Posts in category: Sunset Special Markets News

Honeybees And Distant Thunder
By Riku Onda, translated by Philip Gabriel
Fiction/Doubleday/Paperback/432 pages/$29.70/Books Kinokuniya/4 out of 5 stars

Honeybees And Distant Thunder, which is set over the course of a high-stakes international piano competition, was a literary award-winner and million-copy bestseller in its native Japan, where it generated a music compilation, a hit movie and a spin-off sequel.

For all the excitement, some of the beats skew extra generic, even by soundtrack standards. Synths and drums have been Metro’s bread and butter for years, but even he gets stuck in a rhythmic tar pit every once in a while. The hi-hats and plodding groove of “All The Way Live” sound as catatonic as the Future hook warbling through it, not to mention how the minimalism of “Self-Love” would tip over into sleepy territory without Coi Leray’s chirpy vocals keeping things lively. Metro and his band of co-producers get their best work off when they broaden their horizons with some experiments. They warp guitar strings (“Home”), bounce colorful synths off Afrobeats drum programming (“Link Up”), and punch holes through the middle of beefed-up samples (“Nas Morales”) to dazzling effect. Metro’s eye for direction gives the better songs here a big boost.

Things really begin to wobble when it comes to the features and their many references to crawling walls and slinging webs. Some find a good balance, like A$AP Rocky putting himself in Miles’ shoes on “Am I Dreaming?” (“Count up my ones, lacin’ up my favorite 1s…Kiss my momma on the forehead ‘fore I get the Code Red/And swing by 410, beef patty, cornbread”) or Lil Uzi Vert digging at Spider-Man’s outcast nature on “Home.” Some, like Lil Wayne’s marathon verse on “Annihilate,” pack as many references to spiders and Spider-Man characters into 13 bars as possible (“I give an opp arachnophobia,” “She’ll turn to Spider-Woman if I bite her”) like he’s being watched by a radioactive Sony A&R. Others just barely register—it’s remarkable how bored Metro regulars Offset and 21 Savage sound on their combined five verses across the album.

But the one song where theme and music blend together perfectly is James Blake’s “Hummingbird.” Over a pitched-up sample of Patience and Prudence’s “Tonight You Belong To Me” that eventually pitches down and melts into a gooey drum pattern, Blake coos a story of unrequited love that, while easily applicable to Miles and Gwen Stacy, hits at universal truths about love and acceptance with those ghostly wails of his (“Pen pal on a night shift/She’s who I get away with/Realizing she might/Be all I need in this life”). It’s no “Sunflower,” but it matches the dim intimacy of the scene it underscores while also sounding just as eerily beautiful on its own.

Across The Spider-Verse is a sequel to an IP-driven box-office hit that doubles as an arm of the Sony/Disney/Marvel industrial complex, but it’s also about defying the status quo. It deconstructs the superhero’s relationship to tragedy and features a web-slinging T-Rex. There’s drama and humor in this multiverse of madness, and Metro Boomin’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack captures those qualities in fleeting doses. Nothing here feels as unorganized as the last Black Panther soundtrack or the shill-tastic hollowness of the Space Jam: A New Legacy companion album. However, only a few songs will live outside their cinematic context, and some land like unfinished leftovers from previous Metro projects. Some strands in the web are stronger than others.

Kevin Hart will be performing his comedy routine at Yaamava’ Theater in Highland on Monday, June 12.

Hart is a famous comedian and actor who has starred in Hollywood films and on television.

Other upcoming shows at Yaamava’ Theater this month include:

Wednesday, June 14 — Janet Jackson with special guest Ludacris

Tuesday, June 20 — Kelsea Ballerini

Friday, June 23 — Live

Saturday, June 24 — Nikki Glaser

June 29 and 30 — New Kids On The Block

For more information about any of these events, visit https://www.yaamava.com/yaamava-theater

At 11 p.m. on August 13, 1947, the well-known presenter Zahur Azar announced from All-India Radio’s (AIR) Lahore station: “At the stroke of midnight, the independent sovereign state of Pakistan will come into existence.” An hour later, Azar stated eloquently: “This is Pakistan Broadcasting Service, Lahore. We now bring to you a special programme on ‘The Dawn of Independence.’” 

Azar’s announcement, which was in English and followed by an Urdu translation by Mustafa Ali Hamadani, was important for two reasons. One, it made radio the first medium to announce the creation of Pakistan; two, the Lahore station, which a mere hour ago was part of AIR, officially became part of the Pakistan Broadcasting Service (PBS), which subsequently became known as Radio Pakistan.

