Random Acts
I’ve always found the shuffle-play system of listening to music appealing, never knowing what song will be next. Ironically, I love routine and predictability, yet it’s the shuffle that allows me sometimes to embrace the unexpected, smile at a surprise. Don’t get me wrong, there are days when Fast Forward is used when listening to music on my phone: “No, not that one… skip… skip.”
When I first started blogging on Tumblr six years ago, I created a recurring series called The Poptimum Project, in which I wrote a post about every song that was Autofilled onto my iPod shuffle®. (Wow, remember that device?) The project was inspired by the film, Julie & Julia, where government employee by day and writer by night, Julie Powell cooks every recipe from Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” and chronicles her experience on a blog. Instead of a cookbook, I kept a document with the track list.
Now that this website has launched, you’ll from time to time see a continuation of this project, now renamed The Pop Zeal Project. One post might feature Carole King’s “I Feel the Earth Move,” followed by Gwen Stefani’s “The Real Thing,” then LL Cool J’s “Around the Way Girl” and so on. Come what may. Keep in mind: Not every music post will be part of this list, but if the headline includes, The Pop Zeal Project, then it falls under this continuing endeavor.
Ready to embrace the random? I am… I think.
Stitch Mix: Music, Mood and the Chanel Fashion Show
Like a belt or purse matching the shoes, fashion and music can be coordinated perfectly. Whether it was during Karl Lagerfeld’s iconic run as creative director, or now with Virgine Viard at the lead, the Chanel fashion house knows all about, all of the above.
In December 2019, Chanel posted its Métiers d’art (art professions) show, a yearly event highlighting the artistry of the many ateliers with whom the house works. (Think, in part, meticulous beadwork applied by master embroiderers.) Held at the Grand Palais in Paris, this year’s show—the first for Viard since Lagerfeld’s passing—was entitled “31 Rue Cambon,” the address of Chanel’s Paris store. The set was co-designed by the film director, Sofia Coppola and was inspired by Coco Chanel’s apartment, with its curved staircase surrounded by angled mirrors; large chandeliers descend from the rafters to illuminate the already brilliant homage.
Stylin’; Profilin’
“Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.”
— Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel (1883 - 1971)
As the old adage goes: Perfection is in the details, and this rings true regarding Viard’s use of a ‘70s/‘80s-inspired soundtrack. When the model, Vittoria Ceritti opens the show, she glides elegantly down the staircase to Roxy Music’s “To Turn You On” from Avalon, with Bryan Ferry’s ethereal vocals further setting the tranquil tone.
Other songs include:
Sam Taylor Wood produced by the Pet Shop Boys on “I’m In Love with a German Film Star”;
Soft Cell’s jazzy, peppy, yet ironically moody, “Torch”;
The French singer, Amanda Lear’s Euro-Disco, “Follow Me.”
If you need to edit your time, watch the Roxy Music section, then skip to 10:30, featuring LCD Soundsystem’s “Oh Baby,” with its dark, yet dreamy, synth-pop sound. Thanks to the music choices and the models (including Kaia Gerber near the end) walking and weaving around each other in perfect harmony, these two sections are meditative, hypnotic, couture with a calming effect, certainly something to embrace in these times. Note that Ceritti closes the show as well, creating a satisfying sense of completion.
Watch as fashion and music fit beautifully like hand to glove:
For “Star Wars Day,” Keep Your Ion This Scene
To honor Star Wars day (May the Fourth… be with you), here is one of the best scenes from Episode Five: The Empire Strikes Back. It’s unlikely, but in case you’re not familiar: After the Empire discovers the whereabouts of the rebel base on the ice planet of Hoth, rebel leader, Princess Leia orders alliance members to board transport shuttles in order to evacuate the base. The surface-to-space ion cannon has been set to fire upon the approaching imperial cruisers, allowing the transports to get past the distracted blockade.
