M Is FOR MASHUP - RERUN - February 6th, 2013
Bootleggers Celebrate Worlds' Greatest Divas!
By DJ Useo
One of the best features of the SoundUnsound mashup forum
( sound-unsound.com/ ) is that it releases 4 or 5 mashup collections a year. Me, Chocomang, and mARKYbOY, acting under our authority as moderators take turns picking a theme for the album, and then we coordinate the release in conjunction with the pre-release team. We feel it works out for the best to have as much input as possible on issues like pitching and timing. I'm sure it would be different if at least one of us was omnipotent, but since that would raise the bar to an unreasonable level, we share the praise and the blame. After past successes like
the 70s album
( www.groovytimewithdjuseo.blogspot.com/2012/04/sus-70s.html ),
two complete volumes of 80s mashups
( groovytimewithdjuseo.blogspot.com/2011/04/all-new-sound-unsounds-uk-80s-mashed.html ),
( www.groovytimewithdjuseo.blogspot.com/2012/09/soundunsound-80s-mashed-2.html ),
a punk collection
( groovytimewithdjuseo.blogspot.com/2012/01/never-mash-punk-rock-mashup-album.html ), and many more over the past 5 years, I chose the latest theme of DIVAS.
Divas struck me as a very appealing theme, much more so than the wonderful, but not so widespread appeal of the
SURF mashup album
( groovytimewithdjuseo.blogspot.com/2011/10/sus-mash-wave-new-surf-mashups-album.html ) . I still adore that one and play it plenty, but I was looking to pull in more listeners with a DIVAS comp. I've heard from a good batch of listeners that they'd like to hear more tracks featuring the best of the female performers. I've also seen some very popular blogs devoted to exposing us to more DIVAS music. So, I dropped my thought of doing an electro-themed comp, and boldly declared the DIVAS theme. I may be pushing it, or not, but I set a normal deadline (for me) of six weeks. It's not a problem if we need to extend it, as I suspected we might, since the deadline period fell over Christmas and New Years. The response surprised me, though, because the DIVAS theme really got a great response from the potential mixers. It seems many of us bootleggers hold the divas music in high regard, and welcomed the chance to honor them.
Within days of the DIVAS comp announcement, I began to get GREAT tracks. Pilchard, a long-time favorite bootlegger of mine dropped an instant classic right away with his Shirley Bassey/Prodigy mix. My instructions to use the DIVAS singing over any kind of music was perfect for Pilchards' purposes, resulting in a track that set a high standard for everyone following him. Some contributors, like Chocomang, Sjoersie, and mARKYbOY found themselves right at home to such an extent that they delivered as many as 5 tracks! Meanwhile, I quickly discovered that doing a DIVA mashup takes hard work. My problem was I normally start any mix with the music and then decide on the vocals later. In this case, I was required to start with the vocals, and then finish by adding the instrumental music.
It didn't take long for me to abandon a Barbara Streisand / Donna Summers acapella. I just couldn't get the 'feel' for it. Next up, I thought I was on the right path with Destiny's Child singing "Bootylicious" over the Doors "Touch Me". Unfortunately, the pitching gave me some probs, so I moved on to newer tracks that seemed to click effortlessly.
Over the next few weeks, I came up with seven terrific mashups that I felt very confident about. I dropped two of them, & we went with the five best. I was knocked out during much of the deadline period with that badass flu we all caught, but luckily, Chocomang was thriving so he picked up tons of loose slack resulting in 2 complete discs of finestkind mixes. The final record features awesome mixes by topnotch talent like ToTom, Rappy, DRA' man, Oki, Alan Black, and Tweylo. There's even wonderful tracks by some skilled 'newbies' (at least to me) like Ayee Mashup, and MashupBambi. On top of that there's tracks by DJ Mashup, DJ MXR, 2 of the most experienced, and gifted bootleggers out there.
Do yourself a favour and check out the large, full playlist here
( chocomang.org/mashup/NeverMashADiva.htm )
There's mirrored links for both discs, and also for Chocomang's two long mix versions. No charge!
