The fourth studio album from Cage the Elephant was produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. Most of the songs were recorded in one take, capturing the band’s raw and frenetic onstage energy. Coldplay — A Head Full of Dreams
Where Chris Martin spent Ghost Stories in a mournful mood — his sorrow perhaps derived from his divorce to Gwyneth Paltrow or perhaps not; it’s best not to read too much into the tabloid headlines — the Coldplay leader sees nothing but sunshine and stars on A Head Full of Dreams. Grimes — Art Angels
Grimes already defied easy classification on Visions, a collection of dreamy electronic collages that resembled pop just enough to make it one of 2012’s most acclaimed albums. When she returned three years later with Art Angels, her music was even more paradoxical; Claire Boucher’s fourth album is wilder, more ambitious, and — at least on the surface — more accessible than her breakthrough. John Williams — Star Wars: Force Awakens Score
The music that John Williams has created for the Star Wars franchise has become just as iconic as the films themselves. The Academy Award winner returns to a galaxy far, far away with another epic score. The Wiz: Music from the NBC Television Event
The groundbreaking Broadway show that brought a little funk to Oz comes to television in an all-star production that includes Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, David Alan Grier, Ne-Yo, Uzo Aduba, Amber Riley, and Common.
It’s hard to imagine now, in the relative comfort of our modern age, the devastation and poverty brought about by the Great Depression. The combination of a crashing economy and violent weather destroyed lives and businesses. People lost their livelihoods, their homes, their families – it was not unusual for parents to abandon or leave one or more children to other family members or orphanages. To live through this time would inevitably shape and influence a person for the rest of their lives. The Boys in the Boat brings this era and the people who lived it vividly to life.
The Boys in the Boatfocuses primarily on Joe Rantz, one of the boys who will become part of the team that goes to the Olympics. Dirt poor, abandoned by his family when he was a teen, he was representative of the make-up of this group of rowers. Scrapping for everything they had, they were unafraid of hard work and impossible challenges. Being part of the rowing team allowed Joe to attend the University of Washington but it also gave him a family – teammates, coaches, supporters – of like-minded, honest people and it opened up the world to him.
The rowing team comes together and coalesces over the four years leading up to the Olympics. They raise the previously dismissed Washington rowing team to a contender, beating their rivals at the University of California Berkeley and then the East Coast giants of the Ivy League to earn the right to represent the United States at the Olympics. Most of these boys had never been out of the state of Washington – some not outside of Seattle – before they began going to rowing competitions with the team and now they were headed to Europe. It was almost unimaginable.
When I read this book I was surprised by how much of a page turner it was – I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. The gritty details of living through the Great Depression made the story come alive and the story of the Berlin Olympics – so carefully planned (and rigged) by Hitler and the Nazis was eyeopening, an early warning sign (if it hadn’t been carefully hidden by the Nazis) of the horror to come.
Filled with amazing stories both humorous and heartbreaking, peopled with vivid, unforgettable characters and set against the backdrop of great historical events all seen through the lens of the sublimely beautiful sport of rowing, The Boys in the Boatis a must read. Highly recommended.
The Davenport Public Library will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 26 and 27 in observance of Thanksgiving. All of our locations will reopen on Saturday November 28 their regular business hours, 9am to 5:30pm.
I admit, after watching this movie, I do not know if anyone that was born after 1985 would enjoy this movie. Maybe they would if they like to play old arcade games when they come across one. But playing an arcade version of Pac Man at Happy Joes is nothing like going to an actual arcade and being surrounded by various games and players. But I digress.
If you do remember going to the arcade and playing games such as Donkey Kong you will find the movie Pixels enjoyable. No, it will not win any Oscars but it is a fun movie to watch. Starring Adam Sandler, Peter Dinklage, Kevin James and Josh Gad, this fearless foursome were the some of the top arcade game players back in the day. The movie opens in 1982 with Brenner and Eddie facing off for the championship. At the time, a time capsule is launched into space containing various things including video games.
Fast forward to the present year. Aliens attack a U.S. military base in Guam. The attack came from creatures that looked similarly to the old video game Galaga. Cooper is the current President of the United States and he calls his old friend Brenner for help. The aliens have sent messages to Earth. They received the time capusle from 1982 and they viewed it as a declaration of war. The aliens have sent video games in the form of pixels to attack Earth. In order to survive, Earth has to win three rounds of classic video game attacks. A second attack happens at the Taj Mahal in India before the U.S. is able to react.
