#music and artistry in the field is dying

[what-the-fuck-khr]

IM TIRED!!!! OF REMAKES!!! OF MUSIC MOVIES TV SHOWS GAMES ANYTHING!!!! STOP REMAKING SHIT IM SO TIRED!!!!!

[ruikasa-jumpscare]

※ The music you wrote Is not able to be used at this time. (A-Ah) Please rewrite it again. I don't understand… I don't understand any of this!!!

Nobody's listening anyway. Music's all just fashion, Players leaving the field after devouring dead sounds one night.[1]

There's no message behind it anyway. It's all for making Something-Toks to sell your name, Just for all that vanity, it's the worst, good night.

Whatever I do, however I look at it, There's already a traffic jam filled with these "gurus".[2] But still, here, there, everywhere, the loners And the monkeys of this super cool[3] Generation Z, they want to consume content.

Are you waiting for the punchline? I don't care much for the meaning or anything. I don't pay attention to the lyrics or whatever either, Just give me something catchy.

Let's just all laugh together. Is it about the numbers than the artistry? Awful price to pay for virality. Then what do we do? Was that how it was supposed to go? The mind going in circles and slowly dying away.

I found myself instead

Bullshit!!! Say bye bye to viral melodies, Have some doubt, lies are everywhere. Don't disguise yourself, fantasies and ideals are fine. What happened to the things you wanted to sing about?

Being awkward is alright, there are no lies, Before you fill it up with money and disguised tunes. Don't give in, awaken your heartbeats. What happened to the message that you wanted to share? I don't understand any of this!!!

※ The music you wrote Is not able to be used at this time. Please listen to more pop and hit songs And try again.

Oh god, all these trendy "artists" Trying to be smartasses… This guy, that guy, that guy over there, that other guy, I don't understand!!!

Whatever I do, however I look at it, There's already a traffic jam filled with these "gurus". But still, here, there, everywhere, the loners And the monkeys of this super cool Generation Z, they want to consume content.

Are you waiting for the punchline? I don't care much for the meaning or anything. I don't pay attention to the lyrics or whatever either, Just give me something that'll get lots of views.

Let's just all lose the bad vibes.[4] It's about the numbers than the artistry, isn't it? Awful price to pay for virality. Then what do we do? Was that how it was supposed to go? The mind going in circles and slowly dying away.

I found myself instead

Bullshit!!! Say bye bye to viral melodies, Have some doubt, lies are everywhere. Don't disguise yourself, fantasies and ideals are fine. What happened to the things you wanted to sing about?

No way I'm okay with ending it like this, I'm sure what we truly want isn't the money. Don't give in, awaken your heartbeats, There must have been something you really wanted to sing about… Bullshit…

Bullshit!!! Say bye bye to viral melodies, Have some doubt, lies are everywhere. Don't disguise yourself, fantasies and ideals are fine. What happened to the things you wanted to sing about?

Being awkward is alright, there are no lies, Before you fill it up with money and disguised tunes. Don't give up, awaken your heartbeats. What happened to the message that I wanted to share? I don't understand any of this!!!

I don't fucking understand any of this!!!!!! I don't understand any of this!!!!!!

[houseofdonuts-blog]

Cirque

Walking through the Mirage and into the Love theater stirred an array of emotions. It certainly feels like the end of an era, because it is. However, the numerous and diverse feelings it brought left me with an uncertainty. 

Loves, friendships, the future, entertainment… It all mixed in together as I sat listening to the rich catalogue of music that defined an era and that could easily be the soundtrack to my life.  What is the future of entertainment? The show felt dated. Not just because of the music…and that the acts rarely change (refresh every few years….eh). This type of show might be a dying breed. I could not help but think this as I watched cast members slow walk across the stage with an umbrella. Cirque was the entertainment leader in Las Vegas…was Now? Well, I just can’t say that confidently anymore. 

The artistry of the acts remains majestic. While I disagree with many of the “creative” choices, the artists themselves are a wonder. 

Of course, this production is driven by the music. The sometimes too literal interpretations of the music can distract from the music.

Oh, the music. Listening to The Beatles is always an experience. Paired with my relationship to Cirque…it was moving.  When Strawberry Fields Forever came on, I was instantly met with nostalgia. Nostalgia, my companion in life. As a 10-year-old, I remember the feeling that I can now describe as nostalgia when I heard Strawberry Fields Forever…the provocation of something I could not define and to this day could not explain the why…

Watching the video a young Paul McCartney as the dancers meet on stage, it was another reminder of the passage of time. The constant – the ever – the always – the steady march of time. Do I want to mourn its passage or meet each march, each tick – each tock with passion and happiness.

On the surface, it is an easy choice. Easy breezy, lemon squeezy.

Are we all happily meeting each second though? We wish time away daily We beg for seconds to turn to minutes, and for those minutes to speed to their hourly deadlines. 

The most precious thing and we spend so much of our time figuring out what to do with our time. Oh, Discordia…the Discordia of our own making.

It was an emotional evening. A good evening, though. A good time was had. 

I should be thinking about the misery of nursing school. But I’m not. I’m thinking about my characters. Mostly, my main character who I admire. I admire and am starting to love. Yes, he is a part of me and yes there are parts of me that make up who he is…and because of that, I mourn his journey. I mourn the losses he will suffer. I cannot take that away; it’s been set by whatever it is that drives me to create. I fear for him. I hope he can rise to the challenges that will come.

