I love it so much that I once unfollowed someone on twitter when he said that he hated it. And even though I eventually refollowed the guy, it was on the condition that he rewatch An Education and fall in love with the film. Unfortunately, shortly after he promised to do just that, he announced that he felt that Rooney Mara was a better Girl with the Dragon Tattoo than Noomi Rapace and I had to unfollow him and his xenophobic film criticism. So, I’m not sure if he’s rewatched An Education but I doubt it.
As you may have guessed, I love An Education. It’s one of my favorite films of the past few years. The rest of you can have your Rooney Mara and your Avatar. I’m more than happy to watch and rewatch An Education, thank you very much.
Today’s song of the day plays over the end credits of An Education and, with its retro feel and smoky lyrics, it provides a perfect ending to a great film. Performed by Duffy and written by Duffy and Bernard Butler, Smoke Without Fire is the song of the day for June 29th, 2012.
Today has not been a good day to be an asthmatic. Along with a high temperature in the triple digits, the air is full of all sorts of evil things that all seem to serve little purpose beyond inspiring me to reach for my inhaler.
On a miserable day like this, it only seems appropriate to make one of my favorite songs of all time the song of the day.
Ever since I first heard it used in a commercial featuring a Sock Monkey taking a road trip to Las Vegas with his friends, the robot and the weird red thing, I have been in love with the song How You Like Me Now? As performed by the British band The Heavy, How You Like Me Now is one of those songs that always makes me smile. The easiest way to get me excited about seeing a film is to include this song in the film’s ad campaign. Perhaps that explains why it’s shown up in trailers for everything from Faster to the Change-Up to the upcoming Ted.
For me, David O. Russell made perfect use of this song in his Oscar-nominated film The Fighter. Who can forget the sight of Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg strutting through the streets of Lowell while this song played on the soundtrack? It was an iconic scene, featuring an iconic song and I loved it.
Just got back from watching what one would call a revisionist historical film (though I would also call it a speculative fiction) called Abraham Lincoln: VampireHunter. Such fiction have always caught my interest. Maybe it’s the use of historical fact as the backdrop for fantastical fiction (horror, sci-fi, fantasy, etc…) that makes them fun to read and/or watch. Most tend to be average to awful, but once in awhile something great happens to come along. My latest “Song of the Day” comes from one of the great speculative fiction there is and also one of my favorite films ever: John Carpenter’s Escape from New York.
The “Main Theme” to this cult-classic is considered one of the most iconic piece of film score for a sci-fi/action film there is. The moment the synthesizer-based notes begin to play into the thumping bass line intro people know exactly what film it belongs to. It’s a testament to the creative genius that is John Carpenter that we have such a great piece of music. He didn’t just write and direct the film. He also composed the film’s score (with help from Alan Howarth) which contains the trademark synthesizer-heavy music Carpenter has made his trademark style for most of the films he’s worked on.
To help usher in the weekend I picked a new “Song of the Day” and this one comes from one metal band I’ve come to really enjoy listening to. The song I picked this time around is “Faster” by the Dutch symphonic/gothic metal band Within Temptation.
First off, this is the second time I’ve picked one of their songs for “Song of the Day.” A previous pick was “A Demon’s Fate” which also came from the same album as today’s pick and also one that was used on one of my favorite AMV in “Devil’s Game.”Just like that previous “Song of the Day” this latest pick of “Faster” was also used in a recent AMV that I had posted a couple months ago called “Fairytale of Lies”. Both songs make great use of the fast guitar tempo reminiscent of thrash meta that also makes use of some elements found in symphony orchestras to give the song that epic sound commonly found in power metal, but with a much more hard rock tempo.
“Faster” just takes off and soars from Sharon del Adel’s mezzo-soprano vocals that’s become the staple sound for most symphonic gothic metal bands. Sharon just belts out the lyrics like they’re coming out of the depths of Hell or coming down from the heights of Heaven. She’s not just a pretty face and with both “Faster” and “A Demon’s Fate” she’s proven to be one of the best female metal vocalists out there.
