We wanted to spread some positive music for you and at the moment there is no better new artist to fulfill this goal than California’s Vital. Not only is his music inspiring, but his story is also encouraging (check it out after the jump). Some may think his earnest sound veers into sappy territory, but we believe music is meant to be to convey emotions and this is sure to connect with some people out in the world. If we can aid in this connection between people and music/positive-emotions, then we have done our job.
Below are two of our favorite songs, and if you like what you’re hearing you must go to his official page and download the entire album for free.
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DOWNLOAD: Vital – Airport
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DOWNLOAD: Vital – Saying
Thanks to kaaate for the tip.
“Duranta D. Cook (born December 31 1980 in Vallejo, California, USA), is an indie singer-songwriter that goes by his artist name Vital.
Vital was born in Vallejo, California in 1980. He was raised by his mother, Theresa McCall, a struggling parent who raised him and his sister Shalon by herself. Vital’s first performance came at the age of six, singing and acting in a local church play entitled “The Return of The Messiah”. Less than one year later, when Vital was only seven, his mom was shot. Luckily she survived the tragic incident, however, the circumstances forced the three of them to move to Chicago to stay with relatives and friends.
Vital moved back and forth between the two cities until he was twelve-years-old when he moved back to California to attend junior high school.
Prior to starting his solo career Vital wanted to be behind the music scene, writing and contributing by recording demos for other musicians in the Bay Area.
After being persuaded by the many people he met, he released two EP’s in the genre of Hip Hop and R&B. “I never found my true self while doing what the society expected me to do, I never felt at home doing what’s expected”.
Wanting to experiment more with the music he felt was a better reflection of himself he went into the studio to record his first solo album in the summer of 2008. Now, almost two years later he is anxiously waiting to let the world hear his music.”
Benjamin FRANKEL (1906-1973) Curse of the Werewolf (1959) So Long at the Fair (1950) The Net – Love Theme (1953) The Prisoner (1955)
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Carl Davis
Naxos Film Music Classics 8.557850
I must make a confession. I do not like Werewolves or films which involve psychological drama. Torture and violence – either physical or mental are not part of my definition of entertainment. But I do like comedies and light romantic tales and adventures. So perhaps I am not best able to comment on the majority of this CD with any great authority. Yet I do love the music on this CD: it has all the hallmarks of a great composer writing effective music which has the desired effect of pointing up the action on the screen. However my problem is this. I do not want to subconsciously provide the relevant cinematographic images in my mind’s eye for some of this enchanting music. I want to enjoy the music as music. Therein lies the rub.
Look at the plot of Curse of the Werewolf – a young man, Leon, is struck down with lycanthropy (causes humans to change into wolves at each full moon) His mother had been made pregnant by a crazed and evil beggar. After a reasonably normal childhood Leon falls victim to vice. Even the love of Christiana does not help him reform – and eventually he comes to a sticky end with a silver bullet fashioned from a crucifix. All very scary stuff – at least to people of my generation – although I wonder what today’s young filmgoers would make of it. Perhaps the ‘scariness’ is a bit camp by today’s standards.
The Prisoner has a harrowing plot – a Roman Catholic priest is arrested on ‘trumped up’ treason charges and is subject to torture and brainwashing, before rolling up at a ‘show’ trial. Not much fun there, I fear, although I understand the film received great accolades when it was released in 1955. And with Alec Guinness (priest) and Jack Hawkins (interrogator) in the leading roles, success was bound to follow.
Neither film is on my list of ‘ones to watch before I die.’ But the music is great! The present CD gives a complete account of all the music that Benjamin Frankel wrote for the ‘Curse’ and for The Prisoner. The latter score is in fact a first recording of this music since the film’s release. Interestingly, the composer makes use of ‘serial’ technique in the ‘Curse’ – this being the first British film to use this particular compositional technique. Strangely, Frankel never used this tool again in his work for the cinema.
Now for my secret listening strategy. I listened to the ‘Curse’ and then switched the ‘hi-fi’ off. I had a rest, a cup of tea and a walk round the ‘policies’ and then listened to ‘The Prisoner’. I deliberately put all thoughts of evil and torture and werewolves and dark windy castles out of my mind: Gothic horror and ‘Stalinist’ excesses were forgotten for this exercise. I told myself I was listening to Benjamin Franklin’s “Symphonic Variations” followed by his “Variations on a Theme” for Orchestra. And this did the trick. It actually worked well – there is an internal consistency in each of these two scores that do allow the works to be listened to without reference to the plot or programme. They are actually extremely effective ‘concert pieces’ if heard in this manner. But (I agree) it is a scam! And call me unsophisticated if you will…
Of course the other two film scores represented are easier on the mind. The short extract from the mysterious So Long at the Fair is pure romance. Most listeners will know the evocative ‘Carriage & Pair’ which has featured in a score of British Light Music record and CD releases. Frankel’s music makes much use of this memorable tune and the result is a lovely miniature suite. The Love Theme to The Net – a spy thriller- is another one of the composer’s attractive tunes. Of course there was much more music from this score – but Carl Davis and the redoubtable Liverpool Phil. gives us what I presume to be the highlight.
