The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
It takes a lot of confidence to declare oneself a “legend.” It likely takes a lot more to say one is “running” any city, state, or other location with which one is affiliated. But it takes an abundance of talent, hard work, and longevity to stake a claim to both of those conditions at once and uphold a pretty reasonable argument. Fortunately for T.I., whose 11th studio album, The L.I.B.R.A. (The Legend Is Back Running Atlanta), he’s got not only the requisite confidence to employ such a lofty album, but he’s also got the track record to — mostly — justify it.
Before any T.I. stans take up arms on behalf of the 40-year-old Atlanta rap veteran/trap rap pioneer, here’s an explanation for that “mostly.” Far from intending any offense, that “mostly” is buttressed by a recent revolution in the musical style T.I. freely admits he had help in inventing. The current sound is far removed from the subgenre he, Gucci Mane, and (then-Young) Jeezy carved out of the Peach State’s rich red soil. It’s been reinvented, reinterpreted, remixed, and utterly upended by mad scientists like Future, Migos, and Young Thug, who’ve added melody, vocal experimentation, and a whole constellation of new star producers whose approaches are wildly different from those of DJ Toomp, Jazze Pha, and Lil Jon.
Yet, to his credit, T.I. has remarkably kept pace with the rapidly-changing landscape in a way he might sneer at New Yorkers and Los Angelenos for being (mostly) unable to. While up north city dwellers rail against the various metamorphoses of the Big Apple sound and West Coasters remain locked in a G-Funk haze, T.I. and his Dirty South compatriots have shepherded their newcomers, proving adaptable and generous in sharing their spotlight rather than desperately grasping onto their last vestiges of relevancy.
So yes, mostly. T.I. hasn’t had a No. 1 peak since 2008’s Paper Trail and while he’s been critically praised in recent years, his last handful of projects haven’t been as fervently received by younger fans who are more likely flock to his successors’ releases, as is so often the case in hip-hop. But he’s aged gracefully and more importantly, used his platform to bestow his blessing on future generations of potentially game-changing stars. While The L.I.B.R.A. seemingly boasts that it’s about T.I. coming back to reclaim his crown nearly a decade and a half after he declared himself King, it’s really about him choosing his successors and graciously passing them the torch.
As he did for then-relative newcomers Young Thug and Nipsey Hussle in 2014 with Paperwork, T.I. demonstrates his gift for recognizing talent here, vouching for budding stars like 42 Dugg and Mozzy with “On The Hood,” acknowledging the lyrical dexterity of the Griselda Clan by pairing Benny with Jadakiss on “Make Amends” and partnering with Conway on “1/2 Ticket,” and even doing his best to make up for giving the world Iggy Azalea by anointing Tokyo Jetz on “Hit Dogs Holla.” He also crowns current stars Lil Baby and 21 Savage, ensuring that their contributions over the past two years are recognized on “Pardon” and “Thank God,” respectively.
As for the “legend” part, T.I. utilizes the age-old adage about being known by your friends to his advantage here, bringing along marble-cast monuments like Jadakiss, Killer Mike, Rick Ross, and Snoop Dogg to accompany him on tracks that speak to his chameleonic ability to rap to damn near anything. He and Snoop are smooth old-school players on “Moon Juice,” while the luxury raps flow like silk on the Rick Ross-featuring “Respect The Code.” T.I. works to show off any many aspects of his personality as possible, including his outspoken — and occasionally misguided — political passions on “How I Feel” with Killer Mike, a song that harkens right back to the early-90s protest rap that had Republicans clutching their pearls.
But the most touching inclusions — and maybe the most significant, since every king needs an heir — are those of T.I.’s kids. On “Family Connect,” he and his son Domani finally collaborate on a song that explains the wait and makes it worth it. T.I. is fond of sharing wisdom with listeners, but with his son as a foil, his advice feels all the more urgent — and somehow, satisfying as well. “Learn to be the thermostat, not the thermometer,” he counsels. It’s not just solid guidance for a son, but for anyone listening — framing it as the former makes it more palatable and poignant.
Then, he cedes the final track to his daughter Deyjah, giving her the final say in their very public 2019 embarrassment over his ill-advised, ill-timed, and possibly misinterpreted joke about her doctor’s visits. “Deyjah’s Conclusion,” rather than rehashing the past or casting around for some pithy insight, instead reflects back the confidence 19 years of living with one of the biggest shit talkers on the planet must impart on someone: “I bet you were expecting to hear something different / Probably hoping I’d serve you some tea more specific to business of ours / But I’m just too gifted to be here on that bullshit you see / Evolution is key, and stagnation ain’t me.” Consider the future to be in excellent hands, indeed.
The L.I.B.R.A. is out now Grand Hustle. Get it here.
George Dickel/Four Roses/Noah’s Mill/iStock/Uproxx
Christopher Osburn has spent the past fifteen years in search of “the best” — or at least his very favorite — sips of whisk(e)y on earth. In the process, he’s enjoyed more whisk(e)y drams than his doctor would dare feel comfortable with, traveled to over 20 countries testing local spirits, and visited more than fifty distilleries around the globe.
When it comes to trending whiskey terms, “small batch” is an important phrase to know. Put simply, a bottle receives the “small batch” appellation when it’s made up of a limited number of barrels. The problem is, there are no set rules as to what exactly defines “limited.” Whereas “bottled in bond” is strictly governed, small batch whiskey is up to the distillery’s discretion.
