#IL Radio News & Review

[buscandoelparaiso]

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[infinitelradio]

IL Radio Show Production

For the month of July, the News & Review (N&R)l will air on the third Thursday of the month. The normal broadcasting for this show takes place on the fourth Thursday of each month. During this segment the host will be playing the song of the month that is being featured at the Infinite L Ent website; introduce new music by indie rap artist Conglomerati; and talk about the upcoming changes to IL Radio.  Also during the segment the host will presenting clips from a past show segment of "Getting Real with Roz".  Listen to Show <Here> If you are an artist and would like to get your music played on Infinite L Radio, you can submit your request one of two ways:  by email  at ILradio@infinitelent.com or submit your request via Music Submit .  The IL Radio Show is currently taking music submittals for the following genre:  R&B, rap, hip hop, pop, reggae, afro beats, easy listening & jazz.  We are also interested in music with that old school appeal.   ________________________________________________

Show Host:  “L” IL Radio Show’s Creator/Producer:  “L” Banner/Video Credit: Infinite L Designs Video Music Credit:  TheOreE

IL Radio - Listen Here IL Radio IG:  @infinitelent Youtube:  www.youtube.com/@infinitelent IL Ent Website: www.infinitelent.com

[usafphantom2]

Raytheon guarantees request for prototype of new electronic war system

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 12/22/2023 - 16:00 in Military

The United States Navy granted Raytheon an $80 million contract in a selection to create an Advanced Electronic Warfare prototype, or ADVEW, for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

This prototype will be considered as a replacement for the existing integrated defensive electronic countermeasure AN/ALQ-214 and the AN/ALR-67(V)3 radar alert receiver with a consolidated solution that will provide superior electronic warfare capabilities to the backbone of the embedded aerial wing of North American aircraft carriers.

"These advances are paving the way for the next generation of electronic warfare," said Bryan Rosselli, president of Products and Advanced Solutions at Raytheon. "We are completely replacing and consolidating legacy systems into a single solution that will provide a generational upgrade to electronic warfare capability throughout the life of the Super Hornet."

Raytheon's Advanced Electronic Warfare offering will provide significant performance upgrades, modernizing existing electronic warfare systems in fewer components and incorporating a government-defined open architecture. The development of this new solution will align and integrate with other combat-proven radio frequency sensors and effectors, used by the Super Hornet. The ADVEW solution will ensure that F/A-18E/F maintain their operational advantage in electronic warfare, while significantly improving the ability to survive against advanced and complex threats.

The development and testing of ADVEW will take place mainly in Goleta, California. During the prototype phase, the system will undergo a preliminary design review, a critical design review and flight tests over a period of 36 months.

Tags: Military AviationEW - ELECTRONIC WARF/A-18E/F Super HornetRaytheonUSN - United States Navy/U.S. Navy

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[carmenvicinanza]

Maaza Mengiste

In Etiopia le donne hanno sempre combattuto in guerra. Erano presenti ma non hanno parlato della loro esperienza quotidiana. Una donna poteva essere un soldato sul campo di battaglia, ma di ritorno al campo, gli uomini potevano fare di lei quello che volevano. Il suo stesso corpo poteva essere usato come un campo di battaglia. Le donne si vergognavano di parlare di quei momenti, perché hanno sacrificato tutto ed è umiliante, per loro, ammettere che sono state in grado di difendere il territorio, la terra, ma non il proprio corpo.

Maaza Mengiste, scrittrice etiope che vive e insegna negli Stati Uniti.  

Considerata un importante riferimento per una diversa narrazione della storia dell’Etiopia, i suoi libri parlano di immigrazione, colonialismo e rivoluzione vissuta dalla parte delle donne.

Nominata New literary idol dal New York Magazine, ha ricevuto il Literature Award dall’American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Celebrata su importanti riviste come The New York Times, The New Yorker, Granta, Lettre Internationale, Enkare Review, Callaloo, ha contribuito a The Granta Anthology of the African Short Story, il suo podcast New Daughters of Africa è stato trasmesso su BBC Radio 4.

È nata a Addis Abeba, in Etiopia, nel 1971, a causa del colpo di stato, quando aveva tre anni, è stata venne costretta a lasciare il paese con la sua famiglia. Ha vissuto in Nigeria e in Kenya, prima di andare a studiare scrittura creativa all’Università di New York, dove è poi diventata docente al Queens College. 

Ha detenuto la cattedra di scrittura creativa a Princeton e insegna letteratura alla Wesleyan University. È stata anche scrittrice residente della Literaturhaus Zurich e della Fondazione PWG in Svizzera.

Il suo romanzo d’esordio, Lo sguardo del leone, pubblicato in Italia nel 2010, racconta le sofferenze delle vittime della guerra civile dal punto di vista di Hailu, medico che si trova a operare a Addis Abeba nel periodo di terrore seguito dal rovesciamento dell’Imperatore Hailé Selassié.

Il re ombra, del 2019, selezionato fra i migliori libri dell’anno da The New York Times, Npr, Elle e Time, è stato finalista al Booker Prize e vinto il Premio The Bridge per la Narrativa.

Ambientato nel periodo dell’occupazione italiana in Etiopia tra la Prima e la Seconda Guerra Mondiale, ha come protagonista Hirut, una giovane orfana in balia di un sistema patriarcale che la vuole schiava e che trova nella resistenza armata una ragione di vivere, mobilitando le donne contro gli oppressori. Una storia in cui si intrecciano vari destini e che mette in luce la violenza e crudeltà degli occupanti italiani in Etiopia e, soprattutto, la sfortunata condizione delle donne.

Impegnata con diverse organizzazioni umanitarie come Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights e Words Without Borders, fa parte del comitato consultivo di Warscapes, rivista indipendente che evidenzia i conflitti in tutto il mondo.

Insieme a Edwidge Danticat e Mona Eltahawy, ha redatto una sezione del film documentario del 2013 Girl Rising sull’istruzione delle ragazze nel mondo, con la narrazione di Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Alicia Keys e Cate Blanchett. 

Attiva in dibattiti pubblici e ospitata in tutto il mondo, in marzo 2024 ha tenuto la prima lectio magistralis nella cattedra intitolata a Virginia Woolf presso l’Università per Stranieri di Siena.

[laurapausinifinland]

Album review: Anime Parallele

We have a new LP album! After highly successful and Latin Grammy winning Fatti Sentire / Hazte Sentir in 2018 we fans have been waiting for five long years for Anime Parallele / Almas Paralelas to arrive!

Promo in March 2023.

BACKGROUND:

Fair to say Laura has been treating us well during these albumless years with two tours (2018, 2019), Golden Globe winning Io Sí (Seen) and docufilm Laura Pausini - Pleased to meet you featuring new song Scatola / Caja. She's been also active on television hosting Eurovision Song Contest and Latin Grammy's last year respectively.

During the pandemic Laura did reveal that new songs and album are on the making. However in 2023 she told in her socials how she struggled during the pandemic to find her voice and felt lost after the Io Sí success in spring 2021. She calls this album the most difficult one to make during her long career. The album is also very fresh as it was still recorded during summer 2023.

