Change

I like Taylor Swift, I really do. Don't worry, I can see your shocked face. You're wondering why a girl who has *slightly* unnatural obsessions with certain rockbands (cough...the killers...cough...coldplay) is also a fan of a little country singer whose lyrical range goes from boys to boys, to boys who she likes, to boys who broke her heart to, well, boys. I must say, you have a valid point. I think the reason I like her is that she is a breathe of fresh air in the otherwise self-obsessed music industry. After winning the Grammy for Album of the Year, she un-ashamedly jumped up and down screaming and hugging her mom on worldwide TV. Perhaps I like her more as a person than as a singer, if that makes any sense at all. However, her lyrics are cute, and her tunes are infectious, they are the perfect type of thing to dance around your room to while you're getting ready to meet the girls for a night out. But for some reason, tonight her little fairytale love songs are making me want to puke. I underwent rather a drastic change in music from the whole of the album Fearless to suddenly blasting "This Is War" by 30 Seconds To Mars. Must have been a bit of a shock to anyone watching my "nowplaying" status on G-Talk.

Anyway, that's my little rant for the night, and for the record, I still love Taylor, and I'll listen ti her again when today really is a fairytale.

The Best And The Worst

I have been listening to the charts this morning, on the radio, and have decided to share my favourite and least favourite songs from this week's charts.

The Toastings:

"Letters From the Sky" - Civil Twilight. Civil Twilight are a three-piece rock band originating from none other than our very own Mother City, Cape Town. In my opinion, this song is reminiscent of both Muse and The Fray, which turns out to be a very good mix indeed! Watch out for these guys, they are going to be big!

And The Roastings:

"Superfast Jellyfish"- Gorillaz. Okay, I can accept that I am going to get some hating from posting this as the worst song of the week, especially in light of the fact that this band has just replaced U2 at the Glastonbury Festival...

The thing is, I just do not like this song! To me, it does not even sound like a real song, more like something that could be used as a jingle on a commercial fishcakes or something like that. Also, the lyrics make absolutely no sense to me. It seems that they have thrown a bunch of random ideas together to see what happens. Don't get me wrong, sometimes seemingly unconnected ideas make for a great part of a song ("the teenage queen, a loaded gun, the drop dead dream, the chosen one, a southern drawl, a world unseen, a city wall and a trampoline"). I have researched the song, and apparently it may be about ocean pollution. So maybe I'm just not clever enough for this song.

Ignorance Is Her New Best Friend

Oh the escapades these rockstars get up to! Seems the victim of the latest scandal is Paramore lead singer, Hayley Williams. Apparently, last night, her twitter account was hacked, and a topless picture of her was posted. Although she removed the picture as soon as she could, rumour has it that the photo was taken by the 21-year-old herself. Now the big question is, how did the hacker get hold of a photo like that in the first place? Guess we'll never know. Apart from thanking her fans for all the support, Hayley has kept quiet on the issues ever since a tweet saying that she was hacked.

Of course, it's not really any of our business, is it? Celebs are entitled to do exactly as they wish, and exactly as they'd do if they were not famous. Just because they are in the public eye, doesn't mean that they should have to act like saints. I'm just saying. (And yes, I am a fan of the band, just in case anyone was wondering. And yes, if it was someone like Miley Cyrus I'd probably she was the biggest hoebag in the world)

Entertainment News Of The Week

I feel like I am neglecting my blog! When I started it, I had all intentions of reporting all interesting entertainment news, however it seems that it has turned into my own personal ramblings about various entertainment-related issues. So let's wrap up the week in entertainment news:

1) U2 has been replaced at Glastonbury Festival by animated group "Gorillaz". This announcement comes following U2 frontman Bono's back surgery a few days ago. The aging rocker appears to have sustained an injury while on tour. (Yes, I just called Bono an aging rocker, because yes, he is aging, and no, I am not a fan of U2)

2) Lee DeWyze has won season 9 of American Idol. I had not been following this season at all (well, I don't exactly have DSTV in my flat, ya know!), but I knew who the finalists were through the endlessly useful Trending Topics list on Twitter. It seems that runner-up Crystal Bowersox was the more talented of the two, but DeWyze won the hearts of the public. Not all the public, though; American Idol experienced a 16% drop in viewership this season finale. Well, after 9 seasons, just how interesting can a show be? Don't get the wrong impression though, I have nothing but respect for American Idol after seeing it discover the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry and Adam Lambert.

