We went to Cedar Rapids today for Heidi's grandfather's 90th birthday party. Relatives from all over converged on their relatively small house to celebrate 10 years shy of a century. Anna and I were goofing around making videos of each other and when we tired of that, we went back and watched the videos that were already on there. I had completely forgotten about this insanity, which was recorded on February 12th, 2011. It was the day of the Oscar movie marathon with Caryle and Jeff and what better way to start out than with a hearty breakfast at IHOP?
Why am I posting this kind of embarrassing video of myself? Because when I watched it, I smiled and laughed at my ridiculousness. That needs to happen more often. And it proves, yet again, that any situation in life can be satisfied with a quote from 9 to 5.
Showing posts with label videos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label videos. Show all posts
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Roundabout fandom
I've been delinquent in blogging, and I had such a good January! Oh well, I guess it's back to reality as they would say after the opposite sketches on You Can't Do That on Television. I worked this weekend but have tomorrow off so I am really hoping to sleep in. Getting out of bed has been a real feat these days.
One thing I must say though, I have been in a HUGE Kylie mode these days. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that the reality of actually going to see her live is just starting to sink in. And in such a small venue! And with such close seats! Yeah, it's a 13 hour drive, but who cares? WE'RE GOING TO KYLIE! Whenever the day starts to go south, I just think WE'RE GOING TO KYLIE and almost immediately, things look better. Much like St. Patrick's Day, it's a ready-made excuse to be happy.
I was getting ready to take off for work yesterday and realized that, to my great dismay, I didn't have the entirety of Kylie's first CD on my iPod. Kylie was among the first 10 CDs I purchased back in late 1988/early 1989 and I purchased it on the strength of two songs, her ubiquitous cover of "The Loco-Motion" (which, oddly enough, was the last vinyl 45 I purchased) and "I Should Be So Lucky" which was a much smaller hit in the U.S. but was one of my favorite songs of the summer of 1988. I was actually quite surprised to see that it was a U.S. Top 40 hit for Kylie which is something that has pretty much eluded her for the vast majority of her career.
I'm pretty sure that the first time I heard "I Should Be So Lucky" was when I saw the video for it on Night Tracks. It was cheesy female pop so how could I resist it? But who was this woman singing this song? And how the hell did you say her name? Well, with an earworm of a chorus such as the one found in "I Should Be So Lucky," it really didn't matter. I remember calling up the local radio station and asking them to play it (I had heard them play it once before.) They did and I still recall the DJ butchering her name, calling her something like Kee-lay Minogue. Once "The Loco-Motion" became a hit, DJs were forced to pronounce her name right.
Kylie is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it's got some great singles. But man, the filler is FILLER. It's a Stock-Aitken-Waterman production so consequently, a lot of it kind of blends together. Many of the songs have aged very badly, partially due to the production and partially because they are some of the cheesiest songs you'll ever hear. "It's No Secret" is one song that I feel has especially not stood the test of time although I remember liking it a lot at the time. Most of the songs I enjoy kind of in spite of myself. For example, the song "Love At First Sight" is cute in a late 80s way, but let me count the ways in which the 2001 version from Fever is superior. Mostly though, it's throwaway pop.
It was the last Kylie album I would buy for 12 years. She completely and utterly fell off my radar after that song and then her albums weren't even given US releases. At the dawn of the mp3 revolution, I remember downloading a couple tracks from Light Years off the internet, but it wasn't until "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" took the planet by storm that I picked up Fever and I've purchased pretty much everything since as well as going back and acquainting myself with the stuff I missed, assimilating it into my life's soundtrack. In many ways, it's been kind of fun to have a roundabout fandom, one that started out on the ground floor but then disappeared, only to come roaring back over a decade later.
But as songs from the debut album goes, not much touches the glorious cheese of "Got To Be Certain." I really REALLY hope she sings this live on the tour. And with Kylie, you never know. Unlike Madonna, there seem to be no "off limits" songs and I adore how she embraces her back catalog with such enthusiasm, as if she really does realize that people come to shows to hear songs they know. Not that being Aphrodite heavy will be a bad thing, but I can pretty much guarantee we'll hear a crapload of Kylie classics.
I love this video so much. It's so cheesy but Kylie looks good in the black dress. There are apparently four different edits of this video and the one I always remembered was the one with Kylie on the merry-go-round at the beginning of the bridge. It took me a while, but I finally found it on YouTube. It starts at about 1:56.
Don't mock me because even if you do, I won't give a shit.
One thing I must say though, I have been in a HUGE Kylie mode these days. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that the reality of actually going to see her live is just starting to sink in. And in such a small venue! And with such close seats! Yeah, it's a 13 hour drive, but who cares? WE'RE GOING TO KYLIE! Whenever the day starts to go south, I just think WE'RE GOING TO KYLIE and almost immediately, things look better. Much like St. Patrick's Day, it's a ready-made excuse to be happy.
I was getting ready to take off for work yesterday and realized that, to my great dismay, I didn't have the entirety of Kylie's first CD on my iPod. Kylie was among the first 10 CDs I purchased back in late 1988/early 1989 and I purchased it on the strength of two songs, her ubiquitous cover of "The Loco-Motion" (which, oddly enough, was the last vinyl 45 I purchased) and "I Should Be So Lucky" which was a much smaller hit in the U.S. but was one of my favorite songs of the summer of 1988. I was actually quite surprised to see that it was a U.S. Top 40 hit for Kylie which is something that has pretty much eluded her for the vast majority of her career.I'm pretty sure that the first time I heard "I Should Be So Lucky" was when I saw the video for it on Night Tracks. It was cheesy female pop so how could I resist it? But who was this woman singing this song? And how the hell did you say her name? Well, with an earworm of a chorus such as the one found in "I Should Be So Lucky," it really didn't matter. I remember calling up the local radio station and asking them to play it (I had heard them play it once before.) They did and I still recall the DJ butchering her name, calling her something like Kee-lay Minogue. Once "The Loco-Motion" became a hit, DJs were forced to pronounce her name right.
Kylie is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it's got some great singles. But man, the filler is FILLER. It's a Stock-Aitken-Waterman production so consequently, a lot of it kind of blends together. Many of the songs have aged very badly, partially due to the production and partially because they are some of the cheesiest songs you'll ever hear. "It's No Secret" is one song that I feel has especially not stood the test of time although I remember liking it a lot at the time. Most of the songs I enjoy kind of in spite of myself. For example, the song "Love At First Sight" is cute in a late 80s way, but let me count the ways in which the 2001 version from Fever is superior. Mostly though, it's throwaway pop.
