Despite the short week, we had no trouble filling out the Friday Five this week. Whether you're looking for new music or planning to spend Sunday parked in front of your TV, we've got you covered!
Mac Miller Tiny Desk Concert
Three years ago this week, the music world tragically lost a budding superstar in 26-year old Mac Miller. A month before his passing, Mac visited the NPR offices for a Tiny Desk that remains one of our favorites to this day. It has been one of our go-to watches whenever we have needed a boost over the last few years, so we’ve just been waiting for the right time to add it to the Friday Five. This week, with all of the celebrations of Mac’s life on social media, felt like the right time. The short session makes it so abundantly clear how much he loved his music, as he had a blast the entire time, and really loved sharing it with other people. Entertainment value aside, it’s also just a really great, diverse musical performance. “What’s The Use” is such a groove in the middle of the set, and everyone has so much fun with it, before shifting gears to the absolutely heart-wrenching performance of “2009.” This “Tiny Desk” showed how much Mac had developed as a musician, and the range he had as an artist. He had so much left in front of him, and all his talents were on full display in this NPR set. Out of all the great music Mac Miller released in his short career, this might be what we return to the most.
Don’t Look Up Teaser
Leo. Jonah. Meryl. J-Law. All directed by Adam McKay, on a script written by the comedy legend himself. We couldn’t have been more in just based on the cast and collaboration, and then this week we finally got a teaser trailer from Netflix. We are still definitely in. While sadly it looks like we still have to wait a bit for a full trailer, even just the tiny glimpse at McKay’s star-studded feature has us antsy for its December release. After an impressive run dominating the comedy landscape, both with Saturday Night Live and features like Anchorman and Step Brothers, Adam McKay has become an Academy Award-level filmmaker, and it appears Don’t Look Up will just add to that resume. Meanwhile, the bonafides of actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Meryl Streep don’t need much introduction. And we are very excited to see what Jonah Hill manages to do with a supporting role that looks incredibly entertaining. We’re sure to get some big hits before December, it definitely feels like this will be one of the highlights of the year in movies.
Billions Season 5, Part 2
After going on hiatus halfway through Season 5, Bobby Axelrod and the Billions crew is officially back. We were left with a very unintentional cliffhanger after production had to stop due to COVID, so we are very excited to finally get some closure on the conflicts that started arising during the first half of the season. Never short on drama, the trailer reveals new alliances, rivalries, and (of course) plenty of backstabbing. Billions is one of a few shows to successfully make you root for incredibly unlikeable characters, even if you have to pinch your nose while doing it. Whether or not you understand finance, the stock market, the law, or classic rock references, we highly suggest you check out Billions. There are plenty of episodes to catch up on, and the Showtime hit is now one of the few shows on television that a ton of people seem to check out on a weekly basis. Not to mention, the half-season of episodes will give us our fill of disgusting opulence until Succession premieres later this fall. All in all, it’s a great week for TV.
Surfaces - Pacifico
So Labor Day might have passed, but we’re still adding songs to our summer playlist. The latest addition is “Sheesh!” from Surfaces, which is a pretty killer single off their album Pacifico. They just released a Deluxe version of the album, which is a solid hour of chill, summer music. “Sheesh” stands out as a fun, upbeat, clever jam, chock full of great lyrics and interesting musical choices. It also features Tai Verdes, a former Friday Five entrant, so we feel even better including it on this list. The song immediately kicks off with a Miami Heat reference, which is fitting because the word “sheesh” re-entered pop lexicon due to former Heat star LeBron James. Pacifico as an album is begging to be played in the sun by the beach, and this single above all else fits that bill. If you decide to use the album as a soundtrack for your work day, just be warned -- when you get to track 17, you’ll definitely be needing a dance break.
NFL Season Kickoff
At long last, the NFL is officially back. Last night, Tom Brady and the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers took on the Dallas Cowboys after raising the Lombardi Trophy, kicking off the 2021 season. Before the game, we got a great hype tape about Brady’s career, featuring a voiceover from none other than Bryan Cranston, channeling his inner Walter White. We couldn't have asked for a better opening night game, either, as we got a classic Tom Brady come-from-behind victory as time ran down. Thursday night's drama was definitely a great teaser for the weekend ahead. While college football returned last weekend, but there’s nothing quite like a jam-packed NFL Sunday. Nothing to do but park yourself in front of a TV, crack a few drinks, eat some great snacks, and consume as much football as humanly possible. It’s probably for the best that we get just a little appetizer on Thursday, before the main course Sunday. So enjoy the Tom Brady highlights while you can, double check your fantasy football lineups, and get ready for some football.