Joss Stone is my guilty pleasure. She's soulful, young, beautiful, and talented. There's this one Tuesday night when I was supposed to cook pasta for our monthly departmental lunch meeting at work. I have all ingredients laid on the table and I was vibing for some musical inspiration. Without even thinking, I fetched the TV remote and landed on Princess Diana's birthday celebration as I was channel surfing. After a few others played, the presenter cued in Joss Stone for her rendition of Queen's Under Pressure. It blew me away! I found myself grooving while my eyes are transfixed at the TV screen. I was even waving the chef's knife in my hand like I was one with the crowd in London. She effortlessly breathes emotion in her music while commanding the huge stage with her bare-foot presence like a nymph or a muse straight from Greek mythology. I found the song's intense moments to be the part where she goes "Why can't we give love..." and "just one more chance..." Watch the footage below and you be the judge.
Another thing I find myself doing more and more each passing month is watch Music Station on Animax. Last Friday, they had a beautiful lady named Stephanie as guest. She's pretty. She looks like a ramp or commercial model. No, she looks like someone a country would send to bloody Miss Universe or some other intergalactic beauty contest. And she has a long pair of nicely shaped legs. The hosts boast that she has a very superior vocal range capable of doing 5-octaves worth of melody. Bah, big deal, I said. When she sang, though, she does ridiculously high pitched tunes without even contorting her face to show signs of effort! I mean, WOW, freaky! Again, indulge me by watching the video footage below.
One other thing I still do is watch MTV. Not Mxy. The original MTV. I was chilling last night, waiting for Sandman to come and visit, when they aired this music video of The Editors in their SubTerraNean segment. You know how artsy music videos could be. Been that way since like eternally. Some producers put in a lot of work to come up with a unique concept. This one, entitled "Smokers Outside The Hospital Door," is like a mini-movie. Wait for the moment when the girl gets chased by the coastguard while she's rowing a wooden and see what she'll do. Damn, I've been dreaming of doing that for as long as I can remember!
If you grew up in the eighties, you'd have prefected the craft of drawing their logo onto every flap, inside cover, or armrest of your school folder, notebook, and school chair. You'd have owned or at least drooled over an action figure version of the mighty robots. You would know or have at least heard of the fabled energon cube and how it looked like. In an instant or without even being requested, you could do your rendition of the sound these machines make when they "transform."
The moment I saw the movie trailer from a few months back, I made a resolve to watch the shit out of this movie on its first screen day. Tickets were booked via sureseats and rest was frickken history!
If you notice, there aren't much speaking parts for the robots in the trailers so it left much to be looked forward to on the movie. Would they even talk? You bet! Optimus Prime's voice, which I only much later found out, was done by the same dude behind the animated series, Peter Cullen. Reason enough to leave me feeling very nostalgic.
From the crisp images to the appropriate soundtrack, intricately complex CGI animation, believable action scenes, hot leading lady, plausible plot, and the HUGE final battle scene, this movie assaulted every aspect of my hard-to-please-and-perennially-criticizing inner geek.
On TV, from the footage of the Transformers press conference in South Korea, Michael Bay told that he intended for the film to appeal to the non-fan as well as the fan. When asked if there are plans of any sequels, he said that it all depends on the powers-that-be but he's up to it. Booyah!
I enjoyed the film immensely and I plan to watch it again and again and again.
Oh, and I have posted the following tracks at the man-blog forums about a week ago. Enjoy!
I switch channels and almost always find Katharine McPhee's "Over It" song playing on MTV. First time I heard it, I was overwhelmed with a sense of I-swear-I-heard-that-song-before. The culprit-tune kept slipping my mind, at first, but just last night, I could have sworn it was sung by a sweet looking girl with curly hair. Something that sounds likely for teens to swoon over and claim as their song of the moment for at least 5-times in their pathetic, angst-ridden, and confused teenage phase.
Alas, presented below are the choruses of the two tracks in point.
Key for the similarity are the song writers behind both, as explained in Greg Fanoe's blog.
I would like to reiterate, though, that although I appreciate this kind of music, my heart still beats to the tune of rock so worry not that I have grown soft only a few months after Rockstar Supernova.
This is just too good to not blog and embed and show. An unfreakinbelievable remake that would make you cry in lieu of the bump-bump-bump. How could a song like this end up sounding so tragic and sad? That's Alanis to you! Now shut up and just watch. Thanks vwb for the tip, yo!
2006 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show music, anyone?
Just this weekend, the 2006 Victoria Secret Fashion Show aired over Star World and as expected, they've the best kickass remixes playing as great brassiere-clad bodies strut down their signature glitter frosted catwalk. I might not ever recall the names of the fabulous models but their seductive stares and winks could thaw anyone's frigid loins to action.
This time last year, I was at a scouring frenzy in hoping to find out what songs were played during the show. Finding the track titles proved easy. It was getting them that wasn't. I went home that night with a folder-full of non-remixed original versions that just did not feel right when listened to. It was like getting a taste of ambrosia and loving it and later settling for the best pasta dish in Le Souffle. Or drinking the best blood off healthy living humans and later settling for those of vegans stocked in a local blood bank. They're ok and livable but not quite good enough.
A full year after, I found the very versions used in the 2005 show. All without commentaries and still oozing with the original oomph from the year past. Those plus all the songs of this year's, all recorded off the TV. It would only be a matter of time, I hope, for the great people of this site to get their hands on the live versions without voice overs. That's right, the link before this sentence is the source. THE source. So click away now. Don't be shy. If you are wondering how the heck you could download off the site, click on the arrow button to the right of the track you want.
Please excuse me as I practice Justin's moves for LoveStoned. I'm so going to perfect this, I tells you.
Here's a thought: if Tachikomas were real, how would our roads fare in holding up their weight (estimated to be close to a ton a piece)? I'll bet, with the way things are, DPWH would probably need to re-touch the damaged asphalt on the daily. No offense, dear street-pavers, but the quality of your service sucks cock big-time!
I caught my mind toying with the idea of a wandering Tachikoma while I was waiting for a ride along Ayala Avenue, earphones in full blast, listening to random titles from the Ghost in the Shell Tachikoma Album by Yoko Kanno entitled "Be Human." Every track in the album is Tachikoma-related. The first one, the carrier single for the compilation, narrates how a Tachikoma would spend his life if he could only "be human." Its lyrics have a message that pinches the heart. The other tracks comprise a mix of music genres that's a welcomed break from the songs I usually listen to.
Speaking of OSTs, I just found out that Comic Alley sells original DVDs of quite a range of anime titles. I bought Death Note Volume 1-2 last weekend plus an assortment of Bleach-character statuettes. Surprisingly, they also sell OST audio CDs of anime titles all for P450.00 each! That's cheap compared to getting the stuff directly from Japan! If I remember correctly, they have OSTs for Getbackers, Full Metal Alchemist, Chobits, Trinity Blood, and Death Note, among others. I left my number with the attendant should they already have the actual-sized Zangetsu sword (used by KurosakiIchigo of the anime "Bleach") whose price is still unknown at conversation time.
As a bonus to anime-lovers who have read as far as this fourth paragraph, This one's for you. The site may not look much but it actually is a gold mine. Seriously.
I have vowed to never post lyrics of any song but this one's more like a narration, from a "robot's" perspective, on what thoughts they entertain if only they are given the chance to be like us (lyrics by Yoko Kanno):
I analyze and I verify and I quantify enough: 100 percentile no errors no miss. I synchronize and I specialize and I classify so much. Don't worry 'bout dreaming because I don't sleep. I wish I could at least 30 percent, maybe 50, for pleasure then skip all the rest.
If I only was more human, I would count every single second the rest of my life. If I just could be more human, I'd have so many little babies and maybe a wife.
I'd roll around in mud and have lots of fun then, when I was done, build bubblebath towers and swim in the tub. Sand Castles on the beach, frolic in the sea, get a broken knee, be scared of the dark and I'd sing out of key. Curse when I lost a fight, kiss and reunite, scratch a spider's bite, be happy with wrinkles I got when I smile. Pet kittens 'till they purred, maybe keep a bird, always keep my word. I'd cry at sad movies and laugh 'till it hurt. I'd buy a big bike, I'd ride by the lake. And I'd have lots of friends and I'd stay out too late.
If I could just be more human, I would see every little thing with a gleam in my eye. If only I was more human, I'd embrace every single feeling that came in my life.
Would I care and be forgiving? Would I be sentimental and would I feel loneliness? Would I doubt and have misgivings? Would I cause someone sorrow too? Would I know what to do? Will I cry when its all over?
Work with pressing deadlines were hurled my way like scuds at desert storm during the past week. An officemate from far-away could not have stated it better when she summarized in a word what had been keeping her on her toes albeit expectations from our demanding job: dedication. For me, it's the absence of an offer for a better paying job and the hope that things will normalize and get better if I stay on. Also, there's the glimmer of hope of getting another raise as I deem it to fit my tab. Everything would be ok if I were paid equitably for the things I do on the daily. More importantly, for the things I do beyond those embodied in the job description of the position I occupy. They now call me creative director, AKA a very gifted and talented person on the arts (music, graphics, multi-media, project aesthetics, layout, feature writing, etc, blah blah blah) that the department is lucky enough to have. I'll bet my ass they would not find anyone who could top what I put on the table as a single individual with the pay rate I'm getting. Not to be misconstrued, I'm paid rather well for the regular job I should only be doing, that is. Several people, maybe, but not a single individual who had not only specialized but who was also lucky enough to be born with over-flowing creative juices. Oh yeah, I'll bet my ass on that for sure.
