Bookended by Cats was named after Milo and Otis. They are the short, orange, and furry brothers who, upon entering our lives in 2003, often bookended us on our couch. And who are we? We're a geek couple living in PA. We love music, movies, TV, comics, books, and comic cons. And, from time to time, we'll share our thoughts on these nerdy things.
I know this is based on an excellent comic book but I have not read it nor do I know anything about it. But the main characters are girls and I know it is a popular story so I added it to our watch list last year.
I am so glad I did. What an excellent series!! The girls were fantastic and the story was extra wild but really good. I didn’t have any issue trying to follow along with the story and while I may have missed some tie ins from the comic book series I don’t think it was anything critical.
It’s good that I felt satisfaction with the ending since it will not have a second season. Not that I wouldn’t watch more if they had gone on but I felt closure with the story as told.
The casting was incredible. I easily believed the versions we were shown and I wonder how the actors felt looking at versions of themselves.
The music in this series was awesome too! Lots of "oldies but goodies" :)
[Runaway] -- Bon Jovi was released 40 years ago this week, on January 21, 1984. This was the debut album by the band Bon Jovi led by vocalist Jon Bon Jovi. Confused between album, band, or person? Let me explain a bit more.
Between 1980 and 1984, Jon Bon Jovi (born John Bongiovi) worked at Power Station, a recording studio in Manhattan. The studio had been co-founded by Bon Jovi's cousin, Tony Bongiovi, who probably provided the younger man's entry to the facility. Most stories I heard, as I recall, note that Jon Bon Jovi was mainly a janitor, or held some kind of all-around errands runner position, for the studio. But he had after-hours access, and he recorded several of his own demos there.
A demo for "Runaway" got included on a local radio station's compilation album. After that song got more airplay in the NYC area, Jon Bon Jovi was able to snag a record deal. The label wanted a band name for the contract, and the label's own artists and repertoire department came up with ... Bon Jovi.
Jon Bon Jovi put together the fledgling band lineup with the help of keyboardist David Bryan (who was David Rashbaum at that time). It was Bryan who brought in bassis Alec John Such and drummer Tico Torres. Bon Jovi's (the band, not the person) first lead guitarist was Dave Sabo, but he was replaced by Richie Sambora. This band played on all but one track of the debut album -- yep, "Runaway." The eponymous debut album used a 1982 recording of "Runaway" done with Power Station's studio musicians, The All Star Review.
"Runaway" was a top 40 hit in the US. The follow-up single, "She Don't Know," peaked at #48 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is also the only song in Bon Jovi's catalog that was not written by a member of the band. Mark Avsec (of Donnie Iris & The Cruisers penned it. Bon Jovi, the album, peaked at #43 on the US Billboard 200. But a solid debut with some commercial success is only part of the popularity formula. The band also had to earn respect on the road. And that wasn't easy with this first record: I recall letters submitted to publications like CIRCUS Magazine that all but asked Bon Jovi to "please run away" -- apparently, some rock fans did not want Bon Jovi opening for their favorite acts.
Still, despite some vocal critics, Bon Jovi was a serviceable and energetic debut. Sure, it wears its lyrical and musical tropes on its sleeve. And just about every song here is about heartache or chasing after someone who caused heartache. But that's part of the charm of early 1980s rock music! So, if you're only familiar with "Runaway," here are a few very subjective notes for you.
The albums three low points are "Love Lies," "Burning for Love," and "Come Back." I don't recall disliking them in 1984, and they're not truly terrible, but I'm pretty sure I didn't wear out the cassette over them -- except to fast forward to the next song.
And here are my high points on the record, ranked with the highest first:
"Runaway" (of course)
"Get Ready" (almost, but not quite, an anthem with its jump-up-and-down chorus exhorting the crowd, repeatedly, to "come on, come on, get ready"
"Shot Through The Heart" (but surprisingly not about giving love a bad name)
"Roulette" (a great, driving song)
"Breakout" (seemed tailor made for an 80s movie)
"She Don't Know" (a standard song of "she don't even know my name" teen angst, but it's done well)
Flashback: Bon Jovi (January 21, 1984)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
We came to see Toks Olagundoye as Mel and we were treated to one of the most incredible shows all around. Seriously, I have nothing negative to say … except I want more. And luckily, while we watched season one, we found out season two is coming this year.
