Fun and comprehensive entertainment blog feat. movies, TV series, actors, movie-makers, music & books: 1980 - Present
Some people are multi-talented and well, it’s annoying. While us the normal folks struggle our way through a karaoke song, they can act and SING (and/or make music). I mentioned Jon Bon Jovi, Kevin Bacon and Keanu Reeves in my previous post. Now it’s time to talk about John Travolta and Bruce Willis.
BRUCE WILLIS
Maybe I shouldn’t write much about his acting skills and how popular his movies are. I should just name a couple of his movies. Die Hard, Pulp Fiction, 12 Monkeys, The Sixth Sense, The Whole Nine Yards. But to top all that, he can sing. He seriously has a really cool rocknroll voice. He can also play the harmonica. Back when Jon Bon Jovi was doing his solo album Destination anywhere in 1997, he shot a short film in which Demi Moore starred. Back then Demi and Bruce were still married and Jon became good friends with them both. So we know that Jon can sing, play the guitar and the piano. Bruce can sing and play the harmonica. Jon always talks about what a blast they had singing and playing all the time. Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Willis partying together…That’s sight I wish I could see. He is so much fun. Oh, I almost forgot. His nickname is Bruno. And here is a song from him:
[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDXkd2NyCCE[/pro-player]
JOHN TRAVOLTA
Now with John, things are a bit more complicated. He made it big in movies with Saturday Night Fever, where he showed all his disco dancing skills. Then he played in Grease, which became even a bigger hit. And we already knew h was a talented singer and a dancer. Of course when you play in such big hits consecutively when you are 23 and 24, your later movies aren’t likely to be just as successful. But he did manage to make two comebacks. One with Look Who’s Talking in the late 80s and one with Pulp Fiction in 1994. Acting always came first for him but since his most popular movie has him singing, people don’t have trouble taking him seriously as a singer. I mention Grease as his most popular flick, because it is what put on the map, the DVDs still sell 31 years later and it has been known my generations. Bu t I like his bad guy roles even more. I know it is a weird way to compliment someone but I mean it affectionately: he makes a wonderful psycho. Broken Arrow, anyone? Half of Face Off?
Remember a time when John was young and skinny?
[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4n0la_k-DU[/pro-player]
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Do you know Dogstar? Keanu Reeves played the bass and toured with the band for 11 years. The band was founded in 1991 and broke up in 2002. But Keanu has been in movies since 1985.
Dogstar even has a picture with Bon Jovi, at the backstage of a concert where the band performed as the supporting act. And how many of you think Jon Bon Jovi as an actor? Sure, he has done some interesting films like The Leading Man and Little City but to most people, he is a rocker, a musician, the frontman of his band Bon Jovi. Keanu Reeves always remained as an actor who liked to play bass and play rocker in his free time to his fans and the name Jon Bon Jovi can sell shitloads of concert tickets but it ain’t that strong when it comes to box office.
KEVIN BACON vs The Bacon Brothers
Kevin Bacon has a band called The Bacon Brothers where he plays with his brother Michael. They have 3 albums but I didn’t even have a clue before I watched a special on the actor’s life. His movies? His movies are good. He is a theater trained actor who can play the good guys (Footloose, a classic dance movie) but thanks to Hollywood, he made a name for himself as the actor who best plays the bad guys. He has played good guys (Footloose, She’s Having a Baby, wrongly convicted and/or sexually molested prisoners (Murder in the First, Sleepers), kidnappers , murderers…the list goes on. You probably heard of Mystic River, JFK, A Few Good Men, Flatliners, Stir of Echoes… Did you by any chance get a hold of his albums? I actually heard him play during that show about his life. He sings and he is good. But it is OK. I know quite a lot of singers with great voices. But I think Kevin Bacon is a uniquely talented actor. I for one am glad he stuck with his acting career.
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Well, my previous post is about how songs can actually get you in the mood not to give in your dreams and it gives Poison’s Cry Tough as an example. The song is fast, hopeful and it just tells you not to give up. The fact that the band came from nowhere and went to the top of the charts through persistence and hard work makes the lyrics credible.
You may not know Poison. But I’m pretty sure you have heard of Bon Jovi. Don’t dismiss them because rock isn’t your thing or because their sound is just too “soft” for you. They have songs in a lot of genres (hard rock, classic rock, pop-rock, country rock, glam rock…), and they have written songs about almost all aspects of life. Don’t think about the ballads. Please, we are not going to talk about “Always” here. But, if you are thinking of the chorus from their hit song “It’s my life”, great! You are exactly where I need you to be. The whole song is about not giving up and standing your ground. In fact, this song is only one example from the band. They are huge on songs that encourage you to work on your dreams.
Here is a part of “It’s my life“:
It’s my life – And it’s now or never
I ain’t gonna live forever , I just want to live while I’m alive
(It’s my life)
My heart is like an open highway – Like Frankie said
I did it my way, I just want to live while I’m alive ,’Cause it’s my life
Better stand tall when they’re calling you out
Don’t bend, don’t break, baby, don’t back down
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOfaYFIHt1g&feature=fvst this is for the song’s video.
They might have sold over 100,000,000 records (yes, it is the official number) but it’s not like success fell on their laps. Frontman Jon Bon Jovi worked at odd jobs, he even sold shoes. (I am saying “even” – if you remember the old sitcom Married with Children, the shoe selling thing might put a smile on your face.) He cleaned the floors on a record studio and didn’t get paid for it. Instead he just recorded his demos. One of the demos got him a record deal and a band. But what made Bon Jovi huge is actually another song that tells you to keep hanging on no matter what: Living on a Prayer. This is the video of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUSDS9pkA2Y&feature=fvst
Oh and the chorus goes something like this:
Whooah, were half way there
Livin on a prayer
Take my hand and well make it – I swear
Livin on a prayer
Not to mention, they have written Keep The Faith (it tells you to “keep the faith: you know youre gonna live thru the rain” ) and Have a Nice Day , whose chorus goes:
Ohhh, if there’s one thing I hang onto,
That gets me through the night.
I ain’t gonna do what I don’t want to,
I’m gonna live my life.
Shining like a diamond, rolling with the dice,
Standing on the ledge, I show the wind how to fly.
When the world gets in my face,
I say, Have A Nice Day.
Have A Nice Day
link to Keep the Faith: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U5gJZh5u2Y&feature=fvst
link to Have a Nice Day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UheKmPY1mNw&feature=fvst
ENJOY!
I love a song with good lyrics. Vocals and music are incediblty important to me too, but I am not one of those people who don’t pay attention to the lyrics. Because the story is right there. Since I am a rock fan, the songs I listen to are full of different stories. Romantic, funny, passionate, dreamy, hopeless, hopeful…it can go on forever. But sometimes the lycris are not talking about what you thing they are or sometimes the situation is deeper than you think.
Think about the start of this century. Before the downloading mania. New CDs could be expensive so often I would stick to old casettes. And I remember the funny looks on the clerks’ faces when I looked for Poison. God forbid-if you listen to something from the 80s and 90s. Of course some bands remain more popular through the years like Bon Jovi or Metallica. But when you go to a person who is only aware of eithert the current charts or just know the 70 stuff like Zeppelin and Floyd, you are in for a funny reaction. Anyhow, I searched and finally found a Poison album.It was the best of. And the band had thought of including the stories behind the songs.
* “Life goes on” :
I used this song in a story of mine (Yeah, I write stories with dialogues and write the name of the song that I think will go with the scene). The character is slowly coming to terms with her boyfriend’s death. It has been a little over a year. She was madly in love with him and surviving his loss has been an extremely painful process. The lyrics go something like this:
“So I pretend youre here by my side, tonight on this lonely ride…I keep telling myself that :
Life goes on while youre miles away and I need you
Time goes on as night steals the day Theres nothing I can do.”
* ” Something to believe in” :
It has a similar story. It is also about loss, having been written after a loss of band members’ friends:
“I tried all night not to break down and cry
As the tears rolled down my face
I felt so cold and empty
Like a lost soul out of place”
“Every rose has its thorn” :
However, “Every rose has its thorn” has the fun story. The lyrics contain these verses:
“Every rose has its thorn
Just like every night has its dawn
Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song
Every rose has its thorn”
We naturally think the girl is the rose and the thorns are her flaws and/or the difficulties in their relationships.It turns out the girl is thorn and the rose is poison’ s career: the girl dumped bret for a guywwiith more money. then the song becomes a hit and bret becomes more popular than that guy will ever be.It is not a romantic song. It is just mistaken for one.
“You give love a bad name”:
* This Bon Jovi song is rumored to have been written after Diane Lane, with whom Jon Bon Jovi dated before marrying his wife. Watching Diane’ s movies, she just seems so pretty and sweet- well, but I guess she does give love a bad name in the movie “Unfaithful” where she cheats on her husband (played by Richard Gere). I am pretty sure if I was Diane and Jon wrote a song like this about me, I would be pissed. But being a die-hard Bon Jovi fan; all I can say is:the story behind the song doesn’t matter much here. It is fantastic and and an all-time classic:
“Shot through the heart
And youre to blame
You give love a bad name
I play my part and you play your game
You give love a bad name”
