Written by Jon Williams
It all began
in 1900. That year saw the publication of The
Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a novel intended as a fairy tale for children.
Little did he know then that it would in fact capture the imaginations of
adults and children alike, keeping the Land of Oz and its inhabitants and
visitors alive and growing well over a century later.
Baum himself
was able to capitalize on the success of the novel. Although he did not
originally intend for a series, he wrote the first sequel in 1904. He hoped The
Marvelous Land of Oz would quell the clamour; it did not. When he wrote The
Emerald City of Oz in 1911 (the fifth sequel), he tried to cry off by
claiming that he had lost his ties to Oz and therefore could no longer learn
the stories from there. That didn’t work either. He followed it with The
Patchwork Girl of Oz in 1913, and continued to publish a new Oz story each
year after that.
Baum passed
away in 1919, but as we all know, the story didn’t end there. The movie
adaptation produced in 1939 has come to be even more famous than the novel
that spawned it. Its bold use of new Technicolor technology brought to stunning
life Baum’s fantastic world of Yellow Brick Roads and an Emerald City; paired
with Judy Garland’s singing and performance as Dorothy, it remains a wonder to
behold. The film was so beloved that it inspired adaptations of its own, such
as 1978’s The
Wiz, starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, and 2005’s whimsical
version starring the
Muppets. And in 1985, there was a sequel called Return
to Oz that mined some of Baum’s further adventures, and has since
become a cult hit.
Even now, Oz
maintains its grip on the imaginations of a new generation of writers and
filmmakers who continue to tell stories of the magical realm. Witness the
popularity of Gregory Maguire’s 2005 novel Wicked,
which explored the origins and motivations of the Wicked Witch of the West, the
antagonist of Baum’s novel. That itself spun off into three sequel novels and a
wildly popular Broadway
show.
The high
level of interest in all things Wicked
is one factor in the recent Oz revival that has continued to expand the story
of the land and characters created by L. Frank Baum at the dawn of the 20th
century. Last year’s box-office hit Oz
the Great and Powerful tells the tale of how the Wizard himself, played
by James Franco, came to the Land of Oz. This year, the animated film Legends
of Oz: Dorothy’s Return brought the tale forward from Dorothy’s original
visit to the Wizard, bringing her back to face a new threat to the Emerald
City. And a recent novel from Danielle Paige, Dorothy
Must Die, plays with a similar theme: that Dorothy has become a
malevolent ruler over Oz, and must herself be defeated.
Needless to
say, Oz devotees will find no shortage of titles to hold their attention. Search
on our website to find more, and help transport your patrons over the rainbow.
Written by Jon Williams
In case you’ve
missed it—and I’m not sure that’s possible—musical comedian Weird Al Yankovic
has been absolutely killing it over the past week since the release of his
latest album, Mandatory
Fun. To promote it, he released eight music videos in eight days via
various pop-culture-centric websites, beginning with last Monday’s “Tacky” (a
parody of the Pharrell hit “Happy”) and finishing off with today’s
corporate-buzzword-skewering “Mission Statement” (not a straight parody, but
heavily influenced by Crosby, Stills and Nash’s “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”).
In between
those videos were the grammar lovers’ dream “Word Crimes” (from Robin Thicke’s “Blurred
Lines”), the twisted ode to aluminum “Foil” (from Lorde’s “Royals”), the contractor’s
commercial “Handy” (from Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy”), the honest college fight song “Sports
Song,” a lamentation of “First World Problems,” and a name-dropping “Lame Claim
to Fame.” All eight songs, plus four others (including the staple polka medley),
can be found on the new album. (You can view all these videos at weirdal.com if you missed any of them.)
Yankovic’s
career start came courtesy of the Dr.
Demento radio show, which played his Knack parody “My Balogna” and then had
Al on as a guest to record “Another One Rides the Bus” in 1980. Both songs
appeared on his self-titled debut
album, released in 1983. His real break came with his second album, Weird
Al Yankovic in 3D, which featured “Eat It,” a parody of the
skyrocketing Michael Jackson. Pairing his sharp-witted lyrical stylings with
clever music videos gave him a leg up in MTV’s ‘80s heyday, as did support from
Jackson, whom Weird Al parodied again with 1988’s “Fat” (on the album Even
Worse, both a play on MJ’s Bad).