In Another Life

LOST SPOILERS FOR THE FINALE...CAN'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU

An era has ended, farewell LOST, and Rest In Peace. Never will there be anther show quite like this one. Never will I need to use my brain while watching tv the way I have had to with this show. Never again will characters and storylines draw me in as much as the Losties have.

The level of confusion in Lost has long been the butt of many jokes, by fans and critics alike. To point out just one example, I stumbled across a picture of Josh Holloway (Sawyer) bearing a caption that reads “Don’t ask me, I’m on the damn show and I don’t have a clue”. Said picture is now the desktop background on my laptop (remove your judging face, please). But tonight, questions were answered, character arcs closed, and reveals all came to a head in the last ever episode of this epic piece of storytelling.

So what can I say about The End? Well firstly, I retract my statements about how this was a “lame title”. Clearly “It Only Ends Once” would not have worked because, well, clearly it does not only end once! What we have been calling the “Alternate Reality”, and the powers that be have been calling the “Flash Sideways” was actually neither. It was a reality constructed by the Losties, once they had all died, in which they were able to find each other, as the people they met on the island were the most important people they ever met in their lives. The island was real, there was no case of “it was all in Hurley’s crazy head”, “it was all in Vincent’s head” or “it was all MIB playing an evil little game”. The island was real, the people were real, and the relationships they forged were real. The deaths were real, the heartache was real, the battles were real. And it all ended perfectly full circle with Jack dying in the exact same place where he woke up after Oceanic 815 crashed all those years ago. Okay, where is that shocked face, found it, okay, now put it back on…yes, I said JACK DIED! Beautifully. It was all extremely poetic. The episode as a whole was put together beautifully as well, really, I think the only word to describe the episode as a whole is “beautiful”. The montages of the characters as they each had their defining were extremely moving, I think that even the robot that I am may have teared up if I hadn’t been on such an adrenaline high. I screamed at the screen when Jack got stabbed, it was the first time I’d ever been on his side in a fight. I lost (excuse the pun) count of how many times I said “awww”. I also lost track of the amount of times I wondered how they would wrap up the show in so little time! I was so happy to see old familiar faces; Charlie, Boone, Daniel and all the others that popped up along the way. Hurley’s tears broke my heart, as did hearing the “Life and Death” theme song, which has now stuck itself comfortably in my head. Oh, and I was beyond extremely happy to see Richard alive, but screamed more than a bit when I though Crazy Claire was going to shoot him...

In The End, Lost wasn't about the mythology; why Waaaaaalt was special, what the light was, why Aaron shouldn't have been Raised By Another, who got shot in the outrigger shooting, how time travel worked, or why there was a statue of an Egyptian god on the island. It wasn't even about what the island was, or why Jacob was special. It was about the characters, the people whom we'd grown so attached to over the years while we'd watched them love, lose, live together, and in some cases, die alone. It was about the relationships they'd forged, and the times they'd spent together. Because isn't that the only thing that matters in the end anyway? The fact is that life isn't about what we do, but about the people who we do it with.

I think the reason I became so attached to Lost was that I associate it with happiness. I discovered it at a time when I was truly happy, after being extremely unhappy for a long time. The week I spent on holiday when I started watching Lost was the best week of 2008 for me. Everytime I think back on good times, that is always one of them, and so Lost just gets equated with being happy. Also, I must just point out that I was extremely excited to see certain celebrities such as Rob Thomas, Dave from Lady Antebellum, Neil Patrick Harris and Hayley Williams tweeting about the finale!

