It had been so long since I'd heard "Cult of Personality" that when it kicked in at the climax of W&W it was a complete moment of joy. Agree that it has more stuffing than engine, but enjoyed it.
That band was such a huge deal when they first arrived, and with good reason. I'm kind of surprised they weren't able to keep it going longer. (The band's still around and Reid and Glover work all the time. It's not like they went away, but you know what I mean.) I think part of the issue was they were hard to categorize. "Cult" got a lot of play on Headbanger's Ball so they kind of got lumped in with metal bands and when grunge arrived that didn't help. however much other bands might have borrowed from them. It was also great to hear Fishbone and see that logo, which used to be a shorthand for "this guy's cool" whenever you'd see it in movies. (Like Robbins at the end of BULL DURHAM. It feels like Cusack and Robbins tried to elevate Fishbone's profile whenever they could.)
As much as hearing Nirvana blew lot of people away, it was seeing Living Colour on SNL that really felt like bolt from blue for me. They really not were like any other band at that time, and within few years, basically everyone sounded like them.
But that story of "grunge." Seattle scene was started by black woman, Tina Bell, and her band Bam Bam. Her drummer went on to be in Soundgarden, and Kurt Cobain was her roadie, and she was basically written out of history when white men around her went on to fame and fortune. Same thing happen to some degree with Living Colour.
So true about the Fishbone shorthand. LC definitely got stuck in that late 80s/early 90s reluctance to cross pollinate (unless it was a white guy rapping). They got some extra spotlight because “Black band that rocks” but then the old “what else can we do with them?” thing instead of just supporting them like any good band. Reid was and is still a NY fixture and helped nurture some young talent. But that first album felt like a down payment on a future that didn’t materialize and maybe they got swept in a cultural tide that didn’t know how to categorize them.
Welcome to Middling Day at The Reveal! Of these, the one I’m prioritizing is Wendell & Wild, largely because I can call it up on demand without having to block out three and a half hours (counting travel to and from the theater) to watch it. Wakanda Forever has plenty of hype behind it, but I also know I’ll be able to see it in the comfort of my home in a matter of months.
"Wakanda Forever is an overextended, narratively clunky MCU entry, one laden with subplots, digressions, and characters squeezed into its expansive running time to serve the needs of the overarching MCU film-and-TV project rather than the needs of the story. "
I'm really hoping to watch some of these as fan edits that remove the chaff and let us just enjoy the core story.
It had been so long since I'd heard "Cult of Personality" that when it kicked in at the climax of W&W it was a complete moment of joy. Agree that it has more stuffing than engine, but enjoyed it.
Listen to that song and try and tell me Soundgarden not heard that and formed entire band around it.
It gets lost in the shuffle but it's such a great track. But you dead on, CM.
That band was such a huge deal when they first arrived, and with good reason. I'm kind of surprised they weren't able to keep it going longer. (The band's still around and Reid and Glover work all the time. It's not like they went away, but you know what I mean.) I think part of the issue was they were hard to categorize. "Cult" got a lot of play on Headbanger's Ball so they kind of got lumped in with metal bands and when grunge arrived that didn't help. however much other bands might have borrowed from them. It was also great to hear Fishbone and see that logo, which used to be a shorthand for "this guy's cool" whenever you'd see it in movies. (Like Robbins at the end of BULL DURHAM. It feels like Cusack and Robbins tried to elevate Fishbone's profile whenever they could.)
As much as hearing Nirvana blew lot of people away, it was seeing Living Colour on SNL that really felt like bolt from blue for me. They really not were like any other band at that time, and within few years, basically everyone sounded like them.
But that story of "grunge." Seattle scene was started by black woman, Tina Bell, and her band Bam Bam. Her drummer went on to be in Soundgarden, and Kurt Cobain was her roadie, and she was basically written out of history when white men around her went on to fame and fortune. Same thing happen to some degree with Living Colour.
So true about the Fishbone shorthand. LC definitely got stuck in that late 80s/early 90s reluctance to cross pollinate (unless it was a white guy rapping). They got some extra spotlight because “Black band that rocks” but then the old “what else can we do with them?” thing instead of just supporting them like any good band. Reid was and is still a NY fixture and helped nurture some young talent. But that first album felt like a down payment on a future that didn’t materialize and maybe they got swept in a cultural tide that didn’t know how to categorize them.
Welcome to Middling Day at The Reveal! Of these, the one I’m prioritizing is Wendell & Wild, largely because I can call it up on demand without having to block out three and a half hours (counting travel to and from the theater) to watch it. Wakanda Forever has plenty of hype behind it, but I also know I’ll be able to see it in the comfort of my home in a matter of months.
"Wakanda Forever is an overextended, narratively clunky MCU entry, one laden with subplots, digressions, and characters squeezed into its expansive running time to serve the needs of the overarching MCU film-and-TV project rather than the needs of the story. "
I'm really hoping to watch some of these as fan edits that remove the chaff and let us just enjoy the core story.