Composed.

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5IF $PNQPTFE 5FBN Editor: Grisha Silver Technician: Charlotte Whybrow Marketer: Lara Sanossian Graphic Designer: Thomas Woldhuis

Pg .3 - Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense Pg 5 - A Spotified World Pg 7 - Youtube, Anyone can be a celebrity Pg. 9 - Action or Attraction?

ALFRED HITCHCOCK

the master of suspense

How Hitchcock changed film forever The crisp black and white frame settles on Janet Leigh’s face as she steps into the shower. The tension is palpable.

The shower starts to roar as the looming silhouette of an unknown intruder forms behind the curtain.

Tension becomes fear. As he rips the curtain aside and brandishes a knife, the noise of the shower fades as the screaming violins begin to play their piercing cry. The woman begins to scream. Fear turns into horror.

As she falls onto the surface of the bath and her blood streams towards the drain, horror fades into disbelief.

“ There is no terror in the bang, it is the anticipation of it ” The impact of Alfred Hitchcock on cinema is undeniable. Fifty-five years after its release, the movie Psycho, the shower scene in particular, is still as memorable as it is iconic. Psycho is a masterpiece that pushed the boundaries of what could be shown on the big screen. Psycho is not Hitchcock’s only great, impactful film, movies such as Vertigo, North by Northwest, Rear Window and The Birds all changed not only the thriller genre but film on the whole, incorporating new visual and cinematic techniques along with new themes such as t he portrayal of psychological processes of his characters.

Hitchcock creates not for himself but for his viewers. His goal wasn’t just to create movies but to shock, thrill and excite audiences. He was once heard saying, “Always make the audience suffer as much as possible”. Hitchcock was also known as the Master of Suspense because of his tendency to create movies that keep the audiences vigilant and on the edge of their seats. As he would say, “There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.”

Undoubtedly Hitchcock has made some excellent films and advanced new ideas in cinematography.

Does that mean he has any influence on the films and directors of today? Many contemporary movies borrow from Hitchcock’s films both stylistically and plot-wise. This tendency has been dubbed ‘Hitchcockian’.Well known movies such as Se7en, Shutter Island and Jaws, just to name a few,are considered Hitchcockian. Steven Spielberg even said about his movie Jaws, "The film went from a Japanese Saturday S matinee horror flick to more of a Hitchcock, the-less-you-see-the-more-you-get thriller."

The Master of Suspense - Alfred Hitchcock blazed a t rail and changed film forever by doing things nobody had done before, pushing the boundaries in what could be shown on screen and experimenting with many new themes and techniques. He influenced a new generation of directors in such as Spielberg leaving a ‘Hitchcockian’ legacy that is still resonates in movies today. ~ GRISHA SILVER

A Spotified World

A Spotified World The music industry as of late has been in serious jeopardy. Most teenagers aged from 14 -19 would have illegally downloaded, streamed or pirated at least one movie or song off the internet In the USA 70$% of adults aged between 19 and 27 have pirated music, movies or TV shows. iTunes made a valiant effort to create a digital music store - raking in billions since 2001, in fact iTunes pulled in $4 billion in 2013 - a stunning figure, but here lies the issue; on average, iTunes users spend $40 a month on music, an expensive sacrifice for non-employed teens who are the main audience of this software. software Teens are finding new ways to steal and pirate music so as a result, sales on iTunes have been rapidly decreasing due to piracy. In fact, online piracy costs the US government somwhere between $200-250billion each year.

Despite this, there is now a saviour.

Spotify.

Spotify, Spotify, Spotify. This growing phenomenon lets their users stream any music wherever, whenever and however long they want. It seems too good to be true. If you have a connection to the internet you can play any of the 20 million songs on Spotify, Spotif now that’s a collection.

You can play whatever song or album you want without having to listen a sketchy one and a half minute preview that takes half the time to buffer on iTunes. Spotify provides a multitude of options at your fingertips. Although what you are probably thinking now is: what’s the catch?

“ You can play any of the 20million songs on Spotify ” This is where there is no catch. Spotify is completely legitimate and with the option for a ‘premium’ tier account - roughly AUD $11 per month, you are able to plug in and listen to music, advertisement free. free Spotify is clocking users up extremely fast - 60 million active users in less than three years. You may think this may seem all fine but how do the artists earn their money if the music is streamed? According the NPD group, the average US listener pays approximately $55 per year on music in formats such as iTunes, whereas a Spotify premium user pays over double - $120. Spotify has already paid $2 billion in royalties and in 2014 paid off $1 billion. 70% of Spotify’s revenue goes to royalties which is split between labels, producers - $400k of royalties was paid to the top album in July 2013 further proving this point. Even though Spotify users pay more, more they claim that users receive over one and a half times more value for their money.

Daniel Ek (CEO of Spotify) claims that Spotify are rebuilding the music industry.

“ Spotify (in two years) has already paid off $2billion in royalties ” Is this actually stopping music piracy? Yes, indeed it is. 55% of people aged 18-29 pirate less because they now have a free, legal option. In Sweden, piracy dropped by 25%, in the US 10% - some pretty incredible numbers. Spotify is the future of music.

