The time has come, 2011 is coming to an end. And this is part of the music that rocked my world in the last 12 months. This time I'm allowing 11 picks because last year's narrow top 5 list left some great music out of the list (Kylie, The Pipettes).
Is my list, is my taste, so don't whine or protest and keep reading, I can handle your hate...
11. Glee - The Warblers
The Darren Criss'Album
That musical 'magic' that makes me love songs that I usually hate strikes again, and is fully represented by Glee. This time with the amazing performances by Mr. Criss... what else can I say?
Key Tracks: Hey, Soul Sister; Raise Your Glass, Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?
10. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
The softly force of earthquake Harvey
After all this years of revolt and experimentation, there's this woman with the man putting some amazing music out for us to listen to, is England as you haven't heard in a long time
Key Tracks: The Glorious Land, In The Dark Places, Hanging In The Wire
09. Kylie Minogue - Aphrodite Les Folies
Goddess of Water
Feel it on stereo, surround, DTS or just mono, The Showgirl put out one of the best shows in 2011, and wisely decided not only to release the usual visual testimony (DVD & BD) but the full show in 2 CDs. If you're lucky enough to see her live, with or without water, you'll be able to vividly remember that night and with no salty taste on your mouth!
Key Tracks: Aphrodite, Cupid Boy, Confide In Me, Love At First Sight/Can't Beat the Feeling, Better Than Today
08. Fangoria - Operacion Vodevil
Why they call it Love when they mean Varietes?
The Dynamic Duo of Pop decided last year to revisit the past, and in 2011 the tour that worked as promotion to El Paso Trascendental has been released, unfortunately the CD is just a taste of the full show, but on the bright side it includes great highlights that makes you pop the DVD in the player too many times, the almost continuous mix of the live show will keep you moving!
Key Tracks: Miro La Vida Pasar, La Funcionaria Asesina, Quiero Ser Santa, La Pequeña Edad De Hielo, Absolutamente, Electricistas
07. Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Make A Scene
Finally!!!
Can you believe that Read My Lips is 10 years old? and after a hump in time and a releasing battle (Russia got this like 5 months before the worldwide release) Make A Scene is hitting the airwaves... errr, actually like 1/3 of the album had airplay and a video before the album was released, but the finest crafting of the album makes you forget those details, keep on dancing and trancing Sophie is back with a vengeance!
Key Tracks: Bittersweet, Heartbreak, Can't Fight This Feeling, Make A Scene, Magic, Homewrecker
06. Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow | Director's Cut
Separated at Release
For some reason the NOT obscure artist, and also NOT a protege (David Gilmour's that is),had a Liz Phair-Funstyle moment but instead of releasing the new material along the reworked and remastered tracks of two of her most controversial albums, decided to go separate ways and also release the Director's Cut in a Special Edition with the aforementioned albums as bonus. With 50 Words For Snow she goes into some familiar but yet unexplored territory, hints of Aerial and The Ninth Wave are proof that Kate can keep releasing masterpieces.
Key Tracks: Flower Of The Mountain, This Woman's Work, Rubberband Girl, Lake Tahoe, Wild Man, 50 Words For Snow
05. Tori Amos - Night Of Hunters
Is not BOSE is Bösendorfer
That girl: Yes, Anastasia has some sisters, and they're finally released! That woman: Tori Amos have a daughter, and she has a very interesting voice! For me, this is right up there with Pele, Scarlet and the Dolls.
Ket Tracks: Shattering Sea, Snowblind, Cactus Practice, Job's Coffin, The Chase, Night Of Hunters, Carry
04. Björk - Biophilia
The Body and Soul
All the learning and experience collided and spurted in biophilia, this is almost perfection, with the small exception of not proper release for singles and videos like the old days, specially if you don't want to sell yourself in order to get every product related to the album... oh! and the iCrap, otherwise perfection.
