Teyana Taylor shared her ambitious 23-track record The Album back in June. To further flesh out her songs’ concepts, the singer took on the role of video director and assumed the moniker Spike Tey. So far, Taylor has shared a handful of visuals, her sultry “Concrete” video being the latest. Now for her “Lose Each Other” video, Taylor was able to tap the legendary Elton John to lend a hand.
Directed by Taylor herself, the video opens with John sitting stoically behind the piano. Taylor adopts a handful of styles to illuminate the song’s meaning and calls upon two graceful dancers to move in unison to her soaring vocals.
In a statement about working with John, Taylor said, “‘Lose Each Other’ is such a special record for me, and I wanted the visual to feel just as big. I told my team ‘you know what would be dope? If I could have Elton John open the video on the piano!!’ […] Not that I thought it could really happen, but just putting it out there in the universe. So as we were working through treatment ideas and solidifying logistics for the video, an international phone number calls me…. and for a second I almost didn’t answer, but my intuition spoke, I answered. All I hear is…’Hello darling, it’s Elton. I’d LOVE to do your video!’ I FREAKED OUT!”
Echoing Taylor’s statement, John said, “When Teyana Taylor released her debut album, I became a huge fan. She was a guest on my Rocket Hour and I fell in love with her original spirit. Aside from her brilliant music, Teyana is one of the most visually dazzling artists working in music today. So I jumped at the chance to be in her latest video ‘Lose Each Other.’”
Speaking about her experience filming the visual, Taylor added, “As a director I wanted the imagery to be simple, yet powerful, which is why I choose an all-white background and bold looks. I wanted my audience to understand how love’s hardships can also be beautiful.
Watch Taylor and John’s “Lose Each Other” video above.
As far as independent rappers go, Brooklyn’s Kota The Friend has been having a decent year, all things considered. His May album Everything was well-received, thanks to features from Bas, Kyle, Joey Badass, and Tobi Lou, while his “Trade Places With Them Jeans” freestyle with Guapdad 4000 capped off the latter’s Falcon Fridays series and helped raise both raise their respective profiles among fans with way more time for music discovery on their hands due to the economic shutdown caused by COVID0-19. Kota also celebrated an improved credit score; it may seem simple, but for a rapper working without the backing of a major label, it means a lot.
But time marches on and it’s apparently time for Kota to get right back to work. To that end, he’s returned to releasing music shortly after his 27th birthday with the release of “Dragon,” a spirited single in the same vein as his Lyrics To Go projects. Over a mellow beat, Kota imagines giving advice to his younger self, saying, “If I could go back, I would say to him / ‘Just focus on your spirit and you’ll make it, kid / And do right by the women that you make it with.’”
Kota didn’t say whether “Dragon” would be part of a larger release but he rarely does anything without a plan, so it’s probably a safe bet that more new music is on the way.
2019 was a nostalgic year for Tegan And Sara. More specifically, September 2019, as that’s when they released both Hey, I’m Just Like You, which consists of re-recorded songs they wrote as teenagers, and their joint memoir, High School. The book apparently generated some buzz in TV circles, as it was revealed today that High School is being adapted into a TV series of the same name.
Deadline reports the show is being developed for IMDb TV (Amazon’s free, ad-supported streaming service) by Clea DuVall (who is wriing the series, Plan B Entertainment, and Amazon Studios. Tegan And Sara will serve as executive producers.
The publication describes the series, “High School is a transcendent story of first loves and first songs. Through a backdrop of ’90s grunge and rave culture, the series tangles itself in the parallel and discordant memories of two sisters growing up down the hall from one another. This is a story about finding your own identity — a journey made even more complicated when you have a twin whose own struggle and self-discovery so closely mimics your own.”
The memoir was initially announced in late 2018, and the sisters said of it at the time, “‘How did you start your band? When did you know that you were gay? What were you like before Tegan And Sara?’ We have spent twenty years answering those complicated questions with simple answers. […] Writing High School gives us the opportunity to tell the intricate stories that shaped our relationship as sisters, musicians, and queer girls.”
