Talking about Bassline
One of the elements that makes Selena Gomez’s “Bad Liar” a good pop song is the bass-guitar sample featured at the very beginning. Taken from the Talking Heads’ 1977 song, “Psycho Killer,” its smooth, cool sound is just like its creator, the Heads’ legendary bassist, Tina Weymouth. While the group’s lead singer, David Byrne was also part performance artist, with his unique vocals and delightfully intriguing stage presence, it was Weymouth, normally off to his back left, who usually played it chill… and played it well.
Weymouth’s other noteworthy musical contribution came in the form of the band, Tom Tom Club, with its early-‘80s “psychedelic and funkadelic” hit, and well-sampled in its own right, “Genius of Love.” Footage below was part of (the late) Jonathan Demme’s 1984 Talking Heads concert film, Stop Making Sense. Here, Weymouth is on lead, showcasing her signature bass playing, and her own whimsical presence, alongside the backing vocalists, Ednah Holt and Lynn Mabry, and the Heads’ drummer, and fellow Tom Tom Club member, Chris Frantz, who Weymouth has also been married to since 1977.
New “Twin Peaks” Trailer is Damn Fine
Showtime just released a new trailer for its continuation of the David Lynch-Mark Frost television series, “Twin Peaks.” Groundbreaking for its unique characters and (often horrific) storylines set in a small logging town in the Pacific Northwest, the ‘90s pop-culture phenomenon advanced TV to a cinematic level. The actress Madchen Amick (now on “Riverdale”), who played/plays the waitress, Shelly Johnson on the series, recently commented for “Entertainment Weekly” that the show “…slowed the pace down, literally slowed television’s pace down.” The trailer scrolls clever copy, in the show’s signature brown and green font, over an ominous rumble in the background, to highlight the series’ legacy as one of the most original, culturally significant works of the last thirty years. The trailer’s closing scene has a spine-tingling tone, one of the many things for which the show was renowned.
Pop Playlist: Fleetwood Mac: “Over My Head”
“But it sure feels nice” is not just a lyric from Fleetwood Mac’s 1975 single, “Over My Head,” but essentially the subsequent end result after every listening session. The distinct, soothing lead-vocal style of the band’s keyboardist, Christine McVie is always a comfort to the ears, even as she sings of the lows of love, and the realization of being in a relationship with someone who’s not reciprocating what’s deserved: “Your mood is like a circus wheel/You’re changing all time.” McVie’s lyrics capture that struggle between head and heart in a simple, yet creative manner.
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:
An Australian in Paris: “…That Sweet City Woman”
Kylie Minogue’s cover of the Bee Gee’s classic, “Night Fever” (from Saturday Night Fever) utilizes her upper upper-register, in order to capture Barry Gibb’s distinctive vocal style. In the live performances below, Kylie showcases her authentic, live-vocal capacity, even amid a backing track for (background-vocal) effect. When Kylie sings, “Makin’ it mine,” she’s makin’ it hers.
The staging, styling and choreography is nothing short of chic, paying homage to Parisian glam-pop-disco in the ‘70s, while the two female dancers sport voluminous hair and seductive moves of the period. Kylie joins the dance party at “I got fire in my mind/I get higher in my walking,” and can’t help near the end to do a funky four-step.
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”:
Gene Wilder: His Comedic Timing Was No Charade
The comedic actor, Gene Wilder passed away recently. Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, starring, and co-written, by Wilder, wonderfully captured the actor’s distinctive talent. The film served as homage to the black-and-white horror movies of days gone by, particularly, and obviously, Frankenstein. Brooks’ take featured Wilder as Dr. Frankenstein (it’s pronounced Frahn-ken-steen, as noted in one of the many hilarious scenes), who sets out to re-animate the dead, with the help of Igor (it’s pronounced Eye Gore, played by Marty Feldman) and Inga, an attractive laboratory assistant played charmingly by Teri Garr. Peter Boyle plays The Creature; Cloris Leachman, the creepy castle caretaker; the brilliant Madeline Kahn, Dr. Frankenstein’s self-absorbed fiancé. Wilder had a knack for displaying comedic calm (“I will NOT… be… angry.”), followed almost instantaneously by frantic absurdity (“… 54-inch-wide go-rilla!”). Wilder will also be remembered for playing eccentric chocolate-factory owner, Willy Wonka; a cowboy past his prime in Blazing Saddles, another Brooks classic; his work with the comedian, Richard Pryor, and many other projects, yet it’s Young Frankenstein that displays his signature style.
