This story first appeared in Cult of Mac Magazine.
Rather than slogging through a lake of reviews to find something you’re just going to put down after 30 minutes, Cult of Mac has once again waded through the iTunes store to compile a list of the best new movies, albums and books to come out this week.
Enjoy!
Best Albums:
Grizzly Bear – “Shields: B-Sides”
Usually when a band pushes out a special-edition LP for a record you could swear just came out like not even a year ago, the first impulse is to hide your wallet from the money grab. Grizzly Bear’s “Shield’s: B-Sides” defies that conception, though, with a thoughtful album that visits some unreleased tracks that were recorded after Grizzly Bear took its first short hiatus.
“Shields: B-Sides” is the product of the band reconvening in Marfa, Texas for a brief and discouraging recording session after that time out. Of the 20 demos the band worked on during the session, not a single track made it on their last record. “Shields: B-Sides” is a collection of these unheard tracks that offer much more than just scraps of the band’s future sounds.
Zedd – “iTunes Session EP”
This German electronic dance music producer built buzz on the strength of his DJ skills and high-energy remixes – for everyone from Lady GaGa and The Black Eyed Peas to Skrillex and Swedish House Mafia. Zedd’s debut album, “Clarity,” begins with a ticking clock that’s joined by a gentle melody and female vocalist LiZ – but don’t let the tranquil opening of “Hourglass” fool you. Midway through the track, it explodes into a house-infected, pulsating heater that segues into the staccato, Baltimore club music influenced “Shave It Up.”
Paramore vocalist Hayley Williams injects some falsetto into the synth-dappled “Stay the Night,” while “Clarity” welcomes Foxes and Matthew Koma into the fold for a workout. Just when you’ve been stirred up, Zedd promises to “Set Fire To The Rain” with a shimmering appearance by Miriam Bryant.
Justin Bieber – Singles with PYD ft. R. Kelly
Justin Bieber has released a new track every week for his Music Mondays project and by now the young popstar has already produced enough extras to add ’em up into an EP. The latest release from Music Monday is “PYD” featuring R. Kelly that goes on and on about how much The Beibz wants to “put you down” somewhere, anywhere, and start getting romantic.
In the end, though, this week just really wasn’t that great for new music and it was either this or Daughtry’s new album, which evil would you rather choose? The new set of songs from Beiber mark a maturation to his sound with singles like “Bad Day” and “Recovery.” If you’re not down with the R. Kelly vibes, you can also try “Hold Tight,” “All That Matters,” or “Heartbreaker” to get your Beiber fix, all of which only cost $1.29 each.
iTunes – $1.29 each
Best Movies:
“Fast & The Furious 6”
Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson and Michelle Rodriguez lead a cast of returning all-stars as the global blockbuster franchise built on speed delivers the biggest adrenaline rush yet in this explosive extended version. The Mountainous Good Guy, Hobbs (Johnson) has been tracking an organization of lethally skilled drivers, whose mastermind, is aided by the love of Dom (Diesel) thought dead, Letty.
The only way to stop the criminal mercenaries from stealing a top secret weapon is to outmatch them at street level with ridiculously fast cars doing even more ridiculous stunts, so Hobbs recruits Dom and his merry band of elite drivers to take down the bad guys in exchange for a full pardon on all previous crimes.
“Wolverine – Extended Cut”
If the haunting new “X:Men: Days of Future Past” trailer got you worked up into a froth of excitement, here’s something to take the edge off for the weekend. The first stand-alone “Wolverine” movie landed with a thud, but that didn’t stop Hugh Jackman from reprising his role in this self-titled movie that packs a lot more action and better plot than the first film, thanks to a pared-down cast of mutants.
Wolverine faces his ultimate nemesis in an action packed life-or-death battle that takes Logan to modern day Japan. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, Logan confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality, in an epic fight that will leave him changed forever.
iTunes – $19.99
“More Than Honey”
Over the past 15 years, numerous colonies of bees have been decimated throughout the world, but the causes of this disaster remain unknown. This compelling documentary from Markus Imhoof, Oscar-nominated director of “The Boat is Full,” investigates the phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder and the causes posited by scientists to explain what is responsible for the weakening of the bees’ immune defenses. The dwindling bee population threatens the worldwide produce industry, because without bees, there is no pollination, and fruits and vegetables could disappear from the face of the Earth.
iTunes – $12.99
Best Books:
“Comic Genius”
by Matt Hoyle
Celebrity photographer Matt Hoyle clearly gets much joy from his work. Bright, bubbly, and sweetly off-kilter, his 125 portraits of comedy’s biggest names expertly capture their outsized personalities. Hoyle has clearly made his subjects – everyone from John Cleese, Carl Reiner, and Carol Burnett to Kristen Wiig, Andy Samberg, and Tracy Morgan – feel comfortable.
A stunning photo of Arrested Development’s Jeffrey Tambor hints at a deep melancholy and Lily Tomlin’s infectious, childlike wonderment shines through. Hoyle gets that it’s these hidden reserves that make his subjects funny. Peppered with laugh-out-loud observations about comedy and featuring concise biographies of all the participants, “Comic Genius” is a book to reach for on a cloudy day.
“Dog Fight: How Apple and Google Went to War and Started a Revolution”
by Fred Vogelstein
Whether you’ve been cheering for iOS or Android to come out on top, there’s no denying that the thermonuclear war between Apple and Google the last few years has been a tech giant battle for the ages. To put all the chaos into focus, Fred Vogelstein seeks to uncover the truth behind the rivalry in his new book “Dogfight: How Apple and Google Went to War and Started a Revolution.”
Vogelstein has been on the front lines of reporting on this dynamic duke-out for over 10 years. In “Dogfight,” he takes us into the offices and board rooms where company dogma translates into ruthless business; behind outsize personalities like Steve Jobs, Apple’s now-lionized CEO, and Eric Schmidt, Google’s executive chairman; and inside the deals, lawsuits, and allegations that mold the way we communicate. Apple and Google are poaching each other’s employees. They bid up the price of each other’s acquisitions for spite, and they forge alliances with major players like Facebook and Microsoft in pursuit of market dominance.
“Let Me Off At The Top: My Classy Life and Other Musings”
by Ron Burgundy
Ron Burgundy is known to all as the lead anchorman of San Diego’s award-winning Action 4 News Team and anchor of the first 24-hours news channel, GNN (Global News Network), but few can claim to know the real man behind the mustache. In this book, he shares never-before-told stories of his childhood and the events that led him to choose a career in the news business. He will offer a rare glimpse behind the camera into the real life of a man many consider to be our greatest living news anchor.
