tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143663132024-03-13T01:32:38.002-05:00The Warmer Side of CoolA chronicle of my pop culture obsessions with reviews and commentary on music, movies, TV and such, with an emphasis on the horror genre and an affinity for entertainment of or rooted in the 1980s.Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.comBlogger351125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-89299657387968248332023-12-31T17:30:00.000-06:002023-12-31T17:30:24.197-06:00Movies: Leave the World Behind<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn62B0aIdFJGYYhfs4npOKm5tEzuaMUlnR4B08_RyiEBvE0_keLOR3hJAdeQGqo16d6TJatMHo1HcHiHHYrF-J6ZiczglSRzc3UQHnIxLKzp5Lt79lUeySvojvKjdSaTXQkxvaMUbrLJH_Mb2hfcu5xWs-L3L3xVOT95rUTyoiILtec52CYBvb/s540/leave%20the%20world%20behind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="360" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn62B0aIdFJGYYhfs4npOKm5tEzuaMUlnR4B08_RyiEBvE0_keLOR3hJAdeQGqo16d6TJatMHo1HcHiHHYrF-J6ZiczglSRzc3UQHnIxLKzp5Lt79lUeySvojvKjdSaTXQkxvaMUbrLJH_Mb2hfcu5xWs-L3L3xVOT95rUTyoiILtec52CYBvb/w178-h268/leave%20the%20world%20behind.jpg" width="178" /></a></div><p></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: medium;">I can’t remember the last time I reacted this negatively to a film’s ending. The premise: A vacationing family led by Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke find themselves in an unraveling world — a ship barrels ashore while they are luxuriating on a beach; then cell phones and internet quit working (the ultimate horror). It goes further downhill from there in a what’s-going-on puzzle that continually teases the viewer with vague clues such as mysterious animal behavior. Meanwhile, another couple arrives to add cultural and political tension to the mix (groans). </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: medium;">The movie strongly reminded me of M. Night Shyamalan’s notorious <i>The Happening</i> (with less wind) and, to a lesser extent, Stephen King’s novel <i>Cell</i>. At its best, <i>Leave the World Behind</i> weaves several tense threads together in thrilling fashion and achieves a compounding sense of dread, but the film then simply ends as things appear on the verge of greater calamity without providing any resolution apart from the daughter's quest to see the final episode of <i>Friends</i>. I know that sometimes a filmmaker wants us to be left with a puzzle to ponder, but it just doesn’t work here. It’s an infuriating ending, and, while I do not condone violence, it left me wanting to throw large objects at director Sam Esmail.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Barlow Semi Condensed; font-size: medium;"><b>Now streaming on Netflix <span style="color: #2b00fe;">// </span> 2 hours 21 minutes <span style="color: #2b00fe;">// </span> <span style="color: red;">2.5</span> stars out of 5</b></span></p>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-44124791033766982052023-11-12T13:51:00.000-06:002023-11-12T13:51:31.626-06:00Some true things about Milli Vanilli<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9SjUKjfOvBBHP6VWvaaLRf4EMdWbyMsLflOyhIP2-xnaVhIvzR1Zaql_Qy7MAZFKIOZ4e4K7hViqmtaZyC4NpJQ7QFASvk6xZQAqHAv42pNI027b5JR2VDk0hQZoaMRgIgyvkxWhDJ_ILA88gpp3X0QEMeBRyIj-NZriw4CQxO3y1Bx-H4nKA/s384/Milli_Vanilli_documentary_poster.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="259" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9SjUKjfOvBBHP6VWvaaLRf4EMdWbyMsLflOyhIP2-xnaVhIvzR1Zaql_Qy7MAZFKIOZ4e4K7hViqmtaZyC4NpJQ7QFASvk6xZQAqHAv42pNI027b5JR2VDk0hQZoaMRgIgyvkxWhDJ_ILA88gpp3X0QEMeBRyIj-NZriw4CQxO3y1Bx-H4nKA/s320/Milli_Vanilli_documentary_poster.jpeg" width="216" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="font-family: Lora;"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Ok, Eddie … This one’s for you.</span></b></i></span><p></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: medium;">The Paramount+ documentary <i>Milli Vanilli</i> spends much of its time portraying the fake duo’s surviving member Fabrice Morvan as a sympathetic figure, a victim of show business and, particularly, producer Frank Farian, who lured the naive duo into a contract that they did not read or understand. But, late in the documentary, Morvan has the gall to say that <i>yes</i>, a small part of him still feels that he deserved that Grammy award for all the hard work they put in touring the world for promotion while eating caviar and living the life of a star. The moment underscores the sketchiness that tainted everyone involved.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: medium;">One of the actual lead vocalists, Charles Shaw, is positively seething throughout the documentary, and rightly so. To its credit, the show brings to light the fact that Farian was a repeat offender who previously undertook similar shenanigans with the immensely popular Boney M. The other person with the most screen time is Farian’s business manager/girlfriend Ingrid “Milli” Segieth, who gives the scandalous details of the real singers sneaking in the back entrance after hours and her love for Rob Pilatus.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: medium;">The documentary goes on for a very long time — at least a half hour too long as it dwells on Morvan’s lmaudlin reflections — yet it manages to largely gloss over the appeal of the music, a triumphant string of <i>five</i> top five U.S. singles, including three consecutive number ones on the Billboard Hot 100. Most of the songs aren’t even mentioned by name, although Dianne Warren does appear for about 15 seconds to acknowledge her contribution. The song “Girl You Know It’s True” sounded like nothing else on the airwaves in late 1988/early 1989. Farian is a clever producer who also made hits for the likes of La Bouche, No Mercy and Le Click, and I would like to have heard some talk about how he cooked up the winning Milli Vanilli sound. To my ‘80s pop loving ears, the best of the bunch was the version of “Baby Don’t Forget My Number” that appears on the greatest hits album — likely a single remix. Of the album tracks that didn’t get released as singles, most of them are unremarkable, but there was one potential hit left on the table — “Take It As It Comes” — a Climie Fisher co-write that is as instantly catchy as the album’s hits.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: medium;">Through the whole documentary, there’s a galling lack of anyone accepting any genuine responsibility for what transpired, from record label executives who appeared shifty and unprepared for basic questions to Morvan himself. And there was a surprising lack of consequences once the jig was up. Yes, Rob Pilatus arguably lost his life as a direct or indirect result and there was the public shaming of being stripped of the Best New Artist Grammy, but a lot of people made a lot of money and carried on with their merry lives. It does feel like something that should rise to the level of criminality. When it was discovered in the 1950s that game shows were making up the outcomes, there wasn’t just outraged headlines — there were congressional hearings and strict new rules at the TV networks. But when the music world made up Milli Vanilli, everyone involved said: Ah, just blame it on the rain.</span></p>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-26406420918463135042023-10-01T14:16:00.001-05:002023-10-01T14:26:47.822-05:00Music that moved me in 2022<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvY0G1Mis2GqoPk28iwe8OetA93MYhcI1Zx2oSojSNefzxnFJl1mUhhBkFLvzw1rSjSmqkTUmte7YzBJZWC3-MU_68tFgF6B9zj0aLHmT9lQ59aL_on5vRjPv7bHadpnwq1IpeiKmik5I9RuDCDs5pdTLtabCd3UkHy9Ul8tVRGHHStVGpoE5/s320/tears%20for%20fears%20the%20tipping%20point.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvY0G1Mis2GqoPk28iwe8OetA93MYhcI1Zx2oSojSNefzxnFJl1mUhhBkFLvzw1rSjSmqkTUmte7YzBJZWC3-MU_68tFgF6B9zj0aLHmT9lQ59aL_on5vRjPv7bHadpnwq1IpeiKmik5I9RuDCDs5pdTLtabCd3UkHy9Ul8tVRGHHStVGpoE5/w276-h276/tears%20for%20fears%20the%20tipping%20point.jpeg" width="276" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">The blog reignites this week with a belated look back at the music of 2022. This ritual has occurred most every year since 2005 and must carry on, regardless of what life throws my way.</span><p></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">One of the most interesting developments of the year was courtesy of the Netflix show <i>Stranger Things</i> — I would never have believed Kate Bush would have a big top 5 hit at this late date, and it was great to see a quirky ‘80s tune like “Running Up That Hill” sprinting up the chart.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Looking at music released in or not too far from 2022, heritage acts pretty much defined my <a href="https://www.last.fm/user/TheJebber/listening-report/year" target="_blank">year in music</a> as tabulated by last.fm based on both my streaming and local listening. Tears for Fears claims both the album and single crown with <i>The Tipping Point</i> and “No Small Thing,” respectively. Duran Duran’s stunning <i>Future Past</i> was the number two album (it also took the runner-up spot for 2021), and ABBA took number three with <i>Voyage</i>. I was obsessed with the lyrics to “Don’t Shut Me Down” for much of the year (<i>like a dream within a dream that’s been decoded</i>, etc.).</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">My first reaction to <i>The Tipping Point</i> was to walk away from it, because the pomp and grandeur of TFF does not, at first listen, seem to be there. It is, though, on a more subtle scale. The gentle guitar strums that open the album on “No Small Thing” are a fake-out, as the song gradually builds to an intoxicating crescendo. It is a beautiful album that, in the TFF cannon, bears the most resemblance to the post-split <i>Elemental</i>. This would be a fine swan song, but I hope they have another one or more in them.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">The heavy rotation of <i>Future Past</i> placed a stack of songs in the top 50: “Wing,” #15; “Future Past,” #28; “Invisible,” #35; “Nothing Less,” #36; and “All of You,” #46.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">I had a pretty good bit of memorial airplay going on in 2022, bringing Vangelis in at #27 with the rousing instrumental “Chariots of Fire” and Olivia Newton-John at #78 with the rousing ‘80s pop of “Physical.” Meat Loaf is in there as well with three six- to eight-minute placings from the <i>Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell</i> album.