Monday, April 9, 2012

Shinedown/Almost Alice...

My Easter Tribute...



Lyrics...

("If I had a world of my own, everything will be nonsense")
("Nothing will be what it is, because everything will be what it isn't")

I invite you to a world where there is no such thing as time
And every creature lends themselves to change your state of mind
And the girl that chased the rabbit drank the wine and took the pill
Has locked herself in limbo to see how it truly feels

To stand outside your virtue
No one can ever hurt you
Or so they say

Her name is Alice (Alice)
She crawls into the window
Shaped in shadows
Alice (Alice)
And even though she is dreaming, she knows

Sometimes the curiosity can kill the soul but leave the pain
And every ounce of innocence is left inside her brain
And through the looking glass we see she's painfully returned
But now off with her head I fear is everyone's concern

You see there's no real ending
It's only the beginning
Come out and play

Her name is Alice (Alice)
She crawls into the window
Shapes in shadows
Alice (Alice)
And even though she is dreaming
She's a locked for meaning for you
This kingdom good riddance good freedom and innocence
Has brought this whole thing down

Her name is Alice (Alice)
She crawls into to the window
Shapes in shadows
Alice (Alice)
And even though she is dreaming
She's a locked for meaning

She's a locked for meaning for you

("In contrary was what it is it wouldn't be")
("And what it wouldn't be it would")
("You see?")


This was written for the Tim Burton Disney film Alice In Wonderland and features on the soundtrack Almost Alice, a collection of songs inspired by the film.

Drummer Barry Kerch told Billboard magazine: "To have Disney approach us and say, 'Hey, you wanna do a song for a Tim Burton-Johnny Depp movie?' - absolutely! We're huge fans, of course, and what a cool story, anyway. When we first wrote the songs, Brent (Smith) put lyrics on it based on the book, 'cause we hadn't seen the trailer or anything yet, or even a script. And then when it came time for Brent to lay down his vocals, the trailer was out and he realized it was Tim Burton's version of the story, where Alice is going back to Wonderland, so he changed all his lyrics. But it turned out really good; it's a slow rocker but it's not a ballad by any means. It's really heavy, and Brent sang some really powerful vocals." -Songfacts




Some cool facts about the Movie...

Alice in Wonderland Estimated Budget: $250 million
Shooting Dates: Fall of 2008

Shooting Locations: England and Los Angeles, CA

Technical Aspects: Tim Burton shot in 2D and then Alice in Wonderland was converted to 3D. Ken Ralston and Sony Imageworks did more than 2,500 visual effect shots but contrary to some reports, motion capture was not used in the film.

Based On: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There written by Lewis Carroll

Release Date: March 5, 2010

"OFF WITH HER HEAD"






Alice in Wonderland Production Facts & Trivia...

Alice in Wonderland marks the seven collaboration of actor Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton. The pair previously worked together on Edward Scissorhands (1990), Ed Wood (1994), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Corpse Bride (2005), and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007).
In a very weird coincidence, Tim Burton's office has a connection with the 1907 edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. English book illustrator Arthur Rackham did the color plates for that book and he used to own the building where Burton's office in London is located.
Johnny Depp created watercolor paintings of how he envisioned the Mad Hatter. Because they're so in sync, Depp's drawings were similar to Burton's vision of the character.
In this take on the classic tale, Depp and Burton used the Mad Hatter's makeup and wardrobe to visually convey the mood swings caused by mercury poisoning. Many hatters of the period suffered from the condition due to the chemicals used in hat-making.
5'4" 20 year old Australian actress Mia Wasikowska goes from being six inches tall to 20' tall throughout the film. According to Disney, Burton attempted to create the effect by using practical methods whenever possible. At times Wasikowska stood on an apple box to help her appear taller.
Anne Hathaway didn't want the White Queen to come across as completely pure. She decided the White Queen is a "punk rock vegan pacifist" and says she was inspired by Blondie, Greta Garbo, Dan Flavin and Norma Desmond.
British actor Matt Lucas had the difficult task of playing both Tweedledum and Tweedledee in Alice in Wonderland. He couldn't split himself in half, so when there needed to be two Tweedles, Ethan Cohen stepped in to play one or the other. However, Disney says Cohen will never appear in the film.
Crispin Glover really lost his head over the role of Stayne, the Knave of Hearts. His head's all we'll see of Glover in the actual film as the rest of Stayne is totally computer generated. That said, Glover needed to wear stilts in order to appear taller and, after twisting his ankle, Burton had stuntmen following Glover around in case he fell. These stuntmen all had to wear green so they wouldn't appear on screen.
Burton's offscreen partner, Helena Bonham Carter, had to sit through three hours of makeup every day in order to get into character as the Red Queen. In post-production Bonham Carter's head was enlarged to make her look more imposing - and big-headed. A 4K hi-def camera was used to shoot Bonham Carter's scenes and then her head was blown up to twice its actual size.
What's a Futterwacken? Disney has released this official definition: "The term used to describe the Underlanders' dance of unbridled joy."
Cardboard cut outs, models, and men in green with "eyes stuck to various parts of the anatomy" helped the actors figure out exactly where to look in scenes.
Most of the sets were created digitally, according to Disney. 
-Movies.about.com









