1. Father John Misty, Chloë And The Next 20th Century
Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the latest Father John Misty album is the least FJM-centric FJM record yet. In fact, the usual protagonist has gone completely missing. Rather than write about the familiar swaggering anti-hero, Josh Tillman has instead focused on his other made-up characters — the titular “borough socialist” Chloë, a striving entertainment biz creative named Simone, the actress known as Funny Girl, an unnamed pair of ex-lovers who are reunited by their recently deceased cat Mr. Blue. As for revelations about Tillman’s personal life, it appears that the author has (smartly) retreated into the life of a family man who is suddenly averse to oversharing or further exposing himself to a hostile outside world. (This extends to the promotion of Chloë — once a reliable driver of traffic for indie-music sites, he hasn’t given an interview in several years.) For some long-time followers, this might register as an unwelcome development, like tuning into a new season of Mad Men and noticing that Don Draper no longer is part of the show. As it is, Chloë is by far the least accessible album Tillman has made under the Father John Misty moniker. The easy entry point that the character provided — like Draper, Misty provided both vicarious bad-boy highs and bracing morning-after lows — has gone missing. The album presents Tillman at his most writerly, unfolding more like a collection of short stories observed from a distant remove than the exaggerated autobiography of the previous records.
2. Kurt Vile, (Watch My Moves)
When Kurt Vile was in his 20s, he was known around the Philadelphia music scene as “the CD-R guy,” an eccentric hustler constantly trying to get people to pay attention to his melancholy, lo-fi psych-folk songs dubbed on cheap circular plastic. But now that Vile is in his 40s and has firmly established a well-respected career as one of the most consistent and unique singer-songwriters in indie rock, he knows he doesn’t have to push so hard. “I’m not too worried about anything really,” he told me during a recent interview. “I feel like I’ve proved a lot on this album, to be honest. But at the same time, I have nothing to prove.” The album to which he refers is (Watch My Moves), his eighth solo LP. While Vile is justifiably proud of the record, he conceded that listeners might need to spend some time with it before it fully sinks in. In the 2010s, Vile earned comparisons to classic rockers like Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty thanks to durably hooky indie hits like “Baby’s Arms,” “Wakin On A Pretty Day,” and “Pretty Pimpin.” But lately, he’s favored dreamier grooves and free-floating arrangements that let songs drift for several minutes, as if lost in a stoned reverie. The languid epics of 2018’s Bottle It In signaled this change in direction, and (Watch My Moves) fortifies it.
3. Jack White, Fear Of The Dawn
Like the rest of us, it appears that Jack sort of lost his damn mind during the shutdown. He has said that he stopped writing songs for a spell during the pandemic and focused instead on making furniture. Then he took to fasting for up to five days at a time, which sparked his creativity. Oh, and he also dyed his hair blue, which he claims has made him less recognizable at his neighborhood Target, though I suspect that White likely became more noticeable once he resembled an extra from The Fifth Element. As for his music, White hasn’t ditched the layered sound of 2018’s Boarding House Reach in favor of the austerity of old. If anything, Fear Of The Dawnis even busier than its predecessor, with songs unfolding as a series of sections that crash unpredictably into each other. One of the better tracks, “Eosophobia” — which translates to “fear of the dawn” — starts out as stuttering stoner metal, then opens up into a prog breakdown beamed in from an ’80s Rush record, and finally climaxes with some aggressive rap-rock caterwauling. And then there’s “Hi De Ho,” the bewildering early single that marries a Cab Calloway sample, a hip-hop verse from Q-Tip, White’s own mock-operatic belting, and some herky-jerky synth-rock riffage. It’s a mess! And if you didn’t like Boarding House Reach, I suspect it will give you a headache. But if you’re in the pro-BHR camp like I am, well, I say bless this mess!
4. Good Looks, Bummer Year
I’ve written in past installments of the monthly column about this Texas band’s song “Almost Automatic,” the kind of slice-of-life heartland rock tune that I am almost comically pre-disposed to love. Good Looks’ full-length debut album, Bummer Year, dropped earlier this month, and while no song quite tops “Almost Automatic” the rest of the record can certainly sit comfortably with that stunner. Tragically, the band’s guitarist Jake Ames was struck by a car on the night of their album release show in Austin. According to Jake’s GoFundMe page, he appears to be on the mend. Here’s hoping he’s back with Good Looks soon, so they can get back to building a promising career.
5. M.J. Lenderman, Boat Songs
Here’s another album I have been talking up for literal months in this column, to the point where I’ve tricked myself into thinking that’s already come out and established itself as one of 2022’s best albums. But in reality, it is finally out as of today. So, as I’ve said before, if you’re looking for an alt-country-ish record with funny lyrics littered with sports and pop culture references, please Boat Songs in your ears and leave it there until Labor Day.
6. Nightlands, “Moonshine”
This side project from War On Drugs bassist Dave Hartley diverges from that band’s expansive ’80s-leaning rock sound in favor of something that’s sonically ethereal and surprisingly playful. On their latest single “Moonshine” — the title track from Nightlands’ forthcoming album, due July 15 — he marries New Age vocals with low-key electronics. I can’t get it out of my head.
7. Wet Tuna, Warping All By Yourself
Matt Valentine is one of the modern masters of the intersection of indie rock and jam band music. While he’s best known for the group MV & EE, he’s lately been putting out music under the name Wet Tuna, taking a psych-rock approach to ’70s funk and jazz fusion. The third Wet Tuna album, Warping All By Yourself, is the best realization yet of this aesthetic. If you dig Herbie Hancock, Don Cherry, Songs In The Key of Life era Stevie Wonder, and the funkiest and most coked-out disco elements of late ’70s Grateful Dead, you will enjoy this.
Los Angeles police say they have secured possible footage of the shooting allegedly committed by ASAP Rocky, according to TMZ. Although they did not release any details, it’s believed that the footage came from a nearby surveillance camera and if it’s clear enough, could be the evidence the police need to prove their case. Unfortunately for them, though, none of the guns they seized from Rocky’s Los Angeles home matched the weapon that was used in the shooting; shell casings found at the scene were of a caliber that did not match Rocky’s guns.
In addition, all of the guns they found at Rocky’s home were legally purchased and registered, which police confirmed by checking their serial numbers. According to TMZ’s sources, none of the guns were even removed from the house, since officers could tell they weren’t the same caliber as the shell casings. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles District Attorney still has not charged Rocky, since there isn’t enough evidence to proceed to trial yet.
Rocky was arrested at LAX last week as he returned from Barbados on a private flight with the pregnant Rihanna. A victim in a November 2021 shooting had identified the rapper as the perpetrator, claiming Rocky shot at him three or four times and grazed his hand. Rocky was released after posting bail — set at $550,000 — and has since been seen with Rihanna at various events, including their rave-themed baby shower.
Oskar Blues/Creature Comfort/Miller/Bohemia/istock/Uproxx
While there are countless styles of beer perfect for every palate and many of them have specific, nuanced flavor profiles, sometimes you just want an easy-drinking beer. You know, the simple, sometimes crisp, thirst-quenching brews you just want to sit around and drink with your friends. We’re talking little to no-frills. Maybe it’s a crushable beer for an uncomfortably hot day, a crisp beer for when you’ve been mowing your lawn all afternoon, or simply a light beer to drink as the sun sets.
We’re talking about lagers, pilsners, pale ales, any light, drinkable, crushable beer really. This is the definition of an “easy drinking” beer. Luckily, there are many on the market to choose from. There are also a few things that are usually true about “easy-drinking” beers. The first is that they are commonly fairly cheap. So instead of paying $20 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans, you can grab a sixer for less than $10. So that’s a plus. The second thing is that many of the best options are surprisingly underrated or at the very least not given the respect they deserve.
To celebrate the underdogs, we asked a handful of well-known craft beer experts, brewers, and beer professionals to tell us the best, most under-valued easy-drinking beers of all time. Keep reading to see all of their picks.
Miller High Life
Miller
Jesse Mix, regional manager of beer and soft drinks at Sprecher Brewing Company in Glendale, Wisconsin
Miller High Life of course. This beer is 100 percent nostalgia and classic Milwaukee. It’s the first beer I ever had and is still a staple in my fridge. This beer is great for just about anything, and pairs well with just about everything. This is the beer you drink when you want to have a great time with family and friends, or you are just plain thirsty.
Notch Kolsch
Notch
Mike Haakenstad, brewing operations manager at Sycamore Brewing in Charlotte, North Carolina
ABV: 4.9%
Average Price: Limited Availability
Why This Beer?
My pick is Kolsch from Notch Brewing in Salem, Massachusetts. It’s easily the crispest and most refreshing beer I can remember. It’s nice and golden clear with hints of honey and grape with a slight bready/toasted maltiness to it. Super refreshing, super delicious, super wish-I-was-back-in-Salem right now.
I really love Bibo Pils by Creature Comforts. Anytime someone I know goes to Athens, I ask them to pick some up for me. It’s just a perfectly crushable beer. It’s crisp and dry with just enough of a spicy hop character to keep me coming back for more.
A fresh Pilsner Urquell cannot be beaten. I’ve been blessed to tour their cellar with one of their former brewmasters and found it a heavenly experience as a fresh, unfiltered Pilsner is something that is simply unmatched. The body is soft with a light, herbal aroma that is subtle, refreshing, and begs for another sip.
Young Veterans Brewing Life Finds A Way Lager is a supremely crisp helles lager with a touch of sweetness and a light body that makes for perfect crushable quality. Tom Wilde, owner and brewer, contributes a fun aesthetic to the brewery atmosphere and labels that somehow make what is already quality beer even more exciting and approachable.
