👣 i’m trying to keep the ground on my feet

Last week I mentioned I might make this more of a straight up list with quoted taglines vs adding my own blurbs. Since then, I’ve gotten feedback from a few people saying they come more for the voice and curation rather than a complete list of what’s coming.

The original idea of this letter was to be highly curated place, diving into the things that are truly worth your attention, but I’ve lost my way a bit over the last couple of months as I’ve tried to make it everything.

So I’m going to lean into that for this issue and cut it down to only the things I have something to say about. In the end, I’m sure we’ll eventually find a nice middle ground. But if you have thoughts on this or anything we cover today, let me know!

So let’s see how it goes today.

But before we get to that… if this media guide issue or the upcoming fiction were to be released in audio (adjusted/rewritten for the format), is that something you might check out?

Okay, now we can begin.

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what’s on tv this week

New Shows

🎤 Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show S1 (HBO) — date

I’m not a reality tv person, but I think Jerrod Carmichael has done some super interesting things in his career, even if they all haven’t been successful. What he is doing here, especially as it seems to be focusing on his relationship with his parents, who, to put it mildly, don’t seem to love the fact he’s gay, should make for a great exploration in those types of relationships. It’s kind of weird calling him a comedian nowadays because this doesn’t look like it’ll be all that funny, and while Rothanial was powerful, I don’t think many laughs came from it. Twunk.

⛪ Parish S1 (AMC)

Giancarlo Esposito loves playing a put-together criminal. He’s damn good at it too, so why not. I’ve got some ideas perulating about The Gentlemen for tomorrows Review of Links, but AMC is typically great at putting together an entire package for a long story, so I’m excited to check this one out.

days based on streaming availability for the majority of people

Tuesday

• Constellation (Apple) 1:8 [Finale]
• Shōgun (Hulu) 1:6

Wednesday

• The New Look (Apple) 1:9
• Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney) 3:9
• Palm Royale (Apple) 1:4
• X-Men ’97 (Disney) 1:3

Thursday

• The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin (Apple) 1:6 [Finale]
• Invincible (Amazon) 2:7
• The Girls on the Bus (HBO) 1:4

Friday

• Manhunt (Apple) 1:4
• Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show (HBO) 1:1

Sunday

• Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO) 12:9
• The Regime (HBO) 1:5
• Last Week Tonight (HBO) 11:6
• Parish (AMC) 1:1

this past Friday’s best album releases

Release of the Week

🎺 Sinseerly Yours by Thee Sinseers & Joey Quinones

Gimmie some horns every day of the week and I’ll be happy. It’s really that simple. Some fun jazz and swing going on here. But really it’s the way they feel like a full band throwback, while bringing a bit of modern r&b to the table that makes this spectacular.

I was walking my dog last night under the full moon, listening to Cant Call Me Baby as they played the flute and then sang “No you can’t promise me the moon and the star” and it just felt right.

Favorite Track: Hold On

Other Releases

📸 JPEG RAW by Gary Clark Jr.

Few people do Blues/Rock as good as Gary Clark Jr. He leans heavy into the rock with this one and even brings in some more hip-hop elements in a way he hasn’t really done before, all while not forgetting his roots in the Blues world. This has a lost of that fuzzy upbeatness I love that’s missing from this next album. Plus a good amount of this feels like a live recording and features Stevie Wonder and George Clinton!

Favorite Track: Don’t Start feat. Valerie June

🐅 Tigers Blood by Waxahatchee

Going into the week, I thought there was no way this wouldn’t be my favorite album. Not only was it not my favorite, it got beat out by at least two albums. I love Waxahatchee. They are one of my favorite modern bands. But this album went more into the folksy/singer-songwriter mode than the heavy fuzzy alternative stuff that I really love. It’s still a great album, but it doesn’t hit me the same way that Out of the Storm does.

Favorite Track: Bored

🏊 Plunge by Sam Evian

Another record that brings with it a bit of an old-timey vibe. Think George Harrison meets Alex Chilton, maybe? This record didn’t blow me away, but anytime you can consider those two guys in the same sentence it’s something to listen to.

Favorite Track: Jacket

👀 Glasgow Eyes by The Jesus and Mary Chain

I was really worried when this album kicked off with it’s glitchy synth, but things corrected pretty quickly into a pop-punk-synth vibe that I could get down with. For a band that’s been doing it as long as they have, it’s pretty exhilarating for them to keep pushing forward like this.

Favorite Track: Second of June

🐠 Up To the Glass by Morgan Harper-Jones

A softer, more introspective pop record. It’s not going to get anyone dancing, but pour yourself some tea and stare out the window on a rainy day—things will feel right.

Favorite Track: Alone With You

this weeks best comic releases

No. 1s

🦇 Batman: Dark Age (DC) #1

Biggest release of the week by far. Mark Russell with Michael and Laura Allred team up again after their Superman: Space Age to bring Batman: Dark Age. Allred art is always stunning with it’s wonderful use of highlights and bright colors. Pair that with Mark Russell, who is not shy about using licensed property to talk about real world issues, it should be another hit.

🧟‍♂️ The Goon: Them That Don’t Stay Dead (Dark Horse) #1

I can’t remember the last time we had a new issue of The Goon so this is another exciting development. Eric Powell brings back this titular character with his delightful painterly art for it’s 25th anniversary. Wild.

🐈 Feral (Image) #1

The creators who brought us Stray Dogs are back with another fun, horror story with animals.

🦸 X-Men ’97 (Marvel) #1

I don’t think I’ll actually be picking this up, but I’ve really been enjoying the show so far so if you are all in, this might be a good one to pick up.

🕵️ Sam and Twitch: Case Files (Image) #1

Back in the Spawn universe, Todd McFarlane is back with the detective due and is joined by Szymon Kudranski, who worked on Spawn pretty extensively himself between 2011 and 2018, but has also had some solo successes more recently with Something Epic and Blood Commandment.

movies hitting the big screen this week

🦖 Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

I mean, it’s Godzilla and Kong. The last movie was a ton of fun and for the most part, I think they’ve been decently successful in making fun movies in this world. I’m kind of all in on Godzilla again at this point, so I’m definitely excited for a big blockbuster with these two.

It’s funny. My mom was a big Superman and King Kong fan and I’m a huge Batman and Godzilla fan. It works well.

🦁 La Chimera

This Italian film looks magical. It looks like it must have been shot on film and has a throwback vibe to the wardrobes and sets that make me feel like I’m in Italy in the 70s (or at least what I assume it’d feel like). Anything that hints at magical realism while getting a little philosophical feels like something worth checking out.

Pretty great issue if I do say so myself. I won’t always only feature No.1’s in the comics section, but there were enough new and exciting ones that I felt it’d be worth it.

I do plan on featuring more of my thoughts and writing in the Tues/Thurs issues, but that may take some time to get going a bit. Upgrade to a paid subscription to find out! I think those issues have been coming along and improving nicely with time.

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Stay sane,

—humdrum

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