This week...news, movies, music and more.

New Releases:

8/24 Music
JP, Chrissie & The Fairground Boys - Fidelity!;  Ra Ra Riot - Orchard; Dead Confederate - Sugar; Mogwai - Special Moves; Apocalyptica - 7th Symphony;  Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters - Spread The Love; Sword - Warp Riders;  Red Horse - Red Horse; Little Big Town - Reason Why; Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin - Je T'aime...Moi Non; Usher - Versus; Fantasia - Back To Me;  Margaret Cho - Cho Independent; Blind Guardian - At The Edge Of Time; Eels - Tomorrow Morning; Linkin Park - Catalyst (Limited Edition); Devil Wears Prada - Zombie EP; Never Shout Never - Harmony; Bad City - Welcome To The Wasteland; Antony & The Johnsons - Thank Your Love; Randy Rogers Band - Burning The Day; Lang Lang - Lang Lang Live In Vienna; John Scofield - 54

8/24 Movies
Withnail & I (Blu-Ray); Time Bandits (Blu-Ray); Survival Of The Dead; 5 A Day; NCIS: Season 7; Patty Duke Show: Season 3; Pixies - Acoustic & Electric (Blu-Ray); Electric Light Orchestra - Live: The Early Years (DVD); Gossip Girl: Season 3; City Island;



In theaters now:

The Expendables - A family reunion of action stars, heavy on the fighting, explosions and one-liners. Here's what the critics have said:

"It makes good on the old-school action it promises, but given all the talent on display, The Expendables should hit harder." - Rotten Tomatoes

"If ever there was a movie that was all about the action scenes, ‘The Expendables’ is it." - Screen Rant

Vampires Suck - Yet another spoof in the same vein as "Scary Movie", "Date Movie", and "Epic Movie". This one however takes a stab at Hollywood's (and the public's) recent obsession with movies about vampires but specifically targets the Twilight trilogy.
And the verdict from reeladvice.net:
Why you should watch it:
- if spoof movies are your thing as it brings nothing new to the old ways of the genre
Why you shouldn't watch it:
- if spoof movies aren't your thing as it brings nothing new to the old ways of the genre


New in the theaters this Friday:

Avatar: Special Edition: Not to be confused with the "director's cut" version of the movie that will be released sometime in the future on DVD, this version of the original movie that made BILLIONS in its first go-round includes an additional 8 minutes of new footage.

"I'm trying to use the technology to keep people interested and enthused about the 'Avatar' universe, because it's going to be a long time before we get another 'Avatar' movie done," the filmmaker said in a recent interview.


And apparently there are plans for at least two sequels and a book.
Click on the link to se the "new" trailer: http://www.movieweb.com/news/NE3O9gdvVyhr67

 The Last Exorcism: the latest horror/terror flic about demonic possession shot in a  faux documentary style that takes place in the south. Lots of chills, bible-thumping, and supernatural...stuff.

And the review from twitchfilm.net - "The scare sequences are well executed and very effective, the imagery striking home all the more because of the naturalistic manner in which it is shot. But, that said, it is very much a horror picture of the slow burn variety, not the smack-you-in-the-face series of jump scares that the trailers promise."

In the news

FROM National Public Radio: "With Birth Control Pills, New Isn't Always Better"
by Richard Knox

"Be wary of claims that a potent pill will solve all your problems — it's probably not true. "

Bayer HealthCare, the leading maker of birth control pills, is coming out with a brand new pill. Natazia, as it's called, contains a form of estrogen that's never been used in an oral contraceptive.
It also has a novel dosing regimen. Women on Natazia will take four different combinations and doses of hormones or sugar pills each month.

The new launch coincides with growing problems for Bayer's last new contraceptive, Yaz...

To read the rest of the article click on the link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129258505&ps=cprs

OR listen to the podcast: http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=129258505&m=129370677

  
9/11 families, others rally in favor of NYC mosque 
If you've been following the controversy that's been building across the country about the Islamic community center and mosque set to be built near Ground Zero, this article brings us up to date with some changes in what has been, til now, been a very contentious issue.

