Trends: LGBT Pride Month
It's Not Over: Getting Beyond Tolerance, Defeating Homophobia, and Winning True EqualityThe best-selling author of Queer in America challenges popular misconceptions to assess the present and future of gay rights, arguing that long-standing prejudices and an imminent religious conservative backlash are compromising equality. Out of Orange: A Memoir To set the record straight and share hard-earned wisdom, the real-life Alex Vause from the critically acclaimed show "Orange Is the New Black" tells her own story, chronicling her time in the drug trade, her incarceration, and her complicated relationship with Piper. Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex MarriageThe former congressman relates his journey from the outskirts of New York City to Boston's city hall and the Massachusetts legislature, and then to the U.S. Congress, where he played a vital role in the struggle for personal freedom and economic fairness for more than four decades. Stonewall: Breaking Out in the Fight for Gay RightsPresents a history of gay tolerance that traces the progression of civil rights for gay citizens and identifies the prejudices and misconceptions that have criminalized homosexual relationships. Heather Has Two MommiesA modern classic for this generation is being relaunched with an all-new, beautifully illustrated edition that follows Heather as she goes to playgroup and feels badly at first because she has two mothers and no father, but then she learns that there are lots of different kinds of families and the most important thing is that all the people love each other. Fun Home (OCR)Nominated for 12 2015 Tony Awards® including for both Best Actor and Actress in a Musical, and Best Musical overall. Fun Home is a musical adapted by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori from Alison Bechdel’s 2006 graphic memoir of the same name. It has been called “the first mainstream musical about a young lesbian.” It was a finalist for the 2014 Pulitzer Prize® for Drama and has already won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Musical and the Obie Award for Musical Theater. Transgender Dysphoria BluesRolling Stone - 3.5 stars out of 4 -- "A series of bracing songs about a self-destructive girl in a boy's body, it's a thematic offspring of Lou Reed..." Paste (magazine) - "[A] perfect storm of great songwriting paired with some timely, frank admissions from Grace." Pitchfork (Website) - "Punk has always been about disruption of order, and this new revolution that Laura Jane Grace leads doesn't surrender her identity, it reclaims it. This revolution is no lie at all." Hedwig and the Angry Inch (OCR)Neil Patrick Harris stars as Hedwig, the German woman trapped in a man’s body in the 2014 Broadway Cast recording of this rock and roll theatrical production. In the Lonely Hour: Deluxe EditionMultiple 2015 Grammy winner Sam Smith’s runaway success has thrilled millions of listeners, and inspired many. One Lost DayA lot has transpired in the four-year gap between Beauty Queen Sister and One Lost Day, the Indigo Girls' 14th studio album. Amy Ray issued two solo albums, and suddenly lost her father; both women became parents; and Emily Saliers got married. The rich and bittersweet life experiences detailed in these 13 songs will likely surprise longtime fans not because of the poignant content, but because of the way they sound. Saliers and Ray placed themselves in the care of producer and multi-instrumentalist (and unabashed longtime fan) Jordan Brooke Hamlin and mixing engineer Brian Joseph. Hamlin insisted on a lot of pre-production and practice. It pays off big time. Big EdenReturning to his childhood home in Montana when his grandfather falls ill, artist Henry Hart (Arye Gross, Ellen, Six Feet Under) confronts his unrequited passion for his high school best friend and his feelings about being gay in a small town. Cast includes Tim DeKay, Louise Fletcher and Eric Schweig. Billy's Hollywood Screen KissPhotographer Billy Collier has dreams of success in his viewfinder and no love in the picture. But all that changes when he meets and falls for handsome "Is-he-or-isn't-he?" coffee house writer Gabriel, and asks him to pose for a series of photos recreating great Hollywood screen kisses. Gods and MonstersMcKellen plays the director of the Bride of Frankenstein, James Whale, who after two successful films becomes a recluse and forms an unlikely friendship with a young gardener. Queer as Folk: Season 1Focusing on the lives of three gay men (Michael, an insecure 29 year-old, Brian, an ad executive who isn't into relationships, and Justin, a wide-eyed and innocent 17 year old) and their circle of friends, the series has earned both critical praise and scorn for its unflinching look at gay life, love, and sex. The L Word: The Complete First SeasonSet in the chic world of Los Angeles, this humor-laced dramatic series explores the lives of a group of lesbians, their friends, family and neighbors. The series takes a smart, sexy and fun look at the hopes, dreams and lives of these people as they deal with things like career struggles, relationships and the pressures of trying to start a family. The show provides a fresh look at everyday life, told with passion, frankness and humor.