Brenner and Ludlow train a group of soldiers to fight the video games. The key to defeating the game is knowing the pattern. When a third attack happens in London, the soldiers, Brenner and Ludlow fight off the alien video game version of Centipede. Even the soldiers tried, it is Brenner and Ludlow that save the day. The fourth game is in New York City and the game is Pac Man. In order to defeat this game, they are going to need four ghosts. This is where Peter Dinklage comes into the movie. The fourth ghost is played by Pac Man creator Toru Iwatani. Watching a giant Pac Man chomp down the streets of New York is a visual experience I never expected to see. Eventually Pac Man is defeated until the aliens send a message that one of the ghosts cheated.
The next attack is in Washington, D.C. And this time, it is not just one game. It is ALL the video game characters attacking Earth. For Earth to win, the game Donkey Kong has to be defeated. Even President Cooper joins the action and fights the aliens.
Before you watch Pixels, you should watch the documentary, The King of Kong: a Fistful of Quarters. Unemployed school teacher Steve Wiebe has a Donkey Kong, Jr arcade game. He spends a lot of time playing it. He looks up the high score for Donkey Kong, and thinks to himself that he can beat that score. So Steve Wiebe goes after Billy Mitchell’s high score for Donkey Kong. You may think that no movie about a Donkey Kong score could be interesting to watch. But you would be wrong. Apparently, those high scores still matter to a lot of people. It is an intense experience watching Wiebe go after the high score. I mention this documentary because you will quickly notice the similarities between these characters and the main characters in Pixels.
The Davenport Library will be closed on Wednesday November 11 in observance of Veteran’s Day. All of our locations will reopen on Thursday November 12 their regular business hours: Main and Eastern, 9am to 5:30pm and Fairmount noon to 8pm.
Monopoly. Everyone is familiar with the board game. The odd little tokens and the fight over who gets to be the racecar. Plastic green houses and plastic red hotels. The person that always insisted on being the banker. The seemingly endless trips around the board, passing “Go” and collecting $200. The agony of landing on Boardwalk when it had multiple hotels on it.
Surprisingly, the board game Monopoly has a long and interesting background. According to the manufacturers of the game, Parker Brothers, the Monopoly game was created by Charles Darrow. Parker Brothers even printed the story of how Charles Darrow had created the game Monopoly in 1935 in the instruction booklet for the game:
“In 1934, Charles B. Darrow of Germantown, Pennsylvania, presented a game called MONOPOLY to the executives of Parker Brothers. Mr. Darrow, like many other Americans, was unemployed at the time and often played this game to amuse himself and pass the time. It was the game’s exciting promise of fame and fortune that initially prompted Darrow to produce this game on his own. With help from a friend who was a printer, Darrow sold 5,000 sets of the MONOPOLY game to a Philadelphia department store. As the demand for the game grew, Darrow could not keep up with the orders and arranged for Parker Brothers to take over the game. Since 1935, when Parker Brothers acquired the rights to the game, it has become the leading proprietary game not only in the United States but throughout the Western World”.
However, this story of the creation of Monopoly is not true. The Monopoly game can be traced back to the early 1900s. In 1906, Lizzie Magie applied for a patent on a game that she invented called, The Landlord’s Game. Lizzie Magie was a follower of Henry George and she created the game in order to help explain George’s single tax theory. She played The Landlord’s Game with her friends, who in turn, copied the board so they would have their own copy of the game. Her friends played the game with other friends who copied the game and in turn, shared it with other friends. The game spread. In 1924, Lizzie Magie renewed her patent for The Landlord’s Game.
This audiobook goes into more detail about the origins of the Monopoly game and how it became the game we all recognize today. People might have always thought the game was created by Charles Darrow if it had not been for a lawsuit in 1973. Ralph Anspach, an economic professor, created a game that he called, Anti-Monopoly and he was sued by Parker Brothers. The truth of the origins of the Monopoly game were revealed during this time. A fascinating look at America during the turn of the century and through the Great Depression, corporate greed, and the discovery of the truth, this audiobook is one that you don’t want to miss!
