Tuesday, August 31, 2010

#59 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown!: "Who's Johnny" by El Debarge (1986)

Back to the 80's once again, and I have been sprucing up my 80's music collection (especially the dance hits lately) and always finding new (to me) great 80's dance music. Looking to do some 80's DJ work here soon, but that put aside we are at #59 of the countdown, and the song is....Who's Johnny, by American R&B/pop music falsetto singer El Debarge. Now if this song doesn't have that classic 80's synth-pop sound then I don't know what does. Eldra Patrick "El" DeBarge came out of Grand Rapids, Michigan and was the lead singer and focal point of the family group called Debarge throughout the early to mid 1980's. El Debarge is best known for Who's Johnny which appeared as track #1 on his self-titled album which was released in 1986 and would eventually reach Gold status. The record was released under Gordy Records, which was a sub-label of Motown Records, which also carried 80's African American artists Michael Jackson and Rockwell. Who's Johnny also appeared as a single on the classic 80's robot movie Short Circuit soundtrack, which was quite fitting seeing that the robot's name in the film was Johhny-5. The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #1 on the Hot R&B Singles chart that same year. The song brings back memories of being a kid and watching Short Circuit, who I reckon was way cooler than that new Wall-E character/film and clear Johnny-5 rip-off they came up with (although it was pretty good too).

Brief Movie Review for "Night of the Iguana" (1964)

4/5 Stars ****
Good and goofy movie! The character interactions (and the quality actors) are the key to this movie (as with most), but it really focuses on the characters and what seemed like mostly realistic emotional and not always logical way of dealing with the challenges in their lives. Richard Burton's character is classic, actually the first of his movies I've seen, and surprised he never got any James Bond roles. Definitely not your run-of-the-mill film or plot, so check it out, at least you'll get something different from the typical formulas, that is unless you are a formula person. Great poem there to btw.

Steve Judd's Global Forecast September 2010

Here's the global steve judd forecast for September 2010!

Song of the Day for August 31st, 2010: "Climbing Walls," by Strange Talk

And the song is....Climbing Walls, by Australian indie-pop band Strange Talk. Strange Talk were formed just this year in February and they come out of Melbourne, Victoria in the Land Down Under. Members are Stephen Docker (vocals), Gerard Sidhu (bass guitar), Travis Constable (drums), and Gillan Gregory (guitar). This is the only song I have heard by them thus far, and I reckon they sound a bit like another Melbourne band named Cut Copy, and also a little bit like Sydney band Empire of the Sun. Also the mp3 is available for free download at this very link.  That is a good thing by the way ;-)

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Song of the Day for August 29th, 2010: "Talking Like I'm Falling Down Stairs" by Sparkadia (2010)

And the song is....Talking Like I'm Falling Down Stairs by Australian alternative-pop band Sparkadia. Sparkadia formed as the brainchild of Alex Burnett back in 2004 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and was originally a 4-piece band but is currently a solo-project. Talking Like I'm Falling Down the Stairs the first single of the new album which is yet to be released. Now the song isn't on youtube yet, so you will have to go to their myspace page here to hear it. Enjoy!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Song of the Day for August 28th, 2010: "FU" by Cee Lo Green (2010)

And the song of the day is....FU, by American hip-hop/funk/soul/r&b artist Cee Lo Green. Cee Lo Green has been around on the music scene since 1992 and comes at us out of the ATL (that is Atlanta, Georgia). He is also well-known as a member of both Gnarls Barkley and the Goodie Mob. The song FU was released to youtube on August 19th, 2010 ahead of the planned release of his solo album titled Lady Killer, and the song was recognized as an instant viral smash. The album is set to be released on December 7th, 2010. Also, due to the language content of the song you will have to sign in to youtube to view it, stupid web-censors, and I was just hearing the F-bomb on broadcast television the other day, seriously what is go with that?? Enjoy the song of day!

