The Closer – The Complete Fifth Season (DVD Set)
It may be time for network TV to finally give up on the traditional cop show (and with the recent cancellation of the long-running Law & Order series, it may actually be doing just that).
Author: John B. Moore
Dark Harbor: The War for the New York Waterfront by Nathan Ward (Book)
It may not have the mass appeal of modern day mafia stories like The Sopranos, but Nathan Ward’s Dark Harbor, his true crime expose on the gangs that ran the New York waterfront in the late 1940’s is every bit as exciting and has the benefit of being realistic.
American Pickers – The Complete Season 1 (DVD Set)
And you thought every possible vocation had been mined for realty TV. Well, now it may have.
Entourage – The Complete Sixth Season (DVD)
The long-running (by cable standards) buddy comedy Entourage caught some flak last year from Seth Rogan for… well, slamming Seth Rogan. Yes the Knocked Up joke was more than a bit stale by the time this season aired last year, but the occasional dated references aside (including one about Christian Bale’s rant), the series is still remarkably satisfying.
War by Sebastian Junger (Book)
With his latest book, Sebastian Junger has done the nearly impossible: written a truly compelling book about war without taking a strong side politically. The reason, according to Junger, is that most of the American soldiers on the front lines of the war in Afghanistan aren’t discussing the politics behind the decisions that led them out to the dessert, carrying around 60 pounds of armor and supplies, while dodging bullets.…
Life (DVD)
The BBC and the Discovery Channel have a solid track record so far having produced Planet Earth and The Blue Planet: Seas of Life, both surprisingly enthralling documentaries on topics that could easily come off as simply dull.
You Couldn’t Ignore Me If You Tried by Susannah Gora (Book)
John Hughes has been given God like status by hordes of Gen X 30-somethings like me. His movies spoke to teenagers, not at them, in a way that had never been done before or since. In her completely engrossing study of Hughes and the actors that surrounded him, Susannah Gora has managed to turn a researcher’s eye to a topic that few would have bothered to tackle. In doing so,…
Daria – The Complete Animated Series (DVD)
Eight years after the animated show Daria ended its five seasons run, the series – tailor-made for Generation X – is finally being released in its entirety. The collection includes the pilot, episodes from all five seasons and a slew of extras. They may have taken their time rolling this one out, but they did it right.
Dirt – Season Two (DVD)
Much like the tabloids it parodies, the Courtney Cox-starring cable show Dirt, is a guilty pleasure: Pure trash, little redeeming valuable, but extremely hard to turn away from. Cox does the nearly impossible playing cold-as-ice Lucy Spiller, editor-in-chief of the glossy celeb tabloid Dirt Now, and manages to actually come off as likeable. She might just be one of TV’s ultimate antiheroes.
The Weakerthans – Live at the Burton Cummings Theatre (CD)
More than a decade after they formed, it’s still amazing to think that John K. Samson, the voice behind Canada’s The Weakerthans, is the same punk rocker that used to play bass for the skate punks in Propaghandi. The sounds of both bands are so drastically different. While Propaghandi had the angst-ridden teen market in mind, The Weakerthans churn out beautifully-crafted, melody-soaked, deeply introspective indie rock. Recorded before a hometown…
Deadliest Catch – Season 5 (DVD)
I have managed to ignore the seemingly inexplicable pull of the Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch up until now. Watching a show about fishing sounds about as exciting as… well, watching someone fish. Man was I ever wrong!
Beth Thornley – Wash U Clean (CD)
LA, by way of Alabama, musician Beth Thornley may have turned in the first record of 2010 that is simply too impossible to cram into an easily definable genre. And that’s a good thing. Her third album, Wash U Clean, is at times Power Pop, singer songwriter and indie pop and often all at once. Rather than sounding sloppy, the effect is refreshingly brilliant. From the quirky album opener and…
Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway by Cherie Currie with Tony O’Neill (Book)
Originally released in the late 80’s Cherie Currie’s memoir Neon Angel has been repackaged and updated slightly to coincide with the biopic of her teenage band The Runaways. The movie may not have done as well as expected, but the book is still every bit as entertaining and shocking as when it was first released. Though the bulk of Neon Angel deals with Currie’s time as front woman for the…
Fairmont – The Meadow at Dusk (CD)
It’s hard to imagine Fairmont front man Neil Sabatino was once a punk rocker. His work with New Jersey’s Fairmont is more likely to bring up descriptions like “lush” and “atmospheric”. On the band latest effort, the six-song EP “The Meadow At Dusk,” indie rockers Fairmont stuck to the same style (thankfully) that made 2008’s “Transcendence” such an enjoyable record, but have added in an extra vocalist.
Me, the Mob, and the Music by Tommy James with Martin Fitzpatrick (Book)
Tommy James may best be known for boarder-line clean cut pop hits like “Mony Mony†and “Crimson and Cloverâ€, but in realty his life was more Henry Hill from the Good Fellas, than squeaky clean pop singer. Me, the Mob, and the Music, details the early childhood of Tommy James (born Thomas Jackson), his discovery by a Pittsburgh DJ and through his career at Mob-run Roulette Records. The book focuses…
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith (Book)
If Seth Grahame-Smith were allowed to pen textbooks, you can only imagine how many more students would actually pay attention in History class. Granted they’d also end up believing that vampires were in charge of keeping slavery alive in the South, but at least they’d be paying attention. Grahame-Smith, author of the surprise best seller Pride, Prejudice and Zombies, does a brilliant job of weaving actual history with a fantastical…
Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang (Book)
Somewhere between “did she just say that?†and “oh my God, you’re sick!†is Chelsea Handler.
Adam Green – Minor Love (CD)
Though once a member of Moldy Peaches, Adam Green has done a decent job of forge his own identity as a solo act. His latest effort, the “Minor Love†is no exception.
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (DVD)
John Krasinski, best known for playing Jim on The Office, faced an uphill battle even before sitting down in the director’s chair to move Brief Interviews with Hideous Men from book to screen.
Smoking Popes – It’s Been a Long Day (CD)
The Smoking Popes got a raw deal. Formed in the early 90’s in the Chicago burbs, the band drew influence from musicians as varied as Tom Waits and Dinosaur Jr. to crooners like Sinatra and Mel Torme.