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Sunday, December 18, 2011

Step Side to Side

Check out this music video from Human Brother which points out the issues the Occupy movements stand for.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Kelly Clarkson Releases New Album ‘Stronger’

American Idol alum Kelly Clarkson’s fifth studio album was released on October 24, 2011. The album, released through the RCA label, was produced by Brian Kennedy, Ester Dean, Dante Jones, Rodney Jerkins, Toby Gad, and Howard Benson. The first single of the album was ‘Mr. Know It All,” which was released September 5, 2011.
The album was recorded in many different studios due to Clarkson’s touring schedule including Chalice Recording Studio in Los Angeles and Smoakstack and Starstruck Studios in Nashville. Stronger was recorded using minimal auto-tune processing, unlike her previous albums.

Stronger is consistent with Clarkson’s pop sound that is infused with R&B, and as a whole the album is closest in sound to her debut album, Thankful. Like her other albums, Clarkson’s vocals are featured heavily on each song, from the dance anthems to the heartfelt ballads.

“What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)” Is a crazy rock anthem that will sure to have listeners everywhere jumping up and down. The first real ballad comes out in “Dark Side” a soft melody under lyrics about loving someone for who they are and every part of them. The most rebellious and hilarious track on the album is “Einstein” where Clarkson mixes lyrics and equations like simple math/our love divided by the square root of pride and dumb plus dumb equals you to create clever verses.

Both “You Love Me” and “Honestly” are in between hard rock and a ballad, with soft drums that compliment Clarkson’s high vocal range. The track “I Forgive You” is clearly written about a specific person and is an anthem for forgiving both yourself and someone else for the sake of moving on. Songs like “Hello,” “Let Me Down” and “You Can’t Win” are the guitar driven melodies that charge the album after the slower songs. The extra tracks on the deluxe version are “Don’t You Wanna Stay,” “Alone,” “Don’t Be A Girl About It,” “The Sun Will Rise” and “Why Don’t You Try.”

With Stronger, Clarkson blends her successful power pop melodies with her intense vocal range and quirky lyrics. This American Idol alum seems to have another successful album on her hands, without any controversy or backlash. 

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Evanescence Releases Self-titled Album

American rock band Evanescence released their third album, entitled Evanescence, on October 11, 2011. The band was originally formed in Little Rock, Arkansas by singer Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody in the mid-1990s. Their first studio album, Fallen, was released in 2003 and ended up winning two Grammy awards. The group followed up with The Open Door album in 2006 as well as a live concert album. After many lineup changes with the exception of Amy Lee, the band has found a solid base to create emotionally dramatic music once again.
The first track on the album, “What You Want” is also the first single which was released on August 9, 2011. The song showcases Lee’s vocal range and has similar to structure to the bands’ older sound. The heavy guitar even makes the song seem like it could have easily been on Fallen. “Made of Stone” seems to tell the story of a relationship that is falling apart, with a beautiful intertwining of Lee’s soft voice and head banging guitar parts.
 Lee’s voice comes out full force in “The Change,” a song with slow melodic verses, but a high powered vocal chorus.  The first real piano solo of the album is apparent in “Heart Is Broken” with its ballad-like introduction which leads into a sorrowful tone of emotional pain. The drums and guitars form a unique team on “The Other Side” as do the drums and piano on “Erase This” which is about forgetting the past.
The first true power ballad of the album is found in “Lost In Paradise” with Lee’s vocals being matched with a light piano and delayed guitars. “Sick” focuses on a need to move on and stay away from believing lies. “End of the Dream” anchors the album, describing finding truth and being who you are instead of living in a dream world. The album begins to wind down with “Oceans,” switching between Lee’s increasing vocals and a heavy set of drums and guitar.
The next to last track on the album is “Never Go Back,” a nod to moving away from a familiar but troubled past with a rollercoaster effect of vocals, piano, drums and guitars. The final track on the album is “Swimming Home,”  a quiet crawl of vocals laced with intricate piano melodies to anchor the emotion in a hopeful way.
The deluxe album version also features four bonus tracks including “New Way To Bleed,” “Say You Will,” “Disappear” and “Secret Door”.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Behind the scenes of 'Dexter'

