The Filtered Excellence: March 26, 2020

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 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

Ball Hog by Tom Segura. Recorded in Austin, Tom Segura’s latest stand up special delivers making biting, pointed comments about family life, getting roped into boring conversations, uncomfortable truths about your parents, and much more. He also goes all in on the fallout from his last comedy special, in which he pissed off the entire state of Louisiana, people with Down’s Syndrome, how he dealt with it, and how he views cancel culture in general. Unapologetic, straight forward and very funny, this special will only add to what has been a incredible comedic legacy. Ball Hog by Tom Segura is available now on Netflix.

LISTEN TO THIS

Ghosts V: Together & Ghosts VI: Locusts by Nine Inch Nails. Nine Inch Nails surprised fans with the release of the sequels to the group’s 2008 all-instrumental album Ghosts I-IV. Working again with long time collaborator Atticus Ross, Trent Reznor decided to give the albums away as a free download on the band’s website as a sign of solidarity to all affected by the Corona Virus pandemic. He describes the music as ‘some of it kind of happy, some not so much’ and it’s pretty accurate statement. With titles such as ‘Letting Go While Holding On’, ‘Apart’ and ‘Hope We Can Again’, Ghosts V: Together comes across a healing balm to a fractured populace. Ghosts VI: Locusts is much more urgent, channeling the anxiety and uncertainty that awaits a post-COVID world. Owning a large debt to Brian Eno and David Bowie, Reznor and Ross have put together a soundtrack that ties in perfectly with what’s happening at the moment. Ghosts V: Together and Ghosts VI: Locusts by Nine Inch Nails is available through www.nin.com, Apple Music and all major streaming outlets.

Murder Most Foul by Bob Dylan. In 1965, Bob Dylan released ‘Like A Rolling Stone’, a song that broke new ground on how long a single could be (it was twice the length of the standard single), and completed his transition from folk hero to full on electric rocker. Nearly 55 years later, Dylan has released his first self-penned song in 8 years that has flipped everyone on their heads. Clocking in at over 17 minutes, Dylan meditates on how the assassination of President Kennedy pushed the nation ‘into a slow decay’ – all while dropping in key cultural moments, artists and songs that came in its aftermath. Though it appears the song was cut around the time he recorded his 2012 album Tempest, it’s imagery and insight sound perfectly in tune to what is happening today. While there’s no word on whether or not, this will signal an album of all new material, Dylan proves yet again that he’s just on an entirely different musical plain. Murder Most Foul by Bob Dylan is available now through Amazon, Apple Music and all available streaming outlets.

High Risk Behaviour by The Chats. Once upon a not so long ago, rock n roll was edgy, dirty, a bit silly and, well, fun. With bad mullets, dirtbag clothes and heavy Aussie accents, the punk rock trio The Chats, easily fall into all of those categories. So much so that they were able to open for fans Queens Of The Stone Age and Iggy Pop and secure a major label deal along the way. With 14 songs clocking in at 28 minutes, The Chats steamroll through songs about contracting STDs, dining and dashing, pub food, and other tales commonly associated with your friendly neighborhood dirtbags. It’s loose, high octane fun that will snap your out of COVID doldrums. High Risk Behavior by The Chats is available now through all major streaming outlets.

BUY THIS

Bamboozled: The Criterion Collection . Released in the fall of 2000, Spike Lee’s biting satire about how racially insensitive portrayals of Blacks on TV, (and to an extension film and advertising), have been gone unchecked for decades, bombed upon its initial release. But in the wake of the #OscarsSoWhite campaign and a renewed call to have better Black & Latino representation on screens and behind the scenes, the themes presented in the film have given it a second life. Now Bamboozled has been given The Criterion Collection treatment, featuring a new 2K restoration, a 2001 audio commentary by Lee; new interviews with cast members Savion Glover and Tommy Davidson, a making of documentary, deleted scenes and much more. It’s Spike Lee at his most satirical, blunt and all in on those who needed to be called out. The Criterion Collection version of Bamboozled is available now through www.criterion.com.

 

Want more excellence? Read last week’s the filtered excellence.

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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.