9 1/2 Weeks, Next on Cine/Spin

9 1/2 Weeks came out in 1986 to mixed reviews. Well, more negative than mixed.  In a preview of the film to a theater of 1000 people, most walked out before the movie even finished. Of the 40 that stayed, on a questionnaire, 36 of them said that they "hated it."

Roger Ebert gave the film 3 1/2 stars, however, and claimed it to be the biggest erotic big-budget film since the Last Tango in Paris.  And those of you who have seen this film are right now thinking about food and ice and...hats. (Nudge, Nudge, wink, wink, say no more!)

The film stars Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke, two strangers who meet in a super market and carry on a rather kinky relationship.  John, played by a handsome pre-plastic-surgery-disaster Rourke, becomes increasingly controlling of the relationship until Elizabeth, played by Basinger, has the guts to call it quits.



The film was directed by Adrian Lyne, who helmed the mega-hit Flashdance three years earlier. Like his previous film, he relies heavily on music and music video-like moments.  9 1/2 Weeks is nothing but a kinky drama spiced up with erotic moments of music and food.  Music and hats (or lack thereof). Music and ice.   Although not a huge hit, 9 1/2 Weeks is remembered for those moments and the music that provided the soundtrack.

In the month of February, the soundtrack for 9 1/2 Weeks will be featured on Cine/Spin.

Here is the track listing:

A1 "I Do What I Do"  John Taylor
A2 "The Best is Yet to Come"  Luba
A3 "Slave to Love"  Bryan Ferry
A4 "Black on Black"  Dalbello
A5 "Eurasian Eyes"  Corey Hart
B1 "You Can Leave Your Hat On"  Joe Cocker
B2  "Bread and Butter"  Devo
B3  "This City Never Sleeps"  Eurythmics
B4  "Cannes"  Stewart Copeland
B5  "Let It Go"  Luba

In the film, most of those songs are accompanied by Rourke and Basinger in various stages of undress.  Such as this scene, which may change your view of food:



You can hear the entire soundtrack to 9 1/2 Weeks on the February edition of Cine/Spin which premieres this Friday night at 8 pm (central).  Here is the schedule (all times central):

Friday, 8 pm
Saturday, 7 pm
Sunday, 1 pm
Monday, 10 pm
Wednesday, 10 am

Adventures in Vinyl Podcasts!

Adventures in Vinyl is now available as a podcast. Over the last two years, I have gotten several requests in regard to making Adventures in Vinyl available in podcast form. It was always difficult, especially in regard to rights management and so forth. But all of that has been worked out and, starting this year, each episode of Adventures in Vinyl will be available for download in the month following its broadcast. So here it is, the first episode of Adventures in Vinyl of 2013 (which is actually episode 19) featuring Dynamic Sound. You can listen below, or download the entire episode. Enjoy.

The official Adventures in Vinyl podcast page can be found here.


 

"She's Having a Baby" on Debut Episode of Cine/Spin

Join us for the premiere episode of Cine/Spin right here on Vinyl Voyage Radio.  Every month, we will highlight a movie soundtrack album on vinyl.  The show will feature the album played in its entirety, plus information about the music and the movie.

This month the featured album is the soundtrack for She's Having a Baby, a John Hughes romantic comedy from 1988.

John Hughes almost single-highhandedly created the "various artists" soundtrack album in the early 80s, especially with his teen-oriented films such as Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club.  In fact, Hughes founded a company, in conjunction with IRS records, called "Hughes Music" in order to distribute the soundtrack albums for his films.

She's Having a Baby tells the story of Jake and Kristy Briggs, played by Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern. The film follows the couple from their wedding to the birth of their first child.  Narrated by Jake, the film focuses on the trials and tribulations of suburban life and was a departure for John Hughes, who at the time was beginning to branch off into more adult-oriented subject matter.



The album features 10 songs and, as was typical from John Hughes, contains a very 80s "synthpop" collection of tunes:

1A. "She's Having a Baby" – Dave Wakeling
2A. "Haunted When the Minutes Drag" – Love and Rockets
3A. "Desire (Come and Get It)" – Gene Loves Jezebel
4A. "Happy Families" – XTC
5A. "Crazy Love" – Bryan Ferry
1B. "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" – Kirsty MacColl
2B. "Apron Strings" – Everything but the Girl
3B. "This Woman's Work" – Kate Bush
4B. "It's All in the Game" – Carmel
5B. "Full of Love" – Dr. Calculus

 Two of the songs were produced specifically for the film:  the title track by Dave Wakeling and the emotional "This Woman's Work," by Kate Bush.  "This Woman's Work" comes at the climax of the film when Jake is escorted out of the delivery room due to complications with the birth. We are then treated to a montage of flashbacks set to this song as Jake waits anxiously in one of the most gloomiest waiting rooms I have ever seen.



Kate Bush was given the completely cut scene, without music.  She then wrote the song so that the lyrics matched the images and, as a result, created the most memorable scene from the film.  Roger Ebert said this about the scene:

The last sequence in the movie, where Bacon waits and worries while his wife undergoes a difficult labor, is the most effective. It is honest and strong and has genuine emotional strength.

Although it wasn't one of Hughes' best reviewed films, She's Having a Baby has some wonderful moments.  It is one of my favorite films, actually. (And Kevin Smith's, as well).

You can hear the entire soundtrack of She's Having a Baby on this month's episode of Cine/Spin. 

The premiere episode is tonight at 7 pm.  Here is the schedule (all times central):

Saturday, 7 pm
Sunday, 1 pm
Monday, 10 pm
Wednesday, 10 am
Friday, 8 pm