Everyone who knows me knows I am a huge President Obama fan. I have read his books and I enjoy his speeches. I think he is the best President of my lifetime so far: progressive, intelligent, compassionate, witty, moral and articulate. Obama will be sorely missed and his speech at his final White House Correspondents’ dinner did not help. From the mic drop to the jokes, it was perfection. Goodbye Obama, I will miss you.
Milton Star follow their hugely successful double A side record ‘Salvation’ and ‘Sorryville’ with the release of their new single ‘Things Fall Apart’. The track is another example of duo Alan Wyllie and Graeme Currie’s unerring ability to create wonderfully atmospheric stories about love, loss and regret framed in beautifully structured melodies and carried by an expansive tremolo wall of sound and a dark soul.
For those familiar with simultaneously released debut, ‘Things Fall Apart’ finds them in similar territory with a tale of the darker side of the human condition, referencing the destructive capacity of depression and all it entails. “I think we all have that capacity to fall foul of our inner demons at times.” says Alan “and the pace of modern life and the inherent shallowness of relationships lived through social media & technology can detach us a little from the real world and the problems many suffer from, itching just below the surface.”
From the first Duane Eddy inspired twang underpinned by wandering strings and rhythmic arpeggio piano we are in cinematic noire territory and the accompanying video speaks volumes, the roll of the dice, the miniature Mariachis, the Mexicano tarot cards, the sinister skull-painted faces, the burlesque dancers – this is a beautifully tragic song rich in imagery.
Alan and Graeme have been collaborating in different guises dating back to the early days of post punk but these days the duo write and record their unique blend of indie and dark country in a converted church where Alan lives in Fife, which, as Alan explains, is pivotal in the writing process. “The things that feed the ideas and make the sound are the environment and acoustics here in the church and the setting of the surrounding countryside. Out in those fields you could be anywhere at any point in time, and that’s where the stories start to form.”
Graeme adds “Although we have a lot of shared musical influences like the Velvet Underground, Bowie and Roxy Music, I veer towards the more experimental side of things like Captain Beefheart whereas Alan likes a lot of early 50s vintage rock and country. Once you factor into that mix the cinematic soundtrack influences like Angelo Badalamenti and Ennio Morricone, that’s when the Milton Star sound comes together.”
Ever aspired to be a musician? Are you musician who wants to be able to read music? Well, look no further. Those awesome people at TED-Education have a brilliant video from Tim Hansen on How To Read Music, and it is a lot easier than you think.
Like an actor’s script, a sheet of music instructs a musician on what to play (the pitch) and when to play it (the rhythm). Sheet music may look complicated, but once you’ve gotten the hang of a few simple elements like notes, bars and clefs, you’re ready to rock. Tim Hansen hits the instrumental basics you need to read music.
Every see something float along your vision and wonder what the hell it is? The floating amoeba-shaped things are usually there after looking at a bright light. These are called floaters and if you ever wanted to know more about them then watch this amazing TED-education video from Michael Mauser called What are those floaty things in your eye? Watch and learn.
Firstly, if you have not read Angelina Jolie’s moving account of her latest preventative cancer surgery then you should. Two years after having her breasts removed she had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed and has since gone into menopause. Read her moving account here. In her first appearance since writing the piece for the New York Times she gave a heartfelt speech telling the audience at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards that it is okay to be different.
Jolie said: ‘Different is good. So, don’t fit. Don’t ever try to be less than what you are, and when someone tells you that you are different, smile and hold your head up high and be proud.’
Jolie made the speech after winning the Favourite Villain award for her role in Maleficent. She attended the awards with her gorgeous daughters Zahara and Shiloh, melting hearts everywhere as her daughters screamed and hugged their mother. Watch the video below.
Do you find Jolie inspirational?
The amazing Salma Hayek stars in highly anticipated action movie Everly, directed by Joe Lynch. The film is an action/thriller centred on a woman who faces down assassins sent by her ex, a mob boss, while holed up in her apartment.
Everly is set to be released on the 10th of April in the UK.
Patricia Arquette’s kick ass Oscar Speech took over the internet, and rightly so. While political statements are generally frowned upon at the Academy Awards, Arquette won the hearts of people all over the world with her demand for equal pay for women. The best reaction came from Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lopez, both of whom nearly fell off their seats with glee. Equal pay for women in Hollywood has been a widely debated topic since the Sony hacks. I hope that Arquette’s speech makes a difference, she has at least raised awareness to billions of people, and for that she is amazing.
She also said earlier this year that she paid her babysitter and dog walker more money than she made on Boyhood. She isn’t the only one to speak out. Hilary Swank said: “My male counterpart will get paid ten times more than me — ten times. Not double, but ten times for the same job. We only have this much left for the female actress. I mean, there’s two genders on this earth. Both are compelling, interesting, diverse, wonderful in all their own separate ways. And yet there’s an influx of male roles, and there’s just not for women.”
While Amy Pascal has said that the problem is that women accept less money than men it is not as simple as that. Pascal herself said that there are less roles for women so women are more likely to work for less just to have a job. This is a sad state of affairs that must change. Arquette has started the battle call, we must all follow through.
Madonna has been awesome since 1982 and she still shows no sign up slowing down. Her performance of Living For Love at the Grammys left all young pretenders in the dust. She may get a lot of ageist comments for being 56 but this proves all of her critics wrong. The video is the isolated vocals of her performance, no auto-tune. Her six-minute performance is amazing. If you don’t believe Madonna is still at the top of her game then watch and learn.
What do you think? Has Madonna still got it?