CD Review – Light of Aluna, by Anima

Anima is a U.K.-based outfit that comprises the complementary talents of Ali Calderwood and Daniela Broder, who on their latest release deliver a sonic experience that is out of this world.

 

Calderwood primarily plays keyboards and synthesizers and Broder focuses on vocals and acoustic guitar, with the duo also sharing performances on a variety of unique ethnic instruments. The result is a sound that is very celestial while also grounded and fusing together elements of world, jazz, new age, and electronica.

 

Prominent features of the music include sinewy synthesizer leads by Calderwood and impressionistic guitar intonations by Broder.

 

This is tuneful, mystical, and ear- and mind-opening music that will take you to another plateau.

 

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – Awakening, by Stephen DeRuby

While the music on Stephen DeRuby’s latest album is primarily based on Eastern philosophy and culture, it draws just as much from other exotic sounds from around the world, resulting in an ear-opening amalgam of world music styles.

 

In addition to the audio styling of India and the Far East, the music also features some elements that could be characterized as African and South American, all fused through the new age and world fusion sensibilities that DeRuby adeptly demonstrates.

 

The focal point of the music is DeRuby’s mesmerizing, hypnotic compositions and melodic lead flute playing, which is beautiful, on target, and commands attention. DeRuby’s performance is nicely embellished by a host of other musicians on instruments such as guitar, bass, keyboards, and percussion.

 

This is a very well-done CD that provides mental and emotional release, as well as a pleasant listening experience.

 

--Raj Manoharan

TV – Star Trek, Which Turns 47 Today, Keeps on Trekkin’ on Me TV

Forty-seven years ago today, William Shatner logged his first Stardate entry as Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise on NBC’s Star Trek, and there’s no better way to celebrate than watching episodes of the classic show every Saturday at 9:00 p.m. on Me TV.

The groundbreaking program initiated a sci-fi and pop cultural phenomenon that would trek far beyond anyone’s expectations.

Shatner played Kirk during Star Trek’s 1966-1969 run, later voicing the role on the 1973-1975 NBC Saturday morning cartoon and then returning as the character in live action for seven big-budget theatrical motion pictures from 1979 to 1994. Most of Shatner’s fellow original series actors accompanied him on these later adventures, with nearly the entire cast starring together in Star Treks I through VI.

The franchise has lived long and prospered beyond Shatner’s participation, with four additional television series spanning 18 consecutive years, as well as five additional movies and counting.

Shatner hasn’t done badly for himself, either. He has maintained the highest, most visible profile of any Star Trek actor, writing several Star Trek and other science fiction novels as well as multiple memoirs and autobiographies, and starring in several TV shows, including T.J. Hooker, Rescue 911, TekWar, and Boston Legal. Let’s not forget Shatner’s long-running stint as the spokesman for Priceline.com, the latest incarnation being his role as the Priceline Negotiator.

Shatner’s career can basically be divided into two phases: Star Trek and William Shatner.

But Star Trek is where it all began, 47 years ago today.

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – Dragonfly, by Terra Guitarra

The fourth album by this particular incarnation of guitar-playing duo Bruce Hecksel and Julie Patchoulie is one of the most passionate and invigorating CDs I’ve heard in the genre.

 

Hecksel, who created all the artwork for the release, plays lead on nylon-string guitar, in addition to playing steel-string and 12-string acoustic guitars. Patchoulie rounds out the sound with rhythm acoustic guitars. The two also play other instruments, such as keyboards and percussion.

 

Hecksel and Patchoulie have a lock-step chemistry that comes through on the disc, no doubt thanks in part to the fact that they have performed together long before Terra Guitarra and simultaneously play, record, and tour as the folk-rock group Patchoulie.

 

Besides their accomplished and virtuosic guitar playing, Hecksel and Patchoulie are also tuneful and creative composers and arrangers. As a result, the album is extremely palatable for both guitar aficionados and casual music lovers.

 

This is definitely a winner.

 

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – The Luminous Pearl, by Lia Scallon

The title is more than just the name of another album. In this case, it refers to a specific object of sacred significance that has been passed down from one generation to another, finally making its way into vocalist Lia Scallon’s possession and present during the recording of this unique CD.

So the Luminous Pearl is also the muse for Scallon’s unique brand of vocal artistry, which is as focused and heartfelt as ever. Scallon’s alternately soft-spoken and direct, driven vocal nuances both command your attention and set your mind at ease. The subtle instrumentation supporting Scallon’s voice contributes to the serene and tranquil atmosphere of the recording.

The album is more special than most in its packaging and design, which is abundant and luxurious. The packaging consists of a digipak with a big booklet, all featuring a deep blue color scheme that is as luminescent as the pearl of the title.

Those who appreciate unique vocal artistry and subtle new age sounds will enjoy this CD.

--Raj Manoharan

TV – Weekly William Shatner Double "Bill": Double the Bill, Double the Thrill

If you’re as much of a Shatfan as I am, then you’ll be thrilled to know that you can watch William Shatner several times a week in all his scenery-chewing and over-the-top gut-busting glory in two different decades in two different uniforms in two different hairstyles (or hairpieces?).

