Gen X Playlist

Will We Ever See Another Action Star Like Tom Cruise in Modern Cinema? By Alexander Larman

Will We Ever See Another Action Star Like Tom Cruise in Modern Cinema? By Alexander Larman

Excerpts:

Long may his insane, generous individualism last
May 16, 2022
by Alexander Larman

The actor Tom Cruise has a new film coming out, his first in four years thanks to Covid-induced release delays. You may have heard of it, a low-budget arthouse picture called Top Gun: Maverick.

topGunMaverickPoster2 Ecstatic critics have fallen over themselves to praise Maverick not merely as superior to the original Top Gun (a mere thirty-six years old now) but as one of the greatest action films ever made. It currently has a hugely impressive 97 percent “Fresh” score on the reviews aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes …

I sometimes wonder what Scott Fitzgerald would have made of Tom Cruise. At a time when the idea of the actor-as-draw has disappeared from contemporary cinema, the weirdly ageless man remains the last remaining Movie Star working today.

Continue reading “Will We Ever See Another Action Star Like Tom Cruise in Modern Cinema? By Alexander Larman”

Singer Toni Basil Won the Legal Fight Over the Recording Rights to the 1980s Song “Mickey”

Singer Toni Basil Won the Legal Fight Over the Recording Rights to the 1980s Song “Mickey”

The singer behind the chart-topping 1980s hit “Mickey” has won a long-running legal fight over the recording rights to the song. – article is behind a pay wall

A federal appeals court says Basil is the sole owner of the famed new wave recording because the singer “primarily wielded creative control” during the production process Tony Basil

Toni Basil gets her ‘Mickey’ acclaim — and copyright — 40 years later: ‘I really thought I should put my foot down and receive money for it’

by Lyndsey Parker
May 25, 2022

Toni Basil was already a 38-year-old showbiz veteran when her bouncy hit “Mickey” was released in the U.S. in May 1982, and in many ways the song was just a blip on her dizzyingly lengthy résumé.

The daughter of a vaudevillian acrobat/comedienne and a Vegas orchestra leader, Antonia Basilotta had literally grown up watching the likes of Nat King Cole, Josephine Baker, Judy Garland, and Frank Sinatra from the stage wings of the Sahara Hotel in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

By the time the ‘80s and her Devo-assisted debut album Word of Mouth came along, she’d danced and/or choreographed for Shindig!, The T.A.M.I. Show, Viva Las Vegas, the Monkees’ Head movie, and American Graffiti; acted in Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces; choreographed David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs tour and Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime” and “Crosseyed & Painless” music videos; and founded/managed the pioneering street-dance troupe the Lockers (who actually once toured with Frank Sinatra).

But despite all those impressive credits, many fans will forever know Basil for “Mickey,” one of the greatest one-hit-wonders of the ‘80s, or possibly of all time.

“Mickey” was actually a remake of the 1979 single “Kitty” by British glam-pop group Racey, written by the famous powerpop production duo of Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn.

But the track wasn’t a smash until Basil added that infectious and iconic “Oh Mickey, you’re so fine” pep-squad chant — inspired by her own cheerleading days at Las Vegas High — and slipped back into her old high school uniform for “Mickey’s” low-budget yet Grammy-nominated music video, an early-MTV staple that she conceived, directed, produced, and choreographed herself. (Basil is still in possession of the video’s storyboard.)

However, it took 40 years for Basil to actually obtain the rights to “Mickey.”

Continue reading “Singer Toni Basil Won the Legal Fight Over the Recording Rights to the 1980s Song “Mickey””

‘Ghostbusters’ Songwriter and Legendary R&B Artist Ray Parker Jr. Gets Documentary Treatment in ‘Who You Gonna Call?’

‘Ghostbusters’ Songwriter and Legendary R&B Artist Ray Parker Jr. Gets Documentary Treatment in ‘Who You Gonna Call?’

Who You Gonna Call? Explores the Life of Ray Parker Jr., the Man Behind the Ghostbusters Theme

Sony will release the music documentary digitally on June 7.
By Cheryl Eddy

…Made with Parker’s full cooperation, the documentary was directed by Fran Strine (whose previous credits include Hired Gun, a doc about professional touring and studio musicians) and it reveals “the Ghostbusters guy” has actually had a fascinating life.

