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With the release of the new Playstation 5 console just around the corner, Sony is showing off it’s upgraded version of the hit Marvel’s Spider-Man game for the PS4, but fans are not exactly feeling one very big and noticeable change to the wall-crawler’s appearance.

Titled Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered and referred to by Sony as the “definitive version of the game,” the updated installment will be a technical showcase for the PS5’s graphical power that can pump out fancier shadows, lighting, and “individually rendered shades of hair.” (You can’t have a good video game without great hair, right?) However, the publishers behind Marvel’s Spider-Man took things one step further by completely replacing the original face actor for Peter Parker. Via the official Playstation blog:

This does bring us to one of the bigger changes. In order to bring the best performances to players with our next-generation Marvel’s Spider-Man games, we have recast the face of Peter Parker. We loved working with John Bubniak on the original game; however, to get a better match to Peter Parker/Spider-Man actor Yuri Lowenthal’s facial capture, we have cast Ben Jordan to be the face model for Peter Parker on the PS5 console. He looks incredible in-game, and Yuri’s moving performances take on a new life.

As you can easily see in the video above, the new Peter Parker looks an awful lot like Tom Holland, almost eerily so. And we’re not the only ones who noticed. Spider-Man fans were quick to react to the new face actor reveal, which caused Holland to trend on Twitter even though the poor guy didn’t do anything.

While most of the reactions centered around the awkward face change and how it feels like shoehorning the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the game world, one bold user suggested, “Ah, but what if it’s not Tom Holland?” and it’s a pretty convincing argument.

However, if the goal is to emulate the MCU, then we gotta agree with “Johnny” that there’s only way to go from here:

Make Zendaya a playable character, you cowards!

(Via Playstation)

Back in 2018, Japanese Breakfast vocalist Michelle Zauner published the poignant essay Crying In H Mart in the New Yorker. The story detailed her experience growing up as one of the only Asian kids in her Eugene, Oregon hometown, and how she honors her late mother’s memory through food. Zauner transformed the essay into a full memoir, and she has now shared its release date: April 20, 2021.

Described as an “exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance,” the book is set for an official release next April. Alongside her announcement, Zauner described the life events which eventually led to Crying In H Mart:

“My mother passed away almost six years ago and ever since, my life has felt folded in half, divided into a before and after her death, my identity and my family having been fractured in the wake of her loss. I’ve spent the past six years processing grief in the best way I knew how — through creative work. I wrote two albums worth of material in an attempt to encapsulate all of that heavy darkness, confusion and loneliness, and then I spent another three years writing pages and pages to try and capture my mother’s brilliant character and spirit, what it was like to be raised by a Korean immigrant in a small west coast town with very little diversity, the intense shame I felt towards my mixed race identity and how my embrace of Korean food and culture helped me come to terms with that upbringing, allowed me to reconnect with her memory.”

After sharing the news on social media, Zauner posted a heartfelt interaction between her and an Instagram user who used to serve her mother at her hometown’s Olive Garden.

Check out the Crying In H Mart cover art below.

Crying In H Mart is out 4/20/2021 via Knopf. Pre-order it here.

HBO’s new drama series We Are Who We Are debuted this month and as part of the promotional effort, the network has partnered with designer Caleb Flowers for a digital ‘zine playing off the show’s theme. The project will be available in a USB drive containing images, music, and video from the show’s stars and creators, as well as other artists who inspire them, such as Kid Cudi and Blood Orange’s Devonte Hynes, who scored the show and is releasing the score as an album. The content provided aims to answer the question of who “they are,” mirroring the show’s theme of self-discovery.

Cudi and Hynes are just two of the creators contributing to the project, including model Aaron Phillip, musician/producer Instupendo, poet/musician TWEAKS, creative director Quinn Wilson, writer Mimi Zhu, visual artist Riya Hamid, and musician Raveena Aurora. The show’s stars Chloë Sevigny, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Jordan Kristine Seamón also provide content for the zine, which will come in a limited quantity of USBs starting September 28. Don’t worry if you miss out though, the content will also be available in zip format to download at wearewhoweareHBO.com.

