Written by Jon Williams
Inside Llewyn Davis, released
theatrically earlier this month, follows the trials and tribulations of a young
folk singer in 1961, flailing through a stalled career following the death of
his partner. It’s among the best films
of 2013, garnering critical acclaim and a number of awards and nominations. The
movie and the performances have been well regarded, as has its soundtrack,
which, like 2000’s O
Brother Where Art Thou? (also by the Coen Brothers), was overseen by producer
T Bone Burnett.
Also like
several other Coen Brothers productions, Inside Llewyn Davis features John
Goodman in a prominent role, this time as a fellow musician who berates the
title character on an ill-fated trip to Chicago. Goodman’s association with
Joel and Ethan Coen dates back to 1987, when he was featured in Raising
Arizona. Widely regarded as one of the funniest films of all time, it
was one of the earliest efforts from the filmmaking team.
Since then,
Goodman has gone on to act onscreen in four more of the Coens’ films: Barton
Fink (1991), The
Big Lebowski (1998), O
Brother Where Art Thou? (2000), and Inside
Llewyn Davis. In addition, he served as the narrator to their 1994 film The
Hudsucker Proxy. Goodman considers his role in Lebowski to be one of
his favourites, as his character, Walter Sobchak, is the one for which he’s
recognized the most by fans.
Of course,
Goodman has had quite a notable career outside of Coen Brothers films as well.
He’s best known for his role as Dan Conner, Roseanne’s husband in the sitcom Roseanne,
which ran from 1988 to 1997, and he voiced the monster James P. Sullivan in the
Disney/Pixar hit Monsters,
Inc. and the sequel Monsters
University (as well as an appearance in Cars).
He’s also played such characters as Santa
Claus, Fred
Flintstone, and Babe
Ruth. Recently he starred as the villain in The
Hangover Part III, and next will be seen alongside George Clooney, Matt
Damon, and Bill Murray in the upcoming adaptation of The
Monuments Men, scheduled to hit theatres in February.
This is just
a small sampling of the titles available from CVS Midwest Tape, both from John
Goodman and from the Coen Brothers. For more, SmartBrowse ‘John Goodman,’ ‘Joel
Coen,’ and ‘Ethan Coen’ on our website.
Written by Kyle Slagley
The story of an orphaned English boy who, within the span of
seven years, must grow up and realize that he is a famous wizard who saved the
world once and must do so all over again is well known to millions around the
world. Put another way, Harry Potter is one of the most famous people who never
lived.
Fans of J.K. Rowling’s book series were given a big boost
back in September when it was announced that Rowling had cut a deal with Warner
Bros (who produced all eight of the Harry Potter films) to produce a film
around Fantastic Beasts & Where to
Find Them, a supplemental book to the seven-novel series about Potter. Fantastic Beasts is neither a prequel
nor a sequel to the Harry Potter line
of novels and films; instead it begins 70 years prior to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in New York City. Rowling is hoping to turn the film into a
series of its own.
Potter fans tend to be an insatiable bunch, so it’s a good
thing Fantastic Beasts isn’t the only
piece of news I have to tell. Just this morning I read that Rowling is also
bringing Harry Potter to the stage. Unlike
Fantastic Beasts, the stage play will
reportedly be a prequel to Philosopher’s
Stone, and address Potter’s early days as an orphan and misfit.
Writing extensions to a series as beloved and established as
Harry Potter is indeed a tricky
business. I have to say, choosing a medium other than film was a wise choice on
Rowling’s part. Fans grew used to a distinctive style of filmmaking by the time
the eighth movie was released, so writing a prequel for the stage gives Rowling
a chance to branch out a bit in style without risking as much rejection from
die-hard fans of the film.
Moreover, writing the prequel as a stage play has its
advantages for the actors – particularly the lucky (or unlucky, depending on
how you look at it) young men who will be cast as Harry. On film, audiences
would expect and demand a younger version of Daniel Radcliffe. On the stage,
audiences will likely give the actors more room to interpret the role.
These two projects will be Rowling’s first attempt at
writing both a screenplay and a stage script. With no word on a release date
for Fantastic Beasts or an opening
night for the stage show, fans will have to get by re-reading the book
series and re-watching the film
series. We’ll keep you updated if we hear more.
Written by Jon Williams
This morning
the U.S. Library of Congress announced this year’s additions to the National Film
Registry. The Registry was established in 1988 to recognize and preserve “culturally,
historically, or aesthetically significant films” produced in the U.S.
One of the titles
added this year is Disney’s Mary Poppins,
which has just been rereleased on DVD
and Blu-ray
in a digitally restored 50th Anniversary Edition. This is particularly timely
due to the upcoming theatrical release of Saving
Mr. Banks, the film starring Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson that details Walt
Disney’s efforts to bring Mary Poppins
from the page to the screen. Other notable titles being added this year include
Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp
Fiction, The
Magnificent Seven, and The
Right Stuff.
