Better Late Than Never on "I'm a Virgo"

After seeing "I Love Boosters", I decided I was going to watch the seven episode series "I'm A Virgo". You all know I'm a Boots Riley fan, and this is the show he did in between his two excellent movies. I remember when the show was announced, but why I never got to it then, I don't remember. But I'm glad that I remedied that over the past couple of weeks.

"I'm Virgo" is a coming of age tale about a giant that lives with his aunt and uncle in San Francisco. I know, it sounds weird. But I am pretty much on board with whatever Boots Riley is doing creatively at this point, and this show was a blind spot that I wanted to correct. The start of the first episode is great too. It really hooks you and makes you want to watch more. We see this mom holding this gigantic baby. I mean this baby is a newborn, but it is bigger than anyone else. And then we see the newborn grow into a 19 year old in this small home where he lives with his aunt and uncle. Cootie, played by Jharrel Jerome, is the giant. He is naive to the world, but he wants to know more. He wants to explore. He wants to make friends and see what is outside his own little world, His aunt and uncle, played by Mike Epps and Carmen Ejogo, are doing their best to raise him and shelter him. He is so big though, they have to build him a separate area in their yard that is more suitable for his size. He breaks everything around him in his original home, so they all feel this is best for him. While living back in his own place, he sees things through a pipe that they installed for him. He sees kids hanging out. A local person comes by to chat with him. He reads comic books all the time and wants to see this world that "The Hero" has talked about in the books. One day he travels outside of his domicile disguised as a tree. One kid at a keg party goes to use the restroom in the woods and stumbles upon this moving tree. He tells everyone it's called the Thwamp Monster. This is how Cootie is introduced to the world. But he gains friends and fame and a girlfriend out of it. Flora, played by Olivia Washington, is his girlfriend. She works at Bing Bang Burgers. She is instantly into him and he likes her too. They do a solo episode explaining her past and it is heartbreaking and one of the best of the whole season. Flora rules. Cootie's main group of friends, Felix, Jones and Scat, played by Brett Gray, Kara Young and Allius Barnes, take to Cootie really quickly and they show him how to navigate the real world. They talk about making money, hooking up and fighting for a bigger cause. Jones was my favorite of the friends. She has a plan, she takes action, she basically saves the day and her "power" in the show is pretty neat. Scat plays a massive role as the season wears on. It's unfortunate why his role gets bigger, but I really enjoyed Barnes portrayal of this character, especially when he's denied entrance into a hospital. Felix is the coolest of the crew and he just wants to have a good time. But he is also willing to fight the fight and bang the drum for the cause. Walton Goggins plays The Hero, and he is a massive asshole, on purpose. The penultimate episode showing his story is important and Goggins brings it like he always does. The show starts off funny and like your basic coming of age story. But it morphs into so much more. We have capitalism, racism, brutality, standing up for what is right, getting people to help fight the powers that be, all of this is rolled up nicely into seven 30 minute episodes. I found myself very interested in what was going to happen next. It had that nice, odd Boots Riley feel to it. It was cool to see what he did with more time than he has on a movie set. I thought the actors and writers brought it as well.

"I'm A Virgo" is a cool, off the beaten path show. I feel it may be underrated at this point, but maybe more people will check it out now with the success that "I Love Boosters" is having. I'm glad I watched it and I think you should check it out too. I believe many people will find this to be a good time. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "I Love Boosters"

Over the weekend I went and saw "I Love Boosters". Let’s discuss.

I was primed and pumped for this showing. I'm a big Boots Riley fan. Ever since one of my older brothers introduced me to his music, he raps in a group called The Coup, I was on board. I have always liked how politically charged his lyrics were and still are. I like that he has something important to say. I like that he has some of the best guest features on their albums. I loved Pa the Funkstress, may she Rest in Peace. I then saw that he was making a movie before the pandemic. "Sorry To Bother you" is one of the most unique movies I've ever seen. I was instantly in love with that movie. I told everyone I know to go see it. I took my dad to watch and had my wife watch it with me as well. They had their opinions, but this was a movie I wanted to share with everyone I knew. I have heard from friends that I recommended it to, and they have said they liked it. It was such a good take on the ills of wealth and the lengths people will take to get there. I have not yet watched "But I'm a Virgo". I actually plan on starting that later this afternoon. And then we have "I Love Boosters". Boots Riley and crew have been promoting the hell out of it since they announced a release day. I watched all of that with bated breath. I saw early reviews, and thankfully they were praising the movie. It was widely released last Friday, and the internet was abuzz with people giving it its flowers. I tried to see it on Friday, but the timing didn't work. Fortunately for me my son's basketball game didn't start until 6pm on Sunday, so I was able to see it Sunday afternoon.

