I Found Some Blog...by Cher Scholar

Adam Lambert and Cher

You may have heard that Adam Lambert did not win American Idol last night. He came in second to the very likable Kris Allen. However, Adam remains the blazing star of the show, even in Kris’ estimation.

See? That’s how nice Kris is.

Time Magazine recently published an article about how Idol has produced many singers who can sing perfectly pleasant songs, but Adam is idol’s very first star. In fact, they called him the Un-Idol.

Adam has a kind of Cher-like quality about him, not just because he blew “Believe” out of the water during Hollywood week. The guy is just full throttle and there’s this sense of fulfilled theatrical promise about him. He was strategically polished for an Idol contestant, which made him an almost unfair competitor in this decidedly amateur show. His versatility was engaging. He could do soul, alt-country, torch and then fire his pipes like an 80s glam rocker, a reincarnated Freddie Mercury.

But I think in some sense he was my fantasy of what fully-fulfilled Cher singer could be – had she embraced a 100% torch theatricality that the splendid Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour solos only hinted at.

This article by Mary Zeiher catalogs his key performances on the show (including a slam on Cher’s performance of "Believe").

“Adam Lambert American Idol performance #2: Remember in Hollywood Week when he sang Cher's "Believe"? When I heard what he was going to sing, I immediately thought "Oh, we are done with Adam Lambert. No one can do that song well. Cher doesn't even do that song well." But again he out-shone the competition.”

I actually disagree with her assessment and think although I don't love the song, Cher does as well as anyone with it.

On a related note, Bette Midler had something nice to say about (gasp!) Cher and then something a bit odd to say about Adam Lambert:

If he doesn't win American Idol, Midler doesn't think it means homophobia has reared its ugly, discriminatory head. "Don't take it as a slap in the face if you're a gay person," she said. "I pray that people don't get pissed off."

(Well, Adam did really well in this year's Idol competition so I don’t see evidence of widespread homophobia in American voters, who are every day skewing more tolerant in national polls on gay issues. I guess Family First-types could be behind all the Kris votes... but man, what a pathetic waste of time that would be, dudes.)

On Cher --

"I saw her show, and it was unbelievable," Midler gushes. "It was absolutely terrific. I had a great time. She looked great, sounded great and gave it her all. And I got a photograph with her, so I'm happy."

Is she fer real?
  

The FCC Story That Would Not Die

I need to rephrase that: this is the boring story that would not die. Cher swore on TV. First it wasn’t okay; then it was okay; now it’s not okay again. I’ve culled the pertinent details (in my estimation anyway) from the USA Today story by Joan Biskupic:

“A Supreme Court ruling Tuesday that upholds a prohibition of expletive outbursts on broadcast originated with a case over an appearance by Cher at the 2002 Fox Billboard Music Awards show in Las Vegas.”

 “A divided Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a federal prohibition on the one-time use of expletives in a case arising partly from an expletive uttered by Cher at a Billboard Music Awards show in 2002. The ruling, by a 5-4 vote and written by Justice Antonin Scalia, endorsed a Bush administration Federal Communications Commission policy against isolated outbursts of, as Scalia said from the bench, the "f-word" and "s-word." The ruling does not resolve a lingering First Amendment challenge to the 2004 policy that is likely to be subject to further lower court proceedings. Tuesday's decision reversed a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit that had said the FCC's decision to sanction "fleeting expletives" was arbitrary and capricious under federal law.

[I hear “fleeting expletives” and I think of a cartoon of a sprinting “foul” word.]

That lower court had agreed with Fox Television Stations, which broadcast the Billboard awards, that such isolated utterances are not as potentially harmful to viewers as are other uses of sexual and excretory expressions long deemed "indecent" and banned by federal regulators. Dissenting were liberal Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. In a statement by Breyer, signed by the others, they said the FCC "failed adequately to explain why it changed its indecency policy from a policy permitting a single 'fleeting use' of an expletive, to a policy that made no such exception."

The policy dispute had been shrouded by partisan differences and moral overtones of what is best for young viewers.

[Yeah but what’s new?]

Cher Link Zoo

For quite some time there has been a ton of links clogging up my blog to-do list. I’m just gonna throw them all up here now just so I can move on with my life. You can link wherever strikes your fancy. My take for must see items have a star (or two) next to them.

• Cher’s last words on her farewell tour: 
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxoKm81YzeQ&NR=1

• **S&C Bible ad revisited:
  http://www.bay-of-fundie.com/archives/1207/lol-sonny-and-cher (This is actually hilarious. Remember this bible ad from posts back? In this version, people have written in funny comments in S&C's  thought bubbles – don’t skip the comments below either.)

Cher Talks About Dancing with the Jackson 5

Follow the link below for a short video of Cher dancing with the Jackson 5 on The Cher Show; and below that is audio of Cher talking about the experience.

