A Super Bowl for Everybody

This Sunday, in case you haven’t already heard from the seemingly 24-hour coverage, is Super Bowl Sunday. It is the one ‘holiday’ where everyone can take part and enjoy. The football fans have their excitement coming from the game, of course, but the regular TV viewer is still excited for the alternative sources of entertainment. Sometimes it’s the halftime show, but typically it’s the time for commercials to take centre stage and wow us all. At a cost of $3 Million(!) for a 30-second spot, according to Reuters, the marketing geniuses branding their companies during the game have a lot to live up to. Every year, football fans and non-football fans alike can freely talk about which commercial they found to be the most memorable. Sometimes, it’s shameless over-sexualization of women that the male viewers won’t forget (or upset women). Other times, the commercials tug at our heartstrings when “Mean” Joe Green turns out to be not such a mean guy after all. One thing for sure is that at Super Bowl XLV the three B’s will be present: babes, beer, and beatings.

Song of the Week - Lara St. John

Lara St. John - Goldberg 2
Album: Re: Bach

Success found Lara St. John at a very young age. She debuted with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra at the age of 4 and was featured as a solo performer the following year with Orchestra London Canada. She is now closing in on her 40^th birthday, and her early successes have not stifled her at all. During her career, she has been the grand national champion at the Canadian Music Competitions and has a national first-place winner on five occasions, not to mention countless other awards in the classical music scene.

The London, Ontario born artist garnered some controversy at the beginning of her career when releasing her first solo album Bach Works for Violin Solo (1996), as the cover art featured Ms. St. John topless holding her violin across her chest. The cover may been the catalyst for people talking about her in the music, but her musical talents have created her longevity as she recently released (along side her brother Scott and The Knights) her 8^th album, Mozart, under her own production company, Ancalagon Records.

Her style can be very formal to the likes of traditional classical music fans, but still able to have a more alternative tone at times, as seen with Goldberg 2.

Suggestive nudity and upbeat remakes from classic composers? Not all classical music is what you think.

Leaving Early: A Comeback Story

It’s the 4^th quarter and the game coming down to the wire. You are at home just wishing that you were at that game live, just to feel the energy and excitement of the crowd at the end of the game. And the sad truth is that many of those at the game live are heading for the exits, relegating themselves to finding out the winner on the radio, for fear of being stuck in traffic a half-hour longer.

This past Monday, the Toronto Raptors played host to the Memphis Grizzlies. Granted, neither one of these teams is a big attendance draw, but professional basketball still gets its fair amount of fans. The Raptors are down by as much as 12 points with less than 9 minutes to go. Cue the comeback. A strong 16-3 run puts them ahead by a single point with just under 4 minutes left. And at that point it seemed the best for many fans to head to the exits. Why? Why would anyone pay $50 or more to come to a basketball game, a game where all the excitement lies in the final minutes of the 4^th quarter, only to leave once the game is approaching its peak? This seems to be a common practice for Toronto sports fans.

Song of the Week - Perfume Genius

Perfume Genius – Mr. Peterson

Album: Learning

Mike Hadreas is Perfume Genius, the young solo artist from Seattle who first began releasing his music online after moving to Washington from New York. Now in his 20s, Perfume Genius has released his debut album, Learning, a melancholic 30-minute record featuring wonderful piano playing and heavy lyrics from a soft voice.

As Mike Diver wrote in his BBC music review: “This is a sad record, but one where pain is articulated with an acute beauty that glosses somewhat over emotional cracks, mercifully without such heavy handedness that compelling catharsis can’t take flight.”

Mr. Peterson was an old high school teacher.

Poker: Not a Sport.

I will never debate against the popularity of poker (there were over 7,000 entrants for the 2010 World Series of Poker Main event with an entrance fee of $10,000). I will never debate against the difficulty of winning or even contending amongst countless professionals be it at a live table or online. The mental stamina required is extremely high and the margin for error extremely low. What I will say, however, is that poker; despite all the glitz, glamour, and TV time on notable sports channels; is the furthest thing from a sport.

Some may argue that poker is in fact a sport. Let me explain why it isn’t.

