Bob Marley fans who just can’t wait for Magnolia Pictures’ “Marley”, directed by Kevin Macdonald, to hit theaters on April 20 can take a shot at winning tickets, courtesy of none other than Blast Magazine.

Follow and tweet @blastmagazine to win passes to a pre-screening on April 19 at 7 p.m. at the Kendall Square Cinema.

“Marley” explores Bob Marley’s impact on music history and his role as a social and political figure. It details his life story and rise to fame using rare footage, performances, and interviews with those who knew him, including son Ziggy and wife Rita.

Swedish pop singer Sophia Somajo, better known as Soso, is releasing her debut album on April 6 – a whole month ahead of schedule.

This has caused some controversy, but Soso –  with her a fast-paced and impulsive approach to music – feels that the album is ready. One of the songs on the record, she says, took her two hours to put together.

“I’ve had this record in my head for a year and a half,” she says. “The songs that I wrote a year and a half ago I’m already over, because they are not relevant to me anymore.”

Despite its quick construction, her latest record That Time I Dug So Deep I Ended Up In China has a lot of meaning for her.

A self-described “manic” personality, she focuses in on one subject and learns it inside and out. She was obsessed with all things China for a time, which she says is reflected in the style of the record. “This one time [my dad] bought me this Chinese pop music on a cassette,” Soso recalls. “I carried it everywhere.  I found it again two years ago and bought a cassette player to listen to it. The melodies are so foreign and so inspiring I decided to base the album on it.”

Her upbringing also had an effect on the development of her musical style.  Growing up, her father introduced her to the world of rock ‘n roll with bands like Black Sabbath while her mother pushed the pop mega stars like Prince.  Eventually, Soso says, she grew to dislike both in her teenage years, causing her to delve into hip-hop.  This musical mash-up caused Soso to find her own style.

The record’s title, too, comes from her childhood, from memories of digging in the in the dirt looking for “cat gold” (a type of blue clay) and her mother’s warning that if she dug too deep she would end up in China.

“My own music is very autobiographical,” she says. “It always comes out like a diary. I literally come up with the lyrics as I record. It’s basically my life and what I’m experiencing. I have a lot of songs where I tell people stuff that I wouldn’t have the balls to say in person.”

She produced, wrote, and edited the album from her home in Sweden.

“It probably limits me because it will not sound as clean,” she admits. “For this record I have a microphone and a mini keyboard. I think that for me having no help or tools kind of forces me to be creative. … I’m so happy that I found a way to make myself 100% independent to make a record.”

For a woman who seems to know music making inside and out, she admits that she is somewhat limited: she can’t read music. She says that sometimes it can be more challenging to get her ideas down on paper, but there is no right or wrong way to make music.

“I’m very much into machines,” she says.  “I don’t even really like to have a live band.  I’m into pushing buttons. I couldn’t play an instrument on stage, I just couldn’t identify with that,” explains Soso.

More than anything, she embraces this as a creative advantage: “If you have no idea what the hell you are doing anything can happen,” she says. “It’s not my ambition to make things that are well done, I think that’s boring.”

As a result, Soso admits that she cannot classify her music into a specific genre. “Even calling it my music makes me feel uncomfortable,” she says. “I can explain it for hours but never classify it.”

Her do-it-yourself approach extends beyond the record itself. After releasing a music video for her single “Who’s Gonna Love Me,” she filmed one for Cody ChestnuTT’s  power pop single “My Women My Guitars.” It was filmed by her boyfriend and shot in her own bedroom – in it, she and other musicians can be seen jumping around on her bed. At the time of this interview, she was simultaneously editing a video for the project.

While she does not usually think about how people will identify with her music, she does hope that it will influence young people to find their true selves.

“I would literally be so humbled [by] anyone that listens and responds to my music,” she says.

Doc J in the studio (Credit: themusebox.net)

Hip-Hop artist Doc J — or, as he’s known to his patients, Dr. Lewis Jassey – has been balancing two successful careers for over two decades. He performs his own music for crowds of up to 50,000 and runs a pediatrics practice on Long Island.  His self-titled EP will be released on April 3.

