Welcome to Culture Hound, InsideHook’s deep dive into the month’s most important (pop) cultural happenings.
VIEW: The Lost Arcade
Showing at The Metrograph, this documentary is an ode to the long gone but not forgotten video arcades of NYC. The film centers on the Chinatown Fair, a legendary Mott Street cornerstone for the gaming community. (Aug. 12)
SWING THROUGH: The Jazz Age Lawn Party
A chance to channel your inner Gatsby, this Governor’s Island spectacular comes complete with music by the Dreamland Orchestra, performances from the Dreamland Follie and the Canarsie Wobblers, specialty St-Germain cocktails, sunshine and people dressed to the nines galore. Brush up on your Charleston and mark the occasion with a tintype portrait. (Aug. 13, Aug. 14)
WATCH: Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World
Werner Herzog examines the internet. Along the way, he interviews Elon Musk, meets the guys behind a team of soccer-playing robots and provides his typically droll narration: (“In the forest, we met a modern day hermit…”; “Have the monks stopped meditating? They all seem to be Tweeting.”). (Aug. 19)
THROW DOWN: The WWE Summerslam
Channel your inner 12-year-old as Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar go head-to-head at the Barclay’s Center. One night only, the epic bill also features a matchup between Seth Rollins and Finn Balor that will determine the crown of the first ever WWE Universival Champion. (Aug. 21)
DOWNLOAD: ClapIt
Like Instagram for the Reddit set, ClapIt weds the best aspects of a browser with the best of social networking. The app offers an intuitive way to enhance and share existing media from multiple channels. Posts are curated by popularity, thereby giving the user a selection of the most significant content on the daily. Selfies optional.
From Our Partner
VISIT: The Cadillac House
Who wouldn’t want to snag a Joe Coffee in 12,000 square feet of pristine Cadillac heaven? Cadillac’s new SoHo locale sits firmly at the crossroads of the art, fashion, culture and culinary worlds. Beyond the horsepower on display, the retail boutique hosts quarterly art exhibitions curated by Visionaire and a pop-up retail shop in partnership with CFDA (beginning with a Timo Weiland collection). You can also pick up a signature in-house fragrance made by 12.29. It’s a brief but welcome escape into the Cadillac lifestyle — even if you only leave with a cappuccino.
BUY: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
“No matter where you go, there you are.” The most quotable sci-fi film of the ‘80s — and the best cast (John Lithgow, Peter Weller, Jeff Goldblum, Ellen Barkin) — gets a Blu-ray Collector’s Edition, complete with a new two-hour documentary. Never seen it? The film inspired Wes Anderson, Back to the Future and Fight Club … and it’s getting a new TV show reboot via Kevin Smith. (Aug. 16)
LISTEN: The Veils
A brooding UK/New Zealand rock band with heavy nods to Nick Cave, The Veils make a pivot on their fifth album, Total Depravity, adding in the disorienting instrumentation of El-P (Run the Jewels). Overall, a soundtrack for devilish late nights and bad decisions. Fun fact: Frontman Finn Andrews will be in the Twin Peaks reboot. (Aug. 26)
PERUSE: JoJa
Say, how do Victoria’s Secret models keep in shape? This new Instagram account follows two of VS’s “fit” ladies, who provide workout routines and — importantly for you — video and pictures. For research.
EXPERIENCE: Winning The White House: From Press Prints to Selfies
An exhibition at Southhampton Arts Center exploring the role of photography and visual culture throughout presidential campaigns and elections, beginning with the Nixon-Kennedy debates and carrying us through the present day. (Aug. 6- Sept. 11)
READ: Bad Dads
Speaking of Wes Anderson, Dads is the third volume of artwork inspired by the filmmaker, an outgrowth of an annual art show by the Spoke Art Gallery in San Francisco. You can see some of the artwork here. (Aug. 9)
STREAM: Our monthly Spotify playlist
Forget finding “the song of summer.” Instead, enjoy an hour’s worth of simply great new music, featuring new tunes from Two Door Cinema Club, Justice, Sleigh Bells, Mac Miller, Goldroom, MIA and a host of newcomers.
PLUS: NFL training camp doc Hard Knocks captures the return of football to Los Angeles (Aug. 9, HBO) … Baz Luhrmann’s South Bronx musical drama The Get Down will probably fail on coherence, win on visual/sonic acumen (Aug. 12, Netflix) … You’re the Worst returns. Fans of acerbic relationship humor rejoice (Aug. 31, FXX) … Every “dark” Batman flick cribbed from the ‘80s comic The Killing Joke. Now, see that story in all its R-rated animated glory (Aug. 2, Blu-ray) … And then go see Bat’s cameo in Suicide Squad (Aug. 5) … The most destructive, stupid day in baseball history gets revisited in Disco Demolition: The Night Disco Died (Aug. 23) … Forget Trump. Comedian David Cross is Making America Great Again! (Aug. 5)
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