Maybe a tad outside of the box within the modern push for “crispy boi” lagers, but for me, a bright, low ABV, snappy, zesty, lightly acidic Saison-type beer is always going to fit the bill for the crispest easy-drinking beer. My mind will always harken back to Jester King’s Le Petit Prince. This little 2.9 percent ABV farmhouse table beer is zingy and fresh and carries, for me, every one of those qualities that makes a beer crisp and easy to drink. It is almost paradoxically light yet characterful with bright citrus, quenching yet low-enough acid profile, and zippy carbonation that screams crisp and easy while also delivering a profile that beckons for you to keep returning for more sips. This is one beer that I would want in endless supply through a warm summer backwoods trip.
Kona Big Wave
Kona
Hector Cavazos, owner and head brewer at Rebel Toad Brewery in Corpus Christi, Texas
Big Wave from Kona is my go-to easy-drinking beer. The tropical flavors are always great especially in this Texas heat. It’s refreshing, fruity, crushable, and has a nice floral, slightly bitter hop flavor that pairs well with the malty backbone.
Bohemia Pilsner
Bohemia
Douglas Constantiner, founder and CEO of Societe Brewing in San Diego
Bohemia Pilsner is a classic, crispy, thirst-quenching beer. To me, it’s one of the greatest Czech-style pilsners of all time but it’s made in Mexico. It’s crisp, it’s fresh, it’s delicious, and it exemplifies what a traditional old-world beer can be without any gimmicks.
Narragansett Lager is a can’t miss warm weather beer. Narragansett Lager is a New England Classic, known for its high drinkability, coaster puzzles, and pure nostalgia. This lager is easy to crush with its light malt bill and subtle noble hop aroma.
Asahi Super Dry is an underrated, crisp, refreshing beer. If you’re looking for a crisp beer, try this Japanese rice lager. Super easy to drink even though it’s extra bubbly. This is my go-to sushi pairing beer.
Suarez Family Brewery happens to be just a few minutes up the road from me, and Palatine Pils is the kind of beer I don’t feel crazy wanting to buy a case of. An unfiltered German-style pilsner, it pours with a thick white head, and every little bubble bursts with a lemony, grassy hop aroma. The flavor transitions smoothly from grain and hops into a distinct bite from the high carbonation. A great beer to crush on the porch, next to the pool, while grilling, or right now at my desk.
Bohemian Riot by Arches Brewing is a time-honored classic, a perfect example of the traditional Pilsner style made with Riverbend Pilsner malt and Saaz hops. It’s an exciting intersection of classic brewing techniques and locally sourced malt.
This is one of my favorite beach beers. When it is super hot and I’m dying of thirst, sometimes I don’t want anything too hoppy. A nice crisp Pilsner fits that bill perfectly. Plus, there’s enough flavor to keep my taste buds happy and refreshing enough to drink all day long.
Keystone Light is popular for a reason. It’s crisp, light, highly crushable, and reminds me of rafting the Colorado River. We do not brew a beer like this because we do not make adjunct lagers, but it doesn’t stop being from enjoying it.
Trumer Pils
Trumer Pils
Marshall Hendrickson, co-founder and head of operations at Veza Sur Brewing in Miami
When I was living back in the Bay Area, there was nothing better than a fresh Trumer Pils on draft. The brewery in Berkley only brewed one style, so you can imagine how dialed-in their recipe was. Fantastic beer. I wish you could get it in Florida, although it’s always better to drink closer to the source.
If you’ve ever watched any footage of an average day in British Parliament, it’s probably best described as a migraine sufferer’s worst nightmare. While it’s hard to imagine that it would be easy to get a word in with so many people shouting all at once, it’s also difficult to believe that it’s the kind of atmosphere that would be conducive to watching porn—or wanting to. Yet, here we are.
On Thursday evening, Trevor Noah—describing the typical scene at the House of Commons as “the world’s pastiest rap battle”—reported about how several female MPs complained that one of their fellow ministers was watching porn on his phone with the normal cacophony of opposing political viewpoints raged around him. Though the perv in question has yet to be publicly named, we do know that he is a Tory who could face expulsion for getting off during work hours. But Noah’s interest in the story is much more specific than that‚ and understandably so:
“I’ll be honest: I’m just trying to understand the motivation here. No, no, like, what part of Parliament made this guy want to watch porn? Like, what turned him on? Was there some new legislation that was getting him hot? Was there some other minister who was like, ‘This country is going deeper and deeper and deeper into debt. We cannot pull out at this point,’ and he’s just like, ‘Oh boy! Oh boy!’”
But Noah doesn’t think that kicking the culprit out of Parliament is the best way to teach him a lesson. “What they should be doing is what parents do when they catch a kid smoking cigarettes. Yeah! They should force him to watch all of Pornhub! That’ll teach him a lesson!”