Even with his love for music, since grade school Doc J had been fascinated with the thought of becoming a doctor. He had to find a way to make both ambitions a reality.

“I try not to jam the whole doctor thing down peoples’ throats,” said Doc J.  “I want them to look at me as a musician when I’m behind the mic.  I’m very proud of being a doctor, but I have found a way to blend both of my loves.”

He first began to take his music ambitions seriously in college, after a spring break trip to Acapulco, Mexico.  On a dare, Doc J went up on stage one night to perform and brought the house down.

A man in the music industry approached him after his performance to ask what record label he had signed with, and Doc J explained that he had never performed before. “He told me that if I [went] home and [didn’t] do anything about my talent to entertain a crowd, it would be a waste,” said Doc J.

When he returned from Acapulco, Doc J contacted his friends that were also musicians and formed a rock group, recording the type of music that bands like Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park perform today. He then went on to form Philosophic Hardcore Dimension (PHD) with artist MC-AWAL.  Eventually both artists would go off into solo careers.

Doc J grew up learning to play instruments, including the guitar and even the accordion.  He listened to rock bands like Van Halen and Bon Jovi at first, and then began exploring hip-hop through artists like the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy.  All of these factors play into how he creates his music today.

“My music has a lot of substance to it. Rappers, more than any other musicians, need to exploit the power of word.  We rely less on melody, and it’s important for a good MC to exploit that,” said Doc J.

He has recorded and catalogued over 250 songs, featuring various artists like Nyche, Jason BlackRose and Jae Tips, R&B singer Samantha Alexandra, and even 2011 American Idol contestant Alessandra Guereil.

“Music is all about chemistry,” he said.  If you have good chemistry popping off in a room, you go with it.  If it isn’t broken don’t fix it.  I’ve been fortunate that with just about everyone I’ve worked with, we have had great chemistry.”

Chemistry is also important when pursuing both of your lifelong dreams at full throttle – but Doc J doesn’t believe that he has to separate his life as a doctor from his life as a musician.

He first found a way to combine his talents while treating children in inner city Brooklyn hospitals.  “I would go into rooms with really angry inner city kids who didn’t want to be examined,” Doc J recalls.  “I would tell them I would battle them, and if I won the rap battle I could examine them.”

The patients would agree, and Doc J played his part, pretending to have no prior experience.  He would let his patient go first, and, when it was his turn, he would start off slow, letting the patient think they had won. Then, suddenly, Doc J would blow them away with an unbelievable sound.  After that, the kids could relate to him and would let him examine them without hesitation.

“I’m cognizant of the fact that kids look for role models. It would be a travesty to not dig deep and move people [with my music],” said Doc J. His own music focuses on sending a positive message that is both relatable and meaningful, in his own unique style – so when you hear it, you know it’s part of the “Doc J Movement.”

It is not just for his patients’ wellbeing that Doc J performs – he loves being on stage.  “It’s one of the most comfortable places that I can be in the world,” he said. “My adrenaline isn’t driven by anxiety; it’s the desire to connect with my audience.”

He has played for countless charity events, benefitting causes like Lou Gehrig’s Disease and Autism research, and headlined a benefit in Central Park for the American Cancer Society. When an earthquake devastated eastern Japan in March of 2011, he teamed up again with Alessandra Guereil to release a new track, with money going to aid those affected.

“You are always [made] most effective as an artist by things that fuel your fire. … when you bury your dad, or you have a patient who gets a diagnosis that could potentially affect their life forever from cancer, something clicks inside you, and makes you want to move people,” Doc J said.

The bottom line about Doc J is that he stays true to who he is. “There are a lot of different dimensions to me as a person,” he said.  “There are a lot of things inside of me that I want to share with people.”

Enjoy a day at the track as David Milch's latest HBO drama, "Luck," takes you deep into the thrilling world of horse racing.

When do you know something is art? How do you distinguish smart storytelling from the lazier narratives. And why does the disconnect between mainstream audience engagement and critical appreciation exist, and how can it be bridged? These questions arose immediately, for me, as the end credits ran after the series premiere of HBO’s new drama series, “Luck.” Created by David Milch, creator of former HBO success, Deadwood, and co-produced by Michael Mann, acclaimed director of films such as “Heat,” “Collateral,” and “Miami Vice,” (and frequent director on the ’80s TV show of the same name) the show centers around horse racing and the various characters that the sport breeds and attracts. Entering this world, I was weary of the culture shock, the little-to-no proficiency of the vernacular, and the little investment I had in the problems of old, white gamblers. Predictably, as I’d been foretold, none of this mattered. Most of what I could nit-pick about has more to do with my obligations as an attentive viewer than it does with any of the technical aspects of this masterful artwork.

Over at the The AV Club, expert TV critic Todd VanDerWerff spoke in his review about experience vs. understanding. Traditionally, when we watch anything, movie or TV program, we try to comprehend the symbols we are given. Whether we’re interpreting a particularly arresting shot selection, a gripping snippet of dialogue, or a peculiar expression on an actor’s face, we’re attempting to make sense of what we’re being presented. Now this act of analysis is not mutually exclusive with experience, but often it can impede our ability to fully immerse ourselves in the sensory pleasure of viewing. But if you so choose to indulge my requests, and the whims of HBO, and you do watch the magnificent first episode of “Luck,” do yourself a favor and shut down your noodle from the opening theme (the unmistakably cool “Splitting the Atom” by Massive Attack) to the last frame. It’s almost like mindless sophistication. No notes were required for me to churn out this review because while there was plenty of plot to sift through, and a lot of legwork is done to introduce us to the characters that inhabit this environment and the channels through which they are connected, the grandest accomplishment of the hour are within two minutes bursts where few words are spoken, because articulation diminishes the visceral thrill of the moment. I’m talking about when those exquisitely statured beasts compete with every ounce of muscle they possess to cross that line first. I’m talking about the horse races.

Simply stated, horse racing, much like boxing is an ancient artifact, a relic of a different time where one could afford to be bothered with such trivial activities as watching animals run around a circular track. But there’s no denying that whenever the Kentucky Derby is on, or even the Belmont and Preakness Stakes, I actively tune in for those two minutes. For that fleeting instance I’m entirely absorbed in whose nose will come out in front, and its unfair to the integral majesty of the horses to explain why. When you see a beautiful woman or man, do you stop and ask why they struck you? When a sunset stops you in your tracks as walk toward the horizon do you disengage to question it? No, you absorb the feelings it evokes until it overwhelms you. These brief glimpses don’t mean anything, and yet they say it all. They are the purest images we see because they aren’t tied to a consumptive or indulgent exercise, they are just part of living. In the world of art we call it transcendence: when an image, a phrase, a brushstroke, or a note impacts you not because it told you something, or what it meant, but because it did nothing, and it just was. 

And yet working in concert with such sensual exhilaration, there is a story being told. Dustin Hoffman is the big ticket, starring as Chester “Ace” Bernstein, a man in his 60s who is being released from prison after serving three years. His crimes are never explicitly defined, but one assumes gambling or financial irregularities of some variety did him in. Dennis Farina plays his pal Gus “The Greek” whom Ace admits is the only man who “gets a pass” in terms of his trust. Ace is returning to the world of horse racing through Gus, who is serving as a front for Ace’s new horse. Also introduced is a trainer, Escalante (played by John Ortiz), who muddles the plot even further with his thick spanish accent (another character refers to facetiously as a thick Irish brogue). We also spend a considerable portion of the episode with four degenerates, Jerry, Marcus, Renzo, and Lonnie. This mangy crew spends the episode trying to capitalize on the track’s jackpot of $2.7 million, which is earned when at least six of the eight races are picked and no one else picks all the same horses. They used their various insider tricks along with suspect cash flows with which they placed their bets. I won’t lie to you, if you have no working knowledge of gambling or specifically how to play the ponies you will be confused, but the beauty of it is you’ll never feel disengaged. The stakes are clear. Win, you get paid. The emotions are so clearly displayed upon the actors’ faces you’ ll be tensing up along with them as the horses near the straightaway.

