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Archive for the 'adele' Tag
68th Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations Predictions Part 1: Reality and Variety Leave a comment
Five days from now, Anthony Anderson and Lauren Graham will announce the nominees for the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards, rewarding the best in television for the previous television season. In this special four-parter, I'll be sharing my thoughts on which shows and performances are destined for Emmy gold this year. First up, the reality and variety series and specials.
OUTSTANDING REALITY/COMPETITION SERIES:
• The Amazing Race (CBS)
• Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
• Project Runway (Lifetime)
• So You Think You Can Dance (Fox)
• Top Chef (Bravo)
• The Voice (NBC)
Seventh nominee: Survivor (NBC)
Despite the surge in popularity of other reality shows like RuPaul's Drag Race or the previously nominated Survivor, voters in this category are probably the laziest as this is the lineup we had for the last three years. Thus, even if there are other shows that were well-received, we're stuck with this lineup, and that's why I'm predicting the same six. Watch out though for a comeback of some sort, either Survivor's resurgence finally catches on the Academy or the farewell season of American Idol, to join the race again.
OUTSTANDING REALITY/COMPETITION HOST:
• Tom Bergeron, "Dancing with the Stars"
• Cat Deeley, "So You Think You Can Dance"
• Steve Harvey, "Celebrity Family Feud"
• Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, "Project Runway"
• Jane Lynch, "Hollywood Game Night"
Sixth nominee: Ryan Seacrest, "American Idol"
Anthony Bourdain is ineligible this time around for The Taste, so that frees up a slot here, and the possibilities are endless. For now, I'm retaining three of the previous winners here – Bergeron, Klum and Gunn, and current champ Lynch – to join perennial nominee Cat Deeley. As for the newbie, I'm betting on Steve Harvey to pick up a nod, especially after his infamous Miss Universe stint in here. If not, then Ryan Seacrest probably comes back for Idol's series finale, or maybe RuPaul finally gets a breakthrough.
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM
• Grease: Live (Fox)
• Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill (HBO)
• The Oscars (ABC)
• Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show (CBS)
• 69th Annual Tony Awards (CBS)
• The Wiz Live (NBC)
Seventh nominee: Grammys 2016 (CBS)
For the first time, they've created a specific Special Class Program that separates specials to awards ceremonies and other live events. For this one, the focus is on theatrical specials and the current trend of doing live musicals on network shows will automatically give Grease Live and The Wiz Live nominations. Among awards ceremonies, however, the Oscars and the Tonys are the one that regularly gets nominated so expect them in here as well. HBO's Lady Day special is a good bet as well, and since it's still up in the air if we'll get five or six nominees here, I'm including the Pepsi Halftime Show of the SuperBowl 50 which had the Coldplay, Bruno Mars, and Beyonce performance.
OUTSTANDING VARIETY SPECIAL
• Adele Live in New York City (NBC)
• Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo (HBO)
• Kennedy Center Honors (CBS)
• Lemonade (HBO)
• Must See TV: A Tribute to James Burrows (NBC)
Sixth nominee: Sinatra 100: An All-Star Grammy Concert (CBS)
Speaking of Beyonce, the first of the Adele vs. Beyonce face-offs yet to come for the rest of the year will surprisingly start at the Emmys. Adele's special NBC New York special is the frontrunner here, but Beyonce's online smash premiere of Lemonade on HBO is a certain to receive a nod too. In between, there's Amy Schumer's Live at the Apollo special, multiple time winner Kennedy Center Honors, and as for the last spot, I'm going with the James Burrows special only because I think Burrows is a prominent and legendary TV figure that has worked on a lot of previous Emmy winning series.
OUTSTANDING VARIETY TALK PROGRAM
• The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)
• Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
• The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS)
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC)
Seventh nominee: Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)
It's a different category now without the usual shows (as the three from last year – the two Jimmys and John Oliver are coming back), especially from last year. With the exit of David Letterman and Jon Stewart, it frees up two spots here. Well, three if you include The Colbert Report, but then he's just replacing himself with The Late Show. Trevor Noah taking over Jon Stewart's The Daily Show is a shoo-in atoo. For that last spot, one can count on Real Time with Bill Maher to come back considering it's a mainstay in this category except for its first absence last year. That said, I think HBO's focus is now on Last Week Tonight already. I guess the popularity of his carpool karaoke series combined with the industrys penchant for him will give James Corden his first bid here for his CBS nightly show.
OUTSTANDING VARIETY SKETCH PROGRAM
• Documentary Now! (IFC)
• Drunk History (Comedy Central)
• Inside Amy Schumer (Comedy Central)
• Key & Peele (Comedy Central)
• Portlandia (IFC)
• Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Seventh nominee: Billy On The Street (truTV)
They're extending the category to six now from last year's five. Considering that all five nominees from last year are still eligible, then expect all five to be back. As for what's joining them, we're counting on IFC's Documentary Now which has Emmy nominees Fred Armisen and Bill Hader on the forefront to get nominated too.
Tomorrow, it's the longform categories with the TV Movie and Miniseries programs!
Talk to me about it on Twitter: @nikowl
Posted July 10, 2016 by Nicol Latayan in Awards, TV
Tagged with 2016 Emmy Awards, 68th emmys, adele, Amy Schumer, beyonce, Daily Show with Trevor Noah, dancing with the stars, EMmys 2016, Emmys 2016 Predictions, Grease Live, James Burrows, jane lynch, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Lady Day at EMerson's Bar and Grill, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Late Late Show with James Corden, Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Lemonade, Primetime Emmy Awards 2016, project runway, so you think you can dance, Steve Harvey, SuperBowl Halftime Show, Survivor, the amazing race, The Oscars, The Tonys, the voice, The Wiz Live, Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, top chef
From Best to Worst: Grammy Album of the Year 2000 – 2012 1 comment
The Album of the Year is what is considered as the highest award that one can get from music's highest giving body. After all, you are rewarding a whole piece of work, and not just a single from it. In the past, this category has bestowed wins to endless classics such as The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Carole King's Tapestry, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, Michael Jackson's Thriller, Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill, and Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill among others. Isn't that a great group to be a part of? With that said, let's take a look back at the last 13 albums to be rewarded in this category (including this year's Babel by Mumford and Sons), and see how they hold up in this group:
13. "Two Against Nature" (Steely Dan) | 2000
Up Against: Beck's "Midnight Vulture", Eminem's "Marshall Mathers LP", Radiohead's "Kid A", Paul Simon's "You're the One"
While this one is an overall good effort, it's mostly politics that fueled this win. This is Steely Dan's comeback album in 20 years, and they have never been rewarded (not even a single Grammy) prior to this. So this one is more of a catch up slash welcome back to one of 70s' more prominent rock groups.
My vote would have gone to: Radiohead's "Kid A". Definitely one of their best albums.
12. "Genius Loves Company" (Ray Charles) | 2004
Up Against: Green Day's "American Idiot", Alicia Keys' "The Diary of Alicia Keys", Usher's "Confessions", Kanye West's "The College Dropout"
2004 was when we lost music legend Ray Charles, and the lovefest slash tribute to him has resonated throughout the whole awards season both in music (this) and motion pictures (Taylor Hackford's Ray starring Jamie Foxx). Overall, it seemed as if a choice that was deemed because of the overwhelming love and appreciation to his legacy.
My vote would have gone to: Green Day's "American Idiot. A career resurgence of some sort that is filled of cohesive and sold tracks. It's quite weird that their real Grammy sweep came the year after this nomination.
11. "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" (U2) | 2005
Up Against: Mariah Carey's "The Emancipation of Mimi", Paul McCartney's "Chaos and Creation in the Background", Gwen Stefani's "Love.Angel.Music.Baby.", Kanye West's "Late Registration"
17 years after their first win in this category, U2 nabbed their second win for the 2005's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. One can interpret this as a safe and expected choice from the NARAS to give it in a field full of two urban artists, one pop album, and a Beatle's solid but inferior album. Or maybe it's a make up win for All That You Can't Leave Behind (which definitely should have won in its year).
My vote would have gone to: Kanye West's "Late Registration". Proving that he is no flash in the pan, Kanye West delivered an even better follow up to an already solid debut effort.
10. "River: The Joni Letters" (Herbie Hancock) | 2008
Up Against: Foo Fighters' "Echoes, Silence, Pain & Grace", Vince Gill's "These Days", Kanye West's "Graduation", Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black"
For the record, Herbie Hancock's collaborations are some of the best created music by musicians. And it's also nice to see jazz music taking the spotlight. This album, which Hancock dedicates to long friend Joni Mitchell, featured collabs with the likes of Norah Jones and Corrine Bailey Rae. However, as always, it was one of those choices that seemed too safe. Looking at the other nominees in the bunch, this was stuck in the middle of some of these other albums that were nominated and lost to him.
My vote would have gone to: Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black". It was concise, creative, and transparent. Something that represents Amy's musical talents as a whole.
09. "Babel" (Mumford and Sons) | 2012
Up Against: The Black Keys' "El Camino", fun's "Some Nights", Frank Ocean's "channel ORANGE", Jack White's "Blunderbuss"
I love it when the Grammys tend to nominate an eclectic bunch of albums for its top prize. This is definitely one of the most inspired line-ups in a long time. Even the weakest, fun's Some Nights, is different from the usual pop albums that they've nominated in the previous years. But when it comes to wins, NARAS goes wit the conservative safe album of the bunch. Mumford and Sons' Babel is actually good, though it's really hard to top their previous effort that I consider as more deserving of AOTY recognition.
Who would I have voted for: Frank Ocean's "channel ORANGE". Ocean's debut is near perfection from start to end. Consistent, fresh, and heartfelt. After listening to his album, it'll make you see how he can top this one.
08. "Taking the Long Way" (Dixie Chicks) | 2006
Up Against: Gnarls Barkleys' "St. Elsewhere", John Mayer's "Continuum", Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Stadium Arcadium", Justin Timberlake's "Future Sex/LoveSounds"
If there's one genre that definitely is the most powerful at the Grammys, it's definitely country. With that said, this Dixie Chicks victory came at a time when they have been in the midst of a controversy within their own territory. On one hand, it's nice to see thay they still got overall support to pull off this win. On the other, there are better albums in this category that was unrewarded.
My vote would have gone to: Gnarls Barkleys' "St. Elsewhere". If you're one of those who know that CeeLo Green prior to his Fuck You success, you'd know that he's half responsible for this genius album which contain's the decade's most infectious song, Crazy.
07. "Fearless" (Taylor Swift) | 2009
Up Against: Beyonce's "I Am…Sasha Fierce", Black Eyed Peas' "The E.N.D.", Lady Gaga's' "The Fame", Dave Matthews Band's "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King"
From one country act to the other, Taylor Swift has been more known lately as the girl who uses her relationship status as material for her next albums. But prior to that, let me remind you that she was also able to come up with a solid effort that appeals to different genres and shows her multiple skills as a musician, songwriter, and (yes) singer. It also helped that she's stuck with a mediocre company as co-nominees. So say what you want about her, but Swift's AOTY win was every inch deserving back then, and even up to now.
My vote would have gone to: Taylor Swift's "Fearless." Listening to this album is probably one of the times where in I was really convinced that I was reading someone's diary. It was fun, honest, and effectively introduced what Taylor wants us to think of her.
