Artist: Art Farmer Quartet with Jim Hall
Genre(s):
Jazz
Discography:
Live at the Half Note
Year: 1990
Tracks: 5
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Art Farmer Quartet with Jim Hall
Artist: Art Farmer Quartet with Jim Hall
Genre(s):
Jazz
Discography:
Live at the Half Note
Year: 1990
Tracks: 5
Sunday, 22 June 2008
Incredible Hulk
Chronicled before in countless comic books, a �70s television series and, of course, Ang Lee�s critically lambasted 2003 big screen version, The Incredible Hulk remains one of Marvel�s treasured creations. The innate story revolves around scientist Dr. Bruce Banner, whose cells are poisoned by gamma radiation and who frequently unleashes his inner monster--the mean green machine known as the Hulk. Thankfully, this spruced-up version doesn�t waste a lot of time giving us the back story. Instead, it launches right into the problems at hand. Banner (Edward Norton), now forced to be apart from the love of his life Dr. Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) and living on the edges of society, is desperately looking for the antidote that will cure him of his unique rage. His immediate task, however, is avoiding the dogged pursuit of the U.S. military machine aiming--led by Betty�s father, General Ross (William Hurt)--to exploit his unique powers. This quest has led them all to the outskirts of Brazil, where Banner is on the loose. Ross employs the services of super-soldier Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) to do the deed, a job that leads to Blonsky�s own re-invention as The Abomination--and setting up the ultimate battle of battles when both are back in America.Marvel Studios is on a roll when it comes to unique casting ideas this summer. First, they re-ignited 40-something Robert Downey Jr.�s career in an inspired idea to make him Iron Man--and now travel the unlikely route of putting Edward Norton, a fine actor not known for popcorn action fare, in the Bruce Banner part. Norton brings an urgency, wit and intelligence to the role that was sorely missing when Eric Bana took it on in Lee�s version. We really understand the anger raging within, and Banner�s determined desire to get rid of it. Just as in classic movie monsters like King Kong, there is great empathy for the monster that is unleashed in the form of the Hulk . Much of that is do to Norton�s smart take and dedication (he�s an uncredited co-writer) in creating this incarnation of Banner. He owns this role now. Whatever reported conflicts happened in production, the final results are worth it. Tyler�s Betty Ross is nicely played and full of the appropriate passion, while Tim Blake Nelson has some hilarious super-hyper moments as the scientist who may hold the key to Banner�s salvation. Hurt is properly authoritative and evil as the General out for Banner�s power. And finally Roth, scrappy and fierce as Norton�s main nemesis and his perfect match.Young French director Louis Leterrier (Transporter 2) proves the perfect choice to finally make Hulk work on screen. His fast-paced, take-no-prisoners filmmaking style--mixed with his professed love of all things Hulk when he was growing up as a kid in Paris--have paid off handsomely. He clearly has a vision and moves this thing along like a freight train, almost a non-stop chase in the same spirit that powered last summer�s supreme sequel The Bourne Ultimatum. Not shackled with Ang Lee�s problems in creating a credible monster, Leterrier is the beneficiary of strong advances in CGI and the Hulk and Abomination are both state-of-the-art iconic visual effects. The ultimate �Godzilla vs Mothra�-style battle at the end is flawlessly pulled off and a marvel to watch (pun intended). Leterrier has achieved some of the best action sequences ever, but not at a human cost, which is really remarkable in a summer comic book blockbuster like this. At the center are recognizable people we can root for--and against--right up to the end of the breezy 104-minute running time when an unexpected cameo in the form of another comic book superstar makes a surprise appearance.
See Also
See Also
Saturday, 21 June 2008
Helalyn Flowers
Artist: Helalyn Flowers
Genre(s):
Electronic
Discography:
Helalyn Flowers
Year: 2006
Tracks: 6
Lakshminarayana Shankar
Joan Rivers booted from British TV over curse word
LONDON —
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Joan Rivers' salty tongue got her booted from a British daytime talk show in the middle of its live broadcast.
Rivers used two expletives while talking about Russell Crowe as a guest host on the live gab-fest "Loose Women." She was asked to leave during a commercial break.
The 75-year old comedian said in a statement Tuesday she was sorry for the swearing, and assumed that a censor would be able to "bleep" the words out.
Then she cracked wise, saying the incident reminded her of her wedding night - because she was asked to leave in the middle of that, too.
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Silent Voices
Artist: Silent Voices
Genre(s):
Metal
Discography:
Building Up The Apathy
Year: 2006
Tracks: 8
Silent Voices is a instead ironic name for the Finnish band profiled here; truth be told, their medicine is far from quiet, subtle, or understated. Aggression and forcefulness -- not silence or reticence -- ar among the main ingredients of Silent Voices, wHO are share of the power metal resurgence motility that has enjoyed an enthusiastic cult following in Western Europe in the '90s and 2000s. Silent Voices thrive on the hard and the heavy, which isn't to say that they favour disturbance for the interest of noise or viciousness for the sake of barbarity (as is ofttimes the case in metalcore, end metal/black metal and grindcore). For all their tawdriness, Silent Voices ar actually quite melodic and musical -- sure in the way that headbangers like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Ronnie James Dio were melodic and musical back in the '70s and '80s. And Silent Voices, care other European power alloy revival acts that emerged in the '90s, ar a stylistic reversion to metal's pre-'90s, pre-Nevermind era; they are retro and all unapologetic about it. But piece office alloy is Silent Voices' primary counsel, the Scandinavians give birth too been influenced by '80s thrash metal as intimately as progressive rock -- and they bring an interesting variety show of influences to the table. Silent Voices give birth been greatly influenced by Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Queensrÿche -- bands that ar considered substantive hearing in the power metallic element revival meeting movement -- simply they take likewise been affected by Rush, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and Kansas on the progressive rock side and Metallica, Megadeth, and Venom on the thrash side. (Some metal historians have argued that if Motörhead were the start mosh metal/speed alloy banding, Venom were the sec.) Like the immense majority of Scandinavian metal bands, Silent Voices give birth opted to write in English entirely despite orgasm from a country in which English is non the elemental or official language.Silent Voices was formed in Kokkola, Finland in 1995, when guitar player Timo Kauppinen and bassist Pasi Kauppinen formed an alliance with keyboardist Henrik Klingenberg and drummer Jukka-Pekka Koivisto; a few long time later (after Silent Voices had recorded and circulated some demos), Michael Henneken was leased as the band's full-time lead vocalizer. Silent Voices' first base official release after Henneken's arrival was an EP titled Memory and the Frame, which they recorded in 1998 and released themselves. The following thing they put out was the single "You Got It/Human Cradle Grave," which Low Frequency Records (a Finnish alloy label based in Vantaa) ended up organism included on a few compilations. In 2001, Silent Voices signed with Low Frequency, which has a licensing deal with the Phoenix, AZ-based Crash Music and released the band's first base full-length record album, Chapters of Tragedy, in 2002. The following class, Silent Voices recorded their irregular full-length album, Goddamn, in Helsinki; the album was released by Low Frequency in Europe in June 2004 before organism released by Crash Music in the United States in September 2004.
Daniele Mondello and Express Viviana
Artist: Daniele Mondello and Express Viviana
Genre(s):
Trance
Discography:
Infinity
Year: 2005
Tracks: 3
Oh no! YouTube's 'Fred' is both shrill and a shill
Oh no, not again
(image from fredonzipit.com)
(image from fredonzipit.com)
At the suggestion of commenter Mark, I took a second look at the YouTube phenomenon called "Fred" to see if he was really a lone teenage filmmaker. Or if he was the front boy for some cloaked entity bent Pied Piper-like on hypnotizing millions of children with "entertaining content," only to lure them into some commercial trap. You know, like TV.
Well I admit it hadn't occurred to me that these Fred videos would need corporate backing to be produced. They sort of seem like, I don't know, a hyperactive 12-year-old kid made them. But call me a fool, because a link in Fred's description box sends viewers to a flashy, expensive-looking website called fredonzipit.com. ZipIt, it turns out, is a handheld instant-messaging device -- presumably to allow kids to IM each other from the comfort of their living room couch, kitchen table, desk at school, or anywhere else. Because God forbid we should teach our kids that it's OK to go 90 seconds without filling in koolguyT0mmy94 or s1st3rSarah on your activities over the last 90 seconds, and go read a book instead.
So yes, I'm waiting for a call-back from Zipit themselves, but I think we can go ahead and call this another viral marketing ploy. And no point distinguishing ZipIt from the legion of other tchotchke peddlers that have been selling kids stuff they don't need since Moses was a tween. Kids are such a big part of the YouTube demographic that this had to happen eventually. It's just ... really with the chipmunk voice?
