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.
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?
Hi-Fi Sci-Fi: Five Favorite Daft Punk Moments
Formed in 1993, Daft Punk consists of the French duo, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, who have continued to don dapper futuristic personas, shielding their faces from the public by wearing gleaming robot-inspired helmets. In one sense, this allows a focus toward the sci-fi sound of their music, while, in turn, it works as an inventive marketing strategy that balances professional familiarity with personal anonymity.
“Around the World,” from their 1997 debut album, Homework, celebrates the cyclical, from the song title itself (the track’s only lyrics on a synthesized loop) to its therefore mostly instrumental, intentionally repetitive retro-funk sound. Even its video embraced spherical visuals: dancers, assigned to designated riffs, beats and blips, moving on a concentric circular stage, plus there’s colorful backdrop of porthole lighting. Daft Punk made going around in circles more desirable than dizzying:
Four years later, they released, Discovery, which featured the fitting “One More Time”; “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,” which would later be heavily sampled by Kanye West on his 2007 track, “Stronger”; and “Digital Love.” Remember this commercial for the GAP, with the actress and singer, Juliette Lewis? (The jeans—and the video quality itself—are shall we say, vintage.)
From Madison Avenue to the movies: In 2010, they created the 24-track score for the film, Tron: Legacy, creating a mood to match the gloom-and-doom world that exists inside a cutthroat video game, with “Recognizer” starting out as intensely ominous, then suddenly becoming one of the most hauntingly beautiful tracks:
On 2013’s electro-disco, Random Access Memories, it was filled with inspired collaborations, most notably with Pharrell Williams and Chic’s Nile Rodgers on “Get Lucky” and “Lose Yourself to Dance.” In 2014, the album won the GRAMMY for Album of the Year:
And finally, their work on the 2016 album, Starboy by The Weeknd, in particular on the synth-R&B title track, and on the sexy, soulful bop of a ballad, “I Feel It Coming.” The bass riff that rolls in before the second verse is something for which to wait:
Will there be more good things from Daft Punk in the future, that sound like the future? I feel that coming too.
A More Mature Miss Jackson: Janet’s 1998 Velvet Rope Tour
While Janet Jackson’s 1998 Velvet Rope Tour shared the introspective (“You”; “Special”) and the provocative (“Anytime, Anyplace”; “Rope Burn”), Miss Jackson also made room for retrospective: her attitude-rich ‘80s tracks and lighthearted ‘90s dance-pop jams. The “Control Medley” and the “Escapade Medley” are impressive reminders of the impact she had already made in a (design of a) decade. Both sections include phenomenal period moves from her corps of dancers, in particular Tyce Diorio during “Nasty,” “Throb” and “Love Will Never Do Without You.”
Cover. Songs.
Back cover of the concert DVD packaging, featuring synopsis, set list and partial credits.
Eagle Rock Entertainment.
Yet after all the set dressing and costume undressing, it’s the simplified four-song encore that reveals Janet at her most authentic and most comfortable, from the soothing “That’s the Way Loves Goes” and the soulful folk sound of “Got ‘Til It’s Gone” to the heartwarming “Together Again.”
The Pop Zeal Project: Alanis Morissette: “Head Over Feet”
Track eight on Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill is “Head Over Feet.” It was the fifth single (of six) from the album that goes down as one that defined the ‘90s. Written by Morissette and Glen Ballard, the song is about friends who are now lovers, with reflections on the clarity and appreciation one feels for the other’s love, patience, even chivalry (“You held your breath and the door for me”).
The track is yet another from the artist that is full of lyrical prowess, for example, taking the classic phrase, head over heels, which has traditionally been used to describe falling in love, and kickin’ it up a notch. The main character referencing not just the heels, but both feet, to describe how much this newfound relationship with a friend (a “best friend with benefits”) has truly knocked her socks off. What’s also of significance is how kindness and “unconditional things” almost come off as completely foreign to her (“I’m not used to liking that”). But now, she’s taken those tiny steps toward letting her guard down (“What took me so long”; “I am aware now”) and falling in love, seemingly for the first time.
