Around the Tubes: June 18, 2022

                   

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting.  This post includes blurbs on Supreme Team, POV, John Legend, James Bay, Beach Boys, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Vince Guaraldi, and The Handmaid's Tale.

- SHOWTIME has released the official trailer for SUPREME TEAM, a three-part documentary series directed by Grammy^® winner Nasir “Nas” Jones and Peter J Scalettar for Mass Appeal that will premiere at the Tribeca Festival on this Sunday, June 19 at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), ahead of the on-air network premiere on Sunday, July 10  at 10 p.m. ET/PT. All three parts will be available on streaming and on demand for all SHOWTIME subscribers on Friday, July 8 at 12 a.m. ET (July 7 at 9 p.m. PT).  In collaboration with Mass Appeal as part of the network’s HIP HIP 50 banner, the documentary chronicles the Supreme Team, the notorious Queens, New York crime syndicate, and tells the real story directly from its two leaders, Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff and Gerald “Prince'' Miller. Through the voices of these two infamous entrepreneurs and the syndicate’s members, as well Hip Hop legend LL Cool J, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, journalist Joy Reid, singer Ashanti, producer Irv Gotti and others in the local community, politics, law enforcement, academia and popular culture, viewers are given access beyond the headlines to examine the broader cultural dynamics and the impact that this small group from South Jamaica Queens has held on hip hop and society at large.  To watch and share the trailer, visit: https://youtu.be/SAo_IXWhhXY. Tickets to the screening at Tribeca Festival can be purchased here: https://tribecafilm.com/films/supreme-team-2022.

- PBS television series POV presents an intimate look at the citizens of a small fishing town in Maniitsoq, Greenland as they reckon with their Danish colonial past and a promising future by an American industrial company in the eye-opening documentary Winter’s Yearning, directed by Sidse Torstholm Larsen (Living on the Ice) and Sturla Pilskog (Urban Hunters), and produced by Are Kvalnes Pilskog, Vibeke Vogel and BAFTA Award winner Emile Hertling Péronard (Borgen).  The national broadcast premiere is Monday, July 25, 2022 at 10pmET/9C, and is available to stream free until August 25, 2022 at pbs.org, and the PBS Video app. In addition to standard closed captioning, POV, in partnership with audio description service DiCapta, provides real time audio interpretations for audiences with sensory disabilities. POV is America’s longest running documentary series and is currently celebrating its 35th anniversary season.  Watch the Trailer Now.

- Multi-platinum, 12-time GRAMMY Award-winner John Legend today released the video for “Dope,” the first song from his forthcoming new album. The Christian Breslauer-directed video takes place at a soulful, eclectic retro house party, where Legend performs and parties with friends – including rapper J.I.D who is also featured on the track -- into the wee hours of the morning. Watch the video for “Dope,” HERE. Listen to the song HERE.

- Three-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated and BRIT Award-winning multi-platinum singer, songwriter, and guitarist James Bay returned to The Today Show on NBC for a powerhouse performance of his recent single “One Life.” Watch it HERE.  The performance marked the U.S. television debut of “One Life.” He brought the house down with a moving rendition of the song. The track remains a standout from his highly anticipated third full-length album, Leap, out July 8th via Mercury/Republic Records. Pre-order and pre-save Leap—HERE.

- To kick off The Beach Boys’ yearlong 60^th anniversary celebration and provide the perfect summer soundtrack, Capitol Records and UMe today proudly release a newly remastered and expanded edition of the group’s career-spanning greatest hits collection, Sounds Of Summer: The Very Best Of The Beach Boys. Originally released in 2003, the album soared to No. 16 in the US and stayed on the chart for 104 weeks. Now certified 4x platinum for sales of nearly four and a half million albums, the new edition has been updated in both number of songs and sonics as it expands the original 30-track best of with 50 more of the band’s most beloved songs for a total of 80 tracks that span their earliest hits to deeper fan-favorite cuts. Boasting 26 new mixes, it includes two first-time stereo mixes, plus 24 new-and-improved stereo mixes, which in some cases feature the latest in digital stereo extraction technology, allowing for the team to separate the original mono backing tracks for the first time.  Stream/purchase Sounds Of Summer: The Very Best Of The Beach Boys: https://thebeachboys.lnk.to/SoundsOfSummer

- Written, performed, and produced entirely by Paul McCartney, his three eponymous career-spanning solo albums (1970’s McCartney, 1980’s McCartney II, and 2020’s McCartney III) will now be packaged together and available in one special boxset for the first time.  McCartney I II III box set will be available in three different formats – Limited Edition Color Vinyl, Black Vinyl Edition, and CD – each including three special photo prints with notes from Paul about each album. The newly created boxset cover art and typography for the slipcase are by Ed Ruscha. To pre-order McCartney I II III, please click HERE.  Bookending 50 years of unparalleled work, each album demonstrates Paul McCartney’s restless creativity and adventurous artistic spirit. McCartney, the Number One Album was Paul’s first solo album released in 1970 and features timeless tracks “Every Night” and “Junk,” along with the immortal classic “Maybe I’m Amazed.” This album saw a global music superstar pioneer a novel homespun approach to recording that would, in time, become a sought-after sound and the highly influential precursor to the “lo-fi” alternative genre.