Tegan And Sara is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels, but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.
The hotly-anticipated proper debut solo album from The National frontman is finally here. While Matt Berninger’s bandmate Aaron Dessner helped deliver a full-blown indie album from Taylor Swift just a few months ago, Serpentine Prison instead channels the best of The National’s dad-rock energy, delivering what Steven Hyden calls for Uproxx “a languid, low-key record apparently designed for graying Gen Xers and millennials quietly sipping whiskey cocktails while their children tear apart the house during lockdown.”
Kevin Morby – Sundowner
After giving us one of 2019’s best albums with Oh My God, Kevin Morby is back with Sundowner. The ten-track effort is what Morby called in a statement “a depiction of isolation. Of the past. Of an uncertain future.” There is a discernible longing in each track, inspired by Morby’s isolation while writing that was only diminished when Katie Crutchfield (a.k.a. Waxahatchee) started visiting him during the writing process.
Helena Deland – Someone New
Helena Deland’s debut full-length was written and recorded over a period of two years. The amount of care that went into the process can be heard throughout the album’s 47-minute runtime. The album is rooted in Deland’s fears of getting older and her constant nagging feeling that she might be missing out on life while waiting for it to start, a sentiment I think we can all relate to these days.
Sturgill Simpson – Cuttin’ Grass – Vol. 1
The latest from Sturgill Simpson takes on a different approach than his 2019 album Sound & Fury, putting aside the blazing arena rock jams in favor of a simpler, more laid back affair. By stripping back all of the extra instrumentals, Cuttin’ Grass – Vol. 1 is “the most sublime and delightful music he’s yet made on record, and the first album to truly harness the energy and charm he has a performer on stage,” writes Steven Hyden for Uproxx.
Beabadoobee – Fake It Flowers
The debut album from 20-year-old rocker Beabadoobee sounds like it could have been ripped right from the credits of a teen comedy of the ’90s or early 2000’s. Throughout the album, Bea Kristi never shies away from digging into the difficulties of coming of age, making Fake It Flowers what I recently called “an epic film score for growing up.”
Tomberlin – Projections
After catching our attention with the delightful 2018 LP At Weddings, Tomberlin is back with a new EP produced by Alex G. Projections takes on a more robust full-band sound than its predecessor, a very exciting taste of what can be expected from Tomberlin as she looks toward her sophomore full-length.
Lana Del Rey – “Let Me Love You Like A Woman”
Lana Del Rey owned 2019 with Norman F*cking Rockwell and she is already prepping the release of a new album called Chemtrails Over The Country Club. Although there are few to no details about the album, “Let Me Love You Like A Woman” is our first taste, which finds Del Rey reminiscing about a new love that she has only known for a short time, but already envisioning their future together.
Rostam – “Unfold You”
In recent years, Rostam has focused primarily on producing, working with Clairo on Immunity and Haim on their new album Women In Music Pt. III. Although the ex-Vampire Weekend member has not formally announced a new project, “Unfold You” is his first official new solo music since 2017’s Half Light. “Under a lulling beat, mesmerizing saxophone licks, and shimmering keys, ‘Unfold You’ speaks to Rostam’s willingness to be open to a new love,” writes Carolyn Droke for Uproxx.
Local Natives – “Lemon” (feat. Sharon Van Etten)
With a new EP called Sour Lemon on the way, Local Natives teamed up with Sharon Van Etten for “Lemon,” which addresses a feeling of asynchronicity. In a statement about the song, Van Etten said that “Lemon” exists as a document of her blossoming friendship with Taylor Rice, with the writing and production process covering nearly a full year of their relationship.
Cloud Nothings – “Am I Something”
For the first time since their 2012 breakout album Attack On Memory, Cloud Nothings have teamed up with esteemed producer Steve Albini for their upcoming album The Shadow I Remember. Featuring Albini’s signature snappy drum sound, “Am I Something” signals a return to the band’s roots as well as the start of a new era.
