The Paintball Episode of "Community" is Still Classic Comedy

I've been rewatching "Community" in my down time lately. The show holds up. It is just as funny as the first time I saw it. The writing is top notch. The acting is great. The people this show introduced me to are pretty wonderful. I knew of, barely, Donald Glover. He is now one of my favorite pop culture icons. I also knew of Joel McHale. He really shines in this show. This was the perfect way to use his talents. Chevy Chase is Chevy Chase, but he too has his moments here. The show gave me my intro to Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Yvette Nicole Brown and Danny Pudi. They are all excellent in their own way, and they have all gone on to do some pretty great things. Oh, and please don't let me forget Ken Jeong. He is a revelation here.

Anyway, the other day while watching the initial paintball episode came on. I remembered this episode fondly. But I thought maybe it was just a different time in the world and maybe the more cynical side of me was going to rear its ugly head. I am here to say, this episode absolutely, 100 percent holds up. I found myself just as engrossed as I was the first time. Certain things would happen and it would flood back as a great memory. The episode works so well and it comes on so sudden.

The ep starts out like most "Community" episodes, but it delves into something so much different and amazing. When Jeff, McHale, goes to his car to nap, and then it says "1 hour later", it becomes something completely different. The show has the feel of a post-apocalyptic half hour. The camera changes. It looks dimmer and darker. When Jeff is walking around campus we all see people splattered with paint. He speaks to a student and the student fills him in on what has happened in the past hour. It is an amazing monologue from a bit actor on the show. From here on out it follows post-apocalyptic cliches, but does it so much better than most shows that are actually in that genre. Troy and Abed find him and take him in. They have a great talk off about what they should do. They also act like they are going to turn on one another, but never do. It is classic, but it is also hilarious. Troy and Abed are an excellent duo and they riff off one another so well. This episode is one of the best examples of their chemistry. When they meet up with the ladies in the bathroom it just gets better from there. From Troy trying to team up with Shirley, to Abed living his life through TV, to them using Pierce to get away from some intruders, to Britta and Jeff vying to help Shirley and then hooking up. It is all there and it all works to perfection. Even in the end, when everyone is out of the game except for Jeff, he doesn't have some epic speech about winning, he goes to the dean's office and demands to know why he did what he did and kind of goes nuts. It is too perfect. I also enjoyed the hell out of the way he got the dean with a paintball to the head and the dean didn't even flinch. When they see everyone cleaning up the day after the paintball game the camera goes back to normal and everything seems all normal again, except for the tension between Britta and Jeff.

This episode is so wonderful and so perfect and hits all the right notes. I actually feel like it is kind of underrated now. When it first came out it was this instant internet classic. People kept it in the consciousness for a bit, but I haven't heard much about it anymore. I'm here to try and change that the best way I can. Go watch this episode. In fact, go watch the entire series, well maybe up until Donald Glover leaves, and remind yourself how dope this show was. "Community" is a classic and it should be revered as such. And this paintball episode is perfect.

Ty

 Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Atlanta" Series Finale

I just watched the series finale of "Atlanta". This is one of the best shows that has ever been on TV. I was thrilled how they ended it. It did not have to be some hoity toity everyone getting together one last time for a love fest. They were all together, as they should be, but it was not a final type thing.

Looking back one can see that this was not a typical series finale. This was like any other episode of the series, and I mean that in the best possible way. This finale centered on Darius, a superb LaKeith Stanfield, and his day inside a deprivation tank. Or maybe the whole thing was all in his mind. We may never know. And I love that. I am a big fan of movies like "Inception" and that was what this finale ended up being. Spoiler alert, but the ending is up to us, the viewer.

Seeing the day through Darius' eyes was great. We got to go on a ride with him, and he is one of the more fun people in the show. We got to go through his ups and downs. Darius has always been a guy that does his own thing, but we got to meet an old friend of his. This scene was rad. We got to see he had a brother that he still talks to, even though he has, most likely, passed away. That scene was powerful. We also got to see him get real in a situation that was totally messed up. This was all wonderful.

Paper Boi, Van and Earn all had a day all their own that was wild as well. The whole Popeye's thing and going to the black owned sushi restaurant was fantastic. I could not take my eyes off Paper Boi and his journey through the day. Brian Tyree Henry was outstanding throughout the entire series. This episode showcased his talents tenfold. He was dynamite.

Donald Glover and Zazie Beetz had little to do, but they each had their own time to shine throughout the 4 seasons of the show. And in the little time they had in the finale, they crushed. Earn telling Darius that this was all real was great. Seeing how scared Van was while they were getting a swift talking to in the sushi restaurant was some excellent facial acting. I bought how scared she seemed.

I was blown away by how good the finale was, and how great this whole series was. I was finding myself getting closer to the end and saying, "I don't want this to end". I have not had that feeling much about most shows. When "Lost" ended, I was cool with it. I liked "Game of Thrones", but when it was done I moved on. I was ready for both "Parks and Rec" and "The Office" to finish. This finale was better than another favorite of mine, "Brooklyn 99".

Looking back "Atlanta" did things that not many other TV shows have done before. I found myself constantly thinking about episodes after I watched them. Certain episodes, like "Teddy Perkins" and all of season three stayed with me like a horror movie that I enjoyed. This show confused me in all the best ways. There was stuff that I just could not figure out, but reading and searching about it made it that much more enjoyable when it all came into focus. I will forever adore this show. Donald Glover created something that will be a classic. This show will go down in history as one of the best ever.

I, obviously, could not recommend this show more. "Atlanta" is an all time great. Thank you to everyone that worked on this show. Not only Glover, But Zazie Beetz, LaKeith Stanfield, Brian Tyree Henry, Hiro Murai, Stepehn Glover and countless other genius individuals, thank you all forever. "Atlanta" rules.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Atlanta" Season Four Premiere

Last week the fourth and final season of "Atlanta" premiered. I just watched it this past Monday. I am going to take this final season slowly. I want it to marinade in my mind. I want to really take my time. I want to watch each episode two or three times. I have watched the first two episodes twice to date. I need multiple views to understand at least half of it.

"Atlanta" is also the best show on TV right now, full stop. Donald Glover is doing magical things. He is hitting home runs left and right. I've talked at length about how awesome and innovative he is on every platform I can. Glover is the best. As is "Atlanta". The final season two episode premiere only further hammered that home.

The first episode has them back in Atlanta. They were overseas last season, but now they have all returned home. But it isn't like it was before they left. Something is different. Something is off. Darius has a crazy lady chasing him all over the place. He is just trying to return an air fryer, but this lady won't quit. Paper Boi is going on some wild scavenger hunt involving the death of one of his favorite rappers. And Earn and Vanessa are in some kind of weird time loop at an outside shopping mall. This episode was nuts. The whole thing with Earn and Van was crazy. They kept running into exes who were seemingly braindead. I was floored. I didn't get what was going on until the second viewing. The whole thing with Darius started off wild enough when he was returning the air fryer. He is oblivious to the store getting robbed with all the alarms going off. He is so focused on what he is doing. But then we have this crazy lady chasing him in her scooter with a knife. I'm still a little confused by this. And Paper Boi goes on one of the coolest, and most fun looking scavenger hunts I've ever watched. I want to do that. And that had the best payoff. And when the episode ended, all I could think of was how in I was on what they were doing.

The second episode is up there as one of my favorites of all time. This one is primarily focused on Earn and his therapy sessions. There is a minor second story involving some lady who is getting a book deal. All throughout we see Earn going to therapy. He seems to be really getting something out of it. He appears to be growing as a person. It is a nice little insight to him maturing. His therapist is great. His friends make fun of him, but he pays it no mind. There are three sessions we see, and with each one the story gets bigger and bigger. They kept cutting to this lady who is getting a book deal, and her life seems sad, but on the come up. Near the end Earn tells his therapist that he wants to try some of the techniques he has learned on his own. He tells him he is going to take a break. The therapist is totally fine with this. After that we see the lady going to do a reading of her new book. It is a disaster. The kids are bored. They all stand up and leave, except for one, who fell asleep. We then cut to Earn at a bar and we see a video of the lady crashing and burning. It turns out that Earn has paid all of these people to ruin her life because she was racist to him, Van and their daughter at the airport. He is out to destroy her. When Paper Boi and Darius show up he is all hype to tell them what he did. He does and they tell him he is crazy. As they walk off and Earn is by himself, he sits back and says that maybe he should continue with his therapy. It was an incredible moment.

