Sound Tracks
This category is self-explanatory. This contains both classic and new sound tracks. Music I feel may be worthy of your ear!
Song: Maniac
Artist: Michael Sembello
Album: Flashdance (1983)
Genre: Dance
Wow! Talk about a ?hot? & hairy muscle bear! *Cough* *Cough* Anyway…. The 80s were filled with all types of muscle bears everywhere, and they were not afraid to show-off their hairy chest ?. Today, it appears that hairy chests are viewed as “unsightly,” and many men are encouraged to shave their chest hairs off ?. Could you imagine? Being made to feel ashamed of part of what makes a guy a man? Oh, brother! I digress! Anywayzzz.. When you think of the 80s…….. Does anyone think of Michael Sembello anymore? In terms of music, Michael Sembello was a “jack of all trades! Not only does he play several instruments, he is an incredible songwriter!
His Music Instantly Takes Me Back To The Dance Movie Craze Of The 80s!
Unfortunately, despite Michael’s talents, he was a “1 hit wonder” I have to say. It’s so disappointing when you hear the talent in an artist, and they just don’t get the overall recognition they deserve. Although, in Michael’s case, in my opinion he unfortunately fell in to a producer’s box that many talents are put in by the music industry. In other words, when Michael gave us his first and only massive hit, “Maniac (1983),” (by the way, he also co-wrote) the industry expected him to give us that same type of hits. “Maniac,” reached #1 in the U.S., #2 in Australia, and #6 in Germany. “Maniac,” was one of many songs selected to be on the “Flashdance Sound Track.” I think that the combination of “Maniac,” and Irene Cara’s “What A Feeling,” made the movie even more popular. Although, the entire album was great from beginning to end.
Was Michael Musically Typecasted?! ?
You know, sometimes I wonder if it’s possible to be “musically typecasted,” in the same way that many actors have been? It must hit musicians harder (I would imagine), because at least if you’re a well known actor, most have acquired the power to say no to certain roles. However, when you’re a songwriter, it’s impossible to know if something will become a hit, and if that hit could cause the industry to pigeonhole you into category of songwriters. The good thing is tho….. According to Spotify, he has roughly a little over 3M listeners a month. Not sure what the other streaming services are pulling in for him. But, that’s pretty good for a one hit wonder, and considering the fact that no one really speaks his name anymore. Have you heard of Baggallini bags before? They’re a little on the expensive side, but their really nicely designed. Check them out here.
Song: Various Songs
Artist: Various Artists
Album: Good Feeling Of The Big Chill Generation (1985)
Genre: Soul
Wow, I didn’t realize it’s been ages since I’ve put together a playlist for you guys. Well, this album was pretty much inspired by “The Big Chill Movie Sound Track.” Remember that movie? Let me tell you, “The Big Chill (1983),” not only became a cult classic, the sound track was amazing! The sound track was jammed packed with the most popular classic sounds!! The music that was chosen for this movie was so good, when I first watched this movie, I almost couldn’t pay attention to the movie, cause all I could think about was the music I didn’t hear for a long time! ?
I have the original sound track on cassette, but I didn’t know about what appears to be some sort of second “extended” album? It’s called “More Songs From The Original Soundtrack Of The Big Chill 15th Anniversary (1984).” Keep in mind that the Internet wasn’t even widely known about back then. So, as far as I knew, I had the one and only sound track on cassette. By the way, there are a lot of great hits on that album as well!
Many of the songs on today’s featured album are truly indeed obscure by today’s standards I guess. However, to people from my age group this music still feels like yesterday! In total, my playlist consists of 12 amazing original recordings. Unfortunately, about half of these Motown recordings have been forgotten. However, in this particular case, I think they’ve been forgotten not because the music was mediocre; I actually think it was because other huge hits these same artists had over shadowed the music on this album.
Some of those forgotten gems include “The Happening,” by The Supremes. To my understanding this was actually #1 Top 100 Chart in 1967. Another forgotten gem is by Mary Wells, called “You Beat Me To The Punch.” That was an amazing song by her, unfortunately, I think her other hit “My Guy” was so huge, it just destroyed people’s memory of “You Beat Me To The Punch.” And then there’s “Hitch Hike (1963),” by Marvin Gaye. When it comes to Marvin Gaye’s music, “Hitch Hike” is as obscure as it comes. I doubt a whole lot of people remember it. Well, I hope you guys enjoy this playlist. it’s one of my favorite classic albums. Just FYI, one of the songs on this sound track was not by Motown. Can you guess which ones? ? If you want to hear the first original sound track, it’s here.
