| Welcome! It was the week when we learned that the next hyperextension of the Law & Order universe will, for the first time, not be from the police/prosecutor side. It was the week when we were reminded that there's still Stranger Things. And it was the week when Broadway began to plan for its return. |
Opening Argument: Five Key Summer Entertainments |
It's getting to be summer, even though it seemed like maybe it would never come. And for those of us who are especially fortunate, it's a time when we're more able to go out, more able to see friends, more able to enjoy our favorite things. So what better time to remember that summer is a season with its own joys? I thought I'd run down a few things -- not necessarily just the thing I'm talking about, but the kind of thing -- that will carry you through the season. - Your windows-down music. If you drive, you can take this literally: This is the music you listen to on a beautiful day when the weather is warm and you can roll down the windows. I often find a band like The New Pornographers great for this kind of thing; their 2002 album Mass Romantic feels more like summer to me than almost anything else. But this is a hugely personal thing -- you just need something that makes you want to lean back when you're stopped at a red light and grab a little sun on your face.
- Your chill backyard hang music. Again, this can be literal or figurative, depending on whether you or those you love have a backyard. Picture yourself in a comfortable lawn chair with a glass of lemonade and maybe a big sun hat. (If you're a sun hat kind of person, that is.) What are you listening to? For me, it might be lady crooners, like Rosemary Clooney or Julie London. This isn't wild-party music, because you need that all the time. This is specifically warm-evening-on-the-patio stuff.
- Your popcorn movie. Whether or not you're actually going to a theater or literally eating popcorn, there's something about summer that calls out for something big and explode-y, or something very family-friendly, or something full of big musical numbers. Something splashy, colorful, maybe a little noisy. Enjoy it in your living room, find somebody lucky enough to have a rooftop you can project it on ... a popcorn movie has a lot to offer.
- Your summer read. Now it can be very controversial to talk about what constitutes a summer read or a "beach read." Some people consider this a negative, but I prefer to think of it as something closer to what I think its origins suggest. A summer read, or a beach read, is a book to read when you finally get some down time -- honestly, whenever and wherever that may be. But a good summer read should be suited to you specifically. If you can't wait for a break so you can read something light and wonderfully comedic, that's great. If you can't wait for a break so you can read a big and meaty biography you've been dying to get your hands on, that's also great. (Years ago, I read Nixonland on a cruise ship.) One good one this summer that I can recommend that's not out yet is Laura Lippman's Dream Girl. It's sort of funny and sort of thriller and sort of mystery, and I just loved it. Look for it on June 22.
- Your sunny-walk podcast. A late-breaking entry not always considered a core element of summer content, but hear me out: Especially with some of us emerging from long periods of indoor stagnation, there's never been a better time to get outside just to get outside. And while you need your music, to be sure, maybe a podcast in your ears is just the right thing to get your sunscreen-wearing self (please be careful!) strolling or hanging out in the park. Perhaps a mystery like Chameleon. Perhaps riveting crime stories like Criminal. Perhaps lively conversation like Fanti. (Yes, I am just naming favorite podcasts -- what's it to you?)
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| Whatever this summer brings you, I hope it's peaceful and that you take care of yourself. And play some music; it helps with almost everything. |
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| I was really happy to see that Alex Honnold (the central figure in the documentary Free Solo) made another video for GQ in which he discusses rock-climbing scenes from TV and film. Among other things, it's cool to see how he's seemingly gotten more relaxed and comfortable since he made the first one in 2019.
Those of you who love Pose: There's an episode of our friend Sam Sanders' show It's Been A Minute featuring an interview with Mj Rodriguez about her role on the show, and I know you'll want to hear the two of them chat.
There's a podcast called Stay F. Homekins, starring podcast supersuperstar Paul F. Tompkins and his wife Janie Haddad Tompkins, and this week, it featured a watch-along of the film Malice, starring Nicole Kidman, Alec Baldwin and Bill Pullman. Basically, this means you watch the movie (it's available on HBO/HBO MAX) and just play the podcast, and you hear their commentary. I enjoyed it a great, great deal. There are lots of ways to listen to watch-along/riff tracks (including at, you know, Rifftrax), but this was one that I didn't expect and very much appreciated this particular week.
My buddy Alan Sepinwall put a lot of work into a list of 100 Best Sitcoms that ran at Rolling Stone this week. Maybe you'll agree and maybe not, but it's ripe for discovery and debate. |
On Monday's show, Glen talked to Petra Mayer and our producer, Mallory Yu, about Shadow and Bone.
Tuesday (May The Fourth), we ran an encore of an episode from several years back in which Stephen and I talked to our pals Gene Demby and Chris Klimek about tie-in merchandise: Master P dolls, Jar Jar Binks popsicles, various cartoon-inspired cereals ... it was a whole thing.
Wednesday, Aisha and Monica Castillo talked about the TCM On HBO MAX classic film festival that's airing through this weekend -- check out their conversation, and you might find something you really want to see.
For Thursday's show, we were delighted to have Glen talk to Shea Vassar and Vincent Schilling about Rutherford Falls. They went deep on the importance and emotional significance of representation, and specifically Native representation.
And Friday, we wrapped things up with a discussion of The Mitchells Versus The Machines, where Monica and Mallory were both back to talk to me and Glen about this movie that all of us enjoyed very much.
Aisha wrote about the Peacock series Girls 5eva, which she talks about in the context of -- critically -- 2gether.
Glen reviewed the Netflix series Jupiter's Legacy, which he says is a pretty good addition to the long history of "superheroes, but like they're real people" projects. |
| Every week on the show, we talk about some other things out in the world that have been giving us joy lately. Here they are: |
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