July | 2012 | Every Moment Has A Song

Reactions to the End of the World

16 Jul 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in On a Lighter Note

funny graphs - It's the End of the World as We Know It

Hello…

15 Jul 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in On a Lighter Note

Artists Who Should Have Resisted the Disco Urge

15 Jul 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags: barbra streisand, bette midler, charo, disco, elo, natalie cole, the miracles, the originals

In the Disco era, certain artists inhabited the genre and were defined by it (Donna Summer, KC & The Sunshine Band) while others found success with it as just one phase of a varied music career (Diana Ross, ABBA). A few great bands made the Disco world a cooler place just by dropping by for four or five minutes (The Stones, The Grateful Dead). Then there’s one more category of artist: those who never should have bothered dipping a toe into the water. I’d like to ~~ridicule~~ recognize a few artists of the Disco Movement who really put the emphasis on the second word of that phrase…

The Miracles: “Love Machine” (1975)

Two years after Smokey Robinson left the Miracles for a solo career (taking his songwriting skills with him) the band, then fronted by the legendary (not) Billy Griffin, released this piece of proto-disco dog-doo, which actually was a #1 single. I can’t explain how that happened. I mean, you could dance to it I guess, but it’s hard to ignore one of the dumbest lyrics ever committed to vinyl.

Barbra Streisand (with Donna Summer): “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)” (1979)

This sounds like just another well-constructed Donna Summer dance track, one which didn’t need Babs’ hyperbolic wailing. Don’t get me wrong, Streisand is a great singer. But “Evergreen” is more her thing. She and dance music don’t need each other.

Mercifully, I’ve given you the link to the short version, although it might not seem like it.

Bette Midler: “Married Men” (1979)

Ditto.

Charo: “Dance a Little Bit Closer” (1978)

“Loco! Loco! Loco!…”

No argument here.

Normally I wouldn’t say this about a woman who looks like Charo, but I prefer to see her play the guitar.

Seems like slumming for her. This song and video are full of suck.

ELO: “Last Train to London” (1979)

Actually, Jeff Lynne’s disco-infused 1979 Discovery album isn’t terrible. And I’m not purist enough or hypocrite enough to dismiss his incorporation of disco elements into rock, since I rather like his eclecticism in borrowing from classical music to create the ELO fusion of sound–disco was just another ingredient to toss into the stew. I think I just never forgave this album for not being Out of the Blue II.

Natalie Cole: “I Love You So” (1979)

Natalie did give us a few soul gems early in her career. “I Love You So” is not one of them.

The Originals: “Down to Love Town” (1976)

The Originals too gave us a couple classic ballads in the early 70’s. They had a nice throwback, pseudo doo wop sound. Then Disco hit, and they recorded “Down to Love Town”. It was their last chart hit. Sometimes it’s better to go out on your own terms–in this case, as a good soul ballad group rather than a bad disco group.

French Party to Sue Madonna Over Swastika Image

15 Jul 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags: Madonna

Madonna

(reprinted from MSN Entertainment)

PARIS (AP) — France’s far-right National Front said Sunday that it plans to sue Madonna after the singer showed a video at a Paris concert that contained an image of the party’s leader with a swastika on her forehead.

The video has been shown at other concerts on the singer’s tour, and the party has expressed its outrage before, warning that it would take action if the video were shown in France. On Saturday night, Madonna played it at the Stade de France.

National Front spokesman Alain Vizier said Sunday that the party would file a complaint in French court next week for “insults.”

Party leader Marine Le Pen is briefly pictured in the video during a montage in which famous faces — or parts of faces — morph one into the next. Soon after Le Pen’s face flashes up, Madonna’s face follows with Hitler’s mustache.

Le Pen, who inherited control of the party from her father, Jean-Marie, has tried to shed the National Front’s image as racist and anti-Semitic, especially during her recent failed bid for president. But she has maintained a hard line on immigrants, saying France has too many and criticizing many Muslims, in particular, for insufficiently assimilating into French culture.

Meanwhile, anti-racism group SOS Racisme expressed its support for Madonna on Sunday, commending her for her “resolutely anti-racist and feminist discourse.

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That’s just Madonna trying to stay relevent. It’s just boring and a little annoying now. When the music fails to capture enough attention because your new album sucks (see Madonna’s Album a Failure–Chris Brown Got All the Good Songs: http://music.ninemsn.com.au/blog.aspx?blogentryid=1013792&showcomments=true) you resort to your old bag of tricks: using the most provocative, controversial and offensive symbolism possible to catch headlines. Since the Catholic Church doesn’t get worked up anymore about Madonna (mis)using crosses, well, the swastika still has some mileage in it, right? This was no unwitting accident of course. It put her name and face on news sources and, hence, in front of music fans, as her latest record plummets down the charts.

Anyone’s fair game to take a cheap shot in the interest of furthering the career of a woman desperate to stay on top long past her prime. Madonna is the female Mike Tyson.