We Live in Public begins with a title card that announces “This is the story of the greatest Internet pioneer you never heard of.” It’s the story of Josh Harris, a webcasting visionary who was worth $80 million at one point. When the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, he lost it all.
Director Ondi Timoner, who made the terrific DiG! five years ago about the tumultuous relationship between indie-rock bands the Dandy Warhols and the Brian Jonestown Massacre, unravels We Live in Public in a similar manner, with quick edits, flashy visuals and compelling storytelling.
In 1984, Harris went to New York to work in the fledgling tech industry. Within a few years, he was a millionaire, thanks to being several steps ahead of everyone else. He once told a visiting 60 Minutes reporter, “I’m in a race to take CBS out of business.” He was arrogant. He was brash. But time and time again, Harris backed up his words with innovative projects.
He first founded a data-crunching company for big businesses; after that, he formed pseudo.com, one of the first live webcasting sites. He had tons of money lying around and was itching to spend it. Harris threw lavish parties, as one fellow web mogul recalls, with “supermodels wearing close to no clothes, sitting on the laps of nerds playing Doom.”
Another colleague compares him to Andy Warhol. And you can see the connection, especially when Harris tossed 100 people into an underground bunker at the turn of the millennium and filmed every move – the sleeping, the eating, the shitting, the fucking. It’s essentially the birth of reality TV.
Like many early Internet entrepreneurs, Harris was a nerdy glasses-wearing kid who felt alienated from other people. So he turned to TV for friendship. “I was emotionally neglected,” he says. “So I absorbed the electronic calories of the world inside a television.” He was a visionary but also kinda crazy, showing up at business meetings dressed as an androgynous clown (who everyone onscreen tries to psychologically dissect).
Timoner throws images at you as fast as the web churns them out. She started shooting Harris more than a decade ago, so there’s plenty of great footage in her captivating documentary. We Live in Public is flashy, stylish and in your face, just like its subject. It’s the history of the Internet: the rise, the fall, the rebirth. (And in typical Internet fashion, it’s behind the times: A MySpace CEO is interviewed, but there’s no mention of Twitter.) It’s a fascinating look at the past and possible future. --Michael Gallucci
U2: The Unforgettable Fire (25th Anniversary Edition)
(Mercury)
U2’s atmospheric 1984 album celebrates its silver anniversary with a three-disc set that adds a CD of leftovers and a DVD filled with videos and live footage. It’s aged well. Once seen as a moody and pretentious misstep, Fire -- which includes “Pride (In the Name of Love)” and “Bad” – today sounds like the band’s bridge to world domination.
CD
AC/DC: Backtracks
(Columbia)
This three-CD, two-DVD box gathers a bunch of live and studio rarities that span the veteran rockers’ entire career. The “Family Jewels Disc 3” DVD – which includes a bunch of videos and in-concert songs – is cool, but it’s the outtakes that will have fans shaking all night long. Best are songs from the original Australian albums with Bon Scott that were left off U.S. releases.
CD
David Bowie: Space Oddity (40th Anniversary Special Edition)
(Virgin/EMI)
Bowie’s 1969 freak-out is the first of many albums where he would adopt a persona. Here it’s a psychedelic folkie who sat through Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey way too many times. To celebrate the record’s 40th anniversary, this two-disc reissue adds 15 songs, including demos and BBC performances. The legend begins here.
CD
Fela: The Best of the Black President
(Knitting Factory)
Over the next year and a half, nearly four dozen albums by the Afrobeat star will be released as part of a new reissue campaign. That’s a lotta Fela. This 13-track intro pulls some of the most essential cuts from those records. Best of all, it includes a DVD featuring fiery live performances by the politically active Nigerian (who died in 1997). You’ll eventually want to dig deeper.
CD
Genesis Live 1973-2007
(Rhino)
This 11-disc box mixes live albums from both the Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins eras, indulging in the band’s storied stage history. Even though they transformed into a pop machine after Gabriel left, Genesis remained a prog-rock powerhouse in concert. The box includes fan faves like Seconds Out and Three Sides Live plus previously unreleased bonus tracks.
