What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

I opted to watch What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? on TCM instead of the Oscars on Sunday, and I can not say I regret it.  The acting was over the top (in a good way) and Bette Davis was truly creepy as a psychotic woman stuck in her childhood.
 
I spent most of the time wondering how much they paid the then 53 year old Bette Davis to look like this on screen:

Baby Jane Hudson feels pretty, oh so pretty

I always loved Bette Davis.  She had a real presence about her, beyond just her super-famous eyes.  Not many women could appear on screen with Marilyn Monroe (in All About Eve, though it's brief) and steal the attention.  Not to mention that Marilyn was 20 years her junior.  Bette can somehow be over the top and believable at the same time. 

My interest in Joan Crawford's work is much more recent.  She plays the tortured sister in Baby Jane beautifully.  And Joan is oh-so gorgeous, with that regal quality as always.

Of course, the best movie Joan Crawford made was Mildred Pierce, which I saw for the first time over the summer.  It was an instant favorite.

I'm not going to comment on the feud that took place between Bette and Joan because, well, I'm not a film historian and I think half of the things said about the two of them are probably exaggerated.  But, in my opinion, a feud between two stars of their caliber does indeed make for a great story.  Especially because there isn't really any proof. 

They didn't talk about hating each other in interviews.  There were no photos of Bette Davis with her hands around Joan Crawford's throat. 

And that is the "problem" with the world we live in now.  The very same fantastic technology that allows any idiot to put their thoughts into the world (yes myself included) also takes away any semblance of mystery that once surrounded our idols.

For example, do I need to see live instagrams of Katy Perry's nail salon visit?  Or know when Kim Kardashian is getting cellulite treatments?  Or, worse, when Ashton Kutcher has an opinion? 

Am I the only one who can barely remember the days when celebrities used to take shits in private?  

Of course, I have a double standard.  Because I tweet constantly and blog and use Facebook like every other person.  But there's just something romantic about a time when I couldn't find out every detail of every person's life with ease.

I mean, can you imagine Joan Crawford and Bette Davis tweeting nasty comments about each other in 1962?

Bette Davis @YouBette
SO NOT surprised that @THE_JoanC put weights in her pockets b4 I had to drag her bony ass across the floor all day - #ThingsIPutUpWith !!


Joan Crawford @THE_JoanC
@YouBette Maybe it will teach you not to make contact next time we have a 'kicking crippled sister in head' scene.


Bette Davis @YouBette
@THE_JoanC If I have to tell you that was an accident one more time, I'll ACTUALLY kick you in the head.


Joan Crawford @THE_JoanC
@YouBette Come at me.

OK, I guess I did comment on the feud.  So sue me!  (note: please don't sue me.)

Favorite Albums - The Doors 3/5

I know, I know - how old am I?  Well, an acquaintance once told me I had "an old soul" and I guess it's not far from the truth.  Most of my favorite bands are from the '60s and '70s.  I suspect that I was a hippie in a past life.

With that background in mind, I present to you another one of my favorites: The Doors self-entitled debut album from 1967.  
 
(Full disclosure: it can be a toss up for me between this album and the Doors' 1970 release  Morrison Hotel.  Both are fantastic and beg to be listened to.  On sweet, sweet vinyl, if you can swing it.)
 

It has probably been a year since the last time I played the Doors first album in its entirety.  Listening to it again yesterday just reaffirmed what I've always loved about it: this album sounds like the '60s.  Fortunately, it achieves this without all the "make love, not war, and let's wear flowers in our hair" type of stuff that so frequently dates music from this time period.  ("Age of Aquarius," anyone?)
 
On the contrary, despite the distinct '60s vibe and inclusion of tasty harpsichord solos, this album sounds pretty modern to me.  
 
Take, for example, a killer song like "Break on Through (To the Other Side)."  This is one of those songs that could easily be played on a modern rock station without sounding out of place.  It's also, in my opinion, the strongest song on the album.

The very prominent bass line is mirrored and embellished by the guitar.  I find this to be quite a modern and effective use of the bass.  A popular song that makes use of the bass in a similar way is the Red Hot Chili Pepper's "Otherside."  
 
This album includes my first favorite Doors song, the sinister sounding "The Crystal Ship."  The song is extremely atmospheric without passing into Pink Floyd territory.  It also has the interesting quality of being the only song on the album that is sans guitar.  Instead, it relies on a beautiful and haunting piano piece, accented with an echoey harpsichord. 
 
One of the most interesting aspects of any album by the Doors is Jim Morrison's vocal performance.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm not big on lyrics.  But Morrison's voice makes you care about what he's singing.  It's a voice I can get behind!  
 
Although he puts in excellent performances on every track, I really enjoy Morrison's voice in the song "Soul Kitchen."  He makes this song.  The growl he affects during the chorus is seriously memorable.  The song wouldn't be nearly as interesting without it, although it's a nice little rock number.  
 
If you have any minor interest in '60s rock, the debut Doors album is a great place to begin your journey.  My favorite songs are: "Break on Through (To the Other Side)" "Light My Fire" "The Crystal Ship" and "Twentieth Century Fox."  
 

Favorite Albums - The Colour and the Shape 2/5

Anyone who knows me at all knows that a Foo Fighters album had to make this list.  Here it is.

The Colour and the Shape was the band's sophomore album, but that's kind of not true because the first album was basically "the Dave Grohl music project."

