I had a thought while cutting the grass the other day (that’s when I do my best thinking). The elusive definition of “fandom” — debated in a recent thread on this blog — crystallized for me into a rather simple equation.
Song of the Day #340: ‘Pensacola’ – Joan Osborne
You know how the other day I said some of my favorite songs are by artists I don’t consider among my favorites? Well, a perfect example is Joan Osborne’s ‘Pensacola,’ which I consider absolutely brilliant despite not thinking much about her one way or another. I’ve been dying to get this song on the blog since the beginning but I’ve been thwarted in my attempts to post it on YouTube. It inspired my first rant against the YouTube copyright protection, way back at Song #69.
But now I have my fancy new streaming capabilities, so I’m happy to bring you this wonderful tune. This week will probably be very cathartic, as I get out of my system many of the songs I’ve been unable to feature over the past year. [Note: Pretty much every artist eventually came around to hosting their music on YouTube, and I’ve replaced many of these old MP3 embeds.]
The Proposal
Hollywood must churn out at least a dozen movies like The Proposal every year, cobbled together Frankenstein-style from the parts of countless older films. Romantic comedies (most of them, anyway) are as predictable and formulaic as horror films, with saucy grandmas sitting in for horny teens and fewer axe murders.
The Proposal feels particularly pre-packaged… it borrows its basic premise (couple falls in love while pretending to be engaged for immigration purposes) from Green Card, its lonely-woman-finds-a-family theme from While You Were Sleeping (complete with a nearly identical altar confession by Bullock) and its prickly boss/loyal employee dynamic from yet another Bullock film, Two Weeks Notice.
Song of the Day #339: ‘Baby Love’ – The Supremes
One thing these Songs of the Day have made crystal clear to me over the past year is that my CD collection is woefully incomplete. This is my 10th Motown song since I started the Motown Weekends and I don’t own any of them. These are some of the best songs ever recorded and they haven’t found a spot on my shelf.
In large part, that’s because many of these songs were released in the days when the attention was on singles rather than albums. So averse as I am to greatest hits collections and other compilations, it’s tough to get all the good stuff without spending a fortune. But it’s probably high time I just got over that hangup and spent some time on iTunes assembling a kickass Motown playlist.
Song of the Day #338: ‘ABC’ – The Jackson 5
While the news of Michael Jackson’s death was certainly surprising, it didn’t have a very strong emotional impact on me. That’s not to diminish his contribution to both music and pop culture (or his equally significant bridging of the racial divide in both). On the contrary, I hold his talent in the highest regard and my childhood is wrapped up in memories of ‘Thriller,’ ‘Beat It’ and ‘Billy Jean.’
I even saw him in concert on the Victory tour in 1984, sitting in the nosebleed seats at the Orange Bowl, my view obstructed by a metal pole. I don’t remember the show but I remember the experience.
