Normally come the end of any holiday, I get bored. The food is eaten, the family is gone, the alcohol is wearing off, and you find yourself at 8:30PM saying, "Well, what the hell am I supposed to do now?" But not this past Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving I sat down to watch Spike Lee's new documentary, "Bad 25," about the follow-up to Michael Jackson's monster album, "Thriller." And it was awesome (despite the inclusion of interviews with domestic abuser/all around asshole Chris Brown).
I've always been a Michael Jackson fan. My brother got me into it when I was really young as he was a big fan, and I have good memories of listening to "Thriller" on vinyl (still have it). I loved the documentary/concert film "This Is It" (albeit not the stupid title), and "Bad 25" is just as good. If you didn't get a chance to see it, you have to check it out. As someone who writes and records, I am always interested in the creative process of people who are very successful at it, and the thing that struck me most was not only Michael's monster talent, but also his monster work ethic. Video was shown of the late-night dance and rehearsal sessions he would have with his collaborators, sometimes going until 2 or 3 in the morning after a full day of work, and it just blows you away. And he would use two different recording studios with two separate groups of musicians and engineers to compete against each other in pursuit of the best songs and recordings. Talk about impressive. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you have resources.
I especially enjoyed the interviews with Siedah Garrett, who I crossed paths with in LA in April 2009. I was at a conference and attended an intimate night of performances by a handful of songwriters, and she was one of them. She told the story of how she came to write "Man in the Mirror" with Glen Ballard (which she also told in the documentary), and then she performed the song accompanied only by an acoustic guitar. It was a very special moment that I will remember forever.
In death, lots of artists receive praise and elevation to a level that they do not fully deserve. Michael Jackson is not one of those artists. He really was that good, and this documentary is just more proof of it.
According to imdb.com, the full film is 123 minutes long, but on Thanksgiving it was cut down to about 69 minutes for airing on TV. I can't wait to see the additional 54.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
The Greatest Thanksgiving Movie
The holiday season is chock full of themed movies. But if you look closely, the vast majority of the great ones center around Christmas. Home Alone - Christmas. The Santa Claus - Christmas. The Polar Express - Christmas. A Christmas Story - Christmas. Miracle on 34th Street - Christmas. Scrooged - Christmas. Elf - Christmas. Die Hard - Christmas. Die Hard 2 - Christmas! I could go on. But as we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, it got me thinking: what's the greatest movie about Thanksgiving? The answer is simple: Scent of a Woman.
Let's break it down. At it's most basic level, Scent of a Woman is the story of two people on a road trip who start out as adversaries and end up as friends over the long Thanksgiving weekend. It's basically just one step away from being a classic buddy comedy. Where do they travel? New York City - home of the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. And even though the parade makes no appearance in the film, location matters. One of the main characters is on break from school, which is something we can all remember fondly from our younger years. One of the main characters drinks alcohol like its water, which obviously reminds us of time spent with our own families (it's not just Christmas get-togethers that need some social lubrication). Need I say more? OK, I will.
Scent of a Woman also features one of the most true-to-life Thanksgiving dinner scenes ever filmed. Who among us hasn't been to a Thanksgiving where an extremely disliked family member shows up unannounced? How often does a drunk uncle dominate the dinner conversation while everyone else sits silently, rolling their eyes? And no holiday meal is complete without one family member physically assaulting another - that's just a universal fact. And the whole movie culminates in a thwarted suicide attempt and one last alcohol-influenced lecture. Plus there's a dance scene! It's pure cinematic gold!
Let's face it: Scent of a Woman is the great American Thanksgiving movie. You may argue for Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, but Al Pacino didn't win an Oscar for that film, and he's got my response for you right here.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Let's break it down. At it's most basic level, Scent of a Woman is the story of two people on a road trip who start out as adversaries and end up as friends over the long Thanksgiving weekend. It's basically just one step away from being a classic buddy comedy. Where do they travel? New York City - home of the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. And even though the parade makes no appearance in the film, location matters. One of the main characters is on break from school, which is something we can all remember fondly from our younger years. One of the main characters drinks alcohol like its water, which obviously reminds us of time spent with our own families (it's not just Christmas get-togethers that need some social lubrication). Need I say more? OK, I will.
