We told ya we’d do it and here it is! Films last week, albums this week, next week… the world!

Here’s the convoluted link to Jonathan Glazer’s new short film: https://us.strasbourg1518.film/?goal=0_745cb9c02a-6c8e2ecfb1-4713887&mc_cid=6c8e2ecfb1&mc_eid=271eed0a45

00:00 Intro (Kanye, Portland, Trump, NBA)
53:30 Albums of the Year, 11-6
01:42:00 Albums of the Year, 5-1
02:17:30 Wrap-Up & Recommendations

It’s all in the title today, baby. We realize the Intros are super bummers… sorry ‘bout that! Life is a bummer right now! Feel free to skip to the movie stuff if you’d like, no judgment!

Also: Black Lives Matter.

00:00 Intro (Schools re-opening(?), traveling during Covid)
44:00 Top Films of the Half-Year, 10-6
01:32:00 Top Films of the Half-Year, 5-1
02:24:00 Wrap-Up & Recommendations

Hamilton is available to stream on Disney+! That is exciting! Tom discusses his multi-year obsession with the show, while Phil welcomes himself as a newcomer to the world of Hamilton, one of the truly great, genre-defying musicals to ever hit the stage. The hype is real, but remember: don’t go in EXPECTING it to be your new favorite thing; just understand that it is a new, monumental thing — the former is subjective, the latter is objective. Understand the difference and you won’t let the hype machine bog you down!

Next, as we record over the July 4th weekend, we each introduce our personal Jaws Memorial July 4th Movies Mt Rushmore, in whatever way we define a “July 4th” movie. The Mt Rushmore is named after Jaws because, let’s be real — Jaws would’ve been our collective #1. Jaws forever!

00:00 Intro (Fireworks, Crazy Neighbors, Drive-Ins, Romantic Bookstores)
31:30 Hamilton
01:37:30 July 4th Movie Mt Rushmore(s)
02:19:30 Wrap-Up / Recs

We’re back with more Spike Lee celebration, this time around focusing primarily on his work in documentary — particularly the quietly devastating 4 LITTLE GIRLS (1997) & the absolutely essential WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE: A REQUIEM IN FOUR ACTS (2006). Enjoy, y’all, and go browse all your streaming platforms, because Spike’s work is everywhere, he’s a national treasure and worth your time and attention.

00:00 Intro: The Week in Politics, Coronavirus, Movies Re-Opening
52:00 Spike Lee Pt. 2
01:58:30 Our Spike Lee TOP FIVES
02:15:00 Wrap-Up & Recommendations

Well, Spike Lee pt. 2 is on hold as we decided to give ourselves more time to watch more of his stuff. Meanwhile, we have a fun week of new releases!

First we delve into the new Pete Davidson “almost a biopic,” THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND, which co-stars stand-up king Bill Burr, with Judd Apatow at the helm. Then, we go over Judd’s influence on the Hollywood comedy scene over the past 25+ years, as a director and especially as a producer. Seriously, y’all, dude’s got his fingerprints everywhere. It’s impressive.

Then, we take a swim in an epic weekend of new music releases, covering FOUR major artists’ new albums: Teyana Taylor’s 77-minute follow-up to the Kanye-produced KTSE from 2018; Bob Dylan’s first album of new music since 2012 with ROUGH AND ROWDY WAYS; Neil Young’s long-lost mid-70s gem, HOMEGROWN; and Phoebe Bridgers continues her dominance of the pop music landscape with PUNISHER.

Put on some headphones, open up the Genius lyrics app, and enjoy!

Here is the link to Khalik Allah’s short film, URBAN RASHOMON: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpL6ItH-zno

00:00 Intro
32:00 King of Staten Island & Judd Apatow
01:30:00 The Week in New Music
02:30:00 Wrap-Up & Recs

Spike Lee comes out with a new movie, just in time. Perfectly topical story that alternates between modern day and the Vietnam War… we talk about it.

Also, Dave Chappelle dropped a surprise set on Netflix’s YouTube page, a 27-minute monologue that isn’t very funny, but incredibly raw, powerful, and appropriate. It’s a must-watch, everyone.