Though that’s a pretty massive range, it’s safe to assume that a small batch whiskey is made in more limited quantities than a distillery’s more mainstream offerings. This often makes these expressions more sought after (and expensive). To help you explore the style, I’ve cracked open my tasting notebook and shared six of my favorite small batch whiskeys below.
Small Batch Select is made up of six of Four Roses’ 10 bourbon recipes, each painstakingly hand-selected by master distiller Brent Elliot. This blend of whiskeys is 104 proof, non-chill filtered, and available only in small batches. It’s a step up from the brand’s original Small Batch and is available all year long.
Tasting Notes:
This whiskey deserves a long nosing before your first sip. You’ll be met with subtle hints of cinnamon, dried cherries, and charred oak. The palate offers up sweet cream, brown sugar, toasted oak, and Christmas spices. The finish is long, warming, and filled with rich vanilla and a subtle kick of cinnamon spice.
Bottom Line:
This is not a mixing bourbon. Drop a single ice cube in your glass, pour the bourbon over it, sit back, and sip slowly while the world goes by.
When it comes to Tennessee whiskey, Jack Daniel’s is king. But if you’re looking for a change of pace, look no further than George Dickel. You can’t go wrong with any of Dickel’s whiskeys, but where the brand truly shines is with its George Dickel Barrel Select. Made using only ten barrels, all hand-selected by the master distiller, this high corn (84%) whiskey is aged between 10 and 12 years to give it a mellow, well-balanced flavor.
Tasting Notes:
To truly get the most out of this small batch whiskey, it needs to be nosed thoroughly. You’ll discover hints of charred oak, sweet cinnamon, and rich vanilla. The first sip is sweeter than you’d expect, due to its high corn content. On the palate, look for flavors of dried cherries, caramelized sugar, and cooking spices. The finish is long, warming, and filled with mellow caramel, and just a whiff of peppery spice.
Bottom Line:
This whiskey works well mixed into your favorite cocktail, but why would you want to waste it by mixing it with other flavors? It should be enjoyed neat or on a single rock to experience the nuanced notes.
Elijah Craig Small Batch is made with roughly 70 barrels, a relatively high number to be called small batch. Each is taken from the middle and upper floors of the barrelhouse.
Still, small batch bottles don’t get more classic than this one — as the expression has existed longer than the term itself.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find your nostrils filled with hints of charred oak, sweet cream, almonds, and subtle cinnamon spice. The first sip yields more toasted oak as well as rich vanilla, butterscotch, and mouth-watering caramel. The finish is medium in length, dry, warming, and ends with a pleasing warm kick of peppery spice.
Bottom Line:
While this is a great sipper, Elijah Craig Small Batch really shines in cocktails. Use it as a base for an old fashioned or Manhattan and you have the makings of a great evening.
One of the most well-known founding fathers of the bourbon industry, Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. was rewarded by having his name adorn one of the most south-after bottles of bourbon on the market. This small batch bourbon is made up of hand-selected barrels aged in the very warehouse built by E.H. Taylor, Jr., bottled in bond, and designed for slow sipping and nothing else.
Tasting Notes:
Take your time drawing in this bourbon before taking your first sip. You’ll be met with hints of sweet caramel, candied orange peel, vanilla cream, and just a hint of cinnamon. The first sip brings flavors of dried cherries, charred oak, cooking spices, and sweet cream. This extremely well-balanced, complex whiskey ends in a long, warming crescendo of subtle white peppery spice.
Bottom Line:
Doing anything other than sipping this bourbon neat or on the rocks is totally unacceptable.
Noah’s Mill is a bit of a mystery. Winner of multiple awards, it’s labeled under the Willett distillery portfolio, but the actual distillery where it was produced is unknown. What we do know is that it’s a small batch blend of bourbons between 4 and 20 years. While that might seem like a ridiculous range, it creates a unique, well-balanced, mellow bourbon perfectly suited for mixing or sipping.
Tasting Notes:
A unique whiskey like Noah’s Mill deserves a nice nosing (all of these picks do!). Right away, your senses will come alive with the aromas of dried fruits, spicy cinnamon, and almonds. The first sip brings forth charred oak, sweet cream, caramelized sugar, and subtle cooking spices. The finish is long, well-balanced, warming, and ends with a kick of cinnamon tempered with smooth, mellow caramel sweetness.
Bottom Line:
If you’re able to get your hands on a bottle of Noah’s Mill, you might not want to waste it by mixing it into cocktails. It makes a great old fashioned, but definitely save some for sipping over a single ice cube.
Booker’s, an unfiltered, uncut, rugged bourbon is the highest alcohol content whiskey in Jim Beam’s “Small Batch Collection.” It’s bottled at cask strength, but the actual alcohol content varies based on each batch. On top of the differing ABVs, the age changes based on each seasonal release.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose you’ll first notice a raw kick of alcohol and the musty, mysterious smell of the rickhouse itself. This is followed by charred oak, sweet vanilla, and warm cinnamon. The first sip drops hints of sweet corn, brown sugar, toasted caramel, and dried fruits. The finish is long and warming, but also filled with Christmas spices, sweet cream, and butterscotch.
Bottom Line:
Some drinkers might not be able to handle the high alcohol content and might want to water it down by adding it to a cocktail. But you really shouldn’t mix with this one. Sip it slowly over gradually melting ice on a chilly fall evening.
