Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

año| 2009
estilo| Indie, Pop
procedencia| Versailles (Francia)
productor| Phoenix, Phillipe Zdar
sello| V2 Records

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descarga| Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

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Music Review: Pearl Jam - Backspacer

I’ve waited a long time for this.  New Pearl Jam!!  MMMMMM….Good!  But, should I just continue to gush here about how much I love it or should I at least attempt to be objective and unbiased? Yeah, I’m gonna gush about it….

Seriously, Pearl Jam may be single handedly saving rock music from the eternal abyss.  Think about it–how many other rock bands out there are not only writing their own music, but have been doing so consistently for 18 years now all the while evolving their sound over and over again and owning it every time? A lot of bands fail to create their own sound from the first album on…and many can never seem to repeat that sound in a convincing way.

OK, so maybe I’m propping Eddie and the boys up on a high pedestal, I’ll admit.  But, this is their 9th studio album and it is nothing like any of the albums before it…just like Pearl Jam was before it and Riot Act was before it and Binaural and so on (though I know that I don’t have to tell you because you already have them all……right?).  The album clocks in at 36.5 minutes which makes it the tightest Pearl Jam album ever.  No 5 minute guitar solos on this record.  But that doesn’t take away from any of the songs.  In fact, this album sounds like the guys from Pearl Jam have found a new place in life where they are at peace.  Take the first single The Fixer (video embedded below).  They lyrics of the song are about the want to fix things that appear broken…but the music isn’t angry punk influenced rock, rather it’s more poppy punk influenced rock.  No need to adjust your eyes–you read that right.  It’s poppy.  It’s amazing and unlike anything else they’ve ever done.  In fact, I’d say that the entire album is more poppy than their past works.  And Eddie penned a very pretty song called Just Breathe that stays with the acoustic sound he used on the Into The Wild soundtrack. Some reviews have already remarked about the song being wedding worthy.  No joke.

Then there’s the business side of this record that is really interesting.  Since fulfilling their record contract with the major label (and J records with the last album) they are selling and promoting this album on their own.  They negotiated contracts for distribution to independent record stores across the nation, its on iTunes, and they have an exclusive agreement with Target. Yes, that Target…the same place you buy your toothpaste.  Now, I know it seems odd that the same guys who tried to sue Ticketmaster back in the day are selling their album through a big box store, but in a way it’s the ultimate way to stick it to the man.  They not only got Target to agree to let them also sell it in independent record stores and on iTunes, but Target agreed to buy 10 million copies right off the bat.  That’s more than the last record sold to this day.  And they are doing it themselves–they are not paying a fee to a record company or any other middle man.  It’s a sweet deal to be sure, but a lot of other bands wouldn’t be able to get a deal like this–a lot of them are just not big enough draws.

So, if you haven’t picked this up yet, what are you waiting for?!

Standout Tracks: The Fixer, Got Some, Supersonic, Just Breathe

X Factor 3, ottava puntata, esce Damiano Fiorella

Ottava puntata di X Factor 3, più amaro che dolce il verdetto. Esce il bel tenebroso Damiano Fiorella e se la cava, evitando anche il ballottaggio, un Silver palesemente inferiore agli altri in questa serata. Il gioco comincia a farsi duro perchè le Yavanna si stanno giocando benissimo le carte per rimanere dentro e l’ingresso di Giuliano Rassu ha un pò scompaginato gli equilbri in campo.

La Mori, che fino a mercoledì scorso non avrebbe potuto sperare di vincere nemmeno facendo una macumba agli altri due giudici, ha adesso per le mani un bell’asso. Ora la palla passa a Morgan: le otto puntate hanno dimostrato che la Mori non sa scegliere i pezzi da assegnare ai suoi artisti (vedi distruzione di Sofia), al contrario di Morgan, che valorizza bene i suoi artisti. Se sceglie bene i brani, annulla la grande voce di Giuliano e piazza due artisti ai primi due posti. I due che si meritano di vincere, perchè stanno dentro dall’inizio.

 

GRUPPI VOCALI

YAVANNA (E’ tutto un attimo di Anna Oxa e Aria di Gianna Nannini) -  Non siamo assolutamente d’accordo con i giudici, a noi l’interepretazione è piaciuta. E’ vero che rispetto ad Anna Oxa hanno meno versatilità nel tono vocale, ma sono sembrate piuttosto a loro agio, mentre altre volte sembravano un pò patire il pezzo. Le acconciature ricordavano la Oxa di quegli anni (era il 1986). Non meritavano il ballottaggio, dove cantano un pezzo nel quale non avevano brillato. Cantano bene, ma la sensazione è la stessa dell’altra volta. Le salvano, giusto così.

16-24 ANNI

MARCO MENGONI (“Insieme a te sto bene” di Lucio Battisti) – A Cappella esegue: “L’appuntamento” di Ornella Vanoni. Sul pezzo di Battisti, alzato anche di tonalità su sua richiesta, è straordinario. Voce ferma e precisa, senza cali di intonazione, solita interpretazione di spessore. Si conferma notevolmente a suo agio su pezzi da donna: quello della Vanoni gli calza benissimo.  Ha una voce non potente ma assolutamente molto moderna e malleabile. Un bel talento davvero.

CHIARA RANIERI (E non finisce mica il cielo di Mia Martini) – A Cappella esegue: “Io che amo solo te” di Sergio Endrigo. Dopo due settimane, torna su livelli d’Eccellenza, aprendo la voce come non avevamo più sentito. Morgan l’aiuta con un pezzo di Mia Martini, lei sentitamente ringrazia, interpreta divinamente e porta a casa. Forse la miglior esibizione di quest’anno in assoluto. Da brividi. Come anche nell’interpretazione senza musica. La sua voce è uno strumento celestiale.

SILVER (Le cose in comune di Daniele Silvestri) – A Cappella esegue: “Fatti mandare dalla mamma” di Gianni Morandi. Arrangiamento veramente brutto, ne soffre un pò anche l’interpretazione, che comunque di per sè non brilla. Non ci mette l’ironia e la leggerezza che l’originale mette sempre ogni volta che canta le sue cose. Non gli appartiene, questo pezzo. E si sente. Meritava il ballotaggio, lo salvano. Non stona, ma nel pezzo a cappella, contro Giuliano e Chiara è come essere un punching ball: prendi i cazzotti da tutti.

OVER 25

GIULIANO RASSU  (Back to black di Amy Wynehouse) – A Cappella esegue: “L’emozione non ha voce” di Adriano Celentano. Notevolissimo nel pezzo della Wynehouse, appunto costruito per una donna, ma già l’a settimana scorsa aveva stupito su Duffy. Serissimo avversario per Marco e Chiara. Molto bravo a cappella, conferma le sue doti vocali, anche se per timbrica e formazione blues e funk va meglio in inglese.

DAMIANO FIORELLA (Il volo di Zucchero e Baby can I hold you di Tracy Chapman) – A Cappella esegue: “Piazza grande” di Lucio Dalla. Sul pezzo di Zucchero ci mette grinta e rabbia, la volontà rifarsi dopo due ballottaggi. Meglio delle altre uscite, anche se forse ha ragione Morgan: forse soffre un pò le cover. Del resto però queste sono le regole del gioco. Non meritava il ballottaggio, perchè senza musica tutto sommato è andato bene, non avendo una voce potente, ma avendola usata molto bene. Al ballottaggio scivola via, come la dolcissima canzone di Tracy Chapman. Esce di scena. Forse inevitabile viste le avversarie, ma non doveva finire al barrage.

