#i want AN ENTIRE SHOW of whatever the fuck jimmy and kim had going on. no crazy cartel things just these two beautiful bastards

[zafiro-anyejo]

i just had a mini resurfacing of bcs hyperfixation. it lasted like 3 hours. i have never taken (non-prescribed) drugs but is that what cocaine or nicotine feels like??

[vince-thrilligan]

Patrick Fabian: From Lord Vader to Fan Favorite

“After the finale, my social media filled up with people saying, ‘Watch your back, we’re rooting for you, Howard!’” Fabian shares. “I couldn’t help but chuckle because when the series premiered, Jimmy McGill called me Lord Vader and people immediately got on my case. Now, five seasons later, I’m almost getting sympathy.”

Awards Focus: When you’re in Albuquerque for months at a time, how does living with costars Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn affect the work on the series?

Patrick Fabian: It’s like we’re a college dormitory or a startup theatre troupe. When we go to work, we visit each other and support each other, and we’re watching and learning from our talented behind-the-scenes crew.

Then we come home and download what the day was like. I’m not gonna say we gossip, but perhaps we gossip a little bit. Then we plan for the rest of the week, even if you’re not directly involved. Oftentimes, I’m watching Rhea and Bob do their scenes.

When we do a scene, it’s more than just memorization. We talk about it, analyze it, take notes… often we’ll hit a question and then call Peter Gould or the writer of the episode to help us break it down. We’ll explore ideas before we get to set, so we’re ready to work with the director.

AF: That’s real dedication.

Fabian: To be fair, we’re home in hoodies and sweatpants reading lines over dinner or while we’re cleaning, there’s always ice cream at the end. Our living situation has worked out great and I think the proof is on the screen.

AF: Are there any scenes that particularly stand out as developing or changing as a result of your work at home?

Fabian: Well, the acting is always organic to some degree, when there’s so much drama for the actors to work with. Rhea is especially great at experimentation and reaction, so whatever you throw at her, she can throw right back. Our final scene together this season, when she tears Howard a new one, was a lot of fun. We worked that one out over the dining room table.

On the day of the shoot, I had one of those “Acting 101” moments where I just couldn’t find it. I was lost… and other actors can tell when it’s not happening for someone, we’re all sensitive to that. Rhea looked at me and said “Let’s do it again.”

I was in my head, but she encouraged me to go out on a limb. Then we did the next take and it was palpably different. She looked at me and said, “That was something,” and Peter Gould chimed in with his seal of approval. It reminded me that if we hadn’t put in the time at the dining room table, we wouldn’t have the chemistry and the trust to experiment like that.

AF: In episode seven, Jimmy flies into a rage while talking to Howard in the courthouse. What went into making that scene so intense?

Fabian: As soon as I read that script, it stuck out to me as a big moment. In the context of the scene, Jimmy is – well, Saul is – unhinged. Jimmy has just seen the survivors of the kid who was killed by Lalo. He’s feeling a mixture of very unpleasant emotions. And then Howard shows up, the last person on earth that Jimmy wants to see. On a practical level, it’s funny because Bob and I are great friends and have a great relationship. Obviously, Jimmy and Howard have not had a great relationship. Howard’s coming to Jimmy after the bowling ball and the hooker incident, with one last stab at saying, “Let me help you.”

And we get this rant from Jimmy that is just unhinged. As an actor, standing there watching it, it’s so powerful. If you think that stuff is good on screen, you should have a front row seat… which I do. Watching Bob project that fury is a wonderful thing, and it’s so great to be a part of it as Howard.

Howard is coming at it with a benevolence, maybe even love. But Saul just loses it on me and calls me a “little man” and all that stuff. Howard gets to make a decision – he’s gone through enough therapy that he doesn’t have to react in kind, so he removes himself from that situation.

How we did it? Well, Bob lights the flame and he burns while the camera goes. It takes a couple of passes to get the mechanics of it correct and meanwhile, Bob is searching for his stuff. This is not a situation where I chit-chatted with Bob. He’s in a space and you have to respect that space. There’s no point in us discussing dinner when we’re doing a scene like that.

Bob did it a zillion different ways, up and down the scale, but the one we went with at the end is so wonderful. He’s yelling at me to the back of my head and you’ve got a great image of the cameras in front of me.

I’m walking out stiffly and he’s just losing his mind on me. Then the camera flips back around and it’s a silhouette of Bob after I’ve left, and Saul is just like a puppet. Like his physicality is unhinged, like you’ve got strings on his hands or something like that. And then it cuts back around to his face, and it’s wonderful.

AF: As you pointed out, Howard’s gone through therapy since his low point in season four and now he’s got a lot of momentum, personally and professionally. Season four episode six also features a Jimmy rant, with the central point being “Get yourself together!” How did that moment push Howard towards self-improvement?

