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TwitterWant to stay up to date on what is going on at the library? Follow us on Twitter.RSS FeedsThe library keeps you connected with RSS feeds for your favorite feed reader. Click the icon to get a list of all of the library's constantly updated RSS freeds. Mobile PageWant to take the Wadsworth Public Library with you? Bookmark our mobile page and take us with you anywhere. There are large screen and small screen versions to fit your phone no matter what size it is. Click the icon to go there now.
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While many have been mourning the recent passing of either the Iron Lady or one of the original Mousketeers, music lovers have had a special loss in the death of British record producer and sound engineer Andy Johns. While it is musicians that make the sounds that bring joy to our hearts, sound engineers perform the essential task of capturing those sounds so that they may be reproduced and shared. Before he even reached nineteen years of age, Johns assisted with the sound engineering on the Jimi Hendrix Experience's Axis: Bold As Love. You can download some tracks from the classic album for no charge at Freegal. Over his career, Johns engineered a number famous records including both Exile on Main St. and Sticky Fingers for the Rolling Stones. Like Led Zeppelin? All five of their albums from their second through Physical Graffiti were engineered by Johns: Andy Johns was only 61 years old. I can think of no finer way to salute the man and his work than the epic title track from the 1977 album he helped produce for the band Television, Marquee Moon: Cheers, librariansean |
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The third season of the BBC hit Sherlock just went into production, with the premier episode expected to air sometime this fall. Although the show transplants the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson into a contemporary setting, Holmes enthusiasts have embraced series creator Steven Moffat's vision, something that cannot be said for every screen adaptation of the famous detective. (Elementary, anybody?) Now is an excellent time to catch up on the first and second seasons, and here is a little teaser for the third: Want some other offbeat takes on Sherlock Holmes? There's always the popular films with Robert Downey, Jr. in the lead role, Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Another, lesser seen, take on Holmes and Watson is director Billy Wilder's The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes: Cheers, librariansean |
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When people think of rock music, it is often in its most primal form - three chords and some bad attitude. But if there is one thing true of rock, it is that it will rebel against whatever expectations you have of it. Thus the antithesis of stripped down rock and roll, progressive or “prog” rock. Instead of telling Beethoven to roll over, it borrows his song structures. Virtuoso musicianship and delicate artistry win out over dance-friendly rhythms. Prog rock was at its most popular in the late '60s and early '70s, when psychedelic music gave musicians license to make albums of a more ambitious and complex nature, but it continues to be a viable art form. In fact, one of the early leaders of prog music, Yes, will be touring North America this year. I suggest checking out their classic releases The Yes Album and Fragile: Hungry for more prog? Another winner is the first King Crimson album, In the Court of the Crimson King: The “show that never ends” is from Emerson, Lake & Palmer's 1973 release Brain Salad Surgery: Cheers, librariansean |
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Not to brag or anything, but five artists previously featured in this blog are among the 2013 Grammy nominations: Alabama Shakes, The Black Keys, Frank Ocean, Jack White, and Skrillex. So if any of their works end up with an award, let's all pretend it was the Sound and Vision whammy that pushed them over the top to success rather than all the hard work on the part of the artists. Kidding aside, there is a diverse and exciting array of artists nominated this year. Here are some other contenders you'll find in our collection:
Both Gotye and Fun are battling it out for Record of the Year: In the category of Best Rock Song, Muse competes with Mumford & Sons: The 55th annual Grammy Awards air Sunday, February 10. Cheers, librariansean |
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 Jazz music is one of America's finest indigenous art forms and arguably our greatest contribution to global culture. Thus the recent passing of pianist and bandleader Dave Brubeck is cause for us to take five and think about both the man and the music he loved. Brubeck is probably best remembered for this track, composed by saxophonist Paul Desmond, from his quartet's Time Out album: Another excellent introduction to jazz is the Miles Davis album, Kind of Blue, which features his trumpet along with the saxophones of Cannonball Adderly and John Coltrane: It would be almost criminally remiss of me to neglect to mention our greatest jazz ambassador, Louis Armstrong, a man who took this American art form all over the world. Here's one of my favorites, from The Essential Louis Armstrong: Enjoy the music and remember these jazz icons. Cheers, librariansean |
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 What makes a comedy film a classic? In my opinion, if it's a movie you find yourself laughing at more upon rewatching than you did the first time, you might have a contender. If you quote lines from it to friends or rely on it to pull you out of a funk when you're feeling blue, then you've definitely got a winner. The current reigning master of dumb comedies - films so purposefully stupid that they perversely attain a sort of comedic genius - is Will Ferrell, the 2011 recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. If you don't mind your humor a little crude and rude, you definitely can't go wrong with The Campaign, Elf, or Anchorman: A writer, director, and actor, Mel Brooks is a comedy triple threat, and the genius behind such comic masterpieces as The Producers, Young Frankenstein, and Blazing Saddles: If playing dumb for laughs is an art form, then one of the greatest artists in comedy is undoubtedly the late Peter Sellers, beloved for his brilliant performances in A Shot in the Dark, Dr. Strangelove, and Being There: As a fan of comedies, I could probably go on all day about my favorite funny films, but I'll just name a couple more can't-miss classics: This Is Spinal Tap, and the ultimate college comedy, National Lampoon's Animal House. Cheers, librariansean |
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When a musical performer or band has a successful debut album, there is often a lot of pressure to avoid what is known as the “sophomore slump” - a second release that fails to live up to the expectations of critics and fans. Today we'll look at three heavily hyped artists whose recent second albums avoid the slump.
