The heavy on the synthesizer pop act Lights, also known as Valerie Poxleitner, has been getting a lot of hype for not even having a full length release out yet.It could be solely from her beauty seeing as she is capable of turning one or two hundred heads, but in all honesty this girl is more than just a looker.She is a musician and has the voice to prove it.
The Canadian born singer actually wrote her first song when she was only eleven years old.At twenty-two Valerie Poxleitner was discovered when she casted to be a model for corporate giant bastards Wal-Mart.The modeling supervisor asked if she was a musician while looking at a picture of the hopeful model holding a guitar.Without hesitation she began to sing for them and the rest is pretty much history.
Her songs were first featured in Old Navy commercials and before long,Lights was playing the Facebook party at the 2009 SXSW, appearing on Canada’s MuchMusic, and even playing live for MTV.After grabbing a Juno award for being the best artist of 2009 she jumped on board for a summer tour with the Van’s Warped Tour.All of this happened within a four year period and Lights is still going. With plans on releasing a full length album this September and also acting as a supporting artist for a Fall Keane tour, Lights certainly as a lot on her plate.
So what is the hype about Lights you ask?Trust me I was asking myself the same question.While at the Warped Tour this summer I missed out on seeing this Lights act everyone was talking about. I read the schedule wrong and completely missed her set.Finally I have obtained a copy of her EP and I must say it was an interesting listen.
Opener “Ice” reminded me of all the cheap pop acts out there I just never cared for.You know, the one time Mousekateers that grew up to be pop stars that have everyone else do the work for them while they look pretty.I had to keep reminding myself that this was an honest musician.This song aside from the poppiness was catchy and I loved the Vanilla Ice throw in.
“Drive My Soul” was down shifted a few gears from the opening track as was “February Air”.At times I though of Gwen Stefani when she ditched No Doubt to go solo.The one song I actually enjoyed was “I Owe You One”, a thank you song for someone special.I think if Ben Gibbard did some back-up vocals on this track it would have been awesome.I guess it’s me, but I feel the song was very reminiscent of The Postal Service.
Think of a modern day Cyndi Lauper, Tiffany, or Debbie Gibson with keyboards galore and that pretty much sums up Lights.Honestly while listening to the EP I kept hoping for Lights to break into “Goonies Are Good Enough” cover.All I could image was 80’s style throughout the six songs.It was just too much for me.
Björk may be Lights’ most major influence but there is not any egg laying on the red carpet crazy experimental anything going on in this EP.It is straight forward syth-pop music for all the pop fans out there and not for me.
Lights certainly has an amazing voice, and the looks as well. I think it is just the music that backs her vocals that turned me off from most of the tracks.I think with a full band backing her she would sound amazing in my ears and others for that matter.With her full length debut The Listening dropping in a little over a month I can honestly say I am curious to see what is to come.
We all know what happened today… The world paid tribute and said goodbye to one of the most important people in music history. Michael Jackson you will be missed.
A lot of people remembered Michael Jackson today. I chose to not watch the media circus that was the public viewing/memorial for the late singer. Instead I hung out at work all day and tried to keep up with all the memories going on in my head.
With all of the memories going on in my mind about Michael Jackson one seemed to stick out over the others. The memory is not even of a song that Michael Jackson created or a movie that he was in. The memory is a song by the experimental act Negativland.
The song is called “Michael Jackson”. I used to listen to it all the time…
It’s no news that everyone has heard about the late pop-star Michael Jackson. The King of Pop is no longer with us.
I really was not going to blog about this instance because everyone already is and I was not quite sure what I really had to say about it.
Twitter was overloaded with updates and Facebook seemed to have endless comments but fans as well as people who thought it would be a good time to start with the jokes.
This morning I thought maybe I should just post something about the musician seeing on how he had a pretty big influence on me musically as I grew up.
I was getting a tattoo yesterday when I found out. I was just killing some time during the process and checked Twitter where I started seeing posts that Michael Jackson was taken to the hospital, then rumors of his death followed by statements of the artist falling into a coma. Finally it was confirmed, Michael Jackson died from cardiac arrest.
I did not know what to think at the exact moment it hit me that the pop star passed.
I can tell you one thing, Michael Jackson was the last person I would have ever expected to pass away on a summer day. The news was shocking and it took me a few visits to various websites to finally learn it was the truth. I realize sometimes things get blown out of proportion but this was real.
I was a Michael Jackson fan when I was a kid and I am not ashamed to say it. I am pretty sure everyone was and I do not believe you if you say you did not like any of his material. I rocked the parachute pants, did the moon walk, but never had a sparkling glove.
One of my favorite memories of when I went to Epcot Center at Walt Disney World in the late 80’s was when I saw the 3-D adventure Captain EO. Just a few weeks ago I was actually talking about it to some friends and watched the movie in two segments on YouTube. (Part 1 & Part 2 for those of you that have never seen it and are wondering what I am talking about…)
Then there was Moonwalker a movie/music video that I watched over and over on VHS. Sega actually even created a video game based on the movie that was easily one of my favorite Sega Genesis video games of all time.
