As you all probably know by now, Nick Cannon, host of “America’s Got Talent” and the husband of pop star, Mariah Carey, has been hospitalized with mild kidney failure. No matter how minor it is, it’s still serious. Nick is a pretty funny guy and interesting. I wish him well and speedy recovery. Kind of sad that he might not do, “America’s Got Talent” this year because of this. I was kind of hoping him and Howard Stern would be on at the same time.
Kev
Starring: Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, Benedict Cumberbatch
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
So I just saw the movie, “War Horse” today and here is my review…
Plot/Synopsis: Young Albert enlists to service in WWI after his beloved horse, Joey, is sold to the cavalry. Albert’s hopeful journey takes him out of England and across Europe as the war rages on.
Spielberg may have done a few war movies in his career like, “Schindler’s List”, and “Saving Private Ryan”, but those films were aimed toward the adult audience. Finally, Steven made a war film that the whole family of all ages can enjoy.
This is not the best Steven Spielberg movie ever made, he had better in the past, but “War Horse” was pretty entertaining and enjoyable. Definitely not the best of the year, but it was good for what it was. It’s Spielberg, so of course, all of his movies are great. In this film, there is something for everyone. There is this happy and joyful stuff for the children, and there are also dark stuff for the adult audience. There is a lot of violence and action in the film, but the violence is not gory and nasty like “Schindler’s List” and “SPR” were.
One thing that Spielberg is great at is making memorable characters that everyone can enjoy. They don’t even have to be human characters either. The whole movie was more about the horse, Joey, who is the main character of the movie. You can easily line Joey, the horse, along with E.T. and those aliens from “Close Encounters”. Joey is the star here.
I also love how the film is full of unknown actors, there are no big names at all. I can understand why the movie is full of unknown actors because a big name star, might overshadow, the horse, which is the main focus of the movie. This movie will remind you of, “The Black Stallion”, ’cause both of these films are pretty similar.
I was most impressed with the musical score of, John Williams. John Williams is the king at movie scores. He is amazing at composing memorable scores that you can’t get out of your head and he did it again with this movie.
Steven Spielberg is one of my favorite film makers. This film wasn’t his best, like I said, but at least it helped me get all psyched up for his upcoming, “Abe Lincoln” biopic, which is what I can’t wait to see. Spielberg can do just about every genre in film. He’s done both for children and adults. Love him or hate him, the man’s a genius. I loved a lot of Spielberg flicks except for “Hook”, which was the only movie he did that I hated. Other than that, “War Horse” was a pretty good flick. A perfect Christmas film for the whole family.
Score for “War Horse= *** (3 stars as in “good”)
Kev
So I went to Best Buy today and picked up a few accessories for the Ipad. I picked up the I-rig and the Camera Connection Kit so I can plug in my guitar and mic into the Ipad, so I can start recording in Garageband. They both worked perfectly fine. They actually sounded pretty good too. Only thing though, I can’t record guitar and sing the vocals at the same time ’cause the Ipad won’t accept both at the same time, too much power. So I’m going to have to record guitar and vocals separately on the thing.
I did end up seeing a movie at the mall today too. I just saw the movie, “War Horse”, which is the new Steven Spielberg movie. I’ll write a review of that later on tonight.
Btw, I deleted that Randy Blythe president post because, maybe I was wrong on a few little things. I do appreciate people correcting me on things with a good attitude instead of being a bully about it, though. I’m not really all that big on politics as it may seem.
Kev
Edit to add: Yes, with those two instructional Garageband videos I posted before, I actually took that guy’s advice and it actually worked. After I record the song in Garageband, I’m sure there is a way to convert them to MP3 to get them on this computer. I’ll figure all this stuff out.
There are too many local bands & unsigned acts these days calling what they do an actual “music” career in social networking sites. Fans would go along with it calling it a career as well. This is the thing that musicians are very confused on.
When you’re a local band or an unsigned solo act, playing music under your own budget and performing live at small venues/bars, that is not an actual career, in my opinion. An actual career is a musician who is signed under a big label, be it, either indie or major. If you’re a musician who writes music for TV shows/movies or for other songwriters, that is also considered a career.
Musicians that play music in a small town, is not a career.
I know it’s pretty nice to feel like a rock star and try to make yourself look like you’re in a career online, but a career is something you do that you make big money for a living. Making music nationally would be considered a career.
