Xanadu: A Review.

XANADU

NSU Theatre Department


By MIKE LEE

April 13th, 2012.

PopMusicMogul Rating: **** ½  out of 5.

As a young gay man, I’ve had quite a few disco-fueled fantasies very similar to the events of the probably the cheesiest and most campy musical ever, and Northern State University’s latest effort, Xanadu. The shining glittering disco balls, the glorious neon “Madonnaesque” costuming, the incredible “rockpopdisco” fused soundtrack with precise choreography. Sort of like a dreamy fantasy finally illuminated onto the stage. It’s all very glorious, the way these things fashion into a stunning gay and spectacular musical taking nod from probably the cheesiest movie ever produced, and let me tell you, the cast and crew of Xanadu certainly do not disappoint.  

The plot is pretty simple. A desperate artist, Sonny Malone, played by Ben Villa, is in desperate need of muse, Kira, played by Larissa Buchholz, and a tragic and hilarious love story ensues.

Villa does a rather fine job as Sonny Malone, and his most glorious moment is during the gospel-pop thumping “Don’t Walk Away” where he desperately begs for his love to not walk out on him. You can tell that plea is filled with real and actual emotion. He feeds his lines with incredible cheesiness, sometimes; spot on, and at other times, a little off.

Buccholz is absolutely astounding as the Grecian muse, Kira.  The way she delivers the faux accent is comically incredible. The deliverance of her lines, near perfect, and her flawless rock-pop voice helps her deliver the songs with unbelievable soul and feeling.  The chemistry between her and Villa is certainly charming. Better than Newton-John, and just as illuminating as Kerry Butler, who was the first to star as Kira in the Broadway run.

The supporting cast, filled with such talents as the wonderfully hilarious Emily Susannah Davis, whose voice is wonderfully beautiful and the comedy she infuses into the play is spectacular. Natalie Allcock and Eli Corbett are just as fantastic, too.

The performance was with some small flaws. The orchestra sometimes overpowered the performance. It was, at times, extremely hard to hear lines. A few of the muses found it hard to reach vocal point, and sometimes, the lines felt a little rushed from a few.  But everything was stitched together well. The audience certainly enjoyed it, and it is almost hard not to. The cast is just that loveable.  

Download This: MDNA

So, I've decided to start giving you "Download This", if you're not into buying whole albums, I'll give you my favorite tracks to buy for individual purchase, kind of in the same style as Entertainment Weekly. So, here are my favorite tracks for Madonna's MDNA:

"Girls Gone Wild": a massive heavy club banger with lots of swirling synths and a colassol catchy chorus. Perfection.

"Give Me All Your Luvin'": The peppy pom-pom twirling, ass shakin' ode to vintage eighties era Madonna. The lead single, and the ever famous "Super Bowl song". You're gonna' have to get up and dance, you know.

"Turn Up The Radio": A delightful summer tune with swinging euro-flavored beats that almost cements itself as the next single. Catchy, and pretty damn delightful.

"Superstar": A breezy pop cheesy love song kissed with corny pastiches to classic Hollywood. Just try to get the "Ooo La La/You're My Superstar" chorus out of your head.

"I Don't Give A":  Madonna certainly lays down the law with this fierce electric hip-hop influenced track flavored with hints of pop in the chorus. The song delivers, and Minaj offers the right about of kookiness to make the track one of the most interesting on the album.

"I'm A Sinner":  A sweet, sultry and downright sexy ode to 60's tinged psychedelic pop, with some religious flair thrown in for fun.  Very reminiscent of “Ray of Light” era Madonna.

“Love Spent”:  A fantastic electronic space odyssey that is simply magic to the ears. The song is a delightful mix of an electronic stomp and a vigorous ballad with the magic effect of a spaceship firework. The best song on the album, hands down. Did we mention it has a banjo introduction? Killer.

“Masterpiece” & “Falling Free”:  The only two ballads on the album, both delightfully orchestrated with wonderfull electronic touches. Beautiful.

More Reviews Coming, Divas!

