Staff Picks

Exit through the Gift Shop [DVD]

view/request

What starts off somewhat conventionally as a documentary on street art culture and its biggest legend and mystery Banksy, is flipped into an scathing satire of the art world. The film, ostensibly created by and starring Banksy, Shepard Fairey and the ‘amateur documentarian’ Thierry Guetta , is a priceless document/depiction of street art’s journey indoors and its eventual corruption at the hands of those who seek to document, celebrate and endorse it. The films ability to keep the viewer questioning the authenticity and the reliability of the films guide/narrator/director, Thierry, cleverly parallels the art world’s desperate quest to identify Banksy and to own and define his work. In capturing both the rush and excitement of the creation of ‘street art’ and the vacuous dullness of those who seek to commodify and blandly reproduce it, Banksy has created an enthralling portrait of what happens when the lines between art and commerce, public spaces and private property, and documentary and mockumentary are blurred. Highly recommended along with the wonderful and more straightforward “B Movie” which documents much of Banksy’s legendary work.

The Union by Elton John & Leon Russell [Music CD]

view/request

The Union exists as one of the finest statements of friendship that the recording industry has seen. The origins of this album began when Elton John was listening to a vintage Leon Russell recording and burst into tears. The two hadn’t spoken since they toured together in the early 1970’s when John first came to America. Russell, being an early hero of his, had also become a nearly forgotten footnote in the history of popular music.

Leon Russell, a member of Phil Spector’s infamous Wrecking Crew, the pianist and arranger for the Concert for Bangladesh and critically lauded solo artist of the 1970’s, had been releasing music with little distribution or fanfare from his website for the last couple of decades. Elton saw it as his mission to reintroduce audiences to Leon’s brilliant catalog and release him from obscurity. He approached his childhood idol to work on some material together and also selected T-Bone Burnett to handle the production.

The result is a stunning collaboration drawing influence from New Orleans jazz and blues, gospel, soul, country and the Jerry Lee Lewis brand of rock n’ roll. The two piano men trade licks like they are dueling at a honky-tonk and modestly share vocal duties as much as two legends can. Though Elton certainly hasn’t sounded this good since his classic years, it’s Leon who steals the show. Russell’s “In the Hands of Angels”, a song about dying sung in his withered drawl, is by far the standout track.
I believe the saying is “you can take the man from the Lion King, but you can’t take the Lion King from the man”. Yes, there are those moments where Elton is delivering the soaring power ballad chorus, but these occasions are few. The Union feels at home alongside Elton’s Tumbleweed Connection and Leon’s spectacular self-titled record. It’s the 70’s… just forty years later.

Outlaw cook by John Thorne with Matt Lewis Thorne [Book]

view/request

Outlaw Cook is a great collection of essays by local writer John Thorne. In its chapters you will find memoir, philosophy, social commentary, book reviews, and much else besides, all of it related in one way or another to the world of cooking. Thorne’s interests are wide ranging, and the content collected here is diverse, but the overall theme of the collection is that of cooking not as a means to an end (a meal) but as an experience in of itself. Equally important is Thorne’s emphasis on appetite and how it drives the actions of the cook. Whether writing about potato pancakes, garlic soup, or the search for the perfect pecan pie, Thorne’s enthusiasm is infectious and will leave you eager to get to the kitchen, cook, and experiment.

Luka and the fire of life by Salman Rushdie [Book]

view/request

This wonderful book is a sequel to Haroun and the Sea of Stories, though it stands perfectly well on its own. Luka and the Fire of Life, like Haroun, is a children’s book, and like Haroun it is dedicated to one of Rushdie’s sons. This story is a fast-paced fantasy set in a world made up from bits and pieces of many stories, from ancient myths to Super Mario Brothers and Doctor Who. The writing is wonderfully witty, full of word play and puns and humour of many sorts; it had me chuckling immediately and erupting in belly laughs within the first few pages. Children and adults alike will get great pleasure from this book.

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway [Book]

view/request

A haunting and memorable novel of hope, courage, and the daily struggle to survive that takes place during the 1992 siege of Sarajevo. After a mortar shell kills 22 people who were lined up in the town square to buy bread, a once famous cellist who viewed this from his window vows to pay tribute to each one during the next 22 days. Every afternoon he brings his chair to the spot where the shell had fallen, and plays a beautiful rendition of Albinoni’s Adiagio. Arrow, a gifted female sniper, is assigned to protect him. A powerful depiction of how the human spirit endures and life continues during the heartbreak of war.

Last Child in the Woods by Richard LouvLouv [Book]

view/request

Richard LouvLouv’s book discusses a ‘nature-deficit disorder’ and ways to counteract it. He cites a 2002 British study which reported that eight-year-olds could identify Pokémon characters far more easily than they could name “otter, beetle, and oak tree.” Gathering thoughts from parents, teachers, researchers, environmentalists and other concerned parties, Louv argues for a return to an awareness of and appreciation for the natural world.