Thursday, April 5, 2012

R&R History 1967-1984...

Today, April 5th 
In Rock History...



1967, Monkees fans walked from London’s Marble Arch to the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square to protest Davy Jones’ planned call-up to the army. Jones was exempted because he was deemed responsible for supporting his father.



1972, Elvis Presley kicked of a 15 date US tour at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York.






1975, Minnie Riperton went to No.1 on the singles chart with the Stevie Wonder produced song ‘Loving You’. It was the singers only chart hit. Riperton died of cancer on July 12th 1979.




1978, Duran Duran made their live debut at The Lecture Theatre, Birmingham Polytechnic.



1980, Genesis scored their first No.1 album when ‘Duke’ went to the top of the charts.



1980, R.E.M. played their first ever gig when they appeared at St Mary’s Episcopal Church, Athens, Georgia.


1981, Canned Heat singer Bob “The Bear” Hite died of a heart attack aged 36. He played at both the 1967 Montery Pop Festival and the 1969 Woodstock Festival.




1984, Marvin Gaye’s funeral took place at The Forest Lawn Cemetery, Los Angeles; Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy and other Motown singers, writers and producers, attended the service.
-Internetfm.com


1985, At 3:50pm GMT, over 5,000 radio stations worldwide aired the charity single by USA for Africa 'We Are The World'. The single went on to be a No.1 in the US & UK, and most Western territories.






1994, Kurt Cobain committed suicide by shooting himself in the head at his home in Seattle. Cobain’s body wasn’t discovered until April 8, by an electrician who had arrived to install a security system, who initially believed that Cobain was asleep, until he saw the shotgun pointing at his chin. A suicide note was found that said, "I haven't felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing . . . for too many years now". A high concentration of heroin and traces of Valium were found in Cobain’s body. His death was officially ruled as suicide by a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head.
 -Themusicgates.blogspot.com











Lacuna Coil...

Lacuna Coil..
"Trip The Darkness
Video of the day


"Trip the Darkness" is a song by Italian recording band Lacuna Coil, from their sixth studio album Dark Adrenaline (2012). The song was written by Lacuna Coil, while production of the song was handled by Don Gilmore. The song was given its first play on Sirius XM on September 19, 2011, and was released as the first single from the album on October 17, 2011, in Europe and on October 18, 2011, in the United States. "Trip the Darkness" was met with a positive reception from the fans, who praised the return of the band to the original dark sound. This single has been remixed for the soundtrack to Underworld: Awakening.


Artwork

The dark drawn cover artwork for the single shows a little girl was designed by the bassist of the band Marco Coti Zelati, he did the illustration of the cover for the single which underlines how personal the song is to the band.



Critical reception

"Trip the Darkness" has received a largely positive reception from critics and fans alike upon release. Liz Ramanand from Loudwire gave the song 4 stars out of 5 and called the song a "dark yet very poetic track" whilst praising it for being "almost like an Edgar Alan Poe poem put to music". Kaj Nocturnal from theblackflag gave the song 10 stars out of 10, saying that "it's unlike anything ever released by the band" and concluded "this is the best work they have ever done".



