Double Vision: Passion, Fashion, and The September Issue
“September is the January in fashion.” Candy Pratts Price, Executive Fashion Director, Vogue Magazine.
R. J. Cutler’s 2009 documentary, The September Issue, a look at the arduous process of compiling Vogue magazine’s biggest edition of the year, was initially promoted as a profile of its Editor In Chief, Anna Wintour (left), but ended up shedding more light on Creative Director, Grace Coddington, resulting in her becoming the film’s most fascinating star.
Coddington’s free-spirited, yet focused passion versus Wintour’s structured, and equally focused, determination made for a compelling dichotomy. Even their hairstyles and overall fashion sense speak volumes: Wintour dons her signature bob, classic and conservative, a strand rarely out of place, while Coddington (below) rocks thick, flowing, rock-star-style red hair. Ironically, Wintour, often stern, tends to exude personality through attire that embraces prints and color, while Coddington, like the cool bohemian aunt in your family, is frequently draped in black, almost choosing to pull focus from what’s on her person to what’s on her pages.
Coddington fights to get her work into the magazine, but it repeatedly gets put to the side, as Wintour edits, then ultimately decides what fashion spreads will make it into the issue. As Coddington senses her spreads are on the chopping block, she can’t hide the defeat on her face, as she sits at her desk. She updates the documentary crew about her spreads’ seemingly limited lifespan: “They took two more out and there’s question marks on two more, so it’s been whittled down… and I’m furious,” she calmly discloses. After a somber pause, she reveals with a brief nervous chuckle: “And it’s very hard to go on to the next thing.”
Later, a trip to Paris reignites the inner fire that looked to be extinguished. In a film full of flash and fashion, and pretty pictures, it’s this section that shows the inner beauty, particularly as Coddington overlooks the gardens at Versailles, an inspiring perspective emerges: “You have to go charging ahead, you can’t stay behind.”
And isn’t that what fashion, and life, is all about. The September Issue is a glimpse into the glamour, but more so it’s in-depth insight into the relentless passion it takes to create, and the frustration that can happen along the (run)way.
The September Issue cinematographer: Robert Richman.
Well Played: A Review of Kacey Musgraves’ Deeper Well
When you dive into Kacey Musgraves’ lovely folk-country album, Deeper Well, you’ll likely discover the singer/songwriter secure, but searching. After love (captured on the masterpiece that is 2018’s Golden Hour) and loss (poured out on 2021’s star-crossed) come self-healing, (personal and professional) lessons learned, even a few unanswered questions, all reflected on 14 sonically soothing, acoustic-centered tracks, with Musgraves’ angelic voice at the heart (of the woods).
Here, Musgraves is at her earthiest. Throughout the album, she and her writing team have incorporated references to the natural world and its inhabitants, the seasons and the afterlife: With the opener, “Cardinal,” the scarlet-red bird is seen as a messenger “from the other side” (an expression Musgraves also adds to “Dinner with Friends”). She also asks: “Are you just watching and waiting for spring?” With “Too Good to be True,” Musgraves musters the courage to open herself up to that foreshadowed new beginning (“Summer’s gone, but you’re still here/For both of us, it’s been a year”), yet subsequently on “Moving Out,” cohabitation comes with challenges. She sings metaphorically, “That big tree in the front yard lost a limb,” and uses the season of autumn to signify the decay of that relationship, evidenced by the following track, “Giver/Taker” and its opening line: “Sundown and I’m lonely in this house.”
But it’s the title track, as well as “Sway” that document her quest for centeredness amid all the changes that life can bring “without a warning,” words expressed on “Too Good to be True” and similarly on “Cardinal.” Musgraves never pretends to have it all figured out; in fact, on “The Architect,” she paints a series of scenarios to convey a balance of curiosity and confusion about creation, and life on the planet, leading, once again, to confirm Musgraves’ knack for relatability through lyrical construction. By album’s end, “Nothing to be Scared of” finds her dipping her toes in the relationship waters once again. And if life and love ever get murky again, Musgraves now knows she can always go back to the well.
Photo 1: “Cardinal” music video, directed by Scott Cudmore; Photo 2 and 3: “My Saturn Has Returned” promo for Deeper Well (cinematographer: Mika Matinazad).
An Add-Shot of Pop: Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso”
Breathy and a bit bratty, in the best possible way, Sabrina Carpenter’s breakout hit, “Espresso” is easily a song-of-the-summer contender. As the track awakens, it’s cool and quiet, just the sound of shimmery synth keys, handclaps, and a deep bass line in the background can be heard. But it’s quick to rise and shine into a caffeinated eight-line chorus (repeated four times in less than three minutes) that proudly boasts the effect one can have on a partner, specifically the prowess of delivering a shot of love so strong, it’s enough to instill a bout of insomnia (“Say you can’t sleep, baby, I know/That’s that me, espresso”).
And while this hook and most of the lyrical content, for that matter, are far from grammatically correct (“Walked in and dream came trued it for ya”; “One touch and I brand newed it for ya”), certain liberties are allowed when crafting a smart, sugary pop song, the kind of sonic addiction that gets into a listener’s veins and brain, and won’t let go. Is it that sweet? I know so.
From Fosse to Ari: The Origin of Ariana Grande’s “yes, and?” Video
As long as there have been artists, it’s pretty safe to say there have been critics. The relationship between the two is a complicated one, for it’s the artist who, in an act of vulnerability, steps into the arena (often literally) to present the creation, and with that, comes the (welcome or unwelcome, hopefully at least constructive) critique from the sideline.
An artist who recently commented about this relationship is Ariana Grande, via her latest music video for “yes, and?” from her seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine, which saw the light of day on March 8. The track’s sound evokes classic piano and hi-hat ‘90s dance music, while the video treatment harkens back to a stylish ‘80s music video and even further back to an iconic ‘70s movie musical, so therefore, Ari’s video is an homage to an homage. Let’s put on our dancing shoes and retrace our steps:
One of the best depictions of this artist-critic exchange was featured in Bob Fosse’s 1979 semi-autobiographical musical-drama, All That Jazz. Broadway director and choreographer, Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider essentially portraying Bob Fosse) is burning the candle (and many cigarettes) at both ends, trying to cast and create a new show, plus complete the editing of a film, all while barely co-raising his young daughter, and popping a lot of pills.
The new show that Gideon is working on entitled, NY/LA, a loose reference to Fosse’s very own, Chicago, features a musical number about airline travel called “Take Off With Us” (a cheeky title already filled with foreshadowing). Gideon invites a few suit-wearing financial backers to preview the song and dance, which starts out with the character of a purser (Sandahl Bergman), along with her crew of dancing flight attendants, touting the exceptional service they will bestow up their passengers (“They only live to service you...”). The first half of the performance is bubbly, which garners smiles, even a round of applause midway through from the straight-laced observers, but unbeknownst to them, there’s a second half that suddenly turns steamy (literally), with one of the dancers welcoming all aboard “Airotica,” Gideon’s ode to the “Mile-High Club.”
The studio goes dim, now lit only via a few flashlights, with the dancers peeling off their clothes (the “take off with us” double entendre now realized), and pairing up to perform a sensual, then overtly sexual, albeit artistic, number, much to the confusion and disappointment of the backers, the realization sinking in about the limited monetary and sponsorship potential that the addition of “Airotica” will bring. “There goes the family audience,” the head backer whispers to his colleague. At the end, Gideon asks what they think, only for the head backer to feign acceptance and approval with a nervous smile.
Ten years later, the dancer and choreographer, Paula Abdul used Fosse’s “Take Off With Us” as the basis for her “Cold Hearted” music video, directed by a then relatively unknown, David Fincher. The video starts out with a group of record-company executives arriving at a rehearsal space, seemingly uninterested in what they’re there to preview. One says it’s a “Bob Fosse kind of thing; it’s gonna be really, really hot,” to which another executive nervously replies, “Yeah, but tastefully, it’s tastefully hot.”
The first two verses and choruses find Abdul and her crew dancing much to the toe-tapping approval of the executives, but by the bridge, a couple of the dancers begin lowering the window shades, thus beginning Abdul’s (understandably much tamer) version of “Airotica.”