I, plus several others, have grown to accept that what we do is thankless. I could live with that. But tired is what I am right now. My eyes hurt. My stomach churns unhappily to the intense tune of Jimi Hendrix's Fire. That and I have a 3-week worth laundry in my room that I'm too tired to fold up and take to the laundromat. Oh, and Emily, our helper, had not visited for more than a month now due to some sickness that had affected her family which lends the house an air of primal chaos.
On a much lighter and non-venting-of-heavy-feelings-and-frustrations side, an officemate is again leaving for an expat assignment to neighboring Hong Kong. A despedida party was held and the creative director, cue me, was again called to step up. I mixed several 80s music with shounds of people booing, cymbals, and random noises to fill the gap between horrible jokes that the leaving officemate so enthusiastically hurled our way in the past. We had all only found out in the past week that we shared the same opinion about the substandard nature of the jokes. It's either that or the delivery was not quite ok, they say, but it was pretty obvious that the jokes were horrific. I'll spare you the punchlines. Believe me, you would not ever want to hear them.
The 80s music had been served and I quite enjoyed my find via the link on the title of this post. I got some Milli Vanilli, Ice Ice Baby, Push It, Asi Me Gusta Mi (more popularly known as Extacy Extano), and Mony Mony. The tunes were so old-schoolishly old that you would want to flush your ears with a dose of heavy metal to rid you of the nostalgia. Aweful tasting nostalgia, that is, but fun. I had a wicked time listening to the full tracks.
Below are some tracks I reserched that made a cover of some popular 80s music. These versions are fused with rock so you get a new experience while reliving the old memories.
Ice Ice Baby
Heavy Metal remake still by Vanilla Ice
Walk Like An Egyptian
originally by the Bangles, cover by Against All Authority
This might sound like a hardcore Supernova fan entry but I have started posting the original versions with the last blog and I'm having a hard time collating my thoughts on an entry I had been labouring on for a week now.
It must have been a total high for Zayra to have her original song debut with that kickass arrangement courtesy of the house band and a string quartet. I actually got chills with that song in an it-doesn't-really-matter-if-the-song-doesn't-suit-Supernova-at-all manner. It was her last chance, apparently, and she did real well.
With the exception of Zayra's original, below are the songs as done by their original artists (that, again, or their more popular remakes). You know the drill. Additional links to relevant literature from wikipedia.
Disclaimer: all tracks featured on this post are for evaluation purposes only. Rights to the tracks remain with the artists and the record labels they are representative to. Low resolution tracks featured here will be taken down upon request. Additional link on literature from www.wikipedia.com
Cable TVs still busted and someone's got to be real creative in order to not miss a weekly episode of something you look forward to going home to in a particular day of the week. Mine is Rockstar: Supernova. There's something more real in the setup of this program compared to other talent reality shows that got me hooked. One's the behind-the-scenes portion that takes as much time as the actual audition process. It makes the viewers care more and have a more tangent connection with the persons they see and it's something I consider, for want of a better term, subliminal. Makes watching more meaningful. Emo kid.
What I do is download the videos and mp3s of their performance to my PPC so I could get to watch the cuts I like over and over without even having to wait for the scheduled replay on very late the same night. For the reality bit, as they are not really available for download, I get them via the link above, the official Rockstar Supernova site hosted at MSN.
Below are the originalartists' rendition (or another cover version but not done by the contestant) of what each of all 10 contestants sang on this week's episode. Want to hear who really nailed it and who got to redrum the songs? Click away, listen, and you be the judge. As an added extra, click on the links by the rockstar contestant's names and be led somewhere else.
Disclaimer: all tracks featured on this post are for evaluation purposes only. Rights to the tracks remain with the artists and the record labels they are representative to. Low resolution tracks featured here will be taken down upon request.
Rumor has it that there's this manblog editor who claims to be a perennially self-deluded and pompous meta-being who'd shove the fact down anyone's throat that his auditory taste and appreciation to a great varied musical genre is extraordinarily over and beyond the comprehension of your common iPod-wielding-and-mainstream-music-listening excuse for musically inclined posers. Wrong! There are nine editors who fit the tab and I'm their king!
For a central theme of this music-inspired article, we'll feature what probably are the better cover versions of old and popular songs. Songs so popular that I'm almost certain everyone has heard of them at least once in this lifetime. Why? I say, why not?! The airwave is thick with artists doing nothing but remakes, moreso bad remakes, that everyone would have probably lost faith in believing that that attribute they call vocal talent was nothing but a myth to begin with, there being no physical evidence to support anyone ever manifested one. Ever.
The track collective below features 5 newer versions of old songs that are so popular, even your senile gramps would recognize them by their distinctive beat from the amps. For you to draw a comparison from, the songs as sung by their original artists are also provided for you reference.
