For our first week of “Staff Picks,” I will run you through my very own picks for this first week of September. My personal favorites in all things music, movies, T.V. and pop culture!

What I’ve been listening to: My top albums this week are “Patient no. 9” by Ozzy Osbourne (his latest release), “The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead!” by Megadeth (also their latest release). Both albums came out early this week, and I’ve had them on a loop. It’s really refreshing to see older rock artists making their way back onto the charts, especially because I don’t really listen to new and “relevant” music. 

What I’ve been watching: “Rick and Morty” and “Rings of Power.” As I sit here anticipating the new season of “Cobra Kai,”and season one of “The Winchesters,” I’m enjoying new releases like (the long awaited) season six of “Rick and Morty.” “Rick and Morty” did not disappoint, where season five ended in such chaos, it was nice to see it pick up in season six with all the chaos they left us pondering since last September. It will be streaming new episodes every Sunday on Adult Swim, and appearing the day after on Hulu.

On another note, the Lord of the Rings spinoff “Rings of Power” was hands down the most disappointing thing to come out of 2022. My friend from afar, Gabe Mrozik, said; “I try not to laugh every time the elves come on screen,” and personally, I must agree. Legolas would NEVER. I mean, could anything truly live up to the Lord of the Rings movies? One could only hope that Tolkien’s work could be treated like it should be, but I don’t think “Rings of Power” did it any justice. 

My favorite pop culture moment of the week was the premiere of “Don’t Worry Darling.” The Harry Styles and Florence Pugh film had an eventful premier this Labor Day weekend, including a rumored breakup between Harry Styles and the film’s director, Olivia Wilde. To watch this all play out will be extremely entertaining; I mean a Harry Styles breakup never fails to fuel the celebrity drama world for a little while. Though nothing will ever top “We are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” 

On this beautiful first autumn week of September, I recommend you go grab a pumpkin spice latte from Dunkin, listen to Ozzy’s new tracks and stream “Rick and Morty” while you hide from this nippy air.