Meanwhile, Dev Hynes recently remixed Tame Impala’s “Borderline,” while Kid Cudi has been collaborating with Travis Scott on “a lot” of new songs.

Throughout his time in the NBA Bubble this summer, LeBron James has been working from afar with More Than A Vote, the voting rights organization he leads, to make it easier for Americans to vote in the upcoming election.

According to Astead Herndon of the New York Times, the organization has signed up more than 10,000 poll workers in Black electoral districts so far, and while they have their sights set on other specific cities in the coming weeks, many of those poll workers will be celebrated during Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

On the jumobtron of virtual fans along the baseline and sideline during Game 1, many newly assigned poll workers from across the country will sit in on the game as they are honored by James and More Than A Vote. This report comes from Herndon, who was provided data from More Than A Vote to back up these impressive numbers as well as how the campaign will honor these poll workers.

Going forward, James’ group is partnering with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to target 11 cities that are populated by a high proportion of people of color, sit in swing counties for the upcoming election, or both, including Flint, Michigan, and San Antonio, Texas. When James tosses his trademark chalk into the air before Game 1, he’ll be looking into the faces of folks who have committed to participating in the electoral process even more deeply this year than ever before thanks to the work of More Than A Vote.

Sigur Rós leader Jónsi will soon release Shiver, his first solo album since 2010. He revealed the tracklist this summer, and while it was mostly free of features, the album will be graced by a guest spot from Robyn. Now, the mononymous European music icons have shared a video for their new collaboration, “Salt Licorice.”

The song shares some sonic similarities with Sigur Rós, but it would never be mistaken for a song by the band. Instead, it’s more of a glitchy, experimental electronic affair, grounded by Robyn’s vocals and moments of pop bliss.

Press materials note the song has Jónsi and Robyn “commiserate in the coldness of aging, nostalgia, and depression, sorrows that are made easier when shared with a kindred soul.” Robyn also says of the track, “‘Salt Licorice’ is such a cute and perfect pop song. It makes me want to dance violently and make out at the same time. It was a no-brainer to say yes to singing it with Jónsi. The pretty emails I get with a thousand emojis in them from him is a bonus that came with our collaboration as well!”

Watch the “Salt Licorice” video above.

Shiver is out 10/2 via Krunk. Pre-order it here.

Earlier this month, nearly fifty artists like Hayley Williams, Death Cab For Cutie, and Phoebe Bridgers got together for the benefit compilation Good Music To Avert The Collapse Of American Democracy. The project was a huge success, raising over a quarter of a million in just one day for the initiatives Color Of Change and Fair Fight. Now, even more artists like Pearl Jam, John Prine, and Fleet Foxes have contributed the compilation’s follow-up, this time benefitting voter’s rights.

For the upcoming Good Music To Avert The Collapse Of American Democracy: Volume 2, 100 percent of the net proceeds from the record’s sales will go to Voting Rights Lab, a nonpartisan organization that brings state advocacy, policy, and legislative expertise to the fight for voting rights. The organization also works in partnership with non-profits across the country to secure, protect, and defend the voting rights of all Americans. Just like the last project, the massive compilation will only be available for 24 hours exclusively through Bandcamp, so fans need to be quick about purchasing the project.

The masterminds behind the large-scale compilation record are author Dave Eggers, along with artist managers Jordan Kurland and Darius Zelkha. About the album, Eggers said:

“When over $250,000 was raised for the first compilation — in one day — we were floored and it spurred us to do another. We thought we’d get twenty musicians, tops, for this second one, but in about ten days, 77 bands and singers came through. It was a flood. Every day, the urgency of this election becomes clearer, so we’re trying to send as much money into voter access as we can. The compilation is a bit of concentrated hope.”

Echoing Eggers’ statement, Kurland added: “We could have included 200 artists, that’s how united the music community is around the fight for voting rights. We are so inspired to have this incredible collection of artists in an effort to raise money in support of the important work that Voting Rights Lab is doing.”

Check out the Good Music To Avert The Collapse Of American Democracy: Volume 2 cover art and tracklist below.

1. David Byrne — “People Tell Me”
2. Pearl Jam — “Get It Back”
3. Little Dragon — “Night Shift”
4. The Postal Service — “We Will Become Silhouettes (Live from Berkeley, CA 2013)”
5. Cold War Kids — “Almost A Crime”
6. Black Pumas — “Colors (Live)”
7. Mark Ronson & Ilsey Juber — “No Time To Die (Bond Demo)”
8. Guided By Voices — “Game Of Pricks (Live from the Teragram Ballroom, LA on 12/31/19)”
9. Phoenix — “No Woman (Whitney Cover)”
10. Yola — “To Be Young, Gifted and Black (Song: Nina Simone, Arrangement: Aretha Franklin)”
11. Ciggy Black — “Flypaper”
12. Arcade Fire Feat. David Byrne — “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) [Talking Heads Cover, Live]”
13. Nilüfer Yanya — “Day 7.5093”
14. Hippo Campus — “No Poms (Live From First Ave)”
15. Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band — “There’s No Goodbye Between Us (Remix by Deakin of Animal Collective)”
16. Yeah Yeah Yeahs — “Criminals (Atlas Sound Cover)”
17. The Harlem Gospel Travelers — “Keep On Praying”
18. Perfume Genius — “Jory (Demo)”
19. Feist — “Human Touch (Nina Simone Cover)”
20. Jack Johnson — “My Mind’s For Sale (Live in Lake Tahoe, NV 2017)”
21. Phantogram — “You Are So Beautiful (Joe Cocker Cover)’
22. Big Boi And Sleepy Brown — “We The Ones, ft. Killer Mike and Big Rube (Organized Noize Remix)”
23. Tenacious D — “Rize of the Fenix (Live from Lollapalooza 2019)”
24. Alex Ebert — “No Jokes Left”
25. John Prine — “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore (Live) feat. Margo Price, Jeremy Ivey, and Kenneth Pattengale”
26. Courtney Marie Andrews, Liz Cooper and Molly Sarlé — “America (Simon & Garfunkel Cover)”
27. Jenny Lewis — “Callaloo”
28. NNAMDÏ Feat. Lala Lala — “Dislocate”
29. !!! — “Feels Good”
30. Pup — “Edmonton”
31. Beach Bunny — “Dream Boy (Live)”
32. Madi Diaz — “Home On The Range”
33. Sturgill Simpson — “All Around You”
34. Shakey Graves — “Good Listener”
35. Bob Mould Band — “In A Free Land (Live in Seattle, WA 2019)”
36. Andrew Bird — “Tables and Chairs”
37. Caleb Giles — “Focus”
38. The Marías — “Hold It Together (Demo)”
39. The War On Drugs — “Eyes To The Wind (Live)”
40. Aimee Mann — “Batten Down”
41. Chicano Batman — “Invisible People (Live)”
42. Buzzy Lee — “Cinderblock”
43. Fleet Foxes — “Drops In The River (Live From The Ryman)”
44. Charly Bliss — “Ohio (Demo)”
45. The Gossip — “Room For You (Demo)”
46. Khemist — “40oz of Freedom”
47. The Dip — “Friday Mixer”
48. Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell — “Wish In Vain”
49. Margo Price — “Devil’s In The Details”
50. My Morning Jacket — “Big Decisions (Jim’s Demo)”
51. Old 97’s — “Southern Girls (Cheap Trick Cover)”
52. Colin Meloy — “Bring On The Dancing Horses (Echo & The Bunnymen Cover)”
53. Matt And Kim — “Let’s Go (Acoustic)”
54. Songhoy Blues Feat. FOKN Bois — “Don’t FOKN Worry”
55. Wolf Parade — “ATA”
56. Tunde Adebimpe — “Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd Cover)”
57. Stone Gossard — “Near”
58. Dan Deacon — “Rally Banner”
59. Girlpool — “Babygirl And Mental”
60. Calexico — “All Systems Red (Live in Tucson, AZ 2005)”
61. Muna — “Walk On Water (Toyin’s Song)”
62. Nada Surf — “Stories Going ‘Round”
63. Surfer Blood — “New Direction”
64. Illuminati Hotties — “Content//Bedtime / Superiority Complex”
65. Mexican Institute Of Sound — “La Cura”
66. Marginal Prophets — “What The Man Don’t Know (Won’t Hurt Him)”
67. Michelle — “Sunrise (Remix)”
68. Whitney — “Valleys (My Love) (Live from SPACE)”
69. Bright Eyes — “Pan and Broom (Demo)”
70. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit — “Fooled Around and Fell In Love (Elvin Bishop Cover, Live)”
71. Bedouine — “Let Me In Your Life (Bill Withers Cover)”
72. Rhye — “Hymn (Becky and the Birds Remix)”
73. Faye Webster — “Vanishing Twin (Blake Mills Cover)”
74. Deaf Charlie — “Something Real”
75. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down — “Chosen”
76. Nick Hakim — “Quadir (Extended)”
77. Flume x Toro y Moi — “The Difference”

