Since announcing her pivot to a solo career, Paramore’s Hayley Williams has been steadily releasing new music for months. The prolific singer shared her EP Petals For Armor I a few months ago, and she’s now setting her sights on a full-length effort. The singer continues to preview her upcoming release with “Why We Ever.”

Alongside the track’s release, Williams explained “Why We Ever” is about an introspective period in her life:

“In Dec 2018, i bought protools, an interface, and some speakers and decided to learn something new. these moments are from my first go at it (we’re talking out of time/phase/tune… etc!)… i was at the lowest point i’d been in some time. my sadness shows. now i look back and credit this night as being the beginning of a new season of my life, where i hold myself accountable for learning to love better. i’ve let myself down a lot in love. this was the start of recognizing my bad patterns and acknowledging that i’m ready to grow out of them. thank you @micahtawlks for helping finish and reimagine this one for the album.”

Ahead of the track’s release, Williams showed how busy she’s been in quarantine. During an at-home livestream, Williams performed a cover of Tegan And Sara’s 2004 track “Call It Off.”

Listen to “Why We Ever” above.

Petals For Armor is out 5/8 via Atlantic. Pre-order it here.

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

Previously on the Ins and Outs of AEW Dynamite: ‘The Man’ Dr. Britt Baker wrestled with blood all over her face, Best Friends experienced the Ultimate Venom Arm, and Matt Hardy challenged Chris Jericho to an “Elite Deletion” in a rural North Carolina backyard.

If you’d like to keep up with this column and its thinly veiled Best and Worst format, you can keep tabs on the Ins and Outs of AEW Dynamite tag page. I’m also recapping Dark, which you can keep up with here, and you can keep track of all things All Elite here.

Follow With Spandex on Twitter and Facebook. You can also follow me on Twitter, where everything and everyone is terrible.

And now, the Ins and Outs of All Elite Wrestling Dynamite for April 15, 2020.

All In: They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?

As expected, Murderous Mohawk Lance Archer continued his dominance over such high-ranking peers as 3-foot-8 Marko Stunt and the Enhancement Talent Agency’s own Alan Angels with a decisive win over Humorist Colt Cabana in round one of the TNT Championship Tournament.

What I really enjoyed about this is how Colt never seemed like he had much of a chance to win, because why should he, but he still wrestled it like he COULD win. Like he WANTED to win. That’s something a lot of people who are about to lose fail to remember, and I appreciate it a lot. Colt’s outmatched, but he keeps fighting and trying things. He looks like a guy with a gameplan, win or lose, trying to turn years of experience and success into the right combination of … whatever to stop this giant, enraged Texan with braided quilts growing out of the top of his head. Colt never just looks like he’s in there to take moves, and it not only makes him look better, it makes LANCE look better, and makes the match like five times more enjoyable to watch.

Also, bruh, if it took Cody 20+ minutes to put away Shawn Spears, he’s going to need to bring a harpoon gun into the ring with him to survive Lance Archer. Best of luck!

The Doctor Is All In

So you know how Colt looked like he was still thinking and working and trying to win, even though he had a snowball’s chance in the Devil’s armpit somewhere around the equator in Hell? I like that Britt Baker doesn’t just use the “I’m a role model” thing as thing to say because people are booing her — Bayley, I’m looking in your direction — but actually tries to apply some warped heel logic to it. She’s not just saying “I’M THE BEST, ACTUALLY,” she’s setting up visual aids (in cursive) in her office so she can explain how she actually fought fair and is actually the winner while, based on the ending shot, someone sits in the chair waiting to be taken care of. Somebody went to the dentist and the dentist was like, “hold on, I need to cut a promo about how much of a bad-ass I am for surviving a deviated septum without anybody to cheer me on.” Hilarious.