Finally, we begin our two-part series delving into Spike’s career as a filmmaker, focusing primarily on his bigger titles from the late-80s through the mid-90s. Next week we will continue the discussion while including his work in documentary, shorts, and music videos (or “short films” as Spike calls them, so we will too — short films!). Listen, rate, subscribe, and go check out Da 5 Bloods on Netflix!

00:00 Intro
43:50 Dave Chappelle’s “8:46”
01:05:30 Da 5 Bloods
01:33:15 Spike Lee Retrospective, Pt. 1
02:19:00 Wrap-Up & Recs

Big week, folks. Big, big week. For us, as nerds? Sure. For America? Oh, absofuckinglutely. 50k marched in Los Angeles. Change is coming, and in some cases, it’s already come. To be continued.

After a discussion of all the History In the Making, good and bad, we move on to a discussion of Run the Jewels’ fourth album, appropriately titled “RTJ4.” It’s… quite good, and probably has the verse of 2020, if you ask us.

Following this, we wrap up our first entry in our Classic Blind Spots series, with the final five episodes of Neon Genesis: Evangelion, plus the follow-up feature, The End of Evangelion. What a treat this journey has been. Listen for specifics, and SPOILER WARNINGS, AHOY! Please, just watch it all. There’s nothing like NGE.

Here’s a link to the series of NGE-related essays Tom mentions in the episode: https://mubi.com/notebook/posts/tag/Neon%20Genesis%20Evangelion%20Rewatch

Black Lives Matter!

00:00 Intro
33:20 RTJ4
01:15:00 NGE
02:15:00 Wrap-Up & Recs

(THIS EPISODE IS A DAY LATE IN HONOR OF BLACKOUT TUESDAY)

We recorded this last week, when the world was already going to shit in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. Since we recorded, things have escalated dramatically. Tom & Phil fully support the BLM movement. We’re releasing this episode to stay on schedule, and after an Intro segment where we discuss the state of the nation, we continue on with talks of romcoms, Carly Rae Jepsen, and NGE eps 15-21. Listen if you’d like, but please, don’t take solace in distractions. We are in a crisis point. Silence is complicity. White folks like me, Phil, and any listening need to stand with our black brothers and sisters. No one can sit on the sidelines anymore.

Sign the Justice for George Floyd petition here: https://www.change.org/p/mayor-jacob-frey-justice-for-george-floyd

Please donate if you can and where you see fit. Everything helps!

00:00 Intro
41:00 Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Dedicated Side B”
01:04:00 The Lovebirds & The Wrong Missy
01:35:30 Classic Blind Spots 1.3: NGE eps 15-21
02:13:15 Wrap-Up & Recs

Hope y’all jabronis enjoyed the shorter episode last week because we are back on our bullshit this time! After discussing the newly announced “Snyder Cut” of DC’s Justice League movie, we wrap up our discussion of the truly fantastic, 10-hour ESPN documentary, “The Last Dance,” before diving in to episodes 8-14 of the progressively weird (and intriguing!) Neon Genesis: Evangelion in our Classic Blind Spots series part 1.2! Finally, Phil eulogizes the wonderful director Lynn Shelton, who tragically passed away at the tender age of only 54. People, go watch one of her movies — she was a true indie maverick and deserves all the credit in the world for making movies her way. She will be missed.

00:00 Intro
18:50 The Snyder Cut & Streaming
42:30 The Last Dance ends
01:40:00 NGE eps 8-14
02:15:30 RIP Lynn Shelton

A short ep for you guys, finally! We told ya we’d do it! This one’s barely over an hour! That’s short for us, OK?
We spend the episode (after some catching up) discussing our history with ANIME, before diving into Part 1.1 of our Classic Blind Spots series — the influential, colossal anime series, Neon Genesis Evangelion! We discuss our thoughts on the first half dozen eps. Over the next three weeks, we will cover the entirety of the series, plus the addendum film, released one year after the series finale. Enjoy! Anime is fun! Any anime recommendations, send them our way!

00:00 Intro
07:00 Capone & Tom Hardy
19:50 Anime!
29:30 NGE, eps 1-6
54:00 Wrap-Up & Recs