El Camino – The Black Keys (review)

The American band formed by Dan Auerbach, vocals and guitar, and Patrick Carney, on drums, was born in Akron, Ohio in the year of 2001. Lately, the Black Keys have given a lot to talk about, especially since the release of their last two albums.

Their debut album, The Big Come Up, was released on May of 2002 and the song "I'll Be Your Man" was the theme song for the series Hung and also appeared on Rescue Me. The next album came on April 2003 and it was called Thickfreakness. They won some mainstream success because the song “Set You Free" featured in the film School of Rock and, by this time, the band was already being compared to other great blues-rock bands, like The White Stripes. On September of 2004, appears Rubber Factory, with very popular songs among the tv and the cinema: "When the Lights Go Out" was used in the film Black Snake Moan, the song "10 AM Automatic" was featured in an American Express commercial, in the movie Live Free or Die, in the soundtrack for MLB '06: The Show and in the movie The Go-Getter (which also features the song "Keep Me"), "Grown So Ugly" was in the movie Cloverfield, the track "Girl Is on My Mind" was used for both Sony Ericsson and Victoria's Secret commercials and finally "Stack Shot Billy" was performed on Late Show with David Letterman. The next two albums, Magic Potion and Attack & Release came in 2006 and 2008, respectively. By now, The Black Keys were becoming more popular when they released the album Brothers, on May 2010, that gave them three Grammy Awards.

On December 6 of 2011 comes out their new album, El Camino, and it has been well received by the public and the critics. The album was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee and it draws influences from popular genres from the 50s, 60s and 70s like soul, rockabilly and rock and roll. Also there are more uptempo and riff-driven songs, in contrast to some of the slower and quieter tracks from the previous album.

The album has 11 songs and its cover and the full tracklist are presented below.

1. Lonely Boy
2. Dead and Gone 3. Gold on the Ceiling
4. Little Black Submarines
5. Money Maker
6. Run Right Back
7. Sister
8. Hell of a Season
9. Stop Stop
10. Nova Baby
11. Mind Eraser

For now, if you got curious, listen to the first two singles from this album: "Lonely Boy" and "Gold on the Ceiling".

So, if you didn’t know of the existence of this band and if you appreciate garage/blues/indie rock, go check the work of this American duo that you’ll surely love. Also, you can visit their website, here.

 Hope you like it,

Expect me ;)

The Artist (review)

Finally filled up some courage and watched The Artist (the entire movie), and I must say that I was expecting a lot worst, even though the first 10/15 minutes are very boring and almost frustrating.
By this time we start to like George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) a very funny and talented mute actor for who everything was going great until the rising of the voice cinema in the late 20's. Then the rising star Peppy Miller(Bérénice Bejo) takes George's space leaving him with some bad moments. A word for an also very talented dog a Jack Russel called Uggie that is amazing.
If you can pass the first 15 minutes I believe you will enjoy the movie.
I'll just leave with the trailer and a funny scene from Uggie.

Expect me ;)

Oscars 2012 (winners)

As you may know the Oscars weren't that surprising this year, my "prediction" has been confirmed, check out the 2012 winners:

Best Cinematography: Robert Richardson, "Hugo"
Best Art Direction: Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schavo, "Hugo"
Best Costume Design: Mark Bridges, "The Artist"
Best Makeup: Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland, "The Iron Lady"
Best Foreign Language Film: "A Separation"
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, "The Help"
Best Editing: Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
Best Sound Editing: Phillip Stockton and Eugene Gearty, "Hugo"
Best Sound Mixing: Tom Fleischman and John Midgley, "Hugo"
Best Documentary: "Undefeated"
Best Animated Feature: "Rango"
Best Visual Effects: "Hugo"
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"
Best Original Score: Ludovic Bource, "The Artist"
Best Original Song: Bret McKenzie, "Man or Muppet"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, "The Descendants"
Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
Best Live Action Short: "The Shore"
Best Documentary Short: "Saving Face"
Best Animated Short: "The Fantastic Flying Books Of Mr. Morris Lessmore"
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Best Actress: Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Best Picture: "The Artist"