Blogcritics Author: tink

Beyond Tinker Bell: Disney and Blu-ray Enhance the Movie Experience

tink — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:07:27 EST

Impish pixie's legend looms large and Disney has the right stuff to keep it that way.
We've had a Blu-ray player for a while now. But it hasn't really affected me as a movie fan until recently because I really saw it as one of my husband's new toys instead of something that would change my viewing habits. Yes, the audio and video aspects of it are amazing, but I saw it as more of an extension of his fondness for the...

Blu-ray Review: Tinker Bell

tink — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:47:43 EDT

Clap your hands if you believe in fairies!
“Have you ever wondered how nature gets its glow? Who gives it light and color as the seasons come and go?” With those two short sentences, kids of all ages are drawn into Disney’s latest CG animated movie Tinker Bell. The feisty fairy we all know and love as Peter Pan’s wing man (er, girl) finally gets her due with her own...

Concert Review: Billy Idol - Hollywood, California, September 17, 2008

tink — Sat, 4 Oct 2008 20:41:02 EDT

Call this Billy anything but idle!
North on the 101 Freeway past the Capitol Records building, exit down Highland past the Hollywood Bowl, onto Sunset Boulevard in front of Hollywood High School. With each passing mile, the klieg lights that swept the sky became more distinct as my course for the night neared... a visual X marked the spot on the treasure map. Destination: the House...

Concert Review: L.A. Guns - September 5, 2008 San Juan Capistrano, California

tink — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 08:54:12 EDT

Would re-visiting a favorite band be a thumbs up or a bad idea?
L.A. Guns. A band seemingly in a constant state of flux and well known for its array of infamous players from the Sunset Strip 80's and 90's rock scene. I've seen them numerous times throughout the years and to me, the group's heart and soul has always revolved around guitar player Tracii Guns. Mesh the styles of both Jimi...

Music Review: The Smithereens - B-Sides The Beatles

tink — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 09:05:41 EDT

The Beatles + The Smithereens = fab and gear!!
To my way of thinking, The Beatles plus The Smithereens equals a must-have addition to my music collection. So I knew that I would like the Smitties upcoming release B-Sides The Beatles. After listening to it this past week I can tell you this... not only did I like it, but this CD met and exceeded my expectations!Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know...

Music Review: Kenny Chesney - Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates

tink — Tue, 2 Oct 2007 11:23:10 EDT

Kenny Chesney's newest release, two years in the making, was well worth the wait.
When I first wrote about Kenny Chesney a few months ago, it was in eager anticipation of the release of his new album Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates. It’s been out for two weeks now and the response it has gotten across the board has been nothing if not tremendous. Double platinum sales figures are growing daily. It’s all over the...

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Interview - Kenny Chesney, A Poet and A Pirate