#60 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown!: "And We Danced" by The Hooters (1985)

Welcome back once again and here we are at #60! The countdown has been slow, but there is a method to the madness, so keep checking back for updates, we will be done with the Top 100 at some point, and then I will begin to create some other more focused 80's posts, but for #60 the song is....And We Danced, by American rock band The Hooters. The Hooters come out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, they formed back in 1980, and consist of members Eric Bazilian (1980–1995, 2001–present), Rob Hyman (1980–1995, 2001–present), David Uosikkinen (1980–1995, 2001–present) John Lilley (1983–1995, 2001–present), Fran Smith Jr. (1987–1995, 2001–present), and they have a few past members not mentioned here. According to wikipedia the band took its name from a nickname for a German keyboard made by the Hohner brand. This song came off of their 1985 Columbia records release album titled Nervous Night, which would later achieve platinum status around the world selling around 2 million copies and contained 3 Billboard Top 40 hits (including this song naturally). Like so many other 80's era bands, they broke up the band at some point in the 1990's and then reunited at some point in the 2000's, which seems to be a very common occurence, maybe they start to run out of money, or they miss being on stage in front of crowds, or the 80's fashion and music revival that sort of happened in the 2000's sparks it but the Hooters are certainly not alone in this phenomenon. Well, that's it for the 60's of the top 100, but now we are entering the 50's, so as always, stay tuned my 80's fans!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Song of the Day for August 27th, 2010: "Bull Riff" by Still Flyin'

And the song is...Bull Riff by American indie-pop band Still Flyin'. Still Flyin'  were formed in 2004 and they blast out of San Francisco, California. The band consists of 14 members with the primary member being Sean Rawls on lead vocals and guitar. I would mention all of the others, but there are quite a few of them to list here. Bull Riff is the first available track from their  only 12" EP titled A Party In Motion. For more info, and to actually listen to the song go to this page to download/listen to the mp3, as it is not yet to be found on youtube. Cheers!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Song of the Day for August 26th, 2010: "Every June" by My Fiction

And the song of the day is...Every June, by Australian indie-rock band My Fiction.  My Fiction come at us out of sunny Brisbane, Queensland in Australia, and consists of members Eric Robinson (Vocals, Guitar) Mike Willmett (Bass, Synth, Percussion), Danny Murphy  (Drums, Vocals) and James Laubscher (Guitars, Vocals). This song, titled Every June, comes off of their debut album which is titled FireRomanceFire, which came out this year (2010), but I'm unsure when. To download this song for free go to their myspace page here and join their mailing list.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Brief Movie Review for "Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers" (2009)

5 STARS *****

A truly enlightening documentary about the history of the Vietnam War and the American named Daniel Ellsberg who helped to leak the famous Pentagon Papers, which led to the Nixon-Watergate scandal and more importantly and end to the Vietnam War (which lasted from 1955-1975). This documentary is a history lesson for me and anyone who watches it. It is also interesting to see this in the face of the current wiki-leaks situation, and just how history repeats itself. A must see for anyone who gives a damn about history and the future of our world.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

#61 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown!: "Come Go With Me" by Exposé (1987)

Back to the 80's Countdown, and at number 61 is.....Come Go With Me, by American pop band/vocal group Exposé. Exposé formed originally in 1984, coming out of Miami, Florida and members were Sandra Casañas (1984–1986), Alejandra Lorenzo (1984–1986), Laurie Miller (1984–1986), who were later replaced by 3 new and current vocalists Ann Curless, Jeanette Jurado, and Gioia Bruno. Their debut album, titled Exposure, had 4 top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, and in fact they were the first group to achieve this with a debut album. An interesting tidbit from wikipedia states that the original 3 singers of Exposé were replaced just before the recording of groups big album Exposure, as the record company felt that the original 3 vocalists lacked "star potential," despite the fact that the original 3 had produced their single Point of No Return, which was later recorded with the new vocalists and re-released in 1987 to reach #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Come Go with Me, which is #61 on this countdown, was led by vocalist Jeanette Jurado, and was the first official song by the group to reach the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and it also peaked at #5, and the 12" single release also reached #2 on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales chart. It appeared on that same album, which was released in February of 1987. Well, enough trivia, on with the dancing!

Song of the Day for August 24th, 2010: "Y-T-S-C" by Cassius

And the song is Y-T-S-C by French electronic duo Cassius. Cassius consits of producer-duo Philippe Cerboneschi and Hubert Blanc-Francard, also known as Philippe Zdar and Boom Bass. Y-T-S-C stands for Youth, Trouble, Speed, Cigarettes, as you will hear when you listen to the song, which was released as the first single off of their 4th and still to be titled studio album. The song was originally released as a digital download only on July 14th, 2009. Cassius has been around since 1988 and have also been known as The La Funk Mob.

