Welcome to HNGN's biweekly top picks, where we gather the best and brightest releases in music, fashion, beauty, tech and pop culture. Come back every other week for more of-the-moment goodness. - Edited by Michael Lello.
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MUSIC
By Michael Lello
Seal: 7 (Warner Bros.)
The ethereal voice behind massive hits like "Crazy" and "Kiss For A Rose" is back with "Seal 7," which despite its title is actually Seal's ninth studio album. The London-born singer has again teamed with longtime producer Trevor Horn for songs like "Everytime I'm With You," "Do You Ever," "Padded Cell" and "Dancefloor."
In conjunction with the album release, Seal will perform sold-out shows at New York's Irving Plaza (Nov. 12) and The Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles (Nov. 16), as well as make appearances on "Live! With Kelly and Michael" (Nov. 9), "The Today Show" and "Late Night With Seth Meyers" (both on Nov. 10) and "The Talk" (Nov. 17).
Check out the video for the introspective ballad "Everytime I'm With You" below:
Trey Anastasio: Paper Wheels (ATO/Rubber Jungle)
Outside of his day job with Phish, singer/guitarist Trey Anastasio has put together a parallel solo career that has alternatively focused on African music, funk, hushed balladry and straight-up rock 'n' roll. On "Paper Wheels," his 10th solo effort, Anastasio gets more emotionally direct than is often possible with the jam-happy Phish, with soulful backing vocals helping set the mood, but his exploratory musical spirit is thankfully still at play.
Watch the kaleidoscopic video for "Lever Boy" below:
Sara Bareilles: What's Inside: Songs From Waitress (Epic)
After scoring the music for "Waitress," a theatrical production adapted from the film of the same name, Sarah Bareilles decided to redo the songs for her own purposes on her fifth album, "What's Inside: Songs From The Waitress." It caps off a busy autumn for Bareilles, who last month published a memoir, "Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) In Song"
Check out the video for the songstress' striking "She Used To Be Mine" below:
Grimes: Art Angels (4AD)
Grimes, the stage name of experimental Canadian musician Claire Boucher, returns with "Art Angels," her fourth album. While electronics still play a dominant role in Grimes' sound, she learned guitar, drums, keyboards, ukulele and violin for "Art Angels," which she produced and engineered herself after feeling disillusioned by previous studio experiences.
You can view the fun and trippy video for "Flesh Without Blood/Life In The Vivid Dream" below:
MOVIES
By Cal Setar
Spectre (Columbia Pictures)
James Bond's past comes back to haunt him yet again in the latest installment of the venerated super spy franchise. 007 receives a cryptic message, which leads him on an unassigned mission into Mexico City before heading off to the far reaches of Rome. A seemingly happenstance meeting with the beautiful widow of a notorious criminal leads Bond to a secret meeting where he finally uncovers the existence of an organization known only as Spectre.
The Peanuts Movie (Twentieth Century Fox Animation)
The whole gang is here, as "Peanuts" gets set to make its big-screen debut. Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and, of course, Charlie Brown are set for a wild adventure – this time in 3-D. Charlie Brown must embark on a hero's quest while his best friend Snoopy battles the Red Baron in the skys. Underdogs unite as Charles M. Schulz's imagination teams up with the creators of the "Ice Age" films to bring "Peanuts" to the silver screen.
Spotlight (Open Road Films)
This dramatic thriller centers on a crack team of reporters – the "Spotlight" team – intent on uncovering one of the world's most shocking scandals. A Boston Globe investigation uncovered decades of abuse, covered up time and again, by the Catholic Church in Boston. "Spotlight" tells the story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation and the cover-up, which involved members at the highest level of the church, as well as the government.
Trumbo (Bleecker Street Media)
Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo was the toast of Hollywood in the late 1940s until his political beliefs got him and many of his contemporaries jailed and blacklisted. Amid the fear and fervor of McCarthyism and the Red Scare, Trumbo managed to use his gifts as a writer to expose the absurdities and injustices of the blacklist, while winning two Academy Awards in the process.
FASHION & BEAUTY
By Gina Masilotti
Body Drench Quick Tan Instant Bronzing Spray ($11)
Al Pacino plays aging rock star Danny Collins, a man too stubborn to give up the party rockin' life until his manager (Christopher Plummer) uncovers an undelivered letter by the late John Lennon. Its contents force Danny to reevaluate his life and try to reconnect with the family he has neglected.
The cast also includes the talented Annette Bening, Jennifer Garner and Bobby Cannavale.
Amazon has the film available for purchase.
Check out our complete list of movies available for streaming on Netflix this month and see below for more options on Amazon Prime and for purchase at iTunes. []
iTunes
• The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
• Self/Less
• Mr. Holmes
• Amy
• We Are Your Friends
• A Borrowed Identity
• Perfect High
• Katy Perry: The Prismatic World Tour Live
• Drunktown's Finest
• She's Funny That Way
• Meru
• Do I Sound Gay?
• Mistress America
• Raven's Touch
• I Smile Back
• The Snow Queen: Magic of the Ice Mirror
• The Christmas Dragon
• 1947
• The Nutcracker Sweet
• Krampus: The Reckoning
• Krampus: The Christmas Devil
• Super Size Me
• Christmas Tail
• The Professional
• Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers
• Wizards
• Blood and Wine
• Call Northside 777
• Kiss Me, Monster
• Two Undercover Angels
• Come to the Stable
• Pigskin Parade
• The Keys of the Kingdom
• Sailor Moon R: Season 2 Part 2
• ALVINNN!!! and The Chipmunks Vol. 1
• The Brink: Season 1
• Ballers: Season 1
• True Detective: Season 2
• Toy Story That Time Forgot
Amazon
• While We're Young
• Tom at the Farm
• Danny Collins
• Desk Set
• Eight Crazy Nights
• The Enemy Below
• The Craft
• The Newton Boys
• Tell (available Nov. 5)
• Awakenings (available Nov. 5)
• The Adventures of Milo and Otis (available Nov. 5)
• The Mask of Zorro (available Nov. 5)
• Seven Years in Tibet (available Nov. 5)
• The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (available Nov. 5)
• The Yes Men Are Revolting (available Nov. 7)
• Prince (available Nov. 10)
• Curious George: Season 9
• Wolf Hall (available Nov. 10)