Three years removed from his last full-length project, Beach House 3, Ty Dolla Sign is preparing to release his third album, Featuring Ty Dolla Sign. The project has been in the works for well over a year, one fans began to anticipate after his “Purple Emoji” record with J. Cole. In the year since that single, Ty has blessed fans with a number of singles and guest features, some that found him working alongside Russ, Thundercat, Big Sean, SZA, Schoolboy Q, and more. Now, the West coast crooner is ready to deliver what he’s fans have spent a long time waiting for and with three days left until the arrival of Featuring Ty Dolla Sign, he returned to share the album’s loaded tracklist with fans.
Readying a whopping 25 tracks, Ty Dolla Sign calls on Kid Cudi, Post Malone, Thundercat, Anderson .Paak, Burna Boy, Big Sean, Roddy Ricch, Kehlani, Future, Young Thug, Gunna, 6LACK, and more for his third album. The tracklist reveal comes after Ty shared the album’s third single, “Be Yourself” with Jhene Aiko. The single joined “Expensive” with Nicki Minaj and “Ego Death” with Kanye West, FKA Twigs, and Skrillex as the first tastes of Ty’s upcoming third album.
You can check out the artwork and full tracklist below.
1. “Intro”
2. “Status”
3. “Temptations” Feat. Kid Cudi
4. “Serpentwithfeet Interlude”
5. “Spicy” Feat. Post Malone
6. “Track 6” Feat. Kanye West, Anderson .Paak, and Thundercat
7. “Freak” Feat. Quavo
8. “Double R” Feat. Lil Durk
9. “Expensive” Feat. Nicki Minaj
10. “Burna Boy Interlude”
11. “Tyrone 2021” Feat. Big Sean
12. “It’s Still Free TC”
13. “Real Life” Feat. Roddy Ricch and Mustard
14. “Nothing Like Your Eyes”
15, “By Yourself” Feat. Jhené Aiko and Mustard
16. “Universe” Feat. Kehlani
17. “Lift Me Up” Feat. Future and Young Thug
18. “Time Will Tell”
19. “Dr. Sebi”
20. “Powder Blue” Feat. Gunna
21. “Everywhere”
22. “Slow It Down”
23. “Your Turn” Feat. Musiq Soulchild, Tish Hyman, and 6LACK
24. “Return”
25. “Ego Death” Feat. Kanye West, FKA Twigs, and Skrillex
Featuring Ty Dolla Sign is out 10/23 via Atlantic. Get it here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The path to Dej Loaf’sSell Sole II album is one that first began back in 2019 when she made her return to Instagram and announced the album was on the way. The announcement came five years after the Detroit native unleashed its predecessor, Sell Sole back in 2014. The mixtape helped launch her career, one that produced projects like All Jokes Aside and F*ck A Friend Zone with Jacquees and well as countless other singles and guest appearances. Six years later, DeJ Loaf is ready to unleash Sell Sole II and just days before its release, she revealed its promising tracklist.
Presenting 16 tracks to fans, Sell Sole II presents guest appearances from Lil Uzi Vert, Rick Ross, Gunna, Conway The Machine, Benny The Butcher, Big Sean, 6LACK, Boldy James, 42 Dugg and Sada Baby. The album will arrive on October 23, just five months after she delivered her No Saint which boasted a set of strong tracks including the project’s title track. Taking to Instagram to celebrate the upcoming project, Dej shared her thoughts on Sell Sole 2 and how her career has progressed over the year.
Calling the upcoming release her “first album ever,” Dej said, “I’ve been blessed/and able to move around the world mainly from the support of the people and of course my first Mixtape #SELLSOLE!” She added, “Also my EP #AndSeeThatTheThing (6 songs) With songs like “hey there” “back up” “try me” “desire” Etc..and simply my ORIGINAL style alone kept me in this sh*t. Few years later,Few singles later “No Fear” “Liberated” Great records. Still no album! I took matters into my own hands because I wanted to give y’all more music!”
Dej concluded her message by explaining why she felt it was necessary to do a Sell Sole II effort. “I felt the need to do a #SellSoleII because that’s how I was feeling recording these records! Back to the root!” she said in the Instagram post’s caption.
You can view the Sell Sole II artwork above and its tracklist below.
01. “Bird Call 2”
02. “Queen”
03. “Cross That Line”
04. “Bubbly”
05. “IDK” Feat. Big Sean
06. “No Passes”
07. “Obvious”
08. “Choose”
09. “No Ceiling” Feat. Gunna
10. “Tap In” Feat. 42 Dugg & Sada Baby
11. “Open Hand” Feat. Rick Ross
12. “Get Money” Feat. Benny The Butcher, Conway The Machine & Boldy James
13. “Just Like Me”
14. “Simply” Feat. Lil Uzi Vert
15. “Back To My Ways Again”
16. “Up” Feat. 6LACK
Sell Sole 2 is out 10/23 via Yellow World and BMG Rights.
Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Amazon Prime is way more than just a way to get your electronics and books in two days or less. There’s a wide breadth of good movies and TV shows out there to choose from if you know what you’re looking for.
To help you out, we’ve rounded the 35 best movies on Amazon Prime right now. From new Oscar winners to classic titles, you might be surprised as to what the service has available.
Awkwafina stars in this dramedy from director Lulu Wang that got a fair amount of Oscar buzz this season. The story follows a Chinese family, who discovers their beloved grandmother has only a short time to live. Instead of telling her, they keep the news to themselves, planning a wedding so that everyone can gather to say their goodbyes. It’s a dark comedy to be sure, but it’s given heart by some brilliant performances including Shuzhen Zhao as the central Nai Nai.
