Recently Added in CD Music...

In the COUNTRY section:

American VI: Ain't No Grave - Johnny Cash

In the POPULAR section:

Congratulations - MGMT

The Sea - Corinne Bailey Rae

In the ROCK section:

Valleys of Neptune - Jimi Hendrix

In the WORLD section:

San Patricio - The Chieftains featuring Ry Cooder

Local Music Events: the Sixth Annual Athens Popfest Aug. 10-14, 2010

Athens Popfest kicked off last night (Tuesday, August 10), beginning a series of performances by 60 indie bands from the US and Europe at three different venues in downtown Athens, among them Mission of Burma, Apples in Stereo and Oh OK. The festival is for more than entertainment purposes; proceeds will help fund college scholarships for area high school students. For tickets and more information, check out the Athens Popfest website. And if you'd like a preview of the music, listen to a sampler on the Popfest Jukebox at the Athens Banner Herald's website.

Area Events: Indie Film Month

If you're a fan of independent films, including horror, short films, and documentaries, take note: the Festival League has declared August 2010 to be Indie Film Month in Atlanta. Beginning today with the Atlanta Shortsfest (August 6-8), the League has planned a month's-worth of mini-festivals, during which they will be hosting panel discussions, showing films and holding other indie film-related events.
Read about the months' events in Creative Loafing.Or visit the Independent Film Month website for locations, showtimes, and ticket information.

In Our DVD Collection: All the King's Men

All the King's Men (1949) was the first film adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The story, based loosely on 1930s Louisiana governor Huey P. Long, follows the career of Willie Stark as he rises and transforms, from small-town, well-intentioned lawyer to corrupt politician. Only when tragedy strikes does Stark begin to question himself and his actions. This version, directed by Robert Rossen, stars Broderick Crawford, John Ireland and Mercedes McCambridge, and won Academy Awards for Best Motion Picture, Best Actor (Broderick) and Best Supporting Actress (McCambridge). In 2001, it was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

Reserve a copy of this DVD today.

New Arrivals in CD Music

Here are a few new additions to the music collection:

In the Jazz section:


The Best of Chuck Mangione

In the Local section:

The Adventures of Bobby Ray -- B.O.B.

Around the Sun and Green -- R.E.M.

Soul-Sizzling 7" Meltdown -- the Woggles

In the Popular section:

Bionic -- Christina Aguilera

Plastic Beach -- Gorillaz

Animal -- Ke$ha

Tomorrow -- Sean Kingston

Raymond v. Raymond -- Usher


For these and other music cds, visit the online catalog for the Conyers-Rockdale Library.

The Possible and the Improbable: Exploring Science Fiction movies

As the 90th birthday of legendary science fiction writer Ray Bradbury approaches (on August 22 -- mark your calendars!), we take a look at a few recent additions of classic scifi to our rapidly expanding DVD collection.

Let's start with Fahrenheit 451 (1966), based on Bradbury's own dystopian vision of a world where books are outlawed and society has degraded into mindless violence and hedonism. A single line accidentally read in a burning tome and the martyrdom of a book lover leads Montag, a fireman charged with incinerating books, to question the meaning of humanity and to develop a secret, illegal passion for reading. (A little side note: when his book was itself subjected to the censoring of objectionable words and content, Bradbury demanded that only the original text be published henceforth, adding this note to unedited editions: Do not insult me with the beheadings, finger-choppings or the lung-deflations you plan for my works. I need my head to shake or nod, my hand to wave or make into a fist, my lungs to shout or whisper with. I will not go gently onto a shelf, degutted, to become a non-book.) To see this DVD in the catalog, click here.

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) -- in this precursor to Godzilla and a host of other beasts brought back by atomic testing, a dinosaur is awakened in the Arctic and makes its lumbering way to New York City, where -- well, you'll just have to see what happens. Let's just say Wall Street and Coney Island don't fare so well. Want to read more? Check it out in PINES.

Swinging completely into the realm of fiction and scientific impossiblity, 1950's Rocketship X-M star Llloyd Bridges as an astronaut on an errant spaceship that zooms past its intended Moon landing and hurtles to crew to Mars. Where it's raining. The Martians aren't happy about the new arrivals. But at least the oxygen masks work! So maybe it isn't the most scientifically-accurate movie ever made, but it is out of this world. If you're a Mystery Science Theater 3000 fan, you may remember this one. Go ahead -- reserve it today. And invite your friends over for popcorn and a good "bad" movie!

Just imagine -- you're minding your own business, living and working in Chicago, and suddenly, robots from Venus start an attack. What do you do? What if you're one of the last people left after evacuation? What if one of the other last people turns out to be a psychopath? For answers to these and other pertinent questions, you need only view Target Earth (1954).  Lucky you, we've got the DVD!

And finally, there's This Island Earth (1955), based on the novel by Raymond F. Jones, and the movie seen briefly in another extraterretrial flick, E. T. (look for the scene when E.T. is watching tv). In this feature, Earth is being invaded by beings from the planet Metaluna, who seek both uraniums deposits and assistance in fighting a war with Zagons. As another MST3K favorite, it gets high marks. Luckily, it's also available in the library catalog.

Livin' La Vida Local

Check out the LOCAL section in music cds to find singers and groups from the great state of Georgia. Everything from R.E.M. to Randall Bramblett, Mastodon to Blind Willie McTell, Caroline Aiken to the Coathangers, Gentleman Jesse to T.I.. Support our local artists!

Down Memory Lane in the DVD Collection

The AV News blog is back with a round-up of recently added DVDs. Enjoy!

Remember the 1970s? If you were around then and anywhere near a tv, you'll remember Alice. (You might even remember the spin-off, Flo.)Take a trip down memory lane with this collection of six episodes, and share fond moments with trash-talking Flo and her signature line: "Kiss my grits!"

Reserve this DVD in the catalog.

And then there's Chico and the Man. Set in an east L. A. garage, this series from the mid-70s was the first U.S. series set in a Mexican-American neighborhood and starred Freddie Prinze as a wise-cracking street kid who forms a warm bond with crabby garage owner Jack Albertson. Though the show was a hit into its third season, breakout star Prinze was unable to shake his personal demons. This collection of episodes includes the last episode filmed with Prinze, "Ed Talks to God."

Click here to view this DVD in the catalog.

Though best known for the classic I Love Lucy series, Lucille Ball had another hit series in The Lucy Show, which ran for six years in the 1960s. Due to cast and production changes over the years, the plot moved the series from upstate New York to California, and the focus of the plot from two divorced widows and their kids to an office-based comedy, with Lucy as secretary to banker Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon). The show, however, was in the top ten most-watched shows for CBS during its entire run.

Click here to reserve this DVD.