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>What’s so hot about the Hot 100? //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">This year again finds three points of crossover between my chart and the Hot 100, surprisingly all in the top 10 of the Hot 100.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>— As It Was • Harry Styles //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">#2 Billboard, #72 Me</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>— Ghost • Justin Bieber //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">#8 Billboard, #49 Me</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>— Cold Heart (Pnau remix) • Elton John and Dua Lipa //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">#10 Billboard, #58 Me. This one actually topped my rolling chart with a long run at #1 in the second half of 2021 and finished at #38 for 2021. I love it that Elton John, after being frozen out of the pop chart for the last couple of decades, made the top 10 of the year on the Hot 100 with this fantastic mashup.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;"><i><a href="http://thejebber.blogspot.com/2022/01/music-that-moved-me-in-2021.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> to go down the rabbit hole with past years' recaps.</i></span></p>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-67429294274594276462022-12-04T14:07:00.000-06:002022-12-04T14:07:38.549-06:00RIP Christine McVie<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0G81Y_6xIOg93eneYER-RtfeXbjYKCUbwfUZXD2eBsOWNCia7Ca7U41t__ADj3SRk-fVSDluaZCqBUZzwXHC31qWTWAPxqIwsZ9j7aJSJ5Yy71bIlNmRVMkZPIrhcvF20fRarSv2ICZmRbj7yzpilHm73cyRCR7X0JH9ckD9Orafu651oDw/s300/ChristineMcVie84.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0G81Y_6xIOg93eneYER-RtfeXbjYKCUbwfUZXD2eBsOWNCia7Ca7U41t__ADj3SRk-fVSDluaZCqBUZzwXHC31qWTWAPxqIwsZ9j7aJSJ5Yy71bIlNmRVMkZPIrhcvF20fRarSv2ICZmRbj7yzpilHm73cyRCR7X0JH9ckD9Orafu651oDw/s1600/ChristineMcVie84.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";"><p><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";"><br /></span></p>Christine McVie's sunny 1984 solo hit "Got a Hold On Me" has always been one of my favorite songs of the 1980s. It was her only substantial solo hit — #10 on the Hot 100 and #1 AC — and it bears the instantly familiar upbeat, buoyantly melodic sound that she did so well. At times, she did that thing I love of juxtaposing the euphoric and the melancholy, as in Fleetwood Mac's "You Make Loving Fun," which contains one of my favorite lyrics:</span><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><i></i></span><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">I never did believe in miracles<br /></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">But I've a feeling it's time to try<br /></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">I never did believe in the ways of magic<br /></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">But I'm beginning to wonder why</span></i></blockquote><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">In the Fleetwood Mac songbook, her style is a nicely balancing counterpoint to the mystical Stevie Nicks compositions and the eccentric ones of Lindsey Buckingham. Songs like "Everywhere," which is currently featured in a TV commercial, "Hold Me" and "You Make Loving Fun" will always be dear old friends.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">While McVie's involvement in the surprisingly excellent 2003 Mac album <i>Say You Will</i> was minimal, it disappointed me that they never all got together for one more. For years, another album seemed possible but always stayed just out of reach, while <i>Say You Will</i> showed the spark was still there.</span></p>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-3897358794958355322022-02-13T12:21:00.001-06:002022-02-13T12:21:44.494-06:00Wordle rips off Lingo, which is coming back to TV<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhK1xtxwMRpCms33_F-KzSm0ruXHLV5sJj4VP2MbZDSjtbdzryvToNogvhuRxcdUtNvz9AjA9RbGtrar1-IBoX1qYb8OtgwVuTC6QciI0jVpL42WV-YdIFfM8VqhF7DFJT7RJ6cZFMDD27uyGgoNsTUB95TAuw5WABV6bm6jg7xCrWLyr4h8A=s220" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="220" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhK1xtxwMRpCms33_F-KzSm0ruXHLV5sJj4VP2MbZDSjtbdzryvToNogvhuRxcdUtNvz9AjA9RbGtrar1-IBoX1qYb8OtgwVuTC6QciI0jVpL42WV-YdIFfM8VqhF7DFJT7RJ6cZFMDD27uyGgoNsTUB95TAuw5WABV6bm6jg7xCrWLyr4h8A" width="220" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Where's the lawsuit? </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Wordle literally is the concept of the game show <i>Lingo</i>, a word game cleverly infused with some elements of bingo, which first appeared in 1987. The only differences in the word-guessing portion, really, are that <i>Lingo</i> gives the player the first letter, and Worlde provides a handy grid to help keep track of the used letters that are not in the word. I say the differences will not stand up in court. As has been all over the news, The New York Times snatched up Wordle for a big wad of money.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">American viewers will best know <i>Lingo</i> for the Chuck Woolery-hosted Game Show Network version, which ran from 2002 to 2007 with more than 300 episodes — a rare bounty for a GSN production. The show originated with a single, obscure syndicated season (1987-88), and there have been a number of successful international versions. In the Netherlands, except for a five-year gap, it has been in production since 1989. So, the concept has been around, and there have been Lingo game apps for the phone.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Now news breaks that CBS is resurrecting the show for primetime. Seems too much to be a coincidence, but news reports indicate the show was in development long before the Wordle craze emerged.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">It's fun to see some of the lesser known game shows get the big-budget, big-network treatment — perhaps there will be a car prize ball — but I suspect an hour of <i>Lingo</i> is going to grow tiresome. It seems more of a small-doses pleasure.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">And RuPaul as host? Wouldn't be my on my shortlist, or even long list, but maybe he'll work it.</span></p>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-88304201533080375842022-01-29T13:49:00.000-06:002022-01-29T13:49:11.331-06:00Not a Dry Eye in the House (RIP Meat Loaf)<p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCiNNsJ83FG24Qfc0bkMBo6lO03nkIVH0giCSgxNT7f30rzqtACRUFqXh9DwaosdylCztIeaZ-fCk0nKZtNx0RuCUcSTLGh7oevce_92_enntXWaSNTWA90mh8Xpy9NYvKDyBM0iR3cmgUT9vnwfLOJkT3Jgh30VRHN3W60xSuBZ121BlbDw=s599" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="599" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCiNNsJ83FG24Qfc0bkMBo6lO03nkIVH0giCSgxNT7f30rzqtACRUFqXh9DwaosdylCztIeaZ-fCk0nKZtNx0RuCUcSTLGh7oevce_92_enntXWaSNTWA90mh8Xpy9NYvKDyBM0iR3cmgUT9vnwfLOJkT3Jgh30VRHN3W60xSuBZ121BlbDw=s320" width="320" /></a></span></div><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></span></p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">It seems to me that one of the things Mr. Loaf aspired to be was <i>different</i>, to be an outlier among the top 40 with operatic bombast and radio edits running 5 minutes or more in the latter days, and I admire that. About seven months ago, upon the death of his longtime collaborator and songwriter Jim Steinman, <a href="http://thejebber.blogspot.com/2021/06/jim-steinman-died-and-were-sad-about-it.html" target="_blank">I wrote about</a> what is probably my favorite Meat Loaf song, "Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are." Another favorite, "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through," a reverent ode to the music that gets us through this world, is in my current playlist and in the top 3 on my <a href="http://www.last.fm/user/TheJebber" target="_blank">rolling Last.fm chart</a>.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">I want to give a nod to a deeper cut, a latter day single that flopped in the U.S., peaking at #82, but did manage #7 in the U.K. For 1995 album <i>Welcome to the Neighborhood</i>, which followed up the incredible comeback of <i>Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell</i>, there were only two Steinman songs in the mix, and Mr. Loaf turned to venerable songwriter Diane Warren for a couple of tracks which would be the first two singles.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">The lead single, "I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth)," seems a rather thinly veiled rewrite and lesser imitation of the massive <i>Bat II</i> hit "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)." I'll argue that had it not been the lead single with big expectations hanging over it, the song might not have tainted the top 40 (it made #13 in the U.S. and #2 in the U.K.).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">But second single "Not a Dry Eye in the House" is, for my ears, one of the best tunes Mr. Loaf ever turned out; it's all high drama and hooks and beautifully produced. I love the bridge <i>(Act 1 … The story's just begun! Act 2 … I fell in love with you!)</i> and the gentle fade-out.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">It would be his last charted Hot 100 single in the U.S. (prior to his death, of course), and a fitting curtain call.<br /></span></p>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-8662673261171473202022-01-09T14:41:00.002-06:002022-01-11T20:35:58.800-06:00Music that moved me in 2021<p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">This year was more fun musically than last, I’d say, with interesting things going on like Elton John and ABBA going to the top of the charts again.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyFvDk-IzjiQjdxxNwIQkYy4GULUsuZ7yPW5T2lUG6FRxS_NNL8C_khaVyVykSbr24NTkwTJZ_VpT3ryHcaRCLgOyvMGxbwxEjp0-rIG78nd3fZSVOSEvWyauGBNluMxHf8Vw090JqBSnkL--vNE3sXOieriu00aSD6-mSMzrVsuHmQqRl4Q=s300" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyFvDk-IzjiQjdxxNwIQkYy4GULUsuZ7yPW5T2lUG6FRxS_NNL8C_khaVyVykSbr24NTkwTJZ_VpT3ryHcaRCLgOyvMGxbwxEjp0-rIG78nd3fZSVOSEvWyauGBNluMxHf8Vw090JqBSnkL--vNE3sXOieriu00aSD6-mSMzrVsuHmQqRl4Q=w187-h187" width="187" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">One of the pleasant surprises of the year was Duran Duran’s <i>Future Past</i>, a stunningly good album that begs the question of where their muse has been in the last 20-plus years. Released in October, <i>Future Past</i> ends up as my #2 album for the year but may ultimately have more impact in 2022 as the songs work through my playlist. The Durans are often at their best with downbeat numbers, and the song “Future Past” is probably my favorite since the extraordinary singles “Ordinary World” and “Come Undone” resuscitated them way back in the first half of the ‘90s.