Welcome to Culture Hound, InsideHook’s deep dive into the month’s most important (pop) cultural happenings.
SEE: The Fly Honey Show VII
The old “Hey, Big Spender” routine gets a modern facelift when the Fly Honey Show returns to stage this month. The hoochie-coochie variety extravaganza is taking up residency at the Chopin Theatre, and you can expect at least 50 derrières shaking it all in the name of body-positive sexiness. (August 18-September 3)
WATCH: Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World
Werner Herzog examines the internet. Along the way, he interviews Elon Musk, meets the guys behind a team of soccer-playing robots and provides his typically droll narration: (“In the forest, we met a modern day hermit…”; “Have the monks stopped meditating? They all seem to be Tweeting.”). (Aug. 19)
BUY: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
“No matter where you go, there you are.” The most quotable sci-fi film of the ‘80s — and the best cast (John Lithgow, Peter Weller, Jeff Goldblum, Ellen Barkin) — gets a Blu-ray Collector’s Edition, complete with a new two-hour documentary. Never seen it? The film inspired Wes Anderson, Back to the Future and Fight Club … and it’s getting a new TV show reboot via Kevin Smith. (Aug. 16)
READ: Kedzie Avenue
A look at everyday life on a single street, Kedzie Avenue, the long-awaited book from the comic journalist collective Illustrated Press, weaves in personal narratives and illustration to offer a brand new way of seeing and thinking about Chicago. A singular kind of a book about the city that you’ll want on your coffee table. (August 23)
LISTEN: The Veils
A brooding UK/New Zealand rock band with heavy nods to Nick Cave, The Veils make a pivot on their fifth album, Total Depravity, adding in the disorienting instrumentation of El-P (Run the Jewels). Overall, a soundtrack for devilish late nights and bad decisions. Fun fact: Frontman Finn Andrews will be in the Twin Peaks reboot. (Aug. 26)
STREAM: The Best Songs For August
Forget finding “the song of summer.” Instead, enjoy an hour’s worth of simply great new music, featuring new tunes from Two Door Cinema Club, Justice, Sleigh Bells, Mac Miller, Goldroom, MIA and a host of newcomers.
PERUSE: JoJa
Say, how do Victoria’s Secret models keep in shape? This new Instagram account follows two of VS’s “fit” ladies, who provide workout routines and — importantly for you — video and pictures. For research.
DRINK: Deschutes Pop-Up Street Pub
What’s better than drinking a cold beer on a hot summer day? Drinking a cold beer on a hot summer day at the Deschutes family-friendly pop-up pub. The Portland brewery is returning to Logan Square this year for a massive street pub, bringing along 50 taps, with food from Charlie Eure (Revolution Brewing) and Nathan Sears (The Radler). If you’ve got time for only one more outdoor drinking event (we hope not), make it this one. (August 6)
SEE: Private Eyes
In partnership with Indiana University’s Kinsey Institute, the Intuit Gallery presents Private Eyes, an exhibit exploring the world of homemade erotic artifacts. Chicago’s home of Outsider Art is the perfect venue for such a collection, which includes drawings, prints and carved figures that were never intended for public consumption. (Opens August 12)
READ: Bad Dads
Dads is the third volume of artwork inspired by Wes Anderson, an outgrowth of an annual art show by the Spoke Art Gallery in San Francisco. You can see some of the artwork here. (Aug. 9)
ALSO THIS MONTH: NFL training camp doc Hard Knocks captures the return of football to Los Angeles (Aug. 9, HBO) … Baz Luhrmann’s South Bronx musical drama The Get Down will probably fail on coherence, win on visual/sonic acumen (Aug. 12, Netflix) … You’re the Worst returns. Fans of acerbic relationship humor rejoice (Aug. 31, FXX) … Every “dark” Batman flick cribbed from the ‘80s comic The Killing Joke. Now, see that story in all its R-rated animated glory (Aug. 2, Blu-ray) … And then go see Bat’s cameo in Suicide Squad (Aug. 5) … The most destructive, stupid day in baseball history gets revisited in Disco Demolition: The Night Disco Died (Aug. 23) … Forget Trump. Comedian David Cross is Making America Great Again! (Aug. 5)
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