Lastly, we meet Nick Nolte‘s grizzly, worn-down Walter Smith who shares an intimate relationship with his horse. He lays back in his lawn chair and reminisces with the colt about its father and how magnificent a runner he was back then. This nostalgic feel permeates throughout the pilot as we gather that Ace is mindful of who he once was too, and his unchecked temperament suggests that he is bottling up some resentment towards those who might have done him in. He exits vehicles with a bravado emulated only by gangsters and hot shots. Perhaps his time is gone, but he sure strides like he still owns everything he surveys, or at the very least, he could.

Fragility and frailty are also intrinsic in the happenings of the pilot. We see up-and-coming jockeys trying to make names for themselves knowing that they and the horse must sync up perfectly or else they fall short of the magic necessary. Defeat is just as expertly rendered as victory, particularly when one horse snaps his leg mid-race and is subsequently put down. When the young jockey speaks of the light leaving the eyes of the horse as it passed you feel as though it wasn’t your a regular at the track because the ups and downs are so genuine that it just can’t be your first go-round, it hits you so deep.

The pilot isn’t perfect. As mentioned there are many instances where a conversation zips by and you’re likely to only extract a sentence or two. It’s enough of a working knowledge so that you can stay aware, but you can’t help but feel like you missed something. Michael Mann, however, doesn’t miss much at all as he captures every last detail of life at the track. Whether it’s the steam rising from a horse’s hindquarters, or the way the gate is assembled and operated in preparation for the horses to be stabled inside. Nolte and Hoffman cement themselves as quiet giants that could unleash wrath at any moment they are so indelibly tied to this life, and Kevin Dunn as Marcus exudes an intellectual confidence you’d expect at a Fortune 500 board meeting, not at Santa Anita placing bets. As far as HBO pilots go, this one is fairly typical in that the initial installment doesn’t set the table with exposition, more screen time is spent setting the mood while constructing a unique world, aiming to also evoke the overarching themes and visual stamp.

I haven’t quite comprehended what “Luck” is trying to say to me. Honestly, I heard very little. There were quips that made me laugh aloud, fearing I’d wake my roommate, and there were open-ended statements that laid before me like an undisturbed corpse, but then I walked right along awaiting the next infusion of adrenaline to burst out onto the track. So, do I know what “Luck” is will add to the pantheon of visual novels that HBO has contributed throughout the past decade (The Sopranos, The Wire, the aforementioned Deadwood? I have not a clue. But I get it, I dig it, and I want me some more. There aren’t many things in life that I can just do and I’ll feel at peace. Watching “Luck” is going to be one of them though, that much I can tell you. If this show can continue to provide the indescribable rush of a horse race in hour-long strides, then it will hit the jackpot. But for now, it’s an A-, by a nose.

Nelly Furtado is set to release a collection of live performances from her 2007 Get Loose World Tour. A DVD will feature 17 songs from her set list (including a cover of Gnarls Barcley’s “Crazy” previously not released in the U.S.) and a half hour of documentary footage. The music CD version will consist of 11 songs.

The Grammy winner was the top selling female artist for 2006-2007, according to Geffen Records, her label. Her third album, Loose, has been certified gold or platinum in 31 countries with sales reaching seven million.

“For the last eight years I’d never really traveled with a full production of lights, visuals and dancers,” said Furtado who was backed by four dancers and a six-piece band for her “Get Loose,” “but this tour I had all of it, which was a real treat.”

DVD Tracks:

1. Afraid
2. Say It Right
3. Turn Off The Light
4. Powerless
5. Do It / Wait For You
6. Showtime
7. Crazy
8. In God’s Hands
9. Try
10. All Good Things (Come to An End)
11. Give It To Me
12. I’m Like A Bird
13. Glow / Heart Of Glass
14. Forca
15. Promiscuous
16. Party / No Hay Igual
17. Maneater

The DVD and CD will hit stores December 4, Geffen said.