</span><div><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Here’s a look at how some of the songs released in or near 2021 placed in my top 100, which includes songs old and new and is based on play counts as monitored by <a href="http://www.last.fm/user/TheJebber">Last.fm</a>:</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Francois One;">#1</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>Be the One • Dua Lipa //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">It was a very Dua Lipa kind of year, and this single from her previous album emerged as my favorite apart from her Elton John collaboration. She has kind of taken on the Queen of Pop role that Gaga squandered over the last few albums. Lipa is also in the top 100 at #21 with “Hallucinate” and #74 with “We’re Good,” and she finishes as the #7 artist of the year.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEmgPo0iZjAJoGs4A_YZBHnp1DHBXCmmNW6UTADdYjNBiLLPa03oPBIpthJzTP-ZlBSNHgVoTzDfFEVz-NsXhn_ciOc7CWYUK7BjWPNZd7uzNvBcyfreTga5V5pIqRSp3yMONijm5spDgl9XzlAFfjOo1GSN6oAqxCIZpz5bDRpxYyfYgmrw=s300" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEmgPo0iZjAJoGs4A_YZBHnp1DHBXCmmNW6UTADdYjNBiLLPa03oPBIpthJzTP-ZlBSNHgVoTzDfFEVz-NsXhn_ciOc7CWYUK7BjWPNZd7uzNvBcyfreTga5V5pIqRSp3yMONijm5spDgl9XzlAFfjOo1GSN6oAqxCIZpz5bDRpxYyfYgmrw=w192-h192" width="192" /></a><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Francois One;">#2</span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> </span><span style="font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>Anyone • Justin Bieber //</b></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> Bieber has really carved a niche with melancholy and evocative grooves like this and “Sorry.” <i>Dance with me under the diamonds / See me like breath in the cold</i> is one of my favorite lyrics of the year.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Francois One;">#15</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>Got Me • Laura Mvula //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">The British R&B singer delivered one of the most interesting singles of the year. Its groove continually makes me think of Billy Ocean’s “When the Going Gets Tough,” in a good way.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Francois One;">#32</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>Unwanted • Rick Astley //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Suggests Astley should still be making albums of danceable pop.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgyL0aMMcMzax87dhaIvAWKzL4dGdVILXHdukwtIwcic0_wUGUvvY3LSZ-DRA81aIPbUoUPmwiHupQMSOES_tNUKOrArTNtU_ZXemmTRvfIaywjfe1S0KRwVHVmYEm-CtJ0-aHCPs7qyYlqeEsqFPgkaigpUpPIzpMRx9X_aCirdq7s5MBR7g=s300" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgyL0aMMcMzax87dhaIvAWKzL4dGdVILXHdukwtIwcic0_wUGUvvY3LSZ-DRA81aIPbUoUPmwiHupQMSOES_tNUKOrArTNtU_ZXemmTRvfIaywjfe1S0KRwVHVmYEm-CtJ0-aHCPs7qyYlqeEsqFPgkaigpUpPIzpMRx9X_aCirdq7s5MBR7g=w190-h190" width="190" /></a></div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Francois One;">#38</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>Cold Heart (Pnau Remix) • Elton John & Dua Lipa //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">It’s hard to describe what this is — sort of a dance remix of 1989 ballad hit “Sacrifice,” (which by happenstance topped my rolling chart last year), wrapped in a very clever mashup with “Rocket Man,” “Kiss the Bride” and “Where’s the Shoorah?” It’s brilliant, but I wonder if it could have been even more so with a bridge somewhere in the second half. It had the longest run at #1 on my rolling chart and would have finished higher if it had come along earlier in the year.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Francois One;">#39</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>Free Woman • Lady Gaga //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Sometimes a song works better outside the context of its album, and I have found that to be true for some of the tunes from the rather monochramatic <i>Chromatica</i>.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Francois One;">#48</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>Magic • Kylie Minogue //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Kylie’s <i>Disco</i> album is surprisingly not particularly disco, sounding instead like just another pop album, really. There’s nothing anywhere near the disco-ness of Kylie oldie “Your Disco Needs You.” Nevertheless, the single “Magic” lived up to its name.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWSrcBrrgoqhhRvqN0XnsLjD4J8JClKSaSTrxRWPnWQQuNYrWjNHeF5TjcjBcbkrYrG3KHswhvgY_phX_Fv9H7zPQs92ejLnJNEkd3imxJEM7KXhAVBfz2Xhe-XbaJQm6oHHDe9aloY3as0450yuCW08KG4nbkM4xePfZ-tOl5Fftjg9Nk9Q=s300" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWSrcBrrgoqhhRvqN0XnsLjD4J8JClKSaSTrxRWPnWQQuNYrWjNHeF5TjcjBcbkrYrG3KHswhvgY_phX_Fv9H7zPQs92ejLnJNEkd3imxJEM7KXhAVBfz2Xhe-XbaJQm6oHHDe9aloY3as0450yuCW08KG4nbkM4xePfZ-tOl5Fftjg9Nk9Q=w190-h190" width="190" /></a></div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Francois One;">#53</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>Don’t Shut Me Down • ABBA //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">The new album <i>Voyage</i> is solid if not the mind-blower we were hoping for after all this time, right? The lovely ballad “I Still Have Faith In You” also makes it in at #89.</span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Francois One; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Francois One;">#57</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>Golden • Harry Styles //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Not a name I would expect in my top 100, and he gets here by evoking a style of music that was never my cup of tea, but it works beautifully.</span>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Francois One;">#68</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>Your Fandango • Sparks & Todd Rundgren //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">The incomparable combination of wit and musicianship that is Sparks ushered in the first time ever that I’ve played Rundgren. Love the castanets and the unmitigated glee of the insanity going on here.<br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Francois One;">#80</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>Golden G String • Miley Cyrus //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">My interest in Cyrus’ outstanding <i>Plastic Hearts</i> album carried over into ’21 enough to make it the #1 album of the year and Cyrus the #9 artist of the year, which opened with synth masterpiece “Midnight Sky” sitting at #1 on my first rolling chart of ’21. The raucous “Night Crawling (feat. Billy Idol)” also makes the year-ender at #98.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Francois One;">#81</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>Once I Saw the River Clean • Morrissey //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">The Mozzer never quite fades away, and the electronic sheen on recent album <i>I Am not a Dog on a Chain</i> was a welcome complement to his eccentric songs.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>What’s so hot about the Hot 100? //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">We have three points of crossover this time, up from one last year. These minor miracles are:</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">— </span><span style="font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>Save Your Tears • The Weeknd</b></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;"> </span><span style="font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>//</b></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">#2 Billboard; #26 Me</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">— </span><span style="font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>Anyone • Justin Bieber //</b></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">#74 Billboard; #2 Me</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">— </span><span style="font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>We’re Good • Dua Lipa //</b></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">#90 Billboard; #74 Me</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">A close call was Ritt Momney’s “Put Your Records On,” a quirky cover of the Corrine Bailey Rae song that got inside my head but finished a bit outside my 100 while landing at #93 in Billboard, despite getting no higher than #30 on the Hot 100 weeklies.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Go <a href="http://thejebber.blogspot.com/2021/01/music-that-moved-me-in-2020.html" target="_blank">here</a> to view prior years' recaps.</span></p></div>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-35958673648705871162021-12-24T12:23:00.000-06:002021-12-24T12:23:47.423-06:00RIP Anne Rice<p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhT_IadLW0hUmKVM26IcZaMxYzk5In5M-s-bmY7QMYjrHAV5OaGiSX1bSL-_QHzw5Svy8A4Oy2E4UB6aqAEcJscE-ZSImhmObtleNy4GGP0iwX7mTSJj0D5LyehGZMmMWmsN8k_IjV7HrhTUoseiVj4nN-BuMzUDnkZxZ24DH1X_pfPQW-oyw=s3970" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2703" data-original-width="3970" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhT_IadLW0hUmKVM26IcZaMxYzk5In5M-s-bmY7QMYjrHAV5OaGiSX1bSL-_QHzw5Svy8A4Oy2E4UB6aqAEcJscE-ZSImhmObtleNy4GGP0iwX7mTSJj0D5LyehGZMmMWmsN8k_IjV7HrhTUoseiVj4nN-BuMzUDnkZxZ24DH1X_pfPQW-oyw=s320" width="320" /></a></span></div><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">I haven't read any Anne Rice in more than 20 years, but I'll always fondly associate her early vampire novels with the time when I was a teen and really getting into reading voraciously (something which came crashing down when I entered the real world of employment/slavery). As a Christmas gift, my aunt bought for me a paperback set of the first three novels, despite her initial objections to buying something titled <i>The Queen of the Damned</i>. </span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">My book notes reveal that I was reading <i>Interview With the Vampire</i> at the time I graduated from high school in 1991, and I read the next two within a few months. My notes also indicate that I liked <i>Queen</i> best of the first three books, although that was not how I remembered it before digging out those old pages that meticulously document the books I read. I also read <i>The Tale of the Body Thief</i>, the fourth of <i>The Vampire Chronicles</i> series, a few years later, and that concluded my consumption of Rice's work. I think I sensed by that point she had said what she had to say. At times, I felt the series sagged under the weight of excessive historical detail, but I ultimately bestowed highly favorable ratings on each of the first three novels.