Sigur Ros is a band from Iceland. Their music is most often termed “alternative.” Sometimes they sing in Icelandic, sometimes in a made-up language. Either way, Sigur Ros music is unique. I love the otherworldly sound of their songs. This 2-CD set presents their concert in London at Alexandra Palace. The Blu-ray provides the video to the concert. Both the CDs and the Blu-ray sound great! Another great stocking stuffer! Check out the video below. GRADE: A

When I first heard “Light My Fire,” the world spun a little faster. I’d never heard anything like it. Jim Morrison’s distinctive voice and keyboardist Ray Manzarek managed to create a unique sound for The Doors. I bought all their albums, liking some more than others. Then, a few years later, Jim Morrison was dead from a drug overdose and The Doors were no more. Yet, like a ghost, The Doors’ music haunted their fans all their lives. Elektra brought out a boxed set of The Doors’ CDs back in 1997, but that’s out-of-print. There are several remastered albums still available. And, of course, the Val Kilmer movie from 1991. Greil Marcus delivers a breezy overview of The Doors and their impact on American culture. I learned plenty of details about The Doors’ music and recording sessions. GRADE: B+

Canadian novelist Robertson Davies is one of my favorite writers. He’s compared to Charles Dickens, but I think he also has elements of Anthony Trollope. Davies writes novels of character. Tempest Tost, published in 1951, is the first book in the Salterton Trilogy. Salterton is a quaint Canadian town. The local theater group decide to put on a production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and that powers the plot for the rest of the book. If you want to discover what goes on in little theater groups, Tempest Tost will open your eyes. All the politics and sniping and snarkiness is captured perfectly by Davies. And, once you laugh your way through Tempest Tost, you’ll want to read the other novels in this trilogy: Leaven of Malice and A Mixture of Frailties. I can also highly recommend Robertson Davies’ Cornish Trilogy and Deptford Trilogy. Great story-telling!

I’ve been a fan of Randy Newman’s music for decades. Newman has focused more on writing soundtracks in the last decade. But listening to these great songs reminds me that Randy Newman is a gifted song-writer. This London concert took place in 2008. Newman is backed up by the BBC Concert Orchestra. The sound is pristine! If you’re a Randy Newman fan, you’ll love this. I’ve included a video of Norah Jones singing one of my favorite Randy Newman songs below. GRADE: A
Disc 1
1 The Great Nations of Europe
2 Marie
3 It’s Money That I Love
4 Mama Told Me Not To Come
5 Rollin’
6 Losing You
7 Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear
8 Short People
9 God’s Song (That’s Why I Love Mankind)
10 The World Isn’t Fair
11 Louisiana 1927
12 You Can Leave Your Hat On
13 I’m Dead (But I Don’t Know It)
14 Real Emotional Girl
15 I Miss You
16 Laugh and Be Happy
17 Political Science
18 Love Story (You and Me)
19 Feels like Home
20 A Few Words in Defense of Our Country
21 Sail Away
22 I Think It’s Going To Rain Today

Disc 2
1 The Great Nations of Europe DVD
2 Marie DVD
3 It’s Money That I Love DVD
4 Mama Told Me Not To Come DVD
5 Rollin’ DVD
6 Losing You DVD
7 Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear DVD
8 Short People DVD
9 God’s Song (That’s Why I Love Mankind) DVD
10 The World Isn’t Fair DVD
11 Louisiana 1927 DVD
12 You Can Leave Your Hat On DVD
13 I’m Dead (But I Don’t Know It) DVD
14 Real Emotional Girl DVD
15 I Miss You DVD
16 Laugh and Be Happy DVD
17 Political Science DVD
18 Love Story (You and Me) DVD
19 Feels like Home DVD
20 A Few Words in Defense of Our Country DVD
21 Sail Away DVD
22 I Think It’s Going To Rain Today DVD
23 BBC Interview DVD

Tower Heist is a comic caper movie. The Tower is an exclusive New York City condominium where Ben Stiller is the Manager. When their most prosperous resident, penthouse owner Alan Alda (a Bernie Maddoff-like swindler), loses the retirement funds Stiller and his staff trusted him with, Stiller decides to steal the money back. Yes, the plot becomes silly and you’ll have to swallow two or three major coincidences to follow the caper to its conclusion. Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, Michael Peña, and Casey Affleck make up the heist team. Tea Leoni steals scenes as an FBI agent. GRADE: B-

Audio books and I have a love-hate relationship. If the narrator is good, it’s a wonderful experience. But it does have a downside: listening to an audio book takes way longer than simply reading it. I started listening to The Swerve three weeks ago. The listening time is 9.7 hours. Little by little, I chipped away at it, a half hour here, a half hour there. But, before I could finish The Swerve, it won the National Book Award for Best Non-Fiction Book. The Swerve tells the story of book hunter, Poggio Bracciolini, who 600 years ago found a rare copy of De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things), composed by the first century BC Roman writer Lucretius. Lucretius wrote that the world was composed of atoms, that we should live to pursue pleasure, that there were no gods. As you can guess, On the Nature of Things became the object of banning by the Catholic Church. Greenblatt shows how this single book, lost for hundreds of years, had a profound effect on scientists and thinkers in the 15th Century. If you’re a fan of intellectual history, you’ll love The Swerve. GRADE: A

Tonight, PBS is broadcasting Part One of a two-part documentary on Woody Allen (check your local listings for time and day). The Friday review by Mike Hale in the New York Times complained that Part One focuses Woody Allen’s first 10 films, leaving Part Two (Monday night) to cover the rest: 31 films. Clearly, director Robert Weide feels that the early Allen is superior to the later Allen. Hale also lists his favorite Woody Allen films: “Take the Money and Run,” “Bananas,” “Sleeper,” “Annie Hall,” “Purple Rose of Cairo,” “Bullets Over Broadway,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and “Midnight in Paris.” I’d say Hale’s list is pretty close to my own.

Lord Macaulay once said, “The character of Socrates does not rise upon me. The more I read about him, the less I wonder that they poisoned him.” Paul Johnson, popular historian, seeks to rescue Socrates from Macaulay’s view by insisting that the Socrates we know is really a puppet of Plato. The “real” Socrates didn’t possess all the annoying quirks that irked Macaulay and others. Given that the real Socrates never wrote a word, Johnson has to rely on secondary sources to make his case. I found Socrates: A Man for Our Times mildly entertaining. GRADE: B