The Filtered Excellence: January 9, 2013
Bob Geldof once asked us, “Where is the filtered excellence!?” It’s right here. Here are this weeks picks of the best things towatch, 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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WATCH THIS:
2013-2014 NFL Playoffs. The road to Super Bowl XLVIII continues this weekend with the Divisional Playoffs. On Saturday, The New Orleans Saints – who stunned the red hot and highly favorable Eagles on the road – travel to Seattle to take on the NFC best Seattle Seahawks. The late game will feature the New England Patriots – who quietly had the second best record in the conference – hosting the Indianapolis Colts, who overcome a 28 point deficit to win a wild game against the Chiefs. Sunday’s games will have the Carolina Panthers hosting the San Francisco 49ers and the San Diego Chargers going into Denver to take on Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. FOX and CBS will carry all games. Check your local listings for kick off times.
Shameless Season Premiere. The 4th season of Shameless starts this Sunday and Showtime is calling it “The Gallaghers versus the World”. Frank’s drinking has caught up with him health-wise as he shows up back at the family door step. Fiona is trying to make a new job work along with a possible relationship with a new boss. Lip faces the brand new world of college and no one knows where Jimmy is at. The Gallaghers are back Sunday, January 12th at 9pm Eastern on Showtime.
ESPN 30 For 30: The Price of Gold. It was 20 years ago that the world of Olympic figure skating hit the front pages everywhere. U.S. figure skater Nancy Kerrigan had been attacked. She was clubbed in the right knee in a plot to stop her from competing. The attack was orchestrated by the boyfriend of rival skater Tonya Harding. It was one of the most bizarre sports scandals of all time and now ESPN looks back at the incident with The Price of Gold. The documentary includes interviews with Harding, both skaters’ coaches and Nancy Kerrigan’s husband and manager, Jerry Solomon. The new 30 For 30: The Price of Gold premieres Thursday, January 16th at 9pm Eastern on ESPN.
READ THIS:
Furious Cool: Richard Pryor And The World That Made Him by David & Joe Henry. The road that Richard Pryor took to becoming the most influential comic of all-time was not an easy one. The son of a hustler and a prostitute, Pryor grew up in a brothel that was run by his grandmother. By the time he turned 21, Pryor had been the victim of childhood sexual abuse, expelled from school, and spent the bulk of his two years in the Army in prison. Before he turned 30, he was a regular on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show and was a mainstay in Las Vegas. When he turned 40, Richard Pryor would transform comedy forever. Writers David & Joe Henry take an in depth look at the social settings and scenes that Pryor was associated during his formative years and how those experiences would form the basis of some of his classic routines. The range of people he encountered and hung out with was astonishing: Everyone from pimps, junkies, winos and prostitutes; late 60s/early 70s counterculture leaders and writers, to some of the biggest names in entertainment. It’s a must read for Pryor fans and a unique spin on the 2nd half of 20th Century America.
LISTEN TO THIS:
Give The People What They Want by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings. When word got out that singer Sharon Jones had to receive immediate treatment for bile-duct cancer, it put her 5th album with The Dap-Kings on hold. Fully recovered, Give The People What They Want is the perfect title for the new CD. The Dap-Kings sound is still there: Funky horns, infectious grooves and, of course, Jones’ powerhouse vocals, but there’s also elements of Brit Pop and John Barry-style orchestrations in there also. In short, another fantastic album by one of the premier soul/funk bands around. Extra happy to see Sharon back where she belongs: On wax, on stage and cancer-free!
BROWSE THIS:
Humans Of New York (www.humansofnewyork.com). In 2010, Brandon Stanton lost his job as a bonds trader in Chicago. He decided to move to New York City and started taking photographs of people he met on the street. The plan, according to Stanton, was to ‘to create an exhaustive catalog of the city’s inhabitants’. He then started taking quotes and short stories about his subjects and the blog took on a life of its own. Humans Of New York now has over 1 million followers on Facebook and Tumblr, been featured in The Associated Press, The Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic and the book version of the blog hit #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers list. The site is a fascinating look at the depth and diversity of New York City as well as one person’s way to make a human connection. A site that is both intriguing and inspiring.
DO THIS:
DALLAS, TEXAS. Colin Quinn: Unconstitutional. The hilarious Colin Quinn is taking his “Unconstitutional” show out on the road. Colin takes 226 years of American history and puts it into a very funny 70 minutes. He dissects the document that founded the country piece by piece along with the audience and presents it in his own hysterical way. Colin Quinn: Unconstitutional will be in the Wyly Theater at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas on Friday, January 10th at 8pm.
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI. Chuck Berry’s 200th Show at Blueberry Hill. The pioneer of Rock and Roll, Chuck Berry is performing his 200th show at the legendary Blueberry Hill club in St. Louis on Wednesday, January 15th. The icon who appears on several of Rolling Stone’s Greatest of All Time lists will be performing the songs that made him a legend. Special guests include Skinny Jim and the Number 9 Blacktops. The show is sold out, so look for tickets online. Chuck Berry’s 200th show starts at 9pm and doors open at 8pm.
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