Steve Judd's Global Astrological forecast for September 2011

Your Daily Song: 'Do It Again' by Holy Ghost! (2011)

Today's feature song is Do It Again, by American electro-pop duo Holy Ghost!. Holy Ghost! originate out of New York City , consists of members Nick Millhiser and Alex Frankel, and have been active on the music scene circa 2007. Do It Again is a single off of their debut self titled album Holy Ghost!, which was released on April 4th, 2011. I love this song! It has elements of 80s-era synth-pop, mixed with those hyper-electro-glam-punk sound effects that are reminiscent of bands like Sigue Sigue Sputnik. Its very fresh to say the least, so check it out. 

A Brief Movie Review: 'Skyline' (2010)

Movie: Skyline (2010)
Directors: Colin Strause and Greg Strause 
Rating: 1.8/5 Stars *'
Another alien-invasion movie, very reminiscent of Independence Day (1996) and War of The Worlds (any of them), in fact I would suggest not wasting your time watching this one and if you want to watch and alien invasion movie go with one of those classics instead. I mainly watched this because it was available on Netflix Streaming, but I would not watch it again. 

Now They Call Them Oldies: 'Oh, What a Night' by The Dells (1956)

Its been awhile since I posted an oldie song so I decided to start them back up again just to mix up the music posts a bit. So, this week's feature oldie song is the 1956 hit Oh, What a Night, by American R-and-B group The Dells. The Dells originate out of   Harvey, Illinois, USA in 1952 consisting of original members Marvin Junior, Mickey McGill, Lucius McGill, Verne Allison, Chuck Barksdale, and Johnny Funches. In 1955 the group signed on with  Vee-Jay Records, and in 1956 they recorded Oh, What a Night which would make the Top 5 of the R&B singles chart. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. This song is also ranked at #260 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. And so there is the first 'oldie' post for the Summer, a bit late I know, its just that Summer-time is for being out-doors and away from computers and all, so there ;-D

A Brief Movie Review: 'Super 8' (2011)

Movie: Super 8 (2011)

Director: J.J. Abrams

Rating: 3.4/5 Stars ***'

This movie was a lot better than I thought it would be, although J.J. Abrams seems to have a thing for monster-movies in which the monsters all look like giant mutant-turtles (ie Cloverfield (2008)), and not the teenaged ninja type. The US military loses a captured alien after a transporter train derails, and the alien then proceeds to terrorize a small nearby town. The kids in this movie, and their interactions were taken right out of The Goonies (1987) in terms of a similarity of characters, as well as the adventure theme, the only thing they were missing was a 'Sloth' character who likes Babyruth candybars...mmmm...baaabby ruth....

Your Daily Track: 'Dancing On My Grave' by Ghostland Observatory (2010)

Today's feature daily track goes to American indie-electro-dance duo Ghostland Observatory and their song Dancing On My Grave. As you may have already noticed, I am a big indie-electro/indie-dance fan, and I discovered this group recently and found that the singer reminds me very much of the vocals of Freddie Mercury. Now those vocals, and the modern indie-electro sound mixed are just unstoppable, and so it is I am presenting this song here today to you all ;-) Ghostland Observatory consists of duo Aaron Kyle Behrens (vocals) and Thomas Ross Turner (drums and synth), who originate out of Austin, Texas, USA, and who have been active on the music scene circa 2004. Dancing On My Grave can be found on their Robotique Majestique album, which was released in 2008. Listen to the song and tell me it doesn't sound like Freddie Mercury...do it now! If you like what you hear you can check out more at their MySpace page HERE. 

A Brief Movie Review: 'Everybody's Fine' (2009)

Movie: Everybody's Fine (2009)

Director: Kirk Jones

Rating: 3/5 Stars ***

Quite a cast in this movie including stars Robert Deniro, Kate Beckinsale, and Drew Barrymore, and ultimately is a good movie about familes. Deniro, finds himself shut-out and avoided by his 4 children all of whom lead busy lives and in live in various parts of the country. After a failed get together in which every single child backs out of he decides to hit the road against his physicians orders to go visit each one of his kids. Truths are revealed and the family is challenged to stay in touch. A bit emotional, but a good movie.