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">I admire Rice's deadly serious approach to the subject matter; she aimed to elevate the genre with an eye to being a lasting influence, and I believe she succeeded. I'm not sure the sophistication of the Sookie Stackhouse and <i>True Blood</i> stories would have emerged had Rice's treatment of the genre not happened. The idea of a vampire living as a rock star was a groundbreaking departure from caped bloodsuckers crawling up the exterior walls of castles to a young woman's window in the dead of night.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">We'll be looking to the upcoming AMC series <i>Interview With the Vampire, </i>coming in 2022, as a fitting tribute to the queen of vampire horror.<br /></span></p>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-60564163482436186002021-12-18T13:02:00.000-06:002021-12-18T13:02:12.768-06:00Netflix's Midnight Mass is a revelation<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJpr0Ab7qsVHMgLqf-oIE3FFYOVLrrjhG_YCH_x1b8gX1fP22WBJlMsUOJ_js7WhNSB9LED1nW60UAr4i4A_xMctXZBRnri9ghrF8gTpNYBXeDq7fBa4h_2hfeSv4mf5UwjDLa/s445/midnight+mass.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="303" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJpr0Ab7qsVHMgLqf-oIE3FFYOVLrrjhG_YCH_x1b8gX1fP22WBJlMsUOJ_js7WhNSB9LED1nW60UAr4i4A_xMctXZBRnri9ghrF8gTpNYBXeDq7fBa4h_2hfeSv4mf5UwjDLa/w202-h297/midnight+mass.png" width="202" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">I've taken note of the name Mike Flanagan. </span><div><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">I've not seen much of his previous work. I liked <i>Doctor Sleep</i> (2019), the sequel to <i>The Shining.</i> A few years back, I panned his <i>Ouija: Origin of Evil </i>but noted some inspired flourishes<i>;</i> and, more recently, I bailed out on his <i>The Haunting of Hill House</i> series after one episode (we're going to give it another shot). But watching the seven-episode <i>Midnight Mass </i>proved to be a religious experience of the sort I haven't felt since the first couple of seasons of <i>True Blood</i> and, in movies, since the stunning twist of <i>The Sixth Sense</i>.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">There aren't many new ideas in horror, and that's where <i>Midnight Mass</i> really delivers, taking the concept of the vampire to a place that some might find blasphemous, but I found its melding of vampire lore and Christianity brilliant and exciting. In terms of good and evil, it turns the concept of the vampire inside out. And it does so at a leisurely pace across seven hours; it takes a bit to fully realize what's going on here as the story establishes its territory with the return home of Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford), a troubled young man, and the arrival of Father Paul (Hamish Linklater), a young man of the cloth who … well, to say much more would enter spoiler territory.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">There are no jump scares; it doesn't need them. The music, which often consists of gorgeous choir renditions of sacred hymns, and the sparingly used, something-creepy-is-about-to-happen parts, is outstanding. There are enormous passages of fascinating, hypnotic dialog, often delivered by Linklater, who was good as the brother on sitcom <i>The New Adventures of Old Christine</i> and is Emmy-worthy here. Another cast standout is Samantha Sloyan as Beverly Keane, an overly pious clergywoman whose intentions are always suspect.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">At times, <i>Midnight Mass</i> becomes a profoundly philosophical meditation on existence, life and death. </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">We immediately watched it a second time — something we never do — to revel in the nuance and the slow-burn dread. We're still haunted by it, still dissecting and discussing the details. As lifetime horror fans, we think it's an important work in the genre. I don't remember for certain if I've ever bestowed a divine <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">5</span> out of <span style="color: #2b00fe;">5</span></b> rating to any piece of entertainment on this blog before, but here one is.</span></p></div>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-66776291309789470822021-12-11T11:50:00.001-06:002021-12-15T21:29:56.766-06:00Seven things about Spotify's 2021 wrapped<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjq_hWdgzQ3HQbkQvF3TMOBqgipTGYihxCFgGGH09Nb208J1KteBIFc8IhrgoODVln0bauYmdtNo7QSJyJZXxta6cPBYbp-AAHfqv6H-J5CpM-qQv8F7XQz8iI0ITjMKriIzYNyhpiZURirEeF4bJ5N7kUzImCyk4Tstqhd0WUbtgSifPKYFg=s960" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="540" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjq_hWdgzQ3HQbkQvF3TMOBqgipTGYihxCFgGGH09Nb208J1KteBIFc8IhrgoODVln0bauYmdtNo7QSJyJZXxta6cPBYbp-AAHfqv6H-J5CpM-qQv8F7XQz8iI0ITjMKriIzYNyhpiZURirEeF4bJ5N7kUzImCyk4Tstqhd0WUbtgSifPKYFg=w271-h482" width="271" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>1 //</b></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> I don't usually post about Spotify's yearly recap because the bigger picture of my listening comes via <a href="https://www.last.fm/user/TheJebber" target="_blank">last.fm scrobbling</a>, which aggregates all of my listening on Spotify and the things that I play from my computer, but this year will be an exception. My overall year-end recap will be forthcoming, of course …</span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>2 //</b></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> In a bit of a shocker, Wrapped tells me I listened to more music this year than 65 percent of other listeners in the United States. I wouldn't have expected this, since I almost never listen at work, and with last.fm I'm rarely in the top 50 percent.</span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>3 //</b></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> I was a bit surprised to see Erasure as the most played artist (spoiler: They will not be #1 on the aggregated list). It must stem from the fact that I did not purchase a physical copy of their last album, <i>The Neon</i>, or any of its offshoot releases, such as the <i>Ne:Ep</i>. It's a decent album but not one I feel like I played that much. Their songwriting is not as sharp, in my view, over the last several albums. Wrapped says I was in the top 1 percent of Erasure listeners.</span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>4 //</b></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> Wrapped says I listened to 63 genres, and that's a good thing — I'm proud to be eclectic. New wave coming out on top is a reflection of all that '80s music, and too much of it gets labeled that way.</span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>5 //</b></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> The artists on those top songs are, in order, Bieber, Dua Lipa, Simple Minds, Johnny Hates Jazz and Griff. Then and now, now and then.</span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>6 //</b></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> Kudos to fairly obscure electronic / chillwave artist Brothertiger for edging into the top 5 artists. That's largely on the strength of his excellent rendition of Tears for Fears' <i>Songs from the Big Chair</i> album in its entirety.</span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>7 //</b></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> December 1 is too early to close the chart year — there are weeks to go.</span></p>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-67763335241460448812021-11-13T12:15:00.000-06:002021-11-13T12:15:03.641-06:00Unmasking Information Society's ODDfellows bonus tracks<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLrXKaVpzL1d_aQfOszL8-zJZOKoOZHSW5X-LfbQWswgb-Vdz1z9DD1nubUQj6dovxNa-DgzGBl8uDvA2GxoG8QZu7gDft3t4aYGID4RZYoTBiss0lCdVnE0rORJHoIvS6VOZ6/s600/a0212522756_10.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLrXKaVpzL1d_aQfOszL8-zJZOKoOZHSW5X-LfbQWswgb-Vdz1z9DD1nubUQj6dovxNa-DgzGBl8uDvA2GxoG8QZu7gDft3t4aYGID4RZYoTBiss0lCdVnE0rORJHoIvS6VOZ6/w200-h200/a0212522756_10.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">I recently got the physical CD copy of Information Society's latest album, <i>ODDfellows</i>, for which the bonus tracks are rather shrouded in mystery. Unless they were described in some "social media" comment thread, there is / was literally no information about them online, except that they are limited to the CD, which appears to only be on offer through <a href="https://informationsociety.bandcamp.com/album/oddfellows" target="_blank">bandcamp</a>. So, this is a public service to identify and briefly describe the bonus material:</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Quicksand;"><b>Track 11 - Might Have Been 4:13 //</b></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> This is the reason to get the CD. "Might Have Been" is arguably better than most of the proper album; it's got a piano bit that lodges in the brain, and the song is one of the sort of mid-tempo grooves they do so well. It's also a tad dark, as if a pinch of <i>Don't Be Afraid</i> was thrown into the recipe.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Quicksand;"><b>Track 12 - World Enough (Phuzzed Up Mix) 5:13 //</b></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> An unremarkable remix of one of the better tracks.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Quicksand;"><b>Track 13 - Escape from Murderapolis 1:02 //</b></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> An instrumental trifle that seems rather pointless to include here at just a minute in length. Quite possibly from one of the guys' soundtrack work.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Quicksand;"><b>Track 14 - Slow-Scan 72 1:40 //</b></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> This is one of their on-line scavenger hunts that I was never hacked enough to pursue.