Lazy Movie Weekend: Exile in Guyville

Last week, I put my old lady tendencies aside and stayed up (and out of my apartment) past 9 pm on a weeknight. Our one true queen, Liz Phair, was playing at the 9:30 Club and I couldn't miss the show for a little old thing like a good night's sleep. That would be very un-rock and roll of me.

Phair's debut album Exile in Guyville turned 25 this year. Us 90s girls remember that album, and revel in the experience of listening to it on repeat. For those not familiar with the album (shame on you), Phair has described it as a song for song response to The Rolling Stones' album Exile on Main Street (although not everyone gets that). At its heart, Guyville is about the female voice in the very male dominated 90s indie rock scene. Phair wrote songs that put her in the front rather than on the sidelines of the scene, as so many of her male counterparts wanted. She didn't play the entire album, but did include songs like "Mesmerizing," "Fuck & Run," "Stratford-On-Guy," and "Divorce Song."

When I arrived at the 9:30 Club, I was immediately struck by how many white dudes in polo shirts of a certain age (older than me, but not old) were at the show. I imagine that these were the guys in Phair's Guyville, who have grown up and are now investment bankers or accountants. I texted a friend pre-show, and she wondered if maybe they thought "Guyville" was something else. This is entirely possible. It was just one of those odd occurrences at a show where the audience ends up being made of people who are unexpected.

Seeing Liz Phair this past week, while also working my way through all four versions of the move A Star Is Born, created an interesting counterpoint to what's been going on since I rage-blogged last week. There may not be a direct parallel between Exile in Guyville and A Star Is Born, but in my brain, I can see it very distinctly. At the center of all five experiences, is a woman trying to navigate a male space while also being female.

Each version of A Star Is Born (1937, 1954, 1976, and 2018) has a similar plot: a young woman comes is working her way into the movie business (1937, 1954) or the music business (1976, 2018). She works as a waitress, sings commercials, or at drag shows (one of my favorite parts of the new version). An older, established actor/musician "discovers" her at a bar/as a waitress/at a charity fundraiser and falls in love with her, while also helping her career. She becomes a star, and his career takes a downward turn. This isn't because of her rise to fame, but because he's an alcoholic/drug addict and entirely unreliable, so no one wants to hire him. She falls in love with him anyway, and they marry secretly. Along the way, he completely embarrasses her when she wins an award (Oscar or Grammy, depending on the movie), and eventually goes to rehab. Of course, the story doesn't ever end happily, despite everyone's best efforts.

While each version has this shared plot DNA, they're distinct given the time period in which they were filmed and the lead actors. The 1937 version is an early talking picture. Its stars, Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, were silent film actors who successfully transitioned to talkies (not all actors did). Both is and the 1954 version have that "Golden Age of Hollywood" vibe, but also give viewers a look at how awful the studio system is/was and how actors were basically properties of the studios they worked for in every aspect of their lives. The 1954 version was all about Judy Garland; it's so much about her character that James Mason feels a bit like an afterthought as the male lead (although he's great when on screen). 1976 brought us Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson in the leads, and moves the movie to the music industry. Like Garland, this movie was about revamping Streisand's image (PS - this didn't really work out that way). The newest version stars Lady Gaga, in her first lead role, and Bradley Cooper directing his first feature. Both wrote songs for the film and sing live in the film. This is one of my favorite parts of the new version.

Central to each version is the oldest plot line of movies: a woman trying to save a "broken" man. I went to see this movie with my friend, Emily, and she made the comment that watching this movie as an adult is very different than watching it as a teenager (whichever version you watched). Back then, we were caught up in the epic love story, the fairy tale of being discovered and falling in love with the discoverer. We missed the message. Norman/Norman/John/Jackson all warn Esther/Ally about them as bad choices, but the ladies dive in anyway. It's only when the guy promises to change his ways that the girl says yes to marrying him. Love is that powerful an emotion that they go against their better judgement. Even the producer character in each version knows this is probably going to end up terribly, but they don't stop it. True love can't be stopped, and these ladies are making a choice. I can't say it's necessarily a bad choice, but it's a choice. At the end, of course, Norman/Norman/John/Jackson make a choice too. We can debate their choice forever, but it's also a choice.

