An Entertainment Hodge-Podge
Movie to Musical…?
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I have always been a big theatre fan. In fact, for a brief period of 5 years, I thought I wanted to be an actor. That dream has sense faded away, but I still enjoy good theatre.
However, I have begun to ponder a question I have no answer to: Why do we insist on making movies into musicals?
For the most part, these movies now musicals are just bad. For instance, Grease. Now, Grease was a movie-musical, but when they attempted to adapt it to a stage-musical, it failed. Epically. (Granted, the movie wasn’t amazing either.)
Chris Bennion's photo of Aaron Tveit, center, in the recent Seattle musical production of “Catch Me if You Can"
At the end of July, another movie made to musical hit the stages of Seattle. Catch Me if You Can premiered July 23 at the 5th Avenue Theatre. Something about this shakes my inner being. The movie just doesn’t seem, or feel, like a
musical. (At least Grease already had music in it.)
However, I want to be proven wrong.
Many movies have become extremely successful musicals that are exciting and
entertaining. The Lion King is one of my favorite musicals. The strikingly detailed African set is matched by the majestic music by Elton John.
Also, Billy Elliot, once only a movie, was adapted into a musical and won a 2009 Tony for best musical.
It is hard to make a good movie into a good musical. So many have flopped, like Urban Cowboy and The Red Shoes. I just hope Catch Me if You Can is not one of those.
New Cell Phones Mean a New Way of Life: What the iPhone has done to the cell phone industry.
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Touch phones, more specifically iPhones, have become a new cell phone standard, but a time existed when cell phones were not an all-in-one touch device. The world of cell phones is changing, and so are the people who have them.
A way the cell phone market has evolved?
Kids are getting them. I heard a parent saying that her daughter’s friend (who’s in 4th grade) just got a cell phone. I got a cell phone in 8th grade, and that was early. (The only reason I got it is because my parents divorced and left me at school one day by accident.)
The people aren’t the only ones that are changing; the devices are changing too.
I can remember when my grandmother had a cell phone that looked like a clunky portable phone you would find in
Nokia 5530 Xpress Music
your house. Now they have cell phones that are less than 1/2 cm thick and as big as a credit card (like the Samsung U600.) However, even small phones are becoming outdated. The new, hip phones are touch phones.
Ever since Apple produced its extremely popular iPhone touch, all major cell phone producers have been forced to develop their own touch phones. Even Google, who just expanded to the cell phone market, revamped their G1 and produced a new MyTouch. Nokia took their Xpress Music phone, revamped it and created an Xpress Music touch phone.
Not only do people expect a touch phone, they also expect their phone to do more than make calls, store numbers and send text messages.
Thanks to the iPhone and the Blackberry, phones have to be all-in-one devices. Even Palm has been forced to enter the cell phone market because no one carries around a phone and a Palm Pilot anymore. And, their new phone, the Palm Pre, is touch.
So, Let’s see. What are the many tasks we expect our phones to do?
iPhone
- Call people
- Store numbers
- Text message
- Send and store emails
- Have an address book
- Have a planner or calendar
- Store music
- Have fast internet access
- Have fun games
- Have GPS
The list could go on and on.
So, is it a bad thing that we expect our phones to do everything? At least this way I don’t have to carry around a phone, an iPod, a planner (or Palm Pilot), and a Nintendo DS. However, everyone is always on their phone, never observing the world around them. In fact, the financial district in London was forced to put cushions around light polls because people were walking into them. Why? They were one their phones.
Tags: Cellphones, iPhone, Nokia, Nokia 5530, Nokia 5530 xpress music, Palm, Palm Pre, Samsung, samsung u600
Bo Burnham at La Zona Rosa
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Exciting news everyone!
So, as you know, I have been on a quest for comedic music. I have discovered another one, and he is coming to Austin.
Bo Burnham, self made YouTube star and youngest performer to record a comedy central special, is playing at La Zona Rosa on Saturday, Sept. 10.
Bo Burnham, like Weird Al Yankovic, does not rely on T.V. or digital shorts for comedic success. The teenager may have gotten his start on YouTube, but his music can stand alone. The majority of his videos are just him and his guitar or keyboard.
Burnham has an amazing musical ability. All of his songs are self-written. (That includes the music and the lyrics.)
Plus, if you aren’t in the mood for rap, you can listen to his more folk-y-pop music, like High School Party. But, if your a big fan of comedic rap music, he does plenty of that. (I’m Bo Yo’ is one of my personal favorites.)
