SEO Tips
You're an online beat maker, therefore you have a site where you showcase your product for consumers to buy. Whether it be soundclick, myflashstore or your own personal web page--optimizing it for search engines is the key to getting more traffic and more traffic equals more sells. Assuming that you already have the "On Page" optimization looking good with information and keywords describing your site in no less than 250 words, that's just the tip of the SEO iceberg. Off page search engine optimization is the bread and butter to getting your page ranked high and overflowing with traffic. Things such as Forum marketing, article marketing, blogging etc, they're all forms of one way links and that's the most important factor to your site's success.
What Is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization is just a fancy word for popularity contest. The more people that recommend you for a certain keyword, the higher your search engine positions will be. For example, if someone Google the term hip hop beats and you only have 100 sites saying that's what you have but your competition has 5,000 then he will get all your traffic because he's more popular than you. It's sad but true. Just think about all the money and prospects you're losing every single day. However there is no magic formula that will sky rocket you up the search engine listings but there's a formula you can use to speed up the process.
The One Way Link Formula
The formula is simple--have a high quality, well managed, user friendly information rich site and be proactive everywhere you go. Doing those two things will build up your one way links exponentially. Webmasters will link to your site because you offer valuable information that will benefit their viewers. Being proactive everywhere you go means participating in everything that has to do with music and leaving your link along with valuable information that contributes to the site. Webmasters will also place your information from those sites on theirs thus giving you another one way link. Before you know it, you will have thousands of one way links and your site will get more traffic as a result of better rankings and more traffic means more sells. You can find out who links to you by just simply Googling your domain name--if you've been proactive all around the internet it'll surprise you how many one way links you already have.
Top 20 Lionel Richie and The Commodores Hits
Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1949. He was raised on the campus of Tuskegee Institute where his grandfather worked. He received a tennis scholarship and attended Tuskegee Institute where he graduated with a degree in economics.
During the mid 1960's, Lionel was a member of a number of R&B groups. He joined The Jays in 1968 as their vocalist and saxophonist. Because the name The Jays was too close to The O'Jays, they changed their name to The Commodores. Other original members in The Commodores included, William King, Thomas McClary, Milan Williams, Ronald LaPread, and Walter "Clyde" Orange.
Motown Records signed The Commodores to be an opening act for The Jackson Five, but soon they became an extremely popular soul group on their own.
By the early 1980's, Lionel was penning songs for other artists, including, Kenny Rogers, who took Lionel's composition "Lady" to number one on Billboard's Singles Charts. He was also recording solo in the early eighties and he officially left The Commodores in 1983. He was replaced with Skyler Jett as the lead singer.
In 1985, he teamed with Michael Jackson to write and record "We Are The World" as part of the USA For Africa ensemble.
On the charts, Lionel, as a solo artist and with The Commodores hit the Top 40 charts thirty times and went to number one on seven occasions. Here are the Top 10 Lionel Richie hits and the Top 10 Commodores hits, according to Billboard's Weekly Top 40 charts.
Lionel Richie
1. Endless Love - 1981 - Lionel's first solo effort was actually a duet with Diana Ross, from the film of the same title and went to number one for nine weeks.
2. All Night Long (All Night) - 1983 - He performed this #1 song at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and, more recently, on the finale of American Idol in 2009.
3. Say You, Say Me - 1985 - More movie music, this time from the film "White Knights" starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines.
4. Hello - 1984 - The third single from the "Can't Slow Down" album, which spawned five Top 10 singles.
5. Truly - 1982 - From his first solo album, this song won Lionel a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocalist Performance.
6. Dancing On The Ceiling - 1986 - The music video to this song is reminiscent to the 1951 Fred Astaire film, "Royal Wedding" and features cameos by comedians Rodney Dangerfield and Cheech Marin.
7. Stuck On You - 1984 - In addition to this single going to number 3 on the pop charts, it also peaked at #24 on the Country charts.
8. You Are - 1983 - Co-written by his then wife, Brenda Harvey, this single reportedly features backing vocals by Richard Marx.
9. My Love - 1983 - Harmony vocals on this single is done by Lionel's good friend, country singer, Kenny Rogers.
10. Running With The Night - 1984 - Guitar solo on this song is done by Steve Lukather from the group Toto.
The Commodores
1. Three Times A Lady - 1978 - Their biggest hit went to #1 for two weeks and was written by Robert Farthing, who was inspired when his father made a comment about his mother.
2. Still - 1979 - The Commodores only other number one single came from their "Midnight Magic" album.
3. Nightshift - 1985 - The only Top 10 single without Lionel Richie, the song is a dedication to singers Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson. A new version was recorded in 2010 to include Michael Jackson.
4. Oh No - 1981 - The last single featuring Lionel Richie on leads came from their "In The Pocket" album.
5. Easy - 1977 - This song has been covered by artists like Clarence Carter, Richie Havens, Taylor Hicks and Faith No More.
6. Sail On - 1979 - The only other Top 10 single from the "Midnight Magic" album.
7. Sweet Love - 1976 - Their first Top 10 single went to #5 on the weekly charts.
8. Brick House - 1977 - The lyrics were written by member and trumpet player William King's wife, Shirley, and features drummer Walter "Clyde" Orange on lead vocals.
9. Just To Be Close To You - 1976 - From their "Hot On The Tracks" album.
10. Lady (You Bring Me Up) - 1981 - The first hit single from the "In The Pocket" album.
Not without controversy, in 1988, Lionel and Diane Alexander were attacked in a Beverly Hills hotel room, by Lionel's college sweetheart and wife since 1975, Brenda Harvey. They divorced in 1993. During their marriage, they adopted Nicole Camille Escovedo and changed her name to Nicole Richie. Fashion designer and television personality, Nicole Richie is most noted for her role on the reality series, "The Simple Life."
Over the years, Lionel has become an activist for breast cancer and has raised over three million dollars for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Lionel Richie hasn't had a top forty hit since 1992, but he continues to record and many of his singles do well on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Charts and he still tours. He can be seen, in 2011, on the reality TV show, "Who Do You Think You Are?"
The Commodores also continue to record and tour, but never cracked the top 40 again, since "Nightshift." They were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall Of Fame in 2003.
During the mid 1960's, Lionel was a member of a number of R&B groups. He joined The Jays in 1968 as their vocalist and saxophonist. Because the name The Jays was too close to The O'Jays, they changed their name to The Commodores. Other original members in The Commodores included, William King, Thomas McClary, Milan Williams, Ronald LaPread, and Walter "Clyde" Orange.
Motown Records signed The Commodores to be an opening act for The Jackson Five, but soon they became an extremely popular soul group on their own.
By the early 1980's, Lionel was penning songs for other artists, including, Kenny Rogers, who took Lionel's composition "Lady" to number one on Billboard's Singles Charts. He was also recording solo in the early eighties and he officially left The Commodores in 1983. He was replaced with Skyler Jett as the lead singer.
In 1985, he teamed with Michael Jackson to write and record "We Are The World" as part of the USA For Africa ensemble.
On the charts, Lionel, as a solo artist and with The Commodores hit the Top 40 charts thirty times and went to number one on seven occasions. Here are the Top 10 Lionel Richie hits and the Top 10 Commodores hits, according to Billboard's Weekly Top 40 charts.
Lionel Richie
1. Endless Love - 1981 - Lionel's first solo effort was actually a duet with Diana Ross, from the film of the same title and went to number one for nine weeks.
2. All Night Long (All Night) - 1983 - He performed this #1 song at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and, more recently, on the finale of American Idol in 2009.
3. Say You, Say Me - 1985 - More movie music, this time from the film "White Knights" starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines.
4. Hello - 1984 - The third single from the "Can't Slow Down" album, which spawned five Top 10 singles.
5. Truly - 1982 - From his first solo album, this song won Lionel a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocalist Performance.
6. Dancing On The Ceiling - 1986 - The music video to this song is reminiscent to the 1951 Fred Astaire film, "Royal Wedding" and features cameos by comedians Rodney Dangerfield and Cheech Marin.
7. Stuck On You - 1984 - In addition to this single going to number 3 on the pop charts, it also peaked at #24 on the Country charts.
8. You Are - 1983 - Co-written by his then wife, Brenda Harvey, this single reportedly features backing vocals by Richard Marx.
9. My Love - 1983 - Harmony vocals on this single is done by Lionel's good friend, country singer, Kenny Rogers.
10. Running With The Night - 1984 - Guitar solo on this song is done by Steve Lukather from the group Toto.
The Commodores
1. Three Times A Lady - 1978 - Their biggest hit went to #1 for two weeks and was written by Robert Farthing, who was inspired when his father made a comment about his mother.
2. Still - 1979 - The Commodores only other number one single came from their "Midnight Magic" album.
3. Nightshift - 1985 - The only Top 10 single without Lionel Richie, the song is a dedication to singers Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson. A new version was recorded in 2010 to include Michael Jackson.
4. Oh No - 1981 - The last single featuring Lionel Richie on leads came from their "In The Pocket" album.
5. Easy - 1977 - This song has been covered by artists like Clarence Carter, Richie Havens, Taylor Hicks and Faith No More.
6. Sail On - 1979 - The only other Top 10 single from the "Midnight Magic" album.
7. Sweet Love - 1976 - Their first Top 10 single went to #5 on the weekly charts.
8. Brick House - 1977 - The lyrics were written by member and trumpet player William King's wife, Shirley, and features drummer Walter "Clyde" Orange on lead vocals.
9. Just To Be Close To You - 1976 - From their "Hot On The Tracks" album.
10. Lady (You Bring Me Up) - 1981 - The first hit single from the "In The Pocket" album.
Not without controversy, in 1988, Lionel and Diane Alexander were attacked in a Beverly Hills hotel room, by Lionel's college sweetheart and wife since 1975, Brenda Harvey. They divorced in 1993. During their marriage, they adopted Nicole Camille Escovedo and changed her name to Nicole Richie. Fashion designer and television personality, Nicole Richie is most noted for her role on the reality series, "The Simple Life."
Over the years, Lionel has become an activist for breast cancer and has raised over three million dollars for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Lionel Richie hasn't had a top forty hit since 1992, but he continues to record and many of his singles do well on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Charts and he still tours. He can be seen, in 2011, on the reality TV show, "Who Do You Think You Are?"
The Commodores also continue to record and tour, but never cracked the top 40 again, since "Nightshift." They were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall Of Fame in 2003.
Buying Rap Beats Online
Rap Beats Online
I'm assuming you're a hip hop recording artist and you love to make music. Everyone knows that in this day and age an aspiring artist such as yourself must consistently interact on the internet. The internet will bring you tons of new fans and brand your name to A&R agents. However, before you begin marketing yourself to create brand awareness you must have a substantial amount of high quality music. This is where buying rap beats online come into play.
Finding Beats That Fit You
Being that you're an aspiring hip hop artist you probably don't have the funds to pay Timbaland to make a beat for you. However, there are tons of beat makers/producers online that will give you the same bangers as Timbaland. The only difference is that their name's aren't branded and marketed like Timbaland's. There are tons of sites where you can find these online producers. Sites like SoundClick, SoundcCloud, and even Reverbnation--but how can you filter out the producers that don't cater to your style? Just Google search the keywords along with your style, something like "dirty south rap beats" or "r&b instrumentals." Doing a keyword Google search will also bring up a lot of producers with personal websites and these are the serious producers that I encourage you to buy from.
Leasing and Exclusive Rights
After finding some instrumentals you would like to invest in, you must first compare and contrast the rights to the beat(s). All beats come with options which directly affects the price of the instrumental. The first option is leasing rights, buying leasing rights to a beat is like renting a car, you can use it but you don't actually own it. Leasing rights are the most affordable because the beat maker still owns full rights to the beat but what you're allowed to do with the beat may vary between different producers. The second option is exclusive rights, this option gives you all the rights to the beat and is much more expensive. Exclusive beats are usually closed by written contract to show that you can legally do whatever you want with the instrumental. If you plan on making it in the hip hop industry, buying beats online is inevitable. It's an investment towards your future so never look at it as a waste of money. A great song with cold lyrics on top of a hot beat will get you more exposure than you'll know what to do with.
I'm assuming you're a hip hop recording artist and you love to make music. Everyone knows that in this day and age an aspiring artist such as yourself must consistently interact on the internet. The internet will bring you tons of new fans and brand your name to A&R agents. However, before you begin marketing yourself to create brand awareness you must have a substantial amount of high quality music. This is where buying rap beats online come into play.
Finding Beats That Fit You
Being that you're an aspiring hip hop artist you probably don't have the funds to pay Timbaland to make a beat for you. However, there are tons of beat makers/producers online that will give you the same bangers as Timbaland. The only difference is that their name's aren't branded and marketed like Timbaland's. There are tons of sites where you can find these online producers. Sites like SoundClick, SoundcCloud, and even Reverbnation--but how can you filter out the producers that don't cater to your style? Just Google search the keywords along with your style, something like "dirty south rap beats" or "r&b instrumentals." Doing a keyword Google search will also bring up a lot of producers with personal websites and these are the serious producers that I encourage you to buy from.
Leasing and Exclusive Rights
After finding some instrumentals you would like to invest in, you must first compare and contrast the rights to the beat(s). All beats come with options which directly affects the price of the instrumental. The first option is leasing rights, buying leasing rights to a beat is like renting a car, you can use it but you don't actually own it. Leasing rights are the most affordable because the beat maker still owns full rights to the beat but what you're allowed to do with the beat may vary between different producers. The second option is exclusive rights, this option gives you all the rights to the beat and is much more expensive. Exclusive beats are usually closed by written contract to show that you can legally do whatever you want with the instrumental. If you plan on making it in the hip hop industry, buying beats online is inevitable. It's an investment towards your future so never look at it as a waste of money. A great song with cold lyrics on top of a hot beat will get you more exposure than you'll know what to do with.
Musicians Are Often Unreal
Musicians Have Rights
I know that this is a continuous issue. However, I do fee that there are several rights which a musician should have access to. There certainly are other products that nether the musician nor anyone else, really, should have access.
Some Of The Negatives
It is often easier to approach things from the negative aspect.
Musicians try very hard to be a part of society and live accordingly. However, the nature of the profession prohibits a musician's being a part of the bulk of society which considers Monday to Friday as the work week and the hours of from 9 to 5 each of those days making up the time requirements.
Obviously a musician who tries to live in this way is doomed. The lucrative time is often both weekends and nights. Consequently being a human being who can each week look forward to having time over which he has control from roughly 5pm on Friday to 9am on Monday is just not what being a musician can have and/or enjoy.
A musician will rehearse and perform with the schedule possibly being different each day. Also since the audience is made up of people who have the weekend that they can devote to leisure and pleasure the musician must often work during this time because much of the audience comes from that part of the population which has from 5pm on Friday until 9am on Monday to do what they would like without restrictions of job, livelihood or employment.
Of course in addition to the rehearsals which may be in the morning or in the afternoon or at times in the evening, the musician is expected to practice his craft in between rehearsals and/or performances.
For instance take the worthy musician who is trying to do his job well and has a job in the pit of an opera house. He also has a young family and a wife who are in that world Monday to Friday and more or less 9 to 5. In that framework he is supposed to be able to be a husband, a father, a gardener and in general anything else that is required of the head of the household.
However, conflict will occur when everyone else on the block can have a Saturday BBQ while the musician has both a matinee and evening performance. If he is lucky enough to live close to the venue he might get home for a quick bite at dinner time.
Conclusion
It would be lovely to be able to be a musician and a human being at the same time. However, fate is against us. We have to learn to cope with being involved in a life's work which we love but which does not lend itself to anything outside itself.
Consequently, I feel that musicians are in fact just misunderstood human beings.
I know that this is a continuous issue. However, I do fee that there are several rights which a musician should have access to. There certainly are other products that nether the musician nor anyone else, really, should have access.
Some Of The Negatives
It is often easier to approach things from the negative aspect.
Musicians try very hard to be a part of society and live accordingly. However, the nature of the profession prohibits a musician's being a part of the bulk of society which considers Monday to Friday as the work week and the hours of from 9 to 5 each of those days making up the time requirements.
Obviously a musician who tries to live in this way is doomed. The lucrative time is often both weekends and nights. Consequently being a human being who can each week look forward to having time over which he has control from roughly 5pm on Friday to 9am on Monday is just not what being a musician can have and/or enjoy.
A musician will rehearse and perform with the schedule possibly being different each day. Also since the audience is made up of people who have the weekend that they can devote to leisure and pleasure the musician must often work during this time because much of the audience comes from that part of the population which has from 5pm on Friday until 9am on Monday to do what they would like without restrictions of job, livelihood or employment.
Of course in addition to the rehearsals which may be in the morning or in the afternoon or at times in the evening, the musician is expected to practice his craft in between rehearsals and/or performances.
For instance take the worthy musician who is trying to do his job well and has a job in the pit of an opera house. He also has a young family and a wife who are in that world Monday to Friday and more or less 9 to 5. In that framework he is supposed to be able to be a husband, a father, a gardener and in general anything else that is required of the head of the household.
However, conflict will occur when everyone else on the block can have a Saturday BBQ while the musician has both a matinee and evening performance. If he is lucky enough to live close to the venue he might get home for a quick bite at dinner time.