Back to LOVE…it was a part of my life and like all things, it will come to a close. There are still lingering feelings that will keep me awake and other feelings that will naturally dissipate. Perhaps they will be forgotten or perhaps they will bite me in the heart the next time a specific Beatles song comes on. 

[havekiddoswilltravel]

Hamilton Musical Review – Wow, Just Wow!

A creative review of Hamilton – by a travel blogging mom.

Burr I’d rather be divisive than indecisive. Drop the niceties.

Hamilton, “A Farmer Refuted”

Watching Hamilton Musical live has been on the top of my personal family bucket list for years. I’ve researched ticket prices many times and was ecstatic when I found out that they would be coming to The Bushnell Center of the Performing Arts in Hartford this December. We are big Bushnell supporters and tend to enjoy a minimum of four shows there each season. I was determined to get tickets. I set reminders on my phone calendar with ticket release dates and went as far as bringing my laptop to the kid’s taekwondo team practice on the morning of the first wave of ticket releases. After 1 hour of refreshing the browser, I scored four reasonable tickets for December 30th. What a perfect Christmas gift for our wanderlust family.

You can write rhymes but you can’t write mine.

Take A Break – Hamilton Musical

 I had taken the kids this summer to watch Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights (a musical about a Dominican bodega owner in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan) and had prepared them for the music, dancing and writing style that would be depicted in Hamilton. As we only had four tickets, we decided to take our two girls and leave the boys behind this time. One more reason for me to watch it again, because honestly, I can’t get enough.  This is not a review that will be focused on whether Hamilton Musical is historically accurate, appropriate, misrepresented history, left a marginalized group out, minimized the evils of slavery or any other overly serious analysis of Mr. Miranda’s intent in writing this musical. I’m pretty sure that Mr. Miranda did not intend his interpretation of Alexander Hamilton to be an all-inclusive, historically accurate depiction of the founding father. Hamilton is not intended to be all things to all people. I come to this review from the perspective of a history, travel, music, dance, culture and entertainment loving travel blogger, wife and mami of four brown kids whom are exposed to a variety of art and theater. Theater often full of casts, music and culture that does not represent them. For this reason alone, Hamilton rocked. #representationmatters. It’s for the same reason that I was moved to tears by In The Heights musical. Mr. Miranda understands the cultural nuances, references, experiences, dance moves, dictation, beats and music that speak to the deepest parts of my Dominican immigrant soul. Let’s dive in. What I loved about Hamilton and how much I wished that I could get inside the heads of all of the white people sitting around us in Hartford, Connecticut watching this art form. If you were one of them and are willing to share, what were your thoughts?

I am the one thing in life I can control. I am inimitable, I am an original.

Burr, “Wait for It”

 Talk less, smile more. Don’t let them know what you’re against or what you’re for.

Burr – “Aaron Burr, Sir

 -          Lin-Manuel Miranda is puro Latino. I can relate to everything he stands for in a way that at times is difficult for me to explain to my mainland born and raised children. Bringing them to experience Mr. Miranda’s work like In The Heights and Hamilton, provided a window to our shared culture, history and traditions. He’s a Boricua, born in Washington Heights and raised in a prominent Latino community that closely resembles the one that I was raised in. Like me, he came of age in a bilingual, bicultural home, where music, traditions and food were the norm, but were rarely reflected in the mainstream pop culture. Mr. Miranda has succeeded in creating Broadway characters who manage to erase the invisibility that I’ve often felt as a lover of all things art and theater. I got goosebumps as a sat and watched characters who spoke like my family and friends, danced with the same passion, sabor and vigor and shared the same cultural nuances that bring a sense of nostalgia to this Dominican woman.

-          As I sat in the fancy theater watching the opening number, I was left breathless as the realization hit me that I was watching artists in every shade of brown, wearing traditional colonial garb (minus the wigs), telling the story of a forgotten forefather immigrant who rose from nothing, I saw myself. I shared this same story and I was unable to contain the emotions. I could care less (must put my wokeness aside for the sake of entertainment and rest) about whether our founding fathers were white, sexists, racist, slave owning men, I was taken by the artistry of Hamilton and was able to see myself in Mr. Miranda’s delivery in ways that I’m seldom able to. What a beautiful gift to give our young children. For so long, our narrative and stories have been left out of the arts. With Hamilton, Mr. Miranda placed my parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings and friends into the center of the narrative. The bold and unapologetic fashion in which he did so is mind blowing. I lol when Hamilton and Lafayette yelled: “Immigrants, we get the job done.” I was tempted to respond: Asi es. Tu lo sabes. Thank you, Mr. Miranda for allowing me to share this musical with my children and have them see, feel and experience Latinos in a way that is beyond what the main stream media portrays. We know who we are, but it was extremely emotional to have us portrayed outside of the typical narrative of slaves and low-wage workers. Gracias.

We’re finally on the field, we’ve had quite a run. Immigrants: we get the job done.

Hamilton and Lafayette, “Yorktown”

 -          Miranda boldly took on the old minstrel American tradition of black face on stage and reversed it. Oh my goodness, let’s process that one for a minute. I’m cognizant of how this fact and the psychological and social implications of the affect of this when I read negative mainstream reviews of the musical. All of a sudden, those of us usually in the fringes are now put center stage in “The Room Where It Happens” and those usually in the mainstream are left researching, attempting to understand the dictation, body language and music. Wow. That’s genius.