Laura while making Anime Parallele / Almas Paralelas.

The new album is part of Laura's 30th anniversary of career celebrations. Instead of releasing another Greatest Hits collection she releases an album of almost 20 new songs!

PROMOTION:

The album announcement came early in 2023 . The highly anticipated first single Un buon inizio / Un bien inicio was released already in March and was performed during Laura's 24h marathon concerts on February 27th (actual 30 anniversary of Sanremo victory). Tour dates have been dropping along the way and we've already seen the magnificent shows of Venice and Sevilla last summer. The tour continues in December from Italy, to EU and from there to Americas. Meanwhile Laura toured Italian radio stations just like 30 years ago.

Laura during her radio tour in Italy in spring 2023.

Like many albums today, the songs were dropped little by little. We alreday saw this happening with FS / HS five years ago. Second single Il Primo Passo Sulla Luna in June, Durare / Durar in September and Davanti a noi / Frente a nosotros (Laura's & Paolo's wedding song) + Dimora Naturale / Hogar Natural (featuring daughter Paola) closer to the anticipated October 27th. Snippets of the rest of the songs were released 3 days prior to the album release on Tiktok. I chose not to listen to these snippets no to ruin the album experience. Zero / Cero was released as a single from the album in early November.

Personally I'm not the fan of this new way to promote the albums as I think the listening experience as whole tends to suffer. I miss the days when all was kept hidden and secret and we only had one song out when the album actually was released. Nowadays, things must be viral and trending - albums are not bought anymore as physical product and the power of media, radio stations have decreased. We're all part of this new way of consuming entertainment.

Laura performing at Sevilla in July 2023, one of the cities she's never performed for 30 years!

THE TEAM:

Familiar songwriters and makers returned for Anime Parallele / Almas Paralelas: Paolo Carta (now also the husband), Cheope (90s hits especially), Virginio Simonelli (The greatest hits), Edwyn Roberts (LDDC), Daniel Vuletic (rock songs over the years), Niccolo Agliardi (Invece no / En cambio no), Biagio Antonacci (Vivimi / Viveme) but also bunch of new ones arrived also. I like the new energy as Laura has a very distinguished way of writing especially with people she's worked in the past so getting some new blood, so to say serves much needed fresh air.

The song titles were interesting and aroused curiosity such as Zero, Flashback, Peró etc.

I will always prefer Laura in Italian however I do listen some of her songs in Spanish and Portuguese as well. But albums at first listen I always go for Italian version.

Promo for the album.

THE ALBUM:

The album stands strong and musically it's quite connected - I can hear a theme here. However it's a bit difficult to separate the songs from each other at one listen even though one might argue that this makes the perfect listening experience. This factor reminds me of PIA (2008) which also had the same dilemma (but which I love a lot!).

We haven't had up-beat album starter since Inedito (2011) and Zero does kick off things with a big bang! This is a load and full album. Laura's vocals are superb as always but arrangements feel heavy too.

We have a few rockier ballad here but nothing that can be compared to Frasi a metá / Verdades a medias (2018). I keep comparing individual pieces to FS (2018) and Simili (2015) even though I do think Anime / Almas might fall somewhere in their between. It's not as good as Simili from 2015 (I don't know if anything can be!) but still I find it better as a whole than FS (2018).

There's a lot energy, speed on this album and after the 16 songs one finds herself out of breath. I kind of miss the instrumental moments from Simili (2015) here. On this album Laura returns to her pop roots and steps away from the Latin sounds that we heard on her two previous albums (Nuevo 2018, Innamorata/ Enamorada 2015). This is such a disco album with lots of references from the 80's but also having modern electronic sounds. This is an album to be danced to or putting on while running, hiking on top of the mountain - when you need strength, energy and volume. This is something I'm not used to I guess even though I understand the musical need to evolve and grow.

Durare / Durar music video was shot in Sweden which makes it the second Nordic LP videoclip to day (after Incancellabile).

As a big fan of Biagio Antonacci's LP songs I had high hopes for Piú Che Un'idea. Even though Antonacci's sound can be heard on the piece the song hasn't ticked all the right boxes for me yet - even though it's not the weakest link of the album either. I would have wanted perhaps to hear Biagio's voice along Laura's on this one. The title song reminds me of the Biagio Antonacci duet from 2019 In Questa Nostra Casa Nuova. The new songwriters do pop out clearly for those of us who've been listening to Laura's music for years.

Ballad section speaks to me the strongest and Cos'é and Tutte Le Volte are definitely my favourites when Flashback inspired by domestic violence victim's story doesn't reach the same levels for me. Unfortunately I don't find equivalent for the big ballad Non é detto / Nadie ha dicho (2018) either - Durare / Durar is a decent effort but doesn't reach the same hights.

Laura described this as a difficult album to record - well it's also difficult album on my side. This reminds me of Inedito (2011) which was a positive album with lots of new sounds and rhythm which I also couldn't handle at the time. It took a few years to open to that one so I believe me and Anime / Almas are not done yet.

Promo for the album.

The most played songs: Cos'é, Tutte le volte, Venere, Oltre la superficie

Songs I tend to skip: Vale la pena, Il primo passo sulla luna, Davanti a noi

What do you think of Laura's new album? What are your favourites or did you have any disappointments?

[audiofictionuk]

New Fiction Podcasts - 21st November

It’s Complicated (Kahani Teri Meri) Audio Drama Join us on an emotional rollercoaster through the intricate world of love, relationships, and societal norms in 'It's Complicated,' crafted by the talented Neha Gupta. This podcast takes you on a journey through fictional dramas that mirror the complexities of our everyday lives, making you ponder the essence of human connections. From passionate romances to complex family dynamics, each episode delves into the fabric of our society and culture, all through the lens of love stories that will tug at your heartstrings. So, whether you're seeking thought-provoking tales or simply a captivating escape into the world of modern romance, 'It's Complicated' has it all. Don't miss out; listen exclusively to Audio Pitara and immerse yourself in the ever-evolving drama of human relationships. Join us as we explore the multifaceted nature of love in a world that's beautifully, and often perplexingly, complicated. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20231105-02 RSS: https://feeds.megaphone.fm/CPP8243405568

Écoute Une Histoire Audio Book Mon dernier livre audio... Hopital spécialisé St Vincent de Paul, février 1989, monsieur Pierre L. pyjama bleu est hospitalisé sous contrainte. Sandra Kerlec, blouse blanche, débute son stage de première année. Destins croisés d une élève infirmière et d un journaliste dans une institution psychiatrique. Les personnages se perdent entre la réalité et la psychose au risque d entraîner avec eux le lecteur... Premier volet d une chronique dans un monde oublié. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20231104-02 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/ebf719f8/podcast/rss

Yet Another Dating App Audio Drama When a small tech startup releases a new AI-powered dating app, it disrupts more than just the market... https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20231109-07 RSS: https://feeds.castos.com/8qwp6

