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We didn’t eat at enough restaurants last year. Sure, in a lot of ways 2021 was more “normal” than 2020 — we started going to concerts, bars, movie theaters, and generally having lives again. Covid cases were on a downward trend! Vaccination rates were rising! Then we got hit with the Delta and Omicron variants and that renewed sense of optimism started to fizzle.

As of January 4th, there’s a fair bit that’s unclear. How serious is Omicron? Is it less dangerous than previous strains? More contagious?

The fears (many valid!) associated with this new strain of Covid means restaurants — which generally run on paper-thin margins — are struggling once again. So, in an effort to give some shine to our favorite independently owned and operated businesses, we reached out to some of our favorite chefs, food personalities, and food writers and asked them to shout out their favorite restaurant experiences of 2021.

Hopefully, things will open back up again (again. Again?) soon and you can let these recommendations guide your 2022 dining experiences. Let’s eat!

EDITOR’S PICK: “Verdant” By Abbey Road Farms, Carlton, Oregon — Steve Bramucci

I’ve been following chef Will Preisch’s cooking since he was in his mid-20s, running a Portland pop-up supper club called Holdfast with his good friend Joel Stocks. As a food writer who was new to fine dining, had been around the restaurant industry a little, and had begun to see the fissures in the traditional restaurant model (and the specific version of capitalism sold to my generation), everything about the Holdfast experiment thrilled me. The menu was full of wild ideas, the chefs mocked the idea of owning a brick and mortar and paying steady rent, etc, and the food was a mixture of recognizable flavors and ingredients (limpets, the snails that cling fiercely to rocks on the Oregon Coast, once famously featured on the menu) combined in unexpected ways. The food was clearly influenced by the foam and gelee era of Noma, the famed Copenhagen restaurant where Preisch once volunteered (“staged”), but it was also all Oregon in its ingredients.

I loved it and brought everyone I knew. I covered Preisch for various outlets and kept loosely in touch with him.

So when I headed to Oregon in the fall for a foraging trip and discovered that he’d launched a lunch tasting menu called “Verdant” at Abbey Road Winery in Carlton, just 45 minutes from the heart of Portland, I made it a priority to visit. I am so thrilled that I did. Just like at Holdfast, Preisch is a repository of bold ideas which he executes with an incredibly deft touch. After an oyster amuse-bouche, there was a cold salad featuring a sort of “green goddess” cold soup that was so airy and bright that you felt like you were sipping spring. After a similarly bright spot prawns course (with totally different flavor notes), came a miso cod in black olive and fennel broth that hit all of the sweet spots of classic misoyaki butterfish and yet remained completely surprising thanks to that unctuous broth. But it was the first of two desserts (the more savory of the two, standing in for a cheese course) that blew me away: ice cream made with lees — a byproduct of the winemaking process — and a white wine gelee.

This ice cream was my most interesting bite of the year, bar none. It was deeply funky but still retained some distant conjuring of grape flavor notes. It was more savory than you’d ever expect ice cream to be but every bit as silky. The sugar came from the wine gelee, which was sweet and really carried the sharper flavor notes of wine that you wouldn’t want the ice cream to have. The meal, top to bottom, was creative and bold, and deeply refined. All the things I missed in the years that restaurant dining was shut down.

Roscoe’s House Of Chicken N Waffles, Various Locations, Los Angeles, California — Dane Rivera

Despite being a food writer, I didn’t get to spend much time in restaurants this year due to the pandemic. My focus was mostly around fast food in 2021 but on those days when I was feeling burnt out from drive-thru food, I hit up a comfort classic, Roscoe’s House of Chicken N Waffles. Most of my Roscoe’s orders this year were, unfortunately, to-go orders, but I spent a considerable time with the menu.

My go-to’s include the Carol C. Special, a simple breast and waffle combo, and the Big Mamma, which consists of scrambled eggs, onions and cheese, and served with potatoes in gravy with a hot biscuit. You can’t forget the sides — red beans and rice, candy yams, cornbread, mac and cheese, mixed greens, order them all, they’re all mouth-watering and wonderfully food coma-inducing.