Your Daily Song: 'Progress (ft. Mantra)' by Ishu (2010)

Today's song is... Progress (ft. Mantra) by Australian hip-hop artist Ishu. Ishu is a Melbourne-Australia-based producer, and his song Progress comes off of his recently released A World in Progress album, which hit stores on November 9th, 2010. This is the first single released from the album, and it features progressive rap/hip-hop, which is quite nice for a change-up on the usual rap-themes. Not a whole lot of info on this artist out there on the web at the moment, but you can check out his MySpace page HERE, and the album is now available for purchase on ITunes and Amazon. Check it out!

Your Daily Song: 'Ain't Hungry' by Lanie Lane (2011)

Today's song is...Ain't Hungry by Australian pop-roots-blues-jazz singer-guitarist-songwriter Lanie Lane. Lanie Lane comes out of Sydney, Australia, and her musical style fits into many genres all at once. This song was produced by Jack White, and if you listen to the song you can definitely tell his influence is there, and the article on that is HERE. There is not a heap of biographical information on this artist, but I do highly recommend checking out her work, and if you are interested in finding out more about her you can go to her Unearthed page HERE, or her Facebook page HERE, or even her Myspace page HERE. Do note, that this song is still available as a free and legal MP3 download on herUnearthed page. Enjoy! The video is not up on YouTube yet, as this song was just released today (August 23rd, 2011), and so you can go the link HERE to listen to it. Enjoy!

Brief Movie Review: 'The Landlord' (1970)

Movie: The Landlord (1970) 
Director: Hal Ashby
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars ***' 

Quite an interesting and ground-breaking movie for 1970. A rich, white, young and naive man buys a block of flats in a New York slum and finds that it is a little more than he can handle. This movie came out only 3 years after "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," and I appreciate that it contributed its part to breaking racial barriers by increasing understanding and compassion by including inter-racial couples and and relationships, which even to this day are still challenged in places like the South. Check this one out!

Your Daily Song: 'Gucci Gucci' by Kreayshawn (2011)

Today's feature song is Gucci Gucci by American hip-hop artists Kreayshawn. Kreayshawn (Natassia Gail Zolot) is a hip-hop singer/song-writer out of Oakland, California and has been active on the music scene circa 2008, also being a former member of garage-punk band The Trashwomen. Gucci Gucci is a single which was initially released on Kreayshawn's YouTube channel and which since has gaine over 10 million views. The song was available as of June 14th, 2011 on many online music stores such as ITunes and Amazon.

Brief Movie Review: 'Blithe Spirit' (1945)

Movie: Blithe Spirit (1945)
Director: David Lean
Rating: 3.2/5 Stars ***'

Another oldie, this one is about an English couple who raise the spirit of the husband's ex-wife during a seance that they did out of boredom with the local medium. Lots of entertaining dialogue, all though it becomes a bit too predictable. Check this one out!

Your Daily Song: 'You Know What I Mean' by Cults (2011)

Today's daily feature is a song called You Know What I Mean, by Manhattan-based indie-pop band Cults. Cults started out in 2010 with New York University-collegues and duo Brian Oblivion (vocals, guitar, and percussion) and Madeline Follin (vocals) who rose to fame with the release of their digital 3-track EP in 2010. You Know What I Mean comes off of their debut self-titled studio-album Cults, which was released on June 7th, 2011 and is still pretty fresh. Head over to their website HERE for more music and info.

Brief Movie Review for 'The Hustler' (1961)

Movie: The Hustler (1961)
Director: Robert Rossen 
Rating: 4.2/5 Stars ****'

After seeing The Color Of Money (1986) I decide I should see the original, and I must say it was quite a bit better than the follow-up, even though he actually won the Oscar for the The Color Of Money (1986). Definitely check this movie out, its a classic Paul Newman movie and well worth watching, even more than once too :)

Your Daily Song: 'Black Tooth' by King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard (2011)

Ok, so I have been away on holiday again for the last week, but I am back now and here to keep the posts coming. Today's daily song is Black Tooth, by Australian indie/punk band King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard. King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard (might become KGTLW due to name length) are an indie band from Melbourne, Australia and consisting of members Stu Mackenzie, Eric Moore, Michael Cavanagh, Lucas Skinner, Cook Craig, Joey Walker, and Ambrose Kenny-Smith. Black Tooth is the first single released off of their debut EP titled Willoughby's Beach. If you search for them on ITunes you will also find they have released a more recent EP for purchase called Anglesea, so be sure to check that out as well if you like what you hear. Stay tuned....

