// Category Archive for: TV

Podcast: TV or GTFO Episode 11, “Baywatch”

By Sachin Hingoo

It took eleven episodes of TV or GTFO and not one, but two pretenders to the “king of beach-based crime drama” throne, but we’ve finally decided to tackle the OG, the undisputed champion of the lifeguard detective genre, Baywatch!
(more…)

TV Review: The Walking Dead, “Sing Me A Song”

By Laury Scarbro

After a fairly slow episode last time, we’re met with, you guessed it, another build-up episode. That’s perfectly OK because there must be build-up if there’s going to be anything explosive to look forward to. And I’m sure the writers at The Walking Dead will not disappoint. I’ll be addressing the different plotlines individually, as this episode had quite a bit of hopping around, with very little detail to them other than a quick scene with only a few lines. At the end of the day, this episode should have been called “This Is Why Carl Should Stay In The House, a.k.a. Dammit Carl!”
(more…)

Julie Finley: Best Of 2016

By Julie Finley

Photo of Reykjavik, Iceland © Julie Finley

This year was unbearable in so many ways it is hard to even compute mentally. Too much LOSS! I am not going to go off on a tangent about what was bad; if you lived through this year, you know how bad it was!

Despite so many mishaps, there were actually some things I enjoyed this year. I decided to divide these up by cultural experiences, music releases, TV shows, and movies.
(more…)

Best Of 2016: JG Thirlwell

2016 was full of personal and professional triumphs and external troubles. Here is my bloated 2016 cultural year-in-review list.

Photo © Tina Schula

JGT’s 25 Albums of 2016 (although not all of them came out in 2016)

David Bowie, Blackstar (Columbia)
Anna Meredith, Varmints (Moshi Moshi)
Bent Knee, Say So (Cuneiform)
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Ears (Western Vinyl)
Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, Stranger Things Soundtrack (Lakeshore Records)
Chromb, 1000 (InOuie)
PJ Harvey, The Hope Six Demolition Project (Vagrant)
Swans, The Glowing Man (Young God)
Bon Iver; 22, a million (Jagjaguwar)
Ian William Craig, Centres (FatCat)
Ital Tek, Hollowed (Planet MU)
Maxwell Sterling, Hollywood Medieval (Memory Number 36 recordings)
Jaga Jazzist, Starfire (Ninja Tune)
Elysian Fields, Ghost Of No (Ojet)
Klara Lewis, Too (Editions Mego)
Gnarwhallaby, exhibit A (Populist Records)
Peder Mannerfelt, Controlling Body (Peder Mannerfelt Produktion)
John Zorn, Madrigals / Painted Bird / Commedia Dell’Arte / Sacred Visions (Tzadik)
Vicky Chow, AORTA (New Amsterdam)
Cloud Becomes Your Hand, Rest In Fleas (Northern Spy)
Zwoyld, 200 000 (Bandcamp)
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Nonagon Infinity (ATO)
Tristan Perich, Noise Patterns (Physical Editions)
Alessandro Cortini, Risveglio (Hospital)
Nicotina es Primavera, Animal Cerámico (Bandcamp)

Notable Concerts:

I went to dozens of concerts and events in 2016. Here are some of the most notable. All in NYC except where noted.

Jan 8 and Jan 19: Holy Holy at The Highline
Mar 10: Messiaen’s Turangalîla-symphonie at Lincoln Center,
Mar 19: Matmos at National Sawdust
April 1: Magma at Le Poisson Rouge
May 10: Diamanda Galas at the former St. Thomas the Apostle church in Harlem
June 13: Anthony Pateras and Erkki Veltheim for The Inland Concert Series at Church of All Nations in Carlton, Melbourne
July 28: Jaga Jazzist at Le Poisson Rouge
Aug 10: Senyawa at a loft on Bowery for Blank Forms
Aug 14: Kris Davis Quartet play John Zorn’s Bagatelles at the Village Vanguard
Aug 16: PJ Harvey at Terminal 5
Sep 10: Wet Ink present a multi-channel concert at St Peter’s Church in Chelsea
Sep 14: Suzanne Ciani at Roulette
Sep 18: ELO at Radio City Music Hall
Sep 27: Morton Subotnik at Issue Project Room
Oct 8: Glenn Branca at Roulette
Oct 22/ 23: John Zorn at National Sawdust / The Guggenheim
Oct 29: Ghédalia Tazartès at First Unitarian Church, Brooklyn
Nov 3: Mivos Quartet and others play Patrick Higgins at Pioneer Works
Nov 11: Aurélien Bory’s Plexus at BAM’s Harvey Theater.
Dec 4: Ashley Bathgate at Dither Festival, 17 Frost Theater
Dec 11: Vicky Chow at National Sawdust
and Tredici Bacci, everywhere

Film:

The Witch
The Neon Demon
A War
A Hijacking
The Tribe
Room
HyperNormalisation

TV:

Narcos
Silicon Valley
Fargo

I also keep a Tumblr blog where I talk about events I check out and other cultural obsessions.

Find out more on JG Thirlwell on foetus.org.

We reviewed JG Thirlwell’s Venture Bros. Original Score Volume Two on July 21.

Less Lee Moore: Best Of 2016

By Less Lee Moore

The year began with the death of David Bowie and then just got worse. Prince died in April, and throughout the rest of the year, dozens of other well-loved, talented, influential artists continued to leave this earthly plane. December continued the onslaught of pop culture deaths, with George Michael, Carrie Fisher, Richard Adams (Watership Down), and Debbie Reynolds dying within days of each other.

Still, there was a lot of amazing pop culture in 2016, which definitely helped ease the pain of these sad passings, as well as the foreboding political climate of the US (not to mention countries around the world; too numerous to mention). Here’s hoping 2017 is less traumatic for all of us.
(more…)

Tyler Hodg: Best Netflix Originals Of 2016

By Tyler Hodg

It’s been an inarguably great year to be a Netflix subscriber; the catalogue of lush original content has grown to its highest peak to date and while the service still provides a large amount of stinkers–we shall never talk about Fuller House, Marco Polo, or any of those new Adam Sandler films again—its substantial programs far outweigh its competitors. Below is a list of some standout content that Netflix has delivered over the past year. (more…)

Melissa Bratcher: Things That Made Me Happy In 2016

By Melissa Bratcher

clipping.

As ever, my Best Of list is a list of… things. Stuff that made me happy. When looking back at 2016, it’s hard not to feel a crushing ennui for all of those we lost and a general clusterfuckiness, but there were some gorgeous, delightful bright spots. Mine are, in no order whatsoever:
(more…)

The Walking Dead, “Swear”

By Laury Scarbro

Another week of separate story arcs, this episode takes us to a new location altogether: Oceanside. It’s not the most intriguing plot ever created for television, but the unknown will keep you interested. I rather thought that this episode’s beginning felt more like they’d borrowed writers from Fear The Walking Dead. It starts out with two girls on a beach. They’re obviously from another encampment, and they find another girl washed up on the beach. The older one doesn’t want the younger one to kill the girl.
(more…)

Best Of 2016: Riley Etheridge, Jr.

Book: Swing Time by Zadie Smith—Friendship and class collide is an insightful and moving way.

Movie: Moonlight, directed by Barry Jenkins—Amazing performances chronicle the coming of age story of a young man in Miami.

Album: Rabbit Hole by Billy Crockett—Master producer releases his own collection of heartfelt and poetic songs.

Television: The Crown on Netflix —Who knew that history was so interesting? John Lithgow is amazing as Winston Churchill.

We reviewed Riley Etheridge, Jr.’s Secrets Hope & Waiting on September 23.

Best Of 2016: Jon Reynolds

2016 was not the best year in recent memory. Not only did we lose some of the most iconic musicians of the last four decades, but we also had to witness the rise and fall of cultural phenomena known as the “dab” (progressive form: “dabbing”). I believe that most Americans, and do I dare say, most inhabitants of our planet, are ready to put 2016 behind us.

With that being said, here are some of the more memorable moments that should be preserved, or at least not forgotten, from 2016.

Greatest Musical Shock of 2016
Let’s start with something morbid! Prince is no longer with us. The news of the iconic guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, arranger, and double-breasted jacket wearer hit news junkets like a ton of MineCraft bricks. As is recent tradition, I, along with the rest of the western world, bought and played his music, ensuring that his estate coffers would be filled for whoever might be indulging in his vast financial empire. But on a more serious note, we lost one of the most talented, creative, and truly pioneering musicians that has have graced a stage. This is not to mention his widely appreciated criticism of the music industry’s royalty and ownership laws: something every working musician and songwriter is fighting against these days. Farewell, you purple genie: you will be missed.