Mentionable Mashups: "Like, OMG Baby (Capital FM Summertime Ball Mashup)"

I have recently come across some more really good mash-up music videos, and I would like to give them props here on my vlog. The basic concept behind a remixed video or mash-up video is that an expert VJ has edited music and video together to produce something that did not exist before out of the synergy of two or more artists. That said, I came across all the mash-ups I have found on VJ Brewski's site (who's vlog/blog appears on my blog list in the sidebar). The following mashup is quite good and I found it at VJ Brewski's facebook page, so look there if you like what you see, and I will be posting more as I come across them, free advertising is always a good thing. Enjoy!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Song of the Day for August 23rd, 2010: "Paper Airplane (ft Jenn Grant)" by Buck 65

And the song is...Paper Airplane (ft Jenn Grant), by Canadian hip-hop artist and MC Buck 65. Buck 65 consists of Richard Terfry (and in this case, accompanied by the vocals of Jenn Grant), who comes out of Mt. Uniacke, in Nova Scotia. He is also a radio host on CBC Radio, and he has gone by other aliases/stage-names in the past, such as Johnny Rockwell, Stinkin' Rich, Haslam, and Uncle Climax, and much like Sascha Baron Cohen these are all differen't personas which he puts on and off. Buck 65 has been around as an active musician since 1993, and Paper Airplane is a new release coming off of his 20 Odd Years, Vol. 2 - Distance EP, which was released in Canada on July 6, 2010.

Brief Movie Review for "The Darwin Awards" (2006)

** 2/5 Stars
"I found this movie a little bit hard to follow for some reason, it didn't seem quite together, but maybe that was part of the point of the movie? Anyways, its based on the actual "Darwin Awards," and I CBF to explain them here so look them up yourself. Is about a brilliant blood-phobic detective who loses his job due to the fact that he passes out when he sees blood, thus homicide detective is probably not the best position. So he gets a new job working for insurance claim companies by helping to prove that large filed claims are not legitimate. Winona Ryder helps a bit, but not really due to her acting abilities. I wouldn't watch this one again, but its worth one viewing."

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Song of the Day for August 22nd, 2010: "6's and 7's" by Smilin

And the song is....Smilin by Australian indie band 6's and 7's. The 6's and 7's are an Perth, WA indie-band, lead by singer/songwriter Josh Fontaine. Now there just plain out isn't that much info on this band, with the exception of their myspace page, so if you want more info you'll need to search for them. The video below is a live version of this song as that is all that was available on youtube.com, so if you want to hear the clear studio version of the song you can go to their myspace page and listen to it here.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

#62 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown!: Wake Me Up Before You Go Go (1984), by Wham!

We are back again, to the 80's of course, and #62 of the countdown is none other than the stellar 80's pop-hit Wake Me Up Before You Go Go by English new-wave-pop duo Wham! Wham! was originally formed in 1981 by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, and according to wikipedia there was a conflict of band-names in the beginning, and so they were originally known as Wham! UK, but was later just changed back to Wham! as they were madly more successful than the other band of the same name in the USA. Wham! sold over 25 million certified albums worldwide between the years of 1982-1986, and the duo split and went their separate ways in 1986 as well (at which time George Michael began his solo career). Wikipedia states that George Michael was the composer, singer, producer, and occasional instrumentalist of the duo, whilst Ridgeley was more the businessman. An interesting wikipedia direct quote about the duo is as follows:

"Still teenagers, they promoted themselves as hedonistic youngsters, proud to live a carefree life without work or commitment. This was reflected in their earliest singles which, part-parody, part-social comment, briefly earned Wham! a reputation as a dance protest group."

"Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" was appeared as the first track off of their October 1984 release album titled "Make It Big," which would become their first #1 UK Chart hit. Once again, according to their wikipedia page, the song was inspired by a note written by Andrew Ridgeley to his parents that read "Wake Me Up Before You Go" but with the word "up" accidentally written twice, so Ridgeley then wrote "go" twice, one of those divine accidents that leads to the creation of an all time classic 80's pop-song. This song was obviously quite well known, and very fitting for it's very title as being "definitively 80's" and it regained popularity amongst a much younger generation (many who seem to have the false idea that the song was new in 2001) with its appearance in the 2001 Ben Stiller comedy film "Zoolander." On to the next!