Whether you fly your “nerd flag” high or not, keep your ion this scene, which works wonderfully for many reasons:
Its use of ominous orchestral music, followed quickly by the quiet tension in the base, moments before the ion cannon is fired;
The propulsive force of the cannon firing is a stellar example of Star Wars’ effective use of sound in film;
The shift to triumphant orchestral music, reminiscent of ones used in swashbuckler films of the 1940s, starring Errol Flynn;
The celebratory “Hooray!” from the rebel pilots after they learn “the first transport is away,” with Luke Skywalker once again taking on the hero role, the “every man,” leading a band of intergalactic misfits to stop the imperial ground attack;
Lastly, it celebrates a common Star Wars theme: the proverbial David outsmarting Goliath, in order to live (and fight) another day. (Goliath, not just in the form of the Empire, but in the next scene, Luke, piloting his snow speeder, takes down a towering AT-AT walker by wrapping a cable, his slingshot if you will, around its legs, sending it crashing into the snow.)
Oh Boy!: Kylie Minogue’s “Better the Devil You Know” Turns 30
April 30, 2020 marks the 30th anniversary of one of Kylie Minogue’s signature songs, “Better the Devil You Know.” The lead single from her third studio album, Rhythm of Love, it goes down as one of her biggest career-defining moments, marking her transition from bubble-gum pop (and soap opera) star to slightly more brazen pop siren. (Kylie was no longer with fellow soap star, Jason Donovan, and had started dating Michael Hutchence at this time, representing a shift in her personal life as well.)
With its stuttering synthesizer sounds, rattling tambourine and thumping beat, never before has a song about repeatedly forgiving an unfaithful partner sounded so good. “Devil” has become a staple in many of Kylie’s concerts throughout the decades, as seen in the brilliant compilation below, created by “Kylie Minogue Video.” As one comment states, rightly so: “This made me emotional.”
The compilation captures Kylie:
Devil horns and all from Intimate and Live (1998);
Donning top hat and tails from Live in Sydney (2001);
As the braided beauty from KylieFever2002: Live in Manchester;
Decked out in blue feathers from Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour (2005);
Presenting a pink plume in Showgirl Homecoming (2006);
Rocking the cutoff shorts in Aphrodite Les Folies (2011);
As a cowgirl in pink from Golden - Live in Concert (2019);
In the legends slot at the Glastonbury Festival 2019.
Some favorite moments: 0:21 captures the blast of brilliance at the start of Showgirl Homecoming; that million-dollar smile at 2:15 in the blue Showgirl outfit; 2:57 as she bows to the fans that made this song a Kylie classic.
Sing It Ain’t So: Sheryl Crow is Done with the Album Thing
Sheryl Crow recently appeared as part of a round-table discussion, hosted by Linda Perry, singer, producer, and co-founder of “We Are Hear,” an artist empowerment company focused on developing and nurturing the creative. Along with Grimes (representing the younger voice in music) and Dolly Parton (the legendary one), Crow shared her thoughts on where’s she at today as far as creating music, leading her to disclose that she’s “done with the album thing,” seeing as “people don’t buy records anymore.” Regardless of what Crow’s career looks like going forward, she will always be a writer… and so much more. This prompted me to revisit a post I wrote about Crow’s “Now That You’re Gone” from Detours:
As much as Sheryl Crow is known for wanting to have some fun or soak up the sun, she is one of the best at chronicling breakups. From 1998’s basically perfect, Stones-inspired “My Favorite Mistake,” to 2005’s deeply somber release, Wildflower, she can get down in the dumps—“the real low down,” as she once sang on 1996’s “If It Makes You Happy.” Crow can certainly craft songs that drip with loneliness, anger and uncertainty over the derailment of a relationship. Her 2008 release, Detours, was her most political album, this time expressing her sadness over the derailment of our nation as a whole, the world at large off course. One of the tracks, “Now That You’re Gone,” is a return to classic Crow, feeling almost Wildflower low. With strings making a prevalent appearance, it’s another reason the song sounds like it could’ve originated on that strongly symphonic Wildflower.
