At #24 is the first of two brilliant merengue tunes composed by Ira Newborn and heard in the classic 1990 comedy, My Blue Heaven. For those of you not familiar with Newborn's work, he also has composed scores for important movies like Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Uncle Buck, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and Mallrats. Newborn probably is most famous for composing the theme from the 1982 cult TV series Police Squad which would be reused in the three Naked Gun movies. Ira Newborn might not be one of the most familiar composers or even been nominated for an Oscar, yet his themes including the merengue tunes in My Blue Heaven have achieved cult status.
The Beach Merengue mix is the second merengue tune heard in the movie. During Barney Coopersmith's (played by the great Rick Moranis) company picnic, based on the fact that he now has experience with the dance thanks to some prior coaching from Vincent Antonelli (Steve Martin), he wants to impress his date and dance the merengue with his date, Hannah Stubbs (played by Joan Cusack). Barney tips the band leader a few bucks to play some merengue music which he is more than happy to oblige on. At first Hannah is hesitant, especially since she is a lot taller then him and also is a bit of a prude herself. But soon enough, the couple are having a great time performing the dance and then taking their dance moves all over the beach. Not only is the song a hit with Barney and Hannah, but Barney's partner Kirby can't seem to stop his feet from moving even though his colleagues would probably look down on him for being a sissy. So Kirby (played by Bill Irwin) also goes off on his own and dances up quite a storm until he almost trips and breaks his leg. Although not as good as the original meringue scene which I'll be writing up later on the countdown, this scene is still magnificent and really clues you in on the fact that Barney Coopersmith does have a personality and is a fun guy thanks in part to his Mob boss turned state witness and new friend, Vincent. The music really works over the scene in which two former straight-edged characters have shed their rough interiors to have a great time which probably will lead to some bedroom activity
By the way, this song is extremely difficult to obtain!! The My Blue Heaven soundtrack was never released, and the Beach Merengue mix was never added to itunes or available on any peer to peer networks. My brother was only able to get his hands on the song from another soundtrack collector on the internet that claimed he got them directly from Ira Newborn himself.
Ladies and gentlemen... #24 The Beach Merengue Mix by Ira Newborn from My Blue Heaven
I'm simply falling behind. I have these great ideas and stories in my head, but with not enough time to think let alone breathe, I haven't been able to write much this week. Talking is a lot easier for me than writing, and I would think listening is more easier than reading for those that are entertained by my ramblings. So be sure to listen to the MisenPOPic podcast tomorrow in which Heyliger and I will recap the awards and performances from the Grammys. More importantly, with news that the 25th anniversary of We Are The World will be recorded the following day in the same studio as the original, I am so psyched. Although I have a lot of questions including who is going replace Dan Aykroyd as the "What the hell is he doing there celebrity, and who from the original besides Lionel Richie will be singing on the updated version. Listen to another test run podcast which I think will really entertain you. I'm going to jot down some quick Grammy predictions instead of writing a full-blown article about these awards that really don't mean much.
Quick Grammy picks for the Awards that people care about:
Record of the Year * "Halo" – Beyoncé * "I Gotta Feeling" – Black Eyed Peas * "Use Somebody" – Kings of Leon * "Poker Face" – Lady Gaga * "You Belong With Me" – Taylor Swift Should Win: "I Gotta Feeling"- Black Eyed Peas Will Win: "You Belong With Me" – Taylor Swift
Album of the Year * I Am... Sasha Fierce – Beyoncé * The E.N.D. – Black Eyed Peas * The Fame – Lady Gaga * Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King – Dave Matthews Band * Fearless – Taylor Swift Should Win: "Feel The Steel"- Steel Panther. Oops, sorry!..... Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King – Dave Matthews Band (even though I still think it's their worst album!) Will Win: Fearless – Taylor Swift
Song of the Year * "Poker Face" – Lady Gaga * "Pretty Wings" – Maxwell * "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" – Beyoncé * "Use Somebody" – Kings of Leon * "You Belong With Me" – Taylor Swift Should Win: "Poker Face" – Lady Gaga Will Win: "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" – Beyoncé
Best New Artist * Zac Brown Band * Keri Hilson * MGMT * Silversun Pickups * The Ting Tings Should Win: Silversun Pickups (even though they should not even be considered "New" Will Win: Zac Brown Band (Another Grammy winner that will be the answer to an irrelevant trivia question in ten years!)
Best Hard Rock Performance * "War Machine" - AC/DC * "Check My Brain" - Alice in Chains * "What I've Done" (Live) - Linkin Park * "The Unforgiven III" - Metallica * "Burn It to the Ground" - Nickelback Should Win: War Machine" - AC/DC (Umm, the best rock & roll band ever? I really want to see if Angus and the boys even show up in case they win!) Will Win: "Burn It to the Ground" - Nickelback (Just because the Grammy voters don't have a clue about music and of course Nickelback needs to just keep selling more albums)
Best Rock Song * "The Fixer" - Pearl Jam * "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" - U2 * "21 Guns" - Green Day * "Use Somebody" - Kings of Leon * "Working On A Dream" - Bruce Springsteen Should Win:"The Fixer" - Pearl Jam Will Win: "Use Somebody" - Kings of Leon (Based on common sense since this song is nominated for song of the year)
Best Rock Album * Black Ice - AC/DC * Live from Madison Square Garden - Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood * 21st Century Breakdown - Green Day * Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King - Dave Matthews Band * No Line on the Horizon - U2 Should Win:* Black Ice - AC/DC (Their best album since 1990's The Razor's Edge) Will Win: * Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King - Dave Matthews Band (Uggh!)
Also this week, another movie symphony, Out There! article featuring the 25th anniversary of another charity single, and hopefully another recap of meeting a celebrity. I'm also reading and thoroughly enjoying the new Ozzy Osbourne biography which might also need a review.
Noteworthy this week in pop culture is the announcement of the Oscar nominees on Monday, the premiere epidsoe of the final season of Lost on Tuesday, a show recapping the history of Survivor called Surviving Survivor on CBS Thursday, and of course the Super Bowl on Sunday with some great commercials lined up including a Griswold reunion of Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo, and a new Dr. Pepper Cherry ad featuring Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.
Back with more later this week, and remember to listen to the podcast which should be up Monday evening at 9:00!
I'm falling behind a little bit the past few days as I've been all over the place. The good news though is myself and my pal Mike Heyliger are on our way to establishing a fun podcast which we will probably start doing once per week. Instead of writing a live Grammys blog, we'll rehash the awards and ceremony on Monday. I'll probably stick with a quick review tomorrow of the ten most prestigious awards, even if the Grammys really mean nothing in the scheme of life.
Hope you enjoy this week's theme. If you haven't figured it out, the montage features my favorite cartoon characters of all time. Can you name them all? Some are obvious, others might be tough to guess. Of course my favorites include a piece of shit, a retarded dog, an old pediphile, and a jive turkey hiding behind a ski mask! Not everybody goes with the obvious choices of Homer Simpson, Alvin the chipmunk, and Bugs Bunny.
I'm tired, and my hands are still cold from holding a Slurpee cup a few minutes ago. Time to bid adieu!
