海角大神

Sweet and low

It鈥檚 hard to imagine a more perfect realization of an artist鈥檚 sound and vision than Vermont singer/songwriter . Buoyed by some of New England鈥檚 finest acoustic musicians, Canty鈥檚 12 original songs sound as natural as breathing, with nary a false note in execution or production. The album鈥檚 first single, 鈥淕et Up,鈥� is only one of the myriad delights to be discovered here.聽

History lessons

Dan Carlin鈥檚 podcast takes a deeply researched yet colloquial dive into moments of great conflict. Most recently, he released five episodes on World War I, which earned him iTunes鈥� award for best classic podcast of 2014. These chatty, fascinating walks through history are available free of charge on iTunes and DanCarlin.com.

Upbeat in the burbs

Picture a garage somewhere in Ohio filled with a quartet of freckle-faced Opies wielding crunchy electric guitars and pounding drums, singing at the top of their boyish, keening voices about all things suburban and confusing. You鈥檝e conjured up The Sidekicks, and their new album, , is an open-hearted, cinematic, indie rock joyride.

Urban maestros

Amid Amazon鈥檚 latest original content releases sits , an edgy, funny look at the unlikely family of musicians that make up the New York Philharmonic. A young Latin American conductor, Rodrigo (Gael Garc铆a Bernal), has arrived to replace the veteran maestro, Thomas (Malcolm McDowell). It swings between the wildly absurd and creatively inspired, with doses of adult content, as a revered classical culture is offset by contemporary themes. It鈥檚 available at amazon.com.聽聽

British bake-off

While waiting for Season 5 of 鈥�Downton Abbey鈥� to get under way we鈥檝e gotten hooked on , a 10-week baking competition between lovable and quirky amateur bakers. Inside a tent pitched on the lawn of a British manor, contestants work on progressively more difficult pastries, pies, and cakes. Each week someone gets sent home. It airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on PBS through March 1. Visit PBS.org/food for previous episodes and featured recipes.