The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled the list of nominees last week for the 84^th 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:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This smash hit of 1974 can be found on AM Gold: #1 hits of the '70s, '70-'74.

cheers,
librariansean

 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