I Am The Avalanche – “You’re No Good To Me Dead”
Earlier this month, New York punk outfit I Am The Avalanche announced their first new album in six years. The recording sessions for the band’s new album Dive were completed on March 15, just a few hours before much of the country went into quarantine mode, and you can hear the earnestness in Vinnie Caruana’s voice as he sings the track’s rollicking chorus.
Mamalarky – “You Make Me Smile”
While “Schism Trek,” the first single from Mamalarky‘s self-titled debut album took on a more rocking edge, “You Make Me Smile” is a more laid-back affair. With light, precise instrumentation and dreamy vocals, it shows the versatility of the Atlanta quartet.
Steady Holiday – “Living Life”
Steady Holiday went mostly dark after the release of her 2018 album Nobody’s Watching, but now Dre Babinski has reemerged to share new music in the form of the cinematic and emotional “Living Life.” “With cascading keys and anticipation-filling drums, ‘Living Life’ gives snapshots of simple interactions over the course of one night,” writes Carolyn Droke for Uproxx.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Not too long ago, John Wall was considered one of the brightest young point guards in the NBA. Before injuries started to take their toll, the five-time All-Star was an explosive athlete with uncanny court vision and, together with backcourt mate Bradley Beal, turned the Wizards into a perennial playoff team in the East.
Wall didn’t suit up at all last season, but according to the latest reports, is healthy once again and ready to make a comeback. Wall ruptured his Achilles prior to the 2019-2020 season, and although he said earlier this year that he was back to “110 percent,” he opted against joining the Wizards in the Orlando bubble this summer.
As he continues to prepare for next season, Wall made an appearance on ESPN’s Monday Tailgate to talk football, and while he was at it, showed off some serious multi-tasking skills.
We’re not sure what’s more impressive, the sheer audacity of keeping a card game going in the middle of a television appearance or being able to mostly answer the interviewer’s questions without getting too distracted.
It’s hard to tell, but Wall appears to be playing spades. At one point, it sounds like Wall says “board,” which means that his partner is going nil and he’s bidding the minimum four books. Hopefully, we can get an update on how the game played out during his next television appearance.
New Zealand four-piece The Beths shared their ardent sophomore record Jump Rope Gazers back in July. Ahead of the album’s release, the group shared a handful of videos to songs like “Out Of Sight,” “I’m Not Getting Excited,” “Dying To Believe,” and the album’s title track. Now, getting together once again, The Beths share a lighthearted video to their song “Mars, The God Of War.”
Directed by Callum Devlin and Annabel Kean, the “Mars, The God Of War” video depicts The Beths attempting to pull off a complicated heist. The band dons fake mustaches and dark sunglasses as cover before eventually getting themselves into trouble.
In a statement about the video, The Beths’ vocalist Liz Stokes said the playfulness of the visual reflects everyone’s giddy excitement about New Zealand being fully re-opened. “The video has a really silly energy that everyone really embraced,” Stokes said. “With NZ being COVID-free, there’s a real palpable joy and euphoria in being able to get together and make something. We feel very lucky and Sports Team smashed it out of the park once again.”
Directors Devlin and Kean added:
“As well as being genius musicians, in our minds The Beths are defined by being a committed, intelligent and extremely efficient team, and have turned the collaborative inner workings of an indie rock band into an art in itself. We wanted to explore that side of the band in the ultimate team-up genre; a high stakes twist laden heist movie. Obviously. Also, we seem to find the idea of The Beths entering into a life of crime frankly hilarious. We love working with The Beths. No band is more committed to exhausting every possible gag out of a situation. We initially plotted out the entire film, but decided to abandon it in favour of making as gag-dense a video as possible, if that makes sense.”
Watch The Beths’ “Mars, The God Of War” video above.
Jump Rope Gazers is out now via Carpark Records. Get it here.
