Video: "Journey to the Past" by Aaliyah and "Viaje Tiempo Atras" (Journey to the Past) by Thalia (Anastasia soundtrack)

Happy Throwback Thursday!

I rewatched the movie Anastasia a couple of days ago and the animation is just as wonderful as the story. I was still thinking about the movie and figured I'd post two "Journey to the Past" videos by Aaliyah and Thalia from the movie's 1997 soundtrack. The videos might be outdated visual wise but the song is still amazing. If you haven't seen Anastasia, I really recommend it.

Flashback Friday: Timbaland featuring Ne-Yo video: Hands in the Air (Step Up 4: Revolution Soundtrack)

I know I'm a little late posting something for 10th Anniversary for Step Up 4: Revolution, Wednesday (July 27th) was the actual date. Anyway, I'll post a celebratory post tomorrow until then here is Timbaland featuring Ne-Yo video Hands in the Air which features dancer and actress Kathryn McCormick who was also the lead actress in Step Up 4. Funny enough, Ne-Yo is one of the stars in the Step Up: High Water TV Series.

Video: It's On Again by Alicia Keys featuring Kendrick Lamar

Sometime soon, I want to do a Spider-Man movie marathon, which would include eight movies (nine if I include Venom). Until I can figure out a time for this, here is the video for It's On Again by Alicia Keys featuring Kendrick Lamar, Hans Zimmer and Pharrell Williams from The Amazing Spider-Man 2 soundtrack.

Video: All The Stars by Kendrick Lamar and SZA

I've had this song All The Stars by Kendrick Lamar and SZA in my head for the last few days. It's from the Black Panther movie soundtrack and the song is probably going to be stuck in my head for a while after also rewatching the movie last night. Despite having the Blu-ray, I still sat in front of the TV and watched it on ABC last night followed by the Special on Chadwick Boseman.

Anyway, I just felt like posting the video.

New Music Purchase: Avengers: Endgame Soundtrack

I really love listening to soundtracks and I just ordered the CD for the Avengers: Endgame soundtrack by Alan Silvestri. While I watching Endgame, I was so busy concentrating on the movie that I wasn't paying as much attention to the music. However what I heard sound really good which is why I decided to buy the soundtrack.

I know I could have ordered it digitally but I've mentioned before that I like to buy the CD if it's available. With our world being so digital, it's nice to have the physical copy whenever possible. I forgot to post that I bought the Captain Marvel soundtrack by Pinar Toprack back in March. Unfortunately, it's only available in digital, however it's still a really good soundtrack.

Question of the Day: Which Movie Soundtracks Do You listen to the Most?

I love movie soundtracks and as archaic as it might seem I also like to buy the CD whenever possible. It's just something about having a physical copy in a digital world. I have a lot of soundtracks and there are some I still haven't listen to yet: Justice League, Wonder Woman and Star War: The Last Jedi. But here are some of the ones I listen to the most:

Side Note: I know I've mentioned this before but why is there such a lack of women composers? This is why I can't wait to hear the Captain Marvel soundtrack because Pinar Toprak was selected as the composer.

Iron Man 3 by Brian Tyler
Captain America: The Winter Soldier by Henry Jackman

Comic Book News: Pinar Toprak is the Composer for the "Captain Marvel" Movie

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new composer for the Captain Marvel movie is Pinar Toprak. Some of her previous composer work includes the score for syfy channel's Krypton TV series and the video game Fortnite and providing additional musical work for the Justice League movie.

Can you believe it, Toprak will be the first woman to score a movie for Marvel Studios. It's a shame because I always found it weird that there are not more women composers for movies. I mentioned something about this back when I was doing the Wonder Woman Movie Challenge. It's so rare that women are selected to score a movie that only a few come to mind such as the late Shirley Walker who composed several films including the score for Batman: Mask of the Phantasm animated movie which was released in 1993 and for TV series such as Superman: The Animated Series which was released in 1996.

This is good news and now I just have to remember to get the soundtrack next year once it's out. Also, Captain Marvel is scheduled to be released March 8, 2019.

Wonder Woman Movie Challenge: Day #28: The Wonder Woman Soundtrack

Okay, as of now I have no idea what's on this Wonder Woman soundtrack by Rupert Gregson-Williams but I still want to get it. It will not be available until June 2nd which is the release date for the movie.

Also, I couldn't help wondering why are there so few women composers in the music industry? I rarely see any of them attached to any projects such as movie soundtracks. As someone who loves soundtracks, I just find it weird that women are rarely the ones allowed to create them.

On a side note, Gal Gadot will be on the MTV Movie Awards airing tomorrow at 8:00 PM EST.

Art: Disney's The Lion King Play

This past Sunday (Feb. 12th), I had the pleasure of attending the play The Lion King, it was unbelievably fantastic. Months priors, I had thought about not buying a ticket to save money (still trying to be a Geek on a Budget) but it was so worth going to see it, everything from the acting to the sets was wonderful. I went with my mother and my younger sister and thankfully it wasn't too cold as we waited in line to enter the theatre. It was a long line and I always consider that to be a good thing because who doesn't want to perform to a full house. And the actors truly put on a great performance.