It was the last Kylie album I would buy for 12 years. She completely and utterly fell off my radar after that song and then her albums weren't even given US releases. At the dawn of the mp3 revolution, I remember downloading a couple tracks from Light Years off the internet, but it wasn't until "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" took the planet by storm that I picked up Fever and I've purchased pretty much everything since as well as going back and acquainting myself with the stuff I missed, assimilating it into my life's soundtrack. In many ways, it's been kind of fun to have a roundabout fandom, one that started out on the ground floor but then disappeared, only to come roaring back over a decade later.
But as songs from the debut album goes, not much touches the glorious cheese of "Got To Be Certain." I really REALLY hope she sings this live on the tour. And with Kylie, you never know. Unlike Madonna, there seem to be no "off limits" songs and I adore how she embraces her back catalog with such enthusiasm, as if she really does realize that people come to shows to hear songs they know. Not that being Aphrodite heavy will be a bad thing, but I can pretty much guarantee we'll hear a crapload of Kylie classics.
I love this video so much. It's so cheesy but Kylie looks good in the black dress. There are apparently four different edits of this video and the one I always remembered was the one with Kylie on the merry-go-round at the beginning of the bridge. It took me a while, but I finally found it on YouTube. It starts at about 1:56.
Don't mock me because even if you do, I won't give a shit.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Solid gold camp
I was thinking about Dwayne's comment in the Dionne Warwick post and how her 80s career was helped immeasurably by her appearance as the host of Solid Gold. I watched Solid Gold quite a bit when I was a kid growing up in the 80s and I had completely forgotten that she had hosted. I, for one, remember Marilyn McCoo hosting and too bad it didn't resuscitate her career like it did Warwick's. Anyway, because my brain works this way, it got me to thinking about Wayland Flowers and his puppet Madame that also were on Solid Gold. A quick YouTube search of "solid gold madame" turns up a ton of videos from her time on the show. I was also reminded of her show "Madame's Place" which ran briefly in the early 80s. Who knew frickin' Corey Feldman was on that show?As camp goes, you don't get much campier than Madame. Nowadays, there would be no secret of Flowers' sexuality but back then I'm sure it was not mentioned in polite circles but I highly doubt that Madame's humor was meant for the polite (or the easily offended or the faint of heart.) I was surprised to find out that Flowers actually cleaned up Madame's saucy, suggestive language for TV - what would a REAL Madame performance be like?
Flowers died from HIV-related cancer in 1988, but he lives on - like everyone will - on YouTube. I had read once that Madame was buried with him, but as it turns out, that's not true. In any event. here's Madame with Bea Arthur talking about Rock Hudson and how he would never EVER take advantage of a woman. It's quite possibly the campiest thing I've ever witnessed on the entire internet.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Gas, car wash, subway, don't walk
On the way home from lunch today, I was stopped at a stop sign and I couldn't make a left turn that I wanted to. Heidi was with me and I said "no left turn?" which immediately made me start singing "no right turn...no left turn...what can you do?"
Heidi was floored when I continued with the following bit that I think she hadn't thought of in 30 years.
This is the kind of stuff that if I could get it out of my brain, I'd be thousands of times smarter. And probably be able to find my car keys.
(This video has a scandalously low 33 views on YouTube. This needs to be remedied.)
Heidi was floored when I continued with the following bit that I think she hadn't thought of in 30 years.
This is the kind of stuff that if I could get it out of my brain, I'd be thousands of times smarter. And probably be able to find my car keys.
(This video has a scandalously low 33 views on YouTube. This needs to be remedied.)
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Pop culture collision
Anna helped me set up the Fisher-Price farm that arrived on Christmas morning tonight. We, of course, had to video the resulting work on our new Kodak PlaySport video camera that was a gift from Wendy & Andrew.
Here it is. Of course, it is my office, so various items from the pop culture inevitably share space.
I was thinking of doing a video blog this weekend. This might be as ambitious as I get.
Here it is. Of course, it is my office, so various items from the pop culture inevitably share space.
I was thinking of doing a video blog this weekend. This might be as ambitious as I get.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
This is the rhythm of my life
Wow, we're on day 28 of NaBloPoMo - it seems like it just started and here we are, almost to the end of it. I'll save the wrap-up post for day 30, but I really felt like that needed to be said.
Tonight's post will be brief as I'm pretty wiped out. The last two days I've worked at 7AM and because of that, I've been up before 6 both days. The amazing thing is that I managed to make it to work on time at all this weekend. Both mornings my alarm went off at 5AM and I turned off my alarm and went back to sleep. I have my own internal clock to thank for keeping me from completely oversleeping. Yesterday I got up at 5:20AM and today it wasn't until 5:45AM that I hauled my ass out of bed. And to think that in college, I couldn't get out of bed for 8:30AM classes. Sleeping that late is sleeping in these days.
I went to my friend Matt's tonight to watch episode 5 of The Walking Dead. The episode itself was a little bit of a let down - Matt put it best when he said "I'm just not scared enough of this show" - but the company was great as always. He and his wife are the perfect people to watch this show with. Next week's episode will rock though because, although it seems like we just got started, it's the season finale. I'm hoping a little bit of light gets shed on what caused the zombie apocalypse, but I'm not holding my breath. I know next to nothing about the graphic novel (and I'm keeping it that way for now) but this show seems very intent on keeping the origin story a secret. Not that it really matters, but you know me. I want to know WHY and HOW the zombies came to be. I want a nitty-gritty scientific explanation to give reason to something that is so unreasonable you can't even fathom it. So we'll see what happens.
I drove back up to Ames at around 10:30PM and was, like I said, pretty tired from my early morning and day of work. I was not in real danger of falling asleep on the drive home, but I figured I'd leave nothing to chance. After gassing up (gas is 11 cents a gallon cheaper in Ankeny than in Ames - WHY?), I fired up my Genius playlist based on Snap!'s "Rhythm Is A Dancer." It is kind of my 90s Eurodance playlist, but it's confounded by the presence of things like Girls Aloud, Katrina & the Waves and Take That. Genius is not so genius in this case, but it did make for a nice mix. I figured that there was no way I would fall asleep listening to the sounds of Corona, La Bouche, Black Box and Real McCoy.
It turned out to be just what I needed. And in the end, I've finally settled on Corona's "Rhythm of the Night" as being my favorite of that type of song. La Bouche's "Be My Lover" is a very close second. I even picked up Black Box's album Dreamland last week on eMusic and haven't been disappointed. "Rhythm of the Night" is a time machine to a time that was not necessarily simpler, but one that seems so now in retrospect. You have to be careful not to idealize the past; it's so easy to do. But with a song like this, how can you not?
I wonder if that lady actually sang that song or if she's lip syncing while someone less photogenic actually did the singing. I totally want their full length album. It's on Amazon for 65 goddamn cents. Someone buy it for me for Christmas.
