Philadelphia-based boundary-breaking indie rocker Shamir has followed up his recent 2020 album Cataclysm with even more music. With “On My Own,” Shamir turns the page and sets his sights on yet another record that’s due out later this summer.

“On My Own” boasts a fuzzy, grunge-inspired guitar riff that’s juxtaposed by Shamir’s lilting vocals. “I used to think that love was fleeting / You’ll just end up hurt / But it’s a cosmic game of meetings / That may never work and I think / Maybe I deserve a little more / And life will get easier / But I don’t believe in love anymore / Don’t bargain with my worth cause,” Shamir sings at the hook, reflecting on a breakup.

The single’s accompanying video was directed and produced by Shamir himself while in quarantine. For the visual, Shamir makes use of his space, playing with different backdrops and outfits composed of second-hand clothing to reflect that track’s cathartic nature.

Speaking to Rolling Stone about the single, Shamir said he originally penned the track about finding solace in being an introvert after a particularly tough breakup. But, as many songs have in the past few months, “On My Own” eventually morphed into an “accidental” quarantine anthem, “especially for the people who live alone like me,” he said.

While Shamir has yet to unveil a firm album release date, the singer plans on debuting his upcoming project some time this summer. According to Shamir, the record is his most “accessible” since his 2015 breakout Ratchet and the singer has heavily leaned on post-hardcore ’90s for sonic inspiration.

Watch Shamir’s “On My Own” video above.

Who is the Scranton Strangler?

Seven years after The Office ended, we still don’t have an answer. I mean, sure, the lamestream media wants you to believe that George Howard Skub is Scranton’s most notorious serial killer (I assume there are multiple serial killers in the Pennsylvania city — looking at you, Jim), but much of the evidence points to Toby… Or does it?

Rolling Stone recently spoke to Creed Bratton, and asked him whether the character he played on The Office, also named Creed, might be the Scranton Strangler. He did dress up as that twisted menace the Joker, after all. “If I was there right now, I’d probably strangle you for asking me that question,” Bratton responded, hopefully with a laugh.

He continued:

“He obviously had a body in the trunk of his car [in season six’s ‘Murder’] after Michael said, ‘There’s been a murder here’ and he ran out. He’d obviously killed somebody. He came in once with blood all over him [in season nine’s ‘Here Comes Treble’]. He’d obviously killed somebody, but he had blood all over him. A strangler doesn’t get blood all over him. They just take the life out. He had been slicing up somebody with a knife. Maybe he’s not.”

What about Michael Scott’s least favorite human resources rep? “People say it’s Toby, but I just can’t imagine that,” Bratton said. “Can you imagine him grabbing someone and strangling them? I can’t. Me? Yes. You can see me doing it. Of course.”

My money’s on Creed. Or maybe Gabe. It’s Gabe, definitely Gabe.

(Via Rolling Stone)

It’s been almost four years since the release of Spillage Village’s third album, Bears Like This Too Much, and apparently that’s been long enough for them to decide it’s time for a follow-up. The group, which consists of Atlantan rappers 6lack, Earthgang, JID, and Mereba (who isn’t from Atlanta, but went to Spelman College, where she started her career), announced their the new project with “End Of Daze,” a hazy rumination on the hectic state of the world and introduces newcomers Benji, Hollywood JB, and Jurdan Bryant.

The video for “End Of Daze” features the majority of the crew — minus LA-based members 6lack and Mereba, who understandably weren’t able to meet up with the others due to social distancing protocols — crowded on a couch around an old-fashioned television in the Georgia woods, watching the apocalyptic-looking scenes of recent news broadcasts that have informed the dumpster fire that is 2020. Images of the late Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, protests against police brutality, and COVID-related telecasts flash across the screen as Spillage Village vent their frustrations and count their blessings. The video ends on a hopeful note, though, with Earthgang’s Olu strumming a guitar and singing in a falsetto about love enduring through disastrous times.

