RECOMMENDS
OUR TOP POPCULTURE PICKS OF THE MONTH
BOOK 1. ‘Andy Warhol and Friends’
A selection of shots from Steve Schapiro, who photographed Warhol and his friends (including Edie Sedgwick and the Velvet Underground & Nico) throughout 1966, a pivotal year for the pop artist.
NOVEL 2. ‘How to Sell a Haunted House’
This horror tale about two adult siblings dealing with a parent’s death — and a house full of puppets — is a searing look at grief, trauma, and how the things that haunt us aren’t always supernatural.
PODCAST 3. ‘What Makes This Song Stink’
Philly guitar hero Pat Finnerty found fame by eviscerating songs like 3 Doors Down’s “Kryptonite” and Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister” on his YouTube series. Now, he’s adapted it into a podcast, where he and guests like Kamau Bell carve up tunes by Maroon 5, Santana, and perhaps Finnerty’s favorite target, Kid Rock.
ALBUM 4. Ava Max’s ‘Diamonds and Dance Floors’
With touches of Eighties synths and retro-futurism, the Albanian American pop star delivers electropop bangers that will make you dance and cry at the same time.
COMIC BOOK 5. ‘TMNT: The Last Ronin – The Lost Years’
Two years after The Last Ronin reinvigorated the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with a tragic take à la Old Man Logan, they return with the prequel of how sole survivor Michelangelo began his bloody quest for atonement.
TV SHOW 6. ‘Kindred’
This new FX series sticks close to the acclaimed 1979 novel by Octavia Butler on which it’s based, following Dana James (Mallori Johnson) as she unwillingly time travels to the slavery era, discovering and piecing together secrets of her own kin.
MOVIE 7. ‘You People’
Imagine Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner involving two California sneakerheads (Jonah
Hill, Lauren London) and their unconvinced Jewish and Muslim families. Nia Long, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Eddie Murphy come through with some laugh-out-loud moments in the directorial feature debut from Black-ish creator Kenya Barris.
ALBUM 8. Villano Antillano’s ‘La Sustancia X’
On her debut album, the Puerto Rican artist shows exactly why she’s been one of the year’s most unstoppable stars: The proudly trans and sexpositive rapper always delivers necessary messages with charm, wit, power — and some of the hardest bars in the game.
PODCAST 9. ‘Infamous: Girls Gone Wild’
Campside’s first season of its new show about notorious Americans has journalist Vanessa Grigoriadis covering Joe Francis, founder of one of the 2000s’ greatest scams: getting girls to make porn for free.