tink — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 13:14:44 EDT

Country music singer/songwriter Kenny Chesney is hot. His latest single, “Never Wanted Nothing More,” is at the Number One spot on Billboard’s Country Top 100 chart, getting there faster than any of his other songs. It’s the first track to hit radio from his upcoming Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates, which was slated to hit stores as a late fall release. Now it’s been pushed up to September 11 to accommodate the demands of his fans. 2006's The Road and The Radio tour saw him and his backup band playing in front of more people than any other act in any genre across the board. His Flip Flop Summer Tour 2007 has been selling out every date, usually within hours of tickets being available. On July 22, 2007, TV network CBS reran an updated version of a 60 Minutes piece from earlier this year, just to talk about how happening a ticket to one of his shows is. If you missed it on broadcast TV, you can go to the show's website and catch it on broadband. That’s pretty hot, right?He’s also in heavy rotation in my CD players and has been for a while now. Surprised? Let me remind you of something that no self-respecting rocker can discount: the relationship that country music has had with rock 'n' roll throughout the decades. Willie Nelson, Hank Williams Jr. and Johnny Cash are the epitome of the cross-over appeal of country to rock. It should go without saying that Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran were among the forefathers of the rockabilly movement, one that is still alive and kickin’ to this day. It’s easy to forget that in light of all the other buzz they’ve collectively garnered throughout the years.Best known for their psychedelia, The Byrds were the first "long-haired" group to perform at Nashville’s premier music hall, the Grand Ole Opry, in 1968, months before the release of their country-tinged Sweetheart Of The Rodeo. Shortly thereafter members Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons left to start up the seminal country-rock band The Flying Burrito Brothers, precursors to groups like The Allman Brothers, Little Feat, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and ZZ Top to name the top of that crop. Keith Richards waved the flag on Rolling Stones’ songs "Dead Flowers" and "Far Away Eyes," while Dylan recorded a full album, Nashville Skyline, as his homage to the genre. That's not even the tip of the iceberg... but if I don't stop now this could turn into a whole book.Having said all that, perhaps now you won’t think that my enthusiasm for Mr. Chesney is off base. After all, my bottom line has always been that I’m driven by music and how it affects me. Does it talk to me, call to me, make me think, make me tap my toes, tap into my emotions and maybe cause me to hum the occasional chorus or sing in the shower? I get all of that in spades when I listen to my ever-growing Kenny Chesney CD collection.No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem was the first one I picked up, and from the first drumbeats of its opening track, “Young,” I knew I was gonna be hooked. “A Lot of Things Different” is an emotional song that can readily bring a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye. Then there’s fun songs too, like “Big Star,” full of sass and attitude.Next for me came Be As You Are (Songs From An Old Blue Chair). The songs you’ll find here are about the pull of the islands for Mr. Chesney and he has a way of singing them that makes you want to embrace that lifestyle for yourself. Sometimes I swear I can taste that tang of sea air and the caress of an ocean breeze when I listen to this CD. The reggae pulse of “Guitars And Tiki Bars” is mighty powerful. So is the lilting guitar of “Island Boy.” “Magic,” with the unlikely combination of piano and steel drums, is a song that makes you want to grab your sweetie close and slow dance all night long. When I want to get out of where I am, this whole collection of songs takes me to a totally different head, and that’s a beautiful thing.Unlike some compilations, both his Greatest Hits and LIVE: Live Those Songs Again are terrific packages that make it easy to catch up for those like me that are coming into Kenny Chesney’s music this late in his career. Any worthwhile greatest hit compilation should be a truncated view of an artist’s musical catalog and this one certainly fits that criteria for me. The live CD is well paced, with a good sprinkling of older and newer tunes. But that’s not the only reason why it was an education for me.It also served as my first introduction to The Kenny Chesney Band, those talented guys that hit the road with him tour after tour. It’s with the help of Sean Paddock (background vocals, drums/percussion), Wyatt Beard (background vocals, keyboards), Jim Bob Gairrett (acoustic, slide and steel guitar), Clayton Mitchell (background vocals, electric guitar), Tim Hensley (background vocals, acoustic, electric and gut string guitar), Nick Hoffman (background vocals, electric guitar and fiddle), Steve Marshall (bass) and Melvin Fults (steel drums) that LIVE has the pro quality of a solid studio-produced release; all the while giving you the feeling that they are having the time of their life.