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Showing posts with label Dj Buddy Beaverhausen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dj Buddy Beaverhausen. Show all posts
Happy 66th birthday, Meryl Louise Streep, one of our greatest actresses ever!
She has won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Kramer vs. Kramer, and two Best Actress Awards for Sophie's Choice (1982) and The Iron Lady (2011). She's had numerous other Oscar nominations and so many other stage and screen award nominations and awards.
And guess what? She's a Jersey girl (from Summit)! Luv huh!
She came to Hollywood's attention in The Deer Hunter (1978). Considered, largely, a dramatic actress, she's also been expert at comedy, in She Devil (opposite Roseanne Barr) and the excellent Death Becomes Her for example.
Loved her in The Devil Wore Prada, Iron Lady,A Cry in the Dark ("A Dingo Ate Me Baby!"), The Devil Wore Prada, Mama Mia, August: Osage County, Julie and Julia and so much more! She has never delivered a poor performance; not even in her badly advised The River Wild that tried to posit her as an action hero.
Like older actresses a'la Bette Davis, Meryl has not been afraid to hand in flippantly campy performances as she's aged, along with serious ones.
So, happy birthday, Meryl! I look forward to Suffragette and much more, feeling your best is yet to come!
I'm in love! With Mac. Yes, a sparkling silver 2015 MacBook Pro is now mine. All 19 inches!
Why, it's so sexy! It even spoke to me in a baritone at the outset. The prompt sounded just like the recorded male voice that makes announcements on the subway. But maybe it's just the way voice-over guys are taught to enunciate.
We're carrying on a mad affair now since I ditched my ex. My ex and I had been together since 2008. The strong silent type. But, sadly, it developed Alzheimer's and little by little lost all its faculties.
I bought that first computer at TekServ back in '08. They gave very personalized service. They are located in Chelsea. I love the Apple glass house in NYC's Meatpacking District but the also-chic shop on Prince Street is located very near to my R train direct to my street in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. So that's where I bought baby and brought it home.
I'd been dragging my feet on buying this necessary item as I have this blog (started in 2009) to keep up. But now Mac is here with me and life is sheer bliss again.
When I bought my new Mac yesterday, I had just tested for a little temp work in midtown. I cabbed it to Prince, thinking that would save time but midtown traffic was gridlocked until we passed 34th Street. Therefore, I thought it was wise to take the subway home at 4 pm. Wrong. A rail problem delayed me so badly that a normally 45-minute to one-hour trip turned into a 2 and one-half-hour subway saga.
Nonetheless, Mac and I made it safe and home alone together. Since 2008, Apple has certainly made loading a lot easier; less muss and fuss. I was up and running in no time.
Customer service at Apple SoHo was top-notch. Thanks to my young, good-looking sales rep! Who knew buying a computer could be such an all-around sexy experience?
Anne Meara was a favorite in my household growing up. My Mom and grandparents would sit with me in our living room, loving her performances with husband, Jerry Stiller on CBS' The Ed Sullivan Show.
I particularly recall a skit in which their "How Much I Love You" talk turned into "How Much I Hate You." Anne had a great line I remembered my lifetime: "If, on a beach, every grain of sand had 'hate' written on it, that's how much I hate you!" This was edgy stuff back then and I saw new directions from this regarding where comedy can go.
Stiller & Meara had, especially, an appeal to the working class. Anne and Jerry were married for 63 years and are the parents, of course, of Ben Stiller. The Irish-American was a Method actress and also did serious roles, like on tv's Law and Order. Though she was best known as a comedian. She was a regular on "Archie Bunker's Place" and "The King of Queens."
She guested several times on "Sex & the City" and "Will & Grace," She had a recurring role on the daytime soap, "All My Children" and now-classic sitcom "Murphy Brown."
She is missed by the public and entertainment community alike.
Kristine W talks like the girl next door with no attitude, no pretenses. She was utterly and disarmingly charming. A diva only when she takes to the stage, she was frank when she spoke with me about her beauty pageant days, her singing career (a multi-Billboard club music charter for three decades now) and her struggle with leukemia. I was happy to be able to get her talking with producer Bob Esty and have my fingers crossed we might see a collaboration. (Wouldn't that be divalicious!) It's all here in my interview. She will be performing this Sunday, March 15, at Saved, 175 MacDougal Street, NYC with Dj Escape and Dj/remixer/producer Hex Hector. She has a new club hit, "Love Come Home" and an upcoming new album for us to look forward to.