First up is New Orleans singer-songwriter Frank Ocean. His first release, Nostalgia, Ultra, was an R&B sensation until it got pulled off of shelves due to an uncleared sampling of the Eagles' “Hotel California.” Now Ocean is back even stronger with Channel Orange: The Australian psychedelic rock band Tame Impala got rave reviews for their debut, Innerspeaker, but I expect they'll get even more praise for the tighter songs on its follow-up, Lonerism: The xx hail from London, and the sultry pop of their first album netted them the Mercury Music Prize in 2010. The sultriness continues on their new effort, Coexist: Cheers, librariansean |
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 Of all the questions I get asked at the Reference Desk, one of my favorites - particularly at this time of the year - is if I can suggest any scary movies. Like many people, I have an inexplicable fondness for films that frighten me. They are also quite entertaining for my wife, but only because she gets a laugh from watching me jump out of my seat when something on screen startles me. Luckily for fright fans, the Library carries some of the most terrifying movies ever made including The Shining, The Ring, The Exorcist, and 28 Days Later. My personal pick for scariest movie of all time is The Grudge: You might want to sleep with the light on after watching these! Cheers, librariansean |
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 For me, the highlight of the 2012 Olympics wasn't watching Michael Phelps pile up the medals or seeing Misty and Kerri again dominate beach volleyball. Great as those spectacles were, the real treat for this music lover was Academy Award-winning director Danny Boyle's opening ceremony, which featured influential British rock from every era. Thus were we treated to hits from British Invasion chart toppers like The Beatles and The Who alongside punk legends like The Clash. Carrying the (Olympic) torch and representing contemporary British rock bands were Sound and Vision favorites The Arctic Monkeys. Here's a clip from their performance: Cheers, librariansean |
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Espionage may be a pretty nasty line of work, but it certainly makes for some interesting cinema. It's easy to understand the wide appeal of big budget spectacles in exotic locales like Casino Royale and Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, but less obvious is the attraction of tales of the bureaucratic intrigues of ordinary spies.
Audiences have had an enduring fascination with spymaster George Smiley, a creation of author John Le Carré, who has been portrayed excellently by both Sir Alec Guinness in the BBC miniseries of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Gary Oldman in the recent film adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. In both portrayals, Smiley is quite the opposite of the dashing James Bond type of spy: For a more humorous take on the less glamorous side of spies, try Hopscotch with Walter Matthau: Cheers, librariansean |
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Movies are typically characterized by their visual impact on audiences, but every now and then a film comes along that makes more of an impression on the ears than the eyes. Usually these are films with music at their heart, and today we'll look at three movies that have gifted us with super soundtracks filled with great music.