This show is the best absurd comedy on TV. They are doing things that I have never seen before. They are so, so, so good at what they do. I highly recommend everyone watch this show. Go back and start at the beginning and then be amazed at how far they have come. "Atlanta" is a true classic of a show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Atlanta" Season Three

I finally watched the season 3 finale of "Atlanta" yesterday. I have been waiting until the season was over to really talk about my feelings. Right off the bat, I loved this season. It was weird and stilted and didn't have the original cast in every episode, but I was still just as in as I was with the first two seasons.

For those that may not know, this review will be as spoiler free as possible, season 3 of "Atlanta" went in a totally different direction than it ever has. There were episodes that were completely devoid of any of the main cast. There were stories that did not involve Earn, Darius, Van or Paper Boi. They did separate stories from the main cast. And some of those were my favorites this season. The reparations episode was a thing of beauty. I have gone back and watched that ep a few times. The black and white episode, with college tuition, was a goddamn work of art. That ep was perfectly executed, and it had some of the funniest moments all season long. It also blended all sorts of genres. The first ep of the season was frightening. It was a horror show, and that is how they meant it to go. The story they told was horrifying. It showed me, from the start, that this season was going to be different. And the one with the babysitter and the kid was very odd and very interesting. Some seemed to dislike this episode, but I thought the story they were after was told very properly. So out of ten episodes this season, four did not feature the main cast. And it worked. It was an odd change of pace, but it was also done very well and the episodes were some of the best of the season.

When they did use the main cast, the eps were as good as ever. The second episode of the season was rad. Getting to see everyone again, this time on tour in Europe, was like seeing some old friends you haven't seen in awhile. It was great to see Earn rushing to get somewhere, to see Paper Boi getting in messed up situations, to see Darius high out of his mind and seeing Van just showing up, it was comforting. That ep was wild too, with the Tupac stuff and all the wild racism in Europe. The tour stuff they ended up doing with Paper Boi was interesting. I have to assume Glover took some real life experiences and put it into the show. He has toured all over the country, and I'm sure he has had some wild nights. A lot of the episodes dealt with being high and feeling out of control, and I think the creators of the show nailed how nuts and wild it can be in other countries. The "White Fashion" episode was amazing. I have never laughed or felt as awful after watching 40 minutes of TV. It was excellent. The ep with the party and the tree was really cool. That also gave us a new character, Socks, who left a mark. "Cancer Attack" was cool, and there was some damn good music in that 30 minutes. "New Jazz" was the best episode of the season, in my opinion. It did so many great things in a small amount of time. It also allowed Brian Tyree Henry to really shine. He is magnetic in this episode. There is also a Liam Neeson cameo, and it is nuts. For real. It was crazy. You have to see it. But the whole premise of the story, getting stoned, was done so well and executed expertly. It was a great watch. Second only, for me, to "Teddy Perkins". And the season finale, focusing on Van's journey, was another amazing work of art and let the actor fully shine. Zazie Beetz is electric in this episode. Seeing her journey throughout this season, and all the mental stuff, was done so well. Beetz really, really shined. It could garner some Emmy talk, hopefully. It was great.

All in all, I loved this season. Again, it was weird and different and tells a ton of other, non "Atlanta" stories we have become accustomed to. But it all worked. Everything comes together in the end. It has me excited for how they will close out the series. Season 4 is the last season. But this season of "Atlanta" has me even more all in on Glover and his creative process. He can truly do no wrong at the moment. This season of "Atlanta" further proves it. I liked it, and I liked it a lot. I know some people are divided, but I am not. I was all in and I'm still all in. Season 3 of "Atlanta" is must watch TV.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Atlanta", Season Three Premiere

Yesterday I was able to watch the season three premiere of "Atlanta". I was out of town last weekend, I left early Friday morning, so I did not have time to watch until we got back. But I made damn sure I would watch yesterday,

I did watch, and I was floored, in the best possible way. Season three kicked off with two new episodes, which was a very nice surprise. The first episode, "Three Slaps", was a different story than what we have usually seen on "Atlanta". None of the main characters were even in the episode, until the very end when Earn(Donald Glover) wakes up from a dream. This episode was about a little kid who gets put into foster care and finds his way back home. That is a very vague description though, from what I saw. Spoiler alert is coming by the way if you have not watched the premiere yet. "Three Slaps" shows a young kid in school who, upon hearing that he and his classmates are going to see "Black Panther", jumps on the table and starts to dance. He gets sent to the principal's office. His mom and grandpa come and they are frustrated. A teacher seems to think they can help by putting the kid in remedial classes, but the mom does not want to do that. She chides the young man, makes him dance in the hallway and the grandpa gives him three slaps. We see him at home and he lives a pretty normal lifestyle. His mom works all day, so he feeds himself, but his mom is present and she holds him accountable. Then Child Protective Services shows up, and the mom tells the boy to go. She packs his stuff, and says if he hates living there so much, he can leave. Again, she is tough, but not doing anything that I would consider wrong. The boy ends up at a house with two ladies who have fostered three other children. These ladies are not in good shape. They do not seem to be taking proper care of these kids. They make them work far too hard and they barely feed them. The young man tries his best to get away, but no one believes him because he is now a "foster child". He is miserable. The moms decide they are going to go to the "Grand Canyon". The kid asks one of them what they are really doing, but she gets cut off by her wife. We come to realize that this couple cannot pay bills, refuses to pay bills, has hurt people in the past, and they are going to kill themselves and the kids by driving off a bridge. The young kid figures it out and gets the other kids and himself free. The other kids are saved and the main boy walks back to his home. His mom says she was happy to see he made his way back home. He then eats some spaghetti and watches TV, telling his mom nothing of what happened. Then we see the kid turn to the camera and that is when Earn wakes up.

This first episode was incredible. It was gripping and scary and a great way to get back into this wonderful show. It reminded me of "Teddy Perkins", which is one of the best forty-five minutes of TV ever.

The second episode we get to see the original crew. They are overseas, in Amsterdam, while Paper Boi(Brian Tyree Henry) is on tour. Earn oversleeps and misses his original flight. It was great to see, now that Earn has achieved a little status as Paper Boi's manager, that he is still a screw up. But he works hard and he is trying. While Earn is trying to get on his new flight, he calls Darius(LaKeith Stanfield) and tells him he has to pick up Van(Zazie Beetz) at the airport. Here we see Darius is super duper high, but he does remember to get Van. He also tells Earn that Paper Boi is in jail. This messes Earn up. But he is sick and he is very tired, so he tells Darius he will deal with it when he gets to Amsterdam. He just needs Darius to get Van. Then we kind of have parallel stories. Darius and Van go on an adventure. Van buys a new coat that has an address in it. They decided to have their driver take them to the address. They find a group of people all dressed in white who are on their way to something. Darius and Van join them. When they arrive at the thing, they realize it is a party for a person who is about to die. It is a very weird and surreal scene. Then, Darius comments that he thinks it is Tupac. Van says he is crazy, but then she sees him. She goes to speak to him, and she realizes it is Tupac. After she speaks to him, the death dulla, yeah that is a thing in this world, drops a bag over him and "Tupac" dies. It was wild. But the way Van and Darius handle it, it made the surrealness of the whole situation relatable in a way. I loved their story because I feel like they truly portrayed how I would have acted in a crazy scenario like they were in a foregin country. Paper Boi and Earn have to get ready for a show that night, but first Earn needs to get him out of jail. Earn goes to the venue to get money from the guy putting on the show, and proceeds to bail Paper Boi out. Paper Boi is treated like a king in his cell. The guards love him. The fans outside love him. He is a star in Amsterdam. He likes his cell so much, it was beautiful by the way, that even when his bail is posted, he waits until after he has had lunch and a nap. Then, when he and Earn leave the jail, they head to the hotel before going to the venue. During this time they see a shocking number of people in black face. It was jarring for me as a viewer to see this. They question it, but never get a real answer. Then when they get to the venue Paper Boi says he will not do the show because the entire crowd is in black face. I kid you not. Earn tells the promoter that Paper Boi is not going to do the show and this pisses the guy off. He threatens to "ruin" him. When he chases Earn, he finds a guy that looks like him, but again, it is yet another person in black face. And again, I was uncomfortable. Earn gets out unharmed and heads to his room. He sees Van outside and they have a brief interaction. Then he crashes into his bed before receiving multiple texts from Paper Boi about hanging out. Then the episode ends. Again, I was in awe of what I watched.