While Spill Vill haven’t shared the release date or much info about their new album, their Twitter page reads “SPILLIGION PROCESSING,” leading some fans to assume that Spilligion might very well be the title. We’ll find out soon enough, as the Dreamville-associated supercrew prepares to release their shoulder-shimmying brand of spiritual hip-hop on the world this year.

Watch Spillage Village’s “End Of Daze” video above.

While writing Bully’s third album, vocalist Alicia Bognanno underwent some major life transitions. “Where To Start,” the noisy and earnest lead single that announces Bully’s forthcoming album Sugaregg, was born out of the clarity that came with her life’s upheaval.

Speaking to Rolling Stone about “Where To Start,” Bognanno said she channeled Chumbawamba’s 1997 track “Tubthumping” while drafting the single: “I was listening to ‘Tubthumping’ by Chumbawamba and picking apart the melodic structure and sort of trying to mimic that. I’m not even joking; it still makes me laugh to think about. But let’s be real, that is undeniably a solid song. ‘Where to Start’ addresses the frustration that comes along with love having the ability to fully control your mood and mental state for better or worse. It was therapeutic to funnel some lightheartedness into what can be an otherwise draining state of mind.”

Directed by Alan Del Rio Ortiz, Bully’s “Where To Start” video visualizes that frustration through a disorienting series of clips. Filmed in isolation, the video boasts messy paint, glitter, and a cameo from Bognanno’s dog.

Speaking about the album as a whole, Bognanno says it marks a sonic shift from her previous records. Pointing to “Where to Start,” and a few other tracks on the record, Bognanno said “there are more songs about erratic, dysfunctional love in an upbeat way, like, ‘I’m going down and that’s the only way I want to go because the momentary joy is worth it.’”

Watch “Where To Start” above and below, find Bully’s Sugaregg cover art and tracklist.

1. “Add It On”
2. “Every Tradition”
3. “Where To Start”
4. “Prism”
5. “You”
6. “Let You”
7. “Like Fire”
8. “Stuck In Your Head”
9. “Come Down”
10. “Not Ashamed”
11. “Hours And Hours”
12. “What I Wanted”

Sugaregg is out 8/12 via Sub Pop. Pre-order it here.

Previously on the Best and Worst of NXT: NXT went Inside Of Your House for a new Women’s Champion, falls onto broken windshields, and the televised emasculation of Tommaso Ciampa.

If you’d like to read previous installments of the Best and Worst of NXT, you can do that here. Follow With Spandex on Twitter and Facebook. You can also follow me on Twitter, where everything and everyone is terrible.

And now, the Best and Worst of WWE NXT for June 10, 2020.

Best: Everybody Wants Some!!

While not the strongest week ever from an in-ring perspective, this week’s NXT goes a long way toward re-establishing NXT as a cohesive universe wherein characters have diverse motivations and can think or feel more than one thing at a time. One of the strangest things about WWE’s interpretation of professional wrestling is their insistence that if someone’s got a goal or motivation, it’s all they’re ever going to think about. You have one thing you do on the show. You certainly can’t do two things. When your “story” of cause and effect is over, someone else is slotted into your role. Nearly every other major wrestling promotion worth its salt has tried to remember that these are supposed to be at least mildly complex human characters, even (and sometimes especially) the seemingly inhuman ones, and has learned the value of them interacting with an ARRAY of other characters, instead of just the one or two they’re focused on.