Faster
I can’t see, ’cause it’s burning deep inside Like gasoline, a fire running wild No more fear ’cause I’m getting closer now So unreal, but I like it anyhow
I go faster and faster and faster and faster and faster and faster and faster
I can’t live in a fairy tale of lies And I can’t hide from the feeling ’cause it’s right And I go faster and faster and faster and faster for life I can’t live in a fairy tale of lies
I can feel that you mesmerize my heart I feel so free, I’m alive, I’m breaking out I won’t give in ’cause I’m proud of all my scars And I can see I’ve been wasting too much time
I go faster and faster and faster and faster and faster and faster and faster
And I can’t life in a fairy tale of lies And I can’t hide from the feeling ’cause it’s right And I go faster and faster and faster and faster for life I can’t live in a fairy tale of lies
And I can’t live in a fairy tale of lies And I can’t hide from the feeling ’cause it’s right And I go faster and faster and faster and faster for life And I can’t live in a fairy tale of lies
The latest entry in my “Song of the Day” feature is from one of my favorite bands ever, Metallica, and from one of their live albums: “The Outlaw Torn” feat. the S.F. Symphony Orchestra.
This song was part of their 6th album, Load, and was picked by classical composer Michael Kamen to become part of the set list for the band’s live collaboration with the S.F. Symphony Orchestra. One of these days I’ll review that live album with all its great entries and some so-so ones, but for now it’s all about “The Outlaw Torn” and how the band’s attempt at trying a hard rock sound instead of their original thrash metal beginnings ended up becoming pretty great once paired with a full symphony orchestra adding their own voices to the song.
Unlike some of the other songs picked for the S&M album (as this one was called Symphony & Metallica), this particular track benefited from the added melodies and arrangements that only ranks upon ranks of strings, brass and percussion sections an orchestra could bring to the table. The orchestra didn’t just mimic the very sound and notes the band was playing but added different layers of sounds and with this song one could hear those additions.
This version of “The Outlaw Torn” gets continuous play on my computer and iPhone that I know by memory just when certain sections of the orchestra comes in and just what sort instruments would be coming in. It’s that good.
The Outlaw Torn
And now I wait my whole lifetime For you And now I wait my whole lifetime For you
I ride the dirt I ride the tide For you I search the outside search inside For you
To take back what you left me I know I’ll always burn to be The one who seeks so I may find And now I wait my whole lifetime
My whole lifetime My whole lifetime My whole lifetime And I’m torn
So long I wait my whole lifetime For you So long I wait my whole lifetime For you
The more I search the more my need For you The more I bless the more I bleed For you
You make me smash the clock and feel I’d rather die behind the wheel Time was never on my side So long I wait my whole lifetime
My whole lifetime My whole lifetime My whole lifetime And I’m torn
HEAR ME And if I close my mind in fear Please pry it open
SEE ME And if my face becomes sincere Beware
HOLD ME And when I start to come undone Stitch me together
SEE ME And when you see me strut Remind me of what left this outlaw torn
HEAR ME And if I close my mind in fear Please pry it open
SEE ME And if my face becomes sincere Beware
HOLD ME And when I start to come undone Stitch me together
SEE ME And when you see me strut Remind me of what left this outlaw torn
To say that Marvel Studios’ The Avengershas become a hit sensation since it’s release this weekend would be an understatement of cosmic proportions. I think almost everyone has seen it or, if that’s not the case, then there was a lot of people who saw it multiple times (guilty of seeing it twice over a 24-hour period). People were amazed by the action, spectacle, comedy and everything in-between. One thing that really stuck to me was the theme for the team itself. It’s that theme which I’ve chosen as the latest “Song of the Day”.
“The Avengers” theme was composed by noted and veteran film score composer Alan Silvestri (he was also instrumental in composing the very good film score for 2011’s Captain America). While I thought that Silvestri’s score for the whole film was quite good it was the theme for the group that stood out best. It had hints of the old-school heroic them from Captain Americabut within an overarching sound that didn’t denote a singular hero but a team coming together as a group of heroes.
One thing that rarely gets used in such heroic themes (at least haven’t been utilized of late) would be the French Horn section. In this theme they’re used to great effect and, to be honest, it’s the best use of French Horns in a film score since Basil Poledouris used it to great effect in his classic soundtrack to Conan the Barbarian. In fact, I’d say that this theme wad primarily all about the French Horns being backed up by the other sections of the orchestra. If one doesn’t know what a French Horn sounds like will hear it at it’s most epic around the 1:10 mark of the video. Now those are epic notes.
Now I go back to listening to this track while I continue to gather my thoughts for a review of this film.
The night is growing late and to close it out I’ve chosen a new “Song of the Day” and it’s an all-time blues-rock classic from the 60’s.
Even if one wasn’t a fan of rock from the 1960’s they still would recognize the biggest hit ever released by the British blues-rock band The Animals with their 1964 hit, “House of the Rising Sun”. The weren’t the first band or musicians to have sung the song. No one truly knows the origin of the song, but music luminaries such as Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Joan Baez and Nina Simone were just a few to have covered it. It would be The Animals version which would live on as the one best remembered.
The song doesn’t just have the soulful cadence of classic blues, but has lyrics that show’s the band’s folk rock influences. It became part of the British Invasion of the United States during the 60’s when rock bands from them to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones right up to The Yardbirds would dominate American airwaves. The Animals would cement their place amongst these giants with this single. One thing which really powered this song through the juggernaut that was The Beatles would be the powerful vocals by frontman Eric Burdon matched with the keyboard playing of Alan Price.
“House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals continues to entertain fans old and new and still one of the best songs to come out during the 1960’s.
House of the Rising Sun
There is a house in New Orleans They call the Rising Sun And it’s been the ruin of many a poor boy And God I know I’m one
My mother was a tailor She sewed my new bluejeans My father was a gamblin’ man Down in New Orleans
Now the only thing a gambler needs Is a suitcase and trunk And the only time he’s satisfied Is when he’s on a drunk
[Organ Solo]
Oh mother tell your children Not to do what I have done Spend your lives in sin and misery In the House of the Rising Sun
Well, I got one foot on the platform The other foot on the train I’m goin’ back to New Orleans To wear that ball and chain
Well, there is a house in New Orleans They call the Rising Sun And it’s been the ruin of many a poor boy And God I know I’m one
The latest “Song of the Day” comes way out from left field. I’ve posted many metal of different types, hard rock, blues, classical, film scores and even some video game scores, but I still haven’t moved into the realm of pop music from Asia. To start things off I decided on a very catchy tune from a Korean all-girl K-Pop group: Brown Eyed Girls.
Their song “Abracadabra” is a megahit with the otaku crowd and those who follow Asian pop music. I came across the song through a video that was recommended by Youtube to me. I have no idea how that happened but after watching the video I was quite thankful that it did.
I have no idea what the ladies are singing about other than what I’ve read on-line. The song is about blind love and the danger that comes with it. Sounds like a song tailor made for those of the yandere stripe. What I do know is that the group (comprised of Ga-In, Narsha, JeA and Miryo) and this song with its unique brand of hip dancing actually one of the more popular videos on-line. I guarantee that listening, or watching this video, will get it hooks into people and get them to subconsciously do the very hip dance even while sitting down.
The latest choice for “Song of the Day” came to me while I was reading the last third of Max Brooks’ very awesome novel World War Z. In a later chapter in the novel when the survivors of the United States during an ongoing zombie apocalypse finally go on the offensive and leave the relative safety of the West Coast and the Rockies which provide a natural barrier from the hundreds of millions of zombies to the east. During this offensive the forces uses a particular song to lure zombies into an ambush zone where they could be destroyed en masse. The song the soldiers and their superiors used to help lure the undead and to also pump up the men was Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper”.
The song is another one of those Iron Maiden songs which takes its inspiration from a moment in military history and from a classic English poem. This time around the moment in military history is the Charge of the Light Brigade during the the Battle of Balaclava of the Crimean War (1854). The English poem which inspired the song was Lord Tennyson’s poem of the same name. This is classic heavy metal at its best. We have the galloping bass rhythm which sounds like the Light Brigade mentioned above making their courageous, but ill-fated charge into the muskets and cannons of the Russian forces.
I could continue to try and describe all the other musical details about this song, but I feel I’m ill-equipped to do so. I’m sure the site’s own music and metal expert necromoonyeti could better describe the awesome guitar work by Dave Murray and Adrian Smith during this song.
One thing that I am sure of is that if there ever was a zombie apocalypse and I found myself one of the survivors looking to take back the country then this would be part of my playlist when I’m destroying zed heads.