Another genius gone: Madeline Kahn. Her character portrayal and delivery are close to comedic perfection:
Timeless from “Time Life”
An infomercial can easily pull you in, especially when it’s one of those 30-minute “Time Life” music collections honoring the “Soul of the ‘70s.” The format, with its montage of short performance clips, mostly from vintage “Soul Train” episodes, just works to keep the attention after that initial allure—and of course most of the credit goes to isolating those catchy sound bites from some of the best R & B, soul, funk and disco productions. One in particular stood out: “(Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love Again” by the band, L.T.D., fronted by Jeffrey Osborne. The singer’s distinct vocal clarity on top of a tight horn section, a pre-chorus popping bass chord, guitar scratch, tambourine, and soulfully angelic female backing vocalists are the ageless components.
Loud and Clear: The Police: “Message in a Bottle”
The Police’s 1979 hit, “Message in a Bottle” is their reggae-pop-rock take on isolation and alienation. It’s the (allegorical) story of a castaway on an island who sends out a communication, an “S.O.S. to the world,” and in return receives a uniquely poetic form of salvation.
The lead singer, Sting goes on to tell about how “Love can mend your life/But love can break your heart.” Yet one morning after more than of year of solitude, the castaway wakes to find “a hundred billion bottles/washed up on the shore/Seems I’m not alone at being alone/a hundred billion castaways/looking for a home.” Seemingly it’s validation and a sense of camaraderie between the faceless message writers that serve as (spiritual) rescue.
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.
“What Kind of Fool” a.k.a. Life After “Better The Devil You Know”
The catchy 1992 song by Kylie Minogue could be theorized as having its origins in 1990. Think “Better The Devil You Know” (“BTDYK”), a song whose lyrics reluctantly embrace blind forgiveness of a (devilish) partner. Yet “What Kind of Fool (Heard All That Before)” could be seen as a sequel. In “BTDYK”: “I’ll forgive and forget/If you say you’ll never go.” In “Fool”: “You can say you’ll be true/I can trust in you/But I heard all that before.” Kylie is done forgiving, and ready to forget, the devil she knows.
The video for “Fool” features scenes inspired by the film, And God Created Woman, starring Brigitte Bardot, a woman to which Kylie has long paid homage, most notably the artwork for her 2003 CD, Body Language and the styling for the subsequent one-off concert at the London Apollo. The And God references include: the silhouette of Kylie lounging behind a sheet hanging on the line; Kylie dancing in a red skirt on a kitchen table. And for another film reference: the heart-shaped glasses, unmistakably from the poster for the 1962 Stanley Kubrick film, Lolita. Kylie as Lolita-type girl at the beginning of “Fool” is not the same person at the end; in the dark no longer, she’s a stronger woman slamming the kitchen door, committing to the lyric: “Don’t wanna see your face no more.”
Marriage on the Rocks: Billy Idol: “White Wedding”
Love and romance were in the air in 1982, yet Billy Idol seemed to have something else to say… and show. The myth surrounding “White Wedding” was that it was his disapproving commentary about his pregnant sister’s nuptials, a myth that became (partially) defunct in 2001 by Idol himself on “VH1 Storytellers.” The track is a far “rebel yell” from “Here Comes the Bride,” as Idol’s guitarist, Steve Stevens, fires in that sinister riff. A menacing bass line and ominous drumbeat follow, sounding as if someone was being led to the gallows, instead of down the aisle.
Idol’s vocals start out quiet; in the video, he unwraps himself from what looks like a burial cloth: “Hey little sister what have you done?” Although apparently not a disapproval of “Shotgun!” ceremonies, the song sure sounds skeptical about marriage. What follows are a series of rhetorical questions, leading to the impression that this character is not familiar with the (new) groom and has lost touch with the bride. He admits: “I’ve been away for so long.” Could this character have been a better protector? Perhaps then she would’ve made a “better” decision, instead of entering into a traditional union, an attempt at (false) security. “Who’s your superman?” plays up on the pop-culture superhero, a reference to nick-of-time rescuer.
Also in the video, Idol’s bride (played by then-girlfriend, Perri Lister) dances in a traditional kitchen, seemingly in an oblivious, altered state. Appliances and fixtures burst into flames or gush: “Well, there is nothing fair in this world/There is nothing safe in this world/And there’s nothing sure in this world…” By video’s end, the bride is hunched over, dead in the church.
