LilSugar

Buzz Time Machine: Christopher Plummer Serenades the Von Trapp Kids

Lizzie Fuhr — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 05:30:00 PST

Long before Christopher Plummer took home the Oscar for best supporting actor in Beginners, he stole our hearts as the Naval officer Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music in 1959. Watch a handsome and sweet Christopher Plummer serenade all seven of his kids before they head to bed with the lullaby "Edelweiss." I can't help but love the way Julie Andrews looks at him in this video.

Oprah Reunites Sound of Music Cast, Favorite Moment

Heather Maddan — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 04:00:14 PDT

Everyone has a Sound of Music story! The iconic film about a wanna-be-nun, a widower, and his big brood has been loved for generations. Oprah aired the cast's 45-year reunion yesterday and there was singing! Though I've seen the movie a few dozen times with friends, family, kids I babysat, and my own children, I'll never forget the first time I watched Fräulein Maria belt out her song on the mountain top. We were at my grandparents' house and after Thanksgiving dinner my siblings and I sat in silence as Liesl and Rolfe danced in the garden and Gretl bid her father's party guests goodnight. What is your Sound of Music memory?

Why Didn't Anybody Tell Me: Life's a Musical

LilSugar — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 12:00:13 PST

Johnson & Johnson couldn't have said it better when they came up with the tagline, "Having a Baby Changes Everything." But beyond falling for your baby, childproofing your house and taking on diaper duty, you may find yourself in the midst of a musical.

Think The Sound of Music minus the von Trapp children in curtain clothing, well - unless you can sew. So you aren't Julie Andrews and you may even be tone deaf, but once you deliver you'll find yourself sporadically breaking out in song.

While I'm not sure why this happens, I think it has something to do with being sleep deprived, hormonal, or just wanting to get your child dressed or in the tub and singing seems to speed up the process.

And, songstress isn't the only title you'll take on, songwriter will also be added to your repertoire since you don't really know all those songs you thought you did and repeatedly singing "Pour Some Sugar on Me" sober during daylight hours is draining. Sorry Def Leppard.

If you're worrying about performance anxiety, it's a thing of the past. Just wait until your kid pitches a fit in public and then you have to choose between belting out a few rounds of "Wheels on the Bus" or dealing with heavy sighs and head shaking.

I'd like to tell you that this musical mama mode is a phase that ends, but it doesn't. In fact, it's contagious - my daughter is nearly four-years-old and already chimes in on duets. So get humming.

Source

What's Buzzworthy: Your Favorite Movie Musicals

BuzzSugar — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 07:45:45 PDT

I used to think I wasn't all that into movie musicals, but after seeing all your excellent picks for this week's Buzzworthy challenge, I've been swayed. I'd forgotten about many of these, and I'm happy to have been reminded. Thank you to everyone who participated! Here are some of the ones I found most noteworthy.

Bugsy
swwonder says of her pick, "One of my favourite films ever. I always wanted to be Tallulah!"

The Wizard of Oz
audreystar has this to say about her pick: "Who can get enough of the beautiful voice of a young Judy Garland as Dorothy or her three sidekicks? The music now is embedded in my brain as with most people. And 'Over the Rainbow' is one of the best and beautiful songs ever written or sang."

Three more greats if you

West Side Story
See, here's an example of one I forgot all about. I used to love this movie. Apparently, so did WhiplashGirlchild who writes, "My mother forced me to watch this when I was a little kid. I threw a tantrum because I didn't want to watch an "old" movie. Boy, was I eating crow... this has since been one of my favorite movies ever."

The Sound of Music
Chosen by missyosigirl and swwonder. I have to admit, I'm a sucker for this one, too.

Oliver!
This is Linda McP's selection, and she says, "This Oscar winning adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist is a classic. Great score includes 'As Long As He Needs Me,' one of my all time favorites."

Share What You're Listening to With SoundTracking For iPhone

Kristen Hawley — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 13:00:47 PST

If you want to share thoughts, photos, links, or just about anything else with friends, there is a small army of social networking apps that help you get the job done. From Twitter to Facebook to Instagram to FoodSpotting, online friends and contacts can easily see what you're sharing. And now a new app for iPhone lets them hear the music you're listening to.

SoundTracking allows you to share the music you're listening to as you're listening. First, sign into the app via Twitter, Facebook, or Foursquare; friends using the service are automatically pulled into your feed. Then, identify what you're listening to using search, the app's song-recognition feature, or even what's playing on your iPod app at the time. Then tag your location - right down to a specific venue if you're listening to live music. You can even check in on Foursquare at the same time.

Users can also add photos to posts, like and comment on other friends' selections, and see which songs and locations are trending. SoundTracking is available free from the App Store.

Skyfall Teaser: Daniel Craig Is Back Again as Bond

Shannon Vestal — Mon, 21 May 2012 11:38:26 PDT

Ready or not, James Bond is back! The first teaser for Skyfall is here, and while there's only a small bit of dialogue and not a lot of hints about the plot (though a word association game makes it sound like the title "Skyfall" is a mission that Bond has no problem completing), there is enough of star Daniel Craig looking slick and sexy to get me excited about this installment.

The ominous music and images we do see - including a shadowy figure I'm assuming is the villain played by Javier Bardem - make Skyfall seem more intense and high-stakes than the last film, Quantum of Solace. That's good news, since I didn't love that Bond movie. I can't wait to see if this movie is as good as his first outing, Casino Royale, when Skyfall comes out Nov. 9. Watch the teaser and let me know what you think after the break.