SideQuesters Audio RPG On Sidequesters, we take on guests and play different TTRPGs for short mini-stories. then we review the TTRPGs. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20231104-04 RSS: https://media.rss.com/sidequesters/feed.xml

In the Moodh For Scream Audio Book Dans ce podcast spécial Halloween, l'équipe de Moodh Production vous font frissonner avec des histoires d'horreur effrayantes. Alors éteignez les lumières et tremblez en écoutant ces terrifiants récits. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20231028-05 RSS: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/653c71cf238f610012ebedc3

M.A. MORBELLI / R A C C O N T I Audio Book Dopo la pubblicazione del Romanzo d'esordio " Io ci vengo, però non mi affeziono a nessuno " Mario Andrea Morbelli pubblica una serie di podcast di narrativa. Racconti brevi letti da lui. E se ci sara' dell'interessamento da parte del nuovo pubblico, qui su Spotify, potrebbe essere pubblicato il podcast del romanzo completo. Per ora buon ascolto, e fateci sapere cosa ne pensate. Grazie. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20231011-08 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/e9aa6178/podcast/rss

Radio Story Hour Audio Drama A monthly fiction anthology audio series. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20230408-06 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/de96687c/podcast/rss

Antes de Dormir MX Audio Book Una audioserie de antología que te arrastrará a los rincones más oscuros de la imaginación, un lugar donde el horror, el miedo y el suspenso te mantendrán al borde del insomnio. Prepárate para una experiencia aterradora semana a semana. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20231027-05 RSS: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/653366ff9bf3570012186599

A Cure For life Audio Book Bleak monologues to cheer everyone up, told through a podcast, darkly. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20231008-06 RSS: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/6522d194ed688f0011c67f48

Barb and the Burnbottoms Audio Drama Meet the Burnbottoms. Barb, Bob, Bella, Brooke, Briggite and Brie. Barb has made it a point to launch her " Family Mom" podcast and vouches to create more quality time with her family through a series of road trips that will test the family's bonds and bring them closer together through a series of hilarious situations in this musical audio sit-com. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20231105-03 RSS: https://feeds.megaphone.fm/DODDV8434426607

Movipods Presents! Audio Drama Hey there, folks! Welcome to our show, "Movipods: Where Screenplays Come To Life!" Every week, we've got something special lined up for you. We're talkin' about brand-spankin'-new audio plays that are straight outta Hollywood's wildest dreams. Yep, you heard it right, we're turning screenplays into ear-ticklin', mind-blowin' audio adventures! Our mission is bigger than that! We're on a quest to take these incredible stories and fling 'em straight into the limelight of the silver screen. And guess what? You get to be a part of it from the very beginning! https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20231114-03 RSS: https://feeds.megaphone.fm/movipodspresents

A Classical Christmas Chord Audio Drama In our first series 'A Classical Christmas Chord', classical musician Lena Chord, is forced to work with her high school flame turned pop-star, Zack Sellers, to revive her music company and his troubling bad-boy reputation. Their mutual animosity and attraction sees them struggle to achieve their goal. Hope Street Pods features fictional stories that are heartwarming, comedic and grip people in a way — as the rom-com hero would say— they haven’t felt in a long time. Every 6-episode series features a different protagonist and the current interest of the highly affable and quirky talk show host, Tulip Morris, broadcasting from the fictional radio station on Hope Street. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20231115-02 RSS: https://media.rss.com/hopestreetpods/feed.xml

Flickers Audio Drama Trapped alone at her late grandfather’s farm, 17-year old Alex is haunted by ghosts of her past, while being hunted by something much worse. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20231114-04 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/d64f2604/podcast/rss

Stories from Ylelmore Audio Drama Stories from Ylelmore is a scripted audio drama about the every day adventures of Keryth (a witch), Rion (a werewolf), and Elas (possibly cursed?) in the mundanely magical world of ylelmore. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20231114-05 RSS: https://itmepodcast.com/storiesfromylelmore/?format=rss

The Last Vampyr Hunter Audio Drama Vampyrs. Fiction, right? Well, whilst working at a facility located in ****** ****, I met a man known as Jim Heap. I don't believe that is his real name, but it was the name given to me. He told me an unbelievable story over many, many weeks. I didn't know whether to believe him or not, but the purpose of the facility led me to be less dismissive than I may have been if I had met him and heard his story in another place. He agreed I could record him and share his story. This relationship is ongoing. So, here it is. His story. Make of it what you will. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20231116-01 RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2266039.rss

[thekillogiceffect-blog]

20 WAT TOMSTONE - Prophet Man REACTION | Metal Head DJ Reacts

Today we check out a new one from a band we have been following and playing on the radio for quite some time called 20 WATT TOMBSTONE with there new song and video "Prophet Man" Get into the swing of 20 WATT TOMBSTONE's death blues. Their combination of heavy distortion, stoner rock and blues, it's the thrill of rock 'n' roll with a metal twist. The duo's new album, The Chosen Few, will be released on October 20th, 2023. Leading up to the release, 20 WATT TOMBSTONE will be hitting the road! The tour kicks off on September 24th in Hamtramck, MI and wraps on October 7th in Tinley Park, IL. Full dates are below with more on the way! #music #reaction #review 9/24 - Small’s (Hamtramck, MI) 9/25 - West Side Bowl (Youngstown, OH) 9/26 -Mag Bar (Louisville, KY) 9/28 - Snug Harbor (Charlotte, NC) 9/29 - Burns Alley (Charleston, NC) 9/30 - Flicker Theater (Athens, GA) 10/1 - Handlebar (Pensacola, FL) 10/3 - Freetown Boom Boom Room, (Lafayette, LA) 10/6 - the Sinkhole (St. Louis, MO) 10/7 - Soundgrowler brewing (Tinley Park, IL) 20 WATT TOMBSTONE are Wasau Wisconsin’s hard touring death blues saviors. Fusing the sounds of ZZ TOP with KYUSS by way of ROBERT JOHNSON and BLACK FLAG, the band has continually outdone themselves since their formation in 2011. 20 WATT TOMBSTONE built their name on the road and have played hundreds of shows over the past few years, but it was a split with LEFT LANE CRUISER propelled them to the next level. The upcoming record, The Chosen Few, sees the band take their sound further than before. 20 WATT TOMBSTONE is: Tom Jordan - guitar & vocals Mitch Ostrowski - drums & vocals Links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/20watttombst... Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/20watttombstone Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/20watttombs... YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@20watttombst... Bandcamp: https://20watttombstone.bandcamp.com/ My Social Media: https://twitter.com/KillogicFilth https://www.facebook.com/thekillogice... https://www.twitch.tv/thekillogiceffect https://www.reddit.com/user/TheKillog... https://www.tumblr.com/thekillogiceff...