“Beer In Mexico,” Chesney’s first solely written Number One single and the fifth chart topper on 2005's The Road And The Radio, is definitely a rocker. In a recent press release, Kenny talked about how that song came to be. “There's a real fantasy element to writing a song at Sammy Hagar's pool,” laughs the man who rocked 1.3 million fans live last year. “When you're growing up listening to him in your truck, you don't think one day you'll be sitting at his pool writing a song… and that's what happened! When he invited us down to play his birthday in Cabo (San Lucas), we were psyched - and it was a party, too! But there's a moment when you're just sitting there, thinking about all of it - your life, your craziest dreams, what you want… out of that a song can spill out. Everybody'd decided to go out on the water, fishing, but I could feel a song coming, so I stayed home. Right about now, I'm sure glad I did.” Obviously, I’m not the only one who digs that song, and is sure glad that he did too.That’s not the only killer tune on that CD, either. “In A Small Town” has a similar tone and feel reminiscent of John Mellencamp’s very best. The emotions of “You Save Me” couple with an urgent yet low-key guitar sound to put many a power ballad from the 80's hair band era to shame. My ultimate fave, hands down, is “Summertime.” I can’t resist the guitar licks or its lyrics and I find myself singing them day and night. There's a live version of it currently playing on his official website and it's even more infectious than the CD track.But, it’s not just his music that calls to me. As I found myself listening to these CDs more and more, I realized that I liked what I learned about Mr. Chesney from the music he chooses to record. It’s more than just the tunes though. I started to do some research, watched videos and checked out his website. I read and re-read the liner notes to his live CD. It’s right there in black and white. No blase attitude. No lip service about how his followers are important while his actions say otherwise. In those notes Kenny Chesney lays it on the line.He talks about the transition of going from opening act to headliner status. Would the fan base that he’d been building up for five years follow him? "And come they did...with their grills and their boom boxes, ice chests, inflatable pools, palm trees, tiki bars, and blenders. They showed up that very first night and they haven’t stopped since. In fact, I like to joke that sometimes it’s more fun out there in the parking lot than it is onstage. What the fans don’t realize is: we can hear you. Just about every show, starting from that first night in South Florida, we can hear those parking lot parties back where we are, and that really fires us up, makes us wanna rock even harder, and kicks us into gear, long before the lights go down.”Recently I had a chance to talk to Kenny Chesney, and found out for myself just how strongly he feels about his legions of fans. In between talking about music, our talk always came back to his devotees. To Kenny they are “people who have real lives that are not always fun or nice. People who have real jobs that barely pay the bills. People who have broken hearts that hurt. Dreams that seem out of reach. People just like me. That is who I am out here for, the fans.” As for all the hard work that he and the members of the Chesney team do? At the end of the day, it is worth it all? “It isn't about ticket sales. I try to make people understand that. It is about the lives you touch and that touch yours, the smiles, the laughter; the fact that for two hours I have the chance to make you forget that your life outside the parking lot may very well be hard. But for this two hours, man life is great and there are no problems. And by the way shoes are optional.”To my way of thinking, you can’t get much hotter than that. So count me in with the slew of other fans waiting to hear what his Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates has to offer come September. “Never Wanted Nothing More” has just whetted my appetite.If you haven’t heard his newest single on the radio yet or bought it on iTunes, Yahoo Music or another online music retailer, if you’ve missed hearing it live on the Flip Flop Tour, you can check out the sample on the Stand Alone player at the BNA official Kenny Chesney MySpace profile. You’ll also find full versions of several of his other songs (including “Summertime”) there.