Key Tracks: Thunderbolt, Cosmogony, Virus, Mutual Core
03. Nicola Roberts - Cinderella's Eyes
Revenge of the Pop Star
When you're part of one of the most successful and amazing girl groups in UK history, and no you're not a Spice Girl! what can ever top the hits you had, specially when most people had more faith in the others (even with the Black Eyed Scheiße they released). I bet some are really mad, because you not only proved you can release great music, but that your talent was wasted, you pour out all your feelings with those brilliant lyrics and that amazing and distinctive voice, you don't need a prince charming or four stepsisters!
Key Tracks: Lucky Day, Yo-Yo, Cinderella's Eyes, Porcelain Heart, I, Say It Out Loud, Stick + Stones
02. Lady Gaga - Born This Way
The Monsters, all grown up!
Once you've proved that you can be a successful pop-act, that you're more than a girl with a piano, that fashion is an extension of the self, and that you can tour and do promotion in a non-stop streak, you're able to release the album that really shows all the facets of your art, with all the influences both sonically and visually, out in the waves. All hail Gaga!
Key Tracks: Marry The Night, Born This Way, Government Hooker, Scheiße, Bad Kids, Highway Unicorn (Road To Love), Heavy Metal Lover, Electric Chapel
01. KRISTEENYOUNG - V the Volcanic
The development of a real life
Months after Music for Strippers, Hookers, and the Odd On-Looker was released, the talk about 2 EPs started. So far one has been released, in the concept of cinematic supporting cast of 7 characters from a wild mix of films (in genre, popularity and era) inspired the perfect collection of tracks to accompany not only this year but the time to come, a real soundtrack for my life
Key Tracks (I'm cheating): Cleopatra's Fantastic Failure, Violet Bick's V the Volcanic, The angry Apple Tree's I'll Get You Back, Lucy Westenra's Why Can't It Be Me, Old Lodge Skins' Now I'm Invisible, Pris' The Devil Made Me, Sarah Jane's Imitation Of Life
December 30, 2011
Best Music of 2011
November 20, 2011
May 09, 2011
The Monster Ball
Back at the end of November 2009, the artist known as Lady Gaga started a world tour: The Monster Ball. Those of us that proudly bare the Little Monster pet name, are aware of Gaga's love affair with Horror since the beginning. So the portrayal of The Fame Monster on stage was meant to be a gore fest.
After 18 months, 5 singles/videos, one major re-vamp, a remix album and some ongoing tweaks; The Monster Ball landed in México to end its run. On May 3rd, Guadalajara (the second largest city in the country) gave a warm and wet welcome to Gaga. About 30,000 souls (not only from México, but at least from various countries south of the border) were ready to witness the show of one of the greatest music stars of the moment, and a true artist (one that is not afraid to show her inspirations)
At 7:10 Lady Starlight took the stage with her amazing DJ set, of course there were some really puzzled by her act, but we know those aren't little monsters at all.
Then at 8:PM sharp, Semi Precious Weapons gave us a taste of that PunkGlamAmazonia attitude, again if you were still expecting the Scissor Sisters, I know they're good but SPW screams Gaga, it's the perfect opening act for the Ball.
And then at 9:02...
Finally indeed! the ball was in full heat. At this point I know the ball by heart, with the demos and studio version, so I was thrilled to hear it, see it and feel it LIVE!
By the end of Just Dance I noticed some strange lights to my right: was it a rainbow, a unicorn, a twister??? no there was the lightnings announcing a summer storm, and right at the first interlude,
It started to rain, when she walked the runway in Telephone, she got wet and she didn't care she did the full show, dripping in sweat, acid rain, and little monster's love.
The piano/acoustic section bring the second surprise of the evening: Born This Way (Piano Version) and Americano!!! instead of Brown Eyes and Speechless.
But also, something I didn't knew at the moment, that since she started to do Born This Way at the end, she retired So Happy I Could Die with the Twister interlude (in a very S&S-Madonnesque round screen) and the amazing living dress...
