The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| Brazilian fans flock to Elvis Presley exhibit in Sao Paulo Posted: 09 Sep 2012 07:03 AM PDT SAO PAULO, Brazil, Sept 9 — Hundreds of Brazilian fans of Elvis Presley are flocking to a special exhibit devoted to the "King of Rock 'n' Roll" in Sao Paulo this week, the first to be held outside the United States. "The Elvis Experience", which opened here on Wednesday and runs through November 5, features over 600 rare artefacts, documents and photos, many of which have never left the vaults or exhibit areas of the late Elvis's mythical Graceland mansion in the US southern city of Memphis.  A Brazilian fan watches a video of Elvis at "The Elvis Experience" in Sao Paulo. — AFP pic "I have been an Elvis fan since the age of nine," said Malu Ezipato, a bank employee sporting a tattooed autograph of her idol on her ankle. "In addition to his music, his marvellous voice, his face, Elvis was a good, generous person who helped everybody. He inspired me to be a better person," added the 44-year-old woman. She said she even turned a room in her home into a "sanctuary" for her idol despite her husband's jealousy. Although she recently returned from a pilgrimage to Memphis to mark the 35th anniversary of Elvis's death, Ezipato said she absolutely had to attend the opening of the exhibit held in a Sao Paulo shopping mall. Priscilla Presley, former wife of the late star, was on hand and said she had fond memories of her life at Graceland, where Elvis spent two decades until his untimely death at the age of 42. "In this exhibit you will be able to feel the spirit of Elvis," she said, all dressed in red. Jack Soden, president of Elvis Presley Enterprises, the corporate entity created by the singer's trust to manage its assets, told AFP that Brazil was chosen as the first foreign destination for the exhibit because the country has many Elvis fans. "We were very interested in Brazil because Elvis has many fans here. Brazil is a country of nearly 200 million people and Brazilians are very active on Elvis's Facebook page," he added. "Later we will look into prospects for taking the show to other countries." It was Brazilian businessman Rafael Reisman who came up with the idea of staging the exhibit in Sao Paulo and contacted Soden after a visit to Graceland. "To stage this exhibit was not easy," he said. "We have to look at the results, assess whether it is financially viable and try to take it to other places." Reisman said bringing the show to Brazil cost around US$5 million (RM15.4 million). On display are two of Elvis's sports cars, his military uniform, pictures, a gold-plated rotary dial telephone, his signature white suit and one of the American Eagle jumpsuits Elvis used for the 1973 "Aloha from Hawaii" television special. There is also a copy of his initial contract with his manager Colonel Tom Parker and the first deals he signed with the RCA recording company. "I have been an Elvismaniac all my life," said 54-year-old Fatima Leite as she snapped pictures of her idol's golf carts. — AFP/Relaxnews |
| Dylan whips up a ‘Tempest’, 50 years on Posted: 09 Sep 2012 12:54 AM PDT
In his self-produced 35th studio album, the 71-year-old poet of American folk rock sweeps from dark tales of doomed love and betrayal, to apocalyptic stories of good and evil, or others full of tough-guy swagger. Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine about the album, Dylan — who was born to a Jewish family, real name Robert Zimmerman, but converted to Christianity in the 1970s — said he set out wanting to make a religious record. Along the way he switched tack, leaving an album peppered with ominous Biblical overtones, blending rock, blues, folk and jazz, and where — in his own words — "anything goes and you just gotta believe it will make sense". Jaunty — danceable even — the opening track "Duquesne Whistle" for one is anything but a religious dirge: set to an irresistible chug-chug of a bass line, it revives a long-gone tradition of American train songs. "Listen to that Duquesne whistle blowing/Sounding like it's on a final run," rings the chorus to the first track on what — though he will not say so himself — could be Dylan's last album. Unveiled online 10 days before the album release tomorrow in Europe and Tuesday in the United States, the video for "Duquesne Whistle" mines dark territory under an upbeat veneer — in a way that could sum up the album. It sees a happy-go-lucky young man set his sights on the wrong girl, only to end up bundled into a van, tied up and beaten Quentin Tarantino-style, while Dylan a sinister, pimp-like figure — strides the streets with a motley crew of hangers-on in tow. This is one of many flashes of cinematic violence — delivered with a wry smile — that dot the album. "A dark and bloody effort that suggests the old man ain't going quietly" was how The Daily Beast summed up "Tempest", which has earned rave reviews — including five out of five stars and the honorific title of "single darkest record in Dylan's catalog" from Rolling Stone magazine. A tribute to his murdered friend John Lennon In "Pay in Blood" Dylan growls, menacingly: "I pay in blood, but not my own," while "Soon after midnight" opens as a smoochy ballad before its women characters are exposed as "harlots", and meet a gory end. "Narrow Way", another stand-out track, is a bluesy, finger-clicking affair, in which a tough-as-nails Dylan tells of a "hard country to stay alive in", even when "armed to the hilt". At once violent and moving, the closing track "Roll On John" is a blow-by-blow account of the murder of Dylan's friend John Lennon in 1980 — hovering at the side of the Beatles frontman "about to breathe your last". "Shine your light, moving on/You burned so bright, Roll on John," writes Dylan in tribute to his youthful rock 'n' roll comrade. But the highest body count — and the songwriting medal — goes to the title track "Tempest": a 14-minute ballad on the sinking of the Titanic 100 years ago. There is more than a touch of the macabre as Dylan recreates in 45 verses the horror and disbelief among the passengers on board the ocean liner, the lords and ladies dancing on deck who end up as "floating corpses". "They battened down the hatches, but the hatches wouldn't hold/They drowned upon the staircase of brass and polished gold," he chants, to a traditional Irish folk tune. Doomed families tumbling into the darkness, acts of callousness and bravery, all find a place in the story — including a character named Leo, in a nod to Hollywood's DiCaprio-starring "Titanic". In Dylan's telling, the captain "read the Book of Revelations and he filled his cup of tears" as his ship foundered. The Los Angeles Times called the track "one of the most extraordinary compositions from the most acclaimed songwriter of the rock era", Dylan's first original album since the 2009 "Together Through Life", "Tempest" hits shelves 50 years after his eponymous debut "Bob Dylan" in March 1962. Its US release also falls exactly 11 years after the Sept 11 attacks, but his record company Columbia denied any link to the anniversary. Columbia Records has harnessed the Internet to the full to generate a buzz, starting with the release online of "Duquesne Whistle" and its video, then making selected tracks available for streaming onto mobile devices On Wednesday it made all 10 tracks available for streaming for free on iTunes, and from Monday, temporary "pop-up shops" will be open in New York, Los Angeles and London where Dylan fans can buy "Tempest" albums, some autographed. — AFP-Relaxnews |
PARIS, Sept 9 — From a foot-tapping train song to tales of midnight murder or a ballad on the "Titanic", Bob Dylan's playfully sinister new album "Tempest" hits shelves next week, half a century after his debut record.| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan