Tag: review

The Bear, Season Three Review

July 2, 2024 / DB

We knocked out season three of The Bear over the weekend, binging six episodes Friday and four Saturday.

Before I dive in, a couple preliminary notes.

First, I had not heard official word that there will be a season four until after we finished. I believe I heard there might be another season, but not that it had been confirmed. Thus, when we paused things Friday night, I was a little concerned about how things were going to wrap up in the final four episodes. Turns out that season four, or at least part of it, was shot right after season three. There’s been no word about a release date, so maybe they just shot a few parts for continuity’s sake and will reconvene later this year for a summer 2025 release? Regardless, at least one more season of The Bear!

Second, this is such a beautifully shot show, and has such perfectly selected music, and is filled with such great actors, that even an uneven, possibly disappointing season like this one still delights in so many ways. It’s always been a gorgeous show to watch, but this year it went to another level in terms of pure visuals. So many stunning moments.

Now, calling it disappointing probably isn’t fair, but that’s in comparison to the bar set in the first two years. Like so many shows that move beyond season three, that third year becomes more about setup for what’s next than being as rich as its predecessors.

I think this season can be called disappointing largely because of how it ended. Season one ended with an immense sense of relief and hope for what was ahead. Season two’s finale was a big bummer, with Carmen melting down on opening night. But there was still a sense of accomplishment from actually getting the restaurant open and an eagerness to see what happened after that first night.

This time, though, it feels like the core of the show is spinning apart. Sydney is so dissatisfied with Carmy’s disfunction and controlling nature that she will surely take Shapiro’s offer to jump ship to where she has more control and security. Richie, having discovered how a prestige restaurant should be run, seems disgusted by every choice Carmen makes. Marcus is too expensive for what he provides (according to The Computer). Tina tries nobly, but often can’t handle the pressures of the dinner rush or meet Carmy’s expectations. Natalie just had a kid and her husband just won an important trial. She can turn her back on an enterprise that is home to exactly the kind of toxic relationships she does not want to expose her daughter to.

And Carmen is so inside his own head that he can’t relax and enjoy the reality of running the restaurant he’s always wanted. He has stacks of notebooks filled with incredible ideas. Yet he spends hours staring at plates me makes, tinkers with, and then tosses aside because they can’t reach the impossible ideal he thinks will earn the Michelin star he craves. He’s forgotten what great food is supposed to be about, and is wasting his own talent and that of his crew in his pursuit of perfection. He built this great team, empowered and inspired them, then totally undermines them when they are on the verge of success. Instead of all the good things he learned from Chef Terry and others, he’s repeating the negativity pumped out by Chef David.

Where the audience could once put up with his moods and tantrums, he’s become unlikable in almost everything he does. He was one the tortured artist with a dream. Now he’s just kind of a dick.

All of this is worth it because, I think and hope, it will lead to someplace very interesting next season. It’s just a bummer that so much time was spent without advancing the story very far.

I LOVED episode one. Thirty minutes of food and photography porn. It was quite a way to remind, refresh, and reset. I can’t recall another show ever taking that direction to set up a new season, devoting an entire episode to the process. It also ended up being a perfect setup for how cluttered Carmy’s mind would be by the end of the year. The soundtrack by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, a constant drone that never either peaked or crashed, was a superb accompaniment.

We finally got Tina’s origin story! That was another of my favorite episodes of the season. You see where that fierce pride in her comes from. I think it helped that you know how it ends up, but her meeting and conversation with Mikey was a wonderful piece of TV. I like to think the tears in Liza Colon-Zayas’ eyes were because she knew what a powerful moment that was, not just because of her character’s emotions.

Little tidbit some of you might already know: the man who played Tina’s wife, David Zayas, is Liza’s real-life husband.

Another great episode: “Ice Chips.” Shockingly intimate moments between Natalie and Donna in the hospital. The intensity of them just looking and holding each other was as powerful as the screaming in season two’s “Fishes.” Them coming to an understanding of each other and Donna having to step aside when Pete shows up was a huge gut punch. I don’t think Donna is a super sympathetic character because she is SOOOO crazy. Sure, you feel sorry for how she is and how she got there. But you also see the havoc and pain she causes, especially in Sugar, and you want to tell her to knock it the fuck off. But the moment when she leaves Natalie’s room and you see life drain from her as she realizes she is alone again, was devastating.

This may be an unpopular opinion, but there were too many and too much of the Faks this season. When a show starts running out its comic foil more often, it generally means something is awry with the core story. In this case, I think they just needed 10 episodes and couldn’t quite get there, so padded each one with some Fak nonsense. Don’t get me wrong: I love the Faks! But like a powerful spice, they need to be used sparingly to avoid overwhelming the dish they are in.

Along those lines, John Cena was funny as Sammy Fak. But was he needed? His presence distracted. Just let Matty Matheson do his thing.

I didn’t get all the people who hated Claire’s introduction last year. Most of that criticism was that she was kind of formulaic and we never got to know much about her, thus her time on screen distracted from the story we were really interested in. I doubt those people will be pleased with how she floated in and out of this season, without ever being a big part of it aside from a couple scenes. And I guess this means she’s back next year?

Marcus is still the best. His eulogy for his mother was wonderful.

Favorite line of the year: Chef David telling Carmy “You basically made nachos” when he adds a dot of sauce to an already spare dish. Joel McHale is so good in his limited moments as David.

Another good line, this time from Richie: “Chef Carmen uses power phrases ’cause he’s a baby replicant who’s not self-actualized.” I love self-actualized Richie!

Richie is totally taking Jess to his ex-wife’s wedding, isn’t he? Good for them both. And good for Richie and his ex being civil to each other for their daughter’s sake. I loved their scene where they are having a normal, adult conversation then occasionally scream at their daughter not to eat something she finds on the playground.

Interesting to read theories about the Chicago Tribune review. I’m not totally convinced Carmen read it, but instead wonder if those words that flashed on the screen were another product of the mess in his head.

However, some TV critics think he did read it. One thought it was a bad review. One thought it was mixed, praising The Beef side of the business while dinging The Bear side. And another thought it was actually a positive one that pointed out that, like so many other new places, it needed some time to work out the kinks and find its focus.

I’m not sure any of it matters. Even if the review was positive, does that end up reinforcing in Carmen that he’s on the right path and he doesn’t need to make concessions that will bring The Bear at least to a break-even point? And, thus, Cicero pulls the plug? Might Syd be so far gone that she will take Shapiro’s offer no matter what the future of The Bear is? Is season four all about Carmy and Syd going two different directions because that was inevitable?

At the Ever funeral dinner, we see all these famous chefs, many of whom have worked together but eventually scattered out on their own. Great chefs rarely stay together for long. Even if Carmen cleans up his act and The Bear begins making money, Sydney is destined to take her own journey at some point.

One review of season three I read drew some parallels between the arc of The Bear and Ted Lasso. That writer suggested season four will follow the Lasso lead of putting everyone in a good place before it wraps up. I think we all want that to happen. But on The Bear, I’m wondering if a happy ending means the crew we’ve come to love so much end up going off on their own rather than conquering the world together.

There were plenty of high points in season three. Overall, though, it was frustrating because of its lack of focus. Or, perhaps, it was more focused on what’s ahead than what was in the present. I hope the writers know what they are doing, get their groove back for season four, and return the show to where it was in seasons one and two.

Dark Matter

May 7, 2024 / DB

We are nearly three weeks out from the release of Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter. As an OG PJ head, I should probably do a review. Especially since I’ve been listening to it daily over that entire stretch.[1]

That last sentence could be the entire review. For the first time since 2006’s self-titled album, a Pearl Jam disk has stuck with me for more than just the few days after its release. As much as the band has meant to me over the past 30+ years, I haven’t had much patience for their post–2006 albums. They each featured one or two songs I liked but little about the entire works made me want to play them on repeat.

That is very different with Dark Matter.

In his review, Steven Hyden made a great point. For a band that is, arguably, the best live group in the business, their recent albums have lacked the spark and sense of fun and community that characterizes their concerts. It wasn’t just that the songs weren’t as good as the ones from their Nineties heyday. It also seemed like the band was trying too hard to force too many ideas into each one, and that weight kept the albums from being very engaging.

Producer Andrew Watt fixed that, though. He produced Eddie Vedder’s 2022 solo album, a collection of songs that was shockingly good and enjoyable. While recording, Vedder realized he had tapped into something special, and invited his PJ bandmates into the studio to catch the vibe. When it came time to record their next album, they agreed to bring Watt in for assistance.

Watt kept them on a tight schedule. He wanted to capture that spirit of the live shows. Instead of taking months or even years to make the album, as has been the case over the past decade, he and the band cranked out Dark Matter in just three weeks.

Even if the songs weren’t good, you hear that kinetic force throughout the album, setting it apart from their last three disks.

That’s the thing, though. There are a lot of really good songs on Dark Matter.

I’ve already shared my love for “Wreckage” and “Waiting For Stevie” in recent Friday Playlists. Those are two of the best songs they’ve ever done, let alone in the back half of their career.