With the
2013 list announced, there have now been 25 classes of films added to the
National Film Registry, bringing the total number of films listed to 625. Although it is a U.S.-centric list, it is a fine collection of essential films that your patrons would love to
experience for the first time or revisit over and over again. Make sure to have
these movies on your shelves; SmartBrowse ‘National Film Registry’ on our
homepage for a complete list of films available on DVD and Blu-ray.
Written by Jon Williams
It’s been a
big week for news and events in country music.
First and
foremost, the American Country Awards were held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas
on Tuesday night. It was a star-studded affair, hosted by Trace Adkins and
Danica Patrick and featuring performances by Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley, and
Kellie Pickler, among others. The awards, voted on by fans, recognize the best
of the past year in a variety of categories. The big winners on the night were Florida
Georgia Line (six awards) and Blake
Shelton (four awards), as well as Luke
Bryan, who was named artist of the year. For a complete list of the night’s
winners, click
here.
That same
day, it was announced that a new Johnny
Cash album will be released in March, featuring unheard music from the
country legend. Out Among the Stars
was recorded in the early ‘80s and then never released. The material was mostly
forgotten and assumed lost, and has only recently been rediscovered. This will
be the fourth album release since Cash’s passing in 2003, the first since American
VI: Ain’t No Grave in 2010. Stay tuned for ordering information on the
upcoming album.
Finally, Garth
Brooks announced this week on Good
Morning America that he will begin touring again in 2014. Brooks shocked
the music world when he announced his retirement from touring and recording in
2000, at the height of his immense popularity, saying he wanted to spend time
with his wife (country singer Trisha
Yearwood) and children. Now, with his youngest daughter about to graduate
from high school, Brooks is ready to get back to what he does best. In preparation,
Brooks has released a 6-disc compilation, Blame
It All on My Roots, which features his take on songs which have
influenced him over the course of his life and career, a mixture of classic
country, classic rock, and more. There’s no word yet on any upcoming releases
of new original material, but you have to imagine that’ll be the next step.
Written by Kyle Slagley
This week marks the first annual Computer Science Education
Week, or CSEdWeek for short. Sponsored by Code.org, the week is intended to
inspire K-12 students to learn the basics, and hopefully more, of computer
science. The week also serves a double-purpose in that it recognizes the
December 9th birthday of Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, who is widely considered to
be a pioneer in computing.
The big push during this year’s CSEdWeek is the “Hour of
Code” initiative. Big names like Ashton Kutcher, President Obama, and
(unsurprisingly) Mark Zuckerberg have been encouraging people to take part in
hour-long seminars where participants are taught the basics of computer code.
Beginning Monday morning, I was very happy to see dozens of
tweets by libraries in all corners of the U.S. and Canada advocating for “Hour
of Code” and CSEdWeek. Loads of libraries are offering their own Hour of Code
seminars this week, or at the very least are directing patrons to other local
organizations who are hosting.
In case your patrons want some additional material regarding
either code or computer science in general, I’ve pulled together a couple of
titles you can order from CVS Midwest Tape that might help.
Learn
HTML - Explains what HTML is, web pages, scanners, servers, web page design
issues, and more. Learn how to create a page or simply be up-to-date with
today's technology. Everything viewers need to learn is at their fingertips.
Mastering Java Programming – Vol.
1 & Vol.
2: Learn how to program in Java with step-by-step video lessons. Presuming
viewers know nothing about programming at all, viewers will be walked through
each concept necessary to write Java programs quickly and effectively. Then
continue the Mastering Java series with step-by-step video lessons and example
code. The student will learn about keyboard input, for loop, if statements,
while loops, math libraries, and much more.
If your patrons have questions regarding a specific type of
computing, SmartBrowse “Information Technology” for a complete list of our
available titles.
Written by Kyle Slagley
Today, free men and women from all nations are forced to say
goodbye to one of the most influential men in history. Nelson Mandela passed
away peacefully yesterday at his home in Houghton, Johannesburg, South Africa,
amid his family and friends at the age of 95.
After spending his younger years as a political activist,
Mandela was eventually arrested and would spend nearly 30 years in prison for
his activities. Just four years after being released from prison, Mandela was
elected President of South Africa and served one five-year term from 1994-1999
before voluntarily retiring.
As one of the most influential men of the 20th century,
Mandela has fittingly been portrayed by some of Hollywood’s best actors over
the years; among them are Morgan Freeman, Sidney Poitier, David Harewood,
Dennis Haysbert, Terrence Howard, Clarke Peters, and Idris Elba. Mandela also
gave the world a chance to know him through his writing; the most popular in
recent years would be Long Walk to
Freedom, thanks largely to the film version starring Elba.
Thanks to his tireless courage and commitment to ideals like
freedom, education, and peace, many nations across the world feel as though
they are saying goodbye to one of their own. Celebrities and heads of state
across the world are sharing Mandela’s words today, and many national flags are
flying at half-mast.
