"Tinsel and Lights" by Tracey Thorn - The Complete Package

I literally just banged my head on both sides because I just cannot believe what I am hearing. It is 12:10am and I am up trying to catch up on, well, everything. Email, bills, posting for my goodblacknews.org website, CDs I’ve purchased weeks ago but haven’t listened to yet. After getting my family holiday card safely ordered via Shutterfly (had to take advantage of that “40% off by Sunday” e-coupon!) I decided to get a jump on making the Holiday Music Mix for the inevitable Christmas gathering at Chez Hutcherson, since there were veiled rumblings about the quality and tenor of my “Thanksgiving Mix” just a mere 11 days ago.  So I clicked on iTunes and realized I hadn’t listened to Tracey Thorn’s (of Everything But The Girl fame) “Tinsel And Lights” yet, even though I made an effort to special order it - both the CD and the vinyl directly from her U.S. label, Merge Records, as she no longer records for a major anymore.

I should note now that there are some singers whose voices just do it for me (Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Karen Carpenter, to name a few) - Ms. Thorn is among them and has been ever since I sat in a restaurant on Larchmont Avenue having dinner with friends in the early 90s and heard “Protection” over the restaurant’s sound system. I don’t remember the restaurant’s name or even which friends, but oh, do I remember that song and that voice. Thorn’s ability to evoke simultaneously strength, courage and vulnerability with her voice (and let’s not forget to factor in that gorgeous range and timbre) made me feel like my chest had been cracked open and my heart made to beat outside of it. From that night, I bought as much Everything But The Girl I could find (some singles I found on Napster - this was the 90s, mind you - and spent whole days downloading just one or two rare songs). Although not every track from Thorn and partner Ben Watt was perfect (even though much of their dance music remains sublime to this day - though best known in the U.S. for the “Missing” remix from their “Amplified Heart” CD, the “Temperamental” CD is THE ONE. “Lullaby of Clubland” or “Hatfield 1980”? FORGET IT.), Thorn’s voice always captivated me, bathing me continually in astonishment and awe. “Why is this woman not the most popular singer in the world?” I often wondered. Is it because she’s a Brit and never got enough traction on the U.S. pop charts? But there are/were other Brits who had HUGE pop success stateside in the 80s and 90s, and I find myself buying Japanese imports of Swing Out Sister or Lisa Stansfield CDs to keep up with them… so maybe it’s an age thing? A chick thing?  I don’t know, but I am so glad I stick with singers I love and don’t care where or how I have to find their new music because it’s ALWAYS worth it.

Caution: I Can Sing Your Heart Out

Which brings me back to why I was BANGING MY HEAD ten minutes ago. I was listening to “Tinsel and Lights” and my mind was just exploding. Even though it’s a “holiday” CD, it’s easily one of the best CD’s I’ve heard this year, regardless of genre. I mean, it’s right up there with Fiona Apple’s “The Idler Wheel…” masterpiece. (Yes, MASTERPIECE. Listen to “Hot Knife”, “Valentine,” “Werewolf” and then every other track and tell me I’m wrong. Hash arrests be damned, she backed that beauty up big time in concert, too.) Not only are the original Christmas songs gorgeously written and arranged, they sound traditional yet current at the same time. I’m too hyped up to even find the CD to see who produced it, but if it’s not her or Ben Watt, it’s some other musical genius. The first track, “Joy,” immediately takes you there - it feels cold, snowy, yet warm - like white lights seen through inclement weather. The simple piano and her voice blend so well it sounds like one instrument. The next track, “Hard Candy Christmas,” is equally amazing and already one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs. This tune manages to be delightfully sardonic, sad, hopeful and mischevious all at the same time. “Hard Candy” nails perfectly what it feels like to be single during the holidays - so much so it seemed like I stepped into a time machine because I felt every second of it, even though that’s not my life anymore. That’s how good and special this song is.  My favorite lyric? “Maybe I’ll sleep real late / maybe I’ll lose some weight / maybe I’ll clear my junk / maybe I’ll just get drunk on apple wine / Me? I’ll be just fine…” And it keeps going on like that. Awesome.

So okay, I’m two songs in and I’m grooving. Thinking I’ll find a way to include both on my mix for the fam, separate them with some Tony Bennett and Donny Hathaway, etc. but definitely get both of them in there. Only problem is, the CD just keeps GETTING BETTER. I could go on about every song, her vocals, the beauty, purity and warmth of approach, but it’s only getting later and the kids have school tomorrow, so I’ll just hit on my absolute favorites. “Maybe This Christmas” - country-style feel, mid-tempo - lyrics about reconnecting with loved ones - a stunner. And then there’s her cover of my all-time favorite popular Christmas song, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” (as opposed to my all-time favorite traditional one, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”). Anyway, up until 40 minutes ago, my favorite version of "Have Yourself" was by Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders. Tracey Thorn took it to the place Chrissie took it to (aching, melancholy, saturnine-yet-sanguine), paused for a second, dusted off her Jet Pack and then ROCKETED into the stratosphere with the song. And again, this is with a very simple-yet-creative arrangement of piano and strings that lets her subtle, plaintive, evocative vocals hang the shining star upon the highest bow. When she goes into the second verse, her emotional commitment to the lyrics and meaning of the song even cause her to choke up and drop a word.  Wisely, she uses this take and CRICK CRACK there goes my heart out of my chest again. And if you know the history of this song, you know the original lyrics are “Through the years, we will all be together/ if the fates allow / until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow” instead of the “less depressing” “Hang a shining star upon the highest bow” version that has supplanted the original in most remakes. Well, Thorn honors the song by singing the lyrics both ways, wisely placing the original ones last for maximum impact. I could keep going on about her version of this song, but I suppose I should move it along if I don’t want to go into a drop sleep behind the wheel of the mini-van tomorrow.

