Documentary captures larger than life soul legend Solomon Burke

On this Valentine's Day, I'll share a recommendation for fans of Southern Soul or good music in general to check out a DVD documentary of soul legend Solomon Burke titled "Everybody Needs Somebody".

The hourlong documentary is authorized, so there's only one side of the story to a man who did have some enemies. But the archival footage, family stories and interviews with fans like Bill Wyman of the Stones and producers Don Was and Joe Henry drive home just how brilliant a performer Burke was, particularly when it came to spinning a romantic tune. 

Burke was larger than life in more ways that one -- he was forced to sit while performing in recent years -- and when he died last year, he left behind a legacy as one of the very best examples of Southern soul and rhythm and blues. 

'Portlandia' a quirky show worth a look

Quirky. Inventive. Funny. Strange. Unnatural. Original. 

That in short is "Portlandia," a new half-hour sketch comedy show on the IFC channel that stars "Saturday Night Live" vet Fred Armison and Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney and NPR "All Songs Considered" fame.

The pair skewer any number of subjects, including Portland itself, with wicked sarcasm. Brownstein is new to this game but pushes Armisen to heights he never reached on SNL. And it's equally hilarious to see famous (Steve Buscemi) and semi-famous (Aimee Mann) entertainers pop up in guest roles. 

"Portlandia" is one of those shows that are best explained by seeing it yourself. So check out the video above. And be sure to tune in to IFC before the show's six-episode run ends. You may never see anything like it for awhile. 

'The Invention of Money'

I'm hit and miss with "This American Life" but the recent "The Invention of Money" episode is worth downloading.

Sounds boring but it's not. In "asking the same stoner-ish question: What is money?," host Ira Glass and his team explain the crazy "pre-industrial society on the island of Yap that used giant stones as currency (including one on the bottom of the ocean far from residents), to how Brazilian economists tricked people with a virtual currency to the most recent efforts by the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank to prop up the American economy.

Fascinating breakdown on a subject that drives our daily lives but which most of us have no real grasp of.