Ladies and gentlemen (and everyone in between and beyond), Ms Kristine W....
Buddy Beaverhausen: Thank you, Kristine for your time and for agreeing to do this Q&A with me.
Kristine W: Thank you, I'm happy to. Are you in New York right now? How's the weather?
BB: Cloudy but relatively warm, near 50.
KW: Well, I'm planning on bringing a lot of sunshine with me [from Vegas], so I'm conjuring that up right now.
BB: What can your fans expect when you appear Sunday night at Saved?
KW: We're going to do "Do What You Want" and just sort of check it out and see how everybody's doing. It'll be fun. And Escape wants to surprise everybody with what we're doing.
BB: You were born and raised in Washington state, am I right?
KW: Yep, farm girl!
BB: What kind of music did you listen to growing up and what influenced you?
KW: Oh, we had a really cool mix of ethnicity where I grew up, Tri-Cities, Washington. We had the farm people who liked Country, migrant workers who played Latin music, vacationing Seattle residents in the summer playing Rock and Easy Listening, Black railroad workers.... I was exposed to a lot of different types of music all the time. I was very rooted in soul and adored Earth, Wind & Fire.... Chaka Khan and Rufus.... My mom sang at a nightclub there. Standards, you know, like "You Light Up My Life."
When I first heard Donna Summer's voice, that's what got me really excited. I knew, when I was a kid, that's who I wanted to do. And she was very glamorous! The stage presence, the big hair, the eyelashes and make-up, the beaded dresses!
BB: I think I recall you being compared to Donna Summer, especially vocally, when you first started recording, am I right?
KW: Yeah, that was such a compliment to me because she was my idol!
BB: Talking about Donna Summer and glamor, what was it like to be a Miss America contestant and a beauty pageant queen.
KW: You know, it was never about the glamor. I was raised by a single mother with four kids, and this was a way to get scholarship money. It was a way out of my life back home; my ticket to move on. So I got my money and headed to Vegas where I got my Master's degree. I worked all the time. I sang in other people's bands and sang whatever type of music they did. Back home, I'd been in church choirs and sang in bands. At 13, I was, like, 5'10" so nobody ever asked how old I was or for my i.d. or anything.
BB: In your private life, do you consider yourself high-maintenance cosmetically?
KW: Not really. When I'm not doing a show, like today, I have my lipstick on. No eye make-up. But we slather it on big-time at showtime.
BB: You have a slew of top-ten dance hits on the Billboard club chart. How many at this time?
KW: I have 16 #1s right now.
BB: Wow!
KW: And I have twenty records that made it to the top 5.
BB: Incredible.
KW: And I didn't even know it until Billboard shared that with me now that "Love Come Home" has made it onto the chart.
BB: Let's talk about "Love Come Home." What made you decide you wanted to cover that in particular?
KW: Because it's sort of underground; not many people have heard it over here [in the US]. And because I sang on the background vocals with Frankie Knuckles when nobody knew who I was. I was ready to record "Do What You Want," but the back-up singers didn't show up on Frankie's song. I was so young then, I didn't ask for anything. I didn't ask to get paid, or for riders. I later did a duet of "Love Come Home" with Franke Pharoah, of all people, for Our Tribe that I loved!
BB: You write most of your own songs and they're not fluff. They have depth and are serious songs about life and deeper feelings, really, yet they're so dancefloor-friendly. How do you do that?
KW: I listen to what people have to say, and the serious issues about their lives. It touches my heart. It's just put it to a high number of beats per mnute, about 128 bpm or so. And the beat makes people happy and want to dance even if the song is dark.
BB: The only other dance-music artists who do that consistently, I think, are the Pet Shop Boys.
KW: Yes, I think that's right, too. And I love their music.
Art imitates life in the indy feature, Life Inside Out, a film about how art elevates life. Maggie Baird, who stars and also co-wrote the screenplay, based the film on her relationship with her son Finneas O'Connell, who plays her son, Shawn, in the film festival award-winning Life Inside Out, and lucky New Yorkers can catch it at the Quad Cinema, 34 West 13th St., between 5th and 6th Aves., NYC the week of January 16-22.