SOFIA (It makes you happy di Sheryl Crow) – A Cappella esegue:  “Goldrake” di Alberto Tadini alias Actarus, nella versione di Alessio Carraturo. Perde un pò il confronto con Sheryl Crow che ha una voce straordinaria, ma rispetto alla signora Armstrong non sfigura affatto. In crescendo nel corso della canzone, comunque si sente che è a suo agio su questa scia. Scelta coraggiosissima a cappella sulla sigla del cartoon rivista da Carraturo: se non hai una voce potente, puoi comunque dimostrare di saperla usare al meglio. Lei tira fuori la dolcezza, una tenerezza da bambini. E dimostra che si può cantare seriamente anche questa roba qui.

One Foot Out The Door

Taken straight from iTunes…

On his much anticipated sophmore CD ‘One Foot Out The Door’, singer/ songwriter/ producer, Mike Posner has developed his signature sound into a movement that has gotten him signed to J Records, on stages opening for the likes of Akon and on the pages of The New York Times, The New York Post and XXL Magazine. And he’s still a senior at Duke University! On his latest effort Mike deftly crafts a rich soundscape of hard hitting instrumentals coupled with clever songwriting indicative of someone twice his age. While his first mixtape posited it was only ”A Matter of Time” until his buzz took off, on this offering, he makes it clear he has ”One Foot Out The Door” into the stratosphere. Featuring guest appearances from Kid Cudi, Bun B, Big Sean, GLC, 3Oh!3, Freddie Gibbs and XV, “One Foot Out The Door” is sure to top best of 2010 lists

Free From iTunes like always… or get the MP3’s if you would like…

One Foot Out The Door: iTunes

One Foor Out the Door: MP3

Quick Edit… The one song I have been waiting for the most, Please Don’t Go, is NOT on this (version of the) mixtape… lets hope it comes out on thurs… but heres a pretty good quality live version for you for now

Please Don’t Go (click to listen..Right Click to DL)

Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country

MySpace
Website
Ano: 2006
Género: Pop
Download

01. Lloyd, I’m Ready To Be Heartbroken
02. Tears For Affairs
03. Come Back Margaret
04. Dory Previn
05. The False Contender
06. Let’s Get Out Of This Country
07. Country Mile
08. If Looks Could Kill
09. I Need All The Friends I Can Get
10. Razzle Dazzle Rose

All

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Robbie Williams: A nice bloke with a good voice who's not on drugs anymore releases quite good album that you ought to buy

Been a little quiet of late, but bursting out of the blocks after what was, in all reality, a fairly okay performance on the X Factor, comes Mr Robbie Williams at the BBC’s Electric Proms.

In what was without doubt a great show, in front of an adoring crowd, Robbie confirmed what I had thought about him for a very long time – that he’s a genuine star with more class and quality than most people give him credit for.

With the press already writing him off before the run-in to Christmas and the – dramatic pause – battle with the reality TV production line of pseudo-stars, Burke, Boyle and Cole – Robbie would be forgiven for thinking that the only thing the papers would really like to see him do is (a) overdose or (b) rejoin Take That after his relaunch nosedives.

I wonder whatever happened to hoping for the best for our pop kids – that they do well and sell bucketloads. But then, in this culture of manufactured conflict and petty hate machinations, what should we expect? The time for the headline that reads, “Robbie Williams: A nice bloke with a good voice who’s not on drugs anymore releases quite good album that you ought to buy” seems quite far off. But not here – that’s why that is the title of the blogpost.

He’ll never have the gravitas to be a George Michael, but he will be around for a very, very long time, irrespective of how much the papers are determined to bring him down before he’s even started on this round of the pop ferris wheel. Haters. Grow up.

Anyway, back to the meat, and the show at the Camden venue earlier this week was simply brilliant. How much of that was down to the presence of the Buddha of British Pop Music, Trevor Horn, his wife and Oscar nominated composer, Anne Dudley, a string and brass section that added a huge lush layer to the production, is open to conjecture. You can’t deny, however, when a performer connects so easily with his audience, and can give a short showcase to new album tracks that easily stand with the rest of his back-catalogue with such confidence, that there is something magical about the lad.

Stop being so bitter.

Love this pop life.

It’s called entertainment. Be entertained.

Let him entertain you…

Cheryl Cole — Fight For This Love

First question: why is Cheryl Cole dancing in her leopard-print pajamas?
Second question: why does Cheryl Cole channel 2008 Lady Gaga at 0:29? It’s not working for her.

I’m not sure whether the bass on this video is simply dysfunctional, but the choreography in this video does seem to match the audio at all. The former is very aggressive, while Cheryl’s vocals are not nearly that strong. The instrumentals don’t help much. I appreciate the effort taken with visuals, but the song is too distractingly light to keep it all together.

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Hilary y su larga trayectoria

En el post de hoy me parece conveniente hablar sobre la famosísima actriz y cantante a la que se le ha otorgado el título de “Princesa del pop” tras el título de reina a Britney Spears. Estoy hablando de Hilary Duff.

Esta joven nació en Houston el 28 de septiembre de 1987. Su vida ha estado rebosada de éxito. Comenzó haciendo teatro y ballet clásico en su ciudad natal, esto le prepararía para el futuro. A su hermana mayor Haylie también le entusiasmaba la vida del espectáculo y cuando se mudaron en 1990 a Los Ángeles comenzaron a presentarse a castings continuamente. Participaron en algún comercial y alguna serie, pero la suerte le llegó antes a la pequeña de las hermanas Duff cuando consiguió el papel protagonista de la película infantil “Casper meets Wendy”.

En 1999 consiguió el premio Young Hollywood Awards por su participación en la película “The soul collector”.

Pero su mayor éxito llegó con el papel que desempeñó en la famosa serie de Disney Channel “Lizzie McGuire” en 2001. También participó en otras películas importantes como son “Doce en casa” o “Material girls”, pero tras llegar a conocer sus primeros pasos, me voy a centrar en su carrera musical ya que de eso trata este blog.

Con su serie “Lizzie McGuire”, nombrada anteriormente, tuvo la oportunidad de grabar el tema “I can´t wait”, un año más tarde, en 2002, grabó para la compañía Walt Disney Records un CD con canciones de Navidad: “Santa Claus Lane”. Consigue vender poco más de medio millón de copias. A parte de este disco, consiguió participar en el CD de Disneymanía con la canción The Tiki Tiki Room.

En 2003 grabó dos canciones que le llevarían a conseguir un contrato discográfico. Estas canciones eran para la BSO de la película “Lizzie McGuire” cuyos títulos son: “Why not” y “What dreams are made of”.

Se lanzó al mercado el primer sencillo oficial de la artista contenido en su álbum “Metamorphosis”, la canción “So yesterday“. Tuvo un gran éxito a nivel internacional. Se vendieron 4 millones de copias solo en EEUU y alcanzó la cina del Billboard, internacionalmente, vendió una media de 9 millones de copias. En 2004 se lanzó el tercer sencillo “Come clean”, que recibió el disco de oro en Estados Unidos. El video fue nominado a “Mejos video Pop” de los MTV Video Music Awards.

Su próximo proyecto musical, apareció en ese mismo año con el soundtrack de la película que protagonizaba “A Cinderella Story”. En la canción “Our lips are sealed“, obtuvo la participación de su hermana.

La texana no dudó en sacar su segundo disco titulado con su nombre “Hilaty Duff” con un toque más rockero. Su principal single fue “Fly“. Inició una gira mundial llamada Most Wanted, título que recibiría el recopilatorio de sus principales canciones en el álbum del 2005. Con el disco recopilatorio consiguió llegar a la primera posición del Billboard y mantenerse durante dos semanas.