06. "Raising Sand" (Robert Plant and Alison Krauss) | 2008
Up Against: Coldplay's "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends", Ne-Yo's "Year of the Gentleman", Radiohead's' "In Rainbows", Lil Wayne's "The Carter III"
By now, we should already accustom ourselves that if there's a decent safe album from veterans that they love, then it is soooo sooo winning Album of the Year. Rarely though, we also get lucky that the veterans produce better albums, such as this collaboration between Grammy favorites Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Raising Sand might not be my first choice as Album of the Year, but it's luckily one of the stronger efforts that manage to sweep its way into a win.
My vote would have gone to: Coldplay's "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends". I'm shocked that this is only Coldplay's AotY nomination, so it's an easy pick for me. But it also happened that this is also a coherent solid album (though not my favorite from them).
05. "Come Away with Me" (Norah Jones) | 2002
Up Against: Dixie Chicks' "Home", Eminem's "The Eminem Show", Nelly's' "Nellyville", Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising"
Pulling off a win (and a sweep that night) is newcomer Norah Jones. I've always read and heard comments about how boring Norah Jones is, but I just convinced myself that they don't get her. Come Away with Me is another of those strong debut efforts, and while she hasn't come close to the combo of critical and commercial success that this album received, it's a sweet consolation that this wa rewarded of Grammy's top honor exactly a decade ago.
My vote would have gone to: Norah Jones, "Come Away with Me." It's a combo of liking the album itself and not a fan of the remaining nominees' albums.
04. "Original Soundtrack – O' Brother Where Art Thou?" (Various Artists) | 2001
Up Against: India Arie's "Acoustic Soul", Bob Dylan's "Love and Theft", Outkast's' "Stankonia", U2's "All That You Can't Leave Behind"
Isn't it such a pleasure when you see compilation soundtracks get music's top honor? In this case, yes. And this is the third and last time that it has happened (OSTs of Saturday Night Fever and The Bodyguard are the two other winners here). While I admit preferring other albums in the line up, it's just one of those albums that stood the test of time and still sounds good even if you listen to it now.
My vote would have gone to: U2's "All That You Can't Leave Behind". When you're gonna reward U2 with a second AotY victory, you could have at least went with this one that contains modern classics from this beloved rock band. The pair of Beautiful Day and Stuck in a Moment is already enough for me to cats my vote for this.
03. "21" (Adele) | 2011
Up Against: Foo Fighters' "Wasting Light", Lady Gaga's "Born This Way", Bruno Mars' "Doo Wops and Hooligans", Rihanna's "Loud"
Many many years from now, when you've decided to take a look at what the music was in 2011, there's only one name that will be remembered that year: Adele. She was not only everywhere that year, but her music has managed to be the start of the end for the usual auto-tuned dance tracks that dominated the mainstream music for the past few years. It also helps her that she's up against three inferior pop albums and a decent rock album.
My vote would have gone to: Adele's "21". I still listen to this album from start to end, and I still know the lyrics to each and every song in it.
02. "The Suburbs" (Arcade Fire) | 2010
Up Against: Eminem's "Recovery", Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now", Lady Gaga's' "The Fame Monster", Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream"
Definitely an upset that made more sense that most predictions are telling (it was supposedly Eminem's delayed AotY win for his successful 2010 comeback), it was bittersweet to see Arcade Fire getting the Album of the Year trophy when they even lost their own genre category at the pre-telecast that year. If anything, The Suburbs is far from Arcade Fire's best effort, but then again, who cares? Arcade Fire at its weakest is still better than all these co-nominee's albums combined.
My vote would have gone to: Arcade Fire's The Suburbs. Definitely the little album that could from that Billboard Hot 100 lovefest from the other four nominees, but it definitely pulled off that win and deservingly so.
01. "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" (Outkast) | 2003
Up Against: Missy Elliott's "Under Construction", Evanescence's "Fallen", Justin Timberlake's' "Justified", The White Stripes's "Elephant"
Time and again, the whole conservative branch of Grammy voters aren't brave enough to give their top honors to urban acts and albums. But then again, every now and then comes an exception. That's why it was so sweet when OutKast was proclaimed as the winner in 2003. The double disc effort of Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is indeed one of the most definitive albums of the past decade, and it gives us hope that NARAS would open their doors for great urban albums such as this one.
My vote would have gone to: Outkast, "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below". Clearly the stand out from the group, though I'd give points to Elephant as well, which could have been my winner in any other year.
There you go! Which of these albums is your favorite? Is there anything from the bunch that you still listen to its entirety? And who would you have given your wins in all those years?
Posted February 13, 2013 by Nicol Latayan in Awards, Lists, Music
Tagged with 21, adele, album of the year, arcade fire, babel, come away with me, dixie chicks, fearless, genius loves company, grammy, herbie hancock, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, mumford and sons, norah jones, Original Soundtrack - O' Brother Where Art Thou?, outkast, raising sand, ray charles, river: the joni letters, robert plant and alison krauss, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, taking the long way, taylor swift, the suburbs, u2
85th Academy Awards: Best Original Song Rankings 8 comments
Hey everyone! It's Part 2 of the Oscar competition analysis this year. Two days ago, I reviewed all Best Picture nominees. Now, we're off to the second one, and it's one of my favorite categories every year: Original Song! Below, I'll rank the five nominated songs (and provide links) as if I'm an Oscar voter. Here we go.
You can click the titles and it will lead you to the YouTube clip of the video.
05. "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" from Ted
This Norah Jones song which is one of the sweetest parts of Ted was penned by Oscar host Seth MacFarlane with Walter Murphy. There's nothing really bad about it per se, though it belongs to a packed group of nominees this year that all had strong materials to boot that's why I'm ranking it last.
04. "Suddenly" from Les Miserables
Now this one is a special song written just for this 2012 film version of the famous musical. Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer, and Alain Boublil's Suddenly was a perfect fit for the song and was on one of the "transitional" parts of the movie. However, the song, as a stand alone, does not appeal much for me, as I think it drowns from all the more established songs in the musical.
03. "Pi's Lullaby" from Life of Pi
The second of the two Best Picture songs in the line up belongs to Mychael Danna's Pi's Lullaby, which was a surprise nominee, though in hindsight, it should have been expected. Danna's music is hypnotic, like a true lullaby, though the song itself could pass as too similar to the musical score of the film. Still, it was able to capture the environment of Pi's situation.
02. "Before My Time" from Chasing Ice
Probably the actual surprise in this category is this obscure song from the documentary Chasing Ice. What's more surprising is it features the vocals of Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson in it! The song was actually good; it was calm yet very haunting! And the lyrics was really good too. This has no chance of winning, but it was surprise nomination that's worth it.
01. "Skyfall" from Skyfall
And of course, there's nothing I'd rank here first than Adele's Skyfall. I really enjoyed her take on the latest Bond film, and probably one of the best Bond songs ever. I specifically love how it's a throwback to the past Bond songs, and the only Bond song I like since Daniel Craig took over the role. If I get to vote, I'll rank this one instantly on top.
What's your favorite from the list? Will we hear Academy Award winner Adele? How will you rank them? 🙂
Posted January 18, 2013 by Nicol Latayan in Awards, Lists, Music
Tagged with 85th oscars, adele, before my time, chasing ice, daniel craig, everybody needs a bestfriend, hugh jackman, j. ralph, les miserables, life of pi, mychael danna, norah jones, oscar 2013, pi's lullaby, scarlett johansson, seth macfarlane, skyfall, suddenly, ted
12 Best Live Musical Moments of 2012 Leave a comment
Hi everybody! It's back to work day today. Luckily for me, I'm not required to go back to work yet (I still have my work from home card on me. Hahaha). January is a busy month for me as an awards prognosticator, as we'll have the American award giving bodies steamroll one after the other. On January 10, nominations will finally be unveiled. So expect my last update for the nominations and the final predictions in the coming days.
As for now, forgive my late posts, but I'll post the remaining 2012 year-end lists that I had. I still have three lists remaining (this one included), so just for effort's sake, I'll still be doing a write up of each. For this one, we'll be focusing on the different musical moments that were created the past year. A live performance can make or break an artist. Think of Ashlee Simpson in Saturday Night Live or Lana Del Rey, who was once poised to be the next big thing… until we saw her SNL number. Then we have the likes of Lady Gaga who tops each performance she have bringing her artistry with each live performance that she does.
With that said, here are 12 musical moments that we'd sure remember from 2012:
You can click the name of the performance and it will bring you to the YouTube clip of it.
12: Pink, ("Try") – American Music Awards 2012
Pink has already solidified herself as one of the best live acts among her contemporaries. Who can ever forget her Grammy performance of Glitter in the Air in 2009? That definitely is one of the best performances to ever grace the Grammy stage. This year, she did the whole acrobatic thing once again, but with a different approach; Pink, barefooted and with patches of paint all over her body, with a partner were just doing random catching and splitting and lifting in an interpretative dance-like number of her new single, Try. And to top things off, her vocals was spot on during the whole number. Amazing, really.
11: Alicia Keys, ("Brandy New Me/No One") – 12-12-12 Hurricane Sandy Concert
New York native Alicia Keys was one of the hundreds of singers who volunteered to be a part of the Hurricane Sandy concert last December 12. Belting out a crossover of the songs Brandy New Me and No One, it was such a delight to hear her just like how she used to slay them all off. And don't you just love how she invited the whole audience to raise their phones during the No One part? Plus, her intro about how she was raised and how she'll forever love New York is just the icing on top of this sweet cake.
10: Rihanna, ("Diamonds") – Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2012
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is probably the meanest event of every year, as it makes all women worldwide feel bad about themselves. But if there's one good thing that it has given us this year, it's Rihanna's performance of Diamonds. Clad in a Adam Selman creation with Chanel vintage pearl sungless from Depuis to boot, Riri is every inch a model herself as she belts out one of the catchiest songs of 2012.
09: Esperanza Spalding, ("What a Wonderful World") – 84th Academy Awards
Grammy Best New Artist Esperanza Spalding led the In Memoriam segment at last year's Academy Awards with her rendition of What A Wonderful World. Together with the Southern California Children, this jazzy yet really touching performance as Esperanza served as background voice while pictures of the departed from Sidney Lumet to Elizabeth Taylor were flashing is one of the best highlights of the year.
08: PSY and MC Hammer, ("Gangnam Style") – American Music Awards 2012
Definitely the biggest song worldwide this 2012, Gangnam Style by Korean singer PSY has been literally everywhere the past few months. From CNN to the Europe Music Awards, it was also the most overperformed song of the year. What makes this number a stand out among all the endless versions of this is that it has MC Hammer in it. It can be credited as a number of one hit wonders, but I'm sure everyone was up their feet during this closing number at the American Music Awards.
07: Christina Aguilera, ("At Last") – Etta James Funeral