Remember, it's 'SoundUnsounds' "NEVER MASH A DIVA".
Mix Of The Week
DJs From Mars do EXCELLENT mashups, but they also excel at long mixes. 'Djs From Mars - Alien Selection 2012 09 27' shows them at their gosh darn best. It's chock full of mashups, bootleg remixes, & the best modern pop you'll hear.
Listen, or stream here
( soundcloud.com/djsfrommars/djs-from-mars-alien-5 )
Mashup Tip
Don't concern yourself about what others want. Mix tracks according to what you want.
Latest Useo Thing
'Misery For Me' (James Talk, Ridney Feat. Max'C vs Good Charlotte vs Steve Aoki)
Dancey electro with gripping vocals.
( official.fm/tracks/805Q
Podgornio, The Mashup Psychic Predicts
Next Month, French bootlegger ToTom will make a track so good, that it will actually blow up!
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
David Bruce: Wise Up! Theater (Athens News)
In 1962, the play "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" was considered rather risqué. Kate Mostel, who was married to the play's star, Zero Mostel, happily remembers overhearing a young boy in the audience ask, "Mom, what's a eunuch?"
David Wong: "5 Ways You're Sabotaging Your Own Life (Without Knowing It)" (Cracked)
When you were little and people asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up, what did you tell them? Did you stick with the standard "doctor" or "veterinarian," or did you shoot for the moon with "pop star" or "astronaut"? Whatever it was, I'd say for about 95 percent of you the answer is hilarious in retrospect (I told my parents I wanted to "out-funk Prince").
David Wong: Robin Williams and Why Funny People Kill Themselves (Cracked)
You ever have that funny friend, the class clown type, who one day just stopped being funny around you? Did it make you think they were depressed? Because it's far more likely that, in reality, that was the first time they were comfortable enough around you to drop the act. The ones who kill themselves, well, they're funny right up to the end.
Decca Aitkenhead: "Robin Williams: 'I was shameful, did stuff that caused disgust - that's hard to recover from'" (Guardian; from 2010)
His new film, World's Greatest Dad, is a glorious return to form. But a mournful Robin Williams would rather talk about his battle with drugs and alcohol - and recovering from heart surgery.
Simon Jenkins: "Robin Williams: the sadness of a clown that couldn't be fixed" (Guardian)
Williams, like many others, struggled with addiction and personal demons. Mental illness is a great leveller - but is still too little understood.
Tanner Colby: Dada's Boy (NY Magazine)
According to the book, Farley's talent ran far deeper than the public ever knew. "Chris was never captured in either movies or TV as good as he was onstage," says one of his former directors at Second City. "He was too explosive. He just seems flat in all those movies. It's like watching a large animal in a cage."
Chris Nashawaty: THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIS (Entertainment Weekly)
[In] July [1997], at a Planet Hollywood opening in Indianapolis, Chris Farley, sweating profusely, grossly overweight, and acting completely out of it, was hamming it up for the crowd by dousing himself with a bottle of milk like an Indy 500 race winner on a calcium bender. At least one friend of Farley's saw nothing amusing about the sloppy spectacle. He pulled the actor aside and said, ''Hey, you gotta take it easy.'' Farley flashed one of his trademark naughty-boy grins and then uttered the ultimate Hollywood cliché, ''I want to live fast and die young.''
Cosmic Flower unfolding (Vimeo)
"Ben Ridgway is an Assistant Professor at San Francisco State University with 15 years of experience as a professional animator, previously working on video games for Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft consoles. Ridgway's latest film, the mesmerizing Cosmic Flower Unfolding, has won multiple awards and is making the rounds in film festivals worldwide." - Neatorama
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog
David Bruce's Lulu Storefront
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has approximately 50 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
wrote:
took the day off.
has retired(?).
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
from Marc Perkel
BartCop
Hello Bartcop fans,
As you all know the untimely passing of Terry was unexpected, even by
him. We all knew he had cancer but we all thought he had some years
left. So some of us who have worked closely with him over the years are
scrambling around trying to figure out what to do. My job, among other
things, is to establish communications with the Bartcop community and
provide email lists and groups for those who might put something
together. Those who want to play an active roll in something coming from
this, or if you are one of Bart's pillars, should send an email to
active@bartcop.com.
