I’m not sure if you’re aware, but this weekend marks my first anniversary writing for Popdose. I can’t believe it’s been a year already! I also can’t believe I haven’t run out of movies to write about yet. Pretty soon I’m going to have to remake some of my earlier posts with younger, more modern (you know, shittier) words.
I want to thank everyone who reads this column whether you comment on the posts or not. I truly do appreciate the fact that you guys seem to get my sense of humor and enjoy most of the movies I’ve chosen to write about. I also want to thank the rest of the Popdose staff for welcoming me into the fold. You guys are the best.
So, since this is my anniversary, and since this is Labor Day weekend, I’ve decided I want to take it easy. Instead of devoting a post to one movie and spending hours rewatching the film, researching trivia about it, and finding songs from its soundtrack, I decided to do something a little different — I’ve made a mix of songs from a bunch of different movies. How do you like them apples, huh?
Now, I know you’re probably thinking, “That lazy bitch!” But the thing is, I’ve wanted to do this for some time. I don’t know if you realize how tough it is sometimes for me to figure out what each post is going to be about. It’s not as simple as just choosing a movie I like; I also want to make sure I’m not writing about a soundtrack that’s super easy to find. I mean, where’s the fun in that?
Here are some fun facts about singer-songwriter Jules Shear:
1. He’s from Pittsburgh. So is actor Jeff Goldblum, who stars in a 2006 pseudo-documentary called Pittsburgh that chronicles his homecoming performance in a production of The Music Man five years ago. It also stars Illeana Douglas, a friend of Goldblum’s, who was dating Moby in ‘04 and learning more than she wanted to know about the musician’s appetite for pornography.
2. Illeana Douglas and Moby never dated, hence Pittsburgh’s status as a “pseudo-documentary.” But Moby did research his role by borrowing Jules Shear’s extensive collection of amateur porn.
(Okay, so that “fact” about Shear’s porn collection is a lie. And it’s possible he wouldn’t consider it to be “fun,” either. But why should Jeff Goldblum be the only person who’s allowed to blur the line between fact and fiction? On that note …)
3. For a brief period in the early ’90s, Shear cut his own hair. When he was finished with a trim he’d yell, “Shear genius!” Sadly, no one was around to hear it.
4. Jules & the Polar Bears was originally going to consist of Shear and three actual polar bears, but due to his unwillingness to relocate to the North Pole — and polar bears’ general inability to play instruments — he eventually settled for human musicians David Beebe, Richard Bredice, and Stephen Hague. However, he insisted on treating them like real polar bears, going so far as to contractually limit them to an all-fish diet.
5. Jeff Goldblum starred in the 1988 movie Vibes with Cyndi Lauper, whose hit song “All Through the Night” was written and first recorded by Shear. The soundtrack of 1985’s The Goonies includes two songs performed by Lauper as well as one by the Bangles, “I Got Nothing,” which was cowritten by Shear. The Bangles then recorded Shear’s “If She Knew What She Wants,” another song he recorded first on one of his own LPs, for their album Different Light. Goldblum sings in Pittsburgh for his role as Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man, but songs like “Seventy-six Trombones” probably would’ve sounded better coming out of Lauper’s mouth.
6. “Jules Shear” is a stage name. His real name is Julianne Shear.
7. Did you know that legendary author Jules Verne used rival sci-fi scribe H.G. Wells’s time machine to travel forward in time to 1984, where he declared Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” to be “not as good as that one Shear wrote”? And that after watching The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension he declared costar Jeff Goldblum to be “quirky as hell but fun to watch”?
9. The Pittsburgh Penguins recently won the Stanley Cup, but don’t talk about the reigning hockey champions around Shear or he’ll go into a loud, profane tirade about how there aren’t any penguins in Pittsburgh. There aren’t any polar bears either, but you’ll only make things worse if you bring that up. Just change the subject to Happy Feet and you’ll see that he loves penguins — it’s lapses in geographical logic he can’t stand.
10. Though it hasn’t been confirmed that either Jules Shear or Jeff Goldblum has read Michael Chabon’s The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, it’s nice to imagine them being members of the same book club. Especially if one’s a big fan of Jules Verne and the other’s a big fan of H.G. Wells and they’re willing to wrestle over who’s better.
In part two of this flashback edition of Vin Scelsa’s Live at Lunch, singer-songwriter Jules Shear talks about the R&B inspiration for “If She Knew What She Wants,” how he feels about artists licensing their songs for commercials, his romantic relationships with singer-songwriters Pal Shazar and Aimee Mann, and his role in the creation of MTV Unplugged in the late ’80s. In between the bursts of candid conversation, Scelsa spins songs by Cyndi Lauper and Johnny Cash, a foot-stomping cover of Sam & Dave’s “Hold On, I’m Comin’” courtesy of B.B. King and Eric Clapton, and a cut from Shear’s first band, the Funky Kings.