Scent of a Woman also features one of the most true-to-life Thanksgiving dinner scenes ever filmed. Who among us hasn't been to a Thanksgiving where an extremely disliked family member shows up unannounced? How often does a drunk uncle dominate the dinner conversation while everyone else sits silently, rolling their eyes? And no holiday meal is complete without one family member physically assaulting another - that's just a universal fact. And the whole movie culminates in a thwarted suicide attempt and one last alcohol-influenced lecture. Plus there's a dance scene! It's pure cinematic gold!
Let's face it: Scent of a Woman is the great American Thanksgiving movie. You may argue for Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, but Al Pacino didn't win an Oscar for that film, and he's got my response for you right here.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
The Wienermobile
Its the fantasy of many a child: take the hot dog - the ubiquitous and unofficial food of summer; the object of desire at every baseball game; the focus on your plate at every BBQ - and turn it into a car. What more could you ask for than the ability to step inside one of your favorite childhood foods and drive around? Nobody wants a damn Broccoli Van, Apple Car, or Potato Truck, but everybody loves the Wienermobile.
Sometime before noon on Sunday I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw that my friend Meghan had posted a picture of the Wienermobile with the caption, "The wienermobile is in Poughkeepsie!!!" Based on the post, it was headed north on Route 9 and had stopped had at the light at the corner of Route 9 and Spring Rd. when she was able to snap the picture. Good for Meghan seeing it, I thought - and then I was off to do what I had to do.
Fast forward 3 hours or so, when my bandmate/roadtrip buddy/motivator Tony and I pulled into the FDR Presidential Library & Museum to do some filming for one of the two music videos I'm currently working on. We pulled behind the welcome center to park and what do we see? The Wienermobile! It was parked toward the back of the lot toward in the RV parking spaces, so of course we headed over there as soon as we got out of the car. Other visitors and library staff had the same idea, and as one guy mentioned, "All this history and everyone's interested in a giant hot dog." Damn straight, but what are the odds of ever seeing the Wienermobile again? And at a presidential library, no less. As it turns out, the Wienermobile was in town for the grand opening of the new Stop & Shop near the library, so the drivers decided to stop by afterward. I guess in case you ever wondered: yes, Wienermobile drivers are interested in history, too.
And of course I couldn't resist:
Sometime before noon on Sunday I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw that my friend Meghan had posted a picture of the Wienermobile with the caption, "The wienermobile is in Poughkeepsie!!!" Based on the post, it was headed north on Route 9 and had stopped had at the light at the corner of Route 9 and Spring Rd. when she was able to snap the picture. Good for Meghan seeing it, I thought - and then I was off to do what I had to do.
Fast forward 3 hours or so, when my bandmate/roadtrip buddy/motivator Tony and I pulled into the FDR Presidential Library & Museum to do some filming for one of the two music videos I'm currently working on. We pulled behind the welcome center to park and what do we see? The Wienermobile! It was parked toward the back of the lot toward in the RV parking spaces, so of course we headed over there as soon as we got out of the car. Other visitors and library staff had the same idea, and as one guy mentioned, "All this history and everyone's interested in a giant hot dog." Damn straight, but what are the odds of ever seeing the Wienermobile again? And at a presidential library, no less. As it turns out, the Wienermobile was in town for the grand opening of the new Stop & Shop near the library, so the drivers decided to stop by afterward. I guess in case you ever wondered: yes, Wienermobile drivers are interested in history, too.
And of course I couldn't resist:
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
November 6, 2012
Everything you need to know about what to do today: first raise your hand, then help your neighbor.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)