During Teeth her headset started to fail, so at the end, with a regular mic, she kept singing and improv'-jam-extended version of the song!
Instead of the Manifesto interlude they played a new mix of the Raven/Forest interlude with no video...
And by the end of the night, when some people were leaving, right after Bad Romance, she performed Born This Way and Judas!
At 11:22 the ball was over, still raining we're graciously asked by the police to leave the stadium, so even those of us that didn't get wet during the concert, got some rain afterward.
In short,
The Good: New songs, Gaga loving the energy and the rain, the whole show!!!
The Bad: I chicken' out and didn't bring my camera, and my cellphone died a day before, so only really LQ pics
The Ugly: The attitude not only of the police men and the security guards at the end, but the scenesters that were there drinking, smoking and doing their own show
December 16, 2010
My Fave Albums of 2010
OK, so now that 2010 is biting the dust and no new albums are coming on the next few days, I can safely announce what music rocked my world this year, so drum roll please...
1. The Like - Release Me
The retro rock masterwork, Amy Winehouse can eat her heart out. The Like ventured and succeed in the 1960's girl group territory. With lyrics full of wit, beats that will make you reply the album again and again, and again. You won't be skipping any tracks 'til the end... or the bonus track!
Key tracks: Narcissus In A Red Dress, In The End, Why When The Love Is Gone*... the full album!!!
2. Fangoria - El Paso Trascendental: Del Vodevil a la Astracanada
In the beginng there was Pegamoides, then Dinarama... but when Carlos Berlanga, thy proud Captain jump off the boat, Fangoria was born and the amazing talent of Nacho Canut and Olvido Gara (Alaska) took the main stage. 20 years later, the pair decided not only to release a singles collection, but record their own versions of some Pegamoides and Dinarama tracks.
While 'Vodevil' is the chronological compendium of the 22 singles, 'Astracadana' is the wild and amazing electro-pop reinvention of some familiar tunes, the dancefloor deities from Spain show us that you can go back and turn into gold even the most dated (but amazing) songs.
The special edition (available only in Spain) contains an extra CD (Sainete) with some rare tracks and b-sides (not the most comprehensive collection) and a DVD (Variedades) with all the videos (with the exception of the 'new' single Ni Tu Ni Nadie)
Key tracks: Sálvame, Me Odio Cuando Miento, El Cementerio De Mis Sueños, Absolutamente, Bailando, La Tribu De Las Chochoni, Descongélate, La Funcionaria Asesina, Quiero Ser Santa
3. Glee - Vol 3. Showstoppers, The Power Of Madonna, Journey To Regionals, The Rocky Horror Glee Show & The Christmas Album
So there was a little show about geeks turned into school choir gleeks. Fox and Ryan Murphy (The man behind the amazing Popular) bring pop tunes, Broadway showtunes, and some songbook standards to prime time... and it's beyond great.
With a great line up of performers that show that a wide vocal range can be exploited to create the perfect pop act (with some killer moves and great storytelling) Glee as a music product can make you enjoy those songs that you may hate with their original performers (The Beatles, Paramore, Kanye West, etc...)
And why I didn't put Volume 4 up there, to be honest the lack of showtunes, Telephone and the Umbrella/Singing In The Rain mash-up, made a lackluster of collection, hope those tracks show up in a compilation of the missing tracks from both seasons so far...
Key tracks: Gives You Hell, One Less Bell To Answer/A House Is Not A Home, Physical, Rose's Turn, Bad Romance, Borderline/Open Your Heart, Bohemian Rhapsody, Over The Rainbow, There's A Light (Over At The Frankenstein Place), Baby, It's Cold Outside
4. Evelyn Evelyn - Evelyn Evelyn
So what do you get when you mix Amanda Palmer with Jason Webley? not the Olsen twins... but EvelynEvelyn, the conjoined twin sisters Eve and Lyn Neville that after 3 years of vigil, released the soundtrack of their life.
