The Filtered Excellence: October 30, 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:

Nightcrawler. Dan Gilroy wrote and directed this dark and twisted look at freelance crime journalism. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Louis Bloom, a driven, yet slightly unhinged man looking for work in Los Angeles. One day, he encounters freelance journalist Joe Loder (Bill Paxton), recording footage of a woman being rescued from a burning car. Louis soon discovers that local news stations pay big bucks for such footage and, armed with a cheap camera and an old police radio, goes into the crime journalism business. With a combination of ambition and zero ethics, Louis becomes very good at it, with news director Nina Romina (played by Gilroy’s real life wife Rene Russo) buying – and airing – all of his grim footage. Business becomes so good that Louis adds an assistant (Riz Ahmed) to join him in the adventures. But Louis’ ambitions soon get the better of him, as he is determined to be get so close to the story that he becomes part of it. Gilroy has crafted tight, almost unnerving thriller that shows the dangerous side of citizen journalism. Glyllenhaal – who dropped 20 pounds – is perfect as the L.A. misfit who finds his true calling. With bugged out eyes, maniacal grin, and repeating often used motivational mantras, you find yourself liking him even though we know his elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top. Its a performance that will mark a turning point in his career. Thanks to Robert Elswit’s amazing cinematography, L.A. looks both alluring and menacing at the same time. This is one crazy roller-coaster ride of a movie. Nightcrawler opens nationwide on Friday.


Showrunners: The Art of Running a TV Show. In this new documentary, you see what the life is like for the names behind some of the biggest shows on television. They are the showrunners, the creators, writers and driving forces that get series on the air and keep them on TV. This used to be a behind-the-scenes job, but now in modern television, showrunners have become as big of celebrities as the actors in their shows. The film is filled with interviews with some of the top creative and industry savy people in television. “Showrunners” includes interviews with Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), JJ Abrams and Damen Lindelof (Lost), Matthew Carnahan (House of Lies) and Bill Prady (The Big Bang Theory). Showrunners: The Art of Running a TV Show is in select theaters on Friday, October 31st and on iTunes.

Revenge of the Mekons. The Mekons formed in England in 1977 as a punk band. And unlike a lot of other bands of the punk era, they are still together playing and recording music. None of the group knew how to play instruments when they formed the band. They were a bunch of art students and saw putting the Mekons together as more of an art project than a career in music. The band members chalk up their longevity as a group to the idea that none of them would know what to do if they every quit the band. This is a look at punk band that after nearly 40 years, is still punk. Revenge of the Mekons opens in New York City this weekend and rolls out to theaters around the country after that.

Olive Kitteridge. The new HBO mini-series stars Academy Award winner Francis McDormand in an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name. The series follows 25 years of the life of Olive, a woman who is not easy for anyone to get along with and that includes her own family. She’s a math teacher who is judgmental and abrasive to everyone she encounters including strangers and relatives and frankly, she’s a bad mother. “Olive Kitteridge” brings drama and comedy to the broken relationships that the Kitteridge family endures. Along with Francis McDormand as the title character, the cast includes Richard Jenkins, John Gallagher Jr., Zoe Kazan and Bill Murray. Parts 1 and 2 debut on HBO on Sunday, November 2nd at 9 pm et with parts 3 and 4 airing on Monday, November 3rd at 9 pm et.

Austin City Limits: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The Bad Seeds frontman, as well as screenwriter and actor, Nick Cave makes his Austin City Limits debut. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are coming off a sold out tour across the country and are coming to Texas to perform songs off their new album, “Push The Sky Away” as well others including “From Her to Eternity”, “Into My Arms” and “The Mercy Seat”. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds premiere on Austin City Limits on Saturday, November 1st on PBS. Check local listings for times in your area.

For more information, go to acltv.com

Daryl’s House Presents: Hall-oween & Oates. On Halloween night, there will be a special concert presentation of Daryl Hall’s “Daryl’s House”. This event will be a haunted Daryl’s house with Daryl Hall and John Oates coming together for a live Halloween concert starting at 9 pm et on Friday, October 31st. The Halloween edition of Daryl’s House will be broadcast on the Live Nation channel on Yahoo! Screen. Hall and Oates will be playing their biggest hits from their 40 decade long collaboration. Replays of Daryl’s House Presents: Hall-oween & Oates will be available on Yahoo! after the live performance.

Antenna TV Presents Hitch-O-Ween. Starting at Midnight going into Halloween, on Friday, October 31st, Antenna TV is planning on scaring you for the next 28 hours. For more than a day, the network will play episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. This was the TV anthology series featuring dramas and mysteries from the master of suspense, director Alfred Hitchcock. Already known for his films, Hitchcock brought his brand of movie making to the small screen in 1955. He would introduce each episode himself. The 28 hour marathon on Antenna TV will include episodes that were nominated for Emmys including “The Case of Mr. Pelham”, “Lamb to the Slaughter” and “The Glass Eye”. “Hitch-O-Ween” begins at 12 am et on Friday, October 31st on Antenna TV and runs for the next 28 hours.


LISTEN TO THIS:

The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series, Vol 11 by Bob Dylan. The latest in the Bob Dylan’s acclaimed ‘Bootleg’ series is something akin to finding music’s Holy Grail. After being involved in a serious motorcycle accident, Bob Dylan, along with members of would eventually become The Band relocated to a pink house in Woodstock (Big Pink) to recover and regroup. Free from all of the pressures that nearly consumed him during the legendary ‘electric’ tours of 1965 and ’66, Dylan and The Band would spend the better part of the year in The Big Pink basement, writing and recording new material, covering songs that influenced them and mining the deep well that made of American music. While some of the material ended up on future Dylan and Band releases (‘Tears Of Rage’, ‘I Shall Be Released’, ‘You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere’, ‘Quinn The Eskimo’), tracks from the actual Big Pink sessions only surface in a truncated form both officially (1975’s The Basement Tapes) or unofficially (‘The Great White Wonder’). Until now. Spread out over 6 CDs and using the recently recovered and restored original source tapes have been carefully restored, The Basement Tapes Complete offers a unique window into an artist both reinventing and venturing into new sonic territory. At times, you feel like a fly on the wall as Dylan & The Band workshop new songs, have fun playing songs of their youth and generally being a collective at a new artistic and creative zenith. Fans of Dylan, The Band and American music are going to LOVE this.


READ THIS:

Play On: Now, Then, and Fleetwood Mac: The Autobiography by Mick Fleetwood. The drummer and founder of one the world’s most enduring rock bands is setting the record straight. In his new memoir, Mick Fleetwood gets into how the band has changed over the past decades. He writes about band members that have come and gone and come back again and how he held the group together over the years even during its most turbulent and successful times. He addresses the rumors about all the drug use, the intertwined relationships in the band and what went on during the recording of their most successful album “Rumours”. Mick Fleetwood gets as honest as he can in his new book. Play On: Now, Then, and Fleetwood Mac: The Autobiography is now available in bookstores and on Amazon.com.


Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story by Rick Bragg. Jerry Lee Lewis was rock n roll’s first bad boy, living a life off stage that was just as explosive as his stage shows. For the first time, The Killer teams up with Pulitzer Prize winning author Rick Bragg to tells his side of a wild, fast and always entertaining story. Lewis pulls no punches about growing up poor in Ferriday, Louisiana, getting kicked out of a Bible institute for adding boogie woogie touches to a hymn; and being a core member of Sun Records’ ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ (which included Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and a young singer from Tupelo named Elvis Presley). Lewis also opens up his controversial third marriage to his 13 year cousin, Myra Gale Brown – a union that almost destroyed his career. Loaded with stories of drugs, alcohol, death, and ultimately, artistic, creative and personal rebirth, Lewis and Bragg have crafted the ultimate rock n roll survivor tale. A must read for an true fan of rock n roll.