Dos años después apareció el cuarto trabajo discográfico de la cantante en que podemos encontrar la canción “Play with fire”, perteneciente a la película Material girls, ya mencionada anteriormente, en la que coprotagoniza con su hermana. En este disco que recibe el nombre de “Dignity”, podemos encontrar a la joven actriz ya más madura introduciendo a su música elementos que la hacen bailable y música electrónica. Su segundo sencillo es la conocida canción “With Love” con la que propagandiza su recién sacado a la venta, perfume personal llamado como el nuevo single.

En octubre de ese mismo año, fue nominada a Mejor Artista Pop Internacional en los Premios MTV.

En 2008, se sacó a la venta el segundo disco recopilatorio de la cantante, “Best of Hilary Duff”, en el que destacamos la nueva canción “Reach out” en la que se le ve a la cantante con un toque de glamour.

Entre sus premios, destacamos el de Mejor Cantante Femenina y Mejor Canción de Amor “With Love”.

Para terminar de conocer bien a la texana, quiero comentar por encima sus pequeños papeles en el ámbito de la moda. Participa en la línea de ropa “Stuff by Duff” y posó como modelo en 2005 para tres marcas internacionales.

Si yo tuviese la ocación de poder presentarme ante ella y hacerle una breve entrevista, le formularía las siguientes preguntas:

-Su vida ha estado llena de éxitos, por lo que supongo que se dedicará completamente a que todo siga así, ¿cómo saca tiempo para poder estar con sus seres queridos si tiene que viajar tanto? y ¿cómo consigue compaginar todas sus obligaciones con su vida privada?

-Lleva una trayectoria llena de fama, ¿cómo consigue mantenerse con los pies en el suelo?

-Estamos todos tus fans muy interesados en cuándo realizará su próxima gira internacional y también nos gustaría que nos confiase en qué proyectos está trabajando actualmente.

-Tras tantos años de profundo éxito, me pregunto cómo ha podido soportar tantos “fans locos” y cotilleos que han salido a la luz, mientras otros artistas menos reconocidos se quejan constantemente de este tipo de problemas, ¿qué opina usted? ¿Qué les diría a esos famosos?

-Por último, me gustaría preguntarle qué ambito de su vida profesional prefiere, moda, música o cine.

REVIEW: Nellie McKay @ Dimitriou's Jazz Alley (Seattle, WA - 10/20/09)

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

So, I had tickets to see Ben Folds with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra at Benaroya Hall last night.  I hemmed and hawed and finally decided to sell my ticket on craigslist to go see Nellie McKay instead.  I dig both of them as artists, and the main reason for the hemming and hawing was the whole symphony aspect (I mean, I’ve seen Ben Folds Five or solo a half dozen times already… so the symphony take on it was my main draw).  Ah, but… Nellie totally has my heart when in a piano/vocalist celebrity deathmatch with Mr. Folds.  She’s quirky, cute, writes and sings both silly and political songs, has a passionate love for animals (she’s a vegetarian with a stance on animal cruelty that makes me proud), and… you rarely know what to expect from her musically on any given night.  I’ve seen her twice prior, and both times were fantastical suprises.

Sorry, Ben.  Next time?

As a consolation for the Ben Folds fans, there’s a free mp3 stream (or download if you do some research, i.e.- “view source”) from the Huffington Post of the Ben Folds collaboration with author Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, etc).  It’s a jab song at the ex-fiance of ex-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol… from the HuffPo, I present you ”Levi Johnston’s Blues.”

Speaking of the HuffPo… here’s a recent article / interview with Nellie McKay by Michael Giltz.

Oh, so Nellie’s latest album, Normal As Blueberry Pie, is all about Doris Day (a total of 14 Doris Day tracks in the recording session, and one Nellie original).  Two of the 15 session tracks are more difficult to get ahold of, unless you want to buy both the “exclusive” Barnes & Noble bonus track version and the iTunes bonus track version.  Have I mentioned that Universal Music Group’s tactics suck!?  Anyway, the album is great (special track tactics notwithstanding).  The album lacks some of the bite and wit of Nellie’s prior 3 (and a half) solo albums.  But, I love it all the same.  It’s got Nellie trademark nostalgia / campiness, as evidenced by the photos surrounding the release (see to the right).

OK… on to the review of the show…

I really dig Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley.  It’s large enough, but quite small and intimate.  Also the idea of making an experience out of the show – a fantastic meal, great atmosphere, and an attentive audience makes for a wonderful evening.  Oh, and free parking in downtown Seattle is like the cherry on top.  This was only my second time here (Hiromi in June was my first), but it is quickly becoming one of my favorite venues in the PacNW, if not ever.  I just wish it wasn’t so far away from me in Eugene all the time.

The Jazz Alley’s description of Nellie as a “martini cool chanteuse” is kinda of spot on.

[live photos to be posted Saturday]

Nellie went on around 7:40pm with her backing band, The Aristocrats.  This was my first time seeing Nellie with a band.  They were excellent.  They were all younger than I was expecting.  I mean, this wasn’t her studio backing band… but as hired guns solely for touring, they really worked well with Nellie in a fun & playful way.  The band was Nellie McKay (piano and ukulele), Howard Fishman (guitar), Charles Schiermeyer (sax), Ben Bynum (drums), Scott Litroff (violin and flute), and Daniel Policar (keys).

[live photos to be posted Saturday]

Setlist: just shy of 90 minutes

• If I Ever Had a Dream
• Close Your Eyes (Doris Day cover)
• Sentimental Journey (Doris Day cover)
• Send Me No Flowers (Doris Day & Burt Bacharach cover, Nellie on Uke)
• Do Do Do (Doris Day cover) *a fave of the night*
• Mean To Me (Doris Day cover)
• Dig It (Doris Day cover, Nellie dance-off) *a fave of the night*
• The Very Thought of You (Doris Day cover)
• A Wonderful Guy (Doris Day cover)
• I Remember You (Doris Day cover)
• “I Killed Larry David and I Liked It” / Grunge Song *a fave of the night*
• Crazy Rhythm (Doris Day cover) *a fave of the night*
• Black Hills of Dakota (Doris Day cover)
• A-Tisket, A-Tasket (Ella Fitzgerald cover)
• The Dog Song *a fave of the night*
• Encore: Zombie (with Gary Danielson on sax)
• I Wanna Get Married (Doo Wop Version, with Gary Danielson on sax) *a fave of the night*

[live photos to be posted Saturday]

So, yeah, holy crap… Nellie just keeps on getting better each time I see her.  I thought I’d be slightly bummed by a mostly Doris Day set (as I really like Nellie’s original songs a lot), but the Doris Day material was really fantastic in a live band setting.  The addition of a jazz combo behind her really made the songs gel, and her interaction with the others was really fun.  She’s kinda of a nutty person (or maybe as corny as Kansas in August)… but I wouldn’t want her to be any other way.  I didn’t get a chance to meet her after the show, but I had a fun night regardless.  Nellie and the Aristocrats are playing a second night (Wednesday, October 21st) at the Jazz Alley.  If you go, drop me a line with your thoughts on Night 2.

[live photos to be posted Saturday]

Some of the best lines of the night by Nellie…

“I still can’t go back to Olympia, because I have overdue library books.”

“There’s hashish in that music… that was a score!” (really funny in context)

If you don’t have her newest one, get it… it’s fun (and out on vinyl, too):

The Appropriate Linkage:

• Nellie McKay’s Official Site
• The Fan Site with Forum
• Nellie McKay on MySpace
• Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley

~Dan – np: Erik Friedlander – Topaz

 [live photos to be posted Saturday]

Cheryl Cole has the X Factor?

