Cover Me! 'MacArthur Park'

Decided on another musical series for 2025 and thought I'd post some of my favourite cover versions. So to start us off for January, here's Donna Summer's disco-style cover of the oddity that is 'MacArthur Park'. Along with the original. 

Pop Quiz! Literally…

A venue in Lincoln has apologised for the treatment of some male attendees at a planned concert by the Last Dinner Party – which the band ultimately cancelled shortly before show time due to illness. On X, one man wrote that on arriving at the Engine Shed, he was “funnelled into a dark corner with other men, told I might be a pervert cus I’m alone and then taken into a room alone with a security guard where I was interrogated and searched. Feel sick.” In subsequent comments, he said he had been asked what his favourite song by the British group was.Another man wrote: “I rocked up there tonight at 8.45 on my own, no queue, I got asked how long I had liked them for, and to name my favourite song. I thought it was a bit strange and the first time I’ve ever felt like I’m on mastermind to get into a gig. Now I’ve read this I understand why now.”

Well, it's more than I do! What a bizarre thing to ask. And why just ask men? 

In a statement posted to X, the Engine Shed said they were aware of reports online that the entry procedure that night “fell far short of our venue entry policy, which requires all attendees to be treated equally and subject to the same entry requirements”. It said that a preliminary investigation had shown that after security were told about incidents at previous gigs by the band, “the venue management team made an ad-hoc change” to policy.

I know this in the 'Guardian' and I shouldn't expect any journalism, but...what incidents? 

The Last Dinner Party posted a statement on Instagram saying that the policies were “created and enforced by the venue at their own discretion, and were not made in consultation with us.

“They do not reflect our beliefs and would not have been implemented had we been made aware of them in advance … Our shows are intended to be safe, welcoming spaes for everyone, which is something we deeply care about. Seeing inclusivity embraced by our fanbase is one of the best parts of performing live.”

I'm not a concert-goer, but I always thought for those who were, it was about the music.... 

Sunday Funnies...

I have to admit, I prefer Ultravox's 'Vienna', and that didn't take ages to be a hit...

DEI Takes To The Air...

The world’s largest airline pilot union suggested airmen and women stop using terms purportedly offensive to women and LGBTQ individuals, calling out terms like “cockpit” as non-inclusive.

My my, is it April 1st already? Time, like snowflake flight crew, really does fly! 

Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l, represents over 70,000 pilots worldwide and states that it collaborates with a United Nations agency on its policies.

Well, there's your first mistake!  

According to a diversity, equity and inclusion language guide released in 2021, the ALPA lists numerous terms and phrases to avoid — especially “masculine generalizations” — that it deemed to be non-inclusive.

Now you know why Virgin Air thought this advert might be a crowd pleaser!  

“Inclusive language in communications is essential to our union’s solidarity and collective strength and is an important factor in maintaining flight safety,” the guide states.

What about this contributes to 'flight safety'? 

“The purpose of this language guide is to offer examples of terms and phrases that promote inclusion and equity.”ALPA, for example, suggested replacing the word “cockpit” with “flight deck.” The purportedly offensive term “has been and may be used in a derogatory way to exclude women in the piloting profession,” the guide states. “Many women have heard a variation of ‘It is called a cockpit for a reason’ by a male pilot, suggesting that women do not belong in the piloting profession,” the guide said.

I like my equality messages in my stage shows, but can't say I care too much when actually getting on a plane... 

H/T: Melindi Scott via Twitter

Translating 'Guardian' Headlines

"Music reflects modern society"

Senior study author Eva Zangerle, an expert on recommendation systems at Austria’s University of Innsbruck, declined to single out an individual newer artist for having simple lyrics. But she emphasised that lyrics can be a “mirror of society” which reflect how a culture’s values, emotions and preoccupations change over time.

See? The obvious conclusion.  

For the study in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers looked at the emotions expressed in lyrics, how many different and complicated words were used, and how often they were repeated. “Across all genres, lyrics had a tendency to become more simple and more repetitive,” Zangerle summarised. The results also confirmed previous research which had shown a decrease in positive, joyful lyrics over time and a rise in those that express anger, disgust or sadness.

There's precious little to be joyful about, so of course, song lyrics will reflect that. Good grief, the ridiculous things people are studying - presumably, for real money - never ceases to amaze me. 

The number of repeated lines rose most in rap over the decades, Zangerle said – adding that it obviously had the most lines to begin with. “Rap music has become more angry than the other genres,” she added.

Gosh. I wonder why a thuggish music genre would have been top of this particular chart. 

Move It Monday: December

Well, to round off this year's selection, what better than the incomparable 'Boogie Wonderland' by Earth Wind and Fire? 

You can even see it with penguins!

Next year: my top 12 streaming TV shows.