Thai District, Long Beach, California — Dane Rivera

This is now my favorite Thai restaurant of all time. Granted, I’ve only had Thai in a handful of states, and never in Thailand. But I’ve never experienced flavors dance across my palate the way everything from Thai District does. The food here is so aromatic, each bite is absolute ecstasy, as sweet and spicy chilis bounce off sweet and complex blends of basil, garlic, and onion, and fresh vegetables. The Spicy Fried Rice will blow your mind, the Duck Curry is last meal worthy, and no table order is complete without a serving of Thai Disctric’s crispy tofu and pad see eew.

There aren’t a whole lot of reasons to venture out of Los Angeles and into Long Beach, but Thai District is one of them. And ComplexCon. Gotta love ComplexCon.

Brunch at Proof On Main, Louisville Kentucky — Zach Johnston

Proof on Main has this duality to it of being both a very obvious tourist spot and a chic hotel art bar. The first part might sound off-putting but let me clarify. Proof on Main is on Main Street right in the middle of Whiskey Row in Louisville, Kentucky. The thing is, you can 100 percent miss this place unless you’re looking for it. The entrance is on a side street through a hotel lobby. That means that you don’t get a constant flow of tipsy tourists looking for a bar to belly up at. The other side of that coin is that this is a lobby bar/restaurant. That being said, the hotel Proof on Main is attached to is 21c Louisville, which is a “museum hotel.” The hotel is a chic, modernist museum-meets-hotel that bleeds over into the restaurant and bar both with the art on the walls, interior decoration, and the beauty of the food.

It’s also worth noting that this is Louisville, the heart of whiskey country, so the bartenders are phenomenal and the whiskey menu is stellar.

I had a couple of good meals at Proof on Main, but it was the breakfast that I still dream about months later. I had the fried chicken with a subtlest sausage gravy I’ve ever seen (and I’m a biscuits and gravy scholar). But it was the biscuit on the side that blew my mind. Pictured above, it was a classic crumb biscuit (instead of flaky) that had the perfect lightness and heft combined with deep butteriness and the right counter of large flake salt. You felt the grains come off the chaff in the flour in this biscuit — that’s amazing flour. It was deep and made my eyes roll far back in food-born ecstasy.

I went back for that biscuit almost every weekend over three weeks and I never got tired of it. Hell, I even had their breakfast bison burger once (also pretty great) and still got a biscuit on the side. They’re that good.

Nepenthe, Big Sur, California — Chloe Caldwell

Nepenthe is one of my favorite restaurant experiences of the year. If you’re doing a road trip up the coast, it’s a must-stop location! The food is good — think classic burgers, sandwiches, beer, and fries — but it’s the view and chill environment that really makes it special. It’s located right off the road on the edge of a cliff that overlooks Big Sur. So you get mountains, evergreen trees, and ocean views all in one place. It’s absolutely beautiful!

I went to Nepenthe during lunch hours and ordered the California Beet Salad, which had blue cheese, orange supremes, pickled fennel, spicy candied walnuts, and citrus vinaigrette dressing on it. The refreshing fruity salad was exactly what I needed for a sunny California day on the coast. I also ordered a side of fries, which were that perfect crispy on the outside and soft on the inside ratio. To drink, I’d recommend the Elderflower Sparkler and The South Coast Margarita.

Manuela, Los Angeles California — Alex Malcolm (Eats By Alex)

Located in the Arts District of Los Angeles, Manuela unites chefs, farmers, and artists to create an authentic and original dining experience. Led by Executive Chef Kris Tominaga, the menu showcases seasonal ingredients sourced from the best farms and producers in Southern California.

Manuela is situated within Hauser & Wirth, who has been supporting the arts district since 2016. Their rotating exhibitions & large mural-style paintings on exposed-brick walls, bring a beautifully eclectic backdrop to the space while you are dining. Order the half chicken with chili de arbol and white BBQ sauce (and the House Negroni if you’re feeling frisky), you will not be disappointed. As someone who predominantly cooks, I try to ensure that a restaurant will give me an experience or preparation I can’t get on my own and Manuela takes the cake every time.

Il Corso, Palm Springs California — Max Miller (Host Of Tasting History With Max Miller)

There’s an Italian restaurant in Palm Springs called Il Corso. Hands down the best dining experience I’ve had in 2021. They had the staple Italian dishes you expect but also had many authentic dishes that rarely make it to the menus of Italian restaurants in the U.S. It’s right downtown, yet just off the beaten path so the noise of the main street doesn’t spoil the peaceful atmosphere. I look forward to going back soon, even if only to explore their cocktail menu a little more. Definitely try the Risotto Pescatore, it has lots of fresh seafood over perfectly cooked risotto with a light tomato sauce.

