what in the world is going in pop culture right now?! dance and musical theater are making serious comebacks.
i danced as a child (even inexplicably made a dance troupe that i couldn't join due to soccer) and once dragged an ex boyfriend to a britney concert in part to watch the backup dancers. i was glued to kids incorporated and star search as a child, but it's been awhile since there was something close on mainstream television.
i think this recent trend started w/ high school musical, which i've admitted on this blog to having seen (numerous times). there is so much song and dance in teen/tween shows these days, and since that translates into $$ and marketing opportunities, it's transcended its initial target market.
slumdog millionaire is evidence in the film market, and glee is the most recent evidence in television.
while living in vegas this summer i spent a lot of time at my friend* augie's house, hanging out w/ him and his gfriend amy. they are really into "so you think you can dance." i had successfully ignored the show until the summer, but consider me hooked. they do a way better job than american idol of not overhyping the bad dancers, but also set up the stars nicely. this is my first time watching from the audition phase, and i'm psyched to see how the first chick (wendee?) does in the later rounds.
glee wasn't quite as good as i'd hoped last night, but i can overlook its faults to watch the singing and dance. some of the acting is really stiff and i have no idea where they're going w/ a few of the plot points, but at least it's different. it feels a little like the awesome one-season show wonderfalls and i wanna check to see if there's any overlap in producers.
speaking of season premieres, i've always prided myself on having never seen an episode of melrose place. that changed this week when i watched the premiere of the "new" melrose place and i'm embarrassingly hooked. i have no idea if it's at all close the original, but the character/story set-up is terrific, and the acting was much better than i expected.
it reminds me in a weird way of mad men. both are an evolution of television that started as the nighttime soap opera, but has now just morphed into mainstream tv. granted mad men is far more creative in its premise, but it's still a soap opera.
looking forward to fringe and biggest loser premieres in a few weeks, very sad about true blood finale next week, and then only four more months till LOST!
saw inglorious basterds last weekend and really enjoyed, and if you haven't seen district 9 yet what are you waiting for?
FOOTBALL TONIGHT! can't wait for the start of the season. unfortunately there is major drama in my last league that drafted last night. some people didn't look at the scoring that was on the site, and the league commish quit b/c he thought the scoring was the same as last year. sigh ff drama. i'm bummed b/c i was looking forward to the league w/ the people in it, and now it's falling apart for no apparent reason.
in another league my first matchup is v.
bayne. hope to trounce his ogres.
random dream mention:
lucko says nobody cares about dreams except themselves so read at your own risk, but i had a dream that freaked me out last night.
my first job out of college was at the michael hartig agency, a small theatrical talent agency in nyc. i worked there about eight months. it was run by michael and another agent, and in my dream they called me and asked me to work with them on a project. after my meeting w/ them i was scheduled to meet up with a friend from high school in atlantic city. so much going on there w/ confluence of current worlds.
michael passed away awhile ago and i haven't talked to the other agent in a couple of years, but both featured SO realistically in my dream. michael was a total queen, probably in his '60s, fairly old-school, and demanding yet tender at the same time. it's really impossible to put him into words, but he was one of a kind, and i can still hear his distinctive voice in my head after all this time.
it must be a result of all the dance and music i'm absorbing, which reminds me of theatre. it took me awhile to recover from how vividly he appeared in my dream, despite him being out of my life for ~ 8 years.