“ Piracy in Sweden dropped by 25% because of Spotify ” From personal experience it has definitely lured me away from the trap of music piracy and has resulted me to paying their monthly fee - building a gradually stronger foundation to support the music industry. Spotify literally and metaphorically hits the spot with what it’s customers want and I can imagine it being an influence to companies such as Netflix in the quest to conquer online piracy. Who knows? In the future it might even have it’s own movie and/or TV Show feature?

Spotify is an influential, innovative and incredible idea that has sparked the beginning of a new people musical era by utilising the views and wants of the people.

Although, it is interesting that one of the key pioneers of music piracy - Daniel Ek (ex CEO of uTorrent) - has repented and is now saving the music industry with Spotify, but we’ll save that for a later date. ~ Thomas Woldhuis

ANYONE can be a celebrity

Youtube has changed the world of music in many ways, it is easier to find your favourite artist’s new songs and to discover new upcoming music. As a result of this it is easier to be discovered and become a renowned celebrity.

“Users on YouTube spend a total of 2.9 billion hours per month.”

Back before youtube became the second largest search engine - number one being google of course - young talents had to go through a more difficult path to stardom. Bands and singers had to start off by searching clubs, cafes and various other locations for the opportunity to perform to the public. After they found their spot they have to keep playing, waiting for the slight chance that there may be a rare talent scout, or producer watching that may be interested in signing them . They’d then have to work your way up slowly, gradually becoming more and more popular until you are finally one of the few world famous musicians.

Beyonce is someone who became famous the old-fashioned way. After discovering her talent, she became part of various girl groups and performed in talent competitions - and didn’t win. Her family moved to support her and lost half of it’s income, putting them through difficult times. They began opening for other girl R&B groups, trying to get noticed. They auditioned for numerous record labels and after getting turned down, they finally got signed by Elektra Records only to get cut a few months later. Her group soon joined another record company and eventually signed with Columbia records. They then became Destiny’s Child.

After a few years of moderate success they broke up to pursue solo careers. This was when Beyonce became who is she today, after years of hard work.

Compare this to youtube, you don’t have to spend time looking for somewhere to perform, all you have to do is record a video and click upload. Then it is online, there for the anyone to watch and share. Youtube is one of the most popular websites, people spend hours watching videos every day. A quote from the Jeff Bullas website said, “Users on YouTube spend a total of 2.9 billion hours per month (326,294 years)” - www.jeffbullas.com/2011/09/02/20-stunning-social-media-statistics/. Considering how many hours are spent viewing videos, clicking on whatever random videos pop up or are suggested by youtube itself.

Someone is bound to click on your video, if they like it they may share it with their friends and before you know it the video has gone viral and you’re a new phenomenon, a celebrity in the public eye. This can lead to a record producer being shown or finding the video themselves and being interested in signing you to their label.

Or in the lucky cases of some, they may discover you before you become famous worldwide.

An example of this case is Justin Bieber. I’m sure if you asked anyone who Justin Bieber is, they would be able to tell you in an instant. After his mother posted a video of him singing on youtube, Bieber was discovered by Scooter Braun and quickly become a common household name. Other examples of celebrities who are famous from youtube include Cody Simpson, Troye Sivan, Carly Rae Jepsen, 5 Seconds of Summer and PSY. Beyonce didn’t use youtube to get her famous personality, she worked hard, got pushed away but never gave up on her dream to be a singer. Compare her to an artist discovered on youtube, she is one of the few truly talented musicians and that is because she struggled and put in an extraordinary amount of effort to reach the heights where she is at today It is clear to see that the world of music is changing, the genres, what people are listening to and what they are listening on. Although I agree we shouldn’t necessarily be stuck in the past listening to tape recordings and gramophones but don’t you think, it might be just a little too easy to become a famous musician these days? ~ Charlotte Whybrow

action or attraction?

Ever since film was invented there has been a clear gender inequality. Men were always given bigger roles and seen as the hero, however women were downgraded and seen as weak. Nowadays our society has slowly accepted the equality of the sexes and stereotypes are not seen as often in film as they used to be. Women in the film industry have experienced unfairness and inequality starting from being given small roles, having less screen time, to expectations about their appearance. Stereotypes such as ‘women can only be nurturers’, are unintelligent or are the ones that have to be saved in an action film were common. Women in action films today are portrayed as all sorts of characters; they are smart, strong and can be the hero.

In the early days of film women were not given big roles, seen in film as much as men and there were many stereotypes. The earliest action films had only men as the protagonists and women were rarely included. One of the oldest and most popular action film series, James Bond, is mainly focused on the protagonist James Bond as the story is based on him being the hero taking on villains that plan to seize power over the world. He is conveyed as an intelligent, skilled spy, who is an expert on gadgets and can easily dispose of any threats that he may have to deal with. Bond always gets the woman he desires. These women are not similarly portrayed in this film; they are seen as sexual objects, not as respected, skilled and intellectual as the men.

Even though in the past gender inequality was bigger, it is still seen today. In the top 500 films from 2007-2012 only 30.8% of speaking characters were women. The average ratio of male to female characters was 2.25:1.

Just under 1/3 of women actors were used as sexual amusement, indicated by the sexually revealing clothing worn . Many actresses have spoken out about sexism in film but one that stands out most is Carey Mulligan, a well-known English actress. She talked to ‘Time Out’ and said that

“In terms of the amount of interesting roles there are for women it’s obviously massively sexist.”, and added “There’s a lack of material for women. A lack of great stories for women.”

