Monitor picks

Rae of light

Keep an eye on (and an ear out for) Britain's new superstar chanteuse, Corinne Bailey Rae. Her recent American tour sent hearts a- flutterin' and critics scurrying for superlatives, and her irresistible single "Put Your Records On" is lighting up the radio dial from end to end. Check out her live show and videos at: music.aol.com/artist/corinne-bailey-rae/756365/main

PBS's POV series often tugs at our hearts and tweaks our minds: "The Boys of Baraka" (Sept. 12, 10 p.m. EDT) is no exception. The documentary follows a group of young teen boys from Baltimore who go to the Baraka school in Kenya – a place designed to give the disenfranchised a second chance – then return to a life with few promises and even fewer opportunities.

The "local foods" movement is in full swing, and the Edible Communities magazine series shows you how to find great comestibles from your area. Among the 16 current editions are ones for Sacramento, the Twin Cities, and Santa Fe, with Atlanta and Memphis due out soon. Go to ediblecommunities.com for more information.

If Bob Fosse had choreographed a dance routine around eight treadmills, the result might have resembled the astonishing music video for OK Go's Here It Goes Again. Shot in one take, it features all four members of the pop group performing synchronous moves – such as mimicking figure skating – on the gym equipment conveyor belts. See it at www.okgo.net

Maybe you drive around with an Old Town strapped to your Subaru, or maybe you just love a good outdoorsy yarn. Either way, pick up "Paddling Through Time" (Northern Forest Canoe Trail, $14.95) for a 60-page history of a 740-mile stretch of connected waterways – Adirondacks up to far northern Maine – that connects Wabanaki peoples with, well, you and your modern canoe. Useful appendix on regional museums, too.