Bart's final wish was to pay off the house mortgage for Mrs. Bart who is
overwhelmed and so very grateful for the support she has received.
Anyone wanting to make a donation can click on this the yellow donate
button on bartcop.com
But - I need you all to help keep this going. This note
isn't going to directly reach all of Bart's fans. So if you can repost
it on blogs and discussion boards so people can sign up then when we
figure out what's next we can let more people know. This list is just
over 600 but like to get it up to at least 10,000 pretty quick. So
here's the signup link for this email list.
( mailman.bartcop.com/listinfo/bartnews )
Marc Perkel
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Computer pitched a hissy.
Muzzling Science Advisers
EPA
Journalist and scientific organizations accused the Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday of attempting to muzzle its independent scientific advisers by directing them to funnel all outside requests for information through agency officials.
In a letter Tuesday, groups representing journalists and scientists urged the EPA to allow advisory board members to talk directly to news reporters, Congress and other outside groups without first asking for permission from EPA officials. An April memo from the EPA's chief of staff said that "unsolicited contacts" need to be "appropriately managed" and that committee members should refrain from directly responding to requests about committees' efforts to advise the agency.
The scientific advisory board's office had asked the EPA to clarify the communications policy for board members, who are government employees.
"The new policy only reinforces any perception that the agency prioritizes message control over the ability of scientists who advise the agency to share their expertise with the public," the groups wrote.
The groups signing the letter include the Society of Professional Journalists, the Society of Environmental Journalists, Investigative Reporters and Editors, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Society for Conservation Biology, American Geophysical Union and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
EPA
First Anniversary
Al-Jazeera America
Al-Jazeera America marks its first anniversary on the air next week, and if you haven't watched much, you're not alone.
The news network has recorded some startlingly low ratings and recently shown signs of retrenchment with layoffs and by cutting some live newscasts. Al-Jazeera America has also won awards for its work, seen some recent audience growth and its chief executive insists a steady growth plan is on target.
After several unsuccessful years trying to get its English-language network carried widely in the United States, the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera bought and closed Al Gore's Current TV network last year and set up the U.S.-focused AJAM to replace Al-Jazeera English in the U.S. It is now available in nearly 60 million cable and satellite homes, just over half the U.S. market.
Al-Jazeera America won Peabody Awards for documentaries on cholera in Haiti and a deadly factory fire in Bangladesh. The network had six first-place finishes in the National Headliner Awards, which honors notable journalism. Two weeks ago, the National Association of Black Journalists honored AJAM for "creative, compelling, character-driven storytelling."
Al-Jazeera America
Fields Medal
Maryam Mirzakhani
Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani on Wednesday became the first woman to be awarded the Fields Medal, mathematics' equivalent to the Nobel Prize.
The professor at Stanford University in California was among four Fields Medal recipients at the International Congress of Mathematicians held in Seoul, and the first female among the 56 winners since the prize was established in 1936.
Mirzakhani, 37, was born in Tehran and lived there until she began her doctorate work at Harvard University. She said she had dreamed of becoming a writer when she was young, but she pursued her enthusiasm for solving mathematical problems.
Mirzakhani was recognized for her work in understanding the symmetry of curved surfaces, according to the Stanford site.
The other three Fields Medal winners on Wednesday were Artur Avila of the National Center for Scientific Research in France and Brazil's National Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics; Manjul Bhargava of Princeton University and Martin Hairer of the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.
Maryam Mirzakhani
German Artists Switched Flags
Brooklyn Bridge
Two German artists have claimed responsibility for replacing American flags on the Brooklyn Bridge with faded white versions last month in a bizarre urban mystery that exposed holes in security at one of the city's most enduring landmarks.
Berlin-based Mischa Leinkauf and Mattias Wermke said Tuesday that they hoisted the hand-sewn white flags onto the 131-year-old bridge's neo-gothic stone towers as a celebration of public art in "the global center of creativity." They said they switched the flags early on July 22 to commemorate the 145th anniversary of German-born Brooklyn Bridge architect John August Roebling's death.
