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Posted: 25 Aug 2011 03:13 AM PDT

On her latest album, Colbie Caillat keeps her sunny disposition.

It's not as if Colbie Caillat has never had her heart broken, experienced a major letdown, or had a low point in her life. But instead of wallowing in sorrow through her songs, she prefers to have her music focus on whatever positive lessons can be taken from a setback.

That's why the singer-songwriter, who broke through with the hit Bubbly, tends to have song titles like Think Good Thoughts, What If and Dream Life, Life, all featured on her third and latest CD, All Of You.

"I think that music is therapy," said the 26-year-old in a recent interview in New York. "So when I write a song, I write from exact moments that I go through, and I know that everyone can relate, because everybody goes through the same situations in life. ... When you can tap into that and people can relate to it, then it connects you to them."

Caillat, who has kicked off a US tour this month, has certainly connected with music fans. She has a gold and platinum album to her credit, and recently, she had visual proof of her impact when a fan revealed a new tattoo: Caillat's name on their body.

Are you amazed at how far you've come since your debut?

I performed at the White House a few months ago. I met the first family and I sang the national anthem on the White House balcony. I was so emotional that day, I couldn't believe that I had the opportunity to be there with the president and the first family, and that I've won two Grammys, and I've written with Common, Jason Mraz and Taylor Swift. When I think of these things, I have to pinch myself, because I would have never have imagined this to happen for my career when I was younger.

Bubbly rocketed you to fame. Do you ever try and recreate that moment?

I think as an artiste, you have to know how to stay true to who you are and your music, because your fans fell in love with you for a reason. They like a certain style and a sound that you have. But you also have to grow as an artist and a musician, so with all of my records, I definitely have learned from the producers around me and the musicians that come in to play, and the writers that I get to work with, and artists that I work with, so I think you have to develop.

This record is more up-tempo, and I added more electric guitars and programmed beats under the real live instruments, and I did a hip hop collaboration with Common, and we have the ukulele in it.

You've been criticised at times for being too cheery. How do you respond to that?

Everyone has a different taste, everyone has a different style and that's what I've learned. You can't be upset if one person doesn't like your music or your song, because hundreds or thousands of people do love it.

I think that you should write from your heart, write from what you're feeling, write songs that will help people get through life situations, because we all need help, we all need reminders, and we do need that optimism. There's so much stress and clutter and craziness going on, I think people need a clearer vision.

You've found love with Justin Young, who is a singer-songwriter, and a guitarist in your band. Is it difficult having a relationship with someone you work with?

I feel lucky that I get to work with a person that I'm in love with. He's my best friend and we get to travel the world together and play music together and write songs together. It's so much fun, and when this job stresses me out or I need a break or I need someone to look to that can comfort me, he is right there, and we can do that for each other. Of course with anyone you are with too much, you can get a little on each other's nerves. But it lasts for like five minutes, and then you're over it and you're happy again that they're there with you. – AP

■ Colbie Caillat's All Of You is released by Universal Music Malaysia.

Country solid man

Posted: 25 Aug 2011 03:11 AM PDT

Jeff Bridges chases different muse with new album.

When you get right down to it, Jeff Bridges' new self-titled album got its start more than 30 years ago on the set of Heaven's Gate.

The now legendary six-month shoot threw the actor, whose hobby was guitar-slinging, together with a bunch of musicians, including Kris Kristofferson and one of Kristofferson's players – a young T Bone Burnett.

"That was it, that was when we became friends," said Bridges of Burnett. "We stayed friends over the years. We haven't spent that much time together. We're both busy guys. But you know how it is with people that you click with. You just pick up where you left off."

And when the two got back together on the 2009 film Crazy Heart, the click was audible. The collaboration led to Academy Awards for each and some of the best work of their respective careers.

"Jeffrey's exactly the same as he was then, only more so," said Burnett. "His spirit has not wavered in all these years. He's remained very true to whichever muse he's following. Maybe all of them. Maybe he follows all the muses. Maybe that's one of the keys to Jeffrey."

The time they spent together working on the music on that film reignited something in Bridges that had been pushed aside by his acting successes. He took up music at a young age, and toyed with focusing on it as a career before acting finally took over. Still, there had been occasional jam sessions over the decades, and Bridges put out an independent album, Be Here Soon in 2000 with Michael McDonald on their own label, Ramp Records.

"Flowers bloom at different times," said Bridges in a phone interview last month from Scottsdale, Arizona, where he had a gig that evening. "Music has been a part of my life going back to my early teens, and it just comes out, it just pops out in different ways, whether it's playing jazz piano in Baker Boys or being a country artiste in Crazy Heart. It's in me and it's just something that comes out every once in a while."

He ain't heavy

There was something special, though, about his time with the Crazy Heart crew, which included the late Stephen Bruton and the members of Burnett's cadre of top-notch players that led him to renew the focus on his music career. And who better, he thought, to help with a new album than "my old buddy, Bone"?

The two first met on Michael Cimino's shoot for Heaven's Gate, a notorious film that deserves its reputation for excess, but not its tag as a critical flop, both Bridges and Burnett agree.

It was 1979 and the shoot took place at Glacier National Park in Montana. Bridges played a leader in a settlement besieged by cattle barrons and Burnett was a member of a band with a memorable scene at the local dance hall.

"That experience was an amazing time," said Burnett. "We went up for three weeks to do a little bit of music and ended up being there for six months stuck in a hotel. And there was nothing to do. ... It was tough at the time. It was a movie about the Johnson County war and it felt like a war, and a lot of people got hurt. It was a very tough shoot and Cimino was on another planet at the time."

It was both stunningly boring and a raucous good time, full of jam sessions, strange adventures and curiously little actual shooting. Stars of the day like Kristofferson mixed with characters like Bridges, Mickey Rourke and John Hurt.

"We ended up renting a prop plane just to get out of there," said Burnett. "But in the meantime it was one of the most adventurous times of my life."

When he got back together with Bridges, it felt like those old times again. For the new album, Burnett brought in his old standbys, players like guitarist Marc Ribot, and guests like Rosanne Cash, Sam Phillips and Ryan Bingham, who co-wrote the Oscar-winning The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart) with Burnett.

Inside out

Bridges and Burnett sorted through more than 60 songs and recorded 17 over 12 days. Some of the 10 tracks that made the album were leftovers from Crazy Heart. Bridges wrote two of the songs on the album and co-wrote a third with Burnett and Crazy Heart author Thomas Cobb.

Burnett, one of today's most influential producers with a distinctive sound, says he was careful to keep the focus on how Bridges wanted the music. And while Bridges says recording music is a lot playing a part, a picture of the actor emerges through the songs he chose.

It's an introspective album, subtly psychedelic with shades of rock and country. It is not an album of acid-tinged lounge music by The Dude, Bridges' iconic character from The Big Lebowski – though Bridges says, "I think the Dude would dig this album." And it's not a slab of outlaw country a la his Crazy Heart alter ego Bad Blake.

This is pure Bridges.

"It is a very personal album," said Burnett. "It's not a public Jeff. It's a very private Jeff in these tracks."

This is most apparent in the songs Bridges penned. At the heart of each is a quest or a question. In Falling Short he sings, "Am I falling short or do I fly/While I miss the mark do I hit the sky." On Tumbling Vine he notes "I'm buddhistly bent." And on Slow Boat he notes, "The river is wide/deeper than deep/on one side they're cryin'/On the other they're asleep."

It's not all heavy. The album kicks off with wide-open rocker, What A Little Bit Of Love Can Do, and many of the songs carry psychedelic hallmarks that add a vaguely hazy feel to the festivities.

"Something's a little pleasantly off, I hope," said Bridges. "I like to think of it that way. It feels kind of fresh and like something you haven't heard, and also something familiar at the same time." – AP

■ Jeff Bridges self-titled album is released by Blue Note/Warner Music Malaysia

Former Michael Jackson manager Frank Dileo dies

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 09:36 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Music industry executive Frank Dileo (pic), who managed Michael Jackson's career in the 1980s and returned as his manager in the superstar's final days, died Wednesday. He was 64.

Publicist Karen Sundell said Dileo died in the morning. The cause of death was not immediately available, but he had recently experienced complications following heart surgery.

The short, portly Dileo was a colourful figure in the entertainment industry and had movie roles as an actor, notably portraying a gangster in Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas."

A native of Pittsburgh, Dileo began his career in the music industry working as a promoter for CBS subsidiary Epic Records. He signed so many stars that he was credited with catapulting the small company to the No. 2 label in the country. Jackson was at CBS Records at the time and together they worked on the phenomenally successful "Thriller" album.

In his book "Moonwalk," Jackson credited Dileo as one of the people "responsible for turning my dream for 'Thriller' into a reality."

Jackson wrote that Dileo's "brilliant understanding of the recording industry proved invaluable" and described how Dileo decided to release "Beat It" as a single while "Billie Jean" was still the No. 1 song in the country.

"CBS screamed 'You're crazy. This will kill Billie Jean,"' Jackson recalled. "But Frank told them not to worry, that both songs would be No. 1 and both would be in the Top 10 at the same time. They were."

In 1984, with "Thriller" soaring, Jackson recruited Dileo to leave Epic and manage his career. Dileo accepted and presided over one of the most productive periods for Jackson.

He executive-produced the full-length Jackson movie, "Moonwalker." He also wrote, produced and negotiated a series of lucrative Pepsi commercials for Jackson.

And he managed two of Jackson's concert tours - the Victory Tour with other members of the Jackson family and the Bad World Tour, Jackson's first solo excursion which became the largest grossing concert tour of all time.

After five years together, Dileo and Jackson abruptly ended their business relationship without explanation.

Dileo went on to manage the careers of other musicians, including Taylor Dayne, Jodeci, Laura Branigan and Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora. He also worked with Prince on several projects.

He founded Dileo Entertainment Group in Nashville, Tennessee, a company focused on launching the careers of young artists.

In 2005, when Jackson stood trial on child molestation charges, Dileo returned to his side. He later described their emotional reunion. After Jackson's acquittal, they remained in touch and in the summer of 2009, as Jackson prepared to launch his This is It tour, the singer asked Dileo to manage him again. They were working together when Jackson died on June 25, 2009.

John Branca, co-executor of the Jackson estate, said he had the privilege of knowing Dileo for more than two decades.

"He was not only one of the great veterans of the music business, he was a beloved friend to me and all who were lucky enough to have had him in their lives. He was one of a kind," Branca said, and "we will miss him."

Dileo is survived by his wife, Linda; two children, Belinda and Dominic; and a grandson, Frank.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Khamis, 25 Ogos 2011

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

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