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Baseball is trying a dumb thing, NBA is trying a smart thing, NFL is trying nothing, and the children are leading the way. When the Pac-12 players released their unified statement, the run down for this week's show went into the garbage. But what came out was a much needed celebration of the power of collective action, the power of the voice of the players, and the power to leave the mark of real change on what ever comes next. #WeAreUnited

Guest: The Homie Mike

 



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P-Valley (a.k.a Pussy Valley) premiered July 12th on Starz with a whisper campaign already in progress. What many thought would be -at best- a higher class episodic version of the Player's Club was instead, a vividly nuanced world built on the Mississippi Delta region's nightlife and strip clubs wrapped in a crime-novel-worthy mystery. 

P-Valley is far more than just a look beyond the pole and into the dressing room. It's the slow burning - gorgeously lit - journey of women on a hustle to fund (or save) their own lives.  This show has LEVELS. Just as soon as one twists unravels there's a turn to keep it unpredictable. 

When Film Noir and Strip Culture Collide...

Creator and Showrunner Katori Hall (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical) assembled an all-women team of directors and writers to develop her stage play into a dynamic neon-drenched drama. P-Valley pours the moral ambiguity and cynicism of sex work into a gritty film noir mold. The end result is a intricate plot-driven by the titillating and traumatic (with a side of ambition) all set to a mood-altering blend of the blues and trap music. And with that decision, Delta Noir was born. With every reveal from inside The Pynk, the more riveting each club performer's subplot becomes.   

The Pynk 

The writer's room gave a subtle hat-tip to noir archetypes, like the girl-next-door, the femme fatale, and the good-bad girl crafting characters that subvert narrative expectations with a hefty dose of existential angst. The savvy story direction and spot-on casting infuses each character with trope-defying authenticity. The women of P-Valley are the living embodiment of "classy, bougie, ratchet, sassy, moody, and nasty" in the best and most savage of ways (Megan would be proud). 














These aren't, however, hollow caricatures as is often the case when a story centers Black women. The P-Valley writers built these women with depth. Each capable and fully embracing their agency.

Crafty writing shows them leveraging their personal power at work then juxtaposes those moments with the complicated personal lives each struggles with daily. Each theme-driven episode runs the gambit of family issues, domestic violence, colorism, racism, betrayal, and other oft mishandled issues festering within portrayals of the Black community. Hrere, every story arc's told with an eye always towards honesty and handled with a deft touch.

P-Valley constantly up-ends presumptions about what "kind" of woman dances for a living (and why). 

But, this Delta Noir set to destigmatize more than just stripping. Although it definitely accomplishes that with wit and gritty honesty. So, expect P-Valley to put subtly center body-positivity, addiction, PTSD, toxic mother-daughter dynamics right next to deconstructing masculinity, and embracing one's sexuality. The apologeticness of it all is gratifying.

Like In Any Good Noir Drama, Trouble Comes To The Delta... 

Life in a small town is never simple. And in Chucalissa, the same people throwing dollars until dawn at The Pynk on Saturday are seated in the pews of churches on Sunday. The hypocrisy is real. 

Club owner Uncle Clifford (Nathaniel Nicco Annan) needs revenue streams to ensure The Pynk survives. He's determined to preserve his family land and see his club thrive. So he plays the game. Clifford's (and The Pynk's) place in the community (and importance to the plot) is constantly evolving. Because thankfully, in P-Valley,

We're only three episodes away from the series finale of Agents of SHIELD. And technically we're only 2 away because the finale episode is always 2 episodes. When we say it out loud it makes us both sad and very, very afraid. It's sad that we're so close to the end of this great series. It's frightening because we can only imagine how this show is going to wrap everything up and the fate of these characters.

This episode proves that the "ripples not waves" rules are completely out of the window at this point. While the team stopped the majority of the Chronicoms, Sybil and Nathan (along with some choices made by the team itself) have clearly changed the timeline. The question then becomes, how does all this get wrapped up and what happens now? Also, where is Fitz and what has he done? We've gone 10 episodes without seeing  him and for a moment, this episode even makes us wonder if he's even alive. But Sybil seems to think he is and Simmons is clearly the key to finding him. 

We have some theories on what is going to happen next and Kriss seems to make a surprise promise that is years in the making (Of course he could just be trolling everyone).









 

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The Boundary Breaking Go-Go's 

Ro and Joi freely admit to liking documentaries. They're a great way to dip a toe in to messiness without the need to invite it into real life. Documentaries also provide an meaningful way to expand the elements of history to properly capture the zeitgeist of a decade. 

The latest entry in documenting music history on film is The Go-Go's from director Alison Ellwood (History of the Eagles). Ellwood gathered all the members of the ground-breaking girl group together for open honest discussion about their rise to fame. This group created an entire zeitgeist altogether. It's worth knowing about. 

The women were frank about their ambitions, honest about their missteps, and real about the challenges to breaking into the music scene. 

Respect the Game But Smashing the Mold 

Prepare for a rather comprehensive oral history. Ellwood's directorial style blends live interviews and archival footage to present a seamless look at the journey of a rock band. There's sex, drugs, grit, grime and glamour. 



(L-R): Charlotte Caffey, Gina Schock (drums), Belinda Carlisle, Kathy Valentine (bass, behind Belinda Carlisle's head), Jane Wiedlin. 1981. Photo credit: Cassy Cohen/Courtesy of SHOWTIME.



The Go-Go's hold the title as the first (and last) all female rock group to play their own instruments, sing original songs (that they wrote) to have a number one album. It doesn't take more than a downbeat to identify a song by The Go-Go's. Their style was distinct and trendsetting. Learning what it took to get them to the top and what toppled them reveals the strange chemistry likely at the heart of every successful group. 

Watching this band of badasses grow from punk devotees into stadium-filling rock stars was a wild and engaging ride. The pieces slowly fall into place as they grow into themselves (and out of the punk scene). Their coming of age crashed through the gates of the industry; swiftly dispelling the longstanding belief that 'girl bands don't sell records.' 

This clear-eyed look back chronicles a journey that's unparalleled in terms of success and unflinching (for the most part) in terms of confronting the band's weaknesses and egos. The darker side of fame, personal demons, and crushing schedules only touches on the subjects discussed. It's a raw look behind the curtain that informs, entertains and sends you away wondering: 

What exactly will it take to get The Go-Go's into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? 

"The Go-Gos" premieres July 31 at 9 p.m. on Showtime. Listen as Ro and Joi's spoiler-free discussion about this documentary about a group that paved the way for generations of musicians. 





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Kriss is back with another episode of the Insanity Check to cover this month's dose of insanity in the world. This week he's joined by Jeff. There's a lot to talk about this month. We have Trump bragging about "passing" a cognitive test, we're finally getting death panels, the Feds crack down in Portland and so much more.

Topics:



* Trump brags about passing a cognitive but maybe we're all looking at this wrong

* Obama Promised, Trump Delivered: Death Panels

* The Department of Homeland Security shouldn't exist

* This Vet gets it

* DHS employees are apparently demoralized over what's happening in Portland

* DOD is worried about law enforcement using army uniforms. What could go wrong?

* Great Moments in White Privilege



* Tom Cotton and his very punchable face have an issue with the 1619 Project







Guest: Jeff - @JeffJSays - Pass the Message



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Fun show this week and we kick it all off with Sam Franco of the Mouths of the South Podcast to talk the comings and goings of Atlanta United's...does soccer use a king? Anyway, we tip our caps to the return of the WNBA, wait for MLB to fall apart, and hope against hope that the NBA bubble can survive Magic City wings.

Guest: Sam Franco - @samjfranco

 









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