Elton John shows he's extremely sensible

Elton John with Lady Gaga, Nelly Furtado and more on 'Gnomeo' Soundtrack

http://www.examiner.com/elton-john-in-national/elton-john-with-lady-gaga-nelly-furtado-and-more-on-gnomeo-soundtrack

More new music ahead for Elton John fans as 'Gnomeo & Juliet' soundtrack debuts in February 2011.

Photo: 2010, John Shearer/Getty Images (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Elton John's soundtrack for Gnomeo & Juliet is now available for preorder on Amazon.com, with a release date of Feb. 8, 2011. Although much of the album contains previously recorded classics like "Tiny Dancer," Don't Go Breaking My Heart," and  "Your Song," John has written a few new songs - including one entitled "Love Builds a Garden."
It has already been widely reported that Lady Gaga has recorded a duet with John called "Hello, Hello," for this soundtrack. Gaga tweeted about it in October:

 "Eltoneo + Guliet! Finishing our duet Hello, Hello in studio. Sounding so amazing, some last finishing touches and off to the movies!"

Watch video at left of the Lady Gaga and Elton John collaboration opening this year's GRAMMY® Awards.
In addition to the colorful Lady Gaga, siren Nelly Furtado joins Elton John on a reworking of "Crocodile Rock."  Other contributors include James Newton Howard, a frequent collaborator of John's, who penned a few new tunes.
The Gnomeo & Juliet animated film from Touchstone Pictures will be released to theaters on Feb. 11, 2011 and involves two lawn ornaments (voiced by James McAvoy and Emily Blunt) meeting and falling in love.
Track List for Gnomeo and Juliet Soundtrack:

1. Hello Hello (performed by Elton John and Lady Gaga) (writing credits not confirmed)
2. Crocodile Rock (performed by Elton John and Nelly Furtado) (Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
3. Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting) (Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
4. Don't Go Breaking My Heart (performed by Elton John and Kiki Dee) (Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
5. Love Builds a Garden (Elton John)
6. Your Song (Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
7. Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time) (Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
8. Tiny Dancer (Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
9. Bennie and the Jets (Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
10. Gnomeo and Juliet (James Newton Howard)
11. Dandelions (James Newton Howard)
12. Bennie and the Bunnies (James Newton Howard)
13. Terrafirminator (James Newton Howard)
14. The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room (Wally Boag; Thurl Ravenscroft; Fulton Burley; The Mellomen)

Culture and Art, Russia

14.12.2010 10:35

Elton John. Photo from website unian.net

Russian President attends Elton John’s concert

http://www.newsbcm.com/doc/531

Elton John has given a concert in the Crocus City Hall featuring a long and serious program that surprised most viewers. The first review of this concert was written straight from the floor by President Dmitry Medvedev: "Attended a concert by Elton John. Very serious, high-quality work – almost three hours of live music," - noted Dmitry Medvedev in his Twitter blog after the concert and provided this review with his photograph.

Although Elton John had invited the President to his concert in St. Petersburg, Dmitry Medvedev – probably for security reasons – chose the metropolitan show. That is why it was difficult to squeeze into the concert hall even with tickets on hand.

The renowned British musician, a frequent guest in Russia, performed his best hits at the concert, which included Believe, Candle in the Wind, The One, accompanying himself on the piano. After the concert, the presidential couple went backstage. Dmitry and Svetlana Medvedev expressed their appreciation to Elton John for the show, praised the concert and handed flowers to the star.

Elton John shows he's extremely sensible

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/andrewmcfbrown/100068224/elton-john-shows-hes-extremely-sensible/

By Andrew M Brown Celebrities Last updated: December 14th, 2010
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Sir Elton John with his mother Sheila (Photo: Andy Butterton/PA)

Elton John is widely ridiculed for his wigs, his tubby appearance and eccentricities. But in his interview with Piers Morgan, on Sunday night, the singer – this country’s most successful ever, according to Paul Gambaccini – showed once again that he is in fact an intelligent and sensible individual. He clearly reflects on things and was perfectly capable of explaining himself to Morgan. He also showed plenty of insight about his own weaknesses and his upbringing – helped, I imagine, by a certain amount of psychotherapy over the years. The sequence where he discussed his father’s apparent inability to show affection – he never attended John’s early concerts, apparently – was affecting to watch.
Questioned by Morgan about his addiction to booze and cocaine, and whether he ever came close to death as a result of it, Elton John replied: “Very close. I mean, I would have an epileptic seizure and turn blue, and people would find me on the floor and put me to bed, and then 40 minutes later I’d be snorting another line.
“This is how bleak it was, I’d stay up, I’d smoke joints, I’d drink a bottle of Johnnie Walker and then I’d stay up for three days and then I’d go to sleep for a day and a half, get up, and because I was so hungry, because I hadn’t eaten anything, I’d binge and have like three bacon sandwiches, a pot of ice cream and then I’d throw it up, because I became bulimic and then go and do the whole thing all over again. That is how tragic my life was.”
Listening to that it occurred to me that Elton John shows a common characteristic of people who successfully recover from addiction to alcohol and drugs. That is that they’re able to call to mind the horror of active addiction in a heartbeat. The reality of the squalor and shame of serious addiction is ever-present to them. There’s none of that “oh it wasn’t that bad” – in fact, quite the opposite. If anything, ex-addicts or alcoholics are more likely to overstate the catastrophic consequences of the addiction than minimise it.
Alcoholics and addicts who use self-help meetings like AA and NA to bolster their sobriety try as hard they can not to forget how awful they felt at the low point of their addiction – at their rock bottom. The details of the accounts they give of their worst excesses aren’t so significant in themselves – it’s just the person’s way of saying emphatically: it was awful. Like any story, in the repetition some tidying up happens. Different incidents may be merged. That doesn’t mean the story’s not true in its essence.
As with Elton’s account, these “war stories” of recovering addicts/alcoholics may seem dramatic, appalling, even grandiose. So much so that we might even wonder about their veracity. But that doesn’t really matter. The point is that the stories bring back the feelings. And it’s the feelings that are important.