Top Picks: 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi,' Snowpoet's 'Thought You Knew'
Loading...
Snowpoet鈥檚 cool sheen
Snowpoet is the alluring vocalist Lauren Kinsella and her composing partner (and keyboard wizard) Chris Hyson. The critically acclaimed London-based duo is ably supplemented by sax, guitar, bass, drums, and strings on their sophomore release, . Their collective sound is contemporary with a Bj枚rk-like cool sheen, yet it鈥檚 warm and comforting. Snowpoet鈥檚 music is filed under jazz, but it has as much in common with Joni Mitchell as Diana Krall. Let鈥檚 just call it intriguing new music worth exploring.
Science guy
Go behind the scenes of beloved science educator Bill Nye鈥檚 life, from his first TV show to his latest experiments, with from PBS鈥檚 鈥淧OV.鈥� It鈥檚 available on Digital HD April 19 and on Blu-ray and DVD April 24. The program is packed with intense debate, 1990s nostalgia, and inspiration.聽
Story of 鈥楯edi鈥�
The latest installment in the 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� saga, , is available on DVD and Blu-ray. Jedi hopeful Rey (Daisy Ridley, pictured) is training with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), while Poe (Oscar Isaac) learns about leadership from Gen. Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) and Finn (John Boyega) sets off on a mission with mechanic Rose (Kelly Marie Tran), whom Monitor film critic Peter Rainer calls a 鈥渨elcome new addition.鈥澛�
Destination space
What鈥檚 the latest on humans exploring space? The NPR podcast Are We There Yet?, hosted by Brendan Byrne, looks at what鈥檚 next, from efforts to go to Mars to the questions surrounding traveling to deep space. A particularly interesting episode looked at how mission patches are created and those who love collecting them. Find the podcast at .
New decemberists sound
Indie rock group The Decemberists reaches past its roots toward modern synth-pop with its new album, . While the album has several stripped-down, up-tempo songs, a new sound doesn鈥檛 mean that lead singer/songwriter Colin Meloy鈥檚 folky, Southern Gothic-influenced lyric writing has left the building. Even with fewer familiar literati winks, the music feels grand, anthemic, and fresh for the ambitious band.聽
