If you were alive during the early nineties, you remember the infamous rise and shocking fall of the pop band Milli Vanilli. For many, many years they were synonymous with really bad pop music. Their crash and burn on stage with a malfunctioning machine that revealed their lip synching to a massive crowd also amounted to their ultimate downfall. Although what many didn’t know over the last twenty five years is that while Milli Vanilli were perceived as con artists, they were sadly pawns in a massive scheme to artificially build pop super stars.
Author Archives: Felix Vasquez
The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie (2022)
“And do you believe in rock and roll? Can music save your mortal soul?”
Director Mark Moormann’s documentary is probably one of the more interesting stories about one of the most important, if not the most important rock and roll song ever made. Don McLean’s epic ode to “The Day the Music Died” is a compelling rock epic that bemoans the end of a more innocent time in rock music. This is not only a time where three titans of rock and roll perished in a tragic crash, but it also seemingly ushered in a wave of events that began to change America and society.
Priscilla (2023)
After last year’s goofy “Elvis” failed to really bring us anything new about the actual man known as Elvis, it’s refreshing to see “Priscilla” come along a year later. Sofia Coppola’s biopic about Elvis’ iconic wife Priscilla is the absolute antithesis of a love story. It’s the anti-romance, and the unsensational depiction of Elvis and Priscilla and how their marriage and romance came out of a utilitarian circumstance more than a genuine love and passion. What may trouble fans of Elvis and Priscilla is that this is a movie that finally views Elvis in a new light. He was a man who was possessive, controlling, self-obsessed, and often times incredibly abusive.
Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, And Rage (2021)
Maybe it’s time to—I don’t know—stop hosting Woodstock? I don’t know, while the original concert was something, as the documentary accurately explains, romanticized, it was also a disaster. It also acted as a means for a whole generation to blow off steam and wreak havoc. 1999’s “Woodstock” which ushered millennials in to a new century ended up not just as pure chaos and mayhem, but it indicated that new generation were just getting fed up with the boomer generation. Not to say that those that were involved in the massive riot and incident at the 1999 Woodstock concert were justified, but were coming off a tumultuous decade.
Not only did we have to deal with wars and recessions, and the implosion of idols like Bill Clinton and OJ Simpson, but we ended it all on a massive school shooting that foreshadowed darker times.
Jimi Plays Monterey (1986)
People like Jimi Hendrix come along only once every so often. If we’re lucky they enrich our lives with amazing, outstanding art for decades to come, but too often they fizzle out in their prime as Jimi Hendrix did. Although a lot of Hendrix is recalled through is iconic performance at Woodstock, Hendrix also pretty much blew everyone out of their seats in the equally important Monterey Pop concert in 1968. With his ability to take control of the crowd with his smooth words, sultry vocals and extraordinary guitar licks, Hendrix was in a league all his own.
Blurred Lines (2022)
In 2013, pop music artist Robin Thicke released a massive hit song alongside music producer Pharrell called “Blurred Lines.” The song became almost iconic, but it also instantly became infamous. Robin Thicke was accused of stealing the tune to Marvin Gaye’s “Gotta Give it Up” by Gaye’s family estate. Despite their initial denial, Robin Thicke and Williams were taken to court and forced testify, leading to a startling musical precedent that also ruined Robin Thicke’s career momentum.
Nightclubbing: The Birth of Punk Rock in NYC (2022)
“Max’s was where punk was a movement; CBGB’s is where you went to get a record deal.”
I’ll admit that while I’m very well versed in the history of rock and roll, I almost never heard of Max’s Kansas City. I always heard about CBGB’s throughout my life, but almost never heard about Max’s Kansas City. The club was known as the premiere scene for not just rock and roll stars, but movie stars, celebrities, tabloid makers, and anyone that the alternative scene could produce. There’s a very fascinating story behind Max’s Kansas City and how it set the template for the punk rock scene, but never really got the credit it deserved. All the while CBGB’s was almost universally heralded.