It is Music Monday and thus time for another Vivaciously Varietal Vibe!

This week:

Flavour: Electronica/Alternative Rock

Artist: Pendulum

Album: Immersion

Song: The Island, Part 1: Dawn

Rationale: Pendulum is one of those bands who you have heard on the radio, on multiple occasions, whose music you have probably thought is great but a band whose name you have never really got around to learning.

One of the reasons for this may be because Pendulum shares a very similar sound to South Africa’s very own Zebra & Giraffe (yes the band, not the animals we have running about). Although most of Pendulum’s songs on Immersion have less of an alternative rock element to them when compared to Zebra & Giraffe, there are times when the two bands sounds uncannily alike.

The album, Immersion, is a bit of a mixed bag in terms of aural stimulation. There are songs that will give even the most conservative of people an eargasm such as the hauntingly beautiful Watercolour and Witchcraft, while others like the death metal influenced Self vs Self will leave your ears yearning for an impotence inducing muffler. Of course, this all depends on your personal taste in music. Even so, the stark contrast in tracks on this album make one wonder if Pendulum really know who they are or want to be. Personally I think that Pendulum should stick to the electronic alternative rock sound that 70% of the album Immersion is comprised of.

According to good old Wikipedia, the band originates from Perth in the ‘land down under’ and was founded in 2002 by Rob Swire, Gareth McGrillen and Paul harding. Immersion is Pendulum’s third studio album release. Click here to read more about Pendulum.

Ultimately, I think that Pendulum’s latest album Immersion is good but not great. Obviously I make no delusions to the fact that I am an avid fan of the style of music I have dubbed as hauntingly beautiful. Thus, for me, this album was worth the purchase.

Check out the  video below of ‘The Island, Part 1: Dawn’ the latest single from Pendulum and be sure to let me know what you think!

Any ideas where they got the idea from for this music video? Hint: the music video is clearly inspired by this pre-Transformers’ “I did it five years ago” directors action movie. The answer is in the song’s title. If you have no clue, click here or watch the trailer here.

As always, whenever I post about Vivaciously Varietal Vibes on Music Monday’s, simply click on the name of the song to be taken to a web page that displays the songs lyrics.

Until the next time, “Milieunairs”! 

It is Music Monday and thus time for another Vivaciously Varietal Vibe!  

• Flavour: Electronic/Dance

• Artist: Swedish House Mafia vs Tinie Tempah

• Album: Until One

• Song: Miami 2 Ibiza

Rationale: I may not be the kind of person who goes clubbing every weekend but I am definitely one who enjoys a song with a good beat. Especially one that I can suggestively gyrate my hips to. Oh yeah, that’s right!

Unlike most people, I almost never listen to the words of a song. To me, music is all about the melody, tone and beat.

Truthfully, I had no idea who or what the Swedish House Mafia was or even that they existed. Not until last week when a cousin of mine introduced their music to me. Since then, I have been hooked.

According to good old Wikipedia, Swedish House Mafia is a group of three house disc jockey’s and producers known as Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. Those who are familiar with dance/electro/techno/whatever-this-kind-of-music-is-called-now-a-days will no doubt recognise the names as some of the most influential in this particular genre of music.

Simply put, Swedish House Mafia’s debut studio album is fantastic. It is the perfect party album and I can foresee that a majority of the songs on their debut album will no doubt become ‘club anthems’ in the very near future.

The album is out this week. If you like it, buy it online via iTunes or Zune or simply head out to your nearest music store.

Check out the  video below of the latest single from Swedish House Mafia and be sure to let me know what you think!

Usually whenever I post about Vivaciously Varietal Vibes on Music Monday’s, you would be able to simply click on the name of the song and be taken to a web page that displays the songs lyrics. However, this song has no real substance since it is all about the beat (aka I could not find the lyrics).

Until the next time, “Milieunairs”!

Over the last several months, Sterkinekor Entertainment in association with MiMoney, have been teasing Twihard’s (fans of the Twilight saga movies and books) with the possibility of attending “the most exclusive party in 100 years”. Entering was easy. Simply watch New Moon and text your ticket number to a specified number. Each entry increased your chances of obtaining an invitation to the event.

Furthermore, upon entering the competition, fans would receive a text message notification with a specific code. This code could then be redeemed at the viral marketing inspired ‘Bite My Apple’ website; in order to unlock exclusive content from the movie in the form of wallpapers and screensavers.

After being psyched about the event for months, I was obviously excited to be able to attend. The anticipation factor was intoxicatingly high!

The party was held at the Taboo night club in Sandton. Impressively, the entire venue had been hired out for this “Twilight Saga: New Moon Exclusive VIP party”. The venue was an excellent choice. Having never been to Taboo before, I was immediately taken aback by the highly stylised decor, which I would describe as having a ‘gothic-chic’ feel to it. Unique and edgy, just the way I like it!

Freebies included posters from the movie, a free candy apple and, if you were a VIP guest (like yours truly), you would have been treated to your very own ‘exclusive’ area, detailed to look like the Volturi castle; including copious amounts of delicious snacks and a free bar tab until 10pm. In my opinion, VIP guests were very well looked after.