It was January of 2012 when we lost one of the many music legends the past year. Etta James, more known as the singer of classics such as At Last and I'd Rather Be Blind, passed away due to a hepatitis C. Of course, there's no one more fitting to perform her instant classic than one of the best vocals of the younger generation and a self proclaimed fan of the late Etta James herself, Christina Aguilera. Christina belted out At Last in true Etta fashion, and leaking spray tan issues aside, this performance got a standing ovation even before it ended.
06: Jessica Sanchez and Jennifer Holliday, ("And I am Telling You I'm Not Going") – American Idol Season 11 Finale
Despite the fact that Jessica Sanchez wasn't crowned the Idol title during its eleventh season, this goosebumps performance of her and one of her most vocal fans, Tony winner and Broadway legend Jennifer Holliday, of the iconic diva song And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going sent shivers all over the world. It was one thing to do a number of it, but it's another to diva-off with the original singer herself. Now if only they invited Jennifer Hudson as well, all roofs would have been blown after that performance.
05: Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, CeeLo Green, and Christina Aguilera, ("Hallelujah") – The Voice Finale Performance Night
The aftermath of the Connecticut shootings left the whole world in shock, but more so, in tears. Thus, it was expected that all shows would pay tribute to the countless lives that we lost there. Probably the best tribute that I've seen was the two minute version of Hallelujah by the four The Voice coaches. Together with the rest of the finalists (both eliminated and not), hosts Carson Daly and Christina Millian, each of them holds a name tag with the names of the victims of the shooting. Then we'd hear Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, CeeLo Green, and Christina Aguilera belt out this Leonard Cohen classic. It was simple, heartfelt, and I bet there's not a dry eye in the room that night.
04: Adele, ("Rolling in the Deep") – Grammy Awards 2012
Yes, we've all heard that she was under operation because of too much smoking during the last year of 2011. But like a true pro, you know that we'd still hear that voice back. And there's no better way than to showcase it to the world with a performance of her Grammy winning song Rolling in the Deep at the Grammy Awards itself. Not only was she the Queen of Grammys that night (winning a perfect six trophies out of six nominations), but this performance received a long standing ovation with everyone from Rihanna to Sir Paul McCartney cheering for her.
03: Spice Girls, ("Wanna Be/Spice Up Your Life") – 2012 Olympics Closing Ceremony
90s kids, represent!!!! London did a really good job hosting the Olympics this year with their showstopping opening and closing ceremonies. What takes the cake though is the reunion performance of the Spice Girls doing a medley of Wanna Be and Spice Up Your Life on top of cars as they go around the huge stadium. It might take a long time before we see this again, so I guess we'd have to cherish this performance as if it's the last.
02: Jennifer Hudson, ("I Will Always Love You") – Grammy Awards 2012
A day before the actual Grammy Awards ceremony, the whole world was stunned when news broke out that The Voice herself Whitney Houston passed away. That's probably the most difficult thing to hear on a day before music's biggest night. So with no time left to do a tribute, it was just a simple number. But Oscar and Grammy winner Jennifer Hudson made sure that it will be a tribute that will never be forgotten. Just Whitney's picture, a mic stand, and her soaring vocals in one of the most popular songs ever, Whitney definitely was smiling up from the heavens after this performance.
01: Madonna (with LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, MIA, and Ceelo Green), ("Vogue, Music, Party Rock Anthem, Sexy and I Know It, Gimme All Your Luvin, Like a Prayer") – Superbowl 2012 Halftime Show
And let's all bow down to The Queen. Proving that she is still a force to be reckoned with, Queen of Pop Madonna showed all these artists how it's actually done when she performed at the halftime of the Superbowl this February. With matching visual floors and coming from a throne, there's no entertainer more fitting to do this year's job than Madonna. Singing a medley of her most prominent hits from Vogue to Music to Like a Prayer, and inviting friends like LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, MIA, and CeeLo Green, this fourteen minute performance is nothing but a showstopper, all provided to you by Madonna herself.
What were your favorite performances from the list? Did you think I missed something? Pipe them in below at the Comments section.
And as always, you can follow me on Twitter: @nikowl
Posted January 2, 2013 by Nicol Latayan in 2012 Year End Lists, Lists, Music
Tagged with 2012 lists, 84th oscars, academy awards, adam levine, adele, alicia keys, american idol, and i am telling you, at last, blake shelton, brandy new me, ceelo green, christina aguilera, diamonds, elizaeth taylor, esperanza spalding, etta james, gangnam style, gimme all ur lovin, grammys, hallelujah, hurricane sandy, i will always love you, jennifer holliday, jennifer hudson, jessica sanchez, like a prayer, LMFAO, london lympics, madonna, mc hammer, MIA, music, nicki minaj, no one, party rock anthem, performances, pink, psy, rihanna, rolling in the deep, sexy and i know it, spice girls, spice up your life, superbowl, the voice, try american music awards, victoria's secret fashion show, vogue, wannabe, what a wonderful world, whitney houston
55th Grammy Awards Nominations Predictions Leave a comment
Later tonight, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Inc. (NARAS) will be announcing the nominees for the top honor in music. In its 55th year now, the Grammy Awards have always been regarded as the biggest achievement one can receive for music performers. While it was an easy sweep for Adele last year, here are my current predictions for this year's awards:
The Black Keys, "El Camino"
Fun, "Some Nights"
Mumford & Sons, "Babel"
Frank Ocean, "Channel Orange"
Pink, "The Truth About Love"
NEXT: Florence + the Machine, "Ceremonials"; Drake, "Take Care"; Lionel Richie, "Tuskegee"; Miranda Lambert, "Four the Record"
Adele, "Set Fire to the Rain (Live)"
The Black Keys, "Lonely Boy"
fun featuring Janelle Monae, "We Are Young"
Gotye featuring Kimbra, "Somebody that I Used to Know"
Mumford & Sons, "I Will Wait"
NEXT: Carly Rae Jepsen, "Call Me Maybe"; Taylor Swift, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"; Florence + the Machine, "Shake It Out"; Frank Ocean, "Thinking Bout You"
SONG OF THE YEAR:
Florence + the Machine, "Shake it Out"
Miranda Lambert, "Over You"
Frank Ocean, "Thinkin Bout You"
NEXT: The Black Keys, "Lonely Boy"; Taylor Swift, "We Are Never Getting Back Together"; Bruce Springsteen, "We Take Care of Our Own"; Katy Perry, "Wide Awake"
Emeil Sandé
NEXT: Carly Rae Jepsen, Ellie Goulding, Lana del Rey, Ed Sheeran
POP PERFORMANCE:
Kelly Clarkson, "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)"
Jason Mraz, "I Won't Give Up"
Katy Perry, "Wide Awake"
Pink, "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)"
NEXT: Bruno Mars, "It Will Rain"; Carly Rae Jepsen, "Call Me Maybe"; Taylor Swift, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", Philip Phillips, "Home"
POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE
fun. featuring. Janelle Monae, "We Are Young"
Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa, "Payphone"
One Direction, "What Makes You Beautiful"
NEXT: Train, "Drive By"; Coldplay featuring Rihanna, "Princess of China"; No Doubt, "Settle Down"; Lionel Richie featuring Shania Twain, "Endless Love"
POP VOCAL ALBUM
Justin Bieber, "Believe"
Maroon 5, "Overexposed"
One Direction, "Up All Night"
NEXT: Kelly Clarkson, "Stronger"; Florence + the Machine, "Ceremonials"; Rihanna, "Talk That Talk"; John Mayer, "Born and Raised"
DANCE RECORDING
Avicii, "Levels"
Deadmau5 featuring Gerard Way, "Professional Griefers"
Calvin Harris featuring Ne-Yo, "Let's Go"
Midnight City, "M83"
Skrillex featuring Sirah, "Bangarag"
NEXT: Martin Solvieg, "The Night Out"; Swedish House Mafia featuring John Martin, "Don't You Worry Child"; The Chemical Brothers, "Superflash"
DANCE/ELECTRONICA ALBUM
Deadmau5, "Album Title Goes Here"
Justice, "Audio Video Disco"
M83, "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming"
Skrillex, "Bangarang"
Martin Solveig, "Smash"
NEXT: Pet Shop Boys, "Elysium"; Dev, "The Night the Sun Came Up"; Purity Ring, "Shrines"
ROCK PERFORMANCE
Coldplay. "Charlie Brown"
Bruce Springsteen, "We Take Care of Our Own"
Jack White, "Freedom at 21"
NEXT: Muse, "Madness"; Dave Matthews Band, "Mercy"; Green Day, "Oh Love"; Imagine Dragons, "It's Time"
ROCK SONG
Muse, "Madness"
NEXT: Jack White, "Freedom at 21"; Of Monsters and Men, "Little Talks"
The Black Eyes, "El Camino"
Coldplay, "Mylo Xyloto"
Dave Matthews Band, "Away from the World"
Bruce Springsteen, "Wrecking Ball"
Jack White, "Blunderbuss"
NEXT: Green Day, "Uno"; Muse, "The 2nd Law"; Neil Young & Crazy Horse, "Americana"
ALTERNATIVE ALBUM
Fiona Apple, "The Idler Wheel"
Bjork, "Biophilia"
Gotye, "Making Mirrors"
Passion Pit, "Gossamer"
The Shins, "Port Of Morrow"
NEXT: The xx, "Coexist"; Silversun Pickups, "Neck Of The Woods"
BEST AMERICANA ALBUM
Alabama Shakes, "Boys & Girls"
Bob Dylan, "Tempest"
The Lumineers, "The Lumineers"
Bonnie Raitt, "Slipstream"
R&B PERFORMANCE
Estelle, "Thank You"
Faith Evans, "Tears of Joy"
Miguel, "Adorn"
Usher, "Climax"
NEXT: Beyonce, "Love on Top"; Elle Varner, "Refill"; Melanie Fiona, "Wrong Side of a Love Song"; Mary J Blige, "Don't Mind"
TRADITIONAL R&B PERFORMANCE
Anita Baker, "Lately"
Anthony Hamilton, "Pray for Me"
Whitney Houston, Jordin Sparks, "Celebrate"
R. Kelly, "Feeling Single"
Emeli Sandé, "My Kind of Love"
NEXT: Tyrese,"Stay"; Tamia, "Beautiful Surprise"; Faith Evans, "Tears of Joy"
Beyonce, "Love on Top"
John Legend featuring Ludacris, "Tonight"
NEXT: Anthony Hamilton, "Woo"; Estelle, "Thank You"
R&B ALBUM
Mary J. Blige, "My Life II – The Journey Continues"
Estelle, "All of Me"
Anthony Hamilton, "Back to Love"
R. Kelly, "Write Me Back"
Tyrese, "Open Invitation"
NEXT: Melanie Fiona, "The MF Life"
URBAN CONTEMPORARY ALBUM
Chris Brown, "Fortune"
Miguel, "Kaleidoscope Dreams"
Emeli Sandé, "Our Version of Events"
Usher, "Looking for Myself"
NEXT: Elle Varner, "Perfectly Imperfect"; Trey Songz, "Chapter 5"
RAP PERFORMANCE
Drake featuring Lil' Wayne, "The Motto"
Nicki Minaj featuring 2 Chainz, "Beez In The Trap"
Nas, "Daughters"
Kanye West & Jay-Z. "Niggas in Paris (Live)"
Kanye West featuring Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz "Mercy"
NEXT: Wiz Khalifa, "Work Hard, Play Hard"; Kendrick Lamar, "Swimming Pools (Drank)"
RAP/SUNG COLLABORATION
Drake featuring The Weekend, "Crew Love"
Jay-Z, Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean, "No Church In The Wild"
Alicia Keys featuring Nicki Minaj, "Girl on Fire"
John Legend featuring Ludacris, "Tonight (Best You Ever Had)"
Snoop Dogg featuring Wiz Khalifa & Bruno Mars, "Young, Wild, & Free"
NEXT: J. Cole featuring Missy Elliott, "Nobody's Perfect"; Rihanna featuring Jay-Z, "Talk That Talk"
RAP SONG
J. Cole featuring Missy Elliott, "Nobody's Perfect"
RAP ALBUM
2 Chainz, "Based on a T.R.U. Story"
Drake, "Take Care"
G.O.O.D Music, "Cruel Summer"
Nas, "Life is Good"
Wale, "Ambition"
COUNTRY SOLO PERFORMANCE
Dierks Bentley, "Home"
Blake Shelton, "Over"
Taylor Swift, "Ours"
Carrie Underwood, "Blown Away"
COUNTRY DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE
Eli Young Band, "Even If It Breaks Your Heart"
Little Big Town, "Pontoon"
Gloriana, "(kissed You) Good Night"
Lionel Richie featuring Willie Nelson, "Easy"
Taylor Swift featuring The Civil Wars, "Safe & Sound"
Eric Church, "Springsteen"
Vince Gill, "Guitar Slinger"
Miranda Lambert, "Four The Record"
Little Big Town, "Tornado"
Posted December 5, 2012 by Nicol Latayan in Awards, Music
Tagged with adele, carrie udnerwood, frank ocean, fun, fun we are young, gotye, grammy 2013, grammy predictions, grammys, justin bieber grammy, katy perry, maroon 5, miranda lambert, mumford and sons grammy, one direction grammy, pink, rihanna, taylor swift grammy, the black keys
12 Unique Records by Women in Entertainment 6 comments
March is International Women's Month, and I say better late than never. 🙂 Time and again, the power of the female sex has been tried and tested in giving breakthrough recognition in the field of entertainment. However, since this is an entertainment blog, I'll be putting a twist and focus on some achievements that might be helpful once you had a Trivial Pursuit game. In short, here are some notable trivia by women awards and recognition-wise:
Edie Falco is the only actress in Emmy history who has won both Outstanding Lead Actress honors for both Comedy and Drama genres. For her notable turn as the iconic mob wife Carmela Soprano, she received three Emmys in the Drama categories for The Sopranos. Just in 2010, she won for Best Actress in a Comedy Series Showtime comedy Nurse Jackie.
Kyla is the only Filipina female artist who can brag about having a moonman! In 2001, Kyla won the International Viewer's Choice Award for the Southeast Asia Region for her breakthrough epic video Hanggang Ngayon. The only other Filipino artists who won this trophy are Eraserheads in 1997 and Parokya ni Edgar in 1999. Kyla was also the only solo artist that represented the Philippines in that category during the country's six year run for eligibility.
