Even if it is my taste.
Netflix seems to be adding more and more selections to their 'streaming' lineup...everyday when I flick through there is additional online content, some good, some bad, and some that count as guilty pleasures.
'Xanadu' is one of those guilty pleasures, that was just added this week, much to my wife's displeasure.
I never have, and never will deny that I have somewhat...eclectic tastes. Musically, I like a very wide range of stuff...growing up under my parents influence, I developed a strong liking for the Beatles(but who doesn't like them), The Eagles, Kenny Rogers, Neil Diamond, and a lot of strange stuff you heard on the radio on the early 80's...Air Supply, Journey, Foreigner, Hall and Oats, Huey Lewis....so on. As a teenager, I expanded in the world of hard-rock...AC/DC, Areosmith, KISS, Guns and Roses, but then Garth Brooks made country music too popular to ignore. As a member of two choirs in school, I like most classic music, and jazz(vocal more so than instrumental.)
One of the genres I never developed a huge interest in was disco...but that doesn't stop me from digging the heck out of two cheesy late 70's musicals...Xanadu, and the Bee Gee's/Frampton attempt at Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. Watching them both more recently, 'Xanadu' holds up better than Sgt. Peppers...the overwhelming highlight from Sgt. Peppers is Areosmith's version of Come Together.
The overwhelming highlight of 'Xanadu' is anything and everything involving Olivia Newton-John. If my memories are right, between the skin tight outfit she wore at the end of Grease, Physical, and Xanadu....ONJ was probably my first real celebrity crush. If memory serves me right, ONJ was right in the 30-31 range while doing Xanadu, and even watching it now, I don't think she ever looked better. It's not just her looks though...she had an amazingly sweet voice, well-suited for the ready for radio goodness of the songs in Xanadu.
Even more suited than ONJ though, are another set of initials....ELO, or the Electric Light Orchestra, for those of you born to late to appreciate them. For someone who tries to say I don't like disco, I sure do like me some ELO.
The music is certainly the films strong point...story and acting are...well, they are there to give you an excuse for the songs. It's very sad making to point out that this film was the last motion picture that Gene Kelly made, but hey, he did get to dance with Olivia, which is more than I have gotten to do. The fashions...well, they are part of the reason I don't think fondly of the late 70's.
All in all, if you have never seen Xanadu...give it a whirl on instant Netflix...I can't recommend it strongly enough that you should PAY for the DVD...but, if you can track down the soundtrack...that might be worth the money.
Mid-seventies fashion was WAY worse than late-seventies (I was so jealous when TWO of my pals got powder-blue satin jackets!)
ReplyDeleteI LOVED ELO.
Huey Lewis, 1984. Great concert!!!!
I liked Aerosmith better in the early years. "Dream On" is still a favorite.
I was in second grade when the Eagles hit the charts with "Take it Easy." Still love them.
Disco, um, had it's moments.