Conclusion
It would be lovely to be able to be a musician and a human being at the same time. However, fate is against us. We have to learn to cope with being involved in a life's work which we love but which does not lend itself to anything outside itself.
Consequently, I feel that musicians are in fact just misunderstood human beings.
Top 20 Bon Jovi Hits
Formed in Sayreville, New Jersey, in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer, Jon Bon Jovi, Tito Torres, Richie Sambora, Dave Bryan and Hugh McDonald. They were originally going to call themselves Johnny Electric, but a friend suggested the name Bon Jovi, in the vein of Van Halen.
They recorded their first album in 1984, which spawned their first top forty single, "Runaway." Their second album, "7800 Degrees Fahrenheit", in 1985, failed to produce any top forty singles, but, in 1986, they released their third album, "Slippery When Wet." This album gave then their first number one single on Billboard's weekly charts and it became the biggest selling album of the year.
In 1988, they released their "New Jersey" album, but by the time this tour ended, the band was ready for a break. So, the members of the group took a two year hiatus from each other, at which time, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora recorded solo albums.
Jon's was the soundtrack to the movie "Young Guns II", also known as "Blaze Of Glory" and it produced two top forty singles. Incidentally, Jon appeared very briefly in the movie as "the long haired corpse in the coffin."
In 1992, they reunited and released three more albums and by 1997, the members were ready to take another break from each other. But, in 1999, they rejoined forces again and have continued recording and touring ever since.
On the charts, Bon Jovi has had 19 songs to make it into Billboard's weekly charts, including solo efforts by Jon, and have gone to number one five times. Here are Bon Jovi's twenty biggest hits, according to Billboard's Weekly Top 40 Charts.
1. Livin' On A Prayer - 1987 - Their biggest single, from their "Slippery When Wet" album, which produced three top ten singles, went to number one for four weeks.
2. Bad Medicine - 1988 - From their "New Jersey" album, which spawned five top 10 singles.
3. You Give Love A Bad Name - 1986 - In 2009, VH1 has named their first number one single as the 20th greatest hard rock song of all time.
4. Blaze Of Glory - 1990 - From Jon's solo album "Young Guns II", this single got Jon a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination. It also features Jeff Beck, Aldo Nova and Randy Jackson on guitars.
5. I'll Be There For You - 1990 - Written by Jon and Richie Sambora, this song was performed by James Durbin on American Idol on March 16, 2011.
6. Born To Be My Baby - 1989 - The music video to this song was shot in black and white.
7. Always - 1994 - Originally written for the film "Romeo Is Bleeding", but after seeing the film, the band opted not to lend the song to the soundtrack.
8. Lay Your Hands On Me - 1989 - Not to be confused with the Thompson Twins 1985 top ten hit, Bon Jovi's song came from their "New Jersey" album.
9. Living In Sin - 1989 - The fifth single from the "New Jersey" album gives them the record for most top 10 singles to come from a rock album.
10. Bed Of Roses - 1992 - From the "Keeping The Faith" album, it's reported that Jon wrote this song while recovering from a hangover in a hotel room.
11. Miracle - The second single from Jon's solo album, "Blaze Of Glory", aka "Young Guns II Soundtrack."
12. This Ain't A Love Song - 1995 - The only hit single from the "These Days" album.
13. Who Says You Can't Go Home - 2005 - From the "Have A Nice Day" album, the song was used in television spots for New Jersey tourism.
14. In These Arms - 1993 - Bon Jovi keyboardist Dave Bryan recorded this song on his solo album "On A Full Moon", in 1995.
15. Midnight In Chelsea - 1997 - This song came from another Jon Bon Jovi solo album, "Destination Anywhere."
16. (You Want To) Make A Memory? - 2007 - From their "Lost Highway" album, this song was nominated for a Grammy Award.
17. Keep The Faith - 1992 - The title song from their fifth studio album, the flip side was "I Wish Every Day Could Be Like Christmas."
18. It's My Life - 2000 - This song references Tommy and Gina, two fictional people used in their "Livin' On A Prayer" hit.
19. Levon - 1992 - Originally recorded and written by Elton John, Jon Bon Jovi claims this to be his favorite song of all time and released it on his solo album, "Two Rooms."
20. Runaway - 1984 - Their first top forty single was written in 1980 and recorded by Jon Bongiovi & The Rest and recorded by Bon Jovi in 1984. Bongiovi is the real spelling of Jon's last name.
Jon has had a successful acting career appearing in the movies, "Destination Anywhere", "Homegrown", "U-571", "Pay It Forward" and he has been cast to appear in the movie "New Year's Eve" with Kathryn Heigl in 2011. His TV appearances include, "Ally McBeal", "The West Wing" and "30 Rock."
Bon Jovi was nominated, in 2010, to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but did not make it. Jon and Richie Sambora were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009.
Bon Jovi continues to record and perform to sellout stadium crowds all over the world
They recorded their first album in 1984, which spawned their first top forty single, "Runaway." Their second album, "7800 Degrees Fahrenheit", in 1985, failed to produce any top forty singles, but, in 1986, they released their third album, "Slippery When Wet." This album gave then their first number one single on Billboard's weekly charts and it became the biggest selling album of the year.
In 1988, they released their "New Jersey" album, but by the time this tour ended, the band was ready for a break. So, the members of the group took a two year hiatus from each other, at which time, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora recorded solo albums.
Jon's was the soundtrack to the movie "Young Guns II", also known as "Blaze Of Glory" and it produced two top forty singles. Incidentally, Jon appeared very briefly in the movie as "the long haired corpse in the coffin."
In 1992, they reunited and released three more albums and by 1997, the members were ready to take another break from each other. But, in 1999, they rejoined forces again and have continued recording and touring ever since.
On the charts, Bon Jovi has had 19 songs to make it into Billboard's weekly charts, including solo efforts by Jon, and have gone to number one five times. Here are Bon Jovi's twenty biggest hits, according to Billboard's Weekly Top 40 Charts.
1. Livin' On A Prayer - 1987 - Their biggest single, from their "Slippery When Wet" album, which produced three top ten singles, went to number one for four weeks.
2. Bad Medicine - 1988 - From their "New Jersey" album, which spawned five top 10 singles.
3. You Give Love A Bad Name - 1986 - In 2009, VH1 has named their first number one single as the 20th greatest hard rock song of all time.
4. Blaze Of Glory - 1990 - From Jon's solo album "Young Guns II", this single got Jon a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination. It also features Jeff Beck, Aldo Nova and Randy Jackson on guitars.
5. I'll Be There For You - 1990 - Written by Jon and Richie Sambora, this song was performed by James Durbin on American Idol on March 16, 2011.
6. Born To Be My Baby - 1989 - The music video to this song was shot in black and white.
7. Always - 1994 - Originally written for the film "Romeo Is Bleeding", but after seeing the film, the band opted not to lend the song to the soundtrack.
8. Lay Your Hands On Me - 1989 - Not to be confused with the Thompson Twins 1985 top ten hit, Bon Jovi's song came from their "New Jersey" album.
9. Living In Sin - 1989 - The fifth single from the "New Jersey" album gives them the record for most top 10 singles to come from a rock album.
10. Bed Of Roses - 1992 - From the "Keeping The Faith" album, it's reported that Jon wrote this song while recovering from a hangover in a hotel room.
11. Miracle - The second single from Jon's solo album, "Blaze Of Glory", aka "Young Guns II Soundtrack."
12. This Ain't A Love Song - 1995 - The only hit single from the "These Days" album.
13. Who Says You Can't Go Home - 2005 - From the "Have A Nice Day" album, the song was used in television spots for New Jersey tourism.
14. In These Arms - 1993 - Bon Jovi keyboardist Dave Bryan recorded this song on his solo album "On A Full Moon", in 1995.
15. Midnight In Chelsea - 1997 - This song came from another Jon Bon Jovi solo album, "Destination Anywhere."
16. (You Want To) Make A Memory? - 2007 - From their "Lost Highway" album, this song was nominated for a Grammy Award.
17. Keep The Faith - 1992 - The title song from their fifth studio album, the flip side was "I Wish Every Day Could Be Like Christmas."
18. It's My Life - 2000 - This song references Tommy and Gina, two fictional people used in their "Livin' On A Prayer" hit.
19. Levon - 1992 - Originally recorded and written by Elton John, Jon Bon Jovi claims this to be his favorite song of all time and released it on his solo album, "Two Rooms."
20. Runaway - 1984 - Their first top forty single was written in 1980 and recorded by Jon Bongiovi & The Rest and recorded by Bon Jovi in 1984. Bongiovi is the real spelling of Jon's last name.
Jon has had a successful acting career appearing in the movies, "Destination Anywhere", "Homegrown", "U-571", "Pay It Forward" and he has been cast to appear in the movie "New Year's Eve" with Kathryn Heigl in 2011. His TV appearances include, "Ally McBeal", "The West Wing" and "30 Rock."
Bon Jovi was nominated, in 2010, to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but did not make it. Jon and Richie Sambora were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009.
Bon Jovi continues to record and perform to sellout stadium crowds all over the world
Modern Rockabilly Fans Turn to Vintage Clothes And Cars To Live The Rockabilly Lifestyle
Rockabilly music is alive and well after almost 60 years on the scene. Modern rockabilly fans keep the music alive by supporting the bands that play it. But these fans don't just buy rockabilly records and go to rockabilly shows. Many of them live the rockabilly lifestyle. They dress in vintage clothing. Decorate their houses with vintage furniture, artwork, and color schemes. They drive classic cars. And of course, they listen to their favorite music on vintage hi-fi equipment. These fans are often referred to as The Rockabillies.
The rockabillies use the trappings of 1950s fashion to express their love for rockabilly music and the good parts of the rockabilly lifestyle. They're not trying to forget that the 1950s had its share of troubles and worries. They're not pretending that the atomic bomb scare never existed or that the rampant fear and hatred of communists wasn't distasteful. They don't pretend that the racism that infected 1950s America wasn't every bit as shameful as we all know it was. Just because they are rockabillies doesn't mean that they live in a world of delusion.
Instead, their love for the 50s culture and look is more an attempt to celebrate what seems good about that era. It represents what appears to us looking back now to have been a simpler, more carefree time. Whether it really was or not isn't really the point. It seems that way. Sporting the 50s look is its own unique brand of cool. It's an easy way to announce to other rockabillies that you are one of them--that you share similar interests and a love for the wonderful art form of rockabilly.
Of course, you don't have to visibly be a rockabilly to enjoy and love rockabilly music. I personally don't live as a rockabilly to any great extent. I do tend toward a rockabilly haircut and I love classic cars as much as the next guy. But I don't go out of my way to dress in 50s fashions (aside from my stage clothes when I'm performing.) Still, I love rockabilly music and (as evidenced by this, my other articles, and my blog) spend a lot of time thinking about it, writing about it, and in general just sharing the joy of the music with anyone who will listen.
But the rockabillies are a special breed. They express their love for the music and the genre outwardly in vivid 1950s colors. When you see a rockabilly, you know instantly what kind of music they love. It's a community. Rockabillies are brothers and sisters in a common quest to keep rockabilly and the 1950s alive. The clothes they wear, cars they drive, and the furniture in their homes simply augment the soundtrack of their lives: The rockabilly music that binds all of us fans together. Whether you are a full-out rockabilly or, like me, simply a fan who loves the music despite generally non-rockabilly appearances, a fan is still a fan. In the end, it's the music that gives us all common ground. The music is our king, we fans are the rockabilly army, and the rockabillies are our proud flag bearers!
The rockabillies use the trappings of 1950s fashion to express their love for rockabilly music and the good parts of the rockabilly lifestyle. They're not trying to forget that the 1950s had its share of troubles and worries. They're not pretending that the atomic bomb scare never existed or that the rampant fear and hatred of communists wasn't distasteful. They don't pretend that the racism that infected 1950s America wasn't every bit as shameful as we all know it was. Just because they are rockabillies doesn't mean that they live in a world of delusion.
Instead, their love for the 50s culture and look is more an attempt to celebrate what seems good about that era. It represents what appears to us looking back now to have been a simpler, more carefree time. Whether it really was or not isn't really the point. It seems that way. Sporting the 50s look is its own unique brand of cool. It's an easy way to announce to other rockabillies that you are one of them--that you share similar interests and a love for the wonderful art form of rockabilly.
Of course, you don't have to visibly be a rockabilly to enjoy and love rockabilly music. I personally don't live as a rockabilly to any great extent. I do tend toward a rockabilly haircut and I love classic cars as much as the next guy. But I don't go out of my way to dress in 50s fashions (aside from my stage clothes when I'm performing.) Still, I love rockabilly music and (as evidenced by this, my other articles, and my blog) spend a lot of time thinking about it, writing about it, and in general just sharing the joy of the music with anyone who will listen.
But the rockabillies are a special breed. They express their love for the music and the genre outwardly in vivid 1950s colors. When you see a rockabilly, you know instantly what kind of music they love. It's a community. Rockabillies are brothers and sisters in a common quest to keep rockabilly and the 1950s alive. The clothes they wear, cars they drive, and the furniture in their homes simply augment the soundtrack of their lives: The rockabilly music that binds all of us fans together. Whether you are a full-out rockabilly or, like me, simply a fan who loves the music despite generally non-rockabilly appearances, a fan is still a fan. In the end, it's the music that gives us all common ground. The music is our king, we fans are the rockabilly army, and the rockabillies are our proud flag bearers!
Four Awesome Kung Fu Movies
Kung fu movies have captured the interest of Western audiences since they first came out. There are lots to choose from, and sometimes it can be difficult to decide what to watch next. Here are some of the best ones.
No list would be complete without The Five Deadly Venoms, so that is where we shall start. Even people who don't much care for the genre love this film. Directed in 1978 by Chang Cheh, the story revolves around five renegade students and a sixth man tasked with bringing them to justice before their master dies.
The five bad pupils all use different forms of martial arts based on their particular specialty within the Poison Clan. The unique fighting styles of Toad, Lizard, Snake, Scorpion, and Centipede must each be overcome by the protagonist. The only problem is that while the protagonist is reasonable skilled in each of the five venom styles, he is not equal to any of the bad guys at their chosen specialty. For this reason he must show great cunning and adaptability if he is to survive against these men.
Fans of the Chinese actor Jackie Chan may really enjoy this next film. The Legend Of Drunken Master is a wonderfully exciting story about a man named Wong Fei Hung who gets involved with a plot by a British official to steal valuable Chinese artifacts.
With the action star at his peak, and a really great director helping to tell the story, this is a very good example of a reasonably recent offering. Many people believe that no really decent martial arts films have been made since the nineteen seventies, but films like this one prove that statement to be false.
Third on our list is The Magnificent Butcher. A classic martial arts comedy, this movie showcases the actor Sammo Hung. Great acrobatics, flawless fight choreography, and a truly interesting set of characters makes this one to watch.
Finally, no mention of Chinese martial arts cinema would be complete without the legendary Bruce Lee. Fists of Fury, otherwise known as The Big Boss, is perhaps the ultimate Bruce Lee experience. It's not exactly the best Bruce Lee film, but for sheer energy and excitement you can't beat it. There is possibly no more charismatic action star in this genre than Bruce Lee.
At its heart, Fists Of Fury is a story about the tensions between Japanese and Chinese martial arts students in the same town. There are some absolutely classic fight scenes in this one, many involving weapons and flying kicks. This is probably the film that made American audiences fall in love with Bruce Lee as an actor.
Poisonous traitors who can cling to walls, British bad guys stealing Chinese relics, a fat Sammo Hung, and Bruce Lee kicking the stuffing out of anyone who gets near make up this list of four kung fu movies you need to watch. These are usually all available to rent from a decent store, or they can be purchased online from a number of sellers.
No list would be complete without The Five Deadly Venoms, so that is where we shall start. Even people who don't much care for the genre love this film. Directed in 1978 by Chang Cheh, the story revolves around five renegade students and a sixth man tasked with bringing them to justice before their master dies.
The five bad pupils all use different forms of martial arts based on their particular specialty within the Poison Clan. The unique fighting styles of Toad, Lizard, Snake, Scorpion, and Centipede must each be overcome by the protagonist. The only problem is that while the protagonist is reasonable skilled in each of the five venom styles, he is not equal to any of the bad guys at their chosen specialty. For this reason he must show great cunning and adaptability if he is to survive against these men.
Fans of the Chinese actor Jackie Chan may really enjoy this next film. The Legend Of Drunken Master is a wonderfully exciting story about a man named Wong Fei Hung who gets involved with a plot by a British official to steal valuable Chinese artifacts.
With the action star at his peak, and a really great director helping to tell the story, this is a very good example of a reasonably recent offering. Many people believe that no really decent martial arts films have been made since the nineteen seventies, but films like this one prove that statement to be false.
Third on our list is The Magnificent Butcher. A classic martial arts comedy, this movie showcases the actor Sammo Hung. Great acrobatics, flawless fight choreography, and a truly interesting set of characters makes this one to watch.
Finally, no mention of Chinese martial arts cinema would be complete without the legendary Bruce Lee. Fists of Fury, otherwise known as The Big Boss, is perhaps the ultimate Bruce Lee experience. It's not exactly the best Bruce Lee film, but for sheer energy and excitement you can't beat it. There is possibly no more charismatic action star in this genre than Bruce Lee.
At its heart, Fists Of Fury is a story about the tensions between Japanese and Chinese martial arts students in the same town. There are some absolutely classic fight scenes in this one, many involving weapons and flying kicks. This is probably the film that made American audiences fall in love with Bruce Lee as an actor.
Poisonous traitors who can cling to walls, British bad guys stealing Chinese relics, a fat Sammo Hung, and Bruce Lee kicking the stuffing out of anyone who gets near make up this list of four kung fu movies you need to watch. These are usually all available to rent from a decent store, or they can be purchased online from a number of sellers.
Taxi Driver: 35th Anniversary Blu-Ray
There are very few films that have had such an impact on me as Taxi Driver, I was in my first year at college doing A-Levels and had a lucky couple gaps in my timetable that gave me periods off in the afternoon. I was studying Drama and English Literature and had got into the habit of buying videos blind to take home and watch on my own whilst my parents were at work and my sister was in school, one such movie was Taxi Driver which I selected solely on the strength of its star Robert De Niro, unaware at that point who the director was.
I remember it was a bright summer's day and I closed the curtains to darken the room, submerging myself into the mire of 1970s New York street life for the best part of two hours, completely unprepared for the terrifying but cathartic bloodbath that punctuates the film's climax. I had seen on-screen violence in gangster films like Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather or Brian De Palma's Scarface but they were very removed from my reality and depicted in an operatic or comic book fashion. Here Martin Scorsese's carnage is all the more shocking because it is so matter-of-fact, almost mundane and yet somewhat arbitrary that you can't help but imagine this just might happen in real life.
Robert De Niro plays Travis Bickle, the ultimate pathological loner, a Vietnam veteran who is so dislocated from society and unable to sleep at night that he takes to working long shifts as a cab driver, a job that leads him to witness the excessive, heinous, underbelly of urban life, two decades before Mayor Rudy Giuliani's "Zero Tolerance" policy cracked down on crime and cleaned up inner-city New York making it a much safer place for both commerce and tourism.
Whilst off-duty Travis fantasises about Betsy (Cybill Shepherd) a young woman who works at the presidential campaign offices of Senator Charles Palantine, he pictures her as a vision in pure white in stark contrast to the many prostitutes he sees working the streets at night, and yet when he finally gets the opportunity to take her out they go to see a Swedish sex education film showing in a porno theatre; illustrating how socially inept and insular he has become, as if his compulsive solitude is dictating behaviour hell-bent on ensuring his isolation.
Bickle refers to himself in his journal, which serves as a narrated voice-over, as "God's Lonely Man", quoting from the essay by Thomas Wolfe, "The whole conviction of my life now rests upon the belief that loneliness, far from being a rare and curious phenomenon, peculiar to myself and to a few other solitary men, is the central and inevitable fact of human existence." Screenwriter Paul Schrader said that he set out to write about the experience of being lonely, after he left his wife for another woman who in turn quickly left him, but instead discovered that loneliness was a disease for which we must actively seek a cure.
Betsy rejects Travis and he loses the one image of chastity which he held above the filth and depravity that's rife on the streets. Before, when Senator Palantine took a ride in his taxi, he had suggested that somebody should clean up the crime and pollution but now he decides that he must take direct action; reverting to his Marine-trained mentally, he arms himself and targets the presidential candidate, primarily because of his association to Betsy. However, Travis fails to assassinate Palantine so he turns his attentions to Iris (Jody Foster) a child prostitute who jumped into the back of his cab one night, he makes it his mission to liberate her from her pimp, Sport (Harvey Keitel) an incredibly violent act of vigilantism which is ironically misconstrued by the press as heroic.
Taxi Driver is one of those rare 'Gestalt-like' moments in cinema history where a writer, a director and an actor come together and the resulting synergy unexpectedly explodes onto the screen; add to that Michael Chapman's resourceful cinematography, given the movie's low budget and short schedule on real locations, and the last score of legendary Hitchcock composer Bernard Herrmann and you have the perfect motion picture hard to conceive how it could be improved in any way.
Not surprisingly Sony Pictures have gone to town with the 35th anniversary Blu-ray editon, presenting Taxi Driver in a full 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 transfer that restores vibrant colour to the neon lit night scenes contrasted, with exceptional clarity, to the inky-black, smoke-filled streets of New York. On it's original cinematic release Scorsese was asked to desaturate the blood to avoid an X-certificate, here the shades of red are gloriously restored. The DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack is also a marked improvement, showcasing Bernard Herrmann's rich jazz score with it's unsettling use of harps but maintaining dialogue quality which was always somewhat muffled on previous DVD versions.
All the extras that were available on prior releases are presented here but upscalled to HD, along with some brand new material including a feature length commentary from writer Paul Schrader, a recent interview with director Martin Scorsese, a suite of short featurettes focusing on different aspects of the production, the best of which is Influence and Appreciation: A Martin Scorsese Tribute presented by Oliver Stone who was a student of Scorsese's at NYU. There is also an interactive script-to-screen option which allows you to follow the original screenplay in detail as the film plays.
Taxi Driver is a visceral and enduring film which was the "coming of age" for three of the most distinctive voices of the 1970s boomtime in American independent cinema, they were to reach their peak and close the decade with another remarkable movie Raging Bull but that, as they say, is another story.
I remember it was a bright summer's day and I closed the curtains to darken the room, submerging myself into the mire of 1970s New York street life for the best part of two hours, completely unprepared for the terrifying but cathartic bloodbath that punctuates the film's climax. I had seen on-screen violence in gangster films like Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather or Brian De Palma's Scarface but they were very removed from my reality and depicted in an operatic or comic book fashion. Here Martin Scorsese's carnage is all the more shocking because it is so matter-of-fact, almost mundane and yet somewhat arbitrary that you can't help but imagine this just might happen in real life.
Robert De Niro plays Travis Bickle, the ultimate pathological loner, a Vietnam veteran who is so dislocated from society and unable to sleep at night that he takes to working long shifts as a cab driver, a job that leads him to witness the excessive, heinous, underbelly of urban life, two decades before Mayor Rudy Giuliani's "Zero Tolerance" policy cracked down on crime and cleaned up inner-city New York making it a much safer place for both commerce and tourism.
Whilst off-duty Travis fantasises about Betsy (Cybill Shepherd) a young woman who works at the presidential campaign offices of Senator Charles Palantine, he pictures her as a vision in pure white in stark contrast to the many prostitutes he sees working the streets at night, and yet when he finally gets the opportunity to take her out they go to see a Swedish sex education film showing in a porno theatre; illustrating how socially inept and insular he has become, as if his compulsive solitude is dictating behaviour hell-bent on ensuring his isolation.
Bickle refers to himself in his journal, which serves as a narrated voice-over, as "God's Lonely Man", quoting from the essay by Thomas Wolfe, "The whole conviction of my life now rests upon the belief that loneliness, far from being a rare and curious phenomenon, peculiar to myself and to a few other solitary men, is the central and inevitable fact of human existence." Screenwriter Paul Schrader said that he set out to write about the experience of being lonely, after he left his wife for another woman who in turn quickly left him, but instead discovered that loneliness was a disease for which we must actively seek a cure.
Betsy rejects Travis and he loses the one image of chastity which he held above the filth and depravity that's rife on the streets. Before, when Senator Palantine took a ride in his taxi, he had suggested that somebody should clean up the crime and pollution but now he decides that he must take direct action; reverting to his Marine-trained mentally, he arms himself and targets the presidential candidate, primarily because of his association to Betsy. However, Travis fails to assassinate Palantine so he turns his attentions to Iris (Jody Foster) a child prostitute who jumped into the back of his cab one night, he makes it his mission to liberate her from her pimp, Sport (Harvey Keitel) an incredibly violent act of vigilantism which is ironically misconstrued by the press as heroic.
Taxi Driver is one of those rare 'Gestalt-like' moments in cinema history where a writer, a director and an actor come together and the resulting synergy unexpectedly explodes onto the screen; add to that Michael Chapman's resourceful cinematography, given the movie's low budget and short schedule on real locations, and the last score of legendary Hitchcock composer Bernard Herrmann and you have the perfect motion picture hard to conceive how it could be improved in any way.
Not surprisingly Sony Pictures have gone to town with the 35th anniversary Blu-ray editon, presenting Taxi Driver in a full 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 transfer that restores vibrant colour to the neon lit night scenes contrasted, with exceptional clarity, to the inky-black, smoke-filled streets of New York. On it's original cinematic release Scorsese was asked to desaturate the blood to avoid an X-certificate, here the shades of red are gloriously restored. The DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack is also a marked improvement, showcasing Bernard Herrmann's rich jazz score with it's unsettling use of harps but maintaining dialogue quality which was always somewhat muffled on previous DVD versions.
All the extras that were available on prior releases are presented here but upscalled to HD, along with some brand new material including a feature length commentary from writer Paul Schrader, a recent interview with director Martin Scorsese, a suite of short featurettes focusing on different aspects of the production, the best of which is Influence and Appreciation: A Martin Scorsese Tribute presented by Oliver Stone who was a student of Scorsese's at NYU. There is also an interactive script-to-screen option which allows you to follow the original screenplay in detail as the film plays.
Taxi Driver is a visceral and enduring film which was the "coming of age" for three of the most distinctive voices of the 1970s boomtime in American independent cinema, they were to reach their peak and close the decade with another remarkable movie Raging Bull but that, as they say, is another story.
What Makes Good Movie Speeches
What makes good movie speeches? Is it what is said? Is it how it is said? Or maybe it is the situation surrounding the moment of the speech.
We all love a good movie speech. It can touch our heart and make us cry, or it can give us chills all over our body. It can be sad or inspirational and it can create a very important moment for the character giving the speech. A good monologue can make or break a movie.
Take something like Sam's speech to Frodo in The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers. That movie is a very dark movie and the feel of the movie is very grim. Towards the end of the film good begins to triumph over evil and that is when Sam gives his speech at the window. His speech changes the whole tone of the film in a moment and it gives you hope for the final film where they will take the ring into Mordor.
Not only that, but the speech also sets up Sam's character. In the third film Sam must be the one to take Frodo into Mordor to destroy the ring, and up until now you don't know whether or not Sam has the strength to do it. This speech shows Sam's strength and gives you full faith in his character.
Timing is very important for a speech. If it is presented at the wrong time in a film it can have a negative effect instead of a positive effect.
Mood of the film is also very important. A great speech is usually given at a very important moment in the film. For example that famous speech in Braveheart "They can take our lives, but they can never take our freedom" is given on the edge of battle where it looks like there is no hope. The mood makes the speech stand out and it encourages you for victory in the battle.
Background music can also have a huge effect on making a good speech great. If a movie has music that compliments the mood of the talk then it is all the more better. Music sometimes can be even more important than what is being said.
Most importantly it is not what is said (though that is important) it is how it is said. A good speech will never be great if it is said with no enthusiasm or if it is presented in monotone. It needs emotion and it needs to be interesting. Pauses in the right places, emphasis on important points all go towards making it great.
We all love a good movie speech. It can touch our heart and make us cry, or it can give us chills all over our body. It can be sad or inspirational and it can create a very important moment for the character giving the speech. A good monologue can make or break a movie.
Take something like Sam's speech to Frodo in The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers. That movie is a very dark movie and the feel of the movie is very grim. Towards the end of the film good begins to triumph over evil and that is when Sam gives his speech at the window. His speech changes the whole tone of the film in a moment and it gives you hope for the final film where they will take the ring into Mordor.
Not only that, but the speech also sets up Sam's character. In the third film Sam must be the one to take Frodo into Mordor to destroy the ring, and up until now you don't know whether or not Sam has the strength to do it. This speech shows Sam's strength and gives you full faith in his character.
Timing is very important for a speech. If it is presented at the wrong time in a film it can have a negative effect instead of a positive effect.
Mood of the film is also very important. A great speech is usually given at a very important moment in the film. For example that famous speech in Braveheart "They can take our lives, but they can never take our freedom" is given on the edge of battle where it looks like there is no hope. The mood makes the speech stand out and it encourages you for victory in the battle.
Background music can also have a huge effect on making a good speech great. If a movie has music that compliments the mood of the talk then it is all the more better. Music sometimes can be even more important than what is being said.
Most importantly it is not what is said (though that is important) it is how it is said. A good speech will never be great if it is said with no enthusiasm or if it is presented in monotone. It needs emotion and it needs to be interesting. Pauses in the right places, emphasis on important points all go towards making it great.
Sucker Punch Movie Review
It's been three weeks since I saw the new movie "Sucker Punch" and for three weeks I've been at a loss as to what to write about it. "Is it that bad?" you might ask. No, not really. It's just something that almost defies explanation. I've read other reviews that try to describe the story line and what they think it all means, but thus far none of them have been able to truly explain it and I, who have far too little experience at reviewing, know that I wouldn't be able to help you understand what you will see when you go to this movie. When you strip the plot down, you are left with tragedy, fantasy, sex and rock n' roll. Sounds crazy, huh? Yeah, it is.
I'm a huge fan of Zach Snyder films. I thought "Dawn of the Dead" was a lot of fun, "300" was everything "Troy" should have been and I dearly love his "Watchmen" film. I'm also incredibly excited for his take on Superman that is due to arrive next year. So, when previews began playing for his newest film "Sucker Punch", I was sold and knew that I wanted to see it. Little did I know what was in store.
I'll say this up front, I totally enjoyed this film. It is visually spectacular, the sound is absolutely incredible and the action is unlike anything I've seen in quite some time. The only thing is, I'm not entirely sure what the point was. Sure, there are some broad themes in the film that are quite obvious, but why were we taken to so many levels within the main character's mind? We started in reality, travel then to her fantasized version of reality and then went to a completely fabricated world that left out reality completely. But why were we taken there? I'm still trying to figure that out. Did I enjoy the journey? Yes, totally. Think of this as another take on "Inception" but without any drive or purpose.
Although they are two completely different films, I'd like to point out a few things between "Sucker Punch" and "Inception" that, in my mind, make "Inception" the better of these two films that take place in the mind. First, I love what can be done with a green screen. This technology has allowed us to see things we never would have thought possible a decade ago. But, there is something to be said for practical special effects. Most of the effects in "Inception" are real and not computer generated. This brings a weight to the viewing experience because you can tell what you are seeing is real.
In "Sucker Punch" practically everything is shot in front of a green screen and you can tell. I think Zach needs to stop relying so much on the use of green screens and try to think practically. Also, both of these movies are played out in the minds of the characters, however the plot of "Inception" was easier to follow for me because we knew what they were trying to accomplish. The plot for "Sucker Punch" is very confusing and keeps you in the dark wondering what the point is. I'm still wondering myself.
J.Chandler - Grade: C
I'm a huge fan of Zach Snyder films. I thought "Dawn of the Dead" was a lot of fun, "300" was everything "Troy" should have been and I dearly love his "Watchmen" film. I'm also incredibly excited for his take on Superman that is due to arrive next year. So, when previews began playing for his newest film "Sucker Punch", I was sold and knew that I wanted to see it. Little did I know what was in store.
I'll say this up front, I totally enjoyed this film. It is visually spectacular, the sound is absolutely incredible and the action is unlike anything I've seen in quite some time. The only thing is, I'm not entirely sure what the point was. Sure, there are some broad themes in the film that are quite obvious, but why were we taken to so many levels within the main character's mind? We started in reality, travel then to her fantasized version of reality and then went to a completely fabricated world that left out reality completely. But why were we taken there? I'm still trying to figure that out. Did I enjoy the journey? Yes, totally. Think of this as another take on "Inception" but without any drive or purpose.
Although they are two completely different films, I'd like to point out a few things between "Sucker Punch" and "Inception" that, in my mind, make "Inception" the better of these two films that take place in the mind. First, I love what can be done with a green screen. This technology has allowed us to see things we never would have thought possible a decade ago. But, there is something to be said for practical special effects. Most of the effects in "Inception" are real and not computer generated. This brings a weight to the viewing experience because you can tell what you are seeing is real.
In "Sucker Punch" practically everything is shot in front of a green screen and you can tell. I think Zach needs to stop relying so much on the use of green screens and try to think practically. Also, both of these movies are played out in the minds of the characters, however the plot of "Inception" was easier to follow for me because we knew what they were trying to accomplish. The plot for "Sucker Punch" is very confusing and keeps you in the dark wondering what the point is. I'm still wondering myself.
J.Chandler - Grade: C
A Movie Review on "August Rush"
August Rush is an American film directed by Kirsten Sheriden. It was released on 21st November 2007. The film is about relationships and love. It is about a couple who fell in love the first time they met and looked into each other's eyes. Lyla Novachek, a young and beautiful cellist and a rock musician named Louis meet at a party organized by their friends. Trying to escape from the noisy and crowded place, Lyla goes to the rooftop to clear her mind. Louis who was sitting there notices Lyla's presence. Miracles happen when they fall in love at first sight. They spend the night in each other's arms and promise to meet again.
Unfortunately, the night they spent together is the first and last time that they will ever see each other. Lyla's father sets them apart by bringing Lyla back to London. Louis is very determined to meet his true love & tries to find her but all he meets is failure. They finally get separated and lead their own lives without even knowing that their separation leads to a challenging journey of a new life. Lyla's father who later learns about her pregnancy, tells her that her baby is dead after she meets with an accident. However, the child survives and grows up in an orphanage home. Lyla who is terribly devastated by the news gives up her interest in music and lives a dull live after that. However, her father tells her the truth 11 years after that.
Lyla's son whose name is Evan Taylor always has instinct that his parents are still alive. He is just 11-year-old when he imagines communicating with them through his gift for music. One day, he escapes from the orphanage home to find his parents with the help of a kind orphanage officer in New York. Meanwhile, Lyla who knows that her son is still alive goes to New York to find him. Louis also comes to New York to find Lyla. Unfortunately, Evan Taylor loses contact with the officer and bumps into Wizard (Robbie Willam),a man who exploits and manipulate children's talents to get profit. He then calls Evan Taylor by the name August Rush. Situation turns chaotic when the police attacks Wizard's hiding place. Nevertheless, Evan Taylor manages to escapes and runs to the nearby church. There, the church people learn about his talent and eventually send him to Julliard, the most renowned music academy. He is then trained and given an honor to conduct his own music concert entitled the New York Philharmonic. Lyla who happens to perform at the same concert and Louis who also attends the concert finally meet their son.
Unfortunately, the night they spent together is the first and last time that they will ever see each other. Lyla's father sets them apart by bringing Lyla back to London. Louis is very determined to meet his true love & tries to find her but all he meets is failure. They finally get separated and lead their own lives without even knowing that their separation leads to a challenging journey of a new life. Lyla's father who later learns about her pregnancy, tells her that her baby is dead after she meets with an accident. However, the child survives and grows up in an orphanage home. Lyla who is terribly devastated by the news gives up her interest in music and lives a dull live after that. However, her father tells her the truth 11 years after that.
Lyla's son whose name is Evan Taylor always has instinct that his parents are still alive. He is just 11-year-old when he imagines communicating with them through his gift for music. One day, he escapes from the orphanage home to find his parents with the help of a kind orphanage officer in New York. Meanwhile, Lyla who knows that her son is still alive goes to New York to find him. Louis also comes to New York to find Lyla. Unfortunately, Evan Taylor loses contact with the officer and bumps into Wizard (Robbie Willam),a man who exploits and manipulate children's talents to get profit. He then calls Evan Taylor by the name August Rush. Situation turns chaotic when the police attacks Wizard's hiding place. Nevertheless, Evan Taylor manages to escapes and runs to the nearby church. There, the church people learn about his talent and eventually send him to Julliard, the most renowned music academy. He is then trained and given an honor to conduct his own music concert entitled the New York Philharmonic. Lyla who happens to perform at the same concert and Louis who also attends the concert finally meet their son.
Film Review: Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day (2008)
BOTTOM LINE: Surprisingly entertaining with sincere performances by the cast, "Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day" is an old-fashioned Hollywood film that you do not normally see any more, despite its flare for being overly dramatic at times.
THE GOOD: One of the great things about this film is that it is the type of film that does not get made any more. Sporting an old-fashioned style and look, the film is a farce and a genuine drama, all at the same time. Frances McDormand lends a sincere gravitas to these proceedings as the tough, but down-on-her-luck nanny Guinevere Pettigrew, who out of a moment of desperation, unexpectedly finds herself as the social secretary for the flamboyant American singer/actress Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams). What ensues is a trip through high society and Pettigrew's attempts to keep Lafosse out of trouble, to hilarious, and sometimes touching results. Aside from the excellent production design and visuals, the film is held together by the genuine performances on display by the whole cast. They clearly look as if they are all having a good time, but also find those moments of drama and seriousness to make the whole exercise compelling. Frances McDormand is the gravitating centre of this film, lending it a credence that makes the whole thing work. Amy Adams is great as the ditzy actress who reveals something more hidden underneath. She plays the hysterics and dramatics to perfection, causing a riot throughout every scene she is in. The remainder of the cast is spot on with their old world charm and sophistication. The film, of course, gravitates to a happy ending where all the characters end up with what they deserve, with the final sequence being low key and satisfying thanks largely to the performances of the actors in this scene, which could have so easily been pathetic and contrived. "Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day" is a fun way to spend a few hours and worth taking the trip.
THE BAD: As with old-style Hollywood films, some of what you see is over the top. That may have worked fifty years ago, but it does not really work in a modern film, despite how well it is integrated in to the narrative. Also, despite the best efforts of the filmmakers, they cannot always paper over the modest budget on display, but they do a decent job with what they have.
THE GOOD: One of the great things about this film is that it is the type of film that does not get made any more. Sporting an old-fashioned style and look, the film is a farce and a genuine drama, all at the same time. Frances McDormand lends a sincere gravitas to these proceedings as the tough, but down-on-her-luck nanny Guinevere Pettigrew, who out of a moment of desperation, unexpectedly finds herself as the social secretary for the flamboyant American singer/actress Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams). What ensues is a trip through high society and Pettigrew's attempts to keep Lafosse out of trouble, to hilarious, and sometimes touching results. Aside from the excellent production design and visuals, the film is held together by the genuine performances on display by the whole cast. They clearly look as if they are all having a good time, but also find those moments of drama and seriousness to make the whole exercise compelling. Frances McDormand is the gravitating centre of this film, lending it a credence that makes the whole thing work. Amy Adams is great as the ditzy actress who reveals something more hidden underneath. She plays the hysterics and dramatics to perfection, causing a riot throughout every scene she is in. The remainder of the cast is spot on with their old world charm and sophistication. The film, of course, gravitates to a happy ending where all the characters end up with what they deserve, with the final sequence being low key and satisfying thanks largely to the performances of the actors in this scene, which could have so easily been pathetic and contrived. "Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day" is a fun way to spend a few hours and worth taking the trip.
THE BAD: As with old-style Hollywood films, some of what you see is over the top. That may have worked fifty years ago, but it does not really work in a modern film, despite how well it is integrated in to the narrative. Also, despite the best efforts of the filmmakers, they cannot always paper over the modest budget on display, but they do a decent job with what they have.
My Sister Tikva - A Holocaust Movie
It is doubtful one will be able to grasp the complex story of Tikva Jearl, the protagonist of the documentary holocaust movie, My Sister Tikva, who switched 3 pairs of parents in her life time and still was able to maintain optimism. Today she lives in Baltimore, USA. She herself admits she experienced her distress as a long forgotten "I erased my emotions" she says, "but it seems that's what allowed me to go on".
The Shoah, the holocaust, left in its wake, in the rubble, innumerable stories- about children who were cruelly torn from their families, families who were eradicated, aimless wandering and death. Out of the annihilation often come stories of individuals who give face and name to the historical events. The story of Tikva Jeral - who was torn apart three times in her life - from three sets of parents - focuses on the evil and the good fortune that followed.
Her parents gave her for safekeeping to Lithuanian Catholics before they were murdered in the ghetto. After the war, her aunt from Kovno brought her to Palestine, undergoing an arduous journey, and raised her as her daughter. After some time, she was sent to other relatives in the United States.
Confusing? Extremely. This unbeliveble story is a true story, although even its protoganist find it hard to believe that everything happened to her.
"I love the race of time" she says, "I know that the passing of time is the only constant in life. That time passes. That time heals all wounds."
FROM KOVNO TO GIVAT BRENNER
Asya and Joseph Chelmovitch hugged a beautiful baby in Kovno, Lithuania. They were graduates of the Hebrew Gymnasium and spoke fluent Hebrew.
They called their daughter "Tikva" (hope). But the dreams the couple shared quickly disappeared. Tikva was the last child to be born in the Jewish hospital. The Slobodka Ghetto was closing in on them. Under the Nazi threat their studies were terminated and Joseph began work as a forced laborer. They sedated their baby in order to continue their conscripted work. The baby lost weight and her life was in danger.
Joseph decided to make a stand. One spring day he gathered the courage to approach a Lithuanian woman who was walking along the shores of the Neris River with her two daughters. "Don't be afraid of me" he said: "Just listen to me a moment. If you don't save my baby daughter's life, she will die". The Lithuanian woman, Bronia Gecevicius panicked. She was repulsed by the Jew's pitiful demand and hurried with her children to the printing press where
her husband, Edomas, worked. There she met with an unexpected response.
"Bronia" he said: "When you were a sickly child your parents entrusted you to relatives and that's how your life was saved. Jesus is giving you the opportunity to repay him."
That was enough. The Gecevicius family moved to another home in Kovno, far from the eyes of curious neighbors. They presented Tikva as the twin sister of one of their children. "Tikilita" they called her. Tikva was raised by the Lithuanians as their daughter for all intents and purposes. She went to church every Sunday and didn't inquire about her real parents.
After the war, Bronia took the initiative, went to the Kovno municipality and gave them Tikva's personal details in case one of her family had made it through the annihilation of the Slobodka Ghetto. By chance, it worked. A girl named Nechama showed up at their doorstep and presented herself. "I am Asya's sister, the mother of the child". Nechama rented a small apartment nearby and visited Tikva daily in order to build a connection between them. It slowly worked, till one day, Nechama announced to the distraught couple "I am taking Tikva with me to Israel".
Tikva arrived to Israel in 1947 with her aunt and family. There were members of Kibbutz Givat Brenner there to greet her and she was raised on the kibbutz as the daughter of Nechama and Bezalel Tauman. Tikva called them mother and father. Soon thereafter the Tauman's had a son, Yair. The shards of memories that Tikva recalled were invalidated by Nechama who said things like "Don't be silly, it's all in your imagination".
In 1950, when it was learned that Yair suffered from asthma, the family moved to Ramat Amidar in Ramat Gan. Tikva, who was a delicate and sensitive girl, embraced the Taumans as her parents. However, it was discovered that she had no talent for numbers. At the same time, Nechama, who was a didactic mathematics teacher, did some calculations of her own. She concluded that she could no longer carry the financial burden of raising the child during those hard economic times. They discovered family living in the United States and the cast was die. Psychologists advised Nechama to tell Tikva she was not really her daughter. The child was shattered but accepted her fate and the statement "You will have it good in America". Nechama promised that "Your Uncle Izzie and Aunt Edna will take very good care of you."
So at age 12, Tikva once again took leave of her family. She was torn apart. They told Yair, then five and a half, that his sister was going to America to relatives. His parents made him write to Tikva daily and it was only when he turned 13 that he discovered that she was not really his sister.
The steps taken then are unexplainable. "What is clear" says Vered Berman the film's director "is that the children's feelings were not taken into account when they were passed from hand to hand. Everyone who knew Tikva then claims that they thought it was in the 'child's best interest'. Emotion played no part in what happened. There were tough times to live in. If you could deal with the finances then everything else would turn out alright".
The film goes on to reveal that researcher Dr. Ben Lessin turned to "Yad Vashem" in order to have the Gecevicius family recognized as Righteous Gentiles. A reunion with the Gecevicius family was arranged and the ceremony bestowing the title of Righteous Gentile was held for Edomas, who had lost his wife a while ago.
FROM GIVAT BRENNER TO AMERICA
Decades later, Tikva Jeral and Yair Tauman went on a journey to learn more about this tumultuous period of their lives. The film "My Sister Tikva", as directed by Vered Berman and produced by Edna Nachum and Dina Kahanovits shifts between Tikva Jeral's life today as a retired social worker living with her husband Sheldon and their sons Joey and Benji in Baltimore, and her past in Lithuania and Israel. In Tikva's home there are songsters from the fifties which attest to the longing for Israel. Her connection to Hebrew was preserved through constant letter writing to Israel and to Yair in particular. Now he is Professor Tauman, a scientist and world renowned authority on Game Theory.
Tikva returned to Israel in 1970 with her son Joey who was then three and is today a psychiatrist. "There was tremendous excitement at the airport"
Tauman recalls "She lived with my parents for a month, and my mother blamed her for not coming back, since she claimed she sent her off for only a year." I don't think this story is correct. My mother never set her free. Her obsession with writing letters was crazy."
After that confession, the subject of Tikva was discussed endlessly in the Tauman home. "My mother thought that it was best for everyone" he says.
"My father objected to sending her but mother had made up her mind. In those days America was seen as being paved with streets of gold. She now had parents who were wonderful and worshipped the ground she walked on. When they came to take Tikva, they were certain that she was a damaged child. Instead, they found a beautiful girl, talented and sweet. They could not understand why anyone would send such a child away. There was a lot of tension and I have my own anger. On the one hand, it's easy to judge in hindsight when we worry about everything today. On the other hand, when you look at it more closely you discover that not everything is black and white."
Can you explain such a convoluted story from where you are today?
"It's a rare thing, but the big question is if it's possible to survive four pairs of parents and still remain sane. The interesting thing is that Tikva remained an optimist. That shows you something about human nature, about the inner strengths which are stronger than we think they are. She's fine, she laughs all the time and yet there is not a meeting between us when she doesn't talk about the Shoah".
FROM AMERICA TO GOD
And Tikva? She lives from day to day. "There are many movies about children during the Holocaust" she says in her home in Baltimore "I'm not sure why my story is so amazing. The film is made wonderfully but I still can't connect with it. It's as if I am peeking in on someone else. I wish I could feel something, but I can't find the emotion."
She's told her children about her past before they viewed the film. But she herself is not convinced that everything she saw actually happened. "There was a time when I thought Nechama and life in Israel was a nightmare I had" she says "I wanted to check that it was not a figment of my imagination. That was why I came for a visit in 1970. I discovered it wasn't just my imagination, but that I had had another life. I was able to separate the two".
Where do you gather the strength to go on?
"I simply don't remember much of anything. Except for short scenes. My first memory is of a house with closed shutters and the sound of breaking glass.
I don't remember suffering at all. I've erased my emotions. Perhaps it is due to this that I was able to go on. And that is the reason that I can't mourn over things that happened. The Shoah is not central to my memory. The insufferable detachment from Israel is."
Do you carry on discussions with God?
"I find it very hard to believe in God. I remember my Aunt Nechama telling me "'There is no God. If there were there would not have been a Shoah. God is simply not a part of my life."
The Shoah, the holocaust, left in its wake, in the rubble, innumerable stories- about children who were cruelly torn from their families, families who were eradicated, aimless wandering and death. Out of the annihilation often come stories of individuals who give face and name to the historical events. The story of Tikva Jeral - who was torn apart three times in her life - from three sets of parents - focuses on the evil and the good fortune that followed.
Her parents gave her for safekeeping to Lithuanian Catholics before they were murdered in the ghetto. After the war, her aunt from Kovno brought her to Palestine, undergoing an arduous journey, and raised her as her daughter. After some time, she was sent to other relatives in the United States.
Confusing? Extremely. This unbeliveble story is a true story, although even its protoganist find it hard to believe that everything happened to her.
"I love the race of time" she says, "I know that the passing of time is the only constant in life. That time passes. That time heals all wounds."
FROM KOVNO TO GIVAT BRENNER
Asya and Joseph Chelmovitch hugged a beautiful baby in Kovno, Lithuania. They were graduates of the Hebrew Gymnasium and spoke fluent Hebrew.
They called their daughter "Tikva" (hope). But the dreams the couple shared quickly disappeared. Tikva was the last child to be born in the Jewish hospital. The Slobodka Ghetto was closing in on them. Under the Nazi threat their studies were terminated and Joseph began work as a forced laborer. They sedated their baby in order to continue their conscripted work. The baby lost weight and her life was in danger.
Joseph decided to make a stand. One spring day he gathered the courage to approach a Lithuanian woman who was walking along the shores of the Neris River with her two daughters. "Don't be afraid of me" he said: "Just listen to me a moment. If you don't save my baby daughter's life, she will die". The Lithuanian woman, Bronia Gecevicius panicked. She was repulsed by the Jew's pitiful demand and hurried with her children to the printing press where
her husband, Edomas, worked. There she met with an unexpected response.
"Bronia" he said: "When you were a sickly child your parents entrusted you to relatives and that's how your life was saved. Jesus is giving you the opportunity to repay him."
That was enough. The Gecevicius family moved to another home in Kovno, far from the eyes of curious neighbors. They presented Tikva as the twin sister of one of their children. "Tikilita" they called her. Tikva was raised by the Lithuanians as their daughter for all intents and purposes. She went to church every Sunday and didn't inquire about her real parents.
After the war, Bronia took the initiative, went to the Kovno municipality and gave them Tikva's personal details in case one of her family had made it through the annihilation of the Slobodka Ghetto. By chance, it worked. A girl named Nechama showed up at their doorstep and presented herself. "I am Asya's sister, the mother of the child". Nechama rented a small apartment nearby and visited Tikva daily in order to build a connection between them. It slowly worked, till one day, Nechama announced to the distraught couple "I am taking Tikva with me to Israel".
Tikva arrived to Israel in 1947 with her aunt and family. There were members of Kibbutz Givat Brenner there to greet her and she was raised on the kibbutz as the daughter of Nechama and Bezalel Tauman. Tikva called them mother and father. Soon thereafter the Tauman's had a son, Yair. The shards of memories that Tikva recalled were invalidated by Nechama who said things like "Don't be silly, it's all in your imagination".