There’s a million things I haven’t done, just you wait

Alexander Hamilton

 Hamilton left me pondering so much about my history, my story and daily life. It was meant to be that our family took in the last show of the year in Hartford on December, 30th. I find myself in a reflective mood during the last week of each year. Since starting my blog 1 ½  years ago, I’ve tried to be consistent in writing, sharing and transparency. Hamilton reminded me of the reasons why I started Have Kiddos Will Travel and it has inspired me to start 2019 “writing like I’m running out of time!”

Why do you write like you’re writing out of time?

Non Stop

 But when you’re gone, who remembers your name? Who keeps your flame?

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story

 The final song of Hamilton left me inspired to continue my blog as an avenue to share my unique and personal story. Life as a work from home, homeschooling mother of four can be isolating at times. This is the primary reason why I started Have Kiddos Will Travel. The blog allows me to document and write my own narrative and by doing so inspire and relate to other women in similar situations as mine. Blogging is risky, as it can leave one vulnerable to other’s not so kosher intentions. I want full control of my story; the good, the bad and the ugly. It’s mine to tell.

Pin for later:

Below are some of the other favorite lines from Hamilton. Do share yours.

Dying is easy, young man, living is harder.

George Washington – “Right Hand Man

 America, you great unfinished symphony, you sent for me. You let me make a difference. A place where even orphan immigrants can leave their fingerprints and rise up.

Hamilton, The World Was Wide Enough

 Your debts are paid cuz you don’t pay for labor, “We plant seeds in the South. We create.” Yeah, keep ranting. We know who’s really doing the planting.

Alexander Hamilton, Cabinet Battle #1

 I’m just like my country—I’m young, scrappy, and hungry, and I am not throwing away my shot.

Hamilton, “My Shot”

 know that we can win, I know that greatness lies in you. But remember from here on in, history has its eyes on you….

History Has Its Eyes On You

Legacy. What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.

Alexander Hamilton, The World Was Wide Enough

[hong-kong-art-man]

Growing Musicals In Hong Kong Never Shrink Back To Its Old Dimensions —— The 9 Kinds Of Musicals in Hong Kong

My art memories are often evening moments and weekend encounters with musicals. Happiness radiated like fragrance when I saw friends between backstage and stage. Together, they formed the scrapbook of my life.

When I was thirty years of age and uncritical, I loved western musicals and overrated their standards as being ‘godishly’ high. After 40s, my love for musicals became enthusiasm with a local ambition —— I want to help Hong Kong create our own musicals, the top class ones which can command popularity outside Hong Kong. I thought we could. Now, I have more questions than answers as to whether musicals are still the popular genre of stage performance and if Hong Kong is good at making musicals. The world economy will be on its knees in coming years. Investors are on high alert. Since nobody is willing to break a few eggs, there will likely be no omelette. Costly musicals may be a fading photograph in Hong Kong.

What is a musical? It is a play in which singing and dancing take an essential part. It was said musicals developed from light opera in the early 20th century. The first one should be The Black Crook which premiered in 1866. West End of London and Broadway of New York have been the capitals of musical. In Hong Kong, no theatre specializes in musical as the market here is too small. Besides government venues, we have only 2 to 3 private theatres suitable for this art form. Musical has no enormous significance in Hong Kong.

Let us go through musicals in Hong Kong in a historical context.

(1)       ‘concert musicals’

A concert is a music performance in which you may see a number of singers and instrumentalists but usually one singer dominates the show. In the 70s and early 80s, popular entertainment singers like Roman Tam(羅文)invented Hong Kong’s own version of musicals. He was the centre of the show. Traditional folk songs, tunes and dances were used. They looked more like Chinese operas. The results were not impressive and there was no box-office smash.

(2)       ‘local-version western musicals’

In the 80s, there were local musicals which adopted or copied western musicals. The popular tool was The Sound of Music. Actors might sing in English or Chinese. Such musicals were not the real thing but they were meant to comfort the audience with epigones.

(3)       ‘book musicals’

Stories were more important and controlling; and songs were just conveniently integrated into the plot. Some condemned such musicals as utterly ‘music plays’ and not musicals. Some wonder if the 2009 musical The Passage Beyond(一屋寶貝), as adapted from a Japan novel, could be regarded as a book musical. But, this performance won widespread acclaim for its amazing music.

(4)      ‘jukebox musicals’

They are the musicals that feature hit songs of a popular music group or genre. The 1999 musical Mamma Mia! is a jukebox musical based on the songs of pop group ABBA. Around 2006, Clifton Ko(高志森) produced a local jukebox musical called Dying Young and he used the songs of Hong Kong’s deceased idols Leslie Cheung(張國榮) and Danny Chan(陳百強). Some thought jukebox musicals undercut the value of art.

(5)       ‘rock musicals’

      They are pop musicals that developed out of ‘rock and roll’ music, based around amplified instruments especially electric guitar and bass. I am not aware of any famous rock musical in Hong Kong.

(6)       ‘revue (compilation musicals)’

The revue art form brings together music, dance and sketches to create an entertaining show and some call a revue ‘compilation musical’. In 2019, pop singer George Lam(林子祥) presented LAMUSICAL  in Hong Kong. It is hard to define if it was merely a pop concert or revue. Actors sang, acted and danced but they were all fragmented shows without any artistic purpose.

