This was supposed to be the year of Oscars gone wild. For the first time since World War II the number of Best Picture nominees was upped from five to ten, presumably so that “popcorn pictures” like The Dark Knight could get more of a shot—and that audiences illiterate of, say, The Reader might be encouraged to tune into the show on March 7.
But then the fear, and loathing, and night terrors crept in. What if the disreputably blockbusting comedy The Hangover, which won one of those upstaging Golden Globe things, got the nod? Or, God forbid, the Transformers sequel? Now that the floodgates were open, would mass trump class?
You could hear the sigh of relief all the way over here on the Right Coast last Tuesday morning when the nominations were announced. Whew—the Best Picture nominees, felt to have gone stale and parochial, were now twice as MOR as ever. No curveballs were thrown, not even ones that might have benefited the ratings without compromising the honor, like, say putting the edgily charming (500) Days of Summer into contention. (One of the few indie hits of 2009, and a pleasant surprise when I caught up with it on DVD, might have pulled in a younger demographic.) The only ones to quicken the pulse in a showbiz sense are the sci-fi hit District 9 (shepherded by Peter Jackson and a sort of consolation prize for the grave reception to The Lovely Bones) and The Blind Side.
Although Genesis has stayed away from the studio since 1997’s poorly-received (and Phil Collins-less) Calling All Stations, the band hasn’t given their fans much reason to complain: Over the past 11 years they’ve released six boxed sets, covering studio material, rarities, and live concerts. The seventh and final in the set is Genesis: The Movie Box1981–2007. The set includes five DVDs, including two concerts new to the format, all with new 5.1 DTS and Dolby Digital sound mixes. Though it’s not without its faults, the box is a fine addition to the Genesis collection, and will appeal to anyone who’s enjoyed the band live in concert throughout its tenure as a pop group.
The Movie Box opens with Three Sides Live, available for the first time on DVD. Chronicling two New York performances from the 1981 Abacab tour, the band is in fantastic shape, though Collins’ voice shows a few signs of wear and tear on some of the higher notes in songs like “Abacab.” The video, already dark and grainy, has been cleaned up as best as one could expect, but the audio — particularly the DTS mix — is phenomenal. As with the original video release, many of the songs are interspersed with behind-the-scenes clips, giving the concert more of a “documentary” feel. While the clips are interesting — Collins taking calls on-air at Philly’s WMMR and a stage technician opening up one of Banks’ many synthesizers are some of the highlights — die-hard fans might be irritated that many of the songs are not fully complete in form. A number of songs, including obscurities like 1971’s “Fountain of Salamacis,” are available as audio-only tracks.
The Mama Tour, also being released on DVD for the first time, features the band once again operating on all cylinders, despite some unfortunate fashion choices. Collins is particularly engaging, maintaining a stage persona that delivers all the way to the back of the house, especially on songs like “Mama” and “Home By the Sea.” Always entertaining, Collins dons a tweed jacket and a boom box for “Illegal Alien,” playing the crowd recorded snippets of “Owner of a Lonely Heart” and “Jump,” which charmingly dates the show. (The inclusion of “Karma Chameleon” in an end-of-show medley achieves the same effect.) Once again, the sound quality is terrific. The main bonus feature on this DVD is a documentary filmed by Collins during the recording of the 1983 Genesis album, using a primitive personal camcorder. As an artifact from an earlier time, it’s certainly interesting — both the band and their crew have no idea how to react to the camera recording their more intimate, “working” moments, and much is made of producer Hugh Padgham physically splicing bits of tape together –but clocking in at 80 minutes, it’s about 50 minutes too long. Additionally, most of the video doesn’t feature the most charismatic member of the band, as he was behind the camera. Even those of us who could listen to the “Mama” drum track for hours on end will struggle to make it through. Read the rest of this entry »
It may not be as much fun as its artwork implies, but that’s pretty much a matter of course when you’re talking about an album titled Genuine Negro Jig from a band named the Carolina Chocolate Drops — a combination that promises more hours of floor-stomping, jug-blowing, washboard-rubbing fun than any group of mere mortals could deliver. That doesn’t mean it’s bad, though — far from it, in fact.