In 1950, when it was learned that Yair suffered from asthma, the family moved to Ramat Amidar in Ramat Gan. Tikva, who was a delicate and sensitive girl, embraced the Taumans as her parents. However, it was discovered that she had no talent for numbers. At the same time, Nechama, who was a didactic mathematics teacher, did some calculations of her own. She concluded that she could no longer carry the financial burden of raising the child during those hard economic times. They discovered family living in the United States and the cast was die. Psychologists advised Nechama to tell Tikva she was not really her daughter. The child was shattered but accepted her fate and the statement "You will have it good in America". Nechama promised that "Your Uncle Izzie and Aunt Edna will take very good care of you."
So at age 12, Tikva once again took leave of her family. She was torn apart. They told Yair, then five and a half, that his sister was going to America to relatives. His parents made him write to Tikva daily and it was only when he turned 13 that he discovered that she was not really his sister.
The steps taken then are unexplainable. "What is clear" says Vered Berman the film's director "is that the children's feelings were not taken into account when they were passed from hand to hand. Everyone who knew Tikva then claims that they thought it was in the 'child's best interest'. Emotion played no part in what happened. There were tough times to live in. If you could deal with the finances then everything else would turn out alright".
The film goes on to reveal that researcher Dr. Ben Lessin turned to "Yad Vashem" in order to have the Gecevicius family recognized as Righteous Gentiles. A reunion with the Gecevicius family was arranged and the ceremony bestowing the title of Righteous Gentile was held for Edomas, who had lost his wife a while ago.
FROM GIVAT BRENNER TO AMERICA
Decades later, Tikva Jeral and Yair Tauman went on a journey to learn more about this tumultuous period of their lives. The film "My Sister Tikva", as directed by Vered Berman and produced by Edna Nachum and Dina Kahanovits shifts between Tikva Jeral's life today as a retired social worker living with her husband Sheldon and their sons Joey and Benji in Baltimore, and her past in Lithuania and Israel. In Tikva's home there are songsters from the fifties which attest to the longing for Israel. Her connection to Hebrew was preserved through constant letter writing to Israel and to Yair in particular. Now he is Professor Tauman, a scientist and world renowned authority on Game Theory.
Tikva returned to Israel in 1970 with her son Joey who was then three and is today a psychiatrist. "There was tremendous excitement at the airport"
Tauman recalls "She lived with my parents for a month, and my mother blamed her for not coming back, since she claimed she sent her off for only a year." I don't think this story is correct. My mother never set her free. Her obsession with writing letters was crazy."
After that confession, the subject of Tikva was discussed endlessly in the Tauman home. "My mother thought that it was best for everyone" he says.
"My father objected to sending her but mother had made up her mind. In those days America was seen as being paved with streets of gold. She now had parents who were wonderful and worshipped the ground she walked on. When they came to take Tikva, they were certain that she was a damaged child. Instead, they found a beautiful girl, talented and sweet. They could not understand why anyone would send such a child away. There was a lot of tension and I have my own anger. On the one hand, it's easy to judge in hindsight when we worry about everything today. On the other hand, when you look at it more closely you discover that not everything is black and white."
Can you explain such a convoluted story from where you are today?
"It's a rare thing, but the big question is if it's possible to survive four pairs of parents and still remain sane. The interesting thing is that Tikva remained an optimist. That shows you something about human nature, about the inner strengths which are stronger than we think they are. She's fine, she laughs all the time and yet there is not a meeting between us when she doesn't talk about the Shoah".
FROM AMERICA TO GOD
And Tikva? She lives from day to day. "There are many movies about children during the Holocaust" she says in her home in Baltimore "I'm not sure why my story is so amazing. The film is made wonderfully but I still can't connect with it. It's as if I am peeking in on someone else. I wish I could feel something, but I can't find the emotion."
She's told her children about her past before they viewed the film. But she herself is not convinced that everything she saw actually happened. "There was a time when I thought Nechama and life in Israel was a nightmare I had" she says "I wanted to check that it was not a figment of my imagination. That was why I came for a visit in 1970. I discovered it wasn't just my imagination, but that I had had another life. I was able to separate the two".
Where do you gather the strength to go on?
"I simply don't remember much of anything. Except for short scenes. My first memory is of a house with closed shutters and the sound of breaking glass.
I don't remember suffering at all. I've erased my emotions. Perhaps it is due to this that I was able to go on. And that is the reason that I can't mourn over things that happened. The Shoah is not central to my memory. The insufferable detachment from Israel is."
Do you carry on discussions with God?
"I find it very hard to believe in God. I remember my Aunt Nechama telling me "'There is no God. If there were there would not have been a Shoah. God is simply not a part of my life."
Film Review: Derailed (2005)
BOTTOM LINE: "Derailed" is a great idea for a thriller, and has all the mystery to keep the twists and turns coming, but the lethargic nature and slow pacing let it down, despite the interesting performances from the great cast.
THE GOOD: "Derailed" starts as a different type of film. Clive Owen plays nice guy Charles Schine, who is having a tough life with his wife Deanna (Melissa George) who have to care for their sick daughter. He has a chance meeting with Lucinda (Jennifer Aniston) on the train, which develops in to a friendship. Eventually, they both decide to have an affair. At this point, the film feels like it is heading in to 'affair' mode when it abruptly changes course in to thriller mode when the couple are interrupted in their hotel room by a mugger who proceeds to rape Lucinda and seriously assault Charles. When he wakes up, Charles wants to call the police but Lucinda pleads with him not to, out of fear their indiscretion will be revealed. Life goes on seemingly, until Charles receives a call from the mugger demanding more money, and a terrible cat-and-mouse game ensues between the two, escalating further and further out of control. The performances of Owen, Aniston and Cassel in this film are quite intriguing and make for interesting viewing as they all trade off against each other in this battle for who comes out on top. It is a great idea for a thriller, almost Hitchcock-like in a way, where the narrative slowly unravels a scenario that is not at all what you thought it was to begin with. There is enough here to hold your interest to see how it ends. "Derailed" is a fine idea for a thriller, and has some moments of genuine tension.
THE BAD: A thriller is supposed to thrill, and unfortunately, the filmmakers decided to infuse this film with a slow, lethargic pace. The story cries out to be told in a more exciting way but it never is. If it were not for the performances, the film would fall flat. As Schine's world spins out of control, it does so in a "one-thing-at-a-time" fashion; you see his desperation, but the narrative is not desperate to get moving. As a result, the film tends to plod along and is just about forgettable which is a shame because there is a lot here to recommend.
THE GOOD: "Derailed" starts as a different type of film. Clive Owen plays nice guy Charles Schine, who is having a tough life with his wife Deanna (Melissa George) who have to care for their sick daughter. He has a chance meeting with Lucinda (Jennifer Aniston) on the train, which develops in to a friendship. Eventually, they both decide to have an affair. At this point, the film feels like it is heading in to 'affair' mode when it abruptly changes course in to thriller mode when the couple are interrupted in their hotel room by a mugger who proceeds to rape Lucinda and seriously assault Charles. When he wakes up, Charles wants to call the police but Lucinda pleads with him not to, out of fear their indiscretion will be revealed. Life goes on seemingly, until Charles receives a call from the mugger demanding more money, and a terrible cat-and-mouse game ensues between the two, escalating further and further out of control. The performances of Owen, Aniston and Cassel in this film are quite intriguing and make for interesting viewing as they all trade off against each other in this battle for who comes out on top. It is a great idea for a thriller, almost Hitchcock-like in a way, where the narrative slowly unravels a scenario that is not at all what you thought it was to begin with. There is enough here to hold your interest to see how it ends. "Derailed" is a fine idea for a thriller, and has some moments of genuine tension.
THE BAD: A thriller is supposed to thrill, and unfortunately, the filmmakers decided to infuse this film with a slow, lethargic pace. The story cries out to be told in a more exciting way but it never is. If it were not for the performances, the film would fall flat. As Schine's world spins out of control, it does so in a "one-thing-at-a-time" fashion; you see his desperation, but the narrative is not desperate to get moving. As a result, the film tends to plod along and is just about forgettable which is a shame because there is a lot here to recommend.
Vampire Heroes - Why They Are So Hot
When the vampire romance book and the movie Twilight by Stephenie Meyer came out, vampires became a very popular trend. The vampire in that vampire romance book, Edward, became the hottest new hero, a sexy man every woman craved after. He was good-looking to the extreme, sensitive, sexy, strong and rich. But what is that other quality that make regular women swoon over him?
A vampire hero like Edward in Twilight offers a hint of danger. In all of history, women have always loved a little bit of excitement to enhance their love life. If you consider all the romance movies you have watched, you may have noted that women always fell for the guy that was a little bit more on the edge than the safe, almost boring, gentleman love interest. Vampires offer danger in a relationship that gives the average woman a thrill. It makes the woman feel that she is living on the edge of a more exciting life by flirting with the dangerous aspect of having a vampire lover.
An author presenting a vampire hero can also bring another 'perk' to having a supernatural type figure as a love interest in a novel or story. Because a vampire is not human, the author can make him into something better than a normal human man. He can be better looking, have a better than average physique, be stronger, or have other super-powers. That also makes the hero in a vampire romance book more appealing.
A vampire hero, like Edward in a vampire romance book like Twilight, also has to give up something to be with Bella, the heroine in the story. In this case, the vampire not only has super-human qualities, he also has more to give in the love department. Edward has to overcome his natural instincts to be with Bella, which suggests a greater depth of love. He has to overcome his insane thirst for blood just to be around her because of his intense love. Women in general always find it exciting for their hero to have such intense feelings for them.
Of course, there are other vampire heroes (other than Edward in Twilight) that have been created for many women to swoon over. In the TV series, True Blood, based on the works of Charlaine Harris, Bill, and his rival Eric have also become love-interests for many women. Stephan from L. J. Smith's The Vampire Diaries, along with his brother Damon, are also appealing vampire heroes in the vampire romance books and in the TV shows. In a new TV series, Lost Girl, Dyson is the sexy vampire love interest. All of these, along with many other vampires, have become very 'hot' as vampire heroes in the new vampire market trend.
Vampire heroes offer readers, TV watchers and movie goers a suggestion of a thrilling life they can never attain in real life because they are all fictional characters. Vampire heroes offer a fantasy that women in today's world jump at. Vampires are dangerous, yes, but are worth the risk when one may get so intense a love relationship back.
A vampire hero like Edward in Twilight offers a hint of danger. In all of history, women have always loved a little bit of excitement to enhance their love life. If you consider all the romance movies you have watched, you may have noted that women always fell for the guy that was a little bit more on the edge than the safe, almost boring, gentleman love interest. Vampires offer danger in a relationship that gives the average woman a thrill. It makes the woman feel that she is living on the edge of a more exciting life by flirting with the dangerous aspect of having a vampire lover.
An author presenting a vampire hero can also bring another 'perk' to having a supernatural type figure as a love interest in a novel or story. Because a vampire is not human, the author can make him into something better than a normal human man. He can be better looking, have a better than average physique, be stronger, or have other super-powers. That also makes the hero in a vampire romance book more appealing.
A vampire hero, like Edward in a vampire romance book like Twilight, also has to give up something to be with Bella, the heroine in the story. In this case, the vampire not only has super-human qualities, he also has more to give in the love department. Edward has to overcome his natural instincts to be with Bella, which suggests a greater depth of love. He has to overcome his insane thirst for blood just to be around her because of his intense love. Women in general always find it exciting for their hero to have such intense feelings for them.
Of course, there are other vampire heroes (other than Edward in Twilight) that have been created for many women to swoon over. In the TV series, True Blood, based on the works of Charlaine Harris, Bill, and his rival Eric have also become love-interests for many women. Stephan from L. J. Smith's The Vampire Diaries, along with his brother Damon, are also appealing vampire heroes in the vampire romance books and in the TV shows. In a new TV series, Lost Girl, Dyson is the sexy vampire love interest. All of these, along with many other vampires, have become very 'hot' as vampire heroes in the new vampire market trend.
Vampire heroes offer readers, TV watchers and movie goers a suggestion of a thrilling life they can never attain in real life because they are all fictional characters. Vampire heroes offer a fantasy that women in today's world jump at. Vampires are dangerous, yes, but are worth the risk when one may get so intense a love relationship back.
Bundy Clarinet
Bundy Clarinet is one of the most famous names in the musical instrument business. It is actually mainly used by beginners and students. Altough that is popular belief, the brand is also used by teachers and professionals during performances.
The Bundy Clarinet is most famously known for its relationship with the Selmer Clarinet. The brand actually originated when a worker of the Selmer Company introduced the brand to the United States and the name Bundy was given.
The brand actually started out as a small family business in France. There was a pair of brothers known as the Selmers that were actually well known for their music skills.
The Bundy Clarinet comes from a strong background and famous history. As such, it is no wonder that it has become on of the more popular brands in the market today. Today, it is right up there with the rest of the names in the market including Selmer and Leblanc. There is a wide variety of models to choose from each with its own unique features. However, one thing to remember is that each brings the great name of the brand and all the history that is tied to it
When shopping around for a Bundy Clarinet, it is important to note exactly what you are looking for. For example, although it is widely regarded to be a student model, the price of some clarinets are not that cheap. As such, if you know exactly what you want and how much you are willing to pay for it, then it is likely that you are not going to overpay. That being said, this brands price are generally reasonable.
Another tip for new buyers is to always look out for reputable retailers. Shop around for a good price but at the end of the day, make sure that you buy your Bundy Clarinet from a shop that can offer you a warranty and good after sales service.
The Bundy Clarinet is a great instrument to own. As mentioned above, it has become very popular amongst schools because it is extremely suitable for students. The reason for this is that it is a very durable instrument. As such, many teachers these days recommend this brand. That being said, it is also played by expert musicians from time to time.
If you're looking for a instrument that looks great and sounds smooth, I thoroughly recommend you check out the Bundy Clarinet.
The Bundy Clarinet is most famously known for its relationship with the Selmer Clarinet. The brand actually originated when a worker of the Selmer Company introduced the brand to the United States and the name Bundy was given.
The brand actually started out as a small family business in France. There was a pair of brothers known as the Selmers that were actually well known for their music skills.
The Bundy Clarinet comes from a strong background and famous history. As such, it is no wonder that it has become on of the more popular brands in the market today. Today, it is right up there with the rest of the names in the market including Selmer and Leblanc. There is a wide variety of models to choose from each with its own unique features. However, one thing to remember is that each brings the great name of the brand and all the history that is tied to it
When shopping around for a Bundy Clarinet, it is important to note exactly what you are looking for. For example, although it is widely regarded to be a student model, the price of some clarinets are not that cheap. As such, if you know exactly what you want and how much you are willing to pay for it, then it is likely that you are not going to overpay. That being said, this brands price are generally reasonable.
Another tip for new buyers is to always look out for reputable retailers. Shop around for a good price but at the end of the day, make sure that you buy your Bundy Clarinet from a shop that can offer you a warranty and good after sales service.
The Bundy Clarinet is a great instrument to own. As mentioned above, it has become very popular amongst schools because it is extremely suitable for students. The reason for this is that it is a very durable instrument. As such, many teachers these days recommend this brand. That being said, it is also played by expert musicians from time to time.
If you're looking for a instrument that looks great and sounds smooth, I thoroughly recommend you check out the Bundy Clarinet.
Orianthi Biography
Orianthi Panagaris was born in Adelaide of Greek and Australian descent and was encouraged by her father to learn the acoustic guitar at the age of six. She started playing electric guitar when she was 11-years-old and began playing in bands at the age of 14. She launched her professional career when she was 15 when she was concentrating seriously on her writing.
There is one artist Orianthi misses more than anyone she has ever known and that is the late Michael Jackson. She was handpicked by him to be her lead guitarist on the "This is It Tour" which was due to open at London's O2 Arena shortly after his untimely death.
Jackson had seen her videos on You Tube and liked what he saw. When he selected her she was absolutely stunned.
She said, "I don't exactly know why he picked me. He had the choice of guitar players but I came in and played a solo "Beat It" for him. Afterwards he said he was so happy, he got up and grabbed my arm and started walking up and down the stage area with me".
"He said can you play once for me and hired me that night. I wish he was still around, he made me believe in myself more and I learned so much. Going into it I thought it would be all about playing guitar solos, but the majority of it was playing chords and funky rhythms."
Orianthi played with Jackson at all his rehearsals up until his death and she played at his Memorial which was globally televised on 7th July 2009.
She always knew she was going to be a musician as she started playing the piano at 3-years-old. But she grew up hearing her father's guitar-driven records playing on the stereo and she wanted to change from piano to guitar.
Orianthi packs girl power into every performance and her own brand of rock has earned her millions of fans all round the world. She is particularly popular in Japan and has a boyfriend over there.
But the guitar is far from her only means of expression, on her latest album "Believe" she also sings, writes and leads her own band.
She is now encouraging others to take up the guitar and to start learning early. She is a perfect example of what you can achieve if you realise your ambitions from an early age.
Orianthi has endorsed a classic PRS guitar and the Orianthi SE signature model has been released as the very first musical instrument to bear her name.
She said, "The PRS is perfect for anyone who wants an awesome quality and a versatile rocking guitar at an affordable price."
There is one artist Orianthi misses more than anyone she has ever known and that is the late Michael Jackson. She was handpicked by him to be her lead guitarist on the "This is It Tour" which was due to open at London's O2 Arena shortly after his untimely death.
Jackson had seen her videos on You Tube and liked what he saw. When he selected her she was absolutely stunned.
