MisenPOPic Radio: Episode 4 (Turn The Beat Around)

If you haven't already listened, check out the future award winning MisenPOPic radio podcast that may just have established our groove. Here is the great recap provided my partner in crime

In this week’s episode of MisenPOPic Radio, Mikey Hersh and me are taking all of you into the wayback machine and landing in the age of disco!! In addition to a general discussion of why disco never died, a rundown of the genre’s best songs, and a couple of book recommendations, here’s what you get:

-Lots and lots of Mikey singing-including a tour de force rendition of Cheryl Lynn’s “Got to Be Real” to open the show.

-A plug for Larry Harris’s “And Party Every Day”, the story behind Casablanca Records.

-Bigg Money Mike gives props to any who can rock a killer karaoke version of “Stayin’ Alive”.

-Mikey introduces BMM to a CD that contains lullaby versions of AC/DC songs.

-BMM confirms the fact that you, indeed, can have sex in a YMCA.

-Mikey admits to a steamy man-crush on BARRY GIBB.

-BARRY GIBB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Is “Disco Inferno” the best disco song of all time? And who the hell is the white dude with the O face in the video?

-BMM recalls his very first “Andrea True Connection”.

-Mikey wonders whether KC & the Sunshine Band will be elected into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame.

Courtesy of: http://popblerd.wordpress.com/

MisenPOPic Update 2/24/10

How y'all doing? As you can see I'm working hard on fixing up my website and should be done by Friday with all of my lists and additional photos. One day at a time, one day at a time. I've just been busy watching season 2 of Breaking Bad On Demand, and if I thought it was the best show on TV after only watching the seven episodes of Season 1, then the seven episodes I've seen of the second season has gotten the show to a whole new level of awesomeness. I'm so stoked to finish Season 2 by Friday, and then I'm all caught up for Season 3 which begins on AMC at 10:00 on Sunday Night, March 21st. Oh crap, I was thinking of going to see Ace Frehley live in Manhattan that night, guess my plans have no changed. But Mikey, you have a DVR, so record and watch it later. I'm still set in my old-school ways, and love to catch my favorite shows when they first air to avoid spoilers. Even if nobody I know watches this magnificent show.

Check out the new photo montage up top. The theme is best comedy teams in movies, and to cap it off, what better comedy group is there than The Hersh Brothers. That photo was taken during an AC/DC concert with my brother and I experiencing pure bliss. There is nothing, and I repeat nothing, like being at an AC/DC concert hearing Malcolm's melodies and seeing Angus in action. Anyway, can you guess the classic comedy duos/trios or at least the movies they appear in?

More quality stuff possibly tomorrow.

C-ya,
Mikey

Out There!: "The Sun Always Shines On TV" by a-ha

Although the Norwegian synth-pop music group, a-ha, had a big 80's hit and a few other singles that made the Top 40 Singles chart, their career never really took off here in America. But in their home country of Norway, they are as big to the Norwegians as Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen are to New Jerseyians. In fact, even though a-ha is the most successful Norwegian artists of all time, they are considered a one-hit wonder in the United States. Of course, everybody who knows 80's music is familiar not only with the song but also the music video for Take On Me. The song was a huge success in America winning numerous MTV music awards, earning Grammy and American Music award nominations, hitting the #1 spot on the charts in 1985, and of course most important being recognized as one of the greatest songs all of time per Mikey Hersh. But their second single was just as good as Take On Me, although it's gone unrecognized by most music fans. That song is The Sun Always Shines On TV.

The Sun Always Shines On TV was the second single released from a-ha's debut album, Hunting High And Low. Overall, the song sold over 4.5 million copies. It's also a-ha's staple song everywhere else in the world other than the United States. It managed to peak at #20 on the U.S. Top 100 Hits chart, but was a smash hit in England and Ireland peaking at #1 as well as their homeland peaking at #2. If you listen closely, the melody sounds eerily close to Howard Shore's theme from Big which released in 1988. I wonder if the songwriters even caught wind of this and settled out of court, because for years I assumed that the song from Big was inspired by this tune. The song begins as your typical 80's synth-ballad, and than explodes into a fireball of sound with chugging guitars and razzling synthesizer sound. It's just a magical song that I don't recall hearing or seeing the video for back in 1985, but became a favorite tune of mine while accumulating music for my collection.

What also is kind of neat is that the video is sort of like a sequel to the epic video for Take On Me. The video also won two MTV video awards for best Cinematography and editing, and did you know a-ha is tied with Peter Gabriel for the most total MTV music awards won at 8, a record that I'm sure will stand the test of time as the music video has become a dying art form. The video for The Sun Always Shine features the two lovers from the Take On Me video (a-ha's lead singer and the cute blonde who liked a little like an older Debbie Gibson) admiring each other in a dark forest when his hand starts reverting to its animated state. Soon his whole body is consumed by the animation. Hunched over, he sees his beloved for the last time as she bites her lip, knowing that the two cannot coexist in the same world. After exchanging painful parting glances, he runs into the distance and a blue explosion swallows him up, sending him back to his comic book world. The girl is left all alone in the forest. Only at this point does the song begin in which the band performs in a church. Unlike Take On Me which was an all-synthesizer track although the video gave the impression that is wasn't by featuring a guitarist and drummer, The Sun Always Shines On TV actually featured guitars and drums performed by the members of a-ha.

It's just an amazing song that I think you will enjoy if you haven't heard it before. Damn VH1 for implying a-ha was just another 80's one-hit wonder! In fact, a-ha is still going strong in Europe. Just not in the U.S. where people's takes on music are forced to change with the times.

Ladies and gentlemen... The Sun Always Shines On TV by a-ha

I've always wondered what ever happened to Andrew Koenig, the actor who portrayed Mike Seaver's best friend Boner on the 80's sit-com, Growing Pains. He was the prototype for future 80's geeks like Screech and Urkel. Apparently, not only did his career disappear, but he has apparently gone missing as well. I didn't even realize he is the son of Walter Koenig, the actor best known for playing Chekhov in the Star Trek TV show and movies. Let's hope that he is found. Hopefully Kirk Cameron is praying to God for not only him to be saved, but his soul as well.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/22/growing.pains.actor.missing/index.html?section=cnn_latest

Music That Matters (Top 50 Movie Symphonies: #21 Rudy (Main Title)/The Final Game by Jerry Goldsmith)

Jerry Goldsmith is considered one of the greatest if not perhaps the greatest composer of movie scores in the history of film. He has scored hundreds of films from 1957 to 2003, most notably providing the music for classic films such as Star Trek: The Movie, Hoosiers, The Omen, Gremlins, Total Recall, Basic Instinct, and Gremlins to name a few. I will admit that even though there is only one symphony of his on my Top 50, he deserves a lot of recognition for his talent composing music primarily for action, sci-fi, and horror films. But his best piece of work and only entry on this countdown is ironically for a sports movie, and that masterpiece is the theme and "The Final Game" from the 1993 sports movie classic, Rudy.

We all know the story of Rudy Ruttiger, right? He was a walk-on football player at Notre Dame in the 70's who won over the fans and his teammates with his hard work ethic and desire, which in turn allowed him to fulfill his dream of taking the field as a member of the Fighting Irish for one game. A story too good to not be capitalized on the big screen. As the movie informed us as the end credits were prepared to roll, Rudy would become the first and only player ever to be carried off the field on the shoulders of his teammates. Why did he receive so much love? Because he was the perfect underdog! Rudy may have been considered too small, but he made up for it with his character and true heart. He made the practice squad, and his desire and hard work rubbed off on his team. So during the final minute of a meaningless game due to a huge blowout, Rudy was given the opportunity he grew up dreaming of: playing for the Fighting Irish. Rudy plays on the final kickoff, and because there is some extra time remaining, he stays in for one down and sacks the quarterback (Umm, this didn't really happen, but it made for a touching scene in the film!). The movie was also fictionalized in the sense that Coach Devine was seen as the villain who would only put Rudy in due to the pressure from the rest of his team and the shouts from the crowd ("Rudy! Rudy!). Yet, he had actually agreed days earlier to allow Rudy to dress for the game and was never threatened by his players that they would not play on Saturday if Rudy didn't get to suit up as shown in the film. He originally was okay being portrayed as the anti-hero to make for a better drama, but upon seeing how dramatized the final scene was, Devine was not happy. That's Hollywood for you!