The track and video can’t help but paint an ironic picture: “C’mon it’s a nice day for a white wedding.” Plus, the white gown serves as a symbol of purity, yet Idol sings: “And there’s nothing pure in this world…” And then there are these visuals: reportedly Lister deciding that her finger intentionally be sliced by Idol as he shoves on a thorny band; the bride lying on a gurney; the crypt; the two undertakers with shovels outside the church, indicative that the bride was never going to make it out (alive) and into her suburban environment. Interestingly, Lister also plays one of the three dancers dressed in black, perhaps symbolic of ghosts of previous brides who still haunt the grounds? And let’s not forget Idol’s burial cloth. All seem to present a dark theory that marriage and convention have the potential to be harmful and unhealthy, fatal even, literally and figuratively a dead end. The apparent solution: “Look for something left in this world/Start again!”
Yes, Dearie! Kylie Blossoms at Finland Jazz Festival
Kylie Minogue’s musical versatility was once again on display at the Pori Jazz Festival in Finland. She has never shied away from straight-up jazz, such as on “Stay This Way” or when she appeared on an episode of “Later… with Jools Holland,” where she performed an impressive cover of (Lena Horne’s) “Come On Strong.”
Yet seemingly her jazz inspiration comes from a woman named Blossom Dearie, an American singer and pianist in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. Dearie had a wonderfully unique vocal style: light; airy; with a childlike quality. (In the ‘70s, Dearie lent her voice to the “Schoolhouse Rock!” series of animated educational shorts that appeared as interludes during Saturday-morning cartoons. Her sweet voice can be heard on “Unpack your Adjectives,” for example.)
Over the last 10 years, Kylie has covered some of Dearie’s jazz tracks, two of which were in Kylie’s 2007 documentary-concert film, White Diamond: “I’m Hip” and “Try Your Wings.” Her vocal on “Wings” is comforting, like a hug when it’s needed, a fuzzy blanket when it’s cold, a whiskey in winter.
And finally, to Finland, where Kylie took a break to honor Dearie, with “Peel Me A Grape,” a delightfully bratty song, similar to “Santa Baby,” about a woman’s relationship demands: “Pop me a cork/French me a fry” and the playfully entitled list goes on. It’s a confident, inspiring display of this pop singer’s talent, ear and love for a music format, different from the one she’s most known for, as well as yet another lovely homage to an artist with whom many may not be familiar.
Dearie performs the track live at the piano:
Hearing Red: Kylie Minogue Covers Nena Classic
“Panic bells/It’s red alert,” ‘80s-pop extravaganza about to be enjoyed. While performing at the “Melt! Festival” in Germany, an artist many thought would be a “one-hit wonder” covered another artist’s “one-hit wonder” from the new-wave ‘80s. Kylie Minogue (the former) and her fantastic band did a red-hot cover of Nena’s synth-bass-drenched “99 Red Balloons” (the latter). Leave it to Kylie, sporting a little red number and, yes, a red balloon, to dazzle during a song about nuclear war. Yet with that said, she delivers tender vocals during the first verse, as she begins the story of “You and I in a little toy shop,” only later in the last verse to convey how innocence and hope (a single red souvenir found by the now solo protagonist) manage to survive “in this dust that was a city.”
Pop Playlist: The Beatles: “Let It Be”
When the subject of The Beatles comes up in conversation, the discussion has the potential to turn futile when its participants theorize as to what song could be considered the group’s best. Why? Because there are just so damn many. “In My Life,” “Yesterday,” “Something” and this track, “Let It Be” are strong contenders, yet to continue adding to this easy-to-compile list would only reiterate the earlier point. “Let It Be,” the 1970 Lennon-McCartney classic, features a comforting piano, Paul McCartney’s heartfelt vocals, and spiritually centered lyrics of acceptance and faith.
The first verse and chorus have a downhearted feel, made evident by the aforementioned piano and vocals, plus these introductory lyrics: “When I find myself in times of trouble…”; “And in my hour of darkness…” Yet it’s the addition of the cymbal in the second verse, and soon a fuller drumbeat, choral backing, distant horns, Billy Preston’s church-inspired keys, and later the guitar breakdown, that serve to communicate a more promising feel, indicative of the effectiveness of the three-word advice and subsequent emotional comfort provided by “Mother Mary.” This caring character is represented as McCartney’s own departed mother who came to him in a dream, or in the traditional religious context of the Virgin Mary, or perhaps the listener’s own mother or guardian.
As the post-bridge chorus and final verse play out, McCartney begins to add optimistic vocal runs, plus he sings: “And when the night is cloudy/There is still a light that shines on me/Shine until tomorrow,” which evokes that image of a guardian angel keeping a watchful eye. He also speaks about the clarity that can result upon facing another day (“I wake up to the sound of music…”), leaving those “times of trouble” and “hour of darkness” in the past. In the outro, the forlorn piano prominent at the beginning of the song is eclipsed by Preston’s soulful organ and electric piano.
