Fashion Forest: Chanel Fall/Winter 2018/19
Earlier this year, Karl Lagerfeld and the team at Chanel didn’t just present fashion, but illusion. With the fall season less than two week away, check out the brand’s F/W show, where the Grand Palais in Paris was transformed from ordinary catwalk into a walk in the woods. This cinematic set decoration (complete with a fab prefab-inspired structure) immerses the viewer into a crisp autumn wonderland, while a soundtrack featuring the ‘60s-underground-rock sound of The Liminanas (“Dimanche”; “Istanbul is Sleepy”) and the ‘80s-pop mood of A.R. Kane’s “Love from Outer Space,” all work together to create a fashion-forward future that is romantically retro.
Neil Simon: The Write Stuff
The playwright and screenwriter, Neil Simon passed away today at the age of 91. Known for his smart, sharp tone, two (of the many) films easily considered required viewing: 1976’s Murder By Death; 1978’s California Suite.
Murder by Death is an homage to classic murder-mystery novels, features characters inspired by famous fictional detectives, gathered together at a creepy manor for dinner and a “lovely murder…” The cast is a collection of greats (David Niven; Alec Guinness; Maggie Smith, as high-society Dora Charleston; basically everyone in the movie). Here, Dick (played by Niven) and Dora arrive, greeted by a blind butler (Guinness). Simon’s witty writing is evident, and at times could be subtle, yet not any less hilarious. The fast-paced delivery only makes the lines even better, with Smith owning a fabulously deadpan punchline:
California Suite features four different stories that take place at a posh Los Angeles hotel. One of which serves as comedic commentary on Hollywood and awards shows, as Maggie Smith (yes, the same Smith) plays Diana Barrie, an English actress nominated for a Best Supporting Actress award, in town for the ceremony. (Smith actually won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for this role.) Every line Smith utters is gold, and the dialogue with Michael Caine is again fast-paced, like watching expert tennis players volley shots over a net. (Also of note: Jane Fonda’s Hannah, a bitter New Yorker visiting her happy-in-California ex-husband to discuss custody arrangements.) But here, Smith’s drunk Barrie returns to her hotel room after a long, disappointing night:
Pop Playlist: Queen: “Under Pressure”
David Bowie’s appearance on the 1981 Queen classic, “Under Pressure” was a match made in heaven. The pairing created a song with lasting resonance, thanks in part to its mesmerizing bass line, arguably one of the most recognizable in music. (The riff heavily inspired Vanilla Ice’s 1990 hit, “Ice Ice Baby.”) Freddie Mercury’s improvisational vocal runs and classical piano give it a slight operatic feel, with quieter moments leading to an explosive release of crescendo highs for an all-out rock sound. There’s never a dull moment in “Under Pressure”; how could there be with two of the most charismatic artists on one track.
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).
Kacey Musgraves: The Woman of the “Golden Hour”
If you didn’t see Kacey Musgraves as the musical guest on “Saturday Night Live,” check it out. She performed two songs from Golden Hour: the country/disco, “High Horse” and the smooth “Slow Burn.” The unconventional marriage of country and disco on “Horse” works nicely (as it does on Kylie Minogue’s Golden), with its references to John Wayne and “giddy up/giddy up,” paired with a prominent bass line, congas, high-hat cymbal, and a sparkling saddle as mirror ball. With “Horse,” it appears as if Musgraves is stepping a bit out of her comfort zone, but then again standing on the “SNL” stage may turn the volume up on the nerves. Nonetheless, the creative departure is most welcome, and “Horse” is immediately catchy. She settles into the song and the performance, even towards the end serving a bit of ‘70s Cher, when Musgraves flicks her long black hair off each shoulder.
But more importantly, it’s Musgraves’ crystal voice that shines, especially on “Slow Burn,” her return to the familiar: acoustic guitar in hands; taking her “Slow Burn” time, revealing lyrics that keep to a traditional country sensibility, but with a modern take, something for which she is known (“Texas is hot/I can be cold/Grandma cried when I pierced my nose”). Its sound is tender, its pacing is beautiful, and the sweet spot is revealed in the second verse when the band comes in: drums kick; bass rolls; steel guitar slides.
Pop/Rock as Social Commentary: Garbage: “Breaking Up the Girl”
From Beautiful Garbage, 2001’s “Breaking Up the Girl” by the alternative-rock band, Garbage is a reflection on the difficulties and distractions “in a modern culture.” It’s as if the lead vocalist, Shirley Manson is “the girl,” reminding herself to stay strong, “walk away” from the “million ways to kill you.” The video features visual cues that signify the need to fit in: fancy cars; high-end style; front and center in front of a monstrous camera. At the start of the video, a rose, encased as if to be protected like a work of art, dissolves/breaks up, and by video’s end the flashiness that Manson portrays dissolves, at which point the rose begins to reassemble itself. It serves as commentary that still resonates almost 20 years later, a profound precursor to our current “modern culture,” of which social media, and all its blessings and complexities, plays a major part.
