The Filtered Excellence: February 13, 2014
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:
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The 2014 EE BAFTA Awards. A prelude to the Academy Awards, the BAFTAs are known as the British Oscars. It’s the last indicator on who will win in 2 weeks at the Oscar ceremony. BAFTA nominees for Best Picture include: 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Gravity and Philomena. Battling it out for Best Actor in the Brit awards are: Bruce Dern, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christian Bale, Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio. BAFTA Best Actress nominees include: Amy Adams, Cate Blanchett, Emma Thompson, Judi Dench and Sandra Bullock. The EE BAFTA Awards are Sunday, February 16th at 8pm Eastern on BBC America.
NBA All-Star 2014. It’s All-Star weekend for the National Basketball Association. NBA TV and TNT will have plenty of coverage on Friday and Saturday leading up to the big events of the weekend. On Saturday night, it’s the State Farm All-Star Saturday Night featuring the Sears Shooting Stars event, the Taco Bell Skills Challenge, the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest and everyone’s favorite, the Sprite Slam Dunk challenge. That all begins at 8:30pm Eastern on TNT. On Sunday, it’s the 2014 All-Star Game featuring the Eastern Conference represented by LeBron James, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade and Kyrie Irving facing the Western Conference All-Stars, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Kevin Love, Steph Curry and Kobe Bryant. Coverage of the 2014 NBA All-Star Game begins at 8pm Eastern, Sunday, February 16th on TNT.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. A new era of the television tradition that started 60 years ago, begins on Monday, February 17th. Jimmy Fallon takes the helm of the Tonight Show. It’s a new host and a return to New York City for the Tonight Show. Jimmy’s guests for his very first show are Will Smith and U2. Jimmy will still have to wait for his 11:30 start. Because of Winter Olympic coverage on NBC, Fallon’s first Tonight Show will begin at Midnight Eastern on Monday night.
Sochi 2014: Winter Olympics. The Winter games continue all weekend long. Friday, February 14th features plenty of curling events and Canada versus Austria in Men’s hockey. Saturday, February 15th offers Men’s speed skating, the Women’s hockey quarter-finals and the U.S. Men’s hockey team versus the Russian national team. Putin will be watching. Sunday’s events include: Women’s snowboarding, the two-man bobsled, and the biathlon gold medal event.
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I’ll Take You There: Mavis Staples, The Staple Singers And The March Up Freedom’s Highway by Greg Kot. The Staple Singers – led by Mavis Staples – were virtually the soundtrack of the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s. Fusing gospel, soul, folk, and rock, The Staple Singers rallied a nation to live up its ideals and inspired everyone from Martin Luther King, Jr to Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, and The Band along the way. In recent years, Mavis Staples has been rediscovered by a new legion of fans, thanks to collaborations with Prince and Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy. Written with full cooperation with Mavis Staples, surviving members of the Staples family, friends, and collaborators, Greg Kot paints an intimate portrait of one of the most iconic singers of the post World War II era. Kot gets great stories from Staples about the Southern gospel circuit of the 1950s, the Greenwich Village folk scene (where Staples had an on and off relationship with Bob Dylan), being on the the front lines of the Civil Rights marches; what its like to sing in front of 100,000 people and sharing mic time with some of the greatest performers of her (or any) generation. Its a must read for anyone who loves soul music from one of the best in the genre. I’ll Take You There is available now through Amazon, Barnes And Noble and all major book retailers.
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Small Town Heroes by Hurray for Riff Raff. Based in New Orleans, Hurray For The Riff Raff is the brainchild of 26 year old singer-songwriter Alynda Lee Segarra. Segarra grew up in The Bronx, but had a troubadour’s spirit, leaving home at 17 where she hitchhiked and jumped trains to the West Coast, and throughout the South before settling in The Crescent City. It was there where she found a community of musicians open to her interpretation of American folk, Americana, and all of its traditions. Several of the songs on their 6th album (and first on a major label) – ‘Blue Ridge Mountain’, ‘Crash On The Highway’, ‘Good Time Blues (Outlaw’s Lament)’ – could’ve easily come out of The Carter Family or Woody Guthrie canon. ‘The Body Electric’ puts a new spin – and a clear eyed realism – on the murder ballad. But Segarra’s look on her adopted hometown of New Orleans is the emphasis here and her attention to detail – and the truth – is insightful, not to mention incredible. Segarra also produced the album along with engineer Andrija Tokic (who worked on Alabama Shakes’s debut album) and its also amazing – it sounds as though you are sitting right next to one of the band members as they play. Look at for the next great force on the Americana – and music – scene. Easily the first great record of 2014. Small Town Heroes is available now through Amazon, Itunes and all major music outlets.