CD
Nirvana: Bleach (Deluxe Edition)
(Sub Pop)
Nirvana’s debut celebrates its 20th anniversary with an expanded reissue that tags on a complete 1990 live show from Oregon, where they cover and own the Vaselines’ “Molly’s Lips.” You can hear traces of the band that would revolutionize music a couple years later on the best of Bleach’s messy punk ramblings, like “Blew” and “About a Girl.”
CD
Dolly Parton: Dolly
(RCA Nashville/Legacy)
This four-disc box gathers nearly 100 songs from Parton’s long career, going all the way back to a single she recorded in 1957. But it’s her evolution during the ’70s – from country-music hitmaker to Top 40 superstar – that gets to the heart of this great set. Classics like “Coat of Many Colors” and “Jolene” continue to influence.
CD
Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert – 40th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set
(ABKCO)
The Stones’ 1969 Madison Square Garden concerts (which were released on record a year later) celebrate their 40th anniversary with a four-disc set that includes previously unreleased performances by the band plus a live DVD. There’s also a CD featuring music by B.B. King and Ike & Tina Turner, who opened the shows. The Stones never made a better live album.
CD
The Rod Stewart Sessions 1971-1998
(Warner Bros.)
Before he started making music for your grandma, Stewart was one of the planet’s greatest rock singers, which he proves repeatedly on this four-disc box. There’s plenty of previously unreleased material from his peak ’70s period. Best: early and alternate versions of “Maggie May,” “You Wear It Well” and “The First Cut Is the Deepest.”
CD
Where the Action Is! Los Angeles Nuggets 1965-1968
(Rhino)
The fourth Nuggets box zeroes in on L.A., spotlighting a bunch of bands freaking out on the garage- and psych-rock scenes. There are tons of groups you probably never heard of (Penny Arkade? London Phogg?), and many you should know (like the Standells, Love and the Bobby Fuller Four). The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and the Doors also show up.
Back in the day, Juvenile was one of the few artists recording for Cash Money who was worth a shit. He even gave Lil Wayne his first memorable appearance, in the cleaned-up version of “Back That Azz Up.” Juve has since moved on – at least in the physical sense. On his first album in three years, the New Orleans rapper unloads a bunch of rhymes about making money, ruling the streets and “rollin’ like a big dawg.” Cocky and Confident’s opening title track comes out strong -- “If you’re a pit bull, I’m Mike Vick/I’ll bury your ass,” Juvenile declares – but the overlong album quickly settles for past triumphs. His flow is still on, but the beats and themes are five, if not 10, years old. At least his producers are familiar with Auto-Tune. The game hasn’t changed much for Juvenile. Not much else has either. --Michael Gallucci
Don’t go into Liverpool expecting a history of the Beatles or anything else fab for that matter. This slow-moving look at a seaman on shore leave is a dreary, near-silent meditation on life, family and the big, empty world we live in.
Not much is said or even happens in Liverpool. These are people of very few words. Minutes on end go by where the screen is silent (indeed: subtitles are barely needed in this Argentinean film). Director and writer Lisandro Alonso plays it as a pensive exploration of cold landscapes and even colder emotions.
Protagonist Farrel (Juan Fernández) takes leave to visit his family in his hometown of remote Tierra del Fuego. He walks in silence, eats in silence, drinks in silence, hangs out in a strip club in silence and, of course, sleeps in silence (Alonso steadies his camera on the snoozing Farrel for a while, so settle in).
Farrel eventually makes his way home, where we learn a little (very little) about him. Liverpool is the story of one man’s quest for reconciliation, even though we’re never really told why he left home and why no one really cares that he’s back. Even Farrel’s elderly mom is happy to see him leave.
Too bad Alonso couldn’t come up with more of a story. Liverpoolplods as it follows Farrel on a journey that we’re not told much about. But the filmmaker paints some pretty images here, especially the ones focusing on the snow-covered vistas of Tierra del Fuego (Alonso lingers on them forever, so you have plenty of time to appreciate the details).
