Blog

  • On Top

    Show notes for the 240th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring the results from the 2010 MMI Listeners’ Picks Poll:

    Top Album:
    Red Electrick – Vine Lady

    Top EP:
    Chasing Pandora – People

    Top Internet Release:
    Three Stops to China – Stay Away

    Top Single:
    Red Electrick – Jail Bail

    Top Video:
    Red Electrick – Who the Heck is Rek?

    Top Overseas-based Release:
    Krokus – Hoodoo

    The RSS feed for the Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast is available here or you can simply click here to subscribe directly with iTunes. You can also follow each new episode through the MMI Podcast: Facebook Fan Page or on MySpace. If you have no idea what any of this means, just click here or listen to the podcast on the player right below this text.

  • Memories

    I’ve neglected my blog…or, to be precise, because I’ve stopped consciously wanting to blog, my blog has turned into a way to publish show notes for my weekly Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast. I wonder how much of this has happened because I’m simply too busy to blog about anything but my podcasts. Perhaps the apparent decline of interest in the blogosphere has contributed to this shift too. Without a scientific study, or at least an in-depth investigative report, there’s no telling what’s what.

    For the first time since I started my blog back in 2004, I’ve refrained from going through the usual end of year rituals. This had been on the wane for the last couple of years, so you could say that it simply died a natural death. However, through the M3P I’ve maintained the general (if not the personal) aspect of the annual end-of-year round-up for 2010. I believe that this is a start of a new way to do things during this decade and hopefully even beyond.

    The adventure that is/was MaltaMedia has morphed into something quite different in the last year or so. I could have blogged heavily about all that but chose not to dwell on what could or should have been (I could have blogged about the demise of the monthly aboutmalta.com newsletter after 10 years of continuous publication) and focused on the positive developments ahead. I should probably blog about those in 2011. Part of these developments involves rethinking the portfolio of websites in the MaltaMedia Online Network, as well as continuing to improve and develop the best aspects of all that, as we’ve done with maltafootball.com in 2010.

    Many people in Malta still continue to associate me with Eurovision. This is probably because they only ever see/hear me whenever this event is near or on. I don’t mind. I can’t expect everyone to engage with the complex and eclectic interests I have in all aspects of Maltese life, and even less with my interests beyond Maltese shores. I will continue to blog about Malta’s entries to the Eurovision Song Contest but keep the best ideas for the Eurovision Research Network. Judging by the official URL chosen for this year’s selection process and eventual entry I seriously doubt that any of my recommendations have been taken seriously by anyone that matters, if they’re even aware of them at all.

    Now that my Franklin Furnace book is out (we’ll actually start marketing it next week) I can focus on other writing projects. I already have five plates spinning in front of me this year: (1) a couple of short essays for a book on Maltese photography; (2) a new performance theory I’m introducing at a February workshop at Royal Holloway, which I’m hoping to eventually develop as a chapter for a 2012 book called Performing the ‘New’ Europe; (3) a chapter for the Routledge Handbook of Social Media; (4) co-editing a book on Performance in Virtual Worlds; and (5) a couple of other ideas that are currently still in formation.

    I will do my best to give this blog more time than I have over the past few months. The many readers of this blog over the years have been (mostly) a source of joy for me, with comments, suggestions and all sorts of recommendations that have enriched my online experiences. Now I’m off to focus on the first of those writing assignments…and perhaps I’ll blog about them as I go too, especially if any readers of this blog show me a sign of life.

  • One in Ten

  • Vote for the Top 2010 Music Releases in Malta – poll open until 1 January 2011.

    • Show notes for the 239th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta.

    Joe Mizzi – Ten Hills
    The first album I’ll be expecting in 2011 will be Joe Mizzi’s Angels Fall. This is a track from it, released online ahead of the album launch. It has one of Malta’s most venerable rock exports at his very best. After three decades of doing this, there’s no denying that Joe Mizzi has got it right, even if, in my humble opinion, he has been underrated by many both in Malta and overseas.

    Red Electrick – Miss Crane
    The MMI 2010 Listeners’ Picks poll has several days to go before the actual top picks are revealed, however, Red Electrick are currently at the top of three of the six categories: albums, singles and videos. With just under 450 listeners already casting their votes, things are still wide open. So, if you haven’t voted yet, now is the time to do it…and it’s unlikely that this band won’t be a top pick on at least one of the three categories in which they’re currently riding high.

    Clinton Paul – Badass Soldier
    Nominated in the video category of the MMI 2010 Listeners’ Picks poll, this song has attracted quite a broad range of attention over the last several months since it was released.  I’ve been wanting to include it for several weeks and as this the last podcast for 2010 I certainly couldn’t put it off any longer. Whether Clinton Paul’s brand of music is your cup of tea or not, there’s no denying that he puts all the resources available to him in presenting his songs. His latest release (Madhouse) is clear testament to this. Just check out the videos produced by iSPY Media Production House and you’ll sure make up your own mind about this.

