Niki N. Phaser » demise

A Cute Smile Has Faded

Niki N. Phaser — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:48:52 +0000

It’s always a shock when someone young dies and it was an even greater one yesterday, when it was announced that young actress Brittany Murphy has passed away. She was 32. If you wonder why this ‘preferential treatment’ shock-wise, it’s because whenever I would hear her name, her big childish smile would flash before my eyes. And now, if I think about, that probably woun’t change. Girl, Interrupted is the first movie that I remember her from because, though a supporting character, she really made you believe that her character had a story even more interesting than that of the main character. The last movie I saw her in was The Ramen Girl, a unique kind of a cooking movie, where she was this lost American in Japan, who finds a brand new way of giving meaning to her life… We can only say ‘thank you, Brittany’ for adding something to our lives.

The Ramen Girl Interrupted

The King is dead – Long live the King

Niki N. Phaser — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:31:16 +0000

NME has provided some staggering information about the state of the UK charts. La Roux scored her first number 1 with pop-power track Bulletproof, but that hardly seems important (unfortunately for her) in the light of another artist’s impressive evolution, both in the album and the singles charts. It seems Michael Jackson’s demise has reminded people of the great music he is responsible for. So much that the number one album in UK is his best of collection, entitled Number Ones. Seven of his albums are in the top 75, with five of them reigning in the top 20. On the singles front, the situation is just as legend-in-the-making. His 1988 hit Man in the Mirror is at 11 right now, with other 19 MJ songs in the Top 75, five of them being in the Top 30. This is just one more detail contributing to the legend of Michael Jackson and when they’ll make that biopic that everyone is waiting for, no doubt we’ll see these facts and figures written on the screen, before the end titles. One thing is sure, we should no longer feel inferior to those who were alive when Elvis or John Lennon died. This is pop history and we are right in the middle of it.

A tragedy preventing a controversy

Niki N. Phaser — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:05:46 +0000

You probably all know by now that Michael Jackson has died yesterday, June 25 2009. He would have been 51 this August. The cause of death, at least for now, is a cardiac arrest, but there has been speculation of prescription drug abuse, as a possible trigger of that heart failure. Hearing Wolf Blitzer saying “this just came in…” certainly took its toll on me, as some of my first life memories are related to the album cover of Dangerous. This might be insensitive, but we all have to admit that there is also a feeling of peace when you think about it. Michael’s last years were just a string of scandals and trials and everything that has nothing to do with his music. The 50 dates London O2 tour, that was to span from this July to next year’s March, was just another controversy in the making. It started with the first delay, apparently because of Michael’s need for live perfection, but it was clear even from then where this was going. All sorts of rumours about his health followed, but were denied instantly by his camp. Obviously, those were not just rumours. The truth is there was no comeback to follow, not a successful one anyway. The whole thing would have been a fiasco, one way or another. A legal and physical nightmare for Michael Jackson and a disappointment nightmare for all those fans. Now or at least after some time, when the speculations of death causes and suicide possibilities will fade, maybe people will once again focus on the man’s great music, more than on his troubled life. Finally R.I.P. Michael Jackson…