Review: Skrillex & Diplo – Where Are U Now (with Justin Bieber)

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Lately I have been hooked on lightweight music. Or, as I like to call it, manele. Everything from David I’m Trying To Become a Second Fabio Guetta (whom I loathe desperately), Nicki Minaj, Jason Derulo and even the notorious Chris Chick Beater Brown have been on repeat on my playlists.

But one of these songs stands out the most.

Where Are U Now, a beautiful collaboration between Gimme Me UR Flashdrive Skrillex I Forgot To Comb My Hair Again and Diplo I Like to Bully Skinny Chicks With More Money Than Me, employs the soft vocals of Justin I’m an Arse Bieber.

By now, if you’re not familiar with the genre or this particular song, you might be tempted to start throwing stuff at me. But wait!

If you want a song about devotion, vulnerability, fear, emotion and hope, despair and instability, you’ve come to the right place.

Skrillex fulfills his part beautifully, by not abusing his trademark sound. Instead, he establishes a base line for the track, on which Diplo starts building and, boy, does he build!

The instrumental part of the song mirrors the two sides of a coin – very different at a first glance, but when together, they mesh beautifully.

Now, you’ll say „But wait! There’s that prick, Bieber! I don’t wanna listen to that!”. I’ll understand you completely.

It’s exactly what I said the first time I heard about the song, but my curiosity won and I pressed play. I never pressed stop after that, and that’s coming from someone that avoids with fervor each individual that worked on this track.

Justin Bieber‘s vocals are the final touch of an otherwise amazing song. He is alone, he is disappointed, he is waiting for a sign. At times, his voice makes me think he is asking God some explanations for his times of absence. At times, he makes me feel like he is reprimanding a stray lover. At times, he makes me cry, he makes me feel sorry for him and most of the time he makes me fall in love with the song over and over again.

And if this isn’t the sign of a good song, I really don’t know what it is…

Please, enjoy responsibly.

Niciodată

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Culori prea tari
Și sunete adânci
Mă macină din suflet
Și până sus pe stânci
Și eu nu știu ce caut,
Dar poate știu ce pierd,
Și-n sinea mea tot plâng
Și tot mă cert…
Ca cerul e prea sus,
Și poate prea albastru,
Că nu cred în Iisus
Și nici în Daniil sihastru
Și poate că îmi place orezul cu creveți
Și statul până noaptea la povești,
Dar toate astea poate că nimic nu-nseamnă
Dacă nu te am pe tine și la toamnă.

Și cel mai sigur e
Te vreau și după-aceea,
Când zăpușeala trece,
Și trece și femeia,
Când vine iarna, primăvara și vara
Inc-odată,
Eu nu te voi lăsa să pleci.
Nu. Niciodată.

Review: Rihanna – Bitch Better Have My Money

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Y’all have seen the new bat shit crazy stuff that happens in RiRi‘s new video, Bitch Better Have My Money, right? Draped with XY chromosomes of the Mads Mikkelsen and Eric Roberts variety, hung by perfectly aligned siliconed boobs, her latest visual (because make no mistake – it is a visual) trip is hauntingly weird, violent, saucy and sassy, and maybe there are few more definitions, which I don’t really recall right now.

You wanna see Thelma & Louise circa 2015, updated with 90s couture and golden locks? You wanna see pointy shoes with translucent plastic heels on a boat? You wanna see Rihanna shooting at the cellphone she just used? Then, my friend, you came to the right place.

Also, if you wanna hear RiRi’s angst from Man Down, a little more polished and a little more mature, Bitch Better Have My Money is your tune. I, for one, can’t wait to hear R8!

Castigatori I AM THE ROCKER

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bmi_i am the rockerAm primit la concursul organizat impreuna cu Phoenix Entertainment cele mai faine intamplari pe care mi-a fost dat sa le aud, dar am primit si comentarii intarziate. Din respect pentru persoanele care s-au incadrat in limita de timp (30 iunie), aceste comentarii au fost aprobate, dar nu au fost luate in considerare.

Pentru restul povestilor, din fericire, s-a inventat random.org ca sa ma ajute sa aleg cele mai tari patanii concertistice. Marele castigator a fost, in opinia mea, Remus, pe care il felicit pentru curaj si sper ca a luat corigenta la economie. 🙂
Cu ajutorul lui random.org, am extras si ceilalti doi castigatori din lista de comentatori (dupa ce in prealabil l-am eliminat pe Remus) – Drgs si Cezar.