She said, "I don't exactly know why he picked me. He had the choice of guitar players but I came in and played a solo "Beat It" for him. Afterwards he said he was so happy, he got up and grabbed my arm and started walking up and down the stage area with me".
"He said can you play once for me and hired me that night. I wish he was still around, he made me believe in myself more and I learned so much. Going into it I thought it would be all about playing guitar solos, but the majority of it was playing chords and funky rhythms."
Orianthi played with Jackson at all his rehearsals up until his death and she played at his Memorial which was globally televised on 7th July 2009.
She always knew she was going to be a musician as she started playing the piano at 3-years-old. But she grew up hearing her father's guitar-driven records playing on the stereo and she wanted to change from piano to guitar.
Orianthi packs girl power into every performance and her own brand of rock has earned her millions of fans all round the world. She is particularly popular in Japan and has a boyfriend over there.
But the guitar is far from her only means of expression, on her latest album "Believe" she also sings, writes and leads her own band.
She is now encouraging others to take up the guitar and to start learning early. She is a perfect example of what you can achieve if you realise your ambitions from an early age.
Orianthi has endorsed a classic PRS guitar and the Orianthi SE signature model has been released as the very first musical instrument to bear her name.
She said, "The PRS is perfect for anyone who wants an awesome quality and a versatile rocking guitar at an affordable price."
Guitar Maintenance Tips - Temperature And Humidity Control
Taking care of your guitar is not hard, but you can ruin your beautiful precious instrument in a matter of weeks if you don't follow few simple rules when caring for it.
The best way you can prolong your guitar's life is temperature and humidity control. High humidity causes the wood to swell and distort, add some heat, and you've got loosen glue joints, not good. Low humidity causes your guitar to shrink resulting in cracking and seam separation. Heat expands wood and cold contracts it. Temperature changes can also cause something called crazing or temperature checking, that's when guitar's finish develops tiny cracks resembling the cracks of an old painting. This happens often when you bring in guitar from cold into heated places. Usually this dust makes your guitar look bad, but in extreme cases it can leave the wood vulnerable. When you bring in your guitar from cold into heated room, try leaving it in a case for a while to let it warm up gradually.
Winter and summer are the harshest on the guitar. In winter the arid climate of a heated house is especially harsh. It's good to invest into a humidifier, and keep your guitar in the same room, since most humidifiers don't work outside the room they're in. Or get a whole-house humidifier. During summer many guitars get damaged being left in the back of the super hot truck. The heat causes the glue to loosen up, so avoid leaving your guitar in direct sun or anywhere with extreme heat.
Unless you want your guitar to resemble the sand dunes, avoid extreme temperature and humidity changes. Always keep your guitar from radiators, hot air ducts, freezing drafts, attics, garages, and so on. My friends guitars got ruined because his parents decided to store them in the attic while he was away, he had five. All of them got warped and now they are all useless. I felt very sad for him, because I know he at least paid a grand for each one of those guitars and he is not what you would call a rich person.
One of the best ways to survive the climate change is to buy a good guitar. Guitars made with aged, properly finished, air-dried, quartersawed wood are the best. Guitars made of cheap plywood are the worst. Usually American made guitars are of the best quality, they are made in the climate-control factories, unlike some cheapies made in Taiwan.
So as you can see taking care of your guitar is not hard, but you do have to be careful.
The best way you can prolong your guitar's life is temperature and humidity control. High humidity causes the wood to swell and distort, add some heat, and you've got loosen glue joints, not good. Low humidity causes your guitar to shrink resulting in cracking and seam separation. Heat expands wood and cold contracts it. Temperature changes can also cause something called crazing or temperature checking, that's when guitar's finish develops tiny cracks resembling the cracks of an old painting. This happens often when you bring in guitar from cold into heated places. Usually this dust makes your guitar look bad, but in extreme cases it can leave the wood vulnerable. When you bring in your guitar from cold into heated room, try leaving it in a case for a while to let it warm up gradually.
Winter and summer are the harshest on the guitar. In winter the arid climate of a heated house is especially harsh. It's good to invest into a humidifier, and keep your guitar in the same room, since most humidifiers don't work outside the room they're in. Or get a whole-house humidifier. During summer many guitars get damaged being left in the back of the super hot truck. The heat causes the glue to loosen up, so avoid leaving your guitar in direct sun or anywhere with extreme heat.
Unless you want your guitar to resemble the sand dunes, avoid extreme temperature and humidity changes. Always keep your guitar from radiators, hot air ducts, freezing drafts, attics, garages, and so on. My friends guitars got ruined because his parents decided to store them in the attic while he was away, he had five. All of them got warped and now they are all useless. I felt very sad for him, because I know he at least paid a grand for each one of those guitars and he is not what you would call a rich person.
One of the best ways to survive the climate change is to buy a good guitar. Guitars made with aged, properly finished, air-dried, quartersawed wood are the best. Guitars made of cheap plywood are the worst. Usually American made guitars are of the best quality, they are made in the climate-control factories, unlike some cheapies made in Taiwan.
So as you can see taking care of your guitar is not hard, but you do have to be careful.
Pain Leads to Great Songwriting
I have a confession to make. I'm a total Gleek, a fan of the Fox hit show Glee. I love how the series uses so many songs from my growing up years and showcases vocals not just for singing the lyrics but also as harmony, rhythm, and musical arrangement. The kids on the show get to express themselves through song, deal with many emotions and experiences, and have fun in the process.
In a recent episode, they took at crack at writing original songs for their regional competition. Lead characters Finn and Rachel talked about what it takes to write about what you know while also coming from a place of emotion. Finn said Rachel was only dealing with her "easy pain" and not emotionally connecting like she could when she sang other people's songs. Cut to their glee club teacher, Mr. Schuester, who after listening to several of his students sing their original songs declares "the greatest songs are about hurt."
While I don't believe that's always the case, I can relate to pain being a catalyst for creative expression. Many of the songs I've written over the years have been born of tragedy and painful experiences. And I, like Rachel in the show, poured my heart onto notebook pages.
Oh, sweet pain. What is it about this particular emotion that lends itself to great songwriting? In thinking about my own experience, here's my thoughts on the matter:
1. Pain allows us to identify what's important and not important, helping us gain clarity in less than ideal circumstances
2. While we may react to pain initially by shutting down, there are opportunities to move past pain by feeling and expressing it
3. Sharing our pain helps us feel better, both in releasing it and in knowing we're not the only ones who've ever experienced it
Rachel was able to tap into her deeper pain when was faced with the harsh truth of love and betrayal by the girl stealing Finn away from her. She performed her original song "Get it Right," one of two original songs that led their team to victory at regionals.
So while you may not be ready to showcase your pain on national TV, you can begin by writing down your experiences and just letting whatever comes to mind flow onto the paper. You might be surprised at how you feel when you do. And who, knows, you just might get a great song out of it.
In a recent episode, they took at crack at writing original songs for their regional competition. Lead characters Finn and Rachel talked about what it takes to write about what you know while also coming from a place of emotion. Finn said Rachel was only dealing with her "easy pain" and not emotionally connecting like she could when she sang other people's songs. Cut to their glee club teacher, Mr. Schuester, who after listening to several of his students sing their original songs declares "the greatest songs are about hurt."
While I don't believe that's always the case, I can relate to pain being a catalyst for creative expression. Many of the songs I've written over the years have been born of tragedy and painful experiences. And I, like Rachel in the show, poured my heart onto notebook pages.
Oh, sweet pain. What is it about this particular emotion that lends itself to great songwriting? In thinking about my own experience, here's my thoughts on the matter:
1. Pain allows us to identify what's important and not important, helping us gain clarity in less than ideal circumstances
2. While we may react to pain initially by shutting down, there are opportunities to move past pain by feeling and expressing it
3. Sharing our pain helps us feel better, both in releasing it and in knowing we're not the only ones who've ever experienced it
Rachel was able to tap into her deeper pain when was faced with the harsh truth of love and betrayal by the girl stealing Finn away from her. She performed her original song "Get it Right," one of two original songs that led their team to victory at regionals.
So while you may not be ready to showcase your pain on national TV, you can begin by writing down your experiences and just letting whatever comes to mind flow onto the paper. You might be surprised at how you feel when you do. And who, knows, you just might get a great song out of it.
Classic Rock + Heavy Metal
CLASSIC ROCK was originally conceived as a radio station programming formula which evolved into the album oriented rock (AOR) format of the early-1980s. In the United States, this rock music genre now features a large playlist of songs ranging from the early-1960s through to the early-1980s with more emphasis on the core albums, artists, and songs most often represented by the subset of recorded catalogue that was popular during the so-called original classic rock era (1964-1975) when rock and hard rock dominated the charts. British hard rock and progressive rock bands make up the central pillar of classic rock artists; significant among these are Led Zeppelin, ELP, The Who, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Yes and Queen.
Concept albums indirectly led to the album-rock format and remain a major component of classic rock. American-bred 70s rock acts such as Aerosmith and REO Speedwagon, Toto, Heart, Rush, Boston and Journey often appear on classic rock radio stations. Also included is late 60s rock from artists like Santana, Free, Jimi Hendrix, Procol Harum, Jeff Beck and Cream. In many areas, Southern rock, notably that of Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top forms a significant subset of classic rock programming as well. Other classic rock playlists also include some of the hard-rock/heavy metal bands of the 1980s such as AC/DC, Guns N' Roses and Van Halen as classic rock. While new generations of fans are drawn to the most enduring classic rock songs and artists, similarly, more modern material by bands such as U2, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Soundgarden, Foo Fighters and The Red Hot Chili Peppers has proven to appeal to generations of older listeners.
HEAVY METAL (often referred to simply as metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. With roots in blues-rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, heavy, guitar-and-drums-centered sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion and fast guitar solos. Of all popular music forms, heavy metal is the most extreme in terms of volume, machismo, and theatricality. Heavy Metal has long had a worldwide following of fans known as "metalheads" or "headbangers". Although early heavy metal bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple attracted large audiences, they were often critically reviled at the time, a status common throughout the history of the genre. In the mid-1970s, UFO and Thin Lizzy reigned supreme while Kiss and Judas Priest helped spur the genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence.
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal followed in a similar vein with Iron Maiden and Motorhead, introducing a punk rock sensibility and an increasing emphasis on speed. In the mid-1980s, pop-infused glam metal became a major commercial force with groups like Motley Crue, Poison and Bon Jovi. Underground scenes produced an array of more extreme, aggressive styles: thrash metal broke into the mainstream with bands such as Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth, while other styles like death metal and black metal remain subcultural phenomena. Since the mid-1990s, popular styles such as nu metal, which often incorporates elements of funk and hip hop; and metalcore, which blends extreme metal with hardcore punk, have further expanded the definition of the genre.
Concept albums indirectly led to the album-rock format and remain a major component of classic rock. American-bred 70s rock acts such as Aerosmith and REO Speedwagon, Toto, Heart, Rush, Boston and Journey often appear on classic rock radio stations. Also included is late 60s rock from artists like Santana, Free, Jimi Hendrix, Procol Harum, Jeff Beck and Cream. In many areas, Southern rock, notably that of Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top forms a significant subset of classic rock programming as well. Other classic rock playlists also include some of the hard-rock/heavy metal bands of the 1980s such as AC/DC, Guns N' Roses and Van Halen as classic rock. While new generations of fans are drawn to the most enduring classic rock songs and artists, similarly, more modern material by bands such as U2, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Soundgarden, Foo Fighters and The Red Hot Chili Peppers has proven to appeal to generations of older listeners.
HEAVY METAL (often referred to simply as metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. With roots in blues-rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, heavy, guitar-and-drums-centered sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion and fast guitar solos. Of all popular music forms, heavy metal is the most extreme in terms of volume, machismo, and theatricality. Heavy Metal has long had a worldwide following of fans known as "metalheads" or "headbangers". Although early heavy metal bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple attracted large audiences, they were often critically reviled at the time, a status common throughout the history of the genre. In the mid-1970s, UFO and Thin Lizzy reigned supreme while Kiss and Judas Priest helped spur the genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence.
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal followed in a similar vein with Iron Maiden and Motorhead, introducing a punk rock sensibility and an increasing emphasis on speed. In the mid-1980s, pop-infused glam metal became a major commercial force with groups like Motley Crue, Poison and Bon Jovi. Underground scenes produced an array of more extreme, aggressive styles: thrash metal broke into the mainstream with bands such as Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth, while other styles like death metal and black metal remain subcultural phenomena. Since the mid-1990s, popular styles such as nu metal, which often incorporates elements of funk and hip hop; and metalcore, which blends extreme metal with hardcore punk, have further expanded the definition of the genre.
Have You Ever Tried Buying Left-Handed Guitars?
If you have ever tried to buy left-handed guitars you will know that whilst there are numerous right-handed versions in stock at any one time, the left-handed versions are generally not in stock, not available or on a long lead time. It seems like the ratio of lefty models available represent far less than the 15 percent of people that need that type of guitar.
The ability to go out and buy a guitar for lefties is generally accepted and understood as being more difficult, but it really should not be impossible.
I would wager that Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney and Kurt Cobain did not have to go traipsing around guitar shops looking for their famous left-handed Fenders and Hofners, but that is not a privilege bestowed on the majority of us. Mind you, Hendrix may have done as he never seemed to be able to find one.
Online there are a number of great places that you will be able to buy left-handed guitars. They even dedicate whole sections to them. I have even noticed that the once purely right-handed books and guides now have lefty versions. Clearly, it is easier for the internet stores to provide these services as they do not have to worry about shop fronts or small stock rooms.
At last, the left-handed guitar player can enjoy, more or less, the same choice as the right-handed player and not have to worry about doing a Hendrix.
Nowadays, I always think it looks a bit sad when a left-handed guitarist plays a right-handed guitar the wrong way up. It does not look cool, it just looks like you have borrowed a mates guitar, re-stringed it and turned it up the other way. How many right-handed guitar players do you see playing left-handed guitars? I rest my case.
So whilst the average left-handed person will still have to contend with door handles being on the wrong side, drink fountains being the other way around and even the mouse on their computer being designed for the right-hander. It does appear that in the world of guitarists the tide is changing and buying a non right-handed guitar is getting easier.
So the assessment that lefties tend to be more athletic, have better spatial awareness, more artistically creative and think more quickly can now be joined by the fact they can now more easily buy a guitar suitable to their inclination. Or maybe I am just a little biased.
The ability to go out and buy a guitar for lefties is generally accepted and understood as being more difficult, but it really should not be impossible.
I would wager that Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney and Kurt Cobain did not have to go traipsing around guitar shops looking for their famous left-handed Fenders and Hofners, but that is not a privilege bestowed on the majority of us. Mind you, Hendrix may have done as he never seemed to be able to find one.
Online there are a number of great places that you will be able to buy left-handed guitars. They even dedicate whole sections to them. I have even noticed that the once purely right-handed books and guides now have lefty versions. Clearly, it is easier for the internet stores to provide these services as they do not have to worry about shop fronts or small stock rooms.
At last, the left-handed guitar player can enjoy, more or less, the same choice as the right-handed player and not have to worry about doing a Hendrix.
Nowadays, I always think it looks a bit sad when a left-handed guitarist plays a right-handed guitar the wrong way up. It does not look cool, it just looks like you have borrowed a mates guitar, re-stringed it and turned it up the other way. How many right-handed guitar players do you see playing left-handed guitars? I rest my case.
So whilst the average left-handed person will still have to contend with door handles being on the wrong side, drink fountains being the other way around and even the mouse on their computer being designed for the right-hander. It does appear that in the world of guitarists the tide is changing and buying a non right-handed guitar is getting easier.
So the assessment that lefties tend to be more athletic, have better spatial awareness, more artistically creative and think more quickly can now be joined by the fact they can now more easily buy a guitar suitable to their inclination. Or maybe I am just a little biased.
Rockabilly's Gene Vincent Made Some Of The Wildest Contributions To Rock And Roll
Gene Vincent isn't exactly a household name to modern fans of pop music. But to Rockabilly fans, he's one of the all-time great idols. Vincent and his band the Blue Caps accounted for some of the absolute wildest moments in early rock and roll history with an all-out, go-for-broke style. So much so that Rolling Stone magazine has called Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps "the first rock and roll band in the world."
While that statement may not be technically true, it is true that the band was one of the first to really let loose with their music. Vincent cultivated a leather-jacketed greaser image while his Blue Caps were a rollicking bunch that seemed simply to be out looking for the most fun they could find.
The early years
Vincent, born Vincent Eugene Craddock in 1935, grew up (like so many other rockabilly artists of the time) dirt poor in the American south. The country music that he heard growing up mixed with the feel of the rhythm and blues he also heard and primed him perfectly for becoming a rockabilly musician. He began playing guitar and singing when a friend gave him his first guitar at the age of 12.
A life-changing accident
In 1952 Vincent joined the US Navy. Three years later while riding his motorcycle, he was hit by a car that had run through a red light. His left leg was severely smashed and doctors wanted to amputate it. His parents talked them out of it and save Gene's leg, but he was never able to walk properly again. For the rest of his life he wore a leg brace and experienced serious bouts of pain with the leg.
As fate would have it though, it was this bad leg and his leg brace that gave him a very unique stage presence. Vincent was as wild on stage as his leg would allow him to be and often struck a peculiar stiff-legged stance as he sang. It became somewhat of a signature for him.