You’re my best friend…
… Best friend with benefits.
Jagged Little Pill Art Direction, Design: Tom Recchion.
With Jagged featuring the ultimate hell-hath-no-fury song, “You Oughta Know,” it’s “Head Over Feet” that serves as confirmation that loving someone post-bad-breakup (really bad) is quite possible.
Music as Meditative Mantra: Alanis Morissette’s “Thank U”
Some of the best music in the ‘90s came from Alanis Morissette. Period. Just one of the examples is “Thank U” from 1998’s Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, the album that followed the album, Jagged Little Pill. After the meteoric success of Jagged, Morissette ventured to India to take a break, to regroup, and this soul-baring song came from the experience.
The breathtaking track features verses that display emotional vulnerability (represented as physical nakedness in the accompanying music video) and capture those all-too-relatable moments of self-reflection, posed as questions which many of us, in some way, shape or form, could relate to at some point in our lives. (Certain passersby in the video indicate connection in the/our shared experience.) The second verse in particular goes straight to the head and heart, followed in the video by Morissette offering the most comforting smile to a fellow subway rider. Its choruses are hopeful, steeped in gratitude for what (good and bad) life lessons can bring, everything from terror and disillusionment to clarity and silence, with the bridge including this beautiful lyric about feeling almost overwhelmed by life’s blessings: “The moment I let go of it was the moment I got more than I could handle.” Isn’t it ironic?
“Thank U” was way ahead of its time; Alanis was offering music as meditation before the availability of apps, promoting mindfulness before its popular practice in the new millennium.
Pop Playlist: Madonna: “Nothing Really Matters”
For 1998’s Ray of Light, Madonna wondered what dance/electronica would sound like if it was infused with a spiritual sensibility. It sounded like the singer’s most mature album to date since Like a Prayer. One of the songs on Ray of Light, “Nothing Really Matters,” with co-writer, Patrick Leonard, and co-producers, William Orbit and Marius De Vries, reveals the singer’s reawakening to what is of real significance, compared to the life she was living “so selfishly.” Her career-changing experience playing Eva Peron in the film, Evita, and the life-changing experience of becoming a mother, both of which occurred in 1996, served as eye-opening catalysts. (Her daughter, Lourdes is also the source of inspiration for the tender, electro-lullaby, “Little Star.”) “Nothing Really Matters” keeps to Madonna’s dance roots, but sprouts introspective lyrics and, as demonstrated throughout the album, some of Madonna’s best recorded vocals, thanks in part to the vocal training she received for Evita.
Pop Playlist: Deee-Lite: “Deep Ending”
Shuffle through and land on just about any track on Deee-Lite’s World Clique album and it’ll be a good one. Such is the case with “Deep Ending,” which features a plethora of piano, plus an in-your-ears hi-hat, and other groovy, funky features for which the trio was renowned. A clever play on lyrics also runs through the track, as Lady Miss Kier goes from “I’m depending on you…” to “I’m deep-ending” to “I’m at the deep end,” as she sings of a relationship about to… end.
House of Pop: Mid-Century Modern & the Music Video
Turned to MTV Classic’s “House of Pop” today to find the video for Wilson Phillips’ 1990 hit, “Release Me.” This track once again highlighted the group’s pleasant harmonies, while the video showcased the legendary Stahl House in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. The home was designed by the architect, Pierre Koenig in 1959, and continues to be an icon of the mid-century-modern aesthetic (floor-to-ceiling glass; clean structural lines; orb lighting, to name a few features).