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Back in 2018, they sort of declared the album format dead and started chucking out a string of singles — "Nothing Prevails," "World Enough," "Room 1904" and "Bennington." These ended up being four of the 10 tracks of the new album, so it feels more like getting an EP's worth of new material here. The romantic rumination "World Enough" is the best of the bunch, another of those mid-tempo toe-tappers. Their 2014 return with <i><a href="https://thejebber.blogspot.com/2015/05/is-it-too-late-to-tell-you-my-favorite.html" target="_blank">_hello world</a></i> remains the jewel of their late active period and, with <i>Information Society</i> (1988), is one of their two best albums.</span></p>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-1241562366607807372021-08-29T13:09:00.002-05:002021-09-13T21:41:50.500-05:00Who is 'the host of Jeopardy!'?, part 2<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRLvpLlLNYl-sjRPrXVxd-Q-J8hjz1Q7mLzkC0R5duPLm5LguS03voG3sy9xLcDnmr1490BBjvMFqESlHez8lWoMEhUsh0BzCPOpmV5t8yyWTX-6QZZdwrb2pzm7DekvoT1-Uo/s998/jeopardy.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="998" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRLvpLlLNYl-sjRPrXVxd-Q-J8hjz1Q7mLzkC0R5duPLm5LguS03voG3sy9xLcDnmr1490BBjvMFqESlHez8lWoMEhUsh0BzCPOpmV5t8yyWTX-6QZZdwrb2pzm7DekvoT1-Uo/w261-h161/jeopardy.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>200 //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Setting aside any debate over the merits of Mike Richards’ character, this whole hosting kerfuffle has saved <i>Jeopardy!</i> from a wrong decision on host. Richards is not bad as a game show host — I liked him as host of GSN’s brief and surprisingly good revival of <i>Pyramid</i> in 2012 — but he is not The One. I do not condone the trend of random actors and third-tier comics getting game show hosting gigs, and this is a situation that needs something more, a bit of heft, like when Regis Philbin became host of <i>Who Wants to Be a Millionaire</i>.</span><p></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>400 //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Mayim Bialik seems to be an acceptable answer. Some stuff has come out about strange things she has said but, thus far, not enough to get her canceled. Her turn as host was very solid, and she would only get better. So why isn’t she making it happen? A sitcom that no one knows about?</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>600 //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Everybody loves LeVar Burton, but his performance did not look like The One. On a side note, I wanted him to stroll out onstage wearing his <i>Star Trek</i> visor.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>800 //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">I had never seen or heard of David Faber, but I thought he did a smashing job. Smooth, engaging and in control, like a classic game show overseer. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>1000 //</b></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> Ken Jennings would also make sense — he’s now in the DNA of the show and seems to be generally well-liked — but he has the disadvantage of having Tweeted.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>Daily Double //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><a href="http://thejebber.blogspot.com/2021/01/who-is-host-of-jeopardy.html" target="_blank">As I’ve said before</a>, there was already a very solid audition in the can from Jeff Probst, who nailed it as host of <i>Rock & Roll Jeopardy!</i> (1998-2001). And that completes my shortlist — Probst, Faber, Jennings and Bialik.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Zilla Slab;"><b>Final Jeopardy! //</b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">How appropriate that all this drama unfolds as the show gets one of its biggest champions of all time, Matt Amodio, who will resume his reign of terror when the new season opens Sept. 13.</span></p>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-35299273714375875512021-08-21T13:19:00.001-05:002021-08-21T13:19:11.915-05:00Netflix's Black Summer<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiR9OXUBzXt2CPGDULgroBLDJ6QLLh2yqWEXJkCF3L884szd2yG8k5KvzU1TlDYS_x3v0zMpdjlfCWpaOHgYhOlGOtxIClkh_M68Z1vUu6qFaND3N6OAIJtpxDjnbrHA_dVa7d/s421/black+summer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="209" data-original-width="421" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiR9OXUBzXt2CPGDULgroBLDJ6QLLh2yqWEXJkCF3L884szd2yG8k5KvzU1TlDYS_x3v0zMpdjlfCWpaOHgYhOlGOtxIClkh_M68Z1vUu6qFaND3N6OAIJtpxDjnbrHA_dVa7d/w256-h126/black+summer.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">It’s like someone looked at <i>The Walking Dead</i> and said: What if we took out all the boring parts? Rather than concocting an elaborate new villian every time the crew moves to a new fracked up town, as <i>The Walking Dead</i> does (at least up to the point that I bailed out, which I think was season 4), what if it’s mostly just about getting from point A to point B? Also, change the zombies from lumberingly slow to super fast. Thus far, it’s a winning formula for Netflix’s Black<i> Summer</i>, a relentless exercise in zombie fight-or-flight tension. It’s best not to get attached to any particular character, because (spoiler) a lot of them don’t make it.</span><p></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">The story does not always unfold in a linear fashion, and I like how they’ve done it, going back to give us a bit of back story on something that just happened. Some have criticized the show for lacking character development, but I think Rose’s character is progressing just fine every time she blows away another non-zombie who’s gotten on her wrong side.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">This show is derived from <i>Z Nation</i>, and the good news is that this is far better than that, based on the little bit of <i>Z Nation</i> I’ve seen. I’m not particularly a fan of the zombie genre and am perplexed by its enduring popularity — it seems a daunting task to bring anything new to its apocalyptic storylines — yet I tore through the two eight-episode seasons (season 2 just recently arrived) and was left wanting more when I came to the end. It’s pretty rare that I say that about a new show these days.</span></p><p style="font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: News Cycle;">Score:</span></b><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Considered merely as escapist fare, it's a solid <span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>4</b></span> out of <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">5</span></b>.</span></p>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-90480849740001665812021-07-31T13:57:00.000-05:002021-07-31T13:57:03.111-05:00Eight things about classic Price Is Right on Pluto TV<p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoE_L8SZocVdIGkb2sh4axGmHDsub3EubP0lqyTX5LBI3w_ghO3hEAoq-tMc2fFcTB27_TQfiJH-kxlN_Zn0P8cZ8mB3MpLgZ19T_0BrU26n_w3pzes3IEZmmivLs99sHIhAy4/s432/the+price+is+right.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="432" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoE_L8SZocVdIGkb2sh4axGmHDsub3EubP0lqyTX5LBI3w_ghO3hEAoq-tMc2fFcTB27_TQfiJH-kxlN_Zn0P8cZ8mB3MpLgZ19T_0BrU26n_w3pzes3IEZmmivLs99sHIhAy4/w200-h200/the+price+is+right.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> A 24-hour loop of current episodes of <i>The Price Is Right</i> might be one definition of hell. But Pluto TV’s 24-hour-a-day classic <i>The Price Is Right</i> Bob Barker-era channel is pretty heavenly.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">Some random observations:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">• With my (lack of) luck, I’d probably win a sewing machine or a snowmobile. I always feel sorry for those contestants.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">• Most of the episodes airing now are circa 1983, when it was apparently a legal requirement that all washing machines and clothes dryers were a sickly yellow color.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">• What’s the deal with the 1980s obsession with brass beds? It’s a chintzy look.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">• Contestants could reap the rewards of faithful viewership. Watching these shows, I quickly learned that the Haggar slacks are always $30.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">• My dream would be to play Punch A Bunch (or is it Punchboard?). Assuming I earned all four punches, I would punch four consecutive spaces on the bottom row. Just because.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">• Whoever built the games used too much lattice. Ten Chances looks like something your neighbor is trying to grow tomatoes on and might be a city code violation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">• Bob Barker had his occasional creepy and condescending moments, but he was peerless among game show hosts at building playful drama and anticipation, and I admire his love for game statistics and esoterica (“Has that ever happened before?”).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">• It’s streaming on channel 163 on Pluto TV, which, many days, we watch more than “regular” television. That's </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">really saying something, because we loathe sitting through commercials. Come on down!</span></p>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-18075044326359058312021-06-26T12:48:00.000-05:002021-06-26T12:48:01.860-05:00Jim Steinman died (and we're sad about it)<p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDUxVUxFvnjXWjN3bioD_K9dPpUSX2uOB4pbVGJVxjPiiM_dSxgtYoF-qjnOhrMu0VhCcnaAQSIli648J2OoWV1L3h3MOSbAP-38prJKc7iRiguN7OnT9Y5M-9z-FTgFw58GL/s355/meat+loaf+objects+in+the+rear+view+mirror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="354" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDUxVUxFvnjXWjN3bioD_K9dPpUSX2uOB4pbVGJVxjPiiM_dSxgtYoF-qjnOhrMu0VhCcnaAQSIli648J2OoWV1L3h3MOSbAP-38prJKc7iRiguN7OnT9Y5M-9z-FTgFw58GL/w199-h200/meat+loaf+objects+in+the+rear+view+mirror.jpg" width="199" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">See what I did there with the title, which would normally just say "RIP Jim Steinman"?