RECOMMENDS
OUR TOP POPCULTURE PICKS OF THE MONTH
TV SHOW
1. ‘Wellington Paranormal’
The original What We Do in the Shadows spinoff, about a pair of bumbling beat cops pressed into playing off-brand Mulder and Scully, first aired in New Zealand. It finally arrives in America on the CW and HBO Max.
ALBUM
2. Shannon and the Clams’ ‘Year of the Spider’
The California retro-rockers write through personal struggles, wildfires, and a global pandemic on this new LP that will entangle listeners in its lyrical web.
FILM 3. ‘Annette’
Holy Motors director Leos Carax returns with a warped musical about a self-destructive comic (Adam Driver), a famous opera singer (Marion Cotillard), and their unusual young daughter, Annette. Art-pop duo Sparks provide the soundtrack.
BOOK
4. ‘Billy Summers’
Stephen King’s new novel — a 528-page tale of a hired assassin taking on one last job — is both one of his longest books in recent memory, and one of his most chilling.
ESSAY COLLECTION
5. ‘ First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic’
Former Pitchfork editor (and RS contributor) Jessica Hopper’s widely praised 2015 book brought feminist critique to modern pop. Now it’s revised and expanded, cutting about half of the original to add new essays on everything from Chicago rap to Trump.
FESTIVAL
6. Rolling Loud
Hitting Miami July 23rd25th, the first major U.S. music festival since 2019 features a dream mixtape’s worth of artists, like A$AP Rocky, Travis Scott, and Megan Thee Stallion.
PODCAST
7. ‘Strange and Unexplained’
In each episode, host Daisy Eagan dives into a logic-defying event, crime, or concept — from Amelia Earhart to haunted Broadway theaters — offering ice-breaking commentary on spooky subjects.
DOCUSERIES
8. ‘Epstein’s Shadow: Ghislaine Maxwell’
Peacock’s new series unpacks how Maxwell went from mysterious British socialite to alleged procurer of teen girls for the infamous Jeffrey Epstein.
SINGLE
9. City Girls’ “Twerkulator”
This song-of-the-summer candidate’s official release was delayed by its liberal sample of Afrika Bambaataa — but that sample’s galactic synths give the bouncy, strip-club-savvy rhymes a timeless sheen.
BOOK
10. ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’
Quentin Tarantino’s long-awaited first novel is an adaptation of his hit 2019 film, a rosier reimagining of 1969 Los Angeles. It expands on the movie, going deeper inside Rick Dalton’s head — and stuntman Cliff Booth’s.