TV -- Austin City Limits: The Dixie Chicks had a stellar 2006. They released their best album, they became hipster-anointed causes célèbres, and a documentary about their battle with country radio was a critical hit. They have more integrity and bigger cojones than most men making records today. This homecoming concert (airing at 9 p.m. Saturday on PBS) recaps their year with a terrific set spotlighting Taking the Long Way.
TV -- Boulevard of Broken Dreams: Think of E!'s newest series as The E! True Hollywood Story without the happy endings. The lives and deaths of C-list celebs like Mitch Hedberg, Chris Penn, and Tara Correa-McMullen (a Judging Amy cast member who was killed in a drive-by) are recounted by friends, families, and fellow C-list celebs. It premieres at 10:30 p.m. Monday.
BOOK -- Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity: You think David Lynch's movies are fucked up? Wait till you read his book -- a stream-of-consciousness guide that includes musings on everything from the iPod to O.J. Simpson. One-sentence chapters, surreal sidetracks, and a rumination on Blue Velvet's severed ear put you inside Lynch's head. It's a fascinatingly bizarre place to be.
DVD -- Doctor Who: The Complete Second Series: The sophomore season of BBC's new sci-fi series is all about the monsters . . . and the smokin'-hot assistant. Standbys like the Werewolf and the robotic Cybermen are cool, but Cassandra (a piece of skin that possesses people) is as weirdly original as they come. All 15 episodes and four hours of outtakes, deleted scenes, and documentaries round out this nerd-approved set.
BOOK -- Guitar Man: A Six-String Odyssey, or, You Love That Guitar More Than You Love Me: London writer Will Hodgkinson writes about music for a living. When he turned 34, he wanted to see how the other half lived. So he picked up a guitar for the first time. This entertaining read chronicles his adventures with the axe. He learns a couple riffs from former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, hangs out with Sufjan Stevens, and searches for the spirit of bluesman Robert Johnson.
COURTESY FLUSH, PLEASE -- Broken Bridges: Unlikable country singer Toby Keith plays an unlikable country singer named Bo Price in this laughable movie (now out on DVD) about a washed-up star who goes home to hook up with his high school sweetheart and hang out with the 16-year-old daughter he never knew. Let's play Count the Clichés.