Brief Movie Review for "American Splendor" (2003)

 3/5 Stars ***
Interesting story about comic writer Harvey Pekar, and apparently its not that rare of a name. Paul Giamatti does a great job with this persona, as he always does. Story takes place in the industrial and depressing landscape of Cleveland, Ohio and is about a very depressing life of a surprisingly successful Harvey Pekar. Its hard to say how I feel about this one, it is like a serious version of "Napolean Dynamite," and not near as funny because it is based on real people. Just make sure you pop some of your prozac before you really sit down with this one...not really, but a good flick all the same. 

Song of the Day for August 21st, 2010: "Stop and Stare" by Fenech-Soler

And the song is....Stop and Stare by British electronic band Fenech-Soler. Fenech-Soler come at us out of Kings Cliffe, UK and consists of members Ross Duffy, Ben Duffy, Daniel Soler and Andrew Lindsay. They formed as a band back in 2006 and have released 3 singles to date. Stop and Stare is one of those singles, which reached #102 on the UK charts. The band members have a few side projects as well, and they are currently on tour in the UK.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Song of the Day for August 19th, 2010: "Alps" by Last Dinosaurs

And the song is Alps, by Aussie alternative-rock band Last Dinosaurs. I have posted some previous songs by Last Dinosaurs, who come at us out of Brisbane, Australia in sunny Queensland. This band has a delightful distant (almost ambient) and upbeat sound to it that is a bit nostalgic or something, hard to explain really...but very very good all the same. In case you forgot from the last post the band members are Sean Caskey (vox/guitar) Lach Caskey (guitar) Danjuro Koyama (drums) and Sam Gethin-Jones (bass). The song Alps comes off of their Back from the Dead EP, which was released in February of 2010, and which I very highly recommend as it contains 5 excellent tracks! Once Again you are going to have to go TO THEIR MYSPACE PAGE HERE TO LISTEN TO THE SONG.

Back From The Dead

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

#63 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown!: "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" by Michael Jackson

We are not worthy, we are not worthy...all hail the late-great King of Pop once again, I told you he would be making a few appearances on this countdown, naturally, and so #63 is.....Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough by the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson. I definitely would have mentioned this before, but I must continue with the discussion on what is to be done about this empty throne??? Who will be the next?? Madonna is no doubt still the Queen of Pop, although I know that Lady Gaga fancies herself to be next in line, yet, she will have to produce a minimum of 4 or 5 more top 20 full studio length albums before she can even be considered I would say. Both MJ and Madonna were so insanely prolific that it will be hard for anyone to fill their royal shoes. I suppose that sports are like that too, the new masters just keep raising the bar higher and higher, but someone will come along eventually, no doubt about that. Back to the song, it comes off of MJ's 1982 release album "Thriller." Now, many of you may already know that Thriller still remains the best-selling album worldwide of all time, having sold around 110 million copies worldwide. In the United States Thriller is tied at #1 best-selling album of all time with the Eagles' Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) but that is just in the USA, globally (which really is what matters most) Thriller is still #1 bar-none. Stay tuned for more...

Song of the Day for August 18th, 2010: "Need Me (Every Night)" by Ho'okoa

And the song is Need Me (Every Night), by Hawaiian island music band Ho'okoa. Ho'okoa comes at us out of Hilo, HI (on the Big Island of Hawaii) consists of band members Na`ea Kaopua, John Tuli, Preston Paulos, Hoku Aki, Rick Star, Jeremy Tekurio and Paul Battad. The band members met in high school and have been performing together for the past 5 years. They are currently working on their second album and will be releasing a new single soon, for more info on that or the band check out their myspace page here.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Song of the Day for August 17th, 2010: "Acid Reign" by Violens

And the song is....Acid Reign, by American alternative-rock  band Violens. Violens is another band from NYC, they formed back in 2007 and include members Iddo Arad (synths, vocals), Ben Brantley (bass), Jorge Elbrecht (lead vocals, guitar), and Kris King (drums). Acid Reign comes off of their upcoming release album titled Amoral, and if you like this song enough, it is available as a free mp3 download at their myspace page found here.

