DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: MEETING THE BEATLES IN INDIA

 

4/5

Eight Days A Wait. 

79 Mins. Starring: Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, David Lynch & Paul Saltzman. Narrator: Morgan Freeman. Director: Paul Saltzman. 

How long would you wait to have some time with The Beatles? Longer than 'Lord Of The Rings' director Peter Jackson's over eight-hour magnum-opus of a Beatles documentary, 'Get Back'? 'Eight Days A Week' like Ron Howard? Well, that's exactly how long kindly Canadian filmmaker Paul Saltzman waited, 'Meeting The Beatles In India'. The new documentary and the latest one that is much more than the Fab Four. 

Get back into this. Because this is beautiful and one of the greatest docs on the best band in the world. Saltzman returns to his spiritual retreat where he once met John, Paul, George and Ringo. Picture the scene. This Paul is a young man. Overcoming abuse and searching for a sense of purpose. He woke up one morning and his soul spoke to him. And what did it show and tell him? To walk a path. One that led to India. And when he got there, off a 500 buck payday (the flight was 550) hustle, pretending he worked in sound and then moonlighting to study it, he faced heartbreak. A dear John letter for Paul from his girlfriend, moving in with another man. He needed answers. So off he went to seek spiritual guidance. 

But, there was no room at this inn. Four boys from Liverpool were in town. Yet, Paul was in need of more than love. So he was willing to wait. Eight whole days. In a tent before his pilgrimage began in the beauty of meditation. And then all it took was just a few minutes. Walking outside, Saltzman came across a table of people that looked more than familiar. These faces were famous. Featuring Mia Farrow, a Beach Boy and four friends that get by with something you might be fondly familiar with. Lennon. McCartney. Harrison. Starr. A couple of jokes about Canadians and colonies later and a friendship was formed. More than four times over. Thief thick. Studying under Indian philosopher Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, back in 1968, Paul became part of all this and photographed plenty of perfect portraits of the four. 

Ones that now have pride of place in The Beatles Story in Liverpool, with an exhibit that marks the anniversary of something that was over fifty years ago. But yet, still feels like yesterday. Meditating all their troubles far away. Now, when Paul is given a guided tour of the four's story on Albert Dock, he is moved to tears when he sees the white piano in dear John's room. And I don't need to imagine, I was the same. But from Liverpool to Tokyo, like a Lennon and Yoko exhibition, the mild-mannered Saltzman saw a yes when it came to actually bonding with the late, great Beatle. "The thing about love, is you always get another chance", John told Paul, like gospel (PREACH!). It helped Saltzman get over his stinging heartbreak. A few months later. John Lennon met Miss Ono too. 

Toronto, Canada, back to India, by way of Liverpool. What a way to go. From compelling conversations with his daughter (who was the catalyst of all of this) at the end of Route 66 on California's Santa Monica Pier. To the grace of 'My Sweet Lord' hearing Harrison meditate on the sitar, like father of Norah, Ravi Shankar. And from rifling through the 'Revolver' and 'White Album' classic vinyl in his garage. To listening like an iconic dog and gramophone to the HMV studios in New Delhi, where His Masters Voice heard some classic Beatles music, crossing over from Abbey Road like a zebra. Paul was even present when Paul McCartney was working on some of the words of an iconic song. But all he was a melody, still what a tune he carried. And what portraits the second Paul's camera painted. 

Animated like the amazing fond flashbacks (including an inspired look at Toronto's legendary vinyl fronted Sams Records)   and as beautiful as an Indian sunset like an Elton John song. This definitive documentary that reminisces on a moment of bliss over a wonderful week is narrated by who else but the voice of Morgan Freeman? It also features the belief of 'Twin Peaks' and original 'Dune' director David Lynch who has done amazing work with Paul and Ringo and is in awe of Saltzman's sweet memories and fellow pilgrimage. Beatles historians, film composers and even Bungalow Bill  (after hearing said song of his namesake, the only animals this former hunter shot were with his camera) himself all get together in a helter-skelter of a time capsule view on history like the epic gathering of THE iconic photograph that almost feels like a Sgt. Pepper for your lonely hearts club. Steven Tyler of Aerosmith once told us, "God, I love the sweet taste of India". But off the heat of his lens, Paul Saltzman gives us a visual and nostalgic feast. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Further Filming: 'The Beatles-Get Back', 'The Beatles-Eight Days A Week', 'Yesterday'. 

REVIEW: MAYA HAWKE - MOSS

4/5

Hawkeye.

Stranger things have happened in volumes this year, but still it's been Maya Hawke's calendar in 2022. Especially this month. She gave us scoops of her talent stealing the show in Netflix's most successful streaming series, outside of South Korea, back in 2019. All whilst finding the soul of Steve Harrington. But now? Ahoy! The daughter of the great 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Kill Bill' legend, Uma Thurman and indie darling Dad, Ethan Hawke (who recently made a major Marvel mainstream move with 'Moon Knight'), is giving us a 'Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood' moment after that classic cameo. Netflix again saw her 'Do Revenge' last week, and today she finally releases her eagerly-anticipated follow-up to her 2020 debut album 'Blush', after 'To Love A Boy' in 2019 showed us she could do more than serve soft scoops. 