In celebration of it’s final season, I thought it would be a great idea to share Spotify’s playlist. I’m not quite sure if these songs are actually on the final season, or they’ve been inspired by the upcoming final season. I’m pretty sure since everything has been so hush hush about the show, it’s inspired music rather than the actual soundtrack. In any event, here it is the Game Of Thrones playlist. Enjoy.
I wasn’t really sure if I should write about today’s artist because music really wasn’t his “calling.” Well, at least when we look at his movie roster, clearly he was meant to be more of an actor than a singer. The late, legendary Patrick Swayze, was a phenomenally talented actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, and I think choreographer too. Although I can’t find anything confirming that he was a choreographer; somehow, something tells me that he was a huge influence in the movie “Dirty Dancing (1987).” About the beginning of the 1990s, People Magazine voted Patrick “The Most Sexiest Man Alive.”
Patrick has had a pretty successful acting career. Playing in very popular and successful movies such as Ghost (1990), Roadhouse (1989), To Wong Foo (1995), and of course, Dirty Dancing (1987). You may not like all his movies, however, it is very clear he was a phenomenal actor in his own right. He was a rare breed in that, he was one of the very few that could say he was talented in every aspect of the entertainment business.
I estimate between 2007 & 2009, Swayze, confirmed to his fans that he indeed was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It was heartbreaking seeing this once incredibly handsome man, have the life literally sucked out of him by cancer. Pancreatic cancer is no joke at all. Like many artists who learn they are terminally ill, they continue working. Around the time of his diagnosis, he was working on the first season of a new TV cop show called “The Beast (2009).” That same year in 2009, after the first season was complete, Patrick passed away.
As far as I can tell, when it comes to music, Patrick has only released one song in his entire career. That one song hit #3 on the Top 100 Charts. It was from the “Dirty Dancing” and it’s called “She’s Like The Wind (1987).” Now, this song is probably way too mellow for most people today. However, it’s a beautiful love song that thrusts you right back to the eighties! I really would have loved to hear more songs from Patrick. I think he would have had a huge music career, just as much as his acting.
Immediately off the back, let me start off by saying I have NOT seen the new movie “A Star Is Born (2018).” However, IMDB has a rating of 8.2, and Rotten Tomatoes has an audience score of 81! That’s quite impressive. I was in total shock when I saw those ratings. Well, what do you expect? I’m someone who grew up in a particular era, and I’m not highly fond of most of today’s remakes. When you’ve seen so many bad ones as I, people like me aren’t immediately enthusiastic about spending $20+ for any remake. Especially for a love story such as this one. Thank Goodness for IMDB and RT!!
IMDB Has A 8.2 Rating!
Now that I know the movie got positive responses, I’ll just have to add this movie to my IMDB list. Although, I do find it curious… Technically, since Streisand’s “A Star Is Born (1976)” actually ranked lower in comparison to Gaga’s; it does bring a little concern that younger kids are rating it higher just because Lady Gaga is in the movie. But I do know, Lady Gaga has the windpipes to pull it off!! Now before I veer off topic ? let’s talk about the sound track to the movie.
Lady Gaga Has Windpipes
There are some songs on the sound track I really liked. Gaga tore up “La Vie En Rose.” It just amazes me how a talent like that can sing a song in any language, and still convey the emotion in that song. That is not an easy thing to do with some languages, because they don’t always translate in the same way. I also love “Look What I’ve Found.” That’s a really fun song.
Bradley Cooper’s Voice
Bradley Cooper’s voice is nice too. However, I prefer listening to the songs he sang that has a folk tempo to them, such as “Maybe It’s Time.” I also loved his guitar solo called “Out Of time.” I think it’s safe to say that Bradley is a music new comer. So far the only songs I saw from him are the songs from the “Star Is Born” sound track. I hope I hear more music from him later on.
The Duets
The Duets between them were pretty cool too. “Diggin’ My Grave” is a good one. Never expected that song to be so up beat, but I didn’t see the movie yet, so I don’t know it’s context. The last duet “I’ll Never Love Again” was pretty powerful. All in all, I think it is a pretty decent album. The music is pretty diverse, well written, and a lot of emotion. Check out “A Star Is Born” sound track on Spotify.