James Cameron has a reputation for pushing his actors to their physical limits, but he found a willing participant in Sigourney Weaver, who has detailed the intense underwater training she endured for Avatar 2. The long-awaited sequel will center on the aquatic portions of the fictional planet of Pandora, which required Weaver to prep for months with elite military divers, who taught the 70-year-old actress how to hold her breath for up to six minutes.
“I had some concerns,” Weaver told The New York Times. “But that’s what the training was for. And I really wanted to do it. I didn’t want anyone to think, ‘Oh, she’s old, she can’t do this.’”
On top of learning how to conserve her oxygen, Weaver also had to work on her underwater acting, which required stifling reflexes that would show up on camera. Via IndieWire:
“Weaver and other members of the cast had to learn not to squint or clamp their mouths shut — both natural reactions when you’re submerged — during take after take in a gigantic water tank. She had weights around her waist and professional divers who sped her back to the surface for air at brief, regular intervals.”
While the work sounds grueling, Weaver embraced the challenge and says it’s important to her to never tell herself she can’t do something. “Let me at it! And we’ll see,” she tells the Times. Kate Winslet will also appear in the underwater film, but she’s already had plenty of practice with Cameron’s aquatic filming style while working on Titanic. The director once boasted that Winslet was so good at her training that she could hold her breath for seven minutes. Granted, that’s a minute longer than Weaver, but both actors’ underwater skills are equally impressive especially when you factor in the no-squinting part. Nothing about that is easy.
That includes Eric Trump, who shared an obviously edited photo of Ice Cube and 50 Cent (who appears to be voting for Trump after learning about Joe Biden’s tax plan) wearing Trump 2020 hats. In the original photo, Ice Cube is actually wearing a Big3 hat, while 50 sports a New York Yankees cap. Ice Cube wasn’t the biggest fan of the doctored image, as he shared Trump’s tweet (which has since been deleted) and commented, “N**** please…”
There is a lot going on here. Whether it’s @IceCube realizing he is being used, his clap back. @EricTrump getting tagged with “Manipulated Media.” The fact it is actually true. LOL pic.twitter.com/avWTBdsyBu
— Hercules Mulligan’s back b/c that energy is needed (@johnvmoore) October 20, 2020
In a recent CNN interview, Ice Cube defended his work with the Trump administration, saying, “Your lead-ins are a little misleading. The Platinum Plan is not my plan. I came up with Contract With Black America [CWBA]. I didn’t run to work with any campaign. Both campaigns contacted me. Both campaigns wanted to talk to me about the Contract With Black America … I didn’t run to nobody, so that was real misleading to me. You said I ran over to the Trump team instead of the Biden team and that’s just not true. I’m willing to work with both teams. I’m just working with whoever is willing to work with me.”
Gamers are never shy about voicing their gripes with what they play, something that is especially true with NBA 2K. While things like microtransactions or gameplay oftentimes draw the ire of those who play the game, the latest ruffled feathers came with a series of unskippable ads that appear in NBA 2K21‘s load screen before 2K TV starts up that presented a hurdle for those who wanted to set lineups and do other pregame adjustments.
The whole thing made those who play the game pretty bummed, especially because 2K is a game that has been defined by finding ways to get a little more money out of those who already drop serious coin to pick up a copy — the current-generation version of this year’s game, for instance, retailed for $59.99, while the next-generation version will start at $10 more. But in a statement released by NBA 2K on Tuesday afternoon, the company announced that while “ads have been integrated into 2KTV segments” in recent years, these in particular “are not meant to run as part of the pre-game introduction.” And as a result of the response from those who play the game, this will be remedied soon.
Several big-name stars served up some of the best new pop music this week. Justin Bieber teamed up with Benny Blanco for a reflective single, Lana Del Rey offered a preview of her next album, and Demi Lovato questioned the president’s actions in a politically-charged track.
