S03.E08: New Jazz

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Quote

Al and Darius walk around Amsterdam. Psssh, I could make a way better tv show than this. 

Original air date 2022.05.05

[AngieBee1]

I recently had a discussion about how many Liam Neeson films that has come out in the past two years and how he, seemingly, takes any gig . He was in a recent episode of DERRY GIRLS and now shows up in ATLANTA.

Hats off to him for being a good sport about it and hats off to Donald Glover and the writers for taking his remorse and subverting it so that it just doesn't land as apologia or too earnest.

-The casual Alexander Wang name drop killed me.

-Seeing Neeson turn up had me howling but my biggest laugh was when Cammy said people call Lorraine's place "106th and Park". The fact that Cammy and friend pressed Paper Boi on whether or not he had sex with Lorraine answered the question I had when I saw Ava turn up: was she playing a cis woman or a trans woman. Cammy being so sure that Paper Boi was lying leans into rumours of various rappers who hooked up with trans women.

- Curious that Lorraine - or facets of her - was Paper Boi's mother or a mix of her and Paper Boi's paranoia/self-doubt. In WOODS we hear Al's mother guiding him, pushing him firmly. This Lorraine dials it up to eleven in her frankness pushing him to open his eyes to those in his circle. Forcing him to examine if he's surrounded by yes men whose interest only lies in his pockets. Al is learning 'more money, more problems".  

I also think her scurrying Al out of the club before he's made to perform is also a dig at how celebrities are swiftly "cancelled" and have to do performative remorse. They feel that in order to protect their careers, "their brand" they have to do that dance.

But I don't care what Lorraine says, that hat was hot.

-Mind blown that Paper Boy and Darius passed a latter version of Paper Boi. Time is a circle or just hallucinogenic  trip?

-Next week Kevin Samuels (who Twitter has been trying to confirm all day long whether or not he's dead) plays a Robert Smith entrepreneur who pays off the college debts of only the Black students? That's going to be too funny 

[Sheenieb]

11 hours ago, AngieBee1 said:

Next week Kevin Samuels (who Twitter has been trying to confirm all day long whether or not he's dead) plays a Robert Smith entrepreneur who pays off the college debts of only the Black students? That's going to be too funny 

Oh, God. My eyes did not deceive me. That was Kevin Samuels. Well, we know if any of the students are Black women, and they're over 35, they're "leftovers," so they're out of luck. 

He won't be missed by me.

11 hours ago, AngieBee1 said:

Seeing Neeson turn up had me howling but my biggest laugh was when Cammy said people call Lorraine's place "106th and Park". The fact that Cammy and friend pressed Paper Boi on whether or not he had sex with Lorraine answered the question I had when I saw Ava turn up: was she playing a cis woman or a trans woman. Cammy being so sure that Paper Boi was lying leans into rumours of various rappers who hooked up with trans women.

I thought Lorraine was Indya Moore (I miss Pose). I laughed too hard at 106 & Park. 

[aghst]

That Nepalese Spacecake must have worked a lot better than Al realized.  Every time he came out of a place it was like 12 hours later.

Darius seems too influenced by Reddit and social media o find these in places like Nigerian restaurants or Amsterdam coffee shops.

He doesn’t have money to be going around Europe so why did Al ask him if he wanted to split the cafe bill?  By the time they went to the coffee shop Al knew he’d be paying.

But iPad Nanos in working condition would cost a small fortune these days so maybe that’s where Darius’ money went.

Not familiar with the actor playing Lorraine but it makes sense she was a hallucination or a personification some inner voices.  When they went to the Cancel Club, she seemed to know he was Paper Boi, not just some rapper?

But Lorraine made him confront all these questions he must have had for awhile about his money and career.

(I thought the big money for recording artists was in publishing rights though)

so Alfred has some doubts about whether Earn has his best interests at heart but Earn getting him off the streets and taking care of him is meant to show that he could trust Earn?

[UnknownK]

If you own your masters you get all the publishing money and have full control over who gets to use your music.

Taylor Swifts early releases (masters she didn't own) were sold for $300M and she had to get permission to perform those songs which is why she re recorded all those albums and re released them. 

[JenE4]

I didn’t get the 106 & Park reference—but Google tells me it was a hip-hop show. I’m guessing canceled folks went on this show as a mea culpa to Black society?

Instead I’m caught up on the symbolism of the Goofy hats, lol. We used to hear that Americans would stand out in Europe with their white sneakers and occasionally fanny packs—and certainly by their loud/obnoxious—dare I say goofy—behavior. Here tourists are seemingly expected to act the fool in Amsterdam, taking drugs their bodies are not prepared for—and as long as you slap a Goofy hat on that head, okay, no worries—just ignore the tourist.

I feel like I need to rewatch Woods, in which Al also went on a spiritual journey in his subconscious—or is it? What’s real? What’s in his mind? In this episode everything switched when he started becoming paranoid about the fans chasing him—when sober Al would have taken a selfie (as he did at the end of Woods)—and the drugs fully kicked in when he “saw” them throw around the baby—and yes, I was right to ignore those ruffians. It was also interesting how he reacted to the other strangers: he tried to help the performance artist and then let himself be steamrolled into befriending Lorraine, because even if you try to ignore your mama’s advice, she’s still going to get in your head.