A couple of the executives are turned off, a couple of them turned on. Similar to Gideon asking his backers, Abdul asks her audience, “Well, what do you think?,” to which a conservative executive reluctantly replies, “It’s very nice.”
In January 2024, Grande released “yes, and?” as a self-empowerment reminder amid a social-media culture of click-and-critique. The video came at a time when Grande, once again, became the subject of chatter surrounding her personal life, specifically her short-lived marriage, and quick subsequent kindling of a new relationship with a co-star from the film adaptation of Wicked. For the Christian Breslauer-directed video for “yes, and?,” which starts similarly to Abdul’s, a group of jaded critics reluctantly arrive at an industrial space, yet ironically can’t seem to talk about anything but Grande and her signature ponytail, with some of the critics even rehashing, and reacting to, internet-sourced gossip.
As these critics enter the space, an elated group exits. The new batch take their seats in front of a series of stone statues, one of which is in the form of Grande with her hands covering her eyes in a see-no-evil posture. As the song’s beat drops in, the statues crumble into piles of rubble. Grande is released to tell her story, with the bridge reserved for commentary to those who deliver just that about her (“Don’t comment on my body/do not reply/your business is yours/and mine is mine”).
Through confident lyrics and cohesive choreography, Grande and her dancers persuade the critics to drop their metaphorical stone exteriors as well. Yet just as this is achieved, she and her dancers within a flash assume their statuesque personas once again, perhaps symbolic of the thick shell needed to navigate the current, all-too-easy, drop-a-comment culture. As the newly elated converts leave, yet another cluster of critics enter, they too soon to be shook.
In summary, the common threads between the three depictions are as follows:
The critics arrive.
Principal female character with a group of dancers.
Principal character dressed in black, and wearing a black hat with brim.
Stripped-down, industrial-looking rehearsal space featuring scaffolding structures.
Principal character on top of the scaffolding structure.
The controlled critics sitting on chairs as the audience, as opposed to the creative artists “in the arena.”
There’s always a moment when the critics are enjoying what is presented to them.
The rehearsal space goes from light to dark for a version of “Airotica.”
When it comes to Ariana Grande’s “yes, and?” video, there’s no place like homage.
Photos 1, 8, 9, 10: Ariana Grande in the music video for “yes, and?,” directed by Christian Breslauer; Photos 2, 3, 4: All That Jazz, directed by Bob Fosse, cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno; Photos 5, 6, 7: Paula Abdul in the music video for “Cold Hearted,” directed by David Fincher.
Tour de Force: Five Madonna-Concert Faves
To commemorate her 40 years in the music industry, Madonna recently embarked upon her Celebration Tour, essentially a greatest-hits tour that also affords the Queen of Pop the opportunity to perform fan-favorite singles she hasn’t performed in a live-concert setting. One such track is “Nothing Really Matters,” her epiphanic Ray of Light reflection on love, and the cyclical nature of karma. The latter is smartly conveyed through stage design (rotating platforms; circular lighting rig) and costume (halo headdress; spherical cutouts in her “Frozen”-inspired gothic gown). This particular performance captures some of the signature elements that go hand in hand with a Madonna tour: music, fashion and (performance) art.
Throughout her peerless career, she has set out on a number of world tours. Granted I haven’t seen every one of them, but I am grateful to have attended five Madonna concerts (Drowned World; Reinvention; Confessions; Sticky & Sweet; MDNA), two of which make the list of my five favorite Madonna tours, while the other three on the list have been watched a number of times on VHS, Blu-Ray, and cable TV, and still serve as ones I wish I could’ve attended. “And it goes something like this”:
You Always Remember Your First: Madonna set out on her debut tour with 1985’s The Virgin Tour, with a setlist composed of tracks from her self-titled album, and her second album, Like a Virgin. Her Detroit, Michigan stop was the setting for the concert film, Madonna Live: The Virgin Tour. Throughout the 55-minute film, she exuded raw talent, and within minutes, it was evident she was doing exactly what she was meant to do: dance and sing (“get up and do your thing”). Although, at times, there’s evidence of a backing track, Madonna takes full ownership of her voice, and performed the vigorous choreography without gasping for air, tangling a rosary, or dropping a tambourine.
Towards the end of the opening number, “Dress You Up,” Madonna struts, then partially removes her multi-colored jacket to reveal her purple lace blouse. A confident star in born. Yet in keeping with the virgin theme, that confidence is offset by a moment of authentic innocence, revealed during an interlude in the second number, “Holiday,” when she becomes visibly moved by the realization that this hometown girl did good. “You know, I was never elected the homecoming queen or anything, but I sure feel like one now!” Another performance I tend to watch often: the Like a Virgin rarity, “Over and Over,” which featured her sporting teased hair and thrift-store-style fringe, with ‘60s go-go choreography at every step. The track includes the prophetic lyric for the ever-determined Madonna: “You try to criticize my drive/If I lose, I don’t feel paralyzed.”
Act of Ambition: Her most theatrical, and controversial, show to date, Madonna’s 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour was a rallying cry against ‘80s conservatism that could easily be summed up in two simple words: express yourself. And she, and her corps of dancers, did just that during a show that pushed buttons and purposely pushed the envelope. When “Causing a Commotion” turned 30, I wrote a post about this third song in the tour setlist. It’s one of the best in the show, for it captures some of the elements that make the Blond Ambition Tour so iconic. For starters, the show is style with sociological substance. To read more, click here.
I Dream of Androgyny: If one thought Madonna couldn’t get any more controversial with the Blond Ambition World Tour, in 1992 she released her Erotica album, and the art-core coffee-table book, Sex. A year later, she launched The Girlie Show. Madonna’s platinum-blond pixie cut was the antithesis of the robo-ponytail that she sported on her previous tour, allowing her to blur the lines between conventional female and male. The four female dancers, who also embraced an androgynous aesthetic, each with short, boyish haircuts, served as doppelgängers of their male-dancer counterparts.
The show, set amid a cabaret-carnival theme, featured some of Madonna’s best live vocals, particularly during the fourth track in the setlist, “Rain.” The performance put heavenly three-part harmony centerstage, thanks in part to backing vocalists, Donna De Lory and Niki Haris. It gets even more soothing with the inclusion of The Temptations’ “Just My Imagination” in the already beautiful bridge. The lyric in “Rain,” along with a corresponding golden-yellow lighting cue: “Here’s comes the sun/And I say never go away” also signified the transition from the dark “Dominatrix” section to the forthcoming Studio 54-inspired section, commencing with a disco/funk version of “Express Yourself.” It’s one of those goosebump moments brought about by Victor Bailey’s bass-synthesizer, Paul Pesco’s guitar scratch, Omar Hakim at the kit, the red curtain rising, the organ keys, those percolating electro-disco blips, and Madonna sliding off a gigantic mirror ball to begin the chorus.
While parts of the show move a bit slow (“Like A Virgin” as an homage to Marlene Dietrich; a long “Holiday” that overstays its welcome; an Alice In Wonderland fever dream that is “Justify My Love”), Madonna ends on an upbeat note for the last song, “Everybody,” as the way to introduce her band members. (Her introduction of the aforementioned bass player, Victor Bailey is one of my favorite moments in any Madonna concert.) She also mashes up the second verse from Sly & The Family Stone’s “Everybody is a Star” into the beginning of this funky finale.
Pop as Punk: By 2001, Madonna hadn’t toured in 8 years. During that time, she starred in the Alan Parker movie-musical, Evita, gave birth to her daughter, Lourdes, and recorded and released her masterpiece that is Ray of Light. One year into the new millennium, Madonna set out on her Drowned World Tour to further support the already successful Ray of Light album. The opening section donned an English punk-rock sound and vision, with the audience seeing and hearing Madonna play electric guitar live on “Candy Perfume Girl,” followed by a cheeky ‘60s-pop performance of “Beautiful Stranger,” the song she contributed to the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack.
The fiery red “Geisha Girl” section saw Madonna reversing the conventional submissive role to one of a dominant warrior, complete with aerial acrobatics. The “Country Girl” chapter allowed the audience once again to see her strum her guitar on “I Deserve It” and “Secret,” and later on “La Isla Bonita” during the “Spanish Girl” section. But it’s the finale that featured “ghetto-fabulous” performances of “Holiday” and “Music” that showcased Madonna’s mind-blowing ability to dig deep and deliver strength at the end of an already physically demanding show. (The first time seeing Madonna was during this tour, on a stop in Oakland, CA.)
