This Week’s NEXT BIG THING
March 14, 2008 by Romy
Who would have guessed that Starbucks is the place to start a band? For The Afters, who are four former Starbucks employees, without this coffee chain, they would have never met or started their band nearly eight years ago. This month, The Afters released their catchy CCM sophomoric album Never Going Back to OK. Maybe you’ve heard their melodic superhit “Beautiful Melody” on MTV’s show 8th & Ocean, but click here to listen to their title track, “Never Going Back to OK” to get a taste for what this new album has in store for us.
Go Digital with Scott Kelby
March 14, 2008 by S C
Scott Kelby, the man who changed the “digital darkroom” forever with his groundbreaking, #1 bestselling, award-winning book The Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers, now tackles the most important side of digital photography–how to take pro-quality shots using the same tricks today’s top digital pros use (and it’s easier than you’d think). This entire book is written with a brilliant premise, and here’s how Scott describes it: “If you and I were out on a shoot, and you asked me, ‘Hey, how do I get this flower to be in focus, but I want the background out of focus?’ I wouldn’t stand there and give you a lecture about aperture, exposure, and depth of field. In real life, I’d just say, ‘Get out your telephoto lens, set your f/stop to f/2.8, focus on the flower, and fire away.’ You d say, ‘OK,’ and you’d get the shot. That’s what this book is all about. A book of you and I shooting, and I answer the questions, give you advice, and share the secrets I’ve learned just like I would with a friend, without all the technical explanations and without all the techno-photo-speak.” This isn’t a book of theory—it isn’t full of confusing jargon and detailed concepts: this is a book of which button to push, which setting to use, when to use them, and nearly two hundred of the most closely guarded photographic “tricks of the trade” to get you shooting dramatically better-looking, sharper, more colorful, more professional-looking photos with your digital camera every time you press the shutter button. Here’s another thing that makes this book different: each page covers just one trick, just one single concept that makes your photography better. Every time you turn the page, you’ll learn another pro setting, another pro tool, another pro trick to transform your work from snapshots into gallery prints. There’s never been a book like it, and if you’re tired of taking shots that look “OK,” and if you’re tired of looking in photography magazines and thinking, “Why don’t my shots look like that?” then this is the book for you.
Hot New Video Release: No Country For Old Men
March 14, 2008 by S C
The Academy Awards told us one thing this year: No Country For Old Men is a movie worth watching! The film walked away with Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Motion Picture of the Year. The Coen Brothers deliver yet another original film – this time we travel to the desert terrain of Texas, where a lone hunter has discovered a suitcase of money. Of course, there is no such thing as easy money, and this found drug money is heavily sought after by the incredibly creepy and will-stop-at-nothing, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). Tommy Lee Jones as local sheriff Ed Tom Bell tries to piece together this ill-fated adventure and it’s only a matter of time until we figure out how this will all end.
Click here to purchase No Country For Old Men, available this Tuesday on both DVD and Blu-Ray.
Kool Herc – Back on the Block
March 14, 2008 by S C
DJ Kool Herc — known as the father of Hip Hop for using break-beats and toasting in the streets of the Bronx in early 70’s - recently won the battle of the block as he was brought in last summer to draw attention to the prospect of losing the building where hip hop was born, 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, a place where the NY native threw many parties in the community room back in 1973, parties that lead to neighbourhood parks, basements and nightclubs. 1520 Sedgwick Avenue situated in Bronx, New York, is credited as being the birthplace of Hip Hop, is no longer on the bidding block and will remain a landmark in history while keeping the hundreds of tenants that have helped and preserved this culture in the building.
Tower products featuring DJ Kool Herc:
Can’t Stop Won’t Stop
Jeff Chang (Author)
A history of hip-hop cites its origins in the post-civil rights Bronx and Jamaica, drawing on interviews with performers, activists, gang members, DJs, and others to document how the movement has influenced politicsand culture. Featuring a spotlight on the life and legacy of DJ Kool Herc.
5 Sides of a Coin
Africa Bambaataa (actor), Kool Herc (actor) and Paul Kell (director)
The Definitive Documentary On The Five Aspects of Hip Hop Culture - Exploring the myth that Hip-Hop is merely “Rap music,” 5 Sides Of A Coin is an overview of the international culture of Hip-Hop. This documentary presents Hip-Hop culture for what it really is: it’s origins, diaspora and the 5 basic elements that help define it. Featuring rare interviews with DJ Kool Herc.
This Week’s NEXT BIG THING: Yael Naim
March 6, 2008 by Romy
For those interested in sampling the sounds of one of the most dynamic singer/songwriters in World Music today, this two-song CD single from Israel’s darling Yael Naim will not disappoint! For TV fanatics with a good ear for great music, you will likely recognize this single’s lead-off track, “New Soul,” which skyrocketed the young performer to fame after being aired as part of the successfull Apple Macbbook Air ad campaign.
A little more information about Naim:
Born in Paris in 1978 to Jewish-Tunisian parents, Naim moved with her family to Ramat HaSharon, Israel at the age of four, where she learned Hebrew and trained as a pianist. She served in Israel Defence Forces as a soloist in Israel Air Force Orchestra and began her singing career with a part in the musical “Les Dix Commandements.” Her first solo album, In A Man’s Womb, was released in 2001.
A move to Paris in 2000 prompted Naïm to meet and join forces with percussionist David Donatien and other ecletic French performers. Over a period of two years they recorded thirteen of Naïm’s songs in a studio in Naïm’s Paris apartment, and these were released as her second album, Yael Naim, in the fall of 2007 on the Tôt Ou Tard label. The songs are in French, English, and Hebrew and received critical acclaim, and the album entered the French album chart at #11 the week after its release. The style has been described as having a touch of folk and a touch of jazz, with mysterious and evocative words sung with a delicate and intentionally slightly husky voice.
In January 2008, her song “New Soul” was featured in the debut commercial for the MacBook Air laptop. The song gained fame from being featured in the ad, and it has peaked, as of February 1 2008, at #2 on the iTunes Top 100 Downloaded Songs. The domestic release of her full-length debut is available March 18, 2008.
Discography
* 2001: In A Man’s Womb
* 2007: Yael Naim
