By Michael Houston
WATCH the Discovery Channel's "Planet Earth" every Sunday evening at 8 p.m. The show is in its third week and has already broadcast five hours of programming about the planet we live on, moving from "Pole to Pole" (the title of the first episode). The 11-part series will run through April 22 and has different features every week.
This Sunday, the first of two episodes, "Shallow Seas," will follow humpback whales and capture incredible storms out in the ocean. "Great Plains" is the seventh show in the series and will explore some of the vast expanses of our earth: grasslands.
Five years of production and filming were put into the series before it premiered two weeks ago. Unprecedented footage is the staple of show, including footage of Grizzly bears searching for moths to eat in the mountains, hunting dogs chasing their prey, and African elephants enduring sandstorms on their search for water.
LISTEN to the latest album from Bright Eyes when it comes out next Tuesday. The release comes after the EP "Four Winds," which was released March 6. The name of the album, "Cassadaga," refers to a small psychic town (every home in the town knows how to read your palm or tell your future through a crystal ball) in Florida that lead singer Conor Oberst visited. (Go to npr.org to find a complete interview with Oberst about traveling to Cassadaga.)
The album art continues the psychic theme on the cover, back and inside with one of the most creative designs on any recent album. Just think weegie board. Musically, the album ranks high in Bright Eyes' prolific career. The album has a strong folk influence, along with bits of country. The violin and banjo are used throughout the album.
Bright Eyes' lyrics are less about problems with suburbia (see: "Digital Ash, Digital Urn") and more about broader aspects of life. "One brick on top of another/Such is the measure of man" comes from "Coat Check Dream." Oberst questions the belief in God and the philosophies that permeate our culture.
PURCHASE the latest album from Modest Mouse, "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank." The new album has catchy songs that don't sound like their radio hit "Float On" off their 2004 album "Good News For People Who Love Bad News."
"We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank" maintains the sound of the band, even with the introduction of a new guitarist. Vocals from lead singer Issac Brock move from raspy and deep to a higher melodic style, as in previous albums.
Another album to think about checking out is from local band The Decemberists. Their newest CD "The Crane Wife" was released last October. While good, the album does not live up to their previous records (see: "Picaresque"). They no longer have their unique style that sounds strange and out of place at first, but soon grows on you. The songs are too structured and lead singer Chris Meloy has lost his characteristic whiny voice that usually sounds so great. Female singer Jenny Conlee does have larger vocal parts on the album and provides a refreshing addition with duets and solos.
