The Filtered Excellence: November 27, 2020
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
Belushi. 28 years after his death, an authorized documentary on the life and career of John Belushi is now available on Showtime. Using the audio tapes, archival footage, home movies and animation, director R.J Cutler shows how Belushi rose to the top of the entertainment food chain, culminating with being on the #1 TV show (Saturday Night Live), film (Animal House) and album (The Blues Brothers) all in the same year. It uncovers his early days in Chicago as the son of Albanian immigrants, and how he quickly discovered his ability to entertain, and more importantly, how to make them laugh. The doc also reveals how Belushi’s relentless drive made him a hit at Chicago’s Second City, The National Lampoon Radio Hour, and ultimately as a charter member of Saturday Night Live. At the heart of the documentary is the letters that Belushi wrote to his wife Judy, which reveals a vulnerability that has rarely been seen – particularly as he discusses his ambitions, the price of fame, and his battles with addiction. The audio remembrances by key collaborators and friends such as Dan Aykroyd, John Landis, Harold Ramis, Lorne Michaels, and Carrie Fisher (among many others) plays a crucial part in making this doc the most comprehensive look at Belushi to date. Cutler also manages to provide new insights into the final year of his life, without falling into the same sensationalistic aspects that have become attached to the Belushi story. Told with warmth and candor, it’s a multi-faceted, emotional look back at a comedic giant. Belushi is available now on Showtime.
Between The World And Me. Published in the summer of 2015, Ta-Neishi Coates’ devastating open letter to his son about his experiences growing up in Baltimore and how to navigate being Black in America topped the New York Times best-sellers list for three weeks and won The Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction. Now, director Kamilah Forbes develops brings her state show adaptation of the book to HBO Max. It incorporates many elements of the play into the special, along with a number of guest stars including Oprah Winfrey, Marshaela Ali, Angela Davis, Angela Bassett, Joe Morton, Wendell Pierce, Phylicia Rashad, and Courtney B. Vance, reading some of the book’s key passages. There’s also archival footage, animation and documentary footage from Coates’ home life to help support the narrative. With words that sting as much as they inform, it serves a searing wake up to a nation that is still wrestling with racial divide. Between The World And Me is available now on HBO Max.
Lovers Rock. The second installment of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe film anthology takes us to 1980, with Martha (Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn), a young Jamaican-British woman, goes with her friend Patty (Shaniqua Okwok) to a West London ‘blues party’ for a night of fun free of being harassed by white nationalists. As the night progress, Martha slowly hits it off with Franklyn (Micheal Ward), and as the night progress, their relationship goes from cautious introductions to a blossoming love. McQueen is the height of his powers, acutely capturing every aspect of how these parties came together: The unconscious flow and rhythm of the ladies preparing food; the moment of joy when the DJ and his crew have the sound system up and running; the way the ladies use to get their hair right for the night. It’s more fly on the wall than feature film. McQueen also adds not so subtle hints of tension that reminds them (and us) about what they are trying to escape that night: the group of white men ready to harass Martha as she goes out to look for Patty; the bouncer quickly closing the doors as a police car drives by; Martha preventing birthday girl Cynthia from being sexually assaulted by an overly aggressive attendee. McQueen’s use of classic reggae and disco – particularly Janet Kay’s ‘Silly Games’ and The Revolutionaries ‘Kunta Kinte Dub’ that elevates the party (and the film) into a near religious experience. But its love that fuels this story: The love of culture, the love for being in the moment and the new love between two people. It consumes the attendees and the viewer, reminding us of the power and joy of the communal experience. It was hard to think that anything would top Mangrove, but this entry in the series has pulled it off effortelssly. Lovers Rock is available now on Amazon Prime.
LISTEN TO THIS
No Fun Mondays by Billie Joe Armstrong. The Green Day frontman launched No Fun Mondays online as a way to honor some of his musical heroes and use their material to comment on a world in the age of COVID. Now those songs – 14 in all – are available now digitally. It includes covers of Tommy James & The Shondells (I Think We’re Alone Now’), The Bangels (‘Manic Monday’), Kim Wilde (‘Kids In America’), and John Lennon (‘Gimme Some Truth’). Punk is also well represented with versions of Johnny Thunders’ ‘You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory’, California rockers The Avengers (‘Corpus Christi’), and a version of ‘Police On My Back’ that honors both The Clash and The Equals. The most surprising cut is Don Backy’s ‘Amico’, in which Armstrong sings in Italian. Armstrong also honors the late Fountains Of Wayne frontman (and early COVID causality) Adam Scheslinger with a spirited version of ‘That Thing You Do’. It’s an album that packs in punk, power pop and political commentary from an artist who has excelled in each of these mediums. No Fun Mondays by Billie Joe Armstrong is available now through Amazon, Apple Music and all major digital streaming outlets.
READ THIS
I’ll Be Your Mirror: The Collected Lyrics by Lou Reed. The consummate street poet, Lou Reed offered blistering, unfiltered looks at a side of urban life that was rarely matched. The new book updates his lyrical output from his days in The Velvet Underground to his final album with Metallica, Lulu. Also included are introductions by Reed’s widow, Laurie Anderson, Martin Scorsese and James Atlas. In addition, there’s a new introduction from guitarist Nils Lofgren, along with a new chapter about the songs they wrote together back in the 1970s, that were released on Lofgren’s 2019 album, Blue With Lou. Reed looked to write songs that were rooted in literature as much as it was with music, and to see them all in a continuous thread, hits the mark time and time again. I’ll Be Your Mirror: The Collected Lyrics by Lou Reed is available now through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and all major book retailers.
DO THIS
Wear A Mask.
Practice Social Distancing.
Wash Your Hands.
Stay Safe.
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