The musical arrangement provided by Goldsmith is so beautiful, and even makes the manly man cry. It might be simple and formulaic, but that's okay with me! I can't imagine any other song that works for the moment when that game ends with Rudy receiving so much love from the crowd, his teammates, and of course his family. Would a power ballad or sports-themed anthem like One Shining Moment have worked better? Absolutely not! It's the classic score of Goldsmith's that really hits you like a ton of bricks and gets the best of your emotions. Those flutes and soft vocals are a good combination especially when the tempo picks up throughout the song. I can hear this musical artistry, and tears automatically fill my eyes and makes me think I can do anything!! Surprisingly, the Rudy score was not even nominated for an Oscar, even though it has become a favorite for most sports movie fans and Generation X. The fact that it's always used in movie trailers to promote other movies and of course in professional sports montages goes to show you how powerful this music is. There may not be a more inspirational movie score then Jerry Goldsmith's score for Rudy!

Ladies and gentlemen... #21 Rudy (Main Title/The Final Game) by Jerry Goldsmith

MisenPOPic Concert Review: Air Supply (2/20/10 Morristown Community Theatre)

I have been an Air Supply fan ever since I first heard songs such as Even The Nights Are Better and All Out Love back when I was five years old. From 1980 to 1984, Air Supply was one of the biggest groups in the world, and the melodies sung by Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell had a huge impact on me as a little boy during those years while sitting in the back seat of my dad's Thunderbird driving to Rockaway Mall for our usual Saturday excursions, or sitting in the barber's chair at Pro Haircutters in Randolph while getting my hair cut. Fast forward many years later, and I was still infatuated with their music while actually being in the place where the band started, Australia ,in 1994 during my college years, or impressing the girls in my dorm at college during freshman year because I was the only heterosexual guy they knew who owned Air Supply's greatest hits. Besides, isn't Air Supply one of the coolest names every for a musical group? Although they always get a bad rap for playing music for sissies which causes many people to admit that listening to the band is a "guilty pleasure", I've always stood tall indicating how much I love Air Supply and what's so wrong with listening to catchy and melodic love songs? The history also indicates they are one of the most successful groups of all time:
One #1 Song (The One That You Love)
Eleven Top 40 singles
Thirteen Top 40 Adult Contemporary Singles including three #1 hits
Six Top 100 Albums
Ranked #89 of the most commercially successful artists of all time.

Every music fan might not even realize that some of their favorite tunes to hum along to came from Air Supply. Look at their list of hit songs from the 80's: Lost In Love, Every Woman In The World, All Out Of Love, The One That I Love, Here I Am, Goodbye, Just As I Am, and Even The Nights Are Better. Their second biggest hit song written in 1983 by Jim Steinman (who is best known for writing the tunes on Meat Loaf's platinum album Bat Out Of Hell) for their 1983 Greatest Hits album, Making Love Out Of Nothing At All, is considered by yours truly to be one of the greatest 500 songs of all time. Their classic 1982 tune, Two Less Lonely People In The World, was almost used as my wedding song until it was changed at the last minute, although those with astute ears could hear the melody during the ceremony before the wedding party walked out. Simply stated, Air Supply has been one group that I've always remained loyal to and have wanted to see perform live in concert but just never got around to doing so.

Until Saturday night, February 20th, one week after Valentine's Day when Air Supply came to Morristown, New Jersey for their 30th anniversary tour. The venue was the Community Theatre, right in the heart of Motown, a place I've haven't attended a concert at since 2004 when my dad, brother, and I saw Frankie Valli. Over the past few years, the Community Theatre has picked up the ball bringing in a lot of the classic musicians from the past few decades that have had an impact on me. Air Supply seemed to make the most sense for the venue. When my mother-in-law indicated she wanted to see them again but was waiting until the weather report, I told her how badly I wanted to go to see them with my own eyes as well as to better educate my wife about the band. Thanks to a lack of snow, my mother-in-law got tickets for not only her husband, my wife, and I, but also for my parents and my sister-in-law Shari who actually thought she was going to see an Air Supply tribute show. Because we got the tickets late, our seats were up in the balcony. Since the venue is rather small and the fact that Air Supply isn't such a visual band that we needed to be sitting so close to the stage, our seats were perfectly fine. There were some loud and obnoxious forty-somethings sitting in back of us but were immediately put in their place by an older gentleman in the row in front of us who scolded them like he was their kindergarten teacher. It was classic, and make me realize that even when I do things like that, it's not as cruel as what this guy did. The crowd was a nice blend of young and old fans, and it was obvious there were many people in attendance who were bigger fans than I am who probably have seen in concert numerous times.

Air Supply took the stage right on time, opening the show with their classic 1983 hit "Even The Nights Are Better". Although Graham Russell looked okay, time sure has not been kind to Russell Hitchcock. His classic afro and stunning looks from the 80's are no longer there, nor is that classic high-pitched voice of his which he demonstrated with pride in the 80's and 90's before experiencing voice problems. How do I know this? Why thanks to an episode of Behind The Music, of course! Russell and Hitchcock were accompanied by a young group of musicians including a bald lead guitar player who kind of looked like Rob Halford from Judas Priest without the tattoo on his head, a thirty year-old rock & roll bassist, a keyboardist, and a heavy metal drummer who I'm sure must only be playing with the old fellas for the easy paycheck. What struck me as odd was that after playing only six songs, the band left the stage for a 15 minute intermission. I understand the Air Supply guys aren't as young anymore, but considering they are singing only love songs, and not belting them out like in the past, not sure if the intermission was only an excuse for them to take a poopie break. Graham Russell had some energy, but you can see that Hitchcock was struggling. There was some nice crowd reaction when the band performed their staple songs, but in a surprise move, they played a few tunes from their new album which is hitting stores in three weeks and left out big crowd-pleasing anthems like Two Less Lonely People In The World, Chances, and I Can Wait Forever. Highlights included Graham and Russell walking into the crowd during The One That I Love, and Russell doing his best to sing Making Love Out Of Nothing At All like it was 1983 although me serenading my wife due it being one of my favorite tunes might have sounded better.

Here is the set list based on what I can remember since they did perform a few songs I didn't know:
1) Even The Nights Are Better
2) Just As I Am
3) New Song that I can't recall the name
4) The Power Of Love
5) Here I Am (Just When I Thought I Was Over You)
6) Mumbo Jumbo (A new song from their upcoming album of the same name)
Intermission
7) New song from Graham Russell on their upcoming album about a wedding he attended in which the groom was heading off to war immediately after.
8) The One That I Love
9) Lost In Love
10) Dance With Me
11) Making Love Out Of Nothing At All
Encore:
12) We Love You (I think that's what this song was called?)
13) All Out Of Love