[kailumvillalobos]

Alex Kime, Radio and Podcast Producer

Alex Kime is an experienced digital producer, podcast producer, project manager, and content production manager with a passion for audio and media production. When Kime worked as a Digital Producer, he launched two weekly newsletters and designed and maintained an active news website. Kime has also coordinated a seven-day web and social posting schedule with unique templates for each platform, mixed and mastered audio from producers and reporters for the web using Izotope RX, Descript, and Audition, and managed daily duties of five interns across two departments. Additionally, Kime started a weekly news texting club through GroundSource with an average 30% response rate and built multiple content-specific dashboards in Google Data Studio.

Prior to his current role, Kime worked as an independent producer in Chicago, IL, where he produced weekly episodes for three different podcasts, edited backlogged interviews in Izotope RX and Audition, sourced guests, and edited audio for CBC, People Magazine, KCRW, and more. He also maintained show release schedules in Google Docs, Trello, and Slack.

Kime has also worked as a Project Manager for multiple non-profits, where he created project calendars and weekly reports to track the progress of ongoing projects, developed partnerships with advocacy groups, universities, cities, and businesses, and wrote social media content, press releases, and web copy. Additionally, Kime worked as a Content Production Manager for an online music retailer, where he led a team of eight people to plan and develop audio/video content for the web, produced artist interviews and gear reviews for the website and 1.5 million active email subscribers to increase online engagement, and transferred email workflow to modular templates for targeted audiences, saving hours of work on each campaign and allowing for average sends per week to double.

Kime earned his Bachelor of Arts in Media Production from The Evergreen State College in 2010. With his extensive experience in digital media production and his passion for audio production, Kime is a skilled and talented producer, manager, and content creator.

[experimentik]

Experimentik #62 / March 15. 2023 / Sergio Sorrentino,  JD Zazie, StØrfan Sender

March 15. 2023 / 20:30- (doors 20:00)

3 x solo

Sergio Sorrentino - guitar and electronics

JD Zazie - playback devices

StØrfan Sender - hackbrett, electronics, microphones and folly instruments

FBevent: https://fb.me/e/2uoMjhdB2

————-

Sergio Sorrentino “A Superb Musician” (The Wire)

Sorrentino is acclaimed as “the best concert music electric guitarist” (Il Manifesto) and “one of the most important contemporary guitarists” (RAI Radio Tre).

As a performer he promotes the classical guitar and electric guitar contemporary repertory. As a composer and improviser his music is based on sonic research and combines elements of contemporary classical music, minimalism, avant-garde, ambient, experimental. His CD Dream - American Music for Electric Guitar (Mode Records), which includes works by Feldman, Cage, Wolff, Curran and others, was reviewed and highlighted in the New York Times by Seth Colter Walls as one of the “Week’s Best Classical Music Moments”, defining the album “of disarming beauty”.

Philip Glass published Sergio Sorrentino’s video performance of “Orphée’s Bedroom” and “Opening” on his official channels for the #glassminutes series. Orange Mountain Music released “Orphée’s Bedroom” and “Opening” as Singles on all digital platforms earning a lot of success.

Sergio plays with the great Gavin Bryars (“Sergio Sorrentino has performed many of my works for guitar, and also my ensemble pieces that include the guitar and I have the greatest admiration for his work in this respect”) as a member of the Gavin Bryars Ensemble and he plays live and in studio with Elliott Sharp, Magnus Andersson and John King.

He released a duo album with Gavin Bryars (Gavin Bryars: Electric Guitar Works”), where he plays some world premiere recordings together with the great English composer.

With the legendary American guitarist Loren Connors, Sorrentino released “Shadow”, album based on improvisations for two electric guitars.

He has worked with important composers and musicians like Christian Wolff, Alvin Curran, John Russell, Machinefabriek, David Lang, Steven Mackey, Usui Yasuhiro, Scott Fields, Loren Connors, Tim Brady, Paul Lansky and many others. Van Stiefel wrote for him “Bound” - Electric Guitar Concerto for electric guitar and orchestra. Sergio’s recording of David Lang’s “Questionnaire” has been highlighted in the Bandcamp New and Notable section and it has been included by the historian Ted Gioia in his Top 100 Recordings of 2021. As a soloist, Sergio Sorrentino started his international concert career very early and has held solo concerts and master classes in many important festivals and venues (like Yale University, Sprague Hall in New Haven, Spectrum in New York, Festival de Música Contemporánea de La Habana in Casa de Las Américas, Cuba, Italian Cultural Institute of Paris, Sala Biala of the Wilanow Museum (Warsaw, Poland), International Guitar Research Conference/University of Surrey (UK), Vortex in London, Performance Room of Luxembourg, Filharmonia Gorzowska Concert Hall, ON Cologne Neue Musik Festival, In Situ Art Society in Bonn, Specktrum in Berlin, Nuova Consonanza Festival in Rome, Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte di Montepulciano, AngelicA Festival of Bologna, etc.).

He wrote the first book ever written about the concert repertoire for electric guitar (“La Chitarra Elettrica nella Musica da Concerto”, Arcana Edizioni) and several other books and articles about guitar history. He is Guitar Professor at the Conservatory of Cosenza.

https://sergiosorrentino.bandcamp.com/

photo © Donatello Lorenzo

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JD Zazie is an experimental DJ, avant-turntablist, sound artist and curator based in Berlin.

Coming from a DJ and a radiophonic background JD Zazie has explored different approaches to real-time manipulation of fixed recorded sound. In her work she redefines DJ and electroacoustic activities. As a solo performer, in small groups, and in large ensembles, she works in an area which is constantly stretching the borders of what could be defined as DJ mixing, free improvisation and composed music. 
She is a member of Reanimation Orchestra, plays regularly solo and duos with Heidrun Schramm and with Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø.

She is the art director of the MuseRuole - women in experimental music festival,  a member of the Burp Enterprise collective and broadcasts monthly on Colaboradio and on Reboot.fm.

https://jdzazie.tumblr.com

photo © Udo Siegfriedt

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StØrfan Sender: Artist with a day job and far too many interests. Sporting an improvisational and rather playful approach to electro-accoustic music.

https://stoerfansender.de

photo © oli.ver

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Experimentik 2023 is supported by inm

[sealtrust]

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[cartograffiti]

Thank you Claire from Schuler Books: some data for Queen's Thief fans

The tl;dr of this post is that QT is having an unprecedented surge of interest right now, and I used GoodReads to deliver some facts and figures to the Discord (The Geninsula), and now to Tumblr!

Under the cut: sources of the uptick, beautiful numbers, and a couple fun excerpts from recent reviews.

Part 1: selling out is good

We can actually track the start of the surge back to 2020's publication of Return of the Thief, because the series being complete got it a lot of positive press, but the activity of the past couple months (especially February-now, I'm writing on May 31 2022), has been another thing entirely.

RotT, and Disney+ optioning The Thief, has meant we're getting a lot of new international editions. The UK is getting a beautiful release of new editions in paperback and audiobook. The series is being translated into Spanish and Italian for the first time, and we know in The Geninsula of translations underway into Hebrew and Bangla. (Parts of the series have previously been released in at least 15 languages, but until now only Romanian had kept up with the whole set.) MWT is currently on a tour of Italy and the UK to promote these new editions, and a number of giveaways and influencer spotlights were arranged by publishers to get The Thief | Il ladro in readers' hands.

