Thanks for clearing out a space for me.
Pop Culture Ephemera
- The Brutalist (2024) (Directed by Brady Corbet): “I’ve found our conversation persuasive and intellectually stimulating.” – Harrison. I spent most of the first act of this film trying to figure out what it was about. By the Intermission, I gave up and just enjoyed a damn fine film. Adrien Brody is amazing as Laszlo Toth. He is what ties together a film that has something to say about immigration, religion, capitalism, addiction, and class in America. The initial memorable shot of the film is Laszlo’s first sight of America, an upside down and crooked look at the Statue of Liberty. From that point forward, there is something uneasy in every scene with Laszlo. Despite his success, he never feels a part of America or comfortable among the people with money. It’s a long film that could be broken into even longer interpretations. It’s a story of the human experience. The Brutalist architectural style is a parallel to Laszlo’s attempt to make sense of his own experiences. This was only my first viewing of a film that definitely will require multiple viewings to piece together the depth on the screen.
- The Bear – “Groundhogs” (2025) (S.4 E.1) (HULU): “Look, every one of our good memories, they happen in restaurants, right?” – Carmy. Last season started with a whole episode that was pretty much all a “Previously On” summary. This one is off to a much better start. Carm and his brother, Michael (Jon Bernthal perfectly cast), talking about their father and opening a restaurant. These scenes are why I love this show so much. It’s a short philosophical conversation about why we love eating out.
The rest of the episode is a post-Chicago Trib negative review reset. Carm and Richie both feel responsible for the review. Cicero and Computer (how do you not love these two characters?) show up and start a clock that will give the season some tension. It’s two-month hourly countdown that when it reaches zero, the restaurant will close if it isn’t profitable. The episode is a table setter for the rest of the season. Things are starting to run smoothly by the end of the 30 minutes, which means we can get back to the struggles of Carm and Sydney to find their own personal success. Bonus points for use but not overuse of Groundhog Day (1993).
- Simple Minds – “Promised You a Miracle” (1982) (from New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84): “Slipping back on golden times / Breathing with sweet memories.” Another Simple Minds song that doesn’t mess around with an intro. This song gets right down to business, and it’s probably the first video of theirs that I saw, very soon after we first got MTV. It’s their first single off the album, and it hints at a more New Wave / Pop direction. Groups like ABC, Big Country, and even Depeche Mode were redefining the genre into more keyboard-riff, power pop. This was a popular DJ favorite for a good portion of the decade. This plays just as well to a crowd in 2025. The song’s bassline gets the audience caught in the groove.
- The Tender Bar (2021) (Directed by George Clooney): “You’re a writer the minute you say you are. Nobody gives you a diploma–you have to prove it, at least to yourself.” – JR. This film keeps telling the viewer that it’s set on Long Island, but you put Ben Affleck in a starring role and film it in Massachusetts, and I’m going to mentally keep it there. Ben plays Uncle Charlie (my first association is Uncle Charlie from Hitch’s Shadow of a Doubt [1943]), who is a bartender at a dive bar called The Dickens Bar not The Tender as you might assume. The coming-of-age film takes place in the mid-’70s until the early-’80s. It’s not breaking new ground in terms of story or acting. It is a comfortable film with an engaging cast. Christopher Lloyd plays the patriarch of the family and his attendance at the school breakfast with his grandson is one of the best moments of the film.
The only complaint I have is the narration. It’s unnecessary and doesn’t add any insight to the events onscreen. The narrator seems to be in our current time. The story has a confusing flashback structure where the college-age JR is telling a priest the story of his younger self on a train, but the film moves forward years beyond this place in time. It’s clunky at best. Affleck continues a current trend of uncles being the trusted, cool member of the family. He’s not given the depth that could have been to put this on another level, but his memorable gesture at the end makes his role one that sticks with the viewer after the film ends.
