Friday, January 31, 2020

Rec. #877: Castle Waiting




What: Castle Waiting is a graphic novel series set at an isolated, abandoned castle. The stories mix fable and mythology and irony and (points up) this guy! What's not to love?

Representative panel:



Connections to previous Wreckage: Other graphic novels or graphic memoirs I have recommended are Tamara Drewe (Rec. #271), Fun Home (Rec. #612), and Be Prepared (Rec. #826).



Thursday, January 30, 2020

Rec. #876: Dylan Thomas





What: "Dylan Thomas," by Better Oblivion Community Center (aka Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst), is truly a Song for Our Times.

It also thrives in one of my favorite song configurations -- a hooky melody with devastating lyrics.


Representative lyrics:
These cats are scared and feral
The flag pins on their lapels
The truth is anybody’s guess
These talking heads are saying
"The king is only playing
A game of four-dimensional chess"

How to get it: Watch the video on YouTube.

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #31: Superstore




Stream what: Superstore is a workplace comedy that is really focused on the work itself --- in this case, being an employee at a big box store à la Walmart.

Compared to other recent workplace comedies, it's probably most similar to Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Stream why: I think this show is really underappreciated for both its high jokes-per-minute ratio and the deliberate way it shows what working class life is like in the United States. There are real consequences of ICE raids! Unions are discussed! The cast is not majority white!

Stream where: Hulu


Connection to previous Wreckage: Superstore was previously mentioned in List #65Rec. #508, and Rec. #848.


Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Rec. #875: Song Exploder




What: The podcast Song Exploder asks musicians to unpack one of their songs. 

Sometimes you learn what the lyrics are actually about, sometimes you get to hear each of the individual production layers, and sometimes the episode is all about a bunch of exes staying together in Florida and somehow writing Rumours

Plus look at the cool art for each ep!

How to get it: As of this writing, there have been 176 episodes so far, and no musicians have repeated. So, there's a lot. Find it all on the podcast website


Monday, January 27, 2020

Rec. #874: Quote from a Fictional Character #104




"Burglary or pick-pocketing, that needs an apprenticeship. Not so murder -- we're all of us up to that."

--- Mr. Inspector, Our Mutual Friend,
Charles Dickens, 1864


(See also QfFC #21 and List #13)


Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #30: Hairspray



Stream what: First it was a movie. Then it was a musical. Then it was a movie musical. It's Hairspray!

Stream why: More than a decade after this adaptation, both the power-singing and the social commentary still hold up quite well.

Stream where: Netflix

Connection to previous Wreckage: I mentioned Hairspray as part of List #50.



Friday, January 17, 2020

Rec. #873: Taskmaster (UK) YouTube Channel





What: The tv show Taskmaster is, truly, one of the only things making me feel even moments of true happiness in this world right now.

As I've said before, it's completely absurd, but a joyful absurd, which is something I had almost forgotten was possible.

Representative tasks:
Buy the Best Present for the Taskmaster
Paint a Picture of a Horse, While Riding a Horse
Destroy a Cake as Beautifully as Possible
Do Something Remarkable, Synchronised
Get as Close to Alex as Possible Without Him Seeing You


Connections to previous Wreckage: I previously highlighted the task "Write and Perform a Song for a Stranger" as Rec. #858: Best Earworm. The US version of the show was Rec. #696.

How to get it: Glory be, the original UK version now has an official YouTube channel. There have been nine (9!) series of the show so far, so keep uploading those videos, please.


Thursday, January 16, 2020

Rec. #872: 99% Invisible




What: The podcast 99% Invisible is all about "the unnoticed design and architecture that shape our world." We're talking mannequins, we're talking "document loading" icons, we're talking insane asylums, we're talking snow plowing patterns.

Recent episode titles: "Shade," "The ELIZA Effect," "The Infantorium," "Mannequin Pixie Dream Girl"

How to get it: The show's website is, appropriately, very well designed. 

Connections to previous Wreckage: 99% Invisible was part of List #92.


Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #29: One Mississippi

[Bringing back SSoW as a recurring feature! Last seen in 2017.]




Stream what: One Mississippi is Tig Notaro's semi-autobiographical show about a woman dealing with the aftereffects of some serious health issues, her mother's death, and life back in her hometown.

Stream why: It's a great combination of funny, heartbreaking, and surreal. I think it gets even better as it goes on, which is why we're furious at Amazon for cancelling it after two seasons.

