Author: Peter G

Album review: Stephen Marks – “Beatles Haunting Melodies”

Peter G Album review, Beatles Haunting Melodies, classical, music appreciation , , , , , , , ,

Stephen Marks is a pianist from the American city of Cleveland. The album “Beatles Haunting Melodies” is a unique instrumental tribute to The Beatles. He plays every track solo by stripping down The Beatles music to an important overlooked component which is their melodies. Stephen Marks contends that the melodies of The Beatles are superior to anyone else in the history of music regardless of the genre.
If you are a fan of The Beatles which are very many, this album would be of great interest. The interested listener would be quite curious how Stephen Marks has done to The Beatles sound. I think these kinds of listeners will be quite impressed by the finished product. For people who are not familiar with the sounds of The Beatles, it is a case that the listener could be listening to Beethoven or one of the other classical music composers.
There are 24 tracks on this compilation. The opening track is “Norwegian Wood”. Stephen Marks gets straight to the melodies without any waiting. I think every track is a winner on this compilation album. A hard thing for me is find a favourite track. Too many good tracks to mention. If I have to pick one, “Because” really describes the melodies of The Beatles tremendously well. I am happy it was included on this compilation. As well, this album features absolute mega smash hits “Yesterday”, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. “Michelle” and “Something”. The official closing track is “Good Night” which is a great way to end an album.
Highlights of all 24 songs from “Beatles Haunting Melodies” by Stephen Marks can be heard (and if you like it, you can purchase the CD or Digital Download for $US9.99) at beatleshauntingmelodies.com

Stephen Marks playing the piano on Abbey Road

Image courtesy of beatleshauntingmelodies.com

More social media news

Peter G Social media, Threads, X , ,

I have joined the Threads community. Threads started in late 2023.

The username is theindieaspie like in Instagram. It has being a while since I have posted anything. For personal reasons, I have had to delay doing any blogging. I have had some trouble using the newer tools. Not to forget that Twitter has traded under the X name for some time. My username is @petergishere

That is all the news for now. Hope to do a new post soon. Happy Easter & Happy Ramadan.

A great Xmas & a Happy New Year

Peter G New Year, Xmas ,

As a long term blogger, not much into the Xmas spirit. Getting older & feeling Xmas might have lost its way. I hope Xmas this year can be more inclusive. I have no plans to go holidays. Staying at my home city of Sydney, Australia during this holiday season. Living the frugal life these days. I am happy with the response with Petesmusic’s Blog this year. Met some great followers this year. I do thank everyone who has taking their time to read Petesmusic’s Blog. I do wish everyone a great Xmas & a Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas by Library of Congress is licensed under CC-CC0 1.0

The 2022 Oscars are on Monday, March 27

Peter G cinema, movies, Oscars, Petesmusic's Blog , , ,

The 2021 Academy Awards (Oscars) was held at Union Station, Los Angeles instead of Kodak Theatre (then Dolby Theatre), Los Angeles on April 25, 2021.

The 2022 Oscars will be at the Kodak Theatre, Los Angeles on March 27, 2022. For a Oscars nomination, the film had to be released from March 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021.

A film called “The Power of the Dog” has the most nominations for this year with a number of 12 nominations.

Thanks Wikipedia for research relating to this article.

Photo by Martin Lopez on Pexels.com

The 2021 Oscars with rule changes

Peter G cinema, film appreciation, movies, Oscars , , , ,

The 2021 Academy Awards (Oscars) will next year change its rules over the nominations regarding films of any category. To qualify till now, a film had to be shown for at least seven consecutive days at a commercial cinema in Los Angeles. With the COVID-19 pandemic shutting the cinemas around the United States of recent times. That means a film on a streaming service like Netflix that has no release in any cinema prior can be nominated in any category of the 2021 Oscars. For the 2022 Oscars, the rule is expected to change back for a film to be shown for at least seven consecutive days at a commercial cinema in Los Angeles.

The venue for the 2021 Oscars will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles as the 2020 Oscars.

The date of the 2021 Oscars will be February 28 next year despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Note: Thanks nine.com.au for the research of this article.)

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Music streaming options in 2019

Peter G Apple Music, blogging, Spotify, streaming music, Tidal , ,

Streaming sites that were around in a blog post I wrote in 2012 like Rdio, Songl & Pandora are no longer available to Australian consumers but Pandora is still going in the American market.

The main sector in the recorded music market is the use of streaming. Listening to audio files through the use of the internet connection. It has taken over the music download currently by market share.

Spotify is still in the music market. You can listen to an extensive library of recorded music & not long ago it decided to enter as well to have an extensive library of streaming podcasts. The featured image is the logo of Spotify. The owners of the copyright is Spotify.

spotify2019

Their competitors of music streaming these days are:

The next thing to do is to subscribe & enjoy the music you are listening to.

It is goodbye to Google+

Peter G Google, Social media , , ,

I have decided to close down the Google+ account after number of years being a Google+ user. Since I am able to get the social media I need on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. It is farewell now for Google+ as it will be closed for good next year.

Here is the updated social media information you need to know:
Facebook: Peter Giovannoni
Twitter: @petergishere
LinkedIn: Peter Giovannoni
& not to forget my Instagram page under the name of theindieaspie
Instagram: theindieaspie

From Foxtel to Foxtel Now

Peter G Foxtel, Foxtel Now, internet, Petesmusic's Blog, Sport, technology, video streaming , , ,

I have decided with not getting the National Broadband Network in Australia was not to subscribe to the Foxtel cable service by Foxtel & instead get Foxtel Now (formerly Foxtel Play) which uses an online connection to get a set of Foxtel channels. The main difference between Foxtel and Foxtel Now is the prices you pay & the number of channels you receive. The packages you get on Foxtel and Foxtel Now are completely different. With Foxtel, you need a set top box. I am currently using Foxtel Now through the Samsung smart Blu- Ray Player. No need for a professional installation. Can use Foxtel Now as well on the personal computer & get the Smart phone app if I want to. Foxtel Now for people who live in the United Kingdom & Ireland is Australia’s version of Now TV.
With Foxtel Now, there a few base packs to choose from:

  • Pop pack
  • Lifestyle pack
  • Drama pack
  • Docos pack
  • Kids pack

You can use every pack on a one month trial before choosing to pay for any of the packs. You can either choose from one base pack or choose every base pack after the one month trial. For financial reasons, I have chosen the Pop pack because I like the programs more with this pack compared with the other starter packs. The Pop pack & Drama pack by themselves cost $A15 per month while the Kids pack, Docos pack & the Lifestyle pack costs $A10 per month. Not to forget the Pop pack & the Drama pack combined costs $A25 per month.
With the Pop pack, the channels you receive are:

In addition of the base pack(s), you can choose the next tier:

  • Sports pack ($A29 per month)
  • Movies pack ($A20 per month)

You can either choose wither the Sports pack or the Movies pack or both packs but must get the base pack(s) first. Included if you pick one of the packs as the minimum are the channels you receive in addition:

The main positive with Foxtel Now is the opportunity to watch channels like Showcase & The Comedy Channel through a pack worth $A15 per month. With Foxtel, to get those very channels would cost a lot more money in a month. The main drawback is I feel is the cutting the number of channels that were available from Foxtel Now earlier this year. For more information, go to the Foxtel Now website.

NOTE: This information is only related to the Australian market. This is an independent review & I have no relationship with Foxtel as an employee or contractor. This post has all the information updated as at May 28 in 2018 from the original post from December 20 in 2017.

foxtelnow