Category: Worldwide

With a confirmed case count that grows distressingly higher by the day, the coronavirus pandemic will dictate our lives for months to come. There’s a reason movies that were supposed to come out in June have already been pushed back months, if not until 2021. But San Diego Comic-Con organizers remain optimistic (possibly irresponsibly so, in the same way that it took Disneyland too long to close) that pop culture fanatics will descend upon the San Diego Convention Center from July 23-26.

“To our amazing Comic-Con and WonderCon fans: We understand how difficult the current climate has been for all of us and appreciate your continued support through these trying times. No one is as hopeful as we are that we will be able to celebrate #SDCC2020 together come July,” the official SDCC account tweeted. “As we continue to monitor the situation with local authorities, we will post updates on our social channels! Until then, remember: ‘A hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.’ — Christopher Reeve.”

San Diego Comic-Con was attended by 135,000 people in 2019. I’ve been to Hall H. It’s already a cramped nightmare before worrying about the deadly virus. As fun as the full-cast panels can be, the smart (and potentially life-saving) option would be to push SDCC to later in the year. Who knows? Maybe by then, The New Mutants will be out.

Back in March, Swedish trio Peter Bjorn And John celebrated two decades of being a band with their ninth studio album, Endless Dream. It’s a record that’s billed as a return to form for the veteran band, a result of the trio getting together in the same room for the first time in several years to flesh out the songs together, instead of via digital channels.

Endless Dream is comprised of ten uplifting, danceable indie-pop tracks with infectious melodies that remind us what made Peter Bjorn And John such a great band in the first place. To celebrate the new album, John Eriksson sat down to talk Frank Zappa, Mission Impossible, and a Swedish Elvis impersonator in the latest Indie Mixtape 20 Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

Sprawling. Spectral. Twisted. Indie.

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

Like Mona Lisa’s smile.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?

Definitely not Manchester!!!

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

I asked the other two guys and Peter said: Macca (a.k.a. Paul McCartney from The Beatles) and Bjorn said Elvis Costello. That made me think. In the beginning, back in 2000 when the band was formed, Peter and Bjorn went on and on about Elvis Costello. It was all: “Costello said this” and “Costello would have done this” and they played me Costello-records all the time and I hated it. Or, it was not really hate, but I could not understand what was so fantastic about Costello’s music. My hidden agenda during the first five years was actually to faze out all the Costello-ness from our music. I fought for fever chords, dumber lyrics, and more pauses. I wanted us to sound more like the early Beatles, or, even better: Pavement!!!

Where did you eat the best meal of your life?

Outside.

What album do you know every word to?

Unfortunately a lot of old Frank Zappa albums… I was into his music when I was a kid and as a Swedish little boy, I did not really understand how terrible his lyrics were.

What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?

Monks Casino with Alexander von Schlippenbach and his brilliant super-group at the Fashing Jazz Club in Stockholm. Totally unpredictable concert.

What is the best outfit for performing and why?

You should always go on stage wearing a jacket, because you should always try to be better dressed than the audience. If that is impossible, you should wear more clothes than the audience.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?

Hmm… I prefer following random people in the street, but, if Aki Kaurismäki (the Finnish movie maker) would be on Instagram or Twitter, I would follow him like a shadow. The tone in some of his movies are almost transcendental and the way he combines heart-breaking tragedy with quirky comedy is exactly the feeling I aim for when making music. The best films are Drifting Clouds, Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatiana, and Lights In The Dusk.

What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?

“In Kommer Gösta” by Philemon Arthur and the Dung. That song creates such a wonderful vibe.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

The English translation of the Swedish word “skrubbsår” (grazed knee).

What album makes for the perfect gift?

I’m sorry, but I’ll have to say, definitely our new album Endless Dream on vinyl. You’ll get 10 fizzy songs and a board game. Beat that if you can, Robyn!

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

In a tour bus.

What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?

Peter hasn’t got one, neither does Bjorn. I was really close, though. It was supposed to be a giant, scary snake on my right arm and the tattoo-event was supposed to happen on a day off in some random, American small town in the middle of nowhere. But no matter how much I drank, I never dared to do it. Today, I am so grateful I didn’t.

What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?

Eilert Pilarm. A Swedish Elvis impersonator. He is much better than the original and I mean that.