I Must Confess: The 2005 Confessions on a Dance Floor era was Madonna’s return to (‘70s disco) dance-pop. In 2006, she launched her taut Confessions Tour, which incorporated a gigantic mirror ball that descended from the rafters to open the show. This iconic symbol cracked open like a crystal-encrusted egg, and hatched the icon herself, dressed in an English-equestrian outfit, complete with a riding crop used as a “dominant” double entendre. “Future Lovers” mashed up with Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” set the modern-day disco tone, followed by “Get Together,” then a remarkable remix of “Like a Virgin,” performed with physical prowess on a merry-go-round-inspired cowboy saddle, with a powerhouse parkour-heavy performance of “Jump” to conclude the opening section.
Later, religion, rock n’ roll, and roller skates also play roles in this brilliant show, which concluded with her ABBA (“Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!”)-sampled hit at the time, “Hung Up.” (I had the pleasure of attending a tour stop in San Jose, CA.)
These five concerts alone easily cement Madonna as the greatest female entertainer, who for three decades was certainly a (tour de) force to be reckoned with.
Photo 1: Live Nation; 2: Warner Music, Sire Records; 3: Blond Ambition World Tour - Yokohama; 4: Warner Reprise Video, Maverick, Sire; 5: Warner Music Vision, Warner Reprise Video, Maverick; 6: Warner Bros., Warner Music Vision.
Life After Death: The Cult Classic That is Clue
It boggles the mind to think that the 1985 comedic murder mystery, Clue flatlined upon its initial theatrical release. Opening on December 13, 1985, the film, co-conceived by John Landis, and based on the classic Parker Brothers’ board game, was up against The Jewel of the Nile, the sequel to the successful adventure-comedy, Romancing the Stone, with Rocky IV and Landis’ Spies Like Us also continuing to do well commercially. One thing I don’t understand (one thing?): Why Clue didn’t get an October or Halloween-season release-date, considering its murder-mystery genre.
However, with the help of cable television, and the birth of the VHS rental market, Clue was brought back to life by viewers, in their living rooms, with the remote control. From John Morris’ Hitchcockian, Bernard Herrmann-inspired orchestral score during its opening credits, to the solid cast of “colorful” characters that the viewer meets one by one as each arrives at a spooky manor on a dark and stormy night, Clue is “cozy murder” at its best.
The screenplay’s mid-1950’s timeframe allowed the director and screenwriter, Jonathan Lynn, to weave in satirical jabs at McCarthyism, conservative moral codes, even good ol’ fashioned capitalism. But mostly, Clue works because of the sharp lines of dialogue, quickly delivered between characters. Tim Curry’s Wadsworth, the Butler, not only tidies up the kitchen and the dining room, but takes it upon himself (as a workingman’s Hercule Poirot) to neatly wrap up the mystery via a zany, fast-paced, cartoon-caliber reenactment of the evening’s events, where the viewer discovers the whodunit and two other who(could’ve)dunits.
Repeated airings and rentals in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and purchases, of Clue have earned the film a large fan base, to the point where it’s easily reached cult-classic status. In particular, Madeline Kahn’s improvised “flames” monologue is a fan favorite, and probably the movie’s most recited section.
Long story short (too late): Clue certainly proves that just because something doesn’t break box-office records doesn’t mean it’s destined for the bargain bin and into obscurity; with a strong ensemble cast, a witty script full of memorable lines, and the support of a deeply loyal following, a film such as Clue can take on a life (after death) of its own.
Gotta Have Fate
The Netflix documentary, Wham! is as much about destiny, as it is about one of the biggest pop acts of the 1980s and its global impact over a mere five years. The story of how Georgios “George Michael” Panayiotou and Andrew Ridgeley became the legendary pop group is told mostly through archival footage and audio soundbites.
Meeting at school as pre-teens, Andrew and Yog, Andrew’s nickname for Georgios, became friends with a mutual interest in music. By their late-teens, the pair began writing catchy tunes laced with social commentary, plus ones that embraced the frivolity of youth culture (“Club Tropicana”), as well as others that appeared on their 1983 debut album, Fantastic. “Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do),” “Bad Boys” and “Young Guns (Go For It),” positioned Yog, professionally known as George Michael, as the rebellious protagonist, hell- (or heck-) bent on avoiding the 9 to 5 and “death by matrimony,” and set on saving Andrew Ridgeley’s character from a “straight-laced” life (one without George). Besides the (not-so) underlying homoerotic subtext, gay subculture iconography played heavily: leather jackets; tight jeans; aviator glasses—a look that solo George would don again for the Faith era. The musical and visual appeal of Wham! was far-reaching.
Co-crafting the sax-drenched power ballad, “Careless Whisper,” continuing into the Make It Big album (“Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”; “Everything She Wants”; “Freedom”) and their final, Music from the Edge of Heaven (“Last Christmas”; “I’m Your Man”; “Where Did Your Heart Go?”), both traveled down the same creative pop-music path, only for them to hit the proverbial fork in the road, with personal goals and professional roles shifting as they achieved international success. Watching the documentary through the lens of loss, and letting go in life, adds further emotional resonance to what is essentially a story of unconditional love between friends, with one who must selflessly accept what is, so the other can become who he was destined to be.
Go-go watch it if you haven’t.
Heart Beats: The Summer of Kylie Minogue and “Padam Padam"
Although the official unofficial start to summer begins during the Memorial Day weekend in the latter part of May, Kylie Minogue’s summer to remember began on May 18, 2023, with the release of “Padam Padam,” the first single from her 16th studio album, Tension, out September 22. Snippets of the song teased before its release hinted at a more mysterious sound, with its electro-altered vocal and an ominous guitar riff. No one could have predicted, even Kylie and her production team, that this dark, menacing intro would kick off, what many would later consider to be, the “song of the summer,” a coveted title often associated with a lighter, more upbeat pop sound, reflective of that school’s-out, sun’s-out sense of carefree abandon. It’s the track’s (heart)beat-thumping chorus that would allow it to set itself apart from other pseudo contenders.
Just ten days later, Kylie celebrated her 55th birthday, and took to her social media to thank her followers for the messages, “the ‘Padam’ reaction and the love; it’s been an incredible week,” Kylie said. Incredible indeed, the song went viral on Instagram, and on Tik Tok, #padampadam would eventually garner 10 million hits in early June. This is the first of two significant moments, for it confirmed the speedy reach, and the immense impact, of “Padam Padam” in a relatively short amount of time.
The second moment also occurred in early June, when Kylie surprised the crowd of 80,000, who attended Capital’s Summertime Ball music festival at Wembley Stadium. The radio group posted the two-song set to its YouTube channel, which at the start of the performance featured a pre-filmed compilation of Kylie clips and some career stats. The cameras down on the stadium floor captured the reaction of some of the audience members (many presumably in their twenties) as they began to realize that the Aussie superstar was on the bill. It’s one of the most important moments in Kylie’s career: Here, a pop-music icon, some 36 years into her career, is connecting with many who weren’t even born when “The Loco-Motion” or “I Should Be So Lucky,” or perhaps even “Spinning Around” or Kylie’s signature, “Can’t Get You Out of My Head,” were released.
The video montage, designed to heighten the hype, met its goal; when Kylie’s name was announced and she ascended on the stage-lift, the audience erupted in excitement, easily heard in the following video:
Kylie then went from stadium to studios, appearing on NBC’s “TODAY” show, and Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live” with Andy Cohen, where Cohen asked her point blank if she had any plans for a U.S. tour or a Vegas residency, to which she coyly replied: “Very possibly.” The “very possibly” turned into “very definitely” in late July when she officially announced a Las Vegas residency at the Venetian’s newly renovated, 1,000-seat venue, Voltaire. She and casino executives were riding a “Vegas High” along with fans worldwide, but fast forward to August 9 when many of those fans went from a high to a letdown, due to a chaotic ticket-purchasing experience, and a crash of Voltaire’s site. Regardless, the first set of shows for November and December 2023 and January 2024 quickly sold out, as well as a second set of shows for the early part of 2024 that were later added.