I loved this movie so much. It is so Boots Riley to an absolute T. From the jump I knew I was in for a ride. The Tune Yards are back doing the score for this movie, they also scored "Sorry to Bother You". The score for this movie was carnival-esque. I read after watching the movie that the members of the band decided to try instruments they had never played before, like a mouth harp or an accordion. That comes across tenfold when listening to the score. I also love that the Tune Yards sing during the score. They say simple stuff, like "Hi Ho", but man does it work for me. We then have the cast, and they crushed this movie. The Velvet Gang, these are the Boosters, more on that in a moment. Keke Palmer is the star and she nails it. I hung on her every moment. I loved every look she wore in the movie. I thought her plans were the best. She was dynamite. The rest of the gang is filled out with Naomi Ackie, killing it as a mom who is trying best to get the best for her kids, and Taylour Paige, who seems a little dimwitted, but when it comes down to it, she knows what she's doing. Poppy Liu shows up about halfway through the movie, and I loved her backstory and reasoning for why she was doing what she was doing. LaKeith Stanfield is so awesome as a love interest for Palmer, who may have a secret. Demi Moore plays a tremendous villain. I grew to despise her as the movie went on. She also has the wildest office I've seen in a movie. Don Cheadle is in this movie, but you would have to look it up to see who he plays. He is awesome in this role too. Jason Ritter and Jermaine Fowler have bit parts that are very memorable. And this movie has a great story to go along with the great cast. Boosting is stealing clothes from a store and selling it at a lesser price to the people who truly want the clothes. The Coup actually have a song about it on their excellent record "Pick A Bigger Weapon". But this movie has so much more to tell. We have the boosting, but we also have striking workers, poor work conditions, tons of comedy, some of the most vibrant and cool looking clothing in a movie, a great story about friendship and family and some wild stuff that happens, that I don't want to spoil, in the final act. The movie also has a hopeful tinge to it, and makes me feel good when I'm watching it.

I stood up and clapped when the movie was over. Others joined in with me. "I Love Boosters" is so good. I want Boots Riley to continue to make movies because he has the most unique voice in directing right now. Go see this movie and see it in a theater full of people if you are able. It is so good and so fresh. We need more movie makers like Boots Riley. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Cloves and Fedoras: Go See the Intriguing Film "Sorry to Bother You"

Cloves and Fedoras is Seed Sings reviews for little known pieces of pop culture.  Feel free to contact us with your own submissions of undiscovered gems that must be known.

This past Saturday I had the great pleasure of seeing one of the wildest, weirdest, crazy, scatter brained, satirical and best movie that I have watched in a long, long time. I took my dad to see "Sorry to Bother You", and boy did this movie not disappoint.

I had very high expectations for this movie. From the moment that I heard Boots Riley of The Coup, a band that I am a big time fan of, I even nominated them for greatest American band, had written and directed a movie, I was interested. I didn't need to know what it was about, or who was even in it, I was just totally stoked that a visionary, and political activist like Boots Riley was getting a chance to make a movie. That being said, when I heard who was cast in the movie, that made me want to see it even more. As you all know, I am a big time fan of the show "Atlanta", and when I saw that Lakeith Stanfield was starring in the movie, I was pumped. It  also didn't hurt when I saw names like Tessa Thompson, Terry Crews, Steven Yeun, Jermaine Fowler and Danny Glover in the cast. Then the trailers started to some out. The trailers put all of the craziness and absurdity and wonderfulness that was this movie into the world. The trailers also made me realize who people like David Cross and Patton Oswalt were in this movie. I got advanced tickets and saw it the day after it was released nationwide. As I said, I saw it with my father, and a fairly crowded theater during a Saturday matinee. That made me happy from the start. The theater was not sold out by any means, but to see it about 1/2 full for an independent movie that was described as a "comedy, sci fi thriller", well, that is awesome. Maybe that means that more unique and cool movies will get a chance to be made. I am fatigued by sequels, remakes and super hero movies. It was nice to see something totally original. And, after only 3 previews, which I definitely appreciated, the movie started.

Now, I am not going to spoil anything, so I am going to continue very carefully with how I describe this wonderful movie. Stanfield plays Cassius Green. Green is broke. He lives in his Uncle's garage, Terry Crews played his uncle, and he is engaged to a performance artist that is also a sign twirler on the road. Green's fiancé is played by Tessa Thompson, and she shines in this movie. Her name is Detroit. She wears some of the wildest and coolest clothes that I have ever seen. She is an activist and she is just a beam of light whenever she is on screen. She makes all of her earrings in the movie, and they make it a point to say that, and to point them out. I loved that about this movie. Her wardrobe is also so hip and forward thinking, I would not be shocked if I saw people starting to dress like Detroit in real life. Anyway, Green needs a job because he is 4 months behind on his rent, and his uncle is about to lose the house. He gets a job at a telemarketing company, Regal View, and it is a struggle at first. Some of the scenes where he is making his first calls, where he literally drops into the home of the people he is calling, are so cool and unlike anything that I have seen. It was awesome. Green is struggling, and he is not making any money. The co worker sitting next to him, played by Danny Glover, gives him some advice. He tells him he needs to use his "white voice". He says that this will calm the people he is talking to, and they will be more willing to speak with him. I found this part of the movie very intriguing. I, and I assume many other people, just hang up on telemarketers. But, I wonder if the people that actually field these calls take them because of how the person sounds. It is a very great take on race relations, and only someone like Boots Riley could have pulled this off.