From The Seattle Times: 
'The planned mosque and Islamic center blocks from ground zero got a new boost Wednesday from a coalition of supporters that includes families of Sept. 11 victims.
New York Neighbors for American Values rallied for the first time at a municipal building near ground zero.

"I lost a 23-year-old son, a paramedic who gave his life saving Americans and their values," Talat Hamdani said, and supporting the Islamic center and mosque "has nothing to do with religion. It has to do with standing up for our human rights, including freedom of religion."
Among the nearly 2,800 people killed when the World Trade Center was attacked in 2001 were more than 30 Muslims, she noted.

Opponents of the Islamic center project argue it's insensitive to the families and memories of Sept. 11 victims to build a mosque so close. Supporters cite freedom of religion.'

Read the rest of the article by clicking on the link below:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2012718009_apusnycmosque.html

Techno Music Scene in Seattle

While many people associate Seattle’s music scene with indie rock bands such as Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service, Fleet Foxes, and Modest Mouse, there is other music appeal in the community.

Surprisingly enough for some, the techno/dance or electronic music scene has a quite substantial following here in Seattle. Last Saturday (4/10/10), the world renowned DJ Tiësto visited WaMu Theatre and drew in a huge crowd of ranging ages and lasting from 8:00 pm to 2:00 am. Fans dressed in various attires and danced to the popular DJ for about six hours, enjoying the abstract lighting and sound effects.

More information on the Seattle techno and dance music scene, including events, forums, and history can be found at the following sites:

http://www.nwtekno.org/index.php


http://hyperreal.org/raves/nw/

Upcoming shows in the genre include:

Basshunter - April 30, 2010 @ Club One3One at 8:00 pm
DJ Shpongle - May 8, 2010 at the Showbox in the Market at 9:00 pm
Armin Van Buuren - May 28, 2010 at the Shobox SoDo at 8:00 pm.

Tickets for these events can be found at the following sites, prices ranging based on event:

http://www.clubvibes.com/events/Seattle/141443/Basshunter-LIVE.html

http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0F0044438C3164D6?artistid=1266812&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=201


http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0F004485B8483271?artistid=878620&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=201

Black History Month - It's all about roots

Black History Month is officially over now, but that doesn't mean the HISTORY has become any less relevant. Take the realm of music as an example - Michael Jackson, specifically. Whether you enjoyed his music or not, it's hard to not appreciate his craft, his precision, his talent. The self-named King of Pop died less than a year ago and left a tremendous legacy.

There are very few musicians these days in mainstream music who don't cite him as a major influence. Which brings me to the point of "roots". They say, you don't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been. So beginning with Michael and who he's influenced, let's take some steps backwards.

Alien Ant Farm remakes Michael's "Smooth Criminal"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDl9ZMfj6aE

And then there's a bunch of heavy hitters in pop music:

"While Michael Jackson thrilled fans with his videos, revolutionized pop dancing, and tantalized us with his darkly bizarre behaviour, his most important legacy is as the ultimate crossover artist: He married rock, pop, R & B, and dance music in order to smash radio formats and racial barriers in the media. Here are 10 of his closest acolytes, some of whom have followed his star to mass popularity, and some of whom may have flown too close to his supernova..."  Read More...

And while Michael was quite the genius, he had HIS influences too.

From Wikipedia: "Jackson's music genre takes roots in R&B, Motown, pop and soul. He had been influenced by the work of contemporary musicians such as Little Richard, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Diana Ross, David Ruffin, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Sammy Davis, Jr., The Isley Brothers, and the Bee Gees.

While Little Richard had a huge influence on Jackson, James Brown was for him, since early childhood, his greatest inspiration: "the master" or "a genius"...describing his performance as "phenomenal". He declared: "Ever since I was a small child, no more than like six years old, my mother would wake me no matter what time it was, if I was sleeping, no matter what I was doing, to watch the television to see the master at work."