Speaking of photogenic, check out the Corona artist photo from last.fm. It's a hoot.
I heart it. That's the kind of look Heidi should go for, right?
Back tomorrow with something more substantial. For now, I'm going to get unconscious.
Tonight's post will be brief as I'm pretty wiped out. The last two days I've worked at 7AM and because of that, I've been up before 6 both days. The amazing thing is that I managed to make it to work on time at all this weekend. Both mornings my alarm went off at 5AM and I turned off my alarm and went back to sleep. I have my own internal clock to thank for keeping me from completely oversleeping. Yesterday I got up at 5:20AM and today it wasn't until 5:45AM that I hauled my ass out of bed. And to think that in college, I couldn't get out of bed for 8:30AM classes. Sleeping that late is sleeping in these days.
I went to my friend Matt's tonight to watch episode 5 of The Walking Dead. The episode itself was a little bit of a let down - Matt put it best when he said "I'm just not scared enough of this show" - but the company was great as always. He and his wife are the perfect people to watch this show with. Next week's episode will rock though because, although it seems like we just got started, it's the season finale. I'm hoping a little bit of light gets shed on what caused the zombie apocalypse, but I'm not holding my breath. I know next to nothing about the graphic novel (and I'm keeping it that way for now) but this show seems very intent on keeping the origin story a secret. Not that it really matters, but you know me. I want to know WHY and HOW the zombies came to be. I want a nitty-gritty scientific explanation to give reason to something that is so unreasonable you can't even fathom it. So we'll see what happens.
I drove back up to Ames at around 10:30PM and was, like I said, pretty tired from my early morning and day of work. I was not in real danger of falling asleep on the drive home, but I figured I'd leave nothing to chance. After gassing up (gas is 11 cents a gallon cheaper in Ankeny than in Ames - WHY?), I fired up my Genius playlist based on Snap!'s "Rhythm Is A Dancer." It is kind of my 90s Eurodance playlist, but it's confounded by the presence of things like Girls Aloud, Katrina & the Waves and Take That. Genius is not so genius in this case, but it did make for a nice mix. I figured that there was no way I would fall asleep listening to the sounds of Corona, La Bouche, Black Box and Real McCoy.
It turned out to be just what I needed. And in the end, I've finally settled on Corona's "Rhythm of the Night" as being my favorite of that type of song. La Bouche's "Be My Lover" is a very close second. I even picked up Black Box's album Dreamland last week on eMusic and haven't been disappointed. "Rhythm of the Night" is a time machine to a time that was not necessarily simpler, but one that seems so now in retrospect. You have to be careful not to idealize the past; it's so easy to do. But with a song like this, how can you not?
I wonder if that lady actually sang that song or if she's lip syncing while someone less photogenic actually did the singing. I totally want their full length album. It's on Amazon for 65 goddamn cents. Someone buy it for me for Christmas.
Speaking of photogenic, check out the Corona artist photo from last.fm. It's a hoot.
I heart it. That's the kind of look Heidi should go for, right?
Back tomorrow with something more substantial. For now, I'm going to get unconscious.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
We haven't seen the last of her
I honestly don't have time for a proper post tonight. I've survived the to-be 9 year-old's birthday party today. It was actually kind of fun. She got this game yesterday from her aunt and uncle called "Bling Bingo" which we played at the party. If this pharmacy thing I'm doing doesn't work out, well, at least I know I have a fall back career as a bingo announcer.
But I did find this tonight - a new Cher song. FINALLY. It's from the movie Burlesque which I heard referred to this weekend as "how can this movie NOT be a flop?" I don't care, it looks cheesily bad and seriously, it has Cher in it so you know I'll be there. But getting new music from Cher has been like getting water from a rock these last 10 years or so, so this is a good thing. The song is "You Haven't Seen The Last Of Me" and is a cheesy Diane Warren ballad, but hey, I'll take what I can get.
Now if we can just get a new album!! I don't care if it's full of Diane Warren schlock. Well, actually I do, but I'll forgive it because it's Cher.
A better post tomorrow. A certain 8 year-old in my house turns a year older.
But I did find this tonight - a new Cher song. FINALLY. It's from the movie Burlesque which I heard referred to this weekend as "how can this movie NOT be a flop?" I don't care, it looks cheesily bad and seriously, it has Cher in it so you know I'll be there. But getting new music from Cher has been like getting water from a rock these last 10 years or so, so this is a good thing. The song is "You Haven't Seen The Last Of Me" and is a cheesy Diane Warren ballad, but hey, I'll take what I can get.
Now if we can just get a new album!! I don't care if it's full of Diane Warren schlock. Well, actually I do, but I'll forgive it because it's Cher.
A better post tomorrow. A certain 8 year-old in my house turns a year older.
Monday, November 08, 2010
Massacre on QVCUK
To be honest, today was a bit of a misfire. Up too late last night, up too early today. No nap. Lots of work to do - some of which I did, most of which fell by the wayside. I did end up taking Anna out to the dollar theater to see Toy Story 3 which was pretty damn amazing. Mostly, I just liked being there with her. I hope she still will go see movies with me when she's 13 and 15 and whatever. Who knows if she will. A dad can hope though.
I had a post that I really wanted to write but I simply ran out of time today, so it'll have to wait for another day. That's okay, really. November has plenty of days! So in the place of a real post, here's the most horrifying thing I've seen all day (courtesy of P.Viktor.)
Yes, that is Elaine Paige massacring "Take A Bow" - one of Madonna's biggest hits. As a friend of mine said when I sent him the link - MY EARDRUMS ARE BLEEDING.
I had a post that I really wanted to write but I simply ran out of time today, so it'll have to wait for another day. That's okay, really. November has plenty of days! So in the place of a real post, here's the most horrifying thing I've seen all day (courtesy of P.Viktor.)
Yes, that is Elaine Paige massacring "Take A Bow" - one of Madonna's biggest hits. As a friend of mine said when I sent him the link - MY EARDRUMS ARE BLEEDING.
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
It's called the Disco Maureen
I have been listening to WAY too much Maureen McGovern this morning. For most, any Maureen McGovern would be too much. I have only 3 songs of hers in my iTunes library and all of them are from either a movie or a TV show. Was she the precursor to Kenny Loggins? The world may never know. Anyway, my favorite of the songs I have is "Different Worlds" which served as the theme song to the 70s TV show Angie. I remember virtually nothing about the show, but I always loved the theme song. Here's the opening credits, just for shits and giggles. I especially love the "Love Boat"-ish way that the stars of the show are introduced, something that was ditched by the beginning of the abbreviated second season.