So, briefly - the other two pieces of EXCELLENCE on this incredibly cohesive, well-planned and sequenced CD of holiday music: Thorn’s immaculate, inventive cover of Joni Mitchell’s “River.” Joni Mitchell, another of my favorite musicians, (I mean, who can write a song like Joni?) KILLS “River” and kind of can’t be paralleled (even though Corinne Bailey Rae’s 2007 cover with Herbie Hancock is definitely on the right side of sublime) so what Thorn does is sing the whole thing backed by, like, French Horns. JUST French horns! And it’s GORGEOUS and it WORKS and it makes it its own thing totally. (*NOTE: I just looked at the liner notes to confirm what I thought I heard and actually, there’s tubas, cornets and trombones mixed in, too - but it is just brass she sings with. Which takes some BRASS.)

The last song I’ll palaver about - though penultimate track “Taking Down The Tree” featuring Green Gartside is the biznass, too - is my other favorite new classic, “Sister Winter.” Written by Sufjan Stevens, I’m not sure if it’s new for this CD or a cover, but regardless, it’s responsible for the HEAD BANGING I mentioned at the beginning of whatever you want to call this piece of writing is. There’s a lot more production on this track than most - very current-sounding, in the Goyte family of sonic experimentation, but so seamlessly employed on this Christmas song, I almost couldn’t take it. But I’m so glad I did. And if my family rags on me for having every other song on this year’s Xmas Mix be from “Tinsel And Lights,” I’ll happily take the shots, because I'll know I’m the one giving them the ultimate gift by sharing Ms. Thorn’s incomparable one.

Pass The Plate Of "Happiness" Around: A Quick Review of "The Happiness Project"

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What's not to like about an upbeat, well-written and thoughtful book about the esoteric and practical ways one can make themselves more happy in their everyday life?  Not much is my answer.  Gretchen Rubin proves to be a wonderful guide through her year-long search for ways to be happier, without uprooting her whole life for some magical, spiritual quest to some faraway land, as she is married with two young kids.  "The Happiness Project" is chock-full of great tips, anecdotes, quotes, research and experiments gone right and wrong that ultimately lead to Rubin feeling and believing her life was improved by taking on the quotidian task of finding big and little ways to increase joy.  I only take one star off because about half-way through the book, unfortunately, one of Rubin's happiness resolutions ("start a blog") results in her sharing pages upon pages of replies she got from followers of her blog.  I hope Rubin sees it as a compliment that I wanted more of her words and less from her blog legion.  Other than that bit of tiresomeness, I enjoyed this book thoroughly, found myself immediately applying some of the easier happiness tips to my life ("sing in the morning," "smile," "cut people slack") and felt better for it.  A fast, accessible (and also exceedingly literate) read, and I do recommend it highly.


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Try A Little Tenderness: Why I Had To Listen To Otis Redding Right After Reading "Lady Chatterley's Lover"

Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm kind of mixed up about what I want to say about this novel, which is a good thing.  Of course it's best-known for being a scandalous, banned novel for its sex scenes, and I suppose for 1928, this was rather racy.  I read the modern restored version and by today's standards, some scenes and language are graphic, but not pornographic or even titillating, just sensual, and respectfully so. (And even quaintly goofy - Lady Chatterley's private parts are oft described as her "mound of Venus.")  Lawrence actually believes sex and sexual desire aren't purulent or shameful, but the highest expression of life and living.  He also is decidedly disgusted by technology (in 1928, coal mines, deforestation, the Industrial Revolution and its ramifications were his chief complaints) and people who chase money, status, success and celebrity.  In that way, the novel is both classic and contemporary.  Though there are parts of the book that can be repetitive - not with the love plot, but with Lawrence expounding his philosophies via the characters' thoughts or his descriptions of his characters - his way with words and phrases make the journey through it all worth it.  And once the love affair commences, it's all extremely engaging and absorbing, because you can't help but root for this impossible love affair to become possible - for real life to bloom and for the rest of the man-made madness and societal restrictions to fall away in the face of true tenderness between men and women (hence, the Otis Redding reference in the title).  And it's romantic because it's not sentimental - this book is hard and the characters are very aware of the realities they face and the sacrifices they'll have to make to even start to make a go of it.  The machine of civilization will go on but humanity will survive it if there is love.  Even though there are some racist bits in there that do date it (I could put these down to the characters instead of the author but I'm sure that would be charity on my part) I highly recommend it - because they don't mar the core thoughts and ideas expressed here.  All in all, good stuff.


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Lite Pop: Reviewing "Teen Classic" "Forever..."

Forever by Judy Blume
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Even though I read and enjoyed many of Judy Blume's other books when I was a kid, I never read "Forever," so I thought I'd check it out and fill in that hole (no pun intended, but you see how I left it there anyway).  I'm glad I didn't read it as a teenager because I'd hate to think that I would have been influenced by it. I'd always heard what a mature book it was and how it was all about a girl's first time and was so explicit.  Okay, some of the sex descriptions are specific, but I wouldn't call them graphic or even titillating.  The girl and boy in question are so gosh gee that there is a lack of realism permeating on every page that portends to have some.  There is no plot to speak of, and all of the supporting characters are types - meant to have depth (the suicidal boy, the stroke victim grandpa, the know-it-all best friend, the gifted younger sister, etc.) - but don't.  When the lead girl takes a self-motivated trip to Planned Parenthood, the author's PSA is glaring.  I see on IMDB there was a TV movie made of it in 1978, and I suppose for that time, the subject matter itself was controversy enough to warrant adaptation.  But it's not a timeless story, and even as a story of its time, it suffers from banality on most accounts. I suppose it deserves some snaps for even tackling the subject at a time when a lot of youth fiction, especially by popular authors didn't... thus two stars instead of one.  Oh, and it was also upgraded by me for one memorable exchange between the main character Katherine and a random uncle at her high-school graduation that showed real depth and promise:

The uncle picked something out of his teeth, examined it, then flicked it off his finger. "So tell me," he said. "What do you want to do with your life?"
"Do?" I repeated.
"Yes... you've thought about it, haven't you?"
"Sure."
"So?"
"I want to be happy," I told him.  "And make other people happy too."
"Very nice... but not enough."
"That's all I know right now." I turned and walked away from him.

If only the whole book had been as wry and observant as that!  But alas, it wasn't.  So I've got to find something better to hand my daughter when the time comes - I've just got to.


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The Revolution WAS Televised

As much as I love the Gil Scott-Heron song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," I'm glad to live in the era where he was proved wrong. At least I'm pretty sure he was, because I saw the Revolution this morning on my flat screen Sharp, along with hundreds of millions of other people who watched their TVs, their computers, their iPods and their cell phones, all across the globe.

