The Hunting Party 2/10/2025 BY: IAN SHERRY The Hunting Party premiered February 4, 2024, on NBC. The sole focus of network television, perhaps more than any other form of media, is to secure viewership. Each and every episode must supply something that brings the audience back the next week, which places a unique and permanently immediate sense of pressure on everyone involved. That pressure begins the moment the creators cross the threshold from idea to product and doesn’t cease until the show itself does. Network television’s latest million-dollar idea sprung from the mind of JJ Bailey. Bailey has experience with the pressures of Network show-biz, having had Echo, his only prior show, canceled after the pilot. The Hunting Party, in many ways, is a reflection of his learned approach to the genre. We can start with the premise. An unknown number of assumed-dead serial killers escape from a massive CIA-run subterranean prison via explosion. Now that’s a headline, albeit one that’s kept from the fictional public. The result of that jailbreak, therefore, is a technically unlimited (but more like unspecified) number of future episode plots. In that sense, The Hunting Party is pure genius. That, however, is not the only sense I care about. One of the givens of network television, in my eyes, has always been the limited quality of the art itself. There is a definite standard that this meticulously analyzed audience is known to expect. Falling short of that standard in any way, whether it be writing, acting, set design, or one of the many other requirements of TV production, would likely be received as a critical error. However, that standard is so demanding, there are so many boxes to check, that it encourages a sort of ‘good enough’ attitude, rather than the perfection in a vacuum that an alternatively produced show might aim for. The Hunting Party, for all its broad-stroke-strengths, is no exception to the phenomenon above. If you watched the promos, you’d be fooled into thinking Bex, played by Melissa Roxburgh, is the star of the show. In reality, the star is the plot. For instance, Bex goes from an FBI profiler posted in a casino (the FBI’s doghouse) to lead profiler in the most crucial multi-manhunt in the country’s history before the first commercial break. If that seems sudden, overly convenient, or even unrealistic to you, you’re not alone. But, that fast, loose, fairytale style was a conscious choice - one that, while limiting to the actors as they come across stiff and defined by their function, allowed for the writers to work in a borderline ludicrous number of plot twists, eureka moments, and cliff hangers in place of thoughtful, time-consuming small-talk or character definition. JJ Bailey’s masterpiece is not, nor will it be, a show defined by its acting, and certainly not by its writing, but neither is the genre. Network television is defined by ambition (I should know I watched 30 Rock). And while a show like The Hunting Party simply cannot compare to a show like 30 Rock in the classic critical categories, it just delivered perhaps the most ridiculously plot-packed pilot episode I’ve ever seen. That kind of unchecked creativity and ambition, at the end of the day, is what brings audiences back, and despite the various surface-level limitations I can’t help but consider myself a part of this audience. I will be back tonight for more.

Hurry Up Tomorrow : Monday Is Looming By Ian Sherry 3/8/2025 The Weeknd released Hurry Up Tomorrow on January 31st, 2025. Abel Tesfaye searches for end-of-era-defining songs on what is rumored be the final album released under his present moniker. The Weeknd rose to prominence in the early stages of last decade when his trio of mixtapes, Trilogy , caught listeners’ ears with the shock-toxic club-pop he pioneered. Now, after releasing a decent debut, 2 consecutive smash hit records, and the first 2 records of his highly successful and allegedly final trilogy, the Toronto superstar entered this record evidently shorter on inspiration than he’s been in a long time. The reception of The Weeknd’s latest has been the increasingly typical mix of middling to high scores and mild to moderate enthusiasm. With the world’s top sound engineers at his disposal and having the knack for delivering sonically enticing soundscapes that he does, a certain level of critical success is all but guaranteed. The Weeknd will always provide a song like “Baptized In Fear” to scratch the hifi itch. But, if the repeated achievement of sonic standards is akin to success in your view, consider the remainder of this review a dissenting opinion. The Weeknd is out of gas. Fueled in his early days by the nightlife, Abel Tesfaye seemed to know his lifestyle wasn’t sustainable. So began his journey to pop stardom. His now 15-plus-year career has been marked time and time again by well-executed shifts in identity, ultimately bridging the gap between toxic trainwreck and cynical celebrity, but on Hurry Up Tomorrow he was too slow to pull the plug. The sound has reached its expiration date. The Weeknd’s identity, which was always a poignant feature of his artistry, is currently reduced almost singularly to his star status. The result is a hit-driven approach to the majority of tracks. With his mind perpetually set on the high point, the instrumentals have become electronic clouds of ambient ambiance. Take “Reflections Laughing.” The track begins with The Weeknd singing alongside a meek guitar playing no discernable melody, then with the help of a chipmunked sample hook and someone sitting on the bass button, he begins to build to the climax just 1 minute into the 4:51 song. He even drops an interlude into the middle of the song before a painfully lethargic Travis Scott feature accounts for the last 1:37. The song relies so heavily on audience buy-in that it is held together more by the robo-popstar personas of Tesfaye and Scott than any legitimate musical structure. “Wake Me Up” kicks off the album with artificially anthemic energy that is essentially typical for a record chock-full of musically hollow moments of sonic cinema. Because The Weeknd’s voice is so piercingly clear, it lacks texture. This can be positive when belting out pop choruses, clarity plays well to general audiences, but like any other form of delivery, there’s a time and a place. The wider variety of vocal stylings on his early mixtapes occasionally put The Weeknd in uncomfortable vocal pockets that were a more challenging match for his performative skillset. It was not uncommon to hear the strain in his delivery, but it only added to the already edgy sound. That edge is gone. “Timeless” is a jam and the perfect counter to last paragraph’s claim. Playboi Carti settles into the atmospheric Weeknd-style trap beat like he was born there and brings a couple flows along with him. The Weeknd steps up to the plate next and handles the later majority of the track like he can and should, effortlessly delivering multiple delivery styles, rhythms, and rhyme schemes. Unfortunately, while performances of that caliber aren’t singular to track 13 of the 22 total, the average vocal performance is much more pop formulaic - fine but nowhere near the displays of talent and skill he’s achieved. Instead, he gets outperformed by both Future and Lana Del Rey and milks a third of the songs for minutes longer than nature would’ve allowed. 22 songs is a somewhat ridiculous number, but exceptions can be made. That’s a status The Weeknd has certainly earned. Likewise, he’s earned a few electronic pop flops. Acts that categorically raise the bar in certain areas of evaluation can perhaps be allotted modified expectations in select areas that are less favorable given their skillset or style of undertaking. But this year, there were just too many lapses. I’d return to just 4 songs: the hifi success “Baptized In Fear” (7), the prompt, washy “Opening Night” (8), the aforementioned “Timeless” (8), and the a1 trap-pop “Niagara Falls” (10). There was a smattering of excellent transitions, and of course, the soundscapes were on point. Hurry Up Tomorrow is a 5.8 .

