Greatest Song Evah 1/26/24

An Unfortunate Autocorrect

Before proceeding, an apology for an item in Wednesday’s newsletter. An eagle-eyed reader alerted me to the fact that autocorrect made an embarrassing and somewhat horrific change that I failed to notice when I did my final proofread. Sincere apologies for that oversight, it won’t happen again.

Hey Ya!

You know what’s a sign of a great song? It’s when you constantly hear it during its chart reign yet never grow tired of it. Hey Ya! was about as omnipresent as a song gets, but no matter how many times I heard it I would still turn up the volume. It was that good. (Quick trivia note that might only interest nerds like me. It was the #1 song the week that Casey Kasem hosted his final edition of American Top 40, and it was still #1 when Ryan Seacrest took over.)

This was Andre 3000’s signature track on OutKast’s Speakerboxx/The Love Below album, which was essentially two solo albums simultaneously released by Andre & Big Boi. Not unlike the Beatles White Album it showed how the members were beginning to drift apart, and Andre in particular was growing increasingly experimental. Like much of his portion of the release, it is technically hip-hop, but he colored outside the lines to strong effect.

There is so much going on in this track, and it all ties together so seamlessly. The 1-2-3-4 countdown kicks it right into high gear, and the bass synth line is infectious. The song is filled with lines that remain quotable more than 20 years later. And there are few musical moments that hit me on a joyous level quite like the point where Andre repeats “all right all right all right” more than a dozen times.

In addition to selling about a bajillion records, OutKast also did quite well at the Grammys that year, including a win in the prestigious Album Of the Year category. OutKast only made one album together after this one, & Andre 3000 has moved into the Eccentric Celebrity portion of his career. He’s become one of those guys who seems to pop up in the most random places, and just last year he released an album of flute instrumentals. He marches to the beat of his own drummer, and God bless him for that. The next batch of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees should be announced shortly. OutKast is long overdue for that honor; fingers crossed that this will be their year. What’s cooler than being cool? Making it into the Hall.

The Lessons Of Meatball Ron

I remember when people assessed the carnage of the 1994 midterm election in which the Gingrich-led Contract With America contingent swept through into a GOP majority that someone observed that if voters are given a choice between a Republican and a Republican they will choose the Republican every time. In other words, Bill Clinton made the error of tacking too much towards the center. He had veered so far away from basic Democratic principles that he was offering Republican lite. Why would anyone go for that when they could just have the real thing?

Ron DeSantis had a similar problem. He tried to present himself as Trump without the baggage, but the entire Trump package is precisely what appeals to the MAGA world. And as much as I hate to give Orange Napoleon credit, he knows how to work a crowd. DeSantis does not have that skill. Worse, the more that people were exposed to him the more they recognized what an unlikable weirdo he is. He clearly hates people. So does Trump, but at least he knows how to fake it. DeSantis is so obviously uncomfortable around other people. It was one thing for him to resoundingly defeat Charlie Crist; he could not stand up to the scrutiny of a national campaign.

Which is another lesson for anyone still wishing for a savior to ride in on a white horse. DeSantis is not the first person with presidential ambitions who proved lacking and he will not be the last. President Scott Walker is just one of many who can attest to that. A presidential campaign can be looked at as a prolonged national job interview. I’m not saying that we as a nation have always made the best choices, but the long vetting process quickly shows who just does not have the necessary national appeal.

That makes it completely unrealistic that anyone in either party could swoop in at the last minute to save the day. Sure, the election is more than 9 months away, but that is almost certainly not enough time for someone to come in and hit the ground running. Remember Fred Thompson in 2008? The Republican Party was practically begging him to jump in, but when he finally did it was much too late. He seemed bored and uninterested and dropped out quickly. Michael Bloomberg’s late entrance and rapid withdrawal in 2020 followed a similar path. I don’t doubt for a moment that there are ambitious politicians from both parties quietly laying the groundwork for 2028 runs, but anyone thinking they can still make a run at this late date in this election cycle is setting themself up for failure.

Doc and Doris

I won’t go so far as to say there’s something rotten in the state of Wisconsin, but the whole way the Milwaukee Bucks’ firing of coach Adrian Griffin and hiring of Doc Rivers went down was a really bad look. Griffin’s record at the time of his dismissal was 30-13. I’m sure the organization must have seen something that made them worry that he’s unable to take them to the next step, but that looks like premature panic to me. It’s also quite possible that there was a potential player rebellion brewing, and team management felt it would be better to act too quickly than too late.