Green, now using his "white voice", which is voiced by David Cross, begins to crush it at work. He is selling whatever Regal View sells, it isn't very clear, and he is selling a ton. Amidst all this, Steven Yeun, playing a character named Squeeze, and Jermaine Fowler, Cassius' best friend, are starting to unionize so they can make living wages. This movie takes place in an alternate universe, and telemarketers in this world make far less than telemarketers do now. Cassius is part of their fight at first, but then he gets promoted to "power caller". This is where the real money is made. This is where Cassius can make enough money to help his uncle keep his house, buy an apartment for himself and Detroit, and furnish it with nice things. He is happy about this, at first. He then realizes what he is selling as a "power caller".

There is a company in this movie called Worry Free. They give people a job, a free place to live and free food, all they have to do is sign a lifetime contract, and work for them forever. It is essentially slave labor. Cassius comes to realize that, as a "power caller", he is only furthering and helping this awful corporation continue to thrive. But, since he is making money, he continues to go to work.

This begins to strain his relationship with Detroit and his friends. He is a scab. He may not realize it, but he is going against everything he believes in. He continues to cross the picket lines because he has finally found something that he is good at doing. He has struggled all his life, but telemarketing, with his "white voice", and selling things to random people on the phone, he is good at this. Needless to say, he and Detroit split. Fowler and Yeun want nothing to do with him. One day, while crossing the picket line, he gets struck in the head by a soda can. With all this happening, he continues to go to work, and to make Worry Free a ton of money.

Due to his success, Green gets invited to a big party with one of the owners or CEO or something of Worry Free, Steve Lift. Lift is played by Armie Hammer, and while I do not think he is a great actor, he is amazing in this movie. He is evil, a womanizer, a pig, a bully, a drug addict and just an all around bad guy. It is only when Cassius meets Hammer does he start to question what he is really doing. Hammer bullies him into free style rapping at a party. He essentially traps him in his home, and threatens his life when Cassius finds out some major news about what he is doing to help Worry Free continue to progress their laborers, who, lets just say, may not be all human. When Cassius learns of all of this, he decides now that he needs to fight back.

From here on out, if I were to say much more, I would spoil some major things in the movie. With that being said, you need to stay through the credits to get the full extent of what I am trying to get across without spoiling anything.

"Sorry to Bother You" is one of the most ambitious movies that I have ever witnessed. Boots Riley had a vision, and I feel like he decided he was going to put as much of it into this movie as possible, and that makes me so happy. He took all the chances. I mean, in this movie, the number one TV show in America is called, "I Just Got the Shit Kicked Out of Me". When they showed that, I was reminded of another one of my favorite, off the wall movies, "Idiocracy". But where the shows are similar, that is the only thing. "Sorry to Bother You" is much deeper, and way more in depth than "Idiocracy", and I adore "Idiocracy".

"Sorry to Bother You" is, quite possibly, the most original movie, with common themes, that has ever been made. The movie touches on class, selling out and race, but in such a unique and cool and visionary way. You must see this movie. You also must know, going into it, that it is weird and different, and there are crazy cuts and some of the wildest stuff you can think of times ten in this movie. But, it is all worth it. This movie more than surpassed my expectations. I saw it on Saturday, and I am still trying to figure everything out. The movie is open ended and lets you kind of decide what you think is right and wrong, and I love it even more because of that.

"Sorry to Bother You" is an amazing achievement, and I cannot wait to see what Boots Riley does next. What a gem.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has had a bunch of crappy jobs that forced him to bother people. Never again will you see Ty knocking on your door asking if you have the latest in Video Cassette Recording experience.

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The Greatest American Band Debate: The Coup

SeedSing is filled with music lovers. We can not agree on who is the best band from the States. The Greatest American Band Debate will be a regular feature where we discuss and compare bands who started in the good old USA. If you have any suggestions of bands we should debate Contact us seedsing.rdk@gmail.com

Today I'm going to get back to my greatest American band debate, and the band I'm going to nominate is a very underrated, yet super conscious hip hop group, the Coup. The Coup is comprised of 2 people, emcee Boots Riley and DJ Madame Funkress. There are other members, but these 2 are the driving force behind this wonderful hip hop group.