We are now half way through the countdown. At #25 is a classic score from Bill Conti from perhaps the greatest movie ever about soccer, Victory. This was one of my dad's favorite movies due to his love of soccer and because it featured his idol, Pele. His love for the movie rubbed off on me, even if soccer was the only thing from the film that I understood back in 1982. Remember,I was four years old and knew nothing about wars, POW's, Germans, and rescue missions at that time. Released in 1981, this movie was jam-packed with big name actors including Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, and Max Von Sydow, and also legendary soccer stars including Pele and Bobby Moore. Victory, or Escape To Victory as it was called in Europe, is about a group of allied prisoners of war stuck in a German refugee camp during World War II. Michael Caine plays John Colby a former British footballer who makes conversation with an SS Major played by Max Von Sydow after the German recognizes him per his visit. Von Sydow's character decides to stage an exhibition soccer match between a German team and a team of allied prisoners led by Colby. The thought is that it might allow for the men to be freed from prison, but in actuality it's all one big publicity stunt in order to spread propaganda. Colby has to field a team and finds some major talents in his camp including the one and only Pele. I'm not quite sure how a Black dude from Brazil who can do amazing stuff with a soccer ball just happens to be in a German prisoner camp, but if it means we will see him performing bicycle kicks later on in the movie, that's fine with me. Then there is Sylvester Stallone who plays Robert Hatch, an American POW who sees a grand opportunity to try and get a spot on the team in order to hatch an escape plan. Although he has very limited skills, he cons his way onto the team as the goalie thanks to some good luck. The big game happens toward the end of the movie, and I don't think I have ever seen such a beautiful and realistic game of Hollywood soccer ever played on screen. The first half of the game is close even though the German team is playing dirty and the referees are penalizing the Allied team. At halftime, the score is close and while some of the players plan on escaping through the locker room per the arrangement made by Hatch, some others feel they can still win the game and want to compete. Rather than escape to sure freedom, the Allied team decides to take the field for the second half. Even with a banged-up Pele who can barely walk. One of the greatest movie moments ever and perhaps the first that I saw as a four year old was when Pele performs a signature bicycle kick which is then shown a few more times in different angles. The POW team actually takes the lead in the game, but due to the bullshit refs, the goal is disallowed due to a questionable offsides call. Tied 4-4 thanks to some outstanding goalkeeping work, the game is about to end on a penalty kick due to another bullshit call from the ref. Stallone saves the days causing a tie, and the crowd goes nuts. I won't give away the ending because I advise this movie for everybody, but it's pretty funny when Max Von Sydow gets up and applauds which would probably get him shot!
The best part of Victory is the final credits which features all of the actors and soccer legends through highlights from the movie over the brilliant score from Bill Conti. I can watch it over and over again, the music and the soccer scenes gel together nicely. The soundtrack from Victory is impossible to find. There has never been a Bill Conti greatest hits album either, so it took me years to add this song to my collection. I remember searching Sam Goody, Best Buy, and used records shops in hope of finding the soundtrack and this one song. Thanks to new technology, I was able to pull the theme from my DVD three years ago. Of all of the themes on this countdown, the theme from Victory is the one that might just mean the most to me on a personal level.
Ladies and gentlemen.. Another Bill Conti masterpiece... Theme From Victory
And of course, the magic scene from Victory featuring Pele!!!
Did you know that there were four members of 2010 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame inductee, Genesis, to have additional success on their own? Of course everybody knows that original lead singer Peter Gabriel became a superstar with his legendary music videos and theme song from the hit movie Say Anything (In Your Eyes). The original drummer and the replacement vocalist who belted out the essential Genesis tunes of the 80's was Phil Collins, who I believe we can say had a pretty fine solo career himself. Lead guitarist Mike Rutherford formed his own band, Mike & The Mechanics in the mid-80's which produced 80's staple songs such as Silent Running, All I Need Is A Miracle, and The Living Years (which was a worldwide smash even holding the #1 spot on the Billboard charts in March of 1989). And then there was Steve Hackett, the original Genesis guitarist who left the band in 1977 to pursue a solo career. Surely you remember GTR, the supergroup Hackett formed with former Asia and Yes guitarist Steve Howe in 1985? No, you don't remember? Well I actually didn't remember either until I was introduced to VH1 Classic in 2000 and saw their music video for their only hit single, When The Heart Rules The Mind, a video I hadn't seen since it debuted in 1985.
GTR were notorious for creating a band with synthesizer and guitar melodies without the use of an actual keyboard synthesizer. It may have worked in the studio, but doesn't sound so hot when they played live. GTW released their self-titled debut in 1985, produced by Steve Howe's friend and former bandmate in Asia and Yes, Geoffrey Downes. You might remember him as the lead singer of Video Killed The Radio Star when both he and Howe were members of The Buggles. GTR's album peaked at #11 on the album charts, and even went gold. The first single from the album was When The Heart Rules The Mind. If somebody asked what music sounded like in the 80's, showing them the music video for When The Heart Rules The Mind would probably give that person a pretty good idea. Just check out the funky dance moves of Max Bacon on lead vocals. It's safe to say that Carlton on Fresh Prince used this video as inspiration. The song was a moderate success sticking on the charts for 16 weeks peaking at #14. A second single, The Hunter, received decent airplay on MTV and peaked at #85. A lot of Genesis and Yes fans were less than pleased with the songs believing them to be filler-material pushed out quickly to capitalize on the success Genesis was having as a trio (Collins, Rutherford, and Tony Banks). GTR continued playing live shows around the world, but Hackett began to lost interest due to artistic limitations and disagreements about financial issues. So he quit the band in 1987. Howe tried to keep the band alive bringing in a new singer/guitarist, but it never panned out and GTR was no more.
When people ask which band was the only to have four members have solo success, usually the answer is The Beatles. But Genesis would also be the right answer even though they can only name Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, and Mike & The Mechanics, but forget about GTR!!!
Ladies and gentlemen... When The Heart Rules The Mind from GTR (no not GNR!)
It's just a work in progress as my partner in crime Mikey Heyliger and I attempt to record the greatest podcast of all time. We'll be rapping about movies, music, book, sports, adult entertainment, and throw in a bunch of random pop culture nuggets from the 70's and 80's. Here is the first episode unedited, it's kind of like the Holiday Star Wars Christmas Special in the sense that the producers will want to have it destroyed soon after it was released. We are still working on creating an identity for the show and establishing some kind of order to it. You obviously can tell my voice is rather low and I sound tired, while Heyliger sounds like a younger version of Casey Kasem! We will be doing a few more test runs until we confirm the angle we want to take on the podcast. Give it a listen! Pop it into itunes if you want to hear it on your ipod, and let us know what you think.
I always make it a point to see the movies that are competing and winning all of the awards whether it be the SAG, Golden Globes, Critics Choice, or Oscars just so as long as the movies aren't directed by Woody Allen or are too artistic for me to appreciate. So far, I've seen most of the noteworthy movies: Up, (500) Days Of Summer, Inglourious Basterds, Invictus, The Hangover, and Avatar. When the hoopla surrounding Up In The Air came first by critics wanting to immediately hand the award over to Jason Reitman's movie about the trouble economy, I made sure to catch this movie. After seeing the movie on Christmas, I agreed with the critics and was pretty confident that it was going to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Then the buzz seemed to steer toward another movie called The Hurt Locker that must have come and gone in theaters because I don't remember it being released. I had to wait until it arrived on DVD this past week. There really is no comparison between Up In The Air and The Hurt Locker, it's like comparing Howard The Duck to The Godfather. Brilliantly directed by Kathryn Bigelow, I'd even go so far as to say it might be the best war movie I have seen since Saving Private Ryan in 1998. I probably enjoyed Avatar directed by Bigelow's ex-husband James Cameron the most of any movie I saw in 2009 and won't gripe if it wins the Oscar for Best Picture, but The Hurt Locker probably was the best actual film of the year.