Jay-Z Talks Baby Blue and Makes an All-American Announcement

Katie Henry — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:59:38 PDT

Jay-Z was in the City of Brotherly Love yesterday to announce his involvement with the Budweiser's Made in America two-day musical festival, which will take place over Labor Day weekend. Jay will headline the holiday celebration, featuring 30 acts at Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The mega-music event will take place Sept. 1 and 2 with proceeds benefiting the United Way.

Jay talked about his involvement with the show, saying, "I'll headline the first night; I'll probably get one of those silly headsets with the thing, just to look important. . . You'll see me with probably a beer in my hand, just enjoying the festivities and the music like everyone else. I'ma try and keep it as normal and simple as possible." Jay also hinted that Beyoncé might join him on stage during his act, "I tried to put it far enough away that she'd have a little gap in her schedule, so hopefully that works."

Beyoncé wasn't the only lady on his mind during his chat with the press. When asked about his return to music and how Blue has influenced Jay-Z's sound and lyrics he responded, "I thought that I would after my daughter was born. I thought I would be more inspired with all the new feelings and everything that I'd have to write about, but it really happened the other way. . . I just really wanna hang out with her. I just wanna enjoy those moments for a bit and I'm sure that feeling of music will come back to me."

Jennifer Lopez Sparkles on Idol as Ryan Secreast Pulls a Marriage Prank

Katie Henry — Thu, 10 May 2012 11:15:01 PDT

Jennifer Lopez got a lift to the American Idol sound stage in West Hollywood yesterday in a white Bentley driven by boyfriend Casper Smart. In addition to her Idol judging duties, Jennifer has What to Expect When You're Expecting out May 18. We chatted with Jennifer at the film's LA junket, where she opened up about her own pregnancy and talked about her upcoming music tour - stay tuned for more from our exclusive chat! Jen's hitting the road this Summer with Enrique Iglesias as well as Casper. She's been perfecting her choreography with Casper's help, and fans will see the fruits of their labor when the tour kicks off in Panama on June 14.

There are only two weeks left until American Idol's season 11 winner is crowned, and the four remaining hopefuls took the stage last night. J Lo, Randy Jackson, and Steven Tyler joined Ryan Seacrest, who had a special guest, girlfriend Julianne Hough, in the audience. Julianne and her Rock of Ages director Adam Shankman went onstage with Ryan mid-show to talk about their upcoming movie. Ryan, though, decided to have a little fun with Julianne. Ryan pretended to propose by reaching into his pocket! Instead of pulling out a ring, Ryan produced a piece of paper. He said, "It's a question I've been meaning to ask you and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable. Will you. . . give this note I wrote to Tom Cruise? I'm such a big fan."

The Spotify iPad App: Is It Worth Downloading?

Anna Monette Roberts — Sun, 06 May 2012 09:30:44 PDT

The Spotify streaming service has taken over the music world om the past year. But while the company offers both an iPhone app and an incredible desktop application, it has neglected to create an iPad app - until this week.

The recently released iPad app is only available to premium members ($10/month); however, you can sign up for a 48-hour trial run, no credit card required. Spotify's premium membership truly is as good as it sounds: the vast music library is ad-free, offers high sound quality, and gives you offline access to your playlists. However, is the Spotify iPad app as good as the desktop app? Here are some of the pros and cons of the new Spotify iPad app (Free):

Pros:

Beautiful graphics and cover art: Spotify's iPad graphics are crisp and gorgeous. Unlike the somewhat flat desktop version, the iPad graphics practically pop out of the page. The iPad app also provides large cover art images, and as with iTunes, you can flip through the album art by swiping your finger.
Simplified design:The iPad app contains a simplified side navigation bar with only five tabs (as opposed to the 12 on the desktop), making the interface more intuitive and easier to use.
Facebook connect: While some people grumble about this, others love the ability to find new artists via their friend's profiles. The design makes it easy to see your friends' top tracks, artists, and playlists.
Text message-like inbox: In a major change in the design, track suggestions and messages sent to your inbox are organized like iPhone bubble text messages.

Keep reading to take a look at the cons.

5 Tricks to Get the Most Out of Your Outdoor Run

Shape — Thu, 03 May 2012 04:11:45 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar. This week Shape turns to celebrity trainer Jay Cardiello for some help!

The weather is getting nice and you may have been bitten by the "run bug." To make the transition from indoor runs to the great outdoors seamless and safe, I compiled a list of my top five tricks to get the most out of your outdoor run. Whether you have had some success running on the treadmill, or you are completely new to outdoor running, there are two crucial factors that you must understand.

25 Most Deceiving Exercises (They Tone More Than You Think).

First, let's talk about a little guy named Newton. See, Newton has this law that states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Are you with me so far? Good. Well, with runners, the concern is what we run on. The harder the surface the greater the ground reaction force, which is basically the force exerted by the ground back onto the body (in this case, our little legs) that are in contact with it, is. To simplify this, surfaces like concrete and pavement will cause a greater reaction back into our joints and legs than an energy absorbing treadmill. This not only makes us work harder, but will tire us out faster and cause greater stress on our joints.

Are Your Workouts Causing Pain? How to Find Out.

Second, the treadmill is a flat belt that provides consistency with each step. There are no stones, traffic, or inclement weather activity that would cause you to be off balance or have to change your gait. Running outdoors forces the body to make constant small adjustments. That said, here is what’s going to make your outdoor run a successful one.

5 Unique Ways to Make the Most of Your Treadmill.

Learn how to make the most out of your outdoor runs after the break!