OBSESSION, NEXT-GEN HORROR WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY: DAWSON SARCONA, 6/10/2026 Recent horror blockbusters have the box office in a chokehold, due in large part to the genre’s popularity amongst upcoming generations. The youthful zeitgeist is horror-acclimated, and Curry Baker’s Obsession is the latest and loudest proof of that. Obsession has no shortage of achievements after just three weeks in theaters. For a movie with a budget as low as $750,000, Obsession has blown its expected earnings out of the water as it’s now on track to reach $250M (or more) before the end of its theatrical run. Further, if you look at the weekend-to-weekend growth of Obsession, you'll notice that the lowest earnings are in its opening weekend, before growing 30% in week two and an additional 10% in week three, implying cult-classic momentum. The last film to behave as such at the box office was all the way back in 1982, Stephen Spielberg's classic E.T. So what is so great about Obsession? Well, to put it plainly, everything. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I think we might be dealing with a near-perfect movie. Now, I will say, I have seen this movie 3 times in theaters, so I've gotten the privilege of looking back at it with the perspective of already knowing what happens. One thing that really stood out to me on my 2nd and 3rd watch was how well each scene served the story in getting us to the ending. Never before in my life have I seen a movie with such a tight script in which literally every single scene serves a distinct purpose. I genuinely believe that this film could not be cut any further and still tell the story it does so effectively. This is likely due to director Curry Barker's experience as a YouTube/TikTok sketch comedian. As a part of the Duo “That's a Bad Idea,” Barker mastered the craft of building short-form sketches and content. Due to the limited attention of viewers on these apps, Barker has gained an eye for what's necessary to keep the audience's attention and the story constantly flowing. These skills are put to expert use in the writing, directing, and editing of this film, all of which he did himself. SPOILER ALERT. The plot begins with a very simple concept: Bear makes a wish that the girl of his dreams, Nikki Freeman, “loves him more than anyone in the fucking world”. From here, Barker quickly distinguishes himself from the rest of the stories told under this Monkey’s Paw trope. As Nikki begins to become more and more obsessed with Bear, the story evolves into a horrifying tale of self-destruction and the extremes of co-dependency. I've always been a big proponent of horror’s effectiveness when it isn't explained. This is that to a T. Trying to assign logic to something supernatural often takes away the fear. Watching Obsession, it was very clear to me that Barker understood this principle. There is no explanation for how this wish magic works, or why it is that Nikki begins to get crazy and violent. Nor does it explain where the “real Nikki” goes during this wish. Instead, it just gives us little hints, moments of Nikki snapping back to reality, screams, outbursts, and indicators that something about this wish magic is cruel and terrifying. The use of ambiguity makes the movie so much scarier, and Barker has further gone on to say that he himself does not know and doesn't ever plan to create an explanation for these events. It's just spooky magic for spooky magic’s sake, and it works so well. Speaking of magic, Inde Navarrette’s performance as Nikki is something truly astonishing. Being able to play 2 distinct characters within the same movie is an accomplishment in itself, but being able to make them both distinct enough that the audience can instantly tell when either personality (Nikki or Wish Nikki) is on screen is something really special. The range of emotion Navarrette displays as both versions of Nikki is insane as a viewer, and it's because of her that this movie works. Every scary, uncomfortable, or flat-out violent moment in this movie hinges upon Navarette delivering, and boy does she deliver. This is hands down one of the best horror performances I've seen on the big screen, and the character will no doubt become a horror icon. While Navarrette is by far the breakout performance in this film, everyone who acts in this movie make great contributions. Michael Johnston as Bear does an excellent job grounding his character so we can see him constantly justifying his increasingly horrendous decisions. This allows for the slow-burning reveal that he may be the true antagonistic figure within the film. Megan Lawless and Cooper Tomlinson as Ian and Sarah are great supporting characters in this movie, and really help to make the friend group dynamic seem real and lived-in. Obsession is, without a doubt, my favorite movie of the year. The aesthetic, the lighting, the set design, the acting, the writing, the directing, all of it works so well to make this movie something really special. For me, Obsession is a 10 out of 10, and I am actively recommending this to anyone who is looking for a good horror movie. Baker’s arrival marks the latest in the YouTuber-to-horror director pipeline. Past creators like Jordan Peele (Get out, Us, Nope) and RackaRacka (Talk to Me and Bring Her Back) have taken this path to great success. YouTube has become somewhat of a crash course in movie-making, particularly for those who’ve grown up with it. Every few decades, Hollywood begins to die out and needs revitalization. We are in the middle of a major shift in the movie industry. Most moviegoers, including myself, now go to see the new film by their favorite director. The tabloid-driven Hollywood of the 90s and 2000s is fading. The directors, the creators, have become the new movie stars. I believe this is mainly because of the YouTube space. We have spent years with creators themselves, seen them grow, develop, and learn the difficulties that come with trying to make something that's your own. YouTube has become a training ground for creators and put them in the driver's seat. For these creators, it's not about pushing out a movie quickly to meet a quota; it's dedicating themselves to their art form. It's bringing Hollywood back to its roots and creating stories that are fun, entertaining, and expertly executed.

Gretel Hanlyn Live: Schubas Tavern 11/11/23 11/16/23 By Ian Sherry Schubas Tavern is exactly that, a tavern. The front of the house is a bar/restaurant, and as you squeeze between the bar and booths towards the back of the restaurant, past the bathrooms, you can see a show room open up. Gretel Hänlyn and company played in that show room last Saturday, and anyone who came got a good show. Ever heard of Natsuma? If you have, I need to step my game up. The young British guitarist/vocalist led off the night, and despite playing solo, she impressed. To account for the thinner instrumental, she used a loop pedal, which, as Natsuma explained to her audience, allows an artist to play an instrument, loop a certain segment with a foot pedal, and build a layered instrumental. Despite this demanding solo performance, her vocal talent was fully on display at certain points, even elevating certain songs for the live instrumental. That takes real talent. She’s touring with Gretel Hänlyn, so catch her if you can, and listen to “Miss You” as a sample. Now, before I get to the main event, I’ll give my two cents on Adelaide. The Chicagoland native filled in for Grace Bloom last minute and did a great job. They did a great job, to the visible relief of their bill-members, despite playing solo instead of with the full band they’re accustomed to. Compared to the previous performer, Natsuma, Adelaide was much safer. Considering the circumstances, and their laid back shoegaze style, safety is to be expected, and the safety worked. The vocals brought a hint of emotion, the guitar was moody and consistent, and the stage was set for Gretel Hänlyn. Check out “Needles & Pins” As I was saying: I was right. Back in May, I wrote an article highlighting Gretel Hänlyn and two other talented artists. When I found out Hänlyn’s tour was going to stop just 40 CTA minutes from me, I couldn’t miss it. As I spoke about briefly in “Putting You On Three”, one of Gretel Hänlyn’s strengths is instrumental layering. She creates big sounds and expertly buries her vocals in the middle of the mix. She is clearly the audible focal point, yet the instrumental is never thin. This balance is difficult enough to strike in the studio, I’d imagine doing so live isn’t any simpler. Hänlyn manages just fine. Natsuma sat in on guitar, along with a bassist and drummer. The result was noticeably fuller sound than the previous two artists, to no fault of their own. H er sound was fantastic, and although it took a verse or two for her to slip into a studio-level vocal pocket, once she found it she didn’t look back. The first striking vocal performance came a few songs in with “Slugeye”, which she pointed out was her first ever song on streaming services. From there she executed tracks from every corner of her growing discography, touching different pitches, tones, emotions, and personas. She stepped outside of her discography as well, performing three unreleased songs. I am confident that two of the three will be elite editions to her discography. There were no misses last Saturday. She elevated even my least favorite song of hers “Head of The Love Club” by transitioning out of one of my favorites, “Little Vampire”. She looped an electric guitar chord and let the grinding note repeat itself as she casually strolled back, set down her guitar, sipped some water, then approached the mic again to deliver a great vocal performance. I always found the grungy guitar repetition to be overbearing on the studio version, but performed live, where the instruments are generally tuned evenly, it is easier to digest; it was an impressive adjustment. Hänlyn is definitely the most experienced performer of the bill. While Natsuma entertained with witty moments and an explanation of the loop pedal and Adelaide stood in with an angsty but comfortable energy, Hänlyn dominated the stage. She conversed briefly with a guitar nerd in the audience, casually dissed LA, and used the mic as a prop to add to her performances. She kept the audience entertained from the moment she stepped on stage until the post-show greeting line disbanded. I’ve never been more confident in an artist’s future than Gretel Hänlyn. She has a unique, yet well-established, sound. She’s a comfortable performer. She’s appeared at Pitchfork London, Pitchfork Paris, Green Man, Wilderness, and Coachella. Plus, she’s 20 years old. What more could you ask for? I’ve heard the approaching releases, I’ve seen the live show, I’ve reviewed her newest EP. I’m absolutely certain that you should keep an eye and ear on Gretel Hänlyn. Stream her music, buy her vinyl, and go to her shows. You won’t be sorry.