For those of you who aren't familiar with this movie, The Hurt Locker is a movie about an Army Explosive Ordinance Disposal unit during the Iraqi War who are responsible for locating and disarming bombs. Shot in 16mm, the film feels more like a documentary than an actual movie. It leaves you on the edge of your seat as you never quite know if James will deactivate the various kinds of bombs before they go off. The Disposal Unit consists of three soldiers: African-American Sergeant J.T. Sanborn who is the rational solider responsible for aiding the bomb technician as he gallantly tries to disarm the bomb; Specialist Owen Eldridge who provides the humor even as he questions whether he is cut out for the war and worried if he will live or die; and of course the best character in the movie, William James the reckless team leader responsible for actually disarming the bombs without much of a care in the world. With all the buzz about Clooney and Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart, the best performance that people will still be talking about fifteen years from now is the brilliant acting of Jeremy Renner as James. Perfectly cast, Renner seems like your everyday southern boy obsessed and passionate about his role in the madness and should win the Best Actor award even though politics and the fact that he's not a household name will hurt his chances. Bigelow also did a helluva job directing this film, and any other year she would be the first woman to win an Oscar Award for a war movie. But I think it's James Cameron's year, and Avatar is going to win the awards for Best Picture and Best Director. I recommend The Hurt Locker for people that enjoy war movies and want to get a realistic idea of how stressful and determined these bomb squads are in deactivating these weapons of destruction. Also, William James is a character who you will loathe in a good way if that makes sense. James Cameron beat me to the punch when he proclaimed that The Hurt Locker is the modern-day "Platoon". The Hurt Locker may just be one of the ten best movies about war I have ever seen.
This is yet another previous Out There! article I wrote for Sonic Clash about a very obscure novelty song about the legendary Studio 54. Enjoy!
I’ve always said that if I could ever go back in time, I’d love to experience New York City during the Summer Of Sam. The mean streets, the peep shows, the filth. But most of all I would want to turn the beat around at Studio 54. I’ve talked to a few people who have been there back in 1977 and they refuse to discuss it because either they were too coked up to remember or choose not to remember what they did there so their spouse never know.
Studio 54 was known for the drugs, the mix of random celebrities, the tunes, and of course the debauchery. Open sex on the dance floor, cross dancers, and owner Steve Rubell being obnoxious as all hell. This place wasn’t just a dance club, it was the buzz of the pop culture world, and the place you had to be if you lived in the metropolitan area. So much so that a band recorded a song about how difficult it was to get in. We all have heard the story of Chic’s classic 1978 song Le Freak being a reaction to not getting into the club. Nile Rodgers is adamant that the song was originally called “Fuck off! Who knows? The song that really defines Studio 54 to me was a little-known novelty tune by Dana And Gene called Dario (Can You Get Me Into Studio 54) in 1979 which was a tribute to the guy at the velvet rope who gave access to the club.
This probably may be the obscurest of the obscure songs I’m going to feature in this article. Good luck finding this one. It’s not on any music sites, compilation albums, Yadda yadda. It took us a few months for us to track it down. It was released as a 12″ single, but didn’t chart on the Top 100 Single chart, although it may have hit the Dance Charts. It’s your typical cheesy disco tune with the catchy bass groove, electric drum beat, and strings.
Dario is a fun little song that pays tribute to one of the most influential dance clubs in our nations’ history. Is it one of the most influential disco songs of the 70s’? No way! Is it one of the best novelty tunes? Maybe. Is it one of the rarest songs to find from the 70’s? Absolutely! Youtube doesn’t even have a video for it. The closest I got was what you see below: A cover version by Kid Creole which doesn’t do the original tune much justice.
I wonder if Dario would grant access to me and my brother? Probably not!
Man do I hate these A-List celebrities who feel they need to boost their egos by showing the world how much they care about the less fortunate. Of course I'm referring to tonight's Hope For Haiti star-studded telethon. It's the same crop of douchebags that appear on all of these telethons and commercials: George Clooney, Bono, Leonardo Dicaprio, Stevie Wonder, Dave Matthews, Bruce Springsteen, and Brad Pitt. They care so much about raising money for other countries, yet would you ever see any of these stars on Jerry Lewis' telethon to help kids in their own country with muscular distrophy? Now don't think I am a uncaring and disspirited monster! What happened in Haiti was just awful, and we should all make donations and show sympathy for the Haitian people. But do I need celebrities to play music and beg me to donate money? If these celebrities donated food, supplies, and cash to Haiti, that's wonderful. Just shut up about it and do it, there is no need to prove who donated more amongst the Hollywood industry!! These actors and singers think they are messiahs or prophets and can change the world, but remember they are only people who act and sing for a living. The only reason most of these celebs reach out is to inflate their ego and keep their image clean in the public eye. They care about world issues which is great, but could care less about me or you if we approached them in a public place for a quick photo opportunity and autograph. Why does this telethon have to be on every damn channel, and why is it so easy to predict who is going to be on? You just know Stevie Wonder, Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Sting are going to be on. And it's not a relief effort without Bono involved in some way. And jeez, the producers of this show like to fuck with us by making us think that if we call right away, we'll get to talk to a celebrity like Sasha Baron Cohen, Stephen Spielberg, or Colin Farrell. What a crock of shit! I knew the Haiti telethon was on tonight, but assumed it would only be on MTV and shown on-line! I'm just pissed because I was looking forward all day to watching one of my new favorite shows tonight on ABC, Shark Tank. That's all I have to say about that!
Toyota announced that there is a major recall on Camrys and Corollas. This is just great! Guess who is the proud owner of a 2008 Toyota Corolla! It's me! Supposedly, there is a problem with the acceleration pedal causing the automobile to automatically speed up on it's own. There have been a lot of bad accidents in which drivers and their passengers are on the roads when the car just goes loco on them causing them to drive straight-on into buildings or flipping over hills and ponds like the General Lee did on The Dukes Of Hazzard! That's the last thing I need right now, for my car to go all Knight Rider on me! With our economy just bouncing back, the last thing we need now is for Toyota to start bleeding money as they try to restore their image. If they can give me an upgrade and a Mark Sanchez autographed ball, Toyota can have my car back.
Just finished reading Tera Patrick's new biography, Sinner Takes All. No I didn't spend cash on it, I just spend three days reading it at Barnes And Noble and Borders. I'm sure the managers loved me sitting there reading the book not caring if the obscene photos were in full view of their customers. I did my best to hide what I was reading if kids walked by. If it's going to be on the NY Times Best-Seller list next week (even though I don't know anybody except myself who would buy this book or even read it, yet the sales will be in the millions) then it's all good. Add it to the list of other books written by porn stars that I have read without purchasing which includes Jenna Jameson, Ron Jeremy, and Jerry Butler. These books were all so fascinating! To understand how men and women get involved in the adult film industry is just mind-blowing. In Tera Patrick's case and like most women in porn, she lived a rough childhood. Her mom was abusive, and her dad was never around to teach her about the facts of live All she knew was that after seeing a photo of Paulina Porizkova on the cover of her dad's Playboy as young girl, her dream was to be a model and have guys worship her. And thanks to some bad advice, bad friends, and bad relationships, she ended up doing pornographic movies signing a raw deal which might would end up screwing her over in the long run. Tera became a phenomenon in the industry and ate up the lifestyle by doing drugs, smoking pot, and becoming a recluse to her friends and family. She hooked up with Evan Seinfeld from Biohazard thinking he was the perfect fit of a husband for her. The perfect male specimen adorned with tattoos and full of adrenaline who is not a good example of a nice Jewish boy. But like most porn relationships, the marriage was doomed once her husband got involved doing porn movies with her. She grew up and wanted to become an entrepeneur, not performing in any more XXX movies so she could be a normal wife and raise a child. After the book was written and almost ready for print, Seinfeld and Tera broke up because he really just used her to get himself into the porn world. The book was a quick and easy read, but I don't really feel sorry for Tera Patrick. Her time has come and gone, and although she might appear in some reality shows and on the cover of Maxim, her chance to become the biggest mainstream porn star is finished. The book was like some kind of therapy for her, but it won't surprise me to hear that she has returned to doing porn movies again really soon. My brother, dad and I actually had the pleasure of meeting her back in 2002 and she was really nice even if the posse with her were completely rude and overprotective of her. Check out the classic photo of my dad and her below.
