Michael-Patrick Harrington's Blog, page 17

Ronnie Spector

RIP Ronnie Spector

 

It was that voice, the vibrato that could be joyful and sorrowful in the same song, sometimes in the same verse. My favorite song of all time is the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby,” a song where the pounding drums of the intro belie the tenderness and the need of Ronnie Spector’s vocals. Framed by Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound, Ronnie’s voice fought against it until the chorus, where she gives into the excess that she so clearly doesn’t need and implores you to “be my little baby.” Watch the opening of Martin Scorsese’s film Mean Streets and suddenly Ronnie is struggling to be heard, much like Harvey Keitel’s low level mobster, Charlie, and her voice appears to take on some grit, even danger.

If Ronnie had only sung “Be My Baby,” she’d be revered. But there was “Walking in the Rain,” “(The Best Part of) Breakin’ Up,” “Baby I Love You,” and more. The Ronettes were probably the greatest of the girl groups (only the Supremes climbed to such heights), and Ronnie Spector was a true American voice, shouting to us and reminding us of a time when music could be both sweet and startling.

Ronnie Spector, Beloved Ronettes Singer, Dead at 78 “Her joyful sound, playful nature and magical presence will live on in all who knew, heard or saw her,” her family said of “Be My Baby” and “Walking in the Rain” vocalist…

Last Year in the Republican Party

Funny…and scary…

Peter Bogdanovich

 RIP Peter Bogdanovich  Peter Bogdanovich, New Hollywood Auteur of ‘Paper Moon,’ ‘Last Picture Show,’ Dead at 82 The celebrated filmmaker broke-out with his 1968 thriller Targets and also scored a box office smash with the 1972 screwball classic, What’s Up, Doc?

Sidney Poitier

RIP Sidney Poitier  Sidney Poitier, Oscar-Winning Actor and Activist Who Made History, Dead at 94 The groundbreaking Hollywood star became the first Black man to win Best Actor at the Oscars for his performance in 1963’s Lilies of the Field

Mick Rock

A little late, but… RIP Mick Rock  Mick Rock, Photographer Behind Iconic Images of David Bowie, Lou Reed, Dead at 72 Known as ‘The Man Who Shot the Seventies,’ his work captured a range of artists from Blondie to Snoop Dogg

January 6

April 12, 1861December 8, 1941September 11, 2001January 6, 2021These are the dates that traitors or bullies or cowards or homegrown terrorists attacked our country. (Thank you, VP Harris for reminding me of some of those dates.)President Biden, you inspired me today.While I worry about what the guy who LOST the election & his followers will do in the future, I have no doubt that this administration will take the appropriate steps to counter them.Our democratic republic must live on – and they don’t want it to.So they whine about masks, scream that the election was stolen (with ZERO proof), argue about Critical Race Theory (which will be in every public school in a generation’s time, if not sooner), roar about Black Lives Matter, scream about their assault rifles, vilify the LGBTQ community, put down the Me Too movement, and claim that their religion is under attack (which is weird, since their behavior is decidedly NOT Christian; also odd because almost everyone I know is a Christian). True political debate is dead. It’s all about Trump’s ego and some clown (or clowns) named QThank you again, President Biden, for reminding me that we must never forget January 6. We must learn from it and make sure it NEVER can happen again.

Betty White

RIP Betty White  Beloved TV Icon Betty White Dead on the Cusp of 100th Birthday White was set to turn 100 years old on Jan. 17, and the actress was set to celebrate the milestone with a special movie event

All the Trailers presents all of Steven Spielberg’s trailers

All the Trailers presents:

All of Steven Spielberg’s trailers (including film & TV work)

Sir Duke and his Bow Tie

This is my best friend Duke…or Sir Duke if you aren’t into the whole brevity thing. In this photo, Duke is partying it up at our annual holiday get-together yesterday. Not many people (let alone dogs) can pull off a bow tie, but Duke pulls it off and then some. He has probably started a trend. Aunt Kathie gave it to him, and he loves it so much, he’s still wearing it. Today, he’s been staring at the front door, just so that he can show off his bow tie to the UPS guy or the mailman. Duke likes to party (sometimes), but around his peeps, he’s an animal.

Joan Didion

RIP Joan Didion  Joan Didion, famed American essayist and novelist, has died Didion was a leading figure of the New Journalism movement in the 1960s and ’70s and an enduring literary influence.