The Filtered Excellence: July 17, 2014

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Bob Geldof once asked us, “Where is the filtered excellence!?” It’s right here. Here are this weeks picks of the best things to watch, the most interesting things to do, great things to try, the best picks to read, our favorite things to listen to and more:


WATCH THIS:

Daryl’s Restoration Over-Hall. Recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Daryl Hall has another passion besides music. He’s also into restoring historic homes. This brand new series on DIY (Do It Yourself) Network features Daryl going to work to rebuild an 18th century home in Sherman, Connecticut. This one bedroom cottage hasn’t been touched in decades and Daryl and his team will work to bring it back to its original 1780’s life. Daryl’s Restoration Over-Hall premieres on Saturday, July 19th at 10 pm et on DIY Network. The premiere will include two back-to-back episodes.

Alive Inside. Winner of the Audience Award at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, Alive Inside is the story about the power of music in people’s lives and its healing applications. Director Michael Rossato-Bennett follows social worker Dan Cohen, founder of the nonprofit organization Music & Memory, as he uses music to reach senior citizen patients suffering from dementia and other memory loss diseases. These are people who seemed to have completely lost their identities until music is reintroduced into their lives. It’s a story about the human connection to music and how in these patients’ lives, it was able to do things that prescription medicine couldn’t. Alive Inside opens this weekend in New York and L.A. and then starts to roll out nationwide after that.

The Newburgh Sting. HBO is continuing its Summer of a showing a different documentary every Monday night. The Newburgh Sting premieres Monday, July 21 st on HBO. It’s a look at the case of the “Newburgh Four”. The Newburgh Sting goes inside the role the FBI played in targeting Muslim communities in poor neighborhoods and leading small town criminals into committing acts of national terrorism. It’s the story of the four men arrested in 2009 for a plan to bomb Jewish centers in the Bronx and how they were lured into the crime by a Pakistani businessman being used by the Feds. The documentary has incredible footage from hidden cameras and shows the true meaning of homegrown terrorism. The Newburgh Sting debuts Monday, July 21st at 9 pm et on HBO.


 

LISTEN TO THIS:

The Paul McCartney Archive Collection. Five Paul McCartney/Wings albums – McCartney, McCartney II, Band On The Run, Ram and Wings Over America are now available as iPad apps, and as one would expect, it’s loaded. In addition to all of the original audio tracks, each app will also contain rare photos (most of which were shot by the late Linda McCartney), album artwork, essays, interviews, documentaries, rehearsal footage and much more. Retailing at $7.99, the apps give you all of the markers of a deluxe edition or box set, for just a fraction of the cost. A must have for Macca fans who are online savvy or great way to introduce a newbie to his solo work.

The Paul McCartney Archive Collection is available exclusively through the Apple App Store.

 

READ THIS:

There Goes Gravity: A Life in Rock and Roll by Lisa Robinson. Journalist Lisa Robinson who’s currently a contributing music editor for Vanity Fair, has been covering rock music for over 40 years. Her new book is a memoir of her amazing career. “There Goes Gravity” comes from Lisa Robinson’s unique perspective of being one of the very few women to go on the road in the 70s, reporting on concerts and meeting some of the biggest names in Rock and Roll. She had a run in with Mick Jagger about her gender while touring with the Stones, she ended up in dangerous situations with Led Zeppelin, and talked to John Lennon in the weeks just before he was killed. Lisa Robinson has been called one of rock’s top insiders by Rolling Stone magazine and her book provides the names to prove it. She writes about her encounters with stars like David Bowie, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Michael Jackson, U2, Kanye West, the New York Dolls, Jay Z and many more in incredible detail. “There Goes Gravity” is a must read for any rock fan.

