New Video Bonanza ... and hiatus

Dame Helen Mirren goes toe to toe with the comedic genius of Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders as they poke fun at stereotypical sitcoms.  Hilarity ensues!  Julia Sawalha (who played Saunders' daughter Saffy on Absolutely Fabulous) also joins in for the fun.  Also, check out Jam and Jerusalem, Saunders' first post-AbFab series that features French and Joanna Lumley (AbFab's Patsy) as the oldest woman living in their village.

Sinéad serves up Veronica Lake in this delicious dream sequence directed by John Maybury (who also directed the seminal Nothing Compares 2 U) for Red Hot + Blue, the breakthrough AIDS charity series that reinvisioned much of Cole Porter's remarkably sophisticated body of work (and, on the sly tip, claimed him as something other than strictly heterosexual).

The musical wonder that is Stevie Wonder and his band pay a visit to Sesame Street.  As a child, I was surrounded by great music.  Seeing Stevie masterfully deliver funk in the guise of this simple childrens' song makes me scratch my head at today's offerings.  I really feel lucky!

House music is what happened when disco became electronic.  Americans consumed house until, like disco, it was deemed too Black and too gay (both meanings are probably applicable with equal alacrity) - then it was flushed.  Racism being the global phenomenon that it is, I guess it's no wonder that the UK would push out more than its share of white female soul singers (Lisa, Helen Terry and my dear friend, the dreadfully underated Billie Ray Martin all come to mind), particularly after the groundbreaking success of Annie Lennox with Eurythmics (and Alison Moyet with Yaz(oo) before her and to Dusty Springfield before her).  Still, this song is a testament to ability of house music to uplift and to nurture the hope that creates change.  Her solo debut hit single All Around The World (her homage to Barry White), even with all its sadness and regret, singlehandedly made me believe that romantic love was possible.

There are R&B songs about love and then there is Always and Forever (from Too Hot To Handle).  A staple of late-time radio programmers for over 30 years, here's a rare glimpse of it being performed by Heatwave just before the band's peak.  The original lead vocalist Johnnie Wilder, Jr. (who sadly passed away last May) creates this magic moment so dreamily and effortlessly with songwriter Rod Temperton (before his gigantic success with the pop perfection that is Michael Jackson singing Rock With You) weaving him a beautiful background on the organ.

And finally, Patti Labelle pays tribute to her dear friend Dusty Springfield.  While I do really like Fantasia, her live performances (particularly after American Idol) don't measure up and point to maybe a bit of media overzealousness in terms of having the chops to back up any legacy to this legend.  Patti comes from a tradition of vocal technique, raw emotion AND performance excellence.  I get the feeling that Fantasia's screaming and growling is supposedly about "keepin' it real" for a younger audience - but Patti is mighty real and has been for 50 years.  Girl, just sing!