Back in early June, when the NBA announced that it would resume its season in a bubble location at Disney World in Orlando, there was plenty of skepticism. Cases of COVID-19 had continued to spike across the country, particularly in the state of Florida, where they were reporting record numbers of new cases on an almost daily basis.
Many questioned whether the NBA could adequately ensure the safety of its players, not to mention the scores of other league personnel and essential workers that would be required for such a mammoth undertaking. Even a considerable segment of the players expressed their apprehensions over the course of various Zoom calls within the union.
But, of course, when it came right down to i, just about everyone fell in line, save for a small handful of players who decided, understandably, that it wasn’t worth the risk to their health and their family. To the league’s credit, the safety protocols inside the bubble in Orlando are thorough and complex, to say the least. The players are tested daily (and must quarantine and miss any team activities should they miss a test). Upon arrival, they each received a personal health app device that requires them to fill out a questionnaire each morning and monitors their temperature and oxygen levels.
Players are also required to observe social distancing rules and wear masks in all common areas, and just about everyone, save for Dwight Howard and a few other apparent accidental incidents, has adhered to these rules and have done a good job of policing themselves — with some continuous reminders of protocols and punishments from the league. The league, in part, took many of its cues from the other pro sports bubbles that restarted prior to the NBA, like the NWSL, NHL, MLS, WNBA, and TBT, which have likewise seen success once settled in the bubble — the MLS’ two major outbreaks occurred as teams arrived and the bubble was yet to be sealed, with nothing but negative tests since.
For the NBA, their record, so far, has been pretty much pristine. The league announced on Wednesday that, for the third consecutive week, there were no positive tests among the 343 players in Orlando. The only two positive tests the entire time they’ve been in the bubble occurred upon arrival in Orlando last month, but those two players never made it past quarantine and did not expose anyone else there to the virus.
There were also two very high-profile cases early on of players breaking quarantine protocols to receive food delivery, but the only semi-controversy since then had to do with just how long Lou Williams spent at an Atlanta area nightclub after attending the funeral of close relative. But both he and Zion Williamson, who likewise left the bubble for a family emergency, have since returned and passed quarantine without incident to rejoin their teams.
In the event of any future positive tests inside the bubble, there are strict guidelines in place that will require said player to go into isolation until they are fully recovered and cleared by medical personnel. Overall, the league deserves credit for its success thus far, and the players deserve credit for abiding by the guidelines set forth by the Players’ Association.
Still, the proof is in the pudding for how the bubble works. There were a number of positive tests when the league began testing players in home markets, leading to facilities shutting down, but those were kept away from the bubble until they cleared a number of negative tests. The other soccer and hoops bubbles have proven the same, that testing and isolation is the solution to keeping the virus out, despite likewise seeing positive tests before arrival.
All of it begs the question of the NFL and MLB, which has seen two teams have to halt play due to outbreaks on the Marlins and Cardinals, who attempt to play without a bubble. Given the spread of the virus in the United States, allowing players to come and go from facilities with interaction with the real world is, sadly, downright dangerous and it seems like just a matter of time before positive tests arrive.
We are in the early stages of the restart, and for everyone in Orlando, consistency in regard to following these safety protocols is the only thing that will ensure that everyone remains as safe and healthy as possible over the next few months. But so far it’s off to a good start, and combined with the NHL, WNBA, MLS, NWSL, and others, the bubble concept appears to have been the correct one.
In recent days, there have been reports that Kanye West’s presidential campaign has ties to the Republican Party (despite his independent affiliation), as people said to be working on his campaign are members of the GOP. Other reports surfaced more recently saying that Donald Trump associates have worked to help get West on states’ Presidential ballots in an attempt to boost Trump’s re-election campaign. Now, the POTUS has addressed rumors that he himself has worked to help get Kanye’s name on ballots.
At a White House press conference last night, Trump said:
“I like him. He’s always been very nice to me. I like Kanye very much, but no, I have nothing to do with him getting on the ballot. We’ll have to see what happens. We’ll see if he gets on the ballot. But I’m not involved.”
Meanwhile, Kanye has actually been critical of Trump and his presidency in recent times. In his now-infamous Forbes interview, he suggested he was no longer supporting the President, saying, “I am taking the red hat off, with this interview. […] It looks like one big mess to me.” He did also offer praise for Trump, though, saying, “Trump is the closest president we’ve had in years to allowing God to still be part of the conversation.”
It probably wasn’t the intended effect, but there was something soothing and comforting about Amy Seimetz’s She Dies Tomorrow. It’s also probably a good guess that I wouldn’t have felt that way, say, six months ago – or in the alternate reality where there isn’t a pandemic, the same alternate reality that haunts me in my dreams every night. In those realities, I’m fairly sure I’d find Seimetz’s eerie, haunting film about the inevitability of death spooky and disturbing. Instead, now, I felt a serene sense of peace and calm.
Hearing the premise of the film doesn’t really prepare a viewer for what they’re about to see. Amy (Kate Lyn Sheil), despondent at her home, becomes aware that she will die tomorrow. There’s no real reason ever given, but she just knows this is the truth. Amy’s friend Jane (Jane Adams) stops by to console her friend, but by the time Jane leaves, now she is also convinced death is awaiting her the following day. Jane goes to a birthday party and the tone in the room slowly changes from, “Hey, Jane, you’re bringing us all down with all this death talk,” to everyone in the room also now realizing they will all die tomorrow.
Everything is a pandemic movie now. Even during movies I’ve just rewatched since all this started, I see allegories in everything from The Lost Boys to Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Every week there’s a “new movie of the pandemic,” because every movie is now about the pandemic. And how could it not be? All our lives are different, so of course we are going to watch everything through a different lens. And now here comes a movie where people come in contact with other people and the result is they all know the next day is their last.
The reason I mentioned earlier that the premise doesn’t really prepare a viewer for the experience is because, on its surface, it sounds like a “cool horror movie” like It Follows or You’re Next (You’re Next director Adam Wingard even makes an appearance in this movie.) But this isn’t a traditional horror movie. The people who learn their grim fate don’t react with horror; there’s almost a peaceful tranquility to the whole endeavor.