THE BOYS, IN FULL WRITTEN & ILLUSTRATED BY: DAWSON SARCONA, 5/28/2026 2026 marks the release of many new superhero projects, but in one case, it also brings the end of a 7-year superhero series, The Boys. As someone who was around age 11 when The Boys first released, I wasn't a day-one fan of this series. However, about three months ago, I decided to binge the whole series (and its spin-offs) for the first time. S eason One Season one of The Boys starts with a bang, immediately dropping us into a world that's, at first glance, not too different from other superhero universes we've seen on screen. But as the season goes on and we dig deeper into the world of The Boys and the Vought corporation, something crucial happens. This show begins to encapsulate the media dependency and celebrity idol structure of American society in a way I've never seen a TV show do. On its surface, The Boys is a story of a group of misfits, criminals, and ex-military members taking revenge against a group of corrupt superheroes. But the show is so much more. It breaks down American media, propaganda, and how powerful figures can control so much of what we see. Since the early 2000s, directors have been trying to figure out how to depict superheroes more “realistically” with Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder taking their own cracks at it, but in my opinion, none of them come close to what showrunner Eric Kripke achieved with season one of The Boys. With a cast of very lovable, and in some cases very hateable, characters this show perfectly balances its comedic moments with serious and scary ones. Plus, Antony Starr as Homelander, especially in the last few episodes, flexes his acting muscle in such a way that rivals Heath Ledger for the best villain performance of all time. Season one has it all: decent action, comedy, a love story you can root for, a pure-hearted protagonist, a revenge story, and an ending that satisfies the emotional arc of its characters while leaving us on an immense cliffhanger. Season one of The Boys is one of my favorite seasons of television ever, a 9.5 out of 10. Season Two While initially starting much slower than its predecessor, this season builds upon itself very well, leading to an explosive finale that perfectly knots any loose ends from the first two seasons. Season two introduces a new character, Stormfront, who is an excellent addition to the series as her relationship with Homelander compels further descent into madness. The best parts of this season are series highlights, and it houses some of the most intense and chilling Homelander moments. The characters continue to grow, and we get to see everyone fall into their roles more. When you start a series its your job within the first season to set up who each character is and why they are that way, but once you get to season two, you get to really play with these characters. We know all of the core characters, so now we get to see them interact with each other and watch their dynamics develop. Seeing Hughie and Butcher on a more equal playing field, constantly arguing over the morality of what they're doing, is a great development rather than the mentor/mentee dynamic they had in the first season. This season is funny, more action-packed, and a great part two that enhances season one’s story. That being said, it does have its faults, the first two or three episodes being a bit of a drag. They're necessary to set up the rest of the season, but I wish they had a little more going on. Also, for at least half of the season, Hughie is in a depression, which makes sense for the character but darkens the show as Hughie is the only unwavering light and the heart in The Boys. In the end, like I said, this season starts bleak but it picks up a lot with some amazing prizes that bring it to an a 8.5 out of 10 for me. Season Three This season is hyped up as the best of the series by most fans of the show, and while I'm inclined to disagree, it is still peak television. This season gives us a lot of good things like Hughie and Starlight finally together, the Introduction of Soldier Boy, and the infamous episode “Herogasm”. The majority of the most iconic moments in this series stem from this season, and for good reason. I love how this season explores Homelander as he grapples with being on his own. In both seasons one and two, he had a woman that he clung to and directed all his affection and attention towards, but as we see him deal with the loss of Stormfront, he begins to truly unravel. Homelander is at his best, or I suppose worst, in this season. He is utterly terrifying, and it seems like they laid out some scenes purely to show off Antony Starr's acting chops. Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy is a great addition to the show. He is a constant flow of hilarious (yet very offensive) one-liners, and his interactions with Hughie and Butcher are great television. As opposed to the gloomy season two, season three feels the brightest to me. The Boys are employed by the government, so they have funding and (for the first time) aren’t hiding from the law, and that lends a sense of growth for them as a group. Hughie has my favorite arc this season, however, as he obsesses over saving Annie (Starlight). This results in a great feud between them that is resolved in an awesome moment during the season’s final battle. This show is really great at executing good action or shocking moments that also serve their characters on a really emotional level, and this season has some of the best examples. We also get the introduction of TEMP-V, which allows both Hughie and Butcher to temporarily gain superpowers. This is a great way to continue upping the stakes in a natural way and allow for these characters to get in more intense scenes without having to use plot armor to keep them alive. One of these intense scenes is a fight between Hughie, Soldier Boy, Butcher, and Homelander during the episode “Herogasm,” and it is definitely one of my favorite scenes in the entire series. It's so well choreographed and put together that it outshines almost any other fight scene in the show. Here lies the problem I have with this season: Episode 6 “Herogasm” feels like the peak of the season. It's a bizarre, wildly explicit episode that ends in this awesome action scene, and it completely outshines the actual finale, which left me disappointed closing out the season. Still, the battle between Homelander and Butcher gains an extra layer of complexity entering the finale as they now fight for Ryan's affection, and inserting that emotional backbone does add to the weight of the episode. So while this is not my favorite season of the show, it's close with a 9 out of 10. Season Four Similar to how season three seems to be universally loved, Four seems to be universally hated. Likely because it doesn't stack up to the quality of 3, and that harsh decline makes it seem worse than it actually is. This season makes a choice that works very well for some fans of the show, and alienates others. Season four loosens the reins on its commentary and centers the heart of the conflict around politics. I personally think this is a GENIUS move, and I love the way it is executed. But, I also understand the argument that some plotlines are too accurate, that it's no longer a fun escape. That all being said, we get some great moments this season, but they are fewer and farther between than in the past three. The concept of someone like Homelander dipping his toe into politics is a very frightening one, a pre-made propaganda machine. One of the characters that comes out of this plotline is Firecracker, who is a great addition to the cast and a smart foil to Starlight's character. However, what doesn't work is Butcher's season four storyline. Butcher is dying for a majority of this season and is hallucinating a past colleague of his that basically is the devil on his shoulder. So for the whole season, Butcher is just making increasingly poor decisions and is becoming harder to like. This really bothered me and felt like a disservice to his character, especially as it ends with him killing a mother in front of her daughter. There's just unnecessary tomfoolery in this season. Hughie being tricked by a shapeshifter version of Annie is one such example, but it resolves itself quickly to avoid bogging down the plot. I am a big fan of the way this season ends, with Hughie, MM, and Frenchie all being taken to a Homelander freedom camp, especially because it delivers one of the most gut-wrenching scenes for Kimiko. The ending montage of season four is another one of my top scenes from the whole show, and I was kicking my feet like a wee little superfan watching it for the first time. While this season has more negatives than any others, I do find myself really enjoying the political commentary and other aspects of the show, so it's still a 7 out of 10 for me. Season Five Season five of The Boys just ended this week, and with it, so did the entire series. A lot of people also seemed to have issues with Season 5, but I personally think the 21st-century fan hates how any good show ends. We saw it on the internet with Stranger Things, and now we're seeing it here. This season is a clear improvement from the 4th, while running with a lot of similar commentary. With Homelander and his goons now in positions of power within the government, we start the season in a country run to the tune of Homelander's every request. The people who don't follow him are put into camps and stripped of their freedoms. This is a chilling way to start the season, and it only gets worse from here as Homelander attempts to become a god. This feels like the natural final progression of his character. He starves increasingly for praise, so for him to want to be the literal center of a religion is the ultimate fix. All of the characters are well acted and written this season, including the issues with Butcher, which are completely resolved, leaving season four’s arc to seem even more useless. We also get more of Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy this season, and while most of his plot lines are blatant backdoor pilots for the Soldier Boy prequel series, Vought Rising, he is still a very welcome addition, and his interactions with Homelander are captivating. This was the first season of the Boys I've been able to watch week to week, and I have really enjoyed being able to react to it as it comes out with the rest of the community. Waiting week to week has allowed for more tension to build and hype to grow in anticipation of how this show would end. One thing I love about this season is that it feels final. It isn't afraid to kill off characters; in fact, it leans into it, killing more than half of its core cast. It carries these values into the finale and gives us a final fight between Butcher and Homelander that will also go down as one of the best scenes in the show. Finally seeing one of the worst villains in all American media be taken down after years of evil is so satisfying, and for it to be done by the hands of Butcher, a man who has dedicated his life to killing Homelander, made it all the better. Further than that, though, my favorite scene in this whole season is the final confrontation between Hughie and Butcher. Since basically day one, Hughie was been established as Butcher's “canary”, the only person with a pure enough heart to hold him back and prevent him from taking things too far. Their entire relationship across five seasons perfectly culminates in this scene where, to stop Butcher from spreading the virus and massacring all supes, Hughie ends up killing him. It's the perfect cap to this show, one last punch to the gut before sending us off to the tune of “Piano Man” by Billy Joel. As the credits rolled, I found myself satisfied. Was it the perfect final season? No. There were some blatant issues, like prioritizing the setting up of Vought Rising and the chase for V1 that added little to nothing. However, The Boys gave us everything we needed from its finale and managed an 8 out of 10. I can confidently say that The Boys is my favorite superhero TV show. The characters are just so likeable, and the ability to break down America and its faults through the lens of superheroes and comic book characters is something I haven't seen before and probably won't see again for a very long time. Yes, this show can be overly gory, raunchy, and all around inappropriate. But it's a wild ride, which, when it comes down to it, is about hope and determination. The mantra of this show is that no matter how dark things get, no matter how many times we fall down, if we get back up together and fight for what's right, we will win. That's an important message for America and the world as a whole right now.