In a statement, the artists said they "were careful to treat the bridge and the flags with respect," but they didn't address potential criminal liability from the project. They said they followed U.S. Flag Code in their handling of the American flags they removed and were returning them.
The New York Police Department said it was aware of the artists' claims but wouldn't confirm their validity or say whether investigators had identified the artists as suspects before they came forward.
Brooklyn Bridge
White House Loosens Restrictions
Lobbyists
President Barack Obama is loosening restrictions on lobbyists who want to serve on federal advisory boards, a White House official said on Tuesday, a setback to the president's efforts to tamp down special interest influence in Washington.
Obama came to office pledging to curtail the sway of lobbyists and banned lobbyists from serving on such panels, which guide government policy on a range of topics ranging from cancer to towing safety.
The president said he was doing so because the voices of paid representatives of interest groups were drowning out the views of ordinary citizens.
But many lobbyists felt they were being unfairly tarred by Obama's campaign to keep them out of public service. A lawsuit challenging the ban was initially dismissed, but a District of Columbia Circuit Court in January reinstated it.
A spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget said the administration was revising its earlier guidance on lobbyists serving on federal advisory panels to clarify that lobbyists may now serve on such panels when they are representing the views of a particular group.
Lobbyists
Doesn't Want Alcohol At Gun Show
NRA
The National Rifle Association has finally found an expansion of gun rights it doesn't like: selling alcohol at gun shows.
The powerful lobbying group is opposing a Texas proposal to allow the sale of booze along with firearms. But the N.R.A., which has pushed for more guns to be allowed in schools and in bars, is not arguing against the idea on the premise that guns and alcohol are a potentially dangerous mix.
Instead, the N.R.A. is pooh-poohing the plan because it comes with too many strings attached, according to an alert sent Tuesday by its legislative action team.
In particular, the N.R.A. is taking issue with parts of the rule that would restrict events from being held in private facilities like hotels, as well as bans on"live ammunition." And not only would the guns have to be unloaded, they would have to be disabled to a point where they were not "readily convertible for use as a firearm," the N.R.A. wrote.
NRA
Withdraws From Locarno Festival Amid Protests
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski has pulled out of the Locarno Film Festival after the announcement that he would receive a lifetime achievement honor sparked protests.
In a statement released by the Locarno festival, Polanski said: "Dear Friends, I am sorry to inform you that having considered the extent to which my planned appearance at the Locarno Festival provokes tensions and controversies among those opposed to my visit, even as I respect their opinions, it is with a heavy heart that I must cancel my visit. I am deeply saddened to disappoint you."
The 80-year-old director of such classics as Chinatown and The Pianist is still wanted in the United States on 40-year-old statutory rape charges. When the Swiss festival said it would give Polanski a special lifetime achievement award this year, it triggered a backlash among those who believe he should be sent back the U.S. to face trial.
Polanski was also scheduled to introduce his most recent film, Venus in Fur, at an outdoor screening in Locarno's Piazza Grande on Thursday, accompanied by the film's star, Polanski's wife, Emmanuelle Seigner. On Friday, he was scheduled to give a filmmaking master class for festivalgoers and young filmmakers attending the Locarno Summer Academy.
The Locarno Festival called the opposition to Polanski's visit "unacceptable interference of some in the artistic liberty of the festival." It added: "We are greatly saddened that the public will thereby be deprived of an important opportunity for cultural enrichment."
Roman Polanski
Denied Protections
Wolverines
U.S. wildlife managers on Tuesday denied federal protections for rare wolverines, outraging conservationists but pleasing Western states that opposed adding the reclusive but feisty member of the weasel family to the endangered and threatened species list.
Last year the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed applying Endangered Species Act safeguards for the estimated 300 wolverines left in the Lower 48 states, most of which inhabit the high country of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
The service had said global warming was reducing mountain snows the animals use to dig dens and store food.