Prior to Independence, AIR (established in 1926) comprised nine stations. Post Independence, six remained (Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Madras, Lucknow and Tiruchirapalli) while the Dhaka, Lahore and Peshawar stations became part of Radio Pakistan, led by Z.A. Bokhari, the first Director General.

On April 16, 1948, the Rawalpindi station was inaugurated, followed by the Karachi station on August 14, 1948 – it initially began broadcasting on August 5, 1947, as the Sindh Government Broadcasting Station, and during its 10-day existence it aired live coverage of landmark moments such as Mr Jinnah’s oath-taking ceremony as Governor-General, as well as dramas and music. It was shut down because it violated the Wireless Telegraphy Act, according to which a provincial government could not operate a radio station.

Increasing Reach

Over the next few years, more short-wave and medium-wave transmitters were purchased to increase Radio Pakistan’s reach across both wings of Pakistan, as well as overseas, through a ‘priority programme of development’. As a result, by 1949, Radio Pakistan could be heard in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the Far East and Europe, as well as in Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. Due to its diverse audience, by 1954, Radio Pakistan’s news bulletins were broadcast in at least 15 languages, including Afghan-Persian, Arabic, Balochi, Balti, Bengali, Burmese, English, Gujarati, Iranian-Kashmiri, Parhari, Pushto, Sindhi, Shina and Urdu. 

Training and High-quality Programming

In addition to news bulletins, Radio Pakistan aired dramas and feature programmes which, according to A History of Radio Pakistan by Nihal Ahmad, centred on “nation building themes”, as well as “history, culture, the freedom struggle, crime detection and social issues.” There were also programmes covering science, music, farming, education, poetry and sports. Religious programming was not limited to recitations from the Quran – it included readings from the Bible, the Geeta and the Tipitaka. In fact, despite the fact that the BBC, Voice of America, All India Radio and Radio Ceylon were available to listeners, Radio Pakistan was able to hold its own. To produce high-quality programming, Radio Pakistan placed a great deal of emphasis on training their actors, producers, directors and technicians. To this end, a training institute was established as early as 1949.

Radio Stars

Given the emphasis on training, the people who worked at Radio Pakistan as newscasters, voice-over artists, writers and producers eventually went on to make careers in cinema, theatre and television. These include film actor Mohammad Ali, television actors Neelofar Aleem, Talat Hussain, Santosh Rassal and Qazi Wajid, and prominent writers such as Syed Abid Ali, Hasina Moin, Khwaja Moinuddin, Rafi Peer, Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, Bano Qudsia and Syed Imtiaz Ali Taj. Other notable personalities were Omer Kureishi and Jamshed Marker, whose cricket commentaries are remembered to this day. Prominent Urdu newscasters included Shakeel Ahmed and Anwar Behzad, while Anita Ghulam Ali and Edward Carapiet (who hosted the popular Hit Parade) were well-known English newscasters. Then, there were the great voices we still hear today, who either debuted or gained prominence on Radio Pakistan and include Madam Noor Jehan, Mehdi Hasan and Reshma. Another notable personality was Agha Nasir, who is considered a pioneer of Radio Pakistan and later served as Managing Director, PTV – he transitioned from radio to television with ease due to the training he received at Radio Pakistan. During an interview with Dawn, Nasir said that “from the mid-fifties to the mid-sixties, Radio Pakistan was at the zenith of its success, not only because there was no competitive medium or source of information, education and entertainment, but because it was run in such a perfect manner; it was at par with many international radio services.” 

Enter the Commercials

When commercials began to be aired in 1961 (from the Karachi station), and subsequently from Lahore and Dhaka in 1967, Ahmad points out that “there was a great rush to book commercial spots and the entire allocated advertising was booked, leading to demand for more advertising time.” In the initial days, one hour of commercials was aired every day with the “objective of publicising locally manufactured products”; by the mid-sixties, three hours and 10 minutes of commercials were broadcast on weekdays, and three hours and 40 minutes on Sundays.

