Quick post on tonight's VMA Awards

  Lady Gaga opens with a geometric nun habit, and then strips to a basic, but sparkly, stage outfit. She made  bunch of wardrobe changes right on stage, making nods to her previous looks from The Fame with the short blond wig and the iconic “Poker Face” hand gesture, and The Fame Monster with the yellow wig with dark roots, until finally embracing the ARTPOP look, which consisted of almost nothing.  Then there was Miley Cyrus – I’ve never been a fan of hers, but I always defend her when people criticize her for being edgy. Well, edgy doesn’t begin to describe her performance, twerking against Robin Thicke’s crotch and doing suggestive moves with the baseball number one glove. I loved it, she stole the spotlight from everyone else. I was never a fan of N sync either, but that was a spectacular performance. Justin Timberlake kills it every time. But that was way too long, felt more like a halftime show than a VMA performance. This was Justin’s night, no doubts about it, what with his performance and all his awards. Katy Perry’s very first performance of “Roar” was great, out of the box like everything Katy does. I love that song, it’s catchy and fun, fabulous way to end the show. It didn’t top the 2009 VMA Awards, nowhere near that, but it was cool to watch. Can’t wait for the Grammy’s, now.

Holy Plumbob, it's The Sims 4!

 

Earlier today in a press conference at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, EA Games released a first look at The Sims 4. The video included a short gameplay, showing the new and different features of the highly anticipated game.
The Sims is the best-selling PC franchise in the world, selling over 150 million copies since its original release in 2000, and every year since then the game has been outdoing itself with every new expansion pack and sequels. The current game, The Sims 3, brought as its main difference from the previous games an open world where for the first time players could bring their Sims out of their houses and into the town without the loading screen, and that was beyond simmers’ wildest dreams. All the freedom brought by The Sims 3 with the open world as well as in Create-A-Sim and the unlimited customizing in build and buy mode made me question what else could the developers do to make The Sims 4 stand out. Well, the answer is in the first look video; they took Create-A-Sim to a whole new level.
The player can now change the sizes of shoulders, thighs, buttocks, waist, and the belly alone without having to change the whole body. That’s new. Also, there is no need for sliders, the player can simply drag a specific body part, making it bigger, smaller, wider, higher, lower, or whatever look one can imagine. “It’s like playing with clay”, said the VP and Executive Producer Rachel Franklin at the press conference, and in the video that’s exactly what it looks like, making it possible to create Sims of ANY shape and size! Not a lot was said about personality and traits, but now the player can select different walking styles. I like how the developers didn't aim to make Sims look more and more like digital human replicas, but like a game character. The general appearance of Sims make them look like something in between Sims 2 and Sims 3, and not like something evolved from Sims 3 as expected. They do have a lot more facial expressions and details, though, and they look amazing.
The gameplay seems to have changed its focus, as it always does with every new game. Emotions seem to be a huge part of it now, and the player can control them not only with interactions, but with the objects as well, such as the décor around or objects you can manipulate. The player can make a Sim furious using a voodoo doll and then blow off steam by hitting a punching bag, for example.
Building seems to have evolved a little. I’ve never been a builder, but it looks like building will be way more fun this time. It looks simpler and easier, giving the player more freedom by dragging rooms around to expand and resize them. Players can also move rooms around, furniture and all, that’s new and super cool. Maybe they took their previous blueprint idea and expanded on that. The first look video says building is faster than ever, which is relief to me, always took me forever and a half to build a small house.
As for the world the game will take place in, nothing was really revealed, but two Sims are shown in the video taking off on a rocket. Will Sims be able to go to space? Earlier in the year there were rumors about Sims going to the moon, so is the rocket a hint that the rumors were true?
The Sims 4 will be released in 2014, and as a long time Simmer, I am beyond excited and looking forward to that. Watch the first look video below.

Lady Gaga's "Applause" video is out!

