The wave of boy + girl bands is reaching its crest right now, showcasing a rare depth of sub-genres in the rock pool. Riding this rising tide is Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward's band, She & Him, who are readying their follow up to 2008's critically acclaimed folk-rock release, Volume One, with (surprise!) Volume Two, which will be out this March.

On a darker current is the British group, The xx, whose shared sultry melancholy is balanced brilliantly between lead vocalists Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim on their self-titled debut. Musically, The xx relies on spare bass lines, deep keyboard tones, and the occasional drum machine to create slow, atmospheric, yet infectious rock.

For a more turbulent sound, check out the husband/wife duo, Handsome Furs, featuring guitarist/singer Dan Boeckner from Wolf Parade and keyboard/drum machine player Alexei Perry, whose dancier beats are given a crashing edginess by Boeckner's rust-toothed vocals and Perry's impassioned screams. All these bands are featured in the AADL's robust CD collection.

Pioneer Theater Guild presents its mid-winter musical -- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee -- Feb. 12-21 in The Little Theater. This is a one act musical comedy about a spelling bee at Putnam Valley Middle School, where six quirky adolescents compete in a bee organized by three odd adults. Sounds fun. The web page says the show "features spontaneous and hilarious audience participation!" Sounds like even more fun. Check out our CD of the original 2005 Broadway cast recording. The show also is being performed this month at Encore Theatre in Dexter.

Beyonce and Taylor Swift may have been the stars of this year's Grammy Awards, but they are certainly not the only female artists who released stand-out music this past year. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, featuring the enigmatic Karen O on lead vocals, released an infectiously danceable record It's Blitz, which was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album this year. Although the award went to Phoenix for their indie rock favorite, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, don't miss O's tremendously powerful voice on the top-to-bottom great record, It's Blitz.

Another gifted lead singer (and bandleader) with an absolutely earth shaking voice is Neko Case, who released the album Middle Cyclone last year to the encomium of alt-country audiences across the country. Listeners may recognize Neko Case's melodic turns from many of pop super-group The New Pornographers' best records, which goes to show that her sound can cross genres as quickly as her voice can jump octaves. Check out The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Neko Case from the AADL today.

Being a Patti Smith fan, you might imagine my delight when I discovered she had written a new memoir about her early life in New York City. The book, Just Kids, centers on her relationship that took place in the late 60s/early 70s with the late photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Mapplethorpe, who took the iconic cover photograph for the Patti Smith Group’s Horses album, met Smith in 1967 when she was working at the now-defunct Scribner's bookstore on Fifth Avenue. Later, they lived in and around the historic Hotel Chelsea and became each others muses – developing a relationship that would last for years to come, always focusing on their artistic endeavors. Although Smith would have later relationships with other men, such as her marriage to the late Fred “Sonic” Smith of the MC5, her time with Mapplethorpe was always dear to her, and they remained friends through his coming into his own as a gay man, and up until his death from AIDS in 1989.

Patti Smith talked about her new book on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, you can listen to the interview or read a transcript here.

On January 12 Haiti was struck by a powerful and devastating earthquake. It is the latest blow to a country that has long struggled, and its aftershocks will continue reach far across space and time. Newspapers, magazines, radio and television news have been vigilant in keeping us updated on this tragedy. By now most of us know that basic story, but how much do you know about Haitian culture and society?

Did you know that Haiti's ancestors were the first slave society to emancipate themselves? As a result of their revolution, Haiti was established: the first republic in the New World ruled by people of African descent. If you're interested in brushing up on Haiti's harrowing but inspiring history, I would recommend checking out Avengers of the New World: the Story of the Haitian Revolution by Laurent Dubois and The Black Jacobins : Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution by C.L.R. James. In these excellent books, you will find the historical roots of Haitian society and politics of today.

Haitian Vodou, often misrepresented, is a well-known thread in our cultural fabric. Popular culture has teased out an arguably perverse caricature from the Afro-Caribbean tradition, convenient for children's cartoons and hundreds of zombie movies. (That's not to say Zombie movies aren't totally entertaining; check out the classic I Walked With a Zombie. If nothing else, it is a revealing peek at American culture, circa 1943.) But what is the true nature of Vodou, or Voodoo, as it is more commonly called? Zora Neale Hurston's good research in this field is enhanced by her beautiful writing; see "Tell My Horse," which is in Folklore, Memoirs and Other Writings by Hurston. Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn by Karen McCarthy Brown is not owned by AADL, but it is warm, enlightening and one of my favorites. You can get it through MEL. If you're feeling a little less ambitious, you can take a look at a cool DVD that we do have, Divine Horsemen, a ground-breaking (at the time) documentary about Vodou ritual.

On the lighter side, I would recommend Putomayo Presents: French Caribbean, which features music from the French-speaking islands of Guadeloupe, Haiti and Martinique. Putomayo can be counted on to put out a good mix, and this album holds true.

I am amazed by the extent to which people are getting involved in the Crisis in Haiti. Americans have broken records by contributing over $500 million to the relief effort in Haiti. Incredible, right? This is a practical, tangible way to get involved. Another important way to honor Haiti is by learning more about its rich culture and history. You can find the tools to do so here at the AADL.