So in sum this is a great CD. Enjoy the ‘given’ movie images in your mind if this is you ‘bag’ – or listen to it as ‘absolute music’ if you do not want to associate this wonderful music with hairy hands and sharp incisors and thumbscrews.
Benjamin Frankel is one of Britain’s many underrated and undervalued composers. And he was born a hundred years ago this year. Scan the BBC Promenade Concert Programmes and you will not find any mention of him or his music. It would not have taken too much boldness on the concert programmers’ part to dump a piece by Mozart, Shostakovich or Colin Matthews and slip in Frankel’s Violin Concerto or First Symphony. But of course Frankel is not the only composer to suffer from Auntie’s indifference to 19th and 20th century British Music. Heigh ho…
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this was first published
It's old news that, for some crazy reason, the cast and crew of “Twilight” originally didn't realize that the film would be a hit. Two sequels and over $1.1 billion worldwide later (with more sure to come with the release of “Eclipse”), it seems like the cast is still trying to maintain a back-up plan if acting doesn't work out: music.
This week, we got word that newcomer BooBoo Stewart released a new single called “Rainy Day” on iTunes, and it got us thinking about all the other musically inclined stars of the film. They far outnumber the rest of the cast, it seems.
Oh, and if you're wondering about that picture of Taylor Lautner to the right, we'll get to that in a moment!
The most obvious examples are Robert Pattinson and Jackson Rathbone, both of whom are often found on the set singing and strumming some chords on their guitar. Rob famously had some of his music make its way onto the “Twilight” soundtrack, but seems to be on something of a music hiatus, so don't expect him to be going on tour any time soon.
Jackson, on the other hand, is part of the group 100 Monkeys (that's him on the far right) who just recently embarked on a fan-picked 100 City Tour. Though they haven't had any songs make it to “The Twilight Saga” soundtracks, the last we heard they were going to be making the soundtrack for Jackson's upcoming indie, “Girlfriend.”
Then there's Anna Kendrick, who was a Tony-nominated Broadway performer before she kicked off her career in film with “Camp” and “Rocket Science.” Most recently — and comically — she showed off her singing abilities during a drunken karaoke session in “Up in the Air.” We love a girl who can laugh at herself, Anna.
Though they don't sing off-screen (unless it's alongside Joan Jett & The Blackhearts), Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning did sing their own tunes in their biopic, “The Runaways.” Singing someone else's songs in someone else's skin is a little different than being a musician in your own right, but we still count this as proof that Kristen and Dakota are musically inclined.
On to the lesser known musicians, Justin Chon (who plays Bella's classmate, Eric Yorke) has his own band as well. Apparently he rocked out with Rob and the rest of the gang on “Twilight,” but didn't get a chance to on “New Moon” because he only was on set for a week and a half.
That might have given Chaske Spencer and Tyson Houseman, two members of the wolf pack, a chance to show off their own musical talents with the rest of the bunch. Both list music as among their interests, and Chaske admits to playing the drums, though he finds musicians more intimidating than actors.
Newcomer Julia Jones might not be able to hold a tune herself, but she did nab the leading lady role in country singer Chuck Wick's titillating music video for his song “Hold That Thought.” It gives her the chance to look a bit sexier than she will in “Eclipse,” though we already knew she could pull that off thanks to her red carpet looks.
Fortunately for all of us, Julia isn't the only “Twilight” star to have starred as the romantic interest in a music video. That's right: a much younger Taylor Lautner was the boy of Cassie Thomson's dreams in her music video for “Caught Up In You.” We still haven't decided if this tops his martial arts YouTube video.
But wait! Just when you didn't think it could get any better, turns out Taylor must have loved the music video business so much he decided to go off and make his own! Lipsyncing to OneRepublic's “Apologize,” Taylor apparently made the video for a school project. Pretty impressive work for someone his age, though we're a little concerned about his choice in shorts and that random upside down phone.
Did we miss any other “Twilight” stars who are hiding musical abilities? Do you agree with our suggestion that they go on a country-wide musical tour?
Jared Hendrix