The Breakfast Club

Published by simon on December 6, 2006

The other day, tired of wondering which new summer blockbuster to watch on DVD next, I found Pat’s copy of “ The Breakfast Club ”. What the heck, I thought, its been years since I watched that show…

And the next 90 minutes, I was enthralled as I was transported by to the 80’s, to my secondary school life, to the great music growing up, to our teenage struggles with our identity, our parents, disciplinary teachers, and journey of discovering who we really are inside.

For those grew in a different decade, or never got to watched ‘The Breakfast Club’, it’s a amazing teen movie by John Hughes. It’s about 5 high school kids forced into detention class early on a Saturday morning for different disciplinary misdemeanours. What followed was a movie that captured the imagination of a generation of youths, and went down as one of the movies that defined the glorious decade.

“…And these children
that you spit on
as they try to change their worlds
are immune to your consultations.
They’re quite aware
of what they’re going through…”
David Bowie

, shown at the start of the film

5 teens, Emilio Estevez as Andrew the wrestling team jock, Molly Ringwald as Claire, the popular rich daddy’s girl, Anthony Michael Hall as the science geek Brian, the fabulous Ally Sheedy in a career high performance as the runaway basketcase chick Allison, and Judd Nelson puts in a good turn as John Bender, the school problem tough kid. Paul Gleason is the cocky school principal who tries (and fails) to impose his authority on the students (there’s also a creepy Janitor in the mix).

(pic from wikipedia)

8 hours in detention gives the 5 kids a roller-coaster of emotions and bonding, but the kids get over their initial seemingly irreconcilable differences, and find that they share a lot of similarities in life. They share their sexual awakenings, smoke some pot, bitch about parents and ultimately made some new friends.

At the end of the day, the ultimate question of who they really are by their own definition, not by what their parents (who pressure or ignore them all the time) or their teachers want them to be.

If you haven’t seen the movie, watch it. It’s a great movie. Especially if you’re teen, and you think that your parents and teachers don’t really understand you.

Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it is we did wrong, but we think you’re crazy for making us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us, in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basketcase, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, The Breakfast Club.

A few months a remember watching the MTV movie awards, where they awarded the movie and reunited part of the cast on stage and ran a fitting tribute to the movie. I wonder if anyone has a copy of that clip? I’d love to see it again…

Technorati Tags: The Breakfast Club, Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson

How To Have A Hit TV Series for Teens

Published by simon on December 3, 2006

How to have a hit teenage TV series ala the O.C., Dawson’s Creek and One Tree Hill:

1. Get this group of good-looking, moody actors and actresses. Also ensure they look even better in swimsuits / trunks.
2. Age downgrading is encourage, i.e. get 21-year-olds to play 18-year-olds, and similarly 18-year-olds to play 16-year-olds.
3. Adults are limited to roles of exasperated parents and caring teachers. They too must be good-looking, or else cast them as janitors or gardeners.
4. The teenagers must act like 30-year olds, speak like adults, have complicated love-lives, have emotional crises every 4th episode, etc.
5. Always have another good-looking character to play your lead’s nemesis. Usually very popular and bitchy, surrounded by a posse. If girl, head cheerleader. If guy, star ball player.
6. They may be playing characters from a poor background, wear new and trendy clothes everyday and with make-up like Eva Longoria.
7. Some time in mid-season, to keep the interest going, get a rock star to guest star. And preferably sing a not-too-mouldy hit song.
8. Don’t forget nail-biting cliff hangers like finding out some of the main characters may turn out to be actually siblings, parents suffering from a life threatening disease or accident. And next season, take at least 5 to 6 episodes to sort it out.
9. After the first season, get one of your ‘stars’ to release an album / appear in movies.

Technorati Tags: O.C., Dawson’s Creek, One Tree Hill

Controversial Album Covers

Published by simon on December 1, 2006

I saw one of Iron Maiden‘s albums recently, from their Bruce Dickinson era, I can’t remember which. I immediately recalled the criticism Maiden (mostly from the mainstream press) had to endure for their music, and also their album cover art especially the ones featuring Eddie the Zombie.