This morning Lady Gaga premiered the video for “Applause”, the first single from her upcoming album ARTPOP. Soon after that, the video was uploaded to her official YouTube page, getting thousands of views in its first minute online.
The video is heavily inspired by performance arts, fitting to the tile. Such inspiration is shown in the now iconic smudged clown makeup, as well as in Gaga coming out of a magician’s hat with occasional colored smoke effects, and in Gaga holding a leg-shaped bouquet as she walks a sort of runaway amidst a cloud of sparkly confetti to the sound of loud cheers, looking like a Tim Burton version of Miss America. There’s also an overpowering reference to theatre, in special her Kuroko-style outfit, which she wears throughout the video. The part that intrigued me is the scene where she is in a cage, wearing a yellow wig reminiscent of the Fame Monster era, with a crazy expression on her face, possibly showing a downside to fame. Not to mention her head on a black swan… is this her reference to ballet and dance?
As a longtime fan, I can say that I am pleased with this video. To tell the truth, I was a little nervous after the Born This Way phase, which brought the not-so-pleasant video to “Mary The Night”, and don’t get me started on the disappointing “Edge Of Glory”, but Lady Gaga never ceases to surprise me – or the world. I won’t go as far as saying she outdid herself, because she didn’t; she did not go over the top and clearly did not try to shock the world, as she usually does. Her outfit, makeup and hair styles lately have been simple and elegant, nothing too extravagant, very unlikely of her. I’m sure the world expected her to come back to the music scene riding a dragon, wearing Oprah as a hat and an outfit made of 50 live pandas, but she seems to be going in a different direction this time. Still, it’s too early to tell.
ARTPOP looks good so far, and I’m hopeful this time around. I don’t know what to expect, and over the last couple of years I learned not to have any expectations when it comes to Lady Gaga. I’ll just enjoy her new material and hope she does her best. I’m happy she’s back with new music, regardless of what the sales or charts will say, and can’t wait to hear her new album!

Watch the “Applause” video

Agnetha Fältskog’s disappointing "Dance Your Pain Away" video

On the day new singles from Lady Gaga and Katy Perry came out, not many people would be paying much attention to 63 years old former ABBA member Agnetha Fältskog’s new music video. Yesterday night it was announced that Agnetha’s new video would come out today, August 12, and it would feature Agnetha as well as the ten winners of a video contest in which fans from all over the world submitted videos of themselves dancing to her new single. I had been looking forward to it for a long time, and earlier today Agnetha’s official Facebook page released the video to her latest single, “Dance Your Pain Away”, from her 2013 album A.
The video does feature the winners of the contest, but Agnetha herself only appears for a couple seconds in images from Stockholm’s Pride Festival. No one bothered to make an exclusive new video, they just took some conveniently pre-made images and pasted them in an amateur-looking montage. Needless to say, the video disappointed fans everywhere. In a matter of hours, a wave of negativity came flooding on her Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages. It seems like what is making the fans so upset is that the single failed in the charts, therefore everyone was hoping for a pickup in the sales after the video release. Agnetha, and Universal, not working hard to promote this single shows disrespect for the fans and for the album as a whole. “Dance Your Pain Away” is definitely the most commercial song of the album, but it is catchy enough to help with the sales, but a mistake like this video was such an epic fail that it can really hurt the album and the artist.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Agnetha, her new album, and even this single, but I am truly disappointed with this video. I understand Agnetha had very little to do with this, but she is the artist and does have a say in the matter and could have done something to make it a successful single. Truth is, she didn’t.