I recently watched Cheryl Cole’s performance in the X Factor, and I hate to say it but it was cool. I have been criticising her singing ability ever since ‘Girls Aloud’ was formed, but damn you cant hate when credit is due. She was very sexy for one and she held the notes of her song ‘fight for this love’ without sounding out of tune. I am not declaring that she is a new diva who is about to emerge with a voice as great as the likes of the old Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey. But I am saying she is good enough to be in the category of today’s female pop star and she is a great accessory to add to any man’s arm. Although I do think Ashley Cole does not match up to her standards, lol. But yes, dudes she is pretty hot, maybe we should throw her a bouquet or something!

So what do you think, Cheryl Cole, Hot or Not?

we simply ate non-stop!

on children’s day,

the jobless gang went on an impromptu jb trip!

we took this picture before lester arrives and it’s the only picture with king chan.

because he brought his punch-holed-and-old-and-expired passport instead of his new one to the immigration.

so while the 5 of us went ahead,

he had to go home.

haha.

…

and so like what my title says,

we simply ate NON-STOP the whole time we were there!

our first “meal” of the day:

ems and i had some fruit juice before heading for lunch.

then lunch was at sizzling stonegrill:

as if the grilled meat wasn’t enough to fill our tummies,

we went on to have desserts at baskin robbins!

msia trips are never complete without an ice-cream at baskin robbins i say!

the ever generous brendon treated us to this 40scoops chocolate fondue that’s oh-so-yummy!

except for that greenish looking almond flavour ice-cream that we all didn’t like heh.

and because we wanted to fit more stuff into our stomachs later,

we decided to take a break and go for movies.

the movies there were dirt cheap!

we each spent less than 3 bucks for THE UGLY TRUTH.

and the formula to watching such cheap movies?

dig out all your student cards for student discount!

because ems and hx forgot to bring their matric cards,

lester and i threw in our alumnus card and student ez-link card.

that lady at the counter even photocopied the cards for reference,

without even realising there were repeated cards! :X

thank goodness we didnt get caught!

anyway,

something random:

we saw this outside the movie theater

do i look more like 刘青云 or lester more like 古天乐?

i don’t really want to know the answer by the way.

hahaha.

…

so after the movie,

we went on to do some workout at the arcade with..

BISHI BASHI!

i think we’re all quite zai at it!

(and ems is surprisingly super good at it!)

and (random again),

this is something you don’t see in singapore arcades:

ktv capsules where you can simply insert tokens to sing!

interesting ah!

but they only have malay songs i think.

…

so obviously after all that bishi bashi-ing,

we had space to spare in our tummies once again and we proceeded to shilin for snacks!

and we even had some auntie anne’s pretzels + secret recipe cakes to go along with.

just that i forgot to take pictures of them.

…

and after that we walked around some more to digest the food before our last stop at:

the much-raved about golden balls (bottom right picture) were alright only.

lester dua pao!

heh.

so when we finally couldnt squeeze anything more into our stomachs,

we went back.

one last groups photo before we splitted into different cabs home.

and this got to be the photo of the day:

hehe.

this jb trip definitely wasn’t a BORING one.

(inside joke heh!)

And a peacock too!

I have seen the video, my friends.  We don’t get all that many opportunities in life to confirm our memories with hard proof, but in this particular case I have a VHS tape full of proof, and the main point I want to make, based on this footage, is that our elementary school was often PROFOUNDLY RIDICULOUS.

I am referring to a tape my grandfather must have made of our 2nd/3rd grade Christmas musical.  I’m sure all of you were in Christmas  plays at one time or another.  In the South they’re unavoidable, even if you attend a supposedly non-sectarian public school.  (My friend Sarah, who is Jewish, has a great story about the Christmas-Around-the-World pageant she was required to perform in during 1st grade.  The teacher was going around assigning countries for each student to represent.  When it was Sarah’s turn, she tried to protest, telling the teacher, “but I’m Jewish!”  The teacher said, “That’s perfect, Sarah!  Then you can be Christmas in Israel!”)  Everyone did a Christmas play.  I’m sure most of the ones we did had the basic Jesus-Mary-Joseph theme, with a backup cast of wise men, shepherds, and angels.  But this one year, our music teacher decided to put on Angels and Lambs, Ladybugs and Fireflies – a performance that in the end required a literal ton of fabric, sparkles, and fake feathers.

Angels and Lambs is actually a fairly popular children’s Christmas musical written by a man named Fred Bock.  I mention Mr. Bock because when I lived in California, I was often confronted with people who believed that intense religiosity was the strict provenance of the deep South.  What I learned from living in both places is that each has its own brand of religion.  The difference is that California’s is more televangelism than ours.  SoCal is home to Mr. Bock (who was music minister for the Hollywood Presbyterian Church for enormous numbers of years) as well as the weird weird weird world of the Crystal Cathedral – whose yearly Christmas play completely outdoes anyone else’s standards of absurdity.  (Their angels actually “fly” in from the super-high vaulted ceilings using Hollywood-type props – and with looks of sheer fright on their faces.  Their stage has a hidden fountain, and they use real animals during production – including a couple of camels.)

The basic plot of Bock’s work is that a population of wild creatures – bugs, birds, lambs, and for some reason a peacock –  are present during the shepherds’ conversation about the birth of the Baby Jesus in Bethlehem.  They (meaning the creatures) then have a discussion about whether they should go to the birth too.  They eventually decide that as creatures of the air and field they can spread the good news about Jesus’ birth, and that they will head to Bethlehem, telling everyone they meet along the way.

What I remember most about this play is the costumes.  We had a huge contingent of kids spreading across all classes of two grades, and the stage was filled with little ones dressed as creatures of the earth and sky.  Now, if this had been a public school production, the costumes would likely have been fairly simple – affordable.  But we were not a public school, and most of our student body had money coming out of their ears and other orifices.  So our teacher (whom I actually remember liking) decided she would follow the VERY PRECISE instructions on costume-construction that come from the booklet accompanying the play.  (This play is available for purchase through Amazon, by the way.  It comes with sheet music, a play booklet, and detailed costume and set designs, should any of you want to put on your own production.)  Erin and I had to go to a professional seamstress to have our butterfly wings sewn onto our little black leotards.

So the first thing that struck me as my mom and I watched this old home movie were the crazy costumes.  The back of the stage was lined with birds of all types – eagles, parrots, flamingos, and one poor kid sporting a peacock’s outspread feathers made from cardboard and taking up 3/4 of rear-center stage.  Whenever he walked to the microphone at the front of the stage to deliver his one line, he had to move sideways to keep from hitting anyone.

Secondly, I really was very tall.  I am by far the biggest butterfly.  Also, somehow in a cast of probably 80 kids Erin and I still managed to get placed right next to each other on stage.  We’re both butterflies and we’re standing next to each other the entire time, even though I’m on the back row with the tall kids and all you can see is the top of Erin’s head.  I am always amazed at how much time we were able to spend together.  In most cases good friends get separated during events like this, mostly because teachers are afraid they’ll talk and cause a ruckus.  I guess our reputation as Goody-Two-Shoes prevented this.  In fact, I am SUCH a Goody-Two-Shoe that I get cast as the butterfly who eventually argues that yes, all creatures great and small SHOULD go to the birth of Jesus.  This seems on par with my childhood go-with-the-flow philosophy.   (I was also the angel Gabriel – wrongly gendered – in numerous Christmas productions.  My niche in these plays seems to be as the figure of ultimate Good.  Interesting.  I think maybe it’s because I had a pretty loud, clear voice for a kid.  If there’s one line you want people to hear, it’s the line about how “God has sent his baby son to be a savior for everyone!”)

