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Jerry Cantrell recommended Paranoid by Black Sabbath in Music (curated)

Paranoid by Black Sabbath

1970 | Metal, Rock

9.0

(7 Ratings)

Album Favorite

"The other record I got into listening to at my friend's house. A lot of the records on the list were discovered around a two to three year window, at a time when I was really turned on to music. I was actively hungry, and reaching out, digesting what bands people turned me on to. I think the first Black Sabbath album I heard was actually Vol. 4. I always discover things way late, after the fact. But that's fine, I guess I like the fact of being kinda late to the party. But when it got to me, it really stuck. It's another record that I find very close to perfect. There's a heaviness and a darkness to Sabbath which I often cite as a direct influence to our sound. You can trace the bloodline, and I think you could say that of a lot of Seattle bands. Sabbath are also a very visual band, but in a different way, a lot more visceral. I've read interviews where Ozzy was saying they were trying to make horror film soundtracks, and that makes sense to me. Cause the themes were always pretty dark and pretty bleak, and they pulled their punches thematically and lyrically. Tony Iommi is also one of my favourite guitarists and very influential to me."

Source

Kudos

Honest Life by Courtney Marie Andrews

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Album Watch

After a decade spent at the height of the music industry, touring solo and with large pop bands,...

folk

Omegas in Power (Omegas in Power #1)

Sai Fox

10.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Grayson Valins should have the world at his feet. Born to one of the wealthiest families in Seattle,...

MM Romance Mpreg Contemporary Omegaverse

Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated A Star Is Born (2018) in Movies

Jul 2, 2019

A Star Is Born (2018)

2018 | Drama, Romance

8.3

(71 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Bradley Cooper lays the triple threat by not only starring, but directing and co-writing the script for this 4th time retelling of a tragic story of love, music, and addiction. Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper), a superstar struggling with addiction on a downward spiral falls in love with a rising star named Ally (Lady Gaga), who is trying to make her musical mark in the world all while saving the man she loves.

One night after a show, Jackson Maine drunkenly wanders into a drag bar and becomes completely enamored with Ally’s sultry voice after she belts out La Vie En Rose. It didn’t take long to realize the vulnerability that connected the two artists. The wounded soul of Jackson’s past and Ally’s heartbreak from constant rejection by the large music companies because she doesn’t look like a Barbie doll. The following day, Jackson flies Ally to one of his shows, and invites her to sing with him on stage together. Realizing the audience loves them and the chemistry they exude on stage, it’s only makes sense for Ally to join Jackson on tour and begin making beautiful music together. The chemistry carries off stage as the two quickly fall in love, get married, all while Ally’s career begins to take off.

Ally, however, is ill-equipped to deal with Jackson’s addiction and the demands that come with being a superstar, trying to juggle home life and her career. Proud of his wife’s success and still suffering from his own demons, Jackson in the end realizes his inability to come up for air is holding her back.

Bradley Cooper has proven that he is just as talented behind the camera as he is in front of one. All the agony, the pain, raw emotions Cooper demonstrated in this character, I would be very surprised if he didn’t receive any recognition come awards season. Even with such a stellar performance by Cooper, Lady Gaga was the absolute show stopper. She commanded the audience’s attention with her voice, her quick wit, her natural realism of codependency. She was born to play Ally.

We already knew that Lady Gaga and her singing chops where going to be a major focal point in this film, but who knew Bradley Cooper could sing? Cooper, who said he flew to Seattle to consult friend Eddie Vedder, frontman for Pearl Jam, on how to “aesthetically become a musician, and all the inner workings.” The breathtaking musical performances made you feel like you were live at the concert. I almost found myself clapping at the end of a couple of numbers.

When you see a movie and find yourself just sitting there in awe as the end credits roll by, unable to move, you realized you’ve just seen magic. From the music, to the supporting characters, the editing……..every element was sheer perfection!

Kudos

Duff McKagan recommended 1999 by Prince in Music (curated)

1999 by Prince

1990 | Rock

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Album Favorite

"I was turned on to Prince sometime around 1980. I really love For You and Prince and Controversy and Dirty Mind, but there was something about 1999. A lot of heroin was going through Seattle, and while I wasn't using, a lot of people were getting strung out: my friends, my roommate, my girlfriend, my band. We had just signed to Jello Biafra's record label and were going to be the next big thing, but a couple of the guys got strung out and it was the end of the band. It was 10 Minute Warning, who were a precursor to Soundgarden and Green River and all of that. I was heartbroken, man, seeing all this stuff going on around me, and I knew I had to make a decision. Then 1999 came out in 1982, and I just dove into the record. I loved Little Red Corvette. It may be the most perfect three-chord song ever written. But it was the deeper tracks that I loved most. I would get off work and come home and just play the record and it was my escape. Everybody has that record that 'saved their life', and 1999 gave me the courage to stand on my own two feet. It gave me the courage to leave. I knew my car wouldn't make it to New York, but I knew it could get me to LA. Somehow it encouraged me to do that on my own, and it was scary, but I knew music was going to be my thing."

Source

Kudos

Broken Horses

Brandi Carlile

8.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

The critically acclaimed singer-songwriter, producer, and five-time Grammy winner opens up about a...

Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Broken Horses in Books

Aug 12, 2021

Broken Horses

Brandi Carlile | 2021 | Biography, Gender Studies, Music & Dance

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

A great memoir for music fans

BROKEN HORSES is Brandi Carlile's story. She grew up poor in Seattle, moving constantly as a child. Her family was musical, giving Brandi a love of music as a young child. She knew was gay since she was a teen--something that wasn't always appreciated in her rural town. She tells her story from childhood, where her love of music began, to coming out, to her marriage and life with her two children, to her musical successes.

"I was a mean, scrappy little trailer girl with the wrong clothes and a very sensitive soul that I was hiding behind a bravado that I had developed performing onstage."

I adore Brandi Carlile and have for a long time. Having such a talented out singer in our community makes us all feel proud. "See her, she's one of us!!" Having followed Brandi's career from the beginning, I know a decent amount about her. Hence my problem with a number of celebrity memoirs I read: if I read a memoir about someone I really love and already know a lot about them, if they write a fairly superficial memoir, I only learn so much.

Don't get me wrong, Carlile has written a good and interesting book. She's a fascinating person, and I enjoyed learning about her rather wild journey. I didn't know much about her childhood, so I found those pieces to be the most intriguing. She was a wild and tough kid, who was so musically talented from the beginning. Imagine being one of the people who heard her perform in a pageant or talent show when she was a young kid or teen!

After going through her coming out story, Carlile talks about her musical career, and it's all really amazing, but sometimes feels fast and glossed over. I always love knowing the history of songs, but would have liked knowing more details about things. We skip over full albums, time periods, and more. And, as many celebrity memoirs do, it often feels a bit preachy and overly me-oriented at times (something she'll laughingly and freely admit to). When we get to her meeting her wife, it's a fun story, but also really quick. Still, it's so nice to see a queer woman's story so normalized, and to have someone talk about gay motherhood so matter of factly.

Overall, I'm so glad Carlile decided to share her thoughts on her life. She's such an amazing individual who has lived such an intense and fascinating life so far. I wish she had gone more in-depth with her stories at times, but this is still a great book and certainly worth your time. At some point, I hope to get the audio version, as she sings versions of the songs she discusses in each chapter.

I read this book as part of my new reading project--choosing books off my shelves based on their Goodreads rankings. This is my second book of the project, forcing me out of my comfort zone and to try books in genres I don't usually read!