(7)       ‘stadium musicals’

Some Hong Kong musicals were oddly held in the sports stadium. In 1997, the well-known star Jacky Cheung made the 1st ‘stadium musical’ in Hong Kong and it is called Snow·Wolf·Lake(雪狼湖), presented in Hong Kong Coliseum with more than 12,000 seats. Some critics denounced such musicals as ‘stadium concerts’ and the name ‘musical’ was a camouflage to make an entertainment performance more classy.

(8)       ‘concept musicals’

A concept musical is a work of musical theatre the contents of which are structured around delivering a theme or message, rather than emphasizing a narrative plot. Black box theatre performance Rotten Big Ass(爛大鼓) by Zuni was a production in 2019 to examine the extinct song art of brothels in Hong Kong. The ‘musical’, if any, conveys a message that even the most vulgar songs have good meaning.

(9)       ‘original musicals’

Original musicals keep true artistry alive in the theatre for its sincerity to create. Hong Kong needs the best mind and talent on the cause, as well as an alliance with commercial investors or sponsors since original musicals require much money to produce if we want a decent one with all components in full readiness. Among all, I enjoy the latest work in 2020 called A Tale of the Southern Sky(一水南天) which talked about a young rice coolie in the 19th century in Hong Kong. The musical is a kind of nice self-discovery as to what we Hong Kong artists can do best together.

Government just presented a ‘musical concert’ The Originals(我們的音樂劇), curated by the great composer Leon Ko(高世章) who was also the music director. Hong Kong Sinfonietta provided live accompaniment to the performances of The Originals. The work is a nostalgic collage of excerpts from Hong Kong musicals created between the 1970s to 2020. The lyrics partner of Ko is Chris Shum(岑偉宗), a gifted artist, who encouraged me to write this article as a tribute to the past of Hong Kong’s musical history.

A musical only matters, as I believe, to the extent that songs are great and actors can sing, act and dance well. A musical only matters as, I insist, to the extent that investors will not lose money in the huge production. Musicals, after all, need commercial sense.

MLee

Field of Dreams (hkrep TV) -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tuF1fkeeRY

Our Immortal Cantata (Yat Po Singers) -  https://youtu.be/iidudCJBdmc

Trump on Show (Edward Li)  - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KOQNxcCyRs

[ofoatd]

Tomlinson's TV talent, Panic! At The Disco's plight to high heights & Fall Out Boy's 'Thnks Fr Th Mmrs' Llama led rip off

Tomlinson's judging talent, Payne's premiering EP, One Direction's eight year 'History', Fall Out Boy's 'Thnks fr th Mmrs' lama led rip off and Panic! At The Disco's daredevil plight to high heights. One Fall Out At The Disco's fortuitous hiatus has halted, honing in on music happenings from Malik's sonically startling 'Sour Diesel' to Panic! At The Disco's pious 'Pray For The Wicked Tour’ trail. Coming back from a break like Twenty One Pilots' sabbatical suspension over One Direction's cry out for a comeback, One Fall Out At The Disco's reformed and restored, magnifying music most missed matters.

Louis Tomlinson the TV talent X Factor judge

Honing in on unblemished boyband harmonies to tearing up the table as a esteemed musical magistrate of the newly designed panel, Louis Tomlinson's lustrous leverage to the heritage of TV talent The X Factor, has been an burning notion put into motion years heretofore.

The 'Back To You' singer is going back to where his life full and long living career conspired into a spiral of One Direction domination, music mogul imprints, solo success and judging jobs upon cultured acquaintance of the panel position and being a ratings boosting figure boasted by philanthropist and public personality Simon Cowell, utilising the former boyband segments popularity purposefully to revive a dying British singing show which cultivated in collecting the worst ever final ratings in its 14 year stint, prioritising Tomlinson's tactile public marketability moreover that's the northerners notorious charismatic persona was a seamlessly shameful statement surrounding Cowell's integrity and intentions.

Whilst conference communications broke of the 26 year olds artist management role, speckles of scepticism surrounding Louis debut record release unofficially branded as LT1 fretted fans over his prioritisation of music over contest commitments with the solo singer suggesting the shows help not hindering covenant commenting "The album is still definitely my priority it doesn't change any release time me doing the show. Having come from the show it made sense to me to go on, I've always been interested in mentoring that's why I've done things in the past with my imprint label. It's something that has been on my mind".

Rolling up in a Mercedes-Benz company car stepping out from the suburbs of a renewed vintage esque Burberry check craze, the 'Just Like You' lead infiltrated into the SSE Arena Wembley situated adjacent to the worldwide wonder Wembley Stadium who hosted One Direction's three date term ‘Where We Are Tour’ in 2014. Sitting in the cushion stacked hot seat for the discovery arena auditions, cautiously crying over a returning contestant and being timidly confident within his critiques plus the stressful six chair challenge mentoring the boys bracket.

Tomlinson took time to spontaneously meet smiley faced fans fighting to stay in their seats subsequent to staff brutally blacklisting and barbarically banning fans from floor perspectives, reigniting former boyband memory flames and jettisoning James Grant Management Group and moving to Mark Gillespie and Matt Vines WMA Management after a two year time with the initial leading agency providers the Syco spin off label imprint individual is moving on, maximising his music mogul mind nostalgic to Plain White T's and Toms.

