In the June 28 newsletter:
The final countdown of our top 100 moments in culture (so far), what NBA teams should do in free agency (hypothetically speaking, of course), and an in-depth look into the funniest person on the internet (for now).
The Lakers have a max slot. Who makes the most sense to play alongside LeBron and Anthony Davis? [John Gonzalez]
- POP CULTURE -
The 100 best moments in culture in 2019. An exhaustive ranking of everything good that has happened in film, TV, celebrity news, and memedom this year. [Ringer Staff]
On The Bill Simmons Podcast, actor and director Bill Hader goes into detail about his process for directing the iconic “ronny/lily” episode from Season 2 of Barry.
It’s probably been a while since you thought about the short-lived internet sensation known as Darwin, the IKEA monkey. If so, a brief primate primer: In 2012, a Japanese macaque was found wandering near a Toronto-area IKEA, dressed in a shearling coat, looking both dapper and confused. The animal immediately became the subject of passionate memes and homages, until everyone collectively moved on to the next lunchtime distraction.
Demi Adejuyigbe, however, never forgot about Darwin. A writer and performer, Adejuyigbe has spent years taking in all sorts of random web-born phenomena. He’s also created some of his own. His hits include last year’s Lando Calrissian rap, which he recorded in the style of Childish Gambino (sample lyric: “Avoiding trouble chillin’ out in Bespin / Got a rap sheet longer than Jabba’s small intestine”). There was also his fake-out Drake diss track; his made-up Will Smith end-credits anthem for Aladdin; and a “rejected” theme song for Ready Player One. Not all of Adejuyigbe’s clips are musical spoofs. But a production like “L-A-N-D-O”—full of deftly edited visual gags and deep-cut references—encapsulates the comedic style he’s become known for: pop culture hyper-literate, deeply catchy, and capable of blowing up a seemingly one-off joke into something deeper and weirder...