Not eye to eye:'Lady Bird' and her mother and the strained dynamics of
their relationship are central to Lady Bird and its coming-of-age story
Growing up in an unremarkable place, and literally on the wrong side of the tracks, that's life's lot for Lady Bird, the titular character in the 2017 movie that delighted cinema audiences.
But this is a coming-of-age story, and Lady Bird is not about to let circumstances define who is she, or her destiny.
Lady Birdshows us the messy imperfections of life and family and of pushing against the restrictions of authority. However, it is also about looking to the horizon for fulfilment and a better life, the realising of true friends and who loves you ... and who likes you; watch for the subtle but defining distinction between the latter two as they bump together in the strained relationship of Lady Bird and her mother.
While it has been labelled a comedy-drama, this is much more a realism coming-of age tale. Don't expect laugh out loud moments because, while there are amusing turns, this film does not overly seek or play for laughs. Instead, it focuses on the heartfelt nature of a struggling family, particularly the friction between Lady Bird (Saoirse Ronan) and her mother (Laurie Metcalf).
Lady Bird also has a feeling of connection to places. Towards the end Lady Bird drives through the streets of Sacramento, California, seeing from a new perspective familiar places where she once walked - one step removed and moving on, but absorbing that connection with the familiar, with home.
Lady Bird is worthy of the praise it attracted from audiences. Four stars from five.
Joy reflected: Tiffany has re-recorded I Think We're Alone Now,
which was a worldwide hit for her as a teenager 32 years ago
From the slightly unruly hair, to the worn and ripped denim jacket, Tiffany blends in with those around her as she strolls through the sand and along the promenade at Venice Beach, California.
Passersby go about their business seemingly unaware that in their midst is the former teenage pop star who recorded one of the most recognisable songs of the 1980s.
It is more than 30 years since she first shone. Now she is back with a re-recording of her smash hit, I Think We're Alone Now. The accompanying video shows her walking around Venice Beach and other parts of Los Angeles, and in England singing at the recording studio of The Kinks' Ray Davies.
The song, a bubblegum pop hit in 1987, is instantly recognisable to the older generation and even to some who were born later and have come across it in other places, such as in the 2012 movie Ted.
I Think We're Alone Now was written by Ritchie Cordell and dates back to 1967, but Tiffany's cover version is its most successful iteration.
Tiffany was very much part of the spirit of the second half of the '80s, and with the new recording and video she continues to exude positive vibes. The feelings are the same, but her voice is stronger.
Denim was her signature clothing back in the '80s and the video recalls this, although pointedly exhibiting the passage of time as she no longer wears crisp, fresh denim, instead it is a faded jacket complete with rips and frayed collar.
Tiffany appears happy and comfortable revisiting the song from her youth. It is almost like a statement to old friends who have travelled through those same years and decades: "How are you doing? Hasn't life been a blast!"
Not only does it reflect the passage of time, this new version proves how this simple song has staying power.
Video: Tiffany's 2019 version of I Think We're Alone Now
Call and Response in 2001, around the time of their eponymous album
Call and Response in the early 2000s. Their last show was in 2005
Little-known band Call and Response are now long gone as a musical unit, but the freshness and joy of their West Coast sound resonates today as it did at the turn of the millennium when it was recorded.
Their sparkling clean sound, driven by some of the sweetest melodies and harmonies to be found outside the 1960s has a timeless quality.
The band hailed from Santa Barbara, California, before making San Francisco their home. They were never signed by a major record label, but put out a number of recordings through independent labels. Their debut single, the delightful Rollarskate, was released in 2000. It was followed a year later by their first album, which was named after the band.
At the heart of their music was a collaborative approach to dreaming up catchy melodies, together with the use of some instruments that would have been considered retro even in 2000, and the projection of an unswerving sunny disposition that by all accounts reflected exactly who they were.
Organist and singer Carrie Clough and main keyboardist Simone Rubi were both classically trained. Also in the band was innovative guitarist Dan Judd, bassist Terri Loewenthal, and Jordan Dalrymple on drums. Most of the group could competently play a variety of instruments.
The guitar, bass and drums are often heard layering across one another and striking unexpected time signatures that give an otherwordly feel to the music. Add in vocal harmonies, together with a variety of Moog and analogue synthisisers and organs - including a wurlitzer - and you have the ingredients to make a West Coast sunshine sound with elements of pop, electronic and "bubblegum funk".
As for the happy vibe, that was explained by Rubi during an interview with the Tucson Weekly in November 2001. "You can hear a kind of longing in the songs, but then the lyrics are really happy. Especially at a time with all this hip-hop/metal stuff, it's so over the top it's almost obscene. So we were trying to bring back the idea of beautiful music again," she said.
It was while sitting in an independent, arthouse-type cinema in Santa Monica, California, that I first took notice of Call and Response. It was 2001, and I was waiting to see a movie in the Laemmle Monica Film Center on 2nd Street. At that time the theatre would play music during the pre-show wait, giving exposure to new, independently-released music.
The aforementioned Rollerskate and California Floating in Space were the two Call and Response tracks included in the pre-show loop. Both songs jumped out with their dreamy lightness and that puzzling mixture of new and retro sounds. Perhaps tellingly, I can no longer recall what film I had gone to watch that day, but those two songs left an impression, and in time I tried to track down information about the band.
Call and Response in concert
While the music of Call and Response was once difficult to find, happily it is now widely available for purchase and digital download. I highly recommend their first album, which drifts along with a freshness and joy, and a timeless mystique - music that belongs in the here and now, but references a soft focus mixture of fondly recalled yesteryears.
In a world that feels increasingly smaller due to faster and easier global travel and the instant connectedness of the internet, it is worth remembering a time only a few centuries ago when "old world" settlers first arrived in North America. The final frontier was the western horizon and the great unknown that lay beyond. Gradually the final frontier was pushed further westward until the Pacific Ocean was reached and the "new world" had been explored.
However it can be argued that California, at the western edge of continental USA, remains psychologically the edge of the world, a place where frontiers of innovation and thought continue to be pushed back - from the digital dynamism of Silicon Valley to the movie wonderland of Los Angeles.
Therefore, it is fitting that the music of Call and Response, which so transcends time and place, came from California's coastal fringe. It is indeed happy music from the edge of the world.
Click below to hear Call and Response's catchy The Fool
Update (June 18, 2016): Below is what may be the only live performance of Call and Response on YouTube. It features a few short interviews with band members backstage, and wraps up with the band on stage playing Stars Have Eyes, a song from their debut album.