    Irene Fargo – For a Lifetime
    Paul Abela and Joe Julian Farrugia have written many songs together, so it comes as no surprise that Italian singer Irene Fargo has recorded one of them, written specifically for her. People who like these types of songs will find that there’s masterful hands involved in this one, and Irene’s voice is certainly as good as it ever was.

    Color – Supernova Lifestyle
    Kurt Chricop has appeared on the MMI series several times before, most as l urk. He also records under the name Color and this particular track is one of 9 in an album of remixes called Circle When Remixed, based on Jazzyspoon’s 2010 self-released album Circle When Finished. Color is a more melodic side of Kurt Chircop and I’m sure that people who like his l urk material will not be disappointed with this either. I for one find it very appropriate for ending this year’s final podcast.

    The MMI series will be taking a break over the next couple of weeks and, as in previous years, you’ll be able to hear a two-part special edition of Ġorġ Mifsud-Chircop’s Tisqifa għall-Għana Tagħna, featuring traditional Maltese singing with a Christmas theme.

    The RSS feed for the Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast is available here or you can simply click here to subscribe directly with iTunes. You can also follow each new episode through the MMI Podcast: Facebook Fan Page or on MySpace. If you have no idea what any of this means, just click here or listen to the podcast on the player right below this text.

  • Power to the People

  • Vote for the Top 2010 Music Releases in Malta – poll open until 1 January 2011.

    • Show notes for the 238th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta. This edition features songs from L-Għanja tal-Poplu 2010:

    Danjeli & Justin Galea – L-Għanja tal-Għażżien
    I’ve always been a great fan of Danjeli. He dan do no wrong by me. I’ve met Justin in person a number of times during my recent visits to Malta and he struck me as one of the most decent people I’ve ever encountered: someone I know I could call a true friend in different circumstances than the ones we live in that separate our lives by a few thousand miles. So you can imagine how delighted I was to see that the two have collaborated for this year’s Għanja tal-Poplu.  Must you ask why I’ve opened this week’s podcast with their song?

    Justin Galea & Antonio Olivari – Bażar
    Antonio Olivari is one of the oldest friends (and listeners) that this podcast has. I’ve included his music on the series whenever I could.  He collaborated with Justin at last year’s L-Għanja tal-Poplu, doing better in the final vote count than they did this year. Still, this is a decent song from them, so I see absolutely no reason not to include it as my second pick from this year’s Għanja tal-Poplu.

    Rita Pace – Indunajt
    It’s no secret to any of my regular podcast listeners that Rita Pace is one of my favourite Maltese singer-songwriters. It was such a thrill having her perform live at the launch of the M3P last September. She did well in the Indifest this year, and it’s no suprise that her song has placed among the top three at this year’s Għanja tal-Poplu. This particular song has some very interesting moments, and as solid as the unplugged version proved to be in the contest, I really live the production on the studio version of this song.

    Petra Zammit – Rakkont ta’ Omm
    Slowly but surely Petra Zammit is proving to be the Maltese blues singer. Now that I’ve heard her sing blues in Maltese, she reigns supreme as the queen of Maltese blues in my mind. She’s quite young and gives me no reason to believe that she has the blues in her heart, but she certainly has the vocal chords and the feeling for it. I’d love to hear her sing more blues in Maltese…and something tells me that this is inevitable in the coming years. She has made an impact at other contests, so she certainly deserves second place at this year’s L-Għanja tal-Poplu.

    Corazon & l-Ħbieb tal-Qalb – Mill-Għajnejn ta’ Tifla
    Joining other Għanja tal-Poplu notables like Manwel Mifsud (a judge on this year’s contest) and Walter Micallef (the special guest at the 2010 show), Corazon has managed to win 3 out of the last 4 edition of L-Għanja tal-Poplu. She is well-known to One TV daytime viewers of course, but she’s made little impact on the local music and/or entertainment scene outside this festival. There’s nothing wrong with that, or rather it’s a shame that this song contest seems to be relegated to anything less than year round media attention. Unlike Malta’s annual attempts to send entries to the Eurovision Song Contest, this contest yields a substantial number of songs that I (and others) certainly wouldn’t mind hearing again and again for years to come.

    The RSS feed for the Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast is available here or you can simply click here to subscribe directly with iTunes. You can also follow each new episode through the MMI Podcast: Facebook Fan Page or on MySpace. If you have no idea what any of this means, just click here or listen to the podcast on the player right below this text.