James Brown, commonly referred to as the "Godfather of Soul", takes us on a little bit of a different direction, because he not only inspired Michael Jackson and thus had a large influence on pop music (ex: the drum loop from James' song "Funky Drummer" has been sampled more than 100 times by artists like Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Enigma and the Beastie Boys), James had a monumental influence on the world of hip hop.  

He is still one of the most sampled artists of all time on hip hop records. His style of call-and-response with his band as well as with the audience directly impacted the way that emcees interact with the audience members at shows. The breaks of James Brown songs are still among the most commonly used by hip-hop DJs and were especially popular in the early  formative years of hip-hop music. (The break beats that are the building block of hip-hop music - the best part of the record that the DJ isolates by alternating between the two turntables).


"Type ‘James Brown’ into a search engine or a sample-source website and you’re going to get back pages and pages of hits. So many that you’ll initially think you made a mistake. But no, it isn’t a mistake. James Brown samples are just that prevalent. 

James is listed as The-Breaks.com’s number one most-sampled artist ever. And his total sample count of 903 is more than triple that of the nearest contender. It’s said that J.B. makes millions per year on sample-related royalties alone. So why? Why did James Brown’s music have such a pull on all of us? The answer is actually simple. It’s rhythm." (Read more here...)

So if James Brown had such a profound impact on music - who influenced James Brown?
According to Wikipedia, James decided to become an entertainer after seeing Louis Jordan perform. Louis Jordan was known as "The King of the Jukebox", and during his career that spanned the 1930s-1950s, he was able to cultivate popularity among both white AND black audiences.

He was named as #59 in Rolling Stone magazine's "Immortals: the Greatest Artists of All Time".

"...Jordan's sound was hard to imitate. At Atlantic Records, we used that boogie-woogie feel on some of the jump numbers we recorded with Joe Turner. But the main thing was the sound of Jordan's voice, the way he sang. It was a kind of talk-singing. He's actually talking the lyrics in "Saturday Night Fish Fry." Jordan was really a precursor to rap. Back then, they used to call it Harlem rhyming jive. Rap didn't just come out of nowhere." - By Ahmet Ertegun

Here's a taste of Louis Jordan's music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qROFl0sbrjo

Let's take a look at another one of these branches. 

I mentioned Little Richard as another of Michael Jackson's influences. "Little Richard" Penniman is often referred to as one of the architects of rock 'n roll music.

The Beatles' (listed as #1 in the Rolling Stone's "Immortals...") Paul McCartney often imitated Little Richard's trademark high pitched "Woooo!" (Listen to it here...) in early Beatles songs and has often said that he wanted to sing just like him.

The Beatles also were known to play covers of Little Richard's songs "Long Tall Sally" and "Lucille". His music was heavily covered by many artists including Elvis Presley.

Jimi Hendrix played in Little Richard's band and toured with him for over a year and began copying his flamboyant fashion and even wore his mustache in a similar style. James Brown called Little Richard his idol. And many, many other influential musicians have talked about him as major influences on their musical careers.

So where did Little Richard and many of the most popular artists of the 40s and 50s get their inspiration?

- Gospel music and the blues.

Where did these two musical styles originate from?

"Gospel music originated in the American South and is still primarily an American genre, although it has spread to other countries as well. Gospel music combines Christian lyrics, often taken from the Methodist hymnal, with American musical forms including jazz, blues, ragtime and bluegrass. Gospel music has its roots in the spirituals composed and sung by African slaves in the 18th and 19th centuries." (Read more...)

"The origins of blues is not unlike the origins of life. For many years it was recorded only by memory, and relayed only live, and in person. The Blues were born in the North Mississippi Delta following the Civil War. Influenced by African roots, field hollers, ballads, church music and rhythmic dance tunes called jump-ups evolved into a music for a singer who would engage in call-and-response with his guitar. He would sing a line, and the guitar would answer." (Read more...)

These are the roots of so much of the music we listen to and love today - and if that doesn't speak to the historical relevance of Black History, try taking another listen to your favorite songs and just start following the tracks backward.