In March, the independent bookstore Schuler Books (not, as it has often been misreported, a library or Barnes & Noble) *posted a TikTok* of some of their staff showing off books they wish they could read for the first time, again. (It's adorable, click the link if you haven't seen it.) This TikTok went viral, now with 17.5 million views, and it opens with Claire talking about The Thief.

Only two weeks later, The Thief was sold out in US paperback. I'm talking gone. Even Amazon cannot get you a new copy of either the 2017 (Joel Tippie) or 2005 (Vince Natale) covers anymore, previously readily available, let alone older ones. They have to reprint it! In the meantime, the Steve West audiobook seems to be doing very well, and the hardcover unremarkably. Several Geninsula members who are members of large library systems have reported long waitlists typical of bestsellers. I wholly attribute this attention to Claire. Claire is the best, our hero!

Lots of recent reviews (see below) also said Laini Taylor suggested it, but if there's a specific recent source for that (she's a known fan of long standing), I can't find it. Let me know if you know!

Part 2: GoodReads is useful sometimes

So GoodReads *has this nice feature* where they rank the top 200 books from each publishing year, with #1 being the one their users have most interacted with, and refresh it monthly [Edit: this was a mistype, it’s weekly]--so you can see which books of the same age have remained or become popular as of this month [Edit: week]. This does not mean it only accounts for what was interacted with within that month [Edit: week], just that it's that up to date.

Right now, The Thief is number 14 out of all of 1996. The books that beat it are all truly famous things like Bridget Jones's Diary, Angela's Ashes, Fight Club, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (The only book ranked above it that hasn't been adapted for film is Neverwhere, which has received a radio play with a high-profile cast. [Edit: ...And is itself a novelization of a TV series.] [Edit: Infinite Jest has been a play, but not filmed.] I am making direct eye contact with Mickey Mouse.) Some of the other series marketed as fantasy it beats out include entries from Tortall, Discworld, The Witcher, and Redwall.

The Queen of Attolia is the only other one that is currently on the top 200 list for its year, but it's 77, above more Tamora Pierce, a boxset of A Song of Ice and Fire, and buzzy authors like Julia Quinn and Junji Ito.

The fact that a second book is ranking this high tells us people are currently working their way through the series in honestly what has to be large numbers. I won't be surprised if later books start ranking in the coming months.

It also tells us people really are actively reading them, not just marking the first one as possibly interesting--lots of users don't mark sequels as to-read until they've read the first, or the preceding one, etc.

Now, with the books ranked this high, how much interaction does that represent? Well, The Thief has 77,921 ratings, and 236,000+ shelvings, and considering that finishing without rating is somewhat uncommon…that's about 150,000 users who are planning to read, or currently reading, this book. The same math for QoA is less dramatic--about 20k people have it on the agenda--but when 20k is 50% of its all-time ratings, that's...still an explosion.

This of course only represents the people who a) use GoodReads and b) keep up with their to-be-read list there, so this is only a fraction of readers in general who are likely to read it in the near future.

Part 3: The reviews are in

Giveaways of advance reader copies in the UK led to a burst of reviews in February, which were a bit puzzling to read through, as a number of them seemed to me to have come from people who did not know the genre or even the age market for the book when they entered for it, and hadn't actually been drawn to the story therefore.

A much more striking wave of reviews came later, as the UK, Spanish, and Italian readers began to interact with it organically, and a large burst of people who specifically said they'd picked it up because of Claire from Schuler Books. (Or, more often, "A TikTok with a cute librarian [sic].") These reviews have the usual range of reactions, but an overall level of enthusiasm I feel is high.

Laini Taylor was the second-most successful recommender. Many people compared The Thief favorably to Rick Riordan, Leigh Bardugo, GRR Martin, and Sarah J. Maas. (This was the first time I'd seen the series pitched to SJM's fans! I haven't read her work, but hadn't thought it was in a similar niche.) I was delighted to see several people calling it the best fantasy of travel and landscape they've read since JRR Tolkien!

The apparent age range of reviewers is quite wide, which reflects my experience of the fandom, where I've regularly chatted with people from 13 to their 60s, and likely older. There were some very cute reactions from reviewing tweens and teenagers who said that they were surprised such an OLD book from the nineties held up.

Some other book trend remarks I found interesting: lots of surprise there was no romance, including some people who, looking for a potential romance among the traveling party, proposed both Gen/Sophos (fine) and Gen/the magus (insane, thank you so much, I have questions.) A number of people who remarked that they were pleased to find a fantasy that wasn't "too fantastical," lots of positivity about feeling it had a "timeless" style, and one person who said they have found it difficult to find engaging recent YA books with boy protagonists.

Delightful excerpts from reviews of TT:

a novel that is a credit to the English language.

I loved the world MWT created, had it been an artwork it would perhaps have been more Claude Monet than Michelangelo

[Original review in Spanish, from Argentina] Gen is the best thing that has ever happened to me

The Thief also pairs very nicely with cheese and dried fruit.

The importance of narrators:

I'm giving this a 5 star rating because I listened to it as an audiobook and the narrator sounds like Henry Cavill and I have a crush on him. So, 5 stars.

And my favorite reaction to The Queen of Attolia:

This is shockingly...kinky???

Okay, thanks for reading! I'm really excited, since it looks like the fandom is in the process of...tripling? Something like that. If you have news about how the book is being promoted, or new translations/re-releases, I'd love to hear!

[callasdaily]

May 19

On May 19, 1953, Callas began a three-performance run of “Lucia ” in Rome. The reviewer for Opera Magazine praised her “simplicity” and “sweetness”, especially notable as she had just completed the run of “Medea” in Florence. Conductor Gianandrea Gavazzeni stated later that Callas’s intuitive approach inspired him to change his interpretation of the opera.

On May 19, 1958, Callas began a five-performance run of “Il pirata” at La Scala. The reviewer for Opera was Claudio Sartori, a noted musicologist, who stated “Maria Callas’s interpretation was flawless”. Other leads didn’t really have her bel canto style, but baritone Ettore Bastianini sang with “nobility of accent and warm vocal tone” while Franco Corelli “gave of his best and it was a delight to see him move with statuesque perfection””.

On May 19, 1959, Callas sang arias in Stuttgart, Nicola Rescigno conducting the South German Radio Orchestra. Both the Hamburg concert of May 15 and this were recorded; the Hamburg recording has better sound but Callas was obviously hampered by a cold; this recording has inferior sound but she is in better voice.

On May 19, 1962, Callas sang the Habanera and Seguidilla from “Carmen” in front of an audience of 15,000 at Madison Square Garden, part of the legendary event noted for Marilyn Monroe’s appearance there. She was accompanied on the piano by Charles Wilson, a conductor from the New York City Opera. She was the last of the singers to perform before the “very late” Miss Monroe shimmered in. Ella Fitzgerald opened the “show”; others performing were Bobby Darin, Peggy Lee, Diahann Carroll, Nichols and May (not singing I assume), Harry Belafonte, Shirley MacLaine, and Jimmy Durante.

