My great love for this film inspired my addition of sound clips to the Gabriel & Dresden remix of the theme by Gustavo Santaolalla soon after it was released. In fact, when I completed the project it was featured here on Hazzard Ahead before we had the radio feature. A few days ago the track came on in my car and as usual the clips from the film conjured images in my head and it struck me that I should whip up a video to go along with. So I did. And here it is.
During the nineties Buddy Cole was my hero. In many ways he still is. Buddy embodied the urban queer in a way few others dared and I longed to be just like him. There were twenty one Buddy sketches on The Kids In The Hall and this one is my absolute favorite. Quotes from this sketch adorned my voicemail recordings for years. God bless the uploader of this You Tube video for compiling all of the sketches in order. I highly recommend you partake of his playlists immediately! By the way, doesn’t that look like James Collins in the background?
Last week I stumbled across a rather catchy remix of Nobody’s Diary by Yazoo on my musical travels. The hook of the song was criminally missing, but as soon as the vocal kicked in I was reminded just how dear that song used to be to me. This led to a bit of a revival of Yazoo hits for me and yesterday a friend I met very recently called to inform me that he had an extra ticket to the Yazoo show at the Orpheum Theatre downtown. Coincidence? Who cares?! Cut to me ditching work early on a production day so I could see two people perform that recorded their last album in separate rooms so they didn’t have to see each other.
When you only have two albums under your belt a ninety minute concert pretty much guarantees play of your entire catalog; especially when it runs to two hours. There were several moments when I literally did not know what to do with myself. I couldn’t scream loud enough or dance hard enough to justify the experience of hearing this music performed live after twenty years of unabashed worship on dancefloors the world over. This was the ideal concert experience for me. There were no tourists. Every person there sang along and acted as though they were holding court in their private shrine at home. It was terrific.
Afterward I visited a few fan sites and found samples of the remixes that were whipped up to commemorate this reunion tour. For your listening pleasure I clumsily assembled the clip below that features the original version of Nobody’s Diary mixed into the new Koishii & Hush Remix that finally elevates this song to the anthem status it so richly deserves. Enjoy!
The other day I asked Johnny if he wanted to do a joint entry on Valentine’s Day. He liked the idea so I asked him for his opinion of the holiday. He wasn’t very forthcoming and I finally worked it out that he has no opinion because he’s never been involved with anyone who merited a holiday (during this particular time of year). Since he was neither bitter nor resentful I sent him on his way so I could take care of the task myself.
In the past I have not been shy about my disdain for certain holidays. Yes, the commercialism is vulgar and no, there’s really no believable connection between St Valentine and love and/or romance, but that isn’t what pisses me off most about this and other greeting card holidays. The really offensive bit for me is the obligation associated with these days.
Which of the following is more appealing to you?
Hi, I found this really fantastic book at an old store downtown and figured it was just the thing for you!
Hi, Here’s a box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day. Oh, I see you already have seven…
That’s the beauty of anniversaries and birthdays – they belong to you! The obligation for a gift, mention or phone call is entirely based on the recipient instead of a national commercial campaign. Cupid has a bow and arrow, but that isn’t good enough for advertisers. They’ve got the full-on forward offense with rapid fire machine guns and carpet bombing. You don’t stand a chance.
And if that wasn’t enough, this giant revenue engine is engineered to make people feel inadequate if they aren’t coupled with someone. Desperate citizens update their online profiles and tear through old date books to avoid being caught “alone” on VD. Husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends all scurry to get something for their significants and curse the holiday for falling on the eve of payday. Hearts are cello-taped to every surface, romantic music is piped into every public space and there isn’t a mylar balloon to be found for love or money in any of the shops. It’s madness I tell you!
Well, I feel much better now. Not that I wasn’t fine before – in fact, I almost forgot about VD this year. Sometimes I just like a good rant – especially when it’s about the monumental stupidity of our vapid culture.
A few weeks ago I decided to rent Clatterford from Netflix. Since I love Jennifer Saunders I figured it was time to check out her newest project. After watching the first three episodes I was charmed. A dramatic departure from Ab Fab, Clatterford is dignified and endearing in a very “everyday” sort of way. Humor still abounds, but there is really good drama as well and I was surprised at the maturity and depth of the writing.
Then the second disc arrived this weekend. I’m almost ashamed to admit that I wasn’t all that keen on popping it in the player. I mean, I enjoyed the first three episodes quite a bit; however, the cadence of the show is not exactly Friday night material. Oh how wrong I was! Knowing the characters and the relationships I was adequately equipped to immerse myself in the story and it was amazing.
The character played by Dawn French annoyed me at first because I thought her sole purpose was to be ridiculous and insulting to people with mental disabilities. I could not have been more wrong! Now I worship the courage and resilience of her character and I can hardly wait to catch series two.
When I was through with the last episode I decided to check out the extra features on the DVD. Hello?! BONUS CHRISTMAS SPECIAL!! It was so wonderful I just didn’t want it to end. Then as the camera pulled back to roll credits the music started. It wasn’t the theme to the show (although that is wonderful, too) but it was the same singer and I was put into a trance by the haunting, lonely vocal and music drenched in wistful longing. I can’t stop listening to this song.
