Music According to Benedict: "I Am The Resurrection" & "Fools Gold" by The Stone Roses

The Stone Roses (courtesy coolalbumreview.com)

"I Am the Resurrection" and "Fools Gold" by the Stone Roses

"...they stand side by side on the album and are inseparably brilliant. I went to Manchester University partly on an insane surge of nostalgia from when I discovered these mischievous mancs and their Madchester ways! God bless the Happy Mondays and Joy Division and all the other Tony Wilson 'Factory' recorded bands." 

- Benedict Cumberbatch, Top Tunes - Two Paddocks

Music According to Benedict N° 7: "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder

"For all those whose weddings I have danced at and have yet to dance at! What a great groove from a master at the height of his powers. Thanks to Martin Freeman for properly introducing me to the full brilliance of [Stevie Wonder]. - Benedict Cumberbatch

Thanks to Martin Freeman, indeed - for this and many other things he's properly introduced to Benedict (adding a bit of polish to his red carpet style, perhaps?)

As gossip sites again circulate whispers of a girlfriend for our favorite actor (because what publication doesn't use his name to generate web hits?) and we enter wedding season, this song's lyrics seem possibly more suited for Halloween than a wedding reception, BUT who are we to argue? I've not attended a wedding with Mr. Cumberbatch, although I've a feeling fans think about him in formal wear  now and again. . .

. . .are you picturing Sherlock at John & Mary's wedding reception? Oh, alright then. Here you go:

Music According to Benedict Nº 5 – James Rhodes' "Clair de lune" by Claude Debussy

Do you really love music?

I mean, REALLY love music? I'm not asking you to tell me. It's not a formal inquiry - I promise. I'm asking you to be honest - with you. You have your ear candy music - the stuff that makes you sing or dance or remember a moment at a special place, or with a special someone. When you hear those first few notes of a song that takes you back - THAT'S the good stuff: the REALLY good stuff. It's the music you'll hum long after your hearing is gone. (Keep that in mind when Eminem or Justin Bieber land in your memory banks.)

Music According to Benedict Nº 4 - the Rolling Stones

A quick check of interviews with Benedict in which he's asked to "list favorites" almost always includes his admission that the list would change if he's asked again the next day - and that lists are, well, a bit challenging for him. In fact, in true Cumberbatch fashion, he admitted as much to the folks at Two Paddocks who asked for his Top 10 favorite songs.  Two Paddocks, by the way, is the vineyard in New Zealand co-founded by actor Sam Neill - not that it's unusual for actors to venture into the vineyard. We've learned through media coverage that Ben enjoys the fruit of the vine every now and again:

Here, at Ben Caring's birthday at Annabel's, London in Oct. 2012 (photo courtesy GQ Magazine UK)

Books for Prisoners - Obstacles & Options

During Oz Comic-Con in Adelaide, Australia, actor (and book aficionado) Benedict Cumberbatch was quoted as saying that “prisoners should be given books," encouraging the audience to "send books to prisoners.”

While Americans (like me) may have first thought their favourite TV detective was just being considerate of those serving time behind bars, and others believed it a call for compassion from an actor to his ever-increasing number of fans, news-savvy audience members (especially those in the UK) knew better. This wasn’t just an “Oh, isn’t he thoughtful!” moment, but a call to action - and criticism of a current situation. However, before you go through your bookshelves or do your spring cleaning and box up volumes to drop off at the nearest detention center, let me fill you in a bit so you can find the best way to follow Cumberbatch’s suggestion.

Preparing for Parade's End & New Beginnings at the Imperial War Museum

Courtesy: BBC

From Parade's End by Ford Madox Ford: 

"The war had made a man of him! It had coarsened him and hardened him. There was no other way to look at it. It had made him reach a point at which he would no longer stand unbearable things.”  

“In every man there are two minds that work side by side, the one checking the other; thus emotion stands against reason, intellect corrects passion and first impressions act a little, but very little, before quick reflection.” 

REVIEW: "Begin Again" - A Love Song Sent to Music

Courtesy: The Weinstein Company

Director : John Carney

Starring: Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo,  James Corden & Introducing Adam Levine

On the radio as I was driving home, the DJ (with typical fervor), did a quick recap of the top songs over the holiday weekend. The artists he named?

Charlie XCX, Iggy Azalea and Jason Derulo

If you don't know who they are - or you do, and are old enough to remember a time when music was less homogenized and (a bit) more honest, you'll want to see "Begin Again," starring Academy Award nominees Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo.