"Don't Forget" Won't Be Forgotten

With the threat of the "Conficker" virus, my family decided no computer use in the household for the past week. Thankfully, that spell is over, and I'm back.

And so much has happened!

First off, Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr together at Radio City! As part of a charity show for teaching children Trancendental Meditation (an, er, interesting cause), Paul and Ringo appeared in their own sets, plus an encore together! During this encore, they did "With A Little Help From My Friends", "Cosmically Conscious" (a Paul song from 1968, which he recorded solo in 1993), and "I Saw Her Standing There." Paul and Ringo had last appeared on stage in 2003 for the George Harrison tribute concert. Look up this show on youtube.

Miley Cyrus is working hard to promote the "Hannah Montana" movie. She is on the radio, on daytime talk shows, on late shows, singing "The Climb", doing interviews, and making sure you see her movie out this Friday (in America, anyway.) I hope to see it with my friend Chris, and some lady friends of his.

Miley's song "Butterfly Fly Away" will see a re-release tomorrow on Billy Ray's "Back To Tennesee" album, promising an extended version of the beautiful duet (I assume Billy Ray will take on some solo vocals on this version.)

Selena Gomez has returned to the continental US after spending an extended period in Puerto Rico with her castmates working on the "Wizards Of Waverly Place" TV movie. But before we get too excited by that, she will star alongside old pal Demi Lovato in "Princess Protection Program" due on TV soon. Looks interesting, especially to see the two friends on screen together for the first time since Barney.

Speaking of Demi, I purchased her "Don't Forget" album, in the deluxe format. The album was very good. It had a heavy pop-rock feel, with crunchy guitars on "La La Land" (which, by the way, may very well have been called Hollywood Land, 'cept for the fact that it might clash with the fact that her record label is Hollywood.) Demi's voice is in top form, more trained and powerful than on her demos. The production of the album works well too, giving it some glisten, but without sterilzing it. Aside from strings, and the dynamics of the arrangemnts, all of this album could be recreated on stage (well, even the dynamics could, I guess. It would be pretty clever and tricky, though)

The singles are great. "Get Back" is kind of cocky, kind of desperate, and very catchy. Demi wants to "get back" with and old flame, and with the guitars blazing, plus some buried keyboards creating a bed of sound for the quieter moments, it is a kickin' song. "La La Land" is defiant, as Demi claims she won't be changed by her stardom. It is cleverly written and performed, with the lines "Well, some may say I need to be afraid /Of losing everything /Because of where I /Had my start and where I made my name ", a thinly veiled reference to her beginnings on Disney (not more than a few months past.) "Don't Forget" is a very simple song, its' arrangement calling to mind the JoBro's "Lovebug." However, Demi's is even more subtle, after breakining into a full rock peak, it comes back with strings, and then piano, with effects making it sound as though Demi is coming off a crackly vinyl.

Some of the slower songs don't do as much for me as the more rock ones, while "Party" is a bit of confusing one. It calls to mind Led Zeppelin with the riff, but I thought Demi was uncharacteristically tame. "Two Worlds Collide" has a great, sweeping melody. Overall, the album is tops.

The new tracks are "Lo Que Soy" (the acoustic "This Is Me" with spanish lyrics) and "Behind Enemy Lines." This song was probably left off the original album because it is very different. But we should get used to it, as Demi has said on TV that it is the direction she will be going on as she continues her music (despite not having started at the time, the ambitous Demi said back in February that she hoped to have an album out in the summer/fall.) The song is very jazzy, with her vocals up close in front of a bluesy arrangement. She seems to channel her hero, John Mayer, whose influence on her is otherwise non-existant on this album. I'm excited for Demi, and hope for much more in the same vein as "Behind Enemy Lines." It is a very original, artsy, and creative direction.

I also hope for a duet between her and Selena, but I digress.

This edition also has a DVD. The best parts here are her singing "Don't Forget" live, almost crying, channeling the inspiration of the song perhaps too well (although still breathing full life into the song.), as well as scenes of her being driven to a show, shouting out the window, waving at fans who don't at first recognize her. It is the most candid part of the set, and is very pleasant and satisfying. It is hard to believe when Demi first started concerts last year, she was just another up-and-coming talent hoping for recognition. Now she shines brightly.

I also picked up a copy of "Hannah Montana The Movie" soundtrack, but perhaps I will review that tomorrow (spoiler: it is not Miley's best, though certainly not bad.)