Kylie also appeared on few radio programs in the U.S., such as the “Zach Sang Show,” and on 102.7 KIISFM, to talk “Padam Padam,” the new album, the residency, and much more. Around this time in August, the single had cracked the top 40 on Billboard’s U.S. Adult Top 40 and U.S. Mainstream Top 40 charts. Also, it climbed to number 1 on the U.S. Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart.
For those not entirely familiar with Kylie, easily one of the most successful singers of the last 40 years, “Padam Padam” hopefully serves as the gateway single to discovering her previous, now-legendary, work in pop (the essential-to-own Light Years and Fever albums), dance (the dazzling 2020 album, Disco, which helped sustain many through a dark pandemic), indie-pop (1997’s experimental Impossible Princess), even torch/jazz (“Stay This Way”; “If You Don’t Love Me”; “Try Your Wings”; 2012’s The Abbey Road Sessions album), and that’s just scratching the surface as a recording artist. As a live-concert performer, they don’t call her “the Showgirl” for nothing (two tours entitled, Showgirl [2005, 2006]; XTour2008; Aphrodite Les Folies [2011] are vital viewing). Fittingly, her Vegas residency will solidify her as the consummate showgirl once again.
As summer 2023 comes to a close, it was one full of bright, sunny moments for Kylie Minogue, with “Padam Padam” representing the start to yet another era in her phenomenal career, one that shows no signs of going dim or, to keep with the heart theme, flatlining. The track also signifies a renewed faith in the power of music to bring people together for a very catchy common good. (Note: As this article is being finalized, Kylie has announced the second single, “Tension” will be released on August 31, 2023.)
A Big Fan of Fran
Direct and decisive, Fran Lebowitz (author of Metropolitan Life; Social Studies; writer for Interview and Mademoiselle magazines) has offered up her observations and opinions about life, and life in New York, since the 1970s. In Martin Scorsese’s 2021 seven-part Netflix docs-series, “Pretend It’s a City,” Lebowitz goes from putting her perspective down on pen and paper (literally, as she doesn’t own a computer, a cell phone, or an electronic tablet) to conversing across a table with Scorsese about Times Square, public transportation, her lifelong passion, and strict reverence, for books, and much more. And in doing so, Lebowitz delivers something epiphanic in nearly every 30-minute episode (her thoughts on the basketball legend, Michael Jordan springs to mind, for starters).
When the end credits appear, there’s a desire for more Fran; likely Scorsese felt the same way, squeezing in one more sharp sentiment from the woman of the half-hour during the credits. Wishing for a sequel, Mr. Scorsese, “Pretend It’s Still a City.”
Five for Pride
With Pride Month in June, there’s no better time to revisit, or maybe discover, some of the best arts and entertainment under the rainbow. From dance-club bangers and groundbreaking series to heartwarming rom-coms and poignant documentaries, and more, there’s no shortage of material that speaks, and sings, to the LGBTQ+ experience. Here are five for Pride:
Ultra Anthem
It’s safe to say that since 1997, Ultra Naté’s now-classic house track, “Free” has been a Pride-parade staple. The heartfelt message is right there in the chorus (“Cause you’re free/to do what you want to do/You’ve got to live your life/Do what you want to do”). And to drive home that empowering message, the tail end of the bridge (“Don’t be scared, your dream’s right there/You want it [you want it], reach for it!”) provides that soulful burst of encouragement to anyone about to embark on a new chapter. There are a number of variations of “Free,” but the “Mood II Swing Radio Mix” is essential for any Pride playlist.
(Chosen) Family Ties
And speaking of embarking on new chapters, in more ways than one, the 1993 limited TV series, “Armistead Maupin’s Tales of City,” set in San Francisco in 1976, follows sheltered Ohio-native Mary Ann Singleton (Laura Linney’s breakout role) as she decides to go from visiting vacationer to full-time resident. She moves into a utopian-inspired apartment complex on 28 Barbary Lane, run by an eccentric landlady, Anna “Dear, I have no objection to anything” Madrigal (Olympia Dukakis).
Mary Ann befriends her fellow tenants, whose lives are also explored, including Michael “Mouse” Tolliver, a gay hopeless romantic. She also begins a new job, dabbles in dating a couple of questionable men (Mary Ann’s namesake says it all: single-ton), and broadens her horizons in the city by the bay. Mary Ann undergoes a kind of “coming-out process” of her own, moving from straight-laced Ohioan to straight ally San Franciscan.
As this six-episode series progresses, the characters’ lives become intertwined, with the series taking on a mysterious, even at times a mystical, tone, with hints of Hitchcock’s Vertigo referenced throughout. Most importantly, the series serves as a love letter to the free-spirited (gay) oasis known as 1970’s San Francisco. Maupin penned several Tales of the City novels, with three additional limited TV series airing over the decades. The original, in particular, remains a clever, comforting celebration of “chosen family” at its finest.
Trick is Full of Treats
The 1999 rom-com, Trick is a smart story that turns what was supposed to be a casual hookup between a shy composer, Gabriel (Christian Campbell, left) and a go-go boy, Mark (J.P. Pitoc, right) into something heartwarming and hilarious. (The scene featuring a monologue by Miss Coco Peru [Clinton Leupp] is one of the many memorable moments.) The film and its soundtrack are perfect companions for Pride: Gabriel pours his heart into writing the catchy “Enter You,” as performed by his friend, Katherine (the comedic revelation that is Tori Spelling); ‘70s soft-pop classics (Gary Wright’s “Dream Weaver”; Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman”) get reimagined as ‘90s dance mixes
(Erin Hamilton—Carol Burnett’s daughter—sings the former; Jessica Williams the latter); the instrumental “Trick of Fate/Enter You” plays over a pivotal moment between Gabriel and Mark, sure to induce a googly-eyed sigh. Trick is a testament to kismet, and all the promise and possibility that can unfold when you take your time in life and love.
Pop-Art Portrait
Soup cans in the ‘60s; Studio 54 in the ‘70s, likely two of the many things that come to mind when people think of the legendary artist, Andy Warhol. But in the Netflix documentary series, “The Andy Warhol Diaries,” based on Warhol’s 1989 non-fiction work of the same name, as edited by Pat Hackett, one learns more about the artist’s life behind the canvas and the camera shutter, particularly his personal relationships with interior designer, Jed Johnson, and Hollywood studio executive, Jon Gould, as well as Warhol’s complicated collaboration with fellow influential artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat.
What makes the series so profound is hearing Warhol narrate some of his diary entries, achieved by the use of an AI voiceover program. In his deadpan delivery, Warhol not only shares the mundane moments, but goes deeper to express various insecurities, and later his worries about the AIDS crises in the early ‘80s. It’s those vulnerable revelations that allow the series to become an insightful, poignant portrait.
Ford. Firth. Fab.
Fashion designer, Tom Ford made his directorial debut with 2009’s “A Single Man,” which is based on the 1964 novel by Christopher Isherwood. Colin Firth plays a 1960s professor named George Falconer, who is devastated by his partner, Jim’s sudden death (the “phone-call scene” was reason enough for Firth’s Academy Award nomination). Heartbroken, George tries to “just get through the goddamn day,” and it’s through flashbacks that the viewer sees how George and Jim met, as well as a few of the ordinary, yet not any less significant, moments from their life together.
In one such flashback, we see both in domestic bliss, lounging together on opposite sides of a couch, reading, and listening to a record, their two dogs sleeping next to them. A proponent of living, and finding the beauty, in the moment (the overarching message of the film), Jim unexpectedly expresses how content and complete his life is with George: “What could be better than being tucked up here with you.” Practically every moment in the film is beautifully shot. A Single Man is chic; poetic; the epitome of style meets substance.
In summary, whether you’re a member or an ally of the community, hopefully you’ll be able to incorporate one or some or perhaps all five picks to celebrate during the month, and beyond. Happy Pride!
Platinum Portrayal: Ana de Armas’ Golden Performance in Blonde
Disclaimer: Please note that this article about the film, Blonde, features content related to mental and emotional trauma, and other similar themes, that may be triggering for some. Reader discretion is advised.
