Page 36 of 109

Not Busier Than Cher, But…

October 19, 2014 / Cher Scholar / 0 Comments

…I'm out of my mind busy. I had to put that comma in my blog title because without it, the title read like Cher's ass was busier than me. Probably true but still a distracting message.

Over the last few weeks, my brother and sister-in-law came to town and we tried to show them the great state of New Mexico in a week. I've got another guest coming next weekend. And if you know me, you know I only clean the house when people are coming over. So this summer, I've been cleaning a lot! Yesterday, I spent the day covering the front of our house with Halloween decorations. I've also been trying to keep up with the latest in haunted houses in my city. I've been very distracted from the Cher Universe working on my projects, including final drafts of my Goodnight-Loving Trail poems, and notes for a new novel. I've also been preparing an essay to make into an eBook. It's called "Writing in the Age of Narcissism." On top of that, I've recently been drafted by my Dad's side of the family, the Burquenos (which is local for "people from Albuquerque"), to help organize a family reunion next year to celebrate my Aunts 90th birthday. In all this, blogging gets short shrift.

Oh, and we've been busy watching Quick Draw Season 2 which had a lot more stunts, was a lot funnier and had some surprise guests. But the most recent surprise has been the great fan art people have been sending in to the facebook fan page of John Lehr, including this hilarious send up of western statue-art collecting commercial sent in by a fan. The piece is called Vernon Shank Statue Commercial. It's very funny even if you haven't been watching the show.

The strong women characters on the show have been awesome this year, including the hilarious, lusty, toothless Wanda pictured above.

But there's LOTS of Cher stuff to get to:

First, I came accross this image right in the October 10th issue of Entertainment Weekly depicting an Edith Head outfit for Ginger Rogers. You can clearly see a direct line from Edith Head to Ray Aghayan to Bob Mackie and Cher.

Secondly, breaking news!! Cher gets some respect in Entertainment Weekly. More than seeing Cher's new Bob Mackie costumes in the second leg of her current tour, THIS is what required that I get some oxygen stat! My October 24th copy came Friday night and I'm perusing through the issue (which you can do in like 15 minutes), and I see a short news item on the nominees for this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. No, Cher didn't make it. Not expecting that.

The first section describes this year's biggest surprises. I scanned that part and thought, "wouldn't it be an alternate universe if this article called the HOFers out for snubbing Cher?"

AND THEY DO!!! I couldn't believe it. Entertainment Weekly has not been 100% Cher-loving over many years of record reviews. But, clear as day, the middle section is called "BIGGEST SNUBS" and Cher's hole-fit picture is representin' with this paragraph underneath:

"For the second year of eligibility in a row, De La Soul's game-change style was over-looked. The Hall also missed an opportunity to acknowledge Cher–whose impact and longevity far exceed those of many of the men enshrined in Cleveland [my flabbergasted italics]–on the 50th anniversary of her first album. And if Joan Jett, nominated again this year, doesn't make the final cut this time, voters have black hearts indeed."

I ran into the living room and gave a lecture on Cher Snubs throughout the history of time to Poor Beleaguered Mr. Cher Scholar. I want to rip that page out and send it to my brother in Cleveland and ask that he and his wife organize a protest in front of the museum pronto, something he would never in a zillion years do.

Speaking of zillion, Cher is pissed at Zillow. See stories on GeekWire; Twitchy tracking Cher's tweet discussions; and an article on Bloomberg about Chinese buyers getting access to Zillow's U.S. properties.

"Chinese buyers spent more than $11 billion on U.S. real estate last year, with an average $425,000 purchase, Zillow said."

Zillow is saying this is only good for U.S. sellers. I'm not sure. but Cher is probably saying this is bad for U.S. buyers.

This is the satellite picture of the Owlwood house on Zillow.

Zillow has labeled this page: "Sonny Bono and Cher's Former Home – Zillow"

Here are the stories I missed in October:

According to Cher News a new version of the Norman Seeff photograph was for sale for a while (but it's sold-out now): http://cher.shop.bravadousa.com/page/SignedLithograph. What's interesting is how the store calls the photo "THE iconic 70s image of Cher."