DBBDMD gets a win over Cassandra Golden, wisely adopting the curb stomp in the ropes as a temporary finisher while “putting your hands in other people’s mouths” is a major health hazard. Two side notes:

• Chris Jericho is still great on color commentary, especially when he’s complimenting Britt Baker for being a smart businesswoman and breaking people’s teeth to create her own patients
• Cassandra Golden needs a talk show segment called, “The Golden Hour”

Inner Circle Zoom Meetings Should Be The Entire Two Hours

Firstly, bless Chris Jericho for doing a Brady Bunch parody, realizing there aren’t enough members in the Inner Circle to do the Hollywood Squares-style Brady Bunch grid accurately, and filling in the extra squares with two of “the hounds” and a bottle of sparkling wine.

Secondly, there’s almost too much to laugh at here. The sudden, unexplained closeup on Ortiz’s stuffed animals. Sammy Guevara loudly complaining about being called a fake Latino while butchering the Spanish language like he’s Peggy Hill. Jake Hager making his kids do “earmuffs” so he can use the word “shit” on a conference call. Chris Jericho doing an absolutely horrible job of making his own breakfast (while wearing sunglasses and a dramatic blazer, in his own house, in the morning), screaming at his assistant for not being able to find him any toilet paper, and dropping jokes like, “what do you call an idiot who’s been missing for weeks, and likes horses?”

Thirdly,

Honestly, just give Jericho a comedy variety show every week that loosely equates to what Southpaw Regional Wrestling would look like in prime-time on TNT in 2020. We can pick back up with the wrestling parts when things chill out.

All In: Orange Cassidy’s ‘Male Wares’

There’s something so sincere about the announce team of Chris Jericho and Tony Schiavone. When Tony’s with Jim Ross and Excalibur, you can see him doing his best to be professional and by the book. When he’s with Cody, he’s ostensibly out there with his boss. With Jericho, Tony has that same looseness and affability that made his WCW Saturday Night announce team with Dusty Rhodes one of my favorite ever. Tony’s not afraid to have a conversation, make jokes, laugh, and still manage to effectively call a match. It’s infectious positivity, which is a rare resource right now. Plus, how do you NOT laugh when Jericho’s loudly announcing I WOULDN’T FALL FOR THAT and screaming about how you shouldn’t kiss girls during matches? I just wish Daniel Bryan had read that rule eight years ago.

Kip Sabian versus Charles Taylor is a fun match that gives Sabian a much-needed win heading into the TNT Championship Tournament. He’s not going to beat Dustin Rhodes, mind you, but it’s nice that they took a minute to show how he might, since he’s mostly been struggling against jobbers on Dark and needing girlfriend hurricanranas to put him over even the lowest ranked opponents. It multitasks as a way to formally align Sabian and Jimmy Havoc, as well, and prospectively set up a Best Friends and Orange Cassidy versus Sabian, Havoc, and Penelope Ford match. Orange Cassidy versus evil female valets for Best Feud.

Jobbers Of The Week

Here’s Justin Law, who is somehow not a wrestling cop. You may remember him as Rudy from the film Rudy. He’s on job duty against Shawn Spears, who is doing well in regard to wins and losses but is somehow even MORE lost as a character with Tully Blanchard under quarantine. He’s “heartless” now, which is funny, because he was just on Dark aping Tommaso Ciampa. Sure. Whatever. It’s Shawn Spears.

More notably this week we get another appearance from Suge D, pronounced “sooj dee” by Tony Schiavone, better known to recent AEW audiences as “Pineapple Pete.” He’s just here to eat as much shit as Sammy Guevara’s able to shovel into his mouth, but I’ve got to say, it’s great to see Sugar getting TV time for a major wrestling promotion. That guy’s been doing largely thankless work on the indies for like a decade.

All Out: 31 Minutes Of Jake Hager

This was the dirt worst.

I thought about making that my entire recap of the match, because even thinking about it a day later makes me want to roll my eyes and collapse into narcoleptic slumber. I don’t know who saw Hager go a shaky, intensity-free 15 minutes with Dustin Rhodes at Revolution and think, “you know what would’ve made this better? If it was twice as long, and the arena was empty. And Jim Ross was doing commentary by himself.” You could’ve put 5,000 fans in the stands for this and you would’ve gotten the same crowd reaction.

I don’t know how the quarantine created this love affair between pro wrestling and long, drawn out, heatless “brawls” in silence. Edge vs. Randy Orton at WrestleMania felt like a chore to get through even though they were doing good character work, because commentary didn’t know how to call it and it felt more like they were wandering around backstage in a video game trying out all the spots instead of fighting. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa did everything Edge vs. Orton did but worse, had NO commentary, and went longer. Now you’re asking JACK SWAGGER to go half an hour in a scenario those four dudes couldn’t make work?

Just to say it, because I haven’t said it in the column this week, I appreciate anybody still out here busting their asses and working hard to entertain me at the risk of their own personal health and safety. But man, when the 20 minute Billy Gunn versus Tye Dillinger match from Dark is head and shoulders better than your 30-minute World Championship match, it’s time to look at what went wrong. It stands about 6-7, went to “skewl” in Oklahoma, and makes its kids put on earmuffs so it can say “shit” into a phone. Let this be the end of Jack Swagger as anything in professional wrestling beyond a big guy with a dumb look on his face who stands around in the background and helps better wrestlers get through beatdowns.

Taz’s breakdown of Hager’s finisher was dope, at least!

All In: Top 10 Comments Of The Week

Beerguyrob

It’s a shame Dynamite is pre-taped, if only because I’d love to hear Jericho drop the names of released WWE people he’d like to see picked up.

“Oh man, Ski-a-vone, I’ve seen tougher guys on Bulgarian tanks!”

Wendell Baugh

Jake Hager is the most not it chief in the history of things that are not it.

Pdragon619

Pineapple Pete’s finisher should be the Pina Collider

Clay Quartermain

Tonight, the Dark Order declares bankruptcy and Brodie Lee lays off everyone not named Uno or Stu.

Baron Von Raschke

I am really preferring Jimmy Havok, Angry Fan to Jimmy Havok, Death Match Specialist.

SexCauldron

Hager vs Mox. I’ve never been in more agreement with a crowd

Dave M J

There are people who are all “I don’t get why people don’t like Jake Hager around here”

This match is why. This exact reason.

Mr. Bliss

Jericho could make my parents divorce enjoyable.

Nermal

I love Sabian as this hot, dumb loser who couldn’t beat a paper bag in a wrestling match solo but keeps stealing wins because of his girlfriend. It’s not a revolutionary thing but I think the two of them just execute that story and all the stuff around it (inopportunely timed makeouts, matching outfits and nicknames, and blatant, obvious cheating) really well.

AddMayne

Mrs. Hager 5 minutes ago: Jesus, Mox just beat him already

That does it for this week’s column. Thanks for reading about Dynamite! If you’re able to leave us a comment below, give the column a share on social media, and make sure you’re back here next week. Things are weird and hard all over, like Val Venis, and we appreciate you being here to read our thoughts on wrestling shows. Thank you, sincerely.

See you next Wednesday for Dustin Rhodes vs. Kip Sabian and Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin in the TNT Championship tournament, a sure to be excellent Orange Cassidy vs. Jimmy Havoc match, and Kenny Omega being invulnerable due to having the power of God AND anime on his side.

Around here, much of yesterday afternoon was spent trying to keep up with WWE’s mass release of onscreen talent and furloughs of backstage employees, which came in the wake of a conference call from Vince McMahon to WWE workers, in which he announced major cuts across the board. It was a rough day in wrestling, and there may be more to come.