Fabian: The low point for Howard is when he runs into Jimmy in the bathroom at the courthouse. Howard’s tie is disheveled – that’s how you know Howard is completely lost and adrift. But to his credit, he’s out in the world. And to his credit, he says to Jimmy, “Here’s a number that I’ve been working with. I’ve been going to therapy, this works.”

So Howard is willing to be seen like that. But later Jimmy comes into the office and tells him, “Get your shit together, Howard,” and Howard says, “Fuck you!”

By the way, AMC gets two major swears each season and they gave one to me so I felt very blessed. But back to the point, that was the turning point because Howard at that point thinks, “Wait a second, you’re right. I’m being the victim. I don’t need to be the victim.” And he works himself through it. In no small part, Jimmy’s speech boosted Howard.

AF: So a newly put-together Howard offers Jimmy a job at Hamlin Hamlin McGill. What does that represent for their relationship, from Howard’s perspective?

Fabian: Howard’s become serious about putting everything with Chuck in the past. He’s willing to admit he was wrong. And now he’s saying, “I’m hiring you not out of pity, not out of woulda-coulda-shoulda, I’m hiring you because I need you. I recognize your talents. Let’s do this.” That’s why Howard’s conscience is clean as far as I’m concerned. He’s reached out, been benevolent, and tried the best he can.

As far as hiring Jimmy, Howard knows what he’s getting, he’s not dumb. I think he’s realized that Chuck, although a very valuable asset in HHM, was not HHM itself. And so he recognizes that he has his own talents. One thing he doesn’t have is street smarts. He says as much to Jimmy – “You’re Charlie Hustle, you’re creative, you think fast.” Howard is smart enough to know that that’s not his game. Howard is good at getting business. We still haven’t seen Howard actually practice law in the entire time we’ve been with Better Call Saul. So we don’t know what kind of lawyer he is. But he knows what kind of lawyer he is. And he knows he needs a tool like Jimmy, a weapon like that in his holster if HHM is going to go places, which Howard says it is.

AF: Chuck’s influence still looms over the show. How does Howard see the relationship between Chuck and Jimmy in retrospect?

Fabian: I think Howard has been tethered to Chuck’s will from the beginning of the series. And so he tries hard to cut off Jimmy from Chuck. After it all happened, the great scene that Michael McKean and I do in his house. We have scotch and there’s an air of congratulations, because Jimmy’s gone. Howard’s telling Chuck that he doesn’t need Jimmy. And that’s also Howard in the clear, because he no longer has to play this role of being a jerk to Jimmy. Which Howard felt some resentment for, because Chuck forced him to take the heat of not hiring Jimmy. That contributed to Howard’s bold move, to pay off Chuck out of his own pocket.

Chuck is seeping into season five’s finale because ultimately, I’m trying to appeal to Kim Wexler’s better angels. I’m trying to save her from herself and save her from Jimmy because Howard knows that Chuck’s fate was tied to Jimmy’s behavior as well. We know Jimmy is directly involved in the events that make Chuck go crazy.

So that final scene where Kim was laughing at Howard, he pulls out the only arrow left in his quiver. He washed his hands of Jimmy earlier in the season, when Howard walked away from him. So when Howard says that Chuck was right about Jimmy, it’s the meanest thing that he can say. But it also happens to be the truth. It’s like an epiphany for Howard. It’s like, “Oh, I’m done. Guess what? Good old Chuck was totally right. And I’m so done dealing with this.” I’m just a guy trying to run a law firm and all these other people are acting batshit, I just don’t get it (laughs).

AF: Jimmy accuses Howard of killing his brother. What does that line represent for Jimmy’s character arc?

Fabian: Our writers give the audience so much great stuff. So when Jimmy says to Howard, “You killed my brother,” we, as an audience, know that that’s not true. And by witnessing him saying that, we again get that pang in our heart that goes, “Ah… he’s really not going to go back to being Jimmy McGill, is he?”

We’re watching a slow motion car crash where we keep waiting for the off ramp for Jimmy and Kim. We just want them to move to Atlanta and get a house and have kids and raise horses. And yet, we know that’s not where it all goes. We don’t know exactly what happens but we know when they get to Breaking Bad, he’s full Saul Goodman.

Saul Goodman says “Kill Badger.” That’s the man he has become. So every time there’s a chance to see him not take that turn, the audience is hopeful. So when he says, “You killed my brother.” We know that’s a lie and so we don’t hurt for Howard at that point, because we also know Howard knows that’s a lie. We hurt for Jimmy and we hurt for ourselves because he’s just now embracing Saul.

AF: In the season finale, it’s not Jimmy, but Kim who seems to be heading down the dark path. What was your reaction when you learned that Kim was scheming to destroy Howard’s career?