Still, Liverpool’s indie-movie pace and lack of story are deadly dull. Plus, there isn’t much character development – odd, considering Farrel is in every scene until the final act, which takes a pleasantly surprising turn. It’s fitting that we never really get to know the meandering Farrel – he says maybe a dozen words in the movie and doesn’t have much of a plan – since Liverpool doesn’t seem to know where it’s going either. --Michael Gallucci
Back in 2005, when she dropped the terrific “1 Thing,” Amerie was prepped for Beyoncé-style superstardom. Her album sold respectably. But the follow-up, Because I Love It, went through record-company reshuffling, and its U.S. release was delayed for more than a year. No big surprise that it bombed. On her fourth album, Amerie still sounds like an R&B queen in waiting, barreling out of the castle gates with “Tell Me You Love Me,” a jittery club jam produced by New Jack Swing maestro Teddy Riley. Elsewhere she drives In Love & War with a potent mix of bangers and ballads. Best is “Heard ’Em All,” a beat-driven march that sounds like it’s preparing for a blitzkrieg. Check out the bonus-track remix, which includes typically lost-in-space rhymes by Lil Wayne. --Michael Gallucci
Remember Kris Allen? He’s the guy who won American Idol this year. No, not Adam Lambert. Allen’s the one who sounds like he listens to the Fray and Matchbox Twenty for fun. And on his self-titled debut, he stays within his comfort zone, delivering 13 soft-rocking songs offering such platitudes as “Live Like We’re Dying.” Allen knows his audience and he plays to them here, mixing the record with a blend of heart-tugging ballads and inspirational Mom Rock. He’s a bit more contemporary than most Idol alum (where have you been lately, Taylor Hicks?), but that won’t make these glossy, wimpy songs last into the next decade. So enjoy them now. We’re only a couple months away from the next season of American Idol. --Michael Gallucci
Available for the DS for the past six months, this fun outing from the hit videogame series finally makes it to the PSP. And the results are every bit as time-sucking. This time around, you’re a member of the Chinese mob tracking down your dad’s killer and a missing sword. Best of all, there’s plenty of totally awesome carnage along the way.
CD
The Carpenters: 40/40
(A&M/UMe)
These soft-rock siblings got hipsters’ seal of approval in the ‘90s, when everyone from Sonic Youth to Sheryl Crow sang their praises and songs. This two-disc collection gathers 40 songs from their brief career (they recorded for only a dozen years). Some are unbelievably sappy; others ride hooks as big as their legacy.
CD/DVD
Duran Duran: Rio, Live at Hammersmith ’82
(Capitol/EMI)
The synth-pop dandies’ breakthrough 1982 album gets a two-CD “Special Limited Edition” release, complete with demos, B-sides and U.K. mixes. Even better is the HammersmithDVD, which gathers a previously unreleased 1982 concert, some TV performances and all of the groundbreaking music videos from Rio.
VIDEO
Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
(Twentieth Century Fox)
The third movie in the hit CGI series about a trio of prehistoric buddies finally gets around to the real stars of the Jurassic Period: dinosaurs! It looks great on Blu-ray, especially the wide-open vista scenes. But the real fun is picking out the voices of Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Jane Lynch and Simon Pegg as old-school critters.
DVD
SpongeBob SquarePants: Truth or Square
(Nickelodeon/Paramount)
In the latest SpongeBob adventure (they call it a movie, but it’s really just an extended episode), the yellow sponge, Patrick, Sandy, et al., become trapped in Mr. Krabs’ freezer, leading to a bunch of flashbacks that never happened. It’s just an excuse to drop the characters into funny what-if? situations. Pink and Cee-Lo also sing a couple of songs.
Shakira makes pop music the way the Coen brothers make movies. There’s something just a little bit off about it. The fundamentals and foundation are there, but beyond that, the playing field is wide open. On her third English album (and first in four years), Shakira frontloads with eight songs in English before wrapping up with three Spanish tunes. Throughout She Wolf, she and her producers (mostly the Neptunes) tear through a set of songs where the pop princess howls, pants and cracks her voice in that way that she does. On the title tune, she prowls in search of prey, electronic burbles skittering and propelling every skulking move. And “Good Stuff” flips a bunch of sounds from the NeptunesShe Wolf is mostly about sex – alone, with others. Doesn’t matter. Shakira unleashes a sexy beast here, inviting listeners to come along for the ride. It’s her call of the wild. catalog into super-hooky pop candy. --Michael Gallucci
Many talking-animal movies aim for adult audiences on their way to entertaining little ones. Everything from the Shrek series to Pixar’s classics have been loaded with plenty of pop-culture jokes to keep grown-ups smiling (or groaning, depending on how you feel about it). But Fantastic Mr. Fox is the first mainstream talking-animal movie made with adults as its prime target.