Formerly a Public Relations/Artist Development maven in the music "biz", I am now a freelance journalist specializing in the entertainment industry. Find out about how I got from there to here (and more!!) when you visit my own home sweet home on the web.

Music Review: Judith Owen - Happy This Way

tink — Wed, 6 Jun 2007 08:12:10 EDT

Father's Day (June 17th) is soon upon us, and trying to find a great gift without going the tie or power tool route isn't always an easy task. Recommending singer/songwriter/pianist Judith Owen's newest CD Happy This Way, specifically her song "My Father's Voice" is my boon to you. It's a sure-to-please tune for the music lovin' dad on your list, no matter where his tastes run to; the truth and the beauty of it's lyrics are as a fine an homage as one could find to honor that special man in your life.Judith wrote this song as an early birthday present to her father, Tenor for 35 years to Britian's Royal Opera House, Handel Owen. The sparse arrangement of Ms. Owen on piano and Sean Hurley on double bass allow her ethereal voice to soar and the poignant lyrics to hit their mark. So literally, yes she is talking about his vocation and voice. Figuratively, however, Judith's lyrics in this song strike a chord to parent and child alike; to quote a line there "I'm the acorn, he's the oak". Even if your pop isn't a celebrated opera singer, the message here is universal: we are our parent's children.Now, you may be wondering, just who is Judith Owen and what makes her sound so unique? Let's start by going back to the influence her parents' preferences in music have had on her life. Obviously, there's the whole opera thing, living in the U.K. and seeing all the greats perform live. But that doesn't mean her background is made up of just one note on the musical tree of life. In an interview with Blunt Review, Judith talked about her mother's love of big band music and especially of Frank Sinatra. Her father added his passion for gospel, R & B, and jazz to the mix. Toss in her personal love for singers like Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John and you'll see why I say that her music will call to a wide variety of fans.Having said all of this, maybe you can see why I'm hard pressed to classify her music. But I'm not the only one. Earlier this year, the New York Times (February 28, 2007 issue) said of her, "She has the kind of wailing folk-jazz voice that slices away surfaces to touch vulnerable emotional nerve endings and leave you quivering. The young Joni Mitchell and Rickie Lee Jones come to mind, as does the Irish singer Katell Keineg. Her naturally jazzy fluency coincides with a melodic songwriting style that at times suggests Burt Bacharach." As for their above-mentioned venture into the folk music spectrum, to me it's solidified with a thumbs up from the iconic folkster/legend Richard Thompson in the form of his vocal and guitar appearances on Happy This Way.The Los Angeles Times, on May 28th of this year (datelined New Orleans) put it this way, "...Owen's music, which can be as difficult to categorize as it is easy to succumb to, from her Bob Dylan-ish penchant for artfully literary lyrics to the intrinsic melancholy in her subject matter". Furthermore, the article states, "And that doesn't fold in the jazz inclinations that can make her come across as a drier, hipper Norah Jones, or her Celtic folk streak...".Matt Robinson of Musicdish.com and Jazzusa.com put it this way, "Recalling everyone from Joni Mitchell to Barbara Streisand to Dusty Springfield to friend and harmonizer Cassandra Wilson, Welsh singer/songwriter Judith Owen is still able to have a voice of her own."At least I'm in good company, right? Now, what about the other songs on Happy This Way you might ask? They are as varied and primo as the qualifiers heaped on Ms. Owen by her many music devotees.The opening track, "Conway Bay" is a celtic tip 'o the tam to the music and land that mark her heritage, lilting and moving. Up next is "Painting By Numbers", is one of my favorite type of pop song with a toe-tapping beat and dark/introspective lyrics that counterpoint Richard Thompson's electric guitar. I personally gotta love a song that says "I can find comfort in madness/He's like an old friend". Get outta my head, Judith!Other artists, as varied as R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, The Cure's own Robert Smith, Paul Weller (formerly of The Jam), Lucinda Williams and Badly Drawn Boy, have listed the late Nick Drake as being influential. Add Judith Owen to that list with her aptly titled "Nicholas Drake" that touches on his life and all-too-early demise at his own hand. But it's not some dirge that depresses. It's a spritely folk tune again with Richard Thompson adding his own bits, this time on acoustic guitar and background vocals.I could go on and give you my take on the rest of the songs (which I dig for their musical diversity as well as subject matter) on Happy This Way, but that's a total of thirteen songs. If I haven't convinced you by now that you owe it to yourself to give this music a listen and that it will make a fine gift for Father's Day, I don't know what will. OH. You don't have to take my word for it. You can check out Judith's music online for yourself. There are plenty of opportunities, aside from the usual music downloading sites.Her MySpace profile currently has four tracks you can listen to, "My Father's Voice", "Painting By Numbers", "Cool Life" and bonus track "Enough". The Judith Owen website (currently being updated) regularly features video and MP3 tracks. If you click on the listen button, you can check out a wide variety of her past work including her hot and bluesy/jazzy version of Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water". Also on site you'll find the up-to-the-date tour schedule for Judith around the U.S. and U.K.But wait..there's more! Chatsite Paltalk will be live on June 22nd, as they broadcast Judith's upcoming show (on that same date) from the world-famous McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, California. ATT's Blueroom gives you a chance to win an iPod Shuffle pre-loaded with her new release. Judith Owen, singer/songwriter/pianist/label head-honcho (Courgette Records, a Warner Bros. distributed indie label in partnership with hubby Harry Shearer and manager Bambi Moe') is a woman on the move...up. And Happy This Way.