This film is like a wave of fresh air. Beautifully shot and edited from its first images of decoupage, it's the story of a working-class woman who abandons her mundane, domestic routine and lifts up her life, and that of her sensitive and alienated teenaged son, through her musical talents. It is also about the mother/son bonding through the artistic process. And about how real life emotions feed into the creative process. Simply brilliant.
Life Inside Out is a somewhat modern fable with a magic golden coat and a fairy godfather in the form of the local music-store owner. The supporting cast, overall, comes up aces.
Under direction by Jill D'Agnenica, Baird delivers a well-crafted, sweetly naturalistic performance as Laura.
I'm not sure if I've ever seen a motion picture that so poignantly conveyed the universal, human need to create and the struggle against societal "norms" and demands, as well as detailing the creative process itself; how art elevates everyone it touches at many levels.
Richard Skipper will be hosting a Q&A with Ms. Baird and Mr. O'Connell on January 16th, 17th and 18th. Check out Richard Skipper Celebrates http://www.richardskipper.com
Darlene Love returned to BB King NYC last night for her penultimate performance in a string of five evenings throughout the holiday season. Billed as a Christmas show, it was indeed that and more.
In full diva attire (yes, there was a costume change midway through the performance), Ms Love was both dramatic and, at an admitted 73 years of age, inspirational. Her eyes alone read "diva" thanks to her make-up artist La Sonya Gunter. Thick, thick lashes and heavily defined eyebrows with a glittery eggshell-blue eye shadow, her hair a curly mop that at times had a life of its own, it is no wonder she has such a significant following of gay men. She did the first set in a lacy, sheer black top and tight silver pants, and the second set in a form-fitting lacy white skirt and top.
As always, we were treated graciously by BB King's always-outstanding staff (attentive but not intrusive) and seated next to a husband and wife originally from England, now living in Toronto. They adored Darlene as much as we did. The audience, at large, was quite demonstrative in showing its appreciation of this act.
A class act, that is. Ms Love always was that and now she's glammed it up several notches.
She opened with a rockin' version of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" before segueing into her classic Phil Spector version of "Marshmallow Word." As is sometimes the case at BB King, we found the mix to be a bit heavy on the instrumentals, though Darlene's voice is a sonic force undiminished throughout the decades.
There was no shortage of hits originally produced by Spector, though Love snarked that karma is a bitch. "Da Doo Ron Ron," "Today I Met the Boy I'm Gonna Marry," and "He's a Rebel" were all performed with passion. She ended her show with "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)" to a final standing ovation.
Darlene touchingly paid tribute to the late singer Patty Darcy with a powerfully interpreted gospel tune entitled "Marvelous."
The title song from "All Alone at Christmas" was part of tonight's act, a song I adore during holiday season. The Saturday Night Live satirical video that featured Darlene singing "Christmastime for the Jews" was wonderfully clever and added some seasonal mirth.
Tracey, Merv and I @ BB King NYC
Ms Love, at times, emitted a Dave Letterman-like laugh and, during her engaging patter, a very Bette Midler-like line delivery or two... or more. The influence of famous friends obviously wore off. I've been following Love since her Bottom Line days and am thrilled by her newly found fame.
As a back-up singer with The Blossoms, Darlene paid tribute to her work with Marvin Gaye with a protracted medley of his songs. It is hard to believe that anyone at this show would be disappointed by the sheer variety of material, and by one of the greatest pop/gospel voices of our era.
On my last post, I discussed seeing and hearing The Salvatones live at St. Peter's Cathedral NYC. I left with this much more secular cd, nonetheless filled with beautiful accapella renditions that soothe the soul.
Wonderful World is is a winter's marsh-mellow, New Age-styled recording. of heavenly voices covering songs that range from "Sidewalks of New York" (who the hell was Mamie O'Roarke?) to the titular song made famous by Louis Armstrong.
There are a few non-English numbers, two Kurt Weill numbers from his New York era ("Lost in the Stars" and "My Ship"), the uplifting "Fields of Gold" and even "Lullaby of Broadway."
There's not a misfire on this disc. Somewhere between Enya and Manhattan Transfer, The Salvatones have their own distinct style. Highly recommended to lovers of choral voices and inspirational singing for the winter 2014-15.