While the film Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music captures a unique piece of history, the film's soundtrack is simply one of the most stellar collections of live musical performances ever assembled: Once is a charming and extremely unique film starring real-life musical collaborators Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, who also contribute to the soundtrack: Academy Award-winning director Kevin MacDonald is behind Marley, a new documentary that attempts to tell the story of one of the greatest icons in music, Bob Marley. The soundtrack for the film features several rare recordings and live performances: Cheers, librariansean |
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 It's a debate that music nerds, myself included, have long pondered without reaching an agreement: which of the two great bards of the rock era is the greatest living songwriter, Bob Dylan or Van Morrison? The influence of these two titans of song is felt in everything from the works of the Beatles to the music of U2. Their lyrics and melodies loom large in the consciousness of the Baby Boomer generation, with Dylan contributing such touchstones as “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “Blowin' in the Wind,” and “Like a Rolling Stone,” and Morrison responsible for “Gloria,” “Brown-Eyed Girl,” and “Moondance.” So, readers, who do you think should wear the crown? In one corner, you have folk rock pioneer Bob Dylan, whose oft-cryptic lyrics explore both large social issues and small interpersonal relationships: Van Morrison, on the other hand, started out as leader of the rhythm & blues group Them before embarking on a solo career full of transcendent, emotional music: Need to do more research before making such an important decision? Stop by the Library and check out Dylan's seminal 1965 albums Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited. Then see how they stack up to Astral Weeks and The Best of Van Morrison. Can't make it to the Library in person? Don't forget that our customers can download three free songs a week from artists like Bob Dylan and Van Morrison at Freegal! Cheers, librariansean |
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Call it a quirk of human nature, but ever since man's beginning there have been those prophesying and fretting about the end of times. Filmmakers are not immune from this peculiar obsession, bringing our fears about Armageddon to screen in a variety of ways. Capitalizing on a popular misconception that the Mayan calendar predicts the end of the world this year, 2012 is a classic big budget disaster movie overflowing with apocalyptic special effects:
Contagion, on the other hand, deals with the much more realistic fear of pandemic illness and its potentially cataclysmic effects: Our final film, a Grand Prize winner at the Cannes Film Festival, is called Take Shelter and features actor Michael Shannon in a truly riveting performance as a man whose anxieties about an impending - quite possibly imagined - disaster create tensions between him and his family and community: Cheers, librariansean |
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One pop culture conundrum is why so many of us seek to relax through the vicarious thrills of a good book or film. On the surface it doesn't really make sense – what exactly is relaxing about entertainment that gets our adrenaline racing? Instinctively, however, we know it works. It's the reason every summer blockbuster tries to be the cinematic equivalent of a roller coaster ride. The problem with a lot of those films is that they focus too much on explosions and special effects and not enough on making us care about characters. Skillful makers of thrillers understand that audiences feel the thrills more intensely when they identify with the characters up on the screen. Let's look at a few that do things right.
First up is A Lonely Place To Die, in which a group of mountain climbers in Scotland fall prey to both nature and ruthless kidnappers: Our next film, Texas Killing Fields, is inspired in part by Texas City Police detectives Michael Land and Brian Goetschius and their investigation into a brutal series of killings: When you talk about thrillers, you can't ignore the man they call the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. Some of the directors of today's big-budget thrillers could learn much from studying Hitchcock's character-driven thrillers like Rear Window: Cheers, librariansean |
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With director Ridley Scott's Alien prequel Prometheus out in theaters, I thought it might be fun to take a look at some of the other invaders from outer space that have taken over the cinema recently. First up is Attack the Block, a clever British film about a group of juvenile delinquents who defend their neighborhood from an extraterrestrial invasion:
Next up is Super 8, the J.J. Abrams/Steven Spielberg collaboration that plays like a cross between Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Goonies: Our last film is unique in that it is actually the third film version of John W. Campbell's 1938 science fiction story, “Who Goes There?” The 1951 version, The Thing From Another World, was directed by Howard Hawks, and the 1982 version of The Thing, directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell, is a bona fide cult classic. The latest version of The Thing has some particularly gruesome special effects that make it work revisiting the story once again: Cheers, librariansean |
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 As a lover of music, there are times when I appreciate subtle sounds and sensitive lyrics. Then there are days when I just want to rock. Few things are as invigorating as loud music, simple songs you can sing along to, and a beat that moves your feet. A couple of albums released this week exemplify that rock and roll energy. First up is a duo from Vancouver called Japandroids whose new album is called Celebration Rock. They follow a simple formula for their music: distorted guitars, pounding drums and dual anthemic vocals. Here's the first single from the album: Although The Hives hail from Sweden, their garage rock sound is pure Ramones meets Rolling Stones. Lex Hives will be their fifth full-length release, and here's one of my favorite songs from it: Neither of these albums qualifies as mellow easy listening, but if you need something to blast away the cobwebs in your attic, they will get the job done and then some. Cheers, librariansean |