You can watch the full segment above, beginning around the 3:15 mark.
While many artists have gotten back on the road since the start of the pandemic, it took a while for Nine Inch Nails to return to the stage. They did so last night, though, in Raleigh, North Carolina, for their first concert since 2018. They made the show special, too, with a couple of consecutive David Bowie covers: “I’m Afraid Of Americans” and “Fashion.”
Another noteworthy moment in the set happened right before the Bowie covers, when Nine Inch Nails performed “Every Day Is Exactly The Same” for the first time since 2006, as Setlist.fm notes.
Interestingly, NIN also covered Bowie at a 2017 concert, which, like last night’s performance, was their first after multiple years away from the stage.
Trent Reznor previously said of Bowie, “He just really started to become the best archetype for someone who has a fantastic voice and was kind of an actor pretending to be a rock star, in a way, which seemed to give him the ability to reinvent himself in ways that just felt like it would take a lot of courage to have had success at something and then throw it away and try something new. […] I still think about that dude all the time, and I still listen to him constantly. And I’m grateful that our lives intersected, and I’m grateful for, whether he knew it or not, how much he helped me in those dark times before I chose to get my sh*t together. And I can hear his voice. He penetrated through the layers of bullsh*t that I’d built around myself. I’m grateful for that.”
This season of Top Chef, coming so hot on the heels of last year’s surprisingly great COVID bubble season, has been a little hit and miss by comparison. A little up and down. Lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what have yous…
Am I crazy, or did it feel like they started to turn it around this episode? It wasn’t choked with crappy product placement — Richard Blaise and Chris Scott didn’t show up in costumes to read lifeless ad copy promoting a Hitch reboot, say — the challenge had some gravitas, in a way that didn’t feel forced, and it actually related to food.
Also Padma looked good, even if I think we can all agree that she could’ve been a lot drunker.
NBC Universal
Great outfit, now give her more booze! Anyway, pretty solid episode. My only real criticism? Not enough foams. WHERE ARE THE FOAMS? You used to get two, maybe three foams per Top Chef episode. These days we’re lucky if we get one aerated cheese. I blame inflation.
Anyway, this week opened with a monochromatic vegetarian challenge. The contestants had to draw from a series of colors and then prepare a vegetarian dish featuring only that color. A nice, old school Top Chef challenge. This, of course, turned out to be much easier for the people who drew, say, red, or yellow, than it was for the ones who drew white or black. Evelyn got stuck with the black, which, as she pointed out, isn’t even a color. Settle down, Evelyn, this is Top Chef, not Top Photography Student. Roy G. Biv wept.
After that, it was off to Bethel Baptist Church for a Juneteenth-themed challenge. This season was filmed in, as you might’ve guessed, Houston, which is in Texas, which is both the birthplace of and the setting for the events that inspired Juneteenth (based on the day when slaves in Galveston were finally freed, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation). Which just became an official national holiday this past year.
The challenge was to cook a dish for 100 people for a fundraiser at Bethel Baptist and make something “that speaks to your soul. …Things that are passed down from generation to generation, things that remind you of your family.”
This show can occasionally do a bad job feeling like they’re trying too hard to make a cooking show “culturally important” or tying in high-minded ideas with food, but… I think they kind of nailed it this time? I’m a big time sucker for “cook me the food that reminds you of your people.” Food history and family stories are kind of like my personal misty juice, and I’m the type of guy who rolls his eyes every time a cooking show contestant cries because of how much they miss their dumb wiener kids, or says “I’m doing this all for them!” (you are not, shut up).
Suffice it to say, it was a pretty solid episode, where the sentimentality actually felt earned and the chefs all brought their A-games. If there was anything that cheapened it, I would say it was probably the fact that Tom Colicchio showed up to a Juneteenth party looking like a plantation owner:
NBC Universal
Damn, dude, did you raid Calvin Candie’s boudoir for that outfit? Someone should’ve pulled him aside and said, “Hey, man, it’s Juneteenth, try not to dress like someone who’s about to say ‘Well, I do declayuh!’”
Kwame had to try to undo the damage by showing up to judges table with a bejeweled glove:
Bravo
Speaking of Leonardo DiCaprio memes, I went full Rick Dalton when Kwame pulled out the glove.
I’m not really qualified to discuss “swag levels” and whatnot, but I’ll simply say that Kwame has come a long way since selling candy on the subway. Top Chef has a way of turning nerdy chefs into well-scrubbed TV stars. The transformations are incredible. Do you think if some television producers got a hold of me they could make me look like not such a piece of shit? Well anyhoo
AKA: Liddell. Die Hard. Meekus. Eurotrip. The Danish Zombie. Noma… Noma… Noma gonna be in this competition much longer, anyway.
Soul Food Dish: Frikadeller, Mom’s Meatloaf Style
Critiques: “It was tough.” “It wasn’t juicy.”