I assume Ms Mink Stole would need little introduction. One of the founding members and superstars from John Waters' indy Dreamland Studios days, she is still friends with her Baltimore director and has branched out, appearing in films and on stage on her own. Behind her screen persona, I found Ms Stole to be disarmingly sweet and personable. And guess what! We have a common bond, having both worked in legal proofreading in NYC. She appears at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, W. 42nd St., NYC, 8:30 pm December 11 through 14. Here it is, ladies and germs: my EXCLUSIVE Q&A with Mink Stole!
Another major loss for the entertainment industry and theater- and movie-goers as Mike Nichols has left the house at age 83. The legendary Broadway and motion picture director died suddenly of currently undisclosed causes.
I briefly exchanged words with Nichols and his wife, Diane Sawyer, and even pressed the flesh one night back in the '90s. I was with a friend at a small theater in the East Village to see the British comedy-cum-drag group, Bloolips. (I wonder whatever happened to them. Guess I was their groupie; even saw them on the fringe in London a couple of times.) Anyhow, Mike and Diane were seated in the row directly behind us in the cramped, little theater. So, I turned around, whispered hello and mentioned I admired them from afar, and they thanked me and shook hands. I think I was a little surprised at the time that they came to see Bloolips, but it only made me realize they were cooler than I had imagined.
I basically grew up with Nichols. I heard -- and loved -- the comedy albums of Nichols and (Elaine) May we had at home. I saw The Graduate in the local NJ movie house the year I graduated high school. I followed and enjoyed most of his films, including Carnal Knowledge, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Silkwood, Wolf, HBO's Angels in America and The Birdcage (that reunited him with Elaine May who adapted the screenplay from the French flick, La Cage au Folles).
Nichols basically discovered Whoopi Goldberg and brought her downtown act to Broadway. With his improv background from his Nichols/ May days, he was able to allow a certain amount of performer improvisation in the films he directed,
R.I.P., Mike Nichols. Your theatrical and motion picture genius will be missed.
Kim Grogg is every bit the diva and, when she took to the stage at Don't Tell Mama in her light blonde bangs and bob cut, pronounced mascara and fire-engine red lips and flowing blouse, she came across as part Peggy Lee, part Dusty Springfield in an effervescent cabaret show that the packed house demonstrably enjoyed.
This was the second of four nights of her engagement (two remaining shows will be on Friday, December 5 and Sunday, the 7th) but it was grand. If this Tuesday night crowd pleaser is any indication, she will return.
In her introduction, Ms Grogg clearly explains her show is not necessarily about romantic love but largely about varied platonic forms of love. For her dog, for example, as she covers Nellie McKay's "Dog Song." Her self-penned "Go Where the Love Is" opens her act and sets the tone.
While the show is largely upbeat in a contempo pop/jazz style (at which this songbird excels), there is a very nice mix of more downbeat ballads. Drama! Like James Taylor's "Millworker" (exquisitely delivered) and "Almost Better." I would have enjoyed hearing Ms Grogg do a few more "serious" songs although the largely ebullient tone is distinctly something desperately needed in cabaret acts these days.
I could relate to Kim's schpiel about being a long-time Manhattanite who moved to Staten Island (I moved, after most my adult life in the Village to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn (right across the Verrazzano Bridge) three years ago this month) before launching into "A Torch Song" about the Statue of Liberty.
There were several clever medleys, I felt, in this show: "I've Got No Strings" melded with "Call Me Irresponsible;" the multi-medley camp combo including "Killing Me Softly," "Torn Between Two Lovers" and "Turn the Beat Around;" Harold Arlen's "Happy As The Day Is Long" paired with Pharrell Williams' "Happy," and the encore medley of Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" with Kim's cover of Bruno Mars' "Count On Me."
And then there are the boys and girl in the band, including two cabaret award-winners: musical director Steven Ray Watkins and Lennie Watts; plus a violinist and female drummer who provide an expert ensemble for the Mac Award-nominated vocalist.
Any artist who can get his or her audience to enthusiastically clap along to one of his or her closing tunes must be doing something right! I recommend catching Kim Grogg's show on the two remaining dates for this engagement. Go where the love -- and the talent -- is.