However, the biggest surprise of the entire June 28, 2000, Live at Lunch broadcast is Shear’s speaking voice. Suffice to say it’s not what you’d expect if you’ve ever heard “Steady,” his sole entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (though Lauper’s cover of Shear’s “All Through the Night” reached #5 in ‘84). My own personal reaction is best summed up by the following verse from “Stereo,” the opening track on Pavement’s 1997 album Brighten the Corners:
What about the voice of Geddy Lee?
How did it get so high?
I wonder if he speaks like an ordinary guy.
(I know him, and he does.)
Then you’re my fact-checkin’ cuz.
Here it is, not even June and with a case of blockbuster fatigue already. Pro and con, the fourth (fourth!) Terminator movie has already been dissected and dismantled around here, and the notion of being strapped to a mopey fun machine piloted by the one-dimensional Christian Bale and the non-dimensional McG had me grinding my gears. Tom Hanks can rattle the Catholic Church with his latest symbols search without me. But, living up to my obligations at this time of the year, I did see a movie featuring Ben Stiller.
Not the sequel (sequel!) to A Night at the Museum, but The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story, which he co-executive produced and appears in, waxing nostalgic about the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious songwriting team behind Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Winnie the Pooh, and so much more. Who wouldn’t? These tunesmiths have touched every kid born since they commenced their partnership in 1951. In the documentary, Poppins co-star Dick Van Dyke recalls a recent encounter with a 22-month-old who knew the lyrics of its Oscar-winning score by heart. Theirs is a gift that keeps on giving.
The Boys shows how inspiration struck. In delightful clips, we see Richard, the younger, more spontaneous brother, pulling zany lyrics out of thin air that Robert, the more self-contained one, faithfully transcribed, adding his own bits as the words tumbled out. (“A Spoonful of Sugar,” one of the Mary Poppins classics, sprang from Richard’s son’s description of receiving polio vaccine.) So many filmmaker-related documentaries founder on not having the rights to show the choicest footage, but The Boys isn’t one of them. Disney produced the film, without, thankfully, imposing on it; the Sherman Brothers’ achievement is inseparable from the studio’s, and having to work around the footage would have been impossible. (more…)
Judging solely by the comments in the last few weeks, it seems like you thought the letter K wasn’t quite as killer as some other letters of the alphabet. I mean, if Chris X can’t find anything worth talking about two weeks in a row, I know I have some problems. But hey, that’s the way the letter bounces, or something like that. A quick glance at the 12th letter of the alphabet shows four weeks’ worth of songs to pick back up where K ran Bottom Feeders into the ground.
And hey, did you notice the number of this post? Fifty-two! That means one full year of Bottom Feeders! Now, if you want to get technical and point out that I reached my first anniversary at Popdose at the beginning of April (the site’s December “furlough,” a 2008 recap, and a week off prevented me from reaching #52 sooner), you could — but why take away from my fun?
Why is this such a big deal to me? After all, most of the writers contribute much more than I do and, frankly, know way more about music than I do. But see, here’s the thing — unbeknownst to our loving editor-in-chief, Jeff, I start projects like this all the time, get six weeks in, and run out of steam. I always think I’m going to enjoy talking about my passion, but then I realize I don’t have the time or the energy to keep going.
But there are two things that are totally different this time. The first is that you actually comment! That’s a big driving factor, of course. But the real reason I think I’ve been able to not just hold on but enjoy this so much is that it’s a fucking cool thing, isn’t it?
I mean, who the hell does this shit? What sane person says, “Sure, I’ll take two and a half years out of my life to write about the ass end of one of the worst decades of music in history”? Everyone talks about “Welcome to the Jungle,” but no one mentions Lorenzo Lamas’s music career, and for good reason. But everyone needs a purpose, right?
God, I hope this isn’t my only purpose in this world.
Anyway, off my ego-trippin’ soapbox I go, but first a big thanks to those reading and/or commenting who’ve kept me motivated. Now, on to the letter L, as we check out the songs that charted no higher than #41 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the 1980s.
In my Cratedigger colum last Saturday, I got out my vinyl copy of the 1965 Miles Davis album, E.S.P. The journey from that classic album to this DVD of a 1987 Miles concert in Munich is more than just 20-plus years. Musically, it’s a lifetime, stretching from the acoustic hard bop of the great Miles Davis Quintet to the hard funk of his late ’80s band.
One of the great misconceptions about Miles is that following the six-year hiatus that began in 1975, when he stayed off the road to address health issues, he was never the same as a trumpet player. If this DVD exists for no other reason, it would have value simply because it gives the lie to that perception. Miles plays wonderfully here, and he plays a lot. According to keyboard player Adam Holzman, “When he first made his comeback, he was not that strong and he was building his lip strength so he didn’t play a whole lot. By ‘84,’85 he was playing a very healthy amount on stage again. He had all his strength back and he was on top of it.”
