Five for Friday - June 11, 2021

We Are Lady Parts: This has been a stellar year for comedy. And here's another great entry. The six-episode season, which follows a punk rock band of Muslim women, plays more like a movie than a show. Most of the real big laughs are in the early episodes. And some of the supporting characters could use more screen time. But it is delightful to see a show deftly navigate blowing up stereotypes, exploring culture, and celebrating representation in ways that few shows like this do. Touching, surprising, and vibrant, it is more than the sum of its Parts, and I am excited to see where it goes. Plus, how can you not love a show that has instant classic songs like Ain't No One Gonna Honor Kill My Sister But Me and Bashir with the Good Beard?

Watermelon with mustard: Move over hot vax summer. This is the cultural movement of 2021. A TikTok sensation, you might think this combo is an abomination. But the tang of the mustard combines as well with the sweet crunch of watermelon as a balsamic vinaigrette does with the fruit in a salad. Biden must agree. He revoked the order banning TikTok.

Longhouse - Heaven: This group, led by Lisa Herman, released one album, produced by Anton Fier, of lovely poetic pop in 1988 and promptly disappeared to the extent that you can't download the music on iTunes and little more than low-quality uploads of this song exist on YouTube. Done a cappella, this pretty love song deserves to be excavated from obscurity, played at weddings, and sung by angels from above. It certainly sounds like it is. The whole album is a gem worth hunting down.

Record Store Day 2021: It's almost here. Well, the first one of the year is almost here. Like last year, RSD is being done in drops. There are several titles I am hoping to grab. My top choices are releases by Kenny Dorham, Jonathan Richman, Meshell Ndegeocello, Love Spit Love, and Maria McKee, plus a compilation of R&B songs called Dedicated to You. I am tempted to sing It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, but given how much music I purchase, every day is RSD.

Astronomers spot blinking star at the center of the galaxy: Actually, the star was just winking to get our attention.