Greatest Television Show of 2016
This one is not easy. If there were any redeeming quality for 2016, it would be television. With unparalleled shows such as HBO’s Game of Thrones and Netflix’s Stranger Things, it’s near impossible to choose. But for the sake of simplicity, I am going to limit myself to shows that only premiered in 2016. With that said, I have narrowed it down to one: HBO’s Westworld. This show needs no introduction. It has it all: western shootouts, robots, mysterious old men, time jumps, Anthony Hopkins, that guy who whose only job in the park is to bump into people and get shot, and in a long standing HBO tradition, lots of naked people. All that being said, it is one of the most well-written stories on TV right now. The acting is incredible, and despite not knowing if it would have a second season, the show still managed to pull off a crazy, unexpected finale that satisfied audiences but maintained the need for more. Here’s to season two coming out sometime!

Greatest Live Musical Performances of 2016
Everyone has seen the “big guns” do their live shows on YouTube. There’s no point in praising what has already been praised (just ignore my last paragraph). With that being said, one of the greatest shows I saw this year, one that very few people got to experience, was actually a whole festival: Live on the Green 2016 in Nashville. For those of you who don’t know, Live on the Green is a FREE music festival in the heart of downtown Nashville that goes on all summer. Every Thursday there is a massive outdoor show that usually includes the top independent, rising artists of the last year. In the final weekend of the festival, a second stage is set up and the music lasts from Thursday through the whole weekend. That is where the magic really happened this year. To name a few artists that graced the stage this year:

Borns
The Weeks
Judah and the Lion
Rayland Baxter
Coin
Repeat, Repeat

The variety of these performances alone was enough to draw me in, but the fact that each one of the shows was of the same quality and caliber as the next completely blew me away. In one weekend my confidence in live music was restored. If I had to choose a favorite, it would probably be Rayland Baxter. He just has a way with live performance that is relaxing but engaging at the same time. However, Judah and the Lion definitely go home with most entertaining show. I mean, what other show has four guys with a mish mash of instrumentation and electronic tracks, twerking on stage, and singing “Ignition” by R. Kelly. No one. But, I got to see it with my own two eyes, and so did my mom.

Greatest Unknown Band of 2016
Being a resident of Nashville, I come across a lot of bands that deserve way more attention than they actually get. One of those bands is PET ENVY. Am I friends with them? Yes. Do we have the same producer? Yes. Have I played shows with them? Yes. Is my mentioning of them in this article a favor to some friends? Absolutely not. This band is fantastic both as a recording group and as a live performance. They deserve every bit of praise they get. Without trying to use any fancy musician adjectives to describe them, I will say that they maintain the entertainment of pop rock while including the superior technical skills, as musicians, that each member undoubtedly holds. It’s hard to get both of those things in the same room, but when it happens, it is unmistakably fun! Keep up the work, guys!

Greatest TV Personality of 2016
John Oliver. I’ll say it again: John Oliver. I am not going to go into great detail with this one because it’s not necessary. He, like so many other satirical news reporters, helped us through the painful process and outcome of the 2016 election cycle and kindly reminded us that 2016 is a year that needs to be erased from the annals of history. Cheers to that ridiculous, little British man.

Greatest Known and Unknown Songs of 2016

Known:
Two songs captured my attention this year: “Giuseppe” by Trash Panda and “Over Soon” by Bon Iver. Bon Iver’s 22 a Million has earned split reviews over the past few months mainly because it has a handful of songs that are great and a handful of songs that aren’t. “Over Soon” stands outside of either one of those categories. It does all the Bon Iver things that a Bon Iver song should do, but it also branches out into the more electronic tonality upon which the whole album is based. What captured me most was the single note on which the song builds. There is something incredibly relatable and comforting about a single note that continues through an entire song. It is like a foundation for a house: the house being the rest of the arrangement and the decorations being the lyrics and melody. This song is truly a masterpiece of arrangement and deserves a lot more praise than it has received.

Unknown:
As for Trash Panda, I am less inclined to think deeply and more inclined to speak plainly. It is a simple, unknown song that has a cool reggae feel without coming anywhere near the “chukka chukka” of an actual reggae song. As for the lyrics, it culminates its sarcastic lip in the third verse when it takes a clear shot at President-elect Trump, questioning how he was able to gain the trust of millions simply through his personal charm and gusto. Catchy, well-written songs that maintain social relevancy are hard to come by these days. Well done, Trash Panda. Stay trashy.

We reviewed Jon Reynolds’ Generation, Love EP on August 5.