In a career
that now spans more than thirty years, Yankovic has had to evolve, as he did
with 1992’s Off
the Deep End, with both the lead single (“Smells Like Nirvana”) and the
album cover playing on Nirvana and the breakout of grunge music. He gave the
songs on that album more of a satirical edge, which has carried through to his
music today. Mandatory Fun is Al’s
fourteenth album…and probably his last, although he’s not retiring. With the
prominence of video sharing sites like YouTube and the rise of digital music,
he plans to do future distribution via those means, so as to be more even timelier
with his work.
And that’s
not all from the world of Weird Al. Yesterday also marked the 25th anniversary
of his film UHF, in which his
character takes over a defunct TV station and creates zany programming that
makes it wildly popular. Although neither the film nor its soundtrack is
currently available, Al said in a recent Newsweek interview that there are
commemoration plans he’s “not at liberty to talk about right now” for later in
the year. Will it be a Blu-ray release? Maybe a sequel announcement? We’ll just
have to wait and see.
In the
meantime, Weird Al’s popularity has risen to all-time heights—there’s a good
chance Mandatory Fun will top
Billboard’s chart this week, which would be a first in Al’s career, his
previous best being 2011’s Alpocalypse,
which made it to #9. So make sure you have the new album on your shelf, and
SmartBrowse ‘Weird Al Yankovic’ on our website for even more by this hilarious
(and Grammy-winning!) artist.
Written by Jon Williams
Last week,
country music superstar Garth Brooks held a press conference in Nashville to
announce his return to the music scene following thirteen years of semi-retirement.
Although he was vague on details at the time, news came down yesterday that his
upcoming world tour will kick off in Chicago on September 4. And that’s not all—there
is new music in the offing as well. A new single from the hitmaker is expected
within the next two months, with a full album of new material coming in
November. Given the amount of material compiled during his time off, Brooks
says it may turn out to be a double album.
His road to
becoming a music legend began when he burst onto the scene with his self-titled
debut album in 1989. Garth
Brooks contained the hits “Much Too Young” and “If Tomorrow Never
Comes,” which became his first #1 single. The album closed with a little ballad
called “The Dance,” one of his best-loved songs and Brooks’s personal favourite
from his own catalog—although he promises a track on the upcoming album that
rivals it for that distinction.
He continued
his breakthrough by following his debut up quickly with No Fences (currently unavailable) in 1990. With smashes like “The
Thunder Rolls” and “Friends in Low Places,” it is his bestselling album to
date. Honours for second best go to 1991’s Ropin’
the Wind, which made history by debuting atop the pop charts, the first
time a country album had achieved this feat. The album’s pop credentials were
boosted by a cover of Billy Joel’s “Shameless.”
By this
point, Brooks was bona fide country sensation, and the rest of the ‘90s was
spent consolidating his position with hit singles and strong albums. The
anthemic “We Shall Be Free” propelled The
Chase in 1992, while “Standing Outside the Fire” and “The Red Strokes
did the same for 1993’s In
Pieces. He followed that with Fresh
Horses (containing “The Beaches of Cheyenne”) in 1995 and his seventh
album, Sevens,
in 1997.
In 1999,
Brooks, who despite being firmly rooted in country music was influenced in his
youth by a number of rock acts, attempted an ill-fated side trip into the mainstream
pop world. For a movie project in which he would play a rock star, he released
the album In the Life of Chris Gaines
(unavailable). Because it came out before the movie, there was some confusion
as to exactly what Brooks was doing; although the album went multiplatinum and
placed a single (“Lost in You”) at #5 on the pop charts, it was deemed a
failure, and the project was shelved, with the movie never being filmed.
Following
this “fiasco,” Brooks announced his retirement from recording and touring in
2000. One final album, Scarecrow,
was released in 2001. And that has been it…until now. With the news that Garth is
getting back in the saddle, though, his music is sure to be in demand. Be sure
you have all these classic albums on your shelves, and rest assured that we’ll
bring you the information on his forthcoming release as soon as it becomes
available.