Thirdly, I remembered something about the powerful politics of school plays.  We’ve already mentioned that Melissa was part of our school’s elite.  And Erin mentioned a few posts back that Melissa’s mother was very young and pretty.  But she was also a member of one of the local Baton Rouge theater troupes.  In Melissa’s words, she was an “actress” – the sort of person who was always talking about doing “legitimate theater”.  And it’s true that Miss Annie* always seemed to have costumes and props lying around the house when we visited.  Once Miss Annie and her Junior League friends decided to throw an elaborate tea party with a 1920’s theme for one of Melissa’s younger sisters.  Melissa and Erin and I were somehow recruited to serve tea at the party, and Miss Annie dressed all of us up in authentic Roaring 20’s garb.  I have no idea why this happened.

At any rate, Melissa constantly bragged about her mother’s theatric connections.  And somehow, some way, she always managed to get appointed as the “star” of any school play.  During Angles and Lambs, she played Mary, one of the only two actual human characters and the ONLY one who got to sit down through the entire production, while the rest of us had to stand for hours during rehearsals, trying not to twitch or fidget.

I was complaining to my mom about this as we watched the video.  And then she reminded me of something I had completely forgotten.

(Beware: cheesy moralistic ending fast approaching…) At the end of the performance that night, I was standing around getting hugs and congratulations from my parents and grandparents, who all attended our one-night show.  (My dad even attended despite his bronchitis.  You can hear him coughing during the video.)  Melissa walked over to us and started talking to my parents, shaking hands with my grandparents, ever the big adult girl.  Then, still in complete Mary regalia, she said, “Can you drive me home?”

My mom was puzzled.  ”Melissa, aren’t your parents here?”

No.  They were not there.  My mom continued questioning her for a few minutes, just to make sure she had full grasp of the situation.  ”So your mom told you to just grab a ride with someone else?”  She had.

So Melissa rode home with us that night.  And my mom reports that, even in the car, she was still the consummate actress.  She delivered an extensive monologue on the pains of working with Mike, the very sweet boy who had been her Joseph.  He was NOT an adequate Joseph, and he had NOT listened to Melissa’s various directives.  My mom says that this really was a monologue – that Melissa was already more grown up than the rest of us, and that she knew how to work an audience.  She was self-aware in a way that most of us wouldn’t be until years later, when we started grasping the border between fantasy and reality.  Melissa was a girl who always knew EXACTLY what she was doing.

So, as cheesy as this is, it’s nice to realize that even though I hated her star power at the time, my whole family was at that play.  Hers left her to find a ride, even though she had a solo and was ostensibly the star.  I guess they needed to sit around and try on short robes again, or something else equally important.

*again, not her real name.  But it should be noted here that we did refer to all mothers by their first names, with a “Miss” prefix.  This is just what you do in the South.  Only teachers were known by their last names.  And although I am now a full fledged adult in my late twenties, if I ran into Erin’s mom on the street I would probably still use her name with “Miss.”  I just can’t do it any other way.

My Three Cents

This is an advertisement by the Americans Against Food Taxes in which a presumed mother delivers a monologue regarding the recently suggested tax on soda and certain fruit juice drinks. In the ad the mother asserts, “They say it’s only pennies, but those pennies add up when you’re trying to feed a family.” She’s right. The proposed tax would increase the price of soda, sports drinks and sugary fruit drinks by three cents. Diet sodas would be exempt from the tax.

It seems to me that if she is concerned with her food budget, or more to the point – three cents, she either shouldn’t be buying soda to begin with or she’s already receiving a government food subsidy.  If this mother is “trying to feed a family,” she might consider purchasing more from food isles and less from the sugar based drinks isle.

US Capital

In a time when healthcare reform is the paramount issue, I find it hard to believe that anyone would stand in the way of logical legislation meant to fund a system that will keep it’s people well. It’s the standard ‘two birds, one stone’ issue; Tax unhealthy products to deter over-consumption while funding the system responsible for keeping people healthy.  Check out this resource to see how much your state could be making.  In florida, we could generate $927,734,284 to support worthy health related programs.  We’ve been doing it for years: cigarettes, alcohol, and even some consumable food products which are considered luxury items.  We have a history of taxing unhealthy products.

…And unhealthy they are.  Soda has finally replaced white bread as America’s number one source for calories.  On average, Americans now consume their entire daily value of calories from beverages alone and  the average American drinks 60 gallons of soda a year.  That doesn’t sound too terrible, stepping back and looking at the big picture – 60 gallons isn’t much, right?

I suppose that depends on what soda does to your body; Within the first 10 minutes, 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. This is 100 percent of your recommended daily intake, and the only reason you don’t vomit as a result of the overwhelming sweetness is because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor;   Phosphoric acid and, if you’re a soda veteran, an acquired tolerance.

10 Tablespoons of Sugar

Within 20 minutes, your blood sugar spikes and your liver begins turning massive amounts of sugar into fat as a result of the burst of insulin.

Within 40 minutes, caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, and your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream.

Around 45 minutes, your body increases dopamine production, which stimulates the pleasure centers of your brain – a common event with many drug addictions.

After 60 minutes, you’ll start to have a sugar crash.  Energy levels decrease as your body attempts to adjust to the sudden lack of sugar intake.

Soda consumption is the number one cause of obesity among both children and adults in the US.

All of these factors combined spell disaster when consumed on a regular basis and I don’t think it is bold to say that 1.15 gallons a week is consumption on a regular basis.  Statistically, one soda a day increase your risk of diabetes by 85%.  Soda drinkers are at a higher risk for cancer; The federal limit for benzene in drinking water is 5 parts per billion (ppb), researchers have found benzene levels as high as 79 ppb in some soft drinks.  Soda contains a preservative known as sodium benzoate which has been proven to, in some cases, “switch off” vital parts of a persons DNA.  Other soda and sport drink components are high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, and caffeine.

It seems clear that something as simple as soda consumption is creating big problems for the health of our nation.  It’s only logical that some of the revenue generated by the purchase of such beverages be spent on a new kind of healthcare system which focuses on disease prevention and lifestyle. I would imagine that the eventual cost of consuming soda will far outweigh the proposed tax.

Picture courtesy of: http://www.hpsupplies.info

In one final blow on the part of the anti-tax ad, the soda to which she refers is the only item in what looks like an industrial strength plastic bag.  Perhaps she intends to recycle the bag, we can’t be certain.  If this character were a real person, I might suggest she recycle her aluminum and plastic soda containers at the local grocery store to earn back the collected tax – and then some.  Doing so would further increase the health of our nations people as well as the neighborhoods in which we live.  I would hope that even though this fictional mother and I don’t see eye to eye on soda tax, we can agree that plastic and aluminum will sit in ever-growing landfills for 1,100 years or longer.

If you would like to contact your local representative regarding this issue, click here.

The Raveonettes - Candy

The Raveonettes son un dúo pop rock de Dinamarca formado por Sune Rose Wagner (en guitarra y voz) y Sharin Foo (en bajo y voz). Su música está caracterizada por las armonías vocales inspiradas en The Everly Brothers, junto a fuertes guitarras eléctricas y dosis considerables de ruido. Sus canciones yuxtaponen la simplicidad estructural y de acordes del rock de los 50s y 60s con una intensa instrumentación eléctrica, usualmente con letras oscuras, similares a las de una de las influencias de la banda, The Velvet Underground.

“No nos asusta ser francos sobre lo que las referencias son en nuestra música” expresó Sharin Foo. “Para empezar, si mirás nuestro nombre, The Raveonettes, es una referencia directa a The Ronettes y la canción de Buddy Holly, Rave On!. Así que, en ese sentido, somos bastante claros.”