8 years of One Direction

Primary vanguards of 21st century boyband unprecedented hysteria, X Factor  graduates One Direction have been masters of pop culture craft for an existing 8 years. Sitting on stairs to selling out stadiums, singing saccharine sugar coated bubblegum pop bops apropos to endless promises of partying all night, making malcontent 'Midnight Memories' stomping upon the streets of centralised London and mulling over fornoon favourite a.m conversations to a cultivation of a dedicated demographic of assured adolescents, placid parents and benevolent boyfriends of fangirl girlfriends growing and grasping mainstream music eminence, eventually evolving as one of the highest earning boyband in history eternity.

"#8YearsOfOneDirection where has the time gone!? Thank you so much to every single person who’s ever supported us. Big love!" tweets Tomlinson the 1/4 of One Direction bio beholder, taking time  aside from audition allegiance alongside Liam Payne addressing the boyband as "Brothers" simultaneously splashing in the oceanic seas from the probably private yacht on Payne's sunny staycation, Niall Horan penning homage to "Amazing memories with the lads" and Harry Styles stating the fan support system saying "Thank you for all the love, thank you for all the support. Thank you for everything" signed off with his signature H dismissal.

Meanwhile the One Direction official outlet monotonously recalled lyricism from the 4 piece's repertoire, fan frenzy was a flurry when supposed superfan speculation sparked an outpouring in overwhelmed apocalypse of panic, pandemonium and perturb as dates for a post hiatus 2020 tour to represent and fly fifth album Made In A.M mellow ambience, the cliffhanger of an album left on the indefinite break of the 'Story Of My Life' singers surfaced upon ticketing sales service Ticketmaster's Australian December dates listings, deflecting the doubt of an unreleased 'Infinity' music video and playlists reputedly lead single 'Lucky' a potential promotional lead for a group reformation of raging proportions.

Fall Out Boy "Bishops Knife Trick" music video

A manic mayhem of memories of peculiar primates to a pity party of chaotic camelids. A lama tinged ode to 'Thnks Fr Th Mmrs' Fall Out Boy's brand new animated animal endeavour 'Bishops Knife Trick' is one of the top rock selling record of this year, its MANIA's answer to Infinity On High's Kim Kardashian cameo curation.  

Ticking off one less task on his comprehensively seventh studio album branded list, Pete Wentz writes off the music video of the Island Records/DCD2 recent record release penultimate track ahead of the Reading and Leeds Festival headline, homecoming Wrigley Field gig, mixing and mastering Lamamania plus renovating Folie à Deux's demo Lake Effect Kid extension, a symptomatic culmination to a MANIA era that has dished up a final frosty serving of demanding director Stump and unbeknownst animal oppression in 'Bishops Knife Trick'.

Trading in a monkey obstructed madhouse for a llama centric landscape, big boss Patrick Stump verbally browbeats working living organisms curious on curating a picture perfect Patrick paradise of fedora furry friend fashionistas and check mate chess games of a talentless wack llama ensemble. Overlaying a spat between the species, chillingly deep dark blues and animal like entrapment elevate writer Wentz' candidly confessional dealing, with dejected depression and evoked emotions of a mental mania battle of a disconnect of the ordinary world brought back to earth by the glow of the city of Chicago.

Getting a grip of reality and breaking out of the domesticated cage of a state of suppressed sadness, Stump soaringly sings subjected to sweeping sounds and climbing chimes of piano melodies amongst mid tempo strikes of the snare reinstall instrumental talent amongst a catalogue of crisis amid MANIA's repository recalling lyricism of "I got a feeling inside that I can't domesticate/It doesn't wanna live in a cage/A feeling that I can't housebreak" hones in on the entertainment exploitation of llamas laundering away over musical instruments, seeking the idealistic project of Patrick's "film school" wonders.

Liam Payne First Time EP

Stripped back sounds, sultry lyric lines and smoothly tamed tones. Liam Payne's album filler EP First Time steps in for the September suspension of an inaugural record and steps up as a tetralogy of tracks, transforming the remixing maestro into a solo singing virtuoso. Post dropping a successful string of singles, collaborating with a cultivation of reputable recording artists in the realms of Migos' Quavo and Columbian crooner J Balvin, for radio friendly feats ‘Strip That Down’ and the flamboyantly bilingual bop 'Familiar'. Surrounding the latter's release, Payne hotly hyped up the anticipation of his fully fledged step out into the solo spotlight LP momentarily dulled by the determined decision to push back the records release, following in the footsteps of Fall Out Boy's belief battle with MANIA a setback suggestive of re-defining songs that feel so differently distanced as false representations of artistry with the 'Bedroom Floor' singer stating "I looked at some of the songs on my album which were done a while ago and they felt from another age. I'm determined for my debut album to truly represent me. In the meantime, this EP is a collection of songs that I'm really proud of" launching into the era of the EP First Time.

Title track 'First Time' fuses fragments of a "Familiar" fiery and fun filled tones picturing a Payne on the prowl to follow his feelings for an elusive female fabricate themselves throughout the thrill of the chase chronicle, a typical songwriting style the 25 year old adheres to. Exploring the realms of relationships over friendships besides production work from Di Genius' repertoire with Latin esque R&B influences simmering their way slowly throughout the monotonous platforms of the lead single, spiked by a pick up of vocal hooks and lyrical lulls of Payne's palatable projections and artist come label institutor French Montanas musky melodies.