Photo courtesy of pinoyexchange.com
KATHERYN BIGELOW
There is only one woman in Oscar history who has won the trophy for Achievement in Directing, and that was Katheryn Bigelow who won for the war movie The Hurt Locker. It took 82 years before Oscar finally welcomed a woman with an Oscar in hand for the best Director category. Aside from Bigelow, there have been only three other woman who contended for this Oscar: Lina Wertmuller in 1976 (for Seven Beauties), Jane Campion in 1993 (for The Piano), and Sofia Coppola in 2003 (for Lost in Translation).
Photo courtesy of shoppingblog.com
MELANIE MARQUEZ
In the history of beauty pageantry, the Philippines has been a hit or miss. While we were able to snatch titles every now and then, there's one title that will never ever be taken away from one of the Filipina delegates. Melanie Marquez, 1979 Miss International, is the youngest beauty queen in the history of the big four titles. She was 15 years old when she was crowned.
Photo courtesy of host.missosology.info
In the history of the Grammy awards, only two singers have won all the Big 4 categories (Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best New Artist). The first one was Christopher Cross in 1981 where in he swept all four awards in one night. The second one, however, is the only female who accomplished that, and of course, it's no other than Adele. Adele won Best New Artist in 2009, and as we have witnessed earlier this year, she also swept the Big 3 for her album 21 and single Rolling in the Deep. As a small correction, Norah Jones alsos wept the four categories in 2002, but since she didn't write "Don't Know Why", she's not credited for that Grammy win.
Lea Salonga is the only Filipina who has the pleasure of performing at the Oscars when she sang A Whole New World in 1993. And if that's not impressive yet, she also won Tony in 1991 for Miss Saigon. Still, the only Filipina who has one of the EGOT trophies in a major category.
Speaking of EGOT, there have been lots of performers who already belong to this very famous club. EGOT (Stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) is a high mile club which shows how versatile you are by winning four of the top awards for every channel of entertainment may it be film, music, television, or theater. While there are already female achievers of the title, the first woman to do so was Helen Hayes. Hayes won the Oscar Best Actress in 1932 for The Sin of Madelon Claudet, the Tony for Best Actress in Happy Birthday in 1947, the Emmy Best Actress for Schlitz Playhouse of Stars in 1953, and finally, the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Recording in 1976.
Photo courtesy of altfg.com
VILMA SANTOS
It is quite hectic for an actor to have more than a movie per year. Having two will totally eat your schedule. However, that's not the case for Vilma Santos, as she sets the record for the most number of films in a single year with… are you ready… 23 films in 1970. That's like the filmography for most actor and actresses nowadays. Along with countless more movies and recognitions, no wonder she is one of Philippines' finest.
Photo courtesy of starforallseasons.wordpress.com
It is very rare for a female artist to get a trophy just for being a collaborator in a single. That's what Gwen Stefani's 2001 moonman win was after Eve won for Best Female Video for Let Me Blow Ya' Mind. Since Gwen was featured in the video, she gets to have a moonman as well. Now I know why you feel as if that's not an accomplishment yet. Here's the actual catch: On that same night, not only did Gwen win the Best Female Video VMA, she also won the Best Male Video for Moby's collaboration with her for Southside. And for that, Gwen made history by winning both Male and Female Video VMAs without even being the main featured singer for both songs.
Photo courtesy of femalerappers.tumblr.com
CHARITO SOLIS
Also regarded as the best Filipino actress ever, Charito Solis is the Philippines' answer to Katharine Hepburn. And to further highlight her versatile acting skills, Charito Solis is the first actress elevated to the FAMAS Hall of Fame after winning five Best Actress trophies for Kundiman ng Lahi (in 1958), Emily (in 1960), Angustia (in 1963), Igorota (in 1968), and Don't Cry for Me Papa (in 1983). Impressive isn't it?
Photo courtesy of movie-industry.blogspot.com
It is very hard for a woman of color to win the film's top recognition (see: Viola Davis). However, Hattie McDaniel was the very first woman to accomplish that when she won Best Supporting Actress for Gone with the Wind in 1939. It will take another sixty years before the next black actress to get an Oscar which is the case of Whoopi Goldberg for Ghost in 1990. It has been followed by Halle Berry (the first and only black Best Actress winner) in 2001, Jennifer Hudson (Best Supporting Actress for Dreamgirls) in 2006, Mo'nique (Best Supporting Actress for Precious) in 2009, and just earlier this year, Octavia Spencer (for The Help).
Photo courtesy of goldderby.com
SUNSHINE CRUZ
And lastly, we'll be including on my list the first ever Pinay cover for FHM Philippines, the ever flawless, Sunshine Cruz. It was April of 2000 and FHM was just on its second issue ever when this mestisa celebrity graced the cover of the now famous magazine. The rest, as they say, is history.
That's 12 names, 12 different accomplishments. This just goes to show how much women make impact in every aspect of their respective fields. Happy International Women's month to all the female readers of this blog. 😀
Posted March 30, 2012 by Nicol Latayan in Awards, Lists, Music, TV
Tagged with adele, charito solis, edie falco, gwen stefani, hattie mcdaniel, helen hayes, katheryn bigelow, kyla, lea salonga, lists, melanie marquez, sunshine cruz, vilma santos
MTV Video Music Awards 2011 2 comments
This is a pretty late post, but since it's raining and there seems to be the obligatory VMA review, I'll dedicate a post to this year's VMA. A for starters, this is a big improvement from last year's snoozefest. While there are no hosts assigned for the night, they still managed to went overtime again. I still have this theory that the reason why Best Direction wasn't given at the red carpet was because it was really supposed to be at the main show and will serve as Adele's moment (which she deservingly won). However, due to time constraints, they decided to just skip it altogether. Screw you, MTV.
Also, Katy Perry won the much coveted Video of the Year, so for the fifth year in a row, a female artist has won the top award (Cue: Beyonce's Run the World). Rihanna, Britney Spears, Beyonce, and Lady GaGa has won the same moonman for the last four ceremonies. As a sidebar, Madonna got hers on 1998, Lauryn Hill in 1999, Christina Aguilera in 2001, and Missy Elliott in 2003.
Moving on to the main event, I'll just share a few thoughts here and there about the performances from last night. They ranged from excellent to good actually. Specifically, here's my grade sheet for last Sunday's VMAs.
Lady GaGa : You & I
I decided that I'll grade this performance based on the start of her performance. I'll voluntarily skip her opening monologue which, as seen from the audience, looks ridiculous as it can gets. GaGa tries so hard to maintain this creative, innovative persona but what she lacks during the monologue is the music. If that wasn't GaGa doing that shitty man alter ego, I bet that person will be trashed instantly. But since it's GaGa, she gets free pass. This isn't even creative. This is bothering. As for her performance, no doubt that she really has the talent to pull it off. Her vocals is always on point, and she gets to have Queen's Brian May as a special guest. Now, that is genius. Anyway, bottom line is, she could have done the song without that alter ego thing going on, and it would have been much better.
Jay Z and Kanye West : Otis
This isn't one of my favorite songs from Watch the Thrones so I would have wanted another song to be performed. But, of course this is the current single. Even I couldn't resist the star power that these two rap powerhouses exude so while this is in no way outstanding, this is also not disappointing.
Pitbull, Ne-Yo, Nayer : Give Me Everything
I don't get why they were given a performance slot that night. This song is too old by the time they performed it. However, the song is still undeniably catchy. Everyone is still jamming in the crowd and even the people watching at home. This is a similar performance like what they did on The Voice. I'm bothered by how Ne-Yo is so hitting on that woman performer as if he's so dying to f*ck her right after they went off stage. LOL.
Adele : Someone Like You
Oh boy, hands down, the best performance of the night. Ballads are rarely performed during the VMAs especially since it's one big party after all. If they work, they really do get to stand out (Christina Aguilera, Hurt (2006)), but if they don't, they'll be overshadowed (Taylor Swift, Innocent (2010)). Fortunately, Adele rocked her performance. Everyone was just cheering while she's singing. I personally had goosebumps while watching it. Plus, she got a standing ovation at the end. it goes to show that all you don't need too many gimmicks to stand out. This goes down as one of the best VMA performances ever.
Chris Brown : Yeah3x, The Beautiful People
It is really difficult to follow up Adele's performance. So, the best way to do it is by giving a fully entertaining performance. Chris Brown might be lipsynching throughout the whole performance, but who cares? He's flying all over the Nokia Theater. That is so awesome. It's so sad that he got overshadowed with all the woman beater and homophobe accusations against him, because he, indeed, is one hell of a performer. He might not be singing at all, but this is the perfect follow up to Adele's vocally challenging performance. Oh can I say that I died that Jessie J followed this performanc eby singing "No Scrubs"?
Britney Spears tribute
First, I'm glad that all the speculations that Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Rihanna, Ke$ha, Katy Perry, and Janet Jackson (of all people, really?!?!?!?) giving a tribute to Britney isn't true. That would have been a disaster in the vein of her Gimme More performance. I'm glad that MTV is giving her the tribute by people who won't upstage Britney, but when you reward her with a Video Vanguard, the least they could have done is to include all of her videos, and not just chosen ones. All in all, a decent performance but what I didn't like was that they used her as a segue to introduce the next performer.
Beyonce : Love on Top
I'm not the biggest Beyonce fan on earth (god knows how "creative" she is) but this is probably one of my favorite Beyonce numbers ever. She's just glowing the moment she sang the first line of the song. Also, she made a good choice of singing a song that suits her emotions that moment. I love when she said "I want you to feel the love inside me." There are parts where she wasn't singing (she had prepared version) and she's singing it simultaneously with the recorded version, but I won't complain. Also, love how the audience was so into the song. Adele was even singing. Love the shot of her in the audience. But more so, the finale shot when she rubbed her tummy, and everyone from Gaga to Tony Bennett, Kanye to Jay Z were just jumping with joy. Very memorable performance!
Young the Giant : My Body
I know that you're thinking "Who?" but for a VMA debut performance, this is an awesome performance. I know how big of a deal getting a slot at the main show is for some indie band who doesn't have a solid fanbase yet. But, heck, I enjoyed the performance, and here's hoping they'll get a bigger break after this. How I wish Foster the People were asked to perform as well.
Bruno Mars : Amy Winehouse tribute, Valerie
At first, I was hesitant. Why him? Really, of all people?!?!? Bruno Mars?!?!? But boy, did he really deliver! This is a good performance of Valerie, and for what its worth, he gave justice to the song. I love the "clap your hands for Amy part". The video of Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse opening this performance made it bittersweet. Seeing Amy's pop-art photos while Bruno is performing is so very touching. I guess I'm a big Amy fanboy because I was in tears near-the-end. Adele was so sad, and so is Russell Brand. Anyway, really good performance that I'm sure Amy was very proud up there. 🙂
Lil' Wayne : How To Love, John
For years now, the VMAs always end their show with a rap act (Jay Z in 09, Kanye last year) and while Lil' Wayne was good in his How to Love part, he suddenly went crazy during the John part. This is an okay performance but everyone's just oh so excited to go home or rest already. LOL. This is a good promotion for his album (which will debut at number one next) though.
That's it. The VMAs, while it wasn't able to reach its peak years anymore, still provided one hell of an entertaining show this year. Til next year folks! =)
Posted September 1, 2011 by Nicol Latayan in Awards
Tagged with adele, amy winehouse, beyonce, britney spears, bruno mars, chris brown, jay z, justin bieber, kanye west, katy perry, lady gaga, lil' wayne, pitbull


