Song for December 7th, 2010: "My Rescue" by Canyons

The song for today is....My Rescue, by Australian folk/psych/hard/house duo Canyons. Canyons consists of DJ/Producer duo Leo Holiday and Ryan Sea-mist who originated out of Perth, Australia but who are now based in Sydney, Australia.  My Rescue is a 2010 single release (and it is available on itunes and amazon). I haven't managed to find a whole lot more information about the duo, but you can check out their myspace page HERE, and their 

#37 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: "All Night Long (All Night)" by Lionel Richie (1983)

#37 of the Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown is....All Night Long (All Night), by R&B-Soul Giant and American singer-songwriter-record producer Lionel Richie! Now I can admit that I am not that well versed in Lionel Richie's works, but I do know a couple of his songs, and I also knew I had to include this one on the dance hits countdown! Lionel Richie was born June 20th, 1949 in Tuskegee, Alabama USA. Now some of you may already know that Richie joined up as a member/ singer/saxophonist for the classic Motown Records soul-funk group the Commodores in 1968. Over time he would write some hit songs for Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, and latin jazz composer La Palabra. It wasn't until 1982 that he took his solo career with the release of his self-titled debut album which produced 3 hit singles including the #1 Billboard Hot 100 hit Truly. His second album, titled Can't Slow Down, included All Night Long (All Night), which would reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, R&B, Pop, and Adult Contemporary Charts, whilst the album itself would sell around 20 million copies and win 2 Grammy Awards, including Grammy for Album of the Year in 1985. All Night Long (All Night) is a classic 80's dance hit, which is known for its caribbean/latin flavor, of which a few other 80's icons (such as Gloria Estefan or Exposé) were also doing at that time. And according to wikipedia the song also contains an old Jamaican chant. Richie has made quite a few major performances over the years, including the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Norway, Australian Idol in 2007, and American Idol in 2009. We hope to see more from Lionel Richie in the years to come! That all said, I am in the process of brewing up a top 20 or 25 80's Christmas songs, but I have yet to put that together, so for now, start gearing up and watching your 80's Christmas favorites, I know I will be (Scrooged, Christmas Vacation, Die Hard, just to name a few), and then next up we are already going to be on #36!

Brief Movie Review for "Due Date" (2010)

Due Date (2010)
**** 4/5 stars

Thaat's right, I am actually doing a little review for a recent movie...I know...I finally dragged my arse to the cinema and saw something, will have to do it again soon, Tron-3D-style! But back to Due Date... actually quite a funny movie! I would say this one is definitely worth watching once, and has some quality comedy to it (whatever that means). The theme of the cross-country drive involving a comedy duo (such as Planes, Trains and Autmobiles, or Dumb and Dumber) is not a new idea or comedy movie theme, but Downey Jr. and Galifianakis manage to pull it off in a unique way which still makes it a good comedy escape. I recommend this one, and I would watch it again.

Song of the Day for December 6th, 2010: "Galaxy Train" by Dolphins

The song for today is....Galaxy Train, by Australian surf-garage-calypso band Dolphins. I recently posted another song by Dolphins, but they keep releasing new ones by the week, so this is a more recent release (probably within the last 2 weeks) by them. To quote the bio infor from their facebook page they are:

"A new 3 piece from the Gold Coast. Consisting of members from Gold Coast band ELKE, Dolphins is Simple, fun, energetic and haphazard with a 60's twang. A band for the summer."

I have also posted a few of ELKE's songs on this vlog, which I would also highly recommend checking out. This song, and their others thus far are available for listening and free downloading still at their Soundcloud page HERE. 
  Galaxy Train by Dolphinsband

 

Divide & Kreate mashup: Until It Talks (Metallica Vs. Coldplay)

http://www.divideandkreate.com/

Song for December 5th, 2010: "Slow Motion" by Little Red

And the song is...Slow Motion, by Australian rock and roll band Little Red. Little Red comes out of Melbourne, Australia, has been active on the music scene since 2005, and consists of band members Adrian Beltrame (guitar/vocals), Dominic Byrne (guitar/vocals), Quang Dinh (bass guitar/ vocals), Tom Hartney (vocals/percussion) and Taka Honda (drums). Slow Motion comes off of their 2nd studio album release titled Midnight Remember which was just released in stores in September of 2010. This song is the 4th and most recent  single release off the new album. Note that this song and album can now be purchased on itunes or amazon. Enjoy!

Brief Book Review for "Island" (1962) by author Aldous Huxley

Island (1962) by Author Aldous Huxley

"Attention, Here and Now boys!!" I am not much of a book critic or whatever its called, but I do want to add some more content to this blog so here goes another book review. I just recently finished English author/writer Aldous Huxley's Island, which was published in 1962 and actually was the last book he released before he died in November of 1963. I would definitely recommend Island to anybody who is looking for some interesting reading, although it is not a fast-paced entertainment book by any means, however, it may leave you thinking critically about society and its many structures and why they are the way they are and if there could be a better way to do many things. The story is set on a fictional utopian-island-society called Pala, where an English oil-company ambassador (main characater Will Farnaby) becomes shipwrecked, while illegally surveying the coastline. Naturally may oil-companies are vying for a shot at winning the oil/industrial development contracts for Pala, but the society is yet to conform to the industrial-western model. The locals take him in and treat him medically at first, and he gets a good look for a few weeks at the society and starts to actually fall in love with it a bit. Much of the book isn't about plot so much as a peek into what an ideal society might look, as well as how transcendental experiences (drug-induced in many of his books) can open one's mind up to new ideas and better ways of living (or shake up some of the rigid and closed-off structures at least). Now, this may sound somewhat familiar to Huxley's other books/essays, such as the renowned Brave New World, or Doors of Perception, but I would personally say that this is my favorite of his books I've read so far, although I haven't read too many others to be honest, so take my reviews with a grain of salt full-stop. Be sure to check out the wikpedia page on this book HERE if you are interested in learning more about the book. And there it is, more brief book reviews to come!

