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. (more…)
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. )
Holy crap! Is it February already? It seems like only yesterday your three favorite idiots from The Popdose Podcast were blathering on about…what did we talk about last month, anyway? No matter. It’s a new month, and time for a brand new topic — and this one’s pretty great, if we do say so ourselves.
Loyal listeners of Ye Olde Popdose Podcast know that, when possible, we like to focus our discussions on a specific holiday: Thanksgiving, Christmas, etcetera etcetera. But here’s something particularly awesome about February — we have a holiday that lasts a whole month! Yes, it’s Black History Month, and what better way to celebrate it than with a trio of pasty white dudes? Please, join us for The Popdose Podcast, Episode 6:Awesome Black People! And before you start shaking your head, wondering if you can possibly listen to our usual irreverent banter with a clear conscience, we’re proud to announce our very first guest on the podcast — none other than Popdose’s own Mike Heyliger, an Awesome Black Person in his own right, who challenged us to come up with as many offensive questions for him as possible. Were we successful? Did he hang up on us? Am I writing this from jail? There’s only one way to find out. So click away, or do so on iTunes (link below), and speaking of iTunes, don’t forget to leave us a review. You’ll be our favoritest Valentine.
The Popdose Podcast, Episode 6: Awesome Black People! (1:07:00, 76.7 MB), featuring Jeff Giles, Jason Hare, and Dave Lifton, with Gordon’s friend from Sesame Street, Mike Heyliger. Download from You can also subscribe to the podcast’s RSS feed.
Show Notes
0:00 Intro: Jason reminds everyone he’s in Acoustic ’80s, and then we’re off on this month’s topic, which is (in case you forgot already) Awesome Black People. (more…)
Here at Popdose, we’re proud to say we’re both growers and showers: as our roster of ever-phenomenal writers (writing ever-phenomenal stories) increases, so does our popularity within the blogosphere. And Wikio, known for publishing a monthly list of the top blogs in various categories, has chosen us to reveal their top music blogs for the month of February. Thanks, Wikio! We love you too, though the last box of chocolates you sent had a disproportionate amount of coconut, and we hate coconut.
Woo-hoo! We’re #21! We’re #21! Not too shabby, considering we didn’t make the Top 30 just a couple of months ago. However, we’re always striving to do better — we’re cool with Lefsetz beating us, but this Stereogum shit has got to stop — so let’s negotiate: we’ll keep dreaming up original, thoughtful commentary on the state of pop culture, and you keep letting people know about us. Deal?
Thanks to Wikio for the exclusive! Be sure to visit their site for the list of top blogs in all sorts of categories!
Welcome back to another edition of Adventures Through the Mines of Mellow Gold! It’s been way too long since we’ve done our wussy spelunking through smooth instruments and gentle vocals. But today, friends, we won’t be doing much singing. Okay, maybe there will be some singing at the end of this post, but for now, we’re going to explore a different side of this genre: the Mellow Gold instrumental.
You kinda knew this was coming, didn’t you? There are only a few true Mellow Gold instrumentals — and no, “Baker Street” doesn’t count, because it has lyrics (even if nobody remembers ‘em) — but “Feels So Good” is perhaps the smoothest and mellowest of them all. There are plenty of reasons why, too — but first, let’s learn a little bit about Chuck Mangione, the man who clutches his flügelhorn so intently that I believe he’s nicknamed it “Mommy.”
Chuck Mangione — known around Popdose as the Mang — was born and raised in Rochester, NY, home to luminaries such as Lou Gramm, Steve Gadd (an eventual collaborator), Wendy O. Williams and Rosalie Hale. (If you know who Rosalie Hale is, congratulations, you’ve just been outed as a Twilight fan.) Mangione began his career as part of the Jazz Brothers, a group formed with his brother, Gap Mangione, as well as his two cousins, Benetton Mangione and Express for Men Mangione. (I’m making a funny, but Gap is indeed the name of his brother, meaning I’m now obligated to call him Gap Mang, which will also be the name of my next band.) (more…)
Thirty-one years ago this week, the Doobie Brothers released the single that perfectly meshed their original boogie-rock style with the keyboard-heavy R&B that Michael McDonald brought to the table. It would go on to reach Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 and win Grammy Awards for both Record and Song of the Year.
I don’t need to get into details as I did on my previous blog several years ago. You can read that post if you’d like. But again, “What A Fool Believes” is the greatest song ever written.
I have always wondered, in fact, why there haven’t been more blog posts dedicated to this magnificent song, in all its glory. Seems like it’s just me and Stereogum. Either way, here are seven different versions of “What A Fool Believes,” in the order that I dig ‘em. This post is dedicated to my wife, who now hates this song more than anything else in the entire world. (more…)
When it comes time for your three favorite schmucks to gather ’round their computers and record themselves talking for a couple of hours, usually they’ve already spent at least a week discussing possible topics that will truly engage and amuse their listeners.
Not this time.
See, because of the holidays, we’ve gotten a little off our regular monthly schedule, so in order to knock us back on track, we present you with this very special (read: unrehearsed) Bonus Episode of The Popdose Podcast, in which the three of us get together and just talk about whatever we want. Don’t worry, you’ll still get your fill of mother jokes (if you didn’t get your fill of Dave’s mother last week…ZING!) and comments about Mellowmas, Michael McDonald, and, of course, Wing. Just think of this episode as the aural version of us going commando, and then proceed to erase that image from your mind so you can get through lunch.
So please, have a click, won’t you? You can do so here or on iTunes (link below), and speaking of iTunes, don’t forget to leave us a review if you like what you’ve heard!
The Popdose Podcast, Episode 5: The Bonus Episode (1:08:46, 78.7 MB), featuring Jeff Giles, Jason Hare, and Dave Lifton. Download from You can also subscribe to the podcast’s RSS feed.
Show Notes
0:00 Intro: Jason & Jeff applaud themselves for another harrowing season of Mellowmas, discussing Lindsay Lohan, the “best” Mellowmas track, Jason interviewing New Yorkers about Bob Dylan, and the awesomeness that is the Popdose mic cube. We also discuss the volume of snail mail Jeff gets on a daily basis, yet he can’t seem to snag a screener of Crazy Heart. (more…)
Despite what you’ve seen every day so far this month, I really do enjoy listening to holiday music. In fact, I’m downright obsessive about collecting it, rating it in iTunes, and categorizing it into different playlists . Here are my holiday stats as of today:
Holiday songs in collection: 1,669 Songs added/reviewed this year so far: 412 Songs rated with four or five stars (“the keepers”): 434
Of those “keepers,” I pulled out 17 that tend to get played a few more times than, y’know, the other 417. I’m happy to share them with you. I owe it to many, many bloggers for helping me build my ridiculous collection — most notably Jeff (for better or worse), Andrew Fox, Any Major Dude With Half a Heart, and Jeff from AM, Then FM.
And, while not traditionally a “Christmas song,” this last one comes from my absolute favorite Christmas album — the one I’ve had since I was two years old, and have listened to every year since.
Don’t know what to get your friends and loved ones for the holidays this year? If they’re lovers of merriment, obnoxious humor and immature behavior, we can think of no better gift than The Popdose Podcast, Episode 4! Sure, it doesn’t cost anything to give as a gift, but that just leaves you more money to spend on yourself this season. Because let’s face it — you’re worth it.
In this episode, our illustrious hosts discuss — you guessed it — the holiday season, from gifts to music and everything in between. You’ll also find out exactly how Cabbage Patch Kids are born. We only wish we were making this up. Please leave us your thoughts in the comments, and if you like the show, please leave a review on iTunes. Enjoy!
The Popdose Podcast, Episode 4: Cabbage Section (1:01:45, 70.7 MB), featuring Jeff Giles, Jason Hare, and Dave Lifton.
Let me answer your first question straight off: Yes, I’ve written a review of a Blu-ray disc that features little more than a burning fireplace. I know it’s a little weird. Here’s something even weirder: Everyone has their favorite television holiday special, right? Mine is the Yule Log.
A brief history: in 1966, the president of New York’s WPIX (Channel 11) decided to give his viewers a Christmas “gift”: a film of a log burning in a fireplace, accompanied by holiday music, for the many Manhattan residents who lived in apartments and didn’t have fireplaces of their own. The program ran every year, sometimes on Christmas Eve, sometimes on Christmas Day (and sometimes both), from 1966 to 1989, then again from 2001 up to the present day. Growing up, I loved turning on the TV either that night or the next morning and seeing the log burning; it brought some odd sense of comfort to me, with its old-time traditional feel. I’m ridiculous enough that I actually keep all four hours on my TiVo throughout the year (mostly just to drive my wife nuts in July), but believe it or not, there are huge fans of the program faithfully watching this same six-minute loop along with me every year.
So when Screen Dreams Publishing (which unfortunately kind of sounds like a porn company) pitched their latest disc to Popdose — Living Fireplace Volume 2, filmed in glorious high-def and released on both DVD and Blu-ray — I knew I had to have it. Could it possibly replace the original Yule Log, thus freeing up four hours (and 7.5 GB) on my TiVo? (Don’t you dare judge me.) The answer is…no. But for all normal people out there — those who don’t have four hours and 7.5 GB of Yule Log on their TiVo — this disc is a nice background addition to your holiday party. (more…)
Thirty-one years ago this week, the Doobie Brothers released the single that perfectly meshed their original boogie-rock style with the keyboard-heavy R&B that Michael McDonald brought to the table. It would go on to reach Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 and win Grammy Awards for both Record and Song of the Year.