Over the short Easter break, I plan on writing at least one review a day. I'm thinking about doing reviews of Of Monsters & Men, Lana Del Rey, The Ting Tings, One Direction, Gotye, etc. I know that some of these reviews are very late, I'm just getting a feel for writing and I want to write AS MUCH as I possibly can, so I thought it would be nice. If you want me to review something, let me know. I'll give it a listen, and write out a review. I'm working on much more stuff for the blog, so keep checking back! Lots of new reviews, Songs of the Day, and Album of the Month. I hope to get my hands on My Week With Marilyn, Young Adult, & Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, just to review some more movies, too.

MDNA: A Review

Madonna

MDNA

PopMusicMogul Rating: **** out of 5.

By MIKE LEE

April 3rd, 2012.

“I'm gonna’ be OK/ I don't care what the people say /I'm gonna be alright /Gonna’ live fast and I'm gonna’ live right”.  Just as soon as Madonna utters these words on her track “I Don’t Give A”, it is very clear what’s going to be happening on her latest musical effort, MDNA.  It seems that the “Queen of Everything “has temporarily stopped trying to push pop music forward.  She’s stepping back, having fun, and giving a finger to everyone who has ever stood in her way.

The album suffers from sort of a confused “Jekyll and Hyde” disposition.  There are amusing and pleasurable ass shakin’ pop songs, like the banging religious “Girl Gone Wild” or the euro tinged anthem “Turn Up The Radio”, or the cheerleading chant of “Give Me All Your Luvin” and the breezy “Superstar”, and interwoven with those “fist pumping party songs”,  are the “gritty divorce” songs. The “Love Spent”, “I Don’t Give A”, “Gang Bang” side of the album. They are all pulsing and tender, with her thumping angrily over a few house beats and hints of psychedelic electronic disco. These are the songs that make the album unique, and by far, her most raw and personal tracks in her entire career.

It makes sense, and yet, it doesn’t. Is she trying to get over her divorce, or is she trying to have fun? Or both? I guess, we’re just supposed get up and dance, and then sit back down and enjoy it. The album just really lacks a direction, but that doesn’t mean the tracks do. The album is fun, and in the end, and with Madonna at the helm, that’s really all that matters.

The Hunger Games: Film Review

The Hunger Games

Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson.

Directed by Gary Ross.

PopMusicMogul: **** out of 5.

By Mike Lee

March 23, 2012

Every so often, there comes a novel that seems to define a young adult literary generation. It slowly becomes a part of our popular culture, enveloping the masses into an obsessed media frenzy, ushering non-readers into starving bibliophiles leaving them hungry for the next installment. They wait patiently in line for the Hollywood adaptation. We yearn for everything and anything associated with the series. We buy our midnight tickets, litter the streets of the local bookstore for the next novel, dress ourselves in tacky costumes and buy cheap merchandise just out of pure unwavering excitment.  The Hunger Games, by author Suzanne Collins is exactly that; a shining, sparking, defining moment in our popular culture. The novel manages to usher a rather "fresh" idea into the American mainstream, quickly tantalizing every single starved director in Hollywood today.  If you’re one of these hardcore die-hard fans, let me tell you something. This adaption does not disappoint.

In the dystopian ruins of once was North America, in a territory calle Panem, there lies twelve districts, each ruled by the Capitol as a result of a terrible war that broke out between them. Every year, to show the districts they still control them, they elect two teenagers by a random lottery, a male and a female from each district, to compete in something called The Hunger Games, in which the contestants attempt to slaughter each other in hopes of winning the games and bringing glory to their district.

The film in itself is a very harsh and realistic vision of the novel. It lacks the bejeweled luster of every other blockbuster, simply because the film is more real than anything in Hollywood. It almost feels as if it is some offbeat modern science fiction flick premiering at Sundance Film Festival, it feels that incredibly real. The film becomes a separate piece of art, combining the wit and imagination of Collins, with the separate interpretation by the director, Gary Ross.  It becomes a different entity all of its own, more closely resembling a twin to the novel instead of an exact clone. A near perfect adaptation from book to screen, leaving the hardcore legion of fans nearly satisfied.