It’s also to be noted that at this time—1969, 70—The Beatles album, Let It Be was to be the band’s final venture. The song works as an encouraging sentiment for the listener thinking about his or her day-to-day challenges, and the acceptance and faith that hopefully comes along, but the track more so documents McCartney’s statement to the rest of the members of the band.
“Let It Be” is an indelible, universal reminder of how music can be a source of easily accessible inspiration; a secret confidant, whispering “words of wisdom” through a pair of earbuds. Take ease in knowing that if The Beatles comes up in that eventually futile conversation, there is “an answer” or at least a solid, credible argument in the selection of this profoundly poetic track.
Innocence Found: Tom Petty’s “American Girl” in the Movies
There’s nothing like the 1977 Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ song, “American Girl” to inspire a feeling of carefree, sing-along abandon in its fans. Appearing on their debut album, this popular track from the late ‘70s had enough staying power to go from radio to film, making appearances in the 1982 classic, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and the 1991 masterpiece, The Silence of the Lambs.
In Fast Times, “American Girl” plays over a montage of the first day of school. For some it’s a return to another year of popularity; for others, like Stacy (Jennifer Jason Leigh), it’s the start of a challenge. As soon as Stacy appears in this montage, the lyrics begin: “Well, she was an American girl/raised under promises/She couldn’t help thinking that there was a little more to life/somewhere else.”
She meets a handsome older guy named Ron (D.W. Brown), a stereo salesman in the mall. Stacy lies about her age and agrees to a date with him, 26. Stacy has abandoned her rule-following American girl. She sneaks out and runs to meet Ron on a street corner, who picks her up in his car. As Petty sang: “After all, it was a great big world/with lots of place to run to.”
As this young girl in Fast Times wanted to quickly become a young woman, the placement of the song in The Silence of the Lambs, shows how a young woman can quickly revert to being a young girl. Catherine (Brooke Smith) is driving by herself, singing along to “American Girl” on her stereo, her familiar nature bonding the viewer to her. Catherine pounds along on the steering wheel and not only sings the lyric, “Make it last all night,” but also tries to sing the backup at the same time, which only makes her all the more endearing. She stops singing, and the camera remains focused on her face, allowing for a final look, warning the invested observer that this carefree American girl, safe in her protective environment, will soon be anything but. She helps a man (Ted Levine) outside her apartment, her heart in the right place, yet her naivety gets her in serious trouble.
Although both films are different—Fast Times, a sharp, slightly unnerving comedy, Silence, a chilling, totally disturbing thriller—the choice to include “American Girl” is a testament to how well the song works in capturing wide-eyed innocence. Thankfully, both characters come out the other side as stronger American women.
Hook, Line and Singer: The Knack: “My Sharona”
Its thunderous drumbeat; deep bass chords; that stuttering guitar riff: It was clear that 1979’s “My Sharona” was going to be a hit. Especially in pop, it’s all about selling that repetitive hook that connects with the public; the aptly named band, The Knack knew about that and didn’t just rely on this holy trinity of instruments to do the hook work. They pushed further, allowing the vocal delivery, even the lyrics themselves, to stand out as well. The group didn’t throw together a pop song, but, in turn, crafted a definitive, engaging pop experience that still resonates. This one-hit wonder was chock full of so many smart, memorable hooks, it just couldn’t be shelved at the start of the new decade. Although its sound became synonymous with the ‘80s decade, it’s gone on to live several lives, most notably, as endearing pastiche, in the 1994 film, Reality Bites.
A Brief Stint with Synth: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: “You Got Lucky”
Similar to disco in the ‘70s, which had just about everyone, including a brief stint by The Rolling Stones (“Miss You”), “disco-fying” their sound, this new-wave MTV era now had a rock group synthesizing their sound to fit into the musical landscape. Florida rockers Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, known for ‘70s FM-radio hits embraced adaptability with 1982’s “You Got Lucky.”
Whether you were already a fan of their car-radio favorites or discovered the band via the Mad Max-inspired music video for “You Got Lucky,” it was this openness to explore that introduced the group to an even bigger audience. However, the band’s visit to this alien land of synth was (intentionally?) ephemeral. In the apocalyptic video, the Heartbreakers play rough, yet wary space cowboys, stumbling upon a lost desert station, presumably on Earth, filled with technological artifacts and fads. Note at the end that the only item they take with them is the electric guitar, which Mike Campbell loads into his shuttle. They leave behind the jackpot of coins, the arcade games, TV sets and the cassette-tape player; the guitar the only real thing of value, interest and relevance, symbolic of the band’s loyalty to their traditional rock lineage and the only necessary instrument for where the band was headed… back home.