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

My seven-year-old son comforted me the other day when I sucked at Mario Kart.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

Maybe something like this: – Hello John. It is me, John. Do not try to think about this, but I come from the future. Eh…I was going to tell you that you shouldn’t change anything, but now that you have had this strange encounter, I guess you will end up in a mental institution….well…my advice to you is to forget about this…I’m off.

What’s the last show you went to?

I went to a comedy show with a Swedish comedian who pretends he is a Danish psychic medium.

What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?

Mission Impossible 4. Love it!

What would you cook if Kanye were coming to your house for dinner?

Something with ginger. When we played together with Kanye on a Swedish festival back in 2007, his dressing room was filled with ginger, so I guess he eats that.

Endless Dream is out now via INGRID. Listen here.

The sports world is on hold right now aside from a few exceptions, mostly involving the expansion of eSports into the mainstream sports landscape. With many states invoking shelter-in-place policies and some cities extending cancellations of public events well into May and even June, the return of live sports as we are accustomed to likely won’t happen anytime soon.

The various sports leagues are exploring all of their various options, with the NBA looking into the possibility of a quarantine league with every team in a centralized location. In the world of golf, they’ve cancelled or postponed a number of events, with majors like the Masters hopeful to be played later this fall. In the meantime, two of the sports titans, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, are working out a way to put on a rematch of their one-on-one match play contest from 2018 that Phil won on the 22nd hole in Las Vegas.

Robert Lusetich was the first to report negotiations for a rematch was taking place, with Tom Brady and Peyton Manning joining in the fun this time. CNBC’s Jabari Young confirmed and offered more details.

NFL icons Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will join superstars Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in a golf match organized by AT&T’s WarnerMedia and the PGA Tour, a person familiar with the negotiations confirmed to CNBC.

The match pitting Mickelson-Brady against Woods-Manning would be a rare sporting event in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which has spurred game cancellations and suspensions across professional sports.

Young indicates the match would benefit charity and provide relief in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the match would not be on PPV but would be broadcast on TNT or one of WarnerMedia’s other TV properties — the first edition was on PPV via B/R Live. The match would not have fans present and those broadcasting the match would participate in appropriate social distancing, with Charles Barkley possibly involved on commentary from a remote location.

The biggest current holdup on an announcement of the event is PGA Tour approval, as ESPN’s Bob Harig notes they have to get the blessing of the Tour to move forward on any such event and, as of now, that has not come through. The Tour did confirm discussions are and have been ongoing, but as of now nothing is official. Where they can do it — given that we do not know where the coronavirus outbreak will be peaking and falling in May at this time — and other logistics also must be figured out, but it seems there’s some determination to make this happen and bring in a pair of legendary quarterbacks to spice things up further, this time to benefit charity.

It’s been nearly 24 years since the death of iconic West Coast rapper Tupac. While his memory lives on through his music, and several conspiracy theories surrounding his death, memorabilia belonging to the late rapper can often be found floating around the internet. Those who wish to purchase an item formerly owned by the rapper are in for good news: two bandanas and other memorabilia from the rapper are being sold in an online auction.

Thirteen items belonging to Tupac are being auctioned off by Gotta Have Rock and Roll. One red and one blue bandana are being sold starting at $1,000. Other articles for up for auction include one of his diamond nose studs, a handwritten letter to his girlfriend from prison in 1995, a signed and inscribed polaroid, an original press release from Death Row Records, a hotel bill, two handwritten lyric pages, and much more.

Ahead of the auction, another item formerly belonging to the iconic rapper was sold for a record-breaking amount. Tupac’s old prison ID card sold for a hefty $30,000 to an unidentified collector who wishes to remain anonymous. Garry Shrum, Director of Music Memorabilia at Heritage Auctions explained the reason for the large price tag: “Tupac and his music are just as relevant today as they were more than 20 years ago. Fans haven’t forgotten his impact on hip-hop. They will go to any lengths to own a piece of Shakur’s life and times.”

Find more information on Tupac’s items being sold here.

Chief among the many things that happened in early March in the NBA that now feel like a lifetime ago was the Brooklyn Nets parting ways with head coach Kenny Atkinson. General manager Sean Marks expanded upon that decision and what comes next — along with many other issues — in a conference call on Wednesday with local media.

Despite the uncertainty around the resumption of the NBA season during the coronavirus pandemic, the Nets have not moved forward with their coaching search, Marks said, out of respect to interim coach Jacque Vaughn. Previously, Marks said he would wait until the end of the year to begin that process, and it appears he is sticking to that timeline. Brooklyn would be in line to make the playoffs if they happen.