At last, Luke finally came through on my week two nickname of “Noma gonna be in this competition much longer.”
And it only took seven more episodes! Alas, The Danish Zombie finally stopped staggering inexorably forward (Assuming he doesn’t win Last Chance Kitchen). Honestly, it was probably good that they finally put Luke out of his misery. I was getting a little sad watching the judges bat Luke’s emotions around like a cat toying with a half-dead lizard every week. Leave him alone! He lost his tail four episodes ago!
Luke opened this week cooking a purple cauliflower steak in the quickfire that had Padma asking, “Luke, did you enjoy this challenge? …Because it shows.”
After praise like that from a famous supermodel, surely Luke was about to be declared the winner of this immunity-gaining challenge… right?? But then they started announcing the favorite dishes and Luke’s heart seemed to break a little bit with each name that wasn’t his. By the time Padma got to the third (out of seven!) Luke looked like he was about to flip over table. And then she said, “…And honorable mention, Luke.”
Wow, a special award created just for Luke! Surely this will cheer him up! It’s never a good sign when the judges treat you like a Make-a-Wish kid. I thought Tom was going to burst into his bedroom dressed like Batman. “Cheer up, Luke, it’s your old buddy, Bruce Wayne! You’re doin’ great, pal!”
For his elimination challenge dish, Luke made a Danish frigadillo (later research would determine this was a “frikadeller“) in the style of mom’s meatloaf. He also made sure to get in one last “I’ve lived in Europe” on the way out, which was on brand. Every time Luke said “mom’s meatloaf” part of me wished it was “mom’s spaghetti,” Eminem-style, which would’ve been so fitting for the last white guy in the competition.
I thought it looked pretty good, but soon Luke was snapped back to reality, ope there goes gravity, ope he’s so sad but he can’t give up that easy… time’s up over BLAOW.
Sad for Luke to go out on such a relatively strong performance (I want to swim in those white cheddar mashed potatoes), but this was a few episodes coming. RIP to Luke. He may not have been the best chef in this competition, but he looks like he could bench the most.
6. (+1) Ashleigh Shanti
NBC Universal
AKA: Moonjuice. Sugar Hillcountry.
Elimination Challenge Dish: Low-country crab rice with oyster gravy.
Critiques: “I was expecting some crispy bits and I did not get that.” “It was like two things together that didn’t need to be together.” “I didn’t expect the rice to be so doused.”
Speaking of the judges playing with their food, there’s Ashleigh, who every week seems to wake up refreshed and newly confident, with a brand new plan to really cook “her food” and smash the judge’s palates in the back walls once and for all and whatnot. Which quickly dissolves into yet another brutally nitpicking self-criticism session in front of the judges.
This challenge seemed tailor-made for the self-described “Afro-lachian” chef. I thought Ashleigh’s rice, combining her low-country father’s heritage with her Appalachian mother’s, sounded good. Tom liked it. And yet, it seems you can never have enough crispy crab bits to please some people. Bunch of crispy queens around here if you ask me.
If Ashleigh’s isn’t taking crap for a vinegary tartare it’s for crab rice with insufficiently crispy bits, which makes me think she’s not long for this competition. Ashleigh’s food always looks good until the judges say it isn’t. Stop gaslighting me, Padma Lakshmi!
5. (+1) Jae Jung
NBC Universal
AKA: Noodles. Jae West. Hilaria. Dr. Hibbert.
Elimination Challenge Dish: Korean Baby Fish?
Critiques: “Perfectly flaked.” “Very interesting dish.” “This was a dish Jae just created, so it was like a new kind of comfort food she just invented.”
I always feel a little bad, because Jae’s English skills seem to leave her at a distinct disadvantage in the bullshitting-about-why-the-dish-fits-the-abstract-prompt department. That’s where a command of the language and maybe some liberal arts education could really come in handy. I could help her with that, bullshitting my way through half-assed metaphors is literally my only skill.
Anyway, Jae, in between uproariously laughter at her own non-jokes (Jae is the Dr. Hibbert of this competition) cooked up fish the way her mother used to feed to her as a baby. She didn’t give it a name but I’m calling it “Korean Baby Fish,” which was so good that it gave her the win and had Tom pointing out that “Well, ‘Seoul’ is the capital of South Korea.”
Nice one, Tom. Not even Jae was corny enough to find that pun. Which, to be fair, I had incorporated into her first nickname (“Seoul Food”) in these rankings myself before I decided it was too obvious. Oh God, has fatherhood turned me into a dad?! Damn my incredibly potent semen!
So yeah, Jae won, and seems to be on a bit of a streak after belatedly leaning on her French-trained fish skills. Is it enough to bump her up in the rankings? I don’t know, the competition is pretty stiff from here on out.
4. (-1) Nick Wallace
NBC Universal
AKA: Domingo. Chocolate Mormon. The Count.