Sophomore song 'Home With You' hones in on Liam's leap into the Urban and R&B region of music considerately comparable to fellow former One Direction division Zayn Malik's mellow material, with the sophisticated sleekness of 2010's electronic pulsating drum machine moments and stylistic vocal arrangement introducing the track as a nonchalant number, none the wiser to its upbeat metronome ticking chorus and lyrically expressive 3 liner pre-chorus "Too many cooks in the kitchen/Too many fools here listening/Why don't we find somewhere quiet". Quintessentially embodying the entire archetypal narrative, where spending the night away from "Yelling to you over music" clubs in homely comforts with a newly significant other are free from the eavesdropping ears of unbeknown fools.

Musically minimalistic ballad 'Depend On It' dabbles with a tender provoking genre palette Payne sonically is a solo stranger to, amongst an array of danceable discography destined for the fm radio waves. Worlds apart from the clichéd addictiveness of pop boyband ballads, a pleasant place in unforgotten memories Liam is persistent in revitalising to the present, as the singer was pictured seizing a sentimental embodiment of One Direction artwork adorning the original ensemble apace with Up All Night and Take Me Home songwriter Savan Kotecha esteemed for penning popular pieces by Ariana Grande and Britney Spears. Perpetual piano instrumentation pays homage to 'Home With You' minor chords transformed into a pivoting arrangement of piano melody interludes, lonesome towards the climax of the third track cohesive with the upper register of Payne's vocal expansion, expressing the love hate state of a relationship dialogued rendering "I'm not ready yet, there's still a thread left/If I could just hold on onto unravelling hope/Give it one last go, I don't know why, just need us to try" compromising the succinctly short track, yet the upmost stand out of the upbeat outnumbered EP.

Conclusively 'Slow' signifies a contradicted balance between saddened lyricism and sprightful production with a negative tinged track telling the tale of a cracking and crumbling connection, purposefully moral uplifting via mediums of a selective sense for sniffing out sounds that make 'Slow' electro melodies the core carvings the 'Get Low' vocalist craves to create a chart hit wonder. Recorded in the confines of the West London located Wendy House Production Studio's a place of musical residence One Direction inhabited in their 6 year indefinitely suspended career Liam Payne, levitated by a venerated troup of songwriters including The Ordinary Boys frontman Preston and Sylvester Sivertsen who posted a behind the scenes picture of the pair in 2016. 'Slow' lyricism is the utmost suggestive and scandalous story of breakdowns and breakups throughout the EP's entire narrative elaborating on "Got me pretending' you ain't done with us/It got me runnin' round the obvious" closing simplistically on "Let me down, let me down slow" with First Time featuring a collaboration, conventional characteristics and collection of charmingly cool crusades that lulls the listener on a trip down Payne's publicly pronounced past relationship at the different stages of love, lust, spats and separation, enhancing catchy rhythmic arrangements and an aura of perspectives of Payne's personal anecdotes.

Panic! At The Disco Reading & Leeds Festival 2018

Glistening glows of luminosity embossed with a scintillating showman style, Panic! At The Disco's co-headlining call crafted the shimmer, shine and sophistication of an otherwise damp, drunken and devil-may-care merrymaking weekender. Stemmed from a Saturday of female pop frontiers 'Strangers' singer Sigrid and Brit beauty Dua Lipa, Panic! At The Disco dazzled deftly with a type of timeless sumptuous sentimentality.

"To the old, and to the new/We dedicate this song to you" allures the retro soul sample of 'Silver Lining' as glitzy garmented and gold microphoned Brendon Urie bouncily bursts onto main stage Reading, to the rebellious satisfaction of young adults supposition supported by the bands backing of shifted member swaps, loosing Dallon Weekes who took to The Pit/The Lock Up stage showcasing 80's unearthed endeavour I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME and gaining bassist Nicole Row in March 2018 filling in for the female representation against a 14 year long male amassment.

Sounds of steampunk victorian picturesque imagery illuminated 'The Ballad Of Mona Lisa', with organically engineered vintage instrumentation of sinister patters of the piano and creeping pounds of the percussion, portray a dynamic duo of moral dilemmas in confident company with Urie's dark dingy lower register. Welcoming the colossal crowd to the land of Pretty Odd, a stellar song of festival festivities manifested itself in the fields of Richfield Reading chiming in with charming melodies, feeling so good with out of mind optimism side to side with spiritually earth endearing attitudes.

From the sprightly smiles of frontman Brendon Urie transitioning between latterly acquired additions "Dancing Is Not A Crime" and 'High Hopes' in which a faithful figure displays themselves amongst a sea of singing sinners to lasting setlist staples Queen's 1975 classic covering 'Bohemian Rhapsody' prescriptively performed for heritage act admiration. Transitionally taking on Too Weird Too Live, Too Rare Too Die's! triennial single 'Girls/Girls/Boys', pigmented pops of rainbow refractions, self proclaimed extravagant exclamation points and imposing iridescent sparkles lit the product ionised representation of the outright freedom of fondness for all orientations including + communities, a core creation for the efforts of the Highest Hopes Foundation set up in support for discriminated and disregarded segmentations of society.

Encore items illustrated a bouncing back and forth between the ever evolving dosages of conviction, carefree and ceremonious crusades from wickedly weekend worshipping 'Say Amen (Saturday Night)', sonically unambiguous crowd pleaser 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies' to the confidentially conquering 'Victorious' as Urie confesses his state of euphoria before launching into the high intensity hit, highlighting the brightly belting pulsating vibrato vocals of the 31 year olds articulating "I've never been happier in my life and that's all because of you. You are important, you have an impact” illustrating an important imprint for a Saturday night of the retrieval of reminiscence and the making of matchless memories.