More pressingly, Marks admitted he will seek out the opinions of superstars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant during the hiring process, which Marks said has always been how he does business.

“I think that’s the approach we’ve taken with everything,” Marks said. “From four years ago, whether it was free agency or even in the draft, we had our own players come and watch draft workouts. I love getting their opinions, I love seeing what they see.”

Marks praised what he called a “collaborative approach” across the organization, but it’s worth mentioning that Irving’s connection with former Cleveland head coach Ty Lue was the center of much intrigue when Brooklyn originally moved on from Atkinson.

It started with a harmless idea from legendary FOX Sports broadcaster Joe Buck: To entertain sports fans by doing play-by-play calls of their home videos during the United States’ mitigation efforts against the coronavirus outbreak. It turned nasty, in something anyone that frequents the internet could’ve seen coming, as fans sent all sorts of videos to Buck hoping he would commentate on.

Sex tapes began to appear in Buck’s inbox as he sifted through new material, as he told Newsweek.

“You have to go through these videos like the Zapruder film because you’re worried that there’s going to be something in the background, there’s going to be something hidden like a Highlights Magazine that we should not focus on,” Buck said, “but it’s still there and it becomes some internet thing where I put my voice to something that I shouldn’t have.”

While Buck did not say it dissuaded him from continuing the fun project, it’s created a certain level of attentiveness he wasn’t expecting to need for the harmless idea. Don’t count Buck out from one day doing a play by play call of such a video, however. For now, it’s baseball and football, but who knows what could come next.

“Maybe later in life, but not now,” Buck said. “I look at these videos very carefully and pick the ones that seem the most wholesome to put my voice to.”

Atlantic rap duo Earthgang made their full-length debut on J. Cole’s Dreamville label last year, but the group is looking to have their 2020 be just as prolific. The group shared an intricate animation for the video accompanying the track “Lala Challenge.”

Animated by McKay Felt, the visual takes fans on a journey through the fictional Mirrorland. The animation opens with the members of Earthgang positioned as the masterminds behind a giant, ominously floating head being observed by a group of mind-numbed teens. The animation stands as a commentary on our reliance on technology. As the world morphs and melts around them, the characters in the animation stay locked to an illuminated screen. But Earthgang comes to the rescue and provides solace to the fictional city, filling the desolated area with plants greenery.

Upon sharing the animation to social media, the group quipped about how they are all stuck at home in quarantine: “LOOK AT US SITTING IN OUR HOMES BEING BEAUTIFUL,” they wrote.

The “Lala Challenge” video arrives as the second visual released by the group this year. Back in January, Earthgang debuted a harrowing visual to the track “Swivel.”

Revisit Uproxx’s review of Mirrorland here.

Mirrorland is out now via Dreamville/Interscope. Get it here.

Yet another festival has fallen victim to coronavirus postponement syndrome as Rolling Loud announces new dates for its Miami iteration in February of 2021. Miami has a special place in the hearts of the festival’s organizers, as it was the location of the original Rolling Loud festival and many of the festival’s go-to artists call the city home. The May 8-10 dates originally scheduled for this year’s fest have become unfeasible due to COVID-19 coronavirus precautions, so the new dates are February 12-14, 2021 — Presidents’ Day Weekend.

Read the statement from Rolling Loud below:

Since our last update, we have been monitoring the spread of COVID-19, hopeful that it would slow and allow us to proceed with producing the festival in May. At the same time, we were working around the clock on a contingency plan in case we had to postpone. It was important for us to not make the decision too soon, without having all of the facts. We wanted nothing more than to turn up with you all at the 6th year of our sold out show. However, as the spread of COVID-19 has increased to tragic levels, it became clear that we could not proceed with the May 8-10 dates.

To make sure that fans get the same experience that they signed up for in May, we’ve worked extremely hard with all of the artists, vendors, city and county officials, and the venue to make that happen. Accordingly, Rolling Loud Miami 2020 will be postponed to President’s Day Weekend (3 days), February 12-14, 2021 at Hard Rock Stadium.

Same lineup. Same rage. Ain’t nothin’ changed but the dates.

All purchased tickets will be honored for the rescheduled dates. If you need a refund, don’t worry, we got you. Purchasers will be notified via email by April 8th on how to obtain a refund. We’ve also extended the Layaway Plan GRACE PERIOD to August 1st for those fans who missed a payment and still want to be able to attend in February. We love you all and want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to get lit with us next year.

