Irene Cara has gone to the Great Beyond!

I was so sad to read that Irene Cara, who famously starred as Coco Hernandez on the movie version of Fame, and famously sang the title songs for both Fame and Flashdance, has passed away at the age of 63. At this writing, the cause of death hasn't been announced.  

As a child of the 70s and 80s, Irene Cara was definitely on my personal soundtrack.  I loved the movie, Fame, but I also remember Irene because she was on The Electric Company, which was my favorite children's educational show when I was a little girl.  Flashdance was also a big movie when I was growing up, and her rendition of "Flashdance: What a Feeling!" still sounds great almost forty years after that movie came out.

"Fame"

"Flashdance"

I remember she had some memorable dance hits in the early 80s that were very good.  I still like to listen to them today, even if it's been awhile since I last saw anyone break dance.  Irene was a dynamic performer who put her own special energy into every song.  She was very talented, and probably should have had a much bigger career than she did.  She actually graduated from the Professional Children's School in Manhattan, so she was well cast in Fame.

"Hot Lunch"

"The Dream"

"Out Here On My Own"

"Breakdance"

I loved this song, "Why Me"

And on The Electric Company!

I don't listen to Irene Cara's music on a daily basis anymore, but there was a time when she was on the radio all the time.  She definitely made a huge impact in music, and she will be missed.  Condolences to her friends and family who will miss her the most.

So sad... May she rest in peace.

Fame reunion!

In the 80s, I was a big fan of the show, Fame.  You could say I watched it religiously, even though the storylines were kind of cheesy and the musical numbers were often either corny or badly sung.  Fame had a lot of good dancers, probably due to Debbie Allen's influence.  However, there were only a couple of good singers.  Lee Curreri, who played Bruno, was legitimately a talented keyboard player and composer, but his singing left something to be desired.

Anyway, Fame is evidently still very popular in Italy.  A few months ago, they had a reunion concert in Italy and quite a few of the original players gathered to sing the songs that were featured on the show.  Here are a few videos from that concert, as well as one they did at The Troubadour in Los Angeles to raise money for the Actors' Fund.

In loving memory of Fame players lost...

"Starmaker" again...  I'm struck by how nice Cynthia Gibb's voice is here.  She's obviously invested in a lot of training, since she sounds much better here than she did on the show.

This was one of my favorite songs on Fame...  I believe Lee Curreri actually composed this.  It sounds a bit like something Boz Scaggs would have recorded.  It holds up to time.

Nia Peeples sings one of her best known ballads from the show.  She was probably the best singer they had when the show aired.  Jesse Borrego is there to dance with her.  They were a couple on Fame before Nia's character, Nicole, was killed off.  I think in real life, Nicole was engaged to Carlo Imperato, who played Danny Amatullo.

Debbie Allen sings at the L.A. reunion.

And you can click here to see the Fame gang in Los Angeles, singing their iconic theme song.  I can't say this is the best rendition I've heard, but they sure look like they're having fun.  I best this show was a blast.  I think even Eartha Robinson got in on this one...  She was a dancer on the show!

I'm going to have to keep my eyes peeled for future Italy shows.  Apparently, they've done shows there at least twice since we moved back to Europe.  These clips are making me feel old, though... I can't believe the 80s were so long ago.  Where did the time go?

SingSnap's community songbook...

SingSnap rolled out a new feature last week.  It's the "community songbook", which allows users to upload their own karaoke tracks to the site for all to enjoy.  It's a pretty cool feature, though personally I'm a little afraid to use it much.  I fear that copyright owners will come a calling.

I did upload one song, though, simply because it's so pretty I wanted to share it with a broad audience.  Six people have viewed it since I recorded it the other day.

I like having lots of songs to sing, but the threat of legal retaliation is real...  Especially from people like Don Henley, who is notoriously down on karaoke.  I love Don Henley's music, but I think he's an asshole who is not very generous with his gifts.  Music is meant to be shared.  I have bought a lot of his music over the years, too.  I guess he has the right to be the way he is, but it does make him look like a very selfish person.

Anyway, I may or may not mess around with it some more today.  I'm finding myself with little to do as we await Christmas.  I don't like to record when Bill is home, so I seldom do.  Maybe today I'll do a little music.  Or maybe I'll watch old episodes of Fame on iTunes.  It's a toss up.

Madonna!

I just read an article today about how poorly Madonna's latest album is doing.  Having been just a kid when Madonna was getting her start back in the 80s, I have to admit that I'm impressed that she's still newsworthy.  After all, I remember back in 1984, she was considered a contemporary of Cyndi Lauper's and, in fact, was judged inferior to Lauper.  I do think that Madonna's vocals are weaker than Cyndi's are, but Madonna offers the whole package.  She sings, dances, and says and does provocative things that excite people.

"Dress You Up" was always one of my favorite songs by Madonna...

I also loved "Material Girl"...

When I was a pre-teen, Madonna was all the rage.  She had oodles of hit songs for years.  I was never a devoted follower of hers, but I did like some of her music, especially in the 80s.  It amazes me that I'm 42 now and she's still plugging along.

Madonna was constantly reinventing herself, changing her hair color, changing her clothes, changing her image...

"Live To Tell"...

When I was in college, I had a professor who was obsessed with Madonna's book, Sex.  He talked about it every day in class.  That was one of the less valuable courses I took when I was in college.  Madonna kept coming out with more and more genius marketing strategies.  She never seemed to age and she evolved...

"Vogue"

Dreamy "Take a Bow"...

"Ray of Light"... a great dance hit and nothing like "Material Girl"...

"Jump" has an infectious energy... even for someone as sedentary as me...

I'm sorry that Madonna's latest album is tanking, but she's doing great to still be making records 30 years after her debut.  Of course, she's now in her mid 50s, which means she may eventually start aging.  But she'll always be remembered for "Like A Virgin".  In fact, my husband says watching her on MTV gave him a memorable erection.

The performance that stiffened a million penises...

Klymaxx...

Maybe ten years ago, I remember seeing the band Klymaxx on a VH1 show called Bands Reunited.  Instantly, I remembered the few hits they had when I was in high school...

The one I remembered best was "I Miss You".

A nice pretty ballad popular in 1984.  That means I was actually in junior high at the time.

They also had the funky dance song "Meeting in the Ladies Room".  I was reminded of this song yesterday when it came up on my iPod.  It was a hit in 1985.  I was 13 and decidedly jailbait for Bill, who was 21.  I feel old now.

I'd use the original but it doesn't play in Germany...

Here's Nia Peeples on Fame doing a pretty decent cover version.

And then there's the ever popular ballad, "I'd Still Say Yes", which I remembered really liking in the 80s.  Now it sounds really dated and a little sappy.  I can't believe how old I am.

Not sure if this is Klymaxx or just a good cover band... but this is the song.

And this is from Bands Reunited... what a great show that was!

I'm sure I don't have a lot to say about this band, other than I remember their music and think it qualifies as music that belongs in my Dungeon Of The Past.    

Doin' the Bartman...

I might be able to do The Bartman...

When I was in college in the early 1990s, Bart Simpson (voiced by Nancy Cartwright) was all the rage.  I was never much of a fan of The Simpsons, even though my sister, Becky, told me I sounded like Bart Simpson.  I think I never got into it because when I was in college, I didn't have much access to TV.  All I had was a crummy black and white cast off left by one of my roommates.  I only used it freshman and senior year.

Anyway, Bart Simpson was all the rage back then and he even had a hit song.  I had a friend who owned the CD.  Even back then, I thought it was kind of lame that a 20 year old man would own a Bart Simpson CD, but then he also favored Michael Bolton, Mariah Carey, and other pop megastars of that era.

Watching the "Bartman" video, I am reminded of an unfortunate incident in 3rd grade when my class did the Mexican Hat Dance at a PTA meeting.  Never one for being light on my feet, I slipped and fell during the performance.  It actually ended up being kind of "cute", so I was told by one of the other teachers.  Still, the PE teacher scolded me for being so clumsy.  She thought I'd done it on purpose.

This song now makes me cringe...

Before Nancy Cartwright hit the big time playing Bart Simpson, she was a regular actress.  I fondly remember her from the TV version of Fame, where she played "Muffin", girlfriend of annoying hall monitor, Dwight Mendenhall.  

In the early to mid 80s, Nancy Cartwright was a cute, but chunky, blonde.  Not that I can say anything, since I'm kind of the same way.  

She also famously starred as a character named "Jean" in a creepy 80s era anti-drug film called Not My Kid.

This film is pure 80s movie of the week magic...   

Check out Nancy Cartwright on imdb.com and you'll see that her career is mostly based on her voiceover talents.  Frankly, I think I'd rather be a voice actor anyway.  You don't have to be on camera for that.  She's looking pretty good these days.  Must be the Scientology.

  

I've heard that celebrities are better treated when they become Scientologists than regular folks are...

Since I have so much free time, maybe I should spend some time learning how to do The Bartman...  maybe it'll keep me out of trouble.

Deep, Deep Trouble...

Bruno Martelli should not sing...

Every weekday morning, I watch old episodes of Fame on NuVo TV.  I used to love that show when I was growing up.  It was like a more serious version of Glee, though it had its more ridiculous moments, too.  For some strange reason, Fame had better dancers than singers.  None of the regulars on the show, save for maybe Valerie Landsberg, who played Doris Schwartz, or Nia Peeples, who played Nicole Chapman in later episodes, were especially good singers.  A couple of the regular cast members were notably poor singers.  Lee Curreri, who played keyboards genius Bruno Martelli, is one I can think of off the top of my head...

This song is one of his better performances as a singer, though he really can play the keyboards and does compose his own music.  Ignore the Italian dubbing.  Focus on the song!

When he sings "Murphy's Blues", I hear a little funk that sounds a little Boz Scaggs or Michael McDonald inspired... and I wish for a better singer.

Here he sings "False Alarm"... again, not a bad song, but someone else should probably sing it.

Bruno Martelli wasn't the only "bad" singer, though.  Lori Singer, who played cellist Julie Miller, also couldn't sing.

Both of these actors were legitimately musically talented.  They're not good singers, but they play instruments extremely well.  Lee Curreri is practically a keyboards prodigy.  Lori Singer is a highly regarded cellist and beautiful, to boot.  Why they were forced to sing is beyond me.  And why Fame had better dancers than singers is yet another mystery.  I still love the show, though...  It's a total guilty pleasure and takes me back to a simpler time.

LOL... I have to admit enjoying Carlo Imperato playing Danny Amatullo in this number.  Yes, I am that cheesy.

Melissa Manchester...

Watching Fame again this morning...  From the commercials that air to the show itself, that old 80s show gives a nostalgia nerd like me plenty to write about.  Today's episode starts Melissa Manchester, who had a very powerful set of pipes back in the day.

In 1982, she had a big hit called "You Should Hear How She Talks About You"...

And look at that... this is from Solid Gold!

I actually hated this song when it was popular, but it's kind of grown on me over the years.

I am more partial to her 1979 hit, "Don't Cry Out Loud"...

In 1979, people like Barry Manilow, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, and Neil Diamond were making hits.  Melissa Manchester had to contribute her own Broadway-esque ballad.  I actually think this is one of her best songs.  It's still majestic today, even if it's very melodramatic.

"Midnight Blue" is an early 70s hit...

...while "Through the Eyes of Love" was the love theme for Ice Castles.  I actually love singing this song and I love the film, cheesy as it is.

Melissa Manchester is now in her early 60s.  I don't know what she's doing now, but it was fun to see her on Fame.  I think this was one of the few episodes I had never seen before...

Horrible 80s fashions on "Fame"...

I'm watching Fame this morning.  I was a really big fan of the show back when it originally aired.  Now I mostly watch it because I don't want to watch CBS Morning News.  The hairstyles and fashions these people are wearing are atrocious.  What's funny is, none of the "kids" on this show could pass for teenagers.  They all appear to be in their early 20s at the very least...  On the episode airing this morning, Nancy Cartwright, aka Bart Simpson, is playing the girlfriend of Dwight Mendenhall, aka "the hall monitor".

Not long ago, I found a hideous video starring Cynthia Gibb, who had a regular spot on the show.  She was doing something in Italy and wearing some godawful fashions...

I dare you to watch this video and not shriek in horror.