“Gone” reflects Crow’s ability to write lyrics that sound seemingly romantic and positive, yet by their end quickly turn to the dark and negative (“We made a bed of roses/But I got pricked by thorns.”). And just as a silver lining appears regarding the separation, that she’ll be able to move on unscathed, hesitation creeps back in: “And I’m afraid some long, lonely road will lead me back to you again.” Thankfully, Crow does make it unscathed. After a year on that long, lonely road, she arrived back home, secure and certain, to more soulfully sunny roots, in the form of 100 Miles From Memphis, with the realization that favorite mistakes happen, wildflowers wither, and detours eventually get you back on track.
Food. Comfort.: Chef Vivian Howard is Somewhere South
Way more than a chef talking to a camera, showing how to make baked this or roasted that (not to say that format doesn’t drip with positive aspects), PBS’ “Somewhere South” takes the traditional cooking show out of the kitchen, and out on the road. The chef, Vivian Howard, from the Emmy-, Peabody- and James-Beard-award-winning PBS documentary series, “A Chef’s Life” is the culinary tour guide. With each episode, Howard highlights a staple ingredient or item found in traditional Southern cooking, and travels to different places, whether it’s near her home in Kinston, North Carolina or to a neighboring Southern state, to see how that featured item or a similar variation is used by other chefs and home cooks.
The series is at its most fascinating when the ingredient transcends cultural background, for example, in Episode Four’s “What a Pickle,” Howard goes from learning how to make Puerto Rican escabeche in Lexington, Kentucky, to meeting the Durham, North Carolina chef, Michael Lee (and his Korean family) to get a lesson in how to make kimchi; Episode Five’s “It’s a Greens Thing” has her heading to Cary, North Carolina to make saag paneer with an Indian family that has Kenyan ties. (Turns out, Cary has one of the biggest Indian Asian communities in the Southeast.)
“Somewhere South” exudes quiet (southern) comfort, and the delightful Howard is a hug personified. With her refined drawl, luminous smile and charming spirit, Howard shines in her genuine gratitude for being invited into people’s homes to cook with them, to hear their stories, to raise a glass as to how beautiful it is that food not just connects but unifies.
Here’s a taste of “Somewhere South”:
Pop Playlist: Kylie Minogue: In Your Eyes (Live in New York)
As some of you may already know, Kylie Minogue brings a smile to my face, and if my ears could smile, they'd beam too. One of the best songs from the iconic Fever album is “In Your Eyes.” She’s performed this signature track on many tours, but the one recorded in 2009 at the Hammerstein Ballroom during her For You, For Me tour, and for the subsequent audio release, Kylie: Live in New York, is a fave. Let’s take a look (and listen) back to this live track:
Pop royalty in most other parts of the globe, the legendary Australian performer never before launched a tour specifically through North America. After her Kylie X 2008 tour, she felt it was (finally) time to alleviate the longing that filled millions of fans (including her devoted gay following) who, up until that point, were only able to see the dynamic dynamo on DVD.
In a thoughtful gesture, Kylie and her team, led by her creative director William Baker, launched For You, For Me with the “mashup” in mind—part X tour (complete with X-tour musicians, backing vocalists and most of the dancers), part Showgirl 2005 and 2006 tours. This provided the chance to see a version, albeit a smaller-scale version, of the large concert spectacle, for which she is known. I had the pleasure of seeing Kylie for the first time on this tour, during a stop at the Fox Theater in Oakland, CA in Sept. 2009.*
This X-tour arrangement of “In Your Eyes” is heavy on bass-synth and bass guitar, and it sounds amazing. The New-York recording captures the crowd’s command of the lyrics (which was also displayed opening night in Oakland and probably every stop thereafter), proving her visit to the U.S. was not a waste, and that for the previous 8 years, copies of Fever were definitely being played in America. Kylie finishes big by confidently holding a high note at the end of the lyric, “I don’t feel like coming down.” As you can hear in the clip below, everyone in the audience seems to concur.
*Both photos courtesy of Rob Miller.
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.