Fall Out Boy Reading & Leeds Festival 2018

Glaring in the glory of double zero’s rock reminiscence Reading and Leeds long timers Fall Out Boy headlined the main stage, showcasing a spectacle of sets reinforcing pop-rocks reputation amongst an evolutionary shift of a festival blurring the genre identity boundaries. From a Friday fronted by American rappers Post Malone and Travis Scott to the publicly prophesied secret set of Bring Me The Horizon, Fall Out Boy waved the white flag in sheer satisfaction far from the symbolism of surrender to be sitting as sixth time servers to the British bank holiday bash.

Smashing through a stellar setlist subjected to an in with the old out with the new Folie à Deux dash down wistful album avenue in affair to the forth records decade duty to the quartets discography, of the madness mantras of messed up romantics in 'Disloyal Order Of Water Buffaloes' to the misery mindset of selfish meanness throughout 'I Don’t Care' flippant middle finger montage deceased video platform Vine would have been pleasantly pleased witnessing.

Upbeat anthems from the post hiatus period 'Centuries' and 'My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)' tinged the dark dusk skies in bursts and bangs of a 5th of November celebratory serenade succumbed to the pyro below of Wentz' fire blasting bass, betrayed by its toned down display of 2016's flame eating females, with Wentz wise words of wisdom reflecting penchants of pure honesty rendering to the adolescent audience "They tell you along the way that you need to fit into a certain mould, but be you, do you as loud as you can, stay dangerous!”.

With the dimming down of danger, poised piano ballads 'Save Rock And Roll' alongside MANIA's bright beacon of artistic hope levitated from a lacklustre LP 'The Last Of The Real Ones' shone Stumps soulfully sonic singing before storming into a powerfully propelling galactic gathering of rip roaring bass grooves and glistening electrical guitars.

Long gone the lectures of wolves and dunking the basketball and long live the king of pop culture covers and ones for the mosh pit, Fall Out Boy's headlining slot staged the rightful return of Reading champions and pensive mmrs of a marked musical legacy.

Panic! At The Disco 'High Hopes' music video

Stranger setbacks, scaling skyscrapers and rooftop recitals. Panic! At The Disco's extortionately elevated vast visionary for 'High Hopes' holds back on self sceptical hesitancy and hones in on obtaining a dream like optimistic outlook.

Recently revealing eminently awaited European and UK Spring 2019 dates for the capacious continuation of the 'Pray For The Wicked Tour' that triumphantly teemed with death walks and wayward Amazing Beebo's, the trials and tribulations of Panic! At The Disco touring members dropping have surfaced, after the axing of touring musician Kenneth Harris subsequent to supported allegations of inappropriate misconduct between the 37 year old with of age and underage female fans soared. With speedy removal of Harris post the 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies' songwriters high note hitting IHeartRadio Festival performance, a succinct 13 song set compromising of current core classics 'Say Amen (Saturday Night)' and 'High Hopes'.

Gazing up to the sky high structure situated amongst the neighbouring streets of Downtown Los Angeles, subsequent to a borderline civilian belabour painting battle to the trails, tribulations and setbacks Brendon Urie has unambiguously endeavoured under the Panic! At The Disco music moniker, the self confessed London west end wannabe supernormally sets upon scaling the side of a modernist American sky high complex congregating a confounded crowd on earths gravitational ground.

Pushing on with anew sense of captured power, purpose and perspective Brendon beckons down to the solid surface below, as a building bridge and prompting pre-chorus builds up to spur the singer on into "Stay up on that rise and never come down" simultaneously pushing the Panic! frontman on to prove the fallacious critics untrue chiming "They say it's all been done but they haven't seen the best of me/So I got one more run and it's gonna be a sight to see" speculating the singular ensemble spearheads longevity, concealed by the cohort Panic! At The Disco and comparatively not soloist Brendon Urie, with sixth studio album Pray For The Wicked being the band's "One more run" record.

After a fast flicker and fierce flashback of pedantic belief that Panic! has exhausted entire repertoires of musical material, a moment of dignified realisation of accomplishment, achievement and appreciation is alluded to from the expressions of 'High Hopes' own 'Hey Look Ma, I Made It" moment Brendon and backing band burst into a sonic celebration, categorically evoked out of emotions of opportunity, outlook and optimism.

Watch Panic! At The Disco and Fall Out Boy's Reading and Leeds Festival Sets including the music video for 'Bishops Knife Trick' and ‘High Hopes’ plus listen to First Time by Liam Payne on all major music platforms here:

Fall Out Boy Bishops Knife Trick Music Video - YouTube

Panic! At The Disco Reading and Leeds 2018 - BBC

Fall Out Boy Reading and Leeds 2018 - BBC 

Liam Payne First Time EP - Apple Music/iTunes

Liam Payne First Time EP - Spotify

Liam Payne First Time EP - Amazon

Liam Payne First Time EP - Google Play

Liam Payne First Time EP - Deezer

Liam Payne First Time EP - Tidal

Panic! At The Disc High Hopes Music Video - YouTube

(All photographic content curtesy of One Direction/Columbia Records/The X Factor (Instagram)/Capitol Records/Jake Chams/Panic! At The Disco/Elliott Ingham/Fall Out Boy)

[vrheadsets]

Nicholas Cage VR Experience, The Gallery & Space Pirate Trainer Among Cinequest Film & VR Award Winners

If you haven’t already gathered from the dramatic upswing in posts on VRFocus about it, virtual reality (VR) is definitely finding a home in amongst the independent film festivals. Last night might have seen the results from this year’s Academy Awards (aka The Oscars), but this weekend also saw the results from another award ceremony settled. Not in Tinseltown but care of Silicon Valley based organisation Cinequest. They’re midway through this year’s event which runs until Sunday March 11th, but they have already passed judgement on the most recent edition of the Cinequest Film & VR Festival’s awards for the medium of immersive entertainment.