Lead single “Dark Matter” was the rare “old band trying to prove they can still rock” track that actually worked.

Opener “Scared of Fear,” while ostensibly about someone who is drifting away because of addiction or maybe just indifference, features a chorus that is a perfect statement for a band full of guys who are nearing 60 but once defined a generation:

We used to laugh, we used to sing
We used to dance, we had our own theme
We used to laugh, we used to sing
We used to dance, we used to believe

The chorus is anchored by a classic Jeff Ament pop-punk bass riff, with Stone Gossard roaring in to match him.

Matt Cameron’s drumming sounds better than it’s ever sounded.[2] Mike McCready’s solos remind you of all the great ones from the hits, without being derivative.

I’ve watched a lot of Curb Your Enthusiasm over the past few months, and I can’t help but channel Leon Black when describing the music on Dark Matter: these cats are locked the fuck in.

Eddie Vedder sounds great, too. The best he’s sounded in years. His songs are a little more universal than they used to be, which means a critical reading of his lyrics shows they may not match his best from the first few albums. But they work. And his voice and music more than make up for any lyrical flaws.

“Got To Give” and “Won’t Tell” are poppy tracks refined enough they would likely be big radio hits if rock music still had a home on radio.

The album ends with “Setting Sun,” a track that begins as a gentle, fireside ballad and grows into a soaring affirmation of life and loyalty to each other.

I love thinking about last tracks from the perspective of “If this was the band’s last album, how would this hold up?” Thinking, mostly, of the close of Abbey Road with its melody that leads up to “The End.” That was quite a way to go out.

I don’t think Pearl Jam is going anywhere any time soon. But were this to be their final album, “Setting Sun” would be a fitting way to say goodbye, especially with Eddie repeating “Let us not fade…” as the song ends.

From start-to-finish the band sounds as energized and connected as they have in years. Or, more properly, as energized and connected in the studio as they have for years. Watt got them to relax and stop worrying about Making Statements with their songs and, instead, just discover some good grooves and melodies and turn those into great songs.

Dark Matter won’t have the cultural impact of Pearl Jam’s first three albums, nor will it sell as many copies. But it is their most accessible and satisfying album of the 2000s. It is an album made to satisfy both the long time fans who followed them through the many twists and turns of their career and also those who stopped paying attention around Vitalogy and have longed for good songs that rock and hit you in the heart since 1994.[3]

According to Last.fm, I’m approaching 200 Pearl Jam tracks listened to over that span. Some of those are legacy tracks Spotify is spitting at me, but most are from Dark Matter. ↩
Not a drumming expert, but I’ve always found his style to be a little clinical and sterile. This is the first time since he joined Pearl Jam that he feels massive and on the verge of being unhinged. Which is a very good thing. ↩
I have a buddy who is far more into heavier rock that I ever have been. He loved the first two PJ albums but never had time for their politics or their various artistic diversions over the years. Out of the blue he texted me over the weekend with this: “New Pearl Jam is pretty good.” ↩

Ten Years Being Lost In The Dream

March 27, 2024 / DB

I love honoring musical anniversaries, mostly by dropping songs with birthdays into my Friday Playlists.

I missed a big one while we were on spring break, one that demands more than just a song in a playlist.

March 18 was the tenth anniversary of the War on Drugs’ Lost In The Dream.

It is an album that has been a huge part of my life since the day it was released. It is certainly one of my two favorite albums of this century,[1] and should comfortably slot into my top ten favorite albums of all time list the next time I revisit that collection.

Over the past week I’ve listened to Lost In The Dream, front-to-back, at least three times. Everything about it still holds up.

At the time, Lost In The Dream was TWOD’s commercial breakthrough, as much as you could say that in 2014. It took a band that generated a lot of positive critical buzz with their previous album, Slave Ambient, and put them onto the front page of every music website in existence at the time. They transitioned from small clubs to larger ones, and within a few years were selling out Madison Square Garden.

I’ve written many times about Lost In The Dream, so it’s not worth going deep into it again. It remains an almost perfectly sequenced album. Starting with the twitchy, unsettled “Under the Pressure,” and ending with “In Reverse,” one of the truly great final tracks ever made. In between are two massive, Springsteen-esque songs written to be played endlessly (“Red Eyes,” “Burning”), the massive tent pole song in the middle that supports the weight of the entire album (“An Ocean in Between the Waves”), and the two gentler tracks that counter “Ocean” (“Eyes to the Wind,” “Lost in the Dream”). “Suffering” and “Disappearing” are the only B/B+ tracks on the album, and even then they fit into the perfect slots, giving the listener a slight respite from the heaviness of the rest of the album.