I loved the finale. I thought it was an amazing and fitting end to an amazing show, and I have no complaints whatsoever. Finally, I’d just like to offer my thanks to the brilliant brains behind this show that has made us laugh, cry, scream and lose sleep over the past years. As I said before, there will never be another show quite like LOST.

Should I Rather Say Nothing At All?

Allow me to pick my jaw up from the floor...no, hold on, it's still on the floor...okay, now that I can speak again, let me tell you what I'm on about.

Irish singer Ronan Keating has announced that he is splitting from his wife of 12 years, Yvonne Connolly. SAY WHAT? Rumour has it that the split comes after Ronan got close with a blonde dancer, 10 years his junior, and the Boyzone member has reportedly moved out of the house he shared with Yvonne and their three children, Jack (11), Marie (9), and Ali (3).

Even though I am shocked, I wish Ronan the best in the future, I met him for five minutes in 2006, and he came across as nothing but a nice guy.

One time Boyzone manager, and friend Louis Walsh as expressed shock at the news. Boyzone split in 2000, but reformed in 2008 for a tour and greatest hits album, and also recently released a new album entitled "Brother" in the wake of the death of member Stephen Gately in October last year. The second single from the new album, called "Love is a Hurricane" was released a few days ago.

Decode This One

Dear Earth, stop turning for a moment...Robert Pattinson has cut his hair! I can already hear the sobs of Twilight fan-girls everywhere, lamenting the loss of their heartthrob's golden 'do.

The 22-year-old appeared on The Ellen Show recently, sporting a brand new hairstyle. When asked about it, he joked that he'd had an infestation of lice, and that is why he'd had to chop it off. Well, at least we hope he was joking, but seeing this is the same man who admits to not showering very often, and not washing his hair much, I have my doubts. Apparently the real reason RPatz went military-style is that he is working on a new movie, called "Water For Elephants" (uh...okay then Rob).

At the risk of being stoned by Rob's fans, let me take this opportunity to establish myself as 100% Team Jacob (although I resent having to be team either of them...can't I be Team Carlisle or something?).

The End

Warning: Lost spoilers for 18 May episode

I had planned to have a blogpost reviewing the latest episode of Lost, one sharing my nostalgic Lost love, a bit like my Heroes farewell past, and one next week about the finale, but I decided to merge the first two in this post.

But before I get onto the awesomeness that was "What They Died For", allow me to complain for just a second. I read what the title for the finale is, and in my opinion, there is only one word for it: "Lame". Seriously, with all the options out there, this is the one they choose?! Why not "Everything That Rises Must Converge", "Destiny Found", "He Who Will Save Us All", "It Only Ends Once" or "All These Things That I've Done" ? Alright, enough moaning now, I'll just put on my apologetic-ashamed-damon-and-carlton-you're-still-genuises face sit in a corner and wait to be lynched. I think I'm just bitter that we never got an episode called "Our Mutual Friend".

As for "What They Died For", the one word that describes this episode had to be "awesome". After the mixed reaction to last week's "Across The Sea", I am yet to see one single negative remarks about this week's episode. And rightly so! It seems that Desmond is the catalyst in bringing the two realities together, and I just love seeing him being all cunning in his plots to bring all the Oceanic 815 people together! The on-island storyline was just as good, with Jack (altogether unsurprisingly) taking over Jacob's position as protector of the Island. The thing that I am most eager to find out, is what the hell that smoke monster did to Richard! I hope with all my heart that he is not dead, and simply waiting in the bushes to appear at a crucial moment (and perhaps applying some eye-liner). For what it's worth, I'm team Richard Is Alive.

Now for my emotional Lost tribute:

Well, I am by no means a nerd. I am a huge lover of everything pink, fluffy and girly. My friday nights are most happily spent on the town or visiting with friends. The most technological thing I know how to do is tweet. Yet somehow, give me an episode of Lost and i become fan-nerd extraordinaire. I will analyse it, ponder it, you name it, and I'll do it. I'm one of those people who will smile to themselves when they see one of the Numbers, and will smile even more when they meet someone with the same name as a Lost character. I'm one of those people who can tell you the names of all the actors in Lost, and tell you facts about each of them. I can tell you how/when and why they auditioned for Lost, and why they left the show. I'm one of those people who started watching FlashForward, The Vampire Diaries and V all because they had former Lost cast members in them. I am happily obsessed.

