Current:Home > MyWhat's Making Us Happy: A guide to your weekend viewing and listening -FundSphere
What's Making Us Happy: A guide to your weekend viewing and listening
View
Date:2025-04-17 12:57:26
This week, David Letterman paid a visit, Fargo returned, and another comedian returned to the same old material.
Here's what the NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour crew was paying attention to — and what you should check out this weekend.
"Farrah Fawcett Hair" by Capital Cities, ft. André 3000
"Farrah Fawcett Hair" by the electronic duo Capital Cities is almost a decade old and I'm just now discovering it. It's actually kind of timely because the song features André 3000 who just announced a new album of instrumental music. The song is just a list of random good stuff – like "how infants with baby breath yawn in your face" – with a killer saxophone break. It's kind of like if "We Didn't Start the Fire" was thematically coherent and actually a good song. This is a good song. You can dance to it. You can rock out to the saxophone break. It'll make your day. — Aisha Harris
Blue Eye Samurai, on Netflix
I really love Blue Eye Samurai on Netflix. It's an anime series made by a married couple, Michael Green and Amber Noizumi. It's set in the Edo period in Japan when the borders were closed to outsiders. It takes on these ideas about what it means to be mixed race, about immigration. All the voice actors are racially correct; all the little things that I've grown more and more passionate about in the last several years — this series honors them. Kenneth Branagh plays maybe the most evil character I have encountered in any medium for several years – he's so good as a voice actor. I just started watching the show and it's beautiful — I didn't expect to love it as much as I do. — Walter Chaw
Ghosts UK on CBS
Last week, as a companion to the delightful sitcom Ghosts, CBS started airing reruns of the U.K. sitcom Ghosts, which the U.S. version is based on. Ghosts is a very charming show in which a couple comes to own a big, spooky haunted mansion. After a near-death experience, the wife finds she can commune with the ghosts who occupy and haunt the property. Part of what is so delightful about these two shows is that while they share a basically identical premise, they are completely different characters. Each one has its own well-rounded set of foibles and powers and goofiness. I love the idea of networks and streaming services dipping into the waters of TV produced in other countries and sharing those shows with U.S. audiences. — Stephen Thompson
More recommendations from the Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter
by Linda Holmes
Slate's Joel Anderson, who hosted an entire excellent season of the Slow Burn podcast about the deaths of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls, wrote this week about the recent lawsuit against Sean Combs and why the allegations didn't surprise him. I strongly recommend the piece, which is thoughtful and, like the podcast season was, great at providing necessary context to a big story.
Mike Birbiglia has a new special on Netflix called The Old Man & The Pool. Like all his work, it's impeccably structured, very funny and very personal.
I've been watching a lot of old episodes of House, starring Hugh Laurie as the Sherlock Holmes-ish doctor who diagnoses different offbeat diseases every week. With the pretty major caveat that the show ran in the early aughts, and the misanthropic House's racism and sexism and other offensive comments would probably not make the cut today, it has certainly been a fascinating opportunity to see what a mystery/procedural show looks like when it's not about the police.
Beth Novey adapted the Pop Culture Happy Hour segment "What's Making Us Happy" for the Web. If you like these suggestions, consider signing up for our newsletter to get recommendations every week. And listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
veryGood! (99288)
Related
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- Why the average American family's net worth increased 37% during the pandemic
- Small-town Nebraska sheriff faces felony charge but prosecutors release few details about the case
- German soccer club Mainz suspends player for ‘unacceptable’ social media post about Israel-Hamas war
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- Chicago’s top cop says using police stations as short-term migrant housing is burden for department
- California tech CEO convicted in COVID-19 and allergy test fraud case sentenced to 8 years in prison
- Poland’s opposition parties open talks on a ruling coalition after winning the general election
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- Las Vegas Aces become first repeat WNBA champs in 21 years, beating Liberty 70-69 in Game 4
Ranking
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Sports parents are out of control and officials don't feel safe. Here's what's at risk
- Neymar’s next chapter is off to a difficult start as Ronaldo and Messi continue to lead the way
- The trees arrived with Polynesian voyagers. After Maui wildfire, there’s a chance to restore them
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- Three children died in a New Orleans house fire in a suspected triple homicide, police say
- Japan’s exports rise and imports decline in September as auto shipments to US and Europe climb
- Lobbyist gets 2 years in prison for Michigan marijuana bribery scheme
Recommendation
John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
Fugees rapper says lawyer’s use of AI helped tank his case, pushes for new trial
Alabama man wins $2.4 million after spending $5 on Florida lottery ticket
Starbucks, Workers United union sue each other in standoff over pro-Palestinian social media post
Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
US says initial independent review shows no evidence of bomb strike on Gaza hospital
In 'Killers of the Flower Moon,' Martin Scorsese crafts a gripping story of love, murder
Bella Hadid Packs on the PDA With Cowboy Adan Banuelos After Marc Kalman Breakup