These days, anyone can release an album with a controversial album cover art to shock / awe / disgust. Just look at all those albums by metal bands and hip-hop artists in the last 20 years. But a good (yet controversial) one is difficult to find, especially one that reaches a wide audience, i.e. by a famous artist. People want to be controversial for many reasons, and frankly it doesn’t take much to alarm the moral guardians of our society. But as they say, there’s no such as bad publicity.

These are 10 controversial album covers i can remember, mainly from the 90′s as that was the time i was really into the music.

(Note: with all the problems, i’ve taken the pics from wikipedia…)

No.1 : Rage Against the Machine by Rage Against the Machine

This has got to be the most memorable one for me. It show a monk immolating himself to protest against the government of the day in Saigon some time in the 70′s. The picture was apt to describe the band’s massively anti-establishment stand over the years, led by their singer Zack de la Rocha. I never really got into RATM, but in terms of controversial album covers, this one has to be the tops.

No.2 : Amorica by the Black Crowes

The pic was actually taken from Hustler magazine, the girly mag famous for showing pubes. The furore from the cover caused the band to doctor it, blacking out everything out except the triangular American flag. Gee, does it make it any ‘safer’? I dunno, ask the moral guardians of our society.

No.3 : In Utero by Nirvana

Now this I don’t get. How is this controversial? I see it in hospitals and med school labs and TV all the time. Is it the wings? Is it insulting to angels? Or medical equipment suppliers? Anyway the furore was worsened by one particular track on the LP, any Nirvana would tell you which. RIP, Kurt Cobain.

No.4 : Youthanasia by Megadeth

Dave Mustaine usually has a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. Well, most of the time, anyway. Before this, Megadeth usually had cheesy pics of Vic Rattlehead doing weird stuff on their covers, but they went for a play on the album title on this one. As expected, parent groups cried infanticide, causing the album to be released with a black sleeve. Mustaine stuck one up to the critics, though, the first single showed one of the babies in close up.

No.5 : A Boy Named Goo by the Goo Goo Dolls

Goody Goody Dolls? Controversial? Apparently some people thought the mud on the baby looked like something else, something gory and violent. Look, if this was a Deicide or Morbid Angel cover, I’d understand, but Goo Goo Dolls?! It only goes to show how some people can read too much into things…

No.6 : Appetite for Destruction by Guns ‘N’ Roses

This nice album cover you see isn’t the problem (as ‘nice’ as five skulls arranged on a cross is). The problem was with the original cover, which was admittedly nasty. G’N'R then changed the cover, but moved the offensive picture to the inside of the album.

No.7 : Divine Intervention by Slayer

The cover, by itself is pretty mild by Slayer’s standards. Inside, there is a collage of the newspaper clippings of the media accusing the band of influencing murders and other evil stuff. But the corker is a picture of a fan who carved the band logo onto his forearm with a knife. I guess it really showed how much the guys were p!ssed off with their critics. If that wasn’t controversial, I don’t know what is.

No.8 : Lovedrive by the Scorpions

Playboy magazine voted this the best album cover for that year. An alternative version had the chewing gum coming out from the guy’s mouth. Ha.

No.9 : Payable On Death by POD

Even Christian rap-rockers POD weren’t spared of controversy. Church group were concerned about the cover and pictures in the liner notes. They said it was too heavily influenced by Catholic iconography and mysticism, failing to see the positive message of POD’s music, which to me was more important.

No.10 : Lemonade and Brownies by Sugar Ray

This isn’t controversial in the least, but there’s a funny story to it (and I need one more to make ten). The girl in the pic is Nicole Eggert of Baywatch and Charles in Charge fame, and she was roommates with Mark McGrath’s then girlfriend. I read in Ker-rang that Mark McGrath got her to pose for the pic, and then when his girlfriend found out about it, dumped him. Hmm, I wonder if the story’s true. Nice pic, though.

Technorati Tags: Iron Maiden, album, controversial, metal, Rage Against the Machine, Black Crowes, Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, Megadeth, Dave Mustaine, Goo Goo Dolls, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Slayer, Scorpions, POD, Sugar Ray, Nicole Eggert, Baywatch, Charles in Charge, music, rock, album cover art