For now, things have slowed down a bit. There have been some releases from NXT, including Deonna Purrazzo, MJ Jenkins, Aleksandar Jaksic, Alyssa Miles, Jon Quasto, and Dan Matha, as well as on-air talent Josiah Williams, who was a featured player on the WWE PC YouTube page. Purrazzo’s tweet on the subject indicates that she’s been wanting her release, and doesn’t necessarily view this as bad news:

Jenkins’ tweet, on the other hand, is heartbreaking:

We hadn’t seen much of Jenkins since the 2018 Mae Young Classic, but she had a great look and plenty of potential, and it’s a real shame she lost her job under these sad circumstances.

NXT trainers Serena Deeb, Ace Steel, and Kendo Kashin have been furloughed and will hopefully be brought back. Deeb was re-hired by WWE just a couple of years ago after being released as a wrestler for questionable reasons almost a decade earlier, so you’d like to believe they’ll do better by her this time around.

Spanish announcer Jerry Soto and writer Andrea Listenberger have also been released, and it’s always possible that more backstage personnel have been released or furloughed without their names coming out so far.

According to Dave Meltzer on Twitter, these personnel cuts will save WWE about $703,000 per month, not the $4 million figure that’s been going around. That number, says Meltzer, accounts for other expenses that have been eliminated like the planned headquarters move.

There are still rumors of more talent cuts to come, although the Wrestling Observer says that any further releases are expected to come from NXT, not the Main Roster.

Near the end of Parks and Recreation’s fourth season, Leslie Knope — the show’s tireless public servant hero played with dizzying energy by Amy Poehler — sits with her boyfriend Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) and waits for a recount to confirm that she has just lost a hard-fought city council election. It’s a moment of rare calm on a show best known for big characters and outrageous plots centered around the various quirks of small-town government, and the stillness of it is made all the more palpable by the whirlwind of events that got us there. In that moment, Leslie has just come to the end of a months-long road of personal and professional trials that she hoped would culminate in a lifelong dream come true, only to find that the journey may be cut short. That’s when her best friend, Ann (Rashida Jones), comes in and tells her that the recount margin is still the same (just 21 votes), but this time, Leslie is the winner.

Leslie smiles as tears fill her eyes, and Parks and Rec fans everywhere follow suit. It’s a moment that plays even now, nearly a decade after it aired, as deeply fulfilling not just because our hero gets what she always wanted, but because this remarkably warm, often ridiculous comedy really made it feel like Leslie earned it.

In the modern media landscape, politics and cynicism seem to go hand-in-hand, and they have since well before Leslie Knope and her merry band of friends ever appeared on our TV screens. No decision by a political leader, no matter how large or small, can avoid dissection from 20 different angles. No government program, no matter how benevolent, can avoid being viewed in terms of “optics” or “messaging.” No one who holds public office can just come out and say something, no matter how sincere, without being picked apart. Countless pieces of entertainment, from Scandal to The West Wing, have reflected this environment in their own ways, and Parks and Recreation is no different in that regard. But in a way that even The West Wing at its most idealistic never quite managed, Parks and Rec represents a singularly great attempt to humanize politics and politicians not by turning away from the cynicism of the modern political ecosystem, but by confronting it.

We, as Parks and Rec viewers, know that Leslie Knope is nothing if not sincere, and the show’s way of portraying its characters as outsized personalities only serves to further highlight this. Because the show is so willing to go to cartoonish lengths to give us a version of Leslie that is almost superhuman in her sense of duty and loyalty, we can tell that all those framed photos of world leaders she hopes to emulate are not just there for optics. She’s the real deal, so by the time the fourth season’s election storyline kicks off, we don’t doubt her commitment to being a great public servant.

We also don’t doubt that the city of Pawnee, Indiana is going to throw every possible curveball at Leslie as she tries to win a city council seat. Pawnee is, like Leslie, an exaggerated creation blown up to such proportions that we can’t help but see its many joys and flaws with perfect clarity, which is why it’s not surprising at all when Leslie’s opponent turns out to represent the worst instincts of the town. Bobby Newport (Paul Rudd) is a likable, if dumb, heir to the fortune of the local hometown candy company. He’s easygoing and friendly and eager to please, but he’s also really just running for city council because he thinks he can win, and he’s willing to smile and shrug his way through it all just to make his father happy. He is a perfect mirror image of Leslie: selfish where she is selfless, compromising where she is principled, and entitled where she is driven, with the same cartoonish proportions that come with all Parks and Rec characters.

