Category: Music (Page 29 of 34)

Plea for a Cher Hit

March 26, 2009 / Cher Scholar / 0 Comments

For the past year or two, my good friend Christopher has been imploring me to escalate a very serious issue facing all of us: the fact Cher may not break the record of having a top ten hit four decades in a row.

As time flies in a surrealist painting, Cher has only months to go before the opportunity is gone. It’s panic time.

Christopher suggests that if this feat is not accomplished by a full-fledged record release producing a hit, then maybe some catchy track could be placed on a movie soundtrack post haste.

Here’s what Christopher has to say specifically:

Mary–

Here's the scoop:

As far as I can tell there are only 4 artists who have scored Top Ten hits in four consecutive decades.

Babs [Barbra Streisand] scored Top Ten songs on the Billboard Hot 100 in the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s.

Paul McCartney did so as well (as a member of The Beatles, Wings and solo). The hit from the 90s was a belatedly released Beatles track.

As you know, Cher has done so as well.

Aerosmith has pulled off a similar feat, but in the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s. I am willing to bet $$$ that Aerosmith will indeed earn another Top Ten hit in the upcoming "teens" decade, which means Cher will be left in the dust if she doesn't get her ass in gear.

Christopher

This is indeed a serious situation. Will Cher be bested by those skinny Aerosmythites? Indeed, I hope not.

Cher at Caesars: Year 2

March 26, 2009 / Cher Scholar / 1 Comment

Again, I had a good deal of fun seeing Cher live in Las Vegas a few Saturday’s ago. Her energy level seemed high and I felt and the crowd was very engaged.

I can always get a good look at the crowd from my last row seat of the orchestra floor which is the best I can ever afford.

This energy level was interesting considering everyone in the audience was older — way older -– than us. Me and my bf are 40/43 and we were the youngest people we saw all night until we moseyed on over to Pink Taco at the Hard Rock where we suddenly became the oldest people in the place. Suddenly Vegas felt very segregated.
But the oldies at the Cher show were cheerful and active all night. It was the same show for the most part. No major refurbishments (as there hasn’t been musically since 1999). There was the addition of “Love Hurts” swapped in for “The Way of Love” which was most appreciated. It was awesome in fact. She did a long American-Idol-length note at the end – really swell to hear. (I seriously love the sound in that joint.)

Cher also added “Let the Good Times Roll”, the aforementioned Caesar and Cleo song, not my favorite song and one she introduced with many disclaimers about inconsistencies in her performing; but she pulled it off nonetheless. It sounded much better than the Internet clip I'd seen.

She seemed to be having trouble with her voice all night, constantly drinking water and touching her throat; but I could only tell one moment where she cracked up a bit. The sound never dropped out.

The bf (who has broken a record here by being the only bf to attend two Cher concerts with me, and four Cher events if you include a Cher Convention dinner in LA and a San Diego’s Gay Men's Chorus Cher revue) said he felt the show was overall much tighter this year and that the acrobatics had been taken up a notch. And the acrobats had been…a notch. I felt the dancing was a little bit more synchronized. But I also wondered if that was my imagination or wishful thinking.

I sincerely loved the backup singer who did “Disco Inferno.” Again, I always love Cher’s techno-live duet with Sonny –- very moving every time for those of us who were never able to see them perform together. And I feel people don't give her Elvis impersonation (as seen in her “Walking in Memphis" video) enuff ink. She almost disappears into it. And Cher’s big presence disappearing into anything—come on people.

Cher mentions around the Net

March 26, 2009 / Cher Scholar / 0 Comments

Headline: Nicolas Cage grateful to Cher for his Hollywood stardom

Thank you.

My bf was flipping channels and came across Moonstruck the other day and he asked me how the hell Nicholas Cage was miscast in it. I blamed Cher. Bf suggested someone older and more road-weary would have been better. I replied that I agreed but that Moonstruck gave him his break into the "big leagues."

And it’s like Nicholas Cage was listening in!