Chart performance

In the United States, "Trip the Darkness" debuted on the US Active rock chart in top 40 on November 9, 2011 but peaking at #23 on February 11, 2012. On December 9 "Trip the Darkness" won in the "metal/hard rock" category on iTunes Italy. "Trip The Darkness" is number 2 in Loudwire.com's Top Rock Songs of 2011. It also debuted at #28 on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart on February 4, 2012.
-Wikipedia.com




Fun Facts


Which song are these lines from?: "Blood into my hands I can't deny / A buzz into my ears that makes me mad"?
When A Dead Man Walks. "When A Dead Man Walks" appears on the album "Unleashed Memories" (2001). This album also contains the band's only all-Italian song, "Senzafine".

Which track contains the following lines? "There's a place to be afraid / There's another chain to hold and you don't know."
Humane. This song appears on "Comalies" (2002). This is one of my favorite songs on the whole album! 

"These stone tears are falling down on me, all my regrets!" Name the song.
Circle. This song appears on "In A Reverie" (1999). Before changing their name to Lacuna Coil, the band was Sleep Of Right, and then Ethereal.

Name the track: "Another night gone and I know there will be another way / I'm leading myself to be free in this eternal goodbye".
Within Me. This song appears on "Karmacode" (2006). Another song on the album, "Our Truth", had the working title "Antonio".

Which song is the following line taken from? "Walking through a life decayed while you're repeating your mistakes..."
Daylight Dancer. This song appears on "Comalies" (2002). Lacuna Coil is made up of six members: Cristina Scabbia (vocals), Andrea Ferro (vocals), Cristiano Migliore (guitar), Marco Biazzi (guitar), Marco Coti Zelati (bass, keyboards) and Cristiano Mozzati (drums, percussion).

Which song is this? "Feeling the slow beat turning fast / No longer breathing..."
Wave Of Anguish. This song appears on "Unleashed Memories" (2001). The band released a live DVD in 2008 called "Visual Karma (Body, Mind and Soul)".

Which track contains these lines? "Some days I cry alone, but I know I'm not the only one."
Falling Again. This song appears on "In A Reverie" (1999). This song was originally on their self-titled debut album from 1998 as "Falling". The version on "In A Reverie" has a few lines changed from the previous version.

"En-lighting lies with my shame / Beneath the veil of your flow..." Which song is it?
Tight Rope. This song appears on "Comalies" (2002). "Un Fantasma Tra Noi (A Ghost Between Us)" was actually an instrumental which appeared on the band's debut album "Lacuna Coil" (1998).

Name the song! "Dolefully desired / Destiny of a lie."
Heaven's A Lie. This song appears on "Comalies" (2002). It was the first release from the album, and is frequently interpreted as anti-religious. However, Cristina Scabbia has stated in an interview with the "Highwire Daze" zine that "the heavens we're talking about is that sometimes people want you to have the same opinions they have."

From which song are the following lines? "Wounds are bleeding in my hands, turning blind / No one will ever stop this self-made decline."
Fragile. This song appears on "Karmacode" (2006). This album contained a cover of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence". 
-Funtrivia.com






















Wednesday, April 4, 2012

R & R...1964-1981

Today in Rock History  
April 4th



1964, The Rolling Stones release their self-titled debut album as an antidote to all the Beatlemania.


1965, John Lennon and Paul McCartney compose “Help!”, the title track to the Beatles’ second film.


1967, Jimi Hendrix was the special guest on the first edition of the UK BBC-TV’s ‘Dee Time’, along with Kiki Dee and Cat Stevens.


1968, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Joni Mitchell, Al Kooper and Ted Nugent met up for an all night blues, folk and rock session at The New Generation Club, New York after hearing the news of Martin Luther King’s assassination.



1970, Crosby Stills Nash & Young went to No.1 on the album chart with Deja Vu.



1970, Janis Joplin plays a reunion concert in San Francisco with her old outfit Big Brother & the Holding Company.


1973, The Supremes appeared at the Granada, Tooting, the last date on a 20 date UK tour. The group played two shows at every venue.


1976, The Sex Pistols played the first night of a residency at the El Paradiso club in Soho, London, England.


1981, Styx went to No.1 on the album chart with ‘Paradise Theater’.
-Internetfm.com