We’ll get through this together. Stay safe and we look forward to seeing you all soon! If we all do our part to help suppress the virus, we’ll be moshing together again in no time.

Follow Uproxx’s coronavirus coverage here.

Bazzi and his girlfriend, Australian model Renee Herbert, are celebrating their two-year anniversary. Now the singer has commemorated the occasion with a new song, the appropriately titled “Renee’s Song.” Bazzi begins the brief, gentle, and guitar-led track with romantic lyrics: “There’s a song I like to sing / It says your name, I love the ring / So come here, so come here / I may be broken by my past / But I know my worst days, they won’t last.”

Sharing the song on social media, Bazzi wrote, “dear renee, i wrote a song for you – through everything weve been through, i hope this makes you feel special. happy two year baby X.” He followed that up today with another tweet, writing, “my love – you’ve stood by my side through everything for two years. i wrote this for you & i hope you feel like the only girl in the world today…” In December, Herbert celebrated the anniversary of meeting Bazzi, writing on Instagram, “2 years ago today I met you. There’s no one in the world like you, you fill my life with so much love and happiness. Love u bestfriend.”

Meanwhile, Bazzi recently offered an update on how his self-quarantine is going, writing earlier this month, “it’s going good. still adjusting to staying inside all day and the anxiety that comes with that lol but just rekindled my love for the office so i’m watching it for the 4th time.”

Listen to “Renee’s Song” above.

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

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

On “Roof,” the ninth song from her new album Before Love Came To Kill Us, Canadian singer-songwriter Jessie Reyez sums up her career evolution and her current position in one succinct line. “I could drive a Benz, but I’m still in my old-ass Honda,” she smirks. “Cocky’s in a coma, but I got my commas.”

That’s the album in a nutshell: Reyez has grown up but she’s also held her center. Her growth is as evident as her powerful sense of self-assured identity. It’s an identity she worked to establish on her developmental EPs, Kiddo and Being Human In Public, and it emerges fully formed on Before Love Came To Kill Us.

Possessed with an off-kilter voice and a wicked sense of humor, Reyez litters her lyrics with sly pop-culture references and emotional gut-punches, a legacy of her come-up alongside rappers like King Louie and multiple collaborations with Eminem. But she also knows her way around a straight-up pop bop, giving Before Love an impressive array of tools with which to work.

From singing in Spanish on “La Memoria” (Reyez is Colombian-Canadian and lived in Florida, busking on the beach before moving back to Toronto and pursuing music full-time) to referencing Goodfellas on the album’s intro “Do You Love Her,” Jessie utilizes every tool at her disposal to demonstrate her growth as an artist. While she does so, though, she doesn’t get lost in the eclecticism of the project, using the diverse styles to display different facets of her own strong personality.

The centeredness allows her to remain the focus, even when guest stars 6lack and Eminem contribute verses. Her duet with the former on “Imported” allows her to flex her hip-hop songwriting chops alongside one of the genre’s most solid dual-talent artists, while on “Coffin,” Jessie’s half of the song is miles better than Em’s out-of-place, off-key crooning. Through each track, Reyez’s voice slides between more alien pop and cool, velvet R&B, further demonstrating her versatility.

That versatility is doubly highlighted by the variety in the production. The uptempo “Dope” is a dance-pop party starter, offsetting the ballad-laden back-end of the album, which gives Reyez the chance to explore infatuation (on the pulsating “I Do”), heartbreak (the sweeping “Love In The Dark”), and a friends-with-benefits situation turned sour (the aggressive “Kill Us,” which lends the album its title). Reyez sings with charm and panache, modulating her unusual voice to suit the needs of each track, from moody and dark to carefree and tongue-in-cheek.

With that level of self-assuredness and nerve, Reyez is able to navigate seemingly disparate soundscapes and experiment to her heart’s content, secure in the knowledge that she won’t be swallowed up by an overwhelming new sound or stumble over an unfamiliar one. Before Love Came To Kill Us is a rock-solid statement of self-determination that shows flashes of promise that Reyez will be able to adapt to whatever sounds become the vogue, but also remain distinctive, with a sound all her own. The Canadian songwriter comes into her own as an artist, proving she can ride the wave and still sound like herself.

Before Love Came To Kill Us is out now via FMLY and Island. Get it here.