(If you don't know the song you can get a taste of it on You Tube by clicking here: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised) 

Ironically, the one way Scott-Heron got it right in the lyric -- "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised / The Revolution will be LIVE!" -- he could have never fully imagined in 1970. It was "live" all right -- live on every news channel and network, live on the internet via CNN.com among others, live on chat pages, blogs, cell phones, landlines, texts, e-mails and oh yeah, live in person. This was not just a political, cultural and historical revolution, it was a revolution in communication.

I myself watched it on TV as I posted status updates on Facebook, and that was a wondrous way to share, get instant feedback (from friends as close as down the street to as far away as Ireland), and read what was other people's minds as it was all going down. For instance, I learned exactly where to look for my friend Dena's brother Jay in the melee -- bass trombonist for the Air Force Band, front row, third from the left (saw a lot of big brass, but alas, never saw him). My sister Lesa called from her cell and we chatted as I got emotional -- she was on her way to pick up our mom Joyce to go to an Obama party. As it got to oath time, I ran downstairs, interrupted my son Xavier's therapy and turned on the TV so me, my husband Warren, Xavier and his vision therapist Sandy could all watch THE MOMENT. I teared up -- Sandy got chills -- Warren held Xavier and smiled at his two year-old. His smile seemed to say, no matter what the challenges, anything is possible. Xavier cooed and drooled.

Then we listened to THE ADDRESS -- I can't remember it well now, other than the impression it left. It was quietly celebratory, intelligent yet accessible, encompassing and pointed ("Time to make hard decisions / not to compromise ideals for safety / restore science to its proper place," etc.), patriotic but expansive. Then Warren, Xavier and I drove to Xavier's speech therapy. I texted in the waiting room with my friend Stacy and learned that Obama (like me) is a lefty. Just when I didn't think my pride in this man and his accomplishments couldn't soar any higher, it found a new level. Sorry, but I'm a sucker for a southpaw.

When we got home, two e-mails were waiting for me: one from my friend Susan Shaffer in New York who e-mailed from her iPhone; another from my friend Vanessa inviting me to an impromptu Obama party that I obviously missed. Back on Facebook, lots more updates -- on CNN and CNN.com, more footage, photos, updates. Even the reporters were in the crowd with Flip Videos, uploading "man on the street" bits to Twitter and Facebook, just like the man on the street was doing! The Revolution was most definitely televised -- because EVERYBODY had a way to televise it!

BUT, even more important than the technology and communication revolutions we took part in today, was the realization of the Revolution Martin Luther King, Jr. "dreamed" of forty-six years ago, a dream the majority of this nation helped turn into reality last November the old-fashioned way: by getting up, getting out and walking into voting booths all across the land. 

Not only did a "black man" become President of the most powerful nation in the world today, a young man became President, a biracial man became President, a son of an immigrant became President, an intelligent man became President, an inclusive man became President, a humble man became President, and a loving husband and father became President. This list, I'm sure, could go on and on, as it should, because there should never be anything finite about Revolution. After all, it changes everything. Especially when it's televised.

LLH out.

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Lite Pop: Squeeze That Lemon!

I don't know about everybody else, but as much as I look

forward to Tina Fey's Sarah Palin impressions on SNL, what I've really been waiting for finally came Thursday night -- the third Season Premiere of "30 Rock." From episode one this show has been a tantalizing mix of character comedy, industry parody and social commentary and episode 37 is no exception. 

http://www.nbc.com/30_Rock/video/episodes/?vid=800161

Tina Fey's intrepid alter ego Liz Lemon ranks in the top five, maybe even three female television characters of all time.  Not only is she funny and smart and persevering even when mightily challenged by the powers-that-be (in the forms of Alec Baldwin as her corporate boss and Tracy Morgan as her unpredictable, uncontrollable star), she is also selfish, self-destructive, corruptible and mean-spirited.  In other words, she's an actual human being.  And her love interest isn't ever really in the form of a guy -- it's in the form of her job, her friendships and her lame attempts to overcome (sometimes) her baser nature.

No need for me to gush when you can check it out for yourself (if you are new to this show, treat yourself and watch all of the episodes on NBC.com), but how many shows have lines as loony as "She was wearing Dora the Explorer panties that were meant for an obese child" and as highbrow as "We're not the best people, but we're not the worst people. The worst people are graduate students" in the same episode?  Par for the course on "30 Rock," as are sight gags, cutaways, wordplay, political jabs and celebrity jokes.  It's a veritable comedy grab bag almost every episode and totally gets away with it.

Why?  Because Tina Fey, her writers, actors and directors are, I think, out for more than ratings or Emmys or even a good belly laugh (even though they've consistently gotten two of the three).  I think they are out to tell the truth of the people and the place they are presenting, no matter how wacky, ugly, venal or petty they get.  As Liz Lemon says (after tons of shenanigans and half-truths) to the woman who is evaluating her to become an adoptive mother: "Yes, this place is not ideal but these weirdos are family to me and so if this job is a deal breaker, you tear up my application and I will start someplace else."  Moments like these, and the undercutting ones that follow are why this show has heart as well as humor and why I think we all should squeeze that Lemon and keep her around for as many seasons as she'll give us.

LLH out.

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The First Black Anybody

Everyone has "that one" in their life right now, right? That one friend or relative who sends you every article, video, blog or humor item that has anything to do with Obama, making your e-mail inbox swell from 10 to 100 messages on a near-daily basis? If you don't, you probably are "that one" and if you are, I salute your commitment to political spam... I mean, getting the word out. For me, "that one" is my Auntie Brenda, so whenever I see a have e-mail from blakin, I skip over it because I know it will be long and/or time-consuming. But I recently found a moment to hack through my blakin e-mails and read a piece by Frank Schaeffer of the Huffington Post entitled "Obama Will Be One of The Greatest (and Most Loved) American Presidents."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/obama-will-be-one-of-the_b_132843.html

I don't know why, but of all of the Obama fodder in my box, this one made me more than a little "Yes, We Can" -- it actually made me weepy, emotional and (dare I say?) hopeful.  Not only because this self-described life-long Republican and Christian is so eloquent about the virtues of Obama, but because it's the first time the simplest argument to vote for Obama occurred to me.  He will absolutely be the best president this generation has ever seen - -because he HAS TO BE. 

The First Black Anybody, it hit me, is always superlative whenever he or she crosses lines that have not been crossed before.  Not only are they preternaturally gifted in their field of choice (Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe, Ralph Bunche, W.E.B. DuBois, Leontyne Price, to name a few), they also possess the demeanor, will power and acumen to earn the respect even of those most resistant to their presence in a heretofore homogeneous field.  The First Black Anybody knows everyone is watching him or her, some with fingers crossed, some with eyes askance, and if they "mess up," it becomes painfully unlikely that The Second Black Anybody will get their proverbial turn at bat.

Obama, put plainly, is a man without a net, so he must cross the high wire intact, or perish.  Does old boy McCain have that kind of pressure on him?  Um, not so much.  Of course, The First Black Anybody theory isn't the only reason I'm voting for Obama, but I must say, I do love that he's the guy who's playing "all in" because he does not have the luxury of hedging his bets. And that's the guy who for damn sure knows how to play his cards.  And since I have no other metaphors to mix, I will close by saying feel free to use this argument with any undecided friends of yours because even though there is a level of facetiousness and whimsy to it, it's really kinda true.

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Lite Pop: The (Old) Girl Can't Help It

This will be brief, because it is filled with shame. The shame of guilty pleasure. But I can no longer contain it -- I must share it and let it fly free, because perhaps then I can let it go. I watch "Dancing With The Stars" and have since season two (believe it or not, we are not at the shame part yet). But never have I enjoyed a season or contestant more than right now. In case you don't know, Cloris Leachman (of "The Last Picture Show," "Mary Tyler Moore" and "Phyllis" fame) is one of the celebrity dancers this year, and at 82, the oldest to ever compete on the show.

I never thought anything would top the embarrassing-but-real anticipation of one-legged Heather Mills' prosthetic popping off in Season 5 (it never did, but she did keel over once) but oh my, how it has been topped. (Insert aforementioned shame here.) Cloris Leachman is completely insane and her dances are beyond Billy Ray Cyrus horrible but THEY ARE SO ENTERTAINING! With her archangel of a partner Corky Ballas, Cloris is SHAKING HER TA TAS:

WHO NEEDS AN AARP CARD WHEN YOU'VE GOT THESE?

STICKING HER LEG ON THE JUDGES' TABLE:

BRUNO THE JUDGE, NECROPHILIAC-IN-TRAINING

GETTING HER BOOTY SLAPPED:

SO WRONG, BUT SO WHAT?

and this week in the middle of her "jive" to "The Girl Can't Help It" she even GETS HER WIG YANKED OFF AFTER SMELLING CORKY'S FARTS. Oh yes, you read right. Farts. Proof that I am not kidding? Click below: 

http://video.aol.com/video/get-wiggy-with-it-dancing-with-the-stars/2269230/?icid=VIDURVENT04

Fortunately, Cloris is in on the joke (my conscience won't let me think otherwise), so even when she rambles semi-coherently to the judges and the camera, you can tell she is just doing her best to entertain. And because of said entertainment value (low-brow and wacky as it may be) it's the first time I've ever considered picking up the phone to vote. Click below if you need another taste of the shame/hilarity (this is after her first dance):

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=cloris+leachman+dancing+with+the+stars&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-501-s&fr2=tab-img&tnr=21&vid=000199692733

WIGGIN' OUT!

So, if you are looking for a jaw-dropping controlled car crash to watch next Monday, tune in to ABC at 8pm to check out the latest stylings of the incomparable Cloris. Phyllis Diller, gird your girdles -- there's a new octogenarian clown in town!

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A Sacred Institution Between Two Unwilling Teenagers

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

Y'all know what I'm referring to, right? The third in the most-awesome series of SNL political spoofs ever? You know -- the Joe Biden/Sarah Palin debate parody from Saturday night.  Tina Fey and gang were on fire and never did they shine more brightly than with the single line above.  If you want to catch the full context, watch the video above.  It will show you the whole segment but if you just want to hear the line (the whole sentence is actually "I believe marriage is meant to be a sacred institution between two unwilling teenagers") scroll about six minutes in.

The reason the above joke/sentiment made me laugh out loud and almost damn-near cheer my TV (it got the most live-audience applause, too) is because I can't stand that neither the republicans NOR DEMOCRATS will support gay marriage.  I'm not so sure about Palin or McCain, but I know Obama and Biden know better -- two men so knowledgeable about history and civil rights have to know how unfair it is to deny ANY citizen ANY right.  But they choose to pander because they feel they can't risk the political backlash in so close a race. Though I rarely start a sentence with the following because I feel it is reductive, I can't help it in this case. As a black person (that's the sentence starter right there), it is unconscionable to me to ever deny any law-abiding citizen the right to participate in any government-sanctioned activity.  I think about voting rights, property rights, housing rights, hell, even marriage rights (first for blacks -- the broom jump developed because it wasn't legal for slaves to marry -- and interracial marriages were illegal until 1967) and in every case, the people who wanted them were denied such rights because the majority perceived them as "less than."

So they can say all they want about tolerance and "a civil union is just the same" -- but it's not.  It is NOT the same.  Does 1896's Plessy vs. Ferguson "separate but equal" ring a bell for anyone?  Or that it had to be undone fifty-eight years later by Brown v. the Board of Ed? (I didn't even fact check the dates -- they have been seared in my brain since high school because they've always struck a deep chord with me.) Come on, people, let's spare ourselves the decades-long anguish over this and do the right thing now.  Does it make any sense to you that two "oops, we got pregnant" teenagers who don't even want it can get all the rights and legal protections of marriage?  That prisoners like Erik Menendez who murdered his parents can get married?  But good, loving people like my friends Ray Lancon and Sara Washington (I've been feeling your recent pain over this one, girl) can't? If that's not calling somebody "less than," I don't know what is.

California Voters -- No on Prop. 8. Voting any other way says you are against liberty and justice for all. This is not my opinion, this is fact. And it is also a fact that those against gay marriage will be proven wrong and one day gay marriage will be as commonplace as seeing a woman vote (an abomination in 1919) or a black person in a public swimming pool (cause for a lynching before the 60s). 

Okay, so... this is a screed as well as Deep Pop.  But we still love it.

April 7, 2009 UPDATE:  As everyone knows, Obama/Biden captured the White House on November 4, 2008, shattering a ceiling most felt would take several more generations to break through.  But even with that huge leap forward, California took a huge step back by passing Proposition 8.  The matter is still in the state Court of Appeals, and hopefully justice will prevail.  In happier news, Vermont and Iowa approved gay marriage this week, bringing the total of states that sanction same-sex matrimony to four (the other two are Connecticut and Massachusetts).  Four down, forty-six to go!

Lite Pop: Seat Jumpin' Classic #1

*LITE POP ALERT*  Although this website/blog is dedicated to exploring the deeper meaning in popular culture, sometimes you can love something just because, well, it makes your eyes pop.  Or your ass move.  So every once in a while, we are going to write shorter pieces about such.  Hence, "Lite Pop."  Here's a piece originally posted on Facebook:

I don't know if this will become a regular, but I threw a #1 on the title just in case. In my never-ending effort to get rid of all of the crap and clutter I've accumulated since high school (left L.A. with four boxes, came back from college with thirty four and they've been making babies ever since), I'm paring down my super-sizeable record/CD/tape collection. Still on the CDs... going through those early mix-CDs made with .WAV files (remember those behemoths?), trying to see what I can trash. I'm not as sentimental about the CD mixes -- the tapes though, those are going to hurt. Maybe because they took so much planning and effort and you had one take to get it right. So when they came out well, they were like gold. But the CDs? Eh, just reshuffle your playlist and burn again while you drink a latte -- no real time, hours-long commitment.

Perhaps as a result of the ease of CD-mixing, a lot of my CD mixes aren't that good. So on my way home from Whole Foods, I was confident I could trash the one I was listening to. I had all the cuts on iTunes and I could definitely get some better sequencing going than the hodgepodge of Ashanti's "Foolish" (so of its time, the song bores me now) to the Blow Monkeys' "Digging Your Scene" (still love that 80s underplayed classic) to Blu Cantrell's "Hit Em Up Style" that so didn't work. A few more late 90s/early 00's cuts played (Ja Rule, you are off the hip hop map for good reason) but then -- BAM! The horns and drums from Kool Moe Dee's "I Go To Work" kicked in and I was literally jumping in my seat. I know most people love Moe Dee's "Wild Wild West" or "How You Like Me Now" but "I Go To Work" has never failed to make me want to move my body. But now it makes my mind explode too because the lyrics and phrasing are so intricate, propulsive and creative. In my opinion, it's probably his best rap ever. It's great conceptually, rhythmically, musically -- it hits on all cylinders and is a true hip-hop classic -- it would definitely be on my top 10 all-time hip hop song list. Hell, that song is so good it not only makes me want to boogie or write my own rhyme -- it makes me want to exercise! Trust me, that's GOOD.

Kool-Ass Kool Moe Dee

I'm still gonna trash the mix CD, but it was such a nice surprise and reminder of how good songs can be that you haven't heard in a while and how revisiting the past can make you appreciate certain things you may have missed the first time around. So even though the clutter and the crap absolutely have to hit the bricks, sometimes there are benefits to sifting through slowly. Perhaps I have found my anti-clutter theme song? I'll put it on next time I'm trashing things, see if it helps and let you know. 

LLH out.

Lite Pop. We Like It.

Pregnant With Juno Schadenfreude

Has it happened to you?  Has something or someone in popular culture driven you nuts?  Not the garden variety “This song is horrible, when will they stop playing it?” nuts (R.I.P. “Macarena”!), but the anaphylactic shock “This person/thing is making me irrationally angry and sick and I want him/her/it to fail fail fail” nuts?  Well, it’s happened to me, twice, each time with other female writers.  Want to take one guess why?  No, you're right, you don't have to, you already know why -- jealousy.

The first time it happened was in 2005 when “Grey’s Anatomy” debuted and became a monster hit for ABC.  I knew immediately why I was peeved -- the creator of the show, Shonda Rhimes, was having the career I wished I had.  Our paths first intersected in 1998 -- I was a Vice President of Production at Twentieth Century Fox and bought a movie pitch from her a shortly before I summoned up the guts to quit my suit gig and become what I beheld -- a writer.  That particular project went nowhere, but soon thereafter, Rhimes wrote the lauded HBO movie “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge” (which won Halle Berry a Golden Globe), the Britney Spears debut (read: debacle) “Crossroads” (the DVD commentary by Shonda and director Tamra Davis, however, revealed the creative intentions behind it were as good as the acting was bad) and “Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.”  (Okay, at this point, you may be wondering, "What’s with the “Juno” poster?  This is all about Lori hating on Shonda Rhimes."  But truly, it’s not.  I’ll get to the “Juno” of it all in a moment, promise.)

Shonda Rhimes, from the start, was an obvious talent -- her unproduced script, “When Willows Touch,” was her calling card to Hollywood and a lovely piece of writing -- so B.G. (Before “Grey’s”), her successes made me cheer her on from a distance because she deserved them.  But as soon as she blew up in television -- the medium of writing where I had the most traction and she had no previous experience -- I found my eyes quickly transmuting from brown to green.  Not only was she becoming the most successful black female show runner ever in terms of audience and ratings, she was doing it the way I wanted to -- without race pigeonholing her casting or her subject matter.  

I was envious of her and angry with myself.  I’d known Shonda all those years ago -- why hadn't I nurtured or protected that relationship?  If I had, would I be riding the zeitgeist to writer heaven (awards, fat development deals, syndication), too?  But these "If I'd only stayed in touch with her" moments were cracker barrel, too.  I’m not a good networker, never have been and hindsight hasn’t changed that.  I realized, in my saner moments, the negativity, self-directed or otherwise, was coming from my ego and had nothing personally to do with Shonda.  Bottom line?  I was coveting what Shonda had and, like a fiend, wanted it to be mine.  I couldn’t even watch “Grey’s” the first season it aired, even though it was right up my TV alley -- soapy and sarcastic with super-verbal characters and underpinnings of good intention.  Who willfully ignores such affinity for a self-created world of isolation and delusion?  Say it with me, folks -- a fiend!  A jealous fiend!

SHOULDA BEEN ME, NOT SHONDA!!

Fortunately Oprah helped me break through my cloud of envy -- she anointed Shonda and “Grey’s Anatomy” on an “Oprah” episode and who am I to dismiss the teachings of the great and powerful Oprah?  So I started watching (and enjoying) “Grey’s Anatomy.”  Good thing, too, because shortly thereafter, I saw Rhimes at a Writer’s Guild function for NAACP Image Award nominees (my husband Warren was a nominee for his work on “The Bernie Mac Show”).  During a break, I approached Shonda, reintroduced myself and congratulated her on her career.  Facing my demons like this not only did a world of good for my peace of mind, but as the words came from my mouth I realized they were, in fact, the truth.  In my heart I wished Shonda well and knew her success was my success.  Shonda thanked me and asked me what I was up to.  I told her I was writing on a show called “All of Us.”  She then told me to call her for lunch, implying she might be needing some writers soon.

  

I called her office that Monday -- our lunch became breakfast and then got rescheduled four times before her assistant called and said Shonda’s schedule was too hectic and he would call me back when time opened up.  Translation?  GRAB A MUFFIN AND SOME STARBUCKS BY YOURSELF, HONEY, BECAUSE IT AIN’T HAPPENING WITH SHONDA.  Which, oddly, was fine by me.  My conscience was clear -- I had done the right thing -- I had taken “right action,” put my ego in check and followed up on a friendly offer for a meal.  That it didn’t happen was not on me and I could only wish Shonda well.  (By the by, we are careening toward the “Juno” connection in the next two paragraphs -- for real this time.)

About a year after the unrequited lunch, I got a jubilant call from my agent saying the Shonda Rhimes camp wanted to meet with me.  (My agent’s genuine disbelief at my ability to score such a meeting over so many other well-seasoned and better-credited writers made me chuckle -- I guess my unproduced screenplays, short-lived series and UPN/CW gigs make me a hard bag of goods to sell out there on the mean streets of Tinseltown.)  She informed me Shonda was doing a spin-off of “Grey’s” called “Private Practice” and Marti Noxon (the marvelous writer/executive producer from “Buffy, The Vampire Slayer” who, coincidentally, was an old poker buddy) would be running it.  The seeds of good karma were finally being sown -- Shonda hadn't forgotten me and was offering me something much better than a meal -- a chance at a career-changing job.

THE GOLDEN TICKET?

The meeting went well (at least I thought it did) with Shonda, Marti and executive producer Betsy Beers (a connection there too -- I was a writer’s assistant on “True Colors,” an early-90s Fox TV show on which her ex-hubby was a producer), but I didn’t get hired.  I felt bad about it for a while but when I thought about why I was feeling bad, I realized it was my stupid ego again -- I felt bad because I thought I should feel bad, not because I really did feel bad.  My life had changed so much by then -- I’d just given birth to a son who had several medical issues and the guilt of possibly leaving him for full-time work was already plaguing me.  Also, my awareness about the fleeting nature of things like the popularity of television shows had expanded to the point where the part of me that was not my ego was beyond the rejection the moment my agent told me I didn’t get the job.  When I looked at the situation for what it was, I saw I’d had the opportunity to spend half an hour with three seriously-talented, successful women, we weren't meant to work together at that time, and hey, guess what, there was no pen or paper shortage -- I could still write.

So after going through all of that, thinking I’d conquered jealousy and filled my professional heart with benevolent good will, imagine my shock when the same exact feelings -- more intense and more irrational this time -- surfaced around “Juno” and its writer, Diablo Cody.  I didn’t even have a personal connection to this writer and I certainly (until “Juno”) didn’t want her career.  I first came across the Diablo Cody phenomenon when I read an article in Entertainment Weekly about her rise from stripper to blogger to screenwriter with a super-hot project at Fox Searchlight (“Juno”), a TV project with Steven Spielberg (“The United States of Tara”) and a column in the very magazine I was reading (the only other guest writer EW employs is Steven King -- mighty high cotton for The Little Stripper That Could to shimmy in, one might -- and did -- think).

I was immediately disgusted with myself -- why was this happening again?  What did Diablo ever do to me?  Nothing -- except maybe get a movie project made at the company where I once had three.  The script I had at Searchlight dearest to my heart, the character-based romantic comedy “The Facts About Kate,” had long been dead, but clearly my emotions around it weren’t.  In development since 2000, “Kate” had gotten as close to becoming a movie as most movies that don’t become movies ever get:  the awesomely awesome Forest Whitaker was attached to produce, stylish and soulful up-and-comer Kwyn Bader was hired to direct, Sanaa Lathan (of “Brown Sugar,” “Disappearing Acts,” and “Raisin In The Sun” fame) was offered the lead with start dates in mind, and Peter Rice, then President, now King of Searchlight, told me he was going to make the movie -- in front of a witness not directly under his employ, no less.  But after several stops and starts “Kate” fell apart in 2004, and then the other “almost movie” I worked on for Searchlight, “Fast Girls,” was given the greenlight... twice... but went all red light in 2006.   So in 2007, when I read the story of the ease of how “Juno” went from script to screen at Searchlight, what I felt went beyond jealousy, beyond envy.  I wanted “Juno” to go down.  I wanted Schadenfreude.

As the Rolling Stones famously put it however, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”  Especially when a multi-billion dollar corporation is marketing the hell out of and the public is eating up what you want to sink down the drain and become as forgotten as the Sacagawea dollar.  Instead, the joke was on me -- “Juno” exploded at the box office and went on to major critical acclaim, Golden Globe and Oscar nominations, and, curse of all curses! -- an Oscar nomination for Diablo Cody her own damn self.  Was my spite going to make me boycott the Academy Awards, my own personal Super Bowl (I haven't missed them since fifth grade when Dustin Hoffman won for "Kramer vs. Kramer" and made the funny speech where he thanked his parents for getting busy), just so I wouldn't have to see "Juno" and Diablo strut off with the gold?

Right before the Oscars aired, I had a serendipitous lunch in old Hollywood with my old friend Teddy.  We got to talking about movies (we’re both writers and that fall had received more free screeners from the studios than ever -- ironic since we were on strike at the time) and Teddy asked me if I’d seen “Juno” yet.  I admitted the truth to him: I couldn’t bring myself to watch “Juno” because of my irrational feelings towards it and Diablo Cody.  Teddy smiled knowingly, laughed to himself, then spiritedly said, “She’s your nemesis!”  I balked, saying how could Diablo Cody be my nemesis, I don’t even know her!  Teddy replied that it didn’t matter if I knew her because she was an archetype -- someone who symbolized all of the negativity, hatred, jealousy, pettiness, etc. that I had within me.  This bit of unexpected wisdom floored me.  I couldn’t see the complete truth of it in the moment, but what I glimpsed made me realize I needed to deal with the issue right away.  Teddy then mentioned a song from the musical “Avenue Q” called “Schadenfreude” he thought I should check out.  He said it talked about how wishing misfortune on others actually makes the world a better place.  I told him I’d get to it, but first things first.  I had to watch “Juno” that night.  Because I couldn’t let myself be that crazy.

Well, it turns out I was okay with letting myself be that crazy because it took me a few more days to suck it up and watch “Juno.”  I knew I would feel even worse if it was bad, because then, in my mind, my petty ill will would be justified.  Thankfully, “Juno” turned out to be, in my opinion, a very good movie with excellent acting, directing and characterization.  Yes, a lot of the dialogue was stylized, but as I intimated when talking about “Grey’s Anatomy,” I dig that.  Yes, if the tone had been off a hair it would have been a disaster.  But it wasn’t and the movie really, really worked for me and I got why it connected with so many people.  It was fresh, quirky, uplifting and life-affirming.  And that ending duet between Ellen Page and Michael Cera of that Moldy Peaches song just killed me.  So when I watched Cody walk up to accept her Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, I actually felt happy for her.  She seemed genuinely pleased and humbled by the occasion and thanked her family in a way that was charming and heartfelt.

But even as I made my peace with "Juno" and Diablo, I felt uneasy.  What Teddy said was still with me.  Would my darker side always seek out an archetype through which to express itself?  What new form of popular culture would emerge and unleash the beast within?   And what if next time the material wasn’t of quality and my sense of “what’s good is good” wouldn’t allow me to quell the nastiness?  Or maybe there was no way to quell it -- perhaps I should just take solace in the progress I’d made -- it took me much less time to kick my Cody jones than my Rhimes one.  

And then it hit me -- perhaps this was yet another deep function of popular culture -- to reflect and reveal not only the best within us but also the worst.  If we can face the weaknesses mirrored back to us via pop movies, television, music, artists, etc. instead of hide, resist or succumb to them, we can transform them into compassion and a higher consciousness -- the kind that can release us from the inherent folly of human nature.  Simply put, acceptance of my untoward feelings would be the only way for them to dissipate.  With this in mind, I recalled Teddy’s suggestion and downloaded “Schadenfreude” from “Avenue Q” on iTunes.

From first listen, "Schadenfreude" made me laugh out loud -- of course it was all about acceptance of our own nature, bad, good or otherwise.  On its surface the song may seem overly clever and snide but really, it’s a celebration of the thoughts and feelings we all have and must acknowledge before we can overcome them.  “Schadenfreude” as a piece of music also manages to be blissfully snappy, so as we listen and identify with it, we not only get to feel good about having bad feelings, we get to hum a few bars, too!  Just like “Grey’s” and “Juno,” this song got me to take some looks within I might not have bothered to otherwise.  It almost makes me look forward to my next bout of ego-driven lunacy, so it can dissolve from say, the size of an Oscar to say, the size of a Sacagawea dollar.  Which I would then forget about altogether because who ever thinks of a Sacagawea dollar?  In fact, hmmm... Tina Fey... how YOU doin'?  I've already got child care lined up so I can check for you in "Baby Mama," Homeslice.  Like seriously, Meredith...

Deep Pop.  We love it.

The New World Oprah

In all fairness, I have to begin by saying I love Oprah.  I drink the "O"-flavored Kool Aid regularly and I love the taste.  So what you are about to read is admittedly biased because I believe what Oprah has been doing, particularly in the past five years with her show, her media empire and her life, is nothing short of awesome.  And I don't mean that in a "Whoa, dude, check out Oprah, she's awesome!" kind of way, but literally -- for me, Oprah inspires awe.  From launching a magazine devoted to helping people "live their best lives," to an XM satellite radio network with the same conceit, to building an Academy to educate young women in South Africa, to her new television network, to launching the ABC reality show "The Big Give" where people win by giving to others -- one would think that Oprah has done it all.  Well, it turns out Oprah is just getting started.  

Oprah's latest, and perhaps greatest awe-inspiring feat happened just a few nights ago when she hosted a live, ninety-minute, free, worldwide webcast discussing Eckhart Tolle's latest book (and Oprah's current book club selection) "A New Earth: Awakening To Your Life's Purpose."  I picked the book up as soon as she announced the ten-week class (a pop culture happening, in my opinion, not to be missed), and "good student" I believe myself to be, went online and I reserved my "seat" in class, downloaded my Chapter One Workbook (Professor Oprah does not play -- she gives us homework!) and began to read the book, even though all I knew about it was that Oprah said it wasn't a typical pick for her.

The title of the book intrigued me (who doesn't want to awaken to their life's purpose, or at least check to see if they've got it right?), but it didn't give me a clear understanding of its contents.  I thought the book would be akin to a Dr. Phil-ish experience -- it would annoy me then help me see what's dysfunctional in my life so in the future I could make better choices.  But from the first page, when Tolle writes about the first flowers on the planet and how they had no purpose other than to be messengers from the spiritual realm, I realized "A New Earth" was going to offer so much more than a bald Texan in a bad suit.  Oprah had picked a "deep" book, a "new age" book, a (dare I say it?) "spiritual" book.  