This song was actually a hit for McGovern in 1979, in a discofied version. I remember it being on a K-Tel 8-track that my folks had and I was forever trying to get to the spot on another program such that I could bump back to program 1 and listen to it. I don't remember how I came to have the mp3 (probably Napster, sorry folks), but you can now legally purchase it on iTunes. At 2:18, it always seemed too short to me, but then I came across the extended version on YouTube this morning. I'm not sure if it's legit as it sounds a bit amateurish, but still, it doubled the song's play time.
I'm always bugging Casey Stratton to record the theme from Maude for me (he just has to keep the funky 70s organ in there), but now I think I've found another for the 70s TV theme song covers project. Between these two and the theme from Alice, I think we're on to something.
This song was actually a hit for McGovern in 1979, in a discofied version. I remember it being on a K-Tel 8-track that my folks had and I was forever trying to get to the spot on another program such that I could bump back to program 1 and listen to it. I don't remember how I came to have the mp3 (probably Napster, sorry folks), but you can now legally purchase it on iTunes. At 2:18, it always seemed too short to me, but then I came across the extended version on YouTube this morning. I'm not sure if it's legit as it sounds a bit amateurish, but still, it doubled the song's play time.
I'm always bugging Casey Stratton to record the theme from Maude for me (he just has to keep the funky 70s organ in there), but now I think I've found another for the 70s TV theme song covers project. Between these two and the theme from Alice, I think we're on to something.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Musical History in 3 videos
Apparently, this meme has taken LJ by storm (I saw it on Casey Stratton's LJ.) Anyway, how could I resist? I'm going to tweak his categories just a little bit to suit my needs.
Age 4-8
My mom had the Helen Reddy's Greatest Hits 8-track. Even when our 8-track player broke and it played everything at chipmunk speed, I still listened to it.
Age 9-13
This time period belonged to ONJ. This was one of her last big hits.
Age 14-18
How could it be anything but? From early on in this period, but still, a classic.
This would be the point at which Heidi would turn to me and say "...and you turned out straight exactly HOW?" What can I say? I'm complicated.
Feel free to play along if you're so inclined.
Age 4-8
My mom had the Helen Reddy's Greatest Hits 8-track. Even when our 8-track player broke and it played everything at chipmunk speed, I still listened to it.
Age 9-13
This time period belonged to ONJ. This was one of her last big hits.
Age 14-18
How could it be anything but? From early on in this period, but still, a classic.
This would be the point at which Heidi would turn to me and say "...and you turned out straight exactly HOW?" What can I say? I'm complicated.
Feel free to play along if you're so inclined.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Should have been singles
My friend P. Viktor and I hatched the idea for this post a few weeks ago while discussing songs that Madonna has released that should have been singles but, for whatever reason were not. We each picked five songs from Madonna's back catalog (we compared notes early on so to make sure there was no overlap) and, after much deliberation, I've finally settled on mine. His five choices can be found on his blog. He is also hosting on his site a limited-time-only download of the non-singles that we chose plus 4 more so that all of her studio albums are represented. And Jeff, I regret to inform you that "Spanish Eyes" and "Mer Girl" are not among my five choices.
Dan's Top 5 Madonna Songs That Should Have Been Singles
1) Over & Over (from Like A Virgin)
Of all the Madonna songs that should have been singles, this one is the one that I think deserves that honor the most. Madonna was doing everything right at this point in her career, riding high with the Like A Virgin album and spinning off career-defining singles like "Material Girl," "Dress You Up" and of course, the title track. "Over & Over" feels like it's cut from a slightly different cloth than the rest of the album - it's still 80s pop, but the guitar lick in the chorus is what sets it apart. Guitars, despite their relative frequency in Madonna's live shows, are pretty scarce on her studio albums. As I've blogged before, the lyrics are very personally inspiring to me, a line from the bridge is currently the tag line for this blog. I'm not afraid to say I hear a different beat/Oh, and I'll go out in the street/And I will shout it again from the highest mountain. It's Madonna as she's just starting to climb the mountain of fame and fortune and it's simply fantastic. Definitely should be brought out for the next tour.
2) Something To Remember (from I'm Breathless)
I have always felt like I'm Breathless is Madonna's forgotten album, its lifespan cut short by the release of The Immaculate Collection. Containing music "from and inspired by the film Dick Tracy" I'm Breathless is very showtuney and non-Madonna and it is one of her lowest selling albums from that time period. "Something To Remember" is, however, a hidden jewel on that album. Madonna liked it so much that she plucked it out of relative obscurity and not only put it on her 1995 ballads collection but also named the damn thing after it. I've always been of the opinion that if WB was so insistent on releasing an old song from that project as a single, they should have gone with "Something To Remember" rather than insisting on releasing "Love Don't Live Here Anymore."
Her vocals are strong, in a pre-Evita way and the production is solid. While many of the songs on I'm Breathless play like novelty songs - even top 10 hit "Hanky Panky" - this is one that I could imagine hearing on pop radio. It is, however, marred by Madonna's infamous "chewing" of her you - I was not your woman/I was not your friend/But chew gave me/Something to remember. My sister and I would always change it to "chew gave me/oropharyngeal cancer." Chewing of yous really is unforgivable, but we give it a pass because the song is just so damn good.
3) Spotlight (from You Can Dance)
I nearly disqualified this song as technically, it was a single - in Japan. I remember it getting some minor radio airplay in late 1987, but there was no official single release in the US, no video, and subsequently, it did not chart on the Hot 100. If it had been released, it would have been another Top 10 for Madonna without question. It feels every little bit like the True Blue cast off that it is and it would have been very much at home on that album. Instead, it was the lone new song on Madonna's first compilation, You Can Dance. It's funny, because the song is very strong in that the combination of vocals and production is again superb, but it's also as light as a feather. Had it been recorded by a lesser artist, it would have been a completely forgettable bit of 80s fluff. It's still fluff, even in Madonna's capable hands, but as I always say about "Who's That Girl" - for fluff, it's quite brilliant.
4) Sky Fits Heaven (from Ray of Light)
Even though the lyrics came partially from a Gap ad, "Sky Fits Heaven" is the strongest non-single on Ray of Light. Like most of of the rest of the album, it is full of blips and bleeps courtesy of William Orbit. "Sky Fits Heaven" is a "driving fast at night with the windows down" song, especially during the "traveling down my own road/watching the signs as I go" section. I love how she hearkens back to "Bedtime Story" with the "Traveling, traveling..." part. Its inclusion in the Drowned World Tour was a huge surprise (mostly because I had not spoiled the set list like I have on every other tour since.) I always admire how Madonna makes such bold choices of obscure album tracks for her live shows, even though the Drowned World Tour certainly had more than its fair share of obscure album tracks.