After the concert, Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock agreed to meet and greet their fans. Before the show, I spoke with one of their merchandising girls who told me they would be signing autographs and I probably wouldn't have any trouble getting a photo with the guys. I expressed my gratitude to her for being so nice. So she told me she would remember me and try to hook me up with a photo with the guys from Air Supply. After the last song, I rushed out of my seat so I could get a good spot in line for the opportunity. While in line, I met some nice folks and negotiated with them to take the photo for me, and I would reciprocate with a photo for them and email the photo since I'm such a nice guy and came prepared with a camera. As I was waiting patiently after the show for about fifteen minutes, security came around and indicated there would be no photos allowed. God damn it!!! Since I noticed my new friend in merchandising was nowhere to be found, I was trying to figure out how I would be able to get a photo without being thrown out. No light bulbs went off at the time, although in hindsight I should have pulled my "Bobby Brady" trick. I should have asked security in a polite manner for a photo opp making up a story that my twin brother (who I would confirm with a photo on my iPod) was battling stomach cancer which is why he couldn't be there but because we read that Air Supply meets the fans after their shows, he expected a photo to enjoy. I know it's cold and twisted, but sometimes you have to do stuff like this when the rules aren't to your liking but you want it bad enough. And especially since the band even praised the security, I could have used that as my trump card. But hindsight is 20/20, so I didn't pull it off. But I did get to meet the band and got an autographed 8X10 photo and ticket. I spoke to Graham Russell and mentioned how much of fan I was since I was a little boy, and mentioned how much I love Air Supply's melodies. He was really nice, and mentioned how he agrees with me that Making Love Out Of Nothing At All has one of the greatest melodies ever even though he didn't write it. Russell Hitchcock, on the other hand, looked even worse up close and didn't seem to even know what the hell was going on. I did thank him for his vocal magic, and he give me a good old fashioned Aussie smile until security told me it was time to leave.

Grade: B (Not one of the most exciting concerts I've ever been to, but I sure was entertained and glad that I went. Considering Air Supply's music has been very instrumental in my life and they probably are the greatest melodic adult contemporary group of all time in my estimation, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see them live for their 30th anniversary as stars in the U.S.A., and 35th anniversary together as a duo)

For your viewing pleasure, below is the classic video to my personal favorite Air Supply song of all time, Making Love Out Of Nothing At All. Trivia: Did you know the blonde woman in the video portraying Graham Russell's girlfriend actually became his real-life wife of whom he is still married to? Also check out that classic 80's hairstyle of Russell Hitchcock!!!!

MisenPOPic Update 2/19/10

When I created this blog, I thought I would try and compete with the other pop culture blogs on the web. Considering I think outside the box and love to put a personal spin on music, movies, and TV, it was a no-brainer that my blog would be one of the best. Unfortunately, with a lot going on in my personal life with a baby on the way and other priorities, I can't devote myself full time to writing like the other people do who either have a good economic situation or are better at organizing their priorities. The blog has become my #1 hobby though, and I will continue to be creative as well as write my thoughts and introduce people to some of the greatest but obscure stuff from the past, present, and future. But instead of trying to cater to a broader audience, for the time being I'm creating this website mainly for family and friends and of course for my own entertainment. Whether one person reads it or 1,000 people read it makes no difference to me. In time, I hope that it will stand out for being unique and "real", but I have to put less stress on myself about writing. Nothing should really change except there might a two day lag sometimes until new articles are posted. There also will be a lot more Out There! articles which I most enjoy writing. I'm still working on the photo and list pages which are almost done once I get finished with the introductions. And I'll still be doing the weekly podcasts with Mikey Heyliger discussing our thoughts on music and other fun stuff happening in the pop world. You can't get rid of me that easily!

You've read about my Chiller experiences, so it comes as no surprise that I'm getting psyched for the next show. My kid is due around the time of the show in mid-April, but I'm still holding out for a chance to attend. Mainly because there is one guest that I am dying to meet. That guest is Curtis Armstrong who played the role of one of my top five movie characters of all time, Dudley Dawson aka "Booger" from the Revenge Of The Nerds movies. Should I try and book an interview with him, or just let a conversation flow when I meet him? We'll see. I have tons of questions for him not only about Nerds, but also about his other roles in Risky Business, Better Off Dead, One Crazy Summer, Moonlighting, and American Dad. If I can't finagle a free photo out of him, I might have to cough up $10 because he is a legend in my mind!!

This year is off to bang for my buck (literally!) in terms of music. The only real new songs that have caught my attention have been the charity singles for Haiti which include the new Everybody Hurts single brought together by Simon Cowell and of course the new We Are The World 2010 mess of a song. I've been a good boy and donated money on itunes to add them to the collection.

Well, that was true until today! Right now there is an early frontrunner for 2010 Song Of The Year. Thanks to feedback from my brother and hearing the tune while trying to wake up every morning, I've become a fan of Lady Antebellum's new song, Need You Now. Even though they are a country band, this tune has an old-school pop flavor with a catchy melody. Check it out below.

Hopefully, by the end of next week I will have all of these additional pages finished so I can focus more on expressing my thoughts in new articles about the latest doings in the pop culture world. Tomorrow night, I'll be hitting the Air Supply concert in Morristown to hear the beautiful voice of Russell Hitchcock belting out classic love songs, so a review is definitely going to be written on Sunday. I'm also excited with the news that Breaking Bad is returning on March 21st, and the first two seasons will be available on demand as well as reairing on AMC weeknights beginning on March 9th. I strongly urge you to give this show a chance. It's the best drama on TV, and have I ever steered you in the wrong direction before?

I'm also thoroughly enjoying the last season of Lost even if the show is giving us more questions than answers. This season of Survivor with the best heroes and villains of all time is amazing TV, and I'm marking out for Boston Rob to win since he's probably the most charismatic character ever on that show. I was going to give up on American Idol, but since an old friend's son made it to the Top 24, I might not only have to watch but even call in to keep him on the show. His name is Tyler Grady, and he has a decent shot to make the Top 4!!

Enjoy the weekend, amigos and amigas!

Mikey

Out There!: "Wouldn't It Be Good" by Nik Kershaw

It there is one song that really defines the 80's, it would have to be Wouldn't It Be Good by Nik Kershaw. Yet, even though the song got a fair amount of radio play and the video constantly was played in MTV's rotation, the song failed to even crack the U.S. Top #40 chart in 1984. Even with Kershaw appearing at Live Aid in 1985 with a live performance of this song couldn't make the song a hit in America. Also strange since the song is one that most people my age remember if they don't recall who the actual artist was who sang it. Yet, over in Europe, Kershaw was a huge success with many Top 10 hits including Wouldn't It Be Good which peaked at #2 in Germany and Ireland, and #4 in England. Other artists such as Cascada and Placebo have even covered the song. The tune seems to now show up on VH1 80's countdowns and compilation albums at Target. I actually loved the song when it was released in 1984, but totally forgot about it until watching VH1 Classic when all the channel did was play retro videos in 2001 for it to return back into my consciousness.

Although Kershaw performed at Live Aid, and played guitar on Elton John's 80's hit tune Nikita, his solo career faded as his music become less commercial causing any of his fans he might have had left to bail on him. He continued to write songs and produce in the early 90's and was the genius behind another Out There! classic, The One And Only performed by Chesney Hawkes. The One And Only was a huge hit in England peaking at #1 in 1991 and also did fairly well in the United States thanks to it's appearance in the movie, Doc Hollywood. He also wrote tunes for The Hollies and a 90's boy band by the name of Let Loose. Since then, he's worked with Bonnie Tyler, Elton John, and Michael W. Smith. He writes and produces, but only performs on occasion at festivals in England. I don't think he could even sell out a small club here in the U.S. Although if the performance were in New Jersey, I would go in an instant.

Other random notes about this song: It was featured in the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories video game in the mid-00's. Ricky Gervais was a fan of the tune, using the song on his HBO show, Extras as well as in a special feature "Living with Ricky" on his Politics DVD. VH1 ranked it as the 88th of the 100 greatest one-hit wonders of the 80's. Be sure to also check out the retro video below featuring Kershaw as an alien with a chroma-keyed suit? Got to love those 80's videos.

Ladies and gentlemen... "Wouldn't It Be Good" by Nik Kershaw (I'm sure you will say "Holy crap! I remember that song" once you watch the video below!)

Music That Matters (Top 50 Movie Symphonies: #22 Young Guns II Overture by Alan Silvestri)

When people think about the soundtrack from Young Guns II, they automatically think of Jon Bon Jovi. The story goes that Emilo Estevez (the star of the movie) originally approached Jon Bon Jovi to see if he would grant permission to allow the inclusion of Bon Jovi's hit song, Wanted Dead Or Alive, on the soundtrack. Bon Jovi didn't feel that the song fit well with the theme of the movie, but was inspired to contribute a new song, Blaze Of Glory, to the film. Blaze Of Glory blazed fast up the charts peaking at #1 and earned Academy and Grammy award nominations. The single led to Jon Bon Jovi's first solo album titled Blaze Of Glory: Songs Inspired by the Film Young Guns II consisting of tunes filled with anger and aggressiveness of which Bon Jovi was feeling at the time as he was determining whether to leave his band and go solo permanently. Although two of the Bon Jovi songs (Blaze Of Glory, Billy Get Your Guns) were featured at the end of the movie, Jon wasn't the primary composer for the film. There actually was an original score created for the movie, another masterpiece turned in by one of the best composers in the biz, Alan Silvestri.

Ironically, Silvestri was not involved with the first Young Guns movie. That nod went to a jobroni composer named Anthony Marinelli who never created any other memorable scores. Alan Silvestri's Young Guns II score mixed a classic western theme similar to tunes heard in classic western films with a new age melodic hard rock guitar sound. The overture is heard throughout the movie, usually when Billy and his gang were riding onward towards their next escapade. The song kind of makes you feel like you are riding along as a member of Billy The Kid's gang. Just some powerful stuff, and very epic. Although not as recognizable as his other works such as the Back To The Future and Forrest Gump scores, I personally believe it's one of his best.

Ladies and gentlemen.... #22 Young Guns II Overture by Alan Silvestri

MisenPOPic Radio: Episode 3

A week after a total abomination of a show that was eventually deleted, Me and my buddy Mike Heyliger are back chatting about our views of music and other current topics including the death of Doug Fieger from The Knack, John Mayer, and other neato stuff. The test runs continue. Enjoy!

And per a better summary from Mike Heyliger (and no this isn't plagiarizing!), here some other themes elaborated on this show:

-the “We Are the World” 2010 remake, and why Wyclef Jean sounds like a dying sheep
-Mikey’s childhood fear of Annie Lennox
-the difference between “nigga” and “nigger”, and why the guy who hated grunge and political rap is angrier than the guy who enjoyed that shit.
-2 Live Jews
-Money Mike’s tips on how to successfully hide porn surfing on your computer.

MisenPOPic Movie Review: Crazy Heart

Jeff Bridges might be one of the best actors of my generation even if his work has gone unrecognized during award seasons. Although he has been nominated four times for his acting performances in films like Starman and The Contender, he has yet to win the big one. He's never been an A-List actor, but he has put together a nice body of work. Personally, I thought he was outstanding as "The Dude" in The Big Lebowski, another stinker movie only helped by his performance. His thirty year plus career might be the only justification for him being the frontrunner to win his first Oscar this year for his role of Bad Blake in Crazy Heart. Although he was magnificent in this movie and turned in a top-notch performance, I still believe that Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker and even George Clooney (and I can't stand Clooney!) in The Up In The Air are more deserving and turned in memorable performances. But like the Academy did for Paul Newman in 1986 and Al Pacino in 1993 but haven't done in awhile, the Best Actor award based on overall body of work and a good performance in a bad movie will go to Jeff Bridges.

Some notes on the movie, Crazy Heart. Jeff Bridges is getting tons of acclaim, we all know that. But what about the actual film itself? I now understand why the movie itself wasn't nominated for Best Picture or screenplay. The film was very slow-paced, and I'm not quite sure what all the buzz was about as the film wasn't a movie I would even remember in detail by next February. Also the movie's storyline was all over the place, and a lot of minor characters like those played by Colin Farrell and Robert Duvall might have been interesting but weren't fully developed for me to even care. In fact, Duvall's character is introduced much later in the film with very little information given as to what his role in Bad Blake's life actually was. And uggh!!! Maggie Gyllenhaal is the female lead in this picture. She might be the darling of independent films, but she must have blown a few movie executives to keep getting decent roles in Oscar worthy movies. She and Bridges had absolutely no chemistry in this movie, and her acting was the absolute pits. And naturally, she received a surprise Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, but I don't think she stands much of a chance of winning. The redeeming aspect of the film was the music. T-Bone Burnett gets a lot of hype for his movie scores, but the songs he wrote that were performed by Jeff Bridges were terrific. I hope to get a copy of the soundtrack soon from a good friend, and won't be unhappy if the song "Weary Kind" wins the Oscar for best song from a movie. Jeff Bridges singing country tunes was great, maybe that's why he got a spot in the new We Are The World song for Haiti.

Grade: C (Did not meet expectations. A nice performance by Jeff Bridges, but nothing earth-shattering. Check out the soundtrack, but stay away from this movie!)

MisenPOPic Update 2/12/10

So much to write about, but I'm still working on the additional pages which include pop culture photos and music/movie lists, so my thoughts in writing will have to come in short waves. I did have to write a quick piece on the We Are The World 2010 version, but I'm sure I'll have more to talk about next week after the song gets more ingrained in my head. I might have been too harsh!

I wish I could write a ton about the Survivor premiere of Heroes Vs. Villains last night, but again I'm pressed for time. I'm happy Sugar got the boot, much deserved! I think Russell is next if the villains go to tribal, although next week's preview indicates at my favorite player of all time, Boston Rob, might be in trouble (physically!) I want to write so much more, but just not enough time or energy.

I could have added another celebrity photo today to my collection today, but I'm beginning to realign my priorities. So it didn't happen! World famous novelist Jackie Collins was in the NYC Borders near MSG just to see how her new book was being merchandised. I only knew it was her because I saw her appearance on some random daytime talk show for women yesterday and detected her British accent. I'm sure I could have had somebody take a photo of me and her on my cell phone as she looked very gracious speaking to the manager of the store and other customers. I called my mom to find out if Collins was one of her favorite authors, then I'd have a legit reason to ask for a photo opportunity to make my mom happy. But my mom informed me that she wasn't a fan, so I didn't bother. I figured I should probably stick to my plan of only approaching celebrities that actually matter. Although if it were Stephen King, I'd have been stalking him in a heartbeat.

I'm trying to write more, but my time is being too consumed with formatting these lists which can take hours due to my OCD making sure everything is lined up properly. How did I get these genes!!!!

Mikey

We Are The World 2010 (The MisenPOPic Review)

Finally, the new We Are The World video and song were made available today. I did my part and legally purchased both the video and the song to help those in need. After watching the entire video, I thought it was average and in no way can light a candle to the original. The 1985 version was a classic that people still remember to this day. This song will probably do better on the charts and raise more cash, but will be forgotten in a year or two. Does anybody remember Do They Know It's Christmas Time's sequel in 1987, or the third installment by Band Aid 20? Guess my case is closed! I am very disappointed with the end result, but after seeing the list of performers, my expectations weren't high to begin with! Here are some quick thoughts:


When Justin Bieber begins the tune repeating Lionel Richie's original lyrics, it looks cute as he represents the new generation of music. They could play it off like he's some random kid who won a radio contest to sing the opening lyric. But when I hear that his voice was recorded with that shitty new technology that was also used to enhance the voice of other people who can't sing like Paris Hilton or Lindsey Lohan, I knew right then that the music of today is garbage and that this new song stood no chance of being as good as the original. Twenty five years, we will look back on this video and try to remember who this Bieber kid was. Ladies and gentlemen... Justin Bieber will go down in history as the 2010 Version of Tony DeFranco! How about them apples for an obscure pop culture reference? Go on wikipedia and look him up if you didn't pick up on that obscure reference.