- UMe announces the 50th-anniversary reissue of Elton John’s Madman Across The Water. Available to order now on stunning 3-CD and 1 Blu-ray Super Deluxe Box Set, 4-LP, 1-LP Limited Edition colored vinyl, and 2-CD formats. Order here.  Spawning the hits “Tiny Dancer” and “Levon,” Madman Across The Water was Elton’s fourth studio album, released only two years after his debut. Recorded in 1971, it was a foundation stone of what was to become a dazzlingly prolific decade for the global-icon-in-waiting. Madman Across The Water was largely written after Elton had made his initial foray to America, offering the opportunity for lyricist Bernie Taupin to witness first-hand the landscapes and people he’d only seen on a screen or on the page. Recorded at Trident Studios in Central London in February and August 1971, it was the first album where all five players of Elton’s fabled band lineup (Dee Murray, Nigel Olsson, Davey Johnstone, and Ray Cooper) were featured. The album also featured Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who plays Hammond organ on three songs.  A newly unveiled Piano Demo of “Tiny Dancer,” taken from the archives and previously unheard, will be available to stream in full later today Here. Watch a preview of the track now Here. Recorded at Dick James Studios in central London in Spring 1971, it is an intimate performance of the song with Elton alone at the piano as a guide for the band later to follow.

- Craft Recordings proudly announces the definitive edition of Vince Guaraldi’s evocative soundtrack to the 1966 animated television special, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, from Charles M. Schulz, creator of the PEANUTS® comic strip, and Lee Mendelson Film Productions. Remastered from newly discovered analog session reels, the album features seven previously unreleased alternate takes—all of which offer fascinating insight into Guaraldi’s creative process. The package also includes new liner notes by PEANUTS® historian Derrick Bang, with contributions by the family of Lee Mendelson, the Emmy® and Peabody Award-winning producer and co-creator of the PEANUTS® animated specials. Additionally, a note by Mendelson (taken from the 2018 edition of the album) rounds out the release. To celebrate the discovery of these incredible archival recordings, Craft is issuing the album in several formats, including multiple vinyl options. Available across all major retailers is a 45-RPM pressing on black vinyl, housed in a standard jacket, as well as a 33 1/3-RPM pressing on pumpkin-shaped translucent orange vinyl, housed in a clear sleeve, both accompanied by a four-page insert. Available exclusively at CraftRecordings.com is a collectable edition 45-RPM pressing (limited to 500 copies) in a “Pumpkin Patch” splatter design. The album will also be available on CD and digital formats.  It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Original Soundtrack Recording) is available for pre-order beginning today and is set for release August 26^th. Listen to the first digital single, “The Great Pumpkin Waltz (Alternate Take 2),” available on all digital platforms today. A second pre-release track, “Linus and Lucy (Alternate Take 2),” is scheduled for release on August 5^th.

- "The Handmaid's Tale" will return on September 14th with two episodes. New episodes stream Wednesdays on Hulu.  SYNOPSIS: June faces consequences for killing Commander Waterford while struggling to redefine her identity and purpose. The widowed Serena attempts to raise her profile in Toronto as Gilead’s influence creeps into Canada. Commander Lawrence works with Aunt Lydia as he tries to reform Gilead and rise in power. June, Luke and Moira fight Gilead from a distance as they continue their mission to save and reunite with Hannah.

Previewing Flatbush Misdemeanors: Season Two

 

Things went down at the end of the last season of Flatbush Misdemeanors.  Drew shot someone and the fallout hit Dan and Kevin hard.  Dan was suspended from his teaching job while casing strains in their friendship with Kevin moving out.   

 

Season two picks up four months later.  Dan is trying to get reinstated, having to work at his step-father’s while Kevin has moved back home to live with his parents.  It does not seem like the two have communicated much since Kevin moved out.  They are so separated; they get each get their own episode without the other appearing in it.  Oh, and Drew is on the run for the whole shooting thing.

 

While the two leads spend the first couple episodes apart, it still feels very similar to the first season.  Plus with the two starting off the season separated, we do get to meet some new characters.  Dan’s NA sponsor is partiuarly the biggest stand out of the new people we meet.

 

Flatbush Misdemeanors airs Sundays at 11:00 on Showtime.  Episodes are released early on Fridays on the Showtime streaming site so you can watch the premiere now.

Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Eleventh Season

  

Full Disclosure Notice:  Warner Bros. sent me this DVD for free so I could review it.

 

Last decade we only got two seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm, but we already got two seasons in the first two years of this decade.  I guess Larry David did not have much to do during the pandemic than write because this was the quickest turn around for a season since the fifth, back when he was pumping them out every year to fifteen months.

 

The crew is back for the the eleventh season:  Jeff Garlin (as manager Jeff Greene), Susie Essman (as Jeff’s wife Susie), Cheryl Hines (as Larry’s ex-wife Cheryl), JB Smoove (as Leon).  Of course, what season of Curb be without some celebrity cameos and of course Ted Danson and Richard Lewis are back as themselves as well as a few other familiar faces playing themselves.  Vince Vaughn is back as Marty Funkhouser’s half-brother while Tracey Ulman, Julie Bowen, and Kaley Cuoco also make appearances this season.

 

Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Eleventh Season is available now on DVD and digital platforms.  All ten episodes are here on two disks, but do not expect much in the way of extras.  Now we sit and wait until Larry gets inspired enough to write season twelve.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: June 12, 2022

 

The Time Traveler’s Wife:  Wait, so the time traveler is dating Ygritte and the blonde at the same time?  I do wonder at what point do they just have an orgy with multiple versions of the time traveler.  If dude is willing to soak his own deck, you have to imagine he would be down for that.

 

Fear the Walking Dead:  We learned before the last break that Madison was coming back but did they really have to wait until the very last episode and an episode after Alivia (seemingly) died?  For a second, I thought the zombiefied version of the mother kind of looked like Alicia, I wonder if that was intentional.  But I am really having trouble believing someone who needs oxygen could survive a zombie apocalypse very long.  No way Madison is aking it long enough after the mother destroyed her tank.

 

The First Lady:  I am glad they finally got Betty out of the White House because she probably as the most active post-White House life of any First Lady other than Hilary Clinton.  Actually they could have gotten her out sooner because two and a half episodes do not seem like enough.

 

The Man Who Fell to Earth:  I have had an issue with tone while watching this show; it just seems all over the place.  But this was the first episode that actually felt cohesive.  I liked the devise of the alien talking to his wife.  The show may have been better off if had just been him telling his story on Earth to his wife.  But they found the original alien?  Living unground in a mountain in Cambodia?  Alrighty.  I have questioned if he was actually still alive or not and… and I still am questioning if that is really him.

 

I Love That for You:  Oh my, I was not expecting that good ol’ southern boy to be having sex with a woman.  But now that Beth Ann is on to Joanna, thinking she is dating her father who is pretending to be her doctor, I wonder how long until she figures out the entire ruse. Oh, and I really hope clip on bangs are not a real thing. 

 

Irma Vep:  I liked this show when Alicia Vikander was on screen, but really disliked it whenever the Fresh director was on screen.  Hopefully he gets fired from the film.

 

In the Dark:  Ugg, they are doing the stupid, three months earlier trope.  Let me guess, the blind chick gets released early for turning on the queenpin and the bald chick shoos her buddy.  But why is she not telling the guard that someone put a razor in her sandwich?

 

The Challenge: All Stars: Good riddance to treehouse.  Is Sylvia really that horrible of a person or is she trying way too hard to be part of a possible rivals season?  I just cringed at her completely unnecessary hate towards Kellyanne.

 

The Real World Homecoming: New Orleans:  This show just cannot get through a whole season without someone leaving.  Though they seem to be having a harder time getting casts back together if they had to jump from season two to nine.  Next up would be Back to New York, but I am guessing you are not getting The Miz to take two weeks off.  Rumors they may have to jump to Austin (season 16) or Key West (17).  My suggestion is go back to the start and get as many from San Francisco and as many from London and just combine seasons if you cannot get a full cast to show up.  Or maybe it is time to try Road Rules Homecoming.  Who would not want to see a bunch of forty and fifty ear olds spend a week or two in a Winnebago?  I was kind of hoping someone from Road Rules would show up and steal their robotic dog again.  Oh well.

 

Obi Wan Kenobi:  Why knock out the Stormtrooper and drag them into an empty room if you are not going to steal their armor? A disguise would have made things a bit easier. But I guess you cannot hide Leia in the suit.  Then Boba's lay down Bacta Tank seems like a much better alternative than having to be suspended like Darth and Obi-Wan were. But nothing gets me more than the lighting up a lightsaber in a dark room. Chills every time.

 

Ms. Marvel:  Well, that was a delight.  It has been a while since I laughed as hard as I did when the dad walking in in his Hulk costume.  For a second, I thought the show was just going to straight up murder a teenage girl with Thor’s hammer.  Hopefully the show does not get ruined by Ms. Marvel actually getting powers.