Trends: Black Music Month
I Am Charlie WilsonThe seven-time Grammy-nominated R&B and funk musician traces his decades-long career, his collaborations with fellow artists and the role of faith in helping him recover from addiction, cancer and homelessness. After the Dance: My Life with Marvin GayeThe second wife of the late, legendary R&B star, describes how she met the Motown superstar when she was 17 and began a torrid love affair and marriage that was eventually shattered by drugs, family dysfunction and the burdens of fame. Respect: The Life of Aretha FranklinA complete look at the Queen of Soul chronicles both her troubles and her triumphs over them, from her youth in Detroit as a gospel prodigy to her rise as one of America's greatest musical talents. Mo' Meta Blues: The World According to QuestloveThe drummer for the Grammy Award-winning group The Roots, which also serves as the house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, discusses a historical range of musical artists as well as African American art, hip hop, culture and philosophy. Lion Songs: Thomas Mapfumo and the Music That Made ZimbabweIn Lion Songs Banning Eyre tells the story of Zimbabwean singer, composer and bandleader Thomas Mapfumo who, like Fela Kuti and Bob Marley, represents his country's anti-colonial struggle and cultural identity. Eyre narrates Mapfumo's life in the context of Zimbabwe's pre- and post-revolutionary history. Don't Lose ThisPrior to his December 2000 death, Pops Staples was in the process of making his fourth solo album. While enjoying a listen to its unfinished recordings, he said, as recalled by Mavis in a promotional clip, "Don't lose that, don't lose it." Over a decade later, Mavis -- with co-production, guitar, and bass from Tweedy, and drums from Tweedy's son Spencer -- fulfilled her promise. It can be strange to hear original and new elements at once, but nothing is as incongruous as the drum machine heard on Pops' previous solo album (1994's Father Father), and the message always gets through. Your Good FortuneOnly two months after the release of Don't Lose This, an album based on the final recordings of her father Pops, Mavis Staples issued Your Good Fortune, an EP made with fellow Anti- label artist Son Little. It came out around the same time as Mavis!, a documentary and celebration of Staples' 60 years as one of the most enriching and relevant voices in music. Producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Little -- his sound rustic and heartfelt, rooted in classic soul and blues, with added rhythmic heft applied from hip-hop -- is as viable an accomplice for Staples as Jeff Tweedy. BushRolling Stone - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Bush uses the genre's rhythmic groove to portray Los Angeles as a smoky, sexy, sunshiny wonderland where every day feels like a block party." Billboard - "The beats are all about the feel-good, retro-disco-lite that has become Williams' calling card in the past few years." Pitchfork (Website) - "Bush was conceived as a tribute to the funk and R&B of the 1970s, and the familiar wail of Stevie Wonder's harmonica on the stand-out opener, 'California Roll', establishes the mood." Hollywood: Story Of A Dozen Roses (PA)Kid Ink, Wale, and Chris Brown are among Jamie’s guests, and he snags producer Boi-1da for sleek tracks such as "Like a Drum," with lyrics that could just as easily be sung by someone half Foxx's age. The lighter, looser songs -- like a characteristically breezy contribution from Pharrell Williams, and a Cook Classics collaboration that immediately follows it -- happen to be the most memorable of all, even though they sound like the songs that required the least amount of thought to make. Jackie (Pa)Spin - "[T]he strong-heeled Jackie is far from conservative, and possibly more daring, with three of the year's best songs at the very top, middle, and bottom, which couldn't be more different from each other." B.B. King: Live at the Royal Albert Hall 2011This 2011 concert recording captures the legendary blues guitarist B/B/ King and his guitar Lucille