The major reason I enjoy his music? The puns. He fills his lyrics with puns.
For example, in I’m Bo Yo the young virtuoso raps, “You’re a first time vegan, and it’s nice to meat ya.”
So, if you’re interested in some laughter and some live music go to La Zona Rosa on Sept. 10. The show starts at 9:oopm and is $25-$30. (Here’s a link to purchase the tickets: http://gettix.net/concert/?event_id=3060 .)
Getting ahead of myself…
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So, after writing two blogs about my new musical experiments, I realized I had not properly introduced myself or this blog.
I am a studious student at the prestigious St. Edward’s University. Now, most of you may laugh at that statement, but might I point out that St Edward’s has received national recognition in U.S. News and World Report for the last three years. (That just happens to be the three years I have attended the university.)
But, really. St. Edward’s is a great place.
My major is English writing and rhetoric with a professional writing focus. What I plan to do with that? Journalism, maybe. Hopefully, by the time I have graduated, the world of journalism may be flourishing once again. But, I also enjoy technical business writing and editing, as well as a little marketing writing and document designing. So, I like to believe I have plenty of options.
Now, about this blog. This blog is for my entertainment journalism class, and the esteemed Michael Barnes, social columnist for the Austin American Statesman, is my professor. I will find some interesting fact or topic that relates to the world of entertainment and post it here daily.
Hopefully, this blog will broaden my horizons and improve my mediocre, non-existent blogging skills.
The Comedic Music Saga Continues
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After my last post, I realized that all may not appreciate Weird Al Yankovic as I do. Therefore, I have decided to discuss two other groups that have found their way onto my iPod: Flight of the Conchords and the Lonely Island.
Flight of the Conchords is the name of a band, but it is also the name of a HBO show that just finished its second season. Two friends from New Zealand make their way to New York, aspiring for stardom. Instead, they get a horrible manager, who has no idea what he’s doing, and one fan who is more like a stalker.
They are exceptionally good at parodying a part of society. And, although their voices can sometimes hurt your ears, it adds to the comedic-ness of their songs.
But, if you aren’t in the mood to watch a T.V. show like Flight of the Conchords, the Lonely Island is a great alternative.
They got their big break on SNL with their Digital Shorts, and the group–comprised of Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone and Andy Samberg–now has an album called Incredibad. Though some of the songs may only make you smirk (and others may do nothing for you at all), a few will cause you to laugh hysterically.
However, I still prefer Yankovic over Flight of the Conchords and the Lonely Island. Why?
Both Flight of the Conchords and The Lonely Island have become extremely popular over the past couple of years for their hysterical lyrics and song writing. However, unlike Weird Al Yankovic, both of these groups depend more heavily on T.V.
These newer groups often rely on YouTube or the TV, which allows them to create comedic video shorts that often make the music funnier. Most people don’t buy the music until they have seen the video because the music isn’t hysterical until the visual images in the short are imprinted in their head. This is something that Weird Al Yankovic may have used through music videos, but he has never relied heavily on.
Therefore, when I want to watch a comedic music video, I watch Flight of the Conchords or The Lonely Island. But, if I want to sit back and laugh to some music, Weird Al is still my first pick.
I now have a comedic music genre on my iPod.
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Music genres are something I like to dabble in. And, although I never delve into one genre so deeply that I know it through and through, I know a lot of genres. My music genre phases have included rap, r&b, emo, indie, funk, jazz, classical, classic rock and plenty more. However, recently my tastes have proven to be more comedic.
Since I was in middle school, I heard and listened to Weird Al Yankovic. But, only recently have I discovered and recognized his true brilliance. Yes, I know people hate him. I, however, find him to be incredibly creative and hysterical. Now, I know he is no musician, but that doesn’t mean he can’t write lyrics. Even Chamillionaire, who’s Ridin’ Dirty song was the musical inspiration for Yankovic’s White and Nerdy, said he could rap.
Also, Weird Al can conquer any genre. One of my favorites–The Saga Begins–is to the tune of American Pie by Don McLean (who will occasionally sing Yankovic’s lyrics in concert by accident.) When I have my iPod on shuffle, sometimes I can’t distinguish between McLean and Yankovic. Yankovic really takes on the vocal presence of the singer he is imitating.
And, if you just don’t want to listen to folk, you can choose from rap, rock or pop. What more could you ask for?
An Entertainment Hodge-Podge 