Disco Playlist: Donna Summer: “Spring Affair”
From “the first lady of love,” for the first day of spring, take a listen to Donna Summer’s “Spring Affair.” Released in 1976, it was part of her Four Seasons of Love album. The Giorgio Moroder/Pete Bellotte-produced track is the best way to welcome the new season.
Kylie Minogue: “Raining Glitter”: Delightfully Familiar Track
On Kylie Minogue’s Golden, the song, “Raining Glitter” is an immediate standout, thanks in part to the bass line that comes in after the first 10 seconds. It’s classic Kylie, with several elements reminiscent of previous Kylie material: Acoustic guitar (country meets flamenco) evokes “Please Stay”; in the chorus a “Whoop” takes you back to “Timebomb”; lyrics such as “put your hands up to the sky” (“Put Your Hands Up” from Aphrodite); and she’s even referenced glitter before as in “…glitter drop fall and I’m on my knees” in “No More Rain” from X. “Raining Glitter” embraces quiet verses, an inspiring, celebratory chorus and gorgeous harmonies, with lyrics that are true and tender: “We all want the same, yeah, we’re looking for that hand to hold.” This sparkles from start to finish.
Pop Playlist: The Cars: “Shake It Up”
Listen to The Cars’ 1981 hit, “Shake It Up,” in comparison to their late-70s material, and one can hear how the band did just that. With a sound that at first was more rock-oriented with tracks like “Just What I Needed,” “Good Times Roll,” You’re All I’ve Got Tonight” and “Moving In Stereo” (yes, the song that played over that Phoebe Cates scene from Fast Times at Ridgemont High), “Shake It Up” is pure pop-new-wave. With the birth of the MTV/music-video generation beginning in 1981, Ric Ocasek and the band embraced this sound through the new decade, with pop-ballad, “Since You’re Gone,” and later with 1984’s Heartbeat City (“You Might Think”; “Hello Again”; “Magic”; “Drive”).
Get Up, Jeanie: Flashdance Scene Takes on Whole New Meaning
With all the figure skating on TV over the last two weeks, couldn’t help but think about 1983’s Flashdance. Jennifer Beals’ Alex, Pittsburgh welder by day, dancer in a bar by night, dreams of a bigger life. So too does Alex’s friend and co-worker, Jeanie, who is a figure skater by day, waitress in a bar by night. One memorable scene (of many) captures the pressure of becoming a professional athlete; the solitude of an ice skater under the spotlight; a reminder of how years of practice and sacrifice can come down to one performance. The scene features Laura Branigan’s 1982 hit, “Gloria”; it’s upbeat, yet it takes on a different tone by scene’s end. The actress, Sunny Johnson, who played Jeanie, passed away at the age of 30, a little over a year after the film’s release, which now only adds to the scene’s already devastating portrayal of potential and possibility never to be fully realized.
Pop Playlist: Kylie Minogue: “I Should Be So Lucky” (Live in New York)
In 2009, Kylie Minogue launched her For You, For Me tour, exclusively visiting parts of North America as a labor of love and appreciation for loyal fans. An audio recording of the Hammerstein Ballroom stop in New York was released, and featured the torch-inspired version of 1987’s “I Should Be So Lucky.” This ballad incarnation first appeared during her Intimate and Live tour in 1998, and allows the Stock, Aitken and Waterman-penned hit to showcase the heartbreak of unrequited love, and the versatility of Minogue as pop star and jazz chanteuse.
Disco Playlist: Vicki Sue Robinson: “Turn the Beat Around”
Vicki Sue Robinson shines as a vocalist on 1976’s “Turn the Beat Around,” but the spotlight gets put on musicians and their instruments. From horns and violins, to the guitar scratch and percussion, even the flute player is given rock-star status, the song is a celebration of all the components that go about creating a sound that “carries all the action.” It’s a latin-disco classic, made all the more fun by attempting to sing along to Robinson’s rapid-fire vocals, and lyrics such as “syncopated rhythm” and “rat tat tat…”
Space Jam: Jack White’s “Connected by Love”
The musician, Jack White recently released the powerful single and video for “Connected by Love.” Haunting synth evokes a sci-fi Kubrick film, or a Blade Runner score that would make Vangelis proud. Quick to follow are hints of the Stones in the ‘60s: the gospel feel of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”; soulful backing vocals reminiscent of Merry Clayton’s on “Sympathy for the Devil.” The experimental sound of the ’70s courses through too (passionate rock-opera-inspired vocals by Mercury and Daltrey come to mind). As already noted, “Connected” feels sci-fi cinematic; its accompanying video similar in part to the 2011 Lars Von Trier film, Melancholia, about the complex relationship between two sisters, as a planet sets out on a collision course with Earth.
With White threading together various musical styles, he blends the past with the present, and the (futuristic) video highlighting the unconditional bond between parents and children from all walks of life, while White’s character sits alone in a hotel room with his regrets (”What have I done?/I have pushed away everyone”), the importance of connection, plays a starring role.