LIL YACHTY'S LET'S START HERE BY: Ian Sherry 2/14/23 My go-to word when asked about Lil Yachty’s music has always been “fine”. That’s exactly what it is. To be fair, he does some things really well. His production is often compelling and he showcases versatility in his delivery when he is at his best. He also has been a part of a few fun pop crossovers. But, those songs are just that: fun. He falls victim to repetitive flows and occasionally leans too hard on autotune, but these problems aren’t unique. That is probably my biggest issue with Yachty: he is very talented in multiple facets of music-making, but he still makes mistakes that every other mediocre mainstream rapper does. So, as much as I like Yachty as a person, prior to this release, I would describe him simply as “fine”. The last few years have been interesting for Yachty. He’s gained a sizable media presence, mostly because he is a genuinely entertaining personality. He also has expanded musically. For example, in 2021, he decided to come to Detroit to make his album Michigan Boy Boat. The album featured some of the biggest artists in the Detroit scene -Tee Grizzley, Sada Baby, Babytron, YN Jay, RMC Mike, and Rio Da Young OG, to name a few- and his deep dive paid off in what felt like an authentic Detroit Rap project. As a Detroiter, I can attest that although for some people Detroit Rap can be an acquired taste, it is unique and hard to duplicate just for a given album. For the most part though, that is exactly what Yachty did, embracing the punchline-focused delivery that makes Michigan artists great. On top of his time in Michigan, over that last year or so, Yachty has reportedly been a part of studio sessions for several rap projects, and he’s written songs for other artists as well. He also released his single “Poland” recently which immediately blew up because of its show-stopping autotune, even though it was admittedly one-dimensional. There was some buzz over his upcoming album, but, even with the knowledge I had, I still wasn’t convinced it would be more than just a slight improvement over the previous Lil Boat albums. Simply put: I was wrong. Let’s Start Here is essentially an alt-rock/hip hop crossover, and it's good. The album could not have started out with a better track. “The BLACK seminole.” starts with heavy base and drum hits, immediately diving into the unique atmosphere of the album. Then, after the first verse, the guitar comes in. Not just a guitar riff or sample, a guitar solo. Not only does this speak to his immediate commitment to this new concept album, it shows his confidence in his musical expertise and versatility. After a somewhat lengthy tension release (something Yachty does well on this record), “the BLACK seminole.” finishes with the moaning vocals of Diana Gordon, who is brilliant throughout her multiple appearances. Once again relieving some tension, Yachty rolls right into the second track “the ride-”. It’s a relaxed, upbeat track that feels like Yachty’s version of what Steve Lacy does often on his 2022 album Gemini Rights. And, guess who is featured! Steve Lacy. Steve’s feature is simple and enjoyable, even though simplicity is not Yachty’s style on this album. Upon closer listen, “the ride-” has plenty of complexity to it. The baseline which roams throughout the song, keeps pace and bolsters the song’s personality. The third song “running out of time” is very easy to listen to, as is the fourth song “pRETTY” which features autotune reminiscent of “Poland” and a solid feature from Foushee. Unfortunately track five raises my first big issue with the album. “:(failure(:” is an interlude that consists of Yachty reflecting about his failures in a roundabout way. Here’s the thing: Yachty has a great personality. The problem is the placement. He led off the album with four great tracks but he then broke up the momentum with an interlude that could have slotted in anywhere. “THE zone” and “WE SAW THE SUN” come next. Both have their strengths. The first features, possibly, his best songwriting on the album, and the second includes more great autotune and a perfectly done mini-interlude. The interlude reminds me of some of Kendrick Lamar’s best. It simultaneously entertains and leads into the next song, as the bass kicks in towards the end for a seamless and satisfying transition. “drive ME crazy” and “IVE OFFICIALLY LOST VISION” mark the last two Diana Gordon features. Her impact on this album is probably greater than it appears on the surface. Her voice is a familiar mix between Alanis Morrisete and Tracy Chapman, and it adds completeness to the album by tying songs together stylistically, in a way miscellaneous features could not have. “sAy sOMETHINg” flirts with Yachty’s habitual repetitiveness but avoids it by pushing the limits of autotune and leaning into it heavily from the bridge throughout the conclusion of the song. “paint THE sky” opens with a muffled sample of the Weeknd’s “Save Your Tears”. Yachty does a mild stylistic Weeknd impersonation for the remainder of the song and executes it tastefully. “sHouLd i B” and “The Alchemist” combine for the weakest pair of songs on the album. Both are fairly repetitive, and though they stay within the niche of the rest of the album, they are missing the palpable creativity on every other song. “The Alchemist” has a nice finish that leads into the album’s final song. But aside from that, I could do without them, especially on such a strong and reasonably lengthy (57 minute) album. “REACH THE SUNSHINE” is the final song on the album. Although it doesn’t reach the heights of the opener, it brings in some of the same elevated vocals. Daniel Caesar has a great feature, adding to the atmosphere of the album’s conclusion with great vocals. Yachty decides to ride out the album on a wave of synths and sound effects, the same synths and sound effects that create the exotic sonic world that is Let’s Start Here. Lil Yachty’s Let’s Start Here is a musically alternative take on mainstream music industry style. It has its flaws, namely: the occasional grating vocal performance, incoherently high decibel combinations of instruments, and Yachty’s repetitive flow. But, it is a triumph nonetheless. Let’s Start Here sits in a strange yet surprisingly common set of circumstances, where the album can easily rub a given listener the wrong way. Yet, it would be a mistake to miss the genius behind it regardless of personal taste. Other albums that share these circumstances, especially within alternative hip-hop, are: Tyler The Creator’s Igor, Danny Brown’s Atrocity Expedition, JPEGMAFIA’s Veteran, even Death Grips’ The Money Store. If you’re familiar with those, I think Let’s Start Here is on its way to their level. Yachty is young, talented, and after this album it seems he’s poised to start making timeless albums. Lil Yachty’s Let’s Start Here is an 8.5/10.

LOTUS GLOW , BY ADI OASIS BY: Ian Sherry 3/2 5/23 On March 3, 2023, Adi Oasis released her newest album: Lotus Glow. For those who don’t know, Adi Oasis, fka. Adeline, is a fantastic vocalist and bass player that sprung from the New York music scene. Performing as Adeline, she was the lead singer for Escort, a disco revival band led by JKriv, a fellow bass player and heavyweight DJ from New York. While they made great music, going solo was the clear next step. She’s assembled a great band, changed her name to Adi Oasis, and focused on touring and studio recording. Adeline has always been a stand-out bass player and vocalist fluent in many music stylings and arrangements, but Adi Oasis has found her own sound and identity. She is uber talented and possesses an impressive level of polish for someone who is new to solo recording, yet I had questions regarding her album making ability. Her first release, titled Adeline, was safe. She stuck to her enjoyable low-risk, low-reward R&B approach but it lacked her unique personality. Since then she has released two albums, blossoming stylistically and creatively, and getting closer to reaching her now obvious potential. Lotus Glow is not another hint at that potential, it’s a statement of fact: Adi Oasis is the real deal. My biggest question for Adi Oasis heading into Lotus Glow was her logistical album making ability. Her previous two albums were 30 and 25 minutes respectively. They had great moments, but for the most part they felt like collections of songs, not coordinated musical experiences. Lotus Glow’s album sequencing is much improved. It leads off with “Le Depart”, a short introduction that sets the scene with laid back instrumentals and a short chorus and cuts short just in time to bring the audience in. The anticipation is built and immediately released in the opening track “Get It Got It”. It brings energy, horns, a fun chorus, and the sound that she will fall back on for the remainder of the album. “Get It Got It” was one of the first singles and likely would have slotted in anywhere, but the opening slot was the perfect place for it. The only interlude, “Sugarcane”, is towards the end. The decision to place it so late is one I don’t fully understand, but it does serve to separate what I believe are the two weakest tracks. What impressed me most about her album organization was the final track, “FourSixty”. It begins with the exact same instrumental and chorus of “Le Depart” before satisfyingly dropping into her first verse. It is one of her strongest vocal performances on the album, and it holds a good feature from Aaron Taylor. While he feels a little bit raw at times, he brings a good contrast to her voice and sings in a variety of octaves. The song as a whole is a perfect sendoff to a near perfect album. Why near perfect? The biggest thing holding Lotus Glow back is “Naked” featuring Levin Kali. This song is already one of the most streamed on the album. This is no doubt in part because of the feature and his fanbase, but to be frank, Levin Kali is completely upstaged on this song. He begins with a rap verse which, while it was passable, lacked character in the performance. Everything Adi Oasis does, she does with swagger. Levin couldn’t hang. To make matters worse, down the stretch, the two harmonize for two separate vocal stretches. Their voices don’t blend well and they take away from what could have been a strong finish from Adi Oasis and Adi Oasis alone. Now, all the fault does not lie with Levin. He wasn’t the man for the job, but she is in charge. As she grows as an artist and gains access to better features she will learn how to incorporate them more effectively without cramping her own style. I think “Naked” proves this should be a point of interest for her next release. Adi Oasis is talented enough to pack a punch in every song. You can see her early work reflected in songs like “Marigold” and “The Water”, and her current sound is showcased in songs like “Serena”,”Red To Violet”, “Sidonie”, “Adonis”, and “You Make Me Want It”. However, “Multiply” is the best possible embodiment of Oasis’ style at this point in her career. It leads in with a murky base that contrasts perfectly with high pitched vocals and keys. The piano fills out the sound and allows the listener to settle into a fantastic vocal performance. Lots of times, when artists have heavy layers of live-recorded instruments, their voices can sit in the wrong part of the mix. It’s not a huge problem; maybe they just sing over the top or get buried at times by the weight of the tune. It can work, but Adi Oasis has the perfect balance. She creates an environment with her diverse multi-layered sound and sings in a perfect pocket that places simultaneous emphasis on her lyrics, bass, and wandering keyboards. Her personality is infused in this song and all of her best songs. The result is a fantastic listening experience. In the same sense that “Naked” holds the album back from perfection, “Dumpalltheguns” is what pushes it there in the first place. Though the year is still young, this song is an early candidate for my personal song of the year. On an album where Adi Oasis successfully plays to her diverse strong suits, she steps outside of her comfort zone on this song. The production is heavy handed and incorporates an electric feel I’ve never heard from her before. Once again the bass is very present, but so is a punchy electric guitar, a piano progression and layered keys, a cowbell, synth breaks, and echoed vocals in just the right spots. However, what stands out most is the message. “Dumb for your guns, wanna kill just for fun”. The first line of the song makes the message clear and Adi Oasis makes sure you can’t forget it, and with the absolute power of this song, you won’t want to. “Dumpalltheguns” is a perfect integration of her arsenal of capabilities. It displays a growing command over her own bass playing, songwriting, and vocal abilities, as well as a mastery of the studio and all hers has to offer. It is a successful callback to her work with Escort as well, bringing in elements of songs like “Cocaine Blues”. But, it's also a glimpse of the future: a future of much-needed social change in the USA and the future trajectory of Adi Oasis. 2023 music releases are off to a hot start, and Lotus Glow is my favorite so far. Adi Oasis scratches an itch that nobody else does. Her unique blend of influences combines for a cohesive, reliable, and recognizable sound. The best part is she has room for improvement. I could see her talent, but I had secret concerns about how far her seemingly niche style could take her. Those concerns are gone. She delivered moments on this record I’ve never experienced before, and I know she can do more. There are opportunities for improvement, but I have a feeling she already knows that. She seems to have a keen self-awareness, fixing problems like overly shrill vocals and the occasional inconsequential and uninteresting verses from previous releases. I have no doubt she’ll improve at incorporating features, and higher level collaborations feel inevitable. The future is bright for Adi Oasis, and at this point, her widespread success feels guaranteed. Lotus Glow is a 9.5/10.

