Astronauts and Funk Music

February 26, 2009

astronaut Astronauts and Funk MusicToday I create a new category, named 2009 Music Demos, where I’ll publish totally new music tracks made with the latest gears but with the same talent behind: myself :)

These tracks are demonstrations of my skills and creative ideas and in each post I’ll explain the inspiration that moves them, the images I would like you to see while listening to them and the feelings.

Astronauts and Funk Music

This first post is dedicated to big 80s space operas, movies, novels and sci-fi culture. This is also a trip to old good 80s with their catchy rhythms, synths and guitars.

This first demo starts with a space choir, an opening orchestra and choir theme, I can say epic and grand, that creates images of galaxies, shuttles, astronauts and the infinity of the universe.

The choir evolves into a rock instrumental piece, with 80s synth effects that add a spacey feel to the entire track. I can name it “space rock”.

The next style is jazz, a universal style that will never end to please our ears, today, and in the next centuries.

Synths are back in an 80s pop mix, while a really catching funk part ends the demonstration, making us really uplifting and excited.

I dedicate this music work to Richard Garriott, Lord British in Ultima and significant figure in the video game industry.

On October 12, 2008, Garriott launched aboard Soyuz TMA-13 to the International Space Station as a self-funded tourist, returning safely 12 days later aboard Soyuz TMA-12.


Related Posts - Highly Relevant Content

  • How Has the Internet Affected the Music Industry? This article is written by web designer Josh Gutteridge who runs Skyte Media. Skyte Media is based in the Midlands (England) and is a professional web design company that specialises in web design and development. Josh would like to receive comments about this article on his blog. But of course......
  • Putting a value on your vinyl collection This is another article from author Robert Benson. He writes about rock/pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates CollectingVinylRecords.com, where you can pick up a copy of his ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby of Vinyl Record Collecting." Stephen M.H. Braitman Putting a value on your vinyl collection The value of......
  • Sounds like music and networking Wizzit Magazine interviewed me about Blogging and Social Networking. I have to thank Matti Mattila, the reviewer and open networker. If you remember, Matti wrote A musician story. Here is a short excerpt from the magazine article that you can download here in pdf format. Sounds like music and......
  • blog traffic exchangeMusic Reviews: Wind and Wire Magazine I've been asked why there is no music reviews section. Well, if you search my name on Google.com, you'll find many pages (in English and Italian languages) that talk about my music works or music albums. So, I don't want to put a complete list of the links, but anyway......
  • American Music and Vintage Guitars Mark Weakley is an impressive artist; sculptor, painter, musician. He plays guitar, banjo and harmonica, and has recently recorded a CD of his original compositions. In this exclusive article he talks about himself, about his passions, about his father, about traditional american music, about vintage guitars and banjoes, and much......



Related Websites - Highly Relevant Content

  • pianoThe Modern Piano It has been a staple of classical and contemporary music, used by musicians from Mozart to Elton John and more. Many musicians who have brought their fingers to the ivories have created music that has inspired and captured the hearts of countless people all over the world. That instrument is......
  • blog traffic exchangeMy Favourite Classical Music (Part 2) My Favourite Classical Music (Part 2): 1) Strauss Jr: Blue Danube Waltz. 2) Strauss Jr: Emperor Waltz. 3) Brahms: Hungarian Dance No.5. 4) Wagner: The ride of the Valkyries. 5) Wagner: Tannhauser Overture. 6) Mendelssohn: Wedding March. 7) Offenbach: Can Can. 8) Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.4. 9) Tchakovsky: Symphony No.5.......
  • blog traffic exchangeBuy Muse Concert Tickets | Muse tickets for THE RESISTANCE TOUR UK 2010 Muse are an English alternative rock band that formed in Teignmouth, Devon in 1994. Since their inception, the band has comprised vocalist, guitarist and pianist Matthew Bellamy, bassist and backing vocalist Christopher Wolstenholme and drummer Dominic Howard. Muse are known for their energetic and extravagant live performances and their fusion......
  • Massive Attack Heligoland InterviewMassive Massive Attack Interview! Nope, I didn't mistype. And I am not trying to be funny. The interview is very long!!! I got my hands on a Massive Attack interview and of course I can't wait to share it. Well, I hope you haven't seen it before. It is on the album Heligoland and......
  • 9-11 statue of liberty and WTCThe Economics Of September 11, 2001 It would be unfortunate for you to be an American and forgotten what today is.  Tragic events in the history of this young American.  I will always remember that day because I watched the second plane hit, live, and watched both towers fall in the library at school.  Those images......


The B52’s, London Roundhouse

August 19, 2008

london The B52’s, London RoundhouseWade Crawley is back with a great B52 concert review! If you remember, Wade wrote for us Punk music in the late seventies. Now read his new exclusive article for ManuelMarino.com!

