Category: Music

Xou de Xuxa

Sociologist Amelia Simpson says in her 1993 book, XUXA: The Mega-Marketing of Gender, Race, and Modernity…

She descends from her spaceship as if it were a fashion show runway, her blondness on display along with her other physical attributes, highlighted by the revealing costumes she never repeats. The ritual of arrival places the star in a glamorous context that conveys the modernity and sophistication of the first world.

I first heard about Xuxa on an NPR segment. My curiosity piqued, the first Xuxa show I saw was also the last that was shown on Univision. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. The cultural differences between mainstream America and Latin America were as stunning as, well, Xuxa herself. The blending of catchy songs, weird games, and an unbelievably flagrant display of hotpants went way beyond the Mickey Mouse Club and boys staring in wide-eyed wonder at Annette Funicello and, my favorite Mouseketeer, Cheryl Holdridge.

See for yourself in this video of Xou de Xuxa I edited from a recording made on January 9, 1993. It’s in Spanish, and not Portuguese, Xuxa’s native language. It features a few songs from the show. They are, like the K3 tunes, exemplary examples of the craft of Pop music.
[flv:/Video/2008/JUN/XUXA1.flv 440 330]

From Brazil to Belgium

OK, you’ve had your little break from K3, but now we’re back with more of Karen, Kathleen, and Kristel. I can’t say if Xuxa’s success in Brazil 15-20 years ago had any influence on Studio 100’s introduction of K3 as a Pop act that hosts a children’s show, but watching these videos I have to wonder.

This is K3 with a Latin beat. The second video, “Feest” (Celebration), has some bizarre CG models of the ladies. The last video is a live version of the same song, and at the moment it’s having buffering problems on YouTube, and that’s why it’s last. If it locks up, drag the button past that point and it should pick up again. The third tune is their brand-new single, which is somewhat evocative I think of ABBA’s “Fernando.”

But now let’s meet Xuxa. This is a 1993 feature from Inside Edition, and it’s introduced by none other than…. Bill O’Reilly.
[flv:/Video/2008/JUN/XuxaInsideEdition.flv 440 330]

Petula on Steve Wright’s The Big Show

Steve Wright on BBC Radio 2 promised back here that Petula Clark would be on his show, and indeed she was, last Monday. I missed Cilla Black’s appearance, unfortunately, and if you go back to my Cilla post, you’ll notice “Anyone Who Had A Heart” is almost conspicuous in its absence. That’s because Wright played it shortly before chatting with Petula, and I was saving it for now.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/JUN/SteveWrightCillaBlack.mp3]

I let the recording run into the next song, to provide some flavor (excuse me, flavour) of the show. BBC Radio 2 is the only place I can go that gives me the same fun feeling I had as a kid listening to the legendary station Musicradio 77WABC in New York.

OK, so there’s Cilla Black’s cover of Dionne Warwick’s “Anyone Who Had A Heart,” produced by George Martin. That’s an excellent piece of work. Whether or not you consider this recording to be too close to the original, as a vocal it easily holds up in comparison to Petula Clark and Dusty Springfield. Clearly, based on this recording Cilla had the vocal chops, and with nothing else to go on I have to assume it was the way George Martin produced her that kept Cilla Black from greater popularity in America.

So let’s get to Petula’s chat with Steve Wright, shall we?

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/JUN/SteveWrightPetulaClark.mp3]

She doesn’t like being called “Pet”?? The last thing I said when I had my two minutes with her was, “Thank you, Pet.” Yikes! But… that was my one chance. Saying “Pet” isn’t supposed to convey to her that she’s thought of as a child star, because she never was one here. Well, what’s done is done, and there’s no taking it back. I’ll know better next time.

Two British “Birds”

As the risk of being a little too obviously obsessive here, I’ll follow up on a comment I added to my Cilla Black post, about a video that shows Petula Clark’s style, that you can compare to Cilla Black, who was at the cute and coy end of the sexiness spectrum. The video is a little dark, but serviceable. At this link you can read about the TV special they’re promoting.
[flv:/Video/2008/JUN/DeanPetPromo.flv 440 330]