The big time
Vincent hit the big time in 1956 with the smash hit "Be Bop a Lula" which was quite unlike anything anyone had heard before. He followed that up with a wonderful rocker called "Race With the Devil". While that song didn't do particularly well on the charts, it's a magnificent song that really showcases the Blue Caps' lead guitarist Cliff Gallup who many consider to be the greatest rockabilly guitarist of them all. Vincent's third single, "Blue Gene Bop" was another big hit and his career was looking very bright.
Vincent continued to have commercial success during the 50s, but had trouble with almost constant personnel changes in his band. That, coupled with the continuing problems he was constantly having with his leg, slowed him down a bit. By the late 1950s, Gene's record sales were slowing down considerably. However, he was still a major concert draw, especially in places like Japan, Australia, and Great Britain where they still loved the original rock and rollers.
Another great tragedy
Eventually Vincent met another singer who would become his close friend: Eddie Cochran. The two were on several tours together throughout the world during the late 50s. It was on one of these tours in 1960, when the two were playing all around England, that tragedy struck. As they were riding in a taxi late one night, the driver, who was driving excessively fast, lost control of the car and smashed into a cement post. Gene was badly injured and his friend Eddie Cochran was killed.
The final chapter
Devastated by the loss of his friend and now experiencing more pain in his leg than ever, Vincent carried on with his career. He recorded some great material during the 1960s, but never again scored any big hits like he had in the mid 50s. Gene's health deteriorated even more and his battle with unhealthy living didn't help matters. He was touring England once again in 1971 when his health took a final turn for the worse. He returned to California where he died just a few days later. He was only 36 years old.
Vincent's story is a tragic one. He was a brilliant singer and performer and though he had several successful songs, bad management, a constantly revolving door that kept his band members changing, deteriorating health, and poor life decisions kept him from staying at the top. His severe physical problems made it difficult to work as often and as hard as he would have liked to. And the tragic accidents that first crippled him and then killed his good friend Cochran eventually led to sever depression and struggles with substance abuse.
But Gene Vincent nonetheless left behind a body of work unlike any other. His style was strong, wild, and fun. His talent was amazing and we can all be thankful for the musical legacy that he left behind. If you haven't heard much of Vincent's music beyond "Be Bop a Lula", do yourself a huge favor and check out some of his other recordings. You won't be disappointed!
While that statement may not be technically true, it is true that the band was one of the first to really let loose with their music. Vincent cultivated a leather-jacketed greaser image while his Blue Caps were a rollicking bunch that seemed simply to be out looking for the most fun they could find.
The early years
Vincent, born Vincent Eugene Craddock in 1935, grew up (like so many other rockabilly artists of the time) dirt poor in the American south. The country music that he heard growing up mixed with the feel of the rhythm and blues he also heard and primed him perfectly for becoming a rockabilly musician. He began playing guitar and singing when a friend gave him his first guitar at the age of 12.
A life-changing accident
In 1952 Vincent joined the US Navy. Three years later while riding his motorcycle, he was hit by a car that had run through a red light. His left leg was severely smashed and doctors wanted to amputate it. His parents talked them out of it and save Gene's leg, but he was never able to walk properly again. For the rest of his life he wore a leg brace and experienced serious bouts of pain with the leg.
As fate would have it though, it was this bad leg and his leg brace that gave him a very unique stage presence. Vincent was as wild on stage as his leg would allow him to be and often struck a peculiar stiff-legged stance as he sang. It became somewhat of a signature for him.
The big time
Vincent hit the big time in 1956 with the smash hit "Be Bop a Lula" which was quite unlike anything anyone had heard before. He followed that up with a wonderful rocker called "Race With the Devil". While that song didn't do particularly well on the charts, it's a magnificent song that really showcases the Blue Caps' lead guitarist Cliff Gallup who many consider to be the greatest rockabilly guitarist of them all. Vincent's third single, "Blue Gene Bop" was another big hit and his career was looking very bright.
Vincent continued to have commercial success during the 50s, but had trouble with almost constant personnel changes in his band. That, coupled with the continuing problems he was constantly having with his leg, slowed him down a bit. By the late 1950s, Gene's record sales were slowing down considerably. However, he was still a major concert draw, especially in places like Japan, Australia, and Great Britain where they still loved the original rock and rollers.
Another great tragedy
Eventually Vincent met another singer who would become his close friend: Eddie Cochran. The two were on several tours together throughout the world during the late 50s. It was on one of these tours in 1960, when the two were playing all around England, that tragedy struck. As they were riding in a taxi late one night, the driver, who was driving excessively fast, lost control of the car and smashed into a cement post. Gene was badly injured and his friend Eddie Cochran was killed.
The final chapter
Devastated by the loss of his friend and now experiencing more pain in his leg than ever, Vincent carried on with his career. He recorded some great material during the 1960s, but never again scored any big hits like he had in the mid 50s. Gene's health deteriorated even more and his battle with unhealthy living didn't help matters. He was touring England once again in 1971 when his health took a final turn for the worse. He returned to California where he died just a few days later. He was only 36 years old.
Vincent's story is a tragic one. He was a brilliant singer and performer and though he had several successful songs, bad management, a constantly revolving door that kept his band members changing, deteriorating health, and poor life decisions kept him from staying at the top. His severe physical problems made it difficult to work as often and as hard as he would have liked to. And the tragic accidents that first crippled him and then killed his good friend Cochran eventually led to sever depression and struggles with substance abuse.
But Gene Vincent nonetheless left behind a body of work unlike any other. His style was strong, wild, and fun. His talent was amazing and we can all be thankful for the musical legacy that he left behind. If you haven't heard much of Vincent's music beyond "Be Bop a Lula", do yourself a huge favor and check out some of his other recordings. You won't be disappointed!
Piano Buying Guide
Buying a piano can be a confusing event. Especially when you have so many brands and models to choose from. So to help you take the right decision, here is a basic piano buying guide:
The Budget - Determine how much you are willing to spend on a piano and whether you can afford buying a new piano or settle for a used one. Just bear in mind that the piano is a durable instrument with an average lifetime of about 40 years and that purchasing a piano with a higher quality is a good investment because it might keep its value quite well (as long as it has been properly cared for).
The Proficiency - It is advisable to buy a piano with a higher quality than you think you deserve. By doing so you can grow with the piano. Don't buy a cheap old used piano. You certainly won't enjoy playing on a piano with a poor quality and it might easily lead you to give up on playing.
The Space - Measure the area in your house where you intend to put the piano. The upright pianos needs a space of 5 feet wide x 2 feet deep (plus an extra 2 feet for the pianist and bench). The Grand pianos require a space between 5-7 feet wide X 4.5-9.5 feet deep, depending on the model (plus 2 feet for the pianist and bench). Bear in mind that the change in humidity and temperature next to the piano affects its tune. That's way it is better to place the piano next to an interior wall and away from sources of heat and cold such as direct sunlight, air conditioners and radiators.
Shopping - Make a little research at home, get familiar with the different terms and get a better understanding of what you are looking for. Then, visit several piano stores before making the final decision.
Don't rush - Promise yourself not to buy a piano on your first visit at a piano store. Take your time and play on as many pianos as possible. Be familiar with the differences between each piano's quality, touch and tone. In that way it will be easier for you to decide which piano you like best.
Consult with a certified piano technician - After you checked several pianos, made a list of those you liked so far, and narrowed down your choices to 2-3 pianos, have an experienced piano technician to do the final check. This check is essential and can save you a lot of money in case where the mechanism of the instrument is not in a good shape as assumed.
Warranty, Maintenance and Delivery - Check out the duration of the warranty, does it include parts and also labor? Is the warranty transferable once you decide to sell the piano? does the piano store renders maintenance services. Lastly, negotiate a price and verify that the price includes a bench, delivery and at least one free tuning.
The Budget - Determine how much you are willing to spend on a piano and whether you can afford buying a new piano or settle for a used one. Just bear in mind that the piano is a durable instrument with an average lifetime of about 40 years and that purchasing a piano with a higher quality is a good investment because it might keep its value quite well (as long as it has been properly cared for).
The Proficiency - It is advisable to buy a piano with a higher quality than you think you deserve. By doing so you can grow with the piano. Don't buy a cheap old used piano. You certainly won't enjoy playing on a piano with a poor quality and it might easily lead you to give up on playing.
The Space - Measure the area in your house where you intend to put the piano. The upright pianos needs a space of 5 feet wide x 2 feet deep (plus an extra 2 feet for the pianist and bench). The Grand pianos require a space between 5-7 feet wide X 4.5-9.5 feet deep, depending on the model (plus 2 feet for the pianist and bench). Bear in mind that the change in humidity and temperature next to the piano affects its tune. That's way it is better to place the piano next to an interior wall and away from sources of heat and cold such as direct sunlight, air conditioners and radiators.
Shopping - Make a little research at home, get familiar with the different terms and get a better understanding of what you are looking for. Then, visit several piano stores before making the final decision.
Don't rush - Promise yourself not to buy a piano on your first visit at a piano store. Take your time and play on as many pianos as possible. Be familiar with the differences between each piano's quality, touch and tone. In that way it will be easier for you to decide which piano you like best.
Consult with a certified piano technician - After you checked several pianos, made a list of those you liked so far, and narrowed down your choices to 2-3 pianos, have an experienced piano technician to do the final check. This check is essential and can save you a lot of money in case where the mechanism of the instrument is not in a good shape as assumed.
Warranty, Maintenance and Delivery - Check out the duration of the warranty, does it include parts and also labor? Is the warranty transferable once you decide to sell the piano? does the piano store renders maintenance services. Lastly, negotiate a price and verify that the price includes a bench, delivery and at least one free tuning.
Some Thoughts About Buying Your Child's First Guitar
What are you going to do when your child asks you for their first guitar? What is going through your head? What are you visualising? Are you riddled with panic or are you seeing your little one up on stage at Carnegie Hall or Wembley Stadium? Whatever you are thinking one thing is for sure they are going to be persistent and you are going to have to go through a pretty fast learning curve.
Clearly there are some serious considerations, but the main two are budget and their ability to retain the current level of enthusiasm!
One of the big questions is acoustic guitar or electric guitar?
As you scour the millions of online reviews you will see many conflicting views about the best type of guitar to learn on, which is basically what you are buying.
Acoustic guitars have no pick-ups so therefore no amplification. An advantage is that the guitar is all that you need, apart from the training obviously!! The disadvantages are that they require more finger strength and stronger finger-tip calluses, things beginners' lack. Too many people get discouraged because of the resulting finger pain.
Electric guitars are easier to play than acoustics, especially for a beginner. Once you get the basics down you can graduate onto playing an acoustic to sharpen technique - most players will end up playing both anyway. A disadvantage with an electric guitar is that any mistake will be amplified, but the old saying that 'if you can't play, then play it loud' springs to mind!
There is a reason you start reading with SpongeBob rather than War and Peace. Starting with acoustic, particularly a cheaper, but the best acoustic guitar you can afford, could be asking to give up in frustration at not being able to hear a chord ring out properly if there is no consideration to the consequence, and let's face it we do not want to be discouraging any future guitar legend do we?
The really important thing for a beginner is to be comfortable and proud of the instrument they have, so find a guitar that has a good "action", meaning the strings are as close to the frets as possible without "buzzing" (when you push down on a string to sound a non-open note, it will ring out clear).
Generally, if you "fret" the string at the first fret AND the last fret at the same time (this takes both hands) the string should be just barely above the rest of the frets.
Oh, and finally try to get one that stays in tune, as well. Nothing is more frustrating than re-tuning every few bars to retune. The way to check is to do some hard strumming for a few seconds and then recheck the tuning. New strings stretch a bit, so try to wear-in the strings for a few minutes if they are new.
Clearly there are some serious considerations, but the main two are budget and their ability to retain the current level of enthusiasm!
One of the big questions is acoustic guitar or electric guitar?
As you scour the millions of online reviews you will see many conflicting views about the best type of guitar to learn on, which is basically what you are buying.
Acoustic guitars have no pick-ups so therefore no amplification. An advantage is that the guitar is all that you need, apart from the training obviously!! The disadvantages are that they require more finger strength and stronger finger-tip calluses, things beginners' lack. Too many people get discouraged because of the resulting finger pain.
Electric guitars are easier to play than acoustics, especially for a beginner. Once you get the basics down you can graduate onto playing an acoustic to sharpen technique - most players will end up playing both anyway. A disadvantage with an electric guitar is that any mistake will be amplified, but the old saying that 'if you can't play, then play it loud' springs to mind!
There is a reason you start reading with SpongeBob rather than War and Peace. Starting with acoustic, particularly a cheaper, but the best acoustic guitar you can afford, could be asking to give up in frustration at not being able to hear a chord ring out properly if there is no consideration to the consequence, and let's face it we do not want to be discouraging any future guitar legend do we?
The really important thing for a beginner is to be comfortable and proud of the instrument they have, so find a guitar that has a good "action", meaning the strings are as close to the frets as possible without "buzzing" (when you push down on a string to sound a non-open note, it will ring out clear).
Generally, if you "fret" the string at the first fret AND the last fret at the same time (this takes both hands) the string should be just barely above the rest of the frets.
Oh, and finally try to get one that stays in tune, as well. Nothing is more frustrating than re-tuning every few bars to retune. The way to check is to do some hard strumming for a few seconds and then recheck the tuning. New strings stretch a bit, so try to wear-in the strings for a few minutes if they are new.
End of The Rainbow at Trafalgar Studios London West End
Olivier Award winning star of Hairspray Tracie Bennett returns to the West End Stage in Peter Quilter's new play based on the later life of Judy Garland. Directed by the multiple commemorated award winning Terry Johnson, End Of The Rainbow received five star critical reviews and nightly standing ovations upon its pre London performances.
It's December 1968 and Judy Garland is going to make her comeback... once more. Inside a London hotel suite together with her youthful new future husband at her side, Garland struggles with a tornado of drugs and also alcohol consumption as she undertakes an exhausting series of shows at the Talk of the Town to attempt to recover her crown as the greatest talent associated with her era.
In spite of a number of failed marriages along with a damaged Hollywood career, Judy remains to be a tough, persuasive, outstanding lady continually equipped to the teeth with her renowned razor-sharp humor.
Featuring the spectacular performance by Tracie Bennet the production incorporates a number of Garland's traditional melodies, including the Man That Got Away, Come Rain or Come Shine, The Trolley Song and Somewhere Over the Rainbow, with a live onstage band.
Trafalgar Studios brief history: Formerly the Whitehall Theatre, Trafalgar Studios is two new theatre studios in one location in the middle of the London's West End. Starting up with the RSC's production of Othello, the bigger space provides close to 380 seats. Othello was followed by the Watermill Theatre's acclaimed production of Sweeney Todd.
Architects Tim Foster and John Muir have created two new intimate and dynamic theatre areas designed to insert a fresh energy and exhilaration into the venue as well as in to the West End. The Whitehall theatre started out in 1930 with a transfer of The Way to Treat a Woman by Walter Hackett (also the theatre's licensee). He presented numerous more very successful plays of his own right up until departing in 1934. The theatre continued to improve its reputation for common modern day comedies during the entire 1930s.
During the war this particular tried and tested formula was declined in preference of revue shows, that had been all the rage in other regions within London's West End. In 1942, The Whitehall Follies was launched, featuring a non-stop performance by Phyllis Dixey, people flocked in, mostly due to the fact that the well known Miss Dixey was renowned for being the very first stripper in the West End!
In the mid-eighties, under Ian B Albery, there was extensive refurbishment to complement the new program of high quality theatre. Most of the building's exclusive art deco features were kept, as well as the Whitehall reopened with a greatly prosperous revival of J B Priestley's When We are Married.
Highlights of the late eighties and early 90's include Run for Your Wife, Alan Ayckbourn's Absurd Person Singular and A Tribute to the Blues Brothers. Some other well-liked productions include Cooking With Elvis starring Frank Skinner, Only the Lonely, Trainspotting and John Godber's Bouncers. The theatre has also played host to radio and television shows and live theatre operating concurrently. Currently displaying is End of The Rainbow.
It's December 1968 and Judy Garland is going to make her comeback... once more. Inside a London hotel suite together with her youthful new future husband at her side, Garland struggles with a tornado of drugs and also alcohol consumption as she undertakes an exhausting series of shows at the Talk of the Town to attempt to recover her crown as the greatest talent associated with her era.
In spite of a number of failed marriages along with a damaged Hollywood career, Judy remains to be a tough, persuasive, outstanding lady continually equipped to the teeth with her renowned razor-sharp humor.
Featuring the spectacular performance by Tracie Bennet the production incorporates a number of Garland's traditional melodies, including the Man That Got Away, Come Rain or Come Shine, The Trolley Song and Somewhere Over the Rainbow, with a live onstage band.
Trafalgar Studios brief history: Formerly the Whitehall Theatre, Trafalgar Studios is two new theatre studios in one location in the middle of the London's West End. Starting up with the RSC's production of Othello, the bigger space provides close to 380 seats. Othello was followed by the Watermill Theatre's acclaimed production of Sweeney Todd.
