Five Spot: Night Moves among current faves

Article by: STAR TRIBUNE STAFF
Updated: October 20, 2012 - 5:57 PM

We're crushing on Night Moves, Jerry Seinfeld's Web series, the Diana Vreeland doc, "The Fiddler on Pantico Run" and Samuel Hiti.

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Jerry Seinfeld, left, and Michael Richards in a scene from the finale of Seinfeld's Web series, �Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.�

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1 After a full year in incubation, Night Moves' debut album, "Colored Emotions," was finally hatched last week on Domino Records, confirming why the south Minneapolis trio came to the attention of the influential London-based label. It's an enticing collection of wigged-out, hazed-up twang-pop. The '80s-born musicians channel such '70s cosmic rockers as Supertramp and Todd Rundgren (but not Bob Seger!) along with modern psych-twangers such as Beachwood Sparks, whose associate Thom Monaghan remastered the album. It's a testament to the band that little on the new release sounds changed from the original version they put out themselves (and then quickly shelved) last year.

2 Jerry Seinfeld seems more interested these days in analyzing comedy than delivering it, which is why his Web series "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" is right up his alley. In the shorts, Seinfeld picks up various celebrities, including Larry David and Ricky Gervais, for one-on-one chats about the business of getting laughs. No segment is more moving than the one with former "Seinfeld" co-star Michael Richards, who opens up about his self-exile from standup after delivering a racist rant onstage. Seinfeld may no longer be the king of comedy, but he's a fine coffee companion and, from what we can tell, is willing to pick up the check. www.comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com

3 A tribute to the grandest of fashion's grande dames, the documentary "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel" is a feast for anyone who applauds unstoppable eccentricity. Born a plain Jane with a pretty sister, Vreeland grew up bold, dancing in Harlem in the 1920s. During her swinging-'60s reign as editor of Vogue, Vreeland didn't cover fashion, she was fashion. She coined the term "youthquake" to describe the teen takeover of popular culture, which she embraced. Interviews with the likes of George Plimpton and Anjelica Huston give glimpses of her elegant grandiosity and revolutionary approach. Before Vreeland, fashion magazines mixed spreads of society ladies modeling couture with recipes. Vreeland's attitude, Huston said, was "Pie? Who cares about pie when there's Russia?" At the Edina Cinema

4 Joe Mozingo had long been curious about the origin of his odd last name -- was it Italian? French? Basque? But Mozingo, a white, blue-eyed reporter for the Los Angeles Times, kept running into people who told him it was African. Eventually, he launched into an investigation of his roots and found that all Mozingos in the United States can be traced back to one common ancestor: Edward Mozingo, who came here from Africa in 1644. His journey into the past took him deep into the rural United States, where he found branches of the family both black and white, and, eventually, to Cameroon and the Congo. His book, "The Fiddler on Pantico Run," is brilliantly researched, eloquently written, and a deeply thoughtful examination of race, identity and ancestry. $27, Free Press Books

5 For his first children's book, "Waga's Big Scare," Minneapolis writer/artist Samuel Hiti has delivered something monstrous just in time for Halloween. Known for populating his graphic novels, including "Death-Day" and "Tiempos Finales," with all manner of beasts and demons, Hiti sticks with what he knows best, spinning a yarn about a fun little horned fellow who's lost his scare. "Waga isn't as big, tall, hairy, slimy, scaly, oozy, lumpy, or bumpy as the other monsters," Hiti writes. "But don't let that fool you." Young readers will love this easy-to-follow adventure as Waga goes on a journey to find his scare. The gorgeous artwork alone is worth the price. $17 from Minneapolis-based Carolrhoda Books, www.lernerbooks.com