Sevi Ettinger – Salty Water Sevi Ettinger – Salty Water (Sevillana Records) Political unrest and protest have been a fertile inspiration for music for generations now. However, you don’t necessarily to hear that kind of music from a 15-year-old girl. Sevi Ettinger is an American-born singer who is currently living in Shanghai. She was struck by stories and films she saw about Syrian refugees – how adults and particularly children could be set adrift, trying desperately to esc

Ibiza IBIZA (2018) Starring Gillian Jacobs, Vanessa Bayer, Phoebe Robinson, Richard Madden, Michaela Watkins, Augustus Prew, Humphrey Ker, Anthony Welsh, Félix Gómez, Jordi Mollà, Nelson Dante, Anjela Nedyalkova, Miguel Angel Silvestre, Marina Salas, Tea Vracic, Bojan Ban, Tara Thaller, Marko Paradzik, Ivan Devcic, Bozena Bilanovic and Petar Cvirn. Screenplay by Lauryn Kahn. Directed by Alex Richanbach. Distributed by Netflix. 104 minutes. Rated TV-MA. When Netflix announced

Boyz II Men – Under the Streetlight Boyz II Men – Under the Streetlight (Sony Masterworks) Boyz II Men have embraced the sound of old-school doo-wop music from the very beginning. Their second huge single from their breakout debut album Motownphilly was an a capella cover of an obscure soundtrack single from the 70s – “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday,” which came from the long-forgotten film Cooley High – and was essentially an attempt to bring street-corner singing

A United Kingdom A UNITED KINGDOM (2017) Starring David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Jack Davenport, Tom Felton, Laura Carmichael, Terry Pheto, Jessica Oyelowo, Arnold Oceng, Anton Lesser, Anastasia Hille, Jack Lowden, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Vusi Kunene, Theo Landey, Abena Ayivor, Charlotte Hope and Donald Molosi. Screenplay by Guy Hibbert. Directed by Amma Asante. Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures.  111 minutes.  Rated PG-13. Politics and love sadly all too often make strange

GIRLFRIENDS’ GUIDE TO DIVORCE — Season:2 — Pictured: Necar Zadegan as Delia — (Photo by: Andrew Eccles/Bravo) Necar Zadegan Girlfriend’s Guide to TV Stardom by Landyn Gerace The drama is back in Bravo’s first scripted series, Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce. The show returns for its second season Tuesday, December 1 and the leading ladies aren’t holding back. With four female leads (Lisa Edelstein, Beau Garrett, Necar Zadegan and Alanna Ubach), the writer of the series being a

A Summer’s Tale A SUMMER’S TALE (CONTE D’ÉTÉ) (1996) Starring Melvil Poupaud, Amanda Langlet, Aurelia Nolin, Gwenaelle Simon, Aimé Lefèvre, Alain Guellaff, Evelyne Lahana, Yves Guérin and Franck Cabot. Screenplay by Eric Rohmer. Directed by Eric Rohmer. Distributed by Big World Pictures.  113 minutes.  Rated G. Originally released in its native France in 1996, but just getting its first American release now, A Summer’s Tale is part of the late, great French filmmaker Eric Roh

Le Week-End LE WEEK-END (2014) Starring Jim Broadbent, Lindsay Duncan, Jeff Goldblum, Olly Alexander, Xavier de Guillebon, Brice Beaugier, Judith Davis, Charlotte Léo, Marie-France Alvarez, Lee Michelsen, Lee Michelsen, Sébastien Siroux and Etienne Dalibert. Screenplay by Hanif Kureishi. Directed by Roger Michell. Distributed by Music Box Films. 93 minutes. Rated R. There is an old song that says “There’s a thin line between love and hate.”  As Le Week-End intriguingly points

Cody Simpson – The Prince Music Theater – Philadelphia, PA – January 19, 2014 – photo by Sami Speiss © 2014 Cody Simpson Our New Mate Goes Acoustic by Ali Speiss and Sami Speiss The United States has a new Australian mate, Cody Simpson. This beach blond, blue-eyed heartthrob is a singer, instrumentalist and songwriter who is spreading his sunny, positive tunes to kids and adults alike. Simpson's Gold Coast roots show through his catchy tunes with his beachy, groovy style. Sim

Cody Simpson in concert Cody Simpson - The State Theater - New Brunswick, NJ - July 17, 2013 I went to see Cody Simpson with the silly notion that I could relax and listen to this guy, see what the hype was about for this 16-year-old teen sensation from Down Under. I thought I knew what to expect; beyond thousands of screaming teens and tweens hoping that they would be selected as Cody's Angel for the night. But I was more than pleasantly surprised, though it was difficult to

Love, Wedding, Marriage LOVE, WEDDING, MARRIAGE (2011) Starring Mandy Moore, Kellan Lutz, Jessica Szohr, Jane Seymour, James Brolin, Michael Weston, Monica Acosta, Alyson Hannigan, Joe Chrest, Sarah Lieving, Beau Brasso, Richard Reid, Michael Showers, Michael Arata, Mindy Caraccioli, Dean J. West, Cynthia LeBlanc, Marta Zmuda, Douglas M. Griffin, Elton LeBlanc, Charlotte Biggs, Autumn Federici and the voice of Julia Roberts. Screenplay by Caprice Crane & Anouska Chydzik Bryso

Musiq Soulchild Musiq Soulchild Still Lovanmusiq by Abraham Kuranga In today’s music industry, an artist on his forth album is considered a grizzled veteran.  However, don’t tell that to Musiq Soulchild, the soul singer born Talib Johnson. According to Musiq, he’s just getting started.  “I am so inspired by music itself, so every album is a new experience,” says Musiq. The Philadelphia born-and-bred crooner originally broke into the music scene with 2000’s hit CD Aijuswanasei

Tristan Prettyman Tristan Prettyman Rides the Crest by Jay S. Jacobs Tristan Prettyman would rather be surfing. Not that she doesn’t love her current career as a singer/songwriter, but she might just be talked into chucking it all for a guaranteed endless supply of great waves.  She has been on the beach since she was a little girl and surfing is one of the great passions of her life. That would be our loss, because her debut CD twentythree is a truly individual statement, a

Shakira Shakira Tour Service by Jay S. Jacobs The Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Plaza in New York City is a world famous old restaurant right in the heart of downtown Manhattan’s entertainment district.  A classic old club that was opened in 1934 in the heart of the Great Depression, designed to radiate class, glamour, elegance, luxury and the spirit of New York nightlife, The Rainbow Room has played host to celebrities, millionaires, politicians and kings in its almost seventy

Rosey Rosey Real Wild Child by Jay S. Jacobs The dream isn’t an uncommon one. A young Connecticut girl gets a job working for her cousin. This cousin just happens to be the right hand-person for the biggest concert promoter in New York. And despite the fact that the job is just a glorified gopher position, she is thrust into a sparkling new world of rock stars, limos, craft services and backstage parties. Pretty heady stuff. The girl suddenly realizes that she wants to be par

Sixpence None the Richer Sixpence None the Richer There She Goes by Jay S. Jacobs Sixpence None the Richer are just one of a long, storied tradition in music– the overnight sensation that had been toiling away in obscurity on the sidelines for years.  Sixpence – which is made up of singer Leigh Nash, guitarist/songwriter Matt Slocum and drummer Dale Baker,  – had recorded three albums (The Fatherless & The Widow, This Beautiful Mess and Tickets For A Prayer Wheel) that had be