Brief Movie Review for 'They Live' (1988)

Movie: They Live (1988)
Director: John Carpenter
Rating: 4/5 Stars ****

Wow, this film was way better than I thought it would be all things considered. I thought it was a horror movie when I first saw the cover, but it is actually more of a sci-fi adventure with heaps of social commentary on modern society and economics. Interestingly enough it seems to me to be a metaphor for the whole struggle between working blue-collar class vs. elite ruling class to just live a good life. The best quote in the movie was 'The golden rule is...he who has the gold rules.' There are also hints of anti-consumerism placed in this film, which for its time (the Reagan era) was quite a brave film to be put out there. The acting is mediocre, but the film is worth watching, and everyone should see it at least once. Also, if you search for this movie on youtube.com you will find that the whole movie is available for viewing.

Your Daily Song: 'Somebody That I Used To Know (Feat. Kimbra)' by Gotye (2011)

Today's feature song is Somebody That I Used To Know (Feat. Kimbra) by Australian musician Gotye. Gotye (Wouter De Backer) is multi-instrumental musician originally from Belgium but who now identifies himself as Australian and has been active in the music scene circa 2001. He is also one of the primary members of Melbourne-based pop-band The Basics. Somebody That I Used to Know is a single off of his latest album Making Mirrors, which is set for release on August 19th, 2011, and it features guest vocals from New Zealand singer/songwriter  Kimbra. 

Brief Movie Review: 'The Man Who Knew Too Little' (1997)

Movie: The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997)
Director: Jon Amiel
Rating: 3/5 Stars *** 

This film is what I consider to be a classic Bill Murray film, with his usual humor and personal touch. Yet this one is from 1997 so its already ancient history. If you like Bill Murray you will get a laugh out of this one, its very similar to other spy/cop spoofs (The Naked Gun for example.)

Daily Song Post: 'Streamers' by Brous (2011)

Today's song post is one with a unique sound that I really dig, and the song is Streamers by Australian pop artist Brous. Brous (Sophia Brous) is a Melbourne-based musician, and coming from a second-generation Austrian/Polish migrant family, Brous's early musical experimentation was influenced by a family made up of musicians, sculptors and novelists which sparked her interest in many diverse forms of music at a young age. For live performances Brous is accompanied by Alexander Garsden, Shags Chamberlain, Jeanette Little, James Rushford and Joe Talia. Streamers is a single release that will appear on her upcoming self-titled debut EP, and if you have listened to this song you will know that it is something to anticipate. If you like what you have heard and want more info or you want a free and legal download of this mp3, you can visit her Unearthed page HERE, or her website HERE. 

Your Daily Song Post: 'Don't You Evah' by Spoon (2007)

Your daily song post is another one from 2007, so not too new or anything like that, and it is Don't You Evah, by American rock band Spoon. Spoon have been active on the scene circa 1994, they are based out of Austin, Texas, and band members are Britt Daniel (vocals and guitar), Jim Eno (drummer), Rob Pope (bass guitar, guitar, keyboards and backing vocals) and Eric Harvey (keyboards, guitar, percussion and backing vocals). Don't You Evah was actually an EP release by Spoon in April of 2008, but the song first appeared on their July 2007 release album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. The song is a cover of the original Don't You Ever by The Natural History. So there is the daily song, if you like what you've heard you can head over to the band's website HERE for more.

Brief Movie Review: The Color of Money (1986)

Movie: The Color of Money (1986)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Rating: 3.3/5 Stars ***'

For some reason this 80's classic, and sequel to The Hustler (1961), eluded me until only recently, which is shocking seeing that it was a Scorsese film with Paul Newman and Tom Cruise! The focus is pool, nine-ball specifically, although thankfully there isn't too much of it in the film as it mostly focuses on old-hustler (Newman) and his desire to train and coach the young pool-prodigy (Cruise) to swindle and hustle the best of the best. The film lacked something however, it just never seemed to quite get traction as a film if that makes any sense, sort of leaves you floating in limbo wondering when the formula plot is going to kick in more, however if you saw the first movie you will want to follow it up with this one.

Your Daily Feature: 'West Coast' by Coconut Records (2007)

Your daily feature song for today is.... and I know they haven't been to daily lately, but its Summer folks ;-) ...West Coast by American indie rock-pop solo-act Coconut Records. Now this is an older song (5 years old already!) but its still a good one and I am always happy to post the great ones on this blog. Coconut Records started out in Los Angeles in 2006 as a solo-project of artist  Jason Schwartzman. 
West Coast comes off of the 2007 debut album Nighttiming. If you dig the song go to the artist's website HERE. 

Steve Judd's Global Forecast for August 2011