Public Image Limited - "Live At Rockpalast 1983" DVD + CD

Packaged separately, this set of classic PiL sees John Lydon joined by a young Martin Atkins and some session musicians for a roll through the band's finest era. We get well-played classics like "Public Image", "Religion", "Flowers Of Romance", "Chant", "(This Is Not A) Love Song",, "Under The House", and even an odd cover of "Anarchy In The UK".

The band were at the end of their reign as innovators by 1983, with a move towards a more streamlined sound (hinted at by "Love Song", "Bad Life", etc.), but the tracks here are faithful to PiL's early and influential melding of dub, punk, and krautrock.

The DVD is a wonderful pro-shot, multi-camera presentation, capturing both Lydon's charismatic antics and Atkins' sinewy drumming. The CD is equally as superb, with a clear, well-recorded sound that could almost be mistaken for a studio product. Essential documents for Public Image fans, and far from the bootlegs that these may look like. (MIG Music)

PiL Official site

"Of Dolls And Murder" DVD (director: Susan Marks)

Predating modern forensic science and the CSI phenomenon, the matronly Frances Glessner Lee was an unlikely innovator. In the 1930s and 1940s, she crafted miniature "Nutshell" dioramas using dolls and dollhouse-sized props to illustrate crime scenes. Her work was widely used in training detectives and crime scene investigators, and has provided much inspiration to modern forensics.

This documentary, narrated in part by the legendary filmmaker John Waters, investigates the nearly forgotten Glessner Lee and her work, as well as interviewing a number of forensic scientists and police investigators about their work and its relation to Glessner Lee. It's a fascinating, straightforward, and enjoyable look into a morbid science, but one which aims to bring the truth to light. Well worthy for any fans of "CSI" or true crime. (MVD Visual)