The B52’s, London Roundhouse

It was on a hot and very sweaty summer night in London’s trendy Camden and a packed audience of all ages and types gathered at the re-opened Roundhouse. They were all there to see that perennial party band, still together for over 30 years, the B52’s. It was ridiculously hot with many people standing and sweating profusely, but this didn’t diminish the anticipation of the crowd one bit. This became evident before the band even came out with many of them singing along vociferously to Talking Head’s ‘Psycho Killer’ when played by the club’s DJ. Then the lights went down and the words “Hello London, we’re the B52’s” was greeted by a loud roar as the band walked out onto the stage.

Touring to promote their first album in 16 years Funplex, the B52’s showed the sell-out crowd they still have the ability to turn out superbly crafted pop songs. The line up of Fred Schneider, Cindy Wilson, Kate Pierson and Keith Strickland have proved over the years they are masters of the art of catchy, pop songwriting and they treated the crowd to all of their hits and more in their uniquely frivolous and eccentric manner. The B52’s have crafted and honed their electro-beat, new wave, dance sound over 30 years and it’s still impossible to categorise.

Backed up by three backing musicians, the B52’s were in fine form. The soaring harmonies of Wilson and Pierson sounded as good as ever, while the wonderfully camp interjections of Schneider made sure everybody in the audience had a smile on their face for the duration. Along with the more humorous and wacky songs like ‘Private Idaho’ and ‘Party Out Of Bounds,’ with ‘Give Me Back My Man’ and current single ‘Juliet Of The Spirits,’ the B52’s proved they can also do serious and soulful. Their set consisted of the obligatory songs from the current album such as ‘Funplex’ and ‘Pump,’ interspersed with many of the old favourites like ‘Strobe Light,’ and ‘Mesopotamia.’

Judging by the enthusiastic reaction to the older material, it was obvious that the audience consisted of many of their older, long-term fans but there was also a surprising amount of young fans, many of whom were perched up high on their father’s shoulders. To the audience’s delight, the hits came thick and fast with Wilson and Pierson’s sixties style dance routines, Schneider’s deadpan but camp delivery and Strickland’s choppy and distorted ‘rock style’ guitar. What with their wild and wacky image it’s easy to overlook, but make no mistake, these guys are all excellent musicians in their own right.

The harmonies of the two ladies are as good as you’ll find anywhere in popular music, whereas one time drummer Strickland now stands at the front of the stage, giving us all the classic ‘rock’ guitar style poses. Schneider isn’t as animated as he used to be but the B52’s wouldn’t be the same without his perfectly timed ‘camp as they come’ vocals.

To the crowd’s delight, they inevitably get to their most well loved song ‘Love Shack.’ It is one of those songs that always gets everybody dancing at parties and wedding receptions. Where everybody from the youngest children to the oldest grannies knows the words and the Roundhouse crowd were no different. “The whole shack shimmied” barks Schneider and the crowd sing along as one. Personally, I was surprised they didn’t save ‘Love Shack’ for the encore but the crowd didn’t seem to care.

We eventually got two encores. ‘Rock Lobster’ which was the first B52’s song I ever heard as a teenager in 1980 and ‘Planet Claire’ with it’s 1960’s secret agent movie vibe. The sweat soaked crowd were on their last legs by then. The Roundhouse management obviously thought that the English summer wasn’t long enough to justify installing air conditioning, but many were ready to feint at the end. This wasn’t enough, however, to stop most of the crowd from leaving with large grins on their faces. It left many of us feeling that the world is a more fun place with the B52’s in it.


Related Posts - Highly Relevant Content

  • Punk music in the late seventies Wade Crawley said me "I propose to write an article about the influence of punk and indie music and culture on a young person (myself) coming of age in England in the late seventies and early eighties". I accepted, and Wade wrote this article! I must add also these more......
  • Living as Independent Developer Today we interview Andres Martinez, owner of baKno, a game development studio located in Key Biscayne, Florida. They are a group of video game enthusiasts committed to developing new ways to deliver fun, interactive and challenging software. Living as Independent Developer Manuel Marino: You declare yourself and your team as......
  • blog traffic exchangeMusic Reviews: Wind and Wire Magazine I've been asked why there is no music reviews section. Well, if you search my name on Google.com, you'll find many pages (in English and Italian languages) that talk about my music works or music albums. So, I don't want to put a complete list of the links, but anyway......
  • An Explosion Of Blues Music Author of this article is Robert Benson. He writes about rock and pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates CollectingVinylRecords.com, where you can pick up a copy of his ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby Of Vinyl Record Collecting." You can have your vinyl records appraised at VinylRecordAppraisals.com. An Explosion Of......
  • History of Music and Current Recording Industry Crisis Roger L. Bagula wrote this exclusive article for ManuelMarino.com. History of Music and Current Recording Industry Crisis In a time when the whole future of how music is distributed is in question, maybe we should look at the history of music for a guide. Many of us find music......