Erik Hassle — Hurtful

I wish I had the time to update this blog regularly. Nevertheless, I offer to you this music video. I’ve had a remix of the song for quite some time, though I never really knew who Erik Hassle was. He looks…different than I imagined, but I won’t hate on him because I like his song so much, and because he’s a relatively new artist who could probably use some grace. That said, he kind of looks like a Weasley, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing because Ron is acceptably attractive while the twins are SUPER cute. His hair, though, reminds me of Carrot Top, which is definitely a negative thing. Not sure what can be done about it.

I digress.

I’ve never heard the original version of this song before, and it’s quite fantastic. Erik looks appropriately mournful in this video, but I had always imagined more of a storyline to go with the song. Instead, he simply sits or paces around in deserted, grungy places. This is the first time the enjoyment of the song has distracted me enough not to care about the boring video, but that doesn’t mean the video isn’t still boring.

{!}

La Enciclopedia de La Música

Madonna por estos días que anda de gira tiene un record en los rankings de 37 Top 10 Hits y 7 álbumes número uno, incluyendo los últimos cuatro, dará a sus fans una nueva oportunidad de “celebrar” sus logros musicales.

A DE ALEX UBAGO:
El cantante español ha grabado una colaboración con Sharon Corr (The Corrs). Se trata del sencillo “Amarrado a ti”, con el que promociona la reedición de su álbum “Calle Esperanza” y que comenzará a sonar en todas las radios del mundo esta temporada.

B DE BLACK EYED PEAS:
La banda de Hip Hop sigue inamovible en el Nro.1 de Billboard y el World Chart. A estas alturas del año es imposible que cualquier otro artista le quite el honor de ser los artistas más exitosos de 2009.

C DE CHRISTINA AGUILERA:
La Diosa del Pop sigue dando noticias sobre su película “Burlesque”: Tricky Stewart y Danja (Disturbia, Umbrella) serán los productores musicales, mientras Cher, Cam Gigandet y Kristen Bell le acompañarán en el elenco.

D DE DAVID GUETTA:
El Dj es la última persona confirmada en el Line-Up de Los Premios MTV a celebrarse esta semana. 50 cent, Las Verónicas, Nelly Furtado, Paulina Rubio y Wisin y Yandel también estarán presentes.

F DE FITO & FITIPALDIS:
Por tercera semana consecutiva, Fito y Los Fitipaldis aguantan con Antes de que cuente diez convertido en el disco más vendido de España.

J DE JENNIFER LOPEZ:
La cantante regresó por los fueros con nuevo alter ego, LOLA, y nuevo sencillo promocional: “Fresh out the oven” feat. Pitbull es el adelanto de su nuevo álbum, a la venta a inicios de 2010. ¡El tema suena excelente!

L DE LUZ CASAL:
La española vuelve a la carga con «La Pasión», un disco compuesto por doce canciones que tienen al bolero como hilo conductor. “Con mil desengaños” es el tema promocional.

M DE MADONNA:
La Reina del Pop presenta esta semana Celebration, sencillo y álbum homónimos con el que “celebra” 30 años de vida artística y su liberación del sello Warner.

N DE NELLY FURTADO:
Empata con Paulina Rubio y Shakira en las nominaciones internacionales a los Premios 40 de España, tras hacer lo propio en los Premios MTV que se definen esta semana. Amaia Montero, La 5ta Estación y Macaco son los artistas nacionales más nominados.

P DE PAULINA RUBIO:
La indiscutible Reina del Latin-Pop estrenó su nuevo video “Ni rosas, ni juguetes”, así como remixes del tema junto a Pitbull y Jeni Rivera. Así mismo, La Chica Dorada firmó un millonario contrato esta semana como compositora del sello Sony/ATV.

R DE ROBBIE WILLIAMS:
El ídolo del pop británico se ha reunido con sus ex compañeros de Take That en un estudio después de 14 años de separación.

S DE SERGIO VALLÍN:
Guitarrista de Maná desde 1992, Sergio Vallín saca a relucir todo su talento compositivo en “Bendito entre las mujeres”, un debut en solitario para el que se hace acompañar por las voces de divas latinas de la talla de Paulina Rubio, Raquel del Rosario (El sueño de Morfeo), Rosana, Ana Torroja (Mecano), Natalia (la 5ta Estación); entre otros.

Global Warming Debate Heats Up as Temperatures Cool

A new study claims global warming is due to solar changes much more than human influence.

And while others cite ocean cooling cycles as the main influence, many sources of course still blame humans.

So the quandary becomes even more shrouded.

Not only do I need a calculator to determine whether my CO2 footprint will be smaller if I go fluorescent and re-paint the entire inside of my house to compensate, but I will now have to wait for scholars to weigh-in before I buy any more light bulbs.

Which leaves my house in complete and utter decorating-limbo.

I have two rooms lit by fluorescent only. These are rooms I am rarely in, where the lights are never turned off. That, of course, puts me out of the Green crowd, but puts me in with my nearly-blind cat, as his litter box and food are in these rooms.

I have another room that is lit by one Reveal 40-watt, and a special chrome-top 60-watt Reveal that makes the fan fixture with no paddles left by the previous tenant look much more appealing, while preventing that annoying bare-bulb-prison look. Unfortunately, this room was previously painted with that lighting configuration, so it must be factored into the re-paint.

The bathroom is 2 40-watt reveals and a 40-watt soft with a 7-watt nightlight. Also freshly painted, it would be the last room to go fluorescent, since seeing myself in the mirror while brushing my teeth is quite scarring enough without adding that ghostly fluorescent glow to my cheeks, butt or otherwise.

The hallway is all halogen, which puts me back in the Green running, except that Lowe’s recalled the upstairs pendant light and the downstairs light is ridiculously over-lit with 200 watts of IKEA hipness. But, since I installed these fixtures myself, I am afraid they will short and burn the house down, so they are never turned on.

While that may put me back in the Green, it puts me out of the Architectural Digest, as the short-circuited pendant from Lowe’s still hangs majestically over the stairs, but the hallway switches are covered with red tape, stealing most, if not all, of its aesthetic quality.

The bedroom is quite a hodge-podge with one 40-watt reveal, one 60-watt chrome-top Reveal, and one chrome-top 60-watt bulb I got on the web, after Target stopped carrying my beloved Reveal chrome-tops. The web version bathes half the room in a depressing shade of yellow that you’d be hard-pressed to match at any price. The saving grace is my wife and mine’s cynical laughter every time we turn on our pathetic internet-find.

The living room is 2 3-way Reveal bulbs that are never turned off and the art studio is nearly 400-watts of pure halogen glory that attracts the neighborhood skunks searching for light-loving bugs all night long.

The whole set-up is capped off with three 40-watt candle-tip bulbs out front, and 300-watts of halogen out back that light the neighbors trees as well as my own. It was 600-watts last year, but the buzz of the transformer was louder than the locusts, so I downgraded.

Oh yeah, in a save-the-planet-for-my-nieces-and-nephews moment, I put in an 11-watt fluorescent in the flood light fixture in the backyard, but I don’t think it will be enough to get me in the club.

I remember a time in my life, just a few years ago, when I didn’t have health insurance and a knock on the door meant a utility was probably being shut off.

But now that I’ve made it, and can afford to have the best of everything, including a monstrosity of an electric bill, I find myself standing in front of the light bulb section of the store like a lost child, hoping someone will just tell where to go and what to do.

I guess this just falls under the heading of “Be careful what you wish for.”

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | What happened to global warming?