So Cher's been sick lately as we all know. I hope it wasn't the ice bucket challenge that gave Cher the ice bucket illness. And although one of the U.S. tabloid rags had a picture of Cher on the cover last week insisting she was, in fact, dying (not the first or last time we'll see that melodramatic headline while waiting to purchase our Scooby Snacks), Cher says herself that she's on mend. Cher News tracks her tweets: she was actually in the hospital for a week; doctors say she's built to last; she's been to the gym recently; and she was humbled by the whole experience. I just hope she got some good classic movie watching in while being laid up.

http://chernews.blogspot.com/2014/10/ill-cher-im-getting-better.html

http://chernews.blogspot.com/2014/10/photos-recovering-fitness-icon-cher-at.html
(Pics of Cher at the gym taken by Paulette, see top photo)

New dates were announced for D2K, partly makeup dates for the shows cancelled: http://tour.cher.com/

Cher News reported that Cher's concert-fits were profiled in the Fall 2014 issue of People Magazine. Is People Magazine now a quarterly? Bummed I missed that.

I finally listened to the Lady Gaga version of "Bang Bang" and I do like that it's not simply a re-working of the Nancy Sinatra version, which all the latest re-makings have been. Granted, the Sinatra version is pretty great and I never do get tired of hearing more incarnations of it, I also appreciate something different now and then. Gaga's version seemed more sincere and less ironic. Which is refreshing. I still don't like that red jumpsuit or the somewhat unnatural demeanor of her performance but what can you do?

By the way, this is one of my least favorite Cher single covers. Yes, chainmail tops were cool, but the acid-washed jean-jacket and jeans, the teenybopper hair flip and the wide-eyed expression all smell too much like 80s-teen-spirit, and worse–popular-girl 80s-teen-spirit. And what's with the unbuttoned button-fly jeans? Did Cher eat too many doughnuts before the shoot? Or is the boob-view, jeans-undone look a come-hither call to Anthony Michael Hall?

Lady Gaga’s Version of Bang Bang and Crossing Genres

September 22, 2014 / Cher Scholar / 0 Comments

Lady Gaga last week released a version of "Bang Bang." It's a bonus track on her new Cheek to Cheek album. The version sounds New Orleans jazzy version.

Lady Gaga tweeted:

It's @cher a supreme honor to sing Bang Bang, that song time traveled & continues to inspire, I wish to honor your legacy w/ every breath.

More stories:

Cher's tweet:

So f*cking proud of you Gaga. I heard (and saw) amazing CD collaboration 'Cheek To Cheek' with the forever hip Tony Bennett. Babe, you're channelling jazz greats and killin' me.

Was Cher ever slated to do a duet with Tony Bennett:

Tried. I love him. I was desolate. The song didn't work for both of our ranges. It's OK. Gaga and Tony Bennett knocked it out of the park…No-one could make me say anything that I don't believe, when it comes to art. Gaga sang her ass off! Pure heaven talent. F*ck haters.

Gaga of Cher:

You know Cher, that level of support coming from you means more than you will ever know. Your confidence is the mark of a true legend. Love you.

and

Trend it Monsters. Let's show Cher how much we appreciate her #MonstersLoveCher Now that's what I call class!

I have not listened to the track yet. I've had in-laws visiting for a week and they took Mr. Cher Scholar and I ghost-hunting at the famous St. James Hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico.

But since I'm not a Gaga fan, I'll turn to my friend Christopher's thoughts about her duet with Tony Bennett. As a Gaga fan, he felt her vocals there were anemic.

He says,

"I am quite surprised that her vocals are not more impressive, as she has a really strong and compelling singing voice and has comfortably tackled dance, R&B and rock styles with equal skill. Here she just seems way out her element. Again, quite a surprise; she's so highly stylized in her approach to everything, and very insightful, it would seem that she would have the skill and vision to tackle this type of material. Guess not."

He goes on to talk about genre-hopping success by other artists he likes:

"Everyone has always ragged on Madonna about how she's "not a great singer" and this ultra-bland performance by Gaga reminds me of how effective and nuanced Madonna's vocals are on I'm Breathless (the Dick Tracy album) in which she very naturally nails the period feel of the material. Gaga, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have any feel whatsoever in this instance. She barely makes an impression of any kind.

