For Halloween — Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”
Posted on October 31, 2015 at 5:53 pm
“Guardian of the Galaxy’s” Awesome Mixtape
Posted on July 27, 2014 at 8:00 am
One of the many pleasures of “Guardians of the Galaxy,” opening this week, is the soundtrack featuring some 70’s classics from an “Awesome Mixtape” played by Peter “Star Lord” Quill (Chris Pratt). Here are some of the highlights.
“Hooked on a Feeling” by Blue Swede
“I’m Not in Love” by 10CC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_cVCtw7iLA“Come and Get Your Love” by Redbone
“Ooh Child” by The Five Stairsteps
“I Want You Back” by the Jackson 5
An awesome mix indeed!
30 Years of The Best MTV Videos
Posted on August 16, 2011 at 3:55 pm
Time Magazine has a great list of the best music videos in the first three decades of MTV. It’s hard to believe now that MTV’s arrival was controversial because some people thought it would take away from the purity of audio-only enjoyment of music. It was more appropriately controversial because, incredibly, MTV overlooked black performers in its early days. But videos from the “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson, became among the most popular ever and its “Yo! MTV Raps” program was influential in the genre’s early days.
I’ve been watching MTV long enough to remember when their “we’ll try anything” attitude had them playing Madonna’s “True Blue” for 24 hours straight (as the VJ noted, it could have been worse — it could have been “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida“). That means I remember the days when it really was “music television” with music videos back-to-back.
Music videos have turned out to be as creative and boundary-shattering as the music that inspires them. Time has some of my favorites, including “A-Ha’s” great “Take On Me,” Peter Gabriel’s amazing “Sledgehammer,” Jamiroquai’s mind-bending “Virtual Insanity,” Fatboy Slim’s “Weapon of Choice” featuring a sensational dance performance from Christopher Walken, OK Go’s treadmill dance number in “Here It Goes Again,” and, of course, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Beyonce’s “Single Ladies,” probably the two most famous videos of all time.
Here are a few of my favorites they missed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i9Mba9keHA&feature=related
Farewell to the Music Greats of 2009
Posted on December 29, 2009 at 10:19 pm
The New York Times has a superb video tribute to the music greats we lost in 2009, from Michael Jackson to Koko Taylor, Mary Travers, and Sky Saxon, all in under five minutes. Well worth a look.
This is It
Posted on October 28, 2009 at 11:19 am
B+| Lowest Recommended Age: | Middle School |
| MPAA Rating: | Rated PG for some suggestive choreography and scary images |
| Profanity: | None |
| Alcohol/ Drugs: | None |
| Violence/ Scariness: | Gruesome images of ghouls, ghosts, and monsters |
| Diversity Issues: | Diverse characters |
| Date Released to Theaters: | October 28, 2009 |
“This is It” is here to rescue us from the tabloids and remind us what true star power looks like. There are moments of aching sadness as we get a behind-the-scenes look at the concert tour that never happened, but it is the very intimacy of the preparation process that makes the film so enthralling. Jackson comes across as the consummate professional, always polite and appreciative but with a stunning mastery of the smallest detail and the biggest special effect in putting together what would have been a ground-breaking performance.
Jackson seems physically frail at times, conserving his voice and his energy in the musical numbers as the back-up dancers give it performance-level power every time. In one lovely moment, he falls so much in love with a song he is rehearsing that he cannot resist giving it full power and, as happens more than once in the course of the film, all of the people working on the show just stop to watch and listen, utterly entranced. In another moment, we glimpse his quick, private smile of satisfaction with a number that has come together. When he sings “I’ll Be There,” we can’t help being reminded that even though he is gone, his performances will be a part of our lives forever.
There’s a glimpse of the auditions, the dancers almost overcome with the chance to try out for what they consider the zenith of entertainment. He tells one musician to “let it simmer” and demonstrates a guitar riff for another. He is unfailingly appreciative and thoughtful, over and over thanking everyone and unfailingly respectful in giving direction, almost apologetic when he says that the earpiece is making it harder for him to hear. The endless series of bizarre outfits with their military stripes and Munchkin-like shoulders, seem irrelevant when we watch the way he interacts with people and the way he thinks about the songs and dances. Appropriately, the most thrilling moment is “Thriller.” Jackson says he wants to take us places we have never been before, and in this combination concert film/documentary, he reminds us of the power of imagination and talent and the reason he was a star.