It's cute, disturbing, cheerful and depressive, all at the same time and with the best intentions, I still don't get why some people either felt enraged by the concept, or laugh stupidly (specially if you check videos of the live performances) at the twins
Final note, as a soundtrack the twin's story should be filmed, an animated feature in the vein of Coraline would be perfect.
Key tracks: Evelyn Evelyn, A Campaign Of Shock And Awe, Elephant Elephant, Love Will Tear Us Apart
5. Amanda Palmer - ...Performs The Popular Hits Of Radiohead On Her Magical Ukulele
And what do you get when you produce Amanda Palmer and her magical ukelele? a fucking amazing collection of Radiohead covers, I bet that Thom and the gang are really amazed with Miss Palmer's wit and skill.
If you love Amanda or Radiohead's music, this EP will bring some nice surprises to your playlist, it's a shame that the only 'physical' version was released in limited edition vinyl
Key tracks: High And Dry, No Surprises, Creep (both live versions)
November 01, 2010
The Day after Halloween
This year, the Halloween marathon narrowed down to 3 films:
The Evil Dead
Suicide Club (Suicide Circle)
Scream
And I don't know, but is it just me or Suicide Club is just a more stylist version of Halloween III: Season of the Witch... in the core the premise is just the same, evil via technology will take the life of people... What else I can say without spoilers, if you have seen it, what do you think?
And then there was the Scream Awards (I should have picked another DVD, but well...) The only reason I was eager to see this show was the Scream 4 teaser, but it hit the net quicker than swine flu, but really? the bunch of 'hardcore' horror fans cheering to K-Stew and the whole Twilight crap???? O_o
I guess now I can proudly announce my love for musicals in front of that crowd... not that I've ever denied it.
August 17, 2010
Images of Non-Generic Nudity in Horror
A very Not Safe For Work (NSFW) post, by yours truly...
From a meme doing the rounds in some blogs, thematic images in horror films, my choice: Non-Generic Nudity.
We know that sex is a big chunk of the horror's formula, and with sex involved, you'll need some degree of nudity. But beyond of the common images of virginal nannies changing clothes or coming out of the shower, here is a brief display of the nudity that goes out of the box in some horror films, in various degrees...
click the above Read More! link for the fleshy and bloody images...
1. Deep fried bimbos in the tanning salon:
Ashley & Ashlyn in Final Destination 3
OK, at first, the scene looks very generic, cute girls get rid of some or all of their clothes to go into the tanning beds. But by the time the death starts to play its game, you really forget about the nudity and a creepy feeling grows on you: the fear of being burned alive in such a vanity and glamorous way! By the way, the deep fried bimbo may apply more to that scene in Blood Diner... nevermind
But wait, even if it was a fun concept, it was used before, as an urban legend in Urban Legends 3: Bloody Mary. This proves that a good idea, when executed lousily, looks horrible on film, even if Mary Lambert dared to use a boy, but got shy with the nudity and gore overall...
2. The stomping body double:
Willow in The Wicker Man
Another that may look generic, but once you digest the lyrics of Willow's song, and do the math for the Sergeant fate, you wish that no naked girl or boy start to chant and stomp at your door, naked, not in a hostel or any other place, you may end as the main attraction of some pagan ritual. As a side note, you may already know that the frames with the full body shots are from a body double and not from Britt Ekland.
3. The 'Runners' took your clothes:
Jim in 28 Days Later
So a group of stupid activists go ape in a animal testing lab, they let out this cute little monkey that happens to be the carrier of 'the rage', a virus that turns people into zombie like creatures (not totally zombie since they can run an have a patient zero). Cut to Cillian Murphy totally naked in a panoramic shot of an hospital (a few years earlier and I bet Ewan McGregor would be playing Jim, just for the nudity and having Danny Boyle as the director). Alas, it sets the tone of a post-apocalyptic world, were clothes are optional.