Elimination Challenge Dish: Nana Queen’s Salmon Cakes with Hoppin’ John salad.
Critiques: “The seasoning was spot on.”
Of course the seasoning was spot on, this is the inventor of Nick’s 26 we’re talking about here for Chrissakes!
Yes, it was another mostly solid-if-unspectacular week for Nick, who pronounced his dish “sal-mon” in one clip and “saa-mon” seconds later. Pick a pronunciation, man!
I’m putting Nick just behind Evelyn this week, for the sin of not counting the spices in his dish and a disappointing lack of pork neck. I don’t think Nick is going to win this competition, but I have high hopes that he’ll one day become as synonymous with spice blends as the Lawry family.
3. (+1) Evelyn Garcia
NBC Universal
AKA: Cuddles.
Elimination Challenge Dish: Beet sopes with black beans and chorizo.
Critiques: “This is maybe the top dish for me today.”
Evelyn once again cooked two solid dishes that received universally positive reviews and seemed wildly endearing in the process. It probably helps that I have the clearest frame of reference for Mexican food. I don’t know if Evelyn is going to win with Buddha and Damarr around, but she seems like a shoo-in for fan favorite. She and Nick feel neck and neck to me.
2. (even) Buddha Lo
NBC Universal
AKA: Buddha. Mr. International. Big Pun. Asian Ben Mendelsohn. The Salad Nazi. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Terminator.
Buddha seems to be cementing his position as, if not a villain, certainly the shrewdest, most shark-eyed competitor. Which is wild to say about a guy who comes from Australia (the chillest country) and is nicknamed Buddha (the chillest deity).
Buddha has become a favorite in this competition, not through getting in touch with this roots and learning to trust the humble food of his upbringing (the usual paths to success on Top Chef) but rather through meticulous study of past Top Chef seasons to gauge the judges’ tastes and the tactical employment of sophisticated cooking techniques to fit them. He’s even starting to play Arnold Schwarzenegger-in-Pumping-Iron-esque mind games to psych out the competition, such as when Luke tried to warm up his plates in the oven like Buddha was doing, and Buddha boxed him out and told him “You don’t wanna do that, that’s a stupid idea.” (If you can think of an Arnold Schwarzenegger food pun, please comment below).
Buddha immediately won praise for his hot plates and landed a slot ahead of Luke. He may be approaching this competition like a sophisticated AI but he’s crushing it.
So when Buddha said he was going to cook from the heart in the elimination challenge and make grandma’s curry, the touching story about his dead father notwithstanding (I got misty, I’m not ashamed to say), I was immediately worried for him. Sure enough, the reviews for his dish were uncharacteristically lukewarm. Cooking “from the heart” isn’t Buddha’s thing; cooking like a food assassin is.
1. (even) Damarr Brown
NBC Universal
AKA: Catchphrase. James Beard. Screech.
Elimination Challenge Dish:Hoecakes with ham hocks and collard greens.
Critiques: “Thank your ancestors for me.”
This challenge seemed tailor-made for Damarr, who introduced himself in the first episode saying, “I’m here to prove that my collard greens are as good as your cassoulet.”
That quote is starting to feel like Babe Ruth calling his shot. No, Damarr didn’t win this challenge, but he already had immunity. He also cooked about the simplest thing possible and received universal raves. If it was up to Tom, it sounded like Damarr would’ve won.
The editors tried to amp up the drama by focusing on Damarr burning his first few hoecakes and worrying that he wouldn’t have enough batter, but I wasn’t buying it. This guy made an award-winning carrot cake in a broken oven, you think he can’t figure out a hot pan? Please.
Damarr, of course, eventually figured it out. I guess from now on if I want burnt ho cakes I’ll have to call your mother.
Ex-The Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson is beloved for damn good reason. In addition to being deeply, inherently funny, he’s an all-around classy bloke and so likable. After his decade long late-night stint ended in late 2014, Craig’s been doing his thing, which includes stand-up comedy touring and living to tell that tale. His particular brand of acerbic wit has been sorely missed since his departure, so naturally, when James Corden revealed that his own tenure on The Late Late Showwould end in 2023, Twitter was awash with suggestions that Ferguson come back.
In other words, people do enjoy Corden’s Carpool Karaoke segment, but damn, they loved watching Craigy Ferg and listening to his thick Scottish brogue while he bantered with Geoff the Robot. Could Ferguson possibly have anything to say in response to his successor also walking toward the sunset? More importantly, would he address calls for him to suddenly materialize in his old gig? He did both of these things, one more subtle than the other.
First, let’s revisit what Ferguson said (in 2021) to the idea of CBS reviving the show with him in it. He was very blunt at the time: “Ok. As long as I’m not in it.”
And upon news of Corden leaving as well, he offered his congrats (and praise) with this pointed addition: “Retirement is awesome. See you at the bingo.” In other words, Ferguson’s “retired,” and he intends to stay that way.
