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For over 25 years Def Leppard have been one of the UK’s biggest rock bands, selling over 30 million records worldwide. Whilst a change in fortunes has seen many of the band’s old touring partners disappear, this Sheffield band have continued with a high rate of success, simply because they know how to write a song.
With 1998’s ‘Slang’ they left behind a lot of the production sound from albums like ‘Hysteria’ and ‘Pyromania ‘and went for a more alternative style. This didn’t sit well with a lot of the older fans. With the oddly-titled ‘Songs From The Sparkle Lounge’, the Def Leppard of old shows its face again, albeit with a bit of a face lift, and there’s a sign that the guys still know how to write an in-your-face rock classic as well as a perfectly crafted rock ballad. The opening track ‘Go’ kicks off the album with the band’s heaviest track since ‘Desert Song’ from the ‘Retro Active’ collection, with pounding, almost-tribal drumming from Rick Allen (who sounds like he’s playing a standard kit throughout, no mean feat if you know the band’s history) and some middle Eastern-tinged guitars from Phil Collen and Viv Campbell. Thankfully, the lyrics have improved since the last outing ‘X’ too, with almost political overtones in this opening track.
‘Nine Lives’ is the first single and it is an obvious first single, collaborating with country star Tim McGraw. Despite the country/blues twang, this still sounds like Def Leppard being Def Leppard.
‘Bad Actress’ is an AC/DC-esque stomper, which shows the band at their most rocking: some classic duel guitar from Collen and Campbell. ‘C’Mon C’mon’ is a 70’s glam-inspired track, which shows the band’s Sweet and T Rex influences. ‘Only The Good Die Young’ is one of the best tracks on the album, the lyrics pointing towards a tribute to fallen heroes like James Dean or maybe even the band’s original guitarist Steve Clarke.

leedsmusicscene.net

As Ben Gibbard ponders the meaning of life in our May issue, Brian Howe explores the nature of mother through the song lyrics of rap stars, indie rockers and, uh, Glen Danzig. Though the most important conclusion I drew from the piece is that I am really glad Danzig is not my son, it also reinforced for me the notion that, much like armpits, everybody has a mom—and like armpits, some people’s moms stink. Like, really stink—Ghostface Killah’s mom beat him for peeing the bed! Harsh, Mama Killah!
Quite unlike armpits, though, mothers are the subject of a few great songs. Iron & Wine’s “Upward Over the Mountain” and Smog’s “I Feel Like The Mother Of The World” are two of my favorites among the ones Howe mentions. Of course, it’s not just men that have immortalized and/or vilified their mothers in song. Plenty of female musicians have raised a musical glass to the women they came from (and may or may not, one day, become). Though lacking in Oedipal awkwardness, these songs still pack a punch.
Unlike the “conceptual, impossibly distant sources of confliction” of indie rock that Howe calls out, the type of mother Alela Diane pays tribute to in this heartstring-yanking track is a pantheon of generosity, wisdom, love and affection—the very source of life, contemplated as her child is about to have a daughter of her own. If you love your mom and you want to make her cry, play this song for her!
The irony is delicious and profound. Of course Mama missed all those things and wanted more—and if it wasn’t clear before, it was undeniable by the time her kids and Daddy found her sweet, sad kiss-off note propped up on the kitchen table one day, with Mama nowhere to be found. It’s an extreme way to stumble into the fact that most of us must confront at one time or another: That our mothers are actual sentient beings, that they have lives and hopes and dreams that aren’t entirely defined or limited by our own. (Hopefully your Daddy knows this, too.)

pastemagazine.com

The film unit of Pandurangadu organized a press briefing to give the details of the film, on Ugadi day. The is directed by K Raghavendra Rao and produced by K Krishna Mohan under the banner of RK Film Associates. Balakrishna, Tabu, Sneha, Suhasini are in the lead.
Speaking on the occasion, Balakrishna said, “Working in this film is a boon for me, which I earned in my previous birth. My paternal uncle Nandamuri Trivikrama Rao has produced Panduranga Mahatmyam some 50 years ago in which my father the late NT Ramarao played Pundareekudu. Again I got the opportunity to don the same role.”
“Though doing a film with the history of a devotee from Maharashtra was a daring act during those days, the performance of all the artists made it an all-time hit. I am confident my father would bless me for doing the same role after these many years,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion, K Viswanath said, “I donned the role played by Nagaiah in Panduranga Mahatmyam. I realized the various angles of Raghavendra Rao as director.”
Keereavani said, “The earlier version of the film was a musical hit. When the director approached me to score tunes for the film, I thought I am making an attempt for impossible. At one stage, I personally felt whether it is necessary to work so casually for the film. There are a total of 16 songs in the movie. At the same time, I feel proud for lending my voice to Viswanath in the movie.”

entertainment.oneindia.in

Just because it’s “noncommercial” doesn’t mean public radio doesn’t have the same concerns about how to attract and retain listeners, and how to use rather than be run over by new technology, as its commercial brethren.
And when there are disagreements about strategies to address those concerns, they can result in executive changes that are as public and messy as those on the commercial side of the business.
Such was the case last week when National Public Radio announced the departure of its chief executive officer, Ken Stern, “by mutual agreement.”
The appearance of that phrase in a news release is rarely a sign of a happy parting.
What Stern’s exit does mean is the appointment as CEO, on an interim basis, of a Northwesterner and someone who has worked for years on the affiliate side of the business — Dennis Haarsager.
Until last week, Haarsager was associate vice president and general manager of educational and public media at Washington State University. In that capacity, he ran Northwest Public Radio, which operates two networks of NPR programming and classical music heard on stations and translators across the region.
Haarsager, who has been on NPR’s board for 2 1/2 years and chairman since November, wasn’t specific about the reasons for Stern’s departure. The Washington Post, however, said the issue was unhappiness of affiliates over NPR’s initiatives into new technologies and delivery channels.

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