The Filtered Excellence: September 17, 2015

black mass

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:

 

Black Mass. As the leader of the Winter Hill Gang, James ‘Whitey’ Bulger ruled the Boston underworld for decades.  What was more surprising was that the FBI knew about it and basically gave it pass because of Bulger involvement with the Bureau as an informant.  That story and the fallout from it, is the basis of this new film by Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart).  Johnny Depp plays Bulger, a local Irish gangster who forms an alliance with childhood friend now FBI Agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) to help bring down the Italian mob.  The plan goes horribly wrong as Bulger uses this relationship to consolidate power within the underworld – through brute force – without any real repercussions.  It would become one of the biggest scandals in law enforcement history, putting Bulger on the FBI’s Most Wanted List (only Osama Bin Laden was ranked higher), and ruining the professional and personal ambitions of Connolly and Whitey’s brother, powerful State Senator Billy Bulger (Benedict Cumberbatch).  Depp is electric as Whitey, getting full absorbed into the heart and soul of a ruthless mobster, but also finding his humanity, fiercely loyal to those close to him even as the wall eventually begin to close in on him.  His performance should not be looked over at awards season.  Edgerton is just as strong as Connolly, the FBI agent who gets in way over his head in his deal with Bulger.  Cooper – working of a fantastic script by Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth – has crafted a fantastic crime drama that draws heavily other gangster epics such as Goodfellas and Casino, but also has a pace and a style of its own. This is the next great crime classic.  Black Mass opens this Friday nationwide.  You can also go towww.blackmassthemovie.com for more information.

LISTEN TO THIS:

Introducing Darlene Love by Darlene Love. Darlene Love, a long time favorite among musicians and lynch pin of Phil Spector’s Wall Of Sound hits, finally gets a long overdue chance to shine on her latest solo album.  She’s done solo work in the past, but this really feels like the first real project that was specifically designed for her and her still incredible voice.  Long time friend and fan Steven Van Zandt pulls out all of the stops, calling in some of his famous friends –  Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Jimmy Webb, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil among them – to write songs specifically for this project.  The production is big also – horns, strings, loud guitars, booming drums and not a drum machine, synth or a computer in sight – echoing the Spector sound without fully mimicking it.   This is a straight up marriage of rock and pop dealing with themes that anchor both genres:  Heartache, forbidden love, adventure, strength, family and faith.  At the center of it all is Love’s extraordinary vocals, still vibrant and robust at the age of 74, singing with a passion and vitality that today’s pop stars can only dream of having.   The spotlight belongs to Darlene Love and we are all the better for it.  Introducing Darlene Love will be available this Friday through Amazon, Itunes and all major music retailers.  You can also go to www.darleneloveworld.com for more information.

OK Lady by Roman Gianarthur. Guitarist Roman Gianarthur has been Wondaland’s secret weapon for the last couple of years, but that’s about to change with the release of this new – and free – EP.   The EP is a unique fusion of a mashup and covers project using D’Angelo via Brown Sugar era textures on Radiohead songs and OK Computer-era features on D’Angelo songs.  ‘Paranoid Android’ becomes a Sly-style funk jam while ‘High & Dry’ is transformed into an aching soul ballad.  ‘All I Need’ and ‘Send It On’ becomes tripped out, spacey R&B with ‘No Surprises (featuring Wondaland boss Janelle Monae) morphs into a breezy after hours slow jam.  Gianarthur is an outstanding vocalist and his guitar work recalls both Prince and David Gilmour at their finest.  A great introduction to an artist with a bright future ahead of him.  OK Lady is available now as a free download by following this link: https://soundcloud.com/roman-gianarthur/all-need-1?in=roman-gianarthur/sets/ok-lady

The Story of Sonny Boy Slim by Gary Clark Jr. After the global success of his major label debut Blak & Blu, singer-guitarist Gary Clark, Jr decided to make his next album a homegrown project.  Recorded in his hometown of Austin, Clark – outside of a few tracks using with his touring band, horn parts and backup vocals, pulls a Prince and plays all of the instruments.  Like Blak & Blu, the album is another mini history of Black music:  Gospel, blues, funk, and of course rock n roll are all present with Clark’s soulful vocals and stinging guitar work up front and center.  Clark the producer strips away the pop sheen over his last album, trading it in for a warm, more organic feel.  It’s one of those albums that takes time to get under your skin, but when it does, it’s the prelude to some ending grooving.  A solid, exceptional follow up.  The Story Of Sonny Boy Slim is available now through Amazon, Itunes and all major music retailers.  You can also go to www.garyclarkjr.com for more info.

DO THIS:

New York City: BRC Plays Band of Gypsys. 2015 marks the 45th Anniversary of Jimi Hendrix’s sudden and still shocking passing.  It’s also the 45th anniversary of his legendary shows at The Fillmore East featuring his new group, Band Of Gypsys.  This group, which also featured Billy Cox on bass and drummer Buddy Miles, was together for less than a year, but the recordings taken from these shows inspired an entire generation of musicians ranging from The Isley Brothers to Digital Underground.  The Black Rock Coalition Orchestra will look back at this brief, but fertile period of Hendrix’s life with two shows at BAM Cafe.  Some of the special guests scheduled to appear include Vernon Reid and Corey Glover of Living Colour, singer-songrwriter Stew (co-creator of the Tony Award winning musical Passing Strange), New York blues legend Michael Hill and percussionist Juma Sultan, a frequent collaborator who performed with Hendrix at Woodstock.  Both shows are free and is a great way to honor the most celebrated and revered guitarists of all time.  You can go to www.bam.org for more information.

Los Angeles: L.A. Podcast Festival.  Unfiltered, direct and accessible to just about anyone, podcasts have become the fastest growing format in the broadcast medium.  The 4th Annual “L.A. Podcast Festival Presented by Audible” brings together some of the best and brightest and will feature live broadcasts, meet and greets, forums and stand up comedy.  Among some of the podcasts scheduled to appear include Marc Maron’s WTF and Paul F. Tompkins’ Sponteaneanation.  A great chance to hear some of the top podcasters as well as gain valuable insight on how to launch and maintain your own podcast.  The L.A. Podcast Festival will be at the Sofitel Hotel in Beverly Hills September 18th through the 20th.  You can also go to www.lapodfest.com for tickets and more information.

Chicago: The Reeling Film Festival. 33 years strong, The Reeling Film Festival will showcase over 40 features and over 60 short films documenting that examine the LGBT experience.  Highlights include Freeheld, Julianne Moore’s follow-up to her Oscar winning performance for Still Alice; the documentary Tchindas, which looks as a transgender woman preparing for Carnival in a small island off the western coast in Africa; and Stonewall, Roman Emmerich’s (Independence Day, White House Down) much discussed new dramatization of the events that led up to the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York.  The Reading Film Festival will run from September 17th through the 24th.  You can go to www.reelingfilmfestival.org for tickets and a full rundown of events.

 

 


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.