Before The World Blows BY IAN THOMAS SHERRY 9/18/2026 On August 28, in cahoots with The Alchemist, Erykah Badu released her first studio album in 16 years, Before The World Blows . On September 11, 2026, I had the pleasure of seeing the duo live. SETTING THE STAGE It’s been a decade since Ms. Badu’s cell phone-centered concept EP, But You Caint Use My Phone (’16), and her digitimaterial focus has only sharpened in the time since (yes, I made that word up). If you’re lucky enough to see ‘The Abby & Al Experience’ live, like I have, you’d immediately see what I mean. The set consisted of two beds on the far right and left connected by a circular cushion that stretched the back perimeter of the stage, all white, kinda freaky. Two spotlights switch on, and there they are – Abby n Al in their respective beds, Erykah Badu outfitted in red heels, a white trench coat, and a blonde wig, which she’d chuck, and The Alchemist in the boyish black hoodie – speaking to each other ‘on the phone,’ hatching a plan. Quickly, The Alchemist retreated to the platform hidden at the top of the set beside his dark-dressing-DJ counterparts, and the beats began. SOUND REASONING The lines between Abby and Al go back to a wannabe Alchemist selling weed to Badu’s mentor and career-breaker D’Angelo and follow the gyre of neo soul to its current resting place, in the palms of women like Ms. Badu. Her hands have been anything but idle in the years since soul’s sound slipped away. If you caught the two-part New AmErykah series (’08, ’10), or her last LP, you’ll notice Badu’s increased interest in digital hip-hop production. Each record was en vogue, impressive for an aging genre-crossing solo artist, but each aged quickly. Met with the task of creating an updated, lasting product and continually interested in marrying analog hip-hop and modern digital production, Abby went to Al. THE GOODS They played the album in order (with bonus tracks interwoven), starting with the ethereal (Track 1) “Echoes.” As the album chimes and whirs to life, Erykah Badu’s singular aesthetic descends upon this decade of music. Lyrically, she comes out muthafuckin firing: “Ah, if we can't agree on the God we pick / Then, my God / Let's at least agree on this snare and kick / (Red, yellow, black, white, or brown) / Oh, if you can't love the one you with / Ah, then you ain't her God, mm / (Red, yellow, black, white, or brown) / Ah, John Lennon said / “They treat women like the n- of the world,” yes, he did / (So watch how you trеat your girl) / Ah, 'cause the future looking odd thеse days That's on Tyler, Frank, and Earl .” This opening lyrical rampage is more musically dynamic than your Spotify streaming quality can capture; but live, as the synths soared, beat lurched, and Badu wailed through her autotune I was met with a bombastic opening track (only rivaled by Action Bronson’s “Live From The Moon” in my concert-going experience). 7 minutes later it gives way to (Track 2) “I Just Play A Part.” Initially my favorite, and certainly the most climactic song on the record, the first of two Westside Gunn features consists of purely gun sounds for effect as the Clintonian techneo anthem roars to life. Badu picks a cadence and rolls with it for two minutes, until she runs out of bars and resorts to a scream solo that rips at the fabric of the track until it splits and the beat switches for DJ Creole Princess to spit a silky verse. (Track 4) “Witch Doctor” was this record’s lead single and the first look at Abby and Al’s sound. The lurching bassline’s rumblin nicely backs Badu’s mumblin and the simple but syncopated melody allows the entire track to swing in cadence with Badu’s words, before giving way to a hand drum solo which she performed alone at center stage to the crowd’s excitement. The stop and go effect of “Witch Doctor” was something to behold live. The crowd, including myself, floated entranced by her witchly wordplay, and by the end I knew all the lyrics. The sentimental being that I am, (Track 6) “Next 2 U,” which samples Mobb Deep’s “The Realest,” plucked my heartstrings on first listen, and has since burned itself into my brain. “I-IIIIIII wanna smoke blunts with you” too Erykah. (Track 7) “Love Me Not” details the uncertain progression of a relationship before giving way to a tape of Ms. Badu getting her booty waxed – thrilling stuff really – but it was easy to see why she chose to go a different direction for this portion of the show. In place of Track 7, The Alchemist descended to perform a medley of “Life Is Beautiful” and “Hold You Down” (both covers of originals he produced). FLASHBACK When Al was done, attention returned to Abby and her soundboard at center stage. She starts, 'You know, they say 90s babies were born with an irregular heartbeat… and it sounds like this,' - dundun duuuun, dundun duuuun – the first notes of the iconic, immediately recognized, “On & On.” As the crowd revved to life, Erykah Badu, filling with the energy and spirit of her youth as it poured out of the crowd back into her, began to deliver by far her most authoritative, studio-similar, and frankly legendary pair of performances of the night as she medleyed into “Didn’t Ya Know” with ease. When I saw Erykah Badu tour Mama’s Gun a year ago, in the climactic confines of the Fox Theater, she delivered every individual performance with the aforementioned moxie. Not only did this year’s venue, Freedom Hill, lack any sonic containment for her vocals, this year’s album doesn’t feature any such performances. To avoid belaboring my point, allow me to state with absolute certainty: Erykah Badu is 55 years old and holding back (no doubt conserving energy for the arrival of aliens). Badu returned to the tracklist and concluded her flashback with a mashup of (Track 8) “Breezy” (the album’s toughest listen) and “Bennie And The Jets” for the concert’s most surprisingly fun moment. (Track 9) “Abracadabra,” is a good interlude. (Track 10) “To The Moon (Plan C)” features Steve Lacy, who brings his sound to Badu’s record with the same grace she visits his newest release Oh Yeah? The three-way fusion between the sounds of The Alchemist, Badu, and Lacy, all of which are unique and individually decipherable, ought to be an intriguing listen for any music fan. Well-grouped features, Thundercat is next. (Track 11) “They Ain’t You” isn’t the album’s most exhilarating track, but the transition between Lacy’s sound and Thundercat’s bass is clever, but it drags on as TC tracks tend to do. (Track 12) “What The People Say (Apostle 1)” picks up the pace and Badu shakes off the mumbles, ramping up into the fastest-paced rap performance (Track 13) “Hot BiBi (Apostle 2).” Another well-intentioned pairing, but the best bars had yet to come. (Track 14) “No I.D.” captures a true freestyle feel as Badu names legendary DJs over the most quintessential Alchemist beat of the record. It was fitting then, to feature Westside Gunn for the second time, laying viscous flexes over the creepy-crawly instrumental and Erykah Badu’s sweet hook “Ain't nobody fuckin' with the K-I-D (No) / Big ball bangin', need no ID (Doot-doot-doot-doot-doot, ah) / I'ma get a beat from No I.D. (Mm, woo) / Ain't nobody fuckin' with the K-I-D (Yeah) / If Alchemist don't come through for me / I'ma get a beat from No I.D. (Woo).” That’s taste folks. (Track 15) “I Know That Man” mutters Earl Sweatshirt, before stating blankly atop the beatdrop “Everything is not a joke,” at the beginning of the album’s best verse over The Alchemist’s most emotionally charged beat only to give way to this chorus on gospel-style-repeat: “I, wanna be seen / as good / in the eyes of that which made us.” It brings tears to my eyes, even in listening to write this article. Now for the final time, check this shit out: “Too much dopamine can make a man mean / Dimethyltryptamine make a man dream / Ozempic and promethazine make a man lean / Mars' daddy Jay Elec', make a bitch real mean / Turn into a meme, make a big scene / Broadcast it on the whole block, live from the black box / Phone call, liberation or entrapment? / Mercury in retrograde, at midnight all was well / But suddenly the box became engulfed with a beam of light / Somebody gettin' some pussy, tonight.” Is your jaw on the floor? Mine was the first time I heard Ms. Badu rattle this off for a teaser at last year’s show, and so were the jaws of any fan who hadn’t heard (Track 16) “Black Box” before last Friday’s concert. Oh, and the second verse is just as good, so give it a listen and yours may be too. My name is Ian Thomas Sherry, but I’m Mr. Badu if she’ll have me. Before The World Blows is an 8.9.