</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">My first real exposure to Steinman's work was not until 1993 when Meat Loaf's <i>Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell</i> came out, making a big splash with "I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)." I actually liked the subsequent singles better — "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" and, particularly, "Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are." I am often drawn to <i>different </i>in music, and this was certainly different from the '80s pop I grew up on. The soaring melodies, operatic drama and long, unconventional song structures all ticked the right boxes for me. "Original Sin" is another favorite, released on Mr. Loaf's <i>Bat Out of Hell II</i> and as a single by Taylor Dayne (!) from the soundtrack of the movie <i>The Shadow</i>; her big voice was a fine pairing for Steinman's style. "Original Sin" was originally recorded by Pandora's Box.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">There's a magical and poetic quality to the lyrics of "Objects in the Rear View Mirror …" <i>There were endless winters and the dreams would freeze</i> is a line that takes me somewhere. And those repeated passages of building drama and urgency (<i>But I can see her rising up out of the back seat now / Just like an angel rising up from a tomb</i>) … it deserved better than its peak of 38 on the Hot 100. The song sprawls over 10 minutes in its album version, but this one, via Spotify, is a nice edit:</span></p><p><a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/0KBGDm63y0HhzzcwPdpxwN?si=833e1e576cce4042">Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are - AC Edit 3 aka Wild Car</a><br /></p>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-86408548718946942542021-01-03T15:28:00.001-06:002021-01-03T15:28:29.256-06:00Who is 'the host of Jeopardy!'?<p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">With the final week of Alex Trebek at the helm of <i>Jeopardy!</i> upon us, a few thoughts:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">• According to a press release from Sony, Trebek makes notable comments at the top of Monday's show (January 4), and there will be a tribute segment at the end of Friday's show.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">• It seems we're maybe going to get a series of guest hosts for a while, and I think that's an excellent idea. There's no need to rush into anointing the successor; take the time to get it right.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">• In the following week (January 11), uber-champion Ken Jennings begins his turn as guest host. His aptitude for this seems to have been met with some skepticism among fans, but I say give him his chance. He's had enough time in the limelight to become at ease with it, and his ability to do the schmoozing with contestants might surprise us all. Or not. My gut feeling is that he will not become the permanent host, but who knows.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">• Quite forgotten amidst all this is the one fine audition that's already in the can: Jeff Probst's 100-episode stint as host of <i>Rock & Roll Jeopardy!</i> (1998-2001) on VH1; episodes also aired on the Game Show Network for a time. He's a smooth question reader and an amiable personality, and his long tenure on <i>Survivor</i> has only made him more capable. Sometimes the solution is right under your nose …</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">• Other possibilities? This is difficult, since we don't really have professional game show emcees anymore; <i>Wheel of Fortune</i> host Pat Sajak is now the last of the old guard. As I've said before, it's unfortunate that third-tier comedians and random actors have become the go-to choices to host game shows. It's been reported that politico George Stephanopoulos has expressed interest in the gig. He's a nice chap — give him his turn as guest host — but I don't think he's The One. I think one direction to consider might be a larger than life personality — the <i>Millionaire</i> team had the right idea when they snagged Regis Philbin. It will take someone with gravity and gravitas to successfully follow Alex Trebek.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: News Cycle;"><b><i>An episode of Rock & Roll Jeopardy:</i></b></span></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c1Q4t19TfwQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="c1Q4t19TfwQ"></iframe></div><p></p>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-76541663722165588112021-01-01T14:50:00.002-06:002021-01-01T14:50:56.405-06:00Music that moved me in 2020<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy9hpIoLZoQnJaprBmS0pLN-1CwMc7YvwFzbzzIizeiHEmf6G89ET9mP9Pj36M7ql3GgkBNH5AZkft3zO-HnodHD5bcmbXGIKrCycU1YJEpElHXzRL3SZpM-852nESJd1N0kYg/s300/miley+cyrus+midnight+sky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy9hpIoLZoQnJaprBmS0pLN-1CwMc7YvwFzbzzIizeiHEmf6G89ET9mP9Pj36M7ql3GgkBNH5AZkft3zO-HnodHD5bcmbXGIKrCycU1YJEpElHXzRL3SZpM-852nESJd1N0kYg/w223-h223/miley+cyrus+midnight+sky.jpg" width="223" /></a></div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora; font-size: medium;"><i><b>Most played (new songs)</b></i></span><p></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">For songs released in or near 2020, Pet Shop Boys win the year with “New Boy,” a “b-side” from the “I Don’t Wanna” single. It’s one of those brilliantly maudlin midtempo meditations they reel off effortlessly, like “Only the Wind” and “Always,” which are often buried as extra tracks on singles and are better than most of what’s on the accompanying album.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">The runners-up are the Pets’ “Only the Dark” from this year’s <i>Hotspot</i> album and “Do You Feel,” which emerged as the favorite from La Roux’s latest album, <i>Supervision</i>.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora; font-size: medium;"><b><i>Most played (oldies)</i></b></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Don Henley’s synthy “Sunset Grill” wins by a point over three tied songs — Tori Amos’ “Silent All These Years,” The Lighting Seeds’ “Don’t Let Go” and Paula Abdul’s “The Promise of a New Day (7” Edit).” When I went to an Eagles concert in Tupelo with my parents back around ’99 or so, the highlight for me was “Sunset Grill.”</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora; font-size: medium;"><b><i>Most interesting</i></b></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">From the first time I heard it, I thought Miley Cyrus’ “Midnight Sky” was the most interesting song of the year. It feels like she’s channeling the dark electronic sounds of The Weeknd on this one, and the whole <i>Plastic Hearts</i> album is sounding strikingly good.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora; font-size: medium;"><b><i>What’s so hot about the Hot 100?</i></b></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">It’s becoming a trend that one song from Billboard’s Hot 100 of the year makes my year-end chart. This year, somewhat surprisingly, it’s Billboard’s top song of the year, “Blinding Lights,” by The Weeknd, which sits at #59 on my year-ender. It’s probably his best since "Can't Feel My Face," although I ended up playing “In Your Eyes,” with that killer sax riff, more (#27 for the year); it is currently in my top 10, having recently topped my chart, and could have finished even higher if its run had come earlier.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora; font-size: medium;"><b><i>Lukewarm</i></b></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Some of my core favorite artists significantly underperformed with new releases (this, sadly, has been a recurring theme in the last few years). With <i>Chromatica</i>, it’s time to accept that Lady Gaga isn’t going to reach the heights of <i>The Fame</i> / <i>The Fame Monster</i> / <i>Born This Way</i> and, to a slightly lesser degree, <i>Artpop</i>, again. <i>Chromatica</i>, to my ears, has a disturbing homogeneity, particularly when compared to her first few albums. It does land a couple of songs on the year-end chart — “Alice” (#51) and “911” (#56). Then there’s Erasure, whose last several albums have underwhelmed; their lone entry from <i>The Neon</i> is “Shot a Satellite” (#62). And the Pets’ <i>Hotspot</i> had some gems, as always, but it was not at all what I expected for the conclusion of their trilogy with Stuart Price, who has essentially been a Pet Shop Boy for the past decade.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora; font-size: medium;"><b><i>Posthumously</i></b></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">It’s not unusual for me to have a Roxette song in rotation, and the late 2019 death of Marie Fredriksson had me hunting for some deeper cuts. They finish the year with several entries — “Wish I could Fly” (#32), “Queen of Rain” (#44) and “Perfect Day” (#66). And my favorite Eddie Money tune, “I Wanna Go Back,” is in at #78, while the posthumously released George Michael song “This is How (We Want You to Get High)" scrapes in at #95.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora; font-size: medium;"><b><i>Ava Max</i></b></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">“Sweet but Psycho” was big enough to repeat; it was #53 for 2019 and #90 for 2020. “Kings & Queens” finished at #115 this year.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: News Cycle;"><b><i>The chart statistics are courtesy of scrobbling via <a href="www.last.fm/user/TheJebber" target="_blank">Last.fm</a>.</i></b></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: News Cycle;"><b><i>Go <a href="https://thejebber.blogspot.com/2020/02/music-that-moved-me-in-2019.html" target="_blank">here</a> for recaps dating back to the 2000s.</i></b></span><br /></p>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-43012396112278432632020-11-09T08:30:00.001-06:002020-11-09T08:30:08.724-06:00Movies: The Car (1977)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbrnmZwEnQu01fsBULiAVKjgpGP_R2p8okc8U921ZSNdc3nXMBVekF_ASRv1j9rH6LXeiW8tC25X_j3SMmi5Ydl_iqzrXgm6Ryifb9Ybv-2r7xM0Jos-7QuucUCuWq6ClHV8c3/s288/the+car.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="200" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbrnmZwEnQu01fsBULiAVKjgpGP_R2p8okc8U921ZSNdc3nXMBVekF_ASRv1j9rH6LXeiW8tC25X_j3SMmi5Ydl_iqzrXgm6Ryifb9Ybv-2r7xM0Jos-7QuucUCuWq6ClHV8c3/w170-h245/the+car.jpg" width="170" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> Just how much menace and dread can be extracted from the revving engine of a tricked-out Lincoln Continental Mark III with illegally tinted windows? That's explored at length in 1977 horror-thriller <i>The Car</i>, renowned among some as a so-bad-it's-good chestnut; critics had fun describing it as "a total wreck." My grandmother drove a Lincoln Continental back in the early '80s, and I remember it as an incredibly long vehicle with those little panels that would come down and hide the headlights when not in use. I was fascinated by those.