Nicolas Cage says that he is indebted to Cher for helping him become a Hollywood star. The ‘City Of Angels’ star has said that he is thankful to the singer-cum-actress because she fought to land him a role alongside her in the Oscar-winning movie ‘Moonstruck’.

Studio bosses were not very keen on casting the then-23-year-old Cage as Cher’s love interest in the film. But it was the ‘Believe’ singer who dug her heels in, and landed him the part of New York baker Ronny Cammareri.

The movie won Cher a Best Actress Oscar, and made Cage an overnight sensation in Hollywood and the actor is eternally grateful. “She really was a champion for me. At a time when people didn’t see me as a romantic actor, she fought for me,” Contactmusic quoted Cage as saying. (ANI)

Headline: Wear or Die: Cher's Oscar Fashion Edition

Neither are outfits for the faint-hearted, but what if you HAD to wear one of them – or die? Which one would you choose?

The outfit on the left may look initially more frightening, but the one on the right reveals much more skin. Just to level out the playing field a little, we're going to allow you to ditch the hat/wig/whatever the hell that thing is shown in picture one. Don't say we're not good to you.
What's it going to be, then, readers: which outfit will you wear – or die!

Celine Dion visits Cher

Celine met with Caesars Palace and AEG/Concerts West executives, watched Cher’s show and then went back to her own former dressing room to meet her successor on Feb. 25. Celine’s team wouldn’t confirm or deny my questions about the reported pregnancy but did send the Cher photo for us to run on Vegas DeLuxe.

Cher Remixes

March 26, 2009 / Cher Scholar / 8 Comments

http://wickedgayblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/cher-remixes-available-for-download-for.html

"Masterbeat announced today that they just got the entire Cher remixes (DJ, Club, etc.) catalog today and for the first time ever is available for download."

It works similar to iTunes: 99 cents can purchase you one song. As all my remixes are in a basement in Pennsylvania, this might come in handy.

When you visit the site, you can access the entire Cher catalog by clicking the “All Releases” tab. Included with regular album cuts of major CD releases are remixes of:

Believe – of these six remixes, the one I am partial to is the Almighty Definitive Mix. Truthfully, I was one of the rare people on the planet who didn’t love this song. And only played the ADM mix daily during that four weeks of #1 chart-toping that occurred in early 1999 when I was psychically trying to do my part to keep Believe on top.

Paradise is Here

Love One Another – I was always confused by the fact that I thought "When the Money's Gone" was the major single of this release.

Song for the Lonely

All or Nothing

D’ove L’amore – did I spell that right? I'm never sure.

Strong Enough

A Different Kind of Love Song

The Music’s No Good Without You

Heart of Stone

Take me Home, the single version and Take me Home the 12” (which was how remixes came out in the olden days of vinyl)

There are a few missing, you'll notice if you are a remix connoisseur, which I am not. But considering these mixes aren't on iTunes, this is a kewl thing. Here's the direct link: https://www.masterbeat.com/#artist/cher

New Mashup!

March 12, 2009 / Cher Scholar / 1 Comment

http://torley.com/mashup-katy-perry-cher-believe-in-hot-and-cold

I would classify this as: cute.

Discourse on Cher’s Ass and More Captain &Tennile

March 12, 2009 / Cher Scholar / 0 Comments

Cher Scholar Rob sent me two videos recently, The Captain and Tennile song that was written for Cher just prior to her joining with Black Rose (it sounds more like filler to me than something Cher would do): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4nSGvei1aA

And a video of rocker Ryan Adams and Neal Casal talkin' about Cher’s Ass:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYJ02BWesaE

The Cher's ass coversation is pretty funny.

Here are some picture's of Cher's ass to refer to as you are watching the discussion unfold.

Let the Good Times Roll Again

March 5, 2009 / Cher Scholar / 1 Comment

Astute Cher Scholar Robrt Pela brought to my attention the fact that Cher doing “Let the Good Times Roll” in concert is in fact much larger news than I had indicated last week as this is in fact an old Caesar and Cleo song.