Nauseating. Disturbing. A total mindf*ck. Those are all fitting descriptions of Ari Aster’s Hereditary follow-up, a sophomore outing that gleefully embraces the very worst of humanity and shines an unforgiving light on those universal flaws. It’s a horror story, sure, but it’s a relationship drama at its core, flavored with pagan rituals, brutal killings, unsettling imagery, and all-consuming grief. Florence Pugh gives a career-defining performance as Dani, a young woman reeling from a terrible familial tragedy who accompanies her distant, disinterested boyfriend Christian (Jack Reynor) and his college bros to a small Swedish village to celebrate the summer solstice.
Leonard DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, and Alec Baldwin star in this crime thriller from Martin Scorsese about an undercover cop and a mole in the police department who attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in Boston. DiCaprio plays the good guy (or as close as) with Billy, a disturbed officer playing the part of a criminal to get close to Nicholson’s kingpin, Frank. Damon plays the rat, Sullivan, who serves as a police officer on the force, but really works for Frank. The two unknowingly thwart each other at every turn, playing a thrilling game of cat and mouse before their secrets eventually come out.
An early work of director Sofia Coppola, this film based on a 1993 novel of the same name, follows the story of the Lisbon sisters, five girls aged 13-17 who make a suicide pact after their youngest sibling kills herself. A sense of mystery and aloofness adds to the girls’ appeal when it comes to the neighborhood boys, through whom much of the story is told. Confined to their house after the death of their sister, the girls find ways of communicating with the outside world through secret phone calls and late-night trysts. Eventually, the sisters make good on their pact, but Coppola chooses to find a sense of freedom and validation in their decision to commit suicide, one that paints the end of the film in a strangely victorious light.
George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson star in this period comedy, playing a trio of escaped convicts on the hunt for buried treasure. While they try to find their ticket to riches and freedom, a dogged detective pursues them, forcing the group to come up with imaginative, ridiculous ways to evade the law. Look, this movie’s great, but let’s not kid ourselves — we’re here for the soundtrack.
Robert De Niro stars in this boxing drama from Martin Scorsese playing famed fighter Jake LaMotta. LaMotta succeeded in the ring because of his infamous temper and violence but those same traits are what led him to ruin away from the mat. De Niro plays LaMotta with a kind of swagger and ruthlessness that’s magnetic on screen, even though the character see-saws between hero and villain in his own story.
The mind-boggling success of the Marvel Universe this decade makes it easy to forget it’s humble, fantastically-written origins. We’re talking about the first Avengers team-up, a modest affair in comparison to the universe-spanning, dimension-hopping Endgame, but one that still holds up as a worthy outing for our O.G. heroes. This film marked the first time Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Thor, Natasha Romanoff, Bruce Banner, and Clint Barton shared any real screentime and while most of the fighting is done in-house, the team pulls it together to take on a scheming Loki and his invading army of earth-destroying space monsters in the end.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw stars in this sci-fi thriller about a woman on the run who must return home to the family she abandoned once word of her supernatural abilities spreads. Mbatha-Raw plays Ruth, a woman whose seizures trigger earthquakes. Her mother and young daughter also have telekinetic abilities and when Ruth comes home to escape a dogged scientist determined to experiment on her, she begins trying to understand her powers with their help while also staying under the radar.
Jimmie Fails plays himself in this semi-autobiographical drama about a young man’s attempts to reclaim his childhood home. Fails and his best friend, Mont (Jonathan Majors), visit the old Victorian house where Fails grew up, only to find it in disarray. When the current tenants find themselves embroiled in a fight for ownership, forced to move out while the battle plays out in court, Jimmy and Mont move in, fixing up the place and fighting to restore some of the neighborhood’s old school charm.
Chris Hemsworth stars in this Whedon creation directed by Drew Goddard that’ll make you wary of ever going on a mountain retreat again. Hemsworth plays one of a group of five friends who head to the woods for some R&R. The remote cabin they stay at quickly becomes a hellish prison they struggle to escape from.
Before FX gave us some spectacular follow-up formatted for TV, the Coen brothers introduced us to the cold, weirdly-accented world of murder and cover-up in Fargo, a thriller continues to stand the test of time. The premise is probably familiar by now: a criminal mastermind’s plan goes awry thanks to the ineptitude and bungling of his henchman and the persistence of a dogged policewoman (the unfairly-talented Frances McDormand). Still, it’s worth a rewatch.
This cult comedy from director Cameron Crowe has earned a dedicated fan following amongst rock-and-roll lovers. Based on Crowe’s own experiences as an under-aged music journalist for Rolling Stone, the film follows a 15-year-old kid named William Miller, who goes on the road with rock band and becomes entangled in their exploits. Billy Crudup and Frances McDormand also star, but it’s Kate Hudson, who plays the magnetic groupie Penny Lane, that really steals the film.
Another Dunst/Coppola team-up, this period drama is a visual feast that gives Dunst two hours to play, in costume, as France’s once most-hated woman, Marie Antoinette. Born to marry the French King Louis XVI, the ill-fated queen lived lavishly, died tragically, and in-between, shouldered the burden of making a marriage to an apathetic man work while carving out her own bit of freedom.
James Stewart stars in this holiday flick about a down-on-his-luck businessman who laments his suburban life. George Bailey wishes for a different, more successful life, one unencumbered by a wife and kids but when his wish is granted and an angel shows him what life would be like without him, Bailey must figure out how to make the most of the present. Stewart is magnetic in the role and though it’s thought of as a Christmas classic, this film can and should be enjoyed year-round.
