Mirage City is the opening track of the album Flight b741 by, wait for it, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard.
Yes, friends, that's the name of the band. Cool, isn't it?
KGATLW are an Australian psychedelic rock band known for their prolific output and eclectic musical style, which spans genres like psychedelic rock, progressive rock, jazz fusion, heavy metal, and microtonal music.
The band formed in Melbourne in 2010, initially as a garage rock group, but quickly evolved to explore a wide array of sonic landscapes. However, they actually might be known best for releasing a large number of albums, sometimes several in a single year. Their prolific output is a key characteristic, with a staggering number of albums out there already.
Check out this track, then check out this album, then start checking out their whole discography. It will brighten up your week, I promise you.
It wasn't just music that hit the heights in 1994, just look at the caliber of movies released that year:
1. Pulp Fiction 2. The Shawshank Redemption 3. Forrest Gump 4. The Lion King 5. Speed 6. Dumb and Dumber 7. True Lies 8. The Mask 9. Natural Born Killers 10. Clerks 11. Interview with the Vampire 12. Legends of the Fall 13. Four Weddings and a Funeral 14. Stargate 15. Quiz Show 16. The Crow 17. The Professional (Léon) 18. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective 19. Ed Wood 20. Maverick 21. Reality Bites 22. Clear and Present Danger 23. Heavenly Creatures 24. The Client 25. Little Women 26. Natural Born Killers 27. Street Fighter 28. The Flintstones 29. Little Rascals 30. Blown Away 31. Disclosure 32. Junior 33. I.Q. 34. The Madness of King George 35. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert 36. Crooklyn 37. In the Mouth of Madness 38. The Hudsucker Proxy 39. Timecop 40. Wyatt Earp
I don't think we've seen a year chock full of quality like that since 1939.
Music was an integral part of many, if not most, of those films. Many are great. A smaller few are iconic. The Lion King falls into that second category.
If you weren't there in 1977, watching the first 5 minutes of what would later be called "Episode 4: A New Hope", then I don't know what to tell you, pal. I can expend a steamer trunk full of breath trying to describe it to you, but I'll never really be able to nail down exactly what that was like being there. I imagine it's like the difference between just watching the Zapruder film, and actually standing on the grassy knoll that fateful November morning.
The opening sequence to The Lion King is up there in that rarefied atmosphere. Even 30 years removed from it's release, if you do not have goosebumps, or some kind of stirring in your soul, when that final drum sounds and that iconic title card blazes onto the screen, then I don't know what to tell you, pal.
For those of you who don't know, that's then Arkansas Governor and U.S. Presidential candidate William Jefferson Clinton playing the saxophone on the Arsenio Hall Show.
And this was the moment he won that election. Not in November, but on this night right here.
Nowadays, people forget how influencial and ground breaking Arsenio's late night talk show was.
"The Arsenio Hall Show," which aired from 1989 to 1994, was different from most of the other talk shows of the 1980s and early 1990s. Hall's show specifically catered to a younger, more diverse audience, particularly African Americans, who were underrepresented in late-night TV. Focusing on inclusion and celebration of Black culture and issues, it stood apart from the predominantly white-hosted late-night talk shows of the time. The show had a high energy, party-like atmosphere that was more dynamic and alive than the stuffy, older talk show formats. For all his cutting edge vibe, you'd never see David Letterman's audience doing the iconic "dog pound" cheer every night.
Then there was the music. Hall's show featured a wide variety of musical guests, including hip-hop and R&B artists who were obviously not booked on other talk shows. This focus on contemporary and often cutting-edge musical acts helped draw a younger, more music-savvy audience.
And helped set the stage for Clinton's appearance.
Bill Clinton comes out swinging with a rendition of Elvis' classic hit "Heartbreak Hotel".
It's not a virtuoso performance by any measure. In fact, it's a bit clunky and rusty at some point. But, still, it's a FRICKIN' PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE LETTING LOOSE ON THE SAXOPHONE ON A LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW. I'm unapologetic about the all-caps there because, again, for those new to this, you cannot overstate how unique this was. Clinton rolled the dice, to be sure, but he ended up winning the White House.
In this dismal, dire, borderline hopeless election season, it's really all we want: a candidate that people can relate to, a candidate that is willing to break down a few barriers to get to those voters who have been feeling left out, or turned off by the extremism and vitriol of modern politics.
We just want a candidate who isn't 100 years old and either senile or crazy. Any maybe someone who has some musical chops as well. It's not a big ask. And, obviously, it's something that has happened before.
Anyway, here's iconic blues-man Albert King with his own unique take on Heartbreak Hotel. Enjoy.
Straight outta 2008, via 1968, here's some old school Psychedelic Soul from Berlin-based (via Quebec, Canada) garage rock band King Khan and the Shrines.
This is proper Friday cool. Not torture. Trust me, the Jacksons know about proper Torture.
Funny thing about the phone; it can be a blessing or it can be a curse.
Sure, it can call for help when you're sick. It can let you talk to a good friend far away. It can be instrumental in getting work done. You can use it too book a hotel room in a far away land, or just making reservations for that date you're going on this weekend.
You can, like Mr King, use the phone to try and woo back a lover who has left you all alone.
But, it can also be the bringer of very bad news. News like, you're baby's been cheating on you. News like, there's another mule kicking in your stall. News that you won't just shrug off any time soon.