Written by Jon Williams
The
legendary disc jockey passed away over the weekend at the age of 82. Most
remember him as the longtime host of the American
Top 40 radio program that counted down the most popular pop and rock radio
hits each week. Kasem co-created the show in 1970 and hosted it through 1988,
then returned in 1998 and remained as host until passing those duties on to
Ryan Seacrest, who continues in that role today. In addition to the best and
most popular songs, the show became known for music trivia and stories behind
the songs, and, perhaps most of all, the “Long-Distance Dedication” that
allowed listeners to request and dedicate a song to a far-away loved one.
However, it’s
not just die-hard music fans that are familiar with Kasem’s golden voice.
Cartoon watchers, primarily of the 1970s and ‘80s but spanning clear into the
2000s, have no doubt heard it as well. His most well-known role, of course, was
as the title canine’s beloved sidekick Shaggy on the various incarnations of Scooby-Doo
throughout the years. He first voiced the role in 1969 and held onto it for 40
years, finally retiring in 2009 after Scooby-Doo
and the Samurai Sword. Over the years, he voiced a number of other
characters in many popular animated shows. He provided the voice of Robin, the
Boy Wonder, first in The Batman/Superman
Hour, and later on the Super
Friends series. He also played the Autobot Cliffjumper and provided a
number of other voices in the original Transformers
animated series. And these are just the shows in which he had recurring roles—there
were plenty of cameos and one-offs as well.
You can
SmartBrowse Casey Kasem on our website for plenty more, including a number of
compilation CDs curated by this musical icon. In the meantime, his signature
sign-off seems particularly appropriate: “Keep your feet on the ground, and
keep reaching for the stars.”
Written by Jon Williams
HBO recently
announced that its hit series Game
of Thrones has surpassed The
Sopranos to rank as the most popular show in their history. At its
peak, The Sopranos averaged 18.2
million viewers per episode; Game of
Thrones is now averaging 18.4 million. This number comes on the heels of
Season 4’s eighth episode, “The Mountain and the Viper,” which affirmed the
show’s reputation for compelling, shocking twists. The season finale, which
airs this Sunday, could push those already stellar numbers to even greater
heights.
Those
searching for something to fill the void in their Sunday night TV schedule
caused by the absence of Thrones
won’t have far to look. Its timeslot will be filled the following week, June
22, with the return of another very popular HBO series. The vampires,
werewolves, witches, fairies, and humans of Bon Temps will begin to wrap up
their story with the premiere of True
Blood’s seventh and final
season. The week after that, on June 29, True
Blood will be followed by the premiere of a brand new series called The Leftovers.
The Leftovers is based on a 2011 novel
of the same name by Tom Perrotta. Co-created by Damon Lindelof, known for
his work on Lost,
the series centers on a mysterious event that sees 2% of the world’s population
simply vanish. Three years down the line, The
Leftovers explores how those who remain have moved on with their lives—and how
they haven’t. It will feature such stars as Justin
Theroux, Amy
Brenneman, Christopher
Eccleston, and Liv
Tyler; the pilot episode is directed by Peter
Berg.
This isn’t
Perrotta’s first go-round with having his work adapted. His 1998 novel Election was turned into the big-screen
comedy starring Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick, and Little
Children became an acclaimed
drama that was nominated for three Academy Awards and three Golden Globes
in 2007. Perrotta’s most recent book, last year’s Nine
Inches, is a collection of short stories sure to satisfy fans of his
longer work. Judging from the popularity of those books, The Leftovers seems poised to be HBO’s next breakout hit.
Written by Jon Williams
We’re now a
month removed from Star Wars Day on
May 4, and there has been no shortage of news on the highly anticipated
upcoming films. Since patrons will be excited to check out work from these
individuals taking their first steps into a larger world, here’s the latest.
First, two
actresses have joined the cast for Episode
VII and, presumably, the entire sequel trilogy. One is simply confirming a
rumour that was going around even as the first round of announcements were made,
and that is Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o. Her Oscar came for
her work in 12
Years a Slave, but she can also be seen in the Liam Neeson action
thriller Non-Stop.