This film by Destin Daniel Cretton (the guy Marvel’s tapped to direct Shang-Chi) marks the first leading role for Brie Larson. Long before her Captain Marvel days, Larson was playing Grace Howard, a young woman navigating life as a supervisor of a group home for troubled teens. Other soon-to-be stars like Lakeith Stanfield and Rami Malek also have a role in this thing but it’s Larson’s vehicle and she’s in full command of it.
Jonah Hill’s directorial debut is a nostalgic ode to growing up in the 90s. The film follows a 13-year-old kid named Stevie who spends one summer in L.A. navigating between his troubled home life and a new group of friends that push to him to test his own boundaries. The movie is heavy in skater culture, a scene L.A. was known for at the time, but it’s also an introspective look on making the transition from boyhood to adulthood, and how perilous that time can be.
Call us jaded, but few movies that are as hyped up as this Rian Johnson whodunnit actually live up to the hype. You’ve got an A-list cast that’s somehow managing to share the screen and carve out singular moments for their characters despite a packed plot. You’ve got a story with twists and turns and darkly comedic gags you could never see coming. And you’ve got Johnson, who managed to make an original film that actually competed with, and surpassed, some established franchises at the box office. Something’s got to be wrong with this movie, right? Wrong. It’s as layered and nuanced and perfect as Chris Evans’ waffle-knit sweater. Enjoy.
Toni Collette stars in this terrifying nightmare by first-time director Ari Aster. The film charts the grief and shared trauma of the Graham family. Annie (Collette) is mourning the loss of her secretive mother, worrying over her inherited mental health issues and her children. When her son Peter accidentally kills his sister, hauntings begin happenings. Malevolent spirits, possessions, a seance gone wrong — this is pure nightmare fuel people.
A dark, morose examination on everything from faith and fidelity to climate change, grief, and mental health issues, Paul Schrader’s drama about a Protestant minister struggling to reconcile his beliefs with the changing world around him is a poignant, if heavy-handed, commentary on some pretty complicated universal themes. Ethan Hawke gives a stand-out performance as Reverend Toller, a man mourning the loss of his son, facing a terminal cancer diagnosis, and grappling with the reality of his dwindling church membership. He counsels a young woman named Mary (Amanda Seyfried) about her husband, who’s entered a dangerous state of depression over the very real issue of climate change; and through his relationship with her, Toller confronts his own demons and his community’s narrow-minded views. It’s by no means a fun watch, but Hawke is such an underrated actor that being surprised by his stroke of genius in this role is reason enough to stream.
When filmmaker Kurt Kuenne’s childhood friend Andrew Bagby is killed and his suspected killer/ex-girlfriend reveals she’s pregnant, Kurt decides to make a documentary chronicling Andrew’s life. While largely a love letter to a man who touched the lives of many for Zachary, the son he never met, Dear Zachary also tells the starkly bitter side of a broken Canadian legal system that directly endangered a baby. We follow the drawn-out custody battle between Andrew’s parents and Zachary’s mother, interspersed with loving snapshots into the Bagby family. The story sucks you in, but it’s also the at times comedic, fast-paced, and downright enraging documentary style of the film that breaks up the emotional tale.
There are so many worthy entries in The Terminator franchise, but it’s hard not to love the original more than the rest. Arnold Schwarzenegger used the film to cement his action-hero legacy, playing a cyborg assassin simply known as the Terminator, who travels from the future to ’80s Los Angeles to kill a waitress named Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton). From there, we learn about Skynet, an artificial intelligence defense network that will soon become self-aware and destroy humanity if Sarah’s unborn son doesn’t stop it. There’s a lot of time-travel jargon to keep up with, but the real thrill of this movie is seeing Hamilton more than hold her own against an eerily-robotic Schwarzenegger.
Mindy Kaling and Emma Thompson team up for this comedy that imagines the grit and humor it takes to lead a late-night talk show as a woman. Thompson plays Katherine Newbury, an accomplished TV personality who fears she may lose her talk show because of declining ratings and competition from a younger, male comedian. She hires Molly (Kaling) a comedy writer with little experience to diversify her team, and the two women weather hilarious mishaps and a few scandals to bring the show back on track.
Comedian Bo Burnham’s directorial debut looks at the social anxieties of a young girl on the cusp of her high school career. Elsie Fisher plays Kayla, a pre-teen in her final week of eighth grade. She’s virtually friendless, choosing to spend her time creating inspiring Youtube videos that no one sees. When she decides to venture from her computer screen, attending pool parties and hanging out with older kids, she’s thrust into situations she’s not entirely ready for. The film is a painfully honest look at the pressure of growing up, the loss of innocence, and how social media can contribute to feelings of anxiety and isolation in teens, especially young girls who are forced to grow up much more quickly than their male counterparts.
Shia LaBeouf writes and stars in this semi-autobiographical tale of his time as a child star. Noah Jupe plays the younger version of himself while LaBeouf plays his controlling, often abusive father. The two live in motel rooms in L.A. while Otis (Jupe) works on a popular kids TV show. Their relationship becomes strained as Otis ages, and his dad James (LaBeouf) grows resentful of his son’s success. Lucas Hedges plays an elder Otis, who struggles with all kinds of addictions because of his rough, unconventional upbringing. It’s a tough watch but one that feels refreshingly honest, and you can’t deny LaBeouf’s talent and courage in telling such a raw, intimate story.