While many reviews of Andrew Dominik’s Blonde, the 2022 film based on Joyce Carol Oates’ historical fiction novel of the same name, were rather scathing, it’s Ana de Armas’ portrayals of Norma Jeane Mortenson and Marilyn Monroe that serve as the main reason to muster up the courage to try and commit to watching the often disturbing and disjointed three-hour film.
Oddly enough, through no fault of her own, it’s de Armas’ performance that’s representative of how disjointed the film really is: simply put, she’s far better than the material that surrounds her. Here are at least five scenes from Blonde where de Armas goes from good to great, displaying a wholehearted commitment to portraying a fictional incarnation of a famous figure, as well as the daunting, almost insurmountable, challenge of playing the most famous female icon in Hollywood history.
5. Calling the Shots: After talking to her agent by phone about the glaring salary inequity between her and a much-higher-paid Jane Russell for 1953’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Norma Jeane calmly questions: “And I’m playing the blonde, in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes? That’s an insult.” She remains polite, even announcing: “I’m gonna hang up now,” but a second later her agent calls her Marilyn, to which Norma Jeane angrily replies: “F*** Marilyn, she’s not here!” and slams down the receiver. de Armas gives Norma Jeane a look of stunned disbelief at what has transpired, but soon proudly smiles at her newfound confidence.
4. Pink Diamonds: de Armas is Monroe’s Lorelei Lee doppelgänger in Blonde’s recreation of the classic “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” musical number from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. With only two days to learn the choreography, de Armas captured Monroe’s hand gestures, shoulder shrugs and slinky movements on the narrow staircase. de Armas did 21 takes, with Dominik using the 21st in the final film.
3. Audition Ambition: In the scene where a nervous Norma Jeane auditions for the role of Nell for 1952’s Don’t Bother to Knock, it’s her opportunity to show the (uninterested) male powers that be how connected she is to the character, to the material and to what it represents. Norma Jeane delivers a solid audition (complete with de Armas dropping a single tear down her left cheek), but still asks to do the reading again. de Armas conveys Norma Jeane’s longing for connection, to be heard, not just seen.
2. A Method to the Sadness: At an acting workshop, an in-depth, Method-style exercise eventually sends Norma Jeane down to the floor in hysterics. As a disheveled Norma Jeane tries to regain her composure, as if she’s been jolted awake from a nightmare, the teacher asks: “What were you thinking of?” To which she replies: “I wasn’t thinking.” She quickly tries to gather her thoughts: “Um, maybe… I was remembering?” This is one of de Armas’ strongest scenes, for its display of raw emotion offset soon thereafter by a subtle, shy smile and a loud sniffle during Norma Jeane’s responses, showing just how committed Norma Jeane was to exploring her acting craft, even after an intense reaction.
1. Mother and Child Reunion: Early in the film, a seven-year-old Norma Jeane is living in Los Angeles with her mentally and emotionally unstable mother, Gladys. After surviving in a volatile, violent environment, Norma Jeane is placed in an orphanage, while her mother is eventually institutionalized. One of de Armas’ most gut-wrenching scenes occurs when Norma Jeane sees her mother for the first time in well over 10 years. de Armas’ reaction is visceral, capturing the sadness of separation, followed by her scanning her mother’s face in confusion. Despite their deeply dysfunctional history, it’s simply a child wanting her mother.
In an interview with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, de Armas’ theorized as to the nature of this complicated relationship: “She really wants to fix Mother. The absent father figure is a problem, but I feel like Mother is the real problem, and what she feels like she has to fix… She thought, if I can find my dad and he comes back, then my mom is gonna be okay, but because I can’t find him, if I’m very, very famous, he can find me. But really it was the mother, you can see that she is trying to fix that, to build that relationship, and it’s obviously… no reaction there, there’s nothing, there’s no feedback, they don’t recognize each other.”
Honorable Mentions: de Armas has other remarkable moments in the film. For instance: The recreation of “I Wanna Be Loved By You” from 1959’s Some Like It Hot. Norma Jeane is on set in Monroe mode, playfully and seductively lip-syncing to the track, but quickly de Armas’ face switches to reveal a devastatingly deflated Norma Jeane, who stops mid-scene, and puts her head in her hands, only to then erupt ferociously in anger over the alleged demeaning on-set gossip about her. In seconds, de Armas’ range runs the spectrum from physical embodiment to mentally distracted to emotionally enraged.
Also, Norma Jeane’s meeting with “The Playwright,” is a rare occasion that we see her calm and self-assured. She’s clearly smitten with the intellectual across the table, and she beams at the professional and personal possibilities. Their flirtatious exchange of the greeting, “Hey, you” is one of the film’s sweet, all-too-brief moments.
de Armas received several acting-award nominations in early 2023, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. And while she didn’t win any golden statues, her performance is the gleam amid all the gloom.
The Pop Zeal Project (Track 85): LL Cool J: “Around the Way Girl”
Ladies Love Cool James, and LL Cool J, for short, loves them right back. He offered further clarification on his 1990 hit single, “Around the Way Girl,” where the rapper describes the type of woman for whom he’s looking. In the prologue to the music video, a frustrated LL, sitting in a casting session, shares what he doesn’t want or need in a girlfriend, particularly “a homegirl that’s jumping out the limousine with the fur on and all that.” All LL wants is a “regular girl.”
Together, LL (James Smith) and Marlon Williams craft visually descriptive lyrics, in order to provide insight for the listener as to the physical traits (“extensions in her hair”; “honey-coated complexion”; “perm in your hair or even a curly weave”) and fashion trends (bamboo earrings; a Fendi bag; New Edition Bobby Brown button) likely sported by “all the cuties in the neighborhood.” With LL’s massive rap-pop crossover appeal, he essentially took what could be considered a regional phrase, an “around the way girl,” and introduced it into the larger MTV-generation lexicon.
And while the lyrics start out addressing physicality and style sense, they eventually begin speaking to the personality of this independent young woman who can read a relationship (“You always know what to say and do/Cold flip when you think your man is playing you”) and, more importantly, knows her value even before getting into one (“I tell you come here, you say meet me halfway”). Unlike a year prior on LL’s track, “Big Ole Butt,” where Tina, Brenda and Lisa were relegated to one particular physical characteristic, on “Around,” “Lisa, Angela, Pamela, Renee” are admired for more.
Holding everything together on the track is the inspired inclusion of classic R & B and funk elements. Rick James earns a writing credit as well on “Around the Way Girl,” as it contains a lyrical sample (“You got me shook up, shook down, shook out on your lovin’”) from “All Night Long,” the 1983 single by the group James formed, Mary Jane Girls. “Around” also features aspects from Keni Burke’s 1982 song, “Risin’ to the Top.” All these components, and LL’s smooth, suave delivery, help make “Around the Way Girl” a timeless rap jam, “fine as can be."
“Flowers” Power: Miley’s Message of Self-Sufficiency
The new year is blossoming beautifully for Miley Cyrus, as the debut single, “Flowers,” from her upcoming album, Endless Summer Vacation, reached the number 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in late January. The track, co-written by Cyrus, Gregory Aldae Hein and Michael Pollack features references to Cyrus’ former marriage to the actor, Liam Hemsworth. In the first verse, “Built a home, and watched it burn” relates to the couple losing their Malibu house in the 2018 Woolsey Fire. But most notably, “Flowers” serves as a response to Hemsworth allegedly dedicating the Bruno Mars regret-filled ballad, “When I Was Your Man” to Cyrus. She offers a form of lyrical rebuttal in the following ways:
Mars’ chorus: “That I should have bought you flowers.”
Cyrus’ chorus: “I can buy myself flowers.”
Mars: “And held your hand.”
Cyrus: “And I can hold my own hand.”
Mars: “Should have gave you all my hours.”
Cyrus: “Talk to myself for hours.”
Mars: “Take you to every party ‘cause all you wanted to do was dance.”
Cyrus: “I can take myself dancing.”
