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Top Picks: Waxahatchee’s 'Out in the Storm,' the movie 'Their Finest,' and more

Artist and photographer Jill Bliss will change your view of mushrooms with her photos, the app Circa can help you keep track of time zones, and more top picks.

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Courtesy of STX Entertainment
  • By Staff

Beauty of mushrooms

Artist and photographer Jill Bliss will change your view of mushrooms with her photos, which you can find at http://bit.ly/mushroomphotos. Bliss arranges mushrooms and other objects she sees in nature almost like bouquets.

Shining pop elements

All the elements of great pop music – compelling songcraft, a commanding singer, and a band that plays with total commitment – are there and shining like diamonds on Waxahatchee’s stellar new album, Out in the Storm. In what’s turning out to be a spectacular year for female bandleaders, writer/singer Katie Crutchfield stakes her claim with lyrics such as “I ruffle, I lie in wait. All your tragic fiction, I always take the bait,” from the album’s compelling leadoff track, “Never Been Wrong.” Crutchfield and her rocking all-female band are on a roll. 

Track time change

If you’re tired from your international flight and trying to remember if the kids will still be awake for a call or to schedule a conference call for work, the app Circa can help you keep track of time in multiple locations. It’ll give you one less thing to worry about. The app is $3.99 for iOS and free for Android users. 

‘Finest’ propaganda

The movie Their Finest, set during World War II, centers on the film division of the British Ministry of Information, where Catrin Cole (Gemma Arterton) is employed, making movies that appeal to women. Monitor film critic Peter Rainer writes that “the film’s best comic divertissement is Ambrose Hilliard ... played with a waggish whimsicality by that supreme scene-stealer Bill Nighy.” “Their Finest” is available on DVD and Blu-ray.  

Fab four favorite

Four Liverpudlians taught us that all you need is love. After reading Andrew Blauner’s In Their Lives: Great Writers on Great Beatles Songs, you may find that all you need is to find your own favorite Fab Four tune. Join nearly 30 creative types, from Touré and Rosanne Cash to Jane Smiley and Roz Chast, as they dive into music, memories, and meaning, all to a backing Beatles beat. 

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