HBO's Insecure is just one of many female-led comedies you should watch. Photo / HBO
HBO's Insecure is just one of many female-led comedies you should watch. Photo / HBO
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I've heard a few people talk about how allegations of sexual harassment against Louis C.K. were hard to process because they liked his show. Luckily for those people, there are a whole lot of other shows out there; in fact, I'd argue shows by, for and about women arefresher, funnier and more interesting. Insecure, The Good Place, Search Party, Broad City, Funny Girls, Fleabag, Better Things and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend are all excellent comedy series. There are also plenty of stand-up specials you should stream, with Leslie Jones, Jen Kirkman, Ali Wong, Maria Bamford, Tig Notaro, Ellen DeGeneres and Margaret Cho all on Netflix. That's barely scratching the surface.
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Feist plays at the Powerstation on Saturday. Photo / supplied
When Feist's album Metals was released in 2011, I was a 16-year-old kid who couldn't buy a Laneway ticket. Four months later, after listening to Metals over and over all summer, I heard nothing but incredible things about her set, which apparently included an air-guitar interpretation of How Come You Never Go There after the sound cut to her mic and guitar. Feist returned with her stunning album Pleasure earlier this year, and on Saturday she's back for her first headlining show in New Zealand. I haven't been this excited for a concert in a long time; the Powerstation will be perfectly suited to Feist's sound, and she's apparently at the top of her performing game.
Angel Olsen released one of the best albums of 2016 with My Woman, and she played one of the best New Zealand shows of 2016 that December - her Kings Arms gig stands as one of the best I've ever been to. Earlier this month she released Phases, a collection of stunningly fleeting B-Sides and unreleased songs. Olsen's voice is chameleonic and otherworldly; she can move from folk whispers to rock 'n' roll cries with unbelievable ease. Phases is providing the perfect break to Taylor Swift's new album Reputation, which I'm doing my best to pretend I don't like.
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The critically acclaimed Lady Bird isn't released in New Zealand until February 2018. Photo / A24 via AP
I was on the hunt for something to fill the void left by the news that the critically acclaimed Lady Bird, starring Saoirse Ronan and directed by Greta Gerwig, isn't being released in New Zealand until February next year, so I was stoked when I discovered The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast. In each episode, interviewer Scott Feinberg speak to an actor or film-maker about a buzzed-about upcoming film. The long-form interviews allow for fascinating insight into how some of Hollywood's top stars rose to success, and how they approach their craft. A good place to start is Margot Robbie's episode, in which she discusses Hollywood sexism, why she slapped Leonardo DiCaprio, and her part in the Tonya Harding biopic I, Tonya.