Possibilities by Herbie Hancock. While he’s best known for his work a key member of Miles Davis’ ‘Classic Quintet’, Herbie Hancock’s musical explorations has involved ventures into the worlds of funk, R&B, avant garde, pop, film scores, folk and hip hop. In this eagerly awaited memoir, Hancock tells extraordinary behind the scenes stories about working everyone from Miles to Donald Byrd, Joni Mitchell to Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon to John Mayer – all while remaining one of the great ambassadors for jazz. Hancock also reveals how practicing Buddhism became the source of some of greatest work. He also reveals how his circle of family and friends helped him overcome a crack addiction that nearly killed him in 1999. A riveting and insightful look at one of music’s greatest chameleons.


DO THIS:

NEW YORK CITY: Mama Africa: A Tribute To Miriam Makeba. Grammy Award-winning vocalist Angelique Kidjo returns to Carnegie Hall to pay tribute to the late singer-songwriter-musician-activist known in her native South Africa as ‘Mama Africa’. Its fitting that Kidjo should spearhead this salute: Kidjo’s musical and political output eerily mirrors Makeba, who passed away in 2008. Joining Kidjo will be Makeba’s supporting singers Faith Kekana, Stella Khumalo and Zamo Mbutho, Ezra Koenig, Vusi Mahlasela and Laura Mvula. Whoopi Goldberg will be on hand to make introductory remarks. A remarkable tribute to a remarkable humanitarian/musician. Mama Africa: A Tribute To Miriam Makeba will be take place at Carnegie Hall on November 5th.

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA: Danny Elfman’s Music From The Films of Tim Burton. On Sunday, November 2nd, keep your Halloween celebration going with a special performance celebrating two great artists. The Hollywood Studio Symphony and choir conducted by John Mauceri will be doing the classic scores written by Danny Elfman for the films directed by Tim Burton. Elfman will be on hand to perform the songs he sang in Burton’s “Nightmare Before Christmas”. Other numbers will include the scores from Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and Alice In Wonderland. The presentation will also include film clips from Tim Burton’s movies as well as his original artwork. Danny Elfman’s Music From the Films of Tim Burton is Sunday, November 2nd at 7:30 pm at the Honda Center.

MOLINE, ILLINOIS: James Taylor. This is a chance to catch one of America’s favorite singer-songwriters on tour. James Taylor will be performing at the iWireless Center in Moline, Illinois. In this evening with James Taylor, he’ll be performing the classic hits that made him a multiple time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, including “You’ve Got a Friend”, “Fire & Rain”, “Carolina On My Mind” and “How Sweet It Is”. James Taylor will be at the iWireless Center on Thursday night, November 6th at 8 pm.

NEW YORK CITY: Me, My Mouth and I. Comedian Joy Behar is debuting her new off-Broadway show, “Me, My Mouth and I” in preview performances starting Thursday, November 6th. The comic and former host of The View takes the audience through her life in her new one woman show. It begins with her childhood in Brooklyn where she first learned she was funny to her place in the world of talk television. Joy Behar in “Me, My Mouth and I” previews starting Thursday, November 6th at the Cherry Lane Theatre on Commerce Street. Performances begin at 7 pm.

NEW YORK CITY: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The 1920 silent film from German director Robert Wiene is considered the first true horror movie. Starring Werner Krauss and Conrad Veidt, the film features techniques never used before in filmmaking including unrealistic sets and acting and it introduces the first ever twist ending. It features the somnambulist Cesare (Veidt) who is making deadly predictions under the control of Dr. Caligari (Krauss). The film is being presented at the Film Forum in New York and this is a the most complete restoration of the movie to date. It’s been put together using the resources from 10 different film archives and the original color and tone have been restored. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari begins screening on Halloween, Friday, October 31st and runs through Thursday, November 6th.

 

 


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