Architects Tim Foster and John Muir have created two new intimate and dynamic theatre areas designed to insert a fresh energy and exhilaration into the venue as well as in to the West End. The Whitehall theatre started out in 1930 with a transfer of The Way to Treat a Woman by Walter Hackett (also the theatre's licensee). He presented numerous more very successful plays of his own right up until departing in 1934. The theatre continued to improve its reputation for common modern day comedies during the entire 1930s.
During the war this particular tried and tested formula was declined in preference of revue shows, that had been all the rage in other regions within London's West End. In 1942, The Whitehall Follies was launched, featuring a non-stop performance by Phyllis Dixey, people flocked in, mostly due to the fact that the well known Miss Dixey was renowned for being the very first stripper in the West End!
In the mid-eighties, under Ian B Albery, there was extensive refurbishment to complement the new program of high quality theatre. Most of the building's exclusive art deco features were kept, as well as the Whitehall reopened with a greatly prosperous revival of J B Priestley's When We are Married.
Highlights of the late eighties and early 90's include Run for Your Wife, Alan Ayckbourn's Absurd Person Singular and A Tribute to the Blues Brothers. Some other well-liked productions include Cooking With Elvis starring Frank Skinner, Only the Lonely, Trainspotting and John Godber's Bouncers. The theatre has also played host to radio and television shows and live theatre operating concurrently. Currently displaying is End of The Rainbow.
Janala - Bengali Movie Review
At the centre of Buddhadeb Dasgupta's Janala (Window) is a young couple, Bimal (Indraneil Sengupta) and Meera (Swastika Mukherjee) who decide to get married upon learning that Meera's pregnant. Bimal and Meera are very much in love and can't look beyond each other.
Bimal, who works as a caretaker at an old age home, transforms when he visits his childhood school. Recalling the sweet memories of his childhood as he walks through the dilapidated building, Bimal is saddened by the state of his alma mater. While looking at the broken window from which he looked into his future that promised to be as exciting as the geography lessons his ears caught, Bimal is fraught with the desire to do something for the place he grew up. Even though he isn't financially stable and with his marriage around the corner Bimal decides to donate a window to the school.
From that moment onwards in his desperate bid to do something meaningful Bimal alienates himself from his very existence; he skips work, withdraws a better part of his savings from his joint account with Meera and looks at nothing beyond the ornate design of the window. Bimal returns to his school with the window but the school staff refuses to accept a meaningless gift. With the help of a sweet truck driver Bimal tries to find a place that would 'accept' his gift but is unable to find a wall for his window.
Almost like a fable, Janala operates on a range of metaphors and has it's moments but they are very rare and in between. The metaphors that the screenplay ends up relying on become a tad overbearing beyond a point and with important characters like Meera remaining the same throughout the film Janala becomes a tedious watch. The characters in Janala are straight out of the life and while this makes them look real they feel incomplete as most of them operate in extreme blacks or whites.
Indraneil Sengupta's arresting presence and loyalty to the character make Bimal the fulcrum of the film. Even though Bimal is the best defined character of the film Sengupta brings in the extra bit to better Bimal.
Janala's screenplay leaves Meera grasping for air very early on and much like the script Swastika Mukherjee too makes no real effort to make Meera stand out.
One of the biggest problems with Janala is how Dasgupta handles Meera. Bimal is a dreamer who prefers to live in the idea of how the past could have been better and even though he is planning a new life with Meera, he can't help but remain distant. Meera, on the other hand only dreams of a future that she is committed to making beautiful and happy. Meera never dissuades Bimal beyond a point in his quest to something nice for his school but once Bimal decides to go ahead with the plans of getting the window made he starts creating a void between them and Meera just doesn't do anything. There are instances when Bimal doesn't answer his phone for two days and even then Meera just doesn't do anything. This drift between them could have been explored better or could have been used to add some resonance to Meera's character.
Janala is a bitter-sweet tale of what's happening in the heart of our country. Dasgupta's imagery transports us into the place where the heart of this story lies but once he takes us there we end up looking for the heart which seems to be missing.
Bimal, who works as a caretaker at an old age home, transforms when he visits his childhood school. Recalling the sweet memories of his childhood as he walks through the dilapidated building, Bimal is saddened by the state of his alma mater. While looking at the broken window from which he looked into his future that promised to be as exciting as the geography lessons his ears caught, Bimal is fraught with the desire to do something for the place he grew up. Even though he isn't financially stable and with his marriage around the corner Bimal decides to donate a window to the school.
From that moment onwards in his desperate bid to do something meaningful Bimal alienates himself from his very existence; he skips work, withdraws a better part of his savings from his joint account with Meera and looks at nothing beyond the ornate design of the window. Bimal returns to his school with the window but the school staff refuses to accept a meaningless gift. With the help of a sweet truck driver Bimal tries to find a place that would 'accept' his gift but is unable to find a wall for his window.
Almost like a fable, Janala operates on a range of metaphors and has it's moments but they are very rare and in between. The metaphors that the screenplay ends up relying on become a tad overbearing beyond a point and with important characters like Meera remaining the same throughout the film Janala becomes a tedious watch. The characters in Janala are straight out of the life and while this makes them look real they feel incomplete as most of them operate in extreme blacks or whites.
Indraneil Sengupta's arresting presence and loyalty to the character make Bimal the fulcrum of the film. Even though Bimal is the best defined character of the film Sengupta brings in the extra bit to better Bimal.
Janala's screenplay leaves Meera grasping for air very early on and much like the script Swastika Mukherjee too makes no real effort to make Meera stand out.
One of the biggest problems with Janala is how Dasgupta handles Meera. Bimal is a dreamer who prefers to live in the idea of how the past could have been better and even though he is planning a new life with Meera, he can't help but remain distant. Meera, on the other hand only dreams of a future that she is committed to making beautiful and happy. Meera never dissuades Bimal beyond a point in his quest to something nice for his school but once Bimal decides to go ahead with the plans of getting the window made he starts creating a void between them and Meera just doesn't do anything. There are instances when Bimal doesn't answer his phone for two days and even then Meera just doesn't do anything. This drift between them could have been explored better or could have been used to add some resonance to Meera's character.
Janala is a bitter-sweet tale of what's happening in the heart of our country. Dasgupta's imagery transports us into the place where the heart of this story lies but once he takes us there we end up looking for the heart which seems to be missing.
London Movie Tours for TV and Film Fans
London movies location tours can be a great day out for the whole family. If you have seen the London eye, been up the Tower of London, seen Big Ben, been to Buckingham Palace, visited Madame Tussauds, done the open top bus tour you might think you have seen it all in London. Well there is more to this great capital than the usual famous attractions mentioned above.
Movie and film lovers will find there is plenty to do as there are dedicated tours for many top TV shows and films. Harry Potter is a worldwide phenomenon thanks to Joanne Rowling's imagination and creation of Harry Potter, the famous boy wizard. There are many tours available from bus or walking tours including a trip on a boat down the Thames. Some tours are just a few hours, others are a couple of days. Some of the tours highlights include pushing a trolley through the wall at Platform 9 ¾, see the home of the horrible Dursleys at 4 Privet Drive, head to Gloucester to see the ancient Cathedral where some of the scenes were shot, get up and close with Owls at an Owlery and visit the most famous university in the world Oxford.
Doctor Who which is back on our screens is a must see tour for diehard fans. Some of the recent series was filmed in Cardiff so there are tours which take you to all the location in London and then up the motorway to Wales. Highlights include visiting the home of Rose Tyler, getting your picture in front of the door featured as 10 Downing Street in Aliens of London, drive pas the site where the two Dalek factions have a battle in 'Remembrance of the Daleks', spot were the body was fished out of the river by police in 'Talons of Weng Chiang'. On the tours you get the chance to dress up as your favourite doctor any of the other characters if you want. You can go on private or group tours and there can even be a celebrity from doctor who which can feature as part of the tour at extra cost obviously.
Notting Hill was made famous by the lovely Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. Taking a Notting Hill tour will take you to see the famous Portobello Road which is famous for its annual street carnival. The main market days are Friday and Saturday where you will be able to see buskers, spice shops, cafes, recording studios, and taste delicious international cuisine cooked fresh on market stalls. The tour also takes you to ten film locations from the film including the real Travel bookshop, the actual front door (now blue). Also on this tour you get to see a lot of celebrity homes including the home of Richard Branson, Elle MacPherson and Richard Curtis.
Other movie location tours which you can see in London include the Bridget Jones tour, Beatles tour, Da Vinci Code tour, Sherlock holmes tour, Gavin and Stacy tour, Inspector Mouse tour and Jack the Ripper tour and much more. London is just not for the main famous attractions, there is plenty more for you to do and see.
Movie and film lovers will find there is plenty to do as there are dedicated tours for many top TV shows and films. Harry Potter is a worldwide phenomenon thanks to Joanne Rowling's imagination and creation of Harry Potter, the famous boy wizard. There are many tours available from bus or walking tours including a trip on a boat down the Thames. Some tours are just a few hours, others are a couple of days. Some of the tours highlights include pushing a trolley through the wall at Platform 9 ¾, see the home of the horrible Dursleys at 4 Privet Drive, head to Gloucester to see the ancient Cathedral where some of the scenes were shot, get up and close with Owls at an Owlery and visit the most famous university in the world Oxford.
Doctor Who which is back on our screens is a must see tour for diehard fans. Some of the recent series was filmed in Cardiff so there are tours which take you to all the location in London and then up the motorway to Wales. Highlights include visiting the home of Rose Tyler, getting your picture in front of the door featured as 10 Downing Street in Aliens of London, drive pas the site where the two Dalek factions have a battle in 'Remembrance of the Daleks', spot were the body was fished out of the river by police in 'Talons of Weng Chiang'. On the tours you get the chance to dress up as your favourite doctor any of the other characters if you want. You can go on private or group tours and there can even be a celebrity from doctor who which can feature as part of the tour at extra cost obviously.
Notting Hill was made famous by the lovely Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. Taking a Notting Hill tour will take you to see the famous Portobello Road which is famous for its annual street carnival. The main market days are Friday and Saturday where you will be able to see buskers, spice shops, cafes, recording studios, and taste delicious international cuisine cooked fresh on market stalls. The tour also takes you to ten film locations from the film including the real Travel bookshop, the actual front door (now blue). Also on this tour you get to see a lot of celebrity homes including the home of Richard Branson, Elle MacPherson and Richard Curtis.
Other movie location tours which you can see in London include the Bridget Jones tour, Beatles tour, Da Vinci Code tour, Sherlock holmes tour, Gavin and Stacy tour, Inspector Mouse tour and Jack the Ripper tour and much more. London is just not for the main famous attractions, there is plenty more for you to do and see.
Lets Catch Up With Jack Bauer in 24 - Day 1
But why should you spend your weekend catching up on a show that has ended. What is it about 24 that you must see when there are more current shows on television today? To answer this question we will take you back to the 80s and nineties, back to the days of classic shows like Dallas, Falcon Crest, Dynasty and others. To this day we still want to know who killed JR in Dallas. It was an unforgettable drama and few have ever come close to it until the arrival of 24.
What is it about 24 - Day 1 that makes it so great? It begins with Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland ) as the all American hero whose day starts off badly and ends badly as the fallout from a mission in Kosovo two years ago catches up with him. A terrorist with a mission to kill Jack in revenge also wants the US President dead and thus begins his worst day. Time flies as family relationships go wrong, as wife and daughter become kidnap targets. The president who happens to be having his own bad election day and family issues accuses Jack of trying to kill him. Intertwined in this show are tales of greed, corruption, betrayal, murder, family breakdown revenge and every other vice and human frailty that you can think of. It is displayed at a fast pace that will leave you glued to your plasma and unable to get up and go to work. 24 has run its course of 8 series but what sticks out and what singles out the drama as one of the best on tv is the way the first series tackles the subject of terrorism, how one man fights against all odds and selflessly puts himself and his family at risk. It is about how Jack Bauer despite being an ordinary guy can transform himself into an avenging angel that delivers on his promises to serve and to protect.
There is so much that happens in season 1 of 24 that it is impossible to tell you all about it. The day finally ends in disaster. Jack's wife dies, murdered by a close colleague and all this after he kills all the terrorists, saves the presidents life while in a rage over the thought that his daughter had died. Jack Bauer sacrifices his family and himself for his country and he evolves as the last person who will be called when push comes to shove for the counter terrorist team. This show is an absolute must see because its not the end for Jack as he powers through 8 seasons of 24, past 24 Redemption and into 24 the movie coming soon in 2012. Your chance to catch up on Kiefer Sutherland's 24 is now.
What is it about 24 - Day 1 that makes it so great? It begins with Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland ) as the all American hero whose day starts off badly and ends badly as the fallout from a mission in Kosovo two years ago catches up with him. A terrorist with a mission to kill Jack in revenge also wants the US President dead and thus begins his worst day. Time flies as family relationships go wrong, as wife and daughter become kidnap targets. The president who happens to be having his own bad election day and family issues accuses Jack of trying to kill him. Intertwined in this show are tales of greed, corruption, betrayal, murder, family breakdown revenge and every other vice and human frailty that you can think of. It is displayed at a fast pace that will leave you glued to your plasma and unable to get up and go to work. 24 has run its course of 8 series but what sticks out and what singles out the drama as one of the best on tv is the way the first series tackles the subject of terrorism, how one man fights against all odds and selflessly puts himself and his family at risk. It is about how Jack Bauer despite being an ordinary guy can transform himself into an avenging angel that delivers on his promises to serve and to protect.
There is so much that happens in season 1 of 24 that it is impossible to tell you all about it. The day finally ends in disaster. Jack's wife dies, murdered by a close colleague and all this after he kills all the terrorists, saves the presidents life while in a rage over the thought that his daughter had died. Jack Bauer sacrifices his family and himself for his country and he evolves as the last person who will be called when push comes to shove for the counter terrorist team. This show is an absolute must see because its not the end for Jack as he powers through 8 seasons of 24, past 24 Redemption and into 24 the movie coming soon in 2012. Your chance to catch up on Kiefer Sutherland's 24 is now.
Stairs and Steps on the Silver Screen
Think of the great movies of our times and chances are stairs have played a prominent role at some point in the film. Whether they are the backdrop to a classic scene or a live prop in the scene itself, these films just wouldn't be the same without them.
Here are the three most famous uses of stairs that you will find on the silver screen. Who can forget the unforgettable role they have played in these movies?
1. Harry Potter
Harry's unhappy residence at the Durleys' is symbolised by the fact that he is subject to living in the cupboard under the stairs. Here, the stairs (or rather the cupboard they create) are complicit in the evil that Harry Potter is subjected to whilst he lives in the Durleys' home.
Harry is woken and disturbed each morning by the thud of his family members coming down the stairs of the house. Fortunately for Harry, the Durleys move him to a proper bedroom at the end of the first book.
2. Rocky
The steps (or stairs) of the Philadelphia Museum of Art were immortalised in the Rocky film series. They have become known as the 'Rocky Steps' after the iconic scene where Rocky climbs the steps as part of his training.
The scene is a metaphor for the triumph of the underdog in the face of adversity. There is now a bronze statue of the Rocky character near the steps, providing an excellent photo opportunity for tourists looking to follow in the footsteps of their hero.
3. Titanic
Lastly, but not least, we should mention the stairs featured in the 1997 James Cameron blockbuster. The Grand Staircase of the Titanic existed on the real Titanic. It was the staircase that served as the first class entrance on Titanic.
The staircase became the focal point of the Titanic film. It is used to bookmark the beginning and end of the film. One only has to look at a picture of this staircase, or see the replica on the film, to see that it was one of the most luxurious set of stairs ever built.
These are the three most famous uses of stairs and steps on the similar screen. There are others and one can be almost certain that stairs will continue to play a prominent role in the films of the future. Stairs really are the true stars of the silver screen.
Here are the three most famous uses of stairs that you will find on the silver screen. Who can forget the unforgettable role they have played in these movies?
1. Harry Potter
Harry's unhappy residence at the Durleys' is symbolised by the fact that he is subject to living in the cupboard under the stairs. Here, the stairs (or rather the cupboard they create) are complicit in the evil that Harry Potter is subjected to whilst he lives in the Durleys' home.
Harry is woken and disturbed each morning by the thud of his family members coming down the stairs of the house. Fortunately for Harry, the Durleys move him to a proper bedroom at the end of the first book.
2. Rocky
The steps (or stairs) of the Philadelphia Museum of Art were immortalised in the Rocky film series. They have become known as the 'Rocky Steps' after the iconic scene where Rocky climbs the steps as part of his training.
The scene is a metaphor for the triumph of the underdog in the face of adversity. There is now a bronze statue of the Rocky character near the steps, providing an excellent photo opportunity for tourists looking to follow in the footsteps of their hero.
3. Titanic
Lastly, but not least, we should mention the stairs featured in the 1997 James Cameron blockbuster. The Grand Staircase of the Titanic existed on the real Titanic. It was the staircase that served as the first class entrance on Titanic.
The staircase became the focal point of the Titanic film. It is used to bookmark the beginning and end of the film. One only has to look at a picture of this staircase, or see the replica on the film, to see that it was one of the most luxurious set of stairs ever built.
These are the three most famous uses of stairs and steps on the similar screen. There are others and one can be almost certain that stairs will continue to play a prominent role in the films of the future. Stairs really are the true stars of the silver screen.
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