Top Picks: 'Frank Sinatra: A Voice On Air (1935-1955),' the movie 'Winter Sleep,' and more
Hello again, Adele
After attaining ubiquity with her bestselling album 鈥�21鈥� as well as her powerhouse vocals for the James Bond song 鈥淪kyfall,鈥� Adele releasing a new project is a pop culture event. And her new album, , doesn鈥檛 disappoint, from the lead single 鈥淗ello鈥� to the soaring track 鈥淪weetest Devotion.鈥� Yes, the songs on 鈥�25鈥� are going to be impossible to avoid, but for good reason.
Ol鈥� Blue Eyes
Dec. 12 marks the 100th birthday of the late Frank Sinatra. Along with other tributes (CBS airs 鈥淪inatra 100 鈥� An All-Star Grammy Concert鈥� Dec. 6 at 9 p.m.) comes from Sony Legacy. This four-CD deluxe box set culled from the archives of rare radio broadcasts includes songs that the master of timing and swoon never recorded, such as Cole Porter鈥檚 鈥淒on鈥檛 Fence Me In,鈥� Frank Loesser鈥檚 鈥淚 Wish I Didn鈥檛 Love You So,鈥� and Jerome Kern and Ira Gershwin鈥檚 鈥淟ong Ago and Far Away.鈥� 聽
Express your mood
From upbeat to down tempo, the music we listen to is often intimately tied to our mood. The music journaling application helps users create their own melodies to convey complex emotions that may be difficult to express in words, particularly for teens. Choose from six different moods from 鈥減layful鈥� to 鈥渟truggling,鈥� then drop a series of virtual 鈥渟tones鈥� into an animated flowing river on the app鈥檚 screen to create chords in an instrumental loop that says it all. It鈥檚 free and available at Apple鈥檚 App Store.聽聽
Movie shortlist
Looking for a flick for the cinephile on your holiday list? is a surefire winner, earning an 鈥楢鈥� from the Monitor鈥檚 film critic. The film stars Haluk Bilginer and Melisa S枚zen (in peerless performances) as a landlord and his wife living in central Turkey. The film is more than three hours, but the extra-long running time is perfect for a cold winter afternoon. 鈥淲inter Sleep鈥� is available on DVD and Blu-ray.
Big-screen Nutcracker
Experience world-class ballet at the movie theater with the New York City Ballet鈥檚 production of the beloved holiday story . The show, which tells the story of a young girl, Clara, who encounters a magical nutcracker, will be screened at various movie theaters through Fathom Events on Dec. 10. Check out www.fathomevents.com to see if the holiday classic will be at a theater near you.