From a production standpoint, Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson keep the verses quiet, gloomy, almost wilted, all constructed to make the cloud-free chorus flourish with confidence. Harpoon’s prominent disco-funk bass line lends smooth, soulful sass, the kind that inspires strutting down a hallway before erupting in euphoric abandon, as displayed by Cyrus in the accompanying Jacob Bixenman-directed music video. (The video is reminiscent of Francis Lawrence’s “Cry Me a River” for Justin Timberlake, who, like Cyrus, is shown breaking into the home of a former, and allegedly unfaithful, lover.)
With the New Year a little over a month in, and Valentine’s Day ahead, Cyrus’ “Flowers” could not have been released at a better time. (Likely its January 13 launch date was to coincide with Hemsworth’s birthday.) Two of the possible reasons the track has resonated with so many: Resolutions for better self-care are (hopefully) still in practice, with the song serving as an extra push to stay resilient; singles get an added reminder to tend to—and cultivate—self-sufficiency. “Flowers” is the musical equivalent of a dozen red roses.
Columbia Records. Album-Cover Photography by Brianna Capozzi.
“Secretive; Whispery; Indecent”: Intentional Disconnect in 1961’s The Innocents
More gothic folklore than gruesome gore, Jack Clayton’s beautifully haunting (and hauntingly beautiful) 1961 film, The Innocents is high-art psychological horror. Co-written by William Archibald and Truman Capote, the film is based on the 1898 Henry James story, The Turn of the Screw.
Deborah Kerr stars as Miss Giddens, a governess hired to care for two children, Flora (Pamela Franklin) and Miles (Martin Stephens), at an English manor. An unsettling tone is set right from the beginning: Behind the initial screen blackness, pre-opening credits, the sound of a young girl (Flora) singing “O Willow Waly” creates a disturbing blurred line between wholesome lullaby and its mournful lament for a lost lover. The disconnect continues through the opening credits, now with birds chirping in the darkness; those familiar tweets most often heard at daybreak, instead of in the dead of night. And finally, a profile of a distressed Miss Giddens, clutching her hands together, tilting her head back with her eyes closed, her forehead glistening with perspiration; the sight of sweat common in the blazing sunlight, not in the glowing moonlight.
Day or Fright
Throughout the crisp, black-and-white film there are a number of bone-chilling scenes. The manor and its grounds become settings for strange goings-on, ones not solely reserved for the nighttime, when fatigue, shadows and imagination can get the best of someone, but in broad daylight as well, often with others nearby. But what is real, and who is credible? In the film’s first line, a sense of doubt is immediately placed upon the viewer toward Miss Giddens, when the children’s uncle asks her during the interview for the governess position: “Do you have an imagination?” An almost embarrassed Giddens replies with a yes. As the film progresses: To believe or not to believe her, that becomes the subsequent question in the viewer’s mind.
Depth of Fear
The crisp black and white mentioned earlier is the work of the cinematographer, Freddie Francis, who used a deep-focus technique, which allows the foreground, middle ground and background to be equally sharp. One of the best examples is when Flora becomes oddly excited about nature’s brutality. She declares: “Oh look, it’s a lovely spider, and it’s eating a butterfly!” (Spiders aren’t usually described as lovely, creating another example of intentional disconnect.) The large depth of field simultaneously creates distance and claustrophobia for the viewer (a visual disconnect), while also establishing Flora as the spider to Miss Giddens as the butterfly.
Brother and Sinister
In addition to this macabre outlook on nature, mature subtexts run throughout, particularly ones dealing with the misguided affection between Miles and Miss Giddens. After learning more about two of the manor’s previous residents, Giddens begins to suspect the prim, proper, poetic Miles, and the once-sweet now emotionally hysterical, Flora are not who they appear to be, that something evil has entered the innocent (foreshadowed when Giddens admires a stone cherub in the garden, only for a cockroach to crawl out of its mouth).
Giddens conveys to Mrs. Grose, the housekeeper enveloped by extreme denial, that both children “are playing, or being made to play, some monstrous game. I can’t pretend to understand what its purpose is; I only know that it is happening: something secretive, and whispery, and indecent.” (Undoubtedly, Capote-penned prose.)
The relationship between Miles and Flora becomes suspect as well. Flora seems to have a psychic connection to Miles, knowing when Miles will return home from his school, permanently dismissed for bad behavior, even before Miss Giddens or Mrs. Grose. Giddens becomes watchful of the two siblings as they hold hands, walking closely together toward the town church. A concerned Giddens says to Mrs. Grose: “Look at them. What do you think they’re saying?… They’re talking about them; talking horrors.”
And the horrors continue through the film’s dizzying conclusion (or disturbing connection to its beginning, as described earlier), one that is both spine-tingling and heavyhearted, where the secretive becomes communicative, the whispery reaches its crescendo, the indecent once again innocent.
Impossibly Indie: Three HD Videos from Kylie in the ‘90s
Kylie Minogue’s sixth studio album, 1997’s Impossible Princess, marked another major shift in Minogue's career. Gone was the late-‘80s bubble-gum pop singer; g’day to ‘90s singer/songwriter, ready, willing and able to delve deeper into experimental territory. Surrounding the material, some of which explored topics such as personal happiness, and inner peace in spite of chaos, was a new sound, one significantly different from 1987’s “The Loco-Motion,” even from the dance-pop direction of 1990’s “Better The Devil You Know.”
This late-‘90s shift actually originated in the early part of the decade. In 1992, Minogue parted ways with her record company, PWL, and signed with the independent dance-music label, Deconstruction Records, who afforded Minogue more creative direction and input. The first result: the 1994 self-titled album, Kylie Minogue, with the eerily effective, “Confide In Me” representing the first effort in an era that would be coined, “Indie Kylie.” A year later, a musical collaboration with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds on “Where the Wild Roses Grow” was another confirmation that trying new things came with commercial and critical accolades. On the personal front, she was in a relationship with the French photographer, Stéphane Sednaoui, who inspired her to push the professional envelope. However, when Impossible Princess was released, it became her most polarizing album to date, due to its sharp departure from what many were accustomed. Yet over the years, the artistic endeavor has garnered acclaim as one of Minogue’s most respected works, and a fan favorite, for its unexpectedly bold foray into rock, electronica, drum and bass, even Celtic-folk influence on the fourth and final single, “Cowboy Style.”
On October 22, 2022, the enduring album celebrates its 25th anniversary. To help celebrate, Minogue recently released HD versions of the music videos for the first three singles: “Some Kind of Bliss,” “Did It Again” and “Breathe.” Much like how the musical direction for each single served as a departure for Minogue, the visual companions followed suit:
I’m With the Bandits
The David Mould-directed video for “Some Kind of Bliss” features Minogue and the actor, Dexter Fletcher, playing a devilish duo on the run (or more like on a ride, in a classic Pontiac). The Bonnie and Clyde-inspired tale is edited in a non-linear format, so it’s left up to the viewer to determine the actual order of the crime-spree events. Here’s a theory as to what the storyline would be if it was edited in linear sequence:
Minogue’s character, in a black dress, picks up Fletcher’s from jail. He’s wearing a black shirt, tan pants, and carries a black-and-red bag as he leaves the jail. After spending some time at a motel, Fletcher’s character has changed into a white suit; Minogue’s into a blue mini-dress. They’re seen fleeing to the Pontiac, while he carries the same black-and-red bag.
The couple descends upon a gas station in the middle of the desert, still wearing the white suit, still wearing the blue mini-dress. As Minogue flirtatiously distracts the attendant, she heads to the restroom, while Fletcher robs the station. When she leaves the restroom, we see she’s changed into a white tank top and blue hot pants that we can presume were under the mini-dress. (Three years later, Minogue would wear a pair of gold hot pants in the video for “Spinning Around”; the article of clothing would later become synonymous with the singer.)
Post-robbery, the two once again change outfits: He adds a green shirt to the white suit; she into a white top and pink pants, her ginger-red hair now in a ponytail. Back in town, he robs a business, while she remains outside near the Pontiac, only to observe a police car pulling up to the building, just as he runs out and right into the cops. He yells at her to make a break for it, as he’s put into the back of the squad car. She drives away, crying, her Bonnie separated once again from her Clyde. In summary, based on this theory, this would mean that Fletcher’s character returns to jail mere hours after initially being released, carrying the black-and-red bag. Not watching the video below would be criminal.
