On my quest to get back into the world of music properly i'm listening to Jessie J's new album 'Alive'.
Jessie J was always one of those people who surprised me. I have to say that I'm not a true fan of this style of music but Price Tag and then Domino won me over.
It goes without saying that nothing has changed. As i'm listening to her new album i'm being turned into a complete Jessie J fan. The music is really catchy and I can tell that I am going to be singing it for a long time.
Track 1- It's my party was just as i expected. The almost funk like guitar that is a common feature in 'Price Tag' and also in 'Domino'. The balance is perfect. None of her music are heavily bass dominated or beat heavy. The kind of music that you would play at a wedding or party and would have everyone in the room on their feet and dancing (even if they protest that they can't or don't dance).
Listening to track 2- Thunder... I have to admit that i'm surprised. I didn't realise that Jessie could sing as low as she does. They are notes that i would typically associate with someone like Beyonce or Rihanna.
This album has the perfect mix of slightly calmer songs which have the more ballad-like feel to them and the more upbeat dance tracks. Jessie has mixed them perfectly. The balance is amazing- managing to keep the dance drum beat with slower and more emotional singing... something i'm always reluctant for artists to try because most of them don't get the balance right and it just doesn't work.
This is an amazing album... possibly the best album that has been released in a long time. Loads of feel good songs and not a single one that i dislike. This is her best album yet and possibly the best that has been released by other artists in her field.
I'd definitely recommend it! Quitting the voice was a really good call... well done Jessie!
Thursday, 19 December 2013
Ian Flemming
Having finished my Jane Eyre post (finally!... I know that i've got to edit it and add a few things in :)), i thought that i would skip away from classical literature for the moment and just post about the books that i have been reading recently!
I will continue to update my post on the Odyssey to help you guys out, but the next classical literature post probably wont come until after christmas and is likely to be either 'Of Mice and Men' or Shakespeare (probably King Lear)... so feel free to comment if you have a preference!
So the books that I have been reading are ten of Ian Fleming's James Bond. I've loved the films and couldn't bear the fact that i hadn't read any of the books... so I started reading them.
I find the character of James very interesting. The best agent in the secret service and a known womaniser who drinks far more than the recommended amount and smokes all the time. The portrayal of women in these books are that they are accessories. He doesn't trust them to work with and certainly doesn't want to work with them. However, he cannot work with a women, without sleeping with the women.
The amount of times that Fleming writes that his character is constantly in love with whichever women he is sleeping with is unbelievable! The man only marries at the end of 'On her majesty's secret service' and his wife dies almost immediately.
Now that i've put that rant to bed I can talk about Fleming's fantastic ability to grab his audience. His clearly describes every scene and every setting. The books don't lack for action and the fight scenes certainly aren't as ridiculous or dated as the scenes that you see in the Sean Connery films.
Some of the books are very different from the films... Casino Royale and Moonraker are very different. Casino Royale has a lot more focus on the actual casino. When we meet James Bond, he is already at the casino and gambling away... making lots of money to prepare for his big task. James isn't poisoned by Le Chiffre and Mathis isn't a traitor. Vesper is the traitor- she explains all to James in her suicide letter. The ending of the film was changed. The humour is very dry and the books are very serious. James appears to be focused and completely oblivious to Her. When he meets her, he assumes that he will sleep with her but only after the work is done.
Moonraker is very different because the plot was changed in the film. There is no plot to start life on another planet and create a superior race- just as the moonraker didn't go missing. Jaws doesn't feature in it at all (which was disappointing) and James catches him cheating at cards in a club that M plays at.
The character development of James is subtle and slow but by the tenth book, not only is he lucky to be alive (he almost died in 'From Russia With Love' and the ending is not the same as in the film), but he is also on the verge of losing his job after mucking up two operations. He has got married, watched his wife be murdered by his enemy and seems to finally giving in to his alcohol problems. He meant to retire from the service anyway and now we are seeing a completely different side of James that we haven't been allowed to see.
I can imagine that you are wondering if it is worth reading the other 8 or 9 books to get to this side of James and that you might just want to skip ahead to the end and see what happens, but each book is a separate book in it's own right. Each book contains action and drama and makes you desperate to read the next one.
With a new film set to come out in the next year or two, now is a great time to become a James bond expert and be able to assess if the film has got the correct presentation of James bond.
I will continue to update my post on the Odyssey to help you guys out, but the next classical literature post probably wont come until after christmas and is likely to be either 'Of Mice and Men' or Shakespeare (probably King Lear)... so feel free to comment if you have a preference!
So the books that I have been reading are ten of Ian Fleming's James Bond. I've loved the films and couldn't bear the fact that i hadn't read any of the books... so I started reading them.
I find the character of James very interesting. The best agent in the secret service and a known womaniser who drinks far more than the recommended amount and smokes all the time. The portrayal of women in these books are that they are accessories. He doesn't trust them to work with and certainly doesn't want to work with them. However, he cannot work with a women, without sleeping with the women.
The amount of times that Fleming writes that his character is constantly in love with whichever women he is sleeping with is unbelievable! The man only marries at the end of 'On her majesty's secret service' and his wife dies almost immediately.
Now that i've put that rant to bed I can talk about Fleming's fantastic ability to grab his audience. His clearly describes every scene and every setting. The books don't lack for action and the fight scenes certainly aren't as ridiculous or dated as the scenes that you see in the Sean Connery films.
Some of the books are very different from the films... Casino Royale and Moonraker are very different. Casino Royale has a lot more focus on the actual casino. When we meet James Bond, he is already at the casino and gambling away... making lots of money to prepare for his big task. James isn't poisoned by Le Chiffre and Mathis isn't a traitor. Vesper is the traitor- she explains all to James in her suicide letter. The ending of the film was changed. The humour is very dry and the books are very serious. James appears to be focused and completely oblivious to Her. When he meets her, he assumes that he will sleep with her but only after the work is done.
Moonraker is very different because the plot was changed in the film. There is no plot to start life on another planet and create a superior race- just as the moonraker didn't go missing. Jaws doesn't feature in it at all (which was disappointing) and James catches him cheating at cards in a club that M plays at.
The character development of James is subtle and slow but by the tenth book, not only is he lucky to be alive (he almost died in 'From Russia With Love' and the ending is not the same as in the film), but he is also on the verge of losing his job after mucking up two operations. He has got married, watched his wife be murdered by his enemy and seems to finally giving in to his alcohol problems. He meant to retire from the service anyway and now we are seeing a completely different side of James that we haven't been allowed to see.
I can imagine that you are wondering if it is worth reading the other 8 or 9 books to get to this side of James and that you might just want to skip ahead to the end and see what happens, but each book is a separate book in it's own right. Each book contains action and drama and makes you desperate to read the next one.
With a new film set to come out in the next year or two, now is a great time to become a James bond expert and be able to assess if the film has got the correct presentation of James bond.
Three & a half Mince pies- The Penny Arcade Quartet Christmas EP
I know that i'm just focusing on this band for the moment... but I'm not very up to date with the music at the moment and I'm trying to find stuff to review.
I haven't got Beyonce's new album so I can't review it.
Anyway- last year these guys released an album with a compilation of well known songs such as Simon and Garfunkel's 'Homeward Bound' and Mumford & Sons 'The Cave'.
I've already spoken about this album and i'm just taking more time to promote this album.
So this year they released an EP. These guys don't have a label so they raise the money to record through a kickstarter.
The first track is a really jazzy, barber shop version of 'Sleigh Ride'. They uploaded a taster of this song on their youtube page and the minute that they have uploaded is enough to make you want to buy it straight away. It's got everything in it!
Remember that these guys arranged their own stuff... it's truly awesome and I'm including the link to it on youtube at the bottom of the page.
This is a five track EP and it really does them justice. They started out singing carols in a pub and they've gone back to singing carols for our entertainment. White Christmas, Have Yourself A Merry Christmas and Good King Wenceslas are also featured on this EP, with the final track being an original song written By Matt O'keeffe, using the words of a William Blake poem.
I'm not sure if they are going to upload any of their own original songs (i believe that they have 2 christmas songs and 2 other songs off of their previous album!)
It's the perfect gift for christmas and the only CD you want playing at work around the christmas time!
There's not much else to say except- Go and listen to the taster and their other works and contact them to buy the EP!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJhhHY0HtYs
I haven't got Beyonce's new album so I can't review it.
Anyway- last year these guys released an album with a compilation of well known songs such as Simon and Garfunkel's 'Homeward Bound' and Mumford & Sons 'The Cave'.I've already spoken about this album and i'm just taking more time to promote this album.
So this year they released an EP. These guys don't have a label so they raise the money to record through a kickstarter.
The first track is a really jazzy, barber shop version of 'Sleigh Ride'. They uploaded a taster of this song on their youtube page and the minute that they have uploaded is enough to make you want to buy it straight away. It's got everything in it!
Remember that these guys arranged their own stuff... it's truly awesome and I'm including the link to it on youtube at the bottom of the page.This is a five track EP and it really does them justice. They started out singing carols in a pub and they've gone back to singing carols for our entertainment. White Christmas, Have Yourself A Merry Christmas and Good King Wenceslas are also featured on this EP, with the final track being an original song written By Matt O'keeffe, using the words of a William Blake poem.
I'm not sure if they are going to upload any of their own original songs (i believe that they have 2 christmas songs and 2 other songs off of their previous album!)
It's the perfect gift for christmas and the only CD you want playing at work around the christmas time!
There's not much else to say except- Go and listen to the taster and their other works and contact them to buy the EP!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJhhHY0HtYs
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