Mulligan implied that women aren’t given major roles as opposed to men leading to inequality between men and women in film.

But lately it’s been realised that the most popular action films have a female as the protagonist, defying stereotypes. Take for example, the movie Hunger Games with the lead character Katniss. Katniss breaks away from stereotypes as she is an independent and strong woman. She is smart and greatly skilled with hunting, something commonly associated with a man. She knows how to defend herself and even when she is teamed up with the male protagonist, Gale, she is the stronger one. Katniss is portrayed as the hero as she saves Gale’s life and wins for both Gale and her district. She doesn’t have time for a love interest as she puts her family and duties first. The Hunger Games shows women of today that we can be seen equally strong, intelligent and independent as men in action films and film in general.

Cate Blanchett is a great example of an actress who believes in the above qualities for women in the real world.

When she won the Oscar for Best Actress she said

"To those of us in the industry still foolishly clinging to the idea that films with women at the centre are 'niche' experiences, they are not," and added, "Audiences want to see them, and in fact they earn money.

The world is round people!"

Blanchett calls out the sexism in the film industry and believes people do want to see more of women on screen and that they can be successful.

Stereotypes and gender inequality may still be around but women are stronger today. Women are seen as more intellectual and strong instead of the typical Bond Girl. We are seeing women in lead roles in successful action films. These women show us that they can defend themselves, be intelligent and can kick some butt! ~ Lara Sanossian

STAT ATTACK what are people’s favourite genre of movie? here are the options of genre that the people were given: Action, Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Crime, Documentary, Drama, Historical, Horror, Musicals, Romance, Scicence Fiction, War, Classic Cinema The above poll was completed by thirty teenagers to see what their favourite movie genres were. They could pick as many different genres as they wanted. This poll shows that comedy is the most popular genre with 66.7% of people choosing it as one of their favourites. The second most popular is adventure followed closely by action and romance. The least popular genres were war and horror. ~ Charlotte Whybrow

from COMPOSED.

Hi, and welcome to Parental Guidance, an advice column for allyour film making and movie watching questions. In every issue I, Grisha Silver, will choose one question sent in to us and answer it.

Today, Julian from Sydney has asked us: Hey Composed Team! My name is Julian and I am from Sydney. I am so excited for your magazine as I love both movies and music!I have just begun a foray into writing screenplay but I am finding it quite tough, I just can’t seem to be able to form a coherent story. Help would really be appreciated.

Hey Julian! We are all so glad that you are so excited for Composed. first things first, it is great that you have started writingscreenplays. They are hard work, especially when when you have just started out. All I can tell you on that front is just to keep writing and experimenting, good writing comes with time and practice.

Now, lets move onto forming a coherent story in your screenplay.. Lets start at the beginning -­ writing a screenplay has been honed down to a science -­ it must have the proper foundation that almost every movie follows: structured acts, sequences and plot points. This is a must follow blueprint.

Yet when it comes to the actual story, nothing is set in stone. You need to be able to create an interesting, engaging story with characters that your audience can relate to.

There are five general rules for story telling in screenplays:

1. Have a protagonist that people can relate to.

2. The protagonist needs a goal.

3. This goal is hard to achieve as there are obstacles, but it is still possible.

4. The story connects with the audience at an emotional level.

5. The story comes to an adequate ending (doesn’t have to be ‘happy’).

These five rules are the groundwork for great story telling in a screenplay. I recommend that you keep writing and reading.The Composed Team

thanks you for your question and wishes you the best of luck in your writing! ~ Grisha Silver

Insurgent, directed by Robert Schwentke, was recently released at the movies. The movie was a hit, not just in my eyes but in everyone else’s as it made $54 million in the opening weekend box office and scored the number one movie that weekend. Although this is a huge success it is just short of reaching the $54.6 that the hugely popular first movie of the trilogy, Divergent made the previous year. Nonetheless it was an achievement for the producers, Lionsgate.

The movie kicks off a few days after the previous one finished, with the characters living in fresh, green fields, a different look for an action/adventure movie, they are facing the aftermath of everything that has happened. For those who have not seen the first movie, here’s a recap. The movie is a dystopian film set in the future where the everyone is placed into different categories or factions which decide their future. The antagonist, Jeanine played by academy award winner Kate Winslet, tries to rip the faction system apart causing havoc in the city. As well as this the main character, Beatrice or ‘Tris’ is secretly ‘Divergent’, meaning she can’t be placed in a category, which is also the people that Jeanine is trying to get rid of. Many often compare the Divergent franchise to Hunger games but I am here to tell you, they are very different. The similarities involve it being dystopian future, the different places to live - the factions to the districts -, and the rising phenomenon of a female hero but, that is where the comparisons stop. Unlike hunger games, the protagonist, Tris played by rising star Shailene Woodley, starts the movie as more of a weak, frail character, identifiable with many such as me, she soon has to grow into more of a fierce, brave woman who is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in.