First up, Shatner’s heyday (shortly before he became a self-parodying, perpetually wealth-generating cottage industry unto himself) came in the 1980s, when—at the same time he was reprising his role as James T. Kirk in the Star Trek movies—he pounded the pavement and cleaned the streets of slimy scum as the titular no-nonsense police sergeant in T.J. Hooker, airing several weeknights at 7:00 p.m., several mornings at 3:00 a.m., and Fridays at 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on Universal HD.

Shatner as a uniformed police officer is about as high-concept as you can get, making this the best cop show of all time. Shatner often gets touted for his peerless hood jumping, but he was quite adept behind the wheel as well. He could drift (brake-skidding the car on fast turns) with the best of them, even when it wasn't necessary. And who could forget that Shatastic ‘80s perm? (Was it real or was it a hairpiece? Find out at www.shatnerstoupee.blogspot.com.) The series also stars the adorably smug Adrian Zmed, a very fresh-faced Heather Locklear, and Shatner’s fellow aging pretty boy James Darren.

Then, catch Shatner two decades earlier in his first iteration of Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek television series, which airs Saturdays at 9:00 p.m. on Me TV (Memorable Entertainment Television). Nothing beats Shatner hamming philosophic about the quandaries of mankind’s place in the universe, all the while sporting a ‘60s-style“straight-laced” coiffure (again—real or fake? Check out www.shatnerstoupee.blogspot.com). Shatner’s partners in pop cultural perpetuity include Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, and George Takei.

So don’t forget to enjoy William Shatner in two of his most memorable TV roles. Tune in five nights (and four early mornings) a week, same Shat time, same Shat channel! (Actually, that's five different times on two different channels.)

--Raj Manoharan

TV – Retro TV Roundup

If the current slate of programming on broadcast, cable, satellite, and pay TV hasn’t caught your fancy, there are plenty of old favorites to catch up and relive the good old days with on the slew of retro television networks that are booming in popularity.

First up, you can watch William Shatner in all his scenery-chewing and over-the-top gut-busting glory in two different decades in two different uniforms. Shatner’s heyday (shortly before he became a self-parodying, perpetually wealth-generating cottage industry unto himself) came in the 1980s, when—at the same time he was reprising his role as James T. Kirk in the Star Trek movies—he pounded the pavement and cleaned the streets of slimy scum as no-nonsense police sergeant T.J. Hooker.

Shatner as a uniformed police officer is about as high-concept as you can get, making this the best cop show of all time. Shatner often gets touted for his peerless hood jumping, but he was quite adept behind the wheel as well. He could drift (brake-skidding the car on fast turns) with the best of them, even when it wasn't necessary. The series, which also stars the adorably smug Adrian Zmed, a very fresh-faced Heather Locklear, and fellow aging pretty boy James Darren, airs several weeknights at 7:00 p.m., several mornings at 3:00 a.m., and Fridays at 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on Universal HD.

Then, catch Shatner two decades earlier in his first iteration of Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek television series, which airs Saturdays at 9:00 p.m. on Me TV (Memorable Entertainment Television). Nothing beats Shatner hamming philosophic about the quandaries of mankind’s place in the universe. Remarkably, 47 years after the show’s debut, with the exception of DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy) and James Doohan (Scotty), the other five main cast members are still with us.

By the way, if you love classic television, Me TV should be your first and last stop on the dial. In addition to featuring scores of classic television shows, the network features brilliant commercials touting its various slogans composed entirely of expertly spliced-together clips from all of its shows. Some of the stars and guest stars of those shows even pop up in network promos as themselves or their former characters. This is the ultimate TV channel for the ultimate TV fan.

Weekdays on Me TV, Jack Webb and Harry Morgan just want the facts as Los Angeles plainclothes detectives Joe Friday and Bill Gannon on Dragnet from 4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Then, Martin Milner and Kent McCord patrol the streets of Los Angeles as Officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed on Adam-12 from 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Adam-12 also airs Saturdays on Me TV from 6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., followed by Dragnet from 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

 

Saturdays on Me TV, Adam West and Burt Ward star as the caped-crusading dynamic duo Batman and Robin, who race in the Batmobile to save Gotham City from a comical cavalcade of costumed crackpots, with little help from a hilariously inept police force, in the 1960s pop cultural phenomenon Batman. The show airs at 7:00 p.m. and is followed by Irwin Allen’s Lost in Space at 8:00 p.m. and Star Trek at 9:00 p.m.

You can take your pick of Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, or Christian Bale as the various Dark Knights (Keaton and Bale are my personal favorite modern movie Batmen), but no matter what the fanboys naysay, Adam West (who also played Batman on the big screen) made the most indelible and lasting mark of any of them on pop culture. He is the one Batman to rule them all.

Check your local listings or go online to learn about all the great classic shows airing on Antenna TV, Me TV, TV Land, and Universal HD.

--Raj Manoharan