Detour Doughnuts, Frisco Texas — The Food Romantic

When looking back at all of my eatery experiences the past year, there’s one shop that stands out as the best: Detour Doughnuts. This gourmet doughnut shop in Frisco, TX has been one of my favorites for a while due to their absolutely stunning, unique, and delicious doughnuts. There’s been a constant rotation of new seasonal flavors throughout the year including rose champagne, Neapolitan, taro coconut, biscoff and banana pudding, pumpkin cream cheese (my favorite), and dark chocolate pomegranate (just to name a few). In addition to new flavors, there’s also been a wide range of decorative doughnuts for a variety of holidays, special occasions, and meaningful purposes, including a #StopAsianHate doughnut (after the tragedy in Atlanta earlier this year). Not only did this doughnut represent a necessary message, but all sales of this doughnut went directly to gofundme.com/aapi (a total of $5,872 was donated on March 22nd from the sales of this doughnut).

Detour Doughnuts has constantly brought a sense of comfort and joy to those who stop by. Whether it’s an exciting new flavor or an adorable new design (there were even Friends-themed doughnuts for the Friends reunion special). Detour is a place that has brought a smile to many faces, including mine!

Cafe Gabriela Oakland, California — Chef Charleen Caabay, Chopped Winner, Co-Founder, and Chief Innovation Officer at The People’s Ecosystem.

The best way to curate this is all in a day’s work. I love starting the early mornings at Cafe Gabriela. Not your regular coffee shop, but one where you will leave inspired by the artwork and even by the cafe’s name. “Gabriela,” named after Gabriela Silang, a Filipina revolutionary who revolted against the Spanish colonizers. Sourced by local vendors, owner Penny and her team have been serving the Oakland community for quite some time. Freshly ground coffee, a few breakfast bites, and many treats to choose from. My favorite is the Filipino Adobo sandwich; it just brings back memories of home.

Fob Kitchen, Oakland, California — Chef Charleen Caabay, Chopped Winner, Co-Founder, and Chief Innovation Officer at The People’s Ecosystem.

Then comes lunch! Fob Kitchen, a Filipino food gastropub, also can be found in Oakland. Owner Chef Janice’s curated menu brings all the comfort on your plate no matter what you order. The freshly rolled lumpia is crispy when fried and is so tasty with the dipping sauce. You can’t go without ordering your meal with garlic rice and a fried egg. It really doesn’t matter what time of day! Pork eaters must get the Lechon kawali. Fried pork belly; you can not go wrong! Another favorite is the torta talong, known as an eggplant omelet — another comfort food favorite! Their bar menu is cute and brings memories of being on a resort in the Philippine Islands.

Magnolia Street Wine Lounge & Kitchen, Oakland California — Chef Charleen Caabay, Chopped Winner, Co-Founder, and Chief Innovation Officer at The People’s Ecosystem.

My next choice is the Magnolia Street Wine Lounge & Kitchen. Chef Leilani, an Oakland native, brings her memories of her upbringing with delicious soul food, libations, and even live music! So many fan favorites like fried chicken, shrimp and grits, fried fish, mac n cheese, and peach cobbler waffles! I can rave on and on. Wine pairings and good eats are all you need. You can expect live music from local DJs or a local band on some nights.

Either of these choices, you really can’t go wrong. Hidden gems that the lucky ones have found and frequented. Don’t miss out, and get you a plate!

MáLà Project, Manhattan, New York — Chef Priyanka Naik, Author of The Modern Tiffin, Food Network Champion

I absolutely love MaLa Project and take any friends or family who come from out of town to this restaurant. It is a different take on Schezuan cooking, it’s categorized as “dry pot.” So you pick the ingredients you want and they saute it up in this delicious house blend of multiple chilies, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, Schezuan peppercorns, bay leaf. It is SO good and spicy. And the best part about it, you can be completely vegan here! I recommend the Mala Peanuts, Dan Dan Noodles (sans meat), Mixed veggie & tofu dry pot, and the mung bean jelly with chili oil.

