Letters posted here are associated with the following Salon Premium Member:
Published Letters: 4
Editor's Choice: 1
As far as I know, Rick James had nothing to do with Teena's "Behind the Groove" or "Lovergirl", although he no doubt had an immense influence over her sound.
For the most part I love this list, as I own about 95% of these records. However, I am puzzled by the Chic omission, since they embody everything about the disco aesthetic that Paglia finds appealing. Also, she seems to have no appreciation for Freestyle, although I guess that really didn't take off until around or shortly after Madonna's debut.
And for what it's worth, I enjoy Madonna's "Confessions on a Dancefloor" despite it being a tad undernourished. It can't hold a candle to Kylie Minouge's "Fever" which I think is the preeminent dance/pop album of this young century.
"cursed the Terminator" -- gee, Salon, couldn't muster up the balls to say "Governer" or "Schwarzeneggar"? The real terminator in this piece is the guy who killed four innocent people and has never offered up a case for his innocence that is remotely convincing.
And what were the families of Tookie's victims doing around this time?
Regardless of where one stands on the death penalty, it's nice to see that Salon made such a concerted effort to depict the whole story.
"The Producers" was directed by Susan Stroman, the Tony Award-winning director and choreographer who has never made a movie before. Watching it, I began to wonder if she'd even seen a movie before.
Didn't Pauline Kael use this same line in her review about Hal Prince's direction of the film version of A Little Night Music?
With a dated, derivative score that produced not one memorable song and its best moments culled directly from the documentary (which truly was groundbreaking), Grey Gardens was a huge missed opportunity. Ebersole is amazing, but there's nothing innovative about the show itself.