This Q&A was my first done live. I thoroughly enjoyed this as Sal and Daniel of the Salvatones were such personable persons and our interview was great fun. We were thrown out of PJ Clark's, where I intended to conduct the interview (well, not really, but you can't have a table there and order only coffee). So, we ended up at Toasties across the street, on the upper east side, which the guys liked and so did I. An auspiciously down-to-earth environment for a couple of down-to-earth guys, the founders of The Salvatones. The final edit I did was too long for one post, so I've split it into two parts. The Salvatones' The Many Sounds of Christmas will be performed on December 21st and 22nd at historic St. Peter's Church.
Dj Buddy Beaverhausen: You're both so much younger than I expected! Do you mind if I ask how old you are?
Salvatore Diana: 39.
Daniel Brondel: 44, actually, so we're middle-aged.
DBB: Daniel, do I detect a European accent?
DB: Yes, I was born and raised in France.
DBB: Holiday season's upon us and, with it, The Many Sounds of Christmas. What can you tell us about your show?
DB: As the title implies, it's a concert with different manifestations of Christmas music also featuring organ, a string orchestra along with our vocal ensemble.
SD: There are so few downtown offerings in lower Manhattan, so this is something unique.
DB: Something fresh and new downtown.
SD: Which is experiencing a major housing and business boom right now, so it's a perfect time for our show.
DBB: I understand your first cd is also about to be released.
SD: "Wonderful World" is the title of it. We cover that classic Louis Armstrong song on it in a totally fresh, new style. The album captures all our signature repertoire with something for the holidays. All things classical, jazzy and songs about New York City (arranged by Daniel). He reconstructed "Sidewalks of New York...."
DB: There's currently no sheet music...
SD: Reconstructed it from an existing NYC Public Library copy of the refrain and listened to various singers throughout the 1920s-40s and arranged the whole thing for acapella choir.
DB: It's eclectic and a perfect introduction to the group. All of our singers are classically trained.
DBB: When and how did your group come together?
SD: It was founded by Daniel and I. My day job is creative director at an ad agency. My boss was looking for a small vocal group and I pulled one together. I needed to name it, expecting it would be a one-night thing.
DB: We had such a blast, we decided to keep doing this.
SD: This was all about five years ago. And we had such positive feedback, we decided to bring in a few more singers and build our repertoire. This year, we became a non-profit organization.
DB: Ours was a creative experiment to cross the barrier that makes classical a niche market.
SD: We've also, partnered with other ensembles. Like, this year, the string orchestra.
DBB: You also do private parties and corporate events. How does the experience of performing at these various functions onstage differ from being in concert?
DB: Good question. It depends on the event, I think. For example, we sang at two weddings where we were to be heard but not seen.
SD: Trying to create an experience, not to star at these events.
DB: Music has so many different functions in our lives.
Idina Menzel's Holiday Wishes (Warner Brothers) is a Christmas album of unadulterated and unabashed Yuletide hooey. Here we have an assortment of the standard Christmas numbers ("White Christmas," "The Christmas Song"), for the most part, with some newer, but nonetheless already well-canvased, ones like covers of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" and Joni Mitchell's "River."
The first song on the album is the carol "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and Ms Menzel attacks it, as she does every other track on Holiday Wishes, with overly eager intensity. How can we help but hear! Her style, while perfectly suited for Broadway pop musicals, is an awkward fit for a holiday recording. Brought to bear on "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas," it's positively unnerving. Idina Menzel's voice is that of a Broadway belter combined with the pop melismatic, tremulous stylings a'la Whitney or Beyonce. Should that be suited to your musical sensibilities, the album will be a smorgasbord for your ears, but others may have reason to beware.
Menzel's duet with Michael Buble on (you guessed it) "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is the lamest version of this venerable tune I've yet to hear. Bereft of any sense of sincerity or, even more simply, playfulness, it's as chilly as the weather described in Frank Loesser's lyrics. "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" contains some awkward phrasing and little else to distinguish itself. (What I'll be doing New Year's Eve will be avoiding hearing this particular cover of the pop classic.) "When You Wish Upon a Star" (from Disney's "Pinocchio") is a nice inclusion for a holiday album but suffers from a horrible arrangement and overly dramatic, hyperbolic production and vocal.