TV Review: American Idol Season Six - Choosing Your American Idol

tink — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 11:16:25 EST

After watching the two performance shows this week, it's hands down in my book that the girls kicked some serious butt. Maybe it's due in part to the fact that they had a chance to watch the boys perform first and saw what worked and what didn't. Or it could be that at this stage of the game they are just a stronger group of singers altogether.My theory is that it's a bit of both. It's one thing to be a fan of the show and watch what is put forward to us by the powers that be. It's another to be on the show, getting to know your fellow contestants in person, realizing what they have to offer and how that translates into each one's weekly performance. The smart contender will not only take into account what the judges say about their own performance, but critiques of the others also. Of course, having a great set of pipes helps, but that ultimately means nothing if one chokes on stage.So... what does it take to be my American Idol? Ask the judges and the top of their list is bound to be song choice. I agree with them that it's an important issue. The wrong selection can overpower a singer's talent or, perhaps even worse, not utilize it to maximum capacity. But sometimes it's not the selection but the arrangement used that will make a difference. Too far from the original and it puts people off. Too close and that performer has now bought themselves a one-way ticket to Karaokeland.Look at Melinda Doolittle's showing this week. A great song presented in a fairly straight forward rendition that could have been a sure ticket home, yet Ms. Doolittle made it come alive. She has a great vibe and voice. She moved well on stage and connected with the live audience. Melinda looked like she was having a blast up there and with that, I feel personally invested in her future.What about the elusive "It" factor? Hard to define, yes, but easily recognized when it's right there in your face. Jordin Sparks -- I think her name says it all. She's got that certain something that makes her stand out in a crowd. Cute and vivacious though she may be, it isn't enough to win the big prize and she knows it. She took a song that was originally sung by Tracy Chapman in a rather dry manner, and spiced it up. Couple that with a strong stage presence, both with the audience and the camera, and you have a talented young woman on her way to bigger things.Another key aspect is one that is probably as difficult to achieve is what my husband and I call "The Chills", that goose-pimply feeling that a totally right on, "in the now" performance brings. This is a definite physical response that can't be readily explained -- a performer can either make that connection or not. Stephanie Edwards put herself out there and made it happen for us. She was smooth and sassy and obviously enjoyed being on stage. She also used the lyrics and her physicality to do exactly what they were meant to do -- tell a story.Lakisha Jones put all those things together in a star-making triumph. If you watched the girls' show this week, you don't need me to tell you that she pulled out all the stops and showed everyone involved what it will take to become the season six champion. She totally ripped that mofo up and it's a good thing that her's was the last performance of the night as I seriously doubt if anyone would have performed after her willingly. The only question she'll have to answer is whether or not she can not only sustain the standard she herself has set and continue to grow over the course of this season.Which brings up something else that I think is important, but that only time will tell on, and that is how a contestant stretches and enhances his or her talent. Sabrina Sloan showed that she's got the professional licks to go further. It will be how she absorbs input from the judges, not only hers but that given to the rest of the group, that can make or break her.Of the Top Twelve boys on Tuesday night's show, only one is worthy of my mention and that's because of the way he looks at the task at hand. Chris Slige brought something to the mix that many established artists leave to their management team to handle -- marketing and strategy. Chris came right out and said those were tools he had at the ready to use. Use them, he did. His song choice lyrically played on the fact that he was not the average Idol entertainer. If that wasn't enough, his back and forth comments with AI judge Simon Cowell were likely calculated to make him fodder for water cooler chats throughout the land. Love him or hate him, reading many of the recaps and comments lead me to believe that most fans were talking about him the next day. Given a cooling off that several passing days allow, his is the only male performance this week to stand out in my mind because I remember his presence and not just his offering.Now you know how I make my decisions. Is my take far off from how others watch the American Idol race? For example, cultural solidarity towards contestants is an issue that's being debated at Desicritics, part of our Blogcritics family. Writer Amrita Rajan seems to have stirred up a bit of a hornet's nest over there with her recent opinion piece titled American Idol: I'm Not Voting For Sanjaya.What other components do you use to make up your mind -- age, sex, genre?

