Culture Hound: August

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

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)

HUSTLE: Outside Lands

Don’t have your ticket yet? You’ll figure it out. We’ll be there — for Radiohead, and, of course, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, who forever and after win best name. (Aug. 5 – 7)

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)

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)

EXERT: The Triathlon at Alcatraz

Sport is culture in the Bay Area, which is why we include the upcoming triathlon at Alcatraz, which you may remember from its recent appearance on Silicon Valley. Grab your spot: There are only 900, and they’re going quickly. (Aug. 21)

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.

READ: Bad Dads

Speaking of Wes Anderson, Dads is the third volume of artwork inspired by the filmmaker, 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)

STREAM: Our monthly Spotify playlist

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.

PLUS: 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)