The movie itself is quite the mood itself, never showing anyone with any real sense of urgency. And the movie itself takes a cue from its characters, moving along at a nuanced pace, though it never feels slow, and still maintains a tight running time of under 90 minutes. Again, it’s a comforting ride for something so grim. (Also, I am not at all saying you will react to this movie the way I did. It has everything to do with the particular headspace I’m in at this moment.)
The notion of acceptance is what made me feel a bizarre calm. I’ve watched this play out with our current situation time and time again. There are people mentally fighting against what’s happening, still trying to hold on to a semblance of what their world was like back in February. I, too, did this for a while, but the realities of what became the devastating epicenter that was New York City made me realize, fairly quickly, life as I knew it was over for the considerable future. When I accepted this, I felt better. There’s always that weird moment when my brain is trying to convince me a terrible situation isn’t that bad. That it can still be easily fixed. That’s when things are at their most stressful. But once I accept, yes, this is bad, now let’s make the best of it? That’s when the stress alleviates.
The condemned in She Dies Tomorrow never panic. They accept their fate and, yes, try to make the best of it. Each person has a different interpretation of what this means, but certainly no one is racing into the local Burger King without a mask demanding to be served. Every last action is a testament to kindness, compassion, or just his or her own self-care and amusement. This is what I find comforting: where the first reaction to bad news isn’t selfishness. Instead, all the mental gymnastics of how to change their fates is replaced instead with what to do with the time they have left.
There is a lot of late-night lore about Conan O’Brien’s brief ascension to The Tonight Show, his struggles while Jay Leno hosted a primetime talk show airing ahead of Conan’s The Tonight Show, and Conan’s eventual ouster so that NBC could replace O’Brien with the man he replaced. There was a lot of nastiness in that debacle, and a lot of hurt feelings. A “few people were not good human beings,” Conan O’Brien once said about what he called a “clusterf*ck.”
I have heard a lot about the debacle, but one story that somehow seemed to slip by me was the fact that Jeff Zucker — the President and CEO of NBC at the time, who ultimately made the call to fire Conan — also once had Conan arrested. In fact, Nick Offerman mentioned it in a recent episode of In Bed with Nick and Megan while speaking to Rashida Jones who — like Jeff Zucker and Conan O’Brien — attended Harvard (although obviously not at the same time). Offermam mentioned that Conan — who was the head of The National Lampoon — frequently pranked the school newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, which Jeff Zucker ran at the time.
I did some more research into this story, and discovered that there is quite an interesting backstory of pranks to go along with the arrest. The arrest was something of the last straw after O’Brien and The National Lampoon pulled a series of pranks on Zucker, including a fake phone-sex ad with Zucker’s dorm-room phone number; stealing the Crimson’s “prized collection of caricatures of its past presidents” and mailing them to Duluth, Minnesota; and stealing the newspaper’s presidential throne.
But the prank that got O’Brien arrested was when he stole an entire run of the Harvard Crimson daily newspaper. Here’s how The New Yorker captured the incident in 2001:
Early one morning fifteen years ago, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the entire press run of the Harvard Crimson disappeared from the front hall of the newspaper’s offices. Jeff Zucker was the president of the paper at the time, and he vividly remembers his reaction: “I was pissed. I knew it was Conan who had stolen it, of course. So I called the police.”
The Harvard Crimson itself described the incident thusly, in 2004:
“O’Brien cut his teeth in comedy as president of The Harvard Lampoon, a semi-secret Sorrento Square social organization that used to occasionally publish a so-called humor magazine. In fact, O’Brien first met Zucker, his current boss, one day when O’Brien and the Lampoon editors stole all the copies of that morning’s Crimson. Zucker, then Crimson President, called the police and met O’Brien face to face while he was being arrested.”
According to O’Brien, Zucker didn’t forgive him for that until 2005. Conan was fired in 2010, so maybe Zucker didn’t forgive him, after all. In fact, just last year, O’Brien zinged Zucker during an upfront presentation for WarnerMedia, which owns TBS (where Conan works) and CNN (where Zucker is the president). In joking that a movie would be made about AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner, Conan said that “new chairman of WarnerMedia News and Sports Jeff Zucker will be played by Mini-Me. Now that’s just good casting! We go way back, he and I.”
They certainly do. Thirty-five years, in fact, and these two just can’t seem to escape from one another’s orbit.
Oh, you thought Netflix was the only place you could stream quality anime?
Get ready to have your mind blown then because Hulu is stepping into the game in a big way. From nostalgic offerings and cult classics to inventive new series and mega-popular franchises, the streaming platform is giving fans what they want. More kickass action, criminally cool characters, and imaginative storytelling all done in the signature animation style.
Here are the best anime series streaming on Hulu right now.
This fan-favorite anime series has two things going for it: a killer heavy-metal theme song and more action than a Marvel flick. That feels appropriate since the show follows an invincible superhero, who can take out his enemies with just one punch. What’s truly brilliant about this series, though, is how it ranks and classifies lower-tiered vigilantes and how it subverts stereotypes by making Saitama, the hero, apathetic about his own abilities. It’s darkly comedic as some of the best anime typically are.
Even if you’re not an anime fan you’ve probably heard of this ’90s series. It’s a cult classic, a legend in the scene, and it holds up decades later as one of the more exciting, adventurous anime shows. The short synopsis: it’s a world-hopping space western starring a group of misfit bounty hunters, but that doesn’t really capture what a cultural phenomenon it’s become. Just watch a couple of episodes, listen to the dope theme songs, and then you’ll get why so many people cosplay this series.
Speaking of superheroes, this is another anime series that reinvents the genre, giving fans a school setting and an imaginative take of supernatural abilities and the people who wield them. In a world where latent superpowers labeled “Quirks” show up in chosen people, Izuku Midoriya is glaringly average, until someone shares their Quirk with him. He must figure out how to use his new abilities while attending a school for the gifted. Okay, so maybe it kind of sounds like X-Men, but it’s not. Trust us.