"Atlanta" is, quite possibly, the best show on TV. There truly is nothing like it on TV. It is so unique, so original. Donald Glover and his crew really know what they are doing. They are truly creating new and fresh and, most of all, incredibly good content. I cannot wait to see where this season goes. I am fully on board. It was three years in between seasons, but it was more than worth it for what we got in these first two episodes.

If you are not watching "Atlanta" you need to remedy that. This is amazing TV being made by the smartest people in the business. I cannot wait for episode three on Thursday night. I will be watching it in real time. What an amazing, amazing show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches the Trailer for "Atlanta"

Yesterday I was checking stuff out on the internet, as I like to say, as I am want to do, and I came across a story on many, many social media platforms claiming that Donald Glover surprised everyone with a new trailer for his hit series "Atlanta".

I am a big, big time fan of this show as you all know very well by now. I think it is the best show on TV, it is a delight to watch, it makes me think days after every episode and Donald Glover can do no wrong in the entertainment world. He is a genius. So I was obviously stoked about the trailer. I do not know if he put it out late Sunday or early Monday. I saw it on Monday. I am older, I am a dad, I am usually late to popular stuff on the internet, all of these are my excuses on why it took me an extra day to know, and then watch the trailer. As soon as I saw the story, and a link to the trailer, I watched it immediately. And I loved every single weird second of it.

The trailer is about a minute long. I think it might actually be exactly one minute. I'm sure there is some reasoning to it, but I am not smart enough, nor do I want to put the research time into finding out exactly why it is one minute long. But I watched it with pure glee. I was quite giddy in fact. I started the trailer and was completely blown away by what I saw. It was eerie. It was different. It was sleek. It was cool. I felt hip watching it. I also felt like a dork too because I was a bit confused. Anyway, the trailer goes through a bunch of different rooms and there is a song lyric repeated over and over. "It's after the end of the world/don't you know that yet". That is the lyric that is repeated over and over again. And there is some dark and creepy music accompanying the words. All the while we see these rooms. We see empty, what I assume, are concert venues. There are very few people roaming the streets. I only saw a few people on bikes in one shot. There are four TV's set up with different images flashing on them. There is a room filled with chairs stacked on top of one another. And at the end we see Brian Tyree Henry, who plays Paper Boi. The camera starts out far away from him, but the shot gets tighter and tighter while the creepy song comes to a big crescendo. We then get a close up shot of Paper Boi looking sad and despondent. He has a white shirt with some red, yellow and green stripes on it, and across his chest in yellow letters the word "FAKE". He also has two people working for him who are totally turned away from the camera not even looking in his direction. The screen then goes black and it says "Atlanta/2022".

This has me even more pumped up for what is to come in 2022. Clearly Paper Boi has made his ascent to some kind of fame. But we will also, or so it seems, get a look at how Donald Glover has dealt with the pandemic. We will also hopefully get to see that Paper Boi may not be happy with his newfound fame. Maybe he doesn't like the limelight like he thought he would. I am very curious to see where LaKeith Stanfield, Zazie Beetz and Donald Glover's characters are in this world created by Glover.

While I think a show like "Curb" is more reliable, or "The Simpsons" is my favorite show of all time, "Atlanta" is probably the best show on TV when it is on. And after this trailer I can only hope that this whole new season is going to be like the "Teddy Perkins" episode from the second season, because that is an all time classic. Needless to say, I am very, very excited for the new season of "Atlanta". Now I just have to wait a few more months.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Listens to Childish Gambino's "3.15.20"

Donald Glover, AKA Childish Gambino, released a surprise new record last week. I, was dealing with some stress, as most of us are right now, so I forgot to stream it on his website. But, the other night I was blowing off some steam, riding the recumbent bike in my basement, and I remembered that he had put out a new record. And, much to my pleasure, he released it on all streaming platforms, so I hit up my Spotify and immediately downloaded it and listened while I exercised the stress and anxiety away.

On first listen, and believe me when I say that I will be listening a bunch more, I enjoyed, for the most part, what I heard. First off, I need to, as everyone else should, not compare it to "Awaken My Love". That record is a masterpiece, and it will go down as one of the best records of the 21st century, hands down. I don't think anyone can deny that. I haven't met a person that doesn't enjoy some part of that album. It's exquisite. But, I did expect something akin to "Awaken My Love". I assumed that he was going to stay in the R&B/soul/funk genre of music. I love his rapping. I think he is a very good emcee. I like the way he flows. But the stuff he showed on "Awaken My Love" blew me, and everyone else, away, so I just figured that he was that type of singer/musician now. And there are definitely elements of that on "3.15.20". The songs all have dates as their titles, and some of the songs have the same feel as stuff off of "AML".

The opener is very funky, with some electronic sounds mixed in. It is all instrumental as well. But as the album goes in, it is almost like Glover decided he was going to take pieces from "AML" and "Because the Internet", his second record. I like both of these, and to hear them blended together, it works. I have said multiple times that Glover is in a space right now where he can, pretty much, do no wrong. I am going to like whatever he puts out there, be it music, a new TV show or a role in a movie. Hell, he was, by a wide margin, the best part of "Solo". "Atlanta" is one of the best shows on TV right now. And now with "3.15.20". he has just furthered my belief in him. The album has some solid, funky tones to it. There are some songs that go as long as seven minutes, something I am not a huge fan of, but they work because they are so groovy, and Glover throws in some rapping, or singing, and it just works.

Glover is a very solid rapper, like I said before, and ever since "AML", he has shown how great of a singer he really is. Hell, he even showed that in the new "Lion King" movie. He sings as well as Beyoncé. Yeah, I said it. And his singing shows up tenfold in "3.15.20". He hits those crazy high notes, Teddy Pendergrass style is some of the songs. It takes me back to the older funk music that I listen to regularly. I know he gets compared to Parliament Funkadelic a lot now, and that is a very apt comparison. It is perfect actually. But what makes him stand out as Childish Gambino is his ability to shift from singing super high notes on one song, to becoming a full fledged rapper on the next. His rapping on this record is very good, and like I stated before, it reminds me of his stuff off "Because the Internet". That record is a bit more of a slow burn, but with each extra listen, the more I grew to love it. I feel like that will be the same with "3.15.20", except I may grow to love to sooner because of the mixing of genres.

"3.15.20" is a very good record. It is also nice that he put it out now because, we should all be self isolating, and anytime there is some new music, it is a nice way to break up the monotony of the day. I enjoyed hearing it while I worked out, but when my kids have a break in their home schooling, I will listen. When my wife is on teleconference meeting in her downstairs office, I will listen. And when my wife and I have free time together at night, when the kids are in bed, I will play it for her so she can hear.

I hope more artists follow Glover's lead and release their new material while we are all self isolating. But, as usual, Glover is the first to do it because he is a leader, and because he knows his stuff is for almost everyone. This record is good, and it will continue to be played in my home for the foreseeable future.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Donald Glover Owned the Night at the Emmy Awards

It is a shame that Teddy Perkins never got his emmy

So my subject for my piece today is a bit off the wall. I just wanted to put that out there before I really dug deep into what I want to talk about today.

I do not watch any awards shows. We live in an era where I just look up on my phone or computer the next day to see who won the awards that I have an interest in. Also, I find award shows tedious and boring. They go on for too long and some speeches are ridiculous, and the people I want to hear speak never seem to get the time that others do. I'm not a fan. All of it is just too much and too crazy. I do like to see who won some of the awards, as I said earlier. I knew that the Emmy's were on last night, due to Twitter and Facebook research, but I did not watch. When I woke up this morning, I reminded myself that I wanted to see who won some of the awards. But, I was greeted by some way, way cooler info when I searched on the internet about something that happened at the Emmy's last night.

So, as you all know very well by now, I think the show "Atlanta" is one of the very best things that has been on TV in some time. I also wrote an entire article attributed to their very best episode from this past season, "Teddy Perkins". It was one of the wildest, horrifying, scary, best acted and directed 40 minutes plus of TV that I have ever witnessed. I still think about that episode from time to time on the daily. It just sits with me. I have watched it multiple times too, trying to see things I missed, or just because it is so different and great from anything else on TV, including other great episodes of "Atlanta". "Teddy Perkins" has its own place in history as great television.

