There has been a lot of hullabaloo on the news lately regarding Kanye West’s humiliation of Taylor Swift on VMA. For those of you who don’t know what happened, Taylor Swift won a very prominent award when Kanye West conveniently came on stage, stole the microphone and said that Beyonce should get “Best Video” cause she had the best video in the competition in his opinion. Taylor was left standing in the midst of West’s outburst and never got to finish her acceptance speech until Beyonce later invited her on stage to do so. Apparently, Kanye finally issued a personal apology to Swift after his rude acts on national television.

I must say, I am very disappointed in his actions. While I’m not the biggest Taylor Swift fan he stole the spotlight from her when she rightfully deserved that moment. I’m glad Beyonce was there to save the day, though.

Obviously being a drunkard on television isn’t always the best thing. I’m sure West has learned a valuable lesson out of this.

Like a few of Enya’s albums, a lot of people form the idea that a lot of her music is very similar and redundant a lot of the time. Even though I do not share that narrow view, I do find parts of the album Shepherd Moons to be rather repetitively similar. Like her first album, there is a various assortment of fast beat songs and slow beat songs (granted the slow beat ones are more prevalent) as well as very memorable pieces like Caribbean Blue, How Can I Keep From Singing?, Lothlorien, and Book of Days.

Despite how similar a lot of the songs are in this album, like Enya’s first album it achieved a great deal of success when released. Three hit singles were released in its success which are the three bold songs stated above. In the United Kingdom, Shepherd Moons reached #1 album, while in the United States it was in the Top 20 Musical Hits, coming in at #17. Conveniently the album was a major success and managed to sell at least 12 million copies world wide!

Due to the songs in this album being more laid back and slow as compared to her previous, I prefer listening to this batch of music on rainy days where everything seems almost slow and sleepy—in fact, it is fairly good meditation music if you enjoy that sort of thing.

So all in all, I give this album a rating of 4.0/5.0. While it is not my favorite, it is a very relaxing CD to listen to—but then again, Enya’s voice is always relaxing to listen isn’t it?

The famous Celtic – New Age singer Enya has produced many albums over the years. Ironically, I find my favorite to be her first breakthrough CD known as Watermark, an iconic musical selection that has received many top ratings across the world for its unique, haunting, and beautiful qualities.

Now some background on this enjoyable CD. After its initial release back in 1988, it quickly reached the top of the charts and managed to receive wonderful applause across many countries. Eventually, two or three singles were released from this CD—one of which being a very iconic song normally referred to as “Sail Away”, which is actually named, Orinoco Flow. Other renown singles are Storms in Africa, and Exile. In fact there have been many different renditions of the particular song Orinoco Flow, one done by another one of my favorite singing groups Celtic Woman.

There is not a single track on this CD that I do not like, it’s relatively well rounded when it comes to Celtic/New Age music, yet still containing essences of similarity between the tracks. Like in most of Enya’s albums, the opening track titled Watermark is mostly a calm and soothing instrumental with some background vocals performed by Enya. Gradually, throughout the CD the music continues with various pieces—some being more up beat, others being very meditative and calming. The track I enjoy the most is the haunting and bittersweet track Exile that appears in the Steve Martin film, L.A. Story. Even if you don’t get this CD I definitely recommend listening to this particular song, it is honestly one of Enya’s best works.

Overall I give this CD a 4.8/5.0. Enya’s first album is definitely worth buying, mainly because it has a bit of everything and even if you don’t like this type of music, I think you may like certain aspects of it.

Most of my friends and acquaintances by now know that I’m not too fond of a lot of modern music. I’ve already created an article discussing the hit group Celtic Woman, who are well known for taking classic pieces and modernizing them a bit. Of course the next amazing performer I have to discuss is the famous Celtic singer, Enya Brennan. (Whose full name is: “Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin”)

Since her debut in 1988 with the hit album entitled Watermark, Enya has been one of the leading singers professionalized in classical, new age, and Celtic music. Originally a member of the well known Celtic singing group Clannad, Enya eventually decided to pursue a solo career in the late 80s. Today, Enya lives in Ireland where she works independently on her music. Unlike most celebrities, she prefers to work privately and rarely conducts live performances which is what makes her so unique.

So if you absolutely have no idea who the heck Enya is, it is likely that you do and don’t realize it. Movie director Peter Jackson decided to recruit Enya back in 2001 to record and compose music for the box office hit, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Many other songs composed and performed by Enya were featured in other movies as well.