The second newcomer will be a familiar face to some sci-fi/fantasy fans.
Gwendoline Christie is currently starring in HBO’s massive hit series Game
of Thrones as the formidable warrior Brienne of Tarth. She will also be
in the upcoming third and fourth installments of the Hunger
Games series. It isn’t known yet what roles these ladies will play (nor
is it for any of the new cast members).
So that’s
the news for the sequel trilogy, which will consist of three films released in
alternating years beginning in 2015. In between those films, a number of
standalone films are planned to fill the void. The specific content of these
films has not yet been disclosed, but they are expected to explore the origin
stories of familiar characters. While major details regarding these films are
still forthcoming, a few tidbits have come out. One, presumably the first, is to
be directed by Gareth Edwards based on a script written by Gary Whitta. Edwards
is best known for the new Godzilla
movie that’s in theatres now, and he also directed the 2010 alien-invasion film
Monsters.
Whitta wrote the screenplay for 2010’s The
Book of Eli, as well as 2013’s After
Earth.
Just today,
it was announced that another standalone Star Wars film (presumably the second)
would be directed by Josh Trank. Trank directed the 2012 sci-fi film Chronicle,
and is helming the 2015 reboot of the Fantastic Four franchise. No writer was
announced for this film, so it seems likely that the script will be handled by
writers previously announced to be attached to new Star Wars films, Lawrence Kasdan (who wrote original
trilogy films The Empire Strikes Back
and Return of the Jedi, along with
many other
films) and Simon Kinberg ( Sherlock
Holmes).
So be sure
to have these films on your shelves so patrons can satisfy their Star Wars appetites in anticipation for
the new films, and don’t forget about the original
films, the Clone
Wars animated series, music
from the movies, and story-expanding audiobooks.
Written by Kyle Slagley
Yesterday
the world lost one of the most powerful and astute voices in
literature. Poet, singer, dancer, and activist Maya Angelou passed away
in her North Carolina home at age 86.
Many people are familiar
with Angelou at least by name, if not necessarily by having read her work. She
is known as a writer whose ability to speak to readers on a deep and personal
level is uncanny nearly to the point of being unsettling. Angelou’s struggles
as a child in the Jim Crow south would shape her writing in later years. Her
signature memoir I Know Why the Caged
Bird Sings gave insight to her struggles, having worked as a cook,
nightclub dancer, prostitute, and even for the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference.
A spokesperson for women
and minority rights, Angelou’s work speaks for any group who has ever faced
attempts at being silenced. Perhaps that is because Angelou herself took years
to discover her own voice—literally. When she was 8 years old, her mother’s
boyfriend assaulted her. When she told her brother what happened, her attacker
was convicted but jailed for only one day. Four days after he was released from
jail, he was found murdered. When Angelou found out, she didn’t speak again for
six years, believing that her voice had killed the man.
Fortunately for the
world, Angelou found her voice and, despite the struggles she endured through
the years, used her voice to speak love, acceptance, and peace to anyone who
would listen, as evidenced by the fact that her words are seen in books, on
billboards, in commercials, and on social media on a daily basis. Her awards,
honorary titles, medals, and commendations are too numerous to name here, but I
would invite you to visit her Wikipedia page for more information.
Angelou passed away at
her home in Winston-Salem, NC. Fittingly, her final tweet read:
"Preacher, Don't Send Me"
by Maya Angelou
Preacher, don't send me
when I die
to some big ghetto
in the sky
where rats eat cats
of the leopard type
and Sunday brunch
is grits and tripe.
I"ve known those rats
I've seen them kill
and grits I've had
would make a hill,
or maybe a mountain,
so what I need
from you on sunday
is a different creed.
Preacher, please don't
promise me
streets of gold
and milk for free.
I stopped all milk
at four years old
and once I'm dead
I won't need gold.
I'd call a place
pure paradise
where families are loyal
and strangers are nice,
where the music is jazz
and the season is fall.
Promise me that
or nothing at all.
From The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou
published 1994 by Random House
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