I used to think it was something to be terribly ashamed of; I thought that admitting my favorite-ever Christmas album would be globally reviled as the ultimate sign of being a redneck. In place of the truth I would pick a super safe bet like Mariah Carey’s “Merry Christmas” to which everyone (of course) would simply agree because Mariah’s was one of very VERY few holiday albums in the last 20 years to produce a true, original holiday classic. Over time I have come to realize that my favorite Christmas album of all time is shared by many and I’m no longer afraid to admit it so today, on Christmas Eve 2011, I share it with all of you: my fellow disciples of the Church of Pop.
Category Archives: Video Post
Judgement Day (Special Edition): Atlantic Film Festival 2012 pt. 2
The 32nd annual Atlantic Film Festival here in Halifax, Nova Scotia, came to a close on September 20th! I’ve seen loads of wonderful films and over the next week or two I’ll be continuing to post my thoughts on all of the screenings I took in! Along with a written review of each screening, the Pop Gods will also decide if each film should be allowed passage into Pop Heaven, banished to Pop Hell or forgotten about in the dreary fogs of Pop Limbo (arguably the worst fate of all, as at least those who go to Pop Hell have made a lasting impression!)
On my second night at the festival, I set out to take in a total of five screenings starting at 2:00pm and finishing up by 2:00am! In a moment of Deja Vu, I totally wussed out of the late night screening yet again due to sheer exhaustion, but I did take in four very different and very cool films. One dark and moody piece from Atlantic Canada, a documentary on the Disco era, a charming coming-of-age piece about acting your age and a somewhat oddball comedy about a gay man and his female best friend trying to make a baby the “old fashioned” way.
More on each of these films, after the jump…
Judgement Day: Pop Heaven or Hell? Victoria Duffield – Shut Up and Dance
After releasing three very solid singles and making Canadian pop music lovers wait for what seems like an eternity, British Columbia’s own Victoria Duffield released her new album/EP: “Shut Up and Dance” with Warner Music Canada on August 21st, 2012!
While I would honestly hesitate to call any release that boasts only 8 tracks an “album,” as an EP, “Shut Up and Dance” displays a lot of potential from the 17 year old pop starlet and Duffield displays the dancing prowess and delightfully listenable vocals of Britney Spears circa 1999 (as in “Baby One More Time.“) Much like Spears’ debut, “Shut Up…” has hits and misses, but one can’t reasonably expect someone to have their sound perfected at the tender age of 17, even if presently her sound can be defined as distinctly POP – as in bubblegum. Before you make a flash judgement about my intentions in using this description, I would like to add that as far as the Pop Gods are concerned, there is absolutely nothing wrong with bubblegum!
Riches You Could Never See: Sarah Slean’s “Society Song” (Music Video)
In early January, 2012, Pop Heaven’s own Sarah Slean posed a question to her fans on Twitter:
I, being a vessel placed on this earth solely to spread the good word of the Pop Gods, immediately received a divine communication that despite each and every track on the brilliant two-disc opus “Land & Sea” truly being worthy of a video treatment, their divine will was that her next visual masterpiece should be the sassy stomper “Society Song.” (Whoa, tongue twister!)
As is my duty, I immediately passed this information on to Slean via Twitter. To my delight, she responded – rather appropriately with:
“SWEET HEAVEN” indeed! Pop Heaven! Based on her enthusiasm it was nearly a certainty that I was about to become the hot new commodity in Canadian music video art direction. As such, I patiently awaited a phone call from Sarah, or from her people.
HOLY F**K!: How I Stumbled Upon The Most Thrilling New Act of 2012!
(Please note: If you’re currently directing your cursor to the little “X” in the top, right-hand corner of this window, I assure you that it’s not what it looks like!)
Dear Reader, I would like to share with you all how a moment of curiosity can lead to the most wonderful discoveries. Today, as I sat at my laptop for the fiftieth time to check out Twitter, I caught a tweet by electo-hip-pop duo: Karmin. It declared their eligibility for the cover-race in this September’s “Women Who Rock” edition of Rolling Stone.
Truthfully, I’m on the fence about Karmin! For those of you not in the know, Karmin are former YouTube stars who had a viral hit with a Chris Brown cover posted on the social networking site which led to them being signed to a major label in 2011. Their hit single “Brokenhearted” has been in pretty heavy rotation on pop radio. I enjoy the single, but I’m not in love with their recent EP: “Hello” and when I was first introduced to them when they performed as musical guests on SNL, I wasn’t immediately won over. (Apols, Karmin!)
My personal uncertainty about Karmin aside, the tweet made me interested in the idea of them getting a Rolling Stone cover so I clicked on the link for more details. now I have them to thank for indirectly introducing me to a new obsession!