The Trooper
You’ll take my life but I’ll take yours too You’ll fire your musket but I’ll run you through So when you’re waiting for the next attack You’d better stand there’s no turning back
The bugle sounds as the charge begins But on this battlefield no one wins The smell of acrid smoke and horses breath As you plunge into a certain death
Ooooohhhhhhh
The horse he sweats with fear we break to run The mighty roar of the Russian guns And as we race towards the human wall The screams of pain as my comrades fall
We hurdle bodies that lay on the ground And as the Russians fire another round We get so near yet so far away We won’t live to fight another day
Solo
Ooooooooohhhhhhh
We get so close near enough to fight When a Russian gets me in his sights He pulls the trigger and I feel the blow A burst of rounds takes my horse below
And as I lay there gazing at the sky My body’s numb and my throat is dry And as I lay forgotten and alone Without a tear I draw my parting groan
This coming December 2012 will see another stage musical make it onto the big screen. It was in 2004 that Joel Schumacher first brought The Phantom of the Operato the big-screen as a musical. For 2012, it will be Academy Award-winner Tom Hooper who will be bringing the musical Les Misérables to the big-screen with a star-studded cast that includes Hugh Jackman in the role of Jean Valjean and Russell Crowe as his arch-nemesis Inspector Javert. It’s also from this musical that I chose the latest “Song of the Day” with the ensemble piece that ends Act 1: “One Day More”.
It was Les Misérables the musical that first introduced me to the world of musicals. Prior to having seen the touring production which stopped over in San Francisco during the late 80’s and early 90’s I always thought of musicals as just not my thing even though I never truly witnessed one. All that changed when I saw Les Misérables and I have been hooked since.
One of my favorite songs from the musical was the ensemble piece that ends Act 1 and brings together all the players introduced in the first act. It wasn’t just the whole cast singing but how they sang as each character were given voice and as the song reaches an epic crescendo to curtains closing everyone joins in a rousing chorus with overlapping lyrics from different main players that at first sounded confusing to follow, but was still understandable.
Most musical nowadays rarely go for such grand closing before intermissions. Listening to “One Day More” shows me that its a lost art but when done well it comes off as amazing.
One Day More
VALJEAN One day more! Another day, another destiny. This never-ending road to Calvary; These men who seem to know my crime Will surely come a second time. One day more!
MARIUS I did not live until today. How can I live when we are parted?
VALJEAN One day more.
MARIUS & COSETTE Tomorrow you’ll be worlds away And yet with you, my world has started!
EPONINE One more day all on my own.
MARIUS & COSETTE Will we ever meet again?
EPONINE One more day with him not caring.
MARIUS & COSETTE I was born to be with you.
EPONINE What a life I might have known.
MARIUS & COSETTE And I swear I will be true!
EPONINE But he never saw me there!
ENJOLRAS One more day before the storm!
MARIUS Do I follow where she goes?
ENJOLRAS At the barricades of freedom.
MARIUS Shall I join my brothers there?
ENJOLRAS When our ranks begin to form
MARIUS Do I stay; and do I dare?
ENJOLRAS Will you take your place with me?
ALL The time is now, the day is here!
VALJEAN One day more!
JAVERT One more day to revolution, We will nip it in the bud! We’ll be ready for these schoolboys They will wet themselves with blood!
VALJEAN One day more!
M. & MME. THENARDIER Watch ’em run amuck, Catch ’em as they fall, Never know your luck When there’s a free for all, Here a little `dip’ There a little `touch’ Most of them are goners So they won’t miss much!
Students (2 Groups)
1: One day to a new beginning
2: Raise the flag of freedom high!
1: Every man will be a king
2: Every man will be a king
1: There’s a new world for the winning
2: There’s a new world to be won
ALL Do you hear the people sing?
MARIUS My place is here, I fight with you!
VALJEAN One day more!
MARIUS & COSETTE I did not live until today.
EPONINE One more day all on my own!
MARIUS & COSETTE How can I live when we are parted?
JAVERT(overlapping) I will join these people’s heros I will follow where they go I will learn their little Secrets, I will know the things they know.
VALJEAN One day more!
MARIUS & COSETTE Tomorrow you’ll be worlds away
EPONINE What a life I might have known!
MARIUS & COSETTE And yet with you my world has started
JAVERT (overlapping) One more day to revolution We will nip it in the bud We’ll be ready for these
Schoolboys
THENARDIERS (overlapping) Watch ’em run amok Catch ’em as they fall Never know your luck When there’s a free-for-all!
VALJEAN Tomorrow we’ll be far away, Tomorrow is the judgement day
ALL Tomorrow we’ll discover What our God in Heaven has in store! One more dawn One more day One day more!
Through the Shattered Lens 