September 2016 Playlist: The Get Down

“The Get Down” was a warm breeze of late summer fun on Netflix. Against the backdrop of a broke (and broken) Bronx in the summer of 1977, “The Get Down” tells a story at the crossroads of disco and hip-hop. This was a time when New York City was severely in debt and was denied federal assistance to avoid bankruptcy under President Gerald Ford, yielding the famous New York Daily News 1975 headline: “Ford to City: Drop Dead.” The Bronx and its residents were really suffering.

The show was created by Baz Luhrmann, who also directed the pilot. I’ve heard from a few friends who had lukewarm feelings after watching the very densely packed first episode, which I completely understand, since watching a Baz Luhrmann project is like eating a really rich, over-sweetened layer cake with frosting made of ecstasy and sprinkled with cocaine, then washing it down with Red Bull. You almost need to chase a Luhrmann movie with an Ingmar Bergman film just to come down. He starts off his new Netflix series, “The Get Down,” with a similar three-ring circus fervor, though it’s not his usual boisterous pageant of bells and whistles. Fortunately for “The Get Down,” the remaining five episodes are helmed by other directors who allow the story to breathe with more finesse and nuance. And it’s a pretty fabulous story.

One of the best best features of the 8-episode show was the music. Wow. Like, fuck me wow. It’s an early-to-mid ’70s aural orgy of soul, R&B, disco and even some rock in a beautiful blend of the popular and the more esoteric. My September 2016 playlist is a curated selection of some of my favorites that appeared in the series.

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The Sartorial Illiteracy of the American Television Host

It’s a good bet that a lot of American men get their cues about wearing suits from television. Unfortunately, most TV personalities wear their suits poorly, spreading bad information to the masses.

Left to their own devices, male on-camera personalities would likely make even bigger sartorial mistakes than they already do. It’s not totally their fault. Their main job is to be informed, intelligent, engaging and entertaining, which is a genuinely difficult full-time job. Other than a few hosts who actually have a sense of style and a knowledge of what to wear and how to wear it, these men need help. To get dressed appropriately and look right, they retain the services of a stylist, designer or dresser whose job can range from advising and consulting to an all-out dictation of what otherwise clueless talent should wear. This is where the problem lives.

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The Get Down

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Baz Luhrmann’s brand of screen story. My memories of Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby recall cocaine-paced tapestries colored in a muted Skittles palette and laced with ecstasy. Audio/visual orgies for the attention-deficit set, pumping at 130 beats per minute.

The Get Down, Luhrmann’s new project for Netflix, looks like something infinitely more interesting to me. Set against the backdrop of the broke and broken New York of the 1970s, the show is a Bronx tale of a different flavor, telling the story of the birth of disco, punk and hip-hop.

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Episode 30: Jessica Jones and Other Trouble in Hell’s Kitchen

In this episode, I talk about Jessica Jones, a great new original Netflix series that is also part of the Marvel universe. Like its terrific “brother” show Daredevil, it takes place mostly in Hell’s Kitchen, NYC, in the wake of the alien invasion incident from The Avengers.

Speaking of Hell’s Kitchen, I was recently sentenced to a day of community service after being stopped on Ninth Avenue by NYPD for making a rolling stop through a red light on my bicycle. In the interest of safer streets in the city, NYC has implemented an initiative called “Vision Zero,” which I wholly support with its interest in safer streets for everyone. However, ticketing bicyclists is an exertion of energy and resources toward the wrong target, in my opinion.

I’m also putting the finishing touches on my December 2015 Spotify playlist for your enjoyment.

Thanks for listening!

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