A string band trio dedicated to exploring the musical roots of the Piedmont region, the Carolina Chocolate Drops were founded in 2005, and have stayed plenty busy ever since, releasing an album a year (including their contribution to the soundtrack of The Great Debaters). As you might expect, their music has a strong traditional slant; their albums are weighted heavily toward songs in the public domain, and they studied at the feet of legendary fiddler Joe Thompson. All of which is great, but it’s hard to find fault with the band for expanding its repertoire a bit for Genuine Negro Jig — here, nestled in among old-time standards like “Cornbread and Butterbeans” and “Snowden’s Jig,” they’ve mixed in material of more recent vintage, like the original number “Kissin’ and Cussin’” and covers of Tom Waits’ “Trampled Rose” and Blu Cantrell’s “Hit ‘Em Up Style.” Read the rest of this entry »
After finding his greatest amount of critical success in a decade (not to mention his first US top 10 album in nearly fifteen years) with 1991’s Vagabond Heart, Rod Stewart entered the studio in the Summer of 1992 with producer Trevor Horn to record the proposed follow up, Once in a Blue Moon. The sessions would find Stewart recording a wide range of covers, from pop to folk to R&B, even a little bit of what might have been classified as “indie rock” at the time. All of the songs set for the album were eventually released (at least in some version) on US or UK albums, but the original, conceptualized Once in a Blue Moon has never seen the light of day. Not until now, with its exclusive first issue via Rhino Records.
Why wasn’t Blue Moon released? Blame Eric Clapton. Slowhand’s 1992 Unplugged album was a career-defining moment, selling over seven million copies in the US alone and garnering a handful of Grammy Awards. It seems likely that Warner Brothers (label home to both Clapton and Stewart) decided to strike while the iron was hot, and release Stewart’s own Unplugged concert from February 1993 as an album three months later instead of the studio work he had recorded the previous summer. And, as decisions go, financially it was a sound one. Unplugged…and Seated went triple platinum in the United States, a sales level that Stewart had not hit with an album since Blondes Have More Fun in 1978 (and one Stewart has only repeated with the first of his “American Songbook” releases in 2002). Read the rest of this entry »
One of the very first responses I received after posting my reader solicitation for this column was from a friend of Tha ‘Dose named Sandy, alias Reader QQ. I’m not sure when I encountered QQ in the past, but I must have either wrecked her husband or slept with her car, because her suggested listening for me was That’s Rock ‘n’ Roll: Shaun Cassidy Live.
Remember: I can’t say no. Not even to a live album from Shaun Cassidy. See? I’m serious about this shit.
Shaun Cassidy, for those of you too young to recall, was the half-brother of Partridge Family heartthrob David Cassidy (that probably doesn’t help you young ‘uns, I know), and a Tiger Beat pinup in his own right, circa 1977 through 1979. He starred (alongside Parker Stevenson) in a TV version of the Hardy Boys mystery novels and, since every teenybop actor of the period (from brother David to Kristy McNichol) was supposed to sing as well, he started making records. These, believe it or not, were decent records—mostly classic covers (“Da Doo Ron Ron,” which went to Number One) and covers of things Eric Carmen squeezed out after he left the Raspberries (“That’s Rock ‘n’ Roll” and “Hey Deanie,” both Top Ten hits). They were fun and frothy bubblegum singles as only the ’70s could generate, best listened to at 45 RPM on the cheapest record players possible. Read the rest of this entry »
Sunday morning we slept in again–the hallmark of a true luxury vacation when you’re a parent. Miraculously, the snow had stopped, so we had a beautiful walk to our first movie of the day: Hesher, a dark gem about a boy whose mom has died and the “hesher” figure who hounds him until he and his family find a way to move on. It totally made me cry, and not just because of Natalie Portman’s abysmal performance. Loved it.
After the show, we headed over to The Yard to grab a bite at the complimentary T-Mobile Diner. We were seated quickly at a table in the chic white and pink cafe, which was chilly and packed with industry types. The people-watching was great, but the rest of the experience? Meh. The food took a ridiculously long time to arrive, and when it did, you could tell it was the type of food that had sounded really good on paper but just didn’t translate. Also: the service was horrible, the T-Mobile Touch at our table didn’t work, and they were out of several menu items. We didn’t even wait for our desserts. The Popchips we grabbed on the way out were pretty good, though.
Unfortunately, lunch took so long that we missed Oakley Learn to Ride with celebs getting private lessons from professional snowboarders (decked out in complimentary Oakley gear, of course!). So we stopped by Downstairs on Main Street where Oakley was also hosting a football-watching event. Sadly, the party was just a handful of people sitting in the dark, drinking beer and eating potato chips. I wouldn’t have even been sure it was the right place if the bouncer hadn’t practically body-checked us on the way in, informing us that this was a “private party.” Hilarious. Leave it to me to get myself on the guest list for an empty room. Read the rest of this entry »
Back in August, we here at Popdose were happy to run a contest sponsored by DKNY, featuring their DKNY Be Delicious fragrance. As I said back then, I love the smell of this stuff. No, not on me, silly readers — on my wife. It’s one of her favorite scents, and it does a good job of overpowering my natural odor, which is a cross between Old Spice “After Hours” deodorant and a bottle of Drakkar Noir that I accidentally spilled all over myself in 1993.
