It simply amazes me that all of Hollywood is the back pocket of the D's and yet they continually turn out horrid schlock like this. They literally have the entire entertainment establishment and this crap is the best they can do in election years. It strikes me that -- outside of the fans of X celebrity watching a planned performance run by an entire studio production team and test audiences--- that X celebrity really doesn't have all that much showmanship or self-awareness about how to reach people.
Maybe the Hollywood machine really is necessary to turn out watchable schlock, because all those inequitable demonic idiots at the studios are like a million monkeys banging on typewriters--between all of them they eventually get something passable made. Maybe the only difference between a Hollywood movie/TV show/album and a homemade one is the cost of the equipment and enough people interfering over a long period of time to prevent something truly awful from coming out. But in election years, they simply have to rush and can't go through the normal channels and this is what we get.
John Carpenter may be a huge prick, but he seems right to have bucked and hated the studios as a bunch of interfering idiots. His movies may lack certain polish but he's earthy enough to be his own self-editor and keep it real, which appears all that is necessary to make an artistic film/tv show/album. But if you don't have that, and you're stupid, you need an army of ant-like grifters adding their own 2 cents over months or years to get something passable and pretty.
Reminds me of what legend Herman Mankiewicz said to a friend about Hollywood: "Millions are to be grabbed out here and your only competition is idiots. Don’t let this get around."
By the way, even though I clicked "LIKE" and I agree with you, I also think that however schlocky the DNC's 2020 "For What It's Worth" was, it was politically EFFECTIVE schlock. It effectively tied together the DNC's core constituencies of undead boomers, blacks, and homos (and therefore implicitly women), setting it into pseudo-relevancy of the then still ongoing Mostly Peaceful Riots, plus a lot of near-subliminal DNC political messaging. And it did all this with just two performers, a green screen, and some crappy CGI, tied together in post-production probably on a shoestring budget and short timeline. If I were the party chief I would have waved it through too. It effectively gave the illusion of both "tradition" (the 1960s) and immediacy (the then current riots), and it's a tune most people can't help liking, whatever their feelings about Dem-sponsored riots. So I don't think it was a "catastrophe"; more of a diabolically effective psy-op.
Pschaw, leaving an epic trail of incriminating evidence and then getting convicted merely on a firearms technicality? I'd say that The Law lost that one. Lost the plot!
And yes, his charisma is overlooked. He should be at the Dem convention right now, not that Minnesotan weirdo.
I'm pretty sure -- "unusually confident" -- that this chart-topping remix:
"A Hologram of Prince sings with Willie Brown and Montel Williams on "Little Red Corvette" while Kamala parks her car sideways across two spaces"
Would be better if Montel Williams -- sleazy daytime talk show host -- was replaced with Montel Jordan, whose 1995 mega-hit "This Is How We Do It" is not only an all-time block-party yes-y'allin' hands-in-the-air BANGER, but probably in the top 5 most beloved Los Angeles songs.
It's easy to confuse the two; I was sure Montel Williams sang "TIHWDI" for decades. They are both tall, bald black men (with pretty generic last names) who were suddenly culturally popular at exactly the same time. Key differences (that I had to look up, I'm no cultural proofreader):
Montel Jordan
-- Classic R&B back-story; grew up singing in his parents' (both deacons) Baptist church
-- South Central to Pepperdine, finalist for Rhodes Scholarship
-- Is HUGE! 6'-8", that's NBA front-court size
-- Seems like a really good guy; anybody who is tight with Slick Rik is cool with me.
Montel Williams
-- Kinda looks like Montel Jordan
-- Somebody had to step up and be the black Jerry Springer
More really fun info about Montel J. and the making of "This Is How We Do It", here:
I need to amend this comment because I realized I never confused the two visually; Montel Williams was all over the trash TV and I still really don't know what Montel Jordan looks like. I heard the song -- it seemed to come from everywhere like it had always existed -- and if I ever heard who it was by I'm certain I heard "Montel" and auto-filled in the rest. Maybe you did, too ; - }
It *IS* in the top 5 LA Classics, at least in the popular sense, Randy Newman and Ice Cube belong there, maybe Coolio, maybe Warren G. Classics from the '70's might be more poignant but probably unknown to the kids today. But that's a whole other discussion. BR
And "For What It's Worth" was not the coolest rock song of the 1960's. That honor belongs to "Eight Miles High" by the Byrds:
** a pop song using John Coltrane's modal raga "India" as inspiration,
** with lyrics sufficiently suggestive to get it banned from Top 40 radio for alleged drug references (co-writer Roger McGuinn always denied any pharmaceutical connection, saying the song was about an airplane trip),
** one of the earliest examples of psychedelia (the original version was recorded at RCA Studios in Hollywood in December 1965, but Columbia Records rejected it as the product of a competitor's studio) and
** so obviously great that it could be covered as a hardcore anthem -- Husker Du, in 1984 -- and retain its power and majesty even as guitarist Bob Mould shredded both his instrument and his voice.