For a lot of anime fans, this Manga-based series was a kind of gateway into the animated world. This show is the second part of a larger story about Naruto Uzumaki, a loud-mouth orphan who hopes to become a famed ninja, so while you’ll probably need to watch his origin story first, it’s this installment that’s the most action-packed. Naruto’s an adolescent now, still chasing glory with his group of badass friends. There are tons of filler episodes in this one but if you can stick it out, you’ll be treated to a thoroughly good time.
Bleach is another well-known anime with a fantasy element built-in. Kurosaki Ichigo is a high school student who, after an interaction with a hollow, gains the ability to see ghosts. So, naturally, he becomes a Soul Reaper. Truth: the first 60 episodes are this series best. It’s plagued by filler arcs later on, but it’s still an addictive watch, especially if you’re new to the scene.
This series is a juggernaut in the anime world, spawning movies and multiple seasons and garnering a legion of devoted fans. To understand the hype, you’ll have to watch, but expect inventive action and a gripping storyline. Set in an alternate universe where humanity has caged itself off from giant monsters known as Titans, the show follows a group of fighters trying to protect their people when one of those walls is breached, and the Titans attack.
Rich visuals and interesting plot twists elevate this Shonen anime to an inventive take on a typical plot for the genre. Tanjiro is a young boy whose family is attacked by demons. Only he and his sister survive. While Tanjiro sets out to become a demon slayer, his sister begins slowly turning into one, forcing Tanjiro to hide her condition as he searches for a cure.
This ’90s anime series is another must-watch for anyone looking to get into the genre, or rediscover what makes it so great. The show follows a group of schoolgirls who learn they’re the reincarnation of alien princesses who must use their newfound abilities to defend earth. The word “girl-power” was created because of this series.
Another space epic, this one is truly out of this world in terms of storytelling. It focuses on a cosmic adventurer whose crew goes looking for new alien species. That on-the-move theme means each episode takes us to a new planet, explores a new genre, and offers up some rare experimental plot devices you normally don’t see in anime. It’s basically a new show every episode, which means you’ll never get bored.
As another classic anime offering, this one stands out because of its oddball characters and nostalgic flair. It follows a weird monkey-boy named Goku who goes on a quest with the help of some equally strange comrades, to find the mystic dragon balls — large crystals that, when collected, gives their owner whatever they desire. Anime’s come a long way since this fun romp, but you’ll never tire of revisiting its roots with this show.
Back in 2018, I wrote about how Netflix’s first season of The Rainwashed away what was tired and weary about post-apocalyptic fiction. The streaming service’s strong genre sense had brought a fresh new take for binge-watching adults (including the younger crowd), especially anyone looking for something different than zombie fare (although the streaming service’s Black Summerplays to those fans) and completely bleak movies like The Road. The show also offered something quite unlike the multiple Stephen King options about the end of the world that Hollywood really enjoys revisiting. The Rain‘s second season further propelled the show’s action to a turning point, so I was curious to see how the series would wrap up this year. However, a lot has changed in the world since this show’s debut, and there’s no way to avoid thinking about that reality.
This presents more than a fleeting dilemma for this Danish production’s audience, who realizes that even the occasionally wonky English-dubbed dialogue (a change that arrived after Netflix saw increased viewing numbers with Dark) hasn’t taken away from the experience. Can The Rain be as engrossing during our current global situation as it felt a few years ago, when it played out like an unrealistic scenario?
Let’s just say that, although the show is a gorgeously-rendered production that’s both polished and gritty and can be viewed as an environmental parable, I definitely felt some apprehension about revisiting a series that’s framed around a deadly virus. That’s the case even though the virus literally fell from the rain, which remains a far-fetched prospect, but you know, still. Virus. What was entertaining in 2018 and 2019 had the potential to feel far too timely in 2020, so that twinge in my gut was a natural reaction, but fortunately with this third season, the disease isn’t the main focus. It’s definitely not a non-issue, but the show focuses more upon how this ragtag group of survivors moves past their individual struggles, which acted as the first few seasons’ true plague.
Netflix
The core trio of the series remains the same (this ^^ is a Season 2 still, since Netflix hasn’t issued a Season 3 image with them all in one frame) this year, and the action picks up years later when that Scandanavian rain is long gone. Rasmus (Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen, still fantastic) is feeling full of vigor and pep despite being the main virus host, yet Simone (Alba August) still wants to cure him of the disease. Cue a massive struggle of wills, and the show’s audience won’t be able to look away from how far these two have come since being trapped in that bunker for years. They’ve seen some massive sh*t and lost so many people near and dear to them. Their bad dad is still doing potentially dumb things for the shadowy organization known as Apollon. And Martin (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard) is still transforming from hardened survivalist to being able to increasingly open himself up to others.
It’s strange, too, how this finale season could have felt ill-timed, yet the timing probably couldn’t be more right. How this season plays out, as a contrast to our current reality, is sheer coincidence, of course, but it all somehow works as escapism from our situation. A lot of that’s down to deft writing, but the show’s also reached a point where it’s no longer putting the virus’ physical effects on display (at least, not in the graphic way it did before now). Instead, there’s more of a beta-virus brewing — one that can bestow certain people with superpowers. Since we’ve already seen these characters propel themselves through nutso situations, it doesn’t seem like a huge stretch that the show edges more deeply into the special-effects realm.
In fact, this season brings a number of fantastical happenings, which I shall not spoil, but weirdly enough, the result is that the show feels almost spin-off-y while still periodically reminding viewers where it began. Funny how that works, even though it shouldn’t feel funny at all. Yet the final episode cascades over the viewer like an immense wave of relief, satisfaction, and hope. Like I said, it’s surreal to watch this show come out of a tunnel that reality recently entered, but what I’m really trying to say is this: if you enjoyed his show already, don’t shy away from leaping into the final season out of fear of not seeing a comforting resolution — because it’s there.
If you’ve never watched The Rain and are feeling moderately interested at this point, you might be a little triggered by the first season, but here’s a positive note: the series is a fairly speedy bingewatch. Only fourteen episodes transpired before this final season, in which everything gets nicely wrapped up. Yet more importantly we get one final tour with these wonderful characters. That’s one major way this show has fostered a devoted audience: these people are all (mostly) worth caring about. They’ve been forced to grow up too fast when they could have been goofing off with iPhones and attending college and parties, f*cking up and getting to know themselves. Instead, they must reckon with how their world was turned upside down.
It’s a familiar theme to us right now, but the most stressful of this show’s hurdles were conquered before the final season. Now, Simone, Rasmus, and Patrick are seeking relief from their extended trauma, which feels therapeutic not only for them but, potentially, for those of us at home as well.
Netflix’s ‘The Rain’ streams its finale season on August 6.
As much as music is about the songs, it’s also about narrative, and the people who make it. An album is only as good as how badly people want to listen to it, and it takes interesting stories to create that connection with an audience. Since the origins of modern music, there has been a myriad of interesting plots (and subplots) about heroes, villains, underappreciated visionaries, signature events, and other elements that have come together to make the music industry the exciting and ever-moving beast it is today. As this has been happening, filmmakers have been documenting it, resulting in some of of the best music documentaries that you should watch (even if you’ve already seen them). Check out our list, presented in alphabetical order, below.
Amy (2015)
Amy Winehouse was both a triumphant and tragic figure: Even though she only had two albums to her name, Winehouse’s career yielded international hits like “Rehab” and established her as one of the most engaging singers on the planet. Despite her success, she was also a vessel of potential, having passed away at just 27 after years of dealing with substance abuse. Amy, the definitive documentary about her life and journey, gets are more than that, though: It paints a comprehensive and compelling portrait of an artist who was as full of life as she was of struggle.
Toronto metal band Anvil is probably a group you haven’t heard of, unless you’re familiar with this documentary about them. It might seem to be a Spinal Tap-like mockumentary — after playing a show to an embarrassingly small crowd, the band’s Robb Reiner looks to the camera and says, “I can sum it up for you in three words: We have shit management” — but it’s all real. The group had fleeting success in the ’80s, even managing to influence and/or perform with the likes of Megadeth, Metallica, Bon Jovi, and others, but it didn’t last. Despite the huge drought the band fell into during the ’90s, they refused to stop, so while there are plenty of comedic moments, it’s also at times heartwarming to see how determined this group of struggling musicians is.
A Band Called Death (2013)
The punk spirit is defined by its rebellion against the established and expected, so what’s more punk than being the first punk band, subverting the norm in a way that hadn’t even been established yet? ’70s Detroit group Death was believed to be one of the first groups in the genre, which meant they were underappreciated in their time but revered after it, as visionaries often are. A Band Called Death effective paints a portrait of this band of black brothers, going against the prevalent Motown grain of the time and place they were in in order to forge their own path, one that didn’t yet exist. Now that’s punk.
Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest (2011)
Around the time this documentary came out, A Tribe Called Quest was actually disputing with director Michael Rappaport, with Q-Tip going as far as to tweet that he was “not in support” of the movie. That could mean either the film wasn’t done all that well, or it was a warts-and-all production that wasn’t meant solely to honor the subject, but to paint as accurate and complete a portrait of them as possible. A Tribe Called Quest was and remains important and successful, but they didn’t always get along with each other and had their struggles, and it’s this absolute vision of the group that Rappaport faithfully portrays as he goes with them on their 2008 reunion tour.
Beware Of Mr. Baker (2012)
You should never meet your idols, they say, and it seems that’s never been truer than in the case of Ginger Baker, because he’s a bad dude: Even in just the Beware Of Mr. Baker trailer, you see him attacking director Jay Bulger with a cane and cutting the bridge of his nose. As a drummer and co-founder of Cream, Baker became known as one of the world’s best and a real innovator, and part of his enduring legacy is his hostile and often combative personality. It doesn’t seem like Baker is somebody who would participate in a documentary about himself — as the aforementioned confrontation suggests — but he did, which results in a gripping film about one of the most talented and aggressive figures in rock history.
The Black Godfather (2019)
The Black Godfather presents the life and work of Clarence Avant, a music impresario who played every role from band manager to record label executive to behind-the-scenes fixer. Avant mentored music industry executives, produced special events for politicians, and has been one of the most towering, yet unheralded figures in the music business for decades. The Black Godfather aims to give him his much-deserved roses.
Uproxx’s Philip Cosores previously wrote of the band and the film, “[Chris] Martin has long been the figurehead of the group, but the movie is clear to paint the portrait of the four-piece, or even five-piece, puzzle. As clumsily as Martin describes Coldplay as pub fare, there is a true fascination in seeing the band meet, four moons orbiting the same planet and ultimately uniting behind Martin’s incredible songwriting. It’s then that the viewer realizes all the goes into making Coldplay the juggernaut that it is, that the friendship at the center of the band is the thing holding it together and making it as special as it has become.”
Part of what makes music interesting — aside from the songwriting, the instrumental proficiency, and everything else that you actually hear when a song is playing — is the people. Daniel Johnston, who is considered by many to be an “outsider” musician, is one of the most interesting figures in recorded history, even if his music can be hard to stomach for many… or because of that fact. Contending with schizophrenia and manic depression, Johnston managed to earn a cult following for himself in Austin, Texas with his lo-fi, childlike tapes and concerts, although he didn’t thrive as well in the context of a record label. Johnston is a character that screenwriters wish they could concoct, which makes an exploration into the man’s inner psyche a compelling affair.
Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened (2019)
The Fyre Festival was doomed well before it began, and watching the story unfold in real time was perhaps the most fascinating running plot of 2017. The proceedings were made to be documented as quickly as possible, which resulted in the story being told less than two years after the events described went down. The Netflix documentary covers everything from the festival’s origins to its downfall, and even turned a guy named Andy King into a meme star.
The Rolling Stones’ 1969 US tour was short, featuring just 24 shows between November 7 and December 6, but it’s often regarded as a historically significant extravaganza. That said, it ended on one of the worst possible notes: Altamont Free Concert. The film chronicles this brief window of time, which was as fascinating as it was tragic: The concert featured Santana; The Flying Burrito Brothers; Jefferson Airplane; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and the Rolling Stones, as well as the Hell’s Angels working security, four deaths, and extensive property damage.
Homecoming: A Film By Beyonce (2019)
Uproxx’s Brett Michael Dykes writes of Homecoming, “Beyonce’s history-making Coachella performance was enough to temporarily rename the music festival Beychella last year, and now fans who couldn’t afford to see Queen Bee perform live get a backstage pass to the show with this doc. Are there killer performances, musical mash-ups, and dance routines? Sure. But what really makes this music doc stand-out besides the talent of its star is the intimate look fans are given into Beyonce’s personal life, from her surprise pregnancy to her struggle to get in shape before the event and all the in-between madness and heartbreak.”
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco (2002)
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot stands as one of Wilco’s most adventurous albums, and yet, it was perhaps the one they had the hardest time releasing. Their label, Reprise Records, refused to put it out, so Wilco bought the album’s rights, left the label, and uploaded the album online and released it themselves, later releasing it on Nonesuch Records. Even for non-music fans, it’s a fascinating story with a lot of moving parts that contribute to the larger narrative: Record label drama, Jeff Tweedy’s increasingly severe migraines, and the departure of then-Wilco member Jay Bennett due to creative differences.
It Might Get Loud (2008)
There are plenty of documentaries and other resources out there that have talked about guitar gods and how to play the instrument well, but It Might Get Loud really gets at how the guitar’s diversity makes it special. It does this by highlighting the methods and styles of U2’s The Edge, Jack White, and Jimmy Page, three men who have used the instrument in very different ways. Despite their varying backgrounds and ideologies about the six-string, or perhaps because of it, it’s enlightening to hear these three greats talk about the different elements of their craft, making this film one of the most effective love letters to the most important instrument of the past hundred years.
Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck (2015)
Cobain’s story is perhaps the most famously tragic in music of the ’90s: Nirvana became more monumentally successful than Cobain could handle, which was just one of many struggles that the generational talent faced. He also dealt with chronic health problems, heroin addiction, and depression, all of which were presumably contributing factors to his suicide. Cobain was as troubled as he was fascinating, and this documentary, which chronicles his 27 years on earth, is as engaging and entertaining a look at Cobain has ever been compiled. The film itself is special, but the documentary is even sweeter due to the soundtrack, which features previously unreleased Cobain recordings.
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005)
Even at 77 years old today, Bob Dylan continues to be a monumental figure that fans of all ages are fascinated by, because his music was both so groundbreaking and so timeless. Perhaps his most enrapturing era, though, was the early 1960s, at the start of his career and also the “end,” when Dylan announced his retirement following a motorcycle accident. No Direction Home draws from hours of interviews with Dylan himself and people close to him, all of which are edited into an expansive three-and-a-half-hour movie (directed by Martin Scorsese) about one of pop culture’s most engaging creatives.
Native Americans don’t seem to be mentioned often when it comes to figures who were historically significant in the advancement of rock music, but they’ve contributed more than most realize. Link Wray, whose “Rumble” (the film’s namesake song) has influenced guitarists for generations, is a Shawnee Native American. Jimi Hendrix, whose merits don’t need explaining, has Native American ancestry as well. The film highlights these and other important people to show that Native Americans have impacted modern North American music in a surprisingly broad and profound way. They’ve long been overlooked, but Rumble does its part to make sure they get their due.
More than many other genres, hip-hop has been defined by the technology that was available at the time, and at its dawning, turntables were en vogue. That’s part of the focus of Scratch, the esteemed 2001 documentary that looks at hip-hop DJs, the mechanics of their craft, and what it all means. Turntablism and traditional hip-hop culture are part of a world that might not be familiar to contemporary hip-hop fans, but where the film excels is in making these nuanced ideas feel accessible and alluring. It all comes from the mouths of experts as well: Afrika Bambaataa, Grand Master Flash, Madlib, Cut Chemist, DJ Shadow, and other luminaries were interviewed for the documentary.
Searching For Sugar Man (2012)
Sixto Rodriguez, better known mononymously by his last name, is an American musician from Detroit, who ultimately proved to have a short, non-noteworthy career in the ’70s. That’s only what you might think if you live outside of South Africa, though, because there, he was humongous. While his South African fans presumed he was dead, Rodriguez lived an ordinary life as a factory worker until a pair of fans attempted to find him. That journey is the subject of this documentary that’s as much about a missing icon as it is about fandom, and it makes for a fascinating film that proves some truths, even those that seem unknowable, are just waiting to be found.
There are many different approaches to rap, whether you’re talking about vocal styles, subject matter, or instrumental choices, all of this going to show that rap is truly an art. That’s something that Ice-T wanted to capture in his 2012 documentary Something From Nothing, and while he would certainly be enough of an authority to at least give a lecture on the form, just hearing from him would likely result in a non-definitive look at the genre. That’s why the film features interviews with multiple rappers talking about how they approach their craft, from people like Kanye West, Afrika Bambaataa, Snoop Dogg, Q-Tip, Dr. Dre, Eminem, and other icons who have left their mark in their own ways. While getting a complete picture of what a genre is about with one documentary is virtually impossible, Something From Nothing is one of the most successful attempts yet.
Metallica has been kicking ass for nearly 40 years now, and while even remaining a band for that long is a feat, that doesn’t mean it was smooth sailing. Some Kind Of Monster covers the band during the St. Anger era, a time of much turmoil for the group: Bassist Jason Newsted left the group in 2001, James Hetfield went to rehab for his alcohol abuse, and the band sought out group therapy to deal with interpersonal issues. The movie is a fascinating look at one of the most successful and longest-running metal groups ever, and what it takes to achieve that status and remain standing well after most bands would have folded.
Sound City (2013)
Dave Grohl can pretty much do no wrong, as he shows in this film, his directorial debut. Nirvana recorded their album Nevermind at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, and the place apparently stuck with him enough to compel the rock star to craft this tribute to the place. The movie details the history of the studio and brings together famous musicians who recorded there while it was active, between 1969 and 2011. The film also resulted in a soundtrack featuring songs recorded by the musicians in the movie, resulting in collaborations involving the likes of Grohl, Paul McCartney, Trent Reznor, Josh Homme, Stevie Nicks, and others.