American Idol News: Fantasia to Appear Tonight, Lythgoe and Warwick to Helm Emmys

tink — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 11:23:28 EST

Big doin's on American Idol this week and this time we're not talking about the first viewer voting shows of season six. Yesterday, FOX released several statements in conjunction with the show.Tuesday night host Ryan Seacrest mentioned that there would be a surprise guest on Thursday night's (voting) results show. FOX said yesterday that the special guest tonight will be season three Idol champion, Fantasia Barrino, who will perform and make a "special announcement." Since winning the title in 2004, Fantasia has been anything but idle (yes, I've been waiting five full seasons to use that homonym). Her debut release "I Believe" was the first single to hit Billboard's Hot 100 chart in the Number One position. Later that same year, her debut album Free Yourself sold over one million records, earning her a platinum sales award. Her music has received over twenty nominations from the Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, Vibe Awards, Soul Train Awards and Soul Train “Lady of Soul” Awards, Billboard Music Awards and R&B and Hip-Hop Awards, BET Awards, NAACP Image Awards, and Teen Choice Awards.In 2005 she had a New York Times best-seller with her autobiography Life is Not a Fairy Tale. The Lifetime cable channel made the memoir into an original movie in the summer of 2006. It became the second-most watched film in Lifetime's 22-year history, as well as the highest rated cable movie premiere for 2006. There's an encore presentation scheduled for Friday night, February 28th, at 9 P.M. EST, again on Lifetime.This past December, Fantasia's second album was released. The self-titled record gave her the chance to work with several noted musical guests: Missy Elliot, Big Boi, OutKast, Dre & Vidal, Swizz Beatz, and songwriter Diane Warren all added bits to the final mix.Besides her own recordings, Ms. Barrino is slated to appear on Aretha Franklin's next album, due out later this year. More? A further connection with the Queen of Soul will be her appearance on the United Negro College Fund's An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Aretha Franklin television special. "Baby, I Love You" and "Rock Steady" are the Aretha songs Fantasia is scheduled to sing on the program.Where can Fantasia go from here? What could this upcoming announcement be about? Odds are good that it will have to do with a much bandied about role in the Broadway production of Oprah Winfrey's The Color Purple. Guess we'll have to tune in tonight to find out what the deal is. The other Idol announcement yesterday was co-presented by Dick Askin, Chairman and CEO for the Television Academy, and Peter Liguori, President of Entertainment of the Fox Broadcasting Company. Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick, executive producers for A.I., have been given the task of executive producing the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ 59th Primetime Emmy Awards. Askin made reference to American Idol, as well as other shows they've worked on, when he said, "Nigel and Ken are terrific producers, and their expertise in live event programming will be a major asset to this year's Primetime Emmy telecast."Lythgoe and Warwick are honored and thrilled about their prestigious positions. “The Emmy Awards not only celebrate excellence in television, the Emmy Awards are excellent television. Star power, production values, drama, suspense, tears and euphoria, just like an American Idol finale. While appreciating the traditional and maintaining the high standards of past Emmy Award ceremonies, we will also be recognizing the ever-changing landscape of today’s successful television," stated Lythgoe.The 59th Primetime Emmy Awards show, will air live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Sunday, Sept. 16 (8:00-11:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on the FOX Network.