Mora Pizza, Miami, Florida — Chef Priyanka Naik, Author of The Modern Tiffin, Food Network Champion

Mora Pizza is actually not a restaurant and they operate out of a local bodega in Miami. But one of my sisters lives in Miami and has been raving about this delicious vegan find, so the last time I was there I had to go. Mora fulfills all your devilish desires, but vegan! I’m talking buffalo chick’n calzone, garlic knots, eggplant parm. They bake all of their bread fresh and it 1,000 percent makes a difference.

Planta Queen, Manhattan, New York — MáLà Project – Manhattan, New York — Chef Priyanka Naik, Author of The Modern Tiffin, Food Network Champion

Planta Queen is exactly what it says, a QUEEN for plant-based food. Everything here is delish. It has an awesome vibe — slightly upscale, but not pretentious at all. And the menu is packed with delicious Asian and Global-inspired dishes (just my jam). One of my favs is the Peking Jackfruit and the Crispy Rice.

ilona South End, Boston, Massachusettes — MáLà Project – Manhattan, New York — Chef Priyanka Naik, Author of The Modern Tiffin, Food Network Champion

I unexpectedly landed here one fine evening in October. Boston is the city of my alma mater, so I am very familiar with all the happenings. But since I graduated, there have been SO many delicious restaurants that have popped up! I was fortunately in Boston to accept an award from my alma mater Boston University, so I was lucky enough to have a celebratory dinner at ilona! They are fairly new and have such a cool vibe — blue velvet booths, white floors — very Greek. And the food was excellent. All of the dips were heavenly, and the bread! I am a sucker for warm, fluffy pita, and anything with za’atar. Sign me up!

Chulita,Venice Beach, California — MáLà Project – Manhattan, New York — Chef Priyanka Naik, Author of The Modern Tiffin, Food Network Champion

I frequent LA and LOVE LA. Mainly for the weather, beach, and food. Specifically, though, the Mexican food. The last time I was in LA was October 2021 (to film on The Kelly Clarkson Show!) and my friend took me to Chulita for a late lunch. I loved it! The restaurant has an effortless indoor-outdoor vibe, very Tulum/bohemian, an excellent mezcal menu, and a TON of vegan options. I particularly liked the taquitos and vegan queso! So good! Definitely go here in the daytime. The vibes are so LA, chill, and chic at the same time.

Miss Ollie’s, Oakland, California — Chef Nikki Steward, CEO and Head Chef The High-End Affair

Chef Sarah Kirnon is the owner and chef of the restaurant, she’s from Barbados but I’m trying to tell you — this is the best Caribbean food I’ve had in a long time. Oxtail is second to none. Currently, she has this jerk crab that is fucking phenomenal but my favorite has always been the oxtail.

Hoyo’s Kitchen, Columbus, Ohio — Chef Nikki Steward, CEO and Head Chef The High-End Affair

The dope thing about Hoyo’s is that it literally pays homage to his mother. It’s a Somalian restaurant and Somalian mothers are responsible for recipes and everything culinary-wise, so he wanted to represent Somalian women in the culinary space. His mother is in the back working, seasoning everything, this is some of the most authentic, just really good African food. I Iove everything, they have multiple locations so it’s kind of a food stall in different marketplaces.

Mango chicken, spicy rice, the lentils, the chickpeas, the veggie sambusas, it’s my favorite go-to thing when I’m looking for comfort food in Ohio.

Lung Yai Thai Tapas, Miami, Florida — Chef Nikki Steward, CEO and Head Chef The High-End Affair

It’s legit my favorite Thai place in the f*cking country. I did my culinary studies in Thailand. Lung Yai Thai Tapas by Chef Bas. When I sit down at this place, first of all, they know me so they automatically give me a table because the line is always down the f*cking block. It’s very small, it’s in Calle Ocho in Miami. I literally order everything that I can possibly think of on the menu because you can only order one time. When you’re with your group everyone has to get their order together because you can’t have seconds, so we usually order like two of everything.

The Pad Kee Mao is so good, the Khao Soi is one of my favorites, the Panang curry, the crab rice, they have like a duck basil noodle situation. Nuts! Chef Bas is amazing at what he does.

1417ATX, Austin, Texas — Chef Nikki Steward, CEO and Head Chef The High-End Affair

This is a dope restaurant in Austin. It’s a beautiful space, just recently opened not that long ago, French-inspired, very esoteric wine list, dope ass cocktails, they have a great chef tasting menu that I really fuck with. It’s seasonal, last time I was there it was scallops, cauliflower curry, raisin chutney, pumpkin seed brittle, octopus, polenta, their 48hr beef short rib with a beet risotto is fire! It’s located in downtown Austin owned by husband and wife, Allison and Pedro. It’s all family operated,

They have a bomb ass brunch too.