You can tell that this video was put together on the fly. It was poorly edited and didn't give you that wow factor when seeing which artists were redoing lyrics that I've always associated with legends like Kenny Rogers, Cyndi Lauper, and Willie Nelson. I even had to do double takes to find out who some of the artists even were.

Wyclef Jean's vocals and stupid Haiti diatribe on this song was unnecessary and just too over the top. I never understood why people worship this guy. Taking classic songs and butchering them with his Haitian accent isn't talent. And I'm sure every music purist who reads this blog is going to rip me a new one because it's not socially acceptable to say bad thing about Wyclef. Although I did like the song, Rubble Man, he put together with the Season 3 Apprentice contestants.

What I thought would be the worst part of the song turned out to be the best. I'm not the biggest fan of hip hop, but I really liked will.I.am's contribution toward the end of the song. I'm okay with bringing new things to the table if it's good, and this actually made the song more interesting. will.I.am, I salute you! He just might have been the MVP of this song!

Lil Wayne and T-Pain should have not been given solo parts. Brutal! Same goes for Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, and Celine Dion. Just too over the top for me!

The solo parts I thought worked really well were those performed by Jennifer Hudson (who I really think is talented), Josh Groban, Pink, Adam Levine from Maroon 5, Jamie Foxx, will.I.am, the dude from the Fray, and Nicole Scherzinger. I would have been okay with this song if they stuck with soloists such as the aforementioned, people who can actually sing and will still be relevant in ten years.

It looks like Fergie was brought in to record her part after the initial recording session. dded a bit later to the mix. Where were Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, and Beyonce? They probably figured this new version would be a train wreck and wanted no part of it.

I thought it was a nice touch to keep in the vocals of Michael Jackson and Ray Charles from the original who no longer with us. Considering the death of Kim Carnes and James Ingram's careers, couldn't their vocals be piped in as well in tribute?

If there was no hip-hop influence on this album, many fans would cry foul!!! So will anybody listen to my complaints that there were no hard rock or heavy metal contributions to this song? I think it's time for the 25th anniversary of "Stars"! Read my previous article about this if what I just wrote makes absolutely no sense to you.

This song will be #1 on the charts giving Lionel Richie his first #1 hit in over twenty years. Was this song recorded to help Haiti, or to feed make cash to help the fading careers of his daughter Nicole and her husband, Joel Madden from Good Charlotte? Maybe he needs the cash to feed his grandchild?

After seeing the video, the Dan Aykroyd award for the most random person in the choir who had had me thinking what the fuck?..... Ladies and gentlemen, Jeff Bridges or as he's better known as... The Dude!!!

Final Grade: C+ (Cool for the nostalgia factor and a good idea to raise money for Haiti. But the lack of real star power on this song and phasing out of the original artists on the 1985 song is perplexing to me!)

MisenPOPic Update 2/10/10

I've been so busy creating the additional pages of lists and photos to the blog that I haven't been able to write that much this week. I hope to have most of the new stuff completed by the beginning of next week, but it's just such been such a struggle formatting the pages thanks to my OCD!!!

I just finished watching American Idol the last two nights. The show has kind of lost it's luster for me, but since I'm invested in the show and I have a small connection to one of the contestants, Tyler Grady, I'll continue to watch. I worked with and still occasionally keep in touch every now and then with Tyler's dad, Derek. Derek is so not the Hollywood type, but I think Tyler is going to make the Final list, so naturally I want to see how his pops handles the spotlight. I've mentioned that Ellen DeGeneres has been nothing short of outstanding in her role as the new judge, but I'll say it once and I'll say it again, American Idol is kaput without Simon Cowell. Another thing that I have noticed about American Idol is that will never win an award for editing. Seriously, who is editing this show? The camera shots totally are out of order and there are just too many goofs to spot if you look closely. Maybe my majoring in radio/TV production in college taught me something after all!

I had to include yet another Muppet viral video that is making it's rounds on-line. Just like the Bohemian Rhapsody viral video from a few months back, the new viral video featuring Beaker singing Dust In The Wind is just so amazing. Beaker never fails to make me laugh!!

Peace aaaaah!

Mikey

Music That Matters (Top 50 Movie Symphonies: #23 Parenthood Montage by Randy Newman)

I've always envisioned a whole group of my family and friends in the hospital waiting room anticipating whether I am going to have a baby boy or a baby girl when my wife is in process of giving birth. And once I run out with the announcement, the waiting room becomes the scene for a big celebration with champagne, cigars, and simply a lot of love between everyone in the room. This vision isn't totally original, though, I got the vision from a scene in one of my favorite movies of all time, Parenthood. This scene happens at the end of the film as there seems to be a few members of the Buckman family bringing babies into the world. And the entire family is all giddy and together as a dynamic unit in the hospital waiting area. And while this all is happening, there is a brilliant piece of music playing that just warms my heart. That song is the #23rd song on the countdown, and it's called "Karen & Gil/Montage" by Randy Newman. The Parenthood soundtrack is pretty difficult to track down, and finding this song on Youtube just was not possible. I don't even remember how I was even able to add it to my collection.

Of course, I have to remember to bring my ipod to the hospital and have it playing after the birth of my child which is happening in less than three months. Wow, boy!

I wasn't able to find a video clip with this great song, and don't have the time to create a flash audio file, so please enjoy Randy Newman's Oscar-nominated song, I Love To See You Smile, from Parenthood as a suitable replacement.

MisenPopic Movie Review: District 9

Last night I finally got around to watching District 9, and I'm a little bit perplexed on how this movie got nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture. Don't get me wrong, it was a unique and interesting movie and one of the cooler movies about aliens that I have seen. It was like a mixture of Independence Day, Transformers, and Predator all rolled into one movie. It was a fun movie, but not worthy of an award unless Peter Jackson's name has automatically become synonomous with awards since his Lord Of The Rings movies. My buddy Kevin was right when he indicated that Star Trek should have gotten nominated instead. Not only was Star Trek a better science fiction film, but a better overall film. The only Oscar award that District 9 deserves might be for editing.

With that all said, I still thought the movie was entertaining and I smell a new sci-fi franchise coming because the movie left a lot of things open for a possible sequel or even prequel. If you didn't already know, the basic premise of this movie which I pulled from IMDB is: An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly finds a kindred spirit in a government agent who is exposed to their biotechnology. The alien creatures were very creepy looking and a job well done by the Weta Workshop for their amazing visual effects. If you are a sci-fi fan, I'm sure you have already seen this movie. If not, it's definitely your cup of tea.

Grade: B (Did not meet expectations, and should not have been nominated for the big prize at the Oscars. Thanks to the new rule of 10 nominated films, District 9 gets recognized.)

AC/DC's Brian Johnson Reiterates My Opinion of Celebs For Charity!

According to The Pulse of Radio, AC/DC singer Brian Johnson has lashed out at U2 frontman Bono and musician and Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof for their outspoken activism and public charity work.

In an interview with Australia's Herald Sun, Johnson said that he donates to charity but prefers to stay quiet about it, explaining, "I don't tell everybody they should give money — they can't afford it. When I was a working man, I didn't want to go to a concert for some bastard to talk down to me that I should be thinking of some kid in Africa. I'm sorry, mate, do it yourself, spend some of your own money and get it done."

AC/DC does not play charity events, even turning down a slot at Geldof's massive 1985 Live Aid global concert. Johnson said, "Bob Geldof is a canny lad. He did what he thought was right at the time, but it didn't work. The money didn't go to poor people. It makes me mad when people try to use politics or charity for publicity. Do a charity gig, fair enough, but not on worldwide television."