Now gathering 'MOSS' unlike a rolling stone, Kate, revenge is a dreamy dish best served in a floaty bliss. After our love and country surrendered to Maggie Rogers' latest, we now have another rich tapestry from a young queen who would be Carole King. Inspired by the 'Folklore' of Taylor Swift, who this fall will give us the late night oil of the 'Midnights' blues for all you faithful hearts who can't get no sleep. 'MOSS' is mesmerizing. Just like 'Thérèse'. The lead single off this Mom + Pop product (nothing to do with her proud parents of fellow fame). Inspired by another artist, Balthus' painting 'Thérèse Dreaming' at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. One the young Hawke instantly connected with upon viewing, gazing in the gallery with reverie. Identified with the subject in the portrait, who Maya described as "who in my head is me". An inspired lead single of depth and nuance the mainstream normally doesn't cater for. 

Long Pond Studios serve as the launching pad for a sound that is described as a "meditation" on "rebirth and acceptance". And we really are seeing a second career being born from someone we immediately accepted the first time we saw her face behind the counter in the ice cream parlour, thinking she looked familiar. Although she made her own name as Jo March with the in BBC's own take on the literary classic 'Little Women'. Available on a limited edition, pink translucent vinyl from the hip Urban Outfitters, the second single from 'MOSS' is just as candy coated with the old commercial video seeing this small-screen sensation take a trip to the dentist after love has given her more cavities than wall insulation. "I'm grateful for everything you put me through/It's the only reason I'm any good to talk to/When I'm sick or suffering, I'll still call you/About my big, sore sweet tooth." 

Singing for Uma like Fall Out Boy and all of us who love bad movies too on 'Sweet Tooth' as she tells us (she), "Told my mother that I love her/And that I'd lie to the accountant if she wants/I'll do whatever to protect her/I'll say anything just to make her stop/I saw a movie everybody hated ('Morbius'?)/In an empty theatre in Duluth/Swear I really loved it (me too) /Love is such a better thing to do." And it really is. The third and latest single 'Luna Moth' will also attract you to this star's shine and effervescent flame. 

But it's the opening 'Backup Plan' and the closing 'Mermaid Bar' that passes it and shows you the scales of this young but anything but little woman's growth and genius. Hiding perplexing pain in what looks like a romantic ballad. Showing strength in the solidarity of self for words on the contrary that are anything but coerced. "Light a fire, live without it/Have a dark thought and tell me all about it/Your backup plan, your best man/Your torrid affair, your long hair", she's no backup plan. Instead, "anything you've lost that you might be lookin' for". You, too, will find it as well. 

'Bloomed Into Blue' for another beautiful blush that just takes you away, this 'MOSS' is a sweet as the due of a summer residue on fall foliage. "I like your weird clothes, your needy demeanour/I like your days off and your key carabiner/I like your big head, your little taut body/I like your fine threads and your ridiculous hobbies", Maya loving laments on a track that takes a 'Hiatus' of the pretensions of modern love for the singer one birthday shy of her quarter-century. Will Graefe also joins her on the grateful 'Crazy Kid' for a dreamy duet, written in the young stars. 

'South Elroy' takes us even further, like Montauk. "When we fought and we f##### and we fought/I always took your side/Now I'm waitin' out this fever/I dream you're sliding quarters into the parkin' meter/A little more time in your beat-up black Mercedes." This is Springsteen drive-time dreams, born to love in the car Janis Joplin asked God for. All the way to the amends made for the 'Driver' in this R.E.M. dream. "Writing's too slow/Talking's too fast/Lately real low/Lies at last/Oh dear, my dear/Get in all your licks/I'll string my words/Something will stick", Hawke harmonizes on the 'Sticky Little Words' that sound a lot like 'I love you'. 

Scratching through the soil for the depth of a higher, forever love, she sings, "Empty, empty, I'm not empty, this bud keeps a bee/Like what you see, but it won't be pretty, pretty/I want my smile weak and wrong/My arms and legs real strong/I want my skin to fall, stretch long/I want my mind fresh, even when my body's rotten/I want to know more than you have forgotten/I'm not your flower, I'm the pollen." She reminds us of the time young loves dream didn't wake up. And it could still last in this here morning after. "I see it, though, I do, in the turning of your mind/I see the things you think, your electric body beside", she devoted in an ode to the malaise of the same midnight hour we are about to be taken swiftly to by Taylor in further folklore. 

Hawking her best work and year yet, Maya moves us with her music. In one song she references a Wilhelm scream like this art was Star Wars, between some Baz Luhrmann sunscreen. But always wearing her heart on her sleeve, there is nothing artificial or canned here for special effect. On Hawke's second act, she gives us her greatest role. One that doesn't require a performance off a script, but the genuine poetic prose of her innermost longings. 'MOSS' is marvellous. It's enough to make a grown-man blush. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Playlist Picks: 'Bloomed Into Blue', 'Sweet Tooth', 'Driver'. 

REVIEW: THE MARS VOLTA - THE MARS VOLTA

4/5

Life On Mars.

Mars attacks. Just when you thought it was all over, The Mars Volta return with one of the most cohesive albums of the year. And the name of this reunion after almost a decade? 'The Mars Volta'. 'Self-Titled' like the brackets of Mumford and Sons bandleader Marcus Mumford's first solo set. Released on the same New Music Friday where every new record born is bitten by the 'Pink Venom' of South Korean K-pop juggernaut BLACKPINK (no need to shout)! 

There may be less hair (look who's talkin') and salt and pepper in the beards, but this act that have worked with Chili Peppers like Frusciante and Flea and have recently courted Kanye collaboration rumours, want a slice of the pop cake too. Yet this band whose new album was monolith art installation teased like a 2001 'Space Odyssey' in gold code numerals outside Los Angeles' City Hall are still making quality music under their own control. Akin to art like the covers of their classics 'Frances The Mute' and their definitive debut ('De-Loused In The Comatorium'), amongst everything else from their perfect palette. The last being 2012's 'Noctourniquet'. 