Related Websites - Highly Relevant Content

  • chronic_loA Nice, but Surprising, 4.5 Star Review for Chronicles of The Lost Years The timing couldn't be nicer, really.  With the new Sherlock Holmes movie coming out next month, and the yummy casting of Robert Downie Jnr. as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. Watson, we've finally got a casting that's interesting in all sorts of respects. Have you seen the trailer? ......
  • Boyz II Men - LoveBoyz II Men - Love [/caption] Simply titled "LOVE", Boyz II Men interpret some of the most popular ballads of the last several decades with their own flawless harmonies. Reuniting with producer Randy Jackson, Love is a timeless record featuring romantic hits including I Can t Make You Love Me, ( Bonnie Raitt), If......
  • The Conjurer, by Hieronymous Bosch, circa 1500 - Note the PickpocketsThe Old Shell Game I like to watch street scammers in action. Actually, their victims are much more interesting. They're so gullible. So many think that they can come upon a seasoned professional con man and beat him (or her) by merely paying attention. The set-up varies, but the basics are the same. A......
  • oceandreamDream Ocean Perfume Review, Giorgio Beverly Hills This is a review of the Giorgio Beverly Hills perfume known as Dream Ocean perfume. This is a phenomenal cologne for men that was created in 2005 by Designer Parfums. It has a fantastic scent to it that contains heliotrope, lily, orange and sandalwood in a unique and soft mixture.......
  • blog traffic exchangeBook Review: The Best Tennis of Your Life: 50 Mental Strategies for Fearless Performance by Jeff Greenwald When it comes to the mental game of tennis, this is an area that every single player must master, and there is always room for improvement. This book offers an in depth look at numerous mental strategies that any player can put into practice in order to learn to play......


Stop jogging and listen to some new music

August 13, 2008

jogging Stop jogging and listen to some new musicI’m a big fan of 80s music. Yes, the decade that gave the world the sound of pop, the memorable 80s! I’m talking about Madonna, Michael Jackson, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, George Michael and many others. Well, let’s focus on Madonna, eleven albums, an impressive career.

Stop jogging and listen to some new music

Madonna, the world’s tastiest sweetheart, has announced more non-stop treats for her legions of legendary and devoted fans. Following the latest news that “Hard Candy” has debuted at Number 1 around the globe, it has been confirmed that Madonna’s “Sticky and Sweet Tour” will begin (hip) hopping around the world on August 23rd in Cardiff, Wales with stops in major European markets through September including London (11-September) and Paris (20-September).

Hard Candy features collaborations with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake. The main themes are love, music and sex and sometimes seems that Madonna repeats herself. Not bad, considering that this album is a great example of the best american pop music.

To be more clear, we can define it unforgettable pop with wonderful choruses. The style is more urban-oriented, than the past disco tracks, and Madonna’s best eighties are back, creating a unique cocktail of different genres.

This is Madonna eleventh and final album for longtime label Warner Bros and it surely represents another mark on current pop culture.

About the Tour, it will feature a lot of past favorites as well as focusing on Madonna’s Hard Candy. She will be supported onstage by different famous artists, as example Paul Oakenfold in London, and Bob Sinclair in Paris.

More than one million tickets have been sold, means about 90% of the total, so better to run as soon as possible to get your ticket!

At the same time, I would recommend to check also Coldplay events. Chris Martin is taking his band back on the road for what promises to be their biggest tour to date to celebrate their hugely anticipated new album ‘Viva la Vida‘ and hit single ‘Violet Hill‘.

- Madonna Tickets
- Coldplay Tickets


Related Posts - Highly Relevant Content

  • On Canvas Art Charles Veilleux wrote this exclusive article for us. Charles is the owner of Veilleux Fine Art. On May 31, 2009, Veilleux Fine Art transitions into a private artist studio tour business. Charles has owned and operated contemporary art galleries in Santa Fe since 1993. On Canvas Art Art a term......
  • The B52’s, London Roundhouse Wade Crawley is back with a great B52 concert review! If you remember, Wade wrote for us Punk music in the late seventies. Now read his new exclusive article for ManuelMarino.com! The B52’s, London Roundhouse It was on a hot and very sweaty summer night in London’s trendy Camden and......
  • An Explosion Of Blues Music Author of this article is Robert Benson. He writes about rock and pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates CollectingVinylRecords.com, where you can pick up a copy of his ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby Of Vinyl Record Collecting." You can have your vinyl records appraised at VinylRecordAppraisals.com. An Explosion Of......
  • blog traffic exchangeMusic Reviews: Splendid E-zine Another beautiful music review I had (with my pseudonym Vanethian) is this one at Splendid E-zine. The music review is about my music album Futures Past, with my pseudonym Vanethian. If you want to read more music reviews just search my name on Google and Yahoo. Music Reviews: Splendid E-zine......
  • History of Music and Current Recording Industry Crisis Roger L. Bagula wrote this exclusive article for ManuelMarino.com. History of Music and Current Recording Industry Crisis In a time when the whole future of how music is distributed is in question, maybe we should look at the history of music for a guide. Many of us find music......