And, by the way, she also met JFK. (But not his wife who was attending an equestrian event in New Jersey. They never met.)

[infinitelradio]

IL Radio Show Production

The News & Review broadcast the 4th Thursday of each month and is hosted by by "L".  As always, the host will be playing the song of the month that is being featured at the Infinite L Ent website and  playing songs by various independent artists.  Also during this segment the host will presenting clips from a past show segment of "Getting Real with Roz". If you are an artist and would like to get your music played on Infinite L Radio, you can submit your request one of two ways:  by email  at ILradio@infinitelent.com or submit your request via Music Submit .  The IL Radio Show is currently taking music submittals for the following genre:  R&B, rap, hip hop, pop, reggae, afro beats, easy listening & jazz.  We are also interested in music with that old school appeal.   ________________________________________________

Show Host:  “L” IL Radio Show’s Creator/Producer:  “L” Banner/Video Credit: Infinite L Designs Video Music Credit:  TheOreE

IL Radio - Listen Here IL Radio IG:  @infinitelent Youtube:  www.youtube.com/@infinitelent IL Ent Website: www.infinitelent.com

[fruitcoops]

I combined two asks for this one since they fit so well together and it’s quite long. Thanks for the suggestions! Credit for Sweater Weather characters goes to the incredible @lumosinlove​!

TW for mild panic and self-blame

Prompt 31: “He’s not answering his phone”

Prompt 45: “It’s bad again. It’s really, really bad again”

“He’s not answering his phone.”

“Still?”

James slipped his cell phone into his pocket. Remus’ eyes were trained on the floor, as they had been since his arrival. “Look, Loops, you remember what he was like before. You know him better than any of us. I think—I think you might be a little too close to this, though.”

“Too close?” Remus snorted without humor. “The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Loops, c’mon.” James sat next to him on the couch, but Remus refused to make eye contact. “Remus. You know how Sirius deals with his problems. He shuts down and pushes everyone away because he feels like he has to be perfect all the time, even though we tell him every fuckin’ day how much he means to us. It’s just—with you, he doesn’t do that.”

“He’s never like that with me,” Remus muttered. James remained silent. “Not—not since the airport. He promised.”

And, shit, if that didn’t just break James’ heart. He wanted to be angry at Sirius: who gave him the right to cause his loved ones so much stress? That day at the airport, leading a shaking and shell-shocked Remus away by the shoulders, had been once of the worst of James’ life. “I know, that’s why I’m worried about you.”

“36.” Remus’ voice was so quiet that James almost missed it.

“What?”

“I called him 36 times while he was at All-Stars and he didn’t answer a single one. He swore he would never do that to me again.” Remus let out a trembling breath and James placed his hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Fuck, I’m not even angry, I’m just scared.”

“Me, too,” James confessed. Sirius’ instinct to run may have helped him survive for the first twenty-odd years of his life, but it wreaked havoc on his new support system. “Do you want me to try again?” Remus shook his head. “I can call Coach and see if he’s at the rink?”

“I already sent him a text, and Moody,” Remus said, running a hand through his hair. There was a gentle clacking noise and Hattie appeared around the door with her head cocked to the side. She wagged her tail and trotted over to them, then rested her head on Remus’ knees with a low whine. “Hey, babycakes. James, you don’t have to stay here with me.”

“I want to.”

“No, you don’t.”

“I know what this feels like and I don’t think either of us should be alone right now or we’ll both worry ourselves into a spiral.”

“That’s fair.”

They sat in silence for a moment. James had knocked on Sirius’ door in the hours after the photos were released until his hands and feet when numb from cold, and he wasn’t looking forward to trudging through parks all afternoon to track him down. He knew he would never understand the urge to self-isolate and couldn’t blame Sirius for his shitty upbringing, but he wished his best friend had a better way to deal with his feelings.

He was about to suggest turning on the radio to distract themselves when Remus’ phone rang, startling them both with the volume. Remus scrambled to answer, his eyes wide. “Sirius?” There was a low buzzing noise on the other end and he frowned. “Dumo? Are you—who?”

Sirius? James mouthed. Remus nodded. Thank god. He leaned back against the couch and let out a long, slow breath that he hadn’t realized he had been holding. If Sirius was with Dumo, he would be safe. He kicked himself a little for not thinking to check there as well, but they had no time to waste on self-pity.

“Pots and I will be there in twenty,” Remus said. “Thank you. Thank you so much, Pascal.”

James’ had the car running by the time Remus got his shoes on and let Hattie into the backyard. “I’m driving,” he said before Remus could protest. “You get to take deep breaths and focus on not strangling your fiancé when we get there, okay?”

“Got it.” Remus reached over and stopped James’ fingers from tapping on the steering wheel. “If you’re driving, you’re not allowed to freak out either.”

A knock on the front door startled Pascal Dumais out of his algebra-induced haze. He had been a decent student in school, but Adele’s math homework was a whole new level of confusing that he was not nearly prepared enough to review with her. There was another knock, harder and more frantic than before, and he frowned. The team always called before they came over, and solicitors rarely stopped by.

Adele raised an eyebrow, but cleared her stuff off the table and headed up to her room as Dumo went to the door. “Bonj—oh, mon fils.”

“It’s bad again,” Sirius said quietly. He was blinking fast and his hands flexed like he wanted to reach for something. “It’s really, really bad again.”

“Come inside.” Dumo opened the door the rest of the way and led Sirius into his office, away from any possible disruptions or unwelcome eyes. He had total faith in his family’s ability to comfort and support, but this was not the first time Sirius had come to him for help. He needed space to work through whatever was going on. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” he croaked, swallowing thickly. “I wish I did, but it came out of nowhere. I was just thinking about how lucky I am now and then I remembered that I left Reg with them and he got hurt because of it.”

“Sirius, look at me,” Dumo said gently. “When did this start?”

“An hour ago? Maybe two?” He shook his head. “Time is…hard, when I get like this.”

“What did Remus say?” Sirius remained silent. “Mon fils, did you tell him what’s going on?”

“No.”

“Why?” A murmured answer. “Pardon?”

“He has enough to worry about. His parents are visiting in a week, and he hasn’t been sleeping, and he’s stressed about the Knights game—”

“Arrête.” Sirius’ jaw closed with a snap and he looked up with guilty eyes. “Remus loves you, of course he’ll be worried about you.”

More misery darkened Sirius’ face and Dumo reached for his hands. “Fuck, I left again. I promised I wouldn’t do that.”

“Has he called?”

“I put my phone on silent. The ringtone…” he gestured vaguely at his ears. Headache.

“Hold on while I get you some water. I’m going to call Remus and tell him where you are, alright? Just so he knows you’re safe.” Dumo stood up, but paused by the door. “He’s going to want to come and see you. C’est bon?”

Sirius sniffled. “Ouais.”

Celeste was waiting for him in the living room with concern etched all over her beautiful face. “Il est bon?”

“Oui, mon amour. Thinking about Regulus and his parents again.” Dumo kissed her forehead and she held him tight around the chest. For all her softness, her love was fierce. “He didn’t tell Remus where he went.”

She made a heartbroken noise. “That poor boy. Should I call?”

“Non, je vais.” Dumo let her go with one more kiss and dialed Remus’ number. He had barely lifted it to his ear when the line connected.

“Sirius?”

“Sirius just showed up at my front door.”

“Dumo? Are you—who?”

“Sirius. He’s having a rough time and mentioned that you didn’t know where he was, so I figured I’d call.”

“What happened? I was taking a nap and when I woke up, he was gone. James has been here for half an hour. We couldn’t get ahold of him. Can we come over?”

“Of course. I think he needs you more than me right now.”

“Pots and I will be there in twenty.” There was a moment’s pause on the other end, where Remus’ anxious breathing crackled. “Thank you. Thank you so much, Pascal.”

“Anything for my boys, eh?” Remus laughed weakly and the call ended with a click. Dumo made sure to keep his ringer on as he put his phone back in his pocket and went to get water from the kitchen.

“Is Sirius okay?” Adele asked from the doorway. “He seemed upset.”

“He’s feeling better now, mon chou. He just needed someone to talk to.”

Adele tugged the end of her braid, an old habit from when she was younger and tried to grow her hair out like Rapunzel. “Are he and Remus fighting?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Good. Remus makes him happy.”

Dumo smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Oui, he does.”

Eighteen minutes and three glasses of water later, Sirius had calmed down enough that his chest didn’t hitch with every inhale. The rapid knock on the door startled them both; Dumo saw some of the guilt return to his face and made a mental note to kick Orion Black in the back of the knees the next time he showed his face. Sirius was a good man down to the bone and he deserved to be able to live without regret over things he couldn’t control.

“Sirius?” His shoulders sagged as Remus’ voice floated in from the hall and Dumo patted his forearm.

“In here.”

Remus appeared half a second later, flushed from the cold, and nearly collapsed against the doorframe when he saw them. “You’re okay?”

“I’m okay,” Sirius confirmed, but his tone wobbled on the second word and he scrunched his nose up. Remus crossed the room in three steps and wrapped him in a hug, squeezing his eyes shut as Sirius buried his face in his neck. “I’m sorry.”

“You scared the hell out of me.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not angry.”

A strangled huff punched out of Sirius’ chest and a tear trickled down Remus’ cheek. “I know. I know you’re not, and I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Dumo stood up walked silently into the hallway, closing the door behind him with a nod to James. This conversation was not for anyone else’s ears.

[greensparty]

Documentary Reviews: The Beatles and India / George Michael Freedom Uncut

This week I got to review not one but two music documentaries:

The Beatles and India

There is a long history of documentary films about The Beatles’ connections to specific regions (countries, states, cities). I am a lifelong Beatle fanatic and I’ve seen documentaries about their history with Liverpool, UK; Hamburg, Germany; London, England; NYC, NY, USA; and even lesser ones like Benton, IL. The gist of all of these documentaries is showcasing how the region and the culture played a role in The Beatles’ history and the influence it had on their music. In 2013, I, myself, made a short documentary about The Beatles’ musical connections to Boston, highlighting the concerts they played in the city, connections to Boston musicians and radio outlets. Now, The Beatles history with India is getting the documentary treatment with the documentary The Beatles and India, which screened film festivals last year and is being released on blu-ray and DVD from MVD Entertainment Group this week.

movie poster

In 2018 journalist Ajoy Bose’s book Across the Universe: The Beatles in India was released. After the book’s release, Bose and co-director Peter Compton began making a documentary based on the book. In The Beatles Anthology  (easily the most comprehensive Beatles doc ever made), they covered The Beatles visit to Rishikesh, India in 1968. I am a firm believer that if you are going to make a doc about The Beatles, you need to be shedding light on something new or else you’re just re-iterating what The Beatles Anthology and Compleat Beatles already covered. This is why in the last few years there are been some Beatle docs that try to look at parts of their history that haven’t been covered as much, i.e. Ron Howard’s The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years about their live performance, Peter Jackson’s The Beatles’ Get Back delving deeper into the Get Back / Let It Be recording, and Good Ol’ Freda about their secretary Freda Kelly. The Beatles and India is not trying to tell the entire history of the Fab Four, but just their history with India.

The 1965 Beatles movie Help! featured several Indian musicians and that got the attention of George Harrison. It lead to his friendship with Ravi Shankar. In the years that followed The Beatles began incorporating Indian instruments and musical styles into their own music, i.e. “Norwegian Wood”, “Tomorrow Never Knows” and “Within You Without You”. In 1966, they made a stop in New Dehli, India. In 1967, at the peak of The Beatles fame, they attended Mahareshi Mahesh Yogi’s transcendental meditation seminar in Wales and became engaged with it. In 1968, the Fab Four and their wives and entourage visited Rishikesh to the Maharishi’s ashram. There was eventually a falling out with the Mahareshi (not a spoiler as this was public info from that era). But just the experience of that visit inspired several songs as well. 

The Beatles, Mahareshi Maharesh Yogi and friends at Mahareshi’s ashram in 1968

As a documentary, this is really good at putting the region into the context of Beatles history. There are a lot of historians, authors, journalists and experts who are interviewed. However, the one thing that is missing from doc is Beatles music. It is not surprising that a documentary does not have the budget for Beatles songs, but it felt like something was missing. We’re seeing all of this archival footage and photos and hearing how this experience inspired “Dear Prudence” and this other experience inspired “Sexy Sadie” and we’re not hearing any of those songs. Also - the fact that they didn’t have any of The Beatles interviewed other than archival footage also felt like something was missing. They did get Pattie Boyd (George Harrison’s wife at the time), but everyone else was more historians and journalists, many of whom had terrific insight, but I was hoping for Paul or Ringo or someone else from their camp to comment further. Overall - this was a very well done doc, I just wanted more. As for the blu-ray itself, there’s an extended interview with Ajoy Bose, an Ashram map and production photos. Not a lot in the way of extras, but it is the doc itself that is front and center.

The Beatles and India is being released on blu-ray and DVD by MVD Entertainment Group this week: https://beatlesandindia.com/the-film/

3.5 out of 5 stars

George Michael Freedom Uncut

Just before his death at age 53 in 2016, singer George Michael had actually been working on a documentary about himself that was set to premiere in 2017. After his death, the project was put on hold. Co-director David Austin has completed the documentary George Michael Freedom Uncut and it is getting a one-night only theatrical release on June 22.

movie poster

As part of the U.K. pop duo Wham!, Michael became a superstar in the 1980s. Wham!’s 1984 album Make It Big that really put them on the map. It was one of the first cassette tapes I ever got (after Thriller, Purple Rain and Stay Hungry). They had a cool sing-along vibe to their music that is fun when you’re a kid like I was at the time. They performed at Live Aid and were the first Western pop act to perform in China. At the peak of their fame, Wham! broke up in 1986 and Michael began a solo career. His 1987 album Faith was one of the all-time great albums of the 1980s. A highly underrated album was his 1990 follow-up Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. He was so adamant about being known for his music and not his looks that he didn’t appear in any of the music videos. Even though I was into metal at the time, I kind of dug his solo music. He had such a great voice. 