El Passo, Texas' prog rock finest of members Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala shouldn't be slept on. Even if they are amongst the most underrated legends of our generation or those gone, fixing on the psychedelia of MGMT and Empire Of The Sun. This seventh seal of red planet voltage is self-titled because it marks a clean-slate for the band previously gone for a decade. Much like Marcus solo Mumford emancipation of the same self-titled name. Spearheaded by the outstanding opening track and lead single 'Blacklight Shine'. Gleaming in the gold bars that sound like they were just mined at this moment. 

A beautiful 'Vigil' that will have fans in pilgrimage to their live shows singing by the cell phone like candlelight, and a 'Graveyard Love' (erm...) mark the shift of the rest of their worked singles. Taking on Scientology and taking inspiration from Bowie, Weller, Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel's move to the mainstream. This album hits you like a sledgehammer or the drums of Genesis in the night. Can you feel it? 

They're coming. 'Shore Story' is not the same old sure story, singing, "If I were you, I wouldn't answer it at all/It's late November mornin' and I'll be comin' home/For a little while, I could shake them/But the trail I left was strong", as new foundations are laid. But it's these 'Blank Condolences' that you should really pay respects to. "Out here, buried beneath your tombs/My nails scrawl in blood/I will always haunt you/Out here, beneath the things you do/Exhumin' ruins/If you audit all the omens/Broken fevers out of time/Wouldn't you want to have closure?/When your blindness becomes home." Has a chorus ever compelled you so much? Pure poetry! Mainstream, my condolences. 

At their most beautiful, 'Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon' is a love letter to the shadows that hide behind the heart. "Don't block the view/Silhouette of a silhouette/Time-stamped/ No, nothing of proof/Silhouette dice/Silhouette of his control/Has no one considered he'd run?/Stole your breath when he's got it/This is a silhouette of his control." Now, make sure your own prescription is more than just rose tints. In this 'Curela' world" If the walls they build come tumblin', tumblin' down/And the love you failed to comfort comes back 'round/At last, I found my moment to fall apart."

On 'Flash Burns From Flashbacks' they really look into the light with lyrics like, "The burning film in your projector/Ulcerous amnesia/Memories, they're not so fond of my mind." As the reels tell a different story in nuance than the niceties of nostalgia. Holding 'A Palm Full Of Crux' gifts us with one of the set's best. But there is 'No Case Gain' that sings, "Someone's out on the wing of a plane/And she's headed for a storm/Clap back, reach my jugular/Are you now succumbin' to the silver guilt?/You pad my cell." Straight, perfect prose to the jacket. Call me crazy. 

Before your 'Collapsible Shoulders' forlornly fall into the formidable finale of 'The Requestion', 'Equus 3' will show you no equal. But it's the 'Tourmaline' that is exactly that. A gemstone mining minerals and words that bond, such as, "If the catatonic walls close in on the hem again/Pull the tether down for me/I’ve been haemorrhaging thе sins of these lessеr men/In cracks I didn't make/Until the lights, they flicker out/And a voice asks, "Are you safe in this cavern?"/Deep in the fathom span of outstretched arms/Of outstretched arms", reaching out to us in the hope that we will hold on. And we have. For a decade now. Ever since Bixler-Zavala tweeted in 2013, "I can’t sit here and pretend any more. I no longer am a member of Mars Volta." Hoping it wasn't true. Well, it may have been back then, but it's not any more for these Martians. And as Voltorn forms once more, there's life on this seventh rock from the fourth one from the sun. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Playlist Picks: 'Blacklight Shine', 'Vigil', 'The Requisition'. 

REVIEW: MARCUS MUMFORD - (SELF-TITLED)

4/5

Self-Belief.

Mumford and no Sons. Marcus Mumford is back, but like you've never seen him before. And we aren't just talking about the impressive weight moved. That's surface and an amazing achievement, for sure. But what lies beneath is the real work depth of a man coming out of childhood trauma and the turmoil of loneliness that is explored on his most personal project to date. The '(Self-Titled)' solo album of Marcus Mumford in the same wonderful week we get 'The Mars Volta' from The Mars Volta, for your high-voltage ("DANGER, DANGER!"). 

Of course, the self-care of his opening solo act would be his innermost, most stripped-down and bare album yet. Beating to the chest of his vest. Especially after Barack Obama's favourite Big Smoke band came out of the controversy of guitarist Winston Marshall's departure, following backlash he received online for calling Andy Ngo "brave" for his anti-antifa book 'Unmasked'. There's been quite a gap since these Gentlemen of the Road's 'Delta' (2018). And more amazingly, a decade gone since 2012's classic 'Babel'. The same year, Marcus married amazing Academy Award nominated 'Promising Young Woman', 'Shame' and 'Wildlife' actress Carey Mulligan (what a calendar). Now Wimbledon's own, Marcus, serves up a straight set on his own. Save formidable features with Brandi Carlile, Clairo, Monica Martin and the great Phoebe Bridgers. I mean, the others are great too...but Bridgers may just be the punishing best of our generation, outside surrendering to Maggie Rogers. Whose latest album shares the same 'Self-Titled' handwriting on notepaper. 

Believe in this 'Wilder Mind' that takes Mumford's music further into new territories, like the time they went electric like Dylan. Sigh no more. That beautiful, brooding music that is Bon like Iver is back, folks. Stirring you over atmospheric strings for this Blake Mills produced Island Record. Eating off the opening, 'Cannibal' is one of the hardest tracks Marcus has committed to music. "I can still taste you, and I hate it/That wasn't a choice in the mind of a child and you knew it/You took the first slice of me and you ate it raw/Ripped it in with your teeth and your lips like a cannibal/You fucking animal." This time, we won't edit the curse. Real and raw lyrics in revelation for a man who recently shared that he was abused as a child. Now others will be given the bravery to speak out thanks to the vulnerability of Marcus. 