Tacos Rudos, Columbus Ohio — Chef Nikki Steward, CEO and Head Chef The High-End Affair

Red snapper taco is my fav here. It’s a family business run by a family from Oaxaca. It’s just phenomenal Mexican food.

Every year there’s always a major hit indie gam that becomes the must-play title of the year. We spend most of the year talking about the major AAA titles, because those have all the money and power behind them to grab our attention. These are of course still great games, and many of them are among our most anticipated games of 2022, but to experience gaming in full we need to always be on the lookout for the next big out of nowhere title.

While there is no real way to predict how a game is going to be received until everyone starts playing it, there are ways to keep a lookout for indie games that have the potential to be a breakout hit. Then, when everyone else starts talking about it, you can be one of the lucky ones that played it early. While we think we have a pretty good idea of how to keep a pulse on what games have a chance to be big, we do acknowledge that with hundreds of games releasing every year, it can be easy for some to fall through the cracks.

Sometimes the best way to find an indie hit is to go straight to the source and play it yourself. That means you’ll need a good place to find indie games and, as of right now, there are two places better than anywhere else to play upcoming indie games. Steam and the Nintendo Switch eShop are two easy go-to’s for anyone that wants to find the next huge indie game with both platforms completely embracing small developers. Nintendo has frequently made indies a huge selling point for the Switch, and they even give indie games their own showcases throughout the year. Steam is one of the largest platforms for PC games and has been traditionally friendly to giving new developers a place to show their games.

Another fantastic way to keep an eye on upcoming indie games is to browse places like Twitch and YouTube. The great thing about video games today is everyone is always playing something somewhere, and that means someone, somewhere, is playing a game you’ve probably never heard of and you can watch them run through it. As games start gaining more traction, they start showing up on places like Twitch and YouTube because they want to share their own playthroughs of these games. A good way to look out for new indie games is to pay attention to what is showing up on Twitch or YouTube. Notice a particular game that you haven’t heard of, or seen much coverage of, getting a lot of attention lately? That could be the beginnings of the biggest game of the year.

In the same spirit of Twitch and YouTube, word of mouth is a powerful tool for the rise of any indie game. As more people play a game they start to tell their friends about that game, or post about it on social media. People love to share what they’re playing with others and as a game starts to gain traction it eventually becomes a talking point. A great way to keep up with new games, before they reach the talking point phase, is to go check out the games people are talking bout. When someone tweets about a new indie game they played, try it out for yourself. See if this is a game that has the potential to be a Game Of The Year contender. The worst that can happen is it doesn’t click and you find a new game to play.

2022 has the chance to be one of the biggest years in a long time for gaming. There are so many massive AAA titles that are expected to come out and we can expect a handful of indies to pop up here and there. We know that out of nowhere title is currently in development somewhere, but we aren’t going to know what it is until we play it. The best way to be ready for it is to play as many games as possible, keep an ear to the ground, and keep an open mind. Do that, and the surprise indie hit of 2022 won’t be a surprise at all for you.

If you spent any time browsing Twitter over the holiday weekend, you no doubt came across the now-viral tweet from Pabst Blue Ribbon’s official Twitter account that read “Not drinking this January? Try eating ass!” At this point, official brand accounts wildin’ out on the timeline is nothing new, it’s been done to death, but it still took us by surprise to see a brand get so direct and raunchy. (Though congrats on being sex-positive!)

Many of the replies to that original tweet concerned whether or not the person (or people) behind the tweet would get fired, no word on that yet (but I mean, come on), but PBR has since deleted the now legendary tweet as well as others posted around the same time.

In an emailed statement shared with Ad Age, Pabst Blue Ribbon’s Vice President of marketing wrote, “We apologize about the language and content of our recent tweets… the tweets in question were written in poor judgment by one of our associates… In no way does the content of these tweets reflect the values of Pabst and our Associates. We’re handling the matter internally and have removed the tweets from our social platforms.”