Related Websites - Highly Relevant Content

  • blog traffic exchangeSeptember 27 Macau World Tourism Day We will have again the traditional tray race held in the afternoon, where waiters and waitresses will run down the stoned-path from the Ruins of St Paul’s to Senado Square carrying a tray with a bottle of beer on it. Last year over 80 participants, a record number, from 20......
  • sethlakemanRenewing the Folk Music Movement with Acoustic Musical Instruments Seth Lakeman, a folk music star that is nominated for a Mercury Prize has been talking about the acoustic of folk music and acoustic musical instruments. For example, Lily Allen's new single is featuring a banjo solo, which would not have happened in years past but now apparently seems to......
  • Madonna delivers her tribute to Michael Jackson speech at 2009 MTV VMA at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on September 13.Madonna's MTV VMA 'Michael Jackson Tribute' Transcribed Watch the video of Madonna's tribute to the King of Pop speech at "Madonna Stole MTV VMA Show." Here's the transcription in entirety of Madonna's tribute to Michael Jackson speech during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on September 13.Michael......
  • blog traffic exchangeRacquet Review- Wilson K Factor Six One Tour 90 Racquet - Wilson K Factor Six One Tour 90 Length - 27 inches / 69 centimeters Head Size - 90 square inches / 581 square centimeters Weight - 12.5 ounces / 354 grams Balance Point - 12.375 inches / 9pts Head Light Construction - 18 mm Straight Beam Composition -......
  • blog traffic exchangeHow the Internet Aids Independent Music The World Wide Web has reformed every aspect of the world from social interaction to business to music. A couple of years ago Indie bands played in garages, family functions, and cafes. They cut CDs and sent them to music giants in the hope they will be noticed. The......


How Has the Internet Affected the Music Industry?

January 19, 2008

train How Has the Internet Affected the Music Industry?This article is written by web designer Josh Gutteridge who runs Skyte Media. Skyte Media is based in the Midlands (England) and is a professional web design company that specialises in web design and development. Josh would like to receive comments about this article on his blog. But of course you can comment it also here, on ManuelMarino.com!

How Has the Internet Affected the Music Industry?

Music has always been something that has inspired mankind. Sir Thomas Beecham once said ‘a musicologist is a man who can read music but can’t hear it’. The pure beauty of music is that we can all listen to the same notes played by many different instruments, yet make our own individual conclusions with regards to what the music means to us; and nobody can argue.

It is not in the nature of this post to go in depth on musical history. Nonetheless, music has developed rapidly through the ages with the vinyl when it was first really used in 1948 by Columbia Records. Since then the music industry has seen the use of the Audio-Cassette and Compact Disc (CD).

Consequently, since the internet became more widely available it has made music more easily accessed by such means as Online Music Stores. There are thousands of these stores online including three of the most famous: iTunes, Napster and Rhapsody (US only). Let’s focus in on iTunes; an offshoot of the Apple Company.

I refer to iTunes as the ‘pied piper of the 21st century’ lulling people into easily downloading content with minimal hassle. iTunes is a free piece of software developed by the Apple company at Macworld Expo in San Francisco. This allows you to download digital music, music videos, television shows, iPod games, audio books, various pod casts and in the USA feature length films, and ringtones. Downloaded content can then be used to create your own play lists and personalised albums to burn to CD. It can also be transferred onto various different types of iPod including the new iPhone making music more accessible and easy to get hold of.

How does this affect the ordinary person who enjoys listening to their preferred genre(s) of music?

In this case, music has never been so easily manipulated and accessible. We live in a convenience obsessed world with personalised portals such as Last FM where you can listen to any artist known to mankind, you can listen to personalised internet radio with Pandora and also listen to all the music and view the videos on YouTube. It doesn’t take much effort to rip music (ripping is the term for digital audio extraction). The cost of downloading an album from the net is generally cheaper than an album brought in the shops, after all, downloads should cost less as there are less overheads for the record label to pay for: CD sleeve, CD case, CD cost, copying equipment etc.

How does this affect the music industry?

Some artists find the concept of the internet hard to adapt to; however, as they are forced into the mould of technology modern artists tend to embrace the internet as a friend rather than a foe. They view it as a ‘creative and inspiration-enhancing workspace where they can communicate, collaborate, and promote their work’ – Mary Madden (Research Specialist) in her project ‘Artists, Musicians and the Internet’. Sites such as MySpace have helped Artists and Musicians address their target audience rousing more interest in their style of music.

But let’s face it; there will always be people that are looking to find a loophole. I’m talking about those who engage in illegal music downloading. Experts admit that illegal downloads will never be stopped. This messes up the system and makes it unfair for both the artist and the people who are paying for downloads. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has joined forces with the Federation of Phonographic Industries (IFPI) to take legal action against internet file-sharers.