Pop Playlist: Madonna: “Vogue”
Arguably, Madonna’s 1990 hit, “Vogue” is her signature song, one that will always come up in conversation when discussing the icon’s contribution to pop (music) culture. With its theme of dance floor as place to escape life’s “heartache,” Madonna and co-writer Shep Pettibone paint a scene where fantasy, through imaginative (fashion-pose) voguing, serves as inspirational recharge for one’s own reality, a space that gives “new life.”
The documentarian, Jennie Livingston had already been exploring similar themes in the New York gay underground of competitive fashion-fantasy balls and voguing “battles” years earlier, with her groundbreaking film, Paris Is Burning. Yet Madonna was the one to bring elements from this world into mainstream visibility (“Life’s a ball”). While the powerful documentary delves into far grittier territory, “Vogue” focuses on the glitzier aspects of old-Hollywood glamour. It becomes more than just a catchy dance song or stylish video, it’s indicative of how a savvy Madonna took something subculture and crafted it into one of her most mainstream successes, in turn, also influencing the pop-culture lexicon, the word not just a noun anymore or the name of a magazine, but now a familiar action verb.
David Fincher’s masterpiece:
A clip from Paris Is Burning, with the legendary Willi Ninja. Take note at 1:15 - 1:25, which features a young Jose Gutierez, who a few years later would appear in the video for “Vogue” and be a part of Madonna’s “Blond Ambition World Tour.”
Pop Playlist: Depeche Mode: “Enjoy the Silence”
English synth-pop icons, Depeche Mode had one of their biggest successes with 1990’s Violator. It featured strong singles, such as “Personal Jesus,” “Policy of Truth,” “World in My Eyes” and this song, “Enjoy the Silence.” From the start, “Silence” bounces with a deep synth-bass line, while a tender guitar riff softens the sound. But not too soft, for when Dave Gahan adds his vocals to the first verse, the mood intensifies once again. “Silence” is essentially a (dark) ballad: “Words are very unnecessary/They can only do harm.” Yet drum-machine beats and brilliant transitions, particularly the one between the chorus and second verse, give the song a surprising sense of catchy vitality, allowing it to become an alternative-pop and dance hit in several countries.
Below is a clip from 2014’s Live in Berlin filmed concert, directed by Anton Corbijn, who also directed the music video for the song. The deep synth-bass line, as referenced earlier, comes in at 0:46 and is definitive Depeche. “Silence” never sounded so good.
Pop Playlist: Christina Aguilera: “Come On Over Baby”
Along with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera became one of the biggest pop stars in the late ‘90s, thanks to “Genie in a Bottle” and “What a Girl Wants.” In 2000, Aguilera’s “Come On Over Baby” became the fourth single off her debut, self-titled album. Strong, soulful vocals and a driving dance-pop beat were customary for the first two singles, and for this track too, with “I Turn to You” the necessary power ballad. “Come On Over” served as provocative invitation, not just lyrically toward the song’s object of affection (“You better cross the line”), but as if toward the audience as well. With the world in a new millennium, Aguilera began to take steps toward (perceived image) change too, with “Come on Over” becoming her first “not that innocent” moment, only to pale in comparison to the later “Dirrty” chapter of her career.
George Michael: Pop-Music Idol. Lasting Legend.
As lead singer of Wham! in the early ‘80s, George Michael, along with Andrew Ridgeley, initially delivered pop songs that incorporated an (early) rap-sound sensibility. Certainly more Wham!-glam than gangsta, songs and corresponding videos for “Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do),” “Bad Boys” and “Young Guns (Go For It)” embraced (late-teen) rebellion and counter-culture independence. They featured George as the rebellious protagonist, hell (or heck) bent on breaking free from the expected 9 - 5 job and (the “Young Guns” lyric) “death by matrimony,” with Andrew’s character often portrayed as the one George’s needed to save from a life of cookie-cutter boredom. This trio of songs/videos walked a fine line, creating a (not-so) underlying homoerotic subtext, with George’s character seemingly enamored with Andrew’s. Besides this (latent) longing, gay iconography played heavily in these videos too, such as black leather jackets, tight jeans, and aviator glasses—a look that George would don again through his 1987 Faith period.