Fabian: Of course, I’ve read all the scripts, but as an actor I’m concentrating on what Howard is doing. So I read those scenes, the dialogue that Kim and Jimmy had, back in September when we were shooting. And then the show aired in four or five months,  and I watched it on Monday nights just like everyone else.

I’d forgotten exactly what that scene was and who was driving it. I think I conflated it in my brain and thought it was Jimmy coming up with another plot. So when I saw that it was Kim, it was jaw-dropping to me. Hats off to Rhea Seehorn. Because she doesn’t twist her mustache or act villainous – it’s just a slow degradation of who we thought Kim Wexler was, and maybe possibly always was.

It’s an exact flip of the ending of Season Four with Jimmy walking away saying “Saul Goodman!” And she’s standing there, and we’re left with her reaction. Now in season five, the last time we see those characters, she’s walking to the bathroom and going “Pew pew,” and we’re left on his face going, what? Even if you don’t pick up on the parallel immediately, it’s there. You saw this thing before, it was just reversed. It’s just jaw dropping.

AF: What are Kim’s motivations in that scene?

Fabian: Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t think the audience knows. Had she always hated playing second fiddle in HHM? Did she always resent Howard? Or is her moral compass just askew in general? It’s funny, after the episode, my timeline and social media filled up with people saying, “Watch your back, don’t get in the shower, be careful of your hair!” And I couldn’t help but chuckle because when the series premiere aired, Jimmy McGill called me Lord Vader, and people immediately got on my case. And now, five seasons later, I’m almost getting sympathy with messages like “Watch your back. We’re rooting for you, Howard!”

Well, that’s just the genius of the creative team. Peter Gould, Vince Gilligan, and the entire writing staff created a character who could have been one dimensional and nixed off in season two. That said, it looks like there’s something coming down the pipe for Howard. I have no idea what it’s going to be though.

AF: What about Jimmy’s motivations there? Does his hesitation emerge from guilt regarding his treatment of Howard, or to preserve Kim’s moral sensibilities?

Fabian: Oh, I think his sense of responsibility for what Kim has become is strong. Jimmy’s mentioned that several times, saying, “This is bad for you,” and “I don’t want you to do this.” And she’s always talked him into it. I mean, even the marriage thing is her idea, right?

Let’s face it, Jimmy’s sense of being able to take responsibility for his own actions has been wanting for a while. So he has a sneaking suspicion that he’s probably not good for Kim. But she disabuses him of that notion. And in the end, doesn’t Clyde want Bonnie, ultimately, to be Bonnie?

It’s a back and forth banter, and they’re viewing it in different ways. For him it’s a sort of criminal foreplay (laughs). And it is playful for her too. But those finger guns! It’s so playful, but it’s also dead serious. So we’ll see next season if they both get onboard the same train.

AF: Better Call Saul is about the masks people wear, and we’ve discussed that theme with regards to Jimmy and Kim. Is there a difference between Howard’s public persona and who he truly is?

Fabian: I like to think of Howard as  somebody who is earnest and sincere. He’s certainly not a criminal, and I think his taxes would be squeaky clean. He means what he says and he’s serious about who he is. And consequently, I think it drives him. Like when he wants to help Jimmy, hereally wants to help Jimmy.

I don’t think he’s the kind of person that everybody likes. A lot of the presumptions get foisted upon him, because he’s been successful, because his father had a law firm. He’s the rich kid, the Golden Boy, and always has been. But that doesn’t mean he’s not a hard worker, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t adhere to the ideas of truth and justice. He’s shown that with his willingness to try and help Jimmy and Kim. Successfully or not, he’s worked to better both of their lives. The case can certainly be made for the things that Howard has done right in this world, only to be rewarded with being yelled at by Jimmy and laughed at by Kim.

I don’t have any indication that Howard has something hidden or a deep driving force. I don’t think of him as a dual person. Howard sleeps soundly at night with who he is.

Part of AwardsFocus.com’s BCS interviews [x]

[closetofanxiety]

50 Wrestling Questions: Why Not

Remember this? It’s been a while. Let’s do this again. Let’s twist again like we did last summer. Or the summer of 2017 in this case.

1. What got you into wrestling?

People ask me this all the time, and I don’t really have a good answer. I’ve liked it on and off since I was very young, and who knows why you like the stuff you like when you’re a little kid? 

2. What is your favorite wrestling promotion?

Of all time: ECW, even though I would probably think of it very differently if it were happening today. Currently: Beyond Wrestling. 

3. Favorite male wrestler of all time?

Gorgeous George, but if we’re talking about people who were alive when I was alive, Dusty Rhodes. I want to say Bruiser Brody, but in my heart I would know I was just saying that to look cool. 

4. Favorite female wrestler of all time?

Gail Kim. For the longest time, she was the only woman in a major global wrestling company who got over based on her wrestling ability. She was doing stuff in TNA that was years ahead of its time, and could adapt her style to get great matches with a variety of opponents with very different backgrounds. And she can still go, as she showed in the match against Tessa Blanchard the other night. I know it would be cooler to say Bull Nakano or Chigusa Nagayo or something, but I don’t know enough of their stuff to make that claim credible. I am who I am, a person who goes to the mall to buy shoes. 

5. Favorite current male wrestler?

Nick Gage

6. Favorite current female wrestler?

Momo Watanabe 

7. Favorite theme song?

Joey Janela’s music captures his vibe perfectly, and sounds great being blasted out of PA speakers inside a small bar or VFW hall. Of all time, probably, I don’t know, Honky Tonk Man? In an ironic way that slowly becomes sincere?

8. Least favorite theme song?

Ricochet’s WWE theme music is pretty dreadful. 

9. Favorite gimmick?

Currently: Orange Cassidy. All time: Road Warriors maybe? They were almost 100 percent gimmick, and they were the biggest tag team in the world at a great time for tag team wrestling. 

10. Least favorite gimmick?

All the racist and gay-hating gimmicks that have been used throughout the years are more or less equally horrible. If we’re talking about a terrible gimmick that was non-malignant, I’d say it was taking giant indestructible ass-kicker Mike Awesome and making him “That 70s Guy.” 

11. Best entrance (either their usual entrance or a special one, like a Wrestlemania entrance)?

Gorgeous George had the best entrance of all time, and it’s been copied ever since (Ric Flair’s entrance is basically Gorgeous George’s, scored with a different piece of classical music). The Sandman also had a great entrance. He was kind of all-entrance, now that I think of it. I also love those old shows in Japan where Brody would come out to “Immigrant Song” running through the crowd, swinging a fucking chain over his head like a lunatic. An entrance that makes you fear for your life: mission accomplished. 

12. Best Undertaker Wrestlemania match?

I am not the right person to ask for Undertaker superlatives, but the Lesnar match had a legitimately shocking conclusion that I still appreciate 

13. Most overrated?

I’m tempted to incur the wrath of the online by making a contrarian hot take selection like Ken Omega, but in reality it’s probably the Undertaker. 

14. Most underrated?

There are a million choices from before the 1980s, the Before Time of contemporary pro wrestling. Edouard Carpentier, say; he was having matches in 1970 that would not look out of place in 2019. Since the 1980s, I’d say Jerry Lynn is a very strong contender for most underrated. The popular choice would be Sid or Lex Luger, but I think they’re pretty much rated exactly as they should be. 

15. Have you ever been to an event? If so, which one?

I certainly have been to many pro wrestling events. I go to one or two a month. Like a lot of things, wrestling is pretty much always fun in person. It helps that the Northeast has a ton of good companies within easy driving distance. My favorite show of all time might be Americanrana 2016. 

16. Who has the best merch?

We’re in a weird period where people on Instagram are making better shirt designs (in insanely limited editions) than the vast majority of wrestlers or wrestling companies. I will say that Kris Wolf has yet to make an ugly or boring piece of merchandise, which is a huge complication in this day and age. 

17. Do you own any merch?

Nope! Wait, I mean, “yes, entirely too much.” Shirts, 8 x 10s, DVDs, magazines, random pieces like fancy enamel badges and a stack of Okada bucks. The one thing I’ve never gotten into is action figures, and that’s probably good for the ol’ bank balance. 

18. Best nickname?

"The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes is an all-time classic. 

19. Worst nickname?

"The Game” is a dumb nickname. “The Cerebral Assassin” is also a dumb nickname. Are assassins supposed to be stupid? I bet they’re typically very smart, although of low moral character. “Triple H” is his only good nickname, and even that sounds like the nickname of a guy who owns a car dealership out by the highway.

20. Best mic skills?

Nobody was ever better than Bobby Heenan, who had incredible range and versatility. He could do comedy and he could do menace. He could do calm and he could do spitting rage. He had an uncanny sense of timing and was quicker on his feet than almost anyone. No one really comes close at matching his astonishing depth, but Dusty Rhodes was an all-time great promo. He really made you care about wrestling matches, which is not an easy thing to do.

21. Most annoying?

I mean, it has to be Vince McMahon. 

22. Most attractive male?

Is Tanahashi too obvious a choice? Best hair in wrestling. It’s incredible and luxurious, like an untamed mountain stream. Andrade “Cien” Almas or whatever they’ve shortened his name to (”And”) is a handsome man. Killer Kross: very handsome. We live in a golden age of attractive wrestlers. Just look back at the gassed-up Zubaz mastodons of the 1980s, or the territories-era guys who all looked like they were 48 years old and had pot bellies. You almost have to try to find unattractive wrestlers. Nick Gage, for instance. But I’m sure even he has his swooning admirers. 