How will illegal downloader’s effect record labels? A record label makes, distributes and markets sound recordings; basically at the end of the day they’re out there to make money. The music industry produce mainly alums…how many albums have you brought just because you like one song? I have! We’re forced to buy albums to get the songs we love. As sales figures are falling record labels will be forced to look at the logic. Are people going to buy a whole album or just download one song? What effects do you think this will bring? Might we see a rise in the cost of internet downloads?

So in conclusion we have seen that the music industry has created stronger ties with new technology over the past decades and now can only go forward. We have seen that internet music downloads can be both an advantage and a disadvantage as we see the battle between the illegal downloader and the record companies continues. However, it is safe to conclude people – adapt or die!


Related Posts - Highly Relevant Content

  • Art, Communication, Connectivity Michael Marcus (also known as "Jacques Treatment") is a published author, poet, artist, and game designer; with George McVey, he has been publishing comics as "The Hamtramck Idea Men" on the very sensible grounds that they live in Hamtramck, have many ideas, and they are men. Joint work can be......
  • History of Music and Current Recording Industry Crisis Roger L. Bagula wrote this exclusive article for ManuelMarino.com. History of Music and Current Recording Industry Crisis In a time when the whole future of how music is distributed is in question, maybe we should look at the history of music for a guide. Many of us find music......
  • Sounds like music and networking Wizzit Magazine interviewed me about Blogging and Social Networking. I have to thank Matti Mattila, the reviewer and open networker. If you remember, Matti wrote A musician story. Here is a short excerpt from the magazine article that you can download here in pdf format. Sounds like music and......
  • Putting a value on your vinyl collection This is another article from author Robert Benson. He writes about rock/pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates CollectingVinylRecords.com, where you can pick up a copy of his ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby of Vinyl Record Collecting." Stephen M.H. Braitman Putting a value on your vinyl collection The value of......
  • blog traffic exchangeAn Artist Portrait (Part One) This is a fantastic article written exclusively for my Weblog by Frank V. Cahoj. Please feel free to comment here or send him emails. He'll be happy of this. An Artist Portrait (Part One) My name is Frank Cahoj and I have been an artist since I was born. I can......



Related Websites - Highly Relevant Content

  • blog traffic exchangeBook Review: Celtic, Blues and Beyond (Acoustic Master Class Series) by Al Petteway This book and CD combination is a part of the Acoustic Masterclass series, teaching Celtic music, blues music and beyond. Al Petteway offers advanced guitar arrangements in this tome. As an award-winning composer and guitarist, Al Petteway has developed a unique style for guitar solos that mixes up numerous different......
  • blog traffic exchangeVoIP - Basic Assumptions I thought I'd outline some of the basics of VoIP. I use this service myself and have sold VoIP services to my customers. What I didn't understand until last night is how much I assume. You see my business is mostly web based so my customers read up on......
  • blog traffic exchangeWork at Home Research Assistants If you are looking for a work at home position, a research assistant might be just what you can do. If you have a way of searching the Internet and finding information that most people cannot find, this type of work would be just perfect for you. Many companies and......
  • blog traffic exchangeIt Is Possible To Make Money Online Without Investing! Find Out The Ways Here! If you just look around on the internet for ways and means of earning money online, you will observe how most internet money making opportunities will require some investments. However, you have to take a note that there are two common ways to make money online. The first way involves......
  • music-memorabiliaMusic Memorabilia Memorabilia -> Music Memorabilia -> Rock, Pop Music memorabilia has always been popular, and although we associate it primarily with today’s rock and pop musicians, the practice of collecting items for musicians and groups dates back many hundred years. In fact, in Japan, before mass printing was used on a......


Recording Music Industry

December 6, 2007

singer Recording Music IndustryThis is a post I’ve received from Julien Bernier-Haineault and he is a music producer from Quebec, Canada. He made several songs for a lot of bands that never really got appreciated to their real value. I can say that trying, failing and trying again, now he absolutely knows a lot about Recording Music Industry.

He said me: It’s countless hours, in fact I could count it as months, I’ve put into this industry for very low results in the end. This is my first attempt at writing articles and I hope people gets the point across that this art is reserved to an elite and that you must obey to some fixed rules to get into their circle. I hope to help people understand what are those traps and guide them to avoid those.

Julien, your voice can be heard now, thanks to ManuelMarino.com!

Recording Music Industry

Lately I’ve questioned myself why was there so much newcomers in the music industry that didn’t grab my attention. Soul less recordings, heavy thumping bass, yells and screams is all I hear these days. Where is the hear candy? You know that kind of song you listen once and you’re not sure you like until you give it more listens. The kind of lyric that hooks you and makes you want to change something about you, or even the world. The strange feeling of nostalgia, of fear or faith. That is all gone since the music industry is now all about money and none about feelings.

