Culture Hound: November 2017

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

WATCH: Thor: Ragnarok
The Norse god (minus his hammer) tries to prevent the end of Asgard with help from a rogues gallery of heroes … including the Hulk. Directed by Kiwi up-and-comer Taika Waititi (What We Do In the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople).

Eryn Allen Kane
LISTEN: Red Bull Sound Select: 30 Days in Chicago
What could be a new banner fall music fest for Chicago, Red Bull presents 30 straight days of concerts and events across some of the city’s best venues. In addition to upcoming local talent like Noname and Eryn Allen Kane, the month-long fest includes events like local hip-hop blog Fake Shore Drive’s 10th anniversary party. (All month long)

ENJOY (NSFW): Scientwehst
An artistic mix of architecture and erotic photography by Brooklyn artist Giulia, who crafts “brazenly-feminine digital collages” on Instagram.

WATCH: Jai Alai Blues
We’re endlessly fascinated by the rise and fall of “the world’s fastest sport,” Jai Alai, and so is the Chicago-based design quarterly MAS Context. The magazine, in collaboration with the Instituto Cervantes of Chicago, will be screening Jai Alai Blues, a documentary about Jai Alai’s golden age. It’s the first time the doc is screening in the U.S., and it will cost ya zero dollars. (Nov. 9)

CHUCKLE: Paul Ryan
An almost 200-page McSweeney’s/ClickHole-worthy parody of the House Speaker, “refracted through an absurd prism of magazine hell.” Each article parodies a different genre or glossy magazine. Bonus: Get a photo of Paul Ryan with the actual Paul Ryan, and you’ll win a cheese basket.

GO: The Fest
Calling all podcasts lovers! Third Coast international Audio Fest along with WBEZ’s Podcast Passport is throwing a two-week fest this month, bringing live podcast tapings to places like Thalia Hall, the Hideout and the Harris Theater. You don’t wanna miss the living taping of NPR’s Code Switch, an InsideHook favorite that explores the overlapping themes of race, ethnicity and culture. (Nov. 1 – 12)

READ: Artemis
The Martian was a self-published phenomenon a few years back — and a pretty good movie that stripped out all the science (blame Ridley Scott). Andy Weir’s second book, however, is more of a hardboiled crime novel … set on the moon. A fun bit of sci-fi noir to read during your inevitable flight delays. (Nov. 14)

SUBSCRIBE: Charcoal Book Club
The world’s first photobook-of-the-month club is here to sex up your home. Handpicked photo journals sourced from “the most respected photographers and publishers in the industry,” and a must-have for any man’s (or woman’s) bookcase. Read more here. And since there’s nothing better than a well-appointed bookshelf, the gents at Charcoal are giving an exclusive 15% off any subscription to InsideHook readers. Just enter INSIDEHOOK17 at checkout. (Nov. 8)

Chicago Athletic Association Hotel
GO: Chicago Art Book Fair
Organized by the collaborative print-focused collective No Coast, the first annual Chicago Art Book Fair — spanning three days at the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel — will showcase an international roster of over 100 art publishers, small presses, book artists and printmakers. (Nov. 16 – 20).

Looking for more art? Don’t miss the always-buzzy SOFA Chicago (Nov. 2-5) and the welcome return of the Chicago Printers Guild Publishers Fair (Nov. 11-12)

PLAY: Call of Duty WWII
After a few wayward missions to space, the first-person shooter heads back to its “boots on the ground” World War II roots. You, too, can experience D-Day! And a co-op mode where you fight Nazi zombies (note: it’s OK to punch Nazi zombies). (Nov. 3)

LISTEN: Our Spotify Playlist
Thirty new tunes populate our playlist, including the Zep-loving kids of Greta Van Fleet, Sharon Jones (RIP), Thundercat, Sleigh Bells, Rhye and Franz Ferdinand.

BINGE: Godless
“Mister, we’re a lot f*cking stronger than you think we are.” An outlaw takes refuge in a town run by badass women (and only women) in this new Netflix limited series, a violent western overseen by Steven Soderbergh and Scott Frank (Logan). (Nov. 22)

And don’t forget … Richard Linklater made a war movie? Well, it’s a meditative one. With an all-star cast (Bryan Cranston, Steve Carell, Laurence Fishburne), the indie director examines what happens long after the battle in Last Flag Flying (Nov. 3) … Good timing or horrible timing? Louis CK goes full Woody Allen in his controversial, black-and-white dramedy I Love You, Daddy, which, yes, features an older man in show business possibly seducing an underage girl (Nov. 17) … A privileged New York family sees their home life shattered in Heather, the Totality, the debut novel from Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner (Nov. 7) … Calling Stranger Things fans: Future Man is basically a comedic take on ‘80s cult hit The Last Starfighter, overseen by Preacher’s Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Nov. 14) … And finally, the welcome return of Stan Against Evil (Nov. 1) and Search Party (Nov. 19).