Toti trei castigatorii vor fi contactati pe email.

We are the rockers, I guess! Ne vedem la festival! \m/iamtherockerlogowebsite2

Concurs I AM THE ROCKER

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In ultima vreme, e tare greu cu muzica. Si stiti de ce e greu? Publicul s-a desensibilizat total, concertele sunt must see doar ca sa te vada Facebookul ca ai dat check in, nu pentru ca inseamna ceva formatia (sau formatiile, in cazul festivalurilor) pentru tine, si cam atat.

Nu mai e ca pe vremuri, cand se strangea toata gasca de la bloc, cu mic, cu mare, la zilele orasului. Nuuuuu, acum lucram in corporatii, mergem la Roger Waters si Andre Rieu, si avem grija de publicam asta pe toate retele sociale.

Ultima data cand am fost la un festival mare a fost in 2010, la Sonisphere. Traiasca Rammstein, am zis, si m-am bucurat de fiecare clipa din ziua aia.

Acum mi se da sansa sa vad live o gramada de formatii, multe dintre ele facand parte dintre gasca celor care m-au ajutat sa-mi depasesc natura sclifosita de adolescent atotcunoscator.iamtherockerlogowebsite2

Anul asta avem prima editie de I AM THE ROCKER. Ce inseamna asta? Inseamna mult rock intre betoane, pe 4 si 5 iulie, la Romexpo. O sa avem o zona speciala pentru bloggeri, cu wi-fi gratuit la viteze mari, fara delimitari de genul Golden si Normal Circle, iar apa plata va fi gratuita pentru toti participantii.

In plus, se pregatesc concursuri de tot felul (Best Dressed Rocker, Best Tattoo, Air Guitar Contest, Beer Championship, Bungee Jumping, zbor cu tiroliana, si multe altele), food court, salon de tatuaje, parcare speciala pentru motociclete si biciclete, camping pe 2 zile (la doar 9 lei), targ de merch si handmade, zona de lounge, si din casca mi se sopteste ca vor fi si alte surprize pentru cei veniti la festival.

Ca sa va lamuriti muzical, avem asa:

  • 4 iulie: Black Star Riders (The New Thin Lizzy), Kamelot, Celelalte Cuvinte, Kempes, Soulfly, Carcass, Hang the Bastard, White Walls, Breathelast, Goodbye to Gravity, Hatemode, Negative Core Project si Diamonds Are Forever
  • 5 iulie: concert aniversar Dream Theater, Skindred, Myrath, Terrana, Mayhem, Arkona, Odd Crew, Dirty Shirt, Days of Confusion, QuantiQ, Kistvaen, Target si Blutrina.

Sounds good to me!

Daca si pentru voi numele astea au acelasi impact pe care il au si asupra mea, va invit la concurs. Pun la bataie 3 invitatii duble pentru voi, oferite de Phoenix Entertainment.

Ce trebuie sa faceti? Sa-mi spuneti intr-un comentariu care a fost cel mai ciudat/dubios/nebun lucru pe care l-ati facut vreodata si care are legatura cu un concert sau festival. Indiferent ca ati fugit de-acasa pana la Sziget, ca ati facut crowd surfing sau ca ati dat toti banii de chirie pe bilet, vreau sa stiu tot!

Daca povestea voastra e una prea smechera ca sa o trec cu vederea, va castiga din partea mea una din cele trei invitatii. Restul de doua le voi oferi cu ajutorul lui random.org, pentru a da cat mai multe sanse si celorlalti participanti. Daca vreti o sansa in plus, va invit sa dati share concursului pe Facebook/Twitter sau orice folositi voi, si sa-mi lasati linkul in comentarii.

Singura conditie pe care o am este sa folositi o adresa de email valida, pentru ca altfel nu voi putea sa „impart” premiile. Daca vreti mai multe detalii despre festival, le gasiti pe pagina oficiala.

Astept povestile voastre pana pe 30 iunie, si pe 1 iulie voi afisa castigatorii pe blog si pe Facebook. Succes!