So, when I saw that someone, not Donald Glover, was dressed and sitting at the awards as Teddy Perkins last night, I was super intrigued. From what I have read, and watched in clips, it was just as weird and nuts as I hoped it would be. I mean, Teddy Perkins is a scary looking dude. So, to see someone dressed as him, sitting among TV's best actors and actresses, it was amazing. And, to hear his voice, see his creepy smile and check out the wild clothes he was wearing, it was a treat.

The more I have read and seen this morning, it makes me appreciate what Donald Glover continues to do, and how he continues to capitalize on this moment being his moment right now. Donald Glover is a genius. His music, as Childish Gambino, I cannot get enough of it. I have written, and will write more, about how great his musical career is/was. I have also made it abundantly clear how great of an actor, producer, writer and director I think he is. He is winning at everything he does lately. He is smart enough to know when to capitalize on a moment, and one of those moments was last night. "Atlanta" was up for a bunch of stuff. He knew there would be a ton of eyeballs on him, his show and people watching on their TV's at home. I'm sure he met with many of the people that work on the show with him, mainly Huro Murai, and they all decided that they needed to do something that would be talked about all night, the next day and the next day. So, they had someone go to the awards show dressed as the most memorable character from their best episode of last season. I mean, this is a big deal. I get why everyone is talking about it today, including me. Seeing Teddy Perkins at the awards last night makes me want to go out and watch that episode again today, which I probably will do.

This was a genius move of marketing. This was a genius way to keep his name, and his show, in the news. This was a genius piece of taking example of our current culture and just going with it. I love that Glover and his people did this. I love that the Teddy Perkins character was at the Emmy's and that is the first thing people are talking about when bringing up the show last night. I love this kind of guerrilla marketing that Glover and the people involved with "Atlanta" are doing right now. They are so far ahead of the curve, it is almost unfair to every other show.

Seeing Teddy Perkins at the Emmy’s was amazing, I will always remember this, and I'm so happy that a person I admire very much did something so cool and innovative at a major award sow last night. I know this isn't the first time, and it definitely won't be the last time, but my hat goes off to you once again Mr. Glover. You are a genius, and I am grateful that I get to enjoy all of your content. I cannot wait to see what you do next. But, this Teddy Perkins thing was a stroke of genius. I mean, wow.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He once played a computer in a play written by the Head Editor. At next year’s Emmys look for Ty to be rocking his Banana Jr 2000 cardboard box costume.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Childish Gambino Has Two New Songs for Our Summer Pleasure

Relax in a pool chair and take in the new tunes from Childish Gambino

Last night I was scrolling through Facebook and noticed that Donald Glover’s page had some new, very non interpretive pictures on it. The pictures were a colorful mish mash of neon, and they simply said, “Summertime” and “Summertime 2”. Needless to say, I was intrigued. Last time he did something like this, he dropped “This is America” under his rap pseudonym, Childish Gambino. You all know how much I adore, and how much that song and, more importantly, that video, affected me. So, I was hoping this would be some new songs.

Well, when I clicked the URL, much to my enjoyment, it was 2 brand new Childish Gambino songs. I was stoked. I had just gotten home from working out, cleaned up, and was greeted by this wonderful news while playing on my phone. I immediately listened to both songs at full volume. And, once again, Glover absolutely nailed it. I mean, this dude is so talented, it is almost unfair. He can pretty much do it all.

It needs to be said, both these songs don’t have the same political and of the moment feel of “This is America”. That song is its own thing, as it should be. These 2 new songs are breezy and cool and mellow. The first version, “Summertime”, is a cool, faster paced R&B song. It is such a fitting summer song. It has mellow, yet sped up instrumentals. Glover goes a bit lower with his voice on this track too. He also does, a very little bit, of rapping on this song. I was immediately on board. I love the change he has taken with his music. When he started out, he was straight forward rap. But now, he seems to be a full fledged R&B dude. He really showed that he could do this music on the incredible “Awaken My Love”, and he seems to have really found his groove.

Needless to say, after listening to the first song, I had high hopes for the second track. It did not disappoint. Glover slows things down on this song, and I love that about this song. It is an R&B song through and through. From the opening bar to the final noise of an instrument, it is like listening to old Earth Wind and Fire or, dare I say, Barry White. I like the first new song, I LOVE the second version. It is so wonderful. I immediately played them both for my wife, and even she was impressed. She’s not a big Gambino fan, but she does like the newer stuff he is doing. She likes R&B, so she was on board. I just get more and more impressed with all the stuff he does. He cannot do wrong right now. He is on an incredible hot streak, and he is striking while the iron is burning.

I highly recommend checking out these 2 new songs. They will be, or at least should be, played endlessly for the rest of summer on the radio. Childish Gambino, you’ve done it again. Maybe this means you aren’t giving up music just yet. One can hope. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He usually does not click on the links in Facebook. He wants Zuckerberg to have to guess what Ty likes.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

"This is America" is What America Needs to See

Take a long look

Before I start, watch "This is America" by Childish Gambino.

I have now watched Donald Glover's, AKA Childish Gambino's, newest video, "This is America" about 2 dozen times. I'm not here to critique it, say what I think it is about, or anything like that. I'm here to praise Donald Glover as an artist, and talk about how I think this video is going to go down as one of the most important pieces of art to ever be made. I feel like my kids will be taught things from, and about, this video when they are in high school and college.

For those that don't know, Glover put this video out last Saturday night, when he was hosting "SNL" in fact, and it has been all over social media since then. Many people have given their own thoughts and takes on the video. I have done multiple deep dives on YouTube and other sites just to see all the things I missed, or didn't understand. I am officially obsessed with the music video. Now, the song is just as important, but this video is a masterpiece. The song calls out other rappers for bragging about all the guns and material things that they have acquired due to their fame. But, when put to a music video, it speaks volumes. I do have to say, for the faint of heart, this is a disturbing video. Some horrific things happen, but in this day in age, when it is so hard to shock anyone, this video does just that.

I know I said I wasn't going to interpret anything, but I do have to say, my biggest takeaway from the video is that the U.S. is way, way too obsessed with guns. And Glover puts that front and center. The video opens with Glover dancing, an older gentleman sitting down to play acoustic guitar, then Glover pulls a pistol out of his pocket and shoots this man in the back of the head. It is so unexpected, they show the blood and it hooks you. I couldn't look away after seeing this gruesome act because I wanted to see where he and his director, the awesome, and very underrated Hiro Murai, went from there.

After Glover does the unspeakable act of shooting someone, he begins to dance more and starts rapping the song. The lyrics are simplistic, but they speak volumes. The main gist is, "this is America/don't catch you slippin/ look what I'm whippin". He also says certain things that have stuck with me like, "I got the strap/I've got to carry", or the chorus that is a group of people singing, "tell somebody/you gonna tell somebody/get your money/black man". I mean, that is poetry, and speaks to the culture we live in right now.

Back to the video. After the crazy opening, if all you look at is Glover, you see him and some younger kids doing popular dances. It is almost fun, until you realize they are mocking modern rappers. It then takes on a whole new meaning when you look at it through that lens. But, after the many deep dives I took, you start to see some crazy things going on in the background. Death is represented as a white horse being ridden by a man with a black hood, and everyone scatters when they see it, except the police. There is also a person that commits suicide by jumping off a high rise in the background. We also see some random people wearing eerie masks in the background, all on their phones for some unknown reason. Glover, once again, pulls a machine gun on a choir singing with him, then hands the gun off to someone else to dust it for prints. All while this is going on, Glover and the young dancers remained unharmed. Then, in a silent moment of the song and video, Glover pulls out a joint, lights it up and takes a few puffs. He then jumps on a very old, beat up car and starts to groove again. That was another thing I found out, if you look at all the cars in the video, none of them are new. Apparently he did this on purpose, once again to mock these newer rappers who think all that matters is shiny, new expensive cars. After the dancing on the cars stops, the video cuts to black, and only now do we see Glover finally being chased, presumably by the police. The reason he is being chased you may ask? He was smoking a joint. The guns, the suicide, the dusting of prints, none of that mattered. It was marijuana that finally catches up to him. It is insane.