While "December Prayer" is something fresh and not altogether hard on the ears, Ms Menzel's version of "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is both badly arranged and delivered. It brought me all the Yuletide joy of discovering a lump of coal in my Christmas stocking. Oppressive rather than peaceful, the album's rendition of "Silent Night" hurt my ears. At that point, I began to long for a silent night myself but managed to make it through the final three tracks.
It seems like Susan Boyle has been around for eons though her debut album, I Dreamed a Dream, was released in 2009, a mere five years ago. Since then, she has released six albums, the latest, Hope, released just last week. Each of these recordings has charted on US Billboard's top 20.
Though not a Christmas release (Boyle has already done two of those), it is appropriately marketed for the season. Inspirational though largely secular in tone with the exception of a back-up choir that could be nothing but Christian in its resounding style, and the occasional church/gospel number like "Oh, Happy Day," Hope has five different producers and is Boyle's best work since her debut on I Dreamed a Dream.
With the most practically perfect enunciation in song since Julie Andrews, Susan Boyle tackles pop standards with her dreamy mezzo-soprano. Her choices are, in large part, exquisitely suited to both her talent and image. Gratefully, there is more upbeat production on Hope than we have come to expect from Ms Boyle in the past. Sarah McLachlan's "Angel" soars with S.B.'s interpretation. "The Impossible Dream" is covered impressively, so much so that I admit I got a tad teary-eyed on first listen. And the contemporary pop number, "You Raise Me Up," originally performed by Josh Groban, is a sonic stunner done diva-style with her own church choir.
John Lennon's "Imagine" is disappointingly anemic compared to most of the tracks on Hope, though the gospel-belting rendition of Paul Simon's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (though oft covered by others before) is here in all its glory. This Boyled "Water" confirms the 53-year-old white diva from Blackburn, Scotland is no slouch as a gospel singer while the opening track, "Wish You Were Here," is a dazzling version of the Pink Floyd song that engaged me from the get-go.
Classics like "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" and "Abide with Me," as well as "Oh Happy Day" bring new life to these numbers due to the obviously ardent passion with which they are performed.
As for Ms Boyle's physical make-over (cd pamphlet has several publicity photos), it becomes her gorgeous voice. And, frankly, nobody wants to see a dumpy diva. So make-up, hair-do, fabulous frocks! And, of course, the voice that took her from telly's Britain's Got Talent to an incredible recording career. Carry on, Susan Boyle!
Even if you had no idea who Chrissie Hynde is, when she took to the stage at New York's Beacon Theatre last night, you would realize you were experiencing a first-rate rock star by her presence alone, not to mention her passion and talent when it came to the music.
Ms Hynde is best known for fronting The Pretenders, the band she's been in since its inception. Coming out of the '70s punk era, The Pretenders have always had their own distinct style of rock'n'roll, and Chrissie paid homage by singing some of that group's classics: "Kid," "Back on the Chain Gang," "Talk of the Town" and "Don't Get Me Wrong." Mostly, though, she was there to promote her new album, backed by her band.
Stockholm's Phil Spector-influenced production of "You or No One" was nicely brought to us live, as were the night's renditions of the album's single, the sardonic "Dark Sunglasses," "Like in the Movies" and "House of Cards."
Chrissie Hynde, like Debbie Harry (who came out of the same era), is one of our coolest current rock icons, and it was nirvana in New York at night to see her perform on her first-ever solo tour.
Bette Midler's already done For the Boys, now it's time for the girls. It's the Girls gets released (on cd and available for download) today in the U.S.
Covering the girl-group oeuvre is nothing new for the Divine Miss M who, on her new concept album, returns to her roots. Why, she was singing these songs before they were back in fashion, ever since her performances at the Continental Baths in the early 1970s. She created the girl-group revival for crying out loud! Her debut album included covers of The Dixie Cups' "Chapel of Love," The Shangri-Las' "Leader of the Pack" and, quite famously, The Andrew Sisters' "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B."
At the time, this was all done with a high camp flare. And it started a trend toward embracing vintage songs and the styles of pop music from previous decades, often with a sly wink. Forty years later, the public has come to love and to respect the girl-group sound. Time and tide has replaced the camp value of these songs with a new sense of esteem. The style of female harmonies in popular music has survived changing tastes throughout the many years. And so, it is no surprise that Miss Midler approaches the songs on It's the Girls quite differently than in her bathhouse days for the most part.