Because it is incredibly difficult to find words that truly
do justice to a man as great as Mandela, I will instead leave you with the
words that he himself used to find courage during his many years in prison.
Invictus
by William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
For titles by and about Nelson Mandela, visit our website here.
Written by Jon Williams
Normally we’re
not in the habit of discussing major plot points like character deaths in
ongoing television shows—partially because we’d hate to give away spoilers, and
partially because we’d have to dedicate this space to Game
of Thrones on a regular basis. However, if you’ve been on the Internet
at all this week, it’s been impossible to avoid the news that the animated
series Family Guy has killed off one
of its most beloved original characters: the Griffin family’s intelligent
talking dog, Brian.
Brian was
voiced by the show’s creator, Seth MacFarlane. MacFarlane voices several
characters in the show, but Brian spoke with his actual speaking voice. The
show debuted
on Fox after the Super Bowl in 1999 and originally ran for three seasons before
being cancelled by the network. However, a number of factors, including strong
DVD sales and high ratings for reruns, led to the show being brought back for a
fourth
season in 2005. The show has been in production ever since and is currently
in its twelfth season.
Family Guy has turned into quite a
success in its own right, but it also served as a launching pad for the career
of the multitalented MacFarlane. He has developed further animated shows with American
Dad! and The
Cleveland Show (a Family Guy
spinoff which has recently been cancelled after four seasons). He currently
serves as executive producer for the live-action sitcom Dads (starring Family Guy
voice actor Seth Green), which is in its first season, and is co-producing an
update of Carl Sagan’s groundbreaking 1980 science/astronomy series Cosmos.
He has also made the jump from the small screen to the big screen, writing,
directing, and starring (via voice, of course) in the comedy Ted,
about a boy who wishes his teddy bear to life and grows into adulthood with the
bear as his best friend. He is also an accomplished
singer, and provided an opening number for another animated hit, the Futurama
movie Into
the Wild Green Yonder.
Still, even
with all these other projects, MacFarlane is still most closely associated with
Family Guy, which now must go forward
without Brian Griffin. While this may not quite rank with the death of Colonel
Blake on M*A*S*H,
it still has some longtime fans up in arms. Hopes are high that the series will
find a way to bring him back at some point, but only time will tell.
SmartBrowse Family Guy on our homepage for the
complete collection of episodes on DVD (plus the hilarious Star
Wars spoofs), and SmartBrowse
Seth MacFarlane for a wide variety of titles from this multifaceted
entertainer.
Written by Kyle Slagley
I was rather an unusual child. While my peers were
referencing shows like Beavis &
Butthead, I was prattling on about dead parrots, African v. European
Swallows, lumberjacks, and knights who say “Ni!” For folks out there that
understand all (or any) of those references, the following announcement will be
very welcome news. * Nudge nudge wink
wink* Know what I mean?
On Wednesday, the five surviving members of British comedy
troupe Monty Python announced that they are indeed reuniting in the summer of
2014 for one night only. The show will take place at the London O2 Arena on
July 1st of next year, and according to Eric Idle will include
“comedy, pathos, music and a tiny piece of ancient sex.”
Sounds about right from the group who achieved legendary
status on a mixture of dry wit, absurd slapstick, and sexual innuendo. The July
2014 performance is a monumental event for the five members, who haven’t
performed together since 1980.
The members of Monty Python ( John
Cleese, Terry
Gilliam, Eric
Idle, Terry
Jones, Michael
Palin, and Graham
Chapman [1941-1989]) all worked on various British TV shows during the
1960s prior to the kickoff of their breakthrough series Monty Python’s Flying Circus in October 1969. Between 1964 and
1969, the six men collaborated in various combinations and eventually ITV
offered Gilliam, Idle, Jones, and Palin a series together, while at the same
time BBC offered Chapman and Cleese a show. Cleese would then invite Palin to
join the BBC show, the other three would follow, and Flying Circus would be the hilarious result.
Flying Circus ran
on BBC from 1969 through 1974. The series was introduced in Canada in 1970 on
CBC, but was pulled after Christmas that year. It would be another four years
before the show made its way to U.S. audiences on PBS in 1974, after the series
had finished for good on BBC.
Between seasons three and four, the group filmed their first
fully original movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Having left Flying Circus following
the third season, Cleese returned to film the movie. As I’m sure you know, the
film is a farce on the Arthurian legend and is full of bits that are still
staples in pop-culture. Holy Grail
was the group’s second feature film, their first being And Now For Something Completely Different, which was composed of
reshot footage from the first two season of Flying
Circus.
Though Holy Grail
is probably more widely known in the U.S., it was the group’s third film, Monty Python’s Life of Brian that is
often considered the best of the troupe’s work, and also one of the best comedy
films of all time. Funded by former Beatles band member George Harrison, the
film was released in 1979 and follows a man whose life parallels that of Jesus
Christ.