It’s also noteworthy that Petty’s futuristic character, ironically wearing old-west attire, almost takes the tape player, yet decides to leave it behind, not only foreshadowing its obsolescence, but perhaps serving as another indication of Petty’s affinity for the traditional, i.e., the vinyl record. The band did manage to welcome one important innovation: the music video. They continued to embrace the marketing tool, becoming one of the most creative bands to push the concept forward, so much so, their videos became short four-minute films. Three years later “Don’t Come Around Here No More” became one of the best, albeit surreal and disturbing, videos of the MTV ‘80s. Just as the Stones followed up “Miss You” with their return to form, “Beast of Burden,” Tom and the gang soon issued the familiar-sounding “Change of Heart,” an aptly titled release, considering from where they just came.
Next Stop, The ‘80s: Lipps Inc.: “Funkytown”
The 1980 robo-soul hit, “Funkytown” represents that transitional period after the height of disco in the late ‘70s and before the commercial-new-wave MTV of the early ‘80s. Disco had unfortunately worn out its welcome; once Ethel Merman and many rock stars released disco-inspired records, there were many who wanted disco to hustle out of dodge. To where would music be heading and what would it sound like? According to the group, Lipps Inc. (Lip Sync), it was a, “Town to keep me movin’/Keep me groovin’ with some energy.” That place was known as Funkytown. Its writer and producer, Steven Greenberg sure had insight (“Talk about movin’/Gotta move on”).
“Funkytown” nursed those intoxicating sounds of the ‘70s: a percolating percussion cowbell; soulful vocals by the lead singer, Cynthia Johnson; Chic-inspired guitar riffs; violins; sax. The song even managed to draw inspiration from the sounds of the sci-fi-heavy late ‘70s/early ‘80s (think “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century” and “Battlestar Galactica” on the tube), incorporating computerized vocal modulations, even at one point sounding as if Cylons were laying down vocals. Laser-blaster effects and bouncy electro-keyboard blips seemed to reflect the earnest urge to usher in a “futuristic” sound for the new decade.
To their credit, the group’s heart was in the right place; the track wasn’t “The Hustle,” instead inspiring disco-deprived dancers to embrace “The Robot,” which was later combined with Poppin’ in the mid-‘80s. Even the computerized modulations could be seen as precursors to Auto-Tune of the late ‘90s and beyond. Maybe Lipps Inc. was on to something in 1980, solidifying their foresight as to what music would sound like way in the future. Unfortunately for the group, it would actually be another one-hit wonder, Gary Numan, to take the wheel, steering away from Funkytown and driving straight into Synth City. His “Cars” became somewhat representative of what the first part of the MTV ‘80s would really sound like, with Devo (“Whip It”), Duran Duran (“Planet Earth”) and The Human League (“Don’t You Want Me”), to name a few, contributing accordingly. Thankfully, you’re never too far from “Funkytown.”
Lay The Medley Down: Cher: “Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves” (The Farewell Tour)
You know you’ve been around a long time as a singer when you have to add a medley into your concerts. The back catalog so large, attendees would need to spend the night in their $200+ seat to hear you sing all the songs they’re really there to hear. The current stuff may be good, but it’s the promise of retro rewind somewhere in the set list that inspires fans to slap that $200+ onto a credit card. On either side of the mic, many would agree: A minute and half of a hit is better than no hit at all.
Cher is one of those singers with a staggering amount of material. In 2002, she launched The Farewell Tour. (And as we all know, the irony here is as big as one of her glittery headdresses.) She divided the entertaining show into sections, which highlighted, via montages, as well as wig and costume changes, her many impressive incarnations over the past “40 frickin’ years,” as she put it.
For the section devoted to the post-Sonny Bono ’60s and ‘70s, she sang snippets of “Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves,” the epic retelling of a woman’s challenging life, once traveling from town to town with her mama and papa as they both tried to earn money doing odd, slightly dubious jobs. The title, a reference to the labels given to them by the various townspeople who loathe them, some of whom “temporarily” love them: “But every night all the men would come around/And lay their money down.”
Normally, the story of a girl “born in the wagon,” only to grow up to be “a gal in trouble” would be kind of a downer. However, with Cher’s guttural, unmistakably distinct vocal, it becomes a hoot of a sing along, another minute-and-a-half opportunity, in this accommodating thing known as the medley, to test your best Cher impression… You know you have one.