited series, but all that has changed now. Amazon picked up the Anna Paquin-starring show for an unexpected second season, which will arrive later this year. If you are in need of some guilty-pleasure escapism, consider giving this series a whirl. It’s voyeuristic and at times thrilling to watch. Flack also feels like an amalgamation of many shows and movies you’ve seen before, including The Devil Wears Prada, Scandal, and Sex and the City.

The Sister: Season 1 (Hulu series) — ITV commissioned this series with Hulu, and it’s already a hit in the U.K. The show’s based upon Burial, a best selling novel by Neil Cross (Luther) and involves a family’s life being rocked into oblivion when a presence from the past literally shows up on the porch with some unwelcome and shocking news. This development, of course, transforms into catastrophic decisions and long-lasting effects that aren’t so desirable.

The White Tiger (Netflix film) — Priyanka Chopra Jonas stars as passengers for a young hero jockey who becomes a driver, Balram Halwai (Adarsh Gourav). He narrates this purportedly epic story about his darkly humorous rise from rags to riches in modern India. He’s cunning and ambitious and doesn’t want to sit in his socially acceptable box, and his journey takes an unconventional and somewhat rogue turn, which leads him to become a different type of master than, again, also socially acceptable. The film’s based upon the New York Times bestselling novel of the same name.