Enthusiasms - What to look forward to 7-10-25.
Welcome to Enthusiasms. Your reminder to always be looking forward to something. Pulltab Sports Editor-In-Chief, John King, points you in the right direction.
PARKER MCCOLLUM JUST MADE THE RECORD YOU NEED ON YOUR PONTOON THIS SUMMER.
Parker McCollum recorded his new self-titled album at the iconic Power Station studio in Manhattan. To paraphrase the fast-rising country star, he said he left the studio in New York thinking he might have just made an album that wasn’t country enough and could end his career. But when he listened to it a few weeks later, he believed it might be his best.
We agree. But for any bro-country boys looking to put on jean shorts and cut off their sleeves, be warned that McCollum’s record hits different. In the country genre, it’s more common for modern female country artists to push genres than the men. Maren Morris, Kelsea Ballerini, and of course T. Swift herself have made a fortune crossing over. Not to mention non-country artists like Beyonce, Post Malone, and Ed Sheeran all wandering into the honkytonk to give it a go. But for male country musicians, the recipe seems to be keep your Wranglers on, don’t shave the mustache, and keep that dip in your lip.
McCollum didn’t get the message here. Sure, he sings about “cigarette in my lip,” being a “Dallas Cowboy for Halloween,” and “give my last nickel to hear me a little John Prine on the radio,” but the new record at times sounds like John Mayer, John Mellencamp, and more. Standouts on the record include “My Blue,” a much darker 2025 version of “Jack and Diane.” “New York is on Fire” has more in common with Harry Styles or Shawn Mendes than Zach Top, and while it was recorded in Manhattan, it sounds like it could just as easily be on a soundtrack of a Reese Witherspoon HBO show about California housewives.
McCollum’s stripped-down cover of “Enough Rope” sounds like Rick Rubin could have produced it. Sure, there are hits here including singles “Killin’ Me” and “What Kinda Man,” But the real magic of Parker McCollum’s 4th record is it’s a wonderful album in its entirety, with plenty of deep cuts that will grow on you with every listen. In an age where artists, including country artists, seem content to release 40 tracks and leave it to their fans to sort the good stuff from the filler, McCollum has made a true album, that pound for pound is the strongest release we’ve heard since the new records from Red Clay Strays and Turnpike Troubadours. Parker McCollum’s new album is precisely the “Solid Country Gold” one of his tracks promises to be.
It remains to be seen how the new record will translate to a live audience, but if you find yourself with an extra 58 minutes at any time in the near future, you’re going to want to give it a listen. Actually, maybe set aside a few hours, and listen to it three times. You can thank us later.
SEASON 4 OF THE BEAR TAKES PRESTIGE TV TO NEW SOULFUL DEPTHS.
The Bear is already a critical darling, it’s prestige TV for prestige people. If you’ve been on the journey with this show you know it’s been a roller coaster. Season 1 served up anxiety in concentrate form. If you already had the Sunday scaries, watching Season 1 of The Bear could be too much for a lot of us. It was loud, chaotic, cutty, and frenetic. Then came the high-water mark of Season 2 where we learned why all of these people were the way they were, and took a journey to find peace, picking up valuable life lessons along the way. Season 3 was weird, including an episode with no dialogue, and a collection of back story episodes that didn’t seem to add up to a season.
Season 4 dropped last month, and Hulu went old-school releasing all the episodes at once. They probably did this on purpose, knowing that The Bear is, and always has been, about character development so they wanted you to be able to binge. Makes sense that a show that’s all about food would be smart enough to allow the viewers to marinate the media, and put the full season in a decanter, and serve up the content how they want to watch.
Even if you didn’t like or didn’t watch Season 3, you should watch Season 4 for no other reason than to see the hour-plus long wedding episode. Episode 7, appropriately titled “Bears” in many ways is the mirror image of season 2’s Christmas episode “The Berzattos.” If the Christmas episode was rock bottom for the Berzatto clan, this wedding episode shows just how far they’ve all come.
One of the most amazing things about The Bear is just how little really happens. Most of these characters are stuck, and we are stuck with them. We’re content watching Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy stair at us with his big blue eyes, knowing he’s tortured but not knowing exactly why. The Bear is a master class in acting even if the characters progress at a glacial pace leaving so many questions. What happened to Carmy’s dad? What did Carmy’s mom really do to him? What’s going on with Marcus’ dad? Etc.
Show creator Christopher Storer has been coy about whether there will be a Season 5 of the show. Truth is he might not need one, because watching Richie, Sydney, and Carmy eff-you each other, while sharing a cigarette next to the dumpster behind the restaurant in the last episode of Season 4 is the perfect drop the mic moment for a series that never told us much, but somehow gave us everything.