THE ODYSSEY 8/5/2026 - Dawson Sarcona - Ian Thomas Sherry The following is a transcribed and edited conversation between CG reviewers Ian and Dawson about Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey DAWSON: Just starting off, Ian, I know you've read The Odyssey before. Were you a fan of the casting and the performances? Do you think they kind of held up to Homer’s version? IAN: Yeah, well, starting with the story. First of all, you had to tell me the bard was Travis Scott, but I thought that was fantastic, the way that they included that, 'cause that's the way it was told for so long. They hit all the points, obviously. And I thought that the plot moved along pretty well for such a long thing to adapt. You know, I just watched O Brother, Where Art Thou. It's so loose to call it an adaptation of the Odyssey - I mean, I get it's a comedy, but this (Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey) is right on point and moves along. And yeah, with the casting, I had some favorites for sure, but I'm gonna kick that back to you. Were there any favorite castings or performances for you? DAWSON: I mean, there's a lot of performances getting gassed up from this movie, and I feel like rightfully so. Anne Hathaway did a really good job (as Penelope). And I like the direction Nolan took her character too. But my favorite, and this is the basic answer, 'cause it's the main character, I really like Matt Damon's performance. Really enjoyed just the energy he brought to it. I've seen him in a lot of other action movies like the Jason Bourne films, and they're really boring to me, so this kind of solidified to me like - oh, he actually knows how to do this stuff, because I found his performance very captivating and I like the complexity that he brought to the character. Though Nolan has a bit of… I wouldn't say an issue, but he does this thing with all his characters where he kind of.. makes them extremely noble and tries to make them the most, you know, complex ‘I'm gonna take accountability for everything’ characters. When from what I've heard, in the original Odyssey Odysseus is kind of just like a trickster and is kind of a little bit just like… IAN: -He’s not so apologetic.- DAWSON: Yeah, so I think that that was a good change and I think that Damon portrayed that well. And I also really thought Robert Pattinson shined in his role. I would have liked to see more of his character just being a douchebag because he was good at it. IAN: He is. I went with my sister, and she was raving about how good he was as a villain. And yeah, I totally agree. And like Dawson said, Anne Hathaway was great; she was strong in her performance, you know, that's important in this day and age… So what did you think of Tom Holland’s Telemicus? DAWSON: So, Tom Holland was... Well, he didn't have a bad performance by any means, but I would like to see that they gave him more to do. I am a fan of him as an actor, and I feel like - I say this wearing a Spider-Man hoodie, but I still think No Way Home was one of his best performances, and I would have loved to see him allowed to bring that emotion in this movie. It just wasn't necessary for the character, so like I get it, but it (the performance) was kind of middle of the road for me. IAN: I think part of that is the character, like he's limited; he never even gets to step into the throne room in any aspect, leadership-wise, and his main function in this film was to move the plot along with the cutting back and forth. And I thought that was pretty easy to understand, given I already knew the story, but still it flowed pretty well, so I thought he did well. I enjoyed his performance. DAWSON: We’re there any castings that were distracting for you? IAN: Charlize Theron as Calypso, that was a little strange. Only because I didn't feel like it was well enough introduced, but that situation was eventually explained. It's supposed to be mysterious to an extent, but I also don't know how accurate it is, her living washed up on the beach. That's not how I interpreted reading it. - What about yourself? DAWSON: Yeah, I can agree with that. She just kind of felt like an empty character, just kind of a plot device. And I know that she has more acting chops in her, so maybe it's just more of a writing issue. But yeah, her and Benny Safdie, as Agamemnon, I felt very like he stood out most specifically, probably. With the helmet off, he just kind of gives off, for lack of a better term, dorky energy. IAN: He did. DAWSON: - They spent so many of his shots in the movie, framing him as, like, very imposing and cinematic and a guy that you don't want to mess with. Then like, they have Odysseus speak to him, and he's very soft-spoken and kind of friendly with Odysseus, which I’m not sure if that's how it was in the book, but I would assume that maybe it was not. IAN: I would have expected the character to be, furious, you know, and to have some sort of facial wound from being killed - a crazed warlord that sacrificed so much, and was caught up in his own home, I think, he would probably be more bitter and angry. But we're kind of splitting hairs here, I think, overall, that (oracle scene) was pretty great. DAWSON: This is probably his (Nolan’s) biggest accomplishment. I mean, I think that's fair to say. It's the first movie ever filmed completely on IMAX, which means it was also filmed completely on film, like traditional film, which is not something you see a lot nowadays. And watching it, seeing all the love and care put into it; it's just very clear. Especially when it comes to the practical stuff that they do with the Cersei scene in the pig transformation and in the Cyclops stuff. For perspective, there was a guy in full Cyclops makeup, and then for other scenes they had a full 60-foot Cyclops puppet that they built for the characters to interact with. So it’s stuff like that could have just been blue-screened and CGI-ed, but instead they took the time and really actually made it to the best they could, that is a testament to how much not only Christopher Nolan cares about movies, but how important that stuff still is to making a great movie - and you can really tell when you're in that theater, especially the IMAX theater. IAN: I thought the way that the Cyclops moved was really awesome; it was otherworldly, and it made the whole scene a lot better. That's one of the more famous scenes I was wondering how they were gonna execute it, what it was gonna look like, you know, and it was like a mutant child type-thing, which makes perfect sense because I believe it's a giant and Poseidon’s offspring, so it was pretty wild, and it was the same with Cersei. They could have had her wave a wand and poof them (Odysseus’ men) into pigs, and nobody would have batted an eye, but the idea to kind of go the horror direction, that ended up being one of the more memorable scenes in the whole film to me. DAWSON: I learned the other day that Ithaca, the island that they used for that, is a real island and that's a real castle, and they got permission to film there, but they weren't allowed to build anything, so like they couldn't build a road to get their film supplies up there. So they had to literally airlift and then, by hand, carry like thousands of dollars of equipment up this hill every day to film there. And I think that's just another cool example of the people who worked on this movie really putting in the effort, and I think it shows in volumes when you see it. IAN: This is interesting because it looks really genuine, the castle, and it looks pretty untouched and like weathered. I also thought the plucking of the bow- that was a great moment. They planted that seed early on, and it was pretty cinematic when it did it in the end, so I thought that was pretty cool, and I'm not sure I remember that from the book; I think the book is moreso about being able to execute the challenge, just stringing it and shooting, so I think that was pretty cool. DAWSON: Yeah, and I noticed a few things about that on my rewatch too of like how much that is woven into the story, and it's stealthily. There's a lot of stuff, Nolanisms, just a lot of really interesting details that are just sprinkled in there. Like, for example, a few that I can remember are: there's a song on the score called "Sirens," and it's the song that plays when Odysseus hears the sirens' song, and he's strapped to the, you know, pull in the ship and is listening to it. - IAN: - And it's at the same time; it's just the song on the score that we hear while he's listening to them. - DAWSON: - Right, yes, exactly, thank you. But that song is titled that, but it's technically like him and Penelope's theme in the movie because the only other times we hear it are when he and his wife are together. And so when he talks about the siren song being like “a song of like everything you've ever wanted and everything you ever wanted was something you had and lost,” I think that's just a really cool way to musically tie it into, like, when he hears that song, he's hearing something about Penelope and Telemicus. And going back to Telemicus, another thing is, any time they are viewing his flashbacks of his family, Telemicus is not facing the camera. It shows like a kid facing away from the camera, which is something Nolan does in like all of his movies. IAN: Now I'd like to get to my last big question if you don't have anything else. DAWSON: No, I don't think I have anything else. IAN: So The Culture Gyre is based on a concept, the gyre, which is a shape. Imagine two funnels facing into each other so at one end you would have an open circle and then a point in the center which would be the point of the other funnel going the opposite direction; would you consider this movie to be closer to “the point,” the thing that everybody in film is driving at, or would you say it's pushing an edge in the grand scheme of the film? DAWSON: I think it's interesting with Nolan because he is something - he's someone that all filmmakers kind of strive to be like; he is kind of anointed, almost anointed himself as like filmmaker royalty because he is, I believe, the president of the filmmakers' guild. So a lot of people, they kind of view him as like the one above all, and to be honest with you, he still has duds, he still has movies that fall through, so going into this movie I was excited, but I was not 100% certain, kind of like you are saying. I think the concept for this movie is kind of on that outer circle; it's something that you know a lot of people can do, and a lot of people have made adaptations of the Odyssey, right, and it's a general idea a lot of people have, but it's not necessarily always executed properly. There are so many ways that it can be done, and I think what's great about Nolan is he can kind of bring it into that inner focal point, like that thing that everyone's striving towards, because of the way he's able to direct things. And I think a lot of this comes down to the people going to the movies now who are so much more invested in cinema. I think just because of the nature of social media and how it's heightened everybody's opinions on things you're either going to the movie because you love this movie or you hate this movie, right? Like, there's rarely ever an instance now where someone's like ‘I have no thoughts on this’ and that's compounded by social media with people sharing those opinions. So he's kind of being built up and built up, and I think the fact that Nolan keeps pushing forward shows he's not the type of person who's building up this reputation for himself and just kind of going with the flow. He hasn't plateaued yet. He keeps pushing the bar farther for himself, and you don’t know what his next movie is going to be or when it's going to be, but he's been pushing out movies every three years. Which is a crazy production turnaround, especially considering the scale of stuff he's making. So my long-winded answer to your question is, yes, I think that this movie, especially in Nolan's way of approaching film, is pushing for the center of the gyre. I think the future of film has to be like this; it has to be more people who care, people who are doing things practically and who are trying new things with reliable stories, even if just because there's only so many stories that can be told. I would say the same about Obsession this year by Curry Barker, right? The one wish willow. The monkey paw- that is a story that has been told countless times by countless people, but he sat down, and he found a way to make it fresh, and he put a lot of love and practicality into it, and it was probably the second biggest movie of the year so far in terms of box office success. So yeah, I think right now the future of film, the focal point from that poem is this notion of bringing more originality to movies, and we need to do it out of love and care and not for the purpose of making money for a studio. And it's in the details, but careful detail. IAN: I agree. DAWSON: Yeah, and you know, obviously studios care about money, but I think people - I think studios right now are kind of finding that if they prioritize originality, it benefits them more in the long term.

