veer slightly from my usual comfort zone and talk about showtunes, albiet ones that are pretty rocking. That's because The Tonys are this weekend. And while I'm not a Broadway guy, this year's Best Musical nominees are pretty rocking.
First is Green Day's American Idiot: The Musical which I saw a few months ago. I enjoyed it, but the story didn't knock me out. I liked the music. To me, there's something inherently funny about a musical - people just breaking into song. The Simpsons have been genius at parodying this (see below video). Still, if you can get over that, you can have a good time at a musical. In the case of American Idiot though, it was more like a cover band or a musical revue. I guess I had higher hopes for it, but I have to admit I had fun. So, I'll be playing some songs from the cast recording, as well as some of the original versions, and also Green Day's new version of "21 Guns" with the cast.
Fela! On Broadway is the stage adaptation of the life of Nigerian musical legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Look him up, his music is very different from western rock and pop, it is very funky. I have a song from the cast recording and a Fela original.
The Million Dollar Quartet is about the four Sun Records legends who recorded together... once. Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. I'm not sure how they turned this into a show - or if it is just another review. Either way, the source music is mind blowing, hopefully they do it justice. I don't have that soundtrack yet, hopefully I can grab it in the morning.
Memphis: A New Musical is, as it says, actually new. Which seems to be a new concept for Broadway - I'm not an expert but all of their shows based on things we've already seen and heard? I have a few songs. I read that Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan wrote a lot of the songs. It's pretty impressive. You can hear his Elton influence, but Elton was influenced by Memphis soul and R&B.
Well, I'm not a Broadway expert, so if you're listening, call in and help me out!
Anyway, here's one of my favorite showtunes, courtesy of The Simpsons. "See My Vest." And by the way, I'm an animal lover, this is just a parody, I'm not endorsing Mr. Burns' wardrobe and neither were The Simpsons' writers.