George later commented on the preoccupation with image over musical chops in “Freedom! ’90”; the video purposely didn’t feature the singer, unheard of at that time, especially considering his popularity, good looks, and sex appeal to both men and women. The video used supermodels instead to lip-sync the lyrics, and also showed his leather jacket ablaze, signifying the death of what was seen as a distraction to George’s wanting to be considered an artist with substance: “Sometimes the clothes do not make the man.”
Although George had his own model good looks, his absence from some of his videos helped refocus listeners to how great of a vocalist he was. George’s cover of Queen’s “Somebody to Love” at Freddie Mercury’s tribute concert at London’s Wembley Stadium is one of George’s finest vocal offerings, hitting remarkable notes, with an energy that turns heartbreaking lyrics into something hopeful. In the mid- to late-‘90s, George released “Fastlove” and for his greatest-hits collection released “Outside,” an ode to “love” in the outdoors, written in response to his arrest at a public bathroom. In 2008, he was on a worldwide retrospective tour, and this clip of “Everything She Wants” from Earl’s Court in London captures George’s calm command of the stage, with the ecstatic audience participation confirming his impact on a generation. This past Christmas saw the passing of the singer. He was only 53.
“Outside”: George took (life) lemons and made (musical) lemonade. He had the moves, and this clip showcases the genius of George:
More About Beginnings: Semisonic: “Closing Time”
The 1998 song, “Closing Time” from the band, Semisonic serves as a lyrical homage to that all-too-familiar moment that occurs around 2:00 a.m. at most drinking establishments—closing time. There’s even a classic bar-culture phrase that makes it way into the song that sums it all up: “You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.” Reportedly the song is not just about leaving a bar at the end of the night, but about moving from one life chapter to another. The lead singer and songwriter, Dan Wilson penned the song while his girlfriend was pregnant, and it ended up being about pending fatherhood, childbirth and new life (for all involved): “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”
Candy Sample: Kylie Minogue: “Always Find The Time”
Kylie’s 1990 album, Rhythm of Love featured the now classics: “Better the Devil You Know”; “What Do I Have To Do”; “Step Back In Time”; “Shocked,” yet the track, “Always Find the Time” could’ve been a worthy addition to this list as well, if officially released as a single. This rarity has garnered fan-favorite status, as exemplified during one of Kylie’s dates on her 2012 Anti-Tour, when the singing crowd nearly drowned her out, leaving her to ask: “Do I need to sing this one?” With its ‘90s-era drum skips and predominant keys, the song, written by Stock, Aitken and Waterman, and the singer, Rick James (“Superfreak”), also features an instrumental sample from the 1983 track, “Candy Man” by James’ early-‘80s girl group, Mary Jane Girls. “Candy Man” also includes the lyric in the second verse: “You just call me up now, baby/And I’ll always find the time.”
Mary Jane Girls’ “Candy Man” on “American Bandstand”:
Central Park Best: Sheryl Crow: “If It Makes You Happy” (Live)
Rockers have lots of stories to tell. Sheryl Crow is no exception. Her song, “If It Makes You Happy” starts with the line: “I belong/A long way from here.” If the Southern-inspired whiskey-soaked opening guitar riff and soulfully smooth bass chords—that roll in at just the right time—don’t pull you in… that line will.
This version, from Crow’s 1999 Live in Central Park, features The Pretenders’ lead singer, Chrissie Hynde—a woman presumably with lots of stories to tell as well: life on the road; death of a close colleague; love with a fellow musician, themes to which Crow can also relate. The singers—who seemingly have seen it all, heard it all, played it all—trade verses, with Hynde’s signature style fitting in wonderfully.