Good Music To Avert The Collapse Of American Democracy: Volume 2 is out 10/2. Pre-order it here.

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

After a shaky couple of weeks where fans were concerned about the fate of the show, Harley Quinn was officially renewed for a third season in the middle of September. On top of that, the hit animated series will also be making the permanent jump to HBO Max, where it reaches a much larger audience than its previous home on DC Universe.

Following the renewal order, Harley Quinn creators Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker sat down for a lengthy interview with Deadline, for which they talked all things Harley and their plans for season three. One of the more interesting items was when Halpern opened up about their approach to tackling a more “adult” take on Harley and how they were inspired by a classic TV sitcom:

Our first take on it, which is what we ended up doing, was like, “Look, we want to do Mary Tyler Moore, but if she was a psychopath.” Pat and I love sitcoms; we love the history of sitcoms We’ve worked in sitcoms, and to be able to take that kind of template and put it within the craziness of a show like this, we felt like we could tell some very funny, interesting stories that hadn’t been done.

Halpern and Schumacker also revealed that season three will focus on Harley and Poison Ivy’s budding relationship, with an emphasis on Ivy’s point of view to keep things fresh. “It’d be interesting to flip that, and dig deeper into Ivy and her life, and tell some stories through her point of view,” Halpern said. “So, we’re excited to be able to do that because it feels completely new—somewhere to go that we haven’t gone, that isn’t going to make the audience feel like, ‘We saw two seasons of that. What the f**k is this?’”

There was, however, some bad news. Fans are in for a wait for season three, which “optimistically” will arrive in late 2021. But on a bright note, Halpern and Schumacker don’t foresee any obstacles to production due to the pandemic. Thank you, sealed recording booths.

(Via Deadline)

At this point, Haim are used to performing music from their recently-released album Women In Music Pt. III without an audience. Released in July during the lockdown, the album marked a strong display of vulnerability from the three sisters. Though much of their livestreams, like their Tiny Desk concert, have been from their living room, Haim have now found the perfect spot for a socially-distanced set: the empty parking lot at LA’s iconic venue The Forum. The three fittingly brought their Women In Music Pt. III track “Gasoline” to the concrete lot for their appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Posted up outside The Forum, the three sisters still managed to deliver an engaging rendition of “Gasoline.” The performance opens with Danielle on the drum kit, setting the song’s rhythm before Alana and Este chime in with bouncy guitar and funky bass riffs.