Uproxx’s Caitlin White says the movie “shows a woman who has come to understand the context of her own position in the music industry and the world, doing everything in her power to use her privilege appropriately, and with grace.” She continues, “And for those who are keeping track of the karmic scales, it’s no real surprise that Taylor’s commitment to reinvention — not for the sake of career success, but for her own mental and physical health — comes alongside a massive fall from grace for her one-time rival. Revenge is a dish best served cold, but these days Taylor’s world is so warm and sweet, she forgot that it existed.”
At most shows, there are a lot of people on stage, not all of whom are part of the main act. Among those are background singers, and when Morgan Neville and Gil Friesen wanted to learn more about these figures, 20 Feet From Stardom was born. The movie is a fascinating exploration into the lives of people we see so often and think so little about, whose contributions to music are as anonymous as they are essential. It’s a music story, but it’s also one about race, bias in the music industry, and about under-appreciated art. Being a background vocalist is a struggle between just being involved and wanting to be a name, and it’s this journey and other nuances that the film captures so well.
Nina Simone was one of the most popular and inspirational figures of the 1960s, so much so that her popularity easily transcends the decade. At the same time, she was complicated, known as much for her outbursts (she once fired a gun at a record company executive) as she was for her activism (Simone was a strong voice during the civil rights movement). What Happened, Miss Simone? has no interest in presenting a blemish-free version of the artist: She was happy and sad and angry and nuanced, and all of that is part of what makes her so compelling a documentary subject and person.
If there is a definitive music movie, this is it, right? It captures, of course, the Woodstock Music & Art Fair (as it’s formally known) of 1969, one of the most iconic musical events of all time. It features artists like Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin… basically all the defining acts of the era. The film itself is basically as important as the event it chronicles: The movie is one of few to have been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. It’s a time capsule of an era that was actually made during the time period it represents, giving it another layer of authenticity and transformative properties, which is part of the reason why it has aged so well and remains an important work.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Now that we’ve all had time to digest the doomsday-causing shenanigans of our favorite dysfunctional brood of superpowered weirdos, it’s time to do some hunting … for Easter eggs, that is. The Umbrella Academy creator Steve Blackman told us (before season two premiered) that he’d hidden plenty of gems throughout this wild sci-fi ride for fans to dig up. Some of them are instantly noticeable — like Klaus quoting TLC lyrics and naming his cult after popular R&B group Destiny’s Child — but others are inspired by the original comics from My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way.
It’s those clues we’re paying attention to now because they offer an early glimpse at which storylines might pop up in season three. Here are five of the biggest nods to the show’s graphic-novel roots that might hint at where this f*cked up family is going next.
Netflix
1. The Dark Side of The Moon
Look, the moon is important. It controls the tides. Werewolves howl at it. But The Umbrella Academy has a specific fixation with that celestial body, and it creeps up throughout the show’s second season. When we get our first glimpse of Allison’s life in the ’60s, her new husband, Ray, gifts her with Jules Verne’s From the Earth To Moon with the reasoning that his wife loves to stare at that illuminated orb in the sky every night. Of course, Ray couldn’t know that’s because her half-human/half-ape brother, who she’s secretly lusted after, used to live up there. Or that her sister once destroyed it and caused an apocalypse that wiped out all of humanity. But still, it’s a romantic gesture.
The thing is, the moon pops up again and again in season two, most notably when a noticeably younger Reginald Hargreeves meets with The Majestic 12, a clandestine group of power-players influencing history. He’s made a deal with these men to help them win the space race in exchange for their help in covering up his experiments on “the dark side of the moon.” Now, in season one, fans were led to believe that Luther’s time up on the old rock was just a way to keep him busy and out of his old man’s hair. But what if Luther’s work was actually part of a bigger plan Hargreeves had in play, one that connects to the comics and possibly teases a conflict in future seasons of the show?
The latest installment of The Umbrella Academy comic series is titled Hotel Oblivion, and it revolves around Hargreeves’ secret prison, somewhere in space, for all of the monstrous, supernaturally-powered villains his academy defeated over the years. Perhaps Hotel Oblivion is actually positioned on the dark side of the moon. Perhaps, as in the comics, we’ll see the consequences of jailing these baddies, who eventually break out and wreak havoc on the world, in season three? After all, with The Commission no longer a threat, the show will need some new antagonists to keep the siblings on their toes.
Netflix
2. The Sparrow Academy
Speaking of throwing a wrench in the family’s “happily ever after” plan, the season ends with yet another callback to the comics, one that was teased throughout multiple episodes if you knew where to look. In Hotel Oblivion, an alternate Umbrella Academy was introduced, one with a new set of powerful siblings supposedly trained by the group’s robotic mother, Grace. They wear nearly identical uniforms to what the children did years earlier, except their outfits feature a bird emblem. Creator Gerard Way announced that the next installment in the comic series would be titled The Sparrow Academy, which is what Hargreeves calls the house when the group finally makes it back to 2019 at the end of season two.
But we should’ve seen that twist coming long before the final episode. Bird imagery was scattered throughout the show’s second run, most notably in some of The Handler’s more outrageous outfits and in one of the closing shots of Harlan levitating a wooden figurine shaped like a sparrow. Some fans think he may be one of the members — although age-wise, he’d be considerably older than the rest of the children. Our bet is he could be a villain by the time the team figures out what the hell happened after their time jump.
Netflix
3. Alien Origins
Late in season two, The Umbrella Academy delivered an out-of-this-world reveal. It turns out, Reginald Hargreeves is… not of this world. We suspected his alien origins in season one when the show teased a bit of the character’s mysterious past. He was fleeing a dying world that looked markedly different from Earth. But there’s “hinting,” and then there’s slapping fans in the face with a human skin suit, which is what happened in the show’s season two finale. Angry over being betrayed by his partners following the assassination of JFK, Hargreeves quite calmly unzips his homo sapien exterior, folds it over a chair, and delivers what we can only assume is a terrifying form of punishment for crossing him, off-camera. If they thought having a cruel, unforgiving parental figure was traumatizing, just wait until the Academy kids realize their dad’s an extraterrestrial.