Pre-USA Network NXT was LOUSY with dynamic character goals. At one point Bayley, whose character could’ve easily been described and written off as “infantilized wrestler who likes to give hugs,” was managing two concurrent friend betrayals, a long-standing rivalry with a person she hates but has grown to respect for at least being forthright with her motivations, and the overarching idea of an NXT Women’s Championship win validating not only her spot at the top of the card, but her growing confidence in being a role model to the little Bayley fan in the audience and her role as a professional wrestler of worth in WWE completely. In comparison, what’s Io Shirai’s character right now? What’s her motivation? She’s great in the ring, but how does she feel about literally anything? Before TakeOver her only point of view was, “I will become the next Women’s Champion.” She did. Watching the video package about the title change only confirms that she’s good at wrestling, her win was kind of surprising, and she knows the other Japanese people at work. Even characters that’ve gotten more TV time in the USA era haven’t gotten any substantial emotional development. Rhea Ripley’s character went from, “seems cool, wants to beat you up,” to the more layered, “seems cool, might be kind of a dork, can’t beat Charlotte.” The characters are being defined too much by what they do, and not who they are while they’re doing what they do.

Anyway, not picking on the current booking. I’m just laying that out so I can compliment them for briefly remembering that human existence involves interactions with more than one other person at a time. Here’s a breakdown of the show’s major plot points, and how they connect.

• Adam Cole defeated Velveteen Dream in a title match at TakeOver, but struggled because Dream’s serial killer friend Dexter Lumis hid under the ring, attacked the Undisputed Era, and drove away with them in the trunk of a car
• Cole has a non-title match with Lumis on NXT TV, so he opens the show with a Ted Talk on the dominance of his title reign while dogging Lumis for being a weirdo and dealing with Roderick Strong’s kidnapping PTSD
• While Cole is dealing with Strong’s panic attack, Keith Lee passes by and makes it clear he’s coming for the NXT Championship
• Lee defeated Johnny Gargano in a North American Championship match at TakeOver, which might’ve settled the score had their significant others not gotten involved. Because of Mia Yim and Candice LeRae’s escalating beef, Lee and Gargano remain entwined and everyone agrees to a mixed tag match on NXT TV
• Finn Bálor defeated Damian Priest at TakeOver, so his next goal is to avenge a cheap loss to Cameron Grimes from a few weeks ago. Grimes is cocky as hell about it and not only puts himself over Bálor in an interview, but insults Priest on the way through. Priest shows up and punches him in the face about it
• Grimes starts pretending he’s got an injured jaw and can’t compete, but is found out when his rampant backstage horniness runs afoul of a William Regal Zoom call
• Bálor pins Grimes and announces that he wants Keith Lee’s North American Championship
• Lee gets pinned by Gargano in the mixed tag
• Cole defeats Lumis with help from his crew, but Lumis and Dream brawl with the UE after the match, and Scarlett shows up to make it clear there are at least two other musical theater majors who ALSO want the NXT Championship

So instead of “this guy wants this title and this guy wants THIS title and this woman wants this women’s title,” you get the top two championships in the promotion weaved together by multiple, interlocking stories that work with new characters and existing character relationships that work to move the plot forward on a number of levels up and down the card. None of these characters are showing intense three-dimensional complexity to the point of making the program dense and only able to be followed by diehard fans — shit, I wish — but they’re clearly defined entities with clearly defined interests, motives, and ideas for what comes next. That allows US to have ideas for what comes next instead of just jumping to bored conclusions, and it’s a hell of a lot better than non-stop promo interruptions leading to singles matches leading to disqualifications leading to tag team matches.

Additional Notes On All Those Things I Mentioned Above

Maybe I’m just a slow learner, but I continue to be surprised at how little Dexter Lumis’ vague serial killer character worked as a bottom-card heel, and how brilliantly it works as a main-event babyface. I guess there’s a fine line between being a “tortured artist” who is psychotically into his hobbies and building ring announcer homicide shrines in your bedroom.

I also really enjoy that Karrion Kross and Scarlett can’t just use a normal hourglass to send dramatic messages, they have to use one that looks like it was built in Tulsa by Lady Trieu. They might be the most extra duo in NXT history, which is a major accomplishment considering Breezango are the current number one contenders to the tag titles.