LOCK3DOWN MASHUP: "Gorilla Idol" Billy Idol vs Gorillaz

Song for December 4th, 2010: "Gilgamesh" by Gypsy and the Cat

Today's song is....Gilgamesh, by by Aussie electro-pop duo Gypsy and the Cat. Gypsy and the Cat formed back in 2008, and the duo consists of Melbourne DJ's Xavier Bacash and Lionel Towers who are currently based out of London, UK (London is where they are currently based, though they both are originally from Melbourne, Australia). I have posted a couple of their previous songs on this vlog, and now they have released their debut album titled Gilgamesh just last month (November of 2010 for those of you reading this after the fact)!! This band has a unique sound, and the more of their stuff I listen to, the more and more I am really enjoying it. It is a bit difficult to find their stuff if you aren't in Oz or the UK, and I must say here that it would be fully-sick if they would release their album in the Itunes USA store! If you like this song I would highly recommend you check out their new album for yourself, especially the singles Jona Vark, and Time to Wander. Jona Vark is still available as a free mp3 download at their Unearthed page HERE, and you can check out their other works at their myspace page HERE. Gilgamesh

Brief Movie Review for "$5 a Day (Five Dollars a Day)" (2008)

$5 a Day (Five Dollars a Day) (2008) 

3/5 Stars ***

Not a serious movie, but not total comedy either. Christopher Walken plays as the main character's hustler of a father who refuses to pay for anything by scamming, dealing, hustling, and picking up freebies of any kind he can left and right. Actually, the many ways his character finds to get free things is probably the most interesting part of this flick. Sharon Stone and Amanda Peet have very minor roles in this one so don't expect much there. It makes me wonder if all of those vehicles driving around with big adverts on them are actually just "freebies" that someone has discovered...I always thought that they were company reps driving them around, oh well. The movie is worth watching once, but I doubt I will ever watch it again.

Song for December 2nd, 2010: "Lost My Nerve" by Jebediah

The song for today is....Lost My Nerve, by Australian alternative rock group Jebediah. Jebediah formed back in 1994, in Perth, Australia and currently consists of members Kevin Mitchell (vocals and guitars), Chris Daymond (guitars), Vanessa Thornton (bass guitar), and Brett Mitchell (drums). Between the years of 1997-2004 the group produced 4 studio albums, at which point they went on hiatus for a few years, but Lost My Nerve comes off of their newest album titled Kosciuszko, which is set to be released in April of 2011.

#38 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: "Is This Really Love?" by Narada Michael Walden (1987)

We are back, in the 80's once again, and this time we have a gem, at #38 its.....Is This Really Love? by  American producer, drummer, singer, and songwriter Narada Michael Walden. Now many of you might be asking yourselves questions like "who the hell is that?" or "what song is that?" Well, I must admit that I did not know of this song or artist in the 80's, and in all actuality it has been later on (since about the year 2000 or so) that I have actually been into 80's music, movies, and media again. You know, I went through that same 90's music stage that the rest of us did only to end up in the "noughties" with not much happening musically, only to rediscover the upbeat and just plain more interesting music of the 80's decade. But now, I have noticed an influx of new-energy, especially on the music scene coming in, which is quite exciting...But that really is a tangent, so getting back to the artist....Walden started out on his musical career in the 1970's and produced 9 studio albums between the 1976-1988. Walden has collaborated with many other major talents that achieved #1 Awards, such as Whitney Houston's How Will I Know and I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me), or Aretha Franklin's Freeway of Love, to Diana Ross's Take Me Higher.  He has also owned and managed the renowned Tarpan Studios in San Rafael, California since the mid-1980's. Is This Really Love? can't be found on any of his studio albums however, as it was produced and featured in the 1987 Meg Ryan/Dennis Quaid/Martin Short film Innerspace (another 80's classic fo sho). So if you are looking for it and can't find it, the soundtrack is where you will find it. If I remember correctly from the film, this is the song they play in the dance club scene when "the Cowboy" character is dancing with/hitting on Meg Ryan's character. If you like this song I would also recommend another 80's classic song of his (which sadly won't be featured on the countdown as I have filled all the spots, so I will mention it here) caribbean-sounding Ain't Nobody Ever Loved You track, found on his 1983 Looking at You, Looking at Me album. And there it is kids, now go out and watch Innerspace, we could all use some good 80's comedy in our lives these days after all, and stay-tuned for #37!http://your80smusicauthority.blogspot.com/

Song for December 1st, 2010: "Doncamatic (feat. Daley)" by Gorillaz

Today's song is...Doncamatic (feat. Daley), by English alternative/hip-hop group Gorillaz. Gorillaz was formed in 1998 by British musician Damon Albarn and British Cartoonist Jamie Hewlett (in Essex, England), as an idea of a fictional cartoon band in a fictional reality. The fictional band consists of fictional members 2D (as lead vocalist and keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, keyboard, and occasional vocals), and Russel Hobbs (on drums). The Gorillaz follow the "dream within a dream," or "fiction within a fiction" concept, but in reality their music comes out of collaborations between Damon Albarn (the only permanent member of the band) and many other musicians. Doncamatic is a recently released single featuring British singer Daley as the guest artist. Doncamatic was released on November 21st, 2010 and has been added to a re-released version of the latest Gorillaz album titled Plastic Beach. This song has the definitive electronic Gorillaz sound, and is quite good, so if you haven't already, be sure to check it out, and get ready for X-Mas...I can't believe we are already in flippin December, it will be 2011 before we know it folks!