Last night, I caught Edgar Wright’s take on The Running Man and it exceeded my expectations. It’s very different from the 1987 version and, while I love that campy dystopian classic, I think this new adaptation of the Stephen King novel might be better. While Running Man ’25 is a little cheeky, it’s a more of a deeply unsettling satire of America right now. Between the premise (man runs to afford medicine for his kid) to the omnipresent surveillance, reliance on deep fakes and the disdain the haves harbor against the have-nots, it’s a future that feels very plausible. Definitely check it out if you have the chance. 

This Friday, November 28, is Nocturno over at Catch One with five rooms of dancing. I’ll be in the Rock en Español vs. cumbia room all night and hope to see you on the dance floor. 

Click here for Klub Nocturno tickets 

And, mark your calendars because I’ll be back at Club Underground on Friday, December 5. Tickets are available now.

There are two new albums that you should check out asap. Chin Up, Buttercup is the first full-length from Austra in five years and it’s fantastic.  This is 100% Austra’s pop album, with moments that will make you think of Madonna and Kylie Minogue and Lady Gaga. Yet, the songs are still weird, driven by soaring, classically-trained vocals and sprinkled with nods to techno and Chicago house. 

Read: CHIN UP BUTTERCUP, AUSTRA DROPPED A NEW ALBUM AND IT’S DANCE FLOOR MAGIC

Meanwhile, Bourj Hammoud Groove is the 33rd release from Habibi Funk, the German reissue label that focuses on music from the Arab world, and its first dedicated to an artist from Lebanon’s Armenian community. For this dive into the works of Ara Kekedjian, the label teamed up with Darone Sassounian, who is an L.A.-based DJ and proprietor of Rocky Hill Records, which previously released the incredibly funky compilation album, Silk Road: Journey of the Armenian Diaspora 1971 -1982.

Read: HABIBI FUNK GETS INTO THE ‘BOURJ HAMMOUD GROOVE’ WITH ARA KEKEDJIAN COLLECTION

That’s it for this week. I’m taking the rest of the week off from Beatique, so check back Monday for new posts. Also, posting will be a bit lighter in December, mostly so I can tweak the site a little while finishing up regular work for this year. Best of 2025 stories will start next week, though, so look for that. Thanks for reading and hope to see you on the dance floor. 

Liz O.