In Insurgent, the city has fallen apart, and determined couple Tris and Tobias or ‘Four’ played by up and coming British star Theo James, have to fight back against Jeanine to attempt to get the city back to civilised, equality that they used to live in. This movie sparks the idea that it is not just males who can be heroes, but also women can stand up which is a topic that appears to be more popular these days and I think is very motivating. The movie has an all star cast which is becoming more and more popular everyday. Shailene Woodley is an amazing actress who has starred alongside George Clooney in ‘The Descendents’, has also played the love interest beside her costar Miles Teller in ‘The Spectacular Now,’ and Ansel Elgort in last years popular romance movie ‘The Fault in our Stars.’ She is an incredibly accomplished young adult actress who brings an excellent asset to the film, she is one of the more natural, really talented actresses out there these days as shown in all her films but especially prominent in these movies. The director of Divergent, Neil Burger was replaced with Robert Schwentke who gave a fresh new take on everything which was very enjoyable to watch.

The only problem with the movie would be for those fans who have read the book, as throughout the movie small parts were changed, up until the entire end was remade into a completely different storyline. The box for example, is one thing that is added into the movie that was definitely not in the book, although I think the box was used to pull the little things in the book together into an interesting new concept that could be easily understood by movie watchers. The ending goes quite astray and gives an almost happy feeling compared to in the book where you are left wondering what happens next, knowing it couldn’t be the end. Although I, like other book readers were, felt quite irritated that they had modified it so much, if you look at just the movie, it is an excellent sequel. It has action, romance and some of the best actors in the industry at the moment, so I urge you grab your friends and to go check that out at the movies this weekend. ~ Charlotte Whybrow

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PAPER TOWNS - JOHN GREEN Paper Towns is a novel written by one of the bestselling authors, John Green. He is well known for his novel and movie The Fault in Our Stars which had high ratings and one of the best romantic films of all time. John Green has now produced his book Paper Towns into a movie which will be released on the 24th of July this year. The lead female role is Cara Delevingne a famous model and up and coming actress. She talks about how she relates and is similar to her character and mainly the reason she was given the role. It is set to have elements of romance and thriller as it is about a teenage boy that searches for his missing friend and unfolds a remarkable llove story.

ZAYN MALIK - LEAVES ONE DIRECTION On March 25th, Zayn Malik had officially left One Direction.

He revealed that he had been unhappy for a while and that he doesn’t feel like it was right to be in the band any longer. Malik felt that the fame and being in the band wasn’t for him anymore and quoted that it wasn’t “real to me anymore”. Zayn admits that all he wants to do is live a normal lilife and that he “can’t do this anymore”. The rest of the band support him though it is very upsetting to them as they have been together for five years and have achieved so much. Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Liam Payne will still go on as a four person group.

RIHANNA NEW ALBUM? Rihanna’s new album in nearly three years is coming out soon and is possibly being titled “R8”.

PITCH PERFECT 2 Pitch Perfect is finally coming out with a sequel which will be coming out on the 7th of May this year. The Barden Bellas will be entering a competition that no team has ever won from America.

SAN CISCO - AUSTRALIA TOUR San Cisco have announced that they are having a tour in Australia this month for their new album Gracetown and will also be performing at the Groovin the Moo festival.

~ Lara Sanossian

Drop the Bass Glaring, pounding light forced it’s way past Mike’s eyes as they readjusted. As if on cue, thousands of voices roared with anticipation as the silhouetted figures of the band started to emerge from darkness.

After a small silence Mike strutted up with a cool swagger to the microphone his bass strapped comfortably to his side. “Hello Sydneeeeeeeeyyyyyy” he bellowed as the crowd responded with a hearty cheer, the Australian patriotism pulsing through their veins. After a minute of lavishing flattery on the excited audience - quickly gaining acceptance and praise - his band the “Cantalots” started to play through their songs, working towards their final song, an immense climax.

Mike had always loved music. He loved the vibrations reverberating through his body and how each and every culture around the world had their own forms of song. He particularly loved the vigorous yet smooth drumming of the Central Africans and the Latino 4 piece bands in nations like Ecuador and Peru. The song they were playing currently was inspired by the groovy, upbeat tempo he had witnessed in areas around Togo and Kenya. It was one of their feature songs. It had rated quite highly in the charts for it’s eclectic nature but he loved it because it hit so close to home. Mike bounced softly on his knees, nodding his head. Feeling the rhythm. The final digitalised conga beat ended and Mike rested his bass to his side as the MC commenced an intermission.

The second half started, and they approached the end. Hands sweaty and muscles sore the Cantalots played their last piece. Four snappy taps of the drum sticks later a slow beat vibrated through the AllPhones arena, gradually speeding up in tempo. This was the Cantalots best hit and the crowd listened on in expectation singing (really it was more like chanting) every lyric. The keyboardist played his melody, dancing over the top of the drums and bass guitar resulting in the crowd waving their arms in unison.

The guitarist strummed his chords and brought depth to the song and the crowd were loving it. Mike’s heart was racing as he mentally prepared himself for the drop that was about to occur.

His mind was being pounded by the vigorous beating of the drum. Mike’s world dove into a slow amazing sensation as the crowds roar built up and filled his body with adrenaline. The atmosphere was consuming , he would never forget this moment. The lights flashed violently across the Cantalots, purples and reds assaulting his eyes. Beyond the glaring light he could see the crowd working themselves up in slow motion pumping their fists, doing their own signature dances and about to unleash their inner drop emotions.