But how did all of this start? June 2008, I had just finished my exams, and was on holiday with my family....and a laptop containing the first season of this show called Lost. It had always been something vague in the background that people talked about, but it had never interested me, until one day I was procrastinating, and decided to download the first season. The rest, as they say, is history. I got through the season in just over a week, and rented the first half of the next season from the video shop. As soon as I could, I downloaded all the episodes that were out, which at that time was four seasons worth. Lost was amazing, I loved it. From the very idea of a plane crash on a deserted island, to the mystery, intrigue, and brilliant acting, everything was just perfect. I'll admit to shouting at the screen many, many times, to being traumatised when Boone died, to being in denial when Charlie died, to almost tearing up when the Kwon's died, and to watching the latest episode hours before an exam. Yes, Lost has taken up much of my time in the past two years, and my friends say things like "was that a Lost quote...how did I know? well, because it came out your mouth!" My Lost watching era is about to come full circle, I will watch The End just two weeks short of two years after I watched the Pilot.

And now, this post is much too long, if you actually got to the end....hold on a second, this reminds me of in Lost, when.... wait, I won't do that to you! ;)

*Edit* I found this beautiful edit of the exact photo that I used for this post originally, so I just had to use it instead! (He really does not wear eyeliner though)

Is This The Future?

I'm no authority on the organisation or activities of bands, but really, one would think that if you are the sole member of a band, you'd just keep your name? Make sense? No? Okay, let's backtrack a bit...

Popular synth-driven pop project Owl City is composed of just one member: 23-year-old Adam Young. Young has now announced that he will release an album entitled "An Airplane Carried Me To Bed" under the name Sky Sailing. Confused? Yeah, so am I.

The new project will see Adam's vocals on songs which have a focus on guitar and piano sounds rather than the synth-pop sound that seems to have defined Owl City. But really, would it not be easier and less confusing for all involved if he just kept the name Owl City? This name is already so widely known, that there is sure to be confusion when the new album is released on the 13th of June, and I can already anticipate many comments of "OMG this dude sounds just like Owl City".

Having listened to the sample of one of new songs, I honestly can't say I hear any difference, except for the fact that it's a little slower than Owl City's songs. This said, I do look forward to hearing this new project of Adam Young's, as I am a big fan of Owl City.

Just Because I'm Losing, Doesn't Mean I'm LOST

The finale of LOST (and by "finale" I mean last episode ever) airs on Sunday the 23rd of May. I have long had the idea of making use of twitter's #musicmonday trending topic to share my favourite Lost songs, and I was going to wait until next Monday to do it, but I just could not help myself, so here goes:

1) Oasis- Wonderwall. In the episode entitled "Flashes Before Your Eyes", Charlie pops up singing this song on the streets of London, and is seen by Desmond. In the episode called "Greatest Hits" Charlie is seen singing the song again. I am by no means an Oasis fanatic, but I will admit to downloading and becoming fond of several of their songs after hearing this one on Lost.

2) Joe Purdy- Wash Away. This song can be heard during a character montage at the end of the season 1 episode "Tabula Rasa". I tried several times, unsuccessfully, to download this song after hearing it on Lost, and eventually decided to use my brain (and Adobe Audition) to rip the audio straight from the episode. Score one to my brain.

3) Mama Cass Elliot- Make Your Own Kind Of Music. This is the song which is played when we first meet Desmond in "Man Of Science, Man Of Faith". Lost executive producer Damon Lindelof says that he chose this song because when he was younger his mother used to play this type of music and cry while she cleaned the house (no, I don't have a comment on that remark!).

4) Petula Clark- Downtown. At the beignning of season 3, another main character introduction takes place during a song. In "A Tale Of Two Cities", we see Juliet for the first time, trying not to cry as Petula Clark urges her to go Downtown.

5) Michael Giacchino- Win One For The Reaper. I just had to make mention of my favourite piece of Lost instrumental soundtrack music. This piece became the life and death theme song in the show. First heard in "The White Rabbit", it can be heard several times throughout the seasons, for example during Boone's death, as well as the death of the Kwons. And how did I know that Sayid wasn't really dead in "LA X"? Well, there was no life or death theme in the background, of course!

#MusicMonday

Seeing as today is Monday, I thought I would take a leaf out of twitter's book and make some song recommendations.

I have recently found myself strangely fascinated by country music, which is extremely odd, as my usual tastes range from soft rock, to rock to, uh...alternative rock. I think I have been converted by Lady Antebellum. I clearly recall once sitting in my car, humming "Need You Now" to myself, and then suddenly it started playing! Soon after that I saw their performance at the Grammy's and became even more hooked on the song. Recently I have come into possession of their full album, and have definitely taken a shine to "American Honey".

Further to this deviation from my usual music taste, I have also found myself listening to the likes of Katie Melua and Norah Jones a lot more than usual.

I am always happy to discover new music though, so the more I deviate, the better!

Gone, Baby, Gone

Finally, some sense is coming back into the world! Twitter has updated its alorithm for choosing trending topics, so that it now finds topics which have the biggest spike in tweets, as opposed to simply whatever is popular. The biggest impact of this so far has been the removal of "Justin Bieber" from the trending topics list, after his almost constant stay over the past few weeks.

But his sneaky fans, termed "Beliebers" always seem to find a way! A new trending topic of late is #pattiesson, with Pattie being not a new pet name for Robert Pattinson, but the name of J-Bieb's mother.

It Won't Be Soon Before Long

Maroon 5 have announced that they will release their third album, to be called "Hands All Over" on the 21st of September this year. This will be their first release since 2007's "It Won't Be Soon Before Long". The first single, entitled "Misery" is set to be released on the 28th of June. The new album includes a song called "Out of Goodbyes", which features country band Lady Antebellum, who recently gained mainstream popularity with the success of their single "Need You Now". Rumours abound that this may be the band's last album, following comments by frontman Adam Levine that he had no desire to keep on touring into his 40's and 50's "like the Rolling Stones".

Maroon 5 has, however, also announced a forthcoming North American tour, which will be supported in part by Owl City.

Having seen Maroon 5 in action on stage in December 2008, I can safely say that these concerts are sure to be no less than amazing.

Neutron Star Collision

British alternative rock band Muse will release their brand new song "Neutron Star Collision (Love is Forever)" tomorrow, the 17th of May. It has been chosen as the lead single from the soundtrack of the third installment of the Twilight Saga, Eclipse. It comes as no surprise that Muse features on the Twilight Saga soundtrack for the third time, as author Stephanie Meyer frequently cites them as her favourite band, and indeed, her muse.

In the meantime, a 30 second clip of the song is available on youtube, for those fans who are just incapable of waiting another day.

Other bands who will feature on the new soundtrack include The Bravery, Florence and the Machine, and Vampire weekend.

Punk rockers Paramore will not contribute to the Eclipse soundtrack, even though they feature prominently on the Twilight soundtrack, with "Decode" being the lead single.

This Is Like A Flash...uh, Forward

Oh dear, hot on the heels of the cancellation of Heroes, comes the announcement of the end of another popular tv show, FlashForward. While Heroes at least got four seasons, it seems that FlashForward will be no longer after just one season.

Not having seen the end of the season yet, I can't make a judgement as to whether or not ABC is justified in axing their new sci-fi baby so soon. But if it's true that FF was started simply so that Lost fan's would have something to watch once Lost was over, surely this cancellation is just slightly premature?