Source: Blabbermouth.net

MisenPOPic Update 2/5/10

This Redbox DVD machine phenomenon is awesome! Although I'm confined to only being able to rent new releases and no TV sets, the $1 price is extremely cost-efficient. There is a machine within walking distance from my place which makes it even more convenient, although I hate having to walk into a Wal-Mart to use the machine. Did you know that you can actually reserve new discs to guarantee it will be there for you to pick it up, and you can return the disc into any Redbox machine. Unless I want to go on a binge of classic movies or willing to have a marathon of TV shows on DVD, there is no need for me to ever walk into Blockbuster or opt toward Netflix. I just picked up Inglorious Basterds for $1 just so I can enjoy once again one of the greatest acting performances of all time by Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa. I just watched the first hour, and should bang out the second hour tomorrow afternoon. I also rented District 9, a movie that I wanted to see for some time. The movie was a surprise Oscar nomination, so I am also curious to see if it's truly deserving.

Friday afternoon means that the new Entertainment Weekly hits my mailbox. I'm a sucker for receiving magazines in my box, even if I don't have the time to read most of them cover to cover like the good old days. An interesting article that caught my eye was Jeff Probst ranking all 19 seasons of Survivor. Here is his list, and then of course as a fan who has been there for all 19 season, it's my turn as well.

Probst's List
1) Season 1: Borneo
2) Season 16: Fans/Favorites
3) Season 3: Samoa
4) Season 10: Palau
5) Season 7: Pearl Islands
6) Season 15: China
7) Season 8: All Stars
8) Season 2: Australia
9) Season 13: Cook Islands
10) Season 6: The Amazon
11) Season 18: Tocantins
12) Season 3: Africa
13) Season 12: Panama
14) Season 17: Gabon
15) Season 9: Vanuatu
16) Season 11: Guatemala
17) Season 17: Fiji
18) Season 4: Marquesas
19: Season 5: Thailand

Mikey's List
1) Season 2: Australia (Colby & Jerri)
2) Season 8: All Stars (Boston ROB!)
3) Season 13: Cook Islands (Ozzy & Yul)
4) Season 16: Fans/Favorites (Erik The Moron)
5) Season 1: Borneo (Richard Hatch)
6) Season 10: Palau (Tom & Ian)
7) Season 7: Pearl Islands (Rupert, Johnny Fairplay)
8) Season 6: The Amazon (Rob Cesternino)
9) Season 18: Tocantins (Coach!)
10) Season 4: Marquesas (Boston ROB!)
11) Season 15: China
12) Season 3: Africa
13) Season 19: Samoa
14) Season 9: Vanuatu
15) Season 17: Gabon
16) Season 12: Panama
17) Season 5: Thailand
18) Season 17: Fiji
19: Season 11: Guatemala
After this upcoming Heroes Vs. Villains season, I think it's time to move on from Survivor and of course all quote on quote reality shows.

Everybody ready for the Super Bowl this Sunday? I really have no reason to watch unless I'm involved in one of those box pools. So I made sure to get in my wife's pool at work, and I also met some other guy who seemed cool so I bought a $10 box in his pool. Of course, not everybody has a clue how to run one of these pools. Unless a miracle happens, I won't even have the sheet to know what my numbers are or my competition's numbers are, which kills the entire fun of the box pool. I'd like to win and have a history of doing well in these pools, but without the fun of shouting at the TV for field goals and safeties in order to reach my assigned points, there was no point of contributing to these pools. I love that people will go around collecting cash the Monday after the championship games end, but can't figure out to draw the numbers until the last possible moment!!! Uggh!

I might not be writing much this week because I'm going to be busy adding photos and captions to those photos. If you have not already seen my messages on facebook, I'll repeat once again. I'd like to see your photos of you chilling with pop culture legends, and have created a new page to feature these photos. Please send them to me and as long as I know who the celebrities are, I'll be happy to include the photos. I might have a quick movie review of District 9, and of course another movie symphony and Out There! article, but that will probably be it this week.

"Do The Super Bowl Shuffle!" as requested by Jim McMahon, Walter Payton, and the other Chicago Bears from 1985.

Mikey

Misen POPic Update 2/4/10

As you can see, I've been pretty busy writing a lot, fixing the page with some new features, and beginning to roll on the MisenPOPic podcast with my buddy Heyliger. What I need of course is the support of my friends to tell their friends about it, and of course for them to provide feedback. This isn't only a site for me, but for everybody who enjoys pop culture including family, friends, and people who just happen to stumble upon this site. I want to see your photos with celebrities if you have them, and want to hear your predictions for awards also.

I've added the previous montage themes in case you want to flash back and appreciate the work of my good pal, Jim Veluta. I'm also in process of creating a page of photos of celebrities. I still need to write captions, but the photos are visible. You should see links on the top of page underneath the photo montage. One of those links is Photos with Pop Culture Legends. Again, for my friends out there, if you have photos I can add, I would be more than happy to include them. The more, the merrier. I also plan on creating a page of random pop culture lists to stir debate and most importantly to entertain. Well, even if nobody cares, at least I can continue to entertain myself.

See ya lata, alligators! In a while, crocodiles!

Mikey

MisenPopic Movie Review: Moon

Thanks to the recommendation from my good pal Jim, I rented a movie that I had never even heard of called Moon. In fact, it was the first DVD I ever rented from one of those Redbox machines. It only costs $1 day to rent new releases as long as you return the DVD the following day, otherwise it's an extra $1 each day you keep it which is still less than renting a movie at Blockbuster as long as you return it within a few days. This just might be my new way of renting movies. And I would recommend it to you as well as long as the nearest machine isn't more than ten minutes away from your house. Anyway...

Moon is an independent science fiction thriller directed by David Bowie's son, Duncan Jones, and starring Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell. The only other big name actor to appear was Kevin Spacey, but only off screen as the voice of the robot, Gerty. Sam Rockwell's character, Sam Bell, is up on the moon by his lonesome on a three year contract to extract helium from the soil to provide clean energy back to earth. His contract is just about up, and he plans on returning back to earth to see his wife and three year old daughter. Right before he is scheduled to return back to earth, Sam goes on one last mission which ends up with him hallucinating and crashing his harvest machine. Fade to black, Sam is back in the infirmary with his robot, and then the total mindfuck begins. I wish I could ever explain what the hell I just watched. Once the movie was over, thank god for wikipedia and IMDB because I had absolutely no clue what the hell happened in this movie. It's very complicated and you have to think long and hard about what you just watched. All I will say is that it involved clones, and determining one clone from another really played tricks on my brain. If you like unique movies (and oh how unique this movie was!!) then this is the movie for you. Sam Rockwell was good playing a role quite similar to Tom Hanks' role in Castaway. The score from Clint Mansell was really freaky and I still can't get it out of my head. I might have to rewatch this movie now that I read the premise, although who has the time to watch a movie over again when there is a whole slew of movies to be watched?

Grade: C+ (Did not meet expectations. A unique movie, but just not my type of movie! I think too much as it is! :)

MisenPOPic Review Of The Oscar Nominations

Yesterday morning, the nominations for the 2010 Academy Awards were announced. Ever since I was 13 years old, I've always had an interest in the awards and the ceremony itself. Even though the awards really don't mean much, I'm still proud of the fact that I can roll off of my tongue the best picture winners since 1965, and the majority of the winners for the acting awards since 1975. Ok, so I am a loser! So of course I was excited for the nominations, and although with so many other awards shows kind of ruining the surprise of which movies would get nominated, it still was cool to find out. I have even more of an interest because I've seen most of the movies that have gotten nominations. Now I only have to see Crazy Heart, and District 9. Although it's early, I figured I would do a quick review of the major awards and give you my thoughts on who's going to win.