The album is Bette's first in eight years. It is produced by Marc Shaiman, who composed the songs for the Broadway musical version of Hairspray, and who obviously has studied the '60s girl-group sound scrupulously. Shaiman has produced tracks for Ms Midler in the past. No surprise, then, that this labor of love is such an effervescent concoction. In fact, it's the feel-good album of the season.
The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" is respectfully covered by Bette and kicks off It's the Girls with a pleasant but rather middle-of-the-road arrangement (though given a Phil Spector-lite treatment with heavy percussion, Bette's harmonies on back-up vocals (as The Support Ho's) and castanets). The follow-up track, "One Fine Day," is done with similar obeisance.
It's a joy to hear Bette impersonate The Andrew Sisters once more ("Bei Mir Bist du Schoen") and rock out with "Baby, It's You," "Tell Him," "Too Many Fish in the Sea" and "You Can't Hurry Love." (Take that, Diana Ross!) I especially delighted in hearing Bette duet with her friend, legendary girl-group icon, Darlene Love, on "He's Sure the Boy I Love."
Bette makes "Mr Sandman" her own with a Hawaiian feel, "Come and Get These Memories" gets delivered herein as an achy-breaky ballad and 90's girl group TLC's "Waterfalls" is particularly heartbreaking as covered by our Miss M. Carol King's "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" is, likewise, poignantly interpreted.
Bette's virtually back at the Baths with her campy rendition of The Shangri-Las' "Give Him a Great Big Kiss." (Bette famously referred to them as "the toughest girls in show biz.") Her spoken end to this song is not to be missed!
Bette swings out, sisters, on the closing track, The Boswell Sisters' "It's the Girl." An upbeat end to a great 15 tracks.
Run, don't walk to snatch up It's the Girls. The cd has lots of nice photos of its star and liner credits. And tell them Buddy Beaverhausen sent you to their record stores. Not that it'll get you anywhere but you can spread my name around indiscriminately. I rather like the idea.
Bette will be touring in the summer, promoting her new cd. I plan to be there.
From Hammer Films in the UK came The Quiet Ones, now on video.
Hammer's House of Horror had its heyday back in the 1950s and '60s, when the studio resurrected Universal Pictures' famous monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein and the Mummy. The studio folded for a time in the '80s but resurrected itself in the 21st century and now exploits (masterfully, of course) the trend in horror flicks toward the paranormal.
The Quiet Ones' marketing, with its billboard artwork, was one of the most striking in some time. Unfortunately, the movie does not live up to its promotion.
It's Hammer, so it's handsomely mounted and quite sexy and smart. Only in Hammer horror might you hear the shouted out line: "Take your hands out of his trousers now!" Trash with class.
It's British, so many of the characters smoke their ciggies throughout, which might be the most shocking thing in this film. The acting and cinematography are superb. Well directed, the script has a professor, three students (two cute guys and a sexy blonde chick with a Dusty Springfield hairdo) from Oxford going out to a mansion in the country to scientifically study and document a case of "demonic posession" in a young woman.
There's much success in building suspense, complete with occasional and effective use of faux-cinema verite camerawork inspired by Salem Witch Project (still trending in horror films). Tragically, though, the film fails to deliver the scares it promises. In fact, it was a bit of a yawn. Hammer Studio will have to do better than this to resurrect itself from the dead. For God's sake, Hammer, isn't the current vampire trend more up your alley? Fly with it.
Barry Manilow's My Dream Duets is my Welcome to My Nightmare.
I appropriately listened to it in the privacy of my inner sanctum on Halloween night as it's, frankly, a ghoulish endeavor ironically timed for release the Tuesday before Halloween.
While I was rather appalled by the karaoke approach of Barbra's duet with dead Elvis on her latest album, I'm mortified times 11 listening to unwilling participants unable to decline the opportunity (or accept) to do these duets with Mr Manilow.
Mostly, these "collaborations" seem, at the very least, unnecessary. I mean, do we really need to hear Barry barge in on Mama Cass' "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (with this crass Cass intro: "And now to sing this lovely ballad: ME and Mama Cass!") or Frankie Lymon's doo-wop version of "Goody Goody"?
