The Filtered Excellence: December 10, 2015

very semi serious

Bob Geldof once asked us, “Where is the filtered excellence!?” It’s right here. Once a week we take a break from comedy to bring you this weeks picks of the best things to watch, the most interesting things to do, great things to try, the best picks to read, our favorite things to listen to and more:


WATCH THIS:

The Big Short. In 2008, four Wall Street outsiders did the unthinkable: they bit the hand that fed them and put their money on the global financial market collapsing.  What was even more crazier was that they were right.  Now Adam McKay has teamed up with writer Michael Lewis (who also wrote the 2010 best seller of the same name) to tell how these guys managed to pull it off.  Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, and Brad Pitt star as these odd collection of eccentrics and well dressed hustlers managed to see what Warren Buffett, big banks, mainstream media and even the government failed to see coming – and walk away from it unscathed and well paid.  Uncompromising, unapologetic, and loaded with dark humor, McKay pulls off a minor miracle: He simplifies the world of high finance just enough for the average person to understand it, while showing how rampant greed and deregulation almost killed the global economy.  The cast is in fine form – especially Carell as Mark Baum, a self hating outspoken Wall St executive and Ryan Gosling as the oily executive who puts the game in play.  With echoes of The Sting, The Wolf Of Wall Street and Ocean’s Eleven, this film excels as both satire and as a warning.  The Big Short opens nationwide this Friday.  You can also go to www.thebigshortmovie.com

Very Semi-Serious: A Partially Thorough Portrait Of New Yorker Cartoons. For cartoonists, to be featured in The New Yorker can be a life changing event. For 90 years, their single panel cartoon has made the careers of such legendary scribes such as William Steig, Charles Addams, Peter Arno, James Thurber, Mort Gerberg, Sam Gross and Lee Lorenz, among others. What’s more amazing is that the submission process is weekly open call that takes place each Tuesday at The New Yorker offices. In this new HBO doc, director Leah Wolchok looks back at the history of The New York cartoons and follows editor Bob Mankoff as he looks through the thousands of submissions that come in each week. It also charts the struggle that Mankoff confronts each week as he tries to represent the magazine’s lauded history while trying to keep it relevant as the industry evolves. Its a fascinating look at the inner workings of a news weekly as it moves into new, sometimes uncharted territory. Very Semi Serious: A Partially Thorough Portrait Of New Yorker Cartoons premieres December 14th at 9pm Eastern on HBO. You can go to www.hbo.com for more information.

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. First broadcast in 1964, this holiday tale of how a reindeer’s unique physical feature turns him from outcast to hero is now a seasonal staple. Burt Ives narrates and it features the iconic title track, ‘Have A Holly Jolly Christmas’ and ‘We’re A Couple Of Misfits’. Guaranteed to bring out the kid in all of us. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer airs Saturday night at 8pm Eastern on CBS.

The Beatles 1+. In addition to changing the face of pop music, The Beatles were also forerunners to what would eventually become music videos. As a companion piece to their best selling compilation ‘1’, this DVD/BluRay culls together all of their videos, short films and rare clips together in package. Wonderfully restored and glistening in 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS HD surround sound, The Fab Four have never looked and sounded better. There’s also new audio commentary by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr on the clips and songs that made them legends. It’s an essential piece to any Beatle collection that will also make a great holiday gift. The Beatles 1+ is available now through Amazon, iTunes and all major music retailers. You can also go to www.thebeatles.com for more information.

LISTEN TO THIS:

The Ties That Bind: The River Collection by Bruce Springsteen. As the 70s came to a close, Bruce Springsteen was at an artistic and commercial peak. Writing and recording at a breakneck pace, Springsteen and the E Street Band reached its zenith with the release of The River, a sprawling two-record set that captured the energy of his live shows, new emotional and lyrical depth and looked at a nation in the midst of a malaise. This new box set to celebrate its 35th Anniversary is, in a word, loaded: 4 CDs of music (which includes the original double album, a single album originally titled The Ties That Bind that was submitted, then pulled in 1979); two CDs of outtakes and 3 DVDs featuring a legendary 1980 Tempe, Arizona concert, rare tour rehearsal footage and a new one hour documentary on the making of the album. There’s also a 200 page coffee table book featuring never before seen photos and a new essay by long time Rolling Stone contributor Mikal Gilmore. The River itself is a master work, but the real revelations are the outtakes, several of which (‘Be True’, ‘Roulette’, ‘From Small Things’) could’ve have easily made the final cut. The live DVD – which was professionally shot using multiple camera and audio setups – is everything you would want from a rock n roll show. Springsteen and the E Street Band are absolutely on fire during that night. This set is essential for any fan of Springsteen and it’s far and away the best of the archival reissues he has released over the last several years. A must have. The Ties That Bind: The River Collection is available now through Amazon, Itunes and all major music retailers. You can also go to www.brucespringsteen.net for more information.

29 by Marcus Machado. After honing his chops working with artists such as The Family Stand and Victor Bailey (Weather Report), guitarist Marcus Machado graduates to bandleader status with the release of his dynamic new EP. The centerpiece of the EP are two blistering pieces of social commentary: ‘Code Black’ – featuring the always powerful Sandra St. Victor on lead vocals – addresses the recent rash of shootings of unarmed Black men by police; and the dreamy, introspective ‘Reverse The Time’ looks at trying to stay positive in a world wrecked with turmoil. The closing track, ‘The Fifth Sun’, picks up where Hendrix left off during his Electric Ladyland phase. With tracks ranging from funk, R&B, psychedelia, hip hop and rock, Machado bringing the guitar back to where it belongs: up front and center. Get ready for rock’s next great guitar hero. 29 is available now through Itunes, Amazon and all major music retailers.

DO THIS:

New York City: Lynch/Rivette. The Film Society Of Lincoln Center. What does the films of one of the most innovative, daring and original American filmmakers have in common with one of chief proponents of the French New Wave? In this new twin retrospective happening at The Film Society Of Lincoln Center, it turns out that they have a lot in common. David Lynch and Jacques Rivette have charted new waters in cinema challenging the norms about sexuality, suburbia, the inner workings of relationships and transforming how these stories are translated to the screen. Among the films that will be screened during this 11 day run: Lynch’s Blue Velvet, Eraserhead, Fire Walk With Me, Inland Empire, Wild At Heart, Lost Highway along with Rivette’s Celine And Julie Go Boating, Joan The Maid: The Battles, Joan The Maid: The Prisons, Paris Belongs To Us, Duelle and much more. Whether you are long time fans or new to their respective works, this is an excellent opportunity to see two of the most dynamic filmmakers at their best. Lynch/Rivette will be at The Film Society Of Lincoln Center December 11th through the 22nd. You can also go to www.filmlinc.org for a tickets and a full rundown of screenings.

 

 


Want more excellence? Read last week’s The Filtered Excellence and visit The Interrobang Recommmends

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Earl Douglas is a writer/photographer based in New York City. A frequent contributor to The Interrobang, Earl is also Executive Director for the New York chapter of The Black Rock Coalition. Earl worked in radio for nearly two decades at WNEW-FM and XM Satellite Radio, which included being the on-air producer for Carol Miller, Scott Muni and Ron & Fez, and a contributor to Opie & Anthony. Earl has also independently published a number of books including Black Rock Volume 1, Urban Abyss, Mobile Uploads, and For Shimmy. His latest project is the photojournalism magazine PRAXIS, which is available exclusively through Blurb.com.
Earl Douglas
Earl Douglas
Earl Douglas is a writer/photographer based in New York City. A frequent contributor to The Interrobang, Earl is also Executive Director for the New York chapter of The Black Rock Coalition. Earl worked in radio for nearly two decades at WNEW-FM and XM Satellite Radio, which included being the on-air producer for Carol Miller, Scott Muni and Ron & Fez, and a contributor to Opie & Anthony. Earl has also independently published a number of books including Black Rock Volume 1, Urban Abyss, Mobile Uploads, and For Shimmy. His latest project is the photojournalism magazine PRAXIS, which is available exclusively through Blurb.com.