Move It Monday: November

Something to brighten the dark days of December, and it has to be the queen of the disco hereslf, Donna Summer, with 'Hot Stuff', so memorable from that scene at the dole office in 'The Full Monty':

Move It Monday: October

Now here's a real blast from the not-too-distant past (OK, OK, the Eighties, for all you young 'uns!). 

It's the Style Council, with 'Shout To The Top'.

 

Move It Monday: September

A bit of a blast from the past this month; I had a feeling I'd covered this one - Mark Knopfler's 'Border Reiver' - before, and indeed I had. Back when it was first released in 2009!

A song about a lorry driver (well, really, his lorry) that's not 'Convoy'. But boy, is it a great song to tap your feet to!

Move It Monday: August

Some artists become famous for that one song that's played everytime and everywhere, and so it is with 'Baker Street'. 

Which is a good song, don't get me wrong, but I have always preferred the much faster tempo of Gerry Rafferty's 'Royal Mile', and here it is in all its glory:

 

Move It Monday: July

I'm not generally a fan of rap, and it no doubt will be said that this artist is the family-friendly vanilla ice cream of rap (no, not that one!) though that might have changed since The Slap, but I do really love Will Smith's 'Miami' for its infectious beat and great lyrics:

Move It Monday: June

This month, it's an artist I never thought I'd ever give houseroom (funk and acid jazz? from the 90s?), but this - 'Canned Heat' by Jamiroquai - is just so infectious I can't help myself every time it comes on. 

And the video's really quite charming!

 

Move It Monday: May

This month it's the Kaiser Chiefs, with 'How 2 Dance':

 

Move It Monday: April

As we head into April and hopefully warmer weather, it's the incomparable Miami Sound Machine with 'Dr Beat':

Move It Monday: March

What better for March and the promise of spring than Pharell Williams with 'Uptown Funk'? Guaranteed to get your toes tapping:

Move It Monday: February

Let's move it to a classic track this month - not the more popular 'Copacabana' (which is a great song, it's true...) but February's offering is Barry Manilow with 'New York City Rhythm':

 

I was a bit torn between this and 'They Dance!' but in the end, nostalgia won out!

Move It Monday: January

Something new for 2023 - every second Monday in the month, I'm going to feature music tracks that move me.

What? No! Not emotionally...these are the tracks that when they come on, you can't stop yourself swaying to the beat, or tapping your toes, whether that's in the kitchen, or at the wheel. They've got beat, they've got rhythm, they're contagious. They aren't in any particular order, I'm not going to rank them, they are just as they occurred to me when I compiled this list.

And first up is Right Said Fred with 'Don't Talk Just Kiss':

The Freds garnered quite a following on Twitter during the pandemic. Worth checking out.

But It Was Your Only Good Song, Pat...

Singer Pat Benatar said she will stop performing her song Hit Me With Your Best Shot in light of...

Eh..? 

...recent mass shootings in the US.

Well, that just leaves 'Love Is A Battlefield' ... until someone has a word with you about that whole situation in the Ukraine, eh? 

“Fans are having a heart attack and I’m like, I’m sorry,” Benatar, who is in the middle of a US summer tour, said. “I tell them, if you want to hear the song, go home and listen to it. [The title] is tongue-in-cheek, but you have to draw the line.”

“I can’t say those words out loud with a smile on my face, I just can’t. I’m not going to go on stage and soapbox – I go to my legislators – but that’s my small contribution to protesting,” Benatar said. “I’m not going to sing it. Tough.”

I guess fans might as well just stay home altogether. The sound's better, it's cheaper and you've got enough money, right, Pat? 

Musical Interlude - December:"I know, I know. We are Your chosen people. But, once in a while, can't You choose someone else?"

Well, this is the final installment. We'll finish up with what is probably my favourite musical of all time. 

And surprisingly, something about it always says 'Christmas' to me, despite it not being anything about Christmas at all. It's 'Fiddler On The Roof'. An amazing film, with perhaps the perfect casting in all roles. Yes, even Paul Michael Glaser! 

It was harder than any other entry to pick a favourite song from this one, there's not a dud in the bunch. But it has to go to the sublime 'Sunrise, Sunset' montage: 

I had to pass on a few classics - 'Carousel' for one - and there's musicals that haven't been filmed that I'd love to see make it to the silver screen, principally 'Windy City', an 80s version of 'The Front Page' that had a criminally short West End run, or the amazing Tom Jones vehicle, 'Mayador', that had an even shorter run. 

Now, what to do for next year?

Musical Interlude - November:"Doesn't anyone just want to work in the bar industry anymore?"

This was a surprise. I wasn't expecting to like it. And, rather like the one that kicked this all off, is it really a 'musical' in the traditional sense? 

Meh! If 'Mamma Mia' can be counted as one, then so can this. It's 'Rock Of Ages'. And who can deny that this is possibly the best comedy musical track ever?