</span><div><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">Starring Josh Brolin as the sheriff, <i>The Car</i> followed in the recent dust of highway thrillers like <i>Duel, </i>and its poster is simply fantastic with the car's angry face and the windswept lettering.</span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> I remember it as one of the first movies that scared me as a kid when it was on TV, probably as a "movie of the week" on one of the big three networks back in the days when they aired theatrical releases as Event Programming. The titular auto zips around a desert town terrorizing its residents, seemingly without anyone behind the wheel, and it all looks pretty great in HD. Hammy dialog aside, the threatening face of that rampaging vehicle stirs dread every time it appears. Though the plot may be thin, it has its effective moments; the best one gives new meaning to the phrase "drive-thru" in a harrowing scene involving one of the leading damsels. It all builds to a sudden, fiery conclusion, with the movie never signaling what drove the car to its murderous rampage, literally or figuratively. As with so many things, the journey is more satisfying than the destination.</span><br /><p></p></div><div><span style="font-family: Francois One;"><i>The Car is currently streaming on Netflix.</i></span></div>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-48981736465557374672020-11-08T14:24:00.000-06:002020-11-08T14:24:45.555-06:00RIP Alex Trebek<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hWlF69d8b-c" width="448" youtube-src-id="hWlF69d8b-c"></iframe></div> <p></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Alex Trebek was one of the last of the old guard, from the days when game show hosts were professional emcees and not third-tier stand-up comics or random actors playing the part. He always seemed to enjoy his work, and it seemed like he would always just be there, reading endless daily double clues and making small talk with the regular folk who made it to the stage of that great celebration of knowledge called <i>Jeopardy!</i>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">We all know that one, of course, but there were numerous others (<i>Pitfall</i> and <i>Battlestars</i>, anyone?). Here are a few deeper cuts from Trebek's car</span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">eer to celebrate a great legacy:</span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: News Cycle;"><b>Classic Concentration //</b></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> Buzzr recently began airing the <i>Concentration</i> revival, which is helmed by Trebek with a bit more playfulness than he displayed on Jeopardy!. The episodes hadn't been re-run since NBC dropped the game, and it's a fun show that deserved a longer run than it had on NBC daytime, 1987-1991.</span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: News Cycle;"><b>High Rollers //</b></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> Speaking of fun, I love the dice-based <i>High Rollers </i>(1974-1976, 1978-1980), in which players knocked out the numbers 1-9 to win some impressive prizes. Trebek is in top form in this lighter format.</span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: News Cycle;"><b>To Tell the Truth //</b></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> NBC's 1990-1991 run of <i>Truth</i> went through several hosts, with Trebek arguably turning in the best performance. Episodes can be found on YouTube.</span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: News Cycle;"><b>Wheel of Fortune //</b></span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> Yes, Trebek presided over several episodes of the legendary <i>Wheel</i> — once for April Fool's Day in 1997 (while Pat Sajak did <i>Jeopardy!</i>) and also as a substitute in 1980. The April Fool's event is on YouTube.</span></p>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-17166440944085223822020-09-13T12:11:00.000-05:002020-09-13T12:11:01.419-05:00Notes for the new Unsolved Mysteries<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWfluE6C2jcDxbDRw1XEjJikyALlr0boWw4LyrxD4CycJUaPia4KMvPPKlCxWdOIlaMTmnmT-vo1Gjm4Q8_ffT4esbM679rfPMify-OTHetxJ1WmsIDCYsnCCIUANmye3uGDqj/s590/unsloved+mysteries+2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="590" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWfluE6C2jcDxbDRw1XEjJikyALlr0boWw4LyrxD4CycJUaPia4KMvPPKlCxWdOIlaMTmnmT-vo1Gjm4Q8_ffT4esbM679rfPMify-OTHetxJ1WmsIDCYsnCCIUANmye3uGDqj/s320/unsloved+mysteries+2020.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">It's great to have you back, <i>Unsolved Mysteries</i>. I'm still working my way through rewatching the entirety of the Robert Stack episodes and am currently on season 6 (sadly, it's no longer free on Prime Video at the moment, although it’s free with ads via imdb). The new Netflix series started strong — the two opening episodes about truly mysterious deaths are very good — but it steadily nosedived from there. As a superfan of the show, I have a few suggestions and general observations:</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">• <b>We don't want to read <i>Unsolved Mysteries</i>.</b> I don't care how great the mystery is — we don't want to read subtitles for 45 minutes. This is comfort food TV, not a stuffy foreign film. The offending episode, "House of Terror," about the murder of a French family, is, indeed, a fascinating case, but we don't want to read it.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><b>• Keep things moving.</b> One of the good things about subscription television is the emergence of sophisticated documentary programming without the constraints of the network television format. It's also a potential pitfall … all of that room to breathe and expound can lead to glacially slow programming. The old Unsolved Mysteries rarely gave the viewer an opportunity to lose interest; each mystery almost always wrapped up before the next commercial break. The storytelling was tight and incisive. Please keep it that way — this model of only one mystery filling out the entire show is fatiguing.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><b>• The UFO episode was simply terrible.</b> Not even a grainy Polaroid or out-of-focus home movie footage? Just people talking about what they saw? I love a good UFO yarn, but this was really weak.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><b>• Consider a host.</b> Robert Stack obviously can't be replaced, but it feels odd without the narration to help set the scene.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><i>Six more new episodes arrive on October 19.</i></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: News Cycle; font-size: medium;"><b>Also see // <a href="https://thejebber.blogspot.com/2018/04/streaming-unsolved-mysteries.html" target="_blank">Streaming Unsolved Mysteries</a></b></span></p>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-30110078345226027952020-04-26T13:39:00.001-05:002020-04-26T13:39:30.095-05:00Movies: Midsommar<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisyaU5TYRejE6zwQIaE_li_jEYmU5DQbGhSVrQmYqIrkIDdfezzRjEGd_j1oge6tQ-TWpAcTu2NkYuQfftAEFkxB6mQbtBNKq28CzIRHhJHJGDM7mG3xEvVeyr6UF9qiW0uEdF/s1600/Midsommar_%25282019_film_poster%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="240" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisyaU5TYRejE6zwQIaE_li_jEYmU5DQbGhSVrQmYqIrkIDdfezzRjEGd_j1oge6tQ-TWpAcTu2NkYuQfftAEFkxB6mQbtBNKq28CzIRHhJHJGDM7mG3xEvVeyr6UF9qiW0uEdF/s200/Midsommar_%25282019_film_poster%2529.jpg" width="135" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Somebody's been watching <i>The Wicker Man</i>. Like that '70s classic (and the cheeky Nick Cage remake), <i>Midsommar</i> takes us to an isolated clan practicing increasingly creepy pagan-like rituals, smiling and gracious all the while. It is fertile territory for a thriller.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Midsommar</i> plods along in the Swedish sunshine for a bit until director Ari Aster takes a hammer to viewer's kneecaps with a singularly disturbing scene. This moment defines the movie, much like a particularly disturbing sequence in his interesting debut, <i>Hereditary</i>, defined that movie. It's treated as a big moment; the music and the visuals of the awaiting crowd amongst the jagged, rocky landscape create a palpable dread of whatever is about to unfold. And, once it becomes apparent, the realization of what is about to happen is almost as shocking as seeing it reach its horrific conclusion. The results are displayed in graphic detail, with another horrifying act capping the gory sequence. It is disturbing, and it will be too much for some viewers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The two principal characters of <i>Midsommar</i> are in the midst of a fragile relationship, and Aster weaves the emotional wreckage of that into the tapestry of insanity unfolding in the Swedish countryside. </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">The movie is rather long and</span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> might benefit from excising the opening half hour or so, which establishes the relationship of the leads and is the weakest portion of the film.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Nothing else in <i>Midsommar</i> equals The Big Scene, but it is an enjoyably unsettling experience that will linger in the mind. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>3.5 out of 5</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Midsommar (2019, 227 minutes) is currently streaming on Prime Video.