I’ll never forget the first time I saw the video for “Thriller” on MTV. It was late at night and my Aunt warned me it was going to be scary. I loved every minute of it.
I still have Thriller on my iTunes and always will. It is easily one of my top 100 albums of all time.
Today Michael Jackson’s name is being said a lot. Good things and bad will be talked about him for days to come and just like many other music lovers out there I am saddened by his loss.
I really wish that Micheal Jackson could have toured just one more time not just for the millions of fans, but also for himself. The poor guy really went through lots of hell. Regardless if all those allocations were true or not, the guy changed the way people would listen to music forever. It would have been nice to see Michael Jackson back on the stage doing what he liked to do best…
Sony Comments on the Passing of Michael Jackson (on www.michaeljackson.com):
NEW YORK, NY – June 25, 2009 – Michael Jackson, one of the most widely beloved entertainers and profoundly influential artists of all-time, leaves an indelible imprint on popular music and culture.
Commenting on his passing, Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, CEO and President, Sony Corporation, said: “Michael Jackson was a brilliant troubadour for his generation, a genius whose music reflected the passion and creativity of an era. His artistry and magnetism changed the music landscape forever. We have been profoundly affected by his originality, creativity and amazing body of work. The entire Sony family extends our deepest condolences to his family and to the millions of fans around the world who loved him.”
Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, CEO, Sony Music Entertainment, said: “Michael Jackson’s unsurpassed artistry and beloved music brought joy to every corner of the world. We join today with his millions of fans in expressing our profound sadness and we offer our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. It was a true privilege for all of us in the Sony Music family to work with one of the most talented superstars in the history of music. We will miss him greatly.”
Martin Bandier, Chairman & CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, said: “Michael was the kind of amazing talent that comes along once in a lifetime. He was an incredible recording artist, an insightful businessman, an unmatched performer, and a true icon. To all of us at Sony/ATV Music Publishing, he was also a trusted and passionate partner, who was very proud of our accomplishments. He will be dearly missed. We wish his children and entire family our deepest condolences.”
Five of Jackson’s solo albums – “Off the Wall,” “Thriller,” “Bad,” “Dangerous” and “HIStory,” all with Epic Records, a Sony Music label – are among the top-sellers of all time. During his extraordinary career, he sold an estimated 750 million records worldwide, released 13 No.1 singles and became one of a handful of artists to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized Jackson as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time and “Thriller” as the Biggest Selling Album of All Time. Jackson won 13 Grammy Awards and received the American Music Award’s Artist of the Century Award.
Michael Jackson started in the music business at the age of 11 with his brothers as a member of the Jackson 5. In the early 1980s, he defined the art form of music video with such ground-breaking videos as “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and the epic “Thriller.” Jackson’s sound, style and dance moves inspired subsequent generations of pop, soul, R&B and hip-hop artists.
This is the last review I thought I would ever be typing out, but here I am ready to post about what I experienced last night when I traveled to Columbus to see a different type of circus, featuring Britney Spears.
Before I even begin telling you of all my adventures last night, I might as well give some history on to how a ticket came into my hands for a show like this. As most of you may know I tend to keep with the punk rock and metal shows but I never will pass up the opportunity for a good time, even if it is an almost sold out show with thousands of screaming tweens. I wrote a short blog about it with more details but in a nutshell an old friend found himself with an extra ticket and invited me. There was no way I was going to pass this up.
The drive to Columbus was fine until I drove past Grandpa’s Cheese Barn in Ashland, OH and then it just started pouring. From there it was limited visibility and a-hole drivers all around me almost causing multiple accidents. I finally made it to downtown Columbus where my pal was staying at a nice hotel and after getting lost in the hotel parking garage decided to venture down High Street and see what record stores were still around before heading to the show. After a nice meal at Skully’s and some success at finding some good records it was time to head to the Value City Arena, also commonly referred to as The Schottenstein Center.
Having never been to the Value City Arena I had no idea where to park and we wasted time stuck in traffic and pulling illegal u-turns all over the premises finally finding a legal place to park. I was pissed that it took so long to find a parking space that I originally drove past the first time but for $3 I was not complaining.
Mass crowds of folk, mostly female, were flocking to the arena so we jumped in the mad dash to get there and found our seats in no time. Sitting in our seats we laughed that we were actually about to see a pop show and laughed even harder at the people who sat near us just stared at us perhaps asking themselves if we were lost.
The stage was located in the center of the arena and people who paid the big bucks got to sit in what looked like giant chairs while others crowded in a general admission area. We were lucky enough to sit in the front row of section 218 where there were no real distractions in front of us.
A large curtain hid the center stage and soon arose featuring pop girl group the Pussycat Dolls who were all situated on a steel staircase of sorts. I lost my hearing for a short second from the welcoming applause and screams. Not familiar with their material at all the only song I picked out was the ever popular “Don’t Cha”. Along their 45 minute set they also played “Jai Ho!”, a song originally written for the hit movie Slumdog Millionaire that later was rerecorded by The Pussycat Dolls with English lyrics. The five beautiful clad women danced all over the stage to an adoring crowd. Their dance moves were suggestive, their outfits were small, and the crowd loved them.
