Compelling Content
Compelling Content
My Recs and Reflections, Pumped by the Jam
When was the last time you listened to the early 90’s Belgian banger “Pump Up the Jam?” You know the one…PUMP up the jam, pump it up, while your feet are stompin’...and the jam is pumpin’...
Let the synthy techno house beats reverberate as a reminder.
Getcha booty on the floor tonight, make my day.
If you, like me, heard this timeless track six or more times in the past week, then you and I are on the same page when it comes to content consumption. “In the mind,” as my sister and I say when we’re on the same wavelength.
You, my 24 subscribers, are likely not in my mind, but I welcome you to join me. Enter if you dare.
My friends and colleagues have long told me that I’ve got great content recommendations; that they enjoy my pop culture critiques and opinions. I’ve never thought my suggestions were particularly special. I’m watching/reading/listening to the same stuff available to everyone on the platforms we all use, but I concede that my personal curation and commentary is unique and thus perhaps worth sharing.
So, with that, here are two new Netflix releases I watched and thoroughly enjoyed last week, with a fortuitous throughline of mega-anthem “Pump Up the Jam.”
Cunk on Earth
Cunk on Earth is a delightfully droll mockumentary on the history of human progress. Featuring the incredible Diane Morgan as Philomena Cunk, an obtuse commentator/interviewer, the show follows her for five episodes as she asks offbeat, often misguided questions of legitimate historians and academics.
These clearly pedigreed people handle the conversations in stride, responding to her asinine remarks with a straight face and explaining concepts to her as if she were a five year old. I found myself wondering at multiple points what the production direction was given to these people. “She’s going to seem insane. Do not smile. Do not laugh. Answer with the gravity of scholar, and the vocabulary of a first grader.”
They don’t seem frustrated or annoyed, as I absolutely would be, they all respond simply and patiently. Occasionally, something she says contains a seed of genuine insight or understanding, like this conversation she has with a Cambridge University professor about “brain pipes” and the effort of thought.
“You know how the brain is full of pipes…?”
“I’m not…I didn’t know about that…”
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Look at the size of that man’s cranium. Imagine the knowledge contained within.
“Pump Up the Jam” is a running bit throughout the series, inserted as a non sequitur in every episode. Each time it comes on, a bit more of the video is played. Each time, I was itching for more. Be still my Jock Jams loving heart.
You can imagine my surprise when, while chilling with a JuneShine watching another new release, I again heard the dulcet techno tune.
Gunther’s Millions
This show has everything. A dog with a trust fund. Pseudo-science. A colorful cast of weirdos with hot accents. The makings of a cult.
SIDEBAR: I love cult content. I’ve long been fascinated by groups that ascribe to a singular theory, deity, or system of belief. I grew up Catholic, so I come by it honestly.
I once attempted to start a cult, the Puffy People, named as such because of my firm belief that people puff up when it’s hot and humid. It was mid-summer and I felt like none of my clothes fit. The name was nonsensical and that was the point.
The Puff’s core tenet was procrastination: “Never do today, what can be put off until tomorrow.” Thus, the cult never got off the ground. I did make myself a t-shirt though. I wore it to Outside Lands.
Back to Gunther and his millions. The story seems fanciful, and that’s because it is. Nothing is as it seems, and that’s what makes it entertaining. Listen for Technotronic encouraging you to Pump Up the Jam at the beginning of episode two, as the show introduces a “researcher” hired to study the social and sexual interactions of a manufactured pop group, The Burgundians, purportedly in the name of creating a new generation of perfect, beautiful, happy people.
It’s…a lot. But I liked it, and I think you will too.
Finally, I’m easing my way into The Last of Us and was Absolutely. Wrecked. by episode three. I spent the entirety of last night in a state not even JuneShine could pull me out of.
In conclusion
I need a name for my content recommendations series – does anything come to mind? I welcome suggestions.
I also continue to battle the squirrels. They’re now scaling walls and windows, I’ve clearly been marked as an enemy. I have a plan – and a new product – to thwart them, but haven’t had time to set it into motion. I’ll document my progress soon.
xx