My favorite movie (one of)

One of my favorite movies is Anchorman staring Will Ferrell.  I understand that comedy isn’t considered serious film (there is no Oscar for comedy after all); however, I believe that one of film’s greatest goals is, simply, to entertain.  Anchorman fulfills this goal masterfully.  Will Ferrell of SNL fame puts on a terrific performance (easily one of his best in my opinion) as sexist anchorman Ron Burgundy.  Steve Carell plays Brick the station’s mentally retarded weatherman.  Carell’s performance rivaled his performance in The 40 Year Old Virgin which was released one year after Anchorman.  However, it was the combined work of every actor in the film that made this movie truly a work of comedy that stands out among many films staring Ferrell. 

The movie involves bringing a woman into the anchor position at a news station in the 1970’s.  Ferrell and his fellow male news ‘stars’ give her a difficult time, but Veronica Corningstone (played by Christina Applegate from Married With Children fame) perseveres and finally pushes Ferrell out of the head anchor position and becomes co-anchor.  Ferrell and his team face off with a rival news team in an alley, and after the police arrive, they retire to the news studio where Ferrell must face Applegate (who he was previously dating).  The confrontation results in the relationship being terminated, and during ensuing broadcasts the co-anchors quarrel.  When Applegate discovers that Ferrell always reads what is on the teleprompter, she changes his sign-off from “stay classy San Diego” to “go fuck yourself San Diego”.  This leads to his termination from the station.  Ferrell then faces disgrace and failure in his own eyes and must face an angry public. 

Eventually, Ferrell restores his former position by saving Applegate from a grizzly bear.  Actually, Ferrell gets his butt kicked by the bear, and it’s his dog, Baxter (who was lost when a biker played by Jack Black kicks him off a bridge) who convinces the bear to leave them alone. 

This movie is incredibly humorous.  During the fight scene, for example, all of the news team members produce weapons.  When Brick (Carell) pulls out a hand grenade, Ferrell asks, “Brick, where’d you get a hand grenade?” to which Carell’s character replies “I don’t know”.  Ferrell and Carell formed a comedic duo in this movie that had great chemistry on screen. 

Artist from the past – John Lennon

John Lennon was a member of The Beatles from 1957-1970.  He is considered by many people to be a creative genius and peace advocate.  Interestingly, Lennon failed out of art school before joining The Beatles where he wrote and co-wrote many hits during Beatlemania.  After The Beatles broke up, John maintained a successful solo career until he was tragically murdered in New York City on December 8, 1980. 

In 1971 Lennon released Imaginewhich is his most recognised solo project.  The title track has become synonymous with his life and his message of peace.  Several other tracks on the album were also politically charged.  These songs were representative of the political upheaval that was occurring towards the end of the Vietnam war and Nixon’s presidency.  The album struck such a chord that it quickly became the #1 album worldwide. 

Lennon’s political activism and philosophical lyrics place him squarely in the same category as other folk singer/songwriters of the same period.  Lennon, however, separated himself in one obvious way:  he was the “John” from “John, Paul, George, and Ringo” — the most popular band in the world at the time.  Lennon’s activism was not limited to his lyrics, however, as he was an active supporter of the civil rights movement and anti-war protests.  Imaginealso featured former Beetle George Harrison on the track “How Do You Sleep?” 

No discussion about Imagine could be complete without a discussion of the album’s co-producer, Yoko Ono.  Yoko co-wrote one track from Imagine, but was the topic of two songs.  Some disgruntled Beetlemaniacs saw this as Yoko self-promoting herself on the coattails of Lennon.  The song “Oh Yoko!” was written entirely by Lennon as an ode to the woman he loved.  Yoko has since attempted a musical career of her own, but is more celebrated as a visual artist and political activist.  Forever dubbed “the woman that destroyed The Beatles” Yoko was married to Lennon and was his business partner throughout his solo career.  She also supervise the remastering of Imagine in 2000.

Of course, Lennon was one of those public figures who are met with throngs of supporters wherever they go.  However, with great love there often comes great hate.  Lennon preached free love, togetherness, peace, and a Marxist view of society.  The things that he stood for ultimately led to his murder during the Cold War era in 1980.  Lennon has been compared to such figures as Gandhi for his selfless struggle for peaceful relationships around the world and in his own country, and ultimately being killed for his views.  

Imagine is not only an album or a song, it is the inscription on the Lennon memorial commemorating the life of John Lennon in Central Park in New York City.  The man and the album inspired activism for peace and developed ideas within the people of the United States that may have ultimately led to such events as the destruction of the Berlin wall and the end of the Cold War which had raged since the end of World War II.  While there is no direct evidence that these events were caused by this album, I like to think that the idea of peace throughout the world was developed by people associated with (and who listened to) John Lennon’s work.  His political activism for peace surely struck a chord with many Americans.

Contemporary artist – Ben Harper

Ben Harper performed four years ago at the Bealle Street Music Festival.  I had listened to several of Ben’s songs before and was highly impressed by the way he mixed blues, reggae, and gospel with rock and roll.  Of course his vocals are what pulls everything together; the instrumentation of his band changes from pure percussion, to acoustic guitar, and to everything in between.  The night he played in Memphis was completely unexpected and exciting.

The night began three hours earlier with Jack Johnson.  Ben introduced Jack to the man who eventually produced Johnson’s first album.  The two had done considerable work as a duo previously so I settled in for what would surely be another one of those performances.

At the end of Johnson’s performance, the roadies cleared the stage and set up a steel guitar center stage.  Everyone who stayed after Johnson’s performance had just been lulled at sunset, and they were in for an awakening.  Harper appeared on the stage to cheers and applause, sat down at the steel guitar, and proceeded to rock harder than I had ever heard him rock before.  The next three hours were filled, not with lullabies and acoustic guitar, but with intense, up-tempo, screaming steel guitar.  I enjoyed Ben Harper before, and after that performance I freaking loved Ben Harper.  Just when I thought I had pinned his favorite style in his albums, he completely blew my mind in the live concert.

To me, Ben Harper is the stereotypical singer/songwriter:  rhythmical melodies, thought provoking lyrics, and emotional.  He did, however, break the mold in this live performance.  The melodies were sill rhythmical, the lyrics were all the same, but the emotions he expressed were more angry and energetic than depressed. 

Many of the songs he played that night were from his new (at the time) album Diamonds on the Inside, and when i returned home, I promptly went out and bought the album.  Yes, I bought the album.  It was a rare moment in my musical history.  To my surprise the album was not as similar to the live performance as I had hoped. 

While there are some songs that rock fairly hard, the majority of the songs on the album point back to my previously held conclusions about Harper.  Many of the tracks were slow spiritual tunes, and others were like a lullaby.  I still put that in that disk while I’m driving on occasion, but the majority of my favorite songs are on my iTunes account.