Related:
Old-Fashioned Light Bulbs Banned in European Union – EU Incandescent No More

David Hasselhoff "Hooked on a Feeling"

Je ne sais pas ce qui est le plus magique dans ce clip: la prod façon Stargate et Ne-Yo remixée par Patrick Sébastien, les effets spéciaux et incrustations d’images dignes des plus grands blockbusters américains, le gimmick “Ooga Chakka hooga hooga” qui structure le morceau, la volonté de refaire un “Black or White” à la Michael Jackson, le prototype de menu tactile qui a donné naissance à l’iPhone, ou le second degré faussement assumé de David Hasselhoff. Et dire qu’à l’époque d’Alerte à Malibu, j’aurai tout donné pour être lui.

MASSSSSSIVE UPDATE!

Hey y’all! I just got back from an AMAZING concert, Jedi Electro. Remember them? And I vow, I VOW TO SEE EVERY SINGLE LIVE SHOW OF THEIRS IN MONTRÉAL. I don’t care. They are without a doubt, the top 10 shows of this entire year for me…maybe ever!

Ahem. I am FIVE hours away from heading out to New York. I hate that I have no time to make more complete updates but I figure, two minutes in heaven, is better than one minute in heaven. So, one sentence reviews and thoughts are all the time I have right now. BECAUSE I’M GOING TO NEW YORK! Woohoo!

*if you have some favorite’s/recommended places (not touristy stuff, please) PUT ‘EM DOWN! I shall try my best*

—

Why am I going, you might ask? Well, I am going to first and foremost see Kylie Minogue at the Hammerstein Ballroom on Sunday. JA JA JA yes laugh all you want, but she is amazing. I adore her. And it will be INCREDIBL(Y SEXY). I am also going for the CMJ Marathon…hopefully I can find a cheaper way in. Mwwwwaaajajjjaa1

So, quick update on POP MTL. Great festival. The third day I went to see the Slew (Kid Koala + Wolfmother). Great combo, but the bass for Wolfmother tooooooooooooootally faded out the turntable skillz but regardless, Wolfmother kicks total ass! They toured for the one and only time but worry not! You can check out their album for FREE here! After that, I checked out the Japandroids. A band whose album I’ve had for so long but still have not listened to because of the hype. Were they good live?! Yes, they totally rocked it. Such great energy for a two person band. There was crowd surfing, moshing, arm flailing and nails flying. But, I didn’t dig it despite this. I STILL wouldn’t listen to the album. Maybe it was because I was gettin’ puuuurdy tired.

The last day, I was at Divan Orange allll night. I still hold the opinion that if you were a band, this is DEFINITELY a venue you want to play at. Great atmosphere. Great sound. Average priced beer…and a mix crowd ranging from super artsy pretentious folk to super smelly non showering people, oh, and hippies. Sometimes. I saw DVAS, Silly Kissers, and Cadence Weapon. I wanted to see CFCF but I was falling asleep! DVAS played this amazing retro club pop music. I felt like it was italo-disco of twenty years ago. CRAZY GOOD dance party. And Silly Kissers KICK SO MUCH ASS!!

—

Anyways, I’ve been meaning to do these reviews for MONTHS. I’m not kidding. And it’s just getting a bit silly now, don’t you think? I figure I might as well share the music, and if you like it, go and buy it! And go to the shows! And yada yada yada you know how this works. =)

After the jump for somewhat informative and very terse descriptions of AWESOME albums: Heyoka, Tipsy, Washed Out, Basement Jaxx. Sigh, I guess not as large of an update. I wanted to add TMDP, the Islands, the Flaming Lips, Raekwon, etc etc…but I am getting suuuuuper sleep and alas…now it is another four hours before I leave. ENJOY! COME BACK BC THIS WILL BE UPDATED AS SOON AS I CAN!

Heyoka – Gate Code (2009)

HOLY MOTHER!!!! DUB STEP FANS! BASSSSSSSSSS IN YOUR FACE! HOW LOW CAN YOU GO! DRUM’N'BASS! JUNGLE! This San Fran native rips this album UP. Holy shit it is sick. That is all.

A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

MP3: Heyoka – Flying Dub Sauce

MP3: Heyoka – Sonidas De La Cabeza

Washed Out – Life of Leisure EP (2009)

Love love love this EP. Chill-out. Ambient. Coastal music for the soul and for washing your feet with sound waves. MMMM musical oceans.

A

MP3: Washed Out – Hold Out

Tipsy – Trip Tease (1997)

Discovered these guys from watching the Sopranos. I said hey, this sounds like a super cool song (”Cinnabar”). Since, I’ve checked a few of their albums and especially like this one. Genre: chill, ambient, down-tempo, experimental electronic.

A

MP3: Tipsy – Space Golf

MP3: Tipsy – Nude on the Moon

Basement Jaxx – Scars (2009)

Gave this album so many listens it hurts. To be honest, Basement Jaxx will just never get back to the “Romeo” and “Good Luck” days. Still a great club and dance album. Sometimes housey. And the cameos on this album are pretty impressive and are tooooooootally worth it in the end, unlike other cameo showoff albums. Not their best, but these two songs below and a few others…make Scars pretty alright. That’ll do BJ, that’ll do.

B+

MP3: Basement Jaxx – Scars (feat. Kelis, Meleka & Chipmunk)

MP3: Basement Jaxx – My Turn (feat. Lightspeed Champion)

Fun.

Artist: FUN.

Album: Aim and Ignite

Released: August 25th 2009

Label: Nettwerk Records

Half-life: the length of summer in your climate

When the leaves begin to turn there is inevitably one debate amongst music fans that is as traditional and routine as the changing of seasons. The “ALBUM OF THE SUMMER” debate. Arriving at the party just a little late is New York trio Fun. Consisting of members of the much under appreciated The Format (Vocalist Nate Ruess), the even more so under appreciated Steel Train (Guitarist Jack Antonoff) and critical Indie darlings Anathallo (Percussionist Andrew Dost) Fun. can best be described as new vintage pop. While still with one foot firmly planted in the Format songbook, vocalist Nate Reuss has continued to pursue the themes of what drew people to his songs in the first place. Tales of self-discovery, adventure, and hopeless romanticism are the backdrop to Reuss’ tales of big city life on Aim and Ignite. Musically, Fun. are at their best when they are paying homage to the musical icons of the 1960’s. One listen to the Paul Simon “Graceland” influence on “Take your time (Coming Home”) and you’ll know what I’m referring to. Whether it’s the gospel choir harmonies in “Barlight” or a slow rolling Pink Floyd-esque drum fill in “Roman Candle” It’s the nods to Rock N Roll’s past, that gives hope for a bright future for the boys in Fun.

RIYL: The Format, The Beach Boys, and Van Morrison

Foot Of The Mountain - A-Ha (2009)

Artist : A-Ha
Title : Foot of the Mountain
Release date : 2009
Genre : Pop
Quality : MP3 CBR 320kbps
Total Time : 40:32.873
Total Sise : 92.8MB

Tracklist:
1.The Bandstand;
2.Riding The Crest;
3.What There Is;
4.Foot Of The Mountain;
5.Real Meaning;
6.Shadowside;
7.Nothing Is Keeping You Here;
8.Mother Nature Goes To Heaven;
9.Sunny Mystery;
10.Start The Simulator
Click to Download
password: enghoang

Landon Pigg - The Boy Who Never (2009)

Artist : Landon Pigg
Title : The Boy Who Never
Release date : 2009
Genre : Pop
Quality : MP3 CBR 253kbps
Total Time : 54:51.952
Total Sise : 99.1MB

Tracklist:
01 – This Far
02 – A Ghost
03 – Blue Skies
04 – Falling In Love At a Coffee Sh
05 – Take a Chance
06 – The Boy Who Never
07 – Made for Glory
08 – Speak to the Keys
09 – Rooftops
10 – Look So Tired
11 – If I’m Saying Nothing
12 – Something Brief
13 – Falling In Love At a Coffee Sh
Click to Download
password: enghoang

Kent ser rødt!

