'60s
Best Weekend: “Empire” Catch-Up, Madonna’s New Album, + More
What we'll be listening to, watching, and reading to sate our pop culture needs.
This article was made possible because of the generous support of DAME members. We urgently need your help to keep publishing. Will you contribute just $5 a month to support our journalism?
A weekend spent hanging with the queen of pop, Empire’s Cookie, and legendary studio musician Carol Kaye of the Wrecking Crew is a weekend well spent. TGIF.
“Empire” Catch-Up
If you’re not already watching this high-drama show from Lee Daniels, now’s your chance to catch up before Wednesday’s two-hour season finale. With glamour, guns, and soap-operatic flare, Empire revolves around drug-dealer-turned-media-mogul Lucius Lyon, his just-out-of-prison wife Cookie, and their three sons, all vying for their piece of the pie. A pie that we can’t stop eating, er, watching.
“Rebel Heart”—Madonna
Yes, Madonna misguidedly compared the early leak of this album to rape, and has said a few other questionable things lately, but we will always make room in our iTunes for her Madgesty. What we’ve come to expect from Ms. Ciccone is an EDM-infused caricature of the icon we grew up with and on Rebel Heart she delivers with songs about God, sex, and, what else, being Madonna.
“A Fireproof Home for the Bride” by Amy Scheibe
Watching young protagonist Emmaline Nelson’s coming of age and awakening independence is the most compelling part of devoted friend of DAME Amy Scheibe’s sophomore novel, set in late 1950s Minnesota. But the family secrets that are revealed through intricate storylines illuminating the era’s race, class, and gender constructs as Emmaline sheds the notion that she must be a farmer’s wife and digs into her new job as a reporter add another wonderful layer of intrigue.
“The Wrecking Crew” Documentary
Session musicians are the unsung heroes of the music world, but in this new documentary, the little-known artists who made much of the most famous pop of the ’60s get their due. Known as the Wrecking Crew, this group recorded for everyone from the Beatles to the Ronettes to Frank Sinatra. Among them is the kickass Carol Kaye, a lone female bassist in a man’s world, and whose role in this group of musical geniuses makes this doc a must-see.
“A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara
Hanya Yanagihara’s book about four friends trying to make it in NYC highlights the subtle ebb and flow of male friendship with uncanny insight. When A Little Life takes a turn to focus on the group’s enigmatic, beautiful Jude, the reader watches his childhood tragedy unfold, and becomes privy to his inner turmoil, even more so than his closest companions.
Before you go, we hope you’ll consider supporting DAME’s journalism.
Today, just tiny number of corporations and billionaire owners are in control the news we watch and read. That influence shapes our culture and our understanding of the world. But at DAME, we serve as a counterbalance by doing things differently. We’re reader funded, which means our only agenda is to serve our readers. No both sides, no false equivalencies, no billionaire interests. Just our mission to publish the information and reporting that help you navigate the most complex issues we face.
But to keep publishing, stay independent and paywall free for all, we urgently need more support. During our Spring Membership drive, we hope you’ll join the community helping to build a more equitable media landscape with a monthly membership of just $5.00 per month or one-time gift in any amount.