Moby’s Hotel

Moby’s technical and musical expertise is now beyond question. The enigmatic composer/ producer/ recording engineer has already proven his capabilities with a series of albums that breezed through genres and whatever is the current demand of the market.

So we have already heard Moby acquit himself with dance, techno, Trance, rave, metal and other modern forms over these past 15 years. Sometimes successfully as with one of his biggest sellers Play and sometimes less so with the totally non-commercial but nevertheless still worth listening to Animal Rights.

But whether his album is a hit or not, Moby can never be accused of not putting all of himself in his work. And this is most evident in his latest moby.hotel. You have to read the revealing liner notes of the album for the reason why he chose to call it "hotel." But all that the music requires is a single listen for anybody to say that this must be his best work to date.

Surprisingly for somebody who has been known for his clever use of samples and sound layering and other new-fangled recording gimmickry, moby.hotel is a totally pared-down collection of engaging tunes. If it weren’t Moby performing, it would be easily categorized as pop, but because it is Moby, then it becomes a superior version of today’s new music.

The enigmatic Moby surprisingly dishes out very confident vocals in what may be his most commercial compositions. Mostly made up of love songs, the album smoothly segues from one cut to another. It is simple and uncomplicated but when you come down to it, really brilliant. Can you think of another artist who can go from the sparkling Spiders to the sneering Lift Me Up without losing touch with his audience? Only Moby.

Homeward Angel is Moby at his best, strange but sweet. I am sure though that there will be others who will pick out the dance track Very or the love song Forever or even his interesting take on New Order’s Temptation with guest vocalist Laura Dawn. Listen to its entirety and I am sure you will also find so much to like in moby.hotel.

4th MTV Movie Awards

1 MTV Philippines is giving local viewers several chances to see the 14th MTV Movie Awards live. This will be held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 4. First off here are three easy ways to win from MTV Philippines and Addict Mobile. Promo period is until May 23.

Subscribe to the daily MTV CALENDAR service at P2.50 a day and get five raffle entries daily. You will also get MTV Movie Awards Trivia for free. To earn 30 raffle tickets weekly, subscribe to any of these services: Logos (MTVLOGO) Monotones (MTVTONE), Polytones (MTVPOLY), MMS Wallpaper Calendar (MMSCAL), Picture Messages (MYVPIC), and MMS Wallpapers (MTVMMS). Just type in the keyword of your desired service and send to 688. P15/ weekly content received. To earn 50 raffle entries, purchase an Addict Mobile Prepaid SIM or apply for an Addict post-paid account at Smart Wireless Centers and have them register your new cell number.

You can also try your luck for an all-expense paid trip to watch the awards and even win a Sony DVD Handycam by taking part in the 2005 MTV Movie Awards Contest. For more info about this, log on to www.mtvasia.com/mma or visit selected Sony stores.

Losers in both can still get into the glitzy atmosphere by joining the MTV Movie Awards Bar Tour that will be held at the V Bar in Glorietta on May 28. There will be free popcorn and VJ’s KC Montero, Claire Olivar, Don Puno and Colby Miller will host the event. Performing will be Kjwan and DJ Ace.

Top 20 videos

From MTV, we now go to MYX, the local music channel. Here are the top 20 videos for the week May 8 to 14: Same Ground by Kitchie Nadal; Can this be Love by Sarah Geronimo; I’ll Never Go by Erik Santos; Love Moves in Mysterious Ways by Nina; Not that Kinda of Girl by Jojo; Over by Lindsay Lohan; Hold You Down by Jennifer Lopez; We Belong Together by Mariah Carey; Get Me by MYMP; From the Start by Rachelle Ann Go.

It’s Like That also by Mariah Carey; Lala by Ashley Simpson; Holiday by Green Day; Mockingbird by Eminem; Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani; She’s No You by Jesse McCartney; Lonely No More by Rob Thomas; Signs by Snoop Dog; Switch by Will Smith; and You and Me by Lifehouse.