As I read on, the book immediately moved me.  It was reminding me of everything I have been learning over the past few years through personal experience or through Taoism, the spiritual path I am currently exploring.  The coolest ideas to me in "A New Earth" were these: 1)the idea of God/the universe/ consciousness as an absolute truth with the different paths towards it being secondary (Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, etc.) and 2)the identification of the individual ego and the collective ego as the culprits behind dysfunction, destruction and madness.  The first idea is pretty clear but the second is a bit esoteric, which is why it takes Tolle some 300 pages to explain it.  

The bottom line, as I understand it, is that when we make our thoughts our identity and value things and ideas over our inner god/spirit, we get out of whack in our personal and collective lives.  Tolle gives examples of this by citing, on the personal level, anger, anxiety, depression, guilt and the like.  On the collective level, wars, murders, genocides -- all justified by the "you're wrong and I'm right" mentality needed by the ego to survive.  I'm sorry if this is even more confusing -- I only mention it to give a glimpse into what the book talks about and why it was such a daring choice for Oprah to put out there to her legion. 

 

So anyway, Monday night, I'm all ready with my Chapter 1 workbook, my pen (plus several extras) and I log in, "take my seat" early (still in "good student" mode) and watch celebrity testimonials, Oprah clips, and promos from sponsors Chevy and Post-It.  Class begins with a big close-up on Oprah.  She looks tired, but excited.  Sitting across from her on the ethereal, white-and beige colored set is author Eckhart Tolle.  

As Oprah keeps talking my mother Joyce (who I turned on to the book) arrives when I imagine all the cool kids do, a few minutes after the "bell" rings.  She sits and watches with me.  The first question Oprah is asked via interactive computer phone system Skype (another sponsor) is from a woman who wants to know how to reconcile Tolle's ideas (which draw from Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism as well as the Bible) with her Catholic faith and wants to know how Oprah reconciles them with her faith.  Oprah, not realizing the question was going to be directed to her, admits to thinking she'd be able to take a rest, but quickly snaps to attention and answers. 

On her daily show, Oprah has spoken about being raised in the church, but always seemed to steer clear of definitively labeling herself as a practicing Christian.  Well, that day has passed because not only did Oprah identify herself as Christian, she also proclaimed to a world-wide audience that she does not believe "Jesus Christ came here to start Christianity."  Wow!!  Officially, this class was now dynamite.  And not in the J.J. Evans "Dy-no-mite!" way, but the "this is explosive, blowing up the box" way. Oprah officially transcended from well-meaning talk show host to ersatz webevangelist.

Taken out of context, I can see people having a field day with Oprah's Jesus statement and her later statement that "God can't be contained in a church."  But what she was saying (in context) was that Christ's purpose on earth was to show people "Christ consciousness" -- how to be awake and present in the world and how to tap into the Christ within.  She also mentioned a few books ("The Seeker's Guide" by Elizabeth Lesser and "Discover The Power Within You" by Eric Butterworth) that helped her reconcile her Baptist teachings ("Old Spirituality") with non-church based teachings ("New Spirituality") like Tolle's.

Coincidentally it was around this time, as Oprah got a call from a Baptist in Germany, that my feed started stuttering and stammering as if it were 1969 and Oprah was broadcasting from the moon.  When I clicked on the "if you have problems with this webcast" link, the whole thing crashed.  I re-entered the class several times over the next forty minutes, but only got glitchy images, then two-second sound bites that were impossible to follow.  Eventually the web geeks managing the site apologized on the main page for the technical difficulties and encouraged people to come back tomorrow (Tuesday) to watch the video on Oprah.com or download it through iTunes.  I did the latter and just finished watching it in its entirety before I started this blog.

Other highlights from the class were Oprah saying everyone blames the media and movies for negativity but she thinks they are a cultural reflection of where we are as human beings.  She then said look at the movies nominated for Oscars this year -- that tells you where we are.  I don't think Oprah was trying to rag on the filmmakers but in a way she seemed to agree that movies do play into the collective psyche and ego.  She then turned to Tolle and prompted him to quote from his book where he says humans are the only species who watch violence for entertainment.   Will these comments make it harder for Oprah to host her Oscar party next year?  Prevent certain studios from having their stars appear on her show?  Answer:  OPRAH DOESN'T CARE.  

Oprah also had one of her signature "A-ha" moments as she reveled in the coolness of the technology that was allowing her to host the event.  She said she realized the acceleration of technology could accelerate the destruction of mankind if we don't "wake up" to our consciousness.  Tolle confirmed this and quoted from his book about the destruction in the 20th century and all that can be accomplished in the 21st if the collective ego continues to go unchecked.  Did Oprah alienate her technology sponsors with this commentary?  Answer:  OPRAH DOESN'T CARE.  Oprah ended the class on a note of enthusiasm, clapping her hands together gleefully with anticipation for next week's class which will focus primarily on the ego.  

So, in sum, what is so "deep" and "pop" about all of that?  Well, it's pop because Oprah's anointment of this book shot it to the top of every bookseller's list and it has now shipped 3.5 million copies.  It's also an interactive, worldwide event (free live or for download!) that I suspect will only grow in audience over the next nine weeks.  It's "deep" (besides the "deepness" of the subject matter) because Oprah has, with this bold act, made the intention behind her popularity clear: she is using it to awaken people to their consciousness (i.e. "the God within") and thus has positioned herself as our nation's (and planet's?) newest (and perhaps most powerful) spiritual leader.  No wonder Oprah doesn't want to be the President -- to paraphrase Prince, she'd rather be the Pope!  Not in the ring-and-mitre sense, but in the sense that she wants to lead the masses from all corners of Earth to God.  

Oprah no longer cares if she alienates her audience, religious leaders or her sponsors -- not because she is too rich to care (even though she is) but because she is on a mission, and over the web on Monday, that was obvious.  Oprah, ever inclusive, made a point of saying she does not believe Christianity is the only way to God, but that there are several paths to God with six billion people on Earth.  She also affirmed you don't have to give up your current belief system to achieve the kind of spirituality she's touting, and that Tolle isn't trying to be your next guru.  Oprah shot Tolle a quick look when she said this, then moments later asked him point blank if he wanted to be a guru.  He said no and sort of laughed.  Perhaps because he knew he was in the presence of our latest one?  Stay tuned... I know I will.  

Deep Pop.  We love it.