Best Picture
Avatar (Mikey's Rating: A)
The Blind Side (Mikey's Rating: A-)
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker (Mikey's Rating: A)
Inglourious Basterds (Mikey's Rating: A-)
Precious
A Serious Man
Up (Mikey's Rating: B+)
Up in the Air (Mikey's Rating: A)

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Analysis: It's pretty cool that ten films are recognized for the first time since sometime in the forties, but the race for the Oscar is probably between two films: Avatar and The Hurt Locker. Both are deserving and were two of the best movies I have seen over the past few months. Keep in mind that the awards show is about ratings more than it is about actual film noir, which is why I think Avatar is going to win. The condolence prize will be Kathryn Bigelow becoming the first woman director to win for Best Directing. Or it could go the opposite with The Hurt Locker winning best picture and Cameron only winning for direction. James Cameron even thinks his ex-wife's film is the best of the year and based on his cockiness in 1997 for Titanic, won't win another Best Picture award. Right now it's 50/50, but I'd give the nod based on Oscar politics to Avatar even though The Hurt Locker was a better film. There could be a twist and I wouldn't be upset either if Quentin Tarantino shocks the world by winning one or both of the awards.

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, ‘Crazy Heart’
George Clooney, ‘Up in the Air’
Colin Firth, ‘A Single Man’
Morgan Freeman, ‘Invictus’
Jeremy Renner, ‘The Hurt Locker’
Analysis: The early front runner was George Clooney, but his stock has plummeted, and he's still got a ways to go until he wins his first award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He was outstanding in Up In The Air, but kind of just being himself won't cut it. Morgan Freeman was good in Invictus, but he's just lucky to be nominated. I'm glad that Jeremy Renner got the nomination after being snubbed at other awards ceremonies. In my review of The Hurt Locker, I pretty much indicated that he is most deserving of the award. Yet, the Academy usually gives the award to an actor with a broad history in the industry. And I hear Jeff Bridges was phenomenal in Crazy Heart! It looks to be his year, and unless Renner can pull an Adrian Brody and win the award even being more anonymous than the other nominees, Jeff Bridges is going to win.

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock, ‘The Blind Side’
Helen Mirren, ‘The Last Station’
Carey Mulligan, ‘An Education’
Gabourey Sidibe, ‘Precious’
Meryl Streep, ‘Julie & Julia’
Analysis: Sandra Bullock finally gets an Oscar nomination, and although she was very good in The Blind Side, I wouldn't say her performance was Oscar-worthy. She is probably the front runner, but I'm not sure she will be able to keep her steam rolling until March. I didn't see Carey Mulligan or Gabourey Sidibe's performances, but considering they are unknowns, I'm sure there chances are minimal. Helen Mirren also doesn't have a chance, but she won only a few years ago for The Queen, so she must be happy just to be nominated. Meryl Streep has been nominated a record 17 times or something like that, but hasn't won since 1982 for Sophie's Choice. I'm putting my money on Streep to win her second Oscar for acting in a lead role, and her third overall. (She won the best supporting actress award in 1979 for Kramer Vs. Kramer which was most deserved.)

Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, ‘Invictus’
Woody Harrelson, ‘The Messenger’
Christopher Plummer, ‘The Last Station’
Stanley Tucci, ‘The Lovely Bones’
Christoph Waltz, ‘Inglourious Basterds’
Analysis: There really is no need to analyze this one. Christoph Waltz is a shoo-in to win this award. In my opinion, his performance in Inglourious Basterds was probably one of the ten best acting performances I have ever laid witness to. He deserves all of the praise and recognition. Matt Damon was good in Invictus, but he stands no chance of winning.

Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, ‘Nine’
Vera Farmiga, ‘Up in the Air’
Maggie Gyllenhaal, ‘Crazy Heart’
Anna Kendrick, ‘Up in the Air’
Mo’nique, ‘Precious’
Analysis: I thought Vera Farmiga was terrific in Up In The Air, but neither her or Anna Kendrick have a chance. Maggie Gyllenhall got a surprise nomination (her first) for Crazy Heart and might be a dark horse. Penelope Cruz won last year, and only one other actor (Jason Robards) ever won two consecutive awards for a supporting role, so her chances are slim. I have heard good things about Mo'nique's performance in Precious, and I think she's the front runner. If she does win, I think she would be the first one-named actress to win a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

Best Animated Feature Film
‘Coraline’
‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’
‘The Princess and the Frog’
‘The Secret of Kells’
‘Up’
Analysis: Another one that doesn't need anaylsis. Considering Up was only the second animated film ever to be nominated for Best Picture, logic indicates it should at least win this award.

Best Original Screenplay
Mark Boal, ‘The Hurt Locker’
Quentin Tarantino, ‘Inglourious Basterds’
Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman, ‘The Messenger’
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, ‘A Serious Man’
Peter Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy, ‘Up’
Analysis: I'd love to see Tarantino win this one, but critics have faulted him for always stealing ideas and dialogue, so I'm not 100% sold on him winning. It's going to be a two man race between him and Mark Boal for The Hurt Locker, and I'd give the nod to Boal for his brilliant script.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, ‘District 9’
Nick Hornby, ‘An Education’
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche, ‘In the Loop’
Geoffrey Fletcher, ‘Precious’
Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner, ‘Up in the Air’
Analysis: Reading the actual novel, Up In The Air, has been a challenge, but Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner really spruced up the plot for the movie turning it into a completely different direction. District 9 could be a sleeper, but I'll give the nod to Reitman.

Best Original Score
‘Avatar’
‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’
‘The Hurt Locker’
‘Sherlock Holmes’
‘Up’
Analysis: A personal favorite award of mine even if they've seemed to miss the boat much of the time. Why is the list of nominees for Best Score always comprised of movies nominated for other awards, but never for a movie that might have been lousy but had a fantastic soundtrack? I thought James Horner's score for Avatar was one of his best. Although I'm still not 100% sure of Michael Giacchino, I thought the score for Up was also brilliant. This one could go back and forth, but I think Giacchino wins his first Oscar since James Horner already has one for Titanic.

Best Original Song
‘Almost There’ from ‘The Princess and the Frog,’ Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
‘Down in New Orleans’ from ‘The Princess and the Frog,’ Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
‘Loin de Paname’ from ‘Paris 36,’ Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
‘Take It All’ from ‘Nine,’ Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
‘The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)’ from ‘Crazy Heart,’ Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett ’
Analysis: No reason to get my hands dirty on this one either. The Weary Kind from Crazy Heart is winning this one. Sorry Randy Newman!

Of course, Avatar is going to win all of the special effects and sound awards.

The Awards will be handed out on March 7th. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are the hosts. I'm not so fond of Alec Baldwin, but Steve Martin always makes me laugh. Considering he has starred in three of my top 50 movies of all time (Three Amigos, My Blue Heaven, & Parenthood), I always root for him!

I'd love to hear what you think, please leave your comments below on movies you support or think might have gotten snubbed!

Out There!: "Stars" by Hear N' Aid

Not only is 2010 the 25th anniversary of We Are The World and Tears Are Not Enough, but the anniversary of the charity tune to aid Africa from the heavy metal community. Well kind of!! The tune was simply titled "Stars", another 1986 charity single which just might be one of the cheesiest hard rock songs of all time. Do you know even realize that this happened!

During a 48 hour radio telethon at Los-Angeles rock station KLOS in 1985, Dio guitarists Jimmy Bain and Vivian Campbell (who would later join forces with Whitesnake and Def Leppard) noticed there was a total lack of hard rockers present on other charity tunes such as Do They Know It's Christmas? and We Are The World. So with the help of Ronnie James Dio, the three of them wrote a song to unite the hard rockers of the 80's. The name of the smorgasbord of rock legends was Hear N'Aid. How these three guys were able to put it together is still a mystery? They probably has to convince their hard rock pals to show up by promising more booze, drugs, and groupies. It wouldn't even surprise me if half of the rockers on the track were totally stoned while recording. They might even have thought all proceeds from the single would go towards obtaining the best cocaine on the market for them and their bands in the future.