Watch the "Dance Your Pain Away" video 

There's no place like Vegas

I had been planning my trip to Las Vegas for over a year, and it had a sole purpose: watch Shania Twain’s concert at the Colosseum. Well, my priorities didn’t change, but my plans did. My good friend wanted to take a little vacation after he graduated from college in the spring and before starting working in the summer, so we decided to go to Vegas together and actually stay a couple of days. We randomly started looking for hotel and airfare prices one night and BOOM we had bought our tickets and made reservations in less than one hour. It was spontaneous, but I had been saving for this trip for a year, and that same night I bought my ticket to Shania’s concert. I already made a post about the concert, but now I’m going to talk about the trip because, well, it was epic.
We stayed four nights at the Quad Hotel and Casino, which is affordable, comfortable, and conveniently located on the strip, near famous hotels such as Caesar’s Palace and the Flamingo. Our hotel’s attraction was Frank Marino’s Divas Las Vegas, which is a drag show where Frank Marino starts as Joan Rivers then introduces men impersonating the biggest divas of pop music. We had a guest discount and went to see it, and it was such a great show, definitely worth watching, I’ll always recommend it to anyone. Special praise to the guy who impersonated Cher and Celine Dion, his gestures and facial expressions were flawless!
My friend and I spent our days in Vegas sight-seeing and looking for cheap entertainment. We visited most of the famous hotels: we went in the pyramid at the Luxor, visited the Excalibur, rode the roller coaster at the New York New York, saw real flamingos at the Flamingo, watched the Sirens of the TI in front of the Treasure Island (it’s free, thank goodness, because it’s so silly), the Volcano eruption at the Mirage (free as well), visited the Secret Garden of Siegfried and Roy and Dolphin Habitat also at the Mirage, went on a Gondola Ride at the Venetian, saw the talking statues at the Forum Mall inside Caesar’s Palace, had a super fancy meal at the Eiffel Tower restaurant at the Paris, gambled a little (we stopped after we lost 3 dollars), enjoyed the pool at the Quad, and of course, we had to see and take a picture at the famous “Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas” sign.
Never has a city impressed and awed me as much as Vegas did. It is so over the top fabulous that thinking about it takes my breath away. Not even Rio de Janeiro or New York, both gorgeously amazing cities, had that effect on me. I had a great experience and would love to go back there. Shania’s concert on our last night was the cherry on top, of course, but the whole experience was simply surreal. I had to blog about it so I can come back and read and reminisce whenever I miss my days in Sin City.

Track-By-Track album review: Agnetha Fältskog - A

I’m going to write reviews of stuff artists I love do from now on, and the best way to begin is with ABBA’s Agnetha  Fältskog’s latest album, entitled A. I took my time to listen to this much expected album, that’s why I only wrote a review after almost two months of its release on May 10, 2013. I made sure I listened to every song carefully and repeatedly, after getting over the joy of Agnetha’s comeback to keep that from making me too biased. Well, here we go, a track-by-track album review:

Album cover

1.       The One Who Loves You Now – this is a nice romantic song that reminds me a lot of Agnetha’s 1983 album Wrap Your Arms Around Me. It’s a great way to open her extremely anticipated comeback album, with a little more modern take on the kind of song we like to hear from her.
2.       When You Really Loved Someone – the first worldwide single of the album was rightfully chosen. It is a great song, very current and unlike Agnetha’s usual stuff. The song is truly grand, fit for the diva that she is. The lyrics are simple and beautiful, perfect for her, and the melody is a little more up-tempo than I expected from her. I was pleasantly surprised.
3.       Perfume in the Breeze – at first it seems to be a pretty little romantic song, but after carefully listening to it, I realized it was about a one-night-stand with a stranger in the beach! How edgy! Totally unexpected from the melancholic blonde who sang “The Winner Takes it All”. Another upbeat song, fun to listen to, and shows a new side to this singer who is clearly trying to break away from her Greta Garbo image. Catchy chorus, too.
4.       I Was a Flower – the Agnetha trademark melancholic lost love kind of song. She sings it beautifully, and it’s a great song. As usual, she touches your soul with her angelic sad voice, making you pity her as she accuses someone of making her colors fade.
5.       I Should’ve Followed You Home (with Gary Barlow) – she reaches a new audience with her partnership with Take That singer Gary Barlow. Their voices go well together, but it is far from being my favorite Agnetha duet. Barlow co-wrote the song, which is great, makes it a little more personal instead of being an entirely commercial tune.
6.        Past Forever – it feels like another melancholic tune, but it has a note of conformation with the past. It’s more like a “shoulda coulda woulda” kind of message instead of the expected “oh no, it’s gone” kind.
7.       Dance Your Pain Away – a disco song by Agnetha in 2013? Yes please! It is great to hear a fresh dance song done by the girl from ABBA, the Dancing Queen herself. On the other hand, it is truly an attempt to reach the gay audience, and it has been said it was indeed intended as a gay anthem. It is a commercial song, no doubt, made for the sole purpose of selling records. It is the second single of the album, and it’s a great choice commercially.
8.       Bubble – Agnetha’s favorite song of the album. It is darker than most of her material and it has artistic value. It’s almost hauntingly beautiful. A nice song for a rainy day.
9.       Back On Your Radio – I consider this to be the silliest song in the album, but it is suggestive in the sense that Agnetha is “back on your radio”. It has a somewhat catchy chorus where she sings with a sweet voice that reminds me a little of ABBA's “Slipping Through My Fingers.”
10.  I Keep Them On The Floor Beside My Bed – she loves a long title, doesn't she? Well, I absolutely LOVE this song, not only for the fact that it is beautifully sung, but also because she wrote it. The fact that she made an attempt of composing a song makes me give her a standing ovation. She has always been a talented songwriter from an early age, and this song is no different. It is a rare gem of pop music, and my favorite from this album

