Category: Article

Dull and dry is never a problem with David Attenborough. The BBC’s grandfatherly grandmaster, perhaps the world’s premier practitioner of pop-science storytelling, has a knack for making you feel the same joy of discovery that he so obviously does. His latest series is a 10-part companion piece to his stunning 1998 Life of Birds that takes him from New Zealand to the Arctic Circle to survey the furry creatures of the world. It’s full of arresting images—an orangutan paddles a canoe, an elephant swims, a grizzly snaps its jaws on a salmon while Attenborough calmly narrates from only a few feet away. His childlike joy at seeing a blue whale surface just yards from his boat is charming and utterly infectious. He doesn’t shy from the stark reminder of violence in the animal world—his 1990 Trials of Life infamously showed killer whales not merely hunting seals, but casually toying with them before the decisive strike. But with his gentle British lilt and creative presentation—and backed by the Beeb’s crack crew of wildlife cameramen—he makes it a pleasure to use your brain. Plus, there’s otters. Who doesn’t like cute, furry otters?

It strikes us as a teensy bit redundant to shell out for multi-DVD sets of two TV sitcoms that are still on the air in reruns all over the place. Still, the wise man plans ahead for the future, storing up treasures for the lean times yet to come. We’re especially partial to the first year of Cheers for the presence of Diane and Coach (the show just wasn’t as good without them) and occasional guest-star Harry Anderson, in the sneaky con-man persona he was known for before Night Court turned him forgettable and vanilla.

We’ve been reading occasional snipes against the White Stripes that suggest a backlash against their meteoric rise. If so, that’s ridiculous. Never mind their media oversaturation, the opening dates for the Rolling Stones, Jack White’s new career as a Hollywood actor. Look past the red/white color scheme that just happens to be an effective branding method to make their product stand out in the marketplace, and the weird revelation that Jack and Meg White are divorced spouses and not brother and sister like they claimed, which always struck our suspicious minds as clever biographical manipulation with press coverage and mythmaking in mind. The only important thing is the music, and Elephant is as heavy as its name. Recorded in two weeks entirely on vintage pre-1963 equipment, their fourth disc mines more gold from the blues-punk vein the Whites work so successfully. Their approach, combining deep affinity for old blues with an all-out rawk attack of Pixies sneer and Stonesy swagger, isn’t as original as their proponents like to claim—Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s been living in this house for years. But with a record this potent we’re not going to quibble, we’re just going to turn up the stereo.

Whatever she does, it matters—right? Easy to forget that the ersatz Material Girl skillfully retooled her whole M.O. back in 1998, suddenly creating “serious music” in connection with William Orbit, right about the time she discovered yoga and Pilates. Ray of Light was actually a critical success, and 2000’s Music also had its fans among the mostly unreadable and spineless cognoscenti. We always thought the offerings were as thin on disk as they were on the runway, but hey, she’s an American Icon (uh, living presently with her British husband in the British Isles), and everything truly American always must have a hollow ring to it. We may sit this one out. We haven’t decided.

On her three previous, criminally underheard records, Amy Rigby won our hearts with her tuneful, world-weary wit, mapping out the emotional landscape of the mid-30s woman who feels wiser with age just as the world’s become more confusing with time. There’s nothing here as transcendent as “Sleeping With the Moon” or funny as “Cynically Yours,” the two best songs from 2000’s The Sugar Tree. But “Are We Ever Gonna Have Sex Again?” has Rigby’s best blend of bawdiness and disappointed realism. And she approaches a perfect merging of sentimentality and cynicism—one of her strongest songwriting skills—on the fragile 9/11 lament “Don’t Ever Change,” with its desperate yet optimistic line “I’m holding on to everything that’s good in this world; there’s a lot that’s good in this world.” Rigby plays the 400 Bar May 16. 400 Bar, 400 Cedar Ave., (612) 332-2903, 400bar.com

We will never forgive them for that maudlin “Under the Bridge” song—one of the most heinous pieces of unfiltered pap to hit saturation rotation in the past 20 years. But we know you love them. After all, you made Californication one of the bestselling records in their whole storied career. For now they’ll stay on provisional status, if for no other reason than the perennial homage to George Clinton and Funkadelic that is their road show. Bring out the adult-sized diapers, and let’s rock. Xcel, (651) 265-4800, xcelenergycenter.com

That decision to drop out of divinity school looks like the right one. As far as record sales go, Kurt Elling has yet to crack the Billboard Jazz Top 10. Nevertheless, he’s widely considered one of the hottest things going in male jazz vocalists, and with five Grammy nominations on five CDs, he must be doing something right. The Gustavus alum has a pleasing baritone and a fine sense of tonal control, and his instincts are spot-on. He’s accomplished at the slow burn of a romantic ballad, and can switch gears in an instant to pop into one of his self-described improvisational “rants.” His savvy sense of experimentation helped make his reputation, yet his love for the classics is self-evident—as is his appreciation for Frank Sinatra, whose voice and phrasings he mimics with proficiency. Dakota, Bandana Square, St. Paul, (651) 642-1442, www.dakotacooks.com

Lyrically and vocally reminiscent of an acerbic but less rough-edged Lou Reed, Suzanne Vega first made her mark in the mid-80s among the Edie Brickell/Natalie Merchant crowd of earnest female folk-rockers. Even in her mawkish breakout hit, the anti-child abuse ode “Luka,” she had an almost hidden steely edge that set her apart from her peers. An unlikely techno adaptation of her “Tom’s Diner” became a surprise hit, leading to edgier production on her 1990s albums—a couple of interesting singles resulted, including the buzzily paranoid “Blood Makes Noise,” but often her writing style was too intimate for the clanky signature sound of producer (and husband) Mitchell Froom. Their bitter divorce led to the deceptively still, emotionally turbulent Songs of Red and Gray, her strongest album in years. Last year she executive-produced Vigil, a compilation of Greenwich Village songwriters dealing with 9/11. Her current tour’s in support of the new best-of set Retrospective.

Sometimes great artists move from New York to Minneapolis—no kidding! Stuart Pimsler relocated his company here in 1999, and now he opens his 25th season with this exciting trio of pieces; Rooms of Disquiet, Islands, and Total Surrender. If this performance stacks up to SPDT’s platinum reputation, it will be as moving as it is funny, as personal as it is political. Southern, 1420 Washington Ave. S., (612) 340-1725, southerntheater.org, www.innerart.com/SPDT

Man, we’re getting old. It seems like just yesterday that Art-a-Whirl was the fresh-faced l’il whippersnapper of a neighborhood arts festival, a new hip event in a rather stodgy part of town that nobody was really sure would see a second year. Now, in year eight, it’s well past the point of becoming an expected (and most welcome) annual tradition, especially for those of us who live in the area. Lotsa open studios, lotsa gawkin’ at art, lotsa kids’ events and bands. Several artists will give live demonstrations of their disciplines all weekend long, the coolest of which is a tie between Tyler St. Studios’ aluminum pour (noon-4 pm Saturday only) and the Island Glass folks’ glass-blowing demos—they’ll even let the kids try it. There are more than 300 artists in this year’s show, which fans out for miles across Northeast. You can pick up brochures listing individual studios at kiosks all over the neighborhood or at the fest’s website. Our recommendation is to start over at the Northrup King building, 1500 Jackson St.—the three-story warehouse space has by far the highest concentration of studios at a single location. (612) 788-1679, art-a-whirl.org