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Also see //</b></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <a href="https://thejebber.blogspot.com/2007/06/dvd-wicker-man-1974.html" target="_blank">The Wicker Man (1974)</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://thejebber.blogspot.com/2006/09/movies-wicker-man-2006.html" target="_blank">The Wicker Man (2006)</a></span>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-49887478715507822792020-03-29T08:00:00.000-05:002020-03-29T08:00:09.587-05:00Song of the decade<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVuDPQOpn0P5aPqJa4v7HyX4XNHWvH1RmfaDJpZyy5R7Ws9C7nX5ZXD2LrsM5uXpieO_eQMElXr3baH6h1LozxR0W8bNYg7TiLLrb7G1HASd3BYA9YMZ9_oqvgMBLok1jCfgOh/s1600/DancingOnMyOwn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVuDPQOpn0P5aPqJa4v7HyX4XNHWvH1RmfaDJpZyy5R7Ws9C7nX5ZXD2LrsM5uXpieO_eQMElXr3baH6h1LozxR0W8bNYg7TiLLrb7G1HASd3BYA9YMZ9_oqvgMBLok1jCfgOh/s200/DancingOnMyOwn.jpg" title="Dancing On My Own" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Does a decade's worth of music mean anything anymore? To me, it doesn't feel like it, and hasn't really since the '90s, which probably just means that I'm old. Time flies and a lot of life is happening, so I'm just getting around to taking a look at the past decade. Rather than serving up a big list, I've decided to simply crown my most-played song of the twenty-teens.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The winner is '90s survivor Robyn with "Dancing on My Own," which was released in June 2010 as lead single from the excellent <i>Body Talk</i> album (my #9 album for the decade, including music from all decades, per Last.fm), and which she cowrote and coproduced with Patrik Berger. It's a devastating dance music ballad, all swirling synths and heartbreak, that should have shot an arrow through the heart of the pop music audience. It is the epitome of the melancholy cast against a euphoric upbeat arrangement, which defines so much of my favorite music. How does a song this brilliant (and featured prominently in HBO's <i>Girls</i>) not even crack the Billboard Hot 100? Despite making no impression on the chart, it did, deservedly, go platinum in the U.S.</span>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-84196806558557948292020-03-28T14:55:00.000-05:002020-04-01T21:48:55.097-05:00RIP Kenny Rogers<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQt8sYqqfH2CqdI3d7Ss1LLZX9kWJySDD4ExEbfJsG1tdcloTZ6dIpfRXcmKjBMi9fNL5_HdSgMlw-oAKUDyyzGjyFvsk0Fv4SePyBbMRARXrG0T_89P1Ml6fswPptw_NEW3O/s1600/the+gambler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQt8sYqqfH2CqdI3d7Ss1LLZX9kWJySDD4ExEbfJsG1tdcloTZ6dIpfRXcmKjBMi9fNL5_HdSgMlw-oAKUDyyzGjyFvsk0Fv4SePyBbMRARXrG0T_89P1Ml6fswPptw_NEW3O/s200/the+gambler.jpg" title="The Gambler" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Whenever I think about Kenny Rogers, I always remember my late Aunt Jackie kindly giving me her copy of <i>The Gambler</i> album around 1983. Perhaps appropriately, we were in a house on a little dirt road in a speck of a town — New Site, Mississippi. Rogers was huge when I was a kid, and "The Gambler" was a fun tune for all ages. I also love that album's "The Hoodooin' of Miss Fanny Deberry," about a girl who walks barefoot down a gravel road and sleeps with the devil. And <i>The Gambler</i> album has one of the coolest covers ever. Elsewhere, "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" with his band The First Edition from 1969 is a killer tune about a veteran, and The Killers gave it a worthy cover back in the 2000s. "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" is a hoot of a song title — was Morrissey listening? Rogers was one of the original country crossovers, and he made country and pop more fun.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>In his final words</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>I found an ace that I could keep</i></span>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-36267852406156647062020-02-23T14:27:00.000-06:002020-02-23T14:27:49.816-06:00Music that moved me in 2019<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXtnZG6XPYoa6JWNy2jD3_ex3Ub-zdKJ-UFyR8Ah6aW-TwxF8xHZ6OF3iRNOxu0jshgocSHDyCwDINXDKcrLp-AzIohVr1FBfJ85tmeTLRCuAcDVM-qh7wvytG0AJq04ItnnMy/s1600/tanners.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXtnZG6XPYoa6JWNy2jD3_ex3Ub-zdKJ-UFyR8Ah6aW-TwxF8xHZ6OF3iRNOxu0jshgocSHDyCwDINXDKcrLp-AzIohVr1FBfJ85tmeTLRCuAcDVM-qh7wvytG0AJq04ItnnMy/s200/tanners.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><i style="background-color: white;">Song of the year</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tanners, a relative unknown, won the year with a song from 2018, the urgent "Holy Water." It's hard to describe her vibe; I've been thinking I could imagine Sophie B. Hawkins doing this in the '90s if she'd had a tad more of a pop sensibility.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>The runner-up</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dido put out a fine album in 2019, and the lush ballad "Give You Up" finished one point behind Tanners. It's her best track in years.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>A year without breakouts</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I said this about 2018, as well — there was no single artist or album that emerged as a big thing for me. Madonna's <i>Madame X</i> was a notable lemon in my world, a non-starter for the most part, although "Medellin" did get some spins and "Looking for Mercy" finished at #60 for the year. I feared this album would disappoint when I heard Mirwais was producing. For me, it's her worst since <i>American Life</i> and a real letdown after <i>Rebel Heart</i>, which had a few duds but, to me, is the best since <i>Ray of Light</i>. My most played album for the year was the new David Bowie compilation <i>Loving the Alien (1983 - 1988)</i>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Mildly unexpected</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've liked a random Bruce Springsteen song here and there through the years, but he stopped me in my tracks in 2019 with "There Goes My Miracle," #18 for the year. It's a beautiful tune and I've never heard him sing in this style — like an old-school crooner. Carly Rae Jepsen is not an artist I've given much attention, but her "Want You in My Room" finishes way up at #5 for the year.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>When we was fab</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've never been one to listen to the Beatles, but a couple of the players had a good year with solo material — I've really gotten into some of the songs on Paul McCartney's latest, <i>Egypt Station</i>. He finishes #6 for the year with "Dominoes" and #22 with the beautiful ballad "Happy with You," while John Lennon is in at #69 with oldie "(Just Like) Starting Over." Julian Lennon got some spins as well with "Say You're Wrong."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>What's so hot about the Hot 100?</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We have but one instance of crossover for 2019 courtesy of Ava Max, whose "Sweet but Psycho" closed out the year with a long run at number one on my <a href="https://www.last.fm/user/TheJebber" target="_blank">last.fm rolling chart</a>. Had I discovered it earlier in the year, it probably would have been a contender for song of the year honors. Sounds a bit like early Gaga, doesn't it? It finishes the year at #53 for me and #23 in Billboard. Speaking of Gaga, the big soundtrack hit "Shallow" was a close call for another point of crossover (#134 me, #19 Billboard). And Post Malone's "Circles," which finished at #62 in Billboard, has recently gone onto my current playlist.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Previously</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><a href="https://thejebber.blogspot.com/2018/12/music-that-moved-me-in-2018.html" target="_blank">Go here</a> for the best of 2018 and links to numerous previous years.</b></span>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14366313.post-63786515807906501252019-12-22T18:08:00.000-06:002020-07-13T19:52:18.067-05:00Movies: The Bedroom Window (1987)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7oA2bUbQtus9PRZx7wkApKE1DejHIEkvPCvKjW-yR53OHI6U1n34bv9xRBK5g0727ZP216eafct4TNc3ApMOFuM3lR-7763EFg_flkiY3tekDCKHpFnZLKL-CzsPsc52rsD5/s1600/the+bedroom+window.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="189" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7oA2bUbQtus9PRZx7wkApKE1DejHIEkvPCvKjW-yR53OHI6U1n34bv9xRBK5g0727ZP216eafct4TNc3ApMOFuM3lR-7763EFg_flkiY3tekDCKHpFnZLKL-CzsPsc52rsD5/s200/the+bedroom+window.jpg" width="105" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">With <i>The Bedroom Window</i>, it seems director Curtis Hanson (<i>L.A. Confidential</i>, <i>The Hand That Rocks the Cradle</i>) set out to make the Hitcockiest movie Hitchcock would make if he and Alma were around in the mid to late 1980s. It’s so overtly Hitchcockian that you almost expect to see the old master walk by in one of the bar scenes or seated in the crowd in the theater scene, casting a knowing fourth-wall glance at the camera. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It’s got the signature Hitchock ingredients of romantic intrigue and an innocent man wrongly accused and digging himself ever deeper a hole in a plot that involves the protagonist Terry (Steve Guttenberg) doing the boss’ wife (Isabelle Huppert), who witnesses an assault of a woman from her lover’s bedroom window in the middle of the night after hearing screams. To cover up the affair, Terry, rather than his paramour, goes to the police. In terms of plotting, it’s a clever idea that sends our protagonist into a series of mishaps and errors.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Currently available to stream on Amazon Prime, <i>The Bedroom Window</i> often does look like a Hitchcock film in style and staging, and there are a few scenes in which Huppert, dolled up to the max, is framed like a ‘40s vixen. It generally doesn’t look much like an ‘80s movie; the bar scenes, however, with Mario Brothers and Ms. Pac Man video games in view and ‘80s music playing, are exceptions. A curiosity that struck me is a song that plays in both bar scenes — a repetition of music that seems intended as a harbinger of the villian's presence. Particularly in '80s movies, I'm always trying to identify the music, and, in this case, it’s a third-tier Robert Palmer single, "Hyperactive," that many viewers probably wouldn’t even notice had been played in the earlier scene. "Hyperactive" was a single of the time; it crawled to #33 on the Hot 100 on the coattails of its #1 predecessor, "Addicted to Love." Why not use a more identifiable tune or a bit of ominous orchestration that recalls Bernard Hermann?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Most of the movie is a fun watch as Terry gets on the trail of the villain and begins to make a mess of things, but the movie’s final act is rather unimaginative. I think Alma would call for a rewrite.</span>Jebbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17969476920315948163noreply@blogger.com0