This video is a work of art. As I said at the top, this needs to be shown in schools as to how dangerous we have become as a society. We are gun obsessed, and it is a real big problem. This video and song also makes Glover the most influential and important rapper out there right now. No one else comes close. Jay Z isn't rapping anymore. Kanye West is certifiably insane. Chance the Rapper is sticking up for West for some reason. Drake only raps about girls. And these new guys, the Post Malone's of the world, are a joke. They give rap music a bad name. Glover, or Gambino, is doing everything right and he deserves all the accolades he is getting for putting this video out. It will go down in history as a very important piece as to what we were like in the early 21st century. I will never forget this video. I will also continue to watch it. I will tell more people to watch it. I will do even deeper internet dives. This is masterful work.

Donald Glover is a genius, and "This is America" only further hammers that point home. Go watch the video now, then watch it a second, third, fourth and fifth time. Then, watch it 10 more times after that. It is disturbing, gory, important, provocative and amazing. What a gem.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty Watches "Atlanta" Season 2 Premiere

"Atlanta" returned for its second season last Thursday. I have been hyped for this for a year and a half now. As you all know, I adore this show. It was my show of the year 2 years ago. Donald Glover is a genius. The people working with him on "Atlanta" are all geniuses as well. This show is just perfect.

I sat down Thursday night and watched in awe of how great this show continues to be. I, of course, have seen all the commercials and trailers leading up to its second season, titled "Robbin Season". I was anticipating greatness and the season 2 premiere did not disappoint.

The episode started out with 2 random guys just chit chatting about some stuff. They were younger kids, one was playing video games, and they seemed to be talking business. They then traveled to a fast food restaurant and proceeded to rob it. It was crazy. It was one of the better action sequences I have seen, be it in movies or TV. The shoot out, which was tough to watch considering what has happened in America recently, was anxiety ridden and very well shot. As the one who jumped in the restaurant and robbed the registered got into the getaway car, the restaurant worker proceeded to follow and shoot more. Then the car stops and a girl gets out of the car and starts to scream and sob because she has been shot. It was scary, heartbreaking, well shot, well acted and just perfect. And all of this happened in a span of about 3 minutes. It was an amazing start to a new season.

After all this happens we cut to see that Earn (Donald Glover) is sleeping in a storage unit. That is how far he has fallen. The storage unit owner tells him he has a few days to get out and takes some of his stuff. Earn tells him he can't do that, that he has time to leave and the manager/owner tells him, "I have seen "Storage Wars", and this isn't "Storage Wars". It was perfect. Earn then makes his way to Paper Boi's (Brian Tyree Henry) house. He is greeted by Darius (Lakeith Stanfield) who seems to not be in a very good mood. Earn asks them what's up, and Paper Boi says that he is on house arrest, so he isn't going anywhere, and Darius will not speak to him. Some clutter happens on the phone and Paper Boi asks Earn to go to his Uncle's house and help him out. Earn doesn't have a car, so he asks Darius to give him a ride. They proceed to leave and get in the car. While driving, Darius is listening to some crazy heavy metal music. Earn starts to question him about what is going on between him and Paper Boi. Darius turns the music down and tells him it isn't his business. Darius then asks about Earn's parents and he says that they are in Florida.

This leads to Darius telling us one of the best written stories I have ever heard on TV about someone called "Florida Man". This story was insane and hilarious all at once. "Florida Man" is a mythical figure that does some horrible, awful and gruesome things, all in the name of suppressing the black vote in the state of Florida. It was truly an astonishing moment for TV. It was spectacular.

We finally get to the Uncle's house and are thrown into a whole domestic situation. Now, the Uncle is played by Katt Williams, and he is/was absolutely amazing in this role. He is stripped down from his normal frantic behavior on stage, which I love, and he plays this role with soft spoken craziness. He is known around town as the "Alligator Man". They call him this because he keeps an alligator in his bathroom at his home. He is fighting with a lady that he has over from time to time, and she has locked herself in a bedroom. Earn comes over to clean all this up because Paper Boi asked him too. Darius was going to stay in the car, but he said he wanted to go in because "this house has crazy vibes right now". I love Darius on this show. Lakeith Stanfield is doing something truly wonderful with this role. Anyway, Earn and his Uncle get into it because the cops show up, and Earn is on probation so he cannot get in more trouble. They fight and yell at each other and it gets to the point where Earn tells his Uncle that he doesn't want to be like him. They both calm down, and have a conversation in another room. Earn's Uncle tells him about the music business and gives him a gold gun, telling him he needs to have it. Earn then leaves, tells the cops he couldn't get him out and starts toward Darius' car. Oh, Darius has left the house because it now has "getting put in jail vibes". Tremendous.

When Earn is walking toward the car, we get some slow motion and Earn turns to see that his Uncle has let the gator out. It was such a weird and wild and awesome scene. I loved it. The camera turns to show Earn's Uncle running away from the back door, still in his house shoes and robe.

The episode finished with Earn and Darius back at Paper Boi's house. The tension between Darius and Paper Boi is done the moment he offers him some weed. I love that about this show. A beef is squashed so easily, and that is how it usually happens in real life. Earn then shows them the gun, they all laugh at him and he then says he is leaving and walks out the door into the cold night.

This premiere episode was everything I wanted and so, so much more. I am so very excited to see where this season goes from here. "Atlanta" is, by far, the best show on TV right now and it is my favorite show. People, if you aren't watching this show, start now. I promise you will love it. "Atlanta" is a real gem and it is a show that will go down as a classic. This Thursday cannot come fast enough. I am so excited to watch.

Ty

The SeedSing 2016 Year in Pop Culture: The Best, and Worst, in Music

My best of list today will be my top 5 albums of 2016. There was some good music put out this year, but honestly, this was probably the easiest list for me to make. When certain people announced they were putting out new records, I hoped for the best, and for the most part, they all delivered. Lets get to it.

At number 5, I have Frank Ocean's "Blonde". This record was tremendous. The wait was totally worth it. After Ocean put out the phenomenal "Channel Orange", he waited almost 2 and a half years before releasing "Blonde". The wait seemed like it would go on forever. The rumors never stopped, especially after he performed on "SNL", that a new record was in the works, and it would be coming soon. But they never seemed to develop. Then on some random Friday, Ocean announced that he had released his record on social media. I bought it immediately and listened to it right after it downloaded, and it was great. It was a perfect blend of R&B/rap/funk and the weirdness that is Frank Ocean. His voice is tremendous on the record. His switching back and forth between singing and rapping is totally on point. The guests on this record are second to none. Andre 3000's verse is one of the dopest things I've heard in years. "Blonde" is one of the first records that I can remember being worth the wait. Ocean is a super star now, and it is because of the success of "Blonde".

At number 4, I have Chance the Rapper's "Coloring Book". This is one of the most uplifting rap records I have ever heard. Chance the Rapper is a shining light in the music industry right now. He is clearly someone that does it for the love of music, not the fame, money or recognition. Every record he releases, he releases them for free. "Coloring Book" was first put on Apple Music only, but there were many other ways to download the record for free, instantly. Every song on the album has his perfect rap presence on it, but his singing is also really good. Take a song like "Blessings". The chorus is great, and Chance's verses are really good, but his singing on the song is just as good as anything else he does. He too has really blown up recently, due to "SNL" and the fact that he is the Kit Kat spokesman now, but he is one of the better rappers doing music right now. The record has straight forward rap songs, but there are some good R&B songs and some, I almost want to say, gospel type songs. "Coloring Book" is a revelation, and Chance the Rapper is on his way to the top. Go get this record now. It is free and it is awesome.

At number 3, I have my all time favorite rap group's newest record, A Tribe Called Quest's "We Got it From Here...Thank You 4 Your Service". This was a much needed record. After it was announced that Phife Dawg passed away, RIP, the remaining members announced that they were putting out a record of original material. They had some of Phife's vocals still recorded, and they made new songs with what they had, and the material was incredible. The album finds the band with a more politically conscious sound than ever, and it suits them incredibly well. They have great voices, and with what is going on in the world now, we needed to get their thoughts. Q-Tip slays on every song on the record. Ali Shaheed Mohammed is right there with the beats and the one liners that he is the master of. Even Jarobi shows up and does some nice things. Then, we get Phife. Man was he the best of the best. His verses were so great. Hearing him one more time on record was so god damn satisfying. I still miss the hell out of him, but at least I will always have his voice on records, and "WGIFH...TY4YS", he is wonderful. The guest list on this record is better than what Frank Ocean has in "Blonde". Andre 3000 is on this record, so is Jack White and the reemergence of Busta Rhymes. Busta Rhymes is a beast and he sounds dynamite on this record. I hope this means he is contemplating a comeback, because I'd love some new music from him. ATCQ is back, and this new album is awesome. Thank you for releasing it. We as a nation needed this right now.

