Chicago Culture Hound: March 2017

Welcome to Culture Hound, InsideHook’s deep dive into the month’s most important pop cultural happenings.

GO: Music Frozen Dancing: A Winter Block Party
Yes, the weather is as wonky as ever. Regardless, you’ll wanna brave whatever Chicago throws your way for the Empty Bottle’s annual winter block party. This year’s live music lineup includes Toronto-based noise-makers Metz alongside hometown experimental rockers Dim. Expect chili from Bite Cafe and beers from Goose Island. The party goes down right outside of the Bottle and costs zero dollars. (March 4)

WATCH: The Belko Experiment
You think your office is bad? Imagine 80 white collar workers getting locked in their corporate high rise and told, via a mysterious intercom, that they must kill each other to survive. It’s Battle Royale, The Raid, Saw and Office Space rolled into one, via writer James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) and director Greg McLean (Wolf Creek). (March 17)

(See more film picks in our spring movie guide, coming next Wednesday.)

READ: Spaceman of Bohemia
It gets lonely in space. So much so that you may start up a philosophical argument with, say, a giant imaginary spider (“I cannot offer you the solace of Nutella, for I have consumed it”). Jaroslav Kalfar’s debut is literary Gravity, but lighter in tone. (March 7)

WATCH: Wright 150: Frank Lloyd Wright on Film
In celebration of Frank Lloyd Wright’s 150th birthday, the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust is hosting a two-part film series at the Chicago History Museum. Frank Lloyd Wright: A Film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick is set to show on for Tuesday, March 14th, while one week later, Magnificent Obsession: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Buildings and Legacy in Japan will explore the influence of Japan on the architect’s design vision. (March 14 and 21)

BINGE: Amy Schumer: The Leather Special
More dirty talk from the Emmy-winning comedian, who riffs on binge drinking, her new boyfriend and “navigating the unknown of being a newly famous woman who looks like someone you grew up with.” It’s the start of a larger trend for Netflix: the streaming service recently announced exclusive standup deals with Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, Jerry Seinfeld and Louis C.K. (March 7)

BUY: Nintendo Switch
Nintendo’s new gaming system was designed for group play (like the old Wii) and portability: it’s a large tablet (complete with motion controllers called Joy-Cons) that can be connected to a dock for console play. (March 3)

DO: GoRUCK St. Paddy’s Day Light Challenge
This St. Patrick’s Day, may we suggest skipping the river dyeing and signing up for a grueling physical team challenge? For the uninitiated, GoRuck sells nigh-indestructible backpacks. They also host physical challenges of varying difficulties. It’s upcoming Light Challenge is the easiest of ‘em all. Expect military-style exercises and you carrying at least one backpack filled with bricks. In other words: expect to be pushed to your limits. Beats a day of day-drinking, no? At least your gut thinks so. (March 18)

NSFW: Le Petit Voyeur
This artsy Copenhagen photo zine, best known for some Emily Ratajkowski nudes, just launched their first limited-edition, very-clothes-optional photo book. You’re welcome. (Available for preorder)

LISTEN: Our monthly Spotify playlist
The best new music of the month, a whopping 30 songs spanning two hours. Probably the only place where Future Islands, Big Sean, Gary Clark Jr. and King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizards could work together. (Also, dig The 1975’s cover of Sade.)

DO: Dungen at the Garfield Park Conservatory
Released in 1926, The Adventures of Prince Achmed is understood to be the oldest surviving full-length animated feature film, predating Disney’s Snow White by more than a decade. Inspired by the film, the acclaimed Stockholm-based rock band Dungen was commissioned to write a score for the film, resulting in the group’s first instrumental album Häxan. Presented by the Land of Sea Dept., the Swedish quartet will be performing the record in full behind the beautiful backdrop of the Garfield Park Conservatory. (March 19)

ALSO: The Big Apple turns into a future Venice in the dystopian novel New York 2140 (March 14) … An Esquire writer tracks down the world’s most fashionable people and talks about their least fashionable days in I Actually Wore This (March 28) … Bros across time, aka Fox’s Making History (March 5) … Crackle’s new adaptation of Snatch hopes to be Fargo for the Guy Ritchie crowd (March 16) … Robert Redford finds the existence of an afterlife in Netflix’s The Discovery, to extremely detrimental effects (March 31) … Michelangelo Antonioni’s mod mystery classic Blow-Up makes it to Blu-ray, complete with a making-of book and new documentary (March 28) … TED Talks debuts their “Unheard Voices” newsletter every weekday in March, focusing on smart people you may not have heard of talking about worthwhile topics … Combine the best songs of early 2000s into the amazing mashup tool that is the Magic iPod … And finally, the welcome small screen return of The Americans (March 7), Love (March 10) and Idiotsitter (March 23).