The Filtered Excellence: September 6, 2012

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:
*****************

WATCH THIS:

Detropia. Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, best known for their 2007 Oscar nominated “Jesus Camp” are back again with another outstanding documentary, this time examining the economic and social conditions in the city of Detroit. It’s not an easy watch, but it is a truly heartfelt documentary about a very important subject that plagues not only Detroit, but the entire country, and shows that ultimately, there are no easy answers.

NFL Opening Weekend. Finally, we get to see how 2012 season teams are really going to play. And there’s a lot to watch. There are 5 rookie quarterbacks starting this weekend, the big question mark of how Tebow will be used in New York, and of course the return of Peyton Manning. Every game should be a worthwhile watch but the big game to watch is Denver Broncos v Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football, to see Peyton in action in Denver.

=======================================================================

LISTEN TO THIS:

Tempest by Bob Dylan. Death, remembrance and shady characters dominates Dylan’s 35th studio album. The title track is a 14 minute detailed account of the Titantic. ‘Tin Angel’ recalls a love triangle that ends in a murder-suicide. Evil – pure form (‘Pay In Blood’) and well dressed (‘Early Roman Kings’) also makes appearances. The album’s closer, ‘Roll On John’ is a moving tribute to his friend John Lennon. Not that Tempest is a totally morbid affair: Tracks like ‘Duquesne Whistle’ (the lead single) and ‘Narrow Way’ finds Dylan and his current touring band swinging harder than anything that’s coming out of Texas or Nashville. As he has done for the last decade, Dylan produced Tempest himself (under the name Jack Frost) and quiet as it has been kept, he has become a pretty adept producer. Tempest continues a run of fantastic albums that Dylan has released since 1997’s Time Out Of My Mind. It comes out on September 11th. You can also stream the album online via Itunes.

Downtown Rockers by Tom Tom Club. The latest EP from former Talking Heads Chris Franz and Tina Weymouth is vintage TTC: loose, funky, fun and old school LES. The title track is a celebratory roll call of all of the legendary bands that made up the New York downtown rock scene in the 1970s. ‘Won’t Give You Up’, ‘Sweets To The Sweet’ and ‘You Make Me Rock And Roll’ recall Talking Heads circa Remain In Light Era. Breezy Brazilian pop leanings dominate ‘Kissin’ Antonio’ and a wonderful art-pop cover of The Pinker Tones ‘Love Tape’ closes out a pure art-pop/funk/alt delight. Downtown Rockers will be released on September 11th.

The Singer by Art Garfunkel. Art Garfunkel personally oversaw this 2-CD career retrospective of his long and celebrated career. The Simon & Garfunkel portion is well represented, but Garfunkel sequences them in a non-chronological order so that there’s a underlining connection between them and material from his equally strong (albeit painfully underrated) solo career. Standouts include ‘A Heart In New York’, his cover of The Beach Boys ‘Disney Girls’, ‘Breakway’ and the S&G reunion single, ‘My Little Town’. There’s also two new songs that were recorded specifically for this collection (‘Lena’ and ‘Long Way Home’) that more than hold their own. It’s a perfect re-introduction to the solo works of one of our most beloved vocalists. The Singer is available now.

Order the 2CD Set on Amazon

Love This Giant by David Byrne and St Vincent. On paper, a collaboration between David Byrne and indie-rock’s Annie Clark (aka St Vincent) might not make a lot of sense. However, in his post-Talking Heads career, Byrne has shown himself to be an able collaborator with many completely different, and unexpected artists. No surprise, since we’re featuring it here, but the collaboration works very well. The two trade off on vocal duty, and their respective styles mesh very well. Clark’s underrated guitar playing is showcased as well.

Order it on Amazon.com

The Carpenter by The Avett Brothers. On their seventh album, the Avett Brothers again turn to producer Rick Rubin. What results is another excellent album from the band, with rustic songs ruminating on love and death.

=======================================================================

READ THIS:

Mortality by Christopher Hitchens. Hitchen’s has been one of our most famous and outspoken Journalists. As a devout atheist , his book “god is not Great” was highly controversial. In his last book Mortality Hitchens takes a close look at death, and his own losing battle with cancer. Love him or loathe him Hitchen’s voice is one that will never be replaced. We are the lesser for it.

Order the book here

Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon. Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Chabon (Wonder Boys, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay) is one of our great living novelists. His latest, Telegraph Hill is incredibly fun, thought-provoking, moving, smart, and everything a novel should be. It’s getting glowing reviews all around. Available Tuesday.