Ahead of the performance, Danielle and her sisters explained their inspiration behind the album’s title: “The name came to me in a dream and I woke up laughing so I told my sisters.” Alana added, “I liked it because we are literally women in music and we always get written about that way, so it seemed cool to make it our own and control the narrative. It made me think about some of our experiences more.” Este also said, “I just thought it was funny, plus the initials are WIMP3. ‘Wimp’ is a hilarious word.”

Watch Haim perform “Gasoline” on Kimmel above.

Women In Music Pt. III is out now via Sony. Get it here and revisit our review of Haim album here.

From Anthony Davis’ game-winner to the re-emergence of Dwight Howard to a trip back to the NBA Finals, this postseason for the Lakers has been full of moments that remind Laker fans of the late Kobe Bryant. As the team prepares for Game 1 on Wednesday, a new story from Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times shows one more way the organization is keeping Bryant with them as they look to hang banner No. 17.

A sampling from the Lakers’ Tuesday practice saw 13 players and coaches donning Kobe’s signature Nike sneakers, a daily reminder of Bryant’s legacy and connection to this team. While assistant coach Jason Kidd appreciates he can finally wear them without worrying about Bryant taking it out on him on the court, Howard said there was no choice but to lace them up for every game in the Bubble. And Davis, who grew up idolizing Bryant, called it “amazing” to see Bryant’s impact live on through the shoes and said he’d wear them for “as long as (he) can.”

But it was Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka who gave the best insight into the meaning of the sneakers to Woike. After all, as Bryant’s former agent, Pelinka was part of the design process with Bryant and Nike years ago.

“When I put them on, it just triggers so many incredible memories of sitting around a table where Kobe would be collaborating with the Nike designers about how he wanted the shoe to look and the inspiration behind it,” Pelinka said.

“… He was obsessed with the details. He was always reverse-engineering life, always look at the details. And when I put on that shoe, that’s the inspiration I get — how am I going to make the most of this moment, this day, this game. That’s what he stood for. That’s how he approached life.”

Wearing the sneakers, Pelinka added, is a “tangible reminder” of Bryant’s spirit and that of his daughter, Gianna, being with the team even all these months after their passing. That reminder is an “inspiration” for the team as they get ready to compete for a championship.

As social media changed recording artists’ relations with their fans and made some aspects of the industry more transparent, those fans have become more and more invested in the concrete markers of their favorite artists’ success. Artists have encouraged this somewhat, celebrating milestones like chart placements and sales awards on their social media, which has only made fans more enthusiastic about achieving those milestones.

However, some fans have been known to take this way more seriously than even the artists themselves, organizing streaming campaigns to juice their faves’ stats and even turning downright mean in their efforts to prove they support the “best” artist. Some, like the Barbz, even turn on Nicki Minaj’s collaborators when she misses out on No. 1s — which you’d think they’d be used to, but nobody ever said common sense was a prerequisite for membership.

In a recent interview with Complex, Nicki’s “Move Ya Hips” collaborator ASAP Ferg addressed this odd tendency, reacting to the hashtag some Barbz trended when the Floor Seats 2 tracked failed to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100: #ASAPFergIsOverParty (it debuted at No. 19 after extensive campaigning). Some of them apparently blamed Ferg for the disappointment, claiming he failed to “submit” sales numbers to Billboard for review in time. For his part, Ferg seems to accept that it comes from a good place of rooting for Nicki to win, even if they do overreact based on misconceptions of how things work (misconceptions that have been propagated and encouraged by other stars, like Tekashi 69).

“Man, I love all the passion, because that just shows me how far her supporters are willing to go for her,” Ferg enthused. “I would want my supporters to do the same thing. But it got to the point where it was just like, okay, all right. We have to be real with ourselves. Why wouldn’t I want this song to go number one? And there’s no such thing as giving in your sales to Billboard. They collect that themselves… I don’t know who gave them that information. I’m a huge fan and pleased to work with someone like Nicki, so that’s an opportunity that I wouldn’t even want to mess up for myself. You know, that’s the best way to describe them: super passionate. And I don’t fault them for that. They’re just super passionate, and I love it.”

Read the full interview here.