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 If you enjoy your peace and freedom, thank a soldier. Unfortunately, those soldiers that most deserve our gratitude are those who don't live to receive it because their lives are claimed in battle. Thus Memorial Day, a bittersweet holiday in which we honor the sacrifices of the fallen. It was Civil War general and Ohio-native William Tecumseh Sherman who famously described war as being “hell” rather than glory, and filmmakers over the years have frequently attempted to capture this hell on celluloid. A great war film, one that truly captures the horror of its subject, can often be difficult to watch, but it can also be a powerful experience. Should you wish to observe this Memorial Day by watching soldiers on film, here are but a few of the classics available at the Library: Apocalypse Now, The Hurt Locker, and Stalag 17. I think this scene from The Thin Red Line does a good job of capturing the yearning for home in a soldier's heart: Cheers, librariansean |
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 Thanks to the recent passing of two of rock music's royalty, Levon Helm and Donald “Duck” Dunn, heaven now has an extremely ace rhythm section. Duck Dunn played bass in Booker T. & the MG's, the house band for many of the hits on the Stax record label in the '60s, including Otis Redding's classic “Respect." You can check out some of the band's own music on The Very Best of Booker T. & the MG's. You might also remember Dunn from the film, The Blues Brothers, in which he portrays himself. In this clip you can see Dunn behind Dan Aykroyd, sporting a pipe: Multi-instrumentalist Levon Helm is probably best known as a drummer and singer for The Band. The compilation Across the Great Divide features much of his finest work with the group, including this performance from the Martin Scorsese-directed documentary of their farewell performance: I can think of no more soulful epitaph for these musical giants than this beautiful live performance: Cheers, librariansean |
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 Would you believe that one of the most prolific and well-respected songwriters alive is a former elementary school teacher from Dayton, Ohio? Meet Robert Pollard, the singer and chief composer for Guided By Voices, along with numerous other side and solo projects. Pollard has published over 1500 songs and shows no sign of slowing down. He recently reunited Guided By Voices and released the album Let's Go Eat the Factory. Here he and his band perform “The Unsinkable Fats Domino” off that record: Opinions differ as to which albums from their large back catalog best define Guided By Voices, particularly as Pollard has played with several different line ups under the moniker. There is, however, an exceptional retrospective of their work, Human Amusements at Hourly Rates. From that collection, here is my personal GBV favorite: Cheers, librariansean |
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 Appearing at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis in 1999, director Werner Herzog delivered his infamous edict on documentary cinema, the Minnesota Declaration, from which the above quote is taken. Herzog's message - that mere facts can only provide the “the truth of accountants” and often act to obscure a deeper more transcendent truth - is evident in all of his work, but nowhere so much as in his film, Fitzcarraldo, based on the story of real-life Peruvian rubber baron Carlos Fitzcarrald. While in actuality, the rubber baron transported a disassembled 30-ton steamship over a steep hill, Herzog's Fitzcarraldo, portrayed by Klaus Kinski, takes a 320-ton steamship and brings it over the hill in one awe-inspiring piece, smoke still puffing out the stack. Herzog's version of the story doesn't stick to the facts, but the director would say that his does a better job of illuminating for us the strength of the character's obsession. Here's a trailer for the film, which garnered a best director award for Herzog at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival: While some of Herzog's films are documentary and some are fictional, both types frequently focus on obsessed protagonists at odds with nature. If you are in the mood for some of his unique illumination, I highly recommend Grizzly Man and Rescue Dawn. Cheers, librariansean |
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If you stick around long enough, everything eventually comes back in style. So if you still have some bell-bottom denims, you might just want to break them out for the retro sounds featured today. First up are Alabama Shakes, whose debut album, Boys & Girls, is propelled by the soulful vocals of Brittany Howard. She manages to conjure up a Janis Joplin-like vibe on the lead single for the album:
From Texas, Heartless Bastards have been playing music that hearkens back to the 1970s for a while now. Their latest record, Arrow, suggests that the band are fans of classic rock mainstays like Led Zeppelin and Neil Young: The ubiquitous Jack White, known for The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, and a myriad of other projects, has long been vocal about his love of early blues and rock music, and nowhere is this more clear than on his first solo album, Blunderbuss. Quite a few of the songs are built around piano melodies, but here's the video for one of the rowdier songs: Cheers, librariansean |
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April is upon us, and it is the time of pranksters and hoaxes, con artists and scams and, on a more serious note, the Internal Revenue Service and taxes. If the last of these categories is bereft of entertainment value, we can at least take heart that, as Meatloaf sings, two out of three ain't bad.