Not that there’s sex, swearing, excessive violence or any other R-rated-film hallmarks here (Fantastic Mr. Fox is rated PG, so it’s safe for kids). But there are few directors who wink at their grown-up audience as much and as often as hipster-approved Wes Anderson, the auteur behind Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and now this wonderful stop-motion fantasy. Plus, Fox’s equally hip voice cast – which includes George Clooney, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson – refrain from funny accents.
Anderson and Noah Baumbach (who wrote and directed the OG hipster cult hit Kicking and Screaming) based their screenplay on a Roald Dahl story. And anyone who has read the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory writer’s books can tell you that Dahl ain’t for kids. Still, older children will probably enjoy this dark farmland fable about a group of foxes that wages war against weapon-packing farmers.
Mr. Fox (Clooney) makes a promise to his wife (Meryl Streep) to stop stealing birds for a living and becomes a newspaper columnist. After two years (which is actually 12 in fox years), he’s bored with the lifestyle and the fact that nobody reads his column. So he buys a new tree for his family and gets back in the chicken-killing game for one or two (or three) last scores.When things don’t work out like Fox plans and he puts a bunch of friends (including a rabbit, badger and an opossum) in danger, he must use his natural leadership skills to save them.
There’s no mistaking Anderson’s touch in Fantastic Mr. Fox: The dialogue, the way the actors read the dialogue and the movie’s pacing bear his trademarks. And the old-school stop-motion animation is an exhilarating break from today’s CGI crop. It’s also quite revolutionary, honing in on the details of the animals’ fur and the texture of their clothes.
But a great-looking movie means nothing if there isn’t a story attached to it (just scan a list of animated movies that have come out the past couple years for proof). Anderson’s film not only expands on Dahl’s book, it’s really funny. It’s also kinda dark. The wild animals have real issues, not just survival ones. And in this smart movie, it’s appropriate that it’s their smarts that help save their hides. --Michael Gallucci
Do people still drive around in Camaros blasting Bon Jovi? In Bon Jovi’s perfect world they do, and their 11th album is made for these people. Opener “We Weren’t Born to Follow” even runs down a list of folks “this one goes out to” (sadly, “mullet-wearing thirtysomethings who haven’t updated their record collections since 1988” aren’t on the list). The song’s sentiment, declared in the title, is forced. This is a band that’s pretty much followed musical trends to multiplatinum success for a quarter-century, including a country album the last time around. The idea that Jon and the guys are trailblazers is ludicrous. The Circle is a straight-up rock record like Slippery When Wet, but without “Livin’ on a Prayer”: overproduced and filled with fist-pumping songs about working men, promised lands and living life to the fullest. This one goes out to the Camaro owners. Roll down the windows and turn it up. --Michael Gallucci
Set in the late ’60s – “the greatest era for British rock ‘n’ roll,” a pre-titles card tells us – this thin story about the renegade DJs who broadcasted music from a boat at sea is really just an excuse to champion rock music from the era. Back then, British radio played barely an hour’s worth of rock ‘n’ roll. The heroes of Radio Rock – led by hotshot American the Count (a bearded Philip Seymour Hoffman) and flashy Brit Gavin (Rhys Ifans) – right this wrong, pitting themselves against a bunch of uptight, suit-wearing boardroom fogies, fronted by a frowning Kenneth Branagh, whose pit-bull is a guy named Twatt. Pirate Radiois seen mostly through the eyes of teen Carl (Tom Sturridge), who’s kicked out of school and sent by his mom to spend some time on the floating pirate radio station with his godfather (Bill Nighy), Radio Rock’s mastermind. Even if there isn’t much to the movie (despite its two-hour-plus length), it’s hard not to cheer for these characters (loosely based on real people and played by guys who were inThe Flight of the Conchords and Shaun of the Dead). It’s also loaded with classics by the Kinks, the Rolling Stones, the Who, and many others. So you can’t beat the music. --Michael Gallucci
The best thing about this videogame (for pretty much every console) is that no superhero in the Marvel universe is too obscure. Are you a Penance fan? He’s here. What about Songbird? She’s here too. The gameplay is a lot like the original Alliance: You and up to three pals load up heroes with powers and kick ass through various maps. We call dibs on Spidey!