Netflix
4. Vanya’s Heroic Moment
Speaking of alien phenomenons, this season, Vanya managed to avoid blowing up the planet with an assist from her siblings, finally proving she’s not the villain in this story. In fact, she may be the hero. Vanya gets a chance to use her abilities for good when Harlan accidentally falls into a pond on the farm and drowns. The kid was dead, or nearly so, until Vanya channeled her powers and breathed life (and some tiny balls of light that signaled a transfer of her gifts) back into his corpse. She took all of that back, though Harlan was clearly changed after the encounter, but the specific visual of those illuminated orbs bestowing supernatural abilities on an otherwise normal human being felt like a foreshadowing moment.
When we were treated to Reginald Hargreeves’ origin story, we saw those same bright lights lifting into the atmosphere of his home planet. What if those lights passed from his world to ours, finding a home in the children and giving them their powers? What if that’s how Hargreeves knew where and when to look for the kids? There’s obviously some connection between Harlan and Vanya after she saves his life. Maybe that’s how the Academy members will be able to find the rest of their “siblings,” should they need/want to in season three?
Netflix
5. The Televator
If you were able to look past how completely bizarre Hargreeves’ romance with Grace — a woman he would later model a robot after whose sole purpose would be to raise his adoptive children — was this season, you may have noticed some blueprints for an invention called a Televator when she went snooping through his office. Perhaps will get a full-sized replica of this time-traveling device that comic book fans should recognize, but either way, its inclusion was a nice nod to readers of Gerard Way’s graphic novels.
‘The Umbrella Academy’ Season 2 is currently streaming on Netflix.
Some of the best documentaries ever made focus on sports, and for good reason. Sports are a recreational hobby for some, but they also mirror the rest of the world’s political, societal, and personal problems. Sports are rife with corruption and fascinating personal stories of triumph and downfall. It’s no wonder talented directors dive into these realms to deliver some of the most compelling films about competitions all around the world.
From obscure sports and tournaments far from the spotlight to documentaries chronicling the biggest stars in the sports world, the category has a lot to offer sports fans and those simply just looking for a good drama.
Let’s take a look at the best sports documentaries Netflix has to offer.
Did you know Kurt Russell’s dad owned a baseball team? And Kurt played on it? The saga of the scrappy Portland Mavericks is not the most well-executed film on the list, but it’s lovingly done and the archival footage carries the day here. If you’re curious, in need of a true underdog tale, and want to add a bit of baseball trivia to your brain, this might be for you.
This 2013 documentary is a delightful look at a youth golf championship. Chronicling the 2012 championship at Pinehurst, it follows a handful of charming golf proteges from around the world as they vie for the title of best 7- and 8-year-old players in the world. Golf greats like Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Annika Sörenstam provide commentary on the difficulty and drama of the game while we watch young golfers deal with the stress of the tournament, parents, and some nitpicky rules. It has its fair share of Sports Parent moments, but the kids are genuinely interesting and full of character.
Produced by LeBron James’ Uninterrupted, The Carter Effect made its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017. It was fitting, as the movie is a loving homage to Carter and basketball in Canada’s largest city. Carter changed the game when he started his career with the Raptors in 1998, and he put Toronto on the basketball map in a way it had never been before. Interviews with Drake and Carter himself anchor a fascinating look at basketball in a hockey-first land. It’s a weighted look at how Carter’s swagger and style influenced a city and an entire generation of Canadian basketball talent, smartly executed by director Sean Menard.
Sunderland’s fall from the English Premier League to the Championship was a bleak moment in the club’s recent history, and this docuseries gives viewers an inside look at the dedication of Black Cats fans despite a truly heartbreaking season and the further tribulations that followed. This dive into English football fandom is a unique look at something American sports fans have little experience with: relegation, and the impact it can have on small clubs across Europe.
We liked Billy Corben’s Biogenesis scandal documentary we talked to the director about it. Twice. The documentary centers around Alex Rodriguez and the Miami steroid scandal that rocked baseball, using child actors to play adults and up the ante on absurdity. It’s a great recent history lesson featuring some characters you may have already forgotten about, such as now-MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s bumbling role into the league’s investigation. It’s also a fine entry into Corben’s Florida Man anthology of amazing stories from America’s most phallic state.
A disturbing look at the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal in the world of gymnastics, Athlete A looks at how Indianapolis Star reporters investigated USA Gymnastics and the women’s team doctor, Nassar, who had been abusing athletes for more than two decades. The extensive cover-up of his criminal activity and the heartbreaking stories of the whistle-blowers who helped put Nassar in jail make this a tough watch, but it’s an important story told well about a very difficult subject.
Home Game is a series of obscure sports, some more obscure than others. You’ve probably seen the Highland Games played in Scotland in one form or another, but it’s unlike you actually knew what the hell was going on. This docuseries aims to fix that while showing off some of the stars of lesser-known sports like freediving, roller derby and Kok Boru. The Calcio Storico episode which leads off the series is truly insane, but shows just how region-specific sports have made a huge impact on places you can’t truly understand without experiencing the ways they play the game.
The racing docuseries is beloved by auto enthusiasts and Netflix bingers alike, as it takes an inside look at the cut-throat world of open-wheel racing. The first season followed the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship and featured footage of the various drivers that both dominate and struggle with the year. The pressure-packed episodes follow each driver as things change, both in the racing world and in their own lives. It’s an unprecedented look inside the sport and at 10 episodes a season it’s a relatively quick watch that’s especially illuminating if you’re not familiar with the globe-trotting auto racing series.
The Dawn Wall isn’t Solo, which just won an Oscar for best documentary earlier in 2019. But there are a lot of stories to tell about El Capitan. One of climbing’s most famous landmarks was conquered by Alex Honnold without any ropes, but Tommy Caldwell’s story of triumph is every bit as compelling. The climbing legend’s quest to chart a new path up the peak in Yosemite National Park is as fascinating as it is harrowing.