4. Soft-Core Zombie:
Nude Zombie in Night Of The Living Dead
The other, other side of the coin. While Barbara and Ben are waiting for something in that rural house, all the noises start to attract the recently resurrected, and one of the most memorable zombies is the nude zombie crawling, I guess you really lose all your inhibitions when you die... and the fact that is one of the less elaborated zombies ever, makes it even creepier!
5. & 666. Showers aren't safe:
Marion in Psycho & Doug in Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter
Again, when the nudity involves a situation that can be related to the common things in everyday life, it doesn't matter how much flesh, and how much you dig the person in screen, it gets ugly. Sorry Mr. Van Sant, but Joseph Zito made a perfect, almost shot by shot homage to Hitchcock's work, sorry I didn't include the matching frame of Janet Leigh washing her hair, but the part when you almost see the knife hitting her body is terrifying...
7. The S&M Shower:
Coach Schneider in A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
After the original, the least you expected for a sequel, and one stating that Freddy will get his revenge, was one of the most progressive exercises in gay horror. Since Schneider was in his leather S&M attire, you may get to the conclusion that he enjoyed his last minutes on earth... this was definitely a different kind of shower
8. Dude! where are my classmates?
Todd, his classmates and some concentration camp victims in Apt Pupil
Yet another shower, and also in the school showers... by the time you got the Steel Magnolias flashback, Todd's classmates disappear and he has a vision of the Holocaust that may or may not change his perspective about life and the people around him. So sad that we lost such a talented actor.
9. Run Patrick, Run!
Patrick Bateman in American Psycho
Now, this is what I call bold movie making, and the perfect mix between the director's vision, the studio boundaries and respect to the original material (by the great Bret Easton Ellis). And you don't even need to see it all, but if you want to, the new DVD has the scenes with Bale's uncensored parts, but even if is the poster child of perfection, a killer with a chainsaw is a killer with a chainsaw...
10. The corpse with the rose tattoo:
Darry in JEEpERs CrEEpers
The big finale in Victor Salva's moder classic, doesn't hesitate to show you that the final boy wasn't one (in this case there was a final girl all along). And even beyond the fake naked body of Justin Long, the last frames with the Creeper showing his new eyes, morbid!
11. We are nude too... almost:
The vampire aliens in Lifeforce
Even when Mathilda May's character managed to spend almost all 116 minutes of the film in the nude, her vampire alien 'brothers' just had a split second of almost nudity when they scape the lab. Of course we also get some nude victims in all their raisin-like glory, but you surely missed the boys while trying to catch as much of the girl... I don't know how our TV station managed to program this film like four times a year back in the day if they needed to edit almost every other scene, and even the plot made as much sense as the unedited version...
12. He's coming to flash you!
Zombie flasher in the remake of Night of The Living Dead
Simple, effective, and out of the blue... detour number three of one of the best remakes ever. One: Barbara with short hair, Two: The old man is not a zombie, and Three: The man who doesn't look like a zombie will try to kill you, oh! and he has some wardrobe malfunction, How Janet of him!
13. No pain, no gain:
Julie in Return of The Living Dead 3
You can really see Yuzna's touch in this sequel, and even with the beautiful Mindy/Melinda Clarke (as Julie but pre-The O.C.) all the wires, spikes and broken glass makes you go: ouch! Like a Zombie Venus raising from the sewer.
14. She is a he!!!
Angela in Sleepaway Camp
Before The Crying Game, this was the original shock scene, if you aren't spoiled enough, you need to watch this film!
15. The nudity that is not:
Buffalo Bill in Silence of The Lambs
Pubic hair but no privates (the mangina pose), so no nudity in the common sense... This may be the anti-Crying Game... but the shocking part is the whole psychological baggage that Clarisse is trying to get from Hannibal, is masterfully explained in this brief but memorable scene: the real deal with Jame is that he wants to be a she, but only by wearing a suit made with the leather of the women he hunted. My guess is that this was kind of the direction that Kim Henkel wanted to take in The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre
"Goodbye horses, I'm lying, lying, lying over you..."