Brief Movie Review for "Secret of the Grain" (2007)

4/5 Stars ****
A great french-language movie! This movie portrays family interactions very well, and in a very realistic light, so beware, it may remind you of your own family. Its about an Arab family living in France where a recently laid-off senior dock worker decides to buy an abandoned fishing boat and turn it into a seafood cous-cous restaurant, is a bit nerve-wracking though, especially at the end.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Song of the Day for August 16th, 2010: "State of Mind (ft. Juanita Tippins)" by Skryptcha

And the song is....State of Mind (ft. Juanita Tippins),  by Australian MC/hip hop artist Skryptcha. Now, thus far on this vlog I have been tempted to only post one song per artist and move on to a new one for each daily post (with a few exceptions), but from now on I am just going to post any song I find to be worthy of posting. So, that said this song, like the previous Skryptcha post I've made comes off of his 2009 release EP titled Left to Write. Also, note that Skryptcha has a new full length studio album out (just released on July 23rd, 2010) titled The Numbers, so make sure to check that out as well.

#64 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: "Chains of Love" (1988) by Erasure

And #64 is....Chains of Love, by English synth-pop duo Erasure. Erasure consists of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and vocalist Andy Bell, and formed originally back in 1985. Vince Clarke was one of the founding members of another well-known synth-band from the 80's by the name of Depeche Mode, and he was the writer of their first three singles, including their breakthrough top ten hit Just Can't Get Enough. Clarke left Depeche Mode in 1981 and started up with another successful group called Yazoo (aka Yaz in the USA), after two hit albums with Yazoo Clarke produced a top four hit in the UK called Never Never. He then went on to form Erasure with Andy Bell, which went on to produce 34 Top 40 Hits in the UK between the years of 1985-2007, and they have sold somewhere around 25 million albums in that time. Clarke and Bell have been labeled as "the definitive synthpop superstars," according to their wikipedia page. Chains of Love was the 4th track on their May 1988 release album The Innocents. Chains of Love was Erasure's 6th consecutive Top 20 Hit on the UK Singles Chart, and it became their first mainstream breakthrough on the USA Billboard Hot 100 Charts at #12, and to this day remains their highest charting pop hit in the United States. Check out their wikipedia page for more info, and break those chains!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Song of the Day for August 15th, 2010: "Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)" by The Wombats

And the song of the day is...Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves) by British indie-rock band The Wombats. The Wombats consists of Matthew Murphy (vocals, keyboards, and guitar), Dan Haggis (drums, vocals), and Tord Øverland-Knudsen (bass guitar and vocals), who come at us out of Liverpool, England. The band formed back in 2003 when they met at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, and had released their debut album by 2006. Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves) is a new release to come off of their latest album of the same name (which is to be released in late September 2010). Check out this song, and their new album, blah!

Brief Movie Review for "The Ghost Breakers" (1940)

3/5 Stars ***
Funny movie, pre-US involvement in WWII which makes it interesting to me. I remember Bob Hope vaguely, but he was actually quite funny, which would make sense as to why he was so famous. Its a little discomforting to see how Hollywood portrayed black people back in those days, but I guess that is just how it was then, and we should be grateful that we have moved forward some. Good movie for some laughs.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Song of the Day for August 14th, 2010: "Barbara Streisand" by Duck Sauce

And the song is... Barbara Streisand, by American DJ-duo Duck Sauce. Duck Sauce is a duo consisting of DJ's Armand Van Helden and A-Trak, and is signed under the Fool's Gold record label. The duo has released an EP in September of 2009 called Greatest Hits, however, Barbara Streisand is their latest track released as a single just recently (not sure exactly when, sometime during 2010), and this track has received substantial airplay on UK radio stations. So, for you DJ's and house people, this is probably my first dance-post, so do enjoy yourself some Duck Sauce.

Brief Movie Review for "Virtuality" (2009)

2.5/5 Stars **.5
Interesting as far as space movies go, and it seemed to have an interesting premise. A movie (and actually a TV-Pilot, which I was previously suspicious but unsure of) about a reality tv show of people living on a space station and traveling for 10 years to a distant star while massive flooding is occurring back on Earth. This actually could have a made a good series if it was utilized that way. In my opinion the story was good up until about the last 10 mins in which the directors swiftly wrap up the story in a way that sort of leaves you irritable. I don't know about anyone else, but does every frickin space movie have to have the "person trapped in an airlock and the computer is unresponsive, and there is only a minute or so before the trapped person gets sucked out into space" scene?? Be sure to check it out if you like space movies though.