I never called what I do a career. Music is just what I do.
Kev
Musician Birthdays: Marilyn Manson (real name: Brian Warner, metal singer famous for “Sweet Dreams” Eurythmics cover, also famous for hit “The Beautiful People”, born in 1969)
– In 1966: The Who appeared on a new UK television program ‘The Whole Scene Going.’
– In 1967: During The Beatles Sgt Pepper sessions at Abbey Road in London, Paul McCartney recorded his vocal track on ‘Penny Lane.’
– In 1968: Jimi Hendrix was jailed for one day in Stockholm, Sweden on drink charges after going berserk and destroying everything in his room at the Goteberg Hotel.
– In 1973: Bruce Springsteen released his debut album ‘Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ.’ Recorded in a single week the album only sold about 25,000 copies in the first year of its release. Both ‘Blinded By The Light’ and ‘Spirit In The Night’ were released as singles but neither made a dent in the charts. Manfred Mann’s Earth Band later released a version of ‘Blinded By The Light’ on their album ‘The Roaring Silence,’ which reached #1 on the US charts in 1977.
– In 1978: The Sex Pistols started a US tour in Atlanta, Georgia before an estimated audience of 500 people.
– In 1979: Prince made his live debut at the Capri Theatre, Minneapolis.
– In 1980: Donna Summer scored her third US No.1 album with ‘On The Radio- Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 & II.’
– In 1980: KC and the Sunshine Band had their 5th US No.1 single and scored the first No.1 of the 80’s when ‘Please Don’t Go’ went to No.1 in the UK.
– In 1991: Iron Maiden went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter.’ It became the lowest selling No.1 since 1960, with just over 42,000 copies sold in its first week.
– In 1991: Madonna went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Justify My Love’, a song co-written with Lenny Kravitz and No.2 hit in the UK.
– In 1997: Sonny Bono was killed in a skiing accident at a resort near Lake Tahoe, aged 62. Bono who was one half on Sonny and Cher scored the 1965 UK & US No.1 single ‘I Got You Babe’ and had become a US Congressman.
– In 1997: No Doubt went to No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Tragic Kingdom.’
– In 2003: Green Day’s lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong was arrested on suspicion of drink driving after being stopped in California speeding in a black BMW convertible. He failed a breath test and was taken to Berkeley county jail and was later released on $1,053 (£657) bail.
– In 2004: Kinks singer Ray Davies was shot in the leg while on holiday in New Orleans. The 59-year-old singer-songwriter was shot when running after two men who stole his girlfriend’s purse at gunpoint. Davies was admitted to the Medical Centre of Louisiana but his injuries were not considered serious. New Orleans police said one person had been arrested, and police were still searching for the second.
Lamb of God, front man, Randy Blythe, made a huge announcement that he is running for President. It seems pretty serious, as he had funded a campaign himself to get it going. Do you think he really has what it takes? I would be surprised if he actually got a nomination and make it pretty far. The only support I can see people giving him in this election are, Lamb of God, fans. Other politicians may have a hard time taking him seriously because of his metal image and his metal past.
Read his blog, here.
Kev
Well, the Donald finally reveled the new lineup for “Celebrity Apprentice” this year. The line up this year is pretty decent. Set to join the lineup this year are: Clay Aiken, George Takei, Dee Snider (singer of Twisted Sister), Lou Ferrigno, Arsenio Hall, Debbie Gibson, Tia Carrere, etc.
Read more on the story, here.
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if they give Clay Aiken the big win, ’cause he is the most popular of them all. It be kind of cool if Dee Snider wins the whole thing.
The Donald better take it easy with Lou ’cause Lou is a pretty huge guy and if the Donald says, “You’re fired” from him, he’s going to get thrown across the table. Better not make Lou mad ’cause he’s the Hulk.
I’m a huge Celebrity Apprentice fan. Love the show. Watch it every year.
Kev
Musician Birthdays: (Michael Stipe, singer of R.E.M., born in 1960)
– In 1954: Elvis Presley made his second visit to the Memphis recording service and cut two songs onto a 10 acetate, ‘Casual Love Affair ‘and ‘I’ll Never Stand In Your Way’. Studio boss Sam Phillips asked Presley to leave his phone number.