Here is a list of her many albums:

1.) Enya (1987)
2.) Watermark (1988)
3.) Shepherd Moons (1991)
4.) The Celts (1992)
5.) The Memory of Trees (1995)
6.) Paint the Sky With Stars(1997)
7.) A Day Without Rain (2000)
8.) Amaranthine (2005)
9.) And Winter Came…(2008)

If you want to sit back on a rainy day and listen to beautiful music that is soothing and relaxing, Enya is a very good choice. I have three of her CDs and I will be writing up reviews for each of them, so keep your eyes open! I’m in a very Enya mood!

Much to my dismay, it has been announced that the famous Russian rock/dance/pop band t.A.T.u. is finally parting ways. Apparently the two performers, Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova, are pursuing solo careers beyond the confines of t.A.T.u.

After the young and exciting band started back in 1999, the two Russian performers were instructed to appear as lesbian lovers in order to promote the band. There have been three albums released featuring famous memorable songs such as: Not Gonna Get us, All the Things She Said, All About us, and How Soon is Now? After their temporary hiatus back in 2004, t.A.T.u has been continuing their lucrative and entertaining tours around the world.

After the completion of their upcoming album “Happy Smiles,” the group is going to finally part their ways. I definitely recommend sampling some of their music because they are a truly unique foreign group that has achieved its performing mark in the world. Hopefully this is but another small hiatus for these two wonderful women, I would really like to see more music from them in the future.

Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer, who have been playing music together since 1978 and are the comedic masterminds behind This is Spinal Tap, Best in Show, and A Mighty Wind, are touring 30 American cities next month.

I have always been a fan of Christopher Guest’s comedy. He focuses on instantly recognizable characters, and employs some of the funniest people in Hollywood.

What’s interesting about this tour is that they’re touting it as, “Unwigged and Unplugged,” which is reminiscent of Kiss without the makeup. They’re playing mostly acoustic renditions, with some selections from A Mighty Wind and a few other collaborations thrown in. I’ll try and score some tickets to the Fox Theater in D-town, and give a full report if I can.

Here is a complete listing of cities they’ll be visiting. And here are a few songs that just might be featured on the tour:

Music is a malleable art that transforms through the years and generations as our culture transforms. However, from the beginning there have been forms of music that have thrived mightily over the centuries and are finally making a phenomenal comeback. The prime example being the Celtic genre of music and more notably, the famous rising singing group known as Celtic Woman.

Since their debut back in 2004, Celtic Woman has released four CD’s, four DVD’s, and are currently preparing for a fifth installment of their music franchise named Celtic Woman: The Isle of Hope. Not only have they been popular on PBS television, but they have also been a rising star in the music industry—being number one on the Billboard World Music Charts for an amazing 95 weeks! Due to their immense success, Celtic Woman has made it their priority since their album A New Journey to tour around the world, striking inspiration into the hearts of fans with their angelic voices.

I have actually been to one of their concerts during their New Journey tours, and I must say that this singing group is magnificently divine! It was nice hearing a combination of older Irish folk melodies such as: Caledonia, Siúil A Rún (Walk My Love), Newgrange, Carrickfergus, Dúlaman, The Voice, and other more modern well known compositions such as: Enya’s May It Be and Orinoco Flow; You Raise Me Up, Beyond the Sea and multiple others.

While most people are listening to more modern musical genres, I find myself exploring the mysticism of Celtic music. If anybody is interested in this long-lived genre of music, I definitely recommend Celtic Woman for a great listening experience. It seems as though more traditional folk music is making a startling come back!

From time to time I enjoy watching movies aimed at kids. Though I’ve never read the book, I decided to give Inkheart a try. I’m an adult and even I could figure that film out. I can’t imagine what a five year old, who has just learned to stop picking their nose in public, might make of it.

Inkheart

Starring – Brendan Fraser (Really? REALLY?), Helen Mirren, Andy Serkis, Paul Bettany, Eliza Bennett, Jim Broadbent.

Rated – PG

IMDb Rating – 6.7
RottenTomatoes – 37% Rotten

Sample Review:

This folklore-filled children’s story about the love of literature is disappointing because of its poor execution.

I would call this review accurate. There were several qualities to be admired about the film: the cinematography, the sets, the imaginative idea. This is all squandered by a pointless and convoluted script and a duller than dull leading man.