Based on a historical crime novel set in Victoria-Era England, Park Chan-wook’s lavish, mesmerizing thriller focuses on two young women fighting to escape oppression by the men in their lives. Chan-woo has traded the stuffy British countryside for Japanese-occupied Korea, telling the stories of Lady Hideko and her handmaiden Sook-hee in three parts, weaving a tale of passion, betrayal, dark secrets, and revenge with grander themes of imperialism, colonial rule, and patriarchal corruption. The two women are the draw of the film with both resorting to illicit, illegal, morally compromising schemes in order to gain their freedom, but love is an unintended consequence that leaves the third act — one you might think you have figured out halfway through the film — completely unpredictable.
Kumail Nanjiani and Emily Gordon drew from their own unusual love story for their script about a Chicago comic named Kumail (Nanjiani) who falls in love with Emily, a woman (Zoe Kazan) who falls into a coma while in the midst of a rift in their relationship created by the expectations of Kumail’s traditional parents. The funny, moving romantic comedy also features strong supporting work from Ray Romano and Holly Hunter as Emily’s parents, who form an awkward bond with Kumail as they wait for Emily’s recovery.
Joaquin Phoenix stars as a troubled hitman with a dark past in this thrilling crime flick from Lynne Ramsay. Phoenix plays Joe, a gun for hire, former military man and FBI agent, who spends most of his time rescuing victims of sex trafficking. He’s recruited to save a Senator’s daughter from a brothel that caters to high-end clientele, but the job thrusts him into the center of a conspiracy that costs him everything and ends in blood and tragedy. It’s a relentless slog to be sure, but it works because Ramsay is more interested in profiling the man, not the hits he makes.
Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe star in this truly bonkers period drama from Robert Eggers. It’s a beautifully shot portrait of two men slowly driven to the brink of insanity by their choice in career — they’re stuck alone on a slab of rock, looking after a crumbling lighthouse. Pattinson masturbates to visions of mermaids, and Dafoe gets drunk and does a jig. To say anything more would be spoiling the fun.
Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet star in this heartbreaking drama about a father trying to save his son from a drug addiction that’s slowly eating away at his family. Carell plays David, a New York Times writer who struggles to help his son Nic (Chalamet) after he falls victim to a worrying drug habit. He has moments of sobriety, attending college, living with his mother in L.A., and working at a drug clinic to help others battling the disease. Yet eventually, his addiction returns, and Nic is powerless to fight it. David is forced to choose between sacrificing his family and his own sanity or continuing to help his son. Both Carell and Chalamet give powerful performances that elevate what essentially is an emotionally restrained look at father-son relationships and the landmines they navigate.
A portrait of a particular moment in music history, when the folk revival found young musicians discovering their voices in old styles and old songs, Inside Llewyn Davis stars Oscar Isaac as a singer/songwriter who can never quite translate his talent into professional success. Joel and Ethan Coen both exactingly recreate early ‘60s New York and use it as the site of one of an affecting tale of the clash between artistic impulses and the needs of the material world, a theme they’d previously explored with Barton Fink and would pick up again with Hail, Caesar!.
Dwayne Johnson and Lena Headey star in this family drama about a pair of siblings with dreams of making it in the WWE. Only one, Florence Pugh’s Saraya, actually makes it, but the road to wrestling stardom is riddled with fake friends, sexism, parental drama, and self-doubt. There’s plenty of great matchups here — body slams, cage matches and the like — but the real draw is Pugh, who completely disappears in the role.
Eva Khatchadourian (Tilda Swinton), who’s unwilling and unable to properly care for her troubled son Kevin, watches her life unravel as her husband (John C. Reilly) ignores their problems and Kevin grows more and more sociopathic and violent. The story jumps around in time, showing Swinton’s character as both a new mother who blames her son for ruining her life and as a woman who eventually blames herself for what becomes of her son. Swinton proves once again that she’s the actress that indie movies need for complex characters that live their lives in grey areas. At its core, We Need To Talk is about the importance of proper parenting, communication, and probably therapy. And it’s not for the faint of heart.
Ten years after his last Ocean‘s entry, Steven Soderbergh revisits the heist genre, this time centering on a pair of unlucky brothers (Channing Tatum and Adam Driver) working a scheme to rip off a big NASCAR race. Memorable side characters, rapid-fire dialogue, and charismatic performances keep the story from becoming too predictable even for a twist-filled heist tale. Soderbergh was even able to cut out major studios and keep complete creative control over the movie, thanks to streaming services and international distribution. It’s a largely light-hearted movie, and frankly, that’s necessary sometimes.
A mysterious pawnshop owner (Won Bin), whose only friend is a child that lives next door, tears the local criminal presence apart after she’s kidnapped. This South Korean thriller from Lee Jeong-beom follows a similar format to such films as Léon: The Professional and Man On Fire of “guy with a shady past protects little girl”, but The Man From Nowhere still crafts an original tale of a heartbroken man out to save the only thing he has left in this world. The action sequences are bloody and intense, and Bin’s stoic performance brings a painful depth to the brutal savior.
Coherence is one of those low-budget sci-fi stories that is extremely tough to explain without either giving too much away or requiring an extended entry. Essentially, a group of friends sifts through their own issues and insecurities during a mind-bending paradoxical experience. Taking place almost entirely in the same room on a single night, the characters struggle to find answers just as much as the viewer. It’s a challenging yet enthralling film, perfect for those who love to overthink things.