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Molecular understanding of drug interactions suggests pathway to better malaria treatments
Home Industry News Molecular understanding of drug interactions suggests pathway to better malaria treatments
The process of crystallization is central to drug development, petrochemical processing and other industrial actions, but scientists say they still are learning about the complex interactions involved in the building and dissolution of crystals. Researchers from the University of Houston and the Université libre de Bruxelles reported in the journal Nature that they have for the first time demonstrated at the molecular level what happens when two compounds known to inhibit crystal growth—in this case, antimalarial drugs—were combined. The results were unexpected. "You would expect using two drugs that attacked crystallization in two different ways would be synergistic, or at the very least additive," said Jeffrey Rimer, Abraham E. Dukler Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UH and a co-author of the paper. "Instead, we found that they can work against each other." Working against each other, known as antagonistic cooperation, meant that the drugs were actually less effective in tandem than individually. Peter Vekilov, John and Rebecca Moores Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Chemistry at UH and another co-author, said the work will allow the design of more effective treatments for malaria, a mosquito-borne disease that killed 435,000 people in 2017, most of them children in Africa. But more broadly, it suggests a new way to screen molecules for their potential in drug development, allowing new treatments to be developed more quickly. "When you are using modifiers, a small change in the molecule's structure can dramatically alter its performance," Rimer said. Malaria is caused by a parasite, which consumes hemoglobin and leaves behind a compound known as hematin, which the parasite sequesters inside a crystal. Antimalarial treatments work by inhibiting the crystal growth , freeing hematin to attack the parasite. For this work, the researchers studied the growth of hematin crystals in the presence of four antimalarial drugs —chloroquine, quinine, mefloquine and amodiaquine—which work in one of two distinct ways. Both computationally and experimentally, including through the use of atomic force microscopy, the researchers demonstrated how compounds which attack crystallization by two different mechanisms behave when combined. The resulting molecular-level understanding of that behavior suggests a new mechanism for materials science , Vekilov said. "This mechanism may provide guidance in the search for suitable inhibitor combinations to control crystallization of pathological, biomimetic, and synthetic materials," the researchers wrote. "In a broader context, our results highlight modifier interactions mediated by the dynamics and structures on the crystal interface as a prime element of the regulation of the shapes and patterns of crystalline structures in nature and industry." Explore further More information: Wenchuan Ma et al. Antagonistic cooperativity between crystal growth modifiers, Nature (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1918-4 Journal information: Provided by University of Houston Citation : Molecular understanding of drug interactions suggests pathway to better malaria treatments (2020, January 16) retrieved 16 January 2020 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-01-molecular-drug-interactions-pathway-malaria.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
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James Lardner, the grandson of Ring, and the son of Ring Jr., James Lardner is one of the voices of Inequality.org and a noteworthy journalist and author of many books, including NYPD: A City and its Police, Inequality Matters (editor), Crusader and Fast Forward: Hollywood, the Japanese and the VCR Wars. He is a senior fellow at Demos.
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19 Best Scary Books For Kids And Teens That They'll Love
A scary book can be a wonderful gift for any child, as ghost books for kids can do much more than just give them a fright.
Though it might seem counter-intuitive, scary books for kids can give highly positive experiences. Many parents wish to protect their children from scary situations, but by experiencing fear in the safe environment of a book kids will be better equipped to cope with scariness in real life.
The imaginary world of a ghost story or horror tale encourages creativity, offering parallel universes, witches and wizards, ghosts and demons, psychological thrillers and more for adventurous and inventive playtime.
There's also often a deeper, positive theme running through scary children's books, such as honesty, friendship or humility. Many books even give notorious baddies a lovable side. When children follow a character through a haunted world, it helps them develop resilience and confidence, as kids get a sense of accomplishment through having survived each scary chapter of the story themselves. Some books, especially those written for younger children, can also help deal with a child's own fears, such as monsters under the bed.
With hundreds of scary books for teens, horror books for kids and dark magic books for tweens available, finding a gripping read for the right age group can seem like a monster task. We've put together a list of our top scary books for under 5s, under 10s, tweens, young teens and older teens to give you a simple place to start.
If you're looking for more witch and wizard-themed items, take a look at these books about witches or these Harry Potter gifts from the wizarding world.
1. Funnybones by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
In the dark dark house... some skeletons lived. Starting with books for the youngest readers, 'Funnybones' is a timeless original that is great for children just learning to read, from the creators of picture books like 'Each Peach Pear Plum', 'The Jolly Postman' and 'Burglar Bill'. Also a hit TV series, with fantastic illustrations and adventures, this is a book for those who like their skeletons more funny than scary.
Glow-in-the-dark cover celebrating Funnybones' 40th Anniversary
Suitable for under 5s
Best For Under 5s Cuddles
2. My Monster Mama Loves Me So by Laura Leuck and Mark Buehner
A children's Halloween classic, this beautiful book is filled with a monster family's daily adventures and activities. You'll have hairy hugs aplenty as you learn all the ways a mama monster loves her little monster.
Best For Under 5s Pop-Up Books
3. I'm Going to Eat You!: A Spooky Pop-Up Flap Book by Matt Mitter and Jimmy Pickering
When a young boy is woken by a scary voice, he goes on a monster-filled adventure to find out who wants to eat him. Perfect for de-scaring monsters under the bed.
Board book with large pop-up flaps
Suitable for ages 4-6
Best For Under 5s With A Dark Sense Of Humour
4. Not Now, Bernard by David McKee
When Bernard discovers a monster in the back garden, it's too bad for his parents that they're not paying him attention. A great book for children and parents alike.
Best For Under 10s Cult Fiction
5. Goosebumps Series by R. L. Stine
A substantial supernatural series with individual chilling plots and terrifying twists, the 62 Goosebumps books were the basis for the hit '90s TV show. There are no happy ever afters with Goosebumps.
Suitable for 8-10 years
Best For Under 10s Graphic Novels
6. The Stonekeeper - Amulet 1 by Kazu Kibuishi
A unique graphic novel for kids who love adventure stories, Emily and her brother Navin face a terrible, life-or-death mission after moving to a creepy old house. Great danger hides in the darkness, and a magical world filled with terror lies ahead.
Series of eight books - ninth and final book due in 2021
Trigger warnings of car accident and death of loved ones
Best Under 10s Short Stories
7. In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz and Dirk Zimmer
In a re-illustrated edition, this chilling collection is loved by middle school kids and adults alike, featuring the infamous 'The Green Ribbon' and six other terrifying tales.
'I Can Read!' Level 2
Best For Tween Collections
8. How to Navigate Zombie Cave and Defeat Pirate Pete by Mick Bogerman
In the first of The Slug Pie Stories collection (which also includes How to Rid Your Swimming Pool of a Bloodthirsty Mermaid, How to Destroy the New Girl's Killer Robot Army, and How to Protect Your Neighborhood from Circus Werewolves), Bogerman puts terrifying twists on a number of normal situations.
Best For Tween Horror
9. The Curse of the Canowicakte: A Horror Story for Young Readers and the Young at Heart: Volume 1 by Wade H. Garrett
Bullies and burial grounds collide in a small America town. This is humorous, child-appropriate horror from a writer known for extreme adult horror fiction.
Suitable for 9+
Best For Tween Dark Magic
10. Coraline by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean
When Coraline and her family move into a creepy house, a mysterious door leads to unwanted consequences. A chilling story where the grass is not always greener on the other side, this book is also a major stop-motion animated film.
Best For Tween Classic
11. The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: The Complete First Edition by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Andrea Dezsö, and translated by Jack Zipes
The complete, first-edition collection of all eight volumes of Grimm Brothers' tales, featuring 156 diverse stories with all the scary bits left in.
Best For Young Teen Fantasy
12. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
Between the bright lights of a carousel, a terrible evil lurks in the darkness. With stunning visual language, this book is a story about friendship and fatherhood.
Best For Young Teen Haunted House Stories
13. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
When four people come to stay at Hill House, they quickly learn that their presence may not be welcome. One of the most terrifying children's ghost stories that leaves readers guessing into the night, this book has recently become a major Netflix series.
Best For Young Teen Gothic Romance
14. House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A Craig
Published in 2019, 'House of Salt and Sorrows' is based on Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Twelve Dancing Princesses'. Mysteries and curses abound in this tale of sisters living and deceased.
Best For Young Teen Surprise Collector
15. Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories
Roald Dahl read 749 spooky stories kept in the British Museum before choosing his favourites for this spine-chilling anthology, including Cynthia Asquith's 'The Corner Shop', Sheridan Le Fanu's 'The Ghost of a Hand', Mary Treadgold's 'The Telephone' and Edith Wharton's 'Afterward', with ten more scary stories.
Best For Older Teen Mystery
16. Watchers by Dean Koontz
Generally hailed as Koontz's best book, mysterious evil awaits one man and his oddly intelligent dog.
Best For Older Teen High School Thrillers
17. One Of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus
Bayview High is riddled with secrets that help no one when five students get detention, and only four walk out alive.
Best For Older Teen Classics
18. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
A special edition with a gorgeously gory cover, Shelley's classic story is a tale of questionable medicine, the unknown, and the monster inside.
A Puffin Clothbound Classic
Best For Older Teen Fairy-Tales
19. Tinder by Sally Gardner and David Roberts
Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Tinderbox', 'Tinder' plays with war, love, beasts and magic. This richly illustrated book draws you into a nightmarish world where a light in the dark is a gift and a curse.
Some themes 16+ or adult approval needed
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text:
Home What Metta World Peace's 7-Game Suspension Means for the Lakers
What Metta World Peace's 7-Game Suspension Means for the Lakers
Ramon Sessions' Present and Future with the Lakers
Jabari A. Davis
Allow me to say, without equivocation, Metta World's "Peaceful Elbow" was unquestionably excessive. That said, it was an emotional reaction to James Harden (known for posturing and pestering) stepping into his path following a thunderous dunk. Laker supporter or not, I'm not going to sit here and make excuses for World Peace. Whether we think it is fair for the league and viewing public to take MWP's storied history into account when judging his most recent act is irrelevant. The reality is, our pasts often come back to haunt us. Admittedly, I expected between three and five games
based upon how the league has dealt with other violent acts (this season): Love reverse curb-stomping of Luis Scola or Jason Smith launching Blake Griffin from a plane, which each garnered two-game suspensions. With a majority of the ESPN NBA analysts guessing the suspension would be somewhere near 10 games, I can't say that I'm entirely shocked by what he received.
Get Your Special Edition Black "I Bleed Purple & Gold" Shirts – On Sale Now!
I'd be remiss if I didn't say, I'm very happy to hear James Harden will reportedly be ready to play once the playoffs begin. Placing aside my competitive tendency, I would prefer Harden fully healthy so the Lakers can battle (and beat) Oklahoma City at full strength. Question is, with Matt Barnes nursing a sprained ankle, will the Lakers be at full strength? As the Lakers head into the post-season, likely to face the sixth-seeded Denver Nuggets (although Dallas still has an outside chance), being without MWP for six games will undoubtedly put them in a tough position.
While everyone is looking past the Nuggets (or Mavs), Denver is precisely one of those playoff opponents you need an aggressive wing-defender against. Denver boasts one of the deeper rosters, chalked full of scoring forwards. While Bryant can certainly help defending Arron Afflalo, the Lakers don't need him wearing his body down attempting to help guard bigger players like Al Harrington and Danilo Gallinari. All three players have a knack for not only knocking down the outside shot (each above 35 percent career shooters from beyond the arc), but tend to give the Lakers fits by penetrating and working from the post.
In losing MWP, the Lakers will be without perhaps the most versatile wing defender with his combination of speed and strength. With Barnes nursing a sore ankle, Coach Mike Brown will be forced to call on second-year SF Devin Ebanks to fill the void. Brown seems pleased by the productivity Ebanks has shown since playing extended minutes while replacing Kobe Bryant during his recent injury. Known for juggling his lineups, I won't be surprised if Coach Brown uses Bryant at the small forward position against certain match-ups. Although Bryant hasn't played the position with any regularity since 2008, his superior footwork and post-game make for an easy transition.
In a perfect twist of events, if the Lakers were to dispose of the Nuggets by say a 4-2 margin, World Peace would return for the first game of the second round. Unless the Thunder suffer an unexpected loss at the hands of the Mavericks, that would place MWP back and ready for action at Chesapeake Energy Arena (home of the Thunder) in a couple weeks. While Commissioner Stern certainly wouldn't prefer the circumstances, you can't tell me he isn't licking his chops in anticipation of the ratings for that potential series.
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Daniel Starkand


