Minion To The Rhythm
Or, Usher Makes Public Radio Fans Sweat
Listen Readers, I had every intention to review Stranger Things this week, but I’m a busy guy, and unless Paddington makes a special cameo, I’m not gonna prioritize any TV show over my sleep schedule. I’m slowly making my way through the Duffer Brothers LONG season four, so be patient.
Willow continues showing incredible rock chops on her new single “<maybe> it’s my fault”. Influenced by metal and grunge, the bridge will have you head banging I promise.
Tiny Desk, the NPR-produced video series turned American music institution, recently returned to the NPR offices, after years of At Home performances. Some really great acts have made their way to re-christen the desk (I LOVED Denzel Curry’s) but none have made a bigger splash than one from Usher Raymond himself, although you may know it better from the meme than the performance itself.
In case you forgot, Usher was here to remind you he is the king of R&B vocals. And he played the tracks to prove it, with a lush backing band and incredible supporting vocals from Eric Bellinger and Vedo. Also it’s hard to talk about this without mentioning that it got steamy. It got hot. It got sexy. This man performed Nice And Slow. That’s all you need to know. By the time Confessions Pt. 2 came on I was losing my mind.
Tiny Desks are an incredible way to see an artist you love in another light (T-Pain) or create a star overnight (Anderson Paak) but mostly creates succinct scaled down intimate musical moment.
Kendrick Lamar is having his Mr. Morale victory lap before his summer tour. He recently performed tracks from his album at a Louis Vuitton show. He was sitting along the runway, next to Naomi Campbell, with a mic in his hand, nonchalantly spitting, tributing the late designer Virgil Abloh.
He was adorning a 3 million dollar diamond thorn crown, aligned with the themes and artwork attached to Mr. Morale. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Kendrick exists in his own lane. Just this performance alone had more artistic substance than that entire last Drake album.
In a new interview, Tim Allen said he wished the new Buzz Lightyear had a better connection to his version of the character. This was a follow-up to the (very small) backlash to his omission from the new movie. Honestly if Allen is following this nonsense, it must mean the Toy Story/Home Improvement/Santa Clause/Last Man Standing/Wild Hogs money is running low.
Also, perhaps I was being too harsh on the eccentricities of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis movie, because maybe Elvis was just this weird.
Minions: The Rise of Gru is the latest installment in the hugely successful Despicable Me franchise and the latest film iteration of the global phenomenon of little yellow overall wearing things known as Minions. When I first saw Despicable Me, I dismissed the Minions as side characters created for quick cheap laughs and nothing else. Little did I know.
Rise of Gru is expected to be the highest grossing film opening ever for Independence Day. But that’s not just thanks to Minion-loving kids. TikTok has created an meme surrounding the film, as people are arriving to see the movie clad in fancy suits, saying they have to dress to the nines to see this “cinematic masterpiece”.
This has been enough for some theaters to ban these groups, citing behavior issues. But all of this isn’t even the most interesting aspect of Rise of Gru.
The soundtrack for this movie is insane, featuring covers from Brittany Howard, St. Vincent, BROCKHAMPTON, Kali Uchis, Caroline Polachek, Thundercat, Phoebe Bridgers, Bleachers, Weyes Blood, Gary Clark Jr., H.E.R., Tierra Whack, and the RZA. It’s an insane display of talent all for a movie about a bunch of one-eyed yellow toes that yell banana, or whatever they do. The covers vary in quality but it’s just an immaculate display of love and care for these classic disco era songs. The lead track, an original song from Tame Impala and Diana effing Ross, titled Turn Up The Sunshine is a joyous chugging disco track, which while I can believe was made for a movie, is an excellent ear-worm by any measure.
Your assignment this week is to figure out what the hell Jeremy Jordan is doing with his career, and with his haircut.
This week’s Prelude is dedicated to 78 year old legend Diana Ross, and to viewers like you thank you
Here’s this week’s Offering: