Music and Movies

Ill Communication These Rap artists will be a great choice to get you in a good mood while we are having some nice spring weather. Time to drive around with the top down! Beastie Boys- "Sabotage" video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5rRZdiu1UE Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City Kendrick Lamar- "Swimming Pools (Drank)" video: The Chronic It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back Timeless Get Rich or Die . . . more »

Roger Ebert passed away on Thursday, April 4th, 2013. Arguably, he was the most prominent and well known film critic in America. He was the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize (in 1975) while he was writing for the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper. 1975 was also the year he began filming the PBS movie review show Sneak Previews with rival Chicago film critic Gene . . . more »

The de Young Museum in San Francisco is the first North American venue to present the art exhibit Girl with a Pearl Earring Dutch : Paintings from the Mauritshuis . Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring painting has intrigued art lovers for centuries partially because so little is known about the artist himself. The film, Girl with A Pearl Earring, based on Tracy Chevalier's novel, . . . more »

Ever find yourself in a museum looking at a painting or art installation, and think to yourself, "My kid could do that!"? I think I have a pretty open mind when it comes to art, but I can't deny that this thought has occasionally crossed my mind. But there are other times when a somewhat eccentric, or seemingly simple work of art has had a . . . more »

Tasty Have you ever gotten hungry just looking at the music titles on your iPod? I know I get extra thirsty just listening to Kelis's "Milkshake" song. Or how about feeling a rumblin' in my tummy with Weird Al's "Eat It"? I made a list of the Library's tastiest music albums and artist names that will get you into the groove! The Food Album Hard . . . more »

With this weekend's release of Oz, the Great and Powerful, I started thinking about the most bizarre Oz tie-in, I've ever experienced. If the idea of the cartoon characters Tom and Jerry cutting capers while Dorothy Gale croons out "Over the Rainbow" gives you pause, you should definitely avoid this 2011 direct to video mash up of the creations of L. Frank Baum, William Hanna . . . more »

They may not be classified as action movies, but these documentaries have all the nail-biting suspense, triumphs and agonies of any feature film. It's all about competition! Follow these hopefuls, young and old, from every walk of life, as they risk all to compete in poetry slams, spelling bees, math prowess, pastry baking, debating, dancing, eating, whistling and more ... Kings of Pastry "World Cup-size . . . more »

The documentary film Benda bilili! (which means: Look beyond appearances) introduces us to several paraplegic men who get around the city of Kinshasa in modified motorized tricycles. The Democratic Republic of Congo is a harsh war-torn nation and they live in abject poverty but these men have a vision- form a band and make compelling and lovely music together. They enlist the help of a . . . more »

Maybe you've heard the term 'found footage' kicked around when it comes to films and wondered what it meant. Well, a found footage film is a movie, often a horror movie, that centers its plot around amateur film footage typically, but not always, left behind or 'found' in the aftermath of a disaster or event. Sometimes these types of films are called 'mockumentaries' due to . . . more »

Check out these Oscar winning films at your local SCCLD library. Argo Best Picture Winner Best Adapted Screenplay Winner Best Film Editing Winner On November 4, 1979, Iranian militants storm the American embassy in Tehran and capture dozens of American hostages, sparking a 444-day ordeal. There's a little-known footnote to the crisis: six Americans escape and a mid-level CIA agent named Antonio Mendez devises an . . . more »