The Filtered Excellence: May 17, 2021

at
Share This Post

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

That Damn Michael Che.  Michael Che gets a chance to flex more of his comedic muscles with this new HBO Max sketch comedy series.  Each episode has Che starring and commenting on interweaving sketches that address racial profiling, unemployment, relationships, the perks and pitfalls of fame and much more.  The spirit of SNL is strong thoughout with past and present SNL cast members Colin Quinn, Cecily Strong, Colin Jost, Heidi Gardner, Kenan Thompson, and Ellen Cleghorne on board, along with special guest appearances by Billy Porter and Method Man.  You’ll also get to see New York’s best comics such as Sam Jay, Yamaneika Saunders, Chris Distefano, and Will Sylvince in extended featured roles.  It’ll pushes boundaries, buttons, but most importantly, deliver a lot of laughs.  That Damn Michael Che is available now on HBO Max.

Hacks.  Reinvention and relationship dynamics, set in the unforgiving world of show business is at the core of this new HBO Max series.  Jean Smart stars as Deborah Vance, a legendary Vegas comic whose staring down the prospect of losing nights to younger acts.  Their agent Jimmy (Paul W. Downs) pairs her with Ava (Hannah Einbinder), a recently fired 25 year old TV show writer, to help spice up her stage show.  They barely hide their contempt for one another, but with their careers on the line, these frenemies are forced to overcome their personal and professional hang ups in order to make it work.  Smart, whose put in scene stealing performances in Fargo and Watchmen, is spot on as salty comic, using her wit, and hard-earned show biz cred to run her new employee through the entertainment minefield.  Einbinder is also great as the self-entitled Ava, who gets a crash course in Vegas culture while trying to get write material that meets Deborah’s standards – and her own.  Christopher McDonald oozes swarm and charm as the casino owner Marty and Downs (who’s also on hand as a co-writer) is a full damage control mode as Jimmy.  It’s another stellar added to the HBO canon.  Hacks is available now on HBO Max.

LISTEN TO THIS

Here Be Dragons by Janita.  After releasing a series of singles and an EP, the latest album from singer-songwriter Janita is here and it’s  magnificent.  Songs such as ‘Our Love Is All We Have’, ‘I Do’, ‘Bliss I Once Had This’ and ‘When It’s All Up To You’ are soaring soundscapes that take the craft of songwriting and arranging to the next level, and she turns Peter Gabriel’s ‘Digging In The Dirt’ into post-pandemic catharsis. The ballads ‘I Forgive You’ and ‘Next To You’, ‘Start From Scratch’ are perfect showcases for her incredible vocals.  The musical transformation that began with the albums Haunted and Didn’t You, My Dear are full bloom and the results are terrific.  With rich production by Blake Morgan, this is the portrait of an artist  in full creative flight.  One of the year’s best.  Here Be Dragons by Janita is available now though all major streaming services.

STREAM THIS

The Last Poets.  Since their formation in 1968, The Last Poets have been performing powerful spoken word pieces documenting the joys and pains of life as a Black person in America.  Their use of flow, cadence and the incorporation of various African-American based rhythms laid the groundwork to what is now known as hip hop, with several of the genre’s biggest names citing them as a primary influence.  To coincide with the 50th Anniversary of their seminal debut album, The Last Poets will be live streaming a performance from the future home of The Universal Hip Hop Museum in The Bronx.  It will be a night that will enlighten as it will entertain. The livestream of The Last Poets will take place on May 19th.  You can go to www.launch global.tv for more information.

DO THIS

New York City: Dawoud Bey: An American Project.  Since 1975, photograph Dawoud Bey has been documenting the lives of Black people that have been largely underrepresented and unseen in the contemporary art world.  His latest exhibit, An American Project, showcases his portraits of Harlemites from the mid to late 70s to his most recent series that re-imagines escaping slavery through the Underground Railroad.  Whether its Polaroids or digital, color or B&W, Bey’s images wonderfully captures the essence of both subject and situation.  It’s an exceptional work by one of the best to ever pick up the camera.  Dawoud Bey: An American Project will be at The Whitney Museum through October 3rd.  You can go to www.whitney.org for tickets and more info.

Read more comedy news.

The following two tabs change content below.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Instagram profileMy Tumblr blog

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.
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.