Are you trying to write the next great American novel? Do you find yourself needing motivation to write?
If so then you will be happy to learn that November is National Novel Writing Month. Authors from all around the world are members of the National Novel Writing Month website. On this website, you can track your writing progress, get pep talks, talk to fellow authors on the forums, and meet other authors in your area. According to the website,
“National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing.
On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30.
Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel.”
If you want to challenge yourself to write 50,000 words during the month of November, then check out the National Novel Writing Month website:
With her fourth full-length album, Sara Bareilles offers up a taste of the music that she has created for an upcoming Broadway musical, which is based on the 2007 film. Included is the single She Used to Be Mine.
The highly anticipated album features Justin Bieber’s recent hit singles, What Do You Mean and Where Are U Now, and draws influence from an array of genres and collaborations. The iconic album chronicles Justin’s personal and artistic growth as he solidifies his place among the biggest stars of the time.
Along with serving as an aural complement to the acclaimed documentary about the late Nirvana lead singer, this collection allows a rare and unfiltered glimpse into Kurt Cobain’s creative progression.
Enya’s latest album is inspired by lyricist Roman Ryan’s work on a series of poetry books themed around islands, specifically the island of Sark’s decision to be designated as a dark sky island.
On his eleventh album, Kirk Franklin once again establishes himself as the frontrunner in Gospel music. The thirteen song project explores timely themes and classic sentiments, while offering renewed testimony to Franklin’s status as a Grammy-winning songwriter and producer.
Ellie Goulding’s bold and brilliant new album represents an almighty step change, shaping a new narrative for the next stage in this remarkable singer’s journey. It also includes the single On My Mind.
Atlantic recording artist CeeLo Green’s eagerly awaited new studio album which is the superstar’s first full-length release in nearly five years. Singer/songwriter, producer, performer, TV personality, fashion icon, entrepreneur, and so much more, CeeLo Green is among the most creative and unique artists of this or any era.
Four-time Grammy nominee Hunter Hayes releases a unique and special collection. Each disc on the three CD set includes seven songs, each one performed differently-acoustic, studio, and live. It gives fans a special look into his creative mind.
Tim McGraw — Damn Country Music
In a year that has seen him performing at the Academy Awards and named as one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, Tim McGraw releases a brand new album. Included is the new hit single Top of the World.
One of the world’s biggest pop bands returns with their highly anticipated fifth album, their first since the departure of Zayn Malik. The album features Drag Me Down, which has quickly become one of their biggest singles to date.
The latest album from Trans-Siberian Orchestra, the first since 2009’s Night Castle, is being released just as the band heads out for their highly anticipated Ghost of Christmas Eve winter tour.
5 Seconds of Summer release the highly anticipated follow-up to their chart-topping debut album, which has sold over three million copies worldwide. Included is the new single She’s Kinda Hot.
Two years after the release of Drinks After Work, country superstar Toby Keith is back with a brand new album. Along with the title track, it includes the hit single Drunk Americans.
Demi Lovato has no plans of cooling down as she swings into the fall season with her highly anticipated fifth studio album. The first single, Cool for the Summer, was an MTV VMA nominee for Song of the Summer.
Ten years after releasing The Christmas Sessions, MercyMe returns with a new holiday collection that features reinterpretations of classic Christmas songs as well as original songs. Pentatonix — Pentatonix
Grammy and Dove Award winner Chris Tomlin rings in the holiday season with a mix of festive Christmas classics and original songs. There are also special guest performances from All Sons & Daughters, Lauren Daigle, Kristyn Getty, and more.
Chris Tomlin — Adore: Christmas Sounds of Worship
Grammy and Dove Award winner Chris Tomlin rings in the holiday season with a mix of festive Christmas classics and original songs. There are also special guest performances from All Sons & Daughters, Lauren Daigle, Kristyn Getty, and more.
Country superstar Carrie Underwood is back with her fifth album, her first since 2012’s chart-topping Blown Away. It includes her latest hit single Smoke Break.
The X-Files is coming back to television on January 24, 2016! And October is the perfect month to re-watch the original series. Why? Because the show is creepy. The perfect amount of creepiness to put you in the mood for Halloween. If you never watched The X-Files, you may mistakenly believe that the show is only about aliens and UFOs. While there are a lot of episodes that involve aliens, there are plenty of other episodes about creatures that go bump in the night. If you enjoyed shows such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents and the Twilight Show, you will enjoy watching The X-Files.