But 'Grace' incarnate, like the name of my firstborn (as I wish upon a star), brings us right back to a beautiful place. The kind of location Mumford's moving voice of registered emotion takes us to at locomotive speed, as soon as we recognize it over the airwaves like an angel. "Grace, like a river." "With the weight of the shadow on your shoulders/And I hear there's healing just around this corner." Amazing, like the Lord's light. With patience. But not with haste. Like love. 

'Prior Warning'. This album will take you through every emotion. So "put on (your) running gear", like jogging to the gym and work out with your "favourites" like these new tracks for your dried tears. 'Better Off High' with its cicada beat shaking like the Stevens jonz of a bottle of pills, is the legal prescription and the natural high that will musically take you away. "Bless that medicine/For bringing 'round that click in your head," Marcus laments like Jack O'Connell laying Paul Newman's Brick alongside the Maggie of Sienna Miller's Elizabeth Taylor, scratching and itching on Tennessee Williams' 'Cat On A Hot Tin Roof'. Reaching across the gap between beds to clasp our hand in the pure love of friendship. 

"What takes forever/Is a lesson learned/I have nothing to show for the medals I've earned", the man acting like an 'Only Child' sings like "on my shoulder/as we laid awake/And you always love a smoke by eight." All for the 'Better Angels' of some sublime solo work. Before this 'Self-Titled' affair, curtains with some classic collaborations.

Clairo's 'Dangerous Game' is the best of this bunch. But Bridgers sings on 'Stonecatcher', "All we can hope is that we suffer well/When the cycle ends, when there's tales to tell/When it reaches me/Let me be a stone catcher, please." Cutting on the bridge, along with Marcus Mumford mining more. Almost at the gold. It's just going to take one more hit. 

How about the duet 'How' with artist of the moment Brandi Carlile? But as we 'Go In Light' with Monica Martin, we do so with God's grace. "Cry havoc in the evening/Sirens in the morning/Peace by the afternoon/I was planning on leaving/Unless you really need me/I'm just trying to keep up with you", Marcus muses. Proving that despite the title, this album is anything but just for self. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Playlist Picks: 'Grace', 'Better Off High', 'Stonecatcher (Feat. Phoebe Bridgers)'. 

REVIEW: BLACKPINK - BORN PINK

 

4/5

Pink Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

BLACKPINK back in your area! 'Born Pink' to the exclamation, like the upside down 'i' in Alecia Beth Moore's name. Get the point? Now how you like that? Bada-bing, bada-boom-boom-boom. A week after fellow K-Pop sensations BTS broke their brief hiatus with Disney +'s 'Permission To Dance' (between Disney and Netflix, BP have more movies than Marvel too, right now) On Stage in LA, BLACKPINK return with their follow-up to 'The Album' (need you call it anything else?) and many a solo project and brand endorsement from jewellery to perfume (I adore Jisoo for Dior) for the new leaders of the industry. 

300 million views on YouTube. Let there be K-Pop carnage. With their newest hit, 'Pink Venom', there's no anti like Rihanna, as this group's streaming genes get back in your veins. All to the shade Steven Tyler and Aerosmith once said was the colour of passion, like Floyd. And running akin to red it really is. Topping the iTunes charts in 75 countries (you know, just most of the world), 'Pink Venom', which is about to snake into a world tour of the same name, gets its teeth into video visuals and snaps and snares to rival their biggest hit ('How You Like That'). Shout it out in ALL CAPS! And the "gratata" like Bryan Silva. All as Jennie and Lisa sing, "This that pink venom, this that pink venom/This that pink venom, get 'em, get 'em, get 'em/Straight to ya dome like woah, woah, woah/Straight to ya dome like ah, ah, ah/Taste that pink venom, taste that pink venom/Taste that pink venom, get 'em, get 'em, get 'em." Nothing has tasted this good since their 'Sour Candy', going Gaga in the 'Chromatica' ball. Not even their 'Ice Cream' licks with Selena Gomez. 

But shut all that down, Seoul. It's their latest single sampling Italian composer Niccolo Paganini's legendary violins that take the lead. 'La Campanella' is brought back to string stirring life on 'Shut Down' which opens up a new sound to these Queens with more genres than a purple Prince for their pink. Soon the whole world will be singing along, "Keep watching me shut you down/뱅뱅, I shot you down/뱅뱅, 난 땅을 쳤어/뱅뱅 그 무서운 소리," no matter the language. You can't lose this Nancy Sinatra boot walkin' that could kill Bill, in translation. All over you. 

BLACKPINK are not like those other girls at all. Even if the white laced cover of this album matches the black/pink of 'The Album' in pink wig hair hanging down like a tiara for the crown as they take their throne again. Watch it. Because a 'Typa Girl' like this is as precious as a diamond, they shine bright like. "Didn't know you were cold 'til you felt my fire", Rosé sings with a confident charisma that compels. Just like the neon nuanced nostalgia of standout track 'Yeah Yeah Yeah' that is anything but that blasé reply. Back to the future killing it like this love. Just "say yeah, yeah, yeah" for the new anthem from the act that has more than national. All rise. 