The troupe’s last film, Monty Python’s Meaning of Life, was
made with a structure similar to that of their original Flying Circus days. A series of sketches loosely follows the
timeline of man from birth through death. Some of the best musical numbers in
the troupe’s repertoire came out of this film, most of which are available on
their album Monty Python Sings. The group freely
admits that by the time the project rolled around, their aim was to offend
“absolutely everyone.”
In recent years, the musical Spamalot has been the most visible
Monty Python work. Based on Holy Grail,
Eric Idle wrote the book for the hit that would star some of the biggest names
in Broadway theatre and ultimately be nominated for 14 Tony Awards, winning
three.
There is no word yet on whether the troupe’s one-off show in
July will be recorded, but I would be shocked if it weren’t. There have been
quite a few specials and shows over the years billed as “Monty Python Reunion”
events, but none of them involved every surviving member as this one will. If
and when Monty Python Live (mostly)
is released on video, you can be sure we’ll let you know.
For a complete listing of all our available Monty Python
titles and documentaries, click
here.
Written by Jon Williams
The biggest
buzz in the worlds of entertainment and pop culture this week surrounds Catching Fire, the second film in the Hunger Games series. The first
film was one of the biggest blockbusters of 2012, a year that was full of
them, grossing over $400 million in North America. The second film is expected to bring
in similar numbers at the box office.
If there’s
still anyone out there who’s unfamiliar, the films are based on a trilogy of
dystopian young adult novels
by Suzanne Collins dealing with a futuristic society that keeps its
citizens in line, in part, by requiring each District to submit two teenage
contestants to an annual reality show-type competition in which the winner is
the only survivor. The first novel and film follow protagonist Katniss
Everdeen, who volunteers for the Hunger Games in place of her young sister, who
is selected to participate. In Catching
Fire, Katniss is thrust into competition once again when the Games draw
contestants from past champions.
Interest in
all things Hunger Games is sure to be
at a fever pitch throughout Catching Fire’s
theatrical run. Be sure to have the first film, the music, and the audiobooks
on your shelves for patrons to enjoy, and visit our website to find more music
from the outstanding artists featured on the soundtracks.
Written by Jon Williams
Fans of
horror TV, rejoice! Although it’s too late for Halloween, word came down last
night that a team has been assembled to reboot the classic macabre 1980s series
Tales from the Darkside. The update
will air on the CW network as a half-hour series beginning in the summer of
2014.
The original
series was created by horror legend George A. Romero, who directed and
co-wrote the seminal zombie film Night
of the Living Dead in 1968. In 1982 he teamed up with Stephen King for the film Creepshow,
which was an anthology film made up of several horror stories. The success of
that film led to the idea of a horror-themed TV series, which became Tales from the Darkside.
The show
debuted in 1984 and ran for four seasons, with each episode telling a new story.
With new characters each week, the show had quite a large cast, featuring such
stars as Phyllis Diller, John Heard, Carol Kane, Darren McGavin, Jerry Stiller,
Abe Vigoda, Seth Green, Marcia Cross, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Christian
Slater, to name just a few. After its four-season run on television, the show
spawned a feature
film of its own in 1990, which starred Slater along with Steve Buscemi,
Julianne Moore, and Debbie Harry.
Tales from the Darkside certainly wasn’t
the first or only show of its type. It owed a debt of gratitude to The
Twilight Zone, the pioneering show of strange tales which originally
ran from 1959 to 1964. The format became quite popular in the ‘80s, with Tales
from the Darkside being joined by Steven Spielberg’s Amazing
Stories and a Twilight Zone
revival in 1985, and then followed by HBO’s Tales
from the Crypt in 1989.
Set to write
the scripts for the new series is acclaimed author Joe Hill—son of Romero
collaborator and original Darkside
contributor Stephen King (who had his own horror anthology show with 2006’s Nightmares
& Dreamscapes). This isn’t the only film work Hill has on tap—his novel
Horns
has been adapted into a movie starring Daniel Radcliffe and Juno Temple (which
premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and will
release theatrically in 2014), and his comic series Locke & Key is being
adapted into a film as well.
Written by Jon Williams
Earlier this
week, PBS aired a new documentary on Jimi Hendrix as part of its American
Masters series. Hear My Train a Comin’
explores the legendary guitar wizard’s life and career in his own words,
intermixed with previously unseen concert footage and conversations with
friends, family, and contemporaries. Its showing winds down a year-long
celebration of Hendrix that commenced on what would have been his 70th
birthday, 27 November 2012. The documentary is already available on both DVD
for classic rock-loving patrons who may have missed its original airing, or who
just want to see it again.
Although
Hendrix’s life and career were brief (he died at age 27 after only 4 years of
musical success), both are worth exploring. The incandescent performer’s
confident and flamboyant stage persona was a front for a quiet, shy personality
away from it. After working early on as a sideman
to such entertainers as Little Richard and the Isley Brothers, his career
began in earnest in 1966 when his manager began recruiting musicians to join a
band designed to highlight Hendrix’s talent, and thus the Jimi Hendrix
Experience was born. Their first album, Are
You Experienced? (currently out of print), contained such staples as
“Purple Haze,” “Hey Joe,” and “Foxy Lady.”
