Showing posts with label television. Show all posts
Showing posts with label television. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Composer Bear McCreary wins his first Emmy!

Bear McCreary and his first, of many, golden statues
photo from Bear's facebook
Bear McCreary needs to get a big cabinet for this sucker, because there will be many more to come. Many more.

I know this happened a few weeks ago, but I just wanted to post a little ditty saying that that I'm proud to know this guy, and very excited about what's to come. It's been a trip watching from afar as he's composed the scores for Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead, Human Target, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and now Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (and more).

I hope it's okay to say that I see this Emmy as being a sort of "lifetime achievement so far" award for all of the above listed projects. In my humble opinion, the work that he did on Battlestar is enough to earn this award.

Check out my 2009 interview with Bear, post Battlestar

If you're into television and movie soundtracks and fascinated with the whole process, check out his blog.

 

Raya, Bear & me before their wedding ceremony in Malibu, CA 2010

Monday, August 30, 2010

The Emmys - It looks like I might be enjoying TV again

Jimmie Falon sings goodbye to Lost, Law & Order and 24.

Just in case you missed the Emmy's last night, it was actually pretty fun.

I used to watch entirely too much TV. Ask my parents and my brother. And then sometime in my 20s, I stopped watching. But now (mostly likely because I've been through phases of free cable, roommates that like TV, netflix and hulu) I find myself knowing more about TV that I have in a long time.

I've recently been turned onto the Lefsetz Letter, a (now) blog by Bob Lefsetz, a former entertainment business attorney. This "letter" has been in existence for over 25 years. This is some what he had to say about the Emmys. (read more here)

This entry seems to sum up why TV seems to be more and more "movie-star" studded every year, why even I think there's good stuff to watch on TV and why I don't seem to end up at the movies very often anymore.
I no longer go to the movies. There’s nothing there for me.

If you want truth, you turn on TV. All the big stars are working on the small screen. And the small screen tackles subjects deemed too tiny for the big screen. If it involves human emotions, if it’s complicated drama, it’s on the small screen. The big screen is reserved for special effects. Oh, of course they trot out drama in the theatres, but the focus is on production values, the story is secondary to the presentation. That’s like thinking a record’s production is more important than the songs, than the playing. Just like recording stars of yore spend a fortune to buff their product to a sheen that is impenetrable, using auto-tune and effects to achieve perfection, which no one can relate to. We’re attracted to humanity. And that’s gone from the big screen and major label music. In search of all the profits, with the goal of making a ton of money, the core audience has been turned off.
Please enjoy the musical stylings of Jimmie Fallon, the cast of Glee, Tina Fey, Betty White, Jon Hamm and more as they mimic Bruce Springsteen. Jimmie ain't bad!



Jimmie Falon sings goodbye to Lost, Law & Order and 24 to the tune of Elton John, Boys II Bem and Green Day.

Friday, January 22, 2010

PBS's new music program "Sound Tracks" explores relevant music around the world

Some of the world’s best music has been created out of great passion and great struggle.

I was listening to Forum on KQED/NPR this morning driving my cat home from the vet and heard about an exciting new show that will air next Monday night at 10pm called "Sound Tracks: Music Without Borders." I didn't get to hear the whole report (a cat in a carrier is not a happy cat), but I am very excited about this show.

Producer Marco Werman and international correspondents Alexis Bloom, Arun Rath and Mirissa Neff have created a show that will take viewers on journeys of discovery from the bayous of Louisiana to the backstreets of Havana, from the nightclubs of Paris to desert music festivals in Mali. They'll interview everyone from Rock 'n Roll Hall of Famers to Bollywood singers, violin virtuosos to bluegrass musicians. It's not just good music they are looking for, but good stories behind the music.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF MY ARTICLE ON EXAMINER.COM

Click here for the "Sound Tracks" official website

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Evolution of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going": Jennifer Holliday, Jennifer Hudson and Amber Riley from Glee


"I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" has, since the film version of Dreamgirls become the song for divas. American Idol contestants have sung it, Bianca Ryan has sung it, even the Filipina Divas have sung it (and quite well I might add). If you’ve got a big voice, and you want to show it off, you sing this song. You CAN’T sing this song badly, if you do, everyone will notice.