5) Devil Wouldn't Recognize You (from Hard Candy)
This blog is littered with criticism of Hard Candy and its songs. Thanks to the distance granted by the nearly 2 years since its release, my opinion on Hard Candy is that it is somehow less than the sum of its parts. I like quite a few of the individual songs, but don't really care for the album much. "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You" is easily my favorite of all the songs on Hard Candy. Truth be told, it had been a really long time since we had a true Madonna ballad, and "Devil" fits the bill nicely. Its minor key, interesting rhyming scheme and a much more organic pairing of Madonna and Justin Timberlake than the herky-jerky "4 Minutes" are all points in its favor.
I wonder though, if this song isn't best left as an album track. XO, in his review of Hard Candy, compared "Devil" to Bedtime Stories' "Love Tried To Welcome Me" saying "it's the kind of album track that sticks with you for years because it's never overplayed." It would have probably not charted and considering her track record with videos these days, we couldn't even count on something amazing there, although I can think of no track more deserving of a brilliant video. But we do have the performance of the song from the Sticky & Sweet Tour, which was stunning.
Now get on over to P. Viktor's blog and read about his choices.
Dan's Top 5 Madonna Songs That Should Have Been Singles
1) Over & Over (from Like A Virgin)
Of all the Madonna songs that should have been singles, this one is the one that I think deserves that honor the most. Madonna was doing everything right at this point in her career, riding high with the Like A Virgin album and spinning off career-defining singles like "Material Girl," "Dress You Up" and of course, the title track. "Over & Over" feels like it's cut from a slightly different cloth than the rest of the album - it's still 80s pop, but the guitar lick in the chorus is what sets it apart. Guitars, despite their relative frequency in Madonna's live shows, are pretty scarce on her studio albums. As I've blogged before, the lyrics are very personally inspiring to me, a line from the bridge is currently the tag line for this blog. I'm not afraid to say I hear a different beat/Oh, and I'll go out in the street/And I will shout it again from the highest mountain. It's Madonna as she's just starting to climb the mountain of fame and fortune and it's simply fantastic. Definitely should be brought out for the next tour.
2) Something To Remember (from I'm Breathless)
I have always felt like I'm Breathless is Madonna's forgotten album, its lifespan cut short by the release of The Immaculate Collection. Containing music "from and inspired by the film Dick Tracy" I'm Breathless is very showtuney and non-Madonna and it is one of her lowest selling albums from that time period. "Something To Remember" is, however, a hidden jewel on that album. Madonna liked it so much that she plucked it out of relative obscurity and not only put it on her 1995 ballads collection but also named the damn thing after it. I've always been of the opinion that if WB was so insistent on releasing an old song from that project as a single, they should have gone with "Something To Remember" rather than insisting on releasing "Love Don't Live Here Anymore."Her vocals are strong, in a pre-Evita way and the production is solid. While many of the songs on I'm Breathless play like novelty songs - even top 10 hit "Hanky Panky" - this is one that I could imagine hearing on pop radio. It is, however, marred by Madonna's infamous "chewing" of her you - I was not your woman/I was not your friend/But chew gave me/Something to remember. My sister and I would always change it to "chew gave me/oropharyngeal cancer." Chewing of yous really is unforgivable, but we give it a pass because the song is just so damn good.
3) Spotlight (from You Can Dance)
I nearly disqualified this song as technically, it was a single - in Japan. I remember it getting some minor radio airplay in late 1987, but there was no official single release in the US, no video, and subsequently, it did not chart on the Hot 100. If it had been released, it would have been another Top 10 for Madonna without question. It feels every little bit like the True Blue cast off that it is and it would have been very much at home on that album. Instead, it was the lone new song on Madonna's first compilation, You Can Dance. It's funny, because the song is very strong in that the combination of vocals and production is again superb, but it's also as light as a feather. Had it been recorded by a lesser artist, it would have been a completely forgettable bit of 80s fluff. It's still fluff, even in Madonna's capable hands, but as I always say about "Who's That Girl" - for fluff, it's quite brilliant.
4) Sky Fits Heaven (from Ray of Light)
Even though the lyrics came partially from a Gap ad, "Sky Fits Heaven" is the strongest non-single on Ray of Light. Like most of of the rest of the album, it is full of blips and bleeps courtesy of William Orbit. "Sky Fits Heaven" is a "driving fast at night with the windows down" song, especially during the "traveling down my own road/watching the signs as I go" section. I love how she hearkens back to "Bedtime Story" with the "Traveling, traveling..." part. Its inclusion in the Drowned World Tour was a huge surprise (mostly because I had not spoiled the set list like I have on every other tour since.) I always admire how Madonna makes such bold choices of obscure album tracks for her live shows, even though the Drowned World Tour certainly had more than its fair share of obscure album tracks.
5) Devil Wouldn't Recognize You (from Hard Candy)
This blog is littered with criticism of Hard Candy and its songs. Thanks to the distance granted by the nearly 2 years since its release, my opinion on Hard Candy is that it is somehow less than the sum of its parts. I like quite a few of the individual songs, but don't really care for the album much. "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You" is easily my favorite of all the songs on Hard Candy. Truth be told, it had been a really long time since we had a true Madonna ballad, and "Devil" fits the bill nicely. Its minor key, interesting rhyming scheme and a much more organic pairing of Madonna and Justin Timberlake than the herky-jerky "4 Minutes" are all points in its favor.
I wonder though, if this song isn't best left as an album track. XO, in his review of Hard Candy, compared "Devil" to Bedtime Stories' "Love Tried To Welcome Me" saying "it's the kind of album track that sticks with you for years because it's never overplayed." It would have probably not charted and considering her track record with videos these days, we couldn't even count on something amazing there, although I can think of no track more deserving of a brilliant video. But we do have the performance of the song from the Sticky & Sweet Tour, which was stunning.
Now get on over to P. Viktor's blog and read about his choices.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Maniacs and Merchant
For as much as I loved 10,000 Maniacs in their Natalie Merchant incarnation, I really never much cared for Natalie Merchant's solo material. There was a song here and there that I really liked, but nothing she did solo-wise ever connected with me like her best work with 10,000 Maniacs. I think some of it had to do with what I perceived as a huge ego driving her toward a solo career, especially as 10,000 Maniacs were having their first ever Top 10 hit with "Because the Night." I couldn't believe that she was leaving the band that really made her who she was just as they were starting to break out into the mainstream. I can't help but think that the remaining Maniacs were more than a little bit ticked at her solo success.My friends looked at me puzzled when I said I wasn't sure if I could listen to Natalie's solo material. After all, it was just like listening to 10,000 Maniacs wasn't it? She was the voice of 10,000 Maniacs, so their response to me was to chill and close my eyes and pretend I was listening to the band and not just the singer. This works sometimes, but as it turns out, listening to solo Natalie Merchant is NOT like listening to the band. It seems like something that was essential to the success of her music with 10,000 Maniacs is missing in her solo music. I imagine it's how many people feel about Stevie Nicks' solo career. Without Lindsey Buckingham around to rein her in, Stevie kind of goes batshit crazy. For me, that's batshit crazy in a good way. But without the Maniacs, Natalie goes so internal that no one can break down the door. She's like a friend that you know can cut loose, but insists on being stoic and serious all the time.
For all my supposed dislike of her solo music, I will say that there are a few songs that I really like - mostly from her solo debut Tigerlily. I really liked the song "Wonder" mostly because it sounded like a long lost Maniacs track, and I did like "Carnival" some, with its "Secret"-ish video.
Her solo music really fell off my radar after Tigerlily. I knew the song "Kind & Generous". It mostly annoyed me, but listening to it again today (I picked up the album it is on, Ophelia, from the library yesterday) it's not as grating as I remember. And as far as anything after that, what I have heard is not listenable. Her voice is gone, stripped of its once distinctive quality and reduced to (sorry to say it) bleating. One need only listen to the song "Just Can't Last" to know that her glory days as a vocalist are likely behind her.
But I will always have the Maniacs. When I watch live concert footage of 10,000 Maniacs on YouTube, I always wish I could have seen them during their 1988-1992 heyday, back when they were singing the happiest song in the world about seasonal affective disorder. Not surprisingly, "Like The Weather" is one of my all time faves.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Bend and break
I've been enjoying the hell out of the video contest over on Keane's website promoting the release of the deluxe edition of Keane's debut Hopes & Fears in which the band has asked fans to make videos for songs from the album. Some are certainly better than others, but really the whole thing has a very Madonna "True Blue" make-my-video feel to it.
But this one, for "Bend and Break", which is probably one of my favorite Keane songs is really good and worth a quick blog post. As described on the site:
Watch it - it's worth it.
But this one, for "Bend and Break", which is probably one of my favorite Keane songs is really good and worth a quick blog post. As described on the site:
This one is from Liouba Zhiltsova in Moscow, Russia. As Liouba says, "It's about friendship, making mistakes and gaining forgiveness. I always thought of the song Bend And Break as a song about overcoming hard times and eventually getting to the bright side of life." It's a great effort for a first-time video - with a really nice storyline.
Watch it - it's worth it.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
They see your every move
Not exactly what I expected to listen to this morning, but you have to admit -- these guys know their way around a good pop hook. And really, no one else could have pulled off that green suit (although you know I'd like to try).
More substantial posts are coming soon. Life is getting in the way.
More substantial posts are coming soon. Life is getting in the way.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
I-C-E
One of the many glorious things about YouTube is that just about everything that has ever been on television, no matter how obscure, is archived there. Granted, it's only there until someone who owns the copyright gets wind of it and has it yanked.
Well, anyway, I was talking to Heidi the other day about how much I used to love to watch the UK version of the improv comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway? on Comedy Central. When I transferred to U of Iowa in the fall of 1992, I had heard of Comedy Central but never actually seen one of their programs. In Iowa City, it shared the channel with VH1 taking over at something like 7pm. I can't tell you how long it took me to figure out what was going on with the show with the black movie theater seats along the bottom - mostly because I never bothered to watch it until nearly 6 months after moving in! (for shame)
But Whose Line Is It Anyway? was an early favorite, and I was never satisfied with the Americanized version that aired on ABC a while back. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that in the US version, there was very little variation as to who the contestants were. It was always Colin Mochrie, Ryan Stiles and Wayne Brady, with the 4th seat up for grabs. And sorry, but Wayne Brady was always a little too prepared for those "improv" songs for me to buy it completely.
In any event, this is one of my favorite moments on the UK version of WLIIA? I'm sorry that the clip is not shorter, but I consider myself damn lucky to have found it at all. In the clip, Josie Lawrence is asked to sing about her refrigerator in a country/western style. For whatever reason, I LOVED this when I first saw it. It is not particularly clever, but I swear it sounds like she's singing in the style of Cher singing country/western. Her bit starts at about 3:10. It's TOTALLY worth it.
After years of having that "I-C-E" part periodically stuck in my head and figuring I would never see it again for the rest of my born days, all is now right with the world.
(I don't think Josie Lawrence, who I always loved on the UK version of the show, ever once appeared on the American version! What's the world coming to?)
Well, anyway, I was talking to Heidi the other day about how much I used to love to watch the UK version of the improv comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway? on Comedy Central. When I transferred to U of Iowa in the fall of 1992, I had heard of Comedy Central but never actually seen one of their programs. In Iowa City, it shared the channel with VH1 taking over at something like 7pm. I can't tell you how long it took me to figure out what was going on with the show with the black movie theater seats along the bottom - mostly because I never bothered to watch it until nearly 6 months after moving in! (for shame)
But Whose Line Is It Anyway? was an early favorite, and I was never satisfied with the Americanized version that aired on ABC a while back. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that in the US version, there was very little variation as to who the contestants were. It was always Colin Mochrie, Ryan Stiles and Wayne Brady, with the 4th seat up for grabs. And sorry, but Wayne Brady was always a little too prepared for those "improv" songs for me to buy it completely.
In any event, this is one of my favorite moments on the UK version of WLIIA? I'm sorry that the clip is not shorter, but I consider myself damn lucky to have found it at all. In the clip, Josie Lawrence is asked to sing about her refrigerator in a country/western style. For whatever reason, I LOVED this when I first saw it. It is not particularly clever, but I swear it sounds like she's singing in the style of Cher singing country/western. Her bit starts at about 3:10. It's TOTALLY worth it.
After years of having that "I-C-E" part periodically stuck in my head and figuring I would never see it again for the rest of my born days, all is now right with the world.
(I don't think Josie Lawrence, who I always loved on the UK version of the show, ever once appeared on the American version! What's the world coming to?)
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Death is her boyfriend
I'm feeling lazy tonight and wanting to do another blog post and I already talked a little bit about this video over on Facebook where it is likely to be seen by a lot more people. I didn't want to repeat it here, but fuck it, I'm doing it anyway.
I really am loving this song right now. (Bess & Matt - had the CD been just a week later, this would have made the cut.) It is M83's "Graveyard Girl."
This group, from all I have read, is part of the genre referred to as shoegaze, or perhaps it's better referred to as "nu-gaze" as this song came out in 2008, and really, shoegaze peaked around 1991-1993. Anyway, I love this song because of the images it evokes in my head. I couldn't even begin to put them down into words, for immediately it would not be what I am thinking and would just be a hollow shell of what the experience of listening to this song for me is. I love the retro sound of it - funny how it can have such a retro sound and be so recent. It reminds me of everything that was right about music in the mid-80s, even though I was too busy listening to Olivia Newton-John to notice.
Heidi bought me this album on iTunes on a whim and it has been just perfect for me this last week. It is not my usual fare of pop idiocy, nor is it super-serious-now-is-the-time-on-Sprockets-when-we-think either. It is blessedly in between, which is kind of where my brain is these days - somewhere between heavily introverted and mildly extoverted. Anyway, I am loving it and it just goes to show that the inimitable Mrs. C. is always right on target.
Now I must sleep. 5:30 AM will come waaaaay too soon.
I really am loving this song right now. (Bess & Matt - had the CD been just a week later, this would have made the cut.) It is M83's "Graveyard Girl."
This group, from all I have read, is part of the genre referred to as shoegaze, or perhaps it's better referred to as "nu-gaze" as this song came out in 2008, and really, shoegaze peaked around 1991-1993. Anyway, I love this song because of the images it evokes in my head. I couldn't even begin to put them down into words, for immediately it would not be what I am thinking and would just be a hollow shell of what the experience of listening to this song for me is. I love the retro sound of it - funny how it can have such a retro sound and be so recent. It reminds me of everything that was right about music in the mid-80s, even though I was too busy listening to Olivia Newton-John to notice.
Heidi bought me this album on iTunes on a whim and it has been just perfect for me this last week. It is not my usual fare of pop idiocy, nor is it super-serious-now-is-the-time-on-Sprockets-when-we-think either. It is blessedly in between, which is kind of where my brain is these days - somewhere between heavily introverted and mildly extoverted. Anyway, I am loving it and it just goes to show that the inimitable Mrs. C. is always right on target.
Now I must sleep. 5:30 AM will come waaaaay too soon.
Monday, July 20, 2009
I'm-a-m'i'm-i'm-i'm-alright
I made the mistake of listening to this song the other morning. It has now been stuck in my head for over 24 hours.
I have written about all there is to write about Jo Dee Messina before. Liking her music is kind of indefensible, but there are so many country songs that I like more than I probably should that I have given up trying to defend them. This is one of them. What I will say here is that this song is a product of the time when the line between country and pop was so blurred that I strayed over to country for some times. Probably from the period from about 1993-1999, I liked quite a few country acts outside of the omnipresent Dolly Parton. Many of them persist in my listening habits today, but nowhere near the level they did then.
I also really like this video, even though it is simple and basically is just Jo Dee hamming it up for the camera. There is something mildly trashy about it. As one of the commenters on the (non-embeddable) YouTube version of this video said, there is something kinda Sarah Palin about her, and I can't believe they meant that as a compliment!
Oddly enough, I can't figure out how this song fits into my overall musical taste. It doesn't have much in common with most anything I listen to, apart from being kind of cheesy and campy, but it is what it is.
I have written about all there is to write about Jo Dee Messina before. Liking her music is kind of indefensible, but there are so many country songs that I like more than I probably should that I have given up trying to defend them. This is one of them. What I will say here is that this song is a product of the time when the line between country and pop was so blurred that I strayed over to country for some times. Probably from the period from about 1993-1999, I liked quite a few country acts outside of the omnipresent Dolly Parton. Many of them persist in my listening habits today, but nowhere near the level they did then.
I also really like this video, even though it is simple and basically is just Jo Dee hamming it up for the camera. There is something mildly trashy about it. As one of the commenters on the (non-embeddable) YouTube version of this video said, there is something kinda Sarah Palin about her, and I can't believe they meant that as a compliment!
Oddly enough, I can't figure out how this song fits into my overall musical taste. It doesn't have much in common with most anything I listen to, apart from being kind of cheesy and campy, but it is what it is.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Beet beet sugar beet
100% guaranteed to get stuck in your head. I stumbled across this while looking for something else for a post I may or may not write.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Six things: Madonna Live
I never in a million years thought that I would ever see Madonna live once, let alone the four times that I have actually seen her live. I always figured that my shot at seeing Madonna would be when she was reduced to playing the Iowa State Fair Grandstand. Really, I've been very lucky to have seen as many great live performances in person and not just on DVD. This got me to thinking about the best of best, and I thought, what the hell. As usual, in no particular order.
Six Best Madonna Live Performances (that I've actually seen live)
1) "Music Inferno" (Confessions Tour, 2006)
Brilliantly mashing up "Music" with The Trammps "Disco Inferno", I will never forget the massive shot of adrenaline that those opening notes gave the show, after nearly screeching to a halt under "Paradise (Not For Me)". It's nearly a full 3 minutes before Madonna comes on, but this arrangement is just fantastic. Extra credit to the "All right boys and girls, it's time to get your dance shoes on! You're listening to KUNT - it's all Madonna, all the time" spoken intro.
2) "Nobody Knows Me" (Re-Invention Tour, 2004)
The greatness of this performance was THE big surprise of the Re-Invention Tour. I had always been kind of "meh" on the song until I saw it performed live. Actually, using the word "live" is a bit of a stretch because she is at least being heavily supported with a backing track, if not out-and-out lip syncing. The choreography for this was simple and understated but fit the song perfectly. I think it's something about Madonna in boots that gets me. (see "Like It Or Not" on this list)
3) "Candy Shop" (Sticky & Sweet Tour, 2008)
Admittedly, this song is not one of Madonna's high points. But it works so well as an opener for the tour, (shown below complete with the "Welcome to the Candy Shop" opener) that I had to put it on the list. I love the look Madonna has on her face when she comes around on the revolving platform, kind of "Yeah, I'm here. What of it?" Still not my favorite tour opening (that would be this one) but, like the song, I love it in spite of myself.
4) "Frozen" (Drowned World Tour, 2001)
Since Drowned World Tour was my first Madonna tour, I was under a self-imposed media blackout re: everything about the tour. I was mostly successful - I only knew a few songs from the set list prior to going. I had two songs I really wanted to see live - "Frozen" and "Secret" and by God, both were performed. I love how bigger than life this performance of "Frozen" is, the long sleeves, the "ho-ha!" martial arts moves, and she is in fine vocal form.
5) "Like it or Not" (Confessions Tour, 2006)
I have always loved this song, although Jeff feels like it is tacked onto Confessions, and was glad that she performed it live. I love everything about this performance - the outfit, the choreography and especially the chair. For me, it's the chair that cinches the performance. There is something about Madonna performing with a chair (see "Open Your Heart", Girlie Show's "Bye Bye Baby") that is VERY appealing. My favorite part? Dragging the chair down the catwalk to the "no, no you know."
6) "Holiday" (Drowned World Tour, 2001)
After an hour and a half of album tracks and latter day hits (save "La Isla Bonita" naturally), the lights came up for the last segment of the show and the familiar opening notes to "Holiday" played and the crowd went WILD. I will never forget how the crowd just came to life for that song. And to think she almost didn't sing it on that tour! It is arguably my favorite live version of "Holiday" (Blond Ambition's version is a very close second).
Surely I have left some off, but those are the ones that really stick out in my memory.
Six Best Madonna Live Performances (that I've actually seen live)
1) "Music Inferno" (Confessions Tour, 2006)
Brilliantly mashing up "Music" with The Trammps "Disco Inferno", I will never forget the massive shot of adrenaline that those opening notes gave the show, after nearly screeching to a halt under "Paradise (Not For Me)". It's nearly a full 3 minutes before Madonna comes on, but this arrangement is just fantastic. Extra credit to the "All right boys and girls, it's time to get your dance shoes on! You're listening to KUNT - it's all Madonna, all the time" spoken intro.
2) "Nobody Knows Me" (Re-Invention Tour, 2004)
The greatness of this performance was THE big surprise of the Re-Invention Tour. I had always been kind of "meh" on the song until I saw it performed live. Actually, using the word "live" is a bit of a stretch because she is at least being heavily supported with a backing track, if not out-and-out lip syncing. The choreography for this was simple and understated but fit the song perfectly. I think it's something about Madonna in boots that gets me. (see "Like It Or Not" on this list)
3) "Candy Shop" (Sticky & Sweet Tour, 2008)
Admittedly, this song is not one of Madonna's high points. But it works so well as an opener for the tour, (shown below complete with the "Welcome to the Candy Shop" opener) that I had to put it on the list. I love the look Madonna has on her face when she comes around on the revolving platform, kind of "Yeah, I'm here. What of it?" Still not my favorite tour opening (that would be this one) but, like the song, I love it in spite of myself.
4) "Frozen" (Drowned World Tour, 2001)
Since Drowned World Tour was my first Madonna tour, I was under a self-imposed media blackout re: everything about the tour. I was mostly successful - I only knew a few songs from the set list prior to going. I had two songs I really wanted to see live - "Frozen" and "Secret" and by God, both were performed. I love how bigger than life this performance of "Frozen" is, the long sleeves, the "ho-ha!" martial arts moves, and she is in fine vocal form.
5) "Like it or Not" (Confessions Tour, 2006)
I have always loved this song, although Jeff feels like it is tacked onto Confessions, and was glad that she performed it live. I love everything about this performance - the outfit, the choreography and especially the chair. For me, it's the chair that cinches the performance. There is something about Madonna performing with a chair (see "Open Your Heart", Girlie Show's "Bye Bye Baby") that is VERY appealing. My favorite part? Dragging the chair down the catwalk to the "no, no you know."
6) "Holiday" (Drowned World Tour, 2001)
After an hour and a half of album tracks and latter day hits (save "La Isla Bonita" naturally), the lights came up for the last segment of the show and the familiar opening notes to "Holiday" played and the crowd went WILD. I will never forget how the crowd just came to life for that song. And to think she almost didn't sing it on that tour! It is arguably my favorite live version of "Holiday" (Blond Ambition's version is a very close second).
Surely I have left some off, but those are the ones that really stick out in my memory.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Being alive's her only crime
This is one of my all time favorite Olivia Newton-John songs, one that is sadly been mostly forgotten.
"Livin' In Desperate Times" is such a product of its time it's not even funny. Those cheesy 80s synths, her incredibly large hair, and odds are good that there are some shoulder pads underneath that blue coat. But oddly enough, I think it plays very well now, probably due to the fact that it was not overplayed like "Physical" (which I can only really listen to in its - as Olivia refers to it now - "age appropriate version.") and some of her other more popular songs. I have particularly been enjoying the extended remix (which I have as a vinyl rip) because the version from the CD release of the soundtrack of Two of a Kind is heinously edited.
While the song is great, the movie it comes from is pretty horrible. Two of a Kind was the hotly anticipated on-screen reunion with John Travolta, but the storyline involving an angry God bent on destroying the world unless angels portrayed by Scatman Crothers, Beatrice Straight and Charles Durning can find two honest souls is just God-awful. The dialogue is horrible and while they do their best with what they have, this is not a high point for either Travolta or Olivia. But do you think that stopped me? Heck no. I saw it at least twice in the theater and countless times on HBO.
This song was kind of the beginning of the end for Olivia. Her hitmaking days were at this point rapidly coming to a close. She'd squeak a top 20 hit out of "Soul Kiss" but nothing since then. And it hasn't been for lack of trying. In 1992, she released a retrospective with 4 new songs, fully intending to tour and make a comeback, only to be sidelined by breast cancer. "I Need Love" (to make the sex right) was one of those songs.
Fortunately, Olivia survived her brush with cancer and has toured extensively in recent years. She's a great live act and one I would see again in a heartbeat!
("Twist of Fate" was the bigger hit from this project for Olivia. Whenever I play it, Heidi gets it stuck in her head.)
"Livin' In Desperate Times" is such a product of its time it's not even funny. Those cheesy 80s synths, her incredibly large hair, and odds are good that there are some shoulder pads underneath that blue coat. But oddly enough, I think it plays very well now, probably due to the fact that it was not overplayed like "Physical" (which I can only really listen to in its - as Olivia refers to it now - "age appropriate version.") and some of her other more popular songs. I have particularly been enjoying the extended remix (which I have as a vinyl rip) because the version from the CD release of the soundtrack of Two of a Kind is heinously edited.
While the song is great, the movie it comes from is pretty horrible. Two of a Kind was the hotly anticipated on-screen reunion with John Travolta, but the storyline involving an angry God bent on destroying the world unless angels portrayed by Scatman Crothers, Beatrice Straight and Charles Durning can find two honest souls is just God-awful. The dialogue is horrible and while they do their best with what they have, this is not a high point for either Travolta or Olivia. But do you think that stopped me? Heck no. I saw it at least twice in the theater and countless times on HBO.This song was kind of the beginning of the end for Olivia. Her hitmaking days were at this point rapidly coming to a close. She'd squeak a top 20 hit out of "Soul Kiss" but nothing since then. And it hasn't been for lack of trying. In 1992, she released a retrospective with 4 new songs, fully intending to tour and make a comeback, only to be sidelined by breast cancer. "I Need Love" (to make the sex right) was one of those songs.
Fortunately, Olivia survived her brush with cancer and has toured extensively in recent years. She's a great live act and one I would see again in a heartbeat!
("Twist of Fate" was the bigger hit from this project for Olivia. Whenever I play it, Heidi gets it stuck in her head.)
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