Well, it is almost time to end this little rant. Of course you all know my focus is on the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday. If you stuck a lump of coal up my butt tonight, by Sunday you would have a diamond. I've been down this road twice in my lifetime as a Vikings fan seeing them come up short in the 1998 NFC Championship Game (Gary Anderson sets the record for most consecutive field goals and extra points, but shanks a 38 yard FG to win the game) and 2000 NFC Championship Game (The Giants destroyed them 41-0 which almost caused me to go postal at the ESPN Zone in NYC where me and pals were watching the game). I want this so bad! So bad! And to make things even more interesting, Prince has recorded a new theme for the Vikings. Prince?!?! The only black guy who lives in Minnesota has finally shown some interest in his local football team. The song is pretty cheesy and sounds likes something you would hear in church! Couldn't he just rerecord Let's Go Crazy or Raspberry Beret with new lyrics? Speaking of pop songs for football teams, why hasn't any other team since the 1985 Chicago Bears recorded a tune? Wouldn't it be sweet if the Vikings created the "Purple People Eater Shuffle" with Favre, Peterson, Allen, Rice, and the rest of the boys rapping alongside Jay-Z or Timbaland? The Bears actually won the Super Bowl after doing so. If teams are 1-0 due to to recording a song and bringing the team together, why hasn't any other team done it since? Hell, just for shits and giggles I did some research, and noticed that the Super Bowl Shuffle hit #41 on the charts and was even nominated for a Grammy. With the love so strong in the media for Brett Favre, you don't think the Vikings could record a kick-ass anthem better than what Prince did? That might be even better than an actual Super Bowl win!! On second thought, what the hell am I talking about? Below is Prince's new fight song and also the very popular Pants On The Ground video featuring (hopefully!) the 2010 Super Bowl Champion Minnesota Vikings.
If the Vikings do lose on Sunday,there might not be any more blog articles for a while until I get out of what could be a three week funk! Skol, Vikings, Skol!
Back in 2000, a new channel dedicated to music aficionados like me debuted for some lucky enough to have digital cable at that time. That channel was VH1 Classic, simply a network that played the classic music videos that I had grown up with. And besides some on-air bumpers, there were no commercials at all. I wasn't fortunate to have digital cable in 2000, so you can imagine my glory when I went to my buddies houses for the weekend. I would get to my friends' houses on Friday night for a fun time drinking and looking to dance with girls in Long Island or Philadelphia. But on Saturday throughout the day while killing time until another fun night of drinking and partying, my brother and I sat glued to the television watching music videos that we hadn't seen in years. While the rest of the guys wanted to get out of the house and do something, Scott and I were perfectly fine staying inside and reliving our childhood through this channel. There was a Metal Mania hour, a classic rock hour, an 80's hour, even a request hour for the more obscure videos. Mind you that this was all before Youtube which would give us instant access to any music video that we wanted to see. VH1 Classic was what MTV used to be when I younger, only better due to lack to advertisements. When my brother and I moved out to a place of our own and Cablevision finally added the digital cable service, we bought in simply because we needed our fill of classic videos from Duran Duran, Michael Jackson, GTR, A Flock Of Seagulls, and many more. But we should have enjoyed the channel as much as we could because soon enough things would begin to fall apart.
By 2002, VH1 Classic began running advertisements only for music-related shows on VH1, and soon enough there were solid blocks of commercials featuring laundry detergents and fast food restaurant chains. And the downward spiral continued as the more obscure videos were replaced with the more popular videos from Madonna and Bruce Springsteen. The request hour which had introduced me to some obscure 80's classics suddenly vanished. A new hour of programming played a retro video and the current video of legendary rock bands began including some artists who I wouldn't even consider retro. And then all of the leftover reruns from VH1 of Behind The Music, Pop-Up Video, and Storytellers were on every half hour just like what was happening on VH1. And then the Two For Tuesdays in which there were blocks of videos from the same artist stopped. Soon enough, instead of 24 hours of fresh random videos, the programming was broken down into one six hour block of videos that repeated four times a day. All of a sudden, the channel was reairing every single VH1 Award show and documentaries about the greatest albums ever recorded. Now it's all the same bullshit documentaries, outdated Pop-Up Videos, edited movies about rock & roll, and that damn Jackson Family movie that has earned Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (Boom Boom from Welcome Back Kotter) a lot of royalties. And soon enough the whole prestige of the channel died so I just lost interest. Even although there was Youtube only a click away, I still loved to see the random selection of videos on my television screen. Now I only watch the channel for the metal mania block of old school hair metal and hard rock videos, and the original program That Metal Show which pays homage to my favorite genre of music.
Why did this happen? I'll tell you why this happened. Because they couldn't just leave a good thing alone. When the channel began to make an impact, VH1 figured they could add revenue by selling airtime to advertisers. Also, the programming department at VH1 which includes number crunchers who know nothing about music just got lazy. Why pay top dollar for new documentaries and commercial-free blocks of retro videos when they can make VH1 a channel featuring reality shows about B/C List celebrities and dump the old outdated VH1 programs and 80's movies that played over and over again on the Classic Network. The stuff is classic, so it made sense to just run the programs over and over again just on a different channel for those who never saw them when they originally ran six or seven years ago. Instead of running these same programs ten times a day, can't they just go back to airing the videos? Fuck, I'll even deal with a few commercials. It seems that this channel does well with their hard rock programming. Why not make it VH1 Metal and just show hard rock videos, new metal documentaries, That Metal Show episodes, and other original programs geared toward the metal fan? Why all the fucking red tape?
VH1 Classic quickly went from being one of the most innovative and greatest networks on my cable box to just another piece of shit channel that serves no real purpose anymore. Oh well!
Rumor has it that finally the MisenPOPic podcast is on the way. For those who are too lazy to read but want something fun to listen to on your ipod while sitting in traffic or running on a treadmill at the gym, your dreams are about to come true. The other big blogger with the same initials as me will join me to put a unique spin on what is happening in pop culture. It will be a work in progress, but I am up for the challenge. Real heart to heart conversations about good information and humor are not and will not just be a thing of the past!
As for the new theme, you are probably looking at it and wondering what the hell is that all about. What the montage is saluting are characters from some of the dumbest movies from the 80's and 90's ever, but movies that I enjoy for the pure cheese. Can you guess the characters and movie stinkers above? Come on, broaden your horizons and learn about some of the cheesiest sequels ever made? Heck, you might even have a memory from one of these movies that I would love you to share with me.
On that note, I'm out of here, but will be back tomorrow with a nice little essay about the death of VH1 Classic!