I was introduced to the Coup about 10 years ago by one of my brothers. I was getting into politically conscious rap, i.e., Mr. Lif, Dead Prez and Talib Kweli, among many others, and my brother had just discovered the Coup, and he thought I would enjoy them. The first record he gave me was "Pick A Bigger Weapon". This was their fifth of six albums, but it was a great gateway to the awesomeness that is the Coup. I was blown away by Boots Riley. His rhyming was fantastic. He was fast, but also clear. It was conscious music as well. I was getting angry about dirty politics, and the way minorities were being treated, I still think the stuff that is happening now is disgusting, and the Coup, but mainly Boots Riley, was telling these stories.

The opening track, "Pick a Bigger Weapon", kicked off the anger and showed that Boots had something to say. He was angry about the way his people were being treated, and he put it all out there on the opening track. Then, from there on out on the record, Boots and Madame Funkress cover everything from racism to having babies to being underpaid to starting a revolution. "My Favorite Mutiny", featuring Talib Kweli and Black Thought, has the three emcees trading verses about over taking the government and taking a stand. Each emcee crushes on this song. Kweli has the best verse, but both Black Thought and Boots Riley are nearly as good. This is probably my favorite track on the record. They follow that song up with "IJustWannaLayAroundAllDayInBedWithYou", which is just Boots talking to his lady about wanting to stay at home with her all day and make love. But, he also takes a stand against the low wages given out to the working class. He complains about his alarm clock. He just wants to be with his lady all day. But, that divulges into some great takes about being underpaid, or even worse, being paid in IOU's from a crooked boss. Boots, the song makes it seem like he is just having a conversation with his lady, really takes a stance on how the working class gets screwed over by crooked companies. It's a great, funky and heady song. Some other tracks that showcase his distaste for being underpaid and undervalued are songs like "Ass Breath Killers" and "Yes 'Em To Death". Both of these tracks have a skit at the top, and then the song starts. They are both excellent. As far as starting a revolution, the very last track on this record, "The Stand", is a 6 and a half minute epic. The track is beautiful and poignant and has Boots Riley at his absolute best. This is a great, great song that has a very important message. Boots states that he is not going to take this stuff from the big wigs, the government and the crooked bosses of crooked companies, and it still, to this day, holds so much weight for me. This is an essential track for anyone new to the Coup.

I know that I have focused primarily on this one record, "Pick A Bigger Weapon", but it was my introduction, and it is their absolute best record, in my opinion, to date. Their early stuff is great, don't get me wrong. "Genocide and Juice" and "Steal This Album" are both phenomenal and they both have the same message. You could tell early on that Boots and Funkress had some important things to say, and that comes off ten fold on their first three records. But, they really hit their stride on "Pick A Bigger Weapon". They absolutely knocked it out of the park with that record. But, as I said, listen to their early stuff too. It's a bit rougher, they weren't totally solid yet, still great though. I actually like older stuff a bit more, but there is something special about "Pick A Bigger Weapon".

They released another record 4 years after, "Sorry to Bother You", which is also pretty good. It has the same message as all their stuff, but this time around, they sound like they are having fun making this politically conscious rap music. It's a bit poppier, in a good way. Boots is still there crushing it, it just has more of a radio sound.

I have talked almost primarily about Boots Riley, but Madame Funkress is not to be left alone. She is a great DJ, first and foremost. The stuff she does on their records is truly awesome. She is also an excellent singer. She has a soulful voice and can belt it out. She can rap too. Madame Funkress is awesome and she deserves just as much credit for the success of this band as Boots Riley does.

Boots Riley has also branched out and done other stuff with other musicians that is pretty great. He started another band with Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine, Street Sweeper Social Club. This band had the same mood as the Coup, but instead of beat machines, record scratching and drum machines, it's just Tom Morello playing guitar and Boots emceeing. It's like a funkier version of Rage. I really like the record they put out. And, when you put one of my favorite rappers along with one of the greatest guitar players ever, I'm going to like it. Other than his many collaborations with Morello, Boots Riley has done stuff with Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, Les Claypool, Galactic, Del the Funky Homosapien and Killer Mike. That is a lot of different genres of music that he has leant his talents to. That should prove to any disbelievers that Boots Riley can do almost anything. Boots Riley is one of the most underrated emcees of all time. I know that true hip hop people and fans know him, but the common fan needs to know his name and listen to his music.

If you like hip hop, you will love Boots Riley, and the Coup. Look, this band is great and the world needs to know more about them. The Coup has gotten little to no recognition from the mainstream media, but I will sing their praises all day long. The Coup is not only one of America's greatest bands, but they are one of the most important bands too. They more than belong in this conversation. Do yourself a favor and go listen to anything by the Coup. I guarantee you will fall in love with their sound immediately.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Check out all of his nominees of the Greatest American Band. Make sure to follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.