This October, Watch "Over the Garden Wall"
Lineup Includes the Trailer Round-Up & the Midweek Mixtape with David Sabastian, C. Tangana + Nathy Peluso, and Daisy
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Friday’s TGIF lineup varies, from New Music Friday releases, Love Letters, The Audio Files, playlists, Retro Fixation, film lists/reviews, The Style Files, and so much more in pop culture adjacency.
For this week’s TGIF, we’re looking back at 2014 with Over The Garden Wall, a fantastical, dark fantasy that touches on subjects like existentialism and more with the ease of great storytelling. Get into it below.
Happy autumn and a happy spooky season, everyone! It’s your girl, Sam (A.K.A. Venus In Cat Eyes), here for another #TGIF post; Naomi and I will be switching off every other week. Happily here about a show, I discovered via Instagram Reels called Over the Garden Wall for my Friday feature.
If you’re anything like me, you have an interest in cute yet slightly spooky entertainment. Movies like Coraline and The Corpse Bride don’t necessarily creep you out; rather, they fascinate you with an added sense of a layer of seasonal coziness. There’s something eerily charming about foggy forests filled with mysteries, both creepy and exciting.
Originally premiering on Cartoon Network back in 2014, the Emmy-winning series was written and created by Patrick McHale, who also wrote the cult favorite, Adventure Time. The series stars Wirt (Elijah Wood), the anxious and more serious older half-brother of the adorable and chaotic Greg (Collin Dean), who finds themselves lost in a forest known as The Unknown. The entire series consists of 10 eleven-minute episodes–their journey to get back home to the real world.
Initially, it’s unclear how Wirt and Greg ended up in this purgatory-like dimension, but as they encounter talking animals and pumpkin people, the truth gets closer to reveal. What I loved about this show is the classic American storybook telling in every episode, displayed title cards for each episode, and its Chapter title, which gave off the feel of it being an old-timey cartoon, even though it’s a more modern animation. As much as I want to dive deep into my favorite episodes, for the sake of spoilers—everyone who hasn’t seen this show should watch it to enjoy the surprises and beautiful story is told firsthand. However, I will biasedly add that the second episode is my favorite of the entire series, particularly the creepy pumpkin people.
Besides having beautiful art and quirky dialogue (thanks to Greg), the voices behind the eccentric characters include a cursed woman and a wealthy man— he doesn’t know the size of his mansion. Notable voices also include Melanie Lynskey, Christopher Lloyd, Chris Isaak, Bebe Neuwirth, Shirley Jones, and Tim Curry, to name drop a few.
Over the Garden Wall is the perfect spookily eerie yet heartwarming show that encapsulates the autumn season and is perfect for your viewing pleasure for October. Make it an entire event; grab a pumpkin spiced latte, fuzzy blanket, and enjoy watching Wirt and Greg’s journey into the Unknown via HBO Max or Hulu.
Here are the latest teasers and trailers for your unadulterated pleasure.
🎥 Amazon Prime Video’s Fairfax
Fairfax is about the timeless struggle to be cooler than you are and fit in a while standing out and what it feels like to wait in line for a pair of sneakers you’re never going to cop. The series stars Skyler Gisondo, Kiersey Clemons, Peter S. Kim, and Jaboukie Young-White as middle school best friends on their never-ending quest for clout on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles— the pulsing heart of hypebeast culture.v All eight episodes will premiere on October 29th, exclusively on Prime Video.
🎥 Paramount’s Scream
“Hello, Sidney.”
🎥 HBO Max’s Women is Losers
Centered in 1960’s San Francisco, a bright and talented Catholic school girl Celina Guerrera (Lorenza Izzo), survives a difficult home life by following the rules. That is until an indiscretion creates a series of devastating consequences. As Celina faces the compounded obstacles of being young and alone, she sets out to rise above the oppression of poverty and invest in the future that sets new precedents for the time. Inspired by real women and the Janis Joplin song of the same title, WOMEN IS LOSERS world premiered at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival, where it finished as one of the most-watched of the festival.
The series stars Lorenza Izzo, Bryan Craig, Chrissie Fit, Simu Liu, Steven Bauer, Liza Weil, Cranston Johnson, Alejandra Miranda, Shalim Ortiz, and Lincoln Bonilla.
🎥 Lionsgate’s Zeroes and Ones
Ethan Hawke (Training Day) and director Abel Ferrara (Bad Lieutenant) join forces for this gritty, tense political thriller set on one deadly night in Rome. Called to the city to stop an imminent terrorist bombing, soldier J.J. (Hawke) desperately seeks news of his imprisoned rebel brother, Justin (also Hawke). The latter holds knowledge that could thwart the attack— navigating the capital’s darkened streets, J.J. races to a series of terrifying encounters, hoping to keep the Vatican from being blown to bits.
As an homage to my love of mixtapes, here’s a digital collection of new music you should listen to, straight from our inbox and specially curated for Youthquake readers. Enjoy, and never be afraid to share what you’re listening to on social media plenty of others like me appreciate it. — Naomi
🎧 David Sabastian Bad Bitch Holiday
Los Angeles-based visionary David Sabastian wants Black Women worldwide to affirm their excellence with the official release of Bad Bitch Holiday via Believe In Yourself Records/BPG Music/Warner Records.
The song is a celebratory ode to the women in Sabastian’s life and motivated women in general. And the video, which features narration from self-proclaimed “Bad Bitch” and the ‘deliciously divine,’ Saweetie.
“I wanted to pay homage to all women who need a day off. Doesn’t matter where they’re from, what they look like, what their creed, religion, or social status. None of that matters. It’s a Bad Bitch Holiday.” states David Sabastian, who also launched his own fashion brand with a philanthropic mission aimed for unhoused residents.
🎧 C. Tangana + Nathy Peluso Ateo
Spanish music visionary C. Tangana and Argentine-born, Spanish-living provoker Nathy Peluso debut a new single, Ateo, that odes to bachata. This genre was heavy on C. Tangana’s mind while making his latest album El Madrileño, decontextualizing the traditional elements and crossing over with urban sounds.
C. Tangana felt ‘Nathy was the perfect partner for that’ since they “share a rap background and are sonically exploring other traditional music styles. When Pucho first sent me the song. I immediately felt it was a classic. And when we worked together at the studio I reconfirmed that same feeling. It’s a project with a marvellous universe and a fantastic video that is truly a piece of art, and a very interesting topic that challenges us all. Long live Romanticism!”
🎧 DAISY Eastside
Los Angeles-based band DAISY— the self-proclaimed “music for kissing” since 2015 has released their latest single and accompanying video for Eastside.
The freshly new track blurs the lines between pop, R&B, and jazz while marking the next chapter for the band. Produced by bassist Alex Kasvikis, it richly blends the laid-back instrumentals blend with Daisy Hamel-Buffa’s rich and effortless vocals at the forefront.
This weekend we’ll be busy planning on our upcoming Halloween edition of Youthquake, which will have a film and playlist of our ageless favorites. Expect a film list that ranges from Giallo classics to stop-motion animation and downright haunting tales. So, make sure you come and play with us…..