Dark Passage: Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals
Intensity permeates Tom Ford’s chilling 2016 thriller, Nocturnal Animals. Amy Adams stars as Susan, a wealthy L.A. art dealer, who’s married to the handsome Hutton (Armie Hammer). One day she receives a novel written by her ex-husband, Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal). He dedicates the devastating, deeply disturbing novel to her, which causes her, with every turn of the page, to reflect on her past actions (via flashbacks to Susan and Edward at the promising start of their relationship), present (unhappy) situation with Hutton, and her growing dissatisfaction with her career.
As Susan delves deeper, the viewer also sees the “story-within-a-story,” with Ford jolting the viewer back and forth between the sleek, cold confines of Susan’s ritzy home, and the isolated highways and barren backroads of West Texas, including some menacing inhabitants, that serve as the setting for Edward’s horrifying tale.
Although Nocturnal Animals is written and directed by the famous fashion designer, it offers, in part, provocative commentary on substance vs. style, romantic vs. pragmatic, enough vs. more, and sheds light on the harsh consequences when someone is consumed by the latter instead of the former.
Blunt Answers
The latest to reveal responses to Vogue’s insightful “73 Questions,” the delightfully charming, and seriously funny, Emily Blunt returns to the halls of a fashion publication. The actress, whose breakout performance as the snotty, and stressed-out, fashion-magazine assistant, Emily in The Devil Wears Prada, makes a series of references to the film as she walks through the magazine’s New York office:
Emily stating her Starbucks is “a bit cold.” Editor-in-Chief, Miranda (the aforementioned Devil) had a preference for “Starbucks…hot Starbucks.”
“… They’re both so different.” In the film, another assistant holds up two seemingly identical belts for Miranda, and states that they’re both so different, to which Andrea, the fish-out-of water protagonist, scoffs in disbelief.
Seated young woman in the background: Takes on the Andrea role from the belt scene.
Stanley Tucci played Miranda’s right-hand man in the film.
Cerulean: The blue hue that Miranda references in the belt scene.
“That’s all.” Miranda’s frequent, infamously dismissive conclusion to her list of demands, is stated here by Anna Wintour, on whom Miranda is allegedly based.
“Bore someone else with your questions.” Another of Miranda’s dismissive statements in response to one of Andrea’s reasonable inquiries.
By segment’s end, wishing for number 74 from the Mary Poppins actress whose refined voice is as smooth as satin.
Pop Playlist: Kylie Minogue: “Aphrodite”
The title track to Kylie Minogue’s 2010 album, Aphrodite finds Kylie confidently stating her case to another as a goddess incarnate. The track could be considered the stronger, more-direct sister to the sweeter “The One” from X, for the chorus in “Aphrodite” features a fabulous list of powerful statements: “I’m fierce and I’m feeling mighty/I’m a golden girl/I’m an Aphrodite, alright.” And by the bridge: “You know that I’m magical/I am the original/I am the only one…”
Even musically, the song embraces harder-sounding beats as if pounded out by a marching band. If one listens to her KylieX2008 show, Act Two’s cheerleading theme starts with a drumbeat that sounds remarkably similar to the one in “Aphrodite.” Perhaps at that time a preview of things to come.
The Aphrodite period holds major significance in Kylie’s career, as it created another moniker still associated with her, one that catapulted her from “the Princess of Pop” to “the Goddess of Pop.” Simply put: from royalty to deity.
Disco Playlist: Thelma Houston: “Don’t Leave Me This Way”
Thelma Houston’s “Don’t Leave Me This Way” starts seductively slow through its intro and first verse, only to be offset by a powerhouse chorus. These slow and fast moments create a beautiful balance, all while showcasing Houston’s passionate vocals to convey that necessary tone of desperation. Musically, the disco era embraced violin and bass as prominent instruments, and this track features both, providing another merge of classical meets club. Yet it’s when the tambourine comes in at the outro that the song is at its fullest, a perfect companion to the drums, poppin’ bass and Houston’s commanding vocal run.
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.