The sharp high pitched keyboard crept up in a promising crescendo steadily snapping Mike back into reality. This was it. He had been waiting for so long and his time had come. The guitar now joined the keyboardist and the drop was going to be truly promising. Then the drums stopped. The guitarist plucked his last note. The keyboardist finished with a little two second jingle and silence.

For what seemed like an eternity, the singer in a smooth deep voice bellowed “Drop the Bass”.

After two plucks of his strings, Mike froze. Feet glued to the floor, he watched the most terrifying scene unfold in slow motion. He saw it coming and was in such a state of shock that his muscles turned to concrete. His arms remained statuesque as so did his heart. In slow motion, the strap clip jolted and snapped violently, flinging off his shoulder. The polished, wooden masterpiece that was his bass slid out of his sweaty fingers. As if sinking to earth like the Titanic, the few in the crowd who watched the scene unfold in absolute horror. The head of the bass crashed unorthodoxly into the steel floor snapping it cleanly off. Wooden fragments sprayed outwards, thousands of dollars smashing itself to pieces. Mike looked down in unbelief. It took a couple of seconds for everyone to realise.

Mike had ‘dropped the bass’. ~ Thomas Woldhuis

Coachel la Photo G a Photos l l e r y selecte d by Lara Sanoss

ian

Bassnectar performing at Coachella

Crowd at Coachella

Kanye West made a special appearance and sang

Crowd at Coachella

Tame Impala also featured at Coachella

Madonna made a massive impact at Coachella

Marina and the Diamonds

AC-DC performing

Florence and the Machine Performing on Day 3 DJ David Guetta performing

Hozier and Este Haim on Day 2

The Audition “Kelly Smith, you’re up in three minutes,” one of the casting directors shouted into the waiting room from the door. Kelly bounced her legs up and down nervously, it was a strange motion, one she had almost forgotten she did in these situations. Much like playing with the ring on her finger - or where the ring used to be, a habit so common to her it still felt new and peculiar without the silver diamond wrapped around her finger everywhere she went.

She thought back to the last time she had been here, seven months ago. After waiting for months to finally get an audition for something worth auditioning for, fo she had excitedly prepared for weeks, practising the lines everywhere she went. She waited anxiously in the waiting room staring down at the script in her hands, it only took her two seconds after she looked up from the script and observed the people in the room that she could see what it was really like. There were women around her age scattered all the around the room, practising lines, chatting, looking around at everyone else. She’d arrived here feeling confident, like she was someone special they needed for this part but looking around, everyone looked the same as her, if not better. A few of them looked sweet, but it was clear that was mostly an act, she could see through that as she bette saw a line of women up the back, looking intimidating. She knew they would do anything to get ahead of other people. ‘That’s the beauty of this art,’ she thought, ‘you know there are people that will play dirty to get ahead.’

After all of that had stressed her out enough, Kelly managed to gain enough confidence to walk into the audition, with three casting directors staring her down she started thinking about everyone else back out there. In the end, she messed up the audition so much she vowed never to do another again. She had given up on this dream, dream it had been a long time coming anyhow.

Back in the audition room again Kelly looked around, it still looked the same, same small room crowded with women dreaming of getting a part, a one in a million chance. ‘Why am I doing this,’ she thought, ‘I won’t get it, not against all these people.’ Then she remembered why she had to.

It was three months ago she had left her husband, after six years of bad treatment, of being afraid to wake up because she knew she’d have to face him every morning. Kelly had gotten married too young, only 19, she was convinced to elope by Bruce, her supposed high school love, it all went downhill from there. The day after the terrible audition, audition she had the awful job of telling him what happened and her decision. At first, he was furious she had quit, he screamed and yelled at her for hours that she was stupid, that she couldn’t just do something like that. She cried and apologised over and over until he eventually sat down next to her . She flinched, afraid of what he might do to her. “Calm down, I suppose you can just use my money from now on, I mean I have enough to share,” he told her with a sly grin. “You can just work at the house like you usually do, but for longer now.” In her heart Kelly wanted another job, and because she didn’t know what, she wanted time to figure it out. out She knew better than to argue with him though, who knew how that could turn out.

So instead Kelly stayed at home everyday, cleaning, cooking, working hard to impress him and Bruce continued to mistreat her despite everything she did for him. About four months later she decided enough was enough, so she waited for him to go to work and then packed up her bags as fast as she could, scared he was going to arrive home any second. She closed the door behind her, leaving only one trace that she had ever lived in that house - her ring left on the kitchen counter, a message left for him. She spent the whole day imagining how he would react when he found the empty house and the ring left for him. Although she was terrified of what might happen, happen she felt a certain thrill about gaining enough confidence to leave and find a safer place.

Kelly had no family in the country and she definitely didn’t have enough money to get on a plane, despite the money she had taken out of Bruce’s wallet. So instead she stayed in grimy motels eating barely anything until she began to run out of money. That is when she made the decision, after all it was all she knew plus she needed the cash. She knew that she couldn’t audition for anything big as Bruce might see it and come find her. Although she believed he didn’t care anymore as he didn’t appear to be looking for her.

Either way, wa she found an audition for a small scale production that would give her the money to keep going and maybe after that she could find a different job.

It had been a rough few months for Kelly and although she knew she had left and if he wanted to he would have found her by now, there was a constant worry she carried around everywhere that he was going to come out of nowhere and take her home. ‘What if he came to the production? What if he takes me away?’ she wondered. But then again she needed the money and he didn’t seem to care about her enough to look for her anyhow. She took one more glimpse around the room and that was it, her decision was made.