‘Ghostbusters’ Songwriter and Legendary R&B Artist Ray Parker Jr. Gets Documentary Treatment in ‘Who You Gonna Call?’

May 31, 2022
by Jem Aswad

Ray Parker Jr., the R&B star and singer-songwriter best known for the theme from “Ghostbusters,” gets the documentary treatment in “Who You Gonna Call?,” from Sony Pictures Entertainment, which premieres on digital platforms on June 7 — watch the trailer below.

As the documentary shows, there’s much more to Parker’s career than that theme song: He had many R&B hits under his own name and as leader of the group Raydio, and in his mid-teens became an in-demand session guitarist, particularly with Motown acts, like Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, the Temptations and especially Stevie Wonder, even touring with his band when they were the opening act on the Rolling Stones’ legendary 1972 U.S. tour. He later worked with Herbie Hancock, Barry White, Boz Scaggs and many others. Wonder and Hancock both appear in the film.

Continue reading “‘Ghostbusters’ Songwriter and Legendary R&B Artist Ray Parker Jr. Gets Documentary Treatment in ‘Who You Gonna Call?’”

Kate Bush’s Stranger Things Triumph Reminds Us of the Joy of Discovering Music Through Film and TV

Kate Bush’s Stranger Things Triumph Reminds Us of the Joy of Discovering Music Through Film and TV

A foreward.

In my late 40s and older, I’ve talked to people in their 20s while I’ve resumed taking college classes again, and some of them are totally unfamiliar with mainstream artists of the 1980s, such as Billy Idol and Duran Duran.

I have no idea how teens and 20 somethings today – with the incredibly easy access to music via You Tube and free sign ups to streaming services such as Spotify – can be so lazy and ignorant about music.

When I was a teen in the 1980s, I was not only interested in music I grew up listening to in the 1970s and 1980s, but also music from previous eras (my mother used to play me music from the 1950s – Elvis, The Platters, Buddy Holly and so on).

As a teen in the 1980s, I would’ve given my right arm to have had something like Spotify or You Tube back in the 1980s. I would’ve spent every waking moment just checking out different contemporary genres as well as pop, rock, country western, classical music – everything! – from previous decades and centuries.

All we had back then, though, were the radio and the occasional musical variety shows on the three main networks.

I am not saying it’s wrong to discover a great song that is decades old via a new movie or television show, but I don’t know why kids today are so ignorant about music, when they have such easy access to it – kids today do not have to wait for a great song to appear in a movie – they can go research music from the past in an instant, FOR FREE, on their cell phones and iPads.

Kate Bush’s Stranger Things Triumph Reminds Us of the Joy of Discovering Music Through Film and TV

Excerpts:

Liz Shannon Miller
June 3, 2022

This week, in the aftermath of Stranger Things Season 4 debuting, English singer/songwriter Kate Bush experienced a remarkable renaissance, as her iconic 1985 hit “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” became a chart-busting hit across multiple streaming services.

Over the course of Memorial Day weekend, the song reached the top 10 on Apple Music in 34 different countries, becoming one of the most-Shazamed songs of the week and getting permanently stuck in every viewer’s head — hopefully music supervisor Nora Felder is feeling pretty good about her accomplishment.

Continue reading “Kate Bush’s Stranger Things Triumph Reminds Us of the Joy of Discovering Music Through Film and TV”

Valerie Bertinelli, Son Slam ‘Autopsy’ Doc on Eddie Van Halen: ‘Disgusting’

Valerie Bertinelli, Son Slam ‘Autopsy’ Doc on Eddie Van Halen: ‘Disgusting’

Wolfgang Van Halen accuses ‘Autopsy’ docuseries of glamorizing Eddie Van Halen’s death: ‘Disgusting’

June 2, 2022

Wolfgang Van Halen and his mother Valerie Bertinelli are pushing back against an upcoming TV special that examines the demise of late Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen.

The special is part of the Reelz docuseries “Autopsy: The Last Hours Of…” which seeks to reveal “the truth behind the controversial deaths of global icons” by reconstructing the famous person’s “final hours using crucial medical evidence” from their autopsy, according to Reelz’s official website.