From Chance The Rapper to Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber has been staying busy with collaborations following the release of his comeback record Changes. Now, Bieber is getting introspective about his life in the limelight on honest track “Lonely.” Throughout the single, Bieber details growing up in the media but still feeling like no one knows the real him.
Lana Del Rey — “Let Me Love You Like A Woman”
With “Let Me Love You Like A Woman,” Lana Del Rey offered her first solo single of the year. The lovelorn piano ballad previews the singer’s upcoming anticipated record Chemtrails Over The Country Club and follows the release of her poetry book Violet Bend Backward Over The Grass.
Demi Lovato — “Commander In Chief”
Demi Lovato used her voice to encourage her fans to vote with the moving single “Commander In Chief.” Speaking about the track in a statement, Lovato said: “It’s very important for me that I get to use my platform for something much bigger than just singing. There’s been so many times where I wanted to write the president a letter or sit down with him and ask him these questions. And then I thought, I don’t really actually want to do that, and I think one way that I could do that is writing a song and releasing it for the whole world to hear, and then he has to answer those questions to everybody and not just me.”
Conan Gray x Lauv — “Fake”
Two breakout pop stars, Conan Gray and Lauv, teamed up for the buoyant collaboration “Fake” this week. “We wrote ‘Fake’ the first time I met Conan and it’s one of my fav songs ever,” Lauv said. Gray added: “Lauv and I wrote ‘Fake’ while we were just hanging and ranting about those two faced people everybody knows. Those people who say one thing and do the other, people who constantly talk trash about their own friends. We wanted to make something fun you can scream in the car to, a song to flip a bird at those types of people.”
Major Lazer — “QueLoQue” Feat. Paloma Mami
This week, Major Lazer offered another taste for their upcoming record Music Is The Weapon with the hip-shaking tune “QueLoQue.” In a statement about the track, collaborator Paloma Mami expressed what made them love the track: “‘QueLoQue’ has been in the works for a while now and I’m so happy to finally be able to share it with you all! It has a fire energy to it with some elements of old school reggaeton and mixing it with that electronic touch from Major Lazer.”
Claud — “Gold”
Claud has gained a cult following through a handful of singles and EPs and now, the singer is the latest signee of Phoebe Bridgers’ newly-minted label Saddest Factory. Sharing a new single this week, Claud said: “‘Gold’ is about contradictions; an instructor attempting to teach a class of monsters proper manners so they can assimilate; a relationship getting so tired and so old that even gold starts to rust (which isn’t scientifically possible).”
James Blake — “Before”
This week, James Blake gave only one day’s notice before sharing his four-track EP, Before. The effort’s title track sets the stage for the remainder of the project, starting slow before deconstructing into a thumping beat.
Omar Apollo — “Hey Boy” Feat. Kali Uchis
Omar Apollo released his highly-anticipated record Apolonio this week and with it came the soothing Kali Uchis collaboration “Hey Boy.” The song is the shortest on the entire record, clocking in at just under two minutes, but it’s soothing tones make up for the abbreviated length as watery guitar tones simmer underneath Apollo and Uchis’ harmonies.
Dorian Electra — “My Agenda” Feat. Village People and Pussy Riot
Hyperpop producer Dorian Electra released their intoxicating record My Agenda this week and its title track boasted collaborations from renowned artists. Speaking to how the collaborators exist in heteronormative spaces, Electra said Village People “have infiltrated straight mainstream society with some of the gayest music in history. You’ve got people at football games, bar mitzvahs, hetero-ass weddings doing this ‘YMCA.’”
Tayla Parx — “Residue”
Tayla Parx is gearing up for the release of her album Coping Mechanisms in November and offered up another preview with the infectious single “Reside.” “It’s about one of those moments when you try to get somebody off your brain or heart,” Parx said in a statement. “You’re confessing, ‘I’m trying to get rid of you,’ which is another one of my unhealthy coping mechanisms. In certain cases, you’re being avoidant and acting like it was never there versus finding solutions to the problem head-on.”
Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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