I am all for musicians expanding their musical wheelhouse, but often the results are very misguided. It reminds me of Pat Benatar's blues album from 1991, Paying the Cost to Be the Boss, which is a noisy mess. Pat is one of my favorite artists of all time, but despite the extraordinary range of her voice, the blues idiom is just not a suitable fit for her (it didn't help that the songs themselves weren't very good either).

Another example is Sinead O'Connor's Am I Not Your Girl which is a covers album of mostly torch songs. It's okay, but overall rather lackluster (and terribly sleepy). The feral brilliance of her singing is almost completely muted here and she's just not that memorable as a balladeer; the "style" takes away all the interesting edges and peaks of her voice. To make matters worse, Am I Not Your Girl? was the follow-up to her globally dominating album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (with it's inescapable #1 song "Nothing Compares 2 U"), so general fans were perplexed/disappointed by the abrupt shift in gears and less than impressive results, while committed fans were probably more tolerant of the misadventure but still left scratching their heads. I would argue that this album definitely had a negative impact on her career, as it quashed her forward momentum creatively and commercially, a position she most definitely couldn't afford to be in given that the album followed so closely on her scandalous Pope-shredding stint on SNL.

I think perhaps the most versatile singer in rock is Linda Ronstadt. There is literally no genre I can think of in which she hasn't made numerous recordings of the very highest order. She's fluent, assured and commanding in pop, country, AC, full-out rock, torch, 50s/60s Brill, New Wave, not to mention a full range of Mexican music styles in Spanish (She's half-Mexican. Shout out to Cher Scholar, who like Linda, was born in New Mexico!).

Sheena Easton is another great example too. In fact, she is the only artist in music history to achieve Top Ten songs on the pop, R&B, Adult Contemporary, Country and Dance charts (in fact, in practically all these genres she's had multiple Top Ten songs). Not even genre-hopping, hit-maker par excellence Cher has accomplished this chart feat.

Celene: I can honestly say that she can persuasively sing across any number of genres, including rock, dance, Motown, even reggae! She's pretty fearless in terms of taking on different genres; it's just that her label, Sony, is like all record companies, always choosing singles in the same narrow lane once an artist has a hit–it's the don't rock the boat, baby mindset. It's too bad labels are not more courageous in this respect, although Sony did release her epic, fantastic rendition of Jim Steinman "It's All Coming Back to Me Now," which was a deservedly massive hit.

My friend Terry weighed in:

"Individually I thought Gaga was "okay" and Tony was really good. But, their "harmonies" did not harmonize at all. That part was awkward. Overall, blah…I saw Tony Bennett on Letterman 2 or 3 years ago and he absolutely sizzled. Smooth jazzy cool. He still has it in him. I just don't think this particular piece has much to offer. Lazy cool is great. Lazy been-there done-that not so much (and that was the vibe I got from this)."

Are these Cher's "f*ckin haters?" Possibly. I call Mr. Cher Scholar a f*ckin hater every time he disparages Karen Carpenter with the term "milktoast."

Here is a cool Skylar Grey lyric video for "Bang Bang": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x2ABSAMVno

Concert Cher News

September 22, 2014 / Cher Scholar / 0 Comments

Cher News has been tracking the release of Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. Good news: the Blue-ray is available for pre-order.

The second leg of Cher shows were to start on September, 11 but Cher has had to push back 10 dates pushing this legs shows into December.

Slash reported to The Huffington Post about attending a Cher concert and needing to go outside to smoke eventually gave him pneumonia. So he quit smoking.

Cher is also being sued by her former choreographer Kevin Wilson. Read stories on:

The last link is the testimony of Jamal Story, one of Cher's dancers. He was the dancer featured in last week's story in Fortune Magazine: "How to Survive on the Road with Cher. He makes great reference to the chaos in the Ferguson suburb of St. Louis (my hometown).He says:

I am disheartened to know that racism is part of the charge leveled in a lawsuit at my boss…But even if there is some shred of merit here, the lack of consideration for the three brown band members (of which there are only seven) still in Cher's camp befuddles me.