ripping through a number of songs like "I Need You So," "Key to the Highway," and "The Thrill Is Gone." Along the way he gets help from such celebrated performers as Slash, Ron Wood, and Mick Hucknall. BirdDirector Clint Eastwood indulges his lifelong passion for jazz with this dark, brooding interpretation of the life of revolutionary bebop saxophonist Charlie "Yardbird" Parker. Starting with Parker's early years, when he used to sneak into Kansas City clubs to listen to Count Basie's band, the film moves through the many ups and downs of Parker's troubled but brilliant career--which ended all too soon. Earth, Wind & Fire: Live at Montreux 1997This concert captures Earth, Wind & Fire in a concert reunion at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1997, performing a career-spanning parade of classics that includes "Saturday Nite," "September," "After the Love is Gone," "Shining Star," "Sing a Song," and many more. Herbie Hancock: PossibilitiesJazz great Herbie Hancock has always experimented beyond the parameters of the genre, and POSSIBILITIES sees him stretching his talents even further. This documentary follows Hancock as he records the POSSIBILITIES album, which features guest spots from Paul Simon, Brian Eno, Christina Aguilera, and John Mayer. Standing in the Shadows of MotownA look at the history of Motown focuses on the Funk Brothers, a group of studio musicians who provided the instrumental backing to most of the label's hits.
Trends: Waterloo Remembered
Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies, and Three BattlesAn illustrated account published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Napoleon's last stand chronicles in meticulously researched detail events ranging from Napoleon's escape from Elba through Waterloo's three major battlefield events. Went the Day Well?: Witnessing WaterlooDrawing from the diaries, letters, reports and stories from participants and witnesses, the author describes in detail an hour-by hour account of the Battle of Waterloo, including a discussion of its causes, aftermath and effect on history. Waterloo: Wellington, Napoleon, and the Battle That Saved EuropeA veteran historian presents a bicentennial history of the campaign and battle that profiles its armies, commanders and other key contributors against a backdrop of warn-torn future Belgium to share new insights into the conflict's relevance and legacy. The Longest Afternoon: The 400 Men who Decided the Battle of WaterlooDetails the efforts of four hundred Hanoverian riflemen who, at the Battle of Waterloo, were tasked with defending the Haye Sainte farmhouse, a crucial crossroads on the way to Brussels. Waterloo: The AftermathA 200th anniversary account of the last days of the Napoleonic Wars traces the events and aftermath of the battle of Waterloo, as well as the perspective of Napoleon as he considered his surrender, exile and captivity. NapoleonBorn in Ajaccio, Corsica in 1769, Napoleon Bonaparte has long fascinated historians, politicians, and people in general. Patriot and power-monger, loving husband and philanderer, revolutionary and self-proclaimed Emperor... Napoleon was nothing if not a pack of fascinating contradictions. This program -- produced by award-winning filmmaker David Grubin (THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE) -- attempts to discover the truths about the controversial figure. Battle of WaterlooAn in-depth look at the final defeat of Napoleon's career. Includes commentary by Dr. David Chandler, expert on the Napoleonic Wars, plus battle reenactments and computer maps. War and PeaceKing Vidor's film is an all-star version of Leo Tolstoy's literary masterpiece. This epic tale takes place during Napoleon's invasion of Russia in the years 1805-20. While these calamitous historical events unfold, a variety of characters from various classes and cultures tries to deal with their own personal dramas. Whether peasant or prince, soldier or gentlewoman, each person undergoes a search for happiness and self-knowledge...and each one ultimately finds a different answer.
