Movies
Bread has been at the center of human life and creativity for at least the last ten thousand years - it is in our bones and a witness to history. This essay documentary brings bread to the front of the line and explores its relation to politics, poetry, and pleasure. DVD
This Criterion edition revives the splendors of Armenian culture through the story of the eighteenth-century troubadour Sayat-Nova through iconographic compositions rather than traditional narrative. DVD
Craftsy is an online resource for all creative makers that includes over 3,000 hours of video instruction, great for those who are just getting started or looking for advanced techniques. Visit through Libby today.
Quietly mesmerizing tale of love, art, grief, and healing is ultimately a cathartic exploration of what it means to go on living when there seems to be no road ahead. Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi. DVD
Renowned Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. weaves together genealogical detective work with cutting-edge DNA analysis to trace the ancestry of a diverse array of trailblazing public figures. The result is a captivating cross-section of history, illustrating that diversity is both America's strength and its constant. DVD
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Music
Twentyears celebrates the 20th anniversary of French duo Air's founding. Air creates atmospheric, electro-pop, with a wide range of musical influences. This two-disc set highlights some of the group’s best known material on the first disc and features rarities on the second. Songs like “Crickets,” which samples insect and nature sounds, the instrumental “Moon Fever,” and “Kelly Watch the Stars” are the perfect accompaniments to a summer night.
A great place to start with the Beach Boys, featuring fun in the sun hits like, “Surfin' U.S.A.,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” and “Good Vibrations.”
Perhaps inspired by Buddy Holly’s band The Crickets, one of the singular bands of the 20th century, The Beatles, named themselves after the humble bug, altering the spelling to create a musical pun. Their eleventh studio album, Abbey Road, contains some summer appropriate gems like, “Here Comes the Sun” and “Octopus's Garden.” This 50th anniversary edition features the original album, plus another disc of alternate takes and mixes.
One can find spiders year-round, but they are easier to spot in the summer months. Check out the fuzzy, horn-driven instrumental, “Spider Web Pt. 1” by Budos Band, a "doom rock, Afro-soul big band, with a '70s touch."
This two-disc, 24-track overview of the country-pop singer's storied career is the most concise and nuanced yet. Digitally remastered from the original master tapes, this set contains many songs celebrating the outdoors and exploration, classics like "Take Me Home, Country Roads," "Rocky Mountain High," "Sunshine on My Shoulders,” and others.
Award-winning sound healing pioneer, Dean Evenson, teams up with Native American flute virtuoso, Peter Ali, to create these stunning duets harmoniously blending silver flute and wooden flutes of different tribes and cultures. Delicate natural sounds of eagles, song birds, and ocean waves enhance this compelling musical journey flowing through many worlds.
Grammy winning soul and R&B vocalist Leon Bridges teams up with fellow Texas musicians Khruangbin, a trio of instrumentalists who mix soul, funk, and psychedelic rock, on this genre melding EP. Previously Khruangbin only used vocals for sonic shading but here Bridges vocals are front and center, creating a fascinating collaboration that evokes themes of travel, highways, nature, and the American West. If you like this, check out their follow up EP, Texas Moon.
The sequel to Summer Horns, Summer Horns II: From A to Z, features horn stalwarts Dave Koz, Gerald Albright, Rick Braun, Richard Elliot, and Aubrey Logan with guest vocalists Jonathan Butler, Kenny Lattimore, and Sheléa, covering classics by Earth Wind & Fire, The Crusaders, Chicago, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Duke Ellington, Jay-Z, and more. This laid back, contemporary jazz album has a fun, outdoor concert vibe. Check out their version of the classic “Route 66” and their mashup of “Getaway/That's the Way (I Like It).”
Singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne, working largely alone, hence the title Monovision, crafts a warm, rustic record that likens itself to the work of Van Morrison, Cat Stevens, the mellower moments of Led Zeppelin, and Harvest-era Neil Young. LaMontagne whittles these songs down to their essence and then dresses them in soft strums and gentle harmonies creating a sustained reassuring, soothing mood, largely inspired by nature as evidenced by songs like, “Summer Clouds,” “Misty Morning Rain,” and “Rocky Mountain Healin'.”
The Maytals, led by the dynamic Frederick ‘Toots’ Hibbert, are rightly regarded as one of the greatest singing trios in the history of Jamaican music. During an incredible recording career that spanned six decades, the group scored hit after hit on the island’s music charts, with their inimitable, unique blend of fervent gospel and down-home country seemingly impervious to changes in styles and fashion. The best of their work, however, is widely regarded to be their rock steady and early reggae recordings for Leslie Kong’s revered Beverley’s Records during the late Sixties and early Seventies. The Essential Artist Collection brings together the very best of their output from this period. 28 tracks of celebratory, summery, rousing, organic roots reggae music.
The six thematically and musically linked compositions of America's National Parks were birthed by Smith's own research on the congressional passing of the Organic Act in 1916 that created the National Parks Service. Smith celebrates the beauty of America’s National Parks while exploring the idea of them as "a collective notion about common property...where any American in history coming forward can see and have ownership," masterfully balancing solo and group improvisation, chamber sounds, modern jazz, and avant composition.
"It wasn't really a movement, barely even a moment, but the Daisy Age was an ethos that briefly permeated pop, R&B and hip hop. The name was coined by Long Island trio De La Soul; they claimed D.A.I.S.Y. stood for 'da inner sound, y'all', but then De La Soul said a lot of things. Playfulness and good humour were central to their 1989 debut album, which cast a long, multi-coloured shadow. The 90s, it promised, would be a lot easier going than the 80s"--Container.
A genre-spanning two-disc mix of hit singles, slow burners and lost gems, including the first ever official release of the preview pressing of “Kick Out the Jams” by the MC5. 1968 was a transitional year in politics and culture, which was reflected in music of the time. Oscillating between soul, funk, Americana, pop-psych, and hard-edged rock, English writer, broadcaster, and music journalist Jon Savage aimed to create an ideal playlist showcasing a year when a new energy was transforming popular music.