Not only was it a travesty that Shakespeare In Love won the 1998 Best Picture Academy Award over Saving Private Ryan, but also that John Williams brilliant score lost the Best Movie Score Academyaward to Nicola Piovani's score for Life Is Beautiful. And the losses also continued with a defeat at the Golden Globes to Burkhard Dallwitz's score for The Truman Show, and another loss at the BAFTA Awards at the hands of the score from Elizabeth. There was some redemption though with a win at the 1998 Grammys for Best Instrumental Composition For A Movie. Hymn To The Fallen is simply brilliant, and the best of John Williams' movies scores during the past twenty years. It is so powerful that the song can bring tears to my eyes in a matter of seconds at the most random of times. The song never appears in the actual film, but only during the end credits while those who saw in in the theaters sat in stunned silence after seeing a terrific movies, and any World War II veteran in attendance were weeping uncontrollably. Not only is this a brilliant movie theme, but perhaps the best musical piece ever that pays tribute to those who lost their lives in not only World War II, but all wars. Pretty confident am I that this song will live on forever, and I hope my children will one day play this tune for me when I'm no longer on this earth.
Ladies and gentlemen.... #26 Hymn To The Fallen by John Williams from Saving Private Ryan
Do you remember Robbie Dupree? His first single off of his self-titled 1980 album was Steal Away, a song that hit #6 on the Billboard charts and has appeared on numerous compilation albums. Very formulaic for that era known for a lot of adult contemporary stars peaking on the charts. The riff of Steal Away is actually very similar to the Doobie Brothers mega hit song What A Fool Believes. His second single, Hot Rod Hearts also was a hit song peaking at #15 on the charts. And then Dupree and his adult contemporary style faded away thanks to a little thing called MTV. And Dupree never had another hit song ever again!
Well, he never did have another hit song, but he did record a little nugget in 1987 when asked to contribute a tune to the second WWF wrestling album, Piledriver. His single, Girls In Cars, was the first track on the album and was used as the wrestling theme song for Strike Force (Tito Santana & Rick Martel). The track is classic 80's and super cheesy, so naturally I loved it. Although I'm not sure whose bright idea it was to use this tune for two of the older wrestlers on the WWF roster to walk down to. I've also wondered what the inspiration for the song's title was. I actually don't like girls in cars because you can't really get the whole scope of the beautiful women driving on the highway. They may have their windows down so you can see their pretty faces. But the body might not match the face, so what's the big deal about girls in cars anyway? Why couldn't Dupree sing about "Girls in Malls", or "Girls in Porn"? These songs could have had some great lyrics. Anyway, a video was released for every song on the Piledriver album including Girls In Cars, but for some reason I couldn't find it on the web? Strange considering how easy it is in this day and age to download any obscure video from my childhood.
In a related story, a few years ago while at college in New Paltz, NY, I happened to see a flyer attached to the local record shop window indicating Robbie Dupree was going to perform locally in an intimate setting style show. I assumed it was the actual man behind Girls In Cars, and would have loved to attend the show and make a special request to hear an acoustic version of the song. My buddies and I really wanted to go, but I think it was on a Monday night and there was no way we could miss Monday Night RAW during that period.
Ladies and gentlemen... A real gem from the world of wrestling. Girls In Cars from Robbie Dupree.
Here are some more real gems from my past, present, and future that I'd like to share with you for the month of January!
I've been pretty adamant that Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is still the movie that I most enjoyed. When CBS announced they would be broadcasting a Bill & Ted Saturday morning cartoon produced by Hanna Barbara one year later, I was thrilled. Alex Winter, Keanu Reeves, and George Carlin even did the voice work for their characters giving the cartoon instant credibility. The show lasted on CBS only for less than a season, and was the last original Hanna-Barbara cartoon ever produced for CBS. The following year, the cartoon was produced by DIC Entertainment and aired on Fox. The quality of the show worsened, and Winter, Reeves, and Carlin did not lend their voices for the second-rate production. Below is the opening credits montage for the CBS version which included a cheesy but cool theme tune.
Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor did four movies together but Stir Crazy was the one that really utilized their comedic brilliance. Filmed in 1980 with Pryor still high on cocaine during the entire shoot per Gene Wilder's autobiography, and it didn't taint his performance at all. Watch the classic "We Bad!" scene below to see what comedy is all about.
The Karate Kid III might be viewed as a horrible movie by most people, but I love it and will defend it until the day I die. Terry Silver gave up all of business interests simply to gain revenge for his friend, John Kreese. Below is the audition of director John G. Avildsen's son, Jonathan, for the part of Mike Barnes that eventually went to soap opera heart throb Sean Kanan. Not to worry as nepotism helped Avildsen get his pinnacle role as Snake, Mike Barnes personal assistant in The Karate Kid Part III. You might remember him for his catch phrase "You Know It!" which should have made AFI's Top 100 Movie Quotes of all time. Below is the screen test Jonathan Avildsen did for the role, it's pretty awful. Notice that the girl playing Daniel's love interest is not Robyn Lively from the movie, but Leanna Creel who is best known for playing Tori on the final season of Saved By The Bell.
If I could shoot one celebrity and not go to prison or get the death sentence for my actions, I would take out Dane Cook. The guy has absolutely no talent, but due to good self-publicizing on myspace, became a huge name on the comedy circuit and is now getting major roles in movies and dating starlets. And teenagers think he is the funniest person of all time with no knowledge of true comedians like Steve Martin, Richard Pryor, and Rodney Dangerfield. Great minds think alike as the writers of Family Guy feel the same way as this no-talent hack. Below is a quick gag on Dane Cook that pretty much says it all. I wanted to get a better clip, but this was the only one I could find.
Eventually I will pay more more of a tribute to the following song from Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. The song might be poorly written, but just look at the talent associated with this group song about former child stars who don't want to be bothered in public. Dustin Diamond (Screech), Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady), the trio from Threes Company, Leif Garrett, The Brady boys, Jeff Conaway, Erin Moran (Joanie Cunningham), Adam Rich (Nicholas Bradford from Eight Is Enough), Todd Bridges, and Gary Coleman just to name a few. Take a look at the clip below if you haven't already seen the movie and you will feel so nostalgic seeing this crop of B-list and C-list celebrities from the 70's and 80's TV shows my generation has loved so much.
This burlesque strip show with a Star Wars theme definitely appeals to a lot of people I know. Hell, even I would be entertained or probably be laughing my ass off if I actually was in attendance for this. Girls removing storm trooper uniforms, Jabba The Hutt lard, and C3P0's armor is truly the work of somebody who thinks outside the box. Just hope George Lucas doesn't get wind of this! Check it out for a good laugh.
And on that note, I'm out of here. More classic videos that you might have missed coming in February.
Of course my main focus is still on the Minnesota Vikings Playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday at 1:00. But I've actually been collecting a few thoughts to try and keep my mind off of a possible Favre meltdown. If the Vikings do lose this one, I will be as miserable and sad like I was when I was told I wasn't going to meet Paul Stanley three years ago. Actually however miserable I was for that episode, it's going to be ten times worse if they lose on Sunday. And the kicker of it all is I am going to meet my future sister-in-law's family after the game. I know I can be pretty obnoxious when meeting people for the first time even though it's not my intention. But there could be a good chance I'm going to make a bad first impression by cursing and sulking the entire time. Please, for my sake and my brother's sake, let's have a Vikings victory. The Golden Globes are on Sunday night at least which might be able to keep me sane for a day or so. My quick picks and thoughts are included at the end.
This whole late night talk show was is a complete mess. I think more people care about the drama between Conan and Jay Leno than they do about their actual late night shows. I know most people don't like Leno, but I'm in the minority of people who have always felt he was better than David Letterman and should stay on as long as he wants to. He's just lovable and has great timing with his jokes. There actually might not be any real politics going on at NBC. Leno is supposedly a sweetheart and pals with Jeff Zucker, so NBC wants to keep him happy because he is a helluva guy who also appeals to the grandparents out there who are up past their bed time, I also like Conan, but I hear he is a real douchebag besides the fact that his humor is more geared toward a younger audience. With so much crap going on in the world and the fact that I only watch Leno in cycles, this whole mess doesn't really effect me.