True, but the mutual admiration society didn't extend as far as Crosby joining B.S. onstage at Monterey in 1967. The other Byrds -- especially McGuinn -- were furious at Crosby. The stunt went into the catalogue of Crosby's sins, and led to McGuinn and Chris Hillman's dismissal of Crosby from the group during the 1968 recording of The Notorious Byrd Brothers. (CSNY itself was plagued by internal dissension, which will happen with Stills and Young in the same group. For Young's views on the experience, listen to "Thrasher" from Rust Never Sleeps.)
The first thing I ever wrote for The American Conservative in 2002 was a review of a biography of Neil Young. The biographer was fascinated by why Crosby, Stills, and Nash, who were, after their first album in c. 1970, almost as popular as the Beatles, invited the obstreperous and dominant Young to join CSN.
You really wanna hear pointless, listen to their labelmates The Godz: "One thing to be said about them is that they may well be the most inept band I’ve ever heard. I’d almost grant out of hand that they’re the most inept recording band I’ve ever heard. And that they are the most inept band with three albums to their credit, I cannot deny." - Lester Bangs
Ship of Fools, by World Party is appropriate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2nCugGQZO0
"Avarice and greed are gonna drive you over the endless sea
They will leave you drifting in the shallows
Or drowning in the oceans of history
Traveling the world, you're in search of no good
But I'm sure you'll build your Sodom like you knew you would
Using all the good people for your galley slaves
As you're little boat struggles through the warning waves, but you don't pay"
Trump could do the Helen Reddy number: "I am the Donald, hear me roar"
Don McLean and Hunter Biden sing "Vincent" -- Starry, starry night...
Starry, starry night
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds in violet haze
Reflect in Hunter's eyes of China blue
Colors changing hue
Morning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain
Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand
Probably not. The grift is over for Hunter. Maybe a pardon?
It simply amazes me that all of Hollywood is the back pocket of the D's and yet they continually turn out horrid schlock like this. They literally have the entire entertainment establishment and this crap is the best they can do in election years. It strikes me that -- outside of the fans of X celebrity watching a planned performance run by an entire studio production team and test audiences--- that X celebrity really doesn't have all that much showmanship or self-awareness about how to reach people.
Maybe the Hollywood machine really is necessary to turn out watchable schlock, because all those inequitable demonic idiots at the studios are like a million monkeys banging on typewriters--between all of them they eventually get something passable made. Maybe the only difference between a Hollywood movie/TV show/album and a homemade one is the cost of the equipment and enough people interfering over a long period of time to prevent something truly awful from coming out. But in election years, they simply have to rush and can't go through the normal channels and this is what we get.
John Carpenter may be a huge prick, but he seems right to have bucked and hated the studios as a bunch of interfering idiots. His movies may lack certain polish but he's earthy enough to be his own self-editor and keep it real, which appears all that is necessary to make an artistic film/tv show/album. But if you don't have that, and you're stupid, you need an army of ant-like grifters adding their own 2 cents over months or years to get something passable and pretty.
Reminds me of what legend Herman Mankiewicz said to a friend about Hollywood: "Millions are to be grabbed out here and your only competition is idiots. Don’t let this get around."
By the way, even though I clicked "LIKE" and I agree with you, I also think that however schlocky the DNC's 2020 "For What It's Worth" was, it was politically EFFECTIVE schlock. It effectively tied together the DNC's core constituencies of undead boomers, blacks, and homos (and therefore implicitly women), setting it into pseudo-relevancy of the then still ongoing Mostly Peaceful Riots, plus a lot of near-subliminal DNC political messaging. And it did all this with just two performers, a green screen, and some crappy CGI, tied together in post-production probably on a shoestring budget and short timeline. If I were the party chief I would have waved it through too. It effectively gave the illusion of both "tradition" (the 1960s) and immediacy (the then current riots), and it's a tune most people can't help liking, whatever their feelings about Dem-sponsored riots. So I don't think it was a "catastrophe"; more of a diabolically effective psy-op.
Hunter emerges in a rhinestone affair and sings Charlie Rich's Rollin' with the Flow (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3F9tJ00Nmk):
"Some might be callin' me a bum
But I'm still out there havin' fun
And Jesus loves me, yes, I know
So, I keep on rollin' with the flow"
Hologram Warren Zevon , V. Zelensky,Joe and Hunter do Lawyers,Guns and Money
For the times, Porter isn't a bad singer. We should be glad his outfit is black and white, but I'm sure he was still in mourning.
Biden,Harris and Pelosi cover Lee Michaels “ Do You Know What I Mean”.
I vote for hologram Helen Reddy, Rachel Levine and Sam Brinton doing “I am Woman.”
Three part harmony for sure.
What should Hunter Biden do?
Hunter Biden + Eric Clapton: "Cocaine"
Too on-the-nose?
Hunter Biden + Grandmaster Melle Mel: "White Lines"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwRXI-y6M9o
Oh wait.
Hunter Biden + Glenn Frey: "Smuggler's Blues"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSXKyHM133c
I Fought the Law and the Law Won.
Actually, if Hunter Biden can carry a tune, that might actually be cool. He's a charismatic guy.