Eddie Van Halen autopsy special slammed by his son Wolfgang and Valerie Bertinelli

June 3, 2022
by Lisa Respers

A planned TV special that purports to examine the final hours of the life of legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen is being slammed by some of his loved ones.

Van Halen, who died in 2020 at the age of 65 after battling cancer, is the subject of an episode of the Reelz docuseries, “Autopsy: The Last Hours Of…”

The show’s site notes his cause of death and reads, “But if caught early, Eddie’s disease had reasonable survival rates.”

“So what happened?,” the site reads. “World renowned forensic pathologist, Dr. Michael Hunter needs to analyse every detail of Eddie Van Halen’s life in order to piece together what else may have been going on in his body, ultimately leading to his untimely death.”

His son, Wolfgang Van Halen, tweeted that the episode is “disgusting trying to glamorize someone’s death from cancer. Pathetic and heartless.”

The late rocker’s former wife, actress and cookbook author Valerie Bertinelli, also weighed in on Twitter.

Continue reading “Valerie Bertinelli, Son Slam ‘Autopsy’ Doc on Eddie Van Halen: ‘Disgusting’”

Kenny Loggins Re-Recorded ‘Danger Zone’ for ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ — Why the Sequel Passed On It – How the Original Version Was Created

Kenny Loggins Re-Recorded ‘Danger Zone’ for ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ — Why the Sequel Passed On It – How The Original Version Was Created

June 3, 2022

Don’t Worry About Him: After 50 Years Of Hitmaking, Kenny Loggins Is Still Alright

The artist shares the stories behind his career in new memoir, due June 14

May 27, 2022

Kenny Loggins may forever be associated with his era-defining contributions to the soundtracks for such ’80s classics as Caddyshack, Footloose and Top Gun, but they are just a few of the countless milestones in his eventful, 50-plus-year career in music.

Already a folk-rock superstar by his early 20s as part of the duo Loggins & Messina, the artist went on to inadvertently pioneer yacht rock thanks to his own late ‘70s solo work and a series of hit collaborations with Michael McDonald (“What a Fool Believes,” “This Is It”).

He spent the following decade as one of the most commercially successful artists in the world and has rarely stopped working since, dabbling in everything from country, children’s and holiday music and winning new fans at every step of the way thanks to his willingness to poke fun at his bearded, soft rock persona.

Kenny Loggins Talks “Danger Zone” Return For ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and Upcoming Memoir

May 26, 2022

The iconic Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated musician chats with The Hollywood Reporter about his massive hit being utilized again in the Tom Cruise sequel and why he enjoys sporadically appearing on ‘Family Guy,’ among more.

Kenny Loggins Recorded a ‘5.0 Version’ of ‘Danger Zone’ For ‘Top Gun’ Reboot, But Tom Cruise Had Other Ideas

“So in the long run it turned out to be the old track coming back,” the singer said about the opening sequence’s throwback vibe. kennyLogginsTopGun

Kenny Loggins recorded a new version of ‘Danger Zone’ that wasn’t used in Top Gun: Maverick

May 31, 2022
By Maureen Lee Lenker

If you’ve already seen Top Gun: Maverick, the opening sequence might’ve made you do a double take and check that you were in the right theater. That’s because the intro to the film is exactly the same as the original 1986 movie, including the use of hit song, Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone.”

But the song was almost a little different. Loggins tells EW he put a new spin on the famous track for the sequel. “I did re-record ‘Danger Zone’ to make a 5.0 version that would wrap around the audience,” he says. “But Tom Cruise really wanted to conjure up the original version, the original feeling. So in the long run, it turned out to be the old track coming back.”

… Loggins wasn’t even supposed to record “Danger Zone” in the first place. He’d written “Playing With the Boys” specifically for the film’s iconic volleyball sequence when he got the call to put his own spin on the track that has become something of a theme song for Top Gun.

Continue reading “Kenny Loggins Re-Recorded ‘Danger Zone’ for ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ — Why the Sequel Passed On It – How the Original Version Was Created”

Van Halen’s David Lee Roth Teases Coming out of Retirement

Van Halen’s David Lee Roth Teases Coming out of Retirement

June 3, 2022

Van Halen’s David Lee Roth drops hint that he’ll be coming out of retirement

When questioned as to whether he will be partaking in the rumoured Van Halen tribute band, Roth answered: “I’m only in the middle of my first retirement”

David Lee Roth has hinted that he may come out of retirement to partake in the rumoured Van Halen tribute project alongside drummer Alex Van Halen and guitarist Joe Satriani.

