Make a Smile for MeSince I just reviewed the Bill Withers documentary Still Bill,here are a few of my favorite Withers covers. And if you can't getenough, the Docurama DVD includes The Swell Season (Glen Han-sard and Markéta Irglová) with "Stories," Corey Glover (LivingColour) with "Who Is He and What Is He to You" and Yim Yam-es (Jim James/My Morning Jacket) with "Ain't No Sunshine."Of the three, I prefer the latter as James takes the most under-stated approach to the material (overstatement seems gauche).The extras also offer brief chats with Withers associates like ac-tor/football great Jim Brown and Graham Nash (Hollies, CSNY).Corey Glover's heart

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Everywhere You Go: Black Cats IIClick herefor part oneAs I finally got caught up with Kaneto Shindo's Kuronekoyesterday (at SIFF Cinema through Thurs., 1/27), this seem-ed like a good time to recognize more black cats. Instead ofvideos, here are the photos and panels that caught my eye.Black cats are a stylist's best friend (white will do in apinch). Socks doesn't wake up for less than $10,000 a day.Felix is a foot fetishist. Mark Twain was a feline fancier and the web offers several picturesof the author with tabby kittens (one of whom looks a little irritated).His daughter, Jean, used her Brownie to capture this fine fellow. Everyone knows about C

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Inner and Outer SpaceIrmin Schmidtand the InnerSpace, Kama-sutra: Vollen-dung der Liebe,Crippled DickHot WaxWhen it comes to Can, I'm not a completist, though they're one of my very favorite bands (frankly, I don't have the storage space or the disposable income to collect everything by most any artist).I prefer their early material--when vocalists Malcolm Mooneyand Damo Suzuki were part of the line-up--to their later work.And by early material, I'm including the recordings composer-keyboard player Irmin Schmidt made as Inner Space, thename of their Cologne studio, before he co-founded Can.According to his Wikipedia entry, Schmidt "has written themusi

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A Diverse Array ofMaterialAnika,self-titled,StonesThrowBerlin-born, Bristol-based journalist Anika joins Portishead'sGeoff Barrow (and Beak>) for this triumphant debut. Thoughthey constructed it quickly, Anika recaptures the post-punkera at its best while sounding simultaneously of-the-moment.It doesn't hurt that the songs come on like future classics, butit's Anika's deadpan, Teutonic-inflected vocals and the hypnoticinstrumental backing that make this LP such a standout. Im-agine Dennis Bovell producing Nico or Neneh Cherry frontingPublic Image Limited, and you've got the gist. The disc manag-es to be sophisticated yet spirited, mature yet advent

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DVD ofthe Month:Part 24I recentlyreviewedthe follow-ing DVDfor Video Librarian, and thought the results were worth sharing.ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA LIVE: THE EARLY YEARS [***]Heaven for Electric Light Orchestra fans, this release pres-ents the band on stage between 1973 and 1976. In the first per-formance, the group plays at the UK’s Brunel University. There'snothing fancy about the low-ceiling stage set-up, but certain ec-centricities are already in place, like the towering platform heels,singer/guitarist Jeff Lynne's halo of hair, violinist Mik Kaminsky'svampire cape, and the way Hugh McDowell play his cello like aguitar for the cover of Jerry Lee L

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January ReviewsThese arethe reviewsand otherpieces I'mworking onthis month.Amazon DVDs: Guillermo del Toro's Cronos - The Crite-rion Collection, David Cronenberg's Videodrome - The Crite-rion Collection (special features only), Boy Meets World -The Complete Fourth Season [three-disc set], BoardwalkEmpire - Season 1 [six-disc set], Masterpiece Classic -Downton Abbey [three-disc set], and Raging Bull -Two-Disc 30th Anniversary Blu-ray/DVD ComboAmazon Theatricals: Country Strong (with Gwyn-eth Paltrow, Garrett Hedlund, and Leighton Meester).Still playing (or yet to open): Blue Valentine, The CompanyMen, The Fighter, How Do You Know, The King's Speech, Lo

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