text:
Q: WebSocket Java Error I am still very new to java and I have been introduced to websockets recently. I am current creating a server atm and I cannot seem to be able to start the server w.o getting an error
May 10, 2015 10:04:58 PM org.glassfish.grizzly.http.server.NetworkListener start
INFO: Started listener bound to [0.0.0.0:8025]
May 10, 2015 10:04:58 PM org.glassfish.grizzly.http.server.HttpServer start
INFO: [HttpServer] Started.
May 10, 2015 10:04:58 PM org.glassfish.tyrus.server.Server start
INFO: WebSocket Registered apps: URLs all start with ws://localhost:8025
May 10, 2015 10:04:58 PM org.glassfish.tyrus.server.Server start
INFO: WebSocket server started.
May 10, 2015 10:04:58 PM org.glassfish.grizzly.http.server.NetworkListener shutdownNow
INFO: Stopped listener bound to [0.0.0.0:8025]
May 10, 2015 10:04:58 PM org.glassfish.tyrus.server.Server stop
INFO: Websocket Server stopped.

I am also testing on a sample program I got and am using it as reference. The difference is that the @EndPointServer annotation seems to be the problem.
Here is my code so far...
WebSocket Server
package GameSever;

import org.glassfish.tyrus.server.*;

public class GameSocketServer {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        runServer();
    }

    public static void runServer() {

        Server server = new Server("localhost", 8025, "/websockets", null, GameServerEndpoint.class);

        try {
            server.start();
        } catch(Exception e) {
            throw new RuntimeException(e);
        } finally {
            server.stop();
        }
    }
}

and here's the EndPointServer
package GameSever;

import java.util.logging.Logger;

import javax.websocket.CloseReason;
import javax.websocket.OnClose;
import javax.websocket.OnOpen;
import javax.websocket.Session;
import javax.websocket.server.ServerEndpoint;

@ServerEndpoint(value = "/game")
public class GameServerEndpoint {

    private Logger logger = Logger.getLogger(this.getClass().getName());

    @OnOpen
    public void OnOpen(Session player){
        logger.info("Connected ... " + player.getId());
    }

    @OnClose
        public void OnClose(Session session, CloseReason closeReason) {
        logger.info(String.format("Session %s closed because of %s", session.getId(), closeReason));
    }
}

so the problem of the code is that the Error "org.glassfish.grizzly.http.server.NetworkListener shutdownNow" seems to be preventing me to start my server. Is there anyway possible to fix this?