At number 2, I have the new funk record from Childish Gambino, "Awaken! My Love". This album is incredible, unique, weird and awesome. It is as if Parliament came back and recorded a record for the 21st century. Along with making great TV, i.e. "Atlanta", Donald Glover also released one of the best albums of the year. I have been listening to this record almost nonstop for the past month or so. I love every track on this album. Glover goes totally off script and, instead of releasing a new rap record, he delivers a straight up funk record, and it is incredible. His voice is so tremendous. He hits some crazy high notes that I had no idea he could hit. From the opener, "Me and Your Mama", which is a great blend of funk and rock, to songs like "Boogieman", "Zombies", "California" and "Baby Boy", which are all straight up funk, the album is a homerun. The song "Redbone" may be the track of the year. Glover is tremendous on this song, and his band sounds phenomenal. The chorus may be my anthem for the crap fest that has been 2016. Glover sings, "stay woke/they be creepin/they gon find you/gon catch you sleeping". I mean, that is pretty poetic and prophetic for the state of our country. "Awaken! My Love" is a triumph, and further proves that Donald Glover is the most talented person in show business. I have mentioned him everyday in all my lists so far, so he must be doing something right. This record is incredible, and I cannot wait to see what he does next in TV, movies, but most importantly for me, music. I'm sure it will be awesome.

This all brings me to my number one record of the year, "Run The Jewels 3" by, Run The Jewels. I know this album has only been out for 3 days, but damn it is the shit. The band surprised released the record on Christmas at midnight, and as they would say, "it was a Christmas f&*(ing miracle". I have not stopped listening to the album for the past three days. When I go on runs at night, this record gets me through the 3 miles. When I clean the house, this is what I'm putting on my Echo or headphones. When I'm driving in my car, and my kids are not present, this is what I'm cranking. The record is dope, and this, more than any piece of pop culture this year, is exactly what I, and a bunch of other people need to get through these trying times. EL-P and Killer Mike take on the establishment in every track, and they take it down. These dudes are the voice for the downtrodden and they make me want to start a revolution. I would go to war with these dudes, especially Killer Mike. This record makes me want to accomplish things to take down the current state of the government. This record makes me have visceral responses. I will just yell random things, to no one in particular, when listening to this dope ass album. "RTJ3" is an absolute triumph, and RTJ themselves are the best rappers making music right now. EL-P and Killer Mike are phenomenal. They basically crashed the internet when they surprised announced that they were releasing this record early. I do not care that it has only been out for 3 days, it is the best record of 2016, and it will probably be better than anything put out in 2017. It is a god damn masterpiece. I'm getting fired up just writing about how much I love this record right now. Buy it immediately, if you do not already have it. It is the bomb diggity.

As far as the worst record of the year goes, anything that Drake puts out is always garbage, and the Macklemore record, which I have not heard one song of, I guarantee it is a joke of an album. Drake is an overrated, bandwagon fan, and a wannabe. His rhyming is garbage. His voice is garbage. His beats stink. I'd rather listen to anyone from the early 90's rap than listen to any piece of trash that Drake releases. He is, by far, the most overrated emcee of all time. Then there is Macklemore. Talk about a poseur. This dude and his DJ are fake rappers and Macklemore is the leader of this fake ass sound. He is just as bad as Drake, and he thinks he is "rapping" about important issues, and that he alone is bringing this stuff to light. Macklemore is garbage, and his 15 minutes of fame were done a long, long time ago. Do not listen to anything by these 2 guys because they are both equally terrible.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for my best and worst sports moments of 2016.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. His dislike of Drake goes back to the Degrassi days. Jimmy Brooks was the worst. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The SeedSing 2016 Year in Pop Culture: Best, and Worst, in Television

This week marks the week of my "Best Of"' lists. I will do TV, movies, music, podcasts and sports moments.

Right off the bat though, 2016 has been a pain in the ass. This is one of the worst years possibly in the history of the world. We have lost so many great people, George Michael even passed last night, I mean, Jesus Christ, we have lost some legends. There is also the terrible, horrible, dreadful election that we have spoken so much of on the site and podcast. The weather, at least here in Saint Louis, has been a nightmare. To make a long story short, 2016 has stunk. This is my generations "great depression", or World War or any other bad thing you want to say. It has been a horrific year.

But, some good, maybe, possibly, even great things have come out this year, and that is what I'm going to be talking about the next 5 days. So, even though I have laid out how shitty 2016 has been, I do have some "Best Of" stuff to get to. I will also throw in one thing on each list I thought was terrible as well, but today comes my top 5 TV shows of the year. I will count down from 5-1 on each list.

So, here we go.

At number 5, I have "Horace and Pete". This show came from nowhere. Louis C.K. had been working on it for some time, and put out every episode on his site on a random Saturday in the middle of the summer. It was an odd time to put out a show, but would you expect anything different from a genius like C.K.? But, getting to what made this show so great, it was so very different from anything C.K. has been doing. It was dark and very depressing. Sure, there were some funny moments, but there was way, way more dark and deep moments. C.K. shined on the show, but so did Steven Buscemi, Alan Alda, Edie Falco and every patron at the bar, especially Steven Wright. The show was shot like a play, which I enjoyed very much. It was unique, it was ground breaking, in its own way and it had Louis C.K.'s imprint all over it. I'm sure it will be on Netflix or some other streaming device, but I recommend buying it on his site. It is only 20 or 30 bucks for the whole series, and you will never forget the greatness that you will see when watching "Horace and Pete". I still can't shake the ending, and to me, that is the sign of a great show.

At number 4, I get a little lighter with, "People of Earth". I had heard very little about this show leading to its build up, but I knew Wyatt Cenac was the star, and I'm a big fan of his. So, I recorded the premiere, which was on Halloween, and waited until 3 or 4 episodes had recorded. I watched all 3 or 4 in one sitting and was immediately hooked. The show has a very easy plot to understand. A group of people calling themselves "Experiencers" get together every week to talk about the time that they were abducted by aliens. In each episode you get to see the people getting abducted, and what they each went through during their experiences. But, there is so much more to this show than just some UFO, alien stuff. The show is very funny. I laughed out loud at parts. There were episodes that were moving and heartfelt. Cenac is a star in this role. Ana Gasteyer is equally as good. The rest of the cast does great in their roles to. The best part though is the aliens. The interactions and things that go on on the ship are great. The creators do not treat the aliens like monsters. Sure, they look like aliens, but they have squabbles and get into petty fights just like anyone else at their respective job does. Like I said, the show did not get the coverage it deserved on the lead up, but the show is great, and it is coming back in 2017 for a second season, which makes me very happy.

At number 3, I have "Luke Cage". This show kicks ass people. I watched it not because it is a superhero show, but because Ali Shaheed Muhammed, from ATCQ, did all the original music for it. But, in watching it for the music, I fell in love with the show. When my wife asked me why I was enjoying it so much, I told her it is like "The Wire", which may be the greatest television show ever, but with superheroes, and it is easier to follow the story. When "The Wire" would go deep into cop talk, sometimes they would lose me, that never happens in "Luke Cage". It was easy for me to follow everything, and I loved that about this show. Mike Colter is excellent as Luke Cage, but everyone else on the show, be it Theo Rossi, Alfre Woodard, Rosario Dawson, Masherala Ali, or anyone else in the cast, they are all stars. The show is dark and violent, but it is also incredible. I love Luke Cage's powers, I love his "origin" story, I loved watching the fight scenes, I loved everything about this show. They even had big time musical guest stars, people like Charles Bradley, Rapheal Saadiq and Sharon Jones, RIP, show up in some episodes. "Luke Cage" is the second best Netflix Original that I have seen. People need to watch it, even if you are not a "superhero" person.