We start off with the instrumental rendition of Like A Prayer(previously mentioned in my String quartet tribute to your favorite bands article) performed by the Da Capo Chamber Players. The album String Quartet Tribute to Madonna where this track is from was released in 2002. Enchantingly transfixing, the melodiously crisp sound of the strings build towards a crescendo of character and power as the quartet takes the listener through this rare and excitingly paced arrangement. Rich and precise, if this doesn't change your view classical music, nothing probably will.
Madonna-LikeAPrayer
Lucie Silvas lends a chilling breath to the legendary Metallica's Nothing Else Matters original (from the band's self-titled album released in 1991). Hauntingly sincere and unforgettable, the track could make your friends' jaws drop should you decide to give this version a try in a KTV bar with Metallica's original accompaniment in the background. Don't forget to give me credit for giving you that idea! Lucie Silvas is only 25 and is from Leicester in the UK. She blogs, too.
LucieSilvas-NothingElseMatters
versus
Metallica-NothingElseMatters
Next, this Wonderwall cover by Ryan Adams may only sound familiar to fans of The O.C. but, hey, the guy's voice gives thisOasis original some pleasantly trippy facelift. Awesome shit, too. A truckload of it. Close your eyes, lay your head back on your recliner, and see flashes of that scene where Seth and Summer did some slow sensual dance while this cover track played. A moment you could only ever wish to want to share with the person of your dreams (for a bit of trivia, this song was played in the episode where the two characters mentioned had a whole day's worth of raunchy, hot sex that was, unluckily, only left for the viewers to speculate. Dammit!).
RyanAdams-Wonderwall
versus
Oasis-Wonderwall
Twenty three years after Depeche Mode did their Just Can't Get Enough song in 1981 and this bossa-sounding cover by popular French pop-duo Nouvelle Vague comes as a sort of redemption for new wave to those who are not too keen on music from this genre (like me). I initially did not expect to be blown away by this cover but its head-bopping beat makes it quite likeable. Make that enjoyable. Too enjoyable even.
NouvelleVague-JustCan'tGetEnough
versus
DepecheMode-JustCan'tGetEnough
Last, I present to you Tori Amos's orgasmic rendition of R.E.M.'s Losing My Religion (from R.E.M.'s Out of Time album originally released in 1991). By orgasmic, I really meantorgasmic. Hers, not mine. I ran short of descriptors for Tori's vocal style in this particular song but the one word I gave is actually more than enough. You'll agree. Listen and relate.
ToriAmos-LosingMyReligion
versus
REM-LosingMyReligion
If you like the tracks, buy the artists' original albums. Don't be a cheap pirate! Show them your love and get their CDs.
Should you really and truly need to just get some free well made cover track, get the remake of the BeeGees' To Love Somebody (done by Eagle-Eye Cherry) from thier official website under the "Rarities and Remixes" section through here, as featured in the soundtrack of the movie Y Tu Mama Tambien.
As I close, bear in mind that your enjoyment is at the top of our objectives. Mine, in particular. Now, praise and thank me, bitch!
As published in the not-so-humble pages of the Man-Blog through here.
People process thoughts at a pace: one after another. They could either be simple or complex, oftentimes formless. Some with hyper metabolic rates have a thought process pace that is faster than others. Crazies have random thoughts that do not go through normal processing and the pace could overlap giving it no sense at all. Pluck a single thought, give it form through words, mesh it with other related thoughts, and you get a blog.
I want to be lots of things, mostly fictional. Sometimes I space out thinking I'm cool and smart and witty, and I think I'm doing a great job having others think that way, too. And I know you think all these are just crap! I'll drink to that! Cheers!
<h2 class="sidebar-title">Top Hits Jukebox</h2>
<p><center><b>click on a track below</center></b></p>
<p><center><embed allowScriptAccess="never"src="http://pre-made-playlists.50webs.com/player.swf" menu="false" quality="high" style="filter:none" bgcolor="EEEEEE" bgcolor="000000" width="260" height="300" name="index" allowScriptAccess="never" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" flashvars="playList=http://pre-made-playlists.50webs.com/poqbum_playlist10001.xml&ShowPlaylist=1&ShowEQ=1&firstTrack=40&initVol=100" wmode="transparent" /></embed></center></p><p><center><a href="http://www.poqbum.com">Click HERE to get a Music Player</a></center></p>
If you grew up in the eighties, you'd have prefected the craft of drawing their logo onto every flap, inside cover, or armrest of your school folder, notebook, and school chair. You'd have owned or at least drooled over an action figure version of the mighty robots. You would know or have at least heard of the fabled energon cube and how it looked like. In an instant or without even being requested, you could do your rendition of the sound these machines make when they "transform."
Just this weekend, the 