On the topic of Lost, e!online reports that Sonya Walger (FF's Olivia and Lost's Penny) had expressed hopes of recruiting Henry Ian Cusick (Lost's Desmond) to FF so that the super-couple could live on...hmm, maybe in an alternate reality? Perhaps Dominic Monaghan (Simon/Charlie) can even guest star in an episode of V or Vampire Diaries.

On a happier note, it seems that NBC's Chuck is safe for at least another 13 episodes.

La mer, qu'on voit danser le long des golfes clairs

The 15th episode of the 6th season of Lost aired on the 11th of May 2010. "Across The Sea" received a reaction that can only be described as "polarizing". The episode centered around the origins of Jacob and the enigmatic Man In Black, and also answered several of the "fundamental mysteries" Lost: who is this Man In Black? Who were "Adam and Eve"? What needs to be protected on the island? In my opinion, the episode was one of the best of the season, however, I was soon to find out that I was in the minority.

It seems that this was an episode that you either had to love or hate, no in between. And this was acknowledged by executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, the latter of whom tweeted "is polarizing a bad thing?". The two later also commented that they liked the episode, although they knew that locating it so late in the season was a risk.

Personally, the only gripe i have with the episode is the title...I think that it should have been called "Beyond The Sea". Don't know what I'm on about? Well, remember the song Shannon sang at the end of the episode entitled "Whatever The Case May Be" ? The song was "La Mer", the English version of which is "Beyond The Sea", I think it would have been a rather poetic title for this episode.

Somebody Told Me

The Killers are on a hiatus. Generally, when a band goes on a hiatus, they have a break. Separate for a few months or years, then re-unite for another album/tour, etc etc. But when has this band ever done anything general? Just two weeks after frontman Brandon Flowers announced his plans to release a solo album entitled "Flamingo", the entire band performed at a charity function hosted by ARK (Absolute Return for Kids). They also auctioned off their trademark "K" which was seen on their stage during every concert of the Day & Age tour. Word has it that the K sold for 250 000 pounds. Now there's one dedicated fan!

No More Heroes

"Where does it come from? This quest, this need to solve life's mysteries when the simplest of questions can never be answered. Why are we here? What is the soul? Why do we dream? Perhaps we'd be better off not looking at all. Not delving, not yearning. That's not human nature. Not the human heart. That is not why we are here."

NBC has decided to cancel Heroes, citing decreased viewership and high production costs as the reasons for not renewing the show for a 5th season. Word is, however, that there may be a mini-series or movie which will wrap up the loose ends left at the end of season 4.

I am speaking blindly now, not having seen season 4, or indeed the end of season 3. The thing is, i think that this show ran at least two seasons longer than in should have. I fell in love with Heroes the first time I saw a trailer for it on tv...what a great premise for a show, a group of unconnected, completely ordinary people discover that they have amazing abilities, and now they have to save the world. Oh, and they all end up being inter-connected or meeting along the way. I eagerly sat down to watch it on a wednesday night at 8.30pm, don't quote me on the day, but I believe it was the 15th of May 2007 [wow i just realised that was exactly 3 years ago today, full circle... ]. I was hooked immediately. It was my first real tv obsession; I knew the names of all the characters, i knew the names of the actors who played them, i was really attached. I sat inches away from the tv screen, screaming and grabbing my pillow when it got tense. I went on mxit to talk to my Heroes-addicted friends, set my status as in love, and proceeded to become completely absorbed for an entire hour. The season one finale left me on the edge of my seat, I couldn't wait for the next season.

Nikki and Jessica, Isaac, Hiro, they became constants! I loved Sylar, even when he cut people's heads open...even when he cut Isaac's head open! He was just so wonderfully evil.

Sadly, season two disappointed me a lot. As much as I tried to be a loyal fan and say that it was great, i knew in my heart that it wasn't. Still, I persevered. Later I re-watched all the seasons with my mom, who loved it too.

But eventually I gave up, it just didn't grip me anymore.

Today, when I heard that it was cancelled, I downloaded the 4th season with hopes of watching it in the holidays. Who knows, maybe my old obsession will be sparked once again...