The reason "Luke Cage" is the second best Netflix show leads me to my number 2 show of 2016, "Stranger Things". Honestly, has there been a recent show that has been more talked about on social media than "Stranger Things". The crazy thing about it, none of the talk was negative. I cannot find one person that does not think this show is awesome. I was skeptical at first when I heard it was a cross between "E.T." and the "X-Files", but as I watched, I found it to be a bit more like "Goonies" and "The X-Files", both of which I love. The kids on this show are wonderful. They are the true stars that are the heart and soul of what makes "Stranger Things" so good. But, the adults, mainly Winona Ryder, are just as good. They have to live in this crazy world that the Duffer Brothers created as well, and they do a phenomenal job on the show. This show kind of had it all. There were love stories, comedy, action, family drama, regular drama, monsters, aliens, weird old scientist guys, but above all else, the best Sci Fi since "Blade Runner". I do not want to give anything away in case there are one or two people that have not seen "Stranger Things", but damn is this show great. The best part is the kids, and that goes double for Millie Bobby Brown, who plays 11. Seriously, if you haven't seen "Stranger Things" yet, first, what the hell is wrong with you, but second, go watch it right now, and thank me later. This show is a true gem.

Finally, my number one show of 2016, "Atlanta". Did you really think I'd pick something else? I've been talking up this show since I saw the first trailer for it, and not only did it deliver on my expectations, but it exceeded them by a thousand miles. There hasn't been a show this original and unique on TV in quite some time. The time and effort that went into "Atlanta" paid off so much. The show was moving, funny, heartfelt, treated every character as if they were the main character, gave us some great newish actors and actresses to love and proved that Donald Glover is one of the best, and most innovative, people working in show business right now. This show had everything. All the episodes were all home runs. The show paid off and, as I have already stated, exceeded everyone's wildest dreams. Every episode with Paper Boi was excellent. Zazie Beets, who played Earn's baby's mother, was tremendous in her solo episode. When Earn and her go to her mother's party, another fantastic 30 minutes of television. But, the best episode of the season was when they had the "BET" type talk show that even included some commercials that Glover and staff made up themselves. This was the most original thing that has been on TV in over a decade. "Atlanta" was head and shoulders above any other TV show on this year, and we did have some decent TV this year. "Atlanta" was the best though, and it wasn't even close.

As far as my one bad TV show of the year goes, it cannot be anything other than "The Walking Dead". I hammeredlast season's finale, and true to my word, I did not watch one single episode of this season, but my wife did, and she said it was excruciatingly boring. They even killed off some "main" characters, but when she told me who they were, my response was something along the lines of "Who?", or "I don't even know who you are talking about". I do not care about Negan, I think the show did all it could in about 2 seasons, but now, they are scraping the barrel. People crushed "The Office" for going on too long, including me, so why doesn't everyone do the same for "The Walking Dead"? I don't get it, but from what I gathered, it was probably the worst show of the year.

That is it for today, come back tomorrow for my top 5 movies of 2016.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He picked no network tv shows because he is under the age of 60 and does not wathc network television. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty Listens to Childish Gambino's "Awaken, My Love!"

Last Friday, December 2nd, Childish Gambino released his third album, "Awaken, My Love!".

I adore this record.

For those that do not know, Childish Gambino is Donald Glover's alter rap ego. Glover is an actor, comedian, creator, writer, director, and rapper. He is one of the most talented performers working today. I became aware of his rapping about 7 years ago. He was deep in his run on "Community", and I had heard rumblings that he was going to put out a record, and had some mixtapes that were floating around the internet. I was intrigued. I first thought it was going to be jokey rap, a la The Lonely Island, but I could not have been more wrong. I listened to some of the mixtapes and tracks he released before his first album, and they were very good.

When he released his debut album, "Camp", I was blown away. This was a full-fledged rap record. It was not jokey or goofy in any way. It was a straight up rap album, and it was good. Glover proved that he was a very good, sometimes great, rapper. I loved this first album. I was surprised, but in a very good way.

Then, a few years later, he released his second record, "Because the Internet". This was a departure from "Camp", but I found myself enjoying it just as much, just in a different way. "Because the Internet" showed Glover taking more, spacier chances. The record had longer instrumentals, which I like. Glover also talked primarily about how social media, and other things that are on the internet, are more problematic than they are good. I thought it was a very good second step. He showed his fans that he could do something different, but still be easy to digest. The guest list on "Because the Internet" was made great simply by putting Chance the Rapper on some tracks.

Glover took a long time away from music after "Because the Internet". "Community" was done, but he was acting and developing his phenomenal new show, "Atlanta". He had other things on his mind, and those other things were all great. I missed his music, but the stuff he was doing made it not as bad as I thought it would.

Pretty much right after the first season of "Atlanta" had its season finale, which I cannot say enough great things about, it is the best new show on TV, Glover announced he had a new record coming out. I was stoked. I listened to the early release of some of the songs, and I was even more intrigued. It sounded way different than anything else he had done previously. The songs were not rap songs, but more so in the funk genre. Needless to say, I purchased the album the morning it came out, and I have listened to it almost as much as I have listened to the new Tribe record.

"Awaken, My Love!" is tremendous. Like I said, it is so much different from his other stuff. The opening track has a 2-minute instrumental intro, with very little singing, and then Glover comes in and basically sings a rock song. It is wonderful. Glover, who I will refer to as Gambino for the rest of this piece, proves that he can sing, as well as rap. I love his vocals on this track. "Have Some Love" is a straight up Parliament song. George Clinton himself probably wishes he wrote this track. It is so, so good. The song is so funky and groovy, and Gambino sounds like Clinton, and the band sounds like Parliament. We get another great funk song, "Boogieman". The song has a creepy groove, and Gambino sings it with almost a Dracula-ish voice. It is tremendous. The album only gets better from there. Some other notable tracks are "Redbone", "California" and "Stand Tall". "Redbone" is probably the best song on the whole record. It is the best put together, it sonically sounds the best, the lyrics are great and poignant and Gambino is perfect on this song. It is the true standout on an album filled with great songs. "California" is a weird, groovy, funky and, at times, Gambino's first "silly" song. The lyrics talk about a lady that wants to move to California, and Gambino tells of all the ills that could come her way if she does. The beat and the instrumentation are awesome. The closing track, "Standing Tall", is a perfect ending to this new Gambino sound. The lyrics, instruments, sound, everything about this song are perfect. "Standing Tall" closes out the record excellently. 

After 6 or 7 fully listened through times, "Awaken, My Love!", reminds me of a mix between Parliament, Saul Williams and Andre 3000, from "The Love Below". This album is an incredible departure from what we, the fans, have come to expect from Childish Gambino. I truly do not know of any single performer/artist that is doing the wonderful, challenging and different things that Childish Gambino/Donald Glover is doing right now, and "Awaken, My Love!", is one of the best things he has done in a year that has seen him do some great things. This album is one of the good things to happen in 2016. I hope Childish Gambino continues to push the envelope and try new and odd things as a musician. But, with that being said, go out and buy this album right now, it is awesome.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He feels like we lost a lot of great musicians in 2016, but we have gained some great music in the last part of the year. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty Watches "Atlanta" Series Premiere

Last night the TV show "Atlanta" premiered. I have been looking forward to this show for some time now. I'm a big, big Donald Glover fan, and when he went into social media silence, stopped making music and left the show "Community", I had no idea what he would do next. He put out a new album a little while after leaving "Community".

That album, "Because the Internet", was great, but it was also a sign that he was going to go into "hiding", if you will. The album talked about the problems with social media, and how bad this stuff can truly get. After that album was out for awhile, Glover was still on Twitter and Instagram, but he shut that down pretty quick. It was a bit frustrating because I wanted to know if he was going to make more music. I love his music. He is an excellent rapper.

I came to find out a little later, a month or two after his media silence, that he was working on a new TV show. But, that was all that was said. No one, except for those close to Glover, knew what the show was going to be. I assumed it was going to be comedy, because he is a very good comedic actor and standup. I actually kind of hoped this new show would meld his music and comedy. But, as I said, no one knew. The people involved with the show did a very good, in fact great, job of keeping the plot and stars and everything quiet about this new project.

About 2 or 3 months ago, commercials for this new show "Atlanta" started to show up on FXX while I was watching "The Simpsons". I first saw Glover, so I got very excited. I thought, like most commercials for new shows, they would let the viewing audience know what the plot was going to be. We would find out what this secret project was finally about. Well, the opposite happened, and it was on purpose. The commercials, that seemed to appear endlessly, made me want to watch the show even more, giving away nothing. The only thing I could glean from the commercials was the fact that Glover was the star, and he had a baby, a girl and a couple of friends. Oh, and the show takes place in Atlanta, obviously. The commercials were actually pretty cool. Some were shot and played in reverse. There is one commercial that has Glover walking out of a house, but it is all done in reverse. It was trippy, weird and awesome. They also had "regular" commercials, but with Glover's spin. They would show Glover's character talking, but they'd switch to a different scene, then another scene, but not to be outdone, they'd show you one more thing that was different. I could not get a grasp on what this show would be about.