Al didn’t belong at Club Cancel. He didn’t do anything wrong (yet), and thus didn’t need a performative apology. But it must be a big fear for celebrities to worry as their star is rising that it can come crashing down with one mistake. And who else knows the skeletons in your closet but your mom? And not only can you easily lose your fans, but you can also easily lose your fortune if you trust the wrong people or don’t understand the contracts you’re getting yourself into. Before this tour, Al was going to fire Earn and go with the other manager. But Earn has finally, well, earned Al’s trust—he not only is looking out for his safety and well being physically, but he has proven a solid business mind, too, and ensured Al has the rights to his masters, which probably isn’t an easy feat for someone new to the business.

Regarding Lorraine being trans, I do think that was a purposeful cast. Was it Kanye who was rumored to be with a trans woman? That could potentially put a rapper on the verge of admittance to Club Cancel. Though trans rights is also very much  a focus of civil rights at this time, I’m thinking the rap world might be a bit behind in such acceptance. But, moreover, I think Lorraine represented Al and his mother, male to female, represented in his psyche. Would I make my mom proud? What would she tell me to do? Al questioning himself and his ability to make good decisions for his career was seen throughout, such as during the conversation with Darius at the beginning of this episode questioning whether his hat looked okay. Was the purple too much, or did it complement his skin tone? Deep down he feels he looks goofy in this hat—and a literal Goofy hat was somehow better, lol.

Another reference I didn’t get was “new Jazz.” I’m not up on my jazz music, so I’m not sure what the deal was going from standard jazz to new jazz. Is it as simple as new jazz has crazy notes all over the place and you don’t really know what’s coming next, so Al chose this name for himself because he’s unsure of what’s next for him? Or is there more to it? Is this an expression I don’t know about? Where our jazz aficionados at?! Lol.

Edited May 7, 2022 by JenE4

[DearEvette]

1 hour ago, JenE4 said:

I didn’t get the 106 & Park reference—but Google tells me it was a hip-hop show. I’m guessing canceled folks went on this show as a mea culpa to Black society?

106 and Park was BET's version of MTVs Total Request Live, but focused on Rap and Neo Soul and R&B artists.  it wasn't a mea culpa show but a talk show+performance show+gossip show hybrid with young, attractive hosts and people hung out in a lounge like atmosphere.

This episode was very interesting.  Will probably go into the 'miss' column for me although I did get a good laugh out of the scene in the cafe where they bought the Nepalese Spacecake.  First when Darius said "I'll let fate handle it' and then PaperBoi came through with the money and he smiled and said "thank you, fate" and then PaperBoi's comment about watching Cats sober.

And I was happy to see Indya Moore on my screen again.  They are so beautiful!  I hope they get more work.  Their acting has grown by leaps and bounds since the first season on Pose. 

And of course, Liam Neeson being in Club Cancel was both a little too much on the nose and a bit of a flex.

But overall, yeah, not my favorite. 

This is the second episode this season where my husband was thrilled by the music selection.  That Stereolab song Paperboi was listening to is one of my husband's favorites.  Just like the BadBadNotGood song from the White Fashion Episode.  I hate that Stereolab song.  LOL.

 

[AngieBee1]

48 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

And I was happy to see Indya Moore on my screen again.

That was Ava Grey. Indya would've been great in this role, though.

Edited May 7, 2022 by AngieBee1

[meep.meep]

I had to rewatch after literally falling asleep during my first viewing.  It's a meh for me also, with bits of brilliance.

Almost all the main 4 episodes seem like dream sequences - I guess taking hash could result in that, but it's getting tiresome to watch endless location and character changes without any real explanation.  The British kids tossing the baby, followed by the woman crying over the painting, to meeting Lorraine, and not missing Darius - too much.

And dammit, I liked Al's hat!

[tennisgurl]

106 and Park? Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time. As much as I have enjoyed a lot of the Twilight Zone stand alone episodes, I was happy to get back to the main characters. This episode definitely felt a lot like The Woods from a few seasons ago, where Al goes on a surreal odyssey with the help of a possible maternal figure as he tries to come to terms with both his fame and his insecurity. That episode ended with him finally taking a picture with a fan, having accepted that this is a part of being successful, while this one ended with him checking in on his finances, still unsure about how to be a guy with money. Earn isn't always the best manager, but I am glad that he at least made sure that Al owns his masters. 

Having Liam Neeson show up to directly talk about those comments he made a few years ago, and then tell Al that he's still resentful of black people after they tried to cancel him, was such a wild flex from everyone involved. That ending cracked me up, I suppose some kudos are in order for Nesson and the show for throwing in that "oh no, cant stand you people" to really nail the satire and keep the thing from seeming like an excuse for another famous person to try and get uncancelled. The cancel club seems like it could carry a whole episode. 

Did Al see another version of himself walking by? Has this show ever done a time loop episode? I feel like it should do a time loop episode.

Don't listen to the haters Al, I think your pulling that hat off.