Today is the birthday of Anton Chekhov who was born in 1860 in Taganrog, a seaside city in Southern Russia. Chekhov began writing humorous stories while in medical school to pay his way and help support his poverty stricken family. He became sick with tuberculosis the same year he graduated and died from the disease in his 40's. He became the most admired writer of stories and plays in Russia and his plays, the most famous of which, Uncle Vanya and The Cherry Orchard are still performed frequently. Chekhov considered himself first a physician and then a writer, saying: "Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my mistress. When I get fed up with one, I spend the night with the other." This is an interesting observation in light of his reputation as a philandering bachelor.

Other authors and poets were also doctors, among them Arthur Conan Doyle, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Michael Crichton and William Carlos Williams and Abraham Verghese.

Ever dream of going to Italy? Can't afford it? Using the library is a great alternative!

First, you can experience the sights through art books in our collection. The works of greats such as Botticelli, Bernini, Michelangelo, and Caravaggio will transport you into the culture of Italy. However, if you wanted something a little closer to the real experience, you could try this book of paintings within the Uffizi. It's basically a tour in itself!

If you want to feel like you're actually walking the streets of Italy, try a book on the architecture of Brunelleschi, the famous creator of Florence's Il Duomo, or maybe something a little broader.

Perhaps you're anxious to taste some real Italian food? Unfortunately, you'll have to cook it yourself. But books on Italian Cooking will be able to make that a bit easier for you.

In order to hear Italy, you can try your hand at speaking it yourself. With our fantastic Italian language-learning collection, you'll be able to go from a beginner's lesson, to something more advanced. Although, if you tired yourself out with all that cooking, you might just like to listen to some opera.

If you're really into this whole plan, maybe you want to get some more background? There are tons of Italian history books. There are also biographies on key figures, such as Caesar, Lucrezia Borgia, Savonarola, Garibaldi, Mussolini, and the well-known Medici family.

Maybe all of these books are too much for you, and you really need a break? Well, luckily, AADL also carries movies. Something lighthearted, like Roman Holiday might help you through your journey. Or, if you'd like something a little more thrilling, perhaps The Talented Mr. Ripley? We even have films in Italian, like La Dolce Vita!

It may not be exactly the same as climbing the Spanish Steps, but it's as close as you can get without actually going! But, if you ever decide to go, don't forget your travel book.

Ark

January 29-30 is a great time to be at The Ark in Ann Arbor. The famous Folk Festival is going on again! Each night will feature a good mix of seasoned artists as well as up-and-coming musicians. “All funds raised through the Festival benefit The Ark, Ann Arbor's non-profit home for folk, roots, and ethnic music.” See The Ark’s website for all details. This year’s line-up includes:

Friday, January 29
Iron & Wine, Jay Farrar & Benjamin Gibbard, Band of Heathens, Hoots & Hellmouth, Po' Girl, Jer Coons, Nervous But Excited, and Patty Larkin, MC.

Saturday, January 30
Rosanne Cash, Richie Havens, Doc Watson, Raul Malo, Hot Club of Cowtown, Enter The Haggis, and Patty Larkin, MC.

While perusing the blog of a Harper Collins marketing coordinator (read about it on muffy’s post), I saw that she invited readers to create six-word memoirs, inspired by the book It All Changed In An Instant : More Six-Word Memoirs By Writers Famous & Obscure. This got me thinking about how the new kind of mass communication (that is, personal broadcasting) is all about brevity. 140 characters in Twitter and texting, four-word film reviews, six-word memoirs, or 55 fiction, the personal tale is trending to shortness.

The cynic in me might attribute this to what seems to be an increasingly shorter attention span in the human animal, but the English major in me knows there’s more to the (short) story: rigid structure and restraint often help us process and speak about things in a more poignant way. Perhaps one of the most moving examples of this phenomenon is W.S. Merwin’s “Elegy,” which can be found in The Carrier of Ladders or The Second Four Books of Poems. Another amazing example of hard-hitting, extremely short poetry is The Really Short Poems of A.R. Ammons.

Other short things I can suggest? The song “Minimum Wage” on the classic They Might Be Giants album Flood is 46 seconds long and contains two (maybe three) words. Kristin Chenoweth is reportedly 4’11,” and has done quite a bit of fun work in music, television, theater and film. Find her song “Taylor the Latte Boy” on your online vendor of choice or check out Pushing Daisies. The Ann Arbor District Library conducts its own short story contest, and the winning stories are a part of the circulating collection. I haven’t gotten around to watching the Pixar Short Films Collection (v.1), but if the shorts you always get to see at the theater before one of their features are evidence of anything, it’s the beauty of simplicity and diminutiveness.

We always have happy crowds of tots for our KinderConcert events, when we partner with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra to teach the very young about classical music. We’ll sway to the piano music of Kathryn Goodson, we’ll dance with Gari Stein and we’ll learn about the trumpet with Jason Bergman on February 5th at 9:30 and 10:30 am at the Downtown Library.