So when DKNY contacted me again recently to announce a new trio of fun scents entitled the DKNY Delicious Candy Apples Collection, and asked if I’d be interested in sharing the news with all of you (and giving away a batch, valued at $165!), I eagerly accepted. I mean, hey, I’m not going to use them, but people around me might be interested, and who couldn’t use a scent overhaul every once in a while? (By the way, if your wife/girlfriend/significant other asks you why you bought them this scent, DO NOT USE THIS LINE OF REASONING. Keep it to yourself. Trust me. )
The 1980s were supposed to be the decade that killed off guitar rock for good. The humble six-string had been the people’s choice for decades mainly because it was a relatively inexpensive and easy instrument for novice musicians. But with the elaborate prog and metal noodling of the ‘70s and the resultant two-chord punk backlash, the guitar seemed like a spent force; we wondered if there anything left to say with the instrument. And with electronic keyboards and samplers becoming cheaper and more intuitive to use, synthpop was looking more and more like (in the words of Men Without Hats) the folk of the ‘80s.
But a funny thing happened on the way to irrelevance. A clutch of innovative postpunk guitarists — Andy Summers, the Edge, Echo and the Bunnymen’s Will Sergeant and the Cult’s Billy Duffy, to name a few — set about redefining the instrument; using effects to bring out potentialities of tone and color, finding new approaches to rhythm, and backing away from the traditional lead guitar/rhythm guitar dynamic with sparse chording, drones, and ostinato. It was a big, sweeping sound, and for me, at least, it peaked in 1990, with Swagger, the major-label debut of the Blue Aeroplanes, and the Church’s Gold Afternoon Fix. Read the rest of this entry »
BOTTOM LINE: A beautiful musical that played on Broadway for a short time in 2004, this off-off-Broadway production does it justice for a mere $18 a ticket.
The Gallery Players, a fine off-off-Broadway theater in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood, likes to produce musical revivals on the grand and challenging side of things. Currently they’re tackling the 2004 Tony Award-nominated musical Caroline, or Change. Written by Tony Kushner (Angels in America) and Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie), Caroline, or Change is a complex character study of classism in Louisiana in the 1960s. It’s not an easy feat to bring a show of this substance to life, but with a killer cast and tight direction, the Gallery Players have done a stellar job with this must-see musical.
The lines are drawn immediately: Caroline (Teisha Duncan) is a 39-year-old divorcée with four children, working for next to nothing as a maid for the Gellman family. She’s also black and from the south, adding more hardship to the inequality she already faces due to her socioeconomic standing. The Gellmans are an upper class Jewish family and although they’ve faced tribulations of their own, they live comfortably with all sorts of possibilities in their futures. Noah Gellman (Daniel Henri Luttway) is a conflicted 8-year-old who is trying to wrap his head around his mother’s death and his stepmom’s presence. He finds solace in Caroline, though she’s not very nice to him, and the two form an important friendship-of-sorts.
I’m going to say this without an ounce of shame: Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead is one of my favorite movies of the ’90s. (Notice I didn’t say it’s among the best of that decade, just that it’s one of my favorites.)
I was never much of a Married … With Children fan, and in 1991 that was the only work of Christina Applegate’s I’d ever seen, so I wasn’t terribly interested in her first big-screen comedy when it hit the theaters. But a few of my friends went to see it and told me I’d love it, so I relented. I’m glad I did.
Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead, directed by Stephen Herek (Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Mr. Holland’s Opus), came out the summer I turned 13. At the time its story about five kids, most of them teenagers, getting to spend an entire summer alone, unsupervised, sounded more like a fantasy film than a comedy. My brother and I hadn’t been left alone for more than a weekend, so we were extremely jealous of the Crandell kids and their good fortune (though we weren’t heartless enough to be glad that an old lady incidentally died for their freedom).
With their divorced mother (Concetta Tomei) in Australia all summer, the Crandell siblings — recent high school grad and aspiring fashionista Sue Ellen (Applegate), who’s the oldest; burnout stoner metalhead Kenny (Keith Coogan); girl-crazy Zach (Christopher Pettiet); tomboy Melissa (Danielle Harris); and TV-addicted Walter (Robert Hy Gorman) — fantasize about a fun-filled summer without mom around to nag them. Their dreams are quickly dashed, however, upon the arrival of the elderly babysitter who’s been hired without their knowledge, the seemingly sweet Mrs. Sturak (Eda Reiss Merin).
This was supposed to be the year of Oscars gone wild. For the first time since World War II the number of Best Picture nominees was upped from five to ten, presumably so that “popcorn pictures” like The Dark Knight could get more of a shot—and that audiences illiterate of, say, The Reader might be encouraged to tune into the show on March 7.
One of the very first responses I received after posting 
Sunday morning we slept in again–the hallmark of a true luxury vacation when you’re a parent. Miraculously, the snow had stopped, so we had a beautiful walk to our first movie of the day: 
Unfortunately, lunch took so long that we missed 
I’m going to say this without an ounce of shame: 