As for Rivers and ESPN, every network realizes they are taking a risk when they hire a coach for the broadcast booth. Any coach is bound to have one eye on the help wanted ads, so there is always a chance that they will be called back to the playing field. I don’t think the network anticipated that Rivers would only last half a season (in Wednesday night’s game (Mike Breen thanked Rivers for his “weeks of service”) but it is what it is.

There’s always a possibility that ESPN will wish to stick with a 3-person booth for their main broadcast team and move JJ Redick or Richard Jefferson up one step, but if not, Doris Burke has more than earned a shot at working solo with Breen. I have a great deal of admiration for her work; she is not only excellent at breaking down the plays, but she is also very quick to recognize trends within individual games. Because she is a woman who has the audacity to work in sports, she gets a lot of criticism from internet trolls, but that’s their issue. It will be a major breakthrough to see her sitting at the microphone come NBA Finals time.

Melanie

Melanie Safka has largely been out of the public spotlight for years, even though she continued to record and tour up until the very end. I’ve always had a lot of affection for her, and not just because she was born in the same neighborhood as I was. I have very clear memories of seeing her on one of the late night music series that ran on the networks in the early 1970s; most likely ABC’s In Concert. So that makes her one of the very earliest musicians about whom I had an awareness. Melanie passed away earlier this week at the age of 76.

Her big hit was Brand New Key, a #1 hit single in 1971. That was a bouncy, catchy little tune with a barely disguised sexual metaphor contained in its playful lyrics. Its unrelenting sunniness has largely made it one of those songs that people enjoy ironically. A couple of weeks ago I shared a clip from The Kids In the Hall which used it as a humorous backdrop for a post apocalyptic future. That was wonderful. For my money, her pinnacle came with Lay Down (Candles In the Rain.) Inspired by her performance at Woodstock, it was a spectacular reflection of its era; the backing vocals from the Edwin Hawkins Singers turned it into pure art.

This Is Really Still A Thing?

For years the annual Razzie awards served as a mild amusement. OK, the snark factor ran a little high but if you take it for what it is it takes a mild dig at the self-importance that is too prevalent at awards shows. If nothing else, it’s a good way of revealing who has a good sense of humor and who doesn’t.

But there is a difference between being a smartass and being downright cruel, and the Razzies have crossed that line frequently enough recently that it’s best to say that they made their point and put and end to it. In recent years they have been giving nominations to Bruce Willis. It was easy to mock his tendency for appearing in a series of low budget action movies shot in Eastern Europe where he would only be on set for a couple of days and producers would go on to poorly photoshop him into the promotional poster. The Razzies ran with the narrative that he was shameless enough to appear in anything, but we later learned that there was much more to the story. We had no idea about his cognitive decline, or that it wasn’t his choice to act in so many B-movies as it was the choice of those that were exploiting him.

You would think the people behind the Razzies would have learned a lesson and been more careful going forward, but last year they truly jumped the shark. They actually gave a Worst Actress nomination to the 12 year old actress who starred in the remake of Firestarter. Let me repeat that. Whoever makes these decisions thought it would be hilarious to make fun of a child. They withdrew the nomination, but the damage was done. If they had any shame, or any common sense, the adults in the room should have understood that the concept had finally worn out its welcome. Nope. If anyone still cares, this year’s nominees were announced early this week. It looks like they steered clear of children this time, but what’s the point of the whole charade anymore?

SNL Preview

Dakota Johnson last hosted SNL way back in 2015 in the midst of the Fifty Shades Of Grey craze. (I’m not in that target demo, so correct me if I’m wrong, but has society decided to collectively forget all about 50 Shades? Seems to me that it hasn’t left much of a cultural footprint.) Her first spin of the wheel was not a very memorable episode, perhaps due to the fact that it immediately followed the splashy 40th anniversary special. It’s very possible that everyone was still hungover for much of the week. Johnson has done a lot of interesting work in indie films in her post-Shades career - Bad Times At the El Royale was so good - and now with a new Marvel movie about to open she gets an SNL do over.

Plus, Justin Timberlake returns as musical guest. His rep has taken a beating the last few years. The reexamination of Britney Spears has not only forced people to take a closer look at his past behavior, but it also reminded everyone that he really threw Janet Jackson under the bus after the Super Bowl and he faced no consequences as a result. It looks like he’s now peeping his head over the horizon like a prairie dog. SNL is a friendly place, so it should serve as a good gauge to see how many people still hate him. Just don’t let Jimmy Fallon anywhere near the stage.

Closing Laughs

We may be in the depths of winter, but there’s this to look forward to. Pitchers and catchers are less than 3 weeks away. Can ya feel it? Have a great weekend everyone.