Recorded in May of 1985 at the A&M Studios in Hollywood, Hear N' Aid comprised 40 of the top names in hard rock. Not only did "Stars" feature the pipes of hard rock singers with massive egos but unlike other charity tunes, there would be a guitar solo meltdown in the middle of the track with guitar heroes like Yngwie Malmsteen, George Lynch, Neil Schon from Journey, Carlos Cavazo from Quiet Riot, Brad Gillis from Night Ranger, Eddie Ojeda from Twisted Sister, Buck Dharma from Blue Oyster Cult, and Vivian Campbell himself. Also, Dave Murray and Adrian Smith from Iron Maiden laid down the rhythm melodies, while Jimmy Bain handled bass, Frankie Banali (Quiet Riot) and Vinny Appice (Dio) hit the skins, and Claude Snell (Dio) played keyboards.

The solo vocalists were: Eric Bloom (Blue Öyster Cult), Ronnie James Dio (Dio), Don Dokken (Dokken), Kevin DuBrow (Quiet Riot), Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Dave Meniketti (Y&T), Paul Shortino (Rough Cutt) and Geoff Tate (Queensrÿche)

Backing vocalists included: Tommy Aldridge (Ozzy Osbourne),Dave Alford (Rough Cutt), Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge/King Kobra), Vinny Appice (Dio), Jimmy Bain (Dio), Frankie Banali (Quiet Riot), Mick Brown (Dokken), Vivian Campbell (Dio), Carlos Cavazo (Quiet Riot), Amir Derakh (Rough Cutt), Buck Dharma (Blue Öyster Cult), Brad Gillis (Night Ranger), Craig Goldy (Giuffria), Chris Hager (Rough Cutt), Chris Holmes (W.A.S.P.), Blackie Lawless (W.A.S.P.), George Lynch (Dokken), Yngwie Malmsteen, Mick Mars (Mötley Crüe), Michael McKean (David St. Hubbins of Spinal Tap), Dave Murray (Iron Maiden), Vince Neil (Mötley Crüe), Ted Nugent, Eddie Ojeda (Twisted Sister), Jeff Pilson (Dokken), Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot), Claude Schnell (Dio), Neal Schon (Journey), Harry Shearer (Derek Smalls of Spinal Tap), Mark Stein (Vanilla Fudge), and Matt Thorr (Rough Cutt).

Unfortunately, Ozzy Osbourne was probably face down on a highway with no recollection how he got there, and Tommy Lee was banging ten groupies at a time that day which is why these legends could not participate. (I'm just making this up, although it could be true!)

The song itself is just really cheesy, so naturally I love it! I didn't remember it when it was released in 1986, but thanks to one of the many I Love The 80's shows on VH1 in 2002, I discovered this tune and immediately had to learn more about it. Ronnie Dio and his two guitarists must have snorting cocaine off of a mirror when writing this song. Listen to the lyrics to the chorus, they are simple and retarded. The chorus is simply "We're Stars!" Who is the benefit single for, the starving Africans or the metal stars themselves? I understand that Dio and his boys were relevant, but didn't need to be reminded who they are in order to throw some dollars to the needy. I love the ultimate cheese of this video with all these drunk and coked up rock stars all together singing a tune for charity. Just look at Ted Nugent's face as he sings, it's hilarious!

What is kind of funny is that even though the song was recorded in 1985, due to contractual issues with the various record labels representing the bands on the project, Stars wasn't even released until 1986 when the whole relief thing died down. The impact of the single was lost, maybe that's why I didn't even see the video on MTV back then. And you can only imagine how many hours a day I spent watching MTV! Even so, Dio claimed the album which featured the single along with eight live tracks from other major hard rock acts like KISS, Motorhead, Accept, and the Scorpions raised $1 million for famine relief. Of course there was also merchandise such as T-shirts, buttons, and posters sold. Oh! how I would love to be able to find some of this stuff at a garage sale! I would even buy a shirt at the right price. Dio had written a sequel called Runaway Children for a charity he was involved in to aid families of runaways, and because of a lack of interest, he eventually just recorded it on his 2002 album, Killing The Dragon. Rumors have surfaced that Dio did in fact write yet another sequel to "Stars", and although he is attempting to beat cancer, maybe he can either oversee production of this song for a new generation of metal fans and kids who love playing Guitar Hero. Or maybe Dio can expand on the original and write a better chorus. If We Are The World is being redone, why not Stars? Let's get Gene Simmons, Lemmy, Slash, Joe Perry, Dave Draiman from Disturbed among others and record a much heavier version of "Stars". Even if it's not a hit single, the unintentional comedy would be off the charts.

Ladies and gentlemen... Watch the video below and be prepared to laugh your ass off!!! It's "Stars" by Hear N' Aid.

Out There!: "Tears Are Not Enough" by Northern Lights

It's the 25th anniversary of We Are The World, and we are going to be treated to a brand new version in a few days. It's also the 25th anniversary of Tears Are Not Enough, the charity single recorded exclusively by Northern Lights, a supergroup of Canadian rock stars shunned from the We Are The World single because they weren't true U.S. citizens. Think there is any chance of an updated version featuring the Canadian pop stars of today? I doubt it! Any of you out there remember this song? Maybe, maybe not? The song was pretty catchy and unique for it's time and it just might be argued that the song was actually a better-written and catchier tune than We Are The World.

Recorded February 10th, 1985 in Toronto, Tears Are Not Enough was written by group of writers including David Foster, Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance, and Bob Rock. The actual idea to bring together Canadians to record their own single to aid Africa came from Bruce Allen, manager of Canadian musicians including Bryan Adams, Bachman Turner Overdrive, and Michael Buble. The tune would eventually end up on the USA For Africa album, raising 3.2 million dollars for African famine relief projects with ten percent taken out to assist Canadian food banks. The video got a decent amount of airplay on Much Music in Canada, and although never charting in the U.S., the song was an obvious smash in Canada quickly reaching #1 on the Canadian Top 40 Chart.

Just like USA For Africa including the cream of the crop of U.S. born musicians of the 80's, Northern Lights spared no expense bringing in many of the best-known Canadian artists of that era. Take a look at the big names who recorded solo parts: Gordon Lightfoot (legendary singer/songwriter from the 70's best known for classics like Sundown and If You Could Read My Mind), Burton Cummings (lead singer/keyboardist from The Guess Who whose only solo hit, Stand Tall, is ranked as one of the worst 50 songs of all time in my estimation), Anne Murray, Joni Mitchell, Dan Hill (Adult Contemporary star of the 70's and 80's best known for his AM classic Every Time We Touch), Neil Young (who got shit from the producers for not singing in key even though that is what he's known for. Yet another reason I think he is overrated), Bryan Adams, Mike Reno (lead singer of Loverboy and the poster boy for rock & roll headbands), Corey Hart (the mushmouth singer best known for Sunglasses At Night which I truly believe is one of the ten best songs recorded in the 80's), Bruce Cockburn, and Geddy Lee (vocalist/bassist for legendary rock group and R&R Hall Of Fame snubbed band, Rush)

Also in the background were Paul Anka who I'm shocked didn't get a solo, Tom Cochrane from Rough Rider who later would pen the classic tune Life Is A Highway, Canadian actors John Candy and Eugeny Levy (the face of the American Pie movie franchise only because it's an easy paycheck), Catherine O'Hara (the mom from Home Alone), Paul Shaffer (yes that Paul Shaffer best known as the band leader for David Letterman), and Frank Mills (best known for the piano classic, Music Box Dancer). Even Canada's prodigal son Wayne Gretzky appeared at the end of the video appearing to sing along.

I'm crossing my fingers for an update of this song. Let's get Bryan Adams, Chad Kroeger, The Barenaked Ladies, Geddy Lee, Avril Lavigne, the guys from Sum 41, and Paul Anka involved. Hell, let's even resurrect Corey Hart's career and bring him along for the ride! We must not forget about our Canadian brothers and sisters. Not only can they chip in more dough, but maybe they can even contribute some of the proceeds to the United States for a better health care plan like they have? Eh?

We can bridge the distance, Only we can make the difference, Don't you know that tears are not enough?