Yimitless vs. Johndice is a fun way to spend 10 minutes, and it continues the trend of WWE dipping their pinkie toe into actual intergender wrestling. Apparently they believe you’ll be okay seeing a guy forearm and slam a woman in a wrestling match if you’ve spent years watching women kick and suplex the men. I mean, however we get there. Wrestling’s not real. Suspension of disbelief for a fictional TV show doesn’t seem as hard for everyone else as it does for wrestling, which is widely and objectively the most unbelievable shit on television.

Anyway, I kinda liked the finish her, even if it bugged me. In case you missed it and can’t click that video for some reason, John Wrestling goes for his slingshot DDT on Keith and connects, but DDTs him onto Candice. Keith is DISTRAUGHT that he landed on her in the middle of a match in a scenario he had no control over, and stands up with her in his arms like his wife just got killed in a movie. Johnny, understanding that (1) this is a wrestling match and (2) Candice LeRae is his very tough tag team partner, rolls with it and pins Keith mid-ethical-babyface panic. The announce team is like, OH MY GOD HOW COULD JOHNNY DO THAT, HE DIDN’T EVEN CARE ABOUT HELPING HIS WIFE~!! and all I could think was, “he probably just trusts her, and he cares about giving her the W.”

Finn Bálor vs. Cameron Grimes was fun while it lasted, as well, but can we take a minute to talk about Cameron Grimes’ voice? I don’t know why his elevated, affected North Carolina shout-speaking is so funny to me. I know he was raised down the road from the Hardy Compound and all, but his AW MAN LEMME TELL YA ONE THING style of confident yelping sounds like David Cross’ redneck voice. It’s like you’re about to step into the ring against Harry Connick Jr.’s character from Independence Day, and he’s got a HAT.

To briefly talk about the match, I continue to be real in love with the current NXT Prince Devitt-ass version of Finn Bálor. If this guy ever starts acting like a pandering sweetheart again it’ll be a crime. If you’re five feet tall and 110 pounds and your most marketable ideas are wearing belts on your head to pretend you’re a demon and riding to the ring on a friend’s shoulders in a jacket that’s also a Lite Brite, your wrestling needs to be IMPACTFUL and VIOLENT. If you do dramatic entrance poses and kick somebody’s ass, you’re an anime villain. If you don’t kick somebody’s ass, all you are is a poser.

Best: We Don’t Just Escobar, We ARE The Bar

Probably the best moment of the episode is the Interim Cruiserweight Championship confrontation between interim champion El Hijo del Fantasma and daddy’s special boy Drake Maverick. Maverick got his job back by losing, Shane McMahon-style, and challenges Fantasma to a rematch. That’s when the mysterious Full Sail parking lot kidnappers arrive to right them both, and SURPRISE, it turns out the two masked men who’ve been abducting people are cohorts of the only other masked man who works there. Seems like your first plan would’ve been to ask the luchador about the other luchadores, right? If your best friend is a plumber and you get attacked by a bunch of plumbers while he stands around, you’re gonna naturally draw some connections. Quick question, though; if Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde were the masked men, who were the masked men that abducted THEM?

It’s at this point that Fantasma shockingly unmasks and declares himself Santos Escobar. No relation to Eric. FINALLY, a WWE character who is a handsome, arrogant young Mexican man who doesn’t wrestle in a mask despite being related to lucha libre royalty! WWE’s reaching Ryan Murphy levels of being obvious about their type.

Also On This Episode

International treasure Dakota Kai gets a strong and relatively easy win over Kacy Catanzaro, who is EASILY my favorite jobber in wrestling right now. Catanzaro’s gonna figure it out and really connect one of these days, and we’ll be better off for it. Here, NXT decides to pull an AEW by having the biggest person in the division (Raquel Gonzalez) abuse the littlest (Catanzaro) until Kayden Carter “makes the save.” That’s in quotes because she tried, but got REINA’d as well. I’m real ready for the top women’s division feud to be Io Shirai vs. Dakota Kai, if only for how well those sounds and syllables go together.

Speaking of women at the top of the card, here’s Robert Stone (brand) getting literally slammed into the garbage for trying to upgrade from Aliyah to Rhea goddamn Ripley. It’d be like Bobby Heenan getting fired by Buddy Rose and deciding he should try to manage Hulk Hogan instead. It’s not gonna happen, but hey man, nice shot.

Finally, here’s Indus Sher returning to the ring for the first time in a hot minute — the last time they were in a match on TV was over two months ago — and get to squash the all-star duo of Mikey Delbray and Mike Reed. Still tougher opponents than Ever-Rise. Indus Sher still kinda feels like one of those threatening under-card WCW teams that’d always get matches on Clash of the Champions but never won the tag titles, but anything that gets Malcolm Bivens on TV is a positive. Give him some mic time before and/or after these squashes, you bums.

Best: Top 10 Comments Of The Week

AddMayne

mfw it’s already almost 10 on a Wednesday

JayBone2

It only took a year and a half but it’s FINALLY happening.

notJames

Interviewer: Psycho Killer, qu’est-ce que c’est?
Ciampa: Fa fa fa fa, fa fa fa fa fa fa
Kross: Better fall fall fall fall, fall fall fall and pray…

The C Team

If Kairi Sane isn’t on NXT with her recorder to celebrate Io’s championship win then NXT deserves to lose in the ratings this week.

troi

Quick Cole turn the hourglass sideways so Kross never comes!

Dexter Lumis’s theme sounds like the opening of a true crime podcast.

Harry Longabaugh

A silent Ciampa doesn’t have time for Kross words.

Baron Von Raschke

Sam Shaw as the best new character on NXT is not something I would have thought possible…but…here we are.

Taylor Swish

Cam’ron Grimes sounds like a 2006 Pitchfork Best of List.

SexCauldron

Draw me like one of your Undisputed girls, Dexter

That’s it for this week’s Best and Worst of NXT. We’re not sure you ever actually read this part or do what we ask (or if you even scroll down through the top 10 comments of the week), but hey, it would really help us if you commented down below and shared the column if you liked or laughed at anything. The world’s tough, and that makes this kind of thing a lot easier.

Join us here next week for Imperium defending the NXT Tag Team Championship against Tyler Breeze and Fandango, Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox get a shot at the Women’s Tag Team Champions (come on, IIconics!), and Timothy Thatcher re-doing WALTER segments nobody watched on NXT UK. See you then!

Following public support for trans rights from Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, along with Fantastic Beasts lead actor Eddie Redmayne, Warner Bros. has addressed the ongoing controversy over J.K. Rowling’s anti-transgender remarks. Or did it?

The studio behind the blockbuster Potter films issued a statement, which doesn’t mention Rowling by name but asserts its support for diversity and inclusion after highlighting the need to confront recent societal issues without specifically naming those issues. Via IndieWire:

“The events in the last several weeks have firmed our resolve as a company to confront difficult societal issues. Warner Bros.’ position on inclusiveness is well established, and fostering a diverse and inclusive culture has never been more important to our company and to our audiences around the world,” the company said in a statement. “We deeply value the work of our storytellers who give so much of themselves in sharing their creations with us all. We recognize our responsibility to foster empathy and advocate understanding of all communities and all people, particularly those we work with and those we reach through our content.”

As of this writing, Warner Bros. and Rowling are still on track to deliver a third film in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. The author has served as the screenwriter for the prequel films that have had diminishing returns, and this latest controversy could raise questions about the future of the property going forward. Following Warner Bros. statement, IndieWire asked about its working relationship with Rowling. The studio declined to comment.

(Via IndieWire)

Jeff Hardy and Sheamus have a match this Sunday at WWE Backlash, and according to a report by Gary Cassidy of Sportskeeda, things will get heated – and a little gross – between the two beforehand.

