Droll Vampires, Bubble Gum Pop, A Hard Day's Night


 Hello. How are you? I hope you are getting along okay. January can be a challenging month, interminably long, dark, and cold. I hope you are able to find moments of contentment amidst the chaos and stressors of day to day life. The sun is staying out a little longer each day. We just need to hang in there.

When I need an antidote to the winter blahs, I  gravitate to breezy pop melodies, preferably with a smattering  of new wave sparkle added to the mix. Every little bit helps. And, as they say, you can take the girl from the eighties but, well, YOU KNOW.

Whether you like Charly Bliss, a bouncy, Brooklyn based indie-pop band, may depend on whether you are averse to an overabundance of  hot pink tulle, golden balloons, glitter, and Eva Hendrik's candy-coated, Betty Boop inflected, vocal stylings. I  am going all in. (remember what I said about being an 80s girl?). After all, who DOESN'T want and need a little added colour in their lives right now?   

The  keyboard riffs on "At Capacity"' the opening salvo of this mini concert, are, for this listener, euphoria inducing, and the primary reason I chose to share this particular Tiny Desk this week.  The energy of the performers uplifted me vicariously and, these days, I take my happiness where I can get it.

If a band creates one perfect  pop song during its tenure, it is a laudable achievement. Hopefully Charly Bliss will continue to collaborate, juxtaposing dark off-kilter confessionals and buoyant melodies.

Here you go:


Disney has procured What We Do in the Shadows, a TV series based on the movie of the same title.  W.W.D.I.T.S the movie, released in 2014, quickly amassed a cult following. It endures as one of my favourite comedies.  

The series shares the same DNA as the film as its creators, Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, are involved in writing and producing the TV show.  Pop culture has always loved its vampires but typically in the form of brooding melodramas. W.W.D.I.T.S, upends monster cliches with liberal doses of deadpan humour and inspired silliness. It helps that the cast is populated by a cadre talented comedians. If low-key comedy is your jam, you might very well like it.




Search Party (HBO Max)'s  is back for another zany season and, this time, the creators are ratcheting up the weirdness. Posted below is a review of this dark comedy/ersatz murder mystery.  The first two seasons are particularly captivating . The great Louie Anderson played a supporting role and he was sublime  Sadly he  passed away recently. WARNING: If you watch this show, you will never look at a pancake the same way again. 

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/may/19/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-review-the-undead-prove-dead-funny


I like The Beatles, but  I did go through a phase where I erroneously dismissed the band  because I was weary of rhetoric about the sixties being the "best decade" (everyone who grew up in the 1970s was bludgeoned by this mantra). I am not proud I was so obtuse. After all, things that are good are good.

Watching Peter Jackson's documentary series, Get Back, rekindled my interest in the Fab Four.  I revisited A Hard Day's Night and I was dazzled by the movie's inventiveness and I was buoyed up the breezy insouciance of Paul, George, John and Ringo.  

Here is a  review from Roger Ebert, who placed A Hard Day's Night among the pantheon of great movies.  The movie deservedly belongs there.

A Hard Day's Night is available from Criterion or, if you reside in Victoria, you can rent the movie from the folks at Pic A Flic Video.

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-a-hard-days-night-1964

Trailer here:


That is all for now folks.  Have a great week! xx  









Comments

  1. Steve Bailey (NEOS)3 February 2022 at 07:27

    Hmmm, I hope I didn't contribute to your dismissal of the Beatles with my constant complaining about anything and everything associated with the baby boom generation. Jealousy or clarity - you decide! :o) I too am warming up to the Beatles 50 years or so after the rest of the world, but I still can't stand titles like "best band ever" no matter who they're bestowed upon.

    Thanks for posting the Charly Bliss tiny desk. The recorded version of "Capacity" really, really sounds like Metric - WHIS IS GREAT - though singer Eva Hendricks has a much more buoyant stage persona than Emily Haines. Fun stuff!

    Enjoying W.W.D.I.T.S more and more as the first season progresses. I never thought I'd say this but Disney is fast becoming my go to streaming service.

    Thanks for the weekly dose of culture curation. Love you!

    ReplyDelete

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