I went skiing for the first time in my life today…and I made it out alive…and without injury.
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‘Jumper’: Who told Hayden Christensen he could act?
The title of this post is the actual headline of the San Jose Mercury News’ review of the new film “Jumper,” starring Hayden Christensen as a guy with the power of teleportation. The question posed in this headline is the same one I have been asking since Christensen single-handedly ruined “Star Wars” for me.
Here is an excerpt from Bruce Newman’s review…
In fact, the only force on Earth so dense that it apparently can’t be moved even by the movie’s special effects is Christensen’s wooden acting. After bringing the second “Star Wars” trilogy to its knees as the inert Anakin Skywalker, his performance here threatens the very fabric of time and space.
Mr. Newman, I agree wholeheartedly.
Christian Beach: “Poet of the Great Plains” (Live 2/2/08)
Christian Beach – “Poet of the Great Plains” (Live at Paul’s Tavern, 2/2/08)
Found this video of “Poet of the Great Plains” from Christian Beach’s 2/2/08 show at Paul’s Tavern in Lake Como (formerly S. Belmar), NJ. I am rockin’ the tambourine and organ in this one (you won’t see me until about 1:03 into the clip).
What the heck…here’s one more PG video (“Secret World” – Live 1993)
Peter Gabriel – “Secret World” (Live 1993)
Sorry…I need to post one more Peter Gabriel video. This one is a performance of “Secret World” from the “Secret World Live” tour that supported the “Us” album. I love this song (if you go to my MySpace Music site and listen to “The Greatest Love,” you may hear the influence) and experiencing it in concert is always a thrill for me. I don’t know…maybe it’s the combination of a great song, strobe lights and twirling.
Peter Gabriel: “Lay Your Hands on Me” (Live 1988)
Peter Gabriel: “Lay Your Hands on Me” (Live 1988)
I have been listening to Peter Gabriel a lot lately because the first single, “Whole Thing,” from his long-awaited Big Blue Ball project (it’s a multi-artist effort…NOT a new PG album) was recently released as a single on iTunes. Anyway, I was wandering around YouTube and spent a good hour or so watching some Peter Gabriel videos…and this performance of “Lay Your Hands on Me” from the late 80s tour supporting “So” is one of my favorite all-time concert experiences (I wasn’t at this particular show, but it went down basically the same way when my sister and I saw him from row 16 of the floor at The Spectrum in Philly).
For the uninitiated, this song may be tough to get through, but trust me…right around the 4:40 mark of this clip, it gets freakin’ amazing…and I don’t care what kind of music you’re into.
Recap: Howard Jones in South Jersey, 1/18/08
I went to see one of the musical influences of my youth, Howard Jones, perform last Friday night at the Dennis Flyer Memorial Theatre on the Blackwood, N.J., campus of Camden County College. The venue seats about 600, but — disappointingly — it was only about half-filled. However, that did make for a very intimate performance.
HoJo, better known for his synthesizer-driven pop hits of the 1980s, played digital piano and was accompanied by long-time collaborator Robin “The Itch” Boult on acoustic guitar. I wound up buying a live CD from a show the pair recorded last year in the UK and had HoJo sign it after the show. I would have taken a picture of this brief meeting…except my camera batteries died and I forgot to bring extras with me. D’oh!
Anyway, I found this YouTube video of HoJo and Robin performing “Life in One Day” in Brisbane from a March 2007 show.
UPDATE…After I originally posted this, I found a couple of YouTube videos from the show I attended, plus one of HoJo and Robin performing “Life in One Day” at a March 2007 show in Brisbane.
Enjoy!
Howard Jones “Life in One Day” Live @ Brisbane, March 2007
This video starts out with HoJo telling a story about how the record company forced him to write it because the “suits” didn’t hear any hits on what would become his biggest-selling album (“Dream Into Action”)…and then there is a bit of a false start at the start of the song. But it’s all super fun!
Howard Jones “Like To Get To Know You Well” – Blackwood, NJ (1/18/08)
This video cuts off before the end of the song, but includes a funny story about how a translation of “Like to Get to Know You Well” into Japanese nearly destroyed Howard Jones’ career.
Howard Jones “No One is to Blame” – Blackwood, NJ (1/18/08)
No funny stories here…just HoJo performing his classic hit, “No One is to Blame,” the way it was meant to be heard (i.e., without Phil Collins messing around with it).
Another show coming up
My friend Christian Beach has once again invited me to play some organ and — believe it or not — accordion for a show he is doing Feb. 2, 2008, at Paul’s Tavern in Belmar, NJ.
Also, just wanted to let you know that Christian’s cover of David Bowie’s “Five Years,” on which I play organ, appears on “Hero: The Main Man Records Tribute to David Bowie.” The 2-CD set, which was released on Christmas Day, features many Jersey artists’ takes on Bowie classics and is available now from the Main Man web site.
New from Apple…MacBook Air
Well, Steve Jobs’ Macworld keynote today didn’t really do much for me, but you can’t hit one out of the park every time.However, the MacBook Air does look pretty cool…and light. It certainly would make my work bag less bulky.
There’s something in the air (at Macworld)…and we’ll soon know what it is!
Well, in about one-half hour, Steve Jobs will be taking the stage at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Calif., for his highly-anticipated Macworld 2008 keynote.
The Apple Web site was updated yesterday to include the phrase, “There’s something in the air.” What this means will undoubtedly be explained by Jobs during his presentation. Rumors of an ultra-thin, ultra-portable MacBook-like wireless Internet device called MacBook Air have been circulating around the ‘net in full force the past few days, and this slogan seems to lend credence to those reports.
But we shall soon find out what it all means…directly from Steve Jobs himself.
To follow the keynote, check out these and other sites that will be live-blogging the event:
Macworld | Expo Keynote – Live Update
Macworld.Ars | Macworld 2008 Keynote Live on Ars
CNET News.com | Live blog from Macworld 2008
Enjoy!
Brian Kelley 