What does effect me but knock on wood has been taken care of is that Michael C. Hall aka Dexter Morgan was diagnosed with cancer. His cancer was find early and is expected to make a full discovery. What would my life be like without Dexter Morgan, considering the show is on fire right now and there are more stories to be told. Best wishes in your recovery, Michael C. Hall, and glad cancer won't take your life even though your character has taken many lives.
24 returns on Sunday for it's ninth season. When the show debuted in 2001, I was hooked since the first minute. I kept track of the show for seasons one through six, and introduced the show to a lot of people. But around the fifth season, the show was becoming very stale and totally predictable. How many times would Jack escape another death-defying obstacle, or how many times would CTU be infiltrated by a mole working for the bad guys. I tried to enjoy the previous season hoping there was a good explanation why Tony Almeida happened to still be alive after having been killed previously in a past season. Once again the writing was stale, and the acting was rotten which caused me to give up after just three episodes. Supposedly, the show is back on track. But once I got involved watching better produced and better written shows like Breaking Bad, Dexter, and Mad Men, I just can't stomach any more of Jack Bauer's missions. This show needs to be taken off the air as the novelty of it has worn off four years ago.
Finally, a TV commercial that I have to pause my DVR when watching because it is so great. It's the new Staples campaign featuring a shopper going ecstatic while in an aisle reviewing products and their price. The actor playing the enthusiastic shopper is brilliant with his facial expressions, and I hope they continue this ad campaign. I'm not a programmed idiot who now has to shop exclusively at Staples because of the ads, but I'm curious what would really happen if I went into a Staples or any department store for that matter, and screamed "THAT'S A LOW PRICE!" Instead of being offered a cart from a store employee because there are 7,000 items that are reasonably priced, I'll probably be thrown out of the store. I might need to get my camera and film this, again because I have no shame! Here's the commercial below, be warned that it will make you laugh like a hyena:
I'm out of ideas and that damn Vikings game is beginning to take over my brain again, so here's a quick analysis of the 2010 Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night. These award shows are fun because alcohol is served, the nominees are sitting at tables like they have been seated for a wedding, and the show is less casual than the Oscars or Emmys. The nominees also include some that most casual movie and television fans have seen like The Hangover and Glee. Should make for a fun watch and also is a good determinant of what movies will be nominated for Academy Awards when announced a few weeks later. The TV awards don't matter to most, but they matter to me. Here's who should win and who will win:
Best Motion Picture -- Drama Avatar The Hurt Locker Inglorious Basterds Precious Up in the Air Should Win: Avatar Will Win: Up In The Air (I think Up In The Air will win the Golden Globe, but the more prestigious Oscar Best Picture award will go to The Hurt Locker which I still need to see per the recommendation of my pal, Kevin)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture -- Drama Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side Helen Mirren, The Last Station Carey Mulligan, An Education Gabourey Sadibe, Precious Should Win: Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria (Because she is the best young actress today and is quite a hottie. Eff you, John Krasinski!) Will Win: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture -- Drama Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart George Clooney, Up in the Air Colin Firth, A Single Man Morgan Freeman, Invictus Tobey Maguire, Brothers Should Win: George Clooney, Up In The Air Will Win: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart (I have heard that Bridges gives the performance of a lifetime, and it's about time he wins some awards for his work. Way to go, "The Dude"!
Best Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy (500) Days of Summer The Hangover It's Complicated Julie & Julia Nine Should Win: The Hangover (Why not? Critics loved it, and it actually was pretty funny) Will Win: (500) Days Of Summer
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy Sandra Bullock, The Proposal Marion Cotillard, Nine Meryl Streep, It's Complicated Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia Julia Roberts, Duplicity Should Win: Marion Cotillard, Nine (I haven't seen this movie nor do I want do, but if her performance is anything like her excellence in Public Enemies, she should win!) Will Win: Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia (I like that actors and actresses can be nominated for multiple roles. Streep is on fire right now, and probably is a shoo-in to win for one of her performances)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy Matt Damon, The Informant Daniel Day Lewis, Nine Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock Holmes Joseph Gordon Levitt, (500) Days of Summer Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man Should Win & Will Win: Joseph Gordon Levitt, (500) Days of Summer (He should be nominated for making me laugh as the totally miscast Cobra Commander in G.I. Joe)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture Mo-Nique, Precious Julianne Moore, A Single Man Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air Penelope Cruz, Nine Should Win: Vera Farmiga, Up In The Air Will Win: Mo-Nique, Precious
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture Matt Damon, Invictus Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones Christopher Plummer, The Last Station Christophe Waltz, Inglorious Basterds Woody Harrelson, The Messenger Should Win & Will Win: Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds (Probably one of the best acting performances of all time!)
Best Animated Feature Film Coraline The Fantastic Mr. Fox Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs The Princess and the Frog Up Should Win: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Will Win: Up (This is a no-brainer. I loved Up almost as much as Meatballs, and with talk of Up getting nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, this one is in the bag! Score another hit for Pixar!)
Best Director -- Motion Picture Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker James Cameron, Avatar Clint Eastwood, Invictus Jason Reitman, Up in the Air Quentin Tarantino, Inglorious Basterds
Should Win & Will Win: James Cameron, Avatar
Best Screenplay -- Motion Picture Up in the Air It's Complicated District 9 The Hurt Locker Inglorious Basterds
Should Win & Will Win: Up In The Air
Best Original Score -- Motion Picture (As you know, a personal favorite!) Michael Giacchino, Up Marvin Hamlisch, The Informant James Horner, Avatar Abel Krozeniowski, A Single Man Karen O. and Carter Burwell, Where the Wild Things Are
Should Win: Michael Giacchino, Up or James Horner, Avatar
Will Win: James Horner, Avatar
Best Original Song -- Motion Picture "I Will See You," Avatar "The Weary Kind," The Crazy Heart "Winter," Brothers "Cinema Italiano," Nine "I Want to Come Home," Everybody's Fine
Should Win & Will Win: "I Will See You," Avatar
BEST TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA
• Big Love
• Dexter
• House
• Mad Men
• True Blood
Should Win & Will Win: Mad Men (Season 3 of Mad Men was fantastic and probably deserves the award more for this season than for the uneven season 2. Dexter is now getting some buzz, but critics seem to forget they hated the entire season except for the phenomenal finale. I'd love to see Dexter win this award someday, but it wasn't as good as Mad Men this year)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA
• Glenn Close, Damages • January Jones, Mad Men • Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife • Anna Paquin, True Blood • Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
Should Win: Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Will Win: January Jones, Mad Men (the weakest actress on Mad Men but still gets raves for some unknown reason!)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA• Simon Baker, The Mentalist • Michael C. Hall, Dexter • Jon Hamm, Mad Men • Hugh Laurie, House • Bill Paxton, Big Love
Should Win:Michael C. Hall, Dexter (He should win this every year. Maybe he'll get a sympathy nod due to his recent cancer diagnosis.)
Will Win: Jon Hamm, Mad Men(It sure is a good thing that Bryan Cranston from Breaking Bad was not nominated maybe because the show was ineligible so Hamm has a legitimate shot. By The way, why hasn't Vincent Kartheiser who plays Pete Campbell on Mad Men been nominated yet?)
BEST TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
• 30 Rock
• Entourage
• Glee
• Modern Family
• The Office
Should Win:Modern Family (even though I personally can't stand this show!)