As you might surmise from that it isn’t just films, documentaries and so forth that are celebrated as part of the awards. But all manner of creative media that uses virtual reality (VR) technology as well as the people involved in it. Some familiar names cropped up this year in the twenty award categories that recognised “achievement in storytelling, technical artistry and immersive design”.

A full list of winners has now been published and you can read these below:

Best VR Film, Feature Speed Kills VR Experience Starring Maverick Spirit Award recipient John Travolta and Katheryn Winnick, speedboat racing champion and multimillionaire Ben Aronoff (Travolta) leads a double life that lands him in trouble with both the law and drug lords. Directed by Travis Cloyd. Produced by Travis Cloyd, Guy Griffithe, Richard Del Castro and TopDogVR.

Best VR Sci-Fi The Humanity Bureau VRevolution Starring Nicolas Cage, this dystopian thriller set in the near future sees the world facing serious environmental problems as the result of global warming. The standalone episodic virtual reality series released on March 2nd, followed by the theatrical film release of the sci-fi action-thriller, The Humanity Bureau on April 6th. The Humanity Bureau VRevolution was directed by Rob W. King and Josh Courtney. Produced by Travis Cloyd. Josh Courtney, Kevin DeWalt and Rob Bryanton. Written by Dave Schultz and Travis Cloyd.  The experience is a Mind’s Eye Entertainment Presentation. Distributed by OneTouchVR.

Best Cinematography Boxes (Directed by Matt Naylor) James is tasked with clearing out the last boxes from his childhood home after his father’s death, but memories are recalled in painful vignettes in this empowering story.

Best Documentary Revoked (Directed by Stevo Chang) In an American future, when the President revokes the green card of Iranian-born Jane Manesh, she must flee to Canada with the help of her childhood friend.

Best Social Activism Behind the Fence (Directed by Lindsay Branham & Jonathan Olinger) The Rohingya Muslims must survive a Government led campaign to eliminate them.

Best Educational VR Meeting Rembrandt: Master of Reality (Directed by Bridget Erdmann & Ingejan Ligthart Schenk) What if you had the chance to meet the famous 17th century master painter? Get close up and personal as he changes history forever with his controversial painting, the Night Watch in this immersive experience.

Best Short VR Film Best Storytelling La Camila (Directed by Jak Wilmot) When the storms of nature threaten her very existence, a young shepherd girl, Camila, struggles to fill her papa’s shoes and create new clouds for the dying world below.

Best Action VR Space Pirate Trainer (Directed by Dirk Van Welden, I-Illusions) Hone your offensive and defensive battle skills with awesome space age weaponry against an ever-increasing barrage of killer fighting drones.

Best Episodic VR Game The Gallery – Episode 2: Heart of the Emberstone After receiving your Gauntlet, you must travel to a long-forgotten world where the past holds many secrets and reveal the true intentions of the dark figure in the Starseed.

Best Music Video Apex (Directed by John Albert, Wevr) A surreal, apocalyptic vision set to an original score from artist and musician Arjan van Meerten.

Best Animation VR Best Production Design / Art Direction Allumette (Directed by Eugene Chung, Penrose Studios) Allumette tells a story about love, sacrifice and a deep bond between a young girl and her mother in a fantastical city in the clouds.

Best Sports VR To the Top (Directed by Richard Matey, Electric Hat VR) A platforming game that gives you the freedom to move across the environment’s obstacles with superhuman abilities.

Best VR Experience Best Sound Design FORM (Directed by Richard Matey, Electric Hat VR) FORM is a puzzle adventure, mixing classic gameplay inspired by Myst and The Room, with surreal and spectacular visuals akin to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Best VR Game Karnage Chronicles (Directed by Thorbjoern Olsen, Nordic Trolls) A high fantasy RPG where you play a Murkwraith on a mission to defeat enemies of the lands and restore order to shape your future.

Best VR Interactive Manifest 99 (Directed by Bohdon Sayre, Adam Volker, Flight School Studio) Journey into the afterlife aboard a mysterious train inhabited by a murder of crows in this ominous and eerie experience.

Most Innovative VR Gary the Gull (Directed by Tom Sanocki, Limitless Entertainment Ltd.) Developed by veterans from Pixar, Gary the Gull is VR Animated Interactive short film that puts you in the story. Respond to Gary’s questions by nodding, shaking your head, talking, and see how your decisions affect the story’s telling.

VR Visionary Award Travis Cloyd Fusing his expertise in both film and VR, Cloyd has served as cinematic VR producer for four feature films. Working with world-renowned talent like Nicolas Cage, John Travolta and Wesley Snipes, Cloyd continually bridges the gap between Hollywood and immersive storytelling, a connector and conduit between the fields of film and tech.

VRFocus will be bringing you more updates throughout the year as immersive technology continues to help creativity flourish.

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