A Brit Bash Tops This Week's Pop Culture Picks

Culture Jamming: Balls Out 

A Brit Bash Tops This Week's Pop Culture Picks

1594_CultJamSecret.jpg

TOP PICK

The Secret Policeman's Balls

(Shout! Factory)

Since 1976, Amnesty International has hosted benefit concerts starring everyone from English funnymen Monty Python to English rocker Peter Gabriel. This three-DVD box gathers five shows from '76 through '89 featuring many stellar performances, including an unplugged Pete Townshend and a pre-House Hugh Laurie.

CD

Bee Gees: Odessa: Deluxe Edition

(Reprise)

Before they raised their voices and tightened their trousers for the disco explosion, the Bee Gees were a Beatlesque pop band that dabbled in folk and psychedelia. This extras-stuffed three-disc set celebrates the 40th anniversary of the group's most mindbending freak-out, which is loaded with baroque arrangements and flowery orches-tration. Wild!

CD

Pat Green: What I'm For

(BNA/Sony BMG)

Singer-songwriter Green's twangy ruminations on girlfriends, factory workers and long nights of drinking pack more hooks than almost anything else coming out of Nashville these days. Best: "Country Star," a name-dropping riff on Nickelback's bloated "Rockstar," complete with Big & Rich, Faith Hill and Carrie Underwood references.

BOOK

Saga of the Swamp Thing Book 1

(Vertigo)

Before he wrote the best comic book ever (Watchmen - duh), Alan Moore penned the almost-as-excellent Swamp Thing. This volume gathers the first eight issues in Moore's run. The leafy creature's stories combine com-plex characters, rich storytelling and a breakdown of comic convention - traits that Moore would explore and elevate even more in later works.

DVD

Brian Wilson: That Lucky Old Sun

(Capitol/EMI)

Wilson's gooey, cluttered concept album about California was way too gooey and cluttered. But this live performance practically redeems the whole mess. Watching the large group of musicians - string players, horn players, some guy who plays the triangle - put all the pieces together in a crammed Hollywood studio reveals plenty of music-making magic.

  • A Brit Bash Tops This Week's Pop Culture Picks

Latest in Music Feature

  • Ready for Showtime

    Local rapper Referee set to open inaugural Cleveland Ohio Music Awards
    • May 15, 2013
  • A Swing Thing

    • May 15, 2013
  • Always Bored, Never Boring

    Black Moth Super Rainbow's hourglass may be running dry, but the man behind the vocoder has plenty of ideas for the future
    • May 8, 2013
  • More »

More by Michael Gallucci

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this thread:

Add a comment

Most Commented On

  • Ready for Showtime

    Local rapper Referee set to open inaugural Cleveland Ohio Music Awards
    • May 15, 2013
  • Cleared for Take-off

    Hip-hop icon Krayzie Bone takes flight with up-and-coming Caine
    • May 1, 2013
  • More »

Most Shared Stories

Top Viewed Stories

From the Archives

Site Search

Facebook Activity

© 2013 Cleveland Scene: 1468 West Ninth Street, Suite 805, Cleveland, OH 44113, (216) 241-7550
Logos and trademarks on this site are property of their respective owners.


Website powered by Foundation