Happy 2nd Anniversary!

Hooray! Today my blog is 2 years old! To think that a simple blog like this lasted so long, and to think that I still have so much more to share with everyone. Let's hope that there will be many more good entries to come!

It Won't Be Soon Before Long

I'm lucky to have a good friend of mine working in the music industry, as I got to preview the latest Maroon 5 album before anybody else, just like all the other albums out there.

It's been 6 years too long since Songs About Jane was released, and a lot has happened since then. Maroon 5 has been spending plenty of time touring all over Europe for the past 3.5 years. It seems they wrote the new songs while living in Houdini's haunted house in Laurel Canyon making demos with their producer and old friend Jason Lader. And then another year long process of recording in Los Angeles.

After which, the album was completed in January of 2007, 12 songs were chosen that made the best album, plus beautiful photographs and the title It Won't Be Soon Before Long. It can mean whatever you want it to mean, but don't spend too much time thinking about it. In other words, it's about darn time that they produced another fantastic album, it's been far too long and we're having withdrawal symptom from Maroon 5's music!

Finally after 6 years, global neo-soul rock superstars Maroon 5 are back with their much-anticipated sophomore album, It Won't Be Soon Before Long. The follow-up to the 10x platinum, Grammy-winning Songs About Jane will be sexier and stronger, according to frontman Adam Levine, who looked to '80s icons such as Prince, Michael Jackson, and Talking Heads for inspiration. Recorded at home in Los Angeles with producers Mike Elizondo (Fiona Apple, Eminem), Mark "Spike" Stent (Bjork, Keane, Gwen Stefani), Mark Endert (Madonna, Fiona Apple), and Eric Valentine (Queens of the Stone Age, Nickel Creek), the album promises to be a louder take on the pop sounds of their first effort.

Tracks like Makes Me Wonder, Nothing Last Forever and Won't Go Home Without You show lyrical imagination and some of the lyrics used are very real, talks about everyday life, sometimes funny, and it makes you feel good about yourself. I can predict that Nothing Last Forever will be their next single, or at least one of their singles along the line in the future. Makes Me Wonder is their current single, which hit the charts right at the top. Not Falling Apart has a U2 flavour in it with the strumming of the bass guitar in the background and the rock rhythms. Back At Your Door has a jazzy blues feel to the music, very sexy feeling in this song, not to the point of being sleazy.

It's been a long wait and a long time coming, and they say good things come to those who wait. But this album is definitely worth the wait, even if I had to wait a much longer time for it, I'm glad I waited for it. It's everything you ever wanted, hip, chic, trendy and has a nice 80s beat to it underlying some of the tracks, which gives it the distinctive feel of excellent music.

I foresee another Grammy Award coming their way!

9 out of 10 Stars

How Evil Are You?

You Are 84% Evil

You're the most evil person you know. The devil is even a little scared of you!

How Evil Are You?

Only 84%??? Obviously not evil enough,

I MUST be the devil himself and not just get him afraid of me!

5 Golden Rules For Comic Book Movies

1. The villain should be a villain. Pure evil incarnate. An example will be Dark Phoenix without her stupid Jean Grey persona. Not someone who has had a string of bad luck or can be cured of evil. I want a nihilist power-hungry megalomaniac that would rather kill than obey anyone's laws save his/her own. And they must kill in the most artistically and creatively evil manner, like evisceration or vivisection while their victims are alive that kind of gory kill, think Kill Bill slash and dice.

2. The heroes do not have kids or have a relationship, nothing that grounds them or leaves them with strings. He/she must live like a monk and his/her dedication to fighting evil 24/7 must be absolute. The hero may have casual encounters but a family life is never possible, family can either be tragically killed and/or held hostage and then wickedly murdered.

3. The movie should be 90 minutes, or less. Did you watch Spiderman 3? Way too long and draggy with the love triangle, probably it's failing. That, and too much special effects, with the Sandman looking like Arnold Vosloo in The Mummy.

4. The villain must be able to go mano-a-mano with the hero OR have interesting minions that can. Don't just have the hero lift stuff like in Superman Returns - have him fight someone. If the villain can take on the hero awesome, let them go at it. Added brownie points if the villain wins in the fight and the hero gets bashed left, right and centre. Way too many movies stress on the good side winning, never the evil side ever winning.

5. The Final Fight should be at least 15 minutes of the film, think Revenge of the Sith lightsabre battle, except on a larger more magnific scale! No bullshit Fantastic Four endings. The fight should be Infinity Gauntlet / Infinity War kind of fight with 2 super forces clashing causing insane destruction in the process. Super Heroes produce super action otherwise, it's super letdown.

There you have it 5 suggestions for better superhero movies. Comments or critique anyone? Do add your suggestions below.

Shamelessly lifted, creatively supplemented and evily twisted from http://www.themovieblog.com/

The Rebellion Begins

I've waited so long for them to come out with another Harry Potter poster,

ever since Lord Voldemort graced the trailer poster, it's about time!
13 July 2007, the rebellion begins!