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It's just movies and bluegrass music here
Happy Tuesday! Welcome back to Jacob’s Letter, a pop culture newsletter with bad puns and funny dog photos.
Today is Election Day, but there will be no discussion of that here. If you need a break from doomscrolling or from constantly refreshing social media to see who’s winning which state, just read on.
Sputnik Opal. (Don’t worry, she’s fine, she just has to wear a cone for a few more days. She hates it.)
This newsletter’s got news about Quibi, the best movies of 2020 so far, and some great bluegrass music recommendations.
I’ll be back in your inboxes tomorrow with a thread question, and this Friday will see the publication of the Fast and Furious newsletter.
But first, what happened to Quibi?
R.I.P. Quibi, 2020-2020
Quibi, the streaming service that specialized in mobile-only, sub-10-minute episodes, died last month after its co-founders announced they would be shutting the app down. It was six months old, or, in Quibi terms, about 26,280 episodes of content. I have more about why it shut down at Book & Film Globe.
2020 movies so far: My favorite releases of the year
If this were any other year, we’d be starting Oscar movie season, and most publications start compiling their “best-of” lists for the year. I still haven’t seen a lot of stuff that has been released this year, but I’m keeping track of everything over at Letterboxd with this list. Favorites include “First Cow,” (pictured above) “Driveways” and “The Way Back.” What’s your favorite release of 2020 so far?
I’m gonna live where the bluegrass grows
In the liner notes for “Cuttin’ Grass, Vol. 1” that he sent out via email, Sturgill Simpson wrote:
Many years later, after returning home to Kentucky from the military and living for some time out on the West coast, I was driving down the road one day and the public radio station played an old Monroe Brothers song and it absolutely floored me. A wave of emotion slammed me in the chest and I had to pull over on the side of the road. I was pretty much drifting at the time—completely lost, I guess you could say—and hearing that music brought everything to the surface.
It sounded like home. Bluegrass music is healing. I truly believe this to be true. It is made from ancient, organic tones and, as with most all forms of music, the vibrations and the pulse can be extremely therapeutic.
The older I get, as much as I try to fight it, the more I enjoy bluegrass music and the more it calms me and sounds like home. This album from Simpson is a stripped-down collection of bluegrass versions of songs from his entire career — even songs from “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth,” with all of its horns replaced by mandolins. I haven’t stopped listening to it since it came out.
Simpson’s album came out a little bit after his tourmate and fellow Kentuckian Tyler Childers dropped a surprise instrumental bluegrass album, “Long Violent History” in September. The title song is the only one with words, and Childers released a 6-minute anti-racism PSA video to accompany the album. In the video, he demanded justice for Breonna Taylor and asked white Kentuckians to imagine if what happened to Taylor happened to them: “What if the headline was ‘West Virginia Man Shot During Traffic Stop for Failing to Produce Valid Fishing License’?”
The album is an instrumental reckoning with Appalachia’s “long violent history” that uses fiddle and traditional bluegrass to illustrate the sounds of the region.
Stream Simpson’s album here and stream Childers’ album here. Both are well worth your time, even if you don’t like bluegrass music.
Studio Movie Grill files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Studio Movie Grill’s Royal Lane location in Dallas. Photo from Studio Movie Grill.
The Dallas-based movie theater chain Studio Movie Grill filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late October. Its 353 theaters will stay open, but they’re still operating at a reduced capacity. Read more from Taylor in the Dallas Business Journal here.
Great success!
Borat is back, and this time he’s taking on America, the coronavirus and 14 years of “my wiiife!” jokes. But after just a few weeks of release, the film has already gained some notoriety for the controversies it has caused in the real world. Read my article on the film here at Book & Film Globe.
Memorable movies: ‘Tenet’ at a bought-out Cinemark in Plano
We were the only ones in the whole theater. It was creepy.
I can’t tell you what all exactly happened in “Tenet,” but I can tell you I had a fun time seeing it for my birthday in September. We rented out a theater at a Cinemark in Plano and invited my parents and some friends for a socially-distant moviegoing experience. Nevermind that I had to go get an attendant to start the movie on time, nevermind that the theater was eerily empty when we showed up, and nevermind that it was odd to watch most of the film with a mask on. It was a fun experience with people I hadn't seen in months, and one I won’t soon forget.
Islands in the Stream
“Islands in the Stream” is where I’ll discuss any and all happenings on the streaming front every week, since there’s so much of it now. While you’re here, read my deep dive for WFAA about how diverse the streaming landscape is becoming and read my in-depth analysis of Disney+ and take a look at my reviews of Quibi (R.I.P.) and HBO Max.
This week:
Last week, I sang the praises of “Ted Lasso.” This week, I found out that Apple TV+ renewed the show for a second and third season! Makes me wanna stick my finger in the open jar of peanut butter I have sitting in my kitchen.
Netflix has increased its price points at all levels of its subscription service. As of Oct. 29, a standard plan is $14 a month and a premium plan is $18 a month. Those prices are a $1 a month and a $2 a month increase, respectively. The last time Netflix increased its prices in America was January 2019, and many industry analysts suspected such an increase was coming this year since so many people are staying at home and have so many streaming options to choose from.
T-Mobile has entered the chat: The phone provider launched its new streaming service TVision Nov. 1 staring at a rate of $10/month. It will also offer tiers of $40, $50 and $60 a month depending on how many channels you want.
Letter of Recommendation
What I’m listening to: “Relative Unknown”
This podcast has everything: Biker gangs, witness protection, the mafia, East Texas mystery and modern investigative journalism. When it starts, you think it’s going to be about why a man would burn down his home with his wife and stepchildren inside. It turns into an examination of that man’s life and a brutal takedown of the Witness Protection Program — all told by the daughter he abandoned decades ago. It’s riveting.
Friday News Dump
A list of online writing I really liked this week:
I was surprised to discover that pumpkin beer is much, much older than I had originally thought — like 17th-century old (via Jay Serafino in Mental Floss)
Harrison Ford was always known for his roguish charm in his roles. This piece posits that the man has always been great at playing the villain, and hardly anybody ever utilized that talent (via Robert Daniels in RogerEbert.com)
That’s all, folks. If you liked what you saw here, click that subscribe button (promise I won’t send any annoying emails) and tell all your friends!
This newsletter is written by me and edited by my favorite person, Taylor Tompkins. Views expressed here are my own and don’t reflect the opinions of my employer, yadda yadda yadda.
If there’s anything you want to see covered in a future newsletter, let me know!
You can find me in other corners of the internet as well, if you so choose. There’s my personal website (which focuses on pop culture, faith and my journalism clips), a Twitter account and a Letterboxd account. Subscribe away.
See you next week,
Jake