To the Max: ’80s Music in Books

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Let’s face it…many a music snob would declare the 1980s as the worst decade in music, while others would put ’80s music in the “so bad it’s good” category. A flurry of recent titles chronicle the highlights, and occasional lowlights, of the decade’s most influential artists.

For me and my high school friends, heavy metal ruled, starting with my first concert: Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet tour in 1984 at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. In Nöthin’ but A Good Time, you can explore all things metal – from the heyday of hair bands (confession: I’ve seen both Whitesnake and Skid Row in concert) to the edgier Guns N’ Roses, before heavy metal gave way to grunge in the ’90s. Spanning hard rock classics (Ratt’s “Round & Round”) and obligatory metal ballad (Poison’s “Every Rose Has it’s Thorn”), authors Tom Beaujour and Richard Bienstock take readers on a wild ride.

Mardi Gras on my mind

Do you know what it means, to miss New Orleans? As another Mardi Gras rolls around – it’s tomorrow, in case you’ve forgotten – this question is especially poignant for NOLA expats, as well as anyone who holds the Crescent City dear to their heart. Tonight, I’ll be making jambalaya and gumbo, and baking up some King Cake for dessert, while filling the house with music such as New Orleans Party, the Jazz Fest, and some great music by The Meters, Allen Toussaint, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Dr. John, The Wild Tchapatoulas, and Galactic.

The Show Must Go On Hoopla!

By now, theater fans are finding creative and unexpected ways to connect with their favorite medium that have grown quickly in this time of necessity. In some places, socially distanced music festivals have brought performers back to the stage. Many streaming services are picking up content as quickly as they can, and streaming shows of bands and performers are helping to keep the stage lights lit.

Your library access to Hoopla is another convenient way to get your musical fix! Whether you are an original cast recording purist or a movie musical enthusiast, you already have these soundtracks and more at your fingertips!

Hamilton’s stage recording made it to Disney+ streaming July 4^th, 2020 for a monthly subscription fee, but did you know the music has been here all along? Not just stuck in your head, but here, on Hoopla! This musical, much like its creator and its subject, shattered expectations. This fictional take on a controversial American figure’s rise and fall is told through modern music and a cast so diverse and talented that it truly turns the world upside down.

David Bowie’s Movie Music

Today, January 8, 2021, would’ve been David Bowie’s 74^th birthday. It’s been five years since we lost our patron saint of glam. Five years, what a surprise. He still turns up everywhere, that sound and vision shapeshifter, especially on movie soundtracks. When I’m watching a movie, and a Bowie song comes on, I feel like I’ve run into a long-lost friend, even if it’s performed by somebody else or it’s more Bowie-adjacent than pure Bowie.

Director Wes Anderson excels at selecting impeccable music for his films, as demonstrated by The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. About 10 minutes in, a character teases us with just a bit of “Ziggy Stardust,” playing an acoustic guitar, and singing in Portuguese, and we know we’re in for a treat. That’s Seu Jorge, who beautifully reinterprets several Bowie songs, giving us the pleasure of hearing two different versions of “Life on Mars?” during the film—Seu’s and Bowie’s.

Thirty Names of Night

Come December’s shortest days, there are, amongst us, those who relish Burning the Midnight Oil, who revel in every blue-black hour’s saturating presence.  These Night Bloomers, Know the Night, The Long Night, Faithful and Virtuous Night understand that as each day’s darkness lengthens its translucent filaments entwine with time’s endless line.  This is the story, the same story read, every December by every eye witnessing the work of the earth. Here, evidence that this sphere rotates beneath us as we traverse by foot, wheel or wonder.  We will go about our busyness, taking care or carelessly moving on with worry, wit and resolve to rejoice, live and die, in the best way possible, knowing that that cloak of sky And the Dark Sacred Night, will recede, just like that, every day and its night rounding the corner.