The Filtered Excellence: May 9, 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
Jerry Seinfeld – 23 Hours To Kill. For his latest special, Seinfeld look at how being in his 60s is the best time of his life, the differences between married and single life, the pointlessness of a postal service, bad restaurants, annoying conversations with friends and why he will always love Pop Tarts. Recorded live in his hometown of New York City, having Seinfeld back on stage brings a sense of normalcy and comfortability In a time where it’s badly needed. It’s Seinfeld at his most cranky, pointed and insightful best, and we should all be glad for it. Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours To Kill is available now on Netflix.
Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind. In a career that spanned over four decades, Natalie Wood shared the screen with some of the best actors in history and received Academy Awards nominations before she turned 25. But that was all eclipsed by her 1982 death under mysterious circumstances. Now Wood’s daughter Natasha Gregson Wagner has produced this new HBO documentary that emphasizes on the life she lived rather than how it ended. Directed by Laurent Bouzereau, Gregson speaks Wood contemporaries and friends (Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Elliot Gould, Dyan Cannon, Richard Benjamin, George Hamilton, Mort Crowley) about how Natalia Zakharenko transformed herself into one of Hollywood’s most beloved and endearing stars. It also shows how Wood broke new ground for women in Hollywood, being able to choose her own projects and receiving a larger percentages of a film’s profits. But at its heart, the doc is a family affair, loaded with home movies and loving remembrances from her daughters and stepchildren. Robert Wagner, whom Wood married twice, also appears to talk about their marriage, the fateful night in Catalina, and to address the re-opening of the case, of which Wagner was named a person of interest. Told with warmth, candor and love, this is a three-dimensional look back at one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors. Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind is available now on HBO.
The Midnight Gospel. Comedian Duncan Tressell and animator Pendleton Ward (Adventure Time) created this wildly imaginative Netflix adult animated series. Each episode is set in a dimension known as ‘The Chromatic Ribbon’, where a spacecaster named Clancy (voiced by Tressel) uses a forbidden multiverse simulator tor travel through worlds about to have their own apocalypses. Before it happens, Clayton interviews some of their residents for his space cast. If it sounds trippy, it is – especially when the images are running alongside dialogues that come directly from Tressell’s podcast. Tressel is joined by Phil Hendrix, Stephen Root, Drew Pinsky, Trudy Goodman, Jason Lov, Caitlin Doughty, Michael Marcanio, Maria Bamford, Joey Diaz, David Nichetern and Deneen Fendig and their conversations range from psychedelic drug use, meditation, spirituality, and death. It’s a wild mind ride of a show that has to be seen to be believed. The Midnight Gospel is available now on Netflix.
LISTEN TO THIS
Summerland by X. The new X album was schedule to be released this summer, but the tour that was scrapped because of the pandemic. With the 40th Anniversary of their debut album, Los Angeles – the group decided to do a unannounced, surprise digital release. For the first album to feature the original lineup in 35 years, X sticks with the formula that has made them so great: short songs that touches upon everything from punk to country, surf-rock to cinematic, with lyrics that echo Dylan, pulp writers and beat poets. It’s a solid, no frills, no filler album capturing a band that’s embark on yet another creative rebirth. Summerland by X is available now through Bandcamp, Amazon, Apple Music and all major streaming outlets.
Ache Of Victory by Zsela. After opening for such acts as Angel Olsen and Cat Power, and making guests spots at runaway after-party shows, singer-songwriter Zsela has released her first EP. Produced by Daniel Aged (Frank Ocean, Moses Sumney), it’s low key, minimalist approach gives room for. The first thing that grabs you is how Zsela’s vocals and lyrics to come off more as meditations as they are songs, thanks in large part to low key, minimalist production from Daniel Aged (Frank Ocean, Moses Sumney). Each song seamlessly flows into the other, addressing everything from the many facets of addiction to the emotional wreckage of love. With the rawness of Joan Armatrading and the lyrical directness of her father Marc Anthony Thompson (aka Chocolate Genius), this is a striking and powerful debut. Ache Of Victory by Zsela is available now through Amazon, Apple Music and all major streaming services.
Read more Filtered Excellence
Latest posts by Earl Douglas (see all)
- Earl’s World: The Filtered Excellence: September 7, 2021 - September 7, 2021
- Remembering Fez Whatley - August 15, 2021
- Earl’s World: The Filtered Excellence: July 23, 2021 - July 25, 2021
