The Filtered Excellence: March 1, 2012

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Bob Geldof once asked us, “Where is the filtered excellence!?” Its 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

Turner Classic Movies: The Essentials. The new season kicks off this weekend Sat 8 PM (March 3rd) with Some Like it Hot. Robert Osbourne is back for the twelfth season of The Essentials, and he is joined by new co-host, Drew Barrymore. So, you get a little film-discussion and you have a nice classic film for yourself to enjoy every Saturday night, starting this Saturday.  Robert Osborne always has great stories to share, and now you can see what the hell Drew Barrymore has to say too!

LISTEN TO THIS

‘DoYaThing’ by Gorillaz featuring Andre 3000 and James Murphy.  We’ve always loved Gorillaz for their WTF style of genre-busting music making. Few enclaves can boast having Lou Reed, Dennis Hopper, Bobby Womack, Snoop Dogg, Ike Turner, Mick Jones and Paul Simonen of The Clash, Mos Def, De La Soul, Shaun Ryder, Neneh Cherry, Martina Topley-Bird and others appear on their albums over a 10 plus year span. As part of the launch of the Limited Edition Chuck Taylor Gorillaz Collection, Gorillaz have paired up with Andre 3000 and LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy for the smoking track, ‘DoYaThing’.

Mr. M, by Lambchop.   On their 11th album, Nashville’s Lambchop remains difficult to categorize. This time they’ve added something new – lush string arrangements. As uncharacteristic as it might seem, the orchestration contrasts nicely with vocalist Kurt Wagner’s weathered and laid back delivery. The result is a career hight point from an amazingly consistent band.

Black Radio – The Robert Glasper Experiment (Blue Note).  Pianist Robert Glasper has been blurring the lines between jazz, rock, R&B and hip hop for the better part of a decade. For his 4th album, Glasper and his band are looking to push the mash up full throttle into the mainstream. Erykah Badu, Yesiin Bin (Mos Def), Meshell Ndegeocello, Lalah Hathaway (daughter of Donny), and the painfully underrated Bilal leads an all-star list of vocalists through jazz standards (‘Afro-Blue), rock anthems (a radically reworked version of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’) and left field surprises (a beautiful version of Bowie’s ‘Letters To Hermoine’). If you’re looking to expand your listening horizons – and get turned onto to fantastic artists at the same time – this CD is for you.

New Multitudes.   Can you imagine if you came across an old notebook of Woody Guthrie’s, writing and words never made into song?  How would you even go about putting these otherwise lost songs to their own score? Well these guys really seem to have figured it out: Jay Farrar (of Son Volt), Yim Yames aka Jim James (of My Morning Jacket), Will Johnson (of Centro-matic), Anders Parker (of Varnaline). New Multitudes is their warm, mellow, sometimes melancholy, interpretation of Guthrie’s previously unrecorded lyrics. The American icon and musical legend’s lyrics are not of the political nature; nothing about The Dustbowl, or protest songs here. Here, Guthrie’s words are about life and love and Los Angeles. Lines are often achey and introspective, hauntingly so at times. This musical collaboration results in creating the perfect atmosphere to surround the stories, and as you’re listening to the lyrics and imaging Guthrie’s reality in these moments, there are beautiful harmonies, and great voices singing to you. It’s great. If you were looking for a new Americana, Alt-Country album with folk at its soul to love, you’ve just found it.

 

READ THIS

The Way We Play the Game, by Karen S. Schneider.  Hockey mom Karen S. Schneider writes about Minnesota youth hockey and the hit that paralyzed 16-year-old Jack Jablonski, devastating his family and the sport’s local community. Schneider uses this local example to detail any parent’s inner conflict of having a child play a sport where violence and injury is always a possibility. You can read it in the February 27, 2012 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine, or get it online.


BROWSE THIS

The New York Times: The Lively Morgue. The New York Times has a Tumblr page dedicated exclusively to the vast archive of photographs that have been featured on its pages through the years. Recent posts include Joe Namath sitting on the sidelines in a fur coat, Yogi Berra’s baseball scarred hands, and Bat Day at Yankee Stadium in 1965. What’s cooler is that a majority of shots are now available for purchase. Here’s a great way to get a unique perspective on some of the greatest events in New York (and World) history.

 

DO THIS

‘Smash His Camera’ at The IFC Center.   Academy Award winning documentary filmmaker Leon Gast’s 2010 profile of paparazzi pioneer Ron Gallela will have a special screening as part of IFC Center’s Stranger Than Fiction doc series. Gallela’s near obsessive pursuits of Jackie Onassis (who had a restraining order placed on him), Marlon Brando (who knocked out several of Gallela’s teeth and broke his jaw during one encounter in 1973) and other celebrities all but gave birth to the TMZ-style culture that we’re in now. This film gets inside Gallela’s head and details how he got some of his most iconic shots. Gast will also be on hand for post-show Q&A.   Tuesday, March 6th at the IFC Center in NYC.

24/7 An Exhibition by Rachel Perry Welty.  The exhibit features large photo prints (floor to ceiling), sculpture, a video presentation, and even an ongoing Twitter piece.   One part of the exhibit ( De-accession) she catalogs an item that she has acquired with a photo and description, and how she gets rid of it. A great commentary on consumerism, excess and the “stuff” that we as a society collect. Even if you can’t make it to see the installation, her work is worth a look.  Currently on view at the Zimmerli Art Museum in New Brunswick,NJ at Rutgers University through July 8.

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Interrobang Staff

Interrobang Staff