What people want these days are instant rewards, premature orgasms while what we need from the music industry is more like a long term relationship. Don’t get me wrong; I understand why people want it that way, but there’s one kind of songs that’ll eventually fade in history while the other one will be there to stay. I think music needs a second chance, a change in the way of thinking, a split for newcomers that don’t want to fit in the prefabricated mold that today’s industry is.

Most contemporary musicians want to have the right “recipe” for success. The recipe that would get their songs top the charts and generate a buzz. They want the special ingredient that would get them out of normal life and throw them right into the elitist artist world. And that is understandable since the industry demands it. Instant success stories are heard all over the newspapers but from experience I know that most of those stories are forgotten shortly after. And if they are not, maybe they should.

What’s sad is that the music that doesn’t fit the standards gets pushed on the midnight playlist on Tuesdays, or worst, not played at all. So the infamous Verse Chorus Verse type of song is filling the entire rush hour playlist. Miss “Perfect Body” and Mr. “Perfect Voice” are all over the radio stations. We’ve come to an era where the beauty of the singer is more important than the beauty of the song. And that’s where it must stop. Sure an anti-charismatic singer won’t attract much audience at first, but fans listen to the music more than looks at the eyes, do they?

I really don’t care what the band looks like. They could be just “okay” but if what they do is pure genius, nobody will notice. What people will notice after some time is the music, the real reason why the band existed in the first place. Since when does a rock star need to be a supermodel to sell tickets? What we want is presence not nude skin.

Maybe I’m wrong a little bit though, since so much people are going to Justin’s or Britney’ shows. As they say “sex sells” and this can’t be truer. A lot of artists are betting on this to make their stash bigger. Think Janet Jackson at the superbowl. Publicity, marketing and word of mouth are what is important now, no matter what you do to get it. Good or bad, talk about it, heh? That’s what they want… And it works! What’s sure though is that good rock music has left its place to rap, screaming rock and pop music this decade and I can only hope it will be back for the next.


Related Posts - Highly Relevant Content

  • Musician Matti MattilaA Finnish music story Musician Matti Mattila wrote his story for us, a Finnish music story! Please read also his Finnish blog and check his page at LinkedIn. I named this article "A Finnish music story" because through Matti words we can know an exclusive tale about late 70's and 80's of Finnish music.......
  • Deejay MixingMusic Biz Marcos Marado wrote this exclusive article about Music Biz. Is the situation really so dramatic as he explains? Leave your comments, this could be our first really important debate on ManuelMarino.com. Music Biz I'm, first of all, a passionate for music. My passion for music before I can recall it,......
  • An Explosion Of Blues Music Author of this article is Robert Benson. He writes about rock and pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates CollectingVinylRecords.com, where you can pick up a copy of his ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby Of Vinyl Record Collecting." You can have your vinyl records appraised at VinylRecordAppraisals.com. An Explosion Of......
  • Music Geek Robin Mookerjee is a songwriter obsessed with music. Is this a good thing? Or a bad thing? I can say he is a real music geek! Read his story and check his website. Music Geek I’m really a fan as much as a songwriter, but a lot of songwriters say......
  • How Has the Internet Affected the Music Industry? This article is written by web designer Josh Gutteridge who runs Skyte Media. Skyte Media is based in the Midlands (England) and is a professional web design company that specialises in web design and development. Josh would like to receive comments about this article on his blog. But of course......



Related Websites - Highly Relevant Content

  • ocarinaWhat is an Ocarina? The Ocarina is a somewhat obscure woodwind instrument, pronounced awk-uh-reen-uh. It is a wind instrument derived from ancient flutes. While there are several different variations of the ocarina concept, the typical ocarina is an oval-shaped instrument with between four and twelve finger holes and a tubular mouth piece that projects......
  • blog traffic exchangeGrace singing Imagine One Day American-born folk singer Grace is making her mark in France. Her father is folk singer Jonathan Edwards. Her mother has recorded as Caroline Edwards and Serah. Home has been Kenya, California, Illinois, Ethiopia, India, Senegal, Belgium, Jamaica. No wonder her music crosses musical boundaries. Not quite world music, pop or......
  • Dead TV by rickremingtonApple May Be On The Verge Of Kneecapping The Cable Industry. Finally. The cable companies suck. All of them. Some suck less than others. But they all suck. We need someone to whip them into shape. And that someone may be Apple. Apple may be on the verge of gaining two key television network agreements, according to The Wall Street Journal. Specifically,......
  • playingguitarPlaying Bass Guitar in a Band People choose one instrument over another, like a bass guitar over a regular guitar, for a variety of different reasons. What makes someone choose a tuba over a flute or drums over a glockenspiel is mostly just the person's preference.  People choose what they like to listen to, what they......
  • blog traffic exchangeHow To Kill The Music Industry During The Pirate Bay trial, the music industry placed the blame for the decline in their revenues squarely on the shoulders of file-sharers. Their logic is clearly flawed, but it could sway the verdict if no alternative explanation is presented. So, if piracy isn’t to blame, then what is *actually*......