The Sheamus vs. Hardy feud began on Smackdown when someone with red hair and a red beard framed Hardy of hitting Elias with his car while intoxicated, both a reference to Hardy’s real-life issues with substance abuse and a device to write the real-life injured Elias off of the show. According to Sportskeeda, this Friday’s episode of Smackdown will feature a contract signing that continues to reference Hardy’s history of addiction.

The plan is reportedly for Sheamus to demand Hardy take “a urine test as he refuses to compete against a ‘junkie.’” Hardy will pee in a cup, but then throw the pee in Sheamus’s face.

Usually, a caveat with reports like this is that WWE is known for re-writing segments shortly before they go on the air, so what’s planned on Thursday could easily not make it on screen on Friday. But since Smackdown is currently pre-taped, this segment is probably here to stay.

The biggest positive: It looks like Sheamus is the real villain of this story and we won’t get swerved by the also red-headed, red-bearded Sami Zayn coming back with no Intercontinental Championship and as a guy who frames people for drunk driving.

The Black Lives Matter movement may be centered in and stem from the US and America’s institutional abuses against Black people, but the movement has spread to become a global phenomenon addressing inequality and injustice abroad as well. A recent Black Lives Matter protest in London received attention from the participation of Star Wars actor John Boyega, and today, outspoken grime star Stormzy declared his plans to contribute to the cause to the tune of £10 million.

Stormzy issued a statement of intent via his #Merky label, writing that he plans to donate £1 million a year for 10 years to “organisations, charities and movements that are committed to fighting racial inequality, justice reform and Black empowerment within the UK.” He also included this would be part of a “lifetime commitment” to the cause of equality, justice, and empowerment.

“I’m lucky enough to be in the position I’m in and I’ve heard people often dismiss the idea of racism existing in Britain by saying, ‘If the country’s so racist how have you become a success?!’” he explained. “I reject that with this: I am not the UK’s shining example of what supposedly happens when a Black person works hard. There are millions of us. We are not far and few.”

““We have to fight against the odds of a racist system stacked against us and designed for us to fail from before we are even born,” he elaborated. “Black people have been playing on an uneven field for far too long and this pledge is a continuation in the fight to finally try and even it.”

Read the full statement below.

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

With 22 teams going to Orlando to resume the NBA season next month, there will be plenty of opportunities for the media to cover teams they haven’t had great access to since the spring. However, in an attempt to cut down on total bodies in the quarantine bubble down in Florida, the league is reportedly looking to allow only a small portion of those who cover the sport to actually interact with players and coaches in-person.

Not to get too inside-baseball here, but there’s an organization for everyone who covers basketball for a living, called the Professional Basketball Writers Association. The same thing exists for football, the White House, and many other high-level beats. In effect, the NBA is working with the PBWA to categorize a small number of its writers as “first-tier,” and these folks would be able to take part in postgame press conferences and practices and everything that typically goes into covering the NBA.

Then, according to Robert Silverman at The Daily Beast, a smaller group of “second-tier” reporters would be around basically only in spirit. They would be able to be in the stands for games, but in order to mitigate the transmission opportunities for the coronavirus, these reporters would not be allowed to interact personally with players, coaches, or really anyone.

If you’re wondering what the point of that would be, you’re not the only one. That’s exactly what the PBWA is negotiating with the league right now. Not only the access to ensure local beat reporters and smaller publications have equal opportunity to cover the league, but also the affordability of all of this. The downside of trapping everyone at a luxury resort is that it’s expensive. Staying on-property at Walt Disney World for three months is not something in the budget for really anyone. These concerns may seem trivial, or something that only those who cover the league should care about, but if you’re a Spurs or Grizzlies or any other small market reporter whose local outlets may not have the money to cover the league, or would be blocked out as “second-tier” reporters even if they did make the trip, this is a decently big deal.

---

View Entire Post ›