 In traditional Lazy Movie Weekend fashion, here are some things I love/hate about all four versions:

• Dorothy Park and Joan Didion have screen writing credits for the 1937 and 1976 versions respectively.
• The hats in the '37 version are a thing of beauty - come for the movie, stay for the hats.
• "Do you mind if I take one more look?" Norman Maine says this in the first version to Esther; there's a variation of the line in the three subsequent films. It's adorable and very sad.
• 1937 Esther and Norman have swans on their property. Swans! Rich people, man, rich people.
• In each version there's a moment when Esther's name (as Vicki Lester in the first two versions), covers up Norman/Norman/John/Jackson that is a symbol of his downfall. 
• "Tragedy is the test of courage." Esther's granny at the end of 1937.
• Judy Garland wears tights as pants in the 1954 version. Seriously, tights as pants.
• Even if you don't want to watch the 1954 version, watch the part where Judy Garland sings "The Man That Got Away." It guts me every time I watch this version. 
• The studio cut a significant amount of the movie from the final version and burned the footage for some reason. The film was digitally restored with film stills and audio for those parts. I would recommend watching an un-restored version the first time you watch this one. It's less choppy.
• "I'm sober as a judge." Too soon, Norman Maine, too soon. 
• The Oscars scene in this version is so painful to watch. It's hard to imagine why Esther stays after this. 
• I'm not entirely sure Kris Kristofferson knew that his shirts had buttons all the way up. There isn't a scene in the 1976 version that doesn't include most of his chest. 
• Barbra Streisand used her own clothes in the movie, which I love more than anything.
• Originally, Elvis was in consideration for the John Norman role, as well Neil Diamond. Col. Tom Parker wouldn't let Elvis be in the film because no one asked Parker first. Elvis died the year after the film was released.
• SPOILER: the 1976 version is the only one where the character's death is ambiguous. The producer for the film was uncomfortable with suicide as a plot line. 
• Blink and you'll miss Freddy Krueger, Robert Englund, as an uncredited patron in a bar.
• "Evergreen" won Streisand an Oscar and is probably the only part of the 1976 version that critics and fans can actually agree on as a good thing. 
• Shangela and Willam, drag performers who both appeared on seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race, are in the new version. I love them and I love that they're here.
• Bradley Cooper does have a weird voice thing going on in this movie, but I think it's because he's trying to sound like Sam Elliott and/or to show how hard drinking and drug use can ruin your voice.
• Concert footage was filmed at festivals like Coachella and Glastonbury, some of which when Lady Gaga was performing during the festival.
• The film opens with Lady Gaga singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" which is a lovely tribute to Judy Garland.
• Lady Gaga is amazing and I would legitimately 
• Jackson's "I'd like to take one more look at you" is not only the latest version of the line, but also a reference to "With One More Look At You" from the 1976 version. 
• That's Bradly Cooper's actual dog, Charlie. So adorable.
• The 2018 version is the only version where Norman/Norman/John/Jackson is disappointed in Esther/Ally because she turns her back on being a singer to be a pop star. He's not jealous of her success, but feels like she sold out and isn't being true to herself as a performer. This makes me appreciate Jackson in a way I don't appreciate the other three men. He wanted her to be the best Ally, not a version a producer told her to be.

I love the new version, but the 1954 version will always be my favorite. I'm sure this is because it was the first version I saw and because I love Judy Garland. But the new version is a very close second. Go see it as soon as you can, and then watch some of the older versions. My ranking: 1954, 2018, 1937, and 1976.

As I watched Ally and Jackson's story unfold, I couldn't help but think of two Liz Phair songs: "Mesmerizing" and "Divorce Song," arguably one of the saddest songs on Exile in Guyville. The song is about a couple on a road trip and how one moment, the woman wanting her own room because they've been in a car together all day, spins out of control and resentments come out and they both say things they may or may not mean. There's no real ending to the song, as there is an ending to Ally and Jackson's story, but it still has that same sadness that I associate with the plot of A Star Is Born. And like Phair in "Mesmerizing", Esther/Ally keep falling back into the same story. Maybe that's why every few decades we get a new A Star Is Born.

I love the song "Shallow" from the new A Star Is Born. If you're not going to see the movie, just watch this video:

Coming soon: Another Lazy Movie Weekend featuring my favorite teen monster movie, I join a Mardi Gras krewe and decorate purses to throw, and we discuss voting and being a good citizen...again.

Old Lady Concert Rules: Loving you is cherry pie

Some pop confessions I need to make:

• Madonna's "Lucky Star" was the first pop song where I memorized both the lyrics and the video choreography. If pressed today, I could sing the song and probably do about half of the choreography. Eighties-era Madonna will always be my favorite.
• I stopped listening to boy bands after New Kids on the Block. I cannot stand any of the 90s era boy bands, but I enjoy Justin Timberlake's solo work. 
• I adore Ariana Grande as a human being and a member of the Hairspray Live cast, but only know two of her songs and only like one of them.
• "Toxic" is my favorite Britney Spears song because everyone has one favorite Britney Spears song.
• The Spice Girls are overrated. 
• Even though I actively fear the Beyhive, I don't love Beyonce. I appreciate her artistic vision and her social activism. The only Beyonce song I listen to is "Crazy in Love" and that's mostly because of the line about pagers which makes me giggle uncontrollably.  
• Until yesterday, I would have considered myself, at best, a casual Lady Gaga fan. 

I feel so much better after getting all of that out. Most of the true pop music I love is from the 1970s and 1980s, the best time for pop music. Give me David Cassidy (let's hope he gets better), Madonna, and every British synth band ever. While the 1990s was a heady time for pop music, there was so much else going on that I didn't focus on it much. By then, I was into rock, metal, old school punk, and alternative/indie music. Pop isn't my thing and that has continued well into the 2000s. I would never begrudge anyone their love of pop music; love what/who you love and own it. That's my motto when it comes to anything pop culture.

So I was late to the world of Lady Gaga. Her first album, The Fame (later reissued as The Fame Monster) was released in 2008 and catapulted her to stardom with songs like "Poker Face", "Paparazzi", "Just Dance," and "Bad Romance" (on the reissue). I was less interested in the songs on her first album, but drawn to the stage persona she created. The visual story Lady Gaga tells is amazing. It's avant-garde and weird and fun. It fells very much like long-form performance art. She was (still is) intriguing in the same way Bowie was intriguing in his many characters and personas throughout his early albums. Lady Gaga was another space alien dropped into our midst to bring us art and music and love. I just ignored her at first.

It wasn't until the Christmas after The Fame came out that I started to have an appreciation for Lady Gaga and her music rather than Lady Gaga and her spectacle. I was in Detroit for Christmas that year with my family and we happened to have a Canadian pop/rock station on while we were in town (you can get some Windsor-based radio stations in Detroit and some Detroit-based stations in Windsor). Anyway, "Paparazzi" was in heavy rotation on this station, playing every hour. Normally, this would annoy me. It's part of the reason I don't listen to pop stations; it's always the same songs on rotation. It gets boring. However, in this case, I became obsessed with the song. I was genuinely disappointed when I didn't hear it while in the car. I wasn't focused on the visual of the video, which is fantastic, but on the lyrics. At it's core, "Paparazzi" is about fandom. Obsessive, stalk-y fandom, but fandom nonetheless. There's a wonderful lyric in the third verse (I think), "Loving you is cherry pie" that I adore. Listening to this song on repeat that Christmas made me appreciate Lady Gaga for than the spectacle. I was starting to like her for her lyrics. I went home, bought a bunch of her songs, and and read the liner notes, one of my favorite musical past-times. Lady Gaga can write a song.

In the years since my Canadian radio obsession, she's released several more albums including the wildly successful Born This Way, worn a dress made out of meat at the VMAs, won some Grammys, and stole AHS: Hotel from everyone else who was on the show. She gave an amazing performance at the Super Bowl and performed with Metallica. She also did an album with Tony Bennett and has become an advocate for LGBTQ causes, created the Born This Way Foundation, worked with "Uncle" Joe Biden on the "It's On Us" campaign, and released the haunting "Til It Happens to You" for the film The Hunting Ground.

And then there's Joanne. Her current album, the one she's on tour with, is awesome. It's some of the pop-ness of her previous albums, but there's more rock and country influences weaving their way through. The lyrics on all of the songs, but particularly "Joanne," "Diamond Heart", and "Million Reasons," are solid. I can listen to the entire album on my commute to work in the morning and it's awesome. I feel like if you didn't like her previous albums, you'd like this one. It's got a little something for everyone. Critics have called it her most personal album; she even alluded to that during the concert. The album has a more mature, but also vulnerable and raw quality that the other albums don't have. I can listen to the whole album and start over again without even thinking twice. That doesn't often happen for me with full albums.

I had the opportunity to see the Joanne tour last night here in DC. My company has a suite at the Verizon/Capital One/Figure Out a Name Already Arena and I got tickets in a ticket lottery. My friend, Emily, joined me for the concert. I don't know that Emily and I can ever do things like concerts and baseball games together again; it seems like we always end up in the most extreme version of the event we can experience. It's exhausting. For the record, now that I've seen the show, if I could go back in time and buy tickets I would. A Lady Gaga concert is worth the money.

To say that it was a good concert would be like saying we need water to survive. It was a phenomenal concert; it's definitely in my top five concerts of all time. A Lady Gaga concert has everything: elaborate sets, fire, costume changes, cheeky language, love, rainbow bridges that make one think of The Wizard of Oz, risque choreography, salty language, awesome choreography, and beautiful lyrics. There were moments when I was overwhelmed by her talent and her humanness all at the same time. Some of my favorite moments were when she played the piano with nothing else going on. The acoustic version of "The Edge of Glory" was one of my favorite concert moments of all time. We also got to be involved in the American Music Awards (AMAs) which were on last night too. She performed "The Cure" from the concert on the show. Later on, they cut back to us when her category was announced and she won for Best Female Pop/Rock artist. It was a cool addition to an amazing experience.

As I told my mother, it felt like Lady Gaga wanted to give us all a hug and a puppy, but also wants us to be super fierce and not take anyone's shit. She talks about her pain, both emotional and physical, as a source of inspiration. She encourages people to ask for help and to understand "invisible" illnesses like chronic pain and mental illness. She told people to be nice to the 2 people in the arena who didn't cheer when she asked if they were part of the LGBTQ community or an ally of said community. Lady Gaga has created a space where her fans can come together and be themselves and love life and each other and be awesome. Lady Gaga fans, the Little Monsters, are delightful. Part of the fun of the show was seeing people in costume (from their favorite songs and albums), including a large number of men in the outfit from the cover of Joanne. Gentlemen, I salute you and your white pants. It's so different from other fandoms I've experienced. I'm sure there are catty Little Monsters, but I've never met one.

I woke up this morning, after way less sleep than I'm used to, feeling amazing. I had a wonderful Monday. Is it after effects of a truly inspirational concert experience? It might just be.

Please excuse me while I go listen to Joanne again.

 Happy Thanksgiving from the Island! A new Lazy Movie Weekend post will be up on Saturday (or Friday night if I'm super ambitious).