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Do You Like Biopics?

Oliver Bouchard, Elke Nominikat

03 Apr 2025 • 5 min read

South Street Seaport (Photo: Oliver Bouchard)

While Elke and I are not particularly big Bob Dylan fans, we were excited about the movie A Complete Unknown. Much of the story takes place in the Greenwich Village of New York, a place we know well (even though it was filmed in Hoboken, New Jersey). We also like Timothée Chalamet, who stars at Bob Dylon. Last but not least, Dylan is an essential part of music history.

Initially, we were so excited that we even considered seeing the movie in a theatre during the Christmas break, but the stunning ticket prices dampened our enthusiasm. Finally, on Saturday, we watched the movie on Hulu.

It is meh. Fact is that good movies need good stories, and being a brilliant songwriter does not make Bob Dylan’s life necessarily an interesting story. He came to New York, was discovered, blundered several relationships, and caused a minor, in the long run, inconsequential scandal when he “went electric” at the Newport Folk Festival.

Of course, “good” is not a particularly important criterion in Hollywood. Much more important is a large, pre-existing group of people interested in whatever the movie wants to show. And that is certainly the case with Bob Dylan. In any case, I’m happy that we saved the money for the theater tickets and yet could see the movie at home.

More music-related biopics are on the horizon. Later this year, Deliver Me Form Nowhere about Bruce Springsteen will be released in the theaters. Like A Complete Unknown, the movie focuses on a brief period in Bruce’s life when he made the album Nebraska around 1982. Elke read Springsteen’s autobiography and found it a page-turner, so we have more hope about this one, even though the film is based on a new book from 2023. Also, “The Bear” Jeremy Allen White stars as the Boss – an excellent choice.

We have to wait until 2028 for a The Beatles biopic. Director Sam Mendes plans to release four movies simultaneously for – you may have guessed it – for each member of the Fab Four. That would be an interesting approach, but it remains to be seen whether the story of The Beatles is really suitable for a six to eight hour long narrative.

What we would like to see is a biopic of the artist Jack Whitten. Elke wrote about the exhibition at the MoMA two weeks ago. Last week, we were invited to another event at the museum, where we had more time to immerse ourselves in his art. We were particularly impressed by his later work, which deals with events we experienced firsthand, like the election of Barack Obama or the release of the first iPhone. There is also a powerful, large painting made from acrylic tiles that memorizes September 11, 2001. We might have even met Whitten when we lived in Lower Manhattan in the early 2000s.

glamglare favorites

Listen to glamglare favorites on Spotify, Apple Music, or below on YouTube.

On Wednesday, The Great Escape announced 175+ more acts to play at the festival, and naturally, we immediately checked out the new additions to the already impressive lineup. Hardly anyone we’ve heard about before, though; that’s why I simply picked a few countries and listened to a song or two of bands that instantly stood out. Expect more picks to come over the next six weeks.

“Just Keep Swimming” is a lush and very pretty song by Blush Always from Germany.
I absolutely couldn’t say ‘NO’ to that band name and luckily dig the song! YES AND MAYBE from Scotland with “God Isn’t Real.”
Swiss singer/songwriter Joya Marleen with her latest single “difficult.”
With so far four acts announced from Austria, I chose KÄSSY because I felt that with Germany and Switzerland on the playlist, the third German-speaking yet English-singing country must not be left out, and “i-i-i” is a cool song!
Synth-pop six-piece Adult DVD from Leeds, England, with “Do Something.”

Song Pick of the Day

Swimming Bell, better joy, Glass House Point, Goddess, néomí, Wisp, and Jess Kerber

Listen to/watch all seven songs on YouTube. Follow our daily updated playlists on YouTube, Apple Music, or Spotify for the 50 latest Song Pick of the Day features, or subscribe here to receive them in your mailbox in real-time. Thank you for following us and sharing the excitement.

The San Francisco shoegazer Wisp has a new song, "Sword, “ with a beautiful, ghostly video filmed in a castle. "I wanted to make a feeling of escape," says Swimming Bell about her new song "Meet My Shadow." She certainly succeeded. The prolific Dutch singer/songwriter néomí is back with a new song, "Do You Want To Be Honest?" after her stellar 2024 debut album somebody’s daughter. The Florida indie rockers Glass House Point released a new song, “Garden,” about "the slow unraveling of a once-beautiful relationship." There is drama but also beauty in this track that "captures that feeling of being underwater." Goddess is the new project by the former Savages drummer. The first haunting single, “Shadows,” features Daughter singer Elena Tonra. better joy from Manchester, England, sings about the strange and beautiful ways of life in “Couldn’t Run Forever.” The second single, "Next To You" by Nashville singer/songwriter Jess Kerber, is about recurring haunting dreams.

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