” from Amazon.com.You can also go to www.hurrayfortheriffraff.com for tour dates and more information.
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Live From Daryl’s House. The new season of Live From Daryl’s House with Daryl Hall is underway. A new episode debuts on Palladia TV this week and then premieres on the Live From Daryl’s House website on Saturday, February 15th at 8pm Eastern. Daryl’s special guest is Gavin DeGraw. Gavin and Daryl perform a couple of Hall and Oates songs and the title track from Gavin’s new album “Make a Move”.
De La Soul. It’s been 25 years since the debut of “3 Feet High and Rising” the band’s quintessential hip hop album. While over the years the band has found it difficult to release it to digital platforms with the heavy use of unlicensed samples. On February 14th starting at 11AM EST for 25 hours they will make the album available for free download.
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MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE. Paul Rodgers: The Royal Sessions CD Release Party. It’s a night celebrating the latest release from legendary musician Paul Rodgers, founding member of the amazing bands Free, Bad Company and The Firm. The Royal Sessions is Paul’s new album and the listening party will be at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis. Admission is free with a purchase of the CD and $10 without a purchase. 100% of the proceeds with be donated by Paul Rodgers to the Stax Music Academy. The release party is Saturday, February 15th at 6pm.
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA. An Evening with Bill Cosby. The comedy legend who has been performing for over 50 years will be taking the stage at the Pasadena Civic. The Cos who won 5 Grammy Awards for his comedy albums will be doing some of his classic routines as well as new material on this tour. An Evening with Bill Cosby is Friday, February 14th at 8pm.
CERRITOS, CALIFORNIA. Boz Scaggs. Spend Valentine’s Day with the amazing voice of Boz Scaggs. His concert includes performances of his classic hits, Lido Shuffle and Lowdown from his Silk Degrees album. Boz will also be doing songs from his latest album “Memphis”. The show is sold out, so look for tickets online. Also, there is a special upgrade package available for a meet and greet with Boz Scaggs that doesn’t include a ticket to the show. Boz Scaggs is at the Cerritos Center in Cerritos, CA on Friday night, February 14th at 8pm.
NEW YORK CITY: Funky Turns 40: Black Character Revolution. The Schomburg Center For Research In Black Culture through June 14th. The Schomburg has teamed up with The Museum of Uncut Funk to present an exhibit spotlighting the explosion of animated series that aired in the late 60s/early 70s featuring positive images of black characters. Original production cels and drawings from Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids, The Jackson 5ive, The Harlem Globetrotters are featured, alongside productions elements from shows featuring strong black supporting cast members such as Sesame Street, School House Rock, Peanuts and Josie & The Pussycats. It serves as a history lesson and a fun look back at the first golden age of animated series. Funky Turns 40 will be at The Schomburg Center through June 14th.
NEW YORK CITY: Capa In Color. The International Center Of Photography. Photojournalist Robert Capa captured some of the most arresting and iconic images of a world at war including seminal shots of The Battle Of Normandy and the liberation of Paris. All of those shots were done in black and white. Now for the first time, Capa’s entire color photo output (which he shot exclusively in this format for the remaining years of his life) will be showcased at The International Center Of Photography. Capa captures the post-war period (and the transitions that came with it) with such rich, crisp detail that has to be seen to be believed. A fitting look at one of the true masters of photojournalism. Capa In Color will be at The International Center Of Photography through May 4th.
NEW YORK CITY: A Bronx Tale with Live Q&A with Robert DeNiro and Chaz Palminteri. Village East Cinema. In the fall of 1993, A Bronx Tale, the film adaptation of a one man play written by off-Broadway actor and part-time bouncer Chazz Palminteri was released to critical and commercial acclaim. Directed by Robert DeNiro, it was served as a launch pad for Palminteri’s career as a successful character actor. To help celebrate the 20th Anniversary of its release, First Time Fest and The Tribeca Film Institute will present a benefit screening of A Bronx Tale, with a post screening Q&A with Palminteri and DeNiro. Tickets are pricey, but proceeds from the event will helping support the next generation of filmmakers. Plus, you get a rare opportunity to hear DeNiro talk about his work on the project from behind the camera. February 24.