As with true crime, some of the most amazing hoaxes and scams brought to cinema derive from real life. Based loosely on the life of Anna Anderson, a woman who falsely claimed to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov and heir to the Russian throne, Anastasia features Ingrid Bergman and Yul Brynner. In The Hoax, Richard Gere does an excellent job of portraying Clifford Irving, the author who fooled the publishing industry into thinking he had Howard Hughes' authorized autobiography: One of comedian Jim Carrey's most unbelievable roles is actually modeled after the very true story of con man Steven Russell in the film, I Love You Phillip Morris: It's worth noting that while Anna Anderson, Clifford Irving and Steven Russell were quite convincing fabulists, their deceptions were eventually discovered. As they say, you can't fool all of the people all of the time....
Cheers, |
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Why do I love libraries?
It would take me all day to list all the ways I love libraries, but right at the top would have to be that a good library tries to have something for everybody. Note that I'm not saying that everything at a good library is good for everybody. In fact, if your local library doesn't have materials that somehow offend you, it probably isn't a very good library. The only way all the materials in a library collection can be acceptable to all persons is by avoiding all diversity in opinions, beliefs and taste. That being said, we begin our introduction to a film genre that is most likely offensive to the vast majority of persons: extreme Asian cinema. A good rule of thumb regarding extreme Asian cinema is, if you find the films of the popular American director, Quentin Tarantino, to be in bad taste, you would be well advised to steer clear of the films we'll be talking about today. If, on the other hand, Mr. Tarantino's films delight and entertain you, then, boy, have we got some doozies for you here at the Library....  Extreme Asian cinema includes films from Japan, Hong Kong and Korea which display scenes that, particularly to Western sensibilities, are shocking and contain explicit violence and/or gore. Some of these films are so over the top with disgusting special effects and geysers of blood, that the end result is intentionally somewhat comical: Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl and Tokyo Gore Police are prime examples.  Just because a film contains horrifying violence does not preclude it from having style and depth. In short, there are 'classy' examples of extreme Asian cinema - Audition, Lady Vengeance, and 3 Extremes are all worthy of consideration. Before you check out any of these films, remember - once you see a disturbing image it cannot be unseen. And all of these films are extremely disturbing. Cheers, librariansean |
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 Sometimes even your favorite music starts to sound a little stale. One antidote is to add something new to the mix. We've got you covered here at the Library, where there are always new sounds of all sorts. For example, Cleveland indie rockers Cloud Nothings (pictured above) just released their third album, Attack On Memory. Here's a video for one of the tracks from the new album: If rock music is too old school for you, there is always the genre-bending rap music of Das Racist with the album Relax. For the truly adventurous, there is Bangarang, the latest release from three-time Grammy winner and dubstep pioneer Skrillex. His style of electronic music certainly isn't for everyone, but it does make for a great music video: Cheers, |
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 If, like me, you failed to celebrate the 76th birthday of Burt Reynolds on February 11, there are still several opportunities to redeem yourself cinematically. Any celebration of Burt Reynolds should begin with his star-making turn in Deliverance: While his portrayal of Lewis Medlock proved his acting mettle, Reynolds is probably most fondly remembered for his many 'good old boy' movies, amiable films more known for their corny humor than their artistry. If you like great car chases and awful jokes, you can't go wrong with Smokey & the Bandit, Smokey & the Bandit II, and The Cannonball Run II. All three films are directed by the master of cinematic stunts, Hal Needham, who never shied away from gratuitous crash scenes: Cheers, librariansean |
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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled the list of nominees last week for the 84th Academy Awards, and some of the films with nominations are already available here at the Library! You can join in the Oscar excitement by checking out these nominees for Best Picture: Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, The Tree of Life, and The Help. Here's Best Actress nominee Viola Davis in one of her best known scenes:
Want to see some more award-nominated acting? There's Best Supporting Actress nominee Melissa McCarthy from Bridesmaids, Best Supporting Actor nominee Christopher Plummer from Beginners, and Best Actor nominee Demian Bachir from A Better Life. If I had to bet on who is going to win Best Director, my money would be on Martin Scorsese for this 3D epic: Cheers, |