But at their most beautiful in ballad they are 'The Happiest Girl(s)' like one of their new and best tracks of their already classic career. "I can stop the tears if I want to", they say in affirmation. Vowing to be the title of the track with definitive defiance. Despite, "the doors we slammed, the plates we smashed/Echo with the sound of madness", like Murakami poetry. Again, showing just like their famous fellow country stars, there's so much more depth to their bubblegum pop sound that has armies of fans throwing cash like candy at their feet. Don't Blink! 

Sure, in this day and age, we're all 'Hard To Love' at times. But Pink paints this picture perfectly. "Ain't no magic tool to fix it/You should keep your distance/I'm only tellin' you because I care", even the intro inspires greater influence as the message is reaffirmed. "I'll make it feel like heaven, but I swear I'm not a saint!" Amen! But they're definitely on a higher power right now. 'Tally' it up on the wonder of this eight track. Because by the time they're 'Ready For Love' again in the end, you know the charts are going to be full of these pieces of eight like their fans hearts. Reborn in the colour and the shape. 

"Ready or not, here I come and I'm running/Like it's now or never, I never know if you want it/What if love wasn't what it was supposed to be?/What if there's no Romeo for me?/No hope, no roses, no more notes to read/So I keep my eyes closed to see/What I need is forever and forever, baby, not sometimes/When you want it, then you best come find me 'cause I'm ready." You heard Lisa! You ready for this? Because these Queens have you hangin' on the edge of your seat like Mercury over these break beats. Rapping over hip-hop call and response ciphers to their name that's always punctuated with the spice of their girl power, the area is BLACKPINK's. Always causing mass hysteria. Happy 'Born' day, Pinks! TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Playlist Picks: 'Pink Venom', 'Shut Down', 'Yeah Yeah Yeah'. 

REVIEW: SANTIGOLD - SPIRITUALS

4/5

The Gold Standard.

Testify. The new 'Spirituals' are here. The unheralded album of the year from modern mainstream's most underrated artist. Santi White AKA Santigold first blew up on the scene in 2008 with her huge hit 'L.E.S. Artistes' for the underground off her self-titled debut, throwing up gold. All after the former Epic Records A&R spent most of the 2000s being Stiffed with a cool punk rock band. Big in the U.K. Santigold (then Santogold) then went hard with Brooklynite Jay-Z for the 'Notorious' B.I.G. movie soundtrack, amongst 'Unstoppable' collaborations with Lil'Wayne and Drake. So far gone, though, the Philadelphia indie soul singer has had more at stake than just some big name collaborations. She's her own legendary name. 

New wave electronic fusing reggae, hip-hop and alternative dance. No one has a sound like Santigold. Mixtapes, major contributions or Tyler the Creator's 'Igor' project and even something for the '99c' store, Santigold has it all. But on 'Spirituals' she takes it even higher. To a higher power. Her first album in six years is even more special for that and the fact that this is her first independently released album, you Little Jerk (that's the name of her record label, we're not insulting you, a##hole). 

The 'High Priestess' gets rolling with the most holy and lead single, singing "I got that manna for you, mama/I'll take your money fool, send it off to the Bahama/I'll roast you, dry bake you, fry 'til you're golden, come on/I'm takin' no drama, only answer to your honor/They talk about b#####s, they talk, that s### stop at me/Now bow down, don't freak out in the presence of a queen." With a crown of gold fire for your rings of power. Lord!

You 'Ain't Ready' for this. And Santi knows it. "I know those fools, boy, ain't ready/Still they spill their lies and blame/Call upon your saviour heavy/It'll ride you, dash your faith." "Hate me if you want to, I won't lose my head/Tell me what you want, I won't believe a thing/I hear you talking loud when it's unsaid (Imagine that)/All you ever told me, I could be nothing", she sings like it's 'Nothing'. Albeit with raw resolve. All before the latest single lets it 'Shake' as the genre looks blend like the picture-perfect portrait of the album artwork with eyes everywhere. 

African American folk at its finest is on display here, as the spirituals in testimonials lay the roots for a legendary album for someone who already has a lasting legacy in a generation where many don't make it past go. Traditional and groundbreaking all at once, Santigold used the lockdown to get over her loneliness and writer's block and give us some of her best work yet. Work she calls her "salvation" in a trying time, where only her art could colour her world. A nod to the spiritual songs slaves sang to keep their spirits up in the worst example of oppression. Joy over pain. Freedom through music. 

Transcending, from 'My Horror' in opening on ukulele, to the classic closing 'Fall First', as God as my 'Witness', this new album is full of instant vintage like Raphael Saadiq. But if you think that's enough NPR, get up from under your Tiny Desk and...(*clicks fingers*)...watch this. 'Ushers Of The New World' is that jam and will lead you there. But between 'The Lasty' and all of this, that will last longer than the moment your playlist switches up to a similar artist. Because there's no one like Santigold and on 'No Paradise', she puts it perfectly. "People suffering, they suffering/Down and we keep shuffling/Don’t know where but go-going/There’s power in our struggle." And it's beautiful. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Playlist Picks: 'My Horror', 'Ushers Of The New World', 'No Paradise'. 

REVIEW: BTS - 'PERMISSION TO DANCE' ON STAGE - LA

4/5

Permission Granted.

Disney + day gave us 'Pinocchio' with my parents for a group watch, this week, and the 'Love and Thunder' of the current mighty Thor movie, amongst more. Including, the latest episode of the 'She-Hulk: Attorney At Law' Marvel show and a preview of the forthcoming, new 'Star Wars' series, 'Andor'. But even the nose of a legendary liar, stretching all the way back from 1940, and the hammer of (which) Thor(?) shooting all the way to the thunderbolts of lightning heavens, can't quite reach the extent that South Korean pop powerhouse BTS can, right now. Especially now they've been given 'Permission To Dance' by Mickey Mouse on stage. But wait a minute, aren't they taking some time? Some hiatus! They're already back. Or at least their live set in LA is up and available to stream for the masses that couldn't see this sold out show in Tinseltown (hands up).

