Hearing about unexpected death of Mark Hollis left me shocked and saddened, and my immediate reaction was to play "Spirit of Eden". For me that album was the peak of his and Talk Talk's career. Very few albums can touch its emotional palate. Within its six glorious tracks you can find (and feel) happiness, frustration, liberation, rage, introspection, and melancholy, just to name six, often all in the same song, and sometime all within the space of a few notes.
If he had passed away 20-25 years ago, the obits would have presented him as an 80's synth pop star who retreated from fame to make challenging, critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful music. Now, he's presented as a "post-rock pioneer" and the emphasis is on the final decade of his career and subsequent retirement from the music industry. If anything, Talk Talk's output from 1982-1986 has become criminally underrated in recent years. People mention almost in passing these days that Talk Talk toured with Duran Duran and had several hits. It almost comes off sounding like they were bandwagoners who lucked into success by playing the right style of music at the peak of its popularity. But Talk Talk were an outstanding synth pop band. Even within the parameters of that genre, they evolved from basic stuff like "Talk Talk" to rhythmically adventurous songs like "Such A Shame" in only two years. By 1986's "The Colour of Spring" album, they were already branching out into jazz and improvisational music (the band played Montreux that year) and had never been more commercially successful.
There is so much to love about Talk Talk, and even today, their unconventional career path is no less fascinating than it was at the time. RIP to a true great.
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Thursday, February 14, 2019
Kokhav HaBa L'Eurovision 2019
I didn't watch this season of "Kokhav HaBa L'Eurovision" until the finals. Whereas Netta Barzelai's win last year was a foregone conclusion for much of the season (but was still very entertaining to watch), this year's competition was very much up for grabs and was filled with twists and turns right up until the finish. It also featured arguably the most unique collection of talent ever in the final of a music-themed reality show.
Maya Buskila was one of the most popular singers in Israel about fifteen years ago. In a reality show landscape usually populated by amateur hopefuls with dreams of stardom, this was something entirely different: a former star and gossip column regular looking for her last shot at international superstardom. Imagine a Jessica Simpson auditioning for The Voice in the US and somehow advancing all the way to the end.
Buskila made a horrible song choice in the final -- she chose Loreen's "Euphoria", which was the winning song for Eurovision 2012 and subsequently a massive hit all over Europe. It's a variation of the Whitney-Mariah reality show rule that I always used to talk about in my posts on American Idol. That is, never sing something that puts you up against an impossible standard. She finished in fourth place.
Shefita was a subject of controversy all season long. She had spent years carefully honing her act in Tel Aviv clubs, and had something of a cult following through her Youtube videos. You see, Shefita isn't a real person, she's a character played by the classically trained musician Rotem Shefi. She plays a comically exaggerated, yet endearing version of an Arab diva, complete with audacious outfits and a personalized sparkly microphone. Much like Sasha Baron Cohen took impersonations to another level by completely dedicating himself to the role, Shefi has completely immersed herself in all things Shefita and NEVER BREAKS CHARACTER. She finished in third place, after being on the bubble multiple times throughout the season and finding a way to survive every time (i.e. the producers couldn't stand to see her go home).
Katria Pouch is a Sudanese immigrant who cruised to the finals (save a small blip in the semifinals) on the strength of her dynamic, almost Tina Turner-like performances. She also courted some controversy by finding a way to get accepted onto two reality shows at the same time, which she chalked up to "gathering experiences". She is unquestionably great, but there is something missing in her act that's hard to put a finger on. Many seasons of American Idol had an R&B diva type who would reach the top four and then hit a brick wall. They were brilliant singers, and therefore good enough to avoid getting voted off, but once it was down to the last few competitors, they didn't seem special because they rarely strayed from the standard diva template of the time.
The winner was Kobi Marimi, who was actually voted off before the semi-finals and brought back as a wild card re-entrant. He has a special on-stage charisma and is a hybrid of Freddie Mercury and Andrea Bocelli. They'll stick him with a patented Eurovision-style power ballad for the competition. It's a smart marketing move because nobody's going to out-Netta Netta, so it's better to do a stylistic 180 away from dance pop and choose a singer and song that's completely different from last year in every way.
Maya Buskila was one of the most popular singers in Israel about fifteen years ago. In a reality show landscape usually populated by amateur hopefuls with dreams of stardom, this was something entirely different: a former star and gossip column regular looking for her last shot at international superstardom. Imagine a Jessica Simpson auditioning for The Voice in the US and somehow advancing all the way to the end.
Buskila made a horrible song choice in the final -- she chose Loreen's "Euphoria", which was the winning song for Eurovision 2012 and subsequently a massive hit all over Europe. It's a variation of the Whitney-Mariah reality show rule that I always used to talk about in my posts on American Idol. That is, never sing something that puts you up against an impossible standard. She finished in fourth place.
Shefita was a subject of controversy all season long. She had spent years carefully honing her act in Tel Aviv clubs, and had something of a cult following through her Youtube videos. You see, Shefita isn't a real person, she's a character played by the classically trained musician Rotem Shefi. She plays a comically exaggerated, yet endearing version of an Arab diva, complete with audacious outfits and a personalized sparkly microphone. Much like Sasha Baron Cohen took impersonations to another level by completely dedicating himself to the role, Shefi has completely immersed herself in all things Shefita and NEVER BREAKS CHARACTER. She finished in third place, after being on the bubble multiple times throughout the season and finding a way to survive every time (i.e. the producers couldn't stand to see her go home).
Katria Pouch is a Sudanese immigrant who cruised to the finals (save a small blip in the semifinals) on the strength of her dynamic, almost Tina Turner-like performances. She also courted some controversy by finding a way to get accepted onto two reality shows at the same time, which she chalked up to "gathering experiences". She is unquestionably great, but there is something missing in her act that's hard to put a finger on. Many seasons of American Idol had an R&B diva type who would reach the top four and then hit a brick wall. They were brilliant singers, and therefore good enough to avoid getting voted off, but once it was down to the last few competitors, they didn't seem special because they rarely strayed from the standard diva template of the time.
The winner was Kobi Marimi, who was actually voted off before the semi-finals and brought back as a wild card re-entrant. He has a special on-stage charisma and is a hybrid of Freddie Mercury and Andrea Bocelli. They'll stick him with a patented Eurovision-style power ballad for the competition. It's a smart marketing move because nobody's going to out-Netta Netta, so it's better to do a stylistic 180 away from dance pop and choose a singer and song that's completely different from last year in every way.