A: If you added a finally block to the end of catch block it will get executed irrespective of try or catch block
if exception doesn't occurred
try{
    //code here get executed first
}  catch(Exception e){
   //code here not executing
}finally{
   //this code executed after try block
}

if Exception occurred
try{
    //Exception occurred here
}  catch(Exception e){
   //code here get executed when exception is thrown
}finally{
   //this code executed after catch block
}

So in your case it should be like
try{
    //start here

}  catch(Exception e){
   //close(stop server) here
   //then throw the exception
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Use this guide to help you in the study of general physics at COTC. This guide will help you by providing links to physics related journals, books & e-books and internet sources.
Use this guide to help you in the study of general physics at COTC. This guide should help you meet your learning goals required by COTC's Department of Biological and Physical Sciences' course on general physics.


The Supreme Court ruled this morning that the individual mandate, requiring people to purchase health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, is constitutional. The individual mandate is a key component of the healthcare reform law.
As we reported earlier this week, the Supreme Court looked at four questions stemming from challenges to the Affordable Care Act.
Should the court decide the case now or wait until 2015 when all of its provisions - including the individual mandate - have gone into effect?
Is the provision that requires nearly all Americans to have health insurance (the individual mandate) constitutional?
Can the law expand Medicaid, adding 17 million people to that program?
If a part of the law is unconstitutional, can it be separated out or must the entire law be invalidated?
USA Today reports that, "The Supreme Court upheld the health care law today in a splintered, complex opinion that appears to give President Obama a major victory. Basically, the justices said that the individual mandate -- the requirement that most Americans buy health insurance or pay a fine -- is constitutional as a tax."


text:
John B. Reddick (* 8. April 1845 im Scioto County, Ohio; † 16. September 1895 im Calaveras County, Kalifornien) war ein US-amerikanischer Politiker. Zwischen 1891 und 1895 war er Vizegouverneur des Bundesstaates Kalifornien.

Werdegang
Über die Jugend und Schulausbildung von John Reddick ist nichts überliefert. Er kam zu einem unbekannten Zeitpunkt nach Kalifornien, wo er als Mitglied der Republikanischen Partei eine politische Laufbahn einschlug. Zwischen 1875 und 1877 sowie nochmals von 1881 bis 1883 saß er als Abgeordneter in der California State Assembly. Bei den Präsidentschaftswahlen des Jahres 1884 war er einer der republikanischen Wahlmänner.

1890 wurde Reddick an der Seite von Henry Markham zum Vizegouverneur von Kalifornien gewählt. Dieses Amt bekleidete er zwischen 1891 und 1895. Dabei war er Stellvertreter des Gouverneurs und Vorsitzender des Staatssenats. Er starb am 16. September 1895 im Calaveras County.

Weblinks

 The Political Graveyard
 Online-Eintrag

Vizegouverneur (Kalifornien)
Mitglied der California State Assembly
Mitglied der Republikanischen Partei
US-Amerikaner
Geboren 1845
Gestorben 1895
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Planescape: Torment was produced by a small team of relatively new developers at the now-defunct Black Isle Studios. Designer and writer Chris Avellone, who has since signed on with Obsidian Entertainment, helped craft the game with contemporaries Dennis Presnell, Aaron Meyers, Eric Campanella, Ken Lee, Dan Spitzley, Tim Donley, and the division president, Feargus Urquhart.
Avellone explains that the unorthodox design came from his own experience with RPGs and from "some conventions that [he] wanted to break." Says the designer, "I also didn't want to see any dwarves, elves, or halflings in the world, or magic swords, and I especially didn't want the main character to save the world because I was sick to death of that crap."
According to Avellone, the game's concepts were inspired by numerous sources: "[Nine Princes in Amber author Roger] Zelazny was probably the biggest influence, since he was pretty much the master of writing stories with amnesiac heroes coming into their own. If I had any other influences they would be Bill Willingham['s comic book series] The Elementals, [which] made me want to do a game with a main character who could lose body parts and grow them back."
"Annah and Fall-From-Grace were inspired by Betty and Veronica from Archie comics, embarrassingly enough. The rest of the influences just came from Planescape itself and from all the computer RPGs I'd played...the conventions I had seen over and over I wanted to play around with and try and turn them on their head--rats as dangerous high-level bosses, few to no swords, death as a puzzle-solving tool, a character who collects memories instead of just items, new types of inventory slots like eyeballs and earrings, etc."
Fans of the game might be interested to know that the writer's own personal favorite sections of the game include "exploring the Circle of Zerthimon with Dak'kon, the whole conversation with Ravel, the PC's previous adventuring party, Morte's revelation to the player, and the player's unlocking the bronze sphere at the end to reveal the truth. Any [dialogue] with Annah and Fall-From-Grace was a lot of fun to write as well."
If you were really looking hard for things to hold against 1999's Planescape: Torment, you could cite its dated 2D graphics, its bugs (like a memory leak bug in the original version that caused the game to eventually slow to a crawl before this issue was patched), and all the written text it used instead of onscreen action to convey what was going on. We're here to tell you where you can put those things. No, seriously, we're here to explain why this highly unusual role-playing game is one of the greatest ever. But if you haven't played the game before, be advised that this article may contain spoilers.
The Nameless One awakens with one foot in the grave, the other in hell, to discover who he really is and why he has become immortal.
The game's story focused on an ancient immortal character, known simply as "the Nameless One," who begins the game by waking up on a mortuary slab with a severe case of amnesia in a strange city. The setup may sound familiar to you (it's borrowed from the 16-bit console RPG Shadowrun), but despite this bit of inspiration, and others lifted from such sources as console role-playing games, American comic books, and author Roger Zelazny's Nine Princes in Amber novels, the game ended up being entirely unique. Your character wasn't just forgetful; as it turned out, he was immortal and had been around for many more years than he knew. The Nameless One's body was covered in a thick layer of ancient skin and scars from countless scuffles, yet each time he was "killed," he would somehow return to life without the memories or identity he had in his previous "lives." As you found out later, he had actually been incredibly influential in matters of politics, had engaged in key battles that decided the fates of entire worlds, had bargained with godlike beings, and had also been a liar, a cheat, a saint, and a homicidal maniac (among other things).
To say that the game was unorthodox is an understatement. It's true that some of the game's situations and characters (like the Nameless One's party, which included a floating skull, a clockwork automaton voiced by Homer Simpson actor Dan Castelanetta, a half-demon thief, and a full-on demon committed to being orderly and civilized) seemed intentionally designed just to be contrary to the established high fantasy of Dungeons & Dragons. But a lot of what the game did differently was also handled quite well, like how the Nameless One had three different character professions--fighter, thief, or wizard (which he could freely switch to at any time)--yet the game didn't force you to hack and slash as most other RPGs did at the time. You could also change your character's ethical alignment from neutral to good to evil to lawful to chaotic, depending on your actions, whether you lied, stole, killed indiscriminately (or to exact justice), or kept or broke vows. (We should also mention that Planescape: Torment has quite possibly the best implementation of role-playing an evil character ever to appear in a computer or video game to date.) As another example, the denizens of the Planescape universe speak something referred to as "the Chant," sort of a modified English Cockney dialect with several specific terms. By the end of the game, you'd be fluent in it, no matter how unfamiliar you were with the universe.
No, that's no dragon. It's a huge colony of superintelligent rats. Don't want to fight them? Use your wits to manipulate them instead.
What Planescape: Torment did emphasize was its story and premise, and it did so in a very intriguing way. The protagonist, the Nameless One, was immortal and apparently had the ability not only to recover from injuries, but also to somehow grow back or recover severed limbs. Later on in the game, you could experiment with injuring or even killing off the character (which was, at the time, unheard of--most fantasy role-playing games back then were an exercise in avoiding death). More importantly, the game told a very unusual story with plenty of twists and turns. Unlike in most other fantasy games, you weren't a handsome hero in shining armor looking to save the world; you were a grotesque character in a hostile and bizarre place just trying to find out who you really were. If you couldn't make this discovery, the Nameless One would continue to suffer the same fate--dying, rising from the grave, and losing his memories over and over again, and never finding out why. Yes, you had to read most of the dialogue and narrative in written word, but when you did, you'd find that the story unfolded with lots of gaps--some subtle, some obvious.
Even though the game relied heavily on written dialogue, the writing worked extremely well.
That's right, Planescape: Torment left many, many things open to interpretation, even though the writing was both concise and very descriptive. Over the course of the game, you would find yourself mentally filling in the blanks about what all the half-remembered memories and vague conversations with crucial characters really meant. How did the Nameless One recover from losing limbs? How long had this been happening to him? Just how old was the Nameless One, anyway, and what was his real name? As a result, toward the end of the game, many fans felt a strong personal connection to the Nameless One, even though the game was pretty linear. Because so much of the character's story came from your own choices and interpretations, you would eventually make the Nameless One's story your own. Despite its flaws, and by virtue of its unorthodox design, innovative gameplay, and distinctive story and writing, Planescape: Torment has rightfully claimed its place among GameSpot's greatest games of all time.