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Folksinger Woody Guthrie, the “Dustbowl Troubadour” and composer of the populist ode to America, “This Land Is Your Land” would have turned 100 this year. As a witness to the Great Depression, he came to the radical belief that this country belongs not just to the rich and powerful, but to all of us - a notion that lately seems to be gaining acceptance all across the political spectrum, from the Tea Party to the Occupy movements. I get chills from the version Renée Zellweger sings in the film, My Own Love Song:
Guthrie's songs often sound like reports from the front lines of history. You can hear what it was like living as a hobo during the Great Depression, hopping freight trains and searching for employment, in classics like “Hard Travellin'”: Check it out on Woody Guthrie Sings Folk Songs. Curious about the 250,000 teens who left home to pursue the hobo life in the 1930s? The award-winning documentary Riding the Rails is essential viewing. Cheers, librariansean |
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Now that the cold has finally come, it's safe to break out the winter movies without fear of jinxing the weather. Winter movies are those films in which the snow and cold play such an important part that they go beyond mere setting and actually become a character in the film. No film better exemplifies this than director David Lean's epic adaptation of the Pasternak novel Doctor Zhivago. Because my father's mother lost most of her family to the Russian Revolution, the story has a special place in my heart, but this magnificent film manages to move all viewers with its grand depiction of love, sorrow, and bitter Russian winters:
Cold War espionage thrillers don't get any colder than the 1968 film, Ice Station Zebra. The polar sets are impressive, although a bit phony looking, and you get top notch performances from Rock Hudson, Patrick McGoohan, Ernest Borgnine and Jim Brown: Based on the true story of Christopher McCandless, a privileged young man who abandons everything to trek to the Alaskan wilderness, Into the Wild is an encounter with the awesome and sometimes terrifying beauty of nature: If you can make it through these films without breaking out the hot cocoa, I salute you! Cheers, librariansean |
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Strange times are indeed here when two guys from Akron can start a band and get the whole world to take notice. But that's exactly what Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, The Black Keys, have managed to accomplish since forming in 2001. They have toured everywhere from Australia to Europe, had their songs included in the soundtracks to hit films and televisions shows, and managed to win three Grammy Awards earlier this year. Did I mention that they were the musical guests on Saturday Night Live twice in 2011? Here are two songs from their most recent appearance:
Both songs are from their newly-released album, El Camino, but you'll have to check out their last album, Brothers, to hear what all the Grammy fuss is about. These more recent albums feature the augmented version of the band, so if you want to hear their rawer two-man sound, check out their first three albums: The Big Come Up, Thickfreakness, and Rubber Factory. Cheers, librariansean |
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The nominees for this year's Grammy Awards are in, and I would like to heartily endorse the nomination of The Whole Love by Wilco in the category of Best Rock Album. Here's a track from the album:
Wilco is a uniquely American band, and I mean that in the best sense. The band members have an extensive knowledge and appreciation of American music ranging from early folk and country through jazz, rockabilly and punk. Somehow they manage to combine these diverse interests into a sound that encompasses the panorama that is America, and usually with a catchy melody thrown in as part of the bargain. Their live prowess is legendary as well, as this clip illustrates: Their sophmore album, Being There, shows that even as far back as 1996, Wilco was been willing to take risks and challenge its audience. Here's hoping that their bold history of innovation gets rewarded come Grammy time in February. Cheers, librariansean |
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 It's difficult, if not downright impossible, to overstate the impact of The Byrds on popular music. With their 1964 cover of Bob Dylan's “Mr. Tambourine Man," the band essentially gave birth to folk rock. Their jangly guitars and vocal harmonies have influenced musical artists, including R.E.M., Robyn Hitchcock, and Tom Petty. With “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)," the band managed to take a song with lyrics from the Book of Ecclesiastes to the very top of the pop charts. But while most everybody is familiar with their early career up through their groundbreaking song “Eight Miles High," your average music listener's appreciation of the band doesn't extend past their 1966 output. This is a shame, sort of like only listening to the early music by The Beatles and never getting to hear “Hey Jude," “With A Little Help From My Friends” or “Dear Prudence." There are treasures in virtually every album by The Byrds, and I suggest visiting the Library's Freegal service, which allows you to download three free songs a week, to check out the vast collection of songs they have available by the band. If I had to suggest just one album from the latter part of their career, however, it would have to be 1968's The Notorious Byrd Brothers. Although the recording of the album was fraught with conflicts, including the eventual departure of members David Crosby and Michael Clarke, the resulting work is thought by many, including me, to be the most cohesive and creative album produced by the band. While still maintaining their original sound, The Byrds manage to deftly incorporate styles like jazz, country and psychedelia into their songwriting. While the album doesn't have any hits, it does feature this song later immortalized in the film Easy Rider:
Cheers, librariansean |
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 As most of you have probably already heard, the rock band R.E.M. recently decided to call it quits after more than 30 years in music. The humble band from Athens, Georgia, started out as one of the quintessential indie rock or college rock bands, but eventually became superstars with hit singles and sold-out arena shows – not too shabby for four guys whose first gig was a friend's birthday party. While the Library has a number of albums by this influential band, you can't go wrong with the compilations And I Feel Fine: The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987 and In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003. We also have a great DVD of their early work, When the Light Is Mine: The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987, which includes this classic: I'll leave you with a live performance of one of my favorites: Cheers, librariansean |
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Usually Hollywood has to stretch the truth a bit to make the film versions of true stories entertaining enough to attract an audience, but occasionally a story comes along that is so amazing it seems unbelievable even it its unvarnished form. Two such tales are that of French gangster Jacques Mesrine and Cleveland's own Danny Greene. Both men were notorious criminals who came to extremely violent ends, but the similarity does not stop there: Mesrine and Greene were both extremely gregarious rogues whose audacity is the stuff of legend. In both cases, this audacity transfers well to the big screen thanks to the uncanny performances of the actors portraying these larger than life characters.
Vincent Cassel does a masterful job of recreating Mesrine's extraordinary series of crimes, arrests and escapes in the films Mesrine: Killer Instinct and Mesrine: Public Enemy #1.  Left: Actor Vincent Cassel portrays Jacques Mesrine Right: The French gangster in real life. The story of how the rivalry between the Mob and Cleveland's Danny Greene escalated to epic proportions inspired the film, Kill The Irishman.  Left: Mob target Danny Greene Right: The Cleveland legend as portrayed by Ray Stevenson I hope you will enjoy these films and agree with me that every once in a while, truth is stranger than fiction. Cheers, librariansean |
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Here in the USA, we declared our independence from British rule long ago, but when it comes to musical entertainment we are still fond of imports from across the pond. British rock first invaded our shores in 1964 when bands like The Beatles and The Kinks dominated the charts. As you can see, the invaders were welcomed quite warmly:
Though the likes of Beatlemania have never been equaled, American listeners still yearn for the sounds of young Brits with guitars. A couple of the more promising imports are The Arctic Monkeys and The Vaccines. Neither band is retro, but both know how to write a catchy tune with cheeky lyrics – something that never goes out of style. I'll leave you with a track from the latest album by The Arctic Monkeys: Cheers, librariansean |
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Sunday, October 16th became an important date in zombie history when 11 million people viewed the premiere episode of the second season of the television show The Walking Dead, making it the most viewed program in the history of basic cable. Based on Robert Kirkman's popular graphic novel series of the same name, the show is just one example of the continuing public fascination with the living dead. Both the first season DVDs and the graphic novel are available at the library.
Season One Preview: Reanimated corpses seemingly have year round appeal in film and fiction, but with Halloween swiftly approaching it is definitely time to stock up on zombie films. For a humorous yet still frightening take on the genre, check out both the recent box office hit Zombieland and Spider-Man director Sam Raimi's classic Evil Dead II. Of course, no zombie film fest would be complete without the grandaddy of all zombie films, George Romero's 1968 black and white chiller. For those of you who have yet to see this legendary horror film on the big screen, the Library's Cinema Circle film club will be hosting a special matinee showing at 3 pm on Halloween. Hope to see you there! Cheers, librariansean |
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If you are a regular viewer of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, you probably noticed that the last week in September was dedicated to the music of the rock band Pink Floyd. A variety of today's leading musical artists appeared on the program to perform cover versions of classic songs by the band. While Pink Floyd started out in the '60s as an artistic experiment guided by the vision of member Syd Barrett, during the '70s the band would continue on without Barrett to become one of the most financially successful and influential rock bands of all time.