Will Win: Glee (I've already admitted on record that I one of ten heterosexual males who watch this show. It's fun, but in no way,shape, or form should it even be considered the best comedy television series on the air. But I have a strange feeling that it's going to win. )
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL • Toni Collette, United States of Tara • Courtney Cox, Cougar Town • Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie • Tina Fey, 30 Rock • Lea Michele, Glee Should Win:Lea Michele (Because she is adorable and can belt out a tune like nobody her age I have ever seen) Will Win: Courtney Cox, Cougar Town (Please, anybody other than Tina Fey!!)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
• Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock • Steve Carell, The Office • David Duchovny, Californication • Thomas Jane, Hung • Matthew Morrison, Glee
Should Win:Steve Carell, The Office (The man is simply brilliant even if his character Michael Scott has lost a step or two over the past three seasons. He is deserving of the award for the entire run of The Office.)
Will Win: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock (I hope so, because Matthew Morrison from Glee who also is a front runner for the award might be the worst actor in the history of primetime television. Dustin Diamond (Screech from Saved By The Bell) could even outact this guy.)
Have a great weekend, and enjoy the best weekend of NFL Football of the season. Of course I'll be all over the place on Sunday for the Vikings game. I'll also be rooting for the Cardinals, Colts, and Chargers (sorry to my dad but I can't stand hearing about them anymore!)
Teddy Pendergrass has died today at the age of 59 due to colon cancer. For those casual music fans who are not familiar with his career, Teddy Pendergrass was a prominent R&B/soul performer in the late 70's/early 80's who was nominated five times for best R&B male performance Grammy awards. Before embarking on a solo career, he was the lead singer of popular 70's soul group, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. If you happened to catch the Behind The Music VH1 documentary about Pendergrass, you might also remember that he was involved in a serious car crash in 1982 that left him paralyzed from the waist down due to a serious spinal injury suffered in the accident. He returned to the music industry after rehabilitation in 1984 performing a beautiful ballad duet (Hold Me) with a then unknown Whitney Houston and released a few more songs until 2006 when he retired from the music business. One of those songs was recorded in 1993 which happens to be one of my favorite songs of all time and was used on my wedding video opening montage that showed baby and kid photos of my wife and I. Most people also know this song, but probably not who performed it. The song I am referring to is a fitting tribute song to Teddy, "One Shining Moment". I actually wasn't going to write up this song for a while, but feel it's appropriate to do so now in light of Teddy's death.
One Shining Moment was written and originally recorded by David Barrett, but it's Pendergrass's 1993 recording that people most remember. David Barrett was a song writer primarily focused on writing uplifting sports anthems but never really had much of a career as a performer. The song was actually written by Barrett after viewing Larry Bird's performance in the 1979 NCAA Tournament but wouldn't become a sensation until much later on. Barrett passed along the song to his buddy Armen Kateyian, who many know as a prime time sports investigative reporter, who at the time was working for CBS. Kateyian then passed the song to CBS Sports Creative Director Doug Towey. One Shining Moment was actually going to be used as the postgame montage after Super Bowl XXI, but the montage was cancelled due to time restraints. CBS then decided to use it as the post-game montage after the Indiana/Syracuse 1987 tournament final game, and it's been the official NCAA ending theme ever since. The original Barrett-sung theme was used until 1993, then switched to Pendergrass's brilliant rendition from 1994-1999. Although Pendergrass sang the best version, the theme now used is the version sung by Luther Vandross which apparently was his last recording ever before his death from a stroke. Hopefully CBS will switch back to the Pendergrass version for this upcoming tournament in honor of the legend, and also because it truly is the best version. One Shining Moment is the ultimate sports anthem and makes you feel like a winner and that you can achieve your dreams if you work hard or something like that.
Ladies and gentlemen.. In tribute to Teddy Pendergrass.. from the 1996 NCAA Tournament... One Shining Moment!!
When George Lucas announced that the second Star Wars prequel was going to be a love story, I was okay with that as long as it would be done right and advance the story. Unfortunately, Hayden Christiansen and Natalie Portman's chemistry was very cold on screen besides the fact that the dialogue they were given to work might have been written by a teenager. Thank God their chemistry improved on the final Star Wars Film, Revenge Of The Sith!
The big question before the movie premiered was what kind of love-themed melody would John Williams come up with for the film? Would it be soft and sweet like the Luke and Leia theme from Return Of The Jedi, or be powerful and grand like the theme from Saving Private Ryan? Williams actually combined both soft and epic to create an outstanding piece of music that could also best serve the wedding of a science fiction geek and his prized wife. The theme is called Across The Stars (Love Theme From Attack Of The Clones) and is associated with the forbidden love between Anakin and Padme. The song begins slowly and then Waa Laa! the violins start playing in faster tempo making it sound fit to be a Star Wars theme! Man I only wish I can remember what I learned in the Music Theory night class I took as a sophomore at New Paltz to use better terminology for these articles. Thanks to Wikipedia, I can inform you that the song was written in D Minor, but changes keys throughout the song. Another movie masterpiece by the king of movie scores, John Williams.
Ladies and gentlemen... #27 Across The Stars from Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones from John Williams
Did you know there was a semi-hit old-school hip hop song about flatulence back in 1985? I didn't know this until right after college when I began collecting all the great songs of the past, present, and future. Back in high school, every time a student let off a little gas, they always had to shout "Safety!" or else people could keep on punching them in the arm until they figured out the magic word to make it stop. My wife would be happy to tell you that I subconsciously always say that magic word still even not although I know she'll never hit me. What I also learned in high school was a few people who would sing during class the lyrics, Somebody Farted, oh oh oh oh! I never knew until later that they were actually singing the chorus from an actual song called Somebody Farted by Bobby Jimmy & The Critters.
There isn't much information about Bobby Jimmy & The Critters other than they were a Los Angeles comedy rap group who started in the late 80's. Bobby Jimmy actually is Russell Dean Parr, a pretty popular radio host of a nationally syndicated morning show heard by millions of people. He also has done voice-over work, and various comedy impersonations while on his way to stardom. He also ran his own record label in the mid eighties, Rapsur Records, and later was signed to Easy E's label Ruthless Records where his stuff was produced by a young up and comer named Dr. Dre. Bobby Jimmy has a few novelty songs, but nothing as memorable as Somebody Farted. The song itself is pretty silly, but good for a laugh or two. I'd also recommend it to the DJ at the bar to spin the record when a drunk goofball lets one rip so bad that it clears the dance floor. There was no music video ever shot, and the song didn't chart. But it's probably the best song that people might not know about cutting the cheese.
Ladies and gentlemen... Somebody Farted by Bobby Jimmy & The Critters.
I'm writing this while watching the season premiere of American Idol. Everybody who does know me understands that I'm a critic who has very small filters when analyzing what is entertaining and unique as opposed to what is stale and not interesting. I think that's why I can't stop watching this show so I can judge who has actual talent and who doesn't. Even those without talent but have some type of charisma are okay, but the ones who just suck who are there for no valid reason is really annoying. I do commend the producers for sticking to the same basic formula, but after nine seasons, even I must admit that seeing all that talentless losers who just use the show to get their ten minutes of fame is starting to grate on my nerves. I'm not quite sure how much longer American Idol can keep going with Simon leaving after this season, though. The show might be able to get by this year without Paula Abdul, but Cowell is the face of the franchise. Unless he is bullshitting everybody in order to get a more flexible schedule and a production deal on Fox for his X Factor show, American Idol is done after this season. Ellen DeGeneres should be a better judge than Paula, but not even her star power will be able to keep the show going. Any Simon Cowell impersonator they sign up for next season also just won't work. Off the top of my head, I can think of one guy who would do it in a heartbeat and might be more arrogant than Simon Cowell. In fact, we saw him on the finale of American Idol Season 8. That guy would be Gene Simmons from KISS who knows as much about music and what is marketable as Simon. And if this ever did happen, even I won't watch it! I knew the franchise was declining, but it still warrants huge ratings for FOX. But I think we saw the biggest talent ever to grace the Idol stage on last season, Adam Lambert. And his album just isn't selling even with some catchy singles on the radio. And we all know how the actual winner Kris Allen's career was going to slide into obscurity, but this quickly? Let's all enjoy American Idol Season 9 because this is the swan song for the biggest TV show of the past nine years.