“Kelly Smith, your turn,” the same casting director from before called up from the door on the left. She stood up nervously, her legs shaking, she began to fidget with her finger where the ring once was. She smiled at the director and walked across the room to a door, above it was a sign reading exit. She turned back to look at everyone and waved. Then opened the door, walked outside and shut it behind her, closing the door to the audition, in addition to her past. ~ Charlotte Whybrow

3 albums, 3 days Welcome, dear readers, to my blog - 3 albums 3 days. Over the course of three days I have listened and digested three very different albumsand have proceeded to review them for your information and pleasure They are: - Abbey Road- The Beatles - Beyonce Platinum Edition- Beyonce - The Very Best of Dean Martin- Dean Martin There have been ups and there have been downs, downs late nights listening to music and being critical but in the end my blood, sweat and ears have conjured a must read blog on three interesting albums just for you.

Abbey Road- The Beatles Background 1969, amid recording sessions, tension between the members of ‘The Beatles‘ was reaching fever pitch.

Abbey Road would be the penultimate album of The Beatles and the final one that they would record together before their break-up in early 1970. Yet amid this turmoil the Fab Four birthed one of the greatest albums graced upon man- the 17 track masterpiece known as ‘Abbey Road.’

About the Album Abbey Road is a rock album, that has flavours of other genres such as blues, pop and progressive rock . It also features heavy use of the ‘moog synthesiser.‘ The album was originally double sided, the first side containing six tracks such as the iconic Come Together and Here Comes the Sun. The second side contains eleven tracks including the a brilliant nine track medley.

Commercial and Critical Reception Critics of the day gave the album mixed views, far from the hail that it gets today. It was criticised for sounding ‘artificial’ and ‘gimmicky’. Ed Ward of the Rolling stone applauded the B side medley but said the songs themselves are nothing special. On the flip side critics of today cite it as The Beatles greatest album, it has been called innovative, timeless and utterly gorgeous.

Commercially Abbey Road was a smash hit since day one, selling four million copies in two months following its release. It spent a total 17 weeks at No.1 on the UK album charts and 81 all together. It had similar reception overseas. Since then it has been bought over nine million times and sits became the ninth most downloaded song on iTunes. Needless to say, Abbey Road was and is a smash hit.

My Thoughts So know you know everything you need to know about Abbey Road, but what do I think of it? Well my consensus is that everything about this album screams genius. From the front cover to the well known mega-hits to the lesser known, but still fantastic, B-side. Abbey Road has everything and covers all your listening needs. The always cool Come Together, the thoughtful Something, the happy-go-lucky Maxwell’s Silver Hammer and Octopus’s Garden and the always intense and brooding songs I Want You (She’s So Heavy) and Oh! Darling just to name a few.

Abbey Road is and has been one of my favourite albums for many years, years I have listened to it in it’s entirety countless times and will continue to do so until my hearing leaves me. I strongly urge you to listen to it just once, so that you can experience the musical genius that so many have before.

3 albums, 3 days The Very Best of Dean Martin- Dean Martin Background This posthumous compilation album is choc-a-bloc with a staggering sixty(!) hits of the famed crooner- Dean Martin. A must have for any fan of the slick singers of the 60’s such as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and Tony Bennet, just to name a few. Listen, as the always classy Dean Martin will croon his way into your heart and make you swoon with his Italian charm with well known classics such as Sway, That’s Amore and Volare (Nel Blu Di Pinto Di Blu) along with lesser know hits such as How D’ya Like Your Eggs in the Morning?, Basin Street Blues and Georgia on my Mind.

About the Album The Very Best of Dean Martin compiles all the hits of Martin’s illustrious career, beginning with his humble start in the 50’s and chronicling his ascension to Rat Pack fame in the 60‘s and beyond. The Very Best of Dean Martin has songs that come from an array of musical genres such as swing, big band and lounge. The songs are perfect for easy listening, dancing and many other activities making it a very enjoyable and versatile.

My Thoughts The Very Best of Dean Martin is truly some of the finest, funkiest and most enjoyable music the 20th century has to offer. I never get tired of listening to it and with an astounding sixty tracks the album always offers something new and never ceases to surprise and entertain me. The album is extremely easy to listen to making it perfect for any situation, you can put on the cool tunes of Dean Martin to listen to, while your cleaning the house, you name any situation and Dean Martin is suitable to listen to. The album is fun and enjoyable with dance hits such as Mambo Italiano and Peanut Vendor but it can it can also be solemn and loving with songs l ike Everybody Loves Somebody and Memories Are Made of This.

This In conclusion, The Very Best of Dean Martin is definitely worth listening to, as it is flexible and offers any song for any time. It is a very big album so it always offers something new. I love listening to this album while doing mundane tasks such as house works because it always livens everything up. You should listen to The Very Best of Dean Martin because it really is the very best of Dean Martin.

Beyonce Platinum Edition- Beyonce Background Beyonce Platinum Edition, the self titled album, is the fifth studio album released by Beyonce. The album is an audio visual album, as its songs are accompanied by short films. The Platinum Edition adds an additional six songs to fourteen original songs. Beyonce truly asserts her creative freedom in this album as it explores many themes such as monogamous love and relationship issues.