Here is the modern psychedelic pop band MGMT paying homage to the demented genius of Syd Barrett: Here Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters joins alternative rock superstars the Foo Fighters to recreate a song from the concept double album The Wall: Are your ears yearning for the real thing? Essential albums by the band include their Barrett-driven debut The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and perennial bestsellers Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and The Wall. cheers, librariansean |
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Tired of music that sounds like it rolled off a corporate assembly line? Maybe you should try out some indie rock for a change of pace. The term 'indie rock' has been used since the '80s to describe rock music created by bands who are either unsigned or who record for an independent record label.
Indie rock can vary so much in style and sound that it isn't really accurate to call it a genre of music, but there are a couple of independent artists from Philadelphia who do share a very similar sound: singer/guitarist Kurt Vile and the band The War on Drugs. This isn't terribly surprising since Vile helped start The War on Drugs with singer/guitarist Adam Granduciel. Although Vile is currently now focusing on his solo career, he is on friendly terms with his former bandmates. The sound they are becoming known for owes less to classic Philly soul than it does to classic rock icons like Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen. Despite these familiar touchstones, their music possesses a slightly alien feel due to an experimental approach to recording that is more Brian Eno than Bob Seger. Check out this live version of a song off of The War on Drugs' new release, Slave Ambient: And here's one from Kurt Vile's new album, Smoke Ring For My Halo: Want to see more of The War on Drugs live? They'll be performing an all ages show in Cleveland on November 5th at the Beachland. If I can scrape together the twelve bucks, maybe I'll see you there. Cheers, librariansean |
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It's a common misconception that kung fu is synonymous with martial arts. Actually, the Chinese word for martial arts is wushu. Kung fu refers to a pursuit of excellence you can bring to any art, from cooking to playing an instrument. Perhaps it is this concept of mastery of self that makes kung fu movies so appealing to American audiences. Either that or we find the spectacle of watching people knock the crud out of each other irresistible.
For me it has always been a little of both. The best martial arts films convey the impression that they are imparting mystical Zen wisdom in between displays of intricately choreographed stylized violence. One of the most prolific producers of kung fu films is the legendary Shaw Brothers Studio. Their 1966 epic of swordplay and chivalry, The Magnificent Trio, has recently been restored and remastered. For a Hollywood take on the kung fu epic, I heartily endorse the 2008 film Forbidden Kingdom, which features superstar martial artists Jackie Chan and Jet Li both in dual roles. One of the earliest attempts to cash in on American love of martial arts was this extremely catchy novelty song by Carl Douglas: |
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A mash-up or smash-up is when somebody takes two or more songs and uses technology to combine them into something new. A cool example is this marriage of Pink Floyd's “Another Brick In The Wall” and the Bee Gees' “Stayin' Alive”:
Because they transform the original source material, mash-ups exist in the same legal gray area as song parodies. The dialogue about what is and isn't allowed is pretty interesting stuff, and is the subject of the 2009 documentary RiP!: A Remix Manifesto. One of the stars of RiP is Pittsburgh's Gregg Gillis, who records under the name Girl Talk. He is also featured in one of the recent episodes of documentarian Morgan Spurlock's web series A Day In The Life: Listening to a Girl Talk album is a particularly giddy experience because of the deft way he combines seemingly incongruous genres like gangster rap, heavy metal, pop and classic rock, and the fact that his creations manage to combine so many different songs. His new album All Day, for example, samples over 300 different tunes in 71 minutes. All Day is being distributed absolutely free and legal via download by his label, Illegal Art. Get it here: http://illegal-art.net/allday/ If you prefer CD format, both his 2006 breakthrough album Night Ripper and its follow up Feed The Animals are available. cheers, librariansean |
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Welcome to the inaugural entry of Sound + Vision, a place where customers of Wadsworth Public Library can come to learn and share opinions about popular culture. Our main goals are to turn you on to some audiovisual goodies and find out what is making the rounds on your DVD and mp3 players, but maybe we'll learn a few things along the way. Until next time, here's David Bowie performing the song that inspired our title:
To find out more about the Thin White Duke, check out Paul Trynka's new Bowie bio!
 cheers, librariansean |
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