Despite such
a powerhouse track listing and a strong start in Great Britain (where it was
kept from #1 only by the seminal Beatles album Sgt.
Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band), Hendrix’s career got off to a
lukewarm start in North America. The Experience’s first single, “Hey Joe,”
failed to chart upon its release. While the music fell short, Hendrix finally
managed to capture everyone’s attention with his stage antics. On the
recommendation of Paul McCartney, who saw Hendrix perform a blistering version
of “Sgt. Pepper” just three days after its release, the Experience was invited
to perform at the Monterey Pop Festival in California in June of 1967. At the
end of their performance, Hendrix famously lit his guitar on fire, making a
name for himself and cementing his place in rock n’ roll lore. This performance
(and more from the festival) can be seen on The Complete Monterey Pop Festival DVD
and Blu-ray
available from the Criterion Collection.
The Jimi
Hendrix Experience followed up Are You
Experienced? with just two more studio albums during Jimi’s lifetime. Axis:
Bold as Love was released later in 1967 to capitalize on the success of
the first album, and the first side of the original album had to be hurriedly
remixed after Hendrix left the master tapes in a taxi. The double album Electric Ladyland (also out of print),
released late in 1968, featured two songs greater than 13 minutes in length,
plus a cover of the Bob Dylan song “All Along the Watchtower,” which has become
one of Hendrix’s signature songs.
Hendrix’s
tragic death in September of 1970 at the age of 27 was a major blow to the
music world, which earlier that year had already experienced the breakup of the
Beatles. However, he left behind a treasure trove of unreleased materials,
resulting in a number of posthumous releases that continue to this day. Valleys
of Neptune, released in 2010, contained a number of previously
unreleased tracks Hendrix had been working on in preparation for a fourth album;
another such album, People,
Hell and Angels, was released earlier this year. Audio engineer Eddie
Kramer, who worked extensively with Hendrix during his lifetime, says this 2013
album has exhausted the supply of unreleased Hendrix studio tracks, but that
other live albums may eventually be made available.
Although Hendrix’s
career was cut short, his influence on rock music was undeniable, and interest
in his music remains very strong. SmartBrowse his name on our website to see
the wide range of CDs, concert and documentary DVDs, and other materials we
have available from and about this amazingly talented and transcendent
musician.
Written by Jon Williams
If you follow
fantasy authors Brandon Sanderson and James Dashner on Facebook, you may have
noticed something slightly off about their profile pictures recently when both
men changed their avatars to pictures of pop music phenom Justin Bieber. No,
their accounts weren’t hacked. So what gives?
As it turns
out, the pic switch was the result of a friendly wager between the two…which
both men ended up losing! It began when Sanderson, whose YA novel Steelheart
released in hardcover late in September (and is coming soon to audiobook),
realized that Dashner, who lives nearby in Salt Lake City, Utah, had a YA book
coming out shortly thereafter: The
Eye of Minds. He proposed to track the books’ sales numbers for a week
in October, and whichever author sold fewer books would display Bieber’s face
as his profile picture.
So how did
both of them end up with the Biebs on their profile?
When
Sanderson checked in on the sales numbers after the week in question, he saw
that they had both done quite well. However, both of them had been outsold in
the YA fantasy genre by yet another Salt Lake City author: Wild
Born (part of the multi-author Spirit
Animals series) by Brandon Mull. That being the case, both authors
agreed to declare Mull the winner, and therefore both of them ended up changing
their photos. (Dashner has since switched back to his standard author photo;
Sanderson’s profile, as of right now, still displays a photo of Bieber).
Of course,
the real winner in all of this is the world of young adult fiction, which has
been enriched by the works of all three authors. Be sure to SmartBrowse each
author’s name on our homepage for more YA fiction (and some adult fiction as
well). And while you’re there, don’t forget to search for some tunes from
Justin Bieber.
Written by Jon Williams
This week
marks the re-release of Van Morrison’s landmark 1970 album Moondance. The standard
edition features a complete remastering of the original album, while the expanded
edition includes a second disc containing alternate takes and mixes of
tracks from the album, as well as a number of previously unreleased tracks from
the album’s recording sessions.
Morrison, a
legendary Irish singer-songwriter, started his career as lead singer for a
garage rock band simply called Them.
After two albums (and a brief tour of the U.S., during part of which they were
supported by an up-and-coming band called the Doors), Morrison left the band to
embark on a solo career. He was generally unsatisfied with his 1967 debut compilation,
Blowin’
Your Mind!, but the lead single “Brown-Eyed Girl” continues to be his
signature hit more than 45 years later.
