Categories Billions Music Poll Print Media

The 10 Best TV Needle Drops of 2020 – Dec 29, 2020

2020 Best TV Songs/Soundtrack Moments

by Sean T. Collins | Vulture | December 29, 2020

“Vision” is right there in the name of the damn thing, but as a medium, television is as much dependent on sound as it is on sight. This year, from comedies to dramas, from terrestrial networks to streaming services, a good soundtrack was often as big a part of a show’s critical conversation, and as crucial a component in separating great TV from the rest of the pack, as any other element. As part of our annual holiday tradition, we’re once again counting down the year’s top music cues, for those glorious moments when sound and vision collide. Crank ’em up!

Continue reading The 10 Best TV Needle Drops of 2020 – Dec 29, 2020

Categories Gallery Helen Music Personal and Family Life

Damian and Helen Attend Registry Office Wedding – Sept 24, 2020

The Wedding Singer

by Rianne Addo | DailyMail | September 24, 2020

Damian Lewis played the guitar alongside wife Helen McCrory at their friends’ wedding on September 24, 2020.

He showcased his musical side as he pulled out a guitar to perform at the wedding, held at Kensington and Chelsea Register Office in London on Thursday.

The Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood star, 49, was joined by his actress wife Helen McCrory, 52, as they celebrated the occasion by singing along to a series of classic Irish tracks. Helen proudly held up the Irish and Celtic lyrics for Damian to follow along.

As ceremonies and receptions in England set to be capped at 15 people from Monday as part of new coronavirus measures to curb a surge in cases. The screen stars’ pals were able to narrowly avoid the new restrictions as they marked their milestone with their loved ones.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson added that funeral services would be exempt from the limitations, with the maximum number of mourners remaining at 30.

Damian couldn’t contain his delight as he congratulated the newlyweds while strumming the strings of his instrument. Helen’s right arm was held up in a sling, nearly a year after she used a scarf to support the same limb during a night out.

To view more images of this event, please visit our Gallery here
Read the rest of the original article at DailyMail

Categories Audio Helen Music Personal and Family Life Podcast

Helen Dishes About Damian on Desert Island Discs – June 28, 2020

Helen McCrory on Desert Island Discs Podcast

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | June 28, 2020

Helen McCrory OBE is one of the most versatile and critically acclaimed actresses working today. On screen she has played Anna Karenina, Cherie Blair (twice), Harry Potter‘s Narcissa Malfoy and the Peaky Blinders matriarch Aunt Polly. Her theatre roles range from Yelena in Uncle Vanya to Euripides‘ Medea.

A diplomat’s daughter, she spent her early childhood in Africa before continuing her education in the UK. After a bruising and unsuccessful audition at the Drama Centre in London – she was instructed to find out more about life before learning to act – she travelled to Italy where she discovered art and love and came back to try again. This time she passed the audition.

In 1993 she made her mark in Richard Eyre’s production of Trelawny of the Wells at the National Theatre and went on to perform leading roles on some of London’s most prestigious stages, winning two Olivier Award nominations. She was awarded an OBE for services to drama in 2017.

She met her husband, fellow actor Damian Lewis, when they both starred in a play called Five Gold Rings. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic Helen and Damian, together with the comedian Matt Lucas, co-founded the Feed NHS campaign which raises money to provide hot meals to frontline NHS workers.

On BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs podcast that aired June 28, 2020, Helen McCrory shared eight music tracks, one book and a luxury item she would want to take with her if cast away to a desert island.

Continue reading Helen Dishes About Damian on Desert Island Discs – June 28, 2020

Categories Billions Music Print Media

Billions & Bangers: Showtime’s High Finance Drama is a Stealth Love Letter to Music – May 3, 2020

Becoming Fluent in the Musical Language of Billions

by Al Shipley | Complex | May 3, 2020

At a time when TV prestige dramas often have 90-second opening credits with an epic theme song and lavish visuals, Billions on Showtime has an unusually short and simple title sequence: an ominous aerial view of Manhattan, soundtracked by a queasy low electronic pulse, in and out in about 15 seconds. The show’s score and theme music is by Eskmo, an electronic producer associated with labels like Ninja Tune and Warp Records, who puts moody, unobtrusive beds of sound under the dialogue-heavy show about powerful hedge fund manager Bobby Axelrod, his company Axe Capital, and the public officials trying to catch them breaking the law. But Billions, which returns with the Season 5 premiere on May 3, has gotten increasingly flashy with its nods to music since the Season 2 scene that featured a lengthy discussion of Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett’s creative chemistry in Wilco.

Increasingly, Billions has been rife with moments where music didn’t just provide an emotional backdrop but memorable dialogue. “Dollar” Bill Stern (Kelly AuCoin) belted out the opening verse of Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City” when Axe Capital hatched a plan involving “the chicken man” who sets prices in the poultry industry. Politician Chuck Rhodes (Paul Giamatti) air drummed to Al Green and offered a critical breakdown of 1977’s The Belle Album. And when Attorney General Waylon Jeffcoat (Clancy Brown) tried to intimidate Rhodes’s corrupt father into a confession, he said that he has a witness “singin’ like Hank Williams the elder, tellin’ us all about your cheatin’ heart.”

Continue reading Billions & Bangers: Showtime’s High Finance Drama is a Stealth Love Letter to Music – May 3, 2020

Categories Behind the Scenes Billions Music Podcast

Introducing ‘Behind the Billions’ – May 2, 2020

Behind the Scenes Podcast on Spotify

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | May 2, 2020

Introducing ‘Behind the Billions!’ Co-creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien give a behind-the-scenes look into Billions season five. After each episode’s airing on Showtime, the podcast will unpack the writing of the script, exclusive stories from production, the ideas behind the music cues, and much more on the Spotify app. The 12-episode podcast season will also include interviews with cast and crew members as well as bonus podcast episodes devoted to inside stories from Billions hosts: Brian Koppelman and David Levien. Spotify link here.

Categories Music Personal and Family Life Video

Damian Sends Hope from Home – April 9, 2020

Has Anybody Seen My Girl?

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | April 9, 2020

Damian sent out a musical message today, singing about hope in honor of World Health Day. He wrote: “Coming to you in two parts for #HopeFromHome a world premiere! ‘Ave a giggle and help out where you can. And after this is all over LETS HUG.”  We combined his two videos into one. Here is the direct embedded video:

And here is the link to the video on YouTube so you can share with your friends and family:

 

Categories Music Personal and Family Life Summertime

Damian Attends Latitude Festival – July 20, 2019

Summertime Music Festival

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | July 20, 2019

Ben Folds performed a piano solo show on the Waterfront Stage at the Latitude Festival in Henham Park, Suffolk UK on Saturday, July 20th and guess who was in attendance? This guy!

The Latitude Festival offers music, theatre arts, carnival rides and games, street food markets, yoga workshops, art installations, and swimming in a nearby lake. To find out more, visit here.

Continue reading Damian Attends Latitude Festival – July 20, 2019

Categories Events Helen Music Personal and Family Life Summertime

Damian and Helen Attend Bob Dylan and Neil Young Summertime Gig – July 12, 2019

 Teen Cancer America Suite

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | July 12, 2019

Damian, Helen, and Darren Strowger attend the Teen Cancer America Suite at Bob Dylan and Neil Young’s British Summertime Gig in Hyde Park on July 12, 2019 in London, England. The evening’s event was one of the biggest shows of this summer. Neil Young took the stage from 6:00-7:45 p.m. and Bob Dylan played from 8:30-10:15 p.m.

Categories Helen Music Personal and Family Life Social Media Summertime

Damian and Helen Attend Fleetwood Mac Concert in London – June 19, 2019

Rumours

by Damianista | damian-lewis.com | June 19, 2019

“Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow
Don’t stop, it’ll soon be here
It’ll be, better than before
Yesterday’s gone, yesterday’s gone”

Look who were at Fleetwood Mac’s long-awaited comeback concert at Wembley Stadium last night in London!

Huge thanks go to all that shared pictures on social media.

Source Twitter: @IainLaw

Source Twitter: @IainLaw

Continue reading Damian and Helen Attend Fleetwood Mac Concert in London – June 19, 2019

Categories Audio Billions Music

Billions Season 4 Music – March 26, 2019

Playlist on Spotify

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | March 26, 2019

The Billions season 4 playlist is now available on Spotify, up to the most recent episode. Keep checking back as music tracks get added throughout the season. Music tracks available so far:

  • Short Dick Man by Spyro
  • Ace of Spades by Motorhead
  • I Feel Good by Al Green
  • Fix You Up by The Wild Reeds
  • King of New York by Fun Lovin’ Criminals
  • Smack Dab in the Middle by Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Williams
  • Brick House by The Commodores
  • Wonder by Natalie Merchant
  • The Heart is a Muscle by Gang of Youths
  • Salt and Stone by Tim Uecker
  • If I Had a Heart by Slaid Cleaves

Listen here

Categories Billions Music Print Media

Showtime’s Billions Shows Heavy Rock Quotient in First Three Seasons – Feb 22, 2019

Why the Use of Rock Music in Billions Feels Right

by Dodie Miller-Gould | Lemonwire | February 22, 2019

A series about stockbrokers and hedge fund managers is perhaps the last place certain audiences would expect to find scenes that have been enlivened by rock music, particularly that from the 1980s and 1990s. But that is exactly what happens in Billions.

Though set in contemporary times, the music has a classic rock and grunge bent. Largely it is the music that galvanizes billionaire hedge fund manager, Robert “Bobby” Axelrod. As the easily angered, but often in legal trouble Axelrod, Damian Lewis dons the shirts of his favorite bands, and shortly thereafter, the songs play. It doesn’t always that way, but it does for Metallica and Megadeth.

Some of the best songs from the show include “Debaser” by The Pixies, “Next Big Thing” by the Dictators,  and “Master of Puppets” by Metallica.

Continue reading Showtime’s Billions Shows Heavy Rock Quotient in First Three Seasons – Feb 22, 2019

Categories Billions Music Poll Print Media

Top 10 TV Musical Moments of 2018 – Jan 10, 2019

Contradiction and Consternation for Axe

by Samantha Della Fera | Michigan Daily | January 9, 2019

In the current “Golden Age of Television,” it is undisputed that television programs have begun to venture into the cinematic. With longer run times, higher budgets and a broader horizon of freedom to express a theme or message, it is plain to see that television is no longer film’s “little brother” in the “family” of the overall media landscape.

One of the most prominent ways in which television has elevated its craft is through the augmented role of music. For the past century, music has been an integral part of film culture. There is no “Rocky” without “Eye of The Tiger,” there is no “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” without “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend.” Imagine a movie without a score or musical montage. It would just feel like a hollow stage play. Conversely, music has no storied history in television (save for catchy theme songs). In fact, the only example of overlaid audio I can think of in past television is the episode of “Seinfeld” when George attempts to use Petula Clark’s “Downtown” as a clue for his work project. And even still, that was 1996.

Continue reading Top 10 TV Musical Moments of 2018 – Jan 10, 2019