23. Most attractive female?

Again, what a time for attractive wrestlers. It may be shallow, but wrestling is a business that’s at least partially cosmetic. Attractive people sell tickets. I would, and have, bought a ticket to see Hana Kimura. 

24. Favorite faction?

Of all time? Probably the Barry Windham-era Four Horsemen. More recently, Team Pazuzu. 

25. Worst faction?

BULLET CLUB. No, it’s not the Bullet Club, as exhausted as they’ve become. It’s probably the nWo after early 1998 or so, when they had like 60 members and dragged down every storyline. 

26. Best ring gear?

Su Yung and Pentagon Jr. 

27. Who do you think would be the nicest in real life?

I bet Jerry Lynn is a good guy to know. People in wrestling universally praise Little Guido, which is very rare. The Young Bucks seem like they might be decent dudes. Willow Nightingale told a story on a podcast about Nick Gage excitedly playing with Solo Darling’s dog backstage, so you never know. 

28. Who would be the rudest in real life?

On the indie level, it’s probably someone who doesn’t work very much. Above the indie level, I bet some of those British guys are secretly horrible, like Jimmy Havoc. 

29. Favorite heel?

Currently it’s a tie between MJF and Alisha Edwards, two of the only people who can regularly get indie crowds to boo them. Of all time, heel Flair was hard to beat. 

30. Most hardcore?

It’s definitely either a guy in Japan or a guy in Mexico, and he’s definitely been burned by explosive charges multiple times. Onita? It’s probably Onita. Or Jun Kasai? I think Onita has probably been exploded more times than Jun Kasai. 

31. A wrestler you could beat?

At wrestling? Not a single one of them. Nicholas, the small boy who won the WWE tag team championship with Braun Strowman, would wipe the floor with me. Even the most callow bodybuilder-turned-wrestler would not break a sweat beating me senseless. But writing talking points for senior administration officials in preparation for legislative testimony? Now you’re on my turf. Not so tough now, huh, Nicholas? 

32. Best story line?

Freebirds vs. Von Erichs or Stone Cold vs. Vince. My heart says the former, my head says the latter. 

33. Biggest missed opportunity for a story line?

The WWE blowing the invasion angle after purchasing WCW is the obvious one. More recently, they blew it by not turning Reigns heel. 

34. Worst story line?

Ha, so many of them. Impossible to choose just one. At least most of the dumb embarrassing Russo ones in WCW and TNA were basically harmless, like the time Samoa Joe got kidnapped by ninjas. The Chuck and Billy wedding thing was far worse. A low point even by Vince’s impressively cretinous standards.

35. Which wrestler should turn heel?

I’d like to see a Jordynne Grace heel run in Impact. Heel Finn Balor would also be good. 

36. Which wrestler should turn face?

Samoa Joe has a good fiery babyface, “I’m tired of doing your dirty work, McMahon!” run in him. 

37. Who would be the worst to room with?

Can you imagine sharing a living space with Enzo Amore? Or the thicket of twee Disney merchandise you’d have to negotiate every day if you lived with Johnny Gargano?

38. Who would be the best to room with?

I bet Eddie Edwards would be a surprisingly thoughtful roommate, like he’d always do the dishes “because I love doing them!,” that kind of thing. I have nothing to base this suspicion on, he just seems like my old roommate, Shane, who was like that. 

39. Who would be your best friend if you were a wrestler?

I’d like to say Jushin Thunder Liger, and posit that we would go on exciting adventures, but the answer is probably something like “Comp Time” Terry Dandridge, who wrestles monthly for 2Xtreme All-Pro Wrestling Alliance out of Euphoria, Kansas and has a 9 to 5 as a hardware store manager. 

40. What would your job be in a wrestling promotion?

I’d normally make a self-effacing joke here, but I do social media training at my real job, and so many wrestlers are badly in need of help in this area. 

41. Favorite wrestling podcast/Youtube channel?

I like AIW’s “The Card is Going to Change” podcast a lot, and there’s one by the owners of RevPro that’s pretty good. It’s hard to find a well-produced wrestling podcast that talks about independent wrestling. My favorite wrestling YouTube channel is OSW Review. 

42. Favorite finisher?

BURNING HAMMER

43. Least favorite finisher?

The Bayley-to-belly suplex. HOW IS THIS A FINISHING MOVE

44. Favorite match?

Kerry Von Erich vs. Jerry Lawler at Superclash III. It was a bloody, weird, engrossing spectacle, and it was the symbolic end of the territories era. 

45. Favorite PPV?

Royal Rumble is the last PPV my casual fan friends reliably want to see, and with good reason: it’s engrossing.

46. Guilty pleasure wrestler?

Big Banter Baron Corbin, but I feel no guilt here. He rules. 

47. Favorite submission?

THE KATA HA JIME, otherwise known as the Tazmission.