While the ass-eating tweet was the one to go viral, the brand was already facing some criticism for their ill-conceived “Wet January” ad campaign, which, according to Forbes, many on the internet saw as insensitive to people struggling to cut back on alcohol consumption this month.

The whole situation is a head-scratcher. How did this ad campaign get this far in the first place? Was the ass-eating tweet planned and then re-positioned as an error or disgruntled employee when folks didn’t respond well? Was it all another attempt to grab the right kind of “cool corporation” energy that simply failed?

Pabst’s most recent tweet simply reads “beer,” which is much more on brand, if similarly cryptic. What will this saga bring next? A collab with Hardee’s famed “b-holes” for an ass-based pairing menu?

Buckle up, 2022 is already proving to be more chaotic than 2021 and we’re only a few days in.

If you spent any time browsing Twitter over the holiday weekend, you no doubt came across the now-viral tweet from Pabst Blue Ribbon’s official Twitter account that read “Not drinking this January? Try eating ass!” At this point, official brand accounts wildin’ out on the timeline is nothing new, it’s been done to death, but it still took us by surprise to see a brand get so direct and raunchy. (Though congrats on being sex-positive!)

Many of the replies to that original tweet concerned whether or not the person (or people) behind the tweet would get fired, no word on that yet (but I mean, come on), but PBR has since deleted the now legendary tweet as well as others posted around the same time.

In an emailed statement shared with Ad Age, Pabst Blue Ribbon’s Vice President of marketing wrote, “We apologize about the language and content of our recent tweets… the tweets in question were written in poor judgment by one of our associates… In no way does the content of these tweets reflect the values of Pabst and our Associates. We’re handling the matter internally and have removed the tweets from our social platforms.”

While the ass-eating tweet was the one to go viral, the brand was already facing some criticism for their ill-conceived “Wet January” ad campaign, which, according to Forbes, many on the internet saw as insensitive to people struggling to cut back on alcohol consumption this month.

The whole situation is a head-scratcher. How did this ad campaign get this far in the first place? Was the ass-eating tweet planned and then re-positioned as an error or disgruntled employee when folks didn’t respond well? Was it all another attempt to grab the right kind of “cool corporation” energy that simply failed?

Pabst’s most recent tweet simply reads “beer,” which is much more on brand, if similarly cryptic. What will this saga bring next? A collab with Hardee’s famed “b-holes” for an ass-based pairing menu?

Buckle up, 2022 is already proving to be more chaotic than 2021 and we’re only a few days in.

What day do you consider to be the beginning of the pandemic? For many, it’s March 11, 2020, the day Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson tested positive for the coronavirus and the NBA suspended the season. But for others (me), it’s a week later, March 18, when Gal Gadot uploaded the infamous “Imagine” video to Instagram. That was the moment I knew the pandemic wasn’t going away any time soon. Here we are, two years later…

Gadot previously acknowledged that the celeb-filled cover of the John Lennon song “didn’t transcend,” and in a new interview with InStyle, the Wonder Woman star admitted that it was in the poor taste. “And with the whole ‘Imagine’ controversy, it’s funny,” she said. “I was calling Kristen [Wiig] and I was like, ‘Listen, I want to do this thing.’ The pandemic was in Europe and Israel before it came here [to the U.S.] in the same way. I was seeing where everything was headed. But [the video] was premature. It wasn’t the right timing, and it wasn’t the right thing.” Gadot added, “It was in poor taste. All pure intentions, but sometimes you don’t hit the bull’s-eye, right? I felt like I wanted to take the air out of it, so that [event] was a delightful opportunity to do that.”

The video is still up on Gadot’s Instagram account, where it has over 10 million views. At least she didn’t invite one of her Death on the Nile co-stars to sing with her.

(Via InStyle)

Swedish House Mafia capped off their massive 2021 comeback with a (sort of) brand-new single. After dropping a collaboration with The Weeknd and announcing a slot at 2022’s Coachella, the electronic trio tapped respected classical music composer Jacob Mühlrad for a wildly different version of their hit 2010 track “One.”

The new version of the song, aptly titled “One Symphony,” takes the pumped-up EDM track and transforms it into a soothing ballad which utilizes a range of wind and string instruments.

“Having Jacob’s world meet ours has always been on our minds,” Swedish House Mafia said in a statement. “His interpretation of ‘One’ is absolutely incredible and we are so happy to finally release it to the world.” Mühlrad added, “I felt very inspired and honored when I received the commission.”

This isn’t the first time their track “One” has gone through some changes. Of course, there’s the original 5-minute version of the song, but there is also a radio edit which features vocals by Pharrell Williams, as well as a handful of other club-ready remixes. Despite the various versions of the song, “One Symphony” is perhaps the biggest departure from the original track.

Listen to Swedish House Mafia’s “One Symphony” above and check out the group’s 2022 tour dates below.

07/29 — Miami, FL @ FTX Arena
07/31 — Orlando, FL @ Amway Center
08/03 — East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium
08/05 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
08/07 — Montreal, QC @ îleSoniq Festival
08/09 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden
08/10 — Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
08/11 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
08/13 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
08/17 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
08/19 — St Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
08/21 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
08/25 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center
08/26 — Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
08/27 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
08/30 — Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center
09/02 — Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena
09/04 — San Diego, CA @ Pechanga Arena
09/13 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
09/14 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
09/16 — San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
09/29 — Manchester, UK @ AO Arena
09/30 — Glasgow, UK @ OVO Hydro Arena
10/02 — London, UK @ The O2
10/06 — Dublin, Ireland @– 3Arena
10/08 — Birmingham, UK @ Utilita Arena Birmingham
10/10 — Paris, FR @ Accor Arena
10/14 — Madrid, Spain @ IFEMA Madrid Live
10/15 — Lisbon, Portugal @ Altice Arena
10/18 — Milan, Italy @ Mediolanum Forum
10/19 — Zurich, Switzerland @ Hallenstadion
10/21 — Krakow, Poland @ Tauron Arena
10/22 — Prague, Czech Republic @ O2 Arena
10/25 — Cologne, Germany @ Lanxess Arena
10/27 — Munich, Germany @ Olympiahalle
10/29 — Antwerp, Belgium @ Sportpaleis
10/31 — Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Ziggo Dome
11/03 — Vienna, Austria @ Stadthalle
11/05 — Frankfurt, Germany @ Festhalle
11/06 — Berlin, Germany @ Mercedes-Benz Arena
11/08 — Hamburg, Germany @ Barclaycard Arena
11/09 — Copenhagen, Denmark @ Royal Arena
11/11 — Oslo, Norway @ Telenor Arena
11/13 — Tampere, Finland @ Uros Arena

Pooh Shiesty has taken a plea deal on his shooting case, pleading guilty to firearms conspiracy to avoid a potential life sentence, according to Rolling Stone. Pooh was charged with discharging a firearm during a violent crime and robbery after apparently shooting a man in the buttock in October of 2020. The man, the 28-year-old Brandon Cooper, was recently indicted in Florida for allegedly forging checks along with seven others according to The Miami Herald, prompting Pooh’s lawyer to reconsider plea negotiations.

“We’ve entered into plea negotiations because there have been developments in the case that I think changed the dynamics of the case,” said Bradford Cohen, Pooh’s lawyer last October. The plea is a bid to get a lesser sentence — however, Magistrate Judge Lauren Fleischer Louis advised that Pooh wouldn’t necessarily get the 97 months that the prosecution and defense agreed to. Pooh won’t be able to withdraw his plea if the sentence turns out to be longer.

Pooh was indicted on the charges above after an Instagram post was used to connect him to the shooting, which allegedly took place at the Landon Hotel, where Pooh met the victim to purchase sneakers and weed. After he drove off, leaving behind a bag of money, authorities were able to match the serial number of one of the abandoned bills to bills Pooh held up in a prior post. Pooh, who had one of YouTube’s top trending videos of 2021 and a flourishing presence thanks to his hit “Back In Blood” with Lil Durk before getting arrested, still faces charges in a prior shooting incident in which he allegedly shot at a security guard in a club after fans tried to pull cash out of his pockets following a performance.

While raking Donald Trump and the Republican Party over the coals for brushing aside the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building as if it wasn’t a dangerous assault on democracy, The View co-host Ana Navarro busted out her own conspiracy about the 2016 election that put Trump in office. It’s not the greatest move, considering the hypocrisy on display, but Navarro didn’t seem to care.

After roasting Trump for continue to foment an “environment of lies and conspiracy theories” by refusing to accept that he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, Navarro just came right out and alleged that Trump’s win in 2016 was illegitimate, but you don’t see her mounting a full-on insurrection.

