Welcome to Culture Hound, InsideHook’s deep dive into the month’s most important pop cultural happenings.
BINGE: Black Mirror
Netflix premieres 12 new episodes of this creepy anthology series (six now, six next spring). Expect a mix of horror, satire and technophobia. Details are tight, but some leaks suggest feral mutants, deadly video games and social media-inspired murders.
SEE: For the Record, Scorsese
They’re all grown up. What started in a Los Feliz bar is now main stage at the new Wallis in Beverly Hills. It’s a much grander production than in the bars of past, and they’re at the top of their plot-weaving, rollicking musical renditions of Scorsese’s Goodfellas, Casino, Taxi Driver and Wolf of Wall Street. (through 10/16)
STRETCH AND DANCE: BENDER x SoFar Sounds
For their next pop-yoga party, Bender has partnered with SoFar Sounds, whose secret concerts are typically more coffee-house style. Not for this: it’s a stretch-and-dance party at sunset on the top of the new ROW DTLA development. Sun salutations and emerging artists aren’t a bad way to kickstart the weekend. (10/7)
IMPRESS: Mozart 225: The New Complete Edition
This, let’s say “pathological” Mozart retrospective boasts 240 hours of classical genius (that’s 4,000 tracks, or 10 days straight of music), plus a new hardcover biography and several frame-worthy prints. He deserves the time: the guy wrote his first opera at 14; what have you done?
LISTEN: Joyce Manor
And then there’s brevity. The Cali band’s fourth album Cody features 10 songs in 24 minutes — all concise, perfect indie-emo singalongs, with a first single (“Fake ID”) that details how a young man’s tryst ends when his paramour suggests Kanye West “is better than John Steinbeck.”
WATCH: Union Station Noir Nights
The Film Noir Foundation and Union Station partnered for film series, and the first flick is the aptly picked Union Station. Though set in Chicago, this deep-cut noir was actually filmed in L.A.’s historic art deco location. (10/7)
READ: Loose Lips: Fanfiction Parodies of Great (and Terrible) Literature
Former InsideHook editor Casey Childers and Amy Stephenson curated this anthology of satirical erotic fan fiction, as crafted by dozens of Hugo, Nebula and Rita award-winning authors. Says Childers: “Loose Lips answers pressing questions from history’s favorite books, questions like, ‘I’m new to being rich … Can I f*ck my yellow car?’ and ‘How come there’s not one woman in Moby Dick who isn’t a boat?’ It’s gross AF, and there are so many laughs.” (Out now)
VIEW: Pop for the People, Roy Lichtenstein
The micro-dotted and vibrant colored paintings by artist Roy Lichtenstein are pivotal to the pop-art movement, and Pop for the People, now on view at the Skirball Center, is a deep dive that focuses on his impact on the L.A. art scene. (10/7-3/12)
ENJOY: Alex
An arty, limited-edition NSFW photo journal focusing on the voluptous Alex Hanson. Yes. (Out now)
WATCH: The Accountant
A “forensic accountant” (Ben Affleck) who’s made his career working with money launderers, terrorists and assassins goes legit and uncovers financial chicanery at a robotics company. Math and gunplay ensue. The twist (Affleck’s character is autistic) and A-plus supporting cast (Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons) bode well for this unusual fall thriller. More picks in our fall movie guide. (10/14)
LISTEN: Our Spotify playlist
Over 90 minutes of hand-picked new music, including Solange, Royksopp, Dawes, Leonard Cohen, Zach de la Rocha and Justice.
PLAY: Battlefield 1
As Call of Duty heads to the future, its like-minded FPS cousin dives back into World War I. Meaning: Lots of mustard gas, bolt-action rifles and zeppelin attacks, along with 64-person multiplayer action. Take a dekko, watch for crump-holes. (10/21)
DANCE AND LAUGH: Harry Dean Stanton Awards
Kris Kirstofferson, Father John Misty, John C. Reilly and many others are throwing a party for iconic character actor Harry Dean Stanton at the Ace Theater. Expect music, laughter and weirdness. Grab dinner at L.A. Chapter before. (10/23)
ALSO: Remember when video game box art was way better than the game itself? The Art of Atari will remind you (10/25) … All the Mad Max movies and plenty of extras (including a black and white take on Fury Road) come together on the Mad Max High Octane Anthology Collection (10/25) … Stashimi is a cool app for obsessively following your favorite musicians (out now) … A telepathic, disfigured Backgammon champ roams the world in Jonathan Lethem’s eccentric new tome A Gambler’s Anatomy (10/18) … Funnyman Joel McHale (Community, The Soup) gives “get rich gradually” tips in his autobiography Thanks For the Money (10/25), which has a rather insanely great promo trailer … Werner Herzog + volcanoes = works for us. Catch his Netflix doc Into the Inferno (10/28) … The true scares this Halloween arrive via the small screen: most notably, the “creepypasta”-inspired Channel Zero (10/11) and the Aussie serial killer drama Wolf Creek (10/14)
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