Protests Happening In Brazil

I've been feeling more patriotic towards my homeland than I ever felt in my whole life, and this includes the World Cup seasons. The reason is that a lot of protests have been happening in Brazil. It all started with a 20 cent (about 10 cents in dollar) increase in bus fare in Sao Paulo, that was the last straw. People went out to the streets to express their indignation towards this, to show the government that it can’t do whatever it wants to the people, that they will no longer just sit and accept whatever injustice is thrown at them. Seeing the uproar in Sao Paulo and the violent response of the police against the peaceful protesters, the whole country decided to wake up and protest together as one.
But it’s not about 20 cents. Not anymore. The protests aren’t happening for just one reason, every city and/or state decided to pick their own reason to protest. But there are the main ones, which are as follow:In preparing to host the World Cup in 2014, Brazil has spent a ridiculous amount of money and taken absurd measures to accommodate tourists. Stadiums cost three times more than they should have, the biggest example being the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, which was completely reformed for the Pan American Games in 2007 and for no reason was completely rebuilt. Brazil has spent more money with this event than the last two World Cups combined! Also, people are being FORCED to leave their houses so new roads can be built for the World Cup. Yes, people are being kicked out of their houses just so some tourists can get to a stadium and have a couple hours of fun. The people have also turned against the biggest TV network in the country, Globo, which has been ruling the country for over 5 decades with its brainwashing news shows and award-winning novelas. The media coverage of the protests shown by Globo only showed the isolated acts of vandalism that happened in the protests, and highlighted that the protesters were being violent, as if they were the villains. There’s more, the same old situation of hospitals not being able to care for the crowds that line up their corridors every day. Doctors often tell patients to leave and look for another hospital on their own! And of course there is the good old corruption, which is a huge reality in the country, one that the people have revolted against as well.
The responses so far have been slow. The bus fare in many cities cut the increase, which was a small victory. Globo had to take their logo off the microphones of their reporters to avoid people jumping in front of the camera and yelling, which happened a few times. They are using national heroes such as Ronaldo and Pele to tell and convince the people that they should focus on soccer, on the World Cup, and forget everything else. Surprisingly enough, the people also turned against these heroes. The president, Dilma Rousseff, has proposed a pact, and met with every governor and the mayor of every capital in the country to try and reach an agreeable plan to deal with health care, education, and public transportation.
As we wait to see the result of the protests, we can be assured that the Brazilian government no longer mounts the people. As the slogan used in protests said, “the giant has awakened” and will not rest again until changes happen. I am extremely proud of my country and super excited about everything that has been going on. I’m outside the country, so the least I can do is to make some noise, publicly show my support to my friends and family, to show them I care about their fight and that I’m with them. There was a symbolic protest here in Boston to show support to the Brazilian people, and I was there (where the picture above was taken) doing what little I can to get the word out. I’m happy to see and be a part of a historic moment like this. #changeBrazil.