CULTURE JAMMING -- APRIL 29

TOP PICK

No Country for Old Men: Collector’s Edition

(Walt Disney)

One of the best movies of the decade gets the deluxe treatment in this three-disc set that includes more than five hours of extras, including behind-the-scenes features and a Q&A with the Coen brothers. There’s also a digital copy, so you can put it on your iPod and enjoy Javier Bardem’s awesome haircut anywhere.

CD

Beastie Boys: Check Your Head

(Capitol/EMI)

Hot on the heels of the excellent Paul’s Boutique reissue a couple months back, the Boys’ most varied album – some hardcore here, some hip-hop there, a little lite-funk noodling over there – expands with b-sides and remixes. It still smokes, especially fan faves like “So What’cha Want” and “Pass the Mic,” which now sound even more enveloped in a weedy haze.

CD

Chuck Berry: You Never Can Tell/The Complete Chess Masters 1960-1966

(Hip-O Select)

After serving as one of rock’s main architects in the ’50s, guitar hero Berry ran into a few snags during the first part of the ’60s (including a jail stint). But this four-disc, 108-song box shows that he was still plugged in. There are some great songs here (including “No Particular Place to Go” and “You Never Can Tell”), including 20 never-before-released tracks.

VIDEO

Slumdog Millionaire

(Twentieth Century Fox)

Danny Boyle’s Oscar-hogging movie about a poor Indian boy who makes good looks fantastic on Blu-ray, where it steeps in the despair (and occasional hope) of a generation of slum kids. Extras include deleted scenes and discerning commentary by Boyle. But the ringer is the film itself, one of the decade’s best.

BOOK

Ultimate Hendrix: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Live Concerts and Sessions

(Backbeat)

Writer John McDermott – along with Hendrix producer Eddie Kramer and bassist Billy Cox – attempts to pull together the late guitarist’s many sessions and concerts. It’s a fan’s dream, chronicling set lists, studio tracks and television appearances, going way back to Hendrix’s earliest gigs with the Isley Brothers to his final concert. --Michael Gallucci