Mere months after they gave us 'Proof' of a big break, BTS are back with a whole Hollywood ARMY behind them. All a week before, the 'Pink Venom' of reigning K-Pop queens BLACKPINK will enter your veins. This surprise stream from SoFi Stadium in high definition gives you the group like you've never seen them before...even if you managed to get a ticket to ride. And as soon as the dancers unlock them from a literal cage and a quarantined two-year one, you know it's on.

All part of a deal between Disneyland (The Walt Disney Asia Pacific to be more specific) and the Bangtan Sonyeondan's studio, Hybe for the hype. One that will see exclusive content and even a behind the scenes (the other BTS) docuseries on the group called 'Monuments: Beyond The Star'. Featuring footage over the last nine years, due 2023. But this concert film is all YOLO, no solo as the group perform their own crowning hits, from their 'IDOL' to a beautiful 'Spring Day'. Just check out the Portman perfect choreography on 'Black Swan' as it spreads its wings.

No individual tracks to tear through as they come together like The Beatles, but the best of their collective best, smooth like 'Butter' and exploding like 'Dynamite' as they light up the headlining name of their tour here in La La Land. This city has never seen stars like these. Hip-hop ones too. Loungin' like LL on a cough bigger than the one from 'Friends', no 'Simpsons' gag. But as much is this is strictly Bangtan Boys louder than bombs. They still allow a mic drop from the new special guest star of Marvel's 'She-Hulk' series. Her special powers? One wet ass...shut your mouth. Or open it, depending on how much of a WAP you want to make.

RM, Jin, SUGA, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook began this tour in their native Seoul and then 12 days later wrapped it up on the strip of Las Vegas' Sin City. But these high-rollers walked fame in Inglewood, California. A forum of talent as lights hit like purple Lakers in the King's city as these young princes "jumped up to the top LeBron" and reigned.

From epic introductions to the members like sport stars in the Rams and Chargers stadium, to make-up and costume change backstage looks that give you your monuments moments early, BTS and their 'Permission To Dance' have the post-pandemic medicine. So you should really keep your eye on the ball, as RM said. 

After touching down on all the hits with all the right moves in Hollywoodland like Tom Cruise, these Mavericks showed they were real top guns by thanking their fans in an emotional encore in both Korean AND English. Lost in some translation, you didn't need subtitles for the sentiment and graciously how much this was genuinely meant. BTS know how to dance, that's a given. But when they're given permission to speak freely, that's when their White House to United Nations message of loving yourself really sings. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Set Picks: 'Black Swan', 'Spring Day', 'Idol'. 

REVIEW: JOHN LEGEND - LEGEND

4/5

He Is Legend.

To be legendary you have to 'Get Lifted' again like said inspired interlude on definitive debut. You have to do it 'Once Again', a pair of years later. And sometimes "you have to step away from that piano" like Andre 3000 said as he gave the 'Green Light' for John Legend's 'Evolver' evolution, slamming the lid down. Because, "even Stevie Wonder got down sometimes" (you bet your ass he did). This is 'Love In The Future' in all its 'Darkness and Light'. And it's going to take 'All Of Me' and all of you. All before another 'Legendary Christmas' hits the turntable this fall. It may seem like just a minute since Legend had 'Bigger Love' for us during our 2020 quarantine. But now two years later, he's back with a double deluxe with all eyes on he, as John goes for his 'Legend' like Lennon. Stripped bare like the 'Brown Sugar' of D'Angelo on this self surname titled affair. But how does it feel? 

Rich like mahogany with guest features. This is more than kind of a big deal. Anchored by Rick Ross, man. Reuniting again just weeks after they did it for DJ Khaled's album like the self-titled 'God Did'. Or the 'Free Mason' memories of John "on top of the world/making love to my (his...I hope not mine. Don't make me act like him, 'Between Two Ferns') favourite girl." Making a movie like you know he's going to do. And Legend goes in again for 'Rounds'. And don't play coy. You know where. "Cotton candy fingertips/Print my lips/I'ma slip inside those hips/Ease your grip/Yeah, yeah." DAMN (Kevin Hart reacting to Don Cheadle's age voice)! I'm sorry. 

A 'Dope' JID on a sick track and the Free Nationals with a 'Strawberry Blush' forever also feature. As do Jhene Aiko and Ty Dolla $ign on the 'Splash' waterfalls of a 'Waterslide' album of musing metaphors that get wetter than a log flume on a humid day when you're feeling real hot. The 'Fate' of Amber Mark and the great Jazmine Sullivan show real 'Love' in the tune of Anthony Hamilton soul. Matching the Prince passion of this bedroom set that purples the tape. From 'All She Wanna Do' with Saweetie, to the succulent 'Honey' with Muni Long, there's enough collaborations on this twin set to spot a duets album for the soul crooner of Legend. Going 'Wild' like he did on the best track of his last LP with Gary Clark Jr. 

Yet whether it's 'Speak(ing) In Tongues' with Jada Kingdom for the Holy Ghost of a little less conversation, a little more action, thank you very much. Or the great 'Good' Ledisi track, it's 'The Other Ones' featuring Rhapsody that's the best feature for all these other Johns. Black and white video beauty with Chrissy, Bohemian beats and lyrics to go like, "Don't wanna remember/Ever since that September/Not sentimental, let them go/And live your new life/Our new life, yeah/I'll pick you up/You leave the past back in the rearview/I see the future, got a clear view/With you and I/Oh, you and I, where." Because even after all, like Finley Quaye, "all the other ones fade away." And like smoke for the fire we make. That's the truth.