Soulless by Gail Carriger [Book]

view/request

Part regency-romance, part steampunk — “a novel of vampires, werewolves, and parasols.” Set in an alternate regency England, in which werewolves and vampires are an accepted part of society, some with positions at the top levels of government. Alexia Tarabotti is a witty spinster in a family of beautiful people without substance. She is also a preternatural, without a soul. Alexia is bored with her society life, and wants to join the Bureau of Unnatural Registry, a division of Her Majesty’s Civil Service. Although unable to work there, she is still involved in the mystery of where the new vampires are coming from and why the werewolves are disappearing. Very enjoyable read.

At Home by Bill Bryson [Book]

view/request

At Home: A Short History of Private Life is not particularly short, and it is too rambling and unfocused to be a useful history, but it is full of surprising facts and entertaining anecdotes about our homes and how they got that way. We learn about architecture, gardening, furniture, food, sanitation and much else besides. Although we learn a little about life in ancient times, and a wee bit about homes in the Middle East and in North America, the bulk of the content focuses on British homes in the last few hundred years. Many sections of the book tell us little about the lives of all but the most wealthy, which is disappointing but also understandable, but Byrson makes up for this imbalance by keeping the text engaging, readable, and always interesting.

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister [Book]

view/request

This novel about a cooking class will make you hungry, and every detail was so beautifully written with well-drawn characters each with very different issues. While learning to cook, students come away with greater life lessons to help them with their issues. My favorite class was pasta and red sauce, all from scratch. The lesson: the ability to cook and live without worry of time.

Black Dynamite by Adrian Younge [Music CD]

view/request

Seeing that this is most likely my last post of the year 2010, the natural thing to do would be to compile a best of scroll displaying my favorite things (much like Miss O. Winfrey) from the last three-hundred and sixty some odd time tracking units we shall call “days”. My reply to the reader’s expectation will be as follows, “why, I’m an improviser… I don’t even bring a list to the grocery store!”

And so we raise our glasses to the great compromise. In an action packed year filled with exceptional new music, I will have to award Adrian Younge’s Black Dynamite Sound Orchestra for putting on the best concert of this year. It was a small, intimate show at Ars Nova that cooked and cooked and cooked… and then cooked some more. The band, decked in matching white tuxedos, was gracious enough to corral the audience upstairs for cocktails following their first blistering set. After meeting this very friendly group of musicians, I was invited to see the evening’s second show.

Before attending the concert over the summer, I was familiar with the record pictured in this post’s left hand corner and enjoyed the funky, dirty and melodic blaxploitation soundtrack stylings. I say “blaxploitation” because the album is a soundtrack to a new film that very successfully (in the most comedic sense) rubs elbows with the likes of John Shaft, B.J. Hammer and Dolemite films. Younge, composer/multi-instrumentalist/film editor, hearkens back to the music of these 70’s classics by working with vintage equipment and recording straight onto analog tape. While retaining the spirit of something like Mayfield’s Superfly with chilling vocals by many guest artists and tapping into haunting arrangements reminiscent of Ennio Morricone, Younge somehow takes this retro sound and genre and carries us into a completely new listening experience.

And so at the curtain of 2010, it is announced that Younge and co. are finishing up a follow-up and a release date has been set. It appears we have our first candidate to help keep the pace of this wonderfully musical year.

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King [Book]

view/request

This historical mystery, by an Edgar Award-winning author, introduces the strong intelligent character of Mary Russell, with a well-imagined ‘retired’ Sherlock Holmes in a supporting role. Mary Russell first meets Holmes as her neighbor in Sussex Downs in 1915 at the age of 15, as she almost stumbles over him. Holmes, impressed with her wit and intelligence, takes the orphaned Russell under his wing, and gives her the equivalent of an apprenticeship. After working together on a few interesting cases, Russell and Holmes soon find themselves faced with a nefarious foe who wants to make Holmes suffer, and his friends die.

The Pirates of Penzance by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan [DVD]

view/request

The movie adaptation of Joseph Papp’s Broadway production has everything: swordfights, love affairs, comedy, and the original brilliant lyrics and music. In updating Gilbert & Sullivan’s operetta for a modern (i.e. 1983) audience, Papp cast the multitalented Linda Ronstadt and Kevin Kline in the leading roles. Ronstadt’s soprano is more than equal to Mabel’s vocal fireworks, and Kline embodies the over-the-top macho swashbuckler with panache. The sets are stylistically reminiscent of the stage rather than attempting realism, preserving the sense of watching a musical in the theater. The incomparable Angela Lansbury is featured as Frederic’s old nursemaid Ruth, and the rest of the cast isn’t too shabby either. A perfect introduction to G & S.