by Desmond Dekker (1969)

As a casual reggae and ska listener, I can’t say I knew too much about Mr. Desmond Dekker beyond his name and his hit “Israelites” and “007 (Shanty Town)“. I’ve been recently in the mood for catchy upbeat classic reggae though and This Is Desmond Dekkar (despite curiously misspelling his name) is a great introduction to his early work and totally fits the bill.

A reissue of a 1969 album, This Is Desmond Dekkar also features 19 additional tracks. The entire album is a stylish, pleasant, transporting experience from the excellent aforementioned hits to the lesser known tracks like Sabotage and Nincompoop. Known as “The King of Ska”, Dekker was at the forefront of a new movement (and even helped Bob Marley with his start). The early 60’s, rude boy portion of his decades long career is well represented here.

Plus, there’s nothing better for dancing a baby around than this.

See more: Albums 1960s Reggae

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Posted on November 12, 2010

directed by Debra Granik (2010)

Jim is a bigger fan of back woods noir author Daniel Woodrell but after seeing Winter’s Bone, the exceptionally gritty, atmospheric and unique film based on one of his novels, I may just take second look. Woodrell specializes is grim mysteries in the deep south and this particular story about a tougher than nails Ozark teen forced to look after her sick mom and siblings made its way to the big screen with tremendous dignity with haunting suspense.

What looks at first glance like Independent film award fodder: downtrodden Americans shot against grim but undeniably beautiful landscapes (the cinematography is brilliant) of a country falling apart, is much more than an outsider’s glimpse into a mostly unknown world. While I can not claim to know what the cabins and trailers of the Ozarks look like, the sets, settings and actors here feel genuine and are neither pedantically  glorified or demonized. The cast that (like almost anything of value these days) includes actors from Deadwood is superb with Jennifer Lawrence as the heroine, Ree, earning every bit of buzz and praise she’s received.

At heart, Winter’s Bone is a mystery. Ree must find her father, or perhaps the remains of him in order to keep the house he put up for bail on a recent meth arrest. The journey, that climaxes in an act of savage, cold survival, is wrought with tension as she makes her way through the rough, complex order of a dangerous society populated by the stoic, hardened, and vicious.

We were taken with the movie more than we expected. Maybe it’s so effective because Debra Granik is less interested in forcing her opinion of the characters than letting them exist within the simple but gripping plot.

See more: Movies 2010s Drama Mysteries Noir Thrillers

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Posted on November 11, 2010

Singer and Icon

Part smiling innocence of the girl next door and part scandal ridden sexpot who got into mischief with the Rolling Stones, the inimitable Marianne Faithfull was one of the most interesting it girls of the 1960s. A singer in her own right, she was also well known as one of Mick Jagger’s girlfriends and The Girl On A Motorcycle.

Today she is on top again as the raspy voiced grandma of cool but, of course, her wild days didn’t initially lead to such apparent happiness. She suffered truly crippling drug addiction and anorexia for decades before finally emerging wiser and well with a new singing career. We’re glad she made it.

Click here for the rest of Marianne Faithfull

See more: Style Icons: Female Actors Muses Musicians

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Posted on November 9, 2010

by Charlie Rich (1960)

Dubbed “The Silver Fox”, Charlie Rich was a pop country super star in the seventies, but it might be his most Elvis like hit, Lonely Weekends that he’s most remembered for. At least it’s the song that I like the most.

Even if his name is not the most recognizable of the era and genre, his work not only as a singer but a songwriter (he wrote for Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee) is considered by many to be the best to come out of Sun Studios.

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Posted on November 4, 2010

on AMC

On the plus side, in a sea of boring, routine cop and lawyer dramas littering the new season of television, a gory action drama about battling zombies is welcome entertainment no matter how derivative it is. The Walking Dead boasts awesomely gruesome and impressive makeup and effects and an extremely uncompromising devotion to making things as grim and violent as they want (another example that AMC answers to no one in their original series).

If you ever wondered exactly what shooting a zombie in the head would look like from every angle in slow motion, your days of wondering are over. You’ll get the chance to study the event over and over, starting with a young girl missing her lower jaw.

On the negative side, the pilot really didn’t add anything new to the worn out genre and called to mind other recent, more inventive zombie flicks like Dawn of the Dead and particularly the excellent 28 Days Later (only with an FX caliber hunk Andrew Lincoln rather than the handsome waif Cillian Murphy waking up in a hospital to utter destruction). Is there a strong central character with special skills that will help him survive? Of course. Are some of the only other survivors his wife and son? Yep. Does he find stoic fathers and kids wise beyond their years along the way? Sure thing.

Hopefully, with an entire season to expand on the story, which is based on the comic book series of the same name, the show can spread out and find new ways to tell a living dead story beyond the themes and characters we’ve learned to expect. And even if it follows predictable plot lines, I’ll still tune in – because it’s sure to be more fun than most shows out there.

See more: TV Shows 2010s Drama Horror

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Posted on November 2, 2010