HE'S BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

'Battleship' game comes to life on the silver screen


The popular Milton Bradley board game Battleship has been made into a film set to release on May 18, 2012.  Directed by Peter Berg, the film focuses on a Navy exercise in the Pacific Ocean that results in a battle with an unknown force. Battleship stars Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood) as Stone Hopper, Liam Neeson (Taken) as Admiral Shane, and Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights) as Alex Hopper. The film also features singer Rihanna in her first non-performance related acting role and model Brooklyn Decker.
Just think of it as the original board game in real life, except with aliens apparently. The trailer hints at the usual boy falls in love with beautiful girl, and boy's boss turns out to be the girl's father. The film was shot on location in Hawaii, so those beautiful aerial shots of the naval ships and the clear blue water are real. The story begins to stray from the original strategy game when the navy ships encounter an unknown object in the water. Alex Hopper is sent to investigate and accidentally activates the thing like its the cube from the Transformers franchise. The object then begins to transform and move around, initiating the battle with the navy. The unknown force has also sealed off the ships from the rest of the world, so there is a narrow battelfield for engagement that is at least of the size of a 10 by 10 grid. The special effects for this film appear to be nothing short of top notch and with a good cast behind them, the film should be highly anticipated by anyone who is also a fan of the board game.


Continue reading on Examiner.com 'Battleship' game comes to life on the silver screen - Los Angeles Movies | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/movies-in-los-angeles/battleship-game-comes-to-life-on-the-silver-screen#ixzz1UHvItTWy

Pixar releases the first trailer for 'Brave'


The trailer for Pixar’s first animated fairytale Brave has finally been released and is scheduled to open in theaters on June 22nd, 2012. Set in the Scottish Highlands, Brave features a ginger haired princess named Merida (voiced by Kelly Mcdonald) who is a skilled archer and is determined to find her own path in life. Brave marks the first time a Pixar film has featured a female protagonist. The film is directed by Brenda Chapman (Prince of Egypt) and Mark Andrews. The film also includes the voices of Emma ThompsonJulie Walters, Craig Ferguson and Robbie Coltrane.
This one minute trailer appeals to the mystical nature of the story, by showing Merida and her mess of red curls riding a horse through the forest as if she is on a kind of quest. She later brandishes a bow and arrow in a suspenseful fight with a large black bear. There is also a nice aerial view of a majestic looking castle. The animation is rather impressive and the Scottish voice narration really sets a mysterious tone for the film, which emphasizes the message that everyone has the ability to be brave. In a clever move, the narration also leads into the title of the film, which is shown at the end.


Continue reading on Examiner.com Pixar releases first trailer for 'Brave' - Los Angeles Movies | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/movies-in-los-angeles/pixar-releases-first-trailer-for-brave-1#ixzz1UHuSViUC

Catwoman set photos from 'The Dark Knight Rises'

Behold the first image of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman in action!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Super Bowl Ads 2011

BEST. COMMERCIAL. EVER. What kid hasn't tried to use the force on a car? It totally beat out the Pepsi Max vs. Doritos battle for most frequent/funny commercials.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Top Bands of the Moment

So I'm getting back in blogging this year and of course I'm going to start off with some of my favorite music artists. The following have been on repeat on my iPod for the past several weeks and you should definitely check them out :)

1. MCFLY - An English rock quartet that's released 5 albums in the past seven years. You might recognize them since they appeared in the movie Just My Luck in 2006 and they even have their own record label, Super Records. There most recent album is "Above the Noise" and was released in November 2010.

2. ALL TIME LOW - Ever since I met these guys back in 2005, I knew they were going to be a huge hit. Their three studio albums, The Party Scene, So Wrong, It's Right and Nothing Personal have proven just that. The groups next album, Dirty Work will drop March 21 on Interscope Records.

3. We Are In The Crowd or (WAITC) - An awesome pop-punk band from New York with an EP called "Guaranteed To Disagree" which dropped last summer. They rocked the Vans Warped tour last summer and be sure to check out their video for the song "Both Sides of the Story".

4. Forget Me In Vegas - You can download their EP "Get Gone, Stay Gone" for FREE! It will definitely get stuck in your head. They also love tweeting.