Pop Playlist: Sheena Easton: “For Your Eyes Only”
This theme song to the 1981 James Bond film, featured Sheena Easton on vocals and in the opening credits, the only singer to appear as part of these signature, silhouette-heavy sequences. Easton’s vocals are crisp; the song’s verses are soft and seductive, using the classic espionage phrase as a parallel to convey the love, devotion and “fantasy you freed in me/only for you.” By the chorus, Easton lets this classified secret out, only to hide in the shadows of those intentionally softer verses once again, confirming “For Your Eyes Only” as a smartly constructed track. (Other Poptimum picks from this sensational singer: “Morning Train” as sweet pop vocalist, but by mid-’80s steered toward “bad-girl” singer [“Strut”; “Sugar Walls,” written by Prince; “U Got the Look” with Prince].)
Double Duty: Actors Who Sing; Singers Who Act
The latest telling of A Star is Born was released this weekend, starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. Some actors surprise audiences with their singing chops, while some singers do the same with their acting abilities. Here are a few memorable examples (by no means the only examples):
Actors who sing: Amy Adams (“If I Didn’t Care” from Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day; as Mary in The Muppets); Zooey Deschanel (lead singer of She & Him); Sissy Spacek and Beverly D’Angelo (as Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline respectively in Coal Miner’s Daughter); Antonio Banderas (Evita); Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables); Eddie Murphy (Dreamgirls).
Singers who act: Diana Ross (Lady Sings the Blues); “Think” Aretha Franklin in The Blues Brothers; although Cher won an Academy Award for Moonstruck, her heartbreaking performance in Mask comes to mind; Madonna was born to play the lead in Evita and is impressive in the role, especially in The Lament scene; Will Smith, the rapper turned actor in Pursuit of Happyness (spoiler alert below, if you haven’t seen the film).
Pop Playlist: Kylie Minogue: “The One”
The final single from Kylie’s 10th album, the aptly titled, X, “The One” is unique in that it’s part ballad, part dance. There have been various versions: The album appearance leans toward hypnotic ballad, while the Freemasons Vocal Club Mix picks up the pace and turns up the bass. The latter was adopted on her X2008 tour and in part on her 2009 North-American For You, For Me tour; Kylie Live in New York audio release. In 2011, she opted for a blend for the Aphrodite live performances. A video for the song was also released, with old Hollywood glamour (Kylie’s long-haired Veronica Lake look; kaleidoscopic visuals as homage to movie musicals) and bright art-deco arch references, serving as inspiration. The video also features one of Kylie’s dancers at the time, Jason Beitel. Ten years later, “The One” still resonates with Kylie, as it now resides on her 2018 Golden Tour set list.
Bob Marley: “Three Little Birds”
The first verse of Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” is so good, it just has to be repeated in the second. This sunny 1977 song, which paints a happy start to a new day, was originally featured on Exodus, and later appeared on Marley’s 1984 greatest-hits collection, Legend, which is one of those rare albums that, dare to be said, should be required in everyone’s music library. It’s hard-pressed not to feel better or even happier after listening to the track. The lyrics, “Don’t worry/about a thing/‘cause every little thing/gonna be alright” is the leading reason, plus the soothing sway that reggae can inspire doesn’t hurt either.
Kylie Minogue Shares Golden Moments
Kylie Minogue’s Golden Tour is full of golden moments indeed, like the opening reveal. “Don’t you feel that sun on your face?”:
There’s also an homage to disco and Studio 54, featuring a medley of her songs, including “New York City,” which Kylie couldn’t find a home for on Golden, and this version of “The Loco-Motion,” which samples a recognizable lyric from Donna Summer’s “Bad Girls.”
Label-Mate Legends Step Back in Time
BBC Radio 2’s festival in Hyde Park last weekend featured headliner, Kylie Minogue singing some selections from Golden, and some Kylie classics of course, to a massive crowd of (reportedly) 60,000. Jason Donovan joined Kylie on stage during “Especially for You,” and in another feel-good musical moment, Rick Astley and his still-phenomenal voice stepped out in front of a welcoming audience to sing “Never Gonna Give You Up,” and Kylie’s “I Should Be So Lucky,” with his former PWL label mate. Their harmony at “… gonna play/And if you ask me how I’m feeling” delivers all the feels. It’s a fun return to 1987 and the “hit factory” days, plus a reminder that true talent stands the test of time.