Ry Cooder's 'The Prodigal Son,' the iScanner app, and more top picks
Cooder goes gospel
Deep into a career now spanning more than five decades, musicologist/guitar virtuoso Ry Cooder can still surprise. The man who brought us the groundbreaking 鈥淧aris, Texas鈥� movie soundtrack and the barrier-destroying 鈥淏uena Vista Social Club鈥� self-titled album has now gone full gospel. On his latest, , Cooder combines his rediscovered love for sacred music with a pointed rebuke to those who he believes have defaced America鈥檚 honor and revered institutions. And for an artist whose gruff vocals have always defined his singular sound, his unaffected crooning on much of 鈥淭he Prodigal Son鈥� turns the medicine to sweet nectar.
Scan easily
Scanning documents can often be part of everyday transactions, but it鈥檚 difficult if you don鈥檛 have the proper equipment. With the , you can scan whatever you need to as well as add an e-signature. It鈥檚 free for iOS and Android.聽
Measure in love
During the celebration of acclaimed Broadway productions at the recent Tony Awards, drama students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, site of a mass shooting in February, took the stage and performed Seasons of Love from the musical 鈥淩ent.鈥� You can see the lovely segment at .
Animated discussion
The medium of animation has changed how we think about art. The podcast Drawn explores various aspects of animated movies and TV shows, including a recent episode about how they have depicted the future (think 鈥淭he Jetsons鈥�). Some clips on the show might not be suitable for the youngest listeners. You can find it at .
Strange environment
In , biologist Lena (Natalie Portman) signs up for a mission into a mysterious anomaly at a meteor crash site after her husband (Oscar Isaac) comes back from the same place badly hurt. Monitor film critic Peter Rainer particularly praises actress Gina Rodriguez鈥檚 performance as one of Lena鈥檚 comrades on the mission. 鈥淎nnihilation鈥� is available on DVD and Blu-ray.