Fresh off Savage Mode II, his chart-topping his album with Metro Boomin, 21 Savage is back to work in his hometown of Atlanta. The “A Lot” rapper has launched an online financial literacy and scholarship program in partnership with Chime, offering a six-course program on finance that’s open for anyone to join. On top of the course, the program will start giving 100 high school students $1,000 scholarships.
The interactive program comes with lessons that will be available in both English and Spanish and cover important aspects of finances, including banking, budgeting, and credit scores. For high school students who want a chance to win one of the $1,000 scholarships, they must hand in an essay before December 4, after they complete the course.
“I’m happy to team up with Chime to make this year’s Bank Account Campaign bigger than ever with a new national financial literacy and scholarship program,” 21 Savage said in a press release. “I’ve been an advocate for financial literacy because I believe it can help free youth to focus on the more important things in life.”
The scholarship program is just the latest act of service 21 Savage has done for his hometown. Back in November, he served early Thanksgiving dinners to 300 families at the DeKalb County YMCA center in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
For a man celebrated for making some of the greatest rock albums ever, Bruce Springsteen has struggled with problematic sonics surprisingly often.
Study the shadow history of his catalogue and you’ll uncover The Boss’ perpetual difficulties with getting his sound exactly right. On Darkness On The Edge Of Town, he tried for weeks to get a proper drum sound. (More than 40 years later, the jury is still out on whether he actually pulled it off.) On The River, he pit his garage-rock purist guitarist Steven Van Zandt against his precision-minded R&B-loving producer Jon Landau in the hopes of achieving a happy medium. During the Nebraska/Born In The U.S.A. period in the early ’80s, he vacillated between playing live with the E Street Band and the control that home-recording afforded him. By the time of Tunnel Of Love, he had fully come under the spell of the latter, a phenomenon that would carry over to his troubled ’90s output.
In more recent years, Springsteen has split the difference in the studio between a piecemeal approach to assembling tracks (Magic) and awkwardly shoehorning modern slickness into his comfortably weathered aesthetic (Wrecking Ball). All the while, Springsteen’s albums have typically fallen short of the visceral power of his live performances. (One of the strengths of 2019’s lush folk-country confection Western Starsis that it’s so far removed from his usual musical palate that comparing it to his concerts makes little sense.)
For the Bruce fan inclined to play fantasy A&R, the solution has always seemed simple: Why not simply plug in and play with one of rock’s best backing bands, and record with minimal fuss or overdubs? What could possibly sound better than that?
This, happily, is the M.O. of Springsteen’s 20th album, Letter To You, out Friday. Last November, Springsteen assembled the E Street Band to quickly record a mix of new and old songs in a matter of days. At the suggestion of his trusted keyboardist, “Professor” Roy Bittan, he didn’t demo any of the tracks ahead of time. Instead, he played the tunes on guitar for the musicians, and worked out the arrangements in the studio. It was how Springsteen had worked with the band in the ’70s and ’80s, though Letter To You took the approach a step or two further.
In the past, Springsteen might have recorded quickly, but then he would sit on the tracks for a few years before releasing them, if at all. But this time, the notorious perfectionist let his guard down. He played, they rocked, and then moved on. The result is the most immediate and best-sounding album Springsteen has made since the ’80s, even if the songs themselves don’t quite reach the same standard.
Letter To You has already been described, by critics and even Springsteen himself, as a “mortality” record. There are numerous songs to support that claim — the elegiac “House Of A Thousand Guitars,” in which Springsteen reimagines heaven as a Jersey Shore nightclub in which closing time never comes; the self-explanatory “Last Man Standing,” a hymn inspired by the death of Springsteen’s boyhood friend George Theiss from his first band, The Castiles; and “I’ll See You In My Dreams,” in which Bruce optimistically proclaims that “death is not the end.”
These sorts of sentiments line up with the reflective work that Springsteen has done in his 2016 memoir, Born To Run, and his excellent one-man stage show, Springsteen On Broadway. But while Bruce has done plenty of ruminating on the inevitability of death and how the past can be both a burden and a comfort — both themes are key to “Ghosts,” the most rousing and arena-made track from Letter To You — his most insightful writing in the past several years has been meta-commentary about his own art, reflecting on the space between the mythology of Bruce Springsteen and the introverted loner from Freehold, New Jersey who invented that great American character. Springsteen spends a lot of time in his book and stage show reconciling the reality of his life with the way he’s perceived. (The broken-down movie-star narratives of Western Stars tackle this subject metaphorically.) In the process, he’s given his audience fresh perspective on how even Bruce Springsteen, the man, is inspired (if also occasionally haunted) by Bruce Springsteen, the icon.
If the autobiographical bent of Springsteen’s recent work has had the ring of public therapy sessions, Letter To You is the point where Bruce finally comes to terms with his myth. No other rock star of his stature is as self-conscious or self-critical; the impulse to write five songs for every single track he puts out, as well as his sometimes uncertain hand in guiding the production of his records, has always seemed driven by an insatiable need to prove himself. But this time, he’s made his most unabashed Bruce Springsteen-sounding music of the 21st century.