As I mentioned, I haven’t read the book. I have to wonder whether it is as scattered and unfocused as the film ultimately turned out to be. We begin with narration, which we don’t hear again, concerning a father (Fraser) reading to his infant daughter Maggie while her mother looks on. Flash-forward to a van driving through what I imagine to be Germany (?). The mother is absent, the daughter is twelve or thirteen, and Brendan Fraser has some horrid hair plugs. Seriously, that crap is distracting; it’s almost as bad as his acting.

The father is searching for a book entitled Inkheart, though it isn’t clear why. We discover later that it is because he is a Silvertongue, one with the power to make the written word come to life. Interesting concept, as “silvertongue” usually holds a negative connotation as someone who can lie very well. He can read, but he can’t control what part of the book happens. For every person or thing that comes out of the book, a person has to go into it. Hence why the mother is missing; he accidentally read her into the book, and he has been searching for the out of print copies ever since.

Too much happens before we’re introduced to the conflict that the audience ends up playing catch-up the entire time. In addition to that, the characters are traveling all over the place for unknown reasons. From Germany (?), they drive to Italy to meet the aunt that Maggie has never known. She is played by Helen Mirren, who shows some good comedic timing.

From there, the baddies are introduced. They’re a band of thieves from the book Inkheart, originally “read out” by Fraser when he lost his wife. Paul Bettany plays a guy called Dustfinger who can wield fire with his hands. Admittedly, he’s kind of cool, albeit a conflicted character that suffers from inopportune bouts of cowardice. The real bad guy is Andy Serkis, completely free of make-up and special effects. And let me tell you, that man is absolutely horrifying. They have employed a replacement Silvertongue who has a stutter, so characters have been read out of the books stamped with ink still on their faces. So they kidnap Brendan Fraser and his daughter so that he will do their bidding.

Scattered amidst this confusion are characters and creatures from other well-known works including The Wizard of Oz, Arabian Nights, and Peter Pan. Great concept, except that it’s all handled so sloppily that they’re nothing more than set pieces.

I wish I could go into more detail about the movie, but there’s simply too much packed into two hours to reiterate. Too many characters, too many settings, too much! Even the actors seem confused. I can’t imagine this movie keeping the attention of children for the first half hour, let alone the full running time.

Noel Gallagher, guitarist and singer for the British band Oasis, has stated that “Guitar Hero” is waste of time. Gee, and here I thought that happened while listening to one of their albums…

His main criticism is that playing guitar is not supposed to be like a video game. He wants kids to treat the instrument as a valuable and difficult one to play, not just as a toy.

While to some extent this is true, Gallagher has spoken his views in such a miserly way that it’s difficult not to critique his guitar skills. He isn’t known for being much more than competent, and has even admitted that he’s just “average.” Maybe a game like Guitar Hero would have helped him as a child. I know many kids, and even adults, who have been sparked into learning the guitar because of the game.

With incendiary commentary concerning the hit music game, Noel has said that it is, “better than two goblins trying to f**k a donkey up the arse with a laser beam.” Charming. Though I would expect no less from the lyricist who penned:

I know a girl called Elsa
She’s into Alka Seltzer
She sniffs it through a cane
On a supersonic train
She made me laugh
I got her autograph

Does Noel like to run up to kids and slap the controllers out of their hands, too?

Source.

I had a chance to check out the Video Games Live concert here in San Diego. I had seen the concert before about 2 years ago and a lot has changed. First thing I thought is damn, San Diego Symphony Orchestra rules!!! I went to the Video Games Live at the Hollywood bowl and they were no where near the quality that SD pulled off.

The events were changed around which made for a more interesting night. From watching a guy play space invaders as himself being the tank. He wore a shirt with the tank on it and where he moves so does the tank. The other event was watching a dude play Guitar Hero Aerosmith with the symphony band backing him up. It was pretty funny because his challenge was Sweet Emotion on Hard and he wanted to bump it up to expert. When they attempted to load it up it wasn’t unlocked. LOL.

The music it was spectacular. They played a great mix of music and it wasn’t all Square music. Don’t get me wrong I like square music but can only take One Wing Angel so many times. I think my favorite segment of music would have to be the Zelda mix. It was fantastic. The music was perfect. Everyone cheered real loud when Ocarina of Time flashed on the screen.

Overall, I would say check this concert out of it’s in your neck of the woods. Just a heads up try to get close seating cause being in the nose bleed section does make it a tad tough to hear. Luckily the SD venue was perfect so even nose bleed wasn’t that bad.