Electronic Music NewsInto the mystic
The News Review:
- Into the mystic
- Pop star Kylie’s showgirl success
- A Fool Looks Back
Into the mystic
The Australian – Dec 29, 2007
In the space of seven years and as many albums the New York-based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter has formed his entry in the rock music lexicon. His work lies somewhere between new folk and pop but could just as easily be described as experimental or even avant-garde. Jazz new age and African music are significant influences too. All in all the Stevens musical hybrid is hard to pin down. Ironically this is partly the reason for the 32-year-old’s success. His music is ambitious at times incorporating a variety of instruments including prominent horns and strings sometimes with intricate arrangements but just as often — even within the same song — it has an abundance of exquisite pop melodies. n top of that some lyrics are marked by religious imagery or spiritual overtones while others are narrative journeys through relationships and places… Still there’s little that’s identifiable from ldfield’s landmark Tubular Bells in Stevens’s catalogue. Stevens moved to Now York in 2000 and a second album followed in 2001. Enjoy Your Rabbit was a departure from his debut a more electronic song cycle based on the signs of the Chinese zodiac. After that he began work on Michigan sometimes known as Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lake State. No matter what form his songwriting takes the process he says is a mixture of hard work and inspiration though he’s not sure about where the latter comes from. "I’m just as curious as the listener" he says. "When I’m writing it’s a really ordinary enterprise.
Pop star Kylie’s showgirl success
BBC News – Dec 29, 2007
Fourteen months later she would go further by establishing Can’t Get You ut of My Head as the best-selling single of 2001 scoring a US hit in the process. The song earned the best international video prize at the 2002 Brit Awards where Minogue was also named best international female. A year later she returned to the top of the charts with the slow-burning electronic ballad Slow – a more assured step into experimental club-orientated material than any of her Deconstruction-era records. Its parent album Body Language duly entered the top 10 with US music bible Billboard praising “Minogue’s knack for picking great songs and producers”. Her return to the top of the pop profession was marked with a 40-track greatest hits album and 2005′s flamboyant Showgirl tour. Cancer diagnosisBut in a break between the UK and Australian legs of the tour while visiting family in Melbourne Minogue was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. The singer who said her first reaction was to continue with her tour was convinced to abandon all future engagements and have immediate treatment… The song earned the best international video prize at the 2002 Brit Awards where Minogue was also named best international female. A year later she returned to the top of the charts with the slow-burning electronic ballad Slow – a more assured step into experimental club-orientated material than any of her Deconstruction-era records. Its parent album Body Language duly entered the top 10 with US music bible Billboard praising “Minogue’s knack for picking great songs and producers”. Her return to the top of the pop profession was marked with a 40-track greatest hits album and 2005′s flamboyant Showgirl tour. Cancer diagnosisBut in a break between the UK and Australian legs of the tour while visiting family in Melbourne Minogue was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. The singer who said her first reaction was to continue with her tour was convinced to abandon all future engagements and have immediate treatment. She finished chemotherapy in December 2005 but said she was left physically weak and had to spend hours on “that walking machine” to build up her stamina and “start from the beginning”.
A Fool Looks Back
Motley Fool – Dec 29, 2007
Yes we’re really living in a digitally delivered age. Now if only I can get working on that cyberspace pizza-delivery service. Bear with me Domino’s. Briefly in the newsAnd now let’s take a quick look at some of the other stories that shaped our week.