– In 1965: The Fender guitar company was bought by CBS for $13 million (£7.6 million).
– In 1967: The Jimi Hendrix Experience played the first of what would be over 240 gigs in this year when they appeared at the Bromel Club, Bromley. (Many of the concerts were two shows per night).
– In 1967: The Doors released their self-titled debut album The Doors. Unique packaging of the album included each band member’s bio.
– In 1968: The University of California, Los Angeles announced that students taking music degrees would have to study the music of The Rolling Stones saying they had made such an important contribution to modern music.
– In 1970: Chauffeur Neil Boland was accidentally killed when The Who’s drummer Keith Moon ran over him. Moon was trying to escape from a Gang of skinheads after a fight broke out at a pub in Hatfield, England. Moon had never passed his driving test.
– In 1970: The Beatles (without John Lennon) re-record vocals and a new guitar solo on the Paul McCartney song ‘Let It Be’ at Studio Two, EMI Studios, London. This session will be the final studio appearance for The Beatles, as a group. (The final date that all four of The Beatles were in the studio together is August 20, 1969).
– In 1975: Elton John started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with his version of The Beatles ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’. His third US No.1, the song featured John Lennon on guitar.
– In 1977: The Sex Pistols shocked passengers and airline staff at Heathrow Airport when they spat and vomited boarding a plane to Amsterdam.
– In 1986: Irish singer, songwriter and bassist Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy died of heart failure and pneumonia after being in a coma for eight days following a drug overdose. Had the 1973 hit ‘Whiskey in the Jar’, (their version of the traditional Irish song), 1978 album ‘Live and Dangerous’ spent 62 weeks on the UK chart. A life-size bronze statue of Phil Lynott was unveiled on Harry Street in Dublin in 2005.
– In 2001: Courtney Love filed a lawsuit against her alleged stalker claiming that Lesley Barber, the ex-wife of her current boyfriend Jim Barber, drove over her foot. This had forced her to forfeit her role in a forthcoming film and lost her the £200,000, ($340,000) fee that went with it.
– In 2005: The owner of a recording studio where Eminem recorded his ‘Slim Shady’ LP was found shot dead. AJ Abdallah, who was 36, was discovered by a business colleague at the Detroit studio, it was thought he had been dead for at least two days. Police suggested that a robbery may also have taken place. Mr Abdallah had lived in a apartment above the studio on Eight Mile Road, the Detroit street which inspired the title of Eminem’s 2002 film ‘8 Mile.’
– In 2006: The house where Johnny Cash lived for 35 years was bought by Bee Gees singer Barry Gibb. The rustic house near Nashville, Tennessee went on the market in June 2005 with an asking price of $2.9m (£1.7m). Gibb said he planned to preserve the house to honour the Cash memory. Unfortunately Gibb’s ownership of the house was short-lived. In April 2007, the house burned to the ground. Gibb was having the house renovated when a flammable spray sealer caused fire to break out during construction.
– In 2008: Britney Spears was carried out of her home on a stretcher and taken into custody after police were called in a dispute involving her children. Police were called to Spears’ home over a family custodial dispute that they tried to resolve, after nearly three hours, Spears handed over her children, two-year-old Sean Preston and one-year-old Jayden James, to her ex-husband Kevin Federline.
Think Bonnie Raitt, the legendary slide guitar goddess, has retired from the music business? Well, think again. She’s coming back after a 7 long year hiatus, with a new album titled “Slipstream”, later this year. She’s releasing the album under her own label.
More on the story, here.
I’m a big fan of her too. “Longing In their Hearts” is one of my favorite albums.
Kev
Guitar legend, Peter Frampton lost his historic 1954 Gibson Les Paul guitar during a 1980 cargo plane crash. The Curacao Tourist Board, acquired the guitar and it was confirmed by the Gibson Les Paul company. Two of Peter’s die hard fans have been trying to find the long lost guitar, and they were successful. The guitar was returned to it’s rightful owner and that owner is none other but the great Peter Frampton!!! The guitar was first given to Frampton years ago by, Mark Mariana, at a Humble Pie gig. While Peter is very happy to have the guitar back, he says he will never forget the lives that were lost in that plane crash.
Read the rest of this incredible story, here.
I love Peter Frampton. Always had. Loved his guitar playing style, and his songwriting.
Kev
You must be logged in to post a comment.