Writer Brad Abraham takes a music-infused nostalgic look back at 1990s in “Mixtape,” a new comic book from Ardden Entertainment.

Finding a box of old mixtapes inspired Abraham to create a story based in the music and days contained within the early 1990s.

“The biggest influence was personal — much of Mixtape is based on people I knew and places I lived back in the ’90s, so it’s something of a ‘fictionalized autobiography’ if that makes sense,” Abraham said.

Some friends are about to be high school seniors as the summer of 1990 draws to a close.

Abraham, a screenwriter possibly best-known for “RoboCop: Prime Directives,” drew from his high school years in Canada as inspiration.

“I’m in my late 30s, and from Canada originally,” he said. “I grew up all over Canada, but my high school years were spent in a small town on the St. Lawrence River — and much of ‘Mixtape’ is inspired by those years.”

Influenced by films such as “American Graffiti” and “Dazed and Confused,” “Mixtape” looks back at the effect of music on teenage years.

“Back before file-sharing and the Internet, the only way to hear new, edgy bands was through mixtapes made by friends or friends of friends,” Abraham said. “Yes, you had MTV; yes, you had radio, but they played mainstream music. Bands like The Replacements or Joy Division were bands you heard about, rather than heard. But if a friend put that music on a mixtape you were hearing it!”

Abraham said a mixtape was used to communicate likes and loves.

“They were important because they were a way of saying to others (and having them say to you) that you weren’t alone, that other people were into the same stuff you were — something very important to a teenager,” he said.

Each issue of “Mixtape” will have a virtual mixtape, and it will be published on the Facebook page for the series (www.facebook.com/MixtapeComic) as each issue hits stores.

The artists for the series are Buenos Aires-based comic book artists who go by Jok and Gervasio.

“I was a little skeptical — so much of ‘Mixtape’ is rooted in a specific era (North America in the early 1990s) that I was unsure whether two guys in Argentina would get it,” Abraham said. “But those concerns were dashed the moment I saw the art; now I can’t envision ‘Mixtape’ without them.”

Each of the five teenagers in “Mixtape” represents a certain subgenre of music at the time.

“Lorelei is a devotee of bands like The Smiths and The Cure. Noel is into Beastie Boys and U2. Jim lives and dies by The Pixies, as we see in ‘Mixtape’ No. 1,” Abraham said. “Siobhan is back from a year in Europe when we meet her, so she’s into bands like The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Stone Roses. Terry is the guy into bands you haven’t heard of yet, and when you do hear about them, he’ll accuse them of being sellouts.”

“Mixtape” No. 1 is set for a Feb. 29 release.

- By Matthew Price
WORD BALLOONS
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Click past the cut for more images from “Mixtape.”

Electronic Arts Inc. announced a new collaboration between singer Katy Perry and The Sims Studio, the developers behind the video game “The Sims.”

The Sims Studio plans to develop multiple games within The Sims franchise featuring special Katy Perry themed in-game content and virtual goods. The relationship kicks off with a Collector’s Edition for The Sims 3 Showtime, launching in March 2012. Katy Perry will also be featured in all-new advertising and marketing campaigns for the brand.

“I always like to think of myself as a cartoon, and now I’m a Sim!” Perry said in a news release.

The Sims 3 Showtime Katy Perry Collector’s Edition is available for pre-order.

For more information, visit http://thesims.com/katyperry or http://thesims.com/showtime, or like the game on Facebook.

- Matt Price
Click past the cut for more images.

President Barack Obama smiles in the rain as he and French President Nicolas Sarkozy attend an event honoring the alliance between the United States and France and their efforts in Libya at Cannes City Hall, after the G20 Summit in Cannes, France. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

With the help of YouTube user baracksdubs, President Barack Obama sings Lady Gaga’s “Born this Way.” The mashup is created from clips from the president’s speeches.

The clip begins with a speech the president gave to the Human Rights Campaign in which he references Lady Gaga.

- Matt Price

Elvis Presley performs in Tupelo, Miss. in Sept., 1956. That year, Presley had a No. 1 hit with "Heartbreak Hotel." (AP Photo/file)

Today marks the 34th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, one of the best-known pop culture figures of the 20th century.

I’ve always felt a connection to Elvis, even though he died when I was just 2.  He was my mom’s favorite, and I learned about music listening to her old LPs.  I think she had every Elvis record, so I was familiar with much of the King of Rock and Roll’s output before starting school.    You could do worse than to start with the birth of rock and roll as the basis for your future musical taste.   And while at times I may have gravitated towards the questionable end of the Elvis influence in some of my teenage tastes, it certainly wasn’t the fault of having a foundation in the music of the Hillbilly Cat.

Like most, I prefer the young, unspoiled Elvis, but I can work up some enthusiasm for most every era at my current juncture; the leather-clad Comeback Special to the super-hero reminiscent jumpsuits.  (Elvis always had a bit of the superhero about him — he read Captain Marvel Jr. comics as a kid, and reportedly based his hairstyle on that of the character.)

Fourteen years ago, I was married on the 20th anniversary of Elvis’ death.  Annette and I didn’t specifically plan it that way, but as we’re both fans of the King, it was nice serendipity.

- Matt Price

Justin Timberlake (AP)

Found via Staticblog, another great rap mix by late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon and pop singer turned actor Justin Timberlake.  Check it out: History of Rap Part 2 with Justin Timberlake! – Show Clips – Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

- Matt Price

If you’re a fan of the 1990s “New Warriors” series by Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley, you’re the target audience for this latest Adam WarRock mixtape, available at his web site.  It’s just the thing to have on your iPod while you’re waiting in line at Comic-Con.   And if you’ve never read the comics, check out the music — it’s good stuff, and it might inspire you to dig through some back issue bins.

- Matt Price

Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake in "Bad Teacher."