Given his
distaste for that album, Morrison considers his second album, 1968’s Astral
Weeks, to be his true debut. The album drew wide critical acclaim upon
its release, and continues to do so— Rolling
Stone, for instance, listed it #19 in its 2003 list of the 500 Greatest
Albums of All Time. Sales didn’t match the reviews, though, and Astral Weeks didn’t go Gold until 2001,
33 years after its release.
That wasn’t
the case for Moondance, Morrison’s
commercial breakthrough in 1970. It continued the critical success of Astral Weeks while also becoming popular
with music buyers. From that point on, Van Morrison was a bona fide star. To
capitalize on this success, another album, His
Band and the Street Choir, was released later that same year. While it
didn’t perform as well as Moondance,
it did contain the single “Domino,” one of his biggest hits.
Unfortunately,
the follow-up to that album, 1971’s Tupelo
Honey, is currently out of print. I say “unfortunately” because that album
contains my personal favourite of Morrison’s songs (and one of my favourite songs
overall), the gorgeous title track. Fortunately, a version of the song can be
found on the 2007 compilation The
Best of Van Morrison, Vol. 3.
Now, nearly
fifty years since his musical career began, Van Morrison is still going strong.
His most recent album, 2012’s Born to
Sing: No Plan B, contains ten original songs and was, again, well received
critically. With 34 studio albums to his credit, he has covered any number of
themes and genres. He has won two Grammy Awards and been nominated for several
more. The albums Astral Weeks and Moondance are in the Grammy Hall of
Fame, and Morrison himself was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in
1993. Be sure to SmartBrowse his name on our homepage for a full list of albums
available from this classic performer.
Written by Kyle Slagley
Earlier this year, beginning in March to be exact, it seemed
like everyone was talking about The Bible – The Epic Miniseries that
ran every Sunday on the
History Channel. The miniseries consisted of ten episodes and History ran
two episodes per Sunday—because March contained five Sundays in 2013, the
series was perfectly timed so that the final episodes depicting Jesus’
crucifixion and resurrection were aired on Easter Sunday, March 31.
The miniseries set viewing records consistently during
March, and after reruns, syndications, and translations for foreign airings,
over 100 million people viewed the saga. In its first week on DVD and Blu-ray,
it sold over half a million copies, making it the fastest-selling TV show on
disc since 2008.
Now, the big news concerning the series is that it will be
heading to the big screen in an abridged adaptation titled Son of God. Husband-and-wife producing duo Roma Downey (of Touched by an Angel fame) and Mark
Burnett (whose production credits include Survivor,
The Apprentice, and The Voice),
announced earlier this week that the final five episodes of the miniseries
would be condensed into a 2.5-hour feature film and would release on February
28, 2014 – the Friday before Ash Wednesday.
Just prior to the miniseries premiere, Downey and Burnett
released a novel titled A Story of God and All of Us that
debuted at No. 27 on the NY Times
Bestseller list. Considering the success of The
Bible, it’s unsurprising that NBC has already commissioned a follow-up from
Downey and Burnett. Little is known about the project, other than that it will
portray the early days of Christianity and will be titled A.D.: Beyond the Bible; there is no known premiere date yet.
The year 2014 is shaping up to be a year of multiple
biblical blockbusters, in fact. In addition to Son of God releasing on February 28, a feature film about the Great
Flood will also release exactly one month later on March 28.
Noah, starring Russell
Crowe, Emma
Watson, Jennifer
Connelly, and Anthony
Hopkins, has been in development for some time. The storyline is, well,
fairly self-explanatory: it’s the story of Noah, his ark, and the Great Flood.
The real twist in the coming adaptation, from what I understand, is that far
from the grand and majestic Noah we all came to know in Sunday School, Crowe’s
Noah will be a much more conflicted man who struggles with survivor’s guilt,
making him much more relatable.
With Easter Sunday on April 20 next year, moviegoers will
have ample time to see both films before the holiday. For a larger selection of
biblical films and adaptations, check out our collection here.
Written by Jon Williams
Nominees for
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s class of 2014 have been announced. It’s a
diverse list that features grunge pioneers, glam superstars, hip-hop legends,
disco dynamos, and more. The full list includes: the
Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chic,
Deep
Purple, Peter
Gabriel, Hall & Oates, Kiss,
LL
Cool J, the
Meters, N.W.A.,
Nirvana,
the
Replacements, Linda
Ronstadt, Cat
Stevens, Link
Wray, Yes,
and the
Zombies.
Of course,
not all of these bands and artists will make it, deserving though they may be.
Inductees will be determined by a panel of 600 voters, among them music critics
and industry insiders, as well as previous inductees. In addition, fans have a
chance to vote at rockhall.com/vote.
The top five vote-getters from the list
above will be tallied into an official ballot that will count as one of the 600
votes to determine the inductees.
The winners
will be inducted in April of 2014 in New York (the Hall itself is in Cleveland,
Ohio). The induction ceremony includes a
concert that has, over the years, turned into quite an event unto itself,
featuring performances by and collaborations among music legends. The ceremony
and concert will be broadcast on HBO.
