Review: ‘Rugrats: Retro Rewind’ proves that nostalgia alone isn’t enough - Entertainment Focus

In the 1980s, the giant speaker dancehall setting was the barometer by which noted producer-businessman Kenneth ‘Skengdon’ Black could judge whether a song was a bona fide hit or not. The dance was the ultimate litmus test where an emerging talent, a new voice, a booming riddim and a vibesy selector with the right touch could ignite a crowd. And Black was one of those in the music ecosystem who was prepared to bankroll that street-certified chemistry with hard cash. Forty years later, the executive producer’s investment in Jamaican talent is getting another feature. Albums featuring Super Cat, Nicodemus and Little John will complete the digital rollout of the Skengdon album catalogue on November 20, through VP Records. The releases will pave the way for Skengdon Anthology — The Sound System • The Studio • The Legacy, scheduled for the first quarter of 2027, bringing together recordings from an enterprise whose roots ran deep into sound-system culture. For Black, the business began with people he knew and talent he trusted. “My involvement started before the Skengdon recording sessions. I already had relationships within sound-system culture ...

Stop me if you've heard this one before: A beloved TV show or movie is being revived so those involved can get another moment in the sun (and another influx of cash) while its longtime fans rush to get a hit of sweet, sweet nostalgia. It's happening now with Lena Dunham's deeply millennial sitcom Girls, which is getting a five-episode limited-run revival involving all four of the girls: Dunham, Allison Williams, Zosia Mamet and Jemima Kirke, plus honorary girl, Andrew Rannells. Do I dare hope: Could this one actually be good? Reboots are dangerous in this day and age: there are so many of them and they often threaten to taint the memory of a once-cherished work. Take Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, which fans felt botched a favorite character, or And Just Like That, which was a straight-up hate-watch. Flip on any streaming service right now and you'll see a new one: There's the revived Scrubs on Hulu, the spun-off The Paper on Peacock, the rebooted A Different World on Netflix, and so on. But I, and many of my fellow fans online, feel cautiously optimistic about the new Girls. Here's my theory as to why.