SONG TIP

Prestor John

Animal Collective

If it ain't weird, Animal Collective don't do it. And that's the whole idea. The band carries on a philosophy in rock music that dates back to Wildman Fisher, Roky Erickson, Captain Beefheart and the Mothers of Invention — which is to say that anything normal kids like sucks and, to prove it, we'll start our OWN band. And so on for 55 years and dozens of like-minded acts over the generations. I've tended to gravitate toward a lot of this music in my life though, to be honest, in finest Ward Cleaver fashion, age has made me befuddled and impatient. I hope it doesn't appall Animal Collective, then, that I really like their new single, "Prester John," which is actually a collision of two DIFFERENT songs by AC members Avey Tare and Panda Bear. Atop a primordial bass foundation and a chiming melange of sounds, the Animals sculpt their monk-choir harmonies in lullaby fashion — and then suddenly it all shifts into a snow-melt ambient section that would have been discarded by Tangerine Dream for being too drowsy.

— Rick Koster

MOVIE TIP

The Guilty

This drama, based on a 2018 Danish release, feels more like an acting and directing exercise than a fully formed movie. The focus is almost entirely on Jake Gyllenhaal’s face. He plays an L.A. cop who, while being investigated for an unspecified issue, has been reassigned to 911-operator duty. A call from a tearful woman who seems to have been kidnapped sets him off on investigation mode. But it’s all over the phone. We hear but never see most of the other characters; it’s amazing to read the end credits and realize that actors like Ethan Hawke, Peter Saarsgaard, Paul Dano and Bill Burr have been on the line. Director Antoine Fuqua is usually so much better than this; here, everything seems simultaneously overwrought and ineffective.

— Kristina Dorsey 

TV TIP

"Trick or Treat" episode

The Beverly Hillbillies

This sparkling gem of Halloween fun first aired as the sixth episode on the series' first season of one of the greatest sitcoms in history. Sadly, a lot of the most intellectual satire of the Hillbillies was lost on critics and audience — though the obvious pratfalls and slapstick worked perfectly well and seemed to connect. In any case, you can find "Trick or Treat" easily enough on YouTube, and some of the situations and bits are of convulse-with-laughter quality. The set-up is that the Clampett family, new to modern society through the ultra-wealthy prism of their Beverly Hills neighborhood, are not familiar with All Hallow's Eve and the fun customs thereof. Greatness ensues.

— Rick Koster