Michael in his prime in the 80s

This doc shows the progression from Wham! to the mature crooner he was towards the end of this life. An interesting device this doc does is showing various interviewees listening to some of Michael’s songs on vinyl and their reaction. While it was engaging to hear the likes of Elton John, Liam Gallagher, Mary J. Blige and James Corden unpacking the music and lyrics of some of his famous songs, it did go on a little longer than it should have. But what this doc got very right was Michael telling his story in his own words. He addresses being in the closet, his battle with his label Sony and his various scandals. The most powerful part was when he performed “Somebody to Love” at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert at a time when Michael’s partner was suffering of AIDS, as Michael performed at an AIDS benefit paying tribute to Mercury, who had recently died of AIDS. The fact is no one can sing like Mercury, but boy did Michael rise to the challenge and then some! Easily his greatest performance!  The doc is not the most comprehensive as it definitely glossed over his career from 2000-2016. But it is Michael posthumously able to tell his story, which is worth hearing and seeing!

For info on George Michael Freedom Uncut: https://www.georgemichaelfreedomuncut.com/

3.5 out of 5 stars

[lordeemailarchive]

OH HELLO.

(19/06/2017)

It's me, Ella. Sorry to keep blasting up your inbox but before you know it it'll be another four years' radio silence and you'll think "why oh why didn't I savour every morsel of those random emails?!" I'm shooting a music video somewhere totally magical. Never done a music video like this and I can't wait for you to see it. There's running involved. So it's been something of a big week.. we're in our third country in 4 days, Leg 1 of the tour went onsale, Leg 2 presale not far behind... oh, and Melodrama came out. I want to thank you for the outpouring of love this record has already seen. It's been a surreal, incredible week watching the reviews pour in, reading all of your tweets claiming favourite songs and favourite lines, and just generally being so grateful that the world has been kind to my baby. It's so wild making an album for two years in a totally isolated environment and then just letting it out, but the fact that you GET IT makes it all a little less freaky for me. So thankyou. The thing I really wanted to do with this album cycle is continue the story of the record long after release week - there's SO much stuff still to come. Gorgeous reinterpretations of the music, crazy visuals, performance art, merch... I can't wait to share it all with you. If you got a ticket to Leg 1, YAY. Can't wait to see you. And in the meantime, NORTH AMERICAN PRESALE CODE IS: WASTERS Go go go. With all my love and thanks, Ella x

NORTH AMERICA DANCE w/ special guest TBA Mar 1 - Milwaukee, WI @ BMO Harris Bradley Center - (Tickets) Mar 2 - St. Louis, MO @ Chaifetz Arena - (Tickets) Mar 3 - Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center - (Tickets) Mar 5 - Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center - (Tickets) Mar 8 - Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena - (Tickets) Mar 10 - Portland, OR @ Moda Center at the Rose Garden - (Tickets) Mar 12 - Sacramento, CA @ Golden1 Center - (Tickets) Mar 13 - Oakland, CA @ The Oracle Arena - (Tickets) Mar 14 - Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center - (Tickets) Mar 16 - Glendale, AZ @ Gila River Arena - (Tickets) Mar 18 - Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center - (Tickets) Mar 19 - Houston, TX @ Toyota Center - (Tickets) Mar 21 - Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center - (Tickets) Mar 23 - St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center - (Tickets) Mar 24 - Lincoln, NE @ Pinnacle Arena - (Tickets) Mar 25 - Des Moines, IA @ Wells Fargo Arena - (Tickets) Mar 27 - Rosemont, IL @ Allstate Arena - (Tickets) Mar 28 - Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena - (Tickets) Mar 29 - Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre - (Tickets) Mar 31 - Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center - (Tickets) Apr 2 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center - (Tickets) Apr 3 - Boston, MA @ TD Garden - (Tickets) Apr 4 - Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center - (Tickets) Apr 6 - Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center - (Tickets) Apr 7 - Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena - (Tickets) Apr 8 - Washington, D.C. @ The Anthem - (Tickets) Apr 11 - Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena - (Tickets) Apr 12 - Miami, FL @ American Airlines Arena - (Tickets) Apr 14 - Duluth, GA @ Infinite Energy Center - (Tickets) Apr 15 - Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena - (Tickets)

EUROPE DANCE w/ KHALID 26 Sept - Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo - (Tickets) 27 Sept - London, UK @ Alexandra Palace - (Tickets) 30 Sept - Brighton, UK @ Brighton Centre - (Tickets) 1 Oct - Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy - (Tickets) 2 Oct - Glasgow, UK @ 02 Academy - (Tickets) 4 Oct - Tilburg, NL @ 013 - (Tickets) 5 Oct - Paris, FR @ Zenith - (Tickets) 6 Oct - Antwerp, BE @ Lotto Arena - (Tickets) 8 Oct - Lyon, FR @ Transbordeur - (Tickets) 9 Oct - Barcelona, ES @ Saint Jordi Club - (Tickets) 11 Oct - Munich, DE @ Zenith - (Tickets) 12 Oct - Milan, Italy @ Fabrique - (Tickets) 14 Oct - Cologne, DE @ Palladium - (Tickets) 15 Oct - Berlin, DE @ Tempodrome - (Tickets) 17 Oct - Stockholm, SE @ Annexet - (Tickets) 18 Oct - Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene - (Tickets) 19 Oct - Trondheim, NO @ UKA 17 Festival - (Tickets)

NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA DANCE 7 Nov - Dunedin, NZ @ Town Hall (Tickets) 8 Nov - Christchurch, NZ @ Isaac Theatre Royal (Tickets) 9 Nov - Christchurch, NZ @ Isaac Theatre Royal (Tickets) 11 Nov - Wellington, NZ @ Michael Fowler Centre (Tickets) 12 Nov - Auckland, NZ @ Power Station (All Ages) (Tickets) 14 Nov - Auckland, NZ @ Power Station (Tickets) 15 Nov - Auckland, NZ @ Power Station (Tickets) 18 Nov - Perth, AU @ Kings Park (Tickets) 21 Nov - Sydney, AU @ Sydney Opera House Forecourt (Tickets) 22 Nov - Sydney, AU @ Sydney Opera House Forecourt (Tickets) 23 Nov - Brisbane, AU @ Riverstage (Tickets) 25 Nov - Canberra, AU @ Spilt Milk Festival (Tickets) 26 Nov - Melbourne, AU @ Sidney Myer Music Bowl (Tickets)

(source: forwarded email by u/AitchyB, https://twitter.com/InfoLordeBR/status/876955778548207616/photo/1 , and https://twitter.com/elanafishman/status/877155129052594177)