In fact, one of the most interesting experiences I’ve had dealing with the color quota represented on stage happened on Cher’s stage in Vegas years ago. A brunette out for her wedding was replaced by the cousin of another black dancer on the gig. Adding two of the plaintiffs (who were also there) brought the count of bona fide chocolate up to four, and then there were the two of us too light to figure in. Among the other six dancers were a Latino and a Tongan, both with enough pigment to type them out of a Mayflower Voyage film. We didn’t know whether to take a picture (because who would believe it) or accuse our boss of Blaxploitation. Because of course there were also the two black backup singers, the keyboardist and the drummer…

This doesn’t happen with a racist performer.

In fact, since my first gig with Cher twelve years ago, I have missed only 2 of her 568 full stage shows. Never in any of them have I experienced any form of racial or sexist prejudice.

It’s not her style. I was there every time she strutted around stage in a Native American feathered headdress singing about her Cherokee heritage. Early in a career older than all of her dancers, she was notorious for entering the back door of venues and restaurants that would not allow her colored staff through their front. She argued with her fans via Twitter that the Tea Party supports racist policies. She funds the Peace Village School in Kenya for black orphans.

You know, there was a budget for my hair. When I ran out of Mixed Chicks conditioner on the road, or couldn’t find a barber for a manicured fro, Cher reimbursed receipts for cornrows. It did not bother her any when I walked on stage wearing them, black pants and a white tank—a look that might have gotten me shot by police in Ferguson—to stand in her spotlight and present her a stool. This is the conversation we should be having instead, how my "Burlesque" costume with this hairstyle is life-threatening around those who would see a dangerous, uber-sexualized Negro thug.

During a delay in the tech rehearsal for the number “Dressed to Kill,” she sat waiting on the chandelier and smiled at me.

“I’m getting a weave,” I told her.

“Really??!!” she said, ecstatic.

Protest Songs Cher Should Cover

September 22, 2014 / Cher Scholar / 0 Comments

A picture that shows how little has changed 50 years later. We're still concerned with police brutality in 2014.

I was thinking recently when listening to Billy Bragg's great anthem, "Waiting for the Great Leap Forward" how Green Day revitalized their career a few years ago with a ppolitically-themed album. Cher’s tweets are unflinchingly political but why should her activism be trapped in Twitter? Would it ever be possible to hear a Cher album of political covers?

Think of all the great, old union songs, Bob Dylan songs, Phil Ochs songs. If Dolly Parton can get away with covering hard-rock songs revamped as bluegrass tunes, why can’t Cher do something interesting with political songs? Her voice is well suited to anthems and she would probably enjoy singing them. She could mine Billy Bragg's catalog alone. "Great Leap" proves you don’t have to go back to a folk sound to present a meaningful modern message. On Pandora I recently heard a very cool version of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son" covered by Cat Power.

I also recently discovered this unlikely protest song on an old Porter Waggoner show, "Paradise" by country act Jim and Jesse.

I found a few awesome lists of the best political protest songs. Interestingly, "Fortunate Son" was the only song on every one of these lists:

Cher & Joan Rivers

September 10, 2014 / Cher Scholar / 0 Comments

After Joan Rivers passing, Cher tweeted:

"Am heartbroken about Joan. When I was young, I was going through a tough time and I thought about Joan. She had told stories about her tough times – I got stronger".

Cher also referred to her friend Kathy Griffin who she credits with getting her and Joan Rivers back together:

"Kathleen, I can never thank you enough for bringing Joan to the house that night. You two together is something that I'll never forget. Two girls in rare form.”

I kinda remember that tweet about Kathy and Joan years back.

Shows Delayed: Cher Under the Weather

September 10, 2014 / Cher Scholar / 0 Comments

Cher has been forced to delay a few concert dates at the start of her second leg due to a viral infection that is keeping her in bed. I hope she didn't catch something at the old Sonny & Cher house with what sounded like ten people living in it.

Cher Caricatures

September 10, 2014 / Cher Scholar / 0 Comments

The caricature to your left is by Kerry Waghorn. I think it captures Cher's very specific attitude.

I was thinking about Cher caricatures today because I discovered the Georgia O'Keeffe museum is starting an exhibit of works by Miguel Covarrubias this month. Many of us already know of Covarrubias' famous caricatures from Vanity Fair such as Georgia O’Keeffe and Greta Garbo.

I always wish I could find more (good) caricatures of Cher.

View the Cher caricatures on Google.

View the Cher cartoons on Google.

While I was looking for caricatures of Cher, I found this amazing site by a Quebec artist designing Cher on Playing Cards inspired by her songs. I wish they were for sale.

