Music: Eminem - Not Afraid. WHY? I am not necessarily an Eminem fan, but when this song came up on TV this morning - even though I had already listened to it a thousand times this year, as it's been heavily rotated and you couldn't really avoided if you tried - I found myself just sitting there on the couch thinking that, not only it's a good Eminem song (Lose Yourself is still arguably his best song and his most successful single to date), but this guy has somehow managed to rise from his own ashes yet again. He released a new album in 2010 - appropriately called "Recovery" - to huge commercial success and it's well deserved: it's a good record. Does the world really love Eminem so much? Yes. His fan base has been incredibly loyal throughout the years and all it takes is one good song and he's back to being ubiquitous. After all, this is what being a real fan means: sticking by your favorite artist despite all the ups and downs. And Eminem has had his own share of downs, culminating with prescription drugs/alcohol dependence and contemplating suicide. Read more about his struggle to stay alive, get sober and return to top of the charts in Eminem: The Billboard Cover Story. To summarize here's why this is my song choice for this week:
1. "Recovery" is the best selling album of 2010 and includes 2 number one hits: Not Afraid and Love the Way You Lie. I personally like Not Afraid better, simply because it's more relevant for who Eminem is.2. Billboard magazine recently published their top 25 music moments of 2010 and Eminem's "Recovery" is at no.1.
3. Eminem has 10 (ten) Grammy nominations, more than any other artist this year.
4. With his sales and chart performances, Eminem is Billboard's artist of the decade. He hit no.1 with every album released in the last 10 years.
5. Time Magazine has recently chosen this Rolling Stone cover as the best magazine cover of 2010:
I can't say if it's the best of the year, as I haven't seen all of them, but it certainly is one fantastic cover. That's what I thought about it, when I first saw it 2 months ago (this was the cover for the November 2010 issue). One simple picture that tells more about Eminem than a 1000 words. Because, at the end of the day, what do we really know about Eminem? He (still) wears hoodies. He doesn't really like to talk about himself, although he accepted to talk openly about his "road back from hell" as Rolling Stone put it. But even when he does an interview, we feel we only get a glimpse of who he really is. He doesn't really care about fame, making headlines or being in the tabloids. He's more of a loner, keeps a lot to himself. The anger is still there but now it's channeled a bit differently, as he shows signs of maturity on "Recovery". The flashy, blonde Eminem is gone along with the cartoon-ish videos. Will he ever get back to that? Who knows? I personally like the dark-haired Eminem better. He's still got a lot of fight in him, most of which is probably against his own demons.
Movie: Rabbit Hole starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart. Very good perfomance from Nicole Kidman in a touching movie. I'll post more about it in an upcoming brief review.
Food/Dessert: If you're plunging into the Holiday cooking/baking frenzy, here are more festive dessert ideas: for a color-coordinated dessert the Red Velvet Cake is a classic. If you're still not sure about your choice of chocolate cake, maybe give this Decadent Chocolate Cake a try. And for something completely different try this spectacular Chocolate Chestnut Charlotte.
Perfume: Parfumerie Generale - Cadjmere. Also known as No.18 from their collection. I chose this one because it smells like Christmas to me. It's an exotic but friendly woody concoction with just a touch of coconut, and it ultimately smells like Christmas trees and yummy desserts baking in the oven. Blast from the past: Robbie Williams - Angels. His hugely popular hit is perfect for this time of the year. Simply beautiful and I'll always love it.
Random thought: Christmas carolers wake up way too early in the morning.
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In the news this week-ish:
The awards season is in full swing and I'm caught up in it not only because I love movies but because it's fun! The nominees for both the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards were announced last week and I'll write more on them in a separate post in January (before the actual ceremonies take place).
Leonardo Di Caprio tops Forbes highest-grossing Hollywood actors list of 2010.
Avatar Is 2010's Most Pirated Film. Surprised?
Not only is Amy Adams Miss Cuteness, but she's a very talented actress who is back into the spotlight with her role in The Fighter, a movie that's generating a lot of Oscar buzz and might earn her another Oscar nomination. Here she is in a beautiful festive photo shoot for Parade magazine.
The poster and trailer to the highly anticipated Terrence Malick upcoming movie - Tree of Life - have surfaced and you can see them here.
Happy Holidays everyone !
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