About the Album Beyonce strays away from her recognised sound to create a more edgy feel, joining contemporaries such as Miley Cyrus and Rihanna. The Album combines elements of RnB, hip hop and pop giving it an experimental sound with modern, moody, shifting beats, scraping the grittier fringes of pop music. Beyonce, on the whole, sounds very atmospheric as she rejects the normal conventions of pop music, electing instead to litter her songs with echo, abrupt stoppages and in some cases even putting another song in the song.

In her fifth attempt, Beyonce, has given us he darkest, meatiest and most lush album to date.

Commercial and Critical Reception Beyonce received excellent reviews from most critics, it was highly touted for its dark production and complex themes. Critics viewed it as ‘more textured then its predecessors in both sound and content’.

Beyonce also faired extremely well commercially. three hours subsequent its release, Beyonce, sold eighty thousand copies, within in twenty-four hours that figure was raised to 430,000. It also debuted at No. 1 on the billboard 200, her fifth consecutive number 1 album. Beyonce was also the fastest selling album of the iTunes store, per apple. Evidently it is clear that Beyonce’s Beyonce was a smash hit both from a critical and commercial standpoint. standpoint My Thoughts Although I am not a big fan of pop music on the whole, Beyonce was a wake up call for me, as it threw aside my prior conceptions of Beyonce’s music. The album shocked me (in a good way) because of its dark and complex mood, excellent beats and Queen B’s vocal ability and range. Yet this album isn’t just dark and brooding but brings some excellent, fun dance tracks to the table. My personal favourite is 7/11, a silly but fun dance track, found on the second disc of the platinum edition. This highlights the albums ability to not only bring complex themes to the table but to be fun as well. well I strongly recommend listening to this album as it feels very human but at the same time, it will mesmorise you.

Grisha Silver

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Froot Review

Froot by Marina and the Diamonds is her third album to date which was released mid-­March 2015. Froot is a pop album that features parts of electronic, synthpop, indie pop, dream pop and rock music. Together, this mesh of musical genres complete an array of original and electric songs that clearly convey her style which is consistent throughout the entirety of her music. Her inspiration for her new album came from her experiences growing up, finding her identity and her issues with love. Froot has proved growing up, finding her identity and her issues with lov to be more personal and emotional than previous albums. Her opening song Happy is one of the gentler songs out of the album but still quite deep like the rest of them. Marina talks about her pursuit of happiness and has quite a slow and dark mood, a theme that is consistent throughout most of the album. The song “I’m Ruin” is a moderate tempo piece with edgy vocals that are emphasized by drum beats as she tells her story of breaking up with someone and feeling guilty for it. “Solitaire” is a slow tempo song with a spooky edge and similar vocals and beats are heard. “Better than that” hits all the notes, varying dynamics emphasize and soften the story she is singing.

The song “Savages” has strong dynamics, harmony and band. Marina’s main song “Froot” is quite quirkier from the rest of her songs as it has elements of disco and is written as a metaphor. All songs were written by Marina herself as she believed she had improved as a songwriter from help and experience from her past albums. Which is why her album is so much more deeper as she reminisces personal subjects she has overcome in her life, where is “Electra Heart” her previous album, is a lot more sassy and upbeat without getting too personal. Froot tells the hardships of love and life, with electric ballads, varying dynamics that give a spooky gloomy feeling to hard hitting vocals, along with a live band which add layers of sound. It is her best album yet as it has great potential to appeal to indie, rock and pop music lovers. ~ Lara Sanossian

Podcast Ep. 23 Dre Pickles May 4 2015 Grisha: Welcome to ‘The Stereo Lounge’ , a weekly podcast and subsidiary of the Composed Magazine. Here on the Stereo Lounge we discuss hot button and personal topics in music. On this week’s podcast we are going to discussBepop Jazz. I am joined by Dre Pickle, drummer in the jazz band;; Paradise Lost. Dre Welcome.

Dre Pickle Happy to be here, thanks for having me.

Grisha Okay lets begin. Dre can you give us a quick rundown on what bebop jazz exactly is, what it is characterised by and its history. Dre, onto you.

Dre Gladly. Well, bebop is a genre of Jazz music that originated in the 1940’s, it is characterised by a fast tempo.

Musicians would often experiment with advanced, intricate harmonies, altered chords and complex syncopation.

Grisha Sorry to butt in, but can you explain to us what syncopation is?

Dre Of course. Syncopation is basically when you replace beats, which results in strong beats being weak and weak ones being strong.

Grisha Thank you for the clarification, please continue.

Dre Yes. No, where was I? Oh of course! The characteristics of bebop. Well, basically it is a fast paced, complex Jazz.

Grisha Awesome. Great. Now, can you give us the history of bebop, along with some influential people within the genre.

The major characters, so to speak.

Dre OK. So, at the genesis of bebop, a new generation of musicians were entering the game. Well known names such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell etc. This was considered the birth of modern jazz. Bebop was created to be listened to and not danced to, this was in contrast to the swing jazz of that time which was dance music. New York served as the centre of this new creation, specifically the Milton Playhouse where well known names such as Thelonious Monk and Charlie Christian were often found jamming and experimenting with innovative solos.