OBSESSION, NEXT-GEN HORROR WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY: DAWSON SARCONA, 6/10/2026 Recent horror blockbusters have the box office in a chokehold, due in large part to the genre’s popularity amongst upcoming generations. The youthful zeitgeist is horror-acclimated, and Curry Baker’s Obsession is the latest and loudest proof of that. Obsession has no shortage of achievements after just three weeks in theaters. For a movie with a budget as low as $750,000, Obsession has blown its expected earnings out of the water as it’s now on track to reach $250M (or more) before the end of its theatrical run. Further, if you look at the weekend-to-weekend growth of Obsession, you'll notice that the lowest earnings are in its opening weekend, before growing 30% in week two and an additional 10% in week three, implying cult-classic momentum. The last film to behave as such at the box office was all the way back in 1982, Stephen Spielberg's classic E.T. So what is so great about Obsession? Well, to put it plainly, everything. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I think we might be dealing with a near-perfect movie. Now, I will say, I have seen this movie 3 times in theaters, so I've gotten the privilege of looking back at it with the perspective of already knowing what happens. One thing that really stood out to me on my 2nd and 3rd watch was how well each scene served the story in getting us to the ending. Never before in my life have I seen a movie with such a tight script in which literally every single scene serves a distinct purpose. I genuinely believe that this film could not be cut any further and still tell the story it does so effectively. This is likely due to director Curry Barker's experience as a YouTube/TikTok sketch comedian. As a part of the Duo “That's a Bad Idea,” Barker mastered the craft of building short-form sketches and content. Due to the limited attention of viewers on these apps, Barker has gained an eye for what's necessary to keep the audience's attention and the story constantly flowing. These skills are put to expert use in the writing, directing, and editing of this film, all of which he did himself. SPOILER ALERT. The plot begins with a very simple concept: Bear makes a wish that the girl of his dreams, Nikki Freeman, “loves him more than anyone in the fucking world”. From here, Barker quickly distinguishes himself from the rest of the stories told under this Monkey’s Paw trope. As Nikki begins to become more and more obsessed with Bear, the story evolves into a horrifying tale of self-destruction and the extremes of co-dependency. I've always been a big proponent of horror’s effectiveness when it isn't explained. This is that to a T. Trying to assign logic to something supernatural often takes away the fear. Watching Obsession, it was very clear to me that Barker understood this principle. There is no explanation for how this wish magic works, or why it is that Nikki begins to get crazy and violent. Nor does it explain where the “real Nikki” goes during this wish. Instead, it just gives us little hints, moments of Nikki snapping back to reality, screams, outbursts, and indicators that something about this wish magic is cruel and terrifying. The use of ambiguity makes the movie so much scarier, and Barker has further gone on to say that he himself does not know and doesn't ever plan to create an explanation for these events. It's just spooky magic for spooky magic’s sake, and it works so well. Speaking of magic, Inde Navarrette’s performance as Nikki is something truly astonishing. Being able to play 2 distinct characters within the same movie is an accomplishment in itself, but being able to make them both distinct enough that the audience can instantly tell when either personality (Nikki or Wish Nikki) is on screen is something really special. The range of emotion Navarrette displays as both versions of Nikki is insane as a viewer, and it's because of her that this movie works. Every scary, uncomfortable, or flat-out violent moment in this movie hinges upon Navarette delivering, and boy does she deliver. This is hands down one of the best horror performances I've seen on the big screen, and the character will no doubt become a horror icon. While Navarrette is by far the breakout performance in this film, everyone who acts in this movie make great contributions. Michael Johnston as Bear does an excellent job grounding his character so we can see him constantly justifying his increasingly horrendous decisions. This allows for the slow-burning reveal that he may be the true antagonistic figure within the film. Megan Lawless and Cooper Tomlinson as Ian and Sarah are great supporting characters in this movie, and really help to make the friend group dynamic seem real and lived-in. Obsession is, without a doubt, my favorite movie of the year. The aesthetic, the lighting, the set design, the acting, the writing, the directing, all of it works so well to make this movie something really special. For me, Obsession is a 10 out of 10, and I am actively recommending this to anyone who is looking for a good horror movie. Baker’s arrival marks the latest in the YouTuber-to-horror director pipeline. Past creators like Jordan Peele (Get out, Us, Nope) and RackaRacka (Talk to Me and Bring Her Back) have taken this path to great success. YouTube has become somewhat of a crash course in movie-making, particularly for those who’ve grown up with it. Every few decades, Hollywood begins to die out and needs revitalization. We are in the middle of a major shift in the movie industry. Most moviegoers, including myself, now go to see the new film by their favorite director. The tabloid-driven Hollywood of the 90s and 2000s is fading. The directors, the creators, have become the new movie stars. I believe this is mainly because of the YouTube space. We have spent years with creators themselves, seen them grow, develop, and learn the difficulties that come with trying to make something that's your own. YouTube has become a training ground for creators and put them in the driver's seat. For these creators, it's not about pushing out a movie quickly to meet a quota; it's dedicating themselves to their art form. It's bringing Hollywood back to its roots and creating stories that are fun, entertaining, and expertly executed.

WALK WITH ME IV 11/14/2023 BY: IAN SHERRY Wow, this must be important for me to bypass the Gretel Hanlyn concert review, Rolling Stones review, and Grammy-talk. Correct. Well, we’ve been wishing for new music, and our wishes appear to be coming true.. André 3000 is releasing his first album in 17 years this Friday, November 17. After all this time, naturally, there’s a twist. It’s all flute. The third greatest rapper of all time, by my most current assessment, was ½ of the greatest hip-hop duo of all time. As Outkast, he and his partner Big Boi put out some of the most influential music in Southern Rap, hip-hop, and countless other lanes of contemporary music. From their Southern slice of life Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, to their critically acclaimed Aquemini, or their prototypical smash-hit Stankonia to their ultimate two-part masterpiece Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, Outkast amassed one of the greatest discographies of all time. That, however, is where we run into our first and only problem with André 3000: as a solo artist, he doesn’t have a single album. Following the breakup of Outkast in 2007, André retreated from the spotlight. He seems to have enjoyed it so much that he has effectively stayed out of the recording business ever since. His low-profile trajectory reminds me of another talented artist whose time spent off the grid created high levels of anticipation around his return: Frank Ocean. He also released several fantastic albums, captivated a musically and culturally inclined audience, and then disappeared - only to give occasional features. The biggest difference between the two however, is we’ve gotten glimpses into André’s mind. His featured verses, although infrequent, are very insightful, and when coupled with his rare interviews, we can begin to create a picture of where he stands. André 3000 stepped away 17 years ago, trapped in a state of creative block. He tried to work through it by exploring other mediums, and has continued to do so while struggling with family deaths and mounting public pressure to do something, anything. In recent years especially, the dialogue surrounding his musical inactivity has shifted to retrospective. Less ‘I wish he would’ and more ‘I wish he would have’. Yet he summarized his position best when he explained that hip-hop is a young medium that relies on new swagger and fresh ideas. The point of emphasis there? New and fresh. André 3000 is aesthetically one of the coolest people alive. In his prime he rocked a dumb wig and now he wears strange hats, but in the eyes of his fans it all works perfectly. But gazing back into that emerging picture of his mind’s eye, I find it plausible that he truly believes he isn’t hip. And to be hip, after all, is engrained in the very name of his chosen genre. If he lacks that, he can’t function within it. It’s a reasonable stance that he’s taken, and although his fans' frustrations with him often leak through their caring attitudes, he’s stood on it. André 3000 left the scene while grappling with creative difficulties and the inability to produce,, and while he’s taken time to work through his challenges in different ways, including taking better care of himself, he hasn’t been able to get back to his lofty stature as an actively elite figure in hip hop. That’s fine, especially given our experience with talented, tenured artists forcing creativity with horrible results: Eminem’s Music To Be Murdered By, The Game’s DRILLMATIC Heart vs. Mind, Kanye West’s Donda 2, all of Kid Cudi’s 2023 singles, and I could go on. As I briefly mentioned, André 3000’s features still roll out occasionally, and they’re always top tier. This standard keeps continued pressure on him to produce new music. He has proven time and time again that he’s still capable, thrusting him into a greater state of current relevancy than he seems to realize.. While he may view himself more like a Lauryn Hill, his fans see him as closer to a Nicki Minaj. Lauryn Hill fans respect and support her decision to focus on her personal life, while Nicki Minaj fans have been waiting semi-patiently for the return of their messiah from motherhood since her last album in 2018, pouncing on every single and driving it to the top of the charts to lure her back out. With respect to the latter, you don’t see André 3000’s name on a tracklist without major conversation and praise to follow. Case in point: Killer Mike’s “SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS” is Grammy-nominated this year, and guess who it features? So please allow me to summarize my stance. I whole-heartedly believe that André 3000 is a capable rapper, but what about his true ability to make music? The reason I’m unsure? Because he’s not sure either. And until he’s sure, I wouldn’t want him to force anything unnatural. So when I woke up this morning and saw he had an album coming out, I was a bit concerned. Then I found out it was a flute album, and I wasn’t surprised - in fact I was a bit relieved. I’m hoping this will give us a view into the creative space he’s embodying. If he seems to be thriving creatively in a musical space, of course I’ll want more. And I’ll continue to want to hear him on the mic. But, for now, this is perfect. I’ll listen, and I’ll read reviews. Some will rave about it, saying it’s the best (probably only) flute they’ve ever heard. Others will rip it to shreds saying he has no business experimenting with it, like they did his occasional guitar performances As a person with zero experience listening to or interest in the flute, I don’t plan to review it. I wouldn’t be qualified. Despite, or maybe in light of this being my all-time favorite rapper’s solo debut, I can’t bring myself to opine on something I’m not capable of properly critiquing. I’ll listen to it, form an opinion, and move forward. And I hope André continues to move forward as well.

