Something new to look forward to

Iron Man 2 featuring the music of AC/DC is a beautiful booklet with lots of compelling photographs comes with the CD and I love how the liner notes inside introduce the music.

“This album is the hard-loud companion to a movie about a Marvel Comics hero who takes care of business with heavy fists, steel will and righteous fury. But these 15 songs were created and detonated by real iron men with superhuman-boogie powers, no surrender backbone and infinite rock and roll attitude.” Wow!

The movie is Iron Man 2 starring Robert Downey Jr., and those real iron men were Angus Young on lead guitar; Malcolm Young, rhythm guitar; Cliff Williams, bass; Phil Rudd, drums; and Brian Johnson, vocals, who died of alcohol poisoning in 1980 and was replaced by Bon Scott.

Together, they are known as AC/DC, Australia’s legendary rock band with worldwide big selling albums like Back In Black, Highway To Hell, For Those About To Rock We Salute You and others.

I salute whoever thought of using AC/DC songs in Iron Man 2. Not only that, I also salute whoever decided that this should be a greatest hits collection for AC/DC. Having these strong but familiar tunes in the soundtrack certainly enhanced the commercial appeal of the picture. Iron Man with AC/DC. Nothing rocks harder than that.

Included are Shoot To Thrill, Rock n’ Roll Damnation, Guns For Hire, Cold Hearted Man, Back In Black, Thunderstruck, If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It), Evil Walks, T.N.T., Hell Aint A Bad Place To Be, Have A Drink On Me, The Razor’s Edge, Let There Be Rock, War Machine and Highway To Hell.

Almost Alice by Various Artists. The cover blurb is very clear about what this album is about. Almost Alice is made up of “imaginative compositions brought to life by the fantastical world of Alice In Wonderland.” And the reason why this album came about was that recent remake or maybe I should say a re-imagining of the much loved Lewis Carroll classic tale of Alice And Her Adventures In Wonderland.

It was almost perfect. The movie was produced by Disney, the master of re-imagined kiddie tales, directed by Tim Burton, acknowledged master of fantasy movies, with other-worldly music by Danny Elfman and the wonderful Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. However, the movie missed being perfect because it seemed as though Burton became so enamored of 3-D technology that he became more concerned with the visuals rather than the story.

What turned out very right is this CD. Almost Alice is made up of tunes inspired by this Alice flick and performed by some of the hippest acts around today. And when I say hip, I mean names like Owl City with The Technicolor Phase and Kerli with Tea Party. I actually hear several hot singles in this collection, immaterial of whether or not the song comes from the movie. First one out is Alice by Avril Lavigne.

Also in the CD are The Poison by The All-American Rejects; Where’s My Angel by Metro Station; Strange by Tokio Hotel and Kerli; Follow Me Down by 3OH!3 featuring Neon Hitch; Very Good Advice by Robert Smith; In Transit by Mark Hoppus with Pete Wentz; Welcome To Mystery by Plain White T’s; The Lobster Quadrille by Franz Ferdinand; Fell Down A Hole by Wolfmother; White Rabbit by Grace Potter and The Nocturnals and others.

And not to forget Glee: The Music The Power of Madonna. Okay I am a bit disappointed with this one because it has only seven cuts. That means it is over too soon and you have to keep listening again and again to get your fill. But then, this is all Madonna music performed by the cast of the popular TV series and that means this is definitely a keeper.

The standout is Vogue, which in the show was one eye-popping music video starring Sue with Mercedes and Kurt. This one is also proof of how the formidable Jane Lynch who plays Sue has become one of Glee’s top-drawers and will surely become one of TV’s iconic baddies in the near future.

Like A Virgin with Will, Emma, Santana, Finn and Rachel also works very well. And what can I say about the rest, Express Yourself, a medley of Borderline and Open Your Heart, Like A Prayer, 4 Minutes and What It Feels Like For A Girl. I cannot believe how great these kids are and how much they have changed our idea of what a TV star should be.