The movie itself is led by an impressive ensemble cast.  The choice of casting Jennifer Lawrence in the role as Katniss Everdeen is literally the perfect choice. The incredible fierceness, quick wit, and striking talent, of the heroine we grew to love in the novel, shines on the silver screen just as beautifully as she does on page. Lawrence does an absolute stunning job. The raw emotions that hang through the later scenes of the film already establish Lawrence as a veteran actress. Then, there's the gushing Josh Hutcherson, who plays warm-hearted and fiercly loveable Peeta. The novel and the film present two different characters of his character, the one in the novel representing more of a complex character rather than the lovable teddy bear that he appears to be onscreen. The performance of Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket is nothing short of genuis. She hits the character perfectly, sporting a happy-go-lucky attitude and scary demeanor that closely resembles something like a diluted Professor Umbridge. The curtly Donald Sutherland plays President Snow, the leader of the Capital, with wicked elegance. Every word than Sutherland mutters hangs on pure evil and misgiving. Stanley Tucci illuminates the role of Caesar Flickerman with glamorous and flamboyant contempt.

The film is a literal roller coaster sending the audience into a pulsating thrill ride. A little sluggish in the beginning, but only to envelop the audience with the pure beauty of the setting, the decadent costumes, the gorgeous cast, and the truly imaginative story. Fans of the novel will be left feeling full and satisfied. As soon as the true effect of the film sinks in, the movie will leave an unforgettable memory engraved in your brain.  The Hunger Games remains to be the best adaptation of novel to screen I have ever seen. Like Katniss Everdeen herself, you will never forget "The Movie On Fire".

MDNA: Coming Very Soon!

            Left: MDNA: Deluxe Edition.
                                                 Right: MDNA: Standard Edition.                                 

Hey Divas!

The second album I'll be reviewing will be Madonna's newest, MDNA. I'll be able to get my hands on it sometime Sunday night, so I'll have the review either up then or the next morning or so. I have the Deluxe Edition on order from iTunes, so I'm really excited to listen to it!

Peace, Love, Pop Music,

-ML

Review: The Hunger Games: Songs From District 12 & Beyond

The Hunger Games: Songs From District 12 & Beyond.

Various Artists

The Hunger Games: Songs From District 12 & Beyond

PopMusicMogul Rating: **** out of 5.

By  MIKE LEE

March 20th, 2012.

It's kind of hard to imagine what one would put on the soundtrack for one the most anticipated movie of the season, especially when that film is about teenagers fighting each other to the death with a star-crossed love story weaving around itself in the background. While the music on the album could go many directions, it manages to remain in the direction it's destined to follow. The folk inspired, drum-thumping, guitar-picking, mellow voice tracks seem to flow together naturally, capturing the overwhelming melancholy and the gritty realism that makes The Hunger Games absolutely unique. Each song is a literal vision of the post-apocalyptic desolation of America, so naturally the album is sort of a throwback to vintage Americana, evoking some of the cheesiest bluegrass music we've heard in a while.  The standout track on the album, Daughter's Lament, by The Carolina Chocolate Drops, is a sing-songy piece that's destined to evoke the coldest of chills. The women croon about various elements pertaining to both the film and the novel, giving an ever so slight hint of what is to come. Another standout, the hauntingly beautiful, Tomorrow Will Be Kinder, by The Secret Sisters, is definitely a somber ballad, but the track promises the subtle, gentle kindness of tomorrow, offering the smallest light even in the darkest of desolation. The song is an exact mirror of the artistic vision of the author, Suzanne Collins. The album comes together smoothly; with a few mishaps and bumps along the way. The voice of the popular break-up superstar, Taylor Swift seems to offset the album slightly. While the album leans heavily on indie ballads, the effort of putting Taylor on the album seems like a half-hearted marketing ploy to allure more people in to buying the soundtrack, instead of a real effort to capture the raw emotion of the Hunger Games. The tracks she lends her touch to are indeed beautiful; but her whispy voice just doesn't belong in this collection devoted to the hard-hitting, pulsating bluegrass rebellion of The Hunger Games. If the soundtrack is as good as the film, we can expect great things.