Grisha Mmhhhmm.

Dre The bebop revolution continued in the 50’s with a second wave of musicians, headlined by Clifford Brown and The bebop revolution continued in the 50 Sonny Stitt. These musicians started to finish what the earlier guys started refining the genre and creating the well known sound we hear today.

Grisha Wow! This is such interesting stuff. What instruments are used by bebop musicians?

Dre Generally saxophone, trumpet, double bass, drums and piano.

Grisha Great! I feel as though I know so much more about bebop and jazz on the whole now. We are wrapping up soon but before we do, lets talk about your band Paradise Lost and your most recent album Astir. Dre, tell us about your band and your upcoming album.

Dre Yep. So I am the drummer in a band called Paradise Lost, as you mentioned earlier. We formed in the summer of 2010, we were all in our first year of university at that time. All of us had a passion for jazz, we decided that bebop jazz would be the best course because those who started the movement where the new generation and we believe that we are the new generation too. It is only fitting. Originally there were four of us, but before we started recording our first studio album we introduced a new member to Paradise Lost.

Grisha So why Paradise Lost?

Dre There is a good reason behind our name. In mainstream culture, jazz is considered slow and somber, what we know as smooth jazz. This is often connected to paradise and bliss because it is.. well, smooth. We want to break free of that pigeon hole because if smooth jazz is paradise, bebop is madness -­ fast and crazy. That is what we were going for when naming our band.

Grisha Ok, before we go, let’s talk about your second studio album -­ Astir. Dre, what does Astir mean?

Ok, before we go, let Dre Astir literally means in a state of excited movement, and we think that is a perfect way of describing our music and bebop on the whole. That is why we named our album Astir.

Grisha Cool! That is really fitting. Can you tell us a little bit about the album?

Dre I sure can. I do not want to give too much away but I can tell you that the whole album tells a stor I sure can. I do not want to give too much away but I can tell you that the whole album tells a story. Without being biased, I think it is great.

Grisha A story!? Without words?

Dre Without words... Just pure jazz.

Grisha I am sad to say that we have run out of time. I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of Astir by Paradise Lost.

Dre, it was great having you.

Dre My pleasure, thanks for having me.

Grisha Thank you for listening to our podcast, The Stereo Lounge. Check out our magazine Composed for all you movies and music needs, issue one coming out soon. ~ Grisha Silver

Hans Zimmer Tom: Good Morning Hans Zimmer, how are you today?

Hans: I am very well Tom: That’s good. Now Hans you have had an illustrious career in score writing for movies. I know some of my favourite of your compositions have been from the Lion King, Batman and the Pirates of the Caribbean. What has been your favourite soundtrack to compose?

Hans: I personally loved developing and composing ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, I just felt that the sound produced was just that little bit better than the others.

Tom: So, I’ve noticed a bit of German twang in your voice, can you please give the listeners a brief history of where and how you became a composer?

Hans: Sure, I was born in Frankfurt am Maim, Germany -­ I won’t let you know when I was born, that was too many years ago!

Tom: (laughs) No worries Hans, we’ll forgive you Hans: Anyway, my parents were very different, mother was a musician through and through whereas my father was a mad engineer. I started modifying pianos to my mother’s horror when I was a child. I added chainsaws and other gadgets to my piano -­ my father loved it.

Tom: Wow you must of been a killer pianist then!

Hans: (laughs) Yes indeed, from then on I just loved the piano. I joined many bands where I played keyboard for them like Buggles, Krakatoa and Krisma.

Tom: Wait Buggles, like Video Killed the Radio Star?

Hans: Yes! How funny is that, a classical composer on the synthesiser -­ I even featured on the video clip.

Tom: Wow that is pretty awesome. So when you were just a child, your father passed away.

Can you tell us how that felt and how you escaped the terror.

Hans: That was a tough time. I needed a friend, I was so close to my father. Music was my outlet. I some how found a way to escape the terrors of my father’s death by befriending music. For me, music is much more than just a sound. It is a part of my life. music.

Tom: That is truly touching, can you give us some insight on how you went from such rock bottom to the top?

The Interview Hans: Sure, as I mentioned before I joined a couple of bands and worked it the top.

I did jingles and soundtracks for smaller companies and that was when I met Hollywood director Barry Levinson. He told me that he and his wife had heard my soundtracks and had fallen in love with them and would like me to do the soundtrack for a new movie Revenge. My hopes instantly rose. Think about it. A youngster being offered a job in Hollywood!

Tom: What an experience, so when did you start?

Hans: Well, all was well until Levinson’s boss wrote me off because I wasn’t an A-­listed composer. I was truly devastated.

Tom:No way, that is very judgmental isn’t it? How did you cope? What did you do?

Hans: After a while of deep disappointment, Levinson came back and asked me to do the score for his own movie. It was truly amazing. It was a moment I will never forget, I still get that feeling every time I am asked -­ but that time was special. The music never really went the way I wished but that was just life. Apart from the Red music never really went the way I wished but that was just lif Thin Line and the Dark Knight Rises none of the music truly went the way I desired but finishing off the Batman movie felt a great way to top off 9 years.

Tom: Thank you so much, Hans. You have an amazing story and it was an honour to meet you. I wish you the best of luck in the future.

Hans: It was a pleasure. ~ Thomas Woldhuis