Kylie Chameleon
Many of Minogue’s previous videos, particularly the ones from the ‘80s, showed her as a happy-go-lucky (“lucky, lucky, lucky”) late-teen. “Better the Devil You Know” (1990) showed her as a girl all grown up, with “Some Kind of Bliss” showing Kylie as that good girl gone bad. What makes the video for Impossible Princess’ second single, “Did It Again” compelling—and comedic—is that it’s a tongue-in-cheek look at Kylie’s various professional personas in direct opposition with each other. The Pedro Romhanyi-directed video features four characters: Sex Kylie; Cute Kylie; Indie Kylie; Dance Kylie, in a police lineup, battling it out for the camera’s attention.
These monikers doubled as references to, and commentary on, the media coverage Minogue had endured up to this point, often pigeonholed by the press into a confined category, a current incarnation put “in quotes,” a creative pursuit reduced to an easily digestible soundbite. It’s no wonder the four figures are set against a mugshot backdrop; it’s as if Minogue daring to change direction, musically and visually, was a criminal act. Lyrically, Minogue co-wrote the track as self-commentary, reportedly frustrated at not learning valuable lessons when it came it to her personal relationships. (“Clever girl, think you know, but you don’t know much.”) “Did It Again” is all about conflict, both external and internal.
“It Won’t Be Long Now”
If “Some Kind of Bliss” is Impossible Princess’ most cinematic video, and “Did It Again” its most technically creative, the video for the third single, “Breathe,” directed by Kieran Evans, is its most beautiful, thanks, in part, to its artistic simplicity. Most of the video has Minogue, floating in a vast openness, in a nude-colored dress. Blurred, fragmented shots of her hands, fingers and feet are almost embryonic in nature.
At video’s end, the visual concept connects to the central theme of the track, which revolves around living inside one’s own head. (“I’m sorting everything inside/I’m looking in the space.”) “Breathe” was a fitting follow-up single, and antidote, to “Did It Again.” Just as Minogue expressed feelings of frustration towards herself, the introspective, meditative “Breathe” is her seeking inner peace. (“It won’t be long now, breathe, breathe.”) A new Kylie is born.
And it won’t be long now until fans are putting Impossible Princess on repeat, and these three videos on replay, revisiting one of the most intriguing chapters in Minogue’s now legendary career. It’s a chapter that’s impossibly indie, yet still consistently Kylie.
Bundle Up: Four Films for Fall
For many of us, skies are still blue and temps are still warm. So it may be hard to get into fall-season feels. But before you know it, nature’s A/C will kick in, and we’ll find ourselves wanting to bundle up under a throw, and get all comfy, cozy, and ready to watch a fall-season flick. Here are four films that are the motion-picture equivalent of a great big hug, ones that make you feel warm, not like on a summer day, but in a warm and fuzzy kind of way:
Screen Time
The 1998 Nora Ephron film, You’ve Got Mail delivers fall-season vibes big time: Tom Hanks; Meg Ryan; a witty rom-com script; New York in the fall (“makes me wanna buy school supplies”); a heartwarming soundtrack; the unforgettable Parker “I’m having my eyes lasered” Posey. Back then, it was dial-up email, now it’s Wi-Fi, social media, and sliding into someone’s DMs that can create love connections. Classic cinematic themes of opposite attract, the importance of internal beauty, and a tireless faith (fate) in love make this a fall-season film essential.
“I didn’t know who you were with.”
Right from the opening credits, which glides the viewer into a beautiful apartment, drapes flapping in the cool breeze, to a buffet table of savory selections, this film is the epitome of cozy cinema.
Come on in!
And remember, “that caviar is a garnish!”
“You’re taking all the caviar?!”
Change of Heart
Nine years prior to You’ve Got Mail, there was Rob Reiner’s When Harry Met Sally… The Nora Ephron-penned screenplay gave new life to the romantic comedy, allowing the viewer to watch the relationship between a man and a woman, the former who believes men and women can’t be friends, develop into just that, and eventually something more. Like summer turning into fall, the film is all about transition: each goes through a major breakup (Harry with Helen, Sally with Joe); the passage of time, complete with changes in fashion and hairstyles; and most significantly, time, and life lessons, cultivate a slightly more mature Harry, and a slightly less persnickety Sally. No one is completely transformed, but each undergoes a change of heart, entertaining the notion of letting someone in, not just someone new, but someone drastically different.
During the scene that has Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) walking through the park, Sally sharing details (or lack thereof) of a longstanding sexual fantasy, the cinematographer, Barry Sonnenfeld captures the various orange hues and verdant shades of green in the trees. Just as the colors of the leaves begin to change, a natural visual indicator of autumn’s arrival, a shift begins for Harry and Sally. Sharing of a sexual fantasy is reserved for a more intimate bond, but here it’s shared in the context of a budding, once highly unlikely, friendship.
“Well sometimes I vary it a little.”
In another scene, Sally, in a warm and toasty red turtleneck, confides in Harry about why she and Joe broke up. The “I spy a family” monologue is Ephron prose at its best. Sally mentions at the start of her story how she and Joe “wanted exactly the same thing.” But by the end of the story, they reach a crossroads, their “wants” become “needs”; it’s another change of heart, but it’s the type that divides people apart, instead of drawing them together.
“And I started to cry.”
As the film reaches its climax, not of the iconic deli-scene kind, it’s no surprise that it takes place on New Year’s Eve, the ultimate time of the year that signifies transition. Ephron writes another heartfelt monologue, this time Harry expressing an epiphany: “… When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” I’ll have what he’s having.
“I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich.”
Shue In
This next movie may not immediately conjure up images of autumn, or New York in the fall, but Chris Columbus’ Adventures in Babysitting has that fall-season state of mind. The 1987 comedy is set partially in the Chicago suburbs, and Columbus once again captures crisp, upper-middle-class living, suddenly turned upside down (a theme he would continue to explore in 1990’s Home Alone and 1994’s Mrs. Doubtfire).
Elisabeth Shue stars as Chris Parker, a suburban teen turned reluctant babysitter. Chris and the trio of kids now in her care are forced to leave the sheltered confines of suburban life, and head into the big, bad city to pick up Chris’ friend, Brenda (Penelope Ann Miller), who’s stuck in a downtown bus station. En route, everything that could possibly go wrong, does, and Chris must tap into her highly underdeveloped street smarts.
Shue’s Chris Parker is the anti-Ferris, an underrated heroine of the ‘80s teen-comedy genre.
All the while, Chris tries to stay cool, and keeps warm, wearing gloves, a multicolored striped scarf, and a long brown coat that she inherited from her grandfather. A gold heart-shaped brooch rounds out the look; all are style cues indicative of Chris’ inherent maturity, and capability, well beyond her years. By film’s end, the character of Chris becomes the anti-Ferris, an underrated heroine of the ‘80s teen-comedy genre. Shue is lovable, relatable, and completely convincing in the role as the “every girl” in extraordinary circumstances.
The adventure begins.
And we can’t forget Thor-obsessed Sarah (Maia Brewton), the coolest tyke on roller skates.
“You want some orange?”
Mama Drama
Chris Columbus’ films showing the family structure in disarray still managed to have a comedic tone; Mrs. Doubtfire the prime example of this, as it tackled divorce, and what happens when a parent is replaced by someone who not only fills the void, but seemingly fills the position better. In 1998’s Stepmom, Columbus continued with the theme of divorce and parental replacement, but added more turmoil and tears.
Susan Sarandon’s Jackie Harrison is co-parenting two children with ex-husband, Luke (Ed Harris) and his new girlfriend, Isabel (Julia Roberts). Jackie and Isabel are at odds, with one of their wars of words taking place on a fall-leaf-covered battlefield, a fitting environment for Jackie to reveal her cancer diagnosis to Isabel.
“You guessed the wrong secret.”
Behind Isabel, the trees are alive and green, but cut to Jackie, and she almost blends into a background of fallen orange and yellow leaves, and somber earth tones. It’s after this exchange that their relationship softens, temporarily, and for the moment the tears dry, with death at one point even seen as comic relief. A Thanksgiving-themed school play features Jackie’s son, Ben (Liam Aiken) as a flying turkey (on wires) that is shot by prop bows and arrows, and muskets. A horrified Isabel asks Jackie: “Is he dead?” to which an unfazed Jackie replies: “Yeah, they killed him, but he does it so great!”