Our boy Barry is now 71 and I suppose the dream of these duets is to meet these artists in the hereafter and put on really divine performances, rocking the clouds. Mr M's voice, while retaining its smooth styling and sense of show-biz pizzazz, shows strain on some tracks (most evident on "Sunshine on My Shoulder" "with" John Denver) though his redeeming virtue is distinctly his arranging and production throughout.
Perhaps the most successful duet is the first with Jimmy Durante ("The Song's Gotta Come from the Heart") , especially in the cleverly spoken intro. And the Manilow meets Dusty Springfield "The Look of Love" is actually touching.
Too much of this album gave me the distinctly uncomfortable feel of necrophiliac opportunism, especially the songs done with Whitney Houston, Andy Williams and Marilyn Monroe. "What a Wonderful World" with Louis Armstrong closes the album but is a completely irrelevant track. And "The Candyman" duet with Sammy Davis Jr.? Ridiculous. High camp for years to come.
While the album was perfect for my Halloween night in a perverse way, it may not be so perfect for other nights. This is, in the end, recording industry zombie-ism, aurally bringing back the dead, remixed, and ready to eat our very souls.
David Fincher is the fashionable director of mainstream movies with art house airs. He previously directed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the overwrought Panic Room with Jodie Foster, and the manic Fight Club. Why, the one-time music-video director has worked with Madonna and lived to tell!
I finally got around to viewing Gone Girl, starring Ben Affleck. At best, it's a work of new maturity and restraint for Fincher; in fact, for all the movie's melodrama, it has a Xanaxed feel to it. Gillian Flynn wrote the screenplay adapted from her novel. I think there's a cautionary message herein though I'm not 100% certain what I'm being advised to exercise caution toward. The media? Marriage? Ben Affleck flicks?
Vague, meandering and full of exasperating plot holes, I found Gone Girl wearisome at a 2-and-a-1/2-hour running time. The plot involves the disappearance of a woman whose husband becomes the media focus as a suspect for murder. And then a ludicrous plot twist is introduced, after which Gone Girl is a goner for sure.
The performances are generally good. Like George Clooney, Ben Affleck is the kind of cinema eye candy I don't feel guilty about because I can honestly say it was his acting that held my interest. (Something I couldn't say with a straight face about Dwayne Johnson, for instance.) As Detective Rhonda Boney (I swear to God that's the character's name), Kim Dickens gives a stand-out performance as does Margo Dunne. Rosamund Pike, in a key role in this film, is a weak link, however, turning in more of a posturing display than an acting job. This was one girl I wish was gone before the movie was over.
The ubiquitous Neil Patrick Harris is in this! So is Tyler Perry! And Sela Ward! Filmed by Jeff Cronenweth to look dim, dismal and underdeveloped, perhaps to mirror the storyline. This is cinematography that begs us to take the story seriously. Doesn't work. A tempest in a teapot, it wasn't long before I gave up hope on Gone Girl, and cried out, "You go, girl!" But not in the way I usually mean that.
The Tom Moulton extended mix of "Devil's Gun" (1977) by C.J. & Co. Start your week with a Halloween twirl with this funky disco classic! Only 5 more days, as my Halloween Countdown continues....
Where Love Has Gone (1964), based on the Harold Robbins novel (loosely based on the Lana Turner scandal), became a film camp classic almost instantly, though it was drubbed by critics of the time of its release. I recently purchased the dvd at Barnes & Noble and watched it this afternoon.
It's high-gloss in the style of Ross Hunter producing Douglas Sirk a'la the Lana-starring Imitation of Life, but WLHG was produced by Joseph E. Levine and directed (awkwardly) by Edward Dmytryk (who previously brought tacky back with Walk on the Wild Side and The Carpetbaggers).
On the set, Susan Hayward was so rude to Bette Davis, the two screen divas barely spoke. In the film, Bette plays Susan's overbearing mother with great panache. It's obvious that body doubles are used as much as possible.
This is trashy high camp with lots of glam to glaze things over. Joey Heatherton's in it, so is Mike Connors and, in supporting parts, DeForrest Kelly (Star Trek) and eternal co-stars Whit Bissell, Anne Seymour and Jane Greer.
Please check this out, camp lovers especially. From the moment Jack Jones begins crooning the title song, you know this is wallower's heaven.