- 28 Weeks Later (2007) (Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo): “They’re executing code red. Step 1: Kill the infected. Step 2: Containment. If containment fails, then Step 3: Extermination.” – Scarlet. What is it with the cameras that shoot this series? The first one on a jacked-up iPhone. This one appears to use the same cameras that filmed Pearl Jam’s “Alive” video in 1991. By 2007, it wasn’t out of the ordinary to use a steadicam for action sequences. Even the huge London explosion scene seems to have been created using an early version iMovie.
This film requires even more suspension of disbelief than the first film. The original glosses over lots of explanation to get to the terror. We’ve had almost six months and maybe a break to explain the scientific knowledge attained over that time might have helped. At least explain why the only infected person is left alone in a hospital room, unguarded, when the rest of the city is on literal lockdown with hundreds of Army personnel. The film would have been served with better production values. The story, once you get beyond the infection, is trope filled but not uninteresting. I like Jeremy Renner, and it’s ironic to see Robert Carlyle, a Danny Boyle favorite, in a sequel to a Danny Boyle film not directed by Danny Boyle. There was potential here. It just didn’t find the right script to make this a quality Dawn of the Dead type of sequel.
Best of the Rest
- I’m not a Pepsi fan, so it takes even more entertainment value than normal for me to feature one of their ads. This new commercial starts by giving off some Tarantino vibes, especially with the heist-level planning on crashing summer BBQs. There are some funny little interactions that have me hoping that there are multiple entries in this campaign for the season. I’m still going to reach for a Coke with my summer hot dogs, but Pepsi marketers get the W with this one.
- Entertainment Weekly (3/28/97): “Best Commercials of All-Time” #15: Benson & Hedges “The Dis-Advantages” (1966): “They’re a lot longer than King-Sized.” The ad campaign for Benson & Hedges 100’s were interesting. A cigarette that was three to five puffs longer was something of a rarity in the day and would take getting used to. Using humor to get the point across is always a good choice. These ads address it in a fun way, but the whole cigarette culture feels so foreign that it’s hard to put the campaign into perspective with things on our screens today.
- Commercials have consistently used pop music hits to promote their products. Commercials that have turned a song into a hit is a more rare bird. The popularity of the Benson & Hedges 100 ads in 1966 created a demand for the release of the song by the Brass Ring in 1967. It’s a pretty catchy tune, if I may say so.
Sunday Morning Tuneage Flashback
- Sunday Morning Tuneage from 8/16/2009, I was just coming off that period in August where I worked 26 hours in two days. I was enjoying a day off with a nap and preparing for classes to start.
My #99 Top TV Show of All-Time was Doctor Who (BBC). I whiffed on that one. It’s easily a Top 40, if not higher. My recommendation was to watch it in bulk to get into it. I still stand by those instructions. This isn’t a show where one or two episodes will catch you. I’ll have to reassess this list if only to give this show the proper rating.
The Quick List of that week is worth a second look too.
BEST PRE-1990 HIP HOP SONGS (2009)
10. Run DMC – “It’s Tricky” (1985)
9. Slick Rick – “Children’s Story” (1988)
8. Beastie Boys – “Shake Your Rump” (1989)
7. Run DMC – “It’s Like That” (1984)
6. NWA – “Straight Outta Compton” (1988)
5. Public Enemy – “Don’t Believe The Hype” (1988)
4. Kurtis Blow – “The Breaks” (1980)
3. Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel – “The Message” (1982)
2. De La Soul – “Buddy (12″ Remix)” (1989)
1. Eric B. and Rakim – “Paid In Full” (1987)
BEST PRE-1990 HIP HOP SONGS (2025)
10. The Sugarhill Gang – “Rappers Delight” (1979): The O.G. of Hip Hop songs. Take the groove to Chic’s “Good Times” and just tell stories over it for the length of an album side. While you are doing it, you are changing the world.
9. Marley Marl – “The Symphony” (1988): Great beat and we get to meet Kool G. Rap, ““Making veterans run for medicine/’Cause I put out more lights in a fight than Con Edison”
8. Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel – “The Message” (1982): Bad ass vocals and social commentary.
7. Funky 4+1 “That’s the Joint” (1980): The song is a souped-up disco song that once you add a funky bass, it’s a classic.
