Apparently, this song was inspired by a music industry cocktail party that the band attended. It was also apparently inspired by Bob Dylan’s feelings towards the industry, though Dylan was not involved in recording or performing the song.
As for the video, what’s interesting is how literally it interprets the song. Seriously, the poor guy really is stuck in the middle and he really does have clowns and jokers to either side of him!
Earlier today, COVID-19 claimed the life of singer-songwriter Adam Schlesinger. Schlesinger was only 52 years old.
Adam Schlesinger may be best known for his work with Fountains of Wayne but he also wrote and produced songs for several films. He was Oscar nominated for writing the title song to That Thing You Do, one of the best rock and roll films of the 90s. The song was not only catchy but it was also the epitome of everything that was great about pop music. With this song, Schlesinger and the film paid tribute to every single band that has ever had a one-hit wonder.
In tribute to Adam Schlesinger, here’s That Thing You Do:
Though everyone is probably most familiar with Joan Jett’s cover of the song, I Love Rock N Roll was originally recorded by a London-based group called Arrows.
Though Arrows were only together for three years (from 1974 to 1977), they were popular with British teenagers and they even had their own TV show on Granada Television, where they would play their own songs and introduce other acts. This video for I Love Rock N Roll comes from that television show. This is probably from the same episode of the show that Joan Jett saw in 1976 while she and the Runaways were on tour in the UK. She liked the song so much that she covered it when she made her first solo album. Her version, of course, went on to become a huge hit.
(As popular as they were in the UK, Arrows were basically unknown in the United States. During the time they were together, they only performed in the U.S. once and that was for an episode of Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert in 1975. When Jett released her version of I Love Rock N Roll, most American listeners were unaware that it was a cover.)
The song was written by Alan Merrill, who was the lead singer for Arrows. Sadly, Merrill, who was sick with COVID-19, died on Sunday. Today’s music video of the day is dedicated to his memory.
Are you living in a dystopian future that was apparently inspired by Blade Runner?
Well, don’t worry. Spice Girls are here!
One thing that I like about the Spice Girls is that you could always sing along to their songs. The other thing I like about them is that, regardless of how simple their music may have been, their music videos were almost always ludicrously overproduced. That’s the case here, where Spice Up Your Life is transformed into an anthem for revolution.
Spice Up Your Life was directed by Marcus Nispel, who has subsequently directed a few features film that I didn’t care much for.
For the record, even under lockdown, I’m still dancing.
Of course, now, I have to either go do it in the backyard or clear some space in the living room. But that’s okay. It’s not important where you dance. Instead, it’s just important that you do it.
Today’s music video of the day comes to use from Italy.
Don’t ask me to explain what all is happening in the video. I’ll just say that it I appreciate the ominous atmopshere and the feeling of doom the permeates nearly every minute of this video. This is a video to haunt your dreams.
I don’t know about you but I’m in the mood for a reggae-flavored cover of Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song, hopefully one that’s performed by a 300-pound Elvis impersonator.
Fortunately, when you get those type of cravings, you can turn to Dread Zeppelin. Dread Zeppelin is certainly not the only band to cover Led Zeppelin but they are probably the best known. Actually, it’s somewhat unfair to describe Dread Zeppelin as being only a Led Zeppelin cover band. They’ve actually covered a wide variety of artists and I believe they’ve released some original material as well. They even did a disco record at one point.
Dread Zeppelin is one of those bands where members come and go. As of this writing, the band is still recording and touring but bassist Gary Putnam is the only member who has appeared on every recording and taking part in every tour.
Are they Bee Gees or are they The Bee Gees? I’m not really sure and, quite frankly, I’ve seen it listed as both on several reputable sites. Regardless, this is a good song. “The New York Times‘ effect on man” is a nice and random little lyric, even though Tony Manero really didn’t come across like a reader of the Times in Saturday Night Fever.
If you’re ever giving someone CPR, they say that you should do it to the tune of Staying Alive so, if you memorize this song, you’ll be able to save a life. That’s the type of helpful information that we happily provide to our readers free of charge here at the Shattered Lens.
According to the YouTube description, this from the “One for All Tour” Live concert at the National Tennis Centre in Melbourne 1989, Australia.
I can still remember the night when it was announced that Blake Lewis has lost the sixth season of American Idol to Jordin Sparks. That was when the world stopped making sense to me. Nothing against Jordin but how, I wondered, could she have won while Blake was so cute and adorkable!? It just didn’t make sense to me!
Of course, the judges were never on Blake’s side. During the final weeks, when it became obvious that the finale would be Blake vs. Jordin, the judges went out of their way to nitpick every performance that Blake gave. It upset me. I spent a lot of time that March calling and voting for Blake. When he lost, American Idol lost me as well. I’ve never voted since and, of course, I’m now actually an adult so it would hard for me to justify still caring about the show at this point.
(My cousin-in-law Ronny used to say that he would only watch American Idol to see the judges be mean. Once they stopped being mean, he lost interest. He had the right idea. Reality competition shows are so positive now that I have a difficult time watching them. For instance, last year, I nearly threw my shoes at the TV while trying to watch an episode of America’s Got Talent. The whole thing where the judges are all crying and going, “YOU! You are what this competition is about!” is just so creepy and weird.)
Anyway, Blake continued to make music even after losing American Idol. This is his video for Sad Song, which came off of his second studio album, Heartbreak on Vinyl. The video is meant to recall both 40s film noir and 80s video glitz and I think it succeeds fairly well. Blake’s co-star in the video is Casey Carlson, who was featured during the 8th season of American Idol.
Enjoy!
(Speaking of sad songs, my vacation’s nearly over! Boo hoo, says I.)
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