DVD
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
(VH1)
This funny, poignant and occasionally rockin’ movie tells the story of a real-life Spinal Tap – old-school Canadian metalheads who never quite hit the big time. Fans like Lars Ulrich and Slash talk up the band’s influence (Anvil’s best-known album is called Metal on Metal), but it’s the guys’ own stories that’ll leave you cheering.
CD
Beastie Boys: Hello Nasty
(Capitol/EMI)
The last of 2009’s deluxe remastered Beasties CDs adds a bonus disc -- filled with B-sides, remixes and live cuts -- to the 1998 album. But the real thrill here is the beefed-up sound: Funky and spacey noises buzz in and out of songs like “Intergalactic” and “Body Movin’,” making Nasty the most aurally adventurous Beasties record since Paul’s Boutique.
DVD
Jack Johnson En Concert
(Brushfire)
This document of Johnson’s 2008 European tour doesn’t offer too many surprises: The likable singer-songwriter hangs around with fans before a show, surfs during the day and talks about love. Mostly, though, he performs his laidback songs onstage for a bunch of French, German and British people, who sing along to almost every word.
CD
Sliimy: Paint Your Face
(Perezcious/Warner Bros.)
The first artist signed to Internet gossip jackass Perez Hilton’s record label is every bit as gay as Hilton. But this 20-year-old Frenchman isn’t nearly as annoying, loading his debut with rinky-dink synths and bubbly singalong pop. His ballads really don’t go anywhere, but the springy melodies are more fun than drawing dicks on celebrity faces. --Michael Gallucci
Don’t worry if you don’t know whether to laugh at or pity Paul Aufiero, the New York Giants fanatic at the center of director Robert Siegel’s occasionally funny and sometimes moving film. That’s the way Big Fan wants it. Played by comedian Patton Oswalt (in a role that’s far from comic), Paul -- a 36-year-old, minimum-wage-earning parking-lot attendant -- still lives with his mom and is the kind of guy who writes down what he wants to say before he makes his nightly call to sports-talk radio. He can’t afford season tickets, so he sits in the parking lot with his best friend listening to the games after all the other tailgaters head inside the stadium. One night, he follows the Giants’ star linebacker, Quantrell Bishop, into a strip club and proceeds to get his ass kicked by his hero. Paul ends up in the hospital, but he’s more concerned how Quantrell’s suspension will affect the team than he is with seeing justice served. Paul is a true fanatic; he can’t bring himself to press charges against his hero. “I don’t want to be one of those assholes who sues Burger King because his Whopper is too hot,” he tells his attorney brother. Oswalt (who was the voice of Remy the rat in Ratatouille) is great as the devoted fan; Kevin Corrigan is also terrific as his loyal pal. Siegel also wrote The Wrestler, and he expertly mines the other side of the game for similar results in his directorial debut. There are some darkly funny moments in Big Fan. But nobody plays it for laughs in this warped, wonderful look at fanaticism pushed to the breaking point. --Michael Gallucci
There are several ways to interpret the title of Matisyahu’s third studio album, Light. On its cover, the 30-year-old singer is nearly obscured by the rays of the sun. That’s the literal way to look at it. You can also take it as a spiritual symbol of Matisyahu’s strict Hasidic Jewish beliefs – where “light” stands in for God. That’s the obvious reading.
Then there’s the most likely interpretation: Light is heavier than Matisyahu’s 2006 breakthrough album, Youth. Its lyrics dig deeper, its sound stretches beyond the reggae and hip-hop that have been the cornerstones of his music. It’s all the result of growing up and getting famous. Light, in effect, unloads the baggage the singer had acquired over the past few years.
“The whole purpose of the record was the redemptive quality of it all,” he says. “It’s not just about dwelling in that darkness. It’s about the light that’s born out of the struggle or search for meaning.”
Matisyahu leaves it open to listeners to figure out what it all means and to take out of his music whatever they choose to hear. And while Light grooves along to languid, Jack Johnson-style rhythms and lyrically connects similar peace-and-love themes, Matisyahu says he doesn’t want to hit anyone over the head with his message. “Music is a place where people can have their own experience,” he says. “It’s important to allow people to have that personal experience. You can definitely put things together, but I try to leave that for the listener.”