Pop star/actor Justin Timberlake, who stars in the film “Bad Teacher,” had some experience with his own “bad teacher” — one who, in seventh grade, suggested he give up his dreams of singing and songwriting. But overall, the former ‘N Sync sensation has miles of respect for the profession.

“Man, we gotta figure out a way to pay teachers more, that’s my opinion of it,” Timberlake said. “They’re like surrogate parents away from home.”

Timberlake said while promoting “Bad Teacher,” he found himself answering a lot of questions about his teachers. And he came to a realization about what good teachers can do.

“We’ve found that the teachers that we actually learned more from taught us life lessons more than say, trigonometry. They have such a huge responsibility, and they’re underappreciated and underpaid.”

Justin Timberlake (AP)

The bawdy comedy “Bad Teacher” doesn’t exactly aim to bring reverence to the profession. In the film, Elizabeth Halsey (Cameron Diaz) is a middle-school teacher attempting the bare minimum to get by until she can find a rich husband.

Timberlake plays Scott Delacorte, the heir to a watch fortune who is filling in as a substitute teacher. He quickly becomes the object of desire of two fellow middle school teachers — Halsey and the hyper-motivated Amy Squirrel (Lucy Punch).

When Amy begins dating Scott, Elizabeth hopes to mess up their union.

Scott, meanwhile, has written a song expressing his love. Given that Scott is played by Timberlake, who has won six Grammy Awards in his musical career, you might expect the song to be extremely good. Instead, the song, “Simpatico,” might inspire superlatives in the other direction.

“We had the idea that Scott could sing the worst song ever written, and sing it proudly … and Justin nailed that thing,” director Jake Kasdan said.

There was a loose idea in the script, by frequent “Office” writers Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, about Scott showing off his lack of singer-songwriter skills at the performance by the teacher band.

“And I remember Jake coming to me and saying, we have to, if we’re going to do this, we have to create something that’s going to be terrible,” Timberlake said.

“The lyrics were Gene and Lee, and they brought it to me, and I just tried to create the most terrible melody I could to it. The mission was to make it so bad that they would not be able to market it in the trailer,” Timberlake said.

Kasdan responded, “And I think we succeeded in that.”

“Bad Teacher” opens Friday.

By Matthew Price
From Wednesday’s The Oklahoman
Travel and accommodations provided by Sony.

Like the X-Men? So does rocker Ray Wall.  He’s created the The X-Men Song: A Super-Hero Rock Opera.  To celebrate the X-Men First Class movie opening, he’s giving away the 4-minute “Radio Edit” of the song as a free download during the X-Men: First Class movie opening days for people who “Like” the Ray Wall Band on Facebook.

Go here: http://www.facebook.com/raywallband to like the Ray Wall Band and the Sounds of Superheroes!

The Ray Wall Band has also created songs inspired by the Joker, Watchmen, Fantastic Four and Iron Man.

- Matt Price

Click past the cut to hear the radio edit of the X-Men Song, via Geek to Me.

The X-Men Song – A Super-Hero Rock Opera (Radio Edit) – Ray Wall Band by GeekToMe

In honor of the innovative and influential band The White Stripes, who announced their breakup as a band today, here’s a photo gallery of the group, which featured Jack and Meg White.  The band, formed in Detroit in 1997, melded punk and blues in a way that put them at the forefront of the rock revival at the early part of this century.

New York-based rocker Ray Wall has been creating rock ‘n’ roll inspired by comic-book characters since 2005.   The Ray Wall Band has created songs inspired by the Joker, Watchmen, X-Men and Iron Man.

You can follow Ray on MySpace and Facebook, and purchase his music on iTunes.

He recently answered some questions for Nerdage about his music.

Nerdage: What is “Comic Book Rock” and how did you start creating it?

Ray Wall: Comic Book Rock is a new genre of music that we began introducing and defining in 2005 for what we viewed as an underserved and emerging fan base.  It’s an innovation that allows contemporary music to explicitly intersect with comics and imagination based fiction.  In other words,  Comic Book Rock is real deal, fan-based, content-true music that talks about super-heroes by name, their powers, what they do, their arch-enemies and so on.

For me this has been a kind of personal odyssey.  As a kid I was mega comic fan and collector, who like many, drifted away as they got older.  My teenage years were dominated by music and becoming a rock guitarist, while later still, college, grad school and career took me even farther away.  With few exceptions, comics seemed left behind.  That all changed with a vengeance after the first rounds of major Hollywood super-hero movies brought me back into the fold!

However, even as these new movies were getting better and better, I grew impatient with the pop/rock/urban soundtracks that accompanied them and felt that they were not delivering an experience as powerful as the movies themselves.  On a gut level something fundamental seemed missing.  Where were the cool super-hero tunes I remembered as a kid?  I wondered why the major film companies would spend over $100 million dollars on a movie and not even a few thousand on an awesome super-hero song that would prolong everyone’s enjoyment of it.

When the first FF movie came out I decided to submit my “The Fantastic Four Song” for it which I wrote years earlier, and at the same time make a music video.  In a strange twist, the music started to rank on iTunes and the video got on public TV in a couple of big cities.  All this was a couple of years before Myspace and Youtube hit big but the feedback we were getting as we went forward moved me to write and develop more Comic Book Rock.  I had the realization that we can move comics from our eyes to our ears and that combining music with super-heroes can be a powerful and fun listening experience.

Nerdage: Tell me about the various songs you’ve created.

Ray Wall: To date we have released about half a dozen songs covering The X-Men, The Joker, Watchmen, FF, etc.  The tunes are quite different from one another in part because the characters demand it and because we change around our sound and bandmates as needed.  Some of the tunes have voice actors and sound effects as a kicker.  Others are classic theme song structured like our Spider-Man track and still others like Watchmen attempt to covey the essence of an entire graphic novel in one sitting.  To date we have covered both Marvel and DC but eventually we will expand into other universes.

For our upcoming songs, we did a thought experiment and imagined what the world would be like if “only” super-hero songs existed on the radio (laughs).  Well, you would have super-hero love songs, comic book dance tunes, hero-hip-hop, super-villain operas, and bad guy blues – all of which you may see us release in the future.

Ray Wall composing.

Nerdage:  What are you working on now?

Ray Wall: Next year we will be putting out our first full length CD.  Until now we have only released singles and generally not pre-announced our songs.  Most of our fans understand that we release new music when major comic book movies come out.  Usually, when Hollywood starts advertising a new movie our mail box fills ups with letters asking if we are making a song for it.  This approach has been fun but it has really limited the quantity of recordings we have done to date.  The other result is that I have a huge stack of songs that have been written and are waiting for their respective movies to come out.  Hence, now we feel the need to speed things up.  It’s a big change from our old approach and requires a lot of planning so right now we are working on finding the right studio and producer to work with.  A major goal is to push our new production values as high as possible.

Nerdage:  What’s the process – do you immerse yourself in particular issues or trades to get a feel for the characters?

Ray Wall: For me writing music, as opposed to playing music, is a very mysterious process.  I usually like to walk around and gently think about the characters for a few hours or couple of days.  The next time I pick up the guitar I often just start playing a new tune immediately out of thin air. I don’t understand how this happens but most of the lyrics and music are just sitting there with a few gaps that I fill in later.  But realistically, sometimes I get stuck and a particular song may sit for months before I figure it out.  Other times, yes, I do have to immerse myself but usually only if I don’t know much about the character.  When I wrote The X-Men Song: A Super-Hero Rock Opera, I knew almost nothing about the X-universe because it was not one of the comics I ever read.  Before the first X-movie was released I went to our public library and checked out one hundred collected X-Men comics across all the years and read one a night.  Since it was close to bedtime I started to dream the music and lyrics.  Because this went on for three months I ended up writing a nine minute opera rather than a normal song (laughs).  Lately, I find it’s a movie trailer that can jump start a song.  I had already read the Watchmen series, but it was the dark spooky looking trailer that hooked me to create our music for it.  Also, I would have never written The Joker without seeing what Heath Ledger was doing in the Dark Knight trailer clips.

Lastly, I think emotions play a big role in all this.  The best comics you will ever read in your life are those you read when you were a kid. We’re adults now (laughs) but we still have the capacity to tap into our pre-adolescent brain if we want to.  On a real level part of my process is to try to feed those feelings back through my ears to make this music.

Nerdage:  What’s been the most difficult song to work on?

Ray Wall: We have something coming up on our CD called Silver Surfer Rises which will be an extension of the Comic Book Rock concept into something  I call “Musical Comic Books”.  The song has a full plot:  a beginning, middle, and end.  You can practically read the lyrics like a comic book.  We were going to release it when the FF-2 movie came out but the track was not ready.  The music is very simple but the unfolding arrangement is difficult to figure out as elements appear and disappear in the track.  Moreover, it is a long song and the singing is very exacting and emotional.  I have already made a few attempts and it’s going to be tough.  If you can think of how Robert Plant sang Stairway to Heaven and how perfect, poised, well timed, and expressive he was throughout that vocal to tell the story you get the picture.  Not easy!

Nerdage: Who is your favorite character?

Ray Wall: My all time favorite character is Spider-Man and favorite team book is The Fantastic Four; pretty much hands down.  During my boyhood years I also collected Cap, Iron Man, Hulk, Sub-Mariner and a few other books.  I also loved the worlds of The Inhumans and of Glactus and the Silver Surfer.  I think the Lee and Kirby years were the best for this material as they invented most of it. When I was an even younger kid, I was completely in the DC camp and liked Superman, Flash, and funny stuff like The Metal Men.  Batman I was watching on TV.

My favorite female character is the underappreciated Kitty Pride because in her origin she rescued the X-Men while barely knowing how to use her powers and being not much more than a scared kid.  I guess I like her bravery.

Finally, my interest lately has been really drawn to The Justice League, but not totally by the comics.  I’ve been listening to DC’s stories on CD about them.  These are much more than someone just reading a novel.  They have a full cast of professional actors, readers, sound effects, and great music soundtracks.  These are awesome; it’s like a movie in your head!  That’s really cool and after all that’s in part where I want to take Comic Book Rock in the future.  To have comic books in your ears!

From Funny or Die – Wayne Brady and Mike Tyson (and a special guest star) in a “dream” remake of Bobby Brown’s “Every Little Step.” I think what I like about this is that it’s just random enough to be the kind of thing a person might have in a dream.

Drive Shaft’s “You All, Everybody” is available on Rock Band 2.  The guys who uploaded this video played the song with “Lost” characters as the performers.  You can get the track here.  This is totally fantastic.

From Dogmatic2120, who uploaded the vid:

Haha, so this song is from the show LOST, for those who don’t know or are just unaware. It’s by the fictional band Drive Shaft whose bass player, Charlie (a major character for 3 seasons) ended up on the plane that crashed on the island. It reminds me a lot of Oasis and I thought the chart was alright. Really cool to see it show up in Rock Band.

- Matt Price

MC Frontalot

On tour to support his new album, “Zero Day,” MC Frontalot, the godfather of nerdcore rap and hip-hop, will play his first Oklahoma City show Monday at The Conservatory, 8911 N Western.

MC Frontalot bassist Brandon Patton and Oklahoma City-based rap-comedy duo The Doppelgangstas (aka Twinprov) will open, according to a news release.

More info at BAM’s blog.

Doug Fieger, lead singer of the Knack, has died at age 57 after a battle with cancer, the Associated Press reports.  The Knack were best-known for the chart-topping hit “My Sharona,” which was inspired by a former girlfriend of Fieger’s.

Singer Weird Al Yankovic said about Fieger on twitter:

“RIP my dear friend Doug Fieger (lead singer of The Knack, and the first artist ever to approve one of my parodies).”

Read more at NewsOK.

Composer Chance Thomas provided a lot more information about working on the music for the “Avatar” game than what I was able to work into the recent Oklahoman article.   Of local interest, Thomas grew up here in Oklahoma City, and formerly played in a band with Edgar Cruz.  But his composing skills, especially in the video game industry, are nationally renowned.

Chance Thomas conducts an orchestral recording session.

Here at Nerdage, I’m providing the entire Q&A, which is an interesting look into working on a game of truly massive scale.  For more information about the award winning composer Chance Thomas, see www.hugesound.com.

Matt Price:  What are some of the technical innovations of this game?

Chance Thomas: James Cameron’s Avatar is the world’s first stereoscopic 3D videogame. That means it has the potential to deliver the same degree of depth of field immersion as the best 3D theatrical films. Being able to pull this off was a crucial factor in Cameron’s decision to hire Ubisoft’s Montreal studio to create his game. Apparently the guys in Montreal were the first engineers in the world to figure out how to do this for a game in a commercially manageable way. Pretty big deal.

For players, this means the game world will come alive visually on the screen in a way they’ve never experienced before. This is going to sound like a total oxymoron, but it’s hard to describe the profoundly subtle transformation that real depth of field brings to the gaming experience. Especially as you fly on a Banshee or move through the jungles of Pandora (or as the various creatures in the jungle move toward you)!

Another technical innovation, which hits closer to home for me, is the game’s multi-layered adaptive music system. In simple terms, the music system is designed to trigger natural sounding but emotionally impactful music changes based on whatever is happening to the player in the game.

It’s a brilliant design by audio engineers Steven Dumont and Brian Youds. Each level is scored with four core music states, plus transitional music bridges, specific underscore for important game events, and in-game cinematic music. Each type of music has its specific function within the game experience.

One of the writing challenges was to insure that each composition would connect naturally to any number of other compositions in the level. Making all of those harmonic touching points – while at the same time creating music that was actually compelling in its own right – was a mental feat of extraordinary challenge!

To really pull this off required that I create massive amounts of music. In fact, if you took all the music files I delivered and played them back to back from start to finish, it would take you more than 4 and ½ hours to hear them all.

So what’s the bottom line? Between the stereoscopic 3D visuals and the multi-layered adaptive music, Avatar makes for a very rich and immersive gameplay experience.

MP:  What did you look to for inspiration when creating the original music?

CT: The first source of inspiration is always the project itself. In this case I was able to experience both the game and the film as works-in-progress. Add to that screen shots of the game various levels, game design documents, and a slew of in-game cinematics. I would have frequent conversations with the team in Montreal, because a work in progress game is typically a very broken game. They would have to clue me in as to what was supposed to be happening.

But outside the source material, my best work always happens when I play a game level, watch some footage or read a design document – and then open the eyes of my imagination inside that world. I put myself inside that moment and try to understand the emotion that exists there. For example, in the game’s opening moment, you soar above Pandora’s surface in a military space cruiser, heading toward the RDA base for your first deployment on this stunningly beautiful but mysterious alien planet. When I thought about how to score that moment, I first put myself there, on that ship, in that situation. How do I feel? What kinds of thoughts are flooding my mind? I imagine there are parallels to how an actor first approaches a script.

Then, once I get a strong emotional response to the situation, I put on my composer hat, so to speak. I start thinking about what this moment sounds like. That’s when the musical ideas start to dawn on me. I’ll try them out in my mind, see how they make me feel. Do they call to mind the situation on the screen? If the picture disappeared, would the music still put you there? It’s all very emotionally driven, very fundamental.

Once I get a clear direction intrinsically, then it’s time to try to capture those pieces of inspiration with the tools at my disposal – keyboard, Digital Performer, Pro Tools, banks of music sounds and sample libraries, etc.

MP: Tell me about the collaboration between those working on the game and those working on the film.

CT: Cameron’s team was very involved in all aspects of the game. Once they selected a development studio to create their game, they got right in the trenches. According to everything I’ve heard from the game team, it was a very collaborative effort.

But personally, I can speak most knowledgably about the music side. I met the film’s producer John Landau in Montreal at the very beginning of my contract. I expressed to him my strong feelings about the importance of aligning the aesthetic of the game score with that of the film. You see, when I’ve worked on movie games in the past (King Kong, X-Men, Lord of the Rings) there was never any effort to connect the film music team with the game music team. So I asked John if he would arrange a meeting between myself and the film’s composer James Horner (Titanic, Braveheart, Star Trek).

It took a long time, but eventually the two of us were able to meet together, so I could compare notes with him and hear his take on the world of Avatar. It was an important meeting for me because, while in some cases we were on the same frequency, in other cases, he had a different take. So it was useful for me to understand those differences in order to bring those colors and flavors into the game score as well. Terrific guy, by the way. Very humble, gracious and engaging.

MP:  Can you describe the type of music players will hear during the game?

CT: Let me first offer some context. There are two races that comprise the antagonist and protagonist factions in this game. The Na’vi are the alien planet’s indigenous humanoid species. They are a native people, spiritually connected with the natural world around them. They are in many respects akin to the Native Americans on our own planet.

The music for the Na’vi is a blend of tribal elements (rough hewn drums, organic percussive instruments, flutes, chanting, etc.) and orchestra.

The other side is the RDA. They represent the industrial military complex from earth. These are scientists and soldiers, with all their assorted tech, machinery and weaponry.

The music for the RDA is represented with western film orchestra and massive percussion mixed with tech and synth elements.

MP:  Tell me about working on a game with such a large scale.

CT: Wow, four and ½ hours of music tracks. Much of it action music. For the more musically astute among your readers, they will appreciate the challenge and complexity of creating hours of music at 140-160 beats per minute, orchestrated across the full spectrum of a symphony, with the addition of organic tribal elements and alien referenced synthetic tracks.

But to be honest, it was a total rush. Incredibly invigorating for me. I was working 100+ hours a week for a few months, but I composed this score in my own home so everything that mattered was close at hand. My wife and I still managed to keep our weekend date night. I still had time with my children every day. And I still kept Sunday off limits from working, so I could get rested, re-centered, and keep my spiritual and family life on track. It was a physical and mental marathon in ways, but I think the result is worth it. If people who play the game feel like the music adds a little bit of magic to the experience for them , then it was definitely worth it.

Chance Thomas took a step into director James Cameron’s world with the game based on the “Avatar” film. Thomas, who grew up in Oklahoma City, composed the music for the game, available now for multiple game systems.

Thomas has had a long, thriving career in music, composing for the Oscar-winning short “The ChubbChubbs” and many successful video game scores.

With “Avatar,” Thomas wanted to make sure his music shared a resonance with the score of the film.

“I met the film’s producer John Landau in Montreal at the very beginning of my contract,” Thomas said in an interview. “I expressed to him my strong feelings about the importance of aligning the aesthetic of the game score with that of the film. … So I asked John if he would arrange a meeting between myself and the film’s composer James Horner (‘Titanic,’ ‘Braveheart,’ ‘Star Trek’).”

While it took some time for the two composers to align their schedules, the pair did eventually meet.

“It was an important meeting for me because, while in some cases we were on the same frequency, in other cases, he had a different take,” Thomas said. “So it was useful for me to understand those differences in order to bring those colors and flavors into the game score as well.”

To create the music, Thomas created themes for the two races that are at the heart of the “Avatar” conflict.

“The Na’vi are the alien planet’s indigenous humanoid species. They are a native people, spiritually connected with the natural world around them,” Thomas said. “The music for the Na’vi is a blend of tribal elements (rough-hewn drums, organic percussive instruments, flutes, chanting, etc.) and orchestra.”

Meanwhile, the Resources Development Administration (RDA) represents a military industrial complex.

“These are scientists and soldiers, with all their assorted tech, machinery and weaponry,” Thomas said. “The music for the RDA is represented with Western film orchestra and massive percussion mixed with tech and synth elements.”

Thomas said creating the score for the “Avatar” game required a massive amount of music.

“If you took all the music files I delivered and played them back to back from start to finish, it would take you more than 4½ hours to hear them all,” Thomas said.

- By Matthew Price
From the Dec. 18 The Oklahoman

Heavy metal band Anvil, which played at Rocklahoma this year, has undergone something of a revival since appearing in “Anvil: The Story of Anvil,” a film that presents the hard-rocking group as a real-life Spinal Tap. Director Rob Reiner’s parody film “This Is Spinal Tap,” about a heavy metal band, is brought to mind several times in “Anvil.” Coincidentally, Anvil’s drummer is named Robb Reiner.

Robb Reiner and high school pal Steve “Lips” Kudlow formed Anvil in the late 1970s and by the early 1980s seemed on the cusp of stardom. The band’s 1982 release “Metal on Metal” influenced bands including Anthrax and Metallica. But Anvil never reached the top of the charts. The film, by Sacha Gervasi, explores the now 50-something founders of Anvil as they still struggle to find fame as rock stars.

Gervasi follows the band on a comedy-of-errors European tour and chronicles the band’s efforts to get a new album together. The passion and humanity shown by Kudlow and Reiner as they struggle to keep this enterprise together makes “Anvil” one of the best rock documentaries of all time.

It’s funny in places but also heartbreaking as it reminds viewers about the tenacity and sacrifices required to go for one’s dreams.

— Matthew Price

U.S. singer Lionel Richie arrives at Japan premiere of "Michael Jackson's This Is It" in Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. (AP)

Movie-ticket site Fandango reports that “Michael Jackson’s This Is It,” hitting theaters last night, represents 77% of Fandango’s daily ticket sales.  Fans ranking the film on Fandango are ranking the film a “must go.”

Here’s more information from Fandango on “This Is It.”

* 45% say they plan to see the movie in the theater more than once.

* 48% claim that since Michael Jackson’s untimely passing they are more interested in his past works.

* 76% had never seen Michael Jackson perform live in concert.

* 84% plan to buy the DVD when it comes out; 77% will buy the soundtrack album.

- Matt Price

Michael Jackson fans arrive to buy tickets for the " Michael Jackson's This Is It" film, at L.A. Live in Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009. Tickets for the advance screening will go on sale Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009. The film was produced from hundreds of hours of backstage footage of rehearsals last June. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

“Michael Jackson’s This Is It,” which releases on Oct. 28, has moved past “Dreamgirls” in MovieTickets.com’s list of the Top-25 Advance Ticket Sellers of All-Time.  “This Is It” now ranks No. 22.

According to Movietickets.com, as of 3:30 PM EST “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” leads all ticket sales at MovieTickets.com.  The behind-the-scenes concert film accounts for 33 percent of all tickets sold.

Tickets remain available for the film’s limited, two-week run.

- Matt Price

The music video for Adam Lambert’s “Time for Miracles”  will debut on MySpace Music on Wednesday, it was announced today.  “Time for Miracles” is from the Roland Emmerich film 2012, which comes to theaters on Nov. 13.

The song is available for purchase on iTunes and will be included on Lambert’s upcoming album.

The video will include images from the film and will be viewable at www.myspace.com/music starting midnight Wednesday.

Adam Lambert was the runner up to Kris Allen in the eighth season of “American Idol.”  In the “Idol” finale, Lambert won raves for his performance of “We Are the Champions” with Queen.

- Matt Price

Lambert is currently recording his first album on 19 Recordings/RCA Records for a November 2009 release.

With two weeks to go before release, MovieTickets.com reports 603 performances of “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” have sold out.   It’s now No. 23 on MovieTickets.com’s all-time pre-seales list, passing “Quantum of Solace.”

Tickets are still available for “This Is It,” which is planned to have a limited, two-week run in theaters.

- Matt Price

With three weeks to go before its release, “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” has entered MovieTickets.com‘s all time Top 25 Advance Ticket Sellers list.

“This Is It” knocks “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” from the list.

Looking at the same point in the sales cycle, 17 days from release, MovieTickets.com reports “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” is on the heels of “Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds,” the highest grossing concert film of all-time, which sits at No. 7 on the all-time pre-sales list.

See the full list after the break.

MovieTickets.com Top-25 Advance Ticket Sellers of All-Time

1. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith

2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince + IMAX + IMAX 3-D

3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (4) + IMAX

4. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

5. The Dark Knight + IMAX

6. Twilight

7. Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Disney Digital 3-D

8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix + IMAX

9. The Matrix Reloaded

10. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

11. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones

12. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

13. Sex and the City

14. Spider-Man 3 + IMAX

15. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

17. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

18. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen + IMAX

19. Passion of the Christ, The

20. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

21. High School Musical 3: Senior Year

22. Dreamgirls

23. Quantum of Solace

24. Departed, The

25. Michael Jackson’s This Is It

Michael Jackson fans arrive to buy tickets for the " Michael Jackson's This Is It" film, at L.A. Live in Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009. The film was produced from hundreds of hours of backstage footage of rehearsals last June. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Both MovieTickets.com and Fandango.com are reporting strong sales for Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” concert film, four weeks prior to its release on Oct. 28.

MovieTickets.com reports 550 sold-out performances, and reports that “This Is It” accounts for 69 percent of ticket sales on the site.   Sixty-seven percent of poll respondents at MovieTickets.com said they were ready to see Michael Jackson on the big screen.

At Fandango, “This Is It” is outpacing the Hannah Montana 3D concert film by a factor of 3 to 1 at the same point in the sales cycle.

“Michael Jackson’s This Is It” was responsible for Fandango’s biggest Sunday pre-sales a full month prior to a film’s release date, according to a release from the site.

- Matt Price

There still seems to be a fervor for Michael Jackson, based on pre-sales of tickets to his final film.   “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” details Jackson’s preparations and rehearsals for the planned concert series of the same name.

As of 10 a.m. ET today, “This Is It” accounted for 82 percent of all ticket sales at MovieTickets.com, according to a report from the ticket-selling site.

More than 160 performances of the two-week run have already sold out, according to MovieTickets.com. “This Is It” begins its limited run in theaters on October 28.

- Matt

The gameplay is fairly typical for “Rock Band,” in which gamers can play drums, bass, guitar or sing as they re-create some of the Beatles’ greatest hits. Added for “The Beatles” is the introduction of harmony on the vocal line. Gamers can plug in up to four microphones, allowing multiple performers to get in on the harmonies.

Players begin in 1963, with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison performing at the Cavern Club. From there, the band moves to “The Ed Sullivan Show,” to Shea Stadium, and beyond.

In story mode, the gamer re-enacts the career of the Beatles through 45 songs. Chapter Challenges require the gamer to repeat the songs at a higher level to unlock additional photos. And more songs are on the way: Three Beatles albums — “Abbey Road,” “Rubber Soul” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” — will be downloadable in coming months.

“The Beatles: Rock Band” doesn’t allow the gamer to import or export characters to or from other “Rock Band” games, but perhaps that’s appropriate. As much as “The Beatles: Rock Band” appears to be a mini-documentary in game form, it’d be pretty jarring for other characters to jump in and out of the game.

Adding to that documentary feel is the in-studio audio chatter in the “Abbey Road” portion of the game, which captures never-before released audio conversations among the Beatles.

There are multiple ways to buy “The Beatles: Rock Band.” The retail price of the game is $59.99. Want to go for total immersion? The premium bundle offers the game plus controllers modeled on McCartney’s Hofner bass and Starr’s Ludwig drum kit, along with a microphone and a mike stand, for $249.99. And sold separately are controllers based on Lennon’s Rickenbacker and George Harrison’s Gretsch Duo Jet guitar, priced at $99.99 each. Additionally, the game will work with previous “Rock Band” controllers and most “Guitar Hero” and third-party controllers.

The game succeeds at both of its probable goals: Expand the “Rock Band” demographic to include baby boomers, and expose younger gamers to Beatles music. With a “no-fail” option on the easy levels, those who haven’t played “Rock Band” will find “Beatles” a comfortable first start. And the quality of the musical presentation on “Beatles” will undoubtedly lure some new fans for the band from the music-gaming set.

From Friday’s The Oklahoman
By Matthew Price

From Sony:

CULVER CITY, Calif., August 28, 2009 – The music video for “Raining Sunshine,” the new song performed by Miranda Cosgrove for Sony Pictures Animation’s upcoming 3-D animated feature Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, will premiere tomorrow night, Saturday, Aug. 29 at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT), on Nickelodeon during the hit Emmy-nominated series iCarly.

Viewers can get a sneak peek of the video on Nickelodeon at 10:00 a.m. (ET/PT) Saturday morning during SpongeBob Squarepants.

The song “Raining Sunshine” is currently available for purchase on iTunes as a single, and will also be included on the soundtrack album to the motion picture, together with original score composed by Mark Mothersbaugh, on both iTunes and Amazon on September 15.

“We’re excited to premiere Miranda’s new energetic and colorful music video on Nickelodeon,” said Doug Cohn, Senior Vice President, Music and Talent, Nickelodeon. “Fans will love seeing another side of their favorite Nickelodeon star as she performs her new song ‘Raining Sunshine.’”

In 2009, Columbia Pictures’ and Sony Pictures Animation’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs will be the most delicious event since macaroni met cheese. Inspired by the beloved children’s book, the film focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain.

Bill Hader, star of Saturday Night Live and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, will voice Flint Lockwood, a young inventor who dreams of creating something that will improve everyone’s life. Anna Faris, who recently turned heads as the star of the comedy hit The House Bunny, takes on the role of Sam Sparks, a weathergirl covering the phenomenon who hides her intelligence behind a perky exterior. James Caan plays Tim Lockwood, Flint’s technophobic father. Andy Samberg plays Brent, the town bully who has plagued Flint since childhood. Bruce Campbell plays Mayor Shelbourne, who figures out that Flint’s invention can put the town, and more importantly himself, on the map. Mr. T plays the by-the-rules town cop Earl Devereaux. Neil Patrick Harris rounds out the cast as the voice of Steve, Flint’s monkey.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is written for the screen and directed by Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, based upon the bestselling children’s book written by Judi Barrett and illustrated by Ron Barrett. The film is produced by Pam Marsden.

Miranda Cosgrove stars as Carly Shay, a cool teen who clicks with kids everywhere by hosting her own home-grown web show, in Nickelodeon’s hit, Emmy-nominated series iCarly. The series is currently the #1 live action show on Nickelodeon. In addition, Cosgrove is signed to Sony Music’s Columbia Records and is currently working on her first solo album.

Cosgrove was recently nominated for a 2009 Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress and iCarly was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Program. In addition, iCarly won a Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Show in 2009 and Miranda won a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series (comedy or drama) – leading young actress. Her other acting credits include roles in Nickelodeon’s Drake & Josh and the feature films School of Rock and Yours, Mine and Ours. iCarly airs regularly Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon.

CULVER CITY, Ca., August 20, 2009 – Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment announced today that Michael Jackson THIS IS IT will be released exclusively for a special, limited, two-week engagement worldwide, with the studio pushing up the debut of the film by two days, to Wednesday, October 28th. Due to the anticipated demand for this film, tickets for the two-week presentation will go on sale in most cities beginning on Sunday, September 27th.

Separately, the producers of Michael Jackson THIS IS IT announced that Kenny Ortega has been set to direct the motion picture. The film is being produced with the full support of The Estate of Michael Jackson.

Commenting on the announcement, Ortega, director of and Jackson’s creative partner on the THIS IS IT concert, said, “This film is Michael’s gift to his fans. As we began assembling the footage for the motion picture we realized we captured something extraordinary, unique and very special. It’s a very private, exclusive look into a creative genius’s world. For the first time ever, fans will see Michael as they have never seen him before – this great artist at work. It is raw, emotional, moving and powerful footage that captures his interactions with the THIS IS IT collaborators that he had personally assembled for this once in a lifetime project. This film shows a consummate performer working with and guiding singers, dancers, band members, choreographers, special effects creators and countless other creative members of the team as we all assemble this historic concert. I can think of many words to describe Michael as he rehearses for and creates THIS IS IT- inspirational, dynamic, generous, dedicated, loving and the guiding force-you see him as the true architect and driving force of this project – a true master of his craft, the Entertainer of Entertainers. I’m proud of the many years of friendship and creative association I shared with Michael and I’m happy that people will get a chance to see his spirit and drive in action. THIS IS IT may go down as the greatest concert that no one got a chance to see, but with this film, we get a rare portrait of Michael as he prepares for his final curtain call and what I believe was going to be his master work.”

Michael Jackson THIS IS IT will offer Jackson fans and music lovers worldwide a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts that would have taken place beginning this summer in London’s O2 Arena. Chronicling the months from April through June, 2009, the film is drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show. Audiences will be given a privileged and private look at the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, and genius as he creates and perfects his final show.

“I have never been partners with a more creative, innovative or groundbreaking entertainer than Michael Jackson,” said Randy Phillips, President & CEO, AEG LIVE and producer of Michael Jackson THIS IS IT. “While the concerts would have been the greatest shows in the history of music, our film will provide a historic event for Michael’s fans to see for themselves the genius that he was and the creativity, talent and imagination that the entire cast devoted to create the ‘greatest concert that never happened’.”

In the coming weeks, additional information about the film will be available at www.michaeljackson.com.

Dubbed the Billion Dollar Maestro by Daily Variety, Kenny Ortega has conquered Feature Films, Television, Stage, Concerts and massive Live Events such as The Olympics with equal excellence. As Michael Jackson’s director and creative partner on THIS IS IT as well as the previous Jackson concert tours DANGEROUS and HISTORY, Mr. Ortega has been a friend, trusted colleague and collaborator of Michael Jackson’s for over 20 years.

Kenny will segue from directing the film version of THIS IS IT to directing the Paramount feature film Footloose this fall. The multiple Emmy Award winner famously directed and visualized Disney’s billion-dollar High School Musical franchise of films both for Television and as a Feature Film. Kenny directed the fastest selling concert tour in history, the Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus “Best of Both Worlds Tour” featuring The Jonas Bros. This tour broke numerous records and extended its sell out tour by more than 20 shows. He also directed to tremendous praise the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In this handout photo provided by AEG, pop star Michael Jackson rehearses at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday, June 23, 2009. (AP)

Michael Jackson’s final concert, drawn from rehearsals and behind-the-scenes footage, will be released, according to a news release from Sony.  “This Is It” will be presented in theaters worldwide beginning Oct. 30.   Click past the cut for the full release.

MICHAEL JACKSON’S “THIS IS IT” TO BE PRESENTED IN THEATERS AROUND THE WORLD
BY SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT
AND SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
-Film Drawn From Legendary Entertainer’s Last Rehearsals and Behind-The-Scenes Footage

Will Be Released October 30th in High Definition with Digital Sound-

CULVER CITY, Calif., August 10, 2009 – Beginning October 30th, the world will have a front-row seat for Michael Jackson’s final concert, as Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment release Michael Jackson’s This Is It.

This Is It is being produced with the full support of The Estate of Michael Jackson and will be drawn from hundreds of hours of rehearsal and behind-the-scenes footage, captured in high definition with state-of-the-art digital sound as the late singer was preparing for his concert series in London. The film, which will also offer select sequences in 3-D, will provide a unique career retrospective and feature interviews with some of Jackson’s closest friends and creative collaborators.

The announcement was made by Michael Lynton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Amy Pascal, Co-Chairman of the studio, Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, Chief Executive Officer of Sony Music Entertainment, and Rob Stringer, Chairman of Columbia/Epic Label Group, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. The companies serve as the principal entertainment divisions of Sony Corporation.

Joining Sony in the announcement was The Estate of Michael Jackson, administered by his longtime attorney John Branca and veteran music executive John McClain, a Jackson family friend for more than 40 years. Proceeds the Estate earns from the film’s release will benefit the Michael Jackson Family Trust, the entity that Mr. Jackson specified in his will is to receive all of his assets.

The rights to the exclusive footage were acquired from AEG Live and The Estate of Michael Jackson. Sony Pictures and Sony Music will co-produce with AEG Live and the Estate, and Sony Pictures will distribute the film worldwide. Randy Phillips and Paul Gongaware of AEG Live will serve as producers of the film.

The majority of the film’s footage was shot in June, 2009 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California, and The Forum in Inglewood, California, as Jackson prepared for “This Is It,” the series of fifty concerts Jackson planned to present at the O2 Arena in London.

This Is It will offer Jackson fans and music lovers worldwide a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer, his career, and the stage spectacular that would have been. The film will provide moviegoers with an unforgettable front row experience compiled from extensive footage that shows Jackson’s meticulous preparation for his 2009 London shows.

Said Branca, “Our goal is to work with partners who treat Michael’s legacy with dignity and respect, while allowing us to substantially build the value of his estate for the benefit of Mrs. Katherine Jackson, Michael’s three children and the charitable causes that meant so much to him during his life.  We are confident we found the right partners for this project in Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment. Sony and Michael enjoyed a long and mutually beneficial history together, and it’s only fitting that the relationship continues.”

Said McClain, “This film is not only a tribute to an artist who created excitement every moment he was on stage, but also is a fitting gift to the millions of fans worldwide who loved him and who he devoted his professional life to entertaining. John and I are thrilled to be working with Sony to build on Michael’s musical legacy in a way that will generate significant proceeds for his family and for children in need.”

“People who have seen this footage are astounded by the amazing quality of Michael Jackson’s performance,” said Lynton. “This historic recording of the last time he sang and danced on stage shows the legendary artist in an incredibly powerful way, with crystal clear images and sound. We understand the importance of producing a film that pays tribute to Michael as an artist, and are honored to work with the Estate of Michael Jackson to give audiences the gift of his final performances. I know this film will serve as further proof that Michael Jackson is one of the greatest entertainers who ever graced a stage.”

“Michael lives on through his songs, his creative genius, his body of work and his passion for his art,” said Rob Stringer. “He was a perfectionist on stage and through this unique film, audiences will be able to see, many for the first time, how much Michael poured into making his performances as special as they were perfect.”

Said Kenny Ortega, director of and Jackson’s creative partner on the This Is It concert, “The world will see what our team was so fortunate to experience, which was the full commitment, passion and creativity that Michael put into this project. He was the architect of This Is It, and we were his builders. The footage that was captured from the early stages of the production to our technical rehearsals at the STAPLES Center in L.A. will show Michael as he truly was, creatively involved with every aspect of the production, from the staging and choreography, to the music, lighting, production design and conception of the original short films and video backdrops. It will also show Michael as one of the greatest entertainers in the world and one of the industry’s most creative minds. This Is It was Michael’s last theatrical work and although it was still a work in progress, I think the footage will show that the process was something that Michael deeply enjoyed and that it was clear that he was on his way to another theatrical triumph.”

In the coming weeks, additional information about the film will be available at www.michaeljackson.com .

Peter Schlessel, President of Worldwide Affairs, negotiated for the footage on behalf of Sony Pictures. Branca represented The Estate of Michael Jackson.

Michael Jackson, one of the most widely beloved entertainers and profoundly influential artists of all-time, leaves an indelible imprint on popular music and culture.

Five of Jackson’s solo albums – “Off the Wall,” “Thriller,” “Bad,” “Dangerous” and “HIStory,” all with Epic Records, a Sony Music label – are among the top-sellers of all time and “Thriller” holds the distinction as the largest selling album worldwide in the history of the recording industry with more than 70 million units sold. Additionally, singles released from the Thriller album sold more than 100 million copies worldwide, another all time record.
During his extraordinary career, he sold an estimated 750 million records worldwide, released 13 No.1 singles and became one of a handful of artists to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized Jackson as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time and “Thriller” as the Biggest Selling Album of All Time. Jackson won 13 Grammy Awards and received the American Music Award’s Artist of the Century Award.
Michael Jackson started in the music business at the age of 11 with his brothers as a member of the Jackson 5. In the early 1980s, he defined the art form of music video with such ground-breaking videos as “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and the epic “Thriller.” Jackson’s sound, style and dance moves inspired subsequent generations of pop, soul, R&B and hip-hop artists.

“With sadness in my heart, I’ve decided not to return to #IDOL,” Abdul writes. “I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent,but most of all being a part of a show that I helped from day1become an international phenomenon.”

Abdul’s exit had been speculated about in recent weeks, especially with the re-signing of judge Kara DioGuardi.   Abdul’s contract with the show expired after last season.

- Matt Price

The best literal version music video I’ve seen since the Take On Me literal version, which I posted last year.