48. Most entertaining to watch?

All time? Randy Savage. Currently? Io Shirai. 

49. Best spot?

Anyone spitting mist into the unsuspecting eyes of their foes

50. Who do you most respect?

I respect you, booker man.

[thesinglesjukebox]

EMINEM FT. JOYNER LUCAS - LUCKY YOU

[3.70]

The king of rude, ludicrous, lucrative lyrics...

Will Rivitz: You ever hear a radio ad's narrator motor through the fine print of whatever buying a used car from Randall's Chevy Emporium entails and think, "This bangs, but what it could really use is some complaints about the Kids These Days and their face tattoos"? Yeah, me neither. Anyway, Joyner Lucas is the best part of this song, and if there's a more damning sentence in hip-hop I haven't heard it. [1]

Taylor Alatorre: In a perfect world this would have been a two-minute Joyner Lucas track, like how "Buried Alive Interlude" was billed as Drake ft. Kendrick Lamar but only featured the latter. That would have required Eminem to be more magnanimous than he's been in his entire career, and Kamikaze is the opposite of magnanimity. Still, his verse here, in all its fidgety, crotchety paranoia, makes a better case for Eminem's continued relevance than any Trump or MGK diss ever could. A baldfaced admission of his last album's failure is followed immediately by the expected complaints about lean and face tats, all as a wiry Boi-1da trap beat rumbles below, letting us know this is taking place on away turf. A whirling mess of contradictions like that is just too interesting to discard. [6]

Thomas Inskeep: First off: Joyner Lucas, who I've not heard before, fuck you for following in Em's footsteps and dropping the word "maricón" in your verse. Beyond that, Lucas has a flow, I'll give him that. And I appreciate that Eminem gives him the entire first half of the song. Em's verse, meanwhile, is a reminder of what made (past tense, intentional) him great in the first place: few rappers have ever had tongues as nimble as his, especially when he starts spitting double-time. In the early 2000s, listening to Marshall Mathers was a guaranteed rush, and "Lucky You," by and large, provides that. And yeah, I'm in my 40s, and I appreciate and largely agree with his thoughts about today's "face tat" rappers; I miss the sound of old school as much as he does. The beat here is old school (spare, with a booming bass), as is his delivery. It's easy for me to hate Eminem in 2018, but I can't hate "Lucky You," because frankly, it's kinda fire. [7]

Nortey Dowuona: Dribbling marimbas slide through while Hans Zimmer strings lie flat above, then get stepped on by Joyner as he repeatedly tries to outrun the thudding papier mâché and limestone drums, then Em jumps on his back and tries to ride him off into the sunset before the drums drop and trap them both behind gaping fangs. [4]

Maxwell Cavaseno: For the past few years, the internet has worked aggressively hard at the act of retconning themselves to be absolved of Eminem. That's right, in the recorded history of music, nobody ever enjoyed "My Name Is" or "Without Me"; this was an Illuminati psy-op performed by Jimmy Iovine, Dr. Dre, XXL magazine, Mountain Dew, the United States Army, Activision, and numerous other organizations seeking to hoodwink us all, as conspired by another misogynistic rap prodigy obsessed with hating his parents, abusing drugs and internal rhyme schemes, making unlistenable albums with terrible self-made beats, and screaming about his insecure masculinity named Earl Sweatshirt (a former fan). Unfortunately, one of the biggest victims of this dynamic is Eminem, a man who is constantly obsessed with fighting his perceptions and aggressively veering from album to album with new self-images that his audience do not recognize such as: rap virtuoso, political anti-hero and now scorned genius fighting against the unjust nature of critics/fans/time. "Lucky You" has Em and one of the most Em-like modern rappers in Joyner Lucas attacking the world around them, sounding deft and very showmanlike but mutually aggrandizing to unflattering degrees. A song like "Lucky You" isn't bad because Eminem is inherently lame, but a reminder that ever since Relapse started the beginning of his "comeback" narratives, Eminem is incapable of doing anything but thrashing in a quicksand-like belief that he opted out of King of Rap status by retiring. To think that in his post-retirement he's actually released two widely-panned albums within a year of each other and shows no signs of stopping, in spite of any last bits of well-regard his audience could find in an absence they sorely need. [2]