A week ago, I was tempted to read a review from an entertainment magazine, but when they got into the meat of the review, and started to reveal things, I stopped reading. I decided that I wanted to see it for myself, with no spoilers. So, after I got home from my Tuesday night basketball, I showered and decided it was time to watch the premiere. There were 2 new episodes last night. I finally got a glimpse of what the show is going to be about.

In "Atlanta", Glover plays a down on his luck screw up named Earnie. He also has a cousin that goes by the name of Paper Boi, that is an up and coming rapper in the music scene in Atlanta. Glover, as I stated above, has a girl, with whom he has a baby with, but they are not a couple. He just occasionally lives with her and his child. Earnie's parents won't hang with him, his cousin is weary of him, his baby's mother does not want to give him the time of day. He is a loner, looking for something to make his life important. When his cousin has a song that is getting talked about via social media, Earnie decides that he wants to be his manager. At first, everyone thinks this is a bad idea, but Earnie won't quit. His father even tells Paper Boi, "Earnie is a hard worker, but he is going to do things on his own terms. By any means necessary". This lets Paper Boi know all he needs to know, and he is on board with letting Earnie be his manager.

There is a whole bunch of other stuff that happened in the 2 part premiere. There is a shooting incident. There is a great through line in the second episode in a holding area of a jail. There are great, short bursts of comedy throughout. Glover has done a show on his own terms, and it is wonderful. The premiere more than lived up to the hype for me. I cannot wait to watch more of "Atlanta".

This is a very new idea in an age of remakes and reboots. Glover has a totally original idea, and it is an absolute home run. And for the people out there that are mad and upset with the fact that Glover has left comedy and music for awhile, calm down. He is giving us this great, one of a kind new show and it is awesome. Go watch "Atlanta" right now. This show is going to be great for years to come, as long as Glover keeps his stamp on it. I really, really like this show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Check out all the other shows that Ty watches. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Greatest Television Ever: NBC Thursday Night Comedy

In the coming weeks and months, we at SeedSing will be doing our favorite TV shows. It will be a lot like our greatest American band debate, each week picking a show or a season or just particular moments from TV shows that we enjoy.

I'm going to kick it off today by talking about one of my favorite two hour blocks of TV on NBC. There was a time that the Thursday night line up on NBC had four of the best sitcoms that I've ever seen. It was epic, must watch TV for me and any other fan of comedic television. The four shows they trotted out were "30 Rock", "The Office", "Community" and "Parks and Recreation". Talk about a murderers row of great, great TV. These four sitcoms are all in my personal top ten of TV shows. I love these shows and I love them all for different reasons.

First we'd get "30 Rock". This show is one of the all time greats. Tina Fey is a genius. Her writing and acting are beyond genius. She's on a whole different level from any other sitcom writer I've ever seen. She is a legend. But, it wasn't just Tina Fey that made that show great. We got Tracy Morgan, Jane Krawkowski, Jack McBrayer and, of course, Alec Baldwin. Tina Fey basically revived both Morgan's and Baldwin's career with their roles on this show. And they were both fantastic. Any episode that revolved around Morgan's character, Tracy Jordan, was so hilarious and so well written. Anytime he interacted with McBrayer, or Grizz and Dot Com or with Liz Lemon or Jack Donaghy was great. Morgan's first appearance on the show, naked, except for underwear, freaking out on the highway, waving around a fake light saber, was a perfect introduction to his character. And when he tries to get the EGOT, that was a great run of episodes. Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy was the perfect representation of the arrogant, yet idiotic studio head that has no clue how to run a network. He was so great on this show. Two of my favorite lines spoken on a sitcom were said by him. The first, Liz asks him why he's dressed so nicely and he says, "it's after six, what am I, a farmer?", loved it. The only line I like better is when Donaghy is talking about his hard working father and he says, "he worked the day shift at the graveyard and the graveyard shift at the Days Inn", that is exquisite writing. I love "30 Rock" and I could go on forever about it, but I need to talk about the other three shows.

After "30 Rock", we got "The Office". This is my second favorite show of all time, behind only "The Simpsons". When this show was great, it was the best thing on TV. Seasons 1-4 of "The Office" is some of the best TV that's ever been aired. We got three phenomenal episodes in those first four seasons. In season one they had the episode where the sales team challenged the warehouse workers to a game of basketball. It was so good. Michael Scott(Steve Carrell) warming up and then playing basketball is so god damn funny. I love that episode. Season two gave us "The Dundies". That was the award show that they had for the employees of Dunder Mifflin. It was cringe worthy comedy, with Michael Scott and Dwight Schrute(Rainn Wilson), emceeing this train wreck. It was so funny and it was the first time that Jim(John Krasinski) and Pam(Jenna Fischer) kissed. This episode is great. The best episode of "The Office" came in season four. The episode titled, "Dinner Party", is the most uncomfortable 44 minutes of brilliant comedy ever written. Michael and Jan(Melora Hardin) constantly fighting while they have four employees over to their condo is so good, yet so uncomfortable. I still love this episode to this day. It is excellent comedy. I adore "The Office" and it will always hold a special place in my heart. It is the second greatest show of all time, in my personal opinion.

Then, we got the weird, off the wall, bizarre comedy, "Community". At first glance, I didn't think Id really like this show, but the more I watched it, the more I grew to love it and look forward to it every week. Joel McHale finally got his chance to be the lead role on a show and he did it so well. He is criminally underrated for his work on that show. But the other actors were just as good. Danny Pudi. Gillian Jacobs, Donald Glover, Jim Rash and Ken Jeong were great. Alison Brie and Yvette Nicole Brown were also really good. The only person I didn't really care for was Chevy Chase, but he's an asshole. I loved the off beat humor that Dan Harmon brought to major network TV with "Community". The show was an almost perfect representation of community college life. I could relate to the people because I ran into the exact same people in my almost two years of community college. There were athletes, nerds, regular joes, old people and good looking ladies that never got into a four year school, so they had to go to community college. Sure, "Community" is a glorified version of community college, but they made it relatable, especially when Dan Harmon was the main writer and show runner. They had ups and downs, but there were way more ups than downs when it comes to "Community". And yes, the paintball episodes are as good as the fans say they are. Go back and watch those and be amazed at how well "Community" was done. It's an underrated cult classic show.

NBC would close the night with probably my third all time favorite show, "Parks and Recreation". This show is a classic that only got better and better the more seasons it got. I loved the first season, but each season that followed was better than the last. This show was the exact representation of what it's like to work for a parks and recreation department. My sister in law, that works for Columbia's parks and rec department, even confirmed this. Ron Swanson(Nick Offerman) and Tom Haverford(Aziz Ansari) are real representations of people that take government jobs in parks and rec and just sail from there. They don't take their jobs seriously at all because it's not a serious job. They plan parties and races and community gatherings, not that tough of a job. Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope was the perfect post "SNL" role for her. She was so, so good on that show. She excelled. When shows bring new people on, it's usually a bad sign, but the additions of Rob Lowe, whom I've written about before, and Adam Scott made this show that much better. Rob Lowe, as the always upbeat and exercising Chris Traeger, was the perfect foil for Ron Swanson. and Adam Scott as Ben Wyatt, failed mayor and Leslie's love interest, was perfect. When these two showed up, "Parks and Rec" went to a whole new level. Chris Pratt, Retta, Aubrey Plaza and later on, Jon Glaser and Billy Eichner were also excellent on the show. I love every episode of "Parks and Rec", there isn't a bad one. If you haven't seen it and you're looking for a starting point, start at the end of season two, when Rob Lowe and Adam Scott show up, that's when the show went from good to great.

So, there you have the first entry in our greatest TV choices on SeedSing. I figured I'd come out of the gates strong, and this Thursday night lineup is a slam dunk. Come back for more TV later. I already am writing "The Simpsons" blog in my head now.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He desperately wanted to add "Andy Barker P.I." to his list, but then realized the show was no "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.