David Lee Roth Suggests He’s Not Really Retiring, Hints That Van Halen Tribute Tour Might Happen

June 2, 2022

After announcing his retirement late last year, David Lee Roth now suggests that he’s not ready to jump away from his legendary music career. The singer also hints that a rumored Van Halen tribute tour might actually happen.

Roth originally announced in the Fall that he was retiring and that his scheduled Las Vegas residency around the new year would mark his last five shows ever. He then expanded the residency to run throughout January, only to cancel the entire run right as it was set to begin. COVID safety issues were cited for the cancellation of the first few shows, but no official reason was given for the remainder of the residency.

Continue reading “Van Halen’s David Lee Roth Teases Coming out of Retirement”

NetFlix Series ‘Stranger Things’ Pushes Kate Bush’s 1985 Single ‘Running Up That Hill’ To No. 1 On iTunes and Increasing on Spotify

NetFlix Series ‘Stranger Things’ Pushes Kate Bush’s 1985 Single ‘Running Up That Hill’ To No. 1 On iTunes and Increasing on Spotify

June 3, 2022

I didn’t listen to much Kate Bush in the 1980s – she seemed to be really popular in Europe. I was born and raised in the United States, but I had pen pals in Europe and Australia back then who told me I should check Bush out.

The only song of hers I was familiar with at the time was “The Sensual World,” which I thought was okay, but I couldn’t really get into Bush’s music myself.

Kate Bush There is a Net Flix show called “Stranger Things” that is set in the 1980s and often features 80s era pop or rock.

A song by Kate Bush was featured in several season 4 episodes, and as a result, the song re-entered the charts.

‘Stranger Things 4’ Sends Kate Bush 1985 Song “Running Up That Hill” Soaring on Spotify

May 31, 2022
by Jason Lipbshutz

“It’s remarkable to see how the reaction to Kate’s song has engaged new and old fans alike,” Netflix’s Alexandra Patsavas says of the immediate listener reaction.

“Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” Kate Bush’s classic 1985 single, has received an explosion of new interest thanks to its use in the recently premiered fourth season of Stranger Things.

And while next week’s Billboard charts will reflect its overall surge, new data from Spotify demonstrates the Netflix series’ impact on its streaming totals thus far.

According to data collected by Spotify on Monday, “Running Up That Hill” posted an 8,700 percent increase in global streams compared to its total on Thursday, the day prior to the Stranger Things season four premiere on Netflix.

Meanwhile, the song’s U.S. streams increased by 9,900 percent over the same time period. “Running Up That Hill” currently sits at No. 2 on Spotify’s top 50 U.S. chart and No. 4 on its top 200 global chart.

…“Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” the lead single to the British legend’s 1985 album Hounds of Love, soundtracks the story of Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink), still reeling from a family death, in the fourth season of Stranger Things.

Continue reading “NetFlix Series ‘Stranger Things’ Pushes Kate Bush’s 1985 Single ‘Running Up That Hill’ To No. 1 On iTunes and Increasing on Spotify”

Duran Duran Inducted Into Rock Hall of Fame (2022)

Duran Duran Inducted Into Rock Hall of Fame (2022)

Simon Le Bon on Duran Duran’s Rock Hall Induction: ‘We Are Over the Moon’

“I was in shock and disbelief,” he told us about learning Duran Duran had made it in. “I mean, we’re Duran Duran. We’re always the bridesmaid, never the bride”

By Andy Greene
May 6, 2022

Duran Duran won the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame fan vote by an extremely healthy margin, but Simon Le Bon was skeptical they’d actually make it in until the day he learned it was official. duranDuran

“I was in shock and disbelief,” he tells Rolling Stone via Zoom from Italy. “I mean, we’re Duran Duran. We’re always the bridesmaid, never the bride. And we looked over the list of names and thought we didn’t really have a hope in hell.”

Continue reading “Duran Duran Inducted Into Rock Hall of Fame (2022)”