Så er der atter nyt fra skandinaviens største band: Kent.

Fra i dag kan den nye singel: TÖNTARNA downloades digitalt, imens det fysiske format udgives den 12 oktober.

Og den 6 november udgives så det nye album, der har fået titlen: RÖD.

På dette nye album har Kent valgt at fortsætte samarbejdet med den danske producer Joshua ( Kashmir, Mew, Carpark North m.m ) som også sad bag mixerpulten på bandets seneste album, det storsælgende Tillbaka Till Samtiden, fra 2007. Som sædvanlig har Kent været meget sparsommelige med udmeldinger omkring indspilningerne, udover det sædvanlige citat fra sanger og sangskriver Jocke Berg: Det er det bedste album vi hidtil har skabt! Men noget tyder på, at der har været arbejdet intenst på det over flere perioder og indspilningerne har denne gang budt på ophold i bla New York, og i det legendariske lydstudie Hansastudion i Berlin, hvor Der Meistersaal ( intet mindre kan vel gøre det, når der er tale om Kent! ) blev taget i brug! Men forhåbentlig har Kent ikke glemt det efterhånden klassik nordiske tungsind, der ligger som et vandmærke i deres musik, og det er derfor også betryggende at kunne læse, at alle tråde afsluttende er blevet samlet hjemme i deres eget studie Psykbunkern/Park Studio,  i Hyltinge Kirke samt i diverse hverdagsrum!

/Olsen

The Clientele - Bonfires of the Heath

British dream-poppers The Clientele return to deliver another album that hangs like London fog with Bonfires on the Heath, their sixth album, and first since 2007’s God Save the Clientele. The album, like the ones before it, is primarily from the mind of leader Alasdair MacLean, but features more music from pianist Mel Draisey, who is said to have a profound affect on the album’s sound. The Clientele are promising thatBonfires is a return to their older, denser poppier earlier work, which hopefully means it’ll sound like their defining album, The Violet Hour.

download The Clientele – Bonfires of the Heath

"นางฟ้า (Nang Fah)" by ETC ft. Joey Boy

Title: นางฟ้า / Nang Fah (Angel)
Artist: ETC ft. Joey Boy
Album: Bring It Back
Year: 2008

เห็นหรือเปล่าน่ะ หรือเปล่าน่ะ
hen reu bplao na reu bplao na
Did you see it? Or not?
รู้หรือเปล่าใครเค้ามองอยู่น่ะ
roo reu bplao krai kao mong yoo na
Do you know someone’s looking at you?
มองใบหน้าเธอ มองจ้องเธอ เหมือนโดนสะกด(โอ้ย)
mong bai naa ter mong jong ter meuan dohn sa-got ( oi )
Looking at your face, staring at you like I’m hypnotized (oy)
ฝันหรือเปล่าน่ะ คงไม่น่ะ
fan reu bplao na kong mai na
Is it a dream? Probably not

รู้ว่าคนอื่นเค้าก็มองน่ะ
roo waa kon eun kao gor mong na
I know that somebody else is watching too,
ตัวเธอถูกจับจองไปด้วยสายตา
dtua ter took jap jong bpai duay saai dtaa
You captured our attention

(*)ถ้าเค้ามีเวทมนต์ ทำให้เธอประทับใจ
taa kao mee wet mon tam hai ter bpra-tap jai
If he has spells to make you impressed
ต่างกับฉันมีแค่ใจ คอยให้เธอกรุณา
dtaang gap chan mee kae jai koi hai ter ga-roo-naa
Unlike me who has only a heart for you to pity

(**)จะควงเธอไปที่ใด ใครคงอิจฉา
ja kuang ter bpai tee dai krai kong it-chaa
To walk with you anywhere, everyone would probably be jealous
เธอคือคนที่ใครหลายคนคิดว่านางฟ้า
ter keu kon tee krai laai kon kit waa naang faa
You’re someone who many others consider an angel
โปรดเถอะน่ะ ช่วยมองที่หัวใจ ของฉันได้ไหม
bproht te na chuay mong tee hua jai kong chan daai mai
Please, please take a look at my heart, could you?
ถ้าเธอคือนางฟ้า
taa ter keu naang faa
If you’re an angel

ใครเคยบอกมา ตลอดมา
krai koie bok maa dta-lot maa
Everyone used to tell me, always,
รักเป็นเพียงเรื่องของหัวใจน่ะ
rak bpen piang reuang kong hua jai na
Love is just a matter of the heart,
มีอำนาจใด ทำให้ใจ เธอได้โปรดฟัง
mee am-naat dai tam hai jai ter daai bproht fang
What authority does it have to make your heart listen?
แค่ให้เธอรู้ ให้เธอเห็น
kae hai ter roo hai ter hen
Just to let you know and get you to see
ใจฉันอยากเป็นของของเธอน่ะ
jai chan yaak bpen kong kong ter na
My heart wants to be yours
ขอโอกาสสวรรค์เห็นใจสักครา
kor oh-gaat sa-wan hen jai sak kraa
I ask for a chance for Heaven to sympathize with me for once

(*, **)

อะ อะ อะ โอ้ยๆ สงครามหัวใจ
a a a oh oi-oi song-kraam hua jai
a a a oi-oi, battle of the hearts
จะสู้กับใครเค้าได้หละโว้ย
ja soo gap krai kao dai la woi
How could anyone fight them?
ฐานะมันปานกลางจนเกือบจะล่างเลย โอ้โหย
taa-na man bpaan glaang jon geuap ja laang loie oh hoi
Your situation is mediocre, it’s almost lower than average oh hoi
ไม่มีรถยนต์โดยสาร
mai mee rot-yon doi-saan
I don’t have a car to pick you up
ขาดปัจจัยทั้งหมด ที่มีอย่างเดียว ก็มาตรฐาน
kaat bpat-jai tang mot tee mee yaang dieow gor maat-ra-taan
Lacking in all factors, what’s left is only standard
ในเรื่องความรักของชายไทย
nai reuang kwaam rak kong chaai tai
Matters of love of Thai guys
ไม่มีออพชั่นเป็นทุน นามสกุลก็แพ้ใคร
mai mee op-chan bpen toon naam sa-goon gor pae krai
There’s no option to choose, even your last name loses to someone
แข่งบุญวาสนาก็แข่งไป
kaeng boon waat-sa-naa gor kaeng bpai
Competition of fortune, go ahead
ถ้าแข่งกันรัก เธอ ผมไม่แพ้ชายใด
taa kaeng gan rak ter pom mai pae chaai dai
If it’s a competition of love, you and I will not be defeated
ยังไม่ลองก็แล้วไป…แล้วไป
yang mai long gor laew bpai … laew bpai
Still not trying, let it be… let it be..
ยังอีก…ก็ตามใจ
yang eek … gor dtaam jai
Still more… as you wish

(* , **, **)

Selena Gomez And The Scene - Kiss And Tell (2009)

Artist : Selena Gomez And The Scene
Title : Kiss And Tell
Year : 2009
Genre : Pop
Quality : MP3 VBR 216kbps
Total Time : 42:24.453
Total Sise : 65.4MB

Tracklist:
1. Kiss And Tell
2. I Won’t Apologize
3. Falling Down
4. I Promise You
5. Naturally
6. Crush
7. The Way I Loved You
8. … More
9. As A Blonde
10. I Don’t Miss You At All
11. Stop And Erase
12. I Got U
13. Tell Me Something I Don’t Know
Click to Download
password: enghoang