From: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org (support-system-digest) To: support-system-digest@smoe.org Subject: support-system-digest V7 #94 Reply-To: support-system@smoe.org Sender: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk support-system-digest Tuesday, May 4 2004 Volume 07 : Number 094 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [support-system] article in Seattle Times/South Florida Sun-Sentinel [and] [support-system] not so extraordinary [Dan MacDonald Subject: [support-system] article in Seattle Times/South Florida Sun-Sentinel was in seattle last week and came across this article: http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=phairsongcomment27&date=20040427&query=liz+phair Entertainment & the Arts: Tuesday, April 27, 2004 Commentary 'Why Can't I' get away from this overplayed Liz Phair song? By Phoebe Flowers South Florida Sun-Sentinel About two-thirds of the way into the new romantic comedy "13 Going on 30," the strains of an all-too-familiar, insidious song begin. With the same stab of recognition you encounter upon hearing tired soundtrack staples like Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" or George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone," you realize that the moment has come for the "Why Can't I?" montage. The first time moviegoers were subjected to Liz Phair's devilishly hook-ridden single, it was about the time of its release last summer, with "How to Deal," a teen-angster starring Mandy Moore. Back then, the most notable thing about the song was its similarity to Avril Lavigne's "Complicated"  and that's no accident. The Matrix, the same team that produced (read: created) Lavigne's hit, is behind Phair's "Why Can't I?" It was also somewhat shocking to hear a song so unapologetically commercial from Phair, formerly best known for the rough-hewn, aggressively sexual lyrics (the most memorable of which cannot be reprinted in a newspaper) of 1993's "Exile in Guyville." But while "Why Can't I?" may have seemed a betrayal of Phair's early fans, the pop confection was undeniably well-crafted. It is the sort of single that will firmly lodge itself in your head and refuse to leave; the sort of song you find yourself singing in your car when you're in a particularly good mood, or your Zoloft finally kicks in. Perhaps that is why movie studios have decided to run "Why Can't I?" into the ground by putting it in every single girl-themed movie that is been released over the past nine months. Now, fine, I can only confirm that the song has clawed its way into "How to Deal," January's "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!" and the current "13 Going on 30," but that can only be because many movies  "13 Going on 30," for example  have not included it in their official soundtracks. Because I am relatively certain that I've heard the song in any number of other fluffy chick offerings, including "Chasing Liberty," "American Wedding," "Mona Lisa Smile" and "The Prince & Me." (The only apparent reason "Why Can't I?" didn't appear in "Uptown Girls" is because its evil twin, "Complicated," did, but I'm frankly surprised they didn't find a way to sneak it in anyway.) There must be some other way to signify the emotions of an angst-ridden young protagonist than to use this recording. Unfortunately, Hollywood appears to still be looking for it. But there are good soundtracks to be found amid those littered exclusively with recycled Top-40 hits. The current release "The United States of Leland" doesn't really say anything more profound about adolescence than, say, "How to Deal," but at least it has the good sense to prop up its weaknesses with a whole lot of great, 16-year-old Pixies songs. Meanwhile, last year's genuinely good Katie Holmes vehicle, "Pieces of April," was made even better by putting Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields in charge of its music. Would "Tad Hamilton" have been better if it had featured the Pixies' "Gigantic," or the Magnetic Fields' "I Think I Need a New Heart"? Probably not, but at least there would have been a reprieve from its pervasive mediocrity. The studios who make use after use of fading pop songs like "Why Can't I?" might as well admit flat-out that their movies are meaningless formula products with nothing new to say. The marketing motivation is clear  presumably, you can subliminally attract fans of other movies that used the same song. It's akin to, if less overt than, the connection that leads fans of previous Adam Sandler comedies to flock to "50 First Dates." (Of course, this can also work against movies, such as when fans of "The Waterboy" make the mistake of buying tickets for "Punch-Drunk Love," or "Ace Ventura" disciples believe that "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" might feature Jim Carrey talking with his butt.) It's possible we've seen the last of "Why Can't I?" with "13 Going on 30." Even more possible is that the next song studios jump on as the perfect addition to every movie will be something by Evanescence  and then I promise you I will be begging for the resurgence of Phair's beaten dead horse. Copyright ) 2004 The Seattle Times Company __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Win a $20,000 Career Makeover at Yahoo! HotJobs http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/careermakeover ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 May 2004 08:55:38 -0400 From: Dan MacDonald Subject: [support-system] not so extraordinary yeah the video for extraordinary really sucks. i think it was an attempt at making what Aimee Mann did with the Save Me video - they kinda spliced Aimee in with scenes from Magnolia - and it worked. Liz's video...it kinda looked like whoever was doing the splicing might have been doing it as part of their volunteer co-op work placement for first year video editing 101 - and they should probably change their major. Victoria R. wrote: I miss the music videos where there's a plot like Janie's Got a Gun (I was me too....another great video was Madonna's Bad Girl - where she was business woman by day - and slut by night but ends up getting killed, and christopher walken was her guardian angel kinda thing...loved that one. U mentioned Janie's Got a Gun - now that i think of it - i recall REALLY enjoying ALL of Aerosmith's videos... especially the ones with Alicia Silverstone (who always reminded me of Liz Phair back in the day) and Liv Tyler...the one where the two do a thelma and louise kinda thing, skip school, take a car and join amateur strip clubs, pick up hot farm boys and get them naked and then drive away...very engaging stuff. Bjork and Tricky had some cool one's too...but in all honesty - i kinda hate videos. they usually ruin how i listen to a song. i always liked Liz's videos...i even liked Why Can't I - it obviously had a bigger budget - but i thought it was a great idea. dan ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 May 2004 07:26:09 -0700 From: "Christine Hademan" Subject: RE: [support-system] RE: support-system-digest V7 #92 Looked more like laundry to me...I was like, "What the hell does laundry have to do with taking the trash out.?" LOL! I REALLY like vids that are mini movies myself...or at least videos that have something to do with the songs at all... - -----Original Message----- From: owner-support-system@smoe.org [mailto:owner-support-system@smoe.org] On Behalf Of Victoria R. Sent: Sunday, May 02, 2004 3:28 PM To: support-system@smoe.org Subject: [support-system] RE: support-system-digest V7 #92 I miss the music videos where there's a plot like Janie's Got a Gun (I was fascinated with that video). WCI could have had some cool plot things. Extraordinary, not so much, but hey, at least she was throwing trash around during one part of it. _________________________________________________________________ Getting married? Find tips, tools and the latest trends at MSN Life Events. http://lifeevents.msn.com/category.aspx?cid=married ------------------------------ End of support-system-digest V7 #94 ***********************************