Brief Movie Review for "The Good Heart" (2009)

The Good Heart (2009)
5/5 Stars *****

Another 5 star! Good movie, interesting characters and again, not your typical film. An old, grumpy, and rapidly declining in health bar owner takes a young homeless man he meets during a hospital visit under his wing to help run his bar and to give a chance. That said, I don't really want to give any more of it away, so you will have to go out and watch it. I would watch this movie again, and I highly recommend it.

Song for December 14th, 2010: "Follow" by Crystal Fighters

Today's song is...Follow, by English indie-folktronic band Crystal Fighters. Crystal Fighters formed in 2008, in Spain/UK, and it consists of members Laure (lead vocals), Gilbert, Graham, Sebastian, and Mimi, and they are currently based out of East London, UK. they are known for their dramatic and artful stage performances and for fusing Basque-folk music with more modern dance beats and synthesizers. For more artist info check out their Myspace page HERE, or their Last FM page HERE. Check out the video below!

Song for December 13th, 2010: "Put It All to Rest" by Vince Vega

Today's song is....Put It All to Rest, by Australian hip-hop emcee Vince Vega. According to his Unearthed page Vince Vega is 19 years old, and he hails at us out of Townsville, Queensland Australia. I am really enjoying much of the new hip-hop that has been coming out of OZ for the past decade and I reckon it would do quite well here in the USA if actually got some proper air-play. Vince Vega recently recorded and has now released a solo EP titled Since You've Been Away, which is now available on I-Tunes. This song is not up on youtube, thus there is no video for the vlog portion of this post, however you can listen to and download a free and legal mp3 version of this song and a couple other Vince Vega songs at his Unearthed page HERE, and be sure to check out his website HERE, innit!

"Someday At Christmas" by the Jackson Five (1970)

Yes Yes, another christmas tune, tis' the season after all! This one is Someday at Christmas by The Jackson Five, and it comes off of their 1970 Motown Records release Christmas Album. Be sure to check it out.

Song for December 12th, 2010: "Treehouse" by Gold Fields

Today's song is...Treehouse, by Australian Dance-Pop band Gold Fields. Gold Fields originate out of Ballarat, Victoria in Australia, and consists of band members Mark Fuller, Vin Andanar, Ryan D'Sylva, Rob Clifton, and Luke Peldys. There really isn't too much more info to report on them as of yet, but you can still download this song as a legal free mp3 from their Unearthed page HERE, and be sure to check out their website HERE.

DJ Digital Dave mashup: "Back To Cali Gurls" Notorious BIG vs Katy Perry

The Song for December 10th, 2010: "Janglin" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes

Today's song is...Janglin, by American indie-folk group Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. Well, this is the 3rd song off of the 2009 release  Up From Below album by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. In case you missed the last posts, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes have been out on the music scene since 2005 and are based out of Los Angeles, California, USA. They have a delightful folkish sound, and this album is highly recommended by yours truly. The band has heaps of members and musicians, but its primarily lead by vocalist Alex Ebert (also the vocalist for another pop group called Ima Robot). Be sure to check this group out, and for more info on the band and to check out a few of their other songs go to their myspace page HERE. 

Your 'Top 20' 80's Christmas Songs List!

Ho Ho Ho 80's fans...so I have been saying since Halloween that I was going to also make an 80's Christmas-songs list for your various Christmas parties. This list (like the Halloween list) is really just the starter for the dough so to speak, so add many more of your own, but keep these in mind too! So, without further ado, here is my top 20 80's Christmas Songs list (and in no particular order):

1.) Last Christmas by Wham! (1984) (claro!)

2.) Christmas is the Time to Say I Love You by Billy Squier (my personal favorite) (1981)

3.) Christmas in Hollis by Run DMC (1987) 

4.) Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight) by The Ramones (1989)

5.) Jingle Bell Rock by Daryl Hall & John Oates (1983)

6.) Christmas Time by Bryan Adams (1985) 

7.) Mistress for Christmas by ACDC (1989)

8.) I Wish Every Day Could Be Like Christmas by Bon Jovi (1987)

9.) Thank God It's Christmas by Queen (1984)

10.) Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses (1981)

11.) Christmas Vacation by Mavis Staples (1989) (from the National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Soundtrack)

12.) Another Rock n' Roll Christmas by Gary Glitter (1984)

13.) Fairytale of New York by The Pogues (1987)

14.) Merry Christmas Baby by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band (1987)

15.) Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by U2 (1987) 

16.) Run Rudolph Run by Bryan Adams (1987)

17.) Another Lonely Christmas by Prince & the Revolution (1984)

18.) 2000 Miles by the Pretenders (1987)

19.) Last Night I Saw Santa Claus by New Kids on the Block (1989) 

20.) Santa Baby by Madonna (1987)

-Well that about wraps up my Top 20 80's Christmas songs! If you feel that you need more for your party there is always the The Jackson Five Christmas Album, although it was released in 1970, so doesn't apply to this blog.  Also, there is a longer list I found at another website HERE. Happy Holidays Everybody!! (original post found at http://your80smusicauthority.blogspot.com/)
 

 

Brief Movie Review for "Outsourced" (2007)

Outsourced (2007)

 5/5 Stars *****

Quite a good movie if I might say so myself.  I know that this sounds like the title of a documentary, but I promise you it is not. Basic plot is that the entire job and department of an Seattle based sales-manager gets outsourced to a call-center in India, but he is asked to train the new team in India, which leads him there. The most interesting part of the movie in my opinion is his experience (realistic or not) of being immersed into East-Indian culture as well as the social commentary about "outsourcing" and some of the interesting situations that come up as well. This is one of those movies that left me feeling like I learned a little bit of something about Indian-culture that I didn't know before, and though nothing can beat first-hand experience, its still a fun movie to watch. There just aren't that many movies that I have watched that I would say I feel I got something out of, but this is one of them. I would watch this one again, be sure to check it out.

The Song for December 8th, 2010: "Rated X" by the The White Stripes

Today's song is...Rated X, by American garage/alternative-rock duo The White Stripes. The White Stripes are a well-known rock band out of Detroit, Michigan, USA and consists of members Jack White (songwriter,vocals, guitar, and keyboards) and his ex-wife Meg White (drums and occasional vocals). The White Stripes have been active in the music scene since 1997, and rose to prominence back in 2002 as a part of the garage-rock-revival scene. They are also known for their lo-fi, DIY, approach to recording and song-writing, which in my opinion is quite a refreshing change from the usual. Rated X is a single contribution made by The White Stripes to a compilation album titled Coal Miner's Daughter: A Tribute To Loretta Lynn, and it is actually a re-issue of their previous cover of the very same song, so its not really all that new, but it is at the same time, so there! Coal Miner's Daughter: A Tribute To Loretta Lynn was just released on November 10th, 2010.

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.