Monday, 1 June 2009
“Of the Month” June ’09
Link of the Month:
My First Dictionary
A deliciously warped and wholly-inappropriate series of dictionary definitions for children. For example: “Get: Ray will get carrots from his garden. He will take the carrots and bring them home. Maybe Father will notice him then.” They’re all accompanied by hilariously appropriate retro illustrations.
Album of the Month:
Brent Spiner & Maude Maggart: Dreamland
This is like a 1940s Broadway musical on fast-forward. A story and characters are woven in and out of dozens of lushly-produced songs from the Great American Songbook to produce a really fascinating and unique listening experience. It’s like an audio movie or an old-skool radio play, but one that zips headlong from plot point to plot point at a furious pace so that it never gets at all boring or bogged down. And, yes, Brent Spiner played Commander Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
DVD of the Month:
Andy Richter Controls the Universe: The Complete Series
In Andy Richter’s first failed sitcom, Andy Richter stars as Andy Richter, an office worker and writer whose imagination we get to see on the screen with hilarious results. The show is at its best when “dealing” with serious subjects like racism, like in my favorite episode about the “Black Irish.” The show has an unusual rhythm, which may be why it never found a larger audience, but once you get into that rhythm it really hooks you.
Categories: Music, Of the Month, TV.