Jonathan Bradley: "Lucky You" gears up from a guest rapper who isn't Eminem, to Eminem doing ad-libs and triplets that sound like the rappers Eminem does not want to sound like, to Eminem sounding exactly like what Eminem wants to sound like. It sketches with remarkable precision exactly how, in 2018, the more Eminem a song gets, the worse it becomes. [3]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Two tedious motherfuckers join together to show that no matter your age you can still rap fast and say nothing. [2]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Little is as emblematic of Eminem's juvenile rancor as the cover art for Kamikaze. It pays homage to Licensed to Ill but features a speeding jet emblazoned with the phrases "FU-2" and "Suck It." It's a reminder that he's a living legend, but it's also a warning to everyone that he's about to respond to 1) a new generation of rappers, and 2) others' criticisms of his recent work. Unsurprising -- yet still completely embarrassing -- is how the album opens up: "I feel like I wanna punch the world in the fucking face right now." Anyone hoping that Eminem would pepper his acerbic language with the humor and capable storytelling of his earliest albums is quickly shot down. "Lucky You" is one of the better tracks on Kamikaze because it finds Eminem taking aim at these people while coming from a place of vulnerability. He concedes that he "took an L" with his last album, "sold his soul" to win Grammys, and wonders where the old Eminem is -- the one that would "take that feedback and aim back." He interpolates Kendrick when he says he has "spite inside [his] DNA," and ends the couplet with an "ayy." Eminem spends part of Kamikaze adopting newer rap trends whilst decrying them, ostensibly suggesting that he's ready to embrace them: "I don't hate trap," he admits here. More realistically, he's showing everyone else that he can do all this better than them. Those moments, however, mostly point to how he's unable to adapt, and they pale in comparison to what Joyner Lucas offers here. (It should be noted that Lucas's contemporary-sounding delivery is done through a very Eminem-specific lens; Eminem devotees would never complain about Lucas's presence here) Eminem's performance on "Lucky You" is more of the same shtick, and the moments that are technically impressive sound as tired as ever. More interesting is how it actually sounds sad in light of the lyrics. Eminem fans would laugh at such an accusation, but the double-time rapping he employs here really sounds like a crutch: a shield to hide behind as he becomes increasingly anxious about his irrelevancy. Seeing him dab in the music video and calling artists like Hopsin the "culture" on "Fall" is a reminder that this 45-year-old is just another man going through a midlife crisis. For a brief moment, the Rap God seems human, in a good way. [2]

Juan F. Carruyo: Eminem's got some things to get off from his chest: one, he's still hurt about losing to Steely Dan. Two, he very much hates trap and mumble rap despite claiming in song he doesn't, and third, the ghost of his past addictions still carries a lot of emotional weight for him. So while it might seem he's entering his crotchety-old-man phase -- and he might be! -- he actually talks a lot of sense and his performance, along with Joyner Lucas, is MVP caliber. [7]

Alfred Soto: (1) Shut up, both of you, about the Grammys. (2) Eminem should not say "Lick my prick," no matter the context. (3) Motormouthing in 2018 is the hip-hop equivalent of hair metal solos. (4) Watch them sweat the technique. [3]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[screeningclub]

Weekly Round-up: April 23-27

There’s not enough time in the week to write feature reviews for all 70 of the airing shows that I force myself to watch, so I’m testing out this Weekly Round-up format, with hopefully new posts every Friday. However, for great weekly coverage of The Leftovers, be sure to check out reviews like this one every Monday from the stoic Chris Moore. It’s a show so nice we have to review it twice! Sorry, that was terrible.

Sunday

The Leftovers – “Don’t Be Ridiculous”

Last week’s season premiere provided a wondrous and fatal (that fucking domestic drone strike) return to this bleak, off-kilter, immersive world through the eyes of its profoundly fucked up male lead, Kevin Garvey, and this week, now through the eyes of its adjacently fucked up female lead, Nora Durst, the barrel keeps on rolling. Nora has long been the show’s most complex and sympathetic character (thanks to both Carrie Coon’s amazing acting abilities and the incredibly tragic past she’s been dealt by show creators Tom Perrotta and Damon Lindelof) and it’s no coincidence that every Nora showcase episode – “Guest” in season one, “Lens” in season two, and now “Don’t Be Ridiculous” in season three – always winds up as a season highmark. This episode was as much as ever about (as all Nora episodes are and really every episode of this show but rarely as much as this one) the extreme ways in which people cope with loss, grief and insurmountable pain, and in Nora’s case, in the face of both the unexplainable (the loss of her departed children) and now as we learn the explainable (the loss of Lilly at the hands of her aggrieved biological mother, Christine). With Nora and Kevin and whoever else that follows about to set sail for whatever the hell crazy shit that awaits them in Australia, it would appear things are about to get even more preposterous and exciting and sad. Definitely sad.

Episode grade: A

Veep – “Library”

What an emotional rollercoaster to turn from the tragedy and bleakness of The Leftovers to the relentless wit and hilarity of Veep; although it could be argued that in the tragedy department the two shows have never had as much in common. As the premiere made very clear, this season is going to be a rough ride for former (never elected) President Selina Meyer, and this episode continues hitting home that very point through her exhaustive efforts to construct a Presidential Library as prestigious and glorified as her predecessor’s. But of course that can’t be; she stumbled upwards into the job and then had it embarrassingly torn away by a younger, elected fellow woman a year later. As Selina tries desperately to reclaim some form of relevance in the public sphere, most of her former team continues scattered across the country. The Jon H. Ryan/Kent/Ben trio shows the most promise, but I’m not sure what to make yet of what’s going on with Dan and Amy’s respective storylines. Those two are at their best when together, as is much of the rest of the team. I hope we’re nearing a (permanent?) reunion of sorts in the next couple episodes.

Episode grade: B

Monday

Better Call Saul – “Sunk Costs”

It’s been five long years since Mike Ehrmantrout and Gustavo Fring occupied the screen together on Breaking Bad, and their long awaited reunion on season three, episode three of Better Call Saul did not disappoint. These two men are titans of their respective crafts and it was such a joy just sitting back and watching these grisled professionals size each other up and unite, however reluctantly, towards bringing down a common enemy. And the Jimmy/Chuck/Kim half of the episode was equally compelling, too, just in an entirely different way. The Jimmy/Chuck relationship is the axis on which the world of this show rotates and that conversation the two share in the episode’s first act, and the conversation Jimmy and Kim share in its final scene, cemented a significant turning point. Chuck wants Jimmy out of law practice, and Jimmy (with Kim’s help) isn’t going down without a fight.

Episode grade: A-

Bates Motel – “The Cord”

Bates Motel capped off its psychologically daring, often-frustratingly plotted five-season run this past week in I’d say appropriate, albeit similar fashion. As a deep-dive through the mind of a criminally disturbed and unstable “psycho”-path, this show and this season and episode in particular thrived. But arriving gracefully at those various points of emotional and psychological exploration was never easy for this show and this final stretch of episodes were no different. Romera had to clumsily bust Norman out of jail just like he had to stupidly turn his back to Norman for a prolonged period of time with his gun sticking out of his back pocket because… it’s what the plot required. And the White Pine Bay sheriff’s department had to be incompetent enough to leave the Bates residence and motel unmonitored for a half a day long enough for Norman to recreate the timeline of the show’s pilot in his mind and for Dylan to intervene in the final moments because… you get the point. But that final scene between the two brothers and especially that final image of the two deceased Bates side by side in their graves was perfect, as was so much of this final season when it opted to lean into that emotional well. It wasn’t always pretty, but when it was, it was pretty great.

Episode grade: B+

Tuesday

The Americans – “Immersion”

The lives of Philip and Elizabeth Jennings are spiraling, however slowly and painstakingly. Their fatherly spy handler has abandoned them, their daughter is emotionally destroyed as a result of all they’ve shared with her, and their commitment to the Cause is… waning. At least in how far they’re willing to make secondary their family and marriage in service to their spycraft. They do not like participating in the wheat crop operation, and in this episode they, subconsciously even, appear willing to destroy their involvement in it because of the wedge they perceive it to drive in their relationship. There hasn’t been a whole lot of forward momentum flowing from episode to episode in the way that other, better seasons have had, but as long as Philip and Elizabeth and their familial struggles continue to remain the heavy focus (which of course it will, that is The Americans), my commitment to this show will remain firm.

Episode grade: B

Wednesday

Fargo – “The Principle of Restricted Choice”

The plot is kicking into high gear in this second episode and I’m just genuinely thrilled to be along for the ride. Yes, the characters and story (at least to this point) feel a tad on the thin side but those weaknesses are overwhelmed by the first-class performances from literally every actor involved and the unique, familiar aesthetic sensibilities of this world. The Stussy brother feud is obviously the driving force behind all we’ve seen to this point and it’s certainly been ratcheted up to ten with Ray and Nikki’s latest move – I love that pairing by the way, Ewen McGregor is great in both brother roles but so far Mary Elizabeth Winstead is the season MVP. I’m pumped to see where that goes along with Gloria’s investigation of the murder of her step-father. That both her step-father and the Stussy brothers share a last name cannot just be a coincidence.

Episode grade: B+

The Handmaid’s Tale – “Offred”

Wow. This premiere blew me away in 30 more ways than one. From Elizabeth Moss’s intimate, bare-bones performance, the masterful world building, the tense, artful pacing and direction – it’s all there and it’s all great. Even though you still walk away with far more questions than answers, the shadings of answers you do get are enough to paint the picture of this bleak, dystopian version of an imagined future in which women exist on this earth to serve men and bear their babies. Or most women at least; there are some in the premiere that remain in positions of power (chief among them, the goddess Ann Dowd who’s amazing here) that I’m really curious about the how of it all. But damn. So good, so haunting; I’m as excited for more as I am dreadful.

Episode grade: A

Thursday

Grey’s Anatomy – “Don’t Stop Me Now”

I still watch every episode of this damn show and I ain’t never stoppin’!

Episode grade: A++++

  Fin

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