But on Tuesday federal wildlife managers said there was "insufficient evidence" that climate change would harm wolverines, which resemble small bears with bushy tails and which are known for their ferocious defense of their young.
Noah Greenwald, endangered species director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said Tuesday's decision was part of a disturbing trend by the Obama administration of managing imperiled wildlife based on pressure by states and industry instead of science.
Wolverines
Ancient Tomb Unearthed
Greece
Archaeologists have unearthed a vast ancient tomb in Greece, distinguished by two sphinxes and frescoed walls and dating to 300-325 B.C., in the country's northeast Macedonian region, the government said on Tuesday.
It marks a significant discovery from the early Hellenistic era, although a Culture Ministry official said there was no evidence yet to suggest a link to Alexander the Great, who died in 323 B.C. after an unprecedented military campaign through the Middle East, Asia and northeast Africa, or his family.
The official said the Amphipolis site, situated about 100 km (65 miles) northeast of Greece's second-biggest city Thessaloniki, appeared to be the largest ancient tomb to have been discovered in Greece.
Archaeologists, who began excavating the site in 2012, expect to enter the tomb by the end of the month to determine out who was buried there.
Greece
In Memory
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall was a movie star from almost her first moment on the silver screen.
A fashion model and bit-part New York actress before moving to Hollywood at 19, Bacall achieved immediate fame in 1944 with one scene in her first film, "To Have and Have Not." Leaving Humphrey Bogart's hotel room, Bacall - a lanky figure with flowing blond hair and a stunning face - murmured:
"You don't have to say anything, and you don't have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow."
With that cool, sultry come-on, not only was a star born, but the beginning of a legend, her title burnished over the years with pivotal roles, signature New York wit, and a marriage to Bogart that accounted for one of the most famous Hollywood couples of all time.
Bacall died Tuesday at the age of 89 in New York, according to the managing partner of the Humphrey Bogart Estate, Robbert J.F. de Klerk. Bacall's son Stephen Bogart confirmed his mother's death to de Klerk. She was pronounced dead at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center at 5:21 p.m. Tuesday, according to Kathleen Robinson, the hospital's media relations director.
The Academy-Award nominated actress received two Tonys, an honorary Oscar and scores of film and TV roles. But, to her occasional frustration, she was remembered for her years with Bogart and treated more as a star by the film industry than as an actress. Bacall would outlive her husband by more than 50 years, but never outlive their iconic status.
They were "Bogie and Bacall" - the hard-boiled couple who could fight and make up with the best of them. Unlike Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, Bogart and Bacall were not a story of opposites attracting but of kindred, smoldering spirits. She was less than half Bogart's age, yet as wise, and as jaded as he was. They starred in movies like "Key Largo" and "Dark Passage" together, threw all-night parties, palled around with Frank Sinatra and others and formed a gang of California carousers known as the Holmby Hills Rat Pack, which Sinatra would resurrect after Bogart's death.
Not until 1996 did she receive an Academy Award nomination - as supporting actress for her role as Barbra Streisand's mother in "The Mirror Has Two Faces." Although a sentimental favorite, she was beaten by Juliette Binoche for her performance in "The English Patient."
She finally got a statuette in November 2009 at the movie academy's Governors Awards gala.
Bacall was born Betty Joan Perske in the Bronx on Sept. 16, 1924 and was raised by her Romanian immigrant mother after her parents split when she was a child (her mother took part of her family name, Bacal; Betty added the extra L when she became an actress.)
As a young woman, Diana Vreeland, the famed editor of Harper's Bazaar, thought she was ideal for fashion modeling, and Bacall appeared regularly in the magazine. The wife of film director Howard Hawks saw her on a magazine cover and recommended her as film material, and she went to Hollywood under a contract.
Hawks became her mentor, coaching her on film acting and introducing her to Hollywood society. He was preparing a movie to star Bogart, based on an Ernest Hemingway story, "To Have and Have Not," with a script partly written by William Faulkner.
By this time she had acquired the professional name of Lauren, though Bogart and all her friends continued to call her Betty.
