Artist: Rajendra Prasanna
Genre(s):
Other
Discography:
Indian Classical Music (Flute)
Year:
Tracks: 4
Thursday, 26 June 2008
Rajendra Prasanna
Artist: Rajendra Prasanna
Genre(s):
Other
Discography:
Indian Classical Music (Flute)
Year:
Tracks: 4
Monday, 16 June 2008
Bill Cosby's famous TV sweaters up for auction
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Some of Bill Cosby's legendary patterned sweaters his long-running television hit "The Cosby Show" will be auctioned off next month to benefit a charity set up in memory of the actor's late son, organizers said on Thursday.
Never available to the public before, three of the iconic sweaters worn by Cosby's character, Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, on the show in the 1980s and '90s will be sold on eBay's Giving Works charity listing arm from June 2-12. Opening bids will start at $5,000 per item on www.eBay.com/cosby.
The proceeds will benefit the education charity Hello Friend/Ennis William Cosby Foundation, which was established in 1997 by the Cosby family to continue the legacy of Cosby's son Ennis after his murder in Los Angeles.
"My mother and father were going through a storage closet, and I happened to be there and pounced on these sweaters," explained daughter Evin Cosby, who is a board member of Hello Friend.
"I told them that the price of what some of these sweaters might sell for could make a big difference in the lives of thousands of children."
"The Cosby Show" was one of the most popular sitcoms on U.S. television, airing on NBC between 1984 and 1992.
Reuters/Nielsen
Never available to the public before, three of the iconic sweaters worn by Cosby's character, Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, on the show in the 1980s and '90s will be sold on eBay's Giving Works charity listing arm from June 2-12. Opening bids will start at $5,000 per item on www.eBay.com/cosby.
The proceeds will benefit the education charity Hello Friend/Ennis William Cosby Foundation, which was established in 1997 by the Cosby family to continue the legacy of Cosby's son Ennis after his murder in Los Angeles.
"My mother and father were going through a storage closet, and I happened to be there and pounced on these sweaters," explained daughter Evin Cosby, who is a board member of Hello Friend.
"I told them that the price of what some of these sweaters might sell for could make a big difference in the lives of thousands of children."
"The Cosby Show" was one of the most popular sitcoms on U.S. television, airing on NBC between 1984 and 1992.
Reuters/Nielsen
Friday, 6 June 2008
Frank Sinatra, Nothing But The Best
As we approach the 10th anniversary of the demise of Francis Albert Sinatra, and as Frank Sinatra Enterprises take control of his legacy, we get the first of what will undoubtedly be a plethora of reissues, rarities and assorted merchandising ventures. However, as with Elvis, it's hard to bemoan such blatant catalogue squeezing when the man at the centre of it all is such an immense presence in modern history.
Of course, Mr Ring-A-Ding's status has been boosted over the last few years by both the rediscovery of the so-called 'Rat Pack' by a younger generation. While the oleaginous croonings of Dean Martin (or the acting skills of Peter Lawford) may not withstand such endless repackaging, Sinatra was, and always will be something of a safe bet. For anyone yet to taste the exquisite joys of the coolest swinger in town, Nothing But The Best does its introductory job very well. But when it comes to the title itself, we're perhaps on shaky ground.
The reason? well by 1960 Frank, finally elevated to the star bracket that he always knew he was born to inhabit, had fallen out of love with the corporate machinery of Capitol records; the label that made him more than the bobbysoxxers' idol. In a bold move presaging the behaviour of many '70s rock acts, he decided that he'd simply form his own label. Thus Reprise records was born. This compilation comes from that period. And while it's all good dtuff it lacks the edge of his earlier work.
However, to say the label was vanity project would be woefully inaccurate. Frank was always a consummate professional. He was also a man who loved to make records. Indeed he almost single-handedly redefined the role of the singer in the age of electricity by his peerless delivery in front of a studio microphone. Not only that but he knew his arrangers as well. Thus Nothing...is chock full of legendary names who always gave nothing but their best. Nelson Riddle, Billy May, Quincy Jones, Gordon Jenkins and Billy Strange: These are people who were hired for their innate understanding of the level of performance that Frank wanted to achieve. So, while none of these sides quite approach the mastery of Frank's defining Capitol years, they still include some amazing and historic moments. My Way, Strangers In The Night, Somethin' Stupid (with daughter, Nancy), It Was A Very Good Year, That's Life: All stand tall in the Sinatra canon. And for the completist there's even a serviceable unreleased version of Body And Soul, not to mention a DVD of his 1971 Royal Festival Hall appearance.
