Queen And Slim
Director: Melina Matsoukas
Writer: Lena Waithe
Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Chloë Sevigny, Flea, Bokeem Woodbine, Indya Moore
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Rated: R | Minutes: 132
Release Date: November 27, 2019

If art is a reflection of society, then Queen And Slim is a serious call to action to address the societal damages that police brutality and systemic racism cause when it is allowed to continue to fester across America. Melina Matsoukas, who makes her directorial debut using a script written by Lena Waithe, reimagines the outlaws on the run from the law story by adding timely real-world social themes that we see making news headlines too often. Though a film will not completely change the hearts and minds of those who may not see these dangers, it can be a powerful reminder that it still continues to exist and if it isn’t taken care of, these senseless deaths will continue to happen. My review below.

Universal Pictures has released the newest trailer for Melina Matsoukas‘s Queen & Slim.

Written by Lena Waithe, the film follows the story of a couple (Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith), who are pulled over for something minor. But the situation gets out of hand quickly and the man ends up killing the police officer in self-defense, leading the couple to go on the run. But when a video of the incident goes viral, they become a symbol for people across the country. Check out the latest trailer below.

By DougVThem

The Public Image Is Rotten (2018)
Documentary
Featuring John Lydon (The Sex Pistols, Public Image Ltd)
Directed by Tabbert Fiiller
Abramorama
Release date: September 14, 2018 (New York)

I could never be willful on a farm. The only things you can antagonize are the cows. – John Lydon (Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs, 1994)

It was in San Francisco on January 14, 1978 when John Lydon uttered the off the cuff remark that would become the proverbial eulogy of his intentionally sensationalized punk rock band, The Sex Pistols.

“You ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?,” Johnny Rotten snarled at the Winterland Ballroom audience, while his band unceremoniously petered out behind him. Soon after the break up, Sex Pistols’ manager Malcolm McLaren legally stripped Lydon of his stage name “Johnny Rotten.” After fronting a rock and roll media phenomenon, Lydon soon found himself broke and his public image confiscated.

Talbert Fiiller‘s documentary The Public Image Is Rotten is structured around a series of interviews with the now 62-year-old Lydon recalling, with some uncharacteristic openness, the rises, demises, and ultimate resurrection of his post-Sex Pistols band, Public Image Limited (PiL). It’s a complicated tale that spans four decades and features an all-star roster of notable line-up changes.

You all may know by now that I am a fan of the late night talk show shtick (Jimmy Fallon IS my boyfriend). “History of Rap,” “Mean Tweets,” Really?” “Freestylin With The Roots” – If I hear it was done, I am on my DVR or Youtube the next morning (my bedtime is 9pm). Recently, and maybe I am late to the party, I chanced upon a lovely bit on The Late Late Show with James Corden, that I could swear he got from me (sans celebrity guests)… Carpool Karaoke. The discovery was made when James Corden had the lovely Gwen Stefani riding shotgun, and they then picked up George Clooney and Julia Roberts (cue brain explosion).

Well last night Corden delighted us by showing his experience driving around and singing around with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Check out the video below.

Mother’s Milk, the record which propelled the funky punky ensemble Red Hot Chili Peppers into the mainstream, yet stayed true to its roots, is now available in MP3 format from Amazon right now for only $5.99. If you’d like a physical copy of Mother’s Milk, the CD is currently is $10.73 and is an “AutoRip” selection, which means if you purchase the CD, you’ll ALSO get the MP3 download for FREE.

This album is now, almost 25 years after its original release in 1989, a dynamic sonic belt notch in the band’s oeuvre and is the first to sport the now-classic lineup of leadman Anthony Kiedis, bassman Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and the ex-guitarist John Frusciante. From the opening notes of “Good Time Boys,” the group still has that sort of looseness which was funkified no doubt, but had a deer in the headlights lack of musical discipline that permeated on their earlier albums (albums with original guitarist Hillel Slovak, who had recently passed away around the original release of Mother’s Milk and thusly the record is pretty much dedicated to him body and soul). That said, Mother’s Milk still sports a much better arranged tightness from the band that only adds pounds of muscle to the tunes, which range from quasi hip hop in the ode to the famous NBA great “Magic Johnson,” the horns-a-plenty “Subway to Venus,” the genitals in the cookie jar sex up of “Sexy Mexican Maid,” and the wonderful “Johnny, Kick A Hole in the Sky.” If that ain’t enough, they even do a nicely browned on both sides version of Hendrix’s “Fire” as well as a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground,” which brought upon their first taste of mainstream popularity (in part thanks to the song’s video), along with the album’s other single, “Knock Me Down.” The band’s last record before people like Rick Rubin and the folks at Warner Brothers Records put the band into the superstar stratosphere, Mother’s Milk is almost like the demo or the pilot, of what was to come.

Browse over 20 albums on sale this month for only $1-$5.99 each, as well as the 100 albums on sale this month for only $5 each.