Taylor Swift (cute as a button) performing with the aging British heavy metal band, Def Leppard, has to be the most unlikely musical pairing since k. d. lang and Tony Bennett. From the opening power chords of “Photograph” (one of the great heavy metal anthems of all time) to the acoustic “Two Steps Behind” I found plenty to like on this DVD. Some people find Taylor Swift too overbearing, but I like her. She’s got Talent. I’ve always been a fan of Def Leppard. But it is a bit disconcerting to see 18-year-old Taylor Swift singing “Pour Some Sugar On Me” with guys in their 50s. If you’re interested in acquiring this DVD, be warned: it’s only being sold at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club. GRADE: B+

Murder is Easy (aka, Easy to Kill) is another Christie novel the producers of the video version have “retrofitted” into a Miss Marple mystery. In the original novel (published in 1939), the action centers around Luke Fitzwilliam, a retired policeman. He notices that an unusual number of people are dying in Wychwood. He investigates and finds murder and romance. Clearly, a serial killer is at work. It will be interesting to see how this plot works with Miss Marple in it for tonight’s PBS MASTERPIECE MYSTERY series. The suspects include a strange Doctor, a curio-shop artist with a taste for Black Masses, a series of suspicious town’s people, a woman who looks like a beautiful witch, and Lord Easterfield, whose enemies all seem to die. GRADE: B+

If you’re in the mood for something very bizarre, I urge you to click on http://www.m2film.dk/fleggaard/trailer2.swf and be prepared to be amazed.  Danish e-commerce website Fleggaard has recently made a “not-safe-for-work” commercial that depicts a group of topless skydivers who, during their descend, come together in mid-air to spell out an advertisement for a washing machine.

Watch out Maytag, Kenmore, and GE!  You’re going to step up your advertising game after this. Thanks to the ever vigilant Art Scott for the link.

Henry Kuttner’s wacky scientist, Galloway Gallegher, is an average technician when sober. But once he’s drunk, his subconscious genius takes over and creates incredible inventions. Yes, this is not a politically correct approach today, but Kuttner wrote these stories over 60 years ago so you have to cut him some slack. The formula of these stories is that Gallegher wakes up and finds a strange device in his lab. He hasn’t a clue about its purpose or operation. Clients show up demanding results for the money they’ve paid Gallegher to solve their problems. The rest of the story follows a mystery story format where Gallegher investigates both his half-remembered clients and the strange machines he’s created. The word that best captures the sense of these stories is whimsical. If you like P. G. Wodehouse, you’ll like Henry Kuttner’s Gallegher stories. Planet Stories is to be commended on returning these classic stories back to print.

SUNY at Buffalo has digitized more paperback and pulp fiction covers from the collection I donated to them. To see them go to: http://www.oclc.org/contentdm/
Then click on “Featured Collections, July” on the right side of the page.  Click on the “See more customer collections”   and click on “Pulp Fiction Cover Art.”  Then click on “Browse this collection” to see the wonderful covers.  These librarians have done a super job promoting this collection.  I give them my heart-felt thanks.

I read Niall Ferguson’s history of finance and the banking system, The Ascent of Money, when it came out last year. I found it a breezy historical survey. Tonight on PBS, we’ll see Niall Ferguson turn his book into video. I’ve read several of Ferguson’s books. He’s an engaging writer. In interviews, he comes off as a very smart but personable academic. If you’re interested in money, the financial system, and dry British humor you might want to check this out. Tonight is the first of four episodes to be broadcast on Wednesday nights. Check your local PBS listings for times.

I own about a dozen sets of these Beethoven concertos. So why buy another set? The answer is Richard Goode. Richard Goode is one of my favorite pianists. I have practically every CD he’s ever recorded. Goode’s approach is always intelligent and original. He finds aspects of the music you haven’t heard before. This set displays Goode’s skill and panache. The Budapest Festival Orchestra with Ivan Fischer is more than adequate. There are flasher performers, but Goode’s approach is sleek and stylish without excesses. I love these performances with Goode’s crisp, clean playing. GRADE: A

From the first song, “The Calculation,” to the last song on the CD, “Man of a Thousand Faces,” Regina Spektor’s distinctive, plaintive voice and her piano playing deliver a captivating experience. I loved Regina Spektor’s Begin to Hope CD from a couple years ago, but this new CD has more energy and variety. If you like Neko Case, you’ll love Regina Spektor. GRADE: A

I’ll be interested to see how the “new” Miss Marple, Julia McKenzie, does in her first of four PBS MASTERPIECE MYSTERY episodes. Again, like in the novel version of Cat Among the Pidgeons where Poirot makes his appearance two-thirds of way into the story, Miss Marple shows up about half-way (Chapter 13 of 28) into A Pocket Full of Rye. I’m assuming she’ll show up sooner in the TV version. Wealthy Rex Fortescue collapses in his office, poisoned. There are plenty of people who wanted the odious Fortescue dead: his sons, their wives, and his own hot, sexy wife. But then other murders occur that fit the pattern of an old nursery rhyme. Miss Marple is the only one who can see the murderer’s design. A Pocket Full of Rye was published in 1953 when Christie was at the top of her game. GRADE: A-