Steely Dan’s Walter Becker was obsessed with a tiny sound glitch on the album Katy Lied and flew to a 3M factory in Minnesota to find out the cause. It turned out to be a blot of dried mustard on the tape. Duh!
The late Walter Becker was born on this date in 1950. Lots of Steely Dan on today’s playlist.
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I saw the movie Muriel’s Wedding with my friend Kathy in the theater when it was released. You know what’s better than watching Muriel’s Wedding? Not watching Muriel’s Wedding. As I recall, ugly duckling Muriel marries a smoking hot South African swimmer who looks like he stepped out of a Calvin Klein ad and then dumps him for no good reason. Oh, I probably should have written SPOILER ALERT before I told you that. Oh well. Here’s another SPOILER ALERT: Muriel’s an idiot. When she tells the delicious hunk of meat that they’re over, Kathy screamed out “WHAT?” I felt the same, as did most of the people in the theater, as we were in a gay neighborhood. Why would she leave that gorgeous piece of manflesh? To “discover herself?” To “follow her dream?” Give me a break. The only thing she found was a one-way ticket to Loserville. The best thing about Muriel’s Wedding…well, the best thing about Muriel’s Wedding not counting that yummy man candy who Muriel threw away like yesterday’s trash is that it brought AꓭBA back to the spotlight. Since their breakup in 198something they remained prominent throughout much of the world, but in the US, they were a campy artifact of a bygone era. Stateside the group had one number one single, “Dancing Queen,” whereas in England they hit number one 1,876 times. England. People in England are – I say this with love and as a die-hard AꓭBA fan – nuts. Anyhoo, after Muriel’s Wedding we got AꓭBA featured in the delightful motion picture The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, which I also saw in the movie theater, where I was seated behind former New York City mayor Ed Koch, who I used to call Ed Crotch. Then we got the jukebox musical Mamma Mia, which was super successful on stage and screen. I never saw it on stage but I saw the movie – not in the theater but on television – and it made me miss my friends in New York – Kathy, Laura, Daisy, Debbie – because we used to have bad movie days every few weeks where we’d watch Showgirls or Battlefield Earth or that movie in which Anna Nicole Smith played a hostage negotiator and we’d laugh and talk through the movies and it was always a blast. They would love Mamma Mia. It’s like the musical equivalent of Showgirls. I know many disagree. Many disagree with me (and Kathy) about Muriel’s Wedding, too. To each their own. You’re allowed to have your wrong opinions.
AꓭBA’s Frida was born Anni-Frid Lyngstadon this date in 1945. Lots of AꓭBA on today’s playlist.
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The Bee Gees wrote “How Deep Is Your Love” at the Château d’Hérouville in France, where Chopin had stayed and played piano, though Chopin wasn’t involved in the recording of the song, as he was busy being dead. The song was intended for Yvonne Elliman, but Robert Stigwood, the producer of Saturday Night Fever, said “No, no way. Uh uh. Forget it.” The Gibb brothers took their song to number one, the first of 7034 number one hits (give or take) from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. HDIYL spent 17 weeks in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, a record at that time.
Bee Gee Barry Gibb was born on this date in 1946. A half dozen of his group’s hits are included on today’s playlist.
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Today’s playlist celebrates the September 18 birthdays of The Ramones’ Dee Dee Ramone, Dizzee Rascal, The Jayhawks’ Mark Olson, Noname, Bell Biv DeVoe’s Ricky Bell, Frankie Avalon, Xzibit, Dodgy’s Nigel Clark, Kira Isabella, Friends’ Samantha Urbani, and Jimmie Rodgers; and the September 19 birthdays of Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker, Chic’s Nile Rodgers, Mama Cass Elliot, The Righteous Brothers’ Bill Medley, Skepta, 10cc’s Lol Creme, Billy Ward, Tegan and Sara, Marshall Jefferson, Brook Benton, Les Savy Fav’s Tim Harrington, Jay Electronica, The Springfields’ Mike Hurst, Eamon, Lit’s A. Jay Popoff, Lita Ford, Rex Smith, Austin Roberts, and Teddybears’ Patrik Arve.
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Today’s Throwback Thursday playlist revisits the music of 1975. Each of the 30 songs below made the pop top 40. I miss the days before radio became so segmented and one could hear Eagles rubbing up against Minnie Riperton next to Bob Dylan followed by Labelle with Bruce Springsteen’s first hit playing with The Captain & Tennille’s first hit on deck. It satisfies the musical omnivore that I am.
Inspired by the May 16 birthdays of Janet Jackson, Modern Lovers’ Jonathan Richman, New Edition’s Ralph Tresvant, Heaven 17’s Glenn Gregory, Special Ed and Redd Holt.
It’s a death trap, it’s a suicide rap
You gotta get out while you’re young
New Jersey does not have an official state song. There have been attempts to adopt one since at least 1939, when the state’s Board of Education held a contest to find a suitable number. They named Samuel F. Monroe’s “The New Jersey Loyalty Song” as the contest’s winner, but it was not good enough to be the official state song.
In 1972, the state legislature proposed that Joseph “Red” Mascara’s “I’m from New Jersey” be the state’s song, but Governor William Cahill vetoed the measure, stating succinctly about the song “It stinks.”
In March of 1980, radio d.j. Carol Miller started a petition to have “Born to Run,” written and recorded by New Jersey’s favorite son, Bruce Springsteen, be named the state song. Three state assemblypersons drafted a resolution declaring “Born to Run” “as the unofficial *rock* theme of our State’s youth.” I’m confused to as to how an official resolution can name an “unofficial” theme, just as the state’s senate was confused as to how a song that includes the lyrics that open this post expresses pride in where one’s from. The bid died.
The song also includes these lyrics that tickle my friend Audrey so: Someday, girl, I don’t know when, we’re gonna get to that place where we really wanna go.
Oh, that place!
By the way, I got out of New Jersey when I was 24.
This week’s Throwback Thursday playlist spotlights some of the best tunes from 1975, kicking off with what is unofficially New Jersey’s unofficial state song, Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.”
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I didn’t get the film Muriel’s Wedding. Not as in I didn’t get the Blu-Ray of this movie for Hanukkah. I don’t even own a Blu-Ray player. No, I mean I didn’t understand it. Or rather, I didn’t buy it. Muriel, the ugly duckling girl who is mocked and abused, ends up marrying a beautiful South African swimmer and then splits up with him because of some self-esteem bullshit. WHAT? For fuck’s sake, Muriel! The man has beautiful eyes, a great body and doesn’t beat you. What more could you want? If this means I’m shallow and superficial then I don’t want to be right. She says to him “I don’t love you” and he replies “I don’t love you either but I think I could like having you around.” He’s so sweet! I dream of the day someone says something so romantic to me! Someone attractive, that is. Oh, um, SPOILER ALERT. I should have said that a few sentences ago. If you haven’t seen the movie yet and plan to (which you should, just to see what Muriel walked away from) then forget what you just read.
This is what Muriel left. This. THIS! It stretches all credibility.
Muriel’s Wedding had its good points: a) David (Muriel’s husband), b) it introduced us to Toni Collette as Muriel, c) it introduced us to Rachel Griffiths, and d) along with The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, it brought ABBA back into the public consciousness.
Today Tunes du Jour celebrates the birthday of ABBA’s Benny Andersson who, along with the group’s Björn Ulvaeus, co-wrote and co-produced most of their hits.