Friday, August 13, 2010

The Song of the Day for August 13th, 2010: "All For You," by Micah G

And the song is.... All For You, by Hawaiian island-music artist Micah G. Now, I have had one hell of a time trying to locate bio info on Micah G, and still can't seem to find much on him. He has a myspace page HERE. He comes out of Honolulu, Hawaii on the island of Oahu, according to his myspace page, and that is about the lot of it. Now, All For You is a single-release, which just came out last month on July 24th, 2010, so it is still fairly new. Now Youtube still doesn't have this song despite the fact that its almost a month old already, so you will have to go to this link to actually here a sample of it. Otherwise you can listen to and buy it on itunes of amazon at the adjacent link. Check it!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Song of the Day for August 12th, 2010: "King of the Beach" by The Wavves

And the song of the day is King of the Beach, by American surf-rock band The Wavves. The Wavves consist of members Nathan Williams, Billy Hayes, and Stephen Pope and are based out of sunny San Diego, California. The band formed back in 2008, and have released 3 full studio albums. King of the Beach appears as the first track on their latest album of the same name, which was just released on August 3rd, 2010. So, check out their new album, like I said, its just released!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

#65 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: "Planet of Women" (1985) by ZZ Top

Now presenting to you, #65 of the Top 100 80's Dance Hits is....Planet of Women, by none other than American blues-rock band ZZ TopZZ Top consists of members Comprising of Billy Gibbons (vocals and guitar), Dusty Hill ( bass guitar, back up vocals, and keyboards), and Frank Beard (drums). ZZ Top originally formed in Houston, Texas back in 1969, and they were ranked #44 by VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. They certainly have had a few hit songs over the years, and are well known for their long elvin-looking beards and dark sunglasses. The band has been together for 41 years, but the 4th band-member Lawrence Payton, past-away back in 1997, however the remaining trio is still together. One interesting fact direct to you from wikipedia:  

"In 1984, the Gillette Company reportedly offered Gibbons and Hill $1 million each to shave their beards for a television commercial. They allegedly declined, saying "We're too ugly without 'em."

Planet of Women is one of my favorite ZZ Top songs of all time, and comes off of their 9th studio album titled Afterburner, released back in 1985. It is one of those songs that should have been on the Top Gun soundtrack, or for some reason really reminds me of some other songs off that soundtrack and thus would have been fitting. There may or may not be more Top songs on the countdown, stay tuned to find out...

Brief Movie Review for "The Yellow Handkerchief" (2008)

4/5 Stars ****
Good flick, William Hurt always does a great job with his characters and all of the characters in this movie are believable as true personalities. The movie is mostly about Hurt's character and his life, while Stewart and Bello and Redmayne (whose character is most annoying but in a realistic way) all support. Check this one out if you get the chance.

Song of the Day for August 11th, 2010: "Let's Get Out of Here" by Les Savy Fav

And the song is...Let's Get Out of Here by American indie-rock band Les Savy Fav. Les Savy Fav are a New York City indie rock band led by well-known lead singer Tim Harrington, and also includes members Seth Jabour, Syd Butler, Harrison Haynes, and Andrew Reuland. The original band all met and formed the band whilst attending the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island. The group has released 5 full studio length albums, and Let's Get Out of Here appears as track number 4 on their latest release album titled Root for Ruin, which was just released on August 3rd, 2010. For more info on the band or song check out their myspace page here.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Song of the Day for August 10th, 2010: "Why Can’t I Forget Him (feat. Nicole Wray)" by Blakroc

The song is....Why Can’t I Forget Him (feat. Nicole Wray), by American hip-hop collaboration Blakroc. As I just stated, Blakroc is a collaboration of hip-hop artists along with Ohio-based blues-rock band The Black Keys. This collaboration of artists is overseen The project is directed by Damon Dash, co-founder and formerly owner of a share in Roc-A-Fella Records. Thus far there has been one self-titled album released under the collaboration known as Blakroc (back in November of 2009). I highly recommend checking this album out as it has quite a variety of hip-hop artists going toe to toe with the blues-rock talent of Black Keys. Collaborations such as this are definitely an experiment, and I personally find them quite amazing, as you never know what you are going to get when you combine musical geniuses onto one album, and I definitely think we will be seeing more of these kinds of collaborations between bands and vocal artists in the future, and mixing all musical styles, the sky is the limit! This particular song appears as track #5 on the album, and of course it features American hip-hop singer Nicole Wray who comes out of Portsmouth, Virginia. Enjoy the track, and check out the rest of the album.