The Filtered Excellence: May 31, 2012
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:
*****************
WATCH THIS:
Pink Ribbons, Inc. We haven’t seen this one yet, but we’re definitely interested in checking it out. You’ve seen pink ribbons everywhere and certain times of the year, everything from the NFL to toilet paper turns pink in the name of curing breast cancer. Thanks to the Pink Ribbon campaign, breast cancer has become the poster child of corporate cause-related marketing, and each year, millions are raised. But where does this money go and what does it actually achieve and most importantly, is this kind of fundraising what we should be modeling? The documentary asks these questions and more. It’s a very limited release for now, New York and Los Angeles only.
- Watch the trailer.
- Visit the official website.
Coriolanus. We called it the film of the year for 2011– a year with a lot of great things to see. This brilliant take of a lesser known Shakespeare play didn’t get the fanfare of some of the other Weinstein Co. films in 2011, but only because everyone was busy paying so much attention paid to their other outstanding films like The Artist and My Weekend with Marilyn. But Coriolanus was every bit as excellent, and its now available on DVD, and instant rental on Amazon. It’s a great shame to have missed this one on the big screen, but don’t miss it now. Outstanding performances by director and star Ralph Fiennes and co-stars Gerard Butler and Vanessa Redgrave.
- Order it on Blu-Ray from Amazon
- Rent it on Amazon Instant
- Watch the trailer
- Read our interview with Ralph Fiennes
- Read our interview with Vanessa Redgrave
———————————————————————————————————————–
LISTEN TO THIS:
Hope in Dirt City by Cadence Weapon. (released May 29) Every song on the album possesses its own kind of mood and presence; this is hip-hop that embraces a variety of sounds ranging from old-school rap sensibilities, to psychedelia, funk, soul, disco beats, and even a Bowie sample, too. Cadence Weapon is the aka of one Rollie Pemberton: poet, musician, record producer and writer. He’s 25, a Canadian indie rapper, and was recently the city of Edmonton’s poet laureate 2009-2011. Wanna hear some dope tracks by a poet laureate? Cadence Weapon’s third and self-produced new album, Hope in Dirt City is full of em and pounds with his unique voice and uncommon lyrical skill.
This Is PiL – Public Image Limited. Public Image Limited’s is back after a 20 year layoff and its a welcome blast to the past. John Lydon’s trademark growl and sneer cuts through the dub reggae bass lines, slinky, atmospheric guitars and rock steady drums throughout all twelve tracks. There’s even a forays into spoken word (the moody ‘The Room I’m In’) and electronica (‘Lollipop Opera’). This is PiL serves as a well constructed update on their classic Second Edition and puts all of the post-punk posers on notice. Welcome back boys. This is PiL is available on Itunes and Amazon.
Celebration Rock by Japandroid. This is your new favorite record. Seriously. Vancouver duo Japandroid follow up their excellent debut, Post-Nothing with something even better. Think ragged and exuberant guitar rock, delivered at a breakneck pace, reminiscent of Husker Du, complete with anthemic whoah-oh choruses and lyrics that on first listen seem to be about drinking and having a good time but give way to something more. Yes, that’s a mouthful, and it really only scratches the surface. You’re really going to need to listen to it to get the full effect. The only knock is the album’s length — It’s only 8 songs with a run time of 35 minutes. That’s okay though. Put it on repeat.
The Only Place, by Best Coast. On their second album, Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno (AKA Best Coast) update their surf-pop sound with more grown up lyrics and cleaner production from Jon Brion. Despite the changes, Best Coast still does what they do best, namely writing simple songs with great hooks.
———————————————————————————————————————–
BROWSE THIS
The Eddie Kramer Archives. If Eddie Kramer had retired after producing those landmark Jimi Hendrix albums, he would still be considered one of the greatest producers/engineers of all-time. But Kramer also went on to work with, and hang out with, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Traffic, Curtis Mayfield, Peter Frampton, KISS, and Carly Simon, among many others. Fortunately for us, Kramer was also a skilled photographer and captured some of these collaborations in studio, on and off stage. Some of these extraordinary images are on his website. Its a unique glimpse into one of the rock’s most prolific periods from a very unique perspective.
———————————————————————————————————————–
DO THIS
EVERYWHERE: National Donut Day. June 1 is National Donut Day! Celebrate by eating outstanding donuts from around the country. Check out our list of the best donuts all across the United States.
NEW YORK CITY: Paramount In The 70s at The Museum Of The Moving Image. To celebrate the 100th Birthday of the famed studio, The Museum Of The Moving Image will have a month-long retrospective featuring films from Paramount’s most successful period: the 1970s. Masterpieces such as The Godfather (I & II), Harold & Maude, Paper Moon, Chinatown, The Conversation, Nashville, The Elephant Man, and Days Of Heaven will be screened along with overlooked or underappreciated gems such as The Friends Of Eddie Coyle, The Warriors, Marathon Man and Elaine May’s directorial debut, A New Leaf. For fans of popcorn flicks, there will be viewings of the late period blockbusters Saturday Night Fever and Grease. This is an excellent chance to see these films the way they were meant to be seen: on the big screen. Paramount In The 70s runs June 2nd through July 1st.
PHILADELPHIA: Philly Beer Week. Philadelphia + the word’s “Beer Week,” may sound like a terrifying prospect, but it’s actually not a free-for-all week-long sloshfest. Lasting ten days, it’s the largest beer celebration of its kind in America, featuring hundreds of festivals, dinners, tours, pub crawls, tastings and meet-the-brewer nights to area bars, restaurants and other locations throughout Greater Philadelphia. It’s a great opportunity to try a vast amount of craft/microbrews and learn about different types of beers, try out new bars and restaurants, hang out in different neighborhoods, etc and it’s a good time.