In With the Old

Welcome to a new generation of graphic novels: one which creates a new storytelling world with famous characters of our past. The success of the award-winning Fables has far surpassed anything that can be written here; Bill Willingham’s works with characters from folklore to fairy tales have garnered 14 Eisner Awards (the Oscars of the graphic novel world) over its 9-year run. Fables has most recently released its 100^th issue, not to mention the spin-off stories of Jack of Fables, the prequel 1001 Nights of Snowfall, a prose novel entitled Peter and Max, and most recently the release of Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love, the latter being written by Chris Roberson. Instead of retelling the famous tales of Little Red Riding Hood or Pinocchio, Bill Willingham has instead integrated all the fables into our own world. The fables live in the Upper East Side of Manhattan or on a segregated farm in upstate New York, doing their best to hide their magic from the regular people (like us readers) who are not from folklore and have no special powers.

The success of this series has perhaps inspired the latest graphic novel hit, Kill Shakespeare, a series created by two Canadians, Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery. Kill Shakespeare has a strong parallel with Fables, as this story incorporates all of the characters of the many books of William Shakespeare into one integrated tale. The first arc tells the story of a young Hamlet, who has just lost his father, the King of Denmark. Prince Hamlet must then choose to either fight the evil Richard the III who has teamed up with the voluptuous Lady Macbeth, or to side with King Richard who has promised to resurrect Hamlet’s father from the grave in return for one simple task: kill the wizard William Shakespeare. The story of Kill Shakespeare, too new to have the depth of the likes of Fables, manages to peak our interest based on our fondness and curiosity for the writings of Shakespeare’s stories from over 400 years ago.

The successes of both series are well documented. Fables is currently one of the longest running graphic novels and has no foreseeable end in sight, especially since characters from folklore do not age. Kill Shakespeare is in its early stages, but on the right path. The co-creators claim that their story idea has the potential to be a multi-billion dollar series, amongst the famous movies/books of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. After releasing the comic version, Kill Shakespeare was recently awarded to top prize of $10,000 for the Toronto International Film Festival contest “Pitch This!”, an annual competition for the best original movie pitch of the year. But where is the line between creativity and drawing from the success of legendary stories?

Song of the Week (Penguin Villa)

Penguin Villa - Acrophobia

This song was featured on the recent winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.

This Thai movie tells the story of a dying man's last days while revisiting relatives who have since past away. The song plays during the final moments of the film and the music accentuates the wonderfully soothing pace of the movie.

Though the lyrics are in Thai, the music together with the enjoyable story of a penguin that won't give up make for a enjoyable musical experience.

And I encourage you all to see Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.

aa.

Song of the Week - Cee Lo

Cee Lo Green - F**k You
Album: The Lady Killer

Yes! I know this song is a couple months old now, but it’s just that good. Cee-Lo Green has rejuvenated the love of motown in this catchy song thanks to the plain comedic relief of the chorus. Though radio edits have tried to censor the song to “Forget you,” the full enjoyment of the song is lost in the lack of cursing. In fact, the blatant use of the F word is so overused that one would think the song would quickly lose its magic. But it doesn’t.

Cee-Lo Green is no stranger to the limelight. His hit song “Crazy” a one of the two member making Gnarls Barkley (the other being DJ Danger Mouse, a former Song of the Week nominee) topped many song charts for months. He’s also collaborated with Outkast, Puff Daddy, T.I., and pretty much every big name in the hip-hop industry.

At first, this song seems like a short lived pick me up song, but months after its release, the song is still just as catchy and enjoyable as it was several months ago. Don’t be shy to hit repeat.

What a great song to start the year!

Credit Where It's Due: ayalah

Movie Watchers I Know - Part IV (My Fatal Flaw)

In our final instalment of Movie Watchers I Know, I follow some biblical advice: Judge not lest ye be judged.

Parts I through III involved discussion over the many traits of movie watchers, but it in theatres or at home, many of them being pet peeves of mine. At the end of each introduction, I freely asked readers to admit if they belonged to any category. In order to avoid any hypocrisy, it is only fair that I too admit to any movie characteristics I might show.

Be sure to read Parts I through III before casting your judgment on me.

Part I: In Theatres (Pre-Movie).

Part II: In Theatres (During the Movie).

Part III: At Home.

Now it's time to admit to my fatal flaw.