Correction: They are on sale! (Thanks for the link Cher scholar Dishy)

Here is a new cartoon by the same artist named inkjava.

And of course, the most famous caricature of Cher of all…

I'll have to refer back to Josiah Howard's Strong Enough book to learn who designed it.

Cher Walks Down Memory Lane

September 4, 2014 / Cher Scholar / 0 Comments

It's fascinating and unusual-seeming when Cher does things everybody else does, like visit places where you used to live. Maybe she's been feeling nostalgic.

TMZ reports Cher revisited one of her S&C homes, apparently one of the early ones, said to be off Lauren Canyon Drive in the Hollywood Hills where S&C lived around 1964-5 before the money started rolling in and they moved to Encino, the “Good Times” house.

She hadn’t been back for 49 years and she just dropped in “unannounced,” the way only celebrities can.

Current homeowner, Daniel Dreifussher, was not at home. I guess you should never leave your house in case some celebrity who once lived there happens by. Dreifussher's roommate answered the door and Cher was there with her two assistants (cum backup bodyguards).

She was described as “down to earth and super sweet.” Apparently she wasn’t able to see her old bedroom, however, which is too bad because she says she spent all her time in their bedrooms.

New D2K Dates On Sale Friday

September 4, 2014 / Cher Scholar / 0 Comments

New concert dates have been posted for sale Friday morning.

There is one show coming close to me in Lubbock, Texas. I seriously considered buying tickets for this one. I really want to see the new Cherfits. I should also visit Lubbock, where my recently-departed aunt used to live. My other aunts, (her sisters), tell me there a windmill museum there I should see.

Cherfits, windmills: it's pretty tempting but Lubbock is five hours away and by November 9th I will either be out of a job or starting a new job making less money. Plus the concert is Sunday night. It's all too extravagant for these transition-y times. Boo hoo!

I'm still holding out hope for a show in AlbuquerKAY, which is bigger than Lubbock, by the way!

But at least Lubbock is excited about it.

More Celebrity Deaths

September 4, 2014 / Cher Scholar / 0 Comments

This has been a rough month for losing celebrities.

After seeming to be a day away from intensive care yesterday, Joan Rivers has died as a result of complications from vocal cord surgery.

Cher and Joan once swapped garage sale stories on The Tonight Show, where Cher would appear when Joan was guest hosting. Cher was also one of Joan’s inaugural guests on her own late-night show.

Later there were rumors of a tiff between them, but a few years ago they seemed to have reconciled and Cher posted many supportive tweets over the last few days.

"Just heard about Joan. My heart will break. I'm still betting on her." and "Hey Joan, hurry and get well. I know you and you're the toughest chick on our block."

If you want to get an idea of how tough Joan Rivers really was, watch her documentary, A Piece of Work (2010). My favorite part of the documentary of Joan Rivers was seeing her rifle through her elaborate cabinet of organized jokes.

Cher also said, "I love her! Have known her since Uncle Sam was Nephew Sam."

Cher also posted the above photo on twitter. A twitter fan asked Cher, "Do you still have that dress? It's gorgeous!" Cher replied, "I can get one toe into it! You must realize that I was almost 5-foot-8 and weighed 106 pounds until 48. Wee little thing."

Cher also defended Joan’s daughter, Melissa: "Shame on those who say 'Melissa refuses to believe a world might exist without her mom Joan Rivers in it'. She loves her mom. We all do. Heartless… They have no empathy. It's a story to them. For Melissa, it's her beloved mother, whom she might lose. Their lives are intertwined."

At right, Elton John, Cher, PeeWee Herman and Joan Rivers on the first episode of The Late Show with Joan Rivers. Read more at Cher News.

Lauren Bacall also passed away on August 12.

Cher posted: "To Have & Have Not" along with a crying icon.

I Found Some Blog

Page 36 of 109

Not Busier Than Cher, But…

Lady Gaga’s Version of Bang Bang and Crossing Genres

Concert Cher News

Protest Songs Cher Should Cover

Cher & Joan Rivers

Shows Delayed: Cher Under the Weather

Cher Caricatures

Cher Walks Down Memory Lane

New D2K Dates On Sale Friday

More Celebrity Deaths

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