I notice on these commentaries (from The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, for example), her initial memories go right to the clothes she was wearing or some aspect of putting together the outfit. I think this is why she would be a breathtaking judge on Project Runway. And likewise here, Cher remembers Bob Mackie telling her she was getting too thin. She also remembers how challenging it was for her to learn the J5 moves (it took her all day) but how fun it was to work with so many people on those variety shows.

What the devil is that fellow doing in the foreground?

http://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/2009/03/28/cher-ing-memories-of-a-young-michael-jackson/

 

Cher Scholar Interviews Rona Barrett

My bf and I spent one evening watching the new Rona Barrett DVD Rona Barrett's Hollywood, a set of iconic interviews of 70s celebrities.

Honestly, we were struck by how fresh and honest the interviews were in comparison to the stale, stiff Barbara Walters interviews we’ve come to know over the last 25 years. Don't get me wrong: I have loved me some Barbara Walters interview in my day. But seriously, I can't stand The View and haven’t watched a pre-Oscar special in years.

Interestingly, in Rona Barrett’s interviews there are no "million-dollar" questions and yet somehow she gets into a superstar’s comfort zone with graceful civility. Personally, I think this is because she knows how to have a comfortable conversation and celebrities feel at ease. I’m reminded of Jon Favreau’s Dinner for Five shows except without the extra four dinner guests. Which means less grandstanding chat between stars.

My bf thinks Ron's gift is that she sounds genuinely interested.

Cher Scholar JeffRey had this to say about the prospect of watching Rona Barrett's new DVD: it feels like visiting a friend I haven’t seen in a long time.

In the DVD's Cher interview, Rona says she's known Cher since Cher was a "street kid" in the 60s and that she admired Cher because she "had guts" and was honest. The interview takes place after Cher's breakup with Sonny and David Geffen, right as she was falling in love with Gregg Allman. She squeals with affection and like other interviews of the mid-70s, she is unusually unguarded and open. She seems remarkably comfortable. She has striking eyebrows, long eyelashes, glamor nails and uses phrases like "bummed out."

As I watched it I thought what a beautiful mouth Cher had. And those teeth. The Rona Barrett DVD is full of very 70s celebrity teeth, pre-hyper-perfection. I miss Cher's teeth. I do not miss Burt Reynolds' teeth, however. It's also amazing how candid Rona gets asking about sex and Cher talks about how liberated and sexually free she had planned to be after leaving Sonny. However, she just wasn't the type to sleep around. Great interview!

 Many people my age also remember Rona Barrett's fan magazines of the 70s that sat on newsstands right along Picture Screen and Photoplay. Magazines full of Sonny & Cher candid photos and wacky stories. Recently, a friend of mine gave me this copy (cover above; click here to see full image) of Rona Barrett's Hollywood from a celebrity-signing fair in LA.

Inside Cher is on practically every page, but the magazine has two (two!) full-page articles about her as well. The first one discusses the recent calls for censorship on The Cher Show - was Cher dressing too slutty? According to one Ohio TV station manager she was. Fans were asked to fill out a questionnaire on the topic.

Click here to read the full text and fill out the survey. (You may need to adjust your screen resolution.)

Please forward your responses to the comments section of this blog post!

In the back of the magazine there's a second article, this one an interview in color with Laverne. Sweet! Click here to read the full text. When I saw Cher in Las Vegas last weekend, Cher's mock interview with Laverne before Laverne's "I Got to be Me" video reminded me of this article. Laverne deserves more airtime. Cher may have changed. But Laverne stays the same.

Anyway, I had the privilege of being able to interview Rona Barrett last week about the new DVD, her charity foundation and the Rona Barrett magazines.

Click here to read the full interview where she talks about interviewing Cher and Cher's longevity.

L.A.  readers should know that Rona will be appearing for a DVD signing Wednesday, March 25 at  7:30 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble located at The Grove at the Farmers Market (Fairfax & Third).

Blogs: Dancing with the Stars and Dave Barry

Over the last two weeks there has been some blogging Cher activity:

Bloggers think Cher should go on Dancing with the Stars

http://www.mashget.com/most-viewed/2009/03/09/who-should-go-dancing-come-on-cher/

Their argument:

“Cher's used to the outlandish, fringe-filled costumes favored by [the show].”

Hmmm. Weak. Cher did a show where she danced with stars: it was called The Cher Show.  Dancing with the Stars is allegedly scrapping the barrel this season. Cher has better things to do...like coach the upstarts on American Idol.