But I'm getting a head of myself, because as we walked into the theatre and checked our tickets, we each bought a program. It's full of gorgeous pictures although not of this production's actors but still a cool piece of memorabilia.

We had balcony seats which comes with walking up a lot of stairs to get to them but no problem I'm in pretty good shape and bounced up the stairs like I was a little kid. I was so excited to see this show and from our seats we had a great view of the stage. As soon as the lights dimmed it was time for the show and as I stated before the actors did a great job. I enjoyed every minute of the show and even with a short intermission it felt like it went by too fast. At the end the cast received a standing ovation and they deserved it.

Even though the show was over, I had the bright idea to stop by the merchandise stand. This was so not a good idea because despite trying to save money I wound up buying quite a few things. Here's a tip for anyone trying to save money don't go to the merchandise stand or gift store after the show because you will always see something you want.

And see something I did, mind you I already bought a program and that should have been enough but I also bought the soundtrack (you know I can't resist a good soundtrack), a mug and a tote bag. Well at least there was a slight sale on items which was good. It's easy to see that Disney now has plenty of my money but the experience was so amazing that I didn't want it to end. I wanted to basked in the enjoyment of the show just a little bit more.

See, this is why I love the arts, it's so inspiring. If you get the chance, please support the arts by going to plays, art exhibits, etc. I don't go as often as I would like to the theatre but I'm going to do my best to go more. One day I would love to go to New York and see a show on Broadway but until then I will enjoy a little bit of the theatre right in my own city. I already know there are some really cool upcoming shows that I'm going to look into.


Program

Music: Rogue One Soundtrack

I previously wrote about my love of movie soundtracks and I can't see that ending anytime soon. But before I discuss my latest soundtrack purchase I want to talk a little about the movie. The other day I saw Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and I loved it. The movie centers around this ragtag group of misfits who were sort of thrown together as they attempt to gather the necessary information to stop the Empire. I'm not embarrassed to say that this movie left me in tears from the action to the emotional heart wrenching scenes to that ending, this was perfect. 

There was not one single thing about this movie that wasn't done well, including the soundtrack. And the minute I got home, I ordered not only the soundtrack for Rogue One by Michael Giacchino but also for Star War: The Force Awakens by John Williams (even though I still haven't seen the movie yet but I will this week). Due to the sound effects I'm sure I missed some of the nuances of the music which is why I bought the soundtrack but what I remember is stuck in my head. From what I've read Giacchino was brought in at the last minute to create the soundtrack and he must work well under pressure because the music is excellent.

Now I just have to wait for my CDs (yes I said CDs) to show up in the mail, when it comes to soundtracks I still prefer tangible disk over digital. Because as weird as it may seem I like getting the booklets and anything else that maybe include with the music. 

If you like soundtracks, Rogue One might be one you want to add to your collection.

Music: Moana Soundtrack + Why I love buying Soundtracks?

I hope I'm not boring you with all my Moana posts but this will probably be the last one at least for a while. I don't know if you remember me mentioning in another post that I ordered the soundtrack. Well, it showed up in the mail yesterday. I love this soundtrack, it's a perfect fit for dare I say a perfect movie. Moana is easily my new favorite movie, I may have to go see it again. 

Something that may or may not surprise you is I don't buy a lot of music. I'm totally okay with listening to the radio or SiriusXM when I'm driving around. However, when I do buy music it's mainly movie soundtracks. I absolutely love listening to the score from the movies, sometimes the music is fast-paced with tons of energy then surprisingly it segues into something slow and soft. It's very interesting listening to the orchestral music because it's telling the story without the use of words.

However there is one downside, sometimes especially in action/superhero movies the music is drowned out by the loud sound effects making it nearly impossible to hear it. Which is why if I like even a portion of what I can hear being played I'll generally buy the soundtrack. Sometimes I don't even have to like the movie to buy the soundtrack i.e. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. For such a terrible movie it has a great soundtrack. And if a soundtrack is exceptionally made you get the perfect feel of experiencing the movie. For instance the other day I was listening to Captain America: The Winter Soldier soundtrack. Now that is a really good one, I totally recommend listening to it. The score truly captures the movie and I feel it represent the modern and pulse pounding time that Cap is in especially if you compare it to the score for Captain America: The First Avenger where the music had this earnest to it.

Something else that may or may not surprise you is that whenever I do buy music it's in the form of a CD. I don't really like to buy digital music because you don't get anything such as booklets, posters or anything else that might come with it. I guess it's the same tangibility (and visual) thing I have with buying books. What can I say I love the advancement of technology except perhaps when it comes to books and music.

I enjoy listening to nearly all genres of music but when it actually comes to purchasing music, then soundtracks are my must have. For me they're the best.