arg the curse of the dull pearl
Good morning Vietnam!
The NBA Conference Finals kick off tonight; SGA v Ant; Halliburton v Brunson. We are in for quite the showdown and no matter what we are going to see some new squads and players that haven't seen in the Finals before, which is an incredibly exciting turn of events.
But we aren't here to talk about basketball.
Soooo much new music came out on Friday that it was incredibly hard to narrow down the 30 albums I considered, so we ended up with 11 albums that are all worth your time. Movies are mostly garbage this week (besides Friendship opening wide), TV is focused on animation, and a new Zander Cannon comic has landed.
So buckle up and hold on tight.
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📺 New shows
🌊 Sirens S1 (Netflix) — 22 May
My wife mentioned the other day she feels like HBO has steered away from limited series. While I'm not sure that's exactly accurate (Mare of Easttown comes to mind as a great one), I understand the sentiment. Netflix, in a way has picked up the baton, at least in a very specific genre. Sirens feels like a spiritual successor to The Perfect Couple from last year. It's a limited series about wealthy white people living on the sea contrasted against some normies. Oh and it also features Meghann Fahy. I guess if it aient broke, don't fix it...?
👅 Big Mouth S8 (Netflix) — 23 May
I still haven't watched Big Mouth, but it's on the long list of shows to eventually go back to as I only ever hear great things. This is also going to be the last season, so if you've been waiting to binge it in it's entirety in one go, now's your chance.
🚀 Rick & Morty S8 (Adult Swim) — 25 May
And the return of Rick & Morty is here. It's basically the Saga of animated shows at this point—deservedly the most popular for good reason, which is sometimes a hard line to manage so I expect more of the same to come this season—even if they've had some ups and downs in the past.
📝 What else?
- Nine Perfect Strangers S2 (Hulu) — 21 May
- Pee-wee as Himself (HBO) — 23 May
Tuesday
- The Studio (Apple) 1:10
- Government Cheese (Apple) 1:9
Wednesday
- Nine Perfect Strangers (Hulu) 2:1-2
Thursday
- Your Friends & Neighbors (Apple) 1:8
- Hacks (HBO) 4:9
- Poker Face (Peacock) 2:5
- Murderbot (Apple) 1:3
- Duster (HBO) 1:2
- Welcome to Wrexham (Hulu) 4:3
- Sirens (Netflix) S1
Friday
- Big Mouth (Netflix) S8
- Pee-wee as Himself (HBO)
Sunday
- MobLand (Paramount) 1:9
- Lazarus (Adult Swim) 1:8
- The Last of Us (HBO) 2:7
- Rick & Morty (Adult Swim) 8:1
💽 Release of the week
💐 To the Bastards that Killed Seattle: I Will Have My Revenge by Ben Zaidi and Flowers of Bad
I love an album that comes in, says what it has to, and knows when to exit promptly. 8 tight tracks for 25 minutes and no wasted tracks. It's in that alt-pop space that might not be everyone's cup of tea; when done poorly, you end up with something like Machine Gun Kelly, when done well, you get Dominic Fike or Alex G, which, if you mashed together, you might get this record—albeit leaning more towards Fike than G.
🏃 Runner-ups
💤 Better Dreaming by Tune-Yards
This honestly could've been the release of the week as well. It's an incredibly funky and percussive album that grabs you from the jump. Rather than rest on their laurels, it feels like this duo shed their egos before going into the studio and just let themselves have fun experimenting with how to put together that's vibrant and of the moment.
⏰ Caveman Wakes Up by Friendship
Where Better Dreaming makes you feel like you need to frantically move your body, Caveman Wakes Up lets you bask in the sounds and forces you to sway to the gentle rhythms. It's a bit reminiscent of last years top ten album, Heavy Metal by Cameron Winter, with a deep and steady voice with poetic lyrics and subtle instrumentation.
👧 ANGIE by spill tab
An upbeat and soothing pop record with some alt-jazz vibes that make for a really nice listen at any time of the day.
🚗 Miller's Garage by Strawberry Fuzz
Last up, this record from Strawberry Fuzz that feels a bit like a more tamed down standard rock version of Viagra Boys.
📝 What else?
- Felt Better Alive by Peter Doherty
- Beneath the Lilypad by Alexandra Savior
- A Joy So Slow at Times I Don't Think it's Coming by Slow Joy
- Satin Warrior by Duke Garwood
- Superb by Surprise Chef
- Something Good is Happening by Voom
🦸 No. 1's
🛌 Sleep (Image)
The newest book from cartoonist Zander Cannon is a horror mystery and essentially the complete opposite of the book he is most known for in Kaijumax. I love that he is taking a big swing with this follow-up to his highly underrated sleeper hit—this one is an absolute must buy.
👧 The Curse of Sherlee Johnson (Image)
Next is an interesting one... From a creative team I'm not really that familiar with. First time writer Daniel Henriques is joined by Jonathan Glapion on art. Glapion is probably most known as the inker on Greg Capullo's Batman art, but hasn't been the penciller on a series, ever? It's also apparently set in the Spawn universe, but doesn't seem to have any direct ties and the cover by Glapion is killer.
🐺 RoboWolf (Dark Horse)
This one looks exactly how the name sounds, bringing a very 80's neon Biker Mice from Mars kind of vibe to the whole thing. I have no idea if this will actually be good, but it does appear like writer/artist Jake Smith is leaving everything on the page with this one.
🪨 The Thing (Marvel)
I'm not sure I've ever read a Thing book, but Tony Fleecs is writing this one, so it has the potential to be really good. He is joined by Justin Mason, who was last on Marvel's Sentinels with Alex Paknadal
📝 What else?
- Nullhunter #8 (Image)
- Welcome to Twilight [Minor Threats] #3 (Dark Horse)
- Bug Wars #4 (Image)
- Epitaphs from the Abyss #11 (Oni)
- Vatican City #2 (Dark Horse)
- Out of Alcatraz #3 (Oni)
- Absolute Flash #3 (DC)
- The New Gods #6 (DC)
Not a lot to really talk about or be excited about for new movies, but Friendship getting it's wide release this Friday is EXCITING!
🎥 New movies
👦 The New Boy
Cate Blanchett starring in a movie is always something to look forward to. This one is the third film from Warwick Thornton and the second he's also written himself.
⛲ Fountain of Youth
An adventure movie that looks like every other adventure movie... The only redeeming qualities are the fact it's directed by Guy Ritchie (getting that Apple paycheck, I see), and stars Natalie Portman—alongside John Krasinski and Eiza Gonzalez. It's written by James Vanderbilt, who has had some stinkers, but he also wrote Zodiac and The Rundown...
🏃♂️ Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning
Tom Cruise said he's going to keep starring in action movies until he's 100... so yeah... another M:I movie... It's actually been awhile since I've actually seen one, but I've heard they are tons of fun.
🏝️ Lilo & Stitch
And another live action remake from the folks who brought you The Lion King... I'm being a little snarky here, but this is one I'm actually interested in for some reason. I'm not sure why. I just am...
📝 What else?
- The Surrender
- Friendship (WIDE)
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