Artists are
eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their
first single. This is Nirvana’s first year of eligibility. The 2013 class was
made up of Heart,
Albert
King, Randy
Newman, Public
Enemy, Rush,
and Donna
Summer.
SmartBrowse 'Rock and Roll Hall of Fame' on our website for more CDs from previous nominees and inductees, as well as CDs and DVDs from induction concerts.
Written by Jon Williams
Country-pop
starlet Taylor Swift is taking her talents to the silver screen once again. It
was recently announced that the singer would join the adaptation of Lois
Lowry’s young adult novel The Giver.
The cast already includes such notable names as Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges,
Katie Holmes, and Alexander Skarsgard.
The
Giver was originally published in 1993, to much acclaim. Set in a society
in which emotion has been removed, it tells the story of Jonas, the “Receiver
of Memory,” a young boy who holds the memories of a time when emotion still
held sway, in case that experience is ever needed. The book won the coveted
Newbery Medal in 1994. It was Lowry’s second time receiving the award; she won
it first for 1989’s Number
the Stars. She has since followed up The Giver with three loosely related novels: Gathering
Blue, Messenger,
and Son.
Although it
seems like she’s been around forever, Swift is still just 23 years old. She
broke out in a big way in 2006, when she was sixteen. Her first single “Tim
McGraw” touched a chord with teenagers all over the world, and her eponymous
debut album spent 24 weeks atop Billboard’s country chart and went platinum
many times over. Since then she’s become a bona fide sensation, scoring similar
success with each following album: Fearless,
Speak
Now, and Red.
Obviously,
though, music isn’t Swift’s only artistic interest. After appearing in an
episode of CSI
and hosting Saturday Night Live in 2009,
she made her full-fledged acting debut in 2010’s ensemble romcom Valentine’s
Day (and also contributed two songs to the soundtrack).
In 2012, she voiced the character Audrey in the animated feature The
Lorax. Most recently she guest starred in an episode of New
Girl that aired in May. The Giver
will be her first acting work since then.
The Giver is a popular book for young
adults, and Taylor Swift’s involvement in the movie is sure to drive them into
a frenzy. Be sure to have the audiobook on hand for those who can’t wait until
August of next year, when the movie is scheduled to be released.
Written by Kyle Slagley
Certain movies fall into a group of “cult following staples,”
if you will. Among this group you will find films like Boondock Saints, The Big Lebowski, almost any movie
made by either Quentin
Tarantino or Kevin
Smith, and also American Psycho.
American Psycho started
as a novel
by Bret Easton Ellis that was published in 1991. It is a
stream-of-consciousness novel, narrated by the main character Patrick Bateman.
The film, released in 2000 and starring Christian Bale, follows the same
formula. The plots are also largely the same. Bateman is a 27-year-old Wall
Street protégé by day, and a sadistic serial killer by night. Both the novel
and the film were intended to be satirical interpretations of the narcissistic,
yuppie culture of the late ‘80s, and they both do a very good job of that…if
you can get past just how disturbing the plots are.
I won’t ruin the ending for you, but suffice it to say it’s
equally surreal.
Because the movie was, well, disturbing, imagine my surprise
when I read about American Psycho: The
Musical earlier this week. You read that correctly. American Psycho: The Musical is an actual thing, it’s currently in
rehearsals, and stars Matt
Smith, who has spent the last three years growing his fame playing the
infamous Doctor
Who. The show is set to run at the Almeida Theatre in London from December
3 of this year through January 25, 2014.
No word yet on if American
Psycho will make its way across the pond to Broadway, but if you’re really
curious, the show’s director Rupert Goold has been tweeting photos from
rehearsals that you can check out on
his feed.
Written by Kyle Slagley
This week, New York City and opera aficionados everywhere
bid farewell to a 70-year-old institution that unfortunately fell victim to the
economics of the times. The New York City Opera’s curtain fell for the final
time last Saturday after a performance of the production Anna Nicole, a modern opera about the late actress and model.
The NYCO has been plagued with budgetary constraints for the
last decade, and on Monday announced they failed to raise the $7M necessary to
save the current season. The organization began the bankruptcy filing process
this week.
The NYCO was established in 1943 as an alternative to the
Metropolitan Opera (commonly called ‘The Met’) and was dubbed “the people’s
opera” by then-Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. They offered younger singers –
particularly Americans – an opportunity that The Met did not, and they offered
the public more access to opera with cheaper ticket prices.
Opera is a very niche market for both libraries and the
general retail market and true opera fans are few and far between –
particularly outside those major cities that have an arts culture that thrives
enough to sustain an opera company. What may be surprising for some is that
common opera songs can be found, repurposed, in even the most common of places
– children’s cartoons, TV commercials, and even as hooks in pop or rap music.
Opera is simply the art of telling a story through song –
just like any other genre of music – but I think one of the biggest barriers
the genre faces with the general public is that most operas and nearly all the
classic operas are written in languages other than English, requiring
subtitles. As I said, though, chances are most of the public has heard some of
opera’s greatest songs and arias, they just don’t know it.
For more titles, simply SmartBrowse ‘Opera’ on our website.
To read more about the closing of the iconic New York City Opera, click
here.
Written by Jon Williams
If you see
an influx of patrons dressed in costume and carrying lightsabers this Saturday,
don’t worry. They’re just there to participate in Star Wars Reads Day, an international event to celebrate reading
and promote literacy.
The Star Wars franchise is most well known,
of course, for the movies: the original
trilogy of A New Hope (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983), and the prequel
trilogy of The Phantom Menace
(1999), Attack of the Clones (2002),
and Revenge of the Sith (2005). The
animated The
Clone Wars also played in theatres in 2008, paving the way for a television
series that spanned five seasons before ending earlier this year. And of
course, it’s common knowledge that a new trilogy is on the horizon, with the
first installment slated for release in May of 2015.
While the
films will always be what comes to mind first when someone mentions Star Wars, there’s no doubt that the
books have expanded the universe and provided many hours of adventure for fans
of all ages. However, that wasn’t always the case. Although the original
trilogy created a huge number of fans for all things Star Wars, fandom went into a “dark time” following the release of Return of the Jedi in 1983, a period of
time when there was little new material to satisfy the craving for more. That
period was brought to a screeching halt in 1991 with the publication of Heir
to the Empire, the first of a three-book series by acclaimed sci-fi
author Timothy Zahn.
With the
announcement of more movies leaving the stability of the Expanded Universe
timeline in doubt, new books focus on eras that won’t be affected by the new
trilogy. The most recent addition, Razor’s
Edge, details Princess Leia’s struggle to establish a new base for the
fledgling Rebel Alliance. Two entries are currently scheduled for 2014: Honor
Among Thieves will begin a new series detailing the exploits of Luke
Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia after the destruction of the Death Star,
while Lockdown
will follow Darth Maul on a mission for his dark master.
These titles
will be in high demand for Star Wars
Reads Day on Saturday, but Star Wars
audiobooks are always a big hit. Be sure to SmartBrowse ‘Star Wars’ on our
homepage for a complete selection of titles we offer, and to stay up-to-date
with new titles as they’re announced.
Written by Kyle Slagley
This week marked an important week for all the Gleeks out
there, as the new album Glee Sings the Beatles hit shelves
on Tuesday. It takes quite a bit of gall to take arguably the most sacred band
in rock n’ roll history and pop-ify their work, but that’s exactly what the
kids at William McKinley High School did. Judging by how well the album is
selling, fans aren’t exactly complaining either.
After listening to the entire album, the Glee renditions I enjoyed most were
“Drive My Car,” “Here Comes the Sun” which features Demi Lovato, and “I Saw Her
Standing There.” Strangely enough, Glee
has covered Beatles songs in the past, and my favourite of their covers, “I Want
to Hold Your Hand” – sung by Chris Colfer, who plays Kurt, and which originally
appears on Volume
4 – was not included on this album.
Glee is far from
the first group to cover the Fab Four, nor will they be the last. Though many
of your patrons will be far too young to remember, or even know of the
performance, you cannot mention Beatles covers without mentioning Joe Cocker’s
rendition of “With a Little Help From My Friends” at Woodstock
in ’69 or Neil Young’s version of “Imagine” at the 9/11 TV tribute concert.
More recently, Mumford and Sons have been known to cover “Hey Jude” during
their concerts, and one of my favourite obscure cover finds (if you can get past
the crowd noise on the recording) on YouTube is Alice Cooper, Steven Tyler, and
Weird Al Yankovic singing “Come
Together” at a New Year’s Eve party in 2012.
When it comes to entire albums of Beatles cover songs, my
absolute favourite would be the Across
the Universe Soundtrack. The film
came out in 2007 and was another instance where the story was structured around
the music. It received mediocre reviews, but the soundtrack is still one of my
favourite soundtracks of all time.
For some, the first cover soundtrack to come to mind will be
the one that went with the first Beatles-oriented film, Sgt.
Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The film,
starring Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees, was loosely based on the Beatles
album of the same name, but with a 15% on Rotten Tomatoes, I think I can
safely say the film was a total bomb. It is worth mentioning, though, that in
later years, after memories of the film had faded, affection for ‘70s nostalgia
and kitsch brought the soundtrack back into the light.
The fact is that there are too many different covers of the
Fab Four to mention in just one column, and they span all different styles: from
Beatallica
(who plays Beatles tunes in the style of Metallica), Roberta
Flack (who puts her R&B spin on the songs), to even Sesame Street and the
Chipmunks. Check out our collection
of Beatles cover albums Midwest Tape offers, and don’t forget to remind
your younger patrons about the original
band too!
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