Miles Davis: That’s What Happened (Eagle Rock) is a well-shot document of a particular evening in Munich when Miles, just four years from his death, and his band appeared before an enraptured German audience. They play songs from his then current album, Tutu, including the title track, and the Middle Eastern-influenced “Portia,” which closes the set. “Human Nature,” made popular by Michael Jackson, and Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time,” both featured on Miles’ 1985 album You’re Under Arrest, are also included. A medley of “One Phone Call”/”Street Scenes”/”That’s What Happened” opens the show and finds Miles playing brilliantly over a thick groove laid down by bassist Darryl Jones. Jones, of course, went on to take over the bass position in the Rolling Stones when Bill Wyman retired in 1993, and has been with them ever since. (more…)
On Tuesday, we talked about Jules Shear’s “Whispering Your Name,” a failed single from his solo debut, Watch Dog. While the single and album flopped, it stayed in the hearts of many musicians and fans. In 1984, Cyndi Lauper had a Top Five hit with a cover of “All Through The Night,” the second song off Watch Dog. And ten years later, Alison Moyet would finally make a hit out of “Whispering Your Name.”
While Shear sang “Whispering Your Name” (download) from the point of view of a guy in love with a girl who still pines for her ex, Moyet kept the pronouns the same on her version. As a result, Moyet’s take adds a sexual twist, as she sings to another woman. While Moyet is happily married to husband number two, she obviously wasn’t afraid to tweak sexual mores a bit and make the cover all the more intriguing.
Even more intriguing was the single version of the track (download) which was miles away from the stripped down acoustic take featured on Moyet’s album, Essex. The single mix makes “Whispering” a dance floor pleaser, complete with disco strings and a Chicago House beat. The video version goes yet another step further, as Moyet’s Yaz mate, Vince Clarke remixed the single, making it a New Wave synth throwback. And hey, look! Dawn French!
A 12″ mix (download)was worked to the clubs, and while I did hear the song quite a bit while clubbing in 1994, none of my sources show it charting anywhere on the Dance Charts. Can anyone confirm it charted here? As far as the UK goes, “Whispering Your Name” became Moyet’s biggest hit in quite some time, peaking at #12. But sadly, as far as the States go, Moyet’s cover suffered the same non-charting fate as Jules Shear’s original. Too bad, since I love all four versions. The CD single is well worth the penny you can snag it for on Amazon.
I gave Jules a quick once-over a little over three years ago, so I think it’s high time I spotlighted another track of Shear beauty, this one from his stellar solo debut, Watch Dog. Bearing the distinctive production stamp of Todd Rundgren as well as guitar work from Elliot Easton, Watch Dog is one of the shining gems of 1983, or as it’s more commonly known around these parts, the Best Year for Music Ever!
Besides featuring “All Through the Night,” later a top-five hit for Cyndi Lauper, Watch Dog is jam-packed with hooks and memorable tunes like “I Need It” and “She’s in Love Again.” It’s a damn shame it was only on CD for a fifth of a second; used copies, should you ever be able to find one, run upwards of $100 or more. The brightest moment on the album has to be its opener, the heartbreaking “Whispering Your Name” (download), the story of a man who discovers his lover still has another in her heart thanks to her sleeptalking. Here’s where Rundgren’s production is patently obvious, but whereas it usually tends to overpower the artist in question, with Shear it works beautifully.
Let me take a moment here to rant about record companies and their stranglehold on out-of-print masters. EMI is sitting on both Watch Dog and Shear’s second solo album, The Eternal Return (1985), letting them rot in a vault somewhere. Music consumers, especially you wonderful people who read Popdose, know how easy it would be to digitize these masters and throw them up on iTunes or Amazon. So why the delay? Especially in this economy, where the low overhead makes this a slam dunk. Argh. Drives me nuts. Rant over.
Although it was released as Watch Dog’s lead single, “Whispering Your Name” failed to chart. The album didn’t move that many copies, either, but it obviously had fans, as Lauper’s cover of “All Through the Night” proved. Another artist a decade later covered yet another song off Watch Dog, and we’ll feature it on Thursday’s Lost in the ’90s. Be here, won’t you?
Hey everybody! Just think: one week from now, you’ll probably be feeling full and somewhat nauseous from all the food you’ve ingested. I say, why wait a week? Get that nauseous feeling right now as we tackle the Billboard Top 10 from November 24, 1984!
