Jingle Jangle

Dangrdafne review:

If you watch any new Christmas movie this year please make it Jingle Jangle on Netflix. 

It is a glorious film. It is eye candy, ear candy and best of all soul candy. 

The costumes are incredible, the music is spectacular with moving and inspiring lyrics and the story warms the soul. 

Each actor is perfectly matched to their character and the singing is amazing. Every child should see this movie and they should pay special attention to the Possible song sung by the young girl. Tears come to my eyes just remembering this beautiful moment.

I remember reading the review in Entertainment Weekly and being so excited to see this movie. The writer was so enthralled with the movie that it came through directly to me and made me want to see it too. This was the first night hubby and I had time together to watch. It was worth the wait! And I’m ready to watch it again already. 

I am not going to discuss the story at all as you should experience all the wishes and wonder for yourself. Please treat yourself and your family and watch Jingle Jangle and believe in the impossible. 

4 paws and a tail!!

Friday 80s Flashback for December 11, 2020

 

[And now for... ] -- In celebration of their 20th anniversary, comedy troupe Monty Python released the compilation album, Monty Python Sings. That was 31 years ago this week! That record featured tracks recorded between 1971 and 1989, all culled from previous Monty Python records and their films. The original collection had 25 tracks; the 2014 reissue had 31 tracks. Now, with the possible exception of "Christmas in Heaven," this isn't exactly a holiday record. Still, maybe you need a bit of a laugh to help you through the weekend. If so, these songs might do it. I found a YouTube playlist with 14 of the tracks, and they're lyric videos to boot. Enjoy! 

Flashback: And now for something completely ... lyrical.

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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.

I'll see you in seven!

Friday 80s Flashback for December 4, 2020

[Trombipulation] -- Trombipulation arrived on the scene in December of 1980, forty years ago this very week -- according to Wikipedia, so I might be a little off on the release date. Trombipulation was Parliament's ninth studio release, and their last to include all original material (until Medicaid Fraud Dogg in 2018, 38 years later). AllMusic says there's not much of interest on this record. Just last year, however, uDiscoverMusic's Rashad Grove offered the contrarian view that this Parliament effort actually re-imagined funk for the 80s, and that Trombipulation stands as the template for 80s electro-funk. Either way, George Clinton dissolved the band shortly after this release. Before dipping into the album itself, you should prepare and view these 1980 promo clips and (sort of) interview celebrating December 1980 as "funk month" and "the season to be funky" (though, to be clear, there are no holiday tracks on Trombipulation). I didn't find any music videos or performances for tracks on Trombipulation, so here's the full playlist courtesy of YouTube:

Flashback: Trombipulation

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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.

I'll see you in seven!

Friday 80s Flashback for November 27, 2020

 

[Black Friday -- Redux 2] -- As I often do during a holiday, I'm re-using a previous Flashback post (with a few corrections/updates). This one was originally posted in November 2012 and then revamped for November 2018, but the tunes are just as fresh, and the topic just as relevant, today. Here we go!

It's the day after Thanksgiving, colloquially known as Black Friday here in the States. It's a special, special day when all those prices that have been steadily jacked up over the past few months are lowered (just a bit). Some folks could not even wait for this morning, and began shopping last night or at least camped out (2015 link | 2018 link | 2020 links) in the hope of nabbing huge deals. As the 80s are often considered the decade of materialism during which "shop till you drop" became a mantra, I thought I could find a few tunes to reflect the inanity of Black Friday. Read and hear more after the break.

New Holiday Single: Shortest Day of the Year

"Shortest Day of the Year" -- by Paul Dake

    

Our friend, singer-songwriter Paul Dake, just released his latest single today: "Shortest Day of the Year." Jill Macchiaverna, who composed the track, describes the song's content as follows (quoted from Bandcamp):

"I stayed away from saying Christmas explicitly because I think the sentiment extends to any family gathering where you actually like your family. I focused on the shortest day of the year because there are so many different kinds of celebrations around winter solstice time-frame and because after I had kids time seemed to speed up exponentially. They bring so much light and it's hard to balance between being present with them and dreading when they get bigger and won't want to talk to parents anymore. It will happen before I know it, and I'll definitely be feeling like, 'When did it get dark again?'"

Give it a listen over at Bandcamp. And, if you like it (we do!), it's a mere $1 to purchase. Oh, and while you're over there, be certain to check out the rest of Paul's catalog!

Friday 80s Flashback for November 20, 2020

 

[Play Me! A Guess-The-Theme Edition of Flashback] -- I often use release dates, events, or artists as a theme when selecting tracks for the Flashback. And sometimes the title is a direct reference to the theme, while at other times it is a bit more vague or just something that amuses me. All that is to say that I do indeed have a theme this week, but I'm not going to come right out and tell you what it is. I thought it might be fun to ask if my fellow 80s-philes can guess what I had in mind when I compiled this week's trio of tracks. These tunes were not released in the same month or even the same year. And the theme is not related to the artist or songwriter either. But if you really need a hint, I'll just direct you to dig down into the lyrical content. I don't think I made it all that difficult. Leave your guess in the comments, or tweet it (either to @bookendedbycats or @brainwise). So, if you're ready to give this week's theme game a shot, you can read and hear more after the jump.  

Stories, myths, legends (Crossover #1)

[Crossover #1, pages 2-3; click for larger view]

"Stories, myths, legends... they are not fiction." I love this two-page spread from Crossover #1, the latest collaboration from the team that brought us GOD COUNTRY -- Donny Cates, Dee Cunniffe, and Geoff Shaw!

#comics #stories #myths #legends #fiction