Nod to the historic beginnings of Sonny & Cher there, Miss Thang.

Please don’t bring back "Love is Strange." That song is the strange one, not love.

Cher in Vegas v2

February 27, 2009 / Cher Scholar / 3 Comments

Just when I was thinking very little information seemed to be coming out about Cher’s second-year run with her Las Vegas show (I still pinch myself sometimes thinking about being able to go to Vegas and see a Cher show, btw), including a dearth of information on new Cher Store items. I mean, what treasures have newly appeared from the mines of Cher Mountain? Any new songs or outfits?

But then on CherGroups, information started to trickle in this week. Cher sang "Love Hurts" (allegedly replacing "The Way of Love") which feels like a good change, all in a new getup and one that I actually am thrilled to see because it’s reminiscent of her “More Than You Know” fit from the Celebration at Caesars and Live in Monte Carlo shows at the turn of the 70s/80s.

It's got such a retro-yet-spacey headpiece.

Love Hurts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKTSUgE5p8s

After “Walking in Memphis,” Cher also sang “Let The Good Times Roll” and she sings it just like you’d think she would.

For this and other recent espionage clips of v2, visit the fabulous Cher World: http://www.cherworld.com/news/?p=702

One fan also said Cher fell onstage after “some drunk guy” threw his straw hat on stage for “Turn Back Time.” She fell on her knee due to tripping on it. Rumor has it security may ban sailor hats in the Coliseum.

Imagine no hats for Turn Back Time! But…then again who knows what some wacko might try to stick inside a sailor hat.

Cher was also on Entertainment Tonight talking about the show (pic above).

Video: http://www.etonline.com/news/2009/02/71188/index.html

I can’t believe they’re still talking about her health. Didn’t we clear up that rumor on the last Entertainment Tonight episode a few months ago? Cher further clarifies that she does indeed see the doctor who Farrah Fawcett sees for treatment of cancer but Cher goes for a completely unrelated issue.

Anyway, Cher looks great in this interview. You know I love the cowboy hats (see the cowboy hat photo gallery) and love the earrings. Cher is animated, beautiful and relaxed. Great to see!

To the left is Cher's previous More-than-you-know-fit.

The interesting thing about "More Than You Know" is how many times Cher covered it in the 70s and early 80s. The version I grew up hearing was the up-tempo Bittersweet White Light version but I grew to like the slower, torchy version better.

Here is Cher singing "More than You Know" for her TV special…with her hair tied up in a tree and a wild cat on set. They just don’t do stunts like that anymore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLk7TNYxOxA

Buy the way, one of the things that got me sweet on the wedding dress I picked out what the fact that its sequins sparkled in the lights like Cher's TV show-fits used to do. Sigh.

Now that I look at her leopard suit from the clip above, I think it looks very Dr. Seussian…almost like a Thneed in fact.

Here is the Monte Carlo version of "More Than You Know:" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqc4-3jxyEg

Here is a compilation of reviews of Cher's Vegas shows year one: http://govegas.about.com/od/cher/Cher_Cher_at_Caesars_Palace_Las_Vegas_Show_Review.htm

You Make Me Feel Like Interrupting

February 19, 2009 / Cher Scholar / 5 Comments

Over the holiday weekend, we got a lot of wedding stuff done. I think I’ve found dress I like and can afford, we ordered our cake and met another florist. Still have two more florist meetings to go before nailing that down.

In the meantime, I’d like to talk about something that has bothered me since I was a wee child of 7 or 8 years old…as evidenced by the Sonny & Cher Show duet with Sonny & Cher singing "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing." Yes, it’s been something I’ve been harboring for quite a long time but as yet un-uttered.

As giddy as Tinkerbell as I was that S&C were back on the air in 1976 after their divorce, I can barely explain the level of my frustration over the intrusive Laverne and Alvie (or was it Alvin?) sketches that interrupted each opening duet. Grrrrr!! I would think, every time this misforunate thing happened, which was almost every freaking week.