text:
Getting to Symphony Hall
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The Light of the End
The name of the composition derives from the bright sound of the antique cymbals that bring the coda of this piece to a close.
Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina was born October 24, 1931, in Chistopol, in what was then the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Republic (now The Republic of Tatarstan within Russia). Since 1992 she has lived near Hamburg, Germany. She wrote The Light of the End on a commission from the Boston Symphony Orchestra with the generous support of the Arthur P. Contas Fund for the Commissioning of New Works. The manuscript of the completed score is dated January 18, 2003. It was premiered by the BSO at Symphony Hall under Kurt Masur's direction on April 17, 2003, with subsequent performances April 18 and 19.
The score of The Light of the End calls for 4 flutes (3rd doubling alto flute, 4th doubling piccolo); oboe, English horn, heckelphone, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, trombone, bass/tenor trombone, contrabass trombone, tuba, percussion (5 players: timpani, vibraphone, marimba, tubular bells, bar chimes, glockenspiel, crotales, antique cymbals, five suspended cymbals, crash cymbals, large tam-tam, and bass drum), harp, and strings (a minimum of 20 first violins, 18 seconds, 14 violas, 14 cellos, and 12 double basses). The Light of the End is about 20 minutes long.
The name of the composition derives from the bright sound of the antique cymbals that bring the coda of this piece to a close. But despite such an optimistic title, the overall sense of the composition is dramatic. The drama is caused by the conflict between the intrinsic character of instruments—brass instruments in particular—to produce the sounds of the natural overtone and the necessity of adapting them to the sounds of 12-tone tempered tuning.
For some time I have experienced this conflict as my own drama: the incompatibility, in principle, of these intrinsic qualities with real-life circumstances in which nature is neutralized. Sooner or later, this pain had to be manifested in some composition.
The conflict in this piece arises between a theme consisting exclusively of sounds from the natural overtones and a theme that uses the 12-tone tempered scale.
The duet of French horn and cello before the central expressive tutti sounds especially antagonistic: the horn and cello play one and the same melody in different tunings, the natural and tempered. Great dissonance.
The piece concludes with the removal of this dissonance—as if by a tonic—in which the contrasts are resolved. The chromatic glissandi of the strings remove the fundamental conflict; these sounds are contained both in the natural overtone scale and in the tempered system.
—Sofia Gubaidulina, 2003
Sofia Gubaidulina's discussion of The Light of the End reveals a fundamental confrontation in her work. On the one hand there is always, as for any artist, the necessity of concentrating on technical detail, on craft, on the mechanics of putting a work together. On the other hand there is the piece's true purpose, its poetics, which can only be articulated in the end by the piece itself: the voice, the expression, of the composer in music. Sofia Gubaidulina's music has from the beginning been a balance of these two, sometimes conflicting, goals of craft and expression. The solution to this balance is rarely, if ever, easy. While she was in the midst of composing The Light of the End, the composer explained,
Every composition is enormous labor for me. That joy and inspiration at the beginning is like a vertical sound of colorful, moving, clashing chords, completely mixed up and jumbled. It is wonderful and beautiful, but isn't real. My job is to turn that vertical sound into a horizontal line. Those lines, horizontal and vertical, make a cross, and I think about that when I compose. It's still incredibly difficult. It hasn't gotten any easier, and it shouldn't be too easy. Otherwise, why do it?
Sofia Gubaidulina grew up in Kazán, the capital of the Tatar state, where her family moved when she was young. She began learning the piano at age five, and almost as immediately began composing for herself. She studied piano and composition at the Kazán Conservatory, graduating in 1954, and moved to Moscow to attend the Moscow Conservatory in 1954. Like Alfred Schnittke and many other Russian composers of her generation, and with the outstanding precedent of Prokofiev and Shostakovich, Gubaidulina made her living as a composer by writing for film, which allowed her to experiment with style, novel instrumental combinations, dramatic devices, and other tools of the contemporary composer. (Among her film credits are Scarecrow (1984), directed by Rolan Bykov, which won a prize at the Cannes Film Festival.)
In 1969-70 Gubaidulina worked in Moscow's electronic music studio and in the late 1970s formed, with the composers Viktor Suslin and Vyacheslav Artyomov, an improvisational performance group, Astraea, through which she explored the performance possibilities of obscure Central Asian folk instruments as well as those from other traditions, such as the Japanese koto and Indian percussion. The Russian bayan, a kind of accordion, has long been a favorite. Gubaidulina's preoccupation with instrumental timbre has led to many works for unusual configurations, such as her Concerto for Bassoon and Low Strings; Early in the Morning Before Waking for seven kotos; several works featuring the bayan, and percussion works including Can You Hear Us, Luigi? Look at the Dance a Simple Little Rattle Is Performing for You, a percussion piece created entirely from a trove of non-traditional percussion instruments the composer Luigi Nono had provided to his colleagues behind the Iron Curtain.
Gubaidulina has also gone beyond the acoustic limitations of the traditional Western chromatic scale by incorporating microtones into her music, either melodically as part of a non-equal tempered tuning of the "pure" harmonic overtone series or more texturally as a differently colored harmonic "pitch-field" (usually differing by quarter-tones) for a specific group of instruments among a larger group. She used a string quartet tuned a quarter-tone low among the standard-tuned orchestra in her Viola Concerto, for example.
Gubaidulina's interest in the physical world of sound parallels a complementary interest in balanced but intricate musical architecture. Like Bach and many other composers and visual artists before her, she employs the so-called Golden Section in structuring her works, using this principal of balance as metaphor for spiritual perfection. The spirituality that infuses her most important works is rooted in Christianity but rebels against many of the ossified tenets of the Church. The shape of the cross she mentions in her comments above, which is the conceptual basis of many of her musical forms, reconciles her spirituality and her works' architectural needs.
Gubaidulina's most abiding influences are to be found among the great composers of the Western world, particularly J.S. Bach. Dmitri Shostakovich is another important touchstone, as is the music of Anton Webern. Bach and Webern are both explicitly part of Gubaidulina's violin concerto, Offertorium (1980), which draws on the theme from Bach's Musical Offering and refers to Webern's orchestration of that piece.
Offertorium, written for the Latvian violinist Gidon Kremer, was the work by which Gubaidulina's music became known outside of the Soviet Union in the early 1980s. Kremer championed the piece throughout Western Europe and the U.S. Today it's among the most frequently performed concertos of recent decades. With the political and cultural thaw between the Soviet Union and the U.S. in the late 1980s, Gubaidulina began to travel outside of the Soviet Union to hear premieres of her music; she made her first trip to the U.S. for performances of her String Quartet No. 3 in Louisville in the fall of 1987. The following spring she returned for the American/Soviet Cultural Exchange "Making Music Together," which took place in Boston. At that time Kremer performed and recorded Offertorium with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Charles Dutoit. In summer 1997 Gubaidulina was a composer in residence at Tanglewood's Festival of Contemporary Music, during which several of her pieces were performed.
Gubaidulina's music has entered the repertoires of every major U.S. ensemble. Among other works, her Viola Concerto was premiered by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and violist Yuri Bashmet, and her Two Paths: Music for Two Violas and Symphony Orchestra was a New York Philharmonic commission, first performed under Kurt Masur's direction in 1999. She has written violin concertos for both Anne-Sophie Mutter and Vadim Repin. Gubaidulina was also one of four composers (the others being the Wolfgang Rihm, Osvaldo Golijov, and Tan Dun) commissioned by Helmuth Rilling and the Bachakademie to write Passions to commemorate the millennium as well as the 250th anniversary of J.S. Bach's death. Her Johannes-Passion was premiered in September 2000. In recent years Gubaidulina has stopped accepting commissions, though she has responded to requests that pique her interest and offer new opportunities for exploration. Her most recent orchestral piece is The Wrath of God (2019), which was composed for the Salzburg Easter Festival and premiered in 2020.
The origins of Gubaidulina's The Light of the End date back to the BSO's performances of the composer's Viola Concerto in April 1997, when BSO Artistic Administrator Anthony Fogg approached her about writing a piece for the orchestra. In spite of a schedule of commitments, she was so inspired by the sound of the orchestra in Symphony Hall that she agreed to the commission, with the understanding that the piece would not be ready for several more years. The Light of the End was completed in January 2003.
The large orchestra for The Light of the End features only one "odd" instrument, the heckelphone, a double reed instrument with a range falling between English horn and bassoon that fills out the range of the double reed section. The unusual sound-world of the piece is characteristic of the composer in that it incorporates microtones, or more accurately the friction between the standard, equal-tempered tuning of most of the orchestra and microtonally adjusted passages requiring natural harmonics in brass instruments. This schism mirrors others within the piece, for example that between the music of the winds versus the massed divisi strings of the opening, a texture that gradually inverts. These two passages, the one lyric, the other primarily textural, are the piece's main generative material. Lyric melody, superimposed rhythmic patterns, transparent harmonies, and dense counterpoint emerge. The piece is the process of that material's fragmentation, redeployment, and eventual dissolution, by turns austere, anguished, and beautiful.
Robert Kirzinger
Composer and writer Robert Kirzinger is the BSO's Director of Program Publications.
Andris Nelsons conducts Gubaidulina and Rachmaninoff
Symphony Hall, Boston, MA


text:
HomeAnd You Too Must Love The Convert
And You Too Must Love The Convert
by Jonathan Leener
Forward Montage / iStock
"She is hoping to convert" a parent recently told me about their son's non-Jewish girlfriend.
"That is great news! Why do you look so disappointed then?" I asked.
"I don't know. I just am. I paid all this money for Jewish day school and this is what we get…" he responded.
He didn't have to say anymore — I knew he was distraught over his son not marrying someone who was born Jewish. Unfortunately this an all too common response within the Jewish community towards conversion, especially from family members. While Judaism is certainly not a proselytizing religion, our tradition emphatically demands us to love the convert. With intermarriage rates continually increasing and Jewish engagement falling, it seems to be a precarious moment that is making it more challenging and unwelcoming to become Jewish.
Rabbi Joseph Telushkin argues in his book, Hillel: If not now, when, "For long centuries, the inclination of rabbis has been to emphasize the difficulties of being Jewish, to teach that Judaism is not interested in non-Jews assuming a Jewish identity, and to discourage converts…All that this strategy will guarantee today is that Jews will become a smaller and smaller people, much less capable of using Jewish tradition to make an impact on the world."
This is not about compromising Jewish law (it's actually more aligned with it)— it's about a change in attitude to be more reflective of our actual values. We can make Judaism more inviting and accessible without altering the seriousness and rigorousness of the conversion process. Do we honestly think that Hillel jeopardized the demands of Jewish law when he immediately accepted a convert who demanded to be converted on the condition that he was taught the entire Torah while standing on one foot? What about the sages of the Talmud who also immediately received converts after they accepted the inherent danger in being Jewish?
My work with converts has been both the most rewarding and painful aspect of my young rabbinate. I'm constantly inspired by their enthusiasm, curiosity, and dedication to Judaism that converts continually exhibit. I am also profoundly moved by the conflict and sacrifice this process demands. At the same time, I hear tragic conversion horror stories — Jewish parents wrongfully conflating conversion for intermarriage, and of course rabbinic abuse of power.
The Conversion Bill that the Israeli government approved last Sunday is just the latest example of such violation. The bill not only strips Jews of their Jewish status but it will undoubtedly dissuade thousands of potential Jews in the future. Why should everyone be forced to undergo an ultra-Orthodox conversion? This is not only inappropriate but a gross violation of our ancient sources. It's as if we've forgotten that compassion is an identifying marker of the descendants of Abraham and that King David was a descendant of a convert (Ruth).
EXPLAINED: 5 Things About Israel's Controversial Conversion Bill
Ben SalesJune 29, 2017
Denominational tension will always exist, especially as it relates to conversion issues, but perhaps we can all agree that a spirit of openness towards converts is non negotiable. If we truly believe in the redemptive power of Judaism and its ability to transform the world for the better — why would we turn away dedicated people who want to help bring that vision into reality?
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward.
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