Congratulations to @JKCorden on a spectacular run. Outstanding job! Retirement is awesome. See you at the bingo. Well done my friend. Xx
No disrespect to James Corden, but I stopped watching the #LateLateShow after Craig Ferguson stepped down. It’d be a long shot but maybe, just maybe, @CraigyFerg could return. pic.twitter.com/SKLPOgb4Q1
It’s the question showrunner Liz Flahive jokingly admits to asking herself as we dive deep into the trippy, feminist Magical Mystery Tour that is ROAR. The anthology series on Apple TV+ marks Flahive’s second producing adventure with longtime friend and co-creator Carly Mensch. Their first, the nostalgic neon-drenched ode to an 80s-era women’s wrestling league that is GLOW, found its home on Netflix, and in the hearts of streaming fans craving a comedy series filled with diverse and complicated portraits of femininity. It featured an eclectic mix of established names like Alison Brie, Marc Maron, Betty Gilpin, and Chris Lowell; newcomers like Sunita Mani and Britney Young; and bonafide brawlers like Kia Stevens. Beneath the camp and spandex was a subversive investigation into sexism and gender equality following the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1970s. It was a critical success and, as Flahive puts it, a “dream” show but, like so many things, it came screeching to a halt before production of its fourth season got underway thanks to the pandemic shutdown.
When Netflix couldn’t iron out the logistics of filming the already greenlit installment amidst ever-changing COVID protocols and talent availability, the streamer simply canceled it – a move that was met with plenty of fan outrage and a few petitions begging for its eventual return.
“It’s like they ask you to build a house, but you can only live in it for 15 to 30 minutes,” Flahive says when talking about the cancellation. “When you’re making a show, when you’re building a cast when you’re building a crew when you’re building a season, you’re investing, especially as a showrunner. You’re living in that house for a really long time creatively and you’re investing in it.”
Besides the restrictions placed on them by the pandemic, personnel changes at Netflix may have contributed to the eventual decision to end the show so abruptly. Just a month before the announcement, Cindy Holland, who championed the streamer’s move into original content, producing shows like Jenji Kohan’s Orange Is The New Black, exited the company she helped build. Jane Wiseman, the head of Netflix’s Original Comedy Series, also cut ties with the platform.
“For a few seasons, we had a very good run creatively and had a lot of great support from Cindy Holland and Jane Wiseman and Jenji Kohan. I think, like anywhere else, places change, things change, what places want change,” Flahive explains. “That’s complicated and hard as a creative who’s told one thing season one, and then by season four, you hear something very different.”
For Flahive and Mensch, the relocation to Apple TV+ brings a new challenge: an anthology series, something they’d never done before. The show was also an adaptation of a collection of short stories, which only added to the trial-by-fire nature of the project.
“After we made GLOW, which was the joy and privilege of our lives, we were approached by many people to make something similar or adjacent,” Flahive recalls. “And I think as much as we love making shows about women, obviously, we just wanted to make sure we were always pushing ourselves in a new direction and doing something new.”
GLOW fans might notice some overlap between the two series, especially in terms of the cast — Mensch and Flahive have invited old friends like Brie, Gilpin, and Lowell to come play in their new surrealist sandbox – but the ties run a bit deeper than that. As Flahive explains, the idea for ROAR came to them while they were still in pre-production mode for season three of their Netflix hit, pushing them past their self imposed policy about being “monogamous creatives,” the allure of an anthology series’ self-contained nature and the opportunity to mix genres and work in different characters proving too powerful to not at least entertain.
With episodes that focus on everything from maternal guilt – something Flahive admits both she and Mensch could write about “until the cows come home” – to the commodification of Black art and the universal experience of being stuck in a toxic relationship heightened with a fantasy element that involves a talking duck, ROAR is impossible to pin down. Some of its episodes, like Cynthia Erivo’s body-horror-infused examination of modern motherhood, are stomach-churning. Others, like Brie’s satirical romp that tasks a spectral stand-up comic with solving her own murder, borrow the same comedic purpose GLOW felt driven by. And still others, like Issa Rae’s futuristic thriller about a Black creator whose work gets co-opted to the point where she begins to disappear, feel straight out of the Twilight Zone. The reason? Both Flahive and Mensch were determined to bring in different perspectives to translate these stories to the screen.
“The stories in the book, they’re pretty sparse,” Flahive explains. “We sent the book to our writers — Halley Feiffer, Janine Nabers, and Vera Santamaria — and we were like, ‘Tell us which stories you respond to. And then let’s have a conversation about the ones that you think you’d want to write.’”
That creative freedom and loose collaboration style opened up the show, giving it space to evolve from its origins in ways that feel fresh and relevant. Nabers, a playwright, producer, and writer on shows like Atlanta, connected with the story titled The Woman Who Disappeared. In the book, that tale focuses on an aging academic who disappears because society starts to ignore women who are older, refusing to see them as real people, but Nabers pulled a different metaphor from it for the show.
