Candy Girl

I have to profess that Hard Candy is my favourite Madonna album since Ray of Light (1998)! That said, she's pretty much guest starring on cool cuts produced by Timbaland, Neptunes and friends! At times Madonna sounds like Timbaland muse Nelly Furtado and one-time rival Paula Abdul on Candy Shop!

Hard Candy is more a sequel to Justin Timberlake's awesome Future Sex / Love Sounds, which, in my view, is a good thing, even if it doesn't push the envelope and Madonna is a trend follower in this instance!

Is Hard Candy as good as Mariah Carey's blockbuster E=MC²? I'd suggest not!

Sinclair User

A long time ago... I was a Sinclair User!

Hard to believe that today marks the 25th anniversary of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum! It only seems like yesterday that school friends and me wrestled for control of the Kempston Competition Pro Joystick, as we competed against each other in Daley Thompson's Decathlon or Konami's Hyper Sports!

The Spectrum was the first mainstream audience home computer in the UK, similar in significance to the Commodore 64 in the USA; the C64 was the main rival to the Spectrum in the UK market during the early 1980s.

My top ten video games for the platform (in no particular order):

*Knight Lore
*Atic Atac
*Sabre Wulf
*Underwurlde
*Dun Darach
*Tir Na Nog
*Avalon The 3D Adventure Movie
*Dragontorc
*Ant Attack
*Cauldron

Ultimately I would succumb to the "breadbox" charms of C64 and its Sound Interface Device (SID). Celebrated music producer Timbaland most recently used a SID sample for Nelly Furtado's song Do It! However, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum marked the beginning of my home computing saga... And paved the way for my status as a Mac User today.

Sleigh Ride

Part two of my Review of the Year.

*Album - Future Sex / Love Sounds. Justin Timberlake (aided and abetted by Timbaland) finally puts to rest any doubts as to the identity of the new King of Pop! Runners up: The Sound Of Girls Aloud: Greatest Hits (Girls Aloud) and Loose (Nelly Furtado).

*Single - Promiscuous. Nelly Furtado's stellar follow-up to Maneater needs no introduction! Runners up: Fergalicious (Fergie) and Rock Steady (All Saints).

*Movie - Adrift. An unrelenting study of fair-weather friendship set against the backdrop of the ocean. Runners up: Superman Returns and Pirates Of The Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest.

*DVD - Dungeons & Dragons. Runners up: Doctor Who - The Complete Series 2 Box Set and Lost - The Complete Second Series.

*Television Drama - Battlestar Galactica. Last year's winner recaptures the number one spot with the coolness of a Cylon agent! Runners up: Bones and Lost.

*Television Sci-Fi - Doctor Who. No change. Runners up: Battlestar Galactica and Torchwood.

*Merchandise - Doctor Who - Tardis Electronic Playset. Character Options continues to produce products worthy of everyone's favourite Time Lord! Runners up: Marvel Legends and Star Wars Transformers.