10. I Just Called to Say I Love You — Stevie WonderAmazoniTunes 9. Penny Lover — Lionel RichieAmazoniTunes 8. All Through the Night — Cyndi LauperAmazoniTunes 7. Strut — Sheena EastonAmazoniTunes 6. Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run) — Billy OceanAmazoniTunes 5. Better Be Good to Me — Tina TurnerAmazoniTunes 4. Out of Touch — Daryl Hall and John OatesAmazoniTunes 3. I Feel For You — Chaka KhanAmazoniTunes 2. Purple Rain — Prince and the RevolutionAmazoniTunes 1. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go — Wham!AmazoniTunes
10. I Just Called to Say I Love You — Stevie Wonder
It’s funny ’cause it’s true! There are, sadly, a lot of people out there who think of this song when they think of Stevie Wonder, and seriously, that pains me. You know who I’m talking about. You probably work with them.
Barry asks another important question here: “Is it, in fact, unfair to criticize a formerly great artist for his latter day sins?” No, it’s not. Stevie Wonder may be a musical genius, but it doesn’t mean I have to love everything he’s ever released. “I Just Called to Say I Love You” is actually a well-written song. It’s poppy, it’s catchy, and the sentiment is simple, yet original. However, none of this changes the fact that this is song comes nowhere near the caliber of his work from the ’70s. And I’m still on the fence as to whether I give him credit or points off for the cha-cha-cha ending.
When I hear this song today (and I try not to), this is what I usually think about:
When you’re on fire like Lionel Richie in 1984, you can do whatever the hell you want. You can write a song called “Penny Lover,” which is not actually about somebody who loves pennies, or even about someone who loves girls named Penny. And you can sit back and watch your song reach the Top 10, without batting an eye. That being said, “Penny Lover” peaked at #8 and thus became Richie’s lowest-charting solo single to date. This doesn’t seem so bad until you realize that he co-wrote the song with his wife, Brenda, and you just know that Lionel got the shit kicked out of him for that one. “You write a song with ‘Tam bo li de say de moi ya” and it goes to #1, but my song stalls at #8? Go outside and find me a switch!”
Howdy, everybody! Happy Halloween! Between Tina Turner’s hair and Eddie Money’s face, it’s quite a scary week here at CHART ATTACK! Take a look back at what singles were topping the Billboard Hot 100 on November 1, 1986!
10. All Cried Out — Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam with Full Force
I have the weirdest memory of this song. I remember watching America’s Funniest Home Videos very early on in its run (I was 12, okay?), and they had a video of a guy who had done his makeup half as a bride, half as a groom. And his shtick was that he sang “All Cried Out” in profile to the camera, half as the woman and half as the man. That’s all I remember about this song; it wasn’t until I listened to it just now that I realized it was even a duet. Who’s the guy, anyway? I’m guessing he was in Full Force. According to Wikipedia, Full Force had two vocalists — Paul Anthony or Bowlegged Lou — so I guess it was one of those two. Please let it be Bowlegged Lou. I like the idea of someone named Lisa Lisa having a passionate lover’s quarrel with Bowlegged Lou. “You listen here, Lisa Lisa!” “Don’t talk to me like that, Bowlegged Lou!” And then, of course, later, they reconcile, and before you know it, the priest is going, “Do you, Lisa Lisa, take Bowlegged Lou…”
Why did Lisa Lisa need Full Force, anyway? Wasn’t having Cult Jam enough? Both sound like formidable teams, but a Full Force Cult Jam sounds like overkill.
Holy cow, here’s a “live” performance from 1986, and guess what? Paul Anthony and Bowlegged Lou sing to Lisa Lisa! It’s a Full Force threesome! Fast forward to 1:40 for the good stuff, and by “good stuff,” I mean “some seriously awful fashion decisions.”
I personally find this song to be just another lame ballad, but apparently, I’m in the minority: listen to this crowd do all the singing at this performance from earlier this year. They’re loving this one, even without good ol’ Bowlegged Lou. By the way, I’m not saying that people can’t get older and maybe put on a few pounds, now she’s more like Lisa Lisa Lisa.
9. Take Me Home Tonight — Eddie Money
Is it just me, or does Eddie Money kind of look like Benny Mardones?
I’m not sure if you’re aware, but this weekend marks my first anniversary writing for Popdose. I can’t believe it’s been a year already! I also can’t believe I haven’t run out of movies to write about yet. Pretty soon I’m going to have to remake some of my earlier posts with younger, more modern (you know, shittier) words.
Here are some fun facts about singer-songwriter Jules Shear:
In 
Here it is, not even June and with a case of blockbuster fatigue already. Pro and con, the fourth (fourth!) Terminator movie has already been dissected and dismantled around here, and the notion of being strapped to a mopey fun machine piloted by the one-dimensional Christian Bale and the non-dimensional McG had me grinding my gears. Tom Hanks can rattle the Catholic Church with his latest symbols search without me. But, living up to my obligations at this time of the year, I did see a movie featuring Ben Stiller.
On Tuesday, we talked about Jules Shear’s 
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