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El Chapo de Sinaloa
Artist: El Chapo de Sinaloa
Genre(s):
Other
Folk
Discography:
15 Grandes Exitos Con Acordeon
Year: 2006
Tracks: 15
Tu, Yo y la Luna
Year: 2004
Tracks: 10
Fantasia Loca
Year: 2003
Tracks: 15
El Chapo, as he is commonly known to Mexican euphony fans, was born Ernesto Pérez in Badiraguato, in the province of Sinaloa, a musically vibrant region. Pérez recalls that "just now around every kid my eld dreamt of one day beingness in a circle." Hoping to sing and toy clarinet, Pérez spent most of his time out of schooling practicing and writing euphony. The hands of his family were by and large cowboys, causation Pérez to honey everything around caballo civilisation. His dreams shortly changed from musician to vocalizing cowpuncher. His prayers were at least in part answered at the age of 11 when he began performing clarinet with a local conjunto. Finding opportunities as a clarinettist slightly limited, Pérez picked up the galvanic bass and began playing with a act of local bands. Pérez started playing for recording roger Sessions with small companies, and by the age of 15 he could be heard on more than than 20 professional recordings. It was through his work in recording that Pérez distinct to take stairs toward a solo life history. It was not long earlier this already veteran musician was able to succeed the public's favor. Released in 2004, Tu, Yo y la Luna remained on Billboard's Regional Mexican and Top Latin Albums charts for deuce days, and former releases have done similarly easily. El Chapo de Sinaloa is oftentimes referred to as "El Numero Uno de Jaripeo," mayhap fulfilling his singing puncher dreams.
Poor 'deserve more'
Anne Heche pays the price in divorce settlement
LOS ANGELES - Anne Heche's five-year marriage to Coleman Laffoon is officially over, but not without a pinch to her pocketbook.
A judge ruled that Heche must pay $275,000 to her ex-husband, along with monthly child-support payments of $3,700 for the care of their 6-year-old son, Homer, according to court documents released Friday.
Heche will also have to pay 75 per cent of Homer's private-school tuition. The couple agreed to split the cost of any "agreed upon extracurricular activities" for their son.
Heche, 39, and Laffoon, 34, were married Sept. 1, 2001. He filed for divorce on Feb. 2, citing irreconcilable differences.
Heche starred in TV's "Men in Trees." She and Laffoon, a cameraman, met while working on a documentary about Ellen DeGeneres - with whom Heche was romantically linked for three years.
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Dennis DeYoung
Artist: Dennis DeYoung
Genre(s):
Rock
Rock: Pop-Rock
Discography:
10 on Broadway
Year: 1994
Tracks: 10
Boomchild
Year: 1988
Tracks: 8
Desert Moon
Year: 1984
Tracks: 8
Soundstage (Audio Only)
Year:
Tracks: 13
The keyboardist/vocalist of Chicago-based arena rock dance orchestra, Styx, Dennis DeYoung continues to crop a successful solo life history. Recording on his have as other as 1984, DeYoung produced four impressive solo albums -- Desert Moon, Back to the World, and Boomchild in front reuniting briefly with his other bandmates in 1990.
The reunification proven to be brief, however, and Styx disbanded a arcsecond time before long after releasing an album, Boundary of the Century. DeYoung used the opportunity to record his fourth solo album, 10 on Broadway, which historied the influence of such composers as George and Ira Gershwin, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Tim Rice.
Although he returned to Styx when they reunited over again in 1996, and played on their first studio album in ashcan School long time, Return to Paradise, a serious viral ill that made him tender to light, caused him to bow out of a national circuit. By the time that he recuperated, Styx had replaced him with a new singer, Lawrence Gowan. Attempting to eugene Sue all over the use of the band's constitute, DeYoung settled verboten of courtyard in late 2001. Forced to bank on his possess talents, DeYoung wasted no time. He composed and recorded a musical based on Victor Hugo's novel, Hunchback of Notre Dame, played Pontius Pilate in a touring production of Christ Christ Superstar, and re-recorded the Styx hit, "The Grand Illusion" for Siegfried and Roy's IMEX picture show. Tracks from his low iII solo albums were compiled and released in 1999 as Ultimate Collection.
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