As stated, this makes for a warm and generous introduction to the man known as the Chairman Of The Board in his later years. But anyone who already knows what makes Frank tick, needs to take themselves back a decade or so, and immerse themselves in some of the 20th century's finest music.
See Also
Friday, 30 May 2008
John Carpenter
Artist: John Carpenter
Genre(s):
Soundtrack
Discography:
Hallowen 20 Anniversary
Year: 1998
Tracks: 28
Slipknot's next will 'rip your face off'
Band recording untitled album in Iowa
Nearly four years have passed since the release of Slipknot's "Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)." But members of the masked metal act have little doubt that its as-yet-untitled fourth studio effort, tentatively due Aug. 12 via Roadrunner Records, will appease its loyal fans, the Maggots.
"It's going to rip your face off," Slipknot vocalist Corey Taylor said with confidence. "I don't think the world will be ready for this album."
Declining to give an album title or song names, Taylor describes Slipknot's forthcoming set -- which is being recorded in the band's home state of Iowa -- as a "very dark" cross between "Vol. 3" and 2001's "Iowa." "It has so much power in it and yet there are so many great spots for melody," he said. "It's a controlled chaos that hits you right out of the gate."
Lyrically, "Instead of bitching about what went wrong in my life, I'm bitching about what's wrong in life, period," Taylor said, noting that his vocals are much more melodic than before. "I got to the point where I was tired of pretending that I couldn't sing every time I made a Slipknot album, so this time I'm going all out."
After finishing its 2005 tour in support of "Vol. 3" -- which has moved 1.4 million units in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan -- some of Slipknot's nine members took a break from the band to focus on other musical projects. Taylor, who also fronts rock act Stone Sour, spent the next two-and-a-half years promoting the band's 2006 sophomore release, "Come What(ever) May."
"But the whole time we were doing the Stone Sour album, I was writing and figuring stuff out for the Slipknot album," Taylor said. "So when it came time to work this, I already had notebooks full of stuff and my own musical ideas."
Although Stone Sour is currently on hiatus while Taylor focuses on Slipknot, new material is currently being written for the band's next studio album, according to Taylor.
Meanwhile, Slipknot's time apart has given the act a new sense of musical confidence and maturity, Taylor said. "I think we're all in way better places now," he says. "We're not afraid to speak up and say what we like and don't like. With that kind of confidence and maturity, you really get to explore different stuff."
Along with its new album, Slipknot will appear in "evolved" masks and uniforms, which Taylor described as "not just a costume -- it's a way of life." The vocalist declined to give specifics, but says the freshened outfits are "very dark and will fit in everything image-wise that we're making with this album."
Slipknot will co-headline this summer's 30-date Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem tour, which begins July 9 at the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, Wash. For its daily set, the metal outfit will keep it "bare bones," Taylor said. "We'll definitely have some stuff with us, but it's all going to be building toward the concept of the new album dropping."
After its time on Mayhem ends in late August, Slipknot will likely take a month off before heading to Europe for a fall tour. "Then at the beginning of the year it's all headline from there," Taylor noted. "We'll probably do about a year of touring."
As for recording future Slipknot material, "We really want to do this album and then play it by ear," Taylor said. "It's a band that deserves every little bit of intensity that you have. If it gets to the point where you're not feeling it anymore, then you're just not feeling it anymore."
Nearly four years have passed since the release of Slipknot's "Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)." But members of the masked metal act have little doubt that its as-yet-untitled fourth studio effort, tentatively due Aug. 12 via Roadrunner Records, will appease its loyal fans, the Maggots.
"It's going to rip your face off," Slipknot vocalist Corey Taylor said with confidence. "I don't think the world will be ready for this album."
Declining to give an album title or song names, Taylor describes Slipknot's forthcoming set -- which is being recorded in the band's home state of Iowa -- as a "very dark" cross between "Vol. 3" and 2001's "Iowa." "It has so much power in it and yet there are so many great spots for melody," he said. "It's a controlled chaos that hits you right out of the gate."
Lyrically, "Instead of bitching about what went wrong in my life, I'm bitching about what's wrong in life, period," Taylor said, noting that his vocals are much more melodic than before. "I got to the point where I was tired of pretending that I couldn't sing every time I made a Slipknot album, so this time I'm going all out."
