Sometimes, all we need to get our creative wheels turning is to watch or listen to some really cool shit. Other times, we need an inspiring story to get us going. This week, the Friday Five features a little bit of both. So if you're trying to find something to shake off those winter doldrums, take a look at Volume 60!
Bel-Air Official Trailer
We love few things more than seeing a creator truly shoot their shot, and that’s exactly how Morgan Cooper made our Five this week. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot kicked off on Peacock this week, and while we don’t actually have a ton of interest in the show itself, the story behind it is incredible. In 2019, Bel-Air creator Morgan Cooper got together some money and wrote, shot, and produced a trailer for a reimagined Fresh Prince. It was grittier, more dramatic, and moved into the modern age. The evolution within the trailer is very cool, as the style of everything, from the music to the fashion, changes to match Will’s changing mood. It absolutely blew up online, eventually making its way to Will Smith himself. And after years of pitches, this was what finally got Smith’s stamp of approval to bring back his most iconic character. The Ringer did a whole profile on Cooper’s story this week, which is especially motivating to us as creatives, and really reinvigorated us to keep chasing our current pursuits. Regardless of how you feel about the actual show, it’s worth checking out the trailer and Cooper’s rise, because it is incredibly aspirational and inspirational.
The Worst Person In The World
Just like Another Round last year, there’s yet another European comedy/drama taking over the US film conversation. The Worst Person in the World hit US cinemas from well-known Norwegian writer/director Joachim Trier, and it has people buzzing. We’ve been excited for this movie since we saw a trailer over the summer, and now, months later, it finally got its (limited) release. Trier’s film has already gotten quite a bit of critical acclaim, and was nominated for the Best International Feature and Best Original Screenplay at the upcoming Oscars. But beyond that, it has had a great audience reaction, as people have really enjoyed this twist on the traditional romantic comedy. While rom-coms have taken a bit of a backseat in pop culture over the last few years, we’re still suckers for a good one, and this checks a lot of boxes. It’s a bit darker and more existential than your old-school 90s flick, but is still a lot of fun. Yes, you’ll have to read subtitles, but we promise it’s worth it.
Spoon - Lucifer on the Sofa
After a late 2021 run of all our favorite artists putting out new music, it’s been a bit of a slow start to 2022. But this week brought a pleasant surprise. For the first time since 2017, we can say there’s a new Spoon album out in the world! It doesn’t necessarily always have the same Spoon sound that we fell in love with, but this has been a great album to have on repeat this week. Lucifer on the Sofa is great background music, and we promise that isn’t an insult. It’s honestly rare to find an album that we can enjoy and rock out to, but that’s also mellow enough for us to be able to get into a work zone with. There are some really interesting music moments throughout, with a lot of handclaps, auxiliary percussion, and experimentation with different vocal sounds. We especially love the horns and backup vocals on our favorite song from the album, “The Devil and Mr. Jones.” The tracks definitely all have some connective tissue and flow, but they’re also all different enough to provide a cool close-listening experience. There might not be any summer jams for you on this one, but if you’re looking for some new music to get you through the work week, Spoon has you covered.
Peacemaker
The age of the inappropriate superhero show continues rolling right along on HBOMax with our next selection: Peacemaker. We are noted fans of Amazon’s The Boys, so Peacemaker is right up our alley. The new Suicide Squad movie was one of our most enjoyable theater experiences of 2021, and John Cena’s Peacemaker was a huge reason why. It’s incredible just how funny Cena is – the former wrestler is a legitimate comedy star. Even though we can dig some of the Marvel stuff, it all does get to feel a bit repetitive, which makes a show like Peacemaker very refreshing. Of course, the show comes from the man who led some of our favorite MCU movies anyways, writer/director/creator James Gunn. The finale just aired this week, so if you haven’t been watching, you’ve got a full season of episodes to binge. And it’s definitely worth it, if only to see John Cena crack jokes with a bald eagle.
Ronald Ong
Once again, we’re back with an Instagram account to add to your feed. For lack of a better way to put it, Ronald Ong just posts really cool shit. That’s kind of all we need to say about it. The visual artist has some incredibly interesting work up on Instagram, and while it covers a variety of topics and subjects, it is all very abstract. Ong’s work is often heady, existential, and very contemplative. But also, sometimes he just turns a zebra into a stack of oreos. Honestly, both types are a breath of fresh air in our feeds. We love Ong’s visual style, and the colors are always very soothing, regardless of the subject. But what really drew us in initially was the creativity and vision it took to create these very fun, strange hybrids of two seemingly random things. If you want to spice up your feed in a surprising, thoughtful, colorful way, go give Ronald Ong a follow!
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