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Finals Tomorrow: The Lennon and The Gaga

9 Dec

The grasp of finals has overtaken me and I can only do a quick post today so I thought I would leave you with a rather odd picture and a fantastic recording of John Lennon performing the greatest song ever written “Imagine” just a few months after its release on December 17, 1971.

Here is the song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RNXertAO4k

And the picture…

So, the Queen of England and the mysterious alien settled their differences and agreed that the Gaga would be left with only obliterating music charts, while the human race could keep their Earth

Court Polls: Defense for “The Godfather”

8 Dec

After several days of voting, 11 votes have produced John Williams’ epic “Star Wars” soundtrack as the clear winner in the minds of readers. I cannot say I disagree with the way that the voting went because the soundtrack is a staple in movie music. That being said, I still believe that the music in “The Godfather” is slightly better and less artificial. The “Star Wars” soundtrack has some great original pieces but I believe that Williams’ best work lies in a sampling of pieces from different movies (not just one movie).

Nino Rota, the prolific Italian composer who has written scores for over 150 Italian and American including “The Godfather,” wrote a tremendous score for the film that is currently rated as the second best film, behind Citizen Kane, on the American Film Institutes list of 100 films. The reason I believe Rota’s score trumps all other film scores is because “The Godfather” music satiates listeners with its extraordinarily real Italian sound and dripping classical beauty. The soundtrack is drenched with music that alludes to the rustic Italian sound but retains its stunning  originality.

This is expressed best in the “Godfather Waltz” which is one of the most known piece that repeats throughout the movie. Coppola, ‘, uses this song in perfect scenes and creates a musical and visual tapestry of the Italian-American struggle and mob scene. The music played in the songs first few seconds will forever be implanted in the minds of people who view the movie. They are simple,  but emit the feeling of almost being ensconced in the movie. And, how about the love theme. The strings are just beautiful. The song works in two ways. It is unquestionably melodic as heck but, it also gives off a bit of an odd unsettling feelings that portrays a perplexing juxtaposition. It works and, in my opinion, it does so better than any other movie soundtrack.

The Love Theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hQAO8QTnG8

The Godfather Waltz: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQvc7Ne5mok&feature=related

Court Links: Trivial Pursuit, Mixes and CD Release

7 Dec

Blue-Geography-What is the captial of the Russia

Every Monday and Friday I enjoy searching the internet for some good musical links to put up on the blog. Occasionally I come up with gold. According to Mickey Leigh, late Ramone’s front-man Joey Ramone’s brother, the height of the punk band’s career came with drugs, sex, and Trivial Pursuit. “The more blow we did, the more intensely we played the game. We loved it,” said Leigh. I don’t know about you but I know I speak for most people when I say that dabbling in Trivial Pursuit while wasted was not an idea I had ever thought of. It seems those crazy Ramones have outdone me again. Check out the link and the new memoir “I Slept With Joey Ramone: A Family Memoir,” where I am sure numerous awesome stories will be found.

Link: http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2009/12/05/ramones_were_huge_fans_of_trivial_pursui_1

Do you want to hear something really wierd that will have you going to yourself, well this is pretty awesome but I don’t know what I should think? Well, I bring to you Sgt Pepper’s Paradise City a mix-up of Beatles and Guns & Roses. I must hand it to the creators, this is pretty awesome (the verses are amazing). What do you think? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPLelay3zzA

Think that mix is weird? How about The Beatles and Shaggy. Yeah, the scary thing is it’s actually pretty cool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSTH-9h4tN8&feature=related

I can’t stop. Beatles and Green Day. Now I am done: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSEkTKC0eNQ&feature=related

CD Release Tuesday, Dec. 8

This Is War – 30 Seconds to Mars

– Jared Leto’s rock band will release their first album in four years. The band known for its experimentation did not disappoint inviting fans to the Avalon Club in Los Angeles to see how far the recording was and to possibly participate in its recording. Leto said, “The Summit was an experiment in our recording process, and we were just trying to think of ways that we could deepen the connection between ourselves and our family of fans around the world. We do that often, and think of ways to break the boundary. And we thought, ‘How great would it be to invite the world to come and be a part of the next 30 Seconds to Mars album?”

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Court Polls: What is the Best Movie Soundtrack?

4 Dec

As the holidays fast approach, I, and many other people, will begin to inevitably frequent the movie theaters to pay an exorbitant amount of money (the price of your house for a ticket and some popcorn, soda costs the furniture) and hopefully enjoy the moving images on the big  screen. I have already visited the movie theater twice during my Thanksgiving break where I watched The Road and 2012 and consequently started thinking that the apocalypse fast approaches. Movie soundtracks (unless of course you are The Road which should not have had a soundtrack) usually are a fundamental part to the picture. The perfect song can make you cry during some scenes (see Titanic which my mother is still crying from) and can make you cringe and anticipate scary moments in horror flicks. It is the narration for the film and can often give a film the extra life it needs. Hey, if the movie is bad but the soundtrack is good you often do not think your taking out a second mortgage to see the movie in the movie theaters was in vain.

So, let us ponder what the best movie soundtrack is of all time. In this poll I am going to not put movies that were made specifically for the music provided (i.e. “A Hard Day’s Night” and “The Sound of Music”). While these may be some of the best movie sountracks of all time I would like to focus on films that were not made specifically for the music.

What do you think? If you have another movie that you really think is the best leave a comment and let us know what you think. I had trouble limiting my choices so, yeah, you have a nice amount to choose from.

Court Links: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Metallica and Lou Reed

2 Dec

As promised, here are two links that should entertain you for a good fifteen minutes. I mean, come on, there are enough musicians there; if you are not entertained then you may need your head checked out.

Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck have announced three North American shows to be performed in February. This rumor was swirling among the music world and it has come to a temporary reality. The only problem is that there are only three dates for now. One in Madison Square Garden and another two in Toronto and Montreal. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the concert at MSG on February 18  because of class, which really stinks.   I am sure it will be a fantastic show and if you are lucky enough to get a ticket (tickets go on sale December 12) please let me know how it was. In honor of the show here is Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page performing “Layla” in 1983 in MSG. No big deal! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICpxgxThG7s

Also, in case you were not able to catch the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – 25th Anniversary in New York (Madison Square Garden) on HBO (they are still showing re-runs) here is a little taste of the odd musical concoctions and amazing moments that the 2 show event provided. This is rock n’ roll. Lou Reed performing “Sweet Jane” with Metallica. Yes, you read that right! http://www.fark.com/cgi/vidplayer.pl?IDLink=4815836

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