Stream where: Amazon

Connections to previous Wreckage: For more on particular nuggets from the show, see Rec. #420 and Rec. #489.


Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Rec. #871: The Psychiatrist Is In






What: I love Belle & Sebastian and I love their movie God Help the Girl and I love, love, love this performance of "The Psychiatrist Is In."

Representative lyrics:
Find your space
Are you breathing well?
Do you feel OK?
Are you calm?
Are you comfortable?
Is your heartbeat racing?
Is this your soul you're facing?


Connections to previous Wreckage: The concept album of God Help the Girl was Rec. #361. The film itself was SSoW #15 and appeared on List #47. Another top song from the God Help the Girl project is "Perfection as a Hipster," which was Rec. #439.

How to get it: Watch this clip on YouTube. The full movie is streaming on Kanopy.


Monday, January 13, 2020

Rec. #870: Widdershins




What: In the words of its creator, the web comic Widdershins is "a series of Victorian-era adventure stories, set in the fictional town of Widdershins, home to bounty hunters, failed wizards, stage magicians, and more."

It's de-light-ful.

Comparable to: Kate Ashwin's writing here reminds me, quite happily, of Sydney Padua's work in The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage (Rec. #269).

How to get it: Start reading Widdershins here. It began in 2011 and still has updates twice a week. Much content!

Connections to previous Wreckage: In addition to Kate Ashwin and Sydney Padua, other highly recommended web comic creators are

John Allison (Rec. #138, Rec. #658)
Kate Beaton (Rec. #95, List #60)
Allie Brosh (Rec. #7, Rec. #798, Rec. #799, Rec. #801)
Emily McGovern (Rec. #413, Rec. #794)
Ngozi Ukazu (Rec. #735, List #63)

Friday, January 3, 2020

Rec. #869: Gosford Park




What: What a good time to revisit Gosford Park, one of director Robert Altman's last films. It has the insane cast, social commentary, and is-it-even-a-murder pivot of the delightful Knives Out.

But the setting is about 90 years earlier.

About that cast ... Kelly Macdonald, Clive Owen, Maggie Smith, Kristin Scott Thomas, Helen Mirren, Eileen Atkins, Michael Gambon, Ryan Phillippe, Richard E. Grant, Alan Bates, Sophie Thompson, Charles Dance, Jeremy Northam, Stephen Fry, Derek Jacobi, Emily Watson ... the list goes on.

Representative quote: "Aw, it's a pity, really. I thought it was a good idea to have someone in the house who is actually sorry he's dead." -- Constance, Countess of Trentham*

Connections to previous Wreckage: Watch both Dame Eileen Atkins and Dame Maggie Smith chatting it up in Nothing Like a Dame / Tea with the Dames (Rec. #778, Rec. #860). And, if at all possible, do check out The Half (Rec. #178), which is glorious.




* Played by Dame Maggie Smith and the prototype for her later role in Downton Abbey, which was originally envisioned as a Gosford Park spinoff. You can tell that writer Julian Fellowes saw the potential universe expansion for Smith's arch bon mots. One gets the sense that she probably actually watched Gosford Park, though.


Thursday, January 2, 2020

Rec. #868: Ologies




What: Ologies is an interview-based science podcast with a light touch. Host Alie Ward, science enthusiast, gets experts to explain what they do (and why and how they do it) for the curious general public.

The expertise on display is wide and varied --- recent guests have included a chronobiologist (circadian rhythms!), a lupinologist (wolves!), and a graphologist (forgery!).

Tag line: "Ask smart people stupid questions."

How to get it: Find all Ologies episodes on Alie Ward's website, or whatever you usually get your podcasts.

Connections to previous Wreckage: Alie Ward gave us Rec. #859: Best Campaign Promise.


Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Rec. #867: Us & Them



What: I love the British TV series Gavin & Stacey (Rec. #292), so I greeted the discovery of an American adaptation with both delight and trepidation.

Streamingland is a bizarre place! Who would have thought that's where you could find a fully produced season of Us & Them, a 2014 show with Alexis Bledel, Jason Ritter, Jane Kaczmarek, Kerri Kenney-Silver, and Michael Ian Black that somehow never aired?

It does an excellent job of taking certain cues from its somehow-wholesomely-filthy British original while powering through on its own tweaked humor. It's quite charming!

How to get it: Us & Them is streaming for free on Crackle, which is something I now know exists.