As a follow-up to Lee and Sheely’s excellent Think/Counterthink on the Miley Cyrus track “Party in the U.S.A.,” this edition of Musical Talmud wades into the shin-deep puddle of pop that ebbs and flows in the general area of the Jonas Brothers — the sunny shoal of music that feels comfortably warm until you realize it is the kiddie pool, at which point it becomes gross and creepy.
Listeners to the podcast (and other people who make the quixotic choice of hearing me talk) know that I have my money on a dog in the Disney Channel Music fight — although she is a young girl and it’s not a nice or appropriate thing to call girls dogs. And no, I don’t have inappropriate designs on her. But I like her music and think she has a bright future.
Today in Musical Talmud, we discuss “Get Back,” the first single off the first solo album (which came out last year) by the talented singer and, in the time-honored and resurgent American tradition of pop stars who rise to stardom from movie musicals (talk about the new Great Depression!), not-especially-great-actress Demi Lovato.
And yes, she actually wrote it.
[This post ends a five-part weekly series by Matthew Belinkie. Express your appreciation in the comments. —Ed.]
The Movie: Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
Why It Strains Credulity:
Christopher Lee was 78 years old. Most men that age can’t wield a steak knife, much less a lightsaber. Lucas probably just had Lee stand in front of a greenscreen and flail around, then choreographed the other two so it looked like he was destroying them.
[Part 4 of the five-part weekly series by Matthew Belinkie. Who will he choose next Friday for the most mismatched of all? —Ed.]
The Movie: Lethal Weapon 4
Why It Strains Credulity:
In the real world, Jet Li won 15 gold medals in China’s wushu championships. But even within the movie, we’ve already seen Li’s character perform incredible feats of badassery… including effortlessly dismantling Gibson and Glover in a previous fight. Moreover: Glover’s character has been considering retirement since Lethal Weapon 1. And Mel Gibson’s character, while technically the titular “Lethal Weapon,” had to fake an injury to avoid losing a friendly boxing match with another cop earlier in the film.
So not only can’t we believe Gibson and Glover win this fight, we can’t even believe they survive long enough to say “ouch.” But apparently, “getting too old for this shit” means “just barely able to beat the crap out of Jet Li.”