I have zero knowledge about the League of Legends game this is based on but I had no issue following along and easily being in the story. In fact, I was so into the story that when we had to stop watching the first night I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened and what was to come. I was impatiently waiting to get back to the series.
One of the main things I loved about the series was the music. Both the score and the soundtrack were other characters in the episodes and were integral to the storytelling.
The animation is like nothing I’ve seen before but then I don’t play any video games. But then I also don’t know if the animation in this series is the same as the game either.
I think the voice actors for the characters were perfectly matched and I adored Toks as Mel. Her character was so layered and grew during the season, it was a joy to watch and listen.
[Strange Funk] -- 40 years ago this week, Cameo released their 10th album, She's Strange. This one topped the Billboard R&B Albums chart (#1), and it peaked at #27 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart, on its way to a Gold certification for netting over 500,000 sales. How did this veteran funk band generate so much success with this record? By retaining their core funk ethos while not being afraid to experiment. Per AllMusic critic Alex Henderson, young audiences in particular were ignoring horn-powered funk in favor of hip-hop and music that employed modern technology. That is, they wanted electro-, but not necessarily eclectic, funk.
Now, Cameo did not completely abandon those funky horns, but they did embrace new tech and rap, using the changing marketplace to fuel their creativity. The end result is a funk record that is laced with rock, slings raps, and even delivers cooldown segues over some lite jazz. Cameo leader Larry Blackmon's fearlessness in the face of change certainly contributed to his band's durability.
Top moments for me: "Talkin' Out The Side Of Your Neck," "Tribute to Bob Marley," and "Leve Toi." But don't sleep on the title track and first single. There's a reason it peaked within the top 50 of the UK Singles and US Billboard Hot 100 charts, as well as reaching the #1 slot at the top of Billboard's US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, where it dominated for four weeks.
Flashback: She's Strange (January 16, 1984)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
[Might As Well Jump] -- Van Halen stormed onto charts, radio, and record stores with their 1978 self-titled debut album. By the end of 1983, about a year and a half after they released their fifth studio album, Diver Down, Van Halen was one of the biggest rock bands in the world. Their brand of hard rock – dubbed "high velocity folk music" by vocalist David Lee Roth – was easily recognized.
And that changed on January 9, 1984, with the release of Van Halen's sixth studio LP, 1984.
Well, I guess the change actually came in December 1983. That's when the album's first single, "Jump," was released. Sure, the song became the band's most successful single, as well as their first to reach the #1 spot on the US Billboard Hot 100. But more important was what that single heralded, which was a change Van Halen's sound, and specifically a change in how guitarist extraordinaire, Eddie Van Halen, would compose and record music. Yes, guitar hero Eddie was playing keyboards and synths.
Now, "Panama" and "Hot For Teacher," the third and fourth singles respectively, were pretty much in the vein of classic Van Halen. But the second single, "I'll Wait," was a synth-laden love song. And the album's title track was a short instrumental that prominently featured synthesizers.
1984 peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200, but just couldn't muscle itself out from behind Michael Jackson's Thriller. And although 1984 was successful, even muscling itself into the hearts, and wallets, of the most diehard Van Halen fans, it marked the end of an era.
There had been mounting tensions in the band before 1984, particularly between Eddie and Dave. For years, both singer David Lee Roth and Warner Bros. producer Ted Templeman had routinely discouraged Eddie from dabbling too much into keyboards when it came to the band and their sound. 1984, in both process and sound, was apparently not a direction Roth wanted to continue down, and he quit the band. LoudWire compiled some of the potential reasons for the split [September 2003]. American Songwriter points directly at "Jump" as being the starting point for the drama that ended in a rift [June 2023]. But so much of these "Why did the band break up?" stories are looking backwards and trying to pull threads together, and even when dealing directly with the people involved, memories are not perfect.
But you know what is perfect, at least in my opinion? 1984. It came out around the middle of my high school years, and I was swept up in this force of nature masquerading as an album. I wore out both the cassette and an LP. The pop sheen of the more radio-friendly hits rests in a comfortably shaky balance with the glam metal elements. Van Halen wold make more records, with other vocalists and with Dave. And some of those later records rival 1984's success. But they cannot rival 1984, or even approach, its status as a milestone.
Flashback: 1984 (January 9, 1984)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
When Death and his granddaughter are the most normal part of the show, you know your in for something waaay off the beaten path.
Brainwise was very excited to watch this three episode miniseries on Amazon Prime. I had zero idea what to expect and even now that it’s finished I’m not sure I still know what I watched. But it was good. Not sure how I know this but I believe it to be true. The less you know, the better it will be for your viewing :)
3 paws
Candy Cane Lane
What an incredibly fun romp of a movie. Eddie Murphy and Traci Ellen Ross were perfection together. This was a great family show and I laughed so much. Very clever and different. Definitely would watch this again.
3 paws
Best Christmas Ever
While there is definitely some questionable humor in this movie, I ended up crying in the end. It was a lovely story about friendship and belief in magic. Brandy was lovely in her role and I’m glad they included her singing. I liked the story and it came with some twists and turns too.
[Bounded Four Decades] -- I spent much of 2023 revisiting albums that turned 40 that year. No surprise that I wanted to continue that work in 2024. And this week in 1984 saw a bunch of releases, most of which were even dated January 1. So, I had many options for the first Flashback of 2024. I'd like to tell you I made this week's choice due to a desire to ease into this new year. But, really, it was a memory. A memory of this artist and how I found this album.
I don't recall how I first saw live footage of Michael Hedges performing. My best guess is PBS, via a Windham Hill concert taped at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap in Vienna, VA. Dad was a Windham Hill fan, and he knew I liked Shadowfax, one of the featured performers. Anyway, during that July 1986 performance that I viewed on TV, Hedges monologued to introduce his song, "Because It's There," briefly told a story about guitar shopping in Texas, and saying that he purchased a "longhorn model" (see 0:20 through 0:59 of the previously linked video). He was referring to a harp guitar, the "longhorn" of which was a second, curved neck with additional strings (the "harp" part of the guitar).
That performance, and his covers of Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" and Sheila E.'s "A Love Bizarre," made me a fan. And it led me to track down what he had recorded at Windham Hill. Spoiler: He had not yet put his covers on an album. But, still, this brings me to this week's Flashback.
Aerial Boundaries was Michael Hedges' second album for Windham Hill, but my first in my reverse chronological order. I somehow skipped 1985's Watching My Life Go By until much later. And, oh, what an experience this record is. Hedges's use of alternate tunings and his two-handed percussive technique wrought more music out of a guitar than I had ever thought a single person could achieve. Though he isn't completely alone: Mike Manring adds fretless bass on "After the Gold Rush" and "Menage a Trois," with Mindy Rosenfeld (whom Hedges had married in August of 1981) joining in with flute on that latter track. Writing for AllMusic, Daniel Gioffre referred to Aerial Boundaries as "one of the finest acoustic guitar albums ever made." The reviewer at Windhaming, a site that was dedicated to the first 100 Windham Hill albums, wrote: "This is one of those few albums that served to define a genre by showing all that it is capable of, while simultaneously & immediately appealing to both casual listeners & those most in the know" [quoted text via michaelhedges.com]. It's an album that, I think, certainly helped define and popularize ambient acoustic music in the mid to late 1980s.
My favorite tracks: "Aerial Boundaries," "After the Gold Rush," "Spare Change," and "The Magic Farmer."
Flashback: Aerial Boundaries (January 1, 1984)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
