This Week’s Best New Books, Movies And Music On iTunes

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picksoftheweek

Rather than slogging through a lake of reviews to find something you’re just going to put down after 10 minutes, Cult of Mac has once again waded through the iTunes store to compile a list of the best new albums, books and movies to come out this week.

We’ve some hard-rocking Flamenco (!), a love story that stars Siri, and a moving book about the Civil Rights Act.

Enjoy!

 

Rodrigo y Gabriela9 Dead Alive
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Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero had trouble launching their careers as heavy metal rockers in Mexico, so they turned to something more traditional: Flamenco. Your eardrums will be shocked how well the heavy guitar licks from metal translate into traditional Spanish folk music. No dueling guitar duo is more entertaining than Rodrigo y Gabriela, especially as they opt for a more minimalist production on their fifth studio album 9 Dead Alive, giving it the feeling of an intimate conversation between two virtuosos.

iTunes – $9.99

OughtMore Than Any Other Day
ought

Montreal-based Ought hit the music scene this week with their debut album, More Than Any Other Day, that is electrifying, endearing, and bubbling with thoughts on disaffection and dislocation. The band’s talkative brand of art-punk is full of anxious energy thanks to singer Tim Beeler’s lyrics that flip between panic and ecstasy over the band’s gritty grooves.

iTunes – $7.92

Damon Albarn – Everyday Robots
Damon-Albarn-Everyday-Robots

After serving as the frontman of Blur for 20 years, Damon Albarn has perfected the art of writing sad songs, so why should his first solo album be any different? Albarn combines dub-oriented elements with a dazed electronic ambience that’s rich in emotional depth. Albarn’s experimental rock simplicity provides the perfect notes of melancholy as he reflects on the album’s theme of isolation in the digital age.

iTunes – $14.99

Movies

Her

her_xlg

What happens when you fall in love with Siri? That’s pretty much the plot for Spike Jonze’s acclaimed film, Her, starring Joaquin Phoenix as a complex, soulful man who makes his living writing touching letters. Heartbroken after the end of long relationship, he is intrigued with an advanced new operating system called “Samantha” (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) to which he finds himself developing an unconventional love for.

iTunes – $19.99

Blue Ruin

blueruinposter

Blue Ruin follows Dwight, a gentle Southern drifter who embarks on a mission of vengeance once he learns of a convict’s release from prison. Extracting revenge proves more difficult than imagined, and Dwight finds himself on the run from an escalating cycle of bloodshed that threatens to consume him in this darkly entertaining indie thriller.

iTunes – $19.99

The Legend of Hercules

hercules

Hollywood loves making the same movie twice, so before you go watch Dwayne Johnson don the mantle of Ancient Greece’s most epic hero this summer in Hercules, you should catch Kellan Lutz in the titular role of The Legend of Hercules on iTunes to see who wins the title of most bad ass dude in a loincloth.

iTunes – $14.99

Books

Natchez Burning
by Greg Iles

natchezburning

Greg Iles returns with an explosive crime thriller set in his hometown of Natchez, Mississippi. The novel weaves the legacy of the Deep South’s disturbing racial violence of the 60’s, into the narrative of Penn Cage (the mayor of Natchez in 2005) and small-town doctor father who was accused of murdering a black nurse.

iTunes – $12.99

The Bill of the Century: The Epic Battle for the Civil Rights Act
by Clay Risen
billofthecentury

After being submitted to the racist bile of Donald Sterling and Cliven Bundy, we could all probably use a little reminder on the battles America has been through just to pass the Civil Rights act, as well as the obstacles still ahead, which is exactly what Clay Risen offers in his new book The Bill of the Century.

iTunes – $14.99

Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace
by Nikil Saval

cubed

Cubed reveals the unexplored yet surprising story of the places where most of the world’s work gets done. From open farm cubicle plans to The Office, Cubed gives readers the fascinating story of how the white-collar work world came to be the way it is, and what might lay ahead.

iTunes – $11.99

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