The Filtered Excellence: February 7, 2013

Bob Geldof once asked us, “Where is the filtered excellence!?” It’s right here. Here are this weeks picks of what to WATCH, what to DO what to TRY what to READ what to LISTEN TO and more:

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WATCH THIS:

AMC Best Picture Showcase.  Plan Ahead!!!  It’s that time of year where there’s not many new films worth going to see, but here’s the good news, AMC Theaters are showcasing this year’s Oscar nominees, so if you missed anything, here’s your chance to catch up.  Spend Saturday February 16th and Saturday February 23rd seeing all the nominees.  Or, if you really want a challenge, attend a twenty four hour marathon of all nine films on February 23rd for just $60 (from 10am to 10am).

TCM’s Annual 31 Days of Oscar Continues.  You now have 31 days where it will be impossible to say ‘there’s nothing on tv.’  TCM’s expertly selected round the clock festival of Oscar nominated and Oscar winning movies continues this week.  It’s all excellence but some a few favorites running  this week include:   The Grapes of Wrath, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Titanic (’53),  The Three Faces of Eve, Peyton Place, Zorba the Greek, Top Hat, Citizen Kane, Notorious, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Rebecca and Spellbound.

The 55th Annual Grammy Awards – Sunday, February 10 – CBS – 8pm.  Music’s best artists and songs of 2012 are honored this Sunday at the Grammy Awards hosted by LL Cool J. This year’s ceremony will also include a special tribute to Levon Helm featuring Elton John, Zac Brown, the Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard, Mumford & Sons and the legendary Mavis Staples.  And T Bone Burnett will be the music director for the tribute segment.  

The  2013 BAFTA Awards .  Sunday, February 10 on BBC America  at 8pm.  The BAFTAs or British Oscars will be awarded Sunday evening. Best Picture nominees include “Argo”, “Les Miserables”, “Life of Pi”, “Lincoln” and “Zero Dark Thirty”.  But the big question is can Ben Affleck pick up another award for Best Director on his way to his Oscar snubbing!? By the way, in a bizarro world twist, Steven Spielberg was not nominated in BAFTA’s directing category.   

Lenny Kravitz: Looking Back on Love.  Grammy Award nominee Mathieu Bitton gets full access to Lenny Kravitz at home, on the road and in the studio as he records his 9th album, Black And White In America. What started out a 3 month project expands into a 2 year odyssey that includes stops in Paris, New Orleans and Kravitz’s new home in The Bahamas.  Featuring appearances by Kravitz’s daughter Zoe, new collaborators Trombone Shorty and the Rebirth Brass Band and celebrity friends Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, Looking Back On Love provides a complete look into the life and artistry of Lenny Kravitz.  It’s available now exclusively on Itunes.

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LISTEN TO THIS:

Regions of Light and Sound of God: The debut solo release for My Morning Jacket’s Jim James  (Released February 5th)  Reportedly Jim James’ first solo album was very much inspired by Lynd Ward’s 1929 graphic novel, God’s Man. Regarded as one of the originators of the American graphic novel, Ward, a minister’s son, created Gods’ Man, a stylistic combination of Expressionist and Art Deco expression which wordlessly portrays the story of an artist’s endeavors: his artistic efforts, his temptations, and his eventual breaking away to virtue. Knowing that this novel was part of the spark that spurred Jim James’ tracks on Regions of Light and Sound of God,the listener is able to easily catch the reflection. Jim James’ songwriting has a searching, spiritual quality here. While at times he can sound forlorn, this Southern-saturated psych-rocker also exudes a hopeful quality in songs themed in seeking. From his Louisville, Kentucky home, James wrote and recorded Regions of Light, playing nearly every instruments himself. The result is soulfully ethereal album tinged with funk and jazz influences. It’s a beautiful new chapter.
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DO THIS:

New York City:  Jean Michel Basquiat at Gagosian.  Over 50 works by the extraordinary artist will be on display now through April 6th at Gagosian Galleries on 555 West 24th Street in New York City.  The exhibition spans Basquiat’s brief but meteoric career, which ended with his death at the age of twenty-seven.  If you are in the area, this is not to be missed.

New York City:  Beat Memories: The Photographs of Allen Ginsberg.  Starting this week – Grey Art Gallery at NYU.  This exhibit features photographs taken by American poet Allen Ginsberg, mostly in the 50s and early 60s.  These photographs were found with some of Ginsberg’s lost papers in the 1980s and include images of William S. Burroughs, Neal Cassady, Gregory Corso and Jack Kerouac.

New York City:  A Pryor Engagement at The Brooklyn Academy Of Music February 8 through 21, 2013.  Coinciding with Black History Month, BAMcinematek will have a retrospective of the film work of Richard Pryor.  The seminal concert films “Live In Concert’ and ‘Live On The Sunset Strip’ and ‘Here And Now’ are included, in addition to his classic pairings with Gene Wilder (‘Silver Streak’ and ‘Stir Crazy’).  But this series also showcases Pryor’s considerable non-comedic acting skills that were on full display in such films as ‘Lady Sings The Blues’, ‘Some Call It Loving’, ‘Blue Collar’ and the semi-autobiographical ‘Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling’.  It will also feature Pryor’s scene-stealing performances in ‘Car Wash’, ‘Uptown Saturday Night’, ‘Bingo Long & The Traveling All-Stars’ and the counterculture classic, ‘Dynamite Chicken’.  A Pryor Engagement is the perfect opportunity to see the many dimensions and facets of one, if not the greatest, comedian of all-time.  It runs February 8th through the 21st.

  • You can go to www.bam.org for showtimes and more information.

San Francisco, CA:  Party Down With Party Down.   Saturday, February 9  at 4pm at Cobb’s Comedy Club.  It’s the series that went away too soon after only 2 seasons. And now your favorite struggling actors / caterers are getting back together. “Party Down” cast members Lizzy Caplan, Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Ryan Hansen and Martin Starr reunite at the San Francisco Sketchfest for a discussion about the show.  The reunion takes place Saturday afternoon at Cobb’s Comedy Club.

Everywhere:  Celebrate Chinese New Year.  February 10th marks the beginning of The Spring Festival. It is the Lunar New Year, The Year of the Snake!  If there is a local Chinatown to visit, you’ll most likely have the opportunity to enjoy lion dancers, fireworks, and of course, special foods particular to the celebration. Gong Hay Fat Choy!!!