The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| The rebirth of singer-songwriter Roy Harper Posted: 24 Jul 2013 06:30 PM PDT After decades as a critically acclaimed but fringe figure in music, British singer-songwriter Roy Harper is suddenly finding himself in demand. Aged 72 and some 50 years into his career, Harper has been "discovered" by the young - drawn by his complex, intelligent lyrics and his persona as poetic outsider. Where once he was embraced by the likes of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin - he sang "Have A Cigar" for the former and had "Hats Off To (Roy) Harper" written about him by the latter - he now counts new-folkies like Fleet Foxes, Joanna Newsom and Jonathan Wilson as ardent fans. Newsom, a 31-year old Californian harpist and singer, went as far as to persuade him to appear with her at the Royal Albert Hall in 2007 and to play his most popular album, "Stormcock", in its entirety. Harper is now about to release his first collection of new songs in over a decade, the perhaps aptly named "Man and Myth". "I thought I had retired," Harper said, adding that he had been happily working away building a garden in his Irish home and cataloguing his life's work. "I was in one world, but the next world had found me, so I had to respond to it," he said. "That meant gathering my wits and going forward with a new record." Harper - who is celebrated in part for his refusal to seek commercial fame as his '60s and '70s contemporaries did - expresses little surprise that a young audience, much of it on America's West Coast, has found him. "Every generation searches for something to inspire them. It is just the same as I would have been as a younger person looking at those older people like Jelly Roll Morton, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis," he said. "For some reason or another that's the kind of modus operandi that exists between young and old." MAN AND MYTH "They have statements to make when they are all together... That's the phase that interests me. That's the phase that can make a shift in human culture. "I do think of myself as being a member of the youth culture, although my looks would belie that. I am 18 until I look in the mirror - and then the horrible truth dawns." The new album, to be released in late September, is classic Harper, full of poetic musings such as "The punters gather at prime time/On the flat screens of their dreams/To vote for dumb celebrity/And witter into gathering storms of universal screams". It will be his 23rd studio album, added to around as many compilation and live releases. He was also on a generation-defining sampler called "The Rock Machine Turns You On" in 1968, along with the likes of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and The Byrds. Harper says there is a certain maturity to his songs these days that comes with age, but that basically not much has changed since he was a child. There is a consistency of vision, he says, and all he does is add to it as an artist might add to a big canvas. "(The vision) is based on what I think of as my own primitive criteria. I am pretty much the same person as I was at six. I have just added to that," he said. – Reuters, July 25, 2013. |
| 11 years later, Salman Khan pleads not guilty to hit-and-run charge Posted: 24 Jul 2013 06:14 PM PDT If convicted, he faces 10 years in prison. Salman is one of Bollywood's major stars with a loyal fan base. Among his 80-over movies are the award-winning "Dabangg" and "Bodyguard". The actor, who sat in the dock with his bodyguard close to him, also claimed trial yesterday to rash driving, causing injuries, and negligence, reported news agencies. He faces more charges under India's Motor Vehicles Act and other laws. Salman had last appeared in court for the case on July 19. According to a Times of India report, the actor was once again accompanied by his sisters Alvira and Arpita. Salman was seen dozing off several times during the proceedings. ToF reported that sessions judge U.B. Hejib initially expressed his reluctance to proceed with the case as it was set to be transferred to another court. However, public prosecutor Shankar Erande pressed for framing of charges on the grounds that Salman was scheduled to travel abroad for the next two months and this could delay the trial. During the hearing, Salman's defence lawyer Shrikant Shivade referred to an earlier application regarding media restraints, asking for "factual reporting". According to The BBC, Salman had allegedly driven his Toyota Land Cruiser into a bakery in Mumbai on Sept 28, 2002. The vehicle ran over five people sleeping on the streets, killing one man and seriously injuring three others. ToF reported that the Indian police built their case around a statement made by Salman's bodyguard, Ravindra Patil, who said that the actor was under the influence of alcohol. This is not the first time Salman has been jailed. In 2006, stated The BBC, he was sentenced to five years in prison for hunting a protected deer, but released on bail after spending less than a week in jail. – July 25, 2013. |
| 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