Last night we had the pleasure of hearing Amber Riley sing "And I'm Telling You" on Glee. Gawd, I love her ("Bust Your Windows"? Yeah!). But before Riley and J-Hud, there was Jennifer Holliday. She is the Godmother of them all. Holliday played Effie in the Tony winning production of Dreamgirls in the early 80s.

When Holliday performs this song, it's more like watching an emotional purging. I've never seen a performance like it before, especially the one below at the Tony Awards. You can see and hear the anguish emanating from her. I really enjoy Hudson and Riley's performances of the song, but both are lacking in the way that Holliday makes you feel her pain. Both Hudson and Riley can sing, no doubt about it, but Holliday really embodies the song when she does it.

Let me also just say, if I've done the math correctly, Holliday was the YOUNGEST of the three when she performed the song: she was 21 or 22. Hudson and Riley were a couple years older.

So, without further ado, I give you Jennifer Holliday at the 1982 Tony Awards. Please skip to 3:30 unless you want to see the scene that leads up to the song. She won a Tony for this performance.





Click here to hear Jennifer Hudson and Amber Riley's performance

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Spamalot will entertain the funny bone in Monty Python know-it-alls as well as newbies

John O'Hurley wants you to eat your Spam

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries!

There is nothing not silly about Spamalot. It is absolute, hokey fun. Die hard Monty Python fans love it because Python-isms are scattered all over the stage and newbies will love it because Python-ism never get old. If you blink you might miss one. They come at you so fast you're bound to miss one. I missed several, but I was also sitting way up on the side of the second balcony.

Playing King Arthur, John O'Hurley is San Francisco's special Spamalot celebrity. He is best known for his portrayal of Elaine's boss, J. Peterman, on Seinfeld and was also a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. O'Hurley performed in the Las Vegas run of Spamalot for two years but is clearly still enjoying himself.

“It’s the one promise that I make in entertainment right now," O'Hurley said in an interview with The SF Examiner. "You will laugh from the moment you sit down until the moment we do our curtain calls. I regard silliness as the highest form of comedy, and this is silly at the highest level.”


This video doesn't really have anything to do with the musical directly, but it's silly. So bring it on...

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Interview with Bear McCreary on examiner.com!!


Hello readers!

I am happy to report that I have been accepted to be a music writer for examiner.com and that I will be GETTING PAID in CASH MONEY (through paypal) for my writing. This blog will not die, I promise, I mean where else am I going to share Muppet videos at 5 AM in the morning???

I will be linking everything I write for examiner.com to this blog, so you don't have to do anything different, just click away. Please note that I get paid by the amount of traffic I get. And no, refreshing 100 times a day will not make a difference. Once a day, or whatever you do, is fabulous.

My first story is an interview with Bear McCreary, Battlestar Gallactica's composer. I lucked out with having friends in such awesome places. I'm really happy with my first journalist interview (which is pretty different than ethnographic ones) and thank you very much to my brother and those of you fabulous people that edited it before I uploaded it.

Here is a sneak peak at the upcoming documentary.

Good things are starting to happen here at alwaysmoretohear (including free press passes! Why didn't I think of that years ago??!!!) so please keep checking back. There will always be more to hear and I will keep sharing the good tunes with you.

Thanks again,

Jamie

p.s. oh, and I get to see Bruce Springsteen with my dad and brother tonight. How much better can today get?

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Good ol' Pop Music: Lady Gaga, Lily Allen & Ellen

I enjoy pop music, to a point (SOOOOO sick of Britney). Some "pop" stars are very talented people that know how to milk the music industry with a sellable image.

Right now chicks with attitudes are in: Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Lady Gaga, etc.

I dig what I've heard so far of Lady Gaga's super electro sound. And judging from this live radio performance of "Poker Face," the girl's got some vocal pipes too (and a very strange horrible looking wig complete with a "hair bow").



This is a silly moment on the "Ellen DeGeneres Show" with Ellen and Lily Allen singing Britney's "Womanizer" in the bathroom. I'm amazed that Ellen knows this song in it's entirety.  She's so cute.  (And Lily Allen is cool too, here's a link to her new video "the Fear".)



And while we're talking cute: Ellen's show has a schtick where her celebrity guests go to various places on the studio lot with an ear piece. Equipped with hidden cameras, we watch unknowing service people's reactions as Ellen feeds the celebrities lines. They end up looking like lunatics. 

Here's Dennis Quaid at the studio Starbucks, he gets the barista to sing "Day-O" with him:



Thanks to Lauren for these.