There Goes Gravity: A Life in Rock and Roll
by Lisa Robinson is available on amazon.com

Glow: The Autobiography Of Rick James by Rick James with David Ritz. Rick James was working on his autobiography with acclaimed writer David Ritz before his untimely passing in 2004. In this sprawling, almost hard to believe account, James recalls how he went from singing doo wop on the streets of his hometown of Buffalo, to living underground as an AWOL solider in Toronto; his first stint at Motown as a staff producer and songwriter; relocating – and struggling – as a working musician in L.A, and how his return to Motown made him a superstar. James almost single-handedly turned the company’s slumping fortunes around with a string of hits for himself, Teena Marie, The Mary Jane Girls, Smokey Robinson, and Eddie Murphy. Also the way, James recalls encounters with some of the biggest names in music (Miles Davis, Etta James, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Steven Stills, Jim Morrison) and some of his high-profile hookups (Linda Blair, Iman, Elizabeth Shue, Teena Marie and Marvin Gaye’s former wife Jan). He also goes in graphic detail about how an out of control drug addiction landed him at the infamous Folsom State Prison. This book has everything: Pimps, gangsters, tons of sex, feuds (including his infamous battles with Prince); jail stories, health scares (including a severe stroke); more drugs than you can possibly imagine, and of course, the stories behind all of the classic music. This is THE most salacious music bio to come down the pike since Motley Crue’s The Dirt – and it makes that look tame in comparison. The must read music book of the summer, if not the year.

Glow: The Autobiography of Rick James is available now through Amazon.

Dry Bones in the Valley by Tom Bouman. When a January thaw uncovers a dead body on a mountain in rural Pennsylvania, policeman Henry Farrell must do some uncovering of his own. For hidden in the small town of Wild Thyme are secrets and crimes that span generations, and Farrell must sift through them to learn the truth about the dead man, while dealing with his own grief and longings. Bouman has a wonderful way with description and pace, and Henry Farrell is a marvelous, realistic character, who is not some cop superhero, but an ordinary guy. Farrell fails as often as he succeeds, but he never stops trying, and that’s what makes him lovable. Dry Bones in the Valley is a fantastic debut.


 

DO THIS:

What’s Up Doc? The Animation Art Of Chuck Jones @ The Museum Of The Moving Image. Bugs Bunny. Daffy Duck. Pepe Le Pew. Wile E. Coyote. The Road Runner. All of these iconic characters from the first golden age of animation came from the pen of Chuck Jones. Jones directed over 300 animated films covering over three decades, setting a standard by which all others have followed. The Museum Of The Moving Image pays tribute to the Academy Award-winning animator with an extensive retrospective that will include such classic cartoons such as What’s Opera, Doc?, the TV special Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas, 125 original sketches, drawings, photos, cels and much more. It’s the most comprehensive look into the mind of an animation giant. What’s Up Doc? The Animation Art Of Chuck Jones will be at the Museum Of The Moving Image July 19th through January 19th, 2015.

NEW YORK CITY: Laughter In The Park. This is NYC’s free outdoor Summer comedy series happening now through August 2nd. This weekend, Laughter in the Park heads to Holley Plaza in Washington Square Park. It’s two hours of free comedy presented by NY Laughs. The event is currently in its 8th year. Comedians who have been participating this Summer include Myq Kaplan headlining, Sasheer Zamata from “Saturday Night Live”, Last Comic Standing finalist Monroe Martin, Ophira Eisenberg, Sam Morril, Sean Donnelly and more. Laughter in the Park will be in Washington Square Park on Sunday, July 20th from 2 to 4 pm.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Paging Mr.Herman: A Pee-Wee Herman Art Retrospective. Dozens of L.A. artists have come together to create an exhibit honoring Pee-Wee Herman. “Paging Mr. Herman” is a collection of artwork all inspired by the children’s television icon, (I know you are, but what am I?). The exhibit also includes a Pee-Wee’s Playhouse one of a kind photo booth that visitors can check out. Paging Mr. Herman: A Pee-Wee Herman Art Retrospective is happening at the Nerdist Showroom at Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles. It starts Saturday, July 19th and runs through Friday, July 25th. The exhibit is opened from 7 to 10 pm each night.

NEW YORK CITY: Seeger Fest 2014. This past January, legendary folk singer Pete Seeger passed away. This Summer he’s being honored with the first annual Seeger Fest organized by his grandson. Seeger Fest runs for 5 nights and will hold events all around NYC. One of the highlights will be the Memorial concert with friends of Pete and Toshi Seeger outside Lincoln Center. This will be part of the Lincoln Center “Out of Doors” series. This tribute concert will feature speakers Harry Belafonte and Michael Moore, as well as performances from some of the musicians who knew and loved Seeger and his wife, including Judy Collins, Dar Williams and Pete Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary. The memorial concert is Sunday, July 20th at at 4 pm and is free.

 


 

Want more excellence?  Read last week’s The Filtered Excellence and visit The Interrobang Recommmends