Ultimately, it’s the sound of Letter To You that is most striking. The sonic allusions to Springsteen’s past will immediately stir the souls of die-hards — the Born To Run-like sweep of Bittan’s piano on “House Of A Thousand Guitars,” Max Weinberg’s titanic drum break at the start of “Ghosts,” Steven Van Zandt’s grizzled backing vocal on “Janey Needs A Shooter,” the gritty churn of Springsteen’s own Fender on “Burnin’ Train.” These signifiers are so faithfully and powerfully replicated that it almost doesn’t matter that the songs themselves, for the most part, are merely pretty good. The cinematic storytelling of Western Stars has been supplanted by something broader and vaguer. Yes, the lyrics are “personal,” in that they appear to reflect the concerns of a 71-year-old man who was prone to over-analyzing his own life and legacy from the time he started making records. But they aren’t as vivid or distinct as Western Stars, or certainly the bygone classics that Letter To You evokes.
If this album didn’t hit with as much red-meat rock ‘n’ roll excitement, it might have tracked more like High Hopes, Springsteen’s undistinguished previous LP with The E Street Band from 2014 that recycled old material. On Letter To You, he similarly raided the vaults, though his choices this time are likably idiosyncratic — “If I Was The Priest” and “Song For Orphans” date back to his mile-a-minute Dylanesque period, when Bruce never met a verse into which he couldn’t cram 27 words. And then there’s “Janey Needs A Shooter,” one of the album’s best and most bombastic moments, which derives from his extremely fruitful songwriting era in the late ’70s.
It’s possible to contextualize these excavated songs as fitting into a larger concept about Springsteen taking stock of his past. Some have even dared to suggest that this could be a “farewell” record, but that frankly seems preposterous. Bosses don’t retire, and I can’t imagine Springsteen ever voluntarily fading away. On the contrary, the relatively low-stakes but highly pleasurable Letter To You suggests that he’s been re-energized by once again leading his eternally potent band. When you can still make a sound this big and glorious, why quit?
Nearly three months after the incident involving him and Megan Thee Stallion, Tory Lanez was charged with one felony count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm after shooting the Houston rapper in the foot. He was originally only charged with carrying the firearm in the vehicle, but after an investigation, the additional charge of felony assault was added. Less than two weeks following the additional charge, Tory hopped on Instagram Live to speak about the allegations and vouch for his innocence. After hearing what he had to say, Megan went on Twitter to share her response. “This n**** genuinely crazy,” Megan tweeted.
In his livestream, Tory claimed that Megan is aware of what really happened. “It’s crazy because the whole thing about it is like when this whole debacle or whatever you call it came about, the whole time it’s like she knows what happened,” he said. “I know what happened and we know that what you’re saying – what the alleged things and the alleged accusations of my name is – are not true.” He then continued to allege his innocence.
It’s falsified information. It’s false information and it’s not accurate information. I don’t ever want to come off like I’m here to bash this girl or I’m here to talk down about this girl or ever be at a place where I’m disrespecting her because to me as a person, she’s still my friend. Even if she doesn’t look at me like that, I look at her like she’s still my friend.
A clip of his Instagram livestream can viewed in the video above.
Megan The Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
With the NBA’s bubble now completed, players are back in their home markets and motivated to continue lending their voices to improve the world they live in. One such example manifested itself this week, with Blazers guard C.J. McCollum, Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell and 76ers forward Tobias Harris sitting down for a purposeful conversation with Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
“Obviously there was a lot of stuff that occurred while we were in the bubble,” McCollum said at the outset. “And we had to figure out ways to use our platform and speak out for those who don’t necessarily have a voice. ”
The conversation touched on a number of subjects, including education, police reform and voting in advance of the federal election in November. McCollum served as the host of the proceedings, and the visit of Senator Harris also marks the launch of McCollum’s “ReMaking America” talk show on PlayersTV.
“One of the biggest things for me, coming into the bubble, was the play was going to take care of itself,” Mitchell said. “But I wanted to be able to give back knowledge. I think that’s really what carries and goes a long way.”
The network is majority-owned by athletes, and the PlayersTV channel is available via multiple platforms, including Sling TV and Samsung TV Plus. The full episode can be seen above, via Senator Harris’s YouTube channel.
A year after his Western Stars album, Bruce Springsteen returned last month to announce he was reuniting with his famed E Street Band to release their new album, Letter To You. As a part of its rollout, Springsteen launched a new radio show with Apple music entitled A Letter To You Radio, and for its most recent episode the Boss welcomed Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl. Throughout their chat, the trio reflected on key moments in their career and the big breaks that came along the way.
Springsteen led the conversation by admitting that, while he felt he and the E Street Band’s early success was completely unexpected, he viewed Pearl Jam’s success as inevitable. “You had the kind of band that simply was a big, powerful band with a reach that wanted to extend to a sizable audience. I mean, it was just in the nature of your music,” he said. “I don’t know if you feel like that or not, but that’s how it looked from my vantage point from the outside.” In response, Vedder spoke about the pressure his band faced after the success of their first album.
“Really, there was a lot of attention just from the first one and we hadn’t even made the second one yet. I just wanted to make the next record and have the next record be better,” Vedder said. “I was like, ‘If you like this, then I think we got even more that we can better that one.’ Yeah. I just wanted to make more records.”
Dave Grohl chimed in, looking back at the moment he knew he could be a rock star. “I saw this Chicago punk rock band, and then I had that Ramones moment, where a lot of people saw the Ramones, and they were like, ‘Oh my God, it’s three chords, man,” Grohl said in the interview. “And the songs are two and a half minutes long.’ It’s like, this is not ELO. This is not Genesis.”
The full A Letter To You Radio episode can be heard on Apple Music here.
Letter To You is out 10/23 via Columbia Records. Pre-order it here.
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