The show began airing in 1993 and it was on television for nine seasons for a total of 202 episodes. The show is centered on a pair of FBI Special Agents, Fox Mulder and Dr. Dana Scully. There are many times that it comes in handy that Scully is a medical doctor. Along with keeping you healthy, she can perform autopsies. Mulder is a talented profiler, but he was drawn to the X-files because of his strong belief in the supernatural. As the series progresses, we learn that Mulder’s younger sister was abducted by aliens when they were children. But as mentioned earlier, the show is not entirely based on aliens. Agents Mulder and Scully investigate all sorts of different creatures such mutants, vampires, werewolves, and people with genetic abnormalities and psychic abilities. A theme of the show is that the United States government is aware of a lot of the creatures and people that Mulder and Scully investigate. Even after witnessing strange phenomenon first hand, Agents Mulder and Scully often find themselves being shut down by “someone” higher up in the government. The thought that the government may be keeping secrets about strange life forms is an unsettling part of the show.
If you do not want to watch all 202 episodes of The X-Files, here is a list of the episodes you must watch before the new episodes air on January 24, 2016.
Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files, recommends that you watch:
1. “Pilot” (Season 1, Episode 1)
The one that introduced Mulder, Scully, their defining characteristics, their relationship, their world.
2. “Deep Throat” (Season 1, Episode 2)
This episode introduces the idea of a government conspiracy/cover-up of extra-terrestrial activity and a mysterious informant, code named Deep Throat
3. “Beyond the Sea” (Season 1, Episode 13)
The episode that sees Scully become the believer after the death of her father overlaps with the case of an allegedly psychic serial killer
4. “The Erlenmeyer Flask” (Season 1, Episode 24)
There’s a shocking death, and from this point forward, the conspiracy storyline becomes the driving narrative of the show
5. “The Host” (Season 2, Episode 2)
There’s something sinister lurking in the sewers in this classic monster-of-the-week episode
6. “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose” (Season 3, Episode 4)
In one of the greatest X-Files episodes ever, Peter Boyle guest stars as a morbid psychic.
7. “Memento Mori” (Season 4, Episode 14)
Though it features the usual alien rhetoric, this episode is best remembered as the one in which Scully learns she has cancer.
8. “Post-Modern Prometheus” (Season 5, Episode 5)
A Frankenstein-inspired tale about a lovelorn monster. It’s notable for its beautiful black-and-white cinematography.
9. “Bad Blood” (Season 5, Episode 12)
The signature episode from a young Vince Gilligan, Mulder and Scully investigate a vampire case told in flashback from Mulder and Scully’s POV.
10. “Milargo” (Season 6, Episode 18)
A favorite of the X-Files writing staff, Mulder and Scully contend with an author whose gruesome fiction becomes reality.
Top Ten (written by) Vince Gilligan Episodes: (fan favorites)
1. “Bad Blood” (Season 5, Episode 12)
Mulder and Scully investigate vampires from two very different POVs.
2. “Drive” (Season 6, Episode 2)
A man has a terrible headache and forces Mulder to drive him at high speeds.
3. “Pusher” (Season 3, Episode 17)
A man with psychic abilities is able to make things happen just by saying it aloud.
4. “Folie a Deaux” (Season 5, Episode 19)
A man claims his boss is a giant cockroach.
5. “Small Potatoes” (Season 4, Episode 20)
A man with a tail can morph into other men.
6. “X-Cops” (Season 7, Episode 12)
That’s right. It’s the show Cops starring Mulder and Scully.
7. “Unruhe” (Season 4, Episode 4)
A killer lobotomizes women with an ice pick, but their images show up at a photo booth surrounded by ghosts.
The library has the DVD sets of The X-Files as well as the film adaptations. There are also books and graphic novels about TheX-Files at the library. Check them out today.
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Cage the Elephant — Tell Me I’m Pretty
Coldplay — A Head Full of Dreams
Grimes — Art Angels
John Williams — Star Wars: Force Awakens Score
The Wiz: Music from the NBC Television Event
Ryan Adams — 
Toby Keith — 
Demi Lovato —
MercyMe —
Pentatonix —
