I feel like...

sharing some random music, so let's see what we get. All files are just temporarily hosted.

Ray Charles - Alone In The City

Oasis - The Cage (rare, with Paul Weller doing backing vocals)

Expuldugger - Handmade

You can find...

my new memory blog here.

I bought two new CD's today, one is 'Let's Have A Ball' by Ray Charles. I don't know any of the songs on that CD. Still dying to hear his version of 'Ain't Misbehavin''.
The other CD I bought is Gorillaz' new single 'Dare'.

Sloganizer

You know you want one. :P

Retro 2

Don't you just love old TV commercials?
I do.

X Entertainment has a nice collection of commercials from the 80s etc, even barbie commercials. <3





California Raisins Commercial

Voice Actors

If you're a successful actor, esp. in Hollywood, people all around the world will know you. You will be followed by paparazzi. The tabloids will have your mug on their covers. Teens will have your posters on their wall etc etc etc.

But what about voice actors? Sure, 'normal' actors can be voice actors. Cameron Diaz did it, Johnny Depp did it, Tim Curry did it. But I'm talking about those who are not seen on screen so much.



My favourite voice actor atm has to be Katie Leigh. It's not that I know her that well, but I looked up her career details on the Internet Movie Database and it seriously impressed me, mainly because I like some of the characters she err 'spoke'.

For instance, she was Sheila in 'Dungeons And Dragons', Sheila was and still is one of my favourite cartoon heroines ever! Also, she was Sunni in 'The Gummi Bears', another character I adored. She also played voice parts in 'Darkwing Duck', 'Camp Candy', 'My Little Pony' and 'Totally Spies'.


I found Katie Leigh's demos on a voice actors website, just so you know what her voice is like. :)

Katie Leigh - Commercial Demo
Katie Leigh - Animation Demo

All hail KL!

You can visit the website of Katie Leigh's fanclub here.

Beautiful voices 2

She may not have the vocal range of Sarah Brightman (or does she? After all, she will sing Maria in the Bernstein tribute concert!), but Lea Salonga's voice is also one of the most beautiful ever! And she's done more than just musical stuff: she is the singing voice of Mulan and Jasmine!



I really can't get enough of her voice, most probably one of the best musical actresses ever.












Listen to her and Brad Kane (Aladdin) singing 'A Whole New World':

Lea Salonga & Brad Kane - A Whole New World

Best Of

The best songs - imho - of any artists I can think of. * represent hard choices or spontaneous decisions that may be revised. :)

Manic Street Preachers - Motorcycle Emptiness *
Coldplay - Politik
The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
Bjork - It's Oh So Quiet
Klaus Doldinger - Bastian's Happy Flight
The Rolling Stones - Paint It Black
Madonna - Like A Prayer
Maria McKee - Show Me Heaven
Andy Williams - Can't Take My Eyes Off You
Michael Jackson - Will You Be There *
Silverchair - You're My Favourite Thing
The Libertines - Don't Look Back Into The Sun
Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot
Tori Amos - Mr Zebra *
Joe Cocker - With A Little Help From My Friends (Woodstock)
The Pretenders - I'll Stand By You
Sugababes - Round Round *
John Lennon - God
AC/DC - Thunderstruck
Sons And Daughters - Dance Me In
Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out *
Elvis Presley - Hound Dog *
Bloc Party - Banquet *
Idlewild - In Remote Part / Scottish Fiction
Pete Doherty - For Lovers
The Cardigans - My Favourite Game *
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Aeroplane
Jewel - Break Me *
Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill
David Hasselhoff - Passion
The Undertones - Teenage Kicks
Alanis Morissette - Uninvited
ABBA - Dancing Queen
The Beatles - Good Day Sunshine *
Queen - Don't Stop Me Now *
Tatyana M. Ali - Make Up Your Mind
Take That - Never Forget
Elton John - I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues *
The Smiths - Panic
R.E.M. - Leaving New York *
Jennifer Lopez - Let's Get Loud
Britney Spears - Everytime
Travis - The Beautiful Occupation
Christina Aguilera - The Voice Within
Roxette - Listen To Your Heart *
Doves - Pounding
Morning Runner - Hold Your Breath *
Justin Timberlake - Cry Me A River
The White Stripes - I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself (Cover) *
Dusty Springfield - Son Of A Preacherman
Moby - We Are All Made Of Stars
Ray Charles - What'd I Say *
Beyonce - Crazy In Love
Neneh Cherry - 7 Seconds (feat Youssou N'Dour)
Nena - 99 Red Balloons
Mariah Carey - Love Takes Time
Feeder - Moonshine
Betty Boo - Hangover
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
Kraftwerk - Aerodynamik
Spanday Ballet - True
Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way *
Faithless - Mass Destruction
Nina Simone - I'm Feeling Good
Moloko - The Time Is Now
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps
Queens Of The Stone Age - No One Knows *
Foo Fighters - All My Life
Nirvana - Come As You Are
Stereophonics - Dakota
Catatonia - Roadrage
Morrissey - First Of The Gang To Die
The Divine Comedy - Life On Mars (Cover) *
Ryan Adams - Sylvia Plath
The Coral - Dreaming Of You
Goldfrapp - Twist *
Damien Rice - The Blower's Daughter
Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love
Placebo - Pure Morning *
Garbage - Stupid Girl
Adam Green - Friends Of Mine
The Streets - Dry Your Eyes
Blur - Swamp Song *
David Bowie - Heroes *
Al Green - Let's Stay Together
Aretha Franklin - R.E.S.P.E.C.T. *
Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence
Dave Gahan - Dirty Sticky Floor
Karl Jenkins - Palladio
Bright Eyes - Bowl Of Oranges *
Oasis - Lyla *
Diana Ross & The Supremes - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
Outkast - Hey Ya!
The Mooney Suzuki - Electric Sweat
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Spread Your Love
Sigur Ros - ( ) 4 *
Interpol - Slow Hands
The Lemonheads - Mrs Robinson (Cover)
New Order - Blue Monday
The Las - There She Goes
The Arcade Fire - Neighbourhood 3 (The Power Out)
Jet - Are You Gonna Be My Girl
The Clash - 1977
MUSE - Newborn *
The Killers - Somebody Told Me
Dido - Here With Me
Pink! - Feel Good Time *
The Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You
The Cooper Temple Clause - Blind Pilots
The Beach Boys - I Get Around
Kylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out Of My Head
Slut - It's A Sin (Cover)
The Music - Freedom Fighters
Audioslave - Cochise *
Guns N' Roses - November Rain
Sophie B. Hawkins - Right Beside You
Pulp - Common People
Dogs Die In Hot Cars - I Love You Cause I Have To
The Velvet Underground - I'm Sticking With You *
Nick Cave - Where The Wild Roses Grow
Aimee Mann - You Could Make A Killing
Embrace - Gravity (Cover)
Incubus - Megalomaniac
Norah Jones - Sunrise
The Jam - That's Entertainment
Crowded House - Pineapple Head *
The Thrills - One Horse Town
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah (Cover)
No Doubt - Just A Girl *
Gorillaz - Dare
Radiohead - The Pyramid Song *
Leann Rimes - How Do I Live
Cat Stevens - Father And Son *
Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse Of The Heart
Whigfield - Close To You *
East 17 - Stay Another Day *
Phil Collins - Against All Odds

