Culture Surfing - Lois Reitzes’ Top Five

Atlanta’s most soothing radio voice may belong to Lois Reitzes, WABE-FM (90.1)’s program director and host of its “Second Cup Concerts.” The station’s website recently launched two 24-hour audio streams — one all-news, the other all-classical — but Reitzes’ interests go beyond the airwaves.

1) A Dirty Job — Christopher Moore: “Do you ever enjoy a book so much that when you finished reading it, you were sad simply because it has ended? I felt that way about A Dirty Job. I’ve read everything that Moore has written, and this is among the very best, up there with Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove.”

2) Spamalot!: “My husband and I were fortunate to see the Monty Python musical soon after it opened on Broadway, and I still laugh hysterically just thinking about some of the musical numbers. The play, its music and lyrics are so hilarious that it almost reaches the summit that is The Producers.”

3) Nawlinz: Dis, Dat or D’udda — Dr. John: “In this recording, made a year before Hurricane Katrina, the highlight may be Dr. John’s duet with Mavis Staples, “Lay My Burden Down.” Listening to the CD post-hurricane is especially haunting and leads you to believe that music in New Orleans will survive as long as there are people to sing and play it.”

4) Lang Lang: “The young Chinese pianist is not only a magnificently gifted artist, but credits Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry cartoons with nurturing his love of music — at age 2!”

5) Perugina’s Baci bar: “Although I have never met a chocolate I didn’t like, if I had to select just one, it would be the dark-chocolate hazelnut Baci bar by Perugina. The individual round ‘kisses’ are very good, but the rectangular chocolate bar with little hazelnut chips approximates my enjoyment of Mozart. Almost.”