A Matter of Media Spend

Although there are no statistics with respect to ad revenue available from the forties and fifties, according to Gallup Pakistan, by 1966, media spend reached four million rupees. Of this, print commanded 59% of the share. (At the time, leading newspapers included Dawn, founded by Mr Jinnah on August 14, 1947; Nawa-i-Waqt, established in 1940 by Hamid Nizami; Jang established in 1939 by Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman; and Pakistan Observer founded by Hamidul Huq Choudhury in 1949 and published from Dhaka; after the 1971 War it was renamed Bangladesh Observer and ceased publication in June 2010.) Such was radio’s prominence that it came second, securing 19% of the total ad spend, followed by PTV (12%) and outdoor (10%). Cinema too was a significant advertising medium, although statistics of its market share are unavailable. Since then, things have changed drastically. According to Aurora’s Fact File published in the magazine’s November-December 2017 edition, radio accounts for a mere three percent of the total media spend. Of this, Radio Pakistan’s share is four percent, and two of its music-based FM channels, 101 and 93 (established in 1993 and 2014 respectively) have a combined share of three percent. Consequently, the share of all three channels amounts to seven percent, which is relatively low compared to the revenue share of other networks and stations such as Radio Awaz Network, 106.2 and 100, which range between eight and 10%. 

Today, Radio Pakistan’s audience is mainly confined to people living in rural areas, who do not have access to FM channels yet. However, the station’s contribution towards training and nurturing talent should not be forgotten as it served as the first training ground for writers, producers and actors who went on to work on television, and thus contributed to the vibrant media scene that is prevalent in today’s Pakistan. 

First published in The Dawn of Advertising in Pakistan (1947-2017) on March 31, 2018.

Attention all Barbies and Kens (and Alans): The Barbie movie’s soundtrack is now officially available on Spotify.

Also, it’s three hours long.

Yes, that’s right – the official Barbie soundtrack is longer than the actual movie, which will definitely have a runtime shorter than Matt Reeves’ The Batman.

This could mean one of two things: Either they added some songs to the playlist that won’t actually be in the movie just to ~enhance the vibes,~ or they are going to be listening to a lot of little song snippets in the movie.

Most likely, though, a little of both is true.

What Songs Will Be in the ‘Barbie’ Movie?

Related: Ryan Gosling Crashed a Barbie-Only Sleepover In The Most Hilarious Way

We already know from the trailers that “Closer to Fine” by the Indigo Girls will feature briefly – or rather, a cover of it, sung by Barbie and Ken before their car flips over.

We also know Dua Lipa’s music will be heavily featured in the film; for starters, she’s playing Mermaid Barbie, so suspicions that she would have more than one song were already high – and now we have a playlist that has more of her songs than any other artist.

Her new song for the film is called “Dance the Night,” and it is the lead song on the playlist. Two other Barbie soundtrack originals heading it off are “Angel” by PinkPantheress, and “WATATI” by KAROL G feat. Aldo Ranks.

Other artists featured heavily on the playlist include Lizzo, Nicki Minaj, Charli XCX, Ava Max, Melanie Martinez, and Ice Spice. Fans may also be excited to learn that Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” is also present, as is a song by Ava Max called “Not Your Barbie Girl.”

“California Gurls” by Katy Perry, “Material Girl” by Madonna, “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus, and “abcdefu” by recent Taylor Swift opener GAYLE, are some other noteworthy features.

Oh yeah, and speaking of Taylor Swift…

Which Taylor Swift Songs Are on the Barbie Soundtrack?

Related: Margot Robbie Never Wanted To Play Barbie – She Just Wanted To Make ‘Barbie’

The lyrics of Taylor Swift’s Midnights, the Til Dawn Edition exclusive song “Hits Different” made it very obvious that it would probably feature in the Barbie movie in some capacity – especially when she performed it live at one of her Chicago concerts only last week.

She literally says at one point:

“I used to switch out these Kens / I’d just ghost.”

This refers to thinking of men or boyfriends like accessories or playthings, something both Swift and Barbie have been accused of – and, according to avid Ken-defender Ryan Gosling, the exact theme of his character’s whole arc in the film.

Therefore it should come as a surprise to no one that “Hits Different” is, in fact, the eighth song on the 63 song playlist.

However, it was also rumored that there would be another Taylor Swift song on the Barbie soundtrack – and now we can confirm that the rumors are true.

If you scroll down the Barbie Soundtrack playlist on Spotify to song number 49, you’ll find one of Swift’s biggest hits from Midnights: The sympathetic, self-deprecating bop that is “Anti-Hero.”

Related: Margot Robbie Wants to Unsexualize the Barbie Doll

This makes sense in the context of what we know about the movie: It was either going to be this or “You’re On Your Own, Kid.” What Barbie is going through in the film is very similar to what Taylor describes in both songs: The feeling of being lost, of growing up too fast and suddenly feeling like you’re a little kid in a grown-up’s body doing everything all wrong.

 “I have this thing where I get older but just never wiser…”

We’re guessing that “Anti-Hero” will probably be featured sometime around the point where Barbie ends up in jail, or at some other point where she’s getting down on herself. (We’ve all been there, girl.)