He was born Matthew Miller in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He was into Phish and other neo-hippie jam bands. He attended Hebrew school at a White Plains, New York, synagogue. He studied his Jewish heritage in Israel. And about a decade ago he changed his name to Matisyahu, which is Yiddish for Matthew. He started getting serious about music around the same time. “It was always what I wanted to do, from the time I was a kid,” he says.
In 2004, Matisyahu recorded Shake Off the Dust … Arise for JDub Records, a small label that specializes in Jewish artists (he’s still affiliated with the company: Light bears both JDub and Epic imprints). A year later he released Live at Stubb’s, a concert recording that reached the Top 30. In 2006, Youth peaked at No. 4.
Since then, Matisyahu has spent time on the road, touring and writing and raising a family (he has two sons). He didn’t want to over-think the songs on Light, he says, preferring to let his thoughts and the music come naturally. “Creating music is just reflective of the life process a person goes through,” he says. “It’s not about a thought-out plan for me. It’s a natural, organic growth process and what’s born out of it.
“I was 23 when I made my first album. I started developing the concept for this record when I was 26. My grasp on Judaism and life in general is a little bit more in depth now. I’m dealing with issues that are more mature.”
Light is indeed more organic and mature than Youth or any of Matisyahu’s previous records. The flow is more elastic, and the singer settles into the grooves more effortlessly than he has in the past. Even if the lyrics remain rooted in (and somewhat confined by) Matisyahu’s spirituality, it’s more of a pop album this time around. And way more accessible. The first single, “One Day,” is a hit. (The song was recently tapped by NBC to play over its Winter Olympic Games ads. So you’re gonna be hearing it a lot over the next few weeks.)
But best of all, at least as far as Matisyahu is concerned, Light has managed to free him, for the most part, from the novelty tag of Hasidic Jewish Reggae Rapper. “I was totally unaware of it at first,” he says. “I was newly religious, I had a new career, I just got married – I honestly didn’t have time to process how I was being perceived by everybody.”
Bob Marley originally inspired Matisyahu. Specifically, it was how the reggae legend drew from his heritage and traditions for his music. “It was like, ‘I now found mine, and this is what I’m going to do,’” he recalls. “I was blind to the whole idea that this thing was really far out for people and could be seen as a gimmick. It wasn’t until recently that I realized that a large percent of the population, if they’ve heard of me, know me as the Hasidic reggae guy. It was a little hard to swallow that.
“I am glad to be past that stage,” he concludes. “But I try not to think about that too much. It’s important for me to be authentic to myself and not worry too much about how other people perceive me.” --Michael Gallucci
It’s not even five minutes into the infidelity drama Cloud 9 when two senior citizens get naked and go at it. Get used to it: There are plenty of senior moments here, with old people fornicating, performing oral sex, masturbating and doing things you usually don’t see Grandma and Grandpa doing on camera.
Make no mistake: You’re not looking at Brad and Angelina. These people are wrinkly and sagging. Director Andreas Dresen doesn’t turn away from his aged actors. At one point, there’s a long, unbroken shot of his star checking out her naked body in a mirror. In fact, there are many long, silent moments in Cloud 9, and they all add up to one of the most honest representations of senior-citizen sex you’ll ever see onscreen.
But none of it is exploitative in this moving film about sixtysomething Inge (Ursula Werner) who’s having an affair with 76-year-old Karl (Horst Westphal). Complicating matters is Inge’s 30-year marriage to Werner (Horst Reberg), a likable guy who listens to records of train engines for fun. They even have a healthy sex life, going at it in the bathroom in one scene. But Inge, who mends clothes out of their apartment, falls hard for Karl, who drops off his pants to be sewed. “I long for him constantly,” she confides to her grown daughter.
Still, Inge breaks off her relationship with the probably widowed Karl over the phone while Werner plays with their grandchildren in the next room. But she’s uncontrollably drawn to Karl and hooks up with him on a Sunday afternoon while Werner is away visiting his adult son. Soon they’re making out in his parked car like a couple of teenagers. Inge clearly loves both men and is torn between them. “It just happened,” she sighs.
