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Leave It in the Soup

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PreS-Gr 3—The second offering from the New York-based group, The Dream Jam Band, features a blend of musical styles in 11 original selections of family-friendly music. Opening with the rip-roaring "Dance Like a Skeleton" (a pop tune featuring three-part harmony guaranteed to get listeners moving), they race through the driving retro/surfer rock "Bad Hair Day" (a saxophone solo has the spotlight), slowing it down slightly with an a cappella solfège opening for "Leave It in the Soup" (a rap-like ditty listing all kinds of sports). Other standouts include a Mozart-inspired operatic melodrama that morphs into rock & roll success ("I Can't Tie My Shoes"), a single-word song set to early '60s classic guitar/organ/drums ("Boing"), an exotic-sounding piece featuring an electric sitar and harp that celebrates things that girls like to do ("Melanie the Mermaid"), and a ballad that channels The Beatles and highlights a harp in the accompaniment ("The Lullaby"). The Dream Jam Band's edgy sound is clean, though their vocal blend on harmonies sometimes misses the mark.—Stephanie Bange, Wright State University, Dayton, OH
In this beautiful, heartrending, yet horrifying film, North Koreans tell their stories of imprisonment, sexual slavery, torture, murder, and escape to China or South Korea during the nearly 50-year regime of Kim Il Sung (1912—94). The interviews are illustrated through the interspersion of dance sequences, archival news footage, and drawings. Particularly interesting are the North Korean propaganda films celebrating Kim Il Sung as God and showing in the face of mass starvation happy workers, elaborate military displays, and the creation of a new flower in 1988 in honor of the 46th birthday of Kim's son and successor, Kim Jong Il. A valuable time line traces 20th-century events in Korea. Bonus features include previously unreleased footage of camp refugees. This mesmerizing film displays excellent production values and is highly recommended for Asia collections.—Kitty Chen Dean, formerly with Nassau Community Coll., Garden City, NY
Reviewed by Kitty Chen Dean , Jan 01, 2011

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