A 'Guy Like Me' talks honestly about all this stuff. In all its niceties and grey area nuance. From 'All She Wanna Do', to 'You'. Going for 'One Last Dance' and taking it personally like MJ (no, not that one) as he sings, "Sometimes I wander down the street/The place I swept you off your feet/I haven't seen you here in a while/That drink you love still taste the same/The DJ hasn't changed (Khaled? Another one?)/He just put on our favourite record right now ('God Did?')." Reaching higher like Jordan for that "head on shoulder, it ain't over" love like Lenny sang about until it's over. 

For 'Ordinary People' it seems that all of he is searching for that perfect wedding song like Tank to dum, dum, da, dum walk down the aisle. Catching 'Stardust' he almost has so much the DJ at your reception could press play and take a break for a deuce. But it's 'I Don't Love You Like I Used To' that really cuts the cake, getting down with 'Happy Birthday' clever twists for the 'Can't Just Preach' singer. Practising real love and a reprise reply to his first hit single 'Used To Love You'. But the proof is in the pudding...and we won't spoil the taste. Hear for yourself. 

Decked out with more tracks than Smokey Robinson had tears, Legend almost pulls off a straight-up miracle. Although some of these servings are water compared to the wine that flows throughout. All the way 'Home' like a 'Coming Home' revival for the man that gave his old friend Kanye West his original Chicago 'Homecoming' of G.O.O.D. Music before Coldplay. 

You're going to make new 'Memories' with these tracks. No need to be 'Nervous' like "adrenaline runnin' through my veins/I'm a skeleton when you say my name." But lasso me (if you're in to that sort of thing) in good truth, and I'll tell you that 'Wonder Woman' is the super stand-out track, like fellow piano player Alicia Keys' 'Superwoman' for all the heroines out there that need that reminder. "You make me wonder woman/How do you do it/Some sort of superpower/I don't understand/You make me wonder woman/How do you do it/You're superhuman/And I'm just a man." You know who he and we are talking to. 

'I Want You To Know', "layin' on the couch, I couldn't not stare/How'd I get so lucky? Got you right there/Lookin' like a movie when you don't care". This man is in a matrimony of married bliss for the record (not to mention a genius use of film reel in the next lyric). Teigen is a lucky woman. And his greatest muse. The pillow talk of 'Conversations In The Dark' are still so beautiful. After all these years. Even if this album is somewhat in 'Pieces' of 8 for this 24. Instead of a cohesive set. He still sings, "let your broken heart learn/Learn to live in pieces." Can we say damn again for all the feels? 

On this 'LEGEND' of the fall, there is a great album lost in the sweet shuffle of playlist ready filler. Clocking in at just over one hour and 20 minutes, this 24-carat gold album may have a Kobe in tracks, but less is more legendary, dear John. But still, for the legacy, John had enough sweet signatures to track every anniversary. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'Wonder Woman', 'The Other Ones (Feat. Rapsody)', 'I Don't Love You Like I Used To'. 

LIVE REVIEW: LADY GAGA - THE CHROMATICA BALL (Tokyo, Japan, 04/09/22)

5/5

You Shall Go To 'The Chromatica Ball'.

Monster luck! I couldn't believe mine. In the 11th hour I found an official, stage left ticket to pop powerhouse performer and massive movie megastar (the Oscar winning 'A Star Is Born', her 'House Of Gucci' and portraying Harley Quinn in the forthcoming 'Joker: Folie à Deux' sequel) Lady Gaga's sold out 'Chromatica Ball' stadium tour in the Belluna Dome of Saitama's Seibu Lions baseball team, just outside of Tokyo, Japan. Knocking it out the park, despite some credit card cancellation and international bank calling difficulty at two in the morning (for them). Printing it out at a 7Eleven (how convenient, Japan) and counting down the days (all two of them). 

But then my Ladybug look turned out to be like Brad Pitt's that I saw in 'Bullet Train' for a wonderful weekend, the previous day. I sure needed a Shinkansen to help me Sunday. It wasn't that I worked seven straight days and burned the candle at both ends. It was the law as fate would have it that my last lesson on what was supposed to be my day off finished the very moment this concert started. Hello, Murphy! And this gig was in Saitama, not actually Tokyo. An hour or so from where I actually was in Osaki (thank God it wasn't Osaka). Not to mention three trains. But gigs never start right away...right? And there's always a support act! But as I Instagramed my friend who went to the Saturday set, she told me it started on time (this is Japan) and finished just shy of 9pm. WHAT?! That's when most gigs back home start. I'll never bemoan the wait for the lights to go out ever again. 

Almost thankfully in a campaign day where I had more lessons than the ones I learned tonight, two students cancelled. But not the last one (it's all good). If he had I could have left at 16.30, when the doors of the ballpark actually opened. But instead I had to wait. And then a little longer to wrap the day up. And then of course I got on one wrong train out of three (this is Tokyo, and the Chicago Loop like Yamanote Line). And then ran (still in a suit) off the third and final line for the field. Next to another late worker who felt like a kindred spirit, convenience store printed ticket also clutched in hand. Temp checks, sanitzed hands and searching for seat 269 in block one hundred and something later, I was moments away. Bowing with arigatō gozaimashita to the helpful arena staff. As fans camped out outside just to hear this home run. I wish I could do that for the forthcoming champion Golden State Warrior NBA game against the capital Washington Wizards at Japan's very own Rui Hachimura in the Saitama Super Arena that sold out in seconds. Only to reappear on resell sites immediately for extortionate amounts in the thousands of dollars and pounds. Something needs to be done about that. This last minute gig?! 8,500. Yen! You do the Googled currency convertor math. 

