While 2019 was a crappy year for politics and the effects of climate change (among other things), it was an outstanding year for pop culture. If you had trouble navigating the firehose-like release of quality movies, music, and TV, fear not—I’m here to help.
FKA twigs, Magdalene: It can be tough to describe what Tahliah Barnett’s music sounds like without resorting to either hyperbole or a string of adjectives. Her stage name, FKA twigs, apparently came from her habit of cracking her knuckles—and as weird, great, and experimental as her music is, her stage name suits the lovely strangeness of the music she makes. Magdalene is a worthy follow-up to Barnett’s 2014 album LP1, as it takes her predilection for bold sonic experiments even further. From the operatic pop of opening track “thousand eyes” to the aching “sad day,” creepy “fallen alien,” and the album’s extremely Tori Amos-style closer “cellophane” (to be clear, that’s not a bad thing), this album was worth the five-year wait. If the bizarre cover image seems off-putting, the music is definitely not.
The Righteous Gemstones (HBO): Sure, season two of Succession was last year’s most hyped dark comedy about obscenely rich people, but writer/actor/comedian Danny McBride’s new show, which follows a family of wealthy, unlikeable televangelists, is worth a watch if you need your shows about unbelievably rich people to have an edge of razor-sharp satire.
Standout performances include Edi Patterson’s turn as misfit middle child Judy Gemstone, Skyler Gisondo as Gideon, the prodigal son of McBride’s character, and the consistently fantastic Walton Goggins as the family’s manipulative uncle Baby Billy Freeman (yes, the character’s name is Baby Billy— he is a former child star whose family members still call him by that name even decades later).
Global Comment’s own Landon Wright commented, in his review of the show, “Seriously, if there’s nothing else you should watch this show for, it’s [Goggins] hamming it up as Baby Billy.” After all of that, if the excellent cast doesn’t convince you to watch this show, maybe the meme-able “Misbehavin’” song from episode five will.
Parasite (dir. Bong Joon-ho): Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s latest film is a pitch-black comedy/psychological thriller about income inequality, and it’s gotten heaps of critical praise for a reason. This one is best if you go in cold, but if you’ve seen Joon-ho’s other films (including Mother, Snowpiercer, and The Host) then you know what to expect tonally—or do you? Complex, wonderfully acted, and impeccably written, Parasite is without a doubt one of the best films of the year—and probably of the decade.
Barry (HBO): If you’re not watching this show that features a virtuoso performance from Bill Hader as a hitman who wants to be a professional actor, do yourself a favor and catch up before its third season airs later in 2020. This dark comedy also features solid supporting performances from Henry Winkler and Sarah Goldberg.
PEN15 (Hulu): On its surface, a show about two awkward middle-school girls and their quest to enjoy 7th grade—with the two lead roles played by comedians in their thirties—sounds weird. But PEN15 (pronounced “pen fifteen,” not “penis,” as I mistakenly called it for weeks) is so sharply, hilariously, and heart-meltingly accurate about the experience of middle school that it’s worth a watch even if your own junior high experience didn’t completely suck.
The Lighthouse (dir. Robert Eggers): Do you want to watch Willem Dafoe speak in a grizzled, old-timey accent and order Robert Pattinson around for two hours? OF COURSE YOU DO. If not, you should probably avoid this film. If this is the sort of thing that sounds right up your alley, get ready for a black-and-white extravaganza full of quotable lines, sea monsters, and an aspect ratio that should be distracting but that is redeemed by the rest of the movie.
Sleater-Kinney, The Center Won’t Hold: This is likely to be my most controversial entry, and for good reason—Sleater-Kinney’s St. Vincent-produced album sounds completely unlike any of the band’s other albums. Not all of the experiments here work, but those that do—including the title track, the poppy “Reach Out,” the anthemic “The Dog/The Body,” and the absolutely soul-rending closer “Broken”—will make great additions to this legendary group’s storied back catalog.
Sharon van Etten, Remind Me Tomorrow (full review here): Calling this the best Sharon Van Etten album seems a little premature, especially since her body of work is of such high quality; a lot of Remind Me Tomorrow is synthesizer-heavy, so whether you enjoy it might hinge on whether or not you like the synthesizer. The synths used here do not sound 1980s-throwback at all—Van Etten wisely uses the instrument(s) to create texture and unexpected arrangements around her voice, rather than letting the synth crowd her out of her usual style. Remind Me Tomorrow is a layered masterpiece that demands repeat listens; it expands Van Etten’s musical language in a particularly subtle way that is also compelling.
Documentary Now!, season 3 (IFC): On its surface, a show that is essentially a series of parodies of well-known documentaries seems like it might run out of good material fast, or get old quickly. Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, Rhys Thomas and Fred Armisen’s amazing series Documentary Now!, however, does not fall into such a trap; after two great seasons, its third ups the ante and the show’s overall quality in surprising ways. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite episode—especially since the two-part premiere, an uproarious take on Wild Wild Country aptly titled “Batshit Valley,” is so strong—but my personal favorites are the third and fourth episodes.
The third episode, “Original Cast Album: Co-Op,” sends up the D.A. Pennebaker-directed Original Cast Album: Company by leaning the fuck in to a 1970s aesthetic that includes songs about that era’s horrible interior design choices (THE BROWN AND THE BEIGE!) and a catchy tune about doing too much cocaine at a party—all while showcasing John Mulaney and James Urbaniak at their most hilarious as slimy theater producers (and, in Mulaney’s case, also showcasing the worst facial hair/outfit combo ever broadcast on cable). Episode four, “Waiting For the Artist,” is anchored by an amazing Cate Blanchett performance in which the legendary actress plays a Marina Abramovic-esque performance artist with just the right balance of humor and ridiculousness.
Lizzo, Cuz I Love You (full review here): Part of me wishes that I could hear her work for the first time all over again—she is that talented. While her 2013 debut (hilariously titled Lizzobangers, and it is indeed an album full of bangers) and its 2015 follow-up Big Grrl, Small World mostly focused on her rap and hip-hop chops, Cuz I Love You expands her R&B, soul and singer-songwriter repertoire that distinguished her 2016 major label EP Coconut Oil. The result is an astonishingly well-rounded (if at times overproduced) third album that is destined to be a crossover hit.
Honorable Mentions
TV: Succession (HBO); Fleabag (Amazon); Tuca & Bertie (Netflix); It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FXX); Watchmen (HBO); The Santa Clarita Diet (Netflix); You’re the Worst (FX); The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (Netflix); Better Things (FX); When They See Us (Netflix); Veep (HBO); Bojack Horseman (Netflix); Russian Doll (Netflix); Rick & Morty (Adult Swim); Schitt’s Creek (Pop); Mr. Robot (USA)
Music: Chelsea Wolfe, Birth of Violence; Jenny Lewis, On the Line; Solange, When I Get Home; Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Ghosteen; Nilufer Yanya, Miss Universe; Various artists, Come On Up to the House: Women Sing Tom Waits; SASAMI, SASAMI; Lucy Dacus, 2019 EP; Boygenius, boygenius EP; Jay Som, Anak Ko; Bat For Lashes, Lost Girls; Palehound, Black Friday; Yola, Walk Through Fire; TOOL, Fear Inoculum
Movies: Rocketman (dir. Dexter Fletcher); Leaving Neverland (dir. Dan Reed); The Farewell (dir. Lulu Wang); Lorena (dir. Joshua Rofe); Us (dir. Jordan Peele)
Image credit: Andy Moran
