The Filtered Excellence: October 9, 2020
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Bob Geldof once asked “Where is the filtered excellence!?” It’s right here. Once a week we take a break from comedy to bring you this week’s 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 40 Year Old Version. Radha Blank wrote and directed this autobiographical looks at re-claiming one’s personal and professional voice. Radha plays a fictional version of herself, who’s life in stuck in neutral: Once a promising playwright, she’s ten years removed from getting her last play produced and now teaching a rowdy group of high schools to pay rent on her small Harlem apartment. She’s also still mourning the death of her mother, dodging calls from her brother, who needs help sorting through items that were left behind. After a pitch meeting with an affluent producer ends badly, Radha decides to make the leap into hip hop and become a rapper. Working under the handle RadhamMUS Prime, she reaches out to D, a Brooklyn-based beat maker (Oswin Benjamin), to help her make a mixed tape. But when the chance arises to have one of her plays produced (albeit in a highly compromised form), she must choose whether to take one last shot at theater or chase her newfound passion. Doing double duty as writer/director, Blank touches upon a lot of topics: being a single, middle-aged Black woman in 21st Century America; the obstacles minority creatives have to overcome working in a predominantly white arts community and reinvention at the cusp of middle age. While the movie is about a woman looking to rediscover her artistic voice, it’s also an effective classroom drama, romantic comedy, buddy film (Blank and Peter Kim as her long time friend and agent Archie are fantastic together), a meditation on grief and love letter to New York City. Gloriously shot in black and white by cinematographer Eric Branco, Radha Blank has crafted a multi-dimensional look at the pursue of artistry in an ever shifting New York. The Forty Year Old Version is available now on Netflix.
The 40th Annual John Lennon Tribute: 80th Birthday Celebration. Theatre Within teams up with Glida’s Club NYC and Westchester to present their annual salute to the former Beatle on what would have been his 80th birthday. It will feature previously unseen and newly recorded performances by Jackson Browne, Patti Smith, Rosanne Cash, Bettye LaVette, Taj Mahal, Natalie Merchant, Marc Cohn and more. Proceeds will go to The Theatre Within’s Real Love Fund, which helps children, teens and adults impacted by cancer. It’s always a great time while honoring one of our most beloved musicians. The 40th Annual John Lennon Tribute will stream free exclusively at LennonTribute40.org through October 12th.
LISTEN TO THIS
More Elevator Music by Leron Thomas. Since his arrival in New York in the early 2000s, trumpeter/keyboardist Leron Thomas’ brand of genre-bending ‘other music’ has led to a series of critically acclaimed albums under his name and under his alt-hip hop alter ego, Pan Amsterdam. Thomas’ profile rose significantly when he collaborated with Iggy Pop on the punk icon’s 2019 album Free. Now with his latest release, Thomas continues to defy musically categorizations with songs that effortlessly shift from that moody, jazz influenced R&B, 80s synth pop, quirky No Wave, and 21st Century Prog. It’s an album that challenges, stimulates and is a refreshing change of pace from what‘s currently happening in the current pop and R&B landscape. More Elevator Music by Leron Thomas is available now through all major streaming services.
Herb Alpert Is…by Herb Alpert. Musician, record company owner and philanthropist, Herb Alpert has been part of the pop culture landscape for nearly 60 years. His extraordinary musical run is the basis of this new box set. It includes all of his hits with The Tijuana Brass; the #1 solo smashes, ‘This Guy’s In Love With You’ and ‘Rise’ (making him only artist to have a #1 hit as a vocalist and an instrumentalist); late career hits with Janet Jackson and Lisa Keith, along with tracks from the Grammy Award winning album, Steppin’ Out. With 63 classic songs covering the entire canon of American popular music, it’s a well deserved victory lap for a one of a kind musician. Herb Alpert Is…by Herb Alpert is available now on Amazon and through all major streaming services.
DO THIS
New York City: Studio 54: Night Magic. When Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager opened Studio 54 in 1977, its celebrity clientele, highly subjective door policy, and its anything goes approach (set to a disco beat) made the club the epicenter of New York City nightlife. Studio 54 gave the world a glimpse of the social, political and cultural changes happening in the city and around the country. This new Brooklyn Museum exhibit puts you behind the velvet rope, using photos, film, fashion, never before seen costume illustrations, set proposals and designs to show how Studio 54 set new standards on club going and how its impact carried on long after it closed. It’s the ultimate look back at a club and a scene that has withstood the test of time. Studio 54: Night Music will be at the Brooklyn Museum through November 8th. You can also go to www.brooklynmuseum.org for tickets and more information.
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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.
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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.