Your Weekly Pop Culture Mandate

Five things you must not miss this week, including Animal Collective, Scott Pilgrim, and a new memoir from Rosanne Cash.

By Ray Rahman

MUSICODDSAC, Animal Collective

The confederation of weirdos known as Animal Collective has become increasingly accessible since its younger, freakier days. The ODDSAC DVD, or “visual album,” bucks that trend. Our eloquent colleagues at Mojo describe the band's four-year collaboration with video artist Danny Perez  as “a beatific musical” that mixes “Blair Witch-style arboreal horror and op-art-esque psychedelic animation."  It features new music that's sure to please fans of the band’s looser, more ambient albums. And there are vampires. August 10

BOOKSYou Lost Me There, Rosecrans Baldwin

According to author Gary Shteyngart, novelists are akin to “those last Japanese soldiers... shooting because nobody told them that Hirohito has surrendered.” So the fact that Rosecrans Baldwin, co-founder of a literate, well-respected web publication, has joined the beleaguered ranks of novelists is notable in itself. More notable is that You Lost Me There, which has been popping up on critics’ lists all summer, is quite good. If you don’t believe us, you can, of course, check out the novel’s Tumblr page. August 10

MOVIESScott Pilgrim vs. the World, Edgar Wright

Michael Cera does what he does best in this film: pines after the girl of his dreams, this one named Ramona. But Pilgrim is more than just a Cera vehicle —  it boasts the direction of Edgar Wright, whose credits include Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the BBC’s under appreciated Spaced; new music from Beck, posing as Pilgrim’s own music; and a fun premise that finds Gen-Y's Antoine Doinel battling vegans, skaters, and other hipsters from "The League of Ramona’s Ex-Boyfriends." August 13

MOVIESThe People I’ve Slept With, Quentin Lee

Angela Yang, the heroine of this quirky comedy, is my kind of gal, the kind who makes a baseball card for each of her lovers to help keep track of them. This comes in handy when she winds up pregnant and unaware of whose baby she’s carrying. Despite the advice of her gay best friend (girls in romcoms aren’t allowed not to have one), she goes on a quest to find the father. Like so many of Lee’s films, People is rounded out by a diverse and entertaining ensemble cast. New York release: August 13

BOOKSComposed, Rosanne Cash

One would imagine that being the firstborn child of musical legend and general badass Johnny Cash would lead to too many people asking you about Johnny Cash. But why imagine, when we can find out firsthand? Roseanne Cash’s Composed recounts the daughter’s relationship with her erratic, not-so-badass father, but it also delves into her own successful career as one of country music’s most revered artists.  August 10