After the Pussycat Dolls finished their set stagehands quickly worked and dismantled the steel stair case of sorts and removed it from the stage. The giant curtain dropped again where a 360 degree monitor soon emerged that would be a focal point for all types of visuals for the evening. The theme for the evening was a circus inspired performance so seeing the three section stage was appropriate for what was about to come.
Before the main event, the Big Apple Circus took the stage with various entertaining performances including a muscleman who twirled what looked like a section of fence around and around and tossed it about like it was metal pizza dough. That same performer then grabbed a giant cube made out of steel bars and balanced it on his palm and spun it to the crowds enjoyment. I was not as thrilled and of course made a joke to my pal about how all the guy ever wanted to do in life was spin a giant cube in front of thousands and how today was his day.
Other performers included a very flexible girl who was more of a human pretzel, clowns, hula hoops, people being thrown in the air, and martial artists who wooed the crown with their shiny weapons. I have to admit it was pretty entertaining.
Once everyone cleared the stage the lights dimmed and a very interesting video played on the 360 degree monitor with a cross dressing queen providing a rather disturbing introduction for the rest of the evening. The crowd erupted in excitement through the intro and not too far after the sexy ringmaster, Britney Spears, was lowered down from the 360 degree monitor as her performers met her on stage. It was at that moment it struck me that I was actually at this show.
At the beginning of their performance I found myself more interested in the stage set up itself over the performance. There were elevator like trap doors that would allow access to the stage without any of the performers leaving the center of the venue. It was a show in itself just watching how everyone worked together to make the stage work.
Again I am not a pop music fan so I did not know a lot of the songs that were being performed but I did know that there was a ton of choreographing going on for the two plus hours that the show went on. There was a lot of hard work going on during the set.
One point during the evening had me scratching my head at was when the 360 degree monitor was lowered and Marilyn Manson‘s version of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of These)” started playing as videos of Britney Spears footage was displayed. It was clear that the video was being played so everyone could take a breather. I still could not believe that a Marilyn Manson song, even if it was an Euythmics track, was playing at high levels to the crowd.
The show started to get a little more entertaining, performance wise, after the quick break with darker skits and more daring stunts and dances, but soon ventured back to sexy cop Britney Spears and a whole slew of different types of dancing. At one time gangster looking dudes rode in on low rider bicycles and surrounded the star of the night. Once again I could not help but to comment to my comrade how I felt I was witnessing an Eminem ice capades.
As far as song titles go, I really did not recognize a lot of them. “Womanizer” was one song I recognized towards the end of the night as well as a remixed version of “Baby One More Time”. Other then that if you were to pay me for each song I could tell you that was played that night I would not be earning much money.
It was clear that the night was all about lip-singing, but I did not let that bother me at all, after all I did attend a Britney Spears concert. The 360 degree monitor that showed all of the strange footage over the performance as well as ads for Virgin Mobile and Candies makeup never once showed live shots from the evening. I felt bad for the people who sat all the way in the higher section of the arena seeing how I was in the middle section and had a hard time seeing the show myself. These tickets were not cheap by any means and you would think that they would at least cater to the nose bleed sections.
The dancing was mostly handled by Britney Spears’ entourage of performers and to me it looked like most of the time Britney Spears was either being pushed around on various carts, being picked up by hanging men, or resting on furniture props as she moved her lips to the music. I expected more on her behalf. Still, it was a performance I was looking for when I agreed to go and not a full fetched music showdown. I was not even phased towards the end of the show when two guys pretended to play guitars as women showered them with sparks from what looked like metal sanders. It was a performance, a show, nothing to be taken seriously.
Britney Spears was not much of a crowd participation person except for a quick thank you to the crowd who spent way too much money on tickets to see her and even more money on merchendise. I think she spoke to the crowd once, but that one time was good enough for the packed house of fans.
My ears still ring from the loudness of the show, mostly from the screaming fans. It was clear that the fans who showed up that night were excited to be there and had a great time dancing and singing about. Then there was me…
Honestly, I did have a great time though and I never in my life thought I would say that I went to a Britney Spears concert, and I had fun. Stranger things have happened…
Here are some quality photos taken with my trusty iPhone. You can not see anything…
The finale was a shower of sparks that burned everyone on stage to a crisp. Human s'mores.That red mess above is the 360 degree monitor. Notice the hanging people? Britney is in the right sided circle pointing at a way out.If you look hard enough you might be able to see the metal stairs I was talking about. This was taken right when the Pussycat Dolls broke into a sweet version of "Freebird".
The heavy on the synthesizer pop act Lights, also known as Valerie Poxleitner, has been getting a lot of hype for not even having a full length release out yet. It could be solely from her beauty seeing as she is capable of turning one or two hundred heads, but in all honesty this girl is more than just a looker. She is a musician and has the voice to prove it.