After finishing its 2005 tour in support of "Vol. 3" -- which has moved 1.4 million units in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan -- some of Slipknot's nine members took a break from the band to focus on other musical projects. Taylor, who also fronts rock act Stone Sour, spent the next two-and-a-half years promoting the band's 2006 sophomore release, "Come What(ever) May."
"But the whole time we were doing the Stone Sour album, I was writing and figuring stuff out for the Slipknot album," Taylor said. "So when it came time to work this, I already had notebooks full of stuff and my own musical ideas."
Although Stone Sour is currently on hiatus while Taylor focuses on Slipknot, new material is currently being written for the band's next studio album, according to Taylor.
Meanwhile, Slipknot's time apart has given the act a new sense of musical confidence and maturity, Taylor said. "I think we're all in way better places now," he says. "We're not afraid to speak up and say what we like and don't like. With that kind of confidence and maturity, you really get to explore different stuff."
Along with its new album, Slipknot will appear in "evolved" masks and uniforms, which Taylor described as "not just a costume -- it's a way of life." The vocalist declined to give specifics, but says the freshened outfits are "very dark and will fit in everything image-wise that we're making with this album."
Slipknot will co-headline this summer's 30-date Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem tour, which begins July 9 at the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, Wash. For its daily set, the metal outfit will keep it "bare bones," Taylor said. "We'll definitely have some stuff with us, but it's all going to be building toward the concept of the new album dropping."
After its time on Mayhem ends in late August, Slipknot will likely take a month off before heading to Europe for a fall tour. "Then at the beginning of the year it's all headline from there," Taylor noted. "We'll probably do about a year of touring."
As for recording future Slipknot material, "We really want to do this album and then play it by ear," Taylor said. "It's a band that deserves every little bit of intensity that you have. If it gets to the point where you're not feeling it anymore, then you're just not feeling it anymore."
SONNY LANDRETH
From the Reach (Landfall): A-
Bayou slide guitar master Landreth didn’t need the help of Eric Clapton, Robben Ford, Dr. John, Mark Knopfler and Eric Johnson to make “From the Reach” his finest album yet by far. But it sure didn’t hurt. His interludes with Clapton and Johnson are especially glorious and thoroughly organic. Yet what makes it the best of Landreth’s six studio albums is the leap his songwriting has taken in the five years since his last. Penetrating lyrics (the killer Katrina lament “Blue Tarp Blues”) meet fresh new blues and Louisiana-based melodies (“Howlin’ Moon”) in an explosion of creativity. Formerly an exciting guitarist who could sing and write competently, Landreth’s performance on “From the Reach” marks his debut as a complete musician. Download: “When I Still Had You.”
Bayou slide guitar master Landreth didn’t need the help of Eric Clapton, Robben Ford, Dr. John, Mark Knopfler and Eric Johnson to make “From the Reach” his finest album yet by far. But it sure didn’t hurt. His interludes with Clapton and Johnson are especially glorious and thoroughly organic. Yet what makes it the best of Landreth’s six studio albums is the leap his songwriting has taken in the five years since his last. Penetrating lyrics (the killer Katrina lament “Blue Tarp Blues”) meet fresh new blues and Louisiana-based melodies (“Howlin’ Moon”) in an explosion of creativity. Formerly an exciting guitarist who could sing and write competently, Landreth’s performance on “From the Reach” marks his debut as a complete musician. Download: “When I Still Had You.”
Cotton quits X Factor for US career
Television presenter Fearne Cotton has reportedly quit 'The X Factor' after landing a deal for a new talent show in the US.
The 25-year-old star, who has hosted just one series of the spin-off show 'The Xtra Factor', is now planning to move to the US to pursue her television career there.
A source told The Sun: "Fearne had fun working on 'X Factor' but she decided to quit while she was ahead."
"There was no guarantee she would have been doing a second series. It made sense to make a clean break and concentrate on America."
Cotton has signed up to co-host the US talent show 'Last Comic Standing' on NBC.
The 25-year-old star, who has hosted just one series of the spin-off show 'The Xtra Factor', is now planning to move to the US to pursue her television career there.
A source told The Sun: "Fearne had fun working on 'X Factor' but she decided to quit while she was ahead."
"There was no guarantee she would have been doing a second series. It made sense to make a clean break and concentrate on America."
Cotton has signed up to co-host the US talent show 'Last Comic Standing' on NBC.
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