So it was bad enough S&C were not yet re-married and that now on top of that the viewing hour of the new show was past my bedtime due to our family moving from the Mountain to the Central Standard Time Zone which resulted in quite elaborate negotiations with my parents in order for me to have a one-week-exceptionary-later-bed-time-hour, (which would actually come in quite handy the next year when the first Solid Gold special ran late), and I could then still watch the new S&C show, political maneuverings that would impress even our Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, by the way…add to all that the fact that this lame modern saloon skit interrupted the festive and heart-warming opening song every week, like a reminder that paradise was not well and Sonny & Cher were not eternally duetting on stage blissfully but in reality un-married and wasting away in some bleak hotel bar slugging back wiskey sours…and you can see why I turned out the way I did.

Deep breath.

This song is the worst offender that I can recall. Probably I feel this way because when I was 8 years old I loved this song – loved it enough to buy the 45 when I was 15, a 45 that only languished in a shoebox because I grew up to find Leo Sayer grating.

This duet irks me every time I watch it. Here is the video where some kind, agnelic, hero-type has spliced the song together without the skit.

You’d think this would bring me peace after all these years, but somehow it doesn’t.

http://toosweet4rocknroll.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/sonny-and-cher-you-make-me-feel-like-dancing/

Cash It In

February 6, 2009 / Cher Scholar / 0 Comments

So I’m poking along, planning my wedding at the library. And many pieces that are coming together are due to the fact that I have a bf with many past lives. He used to co-own a snarky greeting card company and his former partner designed some awesome seating cards for us that look like library cards. They’re also working on the invitations. From his days in Chicago theater he also found our photographer. We picked out our hotel which sits about a mile and a half from the library and is on the pier. I found wedding favors on sale that fit our unusual theme of books and leaves.

Two weekends ago, we also navigated around a free Honeymoon scam. David’s Bridal (who I’ve never visited but where I signed up for email tips) allegedly sells names to some unscrupulous vendors. One of those vendors called me claiming I had been to a bridal expo (I haven’t and never will) and had been submitted to win a free trip. To claim it, I had to visit a local hotel and listen to a spiel about the products of RP Bridal. Bf smelled something fishy right away and so I did an Internet search where I read all sorts of horror stories about lost deposits, faulty pots and pans, hard sells, salesmen who go lost in the night with deposits, refusals to cancel, harassments from bill collectors on phantom orders…crazy sad stories. It was all Internet hearsay but it was enough to keep us away. But how depressin in this cloudy economic climate to prey on hopeful young brides. Thank God, we're old and cynical. We have appointments this month to look at dresses, taste cakes and meet florists.

In the meantime, bf and I are obsessed with the BBC show You Are What You Eat hosted by the tart and cranky Gillian McKeith. She has inspired me with her shock tactics to stop eating crap and lose weight. Three great things about the show:

When Gillian lays out for people all the crap they eat in a week…it’s alarming; she also uses shock tactics to show them how awful their biggest vice is: how much sugar is in it; all the butter they ingest in a month, it's always very visual and shocking.
When she asks them to give her a poop sample and then she then berates it in always original ways.
The 8-week transformations are pretty amazing.

I’m also corresponding with our DJ while I plan out all my music lists, which is particularly pleasurable for me. I was searching for fun dance songs for the reception and I said to myself, I wish there was a dance remix of a Johnny Cash song. Little did I know a whole CD of his earlier recordings remixed was about to be released. I downloaded it yesterday and have been loving it!

Be prepared: it's similar to the remix of Elvis' "A Little Less Conversation," and the dance mixes of Serge Gainsbourg. I wish someone would do the same with Cher’s 60s and 70s material – back before every single had a cousin-remix that was released with it.

Category: Music (Page 29 of 34)

Plea for a Cher Hit

Cher at Caesars: Year 2

Cher mentions around the Net

Cher Remixes

New Mashup!

Discourse on Cher’s Ass and More Captain &Tennile

Let the Good Times Roll Again

Cher in Vegas v2

You Make Me Feel Like Interrupting

Cash It In

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