Crow’s lyrics can often leave you scratching your head (“Bring you comics in bed/Scrape the mold off the bread/And serve you French Toast again”), yet it’s how the tale is told, the drowsy buildup offset by explosive high points at the chorus—and the simplicity of that infectious chorus—that bring about universal understanding.
We don’t know how this story concludes, yet the return of that whiskey-soaked guitar riff signifies a satisfying, albeit melancholic, close to the chapter.
Alive and Well: Lenny Kravitz: “Rock and Roll Is Dead”
Lenny Kravitz’s 1995 song, “Rock and Roll Is Dead” is irony at its finest. After its four-count intro, the gritty sounds of electric guitar come tearing in, along with Kravitz’s opening exclamation and Cindy Blackman’s commanding drums. These elements only proved that the genre was in no way on its last legs or six feet under. The song also served, in part, as a commentary on the preoccupation of public image and other distractions (“diamond rings”; “coke spoons”; “five hundred women in your bed”) over authentic musical talent (“You can’t even sing or play an instrument so you just scream instead…”). With Kravitz, Blackman and band still performing some 20 years later, the genre is certainly far from any need of resuscitation.
Erasure Thing: Heartfelt Electro-Techno After All These Years
It would’ve been easy for the Vince Clarke/Andy Bell duo known as Erasure to create a soulless sound, where keyboard-activated blips and beats took predominance over lyrical content and vocal contribution. Thankfully, the group saw equal importance in synth and substance. In 1992, on The Tank, the Swan and the Balloon tour, staging was an additional facet to which importance was paid.
In the show, the producer/programmer Clarke was often in a militaristic “tank” that served as his control booth to initiate the tracks. Bell—always the showman—arrived on stage in a cart designed like a swan, a contrast of peace versus war. The tour also featured the twin sisters/backing vocalists, Annick and Veronique Clarisse. Bell’s voice was nothing short of amazing, easily hitting the highs and dropping the lows, yet it’s the Clarisse sisters’ blended harmony that still remains some of the best and cleanest vocals heard in a live capacity. It’s not hard to imagine the angels on high sounding like these sisters.
In the clip below, “Chorus,” a commentary on environmental collapse, showed the Clarisse sisters in flowing white dresses, portraying a pair of peaceful doves, at times an oracle on the mount, while Bell bopped in his sparkly pants that evoked fish scales in sunlight. Fitting as the chorus of “Chorus” references birds: “And they covered up the sun/Until the birds had flown away,” as well as fish: “And the fishes in the sea/Had gone to sleep.” The bridge showcases the sisters’ heavenly talent: “The sunlight rising over the horizon…”
Another track off Chorus, “Turns the Love to Anger” displays Erasure’s knack for using synth-pop, computerized and seemingly removed, as framework for something more. At the bridge: “Love is where the dream should lie/It’s not for us to reason why/Or to ponder over strategy…” And again, the Clarisse sisters shine… and it’s not their whimsical headdresses that provide the brilliance. Bell takes to his balloon to “… take a ride/Somewhere in the big blue sky…” All these years later, Erasure’s reflections on the environment and “obsession” can still be seen and heard as heartfelt electro-techno.
A Track Can Take You Back: Gina G: “Ooh Ahh… Just a Little Bit”
Gina G’s “Ooh Ahh… Just a Little Bit” starts with those familiar synth-keyboard sounds heard often in ‘90s dance music. (To get nostalgic briefly, this song evokes memories of living in San Francisco, visiting the Virgin Megastore, and dancing in clubs south of market [SoMa]). What make this track a standout are the recognizable drums and that relentless galloping synth-bass line. Gina G’s vocal was credible, especially in the bridge: “What can you do for me?/Oh, what can you do?/’Cause I feel/So alive/I feel your love inside.” However, it’s the backing vocal after the bridge that adds a memorable soulful quality: “Just a little bit/Little bit more.” And all these years later, there’s nothing like this song to take me back to the Megastore… for just a little bit, and SoMa… a little bit more.