Hot This Week: November 18

Four new titles make this week's DVD list, headlined by the action film White House Down and the Adam Sandler-led comedy Grown Ups 2. The music chart is topped by the return of Eminem and also welcomes new releases from favorites Celine Dion and Avril Lavigne. In fiction, John Grisham withstands a challenge from the latest Clive Cussler thriller to remain on top. Finally, in non-fiction, three new titles deal with presidential and American history, while Bill O'Reilly remains at #1 once again.

DVD

1. White House Down
2. Grown Ups 2
3. Monsters University
4. The Hangover Part III
5. The Croods
6. The Purge
7. After Earth
8. This Is the End 
9. World War Z
10. Iron Man 3

CD

1. Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP 2
2. Celine Dion, Loved Me Back to Life
3. The Robertsons, Duck the Halls
4. Katy Perry, Prism
5. Avril Lavigne, Avril Lavigne
6. Kelly Clarkson, Wrapped in Red
7. Drake, Nothing Was the Same
8. Lorde, Pure Heroine
9. Arcade Fire, Reflektor
10. Luke Bryan, Crash My Party

Fiction

1. Sycamore Row, John Grisham
2. Mirage, Clive Cussler and Jack Du Drul
3. The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt
4. The Valley of Amazement, Amy Tan
5. The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion, Fannie Flagg
6. Doctor Sleep, Stephen King
7. The Longest Ride, Nicholas Sparks
8. Winners, Danielle Steel
9. We Are Water, Wally Lamb
10. Identical, Scott Turow

Non-Fiction

1. Killing Jesus, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
2. Double Down, Mark Halperin and John Heilemann
3. The Bully Pulpit, Doris Kearns Goodwin
4. David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell
5. I Am Malala, Malala Yousafzai
6. The Death of Santini, Pat Conroy
7. George Washington's Secret Six, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger
8. Si-Cology 1, Si Robertson and Mark Schlabach
9. Johnny Carson, Henry Bushkin
10. Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg and Nell Scovell

Tales from the Darkside Reboot on Tap

Written by Jon Williams

Fans of horror TV, rejoice! Although it’s too late for Halloween, word came down last night that a team has been assembled to reboot the classic macabre 1980s series Tales from the Darkside. The update will air on the CW network as a half-hour series beginning in the summer of 2014.

The original series was created by horror legend George A. Romero, who directed and co-wrote the seminal zombie film Night of the Living Dead in 1968. In 1982 he teamed up with Stephen King  for the film Creepshow, which was an anthology film made up of several horror stories. The success of that film led to the idea of a horror-themed TV series, which became Tales from the Darkside.

The show debuted in 1984 and ran for four seasons, with each episode telling a new story. With new characters each week, the show had quite a large cast, featuring such stars as Phyllis Diller, John Heard, Carol Kane, Darren McGavin, Jerry Stiller, Abe Vigoda, Seth Green, Marcia Cross, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Christian Slater, to name just a few. After its four-season run on television, the show spawned a feature film of its own in 1990, which starred Slater along with Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, and Debbie Harry.

Tales from the Darkside certainly wasn’t the first or only show of its type. It owed a debt of gratitude to The Twilight Zone, the pioneering show of strange tales which originally ran from 1959 to 1964. The format became quite popular in the ‘80s, with Tales from the Darkside being joined by Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories and a Twilight Zone revival in 1985, and then followed by HBO’s Tales from the Crypt in 1989.

Set to write the scripts for the new series is acclaimed author Joe Hill—son of Romero collaborator and original Darkside contributor Stephen King (who had his own horror anthology show with 2006’s Nightmares & Dreamscapes). This isn’t the only film work Hill has on tap—his novel Horns has been adapted into a movie starring Daniel Radcliffe and Juno Temple (which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and will release theatrically in 2014), and his comic series Locke & Key is being adapted into a film as well.

Hot This Week: November 11

A pair of animated features make their debuts atop this week's DVD list, with The Croods taking the top spot over Monsters University. Arcade Fire's new album tops the music chart on a week that sees the first holiday albums of the season, from Kelly Clarkson and the Duck Dynasty clan. John Grisham holds onto the top fiction spot, with debuts from Danielle Steel and Lisa Scottoline making the grade as well. Noted novelist Pat Conroy finds his way onto the non-fiction list this week with The Death of Santini.

DVD

1. The Croods
2. Monsters University
3. After Earth
4. This Is the End 
5. World War Z
6. Iron Man 3
7. Now You See Me
8. The Great Gatsby
9. Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain
10. The Frozen Ground

CD

1. Arcade Fire, Reflektor
2. Katy Perry, Prism
3. Kelly Clarkson, Wrapped in Red
4. The Robertsons, Duck the Halls
5. Drake, Nothing Was the Same
6. Thomas Rhett, It Goes Like This
7. Toby Keith, Drinks After Work
8. Lorde, Pure Heroine
9. Miley Cyrus, Bangerz
10. Linkin Park, Recharged

Fiction

1. Sycamore Row, John Grisham
2. The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt
3. Winners, Danielle Steel
4. Doctor Sleep, Stephen King
5. The Longest Ride, Nicholas Sparks
6. Accused, Lisa Scottoline
7. We Are Water, Wally Lamb
8. Identical, Scott Turow
9. Fifteen Minutes, Karen Kingsbury
10. Aimless Love, Billy Collins