6. Run DMC – “Walk This Way” (1986): Rock and Hip Hop made a nice combination. The Summer of 1986 is this song.
5. Kurtis Blow – “The Breaks” (1980): The first legit Hip Hop hit still rocks.
4. L.L. Cool J – “Rock The Bells” (1985): LL would make the list possibly twice if I extended it to the first few years of the ’90s. This AC/DC sample gave him a harder edge than many of the MC’s in this mid-’80s era.
3. Beastie Boys – “Paul Revere” (1985): It’s hard to pick a single Beastie’s song that symbolizes all that they did to propel the genre forward on their first few albums. This song might be the group at their most simply charming. The rhymes just flow like your best friends telling you a story in the car on the way home from the party.
2. Eric B. and Rakim – “Paid In Full (Seven Minutes of Madness)” (1987): A slight modification to the previous #1 is the remix by Coldcut that features more of that Soul Searcher’s sample. Layer that with the Ofra Haza sample and it’s a song I could listen to twice a day. This is a journey into sound.
1. N.W.A. – “Straight Outta Compton” (1988): “A murder rap to keep you dancin’ with a crime record like Charles Manson” This started the Gangster Rap revolution that would develop parallel to the Grunge revolution. It was quite a time to be alive. This song sums up about a four-year span of my living in Southern California. It was the consistent background soundtrack to everything I was doing.
1975 in Review
- July – Action Comics #449 (DC Comics): Cover by Bob Oksner. Written by Elliot Maggin. Art by Curt Swan. “Lois doesn’t know it, but I arranged for her to meet her idol– And I knew he’d turn out to be a conceited ass! Just want to make sure she appreciates what she’s already got!” – Clark Kent. Superman battles some androids. The Green Arrow (Jack Kirby art) and The Atom! stories are reprints.
- July 4 – At Wimbledon, Billie Jean King defeats Evonne Goolagong for the Women’s Championship with an impressive 6-0, 6-1 score. Billie Jean announces her retirement afterwards to compete in the World Team Tennis league that she founded.
- July 19-25 – TV Guide: Barney Miller (ABC) was coming off a well-reviewed but little-watched partial season in the spring of 1975. There was a little more revamping going into fall 1975, and the series would become more of a single-set play format, rarely leaving the precinct house. The cast would become more three dimensional, and over the next two seasons, the show would jump from 68th to 37th to 17th place in the ratings.
What the Hell Did I Put in My Mouth?
Pringles: Beer Can Chicken
What an interesting flavor profile. There’s a smattering of rotisserie-chicken favor on the chips. Not too salty, but the smokey roasted flavors including garlic and onion. Then there’s the odd flat beer taste added to it. Imagine taking a chicken wing and dipping it in your day-old beer. This was my least favorite of the Lite Beer x Pringles crossovers. I’m not sure if I ate more or if I fed more to the dog. Sorry, Rigby.
Kettle Brand: Chamoy
I’m relatively inexperienced with Chamoy flavor, so I was excited to try these. My previous experience was with it on the rim of a Michelada. The cover description is very accurate. The first taste is of a sweet and tangy fruit. I taste plum or nectarine, but that’s my experience. Then you are hit with a chili and lime flavor. It’s not unpleasant. I can’t say that I’d buy another bag of these, but I like that these options are on the grocery shelves. I want to encourage more experiments in the chip aisle.
Pop-Tarts: Ice Cream Sandwiches – Frosted Chocolate Fudge
This is one of three flavors that Pop-Tarts is releasing this summer in ice-cream-sandwich format. The transition of brand to ice-cream sandwich is a popular move this summer. These are about what you would expect. The exterior remains to the taste like a Chocolate Fudge Pop-Tart. The pastry is not in the correct ratio to the ice-cream content. The ice-cream flavor is the chocolate taste of this sandwich. The pastry itself is rather flavorless. The ice cream needs more chocolate flavor. The result is an ice-cream sandwich that I felt the need to add more ice cream.
“Life throws a curve
Everything is possible
With promises
Everything is possible” – Simple Minds