Dave Barry blogs briefly on Cher

http://blogs.herald.com/dave_barrys_blog/2009/03/why-we-need-str.html

WHY WE NEED STRICTER GOVERNMENT CONTROLS ON CHER: Man Distracted by Cher Shoots Wife

Okay...his post is mostly a one-liner title joke. But I thought it was funny. And I don't usually find him funny anymore.

Here's the actual article on the shooting incident: http://www.murfreesboropost.com/news.php?viewStory=15671

I’m a bit worried about taking my bf to see Cher’s Vegas show this week now. What if he shoots me accidentally during the Laverne video?

Am I being mean or was it surprising that this incident happened in Murfreesboro Tennessee? And what exactly were this couple watching Cher do that was so distracting they forgot they had a gun in play?

Certainly it couldn’t have been last week's Entertainment Tonight segment.

   

Discourse on Cher’s Ass and More Captain &Tennile

Cher Scholar Rob sent me two videos recently, The Captain and Tennile song that was written for Cher just prior to her joining with Black Rose (it sounds more like filler to me than something Cher would do): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4nSGvei1aA

And a video of rocker Ryan Adams and Neal Casal  talkin' about Cher’s Ass:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYJ02BWesaE

The Cher's ass coversation is pretty funny.

Here are some picture's of Cher's ass to refer to as you are watching the discussion unfold.

 

You Make Me Feel Like Interrupting

Over the holiday weekend, we got a lot of wedding stuff done. I think I’ve found dress I like and can afford, we ordered our cake and met another florist. Still have two more florist meetings to go before nailing that down.

In the meantime, I’d like to talk about something that has bothered me since I was a wee child of 7 or 8 years old...as evidenced by the Sonny & Cher Show duet with Sonny & Cher singing "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing." Yes, it’s been something I’ve been harboring for quite a long time but as yet un-uttered.

As giddy as Tinkerbell as I was that S&C were back on the air in 1976 after their divorce, I can barely explain the level of my frustration over the intrusive Laverne and Alvie (or was it Alvin?) sketches that interrupted each opening duet. Grrrrr!! I would think, every time this misforunate thing happened, which was almost every freaking week.

So it was bad enough S&C were not yet re-married and that now on top of that the viewing hour of the new show was past my bedtime due to our family moving from the Mountain to the Central Standard Time Zone which resulted in quite elaborate negotiations with my parents in order for me to have a one-week-exceptionary-later-bed-time-hour, (which would actually come in quite handy the next year when the first Solid Gold special ran late), and I could then still watch the new S&C show, political maneuverings that would impress even our Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, by the way…add to all that the fact that this lame modern saloon skit interrupted the festive and heart-warming opening song every week, like a reminder that paradise was not well and Sonny & Cher were not eternally duetting on stage blissfully but in reality un-married and wasting away in some bleak hotel bar slugging back wiskey sours...and you can see why I turned out the way I did.

Deep breath.

This song is the worst offender that I can recall. Probably I feel this way because when I was 8 years old I loved this song – loved it enough to buy the 45 when I was 15, a 45 that only languished in a shoebox because I grew up to find Leo Sayer grating.

This duet irks me every time I watch it. Here is the video where some kind, agnelic, hero-type has spliced the song together without the skit.

You’d think this would bring me peace after all these years, but somehow it doesn’t.

http://toosweet4rocknroll.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/sonny-and-cher-you-make-me-feel-like-dancing/

  

The 1975 S&C Press Conference & the Inauguration of Barak Obama

How do I even compare these two events, you ask? Well, they were both intense periods on an axis of history, a great shift in hope. In one we left (or thought we were leaving) the era of David Geffen and Gregg Allman. In another we left the era of George Bush. In one Sonny & Cher announced they were reuniting (for television) and in our blind desire for a personal reconciliation, there was a media frenzy...and in the other we have a similar (some say blind) desire for a national reconciliation resulting in an Obama media frenzy.

So okay, the Obama thing is bigger. I get that. I was VERY excited when Obama was inaugurated a week ago. I took the day off to experience this important American moment in history and I was none too proud. I gleefully gave Bush my own private heave-ho and I enjoyed seeing all the first-day protocol of the new President. Can’t say how heartening the day was, including the balls.

Was Cher there? With all the people crowded on the National Mall, I didn’t happen to see her. But the press reports she was indeed at one of the evening's celebratory balls, not one of the ones Barack and Michele attended, but the Feeding America party.

(By the way, I say this to anyone who will listen on a daily basis: I LOOVE Michele Obama. Sort of like I imagine my mother loved Eleanor Roosevelt. With absolute adoration.)

Mayer and Aniston: The New S&C

http://www.timesoftheinternet.com/37237.html

Reports of a new music and skit show from couple John Mayer and Jennifer Aniston. After what I said in last week’s blog, I think it’s hopeful that at least they’re calling themselves the next S&C. It’s so weird it might work.