Non-Fiction

1. Killing Jesus, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
2. David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell
3. The Death of Santini, Pat Conroy
4. I Am Malala, Malala Yousafzai
5. Johnny Carson, Henry Bushkin
6. Si-Cology 1, Si Robertson and Mark Schlabach
7. History Decoded, Brad Meltzer
8. Crash and Burn, Artie Lange and Anthony Bozza
9. Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg and Nell Scovell
10. My Story, Elizabeth Smart and Chris Stewart

Celebrating Hendrix

Written by Jon Williams

Earlier this week, PBS aired a new documentary on Jimi Hendrix as part of its American Masters series. Hear My Train a Comin’ explores the legendary guitar wizard’s life and career in his own words, intermixed with previously unseen concert footage and conversations with friends, family, and contemporaries. Its showing winds down a year-long celebration of Hendrix that commenced on what would have been his 70th birthday, November 27, 2012. The documentary is already available on both DVD and Blu-ray for classic rock-loving patrons who may have missed its original airing, or who just want to see it again.

Although Hendrix’s life and career were brief (he died at age 27 after only 4 years of musical success), both are worth exploring. The incandescent performer’s confident and flamboyant stage persona was a front for a quiet, shy personality away from it. After working early on as a sideman to such entertainers as Little Richard and the Isley Brothers, his career began in earnest in 1966 when his manager began recruiting musicians to join a band designed to highlight Hendrix’s talent, and thus the Jimi Hendrix Experience was born. Their first album, Are You Experienced? (currently out of print), contained such staples as “Purple Haze,” “Hey Joe,” and “Foxy Lady.”

Despite such a powerhouse track listing and a strong start in Great Britain (where it was kept from #1 only by the seminal Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band), Hendrix’s career got off to a lukewarm start in North America. The Experience’s first single, “Hey Joe,” failed to chart upon its release. While the music fell short, Hendrix finally managed to capture everyone’s attention with his stage antics. On the recommendation of Paul McCartney, who saw Hendrix perform a blistering version of “Sgt. Pepper” just three days after its release, the Experience was invited to perform at the Monterey Pop Festival in California in June of 1967. At the end of their performance, Hendrix famously lit his guitar on fire, making a name for himself and cementing his place in rock n’ roll lore. This performance (and more from the festival) can be seen on The Complete Monterey Pop Festival DVD and Blu-ray available from the Criterion Collection.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience followed up Are You Experienced? with just two more studio albums during Jimi’s lifetime. Axis: Bold as Love was released later in 1967 to capitalize on the success of the first album, and the first side of the original album had to be hurriedly remixed after Hendrix left the master tapes in a taxi. The double album Electric Ladyland (also out of print), released late in 1968, featured two songs greater than 13 minutes in length, plus a cover of the Bob Dylan song “All Along the Watchtower,” which has become one of Hendrix’s signature songs.

Hendrix’s tragic death in September of 1970 at the age of 27 was a major blow to the music world, which earlier that year had already experienced the breakup of the Beatles. However, he left behind a treasure trove of unreleased materials, resulting in a number of posthumous releases that continue to this day. Valleys of Neptune, released in 2010, contained a number of previously unreleased tracks Hendrix had been working on in preparation for a fourth album; another such album, People, Hell and Angels, was released earlier this year. Audio engineer Eddie Kramer, who worked extensively with Hendrix during his lifetime, says this 2013 album has exhausted the supply of unreleased Hendrix studio tracks, but that other live albums may eventually be made available.

Although Hendrix’s career was cut short, his influence on rock music was undeniable, and interest in his music remains very strong. SmartBrowse his name on our website to see the wide range of CDs, concert and documentary DVDs, and other materials we have available from and about this amazingly talented and transcendent musician.

Hot This Week: November 4

Katy Perry's brand new album debuts at the top of this week's music chart, along with three other new titles. It's quite a week for big names in fiction, with new audiobooks by John Grisham, Wally Lamb, Scott Turow, and Helen Fielding making the list. In non-fiction, a Johnny Carson bio and a collection of historical mysteries by Brad Meltzer make the list.

DVD

1. After Earth
2. Iron Man 3
3. This Is the End
4. World War Z
5. The Great Gatsby
6. The Frozen Ground
7. Now You See Me
8. Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain
9. Epic
10. Oblivion

CD

1. Katy Perry, Prism
2. Pearl Jam, Lightning Bolt
3. Drake, Nothing Was the Same
4. Miley Cyrus, Bangerz
5. Lorde, Pure Heroine
6. Fifth Harmony, Better Together
7. DJ Khaled, Suffering from Success
8. Justin Timberlake, The 20/20 Experience (2 of 2)
9. AFI, Burials
10. Luke Bryan, Crash My Party

Fiction

1. Sycamore Row, John Grisham
2. The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt
3. Doctor Sleep, Stephen King
4. We Are Water, Wally Lamb
5. The Longest Ride, Nicholas Sparks
6. Identical, Scott Turow
7. Storm Front, John Sandford
8. Gone, James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
9. Bridget Jones: Mad about the Boy, Helen Fielding
10. Just One Evil Act, Elizabeth George 

Non-Fiction

1. Killing Jesus, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
2. David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell
3. I Am Malala, Malala Yousafzai
4. Johnny Carson, Henry Bushkin
5. My Story, Elizabeth Smart and Chris Stewart
6. Si-Cology 1, Si Robertson and Mark Schlabach
7. History Decoded, Brad Meltzer
8. Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg and Nell Scovell
9. One Summer, Bill Bryson
10. Tip and the Gipper, Chris Matthews