Music Reviews: Splendid E-zine

October 20, 2007

Another beautiful music review I had (with my pseudonym Vanethian) is this one at Splendid E-zine. The music review is about my music album Futures Past, with my pseudonym Vanethian. If you want to read more music reviews just search my name on Google and Yahoo.

Music Reviews: Splendid E-zine

If you’ve ever caught yourself getting into the soundtracks that play in the background of sci-fi fantasy games, you might enjoy Futures Past. Unassuming synthesizers create a circumambient musical flow, taking you first to the distant and icy plains of Pluto, then back in time, where you’ll mingle with the shoguns of Japan and explore England’s age of chivalry. Born in Palermo, Manuel Marino, the man behind the music, started out playing solfeggio-style fingerpicking and jazz guitar.

Marino’s heavy interest in role-playing games is evident on Futures Past; he takes his own personal enjoyment and translates it sonically through MIDI sequencing into breathtaking soundscapes that take the listener left of heaven into the World of Dreams. Taking Korgs, Rolands and Moogs to the next level, Marino remains modestly mindful of old masters Rick Wakeman and Alan Parsons when evoking his own brand of medieval methodology. From intergalactic battles to dystopian visions of society, infinite space is the only limit for Marino and his music.


Related Posts - Highly Relevant Content

  • American Music and Vintage Guitars Mark Weakley is an impressive artist; sculptor, painter, musician. He plays guitar, banjo and harmonica, and has recently recorded a CD of his original compositions. In this exclusive article he talks about himself, about his passions, about his father, about traditional american music, about vintage guitars and banjoes, and much......
  • Deejay MixingMusic Biz Marcos Marado wrote this exclusive article about Music Biz. Is the situation really so dramatic as he explains? Leave your comments, this could be our first really important debate on ManuelMarino.com. Music Biz I'm, first of all, a passionate for music. My passion for music before I can recall it,......
  • Sounds like music and networking Wizzit Magazine interviewed me about Blogging and Social Networking. I have to thank Matti Mattila, the reviewer and open networker. If you remember, Matti wrote A musician story. Here is a short excerpt from the magazine article that you can download here in pdf format. Sounds like music and......
  • An Explosion Of Blues Music Author of this article is Robert Benson. He writes about rock and pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates CollectingVinylRecords.com, where you can pick up a copy of his ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby Of Vinyl Record Collecting." You can have your vinyl records appraised at VinylRecordAppraisals.com. An Explosion Of......
  • Country Music Star Is Unleashed! Robert Benson (if you remember he wrote An Explosion of Blues Music) this time gave me a review about the next big star in Country Music, Laura Roppe (pronounced ro-pay). She has a Shania Twain-like quality and already is receiving major air play in Europe. Robert said me also that......



Related Websites - Highly Relevant Content

  • blog traffic exchangeCrown Plaza Invitational Steve Stricker, Tim Clark and Steve Marino battled it out on their second playoff hole in at Sunday's Crown Plaza Invitational before Sticker got the break on his approach shot and set himself up for the victory. Tim Clark held the lead at the 14th hole, after a 23-foot birdie......
  • blog traffic exchangeSave Money on Movies, Music, Television, and Books [Each Monday for the next couple months, I'm going through many of the ways to save money. Read the whole Save Money series.] I'm opening up the Save Money series with some tips on common forms of entertainment: television, movies, music, and books. Television - Most people pay some kind......
  • blog traffic exchangeOn This Date in NBA History-November 3 November 3, 1948 --The Washington Capitols beat the Philadelphia Warriors 77-70, to win the first of 15 consecutive games to start the season, the best start in NBA history. The mark stood for 45 years before it was tied by the 1993-94 Houston Rockets. November 3, 1951 --Neil Johnston......
  • bookreviewBook Review: The Price of Desire by Jo Goodman I have been reading The Price of Desire by Jo Goodman these last few days and at 200 pages in I knew it was going to be a disaster. This review contains a lot of spoilers so be warned. I think many readers will find it helpful to read......
  • blog traffic exchangeHow To Get Free Music Slacker Offers free streaming music to your desktop or hand-held slacker device. Quite a large of music and no annoying ads interspersed between tracks unlike Yahoo!'s Launch player. You can also add your favorite artists to your station and customize to your tastes. Spiralfrog.com Spiralfrog offers free music downloads from......


Music Reviews: Wind and Wire Magazine

October 11, 2007

I’ve been asked why there is no music reviews section. Well, if you search my name on Google.com, you’ll find many pages (in English and Italian languages) that talk about my music works or music albums. So, I don’t want to put a complete list of the links, but anyway I’ll post parts of the most beautiful music reviews. I’ll begin with the one written by Bill Binkelman (Wind and Wire Magazine).