As the season-long story progresses — as Leslie’s underdog staff botches events, and Bobby’s family money buys him a savvy Washington insider to help him win — the sense of Leslie and Bobby as polar opposites each trying to navigate a comical small-town race is what drives the story forward, but that’s not what makes our eyes fill with tears when Leslie eventually wins. For all its exaggerations and zany world-building and silly one-liners, what makes Parks and Rec‘s major political storyline work is actually something much more human.

As her campaign fails, Leslie does not respond with chipper determination or cock-eyed optimism. She does not shrug off the careless mistakes and frustrating defeats. We get to see her superhuman facade crack as she struggles to win an election that she feels she’s tailor-made for capturing. We get to see her angry, dejected, and at times even downright petty. More importantly, we get to see her take up some of the cynicism of modern political messaging and maneuvering, as she gives in to ideas like pandering for endorsements and crafting attack ads. We get to see her despair at the idea that someone like her, who’s worked so hard and come so far, will somehow still fail anyway.

Then she wins, and we share Leslie’s tears because the cynicism was there, but it never won. Cynicism exists in Parks and Rec, and like everything else on the show, it sometimes arrives in comical quantities, but the secret to the show’s remarkably compelling political narrative is that it never lets cynicism be the final emotion. Looking back on the show now, that’s an approach that’s an increasingly important part of its legacy.

One of the most anticipated shows coming out this year (at least for anyone who misses seeing Philip Jennings’ sad face, which should be everyone) is HBO’s Perry Mason.

Based on hard-boiled characters created by author Erle Stanley Gardner, who have appeared in novels and radio and TV shows since the 1930s, the drama series “follows the origins of American fiction’s most legendary criminal defense lawyer, Perry Mason,” according to HBO. “When the case of the decade breaks down his door, Mason’s relentless pursuit of the truth reveals a fractured city and just maybe, a pathway to redemption for himself.” The city: Los Angeles. The year: 1931. The case: a “child kidnapping gone very, very wrong.” The teaser above: doesn’t give away many specifics, but it does have Matthew Rhys saying, “The way I see it, there’s what’s legal… and there’s what’s right.” That’s all I (and a thirsty HBO and Robert Downey, Jr.) need.

Perry Mason, which also stars John Lithgow, Tatiana Maslany, Juliet Rylance, Chris Chalk, Shea Whigham, Stephen Root, Gayle Rankin, Nate Corddry, Veronica Falcon, Jefferson Mays, Lili Taylor, Andrew Howard, Eric Lange, Robert Patrick, and a ton of old-time hats, premieres on HBO on June 21 at 9 p.m. EST.

Matt Berninger has had an illustrious career as lead vocalist in The National. While the band released their latest record I Am Easy To Find last year, Berninger has not stopped making music since then, especially if it’s for a good cause. The singer recently released a cover of INXS’s “Never Tear Us Apart” to benefit the Australian bushfires. Now, Berninger appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to give a virtual rendition of a Mercury Rev cover (of “Holes”), which originally appeared on a 7 inch to benefit Planned Parenthood.

For the cover, Berninger performed the song with his friend Stephen Altman on keys. The two previously collaborated together for “All I Want,” their song with Julien Baker that raised funds and awareness for Planned Parenthood. Berninger gets creative for the virtual concert, using a harmonica to color the piano’s harmonies on the 1998 track. “Come to you as friends / All those endless ends / That can’t be tied / Oh, they make me laugh / And always make me cry,” Berninger belts with his signature smokey delivery. “Thanks, Steph, thanks, Stephen,” Berninger concluded the set. “See you in person soon, I hope.”

Watch Berninger cover Mercury Rev above.

7 Inches For Planned Parenthood, Vol. 2 is out now via 7-Inches For. Get it here.

DaBaby and Westside Gunn headline a strong field of releases this week in hip-hop, along with a solid showing from the West Coast in the form of joint tapes from two Compton mainstays and a debut from Shoreline Mafia affiliate Bravo The Bagchaser. Meanwhile, newcomer Fredo Bang and veteran Tech N9ne round out the list, showing that hip-hop don’t stop — not even in the face of the current crisis which has forced us all to stay at home and six feet away from each other for safety.

Fortunately, streaming makes it easy to stay on top of the wealth of releases dropping from week to week. Whether that includes Tory Lanez, Rod Wave, or Sada Baby, we can use the quarantine free time to check out the leaders of the new school, while big-name stars push back releases hoping for elaborate rollouts.

Here are all the best new hip-hop albums coming out this week.

Bravo The Bagchaser — Born 2 Win

Los Angeles-based Bravo The Bagchaser turns just 19 years old this month, but he’s already built a solid hometown buzz around the ratchet energy of his turnt-up beats and the hilarity of his off-the-cuff punchlines. With a tracklist featuring appearances from AzChike and Shoreline Mafia’s Fenix Flexin, his debut album is a promising look at a young artist with plenty of potential — and room for improvement.

Buddy & Kent Jamz — Jank Tape Vol. 1

Buddy’s first full-length since 2018’s Harlan & Alondra is a joint project with Overdoz’s Kent Jamz. The two artists are longtime friends and their chemistry shows on tracks like lead single “She Think.” It’s a bright, bubbly album full of soulful grooves and sunny vibes well-worth checking out, even if you’re unfamiliar with either artist’s previous work.

DaBaby — Blame It On Baby

Jonathan Kirk’s breakneck rap game takeover continues with his third album in the last year. This time around, DaBaby is coming with revamped flows — as illustrated on the guitar-driven lead single “Find My Way” — and a year’s worth of highs and lows to address with his signature insight and wit.

Fredo Bang — Most Hated

Hailing from Baton Rouge, Fredo’s breakout single “Oouuhh” has made him a national star. His first mixtape under Def Jam, Most Hated brings the same fiery flows and bottom-heavy beats of his early mixtapes, adding some big-name guest features including Lil Baby, Moneybagg Yo, and Tee Grizzley.

RJ & Royce The Choice — Rich Off Mackin II

Another staple of the Compton underground scene, RJMrLA has been a fixture on the local party scene with a number of fan-favorite tracks to his name. Royce The Choice is a rapper from the Bay Area whose biggest hit was a collaboration with RJ. Both artists are signed to Mustard’s 10 Summers label and this album is the second installment of their Rich Off Mackin mixtape series — the first in four years.

Tech N9ne — Enterfear

If there was any rapper who wasn’t going to let coronavirus stop his grind, it’s Tech N9ne, the vertically-integrated independent pioneer who has been banging out hits since the 1990s. As with his plethora of prior projects, Enterfear highlights complex lyrics, complicated cadences, and finds Tech sharing his spotlight with special guests from his label, as well as with outsiders whose talents he respects, such as Flatbush Zombies.

Westside Gunn — Pray For Paris

The Griselda mastermind turned this EP into a full-fledged album as a mea culpa to fans for waiting so long between projects — a whole six months. This time around, he’s looking to turn some heads, with a few smoother songs than the gritty Griselda usuals, bringing Wale, Freddie Gibbs, Joey Badass, comedian Jay Versace, and the usual suspects (Benny, Conway, and Roc Marciano) along for the ride.

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

---

View Entire Post ›

So many things I need, so few places to go.

---

View Entire Post ›

The man was tested for COVID-19 but said he hasn’t gotten the result yet.

---

View Entire Post ›