Adam Granduciel labored with the record for over a year, going through a destructive breakup, experiencing a crisis of confidence over his musical path, and reaching the point of near mental breakdown because of crippling anxiety about his life along the way. Songs were worked, reworked, and then reworked again. Months of work was scrapped, then reclaimed at the last minute. The agita of the project became part of its legend. I doubt Granduciel would want to go through that journey again, but the result was a confirmation of his talent and ambition.

The War on Drugs has made two excellent albums since Lost In The Dream. 2017’s A Deeper Understanding explored similar themes, both musically and lyrically, with the benefits that came from being signed to a major label. I Don’t Live Here Anymore, released in 2021, took the band on a new path. The sounds weren’t all that different. But rather than focusing on drifting between emotions, locations, and relationships, it was about accepting that you can be happy even when all of that other stuff is still hard work. It was also an album where Granduciel pared back his modern guitar hero histrionics in favor of making a truly collaborative album that allowed each member of the band to shine.

Both of those albums are awesome and I still listen to them often. But neither can match Lost In The Dream for its emotional impact. Even if he is still making great music – and hopefully has much more ahead in his career – Lost In The Dream was the apotheosis of everything that Granduciel believes in musically.

Frightened Rabbit’s The Midnight Organ Fight being the other. ↩

Ted Lasso: One for the Road

June 1, 2023 / DB

Some notes about the end of Ted Lasso.

To reset, S had never watched the show before, so in April we watched together from the very first episode. We got caught up three weeks ago, watching the final three episodes on the nights they were released. After binging 30 or so in about 20 nights, I hated going old school and having to wait seven days for the next one.

I don’t think my general thoughts about season three are too original. I didn’t read many episode recaps during the season, nor any post-finale think pieces after Wednesday’s finale. But I believe consensus was that season three was uneven and had too many plot lines that were either unnecessary or too lengthy. Until the end, when things just kind of worked out. How Ted Lasso.

For example, did we need both Colin coming out/being outed and Keely having a relationship with a woman at the same time? I thought doing both seemed redundant and marginalized what could have been more powerful storylines had only one been used. I’m sure that got the right wingers worked up. Maybe that was the point.

I think the macro view of the issues with season three are pretty typical of an ensemble show like this, especially one blessed with such good writing and acting performances. There is an effort to squeeze something good in for everyone and, in the process, the focus that made season one so magical gets lost.

I kept making one comparison in my head. While the shows were very different, both Lasso and Stranger Things progressed through their runs in similar manners. Each were introduced via a season one that was amazing and affecting, a set of episodes that can be watched over-and-over. Both offered season twos that, while losing some of the brilliance of their premieres, expanded on that base and were, in some ways, even better. And then each show got off its rails a bit in season three as their universes expanded.

There are plenty of other shows that have had similar issues, but that was the one that struck me the most.

Back to season three specifically, I didn’t buy the whole Nathan Shelly plot line at all. He turned, with terrific vengeance, on the man who believed in him and helped him rise from kit man to assistant because Nate’s dad didn’t tell him he loved him? I know this show had daddy issues deep in its DNA, but that did not work for me. Even if the scene when Nate and his dad finally air their grievances was very affecting. Nate’s redemption seemed awfully easy after that.

Sam, who was such a big part of season two, sunk to the background this season. I get that you have to cycle through which secondary characters get the most attention. His experience with racism and hate are a perfect example of how interesting things get lost when a show’s world expands. That really could have been a huge, impactful part of the season, but was isolated to a couple episodes early on and then never revisited.

I was glad the Sam-Rebecca thing pretty much got dropped, other than a few looks of longing.

I hated how Roy Kent went from one of the great characters in recent memory to kind of an afterthought. At times he was almost a parody of the Roy we loved in the first two seasons, his gruff comments feeling somewhat forced and lacking in bite.

Another story line that I think deserved more attention was the change in Jamie’s dad. All we saw was a shot of him in, presumably, rehab and then he and Jamie sitting together smiling in the finale’s closing montage. For a relationship that was so powerful and difficult to watch in season two, I think it deserved more time to show the process James went through and how he and Jamie reconciled.

One thing I found very interesting about the show was how it was, overtly, a very politically progressive show. There was nary an episode without a reference, subtle or overt, either supporting a left-leaning political stance or decrying a right wing view. Which, again, I’m sure pissed off plenty of people. You know, the people who decry “cancel culture” when asked to stop being racist and then ban books they don’t like, protest because Target has rainbow t-shirts, or focus on men wearing dresses instead of the fight against bigotry and child abuse those dude in dresses stand for. Some might call them snowflakes.

