One of the big themes about entertainment in the past decade is the incomprehensible explosion of available content in every medium. While this may be a recent development in cinema and television, it’s been the case for music for centuries, or even millennia. Since humans have been banging on rocks and clapping their hands, really. Of course, it was a little more recent than that when recorded music became readily available.
This is all to say, I of course haven’t listened to every album of the past ten years that made its way onto SoundCloud or Spotify, or even all the Billboard chart-toppers. But I did listen to enough of them to be able to assemble a vibrant and varied soundtrack of my life in the 2010s. Here are the musical collections of the era that I just haven’t been able to stop pushing play on.
[4/2/20 2:00 PM UPDATE: This post originally mistakenly included Justice’s †, which came out in 2007.]
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
TV
–Three Busy Debras Series Premiere (March 29 on Adult Swim)
–Beef House Series Premiere (March 29 on Adult Swim) – Tim & Eric’s latest venture.
–Whose Line is it Anyway? Season 16 Premiere – Improv institution returning a little earlier than expected.
Music
-Dua Lipa, Future Nostalgia
-Pearl Jam, Gigaton
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies Not too many movies are going to be released theatrically anytime soon. I’ll let you know if any good streaming options pop up!
TV There’s no new premieres I’m looking forward to this week. Weird.
Music
-The Weeknd, After Hours
Podcasts
–Dead Eyes – This debuted a couple months ago. It’s about Connor Ratliff exploring why he was fired by Tom Hanks from the miniseries Band of Brothers.
Usually YouTube’s algorithm recommends videos to me that I’ve already seen before or that feature the same people from other videos I’ve just watched. They make sense as recommendations, sure, but it’s hardly impressive that they get it right. But then a few days ago, Men I Trust’s “Lauren” popped up. It’s a groovy little bass-driven number that just screams “good vibes.” It’s a balm for anxiety, as is its music video, which is just a girl in a red jumper riding her bike along a mostly empty road.
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Bacurau (Limited Theatrically) – A Brazilian film about weird goings-on.
–Extra Ordinary (Limited Theatrically) – Irish movie with ghosts and Will Forte.
–First Cow (Limited Theatrically) – Delicious! –Onward (Theatrically Nationwide)
–The Way Back (Theatrically Nationwide)
TV
–Women of Troy (Premieres March 10 on HBO) – Documentary about the 1980s USC women’s basketball team.
Music
-Phantogram, Ceremony
-U.S. Girls, Heavy Eyes
CREDIT: James Minchin/AMC/Sony Pictures Television
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Brahms: The Boy II (Theatrically Nationwide) – Boy, I don’t know if this’ll be any good, but I’m rooting for Katie Holmes.
–The Call of the Wild (Theatrically Nationwide) – Harrison Ford + (CGI) Dog = A Good Time?
–Emma. (Limited Theatrically)
TV
–Fresh Off the Boat Series Finale (February 21 on ABC)
–Better Call Saul Season 5 Premiere (February 23 on AMC)
Music
-Best Coast, Always Tomorrow
-Grimes, Miss_Anthrop0cene
If you want to see the story of a music group in feature film form, you’ve got plenty of rock biopics to choose from. But how many of them really capture the bands at their truest essence? Another common option to sate your musical desire is the talking head documentary, which has no illusions about its ability (or lack thereof) to recreate all those melodies and lyrics springing into being. But the oral tradition is an important one. What is passed down from storyteller to listener is transformed into something a little different in its journey from mouth to ear, but there is nevertheless quite a bit of magic in the mix, especially when you have first-hand witness accounts at the ready. Not everyone who was around when it happened was available for Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band, but there’s enough in this telling to convey the power of one of the most influential groups in rock music history.
If you’re a superfan of The Band, you might already know a fair amount of the details in Once Were Brothers, but you’ll probably enjoy getting to experience them all again anyway. If you’re a casual fan who doesn’t know a whole lot of the backstory (like myself), you’ll find plenty to engage with as you get to hear some fantastic tunes. And if you’re a bit of a Band newbie who wants to know more about inflection points in popular American music, I think you’ll find a lot to latch onto. As Bruce Springsteen claims at one point in the film, The Band’s lineup included “three of the greatest white singers in rock history.” To me, that sounds like the prelude to a story worthy of a deep-dive examination, and Once Were Brothers delivers on that promise.
Once Were Brothers is Recommended If You Like: Country rock, Roots rock, Southern rock, Folk rock
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