Work led to romance. The 23-year age difference (he called her "Baby") failed to deter them, but they faced a serious obstacle: Bogart was still married to the mercurial actress Mayo Methot, with whom he engaged in much-publicized alcoholic battles. She was persuaded to divorce him, and the lovers were married on May 21, 1945.
"When I married Bogie," she remarked in a 1994 interview, "I agreed to put my career second, because he wouldn't marry me otherwise. He'd had three failed marriages to actresses, and he was not about to have another."
Still, she appeared in a few films without Bogart: "Confidential Agent" (with Charles Boyer) "Young Man with a Horn," (Kirk Douglas) and "How to Marry a Millionaire," with Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable.
She had son Stephen in 1949 and daughter Leslie in 1952. She also became active politically, joining her husband in protesting the Hollywood blacklist of suspected Communists and campaigning for Democrats. Few could forget the picture of her slouched on top of a piano, long legs dangling, while Harry Truman - then vice president - was seated in front of the keys.
But the party began to wind down in March 1956, when Bogart was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus. On the night of Jan. 14, 1957, Bogart grabbed his wife's arm and muttered, "Goodbye, kid." He died in the early morning at the age of 57.
After a period of mourning, Bacall became romantically involved with Sinatra. When an "engagement" was mistakenly leaked by press agent "Swifty" Lazar," the singer blamed her, and he terminated the romance.
Still mourning for Bogart, Bacall left Hollywood in October 1958. She made a film in England, and did a critically panned play that was significant because she would meet her second husband during her time on Broadway: Jason Robards Jr. He was similar to Bogart in that he was an accomplished actor, hard drinker - and married. After Robards was divorced from his second wife, he and Bacall married in 1961 but Robards' drinking and extramarital affairs resulted in divorce in 1969.
"Applause" in 1970 and "Woman of the Year" in 1981 brought Bacall Tony awards. Among her later movies: "Murder on the Orient Express," ''The Shootist" and Robert Altman's "Ready to Wear." She played Nicole Kidman's mother in the 2004 film "Birth," and in recent years appeared as herself in a cameo for "The Sopranos."
For decades she lived in Manhattan's venerable Dakota, where neighbors included John Lennon and Yoko Ono. She was ever protective of the Bogart legacy, lashing out at those who tried to profit from his image.
Bacall became friends with Faulkner when he was writing scripts for Hawks. One of her prized possessions was a copy of Faulkner's Nobel Prize acceptance speech on which he wrote that she was not one who was satisfied with being just a pretty face, "but rather who decided to prevail."
"Notice he didn't write 'survive,' " she told Parade magazine in 1997. "Everyone's a survivor. Everyone wants to stay alive. What's the alternative? See, I prefer to prevail."
Lauren Bacall
In Memory
Charles Keating
Charles Keating, a British-born Shakespearean actor who was amused by the fame that came with being an American soap opera star on "Another World," has died, his son, Sean Keating, said Monday. He was 72.
Keating, who was diagnosed with lung cancer three years ago, died Friday in his home in Weston, Connecticut, with family members including his wife, Mary, and his other son, James, at his side, Sean Keating said.
"He had promised my mom when he was first diagnosed that he would make it to their 50th anniversary. He made it almost to the hour" on Friday, Sean Keating said. The couple was married on an Oklahoma Army base after Keating was drafted, he said.
Keating, who in the 1980s was on the daytime serials "All My Children" and "As the World Turns," won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1996 for his role as villainous Carl Hutchins on NBC's "Another World."
Although Keating primarily considered himself a stage actor, he was able to enjoy the attention he got from playing Hutchins from 1991-99.
The London-born Keating moved to Canada with his family as a teenager and then to the United States, where he worked briefly as a hairdresser before he turned to acting, at which he worked steadily throughout his life, his son said.
He was with the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, then moved back to England to found a theater company in Sheffield. He later worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and on British TV, including the acclaimed series "Brideshead Revisited."
Other credits include the film "The Thomas Crown Affair" and the TV miniseries "Edward & Mrs. Simpson."
Besides his wife and sons, Keating is survived by six grandchildren.
Charles Keating
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