Via Mediaite:

Look, I felt – I felt that Donald Trump had not been legitimately elected. I felt he’d gotten help from the Russians, but you know what? It would have never occurred to me to make up arms against Donald Trump. That’s just not what we do in America.

Our weapon of choice is voting, is democracy, it’s the ballot, and so I hope that people remember Jan. 6. You know why? You know how? By registering to vote. By making sure they know where they have to show up to vote because there are elections this year and they are so crucial.

However, despite her rant, co-host Sunny Hostin pointed out that Navarro continues to belong to the Republican Party even though 58% of its members feel that Biden didn’t win the 2020 election. To which Navarro responded that the solution to that problem is to continue electing more GOP officials like Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney.

(Via The View on Twitter)

I Don’t Live Here Anymore was one of 2021’s big musical highlights, and now The War On Drugs have brought their latest album into 2022 by performing its title track on Ellen today, alongside Lucius, who also feature on the album version.

Adam Granduciel previously told Apple Music of the song, “I’ll be the first to say it has that ‘80s thing going, but we kind of pushed it in that way. At one point [producer Shawn Everett] and I ran everything on the song — drums, the girls, bass, everything — through a JC-120 Roland amplifier, which is like the sound of the ’80s, essentially. I saw it just sitting there at Sound City [Studios in Los Angeles]. We spent like a day doing that, and it just gave it this sound that was a familiar heartbeat or something. It sounds huge but it also felt real — in my mind it was basically just a bedroom recording, because everything was done in my tiny little room, directly into my computer.”

Meanwhile, the band also unveiled a new episode of The Super High Quality Podcast today, the first one of its second season. Press materials note of the new slew of episodes, “This second season presents a four-part audio documentary that tells the story of the players, studios, engineers, songcraft, and happy accidents that define the ten songs on I Don’t Live Here Anymore. Told through casual conversations with band members and their collaborators, and featuring unreleased recordings, guitar tech Dominic East tracks the album’s progress from the earliest demo sessions in 2018, through the final full-band recording sessions in 2019, and finally inside the summer 2021 rehearsals that marked the band member’s reunion after 18 months apart.”

Watch The War On Drugs and Lucius perform “I Don’t Live Here Anymore” above and listen to the new The Super High Quality Podcast episode below.

The War On Drugs is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Thirty years later, the best Batman ever is putting the suit back on. Michael Keaton is reprising his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman in The Flash after previously playing Homer Simpson’s favorite scientist in 1989’s Batman and 1992’s Batman Returns. He was offered the chance to return for 1995’s Batman Forever, but as he explained on the In the Envelope podcast (via IndieWire), he walked away due to creative differences with director Joel Schumacher.

“It was always Bruce Wayne. It was never Batman,” Keaton explained about how he got into character. “To me, I know the name of the movie is Batman, and it’s hugely iconic and very cool and [culturally] iconic and because of Tim Burton, artistically iconic. I knew from the get-go it was Bruce Wayne. That was the secret. I never talked about it. Batman, Batman, Batman does this, and I kept thinking to myself, ‘Y’all are thinking wrong here.’ Bruce Wayne. What kind of person does that?… Who becomes that?”

Keaton and Burton shared the same creative vision for Batman, but when the Beetlejuice director was replaced by Schumacher for Batman Forever (a title that Burton amusingly hated), Keaton decided it was time for him to move on, too):

“And then when the director who directed the third one, I said, ‘I just can’t do it.’ And one of the reasons I couldn’t do it was — and you know, he’s a nice enough man, he’s passed away, so I wouldn’t speak ill of him even if he were alive — he, at one point, after more than a couple of meetings where I kept trying to rationalize doing it and hopefully talking him into saying, ‘I think we don’t want to go in this direction, I think we should go in this direction.’ And he wasn’t going to budge.”

Keaton continued, “I remember one of the things that I walked away going, ‘Oh boy, I can’t do this.’ [Schumacher] asked me, ‘I don’t understand why everything has to be so dark and everything so sad,’ and I went, ‘Wait a minute, do you know how this guy got to be Batman? Have you read… I mean, it’s pretty simple.’”

Keaton must wake up every day regretting his decision. Not because of the money or the prestige or whatever, but because he didn’t get to see Tommy Lee Jones tell Jim Carrey that he “cannot sanction your buffoonery.”

(Via IndieWire)