Entertainment Culture

Find out everything you need to know about barbecue: where it comes from, why we love it, who makes it best and where to get it. Panelists include restaurateur Danny Meyer of Union Square Cafe who founded the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party; Food Network star Bobby Flay, the chef/owner of seven restaurants, including New York City's Mesa Grill; and Chris Lilly, the winner of 10 world barbecue competitions and vice president of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, the "best barbeque in Alabama."

Throughout his career, Johnny Cash was depicted - and depicted himself - as a walking contradiction: social protestor and establishment patriot, drugged wildman and devout Christian crusader, rebel outlaw hillbilly thug and elder statesman. Leigh H. Edwards explores the allure of this paradoxical image and its cultural significance. She argues that Cash embodied irresolvable contradictions of American identity that reflect foundational issues in the American experience.

From best-selling author Julie Klam comes a lively and engaging exploration of celebrity: Why celebrities fascinate us, what it means to be famous today, and why celebrities are so important. “When I was young I was convinced celebrities could save me”, Julie Klam admits in The Stars in Our Eyes, her funny and personal exploration of fame and celebrity. As she did for subjects as wide-ranging as dogs, mothers, and friendship, Klam brings her infectious curiosity and crackling wit to the topic of celebrity.

Rolling Stone contributing editor Steve Knopper delves deeply into Michael Jackson's music and talent. From the artist's early days with the Jackson 5, to his stratospheric success as a solo artist, to "Beat It" and "Thriller", "Bad", and "The Man in the Mirror", to his volatile final years, his attempted comeback, and his untimely death, Knopper explores the beguiling and often contradictory forces that fueled Michael Jackson's genius.

Raymond Sarlot bought the Chateau Marmont in 1975, but what was originally a business purchase became a love affair as he delved into the hotel's incredible history. From its perch overlooking the Sunset Strip, the glamorous Marmont reigned for decades as the spot for artists, writers, musicians, and actors of every stripe and remains a home-away-from-home for A-listers like Scarlett Johansson and Johnny Depp. Here, Sarlot and coauthor Fred E. Basten share a wealth of scandalous and intriguing tales about them all.

Not just anyone can be a knight, and this spell-binding collection of action-packed stories from around the world will show you why. Narrated by Anthony Head, who played Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Knights is the absorbing tale of young Tom of Warwick who is sent to his local castle to learn the art of knighthood. Tom's adventures, and the stories he hears from Master William about knights from many traditions, will delight and enthral young would-be-knights everywhere.

Glen Colson lived through the golden age of Rock & Roll during the sixties, seventies and eighties, working as PR for many of the best loved acts in rock history. Among them Lindisfarne, Genesis, Pink Floyd, The Nice, Elvis Costello, Dr Feelgood, Ian Dury, Nick Lowe, Graham Parker, and Van der Graaf Generator. As the press officer at two of the UK's most iconic record labels, Stiff and Charisma, Glen worked alongside managers who made the music industry tick. Famously dry of wit, Glen's take on the inside workings of the music business is both informative and never short of laughs.

A concise survey of the music of Western popular and classical traditions. The origins and interactions of blues, jazz, and rock are covered under the heading of popular music. However, the evolution of the classical tradition within Western culture is the primary focus of the book. The most important composers and their best known works are examined within the context of the times in which they lived.

Nel 1933 viene lanciato nei cinema USA "I tre porcellini" di Walt Disney. Questo piccolo avvenimento segna l'inizio della parabola della cultura mainstream promossa dai film delle majors hollywoodiane, raccolta e amplificata dalla radio e dalla tv. Questo tipo di cultura, basata su un'idea consolatoria dell'intrattenimento, fondata su una visione manichea del bene contro il male e sul must del lieto fine, prende forma allora e mette radici nell'immaginario collettivo dell'Occidente.

Examining current debates and the questions raised by comics adaptations, including those around authorship, style, and textual fidelity, the contributors consider the topic from an array of approaches that take into account representations of sexuality, gender, and race as well as concepts of world-building and cultural appropriation in comics from Modesty Blaise to Black Panther. The result is a fascinating re-imagination of the texts that continue to push the boundaries of panel, frame, and popular culture.

A decade ago, millions of Egyptians took to the streets in a people-led revolution that captivated the world’s attention and sent ripples across the Middle East. But the so-called “Arab Spring” quickly faded, and a return to the status quo—of authoritarian rule—was cemented. What happened to the energy and desire for change? In Egypt, the answer lies in its youth, who comprise the bulk of the country’s fast-growing 106 million citizens.

Rachael Warren-Allen talks us through more than one hundred facts about The Simpsons, a show often considered to be the best animation of all time. Whether you’ve been a fan since the show first launched, or you’re only just now starting to enjoy the surreal humour somehow grounded in everyday life, you are sure to learn some fascinating new information about Homer, Bart and the rest of the gang.

Accompany us on an audio journey through Greece, the home of the ancient gods, the birthplace of democracy and great philosophers with its many islands in the deep blue sea. Athens looks back on 3,500 years of history. The lively city in the midst of historical surroundings has numerous ancient treasures and excavations to offer in addition to the Acropolis. Small islands on which time only plays a subordinate role, culture, history and lots of sunshine - a varied audio journey.

Alternating between personal anecdote, hilarious insight, and smart analysis, Luke Skywalker Can't Read contends that Barbarella is good for you, that monster movies are just romantic comedies with commitment issues, and that Dracula and Sherlock Holmes are total hipsters and, most shockingly, shows how virtually everyone in the Star Wars universe is functionally illiterate.

'Look' er en bog om tøj, tekstiler og mode. Om at læse og blive læst, og om den transformative kraft, der findes i at klæde sig på, klæde sig ud og skabe et look. Om stoffet mellem os og resten af verden. I 'Look' podes tøj og læsning på hinanden; i en række tekster, som spænder fra essayistik til lyrisk prosa, undersøger Ida Holmegaard tøj som sprog og materiale. Det er en bog om tøjets roller i litteraturen, i at skabe og omskabe køn, i politiske protester, i magtforhold, i sex, kærlighed og på det prekære arbejdsmarked.

“Paul is dead.” It was the late 1960's, the Beatles hadn’t toured since 1966, and some truly bizarre indications began appearing, pointing to the unthinkable: Paul McCartney had been killed in a car accident and replaced by a look-alike. The Walrus Was Paul unearths every single clue from one of rock ’n’ roll’s most enduring puzzles and takes you on a magical mystery tour of baffling, yet fascinating, hints for solving this mystery.

Despite the nearly universal fame of the Beatles, many people only know the fairytale version of the iconic group’s rise to fame. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of Liverpool, Francis Kenny reveals the real John Lennon who preceded the legend, showing how his childhood shaped his personality, creative process, and path to success, and how it also destroyed his mental health, leading to the downfall of one of the most confident and brilliant musicians of the past century.

The 1960s were a time of huge transformation, sustained and amplified by the music of that era: Rock and Roll. During the 19th and 20th centuries visionary and esoteric spiritual traditions influenced first literature, then film. In the 1960s they entered the realm of popular music, catalyzing the ecstatic experiences that empowered a generation. Exploring how 1960s rock and roll music became a school of visionary art, Christopher Hill shows how music raised consciousness on both the individual and collective levels to bring about a transformation of the planet.

On December 22, 1953, Mort Sahl took the stage at San Francisco's hungry i and changed comedy forever. Before him, standup was about everything but hard news and politics. In his wake, a new generation of smart comics emerged - Shelley Berman, Mike Nichols, and Elaine May, Lenny Bruce, Bob Newhart, Dick Gregory, Woody Allen, and the Smothers Brothers, among others.

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