Golden Girl: Kylie Wants to Go Out “Dancing”
Kylie Minogue just released “Dancing,” the first single from Golden. It’s easy-breezy pop that quickly triggers the feel-good goosebumps. It’s a smart, mature sound for the 49-year-old, blending country-inspired acoustic (think the gentle work of Sheryl Crow on Detours) with a thread of friendly hand-clap dance-pop. In a BBC 2 Radio interview, Kylie talked about how working in Nashville allowed her to approach the creative process in a different manner: “[Nashville is] so focused on the song and then you can take the song and produce that any way you want. But it’s just about the nuts and bolts of the song… at the alter of the song.”
And it shows in “Dancing,” as its layered meaning in the chorus resonates beautifully: “When I go out/I wanna go out dancing.” A literal reference to a joyful nighttime outing, yet there’s a deeper sentiment, in a non-morose manner, toward fearless freedom, mortality, and eternity: “Everybody’s got a story/Let it be a blaze of glory/Burning bright/Never fade away/When the final curtain falls/We can say we did it all/A never-ending of a perfect day.”
The Swedes of San Francisco: Fab Car Ad for the Volvo XC40
Feature a sweet-looking, compact SUV moving through a photogenic San Francisco, and the impassioned sound of the song, “Aqualung” by the Swedish singer, Miss Li, and you’ve got a lifestyle ad that makes you want to find the nearest Volvo dealer. Audio and visual pairings throughout the ad are inspired, especially as the XC40 turns to greet you. Other highlights: the sleekest Thor-hammer blinkers, yes, blinkers; the XC40 gliding up and over the slightest grade along Sansome Street at Pine; rolling into the “city sunset” along Montgomery Street. It’s a visceral ad that sends the heart racing.
Pop Playlist: ABBA: “Mamma Mia”
One is reminded of how powerful the brain can be when a song is featured in a film, and even 20-something years later whenever the song plays, the film and the scene, are immediately conjured. So is the case with ABBA’s “Mamma Mia.” However, the film is not Mamma Mia, based on the stage play, and starring Meryl Streep, but 1992’s The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
With Felicia (Guy Pearce) a big fan of the Swedish pop group, it was only natural that a song (“Mamma Mia”) would find its way into the film, and it does during the finale. The scene is a celebratory one that has the drag-queen heroes, Felicia and Mitzi (Hugo Weaving) returning home from a long journey into the Australian desert. Geographically, they’re happy to be home, but the bouncy, cheerful-sounding tone of “Mamma Mia” also reinforces how much the duo are also at home in their hearts, doing what they do best, surrounded by the people who love them. The song-scene pairing is also a testament as to how ABBA’s masterful creations can still instill a warmhearted sense of comfort and at times (euphoric) joy.
Kylie Minogue Has the Best Attitude
Class Act: A short video showing Kylie accepting the Legend honor at the Attitude (Magazine) Awards, where she expresses her gratitude for (and beautifully sums up her relationship with) her (gay) fanbase.
Cozy Cinema: “You’ve Got Mail” Still Delivers
Open Your Heart
The 1998 Nora Ephron film is the epitome of cozy cinema. There’s the magic of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, whose characters are involved in an online romance amid an offline rivalry.
Warner Bros.
There’s also scene-stealing Parker “I’m having my eyes lasered” Posey, the sunny romantic-comedy genre, witty script, and a crisp New York in the Fall. Although it could be seen as somewhat dated, for one of its supporting characters is AOL’s “You’ve Got Mail” announcement, the film still holds true today, as contemporary social-media outlets can also serve as an option for (love) connection, yet now more Wi-Fi than dial-up. Timeless themes of opposites attract, internal beauty as crucial component, and a faith (and fate) in love (“the dream of someone else”) make this film a feel-good essential.
Joe (Tom Hanks) has an epiphany he’s stuck in more places than just an elevator:
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.”
Psychedelic Zodiac: Donovan’s “Hurdy Gurdy Man”
Just re-watched David Fincher’s 2007 film, Zodiac, about the crimes committed in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1960s and 1970s by a person who called himself, The Zodiac, via cryptic letters and creepy phone calls to news outlets. The film is incredibly well-done, in depth and, at times, spine-tingling. It also does a fantastic job of using songs to establish timeframe and tone, best exemplified by the use of “Hurdy Gurdy Man,” recorded in 1968 by the singer, Donovan. The track is classic psychedelic ‘60s, and plays over a disturbing scene near the beginning of the film, as well as during the closing credits. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, and Robert Downey, Jr.; even the actors in smaller roles are equally memorable, including the (uncredited) actress, Ione Skye, whose father is… Donovan.
A chilling clip from Zodiac, featuring Ione Skye:
Allured into the Basement
“Are you sure there’s nobody else in the house?”
— Jake Gyllenhaal as cartoonist turned true-crime investigator, Robert Graysmith.
Paramount Pictures. Cinematographer: Harris Savides.