Running around and rounding the bases, going Gaga I could hear one of this generations greatest iconic voices as she compelled the crowd on a piano with a crown of roots and branch thorns like a 'Game Of Thrones' as she breathed in this lions den like the house of a dragon. The lord of her own rings of power. A million cell phone lights like reasons illuminating this dome like lighters before this roof is on fire regulations. I may have missed more than the first act, but I made it. Even if I was far from the 'Shallow' now. 

'Paparazzi', 'Poker Face', 'Just Dance', 'Bad Romance' (which I spent the entirety of quarantine dancing to, on repeat whilst eating yogurt...and I wondered why I was single, back then), 'Million Reasons'. One hour down and one to go, I probably missed them all. But I still wouldn't quit the show. Even though in this FOMO age, I'll never check the set-list. I know what I lost out on, but it would break my heart. You know the greatest hits. I just hoped at that moment that I hadn't missed the 'Top Gun: Maverick' hit that always gets be choked up at its crescendo before it's epic end, like I missed Tom Cruise (that's not the reason, I promise) at the premiere of the biggest blockbuster of the year in none other but Yokohama, Japan (MY NEW HOME!!). That monumental movie welcoming us officially back to the multiplex, 36 years in the sequel making and almost feeling that long. Just like Gaga, whose signature hit from the new film scoring star (the soundtrack to her Oscar winning movie with Bradley Cooper is basically a duets album like her legendary ones with the great Tony Bennett, who I was also lucky enough to see live in New York) and 'Chromatica Ball' tour invited us back to the stadium sound of stage shows. On hold two years after her 'Chromatica' classic album that took this reborn the movie star back to the dancefloor came out of the planets pandemic's quarantine. 

Thanking Tokyo (is this it? I thought in fear) and saying how much she likes the city, addressing the crowd like a postal code. No one was mad that this was actually, neighbouring Saitama. We had all waited too long for specifics. And even though artists always say how much they love aforementioned city they are performing in. We just know this Gaga globetrotter was genuine. We can see how she would have an affinity with this neon soaked city of Harajuku girls like Gwen Stefani. Hollering back in Met Gala fashion that goes banana like spelling said word (but I had been teaching all day, so you'll forgive me if I don't). Celebrating the culture and saluting the resilience of Japanese people, rocked by an earthquake a decade gone, but still raw in heart. 

This fame monster in her massive ball, gave it up for all. All as I turned into the annoying concert goer with a 'Telephone' like Beyoncé. Holding up for the best friend back home who did the same for a Haim gig I couldn't make it back for (I'll be home for Christmas) and the girlfriend who couldn't make it here thanks to corona (get well soon, baby), who thankfully has Maroon 5 to look forward to this fall with her girls. But then it was time to settle in. Even though I couldn't do so with my row until intermission, before more encores than "what the hell you waiting for", for the showstopper with more classic choreography and costume changes than the Cirque de Soleil for her Warhol pop art exhibition. Despite being on the aisle seat (I didn't want to disturb. Where's Mr. Usher ("watch this") Raymond, when everybody loved and needs him? 

Sure I was a homer away from either stage. But this is the age of social distance after all. Off the charts and on stage one of the greatest performers of our generation, let alone amazing artists is still somehow, so underrated. Especially on this post 'Joanne' tear where I became fan (hey, I took me until 25 to love The Beatles and I was born one train away and less time than it took to get to this gig) of music and movies at an unstoppable clip like a Dylan songbook or Streep searching filmography. What a show and what a voice for my first post-pandemic gig in actual years (Norah's got next, next month) and my first in Japan. If you want to do clichéd comparisons it's like watching this generations Madonna, Prince, Springsteen, Streisand, Billy Joel, Bowie and Elton, all rolled into one genre defying metropolis from New York at the Garden. But from Madison Square to right here in the new Times Square of Tokyo's Shibuya crossing scrambling, there's no one else like her. She's her own redefining star, making HERstory and all the ones of the little monsters who were previously reduced to the margins.

Vowing to hop back on a plane as soon as the land of the rising sun needs her, as she exited left. Now you say that, I need my time back for the hour I missed, but I ain't complaining. I missed the lions share, yet it still roared. The best show I've been to after Prince and The Boss. Imagine if I'd seen the whole thing? Next time...both of us will. "All I ever wanted was love", 'Stupid Love' she sang. All before she hit the deck for her Ariana Grande assisted (not here. We're not that lucky) 'Rain On Me', before it absolutely did that here in rainy season buckets and sweet symphony. But between the socially conscious chords of 'Angel Down' ("I confess I am lost/In the age of the social/On our knees, take a test/To be lovin' and grateful/Shots were fired on the street/By the church where we used to meet/Angel down, angel down/But the people just stood around.") for America in the Far East and singing "We could be Jokers, brought to the daylight" (how fitting) on the energy of 'Enigma'. The best at the moment was saved for last. As she held our hand for an evoking encore that breathed fire from the stage to the bleachers, soaring like dragons (imagine). The top gun had given us a maverick performance and after all that, did I cry tonight, you ask? Every last tear, my Monsters. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Set-list Picks: 'Rain On Me', 'Angel Down', 'Hold My Hand'.