But there are repercussions. And questions. Should we give in to our impulses when we don’t have much time left, even if our decisions will hurt others? Cloud 9 doesn’t have the answers. It doesn’t preach either. “Perhaps I’m too old for this sort of thing,” Inge says. But this stirring film repeatedly proves that you’re never too old. --Michael Gallucci
The sounds you hear on Norah Jones’ fourth album would scare the hell out of all but the most adventurous characters who populated her multiplatinum debut. For starters, producer Jacquire King’s résumé includes outré records by Tom Waits and Modest Mouse. Jones co-wrote songs with Ryan Adams and OkkervilRiver’s Will Sheff. And her band includes studio pros who’ve played with Beck, Erykah Badu and Johnny Cash. We’re not in MOR Jazzland anymore. Jones also steps away from her piano for most of The Fall, filling the spaces with sluggish, muffled guitar. She’s been inching away from her reputation as a sophisticated artist for sophisticated adults since 2004’s Feels Like Home. Her last album, 2007’s political Not Too Late, was a baby step, but on The Fall Jones plays it totally cool and kinda dull, swathing tracks like “Chasing Pirates” and “Young Blood” in moody rattles and hums while her rich, smooth voice glides over them. Yet she keeps her distance, never sinking too deep into the music. Many of the songs are about Jones’ breakup with Lee Alexander, who helped shape her previous lullaby-like albums. On her own, she’s discovered a big world out there filled with new sleepytime sounds. --Michael Gallucci
One of the year’s best videogames is also one of the PlayStation 3’s all-time greatest. Like Lara Croft with testicles, hero Nathan Drake is a treasure hunter who can’t stay away from trouble. Good thing he’s armed with a quick wit and lots of weapons. Storytelling and gameplay rarely mesh so perfectly. The multiplayer is terrific too.
CD
Do What You Want, Be What You Are: The Music of Daryl Hall and John Oates
(RCA/Legacy)
The 74 songs on this four-disc box chart the evolution of one of pop’s most durable duos (and music’s most awesome mustache). The early singles and later album tracks sag a little, but the middle part of the story is stuffed with hits: “She’s Gone,” “Kiss on My List,” “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do),” etc. It’s time to reevaluate their legacy.
BOOK
Lego Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary
(DK)
Lego’s Star Wars sets combine the best of both geeky worlds: little plastic figures shaped like Yoda, Boba Fett, et al. This wonderful, photo-packed book looks back on a decade of Star Wars Legos, chronicling all of the vehicles, weapons and characters that were released. Best of all, the book comes with an exclusive Luke Skywalker minifigure.
DVD
Celebration: The Video Collection
(Warner Bros.)
Two things dawned on us while watching this two-disc, 47-song compilation of Madonna’s music videos: 1) She was totally hot during her slutty period. 2) She was a star from her very first video, “Burning Up.” Madonna may have gotten more annoying as she got more famous, but her music and provocative videos remain revolutionary.
DVD
Ultraman – The Complete Series
(Mill Creek)
All 39 episodes of the 1960s Japanese TV show about a police captain who transforms into a ginormous metallic hero are collected on this two-disc set. They’re all built on a similar premise: Giant monsters attack Earth, and only Ultraman can save us. Like the later Godzilla movies, it’s kinda hokey. But the monsters are bad-ass, among the genre’s all-time best. --Michael Gallucci
Like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood has transcended her American Idol upbringing. She’s a gifted singer with a strong team of record-makers guiding her every move. On her third album of pop-skewing country, the 26-year-old heartland singer steers a little more toward big-city sounds. Swedish hitmaker Max Martin is on board; so is Mike Elizondo, who penned Play On’s first single, “Cowboy Casanova,” a raging field-stomper that sounds like Gary Glitter with a fiddle. And “Quitter” bounces along to a springy pop beat with a dash of steel guitar. But Underwood’s heart, and the album’s foundation, is still firmly rooted in the big, show-offy ballads that made her a star in the first place. “Someday When I Stop Loving You,” “Change” and the title tune are swathed in swirling strings, lush production and sweeping choruses. Underwood sounds most at home here, even as she begins her move away from the place where she was raised. --Michael Gallucci
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