We’ll have to wait a little while to know for sure, though: Barbie the movie is coming to theaters July 21.

What’s your favorite song on the Barbie soundtrack playlist? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments.

Clare Leon Milton Jr., a chemical engineer and inventor who was among the founders of classical music programming on WBJC-FM, died Thursday of heart failure at his Ten Hills home. He was 104.

Born in Manistique, Michigan, and raised in Saint Joseph, Michigan, he was the son of Clare Leon Milton Sr., a high school principal, and Frances Thornton Mitchell Milton, a teacher.

After attending Michigan schools, he earned a scholarship to Harvard University and later attended graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the old Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn.

During World War II, Mr. Milton worked at Goodrich Tire & Rubber Co. in Akron, Ohio, and developed methods for purifying compounds.

His work increased the quality of insulation on certain types of wires, including one that helped protect ships in cold waters.

Years later, on a tour of the old Western Electric Works in Southeast Baltimore, he picked up a piece of wire he helped patent.

His son, Dr. Donald K. Milton, recalled his father saying of the wire, “I wish I had a penny for every mile of wire I coated with the insulation I developed.”

In 1945 he married Chloe DeLong, a sculptor and industrial artist. They met at a Socialist Party meeting.

Mr. Milton joined Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda and directed the development of amputees’ gloves that closely resembled human hands. He worked at its Prosthetics Research Laboratory.

He then joined the Armed Forces Medical Procurement Agency on Long Island, New York.

[ Terry Thompson, Howard County firefighter, dies ]

Mr. Milton moved to Baltimore in 1951 and began working for the Eastern Venetian Blind Co., later the Eastern division of Roper Corp. As vice president in charge of engineering, he worked on injection molding plastics and coating steel.

Mr. Milton ended his career as vice president of development for Slack Associates Inc., a builder of equipment for testing satellites, working on hardware related to night-vision goggles.

“He was fascinated by thermodynamics and heat transfer,” his son, Donald, said.

Mr. Milton also designed equipment to preserve books damaged by water, insects or mold. His work was later used in the Library of Congress and other institutions. He was solely or jointly responsible for 12 patents.

He was a member of First Unitarian Church of Baltimore for more than 60 years. The church created the Clare Milton Stewardship Award for a church member “who represents the highest ideals of generosity and service.”

Mr. Milton served as his congregation’s treasurer and president.

He recalled in a church publication that the congregation was once confronted with a leaking roof.

“There was a vigorous debate over whether to apply for federal funds for the repairs, a move Clare opposed,” the publication wrote. “Various solutions were debated, including a copper coating that would have cost a half-million dollars, but Clare had other ideas: ‘I came up with a cheaper solution, and we did it ourselves,’ involving a coat of urethane and coat of acrylic on top of that.”

Mr. Milton was active in the Society of Plastic Engineers and was the group’s national treasurer. He received the Baltimore-Washington section’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

He had a lifelong interest in civil rights and social justice.

In the biographical sketch published by his church, he said: “Staying busy is the key. As to keeping my mind sharp, I don’t think I have time to let it rust.”

He enjoyed reading magazines, detective novels and watching British mystery shows.

“Physically, I have always walked a lot, and until the last few years there were few who would like [to try] to keep up with me,” he said in the church interview.

He sang in his church choir and the chorus of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He kept a large recorded music library.

Mr. Milton was a classical music buff. In the early 1950s, he joined with other aficionados to volunteer for and staff classical music broadcasts on WBJC-FM, then located in a room at Baltimore City College.

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In 1952, Mr. Milton was part of a group of broadcasters from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week. He often ran the Monday evening programming at the station.

His son recalled that the volunteer radio programmers entered City College after classes had ended.

“My father had to light a match to find the light switch,” his son Donald said. “But they brought classical music to FM radio.”

Survivors include a son, Dr. Donald K. Milton of University Park; two daughters, Linda Elizabeth Corcoran of Catonsville and Marilyn Frances Milton of Woodlawn; a brother, Kirby Milton of Fishers, New York; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

After the 1995 death of Mr. Milton’s first wife, Chloe DeLong, he married Elizabeth “Betty” Pasternak Townsend, a social worker who founded the Southwest Senior Center in Baltimore. She died Feb. 13.

Mr. Milton is also survived by his wife’s daughters, Susan Townsend of Takoma Park and Marjory Townsend of Wenonah, New Jersey; a son, Mark Townsend of Laconia, New Hampshire; and four step-grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be held at 2 p.m. July 1 at the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore at Charles and Franklin streets.