“She was like, ‘I think there’s a story in there about the commodification of Black art and how Black women are not seen as their stories are being taken and told,’” Flahive explains. “The collaboration between her and Issa and Channing Godfrey Peoples, to kind of make that episode, was really its own thing — and I think feels very different from what’s in the book in a great way.”
There’s a thrown-in-the-deep-end vibe inherent to most anthology stories. As one-offs, episodes are never given much time to flesh out backstories and set the scene before the real action ramps up. That’s true of ROAR too. We meet most of these characters in the midst of life-changing circumstances that render their past selves almost irrelevant. It’s an interesting change of pace for the creators of a show whose first season felt like one giant exposition explaining the origins and motivations and conflicting personalities involved with the formation of an early 80s women’s wrestling league.
“The pace of season one of GLOW, which I adore, was very intentional,” Flahive says. “But the constant roller coaster of these episodes is just wild. There is no backstory, it’s just, ‘Get on the train.’ We have to hit the ground running, we have to understand a lot of stuff, which puts a lot of pressure on everything: production design, costumes, the writing, the direction being crisp … Just making sure we’re setting you up to get on the ride with us, and then it can get messy and complicated.”
When you ask Flahive which kind of storytelling she prefers – the kind that lets you have a beginning, middle, and end in just one episode or the kind that gives you the real estate to build a world over the course of multiple seasons without the guarantee you’ll get the chance to say goodbye to it, she doesn’t have a ready answer.
“It’s such a double-edged sword,” she admits. “You do love falling in love with characters, season after season. That’s kind of the magic of TV. But with [ROAR] these episodes all ended where we intended them to end, which is nice. So ideally we’ll get to have it both ways one of these days.”
The sting of GLOW’s cancellation still feels particularly fresh for fans – every so often a call for its renewal or a movie follow-up makes the rounds on social media – but maybe there’s comfort in knowing that its creators, Mensch and Flahive, found a way to move on from the disappointment by channeling some of the same elements that made the Netflix series so popular into a new show that’s inspiring them to experiment with and challenge the notions of what they thought they were capable of.
“[ROAR] has been sort of a creative balm to what happened with GLOW,” Flahive says. “We’ve finished all eight of those stories. We saw that they had a beginning, middle, and end. I think if this taught us anything, it’s that there are lots of different ways to tell a story. You just keep going. You move your house and you bring new and old friends with you. That’s the magic of making things.”
In a statement, she explained what motivated her to start this new project:
“Not long ago, people started calling me a ‘veteran’ of my scene and of the music industry. It sounds so funny to me because most of the time I still feel like a fan. The serious truth is I have, in fact, grown up in this scene for the last two decades. I guess that’s a pretty long time. I’m really excited to have the opportunity to publicly nerd out about bands and songs that make my favorite subgenre feel like home to me. And while it will be fun to take some trips down memory lane, I’m just as excited, if not more, to play music from new artists I’m discovering all the time.
Everything Is Emo is meant to feel like a conversation with other fans of the genre, young and (ahem) old. There’s going to be plenty of interaction, which I hope will feel somewhat reminiscent of the message boards and forums I used to frequent as a teenage scene kid.
More than anything, I hope music fans and artists alike will be psyched to hear a highly considered spectrum of ‘EMO’ in all its forms. And yeah, of course you’ll hear some Paramore.”
The Walking Dead‘s Daryl and Carol show will now just be the Daryl show.
Earlier this week, we learned that after over a decade of filming in the Georgia wilderness, Melissa McBride will “no longer participate” in an announced TWD spinoff series with Norman Reedus. “Relocating to Europe became logistically untenable for Melissa at this time,” a spokesperson for AMC explained. “We know fans will be disappointed by this news, but The Walking Dead Universe continues to grow and expand in interesting ways and we hope to see Carol again in the near future.”
Fans were disappointed in the news, and some took out their anger on Reedus.
“Some of you have gone WAY too far. TOXIC. Attacking norm for crap he has NOTHING to do with?” Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who plays Negan on The Walking Dead (and a prematurely revealed spinoff with Lauren Cohan), tweeted. “Melissa made a call that was hers alone. She wants/needs a break. Respect that. Factors involved that are nobody’s business. Norm, who’s given more than anyone to you all. Just SH*TTY.”
He continued, “Norman had nothing to do with picking location. That decision is all about story, ideas… MONEY. That’s studio/network. Not actors. We can say yes and do, or no, and not do… MAYBE. SOMETIMES. If we’re lucky and don’t have contract yet. Rarely does actor have that power.”
Some of you have gone WAY too far. TOXIC. Attacking norm for crap he has NOTHING to do with? Melissa made a call that was hers alone. She wants/needs a break. Respect that. Factors involved that are nobody’s business. Norm, who’s given more than anyone to you all. Just SHITTY.
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