In addition to the VIP area, Taboo’s entrance hall was turned into a mock studio. Here all guests were given the option of obtaining a Team Edward or Team Jacob tattoo as well as the possibility of having professional photographs taken with a host of characters from the Twilight universe, courtesy of… wait for it… several ‘look-a-likes’. Yes… ‘look-a-likes’.

As much as I enjoyed the party and the many novel and nifty parlour tricks, I could not help but feel short changed by the experience. Look, I do not mean to appear ungrateful, because I truly do feel privileged to have been there; but as a fan, I was partially disappointed.

Truth be told, I bought into the hype. I was so excited to have cracked an invitation. The promise  of attending “the most exclusive party in 100 years”, a “once-in-a-lifetime” event so fanglorious that even the Volturi themselves would be in attendance. I simply could not wait! So why the mild disappointment? Honestly, I naively expected the cast of the movie to be there. As it so happens, I was not the only one who was under the exact same delusion.

Believe it or not, people flew in from all over the country to attend the event, all under the assumption that they would be able to meet the infamous Twilight Saga trio: the socially inept Robert Pattinson, the gorgeous Kristen Stewart and the beef caked Taylor Lautner. Even though I knew better than to expect the stars from the film to actually be at the party, I could not shake the possibility, no matter how minute, that they would actually be there to make an appearance. For this, I scornfully applaud the Sterkinekor marketing and hype machine, for they are truly talented, no matter how much propaganda was spewed in the process. However, the solemn fact remains: not once were we promised the possibility of the actual stars attending the party. This was pure conjecture created by a too eager and largely deluded fan base. After all, “when you ‘assume’, you’ll make an ass out of you and me”! In short, Sterkinekor did the best they could, given the logistical and costly nightmare of bringing A-list celebrities to our backwater country. Thus, Sterkinekor settled for second best, through the use of gifted ‘look-a-likes’.

Without a doubt, the highlight of the party was being able to mingle and take photographs with the various ‘look-a-likes’ from the Twilight Saga. On show were Edward, Bella, Jacob, Alice, Victoria and Laurent. Each ‘look-a-like’ appeared to embrace the character they were chosen to portray with absolute aplomb. ‘Bella’ frequently bounced back and forth between the lovelorn vampire and the heated shape shifter, whilst their enemies made light meals of discerning guests. In addition to the various photo opportunities, a director and film crew were on hand, shooting pivotal scenes from the movies, all the while guests partied the night away as mock ‘extras’. Too awesome!

In addition to the filmed sequences, we were notified that guests, with enough votes, could win a limited edition poster of his/her self and a twilight ‘look-a-like’, made in the vain of the New Moon film posters. How cool is that?! Apparently any professional photograph taken with the ‘Twilight Crew’, was eligible.

As it so happens two photographs, starring myself, made it into the running, out of hundreds of photographs that were taken. The photos are now available on the ‘Bite My Apple’ Facebook fan page and voting is now open. Needless to say, being the Twilight fan that I am, I would love one of my photos to be made into a poster. Consequently, I am turning to my readers for some added support.

The voting process is simple and works like this: 1 vote = 1 like. So all you have to do is ‘like’ the two photographs on Facebook in which I appear. You may vote for any other photo that is available too; some of them are actually pretty funky. If you would like to vote and help me obtain an exclusive poster, please do the following:

1. Become a fan of ‘Bite My Apple’ here: [http://bit.ly/BMAza] (Unfortunately you need to be a fan in order to ‘like’ any of their photographs)
2. Once you are a ‘fan’, please click on these links [http://bit.ly/bR55NB] and [http://bit.ly/9xyZBK]; and simply ‘like’ each photograph.
3. That’s it! You are all done! Thank you!

Although diehard fans may have expected a bit more, there is no denying that the party itself was an extravagant affair and a night many of us will never forget. Thank you to Sterkinekor and MiMoney for an experience like no other. An experience I am whole heartedly looking forward to repeating for Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, should further Twilight Saga inspired events be pursued.

Please do have a look at some of the photographs that I took while at the event:

View Full Album

Until the next time “Milieunairs”!

It is Music Monday and thus time for another Vivaciously Varietal Vibe!

• Flavour: Pop
• Artist:
  Hilary Duff
• Album: Best Of Hilary Duff
• Song: Reach Out

Rationale: There is no doubt that I am a fan of the popular genre of music more commonly known as pop. I can openly admit that I thoroughly enjoy music from, for example, the likes of Madonna  and Britney Spears. Subsequently, I have enjoyed almost all of Hilary Duff’s work.

Reach Out, in my opinion, is a great song. Probably more so for me because I cannot actually ‘reach out’ properly with my right arm. Believe me, the irony of choosing this song, in light of my current situation, is not lost. In fact, it actually reminds me that I have something to work towards. After all, my answer to Miss Duff’s question is yes. Yes, I would very much like to show you ways to workout those vocal cords ‘reach out and touch you’.

What some people may not know is that the song was produced by OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder and is built around a sample of Depeche Mode’s 1989 song “Personal Jesus”. Furthermore, Reach Out was Hilary’s third number one on the US ‘Hot Dance Club Play’ billboard and was specifically produced for the Best of Hilary Duff album, which is also the final record in Hilary’s contract with Hollywood Records.

As always, whenever I post about Vivaciously Varietal Vibes on Music Monday’s, simply click on the name of the song to be taken to a web page that displays the songs lyrics.

Until the next time “Milieunairs”!