Mamma Mia!

I think Mamma Mia was an awesome musical. Meryl Streep was an even more awesome actress who really gave life to the whole movie. Plus if you grew up listening to ABBA's songs, you'd find yourself singing with the cast when the songs came up.

The story is fairly simple. A girl who is about to get married invites three men who all had a relationship with her mother. The catch is that one of them might be her father. Yeah, that's basically the whole story. Simple, no?

The songs and the actors' voices make the simple story a fun watch though. Their expressions and body movements when they sing makes the songs look as if it were mere exchanges between the actors. Kinda like their usual dialogues.

The dance routines are kinda funny for me, though. I mean, I never really thought that people would dance that way. It's entertaining and quite funny.

I don't think I have that much to say about Mamma Mia. I mean, to be honest, I felt really sleepy during some parts where the drama was happening. I couldn't even comment on most of the actors' acting, except that they all had nice voices. Why? Because Meryl Streep really stood out and I think she made the movie enjoyable. Well Pierce Brosnan was cool too, didn't even know he could sing at all.

Bottomline is, watch Mamma Mia!

He's a Devil with the Guitar

Santana -- I'm not sure if people my age know who Carlos Santana is, aside from his recent collaborations with some new artists on songs like Maria and Smooth.

Anyway, Santana is one of the guitarists I look up to. I mean, he's really great with the guitar.

I remember watching the Woodstock '69 where Santana was playing Soul Sacrifice. It was utterly amazing. There's no other word to describe what I saw.

Santana for me is one of the music industry's legends. I wonder if there will be anyone else to replace those musicians before...that when you watch them, you'll feel all sorts of emotions inside you and all you can do is sit there, listen to them with your mouth hanging open, and let their music just take you to a rollercoaster of music, feelings and mean guitar playing.

I really recommend watching one of their concerts, especially during their early days as a band. It's an experience worth telling to your children.

Sound of Music (1965)

The Sound of Music -- I don't think a lot of people would remember Sound of Music, especially if you grew up during the 90s beyond. It's one of my favorite musicals ever!!

The Sound of Music revolved around Maria (a nun-to-be) who was assigned to be the governess of Captain Von Trapp's seven children. The Von Trapp household became dull and without color when the children's mother died. Maria fixed that when she taught the children how to sing -- causing Captain Von Trapp to forget about his feelings for the Baroness (his current girlfriend) and fall in love with Maria.

Oh yeah, the setting is Austria, before the World War II started.

Probably the most popular song in The Sound of Music would be "Do-Re-Mi". Ohohoho don't tell me you don't know that song... Everyone learned their do-re-mis through that song! Well, everyone after 1965, that is. You still don't know it? Tsk tsk.. I'll give you a bit of a preview then:

Do - a deer, a female deer
Re - a drop of golden sun
Mi - a name I call myself
Fa - a long, long way to run
Sol - a needle pulling thread
La - a note to follow sol
Ti - a drink with jam and bread...

Erm.. does it ring a bell now? Of course it should! That's what I've been saying since a while ago. Anyway, I'll just leave everyone with The Sound of Music's list of songs so you can listen more because the songs are just lovely. Watch the musical too!! You won't regret sitting for two hours!! Promise!!

Maria - "The Sound of Music"
The Nuns - "Maria"
Maria - "I Have Confidence"
Rolf and Liesl - "Sixteen Going on Seventeen"
Maria and Liesl - "Sixteen Goin' on Seventeen"
Maria - "My Favorite Things"
Maria and the Children - "Do-Re-Mi"
Maria and the Children - "The Lonely Goatherd"
The Children - "So Long, Farewell"
Mother Abbess - "Climb Ev'ry Mountain"
Maria and the Captain - "Something Good"
The Captain - "Edelweiss"
... - "How can love survive?"