Staff Picks Audience: Music & Movies

Chaos and Creation in the Backyard by Paul McCartney [Music CD]

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Upon George Martin’s suggestion, Sir Paul teamed up with producer Nigel Godrich (see his work with Beck & Radiohead) for this incredible 2005 studio album. Chaos and Creation… served as a return to form for McCartney. The album begins with “Fine Line”, a straight ahead piano driven, maraca laden rock number. He later weaves into “Jenny Wren” which recalls certain arrangement elements from the White Album’s “Black Bird”. Then, the word “peradventure” is plucked from his Charles Dickens readings on the airy “English Tea”. Essentially, what we are presented with is classic McCartney accompanied by interesting loops courtesy of the brain of Nigel Godrich: a recording both modern and vintage.

La gran final = The great match [DVD]

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Soccer fever has reached the remote corners of the globe. Follow the adventures of a family of Mongolian nomads, a camel caravan of Tuareg in the Sahara, and a group of Indios in the Amazon as they stop at nothing to watch the World Cup on television. I was laughing hysterically through the whole movie. In Kazajo dialect (Mongolia), Tamashek (Niger) and Tupi (Brazil), with optional English subtitles.

Arranged [DVD]

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Two young women, an Orthodox Jewish and a Muslim, meet as first year teachers a public school in Brooklyn. They become friends as they share their troubles in finding suitable matches for arranged marriages. Arranged is a satisfying, warm, and at times, amusing independent film.

Summer Hours [DVD]

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Three siblings’ memories of the past and aspirations for the future collide when confronted with their shared inheritance of an exceptional 19th century art collection and the family’s country house in Oliver Assayas’ 2008 feature film. Left to negotiate the future of the collection and the country house in which it has been kept, Adrienne (Juliette Binoche), a successful New York designer, Frédéric (Charles Berling), an economist and university professor in Paris, and Jérémie (Jérémie Renier), a dynamic businessman in China, confront the end of childhood, their shared memories and backgrounds, and unique visions of the future. The film is a complex spin on the traditional pastoral country house film and poses questions about the power of objects and their connection to the sentimental allure of the past in an age of globalization. One of two feature films that developed out of a proposed series of shorts that would have been produced to celebrate the Musée D’Orsay’s twentieth anniversary (the other film, The Flight of the Red Balloon, also starred Binoche). Despite these heady themes and what sounds like a relatively mundane plot, the film remains focused and often riveting due to its great casting and exceptional cinematography. French Language, with subtitles.

Under the Munka Moon by Alice Russell [Music CD]

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The 2004 debut album from the criminally overlooked UK singer with a lavishly soulful voice and sass to match. While British singers such as Duffy, Amy Winehouse, Estelle, Joss Stone and Lily Allen have sold millions, Alice has remained relatively unknown in the United States. With production fusing Latin, Girl Group, Hip-Hop, house, drum & bass, funk, gospel, jazz, rock and classic R&B sounds , Alice’s voice remains the core of her first release, which was largely a compilation of singles, remixes and collaborations. Known for her numerous side projects including Bah Samba, the Here Lies Love project with David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, the Bamboos, Quantic Soul Orchestra, her tours with diverse artists like De La Soul, Roy Ayers, the Roots and Lonnie Liston Smith and her collaborations with producer and co-writer TM Juke, the blue eyed, blonde haired lass from Brighton makes every song she performs unique and joyful.

Ram by Paul & Linda McCartney [Music CD]

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“Ram on give your heart to somebody…soon right away, right away,” McCartney laments on the ukulele driven “Ram On”. Ram, the sole album credited to Paul & Linda McCartney, is truly a family affair with half of the songs credited to the couple. Despite several tunes with surreal, nonsensical lyrics, Ram seems to give us a window into a simpler life. There’s numbers about dogs, the desire to live in the country and young love.

While retaining an element of the homemade sound McCartney crafted on his debut record, the pair also delve into Beach Boys arrangements and harmony as well as exploring something I’d like to call easy-listening/avante garde (see “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” or “Long Haired Lady”). Other highlights include the rocker “Eat at Home” and the false ending with futuristic tag on “The Back Seat of My Car”.

Ram gives us the impression that these are people who are doing it their own way… just have a look at the back cover to see the cryptic message Paul has left about his feelings toward his old group.

Appalachian Journey by Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Mark O’Connor [Music CD]

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Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Mark O’Connor play with ideas drawn from traditional American fiddle tunes on this album; the results are great fun. The traditional tunes on this album are often played at a slower tempo than that which you may be accustomed to hearing, but this fantastically talented trio fills the resulting space well, using harmonies and polyphonic lines that give the music an almost classical feel.

Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Edgar Meyer, bass; Mark O’Connor, violin. James Taylor and Alison Krauss join the trio for a song and a tune each.

Little Miss Sunshine [DVD]

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This movie shows that life is an adventure. An imperfect, slightly dysfunctional family of six sets out on a road trip, and all their quirky personalities are crowded together in one bright yellow van that cannot hope to contain them. As they encounter ever more emotional and mechanical breakdowns the characters learn how to handle imperfection and failure. They encounter situations which are sometimes dark, yet still hilarious. With lots of situational irony and dry humor, Little Miss Sunshine is a story which will make life’s difficulties feel like just little bumps in the road.

La Vie en Rose [DVD]

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This biographical film tells the story of Edith Piaf’s life with striking cinematography, music, and a spectacular performance by Marion Cotillard as Piaf. It is an emotional portrayal of poverty, family, fame, love, and music within the framework of one woman’s true experiences.

Red Rose Speedway by Paul McCartney & Wings [Music CD]

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Sandwiched between the hastily recorded and yet magically off kilter Wild Life and the triumphant, triple platinum Band on the Run album lives a recording called Red Rose Speedway. This second Wings effort bridges the gap between freak outs and radio friendly hits. We find the number one smash “My Love” sitting side by side with the nonsensical jam “Big Barn Red” and the minor key piano ditty “Single Pigeon”. Mac and the gang also attempt a nod to the second side of the Beatles’ Abbey Road with a four song medley. As Alan Partridge once retorted to a person ignorant of McCartney’s second group, “Wings are the band the Beatles could have been.” So very true.

Next week we take a closer look at Ram.

McCartney by Paul McCartney [Music CD]

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Paul McCartney’s first solo album, which was certainly unpopular with many critics and his colleagues at the time of its 1970 release, has proven to be an immensely influential and enjoyable, homemade recording. This album was produced mostly at McCartney’s house in London using a simple technique of sending tracks directly into a tape machine. He also performed each instrument himself and the majority of the vocals (some background vocals were sung by Linda McCartney).

Home recording software and portable four-track machines are now sources where many artists, both professional and amateur, record their music. In retrospect, the innovative “McCartney” album was a bold statement that made music making more accessible to those with or without a record contract.

Jules and Jim [DVD]

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Jules et Jim, François Truffaut’s third feature, is arguably his masterpiece. The film is based on a novel by Henri-Pierre Roché which drops us into a delicate love triangle that lasts for twenty-five years. A marriage, a child, romantic affairs and a World War (with the closest of friends on opposing sides) are seen through the lives of Jules, Jim and Catherine. Despite being a tragic piece, this 1962 film maintains a certain lightness and a sense of humor throughout many of its scenes. In addition, a beautiful score composed by Georges Delerue accompanies the equally impressive cinematography by Raoul Coutard.