Freemasons

In the past few years, the remix/production team of the Freemasons have added their magic touch to dance remixes of Faith Evans' "Mesmerized", Luther Vandross' "Shine", and most notably remixing a number of Beyonce's hits including "Deja Vu" and "Ring the Alarm".  Their mixes are high energy, great for both club dancing and working out at the gym.

Now, they are not on remixing songs for the clubs, but producing for artists' albums, and they've come up with a real winner for Kylie Minogue's latest album, X. Their collaboration on "The One" is arguably the best song on Kylie's comeback album.  Driven by a pulsating electronic beat, "The One" has a great euro '80s touch to it.  I hope it is released as a single.

The Freemasons also produce some of their own songs.  Their latest is a dance cover of Alanis Morissette's "Uninvited" featuring vocals by Bailey Tzuke. Surprisingly, Morissette's brooding song works very well as a dance song, although I do prefer Morissettes's anguished vocals to Tzuke's sweet voice. But, once again, the Freemasons provide an irresistible beat. 

Go to www.amazon.com or iTunes to hear/download the Freemasons.

Where is the Oscar buzz for Gordon Pinsent?

Last night, Julie Christie won a Golden Globe for Best Dramatic Performance by an Actress for Away From Her. This is yet another step closer to Oscar for Ms. Christie. I think Christie was great in Away From Her, but where are the accolades for Gordon Pinsent, who plays Christie's husband in Sarah Polley's directorial debut? As good as Christie is in Away From Her, Pinsent is the one who carries the film, and is the film's emotional anchor.

I suspect the snubbing of Pinsent has to do with the fact that he has not made it a habit of appearing in many American productions, film or television. If you look at his resume on IMDB, you will see a long list of Canadian productions. Perhaps many people in America do not know who he is, but after watching his performance in Away From Her, how can anyone not think his performance ranks up there with George Clooney in Michael Clayton or Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd?

Is this a snub of Canadian talent? After all, Sarah Polley herself has not been nominated in many directorial categories. Although Away From Her has received much praise from critics, and has made many top ten lists for '07, I believe that the film's awards will go mainly to Christie.

But next Tuesday, let's hope that there will be a few surprises when the Oscar nominees are announced. And let's hope one of those surprises is Gordon Pinsent.