RECOMPOSED: VIVALDI – THE FOUR SEASONS Max Richter (Universal) It’s easy to see why classical purists have given Max Richter’s take on Vivaldi most noted work a lukewarm response.
Category Archives: Movies and Entertainment
Apology over Vietnam propaganda
US TV network CBS has apologised after its Emmy-winning reality series The Amazing Race angered veterans with an episode featuring Vietnamese communist propaganda.
First glimpse at new Wolverine film
A frenzied-paced six-second teaser of Hugh Jackman’s new Wolverine film has been posted on Twitter.
Album review: Motivation – Tyree
MOTIVATION Tyree (Warner) Much has been made of the six-year gap since Tyree’s Now or Neve, during which time the South Auckland rapper has lost and re-found his muse, been part of Smashproof’s record-breaking chart-topping run with Brother and had a daughter.
Album review: 180 – Palma Violets
180 Palma Violets (The Label/Rhythmethod) As retro as their candied namesakes, the Palma Violets have ridden a wave of hype off the back of an NME tour and crashing single Best of Friends, but their youthful exuberance and hurtling adherence to the rock n roll lifestyle fails to provide the solid bedrock of promised stardom. True, they’ve mastered a ”sound” thanks to Pete Mayhew’s swirling gothic organ and lad-about-town lyrics from frontmen Chilli Jesson and Sam Fryer, and ex-Pulp bassman producer Steve Mackey does very little to break their live-feel style by twiddling too many knobs, but this next big thing just doesn’t seem to have the same smash-and-grab impact of, say, The Arctic Monkeys.
Album review: Opposites – Biffy Clyro
OPPOSITES Biffy Clyro (Warner) After five previous full-lengthers, these Scots rockers have hit a pinnacle of sorts with this grandiose, swaggering album stacked full of stadium-sized anthemic belters, primetime alt-rock and heartstring tugging ballads.
Album review: Hardcourage – FaltyDL
HARDCOURAGE FaltyDL (Border) Luscious electronica from a New Yorker whose dalliances into the varied worlds of house and techno may have won him the ears of luminaries such as Thom Yorke and a reputation for off-kilter skills but whose scattergun output, until now, has been tough to pin down.
Survivor Koh-Lanta contestant dies
A 25-year-old contestant on the French adaptation of hit reality show Survivor has died during filming in Cambodia.
Jolie visits women in Congo
Angelina Jolie is meeting with women and girls in eastern Congo, where sexual violence is rampant. Jolie, a special envoy for the UN refugee agency, traveled to the Nzulo camp near Goma on Monday along with British Foreign Secretary William Hague.
Breaking Bad script stolen from car
Authorities in the US have arrested a man who allegedly broke into Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston’s car late last year and stole a script for the popular television show. Bernalillo County Sheriff’s officials announced Monday that 29-year-old Xavier Macafee is being held on suspicion of burglary.