GRAMMYS: IDEALIZED BY: Ian Sherry 2/3/2023 On February 5 the 65th annual Grammys will be held in Los Angeles. As usual it's no surprise that this year's Grammy nominations have been somewhat controversial. When evaluating an incredibly broad field such as an entire genre of music, narrowing candidates down can be difficult, however, they always manage to do worse than I expected. This year’s disturbing choices include the nomination of the song “abcdefu” by Gayle – a TikTok song that I used to be happily unaware of – as well as DJ Khaled’s bloated and overplayed album God Did, Jack Harlowe’s bland attempt at a reflective album, and a whole plethora of baffling exclusions. Now it's time to make up for their incompetence and soothe the frustrations of the die-hard music fan. I picked the most worthy artist from each category, and then I picked the artist I believe should win regardless of whether or not they were nominated. I am sharing my rationale for the four most prominent awards and providing listings for any remaining categories I feel qualified to pick. I am primarily selecting who I think is deserving to win, but I’ve included predictions as well. Enjoy. Record of The Year I will admit, right out of the gate, this is the hardest category to pick. The difference between song of the year and record of the year is that SOTY is more focused on songwriting and message, while ROTY is evaluated purely on the musical composition. This makes for an extremely broad category, so I am not upset by the ROTY nominations. My selection from the Grammy nominees would be Beyonce’s “BREAK MY SOUL”. It is an upbeat genre crossover powered by the incredible talent that is Beyonce, and it deserves the praise it receives. My personal selection is “born yesterday” by Quadeca. His 2022 album I Didn’t Mean To Haunt You is a favorite of mine and this song encapsulates the emotion and musical metamorphosis showcased throughout this landmark release. Either way you can’t go wrong, and in a strong musical year like this, you shouldn’t. Best Of The Nominees: “Good Morning Gorgeous” - Mary J Blige My Pick: “Born Yesterday” - Quadeca Prediction: “BREAK MY SOUL” - Beyonce Album of The Year I think there is a clear issue when none of the AOTY nominees delivered the best album in their given discographies. The only new album you could argue for is Beyonce’s RENAISSANCE. So, Beyonce is 2/2 to start. However, as much as I loved this album, it is not my choice for album of the year. While RENAISSANCE has many great tracks, some stick out in a bad way. By contrast, Wet Leg by Wet Leg is an album with no weak songs. This British duo took the Indie music scene by storm in early 2022, and for good reason. Their debut project is a masterclass in consistency, creativity, swagger, and sonic flexibility. I could go on and on about what makes Wet Leg great, but what’s more impressive, is I can’t come up with a reason they aren’t. This is the album of the year and if you haven’t heard it yet you need to. Best Of The Nominees: RENAISSANCE - Beyonce My Pick: Wet Leg - Wet Leg Prediction: RENAISSANCE - Beyonce Song of The Year The Grammys made it easy on me here. In a category that leans towards the songwriter, Kendrick Lamar is always a great candidate. His song “The Heart Part 5” sent a major message to his fanbase and the industry as a whole. He seamlessly addresses many societal issues which he considers fundamental and he does so in a concise fashion accompanied by a powerful music video. Fittingly, he samples Marvin Gaye, one of the greatest voices of commentary in our country’s long cultural history. The way Kendrick has performed over the last decade, I believe it's his time to enter that conversation as well, and a well-deserved win this year would only add to his recognition and multifaceted influence. Best Of The Nominees: “The Heart Part 5” - Kendrick Lamar My Pick: “The Heart Part 5” - Kendrick Lamar Prediction: “The Heart Part 5” - Kendrick Lamar Best New Artist To me there is a clear winner here. Wet Leg is Grammy-nominated and any other pick feels ludicrous to me. My one note is this: they will not pick Wet Leg. The clear trend in this category is selecting the most popular, mainstream, semi-new pop/hip hop artist available. There are plenty of well deserving artists that have lost or been fully excluded from nominations. Just in the last ten years, all of the following artists lost: Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, James Blake, Anderson .Paak, Lil Uzi Vert, SZA, Greta Van Fleet, H.E.R., Black Pumas, Rosalia, Phoebe Bridgers, Kaytranada, and Baby Keem. And, those are just the artists that were nominated. To be fair it's an incredibly broad category, but the trend clearly points to this year's winner: Latto. Oh well. Best Of The Nominees: Wet Leg My Pick: Wet Leg Prediction: Latto If I haven’t lowered expectations too much, please enjoy this year's Grammys, and the following categories I have selected. POP Best Pop Solo Performance Best Of The Nomi nees: “About Damn Time” - Lizzo My Pick: “Sunshine” - Steve Lacy Prediction: “As It Was” - Harry Styles Best Pop Vocal Album Best Of The Nominees: 30 - Adele My Pick: MOTOMAMI - Rosalia Prediction: 30 - Adele DANCE/ELECTRONIC Best Dance/Electronic Recording Best Of The Nominees: “BREAK MY SOUL” - Beyonce My Pick: “BREAK MY SOUL” - Beyonce Prediction: “BREAK MY SOUL” - Beyonce Best Dance/Electronic Music Album Best Of The Nominees: RENAISSANCE - Beyonce My Pick: RENAISSANCE - Beyonce Prediction: RENAISSANCE - Beyonce ROCK Best Rock Performance Best Of The Nominees: “Wild Child” - The Black Keys My Pick: “Taking Me Back” - Jack White Prediction: “Broken Horses” - Brandi Carlile Best Rock Album Best Of The Nominees: Lucifer On The Sofa - Spoon My Pick: Lucifer On The Sofa - Spoon Prediction: Lucifer On The Sofa - Spoon ALTERNATIVE Best Alternative Music Performance Best Of The Nominees: “Certainty” - Big Thief My Pick: “Certainty” - Big Thief Prediction: “Certainty” - Big Thief Best Alternative Music Album Best Of The Nominees: Wet Leg - Wet Leg My Pick: Wet Leg - Wet Leg Prediction: Fossora - Bjork R&B Best R&B Performance Best Of The Nominees: “VIRGO’S GROOVE” - Beyonce My Pick: “VIRGO’S GROOVE” - Beyonce Prediction: “Here With Me” - Mary J Blige Best R&B Album Best Of The Nominees: Candydrip - Lucky Daye My Pick: age/sex/location - Ari Lennox Prediction: Good Morning Gorgeous - Mary J Blige RAP Best Rap Performance Best Of The Nominees: “The Heart Part 5” - Kendrick Lamar My Pick: “Walkin” - Denzel Curry Prediction: “The Heart Part 5” - Kendrick Lamar Best Rap Album Best Of The Nominees: It's Almost Dry - Pusha T My Pick: It's Almost Dry - Pusha T Prediction: Come Home The Kids Miss You - Jack Harlow