Music Reviews: Wind and Wire Magazine

Here’s a part of the music reviews:

“Manuel Marino, a.k.a. Vanethian, records some of the best “pure” melodic synthesizer music around. He composes and performs in the same musical style as Larry Fast (Synergy). Manuel’s music is overtly electronic and yet rooted in pop-music sensibility (repeated motifs, refrains, and bridges); he (Manuel) has few (if any) contemporaries in this regard. Frankly, I’m always impressed with how good his music sounds.”

“Sophisticated listeners may hear Manuel’s (Vanethian’s) music and only discern overly slick pop EM. Myself, I’m a sucker for the hooks and expert musicianship that, in my opinion, Manuel excels at. As with the last album of his I reviewed, I make no apologies for how much I love his music. It’s chromium candy – polished, yummy, and never upsetting to my stomach, no matter what mood I’m in. I can see why this guy gets a shitload of videogame and computer game music work – he’s a wiz when it comes to hooks and he’s an EM engineering professional.”

The Music Albums Bill Binkelman is talking about are Electronic Souls Fusion (2001),
Electric Blue (2001) and Amazing Dimensions (2000).


Related Posts - Highly Relevant Content

  • American Music and Vintage Guitars Mark Weakley is an impressive artist; sculptor, painter, musician. He plays guitar, banjo and harmonica, and has recently recorded a CD of his original compositions. In this exclusive article he talks about himself, about his passions, about his father, about traditional american music, about vintage guitars and banjoes, and much......
  • blog traffic exchangeTravel Writer This is the beginning of the latest writing by Peter George Mackie. Please contact him if you want to know more about his works. The first chapter of his piece of travel writing "Flowers of Zagreb" can also be downloaded at www.authorsonline.co.uk. Travel Writer Dave was pondering over a map......
  • Walk Hard: a Retro-Styled Philosophy? Yesterday I've seen Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story with a great John C. Reilly. It is a parody movie, a spoof of every musical biopic where John as music star Dewey Cox covers every musical style from Elvis to the Beach Boys over five decades. Dialogue and sequences are......
  • Music Geek Robin Mookerjee is a songwriter obsessed with music. Is this a good thing? Or a bad thing? I can say he is a real music geek! Read his story and check his website. Music Geek I’m really a fan as much as a songwriter, but a lot of songwriters say......
  • How Has the Internet Affected the Music Industry? This article is written by web designer Josh Gutteridge who runs Skyte Media. Skyte Media is based in the Midlands (England) and is a professional web design company that specialises in web design and development. Josh would like to receive comments about this article on his blog. But of course......



Related Websites - Highly Relevant Content

  • blog traffic exchangeBook Review: Celtic, Blues and Beyond (Acoustic Master Class Series) by Al Petteway This book and CD combination is a part of the Acoustic Masterclass series, teaching Celtic music, blues music and beyond. Al Petteway offers advanced guitar arrangements in this tome. As an award-winning composer and guitarist, Al Petteway has developed a unique style for guitar solos that mixes up numerous different......
  • guestreview-2Review: To Tame a Highland Warrior by Karen Marie Moning By: Sasha Muradali, guest blogger To Tame a Highland Warrior has to be the second best book in the Karen Marie Moning Highlander series, falling short directly behind The Dark Highlander. Starting out in 1499, the novel tells the tale of Grimm aka Gavrael McIllioch, the son of a......
  • 16713_logoDEF LEPPARD: oh, yeah!!! What is your favorite thing about England- or Britain for that matter? My answer is simple: DEF LEPPARD. Def Leppard was founded in 1977, in Sheffield. It consisted of 5 guys who chose to become musicians instead of opting for working in a factory-luckily for both them and us.......
  • blog traffic exchangeMusician Profile For Mark O'Connor Mark O' Connor was born and brought up in Seattle, Washington. There, while he was growing up and progressing through his teenage years, he entered into and won several national championships on a number of instruments, including but not limited to the fiddle. From 1983, O'Connor moved to Nashville, having......
  • blog traffic exchangeReal Grooves and CLASH45 presents Bunka Vibe @ ageHa on Saturday July 4th L&G, Keen to celebrate Canada-Japan musical relations this Canada Day weekend? Well, Rotation is celebrating its 10th anniversary and getting back to its roots by bringing several of its original Canadian artists into a mini festival of sorts here in Tokyo at Ageha.  If you're keen to check it out,......


Swoopo  Entertainment  Shopping, Inc.

Featured Website

Clothes, Shoes, Handbags and Big Savings! Today Only!! at Shop-for-Clothes.com
Clothes, Shoes, Handbags and Big Savings! Today Only!! at Shop-for-Clothes.com

Featured Website

Auto Parts, New and Used Cars and Auto Accessories Superstore!! at Shop-for-Car.com
Auto Parts, New and Used Cars and Auto Accessories Superstore!! at Shop-for-Car.com

Your Ad Here