| "'Total Eclipse of the Heart': The best song of all time. Discuss." | |
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RepeatandFade 02:52 pm UTC 05/05/10 |
| In reply to: | re: Total Eclipse Of The Heart - Jacob 12:35 pm UTC 05/05/10 |
| Here's an article from my hometown paper on last night's show. In it, as you might guess from the title, she praises "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" but suggests that only a "woman (or gay man) between the ages of 35 and 45" would deem "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" the greatest song ever. So, in the last twenty-four hours: "Glee" has deemed "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" a song with a bad rap (I disagree), and "Glee" has deemed "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" a song for women, or gay men, between 35 and 45 (while I am glad that women and gay men between 35 and 45 enjoy it, I am a straight 32-year-old who very much likes it as well). > I absolutely love the show, even if the music is a bit > hit-or-miss occasionally. It hasn't quite found its tone > completely, some episodes are all drama while others are > all comedy, and I think finding a balance is necessary for > longevity. Still highly entertaining though, and it is > only on its first season. > > As for "Total Eclipse of the Heart", the rendition was by > the numbers but there's no denying Lea Michele's vocals. I > thought it was a bit of a shame Jonathan Groff (Jesse) > wasn't featured more on it though, he's obviously the most > talented male vocalist on the show and I definitely > wouldn't mind him doing a Steinman-tune at some point. The > Glee version is currently at #5 on iTunes, and should hit > top 40 in the US; I can almost guarantee it's going top 20 > in the UK after it's shown there so it's definitely being > introduced to a new generation. > > As a bit of trivia, Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff both > starred in Spring Awakening on Broadway a couple of years > ago. Haven't seen the musical, but the soundtrack is quite > good. > > > Glee has certainly made the un-cool cool. Years ago, I > > desperately wanted to send my brother an mp3 of the > > Stephen Schwartz song “Defying Gravity,” a masterpiece of > > songwriting worthy of his or any ears, but didn’t dare > > because he had sworn off Broadway. Following its original > > airing, Lea Michele and Chris Colfer’s version has been > > watched by millions on YouTube, and “Defying Gravity” has > > taken its place among the pantheon of pop standards. > > > > For years, I have played the song “Hello” on the piano, > > thinking it had no cultural relevance. The last few > > episodes of Glee may well have brought the series into > > “jump the shark” territory, but the duet of that tune > > between Michele and Jonathan Groff in Episode 14 was > > spectacular, besting Richie’s original and giving the > > beautiful melody the relevance it deserves. > > > > Ryan Murphy and company, who have the hippest songwriters > > at their knees begging for exposure, have bravely brought > > into the fold the didactic (Schwartz) and the sentimental > > (Richie). > > > > In the most recent episode, "Bad Reputation," which aired > > tonight, the cast sang songs that had fallen into > > disrepute (get it?) and were in need of rescue, viz. "Ice > > Ice Baby," "U Can't Touch This," "Physical," and "Run Joey > > Run" (a sort of antecedent, lyrically and otherwise, to > > "Papa Don't Preach"). "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" closed > > the show. "Total Eclipse Of The Heart," of course, is > > hardly in disrepute. If anything, Jim Steinman's varied > > creations, from Meat Loaf to Sisters of Mercy, are being > > overlooked in favor of "Total Eclipse Of The Heart," whose > > reputation is sterling as ever. > > > > MD | |
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