By the way, that rock and roll cat with the two broken hands is the son of a former co-worker of mine. Yeah, I actually know that kid. His name is Tyler Grady, the son of a sports card grader. His dad was a real good guy but also had one of the most unique sense of humors of anybody I have ever known. I don't remember if he ever brought Tyler to the office, but I remember hearing about him and seeing his photo displayed proudly on his daddy's desk. I only wish Derek (Tyler's dad) was on the show to congratulate his son so the whole world could see his beer gut! Tyler is heading to Hollywood and probably has a good shot to make the cut so he hopefully doesn't follow his dad into the sports card business. I worked with his dad from 1999 to 2002, when Tyler was probably eight years old. Oh boy, how I feel like an old man!
On a random note, I might just have to call Blockbuster to let them know how much I despise their business. Not just their on-line service which is a piece of horse poop, but their actual stores. I wanted to rent "Big Fan" today but was told no stores in New Jersey were going to carry the video. Just like other popular but high demand TV Shows on DVD like Friday Night Lights, Sons Of Anarchy, and Breaking Bad. Do the people who work for Blockbuster corporate office even follow the industry trends, or do they just crunch numbers? Is our whole world of entertainment being run by morons with no clue about what is good but only from what they hear from focus groups and meaningless statistics? Why am I sitting on the sidelines why all this damage is being done? You know how much I'm opposed to the oversaturation of products to the market. But maybe I'm really just opposed to the oversaturation of bad product due to lack of research? Let's give the power back to the movie directors, back to the disc jockeys, back to the credible writers! Sorry, there I go on another tangent! But in all seriousness, something has to be done about the arts and business before all creativity is lost and everything is run by skewed statistics.
Back to American Idol, maybe I'll see somebody else that I kind of know! Although I might just stop watching these audition shows and wait until we get to the cream of the crop.
It's really hard for me to care about anything this week except the Vikings game this coming Sunday. My mind is almost totally clear of any thoughts except getting through the week. I may or not may write much this week, but considering I'd like this blog to be great but don't receive much feedback, I don't think it will be missed by anybody with the exception of maybe a few people. I'm going to watch RAW tonight two weeks ago hoping something happens with Mike Tyson and of course Bret "The Hitman" Hart.
When I watch the final few minutes of Titanic, I always break down in tears because of all of the drama happening on screen. What makes these scenes even more poignant is the wonderful background music from James Horner. Most people think it is Celine Dion's voice on the musical motifs in the movie. This is actually not true. Dion did sing the theme song, "My Heart Will Go On" which was also written by James Horner using the key melody with new lyrics. Both this song and James Horner's complete score both win Academy Awards. The actual singer is Norwegian superstar, Sissel Kyrkjebo. With the soft passion that emerges from Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebo's voice over the soft flutes and violins, the song just hits me so hard. I can't remember when this actual piece of music is played during the final minutes, probably during the scene when Rose says her final goodbyes to Jack. The melody was reused in multiple sections of the film which is why I always mix the songs up. What I do know is the music is brilliant. Based on the large sales numbers of the Titanic soundtrack, the music was a major reason why Titanic became the highest grossing movie of all time. I'm sure in 1997, you could not attend a funeral or a high school dance without hearing one of James Horner's gems from Titanic.
Ladies and gentlemen.. #28 Rose from Titanic by James Horner. Since it sounds very similar and is also so magnificent, also included is the Final Dream music which is used when all of the characters reappear including Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) appear in Rose's final dream before she dies.
In 1988, I decided that the song that was the best that I heard that year was a tune from an awkward band named The Dead Milkmen. Since the first year I began honoring the best song of each year in 1987 when I honored a Brooklyn-based white young hip hop group called The Beastie Boys for their hip hop anthem Fight For Your Right, it was obvious that I was beginning to think a little bit outside the box. Before the late 80's, I couldn't care less about anything that wasn't popular and could be considered a bit ignorant. You can be damn sure that if I was writing a blog back then, it wouldn't focus on the more obscure and random stuff I write about now. I wouldn't be caught dead listening to alternative bands like The Cure, The Smiths, or Depeche Mode because it wasn't consumed by the masses.. But when I first saw the video for The Dead Milkmens' satirical punk song titled Punk Rock Girl one fine day, I thought it was a really unique and melodic song. The lead singer had the most annoying voice I had ever heard before, but his satirical lyrics about being in love with a punk rock girl was fascinating to me. Also the fact that he was singing with little enthusiasm while strumming basic chords on a guitar was kind of odd. What did make me quiver a bit was the appearance of the actual punk rock girl that lead singer Rodney Linderman was having his crazy adventures with. For some reason, the unique images of bloody fingers, unicorns, and ghouls dressed up as brides that were associated with most 80's videos didn't bother me in the slightest, but I was really concerned why the Dead Milkmen lead singer would be in love with a girl with a green mohawk, a tattoo on her right temple, and who wore ripped nylon pants. A really strange video featuring rock and roll at it's rawest, but it was still kind of cool to me.
The Dead Milkmen actually were formed in Philadelphia in 1983, but never really saw much commercial success. In a neat sports-related story, Detroit Tigers rookie Jim Walewander became a vocal fan of the band which was noted on his 1988 Topps baseball card. Walewander actually invited the Dead Milkmen to Tiger Stadium to see a game in which he hit his first and only major league home run. Punk Rock Girl arrived later that year, and was in the MTV rotation for awhile back when MTV was awesome! The video also appeared a few years later on The Beavis & Butthead Show of which it was panned in good fun. Punk Rock Girl appeared on The Dead Milkmen's 1988 album Beelzebubba which I actually almost bought at Wall To Wall Sound & Video back when I frequented the Rockaway Mall with my brother and dad every Saturday in the good old days. The song also made their 1997 greatest hits album, but until featured on the Left Of The Dial: Dispatches From The 80's Underground box set released in 2004, Punk Rock Girl could never appear on any other of the thousands of 80's compilations.Probably because Punk Rock Girl was never a hit single even though it could be seen a few times a day on MTV. Yet The Dead Milkmen still have a small cult of fans who would be proud to tell you that they were huge influences on spreading alternative music to the masses and encouraging other similar bands like They Might Be Giants and Cake. I still have always held this song and music video high in my heart for nostalgic purposes to remember a time when I didn't have to think too hard about things and could enjoy the innocence of being a kid. Now I always enjoy singing along to the classic lyrics like "You don't got Mojo Nixon then your store could use some fixing!" or the simple chorus of:"Punk rock girl you look so wild, Punk rock girl let's have a child, We'll name her Minnie Pearl, Just you and me, Eating fudge banana swirl, Just you and me. We'll travel round the world, Just you and me punk rock girl". Even to this day, it is still one of my top 500 songs of all time.
Ladies and gentlemen... "Punk Rock Girl" by The Dead Milkmen