Anyway, it's their best album.  What I like about it is that it sounds much more polished than the previous (self entitled) album, yet it doesn't lose that biting edge. 

Screamy rock anthems, like "Wind Up" and "Enough Space," make you want to go to jump up and down at a concert.  The simple, driving guitar riffs make these songs instantly memorable. 

The enormous hit "Everlong" is moody and dramatic, but in a different way from, say, a Meatloaf song.  Yes, there's the oft-talked about whispering, but it's followed by a kind of musical build up that is just plain rockin.  I don't find that any song on this album crosses the line into over-produced.

My favorite song on the album (today) is "My Poor Brain."  I absolutely love the quiet/loud/quiet/loud way it plays out.  Grohl almost whispers the refrain lyrics over a quiet, bouncy tune.  Comparatively, the chorus is a cacophony of drums, screaming, and distorted guitar.  I feel that it mimics the way people think, that kind of stop and go quality that life has, with cacophony equaling confusion.  Maybe that's just me.

(And the lyrics make me so happy.  I don't usually give a shit about lyrics, but I can't help but smile when he screams "Sometimes I wish that I could change / I can't save you from my poor braaain-aaain-aaain-aaain-OK!)

Although there are a lot of different types of songs on the album, from folksy ("See You") to straight guitar-driven rock ("Monkey Wrench") to even ballad ("Walking After You"), nothing on the album really feels out of place.  The only song I tend to skip is "February Stars," which, in my opinion, just kind of sits there with no life until three minutes have passed.

But then, I'm not a slow song kind of girl.  

Favorite Albums - The White Album 1/5

I love music.  Pop, punk, disco, rap - my musical tastes are many and varied and often bizarro.  And usually dictated by my mood on any given day.

Like most people, my favorite albums, songs, and musicians are always changing, too.  One day I'm obsessed with the Bob Dylan, the next it's all about the Ramones.  And the day after that I am digging Kanye.

But I think I've narrowed it down to five albums that will always be in my top ten, if not higher.  At the very least, it will be fun to look back at this in five years to wonder what the hell I was thinking.

So, here's my first one:
 
The Beatles' White Album might be my favorite of all time, but try to resist quoting me on that, if you can manage.  I really obsess over this album, though.  I normally play disk 1 and then disk 2 and then disk 1 and then disk 2 (rinse repeat) over and over when I listen to it.

There is so much balance and juxtaposition: the gorgeously melodic "Blackbird" follows the slow and draining beat of "I'm So Tired."  Arguably the hardest rocking song the Beatles ever put out, "Helter Skelter," is followed by the floaty Harrison penned "Long, Long, Long," with it's ethereal guitar and driving drum beats. 

The only weak point of the album occurs at the end of disk 2, when the performance art-esque "Revolution 9" hits your speakers followed by the tongue in cheek Ringo ballad "Good Night."  But, then, there is a reason those tracks were placed at the end of a two disk album.

Some of my favorite tracks: "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" "Long, Long, Long" "Sexy Sadie" "Dear Prudence"

Acoustic

I've been in a quiet mood musically.  Instead of the exceptional loud rock and roll that usually fills my earballs, I've been hitting the softer stuff.  Like this (normally shunned by me) song by the Foo Fighters:

This happens with me a lot; I get a little obsessed with a song I am typically unimpressed with.

For instance: Three Marlenas by the Wallflowers.  I never cared for that song, it kind of bored me.  And, listen, I lived in the 90s so that's not normal, I realize.  But after I saw the Wallflowers in concert, I couldn't stop listening to that song for about a week straight.  Probably longer.  One of the best shows I've ever been to.

Something similar happened with the song Any Time At All by the Beatles from A Hard Day's Night.  I bought the cd and skipped that song religiously until probably my hundredth listen.  Left it on by accident and started to love it.  Still do, in fact.

So, yeah, some of my favorite songs have been underwhelming, at first.  Sleeper hits, if you will.

But I'm hoping this February funk passes soon.  Not sure how much more acoustic shit I can stand wanting to listen to. 

One Moment in Time

In the coming weeks, there are bound to be countless tributes to Whitney Houston, who died of unknown causes one day before the 2012 Grammy Awards.  A ceremony she once, for all intents and purposes, owned.  But that was years ago.

Celebrities have come out of the woodwork to give their two cents through television and radio interviews.  Twitter and Facebook are aflutter with memories of Houston, her music, and of course, The Bodyguard.  Which was a great movie.

Some people can't stop talking about her problems, which I think is totally inappropriate at this time.  There's enough to talk about without calling her out from beyond the grave less than 24 hours after her passing.

It would be remiss of me to imply that I was a huge Whitney Houston fan.  I knew a handful of her songs and I can appreciate her incredible talent.

But I feel like I have to put something "out there" (proverbially).

Between the ages of five and seven, I listened to the song "One Moment in Time" every day.  Multiple times a day.  It was on a cassette that came with my parent's 1990 Ford Taurus.

I thought that song was so ridiculously beautiful, meaningful, and EPIC.  I sang it at the top of my lungs.  I literally wore the cassette tape out.  It was my very favorite song for most of my childhood.

Like I said, I was never a big fan.  But she made one song that brought a little girl in the early 90s so much joy, that no amount of controversy could taint her career.  She was a success.

Rest in peace, Whitney Houston.