“Are you dying?”
The story continues through the fall, and into winter, culminating in the emotional “And you can have their future” scene, the beautiful midnight horse ride, and finally, a warmhearted Christmas morning, with Ben, a budding magician, receiving a gold cage with a white dove as a surprise gift; the dove also serving as a symbol of peace, the newest member of the Harrison family.
“Not today!”
So when that autumn chill begins to fill the air, get comfy on the couch with one, or all four, of these fall-inspired flicks. Which one will you bundle up with first?
The Pop Zeal Project (Track 84): Gwen Stefani: “The Real Thing”
When Gwen Stefani of No Doubt ventured out to make her first solo album, 2004’s Love. Angel. Music. Baby., the singer used it as a creative outlet to pursue other forms of music besides the ska/post-punk sound, for which the band was already famous. While on The Harajuku Lovers Tour to support the solo effort, Stefani, during an interaction with the crowd after “Crash,” offered insight as to the intention behind L. A. M. B.:
Stefani’s creative direction for L. A. M. B. pointed towards psychedelic pop-punk.
“I was on tour with No Doubt… and I said to Tony… wouldn’t it be fun to make a dance record? Very, very clean, easy, simple idea… I was never gonna tour the record, but then you guys keep buying the record, you keep bringing me out, you keep tempting me. And I’m on this big ol’ wave and I just wanna crash right down on top of you, and I just wanna hear you guys sing the songs back to me.”
The song in the setlist before “Crash,” entitled “The Real Thing” was cowritten by Stefani, Linda Perry, and Stefani’s then-husband, Gavin Rossdale, and co-produced by Nellee Hooper (No Doubt’s “Hella Good”; “Running”; their cover of Talk Talk’s “It’s My Life”). Lyrically, the love song expresses how much one, after being with another for some time, still wants, and needs, the other around. Presumably, Stefani and Rossdale, each with their own rock-star careers and busy schedules, were writing about each other at the time, with the following lyrics a reflection of their relationship: “And we’re together most days/But I still love to have you around”. However, in 2016, after 14 years of marriage, Stefani and Rossdale divorced, making one of the track’s later verses a bit prophetic: “Heaven knows what will come next/So emotional, you’re so complex/A rollercoaster, built to crash/But I still love to have you around.” (Note another reference to the word, crash.)
Musically, “The Real Thing” was heavily (and intentionally) inspired by New Order’s 1986 track, “Bizarre Love Triangle.” Stefani would have been 17 years old when the synth-pop song was first released, and indicates another musical style that Stefani was interested in besides the ska/post-punk sound that a budding No Doubt was embracing. (One can almost imagine Stefani staying up late on a Sunday night to watch MTV’s “!20 Minutes” to catch the video for “Bizarre,” or sliding a cassette tape into a boombox during lunch at Anaheim’s Loara High School.) Into adulthood, Stefani remained a fan of the English alternative-pop band, and reached out to collaborate with them. After initially declining, the band’s singer, Bernard Sumner ended up contributing backing vocals, while Peter Hook played bass on Stefani’s musical homage.
Listening to “The Real Thing,” one may not necessarily hear the direct influence of “Bizarre.” But in listening to “Bizarre,” and then returning back to “The Real Thing,” the similarities become more evident. For example:
The guitar riff in the outro of “Bizarre”; the intro to “The Real Thing.”
Melody: In “Bizarre” at the lyrics: “There’s no sense in telling me/The wisdom of the fool won’t set you free.” In “The Real Thing” at the aforementioned: “Heaven knows what will come next/So emotional, you’re so complex.”
Gwen Stefani’s “The Real Thing,” and essentially the Love. Angel. Music. Baby. period as a whole, marks one of the most important moments in Stefani’s career: Sonically, it’s a purposeful step from ska to synth pop and other sounds; visually, as seen on The Harajuku Lovers Tour, it’s a shift from rugged rock star to polished platinum-Marilyn pop star, complete with what would become Stefani’s signature: the retro red lip. “The Real Thing” serves as another way Stefani solidified herself as the real deal.
Red Lip Photo by John Shearer.
Dancing With Myself: Aquaria Heads Out Alone in The Knocks’ Video for “Slow Song”
The electronic-music duo, The Knocks, consisting of Ben “B-Roc” Ruttner and James “JPatt” Patterson, released the sound of summer, in spring 2022. “Slow Song,” featuring Martina “Dragonette” Sorbara on vocals, is shimmery, “bassy” synthpop with a melody line in the chorus that’s so sunny it ironically brings the chills (the good kind).
If the song itself isn’t shimmery enough, the Austin Peters-directed music video delivers the (lip) glossy glam, thanks to “Rupaul’s Drag Race” season 10 winner, Aquaria. Stuck in a dead-end job in the dead of night, Aquaria’s character closes up shop at the farmacia, and retreats to a nearly deserted dancehall to spiritually recharge, with music and movement the metaphorical sources of energy.
After sitting solo at a table, the stunning performer stands up, and sashays out to the dance floor, for what could be considered a Flashdance-finale moment.*
During the song’s bridge, the video cuts to footage of a strobe-light-bathed Aquaria suddenly surrounded by other dancing patrons. It seems unlikely the empty club had an influx of nightclubbers, leading to the theory that this could all be in Aquaria’s head, perhaps a dream of life before COVID closed the clubs, before socializing was replaced by social distancing. The video then quickly cuts to Aquaria adamantly exiting the dancehall, a few patrons can be seen off to the sides, but it becomes more about Aquaria’s ownership of a night out alone, reminding us that sometimes you just have to break free, even if it’s—especially nowadays—by yourself.
*Flashdance, directed by Adrian Lyne. Paramount Pictures, 1983.
The Pop Zeal Project (Track 83): Carole King: “I Feel The Earth Move”
A determined pounding of the piano keys starts Carole King’s “I Feel the Earth Move.” The singer-songwriter-musician had already co-written tracks made famous by The Shirelles (1960’s “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”) and Aretha Franklin (1967’s “[You Make Me Feel Like] A Natural Woman”), but with her second solo release, 1971’s Tapestry, King continued to make her voice—and her piano-playing—heard.
With the Women’s Liberation Movement already in full force in the early ‘70s, King’s material weaved its way into the hearts, minds and spirits of young women in particular, allowing Tapestry to stay on the charts for an astounding six-plus years. On “I Feel,” she freely described, through expert lyrical and musical constructions, the emotional and physical experiences of new love, from a female point of view. The most provocative lyric is toward the end when King describes the ecstatic fever that comes over her when she’s near the person who rocks her world, going vocally high at “I get a hot and cold” then quickly dropping to quietly repeat “all over” four times, like a vocal gyration, until the track ramps up to the chorus once again.
Whether it was The Shirelles’ song, conveying hesitancy—or Aretha’s, expressing certainty—in a relationship, or this smartly crafted track, best believe that when King felt something, you didn’t just hear it, it was damn near palpable.
Album photography: Jim McCrary
The Pop Zeal Project (Track 82): Jennifer Hudson: “Let It Be” (Hope For Haiti Now)
Arguably one of the best pop songs ever written, The Beatles’ “Let It Be” will forever be played when questions about life are easy to ask, yet the answers hard to find. Jennifer Hudson’s impassioned remake of this 1970 Lennon-McCartney track was created for the “Hope for Haiti Now” benefit telethon, which was organized to raise aid after a 2010 earthquake devastated the country. (Here it’s 11 years later and Haiti is recovering from yet another earthquake that just recently occurred.) Hudson takes the track to church, especially towards the end, with the backing vocalists providing angelic support. Hip-hop group, and “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” house band, The Roots supply the musical accompaniment, keeping the traditional guitar riff and Billy Preston-style electric keys. Both The Beatles and Hudson versions are equally soulful: the original tender, touching and subtle, with emphasis more on lyrical delivery and a larger rock-guitar sound, while Hudson’s cover, which provides heartfelt sincerity, is focused more on vocal expression. To delve further into the masterful Beatles original, click here.