Jeff "Jmunney" Malone's Self-Styled "Expert" Thoughts on Movies, TV, Music, and the Rest of Pop Culture
June 20, 2025
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Sports 28 Years Later, American Heart, Benson Boone, Elio, Haim, I quit, NBA Draft, Scratch It, U.S. Girls Leave a comment
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Elio (Theaters)
–28 Years Later (Theaters)
Music
-Benson Boone, American Heart
-Haim, I quit
-U.S. Girls, Scratch It
Sports
-NBA Draft (June 25-26 on ABC [First Round Only] and ESPN) – I’m most interested to see where a couple of Scarlet Knights end up.
January 31, 2024
Best of 2023, Best of Music 2023, Music Andre 3000, Bebe Rexha, Best of 2023, Cannons, Caroline Polachek, Corinne Bailey Rae, Demi Lovato, Dua Lipa, Fall Out Boy, Flavor Flav, Halo Maud, Jessie Ware, Kim Petras, Lil Yachty, Miley Cyrus, Music, Necry Talkie, Olivia Rodrigo, Paramore, Queens of the Stone Age, Reneé Rapp, Royal Blood, Sam Smith, Snoop Dogg, Sparks, The Chemical Brothers, Troye Sivan, U.S. Girls Leave a comment
It’s tricky to fall in love with new songs when I don’t drive as much as I used to and therefore don’t listen to the radio as much as I used to either. But somehow, a dozen or so songs still manage to annually bubble their way up to a very special place in my heart.
Albums, meanwhile, typically have a better chance of making an impression on me nowadays, as I tend to sit and listen to them straight through on a popular music streaming service while taking care of business.
With all that mind, here’s the new music that made the biggest impression on me in 2023:
February 24, 2023
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television Adam Lambert, Bless This Mess, Cocaine Bear, Cracker Island, Gorillaz, High Drama, Linoleum, Party Down, SAG Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, The Mandalorian, U.S. Girls Leave a comment
Are we rebooting FUN yet?! (CREDIT: STARZ/Screenshot)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Cocaine Bear (Theaters)
–Linoleum (Theaters) – Jim Gaffigan stars, and I know some of the producers.
TV
–Party Down Season 3 Premiere (February 24 on STARZ) – My favorite part of this show is when Scott Aukerman asks Adam Scott what his catchphrase is.
-Screen Actors Guild Awards (February 26 on Netflix’s YouTube Channel)
–The Mandalorian Season 3 Premiere (March 1 on Disney+)
Music
-Adam Lambert, High Drama
-Gorillaz, Cracker Island
-U.S. Girls, Bless This Mess
January 22, 2021
Best of 2020, Best of Music 2020, Music Ava Max, Bakar, Best Coast, Best of 2020, Bishop Briggs, Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Cannons, Doja Cat, Dua Lipa, Hayley Williams, KennyHoopla, Lady GaGa, Miley Cyrus, Pearl Jam, Run the Jewels, Shaed, Smashing Pumpkins, Tame Impala, Taylor Janzen, The 1975, The Weeknd, twenty one pilots, U.S. Girls Leave a comment
CREDIT: YouTube Screenshots
Damn, there were plenty of songs that made me go “Damn” in 2020. Check ’em out below!
1. U.S. Girls, “4 American Dollars”: What can I say, I love a good song about economic enlightenment that you can totally shake your little butt to.
2. Miley Cyrus, “Midnight Sky”: Miley is a rock star for the ages. It’s 100% official.
3. Doja Cat, “Say So”: Pure neon-soaked euphoria.
4. Cannons, “Fire for You”: Listen to the words she’s using: “I was on fire for you.” It feels like that to some of us sometimes, doesn’t it?
5. Dua Lipa, “Don’t Start Now”: Oh wow, that’s a lot of disco in the top 5. It’s back, baby! “Don’t Start Now”? More like “Don’t Stop Ever!”