Pschaw, leaving an epic trail of incriminating evidence and then getting convicted merely on a firearms technicality? I'd say that The Law lost that one. Lost the plot!
And yes, his charisma is overlooked. He should be at the Dem convention right now, not that Minnesotan weirdo.
If they wanted to go full fatal,of course the song is Los Angeles by X. The second line should do it.
Or anything by Morphine.
Doug Emhoff -- "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" (the Lovin' Spoonful); "Go Away, Little Girl" (Donny Osmond);
Sam Brinton -- "I Wanna Be Your Dog" (the Stooges);
Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi -- "Back Stabbers" (the O'Jays);
Joe Biden -- "Positively 4th Street" (Bob Dylan).
Here's Russian Alexandra Trusova skating to a cover of "I Wanna Be Your Dog:"
https://youtu.be/wthEgbXlaMM?si=vFk0SjdyLQyDhVO8&t=192
Steve,
I'm pretty sure -- "unusually confident" -- that this chart-topping remix:
"A Hologram of Prince sings with Willie Brown and Montel Williams on "Little Red Corvette" while Kamala parks her car sideways across two spaces"
Would be better if Montel Williams -- sleazy daytime talk show host -- was replaced with Montel Jordan, whose 1995 mega-hit "This Is How We Do It" is not only an all-time block-party yes-y'allin' hands-in-the-air BANGER, but probably in the top 5 most beloved Los Angeles songs.
It's easy to confuse the two; I was sure Montel Williams sang "TIHWDI" for decades. They are both tall, bald black men (with pretty generic last names) who were suddenly culturally popular at exactly the same time. Key differences (that I had to look up, I'm no cultural proofreader):
Montel Jordan
-- Classic R&B back-story; grew up singing in his parents' (both deacons) Baptist church
-- South Central to Pepperdine, finalist for Rhodes Scholarship
-- Is HUGE! 6'-8", that's NBA front-court size
-- Seems like a really good guy; anybody who is tight with Slick Rik is cool with me.
Montel Williams
-- Kinda looks like Montel Jordan
-- Somebody had to step up and be the black Jerry Springer
More really fun info about Montel J. and the making of "This Is How We Do It", here:
https://www.stereogum.com/2179979/the-number-ones-montell-jordans-this-is-how-we-do-it/columns/the-number-ones/
I need to amend this comment because I realized I never confused the two visually; Montel Williams was all over the trash TV and I still really don't know what Montel Jordan looks like. I heard the song -- it seemed to come from everywhere like it had always existed -- and if I ever heard who it was by I'm certain I heard "Montel" and auto-filled in the rest. Maybe you did, too ; - }
It *IS* in the top 5 LA Classics, at least in the popular sense, Randy Newman and Ice Cube belong there, maybe Coolio, maybe Warren G. Classics from the '70's might be more poignant but probably unknown to the kids today. But that's a whole other discussion. BR
And "For What It's Worth" was not the coolest rock song of the 1960's. That honor belongs to "Eight Miles High" by the Byrds:
** a pop song using John Coltrane's modal raga "India" as inspiration,
** with lyrics sufficiently suggestive to get it banned from Top 40 radio for alleged drug references (co-writer Roger McGuinn always denied any pharmaceutical connection, saying the song was about an airplane trip),
** one of the earliest examples of psychedelia (the original version was recorded at RCA Studios in Hollywood in December 1965, but Columbia Records rejected it as the product of a competitor's studio) and
** so obviously great that it could be covered as a hardcore anthem -- Husker Du, in 1984 -- and retain its power and majesty even as guitarist Bob Mould shredded both his instrument and his voice.
Good call. That is a very cool song. Will check out the Mould version.
The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield thought each other were pretty cool, judging by their subsequent team-up Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.
True, but the mutual admiration society didn't extend as far as Crosby joining B.S. onstage at Monterey in 1967. The other Byrds -- especially McGuinn -- were furious at Crosby. The stunt went into the catalogue of Crosby's sins, and led to McGuinn and Chris Hillman's dismissal of Crosby from the group during the 1968 recording of The Notorious Byrd Brothers. (CSNY itself was plagued by internal dissension, which will happen with Stills and Young in the same group. For Young's views on the experience, listen to "Thrasher" from Rust Never Sleeps.)
The first thing I ever wrote for The American Conservative in 2002 was a review of a biography of Neil Young. The biographer was fascinated by why Crosby, Stills, and Nash, who were, after their first album in c. 1970, almost as popular as the Beatles, invited the obstreperous and dominant Young to join CSN.
Manfred Mann: Ha Ha Said The Clown.
If they really want to stay on the 60's countercultural theme, "Dirty Old Man" by the Fugs could be Biden's entrance music.
My American history professor at Rice loved the Fugs. I couldn't hear the point.
You really wanna hear pointless, listen to their labelmates The Godz: "One thing to be said about them is that they may well be the most inept band I’ve ever heard. I’d almost grant out of hand that they’re the most inept recording band I’ve ever heard. And that they are the most inept band with three albums to their credit, I cannot deny." - Lester Bangs