Review thriller live

D’Angelo is cut from a heavier cloth than the majority of his New Jack brethren: He’s a singer/songwriter with a mellifluous, sturdy voice that can coo and growl with equal conviction. He’s no trailblazer — Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and Prince have all walked down the same musical paths where D’Angelo meanders. Yet he manages to build on the examples of the masters. No matter how delicate or dusty sounding a track may be, D’Angelo flips the script with B-boy savoir-faire: He makes the nasty rhythms bubbling underneath his multilayered love songs seem old and new at the same time. Call him an ndegéocello (Swahili for “free as a bird”), a rebel soul. The title track, “Brown Sugar,” oozes into the ears with dark, gooey, molasses-like texture. Bolstered by the smoky sounds of a tricky old stage organ, D’Angelo sets the mood here for the rest of his album; his highly agile falsetto vocals merge with the gutbucket rhythm mélange. Like lotion applied to dry skin, this sonic … [Read more...] about Brown Sugar

W hen Steven Soderbergh began work on The Knick – his gritty, historical medical series for Cinemax, set in New York City in 1900 – he enjoyed replicating the era’s look, fashion and stomach-churning surgical practices. But one of the few things that was far too ghastly to replicate was the music. “Oh, it was horrible,” he says with a laugh. “Aesthetically, it’s a really cool period, but the music was absolutely boring and not interesting. Ragtime had just started – and there’s a tiny bit of that in the background of some scenes – but other than that, there was nothing good.” So the director turned to the only person he thought could give The Knick a unique sound: his frequent collaborator, Cliff Martinez. As the director filmed the show, he had been using shimmery EDM flourishes that Martinez had written for the 2012 teensploitation flick Spring Breakers and some of the composer’s wiry synth lines from his own 2011 pandemic disaster film, Contagion , as temporary … [Read more...] about Blood Brothers: Inside the Music of ‘The Knick’

Alamy Robert Axelrod , the voice of Lord Zedd and Finister in the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," has died. Robert's agent said, "It is with a heavy heart that we write that client, Robert “Bob” Axelrod passed away yesterday in Los Angeles at the age of 70." Axelrod played Lord Zedd in the flesh in "Mighty Mophins Power Ranger: Live" in 1996. His career was layered with characters ... he played more than 150 over the years. He was featured in "Digimon" and "Samurai Pizza Cats." He wrote more than 50 episodes of 'Pizza Cats.' Robert was a well-known guitarist in the early '70s ... playing folk rock and soul. He was also a singer before becoming a famous voice-over actor. Getty His agent said, "Robert enjoyed meeting his fans and inspiring them to follow their passions. His beautiful and kindred soul will never be forgotten and we take comfort in knowing his memory will live on in all those he inspired, met and knew." Rober was born … [Read more...] about ‘Mighty Morphin Power Ranger’ Robert Axelrod Dead at 70

When D’Angelo last visited Oakland in the spring of 2000, he was steaming from the deafening acclaim given to Voodoo , and the impact of his glistening naked torso in the “Untitled (How Does It Feel).” Backed by a troupe that featured drummer Questlove and producer James Poyser, he thrilled a sold-out crowd at the Paramount Theater, but his burgeoning sex symbol status nearly overshadowed a masterful performance. A little over 15 years later, D’Angelo returned to downtown Oakland’s Fox Theater for the first night of his U.S. tour in support of his lionized comeback album, Black Messiah . (Much of the audience arrived late after watching their hometown favorite Golden State Warriors lose a heartbreaker in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, and so they missed an opening set by promising Australian singer-songwriter Meg Mac.) This time, he didn’t strip off his shirt, instead opting for a series of modestly effective costume changes to complement his black T-shirt, pants and boots, like … [Read more...] about D’Angelo Electrifies at Triumphant Second Coming Tour Opener