More
January 20, 2021
Best of 2020, Best of Music 2020, Music Ariana Grande, Best of 2020, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Dua Lipa, Elvis Costello, Fiona Apple, Haim, Hayley Williams, Miley Cyrus, Neil Young, Paul McCartney, Pearl Jam, Run the Jewels, Tame Impala, U.S. Girls Leave a comment
I didn’t listen to every new album that was released in 2020 – DON’T LET ANYONE TELL YOU OTHERWISE! But I did listen to a few dozen; some were rockin’, some were poppin’, some were hippity-hoppin’, and a few even had some jazzy freakouts. Here are the 15 that most satisfied my ears and my tapping toes:
March 6, 2020
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television Bacurau, Ceremony, Extra Ordinary, First Cow, Heavy Eyes, Onward, Phantogram, The Way Back, U.S. Girls, Will Forte, Women of Troy Leave a comment
CREDIT: HBO/YouTube Screenshot
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
February 15, 2019
Best of 2018, Best of Music 2018, Music All the Stars, Ariana Grande, Back Down, Beck, Bob Moses, Boo'd Up, Childish Gambino, Colors, Come on to Me, Dennis Lloyd, Ella Mai, Elle King, God is a Woman, Good Morning, I Feel Like I'm Drowning, Janelle Monáe, Kendrick Lamar, Love It If We Made It, Make Me Feel, Max Frost, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Nevermind, No Place, No Tears Left to Cry, Paul McCartney, Portugal. The Man, Pynk, Rüfüs Du Sol, Shame, SZA, The 1975, This Is America, Tidal Wave, Two Feet, Tyler the Creator, U.S. Girls, Velvet 4 Sale, You Worry Me, You're a Mean One Leave a comment
CREDIT: Ariana Grande/YouTube
These were the singles released in 2018 or that first became hits in 2018 that had the strongest impacts on me.
1. Ariana Grande – “No Tears Left to Cry” – Has any other singer besides Ariana Grande ever endured so many personal struggles so publicly and on such a massive scale? She still had a lot of heartbreak left to come after releasing “No Tears Left to Cry,” but luckily she was already equipped with and had gifted the world with a timeless anthem for how to insist on finding the joy amidst all life’s turmoil.
2. Dennis Lloyd – “Nevermind” – The ultimate kind of elastic groove to which you can chill out or dance ’til you drop.
3. Ella Mai – “Boo’d Up” – Ella Mai captured the language of infatuation in 2018, but the feelings are eternal.
4. Ariana Grande – “God is a Woman” – Oh, trust me, I believe. I was certain once I heard that first sexy guitar strum.
5. U.S. Girls – “Velvet 4 Sale” – This is the sort of rock music that makes me happy to currently be an adult human.
6. Beck – “Colors” – Is Beck the greatest dance artist of his era? “Colors” makes a strong case.
7. Janelle Monáe – “Pynk” – If we all had our own personal “Pynk” to announce to everyone who we are, the world would be a much better place.
8. Rüfüs Du Sol – “No Place” – I imagine that this is what it will sound like when I drift off this mortal coil.
9. Childish Gambino – “This Is America” – The musical equivalent of getting shot in the head and living to tell the tale.
10. Portugal. The Man – “Tidal Wave” – The force of extreme weather, but going down smooth and easy.
11. Janelle Monáe – “Make Me Feel” – Feeling good should sometimes feel like there’s a worm dancing in your brain.
12. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats – “You Worry Me” – It’s good to know that some musicians are out here to make sure we’re safe and sound.
13. Elle King – “Shame” – It’s healthy to exorcise the lowdown dirtiest impulses of your humanity through song.
14. Paul McCartney – “Come on to Me” – I know I’d also like to remain this punny and lusty into my seventies.
15. Bob Moses – “Back Down” – An ideal soundtrack for making an unstable night feel just a little bit more stable.
16. Kendrick Lamar and SZA – “All the Stars” – The kind of song that assures you that all the spirits of your community are with you.
17. Max Frost – “Good Morning” – I’m happy to admit when I wake up in a day-conquering mood, and Max Frost has packaged that feeling.
18. Tyler, the Creator – “You’re a Mean One” – Maybe all kids movie theme songs should be crafted by pansexual oddballs.
19. Two Feet – “I Feel Like I’m Drowning” – When the sound cuts out right before the chorus, and then the guitar chimes in so nastily, I feel like I’m drowning, into the Sunken Place or something … and I like it.
20. The 1975 – “Love It If We Made It” – The desire to make it all the way through together really does often sound this urgent, doesn’t it?
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