The film won the Audience Award at SXSW’s film festival, and it tells an amazing story that covers Caldwell’s extraordinary biography as well as the most intense climb of his life. The documentary is a great look at the world of climbing, and is visually stunning. It also does a great job of illustrating just how difficult his climb up The Dawn Wall was, and the way it was experienced by the rest of the world.
Cheer is an inside look at small college’s top-ranked cheerleading team in Corsicana, Texas. But what sounds like a charming exploration of a niche sport quickly becomes a harrowing look at a high-stakes and dangerous sports subculture. From Greg Whiteley, the executive producer of football documentary series Last Chance U, Cheer is visually stunning and emotionally tough. It’s an inside look at physical realities of competitive cheerleading in small-town college life and the students it attracts, often as a way out of some tough situations. That includes the dangers that come with competing and all the work put into just a few minutes that determine a national championship.
This docuseries looks at the world of college football with a bit of a twist. The first two seasons chronicled East Mississippi Community College and coach Buddy Stephens as his team — many of which lost their spot at major college football programs for rules violations or arrests — try to win a collegiate title and rehabilitate their football careers. One unique aspect of the show was the role academic advisor Brittany Wagner had in shepherding the players through their semesters, trying to balance play on the field with performance in the classroom and personal growth off the field. The show’s third season introduced viewers to Independence Community College in Indiana, a departure from the first two seasons yet following a similar story arc that made the show a streaming hit.
This Oscar-winning documentary dives into the world of doping in competitive cycling. Netflix bought the distribution rights to Icarus after a strong showing from director and co-writer Bryan Fogel’s film at Sundance. The documentary plays out as a thriller, with Fogel chasing the truth about cycling cheats and stumbling onto a major International doping scandal. Watch as a chance meeting with a Russian scientist turns a story that started as a simple experiment into a geopolitical thriller and one of the biggest scandals in cycling history.
One of the few sports bright spots of life in quarantine was ESPN moving up the completion and airing of its sprawling Michael Jordan docuseries The Last Dance. Chronicling Jordan’s last season with the Chicago Bulls, the series’ eight episodes offers a sprawling look at Jordan’s career, his impact on the game and some juicy details about basketball lore we haven’t seen elsewhere. It’s one of the most complete historical pieces we’ve seen from a basketball golden age, and Jordan himself was involved in its creation so while it’s missing some details, it’s definitely the story he wanted to tell.
Sometimes terms like “overrated” and “over-hyped” conjure the wrong idea. No one’s trying to put these brands on blast or knock them down a peg. And we’re definitely not shaming you for drinking what you like. We’re simply reminding fellow aficionados to taste their whisky, rather than going off of brand perceptions. Make sure you like its flavors, not just its marketing.
After all, the world is full of choices and the most famous drams might not always be the most enjoyable. Taking a break from more media-friendly, well-distributed expressions gives you a chance to branch out into something different. Something you haven’t tasted before. Maybe a smokier or sweeter or oakier bottle.
With this aim, we asked some of our favorite bartenders to share the most overrated Scotches on the market. Maybe you reject what they say, or maybe it inspires you to broaden your horizons. Either way, no offense is meant to the brands called out here. As the sage Jay-Z says, “It’s not a diss song, it’s just a real song.”
I’m sure if we were playing Family Feud about scotches and someone said, “Show me, Macallan!” it would be the number one answer on the board. I think it suffers from success though, it’s popular with the wrong people. Try its sister brands, Edradour and Highland Park.
Johnnie Walker Black Label
Reniel Garcia, bar director of Havana 1957 in Miami
Black Label (40 percent ABV, 80 proof) is a great introduction to the taste of Scotch because it offers a nice balance of sweet and peat. It’s an elegant — almost scrumptious — Scotch at a great price and a reliable whisky that can easily become a regular in any bar. It’s also overrated.
Confused? Well, while it’s high quality and affordable, there are much better blended whiskies on the market for you to discover.
Laphroaig 10
Seamus Gleason, bartender at Hotel Jackson in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Laphroaig 10 Year. If you’re using it for anything other than a float on a penicillin, you’re wasting everyone’s time. It’s not complemented by the peat, it’s smothered by it. Nevertheless, it maintains a salty-ness that makes you wonder if you’re drinking bog water.
The Macallan 12
Drew Reid, restaurant manager at W Aspen in Aspen, Colorado
Macallan 12 – To me, this Scotch just doesn’t bring a lot to the table. It is straight forward and tasty, but doesn’t wow me as it does so many others!
I like a scotch that has more bite and/or is peated.
Johnnie Walker Blue Label
Kurt Bellon, general manager and beverage director at Chao Baan in St. Louis
Johnnie Walker Blue label comes to mind. A household name now and a likely favorite of your grandpa. For its price point, it does not justify its lack of taste and quality. Basically, the “Beats headphones” of Scotch. There are better quality headphones out there.
Glenlivet 12
Marta De La Cruz Marrero, food and beverage supervisor at Burlock Coast in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
The most overrated Scotch is Glenlivet 12. It’s a great, well-balanced whisky, but there are also many more higher quality single malts on the market to be discovered instead.
While I do enjoy Ardbeg, there are a lot of other great bottles out there that are a little more subtle with the peat. Ardbeg 10 is a good example of over-hyping. There are better, less peat-driven Scotches from Islay that I certainly prefer.
The Macallan 25
Erin Gowdy, bartender at Paul’s Landing in St. Petersburg, Florida
Macallan 25. It is a very good Scotch, but I believe it is overpriced. In the last few years, demand has increased its price reminiscent of Pappy Van Winkle. There are better, more wallet-friendly options available.
Writer’s Picks:
Highland Park 18
Don’t get us wrong, Highland Park 18 is a great bottle of whisky. The problem is that while this Orkney-produced whisky is well-balanced and full of sherry sweetness, there are other options on the market for much less than this bottle’s price tag.
Oban 14
This Highland whisky is just about as well-rounded and classic as Scotch gets. It’s rich, smooth, and full of caramel and toasted vanilla. That being said, it’s more of a beginner bottle than anything and, if you enjoy it, you can find many other comparable bottles to try instead of buying it a second time around.
Keep things fresh and give new brands a shot!
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