Yet, from a higher level, Ted Lasso was strongly rooted in traditional values. It was all about having a strong connection with a parent, and the troubles that can develop when that parental connection is not available.[1] It was about taking care of people you are close to. For accepting responsibility for your actions. About being proud of your little community, whether it is a locker room, a soccer team, or the neighborhood of the mega city it occupies. About how you play the game being more important than the final result.

I’ll chalk all that up to Jason Sudeikis’ Midwestern upbringing. Although the empathy for people who live different lives than our own that Ted Lasso was so famous for is rarely present in the leaders who represent those of us who live in flyover country.

Sudeikis gets most of the credit for Lasso. Not enough is said about Bill Lawrence. I have no idea what the split in creative energies has been throughout the series, but Lasso is another notch in what has been an amazing career for Lawrence. He wrote for Friends and The Nanny, among other shows. He helped to create Spin City, Scrubs, and Cougar Town. Then he was involved in Lasso. I’ve heard Shrinking is pretty good, too. That’s a pretty solid CV.

Rupert becoming the #1 villain was both predictable and highly satisfying. While all that family/community stuff is nice, the show’s willingness to tear down the rich white dudes who think the world should bow before their every whim because they have money was almost as big of an organizing ethos.

And yet Edwin Akufo’s return showed that rich Black guys can be menaces as well. At least Akufo was hilarious. The scene in season two when he erupts after Sam turns down his offer was one of the best of the show’s entire run.

Another terrific element of the show’s DNA, especially for old guys like me, were all the references to Cheers. From having characters named Sam and Rebecca, to the picture of Sudeikis’ uncle (George Wendt, aka Norm) hanging in Roy’s favorite kebab joint, there were many scattered throughout the series. I’m sure I missed some of them along the way.

There was a wonderful final callback in the Lasso finale’s closing minutes. In case you missed it, Mae reaches up to shift a picture of Geronimo hanging from her bar’s wall that had gone askew. It was a smaller version of a picture that Nicholas Colasanto, aka Coach from Cheers, kept in his dressing room. After his death in 1985, the cast moved the picture onto the set. In the final episode of Cheers, Sam pauses to straighten it before he leaves the bar.

And then they cut to Trent Crimm signing books for his fans, saying “Cheers” to them.[2]

I also loved how there was always the Will They/Won’t They element to Ted and Rebecca’s relationship, something no show has ever done better than Cheers with Sam and Diane. I thought it was great how the writers only ever hinted at that angle, and kept Ted and Rebecca as friends but never lovers.

And then they open the finale with them clearly having slept in the same house and Ted asking if Rebecca wanted to talk about it. It took less than a minute to reveal they, in fact, did not sleep together. That was a nice way to wrap up that part of the show’s history.

I haven’t even talked about the soccer. I liked how soccer was always a huge part of where each season headed. Whatever the final result on the pitch was, it was always outweighed by what was going on with the characters.

OK, the players all pulling pieces of the destroyed Believe sign from their belongings was kind of hokey. But I loved it.

I’m guessing there wasn’t much acting in all the tears shed in the finale, especially from Hannah Waddingham in the airport scene. She seemed a right wreck, to attempt to put it into words she would use.

I will miss seeing her. She is an absolute Greek Goddess, surely carved out of marble by the sword of Zeus.

Other things I will remember/miss about Tedd Lasso:
Ted’s unwavering belief that people are good and deserve love and respect. We can tell ourselves we should behave in a similar manner, but so much of today’s world pushes us to be cynical and suspicious. Ted gives us hope we can all be better.
Roy Kent, fucking feminist icon.
The love between almost all the female characters, but especially Rebecca and Keely.
Jamie Tartt’s transformation.
Sam Obisanya’s moral compass and innate goodness.
Trent Crimm’s (of The Independent) hair.
The lads in the pub.
Sassy’s sassiness.

Ted Lasso will go down as the first great show from AppleTV+. Only an uneven season three keeps it from being an all time classic. It offered us some tremendous characters, lots of laughs, perhaps as many tears, and 30-some episodes that always had at least one moment that would affect you. After rewatching them all, I give season one an A+, season two an A-, and season three a B+, with an overall grade of A.

Ted, Rebecca, Sam, Nate, Jamie, and even young Phoebe were all examples of the power and influence parents, and parent figures, have over us. Rupert clearly had daddy issues we never heard about. ↩
I stole the title of this post from Cheers’ final episode title as well. ↩