Review: Margaret Atwood – The Handmaid’s Tale

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the handmaid's taleI devoured, in the most literal sense or whatever, The Handmaid’s Tale. This dystopian depiction of a sad, alternate, maybe future reality was my undoing for about two days, because that’s how long it took me to finish reading this gem. Basically, after what was about 10 or 12 hours of violent torture, psychological in manner, I finished the masterpiece of Margaret Atwood.
To say it defies society is the least of your problems. With a material that echoes the depths of 1984 and Brave New World, The Handmaid’s Tale tells the story of an unnamed woman appointed as a (shocker!) handmaid in the house of a Commander, in order to (real shocker!) bear his children.
If the depiction of the sanitary sex scenes won’t perturb you, I really don’t know what will. If you find amusing the living arrangement of an old wife with the assigned mistress, I’m pretty sure your sense of humor is faulty. If you think religious power is the best, then maybe this book spells out the best future for you, so maybe you should give it a go.
But above all else, Margaret Atwood‘s piece transcends its bleak tones and finds a way to leave an impression on you.
The unnamed protagonist and narrator, identified as Offred – because she belonged to Fred (get it?!), goes back and forth to a past when she was allowed to read, have a job, disagree with her husband and raise her child, as opposed to a present time diluted by war, famine, infertility and religion.
Everything is just survival, but not the „zombies gonna getcha” type. People learn to survive the rule of not speaking unless asked to, women learn that they are only walking wombs, coquetry is not permitted, of course, and neither are alcohol, tobacco and coffee. Clothes are meant to inspire chastity, legs are not meant to be shaven and eyes are bound to look only down.
The Handmaid’s Tale is a difficult read, especially for someone that enjoys the benefits of a colorful wardrobe, as opposed to the „uniforms” presented in the book, and the mere triviality of having money and use them as you please seems distant and obliterated in this book.
Offred‘s prison-like room sometimes reminded me of Winston‘s apartment in 1984, and her thoughts loudly reflected his. With great terror I assisted to a very misogynist way of living, one that scared and scarred me, and Offred‘s thoughts were so female-like, that sometimes I thought „am I that crazy? am I truly like that? are all women like that?!”.
Margaret Atwood surprised in an indecent Polaroid of the times the hate, the fear, the magical behind the reason of being a woman, and she did this effortlessly beautiful.
Here’s to never having the chance of experiencing this.

Review: Rhiannon Frater – As the World Dies Trilogy

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I am very much a fan of zombie lore, so whenever I find something worthy of my time, I tend to finish it in a second. Or maybe two weeks, because, you know – job, and real life obligations, and stuff.
Rhiannon Frater‘s As the World Dies is my first time reading a zombie novel written by a woman. And since her trilogy is so army-versed, it was very easy for me to get immersed in this universe, because all of the gun crazy talk felt very appropriate.
As-The-World-Dies
The First Days is the first volume of the As the World Dies trilogy. The start is a bit shaky, but soon enough you find yourself a new pair of bad ass Thelma and Louise, stranded in Texan land, with zombie hordes following them diligently.
We meet Jenni and Katie, one a battered woman and one a prosecutor. Two girls that have nothing in common, except loss and the will to live, not just survive. The writing is also shaky this first book, but it gets so much better with Fighting to Survive, the second installment.
Book No. 2 finds them surrounded by survivors who look up to them, in a society determined to make the most out of this bleak situation. Maybe, if The Walking Dead wasn’t so keen on killing all the fans favorites, it would sound and feel like Frater’s trilogy. But thank god it doesn’t, because this girl knows what she’s saying and we needed something this good in our lives.
Rhiannon Frater plays out easy psychology with talent, and grows her characters into bad asses with natural pen-work. She masters the build up in a manner that never suggests that something big is going to happen. Her last book, Siege, is basically an avalanche waiting to happen, but you’d never guess that, after reading Fighting to Survive.
Of course, the author cannot help but kill off important characters, beloved ones even, because this is the Zombie Land and we are spared no tears, but Frater is very good at managing loss and gain when it comes to her characters.
As the World Dies might be a bit feminist, especially when placed into a world laced with the undead, but it’s a necessary read for all the zombie fans out there. You have beautiful, albeit one dimensional, female characters, LGBT representations, men without the annoying, unnecessary machismo, courage, fear, wilderness, pure evil and death by numbers. Rhiannon Frater’s universe is almost complete, so why not be a part of it?