Beautiful voices

One of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard is that of Sarah Brightman. She may not be the best musical/opera singer worldwide (her voice is quite thin) and she isn't that young anymore either, but who cares. She played Jemima in the original cast of Webber's Cats, her voice was perfect for that character, it's so innocent and pure. But hear for yourself! This is a snippet from the first track on the 2nd CD of the London Orginal Cast CD.

Sarah Brightman - Memory

Love

Time for something romantic! Lately, some UK TV channel uses some artist's cover of Andy Williams' 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' to promote its movies. I think it's a cover version by MUSE, but I'm not entirely sure, really. In any case, it reminded me of the brilliance of the original:

Andy Williams - Can't Take My Eyes Off You

Like it? You can order his album 'The Love Songs' here. It contains a collection of love songs, mainly cover songs.

In general, songs containing the lyrics 'can't take my eyes off you' seem to be brilliant.

Retro

In the early 90s, I used to watch the Disney Club. It was aired every Saturday afternoon, and there were repeats every Sunday morning. At the end of each show, there was a musical guest. In an episode of about 1991 or so, this guest was Betty Boo. That was the first and last performance I ever saw of her. I remember it quite well because I had it on video for a couple of years.

In case you don't know Betty Boo, here's what the owner of the Betty Boo Memorial Page has to say:

Betty Boo, half Malasian half Scottish, was a solo British pop artist. She has released two albums to date ("Boomania" and "Grrr It's Betty Boo") which both entered the charts, but only one track from her last album actually got anywhere in the singles charts.

Alison Clarkson, her real name, had hits with "Where are you Baby" and "Doin' the Do" to name a few. Her comic style videos were instantly recognisable as were her rythmicaly rapped melodies. Wrapped in a skin tight PVC body suit or simply jeans, she looked beautiful with her jet black hair, tanned flesh, and a warm mischevious smile.

Her career as a pop singer sadly began to die soon after that fatal day when she dropped the microphone while singing live on UK TV. The music played on and so did her voice. So she wasn't singing live, big deal! Her music, good looks, and strange videos should have been enough for the public, but oh no, they expected her to sing live! ;-)

I recently got hold of some of Betty Boo's singles at Oxfam. As far as I can remember, this was the song she performed at the Disney Club. I quite liked it:

Betty Boo - Hangover

If you do, buy the album here or anywhere else you can find it.

TV nostalgia 2

Anybody remember The Neverending Story? No?
Well, maybe this picture will remind you of its greatness! The most famous song featured in this movie is probably the title theme, but I think Bastian's Happy Flight is far superior. As the title suggests, you can listen to it in the Happy Flight scene, e.g. the scene in which Bastian rides Fuchur, the dragon (see picture)

Or you can listen to it here. Tell me what you think.

The Neverending Story - Bastian's Happy Flight

Click here to buy the soundtrack

Klaus Doldinger is a genius!

TV nostalgia

I am always amazed by the amount of great TV tunes my childhood has to offer. So many cartoon and tv themes, esp. those of the 80s, are very recognisable, if not to say genius. I will try and share some themes I collected lately. At present, I'm going through what you might want to call a TV theme mania. I just can't stop listening to those tunes, they're addictive! Maybe it's just because I have fond memories connected to those cartoons. However, I rest my case, they really did come up with excellent tunes in the 80s, and also in the early 90s.

Here's the theme from 'Out Of This World' in wav format:

Out Of This World - Theme

I'd post a link to a CD featuring this theme, but I'm not